“But we have no way to get ahold of them?” Camara Xola asks.

“Nothing short of sending in another jump ship. And that would have to be mission critical.” I turn to the security council. Ever since the discovery of the Orun Gate, we have found our relationship with O.E. growing strained, communications terser. An untrusted acquaintance pulling back. “Don’t you see? This cannot be coincidence.”

“What are you saying? Speak plain,” Xola says.

“We discover a wormhole within the heart of our sovereign alliance. O.E. learns of it, even offers us technology to help us further study in and explore a world on the other side. Us shouldering the bulk of the risk in return for us sharing data.”

“An arrangement you are still on record as opposing,” Xola says.

“Because it felt like a setup. First our embassy gets attacked. Next, O.E. signals for a greater presence here. Just as we can no longer contact with our team who is exploring a recently revealed resource many parties would love to have control over.”

If only for a heartbeat, Stacia lowers her eyes.

“What is it, Stacia?” Amachi rises, stepping between me and her, recognizing her tell. One she’s had to learn the hard way. The heart way. “You’re not telling us something.”

All eyes fall on her and then glide over to Stacia.

“We originally thought that the Orun Gate was a naturally occurring stellar phenomenon. One that our technology had only recently advanced enough to be able to detect.” Stacia’s eyes linger on Amachi, not retreating from the heat of her proximity, until turning back to me and remembering the rest of the security council. “However, we’ve now determined that it is artificial. It was built. And it’s older than we could have possibly imagined.”

04 STACIA CHIKEKE
The Cypher (Returning to Titan)

Stacia peered out the observation bay of the Cypher. It was her second-favorite part of the ship, the first being the Green Zone on Deck 3, the lush garden that bisected the ship. Both were about perspective. From this point in orbit, Muungano seemed so small, fading into the distance, the Dreaming City barely a glint on the moon’s surface. The kraals ringing the moon appeared to be belts along two connecting axes. But she was ready to go back to the stars. Unafraid of who she might be or where she might end up because it was the Muungano way that “you bring your culture with you wherever you go.”