Return to Atlantis

Chapter 25 - Capture

The teleportation had been as swift as an eye blink. Ava quickly gained her senses and found herself upright inside what seem to be a tube walled by a solid screen of light. From beyond the confines of her prison tube, she could see the control station of the ship manned by three person crews, their backs facing her. The ship's interior was dark if not for the ship's wide cockpit window, stretching from corner to corner, which afforded her an exterior view as they traversed through Earth's landscape, passing by mountains and dirt plains in great speed.

Something glistened in the corner of her eye as she stared out. On the far side of the space shone another tube of light that's slightly narrower - a glowing, round crystal, the size of a fist, floating in teh air within it.

'Is that... could it be -' her thoughts beckoned.

Even without the long arm of the Trident that used to hold it, she could recognise it. Her head tilted slightly to its side as she gaped at it.

It is her father's white crystal...

For a long while she held it with her eyes in utter disbelief and she could feel it resonating within her, her blood stirring but this time it was no longer a strange sensation. It had become a part of her.

"I believe it is somewhat familiar to you, I see," Ava heard a woman's voice. It didn't sound like a language that she has heard before but for a moment Ava thought she understood it.

The woman appeared from the dark in the corner, grinning with thin, red lips. She was cloaked in red, her face beautiful and snowy and her eyes were tantalizing.

Ava then noticed something else. On each side of her were more light tubes containing the three WDF soldiers settled somnolently.

"They're only sleeping," the woman said. Then her face broke out into an effusive smile, eyeing her with affection. She said something further in a language that sounded like that of the alien pilot Ava had encountered in the airship. To her astonishment once again, she understood what has been said... "So this is our princess... our key."

It puzzled her; then her eyes caught the crystal again. As if reading her thoughts, the woman went to it, reached her hands into the wall of light, and scooped it in her hands.

"Yes, this belongs to your father," the woman said. In response to Ava's further questioning looks, she expanded, "According to legend, thousand of years ago, in a time when you have already existed, which is quite strange because I, on the other hand, was not to be born yet but now I am older than you...." she gave an amused laugh from her stomach. "Anyway, going back, princess, this thing here is the only thing that was left of Atlas..."

The mere mention of her father's name sent ambiguous emotions spiraling through Ava.

"...after Travan killed him."

Ava gave a more perplexed expression.

"Confused are you?" Vondra went on.  "Hmmm, I'm wondering how much you know after you left your own time? In case you don't know much, your grandfather had to kill your father in a vain attempt to stop us." The woman gave a tight laugh, "sorry, the details of which I have no idea!"

Then she leveled the glowing crystal up to her eyes, squinting from its brightness.

"This crystal never glowed this brightly until now. You have such a profound effect on it, princess. Can you feel it resonating within you? This led us to you, you see. It is synchronized with this ship's navigation system."

"I-I don't understand," Ava blurted her thoughts out loud in what she thought was English.

"Of course you can!" the woman exclaimed. "You can understand every word I say. What you don't understand is why you can understand, isn't that right? By the way, you are speaking our language not your planet's. You see, it comes naturally for you."