By Raven
�Star, this system matches all the parameters.� came Kale�s voice with his usual distrust. �There is only one planet that is supporting life, and there is a lot of it.�
�Kale, keep monitoring the sensors. I don�t want any surprises. Quinn, keep the cloaking field up just for the hell of it, and slow down a little. I don�t want any surprises like automated guns getting a fix on us. Velvet, Silk, get set. I want to be ready to move out as soon as we hit dirt.� Star said, beginning her orders.
�Aye.� came the twin�s voices in unison.
�Fallen, get your nose out of your book and get Drax mobile. We may need him, and I don�t want a grouchy lizard on my hands.� Star ran her hand through her hair. It needed cutting again. Her white hair tended to look like she had taken voltage to it if it got too long. Her blue eyes were watching for any thing that would be out of place.
The crew was wired, including Rhual, but she was still young for her species, as the living ships could live for thousands of years. The whole crew shared a symbiosis with the ship itself. As far as she knew, her crew was the only one ever to have every crewman bond to the ship. This meant they were able to do things that are next to impossible for others.
�Star, I itch.� came the ship�s childlike voice.
�I know, Ru. As soon as we get planet side, we will give you a bath.� Star replied gently. The ship had her own eccentricities, one being that she loves the water.
They were sitting in a stationary orbit when Drax made his appearance. �This better be good, Star! You promised that I could hibernate through this damn molt!� rumbled Drax�s voice, with just a little more malice then was usual for him.
�Take it easy, Drax. I have a feeling about this place.� Star had never told the rest of them that she was having the dreams again. That she was feeling a calling to go to a certain place, if only she knew where.
�Bring Ru down there.� Star pointed to an island off the continental mass below them. �The water looks warm, and we could all benefit by stretching our legs. Pick a stretch of beach and set her down.� she said, giving Kale his flight orders.
Ru set down on the indicated beach, and the twins off loaded the equipment they would need. �Ru, go find a nice spot and wait for us. We will be there shortly.� Fallen told the ship. �We have one other project.� That was when the twins and Fallen looked menacingly at Drax.
�What...� was all he managed to say before the three were on him like starving dogs.
The boys were laughing themselves sick until Star told them to get in there and give the ladies a hand. �The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can take care of Ru.� she told them. It took them all nearly an hour and a half to sandblast the last of the old skin off of Drax. The crew wondered what color he would be this time. Drax�s color depended on diet and other factors, so with each molt it was interesting to see what the new coat would be. The last had been a mainly rust color with deeper red highlights.
�You have sand detail, Drax. The rest of you space rats, to the water!� Star ordered. They all grabbed breather units and headed for Ru. She had found a place several meters out that would give her good clearance. The boys pulled the hose behind them and the twins carried the brushes for the fine work. That left her and Fallen the sand blasters to do the majority of the work. They would switch off regularly to keep from getting too tired. It took nearly four standard hours to get the ship to where she didn�t itch anymore. They all headed back to shore.
Once they got to shore, Star decided that they would begin their search in the morning. This last trek had been long and hard, not to mention a run in with some smugglers that decided they had wanted Ru for themselves. Ru prowled the beach looking for a nice soft spot to sun herself. Once she was settled and the equipment stowed, they all took their customary positions.
That meant the twins were on top of Ru with not a stitch on, sunning themselves. They were the most hedonistic pair she had ever met. But she couldn�t fault them for it. Velvet and Silk are identical twins. The majority of the time, only Fallen or Drax could tell them apart. They are of a species that not many have seen before. They stood a little over a meter and a half tall, with large pointed ears, and three fingers and a thumb on each hand. There wasn�t anything they couldn�t climb, and very nearly nothing that they couldn�t break into. They also had better vision then most, being able to see in all of the light spectrums.
Drax was of a species called the Dragonetti. They looked a lot like the lizard men of Riax, but with one exception. Drax and his people were not stupid, just foul tempered. Drax could eat just about anything, and was stronger then even most heavyworlders. He also could adapt to nearly any atmosphere. He only had one real problem, that being he has absolutely no cold tolerance. He would go into some sort of hibernation if he got too cold.
Kale, Quinn and Fallen are all siblings. The two boys shared the same father. Fallen had been born to their mother when the outpost they lived on was hit be Nerian raiders on a supply hunt. Kale is her pilot for the most part. Quinn is the ship�s mechanic and king of the quick fix. There isn�t anything he couldn�t fix or build from spare parts. Baby sister is the medic, and anything else that dealt with sciences. She also has a talent for written languages that is absolutely phenomenal. The boys have dark hair and eyes, and are built rather stockily. Fallen is a redhead with bright green eyes, and is the tallest of the crew, next to Drax.
As Star slept, she once again dreamed of the woman calling to her. �Mother needs you. Come fulfill your destiny.�
She woke with a start. This had to be the place! This had been the strongest dream yet.
They packed up shortly after dawn- it was the warm season on this part of the planet, so the sun was up early. �So, where do we start, Star?� came Kale�s voice as she was getting dressed.
�Well, let�s cover the island first, Kale, then we will go from there.�
�So far, the scans are showing no signs of any industrial societies, nothing! It is like this planet has never had life other then wild animals.� Kale told his skipper.
�I am seeing countless species all over this planet. It is incredible!� came Fallen�s voice. Star could hear the unbridled joy in it.
�Hey, boss, I think I have something.� came Quinn�s voice. �I thought it was a systems glitch, but Ru says she feels something. It�s trying to hide from her sensors, so to speak. I have no clue, but she�s getting real excited about this.�
�Then let her go for it, Kale. She has as good a set of instincts as any of us do.� Star replied.
They had liberated the ship from a Tugala mining colony several years earlier. That had been before she met Drax or the twins, when she was part of another crew. She and the boys had been left to die by their previous captain for not agreeing to destroy the ships in the bay. Ru was there with her mother- both had restraining collars on and were being badly mistreated.
They had managed to get the mother free when all hell had broken loose. They initially had to leave Ru, making their escape in the mother. Within a year, they returned for her. They had gotten Fallen and half of Malas� rightful crew. They went back to rescue Ru and the rest of Malas� crew. Most in the universe believed that the living ships were no more then animals born for space or ships that should be enslaved. Malas� crew had been unlucky enough to get caught just after Ru�s birth by slavers. The crew had been sold to other mining operations.
Mala, along with Ru, were being used to carry toxic ores to smelting plants. So, Star and the boys liberated the crew, while Fallen disabled the collar that held Ru. Along the way during the jail break Fallen found Drax. They�re still not sure who was saving who when it was over. Mala was so grateful it had been funny.
What had surprised her though was when Ru had claimed the boys, Fallen and Drax as hers. Then she had spoke to Star for the first time. �You are mine, too, pretty lady. Aren�t you?�
Ru somehow managed to steal all their hearts- she was the little sister that they all loved. She had found the twins a few years ago, so when she got one of her feelings, Star tended to let Ru run.
They landed on a large plateau and started looking around, Ru sprouting her landing skids for this. They were not sure what to expect, so there were ready for just about anything. They noticed the rock outcropping about twenty meters to their left, and decided that was as good a place as any to begin looking. What they were looking for, they were not sure.
After about twenty minutes, the twins looked at one another, then said, �There is a tunnel here.�
�It looks solid.� Kale, always the doubter, said.
�Oh, Drax,� came both of the girls voices. �Would you come here, please?� When they had gotten up that morning, Drax�s color had finished maturing. This time, it was a dark green that changed slightly in the different lights and when you looked at from different angles.
�Where do I hold, girls?� he said, with a sweetness that frightened all of them. He grabbed on, and with one mighty heave, had the stone rolled away from the entrance.
Fallen was checking her sensor wand for a second time. �Well, it is clean.� she reported. �Oh, yeah, Star. That is the thing that is so weird- the air is really fresh. Too fresh.� Kale added, checking his own wand.
�Lets do this, then.� was all Star said. They went down the stone stairs that were revealed.
By the time the reached the huge double doors at the bottom, they were fifty or so meters below the surface. The tunnel itself was nearly eight meters in height. The doors were twelve meters tall, made of wood and balanced to perfection. A small child could have opened these doors with no difficulty whatsoever. There were markings on the door- none of them knew what they meant. Somewhere in Star�s mind she knew it meant �Enter and learn the truth of your destiny�.
They opened the door to find a room a hundred meters across, filled with a lot of strange stuff. The ceiling was vaulted and around thirty meters high. The room was completely round, and was painted with pictures from floor to ceiling. In the center was a pedestal. The pedestal was about one and one-third meters tall. Floating above it in a purple light were crystalline pieces of some kind. Star could not stop herself from walking over to the pieces. She reached in, and began placing the randomly floating pieces in what her heart told her was the proper order. Once the pieces were together, the object they made started to spin. All of them were caught in what seemed to them to be a holographic novel.
Welcome. My name is Raven. This is my story. If you are here, then once again Mother needs a protector. If you are seeing this, then you or one among you is the one who has been chosen. I am at the end of my life, but one can not complain for living two hundred fifty thousand years Terran standard. I will start at the beginning. I am not human. I am a creation of my father, a construct.
The story went on until well after sunset, and when it seemed the entire crew could not stay awake, it stopped. It was as though the image knew that they were tired. They all returned to the ship and slept through the night, most of the crew having strange dreams that they could not understand.
Within me lies the third strand. After eight or so generations, though, it is no longer visible. But there is one thing that will always be present. Blood calls to blood, and even as my children are throughout the galaxies and timelines, they will know one another in their hearts.
Each of my children has a unique signal, and it is passed to all there descendants where ever and when ever they may be. Spreading themselves like seeds in the wind, so that there will always be one who can protect mother and serve her purpose.
Once again, the crew went to bed and dreamt of other places and other times.
The voice came to him once again. �Who are you, Drax?� �I am Drax, son of Talek.� �Who are you, Drax?� the voice asked again. �I am Drax, son of...� he was once again about to give his father�s name. Then he changed his mind. �No, I am Drax, son of Ja�kul, son of Raven.�
Velvet and Silk sometimes shared dreams, and this was one of them. �Who are you, children of the wood people?� �We are Velvet and Silk. We come to you from Solia, great ancestress.�
Kale, Quinn and Fallen all had the same dream. That night, a man came to them. �My name is Duncan. I am your many times great grandfather. Raven was my mother.� he told them.
�Wake up, Star. You are needed to fulfill the destiny that is your birthright.�
�What destiny, and what birthright? I was an orphan. No one has ever wanted me. I am no one.�
�No, little one.� the woman in black said. �You are very special. You are the only one of all of you here that is ready, and truly understands. You, my little one, have a very interesting lineage. You are descended from three of my children. One is my son Robin, who would go to the guild. I do not know if it is from before or after he went to the guild. The next is Ryse, he was a shape changer like his father. Only I knew who that was. The final one is Jade, my little dragon lady. She of all my children was most like me, but unlike me in equal measure. Their blood, and mine, runs through your veins. It is time for you to become what you were born to be.�
�Ru, wake up. Come, little one, you too are part of this great adventure. Naya�s great magics gave birth to the first of your kind millennia ago. Only Mother knew why she directed her to create you. From the magic in her blood you took form. It is time that you found the place that you belong.�
I look upon them now. Both are so tired. My beloved and my oldest friend. We had lived at the guild for a little over one hundred thousand years. I was eight thousand years older then my mate. When we had returned from the guild, we lived here for a hundred and thirty-four thousand years.
I know that they will pass into Andrew�s care soon. Even when they do, I will have tasks to finish. Mother, I ask you, why must I finish this alone?
You are never alone, my child. There will always be those near you, even if you don�t see them.
Mother answered me directly now. I no longer had to plead to the universe. Sleep now my loves, there is a new day tomorrow.
They are so still now, Mother. I am not sure I can do this.
You can do this last task, my beloved. You are nearly done.
Once again, I hold Salem in my lap, petting him. Haslem, my old friend, it is time for you to go. His mind was still in the fog of sleep.
But, Annanaya, who will keep you company?
I am not going to be alone, my old friend. I knew it was a lie, yet I locked that behind my wall. Sleep, my friend. I know you are so tired. His once black fur had long ago turned a dull gray.
�I will stay�, he tried to protest. No, my friend, Andrew is here for you, and you have earned your rest.
Let me take him now, Raven. It is time. I felt his body shudder one last time. I looked over my shoulder, and Haslem was standing once again as a man. Fare well my friend.
Oh, Mother, why can�t we go together? I will miss him so much.
�This last task is yours alone� was all she said to me.
�Mother, it is time.� came Adrian�s voice from the darkness.
�Give me a moment to say goodbye, my little death angel.
�Beloved, there is someone here to see you,� I told Christian. He had passed into a coma a few days earlier. �You are tired, my love. Go, your son has come to take you home.� I kissed him for the last time.
�Take him, Adrian, before he tries to fight you.�
�As you wish, Mother, as you wish.� I placed Salem�s shell next to my beloved, feeling the emptiness for the first time in millennia. Before my eyes, their shells just vanished. It was as though the magic of their souls had been the only thing that was holding them together.
I walked out of the house that had been there for so many millennia, and willed it to destruction. Taking all the feelings and memories, and committing them into a small ball. The only thing I left was the pit. I would stay there until the end time arrived.
I have finished painting the walls. It is more immense then the original ever was. As I look around, there are things that I have collected.
Nellie is here now, asleep. With Shandall gone, she did not want to go on. I remember her coming to me with her love dying from old age. He too had died in my arms.
Riley�s Capstone device sat next to her. For all the trouble Riley caused, he was always a good kid. In a way, he became one of mine, too.
�Oh, Sky, why did you bring the little one to me.� The next time Drake lies sleeping in its shell. �Only when the old one dies will this one hatch, Mother. That is the way it has always been.�
Stephen, I miss you so much. I have your favorite cane here, along with your time-traveling derby. You, of all my night born children, lived the longest- twenty five thousand years. But time catches up with all of us. For you, it did in only a few days. At least, this time you didn�t hurt.
Time travel is such a dangerous practice, and I have so many more gadgets here that do it.
The place where Guardian rests is finally finished. She set about removing all the traces of humanity from the planet. There is a sadness in her eyes that I have never seen before. When Father decided to go beyond, it hurt her more then she will ever admit. Now this world is once again a Garden of Eden.
Humans had left the world nearly three centuries before Christian had passed on. That was nearly four thousand years ago. Father�s children that had been born here all eventually went to the stars to find their place in the universe.
Simon and Willow had become the clouds themselves, always chasing one another. Their children had gone to Guardian�s mother in their own time, when they were no longer needed. All her sisters and Christian�s other daughter had also become once again part of Mother.
Occasionally, I wonder is it truly Simon�s voice I hear in the wind, or is it my imagination?
Arizona, though, would be forever changed. Roses cover much of the land, all growing wild and in a myriad of colors. For me, there was even the black and gold roses, forever entwined.
Now in the niche was a little fountain, and the bed was of moss and stone. Upon it lay Guardian, her mother�s first born, to sleep once again, as she did even before man had walked the earth. Sleep well, sister of my heart, and dream of the open places and the trees.
I look around the room making sure all is finished. Within this place lies the whole history of the human race upon this world. I have committed my whole life, all my memories, to the crystals. Hidden here is every time travel device that has ever been created. Mother will send here any that I have missed. What none but Mother ever knew was that I knew how all these time devices worked. It had always been my passion- time. I had so much of it, why not understand how they worked? Here also is all those things that even the Gods forbid man to use. The Minyan Regenerator, the Stone of Chronos, even the Great Tapestry is here.
The Cognoscenti may watch me now, but they are forbidden to enter this place. These objects will be protected at all costs. Treasures to some, but in the end, these things should have never been made. But Mother has always had one rule: Nothing once created shall be unmade. To do so shall be thine undoing. So it is up to whoever of my descendants finds this place.
I am so tired. Tomorrow will be the eight thousandth anniversary of my beloved�s passing. I see them in my dreams now, calling to me. I have finished this place. It will be here for the next Guardian, or Guardians, of Mother. Soon I will sleep. I have only one worry. Will there be one who can take such a hefty responsibility? I have never wanted my children to feel the weight of this. For me, it was all in my original programming. I knew that it was what needed to be done. I had never to ask why. Was there ever a time when I had not been ordained to fill this task? Is there some one or ones who will have the strength to do this? I have never known why Mother gave a mortal creature this task. Many times I was not sure that I had to the strength to do the tasks that I had. I never was able to tell those that I loved how much I truly needed them. If there is one thing that I regret, is that I was never able to tell them how much I needed them. I hope that they knew and understood.
I have been, all my life, willing to sacrifice myself so that another would not suffer. All my life, I have known I would always be able to survive. There has only been brief periods of doubt. Those though were few and far enough between, that it for the most part was never a concern.
Mother, give them who come next to this task the strength they will need. For who ever it is, may you have plenty near you to lighten your heart. May you never know the loneliness of the burden I have borne for the last quarter million years. May this task bring you bountiful joy and few sorrows. I am sorry that I am not there to meet you, little one, but in all things there is an end. I have had a long and wondrous life.
Few ever know the truth, that the gods are real, and that Creation is a wonderful woman. Death has a soul, Time only destroys when it is lonely, and the world builder snores when he sleeps. If you see them, and I am sure you will, say hello to them, those that are some of the first ones- the primals. They, like the gods, do feel and they do get lonely.
Sunrise. This is my last. I know this now. So, I have traveled to the beginning place. This that was my desert birthplace. To see the sunrise from it one more time. The colors in heavens paintbrushes are one thing I shall miss. I have always loved the simple things in life. The flowers and the trees of all worlds hold the promise of hope. Even the garden in winter holds the promise of spring.
I have treated each day as if it may be my last. But in knowing that this truly is my last, it brings me no peace. When I and my siblings first came from the ground in the night, I was the last to rise. I am the last once again. I feel them around me, calling me. �Come play with us once again, sister. Cross into the night once again.�
I was born here, but I will not end here. I will go to that place which has always been home. Once again, Mother allows me to use her greatest gift. I enter this final place of my creation to give it one last look, only to find a surprise. If you look, you will find him here, too. His name is Omid- it means �hope of the ages.� As I had a partner, so shall you. Take care of one another, my little one.
They all looked at one another. In unison they asked, �What happened to her?�
None were willing to admit that their hearts ached for the woman that had died nearly three million years ago. It was then that Fallen saw the plaque. Had it been there all that time while they listened?
� In the desert that had no name, one took her first breath. Two hundred fifty thousand years later to that moment, she would stop. Not even creation herself in her infinite wisdom knew what one soul could accomplish. Raven, you may be gone, but none in all of creation shall forget what you made possible. Even the gods learned that nothing was impossible from you. Sleep well, and know that your gifts to the universe shall never be forgotten. Even redemption for crimes against your own blood.� Enlil, written the day the heavens wept.
�So what do we do, Star? We are all family here now in truth, not just by choice.� came Drax�s voice, filled with a softness none knew he possessed.
�We do what we were born to do, it seems. I ask you all,� Star�s voice shook a little, �Do you accept this challenge placed before you willingly.� In unison, they all said yes, even Ru.
�Done and Done�, the universe rang out once again. �Listen now, children of my beloved child. I bear gifts to suit you, each for the tasks you will be given. Fallen, you shall have her gift for languages. Quinn, you shall know what she did about time and its many secrets. Kale, you shall have her instinct and her luck. For Velvet, her vision in this world. For Silk, her foresight, and for both, her curiosity. Drax, you shall have her strength of heart to go with your own strength in body. You shall also inherit her abilities as a hunter. Ru, little one, you shall be able to take them where and when you are needed. No place in time or space will be inaccessible to you. Finally, for you, Star, who keeps them all together, we give you the most precious gift. You will know why it must be done, and to help you in this, we give you a teacher and friend. All of you will know if another bears her blood when you meet and they will do all that they can to help you. This is so that the task be not so great. If one can do so much, then many will do so much more. This may not be easy, but you will never be alone.
They all opened their eyes, not sure if this was more of the place that they were at. They knew it wasn�t a dream, for in Star�s hands was a sleeping small black kitten, not more the six weeks old.
�Roll out, you ingrates!� Star shouted, then stopped as she felt something sharp prick the palm of her hand. Looking down, she saw the kitten staring at her, with bright yellow eyes that positively glowed.
�Do you mind?� Star heard in her mind the voice of a very pompous five-year-old. �Us felines need their sleep, especially little ones, like me!�
Star looked at her crewmates. �He just told me...� she said, awe filling her voice.
�I heard him, too!� said Kale, equally awestruck.
After looking around at everyone else, Drax said, �I think we all heard him. What were you going to say, Star?�
In a quieter tone of voice, but which still carried, Star concluded, �We have a job to do!�
They all scrambled, heading for Ru. They knew that all that was here was protected for them. Any that tried to follow them here would not make it. Grandmother had made this place a living shrine to her daughter. This Eden was their sanctuary, the one place, as she once had, that would bring them peace.
As the ship left orbit, Raven looked at Andrew. �Shall we tell them that from time to time I can look in on them? Better yet, I would love to have a picture of them when they find out they have mind speech and a few other tricks.�
Andrew looked at Raven. �You didn�t do what I think you did, did you?� he asked accusingly.
�What, Andrew? I didn�t do anything!� she protested. Thank goodness he couldn�t see the lavender smoke coming from her fingers.
As Charley watched the two of them, he thought, �They are going to need all the help she could give them. One day, I will introduce myself, but until then, that�s my girl!�
As Mother watched from the heavens, so it begins again. The others were there, those who chose to not go through again. �Fork it over, you guys! I told you she would cheat!� The cat was once again pelted with popcorn.
THE END
Or is it?