"And what can I do for you tonight, Hara O'Ans?"
Arturi had tied his long, silver hair back in a ponytail. Dressed down in his pajamas and ever-smiling, the older Nyknaen seemed like an overgrown child. Hara could see the walls of his personal quarters behind him, lined with various notes and papers, written out in hand, an ancient custom that Arturi was fond of. He had always claimed that it helped him remember whatever he needed to as he compiled the various doings of the Outsiders. Presently, Hara was hoping that his mentor had something on those walls about the fauna of Prime.
"Author," Hara replied affectionately. "I was curious - are you sure that Prime doesn't have any animal life?"
"Ah, yes. Aela Yokan mentioned that you were having trouble accepting this fact," Arturi commented, smiling, crow's eyes becoming more apparent. "I am quite certain that the planet in question is without animal life, Hara O'Ans. Perhaps, it was just a hallucination?"
"Arturi, we've both seen something here. A lioness. I saw her with my own eyes," Hara replied, undeterred. "If it was just me, I'd accept it...but there isn't a way that both of us could have hallucinated it, is there? Is there anything in your notes, or in the Archive writings about lions on Prime?"
The Author looked at him strangely then, and in that moment, Hara knew he had been right to press him. Arturi sat quietly, brow furrowed, considering, and Hara knew to wait. Aela broke the silence.
"Author, what's wrong?"
Hearing her voice, Arturi began to speak, his sapphire eyes meeting Hara's emerald pair. "The writings of Yesa Ra mention that the last faction on Agrea to join the nascent Corangean empire on Prime were the isolationist Tal-Shua. A long-standing kingdom in their own right, resistant to most of the progress that took place throughout the land, the Tal-Shua were particularly noteworthy for their unique religion. It is the same religion that prized the Mirzaj that D.D. and I have spent so long searching for. Their deity, the one so closely tied to the Mirzaj and its supposed magic, was often depicted as a lioness, prowling the desert realm and guarding it from those that would do it harm." Arturi fell silent.
"You mean to tell me that the lioness I saw is a goddess?" Hara couldn't keep the incredulity from his voice. Arturi noticed.
"Young child, gods and goddesses are no trifling matter. Have you so soon forgotten the Disaster of Orestes?"
"You know I haven't, Arturi. But the gods of Orestes weren't true gods, they were -"
"An ancient race that only seemed so to those primitives whose world they commandeered," Artrui interrupted. "And in much the same way, one can surmise that this goddess of the Tal-Shua was herself an alien whom these people, before the enlightened rise of the Corangean empire, deified. Tell me, Hara O'Ans, where did you last see this lioness?"
"She disappeared westward with the sunset," he replied. "Do you think she's a -"
Aela, who had been largely silent, jumped in. "The Corangean's left this planet millennia ago because it was uninhabitable, right?"
"This is so, Aela Yokan," agreed Arturi, nodding.
"Then how should we expect this lioness or whatever to have existed for so long here?"
"Back in the days of my youth," Arturi started, placing his hands behind his head and reclining. "There existed on Nykna a record of a group of individuals who were shapeshifters, revered as goddesses, who chose, often, to take on forms of fauna familiar to our people. I believe, Hara O'Ans, that this was what you were going to ask?"
"Yep. I remember you told me about them a couple of years ago. You mentioned that they were pretty tough."
"This is so, Hara O'Ans. And this, Aela Yokan, is the answer to your query. The histories note that they were a remarkably durable people, who could exist for eons without sustenance, though nobody was sure as to how this was possible. Despite this, they do eventually die. This much, I can assure you. I recall from my childhood a tale of a fallen sister among the so-called 'Daughters of Nykna.' She fled the planet, deemed unfit for the sisterhood that held these shapeshifters together. There are no records of her existence among the stars. It could be, Hara O'Ans, that you've solved this mystery at long last."
Hara considered this possibility. "Arturi, do I have your leave to contact her?"
The Author nodded. "I will speak with D.D., Hara O'Ans. I believe, Aela Yokan, that you and the Captain will not require the assistance of Hara O'Ans to locate the Mirzaj. And remember, Hara O'Ans, that as you search for this woman, that you record as much data as possible. This may be our only chance to collect information about the state of the Corangean home world. Those at the Archive will be grateful for your assistance in cataloging such an important historical artifact." He paused. "I daresay, Hara O'Ans, it must be quite a thrill, being the first Corangean to set foot on Prime in 2,000 years."
Hara smiled. "It certainly gives me something to think about. Thank you, Arturi. We'll speak when we return."
"Of course, Hara O'Ans. And, to echo Sofia Minena, be safe and tread with caution. This being may not be benign. Adieu, Aela Yokan, Hara O'Ans." With a nod and a smile, Arturi signed off.
Hara turned to Aela and grinned. "See? I was right all along!"
Aela rolled her eyes. "Sure, whatever. I can't believe you got out of digging around the desert with us." She walked back to the table in the common room, sat down and sipped indignantly from her mug.
"I mean, at least you've got a specific area to comb. I've got the whole bloody continent to hunt down this lioness," he pointed out, walking over to join her.
"Fair enough," she replied. She considered him for a moment. "Hara...are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" She reached out and placed her hand on his onyx thigh.
He clenched his jaw and shook his head. She stood up and their eyes met. "One day, Hara, you're going to have to open up. Keeping it all inside doesn't help you feel better. And when that day comes, I'll be waiting." She patted his cheek gently. "I'm going to bed. There's a bedroll in the closet. You can set it up next to my bed."
"Yeah," he replied. She waited a moment, reached up and mussed his hair before turning and walking to her bedroom, leaving Hara to his thoughts. He desperately felt like he should speak his mind about the whole deal - what had happened at Krypia, how the rehabilitation process had gone, and the anxiety that plagued him. As much as he knew it would help him, and help ease his troubled psyche, a small, vocal part of him didn't want to do it, didn't want to betray any hint of weakness. Or perhaps he just didn't want to make explicit that which he now suspected was the objective truth. He was damaged. Physically, and mentally, broken. Hara O'Ans, the Seventh Outsider, was no longer infallible, no longer the strong, confident young man that was the Scourge of The Collective. And that was a truth that he could not bear to face. Shutting off the lights in the common area, Hara retreated to Aela's room to face another night of fitful rest.
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