The Truth Beyond the Sky

Chapter 14: A Shadow in a Dark Hall

The sheer immensity of the hollow space left Zahn speechless at first. Stretching off in front of them was a wide hall that faded into darkness with the distance. When the descending platform finally touched the floor, a deep sound reverberated down the massive hall, and in the distance, Zahn thought he heard other sounds, as well.

Oonak stood up.

"Are you okay, Zahn?"

"I'm excited. How are you?"

"I am well, but I advise caution. We have no idea who rescued us or what their intentions are, so I want you to take this."

Zahn looked down at the object Oonak was holding. It was a curious piece of shimmering metal formed into a loop.

"It is a mental amplifier and interpreter. It will aid you if trouble should befall us. Perhaps even more useful in your case, it will allow you to understand any languages which the Confederation has encountered."

"But it looks so simple."

"Put it around your wrist. If we become separated and you need help, you can contact me by picturing my face, and then mentally sending me a message. Keep in mind though, its range does not extend beyond this planetary system."

Zahn put it on his left wrist, and when he did, it shrunk a bit to fit his wrist better.

"Do you have any questions?" Oonak said.

"About a million. This wristband can do all of that? How soon will you receive a message if I send you one? And how does it interpret alien languages? Let me guess, Spacefarer code—"

Oonak interrupted him.

"—only allows me to share information that you may need to know for the purposes of our mission. What I can tell you is that it works on a simple principle of thought-form resonance. Consider it as a bridge between two minds; as long as I'm in range I will receive a message instantly."

"Incredible."

Their conversation was interrupted by a low pulsing sound ahead of them. When they looked up, they saw a floating sphere hanging in the air above the ship. It was dark blue, metallic, and tiny points of light were evenly spaced around its surface. From one point of light, a beam shot out of the sphere and moved up and down, soon touching every surface of Navika.

"Whatever that object is, it is scanning us. No doubt they have discovered Navika was heavily damaged in the ambush. Keep in mind Zahn, even though we were saved, that does not mean their intentions are pure. Come. Let us find out who we are dealing with."

"Or what we're dealing with," Zahn added.

"Precisely."

As they exited Navika, Zahn put the silvery jacket back on and grabbed his backpack. He had a feeling he would need it.

Once they were outside, they had a chance to examine the room in greater detail. Foremost, the room was dark. It was more like a cave than a room, and there was only a dim light high above. From what Zahn could see, the room was circular and appeared to have been carved out of the moon rock itself. The floor was made up of a matrix of stones in varying shades of grey that fit together immaculately, and the stone pattern continued down the hall, fading into the darkness.

When Zahn finally pulled his eyes away from the room they were in, he was struck by how Navika looked. Since the cloaking field had been activated until it was damaged in the battle, this was the first time he actually got to see the ship from the outside, and the damage from the ambush was glaringly obvious.