Part: 43/43
Note: And the second, and final, chapter of this evening... Thank you to everyone for reading this fic and sticking with this Alliance saga. I am very grateful for being able to share this story...and more to come. Please let me know what you think of the final part of this fic – just remember, no shouting at me :)
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Chapter 43 - Epilogue – The Whisperers
The dark night sky stretched high above Mind Song and, across it, the glorious sight of the many thousands of tiny pinpoints of light.
He'd found a gentle incline at the edge of the open space near the Portal and had remained here since Sheppard had left, lying on the living soft grass and watching the stars sparkle above him while he waited.
The air was a little too cool for his liking, but he didn't move further into the protective reach of the forest starting just behind his head. No, lying out here, even in the chilled air, was too bracing too shy away from.
He had never truly believed he would have this chance again, to be free. To feel unchained and himself once more.
And he had a Human to thank for it.
He chuckled up at the vast sky, running his eyes from one constellation to another.
Sheppard.
An interesting name considering the Human had led him to his freedom and guided the decisions of the rest of his kind.
Human and Wraith cooperating.
Only a day ago Mind Song would have discarded such a bizarre thought, but now...
Now he had seen things that had educated him on the new galaxy into which he had been released.
Sheppard's Queen had said much had changed, and clearly she was correct. How deeply it had affected the Hives was something he would need to discover.
Had the feeding grounds been reduced even further? How many Hives had been lost, how many Queens killed by the Armoured Herd?
He suspected he could predict much of what had happened between the Hives; some would have destroyed one another over the reducing feeding ground, and others would have tried to cooperate with each other. But, with the Armoured Herd's ever increasing territory, no doubt those alliances would have been stressed, fractured, and even entirely destroyed by battle.
Was he going to find that it was his own kind who were now on the losing side of the war for territory?
Of course he would have significant insight soon, but he suspected that they were going to have to act quickly to regain some holding and work on a plan moving forward. For the days of domination over the Human prey were clearly at an end, and now was a time that called for consolidation and defence. Many Wraith would object, preferring the fight over cooperation, but Mind Song would need to find a way to control that.
If there were enough Queens left perhaps...
He heard the subtle buzz of another fighter somewhere in the far distance.
He rolled his head against the grass to look off in its direction, spotting the faintest glimmer of moonlight across the fighter's hull. He gently rose into the network, subtly sensing the Wraith mind behind the fighter's control and then withdrew his thoughts. A routine patrol.
He returned his attention to the stars and his consideration of the reality of this new galaxy around him.
The Armoured Herd were no longer the only threat to consider either, for Sheppard's people had to be included as well now. Descendants of the old Lanteans themselves, he had no idea how many of them there were and what further technology they had back in their home galaxy. Perhaps they were even intending to bring far more of their number into this galaxy?
But, in them at least, he had found something new.
Sheppard had kept his word in releasing him. Honour from a Human.
And he had spoken about peace.
The concept was so alien to Mind Song that he'd instinctively dismissed it when Sheppard had suggested it.
Yet now he set his mind to the thought.
If the feeding therapy Sheppard's kind suggested was truly possible, if there was no longer the need to feed... A galaxy where there was no more fighting over feeding grounds, where Hives lived in peace with each other as well as with Humans...
What would that be like? A life uncaring of seeking life-force to survive.
What would he choose to do if that happened?
Would he still be Wraith?
His kind did not change. In the long millennia that he'd lived, he had never seen anything truly change outside that of territories and alliances. Even their technology had remained unchanged since the days of the old Lanteans, while the Humans had built and developed their own technology in frightening speed of late.
And behind the technology of ships, weapons, and new defences, the Humans were breeding in vast numbers. Kolya's planet had been amassed with life, and he'd spied a crowded space filled with more Humans than he'd ever seen together in his entire lifetime. And that had been one Human settlement on one Human-held planet.
Surely they were soon to outnumber Wraith, if they did not already.
Which made him worry.
For it had been numbers more than anything that had allowed the defeat of the old Lanteans. As they had started to defend the small Human populations, the Queens had gathered and agreed to join Hives to force the Lanteans back to their City.
Without the accelerated cloning facility, those numbers might not have been enough to defeat the Lanteans.
So, were the Humans now the ones with superior numbers?
Were they about to crush the Wraith, as his kind had done of the old Lanteans?
The reality of that possibility worried Mind Song.
Fighting back did not appear to be working for the Hives, and with Sheppard's kind now here as well, the advantage had perhaps indeed swung over to the Humans.
But, peace...
Could that be the way to survive?
The idea seemed absurd, but Sheppard's people had suggested a possible route with the feeding therapy.
Was such an adaption beyond the Wraith?
And even if it was possible, how would the Hives ever agree to it?
It was far more likely that they would rage against the mere suggestion and fight onwards until their end.
Just like the old Lanteans.
But, if he was to save-
He felt the sudden arrival within the network, felt the bright, alert mind reaching towards his own.
Mind Song sat up from the grass, looking up towards the dark sky for a hint of the new hull he had been waiting to see.
Moving out from the protection of the trees, he turned, stretching out his mind further, leading the way towards him.
The time of waiting was over, and, finally, it was time to regain his place.
A faint fleck moved across the shiny moon above, and Mind Song grinned up at the growing dot as the fighter headed down through the atmosphere.
Freedom was wondrous and this only made it all the sweeter.
This way he truly believed anything could be possible.
The fighter started a long slow curve as it headed down towards the Portal. Mind Song walked further out into the open space, lifting his arms up, and immediately the fighter's nose turned towards him.
Chuckling with delight, Mind Song moved a little further back towards the trees as the fighter arrived overhead and started lowering down to the ground.
Mind Song held his arms wide in bursting joy as the fighter settled onto the grass and the canopy dissipated to finally reveal Long Sleep inside.
"Brother!" Long Sleep grinned back as he swung himself up and out of the canopy in a strong swing that told Mind Song how well fed his batch brother was.
Mind Song laughed as he approached and wrapped his arms around his long lost brother. "It has been too long."
Long Sleep's embrace was tight, and his clothes smelt of smoke and dirt, but he throbbed with life and his mind was so refreshingly alive and fast against his.
"I had thought you lost forever," Long Sleep said as he pulled back from their embrace.
"Much has happened, Long Sleep," Mind Song told him. "But I have learnt a great deal about the threats to the Hives, to our future."
Only Long Sleep's mind shifted into darker shades of worry in an instant. "You know of the Skerti?" He asked quickly.
Mind Song froze, his hands on his brother's shoulders. "What?"
"They are no myth, Mind Song," Long Sleep stated, his expression pained and his mind reached forward, sharing images and thoughts of fear and an alien mind so aggressively oppressive that Mind Song tightened his grip protectively on his brother.
"They are real," Long Sleep almost whispered, as if the alien legends could perhaps hear him. "And we are all in danger."
Mind Song nodded his understanding and immediate belief in his brother's assessment. There was no one Mind Song trusted more than his batch brother. Though they had been apart for too long, the truth of his kin was unchanged and was a knowable island of trust in the changed galaxy.
"Another threat we must face then," he considered out loud.
Long Sleep nodded, but his fear shifted quickly back into pleasure against Mind Song's mind. "But one we now face together."
Mind Song smiled back at him. "Yes, together we will find a way to save our kin, against Armoured Herd, Atlantis, and Skerti."
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The grass was soft under Oneakka's bare feet where he sat cross-legged on the training field, the new day's sun shining bright across the green expanse around him. He could vividly recall the smell of this grass as it rose up from under him, could remember running across it with complete happy oblivion when he'd been small.
The air smelt sweet with the scent of the grass, of the flowers bending softly in the gentle warm breeze as his family surrounded him with their loving warm laughter.
Little Pema was leant against his back, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as she sang an old rhyme that had been her favourite. It echoed right into his ear as she sang it round and round again, bringing back ancient memories of sitting up late with her by the ash-filled fire, Mother and Father fast asleep in the next room.
Her little soft cheek bounced against his as she danced along with the song, the words drifting from his lips as if he had sung them with her only yesterday.
Around him, Zopi and Huan were laughing as they ran chasing circles around the family, Mother and Father towering above them all, Mother's gentle laughter like music accompanying Pema's singing.
By Oneakka's right knee, Arthit and Klahan were patting their palms together in a game, their sparkling grins bright in the clear sunshine. Behind them, Minoru and Suko, his eldest siblings, were showing him the latest wrestling moves they had learnt, Minoru abruptly demonstrating her favourite take-down on Suko without him realising and Oneakka grinned as his brother hit the grass with giggling complaint.
And at Oneakka's other knee, Aimi was picking the little flowers growing among the grass and laying them across his knee in a pretty pattern.
It all filled his soul with bursting, glowing happiness.
He was mesmerised by them, their joy, their giggling delight, and the glowing Ugun sun shining over them all. Sat at Mother and Father's feet, like he'd done as a little boy, he simply watched his family, looking from one to the other, grinning at the racing laughter and joy, nodding to Minoru' wrestling technique demonstrations, and all the while singing along with Pema's rhyme.
Though, as he sang, he could swear that he could almost hear other voices in the distance, but it was probably just the soft rustling of the tall grasses at the edge of the field.
The warm loving weight of a hand settled on the top of his head and he tipped his head back to look up at Mother smiling down at him. She bent down and he closed his eyes as she pressed a kiss to his hair. As she pulled back up, the sunlight created bright swirling brilliance around her and he could see some of the grass flowers woven into her braids.
She whispered something to him.
He frowned at her face, realising her lips weren't moving.
Who was whispering?
He glanced around the family, but the sounds of them were all clear and bright.
So, he looked back up to Mother, only he noticed something tiny up in the sky high above her. A tiny dark dot moving through the perfect blue sky.
Mother stroked his hair and he returned his gaze to her long lost face again.
He frowned at that thought though. How could she be lost, she was right here.
A soft whisper brushed close to his ear, but it wasn't Pema's rhyme. He glanced off to the left, seeking out who was whispering to him. Perhaps Aimi wanted something, but she was still focused on arranging her flowers on his leg.
His eyes shifted over to the tall grasses waving gently in the warm breeze. The same grasses behind which he'd arrived, hiding from the older children as he'd watched the wrestling practice.
He had the strange niggling sensation that he'd left something there beyond the tall swaying reeds.
Perhaps there was someone there, their whispers calling to him.
Focusing a little more intently, he was almost certain the soft whispers were a male voice.
Almost recognisable.
Pema's rhyme suddenly ended and he quickly shifted his attention back to her, tightening his hands on her little arms around him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and then giggled happily as she pulled away from his back and skipped away to join Zopi and Huan's chasing game.
His back felt cool without her there.
He lifted his head again, looking for that dark dot in the sky.
It was larger now, almost a recognisable shape.
A cloud was starting to trail across the blue above him, partially sliding over the sun, sending a long cooler shadow across the field.
The breeze lifted as he watched the shadows sliding past the waving grasses and, on the moving air, the whispering had returned, just audible.
A male voice, he was almost certain now.
A name tried to form, but the sound was too soft, too distant.
Maybe he should go look behind the grasses, check everything was alright.
He used to do that, hadn't he? Make sure things were safe from the monsters?
Or had that just been a game he had played with Huan and Zopi? Under the reading trees, pretending to fight Wraith and defend the galaxy.
Mother's hand stroked against his hair again and he happily pulled his eyes from the grasses back up to her.
But there was more whispering, distracting him from her now the sky was in view again. His eyes found the dark shape moving high above.
Was there whispering from up there too?
Was it a threat?
Something dangerous?
Mother stepped away, providing him with a full view of the sky, the clouds sliding across it and, among them, the dark dot had grown closer.
Its true shape revealed against the clouds.
A bird, its wings spread wide as it slid through the rolling air currents high above him.
He let out a breath of relief. Just a bird.
Except, the air stirred, a soft female voice whispering to him.
He glanced away to Mother, to his sisters, but none of them were talking to him. They were instead laughing, talking with each other, Mother now singing Pema's rhyme with her. None of them seemed to see the bird or hear the grasses whispering louder.
He looked round to find Father, see if he was worried as well. Only, Father was suddenly right next to him, settling down on the grass beside him. Aimi, seeing Father, rose up from beside Oneakka's knee and reached across to Father. Father slid his hands under her small raised arms and lifted her up and over to him, which sent some of her picked flowers cascading down over Oneakka's lap.
He focused down on the flowers lying over one of his hands, the soft petals releasing an oddly familiar feminine fragrance. Not from Ugun though; they smelt of another female.
He looked back up to the sky, the bird now lower, circling around above the field.
He looked back to Father. "I think that bird is whispering to me," he confessed. Perhaps Ugun birds had used to do that?
"Yes, she is," Father smiled though as he set Aimi aside, the young girl skipping off to join the others.
Oneakka frowned at his father, confused as the rustling of the grasses rose louder, almost concealing the singing and laughter around him.
He looked back round towards the swaying reeds, looking for the voice.
He knew who it was.
He was important somehow.
But Oneakka couldn't remember his name.
As he watched the wind push more roughly at the reeds, the voice rose louder, the words almost clear.
Calling to him.
The loud call of the bird above suddenly rang out through the growing wind, pushing at him, rustling his hair and niggling at the back of his neck.
"You need to remember this, my son," Father said calmly from Oneakka's side.
Oneakka looked round at him, confused. Why was there so much noise? Why should he know the voices?
"There is no need to be afraid," Father smiled, his warm hand on Oneakka's shoulder.
The wind rushed louder, drawing Aimi' flowers up into the air, dancing them through the space around Oneakka as the memories started to form of a life beyond this place.
A promise made.
The crunch of sand on a beautiful beach now free of culling.
A meal shared in the warm companionship of friends.
The warm snout of a goat.
The deep support and comfort of a bed after a long day.
Purpose fulfilled.
The giggle of a baby boy free of the curse of his mother, and the long scars on dark skin cradling the boy with love thought impossible.
The brush of a kiss on his cheek by a lover leaving him.
A tapestry of his name, filled with devotion and promise.
Worlds turning among the stars, free to grow.
A brother from another world, safe at last.
And the long, dark hair of a raven whispering his name.
He rose up towards the memories, following the whispers up through the flowers, up from the field, up through the air of Ugun, feeling Mother and Father's hands pushing at his back.
And then darkness.
Voices.
The whispering close to him now.
And growing louder.
He forced his eyes open, the world feeling heavy and dull, and so less vibrant than the grassy happy field, but it felt real.
It felt sharp and undeniable.
He blinked his eyes a little clearer, the flat white ceiling above him taking shape.
Then, sliding into that view, two familiar and smiling faces.
Halling and Raven.
He felt warm touches to his face, heard words being said, bleeping and the sound of more people growing closer.
And the discomfort grew among it, painful and deep, but he kept his eyes on the two smiling down at him.
His anchors in the chaos of noise and pain.
His whisperers.
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END