“So, tell us about yourself. How did you end up out here?”
Teekay rubbed his head, feeling utterly overwhelmed. It turned out, he wasn’t alone. There were other Rethavok out here in the Void. Other bigger, vastly more powerful and important Rethavok. People who knew who they were. Rethavok who were alive and breathing and not a pile of corpses. Rethavok who hadn’t seen what had happened, who hadn’t been… who hadn’t… who…
The stress and horrific memories suddenly built up. Teekay held his breath and wrapped his arms around himself, in a bid to shut down the rising panic attack.
“Do not hold your breath, Teekay. Take deep breaths. Long and slow, as you count to ten.”
The lean, purple Rethan was talking to Teekay. They were scary. But they seemed to understand, so Teekay did as he was told. He still rubbed his head though. Mostly the area where a large chunk of his head plate was missing, covered in a mismatched plastic plate.
“Alright… but… I do not know my name…”
“Maybe we should start with what you do know?” the short, white-plated Rethan asked. “But take your time. You are clearly stressed.”
“I do not know who you are.”
The two telepathic Rethans (they had to be, with those auras) both shrugged. The taller one introduced themselves first.
“I am Litvir Kaldynik, this is my little sibling, Kuta Tieridos. I was General of the 11th Legion back in our universe. Kuta was a captain of the 11th Legion, and, when they ended up inside a… new universe, they became General of the 11th Legion… which was admittedly a very different duty. You already know Retvik, and Ret introduced himself earlier, he was a captain of the 1000th Legion in the same universe Kuta was in.”
“T-that…” Teekay was struggling. “That is weird.”
“It is, yes. What legion were you in?”
“Um…” Teekay rubbed his head again. “I was in the 606th Legion. Rank of captain, I think.”
Ret gave Kuta a funny look. Kuta rolled their eyes and telepathically explained that the Legion of Hidden Blades in their original universe was the 404th Legion, not the 606th like in their new universe.
“So… Long distance territory protection?” Retvik asked. “I am aware that the Reth-Vrekan Union did get close to the edges of the universe.”
“I think that… is where we patrolled. The edge of the universe. But… we were thrown out of it. A blinding blast of light. But…” Teekay trailed off again, this time rubbing their eyes. “I… I am not a medic… I could not save anyone…”
Litvir immediately leaned forward and put his hands on Teekay’s hands. “If it pains you to talk about this, we can stop.”
“You have already seen what I am about to say. I could not save him. I could not save any of them. General Somnenion died in my arms as I tried to stop the bleeding and failed.”
“Alright but that sort of injury, that amount of foreign matter stabbed through the stomach, that would have instantly killed most Rethans, it is a miracle you kept him alive for literally hours!” Kuta suddenly blurted, before pausing and covering their mouth. “Sorry. I normally have a better lid on my telepathy.”
“A… a miracle?” Teekay blinked.
“Yes!” Kuta settled back down. “You could not save your General but you gave them as much comfort as you could in the end. From what I caught glimpses of? It is insane that your vessel was even in half a piece, and that you survived for as long as you did, in nothing more but a flimsy suit, with literally a chunk missing out of your head plate and more than a chunk torn out of your memories!”
“Can you get those memories back?” Ret asked.
Kuta thought for a moment, then shook their head. “Unfortunately, no. Trauma-caused amnesia is a one-way ticket. The memories are destroyed, and trying to recover them means you remember nothing but pain and suffering. And considering how shaken Teekay here is, I do not think it would be worth putting him through that.”
Before anyone could comment further, something bright and orange sparkled. Out of those sparkles stood Elkay and a familiar Skyavok.
“So you’re called Teekay as well?” Teekay immediately demanded to know. His tone scared Rethan Teekay a little.
“That… I think… maybe it was my initials? I do not remember my name though so everyone just calls me Teekay or my codename, Arcbearer, because I have electricity powers… Hang on… you did not comment about how it sounds like a Skyavok name, despite you being a Skyavok.”
Teekay grinned, then pointed at the Rethan standing next to him. “I married a Rethan called Elkay. I don’t judge.”
Rethan Teekay went back to blinking. “You… you… hang on… the former High General married a Skyavok?”
Teekay gestured around. “Yep. Not like there’s many options out here anyway. You think Elkay was going to marry his own half-brother, someone with the same name as his half-brother or those two freaks? Not that it matters either way, Elkay and I love each other dearly. The only question is, what’s going on with you?”
“I do not follow.”
“You single?”
“I… I still do not follow…”
Teekay suddenly pulled out his communicator. After a few seconds, a bing rang out from Rethan Teekay’s wristband. “I’ve invited you to the group chat. Gonna help you make a friend or two.”
“I… I still do not follow…”
“Teekay, dear,” Elkay butted in. “You are throwing a lot at the poor guy, and you are assuming too much. Please let him relax and settle down for a bit before we throw too much at him.”
“That’s fair. I’m just saying you Rethans all need to get drunk together and that I’ve got a friend that this Teekay might be interested in!” Teekay was still grinning. “But you’re right. You lot need to chill for a bit and get to know each other and make this Teekay more relaxed.”
The Rethans all glanced at each other, then shrugged.
“Litvir, do we have plans for today?” Retvik asked.
“I already telepathically asked Vikalos and Eksi to sort things out.”
“Wonderful!” Retvik smiled. “Teekay, what would you like to eat and drink?”
“Do you have mead? And a nice stew?” Rethan Teekay asked.
“We do.”
“May I have some?”
“Of course…”