Chapter 15
Regin's mind spun at this turn of events. He knew all the names, except Del Tarrant. The others were his father's former compatriots. And before him was Orac, that elusive rumour he had been chasing all this time. And it knew his father and the others.
"How did you get here, Orac?" he asked. "How did you go from being created by Ensor, to knowing these people, wanted fugitives of the Federation?"
"Ensor bequeathed me to Rog Blake." was the surprising answer.
"So you travelled with them?" Veril asked, leaning forward eagerly seeking answers.
"Yes."
Zev rolled his eyes. "Can't you expand a little on that?" he asked.
"What precisely do you wish to know? Be exact." Orac had returned to his usual testy self.
"Everything!" Veril demanded.
"That is not precise." Orac said, refusing to answer.
":I feel like we are in a game of 20 questions." Calan murmured to Kerran.
"Yes, but we've got to play the game by the rules if we want the answers."
Calan stepped forward now. "You travelled with Blake. Who was with him during this time?"
"Jenna Stanis, Vila Restil, Kerr Avon, Olag Gan, Cally from Auron. This was on the ship, the Liberator. After the Andromeda invasion, Blake and Jenna Stanis did not return to the Liberator."
"So who did?"
"Avon, Vila, Cally, and they were joined by Dayna Melanby and Del Tarrant."
"Why didn't Blake return?" Zev asked, sneaking a glance at Regin.
"Both he and Jenna stated they had been picked up safely, no further communication was received from them."
"So who lead them?" Veril asked.
"Kerr Avon."
"They were still rebels?"
"They were still considered such by the Federation."
"So who was on this planet?" Calan asked.
"Blake, Avon, Tarrant, Dayna, Vila, Soolin." Orac rattled off the names.
"Wait a minute." Zev put in. "You said Blake wasn't with them anymore."
"No."
"Then how was he here?"
"Avon and the others tracked Blake to this planet. They had heard he was here formenting a rebel group."
"You didn't mention Cally." Kerran said, asking the question for Calan.
"Cally had died on the artificial planet, Terminus, as part of a trap laid by the Space Commander, Servalan, which also resulted in the destruction of the Liberator."
There was silence as Kerran took Calan's hand in hers. He gave her a sad smile and squeezed her hand. So now they knew what had happened to Cally.
"Where's Terminus?" Kerran asked.
"Destroyed." That was harsh. There was no place even for Calan to visit to end his search for his mother.
"You mentioned another name that was here." Veril said to Orac. "Soolin. Who was she?"
"Soolin joined the group after Cally's death. She was companion to Dorian and then upon his demise joined the crew on Scorpio at Xenon base."
"We've been to Xenon. Why was it abandoned?" Keran asked.
"An alliance was trying to be built by Avon with the outer planet warlords. They were betrayed by Zukan of Betafarl."
"So that was all true." Zev put in, thinking back to his mother's necklace.
"So what happened here?" Kerran demanded of Orac. "You said they came here to find Blake. Did they? What happened? Where did they go from here?"
"Nowhere. They are dead."
This blunt statement sent a splash of cold water over them all. Orac was only a computer, with no feelings or thoughts of compassion for the humans that surrounded it.
"How?" Veril choked out. They had to know now, they couldn't stop at this point.
"Scorpio was attacked in the atmosphere of this planet. The crew abandoned the ship, all except for Tarrant who remained to attempt to land the ship. This was only partially successful."
"So Tarrant died in the crash?" Zev asked.
"No." was Orac's surprising answer.
"Then..." Zev was interrupted by Orac's testy voice. "May I finish as required?"
"Yes." Calan said, waving Zev silent.
Orac continued. "Avon took me with him. Soolin, Dayna and Vila having teleported earlier."
"Teleported!" Zev exclaimed, but subsided at Veril's shush.
"Avon located the other three and commandeered a shuttle from two bounty hunters. We followed the route of another shuttle to an underground base. Avon hid myself before they entered. I monitored them from there."
"How?"
"Through their teleport bracelets which contained a communicator. I could tap into that and monitor all conversations."
"So what happened?"
"Avon and the other three entered the base safely and encountered Tarrant." Zev perked up at the mention of his father still alive at this point. "He stated he had been captured by Blake who intended to claim the bounty. Blake arrived at this point and tried to convince Avon of his trustworthiness. Avon chose to trust Tarrant's word more. This is surprising as Avon had always stood steadfastedly by Blake's word and generally derided Tarrant's. I am unable to fathom the illogical conclusions you humans come to at times."
"So what happened?" Zev prompted.
"Avon, believing Blake had betrayed him, shot and killed him."
A long silence followed this bald statement. Kerran forced herself to look at Regin who looked back. What could she say? Could you say anything? Should she? Orac continue.
"Immediately after, a traitor in Blake's group tried to capture them. A fight ensued and the traitor shot and killed Dayna Melanby. Vila fell next, then Soolin and then Tarrant." Veril gripped Zev's hand tightly, he returned her grip. "Avon remained alive. By this time Federation troops were everywhere and had taken over that portion of the base. Avon was surrounded but refused to surrender. He was shot down. With his last dying moments he pushed my key into Blake's body. One could say it was a poetic gesture, Avon returning me to Blake and in a way acknowledging his error. Blake hadn't betrayed him, Blake himself had been betrayed. Myself, I believe Avon was a far more practical man and sought to prevent me falling into Federation hands and so hid my key in the most unlikely of places, deep inside the body of the man he had killed." The silence stretched.
"So they all died here." Veril said softly, her voice breaking a little.
"Yes."
"Where?"
"In the main chamber." Orac replied.
"Where we were today." Regin put in quietly. The others looked at him. "That's where I found the key. And it was where Orac said, in the middle of the bones of someone." He stopped and swallowed as it hit him. "Inside my father."
"We've got to go back." Kerran said, beginning to move off, her eyes haunted. Calan stepped in front of her, halting her movement.
"Not tonight. It's too late."
"No, it's not." Kerran said sharply, her voice thick with emotion.
Calan lowered his voice. "The dead will wait, Kerran." She looked up at him, finally seeing him, coming back to the present, leaving the horrors of the past. Calan didn't release his hold on her shoulders as he looked up to the others. "We've had a long, tiring day. We've been emotionally drained also. We need time to rest, to sleep and put things in perspective. We can start again fresh tomorrow. It will all still be here then." No-one was willing to move at first. "Go." Calan urged them. " Rest."
Veril looked up at Zev and he placed an arm around her shoulders. "Good night then." Zev said, and he and Veril left the flight deck.
Calan turned to Regin. "You are welcome to take my room tonight." he said. "Second on the left."
"Thanks." Regin answered, needing some solitude to think on all they had heard. He headed off, leaving Calan and Kerran alone.
Calan looked down at Kerran's lowered head, her arms hanging limply at her sides. Her entire posture signified dejection. Calan could never recall ever seeing her like this, not even close. He had seen her happy, exhilarated, angry, frustrated, irritated, worried, all manner of emotions but never dejection, never defeated. But this is how she seemed now. The weight of the past and the actions of her father weighing her down.
"Kerran." he said gently. She didn't acknowledge him. He placed a finger under her chin and raised her face to look at him. "Kerran." He saw unshed tears brighten her eyes, waiting to fall. Instead of trying to talk further he just enfolded her in his arms and held her tightly. With a sob he felt her arms wrap round his waist in return, clinging for comfort. "Come on." he whispered and lead her to her room.
He pulled her to the bed and lay down next to her, just holding her. She didn't cry but the pain was there. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead as she lay in his arms. She raised her face to his so the next kiss touched her lips. It was chaste to begin with but she then clung to him fiercely and the kiss deepened. For that night they both needed the comfort of being with someone they could trust wholeheartedly and that was each other. For the past and the present.
No-one emerged early the next morning, as though by waking was admitting that all that had occurred the night before was real, was true. Kerran awoke to the unfamiliar sensation of another body in her bed. She wasn't concerned, she knew it was Calan. She also had no feeling of awkwardness, or sense of wrong doing. She felt his arms wrap around her.
"Alright?" he asked softly. Not about them she knew, about everything else.
"No." she replied, gripping his arms. "What do I say to him?"
Calan knew she referred to Reign. "There is nothing to say. It was not your doing. It happened long ago and you were not a part of it."
"I feel as though I was." she admitted. "It feels like my fault."
"Be careful of taking on guilt that is not yours." he warned. "I don't think Blake was any saint. Don't forget, Regin seemed none too happy about his father. It would appear that particular father-son relationship was not harmonious."
"I guess. But it doesn't change what has happened."
"No, it doesn't. And what happened was 20 years ago. And well and truly dead and buried. There are no survivors here. All the memories are dead and should remain so."
Kerran glanced at her chrono and sighed. "Guess we should make an appearance." she said reluctantly.
"I agree."
They got up, showered and changed before leaving the room. Not long after Veril and Zev also left theirs. Veril's eyes were still a little puffy looking, the only evidence of many tears having been shed the night before.
"Okay?" Kerran asked.
Veril shrugged. "Sad. But at least I know now."
"You?" Kerran turned to Zev.
"The same. At least I know and he was there to the end. No more loose ends."
"How do you feel, Calan?" Veril asked him.
"A little sad also. I guess I had always hoped, however I always knew it was extremely unlikely to find her alive. I would like to know more details, exactly what happened. I have no planet to return to for her."
"I'm sure Orac will tell you." Kerran couldn't keep the touch of bitterness from her voice.
Veril reached out and took one of her hands. "It's not your fault, Kerran."
"I've tried to tell her that." Calan put in.
"Your father did what he had to. Just as any of the others did. Remember what Orac said. Tarrant believed Blake had betrayed them. Blake must have given him good reason to think that. How could Avon have believed otherwise? He did what he had to. And maybe he was wrong, but by killing Blake he didn't make anything worse. Blake had already been betrayed if Federation troops came in at that time. Blake would most likely have been killed then anyway. They all were as it was. It was just a different person who pulled the trigger, the result would be the same."
"I know." Kerran said with a small smile. "It's just so.. over-whelming."
"That is exactly the word for it." Regin said, from the side, having arrived during Veril's speech. Kerran still found she couldn't look at him. The tableau held for a moment, then Regin walked to Orac who had been left on.
"Orac, how can we identify the remains?"
Orac whirred. They had left him on all night as if afraid that by turning him off they would lose this link to the past, the end of their journey. "Blake, I don't know."
"I do." Regin interrupted, cutting Orac off. "I found the key with him."
"Very well." Orac replied. "Avon was wearing black with studs." A memory flashed to Regin of the tarnished studs on the skeleton next to what he now knew was his father's. "Vila was in grey, Soolin also, with blue trim. Dayna in purple, Tarrant also in grey with studs."
"After all this time the colours have probably faded anyhow." Veril said. "It wont make it easier to identify them."
"Take me down and I will recreate the scene." Orac's startling suggesting hit them.
"What!" Zev exclaimed.
"From the sounds of what occurred at that time I can re-create the scene, positioning personnel to an accuracy of 85.43."
They all looked at each other, indecision showing. The need to know which skeleton below was 'theirs', warred with the dread of digging up the past further, of re-living that moment with their fathers.
"Well?" Kerran finally asked.
Surprisingly Veril's hand was the first up. Her face was set. "I need to know." she said simply.
Zev was next. "Like wise."
Regin raised his. "I already know which one. But I need to lay the ghosts to rest and really understand – if I can."
Calan spoke up. "I don't really have a stake in this." he said. "My mother wasn't with them."
Kerran took a deep breath, trying to still the churning of her stomach. "Okay. Let's do this."
Calan and Regin carried Orac and loaded him on the cart, then they all piled on. The cart was overloaded but no-one suggested separating and using Regin's land hopper also. What was occurring bonded them together, and together they had to remain.
They lowered Orac carefully down to Regin who had entered first, the others swiftly followed. They set lights, as many as they could to chase away the shadows. What was about to be done was no thing to do in the dark.
"I shall begin at the point that Avon and the others have entered and located Tarrant." Orac's voice ceased to be replaced by others.
Names were called, voices sounded. They all listened. For Zev, Veril and Kerran it was the first time they had heard their fathers' voices, now to be the only time. Regin listened dispassionately, he remembered his father's voice. That desperate belief that he was right, that he could convince anyone to believe in his beliefs.
They heard the accusations Tarrant made, Blake's denial, Avon's dumbfounded incredulity of Blake's betrayal and his swift revenge. They all jumped as the shots rang out, hearing Blake's voice as he died. Kerran closed her eyes in pain. More noises swiftly followed, then the shooting began. In their minds eye, with feet moving against their will the scene played out.
Veril turned to the spot Vila was shot down, the skeleton at her feet. Zev walked down the steps to the skeleton lying there, as a curly haired tall man fell in agony. Kerran stood in the middle, looking down. The replay continued, sounds of fighting and dieing in the distance, then many feet, surrounding them, the klaxon alarm still sounding loud.
Then suddenly there was one shot, loud in the stillness that had built. Kerran felt her nerves jolt, and the shots following, no where near as loud for some reason, seemed to sear into her body. There was silence for a moment and then a ragged voice grated weakly. "Blake, Orac. You're with Blake." and then nothing except the sound of booted feet running, distant firing and the alarm.
Orac turned the replay off. No-one moved. Kerran felt tears running down her face, her throat and chest tight. She had finally heard her father's voice, experienced his dieing, had found him. Now what? Regin took a step forward and took her hands. The two of them stood there, forming an arch with their joined hands over the remains of their fathers.