Starfall: A Starstruck Novel

by Hiatt, Brenda

  “I’d better go ahead and do this now.” It’s not like the O’Garas, or even Kyna or Shim knew any more about the Grentl or their device than I did. “They may not answer, but I might learn something.”

  “Or piss them off.” He sounded worried again.

  “I’ll try not to.” My decision made, I took a step forward—Molly’s closet was no bigger than my own—and poised my hands over the prongs sticking up from the device. Okay, I’m doing this, I thought to Rigel as well as myself. One, two, three!

  I grabbed both projections simultaneously. Like the last time, back on Mars, nothing happened right away. Rather than wait for them to realize I was there, I immediately started probing with my mind, drawing on the extra practice I’d had with Rigel since re-bonding.

  It was noticeably easier now. In fact, after only a few seconds I started “seeing” things from the Grentl’s viewpoint. That same blue marble was there, huge now, but between me—or, rather, the Grentl—and the Earth-marble, I also saw a nearer, smaller white one. Earth’s moon. The Grentl were on the other side of the moon!

  Even as I registered that, the projections in my hands started to warm. The Grentl had noticed me using the device, which meant they were getting ready to suck out everything I’d experienced, everything I knew. I felt their familiar mental presence touch my mind and braced myself, determined to resist if I could.

  To my amazement, it worked. Though I could tell they were trying to pull memories out of my head, I was somehow able to block them. It wasn’t easy, though. In fact, it was taking every ounce of mental energy I could summon to keep them out. Slowly, their collective consciousness began to overpower mine. I started to shake, then sweat. Gasping, not knowing what else to do, I threw myself backwards, releasing the device and the Grentl’s inexorable pressure on my mind.

  Sean caught me before I could hit the floor. “What happened? Did they…zap you?”

  I took a few deep breaths, then shook my head. “No. I let go on my own. Before they could— But they’re definitely here! They’re on the far side of the moon. I need to let Kyna know, they probably won’t look that far away. Then I need to—”

  “You need to come downstairs and have a cup of tea.” Sean gave me a gentle shake to stop my panicked babbling. “Calm down, take time to think, before you do anything else.”

  He was right. I needed time to untangle the images I’d picked up. Last time, it had taken a while before they’d sorted themselves out—before I’d recognized that blue marble as Earth, for example. Maybe if I waited, more things would come clear.

  “Okay. I guess that did take a lot out of me.”

  Sean led me unresistingly back downstairs, to the O’Garas’ warm, cozy kitchen, where he busied himself making a pot of tea. Even though it was still in the mid-seventies outside, I was shivering slightly from my experience—or maybe the accumulated experiences of the day. When he handed me my cup, I wrapped my hands around it before lifting it to my lips.

  After a few fortifying sips, my brain started working again. “I need to call Kyna. And Cormac. Before we sensed the Grentl, Rigel and I found Gordon. He’s in Elwood. Cormac can—”

  “Elwood? Gordon? What do you mean, you and Rigel sensed it?” Sean stared at me in utter confusion.

  Of course. Sean still had no idea of what Rigel and I could do, wouldn’t even have heard about last night’s tests yet. “Oh. Yeah. We, um, can talk telepathically. Because of the graell. We’ve been able to do it all along, but now it’s way stronger. In fact—” I focused for a moment— “he should be here any second. Amber’s giving him a ride, along with Molly.”

  Even as I spoke, a car door slammed out front and a moment later the front door opened. Sean’s eyebrows rose into his hairline as Rigel burst into the kitchen, followed closely by Molly.

  “What happened? Are you okay?” Rigel demanded. “I tried to listen in, but I couldn’t tell what was going on. Did the Grentl—?”

  “I’m fine. I’ll fill you in right after I call Kyna. Did you tell your dad?”

  Rigel nodded. “He says it’s good that Kyna’s on it. That if anyone can find out—”

  “Wait.” Sean put up a hand, looking wildly from me to Rigel and back. “You can do the telepathy thing to talk to your parents, too? Can you, like, hear everybody’s thoughts?”

  “No, just M’s.” Now Rigel looked confused. “I guess you told him?” I nodded.

  “Then how did you talk to your dad just now?” Sean demanded.

  “Um.” Rigel pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and held it up. “With this.”

  There was a long moment of silence, then all four of us started laughing. It had a slightly hysterical edge, though. Because we all knew the situation wasn’t funny at all.

  30

  Independent verification

  While Molly made another pot of tea, I went into the living room to let Kyna know what I’d learned from the device, then called Cormac and told him about Gordon. When I joined the others in the kitchen, Rigel was filling Sean and Molly in on our newly enhanced abilities.

  “But you still don’t know what your real limits are?” Molly asked, eyes wide. I was relieved to feel more curiosity than fear from her. Sean was mildly outraged at having been kept in the dark all this time—though also avidly curious.

  “Not yet.” I glanced at Rigel, then back to the others. “I mean, we only re-bonded or whatever four days ago.” We’d both been careful not to mention the kissing part. “And we only found out today that we could sense things farther away than the Jewel town limits.”

  Sean gave a mirthless little laugh. “Like, other side of the moon farther away! Sorry, but that still seems impossible.”

  I couldn’t disagree. In fact, until Kyna’s team independently verified my discovery, I wasn’t sure I’d fully believe it myself. But what if the Grentl really were here to destroy Earth? With our relatively limited resources—even counting Nuathan technology—would there be anything we could do to stop them? I had a horrible feeling that, once again, the fate of the world might rest squarely on my shoulders. Only this time it was the fate of this world, the one I’d grown up on, with billions more lives at stake.

  Rigel put his hand over mine. Don’t borrow trouble, M. We don’t actually know their intentions are hostile. Maybe they’re only here to observe. But I could tell he didn’t believe that any more than I did.

  “I should head back,” I said, standing. “Aunt Theresa will be home by now and I didn’t think to leave a note.”

  The others didn’t argue. Until we knew more, we still had to pretend, at least to the Duchas, that everything was normal. Rigel called his dad to come get him and I went home to help Aunt Theresa with dinner.

  Twice while I was in the kitchen with her, my omni vibrated in my pocket and I ran upstairs—first claiming I needed the bathroom and the second time that I wanted to change into my slippers.

  The first call was from Cormac, saying he’d already caught Gordon Nolan in Elwood and had him in custody—though by now he was the least of our worries.

  The second was a message from Kyna that she’d called an emergency Council meeting that evening to discuss the situation and our options.

  I’d just put the noodles on to boil when Molly called to ask my aunt if I could come to her house and work on our project over—and after—dinner. When she relayed Molly’s request, I tried not to sound too eager.

  “I should probably go. This project will be half our grade this quarter.”

  Aunt Theresa quirked an eyebrow. “It sounds as though you’ve put things off till the last minute. Probably spending too much time with that quarterback.”

  Shrugging, I tried to look contrite. “Maybe a little. I’ll try to make sure I don’t fall behind in my schoolwork again, though.”

  “See you don’t. Go on, then. I’ll finish getting dinner. And try not to be too late.”

  That was exceptionally accommodating for Aunt Theresa but I didn’t argue, just grabb
ed my backpack and headed out.

  * * *

  As though determined to prolong everyone’s suspense as long as possible, Kyna was the very last one to join the Council meeting.

  “I was waiting for a late report from Ennis Gill, who is monitoring our Echtran orbital sensors this evening,” she explained when she finally shimmered into focus, “but she has unable to find anything definitive. If a ship is indeed using Earth’s moon as a shield, our technology may not be able to separate its signature from Luna’s natural one. Ennis has contacted Nuathan astronomers for assistance, as they have a better angle from which to view the far side of Earth’s moon, but it will undoubtedly take time for them to redirect their own orbital telescopes.”

  “Thank you, Kyna.” I tried to ignore the raised eyebrows of the Royals on the Council, all of whom clearly suspected I’d just imagined sensing the Grentl. If it hadn’t been for my session with the device this afternoon, I probably would, too.

  Kyna nodded deferentially to me, then turned to the others. “Malcolm, you indicated earlier that you had other business you wished to discuss tonight?”

  He stood. “Indeed. By now, I trust everyone has seen the raw data from the tests performed last night on the nature of the purported graell bond between the Sovereign and Rigel Stuart?”

  Everyone nodded. Some now looked wary and I even detected traces of fear from the Council members physically present.

  “As they appear to have developed a joint ability to create extremely dangerous static discharges, I feel this Council should discuss the ramifications of that discovery. In particular, we must find a way to control this ability in order to ensure the safety of both the Echtran and Duchas populations.”

  “Agreed,” Connor said. “Until they can reliably prevent such an occurrence, it’s clear that those two should keep their distance from each other.” There were murmurs of agreement.

  I jumped to my feet. “What? No! Rigel and I have always been able to do what we did last night, it’s just stronger now. But we’ve never done it unless we were directly threatened. It doesn’t just happen randomly.”

  “And yet last night you were able to produce enough electricity to kill when simply requested to do so. No threat was present at your home, was there?” Connor asked Mr. Stuart, who reluctantly shook his head.

  I glared at Connor. “Of course there wasn’t. But we had to imagine one before we could create that energy bolt. The first time Blair asked us to, nothing happened. Because we weren’t threatened. Or didn’t you read that part of the report?”

  He shifted his gaze away from mine. “That isn’t the point, Excellency. The risks—”

  “Are practically nonexistent,” I insisted, despite how unnerved Rigel and I had both been last night. “If anything, this ability makes Rigel a better Bodyguard for me than anyone else could possibly be—though Cormac has been great.”

  They all started arguing, talking over each other, some insisting it was still too risky while others agreed I made a good point. Finally Kyna took charge again.

  “I believe this discussion should be tabled until more research can be done. At the very least, we need to allow Blair and his colleagues to finish tabulating the data and determine whether further tests might be necessary.”

  “Yes, please!” Nara exclaimed. “I’m the one who requested this research be done in the first place and the Scientists involved were very happy to have the chance. I refuse to have the Sovereign punished for agreeing!”

  The Royals still looked dubious. “Even so, I’m not certain—” Breann began, when Kyna held up a hand.

  “Excuse me. I’m receiving another call from Ennis. I’ll return in a moment.” Her image blinked out.

  We all sat around uncomfortably, the room still fraught with tension. A mixture of indignation and fear emanated from Breann, Malcolm and Mrs. O’Gara, while Mr. Stuart felt defensive and embarrassed. Though I couldn’t read their emotions, Connor clearly shared the other Royals’ feelings, while Nara was still visibly distressed.

  Suddenly, Kyna was back.

  “I’ve just received word that a Nuathan telescope has indeed discovered a ship on the far side of the moon. Its sophisticated cloaking technology, more advanced than our own, made detection extremely difficult, despite the fact that it is nearly a mile in diameter. Excellency, it appears you were correct. The Grentl are here. And there’s more.”

  “More?” Mrs. O’Gara’s voice shook slightly.

  Kyna nodded grimly. “The Grentl ship has begun launching dozens, perhaps hundreds of smaller objects. It was the release of those objects that allowed the Nuathan orbital telescope to pinpoint the exact location of the, ah, mother ship. I believe it is safe to say we have an emergency situation on our hands.”

  31

  Reverse polarity

  Terror, mine and everyone else’s, crowded out every other emotion in the room, terror so palpable I found it hard to breathe.

  We were right, I sent frantically to Rigel, five miles away. The Grentl are definitely here—with an enormous ship!

  I should be with you, he sent back. I can tell you’re scared…

  I was. I was terrified. But I was still the first one to find my voice.

  “Let’s…let’s not panic, not yet. Not before I figure out why they’re here, what they plan to do. I should use the device again—that’s how I found out they were behind the moon. Maybe if I get Rigel to strengthen me first…”

  “No, Excellency, it’s too dangerous,” Kyna declared. “Remember what that device did to Faxon? We can’t afford to lose you at a time like this.”

  “What am I good for, if not this?” I demanded. “It’s why I needed to get Acclaimed so quickly, remember? Because I’m the only one who can talk to the Grentl.”

  Mr. Stuart spoke up for the first time since the meeting began. “You’ve been good for far more than that, Excellency. Your very existence was instrumental in Faxon’s overthrow, and your Acclamation has gone a long way toward restoring stability to the Nuathan government and confidence in its people. Since then, you have done great good by convincing our people to begin emigrating to Earth.”

  “All true,” Breann agreed. “Pray do not sell yourself short, Excellency. I agree with Kyna that we should not allow you to put yourself at risk. Quinn O’Gara reported that your earlier sessions with the device were at the very least traumatic.”

  Irritation now warred with my fear. “It can be exhausting, yes, but they’ve never injured me in any way. How else are we going to figure out what they’re up to? Just…wait until they do something?”

  Nobody seemed to like that option much, either. Much fearful muttering ensued before Kyna again put a stop to it.

  “What exactly do you suggest, Excellency?”

  “Let me use the device again, with Rigel right beside me. Only…Molly’s closet is kind of small. I should probably do this someplace safer anyway, just, you know, in case.”

  Kyna nodded thoughtfully. “A good point. Apart from concerns for your safety should the Grentl, ah, retaliate via their device, those nearby might conceivably be at risk as well, not to mention the danger of discovery by the Duchas. The O’Garas’ house is in a rather densely populated area of Jewel, as I recall.”

  “How about Rigel’s house? Um, if that would be okay, I mean?” I turned belatedly to Mr. Stuart.

  “Ariel and I would be honored,” he said. Then, to the rest of the Council, “We have no neighbors within half a mile to notice or be endangered by anything the Grentl might do via their device. Which, of course, I very much hope they won’t, for the Sovereign’s sake.”

  “For all our sakes,” Kyna said dryly. “Very well, unless anyone has a better suggestion?” She looked around at the frightened Council members, who all either shrugged or shook their heads. “Any further delay at this point seems unwise. I recommend the device be moved immediately, after which we will reconvene at the Stuarts’ house so that the Sovereign can attempt communication.”
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br />   With my help. Rigel was now monitoring every word through me.

  Just having you there with me will be a help, I assured him. His presence, his touch, was bound to enhance anything I did.

  Aunt Theresa wasn’t expecting me home before nine-thirty, which gave us more than two hours. Mr. O’Gara offered to pick up a few pizzas along the way, since nobody had eaten dinner yet, while Mr. Stuart and Malcolm packed the Grentl device into an innocuous-looking box and carried it out to the Stuarts’ SUV.

  Half an hour later the Council—physical and holographic—stood in a big circle around the device, which now crouched on the Stuarts’ coffee table. That circle also included Mr. O and Dr. Stuart. Sean and Molly were here as well. They’d begged to come along, with the stakes this high, and everyone on the Council had been too distracted to forbid it.

  “I do wish I were there in person.” Kyna stared at the device in fascination. “It’s far smaller than I imagined.”

  “I thought the same thing, the first time I saw it. So, um, I guess I should do this, huh?” Having all these people watching would make this weird. Weirder than usual, that is.

  Rigel wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “How can I help?”

  I circled his waist with my own arm, pulling him closer. “The way you always do.” I took several deep breaths, concentrating on soaking up all the strength and confidence from Rigel’s touch that I could.

  “Not while you’re touching the device, though, right?” Sean frowned, worried and slightly jealous. “Remember what Eric Eagan said?”

  Nodding, I let go of Rigel and moved out from under his arm. “Good point. Okay, you should all probably keep your distance. Just in case.”

  Everyone but Rigel and the holograms took a step backward and I took one forward. Positioning my hands above the copper projections, I braced myself and took hold. Again, nothing happened, and again, I didn’t wait for it to. I needed to get all the information I could while I was still strengthened by Rigel’s touch—preferably before the Grentl noticed me.