These characters belong to copy-write holders other than myself. I am merely borrowing them.
I'm writing this because I liked the episode "Full Circle" from Space: 1999 and thought there was far more a back story than what we saw.
Hope you like it! Diamond.
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THE ORIGIN OF MAN
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She lay on the fur, wrapped in another, facing away from him. Her grief was deep and she would not look at him.
He did not know what to do. Her mate understood anguish, had experienced it himself, but he was unaccustomed to his woman's defiance in the aftermath of tragedy. He lay beside her on the fur because it was late. All his people were either preparing to rest for the night or were already asleep. He looked over at the far side of the cave. The young ones were sleeping and had been for hours.
He moved in closer to his woman from the back and put hands on her shoulders. He felt her stiffen slightly at his touch, fearing he might make a demand, then relaxed when he did not. She hadn't allowed him to take her since the tragedy and that was eight moons ago. He supposed he could take her by force – or any woman in his tribe – if he so chose to but, mourning himself, he did not want to expend the energy. It was such a strange feeling – not to want.
Unexpected, she turned around on the fur and faced him.
Silently in the semi dark, he lifted a smudged finger and touched the tear tracks below her eyes.
She took the fur she was wrapped in and pulled it over the both of them. She then placed a hand to his chest and leaned in to feel the warmth and strength of his body, taking in his scent, feeling him hold her. Her man.
It did not happen often but there were times when he could show affection, particularly at a time like this. It was not always so. There was a time when he fought for everything he had – including his woman.
He slept, remembering a time long ago.
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Jon was a wanderer, a young warrior without a tribe. He had been kicked out of his own clan, high in the hills, because he was a threat to his older brothers. As their father's favorite, a chief proud of his son's strength and tenacity, he was given opportunities his siblings were not granted. Father was a powerful leader, and a very brutal man he was, but he did have a soft spot for his youngest son.
Then, after the chief died from an unexplained and unexpected fall from a cliff, Jon was cornered and beaten by the older three sons and tossed out of their cave. He recalled his mother's screams of anguish but she was quickly pulled inside and Jon was given a strict warning. If he ever returned to them he would be killed.
The exiled warrior, the son of a king, had walked for weeks. Killing his food and drinking from the river he followed, young Jon considered his options. He needed to find a new tribe, join in, show his abilities which were vast, and ingratiate himself with its leader. He just needed an opening and one day he would show his ruthless brothers what their treachery wrought. He, along with a new tribe, would seek them out and destroy!
All these heated thoughts filled his head when he heard a sound, female grunts and titters, and he came upon some woman near the river. He hid from them, watching. They were all young and fine, wearing simple skin frocks, daughters of tribesmen and warriors. Initially, he thought to pounce and take one for his use but he became intrigued as he observed. The females carefully walked and balanced themselves on boulders and larger rocks, their bare feet in the water as they looked for fish, crabs and other river life. They deposited their findings in fur bags, strapped at their sides.
One woman, tall and self-assured, caught his eye. She had dark, wild hair, an intriguing figure, and the others – despite her youth - appeared to report to her. She wore beads around her neck, unlike the others.
A female child, who had seen no more than six summers, ran to her and clung to the woman's leg. She patted her head and sent her to another, who picked the girl up and took her to the river's edge. Jon quickly knew the woman must be important.
He wanted her.
The female, suddenly aware, stood to her full height and stiffened. She sniffed the air, as if she unexpectedly caught the scent of something she might have recognized but it confused her. She looked in his direction and Jon, alerted, hid behind the bulk of large tree trunk. He did not want her or any of the others to see him yet.
When their bags were filled the women moved off and he stealthily followed.
They came to a large cave, the females filing in, and Jon sensed there was to be a celebration of some kind. There were many distracted males and females dancing and grunting conversations. When he slipped in, keeping to the wall and shadows, no one seemed to notice.
He looked at the king and queen of their tribe, old but imperial, both sitting above the others on furs draped across large flat stones. They nodded approval as the women deposited their catches of the day into a big pot over a large fire. The water inside was boiling and the sea-life they added to whatever brew was already cooking could only add to the taste.
Jon's suspicion that the young woman he saw was important proved true. She came up to the chief and his woman, bowed shortly, and the Queen stroked her hair. She was their daughter and she wore the same beads as her mother. Later Jon would learn the woman was a shaman, a healer, and her daughter was being well taught; had been given the same curing gift.
He looked at the men of the tribe. None of them were as big or muscular as Jon. They had spent most of their time on the low lands, hunting easy prey and fishing. Jon and his people were from the high lands, the mountains, where they had to do battle with flying monsters; climb and fight for their food on a daily basis.
Their women also fought and were not as delicate, fine boned or as alluring as the women of this tribe. His clan's females were nearly as tough as their men, with thick necks, stout torsos, and strong stocky legs. They lacked the definition and softness in their bodies that these females had acquired … and again Jon looked at the chief's daughter, feeling desire.
He had to have her. But how could he, an outsider, prove his worth to their King? How could he join them and make her his?
Jon watched as the men and women backed up. A demonstration began. Two warriors came together for a battle with spears in the middle of the cave. Jon watched them and nearly growled in contempt at their clumsiness. A single man of his former tribe would have taken them both in no time. If this was the best this tribe had to offer …
Jon felt confident. He knew what he had to do to win a place.
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More to come.
Thank you Becky, Katie and Lisa.
