Until All the Stars Are Found

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I glance at my watch when I get outside the training center, mentally calculating how long it is going to take to get to the city bus. The stop is three blocks down the road. It's 2:42, and the bus comes at 2:50... and it's at least a seven-minute walk. s**t s**t s**t. I think hiking my bag higher on my shoulder and take off down the road. This section of the city is dead around this time, but if I don't get my ass down the road faster, I will get caught up in foot traffic when the school releases for the day. I weave in and out of the parents waiting in front of the school and dash around the corner. I can't be late for another appointment I stress, seeing the stop not far down the road. I skid to a halt in front of the sign and glancing back and forth, the bus nowhere in sight. “Did I miss it?” I wonder, glancing at my watch again. 2:49. “Did it come early?” I look down the road, trying to see past the sea of school buses floating in front of the school.

“Ah, Miss Ada, just leave your training?” A voice says before slipping a hand in the crook of my arm.

“Emma!” I jump, turning to the elderly lady at my side.

“Who else would it be? Do you let other old ladies grab your arm?” She grouches as I lead her to the bench next to the sign.

“I don't let anyone grab my arm.” I laugh, “I guess if you are here, I haven't missed the bus yet?” I ask, praying that it hasn't come.

“No, Ma'am, here it is.” She says, and the bus appears around the corner like she magic-ed it into existence.

“Right, of course, it is,” I sigh. I didn't miss the bus again.

“How is your training going?” she asks. “Did you reach your goal yet?”

“Which one?” I laugh as the bus stops in front of us with a whoosh.

We sit near the front, Emma, on the outside as her stop will come up first. “I don't know what your main goal is. Have you made it to that yet?”

I smile. I see Emma about once a week. She is always waiting for the 2:50 bus, while I have training at different times during the week. But every time she sees me, she asks how my goals are going. It honestly is one of the best parts of my week and very motivating. It helps to keep me accountable. I never want to tell Emma if I haven't made some sort of progress on my goals. “Emma, I have definitely made progress on my goals this week.” I glance around. “Do you want to know a secret?”

“Of course, I do. You should know by now that you should always tell your secrets to old ladies, you never know when we will die, and then your secret will be safe with us.”

I laugh and lean in. This close, the smell of Emma's lavender perfume and hair spray fill my nose, and I breathe it in, knowing I will miss these moments very soon. “So, there are only two people that know this so far, one of which is my trainer Karrie, and a staff sergeant.”

Emma's eyebrows shoot up. “A staff sergeant? Why were you talking to one of those?”

“Well,” I wiggle my eyebrows, “I may or may not have been smashing my goals, you know Karrie, she tells just enough that you think she has told you everything. But she was leaving out just how much I have been improving.”

“Well, I won't be here on this Earth much longer! What happened?”

I laugh again at her cynical humor. “I won’t be either! I passed the test to qualify for the special operations division. I get to go to Houston then off world!” I grin with pride.

“You did!!” She claps. “Oh my gosh, Ada, this is amazing! We have to celebrate!” She turns to her bag and digs around, looking up at me and then back down into the depths. “Ah, ha!” She whips out two bits of chocolate candy wrapped in a delicate pink foil. The bus shudders to a stop and the air releases the bus back down to the Earth, in the process, Emma bobbles the chocolate, and I just barely catch it. “See! This is why you would be a great addition to the special operations. Your reflexes are great.” Emma coos patting my arm.

I pop the chocolate into my mouth, savoring the flavor as it melts in my mouth. “Thank you, Emma, this is a great way to celebrate.”

“So,” she grabs my hand, her wrinkled skin feels soft and cool in mine, “when do you leave?”

“Very soon,” I smile sadly, “this is probably the last time you will see me for a long time. I will be shipping out to the on-Earth base in Houston in a little over a day.”

“Does Sarkus know yet?” she asks as the bus slows down again.

“I am on my way to see him a few hours from now. I have some other stuff I have to get ready first,” I say.

She stands and pulls her purse over her shoulder. She waves to the driver bot at the door, before turning back to me. “I wish you the best of luck, my sweet Ada, you will be great. You have been working for this so hard. I am very proud of you.” She says and plants a wet kiss on my hairline. “Make me proud. I expect to still hear from you.”

I squeeze her hand. “Thank you.”

She heads for the door. “I am serious. I better hear from you, miss; I promise I will actually check my messenger now.” She says with a wave before stepping off the bus.

I scooch over to the window and watch as she toddles off down the road. As she slips out of view, I feel a slight pang in my chest. I haven't had a chance to think about the goodbyes I will have to make. Emma's words have warmed me since my parents died, she was one of the few people I could turn to for support. I have only really considered how hard my goodbyes would be with Sarkus, and now that time was coming up.

I glance above my head at the display that lets riders know what stop we are at. Next to the stop number is a rotating ad section. I rarely notice the ads, but this one catches my eye. It's another missing person's report.

Child

Male

Age 7

Name: Yang

Last seen walking home from school

It reads with a rotating photo of the boy.

I wonder what happened to the boy. These reports started last summer, with one boy who was nine, then a few months later a set of twin six-year-olds. From there, it escalated to the point where it seems like every other day, there is a new report. When I am an officer, I will make sure someone looks into this.

The bus stops two more times before I climb off. The New City Hall stands in the center of New Seattle. The traffic here is crazy. Officer's cars fly overhead, and people scurry everywhere, bumping into nearly everyone they pass. I cut across the courtyard, knowing it is easier to just sprint right across. I have been coming here to meet my social worker, Shaelin, since Mom and Dad died three years ago.

I buzz in at the door and hurry to the front desk. “Hi, Adaline Gomez, I am here to meet my social worker Shaelin, she has an office on the 2nd floor,” I say, sliding my ID card across the counter to the secretary bot behind the desk.

I glance around, waiting while the bot scans my ID, and verifies that I do, in fact, have an appointment. “Thank you, A-Da-liene, your appointment is running be-hind. By- 15 Minutes. Please use the fourth elevator to head up to the Second Floor.”

I take the ID back and slide it into my bag. “Thank you, have a good day,” I say and hurry on to the already stuffed elevator. The doors slide closed, and I lean against the wall as the box flies to the second floor, faster than it ever needed to, in my opinion. I push my way out of the elevator and smoosh past people down the hall. Shaelin has a small office, with a single couch outside for people waiting. A mother and her small child have taken up the couch, so I slide to the floor beside it and settle in for the wait.

I pull up the list of supplies that Karrie had written up, and the form Sergeant Lima had given me. The formal document was one that would release my parent or guardian from any responsibilities, essentially giving me over to the Galactic Garrison for the next year. I guess since I had just turned eighteen, it still considered me a child. Which is kind of annoying? This entire process would have been a lot easier if I didn't have to worry about trying to get Jaxon to sign this doc. Maybe I could forge his signature? I think, but quickly dash that thought away. Jaxon barely ever wrote anything down. It would be pointless. Come to think of it, I don't know if I had ever seen him actually write anything.

The door opens to Shaelin's office, and she leads a little boy out. The boy reminds me of Sarkus, he has short black hair, sorta like how Mom used to cut his hair. He wears a green polo with thin blue stripes. It is just a bit too big on him, like someone had handed it down to him, and he had just started to be able to fit into it. His eyes are ringed in red and glassy from tears. I look away as his adult rushes to his side. I know all too well what it was like to feel vulnerable when leaving my social worker's office.

The boy's sniffles echo down the hall as he explains to the adult in his life how his appointment went.

Shaelin watches him go with big sad eyes. It's something that I both appreciate and hate about her. She is always full of understanding or pity, whether or not I wanted to feel it. “Hi Ada,” she says, turning back to me, hand on the door frame of her office. “Come on in. Sorry for the wait. I just have to clean a few things up.”

I enter and sit in my usual chair. Two chairs face her desk, I always take the seat on the right, closer to the door. When I have meetings, and Sarkus is here, he always takes the left side, so he can hold my hand, and if I ever need to sign any docs, he doesn't need to let go. “It isn't a problem,” I say.

Shaelin goes around the room, quickly tossing toys in a bin. “Right,” she says, settling in the chair across from me. “How are things? You look very sprightly today.”

“Sprightly?”

“Well, yes, you seem extra happy today. Has something changed for the better at home?” She asks, looking over her glasses. The question is almost a jab at my usual sullen demeanor. I can be a real b***h to her.

“You and I both wish. No. Jaxon is just as much of a lazy drunkard as he was two weeks ago. No, this is something better, bigger, more important.” I beam, pride making my heart squeeze with joy. “I passed the basic spec ops test! I can go actually start training, and then in a few months, once I advance in rank, I will be able to claim custody of Sarkus!”

“That is a great Ada,” Shaelin says, but something in the way she sets her shoulders says she isn't as excited for me as she would like to be.

“What?” I ask, “you aren't' saying something. Does it have to do with that message you sent me yesterday morning? Why we had to move our appointment up? I am glad we did, cause it definitely helps with stuff, but I feel like something is wrong.” I trail off when she turns the big pity eyes on me.

“Ada, now I don't want you to be upset.”

“You realize that whenever you say that to me, I end up absolutely pissed, right?” I say, leaning forward, narrowing my eyes. She can be hard to read sometimes.

“Well, I just want to forewarn you that this may put a damper on your good news.” She spins her stylus between her fingers before tucking it behind her ear.

“Already has,” I grumble, thinking of Emma's exuberant reaction.

“Well, Sarkus' foster parents came in yesterday. It turns out that Melody is now expecting a child.”

I let the words sink in for a moment. Melody and Bryan Blain are nice people. By far, the kindest foster parents Sark has had so far. They have two other children. One was Sarkus' age, while the other is around 14. “So, they are giving him up because they want to make room for a new baby in a few months,” I say, my voice comes out deadpan. But inside, I am screaming. I can't believe that they would do this. They had said they would be willing to keep him for another year at least.

“That is correct,” Shaelin says, waiting for me to react more.

“When are they kicking him out then?”

She sighs. “They aren't kicking him out. They have put in for him to have a transfer.”

“Well, how long until that transfer gets processed,” I ask, my voice growing more clipped.

“I have already approved it. He will move tomorrow afternoon.” She says, passing a tablet across the desk to me.

I scan the doc quickly, already knowing what most of the information would be, having been through plenty of my own transfers. I would gladly go through twenty transfers if it meant he wouldn't have to go through one more. “He is moving out of the city?” I ask, looking up. “I thought we made it clear on his paperwork he had to stay in New Seattle?”

Shaelin takes the tablet back from me. “Yes, and if I had another family who would take him, I would send him there in a heartbeat if I thought it would work. But most either want babies or have a track record of being like Jaxon.”

I growl my disappointment but don't argue anymore. “Will they allow my visitation rights before he moves. I leave in less than thirty-six hours now for Houston. I told him I would do my best to say goodbye to him before I went whenever it happened.”

She shakes her head. “They don't want you seeing him. He is already very upset, and Melody thinks seeing you would make it worse.”

“Well, can you at least call her and let her know what is happening now? Maybe she will make an exception because we will both be leaving New Seattle?” I plead. “I need to see him before I go. I don't-” I stop and take a breath. “I don't know when I will be Earth side again if I make it through the training. I don't want him to think I have abandoned him.”

She reaches across the table and writes a note. “Yes, I will call her after we are through here. And I will send you a message as soon as I have an answer. Just promise me you won't try to sneak over to see him.”

“I won't.” I lie, “I know I need to respect their choices.” It's bullshit. “They have to do what is best for their family.”

She nods slowly, as if she doesn't quite believe that I am being agreeable. “Yes, well, what do you need to do for the Spec Ops?”

I email her the doc. “I need you to sign this. They want me to attempt to get Jaxon's signature tonight. I am going to try, but I doubt it is going to happen.”

She skims it before grabbing a stylus. She signs below the line labeled guardian and writes the social worker below it. Taps around her tablet before sending me a copy of my birth certificate. “I see you also need this?”

“Oh, thank god you have one. I wasn't sure what I was going to do.”

“Well, they should be able to access a copy of that in their Database, but you never know when a file will corrupt.”

“Yeah, I mean, at least they keep hard copies of all legal documents, even if we aren't allowed to use paper for anything else.”

“Hard copy is always better,” Shaelin agrees. “Now, can I do anything else for you today? I mainly wanted to make sure I talked to you in person about Sarkus.”

I shake my head and stand up, “I don't think so, I just needed your approval to go. Especially if I can't get Jaxon to sign.”

“Do what you can, but don't push him. The last thing you need is him taking a swing at you right before you leave. Because that paperwork WILL take you more than 36 hours to get together.” She strides to the door and opens it for me. “Good luck, Ada.” She pulls me into a stiff hug.

“Thanks, Shaelin. Please, take care of Sarkus, and let me know as soon as you can of any changes in the future. I want to get him out of this system as fast as possible.”