- Ann Brill White
But this is the time, and this is the place,
And those are the years that we must erase.
- Savatage, "This Is The Time"
Aeryn was surrounded by mist. It wasn't the drexin mist that Talyn had been leaking during his encounter with the siren star. This was thicker, like the fog on the heavy-gravity planet where she'd met her mother. John was lost, and she was running headlong through the foggy jungle trying to find him. "John! Where are you!" she called out. "I need you!"
He appeared in front of her and held out his arms. "I'm right here, baby," he said. She ran to him, but her arms passed right through his body. She fell to her knees in tears as John dematerialized, and another ghost took his place.
"I knew that this would happen," Xhalax Sun snapped. "You've gone soft, daughter. This is why Peacekeepers shouldn't fall in love. You betrayed everything you ever knew for this man, and look where it got you."
Aeryn looked up at her mother's image. "Shut up!" she yelled. "Just shut up, Mother!"
"You know I'm right," Xhalax whispered.
"No! You're not! Go away!" Aeryn screamed back. Something was poking her in the shoulder. "Leave me alone!" The poking persisted, and she aimed a fist at her tormenter. Her hand impacted hard metal, and she woke up with a jolt.
The first thing Aeryn noticed was the DRD poking her in the shoulder. The second thing she noticed was the fading scent of leather, perspiration, and the musk of lovemaking. It was John's scent. She reached over to embrace him, and her hand fell on his empty leather pants. It was only then that she'd realized that it was all a dream. John was dead. Having his clothes in bed with her, so that she could breathe in his familiar smell, was the only way that she'd been able to sleep these past few nights. She reached over and patted the DRD. "Thank you, Talyn," she said. "I'm glad you're looking out for me." The DRD blinked once, then backed away. Aeryn rolled over and pulled John's trousers close to her body. I miss you so much, John, she thought.
Her reverie was interrupted by a sudden jolt. Something was firing on Talyn! She planted a quick kiss on the waistband of John's trousers and reached for her comm badge. "Crais, what's going on?" she asked.
"Talyn has encountered a Scarren automated planetary defense system. I need you in Command, Aeryn."
"I'm on my way," she replied. Aeryn stood gracefully and pulled on her clothes. The weapons fire intensified as she made her way up to Command. Stark was already helping Crais at Talyn's controls when she arrived. Aeryn pulled back her hair as she watched a rotating sensor array hone in on them. "They've locked onto us," she warned.
"Talyn," Crais directed, "defensive maneuvers." The young Leviathan lurched right, sending Aeryn tumbling into Stark.
"Has anyone contacted us yet?" Rygel asked as he drifted into Command on his thronesled. "Maybe we can talk our way out of this?"
Crais gave Rygel a withering look. "This is a Scarren defense system," the Captain reminded him. "It's programmed to fire on any ship within range that's not broadcasting the proper identity code."
"So why are we heading towards this planet in the first place? You'd think after destroying their Dreadnought, we'd want to give the Scarrens a wide berth," Rygel shot back.
"We need food. Someone," Crais said as he stared at Rygel, "is eating through our stores as fast as we can replenish them. Talyn's sensors have detected large quantities of edible food sources on this planet," Crais explained.
"I can't help it," Rygel explained. "I'm depressed. And when I'm depressed, I eat."
"I've got something!" Stark interrupted before anyone else could say anything. "A hole, a little hole. A little tiny hole..."
"Like the one in your head?" Rygel asked. "No, I take that back. Your head has a bigger hole in it."
Aeryn shot a nasty look at Rygel and ran over to the console that Stark was manning. A quick read of the defense system's energy field gave her the information she needed. "Stark's right," she said as the Bannik got a dren-eating grin on his face. "The defense grid has a gap in it that's big enough for a transport pod to get through. Come on, Rygel. We're going planet side."
"What do you need me for?" Rygel grumbled
"For what you do best. Looking for food," she snapped back at the Hynerian, fighting the urge to call him Sparky.
"Wait a microt, Aeryn," Crais interrupted. "Talyn says that the day side surface temperature is too warm for Sebaceans to spend any length of time there."
"Oh," Aeryn said, crestfallen. She needed to get out, away from Talyn for a while. This would have been the perfect opportunity. "Stark, looks like you and Rygel get to go."
"Wonderful," Rygel groaned and groomed his earbrow petulantly.
"Please use caution," Crais advised. "We don't know what the Scarrens are guarding down there."
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not going to be happy to see us," Stark agreed. "Don't worry. We'll be careful. Although, I might just leave Rygel down there." Rygel growled at the Bannik in response, but followed him out of command anyway.
Aeryn watched them go with disappointment. As much as she loved Talyn, she still felt the need to get out. She wanted some time alone, just her and her memories of John.
"The pod is away, and has safely made it through the perimeter," Crais announced, startling Aeryn out of her thoughts. "They are maintaining radio silence."
She smiled ruefully. "As if Rygel could be silent about anything," she said sarcastically.
"How did you and the others aboard Moya resist putting him out the airlock?"
Aeryn looked over at Crais. "Zhaan wouldn't let us. It was hard, believe me. Besides, the little rodent is surprisingly useful sometimes."
Crais smiled at her. "For what, I cannot imagine," he quipped. Aeryn laughed at Crais' joke. It was the first time in days that she'd felt something other than the bone-crushing, crippling sense of loss. She'd come to realize over the past few weekens aboard Talyn that her former Captain had developed a sly sense of humor. It was a refreshing change in his personality.
They both smiled, then Aeryn got serious for a moment. "You know, four cycles ago, if someone would have told me that you and I would be sharing a joke like this, I would have thought they were totally insane. Not only were you my Commanding Officer, but we were all terrified of crossing you."
"Yes. I have contemplated that many times," he agreed. "As much as I enjoyed the privileges that Command offered, I've found that I'm much happier now. Although, since you and the others have come aboard, Talyn and I have realized how lonely we were without a crew."
She ran her hands along Talyn's ceiling panel. She'd learned early on that the young Leviathan liked that. "Pilot has told me many times that Leviathans are happiest when they are serving others. I guess Talyn inherited that from Moya."
Crais didn't respond to that, and the silence became uncomfortable. Crais put his hand to the neural interface on the back of his neck as Talyn said something to him, then turned back to Aeryn. "Talyn says that you've been having dreams about John," he said carefully.
She looked up at the ceiling panel in shock. "Talyn! Stop eavesdropping on me!"
The lights flashed in response. "Well, are you?" Crais asked again. She knew him well enough to know that he - and Talyn - wouldn't let the subject drop.
"Yes," she confessed. "I can't help it. It's like there's this singularity in my life that's sucking everything else down into it, and I can't escape it." To her surprise, Crais put his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. Aeryn put her head on her former Captain's shoulder as he stroked her hair. She felt the tears welling up in her eyes again. "I miss him so much!"
"So do I," Crais echoed. He paused to listen to something. "What was that, Talyn?"
Aeryn pulled away from Crais. "What's wrong?"
"Talyn has discovered some classified information about this particular planet. Can you contact the transport pod?"
Aeryn tried, then shook her head. "No, they've gone to radio silence. What did he find?"
"That Stark and Rygel are going to be in a lot of trouble."
Aeryn bit her lip and tried not to let her fear show through. She turned away from Crais and looked out the screen at the deceptively calm planet below. Oh, no. Not again....
***
Rygel had set down his thronesled on the transport pod's co-pilot's seat, even though Stark was doing a fairly good job of flying the pod himself. Well, if you didn't count him muttering annoyingly to himself. They hadn't encountered any problems from the Scarren defense grid, which surprised him. Whatever they were hiding on his planet, they certainly weren't too concerned with keeping smaller ships out. As he thought that over, Stark landed the pod in a grove of trees that would hopefully provide some cover.
"Grab a sack," Stark told him. "Pick up anything that looks edible, but don't eat it until we get back to Talyn and run tests on it."
"You stupid yotz," Rygel snapped back, "I know how to differentiate edible food from non-edible."
"Edible for you might be toxic for the rest of us," Stark replied.
"That's only because you have a weak stomach," Rygel grumbled. He grabbed a sack and headed off towards the east.
"No.... no... no... no... no!" Stark yelled at him and point toward the west, then back toward the east. "My side, your side, my side, your side!"
"Oh, stop it with the 'my side, your side' yotz. That routine may have worked on Crichton, but it won't work on me.!" Rygel harrumphed and continued to glide toward the east, away from the pod and Stark.
He floated along the ground, stopping to dig out plump tubers, or raising up to pluck some low-lying fruit. One piece of bright yellow fruit looked particularly tempting, and he took a bite. It squirted juice out all over his clean tunic! Rygel snorted, then wiped his tunic off with the back of his hand. He shrugged, then continued to eat the fruit.
He noticed some enticing-looking red berries on a low-lying bush and hovered down to pick them. He taste-tested some of them. They were sweet and juicy, with a tangy aftertaste. He grinned, then started picking them by the handful. About half of the berries found their way into his bag. The rest went into his mouth.
Rygel saw a especially succulent-looking patch of berries deeper into the brush. Although the thorns on the bush were catching on his tunic, his desire for food took preference over their discomfort. He reached deep into the bush - and something slapped his hand away! "That's MY food!" he yelled out. Then he realized something. Whatever slapped his hand away was probably hostile. Oh, frell, he thought to himself as he peered through the bush at whatever slapped him.
It was a small, thin hand, five-fingered, pale skin with dirty nails. It was attached to a short, skinny arm that was poking out from the bush. The arm had several red-streaked scratches on it, and one scratch was bleeding red. A pair of brown eyes peered back at him from just beyond the leaves. "What are you?" a high-pitched voice demanded.
"What are you?" Rygel answered.
"I asked you first," the voice said, more insistent. "You're green like a Scarren, but you're much too short. Are you one of their young?"
Rygel sniffed with indignation. "I am neither young nor a Scarren. I'm Rygel the Sixteenth, Dominar of the Hynerian Empire. Who are you?"
"What's a H... Hi-neer-ee-an?" the voice asked.
"I asked you a question. No more answers until you answer me."
The hand pushed aside the bushes to reveal a thin, dirty Sebacean female
child, about eight cycles old, with wide brown eyes, pale skin, and brown
hair that looked like it hadn't seen a comb in cycles. The child was dressed
in an oversized black Peacekeeper work shirt, like Crichton
used to wear, that was belted around the waist. "I'm Rivi," the girl said.
"I live here."
An abandoned Sebacean child? On this planet? Rygel thought. This is interesting."Hello, Rivi," he smiled. "I'm a friend. You can call me Rygel. Are you here by yourself?"
The girl looked at Rygel like he was insane. "Oh, no," she shook her head. "I live in the prison colony with my mother and little brother. There's about thirty of us zeks, but only three other children besides us. Are you here by yourself?"
"No, there's another person here, plus two more up on our ship."
The girl must not have comprehended the concept of a space vessel, because she cocked her head in confusion. "Are they all like you? Hi-neer-ee-ans?"
Rygel chuckled. Rivi looked even more confused. "No, child," he shook his head. "They're like you. Sebaceans. Well, some of them are. Would you like me to call them?" Rivi grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Stark, this is Rygel," he said into his comm badge. "I've found something here that you need to see."
"It's not bad, is it?" Stark's voice came through with an annoyed tone.
"It depends on your definition," he hedged.
"Are you in any danger, Rygel?"
"No, you stupid yotz! Just shut up and over get here."
"Keep your comms open. I'm on my way."
"He's on his way," he announced to Rivi, who was studying him intently.
"Rygel," she asked. "How did you get here?"
"We have a transport pod hidden a short distance away. Why do you ask?"
"The only ships I've ever seen were the Scarren prisoner transports. They come every few weekens to drop off supplies or to rotate guards. Sometimes they bring new prisoners in, too. The last two they brought in was really bad off. Mother had to sit with them for about a weeken until they were better."
"So this is a prison colony?" Rygel asked. He felt some empathy toward the little girl. After all, he had been a prisoner for many cycles himself.
They were interrupted by the loud sound of Stark crashing through the bushes "Rygel? What's wrong?" the Bannik asked.
"Would you keep quiet? I'm surprised the whole frelling Scarren army didn't hear you!" Rygel snapped. "And to answer your question, this is what is up," he nodded his head toward Rivi, who was cowering deeper into the bushes.
Stark looked at the little girl with shock. He immediately crouched down and extended his hand. "Hello, there," he smiled. "I'm Stark. What's your name?
The child shivered and looked over at Rygel. "It's all right. He's harmless."
"R... Rivi Shann," she stammered. "Are you with the Peacekeepers?" she asked.
Rygel exchanged a look with Stark. "No, Rivi, we're not with the Peacekeepers."
"Oh," she replied, looking crestfallen. "Then I guess you're not here to rescue us."
Both of them were taken aback by Rivi's statement. "Rivi told me that this is a Scarren prison planet," Rygel explained. "There's about thirty prisoners here, including children."
"Children? That's abominable!" Stark exclaimed. Rivi looked at him with fear. She obviously wasn't used to hearing non-Scarrens raise their voices. "It's all right, Rivi," Stark calmed her down. "I'm a Bannik slave. I used to be a prisoner, too. Then I escaped."
She seemed to relax then, and got a little more bold. She crawled out of the bushes with a threadbare pack bulging with fruit. "Would you like some?" she offered it to Rygel and Stark. "Some of us children sneak out during the day, when the Scarrens think we're in the mines. We can't stay out too long, because then we start to get sick. It's cooler at night."
"The Scarrens force you to work in the mines?" Stark asked, a horrified look on his face. "What about your parents?"
"They work there, too." Rivi hung her head with sadness. "They tried to stop the Scarrens from forcing us to work, but the Green Meanies didn't listen."
Rygel figured that there was more to the story, but none of them wanted to press the girl into telling it. "Shouldn't you be getting home soon?" he asked. "Can you take us with you?"
"Good idea, Rygel," Stark agreed. "We'd like to come back and meet the others," he encouraged. "Will you take us?"
Rivi brightened up. "Of course, sillies! Can one of you carry my sack? We can make better time that way." Stark picked up Rivi's smaller sack along with his own and slung them both over his shoulder. "Thanks," she said. "Come on, this way."
Rygel moved the stick on his thronesled, and Rivi jumped back in surprise. "It's all right," he reassured her. "It's how I get around." The girl examined the sled closer, then laughed. Rygel and Stark grinned, too. For all of her difficult young life, at least Rivi was able to laugh.
She beckoned them to follow her back through the woods. They traveled at least half an arn before they came to a clearing with some kind of force field around it. Beyond the force field was a long, wooden, poorly-constructed one-floored structure, and a few other outbuildings surrounding it. A cooking fire burned in the center of the camp. On the far side of the camp, a more sturdy structure must have been the guards' barracks. Near it was something that gave Rygel the chills, even as hot as it was. A tall, narrow cage was placed in the sunniest spot in the camp, where no shade could touch it. Inside the cage, hanging by the wrists, was a brown-haired, well-muscled but thin Sebacean man, naked except for his undershorts. His skin was bright red and blistered, and he appeared to be in the late stages of heat delirium. Rygel had a quick flashback to his own time in a small cage, when he was being tortured by Durka. He looked over at Stark, who was staring at the tortured prisoner with a strange expression on his face.
Rivi held up her hand for them to stop just beyond the treeline. She picked up some loose-packed dirt, and threw it into the air. It stopped in mid-air, revealing the boundary of the force field. A triangular hole appeared briefly as the dirt passed through it. Rygel could fit through it easily - Talyn's inner conduits were smaller than the hole. Unfortunately, Rivi realized it too. She took the bag from Stark and pushed it through the hole. Then, she beckoned for Rygel to follow her, and she crawled through.
"Keep your comms open," Stark reminded him. "And see if there's a way that we can get inside without setting off the alarms. I'll try to contact Talyn." Rygel nodded, then got out of his thronesled and followed Rivi through the hole in the force field, leaving Stark behind.
Rygel trailed Rivi around the edge of the camp, running from shadow to shadow and hiding behind buildings. The closest building to the barracks was a particularly foul-smelling building that must have been the outhouse. He'd been living in space for too long - except for the time he was held in the cage by Durka, he'd at least had waste receptacles. Fortunately, Rivi dashed across the stretch of land between the privy and the barracks, then gave him the all-clear sign. He waddled across and ducked into the darkened barracks.
"Hide under here," Rivi waved him over and pointed under a bed. "They'll be back soon." She threw the bag underneath there with him. "And don't eat anything!" she warned him.
Rygel hid in the shadows under the bed. His hand strayed inside the bag and pulled out one of the juicy yellow fruit that he'd sampled before. "Well, just one," he muttered, then bit into it. Suddenly, he heard a clanking noise, like a lot of people in chains, entering the building.
"All right, you frelling zeks! Line up!" A voice with a raspy Scarren accent ordered. He heard some shuffling, then a clatter as the chains were released. "Stano! Front and center!" the Scarren ordered. Rygel heard feet step forward. He peeked out from underneath the bed to see a Scarren looking down at a woman with long, tangled hair that might have been blonde once. She was wearing torn Peacekeeper-issue pants and a tank top, like Aeryn wore sometimes. "Your production was fifteen percent less than usual for the past three solar days!"
"I'm sick," the woman replied. To her credit, she didn't flinch, but stared coldly at her captor like she wanted to kill him. "I'll work harder tomorrow."
"That's no excuse!" the Scarran yelled, then smacked her across the face with his fist, leaving a cut on her cheek with his claw. Rygel cringed just to see it, but the woman stood her ground. She stood at attention, eyes forward, and took her punishment silently. The Scarren became enraged, and started hitting the woman harder, but she continued to stand silently. "You might think you're still a Peacekeeper, but here, in this camp, you're nothing but another zek!" The guard gave her a final, brutal punch that sent her flying across the barracks and into the other prisoners. "See that you work harder, or you'll spend the next day in the cage," he warned, then stormed out of the barracks.
The other prisoners, who ranged in age from about twenty cycles to one older man who looked to be about eighty, gathered around the victim to offer her support. A tall, brown-haired woman examined the cut and checked the blonde over for other injuries. "Did you hear that, Stark?" Rygel whispered into his comm badge. "They're all Peacekeepers."
"I heard," Stark's voice came back at him.
Rivi, who had been hiding in the corner, stepped out and coughed once. She was immediately surrounded by four younger children. She picked up a little boy and hugged him. Rygel surmised that the boy was the brother she'd mentioned. "Hello, Tanit," she whispered as she kissed his cheek. "I brought you back some of those red berries that you like." The boy didn't answer her, but his eyes shone with gratitude.
The dark-haired woman who had been examining the wounded prisoner stood and turned. "Rivi!" she snapped. "Where have you been?"
"I... I snuck out to find food again, Mother," the girl confessed. Her mother gave her a withering look, and Rivi hung her head. "I was careful, honest. And, Mother, I found the most wonderful thing! Come on out now, Rygel!"
Rygel poked his head out from underneath the bed. He hadn't had this many people focused on him since he was on that primitive planet that Crichton had found, and he used his flair for the dramatic with perfect timing. He climbed up on the bed and stood up regally. The three other children around Rivi regarded him with suspicion. They ran and hid behind the adults' legs. The adults, however, sprung into action immediately. Two of the bigger men immediately ran to make sure the doors stayed shut. The elderly man, whose unkempt hair and beard had more gray than black, squatted down to meet Rygel eyeball-to-eyeball.
"A Hynerian?" he asked with an amazed tone in his voice. "I haven't seen one of you in a long, long time. Welcome to the Stallak Labor Camp." He extended a work-worn hand. "I'm Linn. I guess you'd say I was the leader of this mob, just because I've been here the longest."
"Dominar Rygel the Sixteenth of the Hynerian Empire," Rygel said and shook the old man's hand.
"He's a frelling lunatic," one of the other prisoners, a big man who was wearing a tattered Peacekeeper infantry uniform laughed derisively. "I served on Hyneria Prime. They overthrew Dominar Rygel a over a hundred cycles ago!"
"And I've been in Peacekeeper prisons ever since, you yotz. Except for the past three cycles," Rygel added. "I escaped with several other prisoners on a Leviathan."
"I heard rumors about that," the wounded young woman, Stano, vouched for him. "Before I was captured, that is. Heard that this Leviathan had broken it's collar and all of the prisoners escaped, along with a rogue Peacekeeper and some other kind of alien that looked like a Sebacean. Heard you were giving Crais fits out in the Uncharteds, too," she grinned.
"That was us," Rygel agreed.
"How did you find us?" Linn asked. He sat on the bed next to Rygel. He motioned to the others, and most of them congregated around. One of the men picked up Stano and carried her to a bed where she could rest, but still see what was happening.
"Actually, my shipmates and I stumbled across this planet when we were looking for food. We're on the run from both the Peacekeepers and the Scarrens," Rygel explained. "Two of us, myself and a Bannik slave, decided to risk coming down here to look for food."
"So you're not here to rescue us?" Rivi's mother asked. She'd put the younger child, Tanit, on her lap, but Rivi had sidled up and was sitting next to Rygel.
"We didn't even know that you were here until Rivi found me," he said.
"But you can rescue us, right?" Rivi asked.
"Er... I... er.. We have to check with our shipmates in orbit," he dissembled. "Stark," he called on his comm badge. "Did you get in touch with Talyn yet?"
"No," the Bannik said. "But we have to rescue these people, Rygel. They're prisoners, just like you and I were. We owe it to them."
"Fine," Rygel snapped. "Do you have a plan?"
"A plan... We need a plan," Stark muttered. "Crichton always had a plan, but he's dead. What would Crichton do?"
"How many can your transport pod hold, Dominar Rygel?" Linn asked.
"I don't know," he said. "Maybe half of your group?"
"That's good," Linn nodded. "Do you have any weapons aboard either the pod or your ship in orbit?"
"We have two pulse-pistols in the pod, but there's lots of weapons aboard Talyn."
"Talyn is your ship, I take it. An odd name," Linn said, a strange look on his face. "Here is what we'll do. We wait until it gets fully dark. The guards relax after they think we've all gone to sleep. Then, the children and those without combat training can slip through the gap in the force field. You take them up to your ship, load up with weapons, then come back for the rest of us. We kill the Scarrens and blow this place to hezmana."
Linn's plan seemed to resonate with the rest of the group. They nodded their approval. "Did you hear that, Stark?" Rygel asked.
"A good plan! It's a good plan!" Stark agreed.
Rygel looked at Linn, then made a circle around his head indicating that Stark was crazy. They all understood. "Good. Then go back to the pod and get the other pulse-pistol. We'll need both of them. And keep trying to contact Talyn."
"Wait until the lights go off in the Scarren barracks," Linn advised, "then signal us."
"Got it," Stark agreed, then signed off.
"Guards!" one of the men at the door yelled out. Someone picked up Rygel and shoved him back under the bed, along with the bags of contraband fruit. The slats creaked as the person laid on the bed. Rygel peeked out from underneath the blanket.
The door banged open, and two Scarrens dragged in the unconscious man he'd seen in the cage. They threw him on the floor contemptuously. "The next time one of you zeks decides to challenge our authority, it'll be two days in the cage!" the Scarren guard warned, then stomped out. As soon as it was clear, the entire group went into action. Two men gently picked up the victim, making sure not to touch any of the blisters. They laid him gingerly on a bed. Rivi and another girl went to the water pump in the corner of the barracks and poured out a bucket of fresh water. Rivi's mother, who seemed to be the medic of the group, immediately grabbed some relatively clean cloths and went to his side. Rivi put the bucket down at her mother's right knee, and the older woman dunked the cloths in it. Another woman opened the sick man's mouth and tried to force some water down his throat. "Come on, Kelvar," she whispered, "fight it. You can do it." She stroked his hair back, then took a cool cloth and put it on his forehead. Others packed the cloths around his exposed skin as much as possible.
"Is he going to die?" one of the children asked. Rygel turned to see the old man, Linn, holding Tanit in his lap and flanked by the two other youngsters. A girl looked up into the man's weary eyes.
"Hopefully not," Linn reassured the girl. "Kelvar's tough. He's a Peacekeeper commando. The Green Meanies can't kill us as easily as they think." That seemed to calm her fears a bit, because she snuggled against the old man's body and watched the proceedings with wide eyes.
Rygel, against his better judgement, came up with good idea. He reached into the bag of fruit and pulled out some of the red berries. He waddled over to Rivi's mother and put them into her hand. "Here," he said, "these might help."
"Good thinking," she agreed. "Get his glucose level back up." She crushed the berries then forced them into Kelvar's open mouth a little at a time. Gradually, the sick man started to respond to the taste and the sugar in the berries. "Keep wrapping him in wet cloths. We've got to get his core temperature back down," the healer ordered.
Linn handed the youngster to someone else, then stood up. "I don't know how much more of this we can take," he said. "Everyone," Linn held up his hands to get their attention. "We're going tonight. Take as much food with you as you can. These people are obviously short on food, and adding us to their crew won't help any. Anyone who was a Tech goes in the first wave. You too, Stano. You're injured. If we can get Kelvar conscious, he goes too."
"I was a Pleisar," Stano sniffed as she sat up in bed painfully. She reminded Rygel of a younger, blonde version of Aeryn. "I can still fight. I want to fight them!"
Rivi's mother, came to their rescue. "No, Lexi," she said, putting a hand on Stano's shoulder. "I'm staying behind. I need you to look after Rivi and Tanit for me." She looked over at the old man. "You too, Linn. The children need you with them."
His eyes twinkled and he smiled. "Oh, Renata," he laughed, "I may be old, but I'm not a cripple yet." For a microt, he reminded Rygel of an older version of Crais. "No, you need me here. Nobody else knows the encryption keys for the force field."
"Tell one of us," another man said.
"All right, I'll go," the old man gave in. He pulled the man who suggested it aside and they conversed quietly in the corner.
Another woman started dishing out some kind of soup into bowls, and the other prisoners took them gratefully. Rygel noticed that none of them took the fruit or anything else. The woman offered him a bowl of whatever they were having. "I know it's not much, Dominar Rygel, but it's the best that we have."
He looked down to see a thin brown broth in the bowl. It looked fairly pathetic, but he'd had worse. Then, he looked at the faces of the starving people around him and felt a strange emotion - guilt. "No, thank you," he said, barely believing it himself. "Give it to the children. Or the injured."
The prisoners all stared at him like he'd grown a second head. "I've never known a Hynerian to pass up a meal," the man who'd been stationed on Hyneria Prime observed. In response, Rygel stuck his hand underneath the bed and pulled out the piece of fruit that he'd bitten into earlier. The rest of the prisoners grinned. "Now, that's more like it," the man said.
"Since we have some time to wait," Renata Shann asked as she kept vigil by the unconscious Kelvar, "can you tell us what's going on outside of this frelling prison?"
"Well, I can't tell you much, since we're on the run ourselves. The Scarrens and the Peacekeepers seem to be heading toward some kind of war. Each of them is working to harness wormhole technology before the other one." The group buzzed with whispers as he mentioned wormholes. He went on to explain Crichton and his research into wormholes as best he could.
"This, what-did-you-call-him? Human? summoned a wormhole that destroyed a Scarren dreadnought?" Stano asked. "I'd like to talk to him, to see how he did it."
Rygel hung his head. "Unfortunately, he died shortly afterwards."
"A shame," Linn said, rejoining the group. "I'd like to see his craft."
An odd request, Rygel thought. He studied Linn more closely. It was hard to see behind the long hair and beard, but yes, there was something familiar about him. Perhaps he had been one of the Peacekeepers guarding him? Or even torturing him? "What about you, Linn? How did you come to be here? And, how the yotz did you survive this long?"
"There's not much to tell, Rygel," Linn said with a sigh. "I don't remember anything about my life before I came here. The Scarrens tortured me to the point where I lost my memories. Or else, they put in some kind of mental block against them, I'm not sure. All I know is that I was a Peacekeeper, probably some kind of engineer or scientist. I can fix things pretty well, which is why the Scarrens found me valuable enough to keep alive all of these cycles."
"You don't remember anything?" Rygel echoed. "Yotz."
"I get flashes occasionally, which is why I think there's some kind of mental block. The only thing I remember clearly is a woman, a Peacekeeper, calling me Linn. So, I figured that was my name."
"What about the rest of you?" Rygel asked as Rivi's younger brother, Tanit, came up and touched him. The boy jumped back when he felt the Hynerian's tough skin.
"It's all right, Tanit," Rivi reached out to grab her little brother. "He's not a Scarren. He won't hurt us. He probably couldn't hurt us if he wanted to."
Rygel looked over at their mother with an unspoken question. "They've never seen any other races besides Scarrens. So, naturally, they're afraid of anybody that doesn't look Sebacean," Renata explained.
Once Tanit gained confidence, he and the other children gathered around Rygel. They fingered his earbrows and nose ridges, pulled on his fingers and toes, and did other embarrassing things to him. "I'm glad I'm providing amusement for your children," he grumbled. Someone tugged hard on his earbrow to the point where it hurt. "That's enough! That area's very tender!"
"Sorry," the little girl that was the culprit said. The rest of them were
a lot more gentle after that.
"Aeryn? Crais? Are you there?" Stark said into his comm badge for the millionth time. "Can you hear me?"
He heard static, then Crais' voice came through. "Stark, where the frell are you two? We were expecting you back here arns ago!"
"We found something! You're not going to believe what it is!"
"Hopefully not a Scarren attack squadron," Aeryn snapped.
"No! We found a prison camp," Stark whispered. "The Scarrens are holding Peacekeeper prisoners on this planet. Rygel's with them now."
"He got captured?" Crais asked.
"That frelling little pest..." Aeryn began
"No...no... no!" Stark hissed. "We're going to rescue them!" He heard dead silence on the other end. "Are you still there, Talyn?"
"Yes, we're still here," Crais replied. "How many prisoners are there, and how do you propose rescuing them? The pod won't hold that many."
"Two waves, yes, two waves. We bring one load up, we get some weapons, we come back down for the rest. Got it?"
"Stark, just how much of John's personality did you absorb when you helped him die?" Aeryn asked. "Because this sounds like one of his stupid plans."
"My plan! My plan!" he yelled. "Well, my plan and the Peacekeeper's."
"Stark, calm down," Aeryn whispered over the comms. "Bring up the first wave, and I'll meet you with some weapons. Rygel and I will go back down to the planet to get the second group. Now, how many pulse-rifles do you need?"
"About fifteen. And some explosives. And something that will kill Scarrens."
Aeryn's sigh was audible. "What the frell are you planning to do, blow the place up?"
"Well, now that you mention it, yes. And we'll need backup from Talyn."
"Talyn is very eager to help," Crais replied.
"Wait for our signal," Stark said, then signed off before he could get any argument.
By Rygel's reckoning, it was past the middle of the night on Stallak. He'd tried not to sleep, but he'd dozed off a few times. When his snoring got too loud, one of the prisoners would wake him up. "Rygel, it's time," Linn shook him and whispered. "We're ready. Signal your comrade."
"What about the injured?" he asked, looking over at Stano and Kelvar, who were laying in cots next to each other.
"Renata's waking them now. Or trying to," the old man said, trying to sound positive.
Stano woke easily, but her face was a mass of purple bruises. Like a good soldier, she took in the situation calmly and quietly. She exchanged a look with Linn, then nodded. "I'm all right," she said. "I can go in the second wave. Get Kelvar out."
"Lexi," Renata warned.
"Go with your children, Renata. They'll need you more than we will."
"What about Kelvar?" Linn asked. "I don't want to leave him."
Renata tried to shake the sick man awake again. His eyes opened, but he didn't comprehend what was going on. "Kelvar?" the healer asked. "We're escaping. Can you walk?"
He thought for a microt, then nodded. "I'll try," he responded in a raspy whisper.
Meanwhile, Rygel quietly tapped his comm badge. "Stark, are you there?" he asked.
"I'm here. Right outside. I have both pulse pistols with me. Are you ready?"
"We're ready," Rygel looked at the determined prisoners and nodded.
At a motion from Linn, the two men who guarded the doors earlier took those positions again. One of them peered outside, then gave a nod. Renata Shann picked up Tanit. Linn took Rivi by the hand. The three other mothers took their children in hand as well. The others queued up to follow Rygel out the door. The man guarding the back door opened it quietly, and Rygel carefully stepped down the stairs. He crawled along the ground, trying to keep to the shadows. At the edge of the compound, he saw an eerie blue glow that he knew was Stark. The Bannik had lifted his mask a bit to provide a beacon. Rygel heard the others crawling behind him. He reached the edge of the compound and paused. "Stark!" he whispered loudly.
The Bannik stepped out from behind a tree. "I'm here." Rygel tossed a handful of dirt onto the force field to see where the hole was. He followed the dirt through the hole, and immediately settled into his thronesled."Come on. Children first," Stark said.
Rivi didn't need any coaxing, but Rygel could see that the other children did. They were staring at Stark with wide eyes. Rivi crawled through the hole first, then reached in and pulled her little brother through. Then their mother squeezed through the hole herself. Once through the gap, Renata squatted down to get the others. The other children went through safely, then their mothers. Stark pointed each of them toward a small copse of trees where they could hide until everyone was ready. Within a few microts, all but one had gotten out of the compound.
The next challenge was Officer Kelvar. Between his blistered skin, dehydration, and heat delirium, the injured man had barely made it across the compound. He was a big man. Rygel didn't know if he'd make it through the hole.
"Help him out," Renata ordered. Linn and another of the male techs that had come through earlier squatted down. Kelvar held out his arms, and they pulled him through. Rygel could see the pain in the soldier's face as they dragged his blistered body across the gravel. He bit his lip to stop screaming, and a trickle of blood formed in the corner of his mouth. Then finally, he was through. Kelvar's eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out from the pain.
"Yotz," Rygel cursed. "How the frell are we going to get him to the pod now?"
Stark was looking at him strangely. Or rather, the Bannik was looking beneath him. "Get out of your thronesled," Stark told him.
"What are you talking about, you crazy frellnik?"
"We put him in your thronesled. One of the others carries you on their back."
"I will not!" Rygel harrumphed. He wasn't giving up his prized thronesled for anyone.
Without warning, he slid forward and fell out of his sled into Stark's arms. "Yes, you will," Renata Shann said as she pulled the chair out from under him. She motioned for the two men to lift her charge into the sled. It was a tight fit, but the soldier was able to sit. "Kelvar, wake up," Renata said as she gave the man some more water from a canteen. He recovered enough to regain consciousness. "Rygel, show him how to work this thing,"
It felt odd to explain to someone how to fly his sled - something that was as natural to Rygel as eating. "Never mind. Put me in his lap and I'll fly the frelling thing," he grumbled. "If the chair could hold me and Crichton, it will certainly hold me and him!"
The journey through the dark forest back to the transport pod was fairly
uneventful. Stark seemed to have picked the route of least resistance, and
the Scarrens didn't seem to know that they were missing. They reached the
pod in about a quarter of an arn. The children were awed by the sight of
the spacecraft. Wait until they see Talyn! Rygel thought. As the children
huddled in the back of the pod, Renata and her helpers laid Kelvar out onto
the deck. Stark handed her the
first-aid kit before he settled into the pilot's seat. Rygel reclaimed his
thronesled gratefully. "Everybody ready?" he asked.
Stark engaged the engines, and they slowly lifted off from the planet's surface. Rygel could tell that the engines were compensating for the additional weight. The children squealed with surprise. Some of the prisoners who were standing lurched as the pod approached escape velocity. "Looks like we'll have to get our space legs back," Linn chuckled. At least someone was happy to be back in space!
The pod left the planet's atmosphere and approached the defense perimeter. "Everyone hold on," Stark ordered. "This may get a little tricky."
"Sensors are showing the gap is still there," Rygel told him. "It's smaller than before. Can we still fit through?" Stark didn't answer, but began to chant under his breath in Delvian. "Shut up and fly the pod, you crazy yotz," Rygel grumbled. He took a deep breath as the pod entered the gap. Fortunately, the Scarrens seemed to build their orbital defenses to protect against ships entering the planet's atmosphere, not leaving it. There was no response from either the defenses or the planet's surface. "This is going too well."
"Don't say that!" Stark whispered back. "We've still got fifteen people on the planet's surface. We're beyond the defense perimeter. Contact Crais and Aeryn."
Out of the corner of his eye, Rygel saw Linn stiffen at the mention of Crais. He mentally filed it away with the other parts of the enigma that was the old man. "Crais? Are you there?"
"Talyn is moving toward your coordinates as we speak," Crais answered.
"I see you," Stark replied.
"Look!" Rivi gasped and pointed to the Leviathan on the screen. "Rygel, what is that?"
"That's Talyn," he grinned with pride.
"It's the strangest Leviathan I've ever seen," Renata said.
"Talyn's a hybrid," Stark explained. "He's part Leviathan, part gunship. The Peacekeepers genetically engineered him, but he's free like we are. As are you now." The prisoners were murmuring behind him in awe. Linn stepped forward and stared at the screen, studying Talyn intensely.
"Deploying docking web," Crais announced.
A few microts later, Stark landed the pod in Talyn's docking bay and opened the hatch. Crais stepped up into the pod. The Captain's face didn't show it, but Rygel could tell from his body language that Crais was shocked by the condition of the prisoners. "I'm Captain Bialar Crais," he said graciously. "Talyn and I welcome you. I know that you've had a difficult journey, but we need you to help us one more time. We need to load weapons into this pod for the trip back. This will go faster if you help us."
Linn stepped forward. "We will do whatever you need us to, Captain," he said, then looked behind him. All of the prisoners nodded their agreement. "My name is Linn. I'm the leader here, as much as anyone is." They clasped arms in solidarity.
"Bialar Crais?" Renata stood up and walked toward him. "Is it really you?"
He stared at her closely, trying to see past how she looked now. "Officer Renata Shann?" He smiled amiably and bowed. "I didn't recognize you."
Now that's an interesting development, Rygel thought. He cocked an earbrow at Crais' sudden change in demeanor, then exchanged a look with Stark.
"Yes, it's me, Crais," she smiled, unexpectedly shy. "Been a long time. Thank you for rescuing us." Rivi peeked out from behind her mother's legs and looked up at Crais with awe. "We have children here, and an injured man," Renata informed him. "Where can we put him?"
"Of course," Crais said, looking down at Rivi and smiling. "A DRD will meet you outside the pod. Follow it to my quarters. Your man will be comfortable there. As will the children."
Renata nodded to the men who were carrying Kelvar. "Come with me. Rivi, bring the other children with you."
"Y-yes, Mother," the girl replied, obviously overwhelmed by the change in scenery. She picked up her little brother, and the other children gathered around her.
Rygel maneuvered his sled out the hatch and saw Aeryn double-checking a box of grenades. "We're going to need more of them," he commented. She turned around and looked at him. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Stark, but the Scarrens let us go much too easily."
"I was thinking the same thing," she added. "You're coming back down with us."
"Me?" he asked. "Why?"
"Because Stark is better with Talyn, and you know the lay of the land. If only...." she stopped, not wanting to say what they both were thinking. If only Crichton were here, I wouldn't need your help.
"For once, I agree," Rygel nodded. "With your strategy, that is." He floated up and put a hand on her shoulder. "Aeryn, if you're not up to this..."
She gave him a wan smile. "I need to do this, Rygel. I need to be active, to get off this ship. Focus my mind on something else besides the John-sized hole in my life."
A high-pitched squeal from the pod entrance interrupted them both. Rygel spun his sled around to see what was going on. Rivi and the other children were stopped in the pod's hatch and staring down at one of Talyn's DRDs in terror. "W... what is that?" Rivi asked.
Rygel went back over to the pod and set his sled down next to the DRD. "It's a DRD, Rivi. It does maintenance on the ship, among other things. It won't hurt you. See?" he rapped his hand on the DRD's hard shell.
"Rivi, is it?" Crais squatted down and addressed her with a friendly smile. "You seem to be a big help to your mother. Well, the DRDs are like that to Talyn. They help him out. Don't be afraid of them." Rivi stepped down to the deck, bent over, and patted the DRD. A light blinked, and she pulled her hand back. "It's all right," Crais encouraged her. "Talyn likes you."
"Rivi!" Renata called out. "Let's go! Every microt we delay means that the others might be discovered!"
She looked up at Crais and smiled. "Coming, Mother," she sighed. She took Tanit by the hand and led him off toward the entrance to the corridor, with the other children on her heels.
As the others left the pod, Aeryn waved them over to her. "I'm Aeryn Sun," she introduced herself quickly, then hefted the pack of grenades. She pointed her helpers toward the other weapons. "Let's move it, people," she ordered. "We need to get back down to the planet to rescue your friends." They each took a pack and stowed it into the pod. Once everything was secure, she waved Rygel and Crais in.
Crais paused. "Stark, you're in charge up here. When I tell you, have Talyn make the biggest distraction that he can. After we get through, wait for my signal. And don't do anything stupid with my ship!"
"I'm heading up to Command now," the Bannik reassured him. "Don't worry."
"I'll go with him," Linn added. Crais looked at the old man skeptically. "I've got thirty cycles worth of knowledge of the Scarren defense system. I can help you better from up there."
"Do it," Crais nodded, then got in the pod. He sat in the co-pilot's seat. "Talyn, release the docking web," he directed the ship. "And remember that we have passengers aboard. Don't do anything foolish."
Aeryn maneuvered the pod into position and nodded at Crais, who signaled Stark and Talyn. From half an orbit cycle away, they saw Talyn begin to fire at the orbital defense grid. Immediately, the automated laser cannons focused on Talyn and returned fire.
"That's our cue," Crais told her.
"Going in," she responded. She followed the sensor lead into the gap between the array. She held her breath as the pod went through the blind spot and entered the planet's upper atmosphere. "We're through," she breathed.
"Nice work, Officer Sun," Crais smiled. She returned his smile with a determined nod.
"We're not out of the woods yet," she told him. "Rygel, I'm following your coordinates, but I want to try to get closer to the camp. Is there a good place to set down?"
"No, the area between the clearing we set down in and the compound is tree-covered."
"Frell," she muttered and bit her lip in concentration. "Looks like we'll be carrying a heavy load in. Unless..."
"Unless what?" Crais asked.
"You're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Rygel grumbled. "You must have gotten some of Crichton's insanity by injection."
Aeryn gave the Hynerian a nasty look. "Just for that crack, you get to be the one to go down to the planet and give the prisoners the go-ahead."
"Why me? You're the soldier, not me!"
"They know you. Besides," she snapped, "you're smaller. And more expendable." She really didn't have the patience for Rygel's whining right now. After his bravery in fighting the Charrids, she'd thought that Rygel had really started to come around. She had been wrong.
"All right," he grumbled.
"Crais, take over," she ordered. She transferred control of the pod to the co-pilot's station and stood up. She grabbed a pack full of grenades and strapped it onto the thronesled. "Crais is going to hover the pod outside of the perimeter. You're going out the hatch, fly your sled down there, go through the break in the shielding, and tell the people on the ground to drop the shields. We'll land and get them all on board. If you run into trouble, hover up out of weapons range and throw these grenades down. They may not be able to kill Scarrens, but they can inflict heavy damage. Keep your comms open."
"Moving into position now," Crais informed her. "Opening the hatch. Good luck, Rygel."
"Frelling Peacekeepers," he grumbled, but moved into position in front of the hatch. As it opened, he maneuvered his sled out.
"Do you think that it was wise putting this operation, and the fate of fifteen people in his small hands?" Crais asked her.
Aeryn slung another pack of grenades over her shoulder, then hefted a pulse-rifle. "No, but he's the best we have. You're the one who's in command, not me. If you had a better idea, you should have said something." Then, something that had rankled inside of her for a long time came to the surface. "You said yourself that I wasn't suitable material for a higher rank."
"I may have been a Captain, but you have the commando training," Crais reminded her. "I defer to your judgement in this case, Officer Sun. For the record, you were a fine officer. "
Aeryn hadn't expected that reaction from him, especially after she baited him like that. "Just shut up and fly the frelling pod," she snapped.
Rygel swore that he left at least one of his three stomachs in the pod as he made a semi-controlled descent into the treetops. He vowed he was going to get that Peacekeeper bitch for this little escapade if it was the last thing he did. The problem is that this stunt might just be the last thing he did. He descended down through the trees and landed his sled in the small clearing that marked the hole in the force field from before. He flashed his light three times toward the main barracks to signal the prisoners that he was back. He tossed a handful of dirt into the hole, just like he'd seen Rivi do before.
Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright white light as the force field lit up like a star. "Hands up, Hynerian runt!" someone ordered. Rygel blinked, and saw three Scarren guards pointing their weapons at him from behind the force field. He heard movement behind him, and two more guards engaged their pulse-pistols at his back. Beyond the perimeter, he saw more guards holding the remaining prisoners at gunpoint.
"Oh, frell," he groaned. "Aeryn! Plan B!" He hit the thruster button on his sled, and it shot directly upward, leaving him with the feeling that all three stomachs were still on the ground. The guards started firing at him. Rygel zig-zagged between pulse bolts and reached for a grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it down at the Scarrens outside the perimeter. They were thrown off their feet by the explosion. Rygel grinned evilly as he threw another grenade, then another. They made such satisfying blasts as they exploded off of the force field.
"Rygel!" Aeryn said through the comm badge. "See if you can get them to drop the field! Crais and I will cover you." Behind him, he felt the air pressure change as the pod hovered lower. A burst of gunfire erupted against the field, and he saw Aeryn leaning out the hatch and aiming a large pulse-rifle at the Scarrens. Suddenly, he realized that the guards' weapons were being blocked by the force field.
Rygel brought his chair around behind the two Scarrens, splitting their fire. He threw a rapid succession of grenades at them. One grenade landed directly on a Scarren's head, and blew him to bits. "Yotza!" Rygel yelled out in triumph. "That one's for Crichton! Aeryn, I'm running out of grenades."
The guards inside the field were finally realizing that they were ineffective as long as the field was up. One of them gave an order. The force field suddenly vanished. More Scarrens opened fire on him and Aeryn, but she was ready for them. She pulled the pack of grenades off of her shoulder and threw it out into the open sky. Rygel rammed the forward thrusters on his sled toward the pod and caught the pack in mid-air. As soon as he caught it, Aeryn yelled something to Crais, and the pod landed. As Rygel continued to throw grenades on the guards from above, Aeryn and Crais, both in Peacekeeper battle armor, came out of the pod with pulse-rifles blazing. The guards who were covering the prisoners were forced to turn and shoot at the advancing duo. The prisoners, who were well-schooled in commando operations like this, made a break for it. Aeryn moved her pulse-rifle to her left hand, unholstered her pistol with her right, and threw it at the closest prisoner, who caught it. The man then turned and fired back at the Scarrens. Crais followed her lead. "There's more weapons in the pod!" Aeryn yelled out to Stano and the others. As the first of the prisoners reached the pod, they started passing pulse rifles down the line. Soon the Scarrens were caught in the crossfire between seventeen armed and very angry Peacekeepers, and one flying Hynerian who was enjoying raining down death from above. One by one, the Scarrens fell. "Get in the pod before they bring in reinforcements!" Aeryn ordered, and waved the nearest prisoner toward the hatch. The others realized what was happening, and followed. As they backed into the pod, Aeryn and Crais covered them.
Rygel saw at least ten more Scarrens silhouetted against the searchlights running toward them from the guard barracks. "Aeryn, here come the reinforcements. Get moving!"
"Got it, Rygel," she confirmed. She waved Crais into the pod, then started shooting at the arriving reinforcements as she dove into the hatch. The pod lifted off of the ground, and Rygel swooped towards it. He ducked through the Scarren fire and maneuvered his sled through the hatch right before it closed. He collided with Aeryn, who was just standing up.
"Talyn, cover us!" Crais ordered through his link. Stano, who was in the co-pilot's seat, looked at him with confusion.
"We're through the perimeter, and coming to get you!" Stark called out. "Hang on!" As soon as he said that, Talyn's cannon began firing powerful energy bolts into the camp, effectively destroying it.
The prisoners cheered. "Take that, you frelling reptiles!" one of them yelled.
"What the frell is that?" another one asked as Talyn appeared on the view screen.
"A hybrid Leviathan gunship," Crais replied. He let out a sigh of relief. "Talyn, deploy the docking web," he ordered. "We're bringing these people home."
Linn was amazed at how intuitive the Leviathan's controls were. After Stark had shown him where the sensors and weapons were, the older man picked things up very quickly. It was almost like he was at home in the cockpit of a spacecraft, which was strange. He hadn't been off of Stallak in over thirty cycles, yet he felt totally at ease.
Except for the flashes, that is. As soon as Rygel had shown up, Linn had started to see things in his mind's eye - things from another lifetime ago. He could almost pull the memories back, but then something brought him back to reality. The flashes had gotten worse since they became airborne, and became particularly intense once he had boarded the gunship. The flashes had built up to a blinding headache centered behind his eyes. Thirty cycles of torture and deprivation had trained him to work through almost anything, especially when the lives of his family were depending on it, so he concentrated on manning the sensors and weapons.
"Linn," Stark ordered, "they're coming in. We need to cover them."
"I'm on it," he replied as he primed the gunship's main cannon. As they overflew the camp, he could see the transport pod lifting off in the midst of weapons fire. He watched the pod rise out of the way, then took aim. "They're clear!" he called out.
"Now, Talyn! Fire at will!" Stark ordered excitedly.
Linn watched with a smug satisfaction as the main cannon fired directly into the prison compound. The ball of fire erupted from the planet's surface as he fired again and again. Over the comm system, he could hear the other prisoners cheering as that hellhole went up in flames. As he watched, secondary and tertiary explosions bloomed as the ammunition dump blew up. Tears came to the old man's eyes, and he closed them so that Stark wouldn't see him cry.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. "Gives you a nice, warm feeling inside," Stark observed. Linn looked at him in surprise. "I was tortured by the Peacekeepers for several cycles. When I escaped, I gave them something to remember me by, too. I understand your feelings." The two of them stood looking out of Talyn's view screen and watching the burning prison compound fade to a pinprick, then finally disappear as the ship left the atmosphere for space.
"A beautiful sight," Crais said as he strode into Command. Linn and Stark turned to look at him. He was still in his battle armor. "Well done, gentlemen."
"Your ship made it easy for us," Linn replied. "It's quite remarkable."
"Yes, Talyn is remarkable," Crais smiled and patted the circular light fixture on the ceiling. "Now, if you'll excuse me." He turned to the ship wide comm system. "All hands, prepare for immediate starburst. That means to hang on tight," he grinned. "Talyn, if you will..."
A light outside the rear of the ship formed as the massive starburst engines lit up. The ship was thrown forward as it reached critical mass. Linn stumbled, and hung onto the console for dear life. As suddenly as it began, the starburst ended and the ship lurched back into normal hetch drive. "That was.... incredible," Linn gasped.
Crais looked at him with surprise. "Haven't you ever been on a Leviathan in starburst?"
A bright white light and sharp pain behind his eyes made Linn gasp and nearly fall. Stark caught him and held him up. "What's wrong?" the Bannik asked, his one eye full of concern.
"I'm not used to the sudden change in gravity," he lied. He didn't want the others to know about his flashes. Stark frowned, but Crais was oblivious. "I haven't been in space in a long time. If there is somewhere that I could rest, perhaps a small, quiet room?"
"I'll take you to my quarters," Stark offered.
"Thank you, Stark," Linn said gratefully. "And thank you again, Captain, for rescuing us. I know that it was a big risk, but we will be eternally grateful to you."
"You are welcome, Linn," Crais nodded. "Now, go and rest. I can't guarantee that you will get a hot shower. Your people are already queuing up for that luxury."
"I can wait a little while longer," he smiled. "Stark? If you will show me to that room?"
The Bannik led him out into the corridor and down one level to the crew quarters. Stark opened the door to a small room with two beds in it.. One of the beds had Rygel's clothes spread out all over it. Stark locked the door behind them, then crossed the room and sat down on the other bed. "This should give us some privacy," he smiled. "Rygel can be such a pest sometimes."
"We owe you our lives," Linn replied and joined him on the bed. "I can put up with a nosy Hynerian. Anything's better than a Scarren torturer."
"You may regret that," Stark grinned. Then, he got serious. "I know that you were lying just now. I can sense that you are in a great deal of pain. What is wrong, my friend?"
"I... I don't know. I'm getting these memory flashes. I can't control them, but I can't seem to remember..." Linn stammered. "The Scarrens tortured me so much that I lost all memory of who I was before I came to Stallak," he explained.
"I can help you," Stark said gently. "I am a strakan, a holy man among my people. While my gift is aiding the passage into death, I might be able to help you reclaim your memory."
For the first time in thirty cycles, Linn felt hope that he could regain his old life. He started to cry again. "I would like to try," he replied.
Stark seemed to focus on something outside of himself. "Put your hands here," he said, and brought Linn's hands up to either side of his temples. "Now, close your eyes and concentrate on whatever you can remember. When I take off my mask, you'll see a bright light. Remember, do not be afraid. I'm here to help you."
"I'm not afraid. Just a bit nervous," Linn said, then closed his eyes. As Stark had said, a bright white light shone from in front of his eyes. He felt Stark's hands on his temples. Then he concentrated. The flashes came in rapid succession. He saw the Peacekeeper woman reaching out to him, calling him Linn.... then another name. He watched as a younger version of the woman swung a fist at him and punched him in the stomach. The same young woman was shaking hands with him as another teenage boy looked on. He saw a spacecraft, a sleek, aerodynamic fighting ship, and felt the pride of ownership... and something more. He saw the woman again. She was naked and on top of him. She screamed out his name again in passion as something exploded in his brain...he remembered her name! Linn saw his younger self again, in a dress uniform, demonstrating the ship as the woman, now pregnant with his child, looked on with pride. Saw himself attacking a Scarren ship along with a man he knew was the teenage boy from before... he saw himself aiming his spacecraft at the enemy vessel and... the world exploded in a burst of white light. Linn screamed and tried to pull away, but Stark kept a firm hold on him.
"Concentrate," he heard the Bannik saying through the light and pain. "Hold on."
Stark pushed him back into his memories. He saw himself as a young boy
on a farm. His father and two older brothers beat up on him regularly, but
his mother was his refuge. He heard screams as his father hit his mother,
then he watched his younger self defend her. His father knocked the wind out
of him, then killed his mother.... the memories shattered again, like a crystal
breaking. Stark held onto him. He focused on the other woman, his lover.
She was in a flight suit that was stretched over her pregnant stomach. She
slicked back an errant curl in his hair. "You make us proud," she said, then
said his name. Her voice cut through everything, echoing his name over and
over again. He pulled away from Stark with a shocked cry. "I know! I
remember!" he cried out. Stark pulled him into a triumphant embrace and thumped
his back in congratulations. "I know who I am now!" Then, realization hit
him. "Oh... my...." he pulled back from Stark and looked around the room.
"Oh, no... This can't be," he shook his head, hoping it wasn't true. "Stark,
I need to speak to Captain Crais and Officer Sun immediately." The Bannik,
his eye wide with shock, nodded his agreement wordlessly. He knew.
Although Aeryn was physically exhausted, she felt better than she had in days. After getting the prisoners settled into various sections of Talyn, she dragged herself back to her quarters, looking for a hot shower. Maybe I'll be so tired that I won't dream, she thought as she waved her hand over the door control.
To her surprise, the lights were on in the room. One of the prisoners, a emaciated woman with disheveled brown hair, was rummaging through John's belongings. From the bathroom, she heard water running and children's laughter. Aeryn watched in horror as the woman picked up John's trousers from the bed and held them up to inspect them. "These should fit someone," the woman said to herself.
"What the frell are you doing?" Aeryn shouted and strode across the room. She snatched John's pants away from the woman and held them to her body possessively. "Don't touch these. Take anything of mine you want, then get out. But leave John's things alone!"
The woman's eyes grew wide in shock. "Oh, I'm sorry," she stammered. "I was looking for spare clothing while my children cleaned up. I didn't mean to intrude." Aeryn glared at the woman. She backed up one step. "I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet you when we came aboard. I'm Renata Shann. My son and daughter, Tanit and Rivi, are using your bathroom."
Aeryn calmed down a bit when she realized that the woman was just trying to take care of her children. "Aeryn Sun," she said and reached out her right hand. The woman clasped her wrist. "I'm sorry if I overreacted."
Renata smiled sympathetically. "Dominar Rygel told us that you recently lost a crew member. Was he your man?"
Aeryn sat down on the bed, and Renata did the same. She hugged John's trousers to herself even more tightly as she fought back the tears. "Yes," she confessed to the strange woman, "we were lovers. I miss him so much."
The other woman put a sympathetic hand on Aeryn's shoulder and pulled her into an embrace. She rocked Aeryn like she would her own children when they were crying. "I know how you feel, Aeryn," she whispered. "How did he die?"
Aeryn swallowed back the tears. "Radiation sickness," she said. "He built a bomb that would take out a Scarren dreadnought, but was exposed to the radiation. It was fairly quick, but no less painful. For him or for me."
"When my man was killed, I felt like I wanted to die too. But I had two children to look after," Renata shared. "Did the bomb work?" Aeryn nodded through her tears. The woman smiled. "Then good for him."
Aeryn smiled in spite of her grief. "How did your man die?" she asked.
Renata hesitated, making sure that she still heard water running from the bathroom. "I don't like to talk about it in front of the children. When they were younger, Tanit was only one cycle old, the Scarrens wanted to force them into the mines. Aidian refused, and confronted the guards. As punishment, they put him in the cage for two days. We had to put him out of his pain. Poor Tanit was so traumatized by it that he can't talk."
"The cage?" Aeryn asked, confused.
"A cage that they locked us in, out in the hot sun. Kelvar, the injured man we brought with us, was in the cage for only a day." She looked at Aeryn. Any Sebacean understood what that meant - heat delirium and the Living Death. It was horrible for an adult to witness, let alone a child seeing their father succumb to it. "The point is," Renata continued, "that the pain eventually will lessen. I still miss Aidian every day, but it's not as painful anymore. I know that he would be happy to know that our children were now free."
As she was speaking, the water had turned off, but not the giggling. Two children, a girl about eight cycles, and a boy about four, burst out of the bathroom with towels wrapped around them. Their hair was dripping all over the floor. "Mother!" the girl said, "the shower is the most amazing thing! I could stay in there for arns!" She jumped up on the bed, and hauled up her little brother. They both looked at Aeryn with absolute worship. "I'm Rivi, and this is Tanit," she said.
"Hello, Rivi, Tanit," Aeryn smiled gently. "I'm Aeryn Sun."
"What do you say, Rivi?" Renata prompted.
"Oh," Rivi remembered. "Thank you for letting us use your shower, Aeryn."
"My pleasure." She looked down at John's trousers in her lap, and handed them to Renata. "Here, take them, and the rest of John's clothes. Your people need them. I don't."
Renata looked surprised. "Are you sure, Aeryn?"
She nodded. "John was a generous man. He would give you the shirt off of his back if he thought it would be of use to someone else. It's all right, Renata. Take them."
Renata took the trousers and stood up. "Come on, you little monsters," she smiled at her children. "Grab that pile and take them down to the maintenance bay with the rest. Then, let's get your hair combed out before it dries like that."
Rivi jumped off the bed, and swung Tanit down. They ran over to the pile of clothes by John's drawer. "Thanks, Aeryn!" the girl said as she gave her brother a few shirts to carry. They followed their mother out of the room skipping. "Come on, Tanit. Let's go find another DRD!"
"There you are!" Rygel grumbled as he stuck his head in after Renata and her brood left. "Stark has been calling for you frantically."
"I turned my comms off because I was going to take a shower," she snapped. "What does Stark want with me?"
"How the yotz should I know?" he harrumphed. "He just wants you to join him in Crais' quarters immediately. Said it was urgent that he talk to you both."
"Wonderful," she sighed as she followed Rygel out of the room. "I'm never
going to get any sleep."
Linn leaned heavily on Stark's arm as the Bannik led him to Crais' quarters. Stark waved his hand over the door release, and it slid open. Crais turned around and looked at them in bewilderment. "Stark? Linn? Is something wrong? What did you need to see me about?"
"Please," Linn gasped, "some water?"
"Of course," Crais said, and filled a glass from his basin. He set it down on the table, and motioned for the old man to sit down. Stark helped him down, then sat on another seat. Crais sat down opposite of him. "Are you ill, Linn?"
He took a long gulp of water and tried to clear his throat. "Yes.. I mean, no... What I need to ask you, Captain Crais, is how you came to be a Peacekeeper. Were you born into service?"
Crais looked confused. "No," he said, looking sideways at Stark. "I was the son of a farmer, a colonist. I was conscripted when I was thirteen. My younger brother, Tauvo, was conscripted a few cycles later."
"I see," Linn nodded. "What world were you born on? What was your father's name?"
"I was born on Hanno, and my father's name was Bernam. Why is this relevant?"
Linn closed his eyes and nodded. "Good, very good."
"Stark, what is he talking about? He's even crazier than you are."
"Shhhh," Stark cautioned the captain. "All will be revealed soon."
Linn opened his eyes and looked directly at Crais. "Please, Captain, bear with my questions. Did your father have any siblings?"
"One younger brother."
The door opened, and the young woman, Aeryn Sun, walked in. He hadn't noticed her when he came aboard, because she was supervising the loading of the weapons into the pod. As she hesitantly stepped into the room, his eyes widened with surprise.
"Please, Aeryn, join us," Crais invited her to sit. "I don't know how this affects you, but Linn wishes to speak with both of us." She sat down between Crais and Stark.
"Thank you for coming, Officer Sun," he nodded. "Stark helped me push past the memory block that the Scarrens implanted in my mind. I need to be certain of what I learned, in case it was another one of their tricks," he explained. "I need to ask you some questions as well. First of all, how did this ship come by its name? I am not that familiar with Leviathans, but I know that Talyn is an odd name for one."
"I named him," Aeryn said, "after my father."
Linn's heart skipped a beat, but he betrayed no emotion outwardly. "I see," he said. "How did you learn his name?"
She looked over at Crais, who nodded his consent. "My mother, Xhalax Sun, came to me when I was five cycles old, and told me that I was conceived in love, and that my father's name was Talyn. That's all I know of him."
Crais' forehead knitted in confusion. "I remember something now," he exclaimed. "Something that has been nagging at the back of my mind for over a cycle. I knew that I'd heard the name Talyn before, but I had assumed that it was a fellow Peacekeeper that I'd served with. But it wasn't. When I was very young, my father showed my grandfather a drawing of a ship that Tauvo had sketched. We were watching from the loft that was our bedroom. My uncle laughed and said that Tauvo reminded him of Talyn. My grandfather got very upset at that. He crumpled up the drawing and threw it into the fireplace, then punched my uncle. Poor Tauvo was so upset that he cried himself to sleep. When I asked my mother about it the next morning, she said to forget that we ever heard that name. I did, until just now."
Linn took a deep breath and continued. "What you've both told me confirms what I just remembered after all of these cycles. I was indeed a Peacekeeper. I was an engineer, the chief designer of a fighter spacecraft that was called the Prowler. My name," he looked directly at Crais, "is Lieutenant Talyn Crais. Captain, I am your uncle. My eldest brother was Bernam Crais, your father. And," he turned to Aeryn, "I believe that I am your father, Officer Sun."
(To be continued in All In The Family)