Si laughed loudly.

  “Again, this person is who? My fiancée? You are not kidding? No, I can see that you are not. So, you did recognize, of course. Did you two talk? How long have you two not talked—two years now? Tell me.”

  Si was in a frivolous mood after hearing Lukai’s description of meeting Alena—Si’s contract fiancée. That she was the person they had spotted on Moon Three… Si was eager to know more because he was trying to understand Lukai better.

  Lukai sometimes acted as if he couldn’t grasp people’s feelings. Si wanted to be certain—was it only in some particular situations, or was it how he was?

  It was important to understand it. They were partners. Si needed to know his partner.

  Also, this situation. Hilarious, when to think.

  What a scandal they could produce if they needed something to provoke people. Unio would then never believe that Shadows and the OFF could form any alliance. But—no, it shouldn’t be played like this. The girl, Alena, was innocent… but what if they cooperated with her? If there was something she wanted, and Si could arrange it for her, could she agree to participate in the game with them?

  Unio women were peculiar, Si noticed, as he observed their behaviors, motivations, and prejudices. Their dreams. The Hal girl was one; Si had experienced more; he wanted to understand Unio families and people. Deciphering people was interesting.

  Lukai didn’t say anything more.

  “Dual. You didn’t know? It solves the puzzle of why she agreed to marry me. Shadows and Crystalers are forbidden, so for her as a hiding dual, it could be perfect. So, you didn’t know?”

  “I didn’t know,” Lukai said; did he sound gloomy?

  Si silently snorted. He clearly didn’t know. So, the next question. As Lukai should have decided months before. It had backfired; if he had decided earlier, everything would be easier for him. What a lesson.

  “Do you want me to break off the engagement?” he asked.

  “No,” Lukai answered.

  That surprised Si a little.

  “No? Why? As we agreed, I am constantly postponing it for you to decide. I think it has already been a long time for a girl to be neglected. Do you mean I still should marry her? I do not want to; I like someone else,” Si said.

  “You didn’t find her yet.” Lukai commented.

  Si laughed.

  “I will, and then I cannot be engaged.”

  He was sure he would find Anna soon; he needed to.

  Then, Lukai finally said what was bothering him.

  “She said she is with someone else.” His voice was more gloomy.

  This time, Si didn’t laugh. That was it. Lukai was—what? Jealous?

  “So, you don’t want me to break off because you want her not to go to the other one?”

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  Lukai looked at him as if Si had said aloud his thoughts.

  It being said out loud sounded meanly.

  They both were aware it was not clean.

  “Let’s skip it. Solve it somehow before the date of the annual alliance meeting. I need to know what to say. So, what do we do next? She is not involved in the attacks; do we agree? Here, do we have it clear?” Si asked.

  “She is not,” Lukai answered.

  That she was the Alena girl—what a coincidence. What trouble for Lukai. Who would have thought? Not also to overthink it, but it needed to be solved.

  This way or another way.

  Si wanted to clear it as soon as possible. This situation proved that any unsolved events could cause considerable trouble in the future, and in the most unexpected way.

  “Lukai, do you remember our first meeting? My father, Domini, and your Leader Yura. You and I were there as their assistants. We waited for them to finish their talk; we weren’t truly included at that time. The question was, who steered the attacks, and all said that ‘Not us.’ I still say that all would end up in a war state if they included the families. They would not discuss it calmly and with reason,” Si said and stopped.

  Lukai was listening.

  “… I did not believe it then. Somebody was lying. Years later, we are not closer to the truth. The attacks stopped. But what if they happen again? Unio is powerless; they need us: your organization and my Shadows people. Though, the alliance is like a joke. They do not cooperate—families, I mean. And your Leader says things like ‘only natural energy’ and ‘no more Crystal implants.’ You see it coming, don’t you?”

  “I know, Si, I can see it. Unio cannot be the mind behind it. Unio is shaking, but they like money; they like their lives. They wouldn’t destroy themselves. It could be a rebel from Unio, but not Unio. Si, I am almost certain it is someone from the OFF,” Lukai said, sounding slightly angry.

  Si sighed with relief. His exaggerated speech paid off. Lukai admitted it, saying aloud what Si had assumed. Very good.

  “That is for sure not easy for you to say. What about Yura?” Si asked.

  “I’m observing him,” Lukai said, calming down.

  “The Gates net. Better control is needed. I know you recognized who this person was. But I checked Gates to find the ID of this person, and, Lukai, if you didn’t know who this person was, we wouldn’t easily find out. This means, even if you were observing Yura, he might have a way to travel unnoticed.”

  Lukai looked surprised.

  He wasn’t aware, Si thought. Lukai was not aware that Gates without tracking existed. As Si himself was aware, he owned two of them.

  “I will be honest. I have two Gates that are for me only; they are not recording ID officially,” Si said and had to stop.

  Lukai looked even more surprised than he was a minute ago.

  Si continued. “So, how many Gates like mine are there? Who else has Gates? Does Yura have? We need to check old Gates, ones that are not used officially, and also, start to talk to Unio about their Gates, not listed in the official screening. Out of curiosity, I installed more devices—not to track the Gate, as I would rather not be spotted, but to see who passes the security levels in the Shadows’ library, where one of my Gates is. The other one is in my bedroom. As a side note, I am not worried about this one. But the one in the library, I will observe it carefully. Lukai, we need to tighten control.”

  “I agree. We need to cooperate more closely. I will check Gates in the OFF. What about Unio? Who will talk? You?”

  “Yes, I am going to talk to Domini either way. He listens to me, it should be without problems.” Si stated.

  “Do you know the reasons?” Lukai asked.

  “Unfortunately, I know. Me. And my mother!” Si laughed, so Lukai didn’t follow the topic.

  He avoided family topics, Si noticed. It was intriguing.

  “I also have a thought. I need to talk to my father. We have to search for materials from the Sect. The e.i. device—people say it is a legend. You need to know, it is not a legend. I am so disappointed. It went missing around thirty years ago. I think both of us must look for it and exchange information on this matter as well. Are you in?”

  “I agree.”

  “Good, we talk. Lukai? The Alena girl, my fiancée. This situation already gave me a clue. I have to admit, I would like to meet my fiancée, I want to talk. As she did something that inspired me to evaluate my energy in this way, and I am closer to a new way of something that could be used to fight during the next attacks. I didn’t think about it before. I saw what she was trying to do, and it gave me a hint. Dual, you say. This is why. Interesting, this also could help me to understand how to combine energies. I need to meet her. Let’s arrange it when you solve your personal situation, all right?”

  It was the last thing Si wanted to confirm.

  “I agree,” Lukai said.