Wind of Change: Chapter 32
#32 of Wind of Change
The Bridge of Worlds
"Here it is," said Richard. "Home of the billionaire."
"Are you being sarcastic?" asked Orthan.
"No. Why do you assume so? It's clearly a dragon's hoard from the look of it. Damn dragon cannot let his old life go that easily. But, here we are."
Richard then turned towards Dairyu. "Set us down on his helipad," he said. "But after I talk to him."
"I was worried you're going to ask us to land anyway. Alright, go on. The comm's yours."
But just as Dairyu said that, the communication turned on.
"Hey, whoever it is, what the hell are you doing in my airspace?" said the voice. "Just so you know, this is private property."
"Ray, it's me, Richard," said Richard, approaching the communication interface. "I want you to listen to me. These people are visitors from another dimension, and they might have an answer to the 'ghost' problem we have."
"Isn't that Apachian Agency's job? What does it have to do with me?"
"We need your expertise, Ray, on portals."
There was a silence before Ray said, "Land on helipad 1. I hope that thing can land without direction."
The communication abruptly ended. Curious, Dairyu asked how a 21st century draconian could hack a 23rd century spaceship from another universe. Richard simply shrugged and said, "Like I said. He's the drake for the job."
They landed on the helipad Ray mentioned, which had a giant '1' lit by lights. Capisa slowly landed on the small pad and started powering down all the engines. He then opened the ship's bay door to lead the agents and them to walk down the ship. Many of them were still fascinated and surprised on the fact that they boarded a spaceship, and they were equally surprised when they realized that the trip took less than an hour, which was comparable to a supersonic airplane, which was no longer in production. They were also surprised by the fact that they were on Raithorakh's private island, given how he was a celebrity in his own way and public face on the recent technological advancement and craze.
Just as they were pondering the situation, a familiar-looking golden-scaled draconian walked out from a nearby building dressed for the occasion in casual clothing. Everyone who had seen him knew of his artificial left arm, which was mechanical and covered in fake scales, though after it was well-known, he discarded them to show the world the technology he built on.
Some were awe-struck, not because of his technological marvel, but his ambitious scheme to colonize the moon, and possibly Mars, which might not happen for many years. Yet, Raithorakh's ambition was comparable to his wealth, and, with an apparently genius streak, he managed it. Aside from wanting to colonize them, there were many other advancements that made the world move forward into the territory of science fiction.
Of course, being so close to a living pioneer could be very overwhelming, if it wasn't for the urgency of the agents' boss, Richard. He simply shrugged off the facts and grabbed Ray aside. Raithorakh, too, was surprised, but he seemed to know the urgency of the situation when he saw the spaceship and the crew within.
"The tear opened once again, it seems," said Raithorakh, apparently dropping his 'casual billionaire' talk and down into a more 'sophisticated old money' kind. Richard silently nodded from that remark.
"Ray, I want you to meet the crew of Wind of Change...and some of my drakes," said Richard. "And, uh..., you all know Raithorakh...except maybe the spaceship crew."
Dairyu walked down and made a handshake with Ray, while he said, "I heard you can make portals."
"Indeed, I am," said Ray. "My name is Raithorakh. Most draconians of this world know me as Raithorakh Andaluvia, brother of Richard Andaluvia. Yet, back home, I was known as Raithorakh the Lightning, one of so many electric dragons scattered across the continent. As a dragon, I am honored to meet an Oriental draconian. As a draconian, I bid you welcome to my home, along with everyone here."
His dignified and smooth, yet traditional, way of talking made the people around felt compelled to follow him. While many people who read his autobiography would know that he was, in fact, a dragon, many were still surprised that he was a 'Crosser', the term for someone coming from another dimension during the Crossing.
The agents were instructed to wait in his guest room while he and Richard talked to each other about life and such, mostly personal and private. Dairyu and his crew were also instructed to wait, as this concerned their own problems, too. During this time, they talked among themselves about the 'ghosting' phenomenon that was plaguing that world, too.
"Is it because of the tear that stranded us here?" said Rose. "If so, then this universe, alongside countless others, are currently experiencing the same thing. This will be hard for us to pinpoint, let alone close it."
"We're getting further and further away from the conclusion," said Dairyu with a sigh. "Now, I'm not sure if the center of the galaxy is where the main tear is. It could be the one that blew up the space station, or it could be in the center of Terra. Now, this tear took us to another universe, and the previous one took us back in time. This is beyond the scope of mysticism."
"This is never a mystic thing, Dairyu," said Rose. "It's simply a science so baffling it's borderline supernatural."
"I am not sure if it can explain why a ghost can become Solid, or even needing basic needs. They are not actually revenants, for that matter, except, well...Seiryu."
"What makes me a revenant?"
"I don't know. Maybe Arrowhead robbed you of your life too soon? Maybe you have something to say to me or your mother? Do you have any reason at all? I mean, you're not exactly accepting your fate like Xsatuki's late lover, rest in peace."
"That...might be a reason. Still, my significance and the tear we are going to close has nothing to do with each other. Also, the first thing we need to do is to get back, fix the ship, and continue the journey."
"Forgive me for eavesdropping, draconians from another realm," said Raithorakh behind them. "But may I ask something?"
"Ask away," said Dairyu.
"I've heard from Richard that you came here through a 'tear'. What did happen?"
"It's hard to explain, but...we went in, and the next thing we know, we were in the middle of a bustling city, with everyone's race turned into draconians. Our ship did not go with us, and it has been orbiting the planet for almost 30 years."
"Hmm...I see," said Raithorakh. "And based on your conclusion, this tear is also the reason of our ghost problem."
Dairyu nodded.
"Where did you end up?"
"Uh...Krensis city?"
"Krensis...huh, that's intriguing. I thought you'd end up in Milsteir."
"And why's that?"
"Because the last tear opened there, almost ten years ago," said Raithorakh. "I was a hotbed for such activity, as it was where Richard ended up after I accidentally opened a portal upon my death."
"Wait, are you..."
"I was revived, yes, by my brother. May he fly in the endless skies with his ancestors. But let's not talk about my past, or even yours. You want to know what I'm capable of. Let me show you. Give me your hand."
Dairyu was a little reluctant in doing so, but he did. Suddenly, Raithorakh used his claws to dig deep, through the Orient's soft scales. He grunted, surprised by this. The draconian drew blood, then extended his metallic arm to another side.
The arm was a delicate-looking technology that no one except Calventis and Capisa knew what it was. Both the Aqura and the Scyllas were experimenting on such malleable technology, which they dubbed 'particle prosthetics' for their programmable form to match the form of the limb they replaced. It was still expensive for common use, and the Scyllas still relied on mechanical prosthetics, like the one that replaced Let's arm.
The arm made a form of a gun before it made a humming sound. It then discharged something out of it and open it up to the interior of a spaceship. The crew instantly knew the interior, and which ship that had such interior, along with the crew on the other side of the portal.
"Pritchard!" exclaimed Dairyu. "and Selis! I'm so glad to see you!"
Pritchard heard his voice, then turned. He was surprised and glad that Dairyu was there, but was confused by the appearance of the portal. He quickly tried to get through, but was surprised and bewildered when his hand turned scaly and covered in green scales.
"W-what?" said Pritchard, confused.
"There cannot be humans in this world," said Dairyu. "It's a world of draconians. Everyone who's not a draconian is turned into one."
"Oh...but now, you're here, you gotta come back!"
"Wait! How long have we been out?"
"Barely five hours. In fact, we thought you're still doing a research in the tear. We never thought you've died."
"Well, that's a relief. So, what's the hur--"
Raithorakh abruptly pulled Dairyu away and pushed Lunera in as he closed the portal. He was visibly straining. Dairyu could see that his cybernetic parts were (as they were apparently contemporary in Dairyu's world) powering down, and he slumped on a nearby chair.
"I never thought opening one took a great toll on my body," said Raithorakh with a sigh. "I am sorry."
"Don't push yourself. Anyway, thanks. If you didn't do that, I'm not sure I can keep my head intact."
"Don't mention it. Now, I suppose it's your turn to explain the ghosts. I'll try to make sense of it."
Dairyu proceeded to explain the golden draconian about the event that led them there, but turned towards the others to talk about their opinions and adding on some details he didn't know. After a while, Raithorakh, who had been listening intently, nodded.
"I understand. If things get out of hand in this world, I suppose it will cause severe complications, mostly because we are not as prepared as you are," he said. "In fact, we have never met any extraterrestrials, and my renewable rocket project is intended for early planetary colonization, which may not happen soon. These ghosts may not be a menace, but if we account in past atrocities..."
"And by this point...we're not sure how to deal with this..."
"Except by closing the tear between our worlds," said Rose.
Everyone turned towards her.
"I know it's impossible from our side, but you did say something about a tear in a city called Milsteir, right? What happened there?"
"The scientists from this side exploited a dimensional tear and invented a portal machine to open it and let Richard returned to our world briefly," said Raithorakh. "It was then determined that the tear was mending itself, and in less than 10 years, it permanently closed. When I heard about you, I thought you'd end up there, like opening a closed wound."
"But then, you did not do anything to artificially close it, like suturing a wound, right? You kept it open," said Rose. "For the universe, it seems to be a small enough cut that, when kept clean, will close by itself. But, this is different. The cut is infected, and the ghosts are the bacteria. We can't rely on the universe's immune system now, so what's the first thing you do to close a gaping, infected wound?"
"You clean it up. Sanitize it."
"But then, are you able to do so?" said Rose. "In our case, we can't do anything to the ghosts because the dead simply outnumbers the living. It is similar in your case, except it doesn't happen in a whole galaxy."
"Look, Rose, you're confusing us," said Seiryu. "So, what you're saying is, the only way to close the tear properly is to kill every dead person? That's both crazy and impossible, unless you're a psychopath trying to ruin everybody's life by hating the world. Given how this is not even a Terran problem, that 'psychopath' might've been a fallen god."
"That's just a theory, Seiryu. Again, this tear is beyond all knowledge, and again, we are in a foreign world, and I'm bloody sure we can't even find the tear that caused it. The medical analogy is the best I can do to explain our grand problem."
"But how about if we open an old wound?" said Raithorakh.
"Will it open, though? It has been years since it closed, right?"
"We won't know until we try."
Raithorakh then stood up.
"I'll be coming with you, but I need something in exchange."
"We'll be rude if we don't give you anything," said Dairyu while standing up. "But, if you're asking for our tech, I suggest you ask something else."
"Don't worry. I've already downloaded the schematics of your ship and the technology in it. I will keep it a secret, in a time capsule in one of my buildings. I'll make sure they'll open it when the time is right. What I need from you, however, is a little cross-check in my habitat prototype. I bet someone in your group hold five or more degrees in mechanical engineering and other related matter. If not, who'll maintain your delicate ship? Anyway, I'll be talking to Richard about the problem. See me when you're ready."
Raithorakh smiled, nodded, and walked out of the door, leaving the group surprised and in loss of words. Capisa looked towards the golden draconian, then back to Dairyu.
"Did he just...admit that he..."
"He stole our ship's blueprint," said Dairyu with a sigh. "Given how it's a hybrid, and the way he asked for our help, I guess he knows what he's doing, except that thief part."
"Should we take it back?"
"I sure hope anyone in the future could read what he's leaving for them," said Capisa, with a little taste of sarcasm.
***
After a portal opened out of thin air, then abruptly closed, the science officer in St. Vincent were trying to compel any data they could get from the brief appearance of Dairyu. Lunera, however, was fixated with the way the portal was opened, and his mind suddenly focused on the cybernetically-enhanced golden draconian that pushed him away moments before the portal closed. It was the right call, but then only he knew what happened.
He relayed his thoughts to Pritchard. The human captain acknowledged it and said, "They found someone with tear-opening technology, but from the way he acted, and the timing of the closing...might give us a clue of their problem."
"The portal's unstable," said Lunera.
"I bet opening a dimensional tear would drain a whole lot of that draconian's battery. Not even a fully cybernetic one can do that."
"Not if our development of augmented individuals focuses on that field, which I guess won't do much if our mission is to close the portal permanently."
"I suppose so. I'll stay on the bridge. You talk to our guests."
Lunera nodded, and they walked to different directions as they came out of the captain's quarters. Lunera was due to talk with the commanders of both fleet, as they were trying to figure out the problem they had there. It was a good thing that it had been 6 hours since the Wind of Change's last contact, but they needed to find a way to protect themselves in case of sudden attacks. The sector they were in wasn't exactly a 'blank' sector with no history in it.
The draconian opened a door to a meeting place inside St. Vincent, where the Aquran twin commanders and the Saurian commander were conversing among themselves about battle strategies. For some time, they had been exchanging plans and ways to help the joined fleets to work together effectively, especially since the Aquros fleet was an explorer fleet with partial combat specialties.
"Anything from the Wind of Change?" asked Selis.
"They contacted us. Briefly," said Lunera. The three quickly became interested.
"That's great!" said Palesa. "That means they are not lost!"
"Is there something on the other side?" asked Kalesa. "Anything to help them here?"
Lunera shook his head. "There was a cyber-enhanced draconian on the other side who opened the portal, but it closed soon after."
What interest they had before quickly turned into disappointment.
"I hope they're alright...and still with their ship," said Lunera. "The crew may be the heart of the Wind of Change, but what's good of a heart without a body? But then, a heart still has a purpose to save lives, and I suppose they can still join the crew if they feel like it."
"You're quite metaphorical," said Selis.
"I didn't know Saurians use a word such as that, even with a translator."
"In a distant past...my time, people took a lot of their times debating on philosophy and science, along with the development of technology. It's just...so sad to know that those days are gone...and gone forever in this generation."
"It's your job to help them regain their history. In fact, let's start with abolishing galactic slavery. You can at least rally others to do so. I'm sure there's a lot of them who follows your ideals."
"I hope there are, but right now, we need to find a way to solve our current mystery. Palesa, Kalesa, you two had a theory, right?"
Lunera turned towards them.
"It's not our theory, per se. It's a paper about quantum theory and parallel universes, branches of infinite possibilities of universes, and alternate events happening in each one of them," said Kalesa. "It sounds like something out of a hack writing, but the theorist knew what she was doing. In fact, we finally realized that it was true when you told us about them."
"Any way to help them get back, though?"
"Not if there's a dimensional tear, which is there sitting in the blackness of space," said Palesa. "But I don't trust that thing. It may spit us out somewhere that's not there. We might end up in the same universe, but we may be thousands of light-years apart. From the look of it, the crew ended up in Terra, right?"
"Yes, but still..."
"I know what you're thinking, but this is not desperate times. Let them find a way back home. From the look of it, they seemed to find the right direction," said Palesa with a smile.
"You're...quite an optimistic fellow," said Lunera, smiling.
"He may be out of control sometimes, but he's a moral-building kind of guy," said Kalesa. "And he's still my dorky brother."
"Hey!"
"Can't help it, Pal. You almost ruin our diplomatic rendezvous with the Scyllans because of that crappy music of yours!"
"It's not crappy! It's art!"
"Mechanical music's not art!"
"Hey, hey, stop it, you two," said Lunera. "Set aside the sibling quarrel for a while and let us sort out this problem."
"Agreed," said Selis.
Palesa and Kalesa exchanged look for a moment before returning to the situation at hand. They discussed many things, from their big convoy of starships to their routes, which was clearly becoming less charted and more first exploration. They were pioneers of travelling into an unknown sector full of exploding stars and dangers of black holes, dimensional tears, and 'space storms'. They all needed to coordinate to travel on, knowing full well of the price they must pay, and the risk they must face on this dangerous mission.
Everyone knew that they must leave those who would not continue behind, such as the Wind of Change. If there was no other way, then they must continue on, leaving the ship on its own. They knew there was some possibilities that they would fail to return home, but they kept clinging on a hope, however slim that was.
The _Wind of Change_was the ship that ended a Crisis. It must not end its life in another reality.