“I understand.”
“Now that that’s settled, how goes the search for other Sirilians?” Lukas asked to change the topic.
The doctor sighed. “I had our Ambassador to the Galactic Alliance ask all of our allies for help, but the ones that have responded say that they don’t have a genetic match in their system. The Ambassador promised to keep trying, but there are big issues before the Alliance right now, and he has to tread lightly.”
Karo was disappointed, but knew that it really didn’t matter whether they found his people right now or not. His ship was still a disaster. There was no way he was leaving this system anytime soon.
“Lukas, have you heard from the security crew regarding my ship?”
“Yes, they reported that they’ve been able to secure it. There’s still a couple of systems that refuse to power down, but the repair teams are already working on it. I don’t have a completion time frame yet.”
“That’s alright, I’m just grateful that you’re willing to repair the damage at all.”
Lukas nodded in acknowledgment, and the doctor chimed in.
“Speaking of damage, let’s talk about the treatment I’ve planned out for you.” She continued to explain how she had developed an injection that would repair his cellular damage, but the terminology went over Karo’s head.
He did understand that she would give him injections three times a day. She gave him his first dosage right as Jayda entered the Medical Center.
“Good morning!” she greeted everyone brightly. “Karo, it’s good to see you out and about.”
He bowed. “Good morning Jayda.”
She stepped to Lukas and they exchanged a quick kiss. Karo felt a pang in his chest and looked away from the intimate gesture. He didn’t understand why seeing the couple should bother him, but both times he’d seen Jayda kiss Lukas or Deian, he’d had the same visceral reaction. He didn’t think it was Jayda herself causing it, but he had no idea what else it could be.
“I brought you something,” Jayda chimed. She opened a cylinder-shaped container and pulled out his wristunit. Karo’s mood immediately lightened.
“Thank you!” he exclaimed.
“You’re welcome. The security team just released it, so I figured I’d pop into their lab and grab it before coming to see you.”
“I greatly appreciate the gesture.” Karo slipped the condensed version of his ship’s computer onto his wrist, and felt more like himself. The past twelve hours had been the first time he’d been without it since leaving on the Scout Mission.
“Did they find anything wrong with it?” he asked.
Jayda shook her head. “Nope, but I think they were checking to make sure it didn’t pose a threat to our ship more than anything else. Make sure you look it over yourself. If there’s something wrong with it, I can bring you the necessary instruments you need to do repairs.”
Karo nodded. He looked his wristunit over, but it seemed fine. “Does this mean I’m not a political prisoner any longer?” he asked.
Her expression turned to one of frustration. “No, I’m still working on that,” she replied sourly before forcing her tone to lighten. “I was thinking we could try to interface your wristunit with the mobile navigation unit I brought last night. Maybe we can find your system.”
Karo eagerly followed Jayda and Lukas back into his small room, where she had shelved the navigational disc the previous evening, after their multitudes of failures.
Lukas took a seat at the table to let Karo and Jayda work on connecting the devices. It took some finagling but eventually they were able to interface his wristunit with her tablet.
“I think we got it!” she exclaimed and set the disc in the middle of the floor. “Ready to give it a try?”
“Yes,” Karo eagerly answered.
She hit a command, and a three-dimensional projection of the galaxy sprang to life within the room. From where Karo stood, his head was almost in the dead center of the spiral, right where the supermassive black hole was located that held their entire galaxy together.
He ducked his head but the projection didn’t change. It was so large that the image ran into the three walls of his small room, and was even projected out into the main part of the Medical Center. Karo heard several gasps and confused voices from outside the room.
“Sorry,” Jayda called loudly then smiled guiltily at him and Lukas. She manipulated the image, and soon it had shrunk until the entire projection was inside his room.
“That’s better. Now let’s see if this works.” She nodded to Karo, and he initiated the link from his wristunit. Data about the Siril system popped onto Jayda’s screen, and he watched as she began a comparison.
“Cross your fingers,” she said absently.
Karo didn’t understand what she meant, but he was already holding his breath in anticipation. It took several agonizingly slow moments before the results showed on her device.
The two navigational charts only had a ten percent match.
“What does that mean?” Karo asked.
Jayda tapped her tablet to scroll through the results. “I’m not sure… give me a second.” Her hands moved too swiftly for Karo to follow what she was doing, so he watched her face instead. Her brows were knit in concentration, and she held her bottom lip between her teeth absentmindedly.
“A ten percent match isn’t very much when we’re talking about the entire galaxy, but I think it’s enough to get some kind of an idea.” She looked up at the three-dimensional projection, and Karo’s eyes followed hers. The stars had changed: instead of showing the entire spiral galaxy, it now showed a tiny portion, only a few star systems. Jayda inputted another command, and color was laid over the image. Karo could immediately tell that one of them was the Sirilian system.
“There it is!” he exclaimed and pointed. The relief he felt at seeing his homeworld was palpable. He had been away for far too long. He looked towards Jayda, but she didn’t look jovial like he expected. Actually, she looked confused.
“Karo, are you sure this is the Sirilian system?”
“Yes, I’m certain.” He stepped into the projected image and pointed. “See, here’s Siril. These are the other twelve planets in the system, and here’s the twin suns they orbit.”
Jayda remained quiet. Lukas stood and walked up to the image. “What part of space is this?” he asked.
Karo knew Lukas wasn’t asking him. Jayda’s reply was slow in coming, and sounded solemn. “It’s under the control of the Grays… and the planet Karo’s pointing to is Aeonas.”
*****
What did Jayda mean that the Siril system was controlled by the Grays? Who were the Grays? What was Aeonas?
“How can that be?” Lukas asked her quietly. Jayda just shook her head in response, a look of bewilderment on her face.
Karo finally asked the pertinent question, “Who are the Grays, and why do they claim my homeworld?”
Jayda sat quietly on Karo’s bed, still shaking her head. “I don’t understand,” she uttered. Karo sat at her side and turned his entire body to face her.
“Jayda, who are the Grays?” he repeated softly.
“They’re an enigmatic ancient race of intellectuals. They sit on the Galactic Alliance, along with Arath and hundreds of other races. We know that they have technology that’s far superior to our own, but they’re incredibly secretive. We’ve never been allowed inside one of their ships; we don’t even know where their homeworld is.”
“Why did you call my homeworld Aeonas?”
Jayda looked to Lukas, who moved a chair closer and sat. “Before I met Jayda I was onboard an Arathian ship which visited that planet. If that’s truly where you come from, then I’m afraid that Siril and Aeonas are one and the same.”
So… the Arathians have a different name for his homeworld? That wasn’t a problem, but looking at their expressions Karo knew that he was missing something important. “You say that as if it’s a bad thing.”
Lukas took a deep
breath. “The only inhabitants of the planet are a colony of Earthers. Your people—they’re gone.”
Karo stood abruptly. “You must be mistaken. There are millions of people living on that planet.”
Jayda shook her head and moved to the projection. She placed her hands around the system and spread them outward. The image changed, zooming in on the twin suns and their planets, which were now each the size of her fist. She walked to Siril and pointed.
“This is Aeonas, a planet that is only inhabited by sea creatures, plants, and a colony of a couple hundred Earthers. There’s no other life anywhere on it, nor even anywhere else in the entire system.”
She spoke with such confidence, he could see the truth in her expression. “You’re certain?”
Lukas moved to his side. “I’ve been there myself, when I helped relocate people to the colony. I’m sorry, but what Jayda said is true.”
Karo didn’t know what to make of this. How could the planet be bare? Where were the people? Now that Jayda had enlarged the image, there was no mistaking the fact that the planet they pointed to was Siril.
“How can this be?” he asked absently.
“I don’t know, but I promise that we’ll help you find the answers,” Jayda vowed.
“There’s one more thing we should mention,” Lukas added. “Jayda was right when she said that the only things on land are the rivers, forests, and Earther colonists, but there’s one thing she forgot… ruins.”
“Ruins?”
“Yeah, I saw a few of them during my short stay on the planet. There aren’t many, but there are definitely remnants of structures towards the center of the continent.”
“Could they be from my people?”
“I doubt it,” Lukas replied. “Were there ruins there when you lived on the planet?”
“No. We had older structures, but nothing that can be described as ancient.”
“The ones he’s talking about are millennia old,” Jayda chimed in. “There’s no way they could be from the Sirilians.”
Karo’s mind reeled and he sat heavily onto the bed. He didn’t know how to process all that he’d heard.
Jayda sat at his side. “We know this is incredibly overwhelming for you, but we’ll do our best to figure out what’s going on.”
Karo nodded, unsure what to say.
Jayda and Lukas left him alone so that he could mull over all that they’d discovered. Unfortunately he had more questions than answers. How could all of the Sirilians be gone from their homeworld? What would cause an entire planet of people to relocate?
From what Lukas had described the planet’s surface was covered with huge oceans and forest-covered land. If there had been a massive extinction event, the foliage wouldn’t have been able to recover that quickly on a global scale. That didn’t leave many answers, and the longer he pondered the fate of his world, the more it made his head hurt. He lay upon the bed, face covered by the crook of his arm, and hoped that the pain would recede.
Is this an effect of not using the regeneration chamber? he wondered.
Usually he only spent a maximum of forty-eight hours without using it: just long enough to do a systems check and complete any repairs that the ship needed before going back into stasis.
The galaxy was vast, and it took his ship a long time to travel between systems. His mission was designed so that time was spent in stasis, instead of wasting days alone and aging before returning home.
Home. His thoughts had gone full circle. After leaving the Arathians he’d planned on heading back to Siril. He wanted to report to the Department of Space that his mission had been successful. He also looked forward to seeing his family again. Surely his parents would still be alive after twenty years; they’d been in excellent health when he’d left.
Memories of his family and friends were still fresh in his mind, although he admittedly had trouble remembering the months leading up to his mission launch. That wasn’t unheard of—he’d been under an immense amount of stress at the time.
The fact that he hadn’t received a communication from Siril in years was now highly disconcerting. He knew going into the mission that there would be a point where he’d journey too far from his homeworld for the communications link to work. He knew that there would be years of silence—he’d accepted that fact—but now, in retrospect, the silence was deafening.
Have I not gotten a response because they’re all dead?
CHAPTER 12
Aevum bustled with anxious energy as she sat in the autotransport on her way to Karo’s home. They had communicated off and on the entire day while they’d been at work. It had been a wonderful distraction, and Aevum welcomed the new exciting emotions bubbling inside of her.
Aevum hadn’t met his parents, but she knew enough about her own society and culture to guess at their lifestyle.
Karo would have been encouraged by them to continue their pairing, but since their last date she was hoping that he pursued their relationship out of affection for her, and not just out of obligation.
During their last Meeting, Karo had shown her a lighter side of himself that had surprised her—he’d probably surprised himself.
She had to admit that she was fond of him as well. More than fond, her emotions were closer to infatuation. It had been a long time since she’d given a man more than a passing thought.
She’d dated, of course, but her last relationship had been years ago, and easily forgotten. It’d been difficult to maintain a relationship when she traveled offworld for her job. Usually she was gone for months at a time, and honestly, none of the men she’d dated were people that she’d stay planet-side for. They were nothing compared to making first contact with an unknown species on a distant world.
She felt the autotransport begin to slow, and belatedly wondered if Karo would make her want to stay in this solar system?
The transport entered the main level of Karo’s home and came to a stop. Aevum’s heart sped up as she exited and looked around the space. Meant for meeting guests as they arrived, transport foyers were an extension of any family’s home.
This one was simply—but elegantly—decorated; large opaque doors separated it from the rest of the house. As she watched, they slid soundlessly open and Karo stepped through.
Aevum felt a spike of anxiety. Would he be the man she’d enjoyed spending time with? The one who’d laughed at her jokes and spent the day sending her vid messages during work? Or would he have locked that side of himself away, since his parents were in the adjoining room?
She barely heard the transport pull away. Her heart raced as he approached. She watched him—as if in slow motion—bend forward and kiss her temple. His lips felt soft, warm, and she exhaled a lungful of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.
“You’re right on time,” he remarked with a smile as he straightened. She drew immense reassurance from his expression and smiled back.
I'd consider staying on Siril for him, she thought.
“There was no way I was going to be late tonight,” she replied nervously. Apparently he understood her trepidation.
“Everything is going to be fine. Just act like your usual self.”
She nodded and watched as Karo’s eyes traveled over her slowly. “You look lovely,” he added in a low tone that she hadn’t heard from him before. She immediately wanted to hear it again.
“Thank you. So do you.”
She was completely sincere. His outfit in shades of white and tan was more formal than the others she’d seen him wear. The clothing hugged his body perfectly, and made his skin appear an even lighter shade of blue than normal. Before she was done admiring his choice of clothes, he took her hand and led her through the large doors and into his home.
Beyond was a multi-story foyer that was decorated in muted tones. Aevum quickly looked around, but there were no personal touches of any kind, just utilitarian-looking furniture placed in exact positions. She had a strange urge to rotate a chair a few degrees and see if anyo
ne noticed. The thought thankfully fled her mind as two people approached.
There was no mistaking Karo’s parents.
His mother was tall and lithe, with beautiful medium blue skin and dark gray eyes. She stood with her hands clasped in front of herself, and wore a simple gray dress that went all the way to her ankles. Only the small gold pin on her collar signified that she was a member of the High Council.
Karo looked more like his father. Both had light blue skin, and the same leanly muscled build. He was dressed in slacks and shirt the same color as Karo’s mother’s dress, and had an identical pin.
“May I present my mother, Kishi, and my father, Rifka. Father, Mother, this is Aevum Nikhil.”
They inclined their heads politely.
“Hello, Aevum, it is nice to meet you,” Rifka greeted.
“You are welcome in our home,” Kishi added.
“Thank you very much for having me.” Aevum smiled warmly at them but only got small, polite smiles in return.
“Dinner has been prepared for us. Let us adjourn to the dining room,” Rifka suggested, before he and Kishi turned to lead them down the hall. Aevum found herself staring at their backs and wondering at their abruptness.
Karo kept ahold of Aevum’s hand as they followed the pair and entered the dining room. It looked like the foyer: utilitarian. The table and chairs were clear; all of the serving dishes were polished metal that gleamed in the lighting. The starkness was unsettling to Aevum, who preferred her home to look like it was lived in, rather than a sterile medical facility.
Karo led her to the center of the long table and held out a chair for her. Thankfully he sat in the seat to her right and retook her hand. His parents sat across from them, and drinks were immediately served by robotic units.
I hope it’s alcoholic, Aevum thought. Aloud she said, “You have a lovely home.”
“Thank you,” Kishi replied.
The four sat silently, and Karo squeezed her hand in reassurance. Aevum’s heart pounded in her chest, and she had to clench her teeth together to keep from breaking the uncomfortable silence by rambling. She had never felt so scrutinized in her entire life.
Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) Page 9