Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3225738" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 421: RainIt was raining on Alraxia. That, in itself, wasn’t the most common occurrence in the region where the Palace was located, and when it did rain...well, it really rained. What would normally have been a bright day was instead feeling more like night...a wet night. It meant that most of the Alraxians were staying inside and taking the day off from whatever duties there would have been. While the shield was still active and able to protect them from the predators of the planet, there was an odd curiosity about the shields that actually allowed weather through.    Marix stood on the balcony outside of her room in the Palace that she found herself occupying more and more lately. It was calming to just stand there and be able to see all of the Palace. Of course, at the moment, she couldn’t see much beyond a few levels below her. But that didn’t bother her...where most would likely have hidden away, Marix simply ignored the fact that she was completely drenched and simply getting wetter, and stood out there as she always had.    For the third time, she found herself closing her eyes and searching for the link. Where it had always been, she simply found...nothing. It was disturbing and terrifying. Through the years, there had been problems with the link...starting from the moment Faban Sunrunner tampered with it with the help of that damned Kato. Since then, the link had never actually been as strong as it once had. Though it had been repaired, and being together for so many years strengthened it, there was always the knowledge of how strong it had once been. And then, with this damned war keeping them apart it had gotten weaker...or at least, more distant.    But this was different. Through all of it, even when Faban and Kato were up to their own idiocy years ago, it had been there. It may have been weak or distant or just hard to reach...but it was always there. Now...now Marix closed her eyes and found nothing at all. Nothing. The very idea of nothing in that place in her mind was hard enough to grasp. But...but Loki was right. Damn Jyren! An idealistic bastard to the very end! By the Force, he had to know what doing this would have done! But...    A growl escaped her and she slammed her firsts down on the railing, which half broke before reshaping again.    [...ow...]    For a short moment, Marix glanced down at the reformed railing. She did not respond to the Palace, though, still lost in her own thoughts.    It was exactly like Jyren to do what he’d done! She had let him go, knowing full well what it meant for both of them. Not for him. Both of them. She cursed and looked up at the sky, ignoring the rain that was not pelting her face. He was too damned human. He always had been! Despite everything, he was still a damned human and made a human decision. He knew the importance of the link but did what a human would do and just ignored it and protected the other...it was bad enough that he always acted like she needed that kind of protection!    “Are you going to stand out there getting wet all day?”    Unlike the Palace, that voice got her attention. Marix opened her eyes and turned around to see Navik Keros standing just inside her room. Her eyes searched for the twins, but they didn’t seem to be with him. But then she found herself looking at the older Alraxian. He didn’t know about his son...she had been waiting for him to get back with the twins...to tell him...    “It was your son that needed to be treated like a child, Navik,” she said, turning back to look away again, “You do not need to do the same with me.”    To her surprise, she heard a laugh from him, “I believe I do, Marix. Now, please, come inside.”    It was his tone of voice that really bothered Marix. He sounded worried, and that unlike him. Maybe he did know...but...he couldn’t. No one knew. So, she turned and walked inside, stepping past him and ignoring the fact that she was dripping on everything. After Navik had closed the doors to the balcony and turned to face her, Marix looked him in the eyes and did what she was best at...getting straight to the point, “Navik...Jyren is gone.”    The older Alraxian stared at her in silence for a long few minutes. She could see him working through this and knew he wouldn’t need to ask her to be specific on what she meant. He knew. It was the way she said it...coupled with how she’d been acting for the last ten minutes that he’d stood watching her quietly. It was the only time she’d ever not noticed him before he’d even walked in.    Finally, though, Navik asked quietly, “You must...forgive me for this...but how are you still here?”    “He found a way to cut off our link...” Marix ground out the next words, “...to protect me...”    And it was then that, considering she had just told this man that his son was dead, Marix realized he was taking it far better than she would have expected. Or rather, better than she was taking it. Which just added to her annoyance and caused her brain to go off and ignore the rest of her by changing the subject suddenly, “How are the twins?”    Marix did not like what she saw on Navik’s face after she asked that. For a moment, she found herself actually wondering if they weren’t okay, but stopped that quickly. She would know. Despite this idiocy from Jyren getting to her...she would know.    “They are...” he trailed off, obviously trying to find a way to answer best. There was a slight change of direction, and Navik started again, “Andrea has been screaming to see Jyren for the last five hours.”    To her credit, Marix did not outwardly show her reaction to that in any way. She at least was able to keep that much control over herself. She managed to simply nod and start past him to the twin’s room where, now that she was listening, she could, indeed, hear a very muffled noise that was fairly constant.    But as she got to the door, Navik said one more thing, “Marix...I received a transmission from Alyx on the way here. The Knights on the border are reporting the Mrrakesh are still pushing through, even after the deal that was made.”    Because she wasn’t facing him, Navik didn’t see her scowl. It was probably for the best, as the look on her face was usually the same one when she was to the point of tearing someone’s throat out. Marix forced it away in a second, then said over her shoulder, “I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”    That was probably a bad choice. But Marix didn’t care. For the moment, the Mrrakesh, the Vong, and the New Republic could all go and drop out of an airlock. She had once said to Jyren, years before, that actually having a quiet life with a family might not actually be all that bad. Of course, she’d stopped herself and been shocked to say it...but it had come out. And now...now the rest of the galaxy be damned, Marix hadn’t really had time to spend with the twins in too long, and even if she could push through what the galaxy through at her, there was no way they could...not yet.</blockquote>

Verification