The shock from the exploding Star Forge at the heart of the Nebula behind them soon dithered to a ripple, and as its radius expanded across the stellar distances they left behind, all it left in its wake was a pulse that could hardly be felt at all where it washed against the shock-shielding and gravity stabilizers of the Coldlight. The fluorescent lights, the digital trill within this forged canopy and reinforced walls insulated those inside from the vacuum of space just a few feet outside.
How vast, this endless expanse of darkness. The only indication they were moving forward was signified only by the distant streaks of faraway stars. Each pinpoint that passed there was a sign of some far-off orb not unlike their familiar sun. Yet by the time their visage reached their eyes, how long would it have been since their worlds crumbled to dust and memories perished?
None would have cause to see them if they did not first reach out. Sounds fall to whispers. Light-echoes fade. The shape of ethereal frequencies may as well not exist if there were no instruments to find them.
But on their return to Earth from these uncharted stars, Karine and Totoma experienced something together. No more than a flash, a brief instance that stood uniquely within their minds. Something familiar, something nostalgic, anchored itself in memories of days long past, and seized upon them with a guarded ferocity, desperate to hang on - afraid to lose everything.
The deep memories pulled to the surface were swiftly twisted, mixed with a stabbing pain, a smothered howling and a violent confusion. A thrashing there in psionic darkness, the pulse and burst of blood slathered the psychic signal. Through it all a cold, lonesome whisper cut through a flash of images, desperately calling out to the void without end.
Can you hear me? Karine.
Find me.