My stomach tightens as one of our ships goes down, only to be replaced by another. Lives are being lost to make sure we succeed.
I glance at my friends, but they say nothing.
“Remember,” Dad calls out as we approach the outskirts of Primaro, “Do not engage with civilians, if possible. They had no choice in this battle and should be preserved. If you must engage, use a nonlethal tactic. Our primary goal is to locate Hammond and force her to surrender.”
The beautiful city still stands tall . . . Dad’s masterpiece. Still a perfect blend of the modern with the organic beauty of Arcadia. Trees and grasses entwine the pathways between silver and white skyscrapers and grow above the clusters of smaller buildings.
When the hover kisses the ground, the door immediately rolls open. Irene readies her gun, while Beda and Yaletha’s hands glow cyan. The other soldiers pour out the door ahead of us and I glance to Dad, who is standing near the cockpit.
“Are you coming?” I shout to him.
“I need to stay with the ship.”
My stomach twinges at his words, but I knew we wouldn’t be together. My entire family will be separated, including Javen, who’s at the mine with his father and the other Alku.
“I love you,” I mouth to Dad, appreciating the brief smile my words bring to his lips.
Then I turn to the opening and exit the ship behind my friends, the Starfire pulsing through my body in time with the beating of my heart.
CHAPTER 19
The second I step from the ship, the Starfire fills my mind. I fight to stay alert and follow the others to get to the designated cover—a building overhang—while visions of the medical facility I was held in flip through my thoughts. At first, Hammond leers over me, wearing my Starfire necklace. Then there’s the room I was kept in and the hallway outside, where Javen ported me to safety.
“I know where Hammond is,” I shout to the others as the vision fades.
“How?” Irene circles back to me. “No one has been able to get a lock on her location.”
Yaletha and Beda skid to a stop but keep their eyes on the sky for any incoming enemy vessels.
“She’s wearing my Starfire necklace that she stole, and I can feel it. I don’t have an exact location, but she’s in the place where she held me captive.”
Irene’s eyes light up, and then she taps her Connect. “I still have those coordinates.” Her fingertip swipes the face several times. “There, I sent them to all of you.”
“We need to forward them to my dad.” I reach to tap my Connect, but Beda grabs my wrist to stop me.
“If we go in now, we can ambush Hammond.” Beda looks up at the ships fighting above the city. “If everyone knows where she is, they’ll attack too and we’ll lose the element of surprise.”
Yaletha sidles up to Beda. “We will force her to surrender.”
When I throw a look at Irene, she nods sharply in agreement.
“Fine, but we need to go now,” I concede, twisting from Beda’s hold. “I’m not getting any more visions, and I don’t know if she’s going to stay in one place.” Grasping Irene’s arm, I say, “I’m going to port you now.”
Just as I do, the sound of an explosion ricochets off the wall behind us, and one of our vessels slams to the street in a ball of flames. My heart leaps into my throat, but I quickly focus on the coordinates listed on my Connect, and the Starfire directs us there.
We materialize into the empty hall outside the room where I was held. Beda and Yaletha’s hands are lit with Starfire energy, ready to ward off any potential attackers. My heart shudders as I scan the hall, still blackened from damage during my rescue.
And the space is completely abandoned. Hammond isn’t here. No one is.
Beda curses and I quickly attempt to connect to Hammond’s Starfire crystal again. I still feel a light sensation from within this building.
My stomach twists but I ignore my fear, focusing on Irene instead. “Do you have the building schematics? I know she’s here.”
Irene taps on her Connect’s holo function. A small 3D skeletal version of the structure shows, and I tap on a space toward the top to enlarge the image. “The penthouse has a direct escape route to the roof. It also has heavy inbuilt security . . . double metal walls. If she’s still on the planet and in this building, that's where she would want to be. And where we need to go.”
Boom. An explosion sounds from outside, causing the walls to vibrate.
I shoot a sober glance to each of my friends, and each of them nods in agreement.
“We need a plan.” Irene grips her blaster tighter.
“Hammond is likely to have a large security team around her.” Yaletha peers around the hall and tips her head to listen. “We took out the security system the last time we were here, and it doesn’t appear to be repaired in this area. No one should be aware of our presence in the building.”
Beda pumps her fist, and a ghost of blue-green energy flows over her hand. “If we port directly in there, we will cover you.” She looks at me directly. “You can use the Starfire to put everyone in stasis.”
A nervous breath leaves me. “It’s a good plan. It means maybe people won’t have to die.”
“Exactly.” Yaletha places her hand on my shoulder.
Rechecking the schematics on Irene’s Connect, I point to the left corner of the room. “That’s our destination. We’ll get a full view of the space there, and guards won’t be able to shoot us in the back before I can disable everyone. Cloak yourselves if something goes terribly wrong and you need to escape.” I double-check to make sure everyone is clear and tap off the schematic.
Beda clasps Irene’s wrist and then catches my eye. “I’ll take care of porting Irene so you can do what you need to.”
I square my stance. “Port on three. One, two, three . . .”
In a blink, we’re transported to our chosen destination, and all eyes in the room immediately fall on us. From the corner of my eye, Beda’s hand lights up with energy. I reach down inside myself to activate the Starfire and send out the command to freeze everyone. As I do, I realize that one of the guards must have fired off a discharge, because Yaletha lets out a grunt, throwing her arms into the air to protect herself. Just before the blast hits us, the entire room falls into stasis.
The blaster energy hangs midair, green and glowing, while my wide-eyed friend steps out from in front of it.
My attention returns to scanning the room for the president. “Where’s Hammond?”
Irene holds out her gun, training it back and forth onto several people frozen in action, their own weapons already extended and ready to kill us. My heart begins to beat wildly when my eyes rest on two figures across the room near a closed, black metal door.
Max and Alina.
“Max!” The name slips from my mouth, and I jog past the other people frozen in place.
When I get to him, I hesitate for a second. What if he did turn against us? But then I remember who Max is . . . always loyal. He would never betray me—us. I clasp his shoulder and allow the Starfire to release him from stasis, then quickly do the same for Alina. They both reanimate quickly, their attention flicking to me, then around the room.
Max blinks at me several times. “Cassi! What are you doing here? You can’t be here!”
“Where’s Hammond?” Irene demands from behind me before I can even ask.
“She just left with Kole for Skybase.” Alina gestures toward the black door. “A new fleet just arrived, and she’s meeting it.” Turning away, she races to a computer screen and runs her finger over the data. “Yeah . . . she’s halfway there, according to this.”
“What do you mean a new fleet?” Beda steps next to me.
“My dad sent two hundred ships across the Turner Space Fold, and he’s figured out a way to reduce the journey to a few hours.” All the blood seems to drain from Max’s face as he admits the terrible news.
“Two hundred!” I yell at him. “You should have tried to stop him!�
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“And how did you expect me to do that?!” Max shouts back. “I have no control over my father! He lured me away from Dr. Foster and Vihann on Earth and then dragged me back here with him for whatever reason.”
“So, you didn’t go with him willingly?” My voice softens. I’m almost certain it’s not true, but I must ask.
“No.” Max eyes the floor. “My father used me to help get the Starfire from Dr. Foster, and then he sent his stupid goons after them. I only found out later that they had escaped, but there was still nothing I could do.”
“We can’t worry about this now,” Beda insists. “We need to warn the others about the ships.”
She’s right. Taking my eyes from Max, I swiftly tap my Connect. “Dad.”
His face immediately hovers over the display as a hologram, and I give him the whole story. “You need to get out of there, Cassi. Port back to the Tahm and stay with your mother. They’re not under attack yet.”
I glance around at the others, who say nothing. Despite their silence, I know that hiding isn’t an option for anyone. “Fine, Dad. I’ll let you know when we get there,” I lie and tap off the display. As it goes dark, I swing around to the others. Yaletha opens her mouth—likely to protest. “We need a fighter ship. The Alku are going to need our help at the mine.”
A grin forms on Alina’s lips, and she taps at the computer screen again. “I think I can order one here. But I need the code.”
My attention shifts to Irene and find a matching grin stretching across her face.
“Now that’s something I can do and do well!” Irene’s eyes light with fire just as more blasts sound outside the building. I flinch.
“I’m in the system,” Irene announced after several moments, her hands flying over the virtual keyboard. “It’s just going to take me a few to shut down the firewall.” Sweat beads on her brow, but she doesn’t bother to wipe the moisture away.
Beda and Yaletha stand behind us, their hands lit with cyan balls of energy in case the stasis fails.
“I’m in,” she whispers and then swipes at the display. “And there’s a ship on the way. Will be here in two minutes.” Irene turns toward us. “Can any of you fly it?”
My stomach drops. I hadn’t thought of that.
“I can fly,” Max says. “You can’t have a father who runs Galaxis and not know how to fly ships.”
“Good,” Irene answers. “That’s settled, but the ship currently has a pilot we don’t want.”
“Meaning we have to get rid of him or her?” Beda growls.
“Yep.” Irene faces Yaletha, Beda, and me. “And you three will need to learn the ship’s blasters quick. Let the Starfire guide you.”
Before I have a chance to respond, Irene eyes Alina. “You willing to stay? With your help, I think I might be able to mess with Skybase. Buy us some time.”
My chest tightens as I realize what Irene is saying. She’s staying here, too.
Without hesitation, Alina nods. “I know enough about Hammond’s plans.”
I want to argue, but something scrapes the roof of the building, startling us.
Irene’s gaze flies to the computer display and she types something. “You don’t have much time. That ship will only stay for a few minutes.”
Beda rips a holstered blaster off the hip of a nearby frozen guard and tosses it to Max. He scans the gun for a second and then activates it. He’s no pro, but it will do.
Moving toward Irene, I give her too brief a hug and lean close to her ear. “Thank you for everything,” I whisper, fighting the emotion out of my voice.
She squeezes me back and swiftly steps away when Alina pulls me toward the black door.
Alina ushers us up the dimly lit stairs to a roof access door and then faces us. Nervously, she tucks a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “Good luck.”
Without reply, we dash through the door and are met by a stocky, gray-haired pilot, whose eyes go wide when he sees us. He reaches for his weapon, but he’s too late. Yaletha slams a burst of light into his chest and the man tumbles to the ground.
“Is he dead?” I cry out while racing for the medium-sized fighter ship.
“Yes.” Yaletha furrows her brow and grabs his arm to pull him away from the vessel.
We quickly board the ship. Max hops into the pilot seat and activates all the controls, then gestures back to three consoles. “That’s where you each need to be.”
Beda, Yaletha, and I rush to take our spots. The displays automatically light up and provide a live view from three different sides of the ship.
The ship vibrates and lifts from the ground.
“Place your hands on the display and tap to fire,” Max shouts over lift off.
Closing my eyes, I take a settling breath and try to focus. If we can just stall, it will give Mom enough time to activate Renewal . . . then maybe all this will stop. Hammond will finally see that we don’t need to destroy the Alku to save Earth.
My lids open, and there it is in the sky: hundreds of fiery streaks made from Hammond’s new fleet entering the atmosphere. As I watch in horror, my Connect vibrates.
It’s Mom.
Renewal will not activate on Earth. The Network can’t function without the source site in Arizona.
CHAPTER 20
Space and time become one, and suddenly my awareness isn’t only here on Arcadia but on Earth, too. The stars, the planets, black space, everything in the universe between here and Earth condenses, and somehow I’m in two places at once.
Both worlds scream out to me for help.
My body jerks as the Starfire slams a vision into my mind—and everything comes back to me. When I was on Earth, I was given a very similar vision. My consciousness floats above the Earth while blue-green light emits from locations all over the globe. Spidering fingers of light pulse and then pull back from each other, their lights dimming.
Mom’s lab location is required for this to work, and Galaxis has control. They cut the Starfire cavern off from the Network. And to work, the Network needs the crystals.
The Network needs me.
I blink back to the ship we commandeered. There isn’t time to ask anyone if they’re okay with what I must do.
34°54'8.10" N, 110°09'29.45" W
Focusing on the coordinates, I let my mind become like the Earthscape program, targeting the exact location where Mom’s compound is located—in the middle of the Arizona desert.
Max, Beda, and Yaletha become a blurry mess as I allow the Starfire to completely take over my body. The energy shudders from the inside out, and a cyan glow pulses around me before I’m pulled into a dark place within my mind.
The blackness fades to light, and I find myself in my grandmother’s living room. A man who appears to be my grandfather, lean with dark hair, is seated on the fluffy chair in front of the fireplace. Next to him is that familiar plate of chocolate chip cookies, piled high. Same scene as the last time.
“You’re Kieran, aren’t you?”
“Have a seat, Cassi.” He picks up a cookie and takes a nibble.
“Have a seat?” I ball my fist in anger at being here again. “Do you have any idea what’s going on out there? People are going to die! I need to get to Earth!”
Kieran glances from his cookie to me. “There’s no time here. When you awake, you will return to the same moment you left.” He gestures to the treats. “So, have one. It will help you relax, to think more clearly.”
I squint at him, trying to remember that Kieran’s not human; he’s a humanization of the Starfire AI. He—it—whatever—doesn’t truly understand human emotion, so nothing about this situation is dire or bothersome to it.
Reluctantly, I take the required four steps to the chair and sit on the edge of the cushion, folding my hands into my lap. “Here. I’m sitting. Now, why am I here? I need to know what to do with Renewal.” My voice quivers as I speak, but I press on. “If I don’t figure it out right now, Earth or Paxon may not have a second chance.” Visions o
f my friends, who are attempting to hold off Harris’s forces, run through my mind.
Kieran takes a bite of the cookie again. “Please, have one.”
A growl escapes my throat, and I lean close enough to grab a cookie and squeeze it in my palm. The crumbles trickle to the floor under the table. “I don’t want a stupid cookie! Now, tell me what I’m supposed to do!” I wipe the remaining crumbs off on my pants.
He looks from the crumb pile on the floor to me. “What you are meant to do.”
My nostrils flare and my fists ball on top of my legs.
“Cassi, you are only here because you are afraid of your destiny.” Kieran sets his half-eaten cookie on the table. “For the Starfire to fulfill its purpose, we needed someone who was both Earthling and Alku to teach us about your nature. To bring your kind back to your origins.”
Confused, I almost forget about my anger. Almost. “Origins?”
“Humans and Alku are the same. At least, they were once,” he explains, folding his arms across his chest. “But long ago, they were separated and allowed to discover their own paths. The Starfire seeds were placed on each planet to watch the progress of the two races, but the ones on Earth did not flourish. They malfunctioned and were absorbed into the earth. Yet the time came when Alku and Earthlings wanted to find one another again. We felt your desire and readiness. So we allowed it, to see if this was the right time.”
“My grandfather,” I whisper.
“Yes.” Kieran picks up his cookie again. “Your grandfather was ready, and from our algorithms, we could see he had a chance of reuniting the races with your grandmother.”
“But they didn’t.”
“No, so we moved onto his daughter, but she was not a One Pure Soul, though she proved useful in other tasks. Then . . . there was you. You were different from all the others.”
The Starfire Wars- The Complete series Box Set Page 62
