The Cycles of Revelation Series
Artifact of the Dawn: Takyra (A Queer Sci-Fi Adventure)
Episode 19: Jevan and Ardyn awaken a long-slumbering Athla’naa, who helps to explain what really happened to Ardyn’s ancestors.
The corridors were a vast maze and even with the map, Ardyn and Jevan made several wrong turns. Thankfully, Cytra was monitoring their progress. Whenever they passed a wall display, she would show an arrow to help direct them.
When they finally arrived at the cryopod revival chamber, Ardyn used his key to open the door. They entered cautiously, not knowing what to expect. The lights came on as they entered, and they both gaped in awe at the size of the chamber they stood in. Numerous lights illuminated as they approached the railing around the small platform they stood on. From there, they saw several levels above and below them, filled with rows and rows of person-sized containers.
“Those must be the cryopods,” Ardyn surmised. “How many of them are there? How could my ancestors have abandoned them all?”
“That’s a good question,” Jevan said. “I can’t even imagine how anyone could have built something like this. It’s breathtaking.”
Before they could even try to count how many pods there were, a loud whirring sound startled them as a gigantic metal arm appeared. It grasped a pod, releasing it from its resting place and carrying it over to the platform where Ardyn and Jevan stood. They backed away to avoid being hit by it.
Moments later, several snake-like things emerged from the floor around the cryopod and attached themselves to it. Various lights on the cryopod flared to life, flashing with beeps and whirrs. The frosted window of the pod cleared, and the face of an Athla’naa female appeared. She had close-cropped hair, a dark shade of reddish purple, and ears that were more sharply pointed than Ardyn’s.
Despite all the evidence up to this point, it still startled Ardyn to see the sleeping Athla’naa female. The truth of what they’d discovered hit home. There were probably hundreds, if not thousands, still asleep after so many centuries, abandoned by his ancestors, tore at Ardyn’s heart.
Watching with bated breath, they startled when the pod hissed, and clouds of steam billowed out as it opened. The front split in two before lifting and sliding to the sides of the pod. The Athla’naa inside wore a one-piece, loose fitting outfit made of dark blue cloth cinched with a belt at her waist.
Once completely open, the Athla’naa inside awakened, blinking her eyes. She looked around with confusion until her eyes focused on Ardyn. Within seconds, a look of recognition and then rage overcame her, and she tried to leap from the pod, launching herself directly at Ardyn. She stumbled out of the pod, almost falling. As she regained her balance, she once again came at him, yelling a word that sounded like traitor.
Ardyn backed away from her advance as Jevan stepped between them, holding her at arm’s length. She stopped and stared at the taller Medellan, a look of shock on her face.
Approaching warily, Ardyn tried to greet her. “Yawen uthera’ior. Kerros’nor Ardyn.”
Her brows knit in confusion as she replied cautiously. “Yaven utera’ior?”
Recognizing the older dialect, Ardyn did his best to reply in the same. “Yaven utera’ior.”
Her eyes narrowed for a moment and then seemed to come to a decision. “Toren’ior,” she said, gesturing them to follow her.
“Well, I understood that, at least,” Jevan said as he and Ardyn followed her out of the cryopod chambers. She led them down the corridor, toward a doorway at the end, and placed her palm against a panel on the wall. After a moment, the door opened. It revealed a tiny room, and the Chief Technician motioned them inside before following them.
After the doors closed, she pushed one of an array of buttons on a panel next to the doors. That’s when Ardyn experienced the strangest sensation. It felt as if his stomach was trying to rise through his throat. It scared him as he grasped Jevan and laid his ears flat against his head. The Chief Technician studied them as the sensation continued for another moment before halting.
“What was that?” Ardyn asked in Medellan. Jevan looked at him wide-eyed and shrugged.
When the doors in the small room opened again, they were in an area of the ship they hadn’t been to yet. The walls were still the same stark white, but there was a stripe of purple painted along the length of each wall. Following the Chief Technician, she led them around a corner toward two wide doors that were more ornate than others they’d seen. The panel beside it read Main Control Room. She stopped and stared at the sign for a moment, before grumbling something and led them through the doors.
The control room was large and reminded Ardyn of the inside of the tower. There were more of the mysterious tables lining the walls, all of which came to life with lights and symbols as they entered. She made her way over to the largest one in the center and her hands flew over the controls as she spoke words in a commanding tone. Cytra appeared before her, and they began to converse.
From what Ardyn could make out, she was asking for something to help communicate with them. A moment later, a small compartment opened on the table near her hand. She took out three small objects. Handing one to each of them, she placed the last one in her ear. Looking at what she’d given him, Ardyn could see how it might fit into his ear, so he mimicked what she had done.
Once they all had one in their ears, she looked at them both. “Now that we can better understand each other, my name is Takyra. I am the Chief Technician of the colonization ship The Rahn’naa.” She introduced. “Who are you, and why are you aboard my ship?”
Ardyn and Jevan looked at each other in amazement. They both could understand her clearly. “My name is Ardyn, of the settlement of Maala’naa. This is my friend Jevan, from the village of Yanen.”
“What are you, Jevan?” Takyra asked. “You’re not Athla’naa.”
“No, I’m Medellan,” Jevan said. “Although your people typically call us athla’maakh.”
Takyra’s eyes widened at that term. “You seem sentient enough to me, Jevan. I don’t see a reason to insult you or your people that way.”
“That’s an insult?” Jevan asked, who looked at Ardyn.
Giving Jevan a sheepish grin, he nodded. “I’m sorry. While it translates to not Athla’naa, we generally mean it to refer to beasts.”
“We’re going to have to talk about that later,” Jevan said before turning back to the newly awakened Athla’naa. “How should we address you?”
“You can call me Takyra. Chief Technician is my title, but you aren’t under my command. There is no need for such formality,” she replied, before turning to Ardyn. “I must apologize for attacking you. I thought you were someone else for a moment. Please, tell me why you have awakened me.”
Pulling the key out of his pocket, Ardyn handed it to her. “I found this. It was in a cave I sheltered in during a storm. Afterward, Jevan found me and saved my life when I was attacked by a sar’ora,” he explained. “This object was a mystery to both of us, and we wanted to learn more. So, we explored the Aria’una. That eventually led us inside this structure. Cytra has been trying to explain, but I’ll admit I am struggling to understand everything she has been telling us. It was her idea to awaken you.”
“The Aria’una? Why is it forbidden?” Takyra asked.
“The elders of my settlement would never tell us exactly why, only threatening dire consequences if we ever entered the Aria’una,” Ardyn explained. “After finding this ship and learning so many Athla’naa remain asleep here, I think that’s why they made the area forbidden. They didn’t want anyone else finding out about it.”
Takyra made a noise of angry frustration and then turned to Jevan. “How did your people come to be here? We were attempting to settle on an uninhabited world.”
Jevan recounted a brief history of how his people came from across the ocean to this continent eight-hundred years before, intending to colonize it. He explained how war had broken out between the Medellans and Athla’naa that lasted over a century, and the tenuous truce that has been maintained between their people since.
“From what Cytra told us, your people were already here for over four hundred years before my ancestors arrived,” Jevan revealed.
“Ior’kah!” she swore. “The fools. They told me they had scanned the entire planet.” Takyra turned around. “Cytra, how long have I been asleep? When did the Rahn’naa crash on this world?”
“The Rahn’naa crashed approximately twelve hundred and fifty-three years ago,” Cytra replied.
“You’re kidding?! I’ve been in cryogenic stasis for over twelve-hundred years?” Takyra shouted in surprise. “We did not design the cryopods to last that long!”
Turning back to them, she looked more closely at Ardyn and Jevan, taking in how they were dressed. “You don’t even know, do you?” Turning to Ardyn. “You don’t know where you’re really from, or the extent of the betrayal of your ancestors?”
Ardyn took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, but Cytra has been trying to explain.”
Takyra ran her fingers through her hair in obvious frustration. “Tell me, how many Athla’naa are there, living on this world?”
Taking a moment to think about that, Ardyn gave a shrug. “I’m not sure. I think there may be around five thousand in the main settlement of Maala’naa, but there are many other settlements scattered throughout this continent. We keep to the forests while the Medellans have built their villages on the coasts and in the valleys.”
“Well, it sounds like they followed my advice on how to maintain their population,” Takyra said mostly to herself, she turned around, touching several controls on the table, which replaced Cytra’s face with an informational display that Ardyn couldn’t begin to understand.
With the lull in conversation, Ardyn asked something he’d thought of earlier. “Why were you still in that cryopod?”
Takyra hesitated before turning off the display and looking back at Ardyn. “That is a long story. However, now that I’m no longer connected to the cryopod, my body’s metabolism is reengaging,” she began, smirking at Jevan and Ardyn’s confused faces. “I haven’t had a meal in over twelve-hundred years, and I’m feeling hungry. Let’s go somewhere, so I can prepare some food, and I’ll explain what I can.”
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