Two hours later
Manna had
wandered to Obs deck after her talk with Harper, and seated herself on the
floor. She'd drawn her knees up, and
rested her arms on them. Thoughts
rallied through her mind quicker then normal, trying to make sense of some of
this entirely new world.
The doors
behind her swooshed open and Manna turned to look at the person coming in. It was in fact two people – Dylan and
Rommie.
"Hey, Baby
Sister." Dylan greeted, then noticed the look in her eyes, "What's the matter?"
"I have a
problem that can't be fixed." She replied, turning her gaze back to the stars
outside the window.
Rommie
excused herself at that point and left, leaving the two siblings alone.
"Now,
what's the matter?" He asked again, hoping for more of an explanation.
"Do you
remember the Kem-mari my ship is named for?"
He smiled,
"Of course. He was the only boy I didn't
chase away."
"I hate to
break it to ya', but the explanation Kymmie or Danka gave you about how we got
here isn't true. I knew something was
going to happen. I didn't know what,
but I knew something was going down.
And after I got coordinates on the Andromeda, I went to see
Kem-mari. I told him to get his mother
somewhere safe and that I might now come back." She moved one hand and pulled
out a necklace. A small ring, a weaved
silver and gold with a small diamond, hung on the chain, "He knew that if I
lost you, I probably wasn't going to come back, so he made me promise to marry
him. I loved him almost as much as you
loved Sara – and still do."
Surprised,
he waited patiently for her to continue, as he knew she would.
"Today, I
went looking for Harper. He's the only
one I didn't know, so I went to Engineering.
We talked, and before I left, I wanted to kiss him. I feel like I betrayed Kem-mari. He loved me so much, and I loved him…and now
it's confusing."
Dylan was
still surprised by the fact that his sister had been engaged at the age of
fifteen to the part-Vedran, part-Human, part-Nietzschean adopted son of the
Vedran Empress, but even more so on how she had begun to remember him. He sighed, and pulled her up. He then sat down on the bench, pulled her
into his lap, and spoke, "You didn't betray him. Kem-mari loved you, yes, but if he knew you would be happy, do
you think he would have stopped you from being with someone else?"
She thought
about it for a moment, thinking of her fiancé, "No. He would have been happy that I am happy."
"And I'm sure
that he knew that you wanted to come back to him."
"I
did. I wanted to go back and be with
him. But I wanted to be with you even
more."
"Well, I'm
glad you came here, although I'm sure you would rather have gone home to Mom
and Dad."
She sat up
and looked in his eyes, "I don't regret what I did Dylan. If I didn't end up here, I would have been
on Tarn-Vedra when it was cut off from the slipstream, I would have been there
when the Empress died. When Kem-mari
was put on trial."
He looked
at her cockeyed – what did she mean 'on trial'?
She sighed
to herself, "One of the planets I went to had information on what happened on
Tarn-Vedra. After the war, Kem-mari was
put on trial, as well as several other people.
They were tried for having information.
The charges against Kem-mari were dropped, but he was broken after
that." She looked at her shoes, "Do you remember the time he said that he was
always being three things at once, and they were all balanced?"
"Yes. He said he was Nietzschean sometimes, Vedran
other times, and Human the rest of the time."
"Well, he
let his human side win his own personal war." She looked back at his eyes,
"Kem-mari killed himself with his own force lance." Tears slid down her cheeks.
Dylan was
speechless, and hugged her to him.
Finally finding his voice, he spoke, "I know somewhere inside of you,
you know that it wasn't your fault, Manna, and you have to find it. Kem-mari had everything taken from him. His mother, his friends, his honor,
you. He found a way out, and it was
low, but think of it like this – he lost all those things, but now he has them
all again. Even you. He has his place in your heart, Baby Sister,
which will always be his. You'll find
him there, but there's another space.
For someone else. Be happy with
that."
Manna
closed her eyes, absorbing what he had said, and then opened them, her gaze
with his, "You know, I think you need some time away from Rev."
He laughed,
"Really?"
"Really."
She smiled, and wiped the leftover tears from her red eyes.
All
hands report to Command.
"I think
that's our cue, Big Brother." Manna rose from her spot, and waited for him.
Dylan rose
with a sigh.
"Now what
was that?" She asked, taking his hand and feeling very much like she was five.
"Just
thinking that letting Beka, Tyr, Kym, and Trance go to do the negotiations might
not have been a smart idea. It's been
two weeks and they still aren't back."
"Well,
weirdo, you're the captain. You've been
doing all the negotiations for the last, what, eight planets? I think the best bet would've been to have
you continue the pattern, but, hey, you're the one in charge." She replied, as
they walked the corridor, still hand-in-hand.
-*-*-
Two Days Later
Trance
happily jumped out of the Maru, and was greeted by the other members of
the crew less two people. Beka, Kym,
and Tyr soon followed.
"Well, that's
number nine." Beka said, smiling, as she handed Manna the charter.
Trance
looked around, "Wait…Where's Dylan?"
Manna grinned, "Come on." She
guided them out of the hanger, "You know, I was talking to Rommie and I
realized something."
"What?" Kym
asked, tired and wanting to just go to bed.
"Today is Dylan's
forty-third birthday."
"Didn't we
just celebrate his forty-second birthday?"
"A year
ago." She replied, casually, "And I remember that my mom was planning this big
birthday party for him, so I thought maybe we could do it too."
"Be
afraid! Be very afraid!" Danka laughed,
as Manna walked into Obs deck.
The room
was decorated festively – better then the dinner parties that had been in
there. Crepe paper highlighted the
basketball hoop, confetti was strewn on the table set for ten people, and
balloons were everywhere. But the best
part was the window. The huge window
that everyone enjoyed looking out of had been painted. Not real paint of course, but it was no
longer clear. A banner of white paint
had had Happy Birthday written in Vedran in bright blue in the middle of the
scroll-like design, with paint streamers and paint balloons all over.
"Wow." Beka
managed, "Now how'd you do this?"
"Me,
Harper, Rev, Rommie, and Danka did it."
"Who did
the window?"
Manna
smiled, "That is a secret."
Suddenly a
thought crossed the blonde's mind, "We don't have to get dressed up, do we?"
"Beka, I
think I hate dresses with even more of a passion then you. I only do it without complaints or else I
end up with Dylan being more of a pain then he already is." Manna stated.
Laughing,
Beka replied, "Ah – so I have an ally."
"Just one question
– how did you keep this from Dylan?" Tyr asked.
"Easy – I told
Rommie to keep him busy, then I told Dylan, via comm, that something wasn't
working. He and Rommie are 'working' on
it in Command and he thinks Harper and I are working on it while Danka and Rev
went to get you guys."
"You are
one manipulative person." Kym told her, still looking around.
"Only with Mr.
I-Have-To-Know-Everything and only when I need him to be away for a while."
"So what
are we supposed to wear?"
"What ever
your heart so desires, Beka." Manna smiled devilishly, "What 'til you see what
I'm gonna make Dylan wear."
-*-*-
"Oh, come
on, Dylan. You really wanna teach me to
dance in that?" Mann asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dylan had
refused to change out of his uniform – he knew she was up to something, but he
knew what ever it was didn't require him teaching her to dance, "I'm not
changing."
"Please?"
She begged.
"First tell
me why you want me to wear that outfit."
Manna crossed
her arms, "Put on the outfit and I'll show you."
"You are so
very annoying sometimes."
"It's in
the baby sister job description." She smiled, handing him a white, button down,
long-sleeve shirt, and a pair of black dress pants.
He
disappeared into his bathroom and changed quickly, reappearing and holding up
his arms, "Alright?"
She took
his hand, and dragged him toward Obs deck.
And as she did so, Dylan noticed that she had changed her clothes from
the jeans and white t-shirt she'd had that morning to a pair of tight black stretch
bellbottom pants and a white button-down shirt that was open, revealing the
black tank-top.
"Why are
you dressed up anyway?" He asked.
"I always
wear this." She replied.
"Not since
your fifteenth birth…" Realization hit him, "Manna, you didn't!"
But it was too late – they had
reached Obs deck. Reluctantly, he
followed Manna into the dressed up room, and into the music. The others were smiling happily, the screen
on the wall showing pictures of Dylan on his birthdays from the first to the
last.
"How'd you…"
He trailed off when he saw the window.
"I thought
you'd like it. Just like your birthday
when you turned thirty."
He smiled
at the thought, "And Mom painted every window in the house like it was a big mosaic."
A song
began to play, and both siblings blushed, "Remember this?"
"How could
I forget?" Manna replied.
Dylan took
her hand, "Would you like to dance with me?"
"I would be
honored."
So denied so I lied are
you the now or never kind
In a day and a day love I'm gonna be gone for good again
Are you willing to be had are you cool with just tonight
Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well
Manna
was only four-years old. She had not
yet come to know why her big brother left, why he'd lie and tell her he was
staying home for good when she would ask.
When she was older she would realize that he would tell her the lies
because she was deliriously sick, but she was four – she didn't know why.
But she really could care less
because once again her brother was gone.
He was leaving the Manor to go back to the High Guard.
Here's to the nights we felt alive
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
The rain
was pouring outside the mansion. For
seven-year old Manna, it was a prison sentence - she needed to be outside. It was night, it was raining, and there were
fireflies. But because of her tendency
to get sick, her mother forced her to stay in.
"Come
on, Manna. Let's go out." Dylan's voice
whispered, as his took her hand in his.
"But…Mommy…"
She stammered.
"Can
blame me if you get sick." He smiled, and pulled out the back door and onto the
porch. They slipped off their socks and
shoes before running into the wet grass and night rain. Forgetting for just a moment that this was
Dylan's last night of leave.
Put your name on the line along with place and time
Wanna stay not to go I wanna ditch the logical
Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well
Thirteen-year old Manna
stood, her eyes downcast, as Chuck took another cheap shot at her, "That's for
calling me Chucky. It's CHUCK!"
After he
finished yelling, he walked away.
A word
escaped her lips, and she ran for the Kymberlie Seas (which would be renamed
the Kem-mari Rue-el just a week later.)
She was
going to the Andromeda whether Admiral Stark liked it or not, and all
logic could go to hell.
Here's to the nights we felt alive
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
Dylan
watched as his father danced happily with his sister, unaware of the baby boy
upstairs crying. Life was so easy now. Devin was getting better and Danny had
learned to crawl.
His
mother walked over, "Dylan? Are you alright?"
"Fine."
He smiled, "Just thinking."
She
smiled as well, "Yes, life is good."
"How'd
you kn…"
"I'm
your mother – I'm supposed to know." She laughed, "So have you told Manna about
you and Sara yet?"
"No." He looked down, "I feel
like it's wrong some how."
"Like
you're saying goodbye?"
"Yes."
She
hugged him, "You aren't saying goodbye.
Manna's your sister – you'll never lose her. You're just adding another person to the family. You aren't leaving it."
All my time is froze in motion
Can't I stay an hour or two or more
Don't let me let you go
Here's a toast to all those who hear me all too well
Manna
brushed past her brother and out of the room.
Her mind was praising her for letting him have a taste of her pain, but
her heart told her to go back, to tell him she was wrong. She knew in a few hours he'd be gone. Dylan will once again have runaway, runaway
to the High Guard to avoid the pain that they no longer had time with their
brothers.
A song
was playing in her room. The song Dylan
had taught her to dance with, and as she listened, she heard only one verse
before she started to cry.
Here's to the nights we felt alive
Here's to the tears you knew you'd cry
Here's to goodbye
Tomorrow's gonna come too soon
Manna
looked at her brother as he moved her around the floor, much the way he had
when he'd taught her. Smiling the two
just looked at each other, thinking of the irony the song contained.
The song
ended, and the teen's eyes began to wander.
They settled on a picture on the screen. It was one of her and Kem-mari with Dylan and Sara.
'Goodbye,
my prince.' She thought, hoping beyond all else, that Dylan was right.
-*-*-
Cassie Jamie
noahXfiles@aol.com
