The Faarian Chronicles: Exile (25 page)

“Sunny, be quiet!” Sensei hissed at me when they sat me
down. “There isn’t any more you can do. It’s up to Micha now.”

“As I was saying before the interruption,” my mother said to
the justices, “my Ahatu partner Micha is here.” She gestured to the back of the
room where Micha had returned to quietly sit on her haunches. Thal sat beside
her against the wall, the small teen boy and enormous tiger incongruously alone
in a moat of empty space, the only space available in the standing-room-only
crowd. “She, in fact, witnessed the Anakharu still alive while in the casket.
She is offering to provide your precious memory testimony, which ought to be
sufficient evidence for all of you.”

“The court,” Rjen said coldly, “does not allow testimony
from Ahatu.” I heard Micha snort derisively from the back. “Their thought
processes are too different from our own to be reliable.”

At that, Micha visibly bristled and paced, growling low in
her throat, but didn’t leave her spot at the back of the room. Still, the crowd
pushed further away from her in a visible wave with her pacing. Even Thal stood
against the wall so as not to get accidentally stepped on.

“And how would you know that when none of you have ever had
an Ahatu partner?” Mom asked.

“Be that as it may,” Rjen said, “you and your… Ahatu… will
not get any special treatment from this court.”

“Am I to take it that you aren’t even willing to review the
Kindred security video that shows everything that happened on the ground?” my
mother asked.

“Video can easily be tampered with, as everyone knows,”
Lu’cron answered and turned to his fellow justices. “If the General were indeed
innocent as she claims, she could prove it right now with her own memory
testimony or even that of her daughter. I find it telling that she instead
wishes to rely solely on inferior physical evidence. That in itself is an
admission of guilt, to my mind.” Rjen nodded while McCall only stared at his hands
with an expression of distaste.

“And when combined with the memory evidence we have from the
victim, I do not see any reason that we should delay the inevitable any longer,
justices, do you?” Lu’cron continued.

They shook their heads.

“Then I believe we are ready to vote,” Rjen replied.

What? No!

Justice McCall had his lips pressed together in seeming
disapproval, but only shook his head and said nothing.

“Just a moment, please!” a woman’s voice called and a rumble
of interest ran through the audience. I looked over to see a familiar,
polished-looking businesswoman standing now in the midst of the seated
audience, several rows behind and to one side of myself and the Kindred
members. She strode to the front in an American-style designer suit, her short
heels clicking on the marble, understated jewelry completing the look. The
first time I’d met her, I’d found the American business clothing familiar and
reassuring. Now it just looked out of place in the midst of flashy Glass City
residents and bland Kindred farmers.

“Dr. Souchie,” Justice Lu’cron seemed surprised. “May I ask
what connection you have to this case?”

“The same as every person here, to see justice served,
despite the General’s attempts to sabotage herself for unknown reasons.”

“Nereus,” my mother said. “I neither need nor desire your
help.”

“My dear General, I beg to differ,” Dr. Souchie replied
dryly. “Justices, I am here to offer my services as an alternative to the usual
memory testimony for General Vaeda Katje and her daughter Veridian. It’s common
knowledge that I am an unusually good telepath. Simply through touch, I can
read their minds and then present their memory testimony to the court myself.
It is a rather circuitous method to be sure, but I’m sure it will suffice, and
I’m asking the court to allow it.”

What? She was offering to read our minds, like some circus
act magician? And the justices were supposed to buy that? But… it looked like
they
were
buying it, nodding and looking thoughtful, looking at each
other as if they were having some sort of unheard, private conversation. My
mother sat stiffly, glaring at Dr. Souchie.

“Yes,” Rjen said after only a moment’s consideration, “that
is acceptable.”

“No,” my mother said.

“General, please be reasonable,” McCall said. “This is a
very generous compromise, non-invasive, and involving no physical or mental
changes. We suggest you take it.”

“Absolutely not,” she replied. I shook my head. Was she
going to go to jail for her pride?

“I’ll do it,” I said, standing up.

“Veridian, you will do nothing of the sort. Sit down,” she
ordered. Sensei and Penthe tried to pull me back down, but I crossed my arms
and refused to budge.

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions, Mother.”

“Veridian, sit down,” she ordered in that quiet, deadly voice.

“No,” I replied, glaring back at her. The Kindred members
around me gasped.

“Legally,” McCall interjected on our staring contest,
“because this does not involve conversion, even temporarily, this is not an
action the court can prohibit due to lack of parental consent.”

Ha!

She glared at Justice McCall before turning to me.
“Veridian, you don’t understand,” my mother said. “Your mind is the most
precious thing you possess. You can’t give that woman access like this.”

I looked into her eyes.
Please,
they said.
Don’t do this.
I almost
relented, but then I looked around the courtroom, at the people with protest
signs calling her a murderer, at the justices itching to convict her. In this
messed up place, lacking in justice, that paid lip service to equality, I was
her last chance to be exonerated. If her pride wouldn’t let this well-known,
well-liked, philanthropic woman read her mind to secure her freedom, I’d have
to do it for her.

I looked over at Dr. Souchie. “Let’s do it.”

She smiled at me serenely and beckoned me forward, but not
before I saw the flash of triumph and greed shine for a split second in her
eyes.

Chapter 30: Never Enough

Mom had secrets. I guess I should have known that. But some
part of me was still surprised when she didn’t relent and allow Dr. Souchie to
read her mind instead of mine. I mean, if she was so adamantly against me
letting this woman into my head and all. But she didn’t. So, whatever she
didn’t want to reveal with her own memories must have been worse than her
worries about me.

Was I way off base here? Could she have done it? Not that
I’d particularly care since the guy was going to kill me. I gave my head a
little shake. No, I knew she didn’t, not in cold blood the way they said.

Dr. Souchie waved me over to a chair one of the guards set
in front of her, facing the audience, like I was on stage. “Come dear, sit.”

And then I thought about what Mom had said.
Your mind is the most precious thing you possess.
Maybe I shouldn’t do this, I finally thought. What if the good doctor
brainwashed me while she was in there or something?

I turned and squinted up at her. “I’m not going to end up a
vegetable am I? Or some kind of sleeper spy?” People laughed, like I was joking.
But not my mother, and not the Kindred members in front of me.

“You have my word. I will only search out and share the
pertinent memory,” she replied. “You will be perfectly safe.” She set one hand
lightly on one side of my face and the other where my neck met my shoulder. I
wondered briefly if she’d ever seen
Star Trek
as she readied to Vulcan
mind-meld me. “It will be easiest if you try to relax, dear.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, blocking out the
audience and trying not to think about being on TV across the globe. I knew
when she started because I felt a brief, sharp jab under my ear and then her
soothing voice in my head.

Breathe and relax. Open your
mind. This won’t take long.
I did as she said and started to see bits
and pieces of my memories, complete with thoughts and emotions, flashing before
my eyes like my brain was being downloaded. I tried to think about the attack,
to bring up the correct memory for her, but it kept floating away on the sea of
my memories, like it was being gently brushed aside.

When we finally did get to the memory of the attack, my mind
seemed to pause on the image of Drazen, snarling and leaping at me, disgusting
fangs leading the way. For the first time I felt pity for him, and
determination to help.

Sunny, this never has to happen to anyone ever again. I
believe your mixed heritage DNA holds the key, but I need your help to prove
it. A few samples are all I ask, virtually painless to you, but oh, so
essential to my research. Think about it and contact me with your price. I
think you’ll find me very generous.

When I resurfaced back in the courtroom, it was like waking
up from a nap I didn’t know I’d taken. Only then did I realize that the
feelings of pity and remorse were not my own. Dr. Souchie’s hand was squeezing
and leaving my shoulder, signaling we were done. The courtroom was buzzing,
people still staring at the wall where an image was projected, that of Mom
looking up at me, her eyes already back to hazel, the seemingly dead Anakharu
at her feet.

From her seat on trial, my mother was looking at me with an
odd combination of worry and pride. She gave me a wry half-smile and nod that
seemed to acknowledge,
you did have him.
In return, I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but couldn’t refrain from
rubbing the back of my neck. My brain throbbed. There was a sore spot under my
ear. And Dr. Souchie looked smug as she sat back down, smoothly folding her
hands in front of her, adjusting a jeweled ring.

The three justices were once again huddled together in
silent discussion. Could all Molinidae communicate without speaking?

“Unfortunately, the testimony is, in the end, inconclusive,”
Justice McCall finally announced with a frown.

“What?” I exclaimed. Dr. Souchie’s smile turned calculatedly
neutral.

“It is the finding of this court that the time between the
witness seeing the General tackle the victim out the window and actually
getting to the window herself, a matter of a few seconds, would have been more
than sufficient for someone of the General’s expertise to kill the victim.”

I slumped in my chair. So, after all this, risking my life,
my mind, and publicly decimating my pride, it was all for nothing?

“But wait,” I said, sitting up and pointing to the final
image still on the wall. “What about after that, when the police opened the
casket and put something inside, when Micha was trying to get into it? Did you
see that part?”

“Ms. Katje, are you accusing the red police of killing the
victim? For what purpose?”

“I don’t know why, but yeah, I am! If you’d let Micha
testify, you’d see the guy was
alive
, in stasis in the casket!”

“The officers have already given their memory testimony. The
object you saw was a life sensor, which detected no signs of the victim being
in stasis.”

“Well then, someone messed with the sensor, or the memory,
or something!”

“That is enough! Ms. Katje, your defense of your mother is
admirable, but ultimately misguided. We are back to where we were. The court
still requires the General’s own testimony. So, unless she has changed her mind
about testifying?”

“No. I have not,” my mother answered, deadpan.

“Then we are now, at last, ready to vote.”

“In the case against General Vaeda Katje for murder of the
Afflicted person known as Drazen, how say you?” Lu’cron asked his fellow
justices.

“Conviction,” said Rjen.

“Retrial due to insufficient evidence,” said McCall.

“Conviction,” Lu’cron said, and I felt as if all the air was
sucked from the room.

“Should additional memory testimony be brought forward, the
case may be reopened,” Rjen said. “The vote is two to one. Vaeda Katje is
hereby convicted of murder. We reconvene tomorrow morning for sentencing.”

We watched mutely as my mother was led away, shaking her
head in disappointment but not appearing surprised. Micha, who had been
relatively quiet all this time, finally had enough. She roared and leaped
forward at the justices.

“NO!” I yelled. The room seemed to slow down in front of me.
I leapt over the railing separating the audience from the rest of the court and
rushed after Micha as the guards pulled guns from hidden holsters. Somehow I
was able to leap on Micha’s back, sending us both crashing into the side of the
dais platform. I ended up in front of her, hanging onto her neck.

“Micha! This doesn’t help. Please! Micha, listen to me,” I
somehow dragged her head down to look her straight in the eye. “I need you. We
need you.”

She snorted a few angry breaths before finally closing her
eyes and rubbing her cheek against mine. I buried my face in her ruff and
sobbed, all the effort, all the emotion suddenly draining out of me.

“Vicious, unpredictable animals,” I heard from above. “It
should be put down before it hurts someone.”

I looked up at Lu’cron and Rjen standing on the dais above
us with their cruel superiority and something inside me snapped. I jumped up,
howling and determined to get my hands around one of their throats, but I never
got there. Micha grabbed me by my belt and dragged me backward until some of
the others could grab my flailing arms and clap a hand over my mouth to stop my
yelling American obscenities.

Micha chuckled.
That’s my
girl-child,
she said, bonking her head into my side. I didn’t know how,
but I realized now that when she called me
girl-child,
she was really calling me something more like
daughter
.

Chapter 31: Next Moves

“Let’s get out of here, before we all get arrested,” Alten
said grimly and led the way, waddling out the door to the lift. Immediately,
reporters stuck links in our faces and shouted questions at us, while
protesters jeered.

“Walk tall, Sunny,” Sensei said, walking on one side of me,
guiding me with a hand on my arm as silent tears of frustration and injustice
streaked my cheeks. “You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Her words reminded me that I was likely being viewed by
people all around the world. I glanced down at my outfit: boring, long-sleeved
tee, cargo pants tucked into ugly boots, my unwashed hair pulled back in a
messy ponytail, and no makeup on whatsoever. I lifted my chin defiantly. I
really didn’t care what those soft, overly prettified Glass City people
thought.

Micha walked on my other side, my hand on her ruff atop her
shoulder blades. Sensei kept her hand on my arm the whole way back to the pod,
as if she thought I might bolt and go postal on the pretty Brown-Hairs gawking
around us. Although, Brown-Hair was really a misnomer, since about half were
shaved bald and the rest had hair of regular Earth colors, not limited to
brown. They stared and took pictures and videos of the somber Katje
processional walking by.

“Veridian and I will take the pod back,” Alten announced as
the others boarded a south-bound commuter train. I said a despondent good-bye
to Sensei, who was returning to her school. She said something encouraging. I
only nodded and got on the pod. Thal chose to ride on the train, and I didn’t
blame him. The pod had apparently auto-cleaned itself, but still smelled
slightly of disinfectant and puke. Alten tried to wave Penthe onto the train also,
but she wasn’t having it.

“It’s over four hours back to the Kindred,” Penthe said,
shaking her head. “With all this excitement, it wouldn’t be unheard of for the
baby to come early. Humor me.”

They paid the fines to get the pod out of hock, since Thal
and I had just left it on the tracks, and we were on our way. Micha rode with
Alten, Penthe, and me, whether to keep an eye on me or to protect me from
Alten, I wasn’t sure. She had to be pissed that I’d disobeyed, snuck out, and
stolen the pod.

“Veridian,” she began, then stopped with a sigh. “Sunny, I
admire what you did today.”

I stared at the back of the commuter train ahead of us, as
we traveled - at most - a quarter of the speed we’d gone earlier, and waited
for the “but” that I knew was coming.

“What you did in court was reckless and foolish, but I
understand why you did it. You put yourself on the line for your mother and
that’s commendable. However, that doesn’t mean that you won’t be punished for
disobeying her orders.”

I gave a short nod.

“In addition, you stole an emergency pod. The speed you had
to have traveled to get there in time…” she shook her head. “Maximum speed is
strictly reserved for emergencies.” Micha snorted and settled in for a nap.

“What, you don’t consider Mom being on trial an emergency?”
I asked, not expecting an answer. “And if you can travel that fast, why
wouldn’t you?”

“Technology isn’t infallible, Sunny. The pods were never
intended to travel that kind of distance at full speed. You’re lucky you
arrived in one piece.”

“Well, then you should have taken me with you in the first
place!” I exclaimed. “She’s my mother. I deserved to be there.”

“We all have orders to follow, Veridian. The General told
you to stay with Teague and Sarosh and you deliberately disobeyed.”

“Well, maybe you should just turn this thing around, go to
the port and send me home then, if I’m such a problem!”

She looked at me for a moment without speaking. “Is that
what you want?” she finally asked.

“Yes! No. I don’t know anymore. Maybe it would be easier.”

“Easier than what?”

“Just… easier. They all hate me, you know.”

“All who?” she asked.

“The Kindred! I know what they’re saying. That it’s all my
fault Mom is in jail and now I snuck out, stole a pod, and it didn’t even help!
I failed.”

“The system failed your mother, not you. And I think you’ll
be surprised. Yours was the kind of desperate, futile attempt Katjes tend to
love.” She smiled wryly at me. “I understand why you did what you did, but we
follow orders for a reason, Sunny. You’re going to have to get used to that,
for your own safety and that of others. You and Thal will both have extra
chores when we get home.”

I sighed and nodded, spent and not wanting to argue anymore.
And I guessed there were worse things she could do to us than assign extra chores.
I rubbed the sore spot behind my ear and felt a tiny scab that I didn’t
remember being there before.

On arriving back at the Kindred, a huge crowd waited in the
station for Alten, looking anxious and upset.

“Alten, what do we do now?” people asked.

“It can’t be over, can it? There has to be more we can do!”

“File a complaint!”

“Protest!”

“This is wrong! We can’t just give up!”

Alten made shushing motions and addressed the crowd. “Fellow
Kindred members,” she began, “what happened at that sham of a trial today was
the opposite of justice. I am working on our next move now, but know that this
is far from over. We will not give up on our General, just as she would never
give up on any of us.”

“Well, what’s our next move?” someone yelled from the back.

“I’m working on several ideas,” she replied. “First, I’ll be
contacting all of our friends for help. We need to create a media backlash
against those so-called justices. Second, we need volunteers to recruit a team
and start a petition, please. Get every Kindred member to sign it, and then
we’ll send it out immediately to every other Kindred in Afaar. Make sure they
know this isn’t just an attack on our General. It’s an attack on Faarian
rights.” A knot of people quickly gathered and moved to one side, already
working on their links.

Alten started moving through the crowd, but people kept
stopping her. After the first several, she held up her hands. “Please,
everyone, I have to get started, but anyone with ideas and suggestions, send
them to my link. I’ll read them immediately and get teams started on anything
that might help that we’re not already doing. We’re going to need to all work
together to get our General back. Sunny, Thal, you two are with me.” She waved
him over.

The crowd began to disperse, and to my surprise, most of
them took a moment to pat me on the back as we passed, murmuring things like,
“nice try, kid,” and “that took guts.” They seemed sincere and suddenly I felt
part of the weight bearing down on me lift… like they were accepting me into the
Kindred fold in a way that I hadn’t been before. In a way I hadn’t
tried
to be before.

The rest of the day, Alten assigned me and Thal to sort
through all the ideas and suggestions that poured in from everyone, which
wasn’t a bad punishment when it came down to it. At least I felt like I was
helping in some way. Meanwhile, she made contact with the leaders of every
Kindred, gaining their support and getting them to speak out publicly. And, she
assigned Thal’s dad to do the same with all his store-owner contacts.

I knew I needed to send an email home to Dad, but sorting
messages kept us busy late into the night and anyhow, I didn’t know how to
break the news. Every email I’d sent lately seemed to get worse and worse and
now… how did I tell him that we’d lost the trial and Mom was in prison?

Teague, Sarosh, and Micha all stayed with me again that
night and the next day when patrol resumed. The haratchi didn’t care if Mom was
there or not, and another big eruption was expected late that night.

Even with the bodyguards, I found that I was really jumpy,
especially while outside. Every little thing had me spooked, and I half
expected vampires to appear behind every bush. The guy was dead, I knew he was,
but in spite of that (and changing rooms, and the reassurance of the holo-TV
program) I still didn’t feel safe. And I finally realized – Teague and Sarosh
had made me switch rooms. They expected another attack. It was only a question
of when.

“Sunny,” Thal came up behind me, making me jump. “Hey, are
you okay? You look kind of funny.”

“Yeah. Say, Thal, could other people outside the Kindred
know that our warriors are preparing for a haratchi eruption here tonight?”

“Well yeah. An alert goes out to all the Kindreds, in case
it gets out of hand and we need help. Warriors from the other Kindreds can hop
on the pods and be here within minutes if needed. Why?”

“Because I think Drazen’s boss, whoever he is, is going to
come for me again. And wouldn’t it make sense for him to come while Mom’s in
jail and half the warriors are out? Tonight’s his big opportunity. This time,
I’m gonna be ready.”

That night at dinner, Thal and I sat in a corner and went
over our plan, following Teague’s order to stay in the Great Hall where she
could see me. She and Sarosh were both on call tonight so they could stay with
me, part of the warrior backup team for those who’d be out in the field. For
our plan to work, we’d have to come up with a way to give them the slip.

“What’cha doin’ losers?” Lyta snatched my link over my
shoulder before I even knew she was there. “It better not be any more practical
jokes against us.”

“Yeah, or you will totally regret it,” Otrere sneered.
They’d actually been nice for most of the day following the trial, never once
mentioning my tears on the national news, but now they were apparently back to
being their usual selves.

“What’s this?” Lyta asked. “Plans for redecorating your
room, Sunny?”

“No,” I sneered back at her and made a grab for my link.

“If you must know,” Thal said, “we think there’s a good
chance that Drazen’s boss is planning to attack Sunny again, maybe even
tonight.”

“Hahaha! What are you going to do, stake out your own
bedroom and then run away screaming if someone actually did show up?”

“No!” I said, grabbing my link back. “I’m going to show
these people once and for all that they can’t mess with me.”

“That’s cute,” she laughed. “Hey Ote, what do you think the
chances are that another rogue would try attacking Princess here again?”

“After the last one ended up in a white box? Pretty slim,”
Otrere answered.

I snorted a badly suppressed laugh.

“What?” Lyta demanded.

“You called your sister Odie, Garfield,” I choked out. I put
my head down on the table with a
thunk
as I laughed and my eyes leaked
with hysterics. They both looked confused.

“Whatever, Princess,” Lyta said finally, rolling her eyes
and walking away. Otrere flicked me on the back of the head and followed as
usual.

“Have fun waiting for nothing tonight,” she sneered over her
shoulder. I raised my head to make a face at their backs and stick out my
tongue. My bout of admittedly hysterical laughter dried up, but left me feeling
better than before.

“Who’s Odie-Garfield?” Thal asked.