A Tale Woven in the Stars
Chapter One: A Mother's Love and a Father's Pride
It was dark, and cold. Night had fallen in the besieged city, but still the bombardment went on. On this night, a young woman was struggling to bring a new life into the war torn world.
"One more push, lass. Just give it one more push." The midwife said, cheering the young, first-time mother on. With a final, mighty effort, the woman pushed, and out came her firstborn.
"It's a boy! Congratulations!" the midwife said, as she handed the screaming baby to a nurse, who then wrapped the child in a warm blanket. The woman's only response was a tired smile, as her son's cries came to her ears.
"Here you go, Maya. Isn't he wonderful?" an older woman asked, as she gently took the baby from the nurse, and handed him to his mother.
"He is. Just like his father. Look! He even has the scar birthmark!" Maya said, smiling, as she looked down upon the now pink 'scar' that adorned her son's face.
"He'll be a pistol, that's for certain. Wouldn't Harlock be pleased?" the older woman said, fondly.
"Yes. If only he were here now. I hope he's all right." Maya murmured, with some worry in her voice.
"Don't fret, child. He'll come back. He's too stubborn to die at the hands of the Illumidas. Him and that DeathShadow are both stubborn." The woman said, reassuringly.
"You talk like that ship has a mind of its own, Millie." Maya said, with a teasing tone in her voice.
"It certainly seems to. I'm telling you, Maya, that that ship has a soul and presence of its own. One can almost tell without all those fancy gizmos where it is." Millie said, as she gazed at a picture of Harlock's ship and its crew. Standing off to one side in the picture was Harlock himself, looking stoic, but having a proud glint in his eyes as he looked upon the then just graduated cadets.
"Millie, I need to ask you something." Maya said, her expression sobering as she said that.
"What is it, child?" Millie asked, noticing the change of mood.
"If…………………If something should happen to me, will you take care of Little Harlock?" Maya asked. The older woman stood where she was in shock.
"Of course I would! Why are you saying such things? Nothing is going to happen to you!" Millie said, aghast.
"Something could happen……………when I start broadcasting 'Voice of Free Arcadia' again. I need to know that my son will be in good hands if something should happen to me." Maya said, grimly.
"Maya, please reconsider. You have a child to be here for. You shouldn't risk your life like that." Millie said, but knew deep down that Maya was just as stubborn as Harlock on some issues. And 'Voice' was one of those issues.
"Millie, I'm sorry to be placing this burden on you, especially with your age and all. But I could think of no other raising my son. I feel that I have a very short time left to me, so I must carry out my mission, even as my beloved carries out his. Had this been some other time, I would have loved to have raised my son, with a loving husband by my side. But it just wasn't meant to be. Please understand." Maya said, gently, yet firmly.
"I don't understand, but I will do my best to raise Little Harlock. Yet, when he is old enough, should he be told about his father?" Millie asked.
"Yes. He deserves to know about his father. The bravest man in Arcadia." Maya said, as she held her son just a moment longer, then handed him to Millie.
Months later, Maya's prediction came true, much to the sorrow of Millie. With tears in her eyes, Millie held the now seven month old Little Harlock, and was amazed by how quiet the boy was. When she looked in his eyes, she could see solemnity, something that wasn't common for children his age to show.
"You know, don't you, little one? You know that your mother is never coming back. Nor is your father. Oh, how can I tell you about him later, when all it will bring is more tears?" Millie asked, when a faint flicker of comprehension crossed the child's face. But not a sob or whimper did he utter, for even then his father's proud blood prevented it.
The years passed quickly. And as the child named Harlock left babyhood, he also left the 'Little' part of his name behind him. At eight years of age, he was wily and precocious, keeping his surrogate mother on her toes at all times. Most of the time he would hide in one of the estate orchards, making the poor woman look for him. More often than not, the boy was found playing with the neighborhood boys, all of whom, including him, were oblivious to the reign of the Illumidas. Then, one afternoon, Young Harlock (as he was now called) was on his way home from playing when he happened upon a strange scene. There was a man kneeling near his mother's grave!
"Hey! What're you doin' there?" Young Harlock asked, doing his best to sound imposing. The man jumped and looked around, startled by the sudden break in the silence. He calmed down quickly, however, when he saw the eight-year-old boy standing in front of him.
"Paying my respects to a very special lady." The man replied, quietly.
"Did you know my mother?" Young Harlock asked, confused when the man stumbled back a little in surprise and shock.
"S-say that again?" the man asked, as he tried to gather his wits.
"Did you know my mother?" Young Harlock again asked, wondering why this stranger was acting so bizarre.
"Yes. I knew her very well. I take it you are her son?" the man asked.
"Yep. My name's Harlock, but everybody just calls me 'Young' Harlock. Millie says that my father was named Harlock too and that he was the bravest man in Arcadia." Young Harlock said, proudly, oblivious when the stranger uttered a sound in his throat that would have been a yelp, had it not been stifled at the last moment.
"Where is Millie, Young Harlock?" the stranger asked, his voice shaking slightly.
"At the house. Wanna come and meet her?" Young Harlock asked. The stranger, who was wearing a strange hooded cloak, nodded. Numbly he followed the child back to where he and Millie were living, not believing what he was seeing and hearing.
"Aunt Millie! Aunt Millie! There's someone that wants to meet you!" Young Harlock shouted, as he went tearing across the yard to where the woman now stood.
"Well, now, who have you brought home today? Another of the neighborhood…………….boys………………?" Millie trailed off when she saw the tall, cloaked figure approach, quietly.
"Millicent? Is that you?" the stranger asked, the voice carrying even more disbelief in it than before.
"My god……………….come inside, both of you!" Millie suddenly said, as she ushered both boy and man inside and shut the door behind them. Bewildered by all that was going on, Young Harlock looked to Millie, who now stood on one side of the room, pale and shaking as the stranger lowered the hood of the cloak, revealing the scarred face of a familiar looking man.
"You don't recognize me, do you?" the stranger asked, looking sadly at her with his single silvery-gray eye.
"Oh, but I do. There's no mistaking you for anyone else, Harlock. But what on earth happened to you? What happened to your eye?" Millie asked, stunned by the changes in the elder Harlock's appearance.
"Damn Illumidas soldier shot it out in a firefight eight years ago. I was in a world of hurt for a while after that. But nothing hurt more than having Maya die in my arms." The elder Harlock said, sadly, as he touched the velvet patch subconsciously with his right hand.
"You saw my mother die?" Young Harlock asked, his voice a mere whisper amidst the two adult voices in the room. To his surprise, the other Harlock kneeled down before him so he was eye level with him and nodded.
"Yes. There was nothing I could do. I had the most powerful Earth-built ship in the universe, and I still couldn't save her. I'm sorry, Young Harlock, I truly am." The elder Harlock murmured, with true remorse and guilt in his remaining eye.
"Does that mean you're my father?" Young Harlock asked, taking the apology and putting it to the side, for the moment. The question left the two adults speechless for a moment, then the elder Harlock nodded.
"I suppose so. You do have the trademark scar, but your hair is lighter. You have a good mixture of both your mother and myself in you. I have no doubt that you will be a fine pirate one day." The elder Harlock said, with some pride in his voice. Young Harlock's face suddenly lit up into the most brilliant smile Millie had ever seen.
"He has his mother's smile, as well." Millie thought, as she watched the bond between father and son begin to form, little knowing how important this would be for the two of them in the future.
Author's Note!
I realize that this fic will probably not make much sense to those who follow Captain Harlock 'religiously' but this is a personal point of view. The three main series I am going to be drawing from (actually two series and a movie) will be 'My Youth in Arcadia', Harlock Saga, and Cosmo Warrior Zero. Don't be too harsh in the reviews, please!
Gemini