The Silent Orbit Of Our Two Suns

The twin suns of Ariven Nine hovered low on the horizon casting long golden arcs across the metallic dunes. The desert shimmered with a heat that seemed to breathe rising and falling like the slow inhale of a sleeping giant. Liora Den stood at the edge of the excavation trench her gloved hands pressing into the ancient alloy buried beneath the sand. Every time she touched the surface she felt a faint pulse travel through her fingertips as if a sleeping memory deep within the relic was trying to whisper her name.

She leaned closer brushing sand away with slow deliberate strokes. The sun caught the reflective alloy revealing a faint inscription along its curve. The language was like nothing in the galactic archives. Liora murmured to herself her voice soft in the dry wind. You are older than the colonies older than our charts maybe older than light itself. The thought sent a thrill down her spine. She lived for moments like this the quiet shiver of unraveling something forgotten.

A sudden tremor shook the ground. Sand cascaded down the walls of the trench. Liora stumbled grabbing onto the buried structure for balance. The pulse beneath her fingertips surged becoming impossibly warm. She pulled back startled. What was that She blinked rapidly her pulse racing. She had been alone at the site for three days while her partner Kael Vorn analyzed satellite sweeps from their outpost a few kilometers away. She tapped her comm panel. Kael you feel that

Static answered her followed by a burst of interference like a thousand faint overlapping voices. She frowned adjusting the signal. Kael respond. A sharp crackling noise pierced the channel then a deep fragmented voice echoed through the audio. Liora. Do not touch it. Her breath hitched. Kael That did not sound like him. She tapped the comm again but the channel dissolved into silence.

The relic beneath her feet vibrated once more. Slow steady deliberate. As if awakening.

Liora stepped back climbing out of the trench with hurried steps. She scanned the horizon her visor highlighting heat traces. Something flickered near the dunes a silhouette appearing and vanishing within the waves of shimmering light. Her heartbeat quickened. She reached for the plasma baton at her belt moving cautiously toward the flickering shape.

As she approached the silhouette solidified. A human figure. A man. She froze gripping her baton tighter. Hello Her voice shook slightly. The man turned slowly his expression unreadable. He wore no environment suit yet the harsh desert did not seem to touch him. His eyes however glowed faintly with the same pulsing light she felt in the relic.

He spoke quietly his voice layered with strange undertones. You heard the call. Liora swallowed hard. Who are you The man stepped closer his footsteps silent on the sand. I am what was left behind. And you have awakened the memory.

She took a careful step backward. Memory Of what The man lifted a hand and the sand beneath them rippled spreading outward in a perfect circle. The buried relic responded with a deep resonant hum. The man said softly This world remembers what your people forgot. We were the first to walk the stars. We shaped the suns. And we fell into silence when the sky burned.

Liora felt her breath catch. You are ancient she whispered. Older than the Alliance older than any map. The man nodded slowly. We are echoes bound in the metal blood of this world. Waiting for a mind capable of hearing us. And you Liora Den you hear us clearly.

Her pulse raced. How do you know my name The glowing eyed man smiled faintly. Because we reached into your memory when you touched the relic. We saw your hopes. Your fears. And we saw him. Liora stiffened. Kael. Where is he.

The man tilted his head slightly. If you want to see him you must follow me. Liora hesitated torn between fear and the need to find Kael. She finally gave a sharp nod. Lead the way.

The man turned and began walking across the dunes his steps impossibly smooth. Liora followed her boots sinking into the hot sand. The suns dipped lower casting long crimson shadows across the desert. As they walked the dunes shifted subtly revealing faint metallic patterns beneath the surface. Liora realized with dawning awe that the entire desert was not natural. It was a planetary scale machine covered in millennia of sand.

The man led her to a rift in the ground where a staircase descended into glowing darkness. Liora hesitated at the entrance. Where does this lead The man answered Without looking back To the heart of memory.

Liora followed him downward.

The staircase spiraled deeper until the heat slowly faded replaced by a cool shimmering air. The walls around her glowed with streaming patterns of light like veins carrying living data. At the bottom of the descent an enormous chamber opened before her. In its center Kael Vorn hung suspended above the floor held in place by threads of glowing energy.

Liora lunged forward. Kael The man lifted a hand stopping her with a single gesture of shimmering force. He lives the man said. But he is caught between waking and memory. Liora glared at him. Release him The man regarded her with calm patient eyes. I cannot. You can.

Liora steadied herself. What do you want from me. The man approached closing the distance between them. His eyes glowed brighter. You were chosen by the relic. Your consciousness resonates with the memory lattice. You can free us. And in return we will free him.

Liora pressed her lips together her mind racing. What happens if I refuse The chamber lights flickered. The memory lattice will collapse eventually the man said. And when it does your partner will fall with it. Liora felt the threat press against her chest like a weight. She took a breath gathering her courage. What do I have to do.

The man reached for her hand and when their palms touched she felt an electric rush surge up her arm like being plunged into cold water. The chamber dissolved around her and she found herself standing in an endless expanse of starlight. The stars pulsed gently like floating fireflies in a dark ocean. The man stood beside her but now his form shimmered with thousands of overlapping silhouettes. He spoke in a whisper that echoed like distant thunder. This is the memory of our fall. You must walk through it without losing yourself.

Liora steadied her breathing. I can do this.

The stars around her shifted forming fragments of ancient worlds burning sky cities collapsing cosmic storms tearing across galaxies. The vision overwhelmed her senses each memory trying to bury itself into her mind. Liora clenched her fists forcing herself to stay anchored. This is not me This is not real These are not my memories

Her voice cut through the storm of visions and slowly the images began to settle.

The man watched her with something like awe. Few can resist the pull of our echoes he said softly. Liora wiped sweat from her brow. I am not here to borrow your past. I am here to save my present.

The memory plane cracked like glass and shattered into brilliant fragments. Liora gasped and suddenly she was back in the chamber. The energy threads around Kael dimmed. He fell forward collapsing into her arms. Liora caught him holding him tightly. His voice was hoarse. Liora I knew you would come. Relief flooded her chest. Always she whispered.

The ancient man slowly faded his form dissolving into tiny sparks of light drifting upward like fireflies. You freed us he said. The silence of this world is broken. Live well Liora Den. And remember us.

The sparks vanished into the chamber ceiling.

Kael leaned against her still weak but conscious. What now Liora She looked up at the glowing walls then back at him. Now we go home. But the wind outside carries more memories than we ever imagined. And one day someone will need to listen again.

Hand in hand they climbed out of the memory chamber emerging beneath the twin suns. The metallic dunes glimmered softly as if bowing in farewell. Liora glanced over the horizon feeling the whisper of a long forgotten people echo through the wind.

We remember you.