The Visit Home.

The dark lifeless leviathan hung motionless in the starlit space. The shuttle pilot sighed in relief having almost missed the ship but for seeing the reflection of starlight off the leviathan's windows. The hull was blackest black, it had an abandoned air about it- the pilot remembered with sadness when it had teemed with life and action. The shuttle flew towards the leviathan heading for a huge opening like gaping wound the type that could drain away the life blood of the leviathan .

But as the shuttle got closer the pilot remembered this was where the bay door entrances to the huge cavern were the leviathan's shuttle and fighters where stored. In the dark the shuttles lights showed as it flew past the damaged but still graceful roof columns that held up the bay roof. The pilot could also just see the remains of racks that once held the sleek and deadly fighter craft. Eventually the shuttle reached a landing bay that's floor was not damaged with an open airlock door to the corridor. The pilot checked their space suit and air supply as the leviathan had no air and picked up a small box before opening the shuttle door. The pilot skirted carefully the wreckage on the landing bay floor. Pausing at the air lock door the pilot looked up and down the corridor in both directions, but could only see as far as the helmet light would allow. The walls looked flaky and dried out and in some places brittle debris where the roof had fallen in, as the pilot walked down the corridor the first dried up husked of bodies appeared on the floor.

The pilot noticed the hints of former grandeur the graceful curves of the door ways and the door controls panels. The pilot remembered a time when the walls rippled with colors of black silver green and blue which would merge into silvered green or blue and purple, now all that was left was a dull lifeless black color. Pilot pushed the memories of the away; this damaged ship was dangerous and could easily trap an unwary person. The corridor ended under tall graceful archway, at the top of a graceful stairway. The pilot noticed on either side there was the remains of a walkway with a balustrade of twisted and curvy shapes, but now like the rest of ship that was broken too, with more dried up bodies huddled along that walkway.

The pilot slowly inched forward to test the stairs steps they felt dry and brittle but they supported the pilots weight, but the stair balustrade broke under the pilot hand. The pilot then started down the stairs, moving quicker now the air supply to the space suit would only last so long. At the bottom of the stairs the pilot remembered the huge soaring hallway with slender columns holding up the roof, it would have had the same black blue green and silver ripple of colors. Once again the walls like the rest of the ship were a dead and lifeless black. No dried up husks of bodies where here. Finally the pilot reached where once magnificently carved doubled doors, had stood, but now one had fallen on the floor and the second hung drunkenly by it top hinge. The pilot could still just make out a familiar name on the still hanging door.

Inside a nightmare awaited the pilot, here was fallen rank upon rank of dried up husks that where once living warriors, they had died with their weapons in their hands. Some of these warriors here the pilot would have known. The pilot gaze went to the walls the hangings of bright red and gold fabric where now faded and tattered in some places they had fallen off the walls. The pilot walked down the aisle between the dead warriors towards a huge window with is own tattered curtains through the rents in the curtain starlight streamed through lighting in a gentle way her way to a high backed seat on a dais. When the pilot was nearly at the dais there was one more small group of dead warriors to pass they where facing outwards with their weapons drawn the pilot saluted them. Finally at the base of the dais was the one who was the chief warrior of the ship his weapons still in his hand as he'd died alone facing the throne. Again the pilot saluted him, for in life he'd taught the pilot to fly, the fight, and to command.

Now the pilot stepped up onto the steps of the dais, and at each step the pilot bowed to the one who sat in death as in life straight and tall on the throne. The ruler of this ship always insisted on good manners. There was nobody living who could hear what the pilot said to the seated ruler, or saw taken from the box, a metal rose which was then placed on the ruler lap, the pilot then turned to a small dusty table beside the throne the pilot could just make out a shimmer from the ruler diadem which the pilot took. The pilot bowed once more to the seated ruler, and on reaching the chief warrior another salute to him for the last time was given. Then the pilot passed back through the rows of the dead warriors and in to the hall through the arched doorway.

On stepping out into the hall the pilot started to hear a creaking and a cracking noise, on looking up the pilot could see flakes of black fluttering down like snowflakes. The pilot realized the ship was starting to break up. Dignity was cast aside and the pilot ran towards the stairway, darting around the slender columns that where splintering and falling to the floor. Up the stairway and just as the pilot reached the top from behind a roaring noise could be heard the pilot turned to look and saw the stairway was crumbling. The pilot didn't linger any more and ran back down the corridor to the landing bay, jumping over the debris and bodies, not stopping until reaching the shuttle, the diadem was placed gently on the shuttles control panel, the door was shut and the shuttle lift off quickly on the pilots command. The shuttle flew ducking and diving around the fallen debris from the broken columns and the fighter bays roof. The shuttle made it out of the ship and once a safe distant away it was stopped and turn so the pilot was facing the leviathan going through it last dying throes crumbling inwards onto itself. Till all that was left was black dust which would over time is disrupted by the solar wind and blown through space.

Stardust the stuff of life we are all stardust we can from it and we will be returned to it, the pilot remembered being told by the chief warrior of the now destroyed leviathan.

The shuttle turned and resumed it course, the pilot picked up the diadem and gasped the diadem was not black or lifeless any more. There were faint hints of colors of black silver green and blue rippling across the diadem surface. The pilot placed it in their lap, and the pilot's body warmth helped the diadem colors because clearer it was as if life was returning to the diadem. The shuttle was heading towards a Stargate that hung in space, it sprang into life on a command from the shuttle which entered the Gate, leaving behind a leviathan's stardust.

The shuttle exited the Stargate and the pilot stopped the shuttle gazing upon 3 planets bathed in golden sunlight. The pilot eye is further drawn to a leviathan which hung in space. The hull reflected back colors of black gold blue and green. It pulsated with activity and life, it was if the ship was drinking in the sunlight, the pilot sighed there was home. As the shuttle flew towards the ship it was escorted in by sleek and deadly fighter planes. They swept into the fighter bay towards the landing pad passed slender roof columns and storage racks full of weapon ready craft. Warriors working on other craft stopped what they where doing and saluted as the shuttle passed. They then quickly left and moved in to the ship moving toward the great meeting hall. The shuttle lands and the pilot before leaving pulls off the spacesuit and takes from the beautiful carved wooden box with the pilots name on it a coat of swirling patterns in blues green black and gold and puts it on. Picks up the diadem and open the shuttle door, there was an honor guard of warriors with drawn weapons who saluted the pilot. The pilot bowed back and is escorted by them from the docking bay into the corridor toward the Great Hall of the ship. As they walked the pilot noted the living walls rippling with colors of blues green black and gold, the graceful arched doorways and curvy door control panels so unlike the ship the pilot had just left. Concentrate the pilot thought that was the past this is now.

All too quickly they all arrived at two huge magnificent richly carved doubled doors the pilot could make out a familiar name on those doors. As the doors opened the pilot and the escort entered and together they march up an aisle through bowing warriors all dressed in their finest robes and weapons. On the walls the pilot noted blue and green hangings trimmed with gold and behind a dais was a huge window framed by silky curtains the same color as the hangings. Through the window golden light streamed into the hall lighting the dais and the throne.

The escort fell back as the pilot reached a small group of senior warriors who bowed, the pilot bowed back and then waked towards the solitary chief warrior of the ship who was standing at the bottom step on the dais. He bowed to the pilot and then took the diadem from the pilot hand and followed at a respectful distant from the pilot up the dais steps. On the topmost step the pilot turned and looks over the assembled throng of the ships warriors, they saluted the pilot with their weapons again and raised a shout as the pilot turned to the throne and sat down on it. The chief warrior now stood on the topmost step raised the diadem to the warriors in the hall, on turning he gently placed the diadem on the pilots head.

He bowed deeply to the pilot who finally hears the words she has been striving toward all her life.

"My Queen your hive salutes you and awaits your commands."