The Cycles of Revelation Series
Artifact of the Dawn: Keryth (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)
Episode 54: After Keryth brings Ardyn and the Elder Triumvirate back to the Rahn’naa, he enlightens them on what’s happening and why they were abducted.
It elated Jevan to have Ardyn back, safe and sound, although still a little embarrassed by that unintentional kiss. I hope that doesn’t make things awkward between us.
A moment later, a young Athla’naa child came running toward Ardyn. He bent to scoop the child into his arms. “Jevan, I’d like you to meet Myria,” Ardyn introduced. “She’s my eldest. Tell Jevan how old you are.”
The young Athla’naa looked up at him with wide eyes. “He’s so tall, Papa Ardyn!”
“Yes, he is,” Ardyn agreed with a chuckle. “Jevan is of the Medellan people.”
“Oh!” she exclaimed before looking up at Jevan again. “Hello, Jevan of the Medellan people. My name is Myria, and I am almost ten!”
“It’s nice to meet you, Myria,” Jevan said, marveling at the small child. I keep forgetting how slowly Athla’naa people age. She looks like she shouldn’t be older than four. “Your papa told me about you.”
Ardyn waved over a few other Athla’naa, introducing them, including Myria’s mother and his parents. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Jevan said. “I’m glad you all made it back safely.”
“So, you’re the Medellan that befriended Ardyn,” Saelyn said, looking him up and down for a moment before giving him a warm smile. “Thank you for looking after my son. I always worried about him, spending so much time alone.”
“Mother!” Ardyn protested, making Jevan chuckle.
Aelrynd and Taeglyn joined them next. “Taesys, please remain here to help everyone settle back into the encampment and reassure them they will be safe,” Aelrynd instructed. “I believe there will be much we will need to discuss with Commander Keryth.”
Cylaen took Myria from Ardyn’s arms. “Come, little one, you’ve had enough adventures for today. I think it’s time for your nap.”
“Papa Ardyn, can I go inside the tower?”
“Not right now,” Ardyn replied. “You heard your mother. It’s time for a nap. I’ll make sure you both get a tour later, okay?”
The child pouted and hid her face in her mother’s neck. “Okay.”
“If everyone else will follow me,” Takyra said, gesturing toward the tower. “There are refreshments waiting for us.”
“Your replicators are still operational?” Keryth asked as he gazed up at the tower. “I must admit, they sure built these old ships to last.”
“We designed this entire ship to be deconstructed and used to build the first settlement of our colony,” Takyra replied. “Everything was designed to last for centuries, although I don’t think the engineers expected to last quite this long.”
“It is impressive,” Keryth said as they stepped into the elevator.
Takyra led them to the tower room where they’d been meeting. The low table in the sunken seating area held pitchers of water, fruit juices, and bottles of wah’roh. There were also platters of food and a variety of fresh fruits.
“Please, make yourself at home,” Takyra gestured. “I also invited some others to join us. We recently received visitors from the far continent of Ateria, and we should include them in this conversation.”
That was the first time Keryth acknowledged Jevan. “I was meaning to ask who your tall friend was,” Keryth said, approaching the Medellan. “I’m Commander Keryth of the Star Cruiser Wah’kah’ria.”
In his best Athla’naa, Jevan replied. “Yawen ior’uthera. Kerros’nor Jevan.”
“You speak our tongue!” Keryth seemed suitably impressed. “It is an older dialect, but still understandable. I’ll admit, it surprised the Leadership Conclave to hear that the Rahn’naa crashed on a world populated by another sentient species.”
“It’s a long story,” Takyra said, pouring herself a glass of wah’roh as the three other Medellans entered the room. “Commander Keryth, this is Ard Mathias from the nearby village of Yanen, and Tomas and Aron, who recently arrived from Ateria.”
After the pleasantries were complete, they all took a seat, and Keryth addressed the group. “Let me apologize for what happened. We tried to respond to your last message and warn you about Denyra, but she was jamming our signals.”
“I wondered about that,” Takyra admitted, as she pulled up a display over the table and showed Keryth the transcribed messages. “The first one was so curt.”
“That first one was from Denyra’s people. They aren’t a very chatty bunch.” Keryth leaned forward, reading the other message, and nodded when he finished. “The second one was the official message from the Leadership Conclave.”
“We should have been more wary, after having been out of touch with Aria’naa for so long,” Takyra admitted. “Especially after Denyra began making demands to round up the descendants of the Aria’asharra and make them wear those bracelets. Why were they necessary?”
“Those bracelets are outdated tech,” Keryth explained. “Our older ships required them so the matter transmitter system could properly lock on to someone’s coordinates. Our upgraded transmat no longer requires them.”
“I suspected they might track the wearers,” Aerys interjected. “If we had known that you could transport people like that, I wouldn’t have spent all my time reinforcing the strength of our forcefield.”
“You couldn’t have known all the advancements we’ve made over the past twelve hundred years,” Keryth reassured them. “I’m only sorry we couldn’t get here in time to prevent those unnecessary deaths. Do you know how many of your people they killed?”
Ardyn shook his head. “I only saw five members of my settlement killed before they placed me on the platform myself. I don’t know how many more they murdered before we arrived.”
“Even five is too many. We should have arrived sooner. I am so sorry.”
“Who is Denyra, and what did she want with the Aria’asharra? She seemed determined to murder tens of thousands of innocent lives,” Takyra asked.
“She’s a high-ranking member of a radical faction that the Leadership Conclave thought we’d wiped out,” Keryth explained. “After your ship disappeared, tensions increased, and eventually civil war broke out. Millions died on both sides. Ultimately, we defeated the Aria’asharra, and restored peace to Aria’naa.”
“This all happened because the Rahn’naa disappeared?” Takyra asked, leaning forward with interest.
“Unfortunately, yes. The Rahn’naa became a legend and a rallying cry. We believed that the Aria’asharra had infiltrated the colony population on board and sabotaged the ship,” Keryth said. “There were many conspiracy theories about what happened. Everything from the Aria’asharra taking the Rahn’naa to a different planet and subjugating those not part of their faction, or outright destroying the ship to send a message to the Leadership Conclave.”
“Well, the former theory is close to the truth,” Takyra said. “They had planned to just take shuttles down to this world and let the Rahn’naa continue on its way to Maal’dak Five without them.”
“What happened?”
“They were bumbling fools,” Takyra replied. “By the time they’d woken me, they’d already crashed the ship. The Rahn’naa remained intact, but the crash badly damaged the rocket system. It would have taken us too long to even attempt a repair, and the Aria’asharra wouldn’t let me send a subspace signal back to Aria’naa for help. So, instead, they shoved me back into my cryopod and left the rest of us to rot.”
Keryth poured himself a glass of water. “There were ships sent out to look for you. When they didn’t find the Rahn’naa along its planned route, they had to break off the search. As the civil war escalated, the Leadership Conclave needed all resources for defense and so they recalled the ships back to Aria’naa.”
“So much tragedy and death.” Takyra took a long drink of her wah’roh. “Do you have any records of who was lost during that war? I would love to know what happened to the friends and family I left behind.”
“The records exist, but they are in the archives back on Aria’naa,” Keryth said. “You would have to travel back there to review them.”
“Back to this radical faction that Denyra is a part of,” Aerys changed the subject. “If the Aria’asharra were defeated, why was Denyra trying to wipe out their descendants here? They had nothing to do with your civil war.”
“They call themselves the Maara’dahl.”
Jevan did not like the sound of that name. The Removers of Existence.
