by Elle Scott
“I… I destroyed it.” Fear was wrapped in every syllable he spoke.
I blinked away tears. “You say our termination is being scheduled, and I get it. Your people are scared, they have every right to be.”
Kyson began pacing, his hand sweeping through his hair.
Speaking out loud was the only thing I could do to stop from crumbling. “This wasn’t how it was meant to be. Earth were supposed to expect us, but instead it was invaded.” I threw my hand to the sky. “But there are so many innocent people on those ships; children and families who wouldn’t stand for what the older generations have done. They’re caught in a war they know nothing of.”
He stopped pacing and clutched my hands, his thumb grazed back and forth over my knuckles. Still speechless.
My tears flowed freely.
“Arylia!” My father’s voice scolded behind us. “We have to go. You’ll be blown to bits!”
“So will every Earthling,” I admonished.
“You have to understand. We need a planet. Our existence can’t survive on ships.”
“At what cost? You’ll do anything for survival, right? Like what you did to Orbum and their people?”
My father’s shoulders slumped, his silence enough to tell me the truth. He even refused to look at me, just like always, and I wondered if he had constantly ignored me because of his guilt. Was my earnest face too much for him to bear?
“Look at me!” I demanded.
He looked at me for a second before his eyes lowered to Kyson’s hands intertwined with mine. “We wanted to do better, but —”
He was interrupted by a branch cracking beside us, and then I realized, we were surrounded by my people.
The Stars I rose into the darkened sky. I stood by the hologram dashboard in the bridge, a guard keeping me under close watch. Across the room, Kyson’s hands and feet were strapped to his chair.
“Why are you doing this, Mother?” I begged. “You don’t have to hurt anyone. Was there even a peace pact?”
“They refused us, child. They deserve what’s coming.”
The hologram screen showed all the ships in red, their bows faced the earth below, ready for her signal to fire. I rested my hands on the dashboard.
“No, they don’t… they don’t deserve to die.” My finger hovered over the comms button.
Exasperated, my mother turned around to look out the window. I let my finger weigh down on the button, and the ships lit up green across the screen.
“We don’t deserve to die,” she said, still facing away. “We’ve fought too hard and too long to be turned away. They refused to make space for us, so we will make the space ourselves.”
“It’s not right. It’s not who we are.”
“You don’t know who we are,” she huffed. “You don’t know the things we’ve had to do to ensure our survival.”
“I know about Orbum. How your generation removed their inhabitants so you could live there for only a few years.”
Her head twisted in my direction before she pressed her palms against her eyes. “Choices were made. Hard choices. But our leaders have done everything for future generations — for your generation.”
“My generation wouldn’t approve of those choices.”
She turned around to face me. “Sometimes you have to kill a few for the sake of—”
Her face dropped as she saw the screen. All the ships began turning their bows, directing their weapons on us in solidarity. We had been raised to value Soliun life, that part my mother had right, but by declaring war against Earth, she had put the whole fleet in danger. If our people can show they are on Earth’s side by removing the head of the snake, The Stars I, maybe the rest of them will be spared.
My mother was right about killing a few for the sake of many. That few will be us.
Klive dove across the bridge and hit the comms button in front of me.
“Switch me to The Stars II,” my mother commanded, then glared at me, “Arylia, what have you done?”
“Given them a choice,” I said, my chin high.
“Hello? Stars II?” She rambled a desperate plea for help, but The Stars II didn’t want to claim association with a sinking ship. Klive stood by, hanging on her every word. Others in the bridge raced out to find safety.
In the chaos, my father grabbed my elbow and dragged me to Kyson. He untied the straps and pulled us into the corridor, hurrying us along to the left of the Observatory and stopped at the Trans-portal room.
“What are you doing?” I asked, confused.
He typed in the pass-key and the glass door slid open, then he took my face in his hands.
Our eyes connected. A small smile softened his face. “Go Child, I always knew you were meant for more than this ship.”
“No, Dad! You can’t stay here, you’ll die!” I grabbed his hands, trying to pull him in with me.
He looked over his shoulder, aware of others rushing down the corridor, all eager for escape. Wrapping his arms around me, he squeezed me tight, hugging me for the first and the last time.
He pulled away, showing me a glint in his eyes.
“Your mother will go down with this ship, and I will stay with her. You’ve done the right thing, Ary. Now go, do what we can’t: Make peace.”
He pushed me inside and Kyson followed. He locked the glass door to separate us and the swarm of people begging for survival.
He mouthed, I love you, and then, more urgently, Go!
Kyson reached forward, entranced by the silver pillar in the middle of the room.
“Wait!” I called, grabbing his wrist. “Think of somewhere you’ve been before. Somewhere safe.”
I held his arm as I looked out to my father, watching him fade before me. Too quickly, The Stars I, and everything in it, vanished like it was nothing but a ghost.
My feet sunk into soft yellow sand as my father’s loving eyes were replaced by a palm tree, swaying in the breeze. The sound of waves crashing fought to be heard over my sobbing.
“We’re bad people. We destroyed Orbum and we came here to destroy you,” I cried, letting go of Kyson’s wrist.
“No, you didn’t. You and many of your people came here in peace. You’re not all bad people,” he insisted, trying to placate me.
I looked up to the sky, hoping to see The Stars I, hoping to see the attacks from all sides called off, but all I could see was the high sun as its heat dried my tears. “I just doomed my parents.”
“You saved all of your people. You saved my people.”
Maybe he was right. I felt guilty about sentencing my own parents, but by doing so, maybe I had saved everyone else.
“They did the wrong thing in the name of survival, but they were still my parents. I should have stayed with them. I don’t know if I can forgive myself. Maybe I am repulsive.”
“You didn’t wipe out a whole planet while planning to wipe out another. You did the opposite. You sacrificed your family, your blood, to save not one, but two sentient races. There is nothing repulsive about you. If you’re going to call yourself names, I’d call you a selfless hero,” Ky scolded and soothed me, all at the same time.
I wasn’t convinced, I didn’t want to be naïve anymore.
“What if it didn’t work? What if my parents die in vain?”
“We’ll make sure they won’t.” He brushed his hands over my ears and cupped my head, kneading my skull with his fingertips. “You and I, together. We’ll do what your mother couldn’t. We’ll make peace. Don’t lose your fire, Arylia.”
My body softened in his hold, comforted by his confidence. “Back on The Stars LXIV, we learned all about Earthlings. I found so much likeness between our people. We both laugh, we both dance, we both make mistakes, we breathe, we bleed, we… love. I couldn’t wait to get here, to be one of you. But we weren’t welcome… we weren’t given the chance to prove ourselves. Then, you came along, and you saw me. The real me. My people are worth saving, I promise.”
“I know they are, becau
se you are. And I know a beautiful thing when I see one.”
Ky’s head tilted as he gave me a lopsided smile, and then he recited something I said days ago:
“We’re the same, on the inside. We are all made of stars.”
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This story wasn’t the beginning. Between the Earth and the Stars is set in the same Universe built by Elle for The Incandescent Series. Want to know what the red sphere Arylia found on her ship can do? Wondering what Kyson’s parents were doing when they were his age? Go back to where it all began with RAY OF LIGHT. Keep scrolling to receive it for free.
This story isn’t the end. Between the Earth and the Stars will be expanded into novel form, with two subsequent books to follow it. Keep an eye out for The Companion Series.
Works:
Ray of Light: The Incandescent Series, book one
Harbour of Light: The Incandescent Series, book two
Xander: And Incandescent Short Story
Coming soon from Elle Scott:
Ever Marked: Shadow Guardians Series, book one
Symphony of Light: The Incandescent Series, book three
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Elle Scott lives in the Huon Valley, Tasmania, Australia with her husband, two sons, three cats, and one big ball of fluff, Labrador.
Telling stories has always been a part of her. When she was young, it was her dream to be a famous actress, and she would spend hours playing “make believe” with her sister. Her wild imagination turned everyday moments in life into extraordinary events. A long bus ride became an adventurous trek on the back of a horse galloping on the beach; or days spent in her backyard became days in the African Safari! Her imagination took her from her warm bed into a world where a vault can freeze time and orbs wield special powers. Her biggest thrill is taking her oddball dreams and making them a reality with words.
Elle also tells real stories for real people. She is a multi-award winning family photographer.
Elle hopes to one day run workshops for self-conscious women, to turn them from a wallflower into a wildflower and give them the confidence to chase their dreams with ferocity.