Close Obsession (9 page)

“Take care of yourselves, all right?”

Her mom promised to do so, they chatted some more, and then Mia said goodbye and went to find Korum before he left for the trial.

He’d offered her the opportunity to observe the proceedings, and Mia intended to take him up on that offer.

Chapter 5

Mia entered the tall white dome without hesitation, a chunk of the wall disintegrating to grant her passage. Korum had assured her that nobody could see, hear, or feel her in this particular version of his virtual world, and she could get the full experience of attending the trial without any stress or unpleasant encounters with the Protector. There were interactive versions of virtual reality too, he’d explained, but those were not appropriate for this situation. He himself would attend in person; it was his responsibility as a Council member and one of the chief accusers in this case.

Stepping inside the dome, Mia gasped in amazement. The place was teeming with Krinar, both male and female, all dressed in the light-colored clothes that their race seemed to favor. It was an incredible sight, with thousands of tall, gorgeous, golden-skinned aliens occupying the giant building from floor to ceiling. The spectators – at least that’s what Mia assumed they were – were literally stacked one on top of another, each occupying the floating seats that Mia was beginning to learn were a staple here in Lenkarda. The seats were arranged in circles around the center of the dome, with each circle floating directly on top of the next. It was a neat arrangement, Mia realized, like an arena of sorts, but with floating seats.

At the center, there were about a dozen podium-like places, with roughly a third of them occupied by Krinar. The rest were empty.

Carefully making her way toward the center, Mia tried to avoid bumping into anyone, but it was unavoidable. The place was simply too tightly packed. The attendees couldn’t feel
her
, but Mia could definitely feel
them
when she would get rammed by someone’s elbow or have her foot stepped on. How this virtual reality business worked, she had no idea, but it was annoying and rather painful to be the invisible girl in a crowd. Finally, she succeeded in getting through to the center, where a large circular area was completely empty.

Standing safely in that area, Mia looked around with awe.

From the inside, the walls of the dome were transparent, and bright sunlight poured in from all directions, reflecting off the white color of the seats and the light-colored clothing of the Krinar. Unlike the loose, floaty outfits she’d seen them wear before, their clothes today seemed less casual, with more structured lines and fitted shapes for both males and females. Most of the Ks seemed to have dark hair and eyes, although here and there she could see a few with lighter brown and chestnut-colored hair. Korum was of average height here, Mia realized, observing the tall aliens all around her. Someone like her – 5’3” tall and weighing a hundred pounds – would probably be considered a midget.

Turning her attention to the podium-like structures, Mia saw Korum sitting behind one of them. Grinning at the thought of observing him while he couldn’t see her, Mia walked over to him. He seemed occupied with something in his palm – probably the computer he had embedded there – and paid no attention to her virtual presence. Smiling wickedly, Mia approached him from behind and touched him, running her hands over his broad back. There was no reaction from him, of course, and Mia laughed out loud, imagining the possibilities. She could do anything she wanted to him, and he wouldn’t have a clue.

Testing out a theory, she licked the back of his neck. No reaction from him again, but
she
could taste the faint saltiness of his skin, smell the familiar warm scent of his body. Predictably, Mia could feel herself getting turned on, and she pressed against him, rubbing her breasts on the soft material of his ivory shirt. They were surrounded by thousands of spectators, and it didn’t matter because no one – not even Korum himself – knew what she was doing.

Grinning hugely, Mia lightly bit his neck and reached for his crotch, stroking the area through his clothes. She felt incredibly naughty, like she was doing something forbidden, even though she knew the entire thing was more or less taking place inside her head. Before she could continue further, however, the noise from the crowd suddenly dropped in volume, and Mia pulled away, realizing that the trial was beginning.

The time for games was over.

The podium-like table in front of which Korum was sitting was low enough that Mia could climb on top of it, and she did so, making herself comfortable. It seemed like a good spot from which to observe the upcoming drama.

Carefully examining her surroundings, she came to the conclusion that the other podium areas were occupied by the other Council members. A third of them were there in person, while the other seats – the empty ones – were now filled with holographic images of both male and female Krinar. She assumed the holographs were for those who couldn’t be there in person – perhaps because they were on Krina. She spotted Saret sitting across from them, but she had no idea who the other Krinar were. Mia counted fifteen podiums standing all around the empty circle, but only fourteen were occupied. It was probably the Protector’s seat, Mia thought; it made sense that he wouldn’t be judging the trial, given his son’s role as one of the accused.

A chime-like sound echoed through the dome, and the crowd went completely silent. All of a sudden, the floor in the center of the circle dissolved, and seven large silvery cylinders floated out.

The floor solidified again, and the cylinders landed on it. As Mia watched with bated breath, the walls of the cylinders disintegrated, leaving only the circular tops and bottoms intact. And inside each one, Mia saw the Keiths – the seven Ks who had risked all to help humanity achieve a brighter future.

Or, according to Korum, to try to rule the Earth themselves.

* * *

The Keiths stood there, each within his or her own circle, their expressions bitter and defiant. Silvery collars encircled their necks – the same collars Mia had seen the guards put on them when they were captured. She guessed they were the K version of handcuffs. There were five males and two females, all tall and beautiful as befitting of their species.

Curious to see Korum’s reaction, Mia glanced behind her and nearly recoiled at the icy contempt on his face as he looked at the traitors. She could see the dangerous yellow flecks in his eyes, and his mouth was drawn into a flat, cruel line.

He truly hated and despised the Keiths for what they’d done, Mia realized with a shiver, and she wondered again how he’d managed to forgive
her
for her actions.

The arena was still deathly silent. There were no jeers or boos, as one might have expected from such a large crowd. It was the biggest trial of the last ten thousand years, Saret had said, and Mia could see that reflected in the grave mood of the spectators.

A portion of the floor dissolved again, and another Krinar male came up. He was sitting on a broad floating seat, and he got up as soon as the floor solidified again. Unlike every other Krinar there, he was wearing clothes that were black in color. Probably the Protector, Mia thought.

Another chime echoed through the building, and all the Council members got up from behind their podiums. One of them stepped forward and approached the new arrival. Touching his shoulder, the Council member said, “Welcome, Loris.”

The Protector smiled and reciprocated the shoulder-touching gesture. “Thank you, Arus.” Then, turning his attention to the rest of the Council, he acknowledged their presence with a few curt nods.

So these were Korum’s opponents, Mia thought, observing them with a great deal of interest. Loris’s hair was jet-black, and his eyes were the color of onyx. He reminded her of a hawk, with his sharply handsome features and a faintly predatory expression on his face. In contrast, Arus seemed much more approachable. With olive skin, black hair, and dark brown eyes, he was very typical of his kind, and there was a certain genuineness in his smile that made Mia think he might not be all that bad as a person.

After the greeting was complete, Arus returned to his podium, leaving Loris standing there.

Hearing movement behind her, Mia turned around and saw that Korum had risen to his feet. He walked around the podium toward the center of the arena, his movements slow and deliberate. Smiling coldly at Loris, he asked, “Is the Protector ready for the presentation?”

Loris nodded, a look of barely contained anger on his face. It seemed that Korum hadn’t exaggerated when he said that Loris hated him.

With a flick of his wrist, Korum brought up a three-dimensional image that hovered in mid-air, easily available for everyone to see.

“My fellow Earth inhabitants and all who are watching us on Krina right now,” Korum said, his voice echoing throughout the dome, “I would like to show you proof of a crime so heinous that the likes of it haven’t been seen in Krinar history for over a hundred thousand years. A crime in which a handful of traitors unhappy with their standing tried to send fifty thousand fellow citizens to their death in a pathetic grab for power. These traitors – the seven individuals you see before you right now – had no desire to advance us as a species, as a society. No, they simply wanted power, and they didn’t care what they had to do to achieve it. They lied, they betrayed our people, they manipulated humans susceptible to their empty promises . . . and they would have killed each and every single one of you in their quest to rule this particular planet, to be worshipped by the gullible humans as their saviors –”

“That’s a lie,” interrupted Loris, speaking through clenched teeth. Red spots of color appeared underneath his swarthy skin, and Mia could almost feel the effort it took him to control himself. “You set them up –”

“It’s not your turn to speak right now, Protector,” Korum told him, his lips curving in a contemptuous smile. “It’s my turn to present the evidence.” And with that, he made a small gesture with his hand, and the three-dimensional recording came to life.

The scene was a familiar one for Mia – she had been there in a virtual setting only yesterday. As the recording played, she again saw the old hut where the traitors had taken shelter during the Resistance attack and heard their communication with the mysterious human general. She witnessed the Resistance forces’ attempt to storm Lenkarda with their K weapons and relived their crushing defeat. And even though she was seeing this for the second time and knew that most of the human fighters had survived, Mia still felt sick to her stomach by the time the film was over.

Another movement of Korum’s hand, and the next recording began to play – this one of a phone conversation between one of the Keiths and some Resistance leaders. They were clearly coordinating their actions prior to the attack. And there were more: three-dimensional videos of the Resistance meetings where they had talked about the Keiths, interactions between human government officials discussing the potential for Earth’s liberation, and even a video of John telling Mia about their change in plans and how she had to steal Korum’s designs.

Watching all this, Mia again realized just how thoroughly Korum had manipulated her. While she’d thought she was spying on him, he had been tracking her every move; there had never been an opportunity for her to help the Resistance – she had always been his pawn. Her stomach twisted unpleasantly at the thought.

By the time all the recordings had been shown, at least four hours had passed. Mia was hungry and thirsty, and she had a pounding headache, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave her spot on top of Korum’s podium, morbidly fascinated by the proceedings.

Finally, Korum’s presentations appeared to be over.

In the deathly silence that gripped the arena, Korum said in a ringing tone, “And that, fellow Krinar citizens and Earth inhabitants, is why I propose the ultimate punishment for these traitors: complete rehabilitation.”

A murmur ran through the crowd, and Mia could almost feel the shock emanating from some of the spectators. Whatever complete rehabilitation meant, it was clearly not something that was commonly used.

The Keiths looked shocked as well, and Mia could see the fear on some of their faces. Whatever punishment they’d been expecting was obviously different from what Korum had just proposed.

The Protector stepped forward. Like Korum, he had been standing in the center for the entire time that the recordings had been playing. His black eyes were filled with fury. “That’s unthinkable, and you know it,” he gritted out. “Even if they were guilty, what you’re proposing is out of the question.”

“Are you admitting their guilt then?” Korum asked, his tone dangerously soft.

Loris’s brows snapped together. “Far from it. You know they haven’t done anything wrong –”

“We’ll let the Council and the Elders decide that, won’t we?” Korum replied, staring at the other Krinar with a mocking look on his face. “Your turn to present is tomorrow, and I, for once, am very eager to hear how these traitors could possibly be innocent.”

“Oh, you will see,” Loris said, giving him a look of sheer hatred. “And so will everyone else.”

And on that note, a chime sounded again. The trial proceedings were over for the day.