Rennek
Kate and I make our way out of the ruins and continue on toward the faint signal the beacon is emitting. It is but a short walk from the ruins. I immediately see signs of a crash, where a ship ripped through the trees and dug heavy gouges deep in the soil. We follow the path Gorrard’s ship dug out.
“There!” Kate says and I see it too. Scraps of torn metal. I inspect some of the larger pieces.
“What are you looking for,” Kate asks.
“A reason,” and the reason is easy enough to find. “See these marks here? This discoloration?”
“Yeah, what is it?”
“Plasma blast,” the ship was shot down. We spot a seat from the ship, sprawled out on the ground amongst the metal. It is covered in old and brown dried blood. Kate covers her mouth and I see her fingers tremble.
“It was raiders then?” she chokes out.
“Likely. This planet must have sat forgotten for centuries. Unfortunately for Gorrard and his crew, their timing was tragic. The raiders might have thought Gorrard’s ship was… I do not know, competition perhaps or UPC patrollers and simply shot them down, no questions asked.” I search the ground for more clues, but this is an old crime scene and there is little more I can learn from these remains.
“Do you think they might come back, the raiders, I mean?”
“Unlikely, they took every artifact of value yets ago.”
We continue walking past the debris of Gorrard’s ship, following the beacon’s signal on my scanner. We journey deeper into the forest again. Eventually, we reach a clearing encircled by trees. In the center is a metal post, about half my height, covered in intricate carvings and symbols. A small blue light pulses on the top. We stop at the outer circle of trees and stare in silence at the beacon.
This device could call my people home. My feet are as heavy as my core and it seems all I can do is gaze upon this relic of the Vendari. Finally, Kate’s soft fingers slip in between mine. I look down at my mate. She urges me forward. Together, hand in hand, we walk to the beacon. I focus my scanner on it and see if any of the readings have changed now that we are close.
“Is it safe to touch?”
“I believe so,” I tell her.
“What’s up with the crop circle? It’s not radioactive is it?” She asks, still unsure.
“Residual, from its landing impact. The plant life here was probably scorched and is only just now beginning to grow back. The beacon will not harm us.” We return our attention to the metallic pillar.
“It’s beautiful… both what it is and what it represents for you guys,” she says. I squeeze her hand. This female knows me so well. We both bend to inspect the details on the beacon. There is no obvious control panel or interface. We circle the device, but I see nothing but the swirling artistic designs. I wonder if this is the written language of the Vendari, but even if it is a language, there is no way to know what it means without Gorrard to translate.
“I don’t suppose that flashing light is a button?” She asks. I push at it with my claw, but it does not give as I press it. It is nothing more than a light.
“Does not hurt to try,” I tell her, shrugging.
“These slots here, could these be anything?”
“Slots?”
“Yeah, these six slots here? Kind of looks like a USB port,” she says.
I do not know what she speaks of, but I examine the space more closely. It does indeed appear as if there are slots… perhaps a keyhole of some kind.
“What now?” She asks.
“I will let the others know we found the beacon. Bossan and Tennir will likely have some insight into how to activate it. They will begin running tests. It may take some time.”
“Will we just leave it here then, until the others meet up with us?”
“It should be fine here. It has survived many yets in space and nearly thirty or so here on Elysia. Another few days are hardly of consequence.”
“Bummer. That was a little anticlimactic,” Kate pouts.
“What did you expect,” I laugh.
“I don’t know, a secret button that we would discover and it would… I don’t know, send a big flare up or something.”
“A big flare to wake the Vendari from stasis?” I cock an eyebrow at her.
“Yeah, well not a flare. But something big, figurative fireworks.”
“Let us go choose a room back at the ruins and I will give you all the fireworks you can dream of,” I pull her close and wrap my arms around her. She melts into me.
“Are you good? Did you expect more from this moment?”
“I knew that we would not make much progress on this day. If it were a simple design, Gorrard would have activated it yets ago. We have located the beacon though, we have discovered a place where we can create a more permanent camp, and I have my mate by my side. This is more than I ever expected. I am content in this moment.”
“My Rennek, so patient,” she sighs, hugging me tightly.
“I am yours,” I tell her and she tilts her head up to look into my eyes.
“I know.”
I revel in my mate’s loving embrace, but I smell something in the distance. I inhale deeply.
“What is it?” Kate asks with her brows furrowed.
“I believe I smell the primates from before. There may be more in this area.”
We stare up into the trees, but see nothing.