I walked to the back loading bay and took a break from life. We had forty minutes before we’d reach the field. All I could do was hope my jitters abated and wait.
I slumped against the space between two supply containers and buried my head in my arms, trying to digest everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. I’d almost died several times, lost my team, talked with an alien ghost, fallen in love with Sirius, and rescued my team back again. My mind was on overload, and I was subsisting on adrenaline alone.
Packages of soy wafers stared me in the face, but my stomach twisted like a tight knot, unable to hold a pea. Even one of the shriveled, nutrient-starved ones from the biodome.
Every time I closed my eyes, the arachnids crept through the shadows to drag me away. Their cold stares and the prying presence of the mother brain were branded in my memory forever. I’d never sleep again. Or I’d have to set my sleep pod to bright Old Earth sunlight and sleep with my eyes open all night long.
My locator beeped, and I checked the screen. Twenty messages. Thirteen were from Solar, five from Mom, one from Crophaven, and the last one took me by surprise. I stared at the sender wondering when he’d had the time to type anything besides Galaxy Battlefield commands.
Hercules Williams, named after the star constellation. My dad.
I decided to leave his message for last. Crophaven had asked me for a report sometime after the alien ship swallowed us whole. Mom and Solar had messaged me repeatedly, and I couldn’t bear to reply and see their faces in tears, so I deleted them. Crophaven would inform them of my status. With the aliens chasing us and the pod plants looming, I couldn’t talk to anyone from the ship. They’d ask me to come home and let Crophaven deal with it. They’d never understand.
Finally, I clicked on the message from Dad. I didn’t know what to expect. When his pale faced flashed on the screen, a mixture of resentment, anger and hope stirred in my gut. Why now? Had he lost his control stick?
I couldn’t deal with these feelings during the mission. My finger moved to shut it off, but the remorse in his watery eyes stopped me.
Dad cleared his throat like he hadn’t used his voice all day. “Nova, I just heard some giant alien craft swallowed your scout corsair over the jungle. Listen, Lucky Star, I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye. I thought it was some kind of routine training mission. I had no idea you’d be in danger.”
Lucky Star was the nickname he’d given me when we played video games together, because when I was beside him, he always seemed to win. I was his lucky star.
My heart wilted like a soggy lump in my chest. I couldn’t be angry with him. His face looked so haggard, so regretful. I’d never seen him like that before.
He rubbed his hands over his eyes. It was a practiced gesture he did when he stared at the screen for too long. In this case, he wiped away real tears. “I hope everything’s okay in there. Call home when you get a chance. Remember we love you.”
Had Mom slammed the news in his face? Or had he realized my dire situation all by himself? I imagined him coming out of his room to use the bathroom and asking, “Hey, anyone seen Nova?”
Did it matter? Dad was speaking to me, showing interest after years of neglect. All it took was for my life to be threatened.
You never appreciate what you have until it’s gone.
Right before Sirius fell, he’d recognized his true feelings for me. It was only after he fell I’d realized I had to have him back. So many dreadful moments, and they’d birthed such profound emotions.
The portal opened above me, and Gavin shuffled down the steps. He paused and whirled in a circle when he didn’t see me, so I spared him the moment of panic.
“I’m over here.”
Rounding the corner, he blinked when he saw my legs curled up against my chest, and averted his eyes, like I was naked. “Nova, sir. Um, I mean ma’am.”
I clicked off my locator. I couldn’t have Dad’s sorrowful face on my arm while I collected those pods. “For crying out loud, just call me Nova.”
Gavin nodded like a chastised child. “You okay?”
I rolled my eyes and forced myself up. My legs ached like elastics stretched too far. “I’m fine. What’s the matter?”
His eyes lost their apologetic shine and turned hard with determination. “We’re here.”