Chapter 76: Wings of Mercy.
No sooner had Jack mason set foot onto the deck plates of the GMF he heard the pure sense of grief made sound that seemed to resonate through the entire ship like it had become part of the very metal of the ship's hull.
It was made a whole lot worse by his Dream Warrior senses because not only could he hear it he could feel it, it was like waking right into a wall made of pure grief, horror and rage that threatened to drag him into it like a glue trap.
By the look on his face, Jack could see Ryan was feeling it as well and he looked at his father for support which he gave in the only way he could think to, he placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it, "I know where we are needed," he said softly and his son straightened and nodded.
Jack turned to look at his family and he saw the mirrored look of both horror and determination painted onto both his wife's and his daughter's features as well as those of Shena Blackcrest Mason's as they all realised what he was saying and they both gave him a nod of affirmation.
Noticing a familiar figure nearby Jack called out to him, "Liam take command of the GMF get us back to Clan space, make sure you contact all alliance ships and get them to follow us I don't know if the Raptorians or Serpentinus will be willing to take on any refugees later on but for now let's get these poor people back to a safe place, we're going home," he said and Liam Silver Dimondscale slammed his fist into his chest plate with enough force for the boom of it to cut right through the wash of grief.
"At once Grand Patriarch but where are you going?" he asked.
"Where we are needed most," Jack said and with that, he turned and began to march through the crowded hanger bay with a fire and purpose in every stride that shone so bright that not a single person dared get in his or his family's way as they marched together through the ship.
As the doors to the onboard medical hive whooshed open before him Jack felt it even before he heard it, the pain and the fear were like ice-cold lightning hitting the very fabric of his soul and the sight that greeted them tore his heart into more pieces than it already was.
Battle angels and Raptorian medical teams were scrambling in every direction, every single available surface was filled with wounded, sick and dying, there was everything from those wounded in battle to those pulled from the fallout zones, so half of the hive looked like a quarantine zone with hazmat armoured Xenos and Raptorians rushing about behind protective forcefields which kept the contamination isolated to that side of the bay.
While on the other side surgeons and nurses battled to save every single life they possibly could, there was blood, fur even flesh absolutely everywhere as there simply weren't enough bays to deal with all the wounded so surgeons were having to use hazmat isolation fields and anti-bacterial flash bombs to sterilize bays so they could do open surgery right there and then.
The arrival of the Clan leadership went completely unnoticed for the most part as the medics were far too busy to stand on circumstance and Jack Mason would have had it no other way, "Get to work," he said and no sooner had the words left his lips than his family were off into the scrum looking for where they could help out, no he had no doubt that what help they could give would most likely be minimal at best given they weren't doctors but every single one of them had field medic training and he had made sure that every single Hunter, Seeker and Savior could perform battlefield triage because you never knew when the worst was going to happen, well as it turned out today was that day.
Jack activated his armour and stepped through the sterilization field into the quarantine zone where the worst of the casualties were held, the field flash fried all of the bacteria and viruses on his suit before hosing him down to remove any kind of contaminant or chemical that was on it before scanning him and giving him a green light to proceed into the bay.
What he found on the other side of that screen felt like he'd just taken Tik Warhammer right to his already fractured heart, the very first thing he saw was a Beledon screaming in agonised grief on her knees cradling the dead body of her child who by the look of him had had all of the fur and quite a large chunk of his skin stripped from his body by the outer edge of one of the blasts, the fact that they'd actually managed to make it this far onto the ship was nothing short of a miracle in its self.
That's when he saw him, the child was actually still here, he was jumping around his mother trying to get her attention but she couldn't see the frantic spirit and it was obvious that the child's spirit had no idea what had happened to him.
As he panned his head Jack could see that this was a scene that was being all too frequently repeated in many of the bays, now he might not be a doctor but this, this he could do.
Without a single shred of hesitation, Jack approached the grieving mother and placed a hand upon her massive arm and she turned to look at the newcomer through puffy red eyes, he could see that the top of her head had been burned and she was missing one of her ears, "Those that love us never truly leave us, good woman, he will be with you every step of your life until your time comes to see him again and see him again you will look here," he said and with he reached out his hand to the invisible spirit who looked at him in confusion.
The child saw something in the stranger dressed in blue and silver who held out a hand to him and he took it and no sooner had his hand touched Jack's than there was a pulse of purple energy from him which made the air around him shimmer making the boy phase until he became visible to his mother who's eyes went wide with shock.
"As much as it hurts now and trust me I know how much it hurts because I feel your pain and grief as if it were my own it will get better and this beloved one of yours who is lost to you but not to the gods will be avenged you have my word, but please take solace in knowing that where he goes now he will be happy and safe, because isn't that what we as parents should always want for our beloved cubs?" he said in a soft voice that sounded almost ethereal.
At the appearance of her son's spirit, the mother placed his body gently down upon the operating table and then turned and dropped to her knees to embrace his spirit, as one of the Raptorians and Xenos upon seeing the purple shimmer that seemed to be pulsing through their bay turned to look for the source only to see Jack Mason in their midst and as one they saw what he was doing as did other grieving Beledon and pretty soon Jack was surrounded by grieving parents and children all begging him for the ability to say one last goodbye to their loved and lost, Jack being Jack simply could not refuse the plea and he reached out not only to the spirits of the fallen among them but to any of the gods who might be calling them to their true home, he was going to give these poor people any measure of peace he could, this was what he could do.
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While her husband dealt with the finality of death Tik eleth Mason fought for the living, "Hold this leg we have to amputate stat, Grand matriarch I need you to pull this tourniquet as tight as possible around the top here, we need to clamp the artery off so he doesn't bleed out when we cut it," a Raptorian surgeon said as her pride scrabbled around her preparing the tools.
"Can't the nanites save it?" Tik asked as she worked the large belt around the young Beledon's upper thigh and pulled it as tight as she could while one of the pride sedated the poor teenager making him flop onto the bed as limp as a fish.
"No the bone was totally pulverized when a rock fell on it during one of the quakes, he'd damn lucky that it rolled off him otherwise we'd have never been able to get him on board as there would have been no time to d this cleanly on the surface, the enhanced nanites are an incredible thing and if it were simply broken or just had some muscle damage then sure they'd be able to restore it, but in this condition, if we used them he'd never walk right again, they'd have to rebuild it basically from scratch as under the skin it's just a bag of jelly, his muscles, tendons, nerves are just paste at this point," the surgeon said as she initialised her enhanced scanning optics which at over her eyes feeding her an AR heads up from the sensors and scanning systems all around the poor boy.
"But don't you worry Grand Matriarch our science and medical prides have been working very closely with your medical and science hives recently and we have made incredible strides in cybernetics recently, we already had pretty good ones, to begin with, but what your amazing Xenos have done with them staggers even us, we'll have this boy back on his hooves in no time, even if one of them is polymer and metal to him he won't know the difference," another of the pride said this one covered in black and yellow scales with bright violet eyes.
Tik watched as the surgeons cut into the leg using a high-frequency laser which simply cut right through bone and flesh like it was paper having the added benefit of cauterizing the flesh it cut as it did leaving a perfect cross-section of the boy's leg in its wake as his original was removed and quickly transported to the medical waste disposal area where everything was incinerated in a plasma furnace hotter than a sun inside to ensure absolutely nothing survived.
"Help! We need help over here!" another Raptorian voice yelled suddenly and Tik whirled around so fast her predlocks created a fan around her head as she hunted for the source of the shout.
It didn't take her long to find it as she saw two Raptorian prides desperately trying to restrain a heavily wounded Beledon soldier wearing plate armour, though it was red and gold, not the black she had half expected when she'd realised it was a soldier, there were more than a few of them on board as well and she looking forwards to seeing what the Seekers pulled from those villains when they were safely back in Clan space, it looked like her beloved cub was finally going to have a use for that jail of hers after all.
Tik charged into the fray and got stuck straight in, grabbing the powerful female Beledon by the shoulders and forcing her back down onto the bed, there were what appeared to be armour-piercing arrows sticking out of the plate at a variety of points and crimson blood was pouring out from under the plate instantly getting all over Tik's golden armour and smearing over her.
Tik snarled loudly and as the soldier fought her, "She's delirious from blood loss and head trauma, restrain her Grand Matriarch while we sedate her!" one of the pride yelled from behind her as Tik struggled with the soldier and Tik couldn't help but be impressed by the Beledon's sheer strength, these Beledons truly were powerhouses.
The soldier let out a braying bellow right in Tik's face as they struggled and Tik let out a bellowing roar flaring her mandibles as she did use her muscles to force the soldier back down just as one of the little Raptorians lept up right onto her chest plate and jabbed a small injector gun into the gap between her helmet and her chest plate.
There was a sharp hiss as the gun injected her with a powerful sedative which thanks to it being injected pretty much right into her brain thanks to it being injected into the artery that fed blood into her brain it worked almost immediately and the soldier began to lose consciousness.
"Rest now warrior your fight is done, you did your best and fought for your people, do not fear you are in good hands, this will not be your last battle we will make you stand tall and brave before your people again you have my word on this," Tik said softly as she guided the massive woman down onto her back gently letting the little Raptorian doctors swarm over her pulling her armour off and cutting into the arrow shafts so they could remove the plates above them and remove them safely.
"Thank you Grand Matriarch without your help we'd have never been able to hold her," the surgeon said as she got to work removing the arrows and closing the plethora of wounds the woman had all over her.
"Just doing my duty, a matriarch looks after her cubs and as Grand Matriarch every Clan member is my surrogate cub from the greatest to the smallest," Tik said stepping back and clearing the way for them to get to work.
As she turned back to the bay she instantly saw another like battle being fought only this time it was one of their Pretorians who was trying her hardest to subdue a frightened and confused Beledon and she charged right towards them to add her strength to the mix so they could save another life, today was going to be a long day.
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As Ryan ran about the bay looking for those he could help he suddenly felt a sharp tug on his arm and it stopped him dead, when he looked down there was nothing there but he still felt an odd tugging sensation as if someone was trying to take his hand and pull him towards something unseen to him.
Now if there was one thing that being a Dream Warrior had taught Ryan it was to trust his instincts because as his patriarch had always told him our instincts show us the unseen and where others run from those unseen fears we are proud Seekers it is our job to face those fears head-on and to deal with them.
So turning in the direction that the unseen force was trying to pull him Ryan began to walk slowly through the crowded medical bay sipping through gaps in the battling doctors and medics, passing the screaming wounded and the gut-wrenching horrors until he reached the far end of the bay where all huddled together were a group of small Beledon children.
As they saw the large hybrid male appear out of the crowd before them the group of ten children all cowered from him pressing into the wall while the braver of the children tried to shield the others behind him.
Ryan pressed the release on his helmet and made it retract into his neck as he crouched down on his haunches to face them, "Hi there are you lost?" he asked softly.
The children of a variety of ages all looked at him with a mixture of emotions running through them the most prominent of which was fear, but none of them spoke.
"My name's Ryan what's yours?" Ryan asked as he glanced between them and that's when a silk-soft voice he recognised all too well slid through his mind.
"They are the lost, the alone, the forgotten. they are war orphans, ten of truly many that are in your midst my loyal Tamer, these are only the newest among them having only just lost those they love right here and now, but there are many more littered through this ship and now they wander lost, alone, scared and forgotten, save them, Ryan," the silk voice said and Ryan knew the voice of the Eternal Huntress when he heard it.
"Hey I know would you like to see a trick?" he asked giving the frightened children a warm and friendly smile though he did wonder how this would appear to children who before today would have never seen a full-blooded Yautja before let alone a half-blood.
Rather than answer him they all simply stared at him both curiously and still timidly but he did see at least one nod in there so Ryan began to move his hands in a way that allowed him to weave the fabric of nature around him which even here in the depths of space could be found thanks to the abundance of life around them and especially around him.
The golden green threads of energy began to gather at his fingers making it look like he was playing and weaving a spider's web made of gold until he was able to weave them together into the shape of a flower in his hand.
As the now wonderstruck children watched Ryan fed some of his own life into the flower and it not only took shape but solidified into an actual flower that popped open into a bright red and gold bloom bigger than the palm of his hand.
Gently he reached out to one of the girls of the group and held it out to her and without ever taking her eyes off his she took it from him and looked at it with her mouth agape, "I-I-It's real! You can make flowers!" she exclaimed in a small voice and Ryan smiled and nodded.
"A-A-Are you a blessed one? My daddy told me about you a lot, he said that you are blessed by the gods and they send you to protect good people," the boy who was trying to shield the others asked.
"That's right but we call ourselves Dream Warriors, I am a Tamer which means I love nature so much that it loves me right back, hey I've got an idea why don't we all get out of this place and go somewhere much better, we'll get you guys something to eat and drink and you can meet some my big furry friends, I'm sure they'd love to meet you guys," he said softly using his abilities to change his aura into one of peace and tranquillity which he hoped would help them to trust him as he reached out his hand to them.
It seemed to work as the boy protecting the group hesitantly reach out and took his hand which Ryan gently encased in his own before standing up, "Ok everyone join hands I don't want you getting lost, come on let's get out of this place," he said leading the little daisy chain of children towards the entrance.
As Ryan walked he called his second in command and told her to bring the pack to the onboard temple so that when he arrived at the onboard temple of tranquillity which was the Seeker's place of mediation and practice while they were in space which looked like an old religious temple dedicated to both the Great Tree and Eternal Huntress with a giant garden in space.
Right there in the middle of the large flower and grass-filled garden was Zed and his pack along with Analise, the children all huddled behind Ryan for protection as the massive fire tigers all approached to greet the newcomers some crying out in alarm as the big gentle felines went to sniff at them.
"Don't be frightened good cubs they won't hurt you, this is Zed and this is family and they are my friends, look-see?" Ryan said gently stroking Zed's big furry head making the big feline lose a deep rumbly purr.
The children all looked amazed as if they couldn't believe such a thing could be possible, Ryan reached out and took the hand of the girl he'd given the flower to which was now tucked behind one of her ears and he gently placed it on Zed's snout making him purr again.
The little girl cried out again but this time it was a laugh of joy and pretty soon all of the children were running around the garden playing with the massive gentle felines.
Ryan turned to Analise, "Get every Tamer you can get your hands on, I want them scouring the ship find every single orphan and bring them here, do not miss a single one I will not have a single one of them forgotten or left behind, these cubs are Clan Mason now and we guard them," he said in a soft but commanding voice.
Analise slammed her fist against her chest plate a fire of pure determination burning in her eyes, "At once patriarch Ryan," she said and vanished with a haste that came only from determination and mercy.
Over the next hour, every single Tamer even those that had been off duty had scoured the ship and not only this one, Ryan's message had spread to all his brothers and sisters on the other Clan Mason ships and every Tamer had responded to their patriarch's call for mercy, they found every single one of them and it broke Ryan's heart clean in two when the numbers came in, there were far too many but at least now they were safe and while the Clan had them they always would be.
But the sight that he saw forming in the garden of tranquillity reunified Ryan's broken heart, he saw Tamers performing a mini miracle to calm and strengthen scared hearts, everything from humans playing tag with Beledon cubs to a pride of female Raptorian Tamers all sat gathered around a single male Beledon cub holding a large book while they read him a story each doing that saying a line each thing they did so it seemed like they were all reading him the story all at once, this was what Clan Mason was, love, unity and most importantly mercy.
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Sela and Shena fought their way through the bay stepping in where ever they could, everything from holding down a fighting and frightened Beledon, to stepping into the quarantine zone where they could do nothing more than hold the hand of a dying Beledon to try and comfort them in their final moments as they had no-one left but strangers to witness their final breaths as all attempts to save them had failed because the damage was just to much that even their incredible medical technology could undo.
Now while Sela was not a Dream Warrior like her patriarch or her brother she could at least be a source of strength and comfort for those who were scared to pass into what was coming next and were trying to face their demons as they took their final breaths in this life.
Shena was doing exactly the same, she stood with a large Beledon mother who had lost her entire family to the blast and was praying to their deities for both forgiveness and mercy for not being able to protect her beloved ones.
She was holding her hand and squeezing it as she tried her hardest to give her comfort that there was at least one person who cared enough to ease her transition.
As Sela watched the large Beledon woman let out a long dawn and wracking breath her whole body juddering slightly before going slack and limp as her final breath escaped through both her nostrils and now slack mouth, her eyes now turning glassy while dilating and staring off into the nothingness of the beyond.
Without letting go of her hand Shena reached up and gently closed her eyes with the side of her hand with her other hand, "May the Eternal Huntress welcome you with open arms sister may she reunite you with those you lost and may you walk together forever in the hunt strong and beautiful as you once lived, go in peace good one" Shena said softly before releasing the woman's hand and folding them neatly upon her chest to make it look like she was just sleeping.
As she turned to face Sela she nodded at a lone Serpentinus male of the Boa genus who was nearby and he looked immensely sad as he opened up a holographic screen and ticked another name off the list on his digital form which instantly greyed out to show another had been lost, there was so much grey on that screen that it made Sela's heart ache with pain and grief.
Suddenly her comms bleeped to inform her that she had an incoming call from the bridge, "Go for Sela eleth Mason," she answered pressing her comms button.
"Sorry to disturb you Matriarch Sela but I cannot reach the Grand Patriarch or Matriarch as their comms are set to do not disturb, but we have just entered Clan space and home is requesting instructions," Seeker Silver-Diamondscale's soft voice said in her ear.
"I'll be right there and route any further calls direct to myself, my matriarch and patriarch as well as my brother is indisposed on very important relief work," she said.
"Very good Matriarch," he replied and the comms line closed.
Sela turned to Shena who was not looking at her directly but was staring through the rows of beds, "Never in my life would I have ever imagined our beautiful Clan would have the fate of an entire race of people resting on its shoulders but then I suppose this is just a prelude to what is to come isn't it?" she said softly.
Sela placed a large hand on her sister-in-law's massive golden shoulder pauldron and gently shook her reassuringly, "This is the sort of thing the Clan was founded for, we stand for those who cannot stand for themselves, not only do we protect and stand for them but we will raise them up and allow them to stand for themselves, then when the time comes they will be the ones who not only stand for us but side by side with us as well as others I mean look at the effect we have already had Shena, Raptorian medics, Serpentinus soldiers and Ghost Slitherers working side by side with us, we will save the Beledon and we will make them strong again just you wait and see pretty soon it will be Beledon hands holding the shield that protects frightened cubs and Beledon hands that holds the sword that slays the evil that not only threatens them but other innocents too, plus if my patriarch and brother have anything to say about it there will also be Beledon deities standing shoulder to shoulder with Eternal Huntress and the Great Tree as they seek out the truth of evil so that together we might finally destroy it once and for all!" she said with such passion in her voice that she swore she saw Shena wipe a stray tear from her eye.
"Well said sister well said, now you go and get this mess sorted out, I'll take over here, let's build these people a new home and show them that not all aliens are bad," Shena said before Sela patted her shoulder and headed for the bridge.
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Jay's comms bleeped and instantly recognised the tone that sounded in his ear, he lifted his arm to press his receiver, "Go ahead control," he said.
"Savior Matriarch Sela eleth Mason has called in all off-duty Saviours to help in the relocation efforts from the ships to the surface, I know you've been granted a rest period but..." the voice began but Jay cut her off.
"Say no more control I'm on my way do you need me to rouse my team or have they already signed in?" he asked as he sat up resisting Ketra's attempts to pull him back down into the bed as her large sleepy form tried to resist the call of the waking world.
"They've already checked in and are waiting on you, funny I had my doubts but your commanding officer said that I should make the call because you'd be at the head of the line for this, glad to hear he was right Saviour," the control officer said.
'We are the shield and the shield never falls," Jay said proudly as he rose to his feet.
"Damn straight Saviour report to hanger one, control out," she said and the line disconnected.
"Uggh what's going on?" Ketra asked in a sleepy voice, she was obviously still exhausted from the night's relief work, the pair of them and indeed all of the others had been up nearly all night bringing rations and blankets to the displaced Beledon that were packed into the ship's hold while also offering both comfort and encouragement where it could be given.
"Well you once said you wanted to see my homeworld, my big love, well you're about to as we're here," Jay said and instantly ketra's ears snapped bolt upright followed by her massive naked body.
'Already!? I assumed that sailing a distance this vast would take weeks at the very least!?" she exclaimed.
Jay grinned at her, "Let's just say our engines are a fair bit more powerful than the ones that powered your airships, now come on get that gorgeous tail end of yours in gear and chuck your armour on, your people are going to want to see one of their Blessed Knights at the front of this, it's going to give them the comfort and confidence they need when they take this step," he said playfully patting her massive thigh before sliding himself out of bed and heading right for the shower before being quickly grabbed off his feet and actually carried into it by Ketra who was never one to be outdone, even on a day like this one.
In the hanger bay, Jay joined the rest of his team who were all dressed in full Saviour armour, with them they had both Lord Beltran and Lady Layla as well as Ava's lord and lady as well, it had been figured that having their lords and ladies at the forefront alongside the Clan members would make it a lot easier to keep people calm as they were transferred by lander to the planet's surface.
"Saviours and Battle Angels are waiting on the surface, Matriarch Sela eleth has already sorted out a site on the eastern continent that will serve the Beledon's needs nicely while giving them not only plenty of room to expand but also plenty of diversity in its topography to suit nearly every race of Beledon," the commander said as Jay approached with Ketra in tow.
"What about all the lords and ladies, Are there going to be problems with territory disputes?" Jay asked taking his weapon from Kess'all who was sorting out the group's gear with a nod of thanks.
"She's foreseen that as well and she has arranged to have something she's calling the council of lords set up where not only will the Beledon be able to formally divide the territory among their people based on their needs but will treat with us as well given well this is our planet after all," the commander said.
"And thankful we are for it let me assure you, commander, there are simply no words strong enough to express the gratitude I and my people have for Clan Mason and its people this day, not only did you stand for us against our enemies when it was needed in the form of your young Saviour Jay here but your people have welcomed us into your arms and your home without asking for a single thing in return, there simply are not words to convey what I feel this day," Lord Beltran said planting a massive hand on Jay's shoulder and rattling him through his armour.
"You are most welcome Lord Beltran I simply wish it was not a necessary thing, I believe I speak for all when I say I wish we'd been able to treat with your people on your homeworld among your culture in your own great halls, but believe me when I say you can count on our Grand Patriarch and Matriarch when they say they and the whole Clan will not rest until those who have done this are dragged out of the shadows kick and pauking screaming to face justice at both our and Beledon hands they pauking well mean every single word," Jay said with such fire in his voice that Lady Layla nodded her approval.
"You chose wisely with this one Blessed Knight Ketra, he has the heart of a Beledon in a human body, he is a fine husband and I have no doubt he will be at our shoulders no matter what battles we may face in the future," she said and Ketra nodded proudly.
"That makes two of us my Lady," she said smiling down at Jay who simply smiled back up at her proudly.
"Well then let's do this shall we, let not keep Matriarch Sela eleth waiting," the commander said and with that, he shepherded his team and his charges aboard the waiting Runner scout ship.
"Oh by the divines it's incredible Jay! When you described your world as a paradise that was built with your own hands I felt you may have just been exaggerating through pride for your home as all would but this is no exaggeration!" Ketra exclaimed as she gazed at the landscape that rose to meet them through the clouds as they descended into the atmosphere.
"You ain't seen nothing yet big girl just wait until you see the capitol and the Saviour temple, then you know what melting pot and unity truly means," Jay said proudly.
Once the Runner landed admit the fleet of other landing ships the group disembarked and they could already see the truly huge crowd of Beledon all standing around clutching their meagre belongings and looking around in confusion.
Directly ahead of the ever-expanding group a large stage and a series of screens had been erected which kinda worried Jay somewhat as most Beledon had not seen technology like this but then he did suppose that they had just flown here on interstellar spaceships, so a little adapting might be in order.
Suddenly four figures that were recognizable to any Clan Member strode up onto the stage and as one every single Clan member Jay included snapped into a crisp salute which the four members as one returned to them.
"Greetings my name is Tik eleth Mason and I am Grand Matriarch of Clan Mason, beside me are my beloved husband Jack Mason who is Grand Patriarch and these are our beloved cubs Ryan Mason and Sela eleth Mason, together we are the leaders of Clan Mason and right now you stand upon our soil on our world but we do not want you to see this as being in another's home, or intruding in another's place, we of Clan Mason offer you this land freely and happily so that the proud Beledon people might set down your roots here and make this place as much your home as we have, it is our distinct hope that in time once you have settled in and seen what Clan Mason has to offer you that you will join us so that we can show you our ways as you show us yours so that they might be forged together into one much stronger whole, as you might already see Clan Mason is made up of many different peoples who just like you came to us for reasons as varied and vast as they are, everything from wanting justice as you do to wishing to be free from persecution for the love that they secretly held in their heart that would have gotten them hunted among their own, each came to us and each was brought into the whole for you see that's what it is to be Clan Mason, to stand for those that cannot defend themselves, to fight for total strangers because it is the right thing to do, to hunt down evil and drag it kicking and screaming into the light of justice, this is who we are!" the Grand Matriarch said to massive yells and cheers from the gathered Clan members.
That's when Jack Mason stepped forwards, "Now we extend this hand to you as well, a hand of friendship and togetherness, we do not expect you to take it all we ask is that you consider it and if you do the Clan will be here for you come what may, but whatever your decision maybe be I hereby swear this oath before every single one of you, Clan Mason will not rest until the perpetrators of this evil done against you are found and dragged here to face the justice of the Beledon people, on this you have my word they will pay for this!" he said in a voice so powerful it reached every heart and soul present.
That's when both Ryan and Sela stepped forwards and together in perfect unison they began to speak, "Strength through unity.." they began.
"...Unity through togetherness..." both of their parents said in perfect unison with them as they stepped up side by side with them
"...Togetherness through pure love..." the front row of Seekers, Hunters and Saviours said.
"... a love so pure it burns through all who hear its call..." now every Clan member was speaking together as the Beledon around them looked around in amazement at the spectacle
"...and hear its call, we do and answer that call honestly we do, humbled by its power we are, humble and proud we stand shoulder to shoulder these are my brothers and my sisters they stand for me as I stand for them I am never alone, for wherever I am I carry my brothers and sisters with me as they carry me, my strength is theirs as theirs is mine together we are strong and we are free for we are Clan Mason and we stand proudly together now and always and together we welcome you one and all," the entire gathered Clan said as one and as they fell silent Jay turned to Ketra and in a loud and very proud voice he spoke.
"You feel that love, that strength, that unity, you feel how it radiates through every single person who wears one of these hard-won uniforms? This is what it means to be Clan Mason, my love, these people right here, every single pauking one of them from the greatest to the smallest, from the largest Yautja girl to the smallest Raptorian boy, not one more important than any other, our strength is each other all together as one and as one we will fight for you till our dying breaths if we have to because that's who we are and what we do!" he said.
"Well said Saviour well said indeed!" matriarch Sela eleth Mason said from the front having heard every word he spoke while pointing at him from the stage, while Jack Mason, Tik eleth Mason and Ryan Mason all clapped his powerful words which set the rest of them off and pretty soon every Clan member was applauding his outpouring of emotion and pride in his people, they all knew that if this didn't show the Beledon who they were what came next truly would.