Vesper

[Leo]

The last few days were…grueling. After he’d taken a hour plus shower and slept for what felt like days, he was leaning on a balcony overlooking one of the beautiful vistas on Planet Gran Canaria. In the clear star filled sky above, he could just make out the outline of the Nephilim he’d almost died in being worked on in orbit above.

He'd managed to land the ship after limping the it to the planet with the help of a Zoner carrier, the ZS~Aponia, but the Zoner technicians were taking it on an orbital trip, testing the vessels systems. Thankfully the automated systems on the planet were able to bring the ship in for a landing. Otherwise, he wasn't sure he'd have been able to land something of that size. The Zoners on the planet had told him that the Nephilim may well have been one of the first prototypes built 20 years or so ago and that finding it gave them some insight into previous designs. It was a time capsule into the past. Although, something that perplexed them was how he had managed to even jump the ship by himself. Ordinarily the ship would have required the efforts of an entire crew to properly fly let alone jump, a feat they weren't able to readily explain.

The Zoner administration had given him other news a few hours later. It was something he was finding very hard to come to terms with. He'd been so angry for so long at the house systems, at the militaries...at everything and everyone for the death of Jasmine, his wife. He'd wanted vengeance. He had been planning on taking them all down a peg. To make them feel what he had felt, he wanted them to suffer...but after they'd given him the news they had found buried in their archives he...

“Beautiful isn’t it?” said an older woman approaching from his left and interrupting his thoughts. “I never get tired of looking at this sky. I’ll still be here, even when the planets next ice age hits. This place is home to these old bones.”

Zylar smiled still looking above. “Mmm.” he said smiling. “It’s a hell of a sight for sure. Hard to believe that somewhere out there, that old girl,” he said pointing to the ongoing retrofit in orbit, “was just sitting out there for someone to find.”

“You might say, there was a divine hand at work.” she mused.

“If there was…I don’t think it was divine. I…think it was my father that guided me there…somehow.”

The two stood in silence watching the passing stars in the sky above.

“So they told you.” she said quietly.

“Mmm.” Zylar said again. “My dad, Kerian McAllister, was testing one of the first Nephilim’s built.” he said motioning to the sky where the ship was. “He was doing a test of the jump drive when it inadvertently jumped away to parts unknown. Neither he nor the ship were ever found.”

“Until know.” she said placing her hand on his shoulder. “You know, your grandfather found you in Stuttgart. Said you were passed out in an alley drunk as a skunk. The crazy ol’ coot had just bought a bar too. Stupid bastard gave you a job, in a bar.” she said laughing to herself.

Zylar smiled. “I knew there was more going on with Reggie than met the eye. Makes more sense as to why he left me almost everything he owned now.” He remembered at how Reggie had died and a cloud of anger passed his face but he needed to let those feelings of revenge and vengeance go...if he ever crossed paths with Milo again though, he'd put him in the ground where he belonged.

“You know, Dianne was pissed about that.” the older woman said referencing his comment about being left everything.

“Eh, guess I should call her Auntie now huh?”

“Not if you want to get the s*** slapped out of you!”

The two shared a laugh.

“So…” he said finally looking at the older woman. “…it’s great to finally meet you…grandmother.”

“Oh, shoot. You’re making me feel old.” the woman said dabbing her eyes and waving her hand around afterwards. “I’ve met you before you know. You were a little thing but you probably don’t remember. Always going off half-cocked. Always balancing precariously on the edge.”

Zylar smiled at remembering that voice not so long ago in his dreams.

“I really think that…my dad was guiding me here.” he said looking back to the stars, tears filling his eyes. “Don’t think I can ever thank him enough for that…or forgive my Aunt for taking me away from here.” he said his eyes turning hard. He had barely remembered anything before Aunt Kayla, or now Kristen he'd found out. She had changed his name when he was younger so that the Zoners wouldn't be able to find him, kept him away from a life that he could have had here far from the house systems...avoid heartbreak when Jasmine died.

“Oh.” she said patting his shoulder. “Your Aunt Kristen was always angry that your mother stepped away from Bretonia. Felt she was a traitor. When she had the opportunity to take you away from here she jumped at the chance. Changed your name and everything to prevent you from being found by the Zoners again…but she’s just a bitter old woman.”

The two returned to silence, the older woman leaning on her grandson.

“So, what’re you going to do, Zane?” she said using his birth name for the first time.

“Not sure.” he replied.

She motioned to the ship in orbit. “You can take your ship out and explore the great beyond you know.”

He looked to her with a smile on his face. “But it’s not mine, grandma. It’s the property of the Zoners.”

“Well, young man. You’re a Zoner." she said matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument, "…and besides.” she said holding out a keycard. “We’ve already given you the keys. The ship was your fathers pride and joy; he was always tweaking things, adjusting systems, installing new ones, and altering the code of the systems. It would tickle him pink to know that you’ve got the keys to the ol’ girl. Although, they've stated that you'll have to pay for the repairs out of pocket for what you did to the ship when you improperly jumped her.” she said giving him the stink eye.

Zylar took the keycard in his hand, looking at it the bus lines running throughout it. He looked back to his grandmother with tears filling his eyes again.

“Well? What do you say? Commander McAllister?” she said with a grin.

Zylar looked at the keycard in his hand again. Commander? Was he ready to lead other people? He could hardly lead himself.

“Oh, stop over-thinking it.” his grandmother admonished him, reading his mind. “You’re more ready than you think you are.”

“How did you-“

“Your father used to get the same exact look on his face when he was facing his own doubts. Now, off to sleep young man, we have a busy and difficult day tomorrow and I want you well rested.”

Zylar smiled.

“In a little bit. I…just want a few more moments to myself if that’s okay.”

The elder McAllister smiled.

“Of course dear.” she reached up to gently caressed his face. “It’s good…to have you home again, Zane Vesper McAllister.” she gave him a small hug and walked back to her small home.

Zylar returned his look to the stars. He simply stood there for a few moments before speaking.

“Dad…” he said choking up. “I don’t know…if you’re actually there and if you guided me here but…I had a lot of luck up there and it’s no coincidence that I ended up where I did by pure happenstance. But…I know this was you and…I promise…I’ll make you proud.”

Zylar stood outside watching the stars far later than he should have…but the entire time it felt like his father was standing with him. Both men, father and son, separated for 20 years, admiring the stars and the chariot they used to explore them.

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You fear oblivion. Yet you forget. The universe remembers every atom of your being. Even dust hums your name in the dark.

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Starlight Research Consortium | The Banished Legion | Astral
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