The Way It Is

finding - part 2

"Your mother was heavy with child. With you. The excitement sent her into labour. Somehow after you were delivered, she was able to teleport you to your sister Ariatha on a different ship. One that was not damaged. The Orikai guess a Zu'Lar helped in that instance. They shared ships as there wasn't many available that could handle the stress of a black hole."

He stopped for a moment rubbing the back of his neck, staring at his feet. I almost poke him to get him to keep talking when he starts again, looking me in the eye.

"As I am sure you remember from the stories, the ship carrying the King and Queen and their oldest son never made it to the other side. Everyone assumes your parents perished with their ship.

"However you were never mentioned in history books or the original scrolls found in the Krog's artifacts. Something happened on the ship with Ariatha that made her want to keep you secrete and hide you. We don't know what or why. All we know is she found a way to send you through time and most likely deliberately picked your parents to care for you.

"The Orikai never told me why, even if they did know. I did ask how a Krog could travel through time. Krog of the royal bloodline have the ability to connect to their K'ai in such a way they can completely transform into a metaphysical state. This allows them to see and bend all energy streams.

"The Orikai believe that a well-trained and practiced Krog of royal blood could access the dimensions of time and space. Something no one else can."

Britt gives me a half-hearted shrug. He can't explain what he doesn't know.

The Orikai had been given scrolls with information that the original Krog travellers did not want the rest of the Universe to know for some reason. I remember overhearing some elders talking when I had been in training.

The Orikai, being the first species in this Universe, here when the Krog arrived, quickly gained the Krog's trust and respect. And apparently had given them aid of some kind.

I know the Orikai know more than they tell anyone, but it doesn't make the information Britt just shared any less mind-blowing. Especially considering I am a part of this epic historical event.

"So why do they want me to find this human popsicle? And is it a human?"

"They didn't tell me the answer to either question. They only said that it was my responsibility to make sure you made it here. And that the Universe is depending on you finding The One. The only other thing they told me was that you would understand once you saw Her."

Her? What in the ever blazing stars was this shit? So literally, it could be anything behind that door. What Britt just told me, as crazy and terrifying as it sounds, doesn't help me much.

"I told you I didn't know that much."

"Fuck!"

"Zea, just open the door. I have your back. You know that. I won't let anything happen to you. You are not acting like yourself. Quite frankly, Marshal, you're being a pussy." His voice is challenging but not mean. He isn't trying to hurt me but snap me out of my spiral.

That did it. And he is right. Whatever this weird gut feeling is, it can go fuck itself. This needs to happen.

I stop pacing and go back to the emergency button. I pull it back out, resetting it and place my face in front of the retinal scanner again. The mechanical voice askes me to exhale into the tube once more. And the doors are opening once again.

Bringing my gun to the ready, I stand off to one side and Britt to the other. As the doors open, we see a vast open cavern.

It looks like we just teleported back to Orikai. The technology and structure of the rocky, yet sophisticated cavern, is identical to the rooms built in the Great Mountains on Orikai, so, not made by humans. It explains why it is so hard to find.

Taking a quick glance around, I see there are several other entrances to the large cavern. Damn. Our risk level just went up. Hopefully, each door has a security system like the one that is closing behind us. Otherwise, we might get unwelcome company at any moment.

"Zea. I am over here, Zea."

My head whips around at the sound of my name carried on a soft whisper. I scan the whole room. I see no one. What the stars?

"Did you hear that?"

Britt just looks at me like I am an unstable mental patient. Granted, with my current behaviour, I see where he is coming from.

Then I hear it again. It is so quiet I barely make out the words.

"Over here, Zea."

There it is again—bloody stars. The voice is fragile and inside my head. Right. I better not have snapped. Wouldn't that be just perfect?

"Zea. Hurry. They are coming."

Suddenly emotions that are not mine consume me. I feel a great deal of relief, mixed with concern for my safety. I have an intense urge to run down the stairs to the cavern's bottom and over to a small enclosed cube located directly in the centre of the cavern floor.

I move without my conscious consent, and I am suddenly inside the cube and staring at Her!

I feel my heartbeat pick up, and my vision becomes blurry. Then all I see is darkness and Her.

Seeing her face triggers something in my mind. A tidal wave of memories slams into me with enough force I fall to the floor. I feel Britt reach out and scoop me up, his breathing heavy with panic for my safety.

"What's wrong, Zea?"

I feel his emotions like a filter over the others. He us worried sick something terrible has happened, and he'd missed it.

He thinks I might have been gassed or shot, and he fears for my life. I can't speak. The overwhelming wave of memories just keeps coming.

With no other way to communicate with him, I open a connection with him. I feel his knees buckle, and he sits down hard on the floor, still holding me, and together, we ride the tidal wave.