"My name is Roman." "Ten years ago, our ship crash-landed on Earth." "We came here seeking refuge, but the Humans thought that it was an invasion." "That night, I met a Human girl who tried to protect me... a girl I never thought I'd see again." "The surviving members of my race, the Atrians, were rounded up and isolated inside a militarized sector." "Now it's 2024." "Seven of us have been chosen to attend high school as a part of a government integration program." "But the Humans and Atrians continue to distrust each other, while I fight to protect my people and the Human girl who saved my life... at any cost." "Previously on Star-Crossed..." "I'm asking you to release someone from the Crate." "Saroya... it's time to go home." "Do you know what this is?" "It's called a mirzan... a kind of flight recorder." "What did you see?" "_" "_" "Castor?" " Someone... shot the pilot?" " Castor." "Is that big Atrian the one that's filling your head" " with all these lies?" " Who, Drake?" "You left the fund-raiser together... you two and that-that girl Zoe." "Mom?" "Did you draw that?" " It's awesome." " Thanks." "Taylor asked me to design the invite for her meteor shower shindig Friday night." "She will literally look for any excuse to throw a party." "Think of it as a celebration of youth." "The next time the meteor shower happens, we're gonna be old, shriveled and wearing mom jeans." "I don't think you could ever be shriveled." "Thanks, Soph!" "And look at you, rockin' this new do." "I love it." "You know, I've actually never seen a meteor shower before." "Well, you'll get to watch this one from the comfort of my parents' hot tub." "You guys love water, right?" "Sure." "Well, get ready." "Hot tubs have a way of making people really friendly with each other, if you know what I mean." "Can you invite the rest of the Atrian Seven?" "I doubt Teri will come." "What about Drake?" "I don't know." "Maybe." " Yeah, where is Drake tonight?" " At the Sector, I think." "Why?" "Just got to chat with him" " about something." " Maybe I can wrangle" "Roman to come to the party." "He could use a little adventure in his life." "Castor?" "Are you okay?" "I'm pretty far from okay." "I'm sorry." "I never should've picked this thing up." "No." "I'm glad you did." "Can you think of anybody who would leave it outside of your pod, or why?" "Somebody who wanted to expose what happened." "No matter how many times I watch it," "I still can't believe that Castor would be capable of murder." " Or crashing the ship." " You told me yourself the flight recorder shows us exactly what happened on the ship before it crashed, through the pilot's own eyes." "Yeah, but what if we're not getting the whole story?" "Castor helped us defeat black cyper before the Trags could unleash it on Edendale." "He stood with me against Vega." "I need to talk to him." "Are you sure that's a good idea?" "He's worked hard to gain my trust." "There's got to be some sort of explanation." " For murdering someone?" " Please." "Just..." "let me figure this out." "On my own." "Okay." "But promise me you'll be careful." "Talk to him in a public place." "Don't just go barreling into the Sector." "Barreling?" "Me?" "I'm the picture of stealth." "And here I thought our biggest problem was hiding our relationship so the Trags and Red Hawks don't go ballistic." "It's still you and me; that doesn't change." "I'm just happy that I have someone in my life that I know I can trust." "Must be strange to be back after being in the Crate for eight years." "You know, one of my first memories about this place was being right here with you." "You taught me how to barter." "You said a Vwasak lives by two principles:" "always have the upper hand, and do whatever you have to do to survive." "I shouldn't be out here." " This is a mistake." " What are you talking about?" "They're coming for me." "What you saw on the flight recorder... it's true." "So you admit to shooting the pilot?" "I've had to live with this secret for ten years." "Humans and Atrians both believe we crashed because of pilot error." "But the truth is we crashed because I was trying to stop a mutiny." "Your father gave orders that we were not to land on an inhabited planet." "But the pilot and the copilot, Saroya, disobeyed your father, and they planned to land on Earth in order to colonize it." "Drake's mother was part of a mutiny?" "I had to act in the best interest of our people." "When the pilot refused to turn the ship around," "I had no choice but to shoot him." "But then the ship crashed." "No." "Saroya fought me, determined to land on Earth." "That's when she lost control of the ship." "She's a dangerous woman, Roman." "Years ago, she was sent to the Crate for housing illegal weapons." "But why lie about it this whole time?" "Why not just tell the truth?" "I was trying to protect our people, Roman." "I am still trying to protect our people." "That is why you and I need to trust one another." "So that we can defeat the real enemy here:" "the Trags." "Don't listen to them." "He's sending his assassins." "Who is?" "Mom..." "Mom!" "Mom, what's wrong?" "We have to leave." "We're not safe." "It was Saroya that went against my father's orders." "I've always heard the story that Drake's mom was to blame for the crash, but now I know the whole story." "She was trying to mutiny." "And you believe Castor?" "He came clean right away, owned up to hiding the truth of what's actually happened the past ten years." "I don't know if I'd give him points for that." "He couldn't exactly deny having shot the pilot, not when we'd literally lived through it." "Why are you so resistant to believe him?" "Why are you so eager to?" "He only recently came back into your life." "How well do you really know him?" "I know that without his help that you and your family would still be targeted by the Trags." "Roman, I'm just saying, this was ten years ago." "You told me he used to be a Trag." "And every day he's proven to me that he's changed." "You're right." "He's your family, and I'm not gonna get involved." "I just think you should talk to Saroya before you accept Castor's story." "Look, I know that you just want to find a way to help, but there are things that you can never understand about my world, about my people." "That thing you did with your, you know... is that, like, an Atrian thing?" "Nah." "It's a Drake thing." "Well, I liked it." " Yeah?" " Mm-hmm." "You're not so bad yourself." "So, will I see you tomorrow night?" "What's tomorrow night?" "Party at my house while my parents are out of town to watch the meteor shower." "Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah." "That's right." "Um, I can't make it." "I have a..." "I have a thing." "Since when has your" "Sector social life been so busy?" "There's just something I got to keep an eye on." "Something or someone?" "It's not like that." "Well, we never said we were exclusive." "There isn't anyone else." "You never tell me anything about your life." "Is it really that difficult to let me in just a little?" "There's nothing to tell." "My life is my life, okay?" "Okay." "I'm sorry I can't make it." "Have fun." "Oh, I saw what you did." "Look, man, it was her idea." "You and Roman left me unconscious on my front lawn the night of my parents' charity ball." "You were blackout drunk." "And then you tried to drive off in Zoe's car." "Roman and I stopped you; and believe me, it wasn't fun dragging your drunk ass home." "Well, why would you go out of your way to help me?" "Call it returning the favor." "You stopped those Red Hawks at the carnival from feeding me to the gators." "And... where'd Zoe go the night of the party?" "How the hell should I know?" "After she got her car back, she left." "That's the last time I saw her." "The way I see it, you should be thanking me." "If it wasn't for us, you'd be in a lot more trouble right now." "I know why you're here." "Stop!" "What are you doing?" "!" "Nox would be ashamed of you!" "Mom, what are you saying?" " Castor was right about you." " Castor's a liar!" "Everything that comes out of that Trag's mouth is poison!" "I saw what happened the night that the ship crashed." "Huh?" "Castor shot the pilot to put a stop to your mutiny!" " You saw?" " All right, somebody better tell me what the hell's going on here." "I left the flight recorder on your dostep... the mirzan." "Do you have it?" "You left it?" "As soon as I returned to the Sector," "I tried to get it to your father." "I needed to expose Castor." "He was the one who disobeyed Nox's orders." "He was the one who caused the crash!" "Why should I believe you?" "You just attacked me!" "Why would I want to give the flight recorder to Nox if it would prove my own guilt?" "All right, I've heard enough." "Let's go." "Come on." "You come into my pod and accuse my mother of mutiny?" " Castor said that she and the pilot..." " Enough about Castor!" "Nox was smart enough not to blindly trust him." " Why the hell would you?" " I trust Castor 'cause he works to keep Trags like you on a leash!" "Nice to know where your loyalties lie, brother." "Oh, God, what happened?" "It's not every day you get attacked by your best friend's mom." " Roman, I'm so sorry." "I had no idea..." " No, no, no." "You were right." "I needed to get her side of the story." "So Castor was telling the truth; she's dangerous." "Well, that's what I thought." "There was something she said." "What?" "She was the one who left the mirzan for my father, before she found out he was dead." "But why would she do that?" "To show my father what really happened the night the ship crashed." "Which means she probably wasn't the one disobeying orders." "Exactly." "So, what now?" "I need to talk to the Hwatab, council of tribal elders, tell them what I've seen." "I don't think you should be doing this alone." "Especially when you don't know who you can trust." "It's the only way I can find out who's really telling the truth." "Look, I will meet you at The Mud Bug right after I talk to them." "I don't want you to worry about anything." "Other than scoping out the best place for us to watch the meteor shower." "Okay?" "Castor knew I wasn't gonna expose him ten years ago, not with a young child to protect." "But now, he's running scared." "It's only a matter of time before he sends his assassins for us." "Mom, I'm not a child anymore." "I can protect you." "No." "No, you can't." "Is this how you greet all your guests?" "What do you want, Teri?" "My mother asked me to summon you." "Both of you." "How many of these do we have left?" "Uh, until we run out of stars." "I thought you were excited for this party." "I am." "It's just... it's the event of the season." "I don't know why anyone wouldn't want to be there." "Okay." "I just hate being sidelined." "I mean, it's like you find this really sexy, crush-worthy... pair of kitten heels, and then you discover no matter how hard you try to break them in, they keep on resisting you and won't open up to you." "You know what I mean?" "I don't think you can get really close to someone until they're completely honest with you." "And vice versa." "Hey, Taylor?" "Can I talk to you?" "Sure." "Privately?" "It's okay." "I'll finish these." "I know you guys just broke up, but damn, Grayson." "She is not a leper." "It's complicated." "Have you heard from Zoe at all?" "Nope." "And that's not at all strange to you?" "I mean, she is your best friend." "Drake tracked her down for me and found out that her family moved up north after they were evicted." "I didn't want to tell anyone 'cause I knew she'd be really embarrassed if people found out." "So Drake saw her?" "And then she told him this?" "Yeah, last week." "Why?" "I think something else may have been going on with Zoe." "And I need your help." "Just for a few hours." "Okay." "But I have to be back at my house by 8:00 p.m. to get ready." "This doesn't just happen." "It's been a long time, Saroya." "How are you finding your transition after eight years in a hot dry cell?" " Was it that long?" " If only you'd pledged yourself to the Trags like I had advised." " We could have protected you." " I stopped listening to you the day you went from being my closest friend to being a terrorist." "Luckily, Drake doesn't share your stubbornness." "What are you talking about?" "Oh, he didn't tell you." "As the new leader of the Trags, one of my first orders of business was to recruit your son." "Why are we here, Vega?" "You are here because I made it so." "I am responsible for getting you released from the Crate." "You did this?" "After so many died in the crash, you, Saroya, are our most experienced engineer in the Sector." "The only reason the Humans have the upper hand is because they greatly outnumber us." "That is why we need you to build the device to correct this imbalance." "The Suvek." " What's a Suvek?" " This doesn't concern you." "I have no interest in starting a war with the Humans." "What makes you think I would do that for you?" "Because you have enemies in the Sector... people who believe you crashed our ship." "I can protect you." "And your son." "Like I said, I stopped listening to you a long time ago." "And I'd rather go back to that hot dry cell than help the Trags." "Hey." "Are you coming to Taylor's party tonight?" "I need to go see the Hwatab." "Is everything okay?" "Yeah, it's fine." "Go to the party." "I'll meet you there when I can." "Okay." "When were you gonna tell me you joined the Trags?" "I'm not with them anymore;" "I just have to pretend to be." "I thought I could trust Vega;" "she used to be your friend." "Yeah, and Roman used to be yours." "You see how quickly people can turn?" "Vega promised to get you released from the Crate, and she delivered." "Don't you get it?" "Every choice I have ever made, down to turning my back on my best friend, has been for you." "I raised you better than this." "You didn't raise me at all." "You were gone." "Roman." "What brings you here?" "I came to find the Hwatab." "With Saroya back in the Sector, and after everything that you told me about her," "I thought I should warn them that she could be dangerous." "Oh." "I see." "But if they're not here, I should go." "I promised I would meet someone." "I'm afraid that's not gonna be possible." "_" "Where are the Hwatab?" "I alerted them to some urgent matter inside the Sector so that you and I could straighten some things out without any distractions." "You were gonna tell them what you saw on the flight recorder, weren't you?" "Where is it?" "The mirzan?" "You said Saroya was part of the mutiny on the ship." "She said she left the mirzan for my father to see." "But why would she do that if she was guilty?" "I was hoping it wouldn't come down to this, Roman." "The truth is, we had to find an inhabitable planet, or our people were going to die." "After months and months of searching, we finally found Earth, but your father said we had to keep looking." "There was already intelligent life on Earth..." "Humans... and he did not want to run the risk of a conflict with them." "Every Atrian knows that." "But what they don't know is there was no guarantee that we would find another suitable planet." "I believe that Earth was the last chance of survival." "I tried to convince the pilot to land on Earth, that we could use our superior technology to colonize it." "But the pilot wouldn't disobey your father's orders." "So you shot him." "I did what I had to do to ensure the future of our people." "I just didn't count on Soya fighting me, causing me to lose control of the ship." "You're the reason the ship crashed." "You're the reason why thousands of Atrians died." "I am the reason why we are alive." "You and every other Atrian should be thanking me for what I did!" "You will never get the mirzan." "Not until every Atrian learns of your betrayal." "You won't be Iksen, you won't be anything." "We'll see about that, Roman." "Hey, Sophia, have you seen Roman?" "He was supposed to meet me here." "He said he was gonna go see the Hwatab at the House of Cards, but that was hours ago." "Sophia, I need to tell you something." "Uh, Roman and I have been getting kind of close, and we're kind of together." "Yeah, I kind of suspected that." "Wait, you did?" "Don't worry, no one else knows." "I saw how he was with you at Dinaskyu." "I think it's great." "It must be hard keeping your relationship a secret." "It is." "And it's almost impossible to find chances to be alone." "We were planning on watching the meteor shower tonight, but it looks like Roman got held up, so that won't be happening." "Unless..." "Can I ask you a favor?" "Yeah, anything." "So, we are waiting for the ferry because...?" "It's the only way from my parents' house to the mainland." "And if I left with Zoe the night of the charity ball, we had to have come through here." "Leave it to your parents to have a moat surrounding their house." "Why are you so hung up on retracing your steps?" "I can't shake this feeling that something happened that night, like I..." "like I lost time." "And it's the last night anyone saw Zoe." "Okay, you got blackout drunk... it happens." "And it's not like you were abducted by aliens." "And someone did see Zoe later:" "Drake." "And you believe him?" "Yeah, I do." "Why?" "I mean, how well do you know him?" "I just do." "Besides, what reason would he have to lie?" "I forgot my bag." "It's on my seat in the bus." "I'll just be a sec." "Hurry up." "Thanks, Sophia." "I owe you." " Good luck." " Okay." "Even if you kill me, the truth will come out:" "that you're a liar and a murderer." "True." "But I am the best hope that our people have." "What are their other options, Roman?" "Your father's dream of integration?" "Wake up, Roman." "But you have all the answers." "The only future Atrians will have will be lived separately from Humans." "We have got to stop wasting our time trying to integrate or dominate the Humans." "We need to work on making our lives better inside these borders, possibly becoming a sovereign nation one day." "Let me guess: with you as our leader." "I would be the natural choice." "Especially since you, the heir apparent, will disappear." "Don't worry, I won't kill you." "You're family." "But I will turn you over to the SEU guards with this very inventive, very illegal weapon, which my fellow concerned Atrians will say that we found on you." "I'm going to have you sent to the Crate... just like I did Saroya so many years ago." "If you accepted my mother's offer, you wouldn't have to keep looking over your shoulder." "Don't waste your breath." "She thinks anyone who's had anything to do with the Trags is worthless." "Isn't that right, Mom?" "Roman's in trouble;" "I think Castor's holding him" " at the House of Cards." " What happened?" "What is she doing here?" "Roman went to talk to the Hwatab about what he saw on this." "If Castor found out, he might have tried to stop him." "This is a trap." "You can't trust this Human and you can't trust Roman." "Roman's family... the only family" "I've had for the past eight years." "And we got our problems, but I'm not gonna turn my back on him." "Stay here until I get back." "Wait." "I'm not gonna let you face Castor alone." "Keep the mirzan safe while we're gone." "They need our help." "Roman's in trouble." "You can either be part of the backup plan, or you can stay here." "I'm having this weird déjà vu." "Maybe that's because we've been up and down this road ten times." "It would help if I knew what you were looking for." "Pull over here." "I remember feeling scared." "Like something bad was gonna happen." "And it was because of Drake." "I want to help you, Grayson, I do, but all we've done is drive around while you talk crazy." "Honestly, it's weirding me out." "Grayson!" "What?" "I'm officially done." " I have a party to prep for." " Go ahead." "You may be willing to trust Drake, but I don't." "I'll find my own way back to the party." "I want that flight recorder." "Last chance, Roman." "The mirzan... or the Crate." "Suit yourself." "Go, go, go!" "Saroya." "It's been a while." "You're gonna get us all killed; you know that, right?" "You got a better plan?" "You know what to do." "What is Emery Whitehill doing in the Sector?" "Emery?" "I came for them." "The SEU guards don't take kindly to Humans breaking into the Sector." "Castor, please, let her go." "I have something you want." "The mirzan." "I brought it into the Sector." "Let them go, and I'll get it for you." "I have a better idea." "Why don't you take me to the mirzan." "Now." "I hid the flight recorder in here." "So... where is it?" "Looking for this?" "I heard you were making a big deal about this little thing." "So I plugged into it." "What I saw was very interesting." "I imagine you don't want this landing in the wrong hands." "This is indisputable proof you are every bit the snake we think you are." "Vega, this does not concern you." "Oh, but it does." "I have business with your hostages." "If you want your little toy," "I'm gonna need you to release them." "Let them go." "This is only the beginning." "Count on it." "Finally sinking in, isn't it, Saroya?" "You are trapped in the Sector with a hit out on you." "We'll follow Castor and his men tonight, guarantee your family's safety." "Think of it as a show of goodwill." "As of tomorrow, you're on your own." "Sophia!" "This is a great party." "Boys, leave." "It's girl time now." "It's ironic." "I have the perfect romantic setup... the stars, the cocktails, the hot tub... the perfect confluence of sexiness to get two people in the mood." "Totally." "The problem is having to involve boys." "Undependable, arrogant, emotionally crippled boys." "Who needs 'em, right?" "Uh, listen..." "I've tried the whole girl-on-girl thing." "It's just not for me." "I'm also kind of into someone else." "I'm sorry." "You should get Emery out of the Sector before a guard sees her." "Will you guys give us a minute?" "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for doubting your mother." "And thanks for coming to get me." "She's the one you should thank." "If it wasn't for her, we'd all be in the Crate." "Yeah." "I know we've never really gotten along, but..." "I wanted to thank you for talking to your mom and getting the Trags to help us out." "I didn't do it for you." "Time to go?" "There's something I want to show you first." "We should kill her." "Hell of a meteor shower party." "Why do you always look like you just came from a fight?" "You know what?" "Don't bother answering." "You've made it pretty clear that you don't do relationships, conversations, or hugs with our clothes on." " Taylor..." " I spent my whole night wishing that you were here." "And now that you are, I realize that" "I want more than just sex." "And you can't do that." "I didn't want to talk about what I've been going through because it was about my mother." "She was in prison for a bunch of years, and having her back has been a lot harder than I thought it would be." "What we have, all right, it's not all about sex." "I've been on my own most of my life." "And it takes a lot for me to trust anyone." "So maybe you could stick it out while I learn to be with you." "And he was saying things that made no sense." "But I have to know." "You are a good guy... right?" "No." "I'm not." "But you make me want to be one." "How's it going?" "Good." "I know you killed Zoe." "What... what are you talking about?" "You know when you have something on the tip of your brain, just right out of reach?" "I hate that." "I hate it so much that I went back to the levee today." "And when I got there, it all came back to me:" "the crash, the fight," "Roman, you." "And then I remembered Zoe... on the ground... with your hands around her neck." "What do you want?" "I'll let you know." "It's beautiful here." "I've been coming here since I was a kid when I wanted to get away." "I'd just stare at the sky and pretend I was somewhere else." "But eventually, I had to get back to reality." "What are you gonna do about Castor?" "He has the flight recorder." "Doesn't matter." "I'll go to the Hwatab tomorrow and tell them Saroya's story." "They've supported me before." "Hopefully, they'll believe me now." "Once every Atrian finds out truth about Castor, they'll never accept him as their leader." "I hope you're right." "You were right about Castor." "I should've listened to you." "I will never get used to putting you in danger, but I realize that you're part of my world." "And in our world, we're better together than apart." "My fellow Atrians," "I have learned that Roman, son of our late Iksen, Nox, has taken up with a Human girl." "If Roman has kept this from you, what else could he be lying about?" "You deserve to know if your future Iksen is truly dedicated to his people, or if being part of the Human world has caused his interests to lie elsewhere." "In Drake's pod, you could've taken Castor and his men out." "Why didn't you?" "Patience, child." "We need Castor alive, for now." "Saroya." "What brings you here at this hour?" "I couldn't sleep." "And as much as it kills me to admit it, you're right." "There's no escaping Castor and his men in the Sector." "I'll build your Suvek... if you promise to protect me and my son." "You have my word." "This Suvek... what is it?" "The last weapon we'll ever need against the Humans."