5
Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Underground City
KyTeth's pain was finally beginning to diminish somewhat under the healing hands of Rayal and the other Triars. The pain that he did feel seemed to be located in the area that used to contain his legs, but which now held only empty space.
"It's a pity that Nykko Marran did not rescue your legs, KyTeth," his old clan member/nemesis, Healer Rha'Noth, told him, "I and the other physicians could have re-attached them for you, if they had been in good enough shape."
"From what Nykko tells me, they weren't," he responded, "They were crushed under the weight of the Fighter's hull."
To KyTeth's deep relief and delight, all of his family members had made it safely to the Underground City, and were working with the "Light Healers" to create a strong enough Planetary Shield to keep the "Shadows" out. Little Mara' had been engaged in prayer and meditation with the planet's most revered Light workers, in order to increase the strength of the planet's light, and from what he understood, they were succeeding thousands of times over.
Shad'ra'sha Troop had been engaging in prayer every day with their leaders, Kat'Ma and G'Iru, but they had decided to take a break from that today. They had learned just a week ago that their beloved Commander, G'Roc, had died defending KyTeth from the "Shadow Beings" and their stealthy attack on the Narn fleet. Tomorrow was to be the "Farewell-to-Souls" day in which they would sing their songs not only for G'Roc, but for all the Narns and Centauris who died on that day.
KyTeth was hoping that Rha'Noth and Rayal would allow him to attend, in spite of the fact that he no longer had legs. His heart and soul had been in deep pain over the loss of his friend, as well as the Elders such as Tha'Bor and Khi'Tar, who had all died defending Triar against the Centauris and the Shadows. KyTeth had been having nightmares about the Shadows, and so his father Tan Kari and his wife Ru'Kyla had been by his bedside constantly. Ma'Kona and Ti'Nook had come to take him for a ride in Mara's power wheelchair, which she no longer needed because she had made a full recovery with the help of the Triarian healers. Mara's little brother Brino' would perch upon KyTeth's shoulder when he went out, as if to be his sentinel as he drove about the astonishing Underground City, which was also known as Soul Light City. It was not dark down here, but rather filled with a kind of luminous, multi-colored essence which filled the cavern and rock-carved dwellings in it with an aura of goodwill towards all.
KyTeth was deeply touched by the co-operation he saw down here between not only the Narns and the Triars, but also between the Narns and the small group of Centauris who had been secretly working here to achieve peace between the warring species for at least a decade. The group had taken Nykko Marran into its midst, and was in the process of training him to be a "servant of the Light". Nykko even arrived a couple of times in order to visit KyTeth, just to get away from "all that blasted Light business."
Nykko had not been thrilled to become a part of the group, but he knew that he had no choice, since the Centauri vessels outside the planet's orbit had been unable to penetrate the Triars' "Shield of Light" in order to come down and declare "victory" upon the Narns who were living there. Neither had the Shadow ships been able to penetrate it, either. Apparently, the "Shadow Spiders" that had touched it had been instantly destroyed. The Shield had finally come into effect while the Narns and Centauris were busy fighting, and it had only intensified since that time.
KyTeth had been relieved to find out that Ni'Kar had managed to guide his Battle Cruiser down to the planet's surface when it became apparent that the Shadows were preparing to attack. Ba'Quith had, like KyTeth, had his weapons array knocked out, and so he had helped to lead the Cruiser down to a safe landing near the Underground City. Ni'Kar held within him the knowledge to jettison all fire power before attempting to penetrate the powerful Light Shield, and so had made it through. Rayal, the white-furred Triarian, had been the one to send the co-ordinates to all the ships that had made it through the shield, and KyTeth had made sure that he thanked the ape-like being. Rayal had also come every day to pour healing light into his wounded leg-stumps in order to heal the pain. KyTeth was eternally grateful, because he was sure that he would have gone mad if he had been obliged to endure any more torment.
"It is my honor to help all of you who come to us in friendship," Rayal had responded, "I once knew and came to respect your Uncle Ba'Quith, when he was your age. It is a privilege to now serve his nephew."
KyTeth had wanted to know more about Rayal's friendship with his Uncle; he had understood that Ba'Quith had been engaged in torturing Triars when he was last here on a military campaign, just after the world had been conquered by the Narns. Rayal, however, did not give him any more information about the strange liaison.
Because of Rayal's healing work, KyTeth was now well enough recovered to be able to go out on small excursions in his wheelchair. It was difficult adjusting to a life without his legs, but KyTeth was determined not to let the handicap affect his spirit. As he worked the controls of his wheelchair with the help of his two sons, he nearly ran into Councilor Ni'Kar. Ni'Kar had a female Narn with him, and as he looked up in order to apologize for his clumsiness, he realized that the female Narn who was accompanying Ni'Kar was none other than G'Kara!
"Commander G'Kara!" KyTeth exclaimed, "You survived!"
G'Kara appeared weary and sad. "Yes," she replied, "Ni'Kar rescued me and two others before he went down to the planet's surface. But I cannot feel joy today, KyTeth, for my love, G'Roc, is dead."
KyTeth held his hand out to hers, and she took it. He gave a soul-cry, and she returned it. The two boys, Ma'Kona and Ti'Nook, went over and embraced her shyly, and she rubbed heads with them.
"Your wife has been helping my niece, G'Kara," Ni'Kar told him, "She will need help when she births her pouchling."
"Pouchling?" KyTeth cried, "Another pouchling is going to be born? Is it..."
"It is G'Roc's...yes," G'Kara responded, "I found out this week, as I was recovering from the shock of battle, and I have just now told my Uncle Ni'Kar. I was telling him that it is almost as if G'Roc wanted to leave me with something of himself...and yet, I am clueless when it comes to young pouchlings. I deeply appreciate Ru'Kyla's help."
"She's an ace at Pouchling stuff," KyTeth reassured her, feeling much better upon hearing the news of G'Kara and G'Roc's child.
"KyTeth," Ni'Kar told him, "My Pouch-Friend. G'Kara has agreed to stay here and help us in the Soul Light City rather than going to the surface. You and any of the others may join the Narn colonists on the surface of this world any time you wish. The Triarian Light Shield is up and protecting this world for as long as it needs to do so. The Shadow beings have departed, for they fear the Light which has manifested itself here. Rayal and I are the liaisons with the surface Narns. We are going ahead now with the Treaty, and it will improve conditions for the Triars who have chosen to live above-ground in cooperation with the Narns. The Narns on this world are realizing that they must live in a different way than they did before, for they are no match for the power of the Light, which the Triars have become adept at manifesting. No Narn or Centauri ship which bears weapons can penetrate the planetary shield, now. We are therefore free, for the first time in centuries, to serve the Light openly. I therefore ask you, KyTeth, if you would like to stay here and join us in our Light Work? You have served the Narn Military well, but it is time for you to be free of its bonds. As Fleet Commander, I am hereby giving you an honorable discharge, if you want it. You are disabled, now, and you may leave the Military if you wish. If you choose to stay, I must warn you that you may one day be out of a job, at least on this world..."
"Ni'Kar!" KyTeth shouted in joy, "Of course I want the discharge! Are you kidding? Thank you a thousand times! If I could, I would get up and dance, but I can't, so..."
Suddenly, KyTeth felt a surge of emotions sweeping over him, and he began to cry in long, convulsive sobs. Brino', who had been riding along on the back of his wheelchair, patted his head, and the two boys came and sat on either side of his wheelchair, each of them holding one of his arms.
It was as if everything, his friendship with G'Kar, the experience with Shad'ra'sha Troop on Narn, the little cadet Mi'Roc's death, the Mhrr'Unik crisis, Kha'Ral's trial, Kris Singh's arrest, the escape of the Ornos and the Singhs to Minbar, the final battle at Triar with the Centauris and the Shadow beings, G'Roc's death, and finally the loss of his legs when he crash landed with Nykko Marran at the edge of the Triarian bog...all of it was coming out now, in the form of a crushing torrent of sadness. G'Kara held him and cried in a similar fashion. Soon, the boys were also crying. A number of Triarian people held their hands out to "send them Light" as it was called here.
Their cries finally subsided, until he felt a kind of peaceful catharsis, as if he had cried out all the sadness that he had ever experienced. Ni'Kar walked with the exhausted young Narns back to the Healing Den where KyTeth had been convalescing.
"Pouch-Friend," he told the young ex-soldier, "It is time for you to rest, now."