Ch. 18 Dreams

As Ralios initiated the communication with Mattie, he reclined in his pilot's chair, grateful for a moment of respite. He knew it might take a while for Mattie to respond given the limitations of the Tailwind's communication system. He tapped his fingers on the armrest, his mind racing with questions about the mysterious cargo he had just picked up.

"V.A.N.D.E.L.," he inquired, "can you scan our new cargo? If this thing is radioactive, I may need to drop it off somewhere and come back with a loader."

V.A.N.D.E.L.'s response was swift, and his voice carried a reassuring tone, "Already scanned it, as per new cargo standard procedure."

Ralios couldn't help but feel a surge of impatience. "Well!?" he demanded after a brief pause.

The AI replied, "No signs of radiation. However, my scanners had difficulty in scanning the tablet's inscription. I recommend checking scanners when back in the Veil."

A wave of relief washed over Ralios as he chuckled lightly, "No can do, gonna have to scrap the whole ship, you included."

A few moments passed, and V.A.N.D.E.L.'s voice chimed in once more, "Not recommended." It was a simple response, but it carried a sense of camaraderie that Ralios had come to appreciate in his AI companion.

Amid the ensuing silence, Ralios's mind raced with questions. What could possibly warrant an Imperial warship pursuing a simple tablet? Perhaps Vulpan had a bounty on his head? But they would have sent bounty hunters, not an entire warship. It was clear the cargo he was carrying was far more than met the eye. The enigma gnawed at him.

Just as his thoughts began to spiral into deeper speculation, a ping disrupted his contemplation. Ralios swiftly reestablished the connection, donning his headset as Mattie's visage materialized on the screen. Mattie, an older Aelorian with a silver-plated beak, the normally polished metal slightly tarnished, was a seasoned veteran in their line of work. Her green plumage with accents of red hinted at her age and experience. Once a member of The Galactic Codex of Historiography, she had left under mysterious circumstances several cycles ago, only to become Ralios's invaluable Fixer, responsible for finding and planning jobs for their crew back on the Veil.

Ralios began the conversation, his tone measured. "Mattie, you did mention I could ask mission-related questions concerning our safety and the Veil's security, right?" Her response was somewhat stunned but affirmative. "Yes?"

Ralios continued, "Good, just checking." Then, without warning, he unleashed a frustrated tirade. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS TABLET, AND WHY THE HELL DID THEY SEND AN IMPERIAL WARSHIP AFTER IT?"

Mattie swiftly jerked her headset off, giving Ralios an annoyed scowl in response to his outburst.

Mattie's annoyance was palpable as she reluctantly repositioned her headset. "I don't know what it is, Ralios, some kind of relic. We're just the middlemen here. Did Vulpan make it out okay? If they sent a warship, this might be hotter than I thought."

Ralios nonchalantly propped his feet up on the console once more, quipping, "Oh yes, I'm fine too, no need to worry." Mattie gave him a pointed look but remained silent.

"I don't know about Vulpan," Ralios continued, his tone becoming more serious, "his ship looked pretty messed up, they really made him pay for it. But I have it now. Where am I bringing it?"

Mattie's response carried a hint of hesitation. "Bring it to the Veil. Our buyers this time around are jumpy for some reason, won't finalize the trade unless everything's perfect."

Ralios let out an exasperated huff. "We're not selling it to some primped-up rebel noble, are we?"

Mattie's expression tightened as she shot him an annoyed look. "You don't need to know who the buyer is. Just get back here and get paid. If you have any more questions, ask V.A.N.D.E.L." With that, she abruptly ended the call, leaving Ralios with more questions than answers.

Ralios muttered a frustrated "wait" as Mattie ended the call prematurely. He then grumbled, "Stuck-up fletchling."

Unexpectedly, V.A.N.D.E.L. chimed in with a dry remark, "Mattie is older than you, Ralios."

Ralios retorted, "Shut up, Van." But after a moment, he changed his mind. "Actually, don't shut up, Van. I have some questions."

V.A.N.D.E.L.'s voice replied in its usual dry tone, "Woe is me." Despite this, Ralios pressed on, "Connect to Mattie's files again. Let's see what she's not telling me."

After a brief pause, V.A.N.D.E.L. responded, "I cannot go against my creator, Ralios."

Unperturbed, Ralios leaned back in his chair, his expression changing to one of sly determination. "You heard her. She said I could ask you. If anything, she's given direct consent."

V.A.N.D.E.L. took a moment to consider, and then finally acquiesced, "Connected to Mattie's files. What do you want to know?"

Ralios instructed V.A.N.D.E.L., "Cross-reference the stone's makeup, shape, and odd inscriptions with anything on the surface net or her files."

After a moment, V.A.N.D.E.L. responded, "Nothing on the surface net," and about a minute later, it spoke once more, "The tablet matches nothing in Mattie's files."

Ralios contemplated this for a moment. It was unusual for Mattie not to have information on something. Was this cause for more concern? He couldn't be sure.

"Well, it was worth a shot. What's our ETA to the Veil?" Ralios inquired.

"Approximately 5 hours," the A.I. answered.

"Great," Ralios sighed. "I'm going to get some sleep then. Wake me if anything happens."

V.A.N.D.E.L. responded with his usual dryness, "Oh, I will."

As Ralios went to sleep, something pulled him in, Finding a spot within the recesses of Ralios's dream, he found himself swallowed by the labyrinthine depths of a cave system that defied comprehension. Torches lined the walls, casting flickering shadows across the rough-hewn stone floor, as if they beckoned him deeper into the subterranean abyss. As he navigated the winding tunnels, their contours and turns seemed almost sentient, shifting and rearranging in ways that confounded the laws of spatial logic.

Every so often, he would reach out and run his fingers along the cavern walls, attempting to anchor himself amidst the bewildering maze. To his touch, the stone was cold and slick, etched with odd markings that pulsed with an unsettling, otherworldly light. The symbols appeared to shift and dance, their intricate designs weaving a cryptic tale of forgotten ages.

Throughout the subterranean labyrinth, bizarre statues lurked in alcoves and alcoves within alcoves, their forms grotesquely contorted. These enigmatic sculptures made Ralios's head hurt when he gazed upon them, blending bipedal sentient features and beastly characteristics in unsettling combinations. Each of these figures appeared to be frozen in some moment of agonizing transformation, leaving Ralios with a profound sense of unease.

Strange skeletons, some seemingly Aelorian and others beyond recognition, littered the cavernous passages. The bones were aged and brittle, intermingled in a macabre tapestry that hinted at a turbulent history. Some were long and gaunt, while others bore elongated, twisted limbs reminiscent of nightmarish creatures. They lay scattered as if fleeing from some unseen cataclysm, telling a haunting story of despair and decay.

As Ralios pressed onward, the twisting tunnels gave way to a chamber of staggering proportions. Here, the strange luminescence reached its zenith, bathing the chamber in an eerie, pulsating glow. In its heart stood a colossal statue, shrouded in mystery and a profound sense of timelessness.

This statue depicted a figure he could not identify—an alien form that bore a superficial resemblance to an Aelorian, but it had no beak or feathers, and its long hair fell down to its feet. He had never seen anything like it before. It was a human, although the term held no meaning in his mind. The statue depicted this enigmatic being as a woman, her form graceful and ethereal. In her arms, she cradled something that closely resembled an infant, yet it was utterly alien to Ralios's comprehension. Gazing upon it, he couldn't help but feel a heartbreaking sense of loss—a loss of something he couldn't put into words, but it was devastating nonetheless.

The cavernous chamber held an aura of reverence, as if this tableau were a sacred enigma, a testament to an ancient world with stories untold. Ralios couldn't help but feel that the answers to his deepest questions lay buried within the cryptic embrace of the statue, waiting to be unveiled by some yet-undiscovered key.

In the cavern's haunting silence, Ralios's senses became acutely attuned to the eerie details surrounding him. Candles, somehow still burning with unwavering determination, cast their flickering, ethereal glow across the chamber. Before the colossal statue, offerings lay scattered like remnants of forgotten devotion. Precious gems glistened beside vibrant flowers, their petals untouched by time. It was as if someone had recently sought to honor the enigmatic figure that loomed overhead.

Amidst this display of reverence, there were sleeping mats strewn about haphazardly, yet the chamber bore no signs of life. It was an unsettling contrast—the vibrant offerings and the barren stillness. Ralios felt an inexplicable sense of solitude, a realization that he was the sole inhabitant of this cryptic place.

Approaching the colossal statue, its sheer size dwarfing him threefold, Ralios couldn't help but feel small and insignificant in its presence. His gaze was drawn to the statue's base, where a peculiar plaque bore symbols foreign to his understanding. His eyes shifted downward, and that's when he noticed something amiss—a single flower had slipped from its perch on the platform upon which the statue stood.

A curious compulsion seized him. He knew not why, but correcting what seemed awry became an irresistible urge. Bending down, he retrieved the fallen flower, its vivid purple petals appearing freshly plucked, untouched by time's passage. He examined it closely for a moment, feeling a strange connection to this act. Without hesitation, he gently placed the flower back at the feet of the towering statue, as though participating in an age-old ritual that transcended his comprehension.

In the cavern's heavy silence, the world held its breath as the fallen flower settled back at the statue's feet. Then, in the next heartbeat, the tranquility shattered. A deafening cacophony of stone grinding against stone pierced the air, reverberating through the cavern's ancient walls.

Startled beyond comprehension, Ralios tumbled backward, his heart racing in his chest. Horror coiled around his senses as he watched, paralyzed, while the colossal stone figure before him stirred to life. The grinding sound, like the agonized cries of ancient stones, seemed to seep into his very soul.

The monumental statue, holding its eldritch infant, bent at its waist with a calculated grace. It raised a massive stone arm, its fingers reaching out toward Ralios, who felt an unrelenting fear clutching at his heart. He couldn't tear his gaze away from the statue's sorrowful, unmoving stone face.

The statue's hand transformed, its massive fingers shaping into a single, pointed digit. It extended the stony finger, pressing it firmly but not harshly against Ralios's chest. A slight ache emanated from the point of contact, spreading unease through his body. Then, in an instant, his world turned blinding white, and he was wrenched from the confines of his own dream.