Vai

I disconnected from the ansible and ripped the okulus away from my eyes. I reshaped it to fit around my wrist even as I ran out of our quarters.

"What is it, sir?" Warpaint said as he followed quickly.

I wasn't sure which quarters were Owens, but I had seen the direction he had gone when we parted ways. It wasn't hard to find him. He was saying, "It wasn't me." Just as other voices were saying, "It wasn't my son." And. "We have evidence. Don't interfere please."

Five security officers seemed too much for one little Owen, but there were five anyway.

Owen was sandwiched between two of the officers. He wasn't handcuffed. I wasn't sure what G.E.F. regulation was so I wasn't sure if that was because he was a minor or because he was small. The officers on either side of him had a hand on his arms.

I reached them. "Don't interfere," one of the officers said to me.

"Don't touch him, officer," Warpaint said. He put his oversized arm out in the space between me and the officer.

"He didn't do it," I said. "There's a girl."

"Yes," Owen said. "The girl. It was the girl. I saw her last night on the 6th level."

"There was no girl in the surveillance camera. Only you. You two take him to the security office. Go through his volo recordings and his okulus." One of the officers said to the two who were on either side of Owen. "You two," he said to the other two, "go search his room."

"No," Owen said. "It really wasn't me. Please don't go through my things."

"Stand aside, sir," one of the officers said to Owen's father. "Or you will be arrested for obstructing justice."

Owen's father looked at Owen. "I believe you didn't take it," he said. He took a step to the side to allow the two officers in.

Owen closed his eyes tight. The two officers on either side of him began to drag him away.

"Vai," Owen said. He opened his eyes to look at me over his shoulder as they took him away. "There is something in my room I smuggled on board, but honestly I didn't steal anything from the museum. I didn't. It wasn't me."

They turned the corner and he was out of sight.

"There has been a girl on 6th floor," I said to the officer who had been giving orders. "I've seen her twice. Owen has seen her too. I saw her in the museum and she was looking at the K'thaktran wall."

"You can go to the security office to give a statement," the officer said.

"She got off the elevator at the 8th level."

The security officer looked at me for the first time. "That's impossible."

"I know it is, but she did it."

The security officer shook his head. "It's admirable that you are trying to defend your friend, but he was on the security cameras. There wasn't a girl. I saw it myself."

"Don't break it," Owen's father's voice came from inside their quarters.

Should I go help him, stay out and try to convince the officer or go to the security office to give my statement? I bounced lightly on my feet like I would in boxing. I went into the quarters. The setup was exactly like my quarters. Owen's room was to the right of the living room just like mine.

"That's his new suitcase," Mr Morgan said.

One of the officers pulled a metal box out from one of the compartments under Owen's bed. The other compartments were all opened and various items - like a model ship of the Shadow like I used to have - were strewn nearby on the floor. The other officer was going through Owen's desk.

The officer opened the metal box. Individually wrapped gourmet chocolates spilled out onto Owen's bed.

Owen. This is what he smuggled? I supposed he could make good money selling it to the restaurants once their supply was gone. He could even sell it directly to individual buyers. Both situations were illegal. I was sure he wasn't authorized to bring product like this onboard.

Mr. Morgan's shoulders hunched forward when he saw the contents. "Not again," he whispered, but I was close enough to hear.

"This is the trouble he caused on the Remembrance?" I asked.

Mr. Morgan nodded.

"We will take this for evidence," the officer said. He stuffed the chocolates back into the box. He hesitated with the last one. I imagined he was thinking of pocketing it for himself, but too many eyes were on him. He put it back in the box and closed it.

"Nothing here," the officer looking through the desk said.

"We must search the other areas," the officer with the metal box said. "He might have hid the items in your bedroom or in the living areas.

Mr. Morgan nodded again. His eyes didn't leave the metal box. He seemed disappointed. I put a hand on his shoulder.

He looked up at me for the first time. "Vai?" I nodded. "Owen talks about you. You've been a good friend."

"I know he didn't steal from the museum," I said.

"I don't know why he would," Mr. Morgan said, "but I thought his smuggling days were over."

That seemed a funny statement to say about a 17 year old.

"I know he didn't," I repeated. "We've seen a girl on the 6th floor. She's our age, but she's never in school. We've never seen her anywhere except the 6th floor. I saw her in the museum looking at one of the items that was stolen."

Mr. Morgan's eyes brightened. "It must be her. Go report it to security."

I nodded. "But will you be okay here?" I looked at the officers that were now rummaging through the living room.

"Where's my son?" a small woman came in through the opened door from the corridor. She was a centimeter or two smaller than Owen. Owen resembled her a lot except his eyes. His eyes were the same blue as his father's.

"Elise," Mr. Morgan said. He went to her and took both her hands in his. "They've taken him to security already."

"This is ridiculous," she said. "My son wouldn't steal anything from the museum."

"He already smuggled goods on board," the security officer with the metal box said.

"Chocolate again," Mr. Morgan said.

Mrs. Morgan let out a quick breath before she pinched her lips tight and shook her head.

"I know it wasn't him, Mrs. Morgan," I said.

She looked up at me for the first time. "Owen's friend?"

I nodded. "I was just about to go to the security office and give my statement."

"Better go do it then," she said.

"No!" Mr. Morgan shouted. He ran across the room and snatched an instrumental case out of the officer's hands. "It's my viola. I'll open it and show it to you, but it must be handled with care."

"It's okay. You can go," Mrs. Morgan said. "We can handle things here. Tell Owen we will see him shortly."

I nodded and left. It didn't take me long to reach the security offices on level 3.

When I stepped inside, I was greeted by a Bundu-jo woman in uniform. "I came to give a statement on the museum theft. It wasn't Owen Morgan."

"Do you have additional information on the case or are you just trying to protect your friend?"

"I have additional information."

"Okay. Follow me." We went through a maze of cubicles until we reached one near the back. Near the jail cells. The cells were empty. Owen sat in front of a desk and one of the security officers that had dragged him off sat behind it.

"It would go faster if you just tell us where you hid the Aether Field Prototype."

"I can't tell you what I don't know. I didn't take it. There's a girl . . ."

"Stop with the girl. There was no evidence of a girl."

"I've seen her too," I said. "I'm here to give a statement."

The human officer looked up at me annoyed at being interrupted.

"Hansi," he called out. A male Starwatcher popped out from a nearby desk. His fur was a dark brown, except the white spots around his nose. It was cute. They are not pets. They are not cute. They can be dangerous.

"Take this kid," the first officer said as he pointed at me, "and get his statement. I need to finish speaking with this kid."

"Sure thing. Come on," the Starwatcher said to me.

I followed him to his desk and sat in the chair he indicated.

"Go ahead. My volo is now set to record your statement. It will be relayed directly to the ship's computer and stored for future evidence."

"There has been a girl on level 6. I think she might be a year younger than me."

The Starwatcher held up a hand. "Sorry," he said. "We don't usually have crime onboard. I forgot to tell you that you need to state your name and age."

"Vai Ma'amaloa. Age 17."

"Sir," Warpaint said behind me. "You shouldn't lie about your age to the authorities. I usually don't say anything, but this is official record."

The officer had shaped his okulus into a screen in front of him. I couldn't see the contents from where I sat.

"Lieutenant Commander Ma'amaloa's son?" For a brief moment, I thought I saw pink in his eyes. The same pink as zek. My bodied remembered the pain. The screaming. The terror. Betrayal.

I blinked and looked again, but his eyes were normal. I studied the lighting, but I couldn't see anything that might cast a pink glint on his eyes.

"Yes," I said.

His eyes went back to his okulus. "According to your birth date, this says you should be 97."

"Exactly, sir," Warpaint said. "You shouldn't lie about your age."

"Warpaint. You're not helping. Officer, there should be a special record."

"A yes," the officer said. "Yes. I see. 17. Continue with your statement. Actually, wait. You're a minor. I should call your parent." His hand moved extremely slowly towards his okulus.

"I'd rather just give my statement," I said. "I'll inform my father as soon as I finish and he can come down and add anything if he wants."

The officer's hand dropped back into his lap. "That will be fine. Go ahead then."

"There is a girl around our age that we've seen on deck 6. I've seen her personally twice. Owen has also seen her. She should be in school, but she's never attended class. The last time I saw her was in the museum in front of the K'thaktra wall with the ancient writing. She said it wasn't K'thaktran."

The officer had watched his okulus during my statement, but at this last sentence, his eyes shot at me. I wasn't sure what emotion was in his eyes, but it made me pause. He looked back at the okulus. "Continue," he said.

"That wall is useless," I said. "She's the only one I've seen take an interest in it. And when she took the elevator, it stopped at level 8."

"That's impossible."

"I know, but it's true. Owen thought she was a ghost at first, but he could touch her. He ran into her once in the corridor just outside the museum. She told him something, but he can't remember what. Now he calls her wizard girl. I'm not lying about level 8. It's suspicious right?"

"It is, but that doesn't change the fact that she wasn't on the surveillance cameras."

"She has to be on it somewhere. Look again. Go back through the past surveillance. Look to see if the cameras were tampered with."

I guess I was getting too animated because the Starwatcher held up a hand. "Okay. I'll request they look at the records again with this new information. Do you have anything else to add?"

"Not at the moment. Can I contact you if I think of anything else?"

"Of course. That is what you should do. I'm Officer Hansi."

"Thank you, officer."

He smiled reassuringly and stood to lead me out.

I patted Owen on the shoulder as we passed him. He was still arguing with that other officer that he didn't steal anything. I parted ways with the officer outside the door of the security offices.

When we were on our way back to our quarters I said, "Warpaint."

"Yes, sir."

"You didn't detect any zek in that officer did you?"

"Of course not, sir. Zek was destroyed many years ago."

"That's not . . ." I forgot again that my father had Warpaint erase his memories about the tailor shop.

There wasn't anyway zek could be on board - hidden - on a G.E.F. ship and especially on the Shadow. Was there?