Page 29

A few minutes into punching and kicking the heavy bag and Frank had once again been proven right. I did feel better. Having an outlet for my frustrations was much better than keeping them inside and letting them fester.

Another few minutes, maybe ten, and I was sweating hard. My arms were on fire. I took one last punch and stepped back, breathing heavily and dropping my hands to my sides. “I’m done. What’s next?”

“Shed your gloves and do some sprints on the treadmill. I’ll join you as soon as I’m done, then we’ll do two rounds of circuit training and call it a day.”

That took us another forty minutes. By the time we’d finished, I wanted a shower and something to eat.

Frank felt the same way. He looked at his wristband as we left the gym. “Bot’s still running. Get your shower and meet me at Galactic Grill. If burgers are still all right with you.”

“A burger sounds great. See you there in half an hour or less.”

“Deal.”

I got home and said hi to Harry, who wanted to watch insects. I found a documentary for him on the life of termites, which he deemed acceptable. I showered, fixed my makeup and, as of yet, still unwashed hair and put my previous outfit back on.

I made it to Galactic Grill in twenty-eight minutes. It had a funky, cosmic vibe that felt very 1960s midcentury modern. Sammy Davis Jr.’s voice rang out over the speakers. Unsurprisingly, Frank had beaten me there. He waved at me from a booth.

“Nothing yet from the bot,” he said as I joined him.

I slid in on my side. “I figured. This seems like your kind of place.”

“It is.” He grinned. “How are you doing?”

“Okay. I do feel better from the workout, but it doesn’t mean I’m happy.”

“Neither am I,” he assured me.

Galactic Grill, just like Space Wok, had robot servers. One approached the table. “Welcome to Galactic Grill. What would you cool cats like to drink?”

“Sparkling water with lemon,” I answered, smirking at the “cool cats.” It was odd coming out of a robot.

“Same, no lemon,” Frank said.

The robot made a happy little noise at us and went off to get our drinks. We scanned the code on the table and had a look at the menu.

I knew what I was getting right away, partially because I wasn’t in the mood for anything over the top. “I’m having the All American with cheese and a side of fries.”

Frank nodded as he studied his menu. “That looks good. I think I’ll have that too but the double.”

The robot returned with our drinks, carefully placing them on the table, then deposited two sets of silverware rolled in cloth napkins, took our order, and motored off again.

I unrolled my knife and fork, doubtful I’d use it on a burger and fries. I spread the napkin over my lap and looked at Frank. “I found the remnants of Sten’s pila in his quarters. Not much left of it. Just a few shards. I took a picture. Not sure why, but I did.”

Frank stayed quiet a moment. “If we can’t find Sten and Zanya, I’m going to dig back into the information I gathered on the Ohuli ship. I’m not saying the two are connected, but I don’t necessarily believe in coincidences, either.”

“I don’t think there’s any coincidence involved in this. I believe completely that the Ohuli connected them because they’d both come for meditation and readings. There is definitely a link.”

“Agreed. And I’m going to do everything in my power to find it.”

“What can I do? I can’t just do nothing.”

“You might not like this, but it wouldn’t hurt to know what happens during their meditation sessions.”

“You’re right, I don’t like that, but for Zanya’s sake, I’ll go. Don’t you think they’ll suspect me of something? I’ve been pretty obvious in my dislike for them.”

“They might. But maybe you can really sell an apology and a change of heart.”

“Maybe. That’s going to be a lot of work after already having done it once.”

“Think about Zanya.”

“You’re right. I can do it.” I leaned in. “That’s if they let me in.”

He laughed. “They’ll let you in. They might not like you, but you’re still the vice-admiral’s mother. I don’t think they’ll risk denying you.”

“Good point.”

The robot returned with our meals on metal trays that reminded me of the kind we’d had in my high school cafeteria. The two large compartments held the burger and fries. The two smaller ones held pickle slices and nothing.

I looked at the empty one. “What do you think that’s for?”

“Ketchup,” Frank replied with great confidence.

“You’ve eaten here before.”

“I have.” He grabbed the squeeze bottle of ketchup and added a dollop to his tray.

I wasn’t really a ketchup person. Never had been. I added some extra salt to my fries, though, because salt was a condiment I probably liked too much.

The burger looked great. I picked it up and took a bite. It was good. Juicy, flavorful, and everything you’d want in a burger. It was also the kind that once you picked it up, you couldn’t really put it down again for fear of it falling apart.

I held on to it. “What are you going to look for concerning the Ohuli ship?”

“I don’t know specifically, but there are definitely more tests I can run.”

“You must at least have some theories.”

“I do. But no evidence for any of them as of yet, so I’m a little reluctant to say.”

“Okay, I understand.”

He took another bite of his burger, chewed, swallowed, and set the burger down. He picked up a few fries, gesturing with them. “I have a feeling, and that’s all it is—a feeling—that the Ohuli and their ship are connected somehow.”

I blinked at him a few times as I processed those words. “Connected how?”

“I don’t know, and that’s why I wasn’t going to say anything. But I knew you’d want to know, so there it is.”

“It’s an interesting idea. You could say we’re connected to the Athos . It is our home.”

“True, but I mean connected in a deeper way. A different way.”

“I can’t wait to see what you find out.”

His nod seemed reluctant. “I’m almost afraid, to be honest.” His wristband chimed. He glanced at it. “The bot’s in.”

I almost put my burger down. “Do we need to go?”

“Not yet. Getting in is just Step One. Now it has to locate Sten and Zanya’s signatures and track them throughout the ship.

That could take another twenty minutes or so.

I might even need to ping the signatures to find their last location.

But I might as well pay so we can head out when we’re done.

” He glanced over his shoulder to where the robot servers were stationed. He waved at them.

Our server rolled over to us. “How may I assist you?”

“I’d like to pay.”

“Please proceed.”

Frank swiped his wristband across the paydeck.

The robot made its happy little chime again. “Thank you and we look forward to serving you again at Galactic Grill.”

We went back to eating. I left part of the bun behind and ate the rest of my fries instead. The bread wasn’t the best part of the burger anyway.

Finally, we headed back to Frank’s. I thought about checking in with Hazel while he worked on the computer. As he started for the office, I hung back in the living area. “I’m going to text Hazel. I’ll be in after that.”

“Okay.”

I sat on the couch, smiling at Gracie, still in her vest. “Hi, Gracie.”

“Hello, Ellis. I love my vest. Thank you again.”

“You’re very welcome.” I lifted my wristband to my mouth and spoke out my text. “Just checking in to see if there have been any reports of anything odd going on since the Ohuli joined us. Two people, my friend Zanya and a co-worker of Frank’s, Sten, have disappeared. We think there’s a connection.”

I hit Send. I had no idea how busy she was or when she’d see the message, so I didn’t hold out hope for an immediate response, but at least I’d made her aware of what was going on.

Frank stepped out of his office, concern darkening his gaze. “I sent a ping to Sten and Zanya’s wristbands to get a definitive location. You’re not going to believe where they are.”

I looked up, already on edge. “Where?”

“A suite on the cruiser level.”

I stood up. “You mean … like where the Ohuli are staying?”

“I don’t know that for sure yet, but again, I don’t buy that it’s just a coincidence.”

“Neither do I. Let’s go see for ourselves.”