Star Spark

by Day Leitao

  “Perhaps you’re right.” She smiled.

  He realized his hands were running through her hair. And this, this was the moment. He should kiss her. Instead, he closed his eyes and stepped back. “It was nice meeting you.” She was startled. He pointed to the ring. “A part of me will always be with you.”

  He stared at her. Perhaps he could get someone to remove his chip, maybe find a place for him in the Mainland military, then tell them his moon’s secrets. Or maybe both of them could run somewhere. Hide. They could even live on an island, as long as they had enough fuel and supplies. But then, something would always be missing. And he didn’t even know what she really felt for him. No. There was something there. There was. Despite the short time they’d been with each other, he felt she understood him better than anyone. And perhaps he understood her as well. Which only made it even more painful. He felt tears forming in his eyes. “Goodbye.”

  Turning around and getting to the ship was one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. He took off without looking back. After they braved that rocky ocean and were up in the atmosphere, Marcus said, “You don’t look well.”

  “I’m not.”

  20

  New Resolutions

  The ship got smaller and smaller against the now graying sky. A gust of wind chilled Saytera, and she set off to the base, wondering if there was still a place for her there, if they’d accept her, and what she’d tell them. The truth? None of it had been her fault, she hadn’t betrayed the mainlanders… And yet… There was something off about it. She touched the ring on her hand, thinking perhaps she should hide it. Just a ring. Unlikely anyone would notice it.

  Dess’s image remained in her mind, staring at her, tears forming in his eyes. Those tears. Always those tears. But then he turned around. There was no point letting his image haunt her. With a world between them, all she had was the ring and the memory. And maybe the vague idea that perhaps they’d meet again. Knowing without knowing. It only cast doubts.

  Waves crashed onto the shore and her heart pounded as she reached the top of the cliff. On a clear day like that, it was odd that she hadn’t seen anyone on the beach. She gathered her courage—and knocked on the door.

  Seconds and seconds passed while she wondered if there had been any change, if they were still there. It was insane. How long had she been gone? Three days? It felt like forever. An eternity between moments.

  To her relief, it was Larissa who opened the door. Her eyes widened, then she hugged Saytera.

  “You’re alive.” She stepped back and check Saytera up and down. “Are you alright?”

  “I am. I’m back.”

  “I see that. What happened?

  Saytera felt a chill in her stomach and hesitated. “I…” Then she felt something else in her stomach, more like emptiness. “I’m starving. Do you have something to eat?”

  “Come. Let’s get you something.”

  Leftover crab and rice had never tasted so delicious.

  Larissa watched her in silence. “How are you?”

  “Better.”

  “So. What happened?”

  Well, she had to tell her story and perhaps it was better to start with Larissa. “I was kidnapped. By two Lunars.”

  “So they took you?”

  “Yes. But we never left the planet. Uh…” The mere idea that she’d taken down that ship caused her chills. But this wasn’t something she’d ever tell anyone. “There was a failure and we crashed. On an island. We… survived with some mushrooms.”

  Larissa thought for a moment. “We. So you worked together?”

  Saytera sighed. “We had to. One of them got hurt, there were dangerous creatures, we had to find food, shelter…”

  “What are they like?” Her tone was curious.

  “They are people. Like us. They were both young, too.”

  Larissa nodded. “And how did you get back?”

  “They were rescued. And they dropped me off here.”

  Her friend had a confused frown. “Dropped you off?”

  “Well, it was an agreement we made because I helped them survive. They kept their word.”

  “How did they even get here? Do you mean to say that they’ve been coming in and out? Under our noses? Under our anti-aerial defenses? Not that I’m upset you’re back, I’m just…”

  “I…” Weird. She’d been looking forward to telling her colleagues about Lunar ships hiding in storm clouds. Now she imagined her information getting Dess killed, and wasn’t as sure. “I have no idea how they come in and out.”

  Larissa clenched her fist. “Damn Lunars.”

  “He says there are very few people doing this, and it’s mostly for food and water.”

  “And for killing some of us.”

  “They say they only kidnapped very few of us, they didn’t kill anyone.”

  Larissa rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah, that’s so much better. Take us somewhere to be tortured in search of information we don’t even have.”

  “I don’t know. They didn’t seem mean. What about us? We just shoot them.”

  “Well, they’re not supposed to come here. When they come, they kill, kidnap, and put our lives in danger.” She stared at Saytera up and down. “So you got along well.”

  “Uh… more like uncomfortable allies.”

  “And an uncomfortable ally gave you his coat.”

  Crap. Only then Saytera noticed she was still wearing it. “I… it was cold.” What was the point in lying? “Yeah. We got along.”

  “And you got a ring.”

  Saytera hid her hand. She was going to say she already had it, but she was realizing Larissa was too good an observer to fall for that. “Yeah. As a reminder. As a symbol for us to hope to reach peace.”

  “You do know what a guy giving a girl a ring means, right?”

  Saytera didn’t. “We don’t wear jewelry in… the village where I’m from.”

  “You’re wearing it on the wrong finger, but it’s a love declaration.”

  Dess’s eyes came to her mind. If only. Maybe. But he was too far away now, and she’d refused his invitation. “No, not in his case. He had a lot of rings, so it was what he could give me.”

  Larissa narrowed her eyes. “What did you give him? Your ring?”

  “I don’t wear that stuff. I didn’t give him anything.”

  “That was just a stupid joke. I’m sorry, Saytera. I’m glad you’re back in one piece.”

  Saytera nodded. “I’ve been thinking about something. They said they had nothing to do with Somersault.”

  “Some other Lunars, then.”

  Saytera shook her head. “No. He was pretty sure. He said his was the only team that actually came in contact with us.”

  “Why do you think it’s important?”

  “There’s something going on. I feel it.”

  Larissa stared at her for a moment, then said, “He might have said it so you wouldn’t be upset at him.”

  “No. He was surprised. There’s something weird happening, Larissa. I know it. I feel it.”

  “Maybe.” Larissa was thoughtful. “We can’t do anything other than keeping a better watch and trying to figure out how they’re reaching us. And you’ll have to fix your story.”

  “Why?”

  “You don’t want them asking too many questions. Just say you were unconscious this whole time.”

  Saytera laughed. “Wow, what a recovery, then!”

  “Kay, Nara and Saulo won’t know you came feeling so well.”

  “I guess that works.”

  Larissa got up. “You might want to rest now.”

  Saytera’s mind was whirling. “No. Maybe. I mean… I know you don’t believe it, but there’s something odd happening. Here. In Mainland.” She felt it was something she had to go after. “We need to figure out what it is.”

  “That’s a huge task. Do you really think it’s important?”

  “I… feel it is.” Knowing without knowing.

  L
arissa stared at her for a while. “I’ll trust you on that, then. We could go to Citarella and access the files.”

  “Really? It’s something we can do?”

  “Yes. We check what’s happening, then we see what to do. When do you think you can go?”

  Go? Like that? Saytera hadn’t imagined she’d get a yes, much less plan to go so quickly. But it sounded exciting. “Tomorrow. As soon as we can.”

  “Give it a couple days. For your recovery. I’ll prepare everything. And remember, you were unconscious.”

  “Won’t they want to test me or something?”

  Larissa shook her head. “I’ll convince them not to tell anyone.”

  Saytera realized that she had a good friend and smiled. “Thanks.” For so much, but she didn’t know how to say it.

  “Thank me once we are back from Citarella.”

  Saytera smiled, excited with the prospect of actually getting up and doing something, or at least trying to. She took a warm shower and changed into her sleeping outfit, even though it was still day. When she got out of the bathroom, Lara, Saulo, and Kay were outside. Kay lifted her and spun her around.

  “You’re alive. Alive.”

  She felt a bit uncomfortable with him touching her, but he just seemed genuinely happy, so she just laughed. “I guess it’s a great day when we can celebrate the simple fact of being alive.”

  Even Nara hugged her. “We were so worried.”

  Kay then took her hand, but she pulled it. He said, “I’m so sorry. You have no idea how I felt. I tried to save you and I failed, and I just wish it had been me instead.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  He sighed. “I also want to say, me and Cynthia, it was nothing.”

  “Kay, it’s fine. I don’t mind.”

  “I do, though. It’s you that I want, not her.”

  Nara and Saulo walked away and Saytera just wanted to leave, too. “I’m tired.”

  “No. Listen. I’m sorry. For you I’d wait a billion years.”

  “So you can wait for me to rest, right?”

  He sighed. “True. You had some tough days.”

  Saytera went to her bedroom and closed the door. She had no clue what she’d ever seen in Kay, and felt extremely annoyed at herself and what had happened between them. Now she’d have to face him for a long time to come. Perhaps Larissa was wrong. Kay was not a heartbreaker, just a jerk. She understood why a girl would want to be transferred to another base.

  But there were more important things. Saytera now had plans and dreams, and the hope that maybe she could find at least a little of the truth about this war. She didn’t know how much she would be able to do with the information, if she ever found anything, but at least this was a step.

  They had travelled a third of the way to Sapphirlune, and Dess watched Sam and Amil.

  Marcus was in the front seat. “You think they’ll wake up soon?”

  “I think so. Their breath isn’t as steady.”

  “Got a plan?”

  At the moment it had been the most obvious idea. Now even Dess was doubtful that assaulting two commander trainees had been a brilliant decision. No. If he hadn’t done that there was no way he would have been able to release Saytera and he wasn’t going to go back on his word. But now it was time to find a solution. “They’re proud.”

  Marcus raised an eyebrow. “No kidding. That means they’ll want revenge.”

  “True. I’m still wondering why they came…”

  “Somebody sent them.”

  Dess was thoughtful. “And that’s key. Whoever sent them wants us back.”

  “Maybe they just don’t want us deserting.”

  “Or perhaps we’re more important than we think.”

  Marcus snorted. “Wishful thinking.”

  Dess didn’t really agree with his friend, but he didn’t want to press his point. “Fine. We’ll have to face it. Small lie. We can say we had two hostages. They came out of nowhere, shot them, and were left on the island. If Sam and Amil accuse us of assaulting them, we’ll say they’re confused.”

  “So, their word against ours. Nah. Don’t tell me you can’t see how that’s not going to count to our favor.”

  “They need us, Marcus. Remember that. I don’t think they’ll want a fuss. And we have to trust that they won’t want people to know they were disarmed and rendered unconscious by us. Pride.”

  Marcus laughed and shook his head. “We’re so screwed.”

  “I’m sorry. If we do face repercussions, I’ll claim the blame.”

  His friend waved a hand. “They’re assholes anyway.”

  “Now that’s the spirit.”

  Sam flinched on his seat. Dess exchanged a look with Marcus, then proceeded to release the guy’s restraints. A few seconds later, Sam’s blue eyes greeted him.

  Dess had a neutral face. “Hey, you’re all right.” He handed him his pistols. “Here.”

  Sam was thoughtful or maybe confused, then looked furious. “No thanks to you.” He got up and pushed Dess against a wall. “You little piece of shit.”

  Dess was this close to pushing the guy back when he saw Marcus. He couldn’t screw this up. “I’m really happy you picked us up.”

  Sam looked around and stepped back, perhaps realizing his partner was still unconscious and he was outnumbered. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done.”

  “No doubt. Now I think you’d like to pilot, right? Get us back to Sapphirlune. Your friend will wake up soon.”

  Sam stared at Dess as if planning murder, and it made Dess realize that being humble and hoping he wouldn’t want to tell anyone wouldn’t work.

  Dess smirked. “Can’t wait for everyone to learn you two were defeated by us. It’s going to be lovely.”

  “Lovely will be to see you in prison.”

  Dess sighed. “What can I do… everything has a price.”

  Amil woke up shortly after and the rest of the trip was in an uncomfortable silence. Marcus bit his nails. Dess was trying to think what would happen to them. They were obviously somewhat valuable, otherwise they wouldn’t have had an official rescue party. They could maybe be demoted from their task? It didn’t make sense, considering how few people could do it. No. Nothing would happen. Perhaps a couple days locked up at most. It had been worth it.

  Dess had kept his word, Saytera was safe—hopefully, as he didn’t know much about Mainlanders’ procedures and if she’d also have trouble explaining how she’d gotten back. He still remembered her standing on that beach, looking at him. A detail jumped up at him now; his coat. She still had it. He was actually glad that something more than his ring was with her, as if he could envelop her in his warmth. He touched his finger with the missing ring. He’d left her with a promise of peace, but now that he was back, and seeing Sam, he realized it would be much harder than he’d thought at first. But not impossible. Never impossible. Weren’t they all the same matter? The same energy? There had to be a way to find common ground and growth.

  To his surprise, they didn’t go to the civil port, but to the military port. It was the first time he saw a ship entering it other than in the simulation exercises. Once inside, its silver tunnel looked a lot bigger than he’d ever imagined. Kind of silly when he thought about it; a huge target saying “shoot me”, and he used to think the red shore bases were bad. Well, to be fair, his city was a huge, fragile target, and their only luck was that Mainland didn’t have enough power to come at them. This war was insane. The idea of “victory” was naive at best, malicious and destructive at worst. And the insanity of it was that only now his eyes had been open. He had to find a way to fix it all.

  A loud thud startled him. So this was it, they had landed. As the door opened, he noticed that there were some people waiting for them. He wondered if somehow they were in trouble, or if they were curious about what had happened. When he stepped out, someone ran in his direction. Nadia. His stomach chilled. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to her just then. But it got worse. She e
mbraced him, and before he knew, her lips were against his. Now, pushing her in front of her friends and perhaps even her mother, the leader of the military council, wouldn’t be a nice thing to do. He stepped away once he thought it wouldn’t seem weird.

  She smiled. “You’re back!”

  “I am.”

  She then ran to Sam, who was glaring at them. Perhaps she was thanking him. Dess’s head was buzzing. So that was how they’d been rescued. Nadia had used her mother’s influence to get someone to go there. Or perhaps her own influence. He didn’t want to hurt her and he had no clue what to do. Nadia was back by his side. “What happened?”

  “We crashed.”

  “You could have…” She then got serious. “You need to stop this. You should train people. And stay here.”

  Dess sighed. “Right now I just really need to eat and rest.”

  “For sure. We’ll get you home. Interrogation can happen tomorrow.”

  He stared at her. “Interrogation?”

  “Dess, you know the procedures better than I do, don’t you?”

  He closed his eyes. Of course. Anyone who spent time in enemy custody required examination and interrogation. Technically, he hadn’t been in custody, though, but the logic made sense.

  Someone approached them. Leader Aziz. She had a thin smile. “Actually, you need to come now. We want our doctors to make sure you’re healthy. You can see him later, daughter.”

  Nadia widened her eyes and looked at Dess and her mother as Dess followed the woman.

  He was put in a bedroom in their hospital. At least they gave him a plate of food, or rather, poorly seasoned cricket patties. Yikes. He should perhaps tell someone how to calibrate the kitchen droids. It wasn’t funny when he had to eat it, even being as hungry as he was. Fresh mushrooms had actually been better than that. Fresh, alive, from a nature that had been denied from them. Or perhaps a nature they had turned their backs to.

  Of course leader Aziz would call them right away. The idea was to question them separately, before they had time to agree on a story. Time to face consequences. Thankfully, he’d already spoken to Marcus, and the fact that neither he nor his friend had any ammo should be evidence that they couldn’t have disarmed Sam and Amil. Hopefully it would stick.