The Descendent continued its ascent as Paul asked Anne's photonic duplicate to take over as the autopilot. The Human life form awakened to Paul standing over her with a devilish grin on his face. "Hello, beautiful." Paul said in a fresh manner. The female Human life form slugged him right in the jaw. This elicited a more interested intent from Paul. "Oooh! I like 'em feisty!" She then raised her right leg, nailing him with a kick in the groin. Paul immediately covered the affected area, and stumbled away from her position, screaming alien obcenities before addressing the situation in English once more. "I take that back! You're a crazy bitch!" Paul exclaimed as he doubled over, holding his groin in vicious agony. Lee just backed away slowly, stating "Well, it looks like I'M staying single for a while longer, too." As she got to her feet, she noticed Zander standing beside her as he began addressing her. "Please, calm down. As I was trying to say earlier before you attempted to neuter me with a particle-weapon, we are here to help you. What is your name?" She looked around the bridge, noticing that they were all now unarmed, but she was as well.
"Vranaie." She said calmly.
"Vranaie?!"Zander asked in amazement. "Yes, and I will not apologize if my name offends you." She replied.
"No. It's nothing like that. I knew someone else with that name before. Although you probably spell it differently than she did."
"Yes. Well, we can speak of language barriers later. Right now, where is Narnithia?"
"Who's Narnithia?" He asked, puzzled. "You were alone when we . . ."
"Abducted me?! I was alone when you abducted me? Is THAT what you were going to say?!"
"No. When we SAVED you."
"Ha! You screwed everything up. That's what you did."
Just then Paul, feeling better as he was now holding a bag of ice to his groin, chimed in with his own two-cents. "I gotta admit, Cappy, all Hell DID break loose the moment we got there." Zander was a bit upset by Paul's statement, but still apologized as the statement was inarguably correct. "I am sorry, Vranaie. We thought you were unarmed & outnumbered. We only wished to help." "Well, you did a bang-up job of 'helping'." She said. He attempted to help once more by asking yet again "Who is Narn-nith-thia?" "My weapon?" Vranaie replied, indignantly. "Don't YOUR weapons have names?" "I think she's talking about the bow she dropped when we 'abducted' her." Lee remarked as he looked over at Paul, whom was still holding his bag of ice. "Oh, yeah!" Paul exclaimed as he smiled like an Earth child that just remembered having the best Christmas present ever. "I put it in our armory. . ." Vranaie scowled at him as if he were the galaxy's number one criminal for even thinking about touching her most cherished possession ". . . just in case you didn't survive!" Paul continued as Lee & Zander looked at him in disbelief. "What?! A bow that fires energy bolts? It's a cool weapon!"
Vranaie suddenly smiled for just a moment before revealing some finer details of her unique energy bolt bow. "Narnithia is actually the name of the dragon spirit that resides within my bow, and Narnithia only speaks with me. Even if I were to meet my demise, that 'cool weapon' would never respond to such a witless brute." Paul scoffed at her momentarily before beginning his rebuttal. "In which case, it would become useless to me anyway. So I really don't see why you're upset, and don't call me mean names on my own ship. I WILL eject you . . . in deep space . . . with no EV Suit." "Actually, Narnithia might respond to you after all . . . By killing you immediately, and sparing this existence of your Neanderthal-level intellect." Vranaie replied to Paul's threat. "In which case, I'm dead & your bow is still fine. So, again, what's your problem?" Paul replied in a smart-assed manner. Zander started becoming bored by this futile display of threats, and proceeded to further the discussion more appropriately. "Okay, people. That's enough. Vranaie, Paul will give you back your bow . . . as soon as he can walk again. Paul, now that we're all aware that this is YOUR ship, let me also remind everyone that I am STILL in charge of PERSONNEL & Diplomacy. Show some respect to our guest, go get her bow back, and be . . . nice . . . if you CAN!." Paul was obviously upset, as evidenced by his facial expression, and the ominous lowering of his horns, but conceded as Zander WAS correct on this matter. "Fine, Z. I'm sorry, Vranaie. I'll go get your bow."
Vranaie now turned her attention back to Zander, but didn't seem intent on giving him the reaction he expected. "Ah. There you go interfering again. What gives you the right to jump into the middle of my battles, anyway? I can handle my own battles, myself. You have no business here, and your help isn't wanted. So why don't you just take me back down to Incoray, and disappear?!" Vranaie said with much passion to Zander as he stood there in disbelief in front of her. "HEY!" Paul yelled with fury in his voice, and his horns now completely risen. "You should recognize someone before you start badmouthing them. Zander saved an entire galaxy from a full-scale invasion by rallying bitter enemies together as allies. He convinced them to set aside their differences in the name of a common goal, and then evolved their technology and civilizations a century ahead of their time. Then he led the final assault, and succeeded in establishing a peace that shows no signs of ending. Zander's a true hero & you should feel honored that he thought you were important enough to risk his life in trying to save you. You should show this man some respect!" Vranaie was genuinely surprised by this informative overreaction as she then began questioning Zander further, but with a different approach. Her voice was now more subtle and pleasant as she began speaking once more. "Is what he says true?" "Yes." Zander answered. "But I wasn't trying to be a hero again. I just had some questions I thought you could answer. Being a hero never really worked out for me. It's just not me. Not anymore. I have MY OWN battles inside. I have MY OWN goals I need to pursue."
Vranaie's face began softening with hope from what she has just heard. "If what that horny beast has spoken is true, then you could be just the help that we've been searching for." She said semi-prophetically. Zander 's facial expression twisted with confusion & curiosity as he responded to this statement, "What do you mean?" "You saved ME. So you're STILL a hero, and a hero's welcome on Incoray." She explained as she began smiling as if she had thought for years up to this point that she would never smile again. Zander's face softened into a passive frown as if fighting back a flood of sad tears. "Like I said, that's not me. Not anymore. I was just trying to figure out what an unknown Human was doing in another galaxy without our prior knowledge of it. We are the first from our galaxy to come out here on purpose with the intent of staying a while . . . or so we thought." "Human?!" Vranaie began. "I'm not a Human!" "Lee?!" Zander bellowed. "I thought you said the life signs were 'HUMAN'." "Actually, Zander, I said 'they APPEAR to be human'." "Well what does THAT mean?" Zander asked, obviously becoming more confused by this conversation. "Well, according to my scans, she IS an Earthling, but she's NOT actually human. At least not as WE know humans." "Well, now I'm as confused as ever! What the hell is she then?!" Zander asked Lee while looking directly at Vranaie. "That's easy enough to answer." She said as they all stood silent and waited for the answer. Their jaws dropped as Vranaie explained with a smile on her face & the simple statement "I'm a Fay."
Paul was the first one to immediately regain his composure as he was hit with the sobering realization that he had no idea what this meant. "What's a Fay?!" He blurted out. Lee & Zander were immediately snapped out of their dumbfounded response as Zander offered some illumination. "Lee, you're the resident scientist, and as such, the one person on this vessel most equipped with various data regarding things such as cultural & societal research of our galaxy. You wanna take this one?" Lee stepped forward, ever ready to once again display his unique aptitude. "Fays are mythical Earth beings also known as Shyde, or even Pixies or Fairies. Though the term 'Fairies' is largely inaccurate. They're a mostly forgotten mythical race from Earth. The word 'Fay' euphemistically means wee folk, good folk, people of peace, or fair folk. These beings are a type of mythical being or legendary creature or a form of spirit, and are often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural. Fays are generally described as human in appearance and having magical powers. Their origins are less clear in most folklore, being variously dead, or some form of demon, or a species completely independent of humans or angels entirely. Many folklorists have suggested that their actual origin lies in a conquered race living in hiding or in religious beliefs that lost currency with the advent of more widely accepted forms of a religious system."
Paul was now staring blankly at Lee until he suddenly exploded with even more confusion. "WHAT?! What does THAT mean?!" He exclaimed as Lee attempted to rephrase the information for him. "It means she's claiming to be a mythical creature with magical powers . . . from Earth." Lee explained. "Well, why didn't you just say THAT?!" Paul blurted out as Lee rolled his eyes. Zander was even more curious about her now. Paul immediately seized the opportunity to zing Lee again, as always. "Well, I guess Lee isn't the ONLY fairy on the ship anymore!" Lee just threw his arms up in submission at Paul's highly inaccurate analysis, and walked back to his seat to sit down. "Well . . ." Paul began addressing the beautiful young woman with shoulder length reddish-brown hair, and sparkling light blue eyes. ". . . It's nice to meet you, Miss Fairy-Lady!" Within the blink of an eye, Vranaie was at Paul's neck with a dagger. "Don't EVER call me a 'Fairy' again." She said with a sudden aura of violent repulsion at the term. "Ohhh . . . kay." Paul said, plainly. "Zander? You wanna get your girl friend here before I hurt her?" He asked as Vranaie took offense to him yet again. "As if you COULD." She stated while placing the dagger directly onto his neck, forcing him back just a bit until Zander interceded. "Vranaie . . ." She put the dagger down & backed away as he continued. ". . . How can this be possible?"
"We do not have the leniency of time to be dawdling about with such trivial details. The abridged version is there are many 'mythological beings', as Lee put it, that are more real than you can imagine. Most of them left Earth to get away from man's warring ways. Once men began exploring their entire galaxy, they decided to move even further away. So we came to the nearest other place like home that we knew of. We came here. That is all you need know. Yes?" "That … is … amazing." Lee stated, genuinely. "Well, that's . . . interesting." Zander replied , with his view of the universe suddenly being shattered and reconstructed by the very words he had just witnessed. "Why are YOU on THIS planet … fighting a small alien army?" Zander then asked her.
"There are good people down there. There are bad people out here. I help to protect the good people from the bad people. If you even WERE once a hero as great as your friend claims, then you could help us, greatly." "I told you. That's not me anymore. I just came here to seek answers about my own existence. I can't just put my life's journey on hold for people I know nothing about." Vranaie's eyebrows lowered in anger as he continued. "We'll drop you on the surface, in an area that we're sure is safe, and we'll continue forward with our journey. Good luck, Vranaie." He said genuinely to a woman not willing to accept that answer. "Then I shall TELL you about these people!" She said with great passion, but her words fell on deaf ears. "Then you will know them, and help them. Yes?" She said as she approached him while he walked away from her, and towards the navigation console Paul was sitting at. "I don't want to hear this." He said as he continued walking away from her. He made it about halfway across the bridge when Vranaie grabbed his right arm with her left hand, spun him back around, pressed him to his back on the floor with her right hand, and placed her dagger to his throat with her left hand. "Zander. You okay?" Paul asked as Lee sat in disbelief as Vranaie took a seat on Zander's chest. "Let her speak, Paul." Zander replied only a very brief moment before she did so.
"These people had a beautiful realm, much like Earth when we left. They wanted for nothing, and had peace washing over their realm like a gentle tide over your blood-soaked beaches. However, war came from another realm. A demon wanted their planet & all of its properties for his own wicked purposes. Billions fought a war they never wished for on a planet that was clearly meant for peace by its creator. They fought demonic soldiers calling themselves 'angels'...more specifically, they call themselves 'Black Angel Ascension Legion'. Demonic soldiers wearing armour fashioned from the corpses of the falling Incorayans before them. Demonics sildiers wearing helmets fashioned from the very skulls of the Incorayan ancestors. Now, only a few thousand Incorayans survive, hiding amongst a few trees that are still clinging to life as the blood-drenched land yields little life to them and the waters are unsafe for most life to partake of them. They fight eternally for a freedom that never comes from a war which cannot much longer be endured by a realm meant for peace. They need heroes like you once were. They don't need cowards and selfish ogres that care only for their own journeys while they allow others to perish in a journey that they never chose. Take me back, but while we are there, even if for but a moment, hear their tale from their own lips, if my mouth delivers not the words that are to your liking."
Zander's reaction was that of a man who just experienced a life-altering epiphany as Vranaie let him back up, took a seat on the floor, and began cleaning her dagger. He slowly made his way to his feet in the silence. "You still okay, Cappy?" Paul asked. Zander replied solemnly, "No. I'm not." And he wasn't. He wondered how he could've been so selfish that he would abandon a planet full of people who needed help. How could he have been so petty & cowardly that he would turn his back on people suffering so greatly just so he could attempt to indulge himself in his own unknown heritage, which up through this point had never had any bearing on how he lived his life or even his personality in general, aside from always wondering who he was, and where he was from. It disgusted him. He pondered those thoughts as he slowly turned his head, and caught his face's own reflection mirrored on a wall console beside him. He saw a look of innocent disbelief in what he had said so far, followed almost immediately by an expression of pure hatred at the monster he had become. He finally spoke again as he turned away from his own reflection. "This wasn't what we had set out for six months through empty space for. We didn't come there to ignore people in need, and to abandon a chance to expand our sense of brotherhood with other alien cultures. We are under threat of life imprisonment if we ever returned to the Milky Way with evidence of any major interference on our part is found to have taken place in this galaxy. This is the way of the organization we left behind so that we could be free to make this trip without any restrictions. Even though we left their space exploration & military wings, we ARE still considered citizens of the territory belonging to the same organization which had found me wandering, with amnesia I've never recovered from, down an alien beach. If we ever went back, and they found out we had interfered in any major way such as what Vranaie has suggested, we'll pay for it by sacrificing that freedom. I don't care though, and that scares me. As I see myself right now . . . my own reflection of myself, angry, filled with rage & hatred at what I have become, I realize that this must be the face she sees when she looks at me, and I refuse to be such a monster . . . in this galaxy or any other."
That's when he spoke the words that forever changed all of their lives. "We need to get down there . . . now." "I'm on it, Cappy." Remarked Paul as he headed to the helm controls. Zander slowly walked over to Vranaie, and knelt down in front of her. "Vranaie, we can't just stay here forever . . ." He said as he gently placed his right-hand on Vranaie's left cheek, and softly thumbed away a lone tear escaping her left eye. Vranaie put her dagger away in a small, leather bag strapped to her left hip as she witnessed this act of kindness from a man whose life she had just threatened. ". . . but I will see what we CAN do. I promise." He said gently, with his right-hand still on her left cheek while a solitary tear attempted to escape from his own right eye, and only slightly failed to do so. "Thank you." She replied calmly in kind as the Descendent reversed course. "Great . . ." Lee responded. "This is all very touching, but I just know the Human's gonna die this time."