Heaven's Nova

Almeria sighed, leaning her head against his chest and closing her eyes. "I love you too. I love you more then I would have thought possible and I want to be worthy of your love as well." Opening her eyes she glanced up at him. "I guess sometimes I'm just not sure. Not about us!" Oh how she wished she could speak clearly, she did not want there to be missunderstandings after all.

With a slow, but determined pace, she brought her hand to his face and then touched his cheek with just the back of one finger. "I want there to be a future with us someday too. I want very much to live life with you. I also want you happy, my dearest wish is that you never want again." Letting her hand fall away she leaned upon his chest once more and closed her eyes.

Not saying anything for several moments it could have appeared she was sleeping, though she was not. "I just wish I could be sure I was doing right, that my actions are not against Gohdem's desire. Would I even know if I'd done something wrong?" Tears welled up under her lids. "Surely if I was doing what I was suppose to, Namir couldn't have... Wouldn't have done so much evil as he's done."
 
"Almeria! You are doing what is right. You cannot expect to take on the world alone. Namir's actions are not your fault! If you were doing wrong, Gohdem would find a way to let you know. I know you've been through so much. I know you've lost so many. I wish I could fix it, so that it had never happened. I know it hurts and that you want to change it all, but you have to have faith that you are where you need to be." He found his words lacking, found his head spinning with worry.

"You are important. So much so that Namir seeks to control you. You needed to be where he could not. I do not believe he holds any control over you now. You are right where you need to be, poised to be one of Gohdem's blades. You cannot fight that, for if you do, you will not be able to act. You are an instrument, blessed to be so, as am I. It sounds cold, but we were crafted with love, a matched set. We need to move together. I'm not saying this out of vanity. It is a fact. Almeria, trust me, please. You are the only one who could have lifted my scars." His voice was thick with emotion, and the priest tightened his arms around her. "We are where we are meant to be. We are."
 
In the end Almeria had no words for her priest. She wanted to believe him, but her own doubts were playing full court in her head and so she hugged Tra. The hug was tight and it was with some surpise to herself that she started crying. It had been some time since she had cried in his arms, and while before it had been the cry of loss for so many, for her life seeming to be in ruins, now Almeria cried in frustration, and confusion and fear. She also cried for Tra, who she lost and regained, for she had to be there for him that week after his return, but now she could be weak, even if it was for a small while.

A short time passed and Almeria pushed herself off Tra's lap. "I... I still have work that I need to do," she told him, looking down more at her feet then anything else. She wasn't sure she felt any better for crying and just wanted the assorted mess of the conversation gone. "You're still recovering too, so you need your rest."
 
He sighed, nodding. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was sleep while she was upset. Standing, he kissed her forehead and prepared to go out.

"I'm going to go for a walk," he said, nuzzling her hair in passing. "I'll be back. I don't think I can sleep now, anyway." He strapped his gunbelt on, a precaution the other captains had insisted he take anytime he went out, and strode out the door. It wasn't that he was running away from Almeria so much as giving her room. He felt he'd hurt her somehow and the turmoil within him was not helping matters. He walked for a long while, moving aimlessly through the corridors. He didn't like this. It was the closest thing to a fight they'd had, and it hurt. The worst part was, he couldn't help her.

He found himself standing next to a viewport, looking out. It would be a long night without Almeria to talk to, yet he didn't wish to burden her. He did, however, want to do something to cheer her up. Thus, when he returned, it was carrying a bouquet of orchids, along with a bottle of wine and a basket of food.
 
Almeria felt guilty. Somewhere along the way of trying to make sure Tra was alright she had made him uncomfortable, having pretty much fallen apart. She sighed, hoping that the walk would do him more good then she had and went to the living room to work. The nessisary work was actually engrossing, and being in the livingroom put her in close proximity to the holy branch, and it's radiant bliss it exubed. It did not change her mood, but some of the raw edges were cleared away, as did not dwelling on her self inflicted problems.

By the time Tra had returned, Almeria had out aside her hand computer, all that was left to do was mostly work that was not urgent, and not something she herself nessisarily needed to do. It gave he a chance to feel foolish, but without the guilt she was first suffering. She wanted to curl up beside Tra and just be, but of course he wasn't there and she was unsure what she wanted to do.

It had not been much time into her contemplation of being self sufficient, she usually was after all, when the door opened and Tra walked in. Standing up, glad for him to be home, she noticed everything in his arms. "For me? I'm pretty sure I don't deserve this right now," she smiled regardless.
 
"You deserve so much more," he said, handing her the flowers. "I'm sorry I couldn't find the words you needed to hear. I only hope that a moment just for us will help." He vanished into the bedroom for a moment, returning with a clean blanket that he spread on the floor. Its corners rode up on the sides of couch and table, but there was room enough for most of the blanket. He opened the basket, setting out food and glasses and pouring wine. The final thing from the basket was set in the middle of the blanket, between the wine glasses: a small, black velvet covered box.

He looked up to her, reaching a hand to draw her down beside him.

"Without you, I would be nothing. Without you, I would be tormented and alone. You save me, make my life complete." He opened the box, taking out the shimmering ring from within. The braided silver and gold band twisted into an elegant setting that held a deep blue stone with a star upon it, the natural rays arching over the face of the gem. Surrounding this stone were several white faceted stones. Taking her hand, he slid the ring onto her finger. "A promise. We will return after all this business with Namir is finished. And we shall be wed."
 
"I am sorry I went off at that. All my doubts... I didn't want to show them to you. I wanted to be strong for you, but I can't be strong if I try to ignore my weaknesses. I just wish I hadn't done it in that fashion." There was a shyness about her admission as she half hid her face with the bouquet. "A little bit of time for us to be us would be nice."

As Tra began setting up for their small picnic, Almaria was reminded of a time not all that long ago when they had sat upon the floor and enjoyed their meal together. They had been both slightly nervous around each other she now realized, for the attraction to each other had started very quickly upon their meeting.

Now here they were, sitting on the floor again. This time as comfortable as of they had spent their whole life together, instead of planning to do so. With Tra taking her hand she found herself surprised as he took the ring from the box. He had of course already proposed, and she had excepted, but this was a bit more formal and in a way more assertive. They had promised to be part of each other's life, now they were setting a time when they could have all those around them to see them as one.

Almeria looked down at her hand and smiled, then looked up at Tra. "I can not wait for the day." Being sure she knew where the wine glasses were before she moved, Almeria leaned over, putting both hands on Tra's face, and kissed him. "I love you so very very much."
 
***
Despite all that had happened, Tra'eve Deleshanda found himself becoming increasingly nervous as they approached the prison planet's system. The nerves were not so much about his sister anymore but about the incredible feat of navigation he was about to perform. Not only was he flying their own ship into a rather dense little system at incredible speeds, he was also going to be slaving the other ships to his controls and taking all three in.

He knelt in prayer in his quarters, asking for Gohdem's guidance. It was subtle now, but oh so often with him. He felt as though there was a hand resting almost imperceptibly on his shoulder and pointing him in the right direction. It wasn't always there, but when it was, he listened. This time, the message was clear. It was time.

He look his seat at the console, nodding to Almeria. They were just beyond the system's Oort cloud, ready to approach. The other ships checked in, sending over the codes Tra'eve would need to bring them in. He fed them to the console, waited a moment, and overrode the five warnings that immediately flashed orange and red on his screen.

"We're ready, Captain." At her nod, he gave a short prayer. Hopping this short a distance was always best avoided. Into a system this densely packed, doubly so. And here they were, jumping to a point within the outermost wisps of a planet's atmosphere. It could kill them all if he miscalculated or if one of the ships wasn't suitably reinforced. But it was now or never. They had to try.

He pushed the controls forward, and the viewscreens switched to tactical mode, blocking out much of the view outside. The view was shortlived, however, for there they were already. Warnings lit up over the Saint as she bounced like a pebble. They'd come in about twenty yards too low! Cursing, the helmsman corrected, angling them downward. Tra quickly checked that the other ships had made it. Thankfully, they'd come in at decent angles and were safe. He breathed a sigh of relieve and shot the helmsman a nervous grin before standing.
 
Most commanders in the course of their career would not take as many risks as Almeria had in her short time commanding the Saint, but they lived in interesting times and as such Almeria was doing many many things beyond the norm. Until Tra had come to the bridge, she had been mentally pacing. Dose couldn't really pace infront of her crew, she understood the importance of the image of the commander thanks to Rebecca. What they were about to do was nerve wracking, but she couldn't show her crew she was as nervous as they were, or else their confidence might be undermined. Thus Almeria was repeating old mantras she learned as a child in her mind. It kept her from wanting to pace or fidget, despite oh so wanting to.

With a slight smile and a nod, she gave Tra permission to go ahead. She trusted Tra completely, but what they were doing was still dangerous, things could go wrong despite their best efforts, but despite the risk, this was the best way to get to the prison planet and back out with minimal loss of life. Every life preserved was a blessing, be it theirs or their enemies, who were for the most part mislead.

Coming out of the jump, Almeria's eyes were on the icy planet. Her gunners had instructions if they encountered anything, but their job was not to fight, theirs was to go to the surface planet, so the commander of the Saint did not give any thought to the planetary defense platforms, she had to trust her fellow pirates to do their job to make sure no attackers got to them.

"Take us down to the surface," now she hoped their information was accurate about the transport station. The surface of the planetary moon was completely inhospitable to human life. In fact the conditions made it difficult for any sensitive equipment, hence why the prison was below the ice. People could not easily get in, or out, but it also meant the guard detail was light.

Looking at her consul, Almeria noted the transport station where their information had pointed its location. "Now let's hope we can get down their as easily as or information indicates," she muttered to no one in particular. Their decent was rocky because of thick atmospher, and it was eerily how slow it felt, but finally they were on the surface, landing with less rocking then the decent. Almeria stood, it was time to rescue the prisoners.
 
The battle was fierce, but over quickly. Tra'eve was amazed by the ease of the assault. He only then realized that the planet was relying on the surface and orbital platforms to keep it safe and thus guards were minimal. Further thought went to the fact that these troops were very likely rotated out frequently to keep the atmosphere of the place from leading to depression or other illness of the mind. Because of the rapidity and ferocity of the pirate onslaught, Tra was in the prison proper before he knew it.

Prisoners, some obviously new, some long term cell occupants, stood with varying degrees of strength as the pirates busted open the electronic locks with tiny pulse boxes and freed the occupants. Tra crinkled his nose. The smell was terrible; it was clear these prisoners had not been treated well at all, and his heart lurched. He had to find her, to save her. But he couldn't see her in the crush of suddenly moving, confused prisoners. Some, recognizing the cobbled together uniforms of pirates, were trying to fight back with whatever they had, mostly bare hands and their own clothes. The pirates, for their part, were showing admirable restraint and refusing to return combat.

Tra sighed, then spoke, voice booming over the din.

"We are here to rescue you. To bring you back to a life of freedom or return you to where you wish. You are not prisoners, not ours nor anyone else's. Your freedom, your chance is here. You will be well treated. If you come with us, we will get you out of here. But you must be calm and listen. It is dangerous, some guards are still conscious. Thus, you will be guarded on all sides by my men. Please, keep those weakest near the center of the group so that no one falls behind."

A skinny hand reached up, grasping him by the wrist. He looked down, the dirt stained, painfully thin limb followed to its source. He almost didn't recognize her, through sunken cheeks and stringy hair, but he could not have forgotten her eyes, her smile no matter how weak it was.

"You are here! I knew you would come!"
 
There were so many. More the she had believed would be here. Even with them taking the prison offical's ships, it was going to be tight getting all the prisoners off the planet. But they would. They would get every last one of them off this hellhole. It took two rounds of transports to get everyone out of the underice prison complex and onto the surface where the ships were waiting. There was a constant din of worry as the prisoners were being divided out and Almeria kept thinking calming thoughts. Believing that her own calmness could be contagious.

Responsibility for ese people made Almeria wait outside her own ship. She would not board until everyone else had. As she waited, and watched, and prayed for the well being of all, Tra came by and she looked up at him. "Once we are out of the system I want you to give up navigation control. You're going to be more important as a healer I believe," she gave him a quick adoring smile, then went back to business.

Prisoners safely aboard ships they took off together, out of the heavy atmospear and back into space. The space platforms were not as bad of a problem as when they first entered the system, and with their escape from the planet's pull they jumped out of normal space. Once they reached the pirate base Almeria knew it would be more meetings. Until then she had a small, very small, respite.
 
He didn't let Kari out of his sight. Even as he tended to the others, he kept her by his side. She was quiet, and that scared him. What was worse was the fact that he desperately wanted to see her eat and yet knew she couldn't have anything at all solid yet. Instead of being able to give her a feast, he let her have the occasional sip of nutrient supplement. He expected her to resist and demand real food. That she didn't, that she quietly did as she was told, was heartbreaking to Tra. Still, it might just be that she was exhausted.

Once everyone was patched up, he took his sister to his and Almeria's quarters. She resisted sleep, but begged the use of the shower, so he let her. The time she was away from him, with a simple door between them, was nerve wracking. As little sense as it made, he felt she was going to vanish. He knew it was impossible, but the constant fear that someone would take his sister from him again was so overwhelming that he nearly forgot to find her a robe and clothes. Nothing was going to fit her. Almeria's clothes would be too short and too loose for the emaciated frame, but they would work for now.

As she showered, he paced, he waited. For Kari, for Almeria, for the ship to stand down from alert.
 
There was no indication that the Church had a track on them and after too much time in her chair, Almeria stood. She made sure everyone knew their shift rotation on the Saint until they reached base, assuming everything went well. She wanted to rest, but it was her ship, and she knew she needed to at least make her rounds and say hello at the very least to the prisoners. For the most part they were quiet, shell shocked Almeria assumed. Upon her inquires of anyone needing anything she was pleased to know her crew had done an excellent job of doing their best to seeing to it everyone had water, and blankets and a cot if they wished. She thought she saw surprise on the face of a few when she mentioned trying to get as many quarters as possible once they got to base. None seemed to mind that they might have to double or triple bunk for a time until people chose their next destination.

Feeling that moral was good on her ship, both the former prisoners, and her own crew, Almeria headed into her quarters. She was surprised to see Tra look so pensive. "Is everything alright love?" she asked as she walked toward him, letting down her hair. It felt good to let it down after all they'd done this day.
 
He shook his head, about to speak, but just then the water cut off and sounds of motion in the bathing chamber caused him to remain quiet. After a few seconds, he went to Almeria and guided her to the hall, whispering softly. He looked concerned, sounded worse.

"She's barely speaking. She's not at all... I knew she would change, but she is so different." He spared no affection to his beloved, instead walking back inside, hand still on her arm.

"Kari," he called, "are you alright in there?" No response, not for a long moment. Then, the door slid open and Kari stepped out, much cleaner. Her hair was still knotted and tangled. It seemed she hadn't been able to work through the worst of the snarls. Almeria's clothes did not fit, and the girl was so skinny. Tra mused that the dirt was hiding just how emaciated she looked. And some of the dirt, or what he had assumed was dirt, remained. Bruises. Bruises on arms and wrists and face from Gohdem knew what. As much as he wanted to go to her, he also did not wish to frighten her.

"Kari, this is Almeria. She's my beloved. She'll be helping me to make sure you are happy again soon."
 
Tra's concern was hard for Almeria to see, especially knowing there was nothing to be done to eleivate it in the short term. The only thing they could do was hope that time would heal the wounds that had been inflicted to Kari's psyche. Hers and nearly all the freed prisoners. Almeria had wished she had a chance to try to give Tra some comfort, but he quickly lead them back not the room and called out to his sister.

The woman that exited her bathroom was tall and thin. The thinness did not surprise Almeria, for she had seen how many of the ling time prisoners looked. Malnourished was but a start. The family resemblance was there, and Almeria would have known this woman as kin to Tra without any prompting. She seemed to Almeria reserved and she hoped that the woman had not been broken. If she was skittish and needed to relearn to being down her barriers, that was all fine and good, but if all these years finally broke her, Almeria knew Tra might easily forever blamed himself.

Stealing a glance at Tra, Almeria smiled at Kari. "I'm so glad to finally meet you. Your brother speaks of you often and fondly." She hoped her genuine affection would let this woman feel at easy and possibly even trust her. Almeria realized she wanted this woman's approval. The person Tra looked up to more then anyone else.
 
Tra watched as his once vivacious sister simply stood, staring at the woman smiling at her. Kari looked to Tra, as if for approval. Despite the pain this caused him, he forced a gentle smile and nodded to Kari.

"Almeria won't harm you, I promise." Carefully, he rested a hand upon Kari's shoulder, guiding her forward a step. But Kari refused, spinning away and hiding behind her brother. She was so changed! He sighed and turned, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close. It was then that the frightened girl began to cry softly, waving an arm wildly in Almeria's direction. The soft glow of holy magic sparked near her fingertips but refused to form, refused to allow the girl to identify the stranger as friend or foe. This only caused more sobbing, and Kari fell to her knees, clinging to Tra's leg like a frightened child.

"Kari. Kari, watch." He reached out for Almeria's hand. Counting on the girl's simultaneous fear of the situation and trust of him to keep Kari glued to his leg, he drew Almeria near, giving her a gentle kiss. Kari's grip slackened slightly, and Tra handed Almeria down to her level. "Almeria is the woman I love, Kari. She's to be part of our family. You can trust family."
 
What unfolded was simply heartbreaking. Almeria couldn't imagine what had transpired to caused the woman to be so completely afraid. How many others among the rescued would be like this. As Almeria watched the woman cowar and cry, Almeria felt her anger rise. Not at Kari, but for her. Her and all the others. Namir had much to pay for.

If Almeria could she would have wanted to comfort Tra then and there, but she could not, and in fact by helping Kari she knew Tra would be more comforted. The brief kiss could only tell him a fraction of how she felt for him, though even that was meant for Kari right now. Almeria knew that for a time Tra's world would revolve around his sister, and she understood and excepted that.

Down at Kari's level, Almeria looked at her softly. "I'd very much like to be part of your family. I haven't any of my own." She then offered her hand to Kari, in friendship and love. She tried to project all the love, exceptince and peace she wanted Kari to feel. For others that would have been a natural acto of compassion. Almeria was compassionate, but she was also blessed.
 
Kari seemed to hesitate, her scrawny hand reaching out slowly to grasp Almeria's palm. Once she had ahold of the girl, she hung on as though for dear life. She was surprisingly strong, clutching tightly when others would not have been able. She looked up at Almeria, smiling for the first time since she'd been brought onboard.

"You are the girl, the one it was foretold would guide my brother and walk with him. I have waited years to meet you. You are blessed of Gohdem!" She tugged Almeria closer, kissing her on the forehead with cracked, chapped lips before wrapping her arms around the other and hugging with all her might.

Tra'eve blinked, looking from his sister to Almeria and back again. He knelt and was almost immediately brought into the hug. For a moment, the haunted look was gone from Kari's eyes, but soon, it returned. She let go of the couple, standing and backing up. She tilted dangerously before righting herself.

"Don't let them have me again. You shouldn't have come for me, but I am glad you did. You can't let them take me again, no matter what. I can't go back there! I- I can't! It... they!" She sunk to the ground, looping her arms around her knees and drawing them to her chest. "You have no idea what they did to.... they called us heretics, Tra! They said we were a blight..."
 
Almeria was a bit surprised by the words, though a tiny part of her mind knew she shouldn't be. This was Tra's sister. She was a priestess and it would not be unexpected for her to have visions much like he had. At least Almeria assumed it was visions that Kari was speaking of.

It was people like Kari that the Church needed. When she smiled, and when she hugged Almeria, she remembered what true priests were like. Not that Tra or Ian or the others she met being the pirates were not priestly in their own right, but many of them had to be pirates first and priest second, even if they wished that wasn't the case. Kari on the other hand had walked a more painful path, but still within her she held the holiness within her.

Kari's word only affirmed Almeria's desire to protect this woman from any more suffering. The physical torment aside, to tell someone who had strong faith that they were actually doing it wrong, trying to convince them of this. It was a sin. There was nothing worse then that she could think of. "Kari, I promise you. None of you, not a one, will ever have to go through that again. I promise to fight for the light within you," Almeria said with a hand over her chest. "I'm sure that you and Tra have much catching up to do. Please be comfortable here until we reach the base."
 
The next several hours were hard on the three of them. While Tra worked to heal Kari, Kari explained of how she had studied the prophecies that told of Tra and Almeria and how she'd known for some time that her brother was special and would find an equally special person to help him walk his path. For their part, Tra and Almeria tried to keep Kari talking, sipping water and supplements, and moving. She complained often that she wanted to rest, but Tra wanted her to go through an entire physical and that included walking for a time.

Eventually, Kari slept, at first in their bed but then moving to the floor when she complained that the bed was far too soft to be tolerable. Tra actually smiled then. She may have been broken and hurt, but some of the old Kari was shining through the darkness. Still, there were setbacks. Strong as Kari had managed to remain, her immune system had been hampered by a number of diseases that Tra had to eradicate from her body. He treated the rest of the prisoners, as well, sending messages that the other ships should do the same. Thankfully, the illnesses were quickly contained. Unfortunately some of the patients had mild reactions to the treatments. Kari was one and spent about an hour curled up in the bathroom, head pressed to the side of the toilet even though she had nothing to vomit up.

But night came, things calmed, and the three slept. Tra was prepared for the nightmares that Kari had, and he sat up with her most of the night, playing old games their aunt had taught them when they were young. By the time the room's main light was warming up for morning, Tra'd reminded Kari just how well she could beat him and she was starting to get her skill at cards back.
 
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