“The majority of the Alku will follow me. We can launch a defense as soon as I cross into Paxon.”
“Be ready to do that, if necessary.” Mom’s expression is stoic, but I recognize the emotion welling in her eyes. Her connection to the Alku is strong, as well.
“It’s ready.” Howard brings up the holocomputer screen at the room’s front. “Totally secure.”
“How can you be sure?” Senator Gray asks.
Without looking up, Howard shifts his stance as he continues tapping on his Connect. “Because this is my job. I got Dr. Foster to Earth through an alien portal. I know what I’m doing.”
I smile a little inside. This is the first time I’ve really heard Howard stand up for himself or demonstrate confidence in what he does.
Senator Gray raises her hands in surrender, arching her eyebrows. “It was a valid question.”
“Everyone here has a job to do.” Vihann leans his elbows onto the table. “We need to trust that each one of us is doing everything within our power to do it correctly.”
At Vihann’s words, Howard lets out a barely audible huff of satisfaction. “Ready, Doctors?” he asks, turning his attention to Mom and Dad.
“We’re ready,” Mom says.
Howard exhales loudly in anticipation. I hold my breath for only a moment while reaching for Javen again.
The holocomputer screen is blank when Howard sends the message. The whole room grows silent while we wait.
Message Sent.
The words hover on the screen’s bottom right, in green.
It seems like the words must blink a hundred times, until they shift.
Incoming Communication.
Howard scans the room, stopping when his gaze reaches Dad, who nods, urging him to press his Connect screen.
Hammond’s face appears. Her white-blonde hair is combed neatly, and her eyes widen the instant she sees the people in the room.
“Dr. Foster?” Her wide-eyed attention wavers between both Mom and Dad. People she had likely assumed were dead and out of her way. For a second, she gapes as if she’s seen two ghosts but quickly recovers. Or at least she pretends to.
Mom clears her throat. “We want to offer a truce. Working together is in the best interest of Earth as well as Arcadia.”
Hammond’s expression relaxes, and she studies us without speaking.
As the sight of her, nervousness worms its way through my body, but I lean on the memories of the Protectors to calm me once again. Thankfully, it works . . . for now.
Before I realize what I’m doing, I push my chair from the table and rise. Everyone’s eyes turn to me.
“President Hammond.” The words flow from my mouth, unplanned. “I know you want to save Earth, so I am challenging you to do this.”
My attention drifts to Javen and Vihann for a second. What I’m about to admit isn’t pretty, but I quickly return my attention to Hammond.
“There’s a small part of me that understands your dilemma. You just want to follow your plan to mine the Starfire, take the bulk of it to Earth and begin the healing process. But you know this will likely destroy Paxon, even though it will save Earth.” Taking Javen’s hand in mine, I lift it into the air. “The Alku are real people, with real feelings and amazing ways of living that they could teach us. If we destroy Paxon to save ourselves, what have we learned? Nothing. We will continue to destroy ourselves. The Starfire will be used for evil, for wars and destruction, no matter what you say now. But if we work together, Earth and Arcadia, then we really are that much closer to finding salvation. That will never be found, however, if all we do is continue hurting those who are fewer in numbers or have less than us.”
Javen’s pride flows into me, offering me warmth. I feared he might not understand that I, too, want to save Earth, nor that I have considered the high cost of Alku to do so. Just as the Starfire guided the Alku to peace and harmony, it can guide Earth, as well. It’s the only way for us to survive.
Hammond’s focus is locked onto me, her eyes slightly squinting as she mulls over my words. “Please continue.”
Maybe she will listen.
Mom stands. “President Hammond, I know you have been resistant to Renewal. From your perspective, it only had a minimal chance of success, but this is no longer true. The project is ready to launch.”
“I’m under the impression your project took a blow.” Hammond’s tone is flat.
Mom goes silent at that, her jaw tensing.
Does this mean that the caverns under the compound were destroyed? My mind whirls. It’s a loss, but Mom said the project can continue without that one location.
Hammond’s face blinks away and the scene shifts to the compound. Vehicles and ships marked with the Galaxis logo hover over the white buildings. It really was Kole Harris attacking us. The scene shifts again and my heart sinks. A view of the cavern appears. The Starfire sparkles on the walls while men and women in white coats—also with the Galaxis logo—mine the crystals or mill around the space with scanners.
“Kole Harris’s people located your crystal mine only a few hours ago. Though most of the data on any computers left behind had been scrubbed, he came to my people immediately to make a deal.”
The image pans back to show Hammond again as she looks to her side. Beside her is Kole Harris. The man is tall with dark hair. Max must take after his mother. My heart pounds as I spot two faces I know toward the back of the room. Max and Alina.
Alina’s expression is flat. I’m sure she wants to give away no connection to us. Max rubs his forehead as he bites his lip. Did Harris force him to come back to Arcadia or did he choose it? There are several other faces, probably advisors and World Senate members I don’t recognize. Knowing they are all there gives me a chance to present my best argument.
“Then you see the Starfire’s possibilities,” I plead. “Help us heal Earth, and let’s move forward with our connection to the Alku.”
“I . . .” Hammond glances around at the others with her. “We cannot trust that the Alku have the best interests of Earth in mind.”
“You know that isn’t true, President Hammond.” My fists ball in frustration.
“We have made our decision for the benefit of Earth.” There’s no emotion in her voice as she delivers her verdict.
“You just want to maintain power,” Vihann’s voice comes through loud and clear from our table, “and sharing control with a group of peaceful people, who have no desire to destroy and conquer, doesn’t fit into your plans. We are ready to protect what belongs to us, but we cannot allow ourselves to stumble toward your way of thinking. It rips families and communities apart. We want better. The Alku want more.”
“If I consider more than humans, I risk losing everything. Earth risks losing everything. I cannot accept your offer.” The screen goes black.
Cursing, Dad slams his fist onto the table. Everyone in the room jumps to their feet and begins to plan, except for me. I back from the table, taking it all in, and my mind whirls.
War . . . launch an attack immediately . . . return to Paxon . . .
All their words spin in my head like a pinwheel.
Before long, the group scatters. Vihann must return to Paxon with Zarah and Wirren to prepare his people; Mom and Dr. Morris must remain here and contact those at the Renewal sites on Earth to begin powering up the grid; Dad, Howard, and the senators must port back to the Intersection to ready the attack. Hammond is still not aware the ships from our Earth allies are retrofitted with Starfire energy and ready for war, which gives us an advantage.
Javen touches my arm. “I’m going with my father. There must be a united front among the Alku to ensure those who can defend their home are ready to do so.”
“I’m going to the Intersection.” I clutch his arm and pull him to me, closing in for a soft kiss. As our lips touch, the Starfire in me connects to the Starfire in him and hums inside of us. We part and hold each other's gaze for what I wish could be a lifetime. Yet, far too soon, and
without the need for any other words, he joins his father and they vanish to Paxon.
I race to Mom’s side and throw my arms around her in a tearful embrace. “I love you.” The phrase slips out as a whisper. Mumbling the same words, she extends her hand to Dad, who takes it.
Mom straightens, her expression filling with determination. “It’s time to really see what Team Foster is made of.”
CHAPTER 18
The blue-green circle of electricity crackles in the conference room as Dad activates the portal to the Intersection. Once the senators step through, Dad releases an audible breath and leans toward Mom, kissing her square on the lips.
She heartily returns the advance. The child in me wants to giggle at the grossness of her parents kissing. The woman I’ve become knows that the loving gesture is a battle cry for what is to come.
Mom’s palm caresses his cheek. The moment they share, gazing into each other’s eyes, must convey a million memories I’ll never know. Another quavering breath leaves Dad’s chest as he watches Mom exit the room.
No words are needed before he and I step through the portal and into a cyan world. He’s taken us to the refugee camp, where all four senators and Howard are waiting with a handful of Mom’s team, including Dr. Ellis. The portal stands open behind us.
“Dr. Foster needs you on Arcadia,” Dad informs Dr. Ellis the moment we reach her side. “Renewal is an immediate go.”
Ellis’s shoulders inch toward her ears and she turns to address her team. “We’re ready.” Her attention moves to the portal’s light, and then she waves the others toward the opening.
Before she enters, I touch her arm. I want to tell her good luck or something encouraging, but everything I can think of sounds stupid or trivial. So instead, I smile. Apparently, it works well enough because she returns the expression while patting my hand. Then she heads into the light, where she and her team disappear before the portal closes.
The rest of us make our way to the Starfire field. Howard huffs as he hauls his generous frame but doesn’t complain.
Dad and the senators join with the ships’ captains from the fleets still hanging in the sky. A slight glow from the Starfire’s power wreaths each vessel. My wandering gaze spots Beda, Yaletha, and Irene working on one of the landed ships. Each has a small crate of crystals that they carry into the vessel.
Without thinking, I picture myself there and immediately I am.
Irene flinches when she sees me. “Do you have to do that porting thing?” She places the crate on the ground.
My lips curl into a smile, but it quickly falls away. “We’re attacking immediately.”
“I always knew it was the only option,” Beda admits, coming from behind, crate no longer in hand. She glances to her wrist where her Starfire-powered Connect is wrapped. “But ever since I’ve had this, I haven’t wanted a war with Earth.”
My eyes fall to Yaletha, who walks toward us from the ship. “Beda, there’s no way the warrior in you is dead. You were birthed from your mother ready to fight.”
Beda’s eyebrow arches, and then she flips her dark braid over to her back. “I did put my parents through a lot.”
Smirking, Yaletha drapes her arm over Beda’s shoulder. “Let’s take all that soul fire and use that energy where it’s needed.”
Beda straightens her back, holding out her hand. Her palm lights with a cyan burst and her intense gaze travels over each one of us. “We are all warriors. Now, let’s take our planets back.”
All around us, ships hover from the ground and join the fleet in the sky. Three uniformed soldiers with Spanish insignias on their shirts rush past us, disappearing inside the ship Yaletha had just left. A pulse comes from the aircraft, and the hull emits a familiar Starfire glow.
We step back as five more soldiers rush on board. The door closes a moment later, and then the vessel raises from the ground. Exhaust blasts against our faces while the ship hovers into the sky.
Dad is now near the massive Starfire-constructed portal, which is beside one of the largest grounded ships. Reaching out to Irene, I take her arm and port us to him.
As soon as we materialize, Irene tears from my grasp. “I’m serious! Can you tell me when you’re going to do that?”
“Sorry,” I mutter while Beda and Yaletha race toward us, apparently choosing not to port.
“Which ship are we on?” I ask Dad, who looks at me warily with scrunched eyebrows.
“I’m coming, Dad. You know this.”
“I know. Your mother made sure I knew it, too. She said it was imperative.”
The Starfire burns in my chest. “I don’t know exactly yet what I’m supposed to do. But I must be there for any of this to work.” I wave my hands at the portal and waiting ships.
“But how do you know? How does your mom know? She wouldn’t explain much to me.”
Irene turns to me. “We all know. You have to tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Dad’s voice raises in pitch.
Right before battle is pretty much the worst possible time to tell Dad my secret. But I spit the words out anyway, just as Beda and Yaletha arrive. “Mom is half-Alku on my grandfather’s side.” Dad’s mouth falls open in shock. “And so . . . I’m part-Alku, too. I was meant to be here on Arcadia for a larger purpose,” I finish.
His attention remains locked on me for a moment, but then he shifts toward Irene, Beda, and Yaletha. “You knew?”
“Not until recently,” Beda admits.
“I’ve known for a while.” Irene focuses on the ground.
His breathing becomes ragged, and I know I must do something. I take his hand in mine and hold it tightly while focusing the crystal’s energy into him. His shoulders drop and his face relaxes in relief.
“Dad, everything that has happened up until now has been leading to this. I have no idea if we’re going to win or lose. And something tells me the cost is going to be high. But humanity needs us. That was always your dream. It wasn’t just about populating a new planet; you wanted the best for Earth. You were always willing to sacrifice for it. The sacrifice just might be higher than you expect.”
His eyes moisten but his breathing remains steady.
“This is bigger than us, Dad.”
Tightening his lips, he observes me for a moment. “When did you get so mature?”
A chuckle escapes me. “I guess trying to save a planet does that to you.”
With a heavy sigh, Dad takes hold of my shoulder. “I hate it, but I guess we need to do this.” He tips his head to the Australian ship, and we board.
Inside, a group of unfamiliar soldiers are already strapped into their seats. None of them speak, their gazes forward as if mentally preparing for what’s to come.
Yaletha, Beda, Irene, and I find open spots and buckle in, while Dad walks to the open cockpit and pokes his head inside. After a few moments, he returns and stops just before everyone to speak.
“The fleet will join the Alku,” he begins. “Once we do that, the group will be split into two. One group will head to the Starfire mine and ensure Hammond doesn’t do anything to risk the safety of the Alku people. The second group, which is us, will be dispatched to Primaro to retake the city from Hammond.”
Dad’s eyes focus on me for a second and then slide back to the group.
“In the meantime, the goal is to begin a process called Renewal on Earth. The same Starfire we have used to modify this ship and the others in this fleet will be able to heal Earth and give us the new start we need. This means the devastation that many of you and your families have experienced will be over. The goal is that everything will change for the better so that coming to Arcadia will not be the only hope for humanity anymore.”
At my dad’s confession, many of the soldiers’ expressions lose some of their tension, filling with anticipation instead.
“And if we fail?” a woman asks from the back row.
Dad squints at her slightly for a few moments as if in thought. “I don’t know the answ
er to that.” His attention falls briefly to me again, and my stomach does a flop. “But I do know we won’t give up easily.”
Through the ship’s front viewscreen, we watch as the massive portal fires to life. Sparking light whips into the air. As I study the display, I consider how the Starfire led us onto this journey, one that was planned long before we had any notion of it.
On the other side the valley, the Tahm spreads out before us. The tableau is serene, like a painting in someone’s living room. Yet I know that once we arrive, the peace will be shattered and the battle for Arcadia, Paxon, and Earth will be set in unstoppable motion.
Both Beda and Yaletha have joined the soldiers—staring straight ahead. But I catch Irene’s eyes and the furrow of her brow. I reach across the aisle and graze her forearm before returning my hand to my lap.
In groups, the ships enter the opening and disappear. Finally, our turn comes and I hold my breath. On the other side, the hue changes from cyan to full color.
Dad put on a headset comm and scrunches up his face as he listens to whatever is being said. “I understand.” Finally, he taps off the comm and lifts his head to address us. “Everyone is across, and we have contact with both the Alku and those ready to launch Renewal.” As he speaks, the ship moves forward. “We are now en route to Primaro.”
Are you there? I call out with my mind to Javen.
After a moment, warmth travels over my body, and his voice comes to me. I am. We all are.
My chest swells with gratitude. The Alku came. They followed Vihann and Javen.
A scene depicting the mine and the area surrounding it flashes in my mind. It’s what Javen is seeing. A massive fleet of ships—not ours, but Hammond’s—stands ready to defend the mine from the Alku. I know our ships are on the way, but they must have at least twice as many.
The only way we will succeed is together, I send into his mind.
We are united. Earth and Paxon.
A shiver runs down my spine at his words, and then he’s gone. My eyes open to Primaro on the horizon, with our aircraft speeding closer by the second. Small fighter ships hurtle toward us, and cyan blasts shoot from our craft to keep them from drawing closer and destroying us. Two of our fighters blast ahead, engaging Hammond’s fighters in a battle of fire and flame.
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