Solaris was silent through the conversation and Coran noticed.
"Solaris, are you alright? You're unusually silent." Coran commented dryly. Zoonia slapped him on the wrist.
"You know which date it is. Show some tact." She said, somewhat indignant. Sonny looked over at her sitting next to Zarind.
"I noticed you've been out of it as well." He softly said. Artie surprised them all by playing some music on his laptop.
"This song always lifts my spirits when I am down. It's from a girl group I like." He said with a sheepish smile. Corso grinned while he shook his head.
"Something tells me it's not just the music that lifts your spirits." He teased. Artie made a nervous giggle.
"That obvious, huh? I figured only Sonny would notice." He complained. Sonny, with an arm over Callie's shoulder, looked at him.
"I'm not the only one who's observant." He stated. Artie looked at him suspiciously.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked. Callie laughed.
"Don't get too upset. Even Sonny can get things wrong." She laughed. Corso coughed.
"Who is this trio, Artie? I'm not familiar with this cutesy stuff." He said. Artie pulled up a music file.
"Here they are; Sapphire, Opal, and Rainbow, singing The Song of Dreams." He said. Callie noticed how Solaris winced at those names.
"Thanks, Artie. It's been a heavy day. But I'll be fine. I'm a Paladin, controlling my emotions is part of my training." Solaris whispered. "I'm sure you all have days when what happened to in the past just… gets to you." Sonny nodded. He could still recall where he had been when he joined the pirates. Griefstruck, set on vengeance. His anger was so deep, and the wounds so raw.
"Yeah, Stellar Unix isn't exactly a cakewalk," Artie said. Sonny and Corso looked at each other. That was a hint to Artie's past. Maybe they could help him. They had both read the updates from Stellar Unix. The trio Artie was talking about came from Stellar Unix and stopped performing. There had been rumors but nothing was verified. Artie put the audio file back on. Soft tones came from the speakers. Solaris switched to a dark visor and Sonny nudged Corso. This song stirred something in Solaris as much as she tried to hide it. As the song faded out, Artie wiped a tear from his eye.
"Whatever happened to them? At the top of their fame they just… vanished." He softly said. Bennett smiled.
"Sounds like you know quite a lot about this trio." He said. Artie smiled sheepishly.
"I know pretty much everything about them. It all started on this very date, fifteen years ago." Artie said softly. Corso exchanged a look with Sonny. They had some digging to do. The Paladins on the video link also looked down. Solaris as well. She was hiding her emotions
"Solaris, how long are you gonna keep punishing yourself for something you couldn't help? You'd only put yourself and your bloodline at risk." Zarind said.
"Don't you dare try to tell me anything about my duties or who I am. This will be dropped. Now." Solaris snapped at him. As she looked up, Callie saw the tears that escaped her eyes. Solaris quickly withdrew from the situation, realizing all eyes were on her as Sonny and Corso looked at her. Those two could get close to her identity. She went to the yard, to clear her head. Sonny wanted to follow but he was stopped by Callie.
"Leave it to me," Callie said. Sonny nodded.
"Alright. Just don't push her, okay?" He said, looking at his assistant. Artie nodded.
"I can help with the story of the Trio," Artie recalled. Sonny nodded.
"I attended a concert they held at Akillian with Helena. She was a fan of theirs." He said. Artie grinned.
"Are you familiar with their music?" Artie smiled. Sonny nodded.
"A bit." He admitted. Corso looked at Artie.
"Artie the Pirate, a fanboy. Who would have thought?" He mused. Artie grinned.
"Oh come on. Don't you have a hero?" He said. Corso's normal eye darkened.
"I did once. It did not have a happy ending. Anyway, what can you share with us? I'm sure the Paladins can fill in some blanks." He said. Coran nodded.
"The Paladins could pretty much tell the whole story except for some issues." He confessed.
"Wich issues?" Corso asked. Coran sighed.
"The story of The Trio from Stellar Unix is closely tied to Solaris. We can only tell with her permission. Artie can probably tell you more than us." Coran explained. Sonny nodded.
"Artie, tell us what you got."
Solaris wished she could just run from it all. Things wouldn't get better. She should have been able to prevent what had happened. Because of her feud with the Bleylock family. It should have been her. Not Zoltar. This was General Bleylock, Sonny Blackbones' nemesis, doing. To punish her. For what? Her family rejected him as a suitor? Because they knew what her destiny held? Solaris placed her hand on her neck and touched the mark. Once a Paladin, always a Paladin. She let a tear roll down her cheek.
"Zoltar, I'm so sorry. I never wanted all of this. I should have stayed away. I failed you, my love." She whispered.
"Solaris?" Callie's voice was soft as she sat down beside her.
"There's no reason for you to get involved. There's nothing you can do. Even if you knew, it's too big a risk. People can get killed. I won't let him do that. This is something I should do. And I don't know if I'm strong enough." She whispered, pulling her knees up.
Callie felt her heartache. Solaris looked completely devastated.
"Solaris, Sonny will do everything in his power to bring the truth to the surface, and have the ones opposing justice taken down for it. Also, this Zoltar means a lot to you?" Callie said softly. Solaris nodded.
"He was my sun, I was his moon. We would have married if it wasn't for General Bleylock. I don't know what happened to Zoltar. All I know are the charges against him. All of them false. Zoltar would never do what he's accused of. I still hope that he's alive somewhere." Solaris said softly. Callie nodded. She recalled how she had felt when Sonny had been taken by Keiran.
Solaris' silent tears, made Callie let go of the memories and pulled the young Paladin into a hug. Solaris' sobs touched her deeply.
"I know you have your doubts Solaris but trust Sonny. If there's anyone that can help you set this right, it's him."
Duke Maddox looked through the transcripts of the interrogation of both professor Monteague, and Maurice Miller. It was clear they were not behind the hostile takeover. These two didn't have the guts to go about it. He thought about the stolen version of the re-assimilation program. In its current state, Sonny had fought it successfully. If it wasn't for Bleylock, Sonny would still be at their side. Duke Maddox sighed as he took I'Son's old medical file. It contained X-rays, showing the injuries to his back, from when Bleylock had attacked him. He heard stories about what Bleylock had done out in the field, under the guise of being a Technoid operative. Could he have done this to I'Son as well? And if Bleylock was behind the glaciation of Akillian like Sonny claimed he was? He needed to speak to both his former scientists. He needed to know the truth. Just how deep had Bleylock reached? Duke Maddox called his secretary.
"I need to speak to both Sonny Blackbones, and professor Clamp. It concerns the safety of the Galaxy."
Solaris looked at everyone. Gone were the tears. The talk with Callie made her make a decision. This was not just about her, it was about Stellar Unix and the entire Galaxy. She needed to come clean.
"It's time you step up to the plate." She told herself.
"Coran, I grant permission for the Paladins to tell how my story connects with The Trio and Zarind. We can't keep the Pirates in the dark about this." Solaris started. Zarind pulled the Paladin leader into a hug.
"I know. If I survived captivity for all these years, there is a chance he did too. We will find him either way." Zarind whispered.
"It keeps replaying in my mind. It never stops but it's so unclear." Solaris said. Sonny looked at Corso, who nodded.
"We have a solution for that Solaris, we'll find the answers," Sonny said reassuringly. Corso looked at her.
"First things first; we need all the information we have." He said. Sonny nodded in agreement.
"Solaris?" He asked, looking at her. Zarind shook his head.
"Solaris, do you think, you can use your projector to show the first part while I tell the story?" he asked mildly. Solaris nodded, wiping her tears.
"His name was Zoltar and he was my betrothed. We would have married if it wasn't for Bleylock." Solaris managed.
"Tell us about Zoltar," Sonny said.
Clamp was nervous. For years, he and his partner had kept this information from Technoid. His research papers had been left in the laboratory.
"Labnor, we need to take precautions. Something is going on and if we're not careful, we might get caught up in something that could destabilize the galaxy." He remembered I'son saying.
"What makes you think that I'Son?" He asked. I'Son turned his back towards me.
"I know things about Bleylock and his real motivations, things he keeps very well hidden," I'Son said through gritted teeth. Labnor nodded and followed his friend's suggestions silently. They took extra precautions everywhere to avoid Bleylock gaining access. He had noticed I'Son, keeping a watchful eye on the door. Something was going on between him and Bleylock, and I'Son was not sharing what that was.
And now, after all these years, Duke Maddox called them to a meeting. He just hoped Sonny knew how to handle this. He needed to speak to his friend and see if he had received the Duke's message.
Coran and Zoonia looked at Zarind, then Solaris.
"Are you ready, Solaris?" Coran asked. Solaris sighed before she nodded silently. She pressed a button on the projector on her arm. She took a small memory pen from inside the compartment.
"We'll use traditional Paladin methods for this. First, Zarind will tell the story of The Trio." Solaris said as she handed the pen to Artie. Zarind nodded and started telling. Three girls, best of friends and an incredible gift for music. As soon as the three friends realized what gift they had, they wanted to share it with the Galaxy. They were peace-loving and tried to bring joy and happiness to every corner of the galaxy. They quickly became famous. Despite trouble at their home planet.
Rainbow had an unwanted suitor, who would not accept her repeated noes. Rainbow was also in love with someone else. His name was Zoltar. Rainbow and Zoltar kept their relationship a secret due to the suitor being very influential and powerful. He found out. After a Galactik tour, Zoltar was seized by the military of this family's home planet, on charges of espionage. Rainbow was devastated, and her other suitor had tried to force her family to force Rainbow into marriage. This was when Rainbow's family had to seek help from the Paladins.
At the time, Zarind had been called back home, as the King, Aldoor, needed his advice to help Rainbow. Zarind had been taken prisoner, and his Pirate ship blown to pieces. The wreckage had been taken by Bleylock, for later use. Sonny and Corso looked at each other. The puzzle pieces started to fall into place.
"Solaris, the other suitor in this mess was General Bleylock, wasn't it?" He said. Solaris nodded.
"You're right." She said. Sonny tensed up.
"He was probably forced by his father. They were traditionalist like that." Sonny said. Corso looked at him.
"Don't their people abandon their children and see homosexuality as a sin?" Corso asked. Sonny nodded.
"On his home planet Abraxor, emotions are seen as weakness," Sonny said. Corso nodded again.
"Abraxor is a military nation. They've known for their coldness. Blaylock's part of them." He muttered. Sonny agreed.
"He wasn't cold when I met him. During his time with Technoid, he showed emotions and love." Sonny said. Corso nodded.
"Don't make excuses for him Sonny, despite what he went through, we all have a choice how to act," Corso said. Aaraya started talking.
"Fear of his father, of his family and their demands, made him go down a destructive path. Unfortunately, Rainbow was caught in the middle of it." She said. Solaris spoke up.
"Artie, please play the content on the memory pen." She said. Artie nodded and put it into his laptop. A beautiful song accompanied the images.
"Rainbows voice," Artie said, amazed. Sonny smiled as he realized it was Solaris singing. She punched a code on her arm projector. In front of their eyes, she started a transformation. Artie looked away from his computer.
"You're Rainbow, aren't you?" He said. As Solaris ended the song, she turned to Artie.
"I am, or rather, I was. When The Bleylocks framed Zoltar, it was the end of Rainbow. I fell into a deep depression until my father contacted the Paladins. They brought me to them. I was trained since I was a young child in various forms of martial arts. I didn't have time to think of Zoltar, I was spending every waking moment trying to build strength and trying to forget. This was about the time Opal and Sapphire were informed that I wasn't coming back. I'm not sure where they are now. I just wish I could say I'm sorry." Solaris sighed. Artie looked strangely moved. Corso and Sonny exchanged a glance. Sonny turned to Zarind.
"This happened at the same time that you were meant to return to Stellar Unix, Zarind. It's time you tell us what happened. That might be the key to stop all this."
Stellar Unix, The Royal Castle
Maurice Miller sat on the throne. All had gone according to plan. He hadn't heard from O'Keefe yet. Blackbones would be hard to get close to this time. Attacking Sonny directly would not be smart. An internal note from a person he had under his thumb at the board had informed him, Duke Maddox and Technoid also kept close tabs on the Pirate Chief through a tracking bracelet. Sonny was expecting a counter strike. But there was a way to get the upper hand. Maurice Miller used the computer system to send an extended file. Seconds later, a man in a military uniform, and a scar across his face appeared on the screen.
"Tell me where I can find the fugitive Corso Takashi."
Sonny was looking at the dagger Keiran had left after their encounter. Beautifully decorated but with an eerie message. Sonny was debating whether he should tell Callie about it or leave her out of it. It could put her in danger. Sonny recalled how scared she was when he was captured. He recalled Corso's reaction when they were back at the ship after the rescue. His raw emotions shining through. And then Callie wanted to stay close to him. The dagger had two emblems. One of the Pirates and the other was the family emblem of The Bleylocks, a prominent family on the planet Abraxor. Sonny had been there once as Bleylock's guest. He recalled Bleylock having pulled him aside, telling him that they could not express their love in front of his father.
"At some point, you'll have to tell them. What do you expect me to do?" He asked, slightly hurt. Bleylock kissed him softly, sliding his hands through his hair.
"You should move on from me. I hate that I have to tell you this but I don't have a choice." Bleylock stammered. Sonny nodded.
"As long as you don't get jealous, okay?" He asked.
"As long as you tell me."
Those words haunted him as he looked at the dagger. Once it represented a token of gratitude, as he had saved Bleylock while at Abraxor. A landslide at a mine they visited had taken place, and Bleylock was caught in it. Sonny's relentless digging saved him. Bleylock's father had given him the dagger, as a token of gratitude. After Sonny left Technoid, he took the dagger and engraved the Pirates emblem on it. It became a reminder of the past. Did Keiran know about this? He shook his head. Corso would deal with him. Suddenly, Sonny felt Callie's lips on his cheek.
"Still with us?" She asked softly. Sonny smiled as he looked at her.
"Just thinking of the meaning of this dagger." He said. Callie looked at it.
"I still recall that night we found that thing. I've never seen Corso so defeated." She said softly. Sonny felt a sting of guilt.
"That was no one's fault but my own. I should have let Corso and D'Jok handle it. The dagger could mean two things. It might be a sign that he cut all bonds with the Pirates or a sign of impending betrayal. Especially since he went behind Maddox's back." Sonny said. Callie was baffled.
"Duke Maddox didn't approve the ten million standard units on your head?" She asked, sounding surprised. Sonny nodded.
"Turns out the five million bounty is also just an act," Sonny admitted. Callie was intrigued.
"Something tells me you're worth more to them." She mused. Sonny chuckled.
"If they wanted me it would be a lot higher." He smiled. Callie hugged him.
"Your worth can't be described in money." She smiled. Sonny laughed.
"Duke Maddox thinks otherwise." He said. Callie smiled.
"So, how much are you worth to him?" She asked, curious.
"About twenty million standard units," Sonny said with a smile. Callie laughed.
"Technoid doesn't appreciate you enough." She smirked. Sonny smiled as he saw a glimpse in her eyes.
"It's not like they can capture my heart as you do." He smiled.
"I better make sure you're treated right, then." She smiled. Sonny felt amused.
"Now you got me curious. How would you treat me in captivity? Should I be scared?" He laughed. Callie pretended to be deep in taught.
"What did Pirates do in the good old days with their captives?" She mused. Sonny chuckled, this could get interesting.
"From what I've read, being held for a mighty sum of money." Sonny mused. Callie pretended to think.
"If I were to capture you I wouldn't even let you go." She said. Sonny was struggling not to laugh.
"You wouldn't be a very good Pirate." Sonny teased. Sonny put his hands into the pocket of his new sweater. Now that he was not a wanted man anymore, he decided to wear more casual clothes. The black pants and boots had been put away, replaced by comfortable black jeans and technosizer shoes. He put his hand around a small item.
"Callie, I've been thinking about this since we buried Helena. If I was going to start over, I had to let the past go. Corso helped me with something I didn't want to drag you into. I know you struggled when we did the marrow extraction." He said. Callie looked at him.
"We need to find another solution for that. Corso's almost hurt as much as you are." She said. Sonny nodded.
"I'm working on a better solution. When we buried Helena, both D'Jok and I gave our bracelets back to her. I also left my wedding ring. It felt like the right thing to do. Helena wouldn't have wanted me to remain alone." He said. Callie smiled.
"If she'd survived the disaster, she would have still been your wife." She said. Sonny shook his head.
"No. She had a disease she didn't tell me about. Carrying D'Jok to term was killing her. But birthing him was more important to her than her own life. She wrote this in her letter." Sonny confessed. Callie felt a tear roll down her cheek. Her unborn son was more important to her than her own life.
"She had courage. Giving birth to her son was the most important thing to her." She softly said. Sonny nodded.
"She wanted for me to move on from… other things. Things I'm not ready to tell you yet. Not because I don't trust you but because it will hurt you." Sonny whispered. Callie nodded.
"Corso knows. Can I ask him?" She asked. Sonny seemed to think it over.
"Let me talk to him first." He said. Callie nodded and smiled.
"You said something about me not being a good Pirate. I object." Callie nodded. Sonny laughed. The game was back on.
"You need a better last name, for one," Sonny said as he looked at her. Callie taught it over.
"Since you brought it up, do you have any suggestions?" she asked. Sonny smiled, taking out the small box.
"I was thinking Callie Blackbones." He smiled. Callie was completely caught off guard. Did he mean what she taught he meant? Sonny went down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.
"Since we met, you've helped me accomplish things that I taught were only possible in my dreams. You made me feel things I never thought I would feel again and I can't imagine my life without you. You already hold my heart in your hands. Callie Mystic, will you marry me?" He asked, heart racing. Callie felt her eyes tear up. Her heartfelt like it would burst.
"Yes Sonny, I will."
A/N: That ending felt so good to write. I've literally been itching to write it for some time.
There are a few things that will have to happen before the wedding takes place. But this will be a reason for celebration.
As always, Thank you Paranoidgirl for all your help with the betaing and all other helpful hints and suggestions. And thanks to all you out there reading the fic, has it been to your liking so far? Please leave a review.