That feeling of worthlessness only grew when we rounded the corner to find Pedro perched on a pile of rubble as if nothing were amiss. I took a step forward but paused when Micahimmediatelyreactivated their shields.
He knows.
Of course, he knows…
Again, we stared at each other, each of us refusing to be the first to name the issue, refusing to communicate.
I. Fucking. Hate. It.
“Pspsps…” Micah called, patting the baby sling he was wearing to encourage the creature to go tohiminstead ofme.
It’s probably for the best.
“What now?” I asked, partly to break the tension, but mostly because Ineededhim to step up and take control of the situation.
In case he needs to take control ofme.
Please.
Micah arranged Pedro in the sling before glancing around. “Well, I was hoping to continue my training with Leeloo, but I’m getting the feeling…”
His voice trailed off as something behind me caught his eye. I instinctively spun, preparing to unleash my tendrils if necessary—ready to protect what wasmine.
Both of them.
My brow furrowed to find nothing there, but Micah hurried past me, activating the headlamp feature on his glasses to illuminate the tunnel wall.
“Holy shit!” he whispered, and Pedro chittered in response, as if also excited about the discovery. “Look, Zig—cave paintings!”
Cave paintings weren’t what I would callrareon other planets—climate and conflict dependent, of course—but they were generally only found in societies that valued creative expression and the preservation of accurate history over destructive supremacy and one-sided political narratives.
Hence why theyareso rare on Earth.
And Stellaria…
Given what we knew of the Eki, I wasn’t surprised to find them here. If nothing else, their existence proved just how long this species had lived underground. What else this discovery provided was a conversation starter—a way to redirect my scientifically-minded mate to safer waters than the proverbial elephant in the room.
The Trol in the lava tube, I should say.
I moved closer, feeling my anxiety lessen simply from havingboththese creatures in close proximity once again.
“What do you see…” I began, trailing off as the pictures came into view.
The scene before me sent a cold shiver down my spine. A large blue sphere dotted with green continents floated in a sea of stars. Farther down the wall were crude renditions of humanoid figures and the unmistakable arrival ofLacertusto their primitive world.
This much I already knew, thanks to similar discoveries on Earth. What caught my eye, however, were the starry auras hovering over certain Earthlings, spreading outward like invisible strings—liketendrils—back in time to what were apparently theoriginalinvaders to my stellar collision’s home planet.
The Eki.
29
MICAH
The mind-blowing discovery we'd just stumbled upon temporarily distracted me from Ziggy’s ongoing emotional constipation.
Dr. Micahwillbe bringing it up at our next session.
Of course, it wasn’t news to me that theLacertus—along with Stellarians—invaded Earth once upon a time. My eldest brother turned into an apparently ‘miniature’ version of the oversized lizards when in supe form, and we now knew wherethatDNA came from. If the cave painting’s timeline was to be believed, the Eki touched down on EarthbeforetheLacertusdid, but it wasn’t clear what they had to do with the events that followed.
