Night Skies (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

Zara woke in her sling on the Hsstak. The low light and gentle whir soothed her senses, and slowly, she stretched and yawned. Pushing the thin blanket off, she stepped to the floor. “Light,” she said quietly. A glow incrementally brightened until she could properly see.

With another expansive yawn, she commanded the food cubby to make her hot tea. It took no time at all, only a long moment, but it had taken her much longer to ensure that the flavor matched the tea leaves Jial had used back home on Phaedro. After waking fully, she went to see Kanta who was just donning her airo-walking helmet when Zara arrived.

“Good day to you, Zara,” said Kanta with a smile. The water level in her helmet was just above her large, round eyes, and she reached to connect a tube to the intake port.

“I slept great,” said Zara. “That is, once I was able to get to sleep. This mural I found yesterday is exciting. It feels like an important find.”

“I can’t wait to see it!” Kanta finished topping off her helmet and then took her lightning spear from where it was propped near the door. “I’m ready if you are. Viinox is probably already in the library.”

Zara and Kanta found two Ganix warriors waiting for her and walked to the Yefrtil administrative center to meet Viinox.

“I hope you slept well, miss Zara,” said Viinox.

Zara smiled and did not try to contain her excitement. “I did! You’ll never guess what I found yesterday. You have got to see this!” With a few taps, she brought up the image she had captured of the mural.

Viinox gazed silently for a long moment at the image before speaking. “This is very old. Where did you find it?”

“It’s just down the hall. There is a crossway there with two shorter halls that branch off. This is at the end of one of them. Which reminds me, I need to look at the other short hallway. There could be so many more past these!”

Kanta issued a command to the library system, and her water helmet sloshed as she turned to speak. “The night sky in this image may not be in the library, so I’ll search the star maps for the origin.”

Viinox lifted its chin slightly. “Good idea. I have never seen this image. The style is much different than today’s Xi design. It has so much more color, and this character…” By the way its neck slits fluttered, Zara could see that Viinox was experiencing some unusual emotion.

“It must be a past leader,” she said. “It’s so majestic!”

Viinox queried the library for an estimate of the mural’s age or the identity of the Xi in the image. After a few long moments, the library database stated with certainty that the painting did not reflect any known Xi, past or present.

“I don’t believe that” said Zara quietly. “This is too different, too unique and special. It must have been someone important. I wonder if this place has been closed to the public for long. Otherwise, wouldn’t there be other images of this?”

Viinox queried again. “The Yefrtil Administrative Center has been sequestered as a historical structure for over four-hundred and fifty ko. This is longer than any Xi has been alive. It is possible that you are the first to see this mural in over seven hundred of Phaedro’s years.”

Zara exhaled slowly. “Incredible. We will look for more artifacts. Will you come with us?” Just then, Kanta’s star map query returned its result.

“The map says the stars as were drawn from Yefrtil pointing in the direction of Ifdawn.”

Viinox appeared uncertain. “Are you saying Ifdawn is Nidix? That does not seem right. I have been there. It is very old and uninteresting.”

“But you also said that the Predominant only appear indoors. Couldn’t they be anywhere?”

Kanta spoke up in her bubbly voice. “It’s possible, and based on that theory, the Predominant could be here on Yefrtil or even have been destroyed with Juma.”

Viinox lifted its head. “However, our history has never wavered from Nidix being the seat of power.”

“You’re right. I suppose the best course of action is to look at the mural and look for more clues.” Zara stood. “Let’s go see it. You are going to be amazed!”

When they arrived at the mural, Viinox stood silently for many long moments before finally looking at Zara. “This painting is quite old,” it said matter-of-factly. It walked up to the wall and sniffed the surface while running its thin fingers gently over the dark blue background. Stepping back, Viinox turned around and looked the other direction. “We should go scout other areas.”

Zara was surprised at the lack of enthusiasm that Viinox showed, even for a Xi. They started to explore and found that the hallway across from the mural was unadorned, though equally short. They turned right at the main hallway instead of left toward the entrance. After five minutes of walking, another set of cross hallways appeared.

“Doesn’t it seem like these hallways come out of nowhere, at least visually?” said Kanta.

Viinox lifted its chin. “This is a well-known classic Xi architectural feature which is intended to make the main hallway appear infinite and unbroken.”

Zara turned left, and at the end of the short hallway was another enormous mural that depicted a majestic Xi standing on a hill with a background of night sky. It was dressed in a faintly bronze-colored armor, and in its hand was a flail. The handle was studded with grippy crosshatching and a short chain connected it to a spiky ball. “Amazing,” she said. “This is so similar to the other painting, but this Xi is different.” She stepped back to look for a name or a label. “Any idea what its name is?”

Viinox was still looking closely at the mural, but it murmured quietly. “This Xi is unknown to me.”

Aside from the mural, the hallway only contained its normal fixtures: ornate patterns on ceiling and walls and a lavish baseboard and a row of small statuettes perched on the angle between ceiling and walls. After a close examination of the area, they moved on and found that the pattern was repeated many times in the Grand Yeftil Administrative Center. Finally, back at their workroom, they processed the images they had captured, ate a meal together, and talked about what it all meant.

“The murals all contain stars in the background, and the search results show that each one was painted from a different location.” Zara pointed to one of the images. “Yefrtil, Ifdawn, Qalas, Bipsum, and Biortl.”

“These are the oldest known Xi orbs,” said Viinox.

“Right. They all center in on one location.” Zara displayed a large star map and pointed to the empty space in its center. “Nidix.”

Viinox tilted its chin down slightly. “There is nothing there.”

“How can we prove that? Is there a way to see with our own eyes?”

Viinox conducted a query in the library and then responded. “Yefrtil has an observatory on the other side of Yowiil. We can go there, but it will require the Hsstak and most of the day. Other than that, the only other method of viewing this area in space will be to be there.” With a few commands, the library displayed a land map of Yefrtil. Yowiil appeared to be almost halfway around the orb.

Zara nodded. “We will try this observatory, and if we have no results, perhaps we will take the Hsstak to Nidix.” She tapped her own communication device. “Da, Viinox and I plan to take the Hsstak to the continent of Yowiil. I’ll take the Ganix with me.”

Kleeb’s voice replied. “I will make arrangements with the Iteek so that there are no surprises.”

“Thank you, Da.”

###

For most of the long trip, Zara and Kanta huddled together in the command center and discussed Nidix’s possible locations. Finally, Viinox made an announcement.

“We will soon arrive at the Yowiil observatory.”

Zara stood and stretched while Kanta displayed a large view of the landscape ahead of them. It was dark outside, and even with the sensors amplifying the light, there was little to see. The outline of a huge pyramid was ahead of them, and soon the Hsstak approached and was enveloped in darkness somewhere on the side of the sloping structure.

Six Ganix warriors stood at the door as it opened. They fanned out into the space beyond, disappearing for a few moments. Finally, Tiv trotted back through the door. “Landing area secured,” he said with a terse nod.

Viinox led the way with Tiv, and Zara and Kanta followed. The landing area was smaller than Zara had imagined. She estimated there was around thirty paces on every side of the vessel. The ceiling overhead was pitch black, giving the illusion that it extended farther upward. At one end, an expansive doorway almost entirely filled the wall. The door stood open, and a bright light spilled illuminated a portion of the landing area in a highly contrasted semicircle. On the perimeters, the lanky figures of her warriors stood at the ready, and in the center, a Xi waited for them.

“We are here to use your long-distance telescope.”

Viinox tilted its head to the side and then looked at Zara. “This one, Ceetil, is the Yowiil Observatory administrator. It refuses to speak in audible words.”

Zara looked at the Xi, and it’s eyes stared back at her. She could see that it was old, and recognized that even in the vacuum that might be created between the outside world and the observatory, this Xi was used to getting its way. “My dear administrator,” she said, “we have come to look for ancient artifacts in the area around Yefrtil. We welcome your participation in this exercise.”

After a long pause, Kanta murmured quietly. “Participation denied?”

Viinox spoke again. “The administrator has no interest in helping Kpleeb and his conquerors.”

“That’s okay as well,” said Zara. “We will conduct our search without your help.” She gestured to Tiv. “Please make sure he stays with us. Viinox, lead the way.”

Soon they arrived at a small control room. One of the walls contained the door, but the others were entirely covered with stars. Tiv and Ceetil stayed outside, and Zara closed the door before speaking quietly. “For the sake of not alerting the Predominant that we look for Nidix, we should search toward Ifdawn, but be careful to make the appearance of scanning a broad area.”

“We will make a cursory grid search in that region but pass over our target many times using different wavelengths. Perhaps this tactic will conceal our true intent and still provide the information we need.” It sat at the console as Zara opened the door.

“Do you wish to observe our search?”

Viinox answered without turning around. “Ceetil declines. I am beginning the search process.”

Zara shook her head and closed the door again. “Not my problem!”