Starfall: A Starstruck Novel (37 page)

He stood. “Indeed. By now, I trust everyone has seen the raw data from the tests performed last night on the nature of the purported
graell
bond between the Sovereign and Rigel Stuart?”

Everyone nodded. Some now looked wary and I even detected traces of fear from the Council members physically present.

“As they appear to have developed a joint ability to create extremely dangerous static discharges, I feel this Council should discuss the ramifications of that discovery. In particular, we must find a way to control this ability in order to ensure the safety of both the
Echtran
and
Duchas
populations
.
”

“Agreed,” Connor said. “Until they can reliably prevent such an occurrence, it’s clear that those two should keep their distance from each other.” There were murmurs of agreement.
 

I jumped to my feet. “What? No! Rigel and I have always been able to do what we did last night, it’s just stronger now. But we’ve never done it unless we were directly threatened. It doesn’t just happen randomly.”

“And yet last night you were able to produce enough electricity to kill when simply requested to do so. No threat was present at your home, was there?” Connor asked Mr. Stuart, who reluctantly shook his head.

I glared at Connor. “Of course there wasn’t. But we had to
imagine
one before we could create that energy bolt. The first time Blair asked us to, nothing happened.
Because
we weren’t threatened. Or didn’t you read that part of the report?”
 

He shifted his gaze away from mine. “That isn’t the point, Excellency. The risks—”

“Are practically nonexistent,” I insisted, despite how unnerved Rigel and I had both been last night. “If anything, this ability makes Rigel a better Bodyguard for me than anyone else could possibly be—though Cormac has been great.”

They all started arguing, talking over each other, some insisting it was still too risky while others agreed I made a good point. Finally Kyna took charge again.
 

“I believe this discussion should be tabled until more research can be done. At the very least, we need to allow Blair and his colleagues to finish tabulating the data and determine whether further tests might be necessary.”

“Yes, please!” Nara exclaimed. “I’m the one who requested this research be done in the first place and the Scientists involved were very happy to have the chance. I refuse to have the Sovereign
punished
for agreeing!”

The Royals still looked dubious. “Even so, I’m not certain—” Breann began, when Kyna held up a hand.

“Excuse me. I’m receiving another call from Ennis. I’ll return in a moment.” Her image blinked out.

We all sat around uncomfortably, the room still fraught with tension. A mixture of indignation and fear emanated from Breann, Malcolm and Mrs. O’Gara, while Mr. Stuart felt defensive and embarrassed. Though I couldn’t read their emotions, Connor clearly shared the other Royals’ feelings, while Nara was still visibly distressed.
 

Suddenly, Kyna was back.
 

“I’ve just received word that a Nuathan telescope has indeed discovered a ship on the far side of the moon. Its sophisticated cloaking technology, more advanced than our own, made detection extremely difficult, despite the fact that it is nearly a mile in diameter. Excellency, it appears you were correct. The Grentl are here. And there’s more.”

“More?” Mrs. O’Gara’s voice shook slightly.

Kyna nodded grimly. “The Grentl ship has begun launching dozens, perhaps hundreds of smaller objects. It was the release of those objects that allowed the Nuathan orbital telescope to pinpoint the exact location of the, ah, mother ship. I believe it is safe to say we have an emergency situation on our hands.”

Terror, mine and everyone else’s, crowded out every other emotion in the room, terror so palpable I found it hard to breathe.
 

We were right,
I sent frantically to Rigel, five miles away
. The Grentl are definitely here—with an enormous ship!

I should be with you,
he sent back.
I can tell you’re scared…

I was. I was terrified. But I was still the first one to find my voice.

“Let’s…let’s not panic, not yet. Not before I figure out why they’re here, what they plan to do. I should use the device again—that’s how I found out they were behind the moon. Maybe if I get Rigel to strengthen me first…”
 

“No, Excellency, it’s too dangerous,” Kyna declared. “Remember what that device did to Faxon? We can’t afford to lose you at a time like this.”
 

“What am I good for, if not this?” I demanded. “It’s why I needed to get Acclaimed so quickly, remember? Because I’m the only one who can talk to the Grentl.”

Mr. Stuart spoke up for the first time since the meeting began. “You’ve been good for far more than that, Excellency. Your very existence was instrumental in Faxon’s overthrow, and your Acclamation has gone a long way toward restoring stability to the Nuathan government and confidence in its people. Since then, you have done great good by convincing our people to begin emigrating to Earth.”
 

“All true,” Breann agreed. “Pray do not sell yourself short, Excellency. I agree with Kyna that we should not allow you to put yourself at risk. Quinn O’Gara reported that your earlier sessions with the device were at the very least traumatic.”

Irritation now warred with my fear. “It can be exhausting, yes, but they’ve never injured me in any way. How else are we going to figure out what they’re up to? Just…wait until they do something?”

Nobody seemed to like that option much, either. Much fearful muttering ensued before Kyna again put a stop to it.
 

“What exactly do you suggest, Excellency?”

“Let me use the device again, with Rigel right beside me. Only…Molly’s closet is kind of small. I should probably do this someplace safer anyway, just, you know, in case.”

Kyna nodded thoughtfully. “A good point. Apart from concerns for your safety should the Grentl, ah, retaliate via their device, those nearby might conceivably be at risk as well, not to mention the danger of discovery by the
Duchas.
The O’Garas’ house is in a rather densely populated area of Jewel, as I recall.”

“How about Rigel’s house? Um, if that would be okay, I mean?” I turned belatedly to Mr. Stuart.

“Ariel and I would be honored,” he said. Then, to the rest of the Council, “We have no neighbors within half a mile to notice or be endangered by anything the Grentl might do via their device. Which, of course, I very much hope they won’t, for the Sovereign’s sake.”

“For all our sakes,” Kyna said dryly. “Very well, unless anyone has a better suggestion?” She looked around at the frightened Council members, who all either shrugged or shook their heads. “Any further delay at this point seems unwise. I recommend the device be moved immediately, after which we will reconvene at the Stuarts’ house so that the Sovereign can attempt communication.”

With my help.
Rigel was now monitoring every word through me.
 

Just having you there with me will be a help,
I assured him. His presence, his touch, was bound to enhance anything I did.

Aunt Theresa wasn’t expecting me home before nine-thirty, which gave us more than two hours. Mr. O’Gara offered to pick up a few pizzas along the way, since nobody had eaten dinner yet, while Mr. Stuart and Malcolm packed the Grentl device into an innocuous-looking box and carried it out to the Stuarts’ SUV.
 

Half an hour later the Council—physical and holographic—stood in a big circle around the device, which now crouched on the Stuarts’ coffee table. That circle also included Mr. O and Dr. Stuart. Sean and Molly were here as well. They’d begged to come along, with the stakes this high, and everyone on the Council had been too distracted to forbid it.

“I do wish I were there in person.” Kyna stared at the device in fascination. “It’s far smaller than I imagined.”

“I thought the same thing, the first time I saw it. So, um, I guess I should do this, huh?” Having all these people watching would make this weird. Weirder than usual, that is.

Rigel wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “How can I help?”

I circled his waist with my own arm, pulling him closer. “The way you always do.” I took several deep breaths, concentrating on soaking up all the strength and confidence from Rigel’s touch that I could.

“Not while you’re touching the device, though, right?” Sean frowned, worried and slightly jealous. “Remember what Eric Eagan said?”
 

Nodding, I let go of Rigel and moved out from under his arm. “Good point. Okay, you should all probably keep your distance. Just in case.”
 

Everyone but Rigel and the holograms took a step backward and I took one forward. Positioning my hands above the copper projections, I braced myself and took hold. Again, nothing happened, and again, I didn’t wait for it to. I needed to get all the information I could while I was still strengthened by Rigel’s touch—preferably before the Grentl noticed me.

Unfortunately, they were much quicker on the uptake this time. I’d barely brought the moon and Earth into mental focus again when the prongs warmed in my hands and I felt them probing at me. Again I resisted, but either they were trying harder or I wasn’t nearly as strong as I’d hoped. In less than a minute I felt myself sweating and shaking. I was either going to have to give in and let them do their brain-sucking thing or let go—which would be the same as giving up.
 

As my resistance weakened, I felt them pulling out memories of what I’d done on Nuath since the last time I’d “talked” to them: Shim’s appointment as Regent, my going from town to town talking up emigration…
 

Suddenly, the series of images stopped—and I simultaneously became aware of Rigel’s hand on my forearm.

Together. We’ll do this together,
he thought firmly to me. Too startled—and relieved—to argue, I nodded and tightened my grip on the prongs.
 

Now, with Rigel’s help, I had no trouble at all resisting the Grentl’s pull at my mind. Scrunching my face in concentration, I pushed outward again, determined to probe them instead. The Earth and moon snapped back into focus, then I found myself
inside
the Grentl ship, inside the Grentl’s very thoughts. In a blindingly fast kaleidoscope of images, concepts and emotions, I absorbed their entire appalling plan, along with the reason for it. The moment I was sure I had it all, I jerked my hands away from the copper prongs, breaking the connection and collapsing into Rigel’s waiting arms.

“Are you okay? You did it!” he murmured into my ear, his cheek pressed against mine.
 

Still shaking, overwhelmed by the experience, I nodded. “
We
did it. But… Oh, Rigel!”

His arms tightened around me as we shared our mutual horror at the enormity of what we’d just learned. For a long moment we clung to each other, drawing what comfort we could. Then, slowly, I became aware of everyone in the room watching us.
 

“Oh. Um.”

I felt myself reddening as we broke apart, but Rigel kept a firm grip on one of my hands as he led me to the couch, where he could sit beside me while I faced the others. “You’d…better tell them,” he said.
 

“You learned something?” Kyna’s image leaned forward eagerly. “You were actually communicating all that time?”

“How long?” I glanced curiously at Rigel, who shrugged, then at Sean.

“About twenty minutes this time.”
 

I wasn’t too surprised after my previous experiences with the Grentl, but Rigel was.
I’ll explain about that later,
I promised. Then, to Kyna, “I learned…everything. What they plan to do, how they plan to do it, and…why.”

“They actually
told
you all that?” Connor sounded disbelieving.

“Not exactly by choice,” Rigel said. “Right, M?”

“Right. I explained in my reports how the Grentl get information from us, by extracting memories through the device. They started to do that again just now but when Rigel touched me I was not only able to resist, I managed to reverse it—do to them what they’ve always done to me. I got memories, intentions, thoughts, everything.”

“And?” Kyna demanded impatiently.
 

“It’s still sort of unpacking itself in my brain, but it’s…not good.” I leaned back against the cushions. Rigel’s hand in mine was helping a lot but I still felt drained—and scared.
 

Rigel took up the explanation. “Once it started, it was sort of like…receiving a zipped computer file. It might take her a while to, um, unzip all the details.”

Kyna was clearly trying to rein in her frustration. “Can you tell us what you
do
know, Excellency? What do they intend to do with those smaller craft they’re launching? While you were, ah, communing with the Grentl, Ennis received another message from Nuath. Those craft now definitely number in the hundreds.”

“Seven hundred and twenty, to be exact.” The number popped into my mind, one of many details that were starting to come clear. “And they’re not craft, exactly, not with pilots. They’re satellites. Over the next four days, they’ll take up evenly-spaced positions all around the Earth. Then, once they’re in place, the Grentl plan to…to zap us all back to the Stone Age. It will be like a Carrington Event on steroids.”

“A what?” Connor exclaimed. “I’m afraid I don’t understand, Excellency.”
 

I’d assumed even Royals would know about an astrophysical phenomenon like that, but apparently not. “Basically, a huge EMP. Electromagnetic pulse,” I clarified when he still looked confused. Really? This guy was on the
Echtran
Council? I’d learned this stuff in eighth grade—though not, technically, in school.

“Surely you learned about this in elementary astrophysics, Connor?” Kyna also wore a rather condescending expression.