Page 47 of Starfallen
THE CRISP SCENT OFfiltered air and the slight acrid tang of metal welcome me onboard.
I didn’t realize how much I miss the smell of this ship.
Walking from the landing bay, with the four carriers Granny insisted on sending as an escort, I make my way to the central hub to charge and run detailed diagnostics.
A Seeker, dressed in his black uniform, turns a corner farther down the tunnel and heads toward me. As he gets closer, his stare takes in the carriers flanking my side, then he does a double take when his attention lands on me. He stops in his tracks and offers a quick bow. “Your Majesty. The rumors are true, then.”
So much for Jayla and Ryland keeping quiet.
I can’t decide if I’m irritated at the delay or impressed at how quick word gets around regarding my miraculous rebirth. Matching his face to every Baltin personnel file stored in my implant, I quickly identify him as Kethar Cherone.
“Stop bowing, Kethar. I’m only here to repair some system issues. Governess Eva remains in charge.”
He straightens. “Well, it’s wonderful to have you back.”
“Is it, now?” I can’t keep the sarcasm from my tone.
“Yes,” he says, his eyes earnest. “Can I speak freely?”
“By all means.” I twirl my finger, anxious to be on my way, yet curious as to what he thinks.
“Most thought you abandoned us when you took that girl for a wife, exiled your mother, and decided to move everything to Mars. You wanted us to rebuild from the ground up. We—”
“I didn’tabandonyou.”
Kethar holds out a hand, palm facing outward.
Carrier 58253 steps forward but I hold him back. “He’s not going to harm me. Let him speak.”
The man’s eyes dart to the carrier then to me. He nervously licks his lips. “After we saw you destroy Aurora, we realized you saved our lives, too.” He moves a step closer but keeps far enough away so he doesn’t encounter my invisible shield or the guards. “Many others are starting to come around to your way of thinking.”
“What do you mean?”
“That perhaps we’ve been too greedy as a race, that it’s not our right to exterminate a lesser population just to claim a planet as our own. Maybe starting out fresh and relearning survival is what we need to thrive once more. After all, evolution is triggered by the need to adapt to an environment. Mars will definitely accomplish that goal, I think. The other Seekers of my group have taken this as an opportunity to gain new knowledge and truths.”
Pride and warmth wash over me.So, it just took my death to get them to see it my way.I clap him on the shoulder. “Thank you.”
He dips his chin to his chest in a nod. “You’ll be staying onboard then to help us out?”
“I’ll contribute to getting things running as they should be.”
“Very good, sir.” Kethar gives a deep bow, then marches past and continues down the hall.
All through the walk down the corridors, I encounter several other Baltins who, after their shock of seeing me, express similar views.
With a lighter heart and a spring in my step, I enter the control room and relax into the chair, activating the hardwire to connect to the ports on my forearm and spine. As energy pours into my systems, I begin the tedious job of sifting through every byte of code, reviewing protocols, authorizations, and anything else which grabs my attention.
See, Red? My people are overcoming their prejudices.And perhaps this reminder that Iampowerful, useful, could lead me to taking the reins again. With my lovely little spitfire at my side to guide us into the next phase of my race—my son’s—new future, who knows what we could accomplish.
