"What's in a name?"
Based on the characters of Farscape.
Some Original characters and story by L C McUmber.
Guest appearances by Fanfiction characters from "The Lab Rat"
Sequel to the Lab Rat by R. J. Slatts. Rainne used with Permission.
On the very edge of Peacekeeper territories, several small planets orbit a dying star. They have no natural resources to speak of, so are lightly colonized. Intermittent pulses from the star make interstellar communication difficult at best, so even the outlaws seeking to hide find them unsuitable. For Marata Ferrian and her husband Win, it was perfect, so it was home.
They devoted their life to assisting those who sought refuge from the Peacekeeper way of life. Win escaped a command carrier as a teen. Marata never knew her parents or her origins; a Delvian priestess raised her. She valued the harmony the Delvian peoples strove for, and seemed able to achieve. For the Ferrians, selflessness was as natural as breathing. For this reason, when a panic-stricken Sebacean woman came to them in the middle of the night, asking them to please take her infant son, they complied without hesitation. They had recently housed a gypsy woman, perhaps Sebacean/ Khalish, it was hard to tell, - who sought to escape the persecution of her tribal faith leaders. The leaders were not pleased to find the young woman expecting a child without a bonded mate. In their council laws, she was to be executed. She respected her tribal laws, but her love for her unborn child was greater. Marata would never know how she found them, but would come to be deeply pleased that she had.
Thinking back to the Sebacean woman, Marata remembered the night well. The stellar pulses had given the night sky an odd hue, and she walked out to check on the small garden she cultivated. The blooms were plentiful; they would bring healing to many.
"Help." It was a plea and yet it was fearful, the entreaty of one who had seen much. Marata could not see far into the darkness, so she beckoned to the direction where the weakened cry had originated.
"I will help you, come into the house where it is warm." Her voice was soothing.
"I cannot." Again, the edge of panic.
"Surely you are cold, you sound weary." Marata let her sentence trail, letting her silence coax the woman into speaking. The woman sounded more than weary, she sounded defeated to her very core. Before either woman could speak again, the lusty cry of a newborn split the night. In haste bordering panic, the woman tried to shush the child. He was a robust baby and was not to be satisfied until he was fed.
"Please!" the woman wailed, at Marata or at the child perhaps, "I will not lose this child to the Peacekeepers!"
With that parting, anguished cry she fled. For a microt, the night was silent. Then the infant cries began anew. Marata walked foreword and scooped up the tiny, angry bundle.
"Well, my little one, you have been entrusted to my care. Hear this oath I make, before the essence of your mother dissipates from this garden: You will dedicate your life to the pursuits of peace. The military will not claim you, nor twist your soul for it's dark purpose."
As if he understood her words, he looked solemnly at her face.
"I call you." she began, and then noticed a small amulet at the collar of the wrappings the infant wore. " For my family, you shall be called Ferrian. For your destiny, I call you Ashan, from an old language meaning peaceful healer." She considered the child for a moment. "And when you have finished your eighteenth cycle, I shall reveal your family name. Then you will be known as Ashan Crais Ferrian."
Some Original characters and story by L C McUmber.
Guest appearances by Fanfiction characters from "The Lab Rat"
Sequel to the Lab Rat by R. J. Slatts. Rainne used with Permission.
On the very edge of Peacekeeper territories, several small planets orbit a dying star. They have no natural resources to speak of, so are lightly colonized. Intermittent pulses from the star make interstellar communication difficult at best, so even the outlaws seeking to hide find them unsuitable. For Marata Ferrian and her husband Win, it was perfect, so it was home.
They devoted their life to assisting those who sought refuge from the Peacekeeper way of life. Win escaped a command carrier as a teen. Marata never knew her parents or her origins; a Delvian priestess raised her. She valued the harmony the Delvian peoples strove for, and seemed able to achieve. For the Ferrians, selflessness was as natural as breathing. For this reason, when a panic-stricken Sebacean woman came to them in the middle of the night, asking them to please take her infant son, they complied without hesitation. They had recently housed a gypsy woman, perhaps Sebacean/ Khalish, it was hard to tell, - who sought to escape the persecution of her tribal faith leaders. The leaders were not pleased to find the young woman expecting a child without a bonded mate. In their council laws, she was to be executed. She respected her tribal laws, but her love for her unborn child was greater. Marata would never know how she found them, but would come to be deeply pleased that she had.
Thinking back to the Sebacean woman, Marata remembered the night well. The stellar pulses had given the night sky an odd hue, and she walked out to check on the small garden she cultivated. The blooms were plentiful; they would bring healing to many.
"Help." It was a plea and yet it was fearful, the entreaty of one who had seen much. Marata could not see far into the darkness, so she beckoned to the direction where the weakened cry had originated.
"I will help you, come into the house where it is warm." Her voice was soothing.
"I cannot." Again, the edge of panic.
"Surely you are cold, you sound weary." Marata let her sentence trail, letting her silence coax the woman into speaking. The woman sounded more than weary, she sounded defeated to her very core. Before either woman could speak again, the lusty cry of a newborn split the night. In haste bordering panic, the woman tried to shush the child. He was a robust baby and was not to be satisfied until he was fed.
"Please!" the woman wailed, at Marata or at the child perhaps, "I will not lose this child to the Peacekeepers!"
With that parting, anguished cry she fled. For a microt, the night was silent. Then the infant cries began anew. Marata walked foreword and scooped up the tiny, angry bundle.
"Well, my little one, you have been entrusted to my care. Hear this oath I make, before the essence of your mother dissipates from this garden: You will dedicate your life to the pursuits of peace. The military will not claim you, nor twist your soul for it's dark purpose."
As if he understood her words, he looked solemnly at her face.
"I call you." she began, and then noticed a small amulet at the collar of the wrappings the infant wore. " For my family, you shall be called Ferrian. For your destiny, I call you Ashan, from an old language meaning peaceful healer." She considered the child for a moment. "And when you have finished your eighteenth cycle, I shall reveal your family name. Then you will be known as Ashan Crais Ferrian."
