Naya

104 Years Later- 2346
The Doctor

Ezra Lincoln walked briskly down the long, all metal hall of his quarters towards the Bridge. His combat boots clinked loudly against the floor, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his casual khaki pants. His father had called him up on his IC, the tiny square communication device built into his ear. Apparently something was going on up there, because his father had been cut off mid explanation.
He punched in the code for the entrance and walked into a room in chaos. Everyone was talking at once, their fingers tapping and swiping across the screens of their thin computers. His father noticed him from the end of the long bridge where the ship opened up to bullet proof glass.
Outside was nothing, but clear blue water and an even clearer blue sky.
“Ezra!” The General, his father, demanded his attention. “The computers are going haywire. We haven’t been able to connect to the ship or Yuen for more than five seconds. Our radar isn’t working, the IC’s are offline, the cyborgs can’t get their mechanics to work.”
Ezra’s brows furrowed as the seriousness of the situation hit him. The computers not working isn’t a big deal, but if the cyborg’s inexplicably couldn’t function… a lot of them could die. There was enough death on this ship as it was.
“Get me the Chief Engineer, we need to discuss the situation in a calm area.”
His father nodded, snapping his finger at a random young boy. “Get the Chief Engineer,” he snapped. The boy saluted and scampered off.
“Hilda!” Ezra shouted over the other voices. Hilda, a blond bunned, thinly built woman stood up abruptly and saluted.
“Sir!” She exclaimed.
“I need you to run an analysis on every outside force, get me some data to work off of. Check for viruses on the computers, anything at all. Pronto.”
“Yes, sir!”
Ezra spotted a familiar face and walked up to him, placing his hand on his shoulder. A Hispanic man turned to face him. “Eliseo, please find me Dr. Hughes and Dean, meet me in my quarters.”
Eliseo saluted and walked away swiftly.

Back in his quarters Eliseo, Dean, Dr. Hughes, his father, Hilda, and the Chief Engineer stood around the long table they occasionally hold their meetings at. However, never have they been this drastic since the initial take off of their ships. Heavy discussion swirled in the room until one of the engineers came bustling through the door.
He saluted the Chief Engineer. “Sir, all systems are back in order. Computers are running, navigational systems fully functioning, cyborgs are safe to go.”
Ezra’s brows furrowed. “Just all of a sudden?”
The engineer glanced at Ezra, noticed who spoke, then stood up straighter. He nodded firmly. “Yes, sir. It seems there must have been some kind of accidental shutdown. Technicians are looking into it now.”
Hilda comes forth, her finger pressed against her ear as she listened to someone through her IC. “My team noticed a peak in thermal and kinetic energy about fifteen minutes ago, when everything shut down. There was also a strange movement in tectonic plates as well.”
“An earthquake caused the cyborgs to lose power?” Ezra questioned with disbelief.
Hilda shook her head. “I don’t think it was just an earthquake, sir.”
“Hilda, you’re not making any sense,” Ezra’s father grumbled, his voice gruff.
Hilda ignored the General and brought up her holoscreen, flicking through some data before she found what she was looking for. “Sir, take a look at this data my team just uploaded to me. We just passed over a line where two seas don’t meet, but we’re not anywhere near the Baltic-North sea area. These graphs here indicate an off the charts amount of thermal and kinetic energy. It surged through our ships in a pulse like way,” she pointed to another graph. “Look at this line here. It’s like we passed through some kind of… shield or doorway.”
Ezra’s brows lifted, thoughts racing a million miles an hour, but before he could say anything, his father interrupted. “An invisible doorway of energy? Now, you’re sounding crazy, Hilda. I think we can all agree that these ships are getting old and we need to find a way to make sure what just happened doesn’t happen again.”
Hilda opened her mouth to rebuke, but Ezra beat her to the chase. “Don’t be so quick to say no, Dad. It’s not that impossible, considering how we got these ships here.”
The General looked at Ezra warily, his face etched in disbelief. “You surprise me, Ezra. We are intelligent people. There’s no such thing as an invisible doorway of energy. Now get your heads together and let’s solve this intelligently… with our technology. Which is, if I may add, quite real.”
Ezra and Hilda met gazes, a silent form of communication passing between them. Ezra nodded at his father. “I’ll take the Chief Engineer downstairs. We’ll figure out what happened. Dean follow Hilda and get me some more data to work off of. Dr. Hughes, Eliseo, if you could please check up on the cyborgs, make sure everything is functional.”
Everyone nodded and quickly set off to do their new tasks. With one last look at the General, Ezra placed his hand on the Chief Engineer’s shoulder and led him out, talking softly about possible causes.

Naya

A soft, wet thing brushed against her cheek as she stirred from her slumber. Opening her eyes, Naya found that the soft, wet thing was Papan’s nose. She grinned, running her hand along the large head of her friend, scratching under her chin. The jaguar purred in rejoice. Getting to her feet, Naya brushed off any stray blades of grass from her legs.
Your dreams seem troubled. Did you sleep okay?
Naya glanced at the cat, a wary smile twitching her lips. “Yes, Pan.”
Naya stretched her limbs as she gazed out from the rumbling hill, her favorite place to be since she was able to travel out of her own village without supervision. About the same time her jaguar chose her as a companion. It seemed so long ago, but for her people a hundred years is merely the beginning of childhood.
From such a height, Naya could oversee the diversity of her people by the different lands of the island. There was her home, known as the Circle for its big, circular wall. It sat near the beach of the island and was the biggest market area, especially for fish. She could see the smoking huts of the villagers and the stalking Knights outside the border of the Wall. Her home provided the most protection for her people.
To her right were the Plains, tall golden grasses and flowers. The people living in the Plains were very peaceful hunters. They provided the most food and clothing. Jaguar Knights often came from the Plains, exceptional and brutal warriors.
The land behind her was the Forest, thick with great green trees and vines almost impossible to get through. The people living in these lands were strange, very connected with the earth and the life around them. They provided medicine for the people. Few Jaguar Knights came from the Forest, however the ones that did were stealthy and some of the best.
The rest of the island consisted of rivers and lakes and hard rock. Many cliffs and drop offs too dangerous to inhabit. Of course, there were legends and stories told to the children of monsters living in the rocks. Mostly scary stories to keep the children from going up there, but sometimes Naya wondered if any of them were real.
Papan began rubbing her large head against Naya’s hip, her fur tickling the naked skin and bringing her out of her reverie. Naya slung the leather quiver of arrows over her shoulder and climbed onto the cat’s back, clutching patches of fur with her fists. “Head to the Forest, I’d like to check up on a friend of mine, Pan.”
Herue? The cat practically purred with smugness.
Naya smiled at the intelligent feline. She was too wise for her own good.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She reached the largest village of the Forest within the hour, the giant trees looming over her like the shadows of the gods. Children ran about, laughing and screaming, people walked carrying baskets or hovered over fires, stirring their spoons in boiling pots. Various smells and sounds bombarded Naya, but she took it all in with grace.
Finally, she found the tree she was searching for. It was the biggest one in the village and in the center as if purposely placed to be at the pinpoint of importance. The tree itself held over twenty homes for the leaders of the village, but Naya was headed for a specific one at the bottom. She guided Papan through the wide doorway into the hollow base of the tree. Two other Jaguar Knights were inside, stationed as guards on jet black Jaguars. Naya nodded at them, they didn’t bat a single lash in acknowledgment, but she knew they accepted her presence.
“Naya!”
At the sound of her name, she grinned, recognizing the loud, booming voice of Herue. She leaped off of Pan and straight into the welcoming arms of her greatest friend. Herue laughed, setting her back on her feet. She looked up at him, his big hand on her slender shoulder.
“I had forgotten how short you are.”
Naya rolled her eyes. “I am afraid you are just a giant, my friend.”
Herue laughed again. “That is true. I grew again, how about that? I am 7’6 exactly now.”
“They’re going to have to build a whole new tree just to get your big head in,” Naya teased as they began to walk towards Herue’s private quarters. As she said that, Herue ducked under the doorway to get in, his massive shoulder just barely escaping a bump into the frame.
Papan mewled, placing her head in Naya’s lap. “Not now, Pan,” Naya said. “Wait for me outside.” The cat begrudgingly left the room, knowing that her Knight didn’t want her to hear what she had to tell Herue.
Herue looked at Naya, his green eyes twinkling at her with kindness, but also a great respect. Having grown up together, it was difficult to imagine him as Chief of the Forest. She still remembered playing in the mud and wrestling in the tall grasses of the Plains with him. But then, she wasn’t exactly unimportant either. Naya was the daughter of the Chief of the Circle; she was next in line to not only lead an entire tribe, but also the Jaguar Knights. One title; two responsibilities.
“What brings you here?” Herue asked as he poured some kind of green liquid into a wooden cup. He offered one to Naya, but she declined.
“Couldn’t I come to visit an old friend?”
Herue smiled, however it wasn’t his normal goofy smile. “Next in line chiefs don’t have time for mere visits, Naya.” Suddenly anxious, she looked away. “I sense trouble in you.” One of his long fingers grazed her cheek, a gesture of affection. “What is bothering you?”
Naya glanced at the doorway, anxious of Pan’s inquiring ears. She had long struggled to keep this from her companion, to prevent the panic and the embarrassment. Normally, it was Papan she spoke to first, but she knew Herue would understand what it meant more than her jaguar would.
“I experience dreams… they are quick and blurred, but I remember images of ancient times. I see an eagle perched on a cactus between two rocks, a snack in its beak. I see moving mountains in the water and fire in the valleys. I fear these things, Herue. They are of the stories told by our elders and inscribed in the Obsidian monument. Tell me what my dreams mean so that I can make sense of why the gods have damned me with such a curse.”
“The gods have not cursed you, Naya,” Herue’s voice was soft, immediately taking on the role he was meant to take on at birth. “I believe they are sending a message to you, a warning. You were wise to come to me, we cannot ignore this. Something is coming and you have given us a chance.” Herue stood, leading Naya to the door of his quarters and out of the tree.
Papan was waiting for her a few feet away, watching children play from a patch of grass. Herue’s big hand held her shoulder, his green eyes bore into her as if searching for her soul. “The gods have chosen you. I do not know why, that answer will come in time.” He paused, thinking of what to say next, glancing over his shoulder as he did so. “I have business to attend. Go home, I will be in the Circle by dawn. Tell your father to expect my company.”
Naya nodded, shoving the spike of fear in her belly away. “Thank you, my friend.”
Herue smiled his genuine smile, goofy and lopsided. “I think it is I, and the rest of our people, who will end up thanking you.” With that, he turned and walked back to the tree.
Naya felt the fur of Papan’s head rubbing against her hip. Absently, her hand petted her and she looked down into the knowing eyes of her companion. She sighed and climbed onto her back, taking off toward home.
Why were you afraid to speak to me of your dreams?
Naya knew there wouldn’t be silence for long, but she was hoping they could at least make it home first. Pan leaped over a fallen tree and broke through the edge of the Forest. Green grass passed beneath her paws.
“I wasn’t afraid, Pan. I thought speaking to Herue first would be the wisest path.”
I am your Jaguar. You should always speak to me first.
“I’m sorry, Pan. But not this time.”
The jaguar didn’t like that answer, but she wasn’t completely opposed to it. She recognized the wisdom in Naya’s decisions, however distasteful. Naya scratched her behind the ears, a smile on her face. She knew Pan wouldn’t be angry at her forever.
They were coming up to the hill she lied on that morning. The grass was just as green, the hill rolling down to the deep valley leading to the sandy beaches of the Circle. Papan slowed to a walking pace at the pique, looking out over the island.
A storm threatens.
Naya gazed out to the sapphire blue sea, just making out dark gray clouds on the horizon. A bright flash of lightning struck the sea viciously.
“Come, Pan. We must tell Father of Herue’s visit and have him warn the villagers of the oncoming storm.”

The Doctor

Only an hour after the sudden shutdown of their ships a storm began to rage across the sea. Ezra Lincoln pushed his way through the chaos, struggling to get out to the deck. The crew scrambled to their stations, preparing the ships’ shields, others were trying to get out of the rain that poured so hard from the sky it felt like stones were pelting against their skin. Waves roared against the creaking ship, violently rocking it back and forth like a cradle.
Purple lightning flashed across the dark gray sky, lighting it up like a strobe light. Thunder rumbled loudly, hurting Ezra’s ear drums with each attack. The rain hurt his skin and froze him to the bone, but he ignored it.
Looking up, he flinched as lightning struck the top of their deck, near the bridge. He heard several screams at once as several crew members fell to their death. Ezra was sprinting towards the ladder before he knew what he was doing and began to climb. The rain was harsher the higher he got, wind whipped at him from all directions. He could just make out the black shape of a man dangling by the broken metal railing .
“Help me!” He cried as he slipped further down.
In the back of his mind, Ezra knew he wouldn't reach the man in time, but he kept going. He climbed and climbed until suddenly, the man couldn't hold on any longer and began to plummet. Ezra reached out and grabbed his arm, his fingernails digging into the man’s raincoat. Ezra screamed, pain striking through his shoulder, but he held on.
“Ezra!”
He heard the faint shout of his father’s voice and looked down to see the General looking up at them. Everyone looked like ants from this view. Glancing further out, Ezra could see clear skies not too far away. The storm was almost over. They were going to be okay.
The doctor looked down at the man he had rescued, it was Hank, one of the engineers. “Grab the ladder!” Ezra shouted at him, only slightly irritated now by the agony surging through his shoulder blade.
Hank struggled to reach it with Ezra guiding him towards it. They slowly but surely made the climb down to the deck. Once there, the General placed his rough hand on Ezra’s face for a moment before letting it fall back to his side.
“Son, we should talk,” his voice was grave.
The doctor looked up at his father and nodded. “I saw the end of the storm. It’ll be over soon. Get everyone inside. We've done the best we can to protect the ship from further harm.”
His father nodded. “I’ll meet you on the Bridge.”
With a low sigh, Ezra made his way there, desperately trying to ignore the dead bodies on the way.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

They stood in a small, secluded corner, overlooking the ship below through the thick, high impact resistant glass of the bridge. The sapphire blue water moved calmly now and the sky was clear and cloudless, the storm long passed them. What a storm it had been; merciless would have been an understatement.
Father and son talk quietly amongst themselves, surveying what was left of their crew and the ships that had served them for 4 years on this seemingly endless voyage.
“We’ve lost too many, Ezra. How much longer must we search for this imaginary secret?”
“It’s not a secret, Dad. It’s history.”
“How many more people have to die?”
His father’s words struck him cold. It was true, lives had been lost, too many in fact. The guilt weighed down on Ezra, he was not immune to it. Should they give up? It’s been four years. He sighed, rolling his injured shoulder which was now in a sling.
“I don’t know, Dad.”
“Expect a call from Yuen. You can’t hide this storm from them. They will demand a full status report.”
Ezra nodded, he knew that already, but he couldn’t find the will to find out all the damage that had been done. He felt different, he felt numb. Is this what it felt like to have your dreams crushed, your hopes diminished?
“You did a brave thing today, Ezra. Hank would be dead without you.”
For the first time since they entered the Bridge, Ezra looked up at his father. “I could not save the others,” he whispered, his chest tight.
“How could you? You are one man, Ezra.”
He nodded again, still numb, still guilty. He was to blame. He brought them here, on these ships, on this voyage. It was his dream they died for.
“I should call Yuen,” he found himself saying. “They will be angry if I do not contact them soon.”
He felt his father’s gaze on him, but didn’t return it. He couldn’t bare to see the sympathy in his eyes.
“I’ll see you at dinner, then,” the General said and stalked away.
Ezra took one last long look at the open, endless sea before turning his back and walking to his quarters.

Hilda collected the data he needed to call Yuen, the organization that funded their voyage. The company was vague and often strange in their decisions, but Ezra had to be grateful because without their money or their ships, none of this would have happened.
Hilda stayed with him in his office as he organized his things and began to connect to the Yuen headquarters, thousands of miles away. It took longer than normal, but eventually the five screens in front of him filled with the images of the Yuen Board. They were all in their late fifties and dressed in crisp gray uniforms, two women and three men.
“Dr. Lincoln, how nice to hear from you,” the woman with short blond hair snapped, her sharp blue eyes narrowed. She was known for being short tempered.
“Ms.Naheel, I apologize for the lack of communication these past couple of days. I’m afraid we have had technical… complications as of late.”
“If you could elaborate, Doctor,” a man with peppered hair and a goatee spoke with a much gentler tone than Ms.Naheel.
“Mr. Piper,” Ezra acknowledged with a slight bow of his head. “About three hours ago we lost all connections to the ship, including but not limited to computers and ICs. Cyborg mechanics could not function, radar and navigational systems shut down. So far, we do not have a technical explanation for this. Hilda and her team, however, did find that there was a surge of kinetic and thermal energy off the charts during the exact time the ships began to show failures. The same thing happened to the other two ships in our company. We still don’t have communication between ships. Frankly, I’m surprised I am able to get a connection with Headquarters.”
The board looked at each other, which was an odd sight for Ezra because they were all on five separate screens. They talked quietly amongst themselves.
“That’s not all, I’m afraid.”
They immediately returned their attention to him.
Swallowing, Ezra flicked through his own thin holoscreen coming up out of the band around his wrist. “We had a storm rage through about an hour ago. I’m sending you the status report now. Damage is minimal. Our tower was taken out by lightning, limiting IC communications. Small fires were extinguished. No engine damage, progress is as expected. 30 deaths and 10 injuries, mostly burns from small fires or small fractures from falls. We have no reports on the other ships. Communication is still down.”
The board all nodded. “You have lost several of your crew, Doctor,” Ms. Naheel growled.
“I am aware of that, Ma’am.”
“Take care of your wounded, Doctor,” Mr. Piper commanded softly. “We will call you again this evening. We must decide what to do with this information we have received today.”
Ezra nodded, the numbness returning. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”
With that, the screens went black. Ezra stared at them for a long time, not moving.
Hilda came forth, placing her hand on his bicep. “Ezra,” she whispered. “Are you alright?”
Stirred from his stare, he looked down at her. “Fine, thank you. Where is my father?
She pulled up her holoscreen. “His IC indicates that he is on the Bridge, sir.”
“Thank you, Hilda. You are dismissed.”
She frowned, but obeyed.
Mustering up his last bit of strength, Ezra went back out to the Bridge. He stood observing the crew as they swiped at their screens or talked into their ICs. Everything seemed so normal, so routine, but he did not. Was this voyage a waste? Have all those people died because of some hunch that proved wrong? What was he looking for anyway? A lost city, a lost history? Did any of that matter? Were these peoples’ lives worth it? Ezra didn’t know anymore.
“Sir,” Eliseo appeared out of midair and stood in front of him. His dark eyes peered into Ezra’s empty ones. “Sir.”
Ezra blinked and quickly composed himself. “Yes, what is it?”
“We found land.”
Silence.
“What?”
“We found land, sir.”
Ezra rushed to the end of the Bridge and peered out of the glass. He could just make out the tan outline of land. Holy shit.
“...about two days ahead. Sir, I think we found it.”