I look over at Britt, then back to the door. I cock my head looking at the DNA and retinal scanner. What if Syndicate has found this security software too? Is it connected to the building's computers? If so, she may have already hacked it and put in my information, providing me with clearance.

I have no doubt she'd have figured this out if she had found this. But not being able to reach her, there is only one way to find out. Hopefully, we don't get gassed or blown up if I am denied access.

I slowly walk up to the scanner, clipping my weapon to my belt. I place my face in front of the retinal scanner. It beeps to life, and a very mechanical voice announces it is about to scan for clearance and to hold still and not blink.

To my utter relief and amazement, I hear the overly mechanical voice say, "Welcome Zea Krognar of the planet Zukrog. Please breath into the DNA analyzer to confirm your request to enter."

Britt and I exchange a look.

Well, Syndicate may have gotten my name wrong, but she knows where I was raised, apparently.

But was it Syndicate who added this info? If it wasn't, that is incredibly creepy. It would mean that the entire time, it had been planned out that I would be the one to come here. How the hell could anyone have known I would eventually be here? More unnerving, how would they have programmed my DNA into the security? Time to test it.

A small cylindrical tube silently slides out of the wall below the scanner, right where I knew it would. We have similar security protocols on Zukrog for safes or high-end locking mechanisms. Not many can afford this kind of tech, though. Most just have hand scanners or voice-activated locks.

I breathe heavily into the tube, the small grey sensor ball in the middle my target. I hear the door shift slightly as a giant mechanical clank rings through it. The lock has just been released. The red light above the door switches to green, and I hear gears start to groan. This is a massive metal door.

I suddenly feel butterflies start to dance in my belly. Goosebumps break out all over my skin, and I can't breathe. Something isn't right. My gut instinct screams at me with all the power of a solar flare. Or am I just scared? Not a normal feeling for me.

The doors slowly start to slide open. I hold my breath waiting to see what is on the other side. My gut tells me whatever it is. It is going to change my life forever. Fuck! Am I ready for this?

I see my hand slam down on the emergency button next to the retinal scanner. It stops the door immediately in its tracks. Barely inches open.

I instantly feel a different kind of panic. What the hell am I doing? This is my mission. But I am not sure I am ready for this. I can feel it. Whatever this is, it isn't normal. I am meant to be here. Whoever froze this human had planned for me to be here. How could they have known? I think I am bout to freak out.

"What's wrong?"

"Don't you find this weird?" I take off my damp hat and rub my smooth head with a shaky, sweaty hand. "I mean, do you not find it odd I have clearance to a place I didn't even know existed?"

"You don't think it was Syndicate?"

"She would have gotten my name right." A funny look crosses Britt's face.

Looking at his face, I understand.

"Really? You know my birth mother's surname? My surname! And you didn't tell me?"

"You made it clear you were not interested in your ancestral history Zea."

He is right, of course. Damn.

"But you are right. Syndicate would not have known​ that. It has never been documented or even spoken aloud outside the Orikai sanctuaries."

"So who added my info to this security system?"

"I honestly have no idea, Zea."

"What if it's a trap? Or something neither one of us wants or needs to see?"

"What if Zea?"

"You aren't helping." I pace back and forth in the small tunnel in front of the door. I can't say why but this does not feel right. I am missing something important.

"OK, fill me in on everything you know about me."

"Now!" Britt's incredulous and sounds a little annoyed at my timing.

He's right. My timing sucks. I really need to stop running from shit.

"Yes, now. My information is programmed into some high-tech security software on a planet that I am pretty sure never had this kind of tech in its history. Not to mention that I didn't even know this planet existed until eight years ago."

"Fine. I will tell you what I know. Unfortunately, it probably isn't enough. Are you sure you are ready? You aren't going to like it." Something in his face makes my stomach drop. But no more running.

"Just tell me, Britt. We are wasting time. I need to know the facts."

He nods and takes a deep breath, bracing himself, eyes hardening. He looks like he's about to tackle a very unpleasant chore. This can't be good.

"Your mother was Ariakna, Queen of the Krog's. Your father, the Magnificent King Kalnerog Krognar."

"Wait. How is that possible? Weren't they the ones who sent their people through the black hole to discover this new Universe?"

"Yes."

"That is impossible, Britt. I am sure you have heard the story every year as a child in the temples. My mother and sister recited it to me, even though I was never allowed in temples on The Day of Promise, being considered an outsider."

I try to keep the resentment out of my voice. But it is hard.

"That was well over five thousand and six hundred Universal years ago. Even if a Krog's life span is between nine to twelve hundred Universal years, how the stars could I be the offspring of the King and Queen who sent their people through the black hole?"

"I don't claim to understand it entirely, but this is how the Orikai explained it to me. When they realized their Universe was dying, the Zu'Lar and Krog's finally came some kind of truce after millenniums of war. They came together to find a way to save their people. Most planets had died or been destroyed as their Universe slowly deteriorated. Only a few planets remained with inhabitants, and they were either Krog or Zu'Lar, being the oldest and strongest of the Universe's species.

"While collaborating resources and information, the young Princess Ariatha, your oldest sister, fell in love with the oldest son of the Zu'Lar Emperor. Even though it was not liked by either parents, they agreed to let them bond for the sake of uniting the people. Knowing they would have to find a way to convince their people to go through the black hole together, helping each other, it seemed like the perfect solution.

"Everything seemed to be going as planned, but then on the day of The Great Journey, the ship carrying your mother and father took a hit from debris being pulled into the black hole. It took out half their ship. Luckily your parents were temporarily safe, locked in the ship's bridge with what crew was left.

"Your mother was heavy with child. With you. The excitement sent her into labour. Somehow after you were delivered, she was able to teleport you to your sister Ariatha on a different ship. One that was not damaged. The Orikai guess a Zu'Lar helped in that instance. They shared ships as there wasn't many available that could handle the stress of a black hole."

He stopped for a moment rubbing the back of his neck, staring at his feet. I almost poke him to get him to keep talking when he starts again, looking me in the eye.

"As I am sure you remember from the stories, the ship carrying the King and Queen and their oldest son never made it to the other side. Everyone assumes your parents perished with their ship.

"However you were never mentioned in history books or the original scrolls found in the Krog's artifacts. Something happened on the ship with Ariatha that made her want to keep you secrete and hide you. We don't know what or why. All we know is she found a way to send you through time and most likely deliberately picked your parents to care for you.

"The Orikai never told me why, even if they did know. I did ask how a Krog could travel through time. Krog of the royal bloodline have the ability to connect to their K'ai in such a way they can completely transform into a metaphysical state. This allows them to see and bend all energy streams.

"The Orikai believe that a well-trained and practiced Krog of royal blood could access the dimensions of time and space. Something no one else can."

Britt gives me a half-hearted shrug. He can't explain what he doesn't know.

The Orikai had been given scrolls with information that the original Krog travellers did not want the rest of the Universe to know for some reason. I remember overhearing some elders talking when I had been in training.

The Orikai, being the first species in this Universe, here when the Krog arrived, quickly gained the Krog's trust and respect. And apparently had given them aid of some kind.

I know the Orikai know more than they tell anyone, but it doesn't make the information Britt just shared any less mind-blowing. Especially considering I am a part of this epic historical event.

"So why do they want me to find this human popsicle? And is it a human?"

"They didn't tell me the answer to either question. They only said that it was my responsibility to make sure you made it here. And that the Universe is depending on you finding The One. The only other thing they told me was that you would understand once you saw Her."

Her? What in the ever blazing stars was this shit? So literally, it could be anything behind that door. What Britt just told me, as crazy and terrifying as it sounds, doesn't help me much.

"I told you I didn't know that much."

"Fuck!"

"Zea, just open the door. I have your back. You know that. I won't let anything happen to you. You are not acting like yourself. Quite frankly, Marshal, you're being a pussy." His voice is challenging but not mean. He isn't trying to hurt me but snap me out of my spiral.

That did it. And he is right. Whatever this weird gut feeling is, it can go fuck itself. This needs to happen.

I stop pacing and go back to the emergency button. I pull it back out, resetting it and place my face in front of the retinal scanner again. The mechanical voice askes me to exhale into the tube once more. And the doors are opening once again.

Bringing my gun to the ready, I stand off to one side and Britt to the other. As the doors open, we see a vast open cavern.

It looks like we just teleported back to Orikai. The technology and structure of the rocky, yet sophisticated cavern, is identical to the rooms built in the Great Mountains on Orikai, so, not made by humans. It explains why it is so hard to find.

Taking a quick glance around, I see there are several other entrances to the large cavern. Damn. Our risk level just went up. Hopefully, each door has a security system like the one that is closing behind us. Otherwise, we might get unwelcome company at any moment.

"Zea. I am over here, Zea."

My head whips around at the sound of my name carried on a soft whisper. I scan the whole room. I see no one. What the stars?

"Did you hear that?"

Britt just looks at me like I am an unstable mental patient. Granted, with my current behaviour, I see where he is coming from.

Then I hear it again. It is so quiet I barely make out the words.

"Over here, Zea."

There it is again—bloody stars. The voice is fragile and inside my head. Right. I better not have snapped. Wouldn't that be just perfect?

"Zea. Hurry. They are coming."

Suddenly emotions that are not mine consume me. I feel a great deal of relief, mixed with concern for my safety. I have an intense urge to run down the stairs to the cavern's bottom and over to a small enclosed cube located directly in the centre of the cavern floor.

I move without my conscious consent, and I am suddenly inside the cube and staring at Her!

I feel my heartbeat pick up, and my vision becomes blurry. Then all I see is darkness and Her.

Seeing her face triggers something in my mind. A tidal wave of memories slams into me with enough force I fall to the floor. I feel Britt reach out and scoop me up, his breathing heavy with panic for my safety.

"What's wrong, Zea?"

I feel his emotions like a filter over the others. He us worried sick something terrible has happened, and he'd missed it.

He thinks I might have been gassed or shot, and he fears for my life. I can't speak. The overwhelming wave of memories just keeps coming.

With no other way to communicate with him, I open a connection with him. I feel his knees buckle, and he sits down hard on the floor, still holding me, and together, we ride the tidal wave.