Stargazer

by Melanie Matthews

  “I don’t know what it’s like in Sanctuary,” I began, “but in the Corporation, you do have nice beds and food, but everything is watched…controlled…you’re spied upon.”

  Gina shook her head. “We won’t tolerate that. We want to be free. We don’t want anyone telling us what to do or where to go. Even if that Pallas pardoned us, and let us into the dome, he’d still be a leader—or hell, another man or woman who was a leader—they’d have to impose order, right? They’d have to rule over a population. Well, we rebels don’t want any ruler. We want to rule ourselves—do what we want.”

  Willa shook her head. Her purple Mohawk glistened under the sun. “A society must have a ruler.” She pointed to me. “She is our Overlord. Without her, we would be nothing.”

  Gina turned to me. “Overlord?”

  I blushed. “It’s like a ruler—a king. I was a princess back on my planet, but now, here, I’m the Overlord.”

  “Who do you rule over?”

  I looked up. “Well, just those aboard the ship.”

  Gina casually stood up, but I could tell she was nervous about something. “So, uh, this plan you got for us rebels? What happens after we break through the dome? What happens if Pallas is killed? Are you going to declare yourself ruler?”

  Willa held her head up, proud. “Princess Avalora is the only just ruler this planet can have.”

  Gina clenched her rifle.

  I stood up slowly, as not to seem threatening. “I’m not doing this to take over the planet,” I assured her. “I just want everyone to be free.”

  “And for humans and aliens to live together in peace, right?”

  That wasn’t Gina. I turned to see Selwyn in front of a wooded area with a group of twenty rebels—men, women, and some children—all armed—and all looking very suspicious of me and Willa.

  But Selwyn had a smile on his face. “I have no problem with that,” he continued.

  Marcus was nearby, but unarmed. He spat on the ground. “There’s no way we can live together. They’d kills us all—just like Pallas.”

  “Didn’t I tell you to shut up?” said Selwyn. “I’m the commander now.”

  Marcus grunted. “Hmph! Being led by a kid!”

  “My father was the commander before he died so that means I’m the commander.”

  “This isn’t a blood succession,” said Marcus. “The commander is who is best to lead.”

  I would rather have Selwyn as the leader. He was level-headed but experienced? I didn’t know anything about him.

  “Selwyn?”

  He turned to me and smiled. “Yes?”

  I pointed down river. “Do you mind if we take a walk?”

  He smiled wider. “Sure, okay.”

  I turned to Willa. “Stay here.”

  “But—”

  I held my hand up. “That’s an order, Willa. I’ll be safe.” I waved at the group of unwary humans. “You can all talk, get to know each other.”

  Willa furrowed her brow. “Know each other?”

  Gina advanced. “Yeah, sure, why not?” She shrugged. “We’d love to hear some stories about your planet and we could tell you some stories about ours.”

  I was surprised at her abrupt change in acceptance. Perhaps she felt more at ease with other armed rebels around.

  Marcus grunted and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by another man in the group. “We got some food. We could share and sit around a camp fire and talk.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, just like the old days.”

  Everyone looked at me with confusion. “Never mind. C’mon Selwyn.”

  I didn’t know if he was happy to leave the group or happy to come with me, but I welcomed his enthusiasm and lack of desire to kill me anyway.

  We walked slowly along the river. I noticed my reflection in the blue water. He peered over to look too.

  “You’re very beautiful. Willa is…well, she’s scary, if I’m being honest. But don’t tell her I said that. I don’t want her angry.”

  I laughed. “Trust me. She’ll take being called ‘scary’ as a compliment.”

  We were silent again, walking. I took the time to appraise his appearance. Now that I studied him, I noticed he was young, handsome, with freckles all his face from being out in the sun. His ponytail had come undone and now his dark brown hair fell loosely just above his shoulders.

  He winked. “Are you checking me out?”

  I blushed, embarrassed. “I guess I was.”

  He chuckled. “Wow, I can’t believe it. The alien Overlord thinks I’m handsome.”

  “I didn’t say handsome.”

  He smiled. “Oh, I think I did hear that, along with rugged—yes, ruggedly handsome.”

  I laughed. “Selwyn, I think you’re too sweet to be a commander.”

  His smile faded. “I can shoot.”

  I could see that I had upset him. “I’m not saying you can’t.” Even though I was sure Gina was a more proficient shot. “I was just making the comment that you’re very…”

  “Sweet?”

  “Yes, sweet.”

  “I don’t have to be sweet. I can be mean, you know.”

  “I don’t want you to be different than who you are.”

  He stopped and looked out at the river, slowly moving. He sighed. “That’s just it. I’m not sweet. I was born mean. My dad always beat me for getting into trouble—for picking fights with people—for stealing. I just act sweet.”

  “I don’t think that’s true. I’ve seen you—you’ve never been mean.”

  He smiled. “You’ve only known me for two seconds, darling. Stick around a little longer, and you’ll see the monster come out.”

  I shuddered, thinking of Julius, and wondering why Selwyn was acting this way, for yes, I believed he was acting mean. He didn’t want to seem weak. He wanted me to name him as my loyal rebel commander. He wanted to be in charge—lead. Gina had said that none of them wanted a leader; well, if Selwyn got his way, he’d be the very person they feared. The question was: would he act mean to secure order—or would he be himself—sweet—and risk losing order?

  “All right,” I said. “Let’s see how mean you can be.”

  He furrowed his brow at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Be mean to me.”

  “But…”

  “But what? Say something mean—do something mean. Show me who you truly are. Show me that you’re the right man for me—for my plan—to infiltrate the dome and bring down Pallas.”

  He clenched his rifle.

  “No guns. Just words and fists.”

  He loosened the grip on his rifle. “You mean you want me to hit you?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, hit me.”

  I was confident he couldn’t hurt me, but I wanted to see just how far Selwyn would go—if he was indeed a monster as he claimed.

  He backed away, shaking his head. “No, I can’t do it. I can’t hit a woman.”

  “But I’m not a woman—I’m an alien. I’m the invader. I’m the reason you’ve been out here, living in the wild, while the rest of humanity gets to sleep in warm beds and eat cake.”

  “They eat cake?”

  I nodded. “Sure, they do!” I didn’t mention the caloric requirements. “They’re living the good life, oh, but not when they’re being tried for treason, and then their heads gets chopped off. Pallas would never be in power, would never do those things—if I, as an alien Stargazer had never come to this planet. What about your dad? What’d he die for? Did he die for you to stand there and fantasize about kissing an alien while your fellow humans live under a murderous regime?”

  “Kiss you?”

  I chuckled. “So, out of that grand speech, that’s the only part you remember?”

  He blushed. “I didn’t know Stargazers could read minds.”

  “We can’t. That’s the Corporation.”

  “But how did you know I wanted to kiss you?”

  “I didn’t. I was just guessing. Why do you want to kiss m
e?”

  “You’re just so…beautiful.”

  “Aren’t there beautiful humans you’d like to kiss?”

  He thought for a few seconds and then said, “No. I look at those girls and women as my family. I don’t want to do anything with them.”

  “And you don’t want to do anything with me, either. Trust me.”

  “Why? Do you…bite?”

  I laughed. “No, I’m not that rough.”

  “But you’re strong.”

  I nodded. “Yes, I’m very strong. I could kill you in an instant, do you know that?”

  “Then why do you need me to help you get past the dome? Can’t you just…break it down?”

  “I’m not that strong…but maybe I could do something.”

  “What?”

  “Well, I am very powerful. When I get mad, I can basically self-destruct, and take this whole planet with me.”

  He smiled. “Well it’s a good thing I wasn’t mean to you.”

  “You were never going to be mean to me, Selwyn. Don’t act different because that’s what you feel others want you to be. Be yourself.”

  “But if I’m myself, then I’m weak, right?” He nodded to the group in the distance behind us. “What about Marcus? He’s a SOB, but no one called him ‘weak.’”

  “Well, ever since I came, and you stood up, he’s not so powerful, now is he?”

  He smiled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. We make a good team…Ava.”

  “Think you can convince the rest of your friends to team up with me? Take down the dome? End Pallas’s reign of terror?”

  “I’ll talk some sense into them. And if they still won’t help, then the hell with them. You and me—we’ll do this on our own.”

  “I’d rather like to have everyone involved. I want this to be a group effort—for humans to reclaim their freedom.”

  “But we’re weak compared to you Stargazers.”

  “We’re weak too. We can’t even take out those cannons pointed at our ship from Sanctuary with the dome being up.”

  He slung his rifle against his back and smiled. “We can help you there. I know a kid—young with an attitude—but he says he can get us past the dome.”

  “How?”

  He shrugged. “The punk wouldn’t tell me. He said he’d tell you though.”

  “Why me?”

  “He says someone on the inside told him to trust you.”

  I immediately thought of Loren. He was the rebel spy. “Did he mention who?”

  Selwyn shook his head. “Nope. So, you want to go talk to him”—he smiled—“or do you want to be alone a little while longer?”

  I rolled my eyes at him. “C’mon, Selwyn. We’ve got a planet to free.”

  “And then we can kiss?”

  Chapter 15

  I marched back to the group and he had to run to keep up. Gina was the only one willing to stand near Willa. I think she was really starting to feel comfortable around us. I wondered if it had something to do with tough females—taking care of themselves. All the others weren’t necessarily afraid, but they weren’t welcoming either. Someone had started a fire and they had already eaten—empty cans were in a pile next to some empty bowls.

  “I was worried,” said Willa advancing towards me.

  She looked me over, making sure I was okay. She narrowed her eyes at Selwyn, trying to figure him out.

  “I’m fine,” I told her.

  I turned to Selwyn. “Where’s this boy?”

  He nodded in the distance. “He’s about a mile that way. He doesn’t like to be around people—spends his time tinkering with Stargazer equipment—taking it apart—putting it back together again.”

  “All right; let’s go see him.”

  Willa started to walk next to me. “Not this time, Willa. I don’t want to frighten the boy.”

  “What boy?”

  “I don’t know, but Selwyn said he’s communicating with someone inside the dome. Maybe he can help us get through and deactivate the cannons.”

  Willa glanced around at everyone. They weren’t scared of her, but they weren’t going to be her friend either. Gina stood near me, as did a few others. I wore their clothes and also I was unarmed. Selwyn was right beside me; his arm grazed mine several times. They were so used to me; I didn’t understand it. I had similar hair and eyes as Willa, but I was the more acceptable alien to them. Also, I didn’t have a bunch of sharp weapons on me, so that could’ve helped their confidence in being near me. Yet, they didn’t have to be there. Was Selwyn such a commanding presence? Did he order them to cooperate? Or did the rebels, out of curiosity and necessity, break down their suspicious barriers, and give me a chance?

  I didn’t know what to make of them or this whole situation, but I viewed it as a positive. Maybe, soon, we would be through the dome, and the nightmare of Julius’s regime would be over. It all seemed so simple in my head. I hoped it would be.

  “A boy knows this?” asked Willa.

  “He’s smart,” said Gina. She smiled. “Too smart for his own good.”

  “Stay here and…get to know each other. Selwyn and I won’t be long. We’ll come back with the boy.”

  “He likes his hole in the ground,” said Selwyn. “I don’t know if he’d come or not.”

  I smiled. “I’ll just have to convince him.”

  Back on Prominence, I had a cousin, young, who was almost like my little brother. I knew how to communicate with children. I hoped the human would be just as easy. Children were children, right?

  “So, is there a…Mr. Overlord?”

  Selwyn and I barely got on the trail to the boy when he started talking.

  “What do you mean? Am I married?”

  “Yeah, I guess that’s what I’m asking.”

  I sighed. “No, I’m not married.”

  “Are you in love with anyone?”

  I hesitated. I loved so many: John, Loren…Julius…especially Julius. I could never tell Selwyn I loved the man responsible for all that evil.

  “I didn’t think rebels were so chatty about others love lives.”

  “We’re not.” He smiled. “It’s just me…or well, it’s just when I met you. I want to know all about you.”

  “Why?”

  “You’re fascinating.”

  “I’m a Stargazer. I’m just like Willa and you’re not fawning over her.”

  “Oh, Willa’s a whole different breed.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well, what I meant was that she’s like the girl who’s wild and it seems like you’d have fun being with her, but then it would get to be too much, and you’re practically running away from her.”

  “But not me?”

  “No, you’re that nice, kind, stable sort of person; you’re always going to act rationally; there’s no fear when it comes to following you.”

  I stopped abruptly. The dirt from the path kicked up and landed on my white shoes, turning them dusty brown.

  “How can you be so trusting towards me?”

  Selwyn shrugged. “It’s by your actions. People can talk and talk and talk, but it’s their actions that reveal who they truly are.”

  “If you mean by my actions, then having not crushed your skull would qualify as acting rationally, right?”

  We both laughed.

  “Yeah,” said Selwyn, “that’s one way, but it’s something else.” He reached out and took a stray strand of lavender hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. He let his fingertip trail the length of my jaw before letting go. “There’s something about you, Ava. I have an overwhelming desire to trust you.”

  “Well, it must be just you and Gina and maybe one or two others, then, because with Marcus and the rest, well, I think they’d sell me out to Pallas, if it meant their freedom.”

  Selwyn shook his head. “No, you’re wrong on that. Rebels don’t sell out anybody—Marcus wouldn’t even do that. He’s a massive SOB, but no, he wouldn’t betray his kind for Pallas. A smile from that
monster is just the preface to an execution.”

  “But will they follow me?”

  “They will if I tell them to.”

  “Why? Because you’re the commander? After your father?”

  “No. It’s because Loren Valier told them to.”

  “So, the boy has been in contact with him?”

  “Yeah, but Loren’s been in contact with all of us for quite some time. He sends us daily intelligence. We knew a little about you—not exactly who you were—but about a special Stargazer being captured.” He smiled. “He said you were the greatest person to ever enter his life.”

  I blushed. “He said that?”

  Selwyn nodded. “He’s completely in love with you—he didn’t say it—but I knew it—never seen him smile so much.”

  I gasped. “You could see him?”

  “Yeah, the kid’s got this screen—crudely made from Stargazer equipment—that allows us to communicate and see each other.”

  “Let’s hurry. I need to see Loren.”

  We advanced into a light run and finally reached the kid’s hideout. Selwyn was right. It was a hold in the ground. Actually, it was more like a bunker—one of those hollowed out places in the ground people built a really long time ago when there was the threat of war or some natural disaster.

  Selwyn swept back a rug that was made to look like a pile of leaves with his foot and knocked three times on the door with the butt of his rifle.

  “Open up, Zeke, it’s me.”

  “Me who?” asked a young voice.

  “You know who it is. I got someone special for you to meet.”

  “Who?”

  “A pretty girl.”

  “What use I got for a pretty girl?”

  “Just open up! I don’t have time for your nonsense!”

  There was a few seconds of silence before I heard a grinding noise and then the door to his underground bunker opened. A little boy, dirty, with choppy blond hair looked up at me.

  “She’s pretty. All right, come on down.”

  I went down the stairs first, followed by Selwyn. The bunker was nice and cool. Zeke had lanterns lit to provide light but it wasn’t much. I noticed Stargazer equipment, opened and gutted. There was a small screen against the wall that piqued my interest.