The Truth of Past and Present

Chapter 14: We talk, and find a BIG problem

I had really enjoyed my time, however short, with my best friend. However, I still had a job to do, a new life to live, and a plan to make. I plunged headlong back into my busy schedule, hoping I could find time for something very important.

A little more than a month later, Daniel and I were training in the back loading dock, among old storage units and Wadser's hovercraft. I had gotten very far in training, and with my previous martial arts training with...the governor, I stood an actual chance against Daniel, the tough, strong fighter from the streets. Thanks to him, I knew almost every dirty trick in the book. He had also become my friend, and I was finally ready to ask a big question.

"Daniel, can you help me with something?" I asked him after I had him pinned on his stomach in the dirt.

He seemed startled. "H...help you?" 

I let him up, just catching the disappearing traces of a bewildered look on his face. Then he cleared his throat, leaned back against a box, and said "Whaddya need?" in a deep, nonchalant voice. I rolled my eyes.

"I remembered something: my fa...I mean, the governor, talked with a slave dealer. M...Mort...Marker..."

"Malcor." Daniel's face suddenly became hard. Almost imperceptibly, I saw his hand shift to his left shoulder blade, stroking it softly. He caught me looking and glared. 

"Y...yes, right," I recovered myself. "Anyway, he told the governor that he had picked up 2 Vigilantes in a skirmish."

"I hope you're not planning another daring rescue," Daniel muttered. "Last time you performed one of those, I got shoved in a trunk. I still have kinks in my back." he reminded me grumpily. Then he sighed. 

"Their names are Cordon and Zaroni. They're about our age, a little older though. Cordon is Demusian, black skin with snake hair; Zaroni is from Galesh, orange skin with seven eyes and green markings."

I blinked. I had heard about Galeshian and Demusian humanoids, but I had heard they usually kept to themselves in the Far Region. I hadn't even seen any in the cantina, and I had seen some pretty strange humanoid life forms since I had started work.

Daniel bowed his head. "They took me under their wing, kept an eye on me. They answered whatever questions I asked as safely as possible. There was only one chance we got to escape, and that was when we were being offloaded for inspection at the spaceport. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

"One of the other prisoners was a spy, a snitch who would do anything for an extra hunk of food. As soon as we were blown, Cordon and Zaroni pushed me in the right direction and told me to run while they distracted the traders."

I sat in silence for awhile, waiting for Daniel to finish. It was silent in the converted storage closet, except for the occasional squeak of the bed and Daniel's heavy breathing. Finally, I asked a question that had been gnawing at my mind.

"How can we know if they...well, if they-"

"-survived?" His emerald-green eyes bored into mine. They were as hard and cold as the jewel itself. He clenched his fists. "Malcor is evil, but his greed cancels that out. No matter what the grievance, he refuses to damage his merchandise. They're alive, no doubt about it."

"The thing is, the governor said something about them being of use to him." 

Daniel's head jerked towards me. "What?"

"They're Vigilantes, supposedly the enemy of the Empirica Galactica. He is the governor of the capital planet. He gets any information on the Vigilantes, that gains him a higher position in the Galactic Ruler's employ." I hated how cold and blunt I sounded, but how could I sugar-coat or soften something like this?

There was a genuine worry in Daniel's eyes now. "What would he do to them?"

I didn't want to answer, but there was no way around it. "Daniel, I honestly don't know, but I can guarantee it won't be anything good. He lied to me for seventeen years, all the while running an illegal slavery operation for his own benefit. Plus, he had you locked up and would have executed you if I hadn't finally seen the truth."

His face crumpled and landed in his hands. 

I stood there, feeling a little awkward. He wasn't all-out crying, thank goodness, but all the same, I had never seen him like this. For a minute or two, he seemed drained of everything: heart, fight, and hope. I sat next to him, then gently put my hand on his shoulder.

He flinched, but he seemed to recover himself again. We sat there in silence.

"Neri, I take it back."

"What?" I looked at him, confused.

"I take it back," he repeated. "We need a plan for a rescue, and you're the sharpest one to pull it off."

At one time, I would have never thought it was possible to be flattered and flabbergasted at the same time.

Boy, was I wrong.

"Daniel, I...I would love to do this, really, but..." I trailed off, my mind whirring.

"But...what?"

"I don't have access to the systems like I used to! Plus, I wouldn't even know where to begin looking for your friends. If the governor is...interrogating them, they can't be housed in any normal detention facility."

"Could you use this to get in?" Daniel pulled something out of his pocket.

It was the mini-drive, the one on which I had downloaded a copy of my father's entire system. I had forgotten all about it, but I was furious that Daniel had it.

"What are you doing with that?! Where did you get it?! Give it here!" I yelled and grabbed for it. 

Blast his reflexes, he was so blasted quick! He jerked it out of my reach and held it above my head.

"Whoa! Easy, Cat-rex, I found it in the bottom of the clothing processor when I did the laundry. Must have been in your pocket or something."

I blushed suddenly. "Daniel, I told you, I want to wash my own clothes."

He realized what I was talking about because he started blushing too. "Well, you were busy."

We stood there, awkward. I suddenly felt bad about yelling at him.

"Daniel, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I've had a long day, but I shouldn't take it out on you."

"Apology accepted." He handed me the mini-drive. "Now let's go bust the EG wide open!"