Chapter 4 The Earth's Twin

"I wanted to find things out for myself, I'm just new to this news." Mara said.

Aurora shut the fridge harshly, "Look, I'm not a fool okay?! I know and I can tell if someone likes me or not, I can tell if someone trusts me or not, I can tell if someone thinks I'm fake or not, you are not the first person treating me like this. Don't act innocent to me when you have other intentions, I may be quiet but trust when I say I know." She walked away to the pot, boils some spaghetti and she warms up the special tomato sauce she had stored up earlier before they met.

Mara walked closer to her and she pulls the plates from her hands, "I said I'm sorry because I know I hurt you, I just met you and I think I need to know you more. You need to understand that I'm a captain, I'm not a scientist or some sort of professor. I give commands and I take commands and honestly, I never took his permission for his things, when I saw them with you I didn't like it."

Aurora took her gaze to Mara, she's silent. She doesn't have the words to give, Mara moved closer to her, "I'm sorry, I won't do it again. I want to work with you, give me another chance. I may have something you need, like his two intelligent daughters, Astrid and Luna. They may like you even though they don't like me," Aurora isn't buying into her words or the concept of her actions.

Aurora snubbed her and she proceeds with the food, she takes her plate saying, "Get yours from the pot and if you want, if you don't want it then leave it." Mara stared at her as she walked away from the kitchen. Mara's not hungry so she proceeds to sit by Xander.

"I found something Mara, a total download of something else different from this project but it's in cooperation with it. I noticed this had a chip with it, so there's a box and now there's a chip, also a glove with a map attached to it. I noticed a blueprint of a location or a structure within the location, it didn't look so earthly. I think I know where he went but I don't know how he got there, he's on the other earth. In his project, he mentioned something about his discovery of the earth in two places. He named them Earth X and Earth Y. That's like saying we have duplicates. The male Earth and a female Earth or the Earth has an identical twin. But I can't tell which is which. I need his equipment and his tools, maybe I'll get some answers from there."

Aurora's silent, Xander stared at her and said, "If you know anything, now would be the right time to say it. If you had anything from my father, now would be a proper time to bring it out."

She continued eating like she's not spoken to, Mara feels irritated, "Okay! Look! You have no access to those properties and you have no access to us even. If you know you're gonna act like a child? You better understand your place. I am a captain, I mean a senior captain, and with legalized authority, I can get you arrested and demand everything I want with or without your able permission." She walked out on her and Xander with Galen's laptop and hers.

Xander picked up the files, but Aurora didn't move an inch. She sat still while they left, Mara walks around to the back of the house and she picks up the equipment she took. As she walked away from them, she suddenly hears a click. It's a gun. Aurora's pointing a gun to her face, Mara stands still. Aurora asked, "Do you think I'm a joke? Mara? I let you in because I like you, that doesn't mean I can't leave you. Drop it down, now."

Mara responds, "No, do your worst to me. Let's see how far you'll go for your greed."

Xander Nova walked into the heated moment, he stared at the gun closely. Aurora turned to him and Mara kicked the gun from her hands to the ground, it hit the wall with a slide from their distance. Aurora tries to get the gun but Mara's stronger, she pulls her back and she toom the gun. She pointed it at Aurora and said to Xander without turning to him, "Xander collect everything! Pick everything you can find. Fast!"

He moved quickly to get them, but Aurora stays still for the sake of her life. Mara yelled, "Put your hands where I can see them," She obeyed.

Mara placed the handcuffs on her, "Now move to the car."

She obeyed, and Mara put her at the back. "Xander let's go! You are driving! Get in!" She sat by Aurora and Xander drove off after shutting the door. They reach Nexus City after passing through the Astral outpost, they get to her apartment, and Mara gives instructions to the guard standing outside.

"Scan her and lock her up, get as much information as you can from her. Don't let her escape." He obeyed.

"Xander drive us to my house." They get to her house, and funny enough they see two persons they never thought would see at her house. It's Astrid and Luna.

"I know you're not happy to see us and of course you never expected us to be here either but I need you to know one thing, Mara, I don't trust you but if I feel I can work with you. At least for the same as my lost father."

Xander replied, "Finally Astrid, you got some form of sense knocked into your head. We should head inside." Mara remained silent.

She just walked into the house, it's her turn to be snobbish. Astrid walked up to her a few moments later, "Hey."

She turned to Astrid with a straight face uttering a short and emotionless, "Hey."

Astrid stared at her for a while, "Look I know you and my father had a thing with the past and I know you feel a certain way for him but my mother doesn't deserve the treatment she got from the both of you."

Mara gets offended. "Do you know what you should do? You should either shut up or you ask questions, I mean severe straightforward questions. It'll be better and wiser of you to actually criticize me when you know what it's like to be in my shoes for a minute. Your father loved me, I mean we loved each other but your mother came in between. Guess what, I stepped away and he still pursued, I mean he still followed me." Astrid's lips are mute, she thought this woman stole him but then she understood that they can't be stolen unless they agree to be the items of theft in the market.

She exhaled, she walked to the table, she asked, "What happened? Did you make him disappear out of anger? I heard he was with you on the phone that night."