Chapter 18: The Messenger

It had been a day later as Raavi was standing in his familiar, comfortable clothes outside the primary passageway that led to the bridge. Looking out of the porthole, he could see the usual orbit of New Olympia. The great white fleet of warships remained as they always were.

There was a look of content and satisfaction on his face. He seemed to be in deep thought over the recent events. Something still seemed to weigh upon him as he had his arms folded up. He could feel a slight amount of ache as his joints were sore from the rock climbing about an hour ago. The final hours were upon everyone. The vessel had returned from its almost year-long journey. Three years of being on the ship were coming to a close.

“There he is ... my friend,” a familiar male voice called out to him. Raavi turned to see who it was.

Standing together was a couple he knew all too well. Both Akari and Jabr were dressed in their own relaxed outfit as they were walking towards him. Akari was dressed in a pink and blue silk dress, while Jabr wore pants and a shirt similar to Raavi’s attire. Nuzzled close to Akari’s breast was their child. The familiar sight of seeing the anthro rat and her baby brought the pleasant memories he was having as well. It made him smile as a result.

“There is a look of happiness on his face!” Akari almost exclaimed. Even her baby, that was fast asleep, was almost startled awake.

“I have much good news to tell,” Raavi remarked to them as they both walked up to him. He held up his hands as if to express victory.

“Ah!” Akari reacted. She got the gesture almost immediately. “Are you a father!?”

He nodded his head to them.

“About time,” Akari said. “I wondered how long that hippo gal of yours was going to give birth. Just one or all of them?”

“Just one ... my son.”

“Congratulations,” Jabr said in his thick Oshun accent. He was the first to approach him. He held out his hand as Raavi happily shook it. “I wondered if I would get the chance to see you two finally become parents. I never had the chance to see my friend Ericson and Minerva’s child.”

“Hey! That isn’t fair,” Akari protested. “That should be my line. I can’t congratulate him with a baby in my hand.”

“Here,” Jabr replied as he backed away from Raavi and got next to his wife. Akari gently passed the small rodent-like infant over to him as Akari walked and gave a big hug to Raavi.

The Yuki were an odd bunch for Raavi. With them being much shorter, they had a variety of personalities. Akari was no different. She seemed thrilled with the news as she was having to reach up, almost using the tippy toes of her padded clawed feet.

“I am so happy for you two,” Akari continued as she let go of him. “You know this has been a good year despite everything that has happened. I was a little bit sad that it had to come to an end sooner than expected.”

“It was...” Jabr added. “In the end, good friends were all that was needed.”

Raavi nodded his head. “I agree ... a part of me doesn’t want to leave, but it is time to move on.”

“Awww...” Akari replied as she turned around and stood next to Jabr. Her hairless tail began to wag a little bit. “Now you are going to make me get all sad.”

“It really was good being on this ship with you,” Jabr said. “You have some qualities that Ericson never had.”

“Hmmm...” Raavi asked as he rubbed the hair of his light beard. “I wonder what that is?”

“For one, that complexion of yours matches your beard much better. I never got used to that red hair that he had.” He began to laugh a little bit.

“Honestly, I think both you and Ericson would get along really well,” Akari added. She shrugged. “Oh well ... at least he and Minerva are happy on Eutera.”

“Hmmph...” Raavi commented. “It won’t matter. I never met him ... and I have a family to raise.” He decided to change the subject. “So what is going to happen to you guys?”

“Well...” Akari said as she looked up to Jabr. “We want to stay up in space. We made a request to stay on any ship that is going to go out exploring. If this ship is being brought to a port, then we go to the next one that is going to leave. It will most likely mean that we are going to another ship like this or maybe a dreadnought. Who knows?”

“As long as we stay together,” Jabr added.

“I understand,” Raavi said. “The Artifact was incredible. I can’t blame you for wanting to learn more about it.”

“I am still going through that data,” she explained. “I can’t wait to learn more about them or the race that made them.”

“Do you think that your mother will still allow the exploration to continue?”

She shrugged. “After the recent events, I am not sure. I am not going to give up without a fight, though. I will swear it on my father’s grave that I will learn more about it.”

“We...” Jabr corrected her.

Akari nodded. “Of course.”

Raavi looked out the porthole of the window. He could see the red star continue to glow.

“Supposedly, a big flare is going to happen soon,” she commented.

“I have already seen it...”

“What are you doing out here then? Already tired of that wife and kid of yours?”

“Ah no,” Raavi replied as he waved his hand. “Nah ... I am just getting a chance to see this one last time. Moving to New Olympia and all that.”

“I can point out a great hot spring for you two,” Jabr said.

“I wouldn’t mind checking it out. Hoping they got plenty of places for me to climb on New Olympia.”

“Hmmm ... they should...” Akari said as she tried to think about it.

“Still never managed to get Nanook happy.”

“Then the loss was his,” Jabr remarked as Akari went and picked up the baby from his arms. “But ... I will say that he was impressed with your ability to stay and fight to protect the ship a couple of days ago.”

“He was?”

Jabr simply gave a nod to him.

“Did you get a chance to say goodbye to everyone?” Akari asked Raavi.

“Yeah ... still never get much from Qing.”

“Qing is more dry than even Gaap and Iwa. Although ... you do have to try out some of her cooking, eventually. I heard that she secretly experiments in it over and over again. Don’t blame me, though, because ... I just learned about it too.”

Akari had mentioned it in a way that sounded like a joke. He had no idea if she really meant it or not. Raavi seemed to sigh a little bit as he looked at the baby that Jabr was holding. He approached it as he smiled at the couple. He observed the child as it wiggled in her mother’s arms. The infant, obviously, was not that much older than his own son. It had similar rodent ears and fur, but she had brown and black spotted fur. Her rodent eyes were wide open as Raavi went and touched the infant’s ear.

The baby didn’t seem to react as happily as it began to squeak in protest. Her mother responded immediately to it.

“Oh, come on, Felicia,” Akari told her as she put her furry hand on her infant’s head. “You got to get used to being handled more often. Besides...” she gestured to Raavi. “He is a father too.”

As Raavi started to look at the baby more and more, he turned to look at Jabr. He folded up his arms as he decided to bring up a recent topic.

“I am curious ... you had a chance to see the whole event last year with Minerva.”

“Mostly,” Jabr replied.

“We never saw the baby born,” Akari added.

“A child born from an AI...” Raavi remarked as he shook his head.

“Oh, don’t you start that argument again,” Akari as she gave him a sour look. “I might not have met Minerva’s baby yet, but I know that Eve will grow up to be just fine.”

Upon hearing that sentence, Raavi’s face went white. He almost even gasped as his eyes went wide.

“You heard what I said?” Akari tried to scorn him. “There is nothing wrong with a human and an AI from having a...”

“Wait? What did you say?” Raavi interrupted her.

“I said that Eve would grow up to be just fine. What do you have an issue... ?”

“The baby? ... The baby’s name is Eve!?” Raavi asked her in realization.

“Yes. I have only seen pictures that Minerva has given us. Not bad for somebody that was named after the goddess of wisdom.”

Raavi continued to express a level of shock on his face. Any form of anger or misjudgment was suddenly gone. It was as if something important came up.

“Umm...” Raavi said as he almost chuckled a little bit. “I need to talk to my wife real quick. This is really ... really important. Thank you ... thank you!”

His heart began to pound a little bit as if he understood that something important had happened. He looked past the couple and down toward the passageway that leads to the Captain’s quarters. He patted Jabr’s arm as he began to run towards his destination. The couple gave a confused look at Raavi as they saw him moved with haste.

“I have to tell them...” Raavi said to himself as he was just about to reach the door. “I need to tell her ... I have to tell the truth...”

A part of him felt the familiar shadow that seemed to be following him off and on again for the last three years. He had to get his mind in together.

“I should wait ... but I can’t,” he said to himself as he reached the door. “This is too important.”

As the door slid open, he ran in, but he could tell that his wife was not there.

“Opet!” he called out to her. “Are you here? I need to talk to you.”

He sighed as he backed up. He put his hand to the top of his head. He even shook his head a little bit as he began to leave the room.

“No ... I shouldn’t tell them ... the time is too soon,” Raavi said. “The instructions were clear ... it is too soon ... but it needs to be said ... especially after ... I need to find her ... maybe even Aegus too ... assuming he hasn’t left yet.”

He turned around as he considered asking the computer to guide him to where she was at. He closed his eyes again as the thoughts raged in his head. He began to walk forward as the doors slid shut behind him. He stood in the passageway to see two children looking up at him.

“Ahh!” he reacted upon seeing the two. Their sudden appearance was something that he was still not used to.

The Ibeji Twins had nothing to say as they held their hands together. They both had a smile on their faces. They both had a look of satisfaction on their faces and almost seemed to know what he was thinking. With their free hands, the twins both pointed at the bridge doors. Raavi understood it well.

“Thank you,” he told them as he rushed past them. Both the twins looked at each other as they watched him run towards the bridge door.

Raavi had reached the bottom stairs of the bridge to see Aegus talking with Opet. They were both in their uniforms as Opet was cradling her child. He didn’t get a chance to hear them talk much, but he had made his decision. He was going to tell them. He tried to recompose himself as he took a couple of deep breaths.

Opet turned her head to see her smiling at him. Aegus turned his head at him to give the nod at his arrival. Both of them were standing by the large central display. Instead, he mustered up the courage as he approached them.

“Husband,” Opet addressed him. “You look like you got done doing a marathon run in the ship.”

“Well ... I...” Raavi said as he looked at both of them. “There is something important that I need to bring up.”

“What is it?” she asked. Aegus gave a confused look at him at first, but he remained professional.

“I was debating if I should wait ... maybe it is best to bring this up to just you, but I know that this will eventually be brought up to you as well, Aegus ... so I believe that it is best to admit the truth of the recent events.”

“Are you alright?” Opet asked him.

“Yeah, I am alright,” he answered. “It is ... I...”

“It is alright,” Aegus commented as he turned away. He decided to walk a fair distance from the two to give them a little bit of privacy. Even Opet could observe all of this and could tell that something was bothering her husband.

“I ... just learned about Eve ... the child that was born from Minerva,” Raavi explained quietly to her. “I...” Opet stood next to him to listen to what he had to say. He was doing his best to find the best way to say it. “I ... there is something that I need to admit to you. I hadn’t told you the truth about myself when we first met.”

“Oh?”

He nodded his head to her. “I was sent to deliver a message to one of the members of the council of New Olympia.”

She gave a confused look at him. “Wait ... I don’t understand,” she replied. “We have been together for three years, and you hold back on telling me all this?”

He was trying to be quick as to prevent miss communication. “I was sent by ... a group of individuals. I swear to you that everything is the truth. I wanted to become a father. I want to settle down and have kids ... I want to be together till the day that I die ... but before I left Aphadus, a group by the name of Outreach contacted me.”

“Outreach?” Opet questioned. Aegus that was standing a fair distance appeared to overhear the word. It caught his feline ear as it turned back to aim in their direction.

“Yes ... I don’t know what they wanted. I swear to you that I don’t know what it is that they want or what their goals are, but they told me that it was important that I get a chance to talk to the mythic Vishnu.”

Opet didn’t seem to be angry. She was trying to comprehend the words as she looked down at him.

“He is telling the truth,” Aegus jumped in. He turned to look at the two. “He is an Outreach agent.”

“No! No! I am not!” Raavi snapped at him. “I don’t even know what they are!”

“Do not worry about it,” he replied. “I do not mean that in an accusatory manner. You are an Outreach agent, and you don’t even know it.”

“I...” he nodded his head. “I suppose it is difficult to lie to a person that can tell if a person is telling the truth or not. About a couple of days before my departure to New Olympia three years ago, I was contacted by an unknown individual. They promised to give me free augmentations on any part of my body. At first, I thought that they were lying to me. Free augmentations usually have to have some hidden purpose. I even wondered if it was a scam at first. I decided to go ahead and check it out. I was brought to a dark room. I ... I couldn’t see their faces just silhouettes.”

He could see that Opet had a look of concern on her face. Aegus simply gave a nod to her almost to help add the verification that was needed.

“All I know was that they called themselves ‘Outreach.’” Raavi continued. “They ... knew that I was going to New Olympia. I don’t know how, but they did.”

“Outreach...” Aegus remarked almost to himself. Opet looked at him briefly before she looked back at her husband.

“I told them that the augment that I wanted was for my feet. To tell you the truth, I never really needed augmented feet. I figured that I was going to be on a ship so ... might as well have something to keep me anchored down without the need of magnetic boots or shoes. They were true to their word. I asked them what their purpose for doing it after the operation. They told me that I was to deliver a message to the one that was called Vishnu ... a message from Outreach.”

“I don’t understand,” Opet said as she looked at him and Aegus. “What is Outreach?”

“I don’t know what they are,” Raavi answered.

“They are a secret organization in the UWA,” Aegus explained. “Little is known about them, but they are a small group of human mortals that believe that the New Olympians are not what they are supposed to be. They believe that we are hiding under human disguise. They also wish to expose us and our true identities to the rest of the colonies.”

“They are correct, though.”

“Not when we still decide to remain anonymous. Outreach has continuously harassed us. Their resources are unknown. It seems that every chance we have to learn more about them is countered immediately. They have always remained one step ahead of us at every turn. It is one of the reasons why me, my mother, and my family members screen every tourist that comes in through that port.”

“Yet, one managed to get through...” Opet said.

“I know ... right under my nose,” Aegus snarled lightly in agitation. “They are clever. They knew that if you didn’t know, that I would have had a much harder time picking it up. I just knew that there was something that you were holding back on.”

“As I said,” Raavi pleaded. “I didn’t even know. I just know that they were adamant that something be delivered to him.”

“What is it?” Opet asked him.

With that, Raavi looked down at his feet. He bent down to his knee and began to take off his shoes. He then pulled off his socks to expose his bare feet to them. He then went to his right foot and tapped a toenail on his largest toe. He then tapped each toe in rapid succession until his foot began to glow. He then extended his other foot and began to tap the same process as the other one.

The augmented feet began to shift a little bit. The main toe of each foot then opened up. There was no blood, obviously since they were augmented artificial limbs. The toenail then came off to reveal a hidden compartment inside the foot. The other toenail also repeated the same action as well. Inside each one was a small broken gray crystal that slowly ejected from each other. The other toenail also did the same thing. The moment that he pulled out both broken crystals, the toenails resealed themselves. The glowing light faded from both feet as Raavi stood up to hold two small identically looking crystals.