Part 1
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Twenty cycles ago onboard the command carrier Xerrin, two days after reporting onboard.
Crais had been apprehensive about being assigned to a carrier at such a young age. He thought he would be intimated by the Gunnery Officer since only the best were assigned to carrier duty. Instead he saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman that exhibited an unusual leadership style. He had never seen anyone on the frigate conduct an inspection with that level of dedication. She was a maverick, but you couldn't help but want to succeed for her. He was glad he worked for her rather than any of the others onboard. She nurtured and encouraged her junior officers the others liked to pit the junior officers against each other. He was sure he could advance his career here.
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Present
Madina Garrix was beginning to wake up. Crais had the lights turned down low and had almost fallen asleep in the chair. Her eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness, "Wh...whe...where am I?" she asked weakly. Crais almost didn't hear her. He moved over to her side where she could see him. He grabbed her hand. "Bialar? Am I dead?" she still sounded very weak.
He smiled at her, "No, Madina, you're not dead. You're onboard Talyn."
"How I missed that smile," she smiled weakly back at him and brushed his cheek. "I thought you were killed when the carrier exploded?"
"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. (A/N: apologies to Mark Twain aka Samuel Clements) Talyn and I survived starburst, if just barely. You should rest now. You were barely alive when we brought you onboard."
"If I can have some water, I think I'll be fine." She tried to sit up a little, Crais had to help her.
He handed her a glass of water, "If you don't mind my asking, how did you end up in that escape pod?"
"That's a long story. Perhaps I will let you tell me your story first. I kept track of your career up until the time you were irreversibly contaminated and stole Talyn," she smiled at him, baiting him to argue with her.
He took the bait, "Stole Talyn! I didn't steal Talyn! He chose me since I was the only one who understood him. I created him," he was quite agitated by now.
She started laughing, "I am so glad you are still so easy to bait. You were always a little too serious." She stopped laughing, "I'm sorry." She was still smiling though. "If you weren't in a weakened condition..." he smiled again. He then related a brief version of his adventures over the last two cycles. She was especially interested in how he managed to survive the theoretically fatal starburst.
"That is absolutely...incredible. I had been going to say unbelievable, but I'm looking at you right now. And it's not a bad sight, at that," she sounded much stronger. "Do you think we could get something to eat? I'm a little hungry."
"Of course." He helped her up. She was a little unsteady at first, but quickly gained her balance. He placed his arm around her waist to guide her as they walked to the galley. It felt good to hold her again. It had been far too long.
She looked around as they were walking to the galley. "This ship is remarkable. I have been on many leviathans before, but he has a special feel about him."
"I believe that comes from his hybrid nature. Here we are. You are fortunate that I have recently resupplied. I can offer you something decent to eat."
"Right about now even food cubes would be welcome." She sat at the table. "I suppose I could tell you what happened while you are preparing something to eat."
"I would appreciate that." He began preparing the meal.
"As you may know I have been in command of Xerrin for the last five cycles. Recent changes in attitude at High Command have caused my, shall we say, unique style of leadership to fall out of favor. I suppose it wasn't really in favor to begin with or I wouldn't have been in command in something as old as Xerrin. If you thought it was in bad shape when you were there, you should see it now. Well that's a different tale. Back to why I was in an escape pod. High Command decided to reassign me to some administrative post back in the central core. The transport I was in was attacked by Scarrans. I was the only one to make it to an escape pod before the transport was destroyed. That would have been two days ago. Pretty much end of story. Two days in pod alone is pretty boring. You begin talking to yourself after about four arns. It combats the loneliness."
"You were quite fortunate we came along." He decided not to tell her that he had seriously considered not bringing the pod onboard. "What are you going to do now?" He placed a plate of food in front of her and sat down to join her.
She took a bite, "This is pretty good. I'm not sure. High Command surely believes I'm dead. That could be good."
"Would you turn us in?"
"Why would I do that?"
"You could regain favor with High Command for turning us in."
"I could, but to what end. I can't change who I am. It would only be a matter of time before they remembered why I was out of favor. It's probably better this way."
"You could stay, at least until you decide what you want to do."
"I appreciate the offer. I also thank you for picking up my escape pod. Since I have nowhere else to go, I'll stay for now."
"I would like that," he smiled at her.
"You've changed. You're more like you were when I met you." Crais didn't know how to respond to that. They finished their meal in silence.
*************************************************
Twenty cycles ago
She crawled out from under the power converter and saw her new officer. He looked a little confused, but otherwise confident. He was handsome but so very young. His hair was pulled back in a tight queue, but she longed to determine whether it was straight, curly or somewhere in between. She would wait and see if he was deserving of her attention. She had been fooled by good looks before.
*************************************************
Present
"Madina, are you all right?" Crais was concerned.
"What? Oh, I'm fine. Just lost in thought. Thank you again for the meal. You have become quite the good cook. I think I should get some rest."
"Thank you. You learn those skills when you provide for yourself. Let me show you to your quarters. I'm afraid they will be fairly spartan."
"I'm sure I'll survive. That can't be any worse than those on the frigate I was assigned to."
"I assure you they are better than that. My quarters are down the hall if you need me for anything. If you get lost, ask Talyn and he will dim the lights to show you how to get around. That is the one down side of not having a pilot onboard. I am the only one that can communicate directly with Talyn. I will leave you to get some rest." He turned to leave.
"Bialar, at meal I mentioned that you had changed. You didn't answer. I remember how you were as a captain. Have your experiences here changed you that much?"
He paused in the doorway and kept his back to her. "I have had time to evaluate my life as a Peacekeeper. I have found that I did not like the person I had become. I had lost a part of myself in my quest for command. I have been able to find that part of myself again." He left.
Madina laid down and tried to get some sleep. Memories invaded her dreams.
When Crais arrived in his quarters Talyn assaulted him with questions. "Talyn, slowly please."
Do you trust her not to turn us in?
Crais began preparing for bed as he talked with Talyn, "Yes, I do. I know her better than any other Peacekeeper. I believe her when she says she has lost favor with High Command."
Do you trust her more than Larrell?
"I never trusted Larrell. I used her in order to repair your personality defects. Nothing more."
What are we going to do with her?
"I intend to let her stay as long as she wants. I want you to treat her as an honored guest."
Do you have feelings for her?
"I did once, I don't know anymore. Good night, Talyn." Crais dreamed of the past.
****************************************************
Eighteen cycles ago - Xerrin's officer's lounge
"Hurrah!" came the resounding cheer from those present.
Garrix walked up to a very startled Crais, "Congratulations, Senior Officer Crais," she stressed his rank. "You have earned this."
"Thank you, sir."
"I'm surprised you were caught off guard. You of all people should know my tendency to do this sort of thing."
"I had no idea this was coming."
"In my opinion this has been a long time coming. The captain sends his apologies for not being able to attend." The others came up and congratulated him. It was a grand celebration, lasting well into the sleep cycle. When Crais left he found his way to Garrix's quarters. She let him in. "How can I help you?"
"I wanted to thank you for your support. I know you were instrumental in my receiving this promotion. Normally those promoted to Senior Officer are older than I am."
She hung her jacket up, "Normally those promoted to Senior Officer deserve it." She placed her hands behind his neck, "And you deserve the promotion. You are the best assistant I have had," she gave him a passionate kiss which he eagerly returned. She began undoing his hair, "I know you didn't come here just to thank me. You could have done that in the officer's lounge." She started unfastening his jacket.
"You are correct. I came for a more...personal congratulations." He reached back to release her hair and smiled.
"Are you so sure that you would receive one?" she asked coyly as she was unfastening his trousers.
He swept her into his arms and gently lowered her to the bed, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." He kissed her gently on the lips and then moved down. He lifted her shirt and began kissing her down her stomach.
She grabbed his head and rolled him over so she was on top. "That tickles," and she pealed his shirt off and began kissing his chest in return.
*****************************************************
Present
Madina awoke recalling how passionate that night had been. They had been up late that night. Pleasing each other multiple times. Unfortunately, it had also been a turning point in his life. Bialar had become more serious after his promotion. He had not yet become ruthless, but was following that path. Each promotion brought him closer to his goal. She hoped he had found the part of him that he had lost. She drifted back to a dreamless sleep.
***********************************************
Twenty cycles ago onboard the command carrier Xerrin, two days after reporting onboard.
Crais had been apprehensive about being assigned to a carrier at such a young age. He thought he would be intimated by the Gunnery Officer since only the best were assigned to carrier duty. Instead he saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman that exhibited an unusual leadership style. He had never seen anyone on the frigate conduct an inspection with that level of dedication. She was a maverick, but you couldn't help but want to succeed for her. He was glad he worked for her rather than any of the others onboard. She nurtured and encouraged her junior officers the others liked to pit the junior officers against each other. He was sure he could advance his career here.
***********************************************
Present
Madina Garrix was beginning to wake up. Crais had the lights turned down low and had almost fallen asleep in the chair. Her eyes fluttered as she regained consciousness, "Wh...whe...where am I?" she asked weakly. Crais almost didn't hear her. He moved over to her side where she could see him. He grabbed her hand. "Bialar? Am I dead?" she still sounded very weak.
He smiled at her, "No, Madina, you're not dead. You're onboard Talyn."
"How I missed that smile," she smiled weakly back at him and brushed his cheek. "I thought you were killed when the carrier exploded?"
"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. (A/N: apologies to Mark Twain aka Samuel Clements) Talyn and I survived starburst, if just barely. You should rest now. You were barely alive when we brought you onboard."
"If I can have some water, I think I'll be fine." She tried to sit up a little, Crais had to help her.
He handed her a glass of water, "If you don't mind my asking, how did you end up in that escape pod?"
"That's a long story. Perhaps I will let you tell me your story first. I kept track of your career up until the time you were irreversibly contaminated and stole Talyn," she smiled at him, baiting him to argue with her.
He took the bait, "Stole Talyn! I didn't steal Talyn! He chose me since I was the only one who understood him. I created him," he was quite agitated by now.
She started laughing, "I am so glad you are still so easy to bait. You were always a little too serious." She stopped laughing, "I'm sorry." She was still smiling though. "If you weren't in a weakened condition..." he smiled again. He then related a brief version of his adventures over the last two cycles. She was especially interested in how he managed to survive the theoretically fatal starburst.
"That is absolutely...incredible. I had been going to say unbelievable, but I'm looking at you right now. And it's not a bad sight, at that," she sounded much stronger. "Do you think we could get something to eat? I'm a little hungry."
"Of course." He helped her up. She was a little unsteady at first, but quickly gained her balance. He placed his arm around her waist to guide her as they walked to the galley. It felt good to hold her again. It had been far too long.
She looked around as they were walking to the galley. "This ship is remarkable. I have been on many leviathans before, but he has a special feel about him."
"I believe that comes from his hybrid nature. Here we are. You are fortunate that I have recently resupplied. I can offer you something decent to eat."
"Right about now even food cubes would be welcome." She sat at the table. "I suppose I could tell you what happened while you are preparing something to eat."
"I would appreciate that." He began preparing the meal.
"As you may know I have been in command of Xerrin for the last five cycles. Recent changes in attitude at High Command have caused my, shall we say, unique style of leadership to fall out of favor. I suppose it wasn't really in favor to begin with or I wouldn't have been in command in something as old as Xerrin. If you thought it was in bad shape when you were there, you should see it now. Well that's a different tale. Back to why I was in an escape pod. High Command decided to reassign me to some administrative post back in the central core. The transport I was in was attacked by Scarrans. I was the only one to make it to an escape pod before the transport was destroyed. That would have been two days ago. Pretty much end of story. Two days in pod alone is pretty boring. You begin talking to yourself after about four arns. It combats the loneliness."
"You were quite fortunate we came along." He decided not to tell her that he had seriously considered not bringing the pod onboard. "What are you going to do now?" He placed a plate of food in front of her and sat down to join her.
She took a bite, "This is pretty good. I'm not sure. High Command surely believes I'm dead. That could be good."
"Would you turn us in?"
"Why would I do that?"
"You could regain favor with High Command for turning us in."
"I could, but to what end. I can't change who I am. It would only be a matter of time before they remembered why I was out of favor. It's probably better this way."
"You could stay, at least until you decide what you want to do."
"I appreciate the offer. I also thank you for picking up my escape pod. Since I have nowhere else to go, I'll stay for now."
"I would like that," he smiled at her.
"You've changed. You're more like you were when I met you." Crais didn't know how to respond to that. They finished their meal in silence.
*************************************************
Twenty cycles ago
She crawled out from under the power converter and saw her new officer. He looked a little confused, but otherwise confident. He was handsome but so very young. His hair was pulled back in a tight queue, but she longed to determine whether it was straight, curly or somewhere in between. She would wait and see if he was deserving of her attention. She had been fooled by good looks before.
*************************************************
Present
"Madina, are you all right?" Crais was concerned.
"What? Oh, I'm fine. Just lost in thought. Thank you again for the meal. You have become quite the good cook. I think I should get some rest."
"Thank you. You learn those skills when you provide for yourself. Let me show you to your quarters. I'm afraid they will be fairly spartan."
"I'm sure I'll survive. That can't be any worse than those on the frigate I was assigned to."
"I assure you they are better than that. My quarters are down the hall if you need me for anything. If you get lost, ask Talyn and he will dim the lights to show you how to get around. That is the one down side of not having a pilot onboard. I am the only one that can communicate directly with Talyn. I will leave you to get some rest." He turned to leave.
"Bialar, at meal I mentioned that you had changed. You didn't answer. I remember how you were as a captain. Have your experiences here changed you that much?"
He paused in the doorway and kept his back to her. "I have had time to evaluate my life as a Peacekeeper. I have found that I did not like the person I had become. I had lost a part of myself in my quest for command. I have been able to find that part of myself again." He left.
Madina laid down and tried to get some sleep. Memories invaded her dreams.
When Crais arrived in his quarters Talyn assaulted him with questions. "Talyn, slowly please."
Do you trust her not to turn us in?
Crais began preparing for bed as he talked with Talyn, "Yes, I do. I know her better than any other Peacekeeper. I believe her when she says she has lost favor with High Command."
Do you trust her more than Larrell?
"I never trusted Larrell. I used her in order to repair your personality defects. Nothing more."
What are we going to do with her?
"I intend to let her stay as long as she wants. I want you to treat her as an honored guest."
Do you have feelings for her?
"I did once, I don't know anymore. Good night, Talyn." Crais dreamed of the past.
****************************************************
Eighteen cycles ago - Xerrin's officer's lounge
"Hurrah!" came the resounding cheer from those present.
Garrix walked up to a very startled Crais, "Congratulations, Senior Officer Crais," she stressed his rank. "You have earned this."
"Thank you, sir."
"I'm surprised you were caught off guard. You of all people should know my tendency to do this sort of thing."
"I had no idea this was coming."
"In my opinion this has been a long time coming. The captain sends his apologies for not being able to attend." The others came up and congratulated him. It was a grand celebration, lasting well into the sleep cycle. When Crais left he found his way to Garrix's quarters. She let him in. "How can I help you?"
"I wanted to thank you for your support. I know you were instrumental in my receiving this promotion. Normally those promoted to Senior Officer are older than I am."
She hung her jacket up, "Normally those promoted to Senior Officer deserve it." She placed her hands behind his neck, "And you deserve the promotion. You are the best assistant I have had," she gave him a passionate kiss which he eagerly returned. She began undoing his hair, "I know you didn't come here just to thank me. You could have done that in the officer's lounge." She started unfastening his jacket.
"You are correct. I came for a more...personal congratulations." He reached back to release her hair and smiled.
"Are you so sure that you would receive one?" she asked coyly as she was unfastening his trousers.
He swept her into his arms and gently lowered her to the bed, "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't." He kissed her gently on the lips and then moved down. He lifted her shirt and began kissing her down her stomach.
She grabbed his head and rolled him over so she was on top. "That tickles," and she pealed his shirt off and began kissing his chest in return.
*****************************************************
Present
Madina awoke recalling how passionate that night had been. They had been up late that night. Pleasing each other multiple times. Unfortunately, it had also been a turning point in his life. Bialar had become more serious after his promotion. He had not yet become ruthless, but was following that path. Each promotion brought him closer to his goal. She hoped he had found the part of him that he had lost. She drifted back to a dreamless sleep.