Figures from past

He reached out for his drink but as he touched it, the world seemed to swivel and he fell off his chair.

‗What the...'

He reached out to grab Nyssa as he fell.

But she wasn‘t there. Wherever 'there‘ was.

He wasn‘t in the station anymore - he could feel a wind and see leaves rustling on trees.

And rolling along the floor towards him was a river-fruit. He was home - on Alzarius!

'Adric!‘

He whirled around - the voice, it was... it was Varsh. His brother! And there were his parents, Morell and Tanisa! But weren‘t they dead?

'Come home, Adric,‘ they said in unison. 'We need you here. The Starliner needs your mathematical excellence - we can‘t start it without you.‘

'No, Adric, here.‘

He turned, and saw Deciders Draith and Garif staring at star charts. They were the leaders of the colony - surely he had to obey them.

'Adric,‘ Draith was saying, his long grey beard blowing in the wind, 'you‘ve seen the universe. Come and use your skills to plot us a route home.‘

'Adric?‘

It was Jiana, his old friend. He had grown up with her, but she had run away from him when he said he wanted to be an Outler, a rebel, like Varsh. He never saw her again...

'Adric, you are so brave, so clever. You‘ve done all those things. Beaten the vampires, saved the Tharils, fought the Master, trapped the Ferutu and even burned up the Terileptils and their plague rats. You‘re my hero‘ And Jiana swooned against him.

Gingerly, he eased her off and went to give the Deciders a quick once-over, calling to his family that he‘d be with them in a moment.

***

Divided Loyalties, Chapter 7