The Island on the Edge of Forever (The Epic of Aravinda Book 2) by Andrew M. Crusoe Read Free Book Online Page B

had brought him to timespace, the inverse reality to spacetime, just as before. After all, this realm was where the Tulari truly did its work. The experience of timespace felt unusually disorienting to Zahn, and he found himself having trouble placing where he was, or more precisely, when he was, in the midst of it all.
    “Tulari, where are you? Why don’t I see you?”
    Far off in the brilliance, he saw a pulse of light which transformed itself into a thump thump thumping in his chest. He’d met the Tulari before, and it wasn’t like this. The pulse grew nearer. It looked like what he remembered, except that now the orb of the Tulari was glowing red.
    “Zahn, why?” Its red orb filled his view. “Why have you dishonored your friends who love you so?”
    “What?” Zahn said, his mouth agape. “What are you talking about? I solved a huge problem. Once I flew us into the wormhole, you sealed it up forever. The marauders will no longer be able to come through, and Asha won’t have to worry about the Outpost Ring anymore. She’s important to me, Tulari. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
    The orb grew lighter. “It is true. You have used my form to seal up the wormhole, just as you have used Navika to come here. As the preserver of the integrity of the warp and the weft of spacetime, I cannot help but heal its wounds. Yet your motives are mixed, and you deceived Asha.”
    “What do you mean?”
    The Tulari pulsed red again. “You have taken Navika, against his will, to this place. And you have left them in secret.”
    “I don’t see how that’s deceiving.”
    “Every act that blocks love is a deception.”
    Zahn sighed. “Look, I’m sorry I took the ship. I thought I was doing the right thing. I want Asha to feel she can move to Avani without worrying so much, but I also came here to find out what happened to Oonak. Last time I was here, you said you couldn’t show me anything that happened after the moment I arrived. And I understood. I still do, but some time has passed. Can you show me what has happened now?”
    “I will not. You are under a free will violation, and because of this, I will not share any further information with you.”
    “What? You won’t show me anything? Look, I don’t know if you understand, but Oonak isn’t just my friend. He’s crucially important. He’s part of the Confederation, the only organized opponent to the Vakragha, who are most likely going to consume the entire galaxy if we don’t do something about it. Don’t you remember all that? Don’t you care?”
    “Calm yourself and use this time to reflect on your actions. This cycle is now complete.”
    “What? So what am I supposed to do now? We need Oonak!”
    “Reflect.”
    The Tulari zoomed up and touched Zahn’s third eye; and everything around him blended together as his perspective grew unstable and his thoughts melted away.

CHAPTER7
     
    STEALTH PROTOCOL
     
     
    A quiet whistling sound filled Mira’s ears, and she slowly opened her eyes and sat up. As she did this, the back of the command chair followed her body, resuming its upright position, and all around her, the spherical room brightened.
    She paused, noticing that she could see a miniature version of herself, a petite yet strong woman wearing a silvery-violet uniform covering her from head to toe, reflected back to her in the mirrored bulkhead which curved up and around to form the ceiling. Only a few strands of her golden hair peeked through the glossy mindcap of the suit.
    With the merest blink of her grey-blue eyes, the curving bulkhead in front of her disappeared, and all at once the grandeur of the cosmos was spread out before her.
    “Mira-mira, the survey you ordered is now complete. I’ve detected five timespace signatures in this system. Exciting place! Like somebody had a party. I also made a fractal out of the orbit harmonics.”
    It struck Mira how absurd it was that a reconnaissance ship would have such a whimsical and quirky voice,