Agent Fox Mulder (i_want_2) wrote in multi_fiction, @ 2009-01-21 02:13:00 |
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Entry tags: | farscape, het, rated: explicit, slash |
Fic: Julon Crion: Memory 5/7 Farscape
Julon Crion: Memory
By: Lopaka Tanu
Fandom: Farscape
Archive: Yes, just tell me where.
Disclaimer: I do not own Farscape.
E-mail: lopaka_tanu @ yahoo.com
Rating: R
Warnings: Violence, Character Death, Trans species, Angst mentions of Mpreg but none in it.
Beta: None so be warned.
Category: After 4:06 AU Slash and Het.
Coupling: John/OMN, John/Chiana, John/Nerri, TJohn/Aeryn, others.
Challenge:
9. Eavesdropping - whether accidentally or otherwise, your character
overhears part of a conversation... Whatever it is that your character
overhears... how will he react?
Author's Note: Spoilers for like a whole lot of the series, set directly after Promises, episode 4:05 and episode 4:06 only some biology facts about Nebari, John being able to predict wormholes, and D'argo as captain, the rest of that frelling episode does not exist. No matter what happens, this is not the last part in the series, there will be more.
Summary: In the wake of the most devestating events since the sacrifice of Talyn with his Captain, Bilar Crais, the remaining crew of Moya grieve for their lost friend and family. Believing the worst has happened, Chiana makes a decision on an offer Nerri has made. After this decision, the crew of Moya proceed with their plans toward Hynerian space. Peace Keeper territory; the Sebacean armies are preparing for war as the armadas of three other species line up on their borders. In the midst of all this chaos, a revelation is made that will rock the foundation of all that they have been lead to believe. On an alien world, a Nebari awakens. All events have a purpose, a meaning for being. All have been leading to a single moment in time, a second that will be remembered for mellinia, the death of John Crichton.
Key Words: Nebari, Slash, Hybrid, Royal Planet
Story Note: Each *** is in a different time. An example of this would be that what is happening with Crichton does not happen at the same time as with Chiana. They will not match up until the next part.
Lyrics: "Banks of Claudy" by Loreena McKennitt.
________________________________________
He blinked back tears as the smiling face leaned over his own. "M'Lan. I... I..."
"Are you just going to lay here all day?" The Nebari shifted position and was now laying next to John, there face's almost touching. "I really don't blame you, it is such a favorable position. In fact, many the hour we spent our time like this." Tracing a hand down John's chest, he smiled. "You still feel the same, but this coloring thing is different. Did you get species envy?"
Laughing hard enough that he started to cough, John relaxed against the floor. "God, I have missed you."
"Why is that, it's not like I have been gone..." M'Lan stopped moving his hand. "Oops, sorry, forgot. Then again why am I apologizing. It's not like I died on purpose. Those things happen. You know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." John looked back to the ceiling, enjoying the sensation of being able to just sit there and do nothing. This was a peaceful respite from the last things he could remember, all of which were almost too painful for memory. "How long do we have?"
"Here is not a matter of time, but of readiness. When you are, you die. You are not, my Human... eh, Nebari." Still tracing circles on John's abdomen, M'Lan sighed. "Tell me about this. How did you get to be something you weren't the last time I saw you."
"Times go on, people change."
"That is not an answer." His voice took on a tone of scolding.
John took a deep breath, and puffed up his chest in thought. Releasing it, he sat up. "What do you know about the plans of the Establishment?"
"Nothing, they want order, I didn't, they said okay, then let us go."
"There is more to it than just that. A lot more." John tried hard not to remember everything, but it was impossible. Forcing his mind to focus ont he clear picture, he thought back to all he knew. "They gave you a physical before they let you go."
"Yeah, just routine examinations for the exit permits, no one would let us enter their space or on their ships if we didn't have it." M'Lan sat up next to him, his arms around his knees.
For the first time, John saw how old M'Lan really looked. He was barely older than Chiana. Another memory arose in his mind, the image of a glaring female. "Did you have any syblings?"
"Yeah, one, her name was Rhana, but she died when I was six cycles old. It is pretty much routine to have two children. The Establishment likes having nice neat uniform families, two children, one of each sex. When Rhana died, my family went rouge because the Establishment wanted them to have another girl child. My mother was pregnant with a boy, and the doctor forced her to abort it. He was mind cleansed by the Establishment, but my parents had already decided we were leaving. What does this have to do with the physical examinations?"
"Nothing, it was just another thought. You remind me of someone I saw."
"If it was back on the planet where... you know.... happened, then it was probably my cousin, M'Lila." He smiled embarrasedly. "If she knew what we were doing, we would both be de... Trat!"
"Yeah, I think she found out." He refused to look at M'Lan as he continued. "I think my friend D'Argo killed you when he found us together. He gets this insane thing goin on when I am in pain around strange aliens. I awoke to have him carrying me over his shoulder and see her holding your body while glaring daggers my way."
M'Lan gave a non plussed look. "Frell me. Bastard son of Hezmot!"
"Yeah, kinda some of the things I called him." John sighed as he stretched out again, but remained upright. "But any how, that isn't what I was meaning. That physical they gave you actually infected you with a virus. My friend Chiana and her brother escaped Nebari Prime when they were young, but they had been infect as well. Only they got a cure for it from some guy high up in the Establishment. A head hancho who controls the resistance. Few cycles back her people, our people, caught up with us and told us all this crap. Seems they wanna control the galaxy, and this virus is better than a mind cleansing."
"Damn!" The younger male raised his eyebrows in shock.
"Yeah, talk about big time shit." John shook his head. "This virus was present in you, and you gave it to me."
"I'm sorry."
"Don' worry about it, old news. But that isn't the main part of it." He paused as he held up his gray skinned hand and almost black nails. "It seems I had some immunity, and the virus didn't like it. Didn't like my original DNA either. They mixed, had a brawl, did a West Side Story bit, I sang I feel pretty, whitty, and gay. The next thing I know, I am wakin up in a hospital on some freakin medical planet as a knocked up Nebari with a kid who has a dead beat dad, literally."
"I knew it!" M'Lan crowed in triumph as John looked at him confused. "Your symptoms were the first stages of a Nebari pregnancy. Solid black eyes, pale skin, adominal cramps. It usually takes monens for them to show, and only then because something in the body has triggered the start of the pregnancy. I never paid much attention to what caused it, just the symptoms cause my cousin." He grabbed John up in a tight, breathless embrace. "What does he look like? Does he have a name? Does he have your eyes or mine?"
"Whoa, hold on a minute," John gasped out as he slowly pried himself free. "She was beautiful. Had my eyes, and her mother's cheek bones."
"Mother? Was?" Confusion was clear in his tone as he searched John's face. "What do you mean, was?"
"She is gone." He looked away, unable to meet M'Lan's gaze. "There was nothing I could do. I shouldn't have even been able to give birth the way I did. If it wasn't for some strange organs, M'Lila would never have even been concieved."
"M'Lila..." the heart broken whisper came as M'Lan looked up at John from a lowered face.
"Yeah, she was beautiful. I remembered you like the name."
"The first night." M'Lan nodded. "I too remember. You were explaining to me why you wanted a child and what you would name him or her. I am sorry that this Aeryn Sun did not love you enough to give you that child. But you saw ours before... at least."
"Yours, she had none of my DNA, that is where Chiana came in. The child had the DNA of three Nebari, you, Chiana, and a guy named Meelak." John tried to scoot away, but M'Lan cupped his chin, forcing him to look at the Nebari.
"She is, was yours. No matter, even if it was for a short time. You loved her, you helped give her life. Did you want to be there for her as she grew?"
"I guess."
"Then she was yours. DNA does not mean ownership."
"Yeah, well it doesn't matter any more." John grabbed his hand, and pulled it off his face. "She's gone, so are you, and I am about to be. Why can't I just die like anyone else? What is so damn special about me that I have to go through all this... Shit! Why me?" Standing up, he screamed the last at the top of his lungs
"That is what we all ask ourselves at one time or another, Julon." M'Lan stood and walked over to his side. "You are just the lucky ema that happened to be shot through a worm hole."
John froze, then turned back to look at M'Lan. "Who are you?"
"I am the same person I have always been."
"Who are you, Mauldis? I never told M'Lan about being from a worm hole." He backed away as M'Lan's face grew angry. "Who the fuck are you?"
"The same person I was the day you saw me die. Only now I know a little more than I did then." He put his hand on his hips, and stared at John. "You are special, Julon. More so than you realize. They have been planning for your arrival a long time. You know this."
"Who is they?"
"The Ancients and their allies, who else."
John slammed his fist in to the nearest wall. "God damn them!" Kicking at the same wall, he tried to brake through the marble. "I fucking knew it. They lied to me, again!"
"What? You were expecting them to be honest about their plans with and for you?" M'Lan's voice dripped with sarcasm as he walked closer to the angry Crichton. "You are too valueable a tool to just cast aside. Think about it, they gave you the keys to the universe and the means to keep them. And they did all this out of the goodness of their hearts?"
John whirled on him, rushing him against a far wall. "What else do you know about there plans?"
M'Lan struggled in the vice grip as John bodily locked him against the wall. "Frell off! I don't have to tell you trat!"
"You will tell me!" John gripped the younger man by the face with both hands, and forced him to look him in the eyes. "Don't lie to me. What else do you know?" When M'Lan only glared at him defiantly, John lowered his head to the other man's shoulder. "Please, I am sick of these games."
M'Lan sagged in the embrace weakly as John pulled him close. "I don't know. They said you knew it all already."
"How did you meet them," he whispered in to the curve of M'Lan's neck, nuzzling at his throat.
"They offered me a chance to live again. As I was hit from the pulse blaster, the world suddenly died around me. Darkness was all that surrounded the bed, and the pain was gone. I dunno how they did it, they just did. A warm golden-yellow light spoke to me. Offered me the chance to live again. All I had to do was say yes."
John ran his nose up the side of M'Lan's neck to his ear. "What did they want you to say yes to?"
M'Lan moved his head away from John, tears stinging his eyes. "I can't..."
John squeezed him tighter. "Tell me."
"Please..."
"Tell me!"
"It doesn't matter because I told them to frell off!" The world around them started to get dark. "I told them to frell off," he repeated defeated. "I have to go, Julon." He pulled back from John's slack embrace, drawing a warm hand down John's face. "I'm dying too, this was just a last chance to say good bye before we both left this world." He sniffed as tears ran down his cheeks. "I am going to miss you so much. In the time of my life when no one else cared, or was willing to be there, you were. No one has made me feel the way you do."
The darkness started to grow nearer as John gave a muffled grunt. "Please, don't go. I don't want to be alone again."
M'Lan pulled his face up so they could look at one another again. "You will go on, be strong, they still need you. Remember that, they need you, not the other way around."
John wrapped him in his arms. "But I need you."
Shaking his head no, M'Lan pulled back from the embrace. "You have all you need." The tears continued as he started to turn from John. "Know one thing, I think I loved you." Then he was jerked around, John behind him. They were both laying on the bed, and M'Lan was shielding him with his body. Someone was in the room with them, they were back in the inn on the commerce planet. "It will pass."
The figure in black moved near him, pulse blaster raised. "Get away from him!"
"No," M'Lan said, "he must be allowed to complete..." He didn't have time to finish as the door busted open in the same instant the pulse blaster in the hand of the dark figure fired.
The Luxan in the door opened his qualta blade to fire but the figure in black hit the floor, rolling under the bed. "Nooo.." Others were coming, John could make out as M'Lan's body settled cooling next to him in the bed. Lifeless eyes stared back at him as D'Argo's hand settled on his shoulder. "No, oh no. Please, no."
Then all faded to black.
A hand on his shoulder made John realize he was still laying on the ground of the room on Nebari Prime. He looked up to Guide Zhaan looking at him in sympathy. "Why?"
"It was his last wish."
"It's time, I'm ready." John spoke to her as he sat up slowly. "I have to apologize to D'Argo, I thought he..."
"Enough of this, John, he knows. He has forgiven you as you now forgive him." She watched as he stood, extending her arm. "Give your hand."
"Why?"
"It is time, as you said. They are now ready, and so are you. Time for you to decide. Time for you to take my hand and die, John Crichton."
John reluctantly put his out. "Zhaan, I don't want to die. I wanna live, I wanna see my family. Have kids, grow old with somebody." He stopped, looked around the room, then back at her face. "I want to be able to love again. Please, just one more mome..."
Zhaan took his hand.
****************************************
In the practice arena, Aeryn Sun fell to her knees, clutching her stomach. She felt the loss of something, and so did the babies. It was like a loud noise as had just suddenly stopped, or a part of her cut off. She felt empty, like... "Oh Cholack, no." Her scream rocked the supports of the practice arena. The medical teams came rushing in to find her rolled up in a ball, clutching her potruding belly, tears in her eyes.
Scorpius rushed into the room at her side as they placed her on the stretcher. "What is wrong?" His alarm making the Scarran undertones in his voice scare the medical crews.
One of the techs was at his side in an instant. "We can find nothing physically wrong with her, sir. She just collapsed and started to scream."
"Then find out where her doctor is, if there is something wrong, he will be able to know!"
The Tech bowed and backed away. "Right away, sir."
Ignoring the frantic medics' concerns, he pushed them aside to get at Aeryn. She was almost completely hysterical as they tried to calm her. He threw a persistant med tech out of his way, and kneeled beside her stretcher. Grabbing her hand, he acted as a base for her. "What is wrong, Officer Sun?"
"He's gone."
"The baby?"
"No, John, he's gone."
Scorpius let her hand go as they moved the stretcher. Sitting there stunned, he replayed the image of her wide tear filled eyes. 'John's gone,' he thought. 'John is gone... John Crichton.' He fell back to sit on his feet from the shock. "John Crichton is gone." The supports once again shook as his Scarran growls filled the arena.
****************************************
Jack stood over the comatosed body of the gray alien. He watched in sorrow as the alien's heart monitor continued the slow almost non existant beeping. There was nothing his people could do to bring it back to life, and the other aliens had told the translator, Jim, that there was nothing they could do for him either. It was only a matter of when before he died.
Curing silently, he hit the wall above the heart monitor. He looked at his red skin, and for the millionth time wondered if John would recognize him as he was now. There were days when he didn't even recognize his own face. Sighing he sat down in a chair next to the hospital bed.
He ran his sore hand down his face in exhaustion. "Where are you, my son? Are you happy?" All was silent in the room as he waited for an answer. "I don't suppose you can tell me if he is?" Jack looked at the alien again. "No, didn't think so."
Pulling out the necklace he, stared at the puzzle on the end of it. "How did you come about this? Did you know my son?" Still nothing. "Was he happy when you last saw him? The day he disappeared, there were things left unresolved between us. I just want a chance to put things right."
"You know, there are somethings I consider to be every father's dream. Like their child to follow in their footsteps. All I ever wanted for John was him to follow in my steps, and be successful at it. That isn't too much to ask for a father, is it?" Jack looked at the Nebari. "Do you have any children?"
"If you do, you will know what I am talking about. I just want the best for mine. I have seen my two daughters grow and have children of their own. Their children are grown and have children of their own. One of my great grand children has even had two children of her own. I wonder how many John has. You know he would be the age I was when he left, by now. Fifty eight years old, can you believe it? No, I don't either."
Jack took a closer examination of the Nebari male. "If you were at all Human, I would swear you might be his son. Are you? Is he any relation to you? Hell, for all we know about these aliens, you could be his tenth generation grand son. You may not even be aware of what your lineage is."
Laughing at the absurdity of it, Jack sat back again. "Shall I tell you a story? You are not too old for a story, at least not one like this. I think I like the idea of you being related to my son. That would mean you were related to me. No matter how many generations removed you might be. So on with the story, I guess."
He cleared his throat. Looking down to the floor, he focused on his memories. "Let's see here. Once upon a time, Oh about thirty and some odd years ago, there was an astronaut, who was the son of another astronaut, a very famous astronaut. The son Astronaut felt he had something to prove, that it was fine to be his father's son, but being the son of a Famous Astronaut was not what he wanted. He had to prove to the world he was just as good as his father, even better in fact. Or may be it was too himself, or his father.
"Well that doesn't matter, what matters is he was greater than his father. To prove it, he came up with a theory, and came up with a way to prove that theory. Something his father never even dared try. You see his theory was to prove that if they used the Earth's gravity to sling shot a ship out, it would revolutionize travel amoung the planets and we could begin a possible colonization. Well what they didn't account for was the solar storms that were occuring, and the ship activated a massive gravity distortion and sucked him in it.
"For three days every scientist on the planet searched the heavens for anything that might resemble the same gravity distortion, or a possible ship. Nothing ever came of it. Not exactly nothing, many new technologies were created to scan the solar system, and new designs created to make sure it never happened again. In fact there is an entire new weather bureau to account for spacial varriations that might cause unexpected results. Or undesirable, depending on what you might think.
"Now after three days, the president of this great nation, the birth nation of the Astronaut declared the son lost to our world and for all intents and pruposes dead. This hit the family of the astronaut son hard, and they almost didn't make it. If not for the support of family friend, the father wouldn't have. But the father astronaut had her, and he swore never to give up the search for his son. He even went as far as to develop a scanning system that traced many possible trajectories of this gravity distortion..."
"Worm hole."
"Worm hole, yes, that's it.... Did you say something?" Jack sat forward staring at the Nebari with hope. When nothing came, he sat back with a sigh. "I guess my old age must be catching up to me. Now where was I, oh yeah, the worm hole scanning tech. The father created it to search for this worm hole and where it might have taken his son. Nothing was ever found, but he never gave up hope.
"The years past, tensions between the other nations erupted and a war broke out. The father astronaut was very upset when his youngest daughter was taken from him by this war. He did not see why she had to leave, but she said it was her duty, and civic pride demanded that she serve her country. So what was he to do, he supported her, but reluctantly. As the wars went on, resorces became scarce, and the governments wanted all the tech they could get to fight one another.
"It was a bloody mess, and it took the lives of many good people. The wars finally ended ten years after their start, but not before one nation was placed in a permanent embargo. This was a grave mistake, and one the father astronaut tried to warn them about. No one would listen to him in the governments, but the public began to. But it was too late, by the time they listened to him, that nation had decided they had nothing left to lose and released a plauge upon the Earth. The likes of which none have seen for almost a thousand years.
"That was thirteen months ago. Now those who would not listen are either dead or will soon be. What this plauge does is kill off those who isolated themselves from the rest of the world. To show that isolation kills the Human spirit. They taught the world a valuable lesson. But they also paid a heavy price. You see those who were infected with the first strain in order to carry it from one place to another, died horrible and slow deaths. Six hundred thousand dead because of the arogance of a smaller group of people. Now more than four billion will die because they thought to avoid the plauge all together.
"Through all this, the father kept hoping, and praying that if their was a god, he would send him a sign that he was all right. He also kept thanking that god for keeping his son from being exposed to all this. For had it not been for that worm hole, his son would be here and probably dead because he was in isolation. His family along with him. You see it was out of protest for the leaders of this nation that they refused the isolation offered by the government when the plauge was discovered. Had he been here, they would never have hated a government that would give one of their best up for dead, had had reason to doubt the leaders assurances that the isolation was for the best, and would have died because of that misplaced trust.
"Now picture it, four weeks ago, that ancient scanning net created to scan for worm holes picks one up. This worm hole deposites two ships containing the first aliens ever seen on this world. Ten hours later it picks up another energy disturbance that turns out to be a third ship. On that ship is the last hope of an old man to ever find out what happened to his son. There is only one problem, the people in charge can't let him have access to the alien if he doesn't take over a project for the people he has despised for over thirty years.
"What is he to do but except their offer. Only it is an offer with the devil. He is to become the new leader of the most powerful nation on this world. In effect, he is to become the new leader of the world. His job is to make these people, these changed people, like these aliens. Okay it seems I left out something important. These people who created the plauge, also gave it a side effect, the longer it mutated, so did the host being. Now you have almost an entire planet of people who are Red skinned, green eyed, and purple haired. I seem to be able to move about like I haven't done in almost fourty years, so may be we live longer too. They gave us a second chance on life, it seems. I guess we really can survive anything if we stick together."
Jack went silent for a time. He seemed to contemplate the floor for a while as the monitors continued their slow steady beeping. "Now what am I to do? It seems I have a chance to make this world the place we had hoped to live in when we were younger. A place for our children to grow up happy, healthy, and prejudice free. I also have a chance to find out what happened to my first son, but you won't wake up. I can have everything I have wanted for the past thirty years, but only if you please wake up."
Sitting forward in his chair, he grabbed the alien's hand. "Please, Julon, if you can understand me, wake up. At least tell me my son is all right. That if he is dead, that he died for a good cause. Anything!"
The Nebari's eyes shot open, freezing Jack with their startling clear blue. Their eyes met, and Jack felt his heart constrict. "John?"
"Esceru..." was the whisper, then the eyes lost focus, and the monitors squeeled.
Jack was pushed out of the room in shock as the doctors and nurses rushed in trying to save the strange alien. He could only watch as they tried again and again to revive the alien, all to no avail. Stiffly, he walked down the cooridor to the commen room where the aliens and Jim met daily. They would be in there now, they could tell him. They were.
Numbly, he pressed the palm control that let him in. The two groups stopped their bickering as he entered. In shock the Nebari watched as he walked in. Several of the rougher looking group started to chatter at him, probably asking what species he was or to go to hell. That was one of their more favorite phrases for the anthropologists. He took a seat usually accupied by the leader of the runners.
She cursed at him, but he was in no mood to deal with her. Jack signaled Jim over, whom came with the leader of the Seekers. When they sat down, he put his head in his hands.
"Are you okay, sir?"
"No, Jim, I am not. I just lost the only link I had with my son in over thirty years."
Jim paled as he watched the older man. "You mean Julon..."
"Is dead. Yeah, just now. He woke up, looked me in the eyes, said something in alien, and then seemed to cease. There is no other way to discribe it. It was like there was a living being there one moment, and then a sack of flesh the next."
Jim put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry, sir. I knew how much it meant to you."
"Geishe val wearede, Jim?"
Jack looked up at Resoh, but spoke to Jim. "What did he say?"
"He wanted to know what Julon said, sir."
"Esceru, that was the last thing he said. Does he know what it means?"
Jim asked Resoh, who seemed to think on it a minute before he responded. "You must know something. Come on, this is possibly for my... for John."
"Jeana wei. Yvo jhanish cleito."
Turning back to Jack, Jim shook his head. "I am sorry, sir. He says it is only a partial word, but one that has many meanings. He would need more than just the one word. It has to have an inflection and a prefix to it before he can understand the meaning." Resoh snapped a sound at Jim, and he looked chargrined. "Sorry, a suffix, sir. There has to be a tail end to the word itself before he can tell you what he meant. Perhaps if we knew what you had asked him?"
"I was asking if he knew where John was."
"Kleagowh."
Jim shook his head. "Sorry, sir, there is no Esceru as part of a location, it is more of an ackoledgement or denial answer but with an explanation."
"What about Esceru in responce to if John died for a good cause?" Jack was desperate, enough to reveal anything and everything he had told Julon.
Resoh pierced Jack with obsidian eyes, and nodded. "Juento esceru Ta."
Jack looked to Jim with pleading eyes, but felt his heart sink at the paleness of the other man. "What does it mean?"
Swallowing, Jim tried to find the words. "He said, it means no," he stopped, but Resoh poked him in the ribs. "It means fully, no, for it was not his choice. He was murdered by circumstances, and the decisions of others. I am sorry, sir."
"Thank you, both of you." Jack walked out the same way he came in, the numb taking over again. He put on a calm mask as he walked to his office. There were some calls he had to make, a funeral to arrange, and an autopsy to schedule.
He picked up the phone and dialed a three digit pen code, waited two minutes for clearance, then dialed a ten digit number. On the second second ring, someone picked up. "Hello Katie, is grand mother there? Good, can I speak to her? Yeah, it's Great Grand Pa Jack. Okay, let me talk to Grand Ma please." There was a pause as he bit back a half sob. He cleared his throat a second later. "Yeah, Kate, it's me. I found him. Get the others together, I can't talk now. Why not? Well I have other things to arrange, the least of which is an autopsy followed by a funeral!"
Jack let go of the reciever as Kate cried out on the other side. When her cries had toned down to sobs, he placed the reciever back to his ear. "Now listen to me, Kate, Katie, Katherine Mulheim Crichton Schlouzki! You have to be strong for now, you can brake down later. Remember how I taught you better of that the first time he was lost to us. You have a larger family now, and they will need you. I will be here when you come. For now I have to call the others. I love you, my little girl. Good bye."
Setting the reciever down on the dock, he opened the bottom drawer on his desk and pulled out a silver bottle with red ribbons wrapped around it. 'Welcome Home, John,' was on the card. He took the cap off and offered it up in salute before drinking it.
****************************************
Chiana sighed as she awaited the fleet. They were late, then again what did she expect from a group that uses inexperienced pilots in a battle formation? Even if they did win the first altercation, they took too many losses, and now they were planning to go after the Peace Keepers. The Transport should have left already, but the wanted to wait for the battle fleet first.
What the frell was taking them so long?
She decided to recheck over the systems. Her reserves were still at full, and the primary weapons were at maximum in all fields. The drive system was still operational, as was the star jump drive. It was something her people had developed that mimiced natural defensive manuever of a Leviathan.
Her people, the technogeeks of the galaxy as Crichton had called them. They like finding weapons, both defensive and offensive. They also like having their test subjects close at hand, thus the control collars. Chiana ran a hand around her neck where the collar used to be, twice. It was a bad memory, one that did not need reliving.
She growled out her frustration as she switched on her comm. "Where in the frell is that battle fleet?"
"They have been detained. Apparently someone has over ridden our command authorization.... Oh Hezmana, the Peace Keeper fleet is returning, this time in full force. All ships, return to Transport, and prepare for immeadiet star jump!"
"Frell! I am personally going to kill whom ever recalled the fleet!" She aimed her small module for the transport and saw the mess of ships limping back to the docking bay. There was no way they would all get there in time for the star jump before the Peace Keepers arrived. She swallowed hard, someone was going to have to hold them back. Hitting her comm. again, she tried to smile. "Control, this is Chiana of wing one."
"Control here, get your ema to the docking bays."
"No time, there are too many who are wounded and need to get there first. I am going to try and hold the Peace Keepers off long enough for them to get back and use my own star jump drive."
"Have you gone completely bartanic? We need all the best pilots..."
"To beat the Peace Keepers!" Chiana smiled at the new voice. "This is Wing Commander Helie of The Gray Shadow of Death. We are all in perfect fighting condition, didn't sustain a single hit. Our people are fully prepared to do what is necissary to fight off them frelling Peace Keepers long enough for you to escape. We will get along with-out you, and if possible regroup and join you later."
There came a sigh over the comms. "Then you do know we can not give you our jump cooridinates, so you can not follow us."
"We know this and are still prepared to fight."
"Then may Kahleen watch over all of you, and blessed be the divine in his ways." Then a bleep as the comms were cut off from the main fleet.
Helie's laugh came over their comms. "Reunionists, always preaching about the Divine, and his mysterious people. Wing, set course at half speed for the command carriers. Arm shields and weapons. Our jump coordinates will be Rela Coloney, I am relaying them to you as I speak. As that relnic said, may the Goddess and Divine One watch over us all, cause we are going to need all the help we can get."
This piqued Chiana's interest as she followed orders. "Hey Helie, what is this Divine One?"
Helie's laugh once again erupted. "Oh that, he is supposedly a bright being of light and energy that guides our destiny amoung the stars. Loves all, and watches over those who die. They believe that one day he will rise up amoung his people again after his flesh has burned away by the love our Goddess. This will make him immortal again, and restore the balance that was long ago upset. If we supposedly follow his path, we too can join them in the people of light. You have to go through so many stages before you can join with him, each stage is major change in the body and spirit."
Chiana smiled as they formed their attack wing. "Sounds like a lofty ideal."
"Yeah, well it is supposedly the oldest religion on our home world."
"Nebari Prime had a religion?"
"Two actually, the Love of the Goddess, and the Light of the Divine One. The Reunionists are the merging of both those orders, but keep the two religions seperate. Bunch of fanatics, once you get one started about their gods, they never shut up. That is how I know so much about them. If you had spent a day on the Transport, you would have probably been tempted to kill one of them by now." Raxious laughter filled the comms as the other pilots agreed with her.
"It might not be as bad as we think, to believe there is a better place for us all. Then again, who knows." Chiana shrugged in her flight suit.
"Hold on to your ears, boys, I think we got ourselves a Reunionist."
"Stuff it! I was saying be open minded or else you will end up like the Establishment." They were silenced immeadietly. "Helie, where were we bound for with that load of fighters?"
"Our attack squads were bound for Terra Novina, the Royal Sebacean Coloney where we have a training course. We, you, me, all of us were being recruited to fight for the resistance. I thought you knew this already."
"No. Like I said, I was there with my brother, Nerri. They just suddenly started to strip my ship to dress it in battle armor and weapons."
"Frell. Sorry, it said on your registry that you brought your own ship. They assumed you were joining as a pilot. Your fighter was listed as in active service."
"Nerri! When I get my hands on that grebhol!" Chiana growled in anger as she hit the handles on the steering column.
"Hold on, Chiana. Why would you bring a fighter if not for active service?"
"It belonged to a friend of mine. My... lover."
"Hate to brake it to you, but this is a war effort, and no cargo is to be carried for sentimental reasons unless it can fit on your back. This was probably the only way he could get it to come along."
Chiana thought on this for a moment. "I'm still going to kill him, even if you're probably right."
"I know I am. So keep the killing of resistance leaders to yourself and look mean. There are Peace Keepers dead ahead. Emphasis on the dead!" Her fighter shot forward from the attack V. "Chiana, Grelene, take my wings, the rest of you slags take a position above or below them at wing's length from their far side. Looking good, now lets show these damned Sebaceans the superiority of the Nebari!"
They were spread across three vanguards wide. In the lead were three large Command Carriers. Following closely behind were two more, and some metra's back there were eight more fleets of the remaining command carriers with their support ships. Prowlers, Marauders, Battle Fighters, and a vast aray of attack ships spread out like a nebulous entity around them.
Off her starboard side, Chiana saw several more attack groups of Resistance fighters. "Helie, who are they?"
"That is the rest of the Grey Shadow of Death, Ishtah Squadron. I am detecting thirty-five fighters. We are all here, our Squadron made it through!" Helie's excitement was infectious and had the others shouting their joy. "Soran, our Squad Commander, commends us on our first victory, and warns us not to get cocky. Keep formation for the first attack, then split up in our wings to confuse the enemy. Maintain visual sight of all your wing members at all time. Good luck! Attack!"
As one they opened fire on the Peace Keeper fleet. Entire Prowler groups literally disappeared under their touch. "Keep firing, right up to you have to brake formation," came an unknown commanding male voice over their comms.
Chiana's squad breeched the wall of Prowlers and Marauders to hit a Command Carrier before they were even in firing range of the Peace Keeper fleet. Helie's voice threw orders out as they entered the breech. "Stick close to the Command Carrier, go for the cannons, drives, any weakness you can find."
They weaved through the prowler lines. Their ships faster and more manueverable. Chiana fired on the command carrier when she was close enough, crowing as small flares whipped out signifying a direct hit. She had to shoot forward and roll to avoid the close range fire of one of the wing cannons on the carrier. Aiming directly at it, she sent the drives to full thrust, her wing following, an attack squad on their tales.
"Brake!"
At Helie's order, they shot off in different directions. The prowlers, not fast enough, were caught up in the force of their own drives and slammed into the cannons. Chiana brought her module around and started firing at the gaping hole in the side of the Command Carrier.
"Chiana! What are you doing?"
"Want to win an unfair fight, fight dirty!" She continued firing, weapons at full power. The carrier shuddered as smaller explosions lit the inside of the ship. "Well are you going to sit there staring, or help me blow a hole through this frelling thing?"
"Right, Reson, Heries, and Goldan, keep our backs. The rest of you help us." Her fighter added to Chiana's. The Peace Keeper vessel rocked from the explosions. "Make it bigger! We have to make that hole bigger!"
"Why?"
"We have to have an exit, this way is blocked by the prowlers." Helie's voice took on a sardonic tone. "Besides, I got a little surprise for them!"
Chiana laughed darkly as she complied. Her fighter blasting a hole through, she started moving closer to the breech. The brilliant pulses of blue energy came so fast that any back blast was sent in to the ship. She moved faster as the three members holding their backs told them more prowlers were on their way. Then suddenly the blast stopped, and she was able to see stars from the wrong direction. "I'm through!"
"Then what are you waiting for, go!" Six fighters dropped from their positions of attack and shot in to the Command Carrier. "Don't worry about firing on them, what I got will deal with them!" Helie's fighter was the last to enter.
The journey through the ship was far faster than Chiana would have guess, it also didn't help that she was on full burn. They shot out on the other side amidst little resitance. The Peace Keeper ships were on the other side of the carrier attempting to stop them from blasting their way through. 'Too little too late,' she thought.
Helie's ship shot out of the carrier like a bat out of hell. "Let's get the hezmana out here, now! This is going to be big!"
Their ships spun around each other like in a whirl wind, mimicing the pattern of their fellow fighters as they regrouped beyond the reaches of the fleet. "Is it done," came the same commanding voice from earlier.
"Confirmed, war head planted. Detonate at your liesure." Helie's voice held a note of pride.
"Detonation." As the voice spoke, Chiana watched the Command Carrier. An explosion ripped through the entire carrier, in a matter of microts the entire ship was wrapped in a brilliant flash of blue-white energy. She blinked when the other two of the first fleet went up as well. Her comms were over loaded with shouts of triumph and curses sounding faintly like peace that!
The shock waves from the blasts took out most of the support ships and remaining attack vessels. "That's what ya get for messin with the Gray Shadow!" Their shouts over the comms were blanketed out as their victory was short lived. Everything seemed to slow down as Chiana's Module drifted to see the Nebari Transport. A Command Carrier was upon them and their weapons aimed. It did slow down. "Nooooo...." Then it stopped.
All she heard was a whisper of the wind. The world around her was all white. Chiana felt a presence, something touching her cheek. Something warm, like a hand. It caressed her cheek as tears rolled down it. "Old man?"
"Love you," whispered the wind.
Then his touch was gone, and the world was speeding back to normal. She couldn't speak. Before her eyes it ended again. The Command Carrier fired, and the transport exploded. Chiana felt it as if a physical blow. "Nerri," she whispered. Powering the module to overload, she gunned the drives, and flew directly at the heart of the ship. She ignored the comms as they flooded with people calling her name. All she knew was that carrier and its crew had to die. "You. Will. Never. Hurt. Me. A-gain!" With eyes set in pure hatred, she rammed the carrier head on.