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** The Renewed Effort**

George Atmell

I woke up some time after everything was over. Zarya was looming over me, checking on my condition. I groaned as I moved my body as I felt my head shaking. Man, that was the worst headache I've ever felt! It's like waking up from a wild party and suffering a bad hangover.

“How are you feeling, George?" said Zarya. “You shouldn't move too much."

“W-what happened? I remembered an agonizing pain…"

“It's already over," she said. “You were attacked psychically. More than that and you might not even be aware, but nevertheless, alive."

I did not want to suffer that fate.

“A-Arcturus?" I asked. “Sel?"

“Sel's eating in the mess hall. Arcturus's helping his father with repairs."

“His father? Wait, I am not mixing things up, right?"

“I'll let Arc explains it to you when he comes back. For now, don't exert yourself and tell me if anything's wrong, alright? Brain damage is a delicate thing."

I was rather curious about the events that happened while I was unconscious. Brain damage? Well, I guess I was rather fortunate to get out of it all. I slowly moved up, trying my best to shake off the headache by sitting in the corner of my bed.

That's when I saw the alien. I was told that he was a Nuoevan who was saved by Arcturus and was now under his custody. He looked rather monstrous and fit the appearance a nightmare creature, but he seemed rather weak. He was also covered with bandages and patches and was still sleeping. I wanted to talk to him later, when he woke up. He seemed rather interesting, especially since he looked more like a monster than any humanoids.

Well, I did not really have anything much to do given that Zarya had specifically told me not to wander off. So, I just make myself comfortable as I ordered a tea from the nearby food replicator. Somehow, it tasted just like a milk tea, even if it was a synthetic one.

I also got myself comfortable by reading about the Nuoevan, as they were called. Their general appearance would make you think that he was either a result of a failed experiment or a creature someone might imagine lurking inside your worst nightmares. Well, a nightmare creature made more sense since Nuoevans had four black eyes, oval-shaped head giving out a dog-like appearance complete with snout, tall jackal ears, and prominent underbite. In addition to that, their lanky build, chimeric appearance (they had hooves for legs and claws for hands). Still, I was not prepared in reading how they still practice slavery even after achieving space travel. It sounded so wrong, and even more so when I found out that they powered themselves with the suffering of others. I hope this Nuoevan was not as bad as described. Otherwise, I would not be comfortable talking with him.

Some hours later, he woke up. He seemed confused and looked around, but then tried to shield his eyes. I remembered that his race was photosensitive, and the room was rather bright.

“Hey," I said. “Do you want me to dim the light a bit?"

The Nuoevan listened to me, but he seemed hesitant to reply. I simply gave him what he needed and dimmed the room a bit, making it rather homey, to be honest. He slowly opened his eyes, which was rather weird as he had four.

“T-thanks," he said. “B-but why are you so kind to me?"

“Isn't that what everyone does if someone's in distress?" I asked.

“No one ever do that to me," he said. I could hear he started to cry. “I-I was just a lowly slave."

“Shhh…don't say that," I said, walking towards him. “You're not a slave anymore. You're among friends."

“Y-you're to kind…cream-colored," he said.

“I'm a human," I said with a smile. “I'm George Atmell. What's your name?"

He hesitated, but then he said, “I…remembered my name was Kilkaja. Of Cwyd Arun."

“You remembered?" I said, confused.

“Once you become a slave, you lose your name. That is a privilege for free ones."

“And now you're free, Kilkaja of Cwyd Arun," I said with a smile. “Now come on, don't be shy. Wipe those tears of your eyes."

He did so. He seemed to be like a child, though he did say that he was around my age. Still, he wasn't that innocent as it turned out, given how hard his life was, and maybe things he did to at least keep his sanity.

Before long, Kilkaja and I started talking about other topics. Given his life as a slave, he had almost no knowledge of anything, so I decided to help him understand more than what he already knew. Good thing he was easy to talk with.

Then, as he started to recover, he said, “I can feel that you're happy. I…never felt this before."

I didn't know what he meant. I only thought that he was surprised that I was so kind to him. I was rather glad to know that Kilkaja could be happy after being treated so poorly. Still, he seemed to try to let me know that it was not because he was happy after a long time. It was something else.

I only found out that he was referring to my emotions after Zarya walked in and he turned his head towards her. He turned to me and said, “She's…rather calm, isn't she?"

“Of course, she's calm. What do you mean?" I asked.

Zarya, of course, knew what Kilkaja was about. She moved to him and said, “Have you ever felt other's emotions before?"

“No, I can't," he said while shaking his head. “Why? What's wrong?"

Zarya's expression changed, and I could see Kilkaja felt it. She turned to me and said, “That collar around his neck suppressed his powers. I think from his actions, I think this is the first time he has ever known that he has powers like the rest of his kind."

“What do you mean, Zarya?"

“Nuoevans draw power from suffering, but they are also special because they are empaths. Sadly, that ability is poorly understood since they rely too much on their psychic impulses."

I had heard about empaths before. Some people on Earth who were born with great magic powers usually manifested their magical capabilities not through spells, but through passive empathic sense that made them capable of sensing emotions. Many chose to exchange this ability to sense emotions for proper magic training, while others chose to bear the burden. Believe me when I said that a human found emotions overwhelming. Empathy could be a dangerous weapon, and only those ready and capable to bear it would be able to use it. The fact that a whole race decided to neglect that part of their race and use a twisted form of psychic ability was rather understandable.

“Do you think we should train him on how to use that empathic power?" I said.

“We could. However, as a Nuoevan, he is more naturally inclined in using his psychic abilities. Also, are you sure you are the right person to do this? I don't want to offend you, but you are pre-space."

“Even a pre-space knows about abuse, Zarya. Our world is not perfect, either."

“And I don't believe in total utopia, either. The Nuoevan's all yours, George, but let him rest for a bit longer."

“How about me?"

“Well, you can take a stroll, but don't overexert yourself. Your clothes are in the sanitizing bin beside the bed."

Walking around with a hospital gown would not be right, either, so I promptly changed. Zarya was talking to Kilkaja, asking for his name and was generally very kind to him. I really hoped that, with everyone acting so kind to him, he would move on from his traumatic upbringing.

However, I knew that he would soon need to find a resolve to fight. We desperately needed that, especially after I learned about the development since I fell unconscious.

The first thing I noticed after I had put on my shirt and pants was my missing sword. I really cherished that sword, so that was the first thing I would do: find my sword. I hoped that the Nuoevans that took over the station did not take it with them. It would suck, and I had no chance to even properly using it yet, owing to my unconsciousness. I wasn't ready to part with it yet.

To my relief, I found my sword being propped up near a corridor to the mess hall. I simply lifted it and examined it. I quickly found that it had been recently used, given that the battery was empty, and I could see smears of black-colored blood. Well, only a small amount to them, but it was clear that someone was trying to clean it up.

“Oh, I was just going to return it to you, Atmell," said Sel's voice. “Thanks for borrowing it for me."

“I wasn't…oh."

“It's a situational thing. You know, we're lucky you did not decide to put a print lock on it."

I turned to Sel. She was just finishing up her steak, which was somehow coupled with what looked like wine. I walked towards her as I put my sword on my back, sitting on the chair in front of her.

“Want something to eat? You'll have to bear with the synthetic flavor. It may look and taste like steak, but it's not meat. It's even more apparent if you're a carnivore like me."

“Yeah, I get that," I said.

“So, how's your head? Getting some discomfort lately?"

“No, just that hangover feeling," I said. “How about you? I heard that you and Arcturus saved the day."

“Yeah, that's…still new to me. I have been traveling around with pirates, raiding and plundering like it was fun. I…never even think that I'd be praised by Vyrnians, let alone those who came from the past."

“Why is it weird?"

“I could've just hauled my ass and leave, right? Instead, I simply stick around and follow instructions. It's…new for me."

“And it's not going to be the first, Sel." I then smiled. “Consider this your path to redemption."

“I…suppose."

Sel needed that. She needed somewhere to belong, and I felt that this was her chance to get away from her piracy life and be someone who's helpful for a change. Her decision to stick around and help the Vyrnians could also come from the fact that she had respected Zarya enough to know that we were not the same with the pirate crew she was involved before.

I was feeling particularly hungry then, so I ordered a simple sandwich from the replicator. To my surprise, it made a sandwich out of nothing. To be honest, I was more surprised that the replicator knew what a 'sandwich' was, more than that it materialized out of nowhere. I grew up in a planet of magic and dragons, so this was not uncommon.

It tasted good, too. Well, the ingredients were not of Earth, but it tasted similar, anyway, except maybe a little mismatch like bacons tasting like chicken. But, for a sandwich, it was a good one.

I talked with Sel some more about her and also about myself when Arcturus came to the mess hall. He looked rather tired since he was helping with repairs and other things. Nevertheless, he was still in a good mood, for when he saw me eating my sandwich like there's no care in the world, he smiled.

“Already got your appetite back, huh?" he said as he sat with us. “How's the sandwich?"

“Taste good if you don't mind eating a chicken-flavored pork sandwich," I said.

“Replicators can be quite tricky, especially if the system's old."

I proceeded to ask about his dad, and what I missed. Arcturus proceeded to tell me the event that transpired while I was knocked unconscious. I listened with intent, knowing that I missed a whole lot of action. Arcturus also explained how he found Kilkaja, though he also criticized Sel's way in handling the situation.

“Yeah," she said with a slight regret in her tone. “Kind of the spur of the moment, you know?"

“I know," said Arcturus with a sigh. “I was hoping for a bloodless surrender if possible, but I suppose it's wistful thinking, huh?"

Well, I suppose Sel was rather apologetic, and took her time cleaning my sword, given that there was no blood on the blade. Still, the first kill the sword tasted and it wasn't on my hand. Not that I wanted to find something to kill, of course, unless it was the only way out. I had tried my best not to kill the Orian slavers back then, but I knew that one day or another, things would not be so relatively bloodless.

I decided to return to Kilkaja and see how he's faring, leaving the rest of them to talk with themselves and enjoy their food. I met some Vyrnians along the way, who looked at me rather intently. After a couple of those eyes fixated on me, I became more and more accustomed to it. I knew that they looked at me like that because I was pre-space, not because I was wrong or anything. I wasn't even involved in liberating this base.

As I turned the corner to get to the medical ward, I heard a voice calling me. It was a deep, resonant voice that sounded almost like a wise dragon's voice.

“Ah. You're the soft-skin my son has been talking about," he said. “George Atmell, wasn't it?"

I turned to see a slightly larger Vyrnian (but still around 8 to 9 feet tall) with black scales and blue eyes walking towards me. He looked like Arcturus, but a bit older. I knew that he was his dad simply because he gave it away.

“A human, uh…sir," I said, unsure what to say to him to be polite.

“You can call me Andrates, Atmell," he said with a smile. “He told me everything about the circumstances on why he's here. I must thank you."

“Oh, I can't take the credit on my own. It was an archaeological team that helped me found the ship. I…just pressed a random button to get him out of cryo."

“I see. Well, nevertheless, his exile is not as peaceful as I wanted, but at the same time, I feel fortunate that we can still meet…despite of the misfortune that hit our civilization."

“I know Arcturus felt it when he saw his planet. I know I would."

He then invited me to take a walk through the database station.

“I owed him everything," said Andrates. “Arcturus's a kind child, even if he could be rather risky sometimes. Guess the old Vyrnian belief of twin-ring children do have merit, after all."

“Twin-ring?"

“His eye colors. You noticed, right?"

I remembered seeing Arcturus's eyes for the first time. Those unusual ring-like pattern of blue and green was really cool, which I thought was a unique Vyrnian physiology. It turned out to be exclusive to a couple of Vyrnians, including Arcturus.

“Yeah," I said.

“A twin-ring child is believed to know how to assess danger faster than anyone else. It is believed that the eye color pattern signified their increased awareness and sharpness, like a scope. Arcturus is like that, in addition to being kind and hard-working."

“Wow, I…never thought about that."

“Oh, yes. Vyrnians have its own share of mysticism embedded in our stories and beliefs. But then, Atmell, as I am concerned with his safety, so I am concerned with yours."

“Me?"

“You got yourself involved and almost got yourself killed. From the look of it, I know you can defend yourself well, but you don't know what's out there. It's not that I am underestimating you, but I am stating facts. There is no psychic on your planet, right?"

I silently nodded.

“I could just kindly ask you to return to Earth, but I know you'd object. So, you need a little assistance. We can help you with that, if you wish. Psychic protection is a very valuable trait that you might want to invest in, especially in light of recent discoveries."

“Recent…discoveries?"

“We secretly converted part of the database station into our secret base after the government takeover," said Andrates. “As far as anyone knows, this base is manned by neutral operators, which were secretly working with us. In the course of the years we recorded many information we could use to undermine the new government and lead an effective rebellion, only to inadvertently found several disturbing information regarding our history and the influence of the 'Eye in the Sky'."

“I heard about the Eye from Arcturus," I said. “He said it's…gone?"

“Because it has served its purpose. Let me be blunt, Atmell. We have been invaded by an unknown entity long before we have ever made our own history…and I'm afraid that our development is not our own."

“Why is it so scary, then? Everyone needs help one way or another, right?"

“In the end, it depends on who was helping us…and their motives. We all failed to see this, and because of it, we lost our planet. So, I am planning to rally our people to open a way to the planet, and I need all the help I can get. If you want to be part of this, you need my help with defense against psychic power, and we can give you that."

I knew that this would soon happen one way or another. I knew that this was part of the danger of an adventure, be it in space or on Earth. Thinking that it felt like I was helping in finishing a quest started by the Vyrnians a long time ago, I accepted Andrates's offer, partially because I did not want the repeat of what happened to me, and also I really wanted to help him and Arcturus.

Never would I realize how things would escalate from then on. We found more allies, we travelled into different worlds, we got involved with other aliens, and I even witnessed the changes in people that's inspiring, both for myself and for others.

However, things were never always good, and tragedy would always be a close company. That was the nature of this travel, and one that would follow us closely as we continued.