Neutral Space(29)

“He already warned me he would.” She nodded, and we headed out the door.

Kheda stepped onto her ship and looked around. “Wow, what has he done to her?”

“Go look in the bedroom.”

She went in the other room. “Aya’s not getting this back,” she called to me. I went in and found her lounging on the bed.

“There’s time for that later. You still haven’t told me where we're going.”

She sat up. “To see a priest. I promised someone we’d get married.”

“Well, then on your feet major. There’s no time to waste.” She smiled at me and got out of bed. She followed me to the cockpit and sat down in the other chair. She gave me the coordinates and helped me take off.

“There are few Kelsairans that will marry us, but this one has a reputation for doing so. That’s why he’s no longer on Kelsair. He started with half-breeds and pure blooded Kelsairans at home, and now he believes as we do. What difference race does make.”

“They should make him your leader; that would stop the war.”

“Priests don’t get involved in politics.” She was quiet for a little bit and then looked to me. “Can we stop at a trade ship? There are a few things we need.”

“I’ll see if there’s one close.” I scanned the area and found one nearby. “We’ll reach it tomorrow.”

She nodded. She sat beside me for a while then got up. “I’m going to the kitchen to sort through those papers do you want to come with me. We could reroute controls.” I was going to object, but she looked like she wanted me near so I relented. I flipped the switch and sent controls and monitors to the kitchen.

She pulled out her journal and orders and set them on the table. “How far back does it go?”

“Fifteen years.” The book was thick, and I was surprised it was paper. “Why didn’t I listen to my father when he said to use a pad?” she huffed.

“What are you looking for, anyway?”

“I don’t know anything to prove the war is wrong.”

“Start with your orders and this mission.” I found a spare pad and began making a list of anything we might need. Kheda read through her orders then started on the falsified documents they gave her. My list was surprisingly short, and I wondered what Kheda wanted at the trade ship. I sat down across from her an hour later and opened her journal. I flipped through the pages staring at the writing.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t read it. I just want to see your handwriting.” I flipped a few pages further and found a drawing of a man. “I guess I wasn’t the first to catch your eye.”

“No, Jackson, you weren’t. Are you disappointed?”

“No, because I’m the one you’re going to marry.” She gave me a crooked smile.

I flipped through the book more and found another drawing. “Is this your father?” She nodded without looking up. “And your mother on the next page?”

“You really are distracting.”

“Sorry,” I flipped through the book a while longer and came to a page that was loose the handwriting was different, and the paper didn’t come out of the book. “Kheda, what is this?”

“Jackson,” she started but then saw the paper. “Where did you get that?”

“It was in your journal.” I handed it to her.

“This is my father’s handwriting. He must have put it in there.” She read the paper, and her jaw dropped. “It’s a list of Kelsairan politicians, officials and even merchants with dates. It looks like there are human names with them.”

She handed it back. I looked over the list and the human names stuck out like sore thumbs. Sean Masden was the head of a major arms manufacturer, and Trent Lacey was the senator for Sirus Seven. There were several other names I recognized, but I’d been out of the mainstream too long to know exactly how they fit in now. “Why are they meeting?”

“It doesn’t say, but they do so every five to eight years according to this. A few of the names change but not all of them.”

“How far back does the list go?”

She added up the years “Almost 70 years.”

“Why would your father, put this in your journal Kheda?”

“I don’t know, but he wanted me to find it.” She looked up at me.

“Are you sure?”

“He never goes to the lake house anymore. He knows that’s where I keep my important papers and assignments. The house was going to be mine when I retired. Aya got the country house; my parents gave the lake house to me.”

“Kheda stop, we need to figure out what the list means. Is there anyone on there that will talk to us?” I handed her the list, and she reread it.

“Why is he on here?” She looked up at me “A priest he is a friend of the family; he’s been to two of the meetings.”

“I thought you said priests don’t get involved in politics.”

“I doubt he was in the meeting, but more likely he was there as a spiritual guide for one of the officials.”

“Will he talk to us?”

“Oh, he’ll do better than that. He’ll marry us, too, I’m sure of it.” She smiled.

“Well, what are we waiting for then? Let’s go. Where is he?”