Stars Of Memory

Chapter 10

Rebexi returns the next day, just in time for Jīvitaya to add the finishing touches to the program's latest update.

"I've brought the boat, it's waiting on the water just outside the ship."

"Thank you, Rebexi. How many people did you pass the program to?"

"I think it's been a couple hundred, and they promised to pass it to anyone else they meet as well."

"That's great!" Jīvitaya changes the topic to something else, not sure how to continue the first one. "We should probably go out to the boat now."

"Jīvitaya, why exactly do you need the boat? I'm curious."

"The Saieats can't affect us while we are in the water, and I want to test if it is possible to live on the water and not feel the effects. I think of the water as if it's acting as a buffer and blocking the effects."

"Do you think it will work?"

Jīvitaya nods. "I do, and I really hope it does, because I can't think of another solution outside of leaving the planet."

"Let's go test it out, then."

Jīvitaya directs the levik out of the ship and to the shoreline where the boat waits for them. Kysanden is already there, getting the vessel ready to head out to sea. As she approaches, he extends a ramp from its stern that touches down just past the waterline. She moves onto the deck, and Rebexi follows her. Kysanden waits until Rebexi is off the ramp and on the deck before pressing the button to retract the ramp. He turns to Jīvitaya.

"How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm fine, but I've been so distracted with the program that I haven't been paying attention."

He mentions toward her with his tablet. "May I? I feel something, and I want to double-check."
Jīvitaya nods and he taps on the tablet. The tablet beeps after a moment, and he frowns at her.

"Your vitals are getting worse again. We'll have to do another saltwater treatment soon."

"Okay. Are we going to stay moored or are we going to go out a ways?"

"We'll head out whenever you are ready. The quarters are down the hall." He points down a short hallway that leads to the bow.

"Let's head out first, and then I'll go check it out."

"That sounds good. Rebexi, are you ready?"

Rebexi nods, and they follow Kysanden towards the bow of the boat, which holds a kitchen, a sitting room, and the steering wheel. He gets situated at the wheel and slowly drives the boat out to deeper water.

"Jīa, where do you want the boat situated?"

Jīvitaya frowns. "How deep is the water here?"

Kysanden looks at the small screen next to the wheel. "Hmmm, about ten meters."

"We should be fine to stop here."

Kysanden presses a button next to the wheel and the boat rapidly slows to a stop, faster than Jīvitaya thought any boat could have been able to. "Are you ready to go check out our quarters?"

"Let's do it."

Jīvitaya directs the levik back down the hallway and stops halfway down, staring at the small rooms situated in a kind of checkerboard pattern, one room being raised with the next lowered, and then it repeats. She frowns.

"How-"

Then she stops and taps on the levik's armrest. She inches towards the step leading down to a lower room, then halts. She takes a deep breath and then inches forward again. The levik smoothly tilts to take the step at an angle, as if the stairs were a ramp and the levik was a wheelchair with invisible wheels. The levik smoothly levels out at the bottom, and she squints at her surroundings before looking back behind her. There is a switch on the wall next to the step and she flips it, hoping that it is for a light. The room lightens with a soft glow coming from the next to invisible lights built into the low ceiling.

She runs her fingers along the turquoise wall before turning to the bed built into a shelf of the room. At the far side of the bed, there is a window, and she stretches her fingers out to open it, letting in the salty breeze as it swirls up and into the air. As she retracts her hand, she presses her fingers down into the bed, watching them sink into the mattress. She turns the levik back towards the door and up the step, turning off the light before she emerges into the hallway. Kysanden beckons.

"Come out onto the deck."

"There's a deck?"

He grins, and Rebexi chuckles. "Of course there is, and it looks beautiful out there."

Jīvitaya follows him out and barely contains her gasp as she emerges onto the deck. There is a smattering of puffy pale turquoise clouds, and the turquoise waters beneath the boat ripple calmly in the breeze. Then Jīvitaya squints.

"Is that . . . dolphins?"

Rebexi speaks up. "They are fjiene. It is considered good luck to see one, and even more so if they greet you. What is a dolphin?"

Jīvitaya taps on her tablet and pulls up an image of one of the sleek gray animals. Rebexi frowns thoughtfully.

"That's interesting, they seem to be quite similar in form, but the fjiene are colored like the hues of the sunrise and sunset."

The trio continues to admire the fjiene as they dart and dive in the distance until a Saieat alert is emitted from both tablets. They all look at each other and suck in their breath as the countdown approaches zero. A couple of moments before it hits, Jīvitaya anchors the levik to the deck, just in case the water doesn't work as she so desperately hopes it does.

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What did you guys think of the story, and do you think it will work? What do you think of the fjiene? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out