Jonathan Quick looked up as Blade came out of the Medical bay where he'd
looked over Stargazer. He was looking a bit tired but then, they all
were after getting the base ready for the power to be turned back on.
"How is he?" Jon asked the dark-haired young man. Blade chuckled as
he sat down and leaned back against the couch in the rec-room area they'd
set up.
"He'll live. That's all I'm saying right now. Ares has some words
for him, as does The General. After that I'll do an emotional check."
"Shouldn't we give him time to recover? Jon asked. Blade sighed and
realized Jon thought of Stargazer as some kind of lost hero.
"No. Jon, do you realize he had time to call for help before he was
captured? He could have called for help; he could have prevented all
of this mess by making one call. He did not. He was arrogant
and selfish and he thought he was god in fighting the Mob. Look around
you and see the man as what he is. Not what you dream him to be…What
the Hell?"
"You God-damned bastard!"
Will and Jon heard as they ran into the Med-Bay. Will restrained Jon
from interfering though. Something told him this, whatever it was,
needed to be said.
Aurora stormed into Sickbay, marching up to the old man and backhanding him
viciously across the face.
His head snapped around at the force of her blow and his lip split, spattering
blood across the pristine white sheets.
"Who… Carolyn… no, Aurora? What the hell are you doing here?"
She fumed, nostrils flaring wide. "What am I doing here? What
am I doing here? What are YOU doing here? Don't you have a FAMILY
on earth to protect? Oh, wait, my mistake. No, you don't."
He blinked, swiping at his bleeding lip with the back of one hand.
"Aurora, what are you talking about? I came up here to protect you."
"Oh, fat lot of good that did. Mon*Star invaded, did you know?
He went looking for a way to punish you, did you know that? He FOUND
us, how about that one? He killed them, you bastard! He found
my mother, and he found my sister. Do you know what I had to watch?
Do you know how long I had to sit there, listening, not daring to move for
fear they'd find me, that I'd be next. Mon*Star's a sick bastard; it
took him hours to get around to killing them. And I swore, with ever
minute, every second that passed, that I'd find you and make you pay!"
Stargazer sputtered in astonishment. "Me?! What did I-"
"You left them!" she screamed. Her rising volume had attracted attention,
but so far, no one had moved to cut off her rant. "You left us!
We were all alone when he came and took them, and there was no one and nothing
to stop him, and it's all YOUR FAULT!" She tore into him tiny fists
flying, until a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her out
the door.
"That's enough," Steven's voice whispered in her ear, pulling her struggling
down the hall. "You said what you needed to say. Now it's time
to go to work."
"But he left them!" She screamed again. A new voice spoke then.
One not expected here for a while yet but apparently something had happened
to bring him.
"And he will have to live with that knowledge for the rest of his life young
one," The General spoke softly. "Cold comfort I know but it is all
I have to spare right now. In time, the ache will fade, it will never
go away but it will fade. For now, draw on that rage to fight the thing
that murdered your mother. Not the man responsible, but the one who
actually, physically killed her."
"Is that what you do?" she asked him caustically. The General, Darius,
knew what she meant and he nodded. "Is that how you keep fighting even
though you are tired and had no interest in this?"
"No," he replied softly. "I do the fighting and the planning and the
leading because there is no one else to do it. No one else who met
all the requirements for the position I have."
"What requirements?" Aurora demanded. Darius smiled softly as he spoke.
"I serve Ares, not a requirement but a plus, I know my lord and I know how
he responds to things. I have the age and the experience, a definite
requirement. And, I have no interest in power. Bonus. I
have no interest in the power that I could have after this war is over.
And it Will End Aurora. It will end and we will win. That is
the only comfort I can give you about your family's suffering. That
and it was their deaths that caused Death to come and get me. To return
me to the service of War."
"The service of War?" Aurora asked. Darius nodded softly as he led
her to an office that was restored mostly.
"I was not a General before this. I hadn't been for more than 2000
years less a few forays in WWII. The Last time I was actively called
General, I torched Rome for killing my beloved. I was---Less than pleased."
"You came back to the service of War for what he did to my family?" Aurora
asked. Darius nodded.
"Before that, he had not made the mistake of making it personal. Once
he did, Ares, who was awakened by their deaths, called on me. I am
the Last of his War Lords. My children, Blade, Vicious, Mercenary,
Gryphon, Pain and Fear are my Lieutenants of War. We all follow Ares
and the Old Ways. At least Ares answers when people cry out his name
for Justice."
"I saw that. He cares even though the world forgot him. He still
cared. You fight for him because there is no one else. That I
understand. But I can't forgive Stargazer. I just can't."
"I am not asking you too. I don't know if I can forgive him either.
I did not wish this position again. I never wanted to be responsible for
so many lives again. But I am because I have to be. That does
not make me happy with the person responsible for it, you know."
"How do you not kill him?" Aurora asked. Darius sighed then and lightly
touched her hand in a comforting way.
"I simply think of other things. Like the fact that he will have to
live with the mess he caused. He will have to live with all the deaths.
All the pain and fear and destruction on Earth. That will be his cross
to bear. My cross to bear is that I could not save everyone.
Nor can Ares. As a matter of fact, thanks to the mess on Earth, the
population will have to be culled considerably so the human race survives.
Immortals and vampires can live on things other than crops of food.
People cannot."
"It isn't your fault though," Aurora said to him. "And it isn't Ares'
fault either. You didn't destroy the crops and food stuffs on Earth."
"And you did not do anything wrong in surviving. You lived, child.
Just as the humans in my army did. You fight and you live. And
that is the greatest wisdom I can give you dear child. Live All You
Can. In that, you will find contentment. Live your way and live
happy. That is the way to build a life. Even if it is in the
rings for money."
After saying that, Darius left the office to go check on the progress in
getting Hawk Haven up and running again. He knew they had shields and
weapons and Billy had gotten a basic system for spying on the bad guys up.
He just wanted to see it. He trusted them but after so long of personally
having to oversee everything because of who he was, he went to see for himself.
He left Aurora too think on what he said. He hoped she wouldn't kill
the old man. Living with his guilt would be the best punishment for
him. The best atonement. He looked back at Aurora in the room
and hoped she got the message. "Live All You Can."
To be continued...
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