Well. My brain feels like its been shrouded in fleecy cotton. I pulled an all-nighter last night with some youth groups and I. am. exhausted. XD Which means this is all y’all are going to get for an intro. ;P
Recap
Ixshar, the gunar who murdered Rushnak Gunitka, has revealed that he might possibly be working for someone by the name of Kain Bennett.
The Caretaker – Part 1.15
Lasha didn’t recognize the name, but Rune had obviously done his research on it and what he’d found worried him. She pulled up a separate file, scanning Ixshar’s one more time before closing it and studying Bennett’s.
“I don’t see anything unusual. Why is he important? According to the records he’s never been a threat to Leapers before.”
“Except for one thing. Look at his family.”
Lasha glanced over the names, finding nothing interesting about them. “Stop hinting, Caretaker. Tell me what I’m missing.”
“I did some research on his family, tracing it back nearly two centuries.” Rune’s facial hologram flickered to one portraying Bennett’s file. He pressed Bennett’s father’s name, and then his father’s, and then his mother’s, tracing it back until he finally reached one Lasha recognized.
“David Kenaz,” she murmured. “The High Commander. Bennett is related to him.”
“Distantly, yes.” Rune backed up until he was back at Bennett’s files. “See this name: Ashan Bennett?”
“Yes. His sister?”
“Correct. Apparently the High Commander’s Leaper genes skipped a few generations and carried over to Ashan. The Leapers discovered her abilities and assessed her, then recruited her. Of course, the rest of her family had to be relocated with their memories altered.”
Lasha nodded. It was standard procedure.
“They changed his name, Commander. He shouldn’t be going by Kain Bennett. He shouldn’t even know that was ever his name. As far as he knows, he always was and always will be Jorrin Karye.”
“Hm.” This was interesting, but irrelevant when compared to her mission with the Children of the Forbidden. “What happened to his sister, Ashan?”
Rune shrugged. “She got her name changed to Ashan Dibri and deserted about seven years ago. No one has heard from her since.”
“Seriously? We had a deserter and no one bothered to track her down?” If Ashan let any of the Leaper secrets slip… Lasha forced that thought away. That would never happen. “Is she wearing an armband?”
“I don’t know, Commander. Her file ends after a failed attempt to find her on Xounia. We believe she high-tailed it to the Outside Realms and was lost in their labyrinths”
“Alright, let me think.” Lasha rubbed her forehead. This was too much information. “I want you to reinstate that search for Dibri. Whether or not she was found, she’s still a liability to the Leapers. If you run into very many issues, report back to me and I’ll notify the other Commanders to see if they have any other people to send. Keep me updated on the Ixshar-Bennett fiasco, but if it appears to be just another single-world scale issue, drop the subject and let the regular authorities take care of that. Understood?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Have you told anyone about this besides me?”
“Only those on my own staff. The Moekinoans think it was just a murder the officials investigated. They believe it is under control.”
“Is it?” She knew her tone was as hard as steel.
Instantly Rune’s face solidified into an unmovable mask. “Of course, Commander.”
“Good. You are dismissed.”
The holojector’s green light faded, then clicked off, leaving Lasha alone in the dim lights of the room. She sighed to herself, thinking about this new information. It was possible that the Bennett mystery could be important to the Leapers, but right now she had to focus on finding that deserter, Dibri, and accomplishing her previous mission to find the Children of the Forbidden.
And training an apprentice.
She rubbed her forehead again. Sometimes she thought this job was too much for one body to handle.
Until next time,
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth! 😉
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