Page 30 of Soros
“Perhaps.” She lifted her shoulders and pulled back into her tortoise position.
“Another sad thing happened on Markatoria,” I told Clara and Malliko. “Keindra was killed.”
“Nooo.” Malliko blinked his eyes and made a grimace of disbelief.
“Yes. She and Ziba went to interrogate Ko’roz, and his security guards killed Keindra when she and Ziba wanted to arrest him. After that, he took Ziba hostage and fled Markatoria. That’s why Soros and the team tracked him to Tandaquon. We believe he got help to transfer his funds to his new life, wherever that is now. Soros says that it’s possible he has a new identity and maybe also cosmetic changes.”
“Please tell me that Ziba is safe now?” Malliko asked and seemed to have a hard time sitting still.
“I would love to, but…” I looked down and took a fortifying breath before I told him the horrible news. “Ko’roz killed her.”
Only Malliko’s stomach and chest were visible on the screen as he stood up. Then he moved out of the frame, and I could see Clara following him with her gaze. “Are you okay, babe?”
We were all quiet for a long moment. Malliko had been the captain of Keindra and Ziba before he became a speciologist. When he came back on the screen, he looked distraught. “I want to help find this Ko’roz. A Malbreean on Earth is a nightmare. And if he’s capable of killing two such amazing women, then I can only imagine the level of destruction he can cause among people with no protection against mind clouding.”
“Lios, Nerix, and Soros are here in New York. You can contact them and offer your help if you want.”
“Tania, I noticed that you’ve mentioned the name Soros a few times now,” Clara said. “It’s notthatSoros, is it?”
My lips flattened before I confirmed it, “Yes, it’s the same Soros who I was with four years ago.”
“No way.” Clara had heard about my heartache and was quick to ask me, “Are you okay? How was seeing him again?”
“Strange. Lots of tension. But we finally talked last night, and things are better now.” With everything else we had talked about I didn’t smile.
“You’ll have to tell me everything about it at some point,” Clara said, and I was grateful that she didn’t push for more details right at that point.
“I will. But what about you two? How are things? I thought your time in Los Angeles was running out and that you were moving on.”
“I am. Next week. My stay here was extended because of some practicalities.”
“And my plants… are they still alive?” I asked.
Clara lit up a little. “Yes, they are doing well. I took the liberty of cleaning out some items from your refrigerator like milk and yogurt that had gone bad. We didn’t know you would be gone for so long. It’s been more than two weeks.”
“Neither did I, but it could have been a lot longer. Once I agreed to go into space, there was no certain return trip to Earth.” I squeezed Star closer to me. “I’m happy to be back and I just hope that Earth can be a sanctuary for Star as well.”
Clara snorted low. “I wouldn’t call Earth a sanctuary. Far from it.”
“That’s because you haven’t been to other planets,” I said. “Markatoria is a brutal place for a human. Everyone there is a psychopathic giant.”
“In that case, welcome to Earth, Star. We hope you’ll be happy here. Are you going to search for your mother’s family?”
Star looked at me. “Is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” I said because I wasn’t sure.
“Of course, it’s possible. Just do one of those DNA tests and register to see if any relatives come up.”
“She can’t do that. She’s part Malbreean. That would show on her test,” Malliko said. He was back to sitting next to Clara. “I’m sorry, but I’m still in shock that Keindra and Ziba are gone. Is everyone else on the crew alright?”
“Ehm… sort of,” I said.
“What do you mean, sort of?”
“Nerix came close to dying, but Sival saved his life and except for the many scars, he seems to be healing fast from all the bullet wounds.”
Malliko sighed. “Nerix was always a tough soldier. I’m not surprised that several bullets weren’t enough to kill him.”
