While most folks endured the smell and lamented the winds, her uncle Duncan embraced it all. He said he found it inspiring. As a poet, he drew his inspiration from adversity and misery.

She had not seen him in a decade. At least, not in person. They’d had holovisor chats, of course. But she missed him. She’d always liked his odd quirks, despite his inclination to accept the harsh reality of this world.

So it only was natural for her to show up at his doorstep—though she also had another reason, aside from family affection.

“Susan!” he said after he opened the door and saw her. “What a pleasant surprise! Please, come in.”

She gratefully did, as the sound of the roaring wind was grating on her nerves.

“I didn’t know you were coming back... You should have sent me word! I’d have picked you up at the spaceport.”

She smiled. “I didn’t know myself until I booked my ticket. But that’s okay. Gave me a chance to stop at the house. And don’t get your hopes up, by the way, I’m not planning to stay long... You know how I feel about this world.”

It was pleasantly warm inside her uncle’s home, she noted. The houses on Vuulthur were all designed to block out the outside world, so it also was peaceful.

He led her into the living room, and they sat on a couch as the local AI had drinks poured for them. Panels on the surface of the table slid open and their fuming cups appeared, each resting on its own coaster.

“It’s changed a lot, you know, in the time you’ve been gone...”

She laughed. “All the things I hate are still here, believe me. They made sure I noticed.”

“So why did you come back?” he asked.

“I’m still trying to understand what happened to my parents. But I’ve run out of leads to follow. Except... I remembered something. From before we left Vuulthur. It never occurred to me it might have a connection—and maybe it doesn’t... but now I wonder.”

“They will not come back, you know,” he said softly.

“I know. But they deserve justice.”

“Have you considered that, maybe, this is all doing more harm than good?”

“How do you mean?” she asked with a frown.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

He took a sip from his tea before responding.

“I’ve seen you grow angrier over the years. More distant, too, with the world that surrounds you. You have become obsessed with this quest—one that is likely to never give you the satisfaction you so crave.”

She did not know what to say to that, so she remained quiet. She knew he was right, of course, but it did not change the fact that she needed to uncover the truth. What was she supposed to do? Let it all go?

“Tell me something, Susan... How do you see your future?”

There was a sadness in his voice that startled her.

“I... I don’t know. I’ve never thought about that.”

“Say you don’t find the answers you seek... would you keep searching? For how long? The rest of your life? Now say you do find those answers. Then what? You’ll get justice, maybe, if you’re lucky... but the years have passed and you’ve become an empty shell. What would you do with your life?”

It was irrational, but his words made her angry. They shouldn’t have, because he was right on all accounts, and she knew he meant well. But that was also why it irritated her. Not because he meant well, but because he was right. It just made the unfairness of her life all the more vividly obvious.

“What would you have me do?” she lashed out, a bit more harshly than she’d intended. “If I stop now, I’d still be as empty a shell anyway, so what’s the point? I might as well keep going.”

“The sooner you understand, the sooner you can move on and build a life for yourself.”

“I did not come here to get a lecture,” she said, gritting her teeth.

“No. You came for the tea,” he responded with a smile as he pointed at the cooling cup in front of her.

Her anger evaporated.

She blinked, laughed, and shook her head.

“I missed you, Duncan.”

***

It was an old book describing the early days of Qojja’s founding, when the colony was first settled. The writing was good—both informative and entertaining at the same time. It should have kept him wanting for more... instead, he constantly lost focus and had to reread the previous lines to get back on track.

Will was finding it increasingly more difficult to concentrate, as he kept thinking of his missing friend.

The authorities had been informed and had assured him and Paul that they would investigate the matter fully. They then had recommended they keep themselves busy, to avoid worrying too much. He was finding this to be easier said than done.

Will had hoped magic might be of help, but Paul had informed him it would not. It wasn’t so simple... of course it wasn’t! Nothing ever was.

He sighed as he scanned through the last few lines... Where was he? Ah, yes. The founding fathers had found a strange device of non-human origin. The history of those alien artifacts was fascinating, and could obviously be traced as far back as the settling of Qojja, if not even earlier...

It made him wonder if the mask had already been in that cave, back in... when was it? Ten thousand years ago? Give or take a decade.

And though he kept arguing with his friend about the validity of removing it from the wall it was on, part of him was curious what they would discover once they had—if anything.

Of course, with Jack gone, it might be a while before they could find out, as he was the only one who could have obtained the proper authorization to access the cave... And that was assuming they did find him.

He chided himself for being so negative. Jack was right about that, he had to stop thinking like this!

They would find him. They had to.

With another sigh, he backed up a few lines and started reading again.