A few days passed, and Eldon quickly became a part of everyday life in Argos. He


    learned the language and became a friend to many. He even began his first romantic


    relationship. He did hope that he could bear a child with one of the women, but


    Gakuto quickly explained to him that although they were so similar in appearance, it


    was impossible to have a child with a human. His appearance, however, brought up


    new questions. Gakuto believed that for his form to be so close to their own, the


    planet on which they evolved had to be extremely similar to Earth. That was not the


    case with the planets around Solis, however. This brought new scenarios as to the


    origin of so many species in this system.


    Gakuto began forming a hypothesis that those species must have evolved on


    different planets and been brought there. His idea was very complex and brought


    forth new questions that were even harder the answer, so for now it remained a


    hypothesis without much research behind it. His request to sample DNA from


    thousands of species and prove that there is no evolutionary link between them was


    too costly and time consuming to be granted the green light, so for now he remained


    in speculation.


    Eldon’s memories of the past began painting a detailed picture of what


    happened in the years after the start of the war. While satellites were scanning


    Eldon’s home planet, they decided to drop a few drones so they could remotely


    monitor some key places Eldon wanted to see. When the maps were ready, Eldon


    pointed out the approximate locations of the ancient command centers. Eldon also


    provided the system that notifies him of any electromagnetism being used. In all


    cities, some of the buildings have installed within their walls a simple yet durable


    system, which acts like a receiver and an antenna. It gets its energy directly from A


    concrete. Most of its systems have failed over the years, and the network can no


    longer even pinpoint the location of the source; it still functions as an alarm, to inform


    of the existence of the technology.


    Margaret and Steve were eager to get his replication machines in their hands,


    in case they could help them decode the crystals. Eldon allowed them to visit his


    bunker and see the machines firsthand. Those turned out to be very sophisticated 3-


    D printers but with an existing library of items to make. It seemed that it was


    designed so that no one, even Eldon himself, could tamper with the machines and


    make something new. The machines did not provide insight on how to decode the


    crystals, but they did help with the creation of very sophisticated 3-D printers for


    Argos.


    Y:18 D:60


    The mapping satellite left Spi (Solis-D) to move to the outer, colder, and smaller


    planets. Meanwhile, the drones sent there were approaching an ancient city in ruins.


    Although the planet seemed to be well built, there were far fewer species and villages


    still active there. Eldon explained that it was most likely due to the existence of the


    largest concentration of his people there. They would not easily leave anyone alive


    over the period of those years. At least not in close proximity to themselves. There,


    just outside the tall structures, an area that looked like a lake from the airborne


    images now seemed like a well-polished metal sheet. Upon close inspection of the


    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    area, it looked like the top of an underground launch platform, under which should


    still be a working base. They deduced that because the area was kept clean and no


    vegetation was present around the pad. Without much searching, a smaller,


    hangarlike gate with a human-sized door next to it was found.


    “It looks like they only use flying to travel. There are no roads,” noticed Jain.


    Eldon seemed excited and worried at the same time. “Can we knock on the


    door?” he asked.


    “Weird as it sounds, we actually can,” said Steve.


    “Can I also speak to whoever answers?”


    “Yeah, you can,” said Jain, who was organizing the operation. “Steve, knock


    on the door please.”


    Steve looked like he was waiting for this the entire time. “Look at this


    maneuver,” he said and made the drone bash its belly on the door twice, in what


    would seem like a dance maneuver, much the way a human would knock on a door.


    Hearing no answer, Steve continued to bash on it for a while, waiting for something


    to happen. About ten minutes later, the door opened. From within, another Vampire


    appeared. He looked at the drone with a questioning face and a weapon pointing at


    it.


    Eldon began talking to him in a yet-unknown language. Jain stopped Juuda,


    who was ready to begin asking Eldon to transfer questions. “Let him speak alone,”


    she said. After a while, Eldon stopped and turned to the group. “Well, this is


    amazing,” he said with excitement.


    Alex, who had arrived once he heard the news, asked, “What were you


    talking about?”


    Eldon turned toward Alex. “His name is Rhain,” he said. “He is a much older


    Vampire than me, and he was very curious about you. But he is a friend, and he


    would like to talk again. He will speak with his superiors, and he would like to talk


    again tomorrow.”


    “What did he ask you, and what was this language you were talking?” asked


    Jain.


    “Is this the language you mentioned a few times before?” asked Konoya. “The


    language of the stars that your elders spoke?”


    “Yes. I had not spoken that language since I was a kid, thousands of years


    ago. Also, his reaction when I told him that you look like us was very strange.”


    “What do you mean?” asked Jain.


    “When I told him that there are visitors from the stars, he asked me what you


    look like, and I told him you are just like us but require a far more complex diet than


    us to survive,” answered Eldon. “At that point, I have to admit, the reaction on his


    face was that of shock.”


    “What did he say after that?” asked Jain again.


    “He said that he will speak to me again tomorrow. He went to talk with


    someone else inside the base.”


    “We need to wait and be ready for more communications. Let’s take a break


    for a bit and gather tomorrow, once we have him back. Steve, put the drone on


    standby, looking at the door. Once it detects movement, let us know.”


    After almost everyone left the room, Alex, Jain, Juuda, and Konoya gathered


    to talk alone.


    “It felt like something is wrong,” started Konoya. “He looked like he thought he


    knew us.”


    “Konoya, once the language they spoke is complete, make sure you do not


    inform them that we understand. Keep it a secret from anyone out of our current


    circle for now,” said Jain.


    “Are you suspicious of Eldon?” asked Alex, to which Juuda nodded in


    agreement with the question.


    “Not really,” answered Jain, “but if Rhain is his superior and he thinks he


    knows us, then he might pass sensitive information to him. It’s good to know what


    they are talking about, to avoid any surprises.”


    “Don’t you think that will be very hurtful to him once he realizes?” said Juuda.


    “I think it’s better to tell him the truth immediately. Let them talk, and before we test


    him, we tell him the truth without making him feel like we don’t trust him.”


    “As always, you are the voice of morals here, Juuda. We usually don’t listen


    to you, but I think you might be right on this one. Since the language is not yet ready,


    we will let them talk, and after we have decoded the language, we will let him know


    that we understand.”