Part Six

The snow melted and the spring sun brought the field aside their home back to life. Wildflowers swayed in the gentle breeze and filled the air with a light fragrance. Suzy looked out over the field and felt inspired to head outside for a bit. She picked up her mat and gear, leaned down and kissed Steve on the cheek as he busily worked on his latest book, and headed out the front door.

She found her way to the steppingstones they had laid when the fields were low and walked to a small platform that they built at the high spot in the field. It was a serene location with 360-degree views of their property and their neighbors, along with sight to the mountains. She unrolled her mat and put a small strip of extra padding down for her knees.

She took in a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders as she exhaled. She looked at the house and saw Steve’s head bowed down working steadily. She refocused on her stance and started to move through her sequence.

She first moved into her Cat-Cow combination. Her knees revealed it had been a bit since she had practiced. The extra padding helped at least. She moved into down dog and stretched back, feeling the tightness in her legs begin to loosen.

She continued moving through to a standing position and came into Warrior II. Her balance swayed as she struggled to keep her footing. Finally, she was able to stabilize and move into triangle, but she remained unsteady. She started to move into side angle, then her being out of practice became apparent. She lost her ability to stand and landed on her butt.

Instinctively, she quickly sat up and looked around hoping no one saw. Well, making sure Steve didn’t see. She looked back at the window where he had been sitting, but he wasn’t there. She sighed in relief and stood back up, backing up to Warrior II to start the sequence again.

She struggled to get through, but finally moved on to chair, then folded over and moved into the floor positions. By now, she was sweating. It was something that amazed her; nothing in the sequence was too difficult, but she always found putting it together would cause her to get warm.

Finally, she approached the end of the sequence and Savasana, her favorite part in the practice. She stretched out and relaxed her body. As she came back to paying attention, she looked at the sky and decided to keep laying there a few more minutes watching the puffy clouds and enjoying being in the field.

The sound of steps came from behind her. A shadow cast across her as Steve kneeled down at her head and gently kissed her. Then she felt a chill on her shoulder. Steve had slipped a cold water against her skin and she jumped, then laughed. “Why, I oughtta!” she exclaimed as she sat up and turned towards him.

“Oughtta what?” he retorted with an impish smile as he set down a small basket on the platform. “I thought you could use a bite to eat. Can I join you?”

Her shock at the cold water faded and her face changed into a smile. She slid back on her mat to give him room to join her. “What did you bring us?”

He pulled out a few items from the basket – cheese, grapes, crackers, some dried meat. He hesitated a moment, then he pulled out two small bowls, one full of sweet gherkins and for dessert, some strawberries.

Suzy’s eyes lit up. “My favorites!”

The lab was abuzz with activity when Jon and Mikaela arrived. Sam was setting up the machines, no larger than a couple cubes while Gene set up the robotic arms. Several more cubes were set up to the side, in line for the configuration.

Sam’s tone had lightened from the earlier interchange. “Hey, Boss, did you give Jon the two-dollar tour?” followed by a chuckle. “You know, there’s always magic behind the curtain!”

Gene just shook his head and tended to connecting the robotic arm to its base. “You’re a nut, Sam.”

Mikaela just shook her head as she pulled out three chips required for the setup. She checked their integrity and slipped each one into the cubes. Slowly they pulsed. She looked at Jon. “The installs are automated with these chips. We’ll have to train the basic movements here, then make final adjustments on the floor.”

She handed Jon another set of chips similar to the three she had so he could start on the next set, then looked at her watch. She sharply exhaled and uttered, “Where is Scott?” She looked at the door and tapped her hand against the table. He’s always late. Why would tonight be different?

She turned back to the machines she was installing and saw they were finished. She popped out the chips and moved them a table by the robot, then came back. “Let’s build them all this evening, then train them tomorrow. We have 14 sets to get through. I hoped it would just be an hour, but looks like it might be a little longer if Scott’s a no-show.”

Jon looked over at Mikaela. He knew the look on her face, a mix of disappointment and displeasure. He’d seen it long ago. He knew this is why she was always so hands on with the work; she had a hard time trusting others to just show up.

15 minutes later, the door flew open and Scott, breathless, came in. “Sorry I’m late…”

Mikaela held up her hand, holding up three chips. “No excuses. Here are the chips, get to work.”

Scott stammered and his face turned a little red. “Sure thing, Boss.” A smell of tobacco followed behind him. He snatched the chips and took three more machines to start the install.

Gene piped up. “Well, Mikaela, I have the test robot set up. Want to come check it out?”

Mikaela walked over and Gene showed her all the connection points. “I also bolted it down temporarily, you know… should anything happen.”

Mikaela smiled with pleasure. Gene always delivers and thinks ahead. “Thanks Gene, great work. Why don’t you get out of here for the night?”

It was only the second genuine smile Jon had seen from her since they arrived at the lab. Jon wrapped up the next machine and looked up. “Looks like we have about three to go — one for each of us.”

Mikaela looked over. “No way, that’s great!” She looked at her watch and realized it had just reached 18:00. Her smile grew. “We’re basically on track.”

Sam pulled on Mikaela’s arm. “The machines are all here. Do you still need me?” He was almost timid suddenly talking to Mikaela. Jon couldn’t make heads or tails out of the interchange. Mikaela however didn’t seem surprised.

She knowingly blinked her eyes and looked at the door. “Get out of here. See you in the morning.”

Sam thanked her and quietly slipped out.

Scott and Jon finished up their final machines and Mikaela wrapped up hers shortly afterward. Jon could see exhaustion in Mikaela’s face and spoke up. “Ready to shut it down for the night, Mike?”

Mikaela looked up for a moment. “I’ll just be a few more minutes. I have some final things to wrap up. You two go ahead and head out.”

Scott bolted to the door, ready to leave. “Bye!” he shouted as the lab door shut behind him.

Jon pulled up a chair and took a seat next to Mikaela. “Mike, you haven’t changed.” He placed his hand on her device, and she looked up. “You need to stop. Dinner – let’s grab a bite and catch up.”

Mikaela forced a grin and pocketed her device. She shrugged, took a deep breath, then responded with hesitation, “Okay.”

Sam looked at Jon, then back at Mikala, then back at Jon. “Mike, you know this guy?” Sam sneered.

Mikaela took a brief moment and brushed Sam’s inquisition off. “Yeah, we worked together back on Earth ages ago. Got a problem, Sam?” Mikaela’s eyes locked with Sam’s, daring him to push.

“Oh, okay.” Sam stuttered. He wouldn’t challenge her after the look she gave him. “Guess we should get to work, Boss. What’s the plan?”

Mikaela straightened herself and began walking the team through the schematics. “Sam, you and Gene will need to head to storage bay eight to pull the machines now and take them to the lab. Jon, you and Scott meet me up in the lab on deck four at five, I mean 17:00, and we’ll start the builds. Everyone without an assignment have the night free. Meet back here at 8 tomorrow.”

The three without assignments bid everyone good night and seemed to be a bit giddy as they wandered off. Jon walked over to Mikaela as the others walked off. “Want to give me an overview, Mike?”

Mikaela grinned a moment, then turned serious. “Why are you here? Did you know this was my team?”

Jon knew there was a chance, but it wasn’t definite. He shook his head no.

Mikaela pursed her lips, halfway not believing him. “We’ll, you’re here, so I may as well use you.” She hesitated a moment, then pushed a button on the corner of the blueprint. It shrunk into a more manageable size. “Nanobots,” she flatly spoke.

Jon was impressed. He hadn’t seen that technology previously. “Handy!”

“I may as well show you instead of pointing to pictures. Follow me.”

Mikaela led Jon to the lift and pressed deck 8 then scanned her wrist over the security control. They descended down toward the core. The lift door opened to a pitch black corridor. As Mikaela stepped out, rows of lights turned on.

Jon took it all in. Every level of the station seemed to have different builders. This deck was ultra modern, sleek, and cold.

“You will want to dress warm down here. It is kept cold to offset the heat generated by the machinery.” Mikaela walked forward pointing out the server room and leading Jon to the main floor. “Our robots will be installed here.” She scanned the security control. Double doors opened as a large room lit up.

Jon looked around then turned to Mikaela. “Did you plan all of this?” He was flattering her and truly impressed.

She blushed a moment, more from embarrassment than taking it as flattery. “No, I’m not that smart.” She stammered. “A whole team of engineers designed this. I just deal with the machines.”

He knew her better than her words, but he let her off the hook. “It’s an impressive project. Glad I’m a part of it.”

She smiled, and lightly tapped him with a punch in the arm. “I’m glad you are too.” She looked at her watch. “We need to get to the lab.”

He marveled at how she switched back into boss mode as they headed back to the lift. They loaded onto the lift and she scanned to head up to deck four. The lift door closed as the lights turned off on deck eight.

A voice squawked over the intercom. “Jonathan Riggs, check in.” The speaker crackled off.

Jon rubbed his eyes as he hopped off the bed. The lower gravity made him feel light on his feet as he crossed the room. He didn’t notice it earlier.

He spoke out. “Responding, Jonathan Riggs.”

A crackling voice came back on. “Meet up with your team at 15:00. They will be on deck 3.”

“Will do.” Jon then looked at his wrist. His brain spun a moment….15:00? Oh, 3:00…that’s right. His watch read 2:45. He walked over to his boots and strapped them on and headed out.

He walked out to the hall and made his way to the lift. The LED lighting cast a blue glow down the hall. The dim light washed out the faces of others in the hall. The overall drone combined with the lights was depressing.

Jon started questioning if he made the right decision. Should I be thousands of miles from home for a job I barely enjoy, just for the money? But what else am I going to do? Home was just a shell of what it was anyway, nothing remained to keep him there.

He boarded the lift and announced “Three”. The lift began to descend down into what felt like darkness. When it stopped, the door opened. Jon took in a breath before stepping out.

Deck three was the main gathering area on the station. The builders appeared to take more time in this area. Jon stepped out into an atrium dotted with vivid green plants and almost fresh smelling air. A small group of men were gathered nearby around a table with a blueprint laid across it.

Jon shook his head to himself. That must be the team. He made his way to the table. “Hi, Jon here. Is this Team Chi?” He pronounced chi as the Greek letter as kai.

The men looked up from the table towards Jon and stood straight. Directly across from him, a smaller framed person lifted their head.

Their short hair belied their gender. His eyes met theirs. Then he realized he knew those eyes. She smiled at him, but kept it under control. “Hi, Jon.” She glanced at the watch on her own wrist, more to gain her composure than to check the time, then looked back up. “Nice of you to join us.”

The sound of a metal door echoed into the hollow room as it screeched open. A man dressed in cargo pants and a heavy over sweater walked in. His boots thudded against the hard floor. His light eyes scanned the room.

The light was dim, but just enough to make out the details. A sterile white table with plastic chairs set in the corner. A small kitchenette was recessed into the wall to his left.

To his right, a doorway led to the head. It was compact, definitely only room for one to clean up. He sighed heavily.

Before him laid a small bed, sized for barely one. No sheets, but the surface was smooth. He walked over to it and set his bag down. The bed gave slightly to the weight of his pack.

He touched the surface of the bed to find it oddly comforting. It wasn’t what he imagined for the sterility of the room. He looked at his wrist; old habits of keeping time on his arm followed him. Plenty of time to relax before he needed to report in.

He moved his bag over to the table and kicked off his boots. It was nice to let is toes be free. He crawled onto the bed and rolled onto his back. It was then that he saw it.

Looking up, a large sky dome allowed him to see the darkness of the night and the glimmering of strange lights above. He rested his head on one of his arms and looked over the millions of stars floating overhead.

Soon he drifted off to sleep.

Morgana pushed herself up from the cold water. Her hair clung to her roundish face, and her cheeks blushed red like a cherub. She wiped her face dry with her hands, then flicked the water off her hands. Then she quickly looked around, hoping no one heard the commotion as she fell through the portal.

In the distance, she saw a figure approaching. Quickly, she reached into her pack and swallowed one of Doc Jones’ doses. She felt tingles throughout her body, then flowing out of her shoulder blades into her wings. She glanced over her shoulder and watched her wings disappear from view. She could still feel her wings, they were just now obscured from view.

The figure continued approaching and started waving at her. A voice called out, “Everything okay over there? Is everything okay?”

Morgana smiled and waved while responding, “Yes, all good. No worries here.” She hoped the figure would stop and turn around, but he continued coming closer. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure her wings were not visible and took a deep breath.

Winded, the figure neared and slowed his approach. As he neared, Morgana got a better view. He was a short, older man with golden brown eyes. He waddled more than walked as he approached. His smile was kind however.

He stepped over a few rocks and stopped a few feet from Morgana. “Hi, I’m Riker. Are you okay? I couldn’t hear you,” he conveyed as he pointed to his ear. Morgana saw a contraption hanging over his ear.

She vigorously nodded her head, “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

“We need to get you into some drier clothes. Come, follow me.”

Morgana tilted her head at the little man and determined he wouldn’t be a threat to her. She looked around and realized the only path away from here was to follow him anyhow. Adventure is what she set out for, so she shrugged and followed him.

The shore of the lake was covered with smooth round rocks and pebbles. The jagged mountain rose straight up, with brightly colored flowers clinging in the crevices. Some areas were bare black rock, slick and dew covered, other spots had hundreds of these floral plants sprouting everywhere.

“Excuse me. What do you call these flowers? They are beautiful!”

Riker turned back to her. “Oh, those are orchids. Do you like them? You can take one for your hair if you like.” The old man’s cheeks blushed as he said those words. “You’re a pretty girl. I have a son I’d like you to meet. Perhaps he’ll be home later today.”

Morgana blushed and smiled. She bowed her head and a strand of wet hair hung down against her cheek. “You’re too kind. Thank you.” She didn’t really know what else to say at that point. She turned and picked a bright white orchid from the wall, then tucked the wet strand of hair and the flower behind her ear.

A few more yards ahead, she spied a wood structure, unique to anything she had seen before. A small arched bridge went from the shore over a stream flowing down from the mountain. It stopped atop a large wooden deck which seemingly floated over the waters edge. The roof had a gentle upward curve, while the main floor was very straight, almost grid-like.

“Is this where you live? It’s beautiful.”

Riker smiled. “Yes, I came from another land and fell in love with their architecture here.” He softly opened the sliding gate and slid off his shoes. “Would you like to come in?”

Morgana slipped off her boots. “Should I also take my socks off?” she asked. She realized he was barefooted.

Riker smiled, “Whichever way you are most comfortable.”

Morgana opted to leave on her socks. At least they were still dry. She followed him inside.

The home was sparsely furnished, but the artwork on the walls caught her attention. A large painting of the mountainside loomed over a fireplace with a waterfall cascading down. She noticed that the archway she passed through was in the smallest of the details.

“Here you go, a towel to dry off. Here is also one of my wife’s wraps. You’re welcome to change into it while your clothes dry. There’s a small room over here where you can change.”

Morgana followed him. The room was cozy with a simple chair, small table, and a bed. For a moment she hesitated.

“No worries. It’s my daughter’s room. I’ll go make some tea.” Riker waddled off.

Morgana chuckled at herself. She could flatten the old man in just a few seconds if he tried anything, but he’d been nothing but nice to her. She closed the door behind her, then removed the flower from her hair. She dried off and changed into the silken wrap.

She looked around the room for a mirror, but noticed there wasn’t one in the room. How odd. Then she looked at the artwork on the wall. A small painting hung on the wall of a girl in a doorway with two cats. Raindrops were falling in front of them, but they were shaded by the overhang and a sakura tree hung overhead. Morgana smiled at the peaceful scene.

Morgana finally broke from her reflection on this little piece and made her way outside. “Riker, why are there no mirrors in the bedroom?” She fiddled to put the flower back behind her ear.

Riker grinned. “Here they practice something called feng shui. Ever hear of it?”

Morgana shook her head no. Riker motioned her to come to the sofa and he handed her a small book. “It’s a basic guide, but a bedroom should be calming and they believe mirrors can bounce energies around the room, so you either place a mirror out of sight of the bed or not put one in the bedroom at all.”

Morgana found it odd and furrowed her brow.

“It’s about balance, creating good energy, really interesting. You can read a little more about it. That’s a simplified guide.” Riker wandered back to the kitchen. “I’ll get our tea.”

Morgana flipped open the book and began to read.

A voice from the door bellowed, startling Morgana. “Hey Dad. I’m home.”

Morgana looked up and locked eyes with this new stranger. His 6 foot 1 inch frame blocked the light from outside. Silhouetted against the bright sky, she could still see his skin was darkly tanned and his piercing eyes black as coal. His hair was as dark as the jet black night sky. She inhaled and held her breath.

He was something to behold.

Morgana woke to the streams of sunlight piercing through the overhanging tree. The air at this elevation still chilled her to the bone. She sat up and rubbed her arms, then peered over to the archway. She noticed a slight shimmer to the opening, but the lands beyond appeared more foreign than she expected. She looked over the arch’s stones, each stone appearing to have a different symbol.

She recalled Misses Taylor insisting she take a book of symbols. She opened her pack and began thumbing through the pages. As she compared the symbols to the book, she realized the symbols represented different places. She wondered why an arch would have these symbols. The capstone was a compass rose; that symbol she understood. This stone was well out of reach, and stones making up the upper curve were without symbols. The other stones aligning each side of the arch each were carved with various symbols and shapes.

She searched for the first symbol, a stick figure with three roots, a main line, and five arrows shooting out from the top. Finally she located a similar symbol in the book. This symbol represents trees and forests. The second symbol was a flattened U shape with a horizonal line in the distance. As she flipped through the book, she finally found something similar, but no horizonal line. This symbol represents a boat. The bottom symbol she recognized as mountains. She smiled to herself, starting to understand the symbols somewhat.

The top right symbol contained wavy symbols similar to the mountains. She returned to the book to make sure she understood what she was seeing. There were two interpretations for this symbol, hills or sand dunes. She contorted her face, trying to make out the details to determine which symbol it was.

She stood up and loaded her pack on her back, then approached the gate with the book still in her hand. She compared the symbols, unsure of what it meant. She ran her hand over the symbol and the gate began to glow. Startled, she stepped back. All of the symbols began to project images into the opening, rotating through each symbol. She stood before the gate, amazed and frozen in place.

She had not translated the remaining two symbols when she heard a loud screech behind her. Instinctively, she ducked down as the talons of a large eagle grazed her head. It was time for her to get out of dodge, but the only exit from its attack was through the gate. She ran forward, unsure of where she’d end up and hoping there was a way back.

As she neared the opening, some tangle roots caught her foot, tripping her. Her hand reached out to the arch, touching the stone with the flattened U, to break her fall as she passed through the archway. She disappeared from the mountainside. The eagle landed atop the archway and shifted to look for another prey.

Morgana continued falling as as she passed through the gate and landed face first, splashing into shallow water. She sat up and looked about. Shallow fishing boats floated in the body of water ahead of her and strange mountains floated above the horizon in the distance. She looked behind her; the archway remained, but the opening had been bricked up. Two Sakura trees framed the archway.

Morgana knew she wasn’t home any more.

After a few weeks rest, Morgana ventured out through the town. She walked the winding path between the homes to the town center. She stopped off for a pastry and tea for lunch at Dark Owl Café. They serve the best tea in Morgana’s experience.

After her lunch, she found her way to the Sunny Sundries shop and met with ol’ Misses Taylor. The shop was filled with all she would need for her journey. Misses Taylor helped her pull together a small pack filled with provisions. Misses Taylor handed the pack to her and touched her hand sweetly. “The road may be long and twisted, but know you always have home in your heart.”

Morgana lowered her chin in thanks and headed out the door. She found her way home to close up the house and make her final preparations for her journey. She found her leg strap and placed her dagger in the sheaf, then laced up her boots. She looked back at her humble home one final time as the sun sat low, near the horizon, then closed and locked the door.

She made a final stop at the apothecary as she left her village. Doc Jones had a solution for her to help disguise her wings should she come across those who wouldn’t understand them.

“Here my dear. Take one a day. You have enough for a 40-day journey. I hope to see you home long before then,” Doc Jones tipped his head in farewell.

Morgana went in for a hug from the Doc and then stepped back, waving goodbye. “Thank you my friend. May happiness find you at every turn.”

As the night settled in, her comfort in traveling alone eased as she walked along the moonlit trail. Travel at night would be safer in these parts than by day, especially under the full moon; but that would soon change once she summited the ridge. She stretched out her dark wings, but then folded them in. She needed to work on her flying as she traveled, but for now, she decided to go by foot.

She rounded a curve and came to the edge of the lake. A waterfall fed the lake from the mountain before her with a steep but manageable climbing path running along side. Slowly, she worked her way up the craggy slope. Spray picked up by the wind occasionally sprinkled her face and arm, but she didn’t mind. She worked her way up to a flat spot which allowed her to take a moment and catch her breath.

She turned around and looked out over the lake and back to her village. Lights flickered from the small cottages in the distance. A small tear rolled down her cheek, crisp and cold. She hoped she’d be back one day, but for now, she needed to continue along this path. After a few moments, she turned back to the trail and continued on her journey.

The path became thinner and steeper as she climbed. She lost sight of the summit in the steepness and slipped on some loose gravel. Swiftly, she grabbed ahold of the stone wall beside her. Her fingers pressed into the tiniest crevices holding on to stop from falling. Gingerly she continued forward on the path. A steep drop off was directly behind her as she made her way face to face with the side of the mountain.

She took a few more steps and the path appeared to widen. She inhaled and then exhaled in relief. Just as she did, the path gave way, dropping her down the slope. She overcorrected and ended up falling away from the wall. Instinctively, she spread her wings, but she was falling too fast and couldn’t get the necessary lift.

She screamed a guttural scream, fearing that she couldn’t recover. Just then, a wind bellowed up under her wings and they caught on the breeze. She began to glide in the night sky. As she reoriented to her flight she flapped her wings and found she was soaring. She circled in the sky and looked back toward the mountain. She was so close to the summit and had almost made it on foot. Now that she was mid-air, she soared in the night air, making her way to the top, hoping that this time she’d stick the landing.

As she approached the summit, she saw an archway with a view to the other side. She neared the archway and began flapping to allow her to hover. Slowly she lowered herself to her feet and tucked her wings away. She finally reached her first stop of her journey. But this archway she did not expect. She looked at it. Each stone was engraved with different symbols, those of a foreign tongue. She set up a spot to rest though; the hike and the flight had zapped her energies. She’d get a better look at the arch in the morning.