Chapter Two
Vila continued, finally getting to the center around which he and the others orbited.
"Roj Blake was quite famous on Earth, you know, as a rebel. He was caught, tried, convicted and mindwiped twice before I met him in that holding cell. Quite a leader, was your father. People gravitated to him like iron to a magnet! Even Kerr Avon felt the pull, though he resisted it for a long time.
"We all reacted to him differently, the original crew, that is. Gan was his first follower, on the London. Gan was a giant and a murderer, so they said, and they'd put a limiter in his brain to keep him from killing again. We became good friends on the Liberator, and later I found out he'd killed the man who'd already killed his wife and child. It hardly seemed fair, but then, what about the Federation was ever fair? We never held it against him, anyway. I think he followed Blake because Blake was the only person Gan's size around and he was smarter. Gan needed a protector, with that limiter, but he protected us, too, sometimes. That was what got him killed, early in the second year.
"Cally, now, followed Blake because she believed in his cause." He smiled fondly at his memories. "She was a fierce fighter, was our Cally. She was an Auron and telepathic." His face sobered as he continued, "I still miss her. Avon…felt her loss the most, I think. He loved her, in his own way. After she died and believing Blake dead, Avon started to go to pieces. I was the only original crewmember left by then, so I guess I was the only one who could see him breaking down. The others…" Vila laughed, but there was no humor in it. "They thought he was normally homicidal and mean-spirited, but I remembered him from before." Vila fell silent, alone in his head with his ghosts for several moments before shaking his snowy head and looking up into Theon's concerned eyes.
"Would you like some water or another drink, perhaps?" Theon offered.
"No, no, I'm fine. It's just…I haven't spoken of those times in many years and now…the…pain of losing them seems…fresher, somehow."
He continued, "Jenna Stannis was your mother. That's your real name, by the way, Theon Roj Stannis. She was a smuggler and a pirate and the best damned pilot I ever saw. Among her people, the child took the mother's name, not like on Earth. A real beauty, was Jenna. Cally was pretty enough, but Jenna was simply beautiful. Blond, curved in all the right places. Spirited and fiery, too. She followed Blake, at the start, for money and adventure, but very soon she fell in love with him. I don't think she cared for his cause, just for the man. When they gave you to us, they told us she'd died several months previously, running a blockade with supplies the rebels badly needed." He flashed the young man a smile. "No matter how hard I tried, I never could imagine Jenna pregnant with you! She was such a blazing free spirit that I doubt it slowed her down one bit!
"Kerr Avon. He said once Blake didn't so much lead him as he chose to follow Blake. I think he was deluding himself there. Avon was a top embezzler. He almost brought the Federation Banking System to its knees, but he was betrayed by a woman he loved. Maybe that's why he was never attracted to Cally or Dayna or Soolin, I don't know. I'm just thankful he connected with Tarrant, loved Tarrant. Thankful that they had each other till the end. Avon deserved some happiness, after all the hell he'd gone through."
Theon interrupted then. "You haven't told me why you followed Blake, father."
Vila ducked his head at that. "I was afraid you'd spot that. I'm really not sure myself why. I told Avon once that I stayed because I had nowhere else to go. It's true we were all too famous or…infamous to be allowed to lead anonymous lives after joining up with Blake.
"Quite simply, the man fascinated me. He was so strong and self-assured. He never doubted his mission, his cause, though once he did question his methods. That was after Gan died. As always, Blake took all the burdens of the universe onto those broad shoulders of his.
"Then again, maybe it was like a ride in an amusement park to me. Once I got aboard, I had to ride it out until it stopped. I couldn't leave the others until I found out how it all finished." His voice took on a deadened quality. "Well, I found out where it ended. On Gauda Prime."
In an effort to brighten Vila's mood a bit, Theon asked, "Where did my mother, Soolin, and Tarrant come from? They weren't part of the original crew, where they?"
"Oh, no. They came to us later. Dayna rescued Avon after Star One was destroyed by Travis and the Andromedans. That's when Blake and Jenna disappeared, too. Dayna was a weapons expert, the daughter of Hal Mellanby, a noted scientist who fled the Federation to hide on Sarran." Vila smiled fondly at Theon as he continued, "You never suspected she was a fierce freedom fighter, your mother, did you?"
That picture brought a chuckle from Theon. "Fierce, yes, but a freedom fighter? No, I didn't. I suspect she would have approved of my lifestyle, though, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes, son. She'd definitely approve of your life, for a fact," he replied, nodding.
"What of Tarrant and Soolin?"
"Soolin joined us after Cally died. I'm not sure why she stayed with us that first year. Maybe it was as simple as she didn't have anyplace else to go. Or maybe she felt safer with us than on her own. She never said, that I remember." He cast a fond smile at his son.
"After Gauda Prime, she stayed because she loved you. Both of them were exceptional with weapons, quick, intelligent. Soolin and Dayna both became your mothers and your special guardians. I had to look after all of us, not just you. I couldn't give you the care and nurturing you deserved, but they could and did." Theon heard and felt the sorrow of the man as he said, "I miss them both, son, more and more as the years pass."
He went silent so long the younger man prodded finally, "What happened to Soolin? I have only the vaguest memories of her."
Vila sighed. "She died covering our escape from Darton IV. Tarrant was worse by then. You must have been six or seven. We'd learned not to live together in one group by then. Three men, two lovely women, and one baby were just too easy to find. So Avon and Tarrant lived apart from us, while Dayna and Soolin posed as my wives." He flashed Theon a broad grin. "I rather liked that part. Dayna and I were married legally about that time. Anyway, after that, we changed our names and appearances for awhile. Later, when we felt we were safe, we gave that up. It was quite a relief, I can tell you."
"That explains the frequent moves I remember. I've forgotten any fighting, if I ever witnessed any," Theon said.
Vila nodded sadly. "That's right. And usually we got away ahead of her people. Just that once, though, we cut it too close, and Soolin paid the price. We got very cautious after that."
"Her?"
"Oh, you probably never heard of her. Her name was Avalon and she was second only to your real father in importance to the rebellion back then. It was her that we ran from and kept you from." Vila's eyes took on a fierceness that Theon didn't think he'd ever seen there. "If that woman had ever gotten her hands on you, she'd have made you a figurehead to keep the rebellion going. And it would only have been a matter of time before someone killed you, too. That's why we ran so long. Then, after she died herself, well, we settled down and made a stable life for you, the one you remember."
"And Tarrant? Where does he come into all this?" Theon asked.
"Ah, Tarrant. He told us he was a Federation deserter, when we got back to the Liberator after the Andromedan War and found him and a group of Federation troopers already aboard, in possession of our ship! They died. He stayed. Turned out he was almost as good a pilot as your mother was. He got us out of several scrapes that way. With age and experience, maybe he would have been better than she was. I don't know. He was good with strategies, too, though Avon rarely took his advice.
"But Gauda Prime ended all that.
"First Tarrant was injured bringing the Scorpio in for a crash landing. Then he was shot, then stunned, and dragged halfway across the planet before he could get good medical attention. He…never fully recovered the use of his legs, though not for want of trying. Oh, no! He was so determined and persistent that he almost made us believe he'd succeed someday. Instead, after he and Avon went off to live together, he just got steadily worse. Medicine and therapy kept his condition stable for awhile, but sometimes the pain got the better of him. When it did, he'd send Avon away, so he wouldn't see him hurting. That only made Avon hurt worse, I think. They loved each other so, but I've often thought since then that they were both doomed from the start." Vila hitched a foot up under him, leaning toward Theon, his eyes bright. Theon couldn't decide if it was tears glimmering there or something even sadder. "I mean, Avon never had a firm grasp on sanity after Blake died and Tarrant…his youth and his body were taken from him before he ever got to realize any of those golden dreams he had."
When Vila paused, Theon leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on his father's arm, asking softly, "What happened to them, father?"
Sorrow plainly written on his face, Vila told him. "Shortly after we settled down, after Avalon died, Tarrant's condition began to go downhill fast. Even the best doctors we could afford couldn't help him recover or even stabilize his condition. Avon stayed by his side every minute. Dayna and I tried to be there for both of them, but I suspect they didn't know whether we were around or gone. Toward the end, the staff couldn't pry Avon away from Tarrant's bedside for anything.
"When…the end came, Avon was holding Tarrant's hand and crying silently. Dayna was in my arms and we were both crying too. When he was sure that Tarrant was gone, Avon stood up, his back ramrod straight, his face turned to stone and his eyes black and bleak. He said not a word to any of us. I…I'm not even sure he knew anyone was there. He just turned and left the room. We never saw him again. We searched everywhere we could think of, but there was never any sign of him. He just vanished." After a few moments, the tension that had been holding Vila in its grip flowed away, leaving his shoulders slumped, his face drained. He spoke next in a meditative voice, like he was trying to put the sadness behind him. His lips even quirked up slightly, just for an instant.
"I've thought of Avon and Blake often over the years, as you grew up and began to prove to me, at least, whose son you really were. You have the same charismatic aura Blake did, the same idealism. The difference is, you succeeded where he failed. Without knowing it, you picked up your father's crusade and won it for him."
Vila stood, a quiet smile on his face as he approached the man he'd raised.
Theon rose too. They met halfway. Vila grasped Theon's arms, feeling the strong muscles, the youth, the vitality there.
Looking up slightly into Theon's eyes, Vila said, "I'm proud of you, son. Tomorrow, when you're sworn in as Theon Restal, president of the New Federation, just remember who you are and all of us who have loved you through the years. You have a big job ahead of you, but I know you can do it." Then he pulled his son into a fierce hug, which Theon gladly returned, though gentler, mindful suddenly of how fragile his father seemed.
Then, Vila Restal made his farewells and walked away into history as Theon Restal prepared for the future.
A/N If you have enjoyed my story, please review.
