Starfire

Scene 10: Complicated First Day

The way Koriand'r had slept, anyone would've mistaken her for dead if they had not heard her breathing. When she finally woke up, she felt fully rested, unlike the rude awakenings she had had during her slave days.

When she went downstairs, Jennifer and Mr. Hawkins were preparing breakfast. They told her the food was bacon and eggs. Like the turkey from the night before, Koriand'r could not get enough of them. The food on this planet was incredible.

After breakfast, Koriand'r had her first haircut. At first she seemed unsure to have a pair of metal cutters close to her body. It wasn't until after Mr. Hawkins told her that she needed her hair cut if she was going to box at all that she finally conceded.

Before the haircut, though, they had to straighten her hair, which was very curly. According to Jennifer, the process had taken an entire hour. Fortunately, the haircut didn't take as long. On the contrary, it apparently took only a matter of minutes.

"Do I look nice?" asked Koriand'r when Hawkins told her Jennifer had finished.

"Like a gift from God, Kori. Like a gift from God."

"This is a compliment?" asked Koriand'r, unsure of the meaning of the words Mr. Hawkins had used.

"I keep forgetting you still have a lot to learn about us," said Mr. Hawkins, "but yes, what I said was one of the most complimenting things anyone could ever say to you. Now I got to go run a few errands. You ladies try to avoid burning the place down."

The moment Mr. Hawkins had left, Jennifer turned to Koriand'r. "I never thought I would be sharing my house with an alien. You wouldn't mind telling me more about yourself, would you Kori?"

"Of course," said Kori. "What do you wish for me to tell you?"

"What are your people like?"

"Well. . ." This shouldn't have been a hard question to answer. The problem was that six years of slavery had left Koriand'r with only vague recollections of what the Tamaranians had been before they fell to the Citadel. But she couldn't leave Jennifer with no answer at all.

"Well, the people of my planet use our emotions to have solar energy be used to power our ability to fly."

"That's incredible!" said Jennifer. "What's your planet like?"

Koriand'r considered this question too. At last, after some thought, she replied, "My planet, Tamaran, is one of the most beautiful locations in the galaxy. It is lush and tropical, with oceans that are among the most spectacular."

"Tamaran sounds wonderful," said Jennifer. Her expression became confused. "What I don't get is why you would ever want to leave?"

Koriand'r could not bring herself to answer that. She just couldn't. At least, she just couldn't tell the truth.

Holding back tears, she simply said, "Perhaps Earth and Tamaran have one thing in common. Perhaps it was time for me to go and make a life for myself. Perhaps I merely wished to see other places on such a perilous journey."

Koriand'r felt like she didn't believe her own lie, but Jennifer just nodded. "I'm sure you still miss it there."

Koriand'r nodded yes, which was perfectly true. It didn't make her feel better, but at least she could stop lying now.

"With your permission, Jennifer, I wish to step outside for a while."

"Of course you can," said Jennifer, "just don't stray far away."

Koriand'r nodded, but the moment she stepped outside, she looked to make sure Jennifer had gone somewhere else in the house. Then Koriand'r took to the skies and made her way to a nearby forest.

***

Koriand'r lost track of the time she had been outside the house and in the forest. She had needed to escape from that place, even if for only a moment. She felt terrible for lying to Jennifer, but talking about the past would've been too painful. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to do it again.

When she had begun to fly back, she saw Mr. Hawkins's car was parked in front of the house. Koriand'r smiled, at least until she heard his voice and Jennifer's calling her name frantically. What was wrong? How long had she been gone?

When she flew down to the front porch, Mr. Hawkins looked at her with a mix of fury and relief. "There you are! Where the heck have you been, young lady?"

"I wished to have a flight and. . ."

"Flight? You can fly?" When Koriand'r nodded, he shouted, "Are you crazy!? You could've been seen, followed! You could've put your own life in danger! What were you thinking?"

"I merely flew into the forest not far from here. No one saw me, I assure you."

What Koriand'r would not mention was that she had using the trees there as targets to practice using her starbolts. Although cruel Psions had given her these powers, albeit inadvertently, they were now part of her. She had to accept that.

Mr. Hawkins seemed to gain control of his temper. When he spoke, his voice was much more gentle. "Okay, I believe you. But listen to me very clearly. If you feel the need to do something like that again, stay in the forest, and only do it at night. If you had been seen, and less understanding people saw you, you might not come back."

That was when Jennifer came back in. "There you are! I'm glad to see you're not hurt! Just tell me where you go before you fly off!"

Koriand'r began to apologize, only to be cut off by Mr. Hawkins. "It's okay, you just got to be more careful next time." He smiled now. Come on, it's time for your first sparring session."

Jennifer led Koriand'r behind the house to a shed, which was full of boxing equipment. Within the hour, Koriand'r had been taught all the basic moves a boxer should know.

"Between you and me," Jennifer commented, "this is all you'll need to know. You've already got some strong fists, and since you're a new talent, you'll have your lack of boxing experience to your advantage."

"How will that be an advantage?" asked Koriand'r in confusion.

"The people know nothing about you, so they won't know what to make of you," explained Jennifer. "If one of your opponents underestimates you, they might not think they have to try hard to beat you. You, on the other hand, don't have to worry about stuff like that. That's your advantage."

The sun was setting now. Mr. Hawkins came out to the shed in a moment to announce that dinner was ready. As they made their way back to the house, Mr. Hawkins said there was a matter he needed to talk to Koriand'r about.

Over ham and corn on the cob, he said, "I've talked to Mr. Darren, my boss. We got hold of some identification papers for you so no one will think you're an alien. I have a friend in our government who helped us out with that.

"However, what I really wanted to tell you is this. We agreed that your name, though unique and cool, isn't a good name for a boxer. Is there anything you can think of that might suffice? I really need an answer before you go to bed."

Koriand'r broke into a grin. "I believe I have the answer. My name, Koriand'r, is merely how you would say it in the language of my people. What you must understand is that Tamaranian names can be translated into any language on any planet, even here."

"So what would your name translate here?" asked Jennifer.

"Starfire."