Ball of Silence

Ball of Silence - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sina is still sleeping in my room when someone answers my cargo space ad on the station's message board. A manufacturing company wants to ship a large set of machine tools to Ginlam. I strike a deal with that company and oversee the loading of my cargo bay, flinching at the noise in addition to the residual ringing in my ears from the explosion.

I jog back to my room, careful not to wake Sina. I place the crystal, still in its leather box, into a shoulder bag, and return to the cargo hold with it.

What a difference! Although layers of bag, box, headphones and earplugs separate us, the crystal's song reaches out and absorbs the horrible clanging of robot-forklifts stacking the crates.

I feel guilty. My crewmates still think I bought a singing crystal, not that I stole an alien object.

We eat lunch and I am anxious to jump. It's only a question of time until Liv notices his crystal is missing. I cannot return it to him. Impossible.

After lunch, I give Sina a friendly nod. "Can we jump?"

"Do we have to jump today? The space bender bar wants to host a party for us tonight."

"All of us?" Flin asks.

"Sure."

"Oh, cool."

"Sorry, guys, I promised the antiques dealer we'd deliver that vase. I already contacted the office of the buyer on Ginlam and they're expecting us."

Big disappointment shows on Flin and Sina's faces. Priar doesn't care. He isn't fond of large crowds staring at his marred face.

"I could jump us after the party," Sina says.

"Sorry, too late. We should, in fact, jump right now."

"Can't that stupid vase wait for half a day?"

"Business is business, Sina. I gave my word."

She frowns. "You really want me to contact the party organizers and tell them to party without us?"

"Yes. Do that and then come to the bridge. Priar, Flin, get everything ready to jump."

"Aye, Captain," Flin says, peeved.

         I go to the bridge. The crystal croons as nervously as I feel, and yet its presence soothes me.

         As I wait for Sina in the captain's chair, I take the crystal out of its containers. I'm fully aware that without it I could not have made love to Sina the way I had this morning. I presume Sina hasn't realized that yet.

         I stare at the ball. The green and red lines within shimmer in the many blinking lights of the bridge.

Once I thought to have found "my" place. Hishlam has a tropical island where we stayed for a week. Many noisy tourists visit the island, but I would have endured them for Hishlam's incredible oceans. I dove and swam every day, though not deeper than a couple of feet, my ears can't stand any higher pressure. A particular sound of Hishlam's oceans acted on me like divine music. I paddled for hours around the island, listening to the song of the ocean.

I had been on the verge of selling the Voice of Silence when something happened. While I was snorkeling, the ocean suddenly shrieked. The sound threatened to tear my brain out through my ears. In complete agony, I surfaced. I was far from the shore and I almost drowned on my way back.

I had heard the cry of a whale species native to Hishlam, presumably the most intelligent whale on all of the ninety-five planets of the Human Unity. They are one of the main attractions of that tropical island. They live in the area for ten out of twelve local months. I had heard their return. I raged for a week that these creatures had ruined "my" place.