"All clear," the armored guard said, waving them forward. His grip on his weapon was tight, ready for any trouble. Behind his helmet's visor, he searched for any potential targets.
Cecilia stood stock-still, heart thundering in her chest. Behind her, Prince Imrele was calm, his eyes alert for trouble. He was the only Ectutai unmasked, his helmet still in the armory. His courage astounded Cecilia. She wondered how anyone kept cool with an alien monster stalking them.
"Okay, forward," Prince Imrele whispered. He shot Cecilia a winning smile. "Don't worry, the launch bay isn't far. We'll let my brother distract the intruder."
Voice caught in her throat, Cecilia only managed a muttered nod. Their steps were quiet but resolute as they marched forward. Their party totaled seven, each well-armed. Even the prince had a weapon, a light pistol he'd pulled from his suit. He held it with a practiced ease, calm despite the danger.
"Okay. You can do it, Cecilia. You can finally disprove one of your visions!" she thought. Considering how close they were to escaping, he might be right. The Akashic Records had erred, for once. Still, tension tightened in her throat, making it difficult to breathe.
One guard gave her arm a comforting squeeze. While a mask hid his face, Cecilia sensed his reassuring smile. "Not far, miss. Stay close." His words relaxed her somewhat, and she nodded.
Then violence stole the peace as gunfire roared in the distance. It was erratic, followed by indistinct voices. The guards around Cecilia took position, watchful for any trouble. Then the gunfire ceased, followed by deafening silence.
"Brother, report." Imrele whispered into his comm. They waited in tense silence. Moments passed, but the prince got no reply. He tried again, to similar results.
"Oh no. It got Hallfar," Cecilia thought, dread seizing her chest.
When Imrele noticed her expression, he gave her a reassuring smile. "My brother isn't that easy to kill. He's known as the Red Dog on the battlefield. Regardless, we can't worry about him now. We need to get you to safety. Let's get moving. We can learn what happened later."
"Get me to safety? But it's you the Altair's after!" she thought. But Cecilia didn't argue, giving a weak nod.
They continued in silence, Cecilia wincing at each step. They sounded like thunderclaps on the metal floor in the hallway's stillness. Cecilia didn't even dare to breathe, fearing it would give their position away.
Relief flooded into her as a familiar sign came into view. It hung next to a doorway much wider than most on the ship. While its alien script was unreadable to her, its meaning was obvious. This led into a hanger.
The somewhat narrow corridors opened into an expansive room, its ceiling reaching almost three times Cecilia's height. Cargo containers sat in neat rows, each with a brightly lit panel. A lift led to a second floor above them. But what caught Cecilia's attention was the shuttle sitting on a landing platform. It was similar to the shuttle she'd used earlier, but bulker in frame. She guessed it was more intended for cargo rather than passengers.
There was a second shuttle, but it had a blue tarp draped over it. A screen flickered across an open expanse that led into open space. It still disconcerted Cecilia that a single shield kept them from being blown out into the void.
"Start the ship, Janus," the captain of their group said. "We'll keep you covered out here."
"Good plan," Prince Imrele said, nodding. One soldier split off from them, heading toward the waiting shuttle.
"How long until the shuttle's ready to start?" Cecilia asked, shooting a nervous look around them.
"About five minutes," the captain said. "Don't worry, miss. We'll be out of here soon."
"That cargo shuttle isn't pretty, but it'll get us where we need to go," Prince Imrele said. "We'll orbit the ship until my brother gives the all-clear."
Behind them, the soldier accessed a waiting panel, and the shuttle whooshed open. He rushed inside, leaving the door open.
"Still no word from Prince Hallfar." Behind his helmet, Cecilia sensed the squad leader's hard frown.
The seconds stretched into forever as they waited for the pilot's signal. Then Janus waved the all-clear. Cecilia sighed in relief and made her way toward the shuttle.
A sudden tug at her collar saved her.
A shape zipped past her, its claws tearing deep grooves into the metal plating below. Cecilia's breath caught. It was the monster from her vision. Every detail of its alien form was exactly as she'd seen it. Its size towered over them, even the Ectutai in their battle armor. It growled, showing rows of seemingly endless, saw-like teeth.
The soldiers stared for a second at the sight of an abomination that shouldn't exist in their universe, a mockery of any natural creature. Then they regained their senses and fired on the monster with their laser weapons. As Cecilia expected, the shots had little effect. Even Prince Ectutai's skillful shots at its exposed kneecaps bore little results. She winced as a claw smacked aside the nearest soldier like so much garbage. It tore into the helpless soldiers with surprising, liquid grace, something that shouldn't be possible for a creature that size.
Cecilia stood frozen, too frightened to move.
"Run!"
A hand grabbed her arm, and Prince Imrele tugged her after him. Cecilia snapped back to her senses and ran with everything she had. They rushed up a catwalk into a maintenance area. Behind them, soldiers fought in vain, giving their lives so their prince might escape.
Escape happened in a rush, each element unfolding like her vision in perfect recall, right down to the dust on neglected wall panels. Cecilia found herself going through the motions, every word felt like it'd be spoken by someone else. It was like she was experiencing a waking dream, every action already predetermined for her.
"No," Cecilia croaked as the escape pod shot from the Velgr. The prince's reassuring smile would haunt her forever. Why had he freely sacrificed himself when he'd known what would happen? She wasn't worth it. She was no one.
Misery became her companion as she hated everything she was. Why grant her visions if she could not prevent them? She really was a freak—a monster.
Her pod flew deeper into the darkness of space as Cecilia hugged her knees, choking on broken sobs.
///
The final buzz of the bell marked the end of the school day. Rose gathered her textbooks and shoved them into her book bag. She frowned as she spotted the empty seat Vera usually occupied. Even after days, her friend still had answered none of her texts. Where was she, Siberia?
More unusually, Cecilia was missing too. Rose supposed this wasn't a big surprise. She'd had a date with Prince Imrele last night, and Rose figured she was still hanging out on his alien ship. Rose's texts there had also gotten no reply, but this wasn't a huge surprise. Alien spaceships likely didn't get reception. Still, it was strange she'd missed the school day. Prince Imrele was a gentleman of high breeding. He'd have her back home by curfew.
Disquiet gathered in Rose's belly, but she pushed it down, determined not to get upset over nothing. Still, she'd talk with Sandage and see if he knew where Cecilia was. She was due for her daily training session at the LUVOLT base, anyway.
"Still no reply," Rose said as she rode in the back seat of her bodyguard's car. While Cecilia wasn't great at texting, she usually gave a prompt response. She still hadn't returned to earth yet? "What do you think, Mr. Brown? Have you heard anything?"
"No," Brown said from the driver's seat, a frown on his hard face. "They've been quiet."
Rose's disquiet grew to alarm as they entered the LUVOLT facility. A tension hung in the air, many of its staff failing to hide their concern. She shared a look with Mr. Brown and headed to Sandage's office. Her fist had barely touched his door before he invited her inside.
"I suppose you want to know what's going on," Sandage looked terrible as he sipped his coffee. It looked like he hadn't even gotten any sleep last night.
"Did something happen to Cecilia?" Rose asked.
"She's fine," Sandage said, quick to ease her fears. Rose released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "She's currently at the US embassy in Istanbul."
"Turkey?" Rose blinked in confusion. "Why is she there? Why didn't Prince Imrele bring her back to the US?"
Sandage blew out a breath, steadying himself. "The Altair attacked the Ectutai's mothership. The details are a little scant. They haven't told us much beyond that. From what I understand, they're still settling things up there."
"Oh no," Rose's heart thundered in her chest. How? Had the Altair somehow snuck onto the ship? "But why is Cecilia in Turkey?"
"She was shot from the Velgr in an escape pod. It landed in Turkey last night. She's still pretty shaken up about the incident. Hasn't talked much about what happened. She's due to arrive back home tomorrow, then we'll have a full debriefing."
"What can I do?" Rose said, her voice full of determination. "Should we shoot the Luyten V into space?"
"No, no," Sandage shook his head. "That's far beyond our current capabilities. Besides, the Ectutai want to handle it. Best let them do it unless they ask for our help."
"Okay." Rose wasn't happy, but she'd wait. "Can I talk to Cecilia?" The government types must have her phone. They likely wanted to keep the Altair attack on the Ectutai secret until they knew more.
"Yeah, sure," Sandage said, nodding. "Hearing a friendly voice will help, though it's about midnight their time."
Rose waited as Sandage connected the line, speaking hurriedly to some official. Cecilia took the call almost immediately afterwards. Despite the last hour in Turkey, Cecilia still wasn't asleep? That wasn't good. The poor girl probably looked terrible. Sandage gave Rose the thumbs-up when he handed over his phone.
"Hey," Rose wasn't sure what else to say.
"Hey," Cecilia's voice sounded ragged, almost inaudible. It was clear she'd been crying for hours.
"I heard what happened. I'm so sorry." It sounded lame to Rose's ears, but she had to say something.
"They got him," Cecilia replied, her voice raspy. "Oh, Rose. They got him."
"Who?"
"Prince Imrele. He couldn't have survived. He threw his life away for nothing," Cecilia said, not hiding her bitterness. "It wasn't like you. There was nowhere he could have gone. No heroes. Nothing."
"Cecilia, please slow down." Rose took a breath. "Tell me what happened."
Much to her annoyance, Sandage mouthed for her to put the call on speaker. While annoyed with the breach of privacy, Rose complied. It took a few seconds, but Cecilia composed herself enough to speak.
"We had dinner together. His brother, Hallfar, joined us." CCC said, but Rose interrupted her.
"Who?" Rose asked. There was more Ectutai royalty in their system? Sandage only gave her a shrug. This was news to him too.
"Oh, right. You don't know about that yet. Uh, Prince Hallfar arrived in the system earlier yesterday. He wanted Prince Imrele to explain himself about why he was interfering with our planet."
"Oh." That was a surprise. Rose remembered something about Prince Imrele breaking a prime directive when he revealed the existence of his race to humanity. Things must be complicated back in the Ectutai's republic.
"We were enjoying ourselves until I had another vision. In it, an Altair attacked us. He cornered us in a bay with escape pods. The idiot prince chose me—some freak girl—over himself to save. The Altair attacked him as I was blasted into space from the ship."
"Cecilia," Rose hardly had words. Not only did Cecilia blame herself for the prince's death, but she hated herself for it. "It's not your fault. The Altair is the one to blame."
"It doesn't matter," Cecilia replied bitterly. "The other prince is dead too. He went off to hunt the Altair on the ship after I told him about my vision, but we lost total contact with him. That's when it attacked us next."
Sandage's breath caught at this news. Two royal princes dead? This sounded like an utter disaster. He wanted to say something, but held back, allowing Rose to control the conversation.
"Yeah, it's a real mess down here too. We're waiting for the Ectutai to clear the situation before getting any news." Rose pondered what her friend had told her. "It's probably not as dire as you fear. You thought I was doomed too, yet I recovered." It had been a harrowing experience, but she'd survived. Rose unconsciously touched her red eye. Not untouched, but alive.
"Luck runs out, Rose. It always runs out."
"We make our own luck," Rose replied, her voice filled with determination. "Mr. Sandage says you'll be back home tomorrow. Still, Turkey—that's cool. What's it like?"
"I don't know. I haven't really been sightseeing." Her friend sounded beaten down, like her only companion had been her misery since her escape from the Ectutai ship.
"But it's so cool, though. Think you might get me a souvenir?"
"You want a souvenir?" Cecilia said, surprised. The lighthearted request was completely contrary to the serious situation. It was why Rose had made it.
"If you travel, why not? My grandfather on my father's side loves to travel. He's given me so many little baubles over the years. I find them fun." They were still stored in her room's closet somewhere.
This didn't quite earn a laugh from Cecilia, but her mood had improved somewhat. "For you, Rose, sure."
"We'll get through this, Cecilia. I'm here for you, always. Mr. Sandage and Brown too," Rose spoke from the heart. Her friend didn't deserve this. The Altair would pay for this. Their list of outrages grew daily. "And try to get some rest, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Cecilia replied, tired.
"Night."
"Night," Cecilia hung up.
"You handled that well," Sandage said, nodding his approval. Brown smiled at her like a proud older brother.
"Did I?" Rose wasn't so sure, but she had cheered up her friend.
"Still, what a disaster. If we lost both princes…" Sandage shook his head. "No, we know nothing yet. We'll just have to wait. Still, poor girl. Her visions have only tormented her."
"Yeah." It hurt Rose's heart to hear her friend so pessimistic, so defeated. In Cecilia's mind, the future was inescapable. But that couldn't be right. Rose had changed the future. Her future self had proven this. That had to mean something.
"Sir!" An agent burst into the room. His face was flushed.
"Yes?" Sandage asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A ship just landed on our front lawn. It's someone who claims to be a Prince Hallfar. He's meeting with Director Shapley right now. The director is asking for both of you."
Rose shared a look with Sandage. She tensed, wondering what news he had to bring. "They want to talk with me?"
"Let's not keep them waiting, then," Sandage said, already leaving the room.
Rose followed behind him. Whatever had happened, they'd soon learn the truth.