Early next morning, Buzz was dressed in a black suit, a white tissue peeping out from the left breast pocket, a tie put tidily around his neck. Half an hour ago, he had called his commander and asked for a free day. Nebula in the other end of the vid-phone had been very surprised, but in a positively way. He had with pleasure given the 'stressed-out ranger' the holiday he needed. According to the Commander, Lightyear had thus finally understood the meaning of quiescence.
But Buzz' intentions were far something else. He was going to visit Choice Landanah Incorporated's central office that was on the other side of Capital Planet. He would have to go there by himself, because there was no use to attempt to start a vid-phone meeting with the chief executive officer Miss G'Deneb. Late last night he had ransacked all kinds of databases, white and yellow pages of the Galactic Alliance Network, with no remarkable results. There was no personal comm. link code for any private apartment of Zarah, neither it would be successful to try to catch such a busy businesswoman from her work, via phone. Nevertheless, he knew now the address of the enterprise central office, so why not to meet the woman of riddles by himself?
"Let's see... wallet, keys, passport... shower... everything's OK", Buzz count the details he had to remember. He was going to take somewhat a long flight and needed everything possible with him. Coincidentally, his ship was fast, so it would take only a few hours to travel to the other side of the planet. Lastly he took a quick glance at the mirror, straightened his tie and made sure that no hair was peeping out from under of his purple thermal hood. Then, it was the heading to the garage.
-------------
A short woman dressed in a long black costume suit sat behind a massive desk, where was a large holo-computer, electronic drawing pad, and a name sign with the text 'Choi Zarah G'Deneb'. This was the changed form of the young inventor who had shambled along Star Command HQ in overalls, still half a year ago. But... as the markets and scientist domains had been there to boost up the landanah-based new energy producing, no long time had gone by that she had set up her own enterprise with some co-workers. The usage of that new energy form was still in the shoes of an infant, but the stock exchange price of her enterprise was rising all the time. From all over the galaxy there were purchases, in addition the work offers that rained upon her all the time.
Zarah was a wealthy woman, although she never did show it openly. She lived in a modest single-family house two-hour distance away from her work place, using a normal vehicle, avoiding all luxurious splurge. For the co-workers she was somewhat an odd bird, from the eyes of outside spectators she seemed to be very lonely, living simple life... and avoiding all private contacts with men. She was a target of constant rumours and stories, extremely odd was that she always used to work two weeks in row, even the weekends, then took a holiday of a fortnight and vanished somewhere, like a black hole would have swallowed her. No one knew a piece of meteoroid about her private life, only that she seemed to be extremely happy with her state, what ever it was, then.
Nonetheless, today Zarah had an occupied day. There had been made a huge purchase offer of landanah energy supplies from a planet called Sukkamehu. Hours she had been debating about the wholesale prise indexes and trade discounts with the buyer. In the middle of all this, the face of her secretary appeared to the holo-phone.
"Miss G'Deneb, you have a guest here who says he needs to meet you immediately. He says this is very important."
"Now who is it? I haven't made appointments for today", Zarah a bit dryly answered.
"He says he is Captain Buzz Lightyear and that you know him", was the announce.
She blinked her eyes a couple of time for amazement. "Buzz Lightyear? What is he doing here? This must concern Star Command... no... Nebula would contact me, if they would want to debate about a job offer or relevant... but... too bad that I have so little time, now", she thought and gave the instructions to the assistant, "Send him in."
Soon the electronic door whooshed open as the space ranger stepped in. Zarah stood up from her chair and saluted him.
"Good day, Mister Lightyear. What brings you here? I'm terribly sorry I'm very busy for the moment, but..."
"Greetings, Miss G'Deneb. I present my topic very shortly", he somewhat interrupted her and reeled her words about the haste in his mind, "Now... I have no time to explain and ask all the questions here, if she is this busy. And this is maybe not the best place to do that, either... let's pick something else up..." Next he took a wide smile on his face. "I would like to invite you to my home, I would have something very important to discuss with you."
Zarah shrugged a bit puzzled. "You cannot tell it me now, Mister Lightyear?"
"No, because I see that you're in a hurry, Miss. Please, this would be very essential to me. Would tomorrow evening be appropriate?"
"Let's see... a moment, please, I check my calendar", she picked a palm book from her handbag and typed something to it. "Yes... I have no meetings for tomorrow evening. That would be an appropriate time..."
"Thank you, this is very pivotal for me", Buzz sighed relieved and then informed about his address and the timing.
Zarah could do almost nothing but stare at him befogged and answer the quick questions he put under her nose. But as she agreed the time and place, Buzz prepared to leave her office, giving the farewells.
Buzz left the office a complacent smirk lifting up his mouth. Perfect. Finally the pieces would melt together, he would learn the true saga of his friend's destiny beyond two graveyards. Yet, he did not know how to bring the topic forth, when the woman would appear to his apartment, but he would fabricate a way for that, until tomorrow.
Choi could do nothing but goggle the closed doorway in total confuse. What on Zenerdiodes was this all about? Important...? So had the famous ranger said. What could that be? Zarah did not find herself anyhow linked up to the life or work of Buzz Lightyear, excluding the amnesty he had arranged to Warp... and the couple of 'savings' he had done with his team. Buzz was his distant friend, though, but Zarah did not feel comfortable the idea that she would have to go alone to his home. She did not know why, maybe it was her usual shyness concerning the situations in male company.
"I guess I have to go and see, what's out there..." she sighed sound.
-----Next day--------
With incoherent spirits, Zarah rang the doorbell of Lightyear's house. She was fatigued because of the work and literally felt uncanny standing here behind the door of that legendary space ranger. What was it that he wanted from her? She had pondered it a long time after Buzz had yesterday left her office. He had just popped there, completely unexpectedly.
The door opened. Buzz was dressed just as if he always was at home and invited Choi in. Quite awkwardly, she entered and hoped that his topic was not to suggest her to start dating with him or relevant.
"You can come to sit here in the kitchen. Would you like to have a coffee, or something?" Buzz asked and offered her a chair.
"Thank you that would be nice."
Buzz snapped the coffee maker on and with a side glance structinized the woman. Her hands were on the table, there seemed to be no ring on the ring finger. Only those strange carved long jewels around her middle ones. She watched elsewhere, obviously thinking something. He took two cups from the sideboard and poured her the hot drink. While she silently took a gulp, he decided to draw his errand forth.
"How was your day, Mrs. Darkmatter?" he threw the sentence pretending to be indifferent. But he should not have done his questioning that way, it leaded to the destruction of his one coffee cup. Zarah's eyes widened, she left an anxious scream, bounced away form the chair and crouched to the furthest corner of the room. The cup lied on the floor in two halves, the nice hot coffee as the drink of the dust bunnies.
"What do you want from me?" she shrieked.
Buzz put his hand over his eyes for shame. This was not the way he had wanted to start the discussion about Warp. Well, at least now it was clear that she indeed was married to him, that unwary behaviour revealed it in a picosecond.
"Look, ma-am, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like this... I..." he stepped to her for to calm down the shaking woman.
"H-How d-do you know my real name?" she stuttered back.
He offered her the chair once again and pleaded her to cool down. "I do not mean harm to you, ma-am, I'll tell you everything. It was a pure accident, how I found out your secret."
But Zarah could not help being nervous. Her life was supposed to be a highly classified thing. Only a few persons in the highest positions of the parliament of the Galactic Alliance knew about her true being. This single, eyes-only file in the Secondary Security Database was the only detail there was about her. Because of her work and status, she was strictly protected by a certain department of the Universe Protection Unit. By direct scions of Xanedians, who knew who her master was.
After Buzz had given her a new portion of drink, he hackled and asked directly, "Are you married to my ex-partner, Warp Darkmatter?"
She sat timid in front of him for half a minute. "I am", was then the respond after the cemetery taciturnity.
Lightyear then gradually revealed the case of XR's unpremeditated hacking. The conclusion of his story was a question: "How can that be possible? Darkmatter was supposed to be dead."
"He's not", she sighed and fingered the coffee spoon. "That... declaration of death was... made to protect me and him... by some higher quarters."
"But you didn't seem to know that in the court, did you...?"
Nervously she stirred in her chair and murmured, "No..."
"Look, ma'am, I truly mean no harm to you with this. I am not going to blackmail you because of your private things if that's what you're afraid. Buzz Lightyear would never be guilty of such a thing. Why I invited you here to discuss, was that Warp once was a good friend to me. It was then... a great misery for me to hear that after he had taken a leap to the good side, that he would be dead. I... actually only wanted to ask you, how is he?"
Somewhat a dolorous smile took the corners of Zarah's mouth up. "He's fine. Better than ever has been."
"How is he... I mean that you're his wife, aren't you... how does he treat you?" It seemed now hard for Buzz to make up his words, so many unanswered questions rolled around his brains but there was the lack of verbal expressions.
"I see what you have in mind. No, he's possibly nothing you remember him to be from the years of his serving for Zurg. He... he's the most gentle person I've ever known. He's not just a mate for me, but like a father and a brother at the same time."
"He... saved you from Zurg because he fell in love with you?" Buzz had wanted to know this already seven months ago, but then, that teary woman hitting the dirty factory floor with her fists had not given any retort.
"That's right."
"When did he... krmh...marry...", Buzz gulped in order to get the message out of his mouth, it still appeared to be so inconceivable for him to grasp that Warp would unite with someone. "...when...did he marry you?"
"We... were married already then, when you saw him for the last time", she whispered.
Buzz got his eyebrows up for amazement. "Well that's..." He was about to congratulate her, but could not finish the sentence because of the spinning sentiments.
When? Where? He bethought himself that Zarah had got some kind of holiday, then... she had ended up to Trade World with Darkmatter... had they had some kind of ceremony in that oasis of gangland? No... that was not possible. That must have befallen some place else.
"Where... is he now?"
Zarah's face turned austere. "I'm sorry, but I'm not allowed to tell that."
Buzz sighed and let his regard wander over the figures of the tablecloth. "I understand. It's just that... I would like to meet him after all this time and see with my own eyes that he truly is reformed..."
The wrinkles on her forehead softened. "I can assure you that he has. But it's not under my authority to reveal his place. Certain laws and a submission bind me to cease."
Sadness in his eyes Buzz stared at the hands of Zarah that lied on the table. So... there was no way getting information out of her, how he could get in touch with Warp. It was now a bee in bonnet to him, his stubborn nature did not give him peace. For the while, Zarah took away her jacket as it was quite warm inside there. Buzz, who had kept glowering at her rings, fastened now his vision to the intriguing large bracelets she had. Those valuable-looking implements were decorated with the same kind of details as the rings. He had never seen anything relevant, not in the cultural area of the Galactic Alliance.
"You have interesting ornaments, Mrs. Darkmatter. What are those?"
"They're..." she did not know whether to tell it or not "Let's say that they together correspond an object called wedding ring."
Buzz pricked his ears. Could this be a way to get her slip something about Warp's hideout?
"So... you always wear those?"
"It's my liability."
"Can I watch one of them a bit more closely?" he asked.
Zarah did not see the plot behind this question and just shrugged, then unlocked the six little clips of the other bracelet, from the elbow to wrist, next offering it to Buzz. "Go ahead."
He carefully studied the original engravings and memorized the symbols that kept repeating in them. For to hide his intentions, he talked as if he would have just been interested in the value of those jewels.
"This is not silver, is it? Something else."
"It's platinum."
Buzz' eyes went wide. So they really had an incredible value. "Wow. You must be getting well with your husband if he affords to buy you this kind of things."
Zarah could not tell where she had really got them, just added: "We get along pretty well. I got my own enterprise and he has his own work. But that's nothing criminal if you think so."
The clock had galloped forward quite a lot during their slowly and silent conversation. Zarah, who was already tired when she had entered the house, glanced at her timer.
"I must be going, now, Mr. Lightyear. But I have to swear you to secretary about all this. And also your team."
Buzz stood up with a grave expression. "My tongue is sealed. Buzz Lightyear never reveals classified information to unauthorized persons. And so you can rely on my Team. XR is the only bigmouth, but even he can keep his maw shut concerning things like this."
"Thank you", she blurted a bit more relieved.
Soon the door slammed shut behind her and Buzz was left alone. Now, what to do?
...to be continued...