By the end of the meeting, we’d hammered out a draft statement for me to read, as well as a few crucial bullet points I’d need to share with the various heads of state via video-conferencing.
“Are you sure Kyna wouldn’t be a better person to talk to them?” I squirmed at the thought of looking stupid in front of the most important people on the planet. “I mean, I’m just sixteen. What if they don’t take me seriously?”
Kyna smiled understandingly—which made her look surprisingly attractive for her age. “I will introduce you, and will be on hand, Excellency, but you are our Sovereign and the spokesperson for our people. Trust me, the recommendations will have more weight coming from you.”
Then, to all of us, “Clearly, this needs to take place as quickly as possible. I doubt we’ll be able to arrange any video calls with leaders before midday tomorrow, but we shouldn’t delay longer than that. Excellency, can you arrange to be here at that time?”
“Well, I have school, and tomorrow’s that Government field trip…”
Mrs. O spoke up. “If we can somehow arrange for the Sovereign to appear to leave with the group while actually remaining behind, she would have all of tomorrow afternoon to devote to these calls and to record the statement she’s agreed to make to our people.”
“We’ll arrange it.” Kyna didn’t say how, but I had no doubt she’d manage it.
The meeting adjourned a few minutes later. When Rigel kissed me good night, he did his best to calm my worries—about everything.
Let’s just focus on making sure we’re still here and functioning come Saturday…and enjoy every minute we have together between now and then.
I promised to do my best on both fronts.
* * *
During the drive back, I still sensed lingering resentment from Mrs. O’Gara underneath the worry we all shared. I wanted to say something, try again to explain, but I didn’t think it would do any good. While she might claim to understand, I wasn’t sure she’d ever forgive me for what I’d done to her son.
Even if it wasn’t exactly my fault, I couldn’t really blame her.
Then she surprised me by saying, “Excellency, Sean requested that if the meeting adjourned in time, I bring you by our house briefly before you go home. Would you mind terribly?”
“Uh, no, I guess not. Why?”
“He said he’d like to talk to you, but that it shouldn’t take long.”
Great. I already had all that ridiculous Homecoming stuff and a stupid gossip column to worry about on top of the Grentl. I so didn’t need Sean trying one more time to talk me out of being with Rigel. But I might as well get it over with.
“Sure, that’ll be fine.”
Like yesterday after school, Sean was already waiting on the porch. When his mother and I joined him there, he said, “You go on in, Mum. I’ll talk to M out here.”
“Very well.” If anything, the resentment I felt from her increased. As she went inside and closed the door, I braced myself.
“Your mom said you wanted to talk to me?”
Sean nodded, his expression unreadable, his feelings a jumble of sadness, determination and…relief? “I do. Can we sit down?” He indicated the porch swing.
Still trying to decipher what I was sensing, I cautiously sat next to him. “What?”
“I think Mum knows what I’m going to say and she doesn’t agree. So I wanted to do it out here. M, I get it. I finally do get it.”
“Get it?” Now I was even more confused. “Get what?”
“You and Rigel. Your bond and…and everything. I saw what happened last night—how you were starting to lose it, using the Grentl device, and how that changed when he touched you. It was…amazing. For almost a year I’ve been fighting it, trying to convince myself it was just a crush or some temporary genetic anomaly, but I…I know now it’s not. What you two have is real. And important. And I don’t want to get in the way of it. Not anymore.”
“Sean, I—” I began, but he shook his head.
“No. Don’t apologize. Not again, not now. I’m the one who needs to say I’m sorry, for doubting you all this time—or trying to, even when I knew, deep down, your bond with Rigel was real. Sure, I had Nuathan tradition on my side, but that doesn’t excuse how I acted—to either of you. I just wanted you to know I’m taking myself out of it.”
Now I was alarmed. “Out of it? What do you mean?”
“Nothing drastic.” He managed a twisted smile. “I’m not leaving Jewel or anything, not yet. Probably not before I graduate, unless we all—” He broke off, but I knew what he’d been about to say.
“The Scientists are doing all they can and we’re going to get as many people as possible, all over the world, to take precautions, just in case.” I tried to sound more reassuring than I felt.
He nodded. “If anyone can stop them, you can. With Rigel. I just meant that I plan to back off, try to move on. Maybe ask other girls out, not that there are any other Echtran girls in Jewel right now. But…I don’t want you worrying about me anymore. I know you have been, and the last thing I want is to be a distraction right now.”
I swallowed, trying to dislodge the sudden lump in my throat. “Thank you, Sean. I’ve always liked you, you know. It’s just—”
“I know. It’s not the same. It can’t ever be the same. Like I said, I get it now.” He stood, making the swing rock. “I’ll go get Mum to drive you home, since your aunt will expect that.”
“Okay. You’re…you’re a really good person, Sean. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”
“Hey, if my Sovereign says so, it must be true. G’night, M.” His parting smile was sad, but there was also strength behind it, and that strength reassured me. He was going to be okay, even if it took a while.
34
Disconnection
At school the next day, the candidates for Homecoming Court were included in the morning announcements and campaigning began in earnest.
“C’mon, M,” Bri chided me at lunch. “Deb and I are working our butts off trying to get you elected to Homecoming Court and you act like you don’t even care!”
I wrenched my thoughts away from the intimidating prospect of talking to a bunch of world leaders this afternoon. Homecoming Court was such a minor matter compared to everything else going on this week, I really couldn’t bring myself to care. But I couldn’t tell Bri that.
“Sorry. I’ll do more tomorrow—if only to keep Trina off that float with Rigel.”
“Exactly! The main point is to make sure she doesn’t get it this year.” Bri’s serious expression suggested a life-or-death issue. “If we can even split her vote so Rosa Garcia wins, I’ll be happy.”
“Yeah, me, too.” Rosa was captain of the girls’ volleyball team and both popular and pretty. And way nicer than Trina.
You might as well humor them, Rigel thought to me. It gives them something harmless to focus on and they’re having fun. He didn’t add that they might only have two more days left for fun, but I knew he was thinking it. Just like I was.
So I reluctantly let Bri and Deb drag me around the cafeteria while they talked me up as the best choice to represent the junior class. At least I looked my best, since with Molly’s guidance I’d worn an outfit appropriate for both school and my on-camera appearances later. She’d even done my makeup in the bathroom before classes started.
“It’s too bad you have that dentist appointment today, right when both Government classes are going to Indianapolis,” Deb said worriedly when we returned to our table. “You know Trina will use the whole bus ride to schmooze people into voting for her.”
Bri made a rude sound. “We can out-schmooze Trina any day. You’ll help, won’t you, Rigel? And Molly, get Sean on board, too. He’s probably going to be elected Homecoming King so his support will count double!”
I’d told Rigel about my conversation with Sean last night, and he was as relieved as I was that Sean finally seemed willing to move on. Maybe even more relieved.
Bri and Deb strategized how to use this afternoon’s four-hour field trip to my advantage while I went back to mentally phrasing what I’d say to people like the U.S. Secretary of State and the Chancellor of Germany.
When the bell rang, Rigel and Molly hung back for a moment as the rest of the Government students headed to the waiting bus.
“You going to be okay?” Rigel asked. “If you want, I can—”
“No, it’s fine. Kyna will be there, and your dad. Besides, we don’t have an excuse for you to miss the trip.” I turned to Molly then. “I feel really bad making you do all the work on this Government project. I’m totally not pulling my weight.”
Molly grinned at me. “It’s no biggie. Really. How about we divide up the work this way: I’ll finish the project and you save the world. Deal?”
I couldn’t help but laugh, despite the looming threat. “Deal.”
The two of them hurried off then to catch the bus to Indy while I went to the front office, where Kyna and Cormac had already cleared me for my fictitious dental appointment. I signed myself out, then met Kyna at the curb so she could drive me to Rigel’s house. Before pulling away, she handed me a tablet.
“Van Stuart and I finalized the statement you’ll be recording for broadcast via MARSTAR and the Nuathan networks. You can personalize it if you wish, but it’s fairly straightforward, worded with an eye to minimizing panic.”
I scanned the text. The statement was brief but stilted. As we drove, I edited it slightly, hoping a more casual delivery might make it a little less scary. When we reached the Stuarts’ house, I handed the tablet back to Kyna for approval.
“Ah, yes. That does sound more like you. Well done. Let’s get this out of the way first, before this afternoon’s video conference.”
Mr. Stuart was waiting for us inside. “Everything is still set up for you in my office.” The main emotion I sensed from him was determination, with just a touch of nervousness. Way less nervousness than I was feeling myself.
Wishing Molly were here to give me a final once-over, I carefully brushed my hair and touched up my lip gloss. Then Kyna positioned me in front of the big screen, where Mr. Stuart had uploaded my edited statement so I could read while looking at the camera.
“Ready?” he asked. I nodded. He turned on the camera and I started talking.
“Hello, everyone. What I have to tell you may sound like a history lesson at first, but please bear with me.” I tried to smile pleasantly—not nervously. My tiny image in the lower corner of the screen helped. “As most of you know, Nuath was originally created well over two thousand years ago when an alien race transplanted the inhabitants of a small Irish village to a prepared habitat under the surface of Mars.
“Most of Nuath’s earliest history has been lost in the mists of time, but we know that our alien abductors remained for less than a thousand years before inexplicably disappearing. They left a lot of their technology behind, though, and over the centuries Nuathans put most of it to good use. For example, by adapting alien technology for space travel, nearly six hundred years ago, we discovered that our nearest neighbor, Earth, was our species’ home of origin.
“But while we figured out many ways to use their technology, we never did figure out who those early aliens were—until now. I have recently been contacted by those aliens—they call themselves the Grentl—and have learned that they are worried about what humans, particularly Earth humans, are evolving into. They feel partly responsible for what they consider some wrong turns by our race, and now plan to undo as much of our modern progress as possible.
“By now, some of you may have heard about the satellites taking up positions around the Earth. The Grentl plan to use them to generate a massive electromagnetic pulse with the intention of disrupting all Earth communications and technology. This is expected to occur this coming Saturday at 12:47am Eastern time on Earth, or 5:47am Nuathan time. While Nuath itself should not be directly affected by this pulse, Earth is likely to experience a complete loss of power and possibly much worse.
“The Echtran Council and our most qualified Scientists recommend that everyone living on Earth shut down and disconnect all electronics before midnight Friday night. This includes car and other batteries and anything else that could be affected by an EMP. If you can, please urge your Duchas neighbors to do the same. A story is already being sent to Duchas media worldwide, warning of unusual sunspot activity and encouraging them to take exactly these precautions.
“If enough of us do this, we may weather the Grentl’s assault with minimal damage or casualties. I’m sure you have a lot of questions. You can direct them to Regent Shim Stuart on Nuath and to Kyna Nuallan of the Echtran Council on Earth. Above all, please don’t panic. We are a resilient people and I have every confidence that we’ll all come through this challenge stronger than ever. Thank you, and God bless you all.”
Mr. Stuart switched off the camera, then played back the recording. Kyna watched it carefully, then nodded her approval.
“I believe that will do quite well. Excellency?”
Though I always hated how my recorded voice sounded, I was amazed I hadn’t stumbled over any of the words—and also amazed by how not nervous I looked on the screen, since I totally was inside. Practice had obviously made me lots better at hiding it than I used to be.
“I doubt I could do it any better if I tried again.”
“Then I’ll convert it into the proper formats for broadcast at whatever time the Council should decide,” Mr. Stuart said. “When is the video conference supposed to start?”
Kyna checked the time. “Germany’s and Ireland’s Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the American Secretary of State all agreed to call in at one-thirty. I’m hoping that Japan’s and Australia’s Ministers and the Minister of External Affairs from India will be able to join us as well, though they didn’t firmly commit. Needless to say, these are extremely busy people and I was unwilling to give enough details to their assistants to adequately convey the urgency of this meeting. Quite honestly, I’m surprised even this many agreed on such short notice.”
Mr. Stuart nodded. “Excellency, if you’d like to take a break, I can get everything set up before the calls come in.”
“Oh, okay, thanks.”
I hurried off to the bathroom, trying to quell nerves that were so ramped up now, I was afraid I just might puke. I managed not to, but it was close. When I emerged, Dr. Stuart was waiting with a cup of peppermint tea.
“I seem to recall Rigel saying this is one of your favorites?”
I cupped my hands around the warm mug with a grateful smile. “Thank you so much. This is exactly what I need.” Sipping slowly, I headed back to Mr. Stuart’s office for the ordeal ahead.
The video conference lasted a full two hours and left me nearly as drained as using the Grentl device. India’s Minister hadn’t shown up, but all the others had—and they’d been nearly as unwilling to accept such incredible news from a teenaged girl as I’d predicted. Even after Kyna had them confirm with their own astronomers the existence of numerous unexplained satellites, they were clearly skeptical.
“Do you realize what it would do to our economy to shut down the entire nation’s power grids for even an hour or two?” the U.S. Secretary of State demanded at one point.
Kyna assured them that Echtran Scientists would continue trying to find other solutions but made it clear she considered that unlikely. She and I both stressed repeatedly that taking our recommended precautions would be far preferable to the alternative, but by the time we disconnected, only Ireland and Australia were willing to admit that the potential risk justified such extreme measures.
After they’d all signed off, I pushed myself away from the enormous computer screen with a frustrated sigh. “Wow, and I thought the Royals on the Echtran Council were stubborn.”
“It is an awful lot for them to take in all at once,” Mr. Stuart pointed out. “We knew this might not work, but we were ethically obliged to at least try. You
did as well as you possibly could have, Excellency.”
“Not well enough, obviously.” I looked pleadingly at Kyna. “Do you think there’s any chance our Scientists will come up with a defense we can use in time?”
The emotions I sensed from her answered my question, though she tried to smile reassuringly. “There’s always a chance, of course. If nothing else, we’ll be able to shut down quite a few power grids whether those in charge agree or not, and blame it on that fictitious solar storm. I have people working on that already, in fact. And as more and more astronomers verify the existence of the satellites, those skeptics may yet come around.”
I tried to be comforted but knew that, at best, only a tiny fraction of the world could be protected if the Grentl carried out their plan.
“I should use the device again. Try one more time to talk them out of what they’re doing.”
The look Kyna gave me was almost pitying. “Do you really believe that will help, Excellency?”
“No.” Once everything absorbed from the Grentl had finally clarified in my mind, I’d become more positive than ever that it wouldn’t. “But…what else can I do?”
“If we are unable to come up with anything by tomorrow night, perhaps you can make another attempt at communication,” Kyna finally conceded. “You and your bond mate, I should say, as his assistance seemed to make such a difference.”
* * *
It was actually a relief to get back to my house and such mundane chores as homework and laundry after such a nerve-wracking, high-stakes afternoon. Bri called with an update on how many people she, Deb and Molly had talked into voting for me for Junior Class Princess. Frivolous as it was, I played along, welcoming the temporary diversion from far more life-and-death matters.
But when Aunt Theresa got home an hour or so later, things took an even more absurd turn.
Starfall: A Starstruck Novel Page 31
