Star-Crossed by Melissa Pollard (book recommendations for teens .TXT) 📖

smeared itself across her face.
The ship lurched, the hall lights flashed red and a siren droned in my ears. Jastrow came on the speakers, "Captain, the Earthlings have begun firing on us, you're needed on the command deck."
Siobhan's eyes teared up. I looked into her eyes, "Siobhan, go to our quarters and do what mommy taught you. Don't come out until Jastrow or I come get you, got it?" Siobhan nodded and wrapped her eyes around my neck. I squeezed her tight. She smelled like freshly picked roses with a dash of crayon. I pulled her away, "Now go," I led her in the direction of my quarters, "I love you!"
I stood there for a few moments as I watched her run down the hall. When she turned left, leaving my sight, I felt a tear run down my cheek. Wiping it away, I turned and headed for the command deck.
"What is bloody going on?" I barked when the elevator doors opened.
Jastrow stood up, "Captain, the Earthlings have begun firing on us!"
I raced to my chair. A large American vessel was sitting in front of us, The Jefferson

was written on its side. Why were they attacking now when earlier they were crying rainbows and peace doves? "Call them," I ordered. Moments later, the same middle aged man I spoke to before was on my screen. "What in the galaxies name are you doing?" The man looked off his screen and nodded. My ship lurched again. "Will you stop that!"
He looked at me, "I've changed my mind. I've decided we won't let a Novan vessel leave our grasps without a fight," he stated, "prepare to be boarded."
The screen flicked off. My jaw hung open; it took a few blinks before I came back to my senses. Bloody Earthlings, they just can't be trusted.
"Captain?" It was Jastrow, "orders?"
I looked at him, and then to the rest of the crew. Every single one of their faces had determination written all across them. The ship lurched again, a whining noise filled the air. "Warning, the ship has been breached, warning," the ship said, repeating itself. Breached already?
"Find a weapon, prepare for close combat," I hollered.
I reached under my chair, finding a button and pressing down. A small compartment opened up under it, and I pulled out a small hand gun. I ran towards the elevator, I needed to get to Siobhan.
When the elevator doors opened, I ran a few feet before a young man was pointing his gun at me. I raised my gun to his chest, but something about his eyes looked familiar. This hesitation was all he needed to press his trigger. I couldn't feel the gun in my hand. I looked down and saw that it had fallen to the floor. My arms felt like water, I tried reaching for a wall to brace myself, but they wouldn't move. A tingling went down my spine and I saw the young man running towards me, his arms outstretched. I felt a sharp pain on my head before I blacked out.
My head throbbed. I pried open my eyes, where fuzzy light flooded in. I closed them again, a small moan emitting from my throat. A shushing filled my ears, and a cold, firm hand squeezed my own.
I managed to open my eyes and a young man about my age stared down at me. His eyes were brown with golden slivers tinting them. His hair was a chestnut brown and a few strands fell into his eyes. He leaned in to whisper, "You're fighting the American government?" he questioned, but he already knew the answer, "I'm on your side." This was the same boy who shot me earlier.
"Who are you?" I mumbled.
"The captains son," he whispered, "the name's Skyler." He held out a hand. Does he seriously expect me to touch that? After holding it out for a few seconds he slowly lowered, a wimpy smile crossed his face. "Look, you may not trust me, but my father has immoral views. As an officer, I've been required to learn the history of Earth and Novan, and let's just say, I'd rather be a Novian."
I stared at him. "There's nothing I can do. I'm stuck on an American vessel, and your father is most likely going to put me to death when he finds out I'm awake," I looked around the room. It was all white with a young nurse by a counter labeling pill bottles.
Skyler laughed, "That's where you're wrong," he pulled out a key, "I have a small ship ready to escape," A smile pulled at the ends of his lips, "You'll have to put on some handcuffs. Can't go walking around a ship with full security looking like a Novian."
I began to protest, but he put a finger across my lips, "Shelby, get this woman ready for transportation."
The woman by the counter got up and grabbed a needle. When she reached me, she ejected a small amount of the liquid out of the needle, the way doctors do. She had long, thin fingers that wrapped around my wrist and turned my arm upward. "Just relax," she said. Her voice was soothing. She placed the needle on the inside of my arm, and injecting the fluid into my system.
When she was finished, I clenched my hand. My fingers moved without strain. The fluid must have mobilized me, compared to what I was seconds ago. Skyler lifted me out of the bed, "Come, we must hurry. Give me your hands." He locked handcuffs around my wrists. I was still out of it, of what was going on.
"What about my daughter," I moaned, "Where's my daughter?"
"You were the only person we took captive, I don't know about your daughter," he said. Oh Siobhan, she must be terrified. Jastrow better take care of her, or I'll be haunting him from my grave!
He led me down a few hallways, past security guards standing at doors or wandering down the hallways. He eventually reached a door where he held my arm and punched in some numbers in a key pad. The door opened and he led me into another hallway and finally into a small room with two chairs.
He closed the door behind us and sealed it, and then unlocked my wrists. I rubbed them where the metal of the handcuffs had dug into. Skyler went and sat in one of the chairs, where the section around him lit up. We were in a small transportation ship.
I crept over to him and he pulled out of the station in the ship. "What's going on here?" I demanded.
"What do you think?" he replied.
"Umm, I have a thesis on what's going on."
He looked at me, a smile playing across his face, "And what's that?"
"That all Earthlings are insane."
He laughed, "What makes you think that?"
"Well, I was kidnapped by an evil American governor and held captive, and now I'm being kidnapped by my kidnappers own psycho son and taken who knows where!"
"You're not being kidnapped. You're being rescued."
"How is this a rescue?" I questioned, "You took me against my will."
"You didn't try to escape me," he responded. He had me there.
"Where are you taking me?"
"No idea," he chirped, "probably some stranded planet in the middle of nowhere." I sat in the seat next to Skyler. I couldn't figure him out. "What's your name? Or do you prefer I call you Miss?"
I paused, "Calla," I responded, "Captain of the Lilium

, daughter of General Parry, and when he recieves word that I'm missing, the entire Novian fleet will search me down destroying any American vessel they cross paths with until I'm safe at home in time for Christmas."
Skyler raised an eyebrow, "Daughter of the

General Perry?"
"The one and only," I chirped.
He inhaled a deep breath, "Guess I should have done my homework before I just went and kidnapped a pretty lady."
My head whipped to face him. His neck was growing red as he looked in the opposite direction. Oh my goodness, American men are worse now than they were in the history books. "What do you do?" I asked him.
"I'm the medical officer for my father's ship. I manage the patients brought in, and approve or disapprove of who gets what prescriptions. I got anything and everything for curing illnesses to influencing the body's immunity system. You name it, I got it," he flashed a proud smile to no one. "What about you? How'd you become captain at such a young age?"
My throat swelled for a split second as memories flooded back, "Um, I had a boyfriend who was murdered by an American ship," I paused, my voice was cracking, "I then went to my father who promoted me to captain of the Lilium

so I could find the ship and destroy it."
"Oh, I see," he paused. His eyes were filled with sorrow, "do you know the ship that did it?"
"I do," I answered, "The Jefferson

."
The color in Skyler's face flushed out, even the stars in the sky weren't as white as his face had just become. "What's your daughters name?" Hmm. Change of topic. Understandable. It had to mean that he was on the ship when it happened.
"Siobhan," I smiled, "her father liked that name."
Skyler looked at me, a hidden smile was on his lips, "It's a beautiful name. I'm sorry she isn't here right now."
I chuckled, "I'm glad she isn't. She'd be punching in random buttons, and with her luck, the self-destruct button. Besides, she'd be screaming 'kidnap' like nobody's business. The Jefferson would even be able to hear her screaming. Sound doesn't even travel through space!"
He looked confused, "even with you here?"
"She went ballistic when she saw I had a blaster in one of my compartments. I still haven't figured out how she got the password for that."
Skyler chuckled, "Sneaky little girl. Does she get that from you?"
"Nope!" was all I could say. I was probably the least sneakiest person on the Lilium

.
"I think I found a planet we could settle on," he punched into the buttons on his side of the ship, then he placed his hand on a lever, "brace yourself," he pushed the lever forward. My body got sucked into the back of the seat, the stars ahead of me disappearing.
After a few seconds being pinned down to the seat, the ship stopped. My body was thrown forward. Skyler smacked his arm across my chest, halting my forward motion. "Did I not say to brace yourself?" A bit of panic was set in his voice. I smiled a sheepish smile.
In front of me floated a bluish-purple planet. The clouds had a greenish tint, engulfing the planet in seperate areas. Already the ship was filled with purple light. As we got closer and began entering the planet's atmosphere, the ship began rattling. "Nothing to worry about," assured Skyler.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"No idea," he replied.
He glided the small vessel down the planets atmosphere and found a clear landing. He shut down the engine with a purple hue emitting in through the windows, decorating the inside of the vessel with purple rays. The effect was that of a disco balls reflection on light in the 20th century.
Skyler opened the door to the outside and led me out. He had a small hand gun ready. "Plan on getting mugged by wild purple fluff balls?" I joked.
He laughed and looked at me. His brown eyes struck a feeling on the tip of my tongue. I've seen those eyes before. "Just taking precautions," he replied.
I followed him a ways away from the vessel.