The Star Dwellers (28 page)

“A civil war,” Ben finishes grimly. “Which is
the last thing we want. Because then we’d be fighting our own
people at the same time as the sun dwellers.” Ben’s voice is strong
and determined. Evidently he’s been able to temporarily store his
personal thoughts, too.

“But I just don’t see how we can get the
support we need,” I say. “You heard the others. I don’t think any
of the other VPs are anywhere close to supporting the
rebellion.”

“What do you think, Vice President?” Ben says
across the table.

Morgan’s been silent through the entire
exchange, her hands clasped in front of her, looking calmer than a
moon dweller subchapter after midnight. Unfolding her hands, she
thumps the bottom of her palm on the table softly. “We have to get
the star dweller leaders up here. Show the rest of the VPs that
they’re friends, not foes. Share information. Having them gawk at
the proceedings like a bunch of ghosts at the bottom of a screen is
not helping.”

“The generals didn’t seem like they would
budge on the three-day deadline,” Maia points out. “And they didn’t
seem interested in meeting with us until we’ve reached an
agreement.”

“What about your wife?” I say, immediately
wondering if I should have brought it up. My eyes flick to Ben and
I relax when I see the smile behind them. “I mean, can’t she do
anything to help get the generals up here?”

“So you knew the whole time who she was?”

“I just guessed it, but I was fairly
certain,” I say. “That’s why I was so shell-shocked at the
beginning.”

Ben nods slowly. “She surprised us all. I had
hoped she was alive and well, of course, but I never thought she
would be part of the star dweller leadership already. But, knowing
her, I suppose I should’ve guessed it.”

“Tristan has a point,” Morgan says. “Can she
help us gain favor with the Star Realm?”

“I’m sure she is already doing everything she
can. But, of course I will contact her. I’ve been itching to speak
to her ever since I saw her on that screen.” I can’t help but smile
when I see the look on Ben’s face, the longing, the desire to be
reunited with his wife, and to find out about Adele.

Before anyone can respond, the door flies
open and Ram is here. I’d almost forgotten he wasn’t in his usual
spot in the corner. “Sir, there’s something you need to see,” he
says to Ben, motioning to the screen, which is already descending
from the ceiling.

We all turn to the video just as the screen
changes from black to a live feed from the presidential steps in
the Sun Realm, my father’s usual press conference location. He’s
already addressing a crowd gathered before him. “…come to my
attention that the Moon and Star Realms have been unable to
reconcile their differences, despite the assistance that my son and
I have offered. Clearly, the star dwellers have been the
instigators, although it is my understanding that they have been
able to garner some support within the Moon Realm. We all now face
a very dangerous situation, one that could affect the lives of the
citizens of the Tri-Realms for many years to come.” He pauses and
scans the crowd.

“It is my belief that the violence and acts
of rebellion are being carried out by a small number of
individuals, and that the vast majority of our people continue to
support the government and their leaders. Therefore, after much
discussion and the weighing of many potential peaceful solutions, I
have had to make a difficult decision, but one that I know is the
right one. The sun dweller army will step in to neutralize the
rogues and arrest or destroy their leaders, so that our citizens
can go back to the safe and peaceful lives they’ve grown accustomed
to.” The crowd is hanging on my father’s every word, hushed and
leaning in, as if he’s some sort of a priest.

“We will protect the Moon Realm from those
who seek to destroy it!” The crowd cheers as my father pumps a fist
in the air. “Even now, we have stationed several platoons of sun
dweller soldiers at key locations in the Moon Realm, and they await
my orders to move in on the traitors.”

A flurry of questions erupts from the
reporters, but my father waves his arms to silence them. “I only
have one more thing to say and then I must return to my duties.” He
pauses again, and this time looks right at the camera, his eyes
darker than I’ve ever seen them. I cringe as I feel his eyes on my
own. A horrible, sinking feeling enters my heart. I’ve seen that
look on his face before, usually preceding a threat or
punishment.

“For those of you who are traitors out there,
whether you be star dwellers, moon dwellers, or
sun
dwellers…be prepared to face the consequences of your actions,
which will be brought down like a hammer on you
and
those
you care about. That’s all for now.” Even before the crowd
explodes, he’s off the steps and back inside the building. A shiver
ripples through me. He was talking to me—I know it.
…consequences of your actions…brought down like a hammer…those
you care about…

Any anger I have for my father is lost in a
cloud of fear at that moment. I don’t care what my father does to
me, but
those I care about?
If he touches Roc, or Adele, or
Ben, or Elsey—I don’t know if that’s something I could bounce back
from. My heart is hammering and I don’t realize the telebox has
been turned off until Ben says, “Tristan, why don’t you and I try
to contact my wife.”

* * *

I feel like I’m on an emotional
rollercoaster. The fiery pits of anger gave way to love and
compassion for Roc, and then my father’s speech sent me into a
swirling vortex of fear for my friends and my maybe possibly
hopefully
more-than-a-friend
(someday?). And now I’m giddy
with excitement. Because I’m about to see Adele again. She’s alive;
as I always hoped, prayed,
knew
. It was confirmed via
electronic message by Adele’s mother.

Roc seems just as excited as I am. Finally,
I’ve found something to bring him out of his funk and it takes all
my self-control not to give him a hard time about it. Because his
excitement is about a girl, too. We’re acting like a couple of
school boys. It took some convincing to get Ben to agree to Roc
being part of the meeting, but once he did he was able to persuade
his wife to invite Tawni. And of course Elsey is here, too, and her
level of excitement dwarfs both of ours combined, and that’s saying
something.

“Oh, Father, won’t it be simply delightful to
see Mother again,” she says, beaming from ear to ear.

I expect Roc to mimic her, but apparently
he’s so stoked that he can’t even bring himself to joke with his
new best friend.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Ben
says, his arm around his daughter. Although Ben has been a lot of
things since I met him—stoic, fatherly, wise, kind,
level-headed—this is the first time he’s seemed so
light
.
It’s like he’s just floating around, not a care in the world, his
head as light as a balloon, ready to lift him away to a better
place, to where his family can be together. The contrast of his
lightness against the heavy gray stone walls around us is
strange.

“Do you think she’ll remember me?” Roc says,
chewing on his nails.

“Duh, of course she’ll remember you, dork,” I
retort. We’re all acting like a bunch of loons and I’m determined
not to say anything crazy.

“Don’t listen to poor, unromantic Tristan,”
Elsey says, putting an arm on Roc’s shoulder as she counsels him.
“Yes, she will remember you and all of your charm.”

“Did you hear that, Tristy? I’ve got charm,”
Roc says, punching me lightly on the arm. At least he’s joking
again.

The screen goes white, and then black, and
then white again, and for a moment I’m worried that technology will
let us down and we won’t be able to have the video call. But then
the picture emerges and my heart flutters when I see her.

Adele looks the same but different. If
anything, she’s gotten more beautiful, her hair darker and fuller,
her eyes greener and sharper, her face more heroic. She smiles
lightly when she sees me—or so I think. I should say something, but
my tongue is tied, so I just smile back at her. Now who’s the
loon?

“My dear,” Ben says.

“Hello, Ben,” Adele’s mom says.

“Thank god you’re alive. That you’re all
okay.”

“And you,” she says, smiling. “A fine mess
we’re all in.”

I’m ignoring them and just staring at Adele.
She’s looking back at me and suddenly it’s awkward and we both look
away at the same time, laughing.

“Mother!” Elsey exclaims. “Oh, I’ve missed
you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too, honey. How are
you?”

“Oh, the orphanage was dreadful, but my dear
Ranna was the best friend I’ve ever had. I’m okay now though. Adele
saved me and Father is taking very good care of me.”

Adele’s mother looks at her with such love in
her eyes—the way my mom always looked at me. “Yes, Adele has done
much for our family.”

Elsey’s eyes light up. “Oh, and you have to
meet Tristan and Roc—they helped save me and Father, too!”

“So I heard.” There’s a twinkle in her eye
and Adele blushes. Sometimes she seems so strong, like an iron bar,
unbreakable. And other times she’s vulnerable, like now. Both sides
of her excite me. “Well, any friends of Adele’s are friends of
mine. I’m Anna.”

My tongue is still flopping around helplessly
in my closed mouth, so Roc beats me to the punch. “I’m Roc,” he
says, winking. “You have two very cool daughters, Mrs. Rose.”

Anna laughs, high and musical. “Don’t I know
it,” she says. “And please, just call me Anna.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Anna,” I say, my
voice quivery. I just spoke confidently in front of every last one
of the moon dweller VPs and now I can barely string a sentence
together in front of Adele’s mom. I hope she doesn’t notice.

“Thank you both for what you’ve done for my
family, for my girls,” she says. “We owe you a lot.” The
conversation seems to just be bubbling along casually, like an
underground brook, and I haven’t said anything of substance,
anything that’s in my heart.

“Adele, I—” My mind is like an old chest,
full of odds and ends and balls of string, and I scrabble through
it, trying to find the right words—the
perfect
words. She’s
waiting for me, her head cocked slightly to one side, her
expression almost scared, like I might embarrass her in front of
her parents. “I’ve missed you,” I finish.

There’s silence and I’m afraid I’ve upped the
ante on awkwardness too far.

“And I’ve missed you, Tawni,” Roc says
quickly. I gape at him and then smile. Good old Roc. Elsey giggles.
Ben chuckles. Soon everyone’s laughing, except for Tawni—who’s
ultra-pale features have turned crimson—and Roc, who’s suddenly
found interest in a black mark on his left shoe.

The ice is broken—no thanks to me. Finally,
Tawni says, “I’ve missed you all,” very diplomatically, but I can
tell her eyes linger on Roc’s face slightly longer than the rest of
us.

“We might be able to see you all in person
soon though,” Adele says, her first words since the conversation
started.

My heart is thundering and I can’t hide my
excitement. “Really? When? How?”

Anna laughs again. “We’ll get to all that.
But first we need to get everyone up to speed.” The next hour is an
exchange of information. First Ben tells our story of escaping
subchapter 26 and our flight to the Resistance headquarters. Then
he talks about the political challenges we’re facing, the animosity
amongst the VPs, the pressure being added by President Nailin. When
he talks about my father, I look away, chew on the side of my
mouth. He doesn’t mention what my father told Roc and me.

When he’s done, I look back at the screen and
Adele’s eyes meet mine. My breath catches in my lungs and I feel
pulled toward her. I’d give anything to just hold her hand again,
like that night. I can almost feel the beautiful shivers in my arm,
caused by the simple act of her running her fingers up and down my
hand. Almost.

“What happened to you after we left, Adele?”
It’s my voice, but I didn’t plan on saying anything.

There’s no awkwardness between us anymore.
It’s like we’ve known each other for years. She recounts her story
as if she’s talking directly to me, and I find myself unable to
release her gaze. When she tells about the sun dweller soldiers
passing so close to where she and Tawni were hiding, I feel my
heart racing in my chest, hoping against hope that the next scene
isn’t one of violence. Thankfully, the sun dweller soldier passes
from the story like a wraith in the night.

I find myself gripping the table as she tells
of their bout with the Bat Flu and their unexpected awakening in
the Star Realm infirmary. When she finds her mother I feel tears in
my eyes, which I fight away. She finishes with, “We did it, Dad.”
She glances at Tawni and the two girls smile at each other with
purpose, like their bond has been forever strengthened by what
they’ve been through together.

“I knew you would, Adele,” Ben says, pride in
his eyes. His expression changes and he’s all business. “So you’re
telling me what Nailin is saying is true—that you’ve seen sun
dweller soldiers in the Moon Realm?”

Adele nods. “I swear it. But the generals
don’t believe us.”

“Don’t, or won’t?”

I miss the subtlety of the question, but Anna
nods in understanding. “I’m not sure and I may never know.”

“So what’s the plan? How do we find a
solution before the three-day”—Ben pauses, looks at the
ceiling—“make that two-and-a-half-day deadline?”

“We’re coming to the Moon Realm,” Anna says
firmly. There’s a twitch of excitement in my chest.

“Who?” I say.

“All three of us,” she replies, and I can’t
keep the grin off my face.