Destination

Aboard the Sigmafy, Enroute to Lo-Nine

Soltana

A bright red light glowed onward, adding to the countless luminance of deep space.

Soltana pulled back her left spiked arm, inspecting her work. She welded down the morphic hull of the Sigmafly. The battle had been a brief one, but had left its scars upon the vessel. She stood up and stared off into the infinity of the universe. The celestial objects of the Sculptor’s Way danced their slow orbits.

She gazed on in amazement. What could the galaxy hold to surpass this? What mysteries would she discover alongside her new friends? She stood up, slowly moving across the hull with magnetic feet, one step at a time.

What will Lo-Nine bring?

She glanced down at another large score mark and melted hull. She could see the empty quarters within and floating debris. The metal was shifting and growing, reforming back to its previous shape. She knelt down, touching the frame with her spike arm. The tip glowed red, melting the metal and coaxing it along the damaged opening.

“Soltana- how are repairs?” L’yophin asked over comms.

“I have this last laser scoring and repairs will be complete.”

“Good.”

There was a brief moment of dead air.

“How are you?”

She dedicated a process to repairs as she scanned outer space. They passed over a sculpture of merged marble triangles.

“I am fine, L’yophin, despite the chaos of this adventure. I never imagined I would end up here in open space, meeting new friends, or being anything but a shell in an empty cave.”

“And I never thought I would explore universe again.”

Her eyes flashed with insight.

“I suspect none of us had any idea of Adonai’s plans.”

A grunt replied to her over the comms.

She continued her work, watching in fascination as the morphic metal paced its slow journey. Her Solar Energy had been extremely useful for spot welding. L’yophin had the idea to speed up repairs. She felt a mixture of peace, joy, and an invoking of her calling.

I was created to create. Built to build. Artifized to artifice. My existence is to explore, to fabricate, and to help.

She took in the universe, the feeling of belonging washed over her.

She was home.

I am Lambent.

A chill in her core systems branched through her as she checked her status.

Name: Soltana

Race: Lambent

Remaining Power: 7601/7500 QC

Inventory: 45/128 ShB

-Gzrel’s Heart

Location: Sculptor’s Way, Deep Space

Time: -

Modules: Dreams of a Lambent, Soltana’s Contentions, Seal Compass, Solar Weld, Bioneural-Healing, Blessing of Infants

She noticed her power was beyond the maximum capacity. She could feel the solar radiation all around her.

I am taking power from the suns themselves. More of my heritage that Barman and Mikial explained. More mysteries and questions. But now I am getting answers.

She watched as the score-marked metal merged together, finishing the repairs.

“Soltana, we have a good seal now. Returning air pressure to the quarters. And we are good again,” L’yophin announced over comms.

She was alerted

complete: hull integrity…

The ship’s metal beneath her feet began to sink inward as she was dropped into the main hall. She clattered to the ground, unfazed by her rough re-entry. She got to her feet and marched off to the bridge. It had taken around two hours to fix, as opposed to the several days the vessel’s hull would have needed to heal.

The bridge was empty, save for L’yophin inside the piloting egg.

“L’yophin, where is everyone?”

“Ah, they are all resting. S’yliska- and Ruth took most brunt of the attack.”

The piloting egg unfolded and uncoiled, springing open to reveal L’yophin inside.

complete: ftl travel to lo-nine…

The Sigmafly’s viewscreen distorted with a tunnel of colored light as a jolt ran through her. They were traveling once again. She moved to the edge of the open pilot egg, raising her arms up as L’yophin scooped her up into his limbs. He cradled her, starring ahead at the hypnotic lights. His chitinous arms were solid and firm, covered in soft periwinkle fur.

“This is final jump. Then we arrive.”

“What do you think we’ll find?” she asked.

All eight of his eyes darted around the room as one before blinking shut. He sighed.

“Adventure.”

His voice fluttered with tiredness. She noticed that since his vocal cords were healed, he had more scope of emotion as much as she had range of motion since her repairs.

“But what does that mean?”

The word adventure implied a lot.

“Ah- lots of running, flying… seeing strange lands and planets- eating strange food and meeting strange peoples. And more running away from scary things.”

“Then it is a good thing I can move, because this would all be very hard if I were still just a head.”

L’yophin chuckled at her.

“What will you do once this is all over? I am unsure if it all ends at Lo-Nine.”

“Mm. I Follow S’yliska- and Ruth. Where she goes, I go. Maybe rebuild our race. Maybe travel. Become a trader again. Who knows? What will you do?”

Soltana flashed her eyes at the question. It was a simple, yet a deep question.

“I will explore the universe. I will see if there are more Lambents. I will meet my creators Mikial, Barman, and Tangence. I will fulfill my identity as much as I can.”

“Mm, that is good. Maybe it will all become clear when we arrive.”

“Yes, I suspect it will. Gideon said as much as he is the son of Mikial.”

There was a brief pause as they simply stared on into infinity.

“It is a blessing Diniel is with us. I do not believe we would have survived without his intervention.”

“Mm. It is. Makes me feel… weak. Unable to help. Only watch and hope our angel is stronger than their demon.”

“But you protected us, too, alongside Ruth and S’yliska. You flew and danced and dodged. I have never seen someone so gracefully and skillfully fly a ship before. Although the amount of times I’ve seen someone fly is in single digits.”

L’yophin blinked his eyes in a wave at her comment. He seemed to think about it for a moment before responding.

“Thank you, Soltana. That means a lot. Been weighing on me that I am unfit for this party. A burden.”

“Genius Loci wants us to believe that we are all unworthy. He needs us to be weak and thus easily controlled. We are simply guardians for his child- nothing more.”

“But he wants us to be strong to protect her?”

“Both are true. If we can protect her, while being confused about our identity, he can better manipulate us. He is trying to balance a precarious position. Too much one way and we fail and his child falls. Too much in the other way and we turn her against him and deny him his child. I suspect this was his plan all along.”

“How do you know so much??” L’yophin’s surprise and confusion were evident on his face. He shivered at the mention of the Emerald God.

“I had a while to process and compile it… Genius Loci is like Lucifer, in a way. They both manipulate, lie, and demoralize in an attempt to get what they desire. Adonai will protect us and they will both fail in their schemes. One wonders what would happen if they were to meet.”

“Mm. Better be far away when that happens,” he muttered.

“I suspect we may not have a choice. Lucifer was persuing the Seal Holders, like Ruth and I. And Genius Loci is keeping us in check. The meeting between the two is inevitable. I hope we avoid their gazes or a stronger third party deals with them. Perhaps once we meet the others we will surpass these foes.”

“Mm. One can hope,” he grumbled.

“Yes. We must hope. Without hope, all is lost. We would have defeated ourselves in spirit.”

L’yophin glanced down at her as they exchanged glances.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am Soltana.”

It didn’t click that L’yophin’s question was rhetorical.

“Oh. Oh, dear.”

They both shared a laugh together. She glanced away to the viewscreen.

“L’yophin. I am growing. I feel my wisdom returning as well as my memory. I cannot say I will stay as I am now- If my physical appearance and chrysalization are anything to go by. I may become someone completely different. There is a chance I will alter into a distant and foreign identity. It is actually quite a concern for me that I would change and no longer recognize my friends-”

A single slender digit poked her face, silencing her.

“Soltana. We will always be friends- now and eternity. If you change, then maybe I remain as a dependable rock. I rescued you, after all. Who says you can rid me?”

She nodded at his words. Even if she grew into something completely different- if her current form were but a pupa for something greater, she would always consider L’yophin a dear friend, regardless of what became of her.

“Thank you. We will overcome this adventure together.”

They spent their time discussing each of the crewmates.

“Do you love S’yliska?” she asked.

He sputtered, eyes darting chaotically. The number and variety of noises he made told her everything.

“Mm-hm,” she surmised.

“I-I-I respect her and Uh- It is complex-”

“I do not understand. Is that a yes or no?” She knew it was considered cruel to poke at one’s feelings towards another; it was usually a taboo of sorts. She didn’t understand why, but it always made one uncomfortable if they hadn’t come to terms with said feelings. And for L’yophin, it was an age’s worth.

He went silent like air out of a tire.

“Yes,” he finally admitted.

“Why?”

There was a long halt in the conversation, leaving the quiet thrum of Sigmafly’s engines in the background. The question and all of its weight pressurized the cabin. A single word had drained the room of warm conversation, replacing it with a frigid awkwardness. L’yophin finally sighed, gently stroking her head.

“Because she is god. My creator. She is strong and kind, patient and wise. Taught me our race, the galaxy, and how we Proturans should live. How can anyone not love her? She is everything. Seeing her come back- I- all of my mistakes were fixed. I can live again.”

“Fascinating. Thank you for explaining this. I do not quite understand love. Yes, it is selfless, patient, and kind, but it is still something foreign to me. Do you love me, L’yophin?”

He stifled a cough, waving a hand madly around.

“Why must you ask such- bizarre things!”

He cleared his throat, “Many types of love. I learned from the philosophers of Ancath and man. There is Philia, which is brotherly love- friendship. Pragma is enduring and practical love. Storge- a familiar love of parent and child. Could also be creator and created. Eros is… romantic love. Ludus is the beginning of romance, a playful love. Mania is obsessive and desperate love. Philautia is self-love. Finally, there is Agape. That is selfless love. Strongest love.”

“I did not know this. You love S’yliska, but then what type of love?”

He grumbled and rumbled.

“Eros.”

“Aw- L’yophin. I will help you gain her affection-”

“Please don’t.”

“Very well. What about me? What type of love?”

He grumbled some more before speaking.

“You ask difficult questions. It is Philia.”

“Ruth?”

“Mm… Philia. Philia for the rest.”

“Thank you, L’yophin. That is very informative.”

She sat quietly for a time, processing this new information. She wondered about the other crew.

“How are you with Maw?”

“Mm. It is confusing and terrible. Maw was made by this evil emerald god, forced Ruth to birth it. Forcing us to raise it. Tortures Ruth- who used to be human. Changes her. Attacks us. Maw had no choice. She is an... “

He spoke a word in his own chittering tongue.

“An infant?”

“Mm, yes.”

“And Maw hurt S’yliska and Ruth. But they survived. If they did not- I do not know what I’d do. I have forgiven Maw and will assist in tutoring it.”

“That is good. What Ruth has experienced is beyond anything I could imagine. Worse than what I went through in the cave.”

“To be fair, Soltana, we don’t know how you got there. We do know it was bad if it could shear through pure adamantite. We have all been through much. There is no good in comparing.”

“You are right. Diniel has lost so many of his friends. Basil was part of that war so long ago in the Underrealm.”

“As I said, we’ve all been through much.”

“And we must hope that it was not in vain.”

“Mm. Indeed.”

She felt a jolt as the viewscreen peeled back the FTL prism, revealing a new system. Her eyes flashed at the strangeness of the planets and moons. A deep chill ran through her systems. Something felt off and deeply disturbing about this place. Time and reality felt off. Warning bells went off in the Sigmafly

monitor: gravity unstable… system anomalies present... entering Watcher space… arrived at Lo-Nine…

“L’yophin,” she announced. She could feel his trembling chitin.

“Who are they? What are they?”

“It just had to be…The W-Watchers,” L’yophin stammered uncharacteristically.

“Is that who is waiting for us? The Watchers?”

The ship shuddered as it began to rush ahead toward the largest planet in the system. It swirled and danced with dazzling fog and mist of upward streams of rain. There were two moons in orbit, one near and one far, both connected to the planet with a strange black cord, more massive than any vessel or structure she had ever seen. She zoomed in, seeing robed figures making a sojourn across the cable, moving in a slow line formation towards the planet.

“Can’t control vessel, planet’s pull is too strong!” L’yophin cried out as he worked the controls.

“Wake the others! We need to be ready!”

She was three parts excited, two parts concerned, and one part confused by whoever these Watchers were. She dropped to the floor with a clatter, getting to her feet and scurrying to view screen. She felt it with her good hand, gazing on in wonder.

The bridge door opened, revealing Ruth and Basil.

“Wha’s all this racket then, eh?”

Ruth’s concern was evident as Soltana turned to meet them.

“What’s that feeling? It’s not right.”

“I feel it too, Ruth,” sheshe said as she walked over to Ruth, holding up her arms as the woman gathered her up like a doll.

“We’re caught in a gravity well. Hold on!” L’yophin warned.

The hull and deck of the bridge shifted and coiled, becoming several brace chairs. Ruth and Basil sat down, harnessing themselves in.

“Now where’s Diniel?” Basil asked.

“He’s keeping Maw and Phela calm! Where’s it taking us?”

“Don’t know!” the Dugrum barked back as he enclosed himself in the piloting egg. Soltana could hear grunts and chittering of frustration from within.

She witnessed as their vessel was pulled towards the dazzling planet. The Sigmafly shuddered, blaring alarms as they entered atmo. The water splashed against the view glass, dancing droplets across the screen. Rain rushed upwards, striking the underbelly of the hull. Rhythmic thumping welcomed them to this strange new world They rushed towards a black cube, peeking out from the fog and mist. Tendrils of white coiled and grasped against that black object. It absorbed all light, standing out as an unearthly artifact, It was more of a tear in reality than physical matter. The perspective of the anomaly never changed. The surrounding view of the planet and atmosphere eclipsed. There was nothing but the cube. It was everything. And nothing

The cube was all.

They rushed inside their anomalous destination.

And their new adventure began.