Reparation -- Chapter 7: A Time for Truth

          Crais made his way to Talyn's command at a flat out run, Senna at his heels. The Gunship's cannon fired wildly despite Crais' orders for him to stop. As they dashed into command, Talyn's desperate sing song was deafening.
          "Talyn, starburst now!" Crais shouted, hands held up in supplication. "Now!"
          The Gunship continued to fire as his starburst engines flared to life. As the slipping sensation of starburst filled Crais, the entire ship rocked violently and lurched backward. Both he and Senna were knocked from their feet, sprawling across the floor.
          Talyn struggled, rousing himself from the stunner blast, trying to initiate starburst again. As Crais helped Senna to her feet, sensing the Gunship's actions, he saw the damping net drift over and around them. Snared. Talyn's panic was rising to levels he knew he would never be able to control.
          "Bialar Crais," the voice from his past said as her image solidified on the forward viewer.
          "Magistrate EL-Vashti," he said hoarsely, moving Senna behind him.
          This seemed to amuse the woman. An icy smile formed on her face as she watched them.
          "A waste of time, Crais," she told him callously. "We know all about your pet human, I'm afraid. Leave it to a first-genner to soil one of our uniforms with his tralk."
          Crais could feel Senna trembling against him, her hands holding onto his waist in desperation. As he was about to make a terse reply, movement at the side of the screen caught his eye. EL-Vashti noticed the change in his expression.
          "Yes," she said forcefully, indicating Atsutane. "You know what this man is."
          "I do," Crais admitted, unable to hide his discomfort.
          "Good. That will spare me one introduction," she smiled. "But there is another person I would very much like you to meet."
          Crais watched her subtle hand gesture to the tracker. The man turned away briefly, returning again with a small boy in his arms.
          "Tauvo Crais," EL-Vashti snarled with glee, her hand patting the thin golden cheek of the boy. "This is your father, Bialar."
          Crais gasped, stumbled forward, grabbing a control panel for support. The boy was the very image of his brother at that age. Of course she'd known the significance of the name, choosing it as a weapon to wound him. How she must have delighted in the news of his brother's death, knowing the name now had treble meaning.
          "Give him to me," Crais roared, slamming a fist against the control panel.
          "I'm afraid that would be out of the question," EL-Vashti purred malevolently.
          She glanced briefly at the tracker and he produced a torture device, holding it denches from the child's face. Crais recognized it for what it was and knew its infamous reputation for pain via nerve induction.
          As the tracker moved the device closer to the boy's left eye, Crais said, his voice nearly a sob, "Don't hurt him."
          "That will depend entirely on you, Crais." EL-Vashti replied.
          "What is it you want?" He asked, but he could guess the answer.
          "Now, that's more like it." She smiled. "My terms are simple. Follow them to the letter and our darling little Tauvo will live a long and sheltered life. Break faith with me and, well. . .you can guess the consequences."
          The tracker touched the device to the boy's cheek for a microt and the piercing shriek it elicited ripped a sob from Crais' throat and a scream from Senna.
          "Stop it!" he yelled, shaking his fists impotently at the viewer.
          "You needed to be reminded of my resolve, Crais." She said, her voice the headman's axe. "In the event you'd forgotten my methods in these long four cycles apart."
          Crais could hear Senna's sobs behind him. Controlling his own rage and grief he turned a tight gaze on EL-Vashti.
          "State your terms," he said, defeated.
          "First," she smiled in triumph. "Scorpius has a voracious interest in studying the Human species. He demands that I take your tralk for research purposes."
          Crais' brow knitted and his face was dark as death as he was about to respond. The device at his son's cheek silenced him. With difficultly, he swallowed and remained mute.
          "Second," she continued. "You will disarm this Gunship hybrid. He is not to grow to maturity with his current armaments intact."
          Crais held his breath for several microts in the silence that fell between them. He considered what was being offered before making a reply.
          "Am I to believe if I turn this woman over to you," Crais said, hand going behind him to pull Senna closer against him. "You will simply allow Talyn and I to starburst away unmolested?"
          "You will be watched, Crais." She answered harshly. "If you do not have that main cannon dismantled within the next few solar days, there is nowhere in the Uncharted Territories too remote for Peacekeeper retrieval squads to find you."
          "Obviously, you will kill her." Crais rejoined bitterly hugging Senna more tightly. "Or Scorpius will."
          "My vow as a Peacekeeper she will not be killed," EL-Vashti replied.
          Crais considered this for a moment before she spoke again.
          "You've obviously overlooked one other minor complication should you not follow my instructions," she warned indicating their son with a flick of one hand.
          The tracker edged the device closer to the child's face again, causing him to squirm and whimper piteously.
          "A negative response from you will mean this child's death," she told him flatly. "And you know my methods. . .intimately."
          "He's just a child!" Senna shouted, pulling from behind Crais to lash out at the viewer.
          "Oh, look," EL-Vashti mocked with a dry chuckle. "The Human tralk has teeth. . .and obviously more numnas than her renegade lover."
          Crais pulled her back toward him, an arm protectively around her waist. She shuddered against him, tears pouring from her glazed eyes.
          "Two arns," Crais whispered bitterly. "Give me two arns to make my decision."
          "Two arns or two cycles, Crais," EL-Vashti snapped. "It makes little difference. Do as I order or your little family is dead."
          The image shook, dissolved and was replaced with the stars and IAD cruiser hovering only a thousand metras off Talyn's hamman side.
          Senna broke free from his grasp, running out of Talyn's command before he could stop her.
          The sounds Talyn made filled every square dench of Crais' brain. He was terrified of the IAD cruiser. He was also furious at the thought of the human leaving them. Crais tried desperately to calm him to no avail. The din was cutting into his nerves.
          "Talyn, stop this!" Crais shouted, hands raised in entreaty toward the rounded structure above him.
          The Leviathan Gunship's response was a mad sequence of light flashes accompanied by strident hoots. He was unmoved by Crais' commands, that much was obvious. It was all Crais could do to keep the ship from making a move that would bring the frag cannons down upon them.
          "Talyn, listen to me." Crais' tone was softer. "I will do everything in my power to protect her. We will protect her and escape this situation. You have my vow."
          Talyn's caterwauling lessened, finally dropping to a quiet trilling.
          "That's much better." Crais forced a smile as he spoke. "I must go after Senna, Talyn. Take no action of any kind in my absence."
          The ship hooted its affirmation and Crais left the command center.




          Crais entered her quarters. She looked at him in desperation. Her eyes seemed to say he would surely think of a way to avoid this without costing all of them their lives. For his part he knew no answer, no brilliant subterfuge that would free them from the trap EL-Vashti and Scorpius had sprung so brilliantly. She must have seen this in his eyes.
          She nodded her head in understanding, returning to the business of packing her belongings as if preparing for a pleasant vacation. He shook his head, chuckling bitterly.
         "What are you doing?" he asked the obvious.
         "Exactly what it looks like," she replied flatly, not pausing in her task.
         "You have absolutely no clue what you'd be letting yourself in for." He told her bluntly.
          She shrugged and kept putting her belongings into the bag.
          Crais moved quickly toward her, snatching the jump bag from her hands and throwing it across the room. Her clothing flew out, raining down around the small room.
          "Come with me," he ordered as he spun on his heel.
          He crossed the corridor to his quarters in three furious strides. He removed his gloves, tossing them angrily on top of his console. He turned to see Senna standing just inside the doorway watching him. The expression on her face betrayed her foreboding.
          "Four cycles ago," he began painfully, voice little more than a whisper. "I cared for a woman under my command."
          The look on her face was blatant shock.
          "Not that woman?" she interrupted, meaning EL-Vashti.
          "No," he answered quickly. "Darinta Larell."
          He saw that she recognized the name from their ill-fated adventures on Yrunndas III. The expression on her face was painful to see, and he turned away before continuing.
          "We chose to procreate against regulation." He explained slowly. "My rank protected me and I had many powerful allies in High Command. Even among the members of First Council. It was officially overlooked.
          "When the child was stillborn, my reaction was not. . .one of understanding or compassion." He admitted hesitantly.
          He glanced over his shoulder at her and was relieved to find her no longer staring at him.
          "I treated her with a great disrespect and cruelty that was entirely undeserved." He continued. "I spent nearly a cycle punishing her. However. . .as you have done. . .she repeatedly forgave me my cruelty and stood by me."
          "She obviously loved you," Senna said bluntly, her eyes on him again.
          He nodded, ill at ease with the words.
          "Obviously," he whispered. "And I owed her a great debt of gratitude. For you see, she was the one responsible for designing the Peacekeeper catalyst that allowed Talyn to be created."
          A long silence fell between them.
          "But what about this EL-Vashti person?" she asked. "What did you do to her that she'd be willing to kill her own son to get even?"
          Crais exhaled sharply, his entire body stiff as he walked to the console. He opened a drawer and retrieved a small, intricately carved box. Lifting the lid, he removed a single data chip. He slowly walked back to the conference table, sliding the chip into the viewer. An image of his former quarters aboard the Mhultaan formed and Senna stepped closer to the table to watch it.
          The Crais on the image sat behind his desk, a smug grin creasing his face. The woman, EL-Vashti, stood bracketed by four commandos, a Peacekeeper physician examining her.
         
          "Well, doctor. Are we ready?" said Crais.
          "Of course, sir." The physician replied.
          "Sorry about the bad news, Captain." EL-Vashti sneered as the medical officer ran a scanner over the length of her body. "We can't have everything we want."
          "Shall we let my physician decide whether the news is good or bad. . .and for whom?" Crais smiled placidly in response. "Doctor?"
          "The scan is conclusive, sir," he answered. "Regulator EL-Vashti has successfully conceived and the offspring is male."
          "Stop this charade, Crais." The woman snapped.
          "Oh, I assure you it isn't a charade, Liliina," Crais replied with a dangerous smile. "You have conceived. You are carrying my child. My son."
          "That is not possible!" EL-Vashti snarled.
          She broke away from her commandos, leaning across his desk menacingly.
          "Why?" Crais blinked innocently up at her. "Because your lover gave you a drug to prevent it? I'm afraid I couldn't let Dr. Khetyr give you the contraceptive agent. I convinced him it would be in his best interest to give you a conceptual stimulant instead. He mixed in a genetic enhancer as well. . .to assure you'd have a male offspring.
          "He was quite helpful actually," Crais continued, his tone a serpent's strike. "He acted as any true Peacekeeper would, recognizing where his loyalties lie."
          "You scheming thoddo!" EL-Vashti shrieked, lunging over the desk her hands flailing for his throat. The commandos were dragging her away kicking and cursing.
"You see, Liliina, your mistake was in assuming the inferiority of a commoner. High Command and the Genetics Directorate found me of some value. Pity you did not."
          The woman hurled more curses at him, struggling violently in the hands of the commandos.
          "So much for breeding," Crais observed with cool disdain.
          "I'll see you dead for this you trog!" EL-Vashti spat. "Dead and your body ripped to shreds!"
          "I don't have time for this," Crais sighed. "Take her out of here. See that she is under guard at all times until she is put into the custody of the maternity unit on Kordaen."



          "Liliina EL-Vashti comes from one of the Founding Four, those families responsible for forming the Peacekeeper alliance thousands of cycles ago." Crais explained sadly. "I used certain favors owed me to have our genetics pairing assigned against all tradition and regulation as a means of punishing her. I assumed at the time she would never have the means to. . .return the. . .favor."
          "What goes around comes around," Senna said under her breath. She pulled the chip from the viewer, slapping it down hard on the table top.
          "Unfortunately, I underestimated her connections," he admitted. "Especially her alliance with Scorpius."
          They stared at one another silently for several microts. He shook his head, disgusted with his own lack of insight four cycles ago.
          "As you can see," Crais said uncomfortably. "Her wrath is not entirely unjustified."
          "I don't know that man," She said pointing to the chip. "I only know you. We all make mistakes that are hard to live with."
          Crais laughed out loud then, harshly, dumbfounded by her ability to forgive him.
          "After seeing this," he said incredulously. "With the IAD cruiser poised to kill us all. After the way I. . .treated you on the planet. You can still say that? Still willingly trade your life for that of my son's?"
          "I have a philosophy about life," she began quietly, her face softening as she stared at him. "I believe that everyone is on a predestined path. A path that guides us through our lives like a road map. I've always felt that as long as you stay on the path you're okay. You get the house, the car, the 2.5 kids and the happy retirement. But, if something happens. . .if you do something to break the thread holding you on that path. . .there are dire consequences.
          "I've known for a long time I was never meant to survive the Tirysp." She continued smiling tenderly at him. "Hell, I was never supposed to go with them. Leave it to me to wreck my own destiny. I figure I should have stayed in my boring little cubical in Washington and my path. . .my destined path wouldn't have gone haywire."
          Crais' forehead was pinched, his eyes intense as he listened to her.
          "I have to face the consequences of my actions. We all do." She told him, her tone one of resignation. "I have to go with her. I may be many things, but I'm no baby killer."
          The words struck Crais like a slap and he saw the defeat in her eyes.
          "It's like the song says, 'We're mere human beings. We die. It's destined.'" She sighed.
          "Months ago you swore something to me," he said as he took a step closer to her. "You gave me your vow."
          She looked at him obviously not understanding where he was going with this.
          "When I retrieved you from Moya you promised that if I held you in my arms, you would never ask another thing of me as long as you lived," he explained not unkindly, hands held out open before him, his head tilted and eyebrows high.
         "And I've kept that promise," she rejoined.
          The expression on her face was one of uneasiness as she backed away from him.
          "That is a lie, Senna," he snapped. "You are now asking me to allow that vicious. . .hazmot. . . to take you from Talyn, from. . .me. . .without a fight. It is not in my nature to surrender."
          She chuckled bitterly, a hollow sound in the quiet of the cabin. "Finally, he speaks the truth!"
          Crais bit his lips and considered her silently for a moment. She was correct, of course. The one thing he wanted now was the least logical. He should have found a way months ago to break through his inertia. Now they had only a couple of arns, perhaps less.
          He depressed the locking mechanism atop the conference table. The door slid shut with a beep as the security device engaged. Her expression became more apprehensive as she stepped around the table and away from him. He moved toward her and she actually gasped.
          Could she read him so well? Did she know what was he was thinking?
          As he advanced, she retreated. At last her back was against the bulkhead nearest his bed. She folded her arms across her chest gaping at him with wide eyes. She was shivering; from fright, cold or anticipation he could not be certain. Suddenly her face was tilting downward, her eyes cast to the deck.
          Taking her face in one hand he abruptly kissed her. She struggled away from him and he did not fight to hold onto her. Neither did he allow her to move from her place against the wall. He held up his hands as a gesture of apology.
          "Fifteen arns ago you were ready to leave me on a commerce planet!" She shouted, eyes hard.
          He unfolded her arms, gently placing them down at her sides. When she didn't resist this, he leaned forward and tentatively brushed his lips against her mouth, careful to keep the rest of his body apart from hers. He could feel her breath rustling the fine wisps of hair falling across his cheek.
          "Please don't," she sighed against his lips but didn't struggle or move away from him. "No good can come out of this, Bialar."
          When she didn't stop him, Crais kissed her fully, moving his body closer to hers. Her trembling worsened but her body was soft, yielding against his. He pressed her gently against the bulkhead, savoring her. After several moments she turned her face away from his.
          "If you'd ever touched me like you meant it," she protested, pushing him away. "Looked at me with anything but contempt, I would have gotten down on my knees for you. I would have done anything you asked. Now it's too late for both of us."
          "No it's not" he said, his words kisses upon the soft hollows of her neck. He ran a hand over her hair and her head tilted, molding her face into his palm.
          He inhaled deeply, smelling her fragrance. His lips moved against her ear, "I have been. . .dishonest with you. . .and myself for so long and could not admit it. Now time has run out and I have nothing to offer. . .but an illogical act of desperation."
          She silenced him with her own kiss, demanding everything of him in that instant. It was as if she meant to make this handful of microts left to them expand into a small eternity. He reached up to remove the neural transponder, but her hand gently stopped him.
          "Leave it," she whispered, her eyes locked on his.
          He considered this and felt Talyn's reaction. Talyn pleaded with him. He was still filled with fear and emotions he was too immature to understand. Crais recognized leaving them connected was a mistake, but his hand fell away to his side.

          They undressed silently, moving with the resigned comprehension of the damned.