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Episode 101: On Heroes' Hill
Dara shook Raymond Talan's hand. "I have to go," she said. "Constance is still out there." She started up her scout ship's boarding ramp.
"And Masterson?" asked Raymond.
Dara stopped and turned around. "Don't – don't tell him I'm leaving again." She shouldered her pack. "He… has enough on his mind. When they hear of Desslok's… fate," she swallowed hard at the thought of her brother's passing, "the people will accept Masterson as their Leader, I'm sure. Right now, Admiral Dietz is holding everything together." She glanced around Adiel's cramped hangar then whispered, "They will say I'm the lost princess…"
Raymond nodded. "You certainly bear a striking resemblance to her." He looked her in the eye and asked, Are you Lady Daratina of Gamilon?"
Dara bit her lip and looked at the ground. "I… am – I was… once."
"I understand," said Raymond. "It is a lot to take in."
"I had months to think about it – to accept it – but I couldn't. The journey to the Bridge on board Adiel only made me think more about my daughter. I felt so guilty – for leaving her alone for so long – for leaving Gamilon again – for leaving my people now…"
"Go," Raymond said. "Constance has been missing long enough. A blood bond is not something easily shaken off – nor should it be. Gamilon will go on without you – even in this dark day. I will stand with my son, and together we will do whatever we can for our people." He gave Dara a nod and sad smile before heading to the observation area.
"Until we meet again," Dara whispered as he walked away.
Raymond gave her a casual salute before he stepped out of the main hangar.
Dara sighed and closed the ramp, then stowed her pack and settled into the cockpit. She stared at the instruments for some time, numb. The thought of finding her daughter washed over her again and tears welled up in her eyes. "Neshamah sheli…" she managed. "I will find you – even if I have to wander the whole universe."
She wiped away her tears and set course for a world she was familiar with. Perhaps there she might be able to find something to aid in her search.
The plane revved to life and she waited in tense silence as the ATC cleared her for takeoff. When the "go" signal came, she triggered the auto-launch sequence.
Outside, the hangar slipped out of view, replaced by a familiar star-field. She sucked in a deep breath, pointed her ship in the right direction and set out for her first port of call.
Masterson sat in the dark. He hadn't eaten in days, but he'd long since stopped feeling the gnawing in his gut. Six weeks ago, they'd left Gehenna's Bridge. He could still hear the shattered pieces of Imperator pelting Hadar's hull.
Seeing his father alive and well soothed some of the burning loss aching in his soul, but not enough to keep him from mourning.
He stared out into the stars, listless.
"You said You would take care of the rest," he asserted. Only his own reflection stared back at him. Masterson hung his head, hands folded. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. "We saved almost all of them…" he whispered. "Why couldn't You have saved him?" Bitter tears streaked down his face again. "Just him, Adonai – was that so much to ask?"
"Shaddai will do as he wills, son of the promise," came the quiet voice.
Masterson's eyes shot to the pane three feet in front of him, but he saw no other face in it.
"Arach?" he called into the darkness.
Silence answered him.
He sank down into his seat again, thinking he was imagining things.
"Nothing is impossible with Adonai," the whisper came again.
Masterson jerked around this time, but the room was still empty. As he stared into his dimly lit quarters he heard more.
"' Why sayest thou, O Yacob, and speakest, O Yisrael, My way is hid from Adonai, and my judgment is passed over from Him?
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that Elohim Olam Adonai* fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:
But they that wait upon Adonai shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.' Be not afraid, for Yahweh Adonai is with thee, though His steps take thee through Sedom's Gate*, He will surely bring you out again."
"What do you mean?" Masterson demanded of the unseen one.
"You will know when the time comes," came the quiet answer.
Masterson held his face in his hands, trying to make sense of what he'd just heard. He got up and headed for his bed. Sleep was not so good a companion as of late, but he thought to give rest one more chance.
The door hissed open to him and he stepped into the dark room. With a wave of his hand he turned on the bedside lamp. His eyes blurred in the light and he squinted at his feet as he pried off his boots. He sank down onto the bed, weary.
With a sigh he closed his eyes and leaned forward, hands clasped.
A soft blip caught his ear; he glanced over at the bedside table.
"What…?" he rubbed his eyes and picked up the object laying in the shadow of the lamp. It was old – one of the inventions he'd taken along during his trek into the wilderness with Desslok many years ago. He fingered the tiny thing, rubbing the dust off of it. Likely it had lain here since the beginning of Hadar's exile over a year ago.
As he held the device, it blipped again, startling him, then he remembered what it was – a heart monitor. He'd linked it up with several people over the years, just to keep an eye on them. He couldn't remember who the last link was.
"Must have been David – maybe Frakken," he muttered.
Masterson stared hard at it for a long time. With each blip, he remembered another moment during his wilderness journey with Desslok.
He sat listening to the curious noise for over an hour, seeing in his mind's eye again all the adventures he'd shared with his most stubborn friend.
One in particular stood out.
Years ago, the night after Desslok was taken by the Malha, Masterson had sat by the campfire, praying for the Leader's return. He hadn't had any power to change the situation, but he'd had the ability to talk with One who did. He remembered staring up at Kochav-Melek – the King's Star – and having that knowing wash over him – the assurance that Adonai would work, whether Desslok returned to them that night or not.
Masterson turned the device off, set it back in its place and lay down. As soon as he closed his eyes, he fell asleep.
Rain beat down on the palace's crystal shell, cascading down the walls in sheets. In her quarters, Starsha stared at Adrianna in shock.
"You – you're sure…?" Starsha's eyes welled up with tears. "Theron must be mistaken."
"I am sorry, mistress," Adrianna rustled sadly and drops of moisture dripped from one leaf. "I know you… grieve his loss."
Hail thundered against the window. Streaks of lightning lit up the sky, drawing Starsha's eyes outside. Through the falling water she could see the Sea of Iscandar as it raged. Frothy waves bit at the docks, trying to take them apart in their fury. Small vessels detached from their moorings and drifted off into the tempest.
"Was… Masterson with him when he…" Starsha swallowed hard, pushing back the knot of grief, "died?"
"Theron says Masterson was near, but not with him. The Leader was onboard another ship at the time," replied Adrianna. "He tried to speak with the Leader, but his efforts were met with silence."
"Desslok tried to kill the Eratites?" Starsha asked, her eyes fixed on the choppy ocean.
"He did."
"Masterson tried to stop him?"
"He did. He failed. It would seem from Theron's report that Desslok dealt his own fatal blow."
"What do you mean?" Starsha tore her eyes away from the sea. She looked up at Adrianna, hanging from the ceiling several feet away
"He fired upon the Eratite vessel, but their shield reflected the energy wave back at the Leader's ship."
"Their shield did that?" Starsha asked, horror setting in. She choked out, "But it isn't designed to do that."
"It would appear some modifications were made. Silesia and Bahn confirm this."
"This is my fault…" she whispered. "If I hadn't made those first adjustments –"
"The Eratites would be dead," Adrianna stopped her. "Do not blame yourself, mistress. You did what you could to help them make a safe journey home. Aside from that, there is nothing else you could have done."
"I could have warned them – sent word through Bahn and Silesia that… he… waited for them somewhere on the path back to Erats. I could have –"
"Starsha."
The young queen stopped.
"You could not have known any of this. The encounter was… over six weeks ago."
The rain pounded the window harder, deafening both Starsha and Adrianna. Thick, grey clouds blocked out the sun, blanketing the room in heavy darkness.
The plant said something else to Starsha and rustled in distress, but the words were lost in the din of the storm outside and the debilitating sorrow tearing at her heart. She stepped away from Adrianna, no longer able to bear speaking.
Desslok was dead – had been for over a month and a half. How had she not known?
Raw grief cut into her soul. She left the Jeshurunian in her quarters and flew down the stairs, eyes blurring with tears, hand over her mouth to stifle her crying.
When she reached the sublevel, she collapsed on an old stone bench that overlooked the spot the Rophi-shamayim used to occupy. Letting her hand fall away from her face, she let out a heart-breaking sob.
"There was so much you could have done – could have been." She stared up at the ceiling, fixing her eyes on the spot she knew hid Gamilon. "I wish –" she sucked in a hard breath, " – I wish I could trade my life for yours. Then you could have your chance – to live." Tears streamed from her sad eyes and she cried out into the stillness, "I beg mercy, Shaddai!" She slid off the bench onto her knees and bowed her face to the ground, her tears dotting the smooth floor. "Though I know… it is too late."
"I'm – sorry – Wildstar," Captain Avatar coughed. "I would have told you not to do it if I'd known." The old man's eyes drooped as he lay back against his pillow.
"That's why we didn't tell you," Derek admitted, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the floor. "We knew there were risks, but… not like this…" Derek bit his lip. "We're only seven days from Earth now. In another three days we'll be in sight of Pluto. After that it's just a matter of calculating a few warps."
"How's Miss – Forrester?" Avatar asked, another cough punctuating his words.
Derek clenched his jaw. "She's… still in a coma. Dr. Sane can't do anything else."
"Maybe Central Hospital can do something for her," the captain replied.
Derek nodded and, still studying the floor said quietly, "Yeah… yeah maybe they can."
"Go on," Avatar shooed Derek out. "Go sit with her. I'm sure she appreciates the company – even if she can't tell you so."
Derek blinked hard. "I'll be down in sick bay," he said.
When the young man was gone, Captain Avatar sighed. "He's already lost so many people he cared about, Adam." Avatar squeezed his son's hand. "I don't want him to lose this one too."
Derek plodded down the hall. Excited men and women flooded by, chattering about how close to home they were. He could feel their joy as it coated the corridors with its bright enthusiasm. But despite everyone else's happiness, Derek couldn't bring himself to smile – not even once.
He made it to sick bay and slipped through the main treatment area back to the rooms. He ducked into Nova's just as Conroy was leaving.
"Hey," the pilot nodded. "You okay?"
Derek nodded and brushed past him.
Feria still sat beside Nova's bed. She'd started reading aloud to Nova several weeks ago and just recently started into a book Derek had never heard of, but he was sure it was written well before any of them were around.
Feria read the words off of her tablet.
"Thus far did I come laden with my sin,
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither. What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest cross! blest sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!"*
"Poetry?" Derek asked. "I thought that was supposed to be a story."
"It is," Feria replied, looking over at him. "There are poems throughout it too. That was one of the things Nova liked most about it. She always told me it was like the characters were singing instead of speaking." Feria turned off her tablet. "I guess I need to get to my shift." She stood up. "Send me – or Conroy, or anybody for that matter – a message if you… need anything." Feria slipped out.
Derek sat in the cold silence, listening to Nova's quiet breaths.
Day turned into night aboard ship and the lights dimmed, leaving only the lamp at the head of the bed illuminated. Dr. Sane peaked in a few times, but Derek barely noticed him. Eventually, he fell asleep in the chair.
Six days crawled by. Derek sat through it all in sick bay. Sometimes Feria, or others came by and sat with him, but most of the time he kept watch alone.
He'd stopped keeping track of the days when his comm buzzed. He pulled it out and read the message from Mark, "We're ready for the last jump. You want to come up here?"
"No," Derek quickly typed back.
"'K."
He held his breath, waiting for the displacement of warp to wash through him. Five minutes later he felt like he was swimming in a tub of molasses. He counted to sixty and the sensation passed.
"Dad! Dad, look!" Adam pointed out the viewport at the dusty red Earth. "We made it," he said, tearily. "You made it!" Adam felt his father squeeze his hand with what little strength he had left. He looked back at his father. Tears welled up in the old man's eyes and spilled down into his beard and onto the blanket tucked up over him.
His father pointed toward the desk anchored to the far wall.
Adam went over to it and pulled open the single drawer set into it.
"What is it, Dad?" he asked, then caught sight of an old printed picture of him, his father and his sister. He held it up. "This?"
The captain nodded. Adam took it back to his father and placed it in his trembling hands.
"I… love you, son…" Avatar managed, still staring at the picture. "And… I don't want you to miss me too much, alright…?" He let the picture droop onto the blanket as he took Adam's hand again.
"Dad…?" A knot rose in Adam's throat. "No, Dad, not yet – don't go yet," he pleaded. "Please, just a few more minutes…"
"I'm sorry, Adam," his father whispered. "Promise me you'll protect it – at all costs." Avatar barely managed to point a weak finger out the viewport toward Earth. "Promise me."
"I promise," Adam choked. "I'll watch over it – protect it – even if I have to give up my life."
Captain Avatar smiled. "It's time for you to have it now," he wheezed, glancing over at the hat sitting on the bedside table. "Take it."
Adam reluctantly took the hat and set it in his lap.
"I love you, Dad." He clasped his father's hand in both of his and waited.
"Where am I?" Nova turned a full circle, peering into the brightness surrounding her. "Who turned on all the lights?"
"You are here at the behest of the One," came a familiar voice.
"You! You're the angel from the Gate!" She whirled around, trying to catch a glimpse of him. "Where are you? Why can't I see you?"
"Shaddai has decreed that you shall not see us for now, daughter of the promise. I would not even be permitted to speak with you if it weren't for His allowance. We spoke before at His will – it is the same now. The Fallen one sought to force another's hand by taking your life."
"I'm… dead…?" Nova hugged herself.
"No," the angel replied. "Though you are very near death. You stand on the brink of Heaven's door. Do you wish to enter it?"
A brilliant portal flashed before her, more beautiful than anything she'd ever imagined. She heard voices coming from the other side. They were full of life and joy. Her heart longed to step through that glorious gate and into the world beyond. She approached the edge of the portal and reached out to touch it.
"Once you go, you can never return," the angel warned.
Nova stared into the light for a long time. "Never return…" she whispered the angel's words. As she did, the faces of her friends came to mind. Feria wouldn't begrudge her this, nor would Peter, or Homer, or any of the others… except…
She whirled away from the door.
"I can't go," she said. "There's someone who needs me to come back."
An uproarious cheer rose from the other side of the gate and Nova looked over her shoulder. "What was that?"
"They are welcoming home the soul of a faithful son of Shaddai," said the angel. "One day, they will welcome yours as well."
Nova shot up in bed, gasping for a full breath, disoriented. She pulled the oxygen mask off her face.
"Where am I?" She sucked in another breath.
"Nova…?" Derek stared at her from a chair stationed next to her bed. Dark circles bagged under his eyes. "Nova!" he exclaimed, eyes alight. He threw his arms around her. His whole body shook as he sobbed out a few words, "I thought – you were – gone."
Nova returned her friend's hug. "How long was I out?"
"Almost seven weeks," Derek pulled back and held her at arm's length. "We have to tell everyone you're awake!"
"Wait – we're almost home!" Nova exclaimed.
"We warped just outside Earth-space a minute ago," Derek replied. "Dr. Sane!" he called toward the open door. "She's awake!"
The old man waddled into the room, pushing his glasses up his nose. When he saw Nova, he gasped and took a step back. "How did – What – When –" he stuttered.
"Go tell Captain Avatar," Derek told the doctor.
Sane nodded and left, still in shock.
Nova shooed Derek out the door after Sane as she got ready to leave sick bay.
Dr. Sane knocked on the captain's cabin door. There was no answer. He knocked again, but still no one replied. On the third knock he received a muffled, "Come in."
The old man stepped inside and froze when he saw Adam leaning over his father in tears. The captain's body lay limply beneath the blanket. His eyes were closed, and on his face, he wore a look of peace.
Sadness washed over Sane as he snapped a salute to his fallen friend.
Derek burst through the elevator door, towing Nova along with him. A collective gasp rose from the bridge crew.
"You – you're awake!" Homer stood up out of his chair and rushed over to her along with Orion, Miki and Dash. Mark set the ship on auto-pilot and joined the group a second later along with Alex.
Sandor hung back, a smile on his face, arms folded over his chest. Even Eager looked glad to see Nova.
"Oh, Derek…" Nova pushed through the knot of officers and sat down in Derek's old seat at the front of the bridge. "We're really back…" she whispered, staring out at the dusty red ball below as tears of joy pooled in her eyes. She looked up at him. "Let's go home."
"Mark, set course for the planned landing area. Homer, try to contact Commander Singleton," Derek didn't move from Nova's side.
"We're getting a response," Homer announced less than ten seconds later.
"On screen."
Singleton's face warped into view on the screen above and Derek stepped back, giving the Commander a fist-to-heart salute. "Sir."
"At ease, Wildstar," Singleton said. "Where's Captain Avatar?"
Derek heard the door to the stairs hiss open and glanced back to see Dr. Sane slip in, but he stayed near the back of the bridge. The look on the old man's face needed no explanation.
"He... didn't make it, Sir…" Derek replied.
The whole bridge fell silent.
"I see…" Singleton looked away from Derek and blinked a few times. "He taught you well."
"He did," Derek replied. "We have the Roph –" he cleared his throat, "The Cosmo DNA. We're set to rendezvous at the landing site in three hours."
"That is the best news any of us could ask for." The Commander signed off.
The Argo sailed on toward Earth and drifted down through the atmosphere. She came to rest squarely in the center of the Great Plains region of North America – nearly half the world away from where she'd launched.
Sandor and his team carefully transported the Iscandari machine out of its cargo hold and down the loading ramp. They planted it several hundred feet away from the ship.
The whole science corpse gathered closely around the machine, peering at it as Sandor brought up the user interface. He tapped the startup icon and, with a little help from Homer, waded through the ignition process.
Everyone held their breath, waiting.
The eternal moment broke when, up from the crusted, dead earth around the machine sprang a little green shoot – then another.
Clouds gathered, darkening as they rolled together into a thunderstorm.
Everyone looked up at the sky through visored helmets as the first drops of rain pattered down around them.
Sandor was the first to take off his helmet.
One of the science team reached out to stop him, but Sandor set the helmet down on the ground and spread his arms out, welcoming the cooling rain.
Within a week Earth's temperatures regulated and the poles refroze. Biomes restored themselves and animals kept in confines beneath the surface were released back into the wild.
Within a month, it was like the whole disaster had never happened.
Atop a ridge miles from EDF Headquarters, stood a tall statue of the man who led the Argo fearlessly out into the unknown and back – Abraham Avatar.
Around the base of that statue rested the headstones of those who hadn't made it back, but the most unique marker bore the visage of the woman who'd died bearing a message to save Earth – Astra of Iscandar. On her headstone was emblazoned a short epitaph, "She gave us hope when we had none."
The rustle of settling wings broke the twilight silence that blanketed the Heroes' Hill Memorial.
"Arach…?" Arkan knelt beside the other angel and stared out over the restored world. "Elohim calls for us."
"I hear Him." Arach folded his hands in his lap. His wings spread out around him, relaxed. "Is it not a wonder to you to watch these people? Every time I see some of them I marvel at the working of Shaddai in this world. They gave so much over the course of a single year, and by the grace of Elohim they returned victorious."
"There will be other opportunities to meditate on such things. For now, we must go. Shaddai calls us." Arkan rose, poised to fly away.
"A great struggle is coming…" Arach stared off into the distance.
"Yes," Arkan replied. "And that is why we must return to Shaddai's Realm with haste."
Arach picked himself up and gave one last, long look out toward the distant city. Then he dove off the towering monument and caught a celestial wind that bore him far away from Earth and into the filling presence of Shaddai.
* Elohim Olam Adonai – roughly translates "Eternal Creator"
* Sedom – Sodom, a city in the Old Testament destroyed by God for its debauchery
* Passage taken from John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress