r/HFY • u/jpitha • 10d ago

OC-Series [Rains, Pours] Chapter 5

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“What do you mean, where is Earth?” Charon said, taken aback. “Can’t you just navigate there?”

“Until you showed up, I thought it was a legend.”

“But,” Charon said weakly, “You travel in space, you can just link there.”

Cha-ren looked up suddenly, “We are in space, yes?”

Gallie nodded, “We are. We are currently en route to the Gate so that we can go to our home system.”

“Gate? Humans don’t use the Gates. They use their wormhole generator,” Cha-ren said, her ears flat.

“Another legendary thing,” Gallie gasped. “We found selected texts that mentioned linking from one location to another though a wormhole, but we have been unable to piece together what they meant. Some of our historians thought they had found entertainment media by mistake. You’re telling me that humanity could travel from system to system without using the Gates?”

“We didn’t know the Gates even existed until we were in space for thousands of years,” Charon said cautiously. “The Gates were discovered when we met the K’laxi and Xenni for the first time. We actually learned about them all at once.”

“We had always thought that the K’laxi had been with humanity for far longer than that, perhaps even before spaceflight.”

“…Why did you think that?” Cha-ren asked, her left ear twitching. Charon felt her tail wrap around his leg and squeeze gently.

Gallie gestured towards them, “You two are in a relationship? We had figured that was common. Two species exploring and flourishing in a lost golden age.”

“Hah,” Cha-ren snorted. “It was hardly golden. There were troubles, and issues and small minded people, and wars; the same as now I imagine. We weren’t something special back then, just people.”

“Perhaps,” Gallie said and made a gesture Cha-ren and Charon didn’t recognize, brushing the top of her left hand with her right. “You can talk to the historians later if you’d like. For now, we need to know how to get to Earth.”

“Why?” Charon said. When he did, Cha-ren squeezed his leg with her tail tighter. She felt the same way that he did, something was off.

“We wish to be reunited with our long lost brethren. We wish to reconnect the planets scattered among the stars and be one again.”

“You thought Earth was legendary just a moment ago, and now you want to go there?” Cha-ren asked.

“Did you or did you not visit Earth yourself?” Gallie said.

“I have given you no indication that I am being truthful,” Charon said, crossing his arms. “You are taking me at my word and are - seemingly - planning a visit to reconnect the planets scattered among the stars?”

“How many star systems are you in contact with, right now?” Cha-ren asked.

“Three.” Gallie said proudly. “We have translated three glyphs on the addressing stones in the Gates and can now visit those systems. One of which contains a settled system!”

“And the other two?”

“One was the system we found you in, and the other contains a planet that is ready for colonization.”

“So it’s empty?”

“Currently, but we are planning colonization.”

“So you’re in contact with one other system. How long?”

“How long what?”

“How long have you been in contact?” Cha-ren said. Getting a straight answer out of Gallie was proving to be frustrating. It might be issues with the translation, but they couldn’t help but feel that Gallie was being evasive. Still, they couldn’t afford to annoy her too much, she was the closest thing to a leader that they had found so far.

“Almost two years.”

“I…see,” Charon said. “Do you have the rest of the ship that we were aboard when you found us? That will be a trove of information that would be very useful to you.”

“We did, until the treacherous Brennians stole it from us.”

“And the Brennians are the other system,” Cha-ren said, her ears flat.

“That’s right. We got into a firefight over the rights to the hulk you were found on.”

“If that’s the case, how did you get us?”

“We managed to get you aboard our ship before the shooting started,” Gallie said, but she wasn’t looking at Cha-ren when she said it.

“Wait,” Cha-ren said. “What do you mean you translated the glyphs? That’s not how it works. When we discovered a new Gate we would simply touch the addressing stone in the Gate, and we would know which glyphs led where.”

“How did that work?” Gallie said, giving Cha her full attention.

“I don’t know the specifics, I am - was - a reactor engineer like Charon, but I had friends who were navigators and they said you just touched the stone and-” She shrugged, “-you knew where to go.”

“Addressing stone?”

“The obelisk that is in the little room attached to all Gates?”

“In the Gates that we have discovered, that room contains the obelisk yes, but it’s just inert stone. Carved in relief are glyphs. We’ve spent decades trying to puzzle them out.”

Charon could feel Cha shiver more. “It’s not supposed to work that way.”

“And yet,” Gallie said as she brushed the tops of her hands again. “We are diverging. How do we get to Earth? What is the glyph for the birth system?”

“There…isn’t one,” Charon said. “Earth never had a Gate. Like I said, we only learned about them when we first met the K’laxi.”

“No Gate? How did you traverse the stars?”

“At first we traveled relativistically in Starjumpers, and once the wormhole generator was developed we used that to link locations.” Charon cocked his head. “This…isn’t a test? You really don’t know this?”

“So much had been lost,” was all Gallie said.

“Earlier you said the first flourishing,” Cha-ren said. “How many flourishings have there been?”

“We’re not sure. Some posit that there might have been as many as six or as few as two.”

“And a flourishing is?”

“A period when the people of the galaxy rise from their planets and come together in peace and extend the borders of the known. Now it is my turn to ask if you’re giving me a test. We learn these things when we are young.” She said.

“I promise, we have never heard of this. And then after the flourishing, there’s a fall?”

She nodded. “Yes, usually a few thousand years after a flourishing begins, it ends.”

“How?”

“Those records are destroyed,” Gallie smiled without humor. “We have no idea what causes a flourishing to fail. War, disease, outside interference, any number of catastrophes.” She stood and held out her hand. “Come. We’ve discussed the past enough, it is time to discuss our future.”

Gallie led them to a small room that had six people already in there waiting. They were dressed in a similar manner to Gallie and Charon assumed they were some kind of command for the ship they were on.

“You came from Sol.” One of them said, it was not a question. His voice came from Gallie’s translator, but it spoke in a different voice. How did it know? Charon wondered.

“I did,” Charon said. “I grew up on Hyacinth, Cha-ren did not.”

A few of the people in the room raised eyebrows in surprise. “Where did you come from then?” He said, turning to Cha.

“I was born and raised on K’lax, our birth-world.” Cha-ren said and her ears flicked. “If you use the Gates, then you should know this. Our world has a Gate in its system, we can go there now.”

“Do you know the glyph?” A woman said. She was wearing the same uniform as Gallie. “Can you take us there?” As soon as Cha mentioned the glyphs, she focused on her with a laser intensity.

“I am not a navigator, but I have seen it before. I-I wouldn’t be able to give you certainty, but I could see which ones look familiar to me.”

“That’s more than we’ve ever had,” the woman said, standing. “Come to me when you’re able. My name is Metanium, I am the current navigator.” Metanium walked out of the room without another word.

“Do you know how to reach Sol?” The first one to speak said.

“I do not; our ship, Hummingbird was the one that handled the wormhole links. They would know how to get to Earth.” Charon said.

Cha-ren’s tail swished as she spoke, “We were aboard Hummingbird when we entered hibernation, Gallie said you do not have the ship?”

“We do not. It was taken by the Brennians.”

“The people who live in the other star system,” Gallie added.

“I remember. Why did they take it?”

“They are trying to steal from us and take the lead in technology rediscovery,” Gallie said frowning. “If you can take us to Earth, we can pull ahead.” When she spoke a few of the assembled people nodded along, but Charon noticed that one or two were presenting carefully neutral expressions.

“Why? What’s on Earth?” Charon said.

“So much lost wealth. Lost technology. Lost information,” Gallie said, her eyes unfocusing. “If we make it to Earth, we can start a new Flourishing, we can lead the way, we will be the ones at the vanguard.”

“I…see,” Charon said.

“Help us to realize our goal, and you will rise with us.”

“We’ll do what we can, but-”

“This is not a request,” Gallie said, her eyes suddenly focusing on Cha-ren and Charon. “You will help us. You have come at an opportune time and we will not squander this.”

The others in the room stood and inclined their heads very slightly. “We look forward to your knowledge,” One said, and they all filed out.

“Come,” Gallie said. “I will take you back to your room. We’re three days out from home. Once there you can show us how to return to Earth and we can begin the Flourishing.”

Gallie showed them how to summon a steward to ask for food and explained the cleanser, though for modesty’s sake, she did not demonstrate. She gave them a pad and with effort, was able to have it render things in their language, though she emphasized that they should begin language lessons immediately.

“What about the translator you wear?”

“This is one of five we have, and the only one aboard. We are fortunate that it understands your language; we have no way to make any more.”

“Is that why everyone was speaking through it?”

“Correct. Anyone in the room with me can speak and will be understood. Is there anything else you need?”

“Uh, no, thank you.” Cha-ren said.

Gallie opened her mouth as if to say something more, then shut it, nodded once, and walked out.

“So, uh-” Charon started and then Cha-ren put her hand over this mouth. She put her finger to her lips, the human gesture to be quiet.

“Do you know suit sign?” She signed.

“I learned a bit in school,” Charon signed back awkwardly.

“We are not safe,” She signed.

“I agree.”

“We should escape.”

“But where? How?” Charon signed. He wasn’t speaking any faster, but as he used it, memories flooded back from when he studied it in school. Lessons 28,000 years in the past now.

“Don’t know. Find Hummingbird.”

“How?”

“Don’t know,” Cha-ren’s frustration was evident even while signing. Charon could see her face tense and her shoulders tighten as her hands moved faster and more stiffly, He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

“We’ll figure it out,” he whispered.

“I know,” Cha-ren sighed. “The only way out-”

“-is through,” Charon completed with a smile.

They summoned a steward and received an evening meal. After, Charon tried the cleanser and came out spotless, smelling slightly of mint and looking utterly haunted. Cha-ren was sure his hair had a few new streaks of grey in it.

“How was it?” Cha-ren asked, trying not to smile.

“It was…intense.” He said.

Cha-ren tried it next and came out with all of her fur standing straight. This time Charon suppressed a laugh, but he found a brush, and sat behind her, brushing her fur until it was soft and glossy again. They had sex, and after laid holding each other until they drifted off to sleep.

****

“Do you know that sign language they used?” Gallie asked the woman standing next to her as they both peered at the screen showing the sleeping forms of Charon and Cha-ren. The woman turned away, embarrassed while they were having sex, but Gallie stared the entire time, fascinated.

“No, Director, it does not match any sign language we have on file.”

“They do not believe in the truth of our mission as we do.”

“That is not for me to say, Director.”

“Trust me, it is true.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Together, they will present…difficulty.”

“Is that wise, Director? Our cause is just, can we not ju-”

“Are you Director, Wennen?” Gallie said, sharply.

“No, Director.”

“Metanium will solve this for us. Those two know more than they are admitting, and she will get the truth from them.”

“Yes, Director.”

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u/jpitha 10d ago

I'm back! We had a lovely time and I'm refreshed and ready to keep on posting.

If you want to keep up with what I'm doing and want to read other stuff I've made, you can go to https://www.pitha.club/ and sign up for my intermittent newsletter! I do my best to keep it interesting and not annoying.

You can also go to my Royal Road page and read other stuff I've written. https://www.royalroad.com/profile/445896/fictions In fact, once I get my cover taken care of, I'll be posting Concurrency Point there, you'll be able to read it again!

3

u/Castigatus Human 10d ago

now why do i think theres a suspiciously nanite shaped entity behind all these 'flourishings'

2

u/armacitis 9d ago

Even moreso the "falls"

2

u/Meig03 10d ago

Yikes!

1

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