The Nest

[Lusitano]

It is the enemy who can truly teach us to practice the virtues of compassion and tolerance. Dalai Lama

Spaceport Port Canaria. Red is standing alone, in plain sight of everyone, on platform 12. It is cold … some say that there is 10ºC but the wind makes it look like way below zero. Many may think that he is inspecting the loading of a cargo on the Large_Bird, but the reality is very different. Red is watching who is leaving … for some time many small transports are taking Zoners from Gran Canaria away … they fly to the Taus, and then with new ids, they go to anywhere they want. Some already have house passports, mainly Rheinland, those who escaped wars long time ago, and know they are returning. For the rheinlanders is easy, planet Stuttgart it is in need of new workers, mainly farmers, more and more they want to get rid of foreign companies, and Synth Foods is on the top of the list, so they need to increase the production of quality food. Sara is Rheinlander, and every they she speaks with her family on Stuttgart and always the good weather and fine air, and how safe the planet is now, comes to the conversation … that makes Red feel bad, to somehow force the love of his life to stay and suffer!!

Red notices some people entering a freighter … he knows then … a small child sees Red and wave him goodbye, her mother try to make the child stop and and then notices Red, and she also timidly waves goodbye. Red smiles … and also waves goodbye to the widow and young daughter of a brave man that died fighting for Gran Canaria under Red´s command! They are not the only ones that day will leave for good Gran Canaria. Just next to the Large_Bird, on dock 11, one Democritus is waiting for Red signal. Red is just waiting for the platform to be clear for a “secret cargo” to be loaded on that Democritus. While that happens, Red inspects another load of animals, to be transported safely for a new home. Many species on Gran Canaria were brought from other planets, some accidentally, like this cargo, a kind of stoats that came long time ago from planet Cambridge, are secretly taken back and set free. Most species that can be done, because they were somehow imported, but some are more difficult, the birds to Erie was easy, but some species could be invasive and make serious damage to the new planet ecosystem.
Time pass … slowly the platform become empty, even the Large_Bird is full and is just there giving Red cover. Red looks around, and gives the signal, and a group of over 300 people slowly appears, nervously trying acting natural, start to embark on that Democritus. One man approach Red:

- Red – Coronel. *shakes his hand* - it was Hernan Cortez, formal Coronel of the Corsair Army, that fell from grace in the eyes of the empire, after the fail attempted of the Corsairs to conquer Gran Canaria, even if it wasn’t his fault, and even that he lost his only son!

- Cortez – Please don’t call me that. That was long ago … other times. Red thank you for your help. – Red with the help of the Gran Canaria Counsel, created new ids for the families of the Corsairs that want to leave Gran Canaria, but don’t want or can’t return to Crete.

- Red – You are not going with then?

- Cortez – No! It is better for then I don’t join then! * Cortez looks to a woman with a small boy, it is his daughter in law with his grandson* They will be safer this way, and I don’t want my grandson to pass what I and his father went thru.

Red looks to the boy, he has his father eyes, Red knows it because he saw then just before he killed him. Cortez knows that it was Red that killed his son, but his son also killed other sons and daughters … war has this type of things, sons and daughters kill each other and fathers and mother cry for their lost.

- Red – So we will see each other around here. *smiles*

- Cortez – Yes my friend! I hope we will. * Smiles and shakes Red’s hand, and leaves to say the final goodbye to his grandson*
About an hour later the Democritus leaves the spaceport to the Taus system, the Large_Bird already left to somewhere on Cambridge system, where will meet another transport with bretonian id to safely dock on the planet and later release that precious cargo. Red goes to bar where it is warm … it is damn cold outside.