“Remus, you’ve been summoned by Lulila to the greeting room.”
Milano waves me closer as he carefully treads through the soft dirt near my latest flower bed. I enjoy the outdoors and tending to the plants and gardens we have around our home. It’s more of a joy than a chore.
Standing up, I motion down my body at the dusty clothing I’m wearing. “Will this be appropriate?”
Shaking his head no, I nod back with understanding. The day was warmer than I originally expected and a fine layer of dust and sweat clings to my skin.
“Can you let her know I’ll be there shortly?”
Falling into step next to me, Milano follows me back toward our dwelling. “It’s not just Lulila. Our mother arrived with the Sanctuary’s Sacred Mother.”
My eyes widen in surprise. This is unexpected. What could they possibly want with me?
As we enter the side garden entrance, he spins off toward the greeting room.
Hurrying to my shared sleeping quarters, I hastily strip and use the cleaning spray.
This must have something to do with Travek. Our mother, Kirley Pelack, has been getting more and more agitated the longer he’s been out of contact. It’s standard protocol to be in constant contact with daily updates if leaving the Discovery.
When the crew is on the Discovery, their families can feel confident all is going according to plan because of our spacecraft’s regular logs and updates. But Travek is supposed to follow the same operating procedures when he separates from them and he hasn’t.
I’m not sure why things have been left as long as they have, because they found his spacecraft on planet six two four exactly twenty-one rotations after leaving the Discovery.
That was thirteen rotations ago.
It’s impossible not to feel worried and protective of my little brother. He’s always had an adventurous spirit. He opted to head out almost two annual rotations ago on the Discovery—despite Lulila’s attempts at persuading him to stay with us.
Now, with his service time almost complete, he’s turned up missing.
Knocking firmly on the greeting room door, I straighten to my full height and take a deep breath. I haven’t seen the Sacred Mother since my own service time at the Sanctuary years ago. Unlike Travek, I longed for the more structured classes and studies spent in the historical records.
Milano pulls open the door from the other side, and I spot the three most important women in my life across the room. They’re gathered around a small table, and I’m surprised to see no other males in the room. Usually, a visit from the Sanctuary’s Sacred Mother would call for a much more formal celebration and service.
As I get closer, I realize all their eyes are on me.
Stopping between Lulila and my mother, I bow low.
“It’s good to see you, Remus.”
My mother clasps my hand next to her at the Sacred Mother’s welcome. “You look well. Healthy. Still enjoying your time outdoors, I see.”
“Yes, mother.”
Drawing out the chair in front of me, Milano waves at it before walking away. Whatever is going on is being kept from everyone.
“Will you be okay to lose your sunshine for a little while if we send you into space after your brother?” Getting right to the point, my mother’s serious expression takes me by surprise.
Me? Why me?
As I look closer at her, I see the worry. Although she still looks as beautiful as usual, there are circles under her eyes. Her tightly clenched hands in her lap give away her tension.
I look at Lulila questioningly. Does she want me to go too?
As my Ermada, she has the last and final say.
When she grabs my hand closest to her, she confirms her agreement in a calm voice. “We’re all anxious. It was the Sacred Mother who felt you’d be the best candidate to send after him as an ambassador to the Ashen. Just listen to what she has to say.”
Entwining my fingers with hers, I enjoy the companionship she’s so freely given me over the course of our joining. For a moment, a brief streak of fear shoots through my system. Could she be trying to get rid of me?
I know I’m not the typical bed partner, but she’s never excluded me from a rotation. I like to believe that we’re better friends than any of her other males. After all, the time they spend fucking, I’m able to talk to her and pleasure her.
The arrangement has worked for us—I thought.
“Of course.”
Turning to the Sacred Mother across from me, I drop my eyes respectfully. “I’m at all of your service.”
“You’re fulfilling an ancient prophesy, Remus.”
At my name, I lift my eyes to hers. Her robes rustle as she shifts forward. Her serious expression surprises me, because I’ve never put much faith in the prophesies at the Sanctuary.
Occasionally, an interpretation of a vision is done by a high ranking Sanctuary member that will make it into the news. I’m as faithful in daily reflections as most, but the old ways tend to seem antiquated and outdated.
Looking at the Sacred Mother, I can’t help wonder how many hundreds of annual rotations she’s seen?
Her skin is more wrinkled than any other female I’ve been in the presence of, but her startling blue eyes capture mine the moment they meet. There’s something bottomless about them. All knowing.
“With all due respect, what prophecy is this?” I can see my mother cringe to my right, but Lulila’s grip on my hand tightens. I can detect her shaking as she restrains her laughter.
She knows what I believe about everything, including prophecies. It’s hard to not feel like they have manipulated the latest prophecy to encourage fear or lack in the population. This spurs spending in certain vectors of industry in the city.
Holding her fist in front of her, the Sacred Mother slowly opens her fingers to show a clear, faceted crystal. The shape reflects the light above us, sending hundreds of prisms dancing around the air.
I’ve seen nothing like it before. “What is it?”
“Well, we don’t exactly know.” Her admission is a good start. They could just feed me lies and half truths in an effort to manipulate me. “The Ashen gave it to us over two thousand years ago when we came to an agreement with them. It’s always been a symbol of the agreement and our separation and splitting of territories. We want you to take it to them as a sign that you represent us.”
My mother leans in and interjects quietly. “And find Travek.”
Nodding solemnly, the Sacred Mother agrees. “Yes, and find Travek.”
“But what makes you so certain that Travek’s with them? Aren’t there many possibilities of where he could be? Other alien species… pirates? What causes you to believe that he’s with them?”
We’re all looking at the Sacred Mother, waiting for her answer. My mother, and even my Ermada, are looking at her with hope as well. They need to be told that Travek is alive.
Lulila tried to encourage Travek to stay before he went out on his two annual rotation commitment to the space exploration program. From what I gathered, he was tempted, but his innate curiosity and zest for adventure still drew him in.
Uncle Reelo, our money hungry uncle, probably had more to do with it than either of them realized.
“The prophecy is hundreds of years old, given to us by the Sacred Mother of the time. In her vision, she describes our planet as ravaged and close to extinction. She claims an Ashen who wanted to help visited her. Turned away at every turn, they finally left us to our own devices. Until off-planet, one young male stumbled into their territory and was swallowed by evil…”
“Evil! What kind of evil?” My mother grips my other hand as she cuts in. Her vice-like hold shakes as she blinks rapidly.
Shrugging, the Sacred Mother’s face is grim. “That isn’t clear and never was. They described it as darkness and evil. But the Ashen saved him. We believe this is Travek, and that’s why we want Remus to go to the Ashen to confirm he’s there and safely with them now.”
She leans forward, dropping her voice as she continues. “According to the prophecy, when the Ashen saved him from this darkness, he was changed and eventually joined by his brother. That brother was described as blood-related and a virgin. It appears you’re that brother, Remus.”
I can feel my hair begin to vibrate with embarrassment and tension as I realize the extent of their discussion before I joined with them here.
My eyes flicker to Lulila, whose guilty expression admits what I already suspect. Her eyes drop to her lap, and I know that her demurring to me of embarrassment is as much of an apology as I’ll ever get from my Ermada. Her decisions and choices are always final.
Ignoring our uncomfortable exchange, the Sacred Mother continues to explain. “The family that joins him creates another binding agreement with the Ashen.”
Sitting back in the high-back chair across from me, the Sacred Mother lets out a long sigh. “We need this. With our own resources failing on the planet and our reproductive numbers dropping—specifically the females, the Ashen may have some answers we need. They’re extremely advanced. Especially genetically.”
Releasing my mother and Lulila’s hands, I lean forward, smoothing down my errant strands of hair that have released from the tension I’m trying to hide. It’s silly to worry too much about the past, but I’m curious.
“Why haven’t we gone to them sooner? If things are so dire, what have we been waiting for?”
My mother next to me grasps my arm. Questioning the directions of the Sacred Mother is unheard of, but she gives me more respect than any of us expect by answering my question.
“Because the Ashen are so proficient at mind control. It’s another race that we’ll be exposing our situation and weaknesses to.”
I nod in understanding. Although considering how serious they make it sound, I still don’t understand why we haven’t at least tried to reach out before.
“Plus, we’ve known about the prophecy for a long time.”
The Sacred Mother’s explanation seems like political maneuvering. Why couldn’t we just jump ahead and avoid the entire problem altogether?
“We weren’t sure how we’d be received if we attempted contact to solicit help from them early. Even now, we don’t know exactly what kind of debt we’ll incur. Based on the events with Bren Khar and his human mate, I’m guessing that mating will be part of their solution. Polluting our bloodlines and weakening our skills. It’s what we’ve fought so hard to avoid, but at this stage in our evolution, it may be unavoidable.”
Her dire sounding words echo in my ears. Words like “polluting our bloodlines” and “weakening our skills” sound like more old school rhetoric.
Bren Khar was on the Discovery with Travek, and surely what inspired him to run off on an idiotic venture to Earth in the Ashen territory.
I personally have no strong political opinions on interbreeding with other alien species, but that stems from the fact that there really aren’t any options out there. Nothing similar enough to procreate with as far as I’ve been informed.
Leaning back, I point out what would make me unsuitable. “I’m not formally trained on long range space flight. Who’ll be taking me to them?”
The Sacred Mother’s lips tighten, and when my mother squeezes my hand, I turn my attention to her. “We can’t send anyone with you.”
I open my mouth to argue when she cuts me off. “The prophecy is clear that you go alone. You’ll be taking our most advanced personal cruiser and going straight there. In stasis.”
I’ve never been in stasis before, although it’s supposed to be the most convenient way to travel. This whole idea seems preposterous, and they’re basing me going on the fact that I’m a virgin?
Leaving my home, my Ermada, and flying off alone in a spacecraft to meet a species I’ve only heard about and never seen—is foolish.
Biting my tongue, I dip my eyes to the table before answering, “As you wish.”
