Her eyes studied the dying fire.
She wished there was a way. Her heart longed for a way to honor both sides of herself.
BZZT. BZZT. BZZT.
Asha gasped and ran over to Zahn’s backpack, frantically searching for the source of the alarm. She ruffled through it, finally finding Zahn’s wristcomm next to hers and silencing it.
She looked over to Zahn, and he let out a huge yawn.
He sat up and sniffed. “Good morning, Asha. Were you already awake?”
“Yeah,” she said, donning her wristcomm. It adjusted, retracting for a snug yet comfortable fit. “A dream woke me up.”
“Mmm…” He rubbed his eyes.
“Why did you set an alarm? You didn’t tell me.”
“I didn’t?” Zahn rubbed his eyes and looked around. “Oh, I’m sorry. My dad wants to have a big breakfast this morning. He’s still astounded at our story, so I thought we could start hiking down at sunrise. Is that okay?”
Asha squinted at him. “But didn’t your mom say she doesn’t like you coming up here? Might that have something to do with this, too?”
Zahn grumbled. “Okay, yeah. She thinks the trails are a little hazardous. But it’s nothing compared to what we’ve been through, and if we get down there before they wake up, she’ll never have to know, right?” He smirked at her. “Right?”
She sighed. “Fine. I don’t want to cause trouble, but you should tell your parents where you’re going. And you should tell me when you set an alarm.”
“I did. I told my dad. Sorry about the alarm. Can I have my wristcomm, please? We need to get moving.”
She handed it to him, and he looped it around his wrist.
Together, they compressed the sleeping pads, packed up, and made their way down the misty trail to the silvery beach far below. Asha noticed how the sky was growing warm with the hues of the morning, following Zahn as he jogged down the narrow trail between boulders and beside sheer cliffs. It was easy to see that he had made this journey dozens of times before.
Asha tried to enjoy the beauty of the morning light on the misty trail, but her thoughts kept returning to their impending conversation. She had told him that she would think about staying on Avani, but now she realized that there was only one responsible answer. Thinking about his reaction gave her an uncomfortable, tight feeling in her chest.
When they reached the stone house, Zahn pressed his thumb to a pad beside the door and opened it, revealing a front room that was bathed in the grey-blue light of the morning, filtering in from the crystal ceiling above.
Asha and Zahn listened for activity, but there was none.
“Good,” Zahn whispered, “everyone must still be asleep. Go ahead and make up a little bed on the couch, and I’ll start soaking the kaala grain in the kitchen. When they wake up, everyone will assume you just slept in the front room, okay?”
“All right. I’m still a little sleepy anyway.”
“Okay.” He smiled. “Well, if you want to sleep a bit longer, that’s okay, too.”
“I don’t know. I might read a little.”
“All right, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
They both removed their shoes and placed them by the others, and Zahn disappeared past the arching doorway which led into the dining area.
Asha’s gaze returned to the front room, furnished with two large couches and a fireplace at the far end. As quietly as she could, she spread out a turtle-patterned blanket over the couch and lay down. She was about to look for Zahn’s reading pad, but to her surprise, a wave of sleepiness came over her. She decided to rest her eyes for a moment, just a moment.
When she opened her eyes again, she could hear a faint conversation in the kitchen. Asha stretched out onto the sofa like a large feline, curling her fingers and toes as she inhaled. Slowly, she sat up and noticed a faint blue hue on her olive skin. Above her, bluish light poured in through the crystal ceiling, colored by the canopy of blue leaves above the house. Her gaze drifted down to the couch just across from her, covered in silvery rockturtle patterns woven into the fabric.
She laughed to herself. The Avanians were so obvious in what they loved. She liked that about them, the honesty.
Asha stood up, folded up the blanket, and took a deep breath. At last, she felt ready to answer Zahn’s question.
CHAPTER 2
ANOTHER VICTORY BREAKFAST
Asha walked under an arching doorway into the dining area where a wide window spanned one wall, providing a lovely view of the silvery beach in the distance. At the table, Vivek and Darshana sat across from each other, deep in conversation.
How long had it been since Darshana had gotten the chance to eat real Avani food, anyway? Didn’t Zahn say she’d been missing for twelve years?
Across the room, Zahn and her father Yantrik were busy preparing food, and Asha observed them for a little while, watching Zahn’s feathery blond hair turn gold by the morning light. And as he cooked, she found herself admiring his tan forearms as he flipped food into the air and expertly caught it in the pan again and again.
She wondered what it had felt like for him to make breakfast for his mother for the first time.
Although he didn’t strike her as especially strong, he had proved his inner strength, not to mention his courage, in the final battle. Would she have had the courage to do what he did?
“Good morning, my dear!” Yantrik said, embracing her.
“Morning, Dad,” she smiled. “Good morning, everybody.”
Darshana and Vivek waved politely, quickly returning to their conversation. At first glance, Asha thought Zahn was sautéing something bloody beside Yantrik, which shocked her since she’d never seen him eat meat. Upon closer examination, she realized it was actually a saucy red fruit that she wasn’t familiar with.
“How was hibernation?” Zahn said with a quick wink. His deep sapphire eyes seemed to radiate light.
“Pretty good. Is it summer yet?” she winked back. “At least I didn’t miss breakfast.”
“Just in time, actually. Would you like some rakta fruit?”
“What is that, again?”
Zahn smirked. “You don’t remember? Well, you can try it again and let me know what you think. I’ve already chopped some up for you.”
Asha seated herself at the table, in front of a bowl of the saucy red fruit chopped up into bite sized pieces.
Now that she was at the table, it was impossible not to overhear the conversation Zahn’s parents were having at the far end, even though they were whispering.
“—forgot to tell them he was taking emergency leave,” Vivek whispered. “And you know how strict the observatory committee can be about scheduling.” He hesitated. “Honey, they’ve flagged our son for review. I tried to explain it to them, but they wouldn’t listen, kept citing protocol and policies.” Vivek’s eyes darted back and forth as he spoke.
“Maybe there’s something I can do,” Darshana said. “You know how much they respected me.”
“Darling, everyone has thought you were dead for the last twelve years. If you show up now, you know they’re going to demand an explanation of what happened to you. Do you really want to tell them the truth? Have you thought about the panic that could result?”
“Of course I have!” Darshana grew louder and became self-conscious for a moment, resuming at a whisper. “My dear, the observatory knows about what happened to planet Rodhas. I’ve been monitoring their private network, and there are a lot of wild theories floating around. Some of them even suspect extraterrestrial activity, enflaming the ET debate within the upper echelons. They’ve managed to keep it secret from the public so far, but that won’t last. Our world seems to be growing more and more unified in thought. Eventually, everyone will know that the outermost planet is no more, and they’ll have questions. Questions I’m qualified to answer.”
Vivek’s gaze burned into her. “Dear, you’ve only been back for a few days. I can’t let you turn yourself in, at least not yet. Do you
really want to risk being taken away for interrogation?”
“In time, we may not have that choice.” Darshana shook her head. “I’ve reflected on all of this, and I must alert the council of what’s really going on. I can’t hide here forever, and even if I could, I wouldn’t have a clear conscience about it.” She sighed. “But let’s focus on the matter at hand. We need to tell Zahn about his situation, gracefully.”
Darshana’s eyes connected with Asha’s in an instant of pure knowing, and she waved her over.
“Please don’t tell Zahn anything about this,” she whispered as Asha sat down. “I want to talk to him alone, to break it to him myself. He’s been through so much lately. You all have.”
“What is it, Darshana? What happened?” Asha took another bite of the rakta fruit. The taste was growing on her.
“Before all of this happened,” Darshana continued, “before you all went to the edge of the Vakragha Dominion, Zahn spent most of his time at the observatory.”
“His service there was important to him,” Vivek said.
“So, what’s the problem?” Asha tried not to eat and talk at the same time, but found it difficult. “He didn’t just leave without telling anyone, did he? He seems more levelheaded than that.”
“He is,” Vivek said, “usually, at least. But when that wild pilot with his invisible starship showed up, the whole situation became charged, and he either forgot to tell them he was leaving, or he honestly didn’t think he would be coming back. I hope it wasn’t the latter.”
“The point is, Asha,” Darshana’s eyes grew downcast, “his service at the observatory has been suspended. He’ll be summoned soon, but I should be the one to tell him first.”
The impending conversation with Zahn flashed into Asha’s mind, and she wondered how this situation might affect it.
“I’m sorry,” Asha finally said. “Is it difficult for them to let him back in?”
“That depends,” Darshana whispered. “It could take months to convince the council that he is ready to take his responsibilities seriously again.”
“Darling,” Vivek said, “a lot has changed since you’ve been gone. I’m afraid it may even take longer than that now.”
As Asha finished the last bite of her rakta, Zahn and Yantrik set down bowls filled with breakfast rolls and other foods onto the table.
“Let another victory breakfast begin!” Zahn said, holding his fork into the air.
One of the bowls was even filled with her father’s signature jelly cubes. Asha wondered where he’d found the right ingredients in such an alien kitchen as this, but wasn’t surprised. Her father’s resourcefulness was one of the main reasons they had been able to survive on Outpost 33 at all.
“Another victory breakfast?” she said.
“Darn right,” Yantrik said, dropping a big helping of the jelly cubes into her bowl. “I didn’t tell you before, but I saw a plasma bolt get this close to your ship during the fighting.” Yantrik held his fingers close together. “And that was after you had lost most of your shield strength.”
Zahn sat down beside Asha. “Sounds like I wasn’t the only one skirting disaster.” He took some of the breakfast rolls. “I don’t know about you, but I’m giving myself a few more days to unwind and recharge, and I recommend everyone else do the same. We’ve got to be strong when the time comes.”
Asha made eye contact with Darshana just long enough to see the tension behind her dark green eyes. She wanted to help her with this somehow, but her intuition told her this was something Darshana had to do on her own.
Nearby, Zahn let his eyes wander over to the wide window and the silvery beach beyond, before glancing back over to his parents. They were still holding hands; it was lovely.
His brief reverie ended a moment later when reality came crashing back to him. During their quest, they had found undeniable proof of intelligent life beyond Avani: Asha and Yantrik, not to mention Oonak himself, the Confederation captain that had changed his life.
In fact, Oonak had initiated their entire adventure by crash landing on Avani in the first place. If Oonak had never come to him for help, he never would have left Avani, or found out what had happened to his long lost mother. (Of course, that’s another story entirely.)
Zahn recalled how Oonak had stressed that similar life forms are still people, reflecting the galactic template for intelligent life. Unfortunately, some of the “people” they had met on their adventure had been mindless murderers, and Zahn knew, almost instinctively, that the heartless Vakragha would avenge what they had done at Rodhas. He wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it, either, which was why it was so important they reestablish contact with Oonak. He would know what to do; he always did.
“Mom,” Zahn said, “you’ve worked with the observatory council longer than I have. Do you think we should tell them about what we found?” He hesitated, measuring his words. “They would do experiments on Asha and Yantrik if they found out they were from another world, wouldn’t they?”
Darshana hesitated. “Zahn, even though you’re on the survey team, I’m sure you’ve noticed the observatory’s preoccupation with extraterrestrial life. Unless the policies have changed, I’m not sure Asha and Yantrik would have a choice.”
“They don’t,” Vivek said. “In fact, the observatory director has made it a top priority to settle the debate, within his term, no less. Everyone said he was reckless to set such an ambitious goal, but he’s held steadfast to it. There’ve even been rumors of secret labs being built with highly sensitive instruments, all to find life on other worlds.”
Yantrik sat down at the far end of the table, set down a jar of emerald juice, and gave Zahn and his parents a solemn glance.
“Never fear, Yantrik,” Zahn said, looking over to him. “We’ll never let them know. You guys are like family to us now. If you hadn’t answered our distress call back on Outpost 33… well, I’d rather not think about it. Anyway, there’s no way we would let them take you.”
“Well, I am glad to hear that, son,” Yantrik said. “I doubt they could take us if they tried.”
“What about our skin?” Asha said. “I mean, don’t we stick out around here?” Asha held her arm up against Zahn’s to compare. Her olive skin did have a strange hint of warmth to it, and it contrasted against his light brown tan. “I usually never even think about skin color, but won’t we stand out just by walking around?”
“Perhaps,” Vivek said, “but that doesn’t mean people will think you’re from beyond this world. Some places, like Zaamani in the South, have people with similar coloring, and the Ashraya Islands are a trading hub, after all. Don’t assume that everyone on Avani looks like what you’ve seen so far.”
“The South, eh?” Yantrik said. “I hope you don’t mean that south pole that Zahn was telling me about.”
“No. That place is so harsh I doubt anyone besides scientists even visit these days.”
Zahn massaged his chin. “So what’s our plan?”
“What do you mean?” Vivek said. “I thought you said he was coming here. What did you say his name was? Oh-nak?”
“Oonak is his name.” Asha looked straight into Vivek’s eyes. “Your beloved is here because of him. Without Oonak, we would have never escaped that prison world alive.”
Darshana looked over to Vivek. “It’s true. I never got to meet him, but Zahn tells me he was an incredible person.”
“He is an incredible person,” Zahn corrected. “And I don’t think we can just sit around here and wait for him to come back.” He looked down to a full cup and took a big gulp of the green juice.
“But didn’t you say the Tulari showed you that Oonak had survived?” Yantrik said. “Found a strange beast in those caves, if I recall. It looked like it was helping him.”
“Yes, the Tulari stone did, but there is more to the truth than what our eyes show us. That creature could have been an illusion for all we know. I just feel like something is off.”
“Are you sure tha
t’s your heart telling you that, or your mind?” Asha studied him quietly. “Where the voice is coming from means everything.”
Zahn glanced into her warm brown eyes before looking down to his cup. “I don’t know,” he said into his drink, as if it might even talk back to him.
Yantrik took his plate and stood up, patting Zahn’s shoulder as he walked over to the kitchen. “Don’t worry, Zahn. The more I hear about what happened, the more I am convinced at his resourcefulness. For now, I think we’d best lay low while I finish the repair on your starship’s impulse drive. Should be done later today. Then we’ll see.”
Zahn stared into his drink, its tiny particles of sweet leaf floating in a sea of green.
“We’ll see him again, Zahn,” Yantrik continued. “Maybe not soon, but I know that’s not the last we’ve seen of Oonak.”
Darshana walked over and stroked Zahn’s hair. “I’m starting to remember more of the rescue, Zahn, and I think I saw his face in my dream.”
Zahn looked up and met her dark green eyes. “Really?”
“He had short hair and a silvery uniform, and he was inside of a huge, winged beast. I don’t know what it means, but I thought I should tell you.”
Zahn’s eyes widened. “And what happened?”
“That was all, but it was so vivid. His face.” She shook her head. “I can’t stop seeing his face. I think Yantrik is right.”
“Mom,” Zahn stood up and embraced her, “I don’t know how, but I feel it, too.” He buried his head into his mother’s shoulder, and breathed deeply, doing whatever he could to let the gnawing anxiety finally go.
And she held him.
CHAPTER 3
A LIVING WALL OF GOLD
As Asha helped her father wash off the stone plates, her mind drifted back to the previous night, when Zahn had taken her to Zikhara Peak, the tallest point in the entire archipelago.
The Island on the Edge of Forever (The Epic of Aravinda Book 2) Page 2
