You would always think space doesn't have a smell, because it's a void, but there is a scent if you are sensitive enough to it. I have trained for 16 years to sense the markers that make the void navigable and now is the time of my trial. Learning the void and the ancient ways of navigation from Asteron passed down from the Age of Harmony that the elders speak of, as if half remembered, before the Sundering of the Thread scattered our people.
Our ways have adapted since then, by necessity. Once, the young would simply navigate a space between two peaceful worlds avoiding only the dangers of the void. Now, the young must brave the Ascendancy as well as the Syndicate pirates, the astral current flows with much more danger. Looking at the star charts of the Strand routes that our Sarthari ancestors painstakingly crafted over millennia, I must find a path that will bring me to the ancient world of Asteron and back to our mobile fleet, our sanctuary since the Sundering destroyed our homeworld, utilizing only Strand routes.
The maps make it clear that the trip each way can be done in a dozen or so threads. If the guide is familiar with the systems, the trip should take less than a month. However, most of the journey takes place in Ascendancy controlled space, so I must be unseen, no exploration, no wandering. I have been given an engineer, also trying to prove himself worthy of a role in our society, the two of us must make it to Asteron and back to prove that we are.
We wander through the dozen or so docking bays trying to find our ship amidst the hundreds of others, some ancient, some repurposed, and some made completely custom. Each ship, just like each person, has a purpose in this galaxy, some may be harder to use correctly, but everyone belongs amongst us. When we see it, the Void Skipper, a deep blue and purple exterior, meant as a courier ship is exceptionally fast and contains bunks for four people.
We jump aboard the ship and begin our preparations and introductions. His name is Azir, also 18, and, like me, he has never seen real combat. All Sarthari are trained on basic astral combat techniques, but encounters with real enemies are not used for training. We both pray to the strand that bloodshed will not be necessary, we hear nothing in response; A familiar feeling, but still uneasy. Instead of relying on the strand we each pull out our own charms to ensure a safe journey, I wrap my grandmother’s sash around the steering grip, while Azir puts down an old handmade baby blanket. These objects will tether us to the main fleet and allow our ancestors to protect us.
We lay out our items in our bunks and go over the plan for the month-long journey. Azir is not familiar with astral navigation, but I would feel better if he was at least aware of the path we had planned to take. I also explain my fears about Ascendancy space, he pats his plasma rifle and tries to comfort me. “Raela, I am trusting you to make sure we can get to Asteron and back. You can trust me to make sure we both make it through the journey unharmed by Syndicate or Ascendancy; and once we come back we will earn our Deed Names.”
I swallow the knots rising up in my throat and prepare the ship for launch, I go through each of the steps. As Azir watches me, in amazement, I ask him if he’s ever been in a cockpit or seen a path being threaded. “No, I would be below learning how the ship's defenses worked. I was always interested in how this works, but it seems almost magical to me. I could never understand anything beyond what was in my hands. Engineer seemed a better fit, but I always feel that pull when I watch an expert. Did you always want to be a navigator?” Just then we separated from the main fleet and floated listlessly through the void.
“Since I first saw my grandmother void-dancing. It is truly a beautiful sight watching a contingent of void dancers bring a fleet through space faster than any Ascendancy ship. I would always practice, but nothing is quite like doing it for real.” I grab my map and begin the preparations for the first stitch. Pressing my hands together I bend each finger backwards and begin the first of our journey. The threading itself isn't a difficult process, but I need to make my mind clear and picture the destination or we could end up several light-years off course.
I watch Azir as we start accelerating towards the thread point, his eyes go wide and I see the entirety of his Nebular Green Iris. He watches as the lines of color begin to bend as we near the entrance. Once we get close enough I set our destination, which appears before us, but looks like a lens out of focus, we watch as the lines lengthen and then shorten as we get closer to the exit. Eventually the view of our first stop comes in full focus and we end our first stitch. We have only 23 more thread points to go; however, we will need to travel using standard propulsion until we get to the next thread point.
All at once we hear a slam into the side of the ship and a sizzle of some electrical wires beneath the console. Our first big challenge, we both panic and look at each other, waiting for someone to shout orders, but then we remember and the mood shifts from anxiety to focus, we are ready to figure out the problem. Almost instinctively Azir grabs his void suit and I grab the tools needed to assess the damage. We set the path sync and begin our repairs as the ship proceeds automatically on its predetermined path.
I open up the lower panel and immediately see the cause, there is a shorted wire in the shield array, I grab the replacement wire and swap it. Azir meanwhile discovered what slammed into us, looks like the thread point ended near an asteroid belt, and a stray rock must have hit us. Luckily it was a space rock that was the first test of the shield, I can't imagine if the first test had been a plasma bolt. Regardless,we make our repairs and retake control of the ship from the path sync.
After several hours of silence we finish the first part of the journey but are faced with a decision: do we thread a second stitch in a day, or do we wait for sleep to refresh our minds and bodies. Both of us are anxious to complete this journey so we decided that we would make a second stitch today. I grab my charts and begin the process to clear my mind.
“What does the process of navigating feel like?” Azir asked out of the blue.
My focus was already fraying after the long day, “Ask me after we finish this one.” I said, the words coming out sharper than I intended. “Need to remain focused.”
The second thread of our trial is stitched just as quickly as the first day. We set the path sync and lay down in our bunks ready to end our first day. “So what does it feel like?” Azir asks again
“Its kind of like pulling a thread through two needles, the one closest to you is always easy to thread, but you need to focus so that you can set the destination from a distance away.”
Off the Path
We both wake to a klaxon warning that there is something on the radar. I rub my eyes and grab my seat in the cockpit. “Azir, do you recognize this signature?” I ask.
“There's no signature, that leaves two options. It could either be Pact or Syndicate, should I try to establish contact? Or do we hope they don't see us? Our ship has no armaments, but I might be able to rig some defenses if I had more time.”
“I think our best option is to outrun them, they won't be able to follow us through a thread point and we’ll reach our next point within the hour. Regardless, what kinds of defenses did you have planned?” I ask as I take the ship off path sync and we accelerate towards the thread point.
He looks down quietly for a moment as if running some calculations “I might be able to rig up an electrified exterior in case any grappler arms try to hold us. I’ve heard about Ember Maw tactics, we definitely don't want to get caught by them”
“We will want defenses eventually, so you get started on it, I’ll get us moved to our next system.” I don't ask him to elaborate on the Ember Maw, as I am more focused on preparing for our next thread. The enemy ship seems to accelerate in response to ours, but we can outrun them. Azir is unusually quiet when I look over and see him focused with an interior panel completely exposed. I check the radar again and see the ship closing the distance faster than I expected, I grab my charts as we get closer to the thread point and press my hands together and begin to clear my mind. Right as the portal opens we hear a warning from the sensor that a recon drone had been deployed from the ship. I try to slam the portal shut behind us in my mind, but the image of the drone shatters my focus on the destination. The thread slips and we end up in the wrong system, we will need to reorient ourselves.
I check my charts to see what potential systems we might have made it to, Azir doesn't seem to have noticed, still focused on the task. I mark four potential systems but we will need to investigate the local planets to see if they match the reports. I decide to rip the bandage off and tell Azir, “I think we are off course. Whoever it was that was behind us was smart, they had strategy and technology.” He says nothing beyond a grunt of acknowledgement, his focus is total, I can relate. I will proceed with attempting to identify the system and we will regroup when we both have concrete solutions.
Three frantic hours of calculations and cross-references amidst the sound of sizzling as the new defense system is completed, Azir unfurls himself from the panel and wipes the grime from his sandy gold fur. He looks over at me, like he had kept his eyes wide open the entire time, “I think I got a simple defense set up, let me know when you want to test it, we might need to make sure the ship will be safe for 30 minutes in case the controller needs to be reset. Did you say they had technology? What kind?” he says as he squeezes his eyes closed for a few seconds.
“A drone of some kind or a smaller ship, shot some object through the portal after us, the ship didn't register anything coming through with us. I think I know where we are, the star alignments were wrong on all but two of the potential systems, which means it could be the Aurora or the Ender. I need to get a closer look at the largest of the planets, if it has less than 5 moons then we are in the Ender, and we haven't gotten that far off course, the Aurora system means we might have to add another thread onto the journey.” I look over at him, with sorrow and desperation in my eyes.
“I should check and see if anything did follow us, I’m sorry, I got into the zone and I have a tendency to block out everything. I should have been alert enough to help.” Azir looks back at me with understanding. He stands up and puts on his void suit, preparing himself to check the hull of the ship. “We’ll figure it out, don't worry. Once we figure out the system lets talk really quickly.”
He closes the airlock and begins his examination of the exterior, what did he want to talk about? I am supposed to be the navigator, and I got us lost within two days. We get closer to the planet and I realize we are in the Aurora system… more bad news, luckily Azir seems patient. I set the path sync and pull out all the charts to figure out our new path. I identify a new route that doesn't add another stitch; however, this takes us even closer into Ascendancy territory.
Azir comes in and he’s holding a blinking object, “A tracker, looks like its Syndicate make, probably Black Fangs, they must have shot it from the drone as we were threading through. Regardless, I have disabled it, but I think I might be able to repurpose some of these parts on the ship itself. You somehow look sadder. What's going on?” as he removes the void suit I explain we are in the Aurora. He just smiles, “Raela, we both have a job, but we can only do our best.”
“How are you staying this calm?” I ask with genuine confusion. “We are off course. We have syndicate chasing and they potentially know where we are, and the only path forward takes us through Ascendancy space!”
He sits in the copilot chair and rubs his eyes, before leaning back. “We can only go forward. If we go back we go right into the syndicate. The way I see it, we have to deal with the problems in front of us as they come up. Discussing potential scenarios only succeeds in slowing us down. How long would it take a standard FTL ship to close the distance of the thread jump?”
“It would take six hours, and we’ve been here for five.” holding the steering grip tighter, “We are close to another thread point, but I will need a few minutes to finalize the destination”
“Once we get out of here, we should be safe for the time being. Let's find a place where we can land the ship. We will come up with a full plan for going through Ascendancy territory.” He stays unusually silent for the next several hours as we thread through another stitch. We make our way into the Hyperion system and land on a quiet moon near where the thread point let us out.
“Soooo,” Azir says, breaking the silence. “I figured we should come up with some short hand for when emergencies happen on the ship, something that can cut through for either of us. Back when I was training, we would use nicknames and terms that would make communicating easier.”
I just lay there quietly staring at the upper partition of my bunk contemplating the rest of our journey. “We can talk when we wake” he says before adding “sleep will bring clarity. Thank you Raela.” The darkness of the void closes around me and I focus on the scent, before letting sleep take me for the night.
The Scent of Danger
I wake the next day and find that I am alone on the ship. I look around and notice Azir’s void suit is missing, realizing he must be outside. I check the scanner and see that he has a probe connected to the hull. He signals me through the front screen and points at a button on his side of the console. As I reach towards the area he quickly runs back over to where his probe was connected. The button depresses and I hear a buzzing sound across the entirety of the ship, I release the button and Azir comes back to the front with a thumb up.
I grab my charts and re-evaluate the route as Azir joins me back in the ship. “We’ve got a functioning defense system that can electrify the exterior. So, you said the path takes us through Ascendancy space? I’ve been trained on their strategies, but I’ve not encountered any colonial soldiers. What do you think we’re going to encounter?”
After a night of quiet I realized something “What concerns me the most is the null-tech. They could cut off my connection to the Strand, leaving us drifting at standard propulsion. That will leave us with no option but to leave the ship and engage them directly.”
“If that happens we will deal with it as best as we can. Regardless, I’ve been thinking about some shorthand, do you have a nickname you prefer?” he says with his familiar cheer. While he leans against the back wall of the ship.
I softly smile in response, “Ela, how about yourself?”
“Zir! So, I figure, if the ship is in an emergency or we are in danger, and I’m in the zone, you could just say something like ‘Spurrit’.” he says with a growing smile.
“Spurrit? What does that mean?” Asking with an unfamiliar sense of cheer after two stressful days.
“It was the name of my first pet! A Chichid. But it doesn't sound like anything else. So, we should be able to keep our communication clear. Just shout it whenever you need me and I’m not there. Anyway, are we prepared for the next leg of our journey?” as he speaks he grabs onto the ceiling and swings his legs over the charts which I had scattered on the floor, before sitting himself in the copilot chair.
I pack up my charts and head up to the cockpit and prepare the ship for takeoff “I think so, I can probably handle another two stitches today, but I think we should rest like this, on planet surfaces. Drifting in space on path sync draws more attention. It will add time to our journey, but this is a better strategy, unless we want to sleep in shifts. What do you think?” as I bring the ship out of the atmosphere of the moon and set us on our course.
“I think that sounds great, I don't want to sleep in shifts. I need someone to bounce ideas off of. Plus any attacks that happen would be best if we were both alert. Did you have a pet growing up?” he asks
“No, I grew up mostly on ships, we never had much space. And taking care of anything beyond myself always felt like a struggle. I do better when I speak the same language.” I give him a wry smile “So, I just say ‘Spurrit’ and you come running?” He quietly smiles back.
I press my hands together and begin to focus, Zir stays quiet and just watches me. I try not to notice him, but a small smile appears on the corner of my mouth, I point my chin towards the front indicating where he should look, and proceed with my calculations, we make it through the thread point. Finding ourselves in Ascendancy space, we need to be unseen.
Our first day goes by pretty quietly as we pass through a system and identify the next thread point. All of the sudden we see something huge on the edge of the radar, Zir identifies it as Ascendancy, but just a patrol ship. Unsure if they spotted us or are just on a standard patrol, whatever their purpose is, they will not be able to follow us. As we quickly make our way to the Strand point that will end our day. We enter the strand as I thread the stitch from light years apart, as the ship exits all of the sudden we feel a violent kick from the back of the ship. I identify another surface to land and Zir begins his examination.
“I can't see any damage to the exterior of the ship but the atmosphere out here is breathable”, he says through the comms unit from outside the ship.
“There's no alarms on the ship either.” I say to Zir as he re-enters the ship and removes his void suit. “It's strange, it felt like the thread we were travelling on got cut while we moved along it.”
“Is that the null-tech?” he says with an unusually serious face.
“It could be, I’ve never experienced it before, but if it happens again we could be in serious trouble. I’ll examine the charts again and make sure we are still maintaining our correct path. I don't want us to get any further off course.” I say equally as serious, as I pull out my star charts and prepare to re-examine the route.
“Are you going to find something new in there that you haven't found in the last 10 times you’ve checked? Just relax for a night, we will take whatever comes at us together. Let's get to know each other better. Whose sash is that?” he says pointing at the steering grip.
I hold the charts in my hands frozen in place. “It was my grandmothers.” The tone of my voice shifts slightly downward as I recall family that feels so far from me now. “It was part of her navigator’s uniform. In the old days they would navigate using Zero Gravity pods. Truly gliding on the strand from point to point.” My hands relax as I begin to recall fond memories watching my grandmother dance through space. I place the charts back into their container and continue the conversation with Zir. “Whose blanket is that? Yours?”
The smile fades from his face. “It was my brothers. He was travelling with my mother when the Ascendancy attacked their ship. The caravan they were a part of was accused of hiding an Elari…” He sits quietly gripping the blanket tighter “They weren’t. But the Ascendancy didn't believe that some Sarthari would tell them the truth.” I can feel the anger rising up in his voice.
“The galaxy takes a heavy toll on us all. But that is why we have each other!” I say trying to distract him from an obviously painful memory. “We’ve made it a quarter through the journey! And whoever was following us doesn't know where we are. Let's enjoy the victories, small as they are.” I stand up and move over to his bunk, placing my hands on his. I feel his grip loosen as he looks up at me, his green eyes filled with a deep pain I never noticed.
We just sit there silently, just thinking. Eventually he looks at me and says with an unflinchingly straight face. “We both smell awful. We should find a place where we can wash ourselves up tomorrow, anything like that on the way?” I burst out laughing as I can't hold it back anymore, I wipe the tears from my eyes and lay down on my bunk. He’s right, we do smell awful, but beneath it all I can still smell the void.
The Deep Blue Moon
I wake before Zir the next day and try to identify a potential system that might have a free port or some other place we can maintain ourselves after three stress-filled days and nights. I find potential in the Gaimerian. I wait for him to wake before we set off. I figure I could explore the area around the ship, maybe gather a token to remember the journey. So I grab my void suit, the atmosphere may be breathable but, I never trust computers entirely, I finish getting my suit on and head out the airlock. I look up and see a magnetic storm lighting up the sky. A thing of true beauty, instead of looking for an item, I instead lay down and stare up at the sky.
I’m laying there for what feels like 5 minutes when Zir exits the ship not wearing his suit, his fur matted up on the side of his face, he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt and looks at me. Then he looks where I am looking and his mouth goes wide, we both take a moment to admire the beauty, he lay down beside me and asks “Why are you wearing the void suit? It’s breathable.”
“I think I found a free port two systems away, we should be able to get a place for a night there. You got any Credits? I have a couple things we might be able to barter with.” I respond, ignoring his question and continuing to stare up at the storm passing overhead.
“We can probably sell that black fang tracker for some credits, or at least the parts… Its amazing how such beauty can occur in a place so hostile.” We look up and see an Ascendancy patrol ship high in the void above passing overhead and proceeding to its determined path.
After several more minutes of admiration for the beauty, we stand up and head back into the ship. Right as I’m about to enter the air lock I spot a glint, out of the corner of my eye in the distance. My curiosity gets the better of me as I wander over to figure out what it is and find an ancient badge of an age gone by, it is rusted and brittle. I put it in the pocket of my void suit and head back into the ship.
We wait for the Ascendancy ship to pass off our radar screen and head off in the opposite direction. Making it to the first thread point as I focus my mind and move us another step closer to our halfway point. Just as we’re exiting Zir asks another question “I don't remember, did we plan to travel back on our same path?”
“We will pass close to several of the systems that we’ve already seen. The fleet will have moved to a new sector by the time we return. Based on those projections we should only cross over our current path once, on the return. Why?” I ask, setting the path sync for the next thread point, I turn to look at Zir.
“The Ascendancy will evolve their attacks, especially if we encounter them on the path we intend to cross. Do you know which sector specifically we will cross over?” He’s disassembling the Syndicate tracker, looking down as he speaks; he's still facing forward, and hasn't noticed that I’ve set the path sync.
I stand up and grab my credit tracker and the ancient badge from the last moon before sitting back down. The credit tracker I got last year after taking on odd jobs back at the fleet, I think most people thought I would spend my credits on something frivolous, like a fur dye. But I knew my trial had been coming up, and we can only bring what we’ve earned. I open the display and see 10 Galactic Credits.
I then begin work to try and polish the badge up. As I begin brushing away the layers of grime and rust, I feel a faint warmth from the badge, a subtle hum that seems to resonate with the scent of the void itself. “So, which sector do we cross over?” He says now sitting amidst three piles of what looks like junk to me.
“We will cross over our last system.” I say now completely focused on figuring out the source of the badge. “What are the three piles?”
“Stuff we can use for improvements” he says pointing at the pile to his right, “These are things we can sell for credits.” He says pointing to the pile right in front of himself, “and this last pile is the junk that we can't use for anything” pointing to the pile between us.
“How do you know it's junk?” I’ve managed to polish off a small section of it, but the small section I see indicates nothing to me. “I wonder if this will be worth something?” I say thinking out loud as Zir begins to talk.
“Well most o- if what will be worth something? What is that?” he says while scooping up the junk pile and placing it into the waste disposal unit. While he's standing, he grabs a worn roll of what looks like a sturdy fabric. As he unrolls it, I see a vast array of electronic pieces amidst it he begins to place pieces from his improvement pile into their corresponding location on the roll itself.
“Oh just a piece of metal I found on the moon when we were out there, it caught my eye so I figured maybe it could be worth something. I’m working on polishing it to see if I can make anything out, but I was never great at history anyway. Maybe someone in the free port will know what it is.” I say, watching Zir out of the corner of my eye, as he now opens up what looks like a small jewelry box, and places each of the pieces from his sell pile delicately into their own sections.
Just then, we hear the alert on the radar, something is coming close. I stow the badge and credit tracker in my pocket and take hold of the steering grip. “Who is it?” as I take the ship to max speed, “We should be able to outrun them, but if we expend the coils they will need time to recharge.”
“Signature matches Ascendancy, another patrol ship. Do you think they’re looking for us? Could they be following us?” He says, looking for something he can do to help.
“We’re not far, maybe we can make it to the thread point before they can deploy their null-tech again.” I say watching the power coils slowly go below three quarters. “We will make it.”
We both watch as the ascendancy ship slowly fades off the radar screen as we breathe a sigh of relief and the thread point comes into view right as I attempt to open the entrance portal. And then I sense it, or its loss, I can no longer smell the void.
We both watch as the Ascendancy ship begins closing the distance between us. I try to think of our options, then I see the look of fear on Zir’s face. “Maybe we can continue trying to outrun them and we can hide while they try searching for us. What do you think, Zir?” I look at him but his expression hasn't changed. “Spurrit!” I shout, and he wakes from his stupor. “Do we run and hide, or try to fight?”
“Hide!” he says, now trying to figure out what we can do. I quickly take the ship to top speed as we watch the ship fade off the radar screen again, but the coils are now drained to half. We go to the largest planet in the system and find a Deep Blue colored moon, I bring our ship down. Maybe the Void Skipper will match the surroundings and they won't notice us. Maybe…
We watch for what feels like days as the ascendancy ship does a sweep overhead, and then another sweep. They are systematically searching the area, but the smell is still gone, so I know they are out there. After tense hours of almost complete silence the scent returns and I finally breathe a sigh of relief. The coils have recharged, I check our screens to make sure nothing is showing up. Once we know we’re clear we take off for the thread point as fast as we can. Making it through and heading towards the free port.
The Laughing Onion
I look over at Zir and he is finally releasing the tension from his face and I see tears begin silently dropping from his eyes. I will take us down and we will have a quiet night of sleep. As we’re landing a small Lutra comes forward to meet us, “Welcome’s to Spanner’s Spaceport. What can I do for ya’s? Ova’night parkin’s 2 Credits.”
I transfer him the two credits “Is there a place where we can bed up for the night? Also, are there any historians or archivists here?” As we exit the back of the ship and set foot on the planet.
“Historians? No, I don't think we got any a’ those, as for beds, the Laughing Onion cantina has a hostel attached. Want I should take a look at your ship? While ya’s got it here.” He pats his overalls confidently, and I look over at Zir.
“No, maybe I have some parts you’d be interested in though,” as he pulls out his jewelry box of electronic parts. The Lutra looks entranced, as I watch Zir talk technical with a fellow engineer, I feel a smile come over my face. He acts with such genuine passion for what he does, but he’s so guarded with everything else.
He gets 3 credits from the Lutra, but because he doesn't have a credit tracker we put it on mine. As both of us head for the cantina, we see a blinking neon sign that says ‘The Laughing Onion’. We both give each other an unsure look, but we’re both very tired from this day and so we enter through the front.
Inside is a quiet tavern with a mix of table games, there are very few people with us inside. So we head to the bar and take a seat on the worn barstools. Out from behind pops a female Zorai “Welcome in, what can I do for you two kids?”
“We need a shower and a bed for the night.” I say without thinking as Zir looks over at me.
“Alright, that’ll be 2 credits, you kids want anything to drink or eat?” As I order drinks for both of us and transfer the three credits to her.
“So, just the one bed? Am I sleeping on the floor?” He says laughing as we carry our drinks over to a table and the Zorai hands us our keycard which I scoop up and place in my pocket.
“Did I only get one bed? Sorry, I can ask for another room. We still have 8 credits left and whatever that metal thing is worth.” I say taking a sip of the drink and smiling back at Zir.
“Or we could save the credits and share the bed, if you'd be comfortable with that. Up to you.” He says with a playful smile sipping his drink. “Let's see where the night takes us.”
The hours pass in a blur as we both retire back to the room and take turns in the shower “Are you doing alright? You seemed kind of frozen during the situation we had back there. Anything you want to talk about?”
“My mother was Strand sensitive like you. The Ascendancy hates people like you, I just worried that they were going to catch up to us. I’m just an engineer, I have the rifle, but I’m not a soldier.” He sits up holding his head in his hands.
“Hey, we’re a team, neither of us are soldiers, but we can think quickly! Quicker than the Ascendancy can, if we stick together we’ll make it through this. What happened to the guy that said he’d protect me from the Syndicate and Ascendancy?” I say playfully pushing him with my elbow in the side
“I guess it's the difference between hearing about them, and experiencing them yourself. I would feel more comfortable if we had some active defenses or even something slightly offensive. Maybe I’ll ask the Lutra tomorrow if he can do something, but we probably don't have any money for that. How many more systems are we in Ascendancy space?” He lays down and looks at me, and we both stare into each other's eyes.
“Just the first half tomorrow, then we have 3 more thread points to get to Asteron and we’re halfway. What do you know about Asteron? I heard the sky is in a beautiful permanent twilight. I can't wait to see that view for myself.” I say, looking into his nebular green eyes and finding myself lost momentarily until he speaks.
“I’m enjoying the view from right here just fine.” He says, as he brushes my overgrown silver fur from my eyes.
“We shouldn’t.” I say, trying to convince myself as I roll over and stare at the ceiling.
“You’re right, we should stay focused.” as he mirrors my movements and looks back at the ceiling, I let sleep take me and we prepare to complete the first half of our journey.
The next day I awake and see that Zir is already gone from the room, he must have gone to the ship. I put on my jacket and head out looking for him. I eventually see him talking with the Lutra, he has his jewelry box of sellable electronics out again but he seems much more animated, pointing at the Void Skipper. I eventually get close enough to hear and he is asking the mechanic about parts to allow us to eject space junk to jam a signal. He is trying to make the ship more defensible, as I walk up he smiles and waves. “Just trying to get some more proper defenses on this ship. How’d you sleep?” he asks while stretching his long arms.
“Good to be on a mattress, but I miss sleeping on a ship, even if it is on a planet's surface. How about yourself?” I begin stretching myself out as well, matching Zir’s movements as we both smile.
“I had some ideas last night about defenses and how we could protect ourselves. Spanner here has some chaff canisters that he will sell to us if I give him the entire box of salvage. I tried explaining that this is 18 years of collected parts, it is worth more than a HUNDRED CREDITS!” He shouts at the end for the Lutra to hear.
“Yeah, I heard ya’s assessment, don’t change my price. Tha box for tha canisters” Spanner says as he walks out holding three canisters that are almost half his size.
I lean down to get closer and try using some charm “How much for just the parts in the box? Not the box itself.”
“Well” he says, scratching his chin. “Ya give me another 4 Credits and I’ll let ya’s leave with tha empty box and tha three canisters.”
“How about 2 Credits? The box isn't worth 4.” I counter
“Ehhhh, alright, it's a deal” he looks over at Zir, “Ya’s lucky she's here, I like her.” he loads the three canisters into the back of the ship while Zir and I ready it for takeoff.
We begin our path to the next thread point, both trying to move as quickly as we can, as we know this is the last place for Ascendancy patrols until we return back. As we close in on the thread point, I look at Zir and he is completely focused on trying to figure out a delivery mechanism for the canisters. I consider speaking up to let him know, but he's focused so I clear my mind and prepare to make another stitch.
We both feel a weight lift off of ourselves as we are free from Ascendancy space and their control. We have three more jumps and we will soon begin the journey back. I’m glad I have a friend to make the journey with.
Arrival at Asteron
The next jump and the following day are almost a blur from the anticipation, until we arrive at Asteron. Almost the moment we land on the planet I grab Zir by the arm and run out of the ship, desperate to get a glimpse of the Strand currents that are visible from the surface. I don't need to travel far from the ship as the moment I look out the airlock I can see them. Constellations that are invisible to the naked eye, the smell of the planet is like the void amplified by a thousand. Like the smell of static, mixed with petrichor, combined with the brine of the ocean, and the crackling of flames.
I look at Zir and he is transfixed on the horizon, “a floating island…” he says with his mouth agape. We decide we will stay on Asteron for several days and explore the planet, maybe someone here can tell us about this badge. We head back to the ship and set our coordinates for the floating island. There's obviously some kind of magnetic interference that is making path sync impossible, but it takes some concentration. Eventually we find a spot on the edge of the island that allows us enough room to take off again with minimum interference.
As we walk through we see several strange sights expecting to see a vibrancy that our current society reflects, but it seems to be a ghost town. Eventually, we come across a lone Sarthari mystic that is sitting and muttering to himself quietly. We both look at each other and head closer. “What happened here?” we ask the muttering man.
“The thread was pulled, the strand was broken, the galaxy paid the price.” He begins muttering louder to himself, as if trying to drown us out. I look at Zir and wonder if we should leave. “The thread was pulled, the strand was broken, the galaxy paid the price.”
Zir leans down, “Who pulled the thread?” he asks the man in a kind voice.
“Mustn’t say! Death to those that say!” says the man now looking up at Zir, revealing his face fully, it looks as though he has pulled out most of the fur from his face. “The thread was pulled, the strand was broken, the galaxy paid the price.”
“How long have you been here?” Zir asks, signalling me to come closer, I wave my hand and look around to make sure no one is coming. This whole situation feels off, like we’ve been lured here.
“I came here during my trial, decades ago, engineer got lost, ship was broken, I couldn't leave. Found the temple, learned the truth.” the old man says, I continue looking around, now waving for Zir to head in my direction. He’s now focused on the old man.
“What temple? Where?” Zir asks.
“Zir! We should leave, this place is making me uncomfortable.” I growl to Zir, as low as I can. Trying not to make any excess noise or draw any attention.
“Miles away, the city moves. Ancient navigation will find it. She's right you know, it's dangerous here.” the old man says and I panic and stare at him as he stands up and begins chanting louder. “THE THREAD WAS PULLED, THE STRAND WAS BROKEN, THE GALAXY PAID THE PRICE.”
I grab Zir and yank him away. “We need to leave, I’m sure he's not the only one that got lost here” I start pulling him towards the Void Skipper, “and I’m sure he’s not the only one that would want a ship.” I check Zir to make sure he brought the rifle, no luck.
The Crystal and Pipe
When we get to the ship we see there are two raggedy men walking around it with clubs in their hands, trying to figure out how to get into the ship. I look at Zir, then I look around, try to find anything that I can use as a weapon. I find two sharp crystals that could function like daggers, I attempt to break them off without making any noise. While Zir tries looking for a pole or something he can use as a club.
I’m eventually able to break a section of the crystal off and it is jagged enough that it cuts my hand as I hold it. No time to think about the pain, I look at Zir, now holding a metallic pipe that looks about two feet long, and we both give each other knowing nods and charge at the unaware scavengers.
I step out and, recalling my training and utilizing the planet's lower gravity, I leap over them through the air, drawing both of their eyes to me. As Zir runs out and hits the larger one in the face with his pipe, knocking him to the ground. I attempt to land behind the smaller one and plant my dagger into his neck, a quick strike. But then I see the madness in his eyes as he anticipates my move and blocks it, throwing me to the ground.
I quickly leap up to my feet and attempt to stab him in the stomach with the crystal but he instead knocks my hand out of the way and attempts to break the arm that holds the crystal. I look to Zir desperate for some assistance, but he and the larger scavenger are engaged in a fight of their own. I need to handle this by myself.
I push him back against the ship grabbing his staff and pressing it up against his throat using all my strength, he tries pushing back against me. But as he does, I find a surge of strength I didn't know I had. I take the crystal and drive it forward. It meets a sickening resistance, then gives way. A hot, wet spray covers my face, and he makes a sound—not a scream, but a choked gurgle—as he falls to the ground. For a second, all I can feel is the jagged crystal still in my hand, now slick and heavy. I look over and see Zir has killed the other scavenger. Both of us have splattered blood over our faces and bodies as we drop our makeshift weapons and run into the ship.
We both try to wash our faces off in the small sink that the ship has, but the blood is sticky and it's in our fur. We will need to find somewhere to clean ourselves, the wound on my hand also continues to bleed, I grab the bandages and attempt to apply it myself. Holding the end between my thumb and palm, I wrap the roll around my hand. As Zir stares at his hands. “What did we just do?”
“What we needed to. Did you want to end up like the mystic, screaming the same thirteen words to yourself? Acting as a warning to every traveler? Those people were going to steal our ship and leave us here. We’d have no way to get home.” attempting to convince myself. “Let's find a quiet spot, so we can land and sleep this off.”
I find a spot by a small body of water and I grab Zir and take him out of the ship with me. He’s in shock, but he doesn't resist. I walk us both into the frigid water and the chill of it brings him back. I wipe his face, and remove the bloody clothes from both of us. I make sure we are both cleaned of the blood and I bring us back into the ship. I wrap us both together naked in the blanket and we drift off to sleep cradling each other for warmth.
The Moving City
I wake first and feel that Zir is holding me around my waist. I try to lift his arm to free myself, but his arm returns, like a child squeezing a stuffed toy. Instead, I just lay there and contemplate the events of the night prior. What did the mystic mean, “ancient navigation will find it.” Could he have meant void dancing? After several minutes Zir finally releases his hold as he rolls away. I stand up and quietly grab my grandmother's sash and the book of void dancing techniques, as well as Zir’s rifle. Then I head out of the airlock, I need to practice my techniques.
For about an hour I am silently practicing my void dancing when Zir exits the ship in a frantic state. “Oh thank the Strand! I thought something had happ-… Are you dancing?”
“We’re safe here, but I took the rifle just in case.” I leave my pose and toss the rifle to him. “Yeah, I was thinking about that mystic. He said ancient navigation would find it, I think he might have meant void dancing. Watch this, look up at that yellow and green constellation up there. Now when I do this one particular move.” I say as I stretch my left foot horizontal in front of me with my arms raised over my head with my thumb and forefinger touching while the rest of my fingers are splayed out.
Zir watches as the entire constellation shifts to the right and back, and looks back at me with amazement on his face. “How did your dancing here, affect those stars up there?”
“The ancient Sarthari must have figured it out and written it all down. Did you want to try finding the temple? Or should we leave?” I say, knowing that he won't be able to deny the mystery that has presented itself in front of us.
We jump aboard the Void Skipper as I clear a space in the center of the ship to allow room for my maneuvers. “Keep the ship at a slow cruising speed and make sure we don't hit anything.” I say to Zir, as I begin dancing according to the old techniques. We see floating cities pass us by, but none seem to contain the temple. Until after about three hours of searching we found it. The temple has been giving off a signal, not strong enough for a machine to pick up, but I realized I needed to follow the scent to where it is the strongest.
Landing the ship requires a precise series of movements which I complete as Zir looks at me in astonishment. I am controlling the ship from nowhere near the console, the presence of the strand must be incredibly strong here. We land the ship as close as we can to the temple, as it is surrounded by more jagged crystals.
The Sundered Truth
We exit the ship, sure to grab the rifle and our charms as well as an imager so we can document what we find. I wrap the sash around my waist as Zir puts part of the blanket in his pocket with the majority just waving in the breeze. We make our way forward into the crystalline maze, the ground reflects the sky, making it disorienting as we move ahead, until we eventually arrive back at the Void Skipper.
We must reevaluate, as we did not see any branching paths, it was just a single straight line that curved around until we arrived back where we started. Zir mentions that the constellation's reflections off the floor are slightly different from what they are in the sky. “Maybe if you make the constellations match it will rearrange the path for us.” Zir says, now coming back to his old self.
I begin working to match the constellations. It takes about 2 hours of work and I am almost entirely exhausted from the strain, as I drop to one knee. Zir helps me up and gives me a hug, as I feel a renewed energy growing in my stomach.
We head into the Temple and begin searching, but we see writing that looks unknown to either of us “Verda’sileth’sha, Elara’tresa’sha an’sileth” We don't understand but we write it down. A few feet further down we see another series of symbols carved into the stone “Elara’sha elara’morv. Feyra’sha umbra’feyra”. We decided to explore the temple further, finding more writing and eventually a huge wall carving that showed dozens of distinct species each contributing to some great society. Beneath it written in dried blood “Ascendancy umbra. Elara’akesh’sha an elaran.”
“What do you suppose it means? Ascendancy umbra? Or this word that keeps appearing, ‘Elara’? Do you suppose something here could help us?” I look for Zir, who is now completely entranced in what looks like an ancient console of some kind, the screen looks to be made of some kind of liquid metal as it changes colors and a Sarthari face appears amidst the console and begins speaking “Feyra’elara’sha an’sileth’as’es?” The computerized face looks at us awaiting a response.
“This is so much more advanced compared to anything we have back on the fleet. How has this still been active?” He begins squatting down attempting to examine the outside of the console.
“It said a lot of the same words again. I wonder if this is related to the ancient Luminar Order. Do you remember the temple worlds? I know there were twelve but I only remember Asteron, Infernys, and Verdanth. How about you? Parts of these words have appeared in the phrases. Verdanth was the temple for growth, maybe that's what ‘Verda’ means.” I say as I begin writing out each of the planet names on my notepad.
“There was Thaelsis, Morvae, Umbros, Seraphen. Oh and Virexis.” As I’m writing these down I begin to notice a pattern forming.
“We just need to figure out the last four temple worlds. Maybe we can translate this phrase. Umbros was the temple for shadows and secrets. Ascendancy Umbra could mean the Ascendancy has a secret” I say grasping at straws. “We can figure this out.” As we begin searching the smaller rooms to try and find the last four worlds.
“Wait, wasn’t Solarii Magna a temple world?” asks Zir.
“Maybe, I’ll write it down. We’ll see if it matches anything. It looks like Thunaris was another. That leaves two planets. I write out everything I have so far. Verdanth was for growth and nature, Thaelsis was for purpose and identity, Asteron for navigation and guidance. If we can figure out what Elara references we should be able to figure the whole thing out.” My mind is now totally focused on this puzzle before me. “Do you think that Asteron was always called Asteron? I see a section in one of these words that looks kind of like Asteron, and another word that looks like Thaelsis.”
“That would make sense, words evolve and change.” he says while thumbing through a decrepit book that looks as though it may disintegrate in his hands as he holds it. “I found a list of the temples!” he says holding one hand in the air.
“Solarii Magna, the first and greatest of the temples, solidified the light for the Strand across the galaxy. Asteron was the home of the sarthari navigators, while Thunaris provided the Ossari. Elarion was the home of the Elaran, a species raised by the Elari, as the arbiters of order.”
“That's it!” I shout “‘Natures soul flows, Balance guides flow of self’ Must have been what the temple was dedicated to, guiding the balance of life”
“Well what does the second phrase mean?” Zir says, astonished.
“‘Balance becomes the death of balance, Passion flows from a shadow passion.’ Maybe some secret group came in and destroyed the balance. That last one I had partially ‘Ascendancy Lies. The stillness of balance flows from the balance.’” With that I turn to look at the console. “I think this thing wants us to prove that we are friendly.” I do a simple void dance and the face disappears transforming into a three dimensional map. In the corner I see a small symbol that matches a memory in my head. The badge, I pull it out of my pocket and hold it up to the hologram. The shape matches, this is a badge from the Luminar Order.
I look at Zir, a huge smile across both of our faces. “We’ve solved it!” I run over and plant a kiss on his mouth holding him tight. “I’m glad you were here!” as he holds me tight and we stay like this for several long moments just holding each other. After several moments I realized there were hidden routes on that map. I note the astral positions of the thread points and we eventually head back to the ship after enjoying the sensation that came with solving a millennia old puzzle. “Well, should we go? Or did you want to stay and explore Asteron some more?”
The Journey Home
We gather ourselves in the Void Skipper. It has been an eventful two days. But the journey home will once again test our abilities. “Did we get the chaff launcher installed?” I ask Zir, wrapping my grandmother's sash around the steering grip again.
“Pretty much, I figure we should find something to test with that isn't so expensive.” Zir says, tossing the blanket onto his chair while he sits on his bunk. I pull out my charts and begin matching the astral positions of the thread points with those on the hologram.
“This is amazing! The fleet will be able to go places that have been lost to us for millennia.” As I add the new points to the map, Zir lays back in his bunk and stares at the partition, as if thinking about something. “Whats going on?”
“The ascendancy lies. Stillness of balance flows from balance. The word for balance was Elara? Right?” He asks, clearly trying to piece the puzzle together. “But what did the ascendancy lie about? They hunt the Elari as heretics and brand the strand as slavery. Who were the Elaran and how do they connect to the ascendancy?” continuing to stare blankly at the partition over his bunk.
“We can figure it out on the way, I don't think there's any more knowledge for us here.” I finish marking up the charts and don't find any paths that we could utilize. But the knowledge is still invaluable to the fleet. I put them away and lay on my bunk a smile still on my face from the excitement of the day. I look over at Zir, still completely focused. “Isn’t this all just amazing, I know I said it before but, I’m really glad I can share this experience with you.” He doesn't acknowledge it. “Spurrit.” I say teasingly as he turns over, a smile growing on his face as he looks at me.
“You got some emergency you need me to take care of?” he smiles a sly smile and gives a wink. “I’m glad to share this with you as well, Ela.” I let sleep take me and enjoy the scent of my ancestral home one last time before we begin our long path back to the fleet.
The next morning we wake from our slumber and take the ship out into the atmosphere ready to thread our path home. I look at Zir, “You ready?” As I begin focusing my mind we enter the thread point and I search to find the exit. Our first jump in our return is complete, only 11 more jumps and we are home again.
The first day after leaving Asteron is quiet, Zir seems like he is trying to solve a puzzle only he can see. I leave him to his thoughts, and set the path sync for the next thread point. I pull the badge out and continue my quest to polish it completely. We make it to the thread point at the end of this system and complete the second jump. I find a moon where we can set down the ship and we begin our nightly rituals.
I lay in my bunk, when I look at Zir, he’s still sitting in the copilot chair focused on whatever he was working on. “I think the puzzle will still be unsolved when you wake up in the morning. Sleep will bring clarity. Somebody wise once told me that.” He stands up and walks over to his bunk.
“Youre right. Whoever it was, must have been a genius.” He says smiling at me.
“Pretty smart, he knows when to rely on others and when to stand for something” I smile back at him. “But he can also focus to the point of shutting everything out, even when others want to help.” I look him in the eyes, making sure he knows I am available to help him “You don't have to do this alone.”
“I’ve been thinking about how the Luminar Order created their language, it was based on the planets, and the concepts that make up the strand. Each of these concepts contains multitudes of similar concepts, but the planet could also refer to its people. Elara could mean Balance, or Order, but could it also mean Elaran, the people that lived on Elarion.” He says as if trying to piece the whole thing together. “What was that last phrase? The one written in blood?”
“Ascendancy umbra. Elara’akesh’sha an elaran: Ascendancy Lies/Secret. Balance/Order Stillness/Control flows from Balance/Order” I say as I pull out the notebook I wrote it all down in.
“What if instead of the Ascendancy Lies, they meant ‘This is the Ascendancy’s great secret. Their control and order comes from Eralan.’ Their great society is built from the ruins of the Luminar Order. This is what the mystic was talking about, this is the secret the Ascendancy would kill for” He looks at me, as if begging me to disprove his thoughts.
“That sounds reasonable, is this what you’ve been thinking about since yesterday? Why you haven't spoken?” I ask, after standing up and moving over to his bunk, where he has clenched his hands together and is almost shaking to his core. I put my hand around his shoulder and pull him closer.
“If anyone finds out we know this we’ll be hunted and killed, by the Ascendancy, by the Syndicate. Knowing this, paints a target on us. How do we live with a secret? What if we get captured by the Ascendancy? They won't just kill us, they’ll erase us. All that will be left is the sash and a blanket. Our families may never know what happened to us.” He grabs his rifle and begins inspecting it. I look into his face and see a determination that is entirely alien for him “I’m not going to let that happen. I’m going to protect us. The Ascendancy will pay.”
“We’re going to face it together. No matter what happens.” I grab his face and we make eye contact, tears dropping from our cheeks, I pull him close and hold him. “I won’t lose you either.” I give him a soft kiss on the face and pull the rifle from his hands. Placing it on the ground before giving him a longer kiss, laying my weight on him. He lifts me up, and turns us both on our sides. The night ends with us just holding each other in a lovers embrace.
The Last Stitch
Our first several days in Ascendancy space feel tense as we feel like mice waiting for the trap to close and trap up. When we eventually feel it where we had crossed paths before, the smell of the Void is gone. We panic and check the sensors but there is nothing showing up. Then we see it, a gigantic array dish set up in this system to act as a beacon for the Null Tech. That is how they have blocked us, we must find a way to escape, but nothing comes to mind. Suddenly a small interceptor ship appears on our radar, the Ascendancy plans to chase us until our coils drain.
Zir is formulating a plan, “That shield is far too big for a regular ascendancy troops to maintain, I’m willing to bet they have automated that array. Bring me in close, I think I can get us out of here.” I look at him unsure, but he is ignoring me, he puts on his Void suit and straps his rifle around his chest and grabs his roll of tools. I am bringing us in as close as I can to what looks like a maintenance bay. He looks back at me and says “Keep them chasing you, the longer they're on you, the less they'll expect someone would be on their shield. I’ll keep comms open.”
He exits the airlock and I blast back into the void trying to keep the interceptor from realizing our plan. When I hear on the comms “This is going to be me complicated, the Ascendancy has set up failsafes that ensure the array will turn back on if I just disable it. I will need to set the self destruc-”
“No! I said I wouldn't lose you, and I don't plan to!” I shout back just as quickly, cutting him off “There must be some other way!”
“There are escape pods that I can use, meet me at the coordinates… I promise” he says before communication shuts off. The power coils have run down to nearly half when I feel the smell return, and I watch as the shield array just collapses in on itself in a silent crunch and begins just floating towards the largest mass.
I follow the coordinates that Azir sent me and arrive at the location, and he comes aboard the ship. We are still being chased by the interceptor, but they don't have the null tech on board, so we make it to the Thread point and make our stitch to escape as I land the ship on the nearest moon. We both look at each other as if we had just witnessed someone else do all of those heroics. I stand up and run over to him, “Zir, that was amazing! How did you think of that?” Planting kisses on him between each sentence.
“I dont know, I just acted.” he says, his voice still shaky. He starts to remove his void suit, his movements clumsy. I step forward to help him with the clasps. For a moment, we just stand there in the quiet of the ship, the only sound our breathing. "You promised you'd come back," I whisper, my hand resting on his chest. He covers my hand with his own. "I did," he says, a slow smile spreading across his face. "I did." The fear, the adrenaline—it all melts away, replaced by something else, something that has been building between us for this entire journey. It's in that quiet moment that I pull him closer and we make love in the Void Skipper, the smell of the void is overwhelmed by the scent of love and passion as we lay exhausted in the center of the ship.
We woke the next day and just lay there enjoying each other’s company before realizing that we needed to return to the fleet. Only three more jumps remained and we would be able to earn our deed names. After we leave the system We see the unmarked ship on our sensors, and this time, there's no panic. We share a knowing look. "Let them get close," I say, my hand steady on the grip. "Let them think we're scared."
"Ready to test the new toys?" Zir asks, a confident grin on his face. The Syndicate ship deploys its drone. "Now, Ela!" Zir shouts. I bank the ship hard to the left, giving him a clear shot. He deploys the chaff, and we watch with satisfaction as the drone freezes in space. "They're coming for the grapple," I say, watching their approach. "Almost..." "Spurrit!" I yell, and Zir slams the button for the electrified hull at the perfect moment. We see the energy arc across the grappler arms, and the Syndicate vessel goes dark.
We don't even have to speak. We just look at each other and laugh. We leave the system confident that we can take on any threat the void may throw at us. We returned to the fleet and I became Raela, Scent on the Void while Azir became, Speaker of Truths. The trial that began in fear had ended in purpose, and for the first time, I knew the path forward was not on a chart, but within us.
