Karen, whom had been resting her arm on Lorleii’s shoulder as the video played, took a step back and raised a hand over her mouth. The noise of the Inquisitor’s engines and the loud discussions taking place just outside faded away and Karen became acutely aware of her own heartbeat and breathing, fast and shallow...Daniel was Moleigh’s son.
Lorleii slowly swivelled around on the chair and looked Karen directly in the eyes, her own had begun to well and a single tear had rolled down her left cheek, leaving a slight streak of mascara.
“I …I hav...had a brother, a half-brother and … and it was Daniel… your…Frie…” Lorleii’s voice broke and stammered as she struggled to hold back tears.
She had no word of comfort that would help but Karen knelt down and took Lorleii’s hands and clutched them between her own. After a few moments the pair stood and embraced in a long hug, Karen held her tight as she quietly cried. She had already had time to morn Daniel and although the shock of the news had caused memories to resurface she managed to keep them in check. She needed to be strong for Lorleii and this was no time to replay the past.
A number of minutes passed and Lorleii's tears turned into sniffs and short intakes of breath, the pair separated and Karen softly rubbed the streaks off Lorleii’s cheeks and brushed back the hair covering her face.
“Why had she not told me… there was a lot of things about her past she never talked about, but this… how could she keep this from me?” Lorleii looked towards the ceiling as she spoke, the question was clearly rhetorical but Karen felt the need to reassure her.
“You can ask her when we find her, look we know where to start looking, the cargo hanger on Diogo and this guy Steven Jones”
“The name rings a bell” Karen added but quickly shook her head
“Let’s concentrate on the hanger… she might still be there”
Lorleii looked again at Karen and gathered herself, taking long deep breaths.
“Your right, it’s just a lot to take in”
“I know, we’ll get to the bottom of this, for the both of us” She gave Lorleii a reassuring rub on her arm.
“Do you mind?” Karen asked gesturing towards the data pad on the table.
“Go ahead”
Karen took the datapad and busily scrolled through various messages, they were mostly correspondences about Saint Logistics, but a few were biometrically locked.
“Well at least she wanted you to see this, she knew you would come looking. There’s also a few interesting looking messages but we will either need your mother to open them or we could hand this over to someone who can decrypt this kind of security”
“We’ll make that decision when we need to, let’s get back to Diogo K, there’s still a chance"
“Your right, time to get this lump of rust turned around, I’ll have a word with the captain”
Karen left the room and headed towards the bridge, a new sense of purpose swelled through her, she had almost lost hope, but now not only did they have something to work with she also felt closer to Lorleii. They had shared an unknown bond, a tenuous bond, but in this almost borderless universe even tenuous bonds should be cherished.
