The portal crackles and closes behind us.
“The base is up there,” I say to Irene and point to the mountainside, not exactly remembering the location but pretty sure I’m close. There’s a rough spot where I think the Alku caused damage with the Starfire.
“Looks like a mountain,” Irene says.
“No, she’s right. That's where it is,” Javen says.
I lift my wrist and tap my Connect, scrolling to Alina’s contact information.
I’m back on Arcadia, and I need your assistance ASAP.
I send the message and turn to Irene. Behind her, Javen is scoping the landscape with a nervous glint in his eyes.
“Let’s get to some cover while we wait,” I say and point to several trees to our left.
“Good idea,” Irene says and jogs toward them.
But Javen stays put, peering around at the scenery. “Even with my new Connect, I don’t feel like myself anymore,” he whispers.
I take his hand and lead him toward Irene, who’s already under one of the trees.
“I remember how I felt when I was here the last time,” he says. “I wanted to kill you. I wanted to kill any Earthling.”
I find his dark eyes. “That wasn’t you. You know this.”
“But I can’t get it out of my head!”
I stop and pull him around to me. Without speaking, I squeeze his hand and allow the Starfire to flow through me to him. His body relaxes.
He studies the ground, a line carving between his brows. “I just don’t know if I’m going to be okay again. How am I supposed to be a leader when I barely know who I am anymore?”
“Javen, just questioning these things means you care and you still want the best for your people. There’s no doubt in my mind that the others are going to experience much the same thing as you are right now when we free them.”
Javen lets out a long, trembling breath and slips his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into an embrace. I smile into his warmth and murmur, “This has been awful, but the only way for us to get through this is together.”
My Connect buzzes, and Irene must hear the sound because she comes to our side immediately. I allow both Javen and Irene to see.
What are your coordinates?
I tap the voice activation and speak into the device. “Directly in front of the base. You need to send someone down for us.”
We’ll be with you promptly.
We turn our attention to the mountainside and watch as an opening in the face appears. A small shuttle hover floats out and down in front of our tree cover.
The hatch opens, and a tall boy with brown hair waves us in. My stomach drops like a stone at the sight of him, but without question, the three of us board the hover and slide into the open seats inside.
“Wasn’t exactly sure I’d see you again,” he says as the hatch closes. and then the hover lifts from the ground.
I scoff and roll my eyes at Irene. “That’s a weird thing to say, Luca. My dad and I are trying to save Arcadia. We’re not just going to disappear.”
“I didn’t mean because of you,” he says. “Hammond found me out.”
“What?”
“Alina is still over in Primaro, but she got word that Hammond’s suspicions were mounting against me. So, I was pulled from the mission just before I was arrested.”
The hover enters the same bay we came in the first time Dad, Max, and I were here. As the ship settles to the ground, the vehicle emits a hiss.
Luca twists in the pilot's seat and regards Javen. “Your people are here,” he says flatly.
Javen’s energy is so strong it hits me like a jolt of electricity.
“What do you mean here?” He bounces his leg as if he will pop from his seat as soon as the hatch opens.
“What I said.” Luca runs his hands across the hover console, and the hatch opens. “They’re here.”
“In the base?” Irene asks.
Luca nods. “We have them detained.”
An angry spark flashes in Javen’s eyes, and he leans toward Luca. “You had better be treating them well.”
Luca slips out of the hatch, moving as quickly as he can from Javen. “Look, man. We’re on your side. Apparently, after Cassi left, the Alku went into a sort of trance.”
That matches what the Starfire told me. That the AI was able to slow them but not rid the Alku of the aggressive effects. I reach out to Javen, allowing the Starfire to calm him once more.
Luca continues, “The people were nervous, but after an hour or so of observation, they appeared safe. Since it was too risky to leave the Alku out in the open, the team loaded all of them into a hover and brought them to the brig here. It’s not luxury accommodations, but it works.”
“Can you take us to them? That’s why we’re here,” I ask.
“Yes.” Luca peers at Javen. “After a debriefing and if he behaves. We have enough stress around here already.”
Irene and I nod, and we all exit the hover. As we walk behind Luca, I lean over to Irene and whisper, “Can you make a few adjustments to Javen’s Connect? I think he might still be getting fed a bit too much of the Intersection’s Starfire.”
“I noticed that too,” she whispers back. “It makes sense that each Alku would need to be individually adjusted, probably for body weight and several other factors. I didn’t get that far in the limited time we had.”
Luca leads us to a conference room. Once inside, he activates a holographic computer and gestures for us to take a seat around a large table.
“Is Alina coming?” I ask as we sit and Luca taps on the virtual keypad.
“It’s not safe for her to come to the base anymore. Hammond has activated additional security measures for any ship going in or out of the city. Primaro is basically on lockdown.”
“Is she okay?” Irene asks, which kind of surprises me since Irene was never a fan of Alina. But she’s also a mother hen type who’s driven to care about everyone’s wellbeing.
“As far as we know, yes,” Luca says. “She’s not able to check in as often as she likes. But we’ve heard nothing to the contrary.”
Irene relaxes back into her seat. “Do you have any news from Earth?”
Luca slides her a quick glance. “Nothing new to report, but we’re expecting an update in the next forty-five minutes.” Luca taps the interface.
Hammond's face pops up on the screen, all hawkish and thin. Even over the last few days, she’s changed. Her cheeks are gaunt, and her eyes have a new deadness to them. I guess planning to murder an entire race of people must be bad for even her emotional state.
Luca pauses the video. “This was released earlier today.” The tension in his jaw pulls his lips into a straight line.
“It’s time for Earth to know what is at stake here,” Hammond says, her delivery flat. The video cuts to the Alku attack on the mine. Flashes of their faces, vicious and savage, move across the screen. My stomach drops as I catch a glimpse of Javen beside me, squeezing his fists and pushing into the back of his seat. Our connection wakes inside of me and terror ripples through my body.
I leap to my feet. “Pause the video and go to the blank screen.” The video pauses and the screen blackens, and I swing around to Luca. “What are you doing?”
His eyes are wide. “I . . . I’m just trying to brief you on the current situation.”
My fists pump as the energy Javen and I are still sharing vibrates in my chest. I look to Javen, who has his head down, then to Irene. “You need to make those adjustments to his Connect now!”
In a flash, Irene has her DataPort out and open.
“What’s going on?” Luca asks.
“Do you have another room they can go in?” I ask.
A still-confused Luca points to our left. “Yeah, there’s an open room next door.” He glances between Javen and me. “Are . . . are we okay here?”
Ignoring Luca, I race to Javen’s side and place my hand under his chin. Gently I guide his face to look at me. His eyes are gl
assy and swirling with cyan, but his anxious energy is decreasing.
“Are you going to be all right?” I whisper.
Javen blinks and his eyes return to normal. “I think so,” he murmurs.
“Irene is taking you next door to work on the Starfire flow from your Connect,” I say. “Can you go with her? I need to stay here.”
Javen offers me a faint nod and relief palpably warms in my chest. Leaning in close, I gently kiss him on the forehead. As my mouth presses to his skin, a deep sigh escapes his beautiful lips.
“Come on, Javen,” Irene says and gestures with her head toward the door.
Reluctantly, he leaves my touch and follows her.
As the door shuts, Luca curses at me. “What the hell are you doing by bringing him here, if he’s obviously not in the right state of mind? He should be in the brig with the others.”
I want to scream at him that he doesn’t understand, but I allow the Starfire and the Protector in me to take over and ignore his outburst. “Luca, sit down.”
Luca stands there, unmoving, his eyebrows furrowed.
“Sit!” I growl. “You need to listen to me. Because, as you know, we don’t have a lot of time.”
He clenches his jaw, the steel in his gaze glinting with mine.
When he yields and sits, I explain to him how Irene and I figured out that modifying a Connect to regulate the Starfire healed Javen. But unfortunately, it’s not calibrated perfectly yet.
Luca rakes a steady hand through his wavy, brown hair. “And I suppose you’re here to do this for the rest of the affected Alku.”
“Exactly, and we need more Connects. Can you get them for us?”
“There’s no way I can get enough for each Alku here. And do you think that’s a good idea before you get the device figured out? Say we calibrate each Connect and then they go nuts again?”
He’s totally right. We don’t know whether the Connects will work the same on all the Alku. “Fair point. Still, get as many as you can. We can work on a few at a time.”
Luca nods.
“Now,” I say, drawing out the word. “I don’t want to see the whole video Hammond made. Can you just fill me in on it?”
“Hammond is sending word to Earth about the Alku,” he says. “The majority of the Senate is heading through the TSF today to take control of any problems that could break out, especially in the big cities.”
The news is terrible but not unexpected. I had hoped the news of war on Arcadia would be kept from Earth for as long as possible. Now if we do travel to Earth through our portal, reaching Max’s father is going to be that much more difficult. Hammond will probably be commandeering any of his usable private ships for war.
“I don’t know how we’re going to contain this,” Luca says, gesturing to the video. “I think we’ve already lost. We’re stuck here on Arcadia with little way of getting messages to Earth.”
“My Dad may have figured out a way to get to Earth without the Turner Space Fold.”
Luca zips his attention to me. “What?”
“We think, using the Starfire as a power source, that we can create a portal to Earth.”
“How big?” Luca leans his upper arms onto the table and folds his hands.
“Big enough to get ships through.”
Luca quietly whistles in appreciation and leans back into his seat. “This could change the tide. I mean, Hammond’s announcement puts a wrench in everything. But a private portal would give us a bigger chance.”
“But we also need to heal the Alku. People on Earth must see that they are not our enemy.”
Luca taps his Connect and swipes a few times. “Deal. I’m sending a message to round up as many spare Connects as we can. There’s a workspace and lab here that Irene can use.”
“Great.”
“We can keep the affected Alku in the brig until we get everyone a Connect.” Luca pauses for a moment as if thinking.
But before he can say anything else, the computer chimes three times and a hologram of Alina appears.
“Oh, Cassi,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting you.” She flicks her attention to Luca.
“You can speak in front of her,” Luca says.
She glances around and whispers, “I only have a moment, but I need to get someone this information.”
“What now?” Luca asks.
Alina blows out a breath. “Hammond has ordered a lockdown on all fuel reserves on Earth. She’s going to make an announcement in one hour. We’re trying to get word through before she does, but it doesn’t give us much—”
The screen goes black. Luca fiddles with the hologram controls, and a second later, Alina appears again.
“What will that mean for us?” I ask Alina.
She darts her eyes to the left and then returns her attention to me. “Fuel has always been regulated among the private sector, so very few had stockpiles on hand.”
Luca groans.
I glance between Luca and Alina. “And?”
“It means,” Luca answers, “that no one outside the government will have any means of transportation. And any private defense ships or vehicles will be unable to run after a few days, if that. Even if we can get to Earth, we’ll have very little ability to fight.”
Chapter 19
My heart sinks. I know this isn’t good.
Luca rubs the back of his neck. “They must have some fuel on hand to last for at least a short amount of time. They’re not stupid, especially with so much money at stake. Big businesses must protect themselves from problems like the one that’s about to happen.”
“Of course,” Alina says. A tiny line forms between her eyebrows.
“How much fuel do you think the private sector will still have access to? How long will the reserves last them?” I ask Alina.
“A few days maybe, unless they can get fuel illegally. But even then, the government will be watching the big players like a hawk.”
“Big players like Kole Harris?” I ask.
“Exactly. Galaxis is already under a tight rein,” Luca says, now pacing the length of the table. He shoves his hands into his pockets and a muscles twitches along his jaw. “I’m sure Harris has resources with his wide network, but I’m not sure how big a risk he’ll take to go up against Hammond, if any.”
I swallow the lump forming in my throat. Harris and Galaxis cooperating with us and bringing a fleet of fighters into the Intersection is what our entire plan hinges on. If they don’t have any fuel, how are we supposed to get them through the portal?
“Why don’t you think he’ll cooperate?” I ask them.
Alina darts her eyes around and then returns her attention to us. “Harris is notoriously motivated by CosmicCoin. I don’t think he’s necessarily loyal to Hammond, but he is loyal to the highest bidder and the route that will net him the most money in the end. Going against her could seriously inhibit his future ability to stay in business.”
“But if she’s taking all ability for him to run Galaxis, he’s going to be out of business anyway,” I say. “Right?”
Alina glances behind her and pulls her fingers through her loose, blonde hair. “Look. I have to go. Just getting you this info was a risk.”
Luca bites his top lip and raises his hand chest-high to bid her goodbye. “Be safe.”
The hologram disappears, and I move my attention back to Luca as the Starfire stirs in my mind. So, Harris is motivated by CosmicCoin. I had hopes that he may join our fight out of love for space travel and from human kindness. But maybe we have another opportunity. Conversations with Max replay through my mind. Max being Kole Harris’s son make sense now. It’s why he worked so hard to separate himself from the Galaxis name and why information was much more important to him than money.
“How much do you know about Harris?” I ask.
Luca folds his arms across his chest. “Some. Why?”
“We have access to a major fuel source,” I say. “If we gave Galaxis access to it, do you think he’d be more l
ikely to assist us? Would he risk getting caught?”
“Are you talking about the Starfire?” Luca asks.
“What else would I be taking about?”
He narrows his eyes. “But isn’t that precisely what you are trying to keep from being mined?”
I explain to Luca more about how the Starfire works and about the Intersection and Mother crystals. “If we have the assistance of the Alku,” I continue, “I believe we may be able to use the smallest amount possible to convert his ships to run on Starfire energy.”
“But that would require we have everything arranged and ready to go before Hammond starts to strip the Starfire mine on Arcadia again.”
My stomach drops. I knew she would attempt mining again, but I didn’t want to think about it. “And when do you anticipate that happening?”
“Soon. Hammond knows the Alku are not guarding the mine anymore, and her troops and miners have moved back in. Production will start again in the next few days.”
The mention of the mine reminds me of a question. One I’m not sure I want the answer to. I clench my jaw at what I’m about to ask. “Did they find any survivors at the mine?”
Luca tips his head and uncrosses his arms. “Surprisingly, yes.”
My heart leaps at his words. “Who? How many?”
“That intel hasn’t been released yet. But I do know they’ve a good-sized group in custody.”
“If Hammond hasn’t killed them by now.”
Luca pivots away from me and stuffs his hands into his pockets once more. “I’m sure she needs information from them about the Alku and the Starfire. They may be more valuable alive than dead.”
I look away as sickness roils in my stomach. General Atkins and the other refugees are probably being tortured. Which means Hammond may now know about the Intersection. Just not how to get to that dimension or how I was the one who pulled the ships into the Intersection’s safety. Atkins doesn’t know either. But Hammond could know Dad is alive.
“Torture,” I whisper to myself as the ache in my chest intensifies.
“Likely.” Luca turns to me.
“I need to get back and let my dad know all of this. My friends will need to stay and help the Alku. Can you make sure they can proceed?”
The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set Page 46