Following is
the outcome of the thought of Crais singing. Igraine made a remark that Lani
Tupu wanted to sing opera but thought he wasn’t good enough for it. This should
put right to matters (I hope). Follows after “He Did It Again”. Crais is
joining in a sing-a-long Crichton-style
Sing-a-long
by GitonCrais
For the
first half cycle or so that he had been on the run Crais hadn’t seen the crew
Moya and now it almost seemed as if he was running into them on a regular
basis. It had only been three weekens ago since Crichton’s disastrous
birthday-party. Luckily the ill effects didn’t last long. Next time he was sure
to ask if there weren’t any Therin-seeds in the food that was presented on
Moya, you never knew.
Talyn had
informed him a short while ago that Moya was near and that he expressed the
wish to join her. Crais had complied with his wishes. Maybe it would make the
youngster a bit happier. Charting could wait for the moment.
Talyn sidled
up to his mother and Crais had engaged privacy-mode to allow them time
together. He had gone to his room for some much needed rest. At the moment he
just wanted to be left alone. He had only just closed his eyes when Talyn
beeped to him. Crais engaged the link and asked if there was anything wrong.
~No~ beeped Talyn, ~but Commander Crichton wishes to speak to you~
With a sigh
Crais got up and went to the Command Centre. He could have taken the comm. In
his quarters but decided not to. “Talyn, open the comm.-link, please.”
He stood
erect with his hands clasped behind his back waiting for Crichton’s face to
fill the screen. His face nearly dropped in calm when he saw the beaming face
of Crichton; when Crichton smiled it never bode well for him.
“Crais, my
man,” smiled Crichton happily.
Inwardly
Crais groaned, he detested Crichton’s use of that phrase, “Can I help you,
Commander?”
“Ooh, such
formality. When are you going to loosen up?”
“What should
I loosen up,” asked Crais puzzled.
Crichton laughed,
“You do crack me up, Crais.” Crais let that one go by, he would never
understand the human jokes and phrases anyway. Crichton continued, “Since Talyn
and Moya are having a get-together, why don’t you come and join us? I promise I
won’t try to poison you,” he grinned.
“I was just
going to catch up on some maintenance,” Crais answered evasively.
“Don’t
worry, Talyn and Moya will be chewing the fat (-Crais frowned-) for a while.
There is no need for you to stay on your own. We promise we won’t bite.”
Crais knew
it was no use, the Human would harangue him until he gave in, he nodded in
acquiesce and closed the link.
When he
stepped out of the transport pod the others awaited him. At least Ka D’Argo
holding his Qualta blade loosely over his shoulder made him feel comforted by
the thought that the crew had not taken leave of their senses. He smiled
ruefully by the thought, that he was almost glad to see some hostility; at
least it felt normal. The others smiled uneasily at him.
Crichton
came over and grinned merrily at him, “Glad you could make it.”
Crais looked
at him askance, he never knew whether the human was serious or making fun of
him.
“Crichton,”
Crais acknowledged him.
“How’re
doing, my man?”
Crais raised
an annoyed eyebrow at him, “Luckily, it had been quiet, nothing of importance.”
“Same here,
same here. Good, we can have a party then.”
All nerves
in Crais screamed to leave the ship as soon as possible, not another party!
He looked
over at the others but there was no clue there as to the nature of the party.
Normally he was a very composed man, in control but when Crichton mentioned the
word “party” sweat appeared on his brow. He would be rather facing a whole
squadron of Pleisar prowler pilots in a derelict gunship than attend another of
Crichton’s parties.
“Crichton, I
rather go back to Talyn. Parties and I do not agree.” Especially not yours, he
thought silently.
“Oh, don’t
be so absurd. This is more like a get-together. Exchanging information, have
something to eat. No Therin-seeds, I promise,” he grinned at Crais when he felt
the man beside him tense, “Just some friends together.”
Crais
doubted that the others saw him as a “friend”. He looked over at the Luxan and
could see his tendrils quiver; Rygel’s nostrils were opening up. See, no friends.
“Crichton, I
really don’t think…”
‘Come on,
Crais.” Again he let Crichton lead him down to the galley. He just hoped it did
not end as last time.
It started
well enough. They all exchanged news and information on the Uncharted Territories
and Crais found himself enjoying the exchange. He had been touching down on
quite a number of planets in the past half cycle and was able to give each and
everyone some news or information that was helpful to them. In turn he learned
which planets to avoid and which planets to visit.
He promised
them to let Talyn download his information to Moya.
After they
had eaten, this time it had been Ka D’Argo’s cooking they were sampling (no
Therin seeds, thank Cholok) and good food it was, they all cleared the table
and Crichton suggested a singsong to conclude the evening.
A singsong?
What in the name of Cholok was that?
Again the
faces of the others looked happy, apart from Rygel’s, so, it must have been
another of Crichton’s Erp traditions he had been introducing to them. Crais
looked uncomfortable.
“Don’t
worry, Crais,” laughed Crichton, “It won’t harm you.”
“That is
what you said last time,” growled Crais.
“No, I
promise. It is just plain fun.”
Crais rolled
his eyes and groaned inwardly.
They all sat
around with Crichton standing in front of them, “Who’s going to be first?”
Chiana
jumped up, all happiness and energy, “Oh, me, please. Can I be first?”
Was this some sort of children’s game? Crais folded his arms in front of his
chest, brooding darkly.
“The floor
is Chiana’s,” said Crichton happily while he sat down and Chiana took his
place.
To Crais’
surprise she started to sing. It was a rapid, very melodious and happy song and
to his surprise he found he quite enjoyed it. Chiana’s light voice was so full
of energy and happiness it made him feel quite happy inside. All too soon the
song had finished.
Chiana sat
down and Ka D’Argo stood up. He composed himself for a couple of microns and
started to sing. Crais had expected him to sing a warrior’s song, full of blood
and gore but instead Ka D’Argo sang a song of harvesting and the simple live in
a farmer’s community. It was a very touching song and Crais was surprised that
he could recognise himself as young boy in that song. Would his life have been
like that if the Peacekeepers had not taken him and Tauvo? Although the song
was very beautiful and the Luxan’s voice quite deep it made Crais uneasy.
Pau T’Zhaan
was next. Unsurprisingly her song was a healer’s song and her voice brought a
lump to Crais’ throat. Her voice was so pure and high. He swallowed deeply and
tried to concentrate on the words.
When it was
Aeryn’s turn she took the floor with some reluctance, aware that her former
Captain was listening this time. There was only curiosity on Crais’ face. She
sang an old Peacekeeper’s drinking song and Crais was surprised that he could
remember the words as well. He had never been one to join in when the other
Peacekeepers did. “Too serious,” his brother had accused him once. But when the
others weren’t noticing him he had listened to them and remembered the words.
Rygel
refused to sing. “I am a Dominar, Dominars don’t sing they are sung to,” he
said arrogantly. Pau T’Zhaan bent over to Crais and whispered, “He has a voice
like a Ragtok and squawks. You should be thankful that he isn’t singing.” Crais
looked in surprise at Zhaan. It was the first time he had ever heard her say
something uncomplimentary about anyone. She looked ahead peacefully again.
Crichton
stood up and sang a song called Nu-Yok. Crais couldn’t understand what the song
was all about since some of the words did not translate through the microbes.
He could understand that it was a song about a city and that it was a happy
song and that was all that mattered. For some reason Crichton’s eyes moistened
up. Crais could understand homesickness, even if it had been long ago for him
and Tauvo. It was obvious that the Human was experiencing this at the moment.
“It’s your
turn, Crais,” said Crichton when he sat down.
“I… I don’t know
any songs,” said Crais hesitantly.
“Surely you
know a song, even if it is a lullaby.”
“No, I…”
Crais looked very uncomfortably down. He hated singing in public. It made him
nervous.
Aeryn leaned
over to him and whispered something in his ear. Crais turned red, “You
wouldn’t…”
“I would,”
she said with a big smile on her face. Crais scowled at her, her smile grew
bigger.
“All right,”
he said finally, “but don’t blame me if you don’t like it.”
He stood up
and straightened his jacket.
Crichton
looked inquiringly at Aeryn but she ignored his silent questioning. Crichton
looked at Crais and was prepared to hear him sing most abominably the way he
had reacted. He settled down with a grin on his face.
Crais stood
in front of the group and saw Crichton smile, let him smile. Crais closed his
eyes.
A deep hum
started the song and Crichton was wondering if Crais was going to hum the whole
song, well, it would make a difference from the normal singing.
Then Crais
started to sing in a deep, rich baritone, “Marching, marching, onward the 27th
marched…” His voice filled the galley in a clear, dark voice. The others sat
straighter in their chairs. Crais’ voice was beautiful! It was much deeper than
Ka D’Argo’s and as clear as Zhaan’s.
It was a
song of a Peacekeeper’s detachment in the early days of the Peacekeepers, when
they still believed in protecting the innocent and defending the weak. “Like
knights in shining armour,” thought Crichton, “Like the Knights of Arthurian
legends.” It told the tale of the 27th how they fought their battles
bravely and died honourably. Crais’ voice sang their tale and the others could
see the exploits of the 27th in their mind’s eyes. More than one set
of eyes was moist with the beauty of it.
About two-thirds
into the song, when Crais started singing about their last stand, his voice was
joined by an ethereal sound, which kept rhythm with Crais’ voice and tones.
They saw
Crais smile when Talyn joined him, he had forgotten to turn the transponder to privacy
mode and now Talyn was adding his voice to Crais’. The Sebacean voice and the
Leviathan’s merged into one and it was difficult for the others not to be
moved.
He sang the
last part in which the story was told how the 27th stood to the last
man to defend a city and won, even though the whole detachment was wiped out.
His voice stopped at a deep note and Talyn’s held it slightly longer.
Crais opened
his eyes and watched the group who sat in silence. They had not expected
something as beautiful as that. Even Rygel had stopped chewing. Crais gave an
awkward smile and thanked Talyn silently for his voice. Talyn made happy sounds
in Crais’ mind.
Crichton was
the first to speak, “That’s was awesome, Crais. Why didn’t you want to sing in
the first place? I hate to admit it but your voice was great and then Talyn
joining… I didn’t know Leviathans could sing.”
“But they
can, Crichton. It’s just that nobody asked them if they could. As for me not
wanting to sing, everybody had such joyful songs and mine wasn’t. I didn’t know
if it was any good…”
“Are you
fishing for compliments, Crais?”
Crais looked
at him puzzled.
“For if you
are they would be well deserved,” Crichton looked around the group and everyone
was genuinely agreeing with him, “So, next time don’t be shy. We love your
voice!”
Crais was
feeling embarrassed with so much attention. He was never comfortable with
attention from people other than as a Captain and Commander. He had always
believed that his voice was mediocre but judging from the faces of the others
maybe he had misjudged himself.
Aeryn helped
him out, or so she thought, “I knew they would love your singing. I have only
heard you sing once and I remembered I was moved by it. I wouldn’t want to keep
that from the others.”
“Well,” said
Crais evasively, “Talyn’s voice helped as well.”
Crichton
couldn’t believe his ears, this man who had accomplished so much in his own
field, whether it was to the good or the bad, who was sometimes so arrogant in
his knowledge that Crichton was impelled to shake him, couldn’t take a
compliment for having a natural beautiful voice? “Crais,” he said, “It is true
that Talyn compliments your voice beautifully but even before Talyn joined in
we were all moved. Why can’t you just accept that we like your singing?”
Crais made a
coughing sound, “Well, thank you all.” His mouth twitched into a smile and all
he really wanted to do was to either sit down or run away as fast as he could.
“Do you have
more songs like that,” asked Pau T’Zhaan, “I never knew that the Peacekeepers
had a better past than a tainted present.”
This time
Crais was even more embarrassed than when he was complimented about his
singing. He was well aware of the reputation the Peacekeepers had earned over
the last hundred cycles and now that he was a renegade himself he had finally
admitted it to himself.
“Yes,” he
answered her truthfully.
“Would you
sing us one more before you go back to Talyn?”
The others
nodded in agreement.
“I don’t
know…” he looked at Aeryn. For the first time he saw an encouraging smile for
him on her face, “Maybe I will. And maybe Talyn will sing with me from the
beginning.”
“Why does
Talyn know all the lyrics,” Rygel wanted to know.
“We are
linked,” Crais answered evasively.
“That
explains it all,” said Rygel sarcastically, “I bet you sing in the shower.”
This time
Crais turned red with embarrassment.
“Don’t
listen to Rygel. Please sing us another song.”
Crais
communicated silently with Talyn and the young Leviathan was quite happy to
comply.
Again the
sound of Crais’ baritone and Talyn’s voice filled Moya’s galley and the others
settled down to be entertained and moved.
THE END
Note: I
deliberately did not invent the words for the lyrics. Thought of doing it at first
but then decided that it would make the story too long.