She presses her lips together. “Be more careful. You’re not fully Alku, and something about the Starfire is still adjusting in your body.”
I blink several times, and all the dizziness dissipates. “Yes. I was emotional and not thinking.”
From behind, I see Max jogging toward the portal. He glances at me and frowns, then joins the others.
My stomach tightens, but Zarah wraps her arm around me and squeezes. “It must be difficult to see your father going back to Earth and you staying here.”
I pull away from her slightly, glad she doesn’t know that more than giving goodbyes to my dad is stressing me. “No greater than Vihann going and leaving you when your family has only just reunited.” The headache stabs again over my eyes. I grit my teeth against the blazing pain.
Zarah squares herself. “I’m doing my best to focus on the good of others. It’s difficult, but the Protector in me still echoes that it is everyone else who matters.”
That’s what Max just said. I exhale deeply and pull her into an embrace. “You and the Alku are amazing people. I can’t imagine a universe without you. What we’re doing here has to work.”
Zarah squeezes me, and the warmth only a mother can provide fills my heart. The pain in my head lessens to a bearable level under her caring touch as we amble back to rejoin the onlookers.
Max and Vihann now stand next to Dad as he nods to Howard.
Howard taps a series of keystrokes, and the two stone pillars spark with light. A bolt of electricity exits from the top and curves to form an archway connecting the two pillars.
Crack!
The sound is deafening and I clap my hands over my ears, squinting against the light.
Eventually my eyes adjust and my gaze widens as the Starfire’s power vibrates through my body and under my feet. Everyone stands speechless as the view on the other side shifts to a night scene. An abandoned building sits to the side. The night sky on the other side is clear and cloudless, speckled with stars. Earth’s moon hangs full up above.
Home.
“It worked!” Dad shouts and everyone lets out a cheer.
“Now what?” someone shouts.
Dad faces Vihann and Max. “Well, this is my project, so I’ve decided I’ll be the first one through to test that the portal is safe.”
My stomach does a flop. I trust the people who are working on this project, but this travel is untested. I start to step forward, but Zarah grabs my arm, stopping me.
“No, Dr. Foster,” Max says. “I know Kole Harris is my father, but you and Vihann are imperative for this project. I’m going through first, and then I will step back to make sure the opening works from both sides.”
I grit my teeth against his words. I don’t want anything to happen to Max, let alone when he’s still so angry at me. He quickly glances my way and then turns his attention back to Dad, straightening his back and squaring himself.
Dad opens his mouth to speak.
“You know my going first is the best option.” Max looks around. “Everyone else here plays a part in further maintaining this project. I’m the only one who doesn’t have a clue about it. I’m just a body.”
My eyes sting with tears. You are so much more than that Max—to so many people, including me.
Although I don’t want to, I inhale deeply to relax my body, and Zarah loosens from me.
Dad crosses his arms over his chest and pinches his lips together. “Every single one of us is valuable, Max.”
Max lets out a soft grunt and smiles, but the smile is sad, resigned. “The success of this mission doesn’t hinge on me. My dad is going to be much more impressed with the Starfire than he is with his son.”
“He’s right, Richard,” Simmons says and then looks to Max. “Sorry.”
Max shrugs. “It’s what I’ve already said.”
“Well, you need to know that I don’t like this plan,” Dad says. “But we need to get moving.”
I want to yell at Max and tell him what a beautiful, sacrificial person he is. But I know he’s doesn’t desire any words of admiration from me right now.
He steps to the portal’s edge and then looks to Howard. “Is it ready?”
“Ready as it’s going to be,” Howard answers.
Without glancing back at any of us, Max steps into the portal, and a blinding light flashes. I gasp loudly. So much so, I almost don’t hear everyone else around me gasp as well. The light brightens until my retinas burn. The illumination quickly dissipates, thankfully, and I blink to try to clear black spots from my vision. And to see if he crossed over. My breath slows as I spot his shadowy frame situated on the portal’s other side . . . on Earth.
Max smiles and waves to us. The people around me lift a celebratory cheer. He did it! But he still needs to step back through to our side once more. He looks around and up to the night sky on the Earth side and then takes three steps forward. This time, I cover my eyes just before the burst of light. When the glow dims, I peek between my fingers and bite back a smile.
He’s back.
Once again, the onlookers let out a cheer, and this time, I release one of my own. My heart thumps in a rapid beat, thankful. To see him safe. That Dad and Vihann will be, too. At least for now.
Chapter 21
Dad’s, Max’s, and Vihann’s silhouettes disappear as the portal’s light flickers and closes. Everyone has stopped talking, shoulders slumped. Every ounce of hope I had a moment ago flutters away.
What did we just do? We have no way of contacting Dad unless we cross through the portal. And doing so could put our operation at risk of detection if we open the portal too many times before we really need to.
Choosing to trust Dad and this plan instead of giving into my fears, I shout, “We should all get back to work.”
“Yes,” Dr. Morris replies. “Follow me back to camp. There is still much to do to prepare for Dr. Foster’s return.”
She gestures to the Senate members and the rest of the refugees. They follow her except for Howard, who remains with his portable computer setup. He’ll stay and ensure the portal is functioning properly for when Dad activates it from Earth’s side. I’m sure Howard wants to be alone anyway.
“I’m not entirely sure what I can do,” Zarah says. She’s the only other person lingering around the portal besides me and Howard. “But I’m going to help the Earthlings.”
After a squeeze of my hand, she walks toward the refugee camp. When she’s gone, I gaze back at the portal one more time before I head back to the lab. Nothing in me wants to stay here in the Intersection. Morris has plenty of help and from people who know much more about the potential ship conversion. I need to get back to Javen and Irene.
Despite the possibility of a headache, I close my eyes and envision both Javen and the coordinates of the mountainside base. I open my lids expecting to find myself in the same valley as before, but instead, Javen stands before me and the surroundings are still blue-green.
“Javen?”
He looks around, brows furrowed. “You summoned me to the Intersection?”
A headache now pulses on my temple, but as before, I do my best to ignore the building pain. “Uh . . . I didn’t mean to summon you,” I choke out. Seeing him is a form of torture and a form of peace unlike any other. An ache and a sigh. By the hesitation in his eyes, I know he feels the same. Heaviness presses hard against my chest—from responsibilities, my goodbye with Max, worry for Dad—until I feel as if I might stop breathing at any moment. So I throw my arms around Javen and begin melting into the comfort of his nearness, whispering into his shoulder, “I was trying to come to you.”
He wraps me in a hushed embrace, leaning his head atop mine. The warmth and safety of his muscular chest soothes me in an instant.
“Is everything okay here?” he whispers into my hair. “You don’t look well.”
But I don’t want to talk right now. Instead, I rise onto my toes and press my lips to his. The Starfire lights inside me and reconnects me to hi
s. Our kiss is gentle and sends quick flashes through my mind of Javen’s strength, and his determination to save his people and planet from destruction. Everything about this intimate experience reminds me of how much I need his presence and support on this journey, wherever it may lead.
I ease from Javen, not wanting to but knowing it’s necessary. “The portal to Earth was a success. He left a few minutes ago with Vihann and Max.”
Javen tips his head. “My father went?”
“He thought traveling to Earth was necessary to convince Harris. But your mother is still here. Would you like to see her?”
Anguish tightens every one of his beautiful features. “If I see her, it will make going back to Arcadia that much more difficult, and I need to remain focused. We have too much to catch up on and no time to do so.” He gives me a sad little grin. “It’s difficult enough to focus while you’re around.”
I chuckle and graze my fingers over his cheek. I know the feeling.
“How are Irene’s adjustments working?” I drop my gaze to his wrist, to his Connect.
Javen taps the display, and the device awakens with data. “Good. Better than before. The crystal’s flow is reduced and seems to be working desirably.”
“And everyone else?”
“We should return,” Javen says. “Irene needs my help. The exact coordinates to the base are stored on my device. I knew we might need them, so I asked for the data.” He swipes the face and shows them to me.
The Starfire comes alive in my brain, and my mind sees the latitude and longitude in a single flash, just like having a version of an Earthscape program in my head.
“Do you know the exact exit point within the base from these coordinates?” I ask.
Javen nods. “I knew if we returned, we would need that information eventually. So, I made it a place we had already been—the room where Irene altered my Connect.”
Images of the room swim to the forefront of my mind and then meld with the coordinates on Javen’s device.
Other than for our own safety—which a considerable part of me would love to take advantage of—nothing is keeping me here in the Intersection. Right now, my job as Protector is to use the Starfire to save as many people as I can.
I take Javen’s hand and envision the mountainside base. As if slamming into a vortex, we’re whisked away from temporary safety.
On the Arcadia side, we bash into a wall carved from the mountainside. My body crashes into the stone and then rolls to the ground.
Everything spins and then stops. On the floor nearby, Javen groans while holding his head. Nausea swirls in my stomach. Then pain shoots through my temple and neck, but despite it, I scoot over to him. “Are you okay?”
“That was a rougher ride than the time I transported you from the Capitol building.”
My head pounds. “I . . . I don’t know why the transition was so rough.” But I do know. Zarah warned me, and I think transporting is causing too much stress on my body. Another ripple of pain pounds through my head, and I suck a breath through clenched teeth.
Javen looks me over. “You’re not well.”
I blink several times and take in another centering breath. “No. But I will be.” It might be a lie, but I don’t have time to figure the problem out. “Can you help me stand and then take me to Irene?”
Javen offers me his hand. The moment we touch, my head stops spinning and the sickness in my stomach subsides. His Starfire must have a healing effect on me.
“I’m . . . good now, actually,” I say. “But I need to be careful using the Starfire. The overdose affects me differently than it does you, and I have no other way to regulate the power since it’s now inside of me. My body has to learn to adjust on its own.”
Javen wrinkles his brows but nods in agreement. He then swipes his Connect and speaks into the device. “I’m back.”
“Yeah,” Irene’s voice comes through the device. “Where'd you go?”
“I’ll explain in a minute,” Javen says.
He leads me down to the brig where the Alku are being held. When I walk in, the first person I see is Wirrin, eyes drooping, skin ashen and clammy as if he’s ill. Sitting in a chair, his forehead pressed to his palm, Wirrin spots me us and then glances away.
Irene is fitting a Connect to Beda, who is lying on a cot. She lifts Beda’s wrist to study whatever the screen shows her, then taps the screen. Luca is to Irene’s left.
“Where were you, Javen?” Irene asks. “I needed you here.”
“Sorry,” I say. “That was apparently my fault. The Starfire is functioning strangely for me right now. When I tried to transport here, it brought Javen into the Intersection instead.”
Ignoring me, Irene nods at Luca. He injects Beda with a clear liquid, and her eyes open wide.
Wirrin rushes to his daughter’s side. “You’re okay. You’re safe.”
Beda’s eyes grow glassy as her face pales. Wirrin, Irene, and Luca step to the side as she leans over and retches onto the floor.
“Again?” Irene moans, and her shoulders slump.
Beda grimaces in horror at what she did and then flops back onto the pillow behind her. Luca grabs several towels from nearby and works to clean up the mess.
“It’s not working?” I ask. Nothing like this happened to Javen when I brought him out of his frozen state.
Javen quickly replies, “The sedatives they were given before we arrived are causing nausea.”
“They were sedated?” I gape at Luca.
“We had to take precautions,” Luca says.
“But pairing the Connects with the Starfire is working, and they’re not aggressive anymore?” I ask.
Wirrin murmurs, “They are working.” He examines the device on his wrist. “If only they could make me forget the events at the mine.”
Before Wirrin can say anything else, Javen reaches for his uncle and embraces him. The warmth of their love fills my chest. And though Beda could throw up again, I know she needs some support, too. Hopefully, the bud of our friendship is still there and I can help. As I move to her side, Beda narrows her eyes and turns her head from me.
“Beda?” I whisper as I approach.
She groans and slowly turns her head my way. Her typical bravado has faded from her features, and she appears much more like a young girl than the warrior I know she is.
I take her hand, desperately wanting to share my Starfire with her to help the healing but afraid that doing so could hurt me.
Beda gently pushes to a sitting position. “Why did you save me?”
A small smile pulls at my lips. “Because you’re an amazingly loyal person—to your people and friends. You didn’t mean to become so aggressive. The Starfire made a mistake and read your need to protect your people. It changed a part of your thoughts in a way you never meant it to.”
I don’t tell her anything about the Starfire’s true nature. I think learning the power is a nanocomputer would be too much for her, or any of the Alku for the time being. That will have to remain between Irene and me for now.
“Besides, I think you would have done the same for me.”
A sly grin stretches over Beda’s dark lips and a bit of her caramel coloring returns. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”
Maybe she’ll recover more quickly than I thought. I raise my eyebrows in question, but she pats me on the arm.
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“This is the last Connect I have,” Irene says. “Who else do we need to wake up?”
I look around at the group, and no one answers.
My mind turns with the faces who were in the war party as the Starfire lights inside of me. I know who it should be, despite how I’m not personally thrilled with the choice. “Yaletha is one of the best warriors. We need her.”
Javen shoots me a questioning look and my chest constricts. I’m pretty sure he and Yaletha became close again while under the Mother Starfire’s influence. Javen must sense my awareness. But Javen loves m
e, and I love him.
“You know I’m making the right choice,” I say.
Javen nods.
“Then let’s help her,” Irene says to Wirrin and Luca.
Luca’s Connect buzzes on his wrist. His eyes grow owlish before he taps the screen. A hologram of Alina appears.
Luca holds his arm up higher for each of us to see. “What’s going o—”
Alina cuts Luca off. “General Atkins and about ten survivors of the mining attack have escaped Hammond. They were smuggled from Primaro and need to be retrieved immediately.”
Chapter 22
“Retrieved?” I ask. “How are we supposed to do that? The city is on high alert. You can’t even leave the city.”
A muscle pulses along Luca’s jaw. “If we go after them, it will put this entire base at risk. Hammond may discover our location. You know this.”
Alina eyes Luca. “It’s an order,” she says in a flat tone.
“An order from who?” Irene asks, throwing her hand on her hip. “You?”
“Of course, not me!” Alina says, bringing her attention to Luca. “From higher up. All the instructions should be coming into your Connect soon. I wanted to give you a heads up.”
Just as she says the words, a blinking Urgent Message icon displays at the bottom of the hologram.
“This is a level six order, and no one else is to be alerted to the mission,” she says.
“So, we can’t bring a pilot or extra manpower?” Luca asks.
“You can take anyone from your current project, and that’s it. Too many people already know.”
“Understood,” Luca says with a sigh as he clicks off the hologram.
He then reads the incoming message and swipes the screen off. The muscle along his jaw pulses faster. “As expected,” he grits. “It’s believed that Atkins and her people were being tortured for information, but they’re in a secure place for now, just outside the city. But it’s as far as they can go.”
I rub at my temple. Pain is blossoming again. Maybe it’s from what I’m about to say. “I’m coming. For reasons I don’t know yet, transporting has become difficult for me. But if we have an emergency, I need to be there with you for a quick exit.”
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