Echoes of Blood Pt 5

Posted on 17 Jan 2026 @ 1:49am by Lieutenant Aev Flammia

1,516 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Echoes of Blood
Location: Corvanis IV
Timeline: 1.5 Weeks Previous

[Corvanis IV]

“Grandfather?” Aev echoed softly. He drew in a slow, steady breath, trying to ground himself. “Is that… a title of affection?” he asked, holding Skath’s glowing violet gaze as he struggled to make sense of the words.

“Perhaps,” Skath said. He paused, clearly weighing his words with care. “Your mother was my daughter.” He inclined his head slightly, as if the matter were self-evident. “Is that not the meaning of grandfather?” There was no challenge in his tone, only a faint suggestion that the confusion lay in translation, not truth.

Sam’s gaze snapped to Aev. She saw it immediately, the way his expression fractured under the weight of it, the careful control struggling to hold against something far more personal. Her jaw tightened, and she leaned forward before the silence could stretch any further. “What Aev means,” she said carefully, voice steady but edged with disbelief, “is how is that even possible?” Her eyes flicked back to Skath, searching his face. “You’re Reman. He’s Romulan.” Her hand came to rest on the table. “So either we’re missing something, or there’s a story here we don’t understand yet.”

Skath waved his hand dismissively at Sam “even with all of your technology did they never realize that Reman blood flows through his veins?” He eyed Aev “it is too much to explain here, right now, but I can show you.” He held out his hand to Aev.

Thoughts flooded Aev’s mind like raging whitewater. He felt caught in it, unmoored, swept along by a current he couldn’t slow or steer. Sam’s voice reached him only dimly, fragments slipping past without meaning, until something pulled him back.

Skath’s hand rested on the table between them, extended.

Aev focused on it, then slowly lifted his gaze to the Reman, his grandfather, if this impossible truth was real. The word still felt unreal, absurd in its weight. The claim was too much, too sudden. Nothing in his life had prepared him for this. “I don’t understand,” Aev said at last, his voice quieter than he expected. His eyes flicked back to the offered hand. “How can you show me?”

“I will let you see my memories,” Skath replied. “So you may judge the truth for yourself.” His voice, rough moments before, softened. “It is the clearest way. And we do not have much time.” His gaze sharpened with urgency. “The longer you remain here, the greater the danger you are in.”

The hand remained outstretched, waiting.

Sam straightened immediately, tension snapping through her posture. “Wait,” she said, firm but not loud. “Aev, slow down.” Her eyes moved from Skath’s outstretched hand back to Aev’s face. “I’m not saying he’s lying. And I’m not saying this isn’t real.” She took a breath, steadying herself. “But you don’t just let someone into your head, not without understanding exactly what that means.” She shifted closer to him, lowering her voice. “You’ve been through enough already. Whatever this is, it’s intense, it’s personal, and you’re not thinking clearly yet.”

Sam looked back at Skath “If you want him to understand, fine. But it needs to be safe. For him. For all of us.”

Aev pulled his hand back to his side after hearing Sam’s words and finding himself a bit more grounded now. “I’m sorry, she is right. I need time to think about this. I don’t know if I can trust you enough for that yet.” He frowned “you keep saying I’m in danger. From what?”

“From whom,” Skath corrected. He fixed Aev with a steady, unblinking gaze. “Your father was a powerful figure within the Empire. A senator, yes, but more importantly, a gifted researcher. He and your mother were killed by the Free State because of what they knew.” His voice lowered, trailing into something darker. “If they learn that you are here…” He fell silent for a moment. “It will be very dangerous for you.”

Aev grimaced. “I don’t know anything. And I’m a Starfleet officer, they would no-”

“Poor child,” Skath interrupted gently. “You still believe such things offer protection from monsters.” Without ceremony, he reached to his side and drew a knife. Before either of them could react, he dragged the blade across the open palm he’d extended toward Aev. Flesh parted. Thick, dark violet blood welled up and spilled onto the table in slow drops.

Skath didn’t flinch. He turned his gaze to Sam. “You are a healer,” he said. “Take this back to your ship. Test it. Let it tell you the truth I speak.” Rising to his feet, Skath looked between them, his tone firm but not unkind. “You will have freedom here, but do not linger. Time is not your ally.” His eyes returned to Aev. “When you are ready, I will show you the truth.” He turned and slowly walked away until he disappeared beyond the darkness of the main corridor.

The moment Skath disappeared from the chamber Sam was already moving to the small table near the dais. She gathered their confiscated gear, laying it out quickly to make sure nothing was missing. When she reached the ring, she paused, just long enough to steady herself, before picking it up and crossing back to Aev. Then she pressed it into his hand. “Here. I don’t like it being out of your sight.” Her fingers closed briefly over his “we’ll test the sample. Verify everything. Until then, we don’t assume anything.”

Pulling her hand away, she turned her attention to blood on the table, her focus snapping into place. The blood had pooled there, dark, almost black in the low light, faintly iridescent against the stone. “Okay,” she said under her breath. She retrieved a small sampling vial from her pack and knelt beside the table, careful and precise as she drew a sample from the pooled blood. The vial sealed with a soft click before she slipped it securely into a padded compartment.

Aev stared at the ring in his palm, his thoughts still churning in a chaotic rush. He didn’t hesitate. Sliding the onyx band back onto his finger, he felt it warm instantly. The device pulsed, once, twice, then flared a brilliant orange. “Ignis,” Aev said quietly, tension threading his voice. “Are you aware of what just happened?”

The ring flared, light spilling outward as Ignis re-formed beside him, his humanoid shape resolving in a smooth cascade of amber glow. He steadied himself, then looked immediately to Aev “yes,” Ignis said without hesitation. “I was aware.”

His expression sharpened, thoughtful rather than shaken. “While disconnected, my higher-order processes entered a passive observational state. I retained continuity, though without agency.” He tilted his head slightly. “In short, I could not intervene, but I could listen.” Ignis met Aev’s gaze. “I am aware of your conversation with Skath. Of his claims. Of what he revealed.”

Aev nodded, almost mechanically “and what do you make of the revelation?”

Ignis didn’t answer immediately. His gaze drifted, unfocused for a heartbeat as threads of analysis aligned. “From a purely analytical standpoint,” he said at last, “Skath’s account is internally consistent. His knowledge predates your medical records and the biological evidence Sam collected should be… illuminating.”

“Let’s return to the Loire,” Aev said quietly. “So Sam can run her analysis.” The words came out steady, but the weight of the revelation still crashed against him, relentless as waves against stone.

They made their way back through the settlement in silence. No one stopped them. No one followed. The Remans simply watched as they passed, their glowing eyes reflecting distant flashes of lightning as the storm finally began to close in. By the time they reached the runabout, the sky was alive with movement. Thunder rolled low and heavy across the plain, wind whipping grit and rain against the hull as they sealed the hatch behind them. The Loire shuddered slightly, settling into the ground as gusts hammered at her like a living thing testing for weakness.

Inside, the storm became a muted roar and hours passed as Sam worked methodically at the aft console. She cross-referencing Skath’s blood sample against Aev’s medical records, then against archived genetic baselines. Data scrolled endlessly across the displays.

Aev sat nearby, watching without truly seeing, his thoughts circling the same impossible truth again and again. Every so often, he caught Sam glancing at him as if deciding when the numbers on the screen became words she could speak aloud.

As the roar of the storm outside finally began to ebb, Sam lifted her eyes from the console and released a slow, measured breath. She turned toward Aev. “I’m finished.” A brief pause, just long enough to make the words that followed unmistakable. “You are… in part, Reman.”

[To be continued]

Lieutenant Aev Flammia
Chief of Security
USS Arawyn

&

Lieutenant Samantha Dawes (NPC)
Medical Officer & Surgeon
USS Charon

 

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