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Episode 83: The Heart of Iscandar
Nova awoke to the soft buzz of her alarm. She yawned and stretched, then reached over to check her schedule on her communicator. She opened the application and read the last words she expected to see, "Shore leave."
She started to write a note of protest to Captain Avatar, but stopped in the middle of the first sentence. She bit her lip and erased the words, a feeling of relief settling over her. It was great to be back among the crew, but she wasn't ready to pick up where she'd left off. There were still so many things she hadn't even had the time to think about yet.
She set her communicator down and sighed, letting her head fall back onto her pillow. Her eyes fell closed again and she seriously considered going back to sleep, then she remembered. Nova sat up so quickly that she almost gonged her head on the bunk above her.
She slid out of bed and craned her neck to see if Starsha was still asleep in the top bunk, then she noticed the Iscandari's clothes and shoes were gone.
Quickly, she changed into her own clothes, glancing at the long, violet dress now hanging in her closet beside her uniforms and the few changes of other clothing she'd brought with her. The garment was simple, but elegant, and she found herself drawn back to it. She stepped over to the closet and felt the material one more time, noticing again how comfortable it felt.
She caught a whiff of citrus tinged with something akin to lavender. The smell was familiar, but she couldn't immediately place it. She stepped away from the dress, but the smell lingered. She sniffed her hands and found traces of the perfume there, but the scent was coming from somewhere else in the room.
Following her nose, Nova found herself standing in front of her desk. She looked down and saw a handful of white flower petals sprinkled over the chair and part of the desk. She reached down and picked one up, examining the shape. Finally, she realized what they were.
"Rose petals," she muttered, holding up the delicate piece and smelling of it. "This is what the Palace smelled like."
She set the petal back down on the desk. She hadn't seen any roses spread over the graves around the Palace, but she vaguely remembered seeing several of them spread throughout the rooms inside.
Her brow furrowed as she wondered why.
Still thinking, she left her desk and stepped out into the corridor, heading down to the mess hall for breakfast. She checked her communicator for the menu and wrinkled her nose as she read a few of the choices, but was glad to see several more appetizing options farther down the list.
In a few minutes, she stepped into the cafeteria. It was bustling with activity as usual, and it took almost ten minutes for her to get through the line. As she waited, she was greeted with a host of glad crewmates expressing their happiness at her return. She smiled and waved to all of them, giving out the occasional hug to those who insisted upon one.
When she had her food, she headed for the far corner.
She slid into the curved booth, sitting so she could see the entire room. She'd never noticed before she was kidnapped how easily she could be blindsided.
Nova stabbed a chunk of pancake.
"Hey!"
"Derek Wildstar!" she exclaimed, dropping her fork. Her hand shot out to rescue the utensil before it clattered to the floor, "Don't do that!"
"Sorry, I saw you over here all by yourself," he slipped into the booth beside her, leaving a comfortable space between them. "So, how was your guest last night?"
"So you sent her," Nova glanced over at him then turned her attention back to her food.
"It was late. I offered her one of the empty rooms, but she asked for you," Derek opened a fresh pair of chopsticks, broke them apart, and dipped them into a steaming bowl.
"Well… it was interesting," she said, setting her fork down on her tray.
Wildstar took a bite of his food. Immediately his eyes started to water. He swallowed quickly and took a long drink of water. "That's really hot!" he managed, waving his hand in front of his burning tongue.
Nova put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh. "You should really pay more attention to what you're doing."
"Hey, they're actually serving pretty good ramen now," he took another sip of water. "I even got Homer to try it once."
"He hates ramen," Nova said, picking her fork up and slicing off another piece of pancake stack.
"Yeah, and he still doesn't like it," Derek blew on the piping hot noodles before taking another bite.
Nova smiled as she continued eating her breakfast, but with every bite she took she thought more and more about everything she'd missed while she'd been gone.
"What's with the gloomy face?" Derek asked.
"Oh… just…" she sighed and set her fork down again, "I feel so out of place now. I couldn't even begin to explain all the things I saw while I was gone. I was so afraid I would never see any of you again." She stared down at the puddle of syrup and partial pancake stack left on her tray and bit her lip.
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I…" Derek began quietly.
"Nova!" Feria appeared out of nowhere and whisked into the booth on the other side of Nova.
Derek jerked his hand away.
"Hey," the Lieutenant quickly hid her melancholy and greeted her friend with a smile.
"You got the ramen too," Feria pointed over at Derek's food, "I got mine with snap peas. What did you get?"
"Uh… egg," he replied, suddenly very interested in his half empty bowl.
"That was my second choice," Feria replied then turned her attention back to Nova. "I know I already said it, but I really missed you." The pilot threw her arms around Nova's neck and gave her a quick hug. "You'll have to tell me all about it."
Nova stole a glance back over at Derek then said to Feria, "Yeah. Sure. When's your shore leave?"
"Starts tomorrow," Feria started into her food, "Maybe you can show me around?"
Nova nodded, "I can do that." She looked back over at Wildstar, "When's your shore leave?"
"Today and day after next," he replied without looking up.
"So you had to split yours. Perils of being an officer, huh?" Feria took another bite of her noodles.
"Yeah," Derek finished his food and started to leave.
"Derek?" Nova called after him.
He stopped and turned around.
She continued, "You… want to see some more of the island?"
A broad smile spread across his face, "Sure. Just send me a message when you want to go." With a wave, he left.
Nova felt Feria's eyes on her, "What?"
"Nothing," her friend said innocently. "Not a thing."
The wind whooshed through her hair as Nova reached the top of the hill, "Come on, this is one of my favorite places."
Derek made it to the hill's crest just as Nova settled down near the edge of a cliff. She sat in the middle of a patch of blue wildflowers as they waved excitedly in the breeze.
He carefully shuffled down a short rise and picked his way through the blooms. When he reached Nova, he found a good place to sit down beside her.
He stared out at the grand sight. The light of mid-morning shone down on them. Below, a wide river stretched out, winding off into the distance. The heart of the island spread out before them, and Derek could barely see the ocean from their vantage point. It looked very much like home.
"Look," Nova pointed down toward a distant meadow.
A heard of wild horses whinnied to each other, their voices carrying all the way back to the cliff Derek and Nova perched on.
"Any of those around here?" Derek asked, resting his elbows on his crossed legs.
Nova sighed, "No, Starsha kept a few of them for a while, but they took up a lot of time, and she didn't ride all of them every day, so she let them go. She said it wasn't fair to keep them stabled when she was the only one around. That was before she found Alex and Adam."
Derek nodded, his eyes roaming the landscape until they lighted on something of particular interest. "What's that?" He pointed at a billowing green mass far off on the horizon.
"It's a tree," Nova replied.
"That's a tree?" Derek squinted at it, "How far away is it?"
"It's in the center of the island," she replied.
"How big is this island again?"
"Almost three thousand miles long," Nova said.
Derek's eyes widened, "And we're on the southern edge, right?"
"Yes," Nova looked at him with raised eyebrow.
"You realize that means that tree is fifteen hundred miles away."
"I know," she replied, "Starsha told me about it."
"Have you ever been out there?"
"No…"
Derek shot to his feet, "Well, let's go!"
"But it's several hours one-way," Nova protested.
"It's not even nine o'clock yet," Derek replied, holding out his hand to help Nova up.
She took his hand and he pulled her to her feet. "Alright… but we can't stay long."
"If we take the Seagull it'll take a lot less time to get there," Derek suggested.
They started off towards the ship.
"I don't think they would let us use the recon plane for something like this," Nova picked her way up the rise to the top of the hill and started back down it.
"You forget, I'm the deputy Captain," Derek grinned at her, "Plus, we might need it if I get called back for an emergency."
"I highly doubt there's going to be an emergency," Nova looked sidelong at him.
Derek shrugged, "Hey, you never know."
It took almost half an hour to get back to the ship and get the Seagull ready to go, but once they got the go-ahead from the on-duty ATC officer, Derek wasted no time.
The launch sequence began, and the plane was hoisted up onto a catapult. The instant the countdown hit zero, Derek took off.
The force of gravity plastered Nova up against the seat for a full two seconds as Derek sent the Seagull into a barrel roll followed by two or three other flips and spins. Nova was too busy figuring out which way was up to notice exactly how many times she lost track of the ground.
"Derek Wildstar!" She socked the young man in the shoulder, "Don't do that!"
"Hey!" He rubbed his arm, "You hit harder than I remember."
"Got into a few fights while I was away," Nova replied with a halfhearted smirk.
"Oh really," Derek raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, for your information," Nova folded her arms and stared out the front viewport towards their destination.
"Sounds exciting," Derek said as he double checked their course and then proceeded to say nothing for the next several minutes.
Nova studied the landscape ahead of them. Some of it was similar to the area around the Palace, but there seemed to be a variety of different terrain. She saw the river they'd noticed from the cliff. It wound through open fields, a thick wood, and over a few patches of rocks.
Derek cleared his throat, "So, where did you end up before Iscandar?"
Without looking at him, Nova replied, "I think it was some sort of special forces ship. At least, that's the first place I ended up. They took me to a prison world called Leptopoda, then one of Gamilon's high council came to get me because they thought I was Astra."
"Wait – you ended up on Gamilon?!" Derek shot a surprised look at her.
Nova turned her head so Derek couldn't see her face, "Yeah…" She bit her lip. Derek was staring at her; she could feel it.
"They didn't… try to make you tell them anything… did they…?"
Nova shook her head, "No. I was only there for maybe an hour. As soon as the Gamilon Leader saw me he knew I wasn't Astra."
"You met… him?"
Nova nodded. She felt the air thicken and decided not to say any more.
They passed the rest of the trip in silence.
About forty minutes later the Seagull set down near the base of the largest tree either of them had ever seen. Its branches reached up into the sky as though it were raising its hands in prayer or perhaps a song. Some of the leaves near the base of the trunk were larger than they were.
With wide eyes, the pair disembarked.
Nova approached the tree slowly and looked up in awe at the towering giant. The portions of the tree's roots that poked up above the soil were as thick as a large truck.
She listened and heard the trickle of water. Around the base of the tree, running underneath several raised roots, flowed a tiny stream. It was muddied, but not fouled, and where the current ran a bit more quickly, the water was clear. She dipped her hand into the stream and sipped the water from her palm. It tasted different from the water she was used to drinking – free from the tang of chemicals.
She started around the tree. After walking for twenty minutes, she realized just how large it was. With a glance over her shoulder, she continued on. Derek was nowhere to be seen, so she pulled out her communicator. She turned it on and checked his location.
Her brow furrowed in confusion when the map showed him in the same location as her. She turned in a full circle, searching the surrounding area for him.
"Up here!" The voice echoed down to her.
Nova's eyes shot up in surprise. There, several hundred yards up the tree stood Derek. He was perched on a wide winding shelf of bark.
"How'd you get up there?" She called to him.
"I found a ledge toward the bottom of the tree and followed it," he replied, "Here. I'll pull you up." He tossed down a rope with a foothold attached to the end.
She got a firm grip on the line and called up to Derek, "Okay."
It took nearly two minutes for him to haul her up, but finally she crawled over the edge of the walkway. Brushing off her clothes, she stood up. "Does it go any farther?"
"Looks like it," Derek pointed up, "Hope you're not afraid of heights."
"No more than anyone else I suppose," she shrugged.
Nova waited for Derek to put the rope away, and then the pair set off up the tree. After about an hour, they started to feel the grade steepen, and the way became difficult. Several times Derek had to pull Nova up treacherous sections of bark with barely enough places to grab hold of the tree.
Not wanting to give up so easily, they pressed on, curious to find out where this odd path led – if indeed it led anywhere at all.
After another two long, grueling hours, Nova heard Derek's triumphant shout, "You have to see this!"
Her legs burning from the climb, Nova managed to take the last few steps around the corner.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open in surprise, "What…" She pointed just past Derek, "What is that?"
Derek shook his head and stepped forward, disappearing into a rift in the tree.
Nova followed him with cautious steps.
As soon as she stepped into the opening she noticed two things, the first was how surprisingly well-lit the area was, and the second was the empty eyes of a skull staring back at her from the other side of the cavern.
She squealed and jumped back out of the tree, nearly losing her footing. Her hand shot out and latched on to a nearby knot.
A moment later, Derek reappeared beside her, "I think he's been dead a while." He held out a hand to help her stand back up. "He's still got some of his clothes and there something in his hand, but whatever killed him is long gone."
Nova closed her eyes and sighed in relief as she pulled herself to a standing position. She nodded and smiled thinly, then slowly followed Derek back into the tree. This time, upon entering, she noticed the host of flowers and small trees that dotted the cavern. Aside from the remains of the stranger, the place was breathtaking.
In the center of the cavern there rose a wooden platform, atop which grew a sapling. In its bows grew a dozen brilliant blue flowers.
Nova started toward the flowering tree, but when she was five feet from it, she lost her footing and splashed into a shallow pool covered in green algae.
"Oh!" She scrambled out of the water and groaned as she felt the water soaking into her clothes.
Giving up on getting a closer look at the tree, she picked her way around the camouflaged water to where Derek stood studying the skeleton.
He was just about to pull the object out of the stranger's hand.
"No!" Nova reached out to stop him.
"What's it going to hurt? It was obviously important, or he wouldn't have held onto it. And he doesn't need it now," Derek replied.
Nova let her arm drop back to her side, "Alright… but if it's something valuable, we either need to leave it here or take it back to Starsha."
"Fine by me." Derek reached out toward the body again and slowly slid the object out of the man's dead hand. Its shape reminded Nova of Starsha's message capsule, but there the resemblance ended.
Carefully, Wildstar tugged on one end of the object. It popped off revealing a hollow core. He reached inside and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper.
"This looks pretty old," he pulled out his communicator and scanned the paper with it, not even trying to unroll it.
To Nova, the document looked brittle and worn – not at all like anything she'd seen in the Palace.
Derek stared at the device as it analyzed the contents of the paper. It took a full minute for the computer to show him anything of use, but when it did, Nova saw his face turn pale.
"What is it?" She stepped closer and peered at his communicator, "What does it say?" She reached out and took the device out of his hand. Derek didn't even try to stop her.
She peered at the words, reading them slowly to be sure she wasn't seeing things.
"We have named this world for our great patriarch, one who led those in his charge to defy the order of darkness, and establish a lineage of light. We left Earth in the hopes that we could scatter the great evil that lurks here among the stars. At the Fallen One's behest, three ships set out. From the one called Aquarius, we and many of our brethren came here.
"This great tree is the seed from whence the rest of this world will grow. We have reformed the planet, but until it is fully regrown, we will live in the shadow of the Levavets – the world-tree. Here we will thrive as we wait for the time when we must return to Earth."
"I don't understand," Nova whispered, "Does that mean the Iscandarians are really from Earth…?"
Derek didn't respond at all, instead he walked over to a nearby rock and sat down.
Nova looked back at the screen. Down at the bottom was a circular crest. In it were twined three roses, one black, one red, and one…
"White…" Nova whispered. She pulled one of the petals from her room out of her pocket and held in her palm.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the cavern, picking up the petal and floating it off towards another part of the natural cave.
Nova watched it carefully. The petal whisked through the air, flying past Derek and into a tiny alcove she hadn't noticed before. She stepped past Wildstar and around the corner.
"Derek, come look at this!" she exclaimed.
It took a second, but he appeared behind her. She pointed into the alcove.
Sunlight blazed in through a hole in the tree, shining directly on a hearty plant. Its branches were unkempt and scraggly in places, but the wild rose bush thrived in its little corner. The brilliant white blossoms shone in the sun.
"This must be – that man, he must have been – Derek this is the place the original settlers –" Nova's broken speech halted as she realized what they'd found.
"This is the heart of Iscandar…" Derek managed. "We have to tell Captain Avatar about this."
"And Starsha," Nova added.
Derek took his communicator back and started taking pictures of the entire cavern.
Nova stood staring at the white roses, their perfume drifting into the rest of the cavern as a cool breeze wafted back down into the alcove.
Episode 84: A Strange Gift
Starsha watched carefully as Sandor helped another man with a piece of the machine. The part clicked into place and the science officer stepped back and folded his arms, a smile on his face.
"That's the last of it," he said.
Starsha surveyed the team's work, taking a slow walk all the way around the machine before stepping up to it and placing her hands on the control panel.
The machine lit up instantly and a series of instructions popped up in front of her.
"Here," the Queen motioned for Sandor to come see what she was looking at, "This will tell you what to do."
Sandor squinted at the words, his brow furrowed. "I'm… afraid I can't read this very well."
"Oh," Starsha said surprised, "I thought you –" she saw the slightly embarrassed look on the XO's face and stopped. Starsha looked back at the screen thoughtfully. "Is there… someone else who might be better suited to this portion of the tutorial?"
Sandor nodded, "I'll send him a message. He wasn't scheduled for shore-leave today, so he'll be somewhere onboard." The XO pulled out his communicator and sent off a brief message. A moment later he looked back up at Starsha, "He's on his way."
Starsha took her hands off the controls and the instructions vanished.
"So it'll work for any of us?" Sandor asked, stepping up to the machine.
"Of course," she reassured, "place your hands on the interface points." She indicated the two touchpads, one on either side of the control area.
Slowly, Sandor did as she instructed.
The instant both of his hands touched the controls the same words as before flashed in front of him.
Starsha watched Sandor's face as he wrinkled his forehead at the instructions. Occasionally his eyes would light up, but more often than not, she could tell he still didn't know exactly what he was looking at.
"I'm – here –"
Starsha looked over her shoulder to see one of the other officers who'd come to the Palace yesterday. He was out of breath and looked like he'd just woken up.
"Homer," Sandor stepped away from the machine and waved the other man over, "Come look at this."
Starsha stepped back to allow Homer to come closer to the Rophi-shamayim.
"Queen Starsha," Homer greeted her, "It's good to see you again."
She nodded and smiled, then motioned for him to go ahead and approach the controls.
"I need you to help me read this," Sandor told Homer as he placed his hands on the panels again. "I can make out a few words here and there, but not enough to make sense of it.
"Sure," Homer replied.
As soon as the instructions appeared again, Homer's eyes tracked the script, right-to-left. It took him a few minutes to read it, but he didn't seem to have any difficulty understanding the content.
"Okay," Homer said upon finishing the paragraph, "I can walk you through it."
Sandor looked back at Starsha, "Would it be alright to do a test run?"
"I would advise against using the Rophi-shamayim unless it is absolutely necessary. The power-drain on the ship will be tremendous if you are forced to use it while it is still on board. Once it is off-loaded, it will use your sun as a power source."
"So… no dry-run?" Homer asked.
"I'm afraid not," Starsha replied. "I do not know how long it will take your ship to recover from the power loss, and you are only here for another two days."
"It could take longer than two days for us to recover? How much power does this thing use?" Homer raised an eyebrow at the alien machine.
"A great deal," Starsha replied, "after all, it will be responsible for the healing of an entire planet. That will take an enormous amount of energy."
"Is there any way to change the language so we can read it without a translator?" Sandor asked.
"I do not know. The creators of this machine are long dead, and our scientists perished in the plague, " Starsha replied, "But if you do not mind my asking," she turned to Homer, "how is it that you came to know our language?"
Homer's eyes were suddenly filled with fear.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry –" Starsha began.
Homer interrupted her, "This isn't written in Gamilon?"
"Not precisely. Our language has the same root as theirs, and they are quite similar. Some might even call one a dialect of the other." Starsha's eyes darted around the room. When she was sure no one was close enough to hear her, she continued, "It is said that Gamilon and Iscandar's peoples have a common ancestor. Beyond that… I'm afraid all I can offer is speculation."
Homer stared at her for a long moment, then glanced at Sandor before he said in hushed tones, "Back on Earth, the language of my homeland is very similar in some ways to yours. You use many words I am not familiar with and your grammar is strange to me, but I can read it."
Starsha smiled at Homer curiously, "What do you mean?"
"I mean your language and mine come from the same source," Homer said bluntly, his voice still low.
It was the Queen's turn to be surprised and she breathed in sharply as the implications of the Eratite's words settled on her. "Could it be…?" She whispered and reached out towards Homer. She laid a hand on his shoulder and stared into his startled brown eyes.
"I just received an urgent message from Wildstar," Sandor held up his communicator. "He says he must speak with the Captain immediately, and with you, Queen Starsha."
The Iscandari let her arm fall back down to her side, the moment broken.
"What does he wish to discuss?" She asked the XO.
"He didn't say," Sandor tucked the device away again, "But he will be here within the hour."
With one final, long look at Homer, Starsha started towards the door, "Please tell him I shall meet him in your captain's quarters, Sandor."
Before the science officer had a chance to answer her, Starsha disappeared out into the hall.
Starsha stared at the images. She knew about the great tree, of course, but no one had ventured up through its branches before.
"And you found this inside the tree," Starsha gestured to the ancient manuscript, now residing in a clear specimen box. She peered at Wildstar's pictures of the tree's interior.
"We were able to get a digital copy of it," Derek held out his communicator and the holograms of the tree disappeared, replaced by a copy of the document, magnified so that all could see it. Next to the manuscript floated a translation.
As Starsha read the words, a strange thrill ran through her. "Now there is irrefutable proof," she breathed, "Erats… She is home to my people as well as yours."
"So you didn't know?" Derek asked.
"We knew little about Erats. The Torah and the B'riyt HaHadashah speak of it, and we had faith that it was a real place. There is a tale told among my people of a planet we call, 'The Point of Creation,' but we never knew its name… I only recently discovered the connection between your Erats and our history. But I wish," she bowed her head and discreetly wiped away the tears pooling in her eyes, "That my people were all here to see this, especially Astra. Her faith in Yahweh is the reason she took that message to you. I would have gone, but she insisted on making the journey herself."
"Would… you like to come back to Earth with us?" Derek asked.
The thought elated the Iscandari, "I wish I could accept such a generous offer, but…" Starsha looked from Nova and Derek to Captain Avatar and Adam, who still sat beside his father. "I have a charge I must keep here. My heart burns to go with you, but a vow forbids me." She turned her eyes back to the manuscript and saw the seal emblazoned on the document. The white rose seemed to reach out to her as she stared at it.
"Even though I cannot make the journey, there is one thing I would ask of you, if it is not too much of an imposition," Starsha folded her hands in front of her and stepped over to the Captain's bed.
"Ask anything. You have already given us more than we could ever repay," Captain Avatar replied.
"I am forbidden to leave this world, but my sister had no such boundary placed upon her. Would you take her with you back to Erats? I know it would be a great joy to her to be entombed there, and I am sure that you will give her a respectable burial."
The Captain didn't reply right away, instead he closed his eyes, bowed his head and whispered something she couldn't hear. A moment later he looked at her again, "We would be honored to bring her back with us. She is a hero to Earth, and so are you, Queen Starsha. Are you sure you won't come back with us?"
Starsha turned away from Avatar, "Please, do not tempt me with such a heartrending offer. I would accept in half a moment if I could."
"Very well. I will let Dr. Sane know that we will be keeping the Princess Astra's body aboard," Avatar said.
"Wait, she was on board the entire time?" Wildstar asked from across the room.
"Yes," the Captain replied, "Only Sandor, Sado, and I knew, with the exception of the few who helped bring the Princess onboard."
Starsha looked over at Wildstar and saw the look of disappointment on his face. "I am sure they only kept it from you for your well-being," she offered.
The Captain raised a hand to stop the Queen, then looked at Wildstar and said, "I'm sorry. It was a mistake to keep such a secret to ourselves. Will you forgive us for our secrecy? "
Derek nodded slowly, the heaviness on his face lightening.
Avatar motioned for Derek to come stand beside his bed with the Iscandari. Nova hung back, but the Captain bade her come as well.
When everyone was clustered together, Avatar looked up at Starsha, Nova, and Derek, "All of you have shown unwavering bravery and dedication." He turned his eyes to his son, "I don't know all the things you went through to be here today, Adam, but I do know how much courage it took to stay behind with your Captain when he decided to fight a delaying action instead of retreating with us back at Pluto." The Captain looked at them all again. He slowly raised his right hand, palm up, "I hope to see all of you one day back on Earth."
Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds, and Adam was the first to reach out and lay his hand atop his father's.
Starsha waited, wondering if it was her place to add her presence to whatever was going on.
Nova was next to put her hand in, and Wildstar slowly followed her lead.
Starsha still waited.
Adam was the first to beckon her to join them, then Captain Avatar.
Hesitantly, she held out her delicate hand. It looked so different compared to the Eratites'. By comparison, her fingers were long and odd, and her skin had a strange glow about it. For the first time she noticed how alien she must seem to them, but when she laid her hand atop theirs, not one of them seemed to notice the differences.
When all four of them had entered the impromptu fellowship, Captain Avatar bowed his head again, and this time Starsha could hear him. As he spoke, the Queen realized he was quoting something. She did not recognize it, but the last portion of the passage brought tears to her eyes:
"When we as under part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart
And hope to meet again."
As the Captain spoke, Starsha noticed Wildstar shifting from foot to foot uneasily. When Avatar was done, the young man looked relieved, and a bit embarrassed. He was the first to step back from the union and he quickly shoved his hands in his pockets.
If the Captain noticed his officer's behavior, he gave no indication of it.
The rest of them withdrew their hands and Starsha, Nova, and Derek stepped back from the bed.
"Here," Derek handed Starsha the box containing the old document, "You should keep this."
"Thank you," she whispered as she accepted the ancient manuscript. She held the box close, thoughts of its wondrous words still echoing in her heart.
"Will the construction and preparation be complete in two days?" Captain Avatar asked.
Starsha nodded, "Your Stephen Sandor learns quickly. Once I have shown him everything, he will be more than capable of teaching whoever else may need to know how to use the Rophi-shamayim and your other system modifications."
"Then I will not take up any more of your time," the Captain bowed his head to Starsha and she returned the gesture.
She turned to go and was about to step out into the hall when an idea came to her. She stepped back into the Captain's cabin and shut the door. "Nova?"
"Yes?"
"There is something I wish to give to you and Derek Wildstar. Consider it… my thanks for finding this," she indicated the box. "I will take the manuscript back to the Palace and return soon."
"Alright. We'll be at the dock to meet you when you come back," Nova replied.
Starsha nodded and left.
As soon as she stepped inside the Palace the reality of what she was about to do settled on her. A profound sense of loss weighed down her heart as she took step after deliberate step up over a dozen flights of stairs.
When she reached her quarters, she stopped. Hesitantly, she reached out and touched the door panel. The portal opened for her and she stepped in.
She took a moment to survey the room, her eyes coming to rest in one corner where two healthy plants sat. Starsha stepped over to them and knelt down in front of the greenery.
"My friends, I believe it may be time to bid you farewell."
The leaves of both plants rustled, one more loudly than the other.
"My Queen," a deep voice protested, "you must not leave Iscandar."
"Indeed," a lighter voice echoed, "the servant of Yahweh charged you to remain."
Starsha stroked the troubled leaves, "Do not worry, Bahn, Silesia, it is not I who must go."
"Not you?" Silesia asked.
"Those of Ya'ar Jeshurun will thrive wherever they are. You must go with the Eratites back to Erats. Bahn," she turned to the other plant, "you must go with her. There is much good you can do for them. I have done what I can do, now it is your turn. I know you intended to return home someday, but I think that may have to wait."
"My Queen, I would be happy to do as you request." Bahn's leaves shivered slightly as he said this.
"Do not be afraid," Silesia said to him, "if this is where we must go next, I am sure we will find a way to be of help to them."
"We have listened to many a conversation between you and the ones you took in," Bahn said. "They are a curious lot, but I will do my best to aid them. And in the absence of another form of communication, we will speak with Adriana and tell you of what transpires."
Starsha felt a tear roll slowly down her cheek, "I will miss you greatly, but if I do not see you again, we will meet in Shaddai's realm." She buried her face in the soft leaves and cried quietly.
"When must we go?" Silesia asked.
The Queen stifled her tears and took a breath, "They are waiting now. The ship will not depart for another two days, and I do not believe it is wise to reveal your true nature to them right away. Even Alex or Adam would be shocked. I am surprised we were able to avoid mentioning your presence for so long."
Silesia's leaves rustled in agreement, "We will be silent to them until the time is right."
"I will make sure they care for you properly," Starsha assured.
Bahn chuckled, "Do not worry so over us. We will be well."
Starsha nodded and stood up, "It is time to go." She reached into the corner and withdrew a short silver bar. She touched both ends of it and held it up in the air, then let go. The ends glowed as the bar extended and floated in the air by itself.
The Queen picked up Bahn and hung the pot he was in on the bar, and then she did the same with Silesia. She motioned for the bar to follow her as she walked out of her quarters. Just before the door closed, both plants rustled a farewell to Adrianna who hung near the window on the other side of the room.
The ride back out to the Eratite ship was much too short. Starsha stepped out of the small boat and was greeted by both Derek and Nova. The two seemed puzzled when the Queen gestured to the plants.
"This is my gift to you," Starsha motioned for the silver bar to rise and follow her with the two plants in tow. "There is much about them you do not know, but be assured that they are more than they appear to be. Care for them, and perhaps someday they will do something extraordinary for you."
Derek didn't even try to hide his confusion, "I don't understand."
Nova studied the plants, looking a bit intrigued. She walked up to Silesia and reached out toward her leaves. Silesia rustled peacefully at her touch and Starsha recognized the gesture as a smile. "I'll take this one to my room," the young woman said, unhooking the plant from the bar and holding the large pot close.
Starsha smiled at the woman's reaction to the gift.
"I believe that leaves this one for you," the Queen looked at Derek and gestured to Bahn.
Derek looked warily at the plant, but eventually stepped forward to take the gift. Once he'd unhooked the pot, the silver bar returned to Starsha's hand and shortened from three feet in length to a mere six inches. The young deputy Captain looked around sheepishly and didn't say anything.
Nova cleared her throat at Derek then supplied in lieu of his silence, "Thank you. We'll take good care of them."
Starsha blinked back tears again, "I know you will. Now, I must rejoin your science team. Two days is not a lot of time, and we must make the most of it."
- The hymn "Blest Be the Ties Bind" was written by John Fawcett and published in 1782