A Little Wish Upon a Star

by Breanna Hayse

  Taking the bottle he had 'found' from his jacket, he lifted it into the air to gaze at its beauty. The king had called the color 'green'. It was warm and rich, with hints of a blue-gold hue if turned in the right light. A movement caught his eye and he looked at the bottle more closely. There was something inside!

  Shutting down the chair, Seth walked to his desk and removed his lock picking wires. Very carefully, he worked the cork from the bottle mouth, then tried to shake the items through the narrow neck. After several attempts to remove the flat item from its container, he regretfully decided to employ other means to gain access to the contents. He settled on a pin-laser, commonly used to cut any material, from silver metal to diamond blocks, and used it to separate the joints in the bottom of the bottle. After waiting for the glass to cool, Seth tapped it and watched as the items spilled onto the tabletop.

  He trembled with excitement as he picked up the lock of the palest hair he had ever seen. Blondes did not exist in Lotopia, so this rare find from Earth was even more amazing. A picture of a little girl looked up at him. She was dressed in a short white dress with hundreds of tiny black dots, and had a pink ribbon in her shoulder length hair. He stared closely at her lovely face and his heart ached at the pain behind those beautiful, blue eyes. Humans were such sweet and delicate creatures, he thought. What could have happened for her to be so sad?

  He unfurled the note…

  If there is anybody out there who wants a little girl, please find me and take me home with you. I promise to be good. Here's my picture and a piece of my hair to help you know who I am.

  Tabby-Cat

  Lotopians, unlike the Helminthe, were emotional creatures, and these hurtful pleas penetrated his heart. Immediately, he raced to the computer terminal and placed the lock of hair upon the sensor.

  "Locate sequence on planet 1052M," he ordered, holding his breath. It could take several phases for the system to scan Earth and pinpoint the DNA match—if she was even still alive. And then, even if he were to miraculously find her, he would have to figure out a way to get to her. Permission to enter that galaxy had been denied to every space traveler since the finding of that little human seasons ago, and even if he were granted it, he would have to obtain a vessel. First things first, however—to find her.

  While the computer hummed, Seth walked to stand next to his window. Looking at the moon, he made a vow.

  "Upon the light of Ceres, I promise that I will search the universe high and low until I find you, Tabby-Cat. I'm sure many of your years have passed since you sent this bottle out, but I will try my best to help make your wish come true. Every little girl, even after she is all grown up, deserves to be loved and taken care of."

  The rays of the first phase blue sun struck the mountains and sent rainbows of bright, living color through the valley, both illuminating and heating the diamond and metal structures of the city within. In the next twenty-four rotations, the second phase orange sun would join forces with the first and flood the planet with splendid, swirling auroras that provided the plant life with its necessary nutrition.

  Since he was a youth, Seth rejoiced in and stood in awe of every sunrise he could watch. No two were ever alike, and each symbolized the start of a new day and a bountiful life. Even a molecular cloud covering could not dampen his spirits during a sunrise, for the minerals in the air sparkled like giant white ghosts that swayed and danced in foggy columns of ethereal beauty.

  After the end of the two sun phases came the moon phase, where the ever-present Ceres asteroid began to twinkle and glow like a white flickering candle in a dark violet sky for another twenty-four rotations. The moon was Lotopia's source of true life, for within its massive bulk was the power to cleanse and protect the people from disease and decay, including the guarding of unborn children. As a result, the lifespan of a Lotopian was three times longer than that seen on Earth. The negative signs of aging, such as the wrinkling of skin, graying of hair, and loss of muscle tone, were virtually nonexistent. The result was a youthful appearing society, whose elderly male members could only be distinguished by the ability to grow facial hair, and whose females allowed their slow-growing hair to fall below their waists.

  He pondered the things he had learned about Earth. There were thousands of different cultures, languages, and beliefs that made up the human race. Countries and politics influenced the way of life, education varied from place to place; some people were rich and fat, while others struggled to feed their children. It was a young world and had much maturing to do, but Seth still could not fathom the reasoning behind allowing any member of a society to unduly suffer. It was much like Lotopia had been under Helminth rule, where the peaceful people were viewed as prey, and the rebellious ones were enemies to be destroyed. That had changed when his father led the rebellion and gained control of the world, eliminating the greedy dictators and bringing peace, hope and life to the humanoid faction.

  Would the little human be frightened or fascinated by the differences she'd see between her life and his? Would she be excited at the things he could show her both above and below the surface of his world? A knock at the door jarred him from his thoughts.

  "Enter," he called cheerfully, raising the glass of sweet wine to his lips. "What bring you to the cell block, Father?"

  "Share a glass, boy." The man rolled his eyes; the same gesture that his son had adopted. He sat across from Seth and took a sip. "Remarkable beverage, this wine is. I wonder how similar it is to the genuine item."

  "I cannot synthesize the alcohol content, if that is what you were wondering. So, how is Mother dearest?"

  "I am avoiding the giant red cow. She's been ranting and raging for hours about your threat to remove her from the throne."

  "It was not a threat, it was a reminder. She serves no purpose in this city, except to be a reminder of what happens when a race chooses to feed their stomachs instead of using their minds. I wish I could convince you to watch this old Earth children's movie called, The Little Mermaid. There is an evil character in it that was modeled right off Mother, named Ursula, the sea witch. Granted, the old hag is gray, has tentacles for legs and only two tits, but otherwise, they could be sisters."

  "I have no interest in your Earth movies, son. I have a world to watch over, and am left with little time for frivolous endeavors."

  "How about this one? Look at what I found in that bottle."

  The king frowned, gazing at the note and the picture. "What does it say?"

  Seth read it to him, and immediately caught the reaction. "What do you think, Father? This is a plea for help, is it not? If I find her via the scan, I should be able to use this as proof of purpose to retrieve her."

  "Have you been struck on the head by a flying Bombat? Even if the Council of Planets permitted you to retrieve her, what would you do with such a pet? You know nothing about the care and feeding of these humans…"

  "I have a confession to make." Seth leaned forward in his chair. "Do you remember the story of that scientist and his guard, who traveled to Earth many seasons back and rescued that human girl?"

  "Of course, it was all over the intergalactic news. It raised quite the scandal on that planet, if I recall. There was a huge debate regarding the effect her presence had on that society. She introduced emotions, art and music to their world, and everybody was talking about it."

  "Do you remember anything about the article that they presented? The one which explained how they had learned to care for her?" Seth went on.

  "Vaguely. What about it?"

  "I made contact with them shortly after that article came out."

  "What! Mesethius…" his father thundered.

  "Before your head explodes, let me tell you what they gave me. Not only did they allow me access to their own personal research, out of courtesy, but they also gave me the original training manuals."

  "Training manuals?"

  "Yes! The actual human training manuals that were written by an expert on raising adult humans. The auth
or, Breanna Hayse, is very specific about all the things necessary to care for, feed, dress, train, discipline, and even how to sexually engage with an adult human! There are many other presentations with similar research, but the human that the team had found was partial to these particular books. Father, I can't even begin to tell you how fascinating this species is!"

  "Be that as it may, those manuals were written for other humans, and the situations that occur in their world. You can't apply them here," his father said.

  "That's just it! You can! The lessons and instructions all have a universal overtone that can be applied anywhere. I need your help. Please. I'm sure that this child has reached adulthood since this message was sent out, and I don't know how long it has been in the Archives, but if she is still alive, I want to find her." Seth set his shoulders.

  "We can't."

  "As a race who has been oppressed and struggled to survive, don't you think it is our moral and ethical duty to try to help someone in need? Ceres brought this bottle to us for a reason, Father. Don't you see that?"

  "I see you trying to make a convincing argument to get what you want," the other man grumbled, studying the picture in his hand. He did not attempt to hide the glazing of tears in his eyes as he studied it. "Her eyes tell of a great loss. What do you think happened to her?"

  "I don't know, but something broke her heart."

  "Are you able to see that with your Ability?" The man looked at his son hopefully.

  "I do sense something from her. Do you think humans can read into the soul through the eyes like some Lotopians can?"

  "I have no idea." The king grew silent for a moment. "I've never seen that color hair before. Is it natural?"

  "Given her young age, I assume that it is," Seth said softly. Once he saw his father's emotions, he knew that the man was invested. "Will you help me try to grant her wish?"

  The hand holding the photograph trembled. "You do accept that locating her will be unlikely, yes? I could not face myself in the mirror or call myself a decent father if I refused to help such an innocent and helpless creature. Damn it, Mesethius! I vow that a day will arrive when I will be able to say 'no' to you!"

  "Thank you, Father. I assure you that your indulgence in my many whims is well appreciated," Seth said gratefully.

  "I am certain they are. Plus they irritate your mother, so it's a win-win for both of us," the older man said and laughed.

  "That is very true. But seriously, I can only hope that I can be the kind of example to this little human that you have been to me. Your wisdom, kindness, love and selflessness are traits I long to develop one day."

  "I am humbled by your praise, and even more because I see that it is sincere. You already have most of these traits, my boy. The others come with experience and maturity. We are a blessed people to have the longevity of life that we do. Which brings me to the next issue. Did your mother actually confine you to quarters and take away your flight privileges?"

  "She certainly is trying to. The only reason I haven't left the room yet is because I'm waiting for the scanner complete the program," Seth said with a grin.

  His father winked, reached into his pocket and tossed Seth a metal strip. "Here's the insert to my personal vessel. Don't you dare tell her that I gave it to you."

  "She would just assume that I stole it anyway. Thanks. Now, about those droids guarding my door…"

  "I overrode the commands. You are a grown man, and I will not have you shamed by your mother or anyone else. Do try to stay out of trouble for a while, though."

  "It would be a simple matter of having access to the Archives granted to me. Then I would not be forced to break in and borrow the contents," Seth said.

  "The Archives are not mine to command, and you know it. That milling station is owned by the Council of Planets and designed to clear flight paths of debris."

  "It's nothing more than a giant trash receptacle. Why are they so protective about the contents?"

  "Because some of the trash collected includes weaponry. We have worked so hard for peace, and to free our galaxy from violence, that they don't want to take the chance of anyone finding a weapon that can either be used or reproduced," the king admitted.

  "I understand that. How about supervised visits? That way they'll know that no weapons are touched."

  "No. They will not take the chance, and nor will I. Please, no more trips to the Archive. You have already found the greatest treasure you could want. You don't need any more. Promise me."

  "I promise."

  "Good," the king said, patting his son's thigh and then rising to his feet. "Would you like to take a trip to the platinum mines with me? I heard that they struck a vein that is big enough to supply power to the Water Station for the next 500,000 seasons."

  "Only if we follow up with the Dance Club afterwards." Seth grinned, grabbing his jacket.

  "You got it."

  ***

  The father and son were sharing a meal several phases later when they were interrupted by an alarm. Both ran from the dining hall, leaving the angry Helminth female alone and without any listening ears to complain to.

  "Do you think she has been found?" the king asked eagerly, easily keeping pace with his son as they ran to his quarters.

  "I pray to Ceres that she has." Seth raced to the computer terminal and pressed a button. "Father! The system located her!"

  "So she is still alive?"

  "Yes, and it appears that she is outside of Earth's atmosphere. This is odd."

  "Is she on a flight?" The man looked over Seth's shoulder.

  "There is no trajectory. See how erratic the tracking pattern is?" He pointed to the hologram of the scanner. "If her ship was following a flight path, then we would see controlled direction. She just appears to be drifting outside of the Earth's orbit."

  "I've heard that humans perform silly tasks called space walks. Do you think this is the case?" the king suggested.

  "I've heard of those as well, but my gut instinct is telling me that she's in trouble. It also appears that she is alone. There are no other life signs in her location. Father? Maybe Ceres has provided us with a means to help her. With her being outside of Earth's atmosphere, she won't fall under the laws of illegal seizure of an alien life form, right?"

  "That is correct." The king tapped his fingers against the panel.

  "We need to hurry if we hope to help her. It will take us about two phases to reach her. That is over six days in Earth time. If her ship was damaged or she was injured, we might not make it."

  "Mesethius, I feel it is my duty to intervene—as both your father and your king. I must make an important decision based on my position as ruler."

  "Father, I beg you. You said to me earlier that you would help—"

  "Silence. I do not wish to hear any more argument. We will do as I command. End of discussion."

  Defeated, Seth sighed and nodded. He was no fool, and recognized the voice of his Sovereign. "Yes, Father. I can't say that I am not sorely disappointed."

  "Why is that? I am a man of my word—in all things and everything. Grab your jacket and some supplies. We have a human to rescue. I've decided that we will take the Guardian."

  "The fighter vessel? That was your decision?" Seth was incredulous.

  "It is the fastest one we have. Do you disagree?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Excellent. By the way, boy," the man tossed him a metal card, "you're flying."

  Chapter Three

  Tabitha pounded her fist against the dark terminal. The only artificial light penetrating the absolute darkness came from the emergency generator that fed oxygen into her space suit. Other than that, everything was dead. She had no rocket boosters, no means of communication, and no supplies to sustain her. Even the power to place her in suspended animation was gone. She eyed the bottle of wine… with one week of capsulated oxygen remaining, she would wait to open it. At least she would go out inebriated and not worrying about the pain of slow asphyxiation.<
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  Her only other option was opening the pod's hatch. The vacuity would take her within seconds and without pain, but she did not have that type of character. She'd survived the meteor that had crushed her town, she'd survived the mutated virus that killed off those that the radiation poisoning had missed, and she'd just survived being struck head-on by an asteroid. Even the prospect of being placed in suspended animation provided the opportunity to beat the odds. No, when her time came, she planned to go out fighting—thus, taking her own life was not, nor would ever be, an option; no matter how bleak her circumstances appeared.

  Maybe this 'Tabby-Cat' had nine lives? That meant that she might have a few left to use. Tabitha laughed to herself, wondering if she was already giving into psychoses, with her mind desperately trying to reason out the inevitable. If so, paranoia, hallucinations and panic would start to set in soon, and leave her with no control over her mind, or the resultant actions. Perhaps, in that particular situation, ignorance would be bliss—because she would not know what she was doing.

  Without the sun or any other constant moving point of reference, time was no longer measurable. Minutes, hours, days… The only indication that time had elapsed was the tiny dial that gauged the amount of oxygen remaining. Tabitha's thirst and hunger gave way to mind-numbing boredom, which gave way to restless sleep. Focusing became an effort as she stared mindlessly into the ever-changing speckled scenery, while the weightless capsule flipped and somersaulted lazily through the emptiness.