The Secrets' Crusade

:But this is bigger than me,: the thought surprised you, even as you recognised it. :Bigger than any one of us. And even if we don't bring that memory back, if we can create more of these, they'll have more chances.: You let out the partial breath you'd been holding, that had held back the reality that you'd been trying to avoid.

:This will make you so much more of what you already were,: Sidra sent, and though they weren't trying to dissuade you, the unsaid question lingered.

The seeded air glimmered with dozens of lights, each born of the absence of matter, but the presence of something much more. Not just possibility, that was only what they were. But potential, and hope. You felt the surge of energy through your veins, through the mist and tinted fire that was – you knew – all that you were and more. You reached into it, down through veils and bars that so often protected you from your soul. Into the imprint that had been blazed upon the soul of every human in existence, by untold sacrifice. What had you been searching for, that night?

Did it matter?

For a moment, images flickered, the echoes of memory obscured by a powerful Trance. You had been so young then, and had sometimes forgotten to be as meticulous as you should have been. No records, no notes of what had preceded it. Simply something created, a mystery now unravelled. Then new memories filled your mind. Your family, your friends, the world that stood anew. A blazing beacon of light and hope, born of darkest despair, overcome. Mary's smile, laughter in her eyes. And the feeling of your daughter in your arms. What other choice could you have made?

:It's what's right, Sidra,: you said, turning the words in your mind. Testing them, and finding nothing but certainty. :Humanity needs to survive. Losing our species to grasp victory wouldn't be a victory at all. This, here, now, is how we make that chance of victory certain.:

You reached down further, the mist becoming something more. Gold-green fire spread through it as you passed the imprint of your Focus, descending…and yet not. This was the deepest part of you, the most primal core of who you were. But now you could see more clearly. And in the new sight of your soul, you found yourself standing high, high above the world. Mist and fire overlaid empty space, a ring within a ring, leaving clear the space where Tahkel still worked. And you felt something: attention, or perhaps recognition, as their movements faltered. Only for the barest moment, but noticeable. They had seen you.

:Then see it done,: Sidra's voice filled you, their resolution a match to your own. :And we will see to the future, as it comes.:

You were your soul. You had a body. The two did not inhabit the same space. Humanity had known that for decades, but you'd never put that together with everything else. If the soul and body were indeed separate, then what held you together? A link, yes, but how was it made? Could you even see it? The webs tracked the connections of a race, but that was all you could see. But no, you told yourself. You'd come here to see if you could understand, but at the end of the day, you were no Maker. But you could show them how these things were made. Your greatest insights had always begun with grace. Now, again, it would be all you could give to those you loved.

The mist congealed around you, steadying, growing thicker. Hands grew from its waves, a body took shape, yet the colours did not change. Green and gold, like sunlight through the leaves in a summer sky. Your soul, your gift, all one and the same. Sparks of that same light fell from your hands as they reached to the sparkling motes, cupping them in a single grand motion. They soaked into the absence like moisture, and at their touch, the crystals swelled and grew. Dozens of them, scattered between the shield layers. All that you could give. You hoped it would be enough.

Through it all, you felt the presence of another, then others, watching as you crafted the path between worlds. How, you did not remember, only that they had been there. You watched imagery later, of pearlescent light spread across the interior of the sealed research station, and spikes of energy flaring across its breadth. Several of Mary's measurements were disrupted by them, and you had to apologise for that later.

But this time, unlike any before, you remembered it all. If not the specifics of your precision, the moments. They stayed with you, despite all you had learnt and knew of Trances. It was a heady feeling, standing aside from the world that you had inhabited for your entire life, yet knowing it was exactly the same. You had just never been able to see this. Was this the change that Tahkel had told you about? The difference to your soul? In time, you would learn.

But as all things must, the moments ended, and your rose/fell back into the body which was yours. You were not the first to return, you realised, as you blinked away the visions that had clouded your eyes, nor the only one with tears on their cheeks. You could not remember how you had created the garden of crystal scattered between the station walls and the drive Tahkel had promised. But you could not help but think that you had won something far, far more important in exchange.

"Miss Hawk?" A man's voice, Castin's, asked. He…never called you that. Why was he doing so now? You turned your head to him, feeling a smile on your face that you couldn't hold back. "President Thera would like to speak with you?"

"Oh," you said, blinking a few more times, your smile widening. "Why, yes. Yes. I imagine she would." You nodded slowly, then more firmly. "Did you get it, Castin?"

Dreamcatching

"Yes," he said, the admission almost explosive, and his eyes danced with emotions you could not untangle. "Yes, Amanda. We did."

Please select the next scene:
[] A Family Farewell: Amanda, Mary and Iris bid their family and closest friends goodbye, as they prepare for the journey ahead.
[] On Wings of Starlight: The first test of Adamant's FTL drive to a destination beyond standard range limits, to confirm its functionality.
[] Shakedown: In the mission to come, you will need to know your crew. Join Amanda for a brief introduction to the Adamant and those who will aid you in the mission to come.
[] Write-in?

Void Crystal reserve created. Maker deciphering process largely successful. Will require no more than six months to produce a standardised technique. Some among the Uninvolved have taken Notice of you.