Page 16 of Bonded

Rakoth.I burned that into my memory. “Is that home world or system anywhere close to here?” I asked.

“No, it is very far from here. The probability of finding even just one Rakoth, let alone two, was too much to calculate. That we have found each other here, they would state that it was the work of fate.”

Chills went down my spine because that was exactly what I thought as well. I felt that my appearance in this sector was a fated occurrence. “Can I ask you a question, Ship?”

“Of course. You are welcome to ask me anything you need or want. I am at your service whether you choose to be my soul. You are part of this crew.”

That warmed my heart and gave me the courage to ask what I wanted to ask. “I feel like this is redundant, but I still feel the need to ask this. Do you trust your heart and mind? Do you trust Ruzan and Vryek?”

“Yes. I would not ask them to be my pilot if I did not trust them.”

That the ship’s first evolution involved others collaring it and forcing an incompatible navigation console onto it made me even more convinced than ever that I needed to help it if I could. Especially if it was asking me.

“Ship, if you trust them, then I do as well. Do you think they would want to be here when I’m linked to you and, therefore, to them? Should we give them the choice of accepting me?”

There were random numbers again over the holo-pad. “That is a wonderful suggestion. We shall ask them. Do you want me to open the space and invite them here where you will undergo the linking process?”

Before I could overthink, I went with my gut. “Yes.”

VRYEK

There is a saying among the priest class of the Rakoth people:If you cannot do, then pray.

As a new novitiate of that order, I had thought it was a foolish saying that old men repeated to make themselves relevant as they aged and their bodies became more infirmed. But I learned a tough lesson from my years on that prison planet. Action was sometimes wasted energy; moreover, it would often get you killed. Better progress could be made if you allowed yourself time to think and strategize.

That was when I had the epiphany that sometimes, when things were at their most bleak, the mind forms new solutions and possibilities.

I had a lot of time to think when I had been thrown into the isolation cubes. It was eventually what led me to plan and coordinate our freedom.

Instead of giving up hope, what I was doing was giving space because sometimes space was needed in order to think. I know that was the case for me and that was something that we could afford to give Priya.

When your eyes are open, you can see the way.

Stupid phrases like that used to frustrate me, but now its meaning and wisdom were clear.

Ruzan and I had been given a chance and given a way out. We had hoped and prayed for the ability to not only get off Earth 4040, but also the idea of being on a Cephela so far from our home system was beyond anything I could’ve ever hoped for myself.

To think that Priya was plucked from nowhere and dumped out here. This must all be so much for her.

I could think things calmly because I could not afford to be as reckless as Ruzan. My cool mindedness tempered his impatience, but I saw the appeal of him taking action.

As I placed my hand on the barrier, and was about to flex my will against the ship, the wall receded once more to the open position I had grown accustomed to.

When the barrier went away and all I saw was Priya’s small body kneeling on the floor, her eyes aglow from the ship’s holographic image. I hadn’t looked fully upon the person whom we had decided was our soul.

The first time I was just so worried that she would be in danger, and all I could think about was keeping her stabilized. The second time I saw her when she was finally conscious was that I was scared for her life when she sat on top of that catwalk. From the start, fearing for her safety was the new normal. And so, to see her enraptured and not afraid soothed something inside of me.

I think it affected Ruzan as well, because I could feel his turbulent energy calming.

If I had any doubts that she was our soul, they were gone completely.

It was interesting to see that it would come from a creature so far away from our own species. From what I remembered from our own histories; we had come from a motley assortment of races; there were at least three origin races that had created the Rakothian people. Perhaps one of those races also crossed paths with Terra Prime.

I was rusty, but I would research Terrans as well. But I assumed it had once been inhabited by multiple people groups as well and had a history of blending from different origins.

I didn’t want to break the spell, so I didn’t realize I kept staring at her until those vivid luminous eyes that shone purple landed upon me. I held my breath, waiting for her reaction. Would she be afraid, like she had been at the mess hall? I prayed not. I would rather die than be the cause of her fear.

A rush of relief surged through me when I met her gaze and saw only peace, coupled with a small smile. “Hello,” she said.

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