The Paradym Catalyst

She'd had plenty of bad luck in her life. This time, being in the wrong place at the wrong time took more than a little bad luck. It took betrayal.

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Betrayed and used in a plot to alter time, Keata recalls the words of her kin - 'Humans are the lowest of the intelligent life forms. Never trust one.'

Now, 1000 years in the future, she looks like a human child and is taken in by humans. Believing she is one of them, she accepts their friendship. As her memory comes back, she discovers time has locked her species in the past and their sarcastic comments about humanity "dumbing down" have become all too real.

She needs to fix the time fracture to get help, but there's no one who understands the science involved. Still, three humans take her side, proving that the traits that convinced her to choose Human as her second form are still valid. Valour, bravery, and loyalty are still strong, and that's good, because Keata finds them actively opposed by an impossible force.

When her true form re-emerges, she learns she's not the only one traversing time and the thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies.