"The spirit can do amazing things, Val'Cirrus," said a voice from behind the group. "You above all others should know that."
The trio turned as one toward the mouth of the alleyway to see an old Delvian man standing there. The wrinkles on his face were like a roadmap of an overpopulated city that had streets going in every which direction. He was without a doubt the most ancient creature Berret had ever laid eyes on, and he was standing there calmly leaning on his walking stick as if it didn't matter in the slightest that he was facing probably the most dangerous assassin in the known Territories.
"You!" Val'Cirrus said as if stunned.
Taking advantage of interruption, Berret hissed to Chiana, "Run! Get out of here!" Turning his attention back to the Delvian he shouted, "Go, old man! Leave while you can before she kills you!"
Berret's warning didn't seem to have any effect on either the old man or Chiana, as both stood were they where. The old Delvian smiled at the wounded man.
"Val'Cirrus cannot harm me, Berret. Fear not," the Delvian said with a easy smile.
The Master Shrike hissed and leaped toward the man, the claws on her hands spread wide ready to rip him apart. The ancient Delvian stood calmly never taking his hands off his walking staff or his eyes off the charging assassin. Mere hentas before she reached him, Val'Cirrus skidded to a halt with one arm posed above her head to strike. The Delvian continued to stare at her with serene eyes and then the killer's look of fury faded into a look of uncertainty.
"Not today, Marai," said the old man in a quiet voice.
Berret watched in awe as Val'Cirrus backed away for the man. She uttered a low curse then turned and ran for the alley opening, stopping only to scoop up her cloak as she passed by it. She threw the garment over her shoulders and disappeared out of sight.
"I don't believe it," panted Berret as he leaned heavily against a nearby wall to keep from falling over.
"Who are you?" he asked the withered man as Chiana rushed to his side.
"I am a friend, Berret," replied the old Delvian.
"How do you know my name?"
"I know many things about you, though I don't believe 'Berret' is your real name... and though you look it, I know you are not Sebacean."
Chiana was trying to inspect Berret's wounded arm when she turned and snapped,
"For a friend, you're not very forthcoming with information. Who the hezmana are you, how do you know what you know about 'Ret... and why did that green tralk run from you, when it just beat the gris out of Berret without breaking a sweat?"
"Oh... I like her, Berret," grinned the old man good-naturedly. "She has spirit. To answer your questions, my name is Shenna. I have been watching Berret for a long time as well as Val'Cirrus, whom you just met." The old man move beside Chiana to look at Berret's wound. "Here, let me have a look will you, dear?" he asked.
He removed the armor covering and enlarged the tear in ballistic suit underneath to get a better view of the wound. "Not as bad as it could have been," he commented as he took out some pouches and after cleaning the slash he put several powered herbs into it. He gave Berret a strange food cube, which he said would help the microbes fix the damage to his arm easier as he wrapped the wound in clean bandages. To Berret's surprise the food cube actually tasted good and it seem to satisfy the odd sensation his stomach always had when the microbes demanded food to use in helping repair any damage to his body. Seeing Chiana's inquiring glance he tore off a piece for the Nebari girl to taste. Judging by her smile, Berret concluded that the woman found the cube strange but tasty as well. Berret frowned slightly as he wondered how the old Delvian man knew about his microbe augmentation, but he remained silent to see what the old man would reveal he knew next.
"There, that should be feeling better in a few microns," said Shenna as he finished tying off the bandage.
"It is," said Berret with surprise as he flexed his fingers. The numbness in his arm seemed to be wearing off as he flopped the sheared piece of armor back over his bicep to cover the bandage.
"I trust the booster cube has alleviated your hunger pains also," asked the old Delvian.
"Yes, it has. Thank you," replied the Shrike guardedly.
"You're very welcome, my boy," smiled the old man.
"Now Shenna, if you will... will you tell us who exactly you are and what is going on?" Berret asked.
"As I said, my name is Shenna and I'm simply a traveler," he said. Without them realizing it the old man had herded them out of the alleyway and into the market square.
"You don't expect us to believe that, do ya?" asked Chiana skeptically.
Shenna chuckled merrily, "Indeed, I do not, little Nebari. If truth need be known, I am Zear Shenna... Grandmaster of the Mek-Klor-taZ Clan."
The old man said the name and title like it should mean something to the young couple. Chiana and Berret looked at each other blankly as neither had a clue as to what the title meant.
"That's... very nice, old man," said Chiana uncertainly.
"Yes Shenna, but forgive us as we are unfamiliar with what the Mek-Klor-taZ Clan is," Berret said.
"I'm not surprised," replied Shenna. "I must confess, I'm being deliberately vague just to tease you. Please forgive an old man his sense of humor. I am what you are, Berret - a Shrike."
"A Shrike!" said both Chiana and Berret in harmony. The Nebari girl moved a little to stand closer to Berret. Shenna held up a gnarled hand to calm them.
"Peace youngsters," he told them in a calm tone. "I am not here to harm you. I have been watching Berret for a long time as I have said and it was necessary for me to intervene in the battle between Val'Cirrus and himself."
"So you do know that scaly tralk," said Chiana suspiciously. "Is that why she was afraid of you?"
"It's not so much that she is afraid of me as she respects me. While she calls herself a Master Shrike, I am the Grandmaster of my clan. She would have been foolish not to respect my abilities even at my age."
"Why would she have to respect you?" asked the Nebari girl curiously. "You don't even look like you're carrying a gun, much less some of those blade thingees that you Shrikes seem to love so much."
The old Delvian smiled. "I have this," he said showing her his walking staff.
"That's just a stick," exclaimed the girl in disbelieve, "I've seen Berret's blades cut through metal like paper. What good would that have done you?"
"Not everything is as it seems, my dear," replied the old man as he gripped the top portion of his staff and pulled upward. The staff split at an almost undetectable seam and several hentas of shiny blade were revealed.
Chiana whistled and muttered, "Remind me not to gris you off."
"Is it Bat'Rellite also?" asked Berret in sudden interest as he inspected the small section of blade before Shenna pushed the staff back together.
"It has a mixture of Bat'Rellite and Bat'Rellite alloys along with other grades of metals. It is very old and was handed down to me from my master as it was from his before him. The blade has been forged and re-forged many times over the cycles as metallurgy improved," explained Shenna. "When it's time I will pass it down to my successor and he or she may improve it again at some point."
"A very impressive weapon," commented Berret.
"It is a little more than simply a weapon, my son. Some time in the future I might explain to you it's significance. But that is for another time and we have other issues to discuss. I promise I will explain everything and answer all the questions I am able about the Shrike clans"
The Grandmaster looked about him around the market place. "Let's find someplace with refreshments to sit and talk awhile, shall we?" he asked.
The trio walked further through the booths and tables. After a short time Berret realized that Chiana wasn't behind him any longer. Muttering a curse that caught Shenna's attention he backtracked a short ways to find the Nebari girl bending over a table with jewelry displayed. Berret knew the girl was out of currency and he could tell by her posture that she was going to attempt to steal something. Actually Berret had come to know the girl well enough that he didn't need to see her tense stance to tell she had snurching on her mind, the gleam in her dark eyes was enough for him to know. The Shrike approached the Nebari female from behind and before she could act placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. The girl frowned up at him as he leaned in close to her and whispered,
"We have had enough excitement for one day, let us not push our luck with a trip to jail."
"But look at this bracelet!" she protested, not noticing Shenna come up beside them. "Just one thing, its not even that expensive... he'll never miss it if I snurch it," she whispered.
"You're going to get us into trouble and Aeryn will have our mivonks for dinner if we do."
While the pair argued, Shenna leaned over the table to examine the bracelet under discussion. Before Chiana could reply further to Berret's statement of the horrible punishment the ex-Peacekeeper would deal out, the old man beckoned the table's owner over to him and asked the price of the piece. To the Nebari girl's openmouthed dismay, the Delvian purchased the bracelet explaining that the designed reminded him of some Delvian religious symbol. Chiana's face dropped as the Grandmaster safely tucked the item into a pocket of his traveling robes. Crestfallen, the girl moped along behind the men as they continued on their search for a quiet place to talk. For his part, Berret was greatly relieved that the temptation to steal the object had been removed from the Pixie's grasp. With the way this day was turning out, something else surely would have gone wrong. With an uncomfortable feeling he idly wondered what part of their anatomy made up the mivonks and how much discomforted would be involved having the Peacekeeper woman remove them. While he liked Aeryn, he didn't doubt her word for a microt to make good on the threat.
Chiana and Berret fell into step beside the old Delvian. The man set a leisurely pace, his wooded staff clicking against the pavement in time with his footfalls. They passed by several establishments but the old man gave them a look of distain and continued on by without stopping.
"How long have you been watching me?" asked Berret.
"For a very long time as I've said, my son," answered Shenna. "Since it became obvious Val'Cirrus had developed an interest in you when you were still with the Syndicate."
"How come you didn't do anything before now?" asked Chiana. "Why didn't you help Berret before this?"
"My dear, everything has its time and place. Your friend Berret still has much to learn on his own before anyone can teach him what he wants to know," replied the Shrike Grandmaster.
"Sounds like more double talk dren to me," Chiana commented with a raised eyebrow.
"The path to wisdom often does sound like 'double talk dren' to the young," replied Shenna with a patient smile to the girl.
The trio continued their walk until then came to a small Inn. Without a word, Shenna turned to enter the establishment while Berret and Chiana followed along behind him. He chose a table in the rear of the main room away from the door and removed his outer traveling robe before taking a seat. Shenna motioned for the young couple to sit as he leaned his staff against the nearby wall. After Chiana and Berret were seated across from him he leaned over the table closer to them.
"I must say, Jared... your traveling companions are very interesting. I could not have chosen better teachers for you myself."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the ex-assassin He didn't ask how he knew the others aboard Moya as he already admitted he'd been watching Berret. It stood to reason he would know the rest of the crew as well. Shenna leaned back in his seat and took his time forming his answer.
"Your friends each have something important to teach you. Pa'u Zhaan, while somewhat younger than I," he said with a chuckle, "has wisdom beyond her years. Listen to her and heed her counsel, she will guide you well. The Hynerian, Rygel the XVI, is very savvy when it comes to political intrigue. Learn what he has to teach you. You might need his consul in the future."
"I have no need for political games," said Berret.
Leaning forward, Shenna looked hard at the younger man, "You do not yet know what it is you need. A true Shrike learns and adapts to all facets of life."
The old Delvian settled back in his chair and continued on as if Berret had never interrupted him.
"From Officer Sun you can learn discipline. Ka'D'Argo will show you the path to honor. Young Malika can teach you perseverance. The young Sebacean Andar, while from a secluded colony world, can show you the arts and how to be creative."
Chiana snorted, "He's a school teacher from a backwater world who thinks he's poet!"
Shenna glance at the young Nebari girl, "Some warrior cultures believe that a warrior is not complete just because he is skilled in combat. It is strongly believed that the skills of war must be balance by a creative and temperate skill such as poetry. Many of the greatest warriors in history where also skilled at one or more of the finer, gentler arts. It is important to achieve a balance."
"I didn't know that?" said Chiana, feeling almost as if she were back in school on Nebari Prime again.
"There is much you don't know yet, little one," replied Shenna with a grandfatherly smile that made it hard for Chiana to become angry at the man's way of lecturing her.
"What about me? What do I have to teach him?" she asked.
Shenna's easy smiled turned mischievous. "Now... what could a Shrike have to learn from a Nebari thief?" he asked. The Delvian held out his hand and sitting in the palm was the trinket he had placed in his robe pocket earlier when they stopped in the market. Berret didn't understand why the man was showing them the thin bracelet again until Chiana reacted in stunned amazement.
"Hey!" she cried, rocketing to her feet and franticly searching through her pockets. The Nebari girl stopped in mid self-frisk as she realized she'd given her attempt at larceny away to the two men seated with her. Shenna eyes crinkled with amusement at the girl's sudden discomposure.
"It's alright, my dear. I'm not angry. If the bobble pleases you that much, you may have it."
The Delvian handed the trinket to the girl. Unsure of what else to do, Chiana took it from him.
"Ummm... thank you," she said sheepishly.
"You're quite welcome, little one. Now if you don't mind, will you please get an old man a cup of Terza tea from the Innkeeper?" he asked flicking a coin her way to pay for the requested drink.
"S-sure, okay," replied Chiana catching the coin and getting up from her seat. She curiously looked back over her shoulder at the old man as she made her way to the counter for the herbal tea.
When she was gone, Berret spoke to the older man in a low voice.
"I apologize for Chiana's behavior. She sometimes doesn't know any better."
"Of course she does. She just chooses to do the wrong thing anyway," said Shenna bluntly.
Berret had to admit the man was correct on that fact about his friend, and then a thought occurred to him.
"You knew she would attempt to steal the bracelet when you purchased it. Why then did you let her take it?" he asked.
Shenna shrugged his shoulders. "To teach you both a lesson. Just as with the staff, things are not always as they appear to be. Your young friend is talented and she would make an excellent Shrike."
"I do not believe Chiana would like that notion very much," said Berret with a degree of confidence.
The old Delvian shrugged slightly to dismiss the thought from the conversation. He looked sidelong at Berret and asked, "So, does she know yet?" The question confused the younger man.
"Know what?" he asked in puzzlement.
Shenna smiled. "My son, I'm an old man. But even I can tell that you love her and that she loves you."
Berret looked at the Delvian Shrike. "In that, I believe you're mistaken. Chiana could never love a creature such as I. With my past I don't know how to love or be loved. We are shipmates... and friends, nothing more. Though I admit I find it odd that Zhaan has made that exact same observation several times. Perhaps Delvians like to think that all beings are as compassionate as they are. I regret to inform you, you will find no such quality in me."
Shenna chortled and slapped Berret on the shoulder. "Now you're being melodramatic. The two of you are lost souls who have found each other in their time of need. That is what she will teach you.... how to love again."
Berret considered the old man's words and wondered if he should dare to hope for that dream. Often at times other people thought they were being kind by offering reassurances about future happiness. He decided that Shenna was perhaps doing the same thing now and tried to disregarded thinking further on the subject. Chiana returned with the Delvian's tea and set the cup down before him.
"Thank you, my dear," he said giving the Nebari woman a warm smile. The woman made a show of placing the correct change on the table before the old man, then moved back to her seat beside Berret.
She turned to him and asked her friend, "Has he told you what I'm suppose to teach you yet?"
"Yes," replied the younger Shrike before Shenna could answer the question. "You're going to teach me how to survive in a prison when you get us arrested for stealing."
Chiana gave him a look that said she wasn't amused, while Shenna lifted an eyebrow at his statement.
The Delvian remained silent on the subject. It was apparent to Berret the Grandmaster was going to leave the decision on whether or not to reveal the information up to him. In return, the ex-assassin gave the older man a look that said he wanted the discussion to go not further then between the two of them. Shenna set his cup back into its saucer with a tiny clink, gaining the couple's attention back to him again.
"The most interesting member of your crew is the other human, John Crichton," said the old man. "He has the most to teach you."
"Crichton? What can Crichton teach me?" asked Berret.
"How to gris Aeryn off?" put in Chiana with a mischievous grin.
Shenna surprised Berret by chuckling heartily at Chiana antics.
"No, my dear," he finally said to her. Turning to Berret he added, "Why... to be human of course."
"I have no wish to be human," said Berret with a deep frown.
"I have no wish, I don't want... pah!" mimicked Shenna with a dismissing wave of his free hand. "I'm afraid you have no other choice. That is what you are," he replied with another dismissing wave.
"Cheer up, 'Ret. You and Crichton can hang out and do whatever it is that humans do together," said Chiana.
Berret turned to glare at the Nebari. "You're not helping matters at all," he told her.
She took a bite out of a snack food on the table. "Wasn't meaning too!" she said around the mouthful.
Berret turned back to the older Shrike. "I have no memory of my original home. I have been altered enough by the Syndicate that I would no longer fit in there even if we did find a way back."
"Goddess, boy!" snorted Shenna. "No one said anything about you returning to that backward planet. Did it ever occur to you that your destiny lies here in the Territories? That this is the path the Goddess has always meant for you to follow? I simply meant, that you need to learn where it is you came from. The Syndicate gave you the powers and the skills. Now you need the temperaments of your people's culture to use them wisely and justly."
Chiana munched noisily on a cube. "Yeah, Crichton can be your conscious. Tell you who to kill.... who to let live... OUCH!"
Chiana reached down and rubbed at her shin where Berret had just kicked it under the table.
"You didn't have to do that!" she complained.
"Yes, I did," answered the Shrike
Shenna sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin as he watched the exchange between the young couple.
"Perhaps I was mistaken about the aspects of your relationship," he murmured in amusement to himself.
Chiana zeroed on the comment right away, "You did tell him something!" she said. Turning to Berret she demanded, "I wanna know what he said!"
Berret rolled his eyes at her. "He said what I have been saying all along... you are a bad influence on me."
"You're lying... I know you're lying!" accused Chiana. Turning back to the old man she added,
"He always lies! I know.... cuz he's bad at it. Please tell me what you told him while I was gone."
Shenna gave Berret a look that said he thought it mean of him to torment the Nebari girl by keeping her in the dark. Still the old man respected the Shrike's wish to not discuss the matter further. Instead he placed an aged hand over the hyper Nebari girl's.
"You needn't worry, child. I have told your friend nothing bad. Whether you both realize it... or admit it..." the last part he said with a glance in Berret's direction. "You have a great adventure ahead of you. There will be a few hard times, but it will all be worth it in the end. You'll see."
"So now you're fore-telling the future, old man?" asked Berret as he raised his cup to take a drink. His attitude was one of displeasure at the old Delvian for giving Chiana false hope about the future.
"The Goddess works in mysterious ways," Shenna said giving him another of his disarming smiles.
Berret frowned. He did like the old man and he did save the Pixie and himself from Val'Cirrus, but that didn't give him the right to try and sell pipe dreams to Chiana or him. The odds were not in favor of the group surviving. There were too many forces opposing them for their luck to hold out much longer.
With Scorpius looking for Crichton, the Peacekeepers looking for Aeryn, Rygel, Zhaan, and D'argo, and the Syndicate looking for him, the crew was eventually doomed. Even the Nebari would like a chance to get their hands back on Chiana, which left Andar and Malika along for the ride to hezmana. He still wasn't sure but he believed that the Peacekeepers might also be after the tight-lipped young Delvian woman also.
Berret knew they were living on borrowed time and the best he could hope for was to die with his hands locked around Arckatius' throat in a death grip. He did have the one wish that in the end the Pixie might get away and live her life out somewhere free and safe, but he doubted that would happen and he knew life was rarely fair.
He looked back up to find Shenna studying him from across the table. Almost as if the old Shrike knew what he'd been thinking, he said, "Things are not that bad. The time for change is coming soon. Bide your time and you will see."
Chiana had stuffed another snack cube into her mouth as Shenna spoke. She looked back and forth between the two men who had their eyes locked on one another.
"N-ow whud uu oww wtalkin 'bout?" she tried to asked around the cube.
Berret couldn't help but to ignore the mumbled question. Strangely the look in Shenna's eyes had him leaning toward believing the old man's prediction... and he found himself wanting to believe it desperately, and cursed himself for it.
Berret broke his gaze away from the old man's. Setting himself back in his seat, he chose change tactics and started another line of questioning.
"You said you would tell me more about the history of the Shrikes," he asked.
"Yes, that I did," admitted Shenna.
"In that case, the first question I have is... how can a Delvian be a Shrike?" asked Berret.
Shenna gave the younger man a lop-sided grin. "You believe all Delvians are priests?"
Berret thought the man's question over. "Logically that would not be possible. Every society needs its different occupations in order to function," he concluded.
The old Shrike nodded his head in agreement, "And Delvian society is no different."
"But why chose to be an assassin?" asked Berret.
"It was not always so," said Shenna almost sadly. "The Shrike Clans are ancient, much older then the criminal world of the Black Syndicate. For thousands of cycles Shrikes have served empires and rulers as warriors, advisers, spies, and yes, even as assassins when needed. In the old times the Shrikes fought on the side of the Just, Clan honor would demand no less of it's members. It is only in recent times, say about the last thousand cycles, that the myth and legends of the Shrikes has been corrupted and twisted to serve the Syndicates ends."
"How do you know all this?" asked Chiana
"My child, I was there. I am over fifteen Deckata-cycles old you know," replied Shenna.
Berret mouth fell open at the statement. "You are over fifteen-hundred cycles old!" he asked in amazement.
"Yes," said Shenna simply. "Well, closer to sixteen... and I look very good for my age if I do say so myself."
Berret shook his head in wonder. "Back to the story, you say the Shrikes fell in with the Syndicate around a thousand cycles ago?"
Shenna snorted, "I never said such a thing. I said the Syndicate corrupted and twisted the legends to their own ends."
Chiana nodded in agreement as she devoured another snack cube, "Y-eah! He-v di-tt!" she said.
Berret tried to ignore the bits of cube sprayed his way and absently handed the Nebari girl a napkin.
"The creatures that call themselves Shrikes, or rather who the Syndicate labels as Shrike, are nothing more then weak imitations," explained Shenna. "They are simply collared slaves or beings who enjoy murder."
The younger man shifted uneasily in his chair. "Val'Cirrus seemed genuine enough," he said.
Shenna's face began grim at the mention of her name. "Val'Cirrus is another matter entirely."
"Is this were I point out again that you two seemed to know each other back there?" asked Chiana.
"Yes, there is that," agreed Berret.
"She and I do have a history," admitted the old Delvian. "Over twelve-hundred cycles ago I began to train as a Shrike under my Masters, just as they trained under their Masters before them and so on. From teacher to student is how the knowledge of the old ways is passed on. In my time, I also passed on that knowledge to my students."
Berret could see where this was leading. "Val'Cirrus was one of your students," he said
Shenna nodded. "I saw the potential in her," he said sadly. "She could have been an honorable Shrike, one of the greatest in a dying Clan. But her life before finding the clan was hard and it scarred her more deeply then I had realized. She was only interested in learning how to kill those she perceived as her enemies. As soon as I realized this, I stopped training her and tried to heal her. You see, even a old Delvian warrior like me still feels the need to ease other's pain." The last statement was accompanied by a painful look in the old man's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Shenna forged ahead with his tale. "There were others who were also watching Val'Cirrus, though I should mention, that wasn't her name back then. She took it when she became an assassin for hire. These others offered to complete her training in exchange for becoming what she is today."
The bitterness in Shenna's voice did not escape the Nebari woman. "She meant something to you back then?" she asked.
Shenna shook his head as if to knock the memories loose, "That is neither here or now. Call it a foolish old man's folly if you will. She was living on the streets, alone and abused, when I found her and brought her into the Clan and tried to give her life direction."
Chiana became very quiet as she realized the parallel between her life and Val'Cirrus'. Berret made the connection also and considered the fact that in a way, Shenna saw himself and his old student in Berret and Chiana - the Shrike and the young street urchin.
"I suppose in a way I saw her as the daughter I never had," said the old man despondently.
Berret frowned at having to say his next words to the old Shrike, "I'm sorry, Shenna. But your 'daughter' means to kill me and the others if she can and then hand Crichton over to Scorpius. That is something I can't let happen right now if I can help it."
"I know, my son," was all the old man replied to the statement.
"I still don't know why she has focused on me?" said Berret.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Shenna
"Because she doesn't like him?" threw in Chiana.
"No, child. She despises Berret because he is the one thing she wasn't allowed to become."
"A major pain in the eema?" asked Chiana again.
Berret made as if to kick her under the table again and Chiana quickly drew her legs up onto the chair's seat out of reach before he could complete the task.
Shenna shook his head, "It is within Berret's grasp to become a Shrike warrior, by that I mean a real Shrike. That is what she hates, what she wants to destroy before he reaches his full potential."
Berret shook his head stubbornly at the man's words. "I am not a Shrike," he half growled. "I have no desire to continue in this manner or to become more proficient at it. I have enough blood on my hands." Berret looked from Shenna to Chiana and then back to the old man again as he continued to refute the other's observation.
"Besides, I am not Delvian or whatever race Val'Cirrus belongs too, so how can I possibly be a Shrike. You yourself admitted to knowing that my species does not even belong here in the Territories. For a time, I was forced to become one of those fake Shrikes the Syndicate uses. I am not any longer. I am free and I intend to stay that way for as long as I have left to live."
The trio turned as one toward the mouth of the alleyway to see an old Delvian man standing there. The wrinkles on his face were like a roadmap of an overpopulated city that had streets going in every which direction. He was without a doubt the most ancient creature Berret had ever laid eyes on, and he was standing there calmly leaning on his walking stick as if it didn't matter in the slightest that he was facing probably the most dangerous assassin in the known Territories.
"You!" Val'Cirrus said as if stunned.
Taking advantage of interruption, Berret hissed to Chiana, "Run! Get out of here!" Turning his attention back to the Delvian he shouted, "Go, old man! Leave while you can before she kills you!"
Berret's warning didn't seem to have any effect on either the old man or Chiana, as both stood were they where. The old Delvian smiled at the wounded man.
"Val'Cirrus cannot harm me, Berret. Fear not," the Delvian said with a easy smile.
The Master Shrike hissed and leaped toward the man, the claws on her hands spread wide ready to rip him apart. The ancient Delvian stood calmly never taking his hands off his walking staff or his eyes off the charging assassin. Mere hentas before she reached him, Val'Cirrus skidded to a halt with one arm posed above her head to strike. The Delvian continued to stare at her with serene eyes and then the killer's look of fury faded into a look of uncertainty.
"Not today, Marai," said the old man in a quiet voice.
Berret watched in awe as Val'Cirrus backed away for the man. She uttered a low curse then turned and ran for the alley opening, stopping only to scoop up her cloak as she passed by it. She threw the garment over her shoulders and disappeared out of sight.
"I don't believe it," panted Berret as he leaned heavily against a nearby wall to keep from falling over.
"Who are you?" he asked the withered man as Chiana rushed to his side.
"I am a friend, Berret," replied the old Delvian.
"How do you know my name?"
"I know many things about you, though I don't believe 'Berret' is your real name... and though you look it, I know you are not Sebacean."
Chiana was trying to inspect Berret's wounded arm when she turned and snapped,
"For a friend, you're not very forthcoming with information. Who the hezmana are you, how do you know what you know about 'Ret... and why did that green tralk run from you, when it just beat the gris out of Berret without breaking a sweat?"
"Oh... I like her, Berret," grinned the old man good-naturedly. "She has spirit. To answer your questions, my name is Shenna. I have been watching Berret for a long time as well as Val'Cirrus, whom you just met." The old man move beside Chiana to look at Berret's wound. "Here, let me have a look will you, dear?" he asked.
He removed the armor covering and enlarged the tear in ballistic suit underneath to get a better view of the wound. "Not as bad as it could have been," he commented as he took out some pouches and after cleaning the slash he put several powered herbs into it. He gave Berret a strange food cube, which he said would help the microbes fix the damage to his arm easier as he wrapped the wound in clean bandages. To Berret's surprise the food cube actually tasted good and it seem to satisfy the odd sensation his stomach always had when the microbes demanded food to use in helping repair any damage to his body. Seeing Chiana's inquiring glance he tore off a piece for the Nebari girl to taste. Judging by her smile, Berret concluded that the woman found the cube strange but tasty as well. Berret frowned slightly as he wondered how the old Delvian man knew about his microbe augmentation, but he remained silent to see what the old man would reveal he knew next.
"There, that should be feeling better in a few microns," said Shenna as he finished tying off the bandage.
"It is," said Berret with surprise as he flexed his fingers. The numbness in his arm seemed to be wearing off as he flopped the sheared piece of armor back over his bicep to cover the bandage.
"I trust the booster cube has alleviated your hunger pains also," asked the old Delvian.
"Yes, it has. Thank you," replied the Shrike guardedly.
"You're very welcome, my boy," smiled the old man.
"Now Shenna, if you will... will you tell us who exactly you are and what is going on?" Berret asked.
"As I said, my name is Shenna and I'm simply a traveler," he said. Without them realizing it the old man had herded them out of the alleyway and into the market square.
"You don't expect us to believe that, do ya?" asked Chiana skeptically.
Shenna chuckled merrily, "Indeed, I do not, little Nebari. If truth need be known, I am Zear Shenna... Grandmaster of the Mek-Klor-taZ Clan."
The old man said the name and title like it should mean something to the young couple. Chiana and Berret looked at each other blankly as neither had a clue as to what the title meant.
"That's... very nice, old man," said Chiana uncertainly.
"Yes Shenna, but forgive us as we are unfamiliar with what the Mek-Klor-taZ Clan is," Berret said.
"I'm not surprised," replied Shenna. "I must confess, I'm being deliberately vague just to tease you. Please forgive an old man his sense of humor. I am what you are, Berret - a Shrike."
"A Shrike!" said both Chiana and Berret in harmony. The Nebari girl moved a little to stand closer to Berret. Shenna held up a gnarled hand to calm them.
"Peace youngsters," he told them in a calm tone. "I am not here to harm you. I have been watching Berret for a long time as I have said and it was necessary for me to intervene in the battle between Val'Cirrus and himself."
"So you do know that scaly tralk," said Chiana suspiciously. "Is that why she was afraid of you?"
"It's not so much that she is afraid of me as she respects me. While she calls herself a Master Shrike, I am the Grandmaster of my clan. She would have been foolish not to respect my abilities even at my age."
"Why would she have to respect you?" asked the Nebari girl curiously. "You don't even look like you're carrying a gun, much less some of those blade thingees that you Shrikes seem to love so much."
The old Delvian smiled. "I have this," he said showing her his walking staff.
"That's just a stick," exclaimed the girl in disbelieve, "I've seen Berret's blades cut through metal like paper. What good would that have done you?"
"Not everything is as it seems, my dear," replied the old man as he gripped the top portion of his staff and pulled upward. The staff split at an almost undetectable seam and several hentas of shiny blade were revealed.
Chiana whistled and muttered, "Remind me not to gris you off."
"Is it Bat'Rellite also?" asked Berret in sudden interest as he inspected the small section of blade before Shenna pushed the staff back together.
"It has a mixture of Bat'Rellite and Bat'Rellite alloys along with other grades of metals. It is very old and was handed down to me from my master as it was from his before him. The blade has been forged and re-forged many times over the cycles as metallurgy improved," explained Shenna. "When it's time I will pass it down to my successor and he or she may improve it again at some point."
"A very impressive weapon," commented Berret.
"It is a little more than simply a weapon, my son. Some time in the future I might explain to you it's significance. But that is for another time and we have other issues to discuss. I promise I will explain everything and answer all the questions I am able about the Shrike clans"
The Grandmaster looked about him around the market place. "Let's find someplace with refreshments to sit and talk awhile, shall we?" he asked.
The trio walked further through the booths and tables. After a short time Berret realized that Chiana wasn't behind him any longer. Muttering a curse that caught Shenna's attention he backtracked a short ways to find the Nebari girl bending over a table with jewelry displayed. Berret knew the girl was out of currency and he could tell by her posture that she was going to attempt to steal something. Actually Berret had come to know the girl well enough that he didn't need to see her tense stance to tell she had snurching on her mind, the gleam in her dark eyes was enough for him to know. The Shrike approached the Nebari female from behind and before she could act placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. The girl frowned up at him as he leaned in close to her and whispered,
"We have had enough excitement for one day, let us not push our luck with a trip to jail."
"But look at this bracelet!" she protested, not noticing Shenna come up beside them. "Just one thing, its not even that expensive... he'll never miss it if I snurch it," she whispered.
"You're going to get us into trouble and Aeryn will have our mivonks for dinner if we do."
While the pair argued, Shenna leaned over the table to examine the bracelet under discussion. Before Chiana could reply further to Berret's statement of the horrible punishment the ex-Peacekeeper would deal out, the old man beckoned the table's owner over to him and asked the price of the piece. To the Nebari girl's openmouthed dismay, the Delvian purchased the bracelet explaining that the designed reminded him of some Delvian religious symbol. Chiana's face dropped as the Grandmaster safely tucked the item into a pocket of his traveling robes. Crestfallen, the girl moped along behind the men as they continued on their search for a quiet place to talk. For his part, Berret was greatly relieved that the temptation to steal the object had been removed from the Pixie's grasp. With the way this day was turning out, something else surely would have gone wrong. With an uncomfortable feeling he idly wondered what part of their anatomy made up the mivonks and how much discomforted would be involved having the Peacekeeper woman remove them. While he liked Aeryn, he didn't doubt her word for a microt to make good on the threat.
Chiana and Berret fell into step beside the old Delvian. The man set a leisurely pace, his wooded staff clicking against the pavement in time with his footfalls. They passed by several establishments but the old man gave them a look of distain and continued on by without stopping.
"How long have you been watching me?" asked Berret.
"For a very long time as I've said, my son," answered Shenna. "Since it became obvious Val'Cirrus had developed an interest in you when you were still with the Syndicate."
"How come you didn't do anything before now?" asked Chiana. "Why didn't you help Berret before this?"
"My dear, everything has its time and place. Your friend Berret still has much to learn on his own before anyone can teach him what he wants to know," replied the Shrike Grandmaster.
"Sounds like more double talk dren to me," Chiana commented with a raised eyebrow.
"The path to wisdom often does sound like 'double talk dren' to the young," replied Shenna with a patient smile to the girl.
The trio continued their walk until then came to a small Inn. Without a word, Shenna turned to enter the establishment while Berret and Chiana followed along behind him. He chose a table in the rear of the main room away from the door and removed his outer traveling robe before taking a seat. Shenna motioned for the young couple to sit as he leaned his staff against the nearby wall. After Chiana and Berret were seated across from him he leaned over the table closer to them.
"I must say, Jared... your traveling companions are very interesting. I could not have chosen better teachers for you myself."
"What do you mean by that?" asked the ex-assassin He didn't ask how he knew the others aboard Moya as he already admitted he'd been watching Berret. It stood to reason he would know the rest of the crew as well. Shenna leaned back in his seat and took his time forming his answer.
"Your friends each have something important to teach you. Pa'u Zhaan, while somewhat younger than I," he said with a chuckle, "has wisdom beyond her years. Listen to her and heed her counsel, she will guide you well. The Hynerian, Rygel the XVI, is very savvy when it comes to political intrigue. Learn what he has to teach you. You might need his consul in the future."
"I have no need for political games," said Berret.
Leaning forward, Shenna looked hard at the younger man, "You do not yet know what it is you need. A true Shrike learns and adapts to all facets of life."
The old Delvian settled back in his chair and continued on as if Berret had never interrupted him.
"From Officer Sun you can learn discipline. Ka'D'Argo will show you the path to honor. Young Malika can teach you perseverance. The young Sebacean Andar, while from a secluded colony world, can show you the arts and how to be creative."
Chiana snorted, "He's a school teacher from a backwater world who thinks he's poet!"
Shenna glance at the young Nebari girl, "Some warrior cultures believe that a warrior is not complete just because he is skilled in combat. It is strongly believed that the skills of war must be balance by a creative and temperate skill such as poetry. Many of the greatest warriors in history where also skilled at one or more of the finer, gentler arts. It is important to achieve a balance."
"I didn't know that?" said Chiana, feeling almost as if she were back in school on Nebari Prime again.
"There is much you don't know yet, little one," replied Shenna with a grandfatherly smile that made it hard for Chiana to become angry at the man's way of lecturing her.
"What about me? What do I have to teach him?" she asked.
Shenna's easy smiled turned mischievous. "Now... what could a Shrike have to learn from a Nebari thief?" he asked. The Delvian held out his hand and sitting in the palm was the trinket he had placed in his robe pocket earlier when they stopped in the market. Berret didn't understand why the man was showing them the thin bracelet again until Chiana reacted in stunned amazement.
"Hey!" she cried, rocketing to her feet and franticly searching through her pockets. The Nebari girl stopped in mid self-frisk as she realized she'd given her attempt at larceny away to the two men seated with her. Shenna eyes crinkled with amusement at the girl's sudden discomposure.
"It's alright, my dear. I'm not angry. If the bobble pleases you that much, you may have it."
The Delvian handed the trinket to the girl. Unsure of what else to do, Chiana took it from him.
"Ummm... thank you," she said sheepishly.
"You're quite welcome, little one. Now if you don't mind, will you please get an old man a cup of Terza tea from the Innkeeper?" he asked flicking a coin her way to pay for the requested drink.
"S-sure, okay," replied Chiana catching the coin and getting up from her seat. She curiously looked back over her shoulder at the old man as she made her way to the counter for the herbal tea.
When she was gone, Berret spoke to the older man in a low voice.
"I apologize for Chiana's behavior. She sometimes doesn't know any better."
"Of course she does. She just chooses to do the wrong thing anyway," said Shenna bluntly.
Berret had to admit the man was correct on that fact about his friend, and then a thought occurred to him.
"You knew she would attempt to steal the bracelet when you purchased it. Why then did you let her take it?" he asked.
Shenna shrugged his shoulders. "To teach you both a lesson. Just as with the staff, things are not always as they appear to be. Your young friend is talented and she would make an excellent Shrike."
"I do not believe Chiana would like that notion very much," said Berret with a degree of confidence.
The old Delvian shrugged slightly to dismiss the thought from the conversation. He looked sidelong at Berret and asked, "So, does she know yet?" The question confused the younger man.
"Know what?" he asked in puzzlement.
Shenna smiled. "My son, I'm an old man. But even I can tell that you love her and that she loves you."
Berret looked at the Delvian Shrike. "In that, I believe you're mistaken. Chiana could never love a creature such as I. With my past I don't know how to love or be loved. We are shipmates... and friends, nothing more. Though I admit I find it odd that Zhaan has made that exact same observation several times. Perhaps Delvians like to think that all beings are as compassionate as they are. I regret to inform you, you will find no such quality in me."
Shenna chortled and slapped Berret on the shoulder. "Now you're being melodramatic. The two of you are lost souls who have found each other in their time of need. That is what she will teach you.... how to love again."
Berret considered the old man's words and wondered if he should dare to hope for that dream. Often at times other people thought they were being kind by offering reassurances about future happiness. He decided that Shenna was perhaps doing the same thing now and tried to disregarded thinking further on the subject. Chiana returned with the Delvian's tea and set the cup down before him.
"Thank you, my dear," he said giving the Nebari woman a warm smile. The woman made a show of placing the correct change on the table before the old man, then moved back to her seat beside Berret.
She turned to him and asked her friend, "Has he told you what I'm suppose to teach you yet?"
"Yes," replied the younger Shrike before Shenna could answer the question. "You're going to teach me how to survive in a prison when you get us arrested for stealing."
Chiana gave him a look that said she wasn't amused, while Shenna lifted an eyebrow at his statement.
The Delvian remained silent on the subject. It was apparent to Berret the Grandmaster was going to leave the decision on whether or not to reveal the information up to him. In return, the ex-assassin gave the older man a look that said he wanted the discussion to go not further then between the two of them. Shenna set his cup back into its saucer with a tiny clink, gaining the couple's attention back to him again.
"The most interesting member of your crew is the other human, John Crichton," said the old man. "He has the most to teach you."
"Crichton? What can Crichton teach me?" asked Berret.
"How to gris Aeryn off?" put in Chiana with a mischievous grin.
Shenna surprised Berret by chuckling heartily at Chiana antics.
"No, my dear," he finally said to her. Turning to Berret he added, "Why... to be human of course."
"I have no wish to be human," said Berret with a deep frown.
"I have no wish, I don't want... pah!" mimicked Shenna with a dismissing wave of his free hand. "I'm afraid you have no other choice. That is what you are," he replied with another dismissing wave.
"Cheer up, 'Ret. You and Crichton can hang out and do whatever it is that humans do together," said Chiana.
Berret turned to glare at the Nebari. "You're not helping matters at all," he told her.
She took a bite out of a snack food on the table. "Wasn't meaning too!" she said around the mouthful.
Berret turned back to the older Shrike. "I have no memory of my original home. I have been altered enough by the Syndicate that I would no longer fit in there even if we did find a way back."
"Goddess, boy!" snorted Shenna. "No one said anything about you returning to that backward planet. Did it ever occur to you that your destiny lies here in the Territories? That this is the path the Goddess has always meant for you to follow? I simply meant, that you need to learn where it is you came from. The Syndicate gave you the powers and the skills. Now you need the temperaments of your people's culture to use them wisely and justly."
Chiana munched noisily on a cube. "Yeah, Crichton can be your conscious. Tell you who to kill.... who to let live... OUCH!"
Chiana reached down and rubbed at her shin where Berret had just kicked it under the table.
"You didn't have to do that!" she complained.
"Yes, I did," answered the Shrike
Shenna sat back in his chair and rubbed his chin as he watched the exchange between the young couple.
"Perhaps I was mistaken about the aspects of your relationship," he murmured in amusement to himself.
Chiana zeroed on the comment right away, "You did tell him something!" she said. Turning to Berret she demanded, "I wanna know what he said!"
Berret rolled his eyes at her. "He said what I have been saying all along... you are a bad influence on me."
"You're lying... I know you're lying!" accused Chiana. Turning back to the old man she added,
"He always lies! I know.... cuz he's bad at it. Please tell me what you told him while I was gone."
Shenna gave Berret a look that said he thought it mean of him to torment the Nebari girl by keeping her in the dark. Still the old man respected the Shrike's wish to not discuss the matter further. Instead he placed an aged hand over the hyper Nebari girl's.
"You needn't worry, child. I have told your friend nothing bad. Whether you both realize it... or admit it..." the last part he said with a glance in Berret's direction. "You have a great adventure ahead of you. There will be a few hard times, but it will all be worth it in the end. You'll see."
"So now you're fore-telling the future, old man?" asked Berret as he raised his cup to take a drink. His attitude was one of displeasure at the old Delvian for giving Chiana false hope about the future.
"The Goddess works in mysterious ways," Shenna said giving him another of his disarming smiles.
Berret frowned. He did like the old man and he did save the Pixie and himself from Val'Cirrus, but that didn't give him the right to try and sell pipe dreams to Chiana or him. The odds were not in favor of the group surviving. There were too many forces opposing them for their luck to hold out much longer.
With Scorpius looking for Crichton, the Peacekeepers looking for Aeryn, Rygel, Zhaan, and D'argo, and the Syndicate looking for him, the crew was eventually doomed. Even the Nebari would like a chance to get their hands back on Chiana, which left Andar and Malika along for the ride to hezmana. He still wasn't sure but he believed that the Peacekeepers might also be after the tight-lipped young Delvian woman also.
Berret knew they were living on borrowed time and the best he could hope for was to die with his hands locked around Arckatius' throat in a death grip. He did have the one wish that in the end the Pixie might get away and live her life out somewhere free and safe, but he doubted that would happen and he knew life was rarely fair.
He looked back up to find Shenna studying him from across the table. Almost as if the old Shrike knew what he'd been thinking, he said, "Things are not that bad. The time for change is coming soon. Bide your time and you will see."
Chiana had stuffed another snack cube into her mouth as Shenna spoke. She looked back and forth between the two men who had their eyes locked on one another.
"N-ow whud uu oww wtalkin 'bout?" she tried to asked around the cube.
Berret couldn't help but to ignore the mumbled question. Strangely the look in Shenna's eyes had him leaning toward believing the old man's prediction... and he found himself wanting to believe it desperately, and cursed himself for it.
Berret broke his gaze away from the old man's. Setting himself back in his seat, he chose change tactics and started another line of questioning.
"You said you would tell me more about the history of the Shrikes," he asked.
"Yes, that I did," admitted Shenna.
"In that case, the first question I have is... how can a Delvian be a Shrike?" asked Berret.
Shenna gave the younger man a lop-sided grin. "You believe all Delvians are priests?"
Berret thought the man's question over. "Logically that would not be possible. Every society needs its different occupations in order to function," he concluded.
The old Shrike nodded his head in agreement, "And Delvian society is no different."
"But why chose to be an assassin?" asked Berret.
"It was not always so," said Shenna almost sadly. "The Shrike Clans are ancient, much older then the criminal world of the Black Syndicate. For thousands of cycles Shrikes have served empires and rulers as warriors, advisers, spies, and yes, even as assassins when needed. In the old times the Shrikes fought on the side of the Just, Clan honor would demand no less of it's members. It is only in recent times, say about the last thousand cycles, that the myth and legends of the Shrikes has been corrupted and twisted to serve the Syndicates ends."
"How do you know all this?" asked Chiana
"My child, I was there. I am over fifteen Deckata-cycles old you know," replied Shenna.
Berret mouth fell open at the statement. "You are over fifteen-hundred cycles old!" he asked in amazement.
"Yes," said Shenna simply. "Well, closer to sixteen... and I look very good for my age if I do say so myself."
Berret shook his head in wonder. "Back to the story, you say the Shrikes fell in with the Syndicate around a thousand cycles ago?"
Shenna snorted, "I never said such a thing. I said the Syndicate corrupted and twisted the legends to their own ends."
Chiana nodded in agreement as she devoured another snack cube, "Y-eah! He-v di-tt!" she said.
Berret tried to ignore the bits of cube sprayed his way and absently handed the Nebari girl a napkin.
"The creatures that call themselves Shrikes, or rather who the Syndicate labels as Shrike, are nothing more then weak imitations," explained Shenna. "They are simply collared slaves or beings who enjoy murder."
The younger man shifted uneasily in his chair. "Val'Cirrus seemed genuine enough," he said.
Shenna's face began grim at the mention of her name. "Val'Cirrus is another matter entirely."
"Is this were I point out again that you two seemed to know each other back there?" asked Chiana.
"Yes, there is that," agreed Berret.
"She and I do have a history," admitted the old Delvian. "Over twelve-hundred cycles ago I began to train as a Shrike under my Masters, just as they trained under their Masters before them and so on. From teacher to student is how the knowledge of the old ways is passed on. In my time, I also passed on that knowledge to my students."
Berret could see where this was leading. "Val'Cirrus was one of your students," he said
Shenna nodded. "I saw the potential in her," he said sadly. "She could have been an honorable Shrike, one of the greatest in a dying Clan. But her life before finding the clan was hard and it scarred her more deeply then I had realized. She was only interested in learning how to kill those she perceived as her enemies. As soon as I realized this, I stopped training her and tried to heal her. You see, even a old Delvian warrior like me still feels the need to ease other's pain." The last statement was accompanied by a painful look in the old man's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Shenna forged ahead with his tale. "There were others who were also watching Val'Cirrus, though I should mention, that wasn't her name back then. She took it when she became an assassin for hire. These others offered to complete her training in exchange for becoming what she is today."
The bitterness in Shenna's voice did not escape the Nebari woman. "She meant something to you back then?" she asked.
Shenna shook his head as if to knock the memories loose, "That is neither here or now. Call it a foolish old man's folly if you will. She was living on the streets, alone and abused, when I found her and brought her into the Clan and tried to give her life direction."
Chiana became very quiet as she realized the parallel between her life and Val'Cirrus'. Berret made the connection also and considered the fact that in a way, Shenna saw himself and his old student in Berret and Chiana - the Shrike and the young street urchin.
"I suppose in a way I saw her as the daughter I never had," said the old man despondently.
Berret frowned at having to say his next words to the old Shrike, "I'm sorry, Shenna. But your 'daughter' means to kill me and the others if she can and then hand Crichton over to Scorpius. That is something I can't let happen right now if I can help it."
"I know, my son," was all the old man replied to the statement.
"I still don't know why she has focused on me?" said Berret.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Shenna
"Because she doesn't like him?" threw in Chiana.
"No, child. She despises Berret because he is the one thing she wasn't allowed to become."
"A major pain in the eema?" asked Chiana again.
Berret made as if to kick her under the table again and Chiana quickly drew her legs up onto the chair's seat out of reach before he could complete the task.
Shenna shook his head, "It is within Berret's grasp to become a Shrike warrior, by that I mean a real Shrike. That is what she hates, what she wants to destroy before he reaches his full potential."
Berret shook his head stubbornly at the man's words. "I am not a Shrike," he half growled. "I have no desire to continue in this manner or to become more proficient at it. I have enough blood on my hands." Berret looked from Shenna to Chiana and then back to the old man again as he continued to refute the other's observation.
"Besides, I am not Delvian or whatever race Val'Cirrus belongs too, so how can I possibly be a Shrike. You yourself admitted to knowing that my species does not even belong here in the Territories. For a time, I was forced to become one of those fake Shrikes the Syndicate uses. I am not any longer. I am free and I intend to stay that way for as long as I have left to live."