Page 84 of Guardian's Heart

The rest of us fell silent until Zoe asked, "What does this mean?"

"It can only mean one thing—the Ohrurs did something to our heads and our memories," Noodar concluded, staring bitterly at the hallway on the other side of the open doors.

"We scanned Zaarek's head for a chip or something that might suppress his memories, but there's nothing." I filled the others in and moved to Zaarek's side, putting my arm around him to let him know I was there for him. "Nock and I have been looking into memory suppression, but so far, we haven't found much. Since they tried the brain chip comm thing, everything mind-related has been scrutinized by the GTU, and not much official research has been done."

"Brain chip comm thing?" Zoe asked.

"A few years back, a company tried out a chip inserted into the brain to access databases and communication, just like our comms," Nock took over. "I did a whole stream on it. Those poor bastards' brains they tried it out on are still fried. They can barely function."

I swallowed. He'd shown me his stream about it. It had been good—really good. It had shown a serious side of him I hadn't known he possessed. Until then, I had thought more of him as a social media streamer on Earth who'd do anything for clicks. Nock still did that, but he also used it to bring awareness to things that mattered to him.

Zoe shuddered. "That sounds ugly."

Nock nodded. "It was. The GTU stepped in and outlawed the chips. It was just too much information overload for normal brains to handle, even super ones like the Rho'Ghatthars."

"Still, that would have been pretty cool had it worked," I couldn't help but say, despite having seen the results. Had it worked… the possibilities would have been endless, and my little hacker brain rubbed its fingers together.

"Let's have Zaarek's ship follow us. Zoe and Raasla will take him back to Astrionis, and the rest of us will go to pick up Luph'snew ship and head to Darlam. On the way, we drop Vraax off at the space station," Noodar said, bringing the conversation back on track.

"Not a good idea," Zaarek warned. "He knows too much."

"I'm not taking a hostile with me all the way to Darlam, waiting for him to slit my throat," Noodar stated. By the way his attention moved to Luph, we all gathered that it was more her he was concerned about than himself.

"You're proving my point," Zaarek countered.

"We're not going to kill a fellow Space Guardian," Raasla objected, vehemently shaking his head.

"You don't need to—I'm in," Vraax surprised us before he rounded the corner to rejoin us. He was bathed in sweat from head to toe. He must have been running or hitting a wall, I supposed.

"You're in?" Raasla echoed.

"Just like that?" Zaarek sounded more than suspicious.

"Just like that," Vraax nodded. "I'm not convinced there is something evil going on, but I realize that none of you are the actual traitors the Ohrurs said you were. Plus, the dreams, the headaches—you made some valid points, so… I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and shadow you."

"What about the Ohrurs?" Zaarek asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell them that I'm on your trail. That'll keep them happy for the moment."

"How can we trust that you won't tell them where we are headed?" Noodar challenged.

Vraax shrugged. "You can't. But you'll have to, unless you're willing to," he turned to Zaarek, "kill me. Or try to, at least."

ZAAREK

We picked up Luph'snew ship and sold ours on the black market to acquire more funds for our journey—Raasla's and Vraax's followed us as if being invisibly towed. As a princess, Luph had unimaginable sums of credits to her name, but she didn't dare touch them. It would have alarmed her family that she was still alive and in hiding. She had purchased the shipVantorum, which meantSearchin her language, with the last of the jewelry that had been sent with her for her wedding.

Only Raasla had been with Zoe when she had finally spoken with her mom and sister. I had never been an emotional male, but even I could imagine how emotive that comm must have been. Zoe's eyes had been red from crying when she and Raasla emerged from their room, and Raasla had been asking Zoe ever since if she wouldn't rather return to Astrionis.

"No, just make sure we survive," Zoe answered every time.

Zoe and Luph had figured out where Darlam was located even before we met and had actually been on their way there, but Nock's cast had caused them to detour.

"It will take three months for us to get there," Raasla announced at dinner.

Dinner was the only meal we were all taking together. There were times we ran into one or the other in the mess hall during breakfast or lunch, but dinner was a planned affair.

One where we tried not to talk about the Ohrurs or Darlam, except for the occasional exceptions like tonight.

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