Vai

Owen punched Esther's cheek - or rather tried to. She easily stepped around him and grabbed his arm along the way. She threw him to the ground.

It didn't matter that Owen and I now had the light. It didn't matter that I was taller than Esther and was trained in boxing. She could always beat us. I suspected only Warpaint was better than her. He didn't practice with us because he didn't need practice. He was all programs. It might have been good if we could use him to practice on though.

I used the light to jump across the lounge on level 8 to attack her. She had taught us how to do that. It wasn't that difficult. You concentrate the light - green in my case - on your legs and feet and jump.

I tried a left hook while her back was turned. I tried, but I knew I'd fail. And I did. She went low to the ground and my fist flew over where her head had been. She kicked my feet out from under me and I fell. I used the light again to quicken my reflexes and instead of falling onto my back I managed to twist a little further to land on my hands and spring back up to my feet.

Esther smiled when she saw it. "You're improving. Both of you," she added to Owen who purposely got up slowly from the lounge floor. Most of the Shadow was decorated with basic colors, but the lounge was decorated in a horrible contrast of reds and greens that seemed like Christmas decorations gone bad.

"Let's stop for today," she said. "It wouldn't be good for your families to miss you."

There was always a sadness to the word family when she used it. My mom had died when I was young, but at least I still had my father - even if he was absent most of the time and overbearing and overprotective and stole about 80 years of my life. Owen's family seemed pretty great. Esther hadn't opened up much about her family, but we knew the Corruption had killed her parents, her younger brother, her aunts and uncles and little cousins. She was alone.

"When are we going to take someone else with the Corruption?" Owen asked. "It's been weeks since we killed Wilson."

Weeks and we still hadn't told the complete truth to Shel and Minmin. They were more than impatient. If we told them everything - about the Corruption and the light - of course they would want to help. They would want the light themselves, but they were on a different ship. We didn't have a way to open it in them. And Shel. The Corruption was in his father. Could Shel help kill his father? I didn't think I could in his position.

"When we know of someone else," Esther said.

"We know of the captain," Owen said.

"We can't just kidnap the captain," I said. "Her disappearance would be obvious not just to the Shadow, but to the entire G.E.F. and the Gathering leadership."

"I don't have anymore leads," Esther said, "but it seems like Lieutenant Tanpo was giving information to your father, Vai. She might know more or your father might have a list of suspicious people."

"My father keeps a lot of secrets from me," I said. "His room is locked always. Even when he is in it. I can't just go up to him and ask him for a list and I don't think I can search for it without him knowing. His ship roster with his personal notes was on his okulus and that is on him at all times."

"Maybe I can overhear something from Lieutenant Tanpo again," Owen said. "We have a field trip in a few days so I will have an excuse to go to the shuttle bay."

Teacher Miller was back. She had assigned us groups to go planetside again that very day. I wasn't included as my father hadn't lifted my restrictions. Owen would be going with people he had never gone with yet which meant he wasn't going with Shel and Minmin.

Teacher Miller said she wanted an opportunity for all students to intermingle with each other, but I was pretty certain she had decided the four of us were trouble and to separate us. Shel and Minmin were still going together though. I didn't think Teacher Miller dared separate them. It was Shel's father that had put her on those few weeks leave. She wouldn't take the chance of upsetting him again.

"Let's do that," Esther said. "In the meantime, I guess we should just wander the corridors and look into people's eyes. Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Are you coming to my quarters tonight?" Owen asked her.

We had been practicing on the deserted levels, but she had been sleeping in our quarters. Security sweeps had increased on the restricted levels. Although she sometimes slept in my bathroom - bedroom was too risky as my father might walk in - she usually stayed in Owen's. We had decided his parents were a lot less dangerous for her than mine if she got found out. Security wouldn't look for her in our quarters so we thought that was the safest place for her.

"Maybe," she said. It's what she usually said. Either she showed up or she didn't.

"Okay, then," Owen said. "I'll either see you later or tomorrow. Are the elevators clear?"

She had hacked the security feeds so she always checked for us. It would be suspicious if someone saw us get off the elevators from the restricted levels.

"I'll check in a moment," she said, "first I have a program for both of you."

Owen eagerly held out his okulus to her. She connected hers with his. "You can use this to hide from the security cameras if you need to." She handed his okulus back to him. "It's what I use." She came to me. I handed her my okulus and she connected hers to it. "If you need to use it, turn it on and reshape your okulus to fit over you. It will hide you from all types of cameras." She handed my okulus back to me.

She looked at Warpaint. "I don't have anything for you," she said.

"I don't need it anyway," the mechatronic replied, "I already have a similar program?"

"You do?" I asked. How much had my father programmed into him?

"Yes, of course, sir," he replied.

Esther looked at her okulus. "The elevators are clear. You better go now."

She didn't accompany us. The elevator doors slid open and we stepped inside. I pressed for level 5.

"Look what I discovered," Owen said. He opened his hand. His yellow light gathered there and then a small orange flame burst up. He quickly extinguished it with his other hand before the ship's computer was alerted.

Esther had encouraged us to explore our light as the light affected everyone a little differently. The flame had been small, but I was impressed. So far, I hadn't been able to do anything with my green light.

When I first saw Owen's yellow light it reminded me of the sun. The small flame now solidified my initial thoughts.

"Impressive, right, my friend?" he beamed with a large smile.

I smiled. "I am impressed." I looked into my own empty palm. "I haven't been able to do anything yet."

He patted my back. He couldn't reach my shoulder. "You will, friend. It will be spectacular when you do."

Our okulus' buzzed at the same time. It was a four way call from Shel. I answered. Owen didn't bother since he was right next to me.

Shel and Minmin were projected through my volo. Both seemed to be in their respective bedrooms.

"Hi, friends," Owen said. He lifted his small hand and waved.

Minmin smiled and waved back.

Shel didn't smile.

"Meet me in my refuge. Five minutes," Shel said.

He ended the call.