Witness [A First Contact Romance]-COMPLETE

67. Slow-Motion

Ashby Virtual Hotel District,

The Ephemor Federation

2027

Even after holding onto Trin's hands for ten minutes and staring at her the entire time, Rory could not believe what she was seeing. "This is real?"

Normally, Trin did not like to be so touchy, but apparently thirteen years trapped at Ashby virtual hotel had, at least temporarily, made her as eager for contact, because she held onto Rory tightly. Jace sat with his arm around their friend, refusing to let go.

They'd spent the first few minutes repeating themselves, saying things Rory could no longer even remember. The shock hadn't lessened, but the joy of seeing her friend again had managed to rouse her thinking mind.

"I want to hear everything," Rory said.

"The glitches kept getting worse until one day I suddenly appeared here." Trin looked exactly the same as the last time Rory had seen her. Her face was so young. Had they all really been this young when they were fighting on Lumiea? "Vehru was waiting for me here. She told me that she needed my body from now on. Even had the gall to apologize."

"She's a bastard," Jace said.

"I guess all the amenities here were supposed to make up for her hijacking my body. There's whatever food or view I could imagine. It all tastes bitter when you're trapped." It was incredibly rare for Trin to tear up, but her eyes looked misty. "I missed everyone so much. I could never accept that I wouldn't see you again."

Rory pulled her close into another hug. "We couldn't either."

"Vehru gave me access to all sorts of information, though. I can't leave here or communicate with anyone. It hasn't been able to do any good, but I at least got to follow what is happening on Lumiea and Earth." She bit her lip. "I know what Vehru did to you."

Jace squeezed Rory's knee.

"I can read or watch anything that's public. I saw all the footage of you on Earth, Aeryn. Or, Rory. What do you want me to call you?"

"I'm still Aeryn. I always will be." She smiled. "I hope it helped you not feel so alone to get updates on us."

"What other information do you have?" Jace asked.

"Plenty of information. I don't think the Federation put a great deal into security here. Why would you spend a lot of time on something that has never been an issue and that you don't anticipate being one? The Commanders are trusted to handle their guests. We're trapped here and anyone who Vehru brings in should be under her supervision. It's not like someone can come wandering in."

The implications were spinning through Rory's mind. "We're Vehru's guests, not Morfrain's. I wonder if he can read our thoughts here."

Trin shrugged. "I don't know about that. I can say this, though. Proprietary Federation technology is off-limits, even for Commanders, but I've been studying it since I got here, and others have for hundreds of years. You would be amazed at what we can figure out with the information we have."