The Cycles of Revelation Series

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

Episode 32: The subspace message that Takyra sent to Aria’naa receives a reply. What it doesn’t say speaks volumes.

They all looked at Takyra. “Well, that’s a surprise. Please, everyone, join me.”

As they followed Takyra toward the control center, Aelrynd eagerly kept pace with her. “What’s this message?”

“It must be the message I was telling you about,” Takyra replied excitedly. “The one I sent to Aria’naa.”

Ardyn felt his heart speed up as Takyra’s palpable excitement rubbed off.

“Do you know what they’ve said?” Taeglyn asked.

“Not yet,” Takyra replied. “The implications of this will affect all of us, which is why I want you there, so we can find out together.”

When they entered the control room, they gathered around the console where Aerys was stationed. “What was the response?” Takyra asked.

“It’s brief,” Aerys replied before touching one control on the console before him.

“We’re coming,” said a terse sounding voice.

“We’re coming?” Ardyn asked, looking at Takyra. “Does that mean…?”

Takyra was suddenly quiet. Unusually so.

“Takyra? Does it mean they are coming here?” Ardyn completed his question.

“Yes, I think so,” she replied hesitantly. “If they are coming here, they’re sending a ship.”

Jevan looked at Ardyn and then back at Takyra. “A ship? Like the Rahn’naa?”

Nodding, Takyra paced excitedly. “I had hoped to exchange messages. I didn’t expect them to send a ship so soon. The reply was so abrupt, I’m not sure what to think.”

“How do they know where we are?” Taeglyn asked. “I thought this… this… ship crashed on the wrong world?”

“When I sent the message, I included our coordinates based on the star positions, taking into account twelve hundred years of drift,” Takyra explained. Seeing the confused looks, she added. “Perhaps Cytra can explain it to you later.”

Aerys rose from his seat. “The Rahn’naa took six years to reach this world twelve hundred years ago. We don’t know how much faster their ships can travel now. We could have weeks or years to prepare for their arrival.

“I will send another message,” Takyra said. “I’m sure they can tell us how long they expect it will take them to reach us. In the meantime, we need to move forward with our plans to revive the rest of those still in cryostasis.”

“Where will all these Athla’naa live?” Aelrynd asked.

“For the time being, right here,” Takyra replied. “We designed this ship to house all ten thousand Athla’naa that had been in cryostasis for our journey. There is plenty of room for those still sleeping. Once they’re all revived, we’ll need to decide whether to remain on this world.”

“Are you saying that you might leave Baaru’nor?” Ardyn asked, his ears lowering at the conflicted feelings that brought forth.

“Not only those of us on the Rahn’naa,” Takyra replied. “The Leadership Conclave on Aria’naa may decide for all Athla’naa to depart this world.”

This declaration took Ardyn aback.

“Are you suggesting that you would force all Athla’naa, including my people, to leave and return to Aria’naa?” Aelrynd demanded.

“We were never meant to be on this world,” Takyra said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Who knows what long-term consequences our people’s presence has had on the Medellan people? Either way, this won’t be my decision alone to make.”

Jevan stepped forward. “What if we choose to let you stay? We should get a say in the matter, shouldn’t we? I can’t imagine this world without your people in it,” he said as he wrapped an arm around Ardyn’s shoulders.

Trying to give them a comforting smile, Takyra grasped each by a shoulder. “Don’t worry about it right now. The matter is hardly decided. I was merely letting you know of a potential outcome when that ship arrives from Aria’naa.”

Mathias crossed his arms with a frown. “Do not leave my people out of this decision. Yes, your people’s arrival on our world may have disrupted my people’s development, but it may have improved us in other ways we don’t know.”

“You don’t resent how much we’ve asked your people to restrict your progress?” Aelrynd asked, sounding surprised.

“So, you admit to purposely restricting the Medellans’ development?” Takyra asked. “This is exactly what I was saying. Our people have exacted too much influence on the natural development of this world. This should never have happened.”

“You want to force all the elves to leave, merely because they may have affected our people’s progress?” Mathias asked.

Takyra tilted her head and lowered her ears. “Don’t you want to have your world to yourselves?”

Mathias paced in a small circle for a moment before turning back to Takyra. “My people came from across the ocean. This land belonged to the elves — sorry, Athla’naa — long before we arrived. We interfered with them as much as they interfered with us. It’s why we were at war for over a century and why the peace between us has always been tenuous.”

“If your people had arrived and found this land empty, as it should have been, your people’s development would have been very different,” Takyra said. “Our people should never have been here. I think it would be for the best if we all left. Some of us may desire to return home and see what has become of Aria’naa. Others may wish to go on and colonize the uninhabited world that was our original destination.”

“These people have been here for twelve hundred years, and we’ve shared this land with them for eight hundred. They are a part of our culture and history,” Mathias argued. “We should have a say whether all of you must leave.”

Rubbing her temples, Takyra nodded. “You may have a point. First, we need to deal with current situations at hand. We don’t know yet how soon the ship from Aria’naa will arrive, and we have nearly five thousand people to revive. Besides, we also don’t know what Druyndar might do. We can discuss our options further once we have a better handle on those situations, agreed?”

Mathias, Aelrynd, and Taeglyn all nodded. Ardyn breathed a sigh of relief, glad they could all agree on something.

“In the meantime,” Aerys said. “I would suggest all of you watch some of the historical videos we have on record. It will show you what life on Aria’naa was like around the time we left and explain more about our colonization mission.”

“I think that would be beneficial,” Taeglyn said. “Hopefully, these videos are more accurate than our ancient texts.”

It had been a couple of days since the cryptic communication from Aria’naa had arrived. Ardyn and Jevan were visiting the control center when an alert came from Takyra’s console.

“Oh!” Takyra exclaimed.

Curious, Ardyn peered over her shoulder. “What is it?”

Takyra’s hands flew over the console, and she let out a surprised gasp before tapping on the button for the communications system. “Aerys, report to the control center immediately.”

A few minutes later, Aerys arrived. “What is going on? What was so urgent?”

“We received a response to my second message,” Takyra said. “Listen!”

She played it for all of them to hear.

The message from the Rahn’naa has been received and is acknowledged. The people of Aria’naa rejoice in the knowledge of your survival. We will ready a ship and send to your coordinates to assess your current condition. According to our calculations, we should be there in approximately twenty of your days. Please be prepared for our arrival.

This time, the voice sounded more welcoming, much to Ardyn’s relief.

Aerys was looking at Takyra with surprise. “They can send a ship that fast now?”

“It took the Rahn’naa six years to travel here, right?” Jevan asked. “How are they able to get here so much faster?”

“We’ll have to ask them when they arrive,” Aerys replied. “It sounds like our civilization not only survived, but thrived, since we left.”

Ardyn felt a thrill of excitement, knowing that in a short time he was going to meet even more advanced Athla’naa than he already knew. “I wonder what other marvels they’ve developed since then?” he mused aloud, smiling at Jevan.

“I can’t even imagine,” Jevan said. “But I’m excited to find out!”

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