The Cycles of Revelation Series

Artifact of the Dawn: Delegation (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)

Episode 57: The delegation from Ateria arrives.

It surprised Ardyn when he found Jevan awake before him, already dressed and sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on his boots. Crawling over to him, he couldn’t help but tease. “You’re really excited about today, aren’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I can’t remember the last time you were up before I was,” Ardyn said with a laugh, getting out of bed. “Have they arrived yet?”

“I haven’t heard anything, but I wanted to head to the control center to see if there was any news,” Jevan admitted. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll join you.”

Ardyn was pulling on his pants when Cytra relayed a message to them. “The Aterian Delegation has landed in Yanen, and the shuttlecraft will leave shortly.”

“Just in time!” Ardyn said as he pulled on his boots.

They hurried down the corridor to the elevator and found Takyra and Aerys already there. “I hope you two didn’t have to rush too fast to get ready.”

“Jevan woke before me this morning, for a change. I had to skip washing my hair or we wouldn’t be ready.”

Takyra laughed. “You’re really excited to speak to that historian.”

“Yes! I have so many questions,” Jevan admitted.

“Well, let’s go meet them,” Aerys said as the elevator doors parted.

Upon emerging from the tower, they could see the shuttle in the distance, flying over the trees toward them. “Where are Mathias and the other Aterians?”

“They went with Keryth to greet the delegation,” Takyra explained. “We also sent along a couple of security and engineering techs to watch over their aircraft and make sure it doesn’t require any repairs after its long flight.”

A small crowd from the Athla’naa encampment had also gathered. Ardyn saw the Elders and a few hunters keeping them back from the area where the shuttle was to land. He smirked as he watched his father holding people back with the Triumvirate staff in hand. I still can’t believe they allowed Papa Taesys to join the Triumvirate.

Then the shuttle landed between them and the encampment, obscuring the other Athla’naa from view. It kicked up a small cloud of dust as it settled on the ground, making Ardyn realize why Takyra had stopped where she did.

After the dust settled, they approached the shuttle as the door opened. Ardyn found himself excited to meet the newcomers as well. Keryth and Mathias were the first to exit, followed by a tall, older Medellan. His complexion was as dark as Jevan’s, but his hair had a shock of white and his eyes were a deep color of blue.

Behind him was a younger female Medellan, only slightly shorter, with paler skin and hair the rich red color of the leaves of a bhat’laa’arh. There were two other dour looking males, followed by Tomas and Aron.

Takyra stepped forward, introducing herself, and those who accompanied her.

The older man smiled and held out a hand in greeting. “Nice to meet you, Takyra. My name is Andreesen. This is Marta, a historian from the University of Welara. Those two grumps behind us are Nels and Oren. They’re observers sent by the Grand Council. We left our pilot behind to stay with the aircraft.”

“Welcome to the Rahn’naa,” Takyra said. “Won’t you follow me?”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather stretch my legs first,” Andreesen said. “We can chat and walk at the same time, can’t we?”

“Yes, of course,” Takyra agreed as she led the group around the shuttle. “We could take a stroll in the forest if you like.”

As they rounded the shuttle, Andreesen made his way toward the gathered Athla’naa. “When Tomas and Aron told me they’d met elves, I didn’t want to believe them. Yet, here you all are. Goodness, we have much to discuss.”

“How much did Keryth fill you in?” Aerys asked.

“The shuttle flight was short, so not much,” Andreesen admitted.

“I gave them a summary of what’s been happening,” Keryth added. “But I’m afraid I left them with more questions than answers.”

As they approached the gathered crowd, the Triumvirate came forward to greet them. “Welcome to Baaru’nor. We are the Elder Triumvirate, and we are the leaders of the Athla’naa.”

Andreesen narrowed his eyes and the other Aterians with him looked confused. “I thought Takyra was your leader?”

“My apologies,” Takyra said. “I’m the Chief Technician of the Rahn’naa, which is the ship that crashed on this world. I lead the ship and its crew. The Elder Triumvirate lead the Athla’naa people who established settlements throughout this continent.”

Marta stepped forward. “So, there are two separate populations of Athla’naa?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Takyra replied. “Elders, you’re welcome to join us. Andreesen wanted to stretch his legs, so we’re taking a short walk before we head back inside.”

As they walked, Takyra turned to look at Ardyn. “Why don’t you start at the beginning, when you found the key?”

Everyone’s attention turned to him as he related his story once again. “Elder Aelrynd had sent me to hunt a beast that had been preying upon our children when I was caught in a rainstorm. I found shelter in a small cave and that’s where I found this.” Ardyn pulled out the control access key that he still carried with him and held it out to Andreesen.

The moment the key left Ardyn’s hand, the faint glow faded. “This is a key? Why was it glowing, and why did it stop?”

“It’s an electronic control access key,” Aerys explained. “This key opens most doors throughout the Rahn’naa. Someone programmed this one to only activate when an Athla’naa touches it, which is why the glow faded after Ardyn handed it to you.”

“Fascinating,” Marta said as she took the key from Andreesen, studying it. “I assume this end slides into a slot by the door it’s meant to open?”

“Yes,” Aerys replied. “I’d be happy to have our engineers explain our technology in more detail later. Please, Ardyn, continue.”

Ardyn told them how he’d met Jevan and their discovery of the airlock and tower. “A forcefield that can be programmed like this key protects the tower. When we first approached it, Jevan ran into the forcefield. He couldn’t get through it, but I could.”

“It took us some time, but eventually we found a hatch within this forest that wasn’t inside the forcefield, and that allowed both of us into the ship,” Jevan added.

“How large is this ship?” Andreesen asked.

“They buried most of it beneath the ground we’re walking on,” Takyra said. “Did Keryth explain how long ago the ship crashed?”

Andreesen stopped for a moment. “Yes, and I still can’t believe it. Twelve hundred years, and that tower still stands with no sign of decay? I look forward to asking your engineers how that’s accomplished!”

They continued walking and related the rest of the story, up to the battle with the Maara’dahl. Takyra had kept their wanderings through the Aria’una strategic, and they emerged back at the observation tower a few moments after they’d finished.

“Now that you’re caught up on most of the details,” Takyra said. “May I show you to your quarters where you can freshen up? Then you’re welcome to join us for a meal where we can answer your questions. Later, I plan to take you on a tour of the ship and show you our cryogenic systems.”

“Oh, I’d love to learn more about that,” Marta said enthusiastically, while Andreesen merely gave a nod of assent.