Page 112 of The Edge of Dawn

From the time they’d left the medical bay on Earth to now…

A day…

Had she really slept for that long? If that was the case, then it was a miracle, considering her tendency toward insomnia.

She reached the entrance. It didn’t open automatically like it had for Dragek.

Jade searched for some sort of panel or control button, but there was nothing.

You have to give it an order. Noa’s voice flowed through her mind: pleasant, familiar, and easygoing. You have to tell it to open. It’s been programmed to react only to your voice or biological signature.

Jade formed a picture of Noa in her mind and held onto it. Then why didn’t it just open for me?

It can sense your intent.

Jesus. Really?

Really. Noa’s tone turned wry. You eventually get to the stage where these things aren’t surprising anymore. I’ve found it’s much easier to just go with the flow… unless, of course, there’s something that really rubs you the wrong way.

Got it. Jade took a deep breath. “Open,” she commanded, momentarily lapsing back into English because Noa had spoken to her in English.

The strange dark fibers of the door unraveled, revealing Noa. She wore a simple, seamless one-piece suit made of soft grey fabric and a pair of chunky sandals.

“Hello,” Jade said, suddenly feeling awkward, even though Noa’s demeanor was relaxed and friendly. Maybe it was because Jade knew Noa was like her—she could sense things that others couldn’t. “Uh, come in.”

“Thanks.” Noa walked inside and looked around. “It’s comfy, huh? We all get the same living quarters, although when you’re here long enough, you can insist on decorating to your taste. They’re very obliging.”

“I’m surprised.” Jade gestured toward a curved bench along the wall. Noa smiled as she sat down, as if regarding an old friend. “You know, I never expected Kordolians to be so considerate. It’s as if they knew us all along.”

“They’re pretty adaptable. They know every last inch of the Nine Galaxies and all the populations within them, so it isn’t as if they don’t know how to deal with unfamiliar species. Although there were teething issues, but that’s to be expected. Anyway, I hope you’re feeling better and have had a chance to rest. I actually came to see how you were going and to see if you’re up for starting your learning. Especially since Dragek’s gone to the other side of the Universe. The thing is, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone. If you want to see if you can make a connection with him, we can give it a go. There’s an elder who knows a lot about our kind—he’s called Elgon. You can trust him. Ash and I call on his expertise from time to time. We’ve found something else, too, that might be helpful.”

“Something else?” Jade frowned, unable to help the feeling that everything was moving too fast. “What do you mean?”

“Some time ago, Ash gained access to a whole lot of very old and rare information about the inner workings of the Kordolian Empire. Stuff dating right back to the beginning of their history. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of years. Probably dating back twice as long as humans have been around.”

“Wow.” A feeling of awe came over Jade. She’d never considered that Kordolians would have their own ancient and intricate history. For such a long time, she’d been unable to fathom what existed outside the human world. It made sense, though. The things Dragek had shown her felt otherworldly and ancient. Even he had that quality about him sometimes, like a priest or a monk from an ancient religion.

Only he wasn’t so peaceful, but she didn’t mind that about him at all.

“It’s quite incredible,” Noa continued. “There are very old tomes and scrolls, some so delicate they’re practically falling apart. We have to get the Sylth to quickly scan some of them before they crumble into dust and become lost forever. One of the things that keeps coming up is the existence of all old artifacts.”

“Artifacts?”

“The sorts of things our kind might find in an archaeological dig site, perhaps. Before Kordolians, there were the Zor. A genetically related but slightly different species. There’s so much about them we don’t yet know. What we do know is that they left a lot of interesting pieces of technology scattered around the Nine Galaxies. Some are probably useful. Others could be very dangerous. Not many people know this, but there was a whole nother civilization before the Kordolians. I think having so many loose ends of the Old Empire and all these things that are potentially ticking time bombs scattered around the Nine Galaxies has gotten Tarak on edge. That’s why he’s thrown so much at this mission. As usual, he probably knows a lot more than what he’s letting on.”

“Why are you telling me all of this? I’m just new here.”

“Yes, but you’re very important. Do you realize how rare it is to find people like you and me?”

Jade shook her head.

“According to Ash, the odds are in the billions.”

Jade’s stomach flipped. “You mean there might be just a handful of people on Earth who can do this?”

“The way Elgon explained it to me, everyone probably has some sort of innate ability. Some have it more than others. People like Ash and Dragek are the equivalent of elite athletes in the finals at an Olympics. But a switch or a trigger is needed for it to manifest, and that can only happen in people who have extremely high ability in the first place. In my case, they think it has something to do with me being a professional musician. Maybe my music training unlocked something inside my brain.”

“I thought there was something familiar about you.” Jade tried to place Noa again but couldn’t, really. “Are you famous on Earth?”

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