Chapter 45
Holly
Holly was numb, in more than one way, as she laid out on the healing table, watching the humming, slowly rotating ring move over her.
She could no longer feel the ache in her head, though she knew it wasn’t yet fully healed.
She was aware of her skin knitting itself back together as the healing was accelerated, but it wasn’t painful.
She was pretty sure Donivi had explained something about her nerve receptors being deadened for the work, but she hadn’t been listening because of the other numbness that lingered through her heart and mind.
Romival had found Earth.
Well, he had Earth narrowed down to a very small – cosmically speaking – area.
So small that he would be able to track it from there without issue.
It was a sector of space that, apparently, was unexplored and far from the Coalition or any area of observed space.
Like having a character die in a video game then respawning somewhere far away from where you originally were.
The area where the ratchi had dropped only had coordinates because of the standardized method of space mapping not because anyone had gotten around to looking out that far yet.
He could have run his program for a hundred years and Earth never would have popped up because it simply wasn’t observed yet.
But he knew it now. Approximately. He had it narrowed down to the general area in the arm of their galaxy and, from there, it was only a matter of adjusting Coalition telescopes – with Atem’s permission – to that area in order to precisely locate her solar system, then from there, her planet.
It would, at maximum, take only twenty days.
Less than a month.
Holly didn’t realize, until that moment, just how convinced she had become that she would never see Earth again until the prospect was suddenly in her face.
What really surprised her was how completely uninterested she was.
She wanted to see her family, of course. Most definitely. They needed to know that she was okay, and she needed to know that they were okay in return. But her interest in seeing her family was just that – her family.
The idea of saying goodbye to Turv was physically painful.
And she knew that was solely because of the suspiciously silent male in the corner.
Romival was standing just behind Donivi, watching as the First Healer observed her healing.
Hattie was laid out in a bed next to her.
The ring was no longer spinning, and she had just come around a moment ago.
Atem was standing by her bed, explaining what had happened since, thanks to her head wound, she didn’t remember anything past falling off the market platform.
She didn’t know about Earth yet. Atem wasn’t telling her. He was waiting for the others to arrive to give them the news all at once. He looked as serious as Romival, but Holly barely noticed. She was too busy trying to figure out her own, weird emotions.
Tuvo wasn’t even here. He had left by the time Holly was brought in, though Donivi had assured them that he had seen to Hattie’s safety appropriately.
“Almost done, Holly,” Donivi said, giving her a gentle smile. “Just be still a little longer.”
“Anything bad?”
“Some microfractures to the skull, but nothing dangerous. Nothing like Hattie’s brain damage.”
Her friend made a face. “Seems weird to hear that I have brain damage.”
“Had,” Donivi smirked. “Some concussive trauma. Some bleeding. Nothing too dangerous or irreparable since you got here so quickly.”
“Would be on Earth,” she laughed, missing the way Holly winced.
Romival didn’t, however. All three of his eyes narrowed on her and she had to keep herself from staring back at him.
Why was he looking at her that way? Why wasn’t he talking to her? Had she done something? Was this about Earth?
Holly was just sitting up, the ring having finished its job, when Peony burst into the room, leading Scarlet and Alanna.
“You’re both okay!” She yelled, tears in her eyes. “Hold on! J-Just one sec!”
Then she ran – not to them, but right into Atem’s arms. Holly and Hattie both smothered a chuckle as their pregnant friend took in a deep breath of her mate’s scent, all the while speaking like they were the ones she was hugging.
“I’m so glad you both got back all right. I was so worried.”
“You are all right, aren’t you?” Alanna asked, looking between them as Scarlet moved to stand beside Donivi at the control panel to see for herself. She would likely have been there to help heal them if Atem hadn’t ordered the three remaining humans into secure holding just in case.
“We’re fine,” Hattie promised, smiling at Holly.
But Holly couldn’t return the expression making Alanna frown.
“Holly?”
She didn’t respond immediately which made several pairs – and one triad – of eyes focus on her. Only Romival and Atem knew what yet stilled her tongue. Neither of them spoke, however.
Holly lifted her head, looking between all the girls. What would they think? What would they do? She could barely process the news, but she already knew that it was going to be up to her to tell.
“Holly?” Peony turned from Atem, though she kept one hand on his chest like she couldn’t bear to be separated from him even that small amount.
And Holly knew exactly how she felt.
“R-Romi found something,” She started nervously. “In the ship.”
“Bad something?” Scarlet asked, her eyes sharpening on her.
Alanna gasped. “Oh, god. Please don’t tell me there were more humans on board.”
“No!” Peony cried out, dismayed.
“No! No!” Holly was quick to reassure them, standing from the bed. “Nothing like that. It was… Earth. He found Earth.”
Silence followed the statement. No one moved for a long minute.
“He found home?” Alanna whispered, putting a hand to her chest like she wanted to try to keep her heart from bursting from her chest.
Holly nodded. “Well, approximately. He said he still has to narrow down the exact coordinates, but that shouldn’t take him more than… a month.”
“A month,” Scarlet breathed, grabbing the console to keep herself up.
“No way…” Hattie breathed, curling around herself.
“Wait,” Peony looked between all of them then cast a panicked look back at Atem. “W-Wait, if you found Earth, does that mean we all have to go?”
“No,” he said quickly, covering her hand with both of his. “You are my adassi, Peony. Your home is here on Turv, with me. And all of you. You are my sisters. Finding Earth does not mean that you have to go.”
Holly couldn’t help the relief that washed over her, and, judging by the way all the other girls relaxed, she wasn’t the only one.
They may have been missing Earth, but they all had a place here on Turv.
Atem looked away from them uneasily. “I cannot lie to you. There is also a chance that you won’t be able to go.”
And just like that, all the tension was back. They might not want to leave, but that didn’t mean they never wanted to see home again.
“What does that mean?” Peony asked, frowning.
Atem took in a breath and squared his shoulders.
“Contacting a planet that has not breached their solar system in a manned flight is forbidden. It’s illegal.
In kidnapping you all, that ratchi clavas committed a high crime.
If they hadn’t died by my claws, their punishment likely would have been far worse. That applies to us as well.”
“But it’s our planet,” Alanna stressed, gesturing at all of them. “Surely, you can’t keep us from our own planet.”
“Technically, since I adopted you, you are all recognized by the Coalition as citizens of Turv, and that supersedes your citizenship on Earth since Earth is not a Coalition planet. You going there, in the eyes of universal law, would be no different than me or Romival going there.”
“That’s bull!” Scarlet snapped. “Earth is our home!”
“I know,” he hastened to assure her. “And there is certainly an argument there. Especially if your species is as advanced as you say. There might even be an argument for permission to contact them early. It’s not unprecedented.
In the cases where another species began to plunder an uncontacted planet, permission was granted for others to interact to protect them.
It’s a special case and there are special rules involved, but it’s not unheard of. We can make that argument.”
“Make it to who?” Alanna asked, crossing her arms.
“The Coalition Council. Of which I am a member. I’ve told you that every planet must present a single leader to the Coalition, and I am that for Turv. It is for this purpose. We meet to discuss and vote on topics just like this once a standard galactic year.”
“We have to debate going to our own planet?” Alanna asked, her usual playful, airy personality fading away into a surprising steel.
“I apologize,” he said sincerely, saluting them all, fist over his heart. “I – we are all – bound by Coalition laws. They’re in place for a reason.”
“Why didn’t you tell us this before?” Peony asked, clear hurt in her voice that made Atem wince as he put an arm around her, bringing her back to his chest.
“I did not think it important. It would only be relevant if we ever found your planet and… I just didn’t want to give you another unnecessary concern.”
He hadn’t actually believed they would find it.
Holly had believed the same, and apparently, they would not have if not for getting the approximate coordinates by accident, so she couldn’t blame him for that.
That didn’t make this easier to hear, however.
She would know where her family was and have full capability of reaching them, but she wouldn’t even be able to send them a text letting them know she was okay?
It was cruel.
“Will you bring this up to the Coalition?” Alanna asked, hands on her hips. “You said they meet once a universal year? How often is that?”
“A standard galactic year is one hundred tendays. A thousand standard days.”
“When is the next one?”