That night Ming did provide Jake with some unexpected information. He pulled out of his jacket a metallic orb. He put two metallic stickers on his temples and the orb sprang to life. A hologram appeared in the air above the orb. It was Riojme just as beautiful as when Jake had been parted from her. She began to speak, of course, in a language that Jake didn’t understand since he had always used a thought communication headband to talk to her. This time below her face in the hologram, her speech was subtitled in English.
“Hello Jake, my love. I’m so happy to get to talk to you. It’s only a few hours since I saw you last but I miss you terribly. I’m told you are safe and that this message will be delivered to you. I found out something amazing. I have a younger brother and the Aye reunited me with him. It also said my parents are alive, but they are serving a life sentence as rebels and they are in some sort of danger. The Aye said that if I would complete a mission for it, that they would be released. I have no idea how long it will take, or what I have to do, but I’m willing to do it to save my parents.”
Jake’s misery turned to joy. The video was old, or as old as a video from the 23rd century could be. Jake had been back for 10 months but for Riojme the separation had only been a few hours. Ming told him that, should they escape their current circumstances, Jake would be able to return the message and receive more from her.
The next day, he was able to salvage other valuables from the wreck including his backpack, plastic water bottles, matches and an emergency blanket. Ming instructed Jake to hike up to the top of a large hill nearby and get the lay of the land. From that lofty vantage point, Jake was able to see that Ming was correct in that there was no human habitation for as far as could be seen. He also saw there was a river not too far away.
Ming said that they would need to follow the river upstream if they had any hope of being saved. Ming wasn't able to move very well but they decided to try.
