Victernus - Chapter 28
Later that night when everyone was sleeping in their cabins, Namara was still awake on the bridge. He sat far away from the window, fumbling with a small wireless video game controller in his hands. Kyon was beside him, and they were playing an old racing game against each other. Theo had set it up so that the window could be converted into a screen and then put on the game for them. Namara grumbled as he crashed his McLaren into another car and Kyon passed the finish line, "Damn traffic... It's hard to miss it with these hands." Kyon chuckled and sat back against the wall, "Do you want me to go easy on you?" He frowned, "No! I'll beat you eventually." Kyon started another race and smiled, "Whatever you say." Namara pressed the controls for the gas and the nitrous with one hand while trying to steer his car with his implants. Deciding to use one of the floating claws instead of his forearm, he moved it back and forth on the thumbstick. His thoughts gave him far more control. It was not long before he passed Kyon's car on the street and sped ahead of him. Smiling, he began, "Eat my dust, you-" and then stopped when he reached a part in the track that had a sharp turn. Unable to control his implants to hit the brakes on the other side of the controller, he went flying through the guard rail and watched as his car descended through the air towards the ocean, causing Kyon to win instantly. Kyon laughed and teased, "Having a little trouble there?" He yawned and put the controller down, "I think I'm gonna go to bed. It's useless trying to beat you at this." Before Kyon could object, the screen turned dark blue and the map of a solar system was shown. It zoomed in on the second planet in the solar system, out of six, and showed that it was viable for settlement. It had two main continents and a vast ocean between them. The land had clear signs of animal and plant life, and there were no signs of any species similar to their own. The console at the front of the bridge started beeping. Namara whispered, "Huh..." and then went down the stairs to get to it. He sat down at the station's chair and looked at the screen in front of him. It gave two options, saying "Set a course" and "Ignore." He turned back to Kyon and asked, "What do you think?" Kyon shrugged, "It looks good to me." He turned back to the console and pressed the "Set a course" button. The ship rumbled and came out of hyperspace in the middle of nowhere, before turning and launching back into hyperspace in a different direction. The screen darkened so that all they could see were gentle blue lights streaming past the ship. He yawned again and got off of the chair, taking a spot on the floor and lying down. Kyon came down and towered beside him, asking, "Why don't you go to your cabin? You look really tired." Namara closed his eyes and refused,
"I'm just resting for a minute. We can play more in a little bit..."
About eight hours later, he woke up on the floor of the bridge by himself. Sunlight streamed in through the window, but was blocked by the console so that it did not reach his face. He stood up and stretched, seeing the trees just outside, then smiled and looked down. On the console, a message was left for him that said, "Hey sleepyhead, we're outside - just hit the transporter control." He chuckled and wagged his tail, pressing the button to activate the transporter. A bright green glow enveloped him briefly, and he was beamed down into a field below the ship. Just outside the shadow of the Starlight Alpha, Theo and Kyon were sitting under the trees beside a small creek. He smiled, taking in the fresh morning air, and sprinted towards them. Theo waved when he saw Namara coming. He called out, "Hey, you're up!" Namara stopped by him and nodded, "Yeah... Where are the others?" He pointed upstream, "They went exploring that way. They only left a few minutes ago." Behind him, Namara heard what sounded like a rocket taking off. Turning to see it, he saw something coming out of the top of the ship and shooting into the sky. He asked, "What's that?" Theo looked down at the stream and answered, "It's one of the satellites. I'm positioning several of them around the planet to make a shield. It'll go online once they're all up there. If anyone does manage to find us, they'll have a lot of trouble getting in." He smiled, "Oh, that's a good idea." When they were silent for a few moments, Namara passed by them and started walking along the edge of the creek. He told them, "I'm going to go walk with the others. I'll be back in a little while." After he said goodbye, he watched the water running along as he walked. It flowed around the stones and past the grassy edges of the stream. Some of it was shaded by the trees overhead, giving it a somewhat solitary feel. His ears perked up when he heard what sounded like an alien frog, with its high-pitched bellowing echoing through the trees. He reminded himself, Oh yes... I'm not on Earth anymore. Breaking out into a jog, he ran upstream until he found Mahalia walking with Athius and Gala. He stopped behind them and asked, "Hey, where are you guys going?" Mahalia shrugged, "We were just walking along this creek here, talking about stuff." He stood beside her and questioned them, "Oh... about what? Athius smiled and stared at the ground, "Well, Mahalia was telling us that we could build our own house, and... you know the rest, probably." Namara chuckled, but his ears twitched uncomfortably. "Yeah... I think I do. That's good, that you are thinking about that. Humanity's gotta restart with someone..." Mahalia stopped with Namara and advised to Gala and Athius, "Why don't you go on ahead and find a place you might like?" Athius nodded, "We won't wander too far - if you can't find us, we'll meet you back at the ship in a few hours." She nodded and waved to them as they left. When they were out of earshot, she asked gently, "Is something wrong?" Namara sighed and looked away from her, a blush forming in his cheeks. He paced forwards a few steps and said, "I know you said you wanted children before... but I don't know what to do about that. I spoke with Theo about it, and he said that there's a good chance it would kill you. You know I'm not human anymore..." He felt her warm hand grasp his softly as she spoke, "That's okay. I'm sure Theo will figure out a way eventually." He turned to her, "Are you sure you're alright with me being like this?" Mahalia hugged him tightly and answered, "Sure I do. Don't worry about it." Namara hugged her back and nuzzled her head, saying, "I guess we'll see what happens then?" She nodded and then released, taking his hand and walking back to Athius and Gala. "That's right. Now, come on - this world isn't going to explore itself." Being pulled along, he asked, "Why can't Theo just make a big map with the ship?" Mahalia chuckled, "He did already, but I think it's best that we see it for ourselves. We need to see if we like it or not." He thought for a moment before matching her pace and putting his arm around her shoulder, "Oh, I see. I guess we do have a lot of exploring to do then!" After she replied with a cheerful "Mhm," they set off to explore their new home. Namara was so close to solving the mystery surrounding his desires, and Mahalia and the others could finally settle peacefully in a land free from oppression, greed and tyranny. All they had to do was take it.