Evalee slipped her hand in mine. We left the Magistrate’s office disappointed and frustrated that Magistrate Brooks had just brushed off ourconcerns. We flew to Val’kara mostly in silence, arriving at the clinic an hour late. Our android receptionist rescheduled the first few appointments so we would not run behind schedule for the rest of the day.
As we went about our daily routine, it became clear to me that Evalee’s presence was part of the reason that the Trakellisans accepted my treatment. I had nothing but respect for Evalee and her skillful rapport with her patients. Though we heard stirrings of concern about the daily xenophobe demonstrations, only a few were aware of the mine collapse the day before. The Zevian info stream did not mention it where it should have normally been. It seemed logical to conclude that someone was suppressing the information.
Evalee and I decided that if law enforcement would not even look into the matter, we would.
Under cover of darkness, we ventured back into the mines to the cave-in. We searched meticulously, sifting through the ruins. Evalee’s psychometric abilities led her to dig where a support beam had collapsed. Those efforts revealed a metal container etched with the Tregan symbol. I recognized it as the same symbol that Orin Hart ripped from his uniform after he had saved my governess and me. He never wanted to be a soldier in the first place.
But that was 30 years ago. Surely, no Tregans remained alive on Zevus Mar. Somebody should have removed their weapons dumps with them. Was this a ruse to throw us off the trail?
“What do you sense about this explosive storage container, Evalee?”
“I don’t think it contained Tregan weaponry. I think they just used it to add confusion to the situation. Let’s dig around a little more and see what we find.”
It was a tedious process of moving rocks and sifting through dust, but I finally found the mangled fragments of the detonators that caused the mine explosion. As I examined the pieces, we heard a scuffle from the shadows beyond us. A sudden barrage of energy bolts pinged off the walls around us, and I dropped to the ground, pulling Evalee with me.
“Show your faces, you fucking cowards!” I yelled.
Dark silhouettes emerged, weapons still drawn. “You are trespassing. Get out of here now if you want to live.”
Both of them were human, and I was certain they were not mine security guards. I shoved the evidence inside my jacket and rose, helping Evalee to her feet with me. I regretted pulling her down so hard as I sensed that impactbruised her in a few places. But she understood that I had feared for her life.
A quick scan of the gunmen told me they did not intend to kill us unless we resisted, so we left without further incident, taking our finds with us. When we got to the flier, Evalee asked, “Are we taking these to the magistrate?”
“I’m not sure that will help. I can almost hear him saying that explosives are used in the mines all the time. He is either in denial or hiding something. I can’t determine which. Something tells me we can’t trust him because he has some kind of stake in this.”
“What about the Elders? Our people have been disturbed for some time by these demonstrations and the horrible things that Toran spouts about our people. They worry that he is gaining followers to help him continue turning the Zevians against us.”
“The demonstrations do seem to be getting bigger. Perhaps the Elders will have more influence with a magistrate than we do. Brooks seemed to be using some kind of mind technique to hide something, but I don’t know what. I only could feel that he was hiding something.”
“My uncle is an Elder who dotes on me. He will at least be more willing to listen thanthe magistrate.”
I smiled at her. It was easy to see why anyone would dote on her. I certainly did. “It will be a good opportunity for us to find out where they stand on this insidious movement. I really don’t understand it myself, except that it is fueled by irrational hatred. I don’t care what anyone says. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known.”
“And I love you too.” She smiled sweetly and climbed into the passenger seat of our flyer.
Chapter Thirteen
Lanimer
A few weeks after we had started working together at the clinic, Evalee’s family invited us to share a family meal with them at their home. They lived in a rural village adjacent to a large farm on the outskirts of Val’kara. Compact white domed houses scattered in an irregular pattern made up the village of Evelee’s clan. Her father, Sar’Lek, was the clan’s chief. I had met him briefly when he and his wife, Lila, stopped by the clinic, but this was my first time visiting their village.
The room was simply furnished with thick floor cushions in place of sofas and chairs. The dining room had a long, low table that would seat about eight people with floor cushions surrounding it for sitting. Evalee had instructed me ahead of time that I must remove my shoes and leave them on a covered shelf outside the front door. It is understandable because the desert sand was easy to track in and out ofdwellings.
Sar’Lek met us at the door, and we bowed to each other as was their tradition. Evalee stepped up to her father, who took her hands, touched each of his cheeks to hers, and then released her. Immediately afterward, he guided us to the dining room and invited us to sit on the right side of the table. Sar’Lek and Lila positioned themselves across from us. The table was laden with an interesting variety of unfamiliar foods, but they smelled wonderful.
Sar’Lek said an ancient Trakellisan prayer of thanks, then started filling his plate and passing dishes among us. “I am glad that Evalee no longer lives in her flat in Val’kara now that the Xenos Free coalition is stepping up increasingly aggressive protests. I heard the last one turned into a small riot before the enforcers came and broke it up.”
“We heard about it,” said Evalee. “Fortunately, they had just finished dispersing by the time we were leaving the clinic for home.”
“I just don’t understand why the Zevians have so much animosity for your people,” I told him. “It doesn’t seem as though your culture should clash with theirs. Even though your lifestyle is a little different, I’ve not heard anyone asking them to practice it.”
“Much of the controversy centers around the language barrier and mining rights. Both Trakellisan and Zevian geologists staked a claim for their companies on the same deposit of Verlian crystals. They took it to court, which ruled that they should split it. Our people agreed, but the Zevian company wanted it all. It came to violence, and there have been bad feelings ever since. The fighting killed people on both sides.”
“One of them was Toran’s brother,” I said before I caught myself.
Sar’Lek grinned. “You really are a mind reader.”
“Guilty,” I sighed. “My apologies. I am usually more disciplined, but these demonstrations are so filled with hateful rhetoric. I’m afraid it won’t be long before more violence breaks out. I sensed how full of hate Toran was. He’s blaming all your people for what happened when it was the humans who started the feud.”
