I turn from her and gaze at the podium as I nervously spin Mom’s ring on my finger. I guess that’s where I’m going to need to make the announcement. My mind shifts to Javen and nausea begins to swirl in my stomach. Is he okay? I can only hope he’s convincing his people to show themselves on this side of the Intersection. It will make a stronger case for what I’ll say.
“The system is online,” Irene says.
I swivel to her, and the five screens are active. Two are showing security inside the building; two others are wide-angle views of outside for street-level security. It’s still early, but as the sun is coming up, people on their way to work are starting to mill on the street. The last system is the computer and screen she’s working at hacking into for the broadcast.
“I jammed the Capitol building security. They’ll have a hard time getting in here once they realize our plan. I’ve just about got you in to make the mass announcement. You said you have a video of Hammond on your Connect?”
I look down at my device. “Yeah, it’s the last one I took.”
“Bring it here. I need to sync it.”
I hold my hand out to her and she brings my wrist to the screen. A beep emits from the system and a still from the video shows as a thumbnail on the display.
“That’s the one,” I say.
“Okay. You take your place and nod to me when you’re ready.”
I gulp down my heart, now beating fiercely in my throat, and then walk to the set of stairs next to the stage. As I climb, my feet feel like bricks, but I force them up and take my place at the metal podium. I nod to Irene, and the bright room lights snap on, causing me to squint. Ahead of me, the camera bots spring to life and hover above their tripods.
On the largest, a light blinks a countdown.
10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . .
My heart skips as I know when the bot declares “one” there’s no chance of turning back.
3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . . Live.
I stare into the eye of the camera bot as my hands wring together and words fail to leave my mouth.
“Cassi, speak.” I hear a muffled version of Irene’s voice in my mind. My thumb and index finger pinch Mom’s gold band, and reality returns. I need to do this for her, for Dad. They were brave and stood up for their principles.
“Settlers of Primaro. You may not know me, but my name is Cassiopeia Foster, the daughter of Richard and Isabel Foster. They’re the reason you are here today.
“As you already know, there was an explosion on the Pathfinder right before passengers were allowed to disembark. President Hammond has released little information concerning this, and I believe it is because she’s covering up information that she and the World Senate don’t want you to know.
“Arcadia was populated long before Earth came here. It’s inhabited by a group of people called the Alku, who live in a second dimension bridged to ours by the Intersection. The Alku use the Starfire for power and transportation between their dimension and the one we live in.
“If we mine this new ore”—I bring out the piece of Starfire around my neck and hold the crystal out to the cameras as one of the smaller bots swoops in to get a closer peek—“the new ore President Hammond spoke of, it’ll likely destroy the Alku and their dimension. My father, Richard Foster, was aware of this and had an alternate plan that would benefit Earth as well as the Alku people, and all without stealing from them. Their leaders agreed to this plan, but Hammond and the World Senate are greedy and want to take the Starfire all for themselves.”
I nod to Irene to play the video of Hammond. My heart pounds as I watch the scene play out on the screen—Hammond admitting the destruction of Earth decades before it’s expected and how most of Earth’s inhabitants will not be saved.
“Cassi?” Irene says in a hushed voice and nods toward the other screens. “I locked this floor down, but security is trying to override it. We need Javen to get us out of here, or we’re going to end up dead.”
As she says the words my face pops up on her display and I bring my attention down to her picture-in-picture screen where Hammond’s video was previously showing. It must be over.
“We must not allow this to happen. I have my father’s plans to heal Earth and keep the Alku safe. We can live in peace.” I look to Irene. “Cut it.”
She taps her screen, and the video bot’s light deactivates. She jumps from her seat and glances to the building security cameras. The display shows a large group of officers armed with large rifles. They must be in the Capitol building.
My vision tracks between the other screens where the ground level outside is now bustling with activity. I race over to Irene and take her hand. “I might be able to transport us out of here to the other side of the Intersection. I’ve completed the journey twice.”
I grab her hand and close my eyelids to focus.
Bam!
The sound shakes the room, and my eyelids fly open. On the street-level screen, it’s now chaos outside. Security ships are flying through the air and settlers are being rounded up and pushed from the streets.
“Get us out of here, Cassi!” Irene cries as the pounding continues and a blast hits the door.
My breathing speeds up, and I rush us out of the doorway’s sightline to give myself a few more seconds. I hunker down with Irene in the corner of the room and close my eyes again. Take me to Javen, I think.
Wham!
The door flies open and hits the wall, and the sound of pounding boots hits the floor.
“Please—”
I barely get the words out when someone grabs my shoulders and yanks me to my feet. Soldiers hold Irene and me in place, guns trained on us. The room goes silent save for Irene's soft whimpering.
A pair of boot steps click into the room, and from around the corner, President Hammond appears. She stops in front of me and looks me up and down, then reaches for my neck and grabs my Starfire pendant. With a snap, she rips it from me.
“Take these ladies to the secured cell we’ve been working on.” With those words, she spins on her heels and walks out of the briefing room.
Chapter 24
The door to the empty room slams shut behind us. Irene rushes to the small window set in the door and stands on her toes to peer out.
“What are they going to do to us?” she says as she whips my way.
I drop to the cement floor and cover my face with my hands. I have no idea how Hammond is going to deal with us. All I know is that we’re not dead yet.
Sighing, I reach to the spot where my Starfire used to rest and an ache fills my heart. An ache for what losing the crystal means—losing everything. Javen, his people, his world—and if Dad is still alive, only Vihann seems to know anything about it. Without the gem, I can’t cross the Intersection.
It’s more than likely Hammond has now refuted everything I said on the announcement. She’s probably making me appear as if I went crazy after losing both my parents and ended up all alone on Arcadia.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
I startle and look up. Irene pounds on the door and yells, “Let us out!”
“It’s over, Irene,” I mumble, but she doesn’t stop.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
She throws her fists to the door again.
“Stop it!” I yell, and she spins my way.
“I have to do something!” Irene's eyes are wide with terror. “Where’s that guy Javen? Was this just a sick joke?”
I shake my head. “Javen won’t be able to get here without the Starfire and Hammond took it.”
She stares at me. “So how did Javen find me at the Detainment Center?”
“We knew the cell you were in.”
“So that’s it? We’re done? Hammond wins, and everyone else loses?”
I shrug. “Except the select few.”
A muffled boom thunders outside the building, and I scramble from the floor. “What was that?”
Irene throws her hand onto her hip and narrows her eyes at me. “And how am I supposed to know
this when I’m stuck in here?”
Well, at least her attitude has returned.
Several more booms sound. I scan the room as if the walls might give me information. They don’t. I race to the window in the door to get a glimpse into the hall, but Irene beats me to it, and I slam into her back. Disappointed, I ease from her.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing,” she says. “There were two guards out there before, but now the corridor is empty.”
I push her aside to steal a look for myself, and she’s right. The hall is empty.
A louder boom rumbles from outside, and this time the building shakes and the lights flicker overhead. I suck in a quick breath.
“We have to get out of here,” Irene says and starts pounding on the door again. “Hey!” she shouts.
Biting back tears, I back away. I can’t watch her anymore or fear will consume me completely. Instead, I move into the center of the room and sit down. Summoning Javen without my Starfire is just as pointless, but I have to try.
I close my eyes as another explosion shakes the room. With a long breath I place my hands onto the floor and settle my mind, focusing on the experiences I’ve had with the Starfire. I gasp as the ground under my fingers starts to tremble, and the vibration continues up my arms and into my body. My eyelids shoot open and a cyan glow is filling the room. As if in slow motion, I watch as Irene turns away from the window and takes several steps toward me when, behind her, the door flies open. The cyan disappears as the door slams into the wall.
Irene ducks down.
I scream and scramble backward as soldiers file into the room. But not human soldiers—the Alku.
A faint cyan glow illuminates their bodies. At the exit, several fall back. From the opening a young female Alku shoves her way inside, a female Alku with black hair, bronzed skin, and what appears to be a permanent scowl—Beda.
My eyes widen at the sight of her and I push into the wall.
“Take them both,” she says with a growl.
Two soldiers step forward. One grabs Irene and the other reaches down and pulls me to my feet.
“Where’s Javen?” I say to Beda as she spins on her heels and exits the room.
She doesn’t answer, and the soldiers pull us out of the room and into the hall.
“At least tell us what’s going on,” I demand.
“Where are you taking us?” Irene says from behind.
But no one answers.
The soldiers, led by Beda, take us out into the street. Damaged buildings crumble all around Primaro and airships dot the sky. More Alku soldiers wait on the street, as well as human guards dressed in World Senate uniforms.
“Cassi!” a male voice calls out, and I swing my head toward the sound.
Max is jogging toward me, followed by Hirata and Cooper.
The soldier who holds me lets go, and I race over to Max. “What’s going on?”
“When your broadcast went live, Hirata couldn’t live with herself anymore. She transmitted the feed to the World Senate, and the representatives split and declared war. There were military craft at Skybase that came in over the last several days for those siding with us, just in case something like this happened. So, troops were sent in to locate Hammond, but she’s gone. The only reason we’re holding the other side off is because of the Alku.” He looks around. “A group of their people just showed up . . . and apparently the Starfire can be used as a weapon. They took out several of Hammond’s ships and have made a protective shield over critical portions of the city.”
My chest tenses, knowing that Javen and the Council did not want to use the Starfire this way. I look around. “Do you know where Alina is? Is she safe?”
Max pinches his lips together. “We went back to get her but she was already gone.”
I pat my pocket and my stomach drops with the knowledge of what’s not there. “I left in such a hurry I must have left my thumb drive with Dad’s videos on it with her back in the dorm.”
Hirata steps toward me. “We need to get you to safety, Cassi.”
“And where is that?” I ask.
“You must go with the Alku,” Cooper says and hands me a Connect. I affix it to my wrist. “They’ve agreed to hide you, protect you. And they will not allow you to stay with us anyway.”
“Why not?” I move my attention over to Beda, who’s standing about twenty-five feet away with her arms crossed.
“They will not say,” Hirata says.
Part of me wants to go with Beda and return to Javen. But Javen’s father is nowhere in sight and I fear it’s not only the World Senate who has split. Javen may not be where they take me.
“Can you make sure Irene stays safe?” I say to Max.
“I’ll do my best, but I’m not sure any of us are safe yet.”
I wrap my arms around Max’s neck. “Don’t get killed either,” I whisper in his ear. “You’re my best friend here.”
Max pulls from me, and his gray eyes swim with emotion. “Cassi—”
“It’s time for you to go,” Cooper says, and I separate completely from Max.
Tears threaten to fall and never stop as I turn toward Irene. “Go with Max.”
She nods and then I race toward Beda.
“I’m ready,” I say as I reach her side.
Silently, she raises her hand and smacks her palm on my shoulder. A pulse shudders through me and I gasp and close my lids.
“Sorry that was so rough,” Beda says.
I open my lids, and she has a smirk on her face. She’s not sorry at all.
“You are not free here,” she says. “I’ve warned my father your link to the Starfire is dangerous . . . unstable.” She leans in. “And your bond with my cousin is even more so. I’ll be watching you.”
She narrows her eyes and leaves me. I sweep my gaze across a small, simple town. But it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. All the buildings, dwellings, and shops are entirely made of organic materials, though lights shine inside of each one. And a cyan glow emits from every structure. The Starfire? Everything the Alku do must be powered and controlled by it.
I crane my head around and stop when I see him. Javen. My heart bursts, lit on fire, heat pulsing through my veins with every beat, and I move without thought as if an unseen force compels me toward him. And I go, throwing my arms around his neck when I reach him. Javen’s arms coil around me, too, and I press into his warm chest and finally allow a few tears to fall. I’ve never felt so glad to see a person again.
“I’m so sorry I couldn’t get back to you.” His voice is thick with sadness and he wipes away a tear on my cheek. “I had to convince my uncle to go against the Council’s wishes to remain neutral. Beda is right. We cannot sit by and allow our people to be destroyed. Using the Starfire as a weapon is a risk. But we must take it.”
I open my mouth to speak and stop when, all too quickly, he loosens his grasp and takes one step back. My mouth clamps shut and I gaze up at him. But he’s gazing behind me. I turn and see his uncle Wirrin walking in our direction. My heart twitches and my hands tighten at my side as the man with snow white hair and pale skin slows about three feet from us.
“Cassiopeia,” he says and reaches into the pocket of his light jacket. “I have a message for you.”
He pulls his hand out of his tunic pocket and opens it. On his palm rests a blushing red apple, a Pink Lady, my favorite—Dad’s favorite.
I look up at Wirrin in confusion.
“Your father, Richard Foster, needs your help. And we may need his.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Book one of Cassi's journey is at an end, but you can find out what happens next in Dark Matter.
DARK MATTER
BOOK TWO OF THE STARFIRE WARS
Chapter 1
Ever since the day Mom died, I became certain there is one rule. Life is unpredictable.
My mind carousels as I study one of Dad’s favorite kinds of apple, now resting in my palm. The pinkish red flesh coated with a thin l
ayer of dust contrasts Mom’s shiny gold band. Mom is gone forever, but what if there were the possibility that Dad was still alive?
Without looking up, I ask Javen’s Uncle Wirrin, “Where did you get this?”
He glances around and motions Javen and me toward a secluded grouping of trees.
When we are out of earshot from the others, he says, “I found about twenty. The fruit began showing up by an Intersection point two days ago, just outside Irilee. One of my scouts and I found them. At first, seeing the foreign fruit was strange, but I paid them no mind. Yet when so many appeared, I started asking questions.”
“What kind of questions? Who did you ask?” Javen slips his arm around my waist as if to protect me from whatever his uncle might say.
“I spoke to Vihann and inquired if he had seen anything like seemingly random objects materializing from the other side of the Intersection,” Wirrin answers.
“And?” I ask, inching closer to Wirrin.
“He admitted to transporting your father from the ship before the explosion.” Wirrin shifts on his feet.
Nervousness swirls in my stomach. Should I tell Wirrin I saw Vihann, Javen's father, disappear with Dad on the video feed? Instead, I ask, “Why didn't he say anything to me at the Council meeting? He knew who I was.”
We continue walking through the trees. Several flowers unfurl open on the branches, flickering with cyan hues. Wirrin pinches his lips at the sight.
“Something happened,” Wirrin continues. “When my brother crossed to our side, he lost Dr. Foster.”
“Lost him?” Javen asks before I get the chance. “Losing Cassi’s father isn’t possible.”
Wirrin stops walking. “Well, that's what happened. When Vihann rematerialized on the other side, Foster was gone.” Wirrin looks to me with a slight frown before watching the unfurling petals once more.
“So, then, where is he?” I ask. “People also don’t vanish into thin air.”
“That is the question I'm asking, too,” Wirrin says.
I look down at the apple still in my grasp. “But how do you know this is from him? It could just be a piece of fruit that is somehow coming across the Intersection from Arcadia.”
The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set Page 17