Chapter 9: A New Page

As the pile of synthesized meat tissue began to rapidly underwent accelerated growth after Rydel's genetic material were taken, there was a bit of quiet time where Rydel and Anozee simply sat in the room and talked quietly.

'Usually I am not the one to do this speech, but...' Rydel said as he scratches his head, 'but if you let yourself known in that way and be on the radar of Absolute Being, then I would at least be cautious.'

'This Absolute Being organization you have talked about sounded like a big deal, doesn't it?' Anozee said as she popped a bubble gum into her mouth, 'but they also sound very human.''They are mostly human.' Rydel admitted, 'it does mean their sphere of influence is less in Aquarian space supposedly. But...'

'Infinity.' Anozee immediately caught on, and it is as expected that all of those who possess the artifacts are at least some what intuitive beings, 'there can be more.'

'To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if the Institute has some ties to them from the sound of things.' Rydel said looking at Anozee with his sincere gaze, 'obvious you are welcome to join us, but it looks like you do have a lot more things going on here compared to the rest of us.'

'I set up this place so...that past remains the past.' Anozee said as the words tasted bitter when it exited her mouth. The trip down memory affected Anozee more than she realized. All those who came out of the Institute the other side typically remembered their times there as a blur of images and sound, though whatever images and sound that were clear were never pleasant, 'You know it is hard to give it up.'

'And this isn't what we are asking anyway.' Rydel said, as Anozee reached over to pick up the arm that's now finished its rapid production process. A steaming hot pile of meat that has Rydel's own genes is now served on a platter and placed next to him. Now he realized why there was a time back in the late modern age when the resentment towards animal farming and meat production reached a peak, 'if anything, we would just like some more allies in the galaxy. Someone to keep an eye out for us just in case Absolute Being makes any further moves.''I can do that.' Anozee smiled as she picked up the new arm and placed it next to Rydel. Then, she leaned over the counter and unzipped her shirt.

Rydel can feel his heart flutter as the scent of Anozee's body filled his nose. He closed his eyes as not to glare directly towards her breast, but she was simply too focused on the task to care. The mouth opened up, and the tougue splattered out before the tip divided into countless strands and began connecting the arm to Rydel's exposed shoulder socket.

A gentle light is given off from the body of the tongue, and soon Rydel can feel a tingly feeling from his shoulders...and down. As connections are restored and an arm is reintroduced to Rydel's nervous systems, the nanodrones flooded over to the familiar yet strange body parts as the flood gate of blood vessels were opened.

'Try to grasp.' Anozee suggested as she leaned back and started tying the buttons of her shirt back up.Rydel nodded and commanded his right hand to close, however, the only response he has gotten was immense vibrations followed by a mere degree of actions. It is minuscule, but action none the less.

Rydel looked back up at Anozee elatedly, 'thank you, Anozee.'

'It will take you time to restore impaired function, then more time for normative function. I have coded for the sequences and functions of the enhanced arm not to be activated until you can use it as well as the other arm.' Anozee continued to explain and gestured for Rydel to stand up and let his body readjust the sensations after the trauma, 'then you will be able to store particular morphing shapes and be able to turn it on and off like a muscle. The arm's exterior is grafted with synthetic skin while the majority of the structural tissues are enhanced to match the rest of your body.'

'Bloody hell.' Rydel said as he tried to raise the arm to the side, 'this is so much better than mechanical prosthetics.' 'And much more expensive.' Anozee said with a sly smile, 'I will keep it in the tab, if I need a favor later on, then I shall call you.'

'If you are willing to be my friend, then I will be there even if there is nothing in the tab.' Rydel returned the smile and reached out with his left for a handshake.

As Rydel and Anozee returned, Alrith and Elmyra looked like they haven't talked too much since they have left, as things still weigh on their minds with Alrith still thinking about her past and Elmyra processing what has happened.

'Rydel!' As Rydel entered the room with both arms somewhat in tact, Alrith stood and ran towards him before giving him a tight hug, 'that look like a hell of an inflamed arm.'

'It WILL settle down.' Anozee protested, 'that's the price for making something real!'

'Thank you.' Elmyra said as she looked towards Anozee. She waved off the gratitude and instead opened up the door for all of them.

'Well, if you don't mind, then please be on your way!'

'Already?!' Alrith spun around, but Rydel placed a hand on her shoulder, 'but Elmyra's just woken up!''I am fine.' Elmyra said stubbornly and slowly shifted herself towards the edge of the bed before getting back onto her feet again, 'let's go.'

'Alrith, can you help her?' Rydel asked before taking a step towards Anozee.

'When they make a move in this region, I will let you know.' Anozee promised, 'try not to lose the arm again.'

'You got it.' Rydel said, 'and let us know if you need anything.'

The journey back to Athena 3 from Poseidon 5 felt much faster than the journey towards it. During this time, Elmyra has gotten back in touch with the rest of the bearers who has recovered from the procedure as Rydel gave all of them a brief update on what has happened.

During this time, Elmyra and Alrith began to get to know each other, and their shared background in academics sparked some interest in between the two as Elmyra found the Institute brutal yet fascinating and Alrith now wished she also gave the Galactic IST a chance back then.

And finally, after days of travel, the tiny mining planet of Athena 3 has appeared within range of sight from the ship. Rydel has taken this time to focus on the rehabilitation of his right hand. There are only some many biomechanical functions you can perform on the arm. Starting from the fingers and their individual ability to flex and extend at each joint, moving up to the palms opening and closing before the wrist flexes, extends, pronates, supinates, adducts and abducts. All of the possibilities of movements that most people simply take for granted is now each a workout for Rydel just to see a tiny bit of improvement.

However, this is how the rehabilitation processes are since the dawn of time. If something is injured and you can't move it as much, the best thing you can do would be to move it within the pain-free range as often and with as much intent as you can. You may only move 3 millimeters on day 1 and 5 on day 2, but think about what can happen on day 7, or a month later? (Author's note: This is real rehabilitation knowledge!)

The nanotechnology drones may be able to accelerate healing and recovery, but the control of Rydel arm is solely his responsibility alone.

As the ship rattled down towards the home base of the bearers located in the outskirts of the mining town, all of the now recovered bearers came to welcome them back. Zel, in his usual self, broke into Alrith's ship with the power of Pocket Domain and he went and embraced Elmyra the moment he appeared, freaking her out but also greatly pleasing her in the process.

'I am sorry...I am sorry I couldn't protect you, or save you...' Zel said as his voice cracked slightly.'I don't blame you one bit.' Elmyra said as she comforted him, 'it's thanks to Alrith and Rydel and all of you that I am still alive here.'

'Thank you.' Zel reached out with the entension cord from his augmented arm towards Rydel and performed a virtual handshake with him, 'we are now augmentation brothers.'

'Except my augmentation is much better.'

'Good luck trying to do anything for the next month.' Zel scoffed, still holding Elmyra tightly but now turning his attention towards Rydel, 'you can start moving immediately with mechanical arms. Your thing is nothing but dead meat for now!'

'How about I turn you into dead meat like I did to the others on Poseidon 5?'

'Excuse me, who was the one that also got literally broken on Poseidon 5?' Alrith's voice came through the cockpit as Rydel went silent. Zel's prosthetic eye lit up as the real eye widened. Then, all three of them started chuckling as laughter filled the main hall of the ship.

It sure is nice to be back.

As Rydel walked down the ramp, Valerie sprinted towards him with teary eyes and held him tightly as Alrith looked on at the pair from behind. Zel helped Elmyra walked back out as Ol and Torelamri stood around and asked how she is feeling. With the bearers finally back together, Rydel and Valerie decided to make a gigantic meal to not only celebrate the recovery of both Rydel and Elmyra, but also Alrith joining the group.

'Come, I will show you around.' Ol said, leading Alrith to one of the spare rooms to drop her stuff off before showing her the training area, 'Dolon had recorded the training program that she used for the Lightning Rod that may be of interest to you.'

'So...how is everything around here?' Rydel asked as Valerie brought out a bunch of freshly harvested fruits and vegetables from the garden.'Rock solid.' Valerie said, 'they are all starting to get used to the enhancements, but just like we did back then, it will be a long time before they are combat ready.'

'Let's hope there won't be any more battles for a little while.' Rydel said with a light smile on his face, 'fighting with Alrith is fun and all, but I miss being by your side.'

'I know.' Valerie gave him a cheeky wink, 'now are you going to help me or are you just going to sit there?'

'My right arm is useless now, but I can help with pushing buttons!' Rydel said, standing up and walking towards Valerie before giving her long blonde hair a stroke, 'in a sense, I am glad the Lightning Rod is now in Alrith's possession. Plus, my new arm is gonna be better than the old one.'

'Show don't tell.' Valerie said without looking up, and it took Rydel a little while to realize what she is saying.

'Wait...was I that bad before?' Rydel was a little take aback as he blushed and scratched his head. Valerie turned her head around and gave him a big smile and nothing else. Rydel immediately fell into a mini well of depression. He thought he was good, but the lady says otherwise.

The big meal took a little while to be ready as Rydel was in charge of the seasoning and stirring as Valerie worked on the knife work, finely slicing and dicing the vegetables into tiny cubes before a big pot of delicious fried rice is cooked with fresh vegetables and herbs. A simple meal but always a crowd pleaser even for their Aquarian and Rocky friends.

Alrith was busy unloading some of her stuff from the ship and Ol even offered her one of the offices to be used as her lab directly opposite to Torelamri's workshop/bedroom.

Then, as everyone gathered around the massive table with light music playing in the background, the first peaceful meal in a long time began. Sitting around the table is Ol with a short glass of Aquarian shocker, Torelamri with some sweet orange juice, Zel and Elmyra each with some root beer, Valerie and Rydel that's in charge of distributing the fried rice and a bunch of other vegetable dishes and Alrith sitting there waiting and looking all around at this rowdy group of people that will become her new family before fixating her eyes on Rydel.

A figure appeared in the hall way, and Rydel turned his head only to see Cellica joining them as well.

'Is there any potato wedges?' She asked.

'Cellica! You are here too?' Rydel put the pot down and walked towards her as she also walked towards him. Her short blonde hair brushed to the side over the left shoulder of her uniform. She gave him a quick hug before poking onto his right hand.'I am taking a leave from work for a few days to see you guys.' Cellica said, 'how's the arm?'

'Barely functional but at least its there.' Rydel said as he tried his hardest to bend at the elbow, and it only moved half an inch, 'but I wouldn't have made it if not for the help of Alrith there.'

Cellica nodded before taking a seat in between Ol and Alrith and introduced herself.

Then, as the glasses and bowls for each person is filled with drinks and food, Ol stood up tall from his seat and gently flicked the side of his glass with a loud DING, 'A toast! To a brighter future!'

'To a brighter future!' Everyone repeated after him as the meal began. However, despite the well wishes, they know in the back of their mind that whatever lies in the future will only become more and more challenging, and the only way forward for them would be to become even stronger than before.

However, the galaxy isn't ready for what is about to come.

As the bearers enjoyed their moment of peace and happiness on Athena 3, lets turn our heads towards the Olympus system where we last saw Brakagi and Jozzor made their move onto the solar research station.

'Excuse me?' Jozzor didn't quite understand what this female Rocky researcher is saying, or he didn't understand why she didn't understand what he was saying, 'young lady, it would be wise if you step aside.'

'So you have decided to push my temper?' The female Rocky researcher chuckled as the badge flickered in her movement to reveal her name Caliditas, 'are you here to remove me from my research, or are you trying to cut off my funding? Are you Labroni's minions?'

Jozzor looked towards Brakagi and waited for his orders, but Brakagi is instead intrigued by this defiant researcher named Caliditas, 'are you saying your funding is about to be cut? Why is that?'

'My research is on the integrity and evolution with suns with applicatoin in solar colonization and farming.' Caliditas said, 'only idiots will not see the value in my work!''Young lady...''My name is Caliditas!' 'and my name is Brakagi.' Brakagi stepped forward before asking, 'do you know who I am?'

'No.' Caliditas tilted her head to the side, 'I don't read the news. Are you supposed to be famous?'

With a smile rising on his face, Brakagi said: 'I guess you can say that. Let me tell you this, I am about the start a revolution in the galaxy, and when that is done, I can guarantee all of the research funding and freedom you can ever want.'

'And what makes you think you can do that?' Caliditas said, crossing her arms and leaning back against the table, 'amuse me.'

Brakagi looked towards Jozzor and nodded. Jozzor turned towards Caliditas and activated Sling Shot as the image of him are stretched and popped out of existence and before he reappeared behind her. She spun around quickly in shock before the tips of her fur lit up in a bright orange glow as she stomped the ground.

A heat wave traveled outwards from the center and sent Jozzor flying backwards into the wall. Meanwhile, her paws also started melting through the floor.

'Intriguing, but I told you not to play with my temper!' Caliditas warned as the orange lights began to fade away from her body. Jozzor groaned as he got up and prepared to attack again, but Brakagi shook his head slightly.

This must be the will of the universe! Brakagi thought to himself, yet another artifact user coming into his circle? This is fabulous!

'Fight, using the artifact, fight!' Brakagi murmured those words as he walked towards Caliditas, 'the universe is good, Caliditas, and it is the universe that brought us together.'Hearing those words stunned Caliditas in her place as she locked her gaze onto Brakagi, '....you also....'

'All of us here.' Brakagi nodded his head firmly before reaching out with a hand, 'together, we can change the galaxy. I cannot guarantee that everything will be as we wished, but the paradigm will be challenged, the lies and hypocrisy of the systems will be exposed and purged, and we will try our very best to create a future that Rockies like you and me deserve. With the power of three artifact users together, we can create a new future....Will you join us, Caliditas? Will you stand with us as we turn the dial of history?'

'That...that was a pretty good speech.' Caliditas said while looking away as she became unexpectedly attracted towards Brakagi's charisma. She took his outreached hand and was pulled towards him. Looking at his face and his beautiful fur in close proximity only made her heart flutter even more, 'I...guess I will join you, but it's not like I like or anything!'

'I understand.' Brakagi said with his silky smooth voice, 'It's for the greater good of us all.'

'Y...yes!'