Life Changing Pt. 3
Life Changes...;Pt. 3; In The Heart
Author - Kavanne
Summary - Ranes Hacre meets her match, but will she follow her example.
Feedback - Kavanne@aol.com
Spoilers - I don’t think there are..... Nope, there aren’t. (BTW, the Zhaan P’au level thing has nothing to do with the season finale.)
My heart feels like it is about to jump out of my chest. A leviathan, a free leviathan, it’s just under a light cycle away. Now is time to make the damage.
I go round each console setting off the charges, inside and out, to make it look like an attack. Fire explodes around me, I could have climbed into the escape pod to protect myself, but it would look odd. If my ship was in damage and disrepair but I had not a scratch on me. I brace myself under the console and I feel plastics and glass embedding themselves in my face and taste the blood in my mouth.
I take a deep breath and begin to uncoil myself from the small alcove. The ship is almost completely wasted. I put my hand on my face to see how badly I bleed. It stings badly, but i can deal with all of it later, I am sure the crew of Moya will help a fellow ‘exile’.
I still have manoeuvrability, good. I turn my ship onto an intercept course and give the hetch drive all the power I have, I’ve taken environmentals off line. I have one go at this, otherwise I’m dead.
It’s beginning to get cold. I have at least 3 layers of clothing all over now. They would have certainly detected me with their sensors by now. I pull my stiffening body over to the scanner console. They’re hailing me! Why didn’t I get an alert? OK, I’ll respond, be calm and collected. Ask for some assistance. I open the channel.
“Unidentified Peacekeeper vessel, identify yourself.” A strong female voice comes across to my ship.
“I, er,” I can hardly stop my body from spasming with the cold. “I’m... not a... Peacekeeper.” I stumble over my words. “Exile.”
“We do not exile, we exterminate.” This voice doubts me greatly, I can only assume that this is Aeryn Sun.
“I am a child. I do not think my superior could bring herself to kill me.” I argue my false point as best I can under these freezing conditions, I feel slower than usual.
“Tell me. You have been attacked, by whom?” A male voice asked me sternly, almost interrogating me.
“The Sheyangs. A small transport vessel. I was defenceless, as you probably already know.” I retort sarcastically, if this had been a perfectly clear signal he would have heard it and undoubtedly retaliated.
“Why were you exiled?” They seem to be beginning a barrage of questions against me.
“I lost my nerve and did not complete my part in a mission. Several of my unit were killed as a result.”
“When...” I cut him off.
“Excuse me, I need to tend to my wounds. So, if you would kindly allow me to use up the rest of my power and oxygen...” I close the channel. I can have a good guess at what they are saying at this point. ‘She’s a grunt.’ I am now quite sure that this is the Leviathan Moya, there are signs she has given birth in the last 2 cycles and a few residual pieces of a badly removed control collar.
* * * * * *
I look at my face in the cracked mirror, I think the blood has frozen instead of dried over. But all the shards of hull and glass are out. It hurts more than when they were in.
The Marauder jerks beneath me.
“What the frell?!” I exclaim in clear shock. As I look out the central view port I can see the docking web has a hold of me and I am being pulled into their cargo bay. I quickly get the Peacekeeper message buoy away, giving the carrier an affirmative result with search. As soon as the ship is set down I can hear DRD’s lazering a hole in a weak part of the hull. Before I have time to find them, the whole front compartment begins to fill with a hazy white gas.
“Sleep... gas.” I murmur before I am totally taken over by the effects.
* * * * * *
I never open my eyes as soon as I wake up, which is a good asset about now, I can listen to their conversation. I make sure I keep my breathing slow so they do not notice that either.
“The Marauder was totally stripped and wasted by gun-fire, Aeryn!” he argued, now I am sure that this is the Leviathan Moya. I spring up off the bed and into a corner, effectively allowing myself to be cornered.
“Peacekeepers!” I spit out violently. I can see Sun approaching me slowly. “Stop Sun, or you will pay.” I threaten stupidly.
“You know my name.” she comments dryly at me.
“Who doesn’t?” I retaliate. I am edging myself out of the corner and away from her. I am surprised, they both look like Peacekeepers, I would have expected their faces to be softer, less worn.
“How old are you, girl?” she interrogates.
“12 cycles.” I suddenly can’t move, it’s like she’s stopping me. Her eyes, they are more invasive than Scorpius’, they stare me down.
“Rank and Regiment!” she demands as she begins of circle me.
“Senior Ranes Hacre, Peacekeeper Special Operations, Data Core.”
“You are a little young to be in Special Operations, moreover the Data Core.” she probes the dark in front of her for the switch that will catch me out and light me up. I know she is trying to make sure I am not a Peacekeeper, but if I didn’t know who she was, I’d say she was U-Star regiment, apart from the uniform, that would make her Special Ops Combat.
“I am no longer a Peacekeeper, merely an exile. Either take me back to High Command and ask them, or kill me now!” they cannot take me back and even if they did, they would claim me an exile, maybe even eliminate me for failing. But Graive and Sun would argue my case, to the death.
I wince as my face gives me pain, very generously. I push it aside and keep my guard up. It hurts like hezmana.
Sun lunges at me, I put my arm up, block her and twist her arm up behind her. But she is not prepared to yield yet, I get a heel in my groin and she turns out of my grip. As she punches from in front of me, I grab her fist and twist it round. I duck and swing round, my leg outstretched and she falls. But she does so with grace and recovers almost immediately on hitting the floor. I feel my neck jerk back and dark once again engulfing my conscious thoughts, as I hit the ground.
* * * * *
I try to move again, but I am held to the table. A hand touches my forehead. I tense up and grit my teeth, but then the being moves round into my visual range. The Delvian.
“What is a P’au,” I can tell this from her clothes, “Doing on a Peacekeeper vessel?” I struggle through the immense headache that I am presently suffering to say this. As a response she merely smiles serenely and continues making something.
“Why do you taunt me?” I ask her, it seems as that is what her smile is bordering on, I also see wanted revenge.
“I am not, merely helping you.”
“Why do they hate me?” I have to find some way to tell them who, no what, I am. Then maybe they will trust me more, trust me fully.
“You, are a Peacekeeper.” she states, as if telling me that I am a Peacekeeper.
“I am not! I am... a dead Peacekeeper. Why, Why do they not trust me?” I ask. She repeats her previous answer.
“You, are a Peacekeeper.”
“I am not a Peacekeeper, I am more, I am Aeryn Sun’s sister.” I am defiant, proud as I say who my sister is. It is treasonous, but I actually do feel this way. The P’au turns to me.
“Lies.” she spits in my face.
“No lies. I am the daughter of Talyn Graive and Jonnah Sun. Mostly.”
“Mostly?”
“Surely you are familiar with some of the ancient Sebacean, what does ‘Hacre’ mean?” I set the answer on a plate in front of her.
“Altered.” she looks at me, confused.
“It is what I am, is it not? Check my DNA, there are badly done micro-alterations.”
“That is why you could survive the temperatures on the Marauder?”
I nod slowly. “What else does it let you do?” I am prepared to tell her anything she wishes to know, that is what trust is. I put my hand to my head.
“Intelligence? In a Peacekeeper?” she spites.
“Yes. Is that a problem?” I do not believe this, but this she is hurting me with her words. I cannot ignore them like I can others. “Why do you use mental skills on me, Delvian?”
“You are indeed clever. I am P’au Zotoh Zhaan, priestess of the 11th level.”
“11th. Does that not mean telekinesis?”
“Have you been studying us, Hacre?” her voice is softer now and has retreated from my soul.
“I tried, once. I was found out.” This is true, once I did try and reach the first level. But I gave up and left it when I was moved to Sun’s Base.
Zhaan walks out, I call after her, but she leaves me alone. With several DRD’s and a Pilot.
“Tell me Pilot, are you happy?” he looks at me and stares right into my eyes.
“Yes, senior. I believe I am.”
“Good. Is Officer Sun happy?” I want to make sure of this before I get a chance to give her the file.
“That, I cannot answer. Maybe you can ask her yourself soon.” he shut his image off. The being I can only assume is the human, John Crichton enters.
“Why am I bound?” I demand.
“What did ya do last time, kid?” he drawls in an unfamiliar accent.
“Aeryn Sun provoked me, I retaliated. I do not enjoy being beaten.”
“Yeah, we gathered that. So, you’re a Peacekeeper, huh?” he starts on me too.
“No. I am an ex-peacekeeper. How many times do I have to say?” I start to wish that I wasn’t here, I should have said no. Graive would have listened. I am not so sure about Sun though. “Please, let me up.” I almost beg. I hope he can see the truth in my eyes. I can see it in his.
I lean my head into my cupped hands and let out a sigh of relief. I’m free. I let a weak smile up to Crichton.
“Thank you.”
“You always seem to look as you are about to cry. Are you OK?” I let out a stifled laugh.
“It’s just the absurdity of the whole situation.” I shake my head slightly at my own comment. “I was never strong, you know. I don’t like making myself deal with things, emotions. But, I can’t control them, how do you learn? How do you do it?” Stray hairs fall onto my face, I brush them away in frustration.
“You were a Peacekeeper, did they not teach you?”
“Yes, I just didn’t learn.” I am a failure, except for my brain, I hate hurting people, I just cannot do it. A thought strikes me. “You... trust me?” I question in almost disbelief.
“My principles tell me I have to. You have told us who you are. I have believed people before.”
“Aeryn Sun.” I comment absently. For some unknown reason, I get a picture of the view of some of the sea-cliffs on Sebacea. Peacekeepers may dishonour many things, but to destroy the planet that yielded their being, would be a crime against the universe. Many a Peacekeeper general or commander has tried to get High Command to agree to relocate and, almost completely, tear Sebacea apart for minerals and metals.
I sometimes wonder why there are no non-peacekeeper Sebaceans left on our home world. Maybe they hated the Peacekeepers? So much so that they could not bear to be anywhere near them?
I never wanted to leave. They said I could go into circulation training with everyone else, instead of completing special training in the facilities there.
No, I never wanted to leave.
“Penny for your thoughts?” I snap out of it.
“Excuse me?” This is indeed an unusual situation I am in, with an unusual place to accompany it, with unusual people in it.
“What were you thinking?”
“Not much, I’m a Peacekeeper.” I shrug lightheartedly.
“Very funny, kid.”
“Do you insist on calling me that?” It really gets to me, being called ‘kid’.
“Yes.”
“I have a name, do I not?”
“Indeed you do.” he smiles then laughs heartily. I cannot see what amuses him so.
“Why do you laugh, human?” Mistake number 2. Fortunately, very fortunately, he does not seem to hear or notice. I get up and stand in front of him. This being I seemed to find infinitely annoying, even though I have not known him for long. “Do not mess with me, many have not lived to see their blood on my knife.” I threaten before going back and placing myself back on bed and staring absently around the room.
* * * * *
I walk slowly into my ship, I have a feeling someone has turned it inside out for information. I just know someone has been messing around with the equipment. It will take me weekens to repair all the damage, but only about 3 days to get it space worthy again.
Wait, the file, for Officer Sun. I think I will get on with decoding that, at least it’s something I enjoy doing. I download the file onto a data pad, it’s quite small and hardly worthy of it’s own file. But the code they have used it 2 letters to 1, I can see that now, some of the words are far too long.
This will take a while, but I am prepared, I am doing it as a last wish.
“Hello.” The Nebari entered my ship, somewhat startling me. I drop the pad before I have a chance to get rid of it.
“What are you doing here?” I interrogate her harshly for her intrusion.
“I, er, just came you introduce myself. You’re actually smaller than I thought you would be, I mean you beat up Aeryn.”
“She won.”
“But you held your own for a couple of shots. Most kids couldn’t do that.” It’s that frelling word again, ‘kid’. I do not look upon myself as a child, more of a young adult.
“So, who are you?”
“I am Chiana.” she states, I swear she cannot be over 20 cycles, she looks like a teenager, but her manner is.... older.
“Good for you.” I pick up a lazer saw and begin trying to cut away some of the fallen metal from the battered console.
“I was wondering if you needed any help.” I nod, almost mockingly. A Nebari would never usually willingly offer help. And now it is plain to see she thinks she has better things to do.
“Look, I know you don’t want to be here. So go tell whoever sent you that I have better things to do too.” Chiana looks down, slightly embarrassed. I do actually start to feel slightly guilty as she walks out. I still have that headache, and it’s killing me.
I reach under the console and retrieve that data pad from it underside.
1 and a half arns and still only 3 letters, but with this I can workout what the first word is, then I can just input the details into the computer and feed the rest of the message through, won’t take more that a quarter arn. I won’t even need to see the rest of the message.
* * * * *
Food. I could do with some food. My guess is that it’s only going to be food cubes, but what the hezmana, it’s digestible. I haven’t eaten in just over 12 arns, I’m surprised my body has gone this long without protesting previously. I know some Leviathan physiology, so I should be able to roughly gauge where the centre chamber is, failing that, I can always ask Pilot.
I start walking.
I have often pondered the question of; Why Leviathan Pilot’s never seem to have names? Shouldn’t they? Or did the Peacekeepers think it would be a lot simpler to just call them all the same things?
Maybe before the Peacekeeper’s came , Pilots were called by name and not operation. We ruin everything, everywhere we go things are disrupted and fall to pieces, all for the good of ourselves.
I think too much. My brain hurts even more now. For the rest of my almost automatic journey through the corridors of the Leviathan known as Moya I just stare at the walls. It’s been so long since I walked on a Leviathan, but the last time it was a dead Leviathan, brought to the ‘Fields’ to be burned and disposed of. I felt scared, I do not know why, but seeing the poor Pilot dying, why did they not put him out of his misery? So, I did it for them, I did it for him.
I can hear voices down the hall, I must be coming there when it is their time to eat. I hear Crichton say my name, but Aeryn hushes them when she hears my footsteps, I’m not trying to be particularly quiet.
“Um, Hello.” I say, just loud enough for them to hear me.
“See I told you so!” Crichton shouts from the other side of the table. I crease my brow, and I remember the earlier conversation about the supposed fact I always look like I am about to cry.
“For frell’s sake, Crichton!” Aeryn replies.
“Don’t swear.” As he says this Aeryn rolls her eyes.
“I swore when I was 5 cycles old, I am sure Ranes does.” Chiana stifles a laugh. “What is so funny Chiana?” she interrogates.
“You, sound like my mother.” she completely loses it. I turn to leave, somehow this chaos is not appealing.
“Wait. Did you come to eat?” he suddenly sounded serious again.
“It’s OK, I can, um, get something from the Marauder.”
“No, eat with us.” Zhaan sounds less angry, she seems to trust me a little more. Believe in me, that I am who I say I am. She motions for me to sit opposite her. So, I do. There seems to be a plate there waiting for me, but I check it’s no one else's.
“Thank you.” I say universally, it’s not just for the food, but for trusting my lies also.
TBC....
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