One Hulking Mess

Algodon was certain he had never seen a planet like Helix-One before. Never did he experience a place so cut off from the Symphony. The star did not even radiate the simplest of tunes. If he had not known better, he would have guessed humanity chose this place for itself. Alas, that was not true to history, if Algodon recalled. The Imperium made such a decree on humanity to live its last days on this back-tundra of a planet. 

Algodon swept his hand over his ship's console and retracted the solar sails. No matter. It wasn't as if Algodon could concern himself with that now. Not when his vessel was imminently going to crash into the icy place. 

Dissonance be damned! He wasn't going to die like this! Not when he was so close to discovering the find of a century. Algodon steadied himself. The pod needed a guiding hand. He steered opposite of the force upon his vessel, targeting thrusters to lessen the impact in anyway he could, but he knew it would be a rough landing, regardless. He just hoped he would not be obliterated to space dust upon impact. 

BAM! WHACK! THUNK!

That was not the most pleasant of sounds, nor the most pleasant of feelings as his very crystals nearly shattered upon the second bounce. But he was alive and still had his head. Kicking the door to his pod open, he felt the crystalline compounds on the roof of his forehead drop to the floor. Well, he had most of his head, he thought. He had his eyes for certain and honestly wished he was seeing anything. The surface in which he landed was covered in blinding snow, if it were not for the series of scorch marks following his rather destructive trail there would be nothing but blistering white. He checked the communication array in his pod for some kind of signal from his ship…nothing. 

He cursed under his breath. 

It was one thing to crash land on a planet, it was another to be stranded completely. If Algodon had to guess he would say the disturbance in his readings was what caused the crash, perhaps was currently causing interference right now. 

He cursed again. 

Sighing or doing something similar to it, he rubbed the area where some of his crystalline structures fell from his forehead. He felt a substantial gap where his forehead ought to have been. If he weren't a Geminidi he supposed he would be dead, too. He faced the white dwarf which illuminated the sky with palms facing outward. Focusing his crystals internally he searched for any sign of the anomalous signal he had previously recorded. After a few moments of silence, he felt something resonate within him. Good, he thought. There was at least a harmonic star in this blasted system, praise the Symphony. But he would worry about that later. First he had to find civilization, if it even could be called that. Salvaging what he could from the wreckage he scrounged up his pack, a data-pad with a cracked screen, and what looked like an old compass. It was enough for him. Algodon searched over the horizon for any point he could focus on, and saw in the distance what looked to be smoke. It was a start, at least. But he wouldn't know if it held any sign of intelligent life unless he got closer what with his sensors being damaged. Straightening his pack upon his back, he began what he knew was going to be a long hike.

He cursed a final time.

It was just his luck, he finally gets a breakthrough in his research and his equipment gets crushed to bits and pieces. Without any idea if he was even close to the destination he originally intended, Algodon made his way toward the smoke on the horizon. 

—

Sio woke to the sound of yelling. At least, Sio thought it was yelling. She opened her eyes to find people gathered around her and others running back and forth somewhere in the background. Something happened. She knew this, but couldn't remember. 

"Sio," said a voice. She looked it was a woman with braided hair and dark skin. Laura was her name. "Are you feeling well?"

Sio didn't quite know how to answer that. She felt…strange. It was as if she were dreaming for a very long time and woke to another dream. She couldn't feel anything, but that wasn't quite right either. She expected to feel things, but somehow didn't. 

"What happened?" Sio asked Laura. Laura's lines in her face deepened at the innocence of Sio's question. 

"You were in the mines, Sio. Do you not remember anything?" Laura asked. Another one of the women sitting next to Sio took her hand and put a hand to her forehead. 

"This one is much too cold. We must move her inside, " the other woman said. Others murmured agreement, but Laura shook her head. 

"Get some blankets instead, quickly." She commanded. Sio knew her to be a medicine lady, thinking back. What else did she remember? Sio lost herself in thought. An image of a triangular pillar, lights, sounds, flashes all coalesced into a memory she knew was recent, yet somehow it felt ancient, as if it had always been there. The men and women surrounding her were talking to her but she didn't hear them. Laura immediately checked her wrist and neck and called out to the others.

Sio saw rather than felt her legs get elevated by the two nearest to her feet. A man got up and dashed off somewhere and then returned with a stool on which they placed her legs. The one sent for the blankets returned and Laura hastily wrapped her in one of them. Slowly she began to feel some prickling in her legs, and her body grew warmer. 

"How are you feeling, now?" Laura asked. The question pierced her ears like harsh hale on a metal roof. Sio regained some of her whereabouts enough to answer that she felt herself getting feeling back. Laura nodded, her lines on her face fading slightly. 

"Where's grandmother?" Sio asked. Surely her grandmother would be here at her side if anything was wrong. The others around her went still. Laura looked crestfallen. 

"Sio…" Laura said barely above a whisper. Rather than say more, Laura pointed with her chin toward an area just over the heads of the others. Sio craned her neck to look and saw Otheyo and another man with brown hair and grey eyes. Past them she saw the state of the mines and her heart sank to her stomach. There at the entrance brinewater was gushing out and there was shale where there didn't used to be. A large pillar of smoke came off of the pump next to the mines. But where was her grandmother? Sio looked at Laura again, pleadingly. Laura met her gaze and blinked a few times, trying desperately not to cry. Sio knew then where her grandmother was and she felt herself grow colder once more. Without thought, Sio moved to get up, but was held down by the people surrounding her. Laura told her not to move, but Sio didn't listen. Try as she might, she was too weak to fight off several people let alone one. She screamed. It was gutteral and pierced the air. Sio didn't know how long she did that before she felt herself being moved another place. 

They moved her to the medic bay, a shell white building with two cylinders connected to its side. There inside were beds and an assortment of tools around them. They carried her to one of the beds but she was much too tired to protest. Laura held her hand as they placed her, perhaps to show some sort of support. Some one different came around this time, a person Sio recognized. Dr. Gene Tausidi. Tausidi was a Rai Kiri from Tau Jara, a Reptilian to be precise. Her head was crowned with horns and underneath her chin were bumps that resembled thorns. Her platinumblonde scales shimmered underneath the medic bay's lights in a blue tone. Sio felt herself choke up, Dr. Tausidi was a dear friend of her grandmother. 

Dr. Tausidi knelt, her tall figure bent toward the bay's bed. Sio wondered if she knew what had happened. Sio watched as her scales rippled and changed tone to a cooler yellow as she looked over Sio's vitals. They always turned that color when something was wrong. Dr. Tausidi waved everyone out of the room, but allowed Laura to stay with Sio as the girl didn't let go of her hand. Dr. Tausidi looked as though she was fidgeting, and looked to Sio like she had something to say to her. After a brief moment she shook her head and addressed Laura instead. 

"Any news about…?" she trailed off, not able to look either in the eyes. Laura gave a glance at Sio out of the corner of her eye, mouth agape. Laura shut it at once then shook her head at the Reptilian. 

"Aburn tried to save her, but the water…it flooded the caverns in an instant." Laura whispered. Sio knew then who they were talking about. So it was true, her grandmother was gone and so were her adoptive parents. It's all my fault, she thought. Sio felt hot tears fall down the sides of her chin. Sio noticed yellow eyes appear in front of her. Dr. Tausidi met her gaze. Sio didn't know what to make of it. Her eyes bore into her own with an intensity. Anger? Hatred? Sio didn't know, but she felt that it couldn't be good. It must have been obvious, her guilt. What would they do to her? She wondered. Would they exile her? It wasn't unheard of. Dr. Tausidi broke the silence.

"Many Paths–" she stopped. Another voice interrupted them calling from outside the medic bay. 

A man from before who tended to Sio entered. They all looked to him. 

"The village has gathered. Otheyo and Tomak have requested your audience." he announced. Dr. Tausidi stood, her tall imposing figure made the man flinch. He shuffled his way out of the medic bay. The room fell to silence once more. After a moment, Laura spoke.

"It does no good delaying the inevitable. Let's go." Dr. Tausidi nodded to Laura. Laura gently pulled at Sio's hand, a signal to stand up. Both watched her carefully as she stood. Sio's knees shook a little, but otherwise she was able to stand on her own. All three began their short walk to the village center, where all meetings of importance were held. Sio couldn't stop racing thoughts. What was she going to do now? She didn't know. They passed by shell units and other small buildings on their way. Sio saw on the horizon a gathering crowd, Otheyo, Auburn, and Tomak who was a little shorter than the two other men. The women were silent as they continued their march. Sio saw someone point to her from afar and the crowd turn to look at her. She could feel the stares of pity. She hid herself behind Dr. Tausidi and Laura from the scrutinizing watch of the people gathered ahead of them. She heard them whisper their ire. Laura for her merit allowed Sio to hide, and gathered her closer to her side as if to shield her from the oncoming attention, but it did little to comfort Sio. 

The crowd parted before them like water hitting a boulder. Another hush fell over the gathering at the sight of the trio. Tomak, Otheyo, and Auburn straightened themselves. They were opposite to their group. All of them looked tired, Auburn most especially. His eyes were bloodshot and clothes soaked with water. Tomak opened his palms outward in greeting, Dr. Tausidi returned the gesture as did Laura with her free hand. Sio bowed her head, unable to look upon the leader of their tribe. Tomak began speaking to the crowd. His baritone reverberated off of the ice around them. 

"Today, a tragedy has befallen us once more. We have lost valuable members of our tribe to the dangers of the mines. A young girl has become orphaned once more." He paused, whether for dramatic effect or for reverence, Sio did not know. "I have gathered you here today to ask who will take on the responsibility of raising the girl."

Murmuring broke out among the tribe members. She surely heard someone say, "Who would want a Pathless girl? It was a miracle she was spoken for the first time." Auburn stepped forward. 

"My wife was with child when she went missing in the mines, Sio will be as my child and I will raise her on the Path." Sio looked to the man. He opened his palms and faced them outward. He was genuine in his claim, it seemed. Dr. Tausidi and Laura also stepped forward. Laura still holding onto Sio's hand, proclaimed. 

"My sister was lost in the mines, Sio will be as my sister and I will guide her on the Path."

"Iridia was my friend, her grandchild is as my grandchild." Dr. Tausidi stated. Tomak nodded to each of them. He raised his hands over his head in blessing closing his eyes and shouting with a loud voice:

"Then our kinship as a tribe has been maintained, Sio will be raised by Auburn of Shale, Laura of Herbs, and Tausidi of Healing. Her Path will be as you have proclaimed." Tomak clapped his hands overhead and spread them wide. Tausidi, Auburn, and Laura bowed their heads then raised them. Sio had no words. Her throat ached as did her heart, but there was less fear than before. Tomak lowered his hands to his sides and approached Sio. He knelt before her and put a hand on her shoulder and one hand on her head. Auburn, Laura, and Dr. Tausidi also placed a hand upon her head. "Of this kin, there are many Paths. Sio, your Path has yet to be declared, but you are welcome here."

The three others echoed, "You are welcome here."

Tomak stood and all four removed their hands from Sio's head. Sio felt her tears once more, moved by the kindness of these individuals. But her sniffling was cut short by a crash a little ways down the village. Something hulking about had run into a few crates. The crowd removed themselves from Sio's ceremony and investigated the disturbance. Tomak walked forward before all of them. There on top of a broken crate was a large gemstone, clear with black spots floating about it. But this was not like normal crystal formations that Sio had seen before. It was tall, taller than all the villagers, and even a few buildings. There seemed to be a part that looked like a face that had two eyes and a mouth.

"Erm, hello, there." the large crystal formation said. Much to the crowd and Sio's surprise. " I don't suppose you could help me up."