FALAHA'S JOURNEY 2: Graveyard of the Gods

Episode #1

"I gathered us all here to announce our arrival to the expected destination." I sat in my Commander's chair in our ship's conference room. "Gal Runagh will now remain in the state of highest alert, combat ready, as we have entered our enemy's innermost territory." I looked at Tagai. "I guess you can say you are finally home." The white Baal nodded. He was holding his and Leru's young daughter, Nayat, who was yet to meet Varga's extensive family. I studied the serious faces of the others present: my spouses Eyu, Baro, and Ore, Baro's niece Leru, the other Medans Neve and Tarrenat, their twin sons Ato and Goto, and another Danna and my dear friend Asa. "We are now in another Flow of our gigantic Jainaa, roughly estimated to be several tens of billions of years older than our native one. The physical properties are quite similar, however. More like an evolved version of our Flow. This is the 'universe' where it all began, and this is the place where it should end. Just not now."

Eyuran raised his hand.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Falaha, what are you going to do about our... guest?"

"Patience, dear. I was getting to that." I continued with my debriefing. "Here we are in the Dakha's ancient region, a place where everything for our predecessors ended and for us began. I advise you to exercise caution since we may encounter rogue Baali here... not to mention Shaamta, who is steadily on his way to this place." I rose from my seat and paced along the main screen, lit up with an image of a planet. "This world here is our target destination." I passed Eyuran's seat. He turned to me. "Our job is simple reconnaissance and study. However, we are also interested in the whole planetary system and its vicinity. Some artifacts from our previous existence may still linger."

"What are we looking for exactly?" Leru asked. Her deep-brown eyes studied me attentively. "You still haven't clearly elaborated on that ever since we left Kan Diona."

"Everything I had already mentioned in our frequent discussions. Megastructures. Remnants of those. The Lael were highly skilled builders. In fact, there are a few places we got an interesting signal from. But apart from that — anything, really."

"Why are we even interested in such a distant past? We have plenty to deal with now and in the future," Baro mumbled. "I don't mind a visit to a new world, like some here I'm planetsick, if you can call it that, but what good comes from anything remaining from the Lael? All the data on the species is in your soma, you have a vast library of knowledge, even of our enemy, why dig in the trash?"

"I understand your point, love. I'd say this part of history is of sentimental value to us."

Baro's eyebrow rose. "Since when you Danna became sentimental?"

"Since the last war, perhaps, when we had an encounter with our far past in the very present tense. We didn't look for it, but it found us instead." I looked at him. His face appeared even more narrow now, with the sides of his head shaven, leaving only a mohawk of white hair free flowing down his back. "Let's formulate it the other way. It's a grave. We'll be doing a lot of grave exploration in the future, so why not practice first? Observe who is still around? I'm sure Shaamta will want to discuss the legendary Nest. I wanted to avoid this discussion so far, sneaking away from under his nose, but he will persist."

"Falaha Yajur Sangu, for such massive mission we would need support from the high-mass Enclave the other part of our... Varga's family possesses," Tagai added.

"I know. But it will be quite hard to persuade them to assist us. I'm sure Yajur Garai would object to the initiative as well. As for Yajur Dorgu, he will do as his Sangu desires."

"Somg wasn't particularly thrilled with this endeavor either," Orewen reminded. "Me neither. I have a feeling we will find plenty of trouble there. But since we are your crew, we have no other option but to follow your orders."

"Are you afraid, Ore?" I approached his seat and placed my palms on his broad shoulders, kissing his shaven skull and scratching my lips on his golden short and stiff hairs already sprouting there. Bristly as usual.

"I would lie to you saying 'yes', Falaha. But we need to know better what we're up against, so your bodyguards Zero-One and Zero-Two would be actually efficient. In case we end up dragged into another war. And if we set our foot there — we will be. Only this time with a truly deitylike beings as yourself or Somg. Can we even defend everything we've built so far against something like this? Will you be a match for such a thing?"

"Perhaps, we'll encounter something far worse than deities. Even Somg doesn't exactly know what was that hit him. Unless he fully restores the destroyed segments of his soma. But from what I understood, they are unrepairable, unfortunately."

"I've been thinking about all this recently, and I have some ideas about how that issue can be resolved," Baro suggested. "I'm not a soma specialist, but maybe I can be of help. After all, something strange is going on within my body. It may have the answer to the problem. If only you—"

"I would never make you a test subject, Baro. Don't even ask."

"We appreciate your trust in Falaha, Baro," Eyuran interfered. "But if anything happens to you, she will hurt. Stop behaving like you owe us something and be a part of this family already. You are not some kind of a monster; you deserve to be happy too. Murder is a heavy burden to carry, but you are ours, so we share your burden. All there is left is for you to forgive yourself. None of the Danna dwell on this for so long, even the families of the dead. It's true that we don't forget, but people move on eventually, people forgive."

"You know it is impossible for me, at least how I am now, Eyuran," my Third spouse replied. "Give me time. I wish to learn to do things the way you do, but my past haunts me in my nightmares. If it wasn't for Ore's help, I swear I would see the dead even during wake hours all around the place. I never thought it would be this hard. I did a horrible thing, I took lives. Innocent lives. Even rehabilitated, even forgiven, I still need to make peace with that..." He looked at his niece. "I don't know how you cope with this, Leru."

She shrugged. "I wasn't killing the innocent ones. It was self-defense. Eventually I did get carried away, though, but there wasn't anyone on that ship who was an innocent person. I regret nothing, Uncle. I had to go through the rehab after being among them. But I still believe I did the right thing. Brutal, but right."

"I guess the child's psyche is more elastic than an adult's one."

"Not really. I don't think I will fully recover either. But at least I don't have the feeling the guilt for killing someone eating at me." She became silent for a moment, tilting her head framed with shoulder-long white hair. "Still, I led the enemy to your home. I never wanted such a thing. I was a kid; I just didn't want to remain alone there. I had to go somewhere... To my only remaining family... I'm sorry, Uncle."

Baro nodded. "Leru, you have nothing to be sorry for. Wasn't your fault that I got into trouble. Were my own actions. Enough of this. Falaha."

"We'll talk about this later, love," I said. "Now, questions. If anyone has anything to ask before we start, the time is now."

"We'll follow your lead, Commander," Tarrenat said. "Just point us what needs being done."

"Zero-One, Zero-Two, on standby," Orewen said. "No questions." Eyuran nodded, approving.

"Let's prepare for descent and greeting then," I replied. "Everyone is dismissed."