“Are you serious? I just started.”
“Move faster.”
“I’ll move as fast as I can.” I had no issues working under pressure, but with my throbbing head and stress over Rachel, it wasn’t going well. The only in I could think of was to create a backchannel directly into the mainframe. If I could get into my personal computer undetected I was set. But that wasn’t as simple as it sounded. I needed to build a program first.
“Still not done?” Gardenia hovered over my shoulder.
“Do you think you are helping anything?”
“Think of Rachel. Think of what could be happening to Rachel while you waste time.”
“Stop!” I yelled far louder than I’d planned on. “You aren’t helping anything.”
“Rachel motivates you. It helps.”
“Give me space.” I wasn’t going to get anywhere at this rate. “I can’t screw this up, or they’ll see what I’m doing. We have to be undetected.”
“Fine. But know we don’t have much time. Even North Star isn’t safe from Father.”
I pulled my hands from the console. “I care about more than Rachel. Okay? I care about you. I care about the Andrelexa people.”
“I know.” Gardenia stepped back. “But you’ve been unable to think straight. She is your obsession. Why do you think Father had Telton bring her to you?”
“I don’t know anymore. Nothing was as it had seemed.”
“He brought her to Andrelexa to control you. He wanted to control you. He knew what he was doing. It worked.”
“How long? How long have you known?” Had I truly been the only one in the dark?
“Hack first. I’ll fill you in later.” She patted my back.
“I don’t get how I could have been so blind.”
“Blind about what exactly?”
“Everything.” To my father, to why Rachel was there, to what was going on while I stayed in my little bubble.
“It’s easy to be blind if we think it means having what we want.”
“You sound wiser than normal.” I pulled up another screen.
“Maybe getting off Andrelexa was good for me.” Gardenia took a seat a little ways down the console.
“It was probably good for all of us.” Otherwise I’d have never learned the truth.
“We’ll get her back,” Gardenia said softly.
“So I’ll help you?” Was that truly her only motivation? Power?
“Because I can’t stand to see you this way. It’s sad.”
“I’ve never seen you make a decision based on anyone’s feelings.” Gardenia was driven by her own desires.
“I haven’t. And it’s not going to happen again.”
I got back to work. No system was impenetrable.
Part 4
Angie
7 Angie
Angie
Angie
They definitely weren’t twins. I’m not talking they looked different, like how fraternal twins can sometimes have completely different features. I’m talking one of the twins had horns. The other had a tail. I was kind of doubtful they even came from the same planet, but then again Earth was home to lots of different species. Maybe some planets had more than one with higher level thinking.
“Those two are the twins?” I whispered as we walked through a giant arena. The ceilings were so high I had to crane my neck to even get a good look at them. There were metal beams crisscrossing the entire space aside from what looked like a jungle canopy in one portion. The floors were made of a rubbery material that made it nearly impossible to avoid bouncing as I moved further into the room.
I probably should have been afraid, but I was more fascinated. There were all sorts of different parts of the arena. There was a huge tank that took up one corner. Some sort of ropes course on the far side that spanned about a quarter of the space. There was also what appeared to be a frozen section, and one made of fire. I angled myself to make sure I wouldn’t inadvertently get to close to the fire one.
“Yes.” Darto nudged me. “Impressive aren’t they?”
I wasn’t sure who to focus on. The twin with the horns was in the frozen area using glass bottles for target practice. She held a large metal-looking bow and had perfect aim. The resulting sound of crashing glass echoed through the large room. Each time she knocked down a bottle she laughed maniacally. I got goosebumps every time. I was in so over my head.
“That’s Laci.” Darto nodded to the one with the horns. “Don’t cross her. She’s fiercer than she looks.”
“She looks pretty fierce.” Add in her perfect aim and that laugh, and I had no interest in crossing her. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to talk to her.
Darto nudged me. “Like I said, she’s fiercer than she looks.”
My goosebumps got worse. If Darto was warning me, she had to be really bad.
“And that one is Cami.” He nodded toward the tank of water where the twin that looked a whole lot like a mermaid swam around, creating waves about ten times my size. She sparkled as if made up of thousands of little rubies.
“I take it she’s also fiercer than she looks.” She may have been sparkly, but by the size of the waves she made I could tell she was also strong.
“Oh yeah.” He put his hands in circles in front of his eyes. After a moment I realized he was using some sort of binoculars—ones that were invisible to me.
“Sometimes I wish I could see your images.” It was more than sometimes. It was nearly always.
“Be glad you can’t. It means your mind can be protected. That’s a good thing.”
“If you say so.” I watched Cami swim around the tank. She jumped out of the water, then back in creating a giant wave that spilled out over the tank, hitting us.
I stifled a gasp as the cold water penetrated my jumpsuit. Couldn’t they make these things waterproof? Hopefully, it would dry soon. I squeezed some water out of my hair. “And why do you think I’m specifically going to like the twins?”
“Because they are strong females. That seemed to be what you were looking for.” Darto adjusted his invisible binoculars.
“Looking for?”
“As an alternative to our company. Or did I get it wrong and you were enjoying our company?” He threw his hand out to the side as if discarding the binoculars.
“No. You got that right.” Although I couldn’t say I was eager to meet either of the twins—more because I was terrified of them than anything.
“And I understand. Sometimes we want to spend time among those more similar to us.”
“And these twins are similar to me how?” I could feel my forehead furrow. I didn’t see much similarity at all.
“Like I said, they are strong females. Like you.”
“I’m not strong like them.” I didn’t have crazy aim, nor could I create tidal waves. I wouldn’t even admit to him how little weight I could press at the gym.
“No?” He raised an eyebrow. “Following your brother off your home planet, volunteering to help recruit with a warrior you barely know? Challenging beings far more powerful than you? None of that showcases strength?”
He had a point. “When you put it that way…”
“Good. I’m glad we finally agree on something. Who would you like to meet first?”
“Meet first?” I wasn’t ready to meet either of them.
“You could simplify things and introduce her to both at once.” Kelby’s voice came like a caress right beside my ear.
I shivered, and I really hoped he didn’t notice. “Where have you been?” He’d slipped off with a few mumbled words right before we entered the arena.
“Nice to see you too.” Kelby patted my arm.
“You disappeared and left me with Darto.” Then I looked around. “Where’s Malton?” I’d assumed he was with Kelby.
“Not calling him the dog anymore?” Kelby smirked.
“Be serious. Where is? King will kill me if we lost him.” Panic seized me. What if the horned twin used him for target pract
ice or something?
“And that’s all you’re worried about?”
“Why does it matter what I’m worried about? I’m worried.” I wrung my hands at my sides.
Kelby laughed. “Malton, please put her out of her misery.”
Malton stuck his head out of Kelby’s backpack.
“Oh. Thank goodness.” I pet the dog’s head. “Why didn’t you say something right away?” Relief slowly turned to anger.
“You were worried about me.” The bag shook, and I assumed that meant Malton was wagging his tail.
“So what?” I straightened.
“I knew you would be eventually.” Malton pulled himself out of the bag more. “I told you we have a special connection.”
“I’m not agreeing with that last comment, but I was worried. You could have spoken up earlier. I’m stressed enough as it is.”
“Why are you stressed?” Darto asked.
“Is that a joke?” Malton wasn’t the only one I was annoyed at. “Did you really just ask me that?”
“Okay. So how about those introductions?” Kelby put an arm around my shoulder. I momentarily considered shrugging it off, but I didn’t actually mind it. Besides, he seemed to get when I was at the end of my rope. I appreciated him jumping in to change the subject.
“Sounds like a plan.” I pretended to be more excited to meet the twins than I really was. I wasn’t about to admit I was afraid.
“Laci! Cami!” Darto yelled.
My ears rang. I had no idea he could be that loud.
Cami swam over to the edge of the tank. Laci put down her bow. They both watched Darto.
“I want to introduce you to my friend, Delthea. She insists on being called Angie. Oh, clever. I just realized her given name has the same ending sound as yours. How nice.” Darto clapped.
“Hello, Angie.” Cami waved, splashing water in the process. “What language do you speak?”
My translator beeped in my ear. “Earth-English.” That seemed to be what everyone called it. “But I have a translator.”
“Oh you are from Earth!” Laci ran over. “I’ve never met a female Earthling.” She picked me up and swung me around. “You weigh nothing. Absolutely nothing! Amazing!” She set me down.
It took me a moment to right myself. “Hi. Nice to meet you.”
She squinted. “Is it true that you still need males to procreate?”
I rubbed my ears. Were they still messed up from Darto’s scream, or had she asked what I thought she did?
“Well? Do you need males?”
“Uh. Well, it doesn’t have to be in the traditional sense, but you need something from a male.” I wasn’t up on the latest fertility technology, and I hoped she didn’t ask for details.
“Oh. So your technology has improved.” Laci nodded. “Interesting.”
“You don’t need males for, uh, that?” Why was I being so awkward? For some reason talking about sex in any capacity made me trip over my words.
“No. Not to say it isn’t possible, just not required.”
“Okay.” Kelby replaced his arm around my shoulder. “Moving on. Angie has been instrumental in helping us with the resistance. We thought she might want to meet our squadron chiefs.”
“Of course.” Cami leaned over the edge of the tank. “And you are gifted too, I see?”
“Uh, possibly. I don’t really know for sure.” I forced myself to make eye contact. No falling down the hole of low self-esteem even if these women were crazy intimidating.
“She’s gifted.” Darto took a few steps closer to the tank. “More than we know I’m sure, but she’s refusing to let me study her mind.”
“Why?” Cami’s brow wrinkled. The effect was to set off a nearly blinding shimmering effect of the rubies on her face.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Laci pulled an arrow out from behind her back. Evidently she hadn’t put everything down.
“Obvious?” I wasn’t sure that anything was obvious.
“You’re afraid he’s going to tell Kelby everything he finds,” Cami added.
“And why would I care about that?” I was very aware of Kelby’s arm around me now.
Laci giggled. It was a strange sound coming from someone that strong with horns. “That’s very obvious.”
“I’m not into Kelby.” I’m not sure why I said it. But I did. And once the words left my mouth, I couldn’t take them back.
“Sure you are.” Cami pulled half of her body out of the tank. “It’s nothing worth hiding.”
“There’s nothing to hide. And can’t we talk about something more important?” I could feel blood rushing to my face. I was blushing. Fantastic first impression.
“But you’re useless to us if you can’t focus.” Laci examined the arrow from all directions.
“Who says I can’t focus?” I shrugged off Kelby’s arm. I stepped away before he could replace it.
“Everyone.” Laci gave me a funny look. “That’s why I asked about the procreation. I thought maybe that’s why you are so focused on him. Kelby is quite the specimen and I understand it, but he isn’t worth this distraction. Perhaps get things over with.”
“Uh…” I was stunned. What could I possibly say?
“There’s no getting anything over with.” Darto turned so he was facing me. “This isn’t that sort of thing.”
I wanted to get a look at Kelby’s response to all of this, but I couldn’t bear to meet his eyes.
Kelby cleared his throat. “All right. This has gone on long enough. This discussion is a private matter for Angie and me to take up at a later time—”
“Excuse me?” I whipped around. “There is nothing to discuss.”
“As I was saying,” Kelby continued over my interruption. “Angie will be able to focus just fine. So will I. We have had no difficulties before. If you would all drop the subject, we could move on.”
“Drop the subject because it isn’t a subject.” I crossed my arms. Why wouldn’t he just admit there was nothing between us and there never would be?
“Angie, please. You are going to make it worse.” There was a strange growl in his voice.
“Make it worse?” I gasped. “By speaking truthfully?”
“Hasn’t anyone taught you the trick, Kelby?” Malton pulled himself mostly out of the bag.
Kelby glanced over his shoulder. “The trick?”
“She’s right. She’s always going to be right. Just go with it.”
“I’m not going to lie.” Kelby removed the pack from his back and brought it around so he could look at the dog.
“All right. I am focused just fine, unlike the rest of you. So tell me Cami, Laci, how are things going? What are the plans?” I wouldn’t let them derail me. I needed to get home, and that meant we had to get the job done.
“Kelby is the one with the plans.” Cami splashed water with her tail. “Ask him.”
“Then what is your role?” I stepped back in case she was going to splash any higher.
“To take those plans and make them reality.”
“Okay. Then what’s the reality?” I asked.
“That’s where you come in.” Darto winked.
8 Angie
“Wait. How do I have anything to do with this?” I struggled to come up with a response. My ears had stopped ringing way before. I heard him right. Maybe he was joking? “I don’t have any experience.”
“What does experience have to do with anything?” Darto leaned back against the tank. Evidently he trusted Cami wasn’t going to spill a gallon of water on him. “Really, Angie. Sometimes I worry about you.”
Angie. He’d called me Angie. Maybe I should be grateful for small victories. I tried to keep my composure. “Experience always has something to do with things. You can’t just come up with ideas out of mid-air or anything.”
“Actually I can do lots of things out of mid-air.” Darto’s eyes twinkled.
I needed to be better about my choice of words. “You’re different.”
; “And you’re different too.” Darto slumped down against the wall. “Don’t undersell yourself.”
“I’m good at plenty of things.” I didn’t need a repeat of the dancing experience with King I was still trying to purge from memory—well, aside from how much fun it was to dance with Kelby. I had enjoyed that part. But not the part when I was forced to prove I had confidence. That had been humiliating. “But making plans to help train armies and save planets. That’s not really in my wheelhouse.”
“But you’re an anthropologist.” Kelby pointed at me. “That means you understand civilizations.”
“No.” I shook my head. “I am not an anthropologist. I minored in anthropology, which really means I took a few classes.”
He shrugged. “You took classes. That’s more than I’ve done on the subject.”
“That wasn’t part of your training?”
“I wasn’t an explorer in the traditional sense. I was only tasked with security.”
“Isn’t that what Rachel wanted to be too? An explorer?” I vaguely remembered her saying something about that.
“Yes.” Kelby nodded. “But that’s not relevant to what we’re discussing now.”
“And aren’t you also a student of history?” Darto turned the conversation back around to me. “At least Kelby claimed you were.”
“You told him about my majors?” I could feel my eyes widening. “Seriously?”
Kelby shrugged. “Why not? He needed to know what assets you provided.”
“And you provide lots of assets,” Cami called over from the tank.
I wasn’t sure if she was hinting at what I thought she was. So I went ahead and ignored it. “Taking classes on a subject doesn’t mean I can be of any help.”
“Then why take them? Will you say the same thing about sociology? And psychology?” Darto ticked off each one on his fingers.
“Okay. I get it. I took lots of classes. That doesn’t mean I can do anything with it. I haven’t even graduated yet. Let alone gone on to grad school.” And at the rate things were going, I wasn’t sure when or if that was going to happen. I figured it didn’t really matter if there was no Earth, so I was done worrying about the academic side of what I was missing.
Starless: Half Light Page 5
