[The Gunslingers, Book II, Chapter 24] [Redemption] “Debris warning 223 mark 9, Debris warning 354 mark 2, Debris warning 145 mark 8, Debris warning 89 mark 7… ” the fourth year student at the Nav-console continued calling off various navigation hazards as they raced around the planet. “Roger, Navigation, only call off the debris that’s big enough to cause us problems,” said Cadet Tures, the fourth year class leader sitting in the Captain’s chair. “I am, Sir,” said the Nav-Cadet. “Those are the biggest pieces.” Tures looked up at Duke standing next to the Captain’s chair, “That brainless second year nub made quite a mess up here, in two more hours once the debris spreads out more, nobody will be able to safely navigate in orbit.” “That brainless nub just did what nobody else has ever done,” said Duke. “I said he would win before we launched,” said Tures. “Oh ancestors, Duke, he just made Torin a Lord and gave his last will and testament.” Cora pulled the headphones off she was listening to. “We have to hurry, those missiles are almost there.” “He’s protecting his Merits,” said Duke, “and now he’s making a last stand, he goes to the land of the ancestors as the greatest Gunslinger.” “The brainless nub isn’t going anywhere,” said Tures. The Nav-Cadet turned around and actually laughed, “We’re we ever like these second year nubs?” “How dare you laugh,” screamed Cora. “The greatest hero you will ever know is about to die” Tures ignored Cora’s outburst, “Weapons hold, lets see what gets through, no sense in wasting ammo.” Duke bent down to Tures’s face and bared his fangs, “What are you doing?” Tures leaned back, “Whoa there fang-boy, just watch and learn.” Duke glanced up at the massive missile barrage closing in on Colt’s Battleship, and then the first missile exploded far in front of the Battleship—then another missile exploded, and another, and another, and then they were exploding by the dozens. “What’s happening,” asked Duke. “Your brainless nub set up his own defense,” said Tures. “Those missiles are smart enough to go around the big debris, but they can’t see the billions of small pieces of shrapnel in front of that Battleship, that’s why they launched so many missiles—hoping that one gets through.” “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” yelled Cora. “That speech of his was so heroic,” said Tures grinning. “I just didn’t have the heart to ruin the moment. I just wish I could see the look of utter confusion on his face as those missiles blow up before he gets a chance to be the great Galaxy Gunslinger Hero of the Century.” “I hate Fourth-Years,” said Cora stomping back over to the Com-console muttering. “He’s still in danger, big time,” said Tures. “See how slow the Carriers are going; they are going to push through the debris field around him and fire at point-blank range.” Tures pressed the Com-control on his chair, “Lord Cyness, this is the Fourth Year Senior Cadet Leader, Lord Tures, we are coming up behind you. I assume you have no idea how to fly a Battleship, prepare to be boarded; I will send a team over to get you down to the planet.” “This is Lord Cyness, why are the missiles blowing up?” “The debris field around you is stopping the missiles, Battleship Defense Class, it’s pretty basic stuff,” said Tures. “You’ll have that class when you get to fourth year.” “Are you in those six Battleships?” asked Colt. “I see them on the Vid-screen.” “Don’t worry, we’ll get you down to the surface safely,” said Tures. “We aren’t going to the surface,” said Colt. “Get a team over here, we still have seven more Battle Carriers to go, take up a flank position.” Tures cut the Com-link and looked at Duke, “Is he serious?” “You bet he is,” said Duke. “Sound General Quarters, we are attacking the next Carrier.” Every Fourth-Year on the Bridge turned and stared at Duke. “What’s wrong Fourthies, a bunch of Second-Years got more steel in their blood than you?” taunted Cora. “You heard fang-boy, sound General Quarters,” ordered Tures raising a brow at Duke. “Okay, so what’s the plan? “If I know Colt, he will do what they least expect,” said Duke. “Which means I have no idea what he will do next?” *** Wes floated in the darkness screaming, the terror of the infinite black was too much and his mind was breaking, he felt it and knew that soon he wouldn’t even know who he was anymore. “He makes a lot of noise,” said a young boy’s voice. A shadow wrapped around him and he felt the terror soften slightly. He tried to see the shadow, but it existed as more of a feeling than an actual being. “He’s scared,” said a girl’s voice. “He should be,” said the boy. “This is a very bad place. A second shadow also wrapped around him and then intertwined with the first shadow and Wes thought he heard cooing. “Stop that, don’t be gross,” said the boy. “You like it,” said the girl. “Do not,” said the boy. Wes stopped screaming and tried to listen to the two shadows talking with each other. The terror of the night was being pushed back by the two small shadows. He knew the terror was still there, just beyond them, but the relief was so great to have that terror held back that he wanted to cry. The shadows wrestled with each other—they are playing, thought Wes, and then in their play they started to unwrap themselves and move away from Wes and he cried out, “Don’t leave me, please.” The shadows stopped playing and wrapped around him again and the terror lessoned. Wes realized as they pushed back the infinite darkness just how close his mind was to breaking. “What did you do to get put here?” asked the girl. “I killed someone,” said Wes. “But isn’t that what you do—your job?” asked the boy. “You pass judgment and kill those that deserve it?” “Yes, but I killed an innocent person,” said Wes. “Only one?” asked the girl. “I am equally guilty of causing the deaths of the others as I am of the one that I murdered myself,” said Wes. “Oh, then you deserve to be here,” said the boy. “I do, I deserve to be punished,” said Wes “Then why do you ask us not to leave you alone?” asked the girl. “I’m afraid,” said Wes. “How long have you been here?” asked the boy. Wes didn’t know, there was no time here, or none that he could discern, the night was forever and he… he… “I don’t know,” said Wes. “You have been here for a thousand years,” said the boy. “Aren’t you ready to leave yet?” “I am guilty, I must be punished, it is Justice,” said Wes weakly. He did want to leave, very much so, but how, how could he leave, he deserved this punishment. “You must forgive yourself,” said the girl. “We have.” “I can not—not ever,” said Wes. Wes felt a hand on his side—his body, he felt his body. He had not felt his body for so long, since… he had been brought to this place. “This one is mine,” said the girl pressing against the wound on his side. “And this one is mine,” said the boy putting his hand on Wes’s other side over the second wound. Wes understood, they were the ones Raen had called the Chirps, the ones he was being punished for. “I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” Wes cried the words over and over. “Hush,” said the girl. “We forgive you.” “Why are you here?” cried Wes. “I don’t even know your names.” The girl shadow wrapped tighter around him and then pulled the boy shadow close, and the boy shadow didn’t protest this time. “We don’t know our names,” said the girl. “We gave them up to come here and bring you back.” “I don’t understand,” said Wes. “We weren’t ready to die yet,” said the girl. “So we gave up our names.” “Even the memory of who we were is nearly gone,” said the boy. “There isn’t much time,” said the girl. “We can’t take you from here unless you forgive yourself—we would be trapped here with you also.” “Yes,” said the boy shadow. “Mother is going to be very angry when she finds out what we’ve done.” The shadows would be trapped here with him? He knew if he didn’t do what they said, he knew this without knowing how he knew, the way you know something in a dream even though you don’t really know—he would be the cause of them being trapped in this hell. The two shadows wanted to go back, to live again. Wes’s evil on that day in the alley when he robbed them of their lives could never be undone, but he could give them a new life—if only he… …of course, his punishment wasn’t to be here in the dark with the terror, that was too easy. His punishment was to live, to give these two precious shadows justice—to bring true justice to the Gunslinger Order, to… …yes, he understood. To bring justice—he was Justice—he could leave this place. The dark shadow woman hadn’t trapped him here, he had trapped himself in a living nightmare of guilt - he could live, if he chose to. Mother Raven had been right; he would be the greatest Gunslinger. Wes knew that was not a boast, nor even a desire – nor a vanity. His punishment was to spend eternity bringing justice to all the worlds. He was Justice—the very living incarnation of Justice. He would live and through him he could hold the light of a thousand worlds. “I am the light, fear not, for I will dwell in the light and the darkness will be banished – I forgive myself,” The shadows held tight to Wes and… …he opened his eyes and two small baby raven birds were sitting on his chest. Mother Raven sat next to him on the bed and her eyes widened in shock. Thor was in the room also, but he seemed unaware of what was happening. Thor held the egg and stroked it softly while humming to the small life inside the egg. Wes was alive—but where was Jon Black? Each time he had been brought back from the other side Jon Black was always there. Oh, of course, Wes understood, he no longer belonged to Jon Black and his father, Carina, Wes was the light that now belonged to the night, and he knew who that was, but could not bring himself to say her name. Wes felt a moment of emptiness and despair that he would never again see Jon Black. The two baby ravens were pecking at each other and the larger of the two tried turning away as the smaller one tried nuzzling his neck. Wes watched the two birds play and then noticed Mother Raven was holding his hand. “Hello, Mother,” said Wes. “Oh my dearest son, your eyes,” said Mother Raven. “I knew the Goddess would punish you, but I never thought she would take you to that place.” “What’s wrong with my eyes?” asked Wes. “They have always been black like a Raven’s eyes, but now…” Mother Raven sobbed, “…not even the whites of your eyes remain, that place she took you has marked you—your eyes are solid black.” “It is of no matter, Mother,” lied Wes, the changes did matter to him, so many changes, he was five different species now; Human, Cettise, Kitsune, Amphibian, and Avian—he was something far different than he had been a year ago. Wes half expected someone to come along and force a Demonian tail and horns on him anytime now. Mother Raven squeezed his hand then reached out to stroke the head of the smaller baby raven and the larger of the two ravens, who had been trying to ignore the smaller one, turned suddenly and pecked Mother Raven’s hand. “Oh my, he is feisty,” said Mother Raven pulling her hand back. “Don’t worry, dear, I won’t harm your mate.” The larger raven chirped at that indignity and turned away again. The smaller raven nuzzled her head against the larger one and he allowed it. Wes started to sit up and put his hand on his side where the bandage was, there was no pain. The baby ravens hopped up onto his shoulder and watched. “You shouldn’t try to sit up,” scolded Mother Raven. “It will take several weeks for those wounds to heal. “It doesn’t hurt,” said Wes pulling the bandage back, there was an angry red scar, but the wound was closed and nearly healed. Mother Raven put her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Wes, when Raen was here - and forgive me for asking, but… did Raen kiss you?” “No,” said Wes shocked at the question. “Wes, a Raven has kissed you, or at least someone close to Raen has,” said Mother Raven. “Mother, no,” protested Wes. “My dearest Weston, last year Raen was infected with a nano-virus that imparted immortality on him,” explained Mother Raven. “The virus is transmitted through mating, or even simpler, through kissing. Raen kissed most of his class at the Temple before we realized what he was doing.” “That makes sense,” said Wes. “The more people infected the less reason you would have to dissect him and find out how it works.” Mother Raven laughed. “You figured that out faster than our greatest scientific minds, but… answer me, you have been kissed by a Raven, that is the only way you can heal this quickly, you’re Kitsune ancestry is too far in the distant past to still be able to give you their immortality—it was a Raven that kissed you.” “When I was in the land of the ancestors,” Wes coughed and turned red; upsetting the baby ravens who pecked at his ear for the sudden movement. “Umm… I don’t find other boy’s particularly beautiful, but... umm… when I was in the land of the ancestors, the most beautiful Raven boy kissed me.” “That Raven boy could only have been Lane,” said Mother Raven. “Was there another boy with him?” “Yes, a big muscled one,” replied Wes. “That would be Sarin, his mate,” said Mother Raven. Wes turned even brighter red. “Why would he kiss you?” asked Mother Raven. “The beautiful one is the Raven I killed,” said Wes. “He kissed me and said he forgave me.” “Now it makes sense,” said Mother Raven. “That kiss is what gave you the strength to survive in the place the Goddess sent you to be punished; Lane gave you a great gift.” “And I gave him death,” said Wes softly. “Your species is young,” explained Mother Raven. “The Daraians are a much older species than even the Kitsune; we know that death is only a passing between worlds.” The baby ravens apparently had enough with all the talk and fluttered their little wings over to Thor. The small one, the female, landed on top of the egg and the larger one, the male, landed on Thor’s leg; Thor remained completely unaware of what was happening. The two ravens chirped at each other and the smaller one hopped down and nuzzled the larger one. Wes could swear she was saying goodbye to the larger raven. After a moment she hopped back up on the egg and spread her wings out and screeched - but not the screech of a raven, she screeched with the cry of a hawk. The screech surely was loud enough to be heard across the city, and then she… Wes watched in amazement. …melted into a shadow over the egg and then melted into the egg. Mother Raven gasped and slipped off the bed and fell to her knees, Wes grabbed her and steadied the old woman so she would not fall over and harm herself. The larger raven pressed himself against the egg and then lifted himself up into the air and flew over to the open window and landed on the sill. The baby raven lifted his head and what came from him was a sound that Wes had heard before, loud and full of longing, grief, pain; it was a sound that had left Jack frozen and staring up at the trees in wonder and tears in his eyes when they had been in the mountains. The screech was loud and long, and even Thor turned his head, searching for something through the fog that was holding him. The baby raven became silent and turned away and leaped out the open window and beat his small wings for the sky. Mother Raven wept and shook and Wes became concerned for the old woman’s heart. Mother Raven collapsed into Wes’s arms. *** Jack landed the Needle ship on the south side of White Mountain and climbed out to meet the Fourth Year Cadet that was leading the defense. Torin followed on shaky legs and looked like he wanted to kiss the ground. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad, my Lord,” said Jack. “Stop with the ‘my Lord’ stuff already,” said Torin. “You heard the transmission; Duke and the Fourth Years saved Colt.” “Doesn’t change anything, you’re still a Lord now,” said Jack. “Hey there guys, good to see you made it past their Battle Darts,” said the Fourth Year Cadet defense leader walking up to Torin. “I’m Cadet Mason, and you would be our newest Lord Gunslinger.” “Colt isn’t dead, I’m not a Lord,” insisted Torin. “Yea, takes some getting used to,” said Mason. A girl ran up to Jack and hugged him, “I’m so glad you’re alright, I’ve been so worried.” “My Lady,” said Jack smiling shyly. “Who’s this?” asked Torin grinning. “This is Lady Ceri, the Gunslinger that gave me water during my Longest Walk when I passed Camp 25,” replied Jack. “Oh yea, I remember now,” said Torin. Ceri was about to say something but her face drained of color and she looked up at the sky. Torin looked up and saw nothing and then at Jack, his face was as white as a ghost and he was visibly shaking. Torin looked back and forth at the two Daraians, both were shaking now. “What’s wrong,” asked Mason and Torin at the same time. “Can’t you hear it,” whispered Jack. Ceri grabbed the Com-radio from Mason and started screaming into it, “Cease Fire! Cease Fire!” “Ceri, what are you doing,” Mason and Torin were both confused. “What is it, what do you hear?” Ceri and Jack grabbed each other and fell to their knees weeping. *** “Take us through the debris field on the other side of that large piece,” ordered Colt. “We can hit them on the flank.” The Fourth Year pilot put his hand on the thruster and then removed it and stood up and walked over to the Com-station. “All ships cease fire,” yelled the Daraian pilot from Tures’s team. “Teal, what the ancestors are you doing?” shouted Tures. “Can’t you hear it?” tears were flowing down his face. *** Fox analyzed the Battle Screen and smiled, he knew Colt would try to come up on the flank. Fox had seen the six Battleships and was only startled for a moment. Those were his Battleships, the very Battleships he had escaped the Imperial Palace two-hundred years earlier. “Prepare to fire a second barrage,” ordered Fox. “This ends now.” “Yes Sir,” said the Weapons Officer. “Coming into range now. “When you are rea…” Fox broke off in mid-sentence as the Carrier lurched violently to the side and the target lock was lost. “Were we hit?” yelled Fox. “Battle damage report.” Three Daraians were onboard the Carrier—the pilot, the engineer advisor, and a squadron Commander. Fox didn’t really have a problem having Daraians on his crew; they knew flight operations better than anyone. The Daraian Pilot stood and walked over to where Captain Fox was standing, tears were flowing down the Daraian’s face. Fox stared at him for a long moment and realized what was wrong; there was only thing that could affect a Daraian like this. “Are you certain?” asked Fox. “Can’t you hear it?” said the pilot. Fox ran over to the Com-Officer and pushed him aside, “All ships cease fire - cease fire, ground Commanders, cease fire, all forces pull back now.” *** Tanner didn’t know what was wrong with Tyler; his deputy had thrown down his weapon and was staring up at the sky weeping. The Kitsune forces had been moments from over-running them when Tyler had just stopped fighting, and now the Kitsune were pulling back. “What the sand blazes is happening?” asked Rocco, the old gritty miner in charge of the Sand Crawlers. “I have no idea,” said Tanner. “Is the war over?” *** The High Priestess was kneeling in her garden tending some black roses when she heard it. She dropped the pruning sheers and stared up at the clear Darai sky. The sounds of the city, vehicles, and people—all the normal sounds of a city, came to a halt, not just in Raven City, but all across the planet. Then high above in the Temple rafters the male Raven students lifted their voices up and a song so powerful rang out that the Daraians below in the streets joined the song to accompany what every Daraian in the galaxy was hearing. The females lifted their voices next and the High Priestess added hers to the song. Daraians across the planet wept and added their voices to the song. Off-worlders became frightened and barricaded themselves in buildings, or just ran in fear. Off-worlder Ships at the Spaceports around the planet lifted off without clearance to flee a planet gone mad. The song continued for nearly a week. “The Eagle is here.” *** Judge Cietan found Wes still holding Mother Raven, “Is she ill?” “No,” said Wes. “I don’t think so, it’s something else. “Can she travel?” asked the Judge. “I don’t know yet, why?” asked Wes. “We have to go to Cyness Minor,” explained the Judge. “Myself and Mother Raven have been asked to mediate a cease fire and peace treaty there.” “Cease fire?” asked Wes. “You’ve been somewhat isolated here,” said the Judge. “There is a war between the Kitsune and the Gunslingers, the Kitsune invaded.” “That’s why you haven’t given me any money to buy things, like Vid-Screens,” accused Wes. “You’ve been keeping me in the dark.” “You needed to be here,” said the Judge. “I wouldn’t have broken the promise I gave you,” said Wes. “Do I get to go with you?” “Yes, I think you are a very important piece to this whole puzzle,” said the Judge. “Okay, we wait until we know if Mother can travel,” said Wes. The Judge noticed that Wes called her Mother instead of Mother Raven, but he chose not to mention it, nor mention the horrifying eyes Wes now had. The Judge had seen too many things in his long life to let something like this rattle him. He would wait and see what would happen on Cyness Minor, but he was fairly certain there would be some changes he couldn’t yet foresee.