by Sophie Stern
“No,” Axel shakes his head. “No ‘buts.’ Your father is home, and he’s alive, Cody. Now let’s go see him. What do you say?” He looks at me hopefully, and I nod. He’s right, I know. Father is home and everything is going to be okay, even if I don’t quite believe it right now.
Whether I’m ready or not, he’s right. It’s time to see Dad. It’s time to face my father and it’s time to deal with the newly formed rift in our relationship. Things weren’t always so strained between us. There was a time when we were calm and kind and loving to each other, but this is not that time.
This is a dark time, a terrible time, and it’s one I don’t really want to deal with anymore.
Can I put aside the harsh feelings, the temper-filled words? Can I move forward long enough to welcome my father back to our shared and beloved planet of Sapphira? Can I act like a normal person long enough to greet him and tell him I missed him?
Maybe.
I just don’t know if I’m strong enough for that.
“Yes,” I finally manage to say. “Let’s go see my father.”
Axel nods and turns swiftly. He strides quickly down the hallway and I move hastily to keep up with him. We’re both big and strong, built for war and adventure, but Axel has a certain grace to him that I do not. There’s a reason I went into private security and he went into space and travel.
There’s a reason we aren’t following the same life paths.
For two little boys who used to be inseparable, sometimes it pains me that Axel and I are so different now. That’s the trouble with life, though, isn’t it? What works when you’re a child doesn’t work as you age. The things you could get away with at ten or twelve or even fifteen don’t work when you’re thirty.
Axel slows his pace and I walk beside him.
“Are you nervous?” He asks quietly, careful not to raise his voice too much.
Discreet.
Axel is discreet.
I appreciate that about him. As the son of a senator, my life has been under intense scrutiny for as long as I can remember. I like that Axel is relaxed about this. He’s aware of the fact that people listen to what I say, but he also knows that sometimes, I really do need to talk to my friends.
“About seeing my father?”
“He’s been gone for awhile, Cody, and he nearly died.”
“He did,” I say slowly. “But I’m more angry with him than I am nervous about seeing him.”
“Angry?”
“He shouldn’t have gone,” I say again, determined to be right about this.
“You understand why he did, though, don’t you?” Axel looks at me. “Cody, your father wanted to reach the world. He wanted to connect with people. He didn’t want to have a separation between the rich and the poor. He didn’t want to have a separation between ‘worthy’ and ‘unworthy’ planets.”
“He’s a senator,” I repeat. “He should have looked after his own wellbeing before anything else.”
“Suit yourself,” Axel finally says, and we walk the rest of the way in silence.
Chapter Three
Lana
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Senator Gerald points at the planet below us. We’re almost there: almost on Sapphira. His dark blue skin makes him unmistakable as being from anywhere else.
“Gorgeous,” I agree, trying not to gawk at the luscious plants and strange combinations of colors. “It’s incredible you grew up here.”
“I raised my son here, too,” Gerald tells me.
Ah, yes, the son he keeps talking about.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say Gerald was trying to play matchmaker for me and his son, Cody. Cody is, according to Gerald, one of the most handsome men on Sapphira. If he’s half as good-looking as his father, I know it’s true. For an older gentleman, Gerald is absolutely beautiful. There’s really no other word to describe how handsome he is. I’m not attracted to Gerald, but I can appreciate his natural beauty. More than that, he’s a good person. He makes me feel safe and warm and comfortable.
Those are things I haven’t felt in a very, very long time.
“So you’ve told me,” I say.
“He’s a good man,” Gerald says. “Smart, interesting. He’s not at all boring.”
“I bet all of his girlfriends agree,” I smile at Gerald with a little wink. It’s not that I’m not interested in his son. It’s just that right now, I’m far too damaged to even think about getting into a relationship with someone, especially someone from the new planet I’m supposed to just assimilate to. I mean, I’m from Alipoiaen, after all. I’m not exactly a local girl. What if the food here is weird? What if the houses are strange? What if the culture is so overwhelmingly different that I just can’t adjust?
“He doesn’t have many girlfriends,” Gerald says. “He’s much too busy working himself to death.” He shakes his head. “If only he’d find someone he could settle down with, someone to help him calm down.”
I place my hand on Gerald’s. “I’m sure he’ll find the right girl one day,” I tell him. “When he’s least expecting it, he’ll find his princess. Isn’t that how it always works?”
Gerald smiles and nods, and then he starts talking about Sapphira once more, telling me about the history, explaining how the immigration process works. Until very recently, Sapphira was known as The Hidden Planet because most of the universe didn’t even realize it existed. Sapphirans were never known for their friendliness to outsiders. They weren’t known as being able to be reachable. In fact, many Sapphirans still don’t like the idea of new people coming to the planet.
It’s this fact that makes me incredibly nervous about being new.
Granted, I’ll be living in the biggest, most populated place on the planet. Diamond is the capital city and it’s where I’ll be staying, along with the others from Alipoiaen. We’ll live and work in Diamond until we either become permanent residents or move on to other planets.
Alipoiaen is gone.
We have to adjust somehow, even if we aren’t quite sure how.
“This is it,” Gerald says suddenly, and he takes my hand carefully as the ship lands. I’ll be the first to admit that the people in charge of this ship are excellent pilots. I barely feel the ship land on the planet. “Let’s go!” Gerald tells me. “Do you have your bag?”
I point to the small blue bag at my feet. I don’t have anything from my home planet. Everything was lost or stolen during the rescue. The members of Extrinsic provided each refugee with a small bag containing personal items. Mine has only the basics I need to survive. It was a nice gesture, but it just makes me feel like even more of an outsider.
“We’ll get you something better soon,” Gerald assures me. I pick up my bag and follow him to the area where we’ll be leaving the ship. This is it. It’s the next step forward in my life. Most of the refugees have been assigned jobs, so we’ll have something to do while we figure out how to move forward as a group. I haven’t received my assignment yet, but I hope to get something soon. We aren’t prisoners on Sapphira, and I think having jobs in the community will help us all to remember that. We can leave anytime. The question is whether most people are going to want to.
I know Kitty doesn’t.
She’ll be happy if she can find a wonderful husband to take care of her, to love her. She’ll be happy if she can find someone to worship the ground she walks on.
That’s not what I want, though.
I just seem to want things I can’t have.
Things like a family.
Things like a father, or a mother, or someone to miss me.
Gerald stands up straight and as we start to exit the ship, he stays close to me. I’m not naïve. I notice his entourage and security personnel following us at a safe distance. Kitty joins us as we disembark the ship. She also has her blue bag in tow.
“Are you ready for this?” She says. Her voice is high-pitched and squeaky.
“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
�
�Oh, don’t be a sourpuss,” she says, wrinkling her little button nose. “It’s an adventure, Lana, and I’m always in the mood for an adventure.”
“It’s something,” I agree, although I’m not sure if “adventure” is the word I’d use.
Horrifying, terrifying, absolutely scary? Those are the words I’d choose in a situation like this.
Leave it to Kitty to have a good attitude about being thrown onto a new planet.
Leave it to her to be a pocket of sunshine while I’m…well, I’m not quite sure what I am.
Struggling, maybe.
Worried.
Nervous.
“It’s going to be fine,” Gerald assures me, and he leads me off the ship. The minute we step outside, I’m surprised by just how bright the sun is. I close my eyes, and someone thrusts a pair of eye protectors into my hands.
“Put these on,” he says helpfully, and I don’t hesitate to obey.
“For dragon’s sake,” Kitty says beside me. “That’s bright.”
“I forgot what it was like,” I say, looking at the sky. The sky on Alipoiaen had been dark for so long. I forgot what it was like to look up and see something other than dust and pain and sadness, and for just a second, I begin to feel overwhelmed.
I won’t cry about that, though.
I’m not going to cry over something stupid like the sun.
I won’t do it. Not here. Not in front of Kitty or Gerald or anyone. Nope. Not going to do it.
But as we make our way toward a long, narrow building, I feel my eyes beginning to tear up, anyway. It’s all so much to take in. I inwardly chide myself, though. I’m not a child. I’m not an infant. I should be able to do better than this. I should be able to be better than this, but I’m not, am I? At the end of the day, I’m just like everyone else.
I’m scared on the inside, and there’s really nothing to be done about it.
“It’s beautiful,” Gerald says quietly, but he doesn’t say anything else until we get inside the building. It’s some sort of processing center or arrival center. I’m not sure, really. I can’t totally tell.
“What happens here?” I ask. The instructions we received on the ship were a bit vague. All I know is that we’ll be taken to the place where we’re supposed to live and possibly assigned jobs.
“We need to go fill out the paperwork with that guy,” Kitty points to a man nearby and starts walking toward him. She looks back at me, but Gerald places his hand on my arm and holds me in place. She looks surprised, but she goes ahead without us.
“First things first,” Gerald says, and he grimaces as a younger man approaches him. It’s his son. That much is obvious. The man looks exactly like Gerald, only younger. His eyes are dark and he has a mop of brown hair, which is in strange contrast with his blue skin. Sapphirans seem to have a mixture of hair colors to go with their skin. Not unlike Alipoiaen citizens, I suppose.
“Father,” the man says, ignoring me completely. “You have arrived.”
“So I have,” Gerald says. I watch to see how he’ll greet his son. With a bow, perhaps? Or maybe a kiss? But there is no physical contact between the two people, which surprises me. It unnerves me a little, if I’m honest. Alipoiaens are huggers. Maybe that’s what I miss most about my father: the physical contact. I miss getting a hug in the morning and I miss having someone to hold my hand when I’m scared.
These days, it seems like the only thing I actually ever feel is scared.
“I trust you’re ready to return home,” the man says.
“Yes, and Lana will be accompanying us,” Gerald says firmly. I’m surprised, and I look up sharply at him. Gerald doesn’t seem upset, anxious, or nervous about this announcement, but his son seems beyond angry. Cody’s eyes flash dark for a minute.
“What are you talking about?” I ask Gerald, ignoring his son. This is news to me. I thought I was supposed to go to the new citizen housing. There’s a special place for people who are new to the planet. At least, that’s what Doctor Sarah told me. “What are you talking about?”
“I want you to live with us,” Gerald says. “You saved my life, Lana. I want to take care of you now. I want to protect you.”
He wants to take care of me.
Gerald wants to save me.
When my father died, I was with Gerald. I was protecting him. I was keeping him safe and it cost me my father’s life. We couldn’t all be saved. Not from the vicious attack by the rebels. Now he’s doing his best to protect me as well, and it fills my heart with comfort. He doesn’t owe me anything. I would never think that, yet the idea that he wants to care for me and keep me safe makes me feel comforted.
“Gerald…” I say, but I allow my voice to trail off because I’m filled with emotion.
He shouldn’t be helping me this way.
It’s far too much.
“’Senator’ is the preferred form of address,” Gerald’s son says coldly, interrupting me. “You’re on our planet now. You’d do well to mind your manners.”
A sinking feeling fills my belly as I start to blush. I can feel the dark red sheen of embarrassment covering me as I nod quickly, looking down.
“Of course,” I whisper. “My apologies.” I shouldn’t have presumed this would be as easy as Gerald simply inviting me to stay with him. Of course I’d have to impress his son first, and I haven’t done a few good job of that, now have I?
“And she will not be living with us,” the man adds, speaking to Gerald. “She’ll go with the other new citizens, as instructed.”
“Refugees,” I whisper. I don’t like the word, but it’s the appropriate term. “Citizen” makes it sound like I have a choice in being here, and I don’t. I was taken from my planet when I probably should have just been left to die.
“That’s right,” Gerald’s son says. “You are a refugee on our planet, and you’d do well to remember that.”
“You’re a dick,” Kitty says from besides me. I didn’t even hear her come back to us.
“Not the first time I’ve been called that,” the man straightens his tie and looks at his father. “You’re ready?”
Gerald gives me a sad, forlorn look, squeezes my hand, and leaves.
This is it, then.
I’m all on my own.
Chapter Four
Cody
The Alipoiaen girl is cuter than I thought she would be, and softer. She has sweet curves that make her look delicious. She’s the type of woman you could lose yourself in, and I don’t have time to lose anything right now.
I shouldn’t have been so hard on her, but I don’t like the idea that she’s using my father for free handouts. Gerald is a senator. It’s his job to take care of the citizens of the planet: not look after stray puppies.
“That was a dick move,” my father says. I glance around, but we’re out of earshot. The young woman and her friend have gone. We’re surrounded by people walking with determination, striding to get to their destinations, but they aren’t paying any attention to us.
“Excuse me?” I ask, glaring at him. I don’t stop moving. We don’t have time for that. My father is a busy man, and it’s my job to keep him safe. I don’t manage his career. That isn’t my job. That’s Cecil’s job. Nope. My job is to make sure my father doesn’t do anything stupid, and if I’ve learned one thing, it’s that I can’t delegate this task again.
“You heard me,” Gerald shakes his head. “She’s a lovely girl and she deserves to be safe.”
“Everyone wants something, Father. You’d do well to remember that.” When it comes to politics, you can never be too careful. People will use you, abuse you, and throw you to the Montaelaoe trees to be eaten. Backstabbing is the primary element when it comes to political life.
My father knows this, or at least he should.
“You don’t understand,” Gerald says. He stops walking and turns to me.
“We need to keep moving if we’re going to arrive at the debriefing on time. You need to discuss what happened on the plane
t,” I tell him. I know my voice sounds steely and heartless, but I have to stay focused right now. My father never should have been on Alipoiaen, but he was, and now he has to talk about what he saw so the Sapphiran government can decide what to do next. Like it or not, we just rescued a senator from a hostile planet. There’s going to be paperwork.
“That woman saved my life, Cody. You’d do well to remember that. I owe her everything.”
“You owe her nothing.”
My father opens his mouth to argue with me, but his eyes flash behind me and his body tenses. Turning, I see what he’s looking at: a runner. It’s not that people running is unusual on Sapphira, but in the docking port? A person running away from the ship? It could be a stowaway. It could be dangerous. My father narrowly escaped death once. I don’t know if he can be saved a second time, and the planet cannot afford to lose him.
I take off after him before I realize what I’m doing and before I see what he’s heading for.
Her.
He’s heading for the woman: the one my father likes.
Lana.
She’s walking with her friend, completely unaware of her surroundings, completely unaware of the danger that’s coming her way. She’s probably too upset from the way I treated her to be aware of what’s happening around her. There’s a man running toward Lana and he’s got anger written all over his face.
“Stop!” I shout. Although I know the command is useless, it draws the attention of the other Sapphirans who are walking around. They’re just going about their business like today is any other ordinary day, but it’s not. Today is more than that. Today is the day that everything changes.
I can feel it in my blood.
I don’t want to care about this woman. Who am I kidding? She’s a girl. She’s a young, stupid girl and if she doesn’t start paying attention, this man – this monster – is going to get her. I don’t know who he is or what he wants, but one thing is for certain: he’s not going to stop until he reaches his goal.
I have no plans to let that happen.
Whether I like the girl or not is irrelevant. I’m not about to let any guest of Sapphira be decimated in the center of a busy terminal. Not on her first day.