Sato Taz-Mar and Teif Taz-Zim are my own (short-term) creations. Two stowaways on board Talyn cause Crais to reflect on his relationship to Talyn.

Together

by GitonCrais

“No, Talyn! No!”

Those were the last words he remembered shouting at the young Leviathan before he blacked out from the searing pain that lanced through his body.

All was quiet when he came to. He had no idea how long he had been out. Gingerly he opened his eyes and nearly blinked them shut again when he found even the dimmed ceiling-lights of Talyn too strong. Tentatively he sent out his thoughts to see how the youngster was. Asleep! Good!

He tried to sit up and almost fell back to the floor again when a wave of nausea hit him. Taking it in stages he clambered to his feet and used his lower arms and elbows to get some leverage on the control-panel to help him up. He only just managed to hold on to the sides of the console to prevent falling down again.

Crais realised that Talyn had acted on instinct, against Crais’ judgement, to attack the other spacecraft. He had reacted with a Peacekeeper’s instinct, whether this was inbred in the programme or Crais’ idiosyncrasy on the youngster Crais couldn’t tell. Talyn was attacked so he struck back. His backlash at Crais for trying to stop him had been particularly painful.

He took deep, long breaths to help him regain control and find his equilibrium again and ignored the dull throbbing in his head and the sharp ache in his left side. He must have hit something when he fell but first things first. He switched to privacy mode and switched the controls to manual to assess the situation, his position and leave Talyn asleep.

They were still in the same vector but of the other ship there was no sign. Had it been able to escape or had Talyn blown it out of existence?

He thought back to the last couple of days. It had all started with the two stowaways…

Flashback…

After leaving Moya he had guided Talyn into the Uncharted Territories. Both were driven. Talyn to explore this wonderful new life and Crais to ponder the new situation he found himself in. The newborn Leviathan and the fleeing Sebacean Captain had much to learn from each other. Crais became Talyn’s mentor, instructor and parent. The Leviathan showed him another life than the Peacekeeper’s life Crais had known for nearly 30 cycles.

Crais marvelled at the youngster, how he had managed to starburst so soon after birth; the ease with which he had chosen Crais as his pilot. The beauty of awareness he saw through Talyn. Crais let his senses roam the corridors of Talyn and was in awe of the Leviathan. It was difficult to describe was he saw… felt… the feelings it created in him. He thought he had lost the feeling of being needed by someone when Tauvo died. He now felt a sense of “belonging” again, perhaps even more intensely than ever before.

Why had he “procured” Talyn? Only to escape from Scorpius and his former Peacekeeper colleagues? To escape from Moya and her crew? Apart from Aeryn Sun each one of them would happily turn him over to the Peacekeepers or have his head as a trophy. Especially the Luxan. He gingerly touched his ribs, which were still sore from the beating that Ka D’Argo had given him when he had stepped aboard Moya

Or had he wanted Talyn because he was in effect responsible for his birth? He smiled wryly. It had been his idea to merge the foetus of the biomechanoid Leviathan Moya with enhanced mechanical implants to create a hybrid Leviathan with the capability of a sentient warship. And now, here he was standing in Talyn’s Command Centre and hoping to be a real guiding force in changing the war-machine in a Peacekeeping Leviathan rather than a Peacekeeper’s Leviathan. How ironic!

He hoped that he had destroyed or rerouted enough of the data and information to stop the Peacekeepers from creating another war-Leviathan. By the time they would have worked out a way again to create another one he hoped that Talyn would be strong enough and clever enough to be able to persuade the other Leviathans to take path of peace.

Still, it was ironic that a former Peacekeeper was teaching the warship the ways of Peace and yet it seemed appropriate.

The readiness with which they had both accepted each other amazed him. The candour, with which the bonding was established, after the initial pain of accepting the Hand of Friendship, exhilarated and worried him.

The only person he had ever felt close to had been Tauvo and yet it had never been so close as he was feeling to Talyn now or ever so distant.

He sighed. The youngster still had so much to learn about his existence. “And so have I,” Crais thought in afterthought. He had not realised how devoid he had become of any social contact until he was connected to Talyn. His first impulse had been to order Talyn about as one does a soldier and although it was accepted reluctantly, in the end he also realised he couldn’t do that to the young Leviathan. He had to ease his tone, coax rather than order. Convince rather than insist. Explain rather than pressure. Just making him do whatever he wanted to make him do didn’t teach the youngster anything other than obeying orders.

In the beginning he had some worries when Talyn accepted his commands unquestioningly. Talyn had to learn to think for himself. Analyse his actions. At the same time this would produce another set of worries. What if Talyn became too independent?

They had all the time in the world to work it out and at the same time there was only a little amount of time to get them both into battle-readiness. For although he was set on teaching Talyn the ways of peace he also realised that this could not be achieved without the possibility to having to fight for it. Peace never comes cheap.

They had cruised through free space but had to stop in the second week to get some supplies. He had not been able to bring much aboard Talyn after he had left Moya. His carryall had only contained three changes of shirts and underwear, an extra pair of breeches, his greatcoat and cap, his toiletries, some food-cubes and an ample supply of credits. By eating sparingly he had managed to make the food-cubes last for little over a week but slow starvation wasn’t on his agenda.

He had scanned the vector and found a planet with a small population, because of their demographic size they didn’t cater for long-distance space-travel, but they had been able to provide him with some of the provisions, mainly fresh food. He would have to go on another foray shortly. At least it would stave off the first hunger. He was also uncomfortably made aware that his Peacekeeper’s uniform wasn’t appreciated, even on this far-flung planet. It was no use getting upset by it. It was all he had to wear and he had to make his credits last a while longer. Luxuries were out for the moment. The prices were fair even though one of the merchants had tried to raise his price to this Peacekeeper over the wares he sold to his regular customers. A scowl and a menacing growl from Crais made him think otherwise.

Before he went back to the transport-pod he had some refreshments at the local inn. Who knows how long it was before he could indulge in something to drink other than water. He ignored the stares he was getting from the locals. “Better get used to it, Crais,” he thought to himself, “Until you stop looking like a Peacekeeper-Captain! Yes, fat chance!”

He didn’t stay long. His instinct to survive overruled his need to be among people.

“Talyn, is everything alright,” he asked silently when he docked. He had sensed the panic from the youngster when he had left and the elation to find Crais back on board again. Talyn beeped in the affirmative. He was able to put the youngster at ease explaining why he had to leave him occasionally to get supplies. In afterthought he should have explained before he’d left. There were so many things he took for granted. Talyn was still young and had to learn this as well.

Crais spend some time putting the supplies away.

He stopped what he was doing and frowned when a feeling of unease stole over him. Was he missing or overlooking something? He shook his head and went back to re-arranging the supplies.

There it was again, nibbling at the edge of his awareness. The hair at the nape of his neck rose and he whipped out the knife from the sheath on his belt and he turned around swiftly. Nobody was there. Talyn was beeping in panic to his actions.

He answered Talyn’s beeping silently, not wanting to alert whoever or whatever was causing his sixth sense to kick in, “I don’t know, Talyn. I don’t see anyone but something is not right. Keep looking for anything unusual.”

He cautiously moved forward. The feeling disappeared again. Talyn reported that he could sense nothing unusual inside or outside the ship. He didn’t relax, not yet.

“Maybe it is just overwrought nerves,” he thought, but when the feeling of being watched returned he knew he was right in assuming that all wasn’t right. Too many years as a soldier in skirmishes and battles and of being a Peacekeeper and surviving backstabbing to reach his goals came to the fore.

“I don’t know who you are,” he said to no one or any particularly area, “but if you show yourself and your intentions are peaceful I’m sure we can work something out.” He waited, listening for any give-aways; there were none. “I give you three microts. After that you only have yourself to blame.” Again there was utter silence.

“Talyn,” he thought, “You still can’t detect anything?”

Talyn beeped once.

“Talyn, close all sensors down. No, you don’t have to be afraid. Now, look around the inside of your body, along the walls and report everything you see, hear and feel to me. Exclude all else. Don’t analyse what you see, just report.”

He stood with his back to the wall, half closing his eyes. He had never done this with Talyn before and didn’t know what to expect. Better to be on the safe side.

The images and sensations Talyn conveyed to him came fast and furious, it almost made him nauseous with the speed they entered his brain. He swallowed down the upcoming bile and tried to process the information as fast as Talyn could send them. Flashes of corridors taken at breakneck speed. Whirlwind colours of the insides of pipes, tubes and crawlspaces. The thumping and rushing of Talyn’s life-blood. He nearly shouted at Talyn to stop when the images seemed to overwhelm him and he was afraid to lose consciousness when he noticed something.

“Talyn,” he thought, “Stop! Go back a little at a slower rate.” He saw the last microns played backward. There! There was a blur on the wall in the galley. He opened his eyes fully and looked in that direction. There was nothing but a blank wall.

“Talyn,” he thought, “I want you to stay focussed on that point. When the blur moves, as I’m sure it will do, your focus will move with it. Stay in contact with me. I think we have our intruder.” His mouth curved into a smile.

The first few steps weren’t easy. Seeing through Talyn’s eyes and his own simultaneously was quite dizzying but necessary. Talyn’s vision saw the blur but didn’t think it was important. He couldn’t see anything on the wall but his instincts went haywire.

When he neared the wall, knife still withdrawn, he saw the blur split into two. He moved to the left and stretched his left hand towards it. At the same time ordering Talyn to keep an eye on the second blur but not to harm it. Confused Talyn complied. His hand connected with warm, soft tissue and cloth. There was someone there. He held on to the invisible person who now realised that the game was up and struggled to break free from his grasp. Crais’ hold was too strong and he ceased his squirming.

“You might as well reveal yourselves,” said Crais aloud, “I won’t let go until you do. Furthermore, if you are unwilling to do so I have no computations to use the knife! You better tell your comrade to do the same. I am not in the mood for a game of hide and seek!” His tone left no doubts that he would follow up on his threats. Crais gave a silent command to Talyn not to shoot on the intruders when revealed, unless Talyn or he was in danger.

One micron there was no one in front of him and then two people appeared as if out of thin air.

One was in front of him and another over to the right. They were boys, still in their teens. They looked with fright in their eyes at Crais who hadn’t lowered the knife.

“Nice trick,” he said calmly as if invisible people were the order of the day, “Is one of you going to explain to me what this is all about?” His calm tones appeared more menacing than the knife he was holding and, after all, he was dressed as a high-ranking Peacekeeper.

“We’re very sorry, sir,” stammered the one he was holding, “We would have gotten off at the next planetary stop you made. You would have been none the wiser, honestly.” His grovelling tone was meant to set Crais’ mind at ease, he could feel it tugging at his brain and angrily he shook it off.

Crais had always hated to see people grovelling, even though he had used other people’s grovelling to his own advantage in the past but the sight still turned his stomach. He let go of the youngster and motioned them with the knife to the table in the galley. Once they were seated he sat down in the opposite chair where he could keep an eye on them both.

“So, who’s going to explain to me what you are doing on my ship and how you were able to go undetected?”

The youngsters looked at each other before the one he had held earlier decided to be their spokesman, “I’m Sato Taz-Mar and this is my cousin Teif Taz-Zim. We were born on the planet you just left and were trying to get off the planet because we are… different from the others.”

Crais didn’t say anything to let him continue, he was not going to speculate.

Sato coughed lightly before continuing, “Most people planet-side are mildly telepathic. The others are gradually losing this ability. We don’t know why. Like, the village you went to for supplies has lost it completely. Teif and I come from a province to the south where the majority still has the talent, although not as strong as we have.”

“Glad I didn’t go there after all,” Crais thought in afterthought.

The boy continued, “We were different even from our own people in the south. People were looking at us in mistrust and we were shunned. So, we decided to go north and find others like us but there are none.” He looked sadly ahead of him.

Teif finished the rest of the story, “Because the people in the north lost the ability completely we were even less trusted than in our home province. And when we saw your spacecraft…”

“…You decided to hitch a ride,” Crais completed for him when the pause was too long, “but why didn’t you just ask?” Even as he said it, he reflected that he would have said “No” based on the life he had to lead now.

Sato voiced his words for him, “We were afraid you would say ‘no’.”

“How did you manage to hide from me at first?” he asked, deliberately not mentioning Talyn.

“We weren’t hiding from you… or your ship. (-So, they could sense Talyn as well-) We just masked your thoughts. You are the one person we have ever come across that it didn’t work with. We wonder why?”

He had been pondering the same thought, he said aloud, “Probably instinct. I used to be a… soldier. You don’t stay alive long in certain situations if you can’t trust your instincts. You can sense the ship too?”

“Yes, enough to stop him from seeing us and the basics, really. He’s too big for us to control.”

“I bet he is,” thought Crais, “but I still don’t trust them. I will have to warn Talyn.”

He said aloud, “Well, since you are here we might as well make the best of it. (-Their faces lit up-) How were you going to pay for your passage?

(-Their faces fell-) I thought as much. You don’t get anything in life without paying for it, one way or the other.”

“We don’t have that many credits,” Sato replied.

“And no food either, I imagine,” Crais asked, raising his eyebrow.

“No,” said Sato.

“So, you were going to steal from me!”

“Not a lot, just until…”

“It doesn’t matter. If you did this in your home province to your own people I am not surprised they didn’t trust you but it wasn’t for being different.”

The youngsters gave each other covert glances, telling him his shot in the dark was right.

“So, back to payment. Since you don’t have anything to offer me that is of any worth to me how about paying in kind?”

Again the two boys looked at other, this time not understanding what Crais was after. They looked back at him questioningly.

“You can work for your passage to the next planet,” he had guessed right, at the word “work” they had both frowned in disgust, “One of you can cook… (-it was not a question-) while the other can do the cleaning and some maintenance work.”

“We don’t know how to cook and we are terrible cleaners…” Sato said with an ill-disguised smirk while Crais felt him probing at his brain again.

Now that he knew how to recognise the boys’ probing he knew how to defend himself against their suggestions and mentally shake it off, “It’s easy. You two cook and clean until the next populated planet and I will drop you off. You refuse and I will go back to the planet you came from and drop you off near the city where I found you. (-The youngsters looked horror-struck at him-) And it is no use trying out your abilities on me since you already know it doesn’t work.”

After looking at each other for a while, in which Crais surmised they were talking telepathically to each other, they agreed to his terms. They did not particularly like the smile they saw appear on his face. He had some chores for them, which might get them dirtier than they would have wanted. Talyn would be pleased to have all his insides washed and groomed.

First he showed them their quarters for the duration of their stay, then he showed them what had to be done to start the cleaning, “…and no skiving or you can do it again!” He left them standing there looking at him with open mouths. He had to turn quickly to hide the smile on his face.

He headed back for command. “Talyn,” he thought, “can you see and sense them now that you know they are on board?”

Talyn beeped in confirmation.

“Good! Always keep an eye on them while they are on board. I don’t fully trust them. No, I don’t want to go back to a planet that is predominantly telepathic. We’ll drop them off at the next inhabited planet. Report to me if they are being idle for too long or when they appear to have disappeared, okay?”

Talyn bleeped happily.

Twice his voice boomed over the comms when Talyn warned him that they were just sitting down and not doing anything. “Get your lazy bodies in gear!” he shouted and looked through Talyn’s eyes when he saw them scramble up. Their anxious looks on their faces when they were looking around looking for him brought an amused grin to his face. When Sato sat down again, thinking it was just bluff on his part since he couldn’t see Crais he shouted, “You, Sato, if you don’t start moving now, I will make you move!” This time the boy jumped up and went ahead with his chores. After they tried it the second time they thought it best to comply and worked until he thought it was fitting to stop.

“How do you like the attention, Talyn,” he asked amused. The happy beeps and chirps from Talyn were very satisfying.

He let them wash up first before appointing Sato to do the cooking.

They were in the galley. Teif was sitting at the table, looking quite smug. Crais had the impression that the boy was set up into going off-world by his older cousin. Sato needed watching, decided Crais.

Crais was giving orders from the table to Sato, how to peel this, how to cut that, which containers to use, to clean up after use and how to cook. In a way it was… satisfying to order people about again, he thought. Had they been aspiring Peacekeepers he would have been able to ship them into shape pretty soon. Being reluctant and caught stowaways he did not think they would be. Ah well, it would be fun while it lasted.

The meal wasn’t bad considering it was the boy’s first attempt. He had eaten worse in the field. He only couldn’t remember which field.

The boys weren’t in the mood to linger after the work they had done during the day. Probably the first time they had done anything at all judging by the smoothness of their hands earlier and the small blisters afterward. They went to their quarters right after dinner while Crais went back to the Command Centre to check the vector before turning in himself. He asked Talyn to keep checking for any populated planets and to warn him immediately if he found one.

He woke up early and took a shower before letting his voice boom again over the comms to wake the two boys up. He “looked” into their quarter and was happy to find that they weren’t too happy with the early morning call or rather shouts. When they were moving too slowly his voice boomed again and made them move.

They gathered in the galley and this time it was Teif’s turn to make breakfast. He turned out to be a better cook and Crais said so. The smile he got from Teif and the scowl from Sato told him all. For them it was back to doing their chores again and for him to go back to the Command Centre. There must be a populated planet nearby. He didn’t have enough supplies or the patience for an extended stay by the youngsters.

After about two arns Talyn warned him that he couldn’t spot Sato. Teif was where he had been for the last arn but Sato had disappeared.

Crais asked Talyn to do the same scan as they had done before but this time Talyn nor he could detect the youngster. Where could he be?

Crais went to the corridor where Teif was and found the boy cowering in the corner when he saw Crais approaching.

“So, where is your cousin?” Crais asked irritated, “I have no time to search every inch of this ship and ask you to tell me.” He glared at the boy, “You tell me where he is and I won’t get upset with you. Sato, on the other hand will have to be punished.”

Teif tried to crawl into Talyn’s bulkhead. He was obviously very frightened.

Alarm-bells went off in his head and instinctively he looked to the left where the feeling was coming from. He saw the air shimmer to his left and was only just in time to raise his arm before the pipe glanced off quite hard on the side of his head and landed with a solid blow on his arm. Temporarily stunned he went down on one knee. Sato went in for another blow but this time Crais was prepared and managed to grasp the pipe before it came crashing down on him again.

He yanked the pipe from the boy’s hands and kept it in his left hand. He stood up, walked up to the boy and slapped him hard against the side of the face. It was enough to sting and made his eyes hurt but not to bring him down. “Is that how you repay your debts, young man?” Crais asked him angrily, “It doesn’t say much of your manners, does it? I have a good thought of throwing you into the waste-disposal chute and jettison you into space!” Anger was glaring in his eyes while a small trickle of blood ran down the left side of his face.

“No, please sir. Don’t kill him,” Teif jumped up and implored Crais.

Crais glanced slightly at Teif and briefly took in the tear-stained face of the boy. He looked back at Sato and asked Teif, “Pray, tell me why not and I might reconsider.”

“He… He hadn’t meant to hit you that hard. He… We just wanted to get off the ship,” the boy stammered looking with fright at both Crais and Sato, “He thought it was cruel of you to make us work so hard.”

“Work so hard!” Crais’ anger and astonishment was obvious in his words, “He doesn’t even know the meaning of the word. And as for not hitting me so hard… He was even poised for a second strike and by the feel of it even harder than he had intended with his first strike. What was the plan, Sato? Kill me? Take over the ship or steal a transport pod? I don’t want you two on my ship any longer than is necessary, believe me, and I will put you off at the next populated planet. Let them deal with the likes of you. But if you are that desperate to leave you might want to be left off at the next planet, populated or not. Your choice.” He saw the anger and the defiance in the boy’s eyes. In other circumstances he would have admired the spirit of defiance but not in this instance.

He moved closer, lowering his voice, “As for working hard. You don’t have to worry about that anymore. As of now you don’t have to do a thing but you will be locked up until we reach our destination. Now move!”

He frogmarched the boy to the cargo bay where he knew Talyn had a small compartment, which would serve the purpose just nicely. Before locking the door, which immediately cut off all light, he put a collar around the boy’s neck and locked it. “This will keep me informed where you are at all times. I should have done it from the beginning!” he slammed the door.

“Wha… What will happen to me, sir?” Teif asked. He had followed Crais and Sato.

“You will stay by my side. You will not go near the cargo bay or you will suffer the same fate as Sato. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir.”

Could he detect relief in the boy’s tone?

They walked towards the galley. With his anger spend Crais now felt the effects of the blow and he reeled slightly.

“You okay, sir?” asked Teif anxiously.

Crais nodded once but had to steady himself against the wall of the corridor. He pushed the boy away when he came over to help steady him but when his legs nearly gave way when he moved away from the wall he allowed the boy to grasp him around the waist and rested his arm for support on the small shoulders. He just made it to the chair near the table in the galley before his legs gave way. Teif stood in front of him not sure what to do.

“Cloth…water,” was all Crais could manage while the thumping in his head grew worse. He could not lose consciousness now.

The boy handed him the soaked cloth, which he pressed against the side of his head. It helped ease the headache but he was sure only a rest could cure it. His left arm felt numb. If the boy had broken it he would seriously consider throwing him out in outer space, without a suit! He grimaced when he moved his arm.

Teif looked at him in fear. What was he supposed to do with the boy? In all fairness he couldn’t lock him up as he had done with Sato, as far as he knew, he hadn’t done anything wrong. He couldn’t let him roam Talyn either. He didn’t want him in the Command Centre, he did not savour the idea to have to watch his back as well as trying to command Talyn and be on the look out for trouble. Although the boy’s earlier behaviour could be attributed to the influence his older cousin had over him, Crais didn’t feel he could fully trust him.

He had not warned Crais that his cousin was about to hit him. This could be because he feared his cousin more than Crais’ ire or it could be that he was part of the ploy to shift Crais’ attention. At least put a collar on him, that would be the logical thing to do but it would only let him know where the boy was. It was no surety that he could block that from Crais’ mind or Talyn’s sensors or let him believe that he was still where Crais thought he was.

When he shifted position he was painfully reminded that he had to do something about his arm, even Talyn had piped in worriedly.

After weighing all the possibilities he decided to put a collar on the boy and take him to the Command Centre where he could keep an eye on him.

Slowly he rose from the table. So far so good. He walked over to the cupboard and retrieved another collar and motioned the boy over. He put the collar on the boy’s neck, explaining why and ordered him to follow him.

With each passing step he felt stronger. Whether this was due because he willed himself not to give in to his fatigue or Talyn helping he couldn’t say. Whatever the cause it was helping him now.

He let the boy sit near the outside porthole and warned him to sit still, too much movement and Talyn might consider him a threat and shoot him. The boy nodded obeisance.

He went back to his monitoring and asked Talyn if he had any luck yet in finding a suitable planet.

After about an arn of sitting completely still the boy became fidgety and bored. He even thought that cleaning Talyn’s bulkhead would seem like bliss. He glanced at Crais, who stood stock-still with his eyes half-closed, probably communicating with the ship. Teif shifted position and Crais’ eyes flicked open immediately.

“You boys are in luck,” Crais said, “My ship detected a commerce planet and you shouldn’t have a problem blending in.”

“Thank you, sir,” stammered Teif.

“A word of advice, young man. I don’t know how much you are taken in by your cousin and how much of it is your own doing, but if you want to see your children grow up I’ll advice you to break loose from your cousin and make your own way on this planet, preferably an honest one.”

He paused in contemplation, “Something is plaguing me. Why could I see you in the corridor but not your cousin until the last moment?”

The fear in the boy’s eyes was back. “He knew how it happened,” thought Crais.

“Tell me Teif,” it was a command.

“Sato will kill me if he finds out I told you.”

“Why do you think I wouldn’t if you didn’t tell me?” He had cocked his head to the side and dropped his voice for effect and was pleased to see it had not been lost on the boy.

Teif shifted his eyes this way and that, not wanting to meet Crais’. He couldn’t read the man’s mind for some reason and Crais’ silence while he waited for an answer was quite disturbing. He looked down at the floor and shifted his bodyweight several times before he finally decided that being truthful might be the best policy in this case.

He scraped his throat a couple of time before he said, “When we combine our thoughts it becomes manifold. Sato knows the invisibility-trick doesn’t work on you if we want to be seen to have disappeared together. So, he thought it might work if we combined and one of us would disappear. I didn’t want to do it, honestly, but he has ways to make me do it anyway. I argued that you had been kind enough to let us stay…”

Crais felt the prickly sensation of the boy’s probing in his mind. “And you can stop that too, young man,” growled Crais, “Or I will consider you no better than your cousin. Continue with your explanation.” The probing withdrew.

The boy was surprised that Crais should feel this and so was Crais but he did not let on.

The boy continued, “It is true that I didn’t want to participate but my cousin can be very… forceful. But I did drop my end of the concentration when I saw he was going to strike you. That’s when you saw him.”

The boy could be telling him the truth or he could have told him a pack of lies to save himself from Crais’ ire. Crais didn’t trust either of them as far as he could see them. And even that was debatable. Well, they would be off Talyn soon.

In the meantime Sato was having a different conversation with Talyn. It was mostly one-sided for he couldn’t speak with Talyn directly or even pick up his thoughts clearly.

It was obvious that the ship was curious. What he could pick up was that Talyn couldn’t understand why he sometimes couldn’t sense Sato and Teif and why Crais was looking so hard for a planet to drop the two youngsters off. He was curious to learn more.

“So, you are all on your own with the Captain? Sorry, can’t follow you, you go to fast. Why he wants us off his ship?” Sato thought quickly, here was the opportunity to pay back the Captain for locking him up, “I think he wants you all for himself. In that way he can order you about and let you do what he wants. He doesn’t care what you think. My cousin Teif… That’s the other boy… is a bit like him. Always wants me to do what he wants.

He ordered me to attack your Captain. No, don’t panic or your Captain will hear you and I won’t be able to help you understand how mean he can be. Like Teif. He threatened to hurt me if I wouldn’t listen to him and help him to attack the Captain. He can be very mean and vicious. But I can handle him,” a nasty smile stole over his face.

“When he links minds with me he has his weak spots and I can hurt him back. Oh, he doesn’t like it but then he leaves me alone for a while and I can do whatever I want. You don’t have to take all the orders of your Captain. You are an individual and can do whatever you like.

Your Captain loves you, you say? Are you sure? Or is he just saying that so he can order you around? I thought my… Teif loves me too but sometimes I wonder. If he really loves me he would let me do whatever I like, wouldn’t he? But no, he doesn’t, he only likes me to do what he likes. Never thinking of me, only himself.” He could feel that this confused Talyn. Good! Let’s see how the Captain will cope with a ship that doubts his intentions, he giggled.

“You have to go now?” He could feel the doubt and the distress it caused the ship, “Well, think about it. Don’t just trust all his commands, maybe it’s not something you want to do but you have a mind of your own. Don’t let him make all the decisions. And yes, we do want to get off at the next planet. I don’t want to cope with two power-hungry people.”

Talyn left Sato on his own. “Yes,” he thought, “If it works, the Captain will have a little problem on his hand, That will teach him to be horrible to me.” With the seeds of doubt sown, he settled back once more, this time with a satisfied grin on his face.

Crais went into orbit at the designated planet and he went with Teif to the cargo bay to pick up Sato. The faster they left his ship the better.

He was surprised to find a smug-looking boy in the locked compartment. He couldn’t understand what made him look so pleased with himself.

He got the two boys on the transport pod and warned Talyn he would be going and to warn if he saw anything that might endanger the ship. He didn’t take their collars off until they were planet-side. This time he wasn’t going to take any chances.

He had considered getting some more supplies in but on second thought decided against it. He would find another suitable planet, preferably far away from the two youngsters.

When he boarded Talyn he was surprised that the ship stayed quiet instead of greeting him with the happy chirping welcome he had displayed before. Ah, well, maybe he was running some programmes and was very busy.

Before returning to the Command Centre he stopped off at his quarters. He wanted to see if he could do something about his arm, which was still hurting him. He shook his jacket off and had a look. It didn’t appear to be broken but it was badly bruised. He reminded himself that on the next commerce planet he had to pick up some medical supplies as well. There were none at present. A damp cloth took care of the cut over his temple. A dark, angry bruise was already spreading. He grinned at his reflection, well, there was no one around to see it anyway.

When he got back to Command Centre he was a bit worried when Talyn stayed silent. He touched his transponder, thinking it might be broken, and called out to Talyn, “Why are you so quiet, Talyn? Anything wrong?”

A hectic array of beeps and chirps was his answer.

“Slow down, Talyn. I can’t answer all your questions at once.”

Talyn’s questions slowed down.

“Why we had to leave the two boys on the planet? Because they wanted to. They didn’t want to stay on board and neither did I want them to. They couldn’t be trusted.”

Talyn beeped again.

“Why did they sometimes disappear? They did that by making us believe that they weren’t there. It is called telepathy. They were linked mentally. A bit like you and I are linked.

Are we like them? No, we are linked differently. Theirs was a bonding of the blood. We are bonded by choice. And no, I hope we are not like them in character. With them it is quite one-sided, I suppose, I think that Teif was a bit afraid of Sato. From the little I’ve seen Sato likes to intimidate others. But Teif wants to stay with him, maybe he doesn’t know any better.”

Talyn’s beeping became frantic again and Crais clasped his hands over his ears, “Calm down, Talyn. What makes you believe that I want to order you about?” Crais didn’t like the way the conversation was going and had a suspicion that the boy Sato had something to do with it.

“Yes, you are right, sometimes I do order you around. Sometimes it is needed. You are young to this world and have a lot to learn. When I can, I explain to you why certain things are done a certain way. But if the action demands an immediate response you will have to accept my authority in these matters until you can think them out for yourself.”

Talyn’s beeping became angry again.

“No, I promise you, once you’re older and wiser you can do what you see fit if it is a better solution than the one I can offer. But for now you will have to trust me to make most of the decisions for us. I don’t want you to accidentally hurt yourself because you do things wrong.

Yes, like I explained to you that too many starbursts could be dangerous for you at this early stage. And, yes again, until you know who is friend or foe you can’t shoot at everything that is moving. There are people who are hunting us and we don’t want to draw attention to us by just shooting at everyone nor do we want to make unnecessary enemies. Some people and craft we will meet could be potential allies. You don’t want to get them angry with us, do you? Aggression is not always the way forward,” he surprised himself by saying and meaning it. Was he trying to convince himself as well as Talyn?

Talyn beeped once and went silent, thinking it over.

What had Sato said to get Talyn to question his command now? He believed he had the ship’s best interest at heart, their lives and freedom depended on it.

Talyn stayed quiet for about an arn, in which time Crais took a quick repast, before his excited chirping warned Crais. “What do you see, Talyn,” asked Crais.

Talyn showed him the approaching spacecraft. Its design was unknown to Crais but it was obviously a gunship. They were still out of range to be seen by the other spacecraft.

“Talyn, is there a planet nearby?”

Talyn beeped in the affirmative.

“Then go to it’s Darkside and scan the other ship.”

Talyn didn’t move.

“Talyn, you have to move now! Or we will be seen,” Crais had raised his voice to make Talyn understand the urgency but still the ship didn’t move. “Talyn!” Crais’ voice was more forceful now. “You have to move now! We don’t know if they are friend or foe.”

The other ship was now visible on the view-port and Crais knew it was useless to flee, “Open comm-channels, Talyn.” This time Talyn complied. Crais stood at rigid attention before the vid-com, “We travel in peace, please, identify yourself.”

A face appeared on the vid-screen. It was reptilian in looks.

“Almost like a Scarran,” Crais thought. Talyn picked up the thought and made his guns battle-ready.

“Talyn, what are you doing,” shouted Crais, “Stand down! We don’t want to give them the wrong impression!”

At the same time the commander of the other ship shouted at Crais, “If you come in peace, why are your guns trained on us?”

“We seem to have a malfunction here,” Crais apologised and at the same time used the silent command to Talyn, “Talyn, power down now!” he picked up a word of Talyn and continued, “No, they are not Scarrans. For the last time, power down the weapons!”

He gripped the sides of the console forcibly as if it could convey his anxiety better to Talyn. Talyn must have picked up on his thoughts that they resembled Scarrans. He had to be careful with his thoughts when in direct contact with Talyn.

“Talyn, we said we come in peace,” he had softened his thoughts and he hoped he could keep the exasperation out of it, “Please, power down your weapons so we can talk to them.”

Talyn chirped but instead of powering down he was now training all his outside weapons on the ship before them.

Crais saw the commander on the other ship look at someone behind him and the screen went blank.

Talyn moved into position when the other ship was now arming their weapons. It was hopeless.

“No. Talyn! No!” shouted Crais when he realised what Talyn was about to do. Both ships fired simultaneously and fire coursed through Crais’ body before he blacked out.

Present…

He came to in pain and nausea. When he finally got himself upright he found Talyn silent. Asleep. Switching to privacy mode he scanned the vector. They hadn’t changed position but of the other ship there was no sign.

“What have I done,” Crais asked himself in anguish. Had he created a monster?

What had gone wrong? Talyn had entertained the thought of peace and co-operation before… before he brought the youngsters on board. He was back at the beginning again. Anger seethed in him. “Irreversible contamination,” screamed his mind.

No, those were Peacekeepers thoughts! He shouldn’t harbour these thoughts anymore, certainly not to Talyn if he was to help the child.

That was the problem. Talyn was still a child. Easy to impress. It had been his fault that the youngsters had been able to board the ship and had been able to sway Talyn’s thoughts. It had been his fault that the other ship and its crew was no more. He hung his head wearily. Had Talyn made the right choice in choosing him as his Captain?

Talyn stirred awake. Crais put the transponder back on. “Talyn are you hurt?” he asked softly.

Talyn beeped in the affirmative. “Show me,” said Crais.

Talyn showed him the left outside hull where a deep gash was visible. Crais touched his left side in empathy where he had registered a throbbing ague when he regained consciousness. It must have been the cause of his blackout. So, he and the ship weren’t only mentally bonded but physically as well. He could not say to what extent yet. He knew that Talyn’s wound would heal soon. Leviathans, like Sebeceans, healed quickly. He conveyed this to the ship.

“Talyn,” he continued softly, “Why did you attack the other ship?” Talyn beeped.

“No, the other ship didn’t attack you first.” There was petulance in the next chirps and beeps.

“No, Talyn. You provoked the other ship. That’s why they readied their guns. Why Talyn?” Another set of beeps and chirps.

“No, they weren’t Scarrans. I know you could hear me think they looked like Scarrans. I’m sorry if that upset you. But there is big difference between what people are and what we think they look like.” Talyn beeped a small surprise, he made a statement.

“Yes, Talyn, we are warriors, soldiers, but we will not follow the path of destruction. Yes, I know I used to do that but not anymore. Not since we are together. I… promised. We have to learn, together, how to be battle-ready. There will be times that we have to defend ourselves or others who can’t defend themselves. But I don’t want us to be the aggressors. Do you understand?”

Talyn beeped quickly in confusion.

“I know you find this concept, idea, confusing at the moment. You find it confusing to have guns but are not allowed to use it. Or come up to battle-ships which you are not allowed to attack. When you are older you’ll find that having guns doesn’t give you the right to shoot at just everyone. It will give you the means to defend yourself. Or to stand and fight when it is necessary.

You don’t want to have what happened today repeated do you?”

Talyn’s beeps and clicks confirmed this.

“Had you stand down we might have had a chance to talk to them. They might not have considered us a threat and left us alone. They might not have hurt you. Yes, I know, I keep using the word might and on purpose. They might not have done all that and on the other hand they might have done. I’m here to help you learn when to fight and when to stand down or flee. Sometimes you might not like doing what I tell you but you have to believe me when I tell you I have your… our best interest at heart.

You were not really meant to be a warship.” Here Talyn beeped in complete confusion, “Your kind are a peaceful species. You are explorers. You were deliberately created to be a warship. By the Peacekeepers,” Crais answered when Talyn beeped and did his utmost not think “and me”, the youngster wouldn’t be able to understand yet. He continued, “But essentially you are peaceful. When I… became your Captain I took on the responsibility to teach you that. If for nothing else, your mother, Moya, wouldn’t like it if I took you off the path your kind follows.”

Talyn beeped again.

“We can’t undo that your are also a battle-ship but I can try and guide you to be something else than a mindless warship. Although it sounds strange to you now, if used right your guns can become a force for the good. But you will have to have patience. You will have to learn how to use it without destroying everything in your path. We have to learn together.

You are still young and I’m new to the path of peace but I think we will be able to find our way, together. Do you understand, Talyn?”

Talyn’s chirps were more cheerful now. He didn’t quite understand what Crais meant but was willing to learn. He felt Crais’ pride for him and wanted to make him proud of him and when he would meet up with his mother he would want her to feel proud of him. He would learn from Crais all there was to learn. Crais was a warrior and so was he. He had picked up pictures from Crais’ mind of heroic warriors. He would be one of them!

Crais could feel the ripple of anticipation go through Talyn and hoped he had gotten through to the young Leviathan. He pondered that what he had just said to Talyn was also true for him. Only together they could find their own path to peace and he also had to change to achieve that.

He only hoped that they were given enough time to learn how to walk this path, together.

THE END

Back to Cycle One

FanFiction on Captain Bialar Crais