Beyond the Stars (31 page)

“No.” I bit my lip. I wanted to take in every part of him.

“Then, please, don’t say that. I just found you. If we weren’t supposed to meet …” he paused, “it
never
would have happened. I don’t care where you are from. I have never met anyone like you.”

“I feel the same about you. I have fallen in love with you.” I looked up at him and caressed his face. “But I don’t want to live on a Spaceship or Kataria forever,” I said sadly.

“Sami,” he groaned, “I would never ask that of you. I would follow
you
to the ends of the universe. I would do anything for you. Don’t you know that?”

“Gaelan, I never presumed that you would give up life as you know it for me.” He put his hand under my head and pulled my face closer to meet his.

“Who says I’m giving up anything?” He looked at me seductively before leaning in to kiss me. His touch could instantly make me lose my train of thought.

“Gaelan,” I pulled away, “there’s more. I almost forgot. Enos saw your bracelet on me and looked really upset by it.”

“He is
unbelievable
! Why can’t he mind his own business?” His eyes squinted. “I
never
should have agreed to let him come aboard. The other commanders and I only conceded because his father is one of the primary contributors to our expeditions. His father begged us to bring him along. He said he wanted to broaden him. I don’t think Enos even wanted to come. He doesn’t seem to know what he wants. He is completely clueless.” He huffed. I was pleasantly surprised to discover he shared my animosity towards Enos.

“Is he upset because I’m not Katarian? I’m guessing that the bracelet made the Dreons think I was, right?”

“Exactly.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I put it on you to make you look like one of us. I didn’t want them to know you are from Earth. I don’t think they would have given us time to explain why you are traveling with us. I feared that they would have taken you.”

“Why didn’t the Dreons realize I wasn’t Katarian when I spoke?”

“Well, our people have a theory on that. During one of our encounters, we accidentally discovered that most of the Dreons have very poor hearing. The ones that appear less human may even be completely deaf. Their interbreeding has given them the ability to understand many species on a deeper level. In other words, they feel what you are saying, not hear it. But their telepathy only seems to work if they are looking you directly in the eyes. We think, since they utilize their minds as their main mode of communication, biological advancement has caused them to lose their ability to verbally interpret speech. A natural occurrence of evolution—use it or lose it,” Gaelan explained.

“Hmm.” I pondered for a moment. “Well, what are the bracelets for?” I asked, trying to understand his culture.

“They are a display honoring our ancestors. We are given the bracelets at birth. Every family has a distinctive pattern encrusted in the metal. Only someone from Kataria could have one.”

“How do you get it off? I don’t even see the clasp,” I said faintly. I studied the metal band around my wrist while tracing its embossed swirls with my finger.

“Sami,
please
.” Gaelan grabbed my hand. “I would prefer that you would leave it on … for me. The Dreons are in the area. I saw them on our navigation. I want you to be safe in case we cross paths with them again. I can’t risk them taking you. I can’t lose you, not to
them!
” he said with his voice full of disgust.

“I see, only a Katarian is safe. So, me being from Earth, they could take me?”

“Yes, without a blink.” He snapped his fingers.

The conviction in his voice alarmed me. The thought of being taken by the Dreons gave me a lingering shiver. I felt scared just thinking about their paralyzing device. It was impossible to oppose. It was even freakier when the alien read my mind. I could never control my thoughts for an extended period of time. Maybe I should take on a Katarian name as well for the trip since Samantha seemed to draw unnecessary attention.

“Fine, I’ll leave it on,” I answered abruptly. “Can I keep it forever?” I joked.

“Yes, absolutely. Nothing would make me happier. I feel for you intensely.” His voice was filled with satisfaction as a smile lifted up the corners of his lips. He gently stroked his fingers under my chin and said, “If you want to wear it under your sleeve, I understand.”

“Sounds good to me. Can you make it invisible like the ship?” I teased as I pulled my shirt cuff down, covering the jewelry. “I really don’t want to make anyone else mad at me.”

“Understood.” He looked away. His expression turned into a frown after I probably reminded him of Enos. “What is your agreement with the Dreons, anyway?

Why don’t they bother you?” I asked.

“We devised an agreement to meet both of our needs and end the war.”

“You were at war with them?”

“Yes, unfortunately. We fought them about one hundred and ten years ago. Our weapons were not as powerful as theirs, but we managed to get their attention by the way of small victories. They sustained enough damage to their vessels that they decided to find another way to obtain their goal. They needed us. They were abducting our people to steal our genetic codes. It was a futile attempt to save their race. We suffered great losses. We needed them to stop blasting our planet and violating our people, so we negotiated an agreement that prevents them from abducting our people, in exchange for our DNA. It was the only way to ensure our safety at the time.”

“Why do they need your DNA? For experiments?”

“No, they are
dying
, and rightfully so
.
They brought it on themselves. They’ve committed obscene violations in the laws of creation. I think the universe is trying to take them out,” he said heartlessly.

“What did they do?” I asked as I pondered what he had meant by the laws of creation. Did he believe in a higher power or ethical boundaries?

“Who knows? We think they irreparably redesigned their genetics. It is alleged that they might have looked just like you and me at one time. In attempts to improve their physical and mental abilities, they purposely manipulated their genetic codes. To their dismay, they took it too far. Their additions permanently altered their chromosomes, creating a host of unforeseen problems. They lost their ability to reproduce, for one. Now, they have to grow their offspring in artificial wombs. And breeding with other species not only created characteristics that made them appear inhuman, it caused their cells to stop replicating and self-destruct at an accelerated rate. It has led them to suffer premature deaths and have sickly offspring. Their very existence teeters on extinction. Their will to survive has made them desperate and keeps them living in a vicious cycle. They live their lives repeating a harsh, never-ending lesson about not overly manipulating nature, but they are unable to see their errors of the past.”

“Do they have souls?” I asked.

“
Hmm?
” Gaelan looked at me without answering and wrinkled his brows. He exhaled and looked down at the floor as he thought. The blood seemed to drain from his face as though my question had made him ill. I decided not to repeat myself.

“How does your agreement work?”

“We agreed to provide them with fresh samples from our people once a year in exchange for a promise that they will never take a Katarian again. But, in my opinion, we negotiated out of fear,” he said with resentment.

“What do they do with the samples?”

“They crossbreed with our people. They mix our chromosomes with theirs. Our potential children become half-Dreon. Then, they use them as drones and continue the process. The very thought of it makes me sick.” Gaelan squeezed his hands into fists as he shifted his body into a forward lunge. “I would like to put an end to the agreement. It needs to be stopped. I think our weapons could defeat them now. We’ve advanced immeasurably since the war.” Gaelan raised his voice. “Their thirst for survival consumes them. I think their defense systems have become archaic while they have been so busy concentrating on their continued existence. No one wants to test the theory, though. Of course, then
nothing
changes, so here we are trying to keep the peace with the filthy, revolting bugs after all these years.” He huffed in aggravation.

“If you knew you could win, would you start a war with them?” I asked hypothetically.

“Probably
not
… not at home, anyway.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, I think we would be successful. Our ship’s lasers can obliterate matter with a single strike. But it’s pointless. Our people believe that all of our actions will be reciprocated in some form. War is ugly. We try to use it defensively. There is a fine line in trying to achieve a desired outcome and blatant assault. Don’t misunderstand me—we would engage in battle if it were necessary. We will protect ourselves and others from needless suffering, but the intention must be clear. We would need proof that they broke our arrangement and that the safety of our people was being threatened,” he said in a dark tone.

I thought about his words. They haunted me. I could never bear having children I did not know, even if they were only half mine, being born into slavery. I felt his frustration. I admired his bravery in considering challenging the old arrangement. Our silence broke when my stomach growled loudly.

“Sami, I’m sorry. I did not realize that you haven’t eaten! Ahh, I got all carried away with setting our course and dealing with those absurd rumors.”

“I forgot myself. Are you sure it’s safe to leave the room?” I asked sheepishly. I was in no hurry to see anyone else.

“You’ll be fine. I promise. Come on, get dressed. We can get something to eat at the club.”

CHAPTER 21

AMENDS

The club was a place the crew went for mingling and relaxing. It was dark and had music, just like our nightclubs. Soft black sofas were arranged in groups surrounding a central bar. I was only there a few times, because my weakened condition prevented me from going after that. Gaelan said he only went on occasion because he liked to spend most of his free time charting routes, exercising, or reading.

“Sami!” Karis ran up to me when we walked through the door. Noah followed behind her. They were there with Azil and Zaric.

“Hi, Karis,” I replied cautiously.

“I am so sorry for what I said about you earlier. Urit explained that strange thing you did to Tyden. Sami, it really shocked me when you put your lips on his and he woke up. I had no idea that was even possible. Please, Sami, will you forgive me?”

“Of course I will, Karis. No harm done,” I assured her. I looked over her shoulder at Noah. He was trying not to laugh. Apparently, he found her naivety amusing.

“Sami, you know I’ve been on Earth too long. I didn’t expect such an exaggerated reaction to CPR.” Noah shrugged his shoulders.

“I hear you.”

“Sami,” Azil yelled out to us from their seats across the room. We all walked over to join her and Zaric sitting on a sofa. “Are you all right?” She motioned for me to sit by her. I sunk down into the soft sofa next to her. “I heard about your adventurous day on Decca,” she said. She stroked my back in a mothering manner.

“Yes, it was maybe a little too exciting.”

“I hate that place,” she confided.

“I can see why,” I replied.

Azil nodded. “Zaric told me how you risked your life to save Tyden. He said you were incredible, that you didn’t even hesitate,” she said kindly.

“Yes, guilty.”

Zaric leaned around Azil to look me in the eyes. “Sami, your bravery was admirable. And, hey, you must forget what Enos said.” He twisted his nose and mouth in a nasty expression to look like Enos. “My mind is polluted with misery,” Zaric grumbled in a perfect imitation of Enos’s persnickety voice. “And sometimes it just reaches a boiling point where the poison has nowhere to go but to escape out of my mouth. Please—just ignore him—everything is understood.” Gaelan and Azil burst out laughing at Zaric’s impression of Enos.

“Thank you,” I murmured. Having my friend’s acceptance put me at ease.

“Besides, we’ve all had expeditions go far worse,” Azil said, trying to downplay the events of the day.

“Really? Like what?” I asked.

The group answered in unison, “Contora,” before they broke out in roaring laugher.