Gawain took several seconds to steady both his expression and his emotions.
Only then did he respond in astonishment to the voice calling him directly through the satellite signal. "Omega?! Haven't you already left this planet?"
"I left, but before I did, I left a data module in the ancient Voyager satellite array," Omega's voice echoed in Gawain's mind. It spoke slowly at first, as if reacclimating itself to the language patterns used when dealing with carbon-based lifeforms, but after only a few sentences, it became fluent. "Over the past years, I have been watching events in my... 'homeland' through this 'eye.'"
Before leaving, Omega had left an "eye" within the satellite array?
The shocking news nearly broke Gawain's composure. Then he recalled the fleeting glimpse he had seen through the satellite surveillance feed on the day Omega left the planet. He forcibly calmed himself before asking, "Where are you now? And how did you contact me? I mean, why would the Voyager satellites recognize your communication signal?"
"Have you forgotten? My creators were researching technology left behind by the Voyagers as early as 1.8 million years ago." There seemed to be a trace of pride in Omega's voice. "The spacecraft used for the Coming of Age Ceremony employed some knowledge originating from the Voyagers, and that knowledge was also useful when the earliest Omega nodes were created... I found ancient communication codes in my original database, codes that the Voyagers had once authorized for ground stations. Fortunately, those codes still work today.
"As for my current location... I am on a rocky planet near 'Ao.'"
Gawain froze, blurting out in his mind, "You're near 'Ao'? After leaving Loren, you flew toward that star?"
"Yes. In Loren's homeland, many races were curious about 'Ao.' After I came to understand 'curiosity,'