Eye on Orion (9 page)

I stared at him as he spoke. The hopes and dreams I'd had as a little girl, of knowing there was life on other planets, were confirmed here and now. I was holding hands and talking with someone from across the universe. “I knew there had to be other worlds out there.”

Jai smiled and squeezed my hand. “Your most powerful telescopes and satellites have been able take pictures of galaxies across the entire universe, but they are thirteen billion light years away. Your scientists figure it has taken more than thirteen point five billion years to create the universe. You are only learning about what happened when the light first left those stars. Our galaxy is nine billion light years away. Therefore, you are seeing us as we looked nine billion years ago. Some day when your technology increases, and your understanding of the universe expands, you will be able to see our galaxy as it is today. Just as we discovered yours.” He squeezed my hand briefly and let go of it. I missed that connection when it was gone.

“Why did you come here? How did you get here?” I asked. “Has your planet discovered how to travel faster than the speed of light? I mean nine billion light years…”

“We came here to protect Amira's life,” Jai said.

“Why is Amira in danger?” I asked, looking over at her. “What was your vision about?”

Amira closed her eyes and shook her head.

Jai smiled tenderly at Amira. “Amira's father is the current ruler of our planet. Amira is one of the youngest to be considered for the office of queen because her father became ill a few years ago. When King Chark could no longer fulfill his duties completely, his counselor Shander started doing little things to undermine the government. Then publicly he stepped in to repair the problems he created. No one paid much attention at first, but eventually some began noticing a correlation. We believe he hoped the people would vote him in as the new ruler, stopping the passage of power from following the birth-line.

“When Amira's father learned about what he had done, he confronted Shander and put a stop to it. Shander talked his way out of it and the king merely put him on probation. I do not understand why he did not banish him from the government.” The annoyance in Jai's voice surprised me.

Amira looked at Jai. “Father hoped he would be sorry for what he had done and wanted to give him another chance.”

“Well, that second chance gave him the idea to try to kidnap you. He wanted to take you as his queen to become king through you,” he reminded her.

“He wanted to marry you?” I asked Amira, disturbed at the idea.

“Yes.” She shuddered.

“The plot was foiled, and the king finally banished Shander and sent Amira into hiding,” Jai said with a nod, giving me the impression he agreed with the king's actions. “Some of his loyal scientists had discovered a way to travel far distances without ships. They already knew much about the planets in our universe. We knew Earth had many similarities, yet is far enough away Shander would never think to search for us here. Your scientists were not as advanced in the knowledge of the universe. Therefore, would not know of us yet. We could hide here without fear of Shander knowing our location.”

“Won't Shander find out you're here eventually? I asked.

“It is always a possibility, but we hope not,” he said. “Travel without ships was only recently discovered and limited in availability. King Chark started rumors that he sent Amira to a planet in our galaxy. He even sent multiple ships out as decoys. Our ships are able to move faster than the speed of light, but not fast enough to traverse the universe. If Shander sent ships to try to come here, if they discovered our presence, it would take thousands of years.”

So they didn't come here in the normal way of spaceships. If you could call space travel normal. It was sounding stranger and stranger all the time, but I still felt he told the truth.

Jai looked over at Amira as he continued. “There is no way to know for sure, but I hope the scientists will send him to one of the other planets and not let him know about the discovery of this new way of Travel.”

Amira replied, “I cannot hope or even want the scientists to allow their families to be injured to protect my secret. I would not hold them responsible for giving Shander the information he wants.”

“How do you travel without ships? How fast can you go?” I had so many questions that it was hard to wait for him to give me the answers.

“It is done through the mind,” he said. “You are matter, as is everything in the universe, with a lot of empty space out there too. You have to understand the way matter interacts with other matter.” Gesturing with his hands, he continued, “You bend your matter around that of the universe. If you know the precise location you want to go, it is easy.”

Amira said, “It also requires an ore found on our planet refined in a special way. The ore is made into a dense metal that helps us hold our matter in close to ourselves. That way we can travel at the speed of thought without losing part of ourselves in the matter of the universe.”

“Do you have it with you?” I asked.

“Amira wears one around her neck. I have one attached to a woven band on my wrist. We call it a Traveling medallion.” Jai and Amira showed them to me.

The mystery of the matching jewelry solved.

“If we lose it, then anyone who finds it can use it if they know the way it works. It only allows Travel twice though. We used it one time to come here. The second use will be to return home. Kind of like your roundtrip ticket.” He smiled at his attempt at humor. I smiled in return.

“Can you use it to go somewhere else besides back to your planet?”

“As long as we knew the precise location of where we wanted to go, yes. But we would be stranded in that location with no other way to Travel,” Jai said.

“So if you go home, you'll never be able to come back here?” I asked.

“Not unless we find more of the ore to make more medallions.” Jai frowned. “With all the testing to see how it worked, there is little left.”

“How did you know where to come here?” It was hard for me to wrap my mind around the whole thing, but it sounded like something wonderful if it was real.

“There had been tests done throughout our galaxy to find another planet with the right specifications. That's how they learned many of the limits of Traveling. Since nothing in our galaxy fit, we soon started looking in other places. The king sent some loyal friends to come on an experiment trip to see if they could get here, blend in, set up a home, and then come back to our planet and report.”

“Your parents, I mean, Marshal and Delilah are from there too, right? Are they the ones who came here first?”

Jai nodded. “Yes, some of them. Marshal has a talent with computers and technological understanding. He is able to figure out your technologies with almost no effort. He keeps tabs on out of the ordinary information, monitoring whether your scientists or government are aware of us at all. Delilah's talent is to find precious metals. She is here to find the same kind of ore our Traveling medallions are made of. There was a higher probability, given your planet's composition, that Earth would have the same ore.

“Has she found any?” I asked.

“No, but she has found gold and silver and some rare gems to finance our stay here,” Amira said.

“The man we spent time with in Europe is also from our planet,” Jai said. “His name is Ramal, and his talent is to learn languages. He came here to read, listen, and observe for a while. He soon knew enough of your languages to teach us.”

“That's why you guys talk differently,” I said.

“We talk different?” Amira asked, glancing at Jai with concern on her face.

“Not in a bad way. You have a slight accent I've never been able to place, and you always talk so formally,” I said.

“We will need to be more careful. Perhaps you can give us some instructions on how to blend in better?” Amira asked.

“Sure, but later. Tell me more about this,” I said, circling my hand to encompass the two of them and the sky.

“Two others came as well, but they returned to report Earth as a good place for us to come,” Jai said. “They gave us the instructions and the information on where to come and how to find those who were here.”

“How will you know when it is safe to return?”

“King Chark will send one back to retrieve us,” Jai said. “They saved two additional medallions as backups to come for us when it is safe to return. Whoever comes will be able to find Ramal. He has a tracking device he keeps with him. Ramal will give them the information on how to find us here.”

This was a lot of information to take in, but it made sense. I knew there was something different about them from the first time we met. No wonder Marshal had been able to turn off the light. I'd noticed little things they said and did that were different from others. I'd always prided myself on my ability to read people, but I wouldn't have ever made the leap to being from another planet.

“What is the name of your planet?” I asked.

“Rommader,” Amira said.

I looked into space and asked, “Where up there would I look for Rommader if I did have a strong-enough telescope?”

“It is in the direction of Orion,” Jai said.

“Is that why Orion is your favorite?” I asked, remembering the night we watched the stars on my roof.

“Partly, but I kind of like it anyway,” he admitted. “I like the way it looks. The three main stars lined up like that sort of speak to me for some reason.”

“I'm going to have to keep my eye on Orion,” I said to myself, knowing I wouldn't be able to see it for another few months.

We were so far apart from each other, but somehow in this large universe, we found one another. How did I fall for someone from outer space? I shied away from the idea of him being an alien. He was definitely not alien to me. He looked just like any other human here, except he was perfect. And now it looked like there was no chance for any future with him. I was only seventeen, but I couldn't imagine the day when he would have to leave and I'd never see him again.

All of a sudden I felt depressed and found the night to be extremely disappointing. I looked away from him, my gaze falling on the jeep. The light from the lantern was losing battery power. The moon gave us the light to see by as we talked. I sat up straight and asked, “What time is it?”

Jai looked at his watch. “It's two-thirty.”

“Oh no! My parents are gonna kill me! They wanted me to get home before two, and we still have to drive down the mountain.”

I jumped up and rushed to gather our stuff and shove it in the jeep. I paused briefly to look up. A meteor shot across the entire span of the heavens. I'd always loved the sky, but now I would never see it the same way.

Past Curfew

On our way down the mountain, I sat beside Jai, once again unsure of what to say. I had so many questions I didn't know where to start. I looked out the window, staring at the sky.

“What's your planet like?” I asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

“It is similar to yours,” Amira said. “Ours is a bit smaller in diameter and spins at a slightly slower rate, but there are oceans and land like here. We only have two continents. Our air and water needs are the same. The food is close to the same, a little different in texture and flavor.”

I looked over at Jai. I tried to study his face and features in the dim light from the jeep's display, without being too obvious about it. The revelations of the evening weren't enough to overcome my growing feelings for him.

Eventually, Jai broke the silence. “How are you holding up with all this new information about us?”

“I'm doing okay.”

“You are not completely freaked out?” he asked, peeking at me from the corner of his eye. I felt Amira brush against my arm as she leaned forward to listen.

“Are you kidding me?” I shook my head. “I mean it's a lot to swallow at once, but I've been watching you. I always figured there was something different about you. I never would have guessed this different. But it sort of makes sense.”

“You are very trusting. Are you sure we are not making this up?” Jai asked.

“I'm sure.” I'd never felt more sure of anything, even as outrageous as it sounded. Being under the vast expanse of space, and watching it unfold as Amira told of her Vision made me sure it was all true. Plus, where else would they have gotten a plant that's side effect was telepathy?

“Will you swear to me to keep this all silent?” Jai said. “Never speak of it to anyone?”

“Do you need me to sign something in blood?” I couldn't believe he asked me again.

“I am sorry, Holly.” He reached over and took my hand in his. “I do not mean to hurt your feelings. I have made too many mistakes here. I need to do all I can to make this right. One careless word could mean disaster for us. We should have just come to Marshal and Delilah's home and stayed away from associations. I should have never let myself get to know you.”

I tried to pull my hand out of his, but he held on to it. When I relaxed after a moment, he squeezed it softly.

Amira spoke “Jai, that is my doing. I never really had friends at home and was excited to get to know Holly.”

I looked at both of them. “I promise not to talk to anyone about this. I won't even talk to you about it, if you want. But you're from another planet. I can't help being excited. I want to know more. If you trust me,” I added.

“We do. Our lives could actually be in your hands. But your life could be in danger as well, especially if Amira's Vision is true.”

“He will be coming for us sometime,” Amira said.

Jai became silent for a bit as he drove.

“What will you do now?” I asked.

“We need time to discuss with Delilah and Marshal and contact Ramal to see what they think of us staying here or going back home,” he said.