Not everyone learns the same lessons from the events that shape the universe. The tale of Moya and Talyn, some hundred cycles old now, is a tale of warning and woe to those who would play god and manipulate the natural order of things. The result of an illicit, clandestine Peacekeeper experiment, Talyn was born to an enslaved leviathan ship named Moya. After several attempts to capture him, and after a few violent encounters, Talyn took his own life and the lives of thousands of Peacekeepers aboard the command carrier he was shackled to. He had been born to slavery and died a slave.

But, one man’s warning is another’s proof of concept. In the eyes of those who seek to advance knowledge, science and their own stature simultaneously, Talyn’s story is simply one of faulty quality control. A prototype released into an uncontrolled environment was bound to fail. And so, another leviathan was secured so as to repeat the experiment.

Eventually, another leviathan hybrid ship, Valkyra, was born into captivity at a secret Gammak base near the borders of Tormented Space. Her mother, Taya, died from the trauma of childbirth, however. Valkyra, motherless and alone among strange beings, resisted all attempts to board her, even going so far as to destroy two assault shuttlecraft with her weapons. Confronted by this situation, the experiment was deemed a failure and procedures were readied for the sentient ship’s destruction.

It was then that fate, fortune, karma or chaos theory intervened in the shape of a hardened, 27-year-old blonde Peacekeeper commando veteran named Kyym “Calamity” Jcck. Unlike most of her brethren, “Calamity” retained her own sense of right and wrong and frequently acted on those inherent impulses. This characteristic was the basis behind her nickname and brought her both glory and derision in equal measure. Her punitive posting to the Gammak base unofficially known as EemaFrell was an example of the latter.

When she got wind of the station’s scuttlebutt regarding Valkyra’s planned termination, CJ, once again, after much thought given to the consequences, gave in to her sense of justice. Deep down, she knew that her current planned insubordination was a one-way trip to the execution squad, but she’d rather die than deny herself. One big death was better than a thousand smaller ones.

The base’s brig was a lonely, empty place, being far away from the usual smugglers routes. The few occupants consisted of rowdy PK soldiers and guards who occasionally replaced their boredom with drunkenness. One person, however, lived in the eternal darkness of solitary confinement.

Bern Starshine was a nomad, a part-time smuggler and a pilot of exceptional skill. She also had an affinity to living creatures of all kinds. When the time had come for the Peacekeepers to secure another leviathan, it was she who unknowingly led them to their secret, isolated breeding grounds. Once Taya had been secured, Bern was picked up as well in the interests of secrecy.

When Taya had proven difficult to control in captivity, however, Bern was coerced by the local commander to settle the huge ship down. Although initially defiant, Bern eventually relented and was able to form a bond with the living ship. In the precious moments after Valkyra was born, Taya passed that bond to her offspring. In Valkrya’s mind, Bern was her new mother.

CJ’s final act of Peacekeeper defiance occurred the night before Valkyra’s planned termination. In what would become a textbook case of how not to run a secure installation, CJ was able to spring Bern from the brig and, with Bern’s help, steal aboard Valkyra. It was the beginning of a friendship which lasted long after Valkyra was placed in the care of a leviathan step-mother.

~/~

“Hullo, sweetling,” Bern quietly said as the leviathan hybrid slid alongside the much smaller transport. To the others, she said, “Isn’t she beautiful? She’s grown up so much.”

CJ nodded and smiled as the others looked on in awe. Unlike other leviathans, this one’s skin was mottled in black and magenta, and sported six plasma cannons. Two cannons were mounted in a 360° dorsal turret, while two sets of two were side-mounted in 180° swivel configurations. As Valkyra moved nearer, everyone saw that she fairly bristled with close-range self-defense weaponry.

Cel remarked, “Your daughter looks like quite the fighter, Bern. It must feel strange.”

“Not at all,” she replied, eyes moistening. “Some of us can choose what we become. The rest of us must adapt as best we can. And within the space that lies between, love must find a way to live. With love, nothing is strange.”

Kat wiped a single tear away and asked, “So, now what?”

Almost by response, a docking bay hatch opened on Valkyra. Bern smiled, “Now, we go meet my daughter.”

~/~

Three hours passed before the reunion and introductions settled down. Bern sat in the central pilot’s chair and connected to her daughter via the umbilical, the insertion of which was near painless due to its use of microscopic filaments and a desensitizing nerve agent. Bern had explained that Valkyra had designed the connection herself, awaiting the day of their reunion. For the first hour or so after the connection, Bern sat quietly with her eyes closed and facial expressions changing in response to whatever stories her daughter was sharing with her. It was both heartwarming and eerie. Cel kept unconsciously scratching the back of her neck.

Finally, it was time for business. “Bern, ask Valkyra to set up a comm link to Farty. We need some information.”

Bern replied, “CJ. Valkyra will respond to you as well as me. For some things anyway. She tells me that she missed you, too, and thanks you for all that you did all those years ago.”

CJ smiled and squeezed back a tear. “Ok. Valkyra, I need a comm link to Fartacus back at the Barscape Bar. The coordinates are -”

Fartacus’ face appeared on the viewscreen. “Yo? CJ?”

CJ turned. “Hey Fartacus. Has JK returned yet? Any word from Issa?”

A darkness rolled across Fartacus’ features as he frowned. “No, CJ. I’ve been trying for hours, but I can’t get hide nor hair of anyone.”

CJ frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, that they’ve all disappeared. There’s been no hyperspace communications, and, worse yet, there’ve been no transponder signals at the expected points. There’s been nothing from Dominator, Percival or Dragonthorn. Radio silence I expected, but, at the very least, the fabric should’ve picked up someone’s transponder codes. But, it hasn’t. It’s as if all three ships have disappeared.”

Kat and Cel shared a look as the lights on Valkyra dimmed in response to Bern’s reactions. CJ’s heart broke. The butcher’s bill had begun in earnest and their lives were spent on a sideshow. They hadn’t even been close to Relia. What chance did they have if fate itself went against them?

“Well, keep looking, Farty. Lots of things go wrong in a fight and the unexpected is fairly common. In the meantime, we’re going to assume that Feldy …. Issa and the others have failed. We’re going in locked and loaded. Is Relia’s fleet still at Xenik III?”

Fartacus nodded. “Yes. It looks like they’re raiding the planet. Food and fuel, that sort of thing. They should be there awhile.”

“Gotcha. Well, take care of yourself, Farty. In case…”

“In case….” he replied. Turning to Bern, he smiled and said, “I’ll see you later.”

Valkyra’s lights flashed a subtle pink for a microt. Bern smiled and answered, “I’ll see you later, too,” before the comm link was closed.