“Only when you’re awake,” Keep replied.

  Matt eyed him for another second. I could sense the light bulb going off in his mind. “You calmed us, didn’t you?” he said. “The first time we met, when you brought us to see Head Case.”

  Keep shrugged. “You got me red-handed. I didn’t exactly want you to know I moved you to another planet.”

  “At least it makes sense now,” Matt replied. “I don’t usually fall asleep on car rides. Can you put us in drive? I’m not touching that.”

  Keep smirked, using his impaled hand to use the shifter.

  “Shaq,” I said, rolling down my side window. “Can you get up on the roof of the car and point us in the right direction?”

  “Mmm-hmmm,” Shaq replied, climbing out of the window. I couldn’t see him spring up, but I heard his clawed feet on the metal.

  “He’s going to scratch the paint,” Matt complained.

  Shaq leaned down over the top of the windshield, pointing a finger a little to our right. Matt accelerated slowly, knocking down more corn as he steered us toward the edge of the field.

  It took about twenty seconds to clear the cornfield. Bill’s barn came into view the moment we broke through the last of the stalks. There was no immediate sign of Bill, Marie, Mom, or anyone else, but I could hear the engines of farm machines elsewhere on the property.

  “Are we really on Earth?” Gia asked. “This is totally cotton…so wicked,” she corrected, using her favorite of the expressions Matt and I had run past her.

  “It is really incredible,” Quasar agreed. “Not this so much. There are other planets with corn. Just the idea of being here.” She reached forward, putting her hand on my shoulder. “And meeting your Mom. I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither,” Alter seconded. “Not everything about this is bad.”

  “You never know,” Keep said. “This could turn out to be the best decision we were ever forced to make.”

  “Don’t jinx it,” I replied. “Our decisions don’t usually turn out the way we want. Matt, take us up to the house. We’ll see if anyone’s home.”

  CHAPTER 5

  We stopped in front of the house, all of us piling out of the car like a bunch of clowns. Locked in the trunk, Druck pounded on the inside of the lid, eager to be let out.

  “I’ve been in some small mech cockpits before,” the jockey said as Matt opened the back and helped him out of the tight space. “But at least the pilot suits are temperature controlled.” He wiped at his sweaty brow with his already sweat-soaked shirt.

  “Summer in southern California,” Matt replied. “I’m surprised they're able to grow anything.”

  “They have water rights,” I said. “But plantings are still only about seventy percent of where Bill wants them to be.” I looked over the hood of the car at Alter, who held the clear cylinder containing the Star of Caprum against her chest. Even though it was disconnected from the ship, the Star remained active—a bright, miniaturized sun leaking plasma into the container. “Are you sure that’s safe?” I asked, turning my attention to Keep.

  “For now,” he replied. “The Star can’t stop giving off energy. The insulation in the capsule can hold the power as heat for about twelve hours before we need to release it.”

  “Release it how?”

  “We could spike the power grid, but that might draw attention. Alternatively we can use absorb and disperse to send it into the atmosphere. It’s nothing to worry about, especially since we’ll only be here for a day or two.”

  I nodded, accepting his explanation and climbing the steps to the front door of the farmhouse. I rang the bell, immediately hearing light footfalls inside as someone rushing down the stairs and quickly approached the door. Heavier footsteps trailed slowly behind.

  The main door opened, leaving Sally looking up at me from the other side of the screen door. She immediately beamed up at me. “Ben!” Her head whipped over her shoulder. “Daddy, it’s Ben!”

  “What?” I heard Bill say.. His footsteps sped up as he hurried to the door, quickly appearing in the short hallway behind Sally. “Ben, what are you doing here?” His forehead wrinkled with concern, though I wasn’t sure if it was for me or himself. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes and no,” I replied, happy to see him. “Don’t worry. I didn’t come to enlist you again.”

  Bill put a big hand on Sally’s shoulder and looked past me to the rest of my crew. “Yeah, you don’t look like you need as much help as you did the last time.” His eyes shifted, widening as he noticed Shaq. “You know you have a blue squirrel on your shoulder, right?”

  “Squirrel?” Shaq buzzed in annoyance.

  “Come on Bill, I told you about Shaq,” I said with a smile.

  Bill let out one of his deep belly laughs. “I’m just messing with you, Shaq. Ben told us all about you. It’s great to meet you.”

  “You too,” Shaq replied, chittering happily.

  “Ben!” Sally laughed. “Can I pet him?”

  “He’s not a dog, Sally,” Bill explained. “He’s from another planet. And he’s as smart as a human.”

  “Smarter,” Shaq corrected.

  Bill laughed again. “I don’t doubt that.”

  “Okay,” Sally said, looking up at Shaq. “Maybe we can be friends, then.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Shaq agreed.

  Bill unlocked and pushed the screen door open. “Come on in.”

  I didn’t move right away. “Is my mother around?”

  “She went into town with Marie to do some shopping. They’ll be back in an hour or two.”

  “She’s doing well, though?”

  “Oh, yeah. She’s great. The hardest worker I have on the farm. We’re real happy to have her here. Your sister too. She’s out in the stables brushing the horses.”

  “I’ll check in with her soon. Let me introduce you to my crew. You already know Keep.”

  “Always a pleasure, Bill,” Keep said.

  “And this is Matt,” I continued, pointing him out.

  “Your fellow Earthling,” Bill said. “Any best friend of Ben’s is a friend of mine.”

  “That’s Emil, Quasar, Gia, and Alter,” I added, pointing to each one in turn. "And FYI. Out there…" He pointed to the sky. "...everyone calls us Earthians."

  “You don't say." Bill shifted his attention to the others.“Welcome to my farm." He gave them a long-suffering look. "Though my wife would say it’s her farm. It isn’t though.”

  “Yes it is,” Sally corrected.

  He laughed. “Smart kid. This is my daughter Sally. At least she knows who the boss is.”

  “Hi, Sally,” Quasar said with a big smile.

  “Hi,” she replied, shifting closer to Bill, suddenly a little shy. “You’re so big.”

  “Sally,” Bill admonished.

  Quasar chuckled. “No, it’s fine. I am big. But I use my size to help people.”

  “Quasar used to be a Royal Marine,” I explained. “She protected the most important person in the galaxy she’s from.”

  “Wow,” Sally said, impressed. “I like your name, too. It’s different.”

  “Thank you. I like your name too.”

  “Ben!” I whirled around at the shout. Sheri was running up the path from the stables, and I went back down the steps to meet her next to the Mustang. “You’re back!” She skidded to a halt in front of me, eying Shaq. “You’re the Jagger.”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “I’m Ben’s sister, Sheri.”

  Shaq buzzed something I assumed was a warm greeting before leaning forward to nuzzle her neck. She started to draw back until she felt the softness of his fur. “Oh, that’s nice,” she said, leaning into it. She kept coming forward until she had wrapped her arms around me, showing an affection we had never shared before she had been taken by Alonzo Dellacqua. She pulled away. “And you brought more friends." Her eyes widened. "Matt! You’re here too!”

  “Hey, Sher,” Matt said with an easy grin. “Good to see you.”

  She beamed at him, barely disguising her forever crush on him as I introduced everyone to her.

  “It’s so cool to meet you all,” she said. “But it’s so hot out here. Why are you all standing outside?”

  “I told them to come in,” Bill replied. “I guess they want to stay out here and bake.”

  “I definitely have had enough baking for today,” Druck said, slipping past Bill into the air conditioned house. “Ahh, that’s so much better than being locked in the trunk.”

  “What?” Bill said.

  “Long story,” Druck added. “You don’t have anything to drink, do you?”

  “Kitchen’s in the back. Help yourself to anything in the fridge.” He looked out to the rest of us. “Same goes for any of you. My house is your house.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Druck said, heading for the kitchen.

  “He’s military too, isn’t he?” Bill asked.

  “He is,” I replied. “He’s our mech pilot. And a damn good one.”

  “Mech pilot?” Sheri said. “Like in those video games you used to play?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. Why don’t we all go inside?”

  We all filed into the house. Druck carried out a six-pack of beer from Bill’s refrigerator, offering it out to whoever wanted one. Matt and Quasar took him up on it, as did Bill. The rest of us declined. We made our way to Bill’s den, each of us finding seats. It was a surreal experience to go from chasing a fugitive starship to having beers in a farmhouse all within twenty minutes.

  “So Ben, what brings you back here?” Bill asked. “You said things both are and aren’t okay.”

  “Wow, what is that?” Sally asked, approaching Alter and looking at the Star of Caprum. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s called the Star of Caprum,” Alter replied. “It’s the energy source that powers Ben and Matt’s starship.”

  “That’s so cool,” she said, staring at the mini-sun. “How does it work?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know.”

  “Really? It reminds me of Tinkerbell.”

  “Who?”

  “Tinkerbell. From Peter Pan. She’s a fairy, and she glows and flies around.”

  “Oh. The Star isn’t a fairy. It isn’t alive.”

  “If you don’t know how it works, then how do you know it isn’t alive?”

  Alter opened her mouth to answer before realizing that she couldn’t. “I’m pretty sure it isn’t alive,” she corrected.

  “Sally, stop hassling our guests,” Bill said.

  “Okay.” She sat on the floor next to Alter’s legs, gazing longingly at Shaq, still on my shoulder.

  “We were hit with a disruptor warhead,” I said. “It knocked out the ship’s computer and left us dark and adrift. It was either come back here or be captured. So, we’re okay because we’re safe. Not okay because we lost our ship.”

  “We’ll get it back,” Keep said. “I just need a couple of days to recharge and we’ll be on our way.”

  “If you’re going to stay a couple of days, I’ll call George,” Bill said. “I’m sure he’d be happy to see you too.”

  “Sure, why not?” I replied, settling back in my seat and sighing heavily. There was no point obsessing over whatever was happening to Head Case right now. There was nothing we could do about it. At least we were all alive. All healthy and present. We had a little time to rest. And we still had the Star. “Druck, can you pass me a beer?”

  CHAPTER 6

  We spent the next hour chatting with Bill and Sheri. I found out early on that she and Nick had gotten back together before breaking up a second time, which turned out to be mostly my fault. It seemed Nick’s experience at the processing facility had changed his perspective on a lot of things, and he’d decided to enlist in the Marines. Not that they had to break up because of that, but Nick felt it was better for him to get a clean start on what he called his second life.

  I was angry with him for leaving her, proud of him for following his heart. Sher wasn’t really that broken up about it anyway. She had already questioned their relationship, and Nick coming to the same conclusion made it easier for everyone.

  Quasar was telling Royal Marine stories when Mom and Marie returned from their shopping trip. I heard the car pull up, followed by her rush into the house. She knew what the presence of the Mustang meant.

  “Ben?” she said as soon as she made it into the door. “Ben, please tell me you’re here.”

  I stood up, a big smile on my face. “I’m here, Mom,” I replied.

  She came around the corner, her expression joyous. “Oh, thank goodness,” she exclaimed, dropping the bag she had in her hand and throwing herself at me without paying Shaq any mind. He jumped off my shoulder before she could accidentally knock him off. I returned her embrace, an excited squeal nearby telling me Shaq had decided to humor Sally and get close enough for her to touch him.

  “It’s good to see you,” I said, squeezing her tight. At that moment, my thoughts turned to the cancer that had moved into my lungs. She would want to know, but did I want to tell her? Not right now.

  “I wasn’t sure I should expect you back at all,” she said, stepping away. “And I definitely didn’t expect you back so soon.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t plan to be here either,” I admitted.

  “What happened?”

  “We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our ship was captured. We escaped in the Mustang by coming back here.”

  “Oh. So you’ll be staying for a while?”

  “No, only a day or two while Keep gets some of his mojo back. We’re still trying to get an audience with the Empress. We have proof that she’s in danger now.”

  “So you got it,” she said excitedly. “How?”

  “Ben!” Marie finally caught up to Mom. “I figured you had to be here. How are you?”

  “I’ve been better, but I’ve also been a lot worse,” I replied. “So we’ll call it even.”

  “Take what you can get, eh?”

  “Exactly.”

  “I hope Bill’s been a good host while we were out?”

  “Of course he has,” I said.

  “He gave us beer,” Druck added, drawing Marie’s attention.

  I quickly introduced Mom and Marie to the crew. Of course, when Mom saw Matt she hurried over to him and wrapped him in another bear hug, happier to see him than his father would ever be. I knew he appreciated the gesture even though he played macho about it.

  “Well, it’s great to meet all of you,” Mom said.

  “You’re all in luck,” Marie added. “We just got back from grocery shopping. There’s forty pounds of burgers and dogs in the trunk. I think this is a good time to barbecue it.”

  “Any time is a good time for a barbecue,” Bill said, standing up and rubbing his hands together in anticipation. “I’ll go set up the grill. Sally, help your mother with the groceries.”

  “Do I have to?” Sitting on the floor with her legs crossed, Shaq had settled into her lap, looking content while she stroked him between his ears. “I’m making a new friend.”

  “I’d be happy to help,” Alter said, springing to her feet.

  Bill smiled. “Okay, Sally. Thank Miss Alter for volunteering to take your place.”

  “Thank you Miss Alter,” she said.

  “You’re welcome,” Alter replied, turning to Marie. “Just tell me what to do.”

  “Follow me,” Marie said.

  “I’ll come too, Quasar decided, catching up to them. “I’ve never been to a barbecue before.”

  “Then you’re in for a treat,” Marie said. “I think you can carry all of the bags yourself.”

  “If that’s what you need,” Quasar replied. She and Alter followed Marie out of the farmhouse.

  “Ben, we should talk,” Mom said, glancing at the others. “Privately.”

  The way she said it made me nervous. I nodded. “Sure, Mom.”

  “Let’s take a walk outside. We can go out the back.”

  “Uh-oh,” Druck teased. “Somebody’s in trouble.”

  Shaq perked up, ready to follow. “It’s okay, bud,” I said. “I’ve got this.” He dropped back into Sally’s lap. I followed Mom through the house and outside. The direction didn’t really matter, so we headed down the dirt road toward the barn. “What’s up?”

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  “I’m fine, Mom,” I replied. “Still taking my meds, getting treatment from the autodoc on the ship. And Keep is using sigiltech on me at night to slow the spread of the cancer cells."

  “That’s great. What aren’t you telling me?”

  “What?” I replied, surprised by the question.

  “I saw it in your eyes the moment I first looked at your face. A sadness I didn’t see when you talked about your crew or your ship. Which means it has to do with your health.”

  “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?” I asked.

  “You never could. Do you remember that time you stole twenty dollars out of my wallet and spent it on cookies? I didn’t realize the money was gone.”

  “But I missed one crumb.”

  “And you looked guilty as anything.”

  “No, I didn’t.”

  “Yes, you did.” She laughed, taking my hand. “What’s going on, Ben?”

  I stopped walking, turning to face her. Biting my lower lip, I fought to hold back tears. I’d put on a brave face for my crew, and for myself. But I couldn’t hold them back when I looked at her. “The cancer’s in my lungs now,” I gritted out as the tears rolled down my cheeks. “It’s spreading.”

  She stared at me, tears bursting from her eyes as she reached out to pull me in. “Oh Ben." We cried on each other's shoulder. I hadn't realized how scared and anxious I was until now. I’d taken a gung-ho attitude to fight my cancer, but I wasn’t made of steel. I had to let it all out with the one person who shared my fears with me beyond even Matt.

  We embraced until we calmed our tears and drew back from each other. Slipping her arm through mine, we started walking again. “Thank you,” I said. "I didn't know before we got here how much I needed that.”