Disclaimer: "Farscape" is a protected trademark and I'm Just borrowing the characters. I promise to give them back once I've used them, hopefully more or less intact.
Following is an alternative timeline story. The concept sprouted from one of the RPG's I'm playing in. The basic idea (Crais has an adopted daughter who was abducted by Scarrans and was named Amelia) came from CyaneMae. Asked permission to use this line to build a story around it. The story is my own. Liked Armelia for a Sebacean name better than Amelia. This is part of a series. The next story will be called Intermission. (an NC17-part, Interlude, is also in the making)
Title: Searching for Armelia, part 1
Author: GitonCrais
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Keywords: Crais/Talyn
Summary: Crais acquires a daughter
Searching for Armelia
1: Family Ties
By GitonCrais
Re-emergence from Starburst had been painful for both ship and Captain. Talyn had panicked when he couldn't feel Crais anymore and was in a great deal of pain. Crais was lying on his stomach on the floor of the Command Centre, a pool of blood spreading underneath his leg. When he finally came to, his mind was assaulted by Talyn's panic and pain as well as his own. The combination was agony and it was only by sheer willpower that he remained conscious.
It was when he tried to get up that he knew there was something seriously amiss. He didn't need to be a medic to know that he had broken his leg. Cycles ago he had broken his arm in combat. He recognised the pain, the movement of bones in his leg, which shouldn't be there. Cycles ago he had the comfort of the Healers and the Regenerators, he doubted if he had that comfort now.
He opened his link to Talyn slowly and was again assaulted by Talyn's pain and panic, "Talyn, slow down, please," he pleaded hoarsely. It took a couple of tries before Talyn noticed Crais was back with him. He calmed down when he acknowledged Crais' presence.
+++++
Crais had dragged himself to Medical, leaving a trail of blood on the deck. He almost cried in sheer frustration and exhaustion when he found that the Techs had already stripped Medical of all equipment. He rested his head against the deck.
He needed to treat his injuries soon or infection might set in and then he would be of no use to Talyn or himself. He had used his queue as a tourniquet on his leg to stem the flow of blood but it had loosened when he dragged his body over the deck to Medical and his leg was bleeding again.
Crais raised himself off the floor in a standing position with a nearby cabinet for support. He ground his teeth against the pain. He rummaged inside the cabinet and was rewarded with a medical sonde, which had been tucked back at the back of the cabinet and had been overlooked.
It would not heal him but at least it would close the wound in his leg. He had also found flexible wire and while standing he spotted some metal thin rods on the other side of the room.
He loosened and dropped his trousers then he sank to the floor. With the trousers still around his ankles he dragged himself to where he had seen the rods and fashioned two makeshift splits from them. This he then placed to either side of his thigh, using the tourniquet to keep it temporarily in place then he used the flexible wire to keep the splints in place. By the time he had finished he was weak with exhaustion.
The gash was deep and he could see the white of the bone at one spot. The exertions and loss of blood made him tremble and he was feeling cold. He had to hurry. He managed to close most of the wound with the sonde and it had stopped the bleeding, when his body gave in to weakness.
+++++
For three days and three nights Crais was in the throes of fever and Talyn, although himself in pain, feared for his Pilot's life.
When Crais regained consciousness he was weak but noticed with satisfaction that the wound had more or less closed. The pain of broken bones, though still present, had diminished.
He drew himself up by using a nearby chair and did up his trousers. He still couldn't stand on his leg but that was a minor worry at the moment. He used one of some discarded long pipes as a staff to lean on.
"Talyn, how are you," his voice sounded hoarse and his lips were parched, "How much time has passed?"
There is pain, Crais! Make it stop! Please! Talyn's shouts reverberated in his skull.
"I will try as soon as I am able to Talyn."
Crais had expected Talyn to attack him in his pain. He had not expected him to withdraw after telling Crais that it had been three days since he had passed out.
Crais hobbled to the galley, wincing in pain each time his leg contacted with the deck. His face lit up when he found the stack of food cubes in the cupboard, which some Tech must have left behind. He counted them. There was enough for two or three weekens. He took a few, mindful that he had to ration himself.
He had to find a way to repair Talyn and ease his Leviathan's pain. His best option would be a hover sled to move about, if he could find one. He opened his link to Talyn and managed to suppress the pain coming from the youngster. He used Talyn's sensors to race through the corridors looking for anything that might help to make him move and at the same time assessed the situation. Both results came back negative. Talyn was badly damaged and he had lost a propulsion fin and Crais had not been able to find a hover sled. He sighed. Opening his eyes he spotted some rods and tools that could be fashioned into makeshift crutches until he was able to find something better.
+++++
Repairs on Talyn progressed slowly. Crais couldn't work for long extended periods for fear of risking collapse. There was a constant worry that they could be detected and captured as Talyn had no means of significant movement. Crais couldn't do much about the outside damage for the moment and concentrated his repairs on the internal damage. At least it seemed to take away some of Talyn's pain.
His days were filled with repairs and his nights with fever induced dreams.
At the end of two weekend after their Starburst in the Command Carrier, Crais had brought the navigational console online and spotted a nearby commercial planet with a high gravity moon. Talyn could use the moon for hiding and resting. How to get there was a different matter.
He had been extremely lucky, the Techs had left a pod in the Docking Bay, why, he did not know and he did not question his good fortune. He was now able to put it to good use, Talyn agreed with the plan.
Talyn used his remaining propulsion fin to take a spurt forward then Crais moved the pod next to Talyn, touching him on the damaged side and used the thrusters on the other side of the pod to push the youngster back on course.
The first two tries didn't seem to make a difference but then Talyn got the idea of relaxing completely when it was Crais' turn to make him move and slowly they moved forwards. The process was long and arduous and took the full concentration of Captain and ship, too much thrust on Talyn's turn would take too long for Crais to perform the correction. Too little on Crais' turn wouldn't get them anywhere.
It took them nearly two Solar Days to complete the manoeuvres. Both were worn out by the time they finished. The brief rests Crais had were taken on the pod. Crais was relieved that he could go to his quarters, refresh and take a much needed rest.
Talyn settled down on the surface on the dark side of the moon and rested.
+++++
Crais had to go down to the planet or else face starvation. One day before Talyn settled on the moon Crais had finished whatever food the Techs had left on the ship and that was after strict rationing. He had already delayed going due to his leg and had fashioned some new crutches to replace the makeshift ones. He only had his Peacekeeper's and Captain's uniform left, he did not think that it would be very wise to wear any of those. He decided to leave his coat off and just go down in shirtsleeves; the planet had a warm enough climate.
Most people would have remembered him with his hair tightly bound back and his cheeks clean-shaven. He left his hair out of the queue. He had not shaved for all that time, since he had no shaving appliances with him and the area between his jawbone and chin had now filled in with a stubbly beard. He looked in the mirror and wouldn't have recognised himself. His hair flew wild, thick and curly. His beard covered his jaw. What he could see of his face was hollow and sunken due to the constant pain and lack of sufficient nourishment.
Crais had left some credits in the secret compartment where he had also concealed his Captain's uniform, now he took this out and hoped it was ample for their needs.
+++++
The trip to the planet was uneventful and he had managed to buy enough food cubes to last him two monens, three at a stretch and a small amount of Chromextin for Talyn.
While he was on the planet he visited the local Healer but she took one look at his leg and shook her head. She could fix and treat the wound on his leg but she didn't have the facilities to reset and heal the leg. The period of the injury had been too long and the break had been bad. It had not been a clean break and even if she had the facilities she could never reset it properly.
Crais went back to Talyn and the moon and spend all of his waking hours to repair Talyn and to ease his pain.
+++++
Two monens after their Starburst from the Command Carrier, Talyn and Crais became aware of an interesting side-effect and they couldn't come up with an explanation, at a later analysis, why it should have happened.
This first awareness was an unpleasant one for Crais, partly because of its nature and partly for the suddenness of the event.
Crais had been in Command, running maintenance checks and possible ways to help Talyn reroute some of his circuits. Crais had a crutch propped under his right arm, he still needed it to move about and it was hampering his movements.
Talyn had been complaining earlier about the regrowth spurts of his propulsion fin. It had continued to hurt him and it seemed as if it wasn't going to let up. He tried to keep it as much as he could from Crais. It was difficult. Their symbiosis had gained in strength. It wasn't easy to hide each other's thought and feelings.
Crais ran his checks to see if he could reroute some of the nerve conduits away from the affected area without causing Talyn too much pain.
Talyn's energy readings had been low since most of it was routed to regrowing his fin and repairs.
Crais sighed after another failed attempt, "I wish I could give you some of my energy."
So do I Crais Talyn could understand Crais' frustration but no sooner had the thought left Talyn's mind when he could feel himself draw on energy, Crais'!
Crais could feel it drain from him in a rush, from his core to his extremities. The drain was sudden and Crais fell to the floor. "Talyn," he cried weakly, "Cease what you are doing immediately!" His body went limp.
Talyn stopped abruptly Sorry Crais, I didn't...
"I know Talyn." Crais tried to move but found himself unable to do so, "How are you feeling?"
Better. The pain is less Talyn proved this by navigating forwards and Crais could feel the ship move more gracefully.
Crais let his head rest on Talyn's deck, "I'm glad Talyn. We have to look into this and see if we can control it." He passed out.
It took Crais nearly two arns to regain consciousness. When he came to he learned that Talyn had been able to move to a moon nearby and was resting peacefully now for the first time in two monens.
Crais moved himself off the floor. His movements were slow.
This was an interesting and possible critical development. If he could provide Talyn with his energy, he could speed up the healing process. Would the reverse be possible too?
+++++
Over the next four monens Captain and ship experimented with this concept and after trial and error found it could be beneficial to both. They worked on passing on the energy without completely draining each other. For now it helped speed up Talyn's recovery and his fin grew back faster than expected. They could do nothing about Crais' leg but some of the energy must have worked for at least he could now move without using the crutches.
+++++
Crais and Talyn had made everyone believe that they had died in Starburst on the Command Carrier. It had been very close or they would have perished. Talyn had lost part of his propulsion fins in the process. It had taken Talyn nearly half a Cycle to regrow his propulsion fin. His sleek red hull had turned nearly fully black by the enforced regeneration.
Crais had broken his leg and without the aid of a Regenerator or help of a Healer it had mended badly. It had left him with a permanent limp. The constant ache a reminder of what they had set out to do.
+++++
For the first Cycle after their near fatal Starburst, Crais and Talyn kept a low profile but stayed on the move, only visiting backwater planets to restock where Crais did odd jobs, mostly ferrying people, until he had enough to buy himself some more food and essentials for Talyn. Sometimes using lo gravity moons to let Talyn rest and recuperate.
Talyn had calmed down. Somehow having to Starburst and having resigned himself and his Captain to a certain death had cured his instability of mind.
Crais hardly went down to planets if it wasn't needed. Other than to restock, he felt no need for company other than Talyn's. Neither he nor Talyn had much interest in anything apart from recuperating and to "remain dead".
It wasn't until the second Cycle that Crais was once again interested in what was going on around him. He rebelled against the injustice he had seen on some of the planets and now took it on himself and Talyn to rescue the downtrodden, the flood-victims, war-victims, any-disaster-you-could-name-victims. It became his new goal in life.
+++++
Soon rumours spread of a mysterious black ship and its mad Captain who were regarded as saviours in this part of the universe. Crais had shed his Peacekeeper's uniform and was wearing close fitting black clothes. His trousers were of a thin durable leather, his shirt tight fitting with a high collar to hide his transponder. Knee length boots with clasps to make it easier for him to remove them, belt and gauntlets finished his attire. In battle he used leg-guards to protect his bad leg. He wore his hair loose and his thick, curly hair draped like a mane over his shoulders. He still trimmed his beard in a goatee. Even people who might have known him would be hard put to recognise him.
To the unwary he struck them as the devil incarnate, to the wary his black clad, commanding presence was a godsend.
Many found refuge on his ship for a short while, none stayed long. He dropped them off at the nearest safe place, which could be on the same planet or another.
None could get close to him. Many tried to get close, especially women, but other then rescuing them he had no interest in them. He had no need for company and preferred to eat on his own in his own quarters or was to be found in Command, especially when there were others on board. Both places were off limits.
Crais never asked for anything but would often find small caches of credits or food when the people had left. He used what he and Talyn needed; the rest was used on the more needy.
His prowess on the battlefield was renowned, his compassion (even if coolly executed) well known, his cold, calculated madness feared.
Talyn and he became legends and nobody knew his name, he simply didn't provide it. He was just known as The Captain.
+++++
This changed to an extent, at the end of the Second Cycle. Crais had touched down to restock on the planet where only a weeken ago he had helped to reallocate flood-victims and his supplies had been seriously depleted, especially his medical supplies. He had allowed Talyn and himself enough rest before going down to the planet to restock.
He had found a small shop at the edge of the town for most of his supplies and was paying the proprietor for his goods when shouts of "Tralk" and "Take you tralk-child with you" drew his attention.
Crais stepped out of the shop. His curiosity was peaked. A young woman was cowering against the side of the building, shielding her child. The evidence of thrown mud and refuge was on her clothes. Her appearance was of one who had seen hardships and starvation for a long period. In front of them a crowd of town's people had gathered.
Crais' eyes drew in slits. He stepped forward and planted himself squarely in front of her. He set his dark eyes on the mob before them. The crowd stopped their surge forward and hushed down. Some recognised him from the descriptions and soon the words "The Captain" were passed around.
With his gauntleted hands on his hips he looked very intimidating.
"What has this woman done to you that she deserves this treatment," his voice was soft and deep but carried to the outside edges of the crowd.
A man at the front was brave enough to speak for them, "She is a Peacekeeper's Tralk. Look at the brand on her hand. She has lain with Peacekeepers and has borne a child by one of them. We don't want her in our town. Let her go back to the Peacekeepers and not befoul our town."
Crais' nostrils flared and he was breathing deeply, "And for this you sling refuge at her and drive her out? Such brave men you are! Where were you all last weeken?" He looked at their ashamed faces and knew he had hit the right spot, "I will take her with me when I'm done, I don't think I will want to stay in your town either. Anyone who will lay a finger on her or her child, will answer to me. Is that understood?" They knew it was not just an idle threat. He knew they would leave her alone.
Crais went back into the shop and the proprietor stayed wisely silent. When he left the shop, the crowd had dispersed. The woman and her child were still near the wall. Since his goods would be brought to the pod he had his hands free. He reached down for the child but she hid behind her mother, afraid of the wild looking man in front of her.
Crais shrugged his shoulder and lifted the woman off the ground. She leaned weakly against him.
"When have you last eaten," he asked.
"Two days ago," she admitted ashamedly.
"Come," he said and turned towards the nearest inn. He found he had to support her, the child was not that much stronger. "You have to tell your child to come to me, so I can lift her," he said.
"Come, Armelia, let the man carry you. It will be all right."
The child came forward hesitantly and Crais was able to lift her on his left hip, with his right arm he supported the mother. She noticed his strength despite the bad limp and allowed him to lead them to the inn. "They will never let us in," she said fearfully.
"They better do," growled Crais. He opened the door and stepped inside.
When the Publican saw the woman and child, he came forward, "We don't allow..."
"She is with me," said Crais menacingly.
The man looked up at him and realised who he was talking to. He stuttered, "No, there is no problem Captain, you are all welcome." He led them to a vacant table near the back, where they sat down. Some people dared to throw them baleful stares but the scowl on Crais' face put any malicious thoughts quickly out of their minds.
Crais ordered three hot but light meals. He wasn't sure how the woman and child would react to having food in their stomachs again. He ate slowly, the woman made an effort to slow down but Armelia tried to eat it as fast as it could disappear. Crais asked the mother to make her slow down, he didn't want her to be sick. Reluctantly the child did so. She still managed to finish it in no time. When Crais saw that it went down well, he ordered a second helping for the child. The mother wanted to wait, "if that was allowed".
They sat for a while in silence until Crais said it was time to go. He paid the Publican and could see by the man's face that he was happy to see them go. At first he rejected Crais' credits but Crais insisted.
When they left the inn, the woman turned to him, "Thank you, sir, we will be going now."
"Where will you go," asked Crais.
"To the next town or village, we may have better luck there."
For the first time in two Cycles something stirred in Crais. "Come," he said. He stretched out his arms to Armelia and this time the child did not hesitate to come to him and be lifted.
He went to his pod, the woman trailing behind him. He packed the supplies, which had been left outside, in the pod. She had assumed that he was going to take them to the next town and was surprised that he took her into space and on board Talyn. Without a word he brought her to one of the empty rooms. On the way pointing to the galley and the storage room where she and Armelia might find some suitable clothing. He then left them to refresh themselves. Once in his own quarters he tried to understand why he did what he had done and couldn't come up with an answer.
+++++
Crais had just finished changing when Talyn warned him that the woman had collapsed in her room. He made his way there as fast as he could. When he burst in, he found the little girl sobbing next to her mother who was laying prostate on the floor. Crais moved over to her and bent down with difficulty. He lifted her off the floor and carried her over to the bed.
For a micron he considered getting a hover sled to take her to Medical but he had seen too many dead and dying to know that he would be too late for that. He made her comfortable while the little girl climbed on the bed to lie at her mother's side.
The woman opened her eyes and looked into his face. She saw the unspoken answer in his eyes. In a soft voice she asked Crais, "Will you look after my daughter Armelia?"
"I will try and find your family. What is your name?"
"Ameriel Vantz."
"And the father's name?"
"I don't know. He never gave me his name when he raped me," there was a flash of anger on her face, which briefly made her face spring to life, "He was a Peacekeeper!" Crais said nothing.
"What is your name," she asked.
He was tempted to say, 'just Captain' but changed his mind, "Bialar Crais."
He could see that she knew his name, her eyes widened in shock, "We were rescued by a ghost!"
He smiled wryly at her, "Not a ghost, just not as dead as other people believe. It is better that way."
She nodded her head. He saw it wouldn't be long now. She gave one last kiss to her daughter and looked at him, "Take care of her, Bialar. May the gods go with you," and then fell forever silent. Crais closed her eyes.
He looked over at Armelia. What was he to do with her? She clung to her mother and couldn't understand why she wasn't responding. Crais didn't know how to respond to Armelia. He had to take her mother's body soon and eject her into space.
+++++
Crais went in search of someone who could help him with Armelia, there were still some refugees left on Talyn whom he had promised to drop off at the next planet. He found a woman two doors down the corridor and explained the situation to her. She followed him back.
When she followed him into the room she was full of compassion but when she saw the brand on the woman's hand she took a step backward and whispered, "But she is contaminated!"
Crais turned angrily on her, "Did I ask any of you if you were contaminated before I rescued you?" His nostrils flared, "The little girl needs help. Her name is Armelia. Help her, while I dispose of her mother's body." He did not wait for an answer while he left the room to find a hover sled. When he returned he found the woman consoling the child. He lifted the body on the sled. The woman held on to the wailing child when Crais took the body away.
+++++
When he returned, the child walked over to him, "Where is my mother?" There was sadness, defiance and anger in her green eyes.
"She's gone," Crais said simply, "she is dead." He had reacted the only way he knew to her question.
"You killed her!" Armelia shouted.
"No, she..."
Before the woman or Crais could stop her, Armelia had run over to Crais and kicked him hard against his bad leg. He bit down firmly on his lip but only managed to stop himself with an effort from lashing out at her when she kicked him again. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, unceremoniously lifted her off the floor and dumped her on the bed before she could kick him again.
"Keep her away from me," he growled at the woman before he sat down and nursed his leg. It was the one part of his body he protected when he engaged in battle but being on his own ship he had felt no need for it. He looked at the child, who was again held by the woman, "Your mother died of exhaustion, starvation and the ignorance of others. One day you will understand." He stood up with difficulty and moved to his own quarters.
+++++
Armelia was left on Talyn when the others disembarked on the next planet, not one of them willing to take on a "contaminated" child. Crais was disgusted with their behaviour but there wasn't much he could do about it. He couldn't force the child on them, that wouldn't have been fair to the child.
+++++
In the beginning it wasn't easy for Crais to establish contact with Armelia, she still blamed him for taking her mother away and hadn't been able to grasp the concept of death as the woman had explained to her and tried to avoid him, at least she wasn't kicking him anymore.
Crais had never had to deal with children, especially not Armelia's age and felt awkward in her presence. Yet, it was difficult to avoid each other within the confines of the ship. In the galley she sat away from him as far as possible and when he tried to approach her, she shied away. Crais grew tired of her games and tried ignoring her. It worked to an extent but Crais realised that it couldn't continue like this.
When he walked past her quarters at night he could hear her crying. A couple of times he tried to console her but every time she shunned him. He had to wait to either let her come to him on her own accord or find someone to take her with them.
When Crais had to go planet side, Talyn watched the little girl. He made sure she wasn't going into areas, which could be potentially dangerous and she grew used to his flashing lights, guiding her.
+++++
Soltan San was in deep trouble. Crais and Talyn were near the planet when they heard the distress call. Massive volcanic eruptions were threatening the Northern hemisphere and all spacecraft able to assist had been hailed. Talyn assured Crais that the atmosphere was such that he could go down to the planet and assist directly. Crais told him to do so.
Talyn descended gradually. It was a minor strain to both him and his Captain but it was tolerable. Crais made Talyn land close to an area where the eruptions were the worst but where pockets of life-signs were present. The Bay doors opened and Crais looked into the maws of hell. Burning rocks had impacted everywhere and most of what he saw was in flames. People were running around, screaming, looking for loved ones. It was utter chaos.
Crais asked Talyn how he was holding up and Talyn assured him he was well protected. He was more concerned for Crais, the heat was indescribable but Crais could endure it for a while.
Quickly the ship was spotted by the villagers and they surged towards Talyn. Crais wasn't too worried how many people they could take and still establish lift-off, over the last two Cycles Talyn had grown much bigger and stronger and had used Crais' strength only occasionally when he had not been able to lift off on his own.
Only three areas had been off limits, Command Centre, Crais' quarters (where he had sent Armelia for the duration) and the Starburst Chamber.
Crais ushered them in as fast as he could. When he spotted three burly men, he immediately appointed them on the spot to get the people spread as far into Talyn as possible. When a man came up to Talyn with a number of servants carrying a multitude of bags and belongings, he told him, only people. When the man protested he gave him the option, only people or he could stay with his bags, the servants he would take in. It wasn't much of a choice.
Soon the last of the villagers had boarded Talyn and when Crais looked around, he noticed that even the Hangar Bay was filled with people. The doors closed. "And none too soon," thought Crais, who was sweating profusely.
He told Talyn to take off and a shudder went through the ship. The people stood in silence. Talyn was heavily loaded and would not be able to lift off on his own. Crais leaned against the bulkhead, closed his eyes and let Talyn borrow of his energy.
One of the people, who had been standing close, later described what he had seen. The ship had shuddered but it didn't feel as if they were taking to the air. Then he saw The Captain lean against the wall of the ship, close his eyes, his eyes rolled up and all colour seemed to drain from his face, he was breathing heavily. Another shudder went through the ship and the Captain slid down the wall, they were in the air. The man had walked over to The Captain and reached for him at the same time that The Captain opened his eyes again. Sweat was pouring down his face and he looked dreadfully pale. He had accepted the man's hand to help him stand up, he was still a bit unsteady on his feet but seemed to regain control quickly.
An arn later, Crais had deposited his load of people safely far south from the stricken area and was on his way back again. Twenty times in total Crais and Talyn did this in the next thirty arns. Four times more Crais had to merge with Talyn.
After the last time, Crais knew that both he and Talyn had reached the end of their endurance and couldn't continue without risking endangering themselves and their cargo. After the people had disembarked, Crais ordered Talyn to stand down. He could feel the weariness in himself as well as in the Leviathan and told him to rest.
Crais and Talyn needed at least four arns to recuperate before they could try again but for the moment they were just too exhausted to continue. Talyn only just managed to break the planet's atmosphere to take his rest in space.
Crais couldn't even make it out of the Hangar Bay and lay where he had finally collapsed. He was only dimly aware of small hands trying to wake him up and failing. He wasn't aware that Armelia had propped a pillow under his head and had covered him with a blanket.
+++++
When Crais woke up he felt rested but stiff for having fallen asleep on the floor. He was surprised by the blanket and the pillow and saw Armelia sitting near him with her knees drawn up to her chin. Her red blond hair was draped unruly around her small face, her arms clamped tightly around her legs, staring in panic at him.
He stood up from the floor. "Thank you, Armelia," was all he said.
"Are you going away, like my mother did," she asked him fearfully.
"Not if I can help it," he answered, his face twitching in a smile. He was hungry, "Will you come and eat with me?"
She nodded and followed him to the galley.
+++++
From that day onwards it felt natural to have Armelia on Talyn. That day Crais and Talyn managed to make many more rescues but in Crais' mind the only rescue that had been worthwhile that day was when Armelia accepted to stay with them and saw him as a friend, not as the murderer of her mother.
+++++
For three Cycles their lives were moving at a steady pace, steady for Crais and Talyn anyway. One Cycle after Armelia, now eight Cycles old, had come on board, Crais asked advice from one of his rescue-victims how to raise a small girl. Since the woman didn't mind, she stayed on for half a Cycle to help Crais with the raising and the instruction.
The woman moved on, another replaced her. With their help Crais managed to forge a bond between him and Armelia and after another Cycle, Crais asked her if she would feel comfortable with the idea of being called Armelia Crais. Her eyes went wide and a big grin spread over her face, she nearly flung herself into his arms. Awkwardly Crais patted her back. He tattooed a small tattoo with the family name on her left shoulder, one that mirrored his own and her mother's family name was intricately woven into it. The next Cycle he trained her in Peacekeeper's combat exercises.
+++++
All these attempts could not prepare them for whatever the future had in store for them.
To be continued
1
Following is an alternative timeline story. The concept sprouted from one of the RPG's I'm playing in. The basic idea (Crais has an adopted daughter who was abducted by Scarrans and was named Amelia) came from CyaneMae. Asked permission to use this line to build a story around it. The story is my own. Liked Armelia for a Sebacean name better than Amelia. This is part of a series. The next story will be called Intermission. (an NC17-part, Interlude, is also in the making)
Title: Searching for Armelia, part 1
Author: GitonCrais
Rating: R
Spoilers: None
Keywords: Crais/Talyn
Summary: Crais acquires a daughter
Searching for Armelia
1: Family Ties
By GitonCrais
Re-emergence from Starburst had been painful for both ship and Captain. Talyn had panicked when he couldn't feel Crais anymore and was in a great deal of pain. Crais was lying on his stomach on the floor of the Command Centre, a pool of blood spreading underneath his leg. When he finally came to, his mind was assaulted by Talyn's panic and pain as well as his own. The combination was agony and it was only by sheer willpower that he remained conscious.
It was when he tried to get up that he knew there was something seriously amiss. He didn't need to be a medic to know that he had broken his leg. Cycles ago he had broken his arm in combat. He recognised the pain, the movement of bones in his leg, which shouldn't be there. Cycles ago he had the comfort of the Healers and the Regenerators, he doubted if he had that comfort now.
He opened his link to Talyn slowly and was again assaulted by Talyn's pain and panic, "Talyn, slow down, please," he pleaded hoarsely. It took a couple of tries before Talyn noticed Crais was back with him. He calmed down when he acknowledged Crais' presence.
+++++
Crais had dragged himself to Medical, leaving a trail of blood on the deck. He almost cried in sheer frustration and exhaustion when he found that the Techs had already stripped Medical of all equipment. He rested his head against the deck.
He needed to treat his injuries soon or infection might set in and then he would be of no use to Talyn or himself. He had used his queue as a tourniquet on his leg to stem the flow of blood but it had loosened when he dragged his body over the deck to Medical and his leg was bleeding again.
Crais raised himself off the floor in a standing position with a nearby cabinet for support. He ground his teeth against the pain. He rummaged inside the cabinet and was rewarded with a medical sonde, which had been tucked back at the back of the cabinet and had been overlooked.
It would not heal him but at least it would close the wound in his leg. He had also found flexible wire and while standing he spotted some metal thin rods on the other side of the room.
He loosened and dropped his trousers then he sank to the floor. With the trousers still around his ankles he dragged himself to where he had seen the rods and fashioned two makeshift splits from them. This he then placed to either side of his thigh, using the tourniquet to keep it temporarily in place then he used the flexible wire to keep the splints in place. By the time he had finished he was weak with exhaustion.
The gash was deep and he could see the white of the bone at one spot. The exertions and loss of blood made him tremble and he was feeling cold. He had to hurry. He managed to close most of the wound with the sonde and it had stopped the bleeding, when his body gave in to weakness.
+++++
For three days and three nights Crais was in the throes of fever and Talyn, although himself in pain, feared for his Pilot's life.
When Crais regained consciousness he was weak but noticed with satisfaction that the wound had more or less closed. The pain of broken bones, though still present, had diminished.
He drew himself up by using a nearby chair and did up his trousers. He still couldn't stand on his leg but that was a minor worry at the moment. He used one of some discarded long pipes as a staff to lean on.
"Talyn, how are you," his voice sounded hoarse and his lips were parched, "How much time has passed?"
There is pain, Crais! Make it stop! Please! Talyn's shouts reverberated in his skull.
"I will try as soon as I am able to Talyn."
Crais had expected Talyn to attack him in his pain. He had not expected him to withdraw after telling Crais that it had been three days since he had passed out.
Crais hobbled to the galley, wincing in pain each time his leg contacted with the deck. His face lit up when he found the stack of food cubes in the cupboard, which some Tech must have left behind. He counted them. There was enough for two or three weekens. He took a few, mindful that he had to ration himself.
He had to find a way to repair Talyn and ease his Leviathan's pain. His best option would be a hover sled to move about, if he could find one. He opened his link to Talyn and managed to suppress the pain coming from the youngster. He used Talyn's sensors to race through the corridors looking for anything that might help to make him move and at the same time assessed the situation. Both results came back negative. Talyn was badly damaged and he had lost a propulsion fin and Crais had not been able to find a hover sled. He sighed. Opening his eyes he spotted some rods and tools that could be fashioned into makeshift crutches until he was able to find something better.
+++++
Repairs on Talyn progressed slowly. Crais couldn't work for long extended periods for fear of risking collapse. There was a constant worry that they could be detected and captured as Talyn had no means of significant movement. Crais couldn't do much about the outside damage for the moment and concentrated his repairs on the internal damage. At least it seemed to take away some of Talyn's pain.
His days were filled with repairs and his nights with fever induced dreams.
At the end of two weekend after their Starburst in the Command Carrier, Crais had brought the navigational console online and spotted a nearby commercial planet with a high gravity moon. Talyn could use the moon for hiding and resting. How to get there was a different matter.
He had been extremely lucky, the Techs had left a pod in the Docking Bay, why, he did not know and he did not question his good fortune. He was now able to put it to good use, Talyn agreed with the plan.
Talyn used his remaining propulsion fin to take a spurt forward then Crais moved the pod next to Talyn, touching him on the damaged side and used the thrusters on the other side of the pod to push the youngster back on course.
The first two tries didn't seem to make a difference but then Talyn got the idea of relaxing completely when it was Crais' turn to make him move and slowly they moved forwards. The process was long and arduous and took the full concentration of Captain and ship, too much thrust on Talyn's turn would take too long for Crais to perform the correction. Too little on Crais' turn wouldn't get them anywhere.
It took them nearly two Solar Days to complete the manoeuvres. Both were worn out by the time they finished. The brief rests Crais had were taken on the pod. Crais was relieved that he could go to his quarters, refresh and take a much needed rest.
Talyn settled down on the surface on the dark side of the moon and rested.
+++++
Crais had to go down to the planet or else face starvation. One day before Talyn settled on the moon Crais had finished whatever food the Techs had left on the ship and that was after strict rationing. He had already delayed going due to his leg and had fashioned some new crutches to replace the makeshift ones. He only had his Peacekeeper's and Captain's uniform left, he did not think that it would be very wise to wear any of those. He decided to leave his coat off and just go down in shirtsleeves; the planet had a warm enough climate.
Most people would have remembered him with his hair tightly bound back and his cheeks clean-shaven. He left his hair out of the queue. He had not shaved for all that time, since he had no shaving appliances with him and the area between his jawbone and chin had now filled in with a stubbly beard. He looked in the mirror and wouldn't have recognised himself. His hair flew wild, thick and curly. His beard covered his jaw. What he could see of his face was hollow and sunken due to the constant pain and lack of sufficient nourishment.
Crais had left some credits in the secret compartment where he had also concealed his Captain's uniform, now he took this out and hoped it was ample for their needs.
+++++
The trip to the planet was uneventful and he had managed to buy enough food cubes to last him two monens, three at a stretch and a small amount of Chromextin for Talyn.
While he was on the planet he visited the local Healer but she took one look at his leg and shook her head. She could fix and treat the wound on his leg but she didn't have the facilities to reset and heal the leg. The period of the injury had been too long and the break had been bad. It had not been a clean break and even if she had the facilities she could never reset it properly.
Crais went back to Talyn and the moon and spend all of his waking hours to repair Talyn and to ease his pain.
+++++
Two monens after their Starburst from the Command Carrier, Talyn and Crais became aware of an interesting side-effect and they couldn't come up with an explanation, at a later analysis, why it should have happened.
This first awareness was an unpleasant one for Crais, partly because of its nature and partly for the suddenness of the event.
Crais had been in Command, running maintenance checks and possible ways to help Talyn reroute some of his circuits. Crais had a crutch propped under his right arm, he still needed it to move about and it was hampering his movements.
Talyn had been complaining earlier about the regrowth spurts of his propulsion fin. It had continued to hurt him and it seemed as if it wasn't going to let up. He tried to keep it as much as he could from Crais. It was difficult. Their symbiosis had gained in strength. It wasn't easy to hide each other's thought and feelings.
Crais ran his checks to see if he could reroute some of the nerve conduits away from the affected area without causing Talyn too much pain.
Talyn's energy readings had been low since most of it was routed to regrowing his fin and repairs.
Crais sighed after another failed attempt, "I wish I could give you some of my energy."
So do I Crais Talyn could understand Crais' frustration but no sooner had the thought left Talyn's mind when he could feel himself draw on energy, Crais'!
Crais could feel it drain from him in a rush, from his core to his extremities. The drain was sudden and Crais fell to the floor. "Talyn," he cried weakly, "Cease what you are doing immediately!" His body went limp.
Talyn stopped abruptly Sorry Crais, I didn't...
"I know Talyn." Crais tried to move but found himself unable to do so, "How are you feeling?"
Better. The pain is less Talyn proved this by navigating forwards and Crais could feel the ship move more gracefully.
Crais let his head rest on Talyn's deck, "I'm glad Talyn. We have to look into this and see if we can control it." He passed out.
It took Crais nearly two arns to regain consciousness. When he came to he learned that Talyn had been able to move to a moon nearby and was resting peacefully now for the first time in two monens.
Crais moved himself off the floor. His movements were slow.
This was an interesting and possible critical development. If he could provide Talyn with his energy, he could speed up the healing process. Would the reverse be possible too?
+++++
Over the next four monens Captain and ship experimented with this concept and after trial and error found it could be beneficial to both. They worked on passing on the energy without completely draining each other. For now it helped speed up Talyn's recovery and his fin grew back faster than expected. They could do nothing about Crais' leg but some of the energy must have worked for at least he could now move without using the crutches.
+++++
Crais and Talyn had made everyone believe that they had died in Starburst on the Command Carrier. It had been very close or they would have perished. Talyn had lost part of his propulsion fins in the process. It had taken Talyn nearly half a Cycle to regrow his propulsion fin. His sleek red hull had turned nearly fully black by the enforced regeneration.
Crais had broken his leg and without the aid of a Regenerator or help of a Healer it had mended badly. It had left him with a permanent limp. The constant ache a reminder of what they had set out to do.
+++++
For the first Cycle after their near fatal Starburst, Crais and Talyn kept a low profile but stayed on the move, only visiting backwater planets to restock where Crais did odd jobs, mostly ferrying people, until he had enough to buy himself some more food and essentials for Talyn. Sometimes using lo gravity moons to let Talyn rest and recuperate.
Talyn had calmed down. Somehow having to Starburst and having resigned himself and his Captain to a certain death had cured his instability of mind.
Crais hardly went down to planets if it wasn't needed. Other than to restock, he felt no need for company other than Talyn's. Neither he nor Talyn had much interest in anything apart from recuperating and to "remain dead".
It wasn't until the second Cycle that Crais was once again interested in what was going on around him. He rebelled against the injustice he had seen on some of the planets and now took it on himself and Talyn to rescue the downtrodden, the flood-victims, war-victims, any-disaster-you-could-name-victims. It became his new goal in life.
+++++
Soon rumours spread of a mysterious black ship and its mad Captain who were regarded as saviours in this part of the universe. Crais had shed his Peacekeeper's uniform and was wearing close fitting black clothes. His trousers were of a thin durable leather, his shirt tight fitting with a high collar to hide his transponder. Knee length boots with clasps to make it easier for him to remove them, belt and gauntlets finished his attire. In battle he used leg-guards to protect his bad leg. He wore his hair loose and his thick, curly hair draped like a mane over his shoulders. He still trimmed his beard in a goatee. Even people who might have known him would be hard put to recognise him.
To the unwary he struck them as the devil incarnate, to the wary his black clad, commanding presence was a godsend.
Many found refuge on his ship for a short while, none stayed long. He dropped them off at the nearest safe place, which could be on the same planet or another.
None could get close to him. Many tried to get close, especially women, but other then rescuing them he had no interest in them. He had no need for company and preferred to eat on his own in his own quarters or was to be found in Command, especially when there were others on board. Both places were off limits.
Crais never asked for anything but would often find small caches of credits or food when the people had left. He used what he and Talyn needed; the rest was used on the more needy.
His prowess on the battlefield was renowned, his compassion (even if coolly executed) well known, his cold, calculated madness feared.
Talyn and he became legends and nobody knew his name, he simply didn't provide it. He was just known as The Captain.
+++++
This changed to an extent, at the end of the Second Cycle. Crais had touched down to restock on the planet where only a weeken ago he had helped to reallocate flood-victims and his supplies had been seriously depleted, especially his medical supplies. He had allowed Talyn and himself enough rest before going down to the planet to restock.
He had found a small shop at the edge of the town for most of his supplies and was paying the proprietor for his goods when shouts of "Tralk" and "Take you tralk-child with you" drew his attention.
Crais stepped out of the shop. His curiosity was peaked. A young woman was cowering against the side of the building, shielding her child. The evidence of thrown mud and refuge was on her clothes. Her appearance was of one who had seen hardships and starvation for a long period. In front of them a crowd of town's people had gathered.
Crais' eyes drew in slits. He stepped forward and planted himself squarely in front of her. He set his dark eyes on the mob before them. The crowd stopped their surge forward and hushed down. Some recognised him from the descriptions and soon the words "The Captain" were passed around.
With his gauntleted hands on his hips he looked very intimidating.
"What has this woman done to you that she deserves this treatment," his voice was soft and deep but carried to the outside edges of the crowd.
A man at the front was brave enough to speak for them, "She is a Peacekeeper's Tralk. Look at the brand on her hand. She has lain with Peacekeepers and has borne a child by one of them. We don't want her in our town. Let her go back to the Peacekeepers and not befoul our town."
Crais' nostrils flared and he was breathing deeply, "And for this you sling refuge at her and drive her out? Such brave men you are! Where were you all last weeken?" He looked at their ashamed faces and knew he had hit the right spot, "I will take her with me when I'm done, I don't think I will want to stay in your town either. Anyone who will lay a finger on her or her child, will answer to me. Is that understood?" They knew it was not just an idle threat. He knew they would leave her alone.
Crais went back into the shop and the proprietor stayed wisely silent. When he left the shop, the crowd had dispersed. The woman and her child were still near the wall. Since his goods would be brought to the pod he had his hands free. He reached down for the child but she hid behind her mother, afraid of the wild looking man in front of her.
Crais shrugged his shoulder and lifted the woman off the ground. She leaned weakly against him.
"When have you last eaten," he asked.
"Two days ago," she admitted ashamedly.
"Come," he said and turned towards the nearest inn. He found he had to support her, the child was not that much stronger. "You have to tell your child to come to me, so I can lift her," he said.
"Come, Armelia, let the man carry you. It will be all right."
The child came forward hesitantly and Crais was able to lift her on his left hip, with his right arm he supported the mother. She noticed his strength despite the bad limp and allowed him to lead them to the inn. "They will never let us in," she said fearfully.
"They better do," growled Crais. He opened the door and stepped inside.
When the Publican saw the woman and child, he came forward, "We don't allow..."
"She is with me," said Crais menacingly.
The man looked up at him and realised who he was talking to. He stuttered, "No, there is no problem Captain, you are all welcome." He led them to a vacant table near the back, where they sat down. Some people dared to throw them baleful stares but the scowl on Crais' face put any malicious thoughts quickly out of their minds.
Crais ordered three hot but light meals. He wasn't sure how the woman and child would react to having food in their stomachs again. He ate slowly, the woman made an effort to slow down but Armelia tried to eat it as fast as it could disappear. Crais asked the mother to make her slow down, he didn't want her to be sick. Reluctantly the child did so. She still managed to finish it in no time. When Crais saw that it went down well, he ordered a second helping for the child. The mother wanted to wait, "if that was allowed".
They sat for a while in silence until Crais said it was time to go. He paid the Publican and could see by the man's face that he was happy to see them go. At first he rejected Crais' credits but Crais insisted.
When they left the inn, the woman turned to him, "Thank you, sir, we will be going now."
"Where will you go," asked Crais.
"To the next town or village, we may have better luck there."
For the first time in two Cycles something stirred in Crais. "Come," he said. He stretched out his arms to Armelia and this time the child did not hesitate to come to him and be lifted.
He went to his pod, the woman trailing behind him. He packed the supplies, which had been left outside, in the pod. She had assumed that he was going to take them to the next town and was surprised that he took her into space and on board Talyn. Without a word he brought her to one of the empty rooms. On the way pointing to the galley and the storage room where she and Armelia might find some suitable clothing. He then left them to refresh themselves. Once in his own quarters he tried to understand why he did what he had done and couldn't come up with an answer.
+++++
Crais had just finished changing when Talyn warned him that the woman had collapsed in her room. He made his way there as fast as he could. When he burst in, he found the little girl sobbing next to her mother who was laying prostate on the floor. Crais moved over to her and bent down with difficulty. He lifted her off the floor and carried her over to the bed.
For a micron he considered getting a hover sled to take her to Medical but he had seen too many dead and dying to know that he would be too late for that. He made her comfortable while the little girl climbed on the bed to lie at her mother's side.
The woman opened her eyes and looked into his face. She saw the unspoken answer in his eyes. In a soft voice she asked Crais, "Will you look after my daughter Armelia?"
"I will try and find your family. What is your name?"
"Ameriel Vantz."
"And the father's name?"
"I don't know. He never gave me his name when he raped me," there was a flash of anger on her face, which briefly made her face spring to life, "He was a Peacekeeper!" Crais said nothing.
"What is your name," she asked.
He was tempted to say, 'just Captain' but changed his mind, "Bialar Crais."
He could see that she knew his name, her eyes widened in shock, "We were rescued by a ghost!"
He smiled wryly at her, "Not a ghost, just not as dead as other people believe. It is better that way."
She nodded her head. He saw it wouldn't be long now. She gave one last kiss to her daughter and looked at him, "Take care of her, Bialar. May the gods go with you," and then fell forever silent. Crais closed her eyes.
He looked over at Armelia. What was he to do with her? She clung to her mother and couldn't understand why she wasn't responding. Crais didn't know how to respond to Armelia. He had to take her mother's body soon and eject her into space.
+++++
Crais went in search of someone who could help him with Armelia, there were still some refugees left on Talyn whom he had promised to drop off at the next planet. He found a woman two doors down the corridor and explained the situation to her. She followed him back.
When she followed him into the room she was full of compassion but when she saw the brand on the woman's hand she took a step backward and whispered, "But she is contaminated!"
Crais turned angrily on her, "Did I ask any of you if you were contaminated before I rescued you?" His nostrils flared, "The little girl needs help. Her name is Armelia. Help her, while I dispose of her mother's body." He did not wait for an answer while he left the room to find a hover sled. When he returned he found the woman consoling the child. He lifted the body on the sled. The woman held on to the wailing child when Crais took the body away.
+++++
When he returned, the child walked over to him, "Where is my mother?" There was sadness, defiance and anger in her green eyes.
"She's gone," Crais said simply, "she is dead." He had reacted the only way he knew to her question.
"You killed her!" Armelia shouted.
"No, she..."
Before the woman or Crais could stop her, Armelia had run over to Crais and kicked him hard against his bad leg. He bit down firmly on his lip but only managed to stop himself with an effort from lashing out at her when she kicked him again. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, unceremoniously lifted her off the floor and dumped her on the bed before she could kick him again.
"Keep her away from me," he growled at the woman before he sat down and nursed his leg. It was the one part of his body he protected when he engaged in battle but being on his own ship he had felt no need for it. He looked at the child, who was again held by the woman, "Your mother died of exhaustion, starvation and the ignorance of others. One day you will understand." He stood up with difficulty and moved to his own quarters.
+++++
Armelia was left on Talyn when the others disembarked on the next planet, not one of them willing to take on a "contaminated" child. Crais was disgusted with their behaviour but there wasn't much he could do about it. He couldn't force the child on them, that wouldn't have been fair to the child.
+++++
In the beginning it wasn't easy for Crais to establish contact with Armelia, she still blamed him for taking her mother away and hadn't been able to grasp the concept of death as the woman had explained to her and tried to avoid him, at least she wasn't kicking him anymore.
Crais had never had to deal with children, especially not Armelia's age and felt awkward in her presence. Yet, it was difficult to avoid each other within the confines of the ship. In the galley she sat away from him as far as possible and when he tried to approach her, she shied away. Crais grew tired of her games and tried ignoring her. It worked to an extent but Crais realised that it couldn't continue like this.
When he walked past her quarters at night he could hear her crying. A couple of times he tried to console her but every time she shunned him. He had to wait to either let her come to him on her own accord or find someone to take her with them.
When Crais had to go planet side, Talyn watched the little girl. He made sure she wasn't going into areas, which could be potentially dangerous and she grew used to his flashing lights, guiding her.
+++++
Soltan San was in deep trouble. Crais and Talyn were near the planet when they heard the distress call. Massive volcanic eruptions were threatening the Northern hemisphere and all spacecraft able to assist had been hailed. Talyn assured Crais that the atmosphere was such that he could go down to the planet and assist directly. Crais told him to do so.
Talyn descended gradually. It was a minor strain to both him and his Captain but it was tolerable. Crais made Talyn land close to an area where the eruptions were the worst but where pockets of life-signs were present. The Bay doors opened and Crais looked into the maws of hell. Burning rocks had impacted everywhere and most of what he saw was in flames. People were running around, screaming, looking for loved ones. It was utter chaos.
Crais asked Talyn how he was holding up and Talyn assured him he was well protected. He was more concerned for Crais, the heat was indescribable but Crais could endure it for a while.
Quickly the ship was spotted by the villagers and they surged towards Talyn. Crais wasn't too worried how many people they could take and still establish lift-off, over the last two Cycles Talyn had grown much bigger and stronger and had used Crais' strength only occasionally when he had not been able to lift off on his own.
Only three areas had been off limits, Command Centre, Crais' quarters (where he had sent Armelia for the duration) and the Starburst Chamber.
Crais ushered them in as fast as he could. When he spotted three burly men, he immediately appointed them on the spot to get the people spread as far into Talyn as possible. When a man came up to Talyn with a number of servants carrying a multitude of bags and belongings, he told him, only people. When the man protested he gave him the option, only people or he could stay with his bags, the servants he would take in. It wasn't much of a choice.
Soon the last of the villagers had boarded Talyn and when Crais looked around, he noticed that even the Hangar Bay was filled with people. The doors closed. "And none too soon," thought Crais, who was sweating profusely.
He told Talyn to take off and a shudder went through the ship. The people stood in silence. Talyn was heavily loaded and would not be able to lift off on his own. Crais leaned against the bulkhead, closed his eyes and let Talyn borrow of his energy.
One of the people, who had been standing close, later described what he had seen. The ship had shuddered but it didn't feel as if they were taking to the air. Then he saw The Captain lean against the wall of the ship, close his eyes, his eyes rolled up and all colour seemed to drain from his face, he was breathing heavily. Another shudder went through the ship and the Captain slid down the wall, they were in the air. The man had walked over to The Captain and reached for him at the same time that The Captain opened his eyes again. Sweat was pouring down his face and he looked dreadfully pale. He had accepted the man's hand to help him stand up, he was still a bit unsteady on his feet but seemed to regain control quickly.
An arn later, Crais had deposited his load of people safely far south from the stricken area and was on his way back again. Twenty times in total Crais and Talyn did this in the next thirty arns. Four times more Crais had to merge with Talyn.
After the last time, Crais knew that both he and Talyn had reached the end of their endurance and couldn't continue without risking endangering themselves and their cargo. After the people had disembarked, Crais ordered Talyn to stand down. He could feel the weariness in himself as well as in the Leviathan and told him to rest.
Crais and Talyn needed at least four arns to recuperate before they could try again but for the moment they were just too exhausted to continue. Talyn only just managed to break the planet's atmosphere to take his rest in space.
Crais couldn't even make it out of the Hangar Bay and lay where he had finally collapsed. He was only dimly aware of small hands trying to wake him up and failing. He wasn't aware that Armelia had propped a pillow under his head and had covered him with a blanket.
+++++
When Crais woke up he felt rested but stiff for having fallen asleep on the floor. He was surprised by the blanket and the pillow and saw Armelia sitting near him with her knees drawn up to her chin. Her red blond hair was draped unruly around her small face, her arms clamped tightly around her legs, staring in panic at him.
He stood up from the floor. "Thank you, Armelia," was all he said.
"Are you going away, like my mother did," she asked him fearfully.
"Not if I can help it," he answered, his face twitching in a smile. He was hungry, "Will you come and eat with me?"
She nodded and followed him to the galley.
+++++
From that day onwards it felt natural to have Armelia on Talyn. That day Crais and Talyn managed to make many more rescues but in Crais' mind the only rescue that had been worthwhile that day was when Armelia accepted to stay with them and saw him as a friend, not as the murderer of her mother.
+++++
For three Cycles their lives were moving at a steady pace, steady for Crais and Talyn anyway. One Cycle after Armelia, now eight Cycles old, had come on board, Crais asked advice from one of his rescue-victims how to raise a small girl. Since the woman didn't mind, she stayed on for half a Cycle to help Crais with the raising and the instruction.
The woman moved on, another replaced her. With their help Crais managed to forge a bond between him and Armelia and after another Cycle, Crais asked her if she would feel comfortable with the idea of being called Armelia Crais. Her eyes went wide and a big grin spread over her face, she nearly flung herself into his arms. Awkwardly Crais patted her back. He tattooed a small tattoo with the family name on her left shoulder, one that mirrored his own and her mother's family name was intricately woven into it. The next Cycle he trained her in Peacekeeper's combat exercises.
+++++
All these attempts could not prepare them for whatever the future had in store for them.
To be continued
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