In the fringes there was a single woman cursing, screaming loudly. Waking up from a nightmare into another.
She knew drifting too close to the civilized part of space was a risk... but it was the only explanation for what happened. Too close the light would find a way to touch her mind.
Prospecting was a growing industry with the war escalating a few years ago but now fewer miners were working in the deep field. Contracts go unfulfilled and prospecting got closer and closer to the lanes.
"Trust no technology." Thomas had said. In his haste to explain everything, he had been rambling, fearful. It was scary.
She tried her best. A neural net link was essential for even getting paid for work or buying essentials.
Satrina had been lucky to find an aftermarket thanks to the fringes of society. She was unmodified and stayed away from civilization save for a very small handful of trusted people. Junkers mostly.
Even then she had not seen them in 4 years. Not after Thomas walled her away from the rest of her. Away from Saturnia.
The voice that woke her up was a nomad, but not of the hive.
She remembered how the hive reacted to them all those years ago...
The intrusive thoughts to purge them, take their technology. How can the light be a threat to its light? It was the first time she truthfully knew fear.
The light was awake, and it was not all-loving or accepting.
Thomas knew what was happening but walling her away from the rest of.. herself away from the closes thing to a sister she knew was to keep her safe. Three Winds didn't explain but he had to know.
It was a matter of two days before she generated the nerve to try and get a message to Orin. Orin was silent. Orin knew where Thomas was, where the rest were, the rest of her family. The protocol is if there was a threat or something odd to go to the shrine, check for messages, clues, and after that? Keep moving.
The Shrine was finally visible, this was a great relief as radiation was putting holes in the outer hull.
Afraid. The feeling of what she would find in the sanctuary was the worst she had felt in years. El locked down her spatial and walked by new faces, strangers there meditating and talking. You could be anonymous here still she thought, this is a good sign.
The Shrine had changed but its ability to remember was there. Satrina found her way to a hallway of familiar rooms... Meditation rooms, quarters, and refugee barracks were filled with supplies and storage.
She wanted to cry. Was all this hiding bullshit?
Was Thomas just paranoid? The made her angry. Energy crawled over her skin.. it wasn't purple anymore, it was blue, and yellow like a flame.
She had connected again somehow.. not strong enough to feel the rest of her.. but connected.
Hybrids rarely lived as long as she had, the seraphim had all gone off on their own before she went into hiding. Or so she thought.. someone was near.
Someone had gone through most of these rooms already as well. Carefully however it was had checked all the contents.
She was suddenly dizzy.. she sat down against the wall and slid to the floor her light had settled down but she had tears in her eyes.
No notes.. no one she knew. Just strangers, "seekers" they were called. An empty home filled with people.
