“What do you mean, slept? Are you saying…? Are they…?”
Suddenly Jorh realized his mother was right. Mahhzee wasn’t a little girl anymore, she was a Kahnu woman, her body showed that clearly, and she was at an age when young Kahnus longed for a companion. She was attractive, he knew it. And her social position was a big plus for any potential suitor. Mahhzee was a pilot, as good as many of the males at the school of flights, and a great scientist. And she did not just pilot Voks. She was trained to fly commercial Vakkehs, dark pyramid-shaped carriers a hundred meters high, used for public and cargo transportation between coastal colonies. Mahhzee was also one of only six on a team trying to save their civilization, a task that required a maturity beyond that of the average Kahnu. She was an accomplished individual in her own right and didn’t need his permission to love who she pleased.
“Still…” thought Jorh, “maybe it’s just a coincidence. Serm? Serm?”
“Yes, Jorh I’m almost there. I still can’t connect with him. Did you find Mahhzee?”
“No, she’s not home. Looks like she slept at a friend’s house in Klomag-Vaha. Let me know the moment you get to Gahneo.”
“I will.”
“Mahhzee! Mahhzee! Wake up!” Gahneo was shaking her, trying to get her to respond.
“Mmmh? What?… Leave me alone. I’m sleeping…”
“Mahhzee, we’re late. We overslept!”
“What? What time is it?” she said. “Gahneo? The sun… Oh no, we’re late! Come on, we’ve gotta go!”
She was already grabbing her things and getting in the driver’s seat.
Gahneo was still moving around the Vok, looking for his clothes, when Mahhzee started lifting off the ground and quickly made a sharp turn that sent Gahneo flying to the back of the aircraft. Landing on a large container, he didn’t hear Mahhzee say, “Oops, sorry!” with a giggle.
No one was at the lab when the two of them got there. They had both disconnected from receiving any telepathic communication, to avoid any possible distraction on the way, until they got inside. Hoping they would not have to explain themselves, they came in separately, Gahneo first, followed by Mahhzee, a minute or so later. But even before she had joined him, Gahneo could clearly see that a grueling interrogation would be unavoidable. He released his mental block first. Within seconds, Serm was asking him questions.
“I overslept, that’s all. I stayed up late last night, catching up on some work, and I guess I slept too late. Sorry.”
“Where are you?” said Serm. “I went to your house. You weren’t there.”
“You probably just missed me. I’m at the lab.”
“Well, Jorh is going crazy trying to find Mahhzee, now. Let me tell him I found you at least. Maybe he’s found her by now.”
“I’m here, Serm. I’m at the lab with Gahneo,” said Mahhzee.
“Hey Mahhzee! Well, that’s lucky. Did you oversleep too?” he said with a laugh.
“Hem… Yeah… I did… I just arrived soon after Gahneo. We’re both here.”
“You better tell Jorh, then. He went looking for you at your mom’s”
“Crap!” thought Mahhzee to herself.
“Mahhzee? Mahhzee, where are you?” she heard Jorh’s voice in her head.
“I’m at the lab, Jorh. Gahneo is with me. We’re ready to work. I’m sorry for being late. How are you feeling? Better?”
“Yes, I’m fine, I’m fine. Never mind me. What about you? Where were you last night?”
“I went to see my friend Savhina in Klomag-Vaha.”
“Really? And how is your friend?” said Jorh with a suspicious undertone.
“She’s… fine,” she replied, not wanting to say any more than she had to, in case he had talked to her mother.
“I went to mom’s house looking for you. She said you went with Gahneo?”
“Hem… Yes, I didn’t want to fly all the way there by myself. I thought it would be safer if someone came with me…” she replied, as Jorh stormed into the lab, looking frustrated and upset. He was staring at her and Gahneo intensely.
“Hi Jorh,” said the young lab assistant a bit uncomfortable. “It’s all my fault. I—”
Jorh, still staring at his sister, lifted his hand for Gahneo to stop talking. After a few awkward moments, Mahhzee broke the mental silence.
“OK, fine! Gahneo and I went to the Kah-bridge. We—”
“I don’t want to know about it!” interjected Jorh. “Don’t need to know.”
“But, I just want you to underst—”
“No! I’m not interested. Don’t want to know. Let’s get to work. We’ve wasted enough time.” And with that, Jorh walked right up to the Zarfha and initialized the Mahkiar matrix.
The human group was briefly informed by their guide, Jorh, that the Mahkiar was a three-dimensional access point matrix, used by his people to tap into specific universal energies. Something quite advanced that he would attempt to explain some other time.
Meanwhile, disappointed by her brother’s reprimanding attitude, Mahhzee turned to Gahneo.
“Why can’t he be happy that I am happy?”
“Are you happy, Mahhzee?” asked Gahneo.
“Yes, very!” she replied, looking at him with love in her eyes.
The first portion of the day was just as rough as it had started. The team had kept their thoughts to the task at hand, staying off the Mahhzee-Gahneo subject, but the tension between the four was obvious. Although managing to produce some promising results, the experiments had so far yielded negative results. But no one was willing to give up, especially so close to the goal. Jorh and Gahneo had conferred several times, as each experiment was being reset and readjusted. By the early evening, Jorh was feeling quite optimistic. The preview test had given him a false moment of excitement, when the Zarfha in the containment chamber had begun to show some reaction.
“Here is the last chart, Jorh. I have increased the seventh elemental to thirty-eight cubic parts. Two more than the last test, just as you asked.”
“Good. Energize the Zarfha and make sure to keep an eye on the plasma fluctuations. Don’t let the rotation fall under two hundred revolutions per cycle. Serm, Mahhzee, are we ready to initiate the countdown?” he asked, without looking at either.
“Yes, all systems are a go,” replied Serm.
Mahhzee was watching the flux oscillator on the oval screen above the fusion chamber. In the small window, a bright blue light could now be seen, shining in the middle of the empty chamber.
“Ready when you are, Jorh,” she said.
“OK, Serm, ready? Now!”
Immediately engaging the counter, Serm started relaying the numbers telepathically to the rest of the team. “Twenty, nineteen, eighteen…”
They knew they were on the verge of a breakthrough, but none of them could really concentrate on the task at hand. Gahneo, looking at Jorh inconspicuously, was still trying to gauge how upset he was. The Zarfha in the corner of the isolation chamber began to rise, its spin rate increasing.