Unfortunately, it didn’t last.
The more Karo focused on the vision, the more it began to fade. The colors muted, smell dissipated, then the entire image became hazy before disappearing completely.
The peace he’d experienced vanished, replaced by anger. He stood abruptly and stalked around the room, frustration pouring off of him in waves, until he realized that he was also scared.
Am I losing my mind? Is this what his life was to be like after surviving for eight millennia alone? Am I doomed to spend the rest of my life onboard my ship, lost in hallucinations?
The thought terrified him.
I don’t want to go insane. I want to have a life—to live!—but I need help.
He didn’t want to ask for help from the Grays, didn’t want to have to stay here any longer than he already had. The blue pulses that surrounded him weren’t hypnotic any longer. Now they agitated him.
I want to go home. The thought was more of a plea. “I want to go home,” he said aloud.
Just making the decision made him feel slightly better. Karo knew that he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life tied to his ship, but this wasn’t exactly logical. First he’d get back, then he’d ask the Arathians for help in dealing with these thoughts.
Decision made, he was ready when Ambassador Lear came to his room. His request was met with shock.
“It would be best if you’d remain here,” Lear argued. “We believe that your place is among your own people.”
Karo took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself before he replied. It wouldn’t do any good to piss off the Grays when he was relying on them to shuttle him back.
“I mean no offense, but you aren’t my people. By your account, the Sirilians are gone. I’m the last, and right now I’d be more comfortable being returned to the Arathian system.”
The ambassador was not pleased with that answer. “Our genetic similarities are undeniable…”
Karo interrupted, unable to keep the aggravation from his voice. “Genetics?! You’ve changed your genome so much that no one—except an expert—would be able to tell that we were once related.”
Lear stood silently, and Karo ran a palm over his head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you and your people. I just… I need to be taken back.” He paused for a moment, but there was no reply. “This has been a lot for me to take in. I need time.”
Karo waited—impatiently—for Lear to say something, knowing that he was telepathically talking to others before giving an answer. Finally, he spoke.
“We understand that this has been difficult for you and that you need time to process. We hope that this will not be your only visit?”
Karo breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m sure it won’t be. Thank you for understanding.”
The ambassador inclined his head. “A shuttle is being prepped now, if you’d follow me.”
He exited the room, and Karo eagerly joined him. This time he was more at ease as he stepped onto the platform and it began its trip through the station.
The Grays weren’t much for fan-fare, so within the hour Karo found himself once again sitting upon an organic chair while a Gray piloted him back to Arathian space. He marveled at the speed with which they traveled, and remembered belatedly to contact Lukas on the comm unit he’d been given to inform him that he was heading back.
“I already see you on long range scans,” Lukas told him. “We’ll be waiting for you in the docking bay.” After the comm unit disconnected its link, Karo felt his first sense of relief. His time with the Grays had been nothing but one revelation after another, coupled with the most “alien” of alien environments he could ever remember seeing.
He’d never fit into that community—even if he’d wanted to—but even after all that he’d learned, a question still lingered.
“Why did you rename Siril?” he suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
The pilot opened his eyes slowly. “To protect it, of course.”
Karo nodded. It was comforting that even after eight millennia his descendants still had ties to their homeworld.
It was in good hands.
He and the pilot remained silent for the rest of the short voyage, and before he knew it the shuttle touched down inside the Arathians’ ship. Excitement surged through him, and Karo had to remind himself to not run out of the opening hatch. The pilot was still seated; it was clear that he would not be accompanying him.
Karo bowed low. “Thank you. I am incredibly grateful to your people for all you’ve done for me.”
The pilot inclined his head. “You are welcome Karincin.” He held out a small sphere. “This is for you. It will allow you to contact us if the need arises, and also contains a historical record. Anand thought you might like to look more closely at the events of the past.”
“Thank you.” Karo bowed once more before taking the item and descending the ramp. He saw Lukas, Jayda, Deian, and Doctor Notani waiting for him. He felt immense relief, and walked quickly to them.
Jayda and Lukas were dressed in their formfitting flightsuits, probably having just come back from another training flight. He approached, and Jayda immediately enveloped him in a quick hug, before holding him at arm’s length and looking him over.
“You alright?” she asked.
“I’m okay.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” Notani said. She walked around him and began running a handheld scanner over his body. Karo didn’t mind.
Lukas clapped him on his shoulder. “It’s good to have you back.”
Karo watched as the Gray’s shuttle exited the bay, then streaked across their field of view. He felt no remorse at their leaving.
“It’s good to be back,” he replied honestly and smiled.
“I’m surprised you’d want to return to us lowly Arathians, after getting a chance to see inside a Gray’s space station,” Deian teased. Karo smiled. If they only knew…
“Are we allowed to ask what it was like?” Lukas inquired. “They seem to go out of their way to keep everything they do a secret.”
“Yeah, I bet they had some awesome tech!” Deian added.
“They did.” Karo thought for a moment as the group began walking. “But from what I’ve seen, technology does not equate to living a full, meaningful life. I’d much rather be here… as long as that’s alright with you three?” he quickly added.
“Of course it is!” Jayda exclaimed. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like.”
“Unless you’d like to keep exploring the galaxy, once we get your ship repaired?” Deian added.
“No!” Karo softened his voice. “No, I think it would be nice to stay in one place for a while.”
“It’s a good thing you have us then,” Deian replied. He smiled in jest, but Karo completely agreed with him.
*****
“Your cells are looking much better!” Doctor Notani exclaimed as she scrolled through Karo’s latest medical scan. “It looks like the treatments have been working perfectly. Any adverse reactions?”
“No.” As long as you don’t count my numerous hallucinations. He thought that last part to himself, not wanting the Doc—or anyone for that matter—to find out about the visions he’d been having. He was sure—he was hoping—that they’d go away soon, and he could begin to feel like himself again.
“I don’t see any reason you need to remain in the Medical Center, since you don’t need to be monitored. General Bogaard approved your personal quarters. Would you like to go see them?”
His own room? With four walls and a door that closed? He was more than ready. “Yes! I’ll go gather my things.”
He eagerly rushed to his small room and packed everything he had into a bag. It wasn’t much: some clothes from his ship and the ones Lukas had given him, a few toiletries, and the sphere from the Grays. When he exited the space, Notani was waiting to escort him.
They headed down the hall together, and something she’d said caught in Karo’s mind. “It wasn�
��t General Bogaard’s idea to give me this room, was it?” She glanced over at him and saw his look of incredulity.
“Not exactly.”
He waited patiently for her to elaborate.
“It was more of a royal request.”
And there it was. He didn’t think the general would have given him allowances, such as the dismissal of his security entourage, or his own room onboard. No, he was sure that the royal trio had quite a lot to do with it.
It’s nice to have friends in high places.
A short ride on the lift, and soon Notani was placing his hand on a scanner outside of a door, and programing his identity into the commands. The door opened and she motioned for him to enter. Automatic illumination brightened the space and allowed him to look around.
It wasn’t huge like the room he’d been given during his short time with the Grays, but this one was furnished—with actual furniture, not biological material. For that he was grateful.
The room had a small sitting area, kitchen, and dining table big enough to fit a few people; a cleansing chamber and bed were separated from the main area by a half wall.
The doctor showed him how to use the room’s features and replicator before turning to him. “Is there anything else you’ll be needing?”
Karo thought quickly. “I don’t think so.”
She turned to leave, but Karo stopped her. He bowed his head respectfully. “Thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Her face lit up in a smile. “You’re welcome.” She began to leave but stopped herself. “Please come back and see me if you start experiencing any new symptoms… or if you just need to talk.”
He smiled gratefully. “Thank you. I will.”
The door automatically closed, and Karo turned to face his room. Alone again. At least that was something he was used to, but he’d grown accustomed to the constant hum of activity while staying in the Medical Center. Now there was silence.
For a while he was able to keep himself busy by exploring the quarters and unpacking. He even replicated himself a few changes of clothes to have on hand—just in case.
He used the cleansing stall, changed into new clothes, then found himself standing in the center of the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had nothing to do. Boredom was not part of his life.
Silence. Now that was something he was all-too familiar with.
His eyes scanned the space once again, and landed on the Gray’s orb sitting on his table. It beckoned him, and although he was tired of life-altering discoveries, he was still a scholar. He liked to have as much information as possible. He also yearned for more information about his people. Not the Grays—the Sirilians.
His feet were moving before he’d made the conscious decision. The orb felt cold, reminding him of the race who’d programmed it. He rolled it between his palms and debated on how to access its information.
He spied his room’s console, and was surprised to find an indentation along its surface. The sphere fit perfectly, and immediately the vid screen was illuminated with categories and sub-categories of information.
Karo sat and scrolled backwards in time through the dense material, until it suddenly became sparse. There was a notation that Space One had been destroyed during a conflict, and that most of the ancient history in their database had been lost. Centuries of information was gone.
Karo’s heart fell as he realized that this place in the timeline was still two centuries after his birth. He scrolled further back, but the information remained very limited.
He found lists of dates and facts from the Department of Space, but there was nothing about the High Council, or most other departments. There were only cursory theories about culture during that time, no maps of the cities, no art, or music. He searched backwards and forwards, hoping that he was missing something, but the results remained the same. Most of the records had been lost.
A wave of anger rolled over Karo. His heart rate increased and breaths became harsh as images flooded his mind: his parents, Reus, co-workers and crew at the Department of Space, the bustling city, and the white-haired woman whom he couldn’t name. They weren’t just gone… they were lost. Lost to time and the millennia that had passed while he’d been forced to remain in stasis.
They all died while he’d been sleeping.
Karo suddenly picked up the Gray’s useless sphere and threw it across his room. He heard a satisfying crash.
Someone had intentionally done this to him, and it wouldn’t have been easy. It would’ve taken a lot of time and effort to reprogram LINK, and keep the ship running effectively for that long. There was only one person who may have the answers he needed.
It only took a moment to connect his wristunit to his ship’s mainframe, and thus, to his closest friend.
“LINK!” he bellowed.
“Greetings Karo,” a familiar—and too friendly—voice replied. “What can I do for you?”
“You can tell me what the fuck is going on!” Karo demanded. “Did you know that eight-thousand years had passed since we left Siril?”
He didn’t wait for a reply, but walked to his console and began accessing his ship’s main computer core, where LINK’s subroutines were stored. The AI had been originally designed by Karo’s team to pilot the ship and systems while the Scouts were in stasis. If someone had messed with LINK’s instructions, they must have reprogrammed his matrix.
“Who told you to keep me in stasis?”
There was no reply.
Karo dug through the code, but was quickly stopped by layers of encryption that weren’t supposed to be there.
“Who altered your program?” Silence. “LINK, answer me, dammit!”
“Karo, I suggest you refrain from this path,” LINK finally answered.
Karo shook his head and continued to unravel the code.
“Why? Not happy with what I’ll find?” He dug further into the encryption, but quickly realized that it wasn’t going to unravel easily. Someone had taken a lot of time to alter LINK’s subroutines and lock everyone else out of his program. It was going to take time to unravel it all, and as he settled into his chair, readying himself for the task at hand, he felt his adrenaline begin to ebb. The anger dissipated and was replaced by something else… betrayal.
“Why?” Karo asked LINK quietly. “Why would you do this to me?”
The weight of loss felt heavy on his shoulders. He was alone. Not only were his people gone—his entire planet, essentially—but someone had reprogrammed his only companion to keep him prisoner on his own ship. Someone had betrayed him.
“Who made you do this? Was it the Department of Space? Who?!”
LINK didn’t respond.
“Fine, I’ll find out for myself.”
Karo’s fingers flew over the console as he looked for a programming signature. Every AI programmer was different, and had their own unique way of writing code. If Karo dug deep enough, he could figure out who had reprogrammed LINK. He quickly broke into LINK’s subroutines and scanned the first layer of altered code. His brows drew together in confusion; he recognized the programmer’s signature.
“This can’t be right,” he mumbled to himself. It didn’t take Karo long to break through that layer, and see that there were dozens of others that had all been rewritten by one person… himself.
CHAPTER 21
That night, Karo dreamed. The images were not hazy, foggy, or unclear. This time they were crisp and vibrant.
He was standing in a familiar room; one that he had dreamed about in the past. It was a bedroom with inviting decor in rich colors.
He was not alone; there was a woman with him. Unlike before, her image was now clear and distinct. He could see the deep blue of her skin, the hypnotic gray of her eyes, and her lush lips, which were smiling at him as if he were truly special to her. Her long white hair fell down her back, unimpeded, looking like a river of snow.
His hands clenched and unclenched with the need to run his fingers through th
e cascade, to see if it was as soft as he imagined. The white strands also adorned her eyebrows and lashes, which looked like spikes of white against the blue of her skin. He’d never seen anyone more beautiful.
Karo stood still, wanting to drink her in.
Her eyes were what captivated him the most. They weren’t just gray, but a molten silver. She looked at him as if she knew something, as if she had affection for him. It was unnerving—it was magical.
This woman was a siren; she called to him with her entire body and mind.
Suddenly those eyes turned hot, and she looked him up and down as if she liked what she saw. He wanted to puff out his chest.
Great, now I’ve turned into a preening bird, he admonished himself. The thought fled as she moved; a simple shifting of her hips as she walked across the room towards him. His eyes followed the movement as if it were the beginning of an erotic dance.
She stopped just in front of him and tilted her head to the side, studying his expression. She must’ve approved of what she saw. Her hand landed on his pectoral, and slid up until it was wrapped around the nape of his neck. She applied a gentle pressure, and he eagerly bent down close to her, but instead of kissing him like he expected, she put her lips to the shell of his ear and whispered.
“I saw the way you looked at me all night.” Her other hand came up to his chest, and her palm branded circles over his nipple. A shiver rocked his body and his hands came up to rest on her waist.
She breathed into his ear. “Did you like what you saw?”
He wondered what she was talking about, but the part of him that was enveloped in the dream knew that they had spent the evening together. She’d looked beautiful. She still looked beautiful, entrancing even.
“Absolutely,” he rumbled in a low tone. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you. You’re by far the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen.”
It was the truth. He’d been attracted to females over the years, but none came close to this one. Everything about her seemed to call to him as a male, and the last thing he wanted to do was fight the feeling.
Adrift (The Sirilians Book 1) Page 17