Still bleary-eyed, the pair hastily pack their belongings in preparation to leave the exostation. Since seeing the broadcast message Jak has barely slept.

As Jak and Ryker head towards the main dock ready to depart, something catches Jak’s eye. They see a man and a woman walking past them, both wearing plain and unremarkable robes. The woman is wearing a talisman around her neck, which looks as if it’s made from a smoothed stone. But that’s not the reason it’s caught his eye. The symbol on the talisman is the same symbol that Taith was wearing on her necklace in the message. Jak stops in his tracks, fixated on the symbol.

Without thinking, he rushes over to them and points at the necklace while blurting out:

“Where did you get that?”

The couple look taken aback.

“This? It… it’s an Ardor symbol.” the woman says hesitantly with a somewhat frightened look on her face. Jak notices her defensive body language and realizes he should have approached the couple with less intensity. He takes a deep breath, trying to relax into a more inviting stance.

“I’m sorry… I'm looking for my daughter… I’ve seen that symbol in a broadcast. Please... what can you tell me about it?”

The couple seem to relax a little but remain cautious and deliberate with their answers.

“We’ve come from Ōmikam, where I was given this talisman,” the woman responds.

Jak’s heart skips a beat. 

“Ōmikam? I… I think my daughter might be there.” Jak is visibly distraught.

Ryker produces his handheld interface and plays the couple the broadcast message. Within seconds the looks on the couple’s faces change to recognition and surprise.

“This is your daughter?” the woman asks, taken aback and now looking up at Jak.

“Yes… I haven’t seen her in over a decade. I thought she was dead…”

“We know her,” the man speaks softly for the first time. He has a subtle conviction to his tone, and his calmly assured response sends another jolt through Jak.

“What… so… she is alive??”

“Absolutely. We were with her just a few weeks ago. We were helping the Ardor; that’s why we have this medallion.”

Jak is dumbfounded. It’s too much for him to believe. How could any of this be? Ryker is overwhelmed too, finding it hard to process that these very people before him could have seen the young girl he saw sucked into the depths of space all those years ago.

“The Ardor? I don’t understand…” 

“Yes. They aren't anything like the primitives that most people believe. They are ancient and evolved in ways far beyond our understanding. We have been living alongside them on Ōmikam, learning from them and trying to understand their collective pain. This is what your daughter is doing. She has been helping them.”

Ryker is bewildered, trying to make sense of this information. As far as Ryker knows, Ōmikam is devoid of anything. No advanced technology, no artificial structures – the natives don’t seem to do anything and certainly don’t seem to be an advanced species of any kind.

“What do they need help with?” Ryker asks, his tone containing a hint of doubt.

The woman hesitates, trying to find the words to respond.

“She is helping them to die. Their sun is dying… the Ardor are deeply connected to it.”

Ryker is uncomfortable; not accustomed to his own rigid beliefs being confronted like this. His body language inadvertently exposes his skepticism.

“It is difficult to comprehend, I know,” the man says. “If you go to Ōmikam and find your daughter it will become clear.”

The woman looks at her partner with a deeply concerned expression before turning back to Ryker.

“You must understand that if you go, you will not come back. There is very little time before the death of the Red Giant. We stayed with them as long as we could, but it’s now time for us to leave. We are only visitors here. We must return to the rest of our family in System 49-L before the end. I’m so sorry to be the bearer of this news but please take what we say seriously.”

Ryker is struggling to accept this revelation – the sun is still millions of years from death. Surely this is the message of a cult.

Jak is stunned, unsure of what to think except for the fact that he may actually have a chance to see his daughter again.

The couple depart in a hurry leaving Jak and Ryker to prepare their next move. They soon take off from the station with a mix of trepidation and delirium.