Yash and Ryo Lost in the Milky Way

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "Ryo, if you feel we should move on and see if there are other intelligent races on this planet, I'm ready to leave. Even if the Vree-nahua have never seen Humanoids before us, this planet is huge and with no technology to carry the news around... We might find a colony of people stranded like us somewhere out there."

  Ryo stared at Yash, hopeful. "You'd really do this for me?"

  "Of course. We share this adventure, and if you're uncomfortable, since I'm the reason you're here, I'll help you to find a less scary place to live," Yash answered with a nod.

  "Oh. You're awesome." Ryo felt his smile was very weak. "Thank you, Yash."

  "You're welcome." Yash smiled back. "Good night, Ryo. Sleep well, tomorrow we resume our march..."

  ***

  Uhulya and her people insisted on giving them food for their journey. She mentioned a cold season coming and possible lack of food. Ryo and Yash thanked her and asked if they could leave something in return.

  Uhulya seemed to like Yash's golden bracelet, and he promptly gave it to her.

  "Getting rid of civilization, Yash?" Ryo asked him with a smile.

  "I should have given it to Birgit," Yash answered with a shrug. "It's my birth bracelet, and it's pure gold... I guess I didn't think I could give it away while we were still in the Star Nations."

  "Gold is a currency everywhere, then." Ryo glanced at his own silver jewelry.

  "Maybe the next ones will want silver," Yash said. "Let's go."

  They waved good-bye to the Vree-nahua and left. Uanan followed them for about an hour, then gave up and turned back.

  A few days later they emerged from the mountain range into a hilly area where they could see windmills further ahead.

  "That's some kind of civilization as we know it," Yash commented. "Old-fashioned, but still some form of gathering energy."

  As they camped that night, they could see electricity glow in the distance. There must be some kind of small village down there. Since the Vree-nahua lived in forests, it must be some other local intelligent race.

  "What do you think they'll look like?" Ryo wondered before falling asleep. Yash had no idea.

  Ryo dreamed of Reptilians trying to suck his brain out and then a Feline scratching him all over, gone back to a wild state instead of the very civilized society of the Star Nations. Having met a local wild feline the day before probably accounted for the second dream.

  Ryo was sick of being afraid of his surroundings. He wanted thick walls around him at night. With the first light of dawn, he got out of his sleeping bag and lit a fire to prepare their breakfasts. They had found some herbs that helped them to stay awake, so he boiled the water from their flask and threw in some dry leaves as Yash emerged from the tent.

  "Boy, you are in a hurry to meet them," Yash commented, sitting by the fire with a yawn.

  "I'm actually a little worried, what if they're hostile?" Ryo admitted, frowning.

  "The agony will come to an end, and we'll die among those hills," Yash replied with a shrug.

  Ryo smiled against his will. "Thank you, Yash. Aren't you afraid?"

  "Of what? Death? No. I like this world, but if I'm not meant to live, there's nothing I can do about it. Ypsilanti can be both a motherly goddess and a wrathful avenger. If she decides I don't deserve to live, I can't oppose her."

  "I thought Ypsilanti was the name of your planet," Ryo grumbled, offering a mug of herbal tea.

  "It comes from our main goddess," Yash explained. "We're polytheists, but we agree that Ypsilanti is the Mother of all Gods."

  "Oh." Ryo sipped his tea, thoughtful. "I'm not very religious myself. I think we're a bunch of atheists, on Xi-kong – well, we idolize our dons, but that's another story. And I don't adore my father for that matter."

  Yash smiled. They finished drinking their tea, then took down the tent and headed for the windmills in the distance. The sky was clouded and the weather was windy. Ryo hoped they'd find a place to stay before rain started pouring.

  They saw the village near the windmills. It had been built on lower ground, so that the hills would protect it from winds. There was also a small river finding its way through the hills, with one single watermill on its shore.

  Another night under the tent, with a thunderstorm hitting them, then they came into view of the village – and saw people milling around. Humanoids. With smaller beings with wings fluttering around them.

  Ryo and Yash stopped to observe them, a little puzzled.

  "We found Humanoids all right," Yash said. "And some other local race. Maybe they're friendly."

  "And how are we going to communicate?" Ryo snapped. "Are you a telepath?"

  "No." Yash glared at him. "But they're Humanoids, they will certainly have a form of language we can learn!"

  Ryo sighed. "Fine, let's go..."

  He'd been the one missing Humanoids. Even if he wasn't well-versed in foreign languages, he shouldn't complain now. He wanted company to distract himself from his fears and his attraction for Yash. He better get what he could.

  They reached the village and were soon surrounded by curious Humanoids. There were white-skinned people like Yash and some almond-eyed like Ryo. Even a couple of dark-skinned people like Ulba'wissians, but none of them spoke Intergalactic.

  A woman with slanted eyes called upon the shorter, winged beings, and a little woman fluttered towards them. The miniaturized human's wings were almost invisible as she stopped at their eyes' height.

  Who are you and where do you come from? she transmitted.

  We are members of the Star Nations, we're both Humanoids. We mean no harm, Ryo thought, hoping she'd be as receptive as Uhulya.

  You are welcome. We are the Drilling and these are our friends the humans. I'm Trillina.

  The Drilling appeared to be miniaturized humans, shorter than Ryo, with porcelain faces and pale skin. They had round ears, tiny upturned noses and transparent wings like those of dragonflies on their backs. The males had all shades of dark blue hair, while the females, like the one in front of them, had sky-blue or turquoise hair, usually worn long. They wore silver jewelry and dressed like faeries. They warbled more than speaking, and their leader seemed to be a telepath like Uhulya.

  The reply made them both sigh in relief.

  "Ryo." Ryo put a hand on his chest, looking both at the little fairy with sky-blue hair and at the slanted-eyed woman. "Yash." He pointed at his companion.

  "Shushila," the woman answered with a nod.

  The Humanoids didn't understand Ryo and Yash's words, but with the intercession of Trillina Ryo started to hope they could learn to communicate. And that night they were invited to sleep in a house made of stone, with windows and furniture and electricity. Almost like going back to town life.

  Ryo shared the room with Yash, but they had two single beds. Ryo was so excited he couldn't get to sleep.

  "Thank you, Yash! You were right! I'm sure they're as stranded as we are, but at least they have some technology! We can learn their language! We can make new friends! We have found a place to call home on this planet and..."

  A soft snoring sound made him realize Yash had fallen asleep.

  Ryo smiled. He rose from the bed and went to sit on Yash's. He caressed Yash's brown hair and leaned to kiss his temple. "Good night, Yash. Sweet dreams..."

  He went back to his own bed. The mattress was unbelievably comfortable after sleeping on the ground for months. Ryo sighed in bliss and closed his eyes. He drifted off to sleep, imagining his life with his new Humanoid friends.

  Part 3 – Lovers

  Yash liked the planet. He felt free of any obligation. Even now that they'd reached other Humanoids, he didn't feel compelled to be like them. He could see there were couples in the settlement, probably even mixed couples, since some of the small children had obvious characteristics of the Drillings, but wasn't attracted to anyone and nobody seemed to be interested in him.

  Except Ryo, of course. Now that he wasn't permanently scared by the wilderness, his tr
aveling companion seemed to be more aware of his attraction. But Ryo kept his desire at bay, and never tried anything. They were just friends and there was no way they would get more intimate.

  Yash hoped Ryo would find someone to love in the settlement on the hills. He could almost see himself walking away in the sunset, alone, after watching Ryo's happiness. He'd been so scared when he'd left Ypsilanti – asking Shahid to come with him and then sticking to Ryo when Birgit left – but now he had found a balance.

  The healthy outdoor lifestyle was combined with some sort of civilization and he liked that. The settlers didn't give either of them anything to do, but they both happily helped with the chores of their own free will.

  "They have some kind of shuttles or flying cars!" Ryo said one week after they reached the Humanoid settlement. "I think there are more of them!"

  "How can you tell, since you don't speak their language?" Yash asked, amused.

  "I've seen one, in that building over there. They have a radio and a computer of some sort. How good are you with machines?"

  "Not so good. Don't tell me you were also a hacker for your father."

  "Unfortunately no." Ryo's shoulders slumped. "I can use computers, not hack systems."

  "That makes two of us." Yash shrugged. He was wary of more civilized societies that set up working schedules and salaries and all that infrastructure that plagued the Star Nations.

  But then Shushila and Trillina told them they'd take them to another settlement. It was bigger and they had more machines, which might help them communicate. The tiny Drilling seemed tired of being an interpreter, therefore Shushila led Yash and Ryo to the building Ryo had noticed, and into the shuttle.

  "Told you they have land shuttles," Ryo whispered, excited. "That's something I could work with!"

  Yash stared at him, curious. He wasn't going to ask questions for fear of giving his friend illusions, but the more he got to know Ryo, the more the Xi-kongian had surprises for him. Yash began to think he'd found another friend for life as Ryo gave his silver bracelet to the tiny winged woman, thanking her for helping them.

  Yash didn't repress a smile when Trillina kissed Ryo's mouth, making him jump back in surprise.

  Shushila chuckled and signaled them to follow her. Ryo's eyes were still wide in shock as Yash led him through the shuttle door, still smiling.

  ***

  Shushila drove through countryside for a couple of hours and reached a highly forested valley that looked a lot like the one where Yash and Ryo had crashed. Except here there was a village of stone houses and a big cave that was probably used as a warehouse for more shuttles.

  Shushila parked the shuttle inside the cavern, where there was a batch of short-distance shuttles put in a corner, one over the other, like a makeshift building. It looked like all the technology of the planet was gathered in that cave.

  Shushila led them outside, where they found three men waiting for them – probably in their late thirties – with pale skin like them. One was a redhead with freckles, one was tall and dark-haired and the third was short, with dyed blond hair and makeup that made him look like a woman.

  "Chris," the redhead put a hand on his chest. "Nig," he pointed at the tall one. "Nel," was the blond.

  "Nigel," the dark-haired one corrected, rolling his eyes.

  "Nelson," the blond quipped in.

  "Ryo." Ryo introduced himself. "Yash," he added, pointing at Yash.

  The three nodded and exchanged a glance. Nelson offered a strange bracelet with a hopeful look on his painted face. Ryo snatched it and put it around his wrist.

  "Ryo looks Japanese," Nelson was saying. "Maybe they're from Earth."

  "Stop shortening names, Christal," Nigel chided.

  The redhead snorted and turned to Ryo. "Do you understand us?"

  "I do," Ryo said, amazed. Yash obviously didn't because he stared puzzled at him. "I understand them with this thing around my wrist. Apparently it's from Nelson, so I assume he's not from the same place as the others."

  "That's correct," Christal said. "He comes from a planet of this galaxy, and we come from another galaxy."

  "Another galaxy?" Ryo marveled.

  "Nel's people call it Andromeda's galaxy. It's the closest to this one. We were in an asteroid turned starship and ended on this world about five years ago."

  "Asteroid turned starship! Wow, we just... borrowed a rental starship from where we were staying. I think it's this galaxy, but I'm not sure if it's the same time or what."

  "Are you from Earth?" Nelson asked.

  "No..." Ryo hesitated. "Yash, is there a planet called Earth in the Star Nations?"

  Yash quickly pondered. "Yes, I believe they joined us six years ago. The former Saurian colony we used to call Gaia."

  "Oh, right! I forgot about that one!" Ryo repeated for the other three who didn't seem to understand what Yash was saying because he didn't have the translator. The thing must have some limits.

  "Gaia is another name for Earth," Nelson nodded, thoughtful. "I think it's the same planet."

  "Oh, good, at least one thing in common! But there is no technology here, nor anywhere around here..."

  "It's because we're in the past," Christal said. "I mean, Nel comes from Earth five thousand years from now. We brought our technology from our starship asteroid, but a few months later a starship from future Earth reached us – that's why we are more or less able to communicate with Nel."

  "How did he do the time travel?" Ryo wondered.

  "Magnetic storm and some hidden portal, probably." Nelson shrugged. "The first time I came here by accident. Much like you."

  "Nice tattoo," Christal nodded at Ryo's arm.

  "Thank you." Ryo showed off his back before putting his tank top back on. He was pleased to find someone who appreciated his tattoos – Christal seemed really impressed by them.

  "Are you from the same planet?" Nigel asked. "Because we have people with almond eyes on our planet and people with dark skin, so I was wondering..."

  Much like Nelson had mentioned "Japanese", those Humanoids planets must have very mixed human populations.

  "No, we're not from the same planet," Ryo answered. He wasn't too keen on telling them the truth yet. "We're both runaways, though."

  Christal nodded again, thoughtful. "We're survivors... and Nel is also a runaway – he didn't like life in the future anymore. Welcome to the Valley of Life. I look forward to getting to know you better and hearing your story."

  "So do I, but do you think we can have more translators?"

  "We can try to learn their language," Yash chided. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon..."

  "True..." Ryo sighed and unlocked the translator. It would be hard and a little awkward at first, but then... they didn't have anything better to do.

  ***

  With the help of the translator, Ryo and Yash determined they were indeed in the same galaxy, but in a different timeline – the reference being the Gaian calendar, that in their dimension was 2018 but Nelson came from 2304 and he'd never heard of Saurians or Reptilians, Carians and other Humanoids. The only aliens he'd met were the Vreena of the future, or what the inhabitants of the planet would become five thousand years from now.

  There were approximately ten thousand Andromedans split into four settlements – the Valley of Life was the main one, with whatever technology they could gather upon leaving the starship asteroid, but there were three more. The Hills of Dreams – where Ryo and Yash had met Shushila and the Drilling –, the Plain of the Future and the Coast of Hope all had started some kind of agriculture, or fishing for the coastal settlement. They had solar water heaters on their roofs, used geothermal energy to keep the computers going, and put biofuel in their short-distance shuttles. They kept in touch by radio and sometimes visited each other. They were all still exploring and cataloging local life forms, studying the planet with whatever means they could gather.

  Ryo and Yash also met the local Vree-nahua tribe. Auhura, Christal's partner
, had knee-length pale-pink hair and she was a telepath, as "mother" of her tribe. She had given Christal two children and Nigel's sister Romina also had found a Vree-nahua partner who reminded Yash and Ryo of Uanan.

  Ryo, being an extrovert, was very busy making new friends and exploring the surroundings of the village – and learning a new language. Yash was actually more proficient in communicating with the Andromedans, but he was still an introvert who didn't like to talk.

  When Nelson asked them if they were a couple, Yash snapped, "Yes." Nelson's attraction made him uncomfortable and he felt safe only next to Ryo. He had gotten used to Ryo's presence, but everybody else still made him edgy, especially when he saw lust in their stares.

  Ryo glanced puzzled at his companion and confirmed when Nelson looked at him, obviously disappointed. Nelson sighed and left them alone, so Ryo turned to Yash.

  "Thanks," Yash said before Ryo could speak. "I'm sick of him drooling over me."

  "Oh. 'Tis okay... Do you miss home?" Ryo asked.

  "No." Yash looked away with a frown. "No, this is a beautiful world, but Nel... he gives me the creeps, with all that makeup and his obvious lust and... I'm sorry, I thought it was the only way to get rid of him."

  "It's fine, Yash," Ryo assured him. "Is there anyone among our new friends you find less repelling?"

  "No, Ryo, I'm not up for any sex yet," he said quietly, staring at Ryo. "I haven't forgotten. Yes, I'm feeling much better, but no, I'm not ready for a relationship. But if you've found your soul mate among the Andromedans, just say it, and I'll be out of your life."

  "No! We're in this together!" Ryo protested. "You took care of me and helped me to meet these people..." He sighed. "I shouldn't have let you down," he apologized. "But I was trying to adapt to the new environment..."

  "You didn't let me down, Ryo, when I needed your help, you were there," Yash replied. "Since I'm better versed for languages, I'll happily help you communicate with the local Humanoids."