To Touch the Stars

by Tess Mallory

  She reached the teleport bay unscathed and locked the door behind her before moving to the control panel. Curved in a semicircle, it faced the transport pad, a small round platform about five feet in diameter. Above it hung the technological wizardry that enabled it to work.

  As Kell had said, the teleport was primarily used to bring cargo aboard, not to send human beings back and forth, but it could be done. Sky remembered Redar using it once in a desperate situation that had occurred when they attacked a weapons dump on the third moon of Malo. A desperate situation. Sky's fingers suddenly started flying across the keyboard of the controls. Redar had always left copious notes, data entries, accounts of things he did. That was one of the things that had made her transition to captain so much easier.

  She punched up Redar's personal code, which she knew by heart after all these months, and breathed a sigh of relief as a directory of his files appeared. Scanning them quickly, she frowned as one row after another rolled by. There were hundreds of entries and it would take—She stopped the scroll of words and focused the marker on one line that read: "Moon Transport." Holding her breath Sky brought up the file and quickly scanned its contents.

  Yes, she nodded to herself, this would work. Redar gave the computations he'd used to figure the coordinates to beam himself within a very small space. He'd had to beam down into a tiny room where one of his men was being held. He'd made it. She could make it too.

  Quickly she called up the equation Redar had used and began to punch in the information she had concerning the planet below. She reviewed the sensor readings and discovered that over three hundred people were presently gathered around a hill in the center of the village below. Knowledge hit her with the force of a phaser's blast as she stared at the computer screen.

  Mayla's coming of age. Of course. Each Cezan came of age at thirteen, receiving his or her full measure of power at that time, which prepared them for their place in the universe. This was why Mayla was here on this strange and unfamiliar world. The Cezans had brought her here for her ritual. Sky had experienced her own coming-of-age ritual on Andromeda, and her telepathic and healing powers had increased after that day. When Cezans received full power, it was usually with the help of their closest kin. When Sky had her ritual, she had worn the ancient crystal—the one that had been given to Mayla when it was established that she was the heir—and her mother had worn another. Both crystals were used in the ceremony, and when she received her portion of power from the Creator, she remembered her mother telling her that she had also received a strengthening of her own abilities.

  But the crystal her mother had been wearing had been destroyed in the fire that had gutted the palace after the family was slain. Or had it? Zarn. He'd been there with the troops that had stormed the palace. Could it be possible that he had taken the crystal from her mother? A cold rush of understanding coursed through her. This was why Zarn was here too. This was why he was so desperate to find Mayla. He could have had the crystal all these years just waiting for his chance to steal power from the very people he had murdered.

  "No…" she whispered.

  She checked the sensors again. The gathering around the hill must mean they were getting ready for the ritual. There was a full moon this night, and that was also traditional. The computer came back into focus, and Sky quickly punched new information into the equation. She had planned to beam down to a sheltered, hidden place and plan her strategy, but there wasn't time. Mayla would be at the top of that hill—and so would Zarn. Moonrise was the time most Cezans held their ritual and—A warning rang out suddenly in the depths of her mind and she tuned into it quickly. Some kind of reminder she had placed there herself, a date that was important…

  "Damn." Tomorrow was Mon Ser-iah. Tonight after the moonrise, all of the Cezans would be rendered practically powerless, and Zarn would kill every one of them. But not if she could help it.

  She finished her computations and entered the data, waiting impatiently as the coordinates for the hilltop came up. Sky entered the new information into the transport computer, then took a deep breath. She'd never transported before. The thought of her molecules being broken down into particles, then being shot across the vastness of space to another location to be pieced together again, made her feel sick to her stomach. But there was no other choice. She had to stop Zarn, and the only way to do it was to beam down to the top of the hill and murder the bastard, just the way he had murdered her mother all those years ago. She reached into her pocket and brought out the phaser she'd had the presence of mind to take with her after she'd—after Kell had—

  She sighed as she checked the charge on the weapon and as she did, a memory, once deeply submerged in her subconscious, came bounding suddenly to the forefront of her mind. It was her mother's voice, cautioning her lovingly.

  "We do not harm others, my darling child. No, not even if it means we will lose our own lives. We would die to protect who we are rather than fight and in so fighting, change who—and what—we are."

  Sky squeezed her eyes shut but she could not shut out the echoing refrain of her mother's voice: We would die… we would die… we would die…

  She opened her eyes. "And you did die," she said softly. "But I am no longer one of you, Mother—and I will kill to keep Zarn from destroying any more of our people, especially my little sister."

  Punching in the final number, she rounded the control panel in two quick strides and bounded onto the platform. The automatic setting kicked in seconds later, and Sky gasped as the transporter beam surged through her. Her vision blurred and every fiber in her body felt as though it were being wrenched apart. She was flying. She was enflamed. She was everything. She was nothing. She exploded into a million pieces. She died and was resurrected.

  She stood on the edge of a forest of tall, fernlike vegetation near the top of a hill lit by glowing blue flames. There wasn't time to recover from the trembling aftermath of the transport. She had to reach Mayla. A large group of people were on the small mountain, with soldiers patrolling the perimeter. Sky darted back into the edge of the forest, using the cover to sneak closer. It didn't take long to reach the top, but once there, she watched from the protection of the lush bramble, drawing the small phaser from her pocket. She stared down at the weapon for a long moment, then, with a sigh, set the power on stun. As much as she wanted to evaporate Zarn from the face of the universe, she could not coldbloodedly murder him, in spite of his crimes against her family. Perhaps there was still a little Cezan left inside her after all.

  A large metal arch sat squarely in the center of the hill, and Zarn stood beneath it with Mayla. Relief rushed over her so intensely that she felt her knees buckle. Her sister was alive. She hadn't arrived too late. Another woman stood next to Mayla, her hair silvery blonde, her eyes lavender. Sky frowned. She looked so familiar—and not just because their coloring was so much the same. Sky knew this woman. She turned her attention back to what was happening. Zarn was handing Mayla something—a crystal! Mayla touched it and it sprang to life, then drew her hand back, fear darting in her eyes. Sky tensed. She'd never seen Mayla afraid of anything, though she agreed the thought of Zarn with Cezan power was a terrifying thought.

  Something moved somewhere nearby and she ducked down within the ferns and vines curling around her. A man passed her, a man who held himself with the dignity and courage of a prince, his dark hair brushing the collar of his shirt, his broad shoulders held stiffly.

  Eagle.

  Her fears lessened as she saw him. Thank the Creator, he was alive too. But what was he up to? He stopped directly between her and Zarn and she cursed beneath her breath. Now she didn't have a clear shot at the Kalimar. She tried to inch to the right for an unobstructed view, but she was unable to move. Something had her by the foot. She looked down in terror and found that a thick vine had wrapped itself around her ankle and was gently tugging. She kicked at it with her other foot but it was as solid as a rock. As soon as it had her securely, it stopped pulling, as thou
gh content to have her in its grasp.

  "Son of a p'faugking tesseract," she cursed under her breath. "Sky?"

  The whispered word came from beyond the thick vines around her and she froze, squatting down and trying to disappear into the foliage. She squinted up through the fernlike branches over her and saw someone thrust his head into the forest. The man had long golden hair braided intricately and— "Telles!" she said in a hushed shout. "Over here." He disappeared from her line of vision but she could still hear him. "I can't. Under guard," he whispered back. "Eagle has to move," she said. "He's in my line of fire and I can't move to readjust. My—my foot's stuck."

  "He's pretending he's insane," Telles said. "Trying to keep Zarn from gaining part of your sister's power. The Kalimar has the crystal that was your mother's."

  "Yes, I guessed as much. But if Eagle stops the ritual, Mayla won't receive her power either."

  "That was a risk we had to take. Can you imagine what Zarn will do if he succeeds?"

  She felt the blood leave her face and, propelled into action, began to struggle against the living plant that held her so securely away from her goal.

  Eagle stood in front of Zarn, his face carefully masked to hide his churning emotions. Shahala had stopped what he supposed was the beginning of the ceremony as he approached, her lavender eyes wide with apprehension. Mayla looked up at him with identical eyes, but hers were filled with relief.

  Soldiers thundered up to the peak, rifles drawn, but Zarn held up one hand, his frowning gaze on the man before him.

  "Let it go, Eagle," he said, the weariness evident in his voice. "You are outnumbered. You will never survive. There's no point in dying for these people who won't even lift a hand—or a mind—to defend themselves."

  Eagle acted as though he didn't hear him. "Dad," he said softly. "Dad, what's going on? Why are we here?" He let his eyes wander over the arch and the people gathered beneath it, his voice becoming more childlike every moment. "Who are these people? Are we going home soon? I told mother we'd be home soon, you know." He moved closer to Zarn and smiled.

  Confusion and indecision darted across the Kalimar's face and he took a step back from Eagle. He stared at the man he had called son, conflicting emotions showing in his features before settling into a hardness Eagle knew well. Zarn wasn't going to buy it.

  "Is this the best you can do?" he said disparagingly. "Get away from me, boy. We shall proceed with the ritual. We must finish before the moon reaches its apex." He turned back to Shahala. "Tell me what comes next or I swear I shall level this place and all of you with it."

  "The crystals must touch," Shahala whispered. "Yours and Mayla's."

  Zarn thrust the now-living crystal out toward the girl as Eagle held his position in front of them. With a trembling hand, Mayla extended her own.

  "I'm not going to let you do it," Eagle said, reaching one hand toward the crystal. "Even if I have to die to stop you."

  "Get away, son," Zarn ordered, his dark eyes earnest and determined. "I don't want you to die. You can still be saved, your mind reprogrammed—all can be as it was before. Do you hear me? You don't have to die, Eagle. You can live and rule the galaxy with me. Just walk away."

  Eagle felt the moment freeze in time as the huge moon rose behind them, and he looked into his father's eyes one last time.

  "No," he whispered, placing both his shackled hands over the crystals and tightening his fingers around them. He felt their heat, their power, but he didn't let go, not even when Zarn roared his outrage and with his free hand, shoved Eagle to his knees.

  It was the chance Sky had been waiting for. She didn't hesitate. Her aim was swift and true, but as the searing red light surged from the phaser, engulfing Zarn with its terrible power, she realized, too late, that she had made a terrible mistake.

  Eagle, Zarn, and Mayla were all touching the crystals just as the phaser's blast coursed through Zarn, and as the energy sizzled through him and into the other two, the power of the crystals was activated.

  Shahala fell backward as an incredible, shimmering light encompassed the three. Then, bursting forth around them, it shot upward and reflected off the arch, filling the air with undulating waves of color and energy that slammed the onlookers to the ground. The vine curling around Sky's ankle shrank quickly away as the tremor hit. Shahala cried out in horror. Sky struggled to her knees even as the next wave of power swept over her. Sky clung to a thick vine beside her as she watched the two people she loved most in the world trapped in the throes of a cataclysmic Armageddon that she had caused. She saw Eagle buffeted by the storm, saw him shake and his face contort with agony. Crying out, Sky made it to her feet and started forward. She heard Telles call out for her to stop as she pushed against the power surging from the sacred hill, as she fought to join her sister and her love. She was almost to the arch when she saw Eagle go down, his eyes rolling back in his head as he hit the ground.

  Then everything went completely still.

  Sky jolted to a stop, her legs trembling with exertion before they collapsed beneath her, sending her to her knees just a few feet away from where both Eagle and Zarn now lay motionless. Miraculously, Mayla was still standing, a shimmering aura surrounding her, filling her with light. The expression on her face was ethereal, stunned, but she seemed all right. Sky struggled back to her feet. She made the few steps to the arch and fell beside Eagle, her fingers pressing against his throat as she tried desperately to find a pulse point. There was none.

  She gazed down at his face, feeling as though she'd been slammed into a wall of stone. It was impossible. Eagle couldn't be dead. She lifted him into her arms and brushed his dark hair back from his face. Dark lashes brushed against the tanned rugged contours of his face, and she waited for him to open them. She smoothed her hand over his rough jawline.

  "He needs to shave," she said softly. Then the agony hit her. She sat back on her heels, clutching him to her bosom as she threw her head back, sending out a cry from her heart, from the depths of her spirit. The keening seemed to go on forever, but when she finally opened her eyes and gasped for breath, Telles was kneeling beside her. He was looking behind her, and Sky turned to find Mayla on her knees, the shimmering aura still glowing around her.

  She didn't speak a word but held out her arms. Sky moved to let her take Eagle, though the weight of his body bowed her down. Telles moved to help her and she glanced up at him and smiled. As Sky watched, she began to understand, in some unexplainable way, that she was in the presence not only of her sister, but of some great power, some great entity, connected to Mayla in a way she could not fathom. Mayla held Eagle, her left arm beneath him. Telles had moved behind her and added his support, his arm beneath hers, his face solemn as he gazed down at the silver-blonde head near his.

  Sky acknowledged in some distant part of her mind that Telles loved her sister, but that fact was unimportant. Eagle was dead. She continued to watch dully as Mayla held him, moving her right hand over his body in a rhythmic motion, never touching him, a shimmer of light hovering in the wake of each pass she made over his body. Sky watched the movement, her own hands knotted into fists, her teeth coming down into her lower lip so hard that blood poured into her mouth, bitter, metallic. Eagle was dead. He was dead, so what was Mayla doing? Did she possibly imagine she could bring him back? Even a Cezan could not do that.

  But Mayla was special. Sky had always known it, even when her sister had been just a baby. That was why her father had fled with her instead of staying behind to protect his family. He knew the power that Mayla would someday be capable of, though he had not expected the coldblooded slaughter of those he left behind on Andromeda.

  Then Eagle's right eyelid moved. Sky had shifted away from Telles and Mayla to give them room, but now she threw herself back at his side, unwilling even to hope. Mayla glanced up at her and sent her a reassuring smile. Her hands continued to move over his body as Sky hovered next to him, and after what seemed like an eternity, Eagle's chest rose as he drew in oxy
gen, and he opened his eyes.

  With tears streaming down her cheeks, Sky gave a joyful cry as Eagle drew in several lungfuls of air and shakily sat up. His eyes lit up as he looked at her groggily, then moved his gaze to include Telles and Mayla. "What's everyone crying about?" he asked. Sky couldn't move for a moment; she was too overwhelmed as she watched him stand, slowly, and reach one hand down to her where she still sat balanced on her knees. "Sky," he said softly, "thank the Creator you're all right."

  Sky jumped to her feet and threw herself into his arms, sobbing, laughing, hugging him tightly and kissing him ecstatically over and over again before she could settle down into some semblance of speech.

  "Thank the Creator I'm all right?" she said joyfully. "You've just been brought back from the dead, my love!" Eagle frowned down at her. "I've just been what?"

  "Brought back from the dead. My phaser blast apparently activated the crystals, and you and Zarn got hit with not only their power but the power of—" She stopped as Eagle stiffened at her words and turned away. Her heart clenched with sympathy as he moved toward the prostrate form of Garnos Zarn, the Kalimar, ruler of Rigel, the Dominion, and a dozen systems. Even though Kell had been the cause of so much pain, she had loved him and his death had been difficult to accept. She knew, then, that Eagle was feeling a mass of mixed emotions—relief, sorrow, anger, triumph.

  He stopped and knelt down beside the body of the man who had taken so much from all of them, and with a trembling hand brushed one lock of dark hair back from his forehead. Mayla moved to his side and smiled down at him. His mouth curved up slightly and he stood, holding out his hand to her.