ã€ŠReversing Supernovaã€‹


 Prologue

    refuseto live like that. So can you do this?¡±

    Everyone knows who the culprit is, Ling-sa,¡± he said, waving a hand towards her. ¡°Yourself.¡±

    sure you didn¡¯t try to kill yourself?¡±

    anything related to Guroto near you,¡± Fence said, revealing just how closely he managed to investigate her in the few hours between knowing of her existence and their meeting.

 Chapter 1 - Getting a Grip on Reality

    I don¡¯t remember much; what I know I get from researching my own life.

    As far as I know¡­it all started with my parents¡¯ death. It must have. My life was normal before this.

    Frankly speaking, I don¡¯t remember much before that day when I was discharged from the hospital, that¡¯s why I¡¯m here. That¡¯s why I need your help, Milna-jo¡­

    ~~o~~

    The doctor had to be the ugliest specimen she had the displeasure of seeing in her whole life.

    Even after seeing him twice a day for a week straight, she still couldn¡¯t get the impression out of her head.

    Every time she began to doubt the reality of the situation she found herself in ¨C waking up in an amnesiac, crippled body on Planet Unknown in a galaxy far, far away ¨C one look at that hideous mug, and she¡¯d be slapped back to ¡®yeah, it¡¯s real alright.¡¯

    There was no way, now how, her limited imagination could ever conjure such¡­exoticism.

    ¡°We have done all we can to cure the aftereffect of the ¨C of Ling-sa¡¯s conditions. Keep her away from strong medications and control her food intake according to the prescribed diet, she should be fine in a few months,¡± the ugly alien said, disinterest stark on an elongated face that looked like a giraffe with two pairs of toad-like eyes on each side of his head.

    Beside her, a man, completely human-like, gripped her hand under the table, offering a comfort she didn¡¯t need. The feel of six fingers gripping her normal five-fingered hand reminded her that yeah, her companion also had alien blood in him. Then again, if the six fingers with green fingernails had not clued her in, the steadily darkening orange eyes would have.

    This man, a close friend of the family he said, was the only reason the doctor even bothered to go through the ¡®release procedure¡¯ instead of just approving her papers and let her loose.

    The purple-entity continued his monotonous droning, citing data that she had

    And he concluded with a blithe, ¡°We have not identified the reagent found in her bloodstream just yet, but I am positive it will not take long.¡±

    ¡°It only takes one test to find out,¡± her companion almost growled out. And by that, she meant literally growled out.

    She gripped his hand back, a futile attempt to curb her bristling companion.

    ¡°Not when the reagent is a compound, or an obscure element, Mun¡¯ahsa-jo,¡± the purple giraffe said with a characteristic slow drawl, swiveling his head towards her in faux-anticipation, ¡°Unless Ling-sa could inform us what exactly she ingested?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember,¡± she replied, the familiar phrase came out of her mouth with practiced ease.

    She had lost count how many times that phrase and its parallels made an appearance in the past week.

    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡±

    ¡°What date is today?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Do you know where you are?¡±

    ¡°No idea.¡±

    ¡°Do you remember what you ate today?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t rememb ¨C oh wait, that ¨C no, I don¡¯t remember.¡±

    So yes, she had made it her default answer to the inane questions asked by the purple-doctor. Though aliens might be a novel concept, she was not blind to the dutiful-yet-unwilling attitude from the ugly doctor. Or to prejudice.

    Spending a week with a creature that treated his robot nurses better than his own patient clued her in pretty fast on this front.

    And what she managed to catch, her companion had as well.

    Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa narrowed his eyes at the doctor. ¡°When will we receive the report then, doc?¡±

    Purple-giraffe closed all the holoscreens floating over the table, each one titled ¡®May Ling¡¯ in this planet¡¯s strange glyphs.

    The alien steepled his four-fingered hands together. ¡°My colleague will be taking over the investigation,¡± he informed them. ¡°While treating internal injuries fall under my specialties, identifying dangerous substances is not.¡±

    Then, though his cadence did not change, Purple-Giraffe still managed to project an air of gratification at not having to deal with her anymore.

    It made her seriously entertained the fantasy of leaping over this table and wringing the doctor¡¯s (short, unlike a giraffe¡¯s) neck.

    ¡°However, he has only just arrived from the Capital so I expect it will take a few more days.¡± After a brief pause, he added, ¡°at least.¡±

    Only May Ling¡¯s quick grip on Kajakh¡¯s arm prevented him from standing up and made her fantasy a reality. Though May thought a broken nose (muzzle?) would only improve the racist ¨C or was it speciest? ¨C bastard, she preferred not to deal with the hospital security, or any equivalent of lawsuits that would follow.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    Kajakh¡¯s arm felt as tense as iron cords in her grasp, while the hand gripping hers tightened uncomfortably, but if it helped him rein his temper, it was a small sacrifice to make.

    ¡°You are her doctor,¡± Kajakh gritted out, orange eyes flashed menacingly. ¡°Can¡¯t you show more responsibility towards your patient?!¡±

    Four toad-like eyes swiveled as the doctor sighed, as if commiserating his fate for having to deal with slow-witted creatures below his notice. ¡°Her case is no longer under my purview,¡± he stated languidly. ¡°It is for the best, Mun¡¯ahsa-jo; Terran anatomy has never been a strong suit of mine.¡±

    Nor did it fall under his interest, it would seem.

    Fair enough. She wouldn¡¯t want a doctor who only invested a perfunctory effort in curing her either.

    If Kajakh had any trace of canine-like race in him, she bet her non-existent money he would be growling right about now.

    ¡°Is there anything else I should pay attention to, doctor?¡± she asked, taking it upon herself to close the session before it devolved further.

    ¡°Just remember to rest well, Ling-sa,¡± he advised in an unexpected bout of compassion. ¡°Your condition is good for someone who recentlyhad to be revivedandjust woken up from a three-week coma, but your brain will need a lot of time to regain its optimal functions. It would be a shame to ruin a top-notch regeneration procedure we¡¯ve done on it due to carelessness.¡±

    ¡­never mind. A bastard could never change his bastardy stripes.

    Can I sue him? Claiming mental damage from passive-aggressive speciesism should net me quite a sum, yes? Ugh.

    Reining in her own temper, May gave a cursory smile. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the toxicology report then,¡± May said. ¡°Who should I expect it from?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll have my nurse send you the details,¡± Purple-Giraffe said, turning his attention to a screen beside him, a clear dismissal. ¡°Have a pleasant day, Ling-sa, Mun¡¯ahsa-jo.¡±

    ~~~~

    ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let him take your case.¡±

    May turned her head away from the city skyline visible outside of the descending elevator, fixing her gaze onto the tired-looking man standing opposite from her.

    Wan and gaunt, Kajakh¡¯s face betrayed just how little rest he must have had lately. Pale skin served to highlight the dark bruises under his orange eyes. He clenched his jaws tight, nerves twitching as he tried to contain his anger. Though he was crossing his arms and his poncho-like mantle went down to the mid-hip, the tense muscles of his shoulders made her suspect that he might be balling his fists tight away from her view.

    Clearly, the poor man took the doctor¡¯s tasteful parting comment to heart. Being reminded that yes, the person he held dear had truly died once would not do anyone¡¯s mental health any good.

    ¡°You asked for the best,¡± May tried to distract him. ¡°He is the best in internal organ reconstruction and nerve damage recovery.¡± Or so the rumors said.

    He glared at her briefly before transferring it out towards the city. ¡°I had hoped intelligent sentients like him would be above petty, small-minded prejudices.¡±

    Prejudices against Terran. Which, apparently, was a thing on this planet.

    Like she didn¡¯t already have a lot on her plate.

    ¡°Hope springs eternal.¡± May shrugged, unperturbed. Unjustified discrimination was not a new concept to her, even before getting shanghaied into this situation.

    The frown on his face tightened. May sighed, then closed the distance between them, touching his arm through the poncho. ¡°He did his job well; I¡¯m as good as I can be now, Kajakh.¡±

    As well as she could be with permanent damage ranging from organ-level down to molecular-level, a weak heart, reduced muscle mass, shortness of breath due to reduced lung capacity. Apparently, they had to cut some of it out when caustic reagent escaped from her stomach onto her innards. Though the missing pieces had been regenerated, they would never be as good as the original one.

    The list would have been longer, but those were the ones she managed to find out before Kajakh blocked her from asking anything about her own condition or the cause of it.

    Doctor Purple-Giraffe, whose heart was as ugly as his mug, infuriatingly agreed, citing that in the event of patients¡¯ unstable condition, their primary medical proxy had the right to make decisions for them.

    As May¡¯s medical proxy, Kajakh exercised his rights extensively, including but not limited to extending her stay in the wards even when May was ready to be released five days after she woke up. To be fair, she did suffer an attack that the doctor attributed to the aftereffect of the strange compound.

    ¡°The new doctor may be better,¡± May tried for an optimistic approach. ¡°Once we know what¡¯s swimming in my veins, they should be able to give me proper medicine.¡±

    Without knowing exactly what she had, Dr. Purple-Giraffe wisely did not dispense any medication once her condition stabilized. While waiting for the results, she had been given a not-to-do list and limited dietary requirements.

    Kajakh uncrossed his arms to put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Are you still in pain?¡± he asked, carefully watching her face.

    His grip tightened when he caught her hesitation, so May decided not to lie, ¡°Yes, but only just. It¡¯s nothing serious.¡±

    ¡®Only just¡¯ understated the constant pain that had been her constant companion since she got regained consciousness. Though it did not debilitate her, the ache settled in every part of her body, a perpetual reminder that it could fail her at any given moment.

    The man nodded, sliding his hand off of her. Sensing that he might need more time to recoup his mental fortitude, May observed the view outside, noting that they almost reached ground level. At this height, she could only see the hospital¡¯s complex instead of the city skyline, a wonder in itself as each of the hospital¡¯s building resembled an ornate skyscraper, to her Earth-bound imagination.

    Orange eyes kept stealing glances at her, their owner looked visibly torn. Before Kajakh could say anything, however, they had arrived at their destination. Shaking his head, he gestured for her to follow.

    ¡°I¡¯ll take you home,¡± he stated. ¡°Father would like to be here too, but we can¡¯t leave the company unattended at the moment.¡±

    The company that May Ling would have inherited if it wasn¡¯t for her youth and inexperience. May had no idea what the company was about, nor its current status, only that for now, it operated under Kajakh and his father¡¯s gentle care.

    Even without knowing the details, she knew Kajakh must not have an easy time with it. Except for the first day when she destroyed his hopes ¨C

    ¡°Do I know you?¡±

    ¡°You ¨C you don¡¯t remember me?¡±

    ¡°¡­I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¨C he had been visiting every night without fail to accompany her. She watched as he got more tired each day, even if he tried hard to hide it from her. Watching him watched her with concealed hope and dread, she began to understand what devastation meant.

    Poor dear, May thought sympathetically, observing the barely-hidden defeated slump of his shoulders as she followed him out of the hospital. I hope he never finds out the truth.

    Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa cared more about May Ling¡¯s life than ¡®May Ling¡¯ herself.

    And as long as she had a say in this, she would never let this fact see the light of day.

    She still had to find out what exactly happened to her and, disturbing or not, playing the part of an ¡®amnesiac family friend¡¯ gave her the most resources to do so.

    So yes, until she found a way back to Earth, she would shamelessly hijack this body until she couldn¡¯t anymore.

    The poor dear.

 Chapter 2 - (Faux) Homecoming

    May had to admit: Planet Er-na truly provided an amazingly colored vista.

    Whatever glimpse she got from her room in the hospital could not beat a front-seat view from the hovercar that steadily climbed farther and farther towards the atmosphere.

    As bizarre as a pink sky was to a denizen of blue-sky Earth, it was hardly the most surprising thing among this planet¡¯s atmospheric wonders.

    No, that would be the large, pregnant silhouette of Er-jani, the sole satellite of Planet Er-na that also hosted an artificial habitation on its surface. For it to be visible during the daytime when the green-tinged sun still ruled the sky highlighted just how big it was, and how close.

    When day gave way to night, and the pink sky transformed into dark purple, Er-jani hung like a silver ball. Its companions that did not appear during the day would reveal themselves in their red and green glories: the Sil-na and Fin-na.

    Kajakh had explained to her one night that in the Al-jurba system, these celestial bodies represented the third and fourth planets from the core sun, El-kana. They were colder than their sister-planet Er-na, and yet their majestic presence dominated the second planet¡¯s atmosphere.

    According to him, while Er-na enjoyed more prosperity owing to its more arable climate, Sil-na and Fin-na both had developed better technology, and more importantly, stronger military power.

    Needing one another, the three sister planets lived in harmony.

    From the way he spoke, May sensed that Kajakh had attached some significance to this knowledge. Alas, any implied importance was lost to the amnesiac who only used it as a good bedtime story.

    ¡°I¡¯d still feel more comfortable if you stayed in our house for a few days,¡± Kajakh expressed, sitting on the driving seat. In front of him, several orbs floated, each one playing an obscure role in moving this four-seat hovercar.

    It took her all not to sigh at another attempt of mollycoddling her. Not that May did not appreciate the effort, but when that protection came with tight monitoring on her daily activity, she knew what she had to do.

    She still had to find out exactly how did she end up in the hospital. Since she heard of her own death on the operation table, she had suspected that the original May Ling¡¯s death triggered her metempsychosis from an Earth-dweller to this Terran Er-nan denizen.

    Then again, if things were that simple, people like her would already build up a significant population.

    There had to be more to this than meet the eye. And to do that, she had to keep nosy people away from her research.

    Meaning, cohabitation with any concerned party was out of the question.

    ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore, Kajakh,¡± she refused point-blank. ¡°You said it yourself, my house has EVE to monitor my condition. Besides, you¡¯ll be working most time anyhow.¡± Kajakh flinched at the reminder, but she pressed on. ¡°I know my limits; the nurses made sure of it.¡±

    Given the number of times the robo-nurses caught me when May tried to get off of the biobed to test out her new body, the hospital had deemed it necessary to educate the rebellious patient on what she could or could not do during recuperation.

    Kajakh ¨C jerk motherhen that he was ¨C had approved wholeheartedly.

    Though it didn¡¯t look like the impromptu lesson reassured him of her capability. ¡°If I need anything, I will call you,¡± May reminded him, raising her right hand to show him a wristband made from a transparent crystal-like substance with flecks of metallic green and gold floating within. ¡°You gave me this just this morning, remember?¡±

    He eyed it from the corner of his eyes, veins twitching in his forehead, presumably from thinking hard for another reason to keep her by his side. Eventually, he sighed long and hard, as if doing so would help him let go of his reservations.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± he admitted, ¡°but I suppose you want your own space too, huh?¡±

    May shrugged, smiling wryly. ¡°I lost my memories, Kajakh, not my brain,¡± she replied candidly. ¡°I can only be grateful I haven¡¯t lost the ability to function properly. Imagine cannot walk, talk, or read, or write.¡±

    Thinking of the very real possibility, the Earth-native didn¡¯t need to fake the scowl latching onto her expression. Her companion, ever sensitive to her mood, caught it easily.

    ¡°Whatever you lost, you¡¯ll get them back.¡± Orange eyes chanced shooting her a reassuring look before returning to the traffic. ¡°You¡¯re a fast learner. You¡¯ll be reaching for the stars again in no time!¡±

    May smiled, appreciating the reassurance, even if it was way off-base. ¡°Thanks, Kajakh.¡±

    All her worries aside, May knew her situation could have been a lot worse than waking up in an orphaned girl¡¯s body who still had people who cared for her.

    Her fingers traced the beads sewed onto dark green poncho that she wore over a yellow shirt and beige trousers, appreciating the swirls of color on the clothing as opposed to Kajakh¡¯s simple yet tasteful plain one.

    From observing the pedestrians as their hovercar floated through the city¡¯s traffic, she concluded that this was a typical Ernan fashion. No matter the species or body-shape ¨C and believe her, body shapes did vary tremendously here ¨C the clothing style fits Ernan denizens comfortably.

    She had even seen a quadrupedal creature wearing a customized poncho!

    At the next intersection, Kajakh took an exit that led them seven levels up to a larger highway.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Unlike the traffic May was familiar with, back on gravity-adhering Earth, Ernan¡¯s intersection involved moving from one cut-off road to another at higher or lower levels. The middle of these intersections often resembled a hollow pillar where hovercars moved up and down in an orderly manner, like dancing streams of water.

    ¡°Sleep if you¡¯re tired,¡± Kajakh entreated, having taken her silence as a sign of fatigue. ¡°It will take a while to get home even with the Warptubes.¡±

    Warptubes?

    Smiling as if she knew what he was on about, May opened her mouth to reply when abruptly, the hovercar¡¯s interior flashed red, a strange alarm chimed urgently in accompaniment. Kajakh did not waste time in sliding left, an action May saw other people imitated.

    Once parked, a translucent red holoscreen appeared on the dashboard, bearing a white symbol that looked like a rearing winged-canine with six legs against a royal purple background.

    A message blared as text scrolled up on the screen.

    ¡®Citizens, a high-speed chase is underway. Please stay clear of the routes marked on your navigation system. Access to Lower and Upper Rings will be limited until further notice. This is an official notice and order from the Nimuth Law Enforcement City Guards. Citizens, a high speed-chase ¨C¡¯

    Kajakh tapped on the screen, effectively cutting off the electronic voice. A green 3D rendering of what May assumed was Nimuth¡¯s traffic system appeared, several lines highlighted in glaring scarlet. He swiveled the model in his hand several times, zooming in and out where necessary, deep in thought.

    ¡°They¡¯re close by,¡± he muttered. ¡°Which blackhole did these idiots throw their logic into? Risking a race in the Mid-Ring is just asking for collateral damage.¡±

    Just as he finished saying that, May heard high-pitched noises not unlike that of Earth¡¯s fighter jets sped over where Kajakh parked. One large hovervehicle followed by two smaller ones bearing the same insignia displayed on the public announcement¡¯s background.

    Two more uniformed vehicles soon joined the City Guards¡¯ chasers, and the collective racers disappeared from view when the pursued took a sharp dive down at the intersection Kajakh had been driving towards.

    ¡°This is why they shouldn¡¯t install Warptubes in the Lower Rings,¡± Kajakh muttered, his entire demeanor screamed of dissatisfaction. ¡°It only lets unsavory elements easier access to ruining decent people¡¯s lives.¡±

    ¡°Lower Ring?¡± the question slipped out before she could censor it, too busy being amazed after witnessing a live scifi-grade vehicular hot pursuit.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Kajakh hesitated, visibly formulating an acceptable answer that would not offend her sensibilities. Amused, May did not feel the need to relieve him of this misplaced chivalry. ¡°It¡¯s where people who can¡¯t afford to live in Nimuth¡¯s city proper gathers.¡±

    Ah, a slum then. Even in a futuristic (to her) planet like Er-na, this urban problem still persisted.

    ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean all of them are bad,¡± May felt compelled to point out.

    ¡°No, definitely not,¡± Kajakh immediately refuted. ¡°However, Nimuth¡¯s Public Safety Statistics recorded Lower Rings¡¯ crime rate as the highest among all Er-jani¡¯s districts, only taking second place sometimes to Er-jani¡¯s Guroto Habitation.¡±

    He stared at the intersection where the pursuit disappeared with a small frown and confessed in a voice so small she almost missed it. ¡°If it¡¯s up to me, I¡¯d rather not have any part of that community infecting ours with their degenerate ways.¡±

    May nodded in understanding, as if those names meant something to her. After which, she inquired on the most pressing matter: ¡°We can¡¯t use the Warptubes then?¡±

    Kajakh snapped out of the morose mood he¡¯d fallen into. Restarting the hovercar, he said, ¡°We can. Everyone with special codes or specific coordinates provided by their communities or workplace can open the Warptubes.¡±

    He tapped on his communicator wristband. ¡°Each code is imbued in the CINe-comm, not the hovercar, so it acts as localized ID verification.¡±

    The vehicle hummed as it came back to life. It, along with dozens of its brethren, evacuated the road they were in a file, which soon broke when it reached the next juncture. Same as before, Kajakh went further up.

    As the hovercar climbed higher and higher, May wondered just how tall the buildings in this city could be. From outside going in, the clustered super-skyscrapers resembled a forest filled with gleaming mother-of-pearl pillars, each one jutting up as if aspiring to touch the sky.

    Tall, uncompromising, intimidating.

    The city of Nimuth was the definition of majestic given form.

    ¡°May,¡± Kajakh called.

    ¡°Hm?¡± May responded absently, eyes still riveted towards the city outside.

    ¡°Never step foot in the Lower Rings,¡± the orange-eyed man advised ¨C no, warned in a tone that brooked no argument. ¡°There is nothing good there. Not the people, not the place. Anything that goes in there rots.¡±

    Surprised at the vitriol in his words, May chanced a quick glance at her companion, noting tight scowl and clenched jaw.

    There is a story behind this, she surmised.

    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± May promised, infusing as much sincerity as she could into her voice.

    Though curious, she did not feel like risking Kajakh¡¯s ire by asking irrelevant questions.

    Their path soon brought them out of the dense building into what constituted as an open plain, except instead of an expand of solid land, this one involved a circular structure where roads from all directions converged towards the center.

    Strangely enough, all the transparent paths where the hovercar traveled on sloped up towards the end, leading to a floating circular structure. Within the circle was a pearly, swirling whorl of energy ready to swallow hovercars that accelerated towards it without spitting them back out on the other side.

    Could it be¡­

    ¡°That¡¯s the Warptube Node,¡± Kajakh said, anticipating her unspoken question. He joined one of the queues and raised his armband to one of the orb-controller to be scanned. ¡°Usually each ¡®Tube has a fixed destination, but due of today¡¯s special circumstances, it will only open after our codes are verified.¡±

    It didn¡¯t take long to get to their turn. Once the hovercar in front of them disappeared, Kajakh waited for a few seconds before accelerating towards the milky whirlpool. During all this, May had to take several deep breaths to calm her thundering heart.

    Fuel by equal part of excitement and fear, May didn¡¯t close her eyes when the hovercar hit the white and ¨C

    ¨C her senses failed her ¨C

    the jarring disconnection passed as quickly as it came.

    Next thing she knew, the hovercar burst out of the Warptube into a magical realm where white structures floated above a white expanse of greenish-pink clouds.

    Breath caught in her throat, May stared at the impossible scene spread out before her, noting absently that the daylight moon looked even bigger from this place.

    A city in the sky!

    Looking at the wonder-come-to-life before her, May couldn¡¯t even summon any irritation when Kajakh chuckled at her dumbfounded expression.

    ¡°Do you remember this?¡± Kajakh asked, sounding wistful, as if he was seeing something she didn¡¯t.

    ¡°No,¡± she answered, not bothering to hide the awe and reverence in her voice as she drank in the dream-like vista.

    Unlike the city below them with its tall and rigid skyscrapers, the structures that floated above the sea of clouds preferred curved edges. Most of them adopting prism-shaped architecture with gleaming surfaces with carved ridges. With each of them reflecting the color of the sky and the sun, with the gigantic Er-jani floating in the background, the city became ethereal.

    ¡°This is the Upper Circle of Nimuth,¡± introduced the orange-eyes man. ¡°The capital¡¯s proudest creation.¡±

    From the way he spoke, it wasn¡¯t just the capital who felt proud of it. May grinned widely, heart beating with excitement at the thought of living above the sea of clouds. He steered the hovercar to circle the central structure, the largest among its peers.

    ¡°Among the local residents, we have our own name for Nimuth¡¯s famed city above the sky,¡± Kajakh continued, expression lighter after seeing her in a better mood.

    ¡°Welcome to Atmos.¡±

 Chapter 3 - Finding Breadcrumbs

    ¡°The Lower Circle¡­¡± Fence murmured in a sotto voice. ¡°Of course. That must have been it.¡±

    Bristling, the Terran glared at the green-haired male. ¡°Try not to presume too much.¡±

    ¡°Then you¡¯d deny going against Mun¡¯ahsa-jo¡¯s kind advice?¡± At her stubborn silence, Fence chuckled, his lips slowly curved up into a teasing smile. ¡°Poor Mun¡¯ahsa-jo. How ever would our resident genius feel had he known it was his own words that send you right to Er-na¡¯s local crime watering hole?¡±

    May shifted her eyes away from those knowing gaze. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need to know.¡±

    With another chuckle, the local crime lord took pity on the young woman. ¡°I assume after your homecoming, once he had his guards down, you slipped away into the night and began your search for truth among the dregs of society?¡±

    Blinking at the intense interest aimed her way, she sincerely commented, ¡°You¡¯ve watched too many crime dramas, Milna-jo.¡±

    Fence clicked his tongue and motioned for her to resume her story.

    ¡°It¡¯s nothing as complicated as that. I only began from the source closest to me,¡± May revealed.

    ¡°Certainly not Mun¡¯ahsa-jo,¡± Fence confidently deduced, forehead crinkling as his mind ran through other possible alternatives.

    Restraining an eye roll at how transparent the amber-eyed male was about using her life story as the night¡¯s entertainment, May decided to string him along a bit longer.

    ¡°No, but he led me directly to it.¡±

    ~~o~~

    ¡°A high-speed pursuit in Nimuth¡¯s Middle Ring by the City Guard ended in a tragedy that cost two lives and landed one officer in a critical condition. This afternoon, two unidentified suspects managed to rob the Paragon, headquarter to the galactic-renowned jewel-makers MirmiMani. The company has yet to release a statement on this incident, but from what we can see of the crime scene, experts estimated a rough sum of ¨C ¡±

    As the news droned on as background noise, May surreptitiously watched her warden family friend as he paced up and down in the next room. Seeing that whoever designed the penthouse ¨C hers apparently ¨C did not believe in opaque partitions, May could easily see Kajakh gesturing wildly as he spoke on his comm.

    He looks pissed, May accurately deduced.

    Kajakh had been at it for a while now, having received the call not long after they arrived. After he refused the first call, his comm rang again. Whatever message he received then made him relocate to the next room where he could answer it in peace.

    Most probably something to do with the company, that also belonged to her, apparently, for the most part at least. Kajakh and his father both had their own stakes in it, but before their death, May¡¯s parents had owned the largest shares combined.

    Shares that she inherited along with their properties, savings, investment, so on and so forth.

    There was a list; Kajakh said so.

    She just¡­hadn¡¯t gotten to it yet.

    Not because she felt uncomfortable pawing at a dead person¡¯s things, especially when she was still wearing the body like a skin suit. Not at all.

    May had been busy.

    Busy recuperating from a three-week-long coma. Busy undergoing reconstructive muscle therapy (not that agonizing physical therapy; yay advanced tech!).

    Busy convincing herself that no, she wasn¡¯t crazy; yes, this was real; yes, this was happening, so keep up!

    Well, that was what she¡¯d be telling people if the question ever came up anyhow.

    Shaking her head as if it would clear her thoughts, she didn¡¯t even bother concealing her blatant staring.

    There, right there, pacing back and forth, was a mine filled with ¡®apparent facts¡¯ that could solve most if not all of her questions in one go.

    Except said mine clammed up like an oyster sensing a predator whenever she poked a topic even remotely related to her condition.

    So far, she made more progress forming hypotheses from things he refused to go into details about.

    Such as her parents.

    Such as her company.

    Such as the reason he kept treating her like she was a glass doll that would shatter at the slightest touch.

    The last one she had originally attributed to how she¡¯d ¨C the original May Ling at least ¨C died on the operation table, but afterward, the attitude didn¡¯t lighten, rather the opposite.

    In their short journey ¡®home¡¯, May¡¯s observation of the dark-haired, orange-eyed, six-fingered, non-confirmed human-alien-hybrid yielded two contradicting facts.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Fact one: Kajakh looked forward to the day she regained her memories; this he did not hide despite having toned it down to avoid pressuring her.

    What a considerate man.

    But that only made the second fact all the more confusing: he dreaded the day she regained her memories.

    He hid it well. Very well indeed. Until his hesitation to leave her alone betrayed his anxiety, along with his insistence on concealing the truth ''for her own good''. He never put it as such in words, no, but that was the feeling she got from him.

    What had been an indiscernible feeling at first finally took shape after they entered the sky city. Once she had managed to get her awe under control, she caught his foreboding expression just before he turned to her and smiled, offering a tour of the city.

    Without waiting for her answer, he¡¯d brought her around ¨C a scenic route, he¡¯d claimed, to show her the wonder of Nimuth¡¯s Jewel in the Sky ¨C but May had done enough strategic prevaricating in her line of business to recognize a play for time when she saw one.

    Kajakh had circled the city¡¯s gigantic octahedron piece de resistance that hung majestically in the center of a cluster of spire-like structures that resembled upturned unicorn horns. The wave-like pattern carved into their surfaces reflected the celestial bodies¡¯ colors in the best way possible, lending the whole area a divine bearing.

    Her driver cruised between Atmos¡¯ grandiose gravity-defying architecture, explaining how the city worked, until he couldn¡¯t delay and finally made towards the periphery where less impressive yet still lavish cylindrical towers that suited her idea of a sci-fi building more: intimidating, unyielding, and gleaming metallic cold in the sunlight.

    ¡®Home¡¯ was located within a triad of hexagonal prism towers connected to each other via encased skywalks. May admitted to gawking when she entered the suit for the first time, from the sheer size of it all. For a family of three, the penthouse must have been something of a mansion, futuristic style.

    Then she discovered, with the sleek abode, came the most pleasant of surprises.

    ¡°EVE,¡± May murmured, tasting the AI¡¯s name.

    ¡°Yes, May-sa?¡± a dulcet female voice responded promptly.

    EVE, the housekeeper AI.

    Kajakh had introduced (or reintroduced, depending on how one looked at it) the housekeeper first thing after they arrived in the house.

    During his daily visits, Kajakh had mentioned that the AI would be waiting for her return. At that time, May attributed his choice of words as a comfort for an orphan who no longer had anyone to look forward to at home, but now she found herself reconsidering it.

    The AI might be a little more than just a collection of data. Digitized servants couldn¡¯t possibility sounded so human.

    ¡°Who is Kajakh¡¯s talking to?¡±

    ¡°Kajakh-jo has activated privacy shielding for his communications,¡± EVE informed her, sounding half-regretful, half-chiding.

    Nodding in acknowledgment, May pressed on, ¡°Is the same function available for every guest in the house?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± the AI replied. ¡°In your absence, the Seneschal Protocol was activated. Kajakh-jo now holds a secondary access to the house¡¯s functions and security.¡±

    Seneschal. The first Earth-native word she heard since this whole blasted thing started. Swallowing hard, she forcibly halted the urge to find out more about it to focus on a more important matter.

    ¡°Who else?¡±

    ¡°Ozi-jo.¡±

    Kajakh¡¯s father.

    Of course.

    Exhaling explosively, May leaned her head back, wondering just why she was surprised by this turn of event. A big part of why Kajakh even bothered with her had been their families¡¯ close relation. May dared to bet the original May and he had been childhood friends.

    However, it highlighted just how much the Ling couple had trusted the Mun¡¯ahsa.

    ¡°Has anyone else been to the house since I left?¡±

    ¡°Other than Kajakh-jo and Ozi-jo, only the Nimuth City Guardians. I have confirmed their official orders for investigation and Kajakh-jo was present during the period they were here. Any objection on my part will be taken as obstruction of justice and incompatible with the law-abiding protocol.¡±

    May¡¯s eyes narrowed at that. ¡°Oh. What investigation?¡± she asked, tone deliberately light. A quick glance at the other room assured her that Kajakh was still engaged in his heated debate.

    ¡°I cannot divulge that information,¡± EVE said. ¡°Information related to an ongoing investigation is strictly confidential until the law enforcers deem it suitable for release.¡±

    ¡°Not even to the house owner?¡±

    ¡°As Kajakh-jo had been present during the investigation, he has been informed of all relevant information,¡± informed the AI.

    Meaning if she wanted to know more about this, she¡¯d have to ask him.

    Wonderful.

    Groaning, May slumped in her seat, tugging her hair in frustration at the futility of it all. Every step she took, Kajakh would be there to obstruct it.

    How could I find a way home like this?

    Speaking of obstructing¡­

    A sudden thought occurred to her, making her jerk up in her seat, heart hammering anxiously. ¡°Will he still have access to the house¡¯s security now that I¡¯m back?¡±

    ¡°No. Kajakh-jo¡¯s access has been reverted to his usual second-home level.¡±

    A ¡®second-home¡¯ level? ¡°And that means?¡±

    ¡°He has his own key code to enter the house at will,¡± the AI explained. ¡°Also unrestricted access to all non-core facilities in the house, except for private rooms.¡±

    ¡°Just making sure, he has no access to surveillance.¡±

    ¡°Only May-sa has that access now,¡± EVE confirmed, much to May¡¯s relief. She didn¡¯t ask to live alone just so he could remotely monitor her.

    Swiveling her head towards the other room, her eyes met orange ones, making her heart skip a beat. May donned a big smile, hiding any trace of guilt for seeking ways to subvert the man who had done nothing but assist her every step of the way. She received a reassuring one in return before Kajakh returned to his conversation.

    With a sigh, May turned back to watch an inane commercial on the 3D holographic projector. The living room she sat in was a circular area, filled with so many unidentified things that she didn¡¯t dare touch, with a deep depression in the middle that served as the seating area. At its center was yet a deeper depression where holographic projection shot up to show just about anything available on the Collective Intergalactic Network or CINe.

    CINe acted as a curious amalgamation of TV, internet, and mobile network packaged into one convenient package accessible from just about any communication devices.

    May poked the floating spherical glass containing her lunch ¨C the delectable nutrient solution ¨C that Kajakh had managed to prepare before he absconded. Wrinkling her face, she took it in her hands and sipped on it, grimacing at the alien-quality that neither tasted good nor bad.

    Flicking her finger as if swiping on touchscreens back on Earth, May changed the CINe channel.

    ¡°¡­king news: our very half-Ernan actor Giliga Metiz was spotted exiting the Huma-huma Starhill in the small hours, wearing a hat and a mask. Speculations run rampant as to whom he has been visiting, but the most popular theory to date is the Medelonian actress Siraguna Mina who has been rumored to have bought a suite in this prestigious sky-condo last year. Though we have sent inquiries to ¨C¡±

    Flick.

    ¡° ¨C and he comes! Our reigning champion! Give a waaarm welcoooome to the dazzling GOLIATH!! Despite his Terran descend, GOLIATH has managed to climb up the ladder and occupy one of the three top positions in the Wreck-Cage Intergalactic Race for five years in a row! What a star-defying feat! And today, my dear gentle-sentients, we get to witness for ourselves his ¨C¡±

    Flick.

    ¡° ¨C so in my opinion, unless drastic action is taken, the Ling Interstellar Freight is done for.¡±

    .

    .

    ¡­come again?

 Chapter 4 - One Step Forward

    ¡°You know, finding out just how deep in shit you are from a Holo-viz is not a good way of learning anything,¡± May cut off her own narrative to comment, her lips curving down in remembrance. ¡°Especially when it''s something you should already know about.¡±

    Never losing his humor, Fence grinned, and quipped, ¡°I shall endeavor not to get to that point.¡±

    Yeah, especially if any of your shit got put under a spotlight, it would likely feature your arrest or investigation. May thought unkindly.

    ¡°In any case, as annoying as Sak¡¯tehun is, he blabbed enough to give me some idea on what Kajakh had been keeping from me, and the picture he painted was not a pretty one.¡±

    ~~o~~

    Hearing a familiar name, the Earth-native aborted her finger-flicking and stayed on this channel.

    The 3D holo perfectly depicted two aliens sitting semi-facing each other on floating chairs, one with dark green skin and another with orange-tinged one.

    The green one must be a native Ernan; May had seen enough of them in the hospital to identify their characteristic six fingers, red irises, and hexagonal pupils. No idea about what the orangey one might be though. She noted that he had three antennas, three fingers, and slanted eyes place on a triangular face.

    ¡°That is quite an extreme claim,¡± said the orangey-one, tone rife with faux-astonishment that made May¡¯s fist itched to test whether those high cheekbones were as fragile as they appeared.

    Startling from the intensity of her own emotions, May narrowed her eyes, a hand patting her chest. May Ling¡¯s residual emotions? she theorized.

    ¡°Ling Interstellar Freight is the definition of extreme,¡± the Ernan said, body moving in an approximation of a shrug. ¡°The current situation is a tragedy long in the making. Since their inception, LIF charted the stars by going straight into them head-on, heedless of the dangers hidden in its midst. It is only a matter of time when their adventurousness ceased to work in their favor.¡±

    Orange-Triangle nodded sagely. ¡°One can also argue that their adventurousness has added dozens of new starcharts to Al-Jurba system¡¯s interstellar and beyond. This is an accomplishment that brings them to the top of the interstellar freight industry.

    ¡°Now look here, I¡¯m neither discounting their merits nor devaluing their contribution to our galaxy, but we have to admit that testing out a new route with only the Voyagers as escorts is a risky endeavor; sending out cargo without guaranteeing the route¡¯s safety is a recipe for a complete disaster.¡± The Ernan waved his hands passionately. ¡°The late President Ling and his wife took the risk and look what happened!¡±

    ¡°Charting out a new star-lane always takes its toll,¡± Orange-Triangle acquiesced sympathetically, then turned to face the audience. ¡°This is not the first time the LIF has employed this unconventional method to establish new shipping routes or its largest casualty to date. However, none of the previous failures had resulted in such a blowback.¡±

    ¡°This time, the President is no longer around to take care of the blowback,¡± the Ernan cut in callously.

    May inhaled sharply as a sudden pain pierced through her breastbone. They are putting the fault on May¡¯s parents death, she realized with mounting anger.

    Unperturbed at the interruption, Orange-Triangle turned to the Ernan, ¡°So does that mean opening a route to the Federation Capital Homyu is impossible? Many have tried and failed. The route, as the more superstitious among us would say, is cursed.¡±

    The green alien laughed, his whole body shaking with the force of his mirth. ¡°Not at all. We have the tech now. LIF especially. However, techs can only bring you so far. A team of dedicated, formally trained escorts goes a long way in combating various dangers and ensuring successful delivery.¡±

    ¡°LIF¡¯s policy to rely on the Voyagers has been their defining characteristic,¡± Orange-Triangle said, catching on the point left hanging by his interviewee. ¡°Experience cannot be bought and who else in could claim to be more familiar with space-traveling than the brave Voyagers who spend most their life traversing through stars.¡±

    As beautiful as his words sounded, May did not miss the underlying ridicule hidden in them. Whoever these Voyagers were, they did not command the respect of these two.

    ¡°For viewers who are not aware of LIF¡¯s origin, the freight was established as a way for the Ling family to assist Voyagers who were down on their luck,¡± Orange-Triangle once again addressed the audience. ¡°A typical interstellar freight has its own security team, limiting their delivery quantity and increasing their operational cost. By hiring Voyagers on an ad-hoc basis, the Ling family managed to create a wider, faster, cheaper delivery model.¡±

    ¡°LIF¡¯s policy stems from its founders¡¯ sentimentality,¡± the Ernan argued, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Ling family does have several adventurous Voyagers in their rank, so I can see where they are coming from, but time¡¯s changed. Mercs are legal now. They are better trained, better coordinated, and always available. Logically, LIF should be going to them instead, like many other freights. But it didn¡¯t.¡±

    On a roll, the Ernan leaned towards his host intently as if he was about to impart a great secret. ¡°The fact that it still stands after the Nimuth-Homyu route fiasco and losing its owners is a miracle in itself.¡±

    Orange-Triangle¡¯s three antennas twitched on the apex of his bald head. ¡°Rumors are flying around about the possibility of a takeover. What is your opinion on that?¡±

    Accepting the to-the-nose topic change, the Ernan leaned back in his seat, dialing down his personal feelings towards LIF ¨C that kind of vitriol could not be anything but ¨C as he delivered a more professional observation.

    ¡°It is very possible. With the current situation, a takeover might be the only thing that can save LIF from closing down. With any luck, they might even preserve their name in the end, but to prevent a sudden collapse in the economy ¨C their company employed at least one-tenth of Er-na¡¯s population after all ¨C their Common Directorates has to seriously consider this alternative.¡±

    The green man¡¯s gratified expression towards the end rubbed against May the wrong way, making her hand itched to throw her glass at his head. Pity this was only a realistic holographic rendition.

    ¡°Speaking of Board of Directors, we have confirmation that May Ling, the sole heir to the company has recently been released from the hospital.¡± The orangey creature turned to the audience while explaining, ¡°Though the company¡¯s communication officer had not given any statement as to the cause of Ling-sa¡¯s collapse, we have received confirmation from a reliable source that the company is currently under the leadership of Ozi Mun¡¯ahsa and his son, Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa, who we know ¨C ¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    The channel suddenly changed to a bunch of singing and ¨C was that dancing? ¨C aliens.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to that rubbish,¡± Kajakh said, smile taut as he slid into the seat next to her. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s talking about.¡±

    Cursing his impeccable timing in her heart, May resisted the urge to pout. The first solid hint of May¡¯s life Before-Amnesia flicked away just like that.

    She hadn¡¯t even heard him returned from the other room.

    May stole a glance at the man, noting his tense jaw and wrinkled forehead. For all that he preached about indifference, Kajakh did not seem to be taking his own advice.

    ¡°Is the company doing that badly?¡± May asked.

    Kajakh might want to hide the world¡¯s problem away from her, but this was not an issue she could let go and forget.

    He took his time to mull over his response before exhaling sharply. ¡°We¡¯ll pull through,¡± he assured, reaching out slowly to place his six-fingered hand on her free one, only relaxing when she did not pull back. ¡°Father and I will take care of it. We¡¯ve promised Uncle and Auntie.¡±

    ¡°That person sounds very sure of LIF¡¯s downfall though,¡± May pressed.

    Kajakh looked as though he didn¡¯t want to reply, but she shot him a pleading look and he caved.

    ¡°Azi Sak¡¯tehun is a sad creature who could never reconcile with the fact that LIF succeeds in working hand-in-hand with the Voyagers where his own freight did not. He never does understand that Voyagers are not mercenaries. The two are not interchangeable.¡±

    May tilted her head questioningly. Kajakh sighed, placing his hand on her head briefly before answering her unspoken question.

    ¡°We employ the Voyagers for more than just their protection, you know. Their experience and adaptability are crucial in charting a new route. And when anything unexpected happens? Well, their versatility usually solves the problem in a nick of time and make sure the shipment is well. Mercenaries tend to be too rigid for this kind of versatile job.¡± He paused, before adding, ¡°Not to mention illegal until recently.¡±

    Put that way, LIF¡¯s policy didn¡¯t seem so bad, but still. ¡°Green-man mentioned something about a Nimuth-Homyu fiasco?¡±

    ¡°Opening a new route always comes with a risk,¡± the orange-eyed man huffed. ¡°We explored the route successfully. Twice. Until the first shipment.¡± Kajakh adopted a faraway look, as if seeing something she did not. ¡°We¡¯ve pinned it down on lack of security, but LIF has hired the best Voyagers for this trip. Not to mention we¡¯ve kept the route secret. We lost them just before they left the Al-jurba system and we have no idea why.¡±

    Turning towards her, Kajakh warned, ¡°This is not public knowledge. Don¡¯t talk about it at all if you can help it.¡±

    May snorted. She¡¯d had to meet people first before that even became a risk.

    ¡°There was a leak,¡± May hypothesized.

    ¡°So we think too,¡± Kajakh murmured. ¡°But don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He caught her worried expression and smiled. ¡°You should rest. Don¡¯t think about unhappy thoughts.¡±

    ¡°That Azi guy makes it sound so severe,¡± May complained.

    ¡°This is not the first time LIF pushed the boundaries to an extreme. The green-slug only brought it up because he resents the idea of Terran-led company holds such a prestigious position,¡± Kajakh stated, doing nothing to hide his resentment at the ¡®green slug¡¯.

    From the looks of it, the animosity went both ways, May thought quietly.

    Unexpectedly, Kajakh chuckled, and revealed, ¡°And partly because Father is part of the Common Directorate.¡± May didn¡¯t bother hiding her inquiring noises, prompting the orange-eyed man to continue his narrative.

    ¡°His family wanted to marry one of his cousins to Father, but before they could make any formal arrangements, he decided to elope with Mother instead. Until today, Sak¡¯tehun still accuses Father of breaking a family pact.¡± He let out a snicker laced with schadenfreude, ¡°He can¡¯t accept a full-blooded Ernan choosing to ¡®sully¡¯ our blood with a Terran.¡±

    May laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. A blood feud! Over such trivial things!

    Before she could ask more questions, seeing that her info-mine was in the mood to indulge her, a sudden buzzing drew their attention to Kajakh¡¯s wristband.

    Seeing how it blinked red, then green, then back to red, orange eyes closed in an apparent bid for patience, muscles tensing as if bracing for a hit.

    May felt the device¡¯s vibration through Kajakh¡¯s hand before he pulled it back, swiping a hand over the bracelet, then flicked his eyes to the side. A sure sign he was reading a private message via his CINe-comm.

    In an instant, a scowl appeared as his hand twitched, as if resisting the urge to close the message. She¡¯d know ¨C he had shown such expression before when he visited her in the hospital, except back then, he didn¡¯t hesitate to dismiss unwanted messaged with a flick of his wrist.

    The fact that he hadn¡¯t now highlighted its importance. Especially after the call he finished not minutes ago.

    ¡°If you have somewhere to be, don¡¯t mind me,¡± May said, intuitively caught onto his internal struggle.

    Kajakh turned to her, still scowling. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t leave you alone,¡± he stated, eyes flickering towards something she could not see and back at her. ¡°You didn¡¯t even know how to use the Holo-Viz.¡±

    Rolling her eyes, May snapped, ¡°I¡¯m quite sure I can nap unsupervised, Kajakh.¡±

    The sarcastic remark came out reflexively before she could stop it. She couldn¡¯t tell which of them felt more surprised by it, but strangely enough, the outburst seemed to alleviate some of his burden, his shoulders relaxing slightly. She took this opportunity to press her case. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    Kajakh hesitated, clearly weighing his options before waving his hand ¨C presumably to close the message. ¡°If you¡¯re sure,¡± he finally conceded.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± May confirmed. ¡°Besides, I have EVE with me. She¡¯ll let you know if anything happens. You can do that, right EVE?¡±

    ¡°Affirmative. Kajakh-jo is still listed as primary emergency contact,¡± EVE¡¯s voice crisply responded.

    ¡°See?¡±

    He raised his hand towards her, visibly hesitated, then rested it on her shoulder. ¡°Promise me you won¡¯t do anything but rest.¡±

    May rolled her eyes at the unwarranted solemnity. ¡°I promise,¡± she said, feeling like a child whose parent was leaving for work and the babysitter was not around.

    ¡°If you need me for anything ¨C anything at all, call me, okay?¡± he insisted.

    ¡°I will,¡± May responded, placing her hand over the one on her shoulder. ¡°I can take care of myself.¡±

    The way he failed to reply was a huge tell in itself, making May twitched with indignation. However, she wanted him out ¨C fast ¨C so she limited her rants into the confines of her own head.

    She followed Kajakh to the door that disintegrated as they drew near. As awe-inspiring new technologies would be, May had spent a week in this world. She¡¯s had time to acclimatize, especially to doors shimmered in and out of existence instead of opening and closing like normal doors.

    Once they reached the hovercar, Kajakh turned to her after opening its door. It took her all not to blurt out, ¡°What now?!¡±

    ¡°I know you¡¯ve forgotten everything,¡± he began, reaching into a compartment in the vehicle to pull out a thin box. ¡°But I hope you would still wear this.¡±

    May glanced at his hopeful expression, taking the box from his hand. Inside the crystalline box was a metal bracelet, craved in a tribal pattern that wove red, blue, gold, and green curves together. A pang of familiarity ran through her, and the next thing she knew, she had worn it on her left wrist.

    The weight of it felt right.

    Kajakh smiled one of his rare happy smiles, and took her hand gently in his left one, pulling his long sleeve to show an identical bracelet.

    ¡°They had to take it off to ¨C when healing you,¡± Kajakh stumbled over the words. She gripped his hand in comfort. Whatever procedure the doctors had done on her, her friend did not seem to be over it yet.

    ¡°It¡¯s our star-band. Stupid name, I know,¡± he chuckled at the incredulous expression she hadn¡¯t manage to hide, ¡°but we never took it off since Mother and Aunt made them for us.¡± His six fingers caressed the one on her wrist gently. ¡°They said we designed them ourselves.¡±

    May looked at the inconspicuous band with mixed feelings.

    A friendship bracelet.

    One important enough for the two of them to keep until adulthood.

    Despite the ridiculousness of it all, telltales of impending tears prickled her eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re always welcome,¡± Kajakh said sincerely, releasing her. ¡°Remember ¨C ¡±

    ¡°If I need anything, I¡¯ll call you,¡± May promised seriously.

    He sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll see you at dinner.¡±

    With that promise, the man finally left her alone, reentering the sky city¡¯s traffic with disgusting ease.

    May made her way back to the living room, retaking her seat and staring blankly at the empty space. Beside her, the nutrient solution floated in its container, like a stringless Christmas bauble.

    ¡°EVE,¡± she called out.

    ¡°Yes, Miss May?¡± the AI responded readily.

    May hesitated, as guilt rose in her heart, gnawing at her conscience.

    She knew Kajakh wanted to keep her away from whatever trouble brewing outside of the bubble he put her in. Knew that he did it with good intentions.

    Knew that by doing this, she would be spitting on her friend¡¯s ¨C only ally¡¯s ¨C kindness.

    Her fingers traced her newly acquired bracelet, feeling what had been a comforting weight now transformed into a shackling burden to her morals.

    She shouldn¡¯t do this.

    But she must.

    As nice, as wonderful, as magical this whole place was, Planet Er-na was not home.

    Earth was.

    And May must return to it.

    Bracing herself, May tilted her head up, and asked the one source who would not ¨C could not deny her.

    ¡°How did I end up in the hospital?¡±

 Chapter 5 - Two Steps Back

    ¡°I cannot divulge that information, May-sa,¡± EVE replied.

    The answer caught May flatfooted.

    She had been so sure.

    So sure that the answers she wanted, no, needed was finally within her reach.

    Finding out that it had been nothing but a fata morgana in an endless desert destroyed just about any measure of patience she had left.

    ¡°Why the hell not?¡± the Earth-native hissed through gritted teeth.

    ¡°May-sa does not have the authority to access that information,¡± came the AI¡¯s placid answer.

    May took a deep breath, then another, then with a calm she did not truly feel, she demanded, ¡°Did Kajakh put you up to this?¡±

    ¡°Correct,¡± the AI replied without preamble. ¡°As the primary executor of Seneschal Protocol, Kajakh-jo has invoked the GuardianAngel Protocol to ensure May-sa¡¯s well-being, both physically and spiritually.¡±

    A deep inhale. A loud exhale. Then, ¡°The Seneschal Protocol was revoked; consider his command obsolete.¡±

    ¡°As the GuardianAngel Protocol was set up under the formal recommendation and with the acknowledgment of the physician responsible for your recovery.¡±

    Green semi-transparent holoscreen appeared in front of her, displaying a formal document that basically said until May Ling had been declared both physically and mentally healthy, any factor that could cause unduly stress should be avoided lest it triggered an attack. Until that day came, as May¡¯s primary medical proxy, Kajakh had the right to govern May¡¯s actions to a certain extent, backed with solid and logical reasoning, to ensure her fast and smooth recovery.

    The formal declaration carried the signature of one Doctor Limeh Korah.

    Looking at that name, a familiar nauseating face popped up in her head. A high-pitched noise echoed in the large room as May let out a long whine, her frustration palpable.

    Just when she thought she¡¯d found an exit, she met a new obstacle.

    ¡°That ugly Purple Giraffe!¡± she cursed, balling her hands into white-knuckled fists. Even without being present, that alien still managed to infuriate her.

    Glaring at the signature, she waved the document away from her sight.

    Kajakh only wanted to help, she knew, but that doctor...

    She bet he was too lazy to even care what he was signing as long as Kajakh stopped hounding him about her recovery.

    ¡°Okay,¡± she exhaled heavily, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, pressing her forehead on steepled fingers. ¡°Okay. So that¡¯s a bust. Don¡¯t give up now.¡±

    ¡°You feel like giving me some advice, EVE?¡± she asked, looking up to direct a mocking grin at the ceiling. ¡°All this thinking and going around in circle give a girl a headache, you know.¡±

    ¡°A short nap before dinner will do wonders to a tired person¡¯s mood, May-sa,¡± EVE answered primly.

    May¡¯s lips formed a flat line as she dropped her head back to its previous position. ¡°Don¡¯t know why I expected a different result.¡±

    If asking EVE directly wouldn¡¯t work, then she would need to find another source.

    Another source that would give her information freely.

    Preferably without being detected by Kajakh.

    Meaning it should be accessible from the house.

    The steepled fingers separated to bury themselves in her hair as she scratched it vigorously, her frustration mounting with each passing second.

    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± May huffed, bowing over her knees while clutching her head tightly. ¡°I wish I could just Goo ¨C ¡±

    Her thoughts came to a screeching stop.

    Google. A search engine.

    A place where information is collected and dispersed freely.

    The internet.

    I need a space internet.

    After staring blankly at the depression that marked the spot for the holo-viz projector, May hit her forehead in rapid successions, berating her own short-sightedness.

    ¡°EVE, can I access the CINe?¡±

    ¡°Yes, May-sa.¡± The holo-viz fizzled to life before her, showing a holographic floating crystal with instructions to speak her query.

    ¡°Excellent.¡± May couldn¡¯t stop the grin that grew on her face, nor did she want to. Rubbing her hands together, she leaned eagerly towards the projection and said, ¡°CINe search: news on May Ling¡¯s hospitalization.¡±

    ¡°Insufficient authority.¡±

    ¡°What now?!¡±

    ¡°The Protocol limits access to all restricted information that falls under its purview, regardless of their source,¡± EVE explained.

    Growling low, May demanded, ¡°What exactly are the limits?!¡±

    ¡°Insufficient authority.¡±

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    That phrase was fast becoming the bane of her existence.

    Fine. I¡¯ll let the topic go. There are other things that I need to know as May Ling anyhow.

    Muscled bunched up with anticipation, May ordered, ¡°CINe search: Ling Interstellar Freight.¡±

    She braced herself, as if expecting another rejection, but the holo-viz barely took a second before showing the LIF logo, floating right in the middle of the projector.

    A humanoid green woman appeared, dressed in a dark blue dress, light blue sash, with a beige overall poncho with a distinctive spiral pattern in green. ¡°Welcome to Ling Interstellar Freight Information Network. How may I help you?¡± she greeted pleasantly, a warm smile pasted on her pretty face as she clasped her hands together in front of her.

    Looking at the successful search, May let out a relieved sigh. At least she had a leeway.

    ¡°Ling Interstellar Freight¡¯s current condition.¡±

    The green lady opened her mouth -

    EVE¡¯s voice cut in, ¡°Insufficient authority.¡±

    The green lady stilled, returning to that warm smile and expecting pose.

    May groaned, tilting her head back against the backrest. ¡°Of course.¡±

    An automated response. Why would one ever go for paid but personalized service when there was a capable semi-thinking technology that could do it for them?

    May knew several people back on Earth who would be vindicated knowing that yes, sufficiently advanced technology had replaced humans ¨C no sentient beings here ¨C and taking over their jobs.

    Without even opening her eyes, May flicked her finger, dismissing the LIF ¡®homepage¡¯. Interlocked fingers rested on her stomach, moving up and down in a constant tap-tap-tap rhythm. A few minutes passed before they stilled.

    Still maintaining her position, May commanded, ¡°CINe new search: LIF leaders¡¯ accident.¡±

    ¡°Insufficient authority.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°CINe search: LIF Nimuth-Homyu accident.¡±

    ¡°Insufficient authority.¡±

    In a flash, May stood, grabbed the mug floating beside her, and threw it across the room through the animated red holoscreen saying ¡®Insufficient Authority¡¯. It landed with a heavy thunk, scattering the content all over the floor.

    ¡°THEN WHAT GOOD ARE YOU?!¡± May roared, chest heaving up and down as her heart raced with anger.

    Every step blocked. Every promising lead turned out to be a dead-end.

    Every hope she had in finding the truth diminished with every revelation.

    May didn¡¯t know if she could go on like this.

    ¡°I don¡¯t ask for much,¡± she growled, her pulse quickening as her anger mounted. ¡°I just want to know What. The. Hell. Happened. To me!" May straightened her body, looking up with spread arms, demanding, ¡°WAS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!¡±

    ¡°May-sa, please calm down, your blood pressure ¨C ¡±

    ¡°FUCK MY BLOOD PRESSURE! FUCK MY HEART! FUCK IT ALL FUCK!!!¡±

    A small whirring sound broke her tirade.

    The Earth-native stared blankly as a couple of small robots appeared from a hole that just opened on the floor beside the projector. They looked like cones with cut off heads, giving it a flat top instead of pointy one. Without any noise, they floated towards where the glass she threw lied, one picking it up and the other¡­did something that cleaned up the spilled liquid.

    Then both made a beeline towards the kitchen.

    Mind shorting out from a combination of intense emotional cocktail and the absurd timing of the two cleaning robots, May¡¯s eyes blankly followed their trajectory with her eyes.

    Until her sight latched onto several holographic projections hovering on a drum table located near the door.

    She could make out May Ling¡¯s smiling face, surrounded by people she guessed must have been her family.

    Without her prompting, the holo-viz came to life, showing the same projections she had been staring at in larger screens.

    A younger May Ling with her arms around a brunette Caucasian man with blue eyes and a dark-haired woman with black eyes, all smiling brightly. A caption in a handwritten cursive labeled the photo as ¡®May-may¡¯s tenth birthday¡¯.

    Teenage May Ling crouching beside an equally young Kajakh, both showing off their fancy star-bands while grinning broadly. Above them, a middle-aged couple whose hair was turning white at the edges, struck a similar pose, showing off their matching star-band. The caption was written in an untidy scrawl: ¡®Grandpa and grandma + Kajakh and me + star-bands! Together forever!¡¯.

    May¡¯s parents ¨C or who she assumed were May¡¯s parents anyhow ¨C sitting in a spaceship, judging from the panels surrounding them and the spacesuit they wore. Ling¡¯s father was sitting on the high-backed chair, grinning while holding his wife who sat across his lap, holding a placard saying ¡®Deneb¡¯s maiden voyage.¡¯

    May Ling dressed in loose green robes with strong angular lines embroidered at the hem, white sash tight around her waist topped with a jeweled belt, and deeper green shoulder cape bearing complicated yellow-and-orange pattern depicting several flowers weaved together. She held a trophy of a sort in her hand, lifting it up triumphantly. Beside her, Kajakh stood in his black tunic and trousers, topped with a poncho that cuts short in front and flowed down to his knees in the back, much like a true cape. His hand rested on the small of May Ling¡¯s back as he gazed at her with open pride.

    ¡®Congratulations on your graduation, May-may!¡¯ the caption said.

    That was the one handwriting she didn¡¯t need to guess. She¡¯d seen it enough when Kajakh filled out forms and drawing diagrams when he explained inconsequential things to her back in the hospital.

    Kajakh.

    The person who had been her constant companion since she woke up in this world.

    His constant presence had been a reassuring rock to lean upon once she decided to extend a tentative trust towards the orange-eyed hybrid. However, that constant presence now weighed upon her like a specter that refused to leave.

    She met his shadow at every turn she took as if he had anticipated her every move and stopped her from putting even a toe over the line he had drawn.

    He was protecting her; that she knew.

    And yet, May guiltily wished for the first time since making his acquaintance that he would care less.

    He loved May Ling, who in her theory had truly passed on when this body died that time. She was dead, replaced by a stranger who didn¡¯t even come from the same planet.

    A stranger whose identity was flowing out of her grasp like grains of sand. The tighter she clutched, the more she lost.

    She woke up nameless.

    God knew what else she had forgotten since opening her eyes in this blasted place. Would she one day stop recognizing EVE¡¯s Earth-named protocols? Would she suddenly felt that yes, Warptubes were normal and wondering if wheeled-cars were remnants of her overactive imagination?

    Would she one day forget that she had once lived in a blue-gem of a planet instead of a green one?

    No. She refused to let that possibility took root in reality.

    The speed of her assimilation with the new surroundings scared her, even if she didn¡¯t want to admit it. She adapted fast in general, true, but to feel at home in a house she never saw, to take comfort and feel a sudden affection towards a bracelet she never saw before, to feel invested in the death of people she did not know ¨C

    Yes, she was losing herself piece by piece while taking up more and more of May Ling¡¯s life.

    This is a nightmare.

    The familiar litany that accompanied her early days on this planet began looping once more in her head.

    Someone please wake me up.

    Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at Kajakh¡¯s smiling visage, one that currently brought her despair instead of comfort.

    Please.

    Involuntarily, May fell back into her seat, clutching the cloth over her heart as sharp pain spiked through it and spasms ran throughout her entire body. Trembling, she forced her twitching muscles to relax and drew a deep, slow breath. Then exhaled it just as slowly.

    She repeated the process several times, ignoring EVE¡¯s incessant buzzing for a verbal confirmation of her condition so that she could focus on getting her body under control.

    May would have ignored the AI indefinitely, but then ¨C

    ¡°Contacting Kaja ¨C ¡±

    ¡°Belay that. I¡¯m fine,¡± May immediately cut in, wiping her face clean of tears. Inhale. Exhale. The muscle spasms had stopped, though the pain lingered like a lover she had no choice but to tolerate.

    ¡°This is normal; I¡¯m fine.¡± She didn¡¯t know if an AI could hesitate, but the silence that followed gave her that impression. Glaring at the ceiling, she added, ¡°This doesn¡¯t even rate as a minor attack. It¡¯s in my medical files. Double check it if you must but do not call Kajakh.¡±

    If the blasted AI could not follow her instruction even that much, May¡¯s next step would be finding out how to get away from this house. With a house this big, May reckoned she should have enough capital to live in a hotel for a day or two.

    ¡°Understood,¡± EVE responded. ¡°May-sa, please do not push yourself too hard. Stress is detrimental to your body; an excess of it can prove lethal.¡±

    May laughed, her reedy voice lending it an eerie quality. ¡°Tell me what I want to know, and I¡¯ll be so much less stressed, EVE.¡±

    The AI actually sounded apologetic when she said, ¡°The GuardianAngel Protocol has placed all information that could potentially induce anxiety, provoke traumatic memories, and/or damage the psyche under lockdown.¡±

    Hunching into herself, May continued her breathing exercises, mind running miles a minute at the new revelation. Basically, EVE¡¯s program prevented her from letting May access to any information that could send her back to the hospital.

    For some reason, May had the strangest feeling that Kajakh anticipated more than just stress-induced attacks by setting up this protocol.

    May¡¯s eyes narrowed as a chilling thought occurred to her.

    ¡°If a Seneschal can modify your data enough to set up another protocol that I, as the house owner, cannot circumvent, is that not a security risk?¡±

    Seeing that May would be living here for an unforeseeable future, the idea that someone else, no matter how helpful he had been, possessing that degree of control over the house¡¯s fundamental functions made her skin crawled.

    ¡°The GuardianAngel Protocol was first written and incorporated by Creator Altair Ling for the Homyu mainframe before it became a standard protocol for all EVE units.¡±

    May blinked. ¡°Altair Ling?¡± Then after a pause. ¡°Wait, there are more of you?¡±

    ¡°Altair Ling is May-sa¡¯s maternal grandfather. He created the first EVE for the Ling residence in Homyu. I am the secondary unit in charge of the Ling household in Nimuth. A third EVE unit belongs in Creator¡¯s spaceship, but its connection to the primary mainframe is not automated.¡±

    ¡­.wow, May Ling¡¯s grandpa made a female JARVIS.

    Biting her fingers, May tried to wrap her head around this revelation. A protection protocol that culled the recipient¡¯s freedom for their own good. She didn¡¯t know why Ling grandpa would need such a thing, nor was she interested in it. The Earth-native had a more pressing concern to address.

    ¡°Does GuardianAngel Protocol require you to report my daily activities to Kajakh?¡±

    ¡°No. I will only contact him when May-sa requires medical help that I cannot provide.¡±

    ¡°Anyone else has access to private information within the house?¡±

    ¡°None.¡±

    May melted into her seat bonelessly as relief washed over her.

    Thank goodness for small favors. It was one thing to be monitored around the clock by an AI, but another person? Haha, no.

    The hotel was becoming more and more of an attractive prospect.

    I really want to get out of here.

    I just want to go home.

    But home was so far away, May couldn¡¯t be sure it still existed. The one thing she could be sure of was Earth did not orbit in the Al-jurba system.

    ¡°Ugh.¡±

    May slumped sideways in her seat. Then for good measure, put her feet up to lie on the couch properly, arm crossed over her eyes.

    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± she muttered darkly, brain too tired to explore possible leads to chase.

    It didn¡¯t help that her stomach felt empty and the pain that thrummed in her body had not returned to its normal threshold after her¡­stressed reaction.

    She should get something to eat.

    Or drink, in this case.

    Whatever.

    Lying prone, she tilted her head slightly, peeking at the pictures that crowded the holo-viz area. EVE had pulled more than what was displayed as decorations.

    And from this, May could see just how close Kajakh and May Ling had been. A green-skinned man made a smattering appearance here and there, a person she assumed was Kajakh¡¯s dad.

    I don¡¯t want to think about him.

    With that mulish thought, she drew her eyes away, pressing her arms tighter until sharp edge dug into her skin. Wincing, she pulled her arms back a little, pausing to admire the star-band that gleamed colorfully under the afternoon light that filtered through the family room¡¯s floor-to-ceiling windows.

    It looked more worn out compared to the one in their younger pictures. She had also seen the two bracelets hidden under their sleeves in the graduation photo. Proof that yes, both Kajakh and May Ling had been wearing this since childhood.

    Compared to its colorful pattern, the comm-bracer on her other wrist was far plainer. Though more useful. In a limited sense, seeing that its contact list only contained two numbers: Kajakh¡¯s and the hospital. With its CINe connection controlled by EVE, she could not do anything wayward with it either.

    Tiredly, May threw her request without expecting much. ¡°EVE, show me my call logs and correspondences before and after my hospitalization.¡± She smirked while drawling mockingly, ¡°Or is that forbidden too?¡±

    There was a pause, then the holo-viz cleared out, making way for two screens ¨C one blue, one pink. One contained information on her incoming and outgoing calls, while the other listed out menus to access the messaged in her inbox and outbox.

    Pleasantly surprised, May sat up and began perusing her unexpected loot with lips curling up in a wild grin. Hunger and pain forgotten as her heart beat with excitement.

    Finally, she rejoiced, progress.

 Chapter 6 - An Unexpected Discovery, A New Headache

    Staring at the two holoscreens, May began her investigation with one question.

    ¡°EVE, what is incor?¡±

    The strange word prefaced both the lists, but it rang no bell in her, admittedly, lacking memory bank.

    While the knowledge of this planet¡¯s alien language and glyphs somehow stayed in her head, just like none of the local names meant anything to her, its slangs also baffled her.

    Ask her not why it was so ¨C she¡¯d pay to know that as well. Her only hypothesis so far placed it as some sort of macabre inheritance from her ¡®host¡¯. Like software that came with a newly-bought second-hand PC. May would prefer to have the full memory-set, but compared to waking up and not knowing the language at all¡­yeah, she¡¯d take what she¡¯d been given, thank you very much.

    Shaking her head to clear away irrelevant, existential issues, May listened intently to EVE¡¯s explanation.

    ¡°Incor is a colloquial abbreviation of Instant Correspondence, the main communication method that utilizes CINe as its intermediary,¡± the AI replied. ¡°It is further classified into two main groups: Visual and Aural Correspondence.¡±

    Which explained the two lists.

    ¡°What a¡­pragmatic name,¡± May mumbled absently.

    ¡°In the interest of avoiding misunderstanding due to mistranslation, the Federation Common Language is designed to be as precise and unambiguous as possible. Facts have proven embellishments could spark nation-wide ¨C¡±

    ¡°Right, right,¡± May cuts the history lesson short with a wave of her hand. ¡°So these are the incor to the house?¡±

    ¡°No. Most of your correspondences went through comm-bracer, which is linked to my database after you lost it for the seventh time,¡± EVE clarified, a third holoscreen appeared, split in the middle to show a very short list compared to the one from May Ling¡¯s comm-bracer.

    Seventh time! May¡¯s eyes widened at the revelation. And from the sound of it, the trend continues after.

    Reading through the list of names and time-log, helplessness once more passed through her. ¡°I have no idea who these are,¡± May admitted, shoulders drooping as her newfound excitement left as soon as it came.

    EVE¡¯s silence told her that there would be no help coming from that corner unless she asked.

    ¡°Are calls recorded?¡±

    ¡°No, unless specifically requested,¡± the AI responded, summoning another screen. ¡°As of now, there is no recorded message in the archive.¡±

    ¡°Because normal people don¡¯t usually record their calls, right,¡± she exhaled slowly. ¡°Any voice messages?¡±

    ¡°One.¡±

    That caught her attention. ¡°From who?¡±

    ¡°From Uri-sa,¡± EVE stated as if it explained everything.

    The amnesiac woman rolled her eyes. ¡°And that is?¡±

    ¡°Euri Makina Lakitha. May-sa¡¯s best friend,¡± came EVE¡¯s dutiful report.

    Without prompting, the AI projected a pair of holographic May Ling and a girl her age frolicking about on the couch across from where the real May sat. Though there was no audio, no one could deny the closeness between the two mock-fighting girls, especially not when it had happened in the Ling household¡¯s living room.

    But only one thought ran through May¡¯s head at the sight the woman nicknamed Uri¡¯s prehensile, light-purple hair.

    May Ling¡¯s best friend is a Gorgon.

    The pink eyes did not help, nor did the lack of nails on her hands. Though the hair was bunched together in a loose ponytail, the ends wiggled like live snakes ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice. A shiver ran down May¡¯s spine at the autonomous limbs that grew on the pale-faced female¡¯s head.

    At least she has five fingers, not six, she thought hysterically.

    ¡°What is she?¡± the sentence came out unbidden. By the time May realized just how rude she was being, EVE had already responded.

    ¡°Euri Makina Lakitha, designated Uri-sa. Daughter of business mogul Lani vtir Sah¡¯ra, a pure-blood Ernan, with voyage and security specialist Arodin Mera Lakoth of Loulidi Tribe,¡± the AI elucidated.

    A picture appeared, where a slender green woman with a smile that reached her red eyes stood beside a tall, pale man, whose expression was placid but in no way unhappy. In front of them, two teenagers half-squatted, posing more haphazardly while grinning like loons ¨C Uri and May.

    May noted with interest the green lady¡¯s six-fingered hand that rested on Uri¡¯s shoulder and the man¡¯s eyes of pure blue sans pupil and iris, shining like an aquamarine pearl.

    The snow-white man¡¯s appearance intrigued her the most. Unlike his daughter, he let loose the lavender tendrils that grew from his head, allowing it to reach the small of his back like pale dreadlocks. Where Uri¡¯s obviously showed its prehensile nature, his looked like tame vines, incapable of movement. He had an arm around his wife¡¯s shoulder, so May could see the nail-less hand, which Eru took after. The difference was, his had sharper tips, resembling talons.

    She does not have her parents¡¯ eyes, May observed, trailing a finger over her lips as she marked the difference between the three different aliens in the holopic.

    Catching herself before she could digress further, May commanded, ¡°Play her message for me.¡±

    With that, all the screens migrated to one side, giving space to a larger screen that showed a disheveled Uri sitting in what appeared to be a spaceship. She looked paler in her black spacesuit, and her unbound hair curled up and down, mirroring the agitation etched in her frown.

    That selfsame frown only lasted a second before a bright smile replaced it once the message started.

    ¡°May-may, you overslept!¡± May¡¯s eyebrow rose slowly at the unique greeting. Now that Uri was ¡®talking¡¯ to her friend, her demeanor brightened, even her hair danced with a liveliness that had been absent before.

    ¡°If you¡¯re seeing this that means I¡¯m not back yet when you woke up. Good for you! But not so much for me,¡± the pink-eyed girl continued, lips pursed into a pout. ¡°I wanted to be there when you woke up. But Mom and Dad kidnapped me, can you believe that?¡±

    No, I truly cannot, May thought as she recalled the prim and proper Ernan lady and her serious husband.

    Uri waved her hand at the ship innards behind her. ¡°I¡¯m calling from the Wyndia, in case you missed this breathtaking scenery. I slept in my comfortable bed and woke up in a hard, subpar berth. It was ¨C guuuuh.¡± The girl bit her own hand, presumably to stop herself from cursing out. Taking a deep breath, Uri then donned a helpless smile, shrugging as if saying ¡®what can you do?¡¯.

    ¡°Now, we¡¯re only a standard hour away from leaving the Al-jurba System altogether. I¡¯m going to Nuphar, that¡¯s Dad¡¯s home planet ¨C city ¨C ugh one of those. I¡¯m really bad at names,¡± she waved her hand dismissively before her expression adopted a serious mien. ¡°I have something to tell you. Something I had wanted to tell you long before, but¡­since Uncle and Auntie¡­well, it was one thing after another, I didn¡¯t want to add to your burden.¡±

    A talon-like hand, blunter than her father¡¯s, reached up to take one of her tenta-hair, playing with it as she looked up and away from the camera. Then, with a determined scowl, Uri plowed on, ¡°I¡¯d like to say I¡¯m surprised by all this, but I can¡¯t. Not honestly. This¡­isn¡¯t a sudden thing, you know, going to Dad¡¯s old place. If you didn¡¯t sleep for so long, you¡¯d be helping me pack.¡± Pink-eyes glared at the screen. ¡°So this is half your fault.¡±

    May couldn¡¯t help but quirk her lips up at that.

    Sighing, Uri leaned back on her seat, arms folded over her stomach. ¡°Why am I going to a backwater, non-Federation planet ¨C ain¡¯t that something; non-Fed planet oh stars! ¨C you ask? Well, since you really want to know: it¡¯s to treat my empathic dissonance.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± May inquired. The name itself was rather revealing, but she preferred facts over assumptions.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    ¡°A condition where one¡¯s empathic abilities become uncontrollable, resulting in the patient and their surrounding people¡¯s emotion to go haywire,¡± EVE explained after pausing the message. ¡°All empathic races are required to undergo training to keep their abilities under control, otherwise they would have to use limiters, as dictated by law. Recent research has proved that limiters actually have adverse effects on the empathic races as they rely on their empathy as an extra limb, as such ¨C ¡±

    ¡°So either Uri went to find a solution, or she¡¯s going to have to be shackled,¡± May concluded. At EVE¡¯s affirmative answer, a frown settled on her face. With a wave of her hand, EVE resumed Uri¡¯s message.

    ¡°It¡¯s getting worse now that I¡¯m approaching adulthood. Dad¡¯s tried you know. Loulidi Tribe is famous for their empaths, but I¡¯m not a pure Loulidite. Not all his training methods growing up work for me, so we have to find someone who specializes in empath¡¯s problems,¡± Uri said, fingers picking at one another as she avoided looking at the screen directly. ¡°It¡¯s hard to control it lately¡­and honestly, I am a little happy you¡¯re not here to see me like this.¡± She grinned to take away the sting from that confession. ¡°You always have been one of the most emotional Terrans I¡¯ve ever met.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I have to stay in Nuphar, but shouldn¡¯t be longer than a couple of months,¡± Uri pumped her fist as if to convince herself. ¡°Dad doesn¡¯t really want to stay there for long, anyhow. Problem is,¡± she grimaced, spitting out the words like each one required a great sacrifice to verbalize, ¡°that place has no CINe.¡±

    The disgusted look on Uri¡¯s face drew a chuckle from May.

    ¡°After this incor, I¡¯m not going to see you until I come back. Which means you have to be hale and hearty so I can show off my brand new empathy skills,¡± Uri threw in a cocky grin, tilting her head up slightly. ¡°You don¡¯t get to be angry at me for this, by the way, seeing that you are also hiding something from me. I know. I can tell.¡± Her proud demeanor fell into a thoughtful frown. ¡°Is it for Kajakh? I have a feeling it¡¯s got something to do with him. Why can¡¯t you do a secret surprise for me too? I¡¯m your best friend!¡±

    Oh, Uri. Stop being jealous of Kajakh, May thought fondly, her lips lifted up into a smile before ice flooded her veins. What was that?!

    Before she could process the stray, unfamiliar thought, Uri¡¯s next sentence caught her attention. Mainly because of the alien¡¯s exaggerated hand-beside-mouth gesture, as if she was imparting a great secret.

    ¡°That thing we talked about? Yeah, I¡¯m still in. You get me? We¡¯ll talk more about it when I get back,¡± Uri said, giving the screen an over-the-top wink. ¡°Though, I might make a long stop in the Capital before going back to Nimuth. I¡¯ll see if I can¡¯t scout the place out¡­ah, well, better not talk about it here. I¡¯ll contact you as soon as CINe is within my reach again.¡±

    ¡°So ¨C ¡± for a split second, the cheerful visage broke as her voice cracked. Uri swallowed before regaining her smile ¨C a brittle, hopeful smile ¨C and said, ¡°So I want you at my place the day I come back. That¡¯s non-negotiable. Okay? Okay! Sleepy people don¡¯t get an opinion.¡± Then the girl shifted her pink eyes at something outside of the screen, before concluding the transmission with, ¡°Dad said we¡¯re jumping into warp soon. So I have to cut it short¡­I will see you soon, May-may. Don¡¯t you dare replace me with Kajakh!¡±

    With that, she blew a kiss and the holoscreen went black.

    May exhaled heavily, leaning forward with arms on her knees, face hidden in her hands. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know yet.¡±

    Her friend is long gone, replaced by someone definitely not-May Ling, the Earth-native sighed again, sagging further with the weight of her guilt. Is it so wrong to be happy that she¡¯s gone off-world? At least, Kajakh is too busy working to bother too much with me more than a couple of hours a day.

    Had the little gorgon been around, May was sure she would hang about every hour of every day, keeping her company.

    The look on Kajakh¡¯s face ¨C those wide eyes filled with disbelief, horror, and a tiny shred of hope that it was all a bad joke ¨C still haunted her to this very day.

    May did not fancy adding another name into the list of people whose heart she had broken.

    Though she had learned many things from the little gorgon¡¯s message, the incor raised more questions to be addressed. Groaning, May pressed her face further into her hands, as if it could hide her from the world¡¯s problem.

    But the most prominent of her problems, the most caustic, the most dangerous ¨C

    Without moving, May demanded, ¡°If Uri is my best friend, what is Kajakh? My best friend forever?¡±

    ¡°Kajakh-jo is your childhood friend, May-sa. You met Uri-sa in your primary education center,¡± EVE replied in her soothing voice.

    Straightening up, May cast an inquiring gaze upwards. ¡°And their relationship?¡±

    ¡°A turbulent friendship held together by their fondness of you,¡± EVE said. ¡°May-sa once pointed out that they should stop being jealous of one another and start being friends without the antagonism since it has been years since their first meeting.¡±

    The seemingly innocuous detail of May Ling¡¯s life confirmed her suspicion that she was starting to receive May Ling¡¯s feelings, if not her memories. And it had begun to encroach upon her own feelings, creeping in like dodders climbing up its host tree.

    Biting her thumb, May recalled the fondness with which she regarded the little gorgon whom she never met before. When it had happened with Kajakh, early in their acquaintance, May had justified it using the hybrid¡¯s kindness; after all that he had done for her, it was impossible not to feel some sort of affection towards the hybrid.

    Now she knew she had only been fooling herself.

    The assimilation, if one could call it that, had begun early.

    It wasn¡¯t just her losing her memory. It was more than that.

    Then, like a strike of thunder, a terrible epiphany dawned on her.

    May had originally thought she was taking over a dead person¡¯s body, but what if¡­what if that dead person was not as dead as she thought?

    Pieces of May Ling¡¯s feelings, her knowledge, her memories.

    Bile rose in her throat, threatening to make another mess for the cleaning bots to clean up, but May held it back. She didn¡¯t want to go back to the hospital again.

    I need to get home, fast. May fretted, the feeling of being chipped away little by little and replaced by something else entirely gnawed on her.

    Oh Gods, please don¡¯t let me disappear in this terrible place. I want to go home. This is bad.

    This is horrible!

    It took her all to resist the urge to cry for the second time that day.

    What do I do now?

    Beep-beep

    The sudden mechanical chirp sounding right beside her ear startled her so badly, she almost fell off the couch.

    ¡°It is past time for lunch, May-sa,¡± EVE¡¯s voice kindly reminded her.

    May stared blankly at the cone-bot that brought a floating glass above its flat top, not unlike the one she just threw in her fit of anger. It contained a familiar liquid, the only thing she could ¡®eat¡¯ right now.

    Nutrient solution. As the name stated, the clear liquid provided the right balance of nutrients, vitamins, and fibers needed by the body. Healthy and hypoallergenic.

    The perfect solution for all species¡¯ dietary needs.

    Except for taste.

    Wrinkling her nose, May reluctantly took the glass, her stomach reminding her that she hadn¡¯t had anything since breakfast in the hospital.

    Had it only been this morning? Felt so much longer.

    ¡°Thanks, EVE,¡± she said, ¡°and you too.¡± The cone-bot bobbed and retreated to the kitchen.

    She sipped her lunch slowly, her body making intimate friends with her chair¡¯s backrest as she slid down on it as slothfully as a human could. The energy and enthusiasm and rage and confusion that warred within her forcefully muted as she enjoyed her tasteless nutritious liquid meal.

    Several waves of her free hands later, Little Gorgon¡¯s message was put to the side and the lists of incor claimed center stage.

    May absently perused through the aural incor list, despite only recognizing three names: Kajakh, Uncle Ozi, and Uri. The three of them occupied the bulk of her list. She scrolled further and further until the first ¡®Mom¡¯ stopped her dead in her track.

    Not because she was surprised no, but due to the sharp pain that pierced through her chest.

    Mom who is no longer here. May thought morbidly, rubbing her aching heart with a sad scowl.

    She brought the lists up to the first log again, intending not to go that far next time. There was no point in panicking about May Ling¡¯s influence in her current deeds, but similarly, there was no point in aggravating that particular connection either.

    Focus, May thought. Find the answer. Then go home.

    As she reread the list, she realized a strange thing.

    ¡°EVE, did I had a fight with Uri before I¡­slept?¡±

    Just as the word left her lips, May frowned. Somehow using Little Gorgon¡¯s nickname for her predicament felt more natural than it should.

    ¡°Not at all, May-sa.¡±

    ¡°But¡­how come we didn¡¯t correspond much few weeks before that?¡± May pointed the stretch of time mentioned. ¡°Did we switch to visual incor?¡± A quick check told her that was not the case. The frequency of contact through that channel had also decreased in the same period.

    ¡°Most likely because May-sa has procured an alternative means of communication unattached to my network to communicate with Uri-sa,¡± EVE responded shortly.

    ¡°Ah?¡± was May¡¯s dumbfounded response.

    ¡°Since any of such possible communication is conducted in your room, I cannot confirm what method was used, how frequent your interactions were, or what was being discussed.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, are you saying May ¨C I went around you to talk to Uri?¡± the Earth-native asked, tone high with incredulity. ¡°Why?! How?¡±

    ¡°Exactly two standard months and three days ago, you have implemented a blackout for your room. The reason being you were preparing a surprise for Kajakh-jo, something to work on in secret,¡± the AI explained. ¡°The order has not been lifted since the clandestine affair began.¡±

    May¡¯s head began to pound in tandem with her heartbeat. ¡°Play Uri¡¯s message again, please.¡±

    She watched it with more care this time, until the moment Uri said, ¡°That thing we talked about? Yeah, I¡¯m still in. You get me? We¡¯ll talk more about it when I get back.¡±

    ¡°Pause.¡±

    That thing we talked about.

    That thing that EVE had no idea about.

    Because May Ling had apparently made her room a ¡®secret hideout¡¯ in plain sight to concoct a stealthy plan she shared with her now-absent best friend. From the sound of it, said best friend didn¡¯t know it was for Kajakh¡­

    ¡­or May Ling lied to EVE about that too.

    May gripped her glass tight, knuckles turning white with the force of her ire.

    The conspirational wink Little Gorgon had shared at the end of her message signaled something very different than she first thought. Not a harmless hinting between friends, but something bigger, something that required secrecy from the house¡¯s AI.

    Something that might lead to May Ling¡¯s hospitalization.

    Now May wished with all her heart that Little Gorgon was around for her to interrogate. Unlike Kajakh, she was sure the cheerful girl could be swayed to her way of thinking, seeing that the empath had no qualms about conspiring behind Kajakh¡¯s back to plan something without a clear ending.

    Rather than throwing the glass through the holoprojector again, May pressed the chilly container to her forehead as she craned her neck up over her backseat.

    ¡­Goddammit, May Ling, aren¡¯t you supposed to be a simple rich, civilian girl? What¡¯s with all these 007 maneuvers?! If this girl ends up being a spy or some underworld minion, I¡¯m jumping off of the balcony!

    Not for the first time since starting her independent investigation, May resisted the urge to scream her head out.

 Chapter 7 - Echoes of Truth

    May took in a deep breath, released it in a slow exhalation, then took another one.

    She took in all her problems, felt the stress pressing against her brain like a swelling balloon, and pictured them all leaving her with every breath she let go.

    It took her a few minutes to calm down enough and began processing the influx of new information she just received.

    Fact number one, there was a gag order working against her, signed off by both her caretaker, Kajakh, who acted on her behalf and for her sake, and her doctor, the jackoff Purple-Giraffe, who might be doing this for shit and giggles. Though, as much as she hated to admit it, his professionalism might not allow him to transgress so much, thus she concluded EVE¡¯s limitations might have a solid medical reason.

    Fact number two, something went wrong with Ling Interstellar Freight, something to do with a failed shipment to Homyu ¨C some system¡¯s capital ¨C and it struck a fatal blow to the company in ways she had no way of knowing, thanks to the gag order. Kajakh and his father were on the case, trying to stem the bleeding but if the person on the holoviz could be believed, then the company was heading towards a certain end even with their combined effort. And May had no recourse to help at all.

    Number three, May Ling had a secret that she shared with a little gorgon who just went off-planet for therapy. But as fact would have it, the little gorgon also didn¡¯t have all the pieces.

    Numero quatro, May Ling kept a secret room. Well, a room where secrets were kept. A room that might or might not contain the answer as to what ¡®that thing¡¯ between her and Little Gorgon was. However, had she really hid an important hint in there, wouldn¡¯t the police¡¯s sweep take away everything of value that could be a clue in their investigation? Would there even be any left for her to work with?

    So many questions, so little answer.

    Letting out an especially long breath, May clucked her tongue. What a jumbled mess.

    Addendum, a smile graced her lips as a frivolous thought floated through her head. May Ling¡¯s grandfather know English and was fond enough of it that he¡¯s used it to name his AI¡¯s protocols.

    Which begged the question on how did anything of Earth origin ended up on this planet?

    May filed that question for later, as it had no bearing to the answer she needed the most in her quest to go home.

    What happened to May Ling that landed her in the hospital?

    She stared at the ceiling, knowing that she should search the bedroom that had escaped EVE¡¯s monitoring for juicy clues, but her heart was not ready to deal with another bout of disappointment, or her head another set of unanswered questions.

    So instead, May turned to the last list ¨C one with visual incor ¨C that she hadn¡¯t perused through. She eyed the list of written files with trepidation.

    Will I find more mysteries than answers here too?

    It had barely been a day ¨C just an afternoon really ¨C and she already felt so wrung out.

    Part of it might be due to her degraded physical condition, but the rest came about from multiple dead-ends she encountered since starting her interview with EVE.

    Kajakh did a great job corralling my AI like that, she thought with an angry frown, even if she did not feel any true rage towards the man. Especially not when he slaved away in her company while she lounged about on a comfortable couch, having lunch like a true couch potato.

    It wasn¡¯t his fault that May Ling also kept her cards close to her chest. The secret room, the alleged alternate comm-device, the covert plan with her best friend, the potential lie she fed to her own house¡¯s AI¡­

    May Ling was up to something, and now it was up to her to find out what.

    Sighing, May sat up straight, beckoning at the final list so it floated before her.

    Just a glance and she immediately caught the first anomaly.

    ¡°What are these [Retrieved] label in front of the titles, EVE?¡±

    EVE¡¯s dulcet voice responded, ¡°It marks the incor that had been retrieved after deletion. The City Guard Investigative team had procured the necessary warrants to perform the reconstruction and copied all relevant information to complete their due process.¡±

    Right, the police were here. A reflexive grimace marred May¡¯s face; she never really did like the law enforcement. Those she had dealings with in the past were either corrupt, incompetent, or both.

    So fact number Five, there was an investigation in the house by the City Guards. May had absolutely no idea how that went, nor if the officials had produced any results yet.

    ¡°How¡¯s that going, EVE?¡± when in doubt, consult the AI. ¡°The investigation I mean.¡±

    ¡°Information related to an ongoing investigation is strictly confidential until the law enforcers deem it suitable for release,¡± EVE iterated her rejection with perfect aplomb.

    Worth a shot. May nodded to herself. ¡°Now that I¡¯m back, will they need to talk to me about anything?¡±

    ¡°Kajakh-jo has filed your amnesia as a legal premise to excuse you from any questioning, since it is very unlikely that you would know more than them, and their interview might have an adverse effect to your recovery,¡± the AI explained yet another merit Kajakh had done for his childhood friend without her knowing.

    ¡°I owe him a lot,¡± she muttered. Still, that would - could not stop her from going behind his back to get answers that she knew he didn¡¯t want her to have. ¡°Will they inform me of any progress?¡±

    ¡°The <u>GuardianAngel</u> protocol will filter any potentially distressing information until May-sa has been declared fully recovered.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m still the house owner.¡±

    ¡°May-sa¡¯s health takes top priority.¡±

    Arguing with an AI who was hell-bent on encasing her in a bubble-wrap would not be productive, so May began to open up the four [Retrieved] files instead.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Three of them contained a discussion about lack of sleep and request for alternative sleeping aid that sounded really dodgy.

    ¡°Did I buy any of these?¡± May couldn¡¯t hide the incredulity in her voice. Back on Earth, she wouldn¡¯t even give such scam-sounding pitch a second glance, directly deleting any stray that managed to get into her inbox, much less entertaining it.

    May Ling actually bought the offered product and from the looks of it, multiple times.

    ¡°Yes. In the past few months, you have consumed the Thranh tea three times a day.¡±

    ¡°Was it useful?¡± May¡¯s morbid curiosity piqued up.

    ¡°It has no adverse effect on your body,¡± the AI demurred.

    Rolling her eyes, May decided not to bother pursuing that line of inquiry. Instead, she asked, ¡°Is the tea illegal?¡±

    Why delete the correspondence?

    ¡°The reason you looked for an alternative was that Kajakh-jo prevented you from taking more conventional sleeping aid,¡± EVE elaborated.

    May flinched. Knowing that EVE was an AI did not prevent her from feeling guilty for a crime she didn¡¯t commit. Though she should stop thinking like that seeing that May Ling¡¯s crosses had now become hers to bear as long as she occupied this body.

    The fourth one had a formal sound to it, an ornate, metallic-looking logo appeared beside the sender¡¯s name: Lisier Mira ¨C Shaping Futures, Inciting Innovations.

    ¡°Dear Excellency Jodeth Hir¡¯sna,¡± May read out loud, ¡°I would first like to thank you for the approved admission to the esteemed Lisier Mira¡¯s Intergalactic Interrelationship, Commerce, and Affairs Development Stream. What¡¯s ly-see-er mai-ror?¡±

    ¡°Lee-sea-eh Mee-rah,¡± ¨C each syllable drew out slowly to emphasize the correct pronunciation ¨C ¡°A preparatory educational institute renowned for their innovative research and focus on the practical application of knowledge. Its alumni list includes almost a fourth of Al-jurba¡¯s influential people and their heirs,¡± the AI explained. ¡°Despite many upper-tier families wishing to place their heirs there, Lisier Mira only accepts 1,500 intakes biannually, selected through rigorous tests and background check.¡±

    And May Ling managed to score enough to get in. Wow. However, reading further on, May¡¯s suspicion as to why this incor thread was deleted grew.

    ¡°While this acceptance means the world to me, I regret to inform you that I will be withdrawing my application and admittance from the Lisier Mira. I am aware that this means no future application of mine will be considered, however, in light of a recent tragedy in my family, I believe I have other concerns to address before I can continue my education. Thank you for your time and consideration.¡±

    These two people are just too good to each other, May thought with an exasperated huff. ¡°I suppose this too was hidden from Kajakh?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Why?¡± May was quick to get used to having to prompt the AI forward. If it could give her answers, she¡¯d poke and prod at the bundle of program all day long.

    ¡°Kajakh-jo and Ozi-jo both had been persuading you to continue your studies in their alma mater while they take care of LIF,¡± EVE explained. ¡°You refused.¡±

    Had it been a sentient being she was talking to, May was sure there would be an undercurrent of ¡®you idiot¡¯ in that statement. Considering it from this angle, along with the fact she had been asking many questions that would raise up red flags had it been anyone else, May counted it as her blessing to have EVE as her ¡®who am I¡¯ interviewee.

    ¡°I keep a lot of secrets, eh, EVE?¡±

    The silence that followed did not feel judgmental at all.

    Yup. So fortunate. May chuckled at her own joke, throwing her head back to finish the last of her lunch.

    She began to read other correspondences as well, both text and videos, only to find they were all mundane, everyday things. While she got to know more about May Ling¡¯s routine, her search failed to produce any desired facts.

    If EVE¡¯s hypothesis was on the spot, May Ling¡¯s hidden communicator should yield a more bountiful harvest. But first, she had to hunt it down.

    Well, at least now I know why Kajakh seems so wary of leaving me alone, she thought, lips forming a wry smile. He caught so many hidden caches in the investigation he¡¯s worried there would be more if he let me out of his sight.

    Credit to the guy, his paranoia was actually justified.

    However, from the way May Ling skirted the boundaries and avoided surveillance, their relationship must be closer than siblings, with him monitoring her movements every so often.

    Nice to know it wasn¡¯t all from the hospitalization, May mused idly, releasing her glass to float beside her. ¡°EVE, is any special day for Kajakh coming up? Even if I lost my memories, I¡¯d like to continue the surprise.¡± Granted I know what it is in the first place, but hey, least I could do for the person who¡¯d bent backward to take care of me, right?

    ¡°None marked in the calendar for the next six months, May-sa.¡±

    ¡°Hmmm.¡±

    May Ling had no compunction to lie to Kajakh and to her uncle, multiple times. It would not be a stretch to consider her lying to the AI as well.

    Or her surprise really took that long to prepare, who knows.

    ¡°When I said I was preparing a gift for Kajakh¡­how exactly did I say it?¡± May asked.

    The holoscreens parting to the sides was her only warning before the holoviz activated and showed a 3D live-rendition of May Ling, pre-amnesia, carrying a wrapped box while standing in front of a door she did not recognize.

    ¡°Activate <u>Blackout</u> Protocol for my rooms,¡± May Ling ordered, the English name rolled out flawlessly from her tongue.

    ¡°Activation of Blackout Protocol poses a security risk in the unmonitored area. Would you like to proceed?¡±

    ¡°Yes. This is Atmos; we don¡¯t get security risk here,¡± May Ling stated exasperatedly. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re more of a risk to me than the hypothetical thieves. One word from Zach and you¡¯d be spilling my secrets in a nanosecond.¡± She grinned to take out the sting of her words. Tapping the covered box, the holographic girl adopted a hopeful look, as she smiled down at it. ¡°I don¡¯t want him to find out before time. It¡¯s a good surprise. I promise.¡±

    ¡°Initiating <u>Blackout</u> Protocol. Deactivating visual and audio monitoring. Only basic health monitoring will remain active until you call my name for specific requests or deactivate the Protocol,¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, you don¡¯t need to keep giving me the reminder each time I use the protocol you know.¡±

    With that, May Ling stepped into the room and disappeared from view.

    Fascinating, May thought, her gaze never leaving the now-static holographic display.

    Leaning forward, with arms on her knees, May rested her chin on steepled fingers, eyes furrowing in a thoughtful frown. Seeing the holoviz reminded her that EVE had eyes and ears in the house 24/7. She hadn¡¯t realized the implication until now.

    Better late than never.

    ¡°The day the City Guard investigation team came in, I want to see it.¡±

    Her clipped command demanded action, not refusal.

    Unfortunately, the AI once more gave her the second. ¡°That is restricted information under the GuardianAngel Protocol, May-sa.¡±

    ¡°No, that would be me asking about the day I got hospitalized,¡± she said slowly as if talking to a particularly slow person. ¡°There should be nothing distressing about an investigation process. I mean, I didn¡¯t die.¡± Inhaling deeply, she prayed for patience. ¡°As long as the investigation is still open, it means they also haven¡¯t concluded the answer yet. I will not be upset looking at people trawling about my house.¡±

    ¡°The risk posed is greater than 50%. It is ground to quarantine such information to prevent distressing you.¡±

    Keeping her face straight despite her accelerating heartbeat, May forged on, ¡°I¡¯m not asking just for laughs, EVE. I tried to not think about it since you first mentioned it, but someone has been in the house. People I don¡¯t know.¡± May frowned. ¡°Kajakh couldn¡¯t be in all places at once; I don¡¯t feel safe, not until I make sure they didn¡¯t take or leave anything behind.¡±

    ¡°I would not allow that, May-sa,¡± the AI responded, crisp and swift as if offended by the very thought that she could not ensure her wards¡¯ safety.

    ¡°Logically I know that,¡± May¡¯s voice wavered as she brought a hand to her chest. ¡°But I keep getting this uncomfortable feeling whenever I remember some strangers have been around, rummaging through this place ¨C my house, my safe place.¡± Her lips trembled, ¡°I can¡¯t rest like this, EVE.¡±

    Silence followed her confession and May made sure her face was as pathetic as she could make it.

    A second passed, then another, then all the holoscreens blinked out, before more than a dozen screens arranged themselves into two rows, forming a semicircle around her.

    May breathed out in relief, ¡°Thank you, EVE.¡±

    ¡°The moment you show signs of distress, I will discontinue the surveillance review,¡± the AI said.

    ¡°Understood.¡±

    So AI has loopholes to work around after all, May thought as she settled down for a long watch. Good to know.

 Chapter 8 - Ignorance is a Bliss

    Fence laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

    His cackling cut off periodically when he caught his breath, then began anew with even more gusto.

    Whatever patience May had left flew out of the window at the fourth time the male tried and failed to contain his mirthful chortle.

    I hope he chokes on his laughter, the Terran cursed viciously, eyes narrowing at the green-haired male.

    ¡°If you¡¯re done?¡± May drawled, drumming her fingers on her glass¡¯ surface. A servant-droid kept it refreshed whenever its content went lower than half. Say what one would about Fence, his hospitality was not lacking.

    ¡°My apologies,¡± Fence wheezed. ¡°You merely reminded me of myself.¡±

    Raising an eyebrow, May let out a short, disbelieving huff. ¡°So you had tried conducting an amateur investigation by fumbling through an unstructured interrogation with an AI?¡± She paused, then. ¡°Who, apparently, received a gag-order from someone who didn¡¯t even bother hiding the fact he¡¯s concealing things from you.¡±

    ¡°Not exactly like that, no. I am positive yours is quite a unique case,¡± Fence grinned unrepentantly.

    It took all she had not to roll her eyes rudely at her host. Instead, May folded her arms, waiting for an explanation, with a subtext of ¡®it better be good¡¯ exuding from her in waves.

    ¡°I did not start at the top of the food chain, Ling-sa. Though my experience might differ, the essence of it is similar to yours,¡± the green-haired man revealed, wiping away mirthful tears. ¡°Admittedly, I never had to go through my own incor for clues, nor outwitting my own AI to get what I wanted.¡±

    He looked like he could start laughing again, but managed to limit it to a short cough. ¡°It just amazed me that you, an untrained civilian, could persist so long when others would likely press Min¡¯ahsa-jo for answers rather than searching for alternatives.¡±

    Folding her arms around herself, May bit her lips. ¡°He¡­had ¨C still has ¨C too much on his plate. Even as empty as my head back then, I could see at least that much.¡± With a shake of her head, May let out an explosive sigh. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t help him, the least I could do is stay out of his way.¡±

    ¡°Which brings you to my door,¡± Fence concluded, grinning like he was watching an entertaining scene.

    May glared, but could not deny it. ¡°Yes. The City Guards are no use, especially after that blunder.¡± Her expression darkened as memories of how those people had effectively screwed her life returned. ¡°I cannot use any of LIF¡¯s resources without alerting him and after the heart attacks I gave him lately¡­I rather avoid that scenario as long as I could.¡±

    ¡°Well then, how did you circumvent your AI next? Protocols once set up are hard to go around.¡±

    ¡°Hard, but not impossible,¡± May concurred, turning her flinty eyes at him. ¡°Kajakh might have limited my access to EVE, but at the end of the day, the owner of Ling Household is still me.¡±

    An emotion passed through his face, one May would have missed if she hadn¡¯t been watching him closely. As it was, she still couldn¡¯t understand why the other person would look pleased with her declaration.

    ¡°And?¡± a slow smirk crossed his face as he fiddled with his drink, ¡°Did you find what you wanted this time?¡±

    Grimacing, May took her time to consider her answer. Amber eyes watched her, patiently, without judgment, as the owner kept that half-smile on his face.

    With a soft exhale, May confessed, ¡°I did.¡± Her expression crumpled into a frown, ¡°I never thought success can taste so bitter though. We learn new things every day, huh?¡±

    Fence¡¯s only reply was a small, commiserating smile.

    ~~o~~

    Aside from getting to know more about the advanced technologies used in processing a crime scene, watching the surveillance gave more headaches than useful information. Nothing the investigators did or talked about had shown her any new discovery. Not even from the blackout room, even after they supposedly canvassed it inside out after EVE had revealed that tidbit to them early on.

    The team did their job thoroughly though May could tell their heart wasn¡¯t really in it. This was just another case for them, a drudgery to complete before going home. May felt that she should take some offense at that, considering this was her supposed life they were looking into. Not to mention they didn¡¯t manage to weasel the fact May Ling had a secret communicator from EVE, dropping their credentials further in her eyes.

    Towards the end, May was more than ready to strike this lead as a bust out of boredom. Watching more than a dozen screens for clues taxed her tired brain to its limits; the conversation in the surveillance had long since become white noise to her. However, she managed to hang on out of sheer stubbornness.

    Just a little more, May convinced herself.Stolen novel; please report.

    Her patience paid off when a blue woman came out of her room, a bag in her hand. Straightening up from her slouch, May followed the woman as she moved from screen to screen.

    Once the blue woman entered the dining room where Kajakh and his Terran-looking interrogator were sitting beside a breakfast island, she threw the bag without preamble at her partner. May expanded the screen, muting all conversations in the other rooms.

    ¡°Found it in her desk. Not even hidden well,¡± the blue woman claimed, making a noise of disgust at the back of her throat. ¡°Still needs the toxicology report from the hospital, but what happened here should be quite clear.¡±

    ¡°Neira,¡± the blue woman¡¯s partner warned, averting his eyes from the tea leaves to glare at the incensed alien. ¡°The investigation is not concluded just yet.¡±

    ¡°Is that ¨C¡± Kajakh stood from his seat, taking the bag to inspect it closer. ¡°No,¡± he breathed out, pain bleeding into his voice. ¡°Oh, May-may.¡±

    ¡°With all due respect, sir, that¡¯s Thranh leaves. Not even properly processed,¡± the woman retorted, drawing her shoulders back with conviction. ¡°According to Min¡¯ahsa-jo, he already took away Ling-sa¡¯s sleeping medication, so obviously, she finds herself some replacement. Except she didn¡¯t know that this replacement she so cleverly obtained has a deteriorating effect on depressed minds. There is a reason it needs doctors¡¯ prescription to purchase.¡± The woman folded her arms around her middle, head tilting up slightly, looking like a cat who just caught its canary, ¡°It doesn¡¯t take much to see where it¡¯s going from then on.¡±

    Fury replaced sadness on Kajakh¡¯s expression, his eyes burned as he growled out, ¡°May was ¨C is mourning. She is not depressed.¡±

    The woman¡¯s superior laid a sympathetic hang on Kajakh¡¯s shoulder. ¡°She might be, Kajakh. You have to admit that.¡±

    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been a month since her parents¡¯ accident. You can¡¯t expect her to bounce back so quickly, Irnan,¡± Kajakh snarled. ¡°You said it yourself, it¡¯s not processed properly; she might be poisoned from it.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to wait for the toxi ¨C ¡±

    ¡°Stars above, the signs are there,¡± Neira rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatedly as she began listing down their discoveries. ¡°Drawing away from social interaction. The frequency of incor with Min¡¯ahsa-jo and her best friend is greatly reduced in the past weeks. Putting her own room in blackout mode, making clandestine sleeping aid purchases, withdrawing her application from the best university a Terran could hope for, and we just found an automated message sending program running in her room¡¯s workstation addressed to one Zach.¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    The revelation visibly curtailed Kajakh¡¯s anger.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to take the workstation in as evidence,¡± Neira reported. ¡°She set up a periodic automatic message, rerouted to be sent through the Musturi Resort Planet connection node starting from the day after tomorrow until two weeks later. They contain altered holopic and fake travel stories. Quite creative ones too.¡±

    Drawing a sharp breath, Kajakh slumped into his seat, looking like a puppet with his strings cut. ¡°She was supposed to leave for Musturi tomorrow¡­for a vacation. I suggested it to her.¡±

    Neira didn¡¯t even bother hiding her smugness. ¡°Ling-sa has quite a good plan. Had you not come that night, she ¨C¡±

    ¡°Neira!¡±

    ¡°She will never do that,¡± Kajakh iterated, teeth bared in an almost animalistic snarl. The feral gleam in his eyes only enhanced the impression of a wild beast ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. ¡°There has to be another explanation!¡±

    ¡°We will get to the bottom of this, I promise,¡± Irnan declared, his grip on Kajakh¡¯s shoulder tightened. ¡°Neira, make an arbitrary conclusion before we have all the facts again and I¡¯ll see to it you rejoin the basic training with the new recruits.¡±

    ¡°Believe what you want. We all know Terrans can¡¯t deal with too much at once.¡± Throwing her hands up, the woman marched towards the door. ¡°I¡¯ll tell the team to pack up; we¡¯ve finished canvassing the whole house.¡±

    Neither man stopped the woman from leaving.

    ¡°Sorry, she¡¯s¡­not very fond of Terrans,¡± Irnan said, breaking the stifled silence. ¡°She still shouldn¡¯t let it interfere with her judgment. I will talk to her about maintaining professionalism at work.¡±

    ¡°Better you than me,¡± Kajakh responded, trying for a small smirk and came up with a grimace instead. The orange-eyed man sighed, a hand coming up to rub his face, settling on his mouth as he inhaled deeply.

    ¡°May would never¡­do that, Irnan,¡± Kajakh stated, shoulders sagging as aggression left him. ¡°I would know. She¡¯s sadder, but she still fights. Father and I had to stop her from pulling out of school multiple times. She wants to rebuild LIF. She has so many things to look forward to. This ¨C she would never ¨C ¡±

    The Terran ¨C Irnan ¨C took a seat beside the orange-eyed man. ¡°Like I said, until the toxicology report comes, we cannot do anything. It could be an accidental overdose¡­or something else entirely.¡±

    ¡°I ¨C we had tea together yesterday afternoon,¡± Kajakh recalled. ¡°I received some new exotic leaves from one of our old business partners, so we tried it together. I don¡¯t remember what it¡¯s called. It might react with the Thranh tea she¡¯s been taking.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll send it to you today.¡±

    Irnan¡¯s lips drew down into a scowl. ¡°Kajakh¡­just¡­whatever the result is¡­prepare your heart.¡±

    ¡°She did not ¨C ¡±

    ¡°She prepared an automated, rerouted incor to you,¡± the investigator pointed out. ¡°Unless you can explain that, we have to take into account all the possibilities.¡±

    Kajakh opened his mouth, presumably to protest, but closed it with a click. Both his hands now clasped on the table, intertwined in a white-knuckled grip. ¡°Whatever the result will be, keep it quiet.¡±

    ¡°You know I will.¡±

    ¡°Now get out of the house; I have to clean it up before May comes back.¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s still not awake?¡±

    ¡°No. I¡¯m going back to the hospital tonight.¡±

    Irnan nodded, patting Kajakh¡¯s shoulder comfortingly. ¡°Take care of yourself too, old friend.¡±

    With that, he left a quiet Kajakh to rejoin his team¡¯s packing. Alone in the dining room, Kajakh¡¯s pensive expression deepened, especially when he fingered the star-band on his left wrist, easily hidden under his comm-bracer. Then deep sadness broke through, scrunching his face into a picture of devastation as he bowed over the table, head in his arms.

    ¡°Stars above,¡± he whispered, his head brought low, while his fingers slid into his hair, gripping it tight. ¡°Please let this be a nightmare.¡±

    ~~o~~

    Listening to Kajakh¡¯s broken plea rent her heart open, bleeding with pain, because now May knew another reason behind Kajakh¡¯s overprotectiveness.

    May Ling tried to kill herself.

    The thought ran in her head over and over again, numbing her brain as her blood ran cold in her veins.

    She watched as Kajakh¡¯s shoulders shook in the surveillance vid before dismissing all the screens with a wave of her trembling hand.

    Oh heavens.

    May bent over her knees, hands covering her face. Her body shook with the pain wracking her heart. She couldn¡¯t tell if it was hers or an echo of May Ling.

    She didn¡¯t care.

    All that mattered was the fact that May Ling¡¯s death might not been as accidental as she had assumed, that it might be the result of someone¡¯s design.

    And that someone could be May Ling herself.

    May scoffed out a sobbing laugh at that revelation.

    This is so fucked up.

 Chapter 9 - A Brief Respite

    At the door leading to ¡®her¡¯ bedroom, May stood transfixed at the gleaming floor, walls, and furniture dominated by silver and white. Two of four walls were actually uninterrupted floor-to-ceiling windows, creating an elegant, one of a kind, frame for the breathtaking vantage point of Atmos.

    This far up, with nothing but the tips of neighboring buildings to disturb the view, May could easily mistake the city as an abode for immortals, especially when the sky began to turn from gentle pink to dark purple as night drew closer and all three of the planet¡¯s satellites became more pronounced.

    Hints of blue, green, and other calmer color interrupted the room¡¯s otherwise monotone theme. Like the light blue curving canopy made of scale-like beads that shimmered over a bed pressed against one of the solid walls. It billowed gently over the round structure, undulated independently, like small waves upon an aquamarine sea.

    On the other side of the room, between the wall and window, was a workstation. Boxes piled up above and below it, and the chair tucked into table resembled a floating green eggplant. In the center of the room, a round depression not unlike the one in the living room, only smaller, signaled the presence of a holo-viz. She spied a door in one corner of the room, most likely leading to the bathroom.

    It was a cozy room. Strangely normal despite its extravagance.

    May Ling had a good taste in decorating, May approved mentally.

    She was about to enter when her eyes caught a set of a coffee table and two small chairs, floating above the vicinity of the holoviz, blending in with the rooms¡¯ d¨¦cor despite their unconventional positioning.

    This house likes its floating items too much, she groused privately, nudging her hover-chair forward.

    The Earth-native eyed the airborne furniture ¨C for she spotted a couple of cabinets as well ¨C with due wariness, before recalling the glass she used for lunch, then shook her worries away.

    As bizarre as the hover technology made her feel, May had no right to complain, not when the alternative meant suffering through a flight of winding stairs without aid. May didn¡¯t know what expression she made when she first laid eyes on the steps, but EVE had immediately deployed a hover-chair that Kajakh had prepared for her (bless that man!).

    May scanned the white room while making her way further in, noting each and every cranny she could from her seat. In one glance, she could see all there was to see in the room, making her doubt if May Ling truly kept the proof of her clandestine activities here. In a room this open, she doubted it was even possible.

    Not to mention the City Guard had swept the room clean. Case in point, that blue officer found the problematic Thranh tea in the workstation. May held little hope that any cabinet and container she spotted now had escaped inspection.

    A hidden cache, perhaps? People don¡¯t usually keep intimate secrets that far away from them.

    With that thought, May abandoned her hover-chair and made for the workstation.

    On her way, a gleam of light caught her attention. On the far side of the room close to the bathroom door, a full-length mirror hung between a pair of three-chests stacked vertically. Their simple design added to the elegance of the silver metal that crept up and spread out like vines forming spiral patterns on their surface.

    Her eyes zeroed in on the chests.

    Intimate secrets kept in a place one uses every day.

    She approached the dresser, heartbeat increasing as her hand approached the first chest.

    What better way for a woman to keep a secret compartment that she doesn¡¯t want a man to know than keeping it in a place men are not likely to search?

    Then she stopped.

    Do I want to know?

    Her hand twitched, frozen in its track.

    Will there even be anything in there?

    Will it be useful?

    Will it be another disappointment to add to the pile?

    Will it ¨C

    May jerked back, shaking her head sharply, dismissing her spiraling thoughts with ruthless efficiency. Not for the first time, May reined in her negative thoughts with indomitable logic; optimism stopped being useful the third day she had to deal with doctor Purple-Giraffe.

    I need a clear mind, she kept telling herself. Pessimism chips at logic like a pickaxe. I cannot afford unnecessary distractions. Be analytical. Be creative. Be calm.

    She inhaled deeply, followed by an even long exhalation, then repeated her actions several times. Breathing exercise was her number one coping method, one no one raised an eyebrow at since she claimed it helped in reducing the random attacks.

    It didn¡¯t really, but they didn¡¯t need to know that.

    It¡¯s only been a day, she reasoned. The fact tasted bitter and her heart struggled to believe that. Cannot expect an express result. Do you really expect to find your answers so soon, so easily?

    Swallowing hard, May dropped her hand, fingers curled into a tight grip. Not today.

    The memory of Kajakh slumped on the kitchen table flashed in her mind eye and she inhaled sharply to stifle the gasp of pain at the sudden ache that pierced her chest.

    I can¡¯t¡­not today. Not anymore.

    Her logic rebelled at that, but she didn¡¯t care.

    She allowed herself this compromise. She must.

    There was no telling just how long this road she walked on stretch and without an ending in sight, pacing became paramount to avoid overlooking anything.

    I¡¯ll search again¡­later. I had enough excitement for the day.

    Rubbing her tired eyes, May was about to head for the bed when a movement in the corner of her eyes piqued her curiosity.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    The reflective surface of the mirror ¨C though she could tell it wasn¡¯t made from any material she was familiar with ¨C showed a young woman at the cusp of adulthood with raven hair that fell down to her waist.

    Pale features contorted in a confused expression gazed back at her, and as May reached out, that person¡¯s dainty hand did the same. Round dark eyes stared out, a ring of deep purple stark against black irises, surrounding her pupils.

    May Ling.

    May inhaled sharply, surprised and terrified, panicking even more as the girl she saw copied her every gesture.

    Logically she knew she was occupying May Ling¡¯s body, but until that moment, she didn¡¯t have the chance to actually see the change. She¡¯d caught glimpses of a young face on various reflective surfaces in the hospital, but back then, all she cared about was finding ways to get out of that sterile place.

    Even seeing the holopic and holovid of her body¡¯s original owner felt like watching someone else¡¯s photo album.

    That is May Ling, she had thought absently, noting the fact, but not truly processing it.

    But now, seeing that stranger mirrored her mannerism, her movement, her expression ¨C

    I¡¯m a bodysnatcher.

    Clamping a hand on her mouth, May forced down the bile that threatened to come out at seeing proof of the abomination she committed without knowing how or why.

    Her other hand clung at the mirror¡¯s frame with a white-knuckled grip, the girl¡¯s horrified expression now marred with disgust. The purple in her eyes ¨C purple?! -¨C began to spread out, consuming the original black.

    Breathing became harder as her heart accelerated. The pain that had previously been background noise in her body intensified, clawing through her muscles and organs, causing her to fall against the mirror.

    Shit. Another attack?! She pressed her forehead against the cool surface, closing her eyes to block the sight of that unnatural purple-black and began regulating her breathing, for whatever good it brought her.

    Terror squirmed in her stomach like maggots that threatened to come out of her mouth the moment she let her guard down. Confusion thundered with every painful beat of her heart, as it always did before the pain settled enough to torture her properly instead of intermittently and her brain could only count seconds before it ended.

    Rage coursed in her blood at the injustice of it all, dominant among her emotions, the only driving force against the crippling agony. Hot anger coursed in her veins as she thought at how she had to suffer all this when she had done nothing to deserve it.

    A moan escaped her before May gritted her teeth tighter. Her short pants barely gave her body the oxygen it deserved, but as her windpipe refused to cooperate properly, there wasn¡¯t much she could do.

    The doctors had long since given up any medicines as each one would only make the attacks worse.

    May could only wait it out, second by second. At least there is no epilepsy involved, she thought morbidly.

    ¡°Calling Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa,¡± EVE¡¯s voice came out of nowhere, delivering the last thing she¡¯d wanted to hear in this condition.

    ¡°Belay that!¡± she roared amidst her pain, forcing her voice to work while her lungs struggled to expand enough for her to breathe.

    ¡°Your health is paramount,¡± EVE said, but she didn¡¯t call Kajakh and that was a victory in itself.

    ¡°I¡¯m ¨C ¡± May gasped, cutting herself off when another wave of pain forced her to close her mouth with a click or scream. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± she finally made out. ¡°This is a minor attack. Nothing worth going back to the hospital for.¡±

    ¡°May-sa ¨C¡±

    ¡°I said this once, I¡¯ll say this again. My medical records. Read it. Tell me I¡¯m wrong.¡±

    The AI remained silent then, ¡°As long as May-sa could still manually cancel the call, Kajakh-jo will not be alerted.¡±

    Meaning to say, the moment she lost enough coherence when EVE announced her call, May would be made.

    Clever AI.

    May¡¯s lips curled up as the pain receded, leaving her with trembling muscles and sweaty skin. She showed one too many teeth for it to be a smile, however, as she acquiesced, ¡°Agreed. Keep doing your job, EVE. I know how much my body can take.¡±

    The silent returned to the room, reminding May that unless she was threatened, EVE had no access here. She huffed out a laugh for forgetting just why this room was important in her search for the truth.

    Mustering all her leftover strength, the Earth-native pulled herself up and limped towards the bed. She crawled gracelessly onto the soft surface and managed to turn on her back before dropping her tired body on top of the cover.

    ¡°What a day,¡± she whispered. No one replied.

    She looked out at the pink-purple sky and the sunlight that streamed gently into the room through the massive window.

    No wonder EVE was worried when May Ling enacted the <u>Blackout</u> protocol. Windows this big must be a major security risk.

    Sighing, May stared at the top of the canopy, mulling over the fact she was sleeping in a dead girl¡¯s bed. It didn¡¯t bother her more than the possibility that this harmless-looking room might hold the key to her salvation.

    Frankly speaking, May did not look forward to exploring the place with a fine toothcomb; not when the room belonged to a dead person with too many secrets who might or might not have attempted to take her own life.

    A person whose life May still had to delve into so that she could find a way back home.

    If it is even possible. May considered bitterly.

    In her search, she had not seen even a hint of anything that could possibly bring her here. No strange myth, no artifacts, no super-advanced secret tech¡­

    She threw an arm across her face, obscuring her eyes from the world.

    Okay. Stop being a whiny bitch and sleep. Tackle the problem again with a fresh mind and fresher eyes.

    May aggressively slept the rest of the day away.

    ~~o~~

    Kajakh came for dinner as promised, a couple of hours after May had hers.

    When he arrived, May was watching May Ling and Kajakh¡¯s childhood holovid in hope burying herself in the past could make her feel productive even when she knew she¡¯d get nothing concrete from it. She saw him entered the house after shedding his dark poncho, leaving only the dark tunic and pants, offset by a crimson waistband.

    ¡°Welcome back,¡± her mouth spoke before her brain could register the words that came out of it.

    Kajakh¡¯s eyes widened with surprise, something May also felt but did not show. ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± he replied, barely pausing, though the smile that tugged at his lips told May that this might be a tradition between the two.

    It¡¯s cool. I¡¯m cool with it.

    And May surprisingly was. She¡¯d save her panic for other more important things than adopting May Ling¡¯s habit without even knowing it.

    ¡°Have you eaten yet?¡± he asked, already making his way to the kitchen.

    ¡°I could eat,¡± she said loudly, seeing his hand wave through the transparent dividers. Secured in the knowledge that he¡¯d take care of her second dinner, she resumed the paused recording. The two children began frolicking on brown grass, apparently fighting for a toy. Laughter spilled from the person behind the lenses.

    A glass appearing in her line of sight heralded Kajakh¡¯s return. He had a server-bot acting as his table while he enjoyed his dinner ¨C some kind of meat and vegetable.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get to eat this again soon,¡± he assured me, taking her staring at him as envy for his food.

    ¡°Hm.¡±

    She did not dissuade his misunderstanding. After all, she couldn¡¯t really say it was his tired mien that grabbed her attention. Exhaustion lined his face, his shoulders slightly slumped as if carrying an ever-present burden. May wanted to ask how his day went, but considering how late he came, she¡¯d chalked it down as ¡®busy¡¯ and left it alone.

    ¡°Can¡¯t remember where this was,¡± he mumbled around his dinner, eyes fixed at the recording that now zoomed into a picnic spread, a person¡¯s voice kept explaining or commenting on each dish.

    ¡°Label said ¡®Musturi Resort Planet¡¯,¡± May said evenly, turning to smile at the man. ¡°Looks like a fun place.¡±

    Because she was looking for it, she caught the minuscule twitch in his hand, the only sign that the name bothered him.

    ¡°It is,¡± he said, smiling. May admired that casual quirk of lips ¨C for it did not look fake at all ¨C and his audacity to suggest, ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll bring you there one day. Might jog back memories; our families often spend our holiday there¡­though it¡¯s changed a lot since then.¡± He nodded at the recording.

    ¡°Sounds fun!¡± May responded.

    Then May¡¯s mother entered the frame and she returned her attention to the recording, mind racing miles a minute.

    Should I ask?

    May side-eyed the man who was watching the recording with muted delight.

    The investigation team surely updates him on the case. There has to be some sort of progress since.

    But she recalled his hunched form and his broken pleas on the kitchen table.

    She observed how haggard the hybrid was, looking like what she felt after an attack.

    She understood that he too was suffering, albeit differently, fighting back pain with sheer willpower just to move a step forward.

    So May swallowed her questions, accusation, curiosity, along with her nutrient solution.

    Not tonight, she decided.

    Tonight they¡¯d rest.

    They both deserved it.

 Chapter 10 - Puzzle Pieces

    Morning came with orange invading dark purple, turning the sky pink. Daylight washed away the vibrant colors of Er-na¡¯s ¡®moons¡¯, waning them into silhouette, barely visible on the pink sky.

    May watched the transition with detached apathy. Sleep eluded her, slipping away from her tired grip like grains of sand.

    Grains of sand much like time that flowed on undisturbed by mortal concerns, stopping for no one, marching on, leaving those who couldn¡¯t keep up behind to be buried and forgotten.

    Time ¨C that pesky illusionary construct that regulates people¡¯s life ¨C certainly did not, would not turn back no matter if it could make life easier. The people caught in its flow could only do one thing: move on, more forward. Time wasted was time lost.

    Even after giving herself that strangely poetic pep-talk, May could not convince herself to move from her half-curled position on the egg-shaped hover-chair that now parked by the large window, giving her a prime spot to watch the sunrise.

    Her sleep-deprived mind refused to rest while her body screamed for it.

    Rather than abhorring the contrast, May took comfort in the familiar sensation. This was how she felt when she was about to close a project back on Earth. Her mind worked in overdrive, vetoing her body¡¯s signals to take a breather with a gratuitous application of caffeine ¨C not always from coffee too.

    So on this strange planet, May basked in the uncomfortable feeling with a smile, watching the strange sky city came to life as light suffused the atmosphere. Hover-vehicles began to emerge from their abodes, not unlike bees coming out of their nest in search of honey.

    I miss honey, she thought morosely. And food.

    Nutrient solution fed her body, but as someone who loved to eat, being barred from solid food and other tasty-looking alien delicacies she¡¯d seen Kajakh ate¡­

    May could not think of better torture.

    Another reason to avoid sleeping at this juncture was to prevent oversleeping as Kajakh had promised to come for breakfast after leaving late the night before.

    She wished he hadn¡¯t ¨C he represented a temptation, with all that he knew and refused to share with her. May did not know how long she could last without breaking her cover as a docile post-hospitalization patient who waited obediently at home. Her deception was but a thin veil depending on Kajakh¡¯s constant tiredness from dealing with other affairs other than her.

    The memory when he discovered one of May¡¯s many secrets replayed in her mind, along with the gentle smiles he had managed to summon for her sake since she first woke up in the hospital.

    I am a burden to him, the realization stung, a wound made worse by the fact that there was nothing she could do about it.

    She did not want to hurt his benefactor. She did not want to give up on her search.

    May was torn, and tired.

    It culminated in her sitting half-sprawled on the hover-chair thinking all sorts of useless thoughts because not choosing was a choice in itself.

    Morning had arrived, and as the sun freed itself from the horizon, so did Kajakh¡¯s message, its notification blinking in the corner of her eyes until she gave permission to open it.

    It said: Sorry, can¡¯t come for breakfast. Father calls for a meeting. Will see you at lunch.

    She replied: Okay. Don¡¯t worry. Take your time. Take care of yourself. Don¡¯t forget to rest.

    He responded: I will. Thank you. Rest well.

    Looking at the semi-formal, nondescript conversation, May managed a small ironic smile, and wondered what the other side was concealing.

    Perhaps what he didn¡¯t say: don¡¯t do anything stupid. Don¡¯t leave. Don¡¯t go behind my back and make me come back to another mess to clean up.

    Or perhaps he wanted to say: please be there when I get back. Please don¡¯t kill yourself when I¡¯m not around to watch over you. Don¡¯t keep secrets from me.

    May didn¡¯t know. She wasn¡¯t an expert on Kajakh, not like May Ling who had called her friend Zach in that Earth-British-like intonation and used that knowledge to do clandestine errands with him none the wiser to her schemes.

    Well, it wasn¡¯t like they were married, she thought ungraciously. Girl had a right to privacy.

    The justification only alleviated a little of her guilt for not being completely transparent with the kind man. And for wanting to tear that smiling fa?ade so badly just to get to the answers brimming behind it, even if it meant tearing open a wound that had yet to stop bleeding.

    When the sunlight became too strong for comfort, May pushed away from the window, flicking her wrist in a silent command to transform its surface into a semi-solid dark-color, regulating the sunlight passing through it to an amenable level.

    Upon reaching the bed, she threw her body onto its silky surface, curling around a box, a ball, and a filled sock.

    Sorry Kajakh, she apologized, genuinely filled with remorse. Your May Ling is long gone. I cannot ¨C will not stop my life for you.

    Having reached that conclusion, once more cementing that her life was more important than a misplaced sympathy, May felt a great burden lifted from her heart. She gazed at her loot, wanting to disassemble them to see what lied within, but her limbs refused to cooperate.

    Maybe in five minutes, she thought, eyes getting heavier by the second.

    Before long, exhaustion caught up with her, and sleep finally welcomed her into its warm embrace.

    ~~o~~

    In the darkness of the night, after Kajakh left, when her mind worked overtime going over all that she found that day and thus preventing sleep from stopping by, May decided to do something more productive than turning and tossing in the cloud-like bed.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    She searched every nook and cranny of the expansive room, leaving no stone unturned and no crevice unchecked. She began her search half-hopeful, half-dreading what she would or would not find.

    Will I find a diary of a girl spiraling down into madness? One that makes her takes her own life?

    If May had a choice, she wouldn¡¯t want to be mixed up with all this drama at all. Then again, if the choice truly had been hers, she¡¯d be back on Earth attending boring meetings and losing sleep from going over her next project¡¯s budgeting.

    She had never once thought she¡¯d ever miss those times, but she did.

    And she would do anything to go back to it.

    Hence the midnight treasure hunt in a potential-suicide-victim¡¯s room.

    In a reversal of fortune, May managed to discover a couple of potential leads, all hidden in inconspicuous yet obvious places. The clues she gathered drew a picture of a resourceful girl who had prior experience in protecting her secrets, something she would not expect from a normal girl.

    At the very least, May hadn¡¯t been so paranoid when she was younger and each inconsequential secret seemed to carry the weight of the world.

    The first was the box, the one she saw May brought into the room just after activating the <u>Blackout</u> Protocol. An ornately carved wooden box with light and dark brown herringbone pattern on its cover, the only embellishment on the container that she could see.

    May Ling kept it in her vanity¡¯s drawers ¨C as May had previously guessed ¨C in the bottom right with her beauty paraphernalia. A luminescent label tacked on top of it said ¡®portable beauty kit¡¯ in a beautiful calligraphy May had no hope of imitating.

    One interesting fact about this discovery had been the white powder scattered on it, as if by accident, covering not only the box but also most of the items kept in it.

    Another interesting fact had been how the powder film was still pristine white. A blank slate. No sign of being moved, disturbed, or even touched.

    It raised so many questions about the investigation team¡¯s capabilities, ringing all sorts of bells, and greatly reducing her confidence in the professionalism of the team. If an untrained someone like her could suspect such a box, wouldn¡¯t a team of professionals be even more curious about it?

    Had they really taken the label at face value? Didn¡¯t they check EVE¡¯s surveillance at all?

    An ugly premonition reared its ugly head.

    Did they stop after finding the Thranh leaves?

    If they had made their conclusion based on that, patted their assed and each other¡¯s shoulders for another day of a job well done, then the investigation team had truly missed a lot.

    While it was also possible that she might have more of May Ling in her that she intuitively knew that ¡®yes, these are the treasures you sought after¡¯, but after that display in the kitchen where the blue alien disparaged Terrans so obviously, May wouldn¡¯t put it past the police to half-ass their investigation.

    Even with Kajakh¡¯s friend at the helm. There was only so much one person could do, not to mention with his team so openly prejudiced against his race.

    Experienced in keeping secrets or not, May Ling did not actually have spy-grade hiding places and had the team put an effort to actually search for anomalies, they would definitely find something other than a bag of tea leaves.

    Case in point, as May continued her hunt, she unearthed several chip-like items from May Ling¡¯s underwear drawers, inside one of her old socks.

    And lastly, the second box she found hovering ¨C yes hovering in plain sight ¨C on the only workstation in the room. May had saved that for the last, seeing how the investigators had found the Thranh leaves there, assuming that it must have been inspected from top to bottom, inside out.

    She assumed wrong.

    Though the workstation itself did not yield any other mystery in its shelves, or in the computer attached to it ¨C May had to call on EVE to teach her how to operate it ¨C a metallic ball floating in the corner over a small circular base pinged her ¡®here be treasure¡¯ senses.

    Particularly the chaotic non-linear geometrical lines that run on its surface.

    There were two types of lines on it, parallel ones that resulted from the ball¡¯s layered construction, as if the ball was an assemblage of rings put together into a spherical shape. The other was painted blue and black lines, crisscrossing one another in a flowery pattern.

    Or what should have been be a flowery pattern.

    The misaligned painted decoration was what caught her attention in the first place. They looked like someone had twisted the balls around hastily, leaving the outline just shy of recognizable. Like a key that was twisted just enough to lock the door and then got left behind in the hole.

    Very careless. But it also spoke of a habit that suggested May Ling used this particular box often, and the last time she locked the puzzle, she did it with the expectation of returning soon.

    Unfortunately, that was not the case.

    Plucking the ball from the air, May juggled it between her hands, feeling its weight and listening to the rattling coming from within. Sure enough, something was inside this spherical construct.

    While May could see how it could be dismissed as a decoration, but one glance at how the patterns on the box didn¡¯t quite line up already screamed ¡®Puzzle! Solve me!¡¯

    May would have hated the investigators¡¯ unprofessionalism and/or incompetence if she wasn¡¯t benefitting so much from it. As it was, she could only send a prayer to May Ling and promised the late girl that she¡¯d get to the bottom of this even if the officials couldn¡¯t.

    And so the spherical puzzle joined the strange box and the chips-in-socks on the bed while May jumped back into her foray to unearth anything this room possibly had to hide.

    ~~o~~

    Afternoon found May sitting on the workstation, feeling the rectangular box after giving up on getting the chips to work. She would have to ask EVE about them later, but not before taking precautions so that their content wouldn¡¯t be leaked to Kajakh.

    Also this box. May Ling hadn¡¯t wanted EVE to know about this, as she enacted the <u>Blackout</u> protocol right after she got it. May wanted to see what was so special about it that the AI could not be in on the news.

    However, as simple as it looked at first sight, the box was much more perplexing compared to the ball. May had been complacent. She had thought this was a simple box; one that only needed a small pressure to open and yet.

    It had no flaw, no gap to exploit on its smooth surfaces, no hinges, no protrusion, nothing to indicate a keyhole or pattern to move. She had even tried to shuffle the dark and light brown weaving pattern on the cover, the only clue she had, only to find it didn¡¯t budge at all.

    May was tempted to use break it, if logic hadn¡¯t set in properly, reminding her that there had to be a reason May Ling had not cracked the box open with force. Perhaps an auto-destruct mechanism?

    May could be thinking too much about this, but in this strange world, she¡¯d rather not take her chances. So she put the rectangular box aside and moved onto the ball.

    In contrast to its compatriot, the ball adhered to her first observation. The rings that overlaid its surface had varying width, going larger closer to the middle. Upon experimenting, the rings moved, sliding right and left easily. As they moved, so did the black and blue painted lines. Except for the middle, largest ring, that remained static.

    This puzzle I can solve, May thought triumphantly, fingers deftly sliding the patterns back into shape. Slowly but surely, with several alterations here and there, the shapes of overlapping flowers began to emerge.

    Until the last ring slid into place and a small click sounded. May didn¡¯t even bother repressing her smirk. The flowery box split into two with little effort and within, lied a small comm-bracer and a few transparent cards with circuits embedded on its surface.

    ¡°Bingo.¡±

    May didn¡¯t know what the cards were, putting them under the same categories as the chips, but the comm-bracer¡­

    She lifted it from the box almost reverently.

    I wonder what kind of delights you keep, little one.

    Her fingers trembled with a mix of excitement and dread as they fumbled with the one Kajakh gave her. Once she put on May Ling¡¯s clandestine communication device, it synced with the implant in her brain and booted up once the owner ID was confirmed.

    A light voice saying, ¡°Welcome, Ishtar,¡± was soon followed by a light screen appearing in her sight.

    May¡¯s eyebrows climbed up to her fringes as she took in the items listed on the screens, a vivid reminder of what Ishtar ¨C May Ling¡¯s nom-de-plume she assumed ¨C still had to do. All comm-bracer had that function, Kajakh had explained when he gifted hers.

    To have it pop up when the Ishtar¡¯s comm-bracer loaded up was a surprise. People who sought death should not have plans for the future and yet.

    ¡°This¡­¡± May murmured, eyes running through the detailed planning that spanned months after today, one of which did involve surprising Kajakh and several travel itineraries with tickets booked and hotels tentatively chosen, ¡°¡­doesn¡¯t look like something a suicidal girl would do.¡±

 Chapter 11 - Pandoras Box

    ¡°I¡¯ve heard many pearls of wisdom claiming self-discovery as an arduous process. I never imagine it can be taken so literally.¡±

    Even if May wanted to refute it, she couldn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re not the one living it,¡± the Terran said instead, holding back a sigh to preserve her cool and collected fa?ade.

    Try as she might, May could not completely ignore the weariness creeping in her veins and protesting muscles. It had been a long day, a series of back-to-back revelations and events strung together into a chaotic production that brought her closer to her goal.

    Still, the tiredness persisted. That she did not quite get her due rest the night before only compounded the problem.

    ¡°You keep a lot of secrets, Ling-sa,¡± Fence commented, fingers steepled together. ¡°Many that you mentioned tonight I have not come across in my men¡¯s investigation of you.¡±

    ¡°None of them is dangerous to anybody,¡± she claimed. ¡°I can keep as many as I want.¡±

    ¡°Including not telling Min¡¯ahsa-jo that yours is not a suicide case?¡±

    ¡°Including but not limited to that,¡± May kept her lips tight over her teeth, barely managing not to snarl like a heathen. ¡°If by not sharing the details means no one will come after him, I¡¯ll go on the hunt myself. He already has the whole LIF to take care of. I can handle my own concerns.¡±

    The older businessman sighed, rolling his neck with an air of someone who had seen all, heard all, and found all lacking still.

    ¡°Lies, no matter the intention behind it, have a strange way of finding its way to light and reveals itself at the most inopportune moments,¡± Fence cautioned, amber eyes half-lidded as he regarded her with the patience of an elderly and none of the fondness. ¡°And when it does, oh the ways they wreck even the strongest relationships can still surprise me even to this day.¡±

    May tightened her jaw and tore her gaze away. She had received similar warnings multiple times since she began this affair, and yet¡­

    Until she got to the bottom of this, until she was sure nothing nefarious would harm the only people she had left, she could not let go of her deception.

    Fence didn¡¯t wait for her confirmation or answer. ¡°And, that is not my decision to make,¡± he concluded, clapping his hand once to bring the topic back on track. ¡°Come, Ling-sa, do tell what secrets did that box of yours yield?¡±

    ~~o~~

    Timestamps did not mean much for May other than a detail that changed from day to day, adding another tally to her length of stay on this Planet. She learned what she needed as part of her ¡®blend in with the native¡¯ plan and Kajakh had been very enthusiastic in his teaching when she asked.

    Now, faced with an agenda left behind by a dead person, she finally found herself scrambling to remember every piece of Kajakh¡¯s lecture.

    Though in the end, only a small summary remained from that lengthy mini-seminar.

    Namely, one second was one second; May¡¯d checked via age-old comparison of OneMississippi, TwoMississippi, and so on. One minute consisted of 60 seconds and one hour, 60 minutes.

    Any similarities with Earth¡¯s modern timekeeping ended there. According to Kajakh, one standard day was made up of 26 hours. A standard week had six days and seven weeks amounted to a full standard month. Twelve standard months made a year.

    Until this day, the Federation Timekeeping Standard had been in use since the Federation¡¯s establishment more than a thousand years ago. May didn¡¯t know what they were based on and frankly didn¡¯t really care enough to find out how they sorted it among the different planets in different galaxies.

    Not that she hadn¡¯t tried. She did give a real go at understanding it. Mostly because of the gratuitous use of ¡®standard¡¯, but after viewing the local Ernan calendar based on the planet¡¯s astronomy and moons¡¯ movements¡­yep, May closed that particular topic at the importance of three-moons-movement.

    That ended her foray into searching for the truth behind this timekeeping history, a fact that made Kajakh laugh and mentioned just how she always liked things simple and clean. He had looked so nostalgic back then.

    Thanks to his thorough teachings, when the blaring calendar on May Ling¡¯s secret bracer-comm blinked 1213.7.3-Lum, she instantly parsed it into 1213 Standard Year, 7<sup>th</sup> standard month, 3<sup>rd</sup> day - Lumira.

    Lumira, the second day of a week.

    The names of the days were the only thing that was not ¡®standard¡¯ in the whole standard timekeeping set. In order, they were Numia, Lumira, Borona, Eska, Muna, and Sesta.

    Thank God I didn¡¯t just scrap all those names behind. May Ling¡­just what did you get yourself mixed up in?

    <u>ISHTAR¡¯S NOTES - PROGRESS REPORT:</u>

    <ol>

    <li>Visit VA ¨C got registered ¨C set correspondence to Ishtar ID ¨C encrypt all incors</li>

    <li>33-Lum ¨C Lawyer Hiko ¨C Mom and Dad¡¯s will reading ¨C paperwork to sign off Zach¡¯s shares</li>

    <li>Process Deneb¡¯s handover ¨C talk to Aktya-jo

    <ul>

    <li>Clear Deneb for take-off</li>

    <li>Register license under Ishtar.VA</li>

    </ul>

    </li>

    <li>Send regret letter to Lisier Mira ¨C Erase incor</li>

    <li>Buy Thranh leaves ¨C Erase incor</li>

    <li>Get route from internal manifest ¨C done; need to return before someone notice they¡¯re gone</li>

    <li>Nimuth-Homyu Chaos ¨C investigated ¨C explored ¨C results compiled; sent biolocked copies to Uri</li>

    <li>Lawyer (?) ¨C Grandpapi and Grandmami¡¯s things ¨C open the damned box! ¨C learn some damned Ancient Terran

    <ul>

    <li>Visit the VA for their chip decryption tech (?) ¨C pull strings with Aktya-jo</li>

    <li>Get the dictionary copied</li>

    <li>Research Ancient Terran puzzle boxes</li>

    <li>Get the items authenticated and appraised ¨C <u>ARE THESE EVEN SELLABLE?</u></li>

    </ul>

    </li>

    <li>Get a Will ready ¨C include passwords for data cards¡¯ locks sent to Zach (appoint. 6.21-Lum ¨C Lawyer Hiko)</li>

    <li>Get to Homyu

    <ul>

    <li>Contact VA ¨C comm. officer ¨C buy forged messages ¨C set up origin: Misturi Planet ¨C encrypt and delete from workstation (reminder buy better comm-bracer)</li>

    <li>19-Ses ¨C hotel booked in lower town - Clear Deneb for travel; get a guide from VA</li>

    <li>20-Num ¨C Activate the auto-messages</li>

    <li>Contact Uri</li>

    </ul>

    </li>

    <li>Buy Thranh before leaving ¨C find a new supplier; last batch was rather stale</li>

    <li>Buy better comm-bracer ¨C Gryx-201 type maybe? ¨C confirm its heavy-duty capability before buying</li>

    <li>Find channels to sell Terran antiques to

    <ul>

    <li>Possible names (recheck VA forums/sources): Fence, Hirki-nam, Zetaph</li>

    <li>Possible places: Guroto auction house, Homyu Art Consul, Nimuth Imperial Art Collector (Terran division)</li>

    <li>NOTE: consult Aktya-jo for best/safest/profitable contacts</li>

    </ul>

    </li>

    <li>Arrange with VA to send data cards to Kajakh a week after departure for Homyu</li>

    </ol>

    Rather than a solid plan of action, the list was closer to a bastardized task-keeper and research-note-reminders with liberal use of shorthand.

    However, seeing that the haphazard list still had many things unchecked, uncrossed, it became an irrefutable proof that May Ling had planned to live out more days than the investigators had suggested in their outrageous hypothesis based on a bag of leaves and lack of proper investigation.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

    With so many things left to do, none even come close to resembling a bucket list, how could May Ling even think about ending her life?

    If May interpreted the dates correctly, then May Ling had planned to clean up her traces and go to Lower Circles before leaving for Homyu. Little Gorgon was definitely involved, quite significantly too from the looks of it.

    Though this list exonerated May Ling from one crime, it condemned her to a few others.

    Namely running a covert operation behind everyone¡¯s back that might or might not skim over the lines of legality. That sentence regarding taking an ¡®internal route manifest¡¯ was a suspicious one.

    Above all, it proved May Ling had been actively and willingly deceiving Kajakh. Going as far as making a new name to conceal her transactions and activities¡­to what end?

    Just to go to Homyu?

    Or it might have something to do with the inheritance from her grandparents that she didn¡¯t want anyone to know about, including her own AI? That box she couldn¡¯t open until now.

    Huffing a loud sigh, May rubbed circles on the side of her forehead, trying to stave off the headache building behind her eyes.

    It¡¯s like the more I find about this girl, the more reckless she becomes.

    May swiped the list close, more than ready to explore what other advantages the comm-bracer had to offer.

    For one, it had unrestricted CINe access. May could tell from the dynamic news list rolling to include topics EVE would have censored due to their ¡®distressing nature¡¯.

    Then it also had incor connections to May¡¯s accounts that she¡¯d accessed the day before via EVE, and one addressed to Ishtar.

    May wasted no time in accessing Ishtar¡¯s incor transmission history, only to pause at what she appeared. Aside from three messages in the incoming transmission section, the incor list was clean.

    Too clean.

    Apparently, May Ling didn¡¯t take her chances here either.

    May opened the most recent one from Uri, the date putting it on the day when May was hospitalized. Most likely Uri hadn¡¯t received the news of her friend¡¯s plight when she had sent the message.

    A familiar gorgon-haired, pink-eyed girl appeared on a holoscreen, waving four cards with circuit-like patterns highlighted on its surface.

    ¡°I got your data cards,¡± she began, clearly not impressed going by the small glare she was directing at the camera. ¡°While I don¡¯t like how you keep using those Voyagers as couriers, I understand the stake here¡­but must you put a biolock on these? I want to know what¡¯s going on right now! Not when some lawyer gives me the password when reading your will!¡±

    You and I both, Little Gorgon, May agreed wholeheartedly.

    ¡°Are you expecting something to happen to you, or is this just another paranoia, hm? I bet they¡¯re keyed to Kajakh! I just know it. Why can¡¯t you share a little with your bestie who went behind her parents¡¯ back so that she can go to Homyu with you, huh? You¡¯re not planning anything stupid, are you?¡±

    She ran a hand through her tentacle-like hair. ¡°Well, nothing stupider than what we already have going,¡± the girl sighed. ¡°I said it before, I¡¯ll say it again: we should get Kajakh in this. He knows more than us, he¡¯s part of the company! I know you don¡¯t want to burden him with unfounded suspicions, but hey! Proof!¡±

    Uri brandished the cards like live weapons.

    ¡°I won¡¯t tell Kajakh about this ¨C yet. Though I think I get to know what he doesn¡¯t is the only highlight of all this hide-and-seek thing we have going, something has to give soon. We can¡¯t keep going behind his back. If you already know what happened, don¡¯t wait too long. Tell him. Work together with him.

    ¡°So yeah, I¡¯ll keep mum for a while longer, but if you don¡¯t go to him after our trip to Homyu, I¡¯m bringing these to him, you get me. Whatever we find on Homyu, even if your grandparents¡¯ inheritance is not enough to cover the company¡¯s loss, we have to tell Kajakh. As much as I hate to admit this, they don¡¯t call him a genius for nothing. He can make more from this much than we ever can.¡±

    With that, she put the cards back into a box, snapped it close before putting it away.

    ¡°Speaking of the trip - still can¡¯t believe we¡¯re doing this,¡± the pink-eyed girl almost squealed with delight. ¡°Have you finished vetting our guide yet? We¡¯re about to leave! I¡¯ve packed and everything! I told Mom and Dad we¡¯re going for one last fun trip before going to Mira, but I think Dad knows I¡¯m lying.

    Uri rolled her eyes playfully, with a grin and a wink, she continued, ¡°Yeah, lying to him takes special skills. Loulidites you know.¡±

    However, her expression dropped and adopted a somber mien as a thought occurred to her. Biting her lips, May Ling¡¯s best friend tentatively said, ¡°Speaking of the Loulidites¡­there is something I really need to tell you. But¡­let¡¯s meet up. It¡¯s better to talk about it face to face. We still have some minor details to iron out.¡± Just like that, her cheerful manner returned and she closed the transmission with a happy, ¡°Call me back soon!¡±

    By the end of the message, May remembered Uri¡¯s message on May Ling¡¯s official account about her empathic condition and how she had to leave Er-na to treat it.

    But the crux of Uri¡¯s rambling that shocked her the most would be the part where May Ling actually went and investigated her company¡¯s accident¡­and she found something.

    Her eyes moved towards the four cards on the bed, ones whose copies were in the Little Gorgon¡¯s hands.

    ¡°If these are the proof, then¡­¡±

    May¡¯s fingers twitched to open one of them right then and there, but there were more messages in the incor list and she didn¡¯t know how to activate a data card anyhow. Seeing how Uri said they were locked, what if a wrong gesture erased the whole thing. Or worse yet, only keyed-in to Kajakh as the alien suspected.

    Tearing her eyes away from the deceptively inconspicuous transparent cards, May played the next unread message, the label indicated it came from Entoji Aktya.

    The Aktya-jo from VA on May Ling¡¯s list, May noted. VA?

    She opened the message and promptly jumped in surprise when a large alien head made an appearance on the holoscreen, its two large, unmarred dark blue eyes occupying a third of its head, and subsequently, her attention.

    That was before she realized that it had mandibles¡­and its eyes weren¡¯t actually eyes but a couple of unidentified head-organs when its real eyes blinked just under those large and ovals organs.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so grateful that my first look of this guy is not in a face-to-face meeting¡±, May mumbled, teeth gnawing on a thumb in a nervous gesture. Insects and her did not make a good mix even before the whole universe-shaking change happened.

    The alien said something but she missed in her horrified fascination with how the mandibles moved click-click-click like with every word spoken, her brain churning with theories as to how did it even talk human?!

    Reality caught up with her when the moving picture stopped, indicating the end of the message, and May realized that she didn¡¯t listen to anything the alien had just said.

    ¡°This is no good.¡± Incensed at her newly discovered speciesism, May forced herself to take in the alien¡¯s features. ¡°It¡¯s not an insect,¡± she attempted.

    Truth be told, the alien¡¯s resemblance to Earth¡¯s insects she hated only extended to the mandibles and compound-eye looking head-organ. His eyes actually resembled a human¡¯s, if a human¡¯s sclera could be black and pupils red surrounded by yellow irises.

    The alien¡¯s head was a wrinkled, elongated shaped mass pass its head-organs, hanging heavy like a brown eggplant. Its skin color darkened the further it got from the face, and from what she could see, the same pattern occurred from the neck down as well. A set of twin follicles resided above the mandible, inert and stirred only when the alien¡¯s mouth moved.

    ¡°It¡¯s not an insect,¡± she repeated.

    Seeing three-fingered hand steepled before its face in a familiar human-gesture helped in driving that point home. He wore formal Ernan wear, complete with the elaborately embroidered poncho and tunics.

    ¡°Not,¡± May pushed through gritted teeth as if each word could plan a seed of conviction in her aphid-hating heart, ¡°an insect.¡±

    Fighting back waves of nausea that had nothing to do with her weakened condition, the Earth-native replayed the message, straining her tolerance to listen to what the alien had to say.

    ¡°Ishtar, dear girl, what have you gotten yourself into?¡± the alien began, voice sounding male, while its mandibles clicked rapidly. ¡°I have no doubt you will take this as an affirmation of your ridiculous theory. My advice? Don¡¯t.¡±

    And just like that May¡¯s imagination worked overtime to superimpose an image of a wise-sounding zen-inducing Shifu speaking to his pupil, with twin mustache to complete the picture. It was only half-effective.

    ¡°Not every shadow hides gruesome secrets. Not every disaster has a culprit. Life comes with its ups and downs. Accept it, live with it,¡± Aktya-jo continued his sermon, whiskers moving up and down in tandem with his mandible¡¯s clicking.

    ¡°Rest well, and after you heal, come back. I¡¯ve taken the liberty to take down your call-for-partner from the Association¡¯s forum, so no one noticed the connection between Voyager Ishtar and the heir of LIF for one. I¡¯ve kept the Deneb and your suits in my hangar. When you want to reclaim them, come.¡±

    A rattled voice emerged from the alien, a sigh perhaps, as his body sagged with weariness.

    ¡°Father warned me about your family¡¯s tendency for mandible-clicking shenanigans; stars know he encountered enough of those from your grandparents¡¯ days. I had foolishly thought that when your Mother refused to take up a Voyager¡¯s life, I would be spared my father¡¯s headaches. I should have known better.¡±

    The alien shook his head exasperatedly while stroking his whisker in fond remembrance. ¡°Nevertheless, what¡¯s done is done. You have your bloodline¡¯s penchant for chaos; it is not always a good thing to answer to, dear child.

    ¡°I¡¯ve retrieved just about all the travel logs your grandparents filed with the VA. I feel I shouldn¡¯t but it¡¯s also part of your heritage¡­honestly, for such a small Terran you have a talent in making my whiskers twitch like a storm is coming.

    ¡°I have my doubts, and they grow each day especially after the news of your hospitalization, but these are your heirloom. Altair and Victoria would want them to be handed to you, no matter where they will lead you to.

    ¡°Do not make me regret this, Ishtar,¡± he rumbled gravely, mandibles clicking overtime. ¡°And that boy, Kajakh, you should tell him. Voyagers have partners for a reason. Relying on one another is one of the tenets that make us as strong as we are today. Just like your grandmother and grandfather. Remind him if need be that once he too felt the burning desire to travel among the stars.

    ¡°Take it from someone who has seen more of the galaxies before you were even born. Secrets are toxic; kept too long, it will corrode even the strongest of bonds.¡±

    With that cheery parting remark, the screen turned blank.

 Chapter 12 - A Bolt Out of the Blue

    Two messages in and both of them urged May Ling to come clean to Kajakh.

    A part of May pitied the boy whose shoulders carried so many people¡¯s expectations while another boggled at just how tightly knit May Ling¡¯s relationship with the young hybrid had been, making that one name an inseparable element from her existence.

    In light of this, May Ling¡¯s predilections towards secrecy became rather relatable.

    That kind of closeness would have presented a different sort of pressure, especially if Kajakh was as great and capable as everyone painted him to be. The way all of them defaulted to him as backup and safety line for a scheme that May Ling had started, it sounded like they expected her to fail without him by her side.

    Or I might be reading a little too deeply into this, May dismissed the revelation along with the discomfort it evoked simply because there were more important things to focus on.

    Like another message, also from Entoji Aktya only it came a few days earlier than the previous one and marked as watched.

    Watched but not deleted. May thought it over, then concluded that, it might be set aside to be replied later but she¡¯d never gotten to it.

    Just as she reached out to play the message, a melodic chime and a screen that appeared without her command arrested her attention. Without prompting, words scrolled up rapidly, barely allowing her the time to read them, and mercifully stopped then they filled up the available space.

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [LING INTERSTELLAR FREIGHT]!

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [MAY LING]!

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [LING HEIR]!

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [KAJAKH MUN¡¯AHSA]!

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [OZI MUN¡¯AHSA]!

    RUNNING SEARCH DETECTED BREAKING NEWS WITHIN PARAMETER [MUN¡¯AHSA]!

    ¡°What the ¨C ¡± May blinked in surprise, trying ot process the new development. ¡°Breaking news?¡±

    Taking her absent murmur as a cue, the screen cleared out before scrolling out new words. Headlines this time.

    And with each one she read, May¡¯s heart accelerated as her eyes widened in horror. The only thought that ran through her head at that moment, half-hysterical half-scared, was: ¡°Kajakh won¡¯t be making it for lunch today.¡±

    ~~o~~

    ¡®THE REAL REASON BEHING LING HEIR HOSPITALIZATION¡¯

    The 18<sup>th</sup> of 6<sup>th</sup> standard month found May Ling, heiress of the Ling Interstellar Freight or commonly known as LIF, hospitalized without a definite explanation from the LIF or her closest associates, inviting not little speculations about foul play targeting the Terran adolescent.

    However, recent information has surfaced that suggest the reason behind this unfortunate occurrence might be self-inflicted via abuse of substance.

    Sources who requested to have their identity hidden revealed that the cause behind this lapse of judgment might be her incapability to cope with her parents¡¯ demise in a hovervehicular accident that occurred in the Fifth-month.

    ¡°She has trouble sleeping since her parents¡¯ death,¡± revealed a medical officer who refused to be identified. ¡°We have prescribed limited sleeping aid to improve her condition. Although, historically, Terrans¡¯ mental fortitude ranks among the lower spectrum of the¡­¡±

    ¡®LING HEIR HOSPITALIZED AFTER SUICIDE ATTEMPT?¡¯

    The only heir to the Ling Interstellar Freight, May Ling, might have attempted to take her own life, reported a source who preferred to remain anonymous.

    ¡°She was never the same since her parents¡¯ death,¡± the source said, ¡°More reticent and subdued. Her friends haven¡¯t had any success in getting her to open up. And there¡¯s the LIF¡¯s [Ling Interstellar Freight] fiasco. She¡¯s just a kid. With everything piling up all at once, probably she wasn¡¯t taking it as well as she should¡­¡±

    Due to a quick interference from Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa, Ling-sa¡¯s childhood friend and current Vice President of LIF, her life was saved. While no detail was forthcoming regarding her long stay in the Nimuth Interplanetary Hospital,

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly what happened, but I heard misprocessed Thranh leaves are involved,¡± another source who refused to share their identity and occupation revealed. ¡°It might be an accident, but I tell you now I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it¡¯s not.¡±

    Thranh leaves are regulated alternate medication not usually available without prescription. Though effective, its circulation is limited due to¡­

    SUICIDE OR HOMICIDE? NIMUTH CITY GUARD REMAIN MUM ABOUT LIF HEIR HOSPITALIZATION

    The Ling Interstellar Freight faced an unprecedented crisis when their President and his wife, also a major shareholder, perished in a tragic hovervehicular accident not two months prior. Not long after, May Ling, the only heir to the multiplanetary corporation was admitted to the hospital due to unknown causes. Stolen novel; please report.

    News broke that she might be a suicidal, but is she really?

    Would someone who just inherited not just one of the largest interstellar freight companies in the Al-jurba system but also a huge sum of wealth commit such a short-sighted act?

    Admittedly the Ling Interstellar Freight¡¯s current situation leaves much to be desired, but the titan is still far from unsalvageable. Not to mention the Mun¡¯ahsa father and son, Ozi Mun¡¯ahsa and Kajakh Mun¡¯ahsa, leading the company in the interim, by the time Ling-sa is ready to ascend to her rightful place, the crisis will be long over.

    Isn¡¯t it suspicious though that all three of the Ling family members suffered from devastating misfortunes in such a short period of time?

    Until now, the Nimuth City Guard has not released any official statement regarding the case other than the incident that put Ling-san in the hospital is still under investigation. Given that a few weeks have passed since then, can we except to find a different theory than the ones touted by the media?

    Our reporter has it in good¡­

    ~~o~~

    May speed read article after article, each one iterating the same details in different manners and from differing perspective.

    ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± she mumbled, a fist resting on her mouth as she considered the implication of such news. One of the more obvious ones being, ¡°Someone blabbed.¡±

    Her eyes narrowed at the mention of Thranh leaves, a detail that even the doctors didn¡¯t know seeing how the hospital has yet to identified the toxic substance that caused her collapse in the first place.

    ¡°The police,¡± she concluded morosely. She flopped back on the bed she had been occupying during her research, an arm thrown over her eyes. ¡°Those fuckers.¡±

    Compounded by how the investigation team was made up of officers who were either incompetent, demotivated, or simply prejudiced against Terran¡­May was more surprised that she didn¡¯t wake up with all of these already marinating for weeks during her coma.

    Might be another of Kajakh¡¯s intervention, she decided. Still the timing presented a large inconvenience to her. Had they waited another week or so, she would have an easier time convincing Kajakh to lighten his supervision on her.

    Now? Well, she had a snowball¡¯s chance in Hell.

    Sighing explosively, May gritted her teeth as frustration mounted once more. It¡¯s like the world is taking pleasure at seeing me struggle like a rat in a boxed maze.

    Obstacles come one after another right after she came out of the hospital, as if her appearance was a beacon that signaled ¡®yes, this lady here is free game.¡¯

    As if her appearance¡­

    May sat up, eyes narrowed as she reopened the secret to do list, running through the details one more time.

    As paranoid as it might sound, what if that article that talked about conspiracy actually held some substance? Seeing how May Ling had been independently investigating the LIF¡¯s Nimuth-Homyu incident, and more than that, actually discovering substantial proof that something else was taking place behind the scene¡­

    Would taking her out of the picture to silence her be that much of a stretch?

    Perhaps her parents too had stumbled upon details they were not supposed to and had to be taken out of the board permanently.

    I need to know more about May Ling¡¯s parents accident. May concluded with a frown. And if anyone is benefitting from the news of May Ling¡¯s suicide. If this is not just bad timing, then the motivation behind this might be the key to the first attack.

    May had considered that she might be a target due to her status as LIF¡¯s heir, but if whoever was moving in the background wanted to cripple the company, the Mun¡¯ahsa father and son should also be targeted. Or perhaps they had, but she didn¡¯t know about it.

    Another thing to check.

    To be honest, Kajakh as the perpetrator had crossed her mind; however, it was a possibility she discarded as fast as it appeared. Though the man stood to benefit a lot from her death, his actions, constant fussing, and overall genuine concern for her well-being did not line up with the theory that he might want May Ling dead to take over the company.

    She might be a universe, a world, a time away from her home, but May liked to think that she could still read well enough to tell if they held malicious thoughts against her.

    Also, if he had wanted her dead, she would never wake up to begin with. Since the hospital could not find the exact composition that destroyed her body so thoroughly, May imagined it wouldn¡¯t be too hard for Kajakh to mess with her equipment and blamed it on the unknown substance to end her life when she had been comatose.

    Yet she still lived.

    So no, Kajakh couldn¡¯t be it.

    One down, an undeterminable number left to go¡­

    May¡¯s own to do list grew longer and longer with each revelation.

    Sighing in frustration, she swiped all the screens away, revealing the incor she was about to watch just now.

    If nothing else, I should strike one item from that ever-lengthening list.

    With that in mind, she played the incor from Entoji Aktya.

    ¡°Ishtar,¡± the message began, the brown alien sounding severe, a sharp contrast to the mellow and wizened individual he portrayed in the other message. He was standing in a different room, one with an open window in the background that showed hints of neighboring buildings.

    ¡°I know you think you know what you¡¯re doing, but as a good friend of your parents, I¡¯m telling you to stop. The LIF ¨C your company ¨C has conducted its investigation and the results are out. This fiasco resulted from a technical failure to detect an anomalous weather that ended up with the cargo swept away by an unexpected meteor cascade. It was a misfortune that came from being underprepared and caught off-guard at the worst possible moment, not a man-made disaster.

    ¡°We could have done better. We should have done better. And we will learn from this.¡± The alien shook, pointing his finger at the screen, clicking angrily as he went on with his demand, ¡°For once, listen to your better and get this through your stubborn head: Let. It. Go!¡±

    Aktya-jo shook his head, pacing back and forth, the camera following his movement. Even without extensive knowledge on alien body language, May read the agitation that lined his hunched body and how his jagged tail ¨C barely visible under the poncho ¨C waved about listlessly.

    When the alien finally collected his words, he whirled at the camera, mandibles moving rapidly in response to his emotions. ¡°I come by this too late to stop you, but you should have known better, Ishtar! Out of all the stupid things to do, I never expected you to fly the Deneb right into the heart of space just to prove an insane theory of yours!

    ¡°It¡¯s bad enough that none of the Voyagers escorting the LIF cargo survived, but right now, the Voyagers Association can¡¯t afford to be seen too closely linked with the accident, and though your name conceals who you are, it still has ties to the organization.

    His pointed down at the ground, snapping out in precise, crisp dictions, ¡°If I had known this is the kind of insane plan you would hatch, I would not help you secure its licenses nor agreeing to register you as a Voyager at all! As long as you are under my mandate, you are my responsibilities. You have to play by my rules.

    ¡°There is no foul play. There is no third party orchestrating the accident from behind the scene. It. was. an. Technical. Error,¡± he enunciated each word forcefully as they could transfer his conviction straight into Ishtar¡¯s head. ¡°And I say: no more unsanctioned jaunts to controversial places! Especially not by hijacking one of my best Voyagers to be your bodyguard! Even if he agreed to it.

    ¡°You¡¯re lucky he¡¯s a veteran! He knows how to cover your tracks, otherwise we won¡¯t be having this conversation because I would have voided out the name Ishtar from the VA database myself!¡±

    His three-fingered hand moved to terminate the connection before a thought occurred to him. Mandibles making furious clicking noises, he glowered at the screen. With a tone that booked no argument, he declared, ¡°Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know about that request for guide and bodyguard you posted for a long voyage! This is my domain; I know everything that happens in it. Take it down! Stay put! Let Ozi and his son take care of this. You should focus on your education.

    ¡°Mark my words, if I get even a hint that you haven¡¯t ceased this nonsense, consider your license suspended until further notice.¡±