Shattered Stars

Journey

I awoke gently from my slumber, which had ended in another lucid dream of sparring with Morph. The training left me dejected; he was always one step ahead of me, slightly faster and slightly stronger. I resented having my tail handed to me that many times in a row.

A dim ceiling light cast the room in an eerie glow. I still lay comfortably on my belly, but Skylar lay on his back with his wings splayed against the wall and floor, holding the balled-up comforter against his chest. His head lay on its side, his tongue poking out from the lower side.

I searched for the picture-taking app in my interface and saved that sight. Such opportunities should never be missed.

As I took the undersized comforter off, my rustling awakened Skylar. I watched him hopefully as he yawned and got into a sitting position. "Morning."

He paused with a hint of uncertainty. "Morning."

Good, he knows the proper response. I tried to talk without the desperation I had inside me. "Do you remember anything more about me?"

He responded faster. "You're Connor... and you're my brother?"

I nodded. "Yes, yes. Anything else?"

"There's..." He looked up at the ceiling for a second, then at me. "No, that's all."

I shrugged. "It's a start."

He glanced curiously around the room, still wearing the same worried expression as yesterday.

I opened my mouth to start asking him more questions to jog his memory, but a notification stopped me.

<- To all who receive this message, report to the briefing room immediately. ->

­The door to our room quietly slid open on its own. The start of a blue holographic guiding line hovered in the doorway.

"Did you get that message too?" I asked Skylar.

He nodded nervously. I looked to the doorway. "Alright."

I stood on two legs when we left our room. I turned to see if Skylar would mimic me, and he did after he inspected my new stance. We followed the guiding line, trading suspicious glances with the other alien strangers as they, too, headed for the briefing room.

It housed a couple thousand seats arranged in a grid with alleys, like it was a giant movie theater. Kyrom stood patiently on the stage in the front of the room near the entrance. A few dozen crew members had already arrived before us and seated themselves. The group was a roughly equal blend of the three alien species.

I stopped in the doorway. Skylar's breath brushed over my shoulder. All eyes were on us, and I instinctively shrank under their gaze. I hated being the center of attention, especially now. The judgement from each pair of eyes was palpable. They probably didn't want me here, and neither did I.

I twitched as something ticklish scurried up my back and over my shoulder. A ball of brown fur and clothing alighted on the floor in front of me and somersaulted to a stop. Neila stood with her back to me, tail raised, and shot me a mischievous smirk. "You make a better door than a wormhole."

Skylar and I were heading to the front row when Kyrom spoke up. "Stand near the back so the rest may see."

I nodded and led Skylar to the side of the room. I folded my arms and stared at Kyrom as we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. As more entered, the variation within each of the three species became more apparent. The Grephen's fur color ranged from dark grey to yellow-brown, with some showing faded stripes of similar shades. Kyrom's race varied more in size than in scale color. The males were generally larger than the females, and their colors went from solid black to dark green. Neval's race displayed variation similar to that of humans. His bald head was actually the exception, as most of them had something resembling human hair. Their skin tones ranged from deep maroon to pink.