“Bleah!”

Seamus leaned over the baby who was lying on the ground. He stuck out his tongue at little Randy, making faces and sounds. The baby merely stared, expression unchanging. Seamus sighed and looked up at his father and Catalina. “He needs new batteries,” he informed them.

Seth rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t need new batteries--he’s a baby.”

“Yeah, if anybody around here needs new batteries, it’s me!” Cat said indignantly.

Seamus ignored them both and turned away from the human/Saturnian, focusing his attention on the Uranusian/Mercurian twins. He considered them both for a moment. The girls merely stared back at him, equally as blank-faced as Randy had been. As Cat and Seth watched, Seamus stuck his tongue out at the girls and a tiny bolt of electricity shocked Seamus on the nose. The boy rocked back, his expression surprised. “Ow!”

Seth dropped to his knees to comfort his son as Cat hid a smile.

“Commander?”

Both Seth and Seamus jumped and turned; Seth’s expression full of annoyance, and Seamus’ of joy.

“Hello, Thelma.”

“Telma!”

Thelma smiled mechanically at Seamus. “Hello, Seamus Aiden Davenport Goddard. Commander, the Christa wishes me to inform you that she has changed direction to pick up a passenger.”

“What?!” Seth set Seamus down gently and stood, not bothering to hide his annoyance. “Thelma, why does the Christa feel that she should pick up a passenger?”

“The Christa recognizes his distress signal,” Thelma answered, unconcerned at the commander’s attitude. “It is an old code used by the previous crew.”

“The Lumanians?” Cat asked, joining in the conversation. “The last time we saw a Lumanian was that recording TJ, Bova, and Rosie found before Suzee and I switched places. How many are aboard the ship, Thelma?”

“Only one.”

“What is a single Lumanian doing way out here?” Cat asked, turning a confused expression towards Seth.

The human shrugged. “Thelma, where is the ship now?”

Thelma closed her eyes as a whirring sound emitted from her. Her eyes popped open and she smiled vapidly. “The ship will be picked up by the Christa momentarily. The docking bay should be depressurized in fifteen minutes.”

Glancing at Cat, Seth swung Seamus into his arms. “Tell Harlan to handle it, Cat. Ask Radu to go along as well. I’ll take Randy and the girls back.” Cat nodded and, giving a fond smile and kiss to her son, left through the jump tubes.

Seth turned to face Thelma, balancing Seamus on his hip. “Okay, Thelma. Now about the Christa changing direction without telling anyone but you….”

“I don’t understand,” Lokaia said, shaking her head. “Why do you want me to talk to him? What could I possibly say to him that you all couldn’t?”

“Elvian,” Harlan answered.

Lokaia didn‘t look up from her work. “What?” she asked absently, continuing to read the latest contract sent to her by Barrak.

“You could speak to him in Elvian,” he repeated. “This man that we found--he’s Elvian.”

Lokaia started, staring at Harlan in unbelieving surprise. Her gaze moved to focus past him, but then she shook her head, clearing her thoughts. “Well, what’s he doing way out here? The ship he came in was no where near advanced enough to get him from Miseth to the Christa in anything less than fifteen years.”

Harlan shrugged. “I don’t know. He only asked if there was another Elve on this ship.”

Lokaia’s eyes widened as she stared in disbelief. “And you told him there was?” she demanded, annoyed. “Harlan, didn’t you think it was strange that he asked for an Elve? And that the only Elve on this ship is me? And that I happen to be the Heiress? Did you tell him my name?”

The human only shook his head. “No, I didn’t tell him your name. Yes, it did occur to me. It also occurred to me that he might be dealing with Jalan who--”

“Who practically disappeared off the face of the universe after I defeated him in politics years ago!” Lokaia exclaimed. “This man could be Jalan’s spy; or working for Akkar; he could even have magic and may even try to kidnap me, and kill the rest of you!”

“Except for one thing,” the human replied calmly.

“What?” Lokaia demanded.

“He’s blind.”

Lokaia’s own eyes grew wide as she stared.

“He can’t do magic if he can’t see, right, Kaia?” Rosie asked as they walked through the corridors.

Lokaia shook her head, anxiously twirling a strand of hair around her fingers. “Well, not really. It’s hard to learn if you’re blind, but if the injury is recent then he could actually be very advanced. Outer sight is easier to develop than inner sight, but inner sight is more powerful.” She glanced at the Mercurian’s confused face and smiled apologetically. “If the blindness is recent, he could be more powerful than I am. You don’t need to see the target to use magic. Visualizing is usually more important.”

“It’s recent,” Rosie told her, still fighting to keep a cheery face. “But he seems nice enough!”

“So what if he’s working for Jalan?” Bova wondered.

“Then he probably has magic and will either kill or kidnap me as soon as I enter the room,” Lokaia answered, trying to hide a waver in her voice. “So I guess we’ll just have to hope that he isn’t.” She paused in the middle of the hall and sighed. “This is ridiculous and foolish. I shouldn’t be going.”

“Don’t forget dangerous,” Bova added. “Where’s Radu?”

Lokaia shook her head and resumed walking. “He’s already there, talking to the man. Rosie, why is he in the med lab anyway?”

Rosie’s expression seemed to hint at trying not to speak the darker truth. “He was… hurt. Old scars, mixed with some new that had been reopened. He was also in the first stages of starvation. Besides, Kaia, he’s… well, he’s old.”

“Old?” Lokaia asked, not exactly processing what the Mercurian was telling her.

Rosie struggled to be cheery again. “Aged. He looked as if he could have been your great grand--” She looked over the Elvian and noted her apparent age--about thirty. “Well, I guess, just your grandfather.”

About a hundred or so yards from the med lab door, Lokaia stopped them, and spoke quietly. “If we get any closer, he’ll probably hear us. I want you all to hear this now. Once I go inside, if anything happens that really shouldn’t….” The Elvian Heiress took a deep breath and then her gaze hardened, realism taking over emotion. “Kill him.”

Rosie stared, shocked. “B-but, Kaia….”

“I’ve come too far, Rosie,” Lokaia replied quickly. “There’s been too much progress with my people and I’m not giving it all up because I was stupid enough to stay alone in a room with a strange male and assume that everything would be all right.” She fixed the Mercurian and Uranusian with a straight gaze and said again, “If anything goes wrong, kill him.”

Without waiting for another word, she entered the med lab.

Radu turned as Lokaia stepped in. He smiled at her and turned back. “Well, she’s here now so I’ll leave you,” he said quietly. He had spoken in Andromedan, apparently to convenience the man.

“No, no, Mr. Radu, stay if you please,” an elderly voice offered from behind the Andromedan. “It has been quite some time since I have had any intelligent conversation in my own language.” There was a pause and a slight chuckle. “Well, a language that is very close to my own, anyway.”

Radu arched a brow at Lokaia who paused and then nodded. “All right,” Radu relented, moving to a chair beside the cot.

Once he was out of the way, Lokaia saw the Elve. He looked somewhere between sixty and seventy, and lay heavily against the small cot. His hair was long, down to his shoulders, a dull gray-red with white around his temples. He wore a long-sleeved gray shirt that Rosie had probably given to him. But what Lokaia noticed was the deep scar that ran straight across his face, cutting into both of his eyes. There was a faint hint of blue in the orbs, but the majority of color was white and red.

The man smiled and waved a hand forward. “You can come closer, miss. I shall not bite.”

Lokaia swallowed and walked to the edge of the cot. “I am here, sir,” she murmured in Elvian.

“I am Maru Takkar Sein,” he told her and then paused, waiting for her to tell him her own name.

Exchanging a quick glance with Radu, Lokaia answered. “I am Niana Kolora Anin,” she replied, murmuring again. She started, and then quickly added, “Sir.”

To her surprise Maru began to laugh. Not cruelly, but in good humor. “You have not been with other Elves in some time, have you?” he asked her, smiling broadly. When she didn’t answer, he nodded. “Do not worry, Niana. I will not tell of your disobedience.” The word was said sarcastically.

Lokaia’s next glance with Radu was one of shock and disbelief. “I-I thank you, sir,” she answered.

“Please, do not call me ‘sir’,” Maru requested with a wave of his hand. “It sounds formal and I am here for an informal reason.”

“If you do not mind, s—ah… if you do not mind, why are you here?” Lokaia asked.

The smile faltered and Maru sighed, looking ages older. “I was told that those aboard this ship might have knowledge of someone I have lost.”

Radu caught her eye again and Lokaia shrugged, mouthing the word ‘wife’ with a questioning expression. She turned back to Maru. “Who have you lost? I will tell you all I know of this person.”

“My daughter. I was told that your crew would have knowledge of my daughter.”

“He’s lying.”

“You don’t know that, Kaia,” Rosie protested.

“I do know that,” she replied. “No Elvian male in his right mind would go looking for his daughter, let alone know who she is to begin with.”

Bova shrugged. “Maybe he isn’t in his right mind.”

“Now there’s a thought.”

“You said it yourself, Lokaia,” TJ put in. “He doesn’t act like a normal Elvian male. Perhaps he really is different.”

Lokaia shook her head. “No, I don’t believe it. He has to have some other reason to be here. Maybe he’s lost his wife and he thinks he’ll gain pity points by saying she’s his daughter.”

Radu cleared his throat to get their attention. “Not to change the subject, but isn’t there something else we should be worrying about?”

“Like what?”

“Like who told him that we would know where his daughter is.”

The crew exchanged worried glances—it hadn’t occurred to them. “Someone who had seen Lokaia maybe,” Harlan suggested. “And thought that since she was Elvian, she might know others.”

“I don’t think so,” Cat countered. “Just because someone saw you or TJ or Seth doesn’t mean that you know every human in the universe.”

“True, but Elvians are scarce outside of Miseth,” Lokaia answered, nodding to Harlan. “He could be right—it could just be an assumption. But that doesn’t explain why he’s looking for his daughter to begin with, assuming that he really is looking for his daughter, which I am not assuming.”

“But you could know her, couldn’t you?” Rosie asked.

“Know who?”

A cry pierced the room and Rosie picked up the pink twin, cradling her close and smiling. The cries soon stopped and she returned to the conversation. “His daughter. If his daughter was on Miseth you might know her.”

Lokaia squirmed uneasily. “Well, yes, I guess. If she exists and if she’s been to the palace, I might have seen her before. But I didn’t know many female Elvians besides Mayana and the other wives. I still don’t.”

“Before we decide to do anything else, I have a suggestion,” Seth said. “Why don’t you go talk to Maru? Get his story?”

“Because I don’t care about his story,” Lokaia countered. “I know that he’s lying and I don’t need to hear his side of it.”

There was silence for a moment before TJ spoke. “As someone who wants to rule an entire species, Lokaia, you’re not making a good example of yourself.”

Lokaia stared at her for a moment before sighing, seeming to shrink. “All right, all right. I’ll talk to him.” She turned to leave but looked back. “I just want to remind everyone that it’s really strange that his name is also part of mine and that he’s probably working for Jalan. Are we all okay with that?”

“Go talk to him, Loki,” Radu told her kindly.

She sighed again, and left the room.

“Niana.”

Lokaia jumped, the doors to the med lab almost closing on her when she didn’t move. “Ah, yes, s—ah… yes.” She moved to a chair and watched him from across the room warily.

“You’re surprised that I knew who you were,” Maru told her, obviously recording her actions with delight. “I’ve been blind for many years, child. I’ve learned to record specific things about people and tell them apart in this way. Your steps are lighter than your friends, and your heart beats faster when you are near.”

“Oh.” Lokaia was at a loss for words to this invasion into her privacy. She was used to walking about the Christa virtually unnoticed.

“Your Andromedan friend has the heaviest steps and, of course, has two hearts that beat at different paces.” The old man grinned. “It sounds a bit like a nowu on jamil,” he told her confidentially, speaking of a sharp-eyed Misethian mammal and a common Misethian drug.

Lokaia stared in surprise, her jaw found somewhere on the floor. Maru laughed at her silence. “You obviously haven’t met many males outside of Miseth—why would such a comment surprise you?”

“You… you don’t speak like any other male I’ve ever met before,” Lokaia admitted. “I’m surprised because….”

The old man smiled kindly. “You assume I am only trying to convince you I am different. I see no reason to convince you, Niana. I am as I am, take me or leave me.”

They were both silent for a few moments before Lokaia moved to the chair across from his cot and sat down. Maru heard her and his smile grew. “Why have you come here? You do not strike me as one who would simply come here to chat.”

“No,” Lokaia murmured. “I’m here to… to hear your story.”

“My story?”

“Why you are here. Why you know you have a daughter, and more importantly, why you want to find her.”

Maru was silent for a moment, an air of shock around him. Then he smiled. “Niana Kolora Anin, you are quite a girl. The moment I think I have you figured out, you surprise me.” The smile faltered as he said, “Though you are not the first.” He smoothed the blanket at his side and turned his head towards her voice. “You wish to hear my story. I have a feeling that you will not believe it.”

“I never expected to believe it,” Lokaia replied before thinking.

Maru smiled again. “I am glad to hear it.” He paused, head tilting away from her. “I will share my story with you. But only if once I am finished, you would share yours with me.”

“There isn’t much to tell,” Lokaia told him, lying through her teeth.

A knowing smile. “There is much more to you than meets the eye, Niana.” He laughed at the joke, gesturing to his own sightless eyes.

Lokaia couldn’t help but smile. “Very well,” she admitted in little more than a murmur. “If you share your story… I will share mine.”

Maru nodded. “All right. To begin with, the one thing you must truly understand about me is that at one time, actually for quite a long time, Lord Jalan Batar Tero was my greatest friend.”

Lokaia stood immediately, turning towards the door to the med lab. “I knew it,” she spat angrily. “I knew it, and I still tried to trust you and now--”

“Wait, wait!” The urgent tone of the voice called her to pause. Maru continued. “At one time, Niana. He is no longer my friend.” His face hardened in anger and, more so, intense regret. “Years ago, Jalan destroyed my world and killed everything I ever held dear. And for such a crime, I shall never forgive him.”

Lokaia paused at the doorway, her head slightly tilted toward him. Then she sighed, long and full of regret, and she turned, returning to her seat across from Maru’s cot. “All right,” she murmured. “He was your friend. What else?”

“Jalan was my friend,” Maru continued seriously. “I was at his side since the day I first met him, until the day he betrayed me. Our school days, his coronation, the day he gave me what he considered his greatest gift. I was always at his side.” A fond smile passed over his serious expression, his face a mix of love, pain, and most certainly, regret. “Always at his side,” he repeated softly. “Until I met her….”