MAYA
For almost sixteen years now, she had been the one there for him. He wasn't her biological son, he was the product of the love between a woman who she just knew under the name Niobe, and a strange man whom she had never met.
Maya sensed change was coming about, she had seen it in her crystal bowl. D'Jok, the boy she had raised as her own, since the boy's mother, before dying from the childbirth she had just been through, had handed her the newborn babyboy, after naming him D'Jok and then pass away. She expected to be reunited with her husband, the boy's father,I'Son, a well renouned scientist at Technoid, who she believed to have died in the explotion.
Maya now knew, D'Jok's father had not perished, he was still very much alive. She had known, even before D'Jok found out on Genesis. D'Jok's father, the infamous leader of the pirates, the galaxys most wanted man, Sonny Blackbones himself, was D'Jok's father. He had made the connection to his son, after seeing D'Jok showing the bracelet that had belonged to his mother on tv, as a sign to Micro- Ice to come back to the team, after he left to join the pirates.
For a short while, Micro- Ice had been allowed to stay, as he had saved Sonny when he was shot, preventing Technoid capturing him. Micro- Ice off course didn't remember anything from his stay at Shiloh, the pirates had made sure to erase his memory on that. But the interwiew that had made Micro- Ice change his mind and come home. But the same interwiew, had another sideeffect to it. Sonny had seen the bracelet too,and realised that D'Jok was the son he thought he had lost. When the snowkids reached the finals,they were getting sick. It turned out the assistant coach, Clamp and Sonny knew all too well snowkids had been contaminated by the very thing that caused the Akillian iceage.
The Metaflux. An invicible and undetectable flux, created for the use in footballdroids, by the scientists Yarrit Labnor and professor I'Son, who after the disaster went very different ways. Labnor was captured and his memory erased, he remembered very little from the time before the iceage now, and went under the name Clamp, whilst I'Son had managed to escape Technoid, and had joined the pirates of Shiloh.
There, he had undergone a transformation of his own, becoming the pirate Sonny Blackbones, a furious and dangerous enemy to Technoid, dangerous enough for them to put a bounty on his head, in an attempt to capture the pirates charismatic leader.
During the stay at Genesis, the snowkids had been explained what the metaflux meant to them, and given the option to have it removed. D'Jok had been worried about loosing his vision of becoming a great star on the sky if he did. Sonny had talked to him one on one, and told him that getting rid of the metaflux wouldn't change the fact that he was already one of those stars.
It was during this conversation D'Jok had learned the truth. And who his father was.
This information, as valuable as it was to D'Jok, had also put both him and Sonny in a difficult possition. General Bleylock, when he learned of the family ties between D'Jok and Sonny, had kidnapped D'Jok, forcing Sonny to return with the metaflux he had set out to hide, in a desperate attempt to save D'Jok. He had succeeded in saving D'Jok, by trading himself for his son's life.
To D'Jok, this had been a horrible few days. Bleylock had made it clear to him that snowkids had to loose the finalsmatch, or Sonny would die. The pirates had asked D'Jok if he knew where Sonny had been taken, but he didn't. Maya remembered how out of it D'Jok had been. She could understand him. He had just found his father, and he wasn't about to give up on him yet. Maya had seen Sonny in a vision and told Clamp, who brought her to see the pirates. Corso, had been sceptical about it, and asked why they didn't have him eaten by sharks while they were at had realised that Sonny was held in the genesis reservoirs, and with the help of Duke Maddox, the pirates had freed him and saved him from beeing drowned.
D'Jok wished he had seen his father more often. After what had happened, Duke Maddox had given the pirates immunity. This made it easier for Sonny to form a realtionship with his son. Maya looked into her crystalball. D'Jok was out now, to meet Sonny and spend time with him. Sonny still hand't adjusted into the role of fatherhood,and was a bit clutsy at it, but at least he was trying. Maya knew she recented Sonny Blackbones. Not because he had done anything to her, hadn't, but she feared Sonny would demand her giving him the custodial rights to his son. Maya knew, that if Sonny asked this, she had no right to deny him that. He was D'Jok's father, they had even preformed tests, to have it confirmed. Not that it was necessary. Just looking at them, would make no one doubt it. D'Jok was Sonny's spitting image, only in a red head form.
«Mom, I'm back» Called D'Jok cheerfully from the door. «Hey D'Jok, did you have fun?» asked Maya and got up. Then she noticed. D'Jok wasn't alone, Behind him, stood a tall, slim man,dressed in black pants, and a red jacket. Sonny Blackbones. Maya had not intended to, but an involuntary step backwards when she saw him. D'Jok noticed. « I think you and Dad need to talk mom. I'll be outside with Micro- Ice. Dad, will I see you before you leave?» D'Jok said and turned
to his father. Sonny nodded calmly. «Don't worry D'Jok, I'll let you know before I leave».D'Jok hugged his father before he went out. Maya looked at him, then she was alone with Sonny. He held out his hand to greet her. Maya took his hand. She saw the past, the memories of D'Jok's mother, the crash, the explotion, felt the remorse over the loss, the anger, the hate and the desire for vengance, all in that handshake. «Thank you». She looked at him, «For what?», «For taking care of
my son, he's become a fine young man». «Most of the time, when he's not a hothead». Sonny had a smile on his face. « Hopefully.. he'll grow out of that habbit». Maya knew Sonny tried to make her relax more in his presence. But she couldn't, she was wondering if he was here to take D'Jok away from her.
«Won't you sit down Mr. Blackbones?». He smiled reassuringly to her. «No need to be formal Maya, call me Sonny», «Ok Sonny». «No need to be nervous, I'm not here to take D'Jok away from you». «You're not?», « No, he grew up here, this is where his friends are, his life. This planet..it holds bad memories for me, it's hard coming here at all, without tearing open wounds that never really healed.» , Maya felt for him. Sonny had suffered for many years, and apparantly, he was still suffering. «Then what do you have in mind?». «I just want to know about my son, whatever you feel you can tell me, and possibly also about my wife Niobe». Sonny looked away when he spoke D'Jok's mothers name. Maya didn't have to see it, she knew they where there, silent tears, from pain over the loss, from his selfblame for what had happened. No one could give Sonny back the years he had lost with his son, but she could give him an insight as to who D'Jok was. «I have pictures Sonny, I'd let you have them». «Only copies please, the originals belong to you». «I thought the pirates would steal things like that?». Sonny looked at her. «No, not all is the way Technoid portrays us». Maya knew him to be right on that. «So, tell me what you want to know Sonny»...
Maya remained outside the graveyard. She could see father and son before the grave of Niobe Blackbones. They had chosen to give her Sonny's current last name. The pain was written all over Sonny's face. Slowly, he sank to his knees before her grave. «I'm sorry for this my love, it was not how I had planned our lives, our future to be. I've done things, things I know you'd hate me for. But I'm here now. I found D'Jok, I know you can't be here for him, so I will have to, for the both of us. Maya.. you made the right choise, she took care of him, raised him and had him turn into a fine young man we both can take pride in, please, forgive me for what I've done».
Sonny got on his feets, and pulled his hood on. D'Jok sat down. «Mom, I never knew you, but Maya has told me, through all these years, that you would have loved to be here for me. I'm Sorry I never got to know you mom, but I got dad now, he'll tell me all I need to know, and more, so I get to know you through him». Maya could see father and son seek comfort with each other, they had never asked untill this day, but now, perhaps the wounds could start to heal? Maya wathced as they came out of the graveyard.
«So, are you gonna leave now Dad?» asked D'Jok, looking at his father. «Yes D'Jok, a pirate never remains in one place for very long. I never stay too long on Akillian, this..» he looked to the skies, « it's still a place where bad memories roam for me, maybe one day, I'll heal enough to try for a fresh start, I really don't know what will happen at this point». «Ok Dad, I hope to see you again soon». «And you D'Jok». Sonny smiled as he hugged D'Jok, before they headed back to town. Maya turned to him. «So, where do we stand Sonny?». Sonny's hazels met her golden. « I wish for you to remain in D'Jok's life, I'm not capable of taking over now, and I don't want to pull him away from all he knows. He's better off staying here. All I ask, is to keep building a relationship with my son». «Off course Sonny, D'Jok already loves you very much, he's always missed a father in his life». «Not anymore, I may not be the best dad, but I'll be as good as I can be for him» replied Sonny, before he took Maya by the hand. This time, she got good images, peaceful images of her adopted son and his father in harmony. Maya and D'Jok wawed goodbye to Sonny when Corso came to pick him up. Maya smiled. There was hope for a better future after all...
The end