Starfire

by Jenetta Penner

  Richard Foster

  Head Planet Terraforming and Urban Development Engineer

  I touch my index finger to the gold letters and my throat constricts. Then I move my hand down to the finger scanner on the door lock. Dad wasn’t supposed to give me access but, occasionally, he turned off his comm so I could find him if need be. He programmed my print to open the door, too. Maybe something inside can tell me what happened to him, where he is. I’ve ripped apart every drawer in the apartment and found nothing. And his computer is secured, denying me access.

  The scanner beeps and flashes green. The door slides away. My heart sinks.

  Other than a large desk and a chair, the room is empty. I hurry in and yank each of the four desk drawers open. Nothing. Not as if I really thought it would be any different. Why would the Board be so stupid as to take all of Dad’s research but leave a few items in the drawers?

  In one angry motion, I throw myself into the swivel chair and do a three-sixty, catching myself on the lip of the desk with a jerk. I pull my legs up into the chair and wrap the too big jacket around them. Maybe I can just disappear, too.

  I stuff my hands into the jacket’s pockets, and a quiver rakes over my body as I touch an object inside of the right one. I touch the cool surface and pull out the item.

  In my palm rests the most beautiful, deep cyan crystal that I’ve ever seen. Measuring about one inch long, the precise cuts on each side are incredible. I turn the gem over and inspect every surface. As I study the crystal, the room’s coldness falls away and my body fills with warmth. The gem must be from Arcadia since I’ve never seen anything quite the same on Earth. Dad must’ve received the crystal from a building team that returned from the surface.

  All I can guess is that he was going to give it to me. Since he knows I enjoy making jewelry. I clasp the crystal in my hand. So that’s what I’ll do with it when I get back to the unit. I know the perfect silver chain for it to hang on.

  I stuff the gift into the front pocket of my jeans for safekeeping. As I do, I feel a presence come from behind. I gasp and swivel the chair to see who’s there. But the office is still empty other than me, the desk, and the chair.

  I shake my head. I’m just exhausted. And apparently delirious.

  I rise and head for the exit but just as I reach my hand to activate the system, the door slides open and I’m met by a very sleepy looking Max.

  I let out a yelp.

  “Whoa,” he says and steps back, throwing his hands chest high in the air. His eyes open wide.

  “You scared me,” I say.

  “Why are you even here at almost four in the morning? You’re supposed to be resting.”

  I ease from the opening. “I can’t sleep. I did tell you.”

  “Sleeping and resting are two separate things. And wandering around on the ship is neither.” He crosses his arms across his chest.

  I push past him and take a right. “You’re not in charge of me, Max.”

  “No.” He follows. “But I’m supposed to make sure you stay safe.”

  I stop and spin toward him. “And are you doing this out of the goodness of your heart?”

  Max pauses and pinches his lips together.

  “Did Hammond assign you?” With a huff, I twist from him, but he grabs my arm, staying me.

  “Would you rather Luca Powell? Because that’s who she was going to assign until I convinced her otherwise.” He stares me down with his gray eyes.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean what I said. She planned to have Luca monitor you. I told Hammond we had a good connection at the Gala and you trusted me.”

  I click my tongue. “Trust-ed you is right—”

  “I’ve given you very little reason not to trust me. Okay,” he says, raising his hands in self-defense, “I didn’t tell you everything, but you’ve been a mess. It’s not like you would’ve handled the news all that well.”

  I roll my eyes, but he’s right. I’m not handling it well now.

  “I haven’t told Hammond anything. Not that there’s much to tell. You really should go back to your room.”

  “I don’t want to go to my room,” I mumble.

  Max expels an exasperated breath. “Then where would you like to go at four in the morning?”

  I don’t have any place in mind I want to go. “The arboretum,” slips from my mouth.

  “Okay. I haven’t been there yet. Good of a place as any.”

  Without another word, Max escorts me to the arboretum’s deck and, before I know it, I’m walking down the path beside the apple trees again.

  “Wow.” Max swivels his head, taking in the sights. “Too bad today’s my last day on the ship. This is incredible.”

  The soft nature sounds calm me. And, once again, I watch as the pigeon-sized bots zip from tree to tree doing their duty.

  “Is it always daytime in here?” Max asks.

  “As far as I know.” I’ve never been here outside regular hours before. It’s probably one reason the plants grow so well. I reach for a blushing apple and yank the fruit from its branch. Seeing it suddenly brings back my appetite, at least a little. “Want one?”

  “Sure. Anything to get you to eat.”

  I grasp a second apple, pull, and it releases with a snap. I toss the apple to Max.

  He catches it. “Thanks.”

  Something about the way he does it makes me smile for a moment. Max is sweet, and the fact is . . . I do appreciate him being here.

  I bite into the apple and spot a bench about thirty feet from us. “Let’s sit there for a while.”

  Max munches on his apple and nods.

  “So, you must have been meeting with Hammond?” I say as we walk to the bench and sit.

  “Her and a few other Board members. Not in person, but over a comm,” he says, his mouth full of apple. “Hammond’s on the surface.”

  “Has the Board released anything about my dad?”

  Max gives me a patronizing smile.

  I rub my face in frustration. “Okay, have you heard what caused the explosion?” Since I woke up, I’ve tried not to think about this, but voicing the words floods questions into my mind. The smoke, the sounds, the smell . . . the boy and his cyan eyes. A shudder works its way up my spine, but I shake the feeling off. “Was it a bomb? Was it an accident with the equipment?”

  “Cassi, I’m seventeen. You truly think Hammond or anyone on the Board is purposely filling me in on top-secret details?

  I scoff. “There must be rumors, at least.”

  Max gestures around the arboretum. “And who would I hear these rumors from? I’ve spent most of the last six days with you, and there aren’t many people left on the ship.”

  There’s no way he’s only commed with Hammond. The night of the Gala, he shared that he had a buddy on the ship. I do trust Max, but he’s keeping information from me.

  “Fine.” I stand and toss my half-eaten apple onto the ground. An Agrowbot swoops in and gobbles the trash into its body cavity. “Then take me back to my room. I have to leave at seven, so I might as well get ready.”

  Max stands and flings his apple core and the same bot disposes of it. “Those things don’t waste any time, do they?”

  I raise my foot to walk but he places his hand on my shoulder, and I turn to him.

  “Your dad would want you to face this challenge. He was . . . is a brilliant and brave man. And I’m pretty sure you take after him. That's the real reason I'm doing all this.”

  I tip my head in confusion.

  Max crosses his arms over his chest. "I've always admired Dr. Foster and followed his studies over the years. When your mother was killed, I was devastated for your family. Everything seemed perfect, and then it fell apart."

  My chest tightens. It was perfect.

  "When I saw you at the Gala I knew it was my chance to meet you." Max's face softens, and he looks down to the ground, his usual confidence diminished slightly.

  "Why me and not Dad?"
r />   He glances back at me." There's just always been something about you, too. Anytime news stories would air, and they showed your family... there was a strength about you. I liked it." Max touches my hand and quickly removes it. "I always thought we could be. . . friends."

  My heart thuds in my chest and the ghost of his touch still lingers on my skin.

  "I'd like that," I whisper.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “You want me to come in and help with anything?” Max asks at the door to my unit.

  I wave my hand in the air. “I’m good. Thanks for asking.”

  He smiles. “Anytime. I’ll be back in a couple of hours to escort you to Skybase. After that, we’ll take a transport to the surface together.”

  The surface. The thought of it brings a lump into my throat, but I swallow it back. “See you then.”

  Max nods and heads toward the elevator.

  “Oh, and Max?” I say, and he turns. “Thank you for getting me out of the bay.”

  He nods again. “You’re just lucky you were in the corridor and not near the two explosions.” He continues on his way.

  I glance at my Dad’s and my names still posted beside the door and quickly activate the pad to trudge inside. What now? There’s no way I’m going back to bed.

  I stuff my hands into the pockets of my jeans and locate the crystal I stowed there. I pull the gem out and stare at it again. My eyelids drift closed and a flashing image of the strange boy’s face enters my mind. Not really his face, mostly his eyes that, for a moment in the bay, shared the same color as this crystal.

  He’s the one who led me from the first explosion and then rescued me from the second. There’s no way I’d have come out uninjured, let alone alive. But my mind reels. I was right there when the second bomb went off. How did he get me into the corridor and at the right moment for Max to locate me?

  I shake off my questions and open my eyes. I peer down at the multi-faceted crystal again and then jog to my bedroom.

  On my night table lies the box of jewelry-making supplies. I flip the lid open and grab the tools I need. I also pull out the silver chain I’ve been saving for the right project. And it seems I’ve found just the one.

  I flop onto the bed and spread out all the pieces and begin my work. This was Dad’s last gift to me, and I won’t waste it.

  Today, I’ll head down to Arcadia while wearing this pendant around my neck. And once I get there, the first thing I’m going to do is unearth what happened to Dad. Someone down there surely knows something. I won’t give up until I find out who.

  Chapter 6

  I ’m stuffing the last of my clothes into a bag when a knock sounds on my cabin door. I check my Connect.

  6:45 AM

  He’s early. With a flip, I shove aside the bag and walk through the unit to let him in.

  “I’ll be right there,” I call out and tuck my new necklace inside my shirt. I’m not even sure I’m ready to share this discovery with Max.

  I reach for the activation, hit the pad, and the door slides back. But the person isn’t Max. I gaze up at a much taller boy who wears a casual white shirt, gray pants, and a smug grin—Luca Powell.

  Instinctively, I retreat a few inches from the opening.

  “Where’s Max?”

  Luca shrugs. “Reassigned, I guess.”

  I glance at my Connect again. There’s no message from him. “Reassigned? He just told me a couple of hours ago that he was escorting me to the surface.”

  “I don’t know anything about that, Cassi.”

  His use of my nickname tightens my chest. Only my friends and family call me Cassi, and I don’t know him. Or even trust him for that matter.

  “It’s Cassiopeia.”

  “Cassiopeia.” He smiles with mild amusement and my brows wrinkle. “Hammond sent me all the way from the surface to retrieve you. So, are you going to make me stand out here in the hall or can I come in?” Luca crosses his arms over his chest, smile still in place.

  I ease away and gesture him into the living area.

  Luca steps inside and scans the room. “This is a nice space. Twice the area of most cabin sizes.”

  I don’t respond.

  The smile slips away and he furrows his brows.

  I don’t think Luca is used to much resistance from girls.

  “Look,” he says softly, raising his brows. “I'm trying to be friendly.” I don't respond again and, after a few seconds, he sighs. “Are you ready to go?” he eventually asks.

  “I guess. I packed my bag and made a list of my Dad’s and my things to be sent to the surface.”

  “Did you submit the order through your onboard account?”

  I nod.

  “Then the moving company should take care of all the packing.” He waves me toward the corridor, a new confident smile in place.

  “I need to grab my bag.” I one-eighty, jog into my room, and pluck the bag off the floor. No way I’m leaving this behind. Packed inside is a framed photo of Mom and my jewelry kit.

  “You know, the movers will get that too,” Luca says when I near the entry door.

  I thrust the bag into his arms. “Nah, you can carry it.”

  A shocked expression overtakes his face and he blinks his eyes, almost comically. “Now are you ready?”

  “Yep . . . let’s go.” I march out the exit, likely never to return.

  I stay several steps in front of Luca and type a message to Max.

  What happened?

  I hit send and slow down to let Luca catch up. Before he does, I check the message status, but it only states it’s been delivered, not read. My heart sinks. I needed Max’s support for this trip.

  To hide my discouragement from Luca, I raise my chin and lift a single eyebrow as he removes my bag from one shoulder and flings it to the other. “Too heavy for you?”

  “What do you have in this thing? Bricks?”

  I scoff. “Yes—yes. I brought bricks from Earth.”

  Luca rolls his eyes and reaches my side. “Why don’t you like me?”

  I stop, and he does too.

  “Mr. Powell. You must know my dad and Hammond don’t...uh, didn't see eye to eye.” The admission stabs at my stomach, but I continue. “Now, don’t you think it’s strange she wants you to play up to me?”

  “I’m not—” His eyes widen.

  “Of course you are. Whether you know it or not, that’s what’s happening.” I cross my arms over my chest and tap my fingers in an irritated rhythm. “Now, why don’t you tell me what happened to my father?” Heat creeps up my cheeks and I will the flush to stop since I’m fully aware my pale skin won’t hide it. But it’s no use.

  “Cassi—Cassiopeia.” He visibly swallows and looks away, as if confused, but only for a single beat. Gaze now locked evenly onto mine, he says, “Even if I knew anything, I wouldn’t be able to tell you unless Hammond okayed it.”

  “See, you are her servant.” I flip around and storm toward the Skybase.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Once on Skybase, I let Luca take the lead since I have no idea where I’m going. We board a small transport ship owned by the Board. I grab my bag from Luca and cover my body with it. At least the covering makes me feel like there’s more distance than the several feet between us. I turn and focus out the window as the transport glides toward the Skybase exit. The ship lifts off the ground and, in moments, we’re space borne.

  The planet swirling with the cyan cloud of gas moves into view, and suddenly my chest grows warm. I press my fingers to the spot. My pendant.

  I peer down and a faint glow emits from under my shirt. My breath hitches. I grab for my sweater’s collar and fasten the top button. The green fabric is thick enough that the glow doesn’t show through.

  I whip my attention over to Luca, but he’s turned away, probably sulking.

  I recheck my messages—still nothing from Max. I turn my attention to the planet again as it grows larger.

  This is my new home, and I better get u
sed to it. And with this thought, it’s as if the cyan clouds permeate my mind.

  “Miss Foster,” a muffled voice resonates behind me and snaps me from a near trance. “Cassiopeia,” the voice says again.

  I turn my head and Luca stands over me. “It’s time to disembark.”

  “Already?” I mumble, pulling on my bag, now pressed flat onto my lap.

  “It was forty-five minutes.”

  I squint my eyes and take in the small space. When more clear-headed, I stand and follow him from the transport, still a little unsure of where the time went. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t asleep.

  Luca pilots me through the port and navigates us around several groups of people. At least he knows where we’re going. My heart crashes against my chest, and strangely the air feels thick and difficult to inhale.

  Luca turns to me as I lag behind and signals me forward. When I get there, he takes my bag. “The atmosphere is slightly different than Earth,” he says, all business. “Everyone has a little trouble adjusting at first. But, by the end of the day, you’ll be fine.”

  We stride toward a broad wall of glass windows. Outside are ground transports and a scattering of people. But beyond the road is one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. The Tahm Range glistens in the sun and below the mountain peaks is the skyline of Primaro.

  Dad was right: the city does perfectly blend with the organic beauty of Arcadia. Plant life weaves through silver and white buildings designated for housing and office space. A few skyscrapers tower above the clusters of small- and medium-sized structures.

  We exit through glass doors, and I’m met with a rush of warm air. My sweater quickly becomes too hot, but if my crystal is still glowing, I don’t want anyone to notice—especially Luca. So, I leave the thick garment on.

  Luca steps ahead to the curb and raises his hand. A few seconds later, a small vehicle pulls up.

  “Our ride is here,” Luca says as the door opens.

  He leans in and places my bag in the middle of the seat and gestures me inside. When I’m settled, Luca slides in from the opposite side. He swipes at a small screen on the inside wall and then presses his hand to the computer. The screen glows green and beeps and then the vehicle drives forward.