The Stars Beyond

"Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say"

Cue the spooky 50s music and the narrator drawing the listeners into the story of space exploration. Zoe knew the script inside and out, having watched the movie a thousand times with her dad. She grinned a bit as she buried herself deeper into the overstuffed couch, pulling the red and green throw tighter around her shoulders. Outside, she could hear the pitter patter of the rain and she had one of the windows in the living room open, so she could breath in the fresh smell rain brought.

She glanced over to her phone, turned up to catch the screen should any notifications come through. She saw one from her dad and opened the text.

"Hey Spud. I have another hour or two before I'm leaving the base. Got some news for you." and there were a few planet emojis that he had used.

She chuckled a bit to herself. Her dad was a total dork most the time but he was nuts when it came to what he loved. He had always wanted to be an engineer with NASA and when he graduated college, he went into the Space program after regerous training. He had been there for a year, when he had met her mom, who was a botenist for their Mars program.

She replied back to him to be safe, the storm was getting wild outside. She turned off the movie and got up from the couch, giving a stretch. She adjusted the throw around her and went to the front door, stepping outside to enjoy the rain.

They had a wrap around porch with a swinging bench big enough for two. There were also two wicker chairs with a low table between it set to the left of the front door. They also had planter boxes of different flowers, mostly they were her mom's favorite. One such flower was called the chocolate cosmos. They are a rare species that no longer grows in the wild.

Zoe stepped over to the box they grew in, taking in their aroma and sighed happily. They had started growing them in her mom's greenhouse a few years ago, and when they started blooming, they were brought out to the porch. Those on display were with stunning dark brown and red petals.

In the greenhouse, her mom had been working with other exotic flowering plants, to try and find a way to reintroduce them into their environments. One of the species she had growing was the jade vine. Due to deforestation, this flowering plant was one of the rarest in the world.

The endangered plant produces clusters of jade-colored flowers that are in the shape of claws. When the vines bloom, the flower clusters dangle down like bunches of grapes. Zoe loved learning about the different plants and her mother hoped she would follow in her footsteps of being a botanist.

For Zoe though, she wanted to do more then helping the flora and fauna of the world. With Global Warming taking a greater toll on the world, there were more countries trying to figure out what they could do to help heal the planet.

There was even a contest going on between the countries to see who could come up with an escape plan for the citizens of the world. When Zoe heard about that, she asked her dad about it and he told her the project they were working on, was such a thing.

Her mom was working with friends in Norway for the past year, due to the seed vault in Svalbard. In fact, her mom was due to come home in a few days to make a report with her boss. Zoe could only hope there was good news from the trip and the work that was being done.

A chime went off on her phone and she took it from her pocket, seeing that it was her mom calling.

"Hi mom!" she answered excitedly.

"Hi honey, how are you?" Her mom sounded tired, which was a given, due to the time difference.

"I'm good. I was watching They Came from Pluto. That opening line always gets me" She grinned as she brushed her fingers along with of the flowers in front of her. "How are you? I can't wait until you're home."

"I miss you too baby and it will be soon. We've made a lot of progress here after some issues." There came a pause "Are you outside?"

"Yeah, there's a huge storm raging" And que a rumbling crash of thunder right over the house followed by lightning "That..was pretty close." She said to her mom.

"Just be careful Zoe. The storms lately aren't like what we're used to. They're growing more dangerous."

"I know mom, I'm staying under cover. Oh, dad should be home in a little bit, he's got good news he said." She turned the conversation away from the weather and they talked about her dad for a few minutes.

Just as she was about to hang up with her mom, there was another thunderous boom that actually shook the house and lightning lit up the property. There was something that was up there that shouldn't be.

"Zoe? Zoe, what's wrong?"

"Uh..I just saw something in the sky." She said as she looked out beyond the property line.

The house itself was sitting on two acres with a work shed that her dad used for yardwork and her mom's greenhouse that was behind the main house. There were trees that surrounded the property and across their street was an wheat field that belonged to a man by the name of Edwards. With the wheat harvested the other day, Zoe could see all the way to the farmer's house.

There came another lightning striking through the clouds and the girl jumped as she saw something falling and crashing in the field.

"Mom! I just saw a crash! I have to get help!" She quickly hung up the phone and grabbed her shoes and took off running towards the crash.

She was careful as she ran through the field, mindful of the crater that was made by the plane that tore through the ground. Ahead of her, there were no flames on the craft itself, which was a strange but good sign.

As she came closer to the craft, she was finding that it was like nothing she ever saw before in design. From the rear, she could see thrusters burning blue before they flickered and died, and the wings of the craft were arched where they were attached to the body. To her, it was looking like a modified fighter jet but as she moved around it to inspect for the cockpit, she heard a hiss above her and as she looked up, she saw movement.

She looked for a way to climb up and the side of the ship showed signs that it had been attacked, there were burn marks all over the hull. She frowned and looked up again and moved to the front of the ship, to climb up the nose. Where she noticed twin weapon barrels. She didn't give them more attention as she had to get to the pilot.

She carefully climbed over the front of the ship, slipping a few times as the rain was making the surface slippery. She saw ahead of her that the cockpit was open and as she came closer, she saw the pilot.

"Oh..my..god" She gasped as she saw that it wasn't human. The pilot was dressed in a black jump suit with a strange symbol on the right breast. The skin of the creature was a rich dark blue, unmarred by blemishes. It had black hair that was messy from the crash. There were twin horns that protruded from the forehead of the creature and there were metal brands with script engraved in them. This wasn't all, the creature had sharp pointed ears that had silver piercings in them.

Zoe was in shock and dumbfounded that she was actually seeing an..an alien! As she stared, the creature's eyes shot open and it looked up at her, a hand reaching towards her. The hand looked normal, just like her own, and it grasped out for her own.

"Help.." the single word seemed to jolt right through her and she reached for the hand to help the creature from the cockpit, removing the belt that held them in place. The voice was male, least in the terms she could understand and as she looked at him, she eased him up and down the ship.

"You're going to be alright.." She felt that was needed for the male to hear and looping his arm around her shoulder, she braced him against her and got him away from the ship. When they were a close distance away, there was a beeping sound before the craft itself blew up, the force of the explosion threw them several feet away and tumbling to the ground.

She had to have hit her head as everything felt fuzzy around her and her ears were ringing. She lifted her head up and coming towards her was twin bright lights. She reached for the light and felt a hand grab onto her.

"Zoe!" It was her dad's voice. "What the hell happened?!"

"Pilot" She pointed towards the blue skinned male she pulled from the ship and she heard her dad cursing. She was lifted up and she yelped in pain, looking down at herself. She felt her head throbbing and her dad was saying something about a nasty cut on her temple.

She was put into the car's front seat and the pilot was lifted up and placed into the back seat. Zoe couldn't keep her eyes open and a sigh came from her as she lost consciousness.

Zoe would wake a short time later, resting on her bed and she sat upright quickly, looking around her. The room spun on her and she closed her eyes a moment, breathing slowly.

Her bedroom door was open and she could hear voices speaking heatedly, only one she knew was her dad's. She got up slowly, her hands reaching out in front of her to help steady her and she moved to the door and out to the hall.

She couldn't focus on anything else around her as she made her way to the stairs that would take her to the main floor, passing family pictures that were along the wall.

"I had no choice but to come here to warn you, Kaxus" The stranger said.

"You could have sent us a message." Her dad said with a curse. "We're not ready. We still need to get the ships in orbit, Let alone what will be needed for the new planet"

Zoe stepped down from the last step and froze. She saw the pilot in the living room, facing down her dad like they were no strangers.

"What's going on?" She asked, staring between the two of them.

The two looked at her and the alien winced. "Hi" he lifted his hand in greeting.

"Hey Spud, uh..Damn. This isn't how it's supposed to go down." He said, rubbing a hand over his face. "This is Kilthus. He is a Sylvanian."

"He's.." She trailed off, coming towards Kilthus, staring close before she straightened. "This can't be real. Right? Some nightmare, yeah? Cause..aliens.." She stopped again before speaking again. "Why would aliens really come here?!"

Kilthus flashed a grin at her. "Well, a lot of species do think of this planet as a..refueling port." He shook his head. "No, that's not right. More that younglings of the different worlds will come here to party and leave their mark before returning home."

Zoe stared again, open mouthed. "Earth is basically the Universal Tijuana? We aren't a party planet." She said, gesturing around them. "So the crop circles and such, those are just graffiti?"

"Well as you put it, it's a place we come to visit a short time, though some decide to stay. Have full lives. Children of their own." The blue horned male said to her, though he was giving a look at the girl's father.

"That explains some things I saw when I was little." Zoe said softly, as if she were remembering something that happened when she was seven, she had been playing with friends at school when she saw a yellow skinned creature with large red eyes. It had been watching the group of kids on the playground but when an adult came around, it bolted away. She sank down onto the couch, rubbing at her head as she felt a throbbing pain at her temples. "What did you call my dad?" She asked Kilthus.

"Oh, that's his true name. Kaxus."

"Listen baby" Her dad sat in front of her on the coffee table. "Your mom and I were going to explain everything to you but we just didn't have the chance. We both have been working hard on a way to leave Earth, with colonists. We have several ships all around the world in different countries that will be able to take everyone. We aren't leaving anyone behind."

Zoe frowned a moment as she listened to him. "Well I know you two have been working to help the planet. But how does he know you?" She gestured to the alien.

"I'm your uncle." Kilthus said matter a factly.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "Care to say that again?"

"Kilthus has no filter on his mouth." Her father sighed as he stood up and touched at a watch he wore and his appearance blurred and instead of the copper skinned human with dark hair and green eyes that was six foot two and built like a brick house, there stood an even taller blue skinned horned male. Though his horns were formed differently, they curled back like a ram's horns and one, the right, wasn't as long as the left, looking like it had been seared off. His eyes were what struck her hard, they were a piercing gold.

"I'm still me Spud. It had to be this way to blend in, or else, well, you wouldn't be here." Her father said in a now deep bass voice.

"So, I'm..uh..half human?" She stammered out.

"You're my sister's daughter." Her uncle spoke up, grinning wide as he seemed to take enjoyment from the bit of chaos he stirred up.

"Oh my god..we're..tieflings." She said outloud and her dad gave a weak chuckle.

"Without tails honey." he said to her. "When your mother comes home, we will help you come to your true self. We had to alter your DNA slightly when you were born as you couldn't wear the cloak."

Zoe took a deep breath in. And out. In. Out. She felt like the ground had been yanked from under her and she was floating in space. The vacuum of space that was taking away her voice. She gave a shake of herself, finding her focus again.

She wasn't human. She couldn't believe it.

"Are you guys in trouble or something? That you didn't go back home? Sure Earth was better when you were younger but what was it that made you want to really stay?"

"Your mother and I were of different Houses that have been at war with each other for centuries. We had met through friends and fell in love. We knew our parents wouldn't understand, so when our chance for our Aspiration, we took a ship and came to Earth."

"Aspiration? Is that like a coming of age thing?" She asked, finding that she was calming down and the floating sensation was fading.

"Yes. It was decided a long time ago that the younglings of the different species with space travel technology would go out to explore and find their way on their Home Worlds. Many would make alliances for their worlds or some were sent out as spies." Her uncle spoke up, his arms crossing over his slender midsection.

"Did you come here to take my parents back with you? Is that why you came?"

"Somewhat, yes. Moreso, it was in warning. There are Factions on our world that have been gearing up to invade other planets and Earth is on their list. I was telling your father of the new dangers but it seems he and others have been planning to leave for some time. It all works out nicely. There is even a new planet for humans to continue on."

"Are you talking about the Goldielock Zone? Planet Kepler-186f?" She asked, her eyes wide as she sat up straighter.

Her father grinned to her, patting her shoulder. "With our technology, we will be able to travel there within a month, maybe two."

"That is incredible! Scientists were saying it would take nearly 600 light years." She shot to her feet. "When do we go?"

Kilthus chuckled "I like her eagerness."

"I will need to call the Colonial about the plans and moving up. I would say as quickly as possible. It may take a few days for the different governments to inform their nations of the move."

There was a sudden flash of light hitting the living room before the door burst open, her mom entering quickly. The older woman stopped short as she took in the sight of her husband and brother in their true forms. But for her daughter to see them like this and not freaking out, she rushed to her girl, wrapping her arms around her.

"Baby! You're alright!" She brushed her hands over her face, looking her over. "When you mentioned a crash..I didn't think it was.." She eyed her brother.

"Don't look at me like that Oriphi. This was one of my better crashes." He puffed out his chest to her. She rolled her eyes and sat beside her daughter.

"Are you alright? Your father told me everything and I couldn't wait to get home any sooner."

"I'm fine mom. I think it would have been important to tell me sooner that I wasn't human, but I get why you two did it. But now, it's really less of a freak out." She gave her a slight grin before she was hugging her mom tightly. "I missed you!"

"I'm missed you too honey. It seems we need to get moving faster now. From what your uncle's appearance means for us."

Her husband sat beside her and kissed her cheek. "I'll make the calls now." he said as he took his phone from his pocket and dialed a number that was saved. He got up and went into the kitchen to let the three talk as needed.

"So where is our home planet? Is it near Kepler-186f?" Zoe asked, looking between the two adults.

"No. Sylva is in the Centaurus galaxy, nearly neighbors to Earth." Her uncle smiled to her. He looks to his sister. "I'm not the only one that left though. Aside from the one that came after me, we have five ships from our allies that are in orbit to help move the humans along."

Zoe smiled to her uncle as he said this and she looks to her mother. "This is good. Having the help because I know there are those that are going to be too stubborn to move. Or scared."

Her mother nodded and took her own phone from her pocket, calling her companions and informing them to gather their families and supplies they are going to be needing. Word was going to sped quickly and as she ended the call, her husband came back to join them.

"Well, that wasn't terrible." He said to them. "The President wants to meet with us so that we can explain to the public what will be happening."

"That works" Kilthus spoke up as he moved towards the window, looking out at the cloudy sky, the rain having moved on. "There's more to tell you all." He turned to face them. "The ships I mentioned, they are allies, but I wasn't truthful on the numbers. There are several houses that have joined us as we lost the war at home." He looked to his sister and brother in law.

The couple looked to one another and bowed their foreheads together with the shared sorrow for those that were lost. Their people were brutal and never took prisoners.

"So we will all share this new world, we will help protect your colony ships and help with settlement." The male said to them.

"Great, let's get this rolling then." Kaxus stood, looking at Zoe "Pack what you want to take. Kilthus, contact the ships to let them know we're moving forward, but not to move into the atmosphere until I give the word."

Zoe nodded, coming to her feet and hurrying up to her room to pack what she would want to bring with her. She felt her hands shaking as she grabbed her clothes. She could hear the adults talking and while they were trying to speak in hush tones, she heard them as clear as day.

They were worried about the humans and there might be trouble when they learned of the ships waiting in orbit. Many felt they were ready to meet the races and there would be some fight back from those that felt aliens were a threat.

Humans didn't like what they didn't know and understand.

They spoke about the loses on their world as well and she could hear her mother start to cry. Even though they had left their home years ago, it didn't mean she hated their family. The loss was too great and a reason why she was wanting to help those of Earth. Peace was a needed for the betterment of all.

As Zoe came downstairs with a backpack of her belongings as well as two suitcases, she paused as she watched her family in a tight embrace. She smiled as she watched them and she set her things down and came to join in the circle, her dad pulling her in with them.

"We will succeed this day." Her father said, easing back to look at them with a firm look. Her mother left them to head upstairs to fetch their baggage, there was no need to pack as they had planned for this five years ago.

The family headed outside and Zoe paused. "What about the plants Mom? We can't leave them here." She was looking at the Chocolate Cosmos, moving to the planter box as though she would scoop it up.

"It is alright Zoe. I have all the seeds in my case here. Once we have arrived on the new planet, we will be able to grow them in their proper enviroment." She smiled softly to her daughter, understanding how she wasn't ready to let go.

The family would put their gear into the back of her dad's jeep and they drove off towards the base. Her dad changing back to his human disguise and her uncle reached up to touch the symble on his jump suit and his image blurred like he was out of focus a moment. When the guise took over, he looked like he was in his late teens, his black hair was about his shoulders, his eyes were a dark stormy blue and he was slender of build.

He looked to her with a smile and a wink.

Once they arrived at the base, and they were allowed through, there was a lot of commotion taking place. The military was packing up and there were trucks rolling out the gates to gather the people of the nearby town, informing them through a PA system that they were to pack up two suit cases for each member of the family. If they had pets, they were to pack for them with plenty of supplies.

The town mobilized quickly, there were some that were panicking which was normal. They had all known they would be leaving, though not this soon. Once people were ready, they lined the streets of their homes or places of business and were brought to the base. Those that were outside of town, they were brought in with their own belongings, including Mr Edwards, who had been visiting with his sister on her own farm.

Livestock was packed into transport trucks, brought onto the base and they would be given a solution to keep them passive for the changes coming.

The meeting with the President and the cabinet went smoothly and the announcement was made live for the country. Those that wanted to remain would be allowed but they were informed of the threat to their world from those beyond their stars.

An alien threat had people moving faster but with the military in place, they did their best in getting people gathered for pick up. Those that didn't believe in Global Warming and that it was all a hoax..well, they were left to their own vices on the planet. The police and military couldn't get them to change their minds.

By dawn the following day, all the bases were packed with those that will be moving on to the ships. The roar of conversation was almost deafening. Zoe found her friends and as teenagers tend to do, they were excited and anxious but she kept her true self a secret for the moment.

Zoe's dad stepped up onto a stage and spoke into a loud speaker for all to hear him once he had their attention.

"I am happy to see all my friends have gathered here today! We are embarking on a new adventure! It is a little sooner then we planned, but never fear! We have allies that will be helping us transition from Earth to our new home!"

Right on que, holoscreen projections appeared above the crowd, there were six in total. On one screen, it shows Klithus in his true form, on the protection beside him, there was a female of pure pale red skin with a white mohawk, her eyes completely black, and she was dressed in a flowing white robe.

The next image was of a creature of stone that wore a kilt and had a battle axe like weapon on his back, the next alien was of a water elemental and they waved at the crowd of people. "It is a true pleasure to meet you all! I haven't been to Earth before, though I have heard many stories!" Their voice came through clear and cripsy and people seemed at ease.

The next was a tall slender male wearing trousers and a sleeveless vest. He offered a bow to those watching but didn't speak. The last was of an alien many knew. It was a Grey. The being was tall, slightly haunched at the shoulders and those eyes seemed to make many people flinch and back away.

"I and my people mean you all no harm. We have watched you for many centuries and have gathered our information. There are many things that we love about your cultures, including bass, beautiful women and keeping it real. We suffer no suckers on our homeworld, we only pity fools."

From the crowd, there were several people that shouted WHOO! The Grey's speaker gave its version of a laugh which sounded like a chittering and held up a fist to the crowd.

The crowd was put to ease and sensing they were ready, Kaxus raised his hands into the air and there came a rumbling as a large section of the ground rumbled away. Coming up from the huge gap in the ground was a lift that had the colony ship hovering above the steel lift.

The ship was something of pure imagination. There were four levels to the ship, in the center, to the rear was the main hub, where engineering was held, the bridge and quarters for the crew as well as storage for crops and animal life they weren't able to bring with them.

In the center, at the top level, was a glass dome structure, the size of a football field, that housed a large pasture that had cows and other livestock grazing about. The next dome structure that was half the size of the domed farm, held a mini forest with birds fluttering about. On the third level, there was an even small domed environment that housed a desert that bloomed with the creatures that called the sands home, along with the plant life.

Each level was connected with ringed corridors and lifts. At the front of the large colony ship was a slender sensor array that would produce a shield to protect them through the journey.

Zoe moved to her parents, smiling to them and together, they headed for the ship.

All around the world, the other countries have their own ships being boarded and heading for orbit.

"This is going to be a fine adventure." Zoe said with a smile as she walked up the gang plank, a bright light shining ahead of her.