The tidecraft cut smoothly through the morning sea, its shell-like hull gliding over the current with barely a ripple.
Yve let out an exaggerated yawn that seemed to go on forever. "We there yet?" She stretched until her shoulders popped, her emerald tail swaying lazily across the floor of the craft.
Ysa glanced over, one brow lifting. "Why are you tired? We just woke up..."
"I've had a long week," Yve mumbled, waving a dismissive hand. "Get off my back."
Ysa stared at her in disbelief before letting out a dry scoff. "Really? I've seen you fight nonstop in month-long battles... and you're tired?"
"I'm also hungry." Yve rubbed her stomach. "You think maybe we can stop and hunt for food?"
Another eye roll.
"Are you in your cycle?"
"Think so." Yve looked down at the shimmering scales along her tail. "Seems like I'll be exfoliating a lot of scales in the next few days."
With all the grace of someone who had completely given up on being productive, she let herself flop backward. Her body slid along the smooth interior of the tidecraft until she settled against the curved wall with a long, dramatic sigh.
Ysa snorted. "Lazy ass."
For a while, the only sounds inside the tidecraft were the gentle rush of water against the hull and Yve's endless stream of quiet sighs, absent-minded humming, and incomprehensible mumbling.
Then she suddenly sat upright. "Do you think Mother will get mad?"
Ysa didn't even look up. "About what?"
Yve hesitated for a second. "About me... being with a human."
A grin slowly spread across Ysa's face. "Oh, yes. Of course." She nodded with exaggerated certainty. "No doubt."
Yve frowned. "I'm serious..."
The grin vanished. Ysa turned toward her, face completely blank. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Yve stared at her for a beat before rolling her eyes. "You're freaking useless."
The grin returned instantly. "Why?" Ysa teased. "Are you worried?"
"Uh, yeah. Duh."
"Yeah..." Ysa leaned back against the side of the craft. "You should be. Mother's gonna kick Dylan's ass."
Yve groaned, dragging both hands down her face. "Shut up... you're not helping."
"Who says I'm gonna help?"
Yve gave her a pleading look. "Come on, sis... help me persuade her."
"No." Ysa folded her arms. "I do not want to. We made a pact to stay out of each other's love business."
Yve let out another defeated groan and deliberately allowed herself to slump backward. She slid down the polished interior of the tidecraft until she was nearly lying flat. "I wish Father was here..." she muttered. "He'd support me."
Ysa's grin disappeared.
Just like that.
The playful mood evaporated, replaced by a silence so abrupt it seemed to weigh down the air itself.
Yve, oblivious, continued staring at the ceiling of the craft.
Ysa slowly turned toward her. "I told you not to mention him again..." she said quietly. "Ever."
Yve blinked, then pushed herself upright once more. "How long are you going to hold a grudge against him?"
The words left Ysa's mouth without hesitation. "Forever."
Yve frowned. "I don't even get why you're upset with him."
"Because he abandoned us."
"He didn't abandon us." Yve's voice sharpened. "He went missing. There's a difference."
Ysa let out a humorless snort. "Missing? To where?"
"I don't know," Yve shot back. "Which is exactly why he's missing."
"Nah." Ysa shook her head. "I don't believe that."
She looked out over the endless ocean before continuing. "He abandoned us. He chose not to come home... and every day he stays gone, he keeps making that choice."
"You saw it, Ysa." Yve leaned forward. "You were there. You saw him disappear beneath the waters of Antarctica. How can you say that?"
Ysa laughed once—a bitter, hollow sound. "Disappear to where?" Her voice rose with every word.
"Huh? Fine, let's swim with your logic. He vanished in front of us..." She jabbed a finger toward the sea. "Then where did he go? If he ended up somewhere else, why hasn't he come home?"
She spread both arms toward the horizon.
"It's been a century, Yve. A century. Earth isn't so impossibly vast that it takes a hundred years to swim from Antarctica back to our village."
Yve's jaw tightened. "There are still countless things we don't understand about our own planet." She met Ysa's glare without flinching. "How can you accuse him of something so unforgivable when you have no proof?"
Ysa said nothing.
So Yve kept going. "I've spent every single day blaming myself for what happened." Her voice cracked for the first time. "If you need someone to accuse, then accuse me."
She placed a hand against her own chest. "Blame me for what I did. Blame me for leading us there." Her eyes hardened. "But do not dishonor Father's name."
Silence.
The tidecraft seemed to shrink around them.
Then Ysa slowly turned. Scales unfurled beneath the skin of her neck, spreading across her shoulders and climbing her jaw in shimmering bands—a reflex she hadn't shown in decades.
Her breathing grew heavier. "Fine." Her voice trembled—not with fear, but with years of grief finally breaking loose. "It is your fault."
Yve froze.
"It was always your curiosity." Ysa's eyes glistened, though no tears fell. "Always chasing another cave. Another trench. Another mystery no one else cared about."
She leaned closer.
"And Father always followed you." Another. "Every. Single. Time."
Yve opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"You think I don't remember?" Ysa's voice cracked. "I remember Mother begging him to stop indulging you. I remember the arguments. I remember her telling him that one day your recklessness would get someone hurt."
Her hands curled into fists. "And then... it did."
The words landed like stones.
"You're not the only one who lost a father that day." Ysa swallowed hard. "I lost one too."
The anger in her eyes wavered, exposing something far older. Exhaustion. Heartbreak.
"You know what the worst part is?" she whispered. "You still haven't changed." She looked at Yve up and down.
"You still throw yourself into danger. You still chase impossible things. You still make everyone around you worry that today's the day you won't come back." Her voice rose again. "And you do it without thinking about what it does to the people who love you!"
Yve stared at her, unable to speak.
"I spent over a hundred years watching Mother pretend she was strong while she waited for someone who never came home." Ysa's breathing hitched. "One disappearance destroyed this family. How many more do you think we can survive?"
For the first time since the argument began, Yve had no reply.
She simply sat there, staring at her sister, every accusation striking a place she had spent a century trying not to look at.
Silence settled over the tidecraft.
Not the comfortable kind.
The kind that lingered after words too heavy to take back.
Neither sister spoke.
Ysa leaned against the side of the craft and turned toward the open sea beyond the window. Her fist remained clenched for a long moment before she forced herself to exhale.
Slowly.
The scales that had flared across her neck and jaw retreated beneath her skin, leaving only smooth skin in their wake.
Across from her, Yve didn't move. Her eyes remained fixed somewhere beyond the horizon, though it was clear she wasn't seeing the ocean anymore.
Without a word, she shifted a little farther away, leaving a quiet stretch of empty space between them. It wasn't out of anger.
It was room to breathe.
She rested against the curved wall of the tidecraft, her fingers absently tracing the scales on her tail. Her lips pressed into a thin line before she caught herself biting her lower lip—a habit she hadn't realized she'd fallen into.
Ysa's words echoed through her mind, each one striking an old wound she had spent a century burying beneath jokes, reckless adventures, and relentless optimism.
For so long, she had outrun the guilt.
If she kept moving, kept smiling, kept chasing the next mystery, then perhaps she would never have to stop long enough to ask herself the question she feared most.
What if Ysa was right?
The thought alone made her chest tighten.
Perhaps she had finally reached the wall she had spent her entire life avoiding.
Perhaps it was finally time to face the whale that had always lived in the depths of her heart.
~~~
Hours passed.
The playful banter, the argument, the silence that followed—none of it returned.
Only the rhythmic hum of the tidecrafts carried them through the sea.
At some point, exhaustion overtook Ysa. Leaning against the curved wall of the craft, she drifted into a light, restless sleep.
Eventually, the towering gates of Reefville emerged from the blue, growing larger with every passing minute until they filled the view ahead.
The tidecrafts slowed.
Then came to a gentle halt.
Yve reached across the small cabin and gave Ysa's shoulder two light pokes.
No words.
She simply sat there, slid open the tidecraft's hatch, and slipped out into the water.
Behind her, Ysa's eyelids fluttered open.
She caught only a glimpse of Yve's emerald tail swaying quietly as her sister swam away without looking back.
Yve stopped before Reefville's massive gates. Her heartbeat thundering against her ribs.
Thump.Thump.
Thump.Thump.
She inhaled.
Before she even realized it, shimmering scales began unfurling across her chest, creeping over her collarbones and climbing her neck. They spread with practiced fluidity until they framed her jaw and covered her face, transforming the softness of her features into something unmistakably predatory.
She let out a long, steady breath.
Then planted both hands against the towering broken gates.
The enormous doors groaned as they swung inward.
Inside, Duncan sat at the helm of the lead tidecraft. As the passage opened, he met Yve's eyes and gave a silent nod of acknowledgment before guiding both tidecrafts through the entrance.
Yve watched them pass. Her hand slowly curling into a fist.
Without another word, she pushed off and swam after the two tidecrafts, disappearing deeper into Reefville.
The silence inside Reefville was wrong. Not peaceful. Dead.
The bustling streets that had once echoed with conversation, laughter, and children weaving through the coral paths had become a graveyard of shattered stone and broken structures. Homes lay cracked open, fragments of coral drifting lazily through the water. The scent of blood still lingered, faint but unmistakable, refusing to leave even after a week had passed.
Yve swam cautiously through the ruins. Her eyes remained bright, wide, every movement of her pupils tracking the slightest shift in the water. "Where are the bodies..." she murmured, more to herself than anyone else.
The hatch of the two tidecraft slid open.
Duncan and Ysa emerged, immediately slowing as they took in what remained of their home.
Duncan's expression hardened. "...Good heavens…"
Yve drifted beside them, her voice barely above a whisper. "The bodies..."
Both of them looked at her.
"The bodies are missing."
Ysa's eyes swept across the streets.
Duncan did the same.
There was chaos and debris everywhere, but not a single corpse.
Duncan swam closer to Yve, his voice unsteady. "W-How many died?"
Yve swallowed. "I..." Her voice caught in her throat. "...I don't know."
The admission nearly broke her.
She turned away before either of them could see the tears beginning to gather in her eyes and pushed herself deeper into Reefville.
Ysa and Duncan followed without another word.
Then—
Yve stopped so abruptly that the others nearly drifted into her. She stared at an empty stretch of water beside a collapsed home. "...Maira."
Duncan frowned. "Maira?"
Yve never looked away. "Maira died here." Her voice was hollow. "I saw her die here..." She slowly pointed toward the empty space before her. "Where's her body?"
No one answered.
A cold dread settled over the three of them.
Duncan finally broke the silence. "Let's... let's check the surroundings."
Yve nodded once. "I'll take the eastern side."
"I'll go west," Ysa said, already turning.
Without another word, the three sirens split apart, each swimming in a different direction through the silent ruins, their eyes sharp as they searched for any signs of what happened to the corpses.
Ysa peeled away toward the stables, sweeping through the surrounding structures one by one, while Duncan headed straight for the heart of Reefville to search for any signs of life.
Yve, however, swam toward the dead volcano.
Its massive silhouette loomed over the abandoned settlement, as silent as she remembered.
Reaching its base, she pressed her palm against an ordinary-looking section of rock. A faint panel shimmered to life beneath her touch. She entered a sequence of commands.
The stone rumbled. A concealed doorway slid open.
Yve slipped inside.
The entrance sealed behind her as the containment field pushed the water back, her tail dissolving into a pair of legs as air filled the chamber.
She took barely three steps before stopping.
A scent.
Her brows furrowed.
Something... different. Something that didn't belong.
Slowly, she turned her head. Her gaze settled on the drawer beside the bed.
It took only a heartbeat.
Then her eyes widened. "...No." The memory crashed into her. She bolted toward the drawer and yanked it open.
Empty.
"No..." she whispered, her voice barely audible. Her pulse quickened. "No."
She ripped the drawer completely free and threw it aside before wrenching open every other drawer beneath it.
Nothing.
Her breathing grew uneven.
She grabbed the bedframe with both hands and shoved it aside with a violent scrape, dropping to one knee to check beneath it.
Nothing.
She spun toward the shelves. Books, journals, containers, and scattered equipment rained onto the floor as she swept entire shelves clean with both arms.
Nothing.
Within moments, the once orderly refuge had become a disaster.
Still...
No book.
Her claws slid from her fingertips with a sharp snikt. She stood perfectly still, arms folding tightly across her chest as she forced herself to think.
Did I misplaced it?Did Jenkins borrow it?Did I return it to the library?Did I hide it somewhere else?
She searched her memory again. And again. Nothing.
She started pacing. Back and forth.
The iridescent scales along her arms quivered faintly, betraying the anxiety she was desperately trying to suppress.
Her heart pounded louder with every passing second.
The Black Doctrine of Conversion Book was gone.
Yve forced herself to stop pacing. She took a slow breath, then another.
The strange scent returned.
Her attention drifted back toward the bedside drawer. She walked over and knelt beside it, lowering her face closer to the furniture. Closing her eyes, she inhaled slowly.
Once. Twice. Again.
The scent was faint, almost completely drowned out by the stale air of the chamber.
She breathed in deeper, separating each layer the way only a siren could.
Old wood. Metal. Jenkins'. Her own scent. Dust. Then —
Her brow twitched.
A memory surfaced.
Her eyes opened. "...Slytharian?"
She frowned. The scent was unmistakable now that she'd isolated it.
Fresh. Recent.
A Slytharian had been here.
Questions flooded her mind faster than she could answer them.
Why?When?Who? What's a slytharian doing here?
Her heartbeat quickened once more.
Unable to sit with the growing unease any longer, she hurried toward the concealed entrance. Her fingers danced across the control panel.
The stone door rumbled open. Beyond it, seawater remained suspended by the containment field.
Yve stepped through. The moment the water embraced her, her legs dissolved into a shimmering tail once more. She tapped the panel from the outside.
The hidden entrance sealed shut.
She had barely begun swimming away when something at the edge of her vision made her stop.
She turned.
There.
Not far from the volcano. A mound. Far too large to be natural.
Yve swam toward it. The closer she came, the more distinct it became.
Freshly disturbed earth. A grave. A massive one.
Her pace slowed. Then the scent reached her. She lowered herself onto the seafloor, placing both hands gently against the newly packed sediment.
Her eyes closed.
The world became scent. One after another, familiar traces revealed themselves. The unmistakable scents of the sirens who had died during the massacre.
Silence settled around her.
A small, melancholy smile found its way onto her lips. "...Seems like Mother is back."
The words were quiet.
Almost relieved.
Her hand remained resting upon the grave for another long moment before she slowly opened her eyes.
And then the worry hit her again.
Yve took one last look at the massive mound of earth, bowed her head respectfully, and swam away.
Just as she swam, she spotted Ysa emerging from their house.
Yve slowed. Ysa stopped too.
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The water between them felt strangely heavy.
"Hey..." Yve said at last.
Ysa's gaze lingered on her for a second before she answered. "Hey..."
Silence settled again, awkward and tense.
Yve shifted slightly. "I found the corpses..."
Ysa's expression sharpened. "Really... where?"
"At the foot of the volcano."
Ysa nodded slowly. "I see."
Before either of them could say more, Duncan came swimming toward them at speed, breathing hard. "I-I checked everywhere," he panted. "There's not a single corpse."
Then he stopped abruptly.
His eyes moved between Yve and Ysa, catching the tension immediately. "Uhm..." He scratched the back of his neck. "You two alright?"
Yve nodded quickly. "Mm... I-I found them."
Duncan's eyes widened. "You did?"
Yve led the way through the silent waters, Duncan and Ysa following close behind. None of them spoke. The only sounds were the steady swish of their tails and the distant groan of shifting currents.
Eventually the mound came into view.
Duncan slowed beside her, his eyes fixed on it. "They're... buried."
"Yeah." Yve nodded quietly. "I think Mother did this."
Ysa studied the grave in silence before giving a small nod.
Duncan let out a slow breath. "I thought they turned..." His shoulders eased ever so slightly. "It's a good thing they were laid to rest."
Yve lowered her gaze to the mound. "We have to find Mother... inform her of our status."
Duncan scratched the back of his neck. "If I activate the ARC without her consent..." He hesitated. "Do you think that's stepping out of line?"
"I think she'll understand," Yve replied. "Besides... there are only a small percentage of humans left. It'll take them hundreds of years to repopulate the planet."
"You can't know that for sure," Ysa said.
Yve sighed. "...Yeah. You might be right." She looked toward Duncan. "If you submitted a written request to the Galactic Council today... how long would approval take?"
Duncan frowned thoughtfully. "I honestly don't think they'd approve it even with humanity nearly wiped out."
"But if we still tried?"
He tilted his head upward as he thought. "Maybe a month. Maybe two." He shrugged. "Depends where they place the request on the priority list. Some proposals go through extensive peer review." He grimaced. "I've heard of cases taking over a year."
Yve's expression fell. "We don't have that kind of time."
Duncan rubbed the back of his neck again. "...I'll activate the ARC anyway."
Ysa's head snapped toward him. "You serious?"
"I am."
"You want to be punished?"
"The worst they can do..." Duncan muttered as he counted on his fingers, "...is revoke my Artificers' privileges." He paused. "...Or sentence me to be imprisoned." Another pause. "...Or make me a labor slave for decades." His face slowly fell. "...Actually... I really don't want that."
"Huh." He sighed dramatically. "This is a pickle."
Despite herself, Yve let out the faintest huff of amusement. "I'll activate the ARC."
Both Duncan and Ysa looked at her.
"You've lost your mind," Ysa said.
Yve simply shrugged. "I'm going to be punished anyway." She looked toward the grave. "So why not break every remaining rule and deal with all the consequences at once?"
Ysa frowned. "...What do you mean?"
Yve looked at her sister before quietly looking away again. "...Nothing."
"You're still hiding things from me?"
"I did something..." She searched for the right word. "...heroic." A beat. "...And incredibly stupid." Another beat. "I don't regret it….but I can't run from the consequences either."
She looked back at Ysa. "So yes. I'll activate the ARC and take the blame…I'm getting punished regardless."
Ysa folded her arms. "What stupid thing?"
Duncan blinked between the sisters. "...Yeah, Yve. What are you talking about?"
Ysa's eyes narrowed. "...Is this about Jenkins?"
Yve said nothing.
That silence was answer enough.
Ysa's expression hardened. "You still haven't told me how you cured him." She swam a little closer. "What happened?" A beat. "...Yve?"
"Can we get to the ARC first?" Yve let out a quiet breath. "I'll explain everything on the way back to Havenwall."
"No." Ysa shook her head. "I want to hear it now. My twin did something reckless again. I need to be prepared."
"No, you don't." Yve's voice remained calm, though noticeably firmer. "Because you're not the one getting punished." She pointed at herself. "I am."
Then she pointed to Duncan and Ysa. "You're all out of this."
"How am I out of this?" Ysa's voice rose. "Whatever happens to you...I feel it too." Another beat. "This isn't just your problem. It's ours."
"I highly disagree." Yve crossed her arms. "Let's activate the ARC first. Go back to Havenwall, then I'll tell you."
Ysa scoffed. "You are unbelievable. You really only think about yourself, don't you?" She crossed her arms. "You don't care how your decisions affect me...our mother…or anyone else."
"No." Yve met her sister's eyes without flinching. "I don't. Happy?" Her voice rose a little. "Whatever happens to me..." A beat. "Stay out of it."
The water around them seemed to tighten as the sisters stared at one another, neither willing to yield.
Before either could speak again, Duncan hurried between them, raising both hands. "Alright, alright." His voice was gentle but urgent. "Let's stop." He glanced toward the massive grave behind them. "Not here. Please. Let's not tear each other apart...not in front of our fallen."
The sisters held each other's gaze for another long moment.
Then both of them looked toward Duncan.
The artificer stood awkwardly between them, shoulders tense, clearly wishing he were anywhere else.
Yve was the first to break the silence. She let out a slow sigh. "Duncan..."
He looked up.
"Fix the ARC." She met his eyes without hesitation. "I'll activate it."
Duncan blinked. "...Are you sure about this?"
Yve nodded once. "One hundred percent sure."
He searched her face, hoping to find even the slightest hint of uncertainty. There was none.
"...Alright."
The word came quietly.
Ysa let out an irritated grunt, throwing both hands into the water in exasperation. "Unbelievable." She rolled her eyes so hard they almost disappeared. "You two are impossible." Without waiting for either of them to answer, she flicked her tail sharply and swam away.
Yve watched her sister disappear into the blue without saying a word. Her expression remained composed, but the heaviness in her eyes lingered long after Ysa was gone.
Duncan glanced between the retreating figure and Yve before quietly clearing his throat. "...I'll get the ARC ready."
Yve gave a small nod. "Thank you."
Together, they turned away from the burial mound, leaving the resting place of their fallen behind.
~~~
The three of them made their way through the Grand Hall, until they stopped before a thick metal door. Bolted to its center was a weathered warning plaque.
UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS PROHIBITED
Duncan stepped forward. "Let's see if this still works..."
His fingers moved across the control panel beside the door, entering a precise sequence.
A soft chime echoed through the chamber. Then a blue hologram blossomed to life in front of the entrance.
BIOMETRIC SCAN INITIATED. PLEASE REMAIN STILL.
Ysa and Yve instinctively swam aside, turning their bodies away from the scanner while Duncan remained where he was.
A thin band of blue light swept slowly from the top of his head to the end of his tail.
The scanner paused.
A second later, a calm synthetic voice filled the corridor.
Personnel Identified: Duncan Revin.
Artificer Clearance Confirmed.
Access Granted.
With a heavy metallic hiss, the reinforced door split apart and slid into the surrounding walls.
Duncan swam through first. Yve and Ysa followed close behind.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the chamber's environmental field washed over them. Water drained away almost instantly.
Their tails shimmered, scales dissolving into skin as legs took their place beneath them.
The door sealed shut behind them with a deep metallic thunk, leaving only the low hum of ancient machinery echoing through the chamber.
The three of them descended a long, broad staircase that stretched deep into the heart of the facility.
There were no windows. No light. Only darkness.
Their footsteps echoed softly against the metal steps while their predatory eyes glowed faintly as they pierced the darkness.
A low vibration rolled through the chamber.
Then a calm mechanical voice echoed from unseen speakers. "Environmental status confirmed. Water successfully drained."
Duncan reached out and tapped the wall with his fingertips.
Tap. Tap-tap. Tap...
The rhythm was deliberate, almost like Morse code.
With every tap, faint streams of blue light spread through the walls like living veins, pulsing away into the darkness.
A brief pause.
Then the voice returned. "Lighting systems online."
Rows of overhead lights flickered awake one after another, chasing the darkness farther down the endless staircase.
Yve squinted. "I've got to tell you..." she muttered. "Walking down these stairs with legs is awful." She sighed dramatically. "Just flood the place so we can swim."
"We can't."
Ysa looked at Duncan. "Why not?"
"This facility has been untouched for decades." Duncan ran a hand along the railing as they continued downward. "I'm honestly surprised the drainage system and the synthetic intelligence are still functioning."
"But I'm not willing to gamble on the rest." He glanced toward the ceiling. "If the electrical compressors are damaged and we refill this place..." He grimaced. "...we'll all be electrocuted. We'll be toast."
Yve nodded. "...Fair point."
For a while they continued in silence.
Then Duncan smiled faintly. "Haven't been down here in decades." He inhaled deep, closing his eyes. "...Ah. The nostalgia."
"...Yeah." Yve looked around the immense corridor. "It brings back a lot of memories."
Eventually, they reached the bottom. Another reinforced metal door stood before them.
Duncan stepped toward the biometric scanner and placed his hand against its surface.
A thin beam swept across his palm.
Ding.
Heavy locking mechanisms disengaged one after another.
With a deep metallic groan, the ancient door slowly parted. Time had left its mark on the machinery—the movement was slower than it once had been—but the structure remained as solid as ever.
The three of them stepped inside.
Beyond the doorway, darkness swallowed everything.
Duncan reached for the control panel mounted beside the entrance and pressed a sequence of commands.
A heartbeat later, the room sprang to life as banks of overhead lights illuminated the vast chamber before them.
As the lights came alive, the sheer scale of the chamber became apparent. Far larger than its exterior had ever suggested.
The ceiling disappeared into the distance, supported by towering pillars that vanished into the shadows overhead. Along the right side of the chamber stood rows upon rows of unfamiliar machinery—massive engines, articulated cranes, fabrication units, and devices whose purposes had long since faded from memory.
The three of them walked slowly into the cavernous space, taking in the sight.
Duncan smiled to himself. "...Daddy's home."
Ysa laughed under her breath. "Would be nice if we could take all these toys out and play with them."
"...Yeah." There was genuine longing in Duncan's voice.
They continued deeper into the facility.
A large overhead marker came into view.
ADAPTIVE RESONANCE CRAFT
Beyond it stretched neat rows of enormous vehicles.
They were unlike any human aircraft. Long. Broad. Flat.
Their obsidian-black hulls reflected almost no light, making them seem like fragments of darkness resting upon the hangar floor.
Alien. Or perhaps...
Watercraft would have been the better word.
Ysa wandered over to the nearest one and rapped her knuckles against its hull. "Hello..." She waited dramatically. "...ARC." Silence. She shrugged. "Worth a try."
Yve smiled faintly as she approached another craft. "Whew..." She ran her hand gently across its smooth surface. "Long time no see... old friend."
Duncan stepped beside her, resting his palm against the hull. "One of the siren race's proudest inventions..." His expression softened. "...the ARC."
The material beneath his fingers resembled metal.
Yet it wasn't.
Its surface was impossibly smooth, almost warm to the touch, with a subtle resilience that no terrestrial alloy possessed. Even after decades of disuse, not a single trace of rust or age marked its flawless black exterior.
Yve rested her cheek against the smooth black hull. She smiled. "So..." Her eyes drifted toward Duncan. "Can you get it working?"
Duncan looked across the immense hangar, scanning the rows of dormant vessels. "Which one are we taking?"
"That one." Yve pointed toward the far corner of the hangar.
Resting on the third storage level was another ARC, elevated on a massive docking platform. Beneath it, etched into the docking cradle, were two simple words.
VIRELLIS ARC
Duncan followed her finger before nodding. "Alright." A faint smile crossed his face. "I suppose you two are its owners now..." His voice softened. "...since Mr. Lucien is... nowhere."
Neither sister answered.
Yve and Ysa merely exchanged a brief glance before looking away again.
"So..." Duncan cleared his throat. "Which one of you has your biometrics registered to it?"
"Both of us," Yve replied.
"Good." He nodded once. "That'll make things easier." He started walking toward one of the towering support pillars that stretched from floor to ceiling.
Reaching its base, he pressed his hand against a hidden panel.
The pillar emitted a soft pulse. A narrow doorway slid open, revealing a compact maintenance lift concealed inside.
Duncan stepped into it before looking back over his shoulder. "You two clear some workspace."
"And gather every tool you think I might need." He pointed upward toward the suspended ARC. "I'm bringing your ride down."
He pressed one of the controls.
The pillar glowed faintly as the lift began ascending smoothly toward the upper levels of the hangar, carrying him high above the rows of dormant vessels while the two sisters remained below.