She awoke to sunlight, her eyes blinded. Squinting, Kria sat up and scanned her surroundings. She was alone on the rocky plateau, save for the cold corpse of the black-armoured being, still lying in its own blood. The sapphire sky was clear, not even the alien vessel could be seen. Kria groggily got to her feet and swept the dust and sand from her worn clothes. She carefully walked over to the dead being, cautious. Standing over the body, she now saw its face properly. The glow from its eyes was gone, blood matted the vertical ridges and high cheekbones of its face. The creature lacked a mouth; it was replaced with smooth skin that ended in a rigid, strong chin. The being looked like it belonged to a higher, more civilised and sophisticated power. Even in death, its face appeared proud and noble.
Her mind exploded with a deep, wise and powerful voice that echoed through her skull. "We call them the Ven'Rayuun."
Kria became alert, her face the aspect of fear and panic. She looked about her for the intruder.
"Do not fret, child. This one means you no harm." The voice was surprisingly soothing in its ethereality.
"Where are you? How are you speaking in my head? Show yourself!" She cried into the dusty air.
There was no response. She felt uneasy, something had been watching her, had entered mind. The voice came again, sounding curious.
"We know of you Artessan, we have heard your name echo across the stars."
Kria's legs were shaking and she still sought sight of the unknown speaker.
"If y-you stop hiding then, then I can t-talk".
There was a shimmer of light to Kria's left and an almost electric wave of sound emanated from the light. The light burned away to reveal the speaker. The second being from last night stood before her in its white and blue armour, staring at her with cold blue eyes. It's skin was a darker shade of blue than the corpse beside her although still pale. The being stood tall, regal and divine in its own way but physically similar to the corpse in the dust.
"Does the ability to see me satisfy your primitive need for eye contact in a conversation, Terran?" Said the voice amused, the being's mouthless face in sync with the words in her mind.
Kria tried to speak, but felt her throat dry up. She settled for a meek nod.
The being walked towards her, the plating adorned across its body clinked as it moved.
"You are Terran, yet, you are different." It said as it looked her up and down with squinted and curious eyes. The being circled the trembling girl, taking in every visual detail.
"I can feel your energy, you are psionic, but different to the other psionic Terrans we have encountered." The being stopped, and made conspicuous head movements, like it was sniffing her.
"You are weak, untrained...primitive".
Kria looked up at the being, deeply insulted. "Excuse me?".
It looked down at her with a frown, saying nothing.
Lowering to her height, it whispered, "then prove me otherwise...".
Kria filled with power and lunged at the creature, to find only air before her. Pain fired into her abdomen as the being struck her with a quick jab. Kria spun to face her target, launching bolts of energy wildly. The being easily dodged her fire, laughing as it did so. Kria launched a second barrage, and the alien made no move. The shots were passively repulsed by an invisible barrier that surrounded him.
Kria, exhausted from her psionics, keeled over and vomited before collapsing into the dust.
A shadow came over her as the being looked down in sympathy. "Primitive, but there is potential. When you awake, seek the Kal'Rayuun. The prophecy is coming together at last."
Kria's vision darkened, until she could see no more.
