Aynsefian

My eyes jolt open and I look straight at the vacant couch.

Lanemu and the Purlinians are back. They are blinking in the bright lights and they look somewhat dazed, all three of them.

It is done, says Lanemu.

“You made it back! Where did you go?” asks Zarasena, suddenly fully awake and excited.

Long story. These guys, he says, pointing left and then right at Cindlyss and Arlyss in turn. They great. Without them, we fail.

I look at each of them adoringly. Thank you, all of you, for whatever you did.

’s alright mate. We didn’t want to fricken die any more than you, says Cindlyss.

He’s the amazing one. We’ll never forget what just happened, as long as we bloody well live, adds Arlyss, pointing at Lanemu.

Are we safe, Lanemu? asks Zarasena.

Not yet. Can’t go quantum yet. Wait for ten minutes. Must be sure ship is gone.

“Lanemu says we have to wait for ten minutes for the MGC to get out of the Farrister system before we go anywhere,” says Zarasena, addressing Anathusa and Jinekali. “I’m going to ask Lanemu what happened. Bear with us for a few minutes.”

“Sure thing, Captain,” says Jinekali. He looks more his normal self now. I’m glad. He brushes is right hand through his greying hair and glances at his wife. They recline back a bit and cuddle together. This is the first time I’ve seen them be affectionate with each other. It’s so good to see them relax a bit. They’ve been through a great deal as well. I’m not sure how many years they’ve wanted to escape. It looks like a distinct possibility now.

So, tell us what happened? asks Zarasena. Where did you go? We lost you during the escape. Axin was desperately worried.

Aah, replies Lanemu. No time to explain before. Devised plan with Arlyss and Cindlyss. Stayed in quantum existence during travel. Held there with them. At apex of all time. You humans call it void. We call it All. They came into All with me. I find two timelines. This one, other one. Where we die.

Then! Then… interrupts Cindlyss, excitedly, to which Lanemu gives him a small smile. It’s the first time I’ve seen that. Then he bloody sits there, all glowing and that, and he pulls the timeline with the deaths in it back to us and tells us to send it to the MGC dickheads!

How did you do that? I ask, smiling broadly.

He tells us we needed to find out how many idiots they had on board and link with each of them. There were six. Leader’s name is Myronelli Tschadze. Dumb name if you ask me. But you didn’t, so that’s cool, continues Arlyss, also excitedly.

Both Purlinians stop and look back at Lanemu, a little chagrined at intruding on his story. He smiles again. It’s only the second time I’ve ever seen it, and it’s happened twice in a minute now.

They very good. Much better than me. Without them, I probably fail. Too many people to send to. They do easily.

Oh, it should have been bloody hard for us too! But it wasn’t! It was a piece of piss, says Cindlyss.

I don’t know what that means. I can only work it out from context. I assume it means that it was easy.

Why was it easy? I ask.

That bloody quantum place. The one he calls All. Nothing is hard there. Anything is possible. I still don’t know how he got us there.

Aroventian secret, says Lanemu. It reminds me of some of the ways in which Ralieshen spoke to us back in Aynsefian. There were things she couldn’t explain to us because she didn’t have the means to put them into words. I get the same feeling here.

Then what happened? asks Zarasena. After you connected with the MGC guys on the Retrieval ship?

The crash happened. They act bloody shocked and running about and shit, as if the world is ending. Poor 84U. He… he was great, says Cindlyss, suddenly becoming quieter.

I’m holding Zarasena, and I draw her in towards me a little more. She is quiet for a moment, and the four of us are waiting for her to speak.

I’ll never forget what he did. It hurts so much, but he wanted this desperately. It was the greatest thing he could do, in his mind. His worst fear was being decommissioned and dismantled, as a newer model came on line. This way, he told me, he had a glorious ending, and he will be talked about for millennia, he says. Maybe not, but I’ll never forget him. Zarasena has her chin up defiantly.

I’m the one feeling tears at the edge of my eyes. I so wanted to know him. He was a part of Zarasena’s life, and all I had with him was a brief conversation.

Lanemu continues, thankfully moving the story onwards. They run around and panic. They cause this. Kill their own people. Not supposed to happen. They rush to crash site and retrieve bodies. No real bodies. They think real. They store caskets on ship. They get out quick. Plan to hide evidence when back home. Interfere with ship data. Hide chase. Poor crew. As trapped as you were.

The MGC seems to create trauma for a lot of its people. I feel bad that we caused the crew of the Retrieval ship grief too. Maybe things will change within that organisation as a result of all this.

Then they left, and you came back?How? I ask.

I let go of timeline strands. I hold timelines, I stay in the All. Let go, come back. Nothing holding me there. He speaks with finality. That’s the story, as far as we’ll hear it.

So we’re totally safe? asks Zarasena, almost excitedly. Her sadness at losing her ship is still very fresh, I’m sure.

No, replies Lanemu. They go back but can’t find bodies when cases open. They hide evidence again. Investigation concludes you crazy. Captain’s log entries confirm. 84U not work right either, they find. Caskets get opened again. MGC discovers cover up by Retrieval crew. MGC come look for us. Alert Barkentill system already. Ships already there now. Must go to Aynsefian. Is only safe place for us.

Barkentill is one of the stargates on the way back to Inconflencia. I had no idea that the MGC had a presence there. So that’s why we can’t go back to my home.

How do we… will we ever get back to Inconflencia? I ask.

Yes.

When? I ask.

Hard to say, replies Lanemu. He says nothing more.

You saw the whole timeline, right? Do we get to go there or not? asks Zarasena.

Only immediate timeline. Future not set. Future is all possibility. Depend on actions taken. Can jump to other timelines at any time. I not do this again. Against Aroventian Law. But planetary health at stake. Axin’s planet. Whole race depend on this. So I do it.

The whole… I can’t finish that sentence. I’m just a regular person. How did the fate of an entire planet depend on me? I started all of this by choosing to go into Melcheisa. Now that decision is saving my planet? How did that happen? I’m just a dumbass thrown about by the winds of fate. I feel exceedingly unworthy.

I look to Zarasena. She looks almost spaced out again. I’m worried about this.

Are you okay? I ask.

She snaps out of it. Yeah, she says. I occasionally get spaced out. Catatonic almost. It happens at times of great stress. I kept it hidden during my training. If they’d discovered it, I never would have been accepted into the system, let alone made Captain. I’m okay really. Just lost in thought this time. I was catatonic earlier, before we escaped. I hoped you wouldn’t ever see that. In a way, it’s good that you did. You can help me in future. But yeah, it happens during extreme stress.

Shouldn’t be any more bloody stress now, says Cindlyss. They are the chattier one, I’ve noticed.

Look… thank you so much Lanemu, for doing this. And to you guys as well, I say, looking at the Purlinians. I feel so unworthy. I’ve done basically nothing the whole time, except be taken care of by others. I’m so humbled to have even met you three, let alone be subjected to such amazing feats, and then loved by this wonderful woman.

I really do feel unworthy. I can’t give anything back. How can I thank them? How can I achieve anything so nearly as great as what they have?

Now hang on a goddamn minute, says Cindlyss. You freakin’ found Aynsefian. You don’t drag us out of that ship, we don’t ever bloody find it. You keep us alive across that freakin’ windy, cold planet surface. You give us the suits and take lesser clothing. You keep us going and you bloody well save our lives. More than once. Then you help us fulfill our destiny by finding what we were looking for across several decades. That’s not nothing, mate.

Arlyss adds his thoughts. Then you find the link to the past of Aynsefian, and a way to bring some of its people forward to our time. Bloody hell! We just wanted to find the freakin’ place, but now we can meet some of the people! It’s beyond our wildest dreams. Come on mate, you’re being too harsh on yourself.

They right, says Lanemu. You pretty good, Axin.

Yeah. They’re right. I just don’t feel special. I acted with determination at times, and I used my intuition where I could. It was a crazy sequence of events. I still feel like a dumbass who just got lucky.

Zarasena has her head on my shoulder. Her red hair falls across my blue shirt, making an appealing contrast as I look down at it. Her body is warm where it touches mine. I know she heard all of that. She hasn’t said anything. She doesn’t have to. I already know what she’s thinking. She’s cuddling against me with such joy and certainty, as if she’s found her home, finally.

That’s the greatest reward I could ever ask for.