Starbound: A Starstruck Novel (3 page)

Rigel picked up on my fear the moment he and his parents arrived, even from the opposite side of the sanctuary.
What’s wrong?
he thought, clearly alarmed.

One
more
thing to worry about: keeping Rigel from picking up on how freaked I was, and why. I took a deep breath, tamping down my fear before answering him.

My aunt, like always.
I couldn’t remember ever outright lying to him before. I didn’t like it.
Plus the whole going to Mars in three weeks, thing,
I added truthfully. I worked harder to squash down my anxiety, along with any errant thoughts about scary, non-human aliens.

Yeah, that’s pretty freaky,
he agreed,
especially for you. All I have to do is play Bodyguard, which I’d do whether they wanted me to or not. But you—

Sean leaned over just then and Rigel broke off his thought.

“Hey, you okay?” Sean asked in that sub-whisper only Martians could hear. “Guess we shouldn’t have sprung the change of plans on you so suddenly last night, huh?”

Oops. I obviously needed to control my face as well as my thoughts. “I’m fine, just not used to the idea yet.” Lying to Sean didn’t make me feel nearly as guilty as lying to Rigel.

Even though the Stuarts no longer shared our pew, Rigel and I had gotten so good at communicating over distance recently that he was still able to sense more of my thoughts and feelings than was safe.
 

You’re still way on edge, M,
he sent halfway through the sermon.
Anything I can do to help? They can’t expect you to do the impossible, you know. Just your best.

And if my best wasn’t good enough? I hastily stifled that thought and tried to focus on the sermon instead, but it might as well have been random words in Greek.
 

What would the Council would do if Rigel found out about the Grentl and they found out he found out? I remembered them using the word “treason” at least once when swearing me to secrecy. If nothing else, it would give them the excuse they needed to separate us again.
 

What was that? Something about the Council? They’re not threatening you—us—again, are they?

Crap.
Just a bad dream I had last night. Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you.

To my relief, he seemed to believe me—and it wasn’t
so
far from the truth. I’d lain awake half the night, too scared to sleep.
 

For the next few minutes I deliberately counted the bricks on the wall behind the altar, forcing myself to take deep, even breaths like during meditation in taekwondo class. It helped. Some. Then the sermon ended and everyone started singing, which helped even more, since we couldn’t sing and “talk” at the same time.
 

That left me free to worry—
very
privately—how long I could keep such a big secret from Rigel and exactly how big a disaster it might be if I didn’t.

That evening, I found out. Sean invited me over after dinner, which he did a lot these days and, like always, Aunt Theresa was totally okay with me going—which she never used to be when it was Rigel. But it was Mrs. O’Gara, not Sean, who opened the door when I knocked.

“I hope you won’t be disappointed, dear, but Sean and Molly have gone out with their father so we can discuss Council business more thoroughly—and privately.” I could hear voices in the living room behind her, which meant other Council members were already there.

“No, that’s fine. I, uh, need to know exactly what they expect of me.” I
definitely
wasn’t disappointed Sean wouldn’t have yet another chance to convince me to play my “girlfriend” role more believably.

I followed Mrs. O into the living room and was startled to see the entire
Echtran
Council standing there, all seven of them, though only Breann, Malcolm and Mrs. O lived in Jewel. Those must have been some quick travel arrangements! They all saluted me by bowing, right fists over hearts. I used to flinch or blush when they did that, but now I just inclined my head like I was supposed to.
 

Rigel’s grandfather, Shim, by far the oldest member of the Council, spoke first. “Thank you for joining us this evening, Excellency. We all felt that the more quickly we could acquaint you with the situation, the better.”

I stepped toward him with a smile, trying to decide if it would be undignified to hug him. Shim was my favorite member of the Council, even though he could be intimidating, what with being so tall and so old. He
looked
maybe mid-seventies, his white hair still thick, but I happened to know he was closer to three hundred.

Just as I was about to touch him, I noticed a tiny flicker, then realized at nearly the same instant that I wasn’t feeling any
brath,
or Martian vibe, off of him. I stopped, confused.
 

“Wait, are you really here, or are you a, um, hologram?”

Little Nara, another Council member I liked, answered. “I’m sorry, Princess, didn’t Lili tell you? In the interest of expediency, those of us not in Jewel conferenced in.”

“Though I do expect to be in Jewel in the flesh in a few days,” Shim added.

I blinked. They all looked so
real
. So…solid.
 

“Oh. That’s…that’s great. I didn’t realize… Must save a lot on airfare, huh?”

Several of them chuckled, but Shim quickly brought us back to the business at hand. “Excellency, how much has Lili already told you?”

“Um, just that a message has come from the Grentl so we’re moving up my visit, hoping maybe I can somehow reply to it. We didn’t have much time to talk last night.”

Mrs. O sat on the couch next to Breann, who I assumed was really here. I sat in the only empty chair left. Well, technically the ones with holograms in them were empty, too, but I couldn’t exactly sit on top of someone.

“That is indeed the gist of things.” Shim’s expression was kindly but serious. “However, there is more that you should know, that you would have been told sooner, had not certain objections been raised.” He glanced at Kyna, who pursed her lips and frowned. Or, rather, her hologram did.
 

“Get on with it,” she snapped.

Shim merely smiled at her before turning back to me. “As you might expect, Nuath suffered a fair degree of chaos during the days and weeks following Faxon’s ouster, including the disruption of normal communications. Not until six weeks ago, more than a month after Faxon was imprisoned, did we learn the full story of his overthrow. Interestingly, it appears the Grentl may have been the deciding element.”

“Huh?” I definitely hadn’t expected
that.
“How?”

“According to an Informatics Engineer who has worked at the Royal Palace since your grandfather’s time, the Grentl activated their communication device late in Faxon’s tenure. Using rather brutal methods, Faxon forced the truth about the device from a fellow Palace Engineer—now, alas, deceased.”
 

I assumed Shim meant murdered. I shuddered.

“The Grentl apparently allowed Faxon to communicate with them for a time, perhaps to gain information. Whatever their motives, after a few exchanges, the Grentl used the device to, ah, disable Faxon, at which point a few loyal Palace staff members were able to imprison him, allowing for a quick and nearly bloodless overthrow of his regime.”

For a few seconds I just stared at Shim, trying to wrap my brain around what this meant. “So…the Grentl are good guys after all? They found out how bad Faxon was and took him out?”

“We can’t know that.” Kyna’s image leaned forward earnestly. “The Grentl still have the potential to be extremely dangerous. No one knows the content of Faxon’s communications with them, only that information
was
exchanged, and that Faxon was subsequently rendered unconscious. He has not been forthcoming with details since regaining consciousness. In fact, our Healers believe it likely he does not even remember those details.”

“So…where do I come in? Mrs. O’Gara said they’ve sent another message?”
 

Shim nodded. “Six days ago the device activated again. Our best guess is that the Grentl wish to learn the outcome of their last interaction, but when our remaining Palace Engineer attempted to respond, he was denied access. It appears they are again willing to communicate
only
with our Sovereign.”
 

“Or, perhaps, they wish to verify that we still have one,” Malcolm theorized. “You are the only one who can find out what they want—and reassure them.”

“Reassure them? About what? That I exist?”

“And that Nuath is back on a peaceful path,” Shim said. “If indeed the reason they took action against Faxon had to do with his departure from that path, they may wish to know it has been restored. Whatever they want, history suggests the Grentl are apt to take offense should you not respond in a timely manner.”
 

I swallowed nervously. “Offense? What will they do?”

Shim lifted a shoulder in a half shrug. (He looked
so
real!) “We prefer not to find out.”

Obviously it would be a bad idea to antagonize aliens way more advanced than even the Martians. But— “Why don’t we
know
? Haven’t we been communicating with them for like three hundred years?”
 

Kyna answered me. “It took years—decades—to establish a true two-way communication. That only occurred after Sovereign Aerleas, your great-grandmother, imprinted on the device, for want of a better term. Since then, all attempts at communication were necessarily conducted by the Sovereign, as the Grentl were emphatically unwilling to talk with anyone else. Until Faxon, and then only briefly.”

“But…all those years. Surely we learned
something
about who the Grentl are and what they can do to us? What they want from us?”

Shim took up the explanation. “Over the years, some essentials were shared with certain trusted Scientists. We know that the Grentl are non-humanoid, seemingly composed of both matter and energy, and reproduce by fission. But only the Sovereigns have ever known the full content of all communications.”

“Remember, Excellency, that until the, ah, events in December, Shim and I were the only people on Earth who even knew of the Grentl’s existence,” Kyna added. “Due to the extreme sensitivity of that information, only a few specifics, thoroughly encrypted, have ever been sent to us here. However, we believe there is at least one Scientist in Nuath who can show you how to access the complete historical record. Only then will we have a clear idea of what we are facing.”

Which was why they needed me on Mars ASAP.
 

“Then is it still important to keep it such a huge secret?” I held my breath, hoping the answer would be no.

“Absolutely.” Kyna’s sharpness made me wince. “We even took the precaution of having former Council member Allister’s memory modified, to remove everything he learned about the Grentl. If anything, maintaining secrecy is more important now than it has ever been, given the current instability in Nuath.
You
haven’t happened to mention this to anyone outside the Council, have you, Excellency?”

“Kyna!” Little Nara, who’d always been my champion, sounded horrified. “How can you even ask? She promised us.”

Kyna bowed her head slightly, though she still frowned. “I apologize, Excellency. I did not intend to imply you might not honor your word. But you are still…young, and the young sometimes speak without thinking, only to regret later.”

“That’s okay.” Now I was extra grateful they didn’t know Rigel and I could communicate telepathically. My insides quivered, remembering how close I’d come to telling him about the Grentl a few times. “And no, I haven’t told anyone.”

Mrs. O watched me closely as I answered, no doubt using her “lie-detector” ability. Sure enough, she gave Kyna a small nod to indicate I’d told the truth.

Kyna looked relieved, as did the rest of the Council. Apparently they’d all been worried I’d slip up, no matter what Nara said. Crap.

“Lili, may I assume neither of your children are aware?” Kyna asked then, making me feel a
little
better.

Mrs. O’Gara shook her head. “You’ve been very clear they’re much too young to be told.”

“And your husband—”
 

“He is extremely honored by this mission and wants me to convey his thanks. You can trust him to guard the secret—and the Princess—with his life.”

This was news to me. “Wait, Mr. O’Gara knows?”

“Given his extraordinary contributions to the resistance during Faxon’s reign and his willingness to sacrifice all for the good of Nuath and its people, his loyalty and discretion are above reproach.” Connor’s expression was downright reverent. “That is why he has been deputized by the Council to be our representative on Mars in the days to come.”

“I must say, he took the news about the Grentl rather better than I did.” Mrs. O gave a slight shudder.

“But I can’t tell Rigel? Even though we’re bonded? Even though he’s my Bodyguard?”

“No.” Kyna was emphatic. “Forgive me, Excellency, but because of your youth, I argued strenuously against
you
being told about the Grentl. Sending other young people to Mars with that knowledge would be foolhardy, as an indiscreet word could easily lead to widespread panic. Part of Quinn O’Gara’s mission is to make certain that does not happen.”

It still didn’t seem fair. At all. “What’s the rest of his mission?”

“To do whatever is necessary to get you Acclaimed Sovereign,” Breann answered firmly. “Something he was already strongly motivated to do. He will endeavor to accomplish this before any opposition can become organized. To that end, he will act as your political advisor as well as your
in situ
guardian.”
 

Shim spoke more gently. “Once Acclaimed, you will have access to the Palace and the device. At that point, an Informatics Engineer familiar with the device and with prior Grentl communications will assist you. In fact, Eric Eagan will likely contact you shortly after your arrival with more specifics. You can trust him completely.”