What if
Talyn wanted his Pilot with him forever? First part in the Resistance series;
this story is set five hundred cycles in the future.
When reading this story, one might
encounter 'discrepancies'; these are done deliberately, they are not mistakes. They will
be addressed in future adventures of The Resistance, which will start at the
founding of The Resistance. You might want to see this story as a long
Prologue.
A Lonely Road To Redemption
by GitonCrais
James John
Crichton asked permission to dock, and shortly thereafter, his prowler touched
down in one of Talyn’s hangar bays.
Talyn had
grown to very large proportions, even for a leviathan, and he was now twice the
size of Moya. He could accommodate a crew of two hundred easily. His once red
hull had darkened to a lustrous, almost black hue.
James
couldn’t help but be impressed as he inspected the sentient gunship from the
inside.
James wore
his dark brown hair cropped short, much like another Crichton once had, and his
steel-blue eyes held a familiar look of nearly perpetual amusement in them.
He walked
quickly to Command in the knowledge that he would find Talyn’s pilot there.
From what he had heard, the man hardly left it.
Talyn opened
the doors for him, and James stepped through.
Crais turned
around slowly and a welcoming smile appeared on his face. Crais’ voice had a
deep, calm, slightly husky timbre, “James, it is good to see you again. How is
the family?”
James smiled
back, “They’re doing fine. How are you?”
James looked
at the older man. Crais’ bearing was ramrod straight. His raven black hair showed some strands of white; in sharp
contrast, his goatee and eyebrows were still black as pitch and his beard was
trimmed neatly to perfection. There were a few, but only a few, wrinkles around
the eyes and across the forehead. The hazel brown eyes scanning the young human
betrayed a hint of amusement.
James found
it difficult to believe that the man standing in front of him was close to six
hundred cycles old.
“I also am
fine,” replied Crais. “We have had some major successes and luckily suffered
only minor losses. Still, there is so much to be done.” He turned his attention
to the major view-port of Talyn, from which was visible the small but effective
fleet of Renegade Peacekeepers and Resistance fighters flying alongside the
Leviathan.
James
observed the older man. It was as difficult as ever to read Crais’ expression.
He kept as
much to himself as was necessary. Generations of Crichtons had passed down the
stories about him and now it was James’ turn to serve under him. He wondered
how much of those stories were true.
Crais turned
back to him as though he had been aware all along that he was being observed,
and asked, “Robert has finally retired then?”
James
nodded. Robert John Crichton was his father. As was tradition, Robert had
passed as much of his fighting knowledge as he could to his eldest son, James,
and was now sending him off to join Crais. As had been the tradition, the name
of the original John Crichton lived on in the middle name of the oldest son in
each generation of Crichtons.
“Yes, dad is
feeling his years, and he wants to spend the remainder of them with his family.
I hope I will not disappoint you, Sir.”
For a brief
moment, a hint of sadness flitted past Crais’ features before it was replaced
by the well-known calm. Crais gave him a small smile. “The Crichtons haven’t
disappointed me for generations now. I’m sure you will do your family name
proud.”
James
beamed, unaware of how much his smile reminded Crais of the original
Crichton’s. “It will be an honour to serve at your side.”
Crais nodded
then said, “I’ll show you to your guest quarters for the night. I take it you
will be spending most of your time on Nelvix?”
Nelvix was
one of Talyn’s sons.
“Yes, Sir.”
Falling in step
with Crais as they left Command, he felt around in his jacket, “Mother sent you
a message.” He handed a vidchip to Crais.
A smile
curled around Crais’ lips as he accepted it. “I hope that this time it isn’t
another recipe.”
James
blushed, “I don’t think so, Sir.”
Crais looked
at him, “The first time she sent me a vidchip, she included a lengthy
explanation on how to cook Montak pie. I fear it has become a family joke;
don’t take any notice.” The smile slipped a bit.
“I won’t,
Sir.”
They had
reached James’ temporary quarters.
Crais stood
quietly, hands clasped behind his back, “When you have refreshed yourself, you
may join me in my chambers.”
James nodded
and watched Crais walk off before he entered the room.
Crais stared
at the vidchip in his hand, curling his fingers around it, caressing its metal
surface.
Once inside
his chambers, he inserted it into the vid-player and then sat back in his
chair.
The cheerful
face of Mylane sprang into view. She had always been one of his favourites.
Mylane was his oldest great-granddaughter by the third, and last, of his mates.
Their only daughter, Mylane’s own mother, had settled planet-side after his
bond-mate died. Mylane had inherited the strong dark looks of the Crais’;
generous and honest facial features, prominent nose, black curly hair and a
golden tan. Pretty? Maybe not. Beautiful? The captain was not the only male
who thought so. And she always wore a smile.
“Hi,
Bialar,” she said cheerfully. Crais had encouraged his family to call him by
his first name. With so many offspring over the generations, it had been easier
than great-great-great grandfather etc etc, especially since the founding
father of the line looked so young.
The vidchip
showed her sitting behind a desk. “Since you are watching this, I take it that
James has arrived safely on Talyn. Keep him safe and well for me.”
She turned
her head, obviously talking to someone out of view for a moment. Then she
turned her attention back to the recording device. “Robert says ‘Hi’ and that
he wishes he could be there himself. I think that’s because I asked him to tidy
up the garden”, she grinned. She continued with hardly a pause, “How are you,
Bialar? We haven’t heard much from you for much too long, other than the
standard reports of successful raids. The children are doing fine. Tamsit is
pregnant and is expecting to have her firstborn in a couple of monens, and
Tauvo is seeing a girlfriend. Don’t know how serious he is about her, but at
least he seems to be happy.” Crais was used to her unceasing flow of words.
She looked a
bit worried, “Speaking about happiness and girlfriends… Are you happy? Have you
found someone to share your life with on Talyn? It is almost two hundred cycles
now since grandmother died and…”
Crais turned
the vid-player off.
He would listen
to the rest later.
Although
Mylane made him smile, she also had the ability to make him reflect, and
sometimes that wasn’t what he wanted to do.
This was one of those times.
Unbidden,
the thoughts intruded on his mind…
Past…
It wasn’t
until Lyane was about one hundred cycles old that Crais noticed something was
out of the ordinary. By now, Crais himself was one hundred and ten cycles old.
Aeryn and
Lyane were starting to show their advancing age, and more grey appeared in
their hair. The lines on their faces were becoming more pronounced too.
Crichton,
advanced as he was in Human years, was actually ‘old’, and looked like a
Sebacean of close to one hundred and seventy cycles. He was becoming forgetful,
and his steps weren’t so sure anymore. He hadn’t been up to accompanying them
on missions for some time now.
Although
Aeryn and Crichton’s children had inherited combinations of genes from both of
their parents (they could withstand the heat better, much like Humans could,
and they were as agile and strong as Sebaceans), they all seemed to age more
like their father, and they looked older than the offspring of Crais and Lyane.
Some of the two families’ offspring had bonded with each other as time went on.
Only Crais
seemed not to have changed. His hair was still as black as ever. Hardly a
wrinkle showed on his face, and his body was still in top condition. It looked
as if he had hardly aged at all.
Over the
cycles, Crichton had remarked more and more often that Crais looked
‘disgustingly young’ for his age, and Crais had dismissed that each time as
just ‘being Sebacean’.
But as his
Sebacean peers continued to grow physically older, and Crais appeared closer to
the age of his offspring than to their own ages, Crais knew it wasn’t as simple
as that.
Crichton
finally died at the age of one hundred and twenty. A remarkable age for a
Human, made even more remarkable when one took into consideration the life he
had led.
Aeryn didn’t
survive him long, but she didn’t die of old age.
After
Crichton’s death, she took increasing risks, until she finally reached the
point of endangering the lives of the others in her group.
She died
quickly and cleanly from a single stray shot. At least Cholok had been kind to
her in that respect.
When Crais
was one hundred and eighty, he saw the light sparkle for the last time in
Lyane’s eyes. She died peacefully in his arms at the ripe old age of one
hundred and sixty eight.
Her face was
still beautiful, even though marred by the passage of time, and a wrinkled hand
caressed his young face, “Find someone to share your life with you, my
beautiful young mate. You shouldn’t be on your own. You have given me a
wonderful family and a good and adventurous life. I love you, my Sh’lee.” Those
were her last words before her hand dropped away from his face.
His battle
roar when she died could be heard all over Talyn.
He sat by
her side for several arns, mourning in silence.
Finally,
Tauvo, an old man himself, came into their chambers and took his father to the
galley where he prepared him something to eat and drink before making
preparations for his mother’s burial in space.
Crais roamed
the corridors for days. Talking to no one and looking almost like the living
dead. At one point they feared they had lost a father and a leader too. But he
pulled through.
Crais took
another mate after nearly twenty-five cycles on his own, and after his second
mate died at the age of one hundred and twenty, he waited for another twenty
cycles before bonding with his third mate. She died at the age of one hundred
and sixty.
And now
Crais had been on his own for nearly two hundred cycles.
He had been
happy with all of his mates, but he couldn’t face it again, watching them age
and die while he continued to look young, and outlived them all.
All of his
children were dead now too, even the youngest, and only their offspring were
still alive.
The face
that looked at him from the mirror was that of a Sebacean male barely seventy
cycles old. Only a few strands of white streaked his raven black hair, which
flowed lustrously over his shoulders. His almost unlined face seemed to mock
him, and his body remained supple. Age seemed not to have touched him at all,
or at least only barely.
He still
wore his customary black clothes, and over the cycles, his family had given up
trying to change his fashion sense.
Present…
Talyn
informed him that James was waiting outside, and Crais directed him to let the
Human in.
James stepped
inside, his gaze hungrily registering ever detail he could of Crais’ Inner
Sanctum.
It was just
as his father had described it to him. Spartan.
The chamber
was separated into two areas: the sleeping quarters and living quarters.
The sleeping
quarters were shrouded in darkness.
Little
touches in the living quarters suggested that at one time, a female’s touch
must have had a hand in it. Other than that, it held only the barest of
necessities. A desk in the old Peacekeeper style, one chair in front of it, and
another behind it, in which Crais now sat. The furnishings looked comfortable
enough.
One of the
walls was decorated by a large holo-image of star-charts, and underneath was a
rudimentary nav console.
To one side
of the room, a low bookcase was to be found.
A cursory review sufficed to reveal that the books it held were written
in a variety of languages. Most of the decorations in the room reminded James
of Peacekeeper insignia.
But
strangely enough, above the bookcase a large painting could be seen of a
landscape at dusk. A bay was nearly encircled by high cliffs, and storm clouds
gathered overhead.
The other
wall was completely bare.
Crais gave
James a chance to take it all in. Meanwhile, he himself used the opportunity to
observe the young man. James reminded him of the first John Crichton of the
dynasty. But his face also betrayed some strong Sebacean features, which had
been a characteristic Crais had always been drawn to in his mates. The straight
slightly prominent nose was one of those characteristics.
James turned
to Crais, saying, “Mother sends her love and was wondering if you would visit
them soon. Father is getting on in age and hopes to see you one final time
before you leave.”
Crais
nodded, “I might visit them before we leave this area.”
“That would
please Mother.” James grinned, “She’s been complaining that she hasn’t seen you
for at least five cycles. She misses you. Why don’t you visit anymore?”
Crais looked
calmly at James, “Partly because I have been busy.”
“And the
other part?”
Crais raised
and lowered his eyebrow as if to shrug, “She reminds me of Myra, what I can
remember of her.”
“And that’s
not good?” asked James in puzzlement.
“It reminds
me of what I am now and what I have lost,” replied Crais. He wondered why he
had said this. He wasn’t usually this open in expressing his inner thoughts.
James looked
at him in puzzlement.
“It’s not
important,” said Crais, waving it away.
James’ steel
blue eyes rested on Crais. His gaze and silence began to make Crais a little
uncomfortable.
Finally,
James spoke, “You must be very lonely, Bialar.”
“I have
Talyn. I’m never alone.”
“That’s not
what I mean.”
Crais’ dark
eyes settled on James.
James was
not intimidated, and he continued, “What is it like to be this old? Growing
older but always staying young, and watching everyone else grow old and die.
I’m not sure I could do it.”
For a moment
longer Crais looked at him, then glanced away briefly.
James had
been the first in a long time to ask him that. Even Mylane had never asked him,
perhaps afraid that voicing it aloud would only make her aware of her own
passage of time.
Crais looked
back at James, his voice soft, and answered, “Your founding father was as
inquisitive as you are, asking questions I never wanted to answer.”
James grinned,
“I do?”
Crais
nodded, “There were times that I would have liked to rip his head off for the
impertinence.”
James’ grin
disappeared.
Crais
continued as if he hadn’t seen this, “But he made me stop and think.”
Crais got up
and walked over to the one bare wall in the room.
Talyn,
sensing his reflective mood, opened the port view, which encompassed that
entire section of the wall. Suddenly, it almost seemed as though they were
standing in space. The full beauty of space was revealed. It showed the fleet of
ragtag ships of various sizes travelling alongside the Leviathan, always
moving.
James was
impressed.
He watched
the straight back of Crais, silhouetted against the backdrop of the view port.
Saw how he slowly relaxed.
He stood up
and moved to Crais’ side, “It’s magnificent!”
Crais said
nothing but continued to gaze outside.
James
wondered what he really saw.
Finally,
Crais spoke without taking his eyes off the view, “Space is beautiful. Ever
changing but ever so slowly. It never tires me to watch or listen to it.”
“It makes a
sound?” James asked incredulously.
Crais
nodded, “Through Talyn I can hear the planets sing. I can see the ever-changing
colours of their life. Planets are vibrant when they sustain life; they have a
beauty unparalleled by anything else.” Crais’ eyes moistened, “Their ancient
beauty has made it easier for me to bear growing this old.”
James
remained silent, not wanting to break the reflective mood Crais was in.
Crais
continued, “Your founding father, John Crichton, was the first to see the
change in me. I either didn’t see it, or perhaps I just didn’t want to see it.
I deluded myself into thinking that there were Sebaceans who looked young for a
long time, and I was merely one of them. I would still grow old. At first he was
content to only tease me about it. Later, when he truly became an old man in
appearance, the teasing turned into barbs and when his mental faculties were
sufficiently eroded, they degenerated into true verbal attacks. We tried to
keep his mental and physical deterioration to a minimum, but in the end, his
Human DNA betrayed him.”
Briefly he
turned his gaze on James, before staring outside again. “I regretted losing him
as a comrade. We had our…differences and arguments, not to mention mutual,
downright animosity, when he first arrived in this sector of the universe. But
as the cycles progressed, we started to respect each other as comrades in arms.
Our understanding changed and strengthened with the first joining of Crais and
Crichton offspring. He became family. In effect, he became my brother.”
Crais
chuckled deeply, “It must have come as a surprise to him. I think Aeryn must
have neglected to explain this to him, or maybe she didn’t realise this either.
She still had so much herself to learn about Sebacean tradition.” Crais walked
away from the view port and sat back down at his desk. Talyn left the view port
open.
James sat in
the chair in front of the desk.
All the
stories he had heard about his founding father, had been stories passed down by
the Crichton line. When he was a boy, hearing these tales had made him believe
that he was looking at a superhero, someone invincible. Now he would hear those
same stories, but this time, from someone who had actually known him.
He stayed
silent, hoping to hear more. Crais was in a talkative mood and didn’t
disappoint him.
Crais
pressed a button on the desk and someone came in only microns afterwards with a
tray and two glasses and a bottle of Raslak.
Crais waited
until they were alone again, before pouring two measures into the glasses.
He sat back
and resumed…
“When
meeting John Crichton for the first time, you either liked or disliked him. There
was no middle ground. He had that kind of air about him. Our first meeting
didn’t start off well. He had come hurtling through a Wormhole and rammed my
brother’s prowler, killing him instantly.
It took me a
full cycle to realise that it had been an accident; meanwhile, the initial
shock of losing my brother in such a fashion had sent me over the edge.
The
collision had taken everything away from me in an instant; my brother, my only
family, my past and my future. Everything I had worked so hard to keep
together. Life was meaningless without him.
I wanted to
kill this Crichton for what he had done to my brother…to me. I could only feel
anger and hatred. I wanted to kill him with my bare hands, right on the spot.
Only the idea that it would have been too quick a revenge, too quick a death,
for the crime he had committed, as I saw it then, of murdering my brother,
stayed my hand. I wanted him to suffer much, and I wanted him to suffer long.”
Crais’
breath had quickened as he relived the memory.
For a moment
Crais closed his eyes as he brought himself under control. When he opened his
eyes, he resumed in calmer tones, “My…weakness…made it possible for him to
escape.
He, Aeryn
and the others all escaped to Moya. For a full cycle I hunted them down.
Revenge…blood revenge…was the only thought that was on my mind.
They managed
to elude me for a full cycle.”
Crais looked
down at his hands, “The hybrid Scorpius caught him before I could. One thing
can be said for the Crichton-line, they were always lucky.
I know that
it is not a scientifically proven fact, but somehow the Crichtons have always
had more than their fair share of luck. This time was no exception.
I nearly
lost my mind and my life that day. You must have heard about that (James
nodded). Instead, it gave me back my sanity or as much was possible at the
time, even if I did not appreciate that at first. Most importantly, it resulted
in my becoming Talyn’s pilot.”
Crais took a
deep gulp of the Raslak. He winced as the sharp taste hit his taste buds. He
was not used to drinking anymore, but today it seemed to be only fitting.
He
continued, “For the best part of that first cycle, Talyn and I were alone. It
was only after Talyn found out that his mother had not abandoned him, as I had
claimed at first, that we began to meet with Moya and her crew again. At first,
we did this on an infrequent basis and the results of those visits
were…varied.”
Crais smiled
wryly, “They didn’t trust me, and why should they? They still saw me as the
Peacekeeper who had devoted himself to hunting them down. It was not an easy
memory to forget. But I accepted their treatment of me because Talyn needed his
mother. I owed that to him.”
Crais took a
deep breath, “Crichton and I still had our differences. That only worsened when
he decided that Aeryn and I had a certain …attraction…for each other.”
Crais looked
amused, “I must admit, that for a while I even took some perverse pleasure in
not setting him right on the matter. However, that didn’t do much to mend our
relationship.
Crais looked
at James, “You must have heard about the cloning of John Crichton? (James
nodded and Crais returned the gesture) The Crichton who came on board Talyn was
as full of prejudice against me as the one who had stayed on board Moya.
He refused
at first to even try to understand me, and it didn’t help matters any that
Talyn was becoming more and more mentally unstable. Talyn even tried to kill
Crichton, who, in turn, tried to kill me. But that is a long story, and you’ve
probably heard it before.
It wasn’t
until Dam-ba-da, that Crichton realised that I had no ulterior motives, and
that I had a genuine interest in keeping the others safe. And as for me, I was
finally able to see his self-sacrificing warrior side. It was a pity that that
John Crichton died.”
Crais looked
down at his glass with a sad frown. In the end, he had genuinely liked that
Crichton. Had there been a choice, he could have readily accepted him as a
brother. Instead, Fate played a cruel trick on him, and he had to start from
scratch to re-establish a tenuous relationship with the other John Crichton.
By then,
Aeryn, having now lost her lover and her mother, laid partial blame for that at
Crais’ feet. Crais sighed.
Crais took
another sip from his glass, “It was not so easy to convince the remaining John
Crichton of my good intentions. He had not lived through the monens the other John
Crichton and I…we…had spent together. It took Talyn’s and my sacrifice to blow
up the Command Carrier to make him see that I was not the man he believed I
was.”
Crais
finished the last of the Raslak in one gulp. He did not move to refill his
glass.
Crais stood
up and walked over to the view port.
His voice
became gentler, “Talyn and I survived. We had entered a Wormhole but were
thrown to the far reaches of the Uncharted Territories, barely making it out
alive. For a while we remained on our own, recuperating.
Then I met
Lyane, my first mate, and the twins were born. I would have probably lost my
sanity, had it not been for them.
It took us
twelve cycles to make it back to the known parts of the Uncharted Territories.
It would have been longer, had it not been for another Wormhole through which
we re-entered this universe.”
Crais turned
his back to the view port. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back. “We
met up with Moya, Crichton and the others. For them, only a cycle had passed.”
Crais shook
his head as if to dispel an unpleasant memory.
“Crichton
did not believe that our survival had just been a matter of luck and
coincidence.
Funny, when
you consider that the man who couldn’t believe that we had somehow survived and
made our way back by the whim of Cholok had survived so long himself by luck
alone.”
Crais sat
down again, “It wasn’t until Aeryn’s and Crichton’s daughter was born, that
Crichton started to accept me. Luckily, Lyane and Aeryn got on well together.
The twins enjoyed having two Leviathans to play on and more people to terrorise
with their charm.” Crais smiled at the memory.
As much as
their father was avoided during much of the first monens, the twins had stolen
the hearts of everyone on board Moya with their charm.
“Had it not
been for Lyane and the twins, I would have left Moya and just visited them
occasionally, if at all.
As it was,
Talyn stayed with his mother, feeling the need to protect her and, as a result,
the Crais family and the Crichton family grew closer and closer together.”
James felt a
pang of remorse that this man had been doomed to a life alone even such a long
time ago.
Crais
sighed, “I have only one regret. The Crichton on Moya and I never grew close.
We showed mutual respect over the cycles as comrades in arms, but somehow
Crichton could never quite fully shake the idea that I had a hidden agenda, and
a part of him always believed that I still felt attracted to Aeryn. Things only
slightly improved when Tauvo showed more than a passing interest in Jaeryn,
Crichton’s and Aeryn’s daughter, and then bonded with her.”
Crais
sighed, looking at the Raslak and contemplating whether he should have another
glass.
Without
asking, James refilled both of their glasses.
Crais
continued, “By that time, Crichton was seventy cycles old, and showing his age.
We compromised on the bonding ceremony. For Crichton’s sake, we held a large
celebration before the youngsters had their private bonding ceremony. Crichton
always enjoyed big parties, the bigger the better.
It was then
that he began to realise that he was beginning to look old, despite our efforts
to keep him young.
Worse, I did
still look young.
There were
times that he resented me for that, and even believed that Aeryn felt a certain
attraction to me because of that.
Now that so
many cycles have passed since then, I think I’ve begun to understand how he
must have felt.”
Crais took
another sip of his glass.
“Why do you
keep calling him Crichton?” James asked. He had wondered about this all through
the conversation.
Crais smiled
ruefully, “Because he asked me not to call him John, and I never did after
that.”
James nodded
in understanding. He asked, “What was he like as a warrior?”
Crais looked
at the young man, “He was a good warrior, stubborn and impetuous at times,
didn’t take orders that well, but then his luck always seemed to get him out of
tight spots.
He never
truly mastered the full Vahni Panthak, even under my tutelage. His physiology
just wasn’t suited for that, but he tried hard and at least he mastered the
first two stages.
His
marksmanship was good and his flying abilities improved to excellent under
Aeryn’s coaching.” He smiled, “Although in the beginning, her patience was
tested to the limits. Overall, he became an excellent warrior.”
James beamed
with pleasure at hearing Crais’ praise of the first Crichton. It was a well
known fact that Crais didn’t bestow praise lightly, one really had to earn it.
“Was he
still alive when you formed the Resistance?” James asked.
Crais
nodded, “About two cycles after my return, the tenuous alliance between the
Peacekeepers and the Scarrans started to crumble, each race vying to capture
the other’s territory.
It wasn’t
long before the name of John Crichton and the topic of Wormholes began to crop
up again.
I realised
that we had to do something drastic, and suggested that we form a Resistance
movement.
At first,
Crichton believed that running and hiding was a better option; it had kept them
alive and out of their enemies’ hands for cycles before. Perhaps it would have
worked again.
But I
convinced him that with two different factions hunting him, the chances of
staying alive and out of both sides’ hands for very long were looking slim; we
would more likely survive by banding and working together.
Aeryn and Ka
D’Argo saw the validity of the plan.
Lyane was worried. Crichton still thought I just wanted to start a new
Peacekeepers’ empire.”
Crais got up
and started pacing. “Over those two cycles, we had met people, including
ex-Peacekeepers (and sometimes their own once upon a time prisoners) who had
escaped from the exploding Command Carrier when Talyn and I StarBurst inside,
Luxans and Nebari and a variety of other races, all of them fearful of being
captured, one way or another, by the Peacekeepers or the Scarrans. It was time
to unite them all. There is strength in numbers.”
For a brief
moment, Crais paused and looked out at the small fleet outside.
He resumed
his pacing. “As I mentioned before, Crichton was concerned that I wanted to
create another Peacekeeper force, my own this time. I have to admit that for a
while it appeared that way, since most of the early Resistance was mainly
composed of ex-Peacekeepers.
Slowly
others began to join. It was not easy in the beginning. Old grudges and
distrust ruled.
The Peacekeepers
had to overcome their feelings of superiority. The others didn’t trust the
military precision and regimentation of the Peacekeepers. But after a while,
they started working together. They worked as one group, one force, in pursuit
of one goal.
Even after
more than five hundred cycles, we’re still fighting for a little bit more
freedom and some of our goals have widened in scope, but we slowly continue to
gain ground; we’re becoming a force ourselves in helping to stave off the
progress of Peacekeepers and Scarrans in gaining too much ground themselves.
For the first time in a long period, the different races have joined together
against common foes.
We might not
be as big an organisation as the Peacekeepers or the Scarrans, but we are still
a determined force. We’re tasting a measure of freedom again.”
Crais’ eyes
sparkled with enthusiasm. His voice was slightly raised in zeal and the glance
he directed outside was one of pride.
His gaze was
drawn to the other big ship out there, an older model Command Carrier.
“My biggest
moment of personal joy and satisfaction came when an old comrade joined our
group. I had not expected him, or maybe in my heart I had. Somehow, I always hoped
that he would join. Hoped that his honour demanded that of him. Still, it came
as a surprise when he finally did.”
Crais
stopped in front of the view port and looked at the Command Carrier, “When
Lieutenant Braca, by then Captain Braca, asked permission to join, we couldn’t
believe our ears. I couldn’t believe my good fortune.
Crichton was
reluctant to let him join; he suspected a trap. But I knew that Braca’s offer
was genuine, that it was only a matter of time. After all, in the first cycles
of my escape from my own Command Carrier, he had provided me, secretly, with
information.
To my
surprise, however, he brought a Command Carrier, that Command Carrier (Crais
pointed outside), with him and with it twenty-five thousand Peacekeepers, who
had had enough of the corruption that was eating away at the Peacekeepers, and
of the broken alliances with the Scarrans. I am glad that they joined and were
accepted.
I believe
that one of your ancestors bonded successfully with one of Braca’s offspring.”
Crais was silent.
“They
accepted you as their Supreme Commander?” asked James.
Crais
nodded.
“Don’t you
get tired sometimes of fighting?”
Crais turned
around and faced James, “Someone has to do it, and right now I have the most
experience. I will not step down.”
“I’m not
suggesting you should,” said James, “but don’t you ever wish you were leading
a…normal…life, away from battle? On some planet, for instance?”
Crais canted
his head, “And leave Talyn?” He shook his head, “Talyn and I have been together
for over five hundred and fifty cycles. I suspect that one of the reasons for
my longevity is due to that. I will never leave him.”
Talyn
chirped happily and James smiled. The Leviathan must be following their
conversation.
Crais smiled
too, “At some point, either before we StarBurst in the Command Carrier,
probably when Talyn and I shared our engrams, or perhaps during our passage
through the Wormhole, Talyn and I must have merged into full symbiosis. As a
Leviathan, Talyn needs a pilot, if possible, for life. As for myself, I need
him to keep my sanity.”
“But you are
sane. I don’t know what I would have done had I lived as long as you have;
fighting all the time.”
Crais turned
his back on him and once again gazed outside, “As I said, he’s keeping me sane.
I am well aware that someone needs to lead the Resistance, and any of a number
of the leaders under my command could direct them. But what better fear can we instil
in our enemies than of a Resistance which is led by a man who cannot die?”
Crais’ voice
caught, “Besides, Talyn needs me. Not that much as a pilot anymore, but more as
a companion and a friend.”
~A father~
Talyn happily amended, his voice a lighter version of Crais’.
That
startled James, “I’ve heard that Talyn could speak, if he chooses to do so, but
I had never believed the stories.”
Crais smiled
proudly, “Thank you, Talyn. Yes, he can speak. He uses the voice modulators to
do so. You see (he turned back to James), Talyn is not an ordinary Leviathan,
in more ways than one. And not just as a gunship. Over time, he has been able
to produce offspring with gunship capabilities, a side effect that was never
expected. We had not even believed that he would be able to reproduce, because
of his hybrid form. Yet, like me, he’s an anomaly.
Not very
many female Leviathans care to mate with him because of his gunship
characteristics. They can sense the difference in him. However, apart from
Nelvix, his offspring has grown armament for defence.”
Crais
resumed pacing again, “I travelled to Pilot’s planet when I reached my one
hundred and fifteenth cycle, but none of them would bond with Talyn. They
didn’t consider him…peace-loving enough. They couldn’t nor wouldn’t see past
his hybrid form. Wouldn’t see the good in him.” There was an edge of anger and
annoyance in Crais’ voice.
“Luckily,
my…longevity…must have already been activated. So, you see, even if I were to
retire as Commander of the Resistance, I would not settle down on a planet. Not
while Talyn is alive.”
“But you can
leave Talyn for short periods?”
“I could even
leave for longer periods if I chose to do so, but I don’t.”
Talyn
chirped happily.
Deep in his
psyche, Crais felt a wave of gratitude at the idea that they would never be
separated.
James
watched him smile as Crais conversed silently with his friend.
“You don’t
want to take another mate again?”
James’
question penetrated Crais’ musings, and Crais refocused his attention back on
the younger man, “Perhaps, I don’t know.”
Crais sat
down, toyed with his glass and took another sip, “I have been lucky so far in
my choice of mates. All have given me wonderful offspring and their love, and
times to remember fondly. I would not have wanted to miss that.”
Crais
sighed, “But watching your mates die of old age… Watching your children die of
old age, while the face I see in the mirror every day has hardly changed, is
daunting.”
Crais took
another sip, bigger this time, and stared at his glass. “This is a terrible
thing to admit, but if not for the holovids that Talyn made, I wouldn’t be able
to even remember their faces anymore. They have become blurred in my memory
over time. I can’t hear the tones of their voices anymore or the words that
were theirs for me alone. And I truly loved all of them.
When I want
to remember them, I have to ask Talyn to play a holovid for me. I haven’t
listened to the holovids for a while now.
Although the
vids give me pleasure, they bring pain too. They make me realise that the women
I loved are all long gone now; and that I will never see or hear them again.
They make me face the truth, that I am truly alone with only Talyn to keep me
company. I am in no hurry to go through that experience again soon.”
Crais fell
silent as he rolled the glass between his hands. The pain of remembering was
plain on his face and James was witness to the depth of loneliness Crais must
be experiencing. He remained silent, not quite sure how to react.
Finally,
Crais looked up.
The sadness,
which had been there for a brief moment was once again replaced by the calm for
which he was renowned, “You will be staying for the night?”
James
nodded.
“Good. I
will introduce you to the others at evening repast. Then, in the morning, we
can show you your place in the formation and introduce you to Nelvix. He will
be pleased to have another Crichton on board. Two weekens from now, we will go
on another campaign. Until that time, you have sufficient opportunities to
visit with our family.”
“Will you
come with me? To visit them?”
Crais
nodded.
It was
obvious that Crais had concluded the conversation.
James stood
up, “I will be seeing you at dinner then?”
By now Crais
was used to the different names the Humans gave to their repasts and nodded.
Crais stood
up too; he walked to the view port.
James turned
towards the door and stepped into the corridor. When he turned around to Crais,
he saw that he once again stood in front of the view port, looking out. His
hands clasped behind his back, his shoulders thrown back; a lone figure.
Crais
disappeared from his view as the doors closed.
The End
Back to After
StarBurst Inside The Command Carrier and after 4.22