For most people it would be a peculiar but useless trinket, at best some dead artifact to sell on the black market or to be locked away in a storage facility. But the very few know, they are aware of how truly unique each one is: there isn't one like the other, each is crafted for one and only one individual. Here it was, no more than a reminder of the times past, of humble beginnings and first, tentative, steps on the path.
Being one of the earliest artifacts in Pennybrooke possessions it was gifted by a certain alien benefactor. That entity disappeared sometime after the fall of planet Toledo and the artifact subsequently remained inactive since then, dead silent. Inquiries to its brethren, such as they were, yielded no meaningful answers, occasionally vague references and obscure terms no doubt lost in interpretation, reminding us of how far apart the species are.
Some say it went beyond the rim and never came back, taking a journey beyond known space as a mere wanderer. Whatever the case might be its presence had completely vanished, erased even, so thoroughly its 'name', a simple designation given by automated IFF system, was forgotten by most. Since then many things happened in the colonies and the outer systems.
And for the first time in many years patterns on the surface shifted and crystal emitting soft teal glow from within. An invitation, one that was never forced upon the recipient, but a dangerous one nonetheless, responding was always a step into unknown. As always there was a choice.
Katherine had been taking a moment for quiet introspection, which quickly spiraled into a concerning looping pattern of how all her moments recently seemed to be quiet introspection, before she pulled herself out of that mind pit.
It felt different though, at this moment. There was something particular that was itching in her mind. She felt herself remembering times long past, traveling with Edwin, making first contact with the Light, establishing individual connections...
The RV was on a long, empty cruise through Zeta. Certainly there was a risk of Order attacks, but Katherine's ship was firmly on the friendly side of the system, and the flight would take hours. She left the RV's bridge for her small bedchamber, a place she almost never used for its intended purpose, dropping down on the thin mattress.
A faint sliver of teal glow spilling through her bedside cabinet caught her attention, some electronic device she clearly forgot about. She couldn't remember the last time she put anything in or took anything out of there, but obviously there was-
Her heart skipped a beat. That was in there.
With trembling hands, she opened the cabinet, and sure enough, that thing was the source. Katherine immediately felt a rush of memories from the last ten years of her life, all the flights and encounters and conversations and missions that led her to where she was, with one memory cutting through like a hot knife:
Harbinger.
This had been their gift. And for the first time since she received it, the artifact was active, colours and patterns dancing across it.
She gingerly placed a finger on its shimmering surface, gently stroking it as if to coax its meaning out of the glowing crystal.
Obviously, something was waiting for her. She just had to find out what it was.