--Point of View: Katie--

The three of us had countless more questions we wanted to ask the Old One but were swiftly declined. Time was too short. Draya insisted we all try to rest because it would be the last time we had the chance until this commotion came to an end. At those words, it finally dawned on me just how tired I was. Today has been grueling for everyone. Even Crim who rarely ever seemed to tire, looked worn out.

Slightly disgruntled, especially Crim, we were all led by Draya to a dorm style room for us all to share for the night. It, like all the other old one structures we had seen, was very minimalistic. A bed for each of us along with a chest to hold our belongings, which we had few of at this point. Crim had been offered a bigger room, but he insisted on staying with us, opting to curl up into the far corner to save space. I was glad to have him around. It made me feel a little bit more at ease.

The room remained mostly quiet for the first hour. I did not say much. My brain was too busy trying to process everything that we had been told today. Tom must have been doing the same because when I eventually glanced over, he was counting on his fingers. Crim was still curled up in the far corner. I could not tell if he was awake, but my instincts told me most certainly. There was no way he was going to be sleeping after learning about his past and how he came to be. I was actually a little surprised by how well he was taking it, besides his initial outburst anyway. If such a story had been told about myself, I doubt I would have been able to handle it so well.

Laying back and closing my eyes, I once again tried to gather my thoughts. Everything we were told today just seemed so unimaginable. Although, given what we had just experienced, what I thought to be impossible was very quickly changing. The Old Ones had shown us just how far ahead of us they really were. Regardless of that though, what they did to Crim was hideous. I had never seen him so angry. That moment still hangs in my mind, looping over and over again. Crim was really going to kill her, and the way she had stopped him midair was also just as crazy. Unlike what Crim had shown me back when we first met, this was a proper display of magic. It was just as frightening as it was splendid. I wondered if I could learn more about it.

“You two are still awake, right?” asked Tom from the darkness.

“Yeah, I am. Not sure about Crim.” I responded, sitting up so I could turn and look. I was met with the eerie glow of Crim’s golden eyes staring from across the room.

“I’m awake. After everything I learned today, sleep is the least of my concerns.” Responded Crim in a low, rumbling voice.

“I figured as much. Today has been anything but normal. I don’t even know what today is. Anybody have a clue how long we have been out of commission?” I asked with some urgency. I was worried about everyone else that was left behind. I wish I knew how they were all doing.

“Probably a couple of days at the least.” Tom replied.

“Yeah, at least a few days.” I answered, trying to think back to how long she had already been here. She had only been awake for a little over a day but how long has she been recovering in the pod? She never asked.

“I’ve been alive long enough that it’s hard to keep track of individual days.” added Crim as he shifted around slowly. He seemed to be positioning himself so he was between our beds and the door. That was very much like him. Thankfully, I did not suspect anybody would be paying us a visit tonight.

“Regardless of how many days it’s been though, we are still going to try and rescue everyone, right? I just wish they were still down on the planet. Would have made this a lot easier.” Said Tom tiredly, scratching his chin.

Of course, I wanted to rescue everyone. They were my friends, my companions. We had all spent the past year together and while that may not seem long to some, I still cherished them. Most of them anyway. I hoped Robert and Chris were doing okay. Robert was probably okay. He was smart and a born leader. Chris on the other hand, well. If he was with Robert, he would probably be alive at least.

“Of course, we will. We can’t just leave them all to die. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.” I said plainly, crossing my arms. “I’m just not sure how we are going to pull it off. Draya told us she would help, but we are still only three people against a potential army of Old Ones.”

“I will help you in any way that I can.” Said Crim, his eyes staring directly at me in the pitch blackness. “Although, if the other Old Ones are as formidable as Draya, it would probably best to fight as few as possible.”

“I agree with you there. That magic, enchanting I think you called it, was unbelievable. You said that it was common in your time, right?” asked Tom.

Crim’s golden eyes bobbed up and down. “That it was but not nearly to such an effect. If the same levels of aptitude applied now as they did when I was still a man, I would say Draya is at least a master enchantress. If not more.”

“She gives me goosebumps by just being around her.” I added, thinking back to their first encounter. Just standing next to her made me feel small, insignificant, and tired.

I was not sure when I nodded off, but I awoke to the room lights slowly blooming to life, much like the sun creeping in through a bedroom window. The last thing I remember was discussing strategies for how we would rescue everyone, but we never got very far. We just did not have enough information to work with. Hopefully, Draya could fill in the gaps.

I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes sleepily as I glanced around at everyone else. Tom was already up and had relocated to a desk in the corner. He looked like he was scribbling notes. Crim had taken this opportunity to use the now free bed as a head rest. They must have felt me staring because he opened one eye to look back at me before giving his normal, goofy grin.

“Good morning you two. Any news yet?” I asked as I stood up, making a feeble attempt to push the wrinkles out of the pajamas we were provided with. I did not bother to ask how Draya knew my size. Magic was probably the answer.

“Nothing so far. The door is sealed shut. So, waiting looks like our only option.” Answered Tom from across the room. He put down his book and swiveled in the chair to face us.

“I offered to break down the door but in hindsight, it was probably good that Tom suggested otherwise.” Added Crim, his face a little guilty.

“Yeah, probably not a good idea to go tearing holes in the haul of the ship. The last thing I want is to be jettisoned into space.” I replied, glad that Tom had stepped in.

“Agreed. I reckon this is probably your first time in space Crim so you probably don’t understand just how, uh, dangerous a breach can be.” Added Tom, though it appeared Crim was not really paying attention. His ears were perked up.

At that moment, the room door sprung open with a low hiss and there stood Draya in the same long white robe she had greeted us in before.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“You are correct. You are aboard my ship and would much prefer it stayed intact.” she said with a smirk, glancing in Crim’s direction. He just glared back.

“Agreed. No holes in the ship haul.” I echoed, glancing at Crim’s very pointy claws.

“I know how ships work and I can assure you I will not be the reason we sink. We never had anything this fancy though. Haven’t seen any sails either…” Crim rambled, deep in thought.

I saw Tom open his mouth to correct him but a rather stern look from me put an end to it. Obviously, Crim has no idea what a spaceship is and frankly, I am not sure how he would handle the idea.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked, first looking at Draya and then my comrades.

“Firstly, we need to get you all caught up on the situation. Follow me. I can give you a rundown of what has happened back on the planet’s surface.” Spoke Draya, turning on her heels and motioning for us to follow.

“Is everyone okay? You mentioned casualties. How many have we lost?” I asked quickly as we started down the hall. I hope it was not too late.

“I cannot be one hundred percent sure of anything now, but I do know at least a dozen or so of your soldiers have passed on. They attempted to resist and were quickly dealt with. That was all I was able to glimpse before you arrived.” She answered.

“How can you be so sure? It almost sounds like you were there watching it all unfold.” Added Tom who raced to catch up with Draya and me.

“I scried the whole situation obviously. As soon as my sensors detected activity down in the lab, I set my sights on all of you. I was very surprised to see anybody in the old facility and even more surprised to see our large red friend here.” Remarked Draya as she rounded a corner. It took me some effort to keep up with her long strides.

“Scrying? Like foretelling the future?” I asked, perplexed. I knew they were advanced but fortune telling still sounded so farfetched.

“Oh no, nothing like that. Even we cannot see into the future, only the past. Scrying is simply a way to observe from afar. It is very useful but alas, it is easily blocked if one takes even the most basic of measures. Fortunately for me, your kind are not aware of such practices.” Draya added once more before turning into an open doorway.

The room was smaller than most we had seen so far but had a large table in the center that took up most of the space. An array of monitors was attached to the opposite wall that displayed dozens of scenes I did not recognize. It would seem she liked to snoop on people.

As we all entered and surrounded the table, it only took a few seconds for Tom, Crim, and me to realize what we were looking down at. The table was recessed and inside was a scaled down version of the ruined city. It was incredible. I reached down to touch the tip of one of the skyscrapers only to find my hand could pass right through it.

“A hologram?” I said out loud as I leaned in closer.

“Essentially, yes. This machine allows for a much more sophisticated scry than a single individual could do on their own. But more of that later. Let’s take a look at your friend’s current dilemma.” Spoke Draya as she raised both her hands and started to make small motions in the air.

The scale model of the city shifted and zoomed. It almost seemed like a small planet was rotating from within the table. After a few seconds, the map stopped over a familiar scene. We could see our base and initial outpost within the city, but two other things immediately caught everyone’s attention. A clearly visible crater now encompassed a huge portion of the area. This was almost certainly from the reactor explosion. The other was a massive star cruiser. It hovered over the city like a hawk searching for prey, casting a long shadow that reached the horizon.

“As you can see, thankfully, my kind have yet to depart the planet. They have been digging up and scavenging the remains of the lab to try and uncover what happened. This facility was long abandoned, so I am willing to bet they are very curious to know how and why it started up again. Hopefully your friends handywork destroyed any worthwhile evidence.”

“That makes sense but where are our friends? That’s all I’m really concerned about right now.” I interjected, wanting to get to the point of the matter. “I don’t see any of them on the map. Are they all aboard the ship now? Could any of them still be hiding?”

“Right you are. Your surviving crew is aboard the ship. Anybody hiding would have been quickly rounded up. It’s hard to hide from magic.” Draya informed us, gesturing once more to bring the old one ship closer. It really was on a different scale compared to our ships.

“Do we know where on the ship? Can you work your magic and show us the inside?” asked Tom, leaning his whole body over the table for a better look. “That would at least let us know which way we would be going.”

“It’s shrouded, right?” piped Crim who had taken a seat at the far end of the table. “Scrying existed in my time and even us lowly soldiers were warned about staying shrouded.”

“I’m going to assume that means no, we cannot see them.” Remarked Tom begrudgingly.

“Crim is correct. Protecting yourself from being scried is essential. We are taught at a young age until it comes second to breathing. The only reason I’m able to see anything was because of how sudden everything occurred.

I felt the beads of sweat starting to roll down my face as the severity of the situation was starting to settle in. So many lives could be lost if we did not act soon but what should we even do first? I looked at Tom and then to Crim. They both had the same lost expression I did.

“Come now, I do not need magic to know you are all thinking about how hopeless this endeavor is and frankly, you’re not too far from the mark. Not all hope is lost though.” Draya reassured us. “I can get you three onto the ship with ease. The hard part comes after you arrive.”

“Okay, let’s say we get onto the ship. What’s next? I imagine we will be out gunned and outnumbered, so we are going to need some sort of plan.” I sighed, trying to keep myself positive. There was always a chance.

“Some weapons and armor would be useful. I would assume a former researcher such as yourself may have a few supplies sitting around, right?” Tom added, looking to Draya for an answer. She smiled.

“I do have some supplies, armor at the very least. None of you apart from Crim would be able to use any of our weapons. They require at least basic knowledge of manipulating mana. Thankfully though, we may not need them. I can provide you with some devices that will mask your presence for a short duration. Stealth is much preferred. We do not need to rush.” Draya replied.

“No rush? Our friends are in danger! Just because we are human doesn’t mean our lives do not matter!” I yelled, my face red. How could she say something so careless?

Draya raised an eyebrow at my outburst but instead of retaliating, she simply smiled. “There is no rush because as long as your friends behave, they are in no immediate danger. You must remember, a day is nothing to us. We take a relatively long time to do anything compared to you humans who have incredibly short lifespans in comparison.”

“So what you're saying is we have some time then, right?” I asked desperately.

"Yes, I am." Draya replied, "How much I can't say for sure but it should be enough. Thankfully for both of us it was the Red Clan that responded to the mana disturbance. They are a power hungry bunch of fools who prefer to use their muscles more than their brains. They won't see any of you as a threat which may prove useful."

"Red Clan?" I inquired, raising a brow.

"Yes. Its a story that will need to wait for another time. Just know that not all of us Old Ones see eye to eye." Draya said quickly, trying to move us along.

"Fine. More importantly, how are we suppose to get everyone back home?" I said.

“You came to my ship via a gate, correct? You can do it again as well. That ship will have a gate much like mine somewhere inside it. They all do. You just need to free your comrades and then find it. Unlike last time though, the gate should already be prepped and charged. Standard procedure in case of emergencies. I will give you the coordinates needed to reach my gate. It should be lightly guarded at best. Crim should be able to take care of the few Old Ones you do encounter.”

I looked to Tom for support, and he must have had the same idea because he was looking right back at me. It all sounded like a suicide mission. I wanted nothing more than to rescue everyone and return home safe and sound but was it even possible at this point?

“I will do everything in my power to help your friends Katie.” Called Crim from across the table. His eyes shone gold like always. They were almost calming.

“Thank you, Crim,” I said at first, still trying to process everything. “We are going to need it.”

“Agreed.” replied Tom right after. “Robert and Chris are going to owe me more than just a few meal vouchers after this is done.

“Good, it sounds like you all agree. I will get everything ready for your departure in the next couple of hours. Before then, we need to get you all suited up and prepared.” Draya said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together.

“Next couple of hours? That soon?” remarked Tom, quite surprised.

“Well of course. We may have time, but I also may be wrong. Better safe than sorry.” She answered, her face back to its usual expressionless self.

“I hope this works.” Was all I had to say.