ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

16. The Kaya

Everywhere he looked, Reemon Erra encountered the panic stricken faces of fellow Amarthians. Some were preparing themselves for  battle. Most of the civilian evacuees, however, were pushing their way through the overcrowded passageways leading up to the docking stations, in a last desperate bid to leave. 

Erra knew, under normal circumstances, discreetly making his way through the space station, amidst all the chaos would have been impossible.

However, for the Commodore, the circumstances were anything but normal. While walking behind the saffron robed alien, Erra found himself able to traverse these otherwise challenging obstacles with effortless ease. For not only was he completely invisible to everybody but his escort, Erra was also able to walk through all solid obstacles in his way, including living beings. For a moment the Commodore worried he might even fall right through the floor and end up adrift in space. But looking down, Erra realised his feet were not touching the ground. He was actually levitating. And every time the old Amarthian moved, it felt like he was walking on compressed air. Erra was tempted to inquire about the strangeness of his condition. However, given the grand scheme of things, he decided otherwise.

The alien led Erra to the farthest corner of the station before stopping in front of what looked like an elongated glass bubble attached to one of the outside windows.

"What kind of a ship is this?" Erra said looking  confused, "Where is the propulsion systems?"

Sheel did not reply. Passing through the window and entering the ship, the alien said, "Please come in."

Feeling exceedingly apprehensive, Erra  passed through the window and stepped into the glass bubble. He was half expecting to fall right through. To his great relief and surprise, Reemon Erra felt his feet land on a very smooth, transparent surface.

Moments later, a chair appeared out of nowhere. Gesturing him to take a seat, the alien remained standing, with his back to Erra. Soon after the Amarthian sat down, he saw the alien gently waving his left hand. The bubble immediately detached itself from the station and started to hover in space. Even though he deliberately tried to listen, Erra failed to hear any engine or mechanical device moving the 'bubble'. As he looked around, two giant hemispherical battleships flew past them, towards Shon'hir. The 'bubble transport', however, appeared to be taking its two passengers in the opposite direction.

"Can nobody see us right now?" Erra asked abruptly.

"No."

"Not even the enemy....this Kaya?"

"No, they cannot. I'm here to protect you. I will keep you safe." The alien replied, before pausing to add ominously, "...at least for now."

"Can you...we walk among the Kaya like we did back at the station, and not be seen?" Erra asked again.

"Yes, we can." The alien replied, turning back to look at Erra inquiringly.

"I would like to see the enemy that we are up against. I want to see the Kaya," Erra said with visible resolve, "I need to understand the enemy we're fighting!"

"The Kaya are not the enemy. They are but weapons. Those who sent them have not crossed into this universe. As I said before, you all are caught in the middle of a war being fought by being far beyond your comprehension."

"I still want to see." Reemon insisted.

"Very well." The alien said reluctantly, before waving his hand again.

The bubble stopped instantly before starting to  move in the opposite direction. Not long after, Erra again saw the two warships that had flown past them earlier. The bubble ship effortlessly accelerated leaving them behind before crossing Shon'hir, in the blink of an eye. But the impenetrable darkness of the cosmos surrounding them did not last for long. Soon after leaving the Ralnac System, Erra spotted an enemy battleship, floating in distant space, like a brooding giant. It looked like a twisted and gnarled claw, severed from the arm of some dark, vile beast.