Lenan could tell the instant the Stellas recognized him. Their faces twisted into expressions of anger, and then disgust.

"Traitor." The word the Stellas spat out was written in every line of his face.

Lenan held up his hands. Steadied his breathing. "That's how you see it."

The Kagva stepped forward. "That's how it is."

"You think I would betray my own people for a human?" Lenan hoped Ivy would stick to the plan as he improvised. The almost nonexistent plan, of course. They hadn't really had time to think it through. "I took her back to earth to gain her trust. I did, and found out where the starbeam was."

The Stellas watched Lenan silently. Lenan could almost see their brains working, testing what he had just said. He wasn't sure what their verdict would be, so he waited uncertainly. "Why did you come back here, then, instead of joining the fighting?" The Kagva eventually said. The uncertainty in his voice though was enough for Lenan to believe he had an opening.

"Someone might think I was an enemy." He hated how easily he lied to his own people. But it wasn't the time to hesitate. "Shoot without waiting for an explanation."

The two Stellas exchanged a glance. "We'll wait for Morocco to make the decision." The Kagva finally said. "But we will make sure he listens to what you have to say before he makes a judgement."

Lenan nodded, suddenly faced with the gaping hole in his plan. There was no way for Ivy to get in there to deactivate the box. And if he showed too much interest in it, the other Stellas might get suspicious. He glanced at the Stellas holding the box, hoping Ivy wouldn't panic when she saw the plan wasn't working.

He calmed himself. She wouldn't let panic take over. Lenan walked as casually as he could towards the container. He indicated it, asking, "Is the starbeam in there?"

Something about his stare told Lenan he would not be someone to mess with. "Yes." Of course, a quick look at him could tell you that anyway. He was definitely over six feet and burly. At the moment he was sitting down, and on the ground next to him lay a sword, glistening bright gold.

Lenan studied the box, wondering if he could figure out the way to disable it. It would make Ivy's part much easier. There was no way to communicate with her to find out what she was planning. If she revealed herself too soon, their plan to disable the starbeam would utterly dissolve.

~~~

Ivy was taking deep breaths to calm herself. She had wanted to stop Lenan before he revealed himself, insist that they needed a better plan. Instead, she had just let him go, and now they were in this predicament.

She realized now--too late, of course--that if she had wanted to make a move, she should have done it as soon as Lenan stepped out. As he had been explaining himself to the other Stellas.

"Too late for that." She muttered, under her breath. Ivy peeked an eye around the pod she saw hiding behind, surveying the area. There was one Kagva, she noted, and wondered if he was going to be any more dangerous than the others. Lenan certainly didn't act like it, but of course, he was trying not to be suspicious.

He had changed positions since Ivy had last checked, and was closer to the box than before. Ivy glanced at the alien holding the box again. Lenan could hold him off, she guessed, but it was three against one. Technically two if she counted herself, but she knew she wasn't that good at fighting. If I get through this, I'm taking some sort of self-defense class. She ducked behind the pod again, so as to not be seen.

It would have to be shut off by surprise. And if it could be turned off, then it could be turned on again. They would have to get it out of the Stellas' reach quickly. She chewed absently on her bottom lip, then stopped abruptly.

A tiny hint of a plan started to form. If she could get to the car with the box, drive away, and then disable it... That might work, but she would need the right opportunity. She studied the scene in her mind. If he wasn't holding the box so tightly, she could try to grab it away from him on the advantage of surprise.

Light reflected off the gleaming sword lying next to the alien, drawing her attention to it. If she could get him to reach for his weapon, then she could get the box and run. She was decent at running, at least. It had been one of her strengths in high school, but that had been a couple years now...

I'll worry about that later. The immediate problem would be how. She couldn't communicate with Lenan, so he couldn't help much.

She nearly screamed when something tapped her back. Clamping a hand over her own mouth as she spun to face—Maggie's wide eyes stared back at her.

"What are you doing here?" Ivy hissed.

"I'm here to help!" Her little sister stated it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You promised Lenan you'd stay in the car." If Ivy pursed her lips much harder, the blood flow would cease entirely.

"I had my fingers crossed."

"Of course you did." Maggie must have missed—or ignored—Ivy's sarcasm, because she bobbed her head.

"So what can I do?"