( Harper
Collins continuity novel #2, the follow up to Wing Commander : Pilgrim Stars
)
Prologue :
Begin on 2654.135 (May 15TH,
2654), on a planet in the Promise System (Vearrier Quadrant, Sol Sector), a
planet occupied by modern-day Pilgrims.
An old man sits on his porch, with his seven-year-old grandson balanced
on his knee. They stare up at the night
sky, and the old man begins telling the boy about the first Pilgrims to explore
the stars nearly 350 years ago, then the scene switches to –
Ivar Chu McDaniel (philosopher and
lay-preacher) on a Pilgrim “sloship,” taking 1,200 of his people out to the
Sirius System in a “final exodus,” circa 2311.
A quavering blue light encompasses their ship, and the Pilgrims vanish,
leaving behind one man who had been flying scout.
Back to the old man and boy. “So they just disappeared, Grandpa?” The old man shakes his head. “They went to a far better place. And some day, you and I will meet them.”
Chapter
I :
Behind the walls of a Pilgrim “safe
camp” on Mars, Karista Mullens (the woman who is Blair’s natural pair from the
previous book, Pilgrim Stars), contemplates her escape, along with
several other Pilgrims. Karista has an
extrakinetic ability (a highly sensitive and powerful form of telekinesis
illustrated in the previous book) but resists using it because of the strain it
places on her. During a discussion with
several others of the “protected” (think of the Japanese in the US during
W.W.II), she experiences a vision: a blue sea that engulfs the stars. She feels drawn to the sea; there’s a
powerful scent in the air, not unlike pine or jasmine; and she can hear
thousands of voices carried on a breeze – though she can’t understand what
they’re saying...
... and neither can 1ST Lieutenant
Christopher “Maverick” Blair, who has just experienced the same vision while
flying his CF-117 Rapier medium fighter.
The Bengal-class “quickike” carrier TCS Tiger’s Claw, CV-07,
is at the Pilgrim enclave of Triune to enforce a no-fly zone and to supply
fighter support against Pilgrims who have stolen commercial transports. Blair’s wingman, Todd “Maniac” Marshall,
saves Blair from an attack and wants to know why Blair “blacked out.” Blair won’t answer. He’s having trouble contending with the
explanation himself, but he’s deeply reminded of a moment from his childhood, a
visit to his mother’s grave on his homeworld of Nephele. On that day he was first given his mother’s
Pilgrim cross, and he realizes that back then he had a similar vision, though
he hasn’t remembered it until now.
Chapter
II :
On board the Concordia-class
supercruiser TCS Concordia, Rear
Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn and Commodore Richard Bellegarde discuss the latest
status on the hunt for the TCS Olympus
(another Concordia-class supercruiser, this one taken over by her former
captain, Amity Aristee, who turned out to be a Pilgrim). During the conversation, the two officers
view more holos of atrocities at Pilgrim systems, enclaves, and “safe
camps.” Tolwyn believes that Aristee
won’t return the ship, and the best way to draw her into a trap is to destroy
all Pilgrim systems and enclaves on his original date : 158. Space Marshal Sandra Gregarov still won’t endorse
that order, and the Senate is ready to call for Tolwyn’s dismissal for going
behind their backs in the first place.
Gregarov has saved Tolwyn’s job – in exchange for him keeping it quiet
that she was the one who actually allowed Amity Aristee and her Pilgrims to
build the Hopper Drive. Gregarov
thought she could seize the drive before Aristee could begin operating it. Tolwyn tells the Space Marshal that they
can’t afford to maintain the no-fly zones indefinitely and that a decision must
be made.
Admiral Vukar nar Caxki and
Makorshk (the Kilrathi Admiral and tactical officer from the pervious book)
continue debating whether they should return to the Kilrathi home/throneworld
of Kilrah. They failed to bring back
the Pilgrim supercruiser (in the previous book). If they don’t return, they will become renegades – just like the
Pilgrims themselves. Before they reach
a final decision, they intercept a communiqué from the Kilrathi Emperor (the
Emperor of the currently-Imperial Clan Kiranka) to Amity Aristee. They decrypt the code and learn that the
Emperor is going to meet with Aristee at a designated rendezvous point in
interstellar space to discuss how they can benefit each other. Makorshk suggests that they go there and
make one last attack on the Olympus. If the Emperor strikes a deal with Aristee,
his new alliance will definitely come together, and Vukar’s clan, Clan Caxki,
have already withdrawn (due to a deal they made in the previous book with
another clan). The alliance cannot
form, and the Caxki clan must have the modified Hopper Drive so they can create
their own gravity wells and jump huge distances. The drive can also be used as a planet killer, should it generate
a gravity well sufficiently large enough.
Vukar changes course and heads for the rendezvous point.
On McDaniel’s World, the spiritual center
for Pilgrims, an old woman, Sostur Inanna Pandathy, goes into her backyard and
stares with awe at a beautiful blue tree with multi-colored leaves. She takes one of the leaves into her hand,
rubs it a moment, then falls to her knees and begins to cry...
Chapter
III :
While sleeping in his quarters, Blair
experiences another vision and remembers a rainy day on his uncle’s farm on
Nephele II when he also had a similar experience. He and his uncle had been fighting over his decision to enter the
Terran Confederation Naval Space Force Academy/TCNSA on Hilthros. Blair’s beginning to realize that he’s had
these visions many times during his life and wonders why he hasn’t remembered
them until now. He’s contacted by
Karista, who touches his “script” in the space-time continuum. Through his mind, Blair is able to be with
her at the camp. Karista says she’s not
safe and is thinking about breaking out.
Blair tells her about his visions.
Karista has experienced the same.
Blair wishes he could go to Mars to help her. She’ll contact him again to let him know that she’s all right.
In a small officer’s quarters on board
the Olympus, William Santyana (the
Pilgrim pilot who Aristee conscripted in the Wing Commander movie
novelization’s epilogue) tells his wife Pris that he’s learned through a
contact on the bridge that Aristee’s going to make a deal with the Kilrathi
Emperor. They have to get off the ship
immediately. Santyana has been trying
to do this since first coming aboard, but this time he vows to get off or die
trying.
Elsewhere on the Olympus, Amity Aristee meets with Protur Carver Tsu III (think of
the Catholic pope) and seeks his advice.
She thought that by using the hopper drive to destroy Earth, she would
make a rallying cry to her people. But
how can she do that now? The protur
assures her that she has already made that cry and that her people have heard
her. She doesn’t understand what he
means. “You will know the truth soon
enough,” he answers.
Chapter
IV :
Tolwyn and Bellegarde receive news that
one of their ships patrolling near Sirius has vanished. Assuming that Aristee must be in that area,
they order the Claw there to sweep
for gravitic residuum and to use Lt. Blair and his extrakinetic abilities to
help find the Olympus’s whereabouts.
Alone in her field office aboard the Concordia, Space Marshal Gregarov talks
to an Intelligence officer. She’s
delighted that James “Paladin” Taggart saved the Olympus, even though she outwardly displays her desire to have him
found and executed for treason. There’s
still a chance that the Confederation can recover the drive if Paladin hasn’t
turned coat. Tolwyn enters with reports
of the strain of maintaining the no-fly zones.
He threatens to go directly to the Senate. Gregarov says that if does that, they’ll be nothing she can do to
save his career. She doesn’t want the
Pilgrim systems and enclaves destroyed because she fears Aristee’s reaction —
which could include blowing up her ship and the drive.
The Claw’s
88TH Fighter Wing finally gets some new pilots to replace Second
Squadron (lost in the previous book).
The new squadron commander, Gary “Gunner” Berkholtz, confronts Blair
about his heritage, and it’s clear that the whole squadron hates Pilgrims. Later that night, three pilots surround and
brutally pummel Blair. He uses his
extrakinetic abilities to defend himself, but they still get the best of
him. He’s left unconscious.
Chapter
V :
Maniac finds Blair. Lt. Commander Jeannette “Angel” Devereaux
confronts Gunner. Tension escalates between
the two squadrons. Blair’s the only one
who can identify the pilots who beat him, but he won’t. He’s not afraid; he just doesn’t want to
make matters worse.
The Tiger’s
Claw arrives in Sirius to investigate the disappearance of the ship. Though badly beaten, Blair manages to sweep
the zone from his hospital bed. He
reaches out with his mind and experiences the scripts of the original 1,200
colonists who were lost in this area nearly 350 years ago. Those ancient travelers experienced the same
premonitions and visions he’s been having.
There’s no sign of the ship that disappeared.
Back on the Olympus, Paladin is against Aristee dealing with the Kilrathi;
they’ve double-crossed her once before.
She says that she’s no longer dealing with clan leaders but with the
Emperor himself. They arrive at the
rendezvous and wait. A small,
jump-capable ship arrives in the zone, carrying the Emperor. Paladin is amazed that the Emperor would
travel so discretely and leave himself so vulnerable. This could be a sign that they can trust him. The Emperor comes aboard, and they reach a
deal whereby the Kilrathi will repair the Olympus
and convert it into the Emperor’s flagship.
The Emperor will now have the power to wipe out any clan who comes
against him. The clans of Kilrah will
unite and help to dismantle the Confederation.
Those who do not join the Alliance will be exterminated. Those who remain will join the Emperor in a
full-scale assault on Sol System. As
the bargaining ends, a Kilrathi superdreadnought (the one commanded by Admiral
Vukar) arrives on scene and attacks the Olympus
before she can escape.
Chapter
VI :
During the Kilrathi attack, William
Santyana hijacks a troopship, gets his family inside, then blasts off from the Olympus. He knows that Aristee’s people and the Kilrathi will try to shoot
him down, but he’d rather die trying.
The ship takes heavy fire from the supercruiser and a few Dralthi V
fighters, and just when it appears that all is lost, the ship plunges into a
gravity well that is not Santyana’s doing and escapes.
Aristee watches from the bridge as her
supercruiser is disabled by the Kilrathi before she can use the Hopper Drive to
leave the system. The Kilrathi Emperor
assures her that he didn’t plan this.
He did order this Admiral to find and recover the ship; it seems the
Admiral finally caught up with them.
Admiral Vukar tells Aristee that if she doesn’t resist, he won’t kill
any more of her people. She agrees but
reminds Vukar that she does have the Emperor.
Vukar strikes a bargain with the Emperor: the militaristic Caxki Clan
will be given the same rights and privileges as the Imperial Clan, and Vukar
and his crew will be regarded as heroes once they return to Kilrah. The Emperor agrees.
Chapter
VII :
As preparations are being made to tow
the Olympus back to Kilrah, someone
sets the Olympus to self-destruct,
and there’s no way that Aristee can stop it.
She turns to Paladin. Yes, he
set off the self-destruct. But he
couldn’t have done that alone. The XO,
Vyson, comes forward and admits that he helped Paladin and says that they can’t
give the Hopper Drive to the Kilrathi.
What’s to stop the cats from wiping out Pilgrims as well? She argues that the Cats need Pilgrims to
help run the drive and that there are still some Pilgrims with extrakinetic
abilities on board who can help thwart any Kilrathi resistance. Paladin says that given the time and desire,
the cats will figure out a way around both of those obstacles. A frantic escape from the ship ensues. Aristee tries to recover data on the Hopper
Drive but discovers that it has been erased.
Meanwhile, back on Mars, Karista and a
few others escape from the internment camp in a jump-capable ship. They head to McDaniel’s World. Although a no-fly zone has been established
around this spiritual hub of Pilgrims, she believes she can use her
extrakinetic ability to fool the radar officers long enough to get them on
planet. She senses that the answers to
her premonitions lie there.
Paladin, Aristee, the protur, and a few
others leave the Olympus and make it
aboard the Emperor’s ship. As they jump
out of the area, the supercruiser explodes behind them.
Chapter
VIII :
Enraged by another defeat, Vukar orders
all escaping Pilgrim troopships destroyed, then sets his own superdreadnought
to self-destruct. Makorshk, his
tactical officer, overrides the self-destruct, and the two engage in a blood
duel in which both are mortally wounded.
As they lie there, dying, they spot the ghostly form of a sleek ship
whose hull undulates like a sheet in the wind.
The ship dematerializes, and Vukar and his tactical officer die.
It has been a
few weeks. Admiral Tolwyn and Commodore
Bellegarde have had no leads regarding the Olympus’s
whereabouts. Ships continue to
search. The Kilrathi have been closely
monitoring Confederation movements, and Tolwyn remains deeply concerned over
tying up so many ships on this search-and-destroy mission and on the no-fly
zones. The cats are probing for
weakness and will soon attack. During
their conversation, word reaches them that three days prior, Pilgrim saboteurs
infiltrated the Confederation senate on Earth and killed many. Believing he now has the fuel he needs,
Tolwyn heads to Earth to persuade the joint chiefs and what’s left of the
Senate and Great Assembly to allow him to wipe out the Pilgrim enclaves and
systems. The public will demand
retaliation. This act will represents
what they want and will demoralize Aristee.
Space Marshal Gregarov tells Tolwyn that going to Earth will be his last
act as a Confederation officer.
Chapter
IX :
Karista has made it to McDaniel’s
World. The Confederation no-fly zone
has certainly taken its toll. Although
food and supplies have been allowed in, the real changes lie with the people,
who have grown exceedingly militant.
Many Confederation Marines have been killed, their weapons
confiscated. Karista makes her way to
the protur’s rectory and speaks with several of the protur’s concubines. She knows them since she was a dancer and
chanter in the protur’s private troupe.
The concubines take Karista into a catacombs beneath the rectory and
show her ancient holoart that depicts Ivar Chu McDaniel’s ship being
transported to “the higher plane.”
Karista’s unimpressed, though a blue light does catch her
attention. The concubines tell her that
the art was produced by an eyewitness from whom the legend began. A descendant of this man, Sostur Inanna
Pandathy, is still alive and living on McDaniel. Karista should talk to the old woman.
In the mean time, Paladin, Aristee, and
the protur have been imprisoned on Kilrah.
The Emperor intends to learn as much as he can from them so that the
Kilrathi can exterminate both the Confederation and the Pilgrims in one fell
swoop. The protur warns the Emperor
that continuing to hold them will result in severe consequences.
Chapter
X :
Blair is contacted by Karista. She’s on McDaniel, trying to figure out what
the premonitions and visions mean. She
thinks she’s getting close. Blair has
nearly recovered from his beating and will begin flying out to maintain the
no-fly zone over Promise. With each
message he receives from Karista, his relationship with Angel grows more
strained.
Although Paladin has been a Kilrathi
prisoner of war before, he doesn’t respond well to the torture. The cats have perfected the psychological end
of pain and force him to relive experiences with his father, whom he has never
forgiven for turning to the Pilgrims instead of the Confederation. His mother stayed on Ares station while his
father went off to fight and die for the Pilgrims. For Paladin, this is one Pilgrim truth that has plagued him for
his entire life. The Kilrathi set up a
scenario in which Paladin is forced to kill his own father, and they’ll make it
stop if he’ll answer questions regarding Confederation secrets. Paladin refuses, and the psychological
torture continues. As he nears
collapse, a voice in his head says, “Be brave, Brotur. You won’t suffer long...”
Chapter
XI :
On McDaniel’s World, Karista travels to
speak with Sostur Inanna Pandathy.
Before she can reach the woman, Karista is apprehended by TCMC Confed
Marines who are on McDaniel’s world “to keep the peace.” Karista is identified as the woman who stole
a ship on Mars and slipped by the Confed no-fly zone over McDaniel.
Tolwyn and Bellegarde arrive on Earth,
and Tolwyn delivers a passionate plea to the senate. He’s confronted by senators who call for his resignation, but
he’s also embraced by others who believe that one massive act will put an end
to this conflict (think of Nagasaki and Hiroshima).
Chapter
XII :
Scene begins with Aristee on McDaniel’s
World, being called “Motur Aristee,” as though she’s a high-ranking priestess
among Pilgrims. She’s in a throne room
of sorts and viewing holos of Confederation worlds that have been devastated by
her people. The protur enters, and
through the conversation we learn that Aristee has been used by him. He yanks off his Pilgrim cross, extends the cross’s
blade, and punches it into her heart.
She shrieks and finds herself in a Kilrathi torture room (now we’re back
on Kilrah in real-time — or so we think).
Aristee is now staring at her parents.
They chose the Confederation side during the old Pilgrim War (the war
ending as long ago as 2635.049), and like Paladin, she has never forgiven them
for their choice. She is forced to
watch as they are killed for their treason against the Pilgrim Alliance. It’s a moment that she never witnessed but
one drawn from her imagination by the Kilrathi. As she slumps in torment, the same voice that Paladin heard asks
her, “Sostur. What is your truth? And why should you know it?”
With some outside help, Karista manages
to escape from the Marines and make it to Sostur Inanna’s house. The woman speaks enigmatically and confirms
the visions and premonitions that Karista’s been having: They are ecstatic
visions and mean she is in direct communication with “the Divine” — just like
Ivar Chu McDaniel had been. But Karista
has the feeling that these visions mean something more, and Inanna says that
there is legend that no one talks about.
In it, the original Pilgrims return in great numbers to deliver their
people from exile. However, believing
in the “return myth” is to contradict the fact that Ivar Chu and his people
ascended to the higher plane, a plane from which no one would want to return,
so most Pilgrims dismiss the legend.
Karista wants to know why the Pilgrims didn’t return during the old war,
but Inanna doesn’t know why. She does
know that the Pilgrims are coming now.
How? She takes Karista into her
backyard and show her the beautiful blue tree with multi-colored leaves (the
one we saw earlier in chapter two) stands there. Inanna says that the tree has been in her family since Pilgrims
first settled on McDaniel. It has never
bore leaves until now. She plucks a
leaf and hands it to Karista. “This is
your proof.” Karista balks at the
notion, but the leaf does have a strangely familiar scent. Inanna tells her to have someone analyze the
leaf.
Chapter
XIII :
Tolwyn learns that the senate has voted
against his request to destroy the Pilgrim systems and enclaves. Not only that, Space Marshal Gregarov has
begun an investigation into his actions of the past few months. She’s looking to indict him on charges of
misconduct and failure to operate within the chain of command. Gregarov doesn’t care if Tolwyn goes to the
joint chiefs regarding her cover-up of the hopper drive. She’s already established an air-tight
alibi. In the meantime, Tolwyn learns
of a massive build-up of Kilrathi forces along the Confed-Kilrathi border. The Cats are mobilizing to attack, as he
suspected. He orders ships to break off
from their search of the Olympus and
head for the Kilrathi border in Vega Sector.
Paladin and Aristee are in their cells
while the protur is off being tortured by the Kilrathi. The protur returns with a cocky expression
on his face, and if Paladin didn’t know better, he’d swear that the Kilrathi
look scared. The Emperor arrives and
says that they’re being released.
Paladin is stunned. He asks
why. The Emperor exchanges a look with
the protur, then leaves. “What did you
tell them?” Paladin asks. The protur
smiles. “The truth.”
Chapter
XIV :
Blair is once more contacted by
Karista. She needs help getting off
McDaniel’s World. She says she has
proof that the Pilgrims are coming.
She’s worried that the Confederation has acted too brutally against her
people and that Pilgrims will make them pay.
The Confederation has no idea of the power of these people. She needs to get her proof to someone who
can get Confederation forces to stand down.
Paladin and the others board a Kilrathi
ship and will be taken to the Confederation border. Paladin is still amazed that the Kilrathi are letting them go and
notices how the cats are preparing for a massive engagement.
Blair goes to Angel and says that they
he needs a few pilots to jump with him to McDaniel’s World. They have to escort Karista back to the Tiger’s Claw. She has information that Captain Gerald and Admiral Tolwyn need
to have. With only Blair’s word as
proof, Angel must deny the request.
Chapter
XV :
On McDaniel’s World, Karista has made
it back to her ship. She contacts
Blair. Is he coming to help? Blair says that his request was denied. She says she’ll try without him.
Guilticken, Blair tells Maniac that
he’s going AWOL to help Karista. Maniac
doesn’t have to think twice about breaking the rules and helping his wingman —
both come easily, but...
... their conversation is overheard by
a pilot from the new squadron who has been keeping tabs on Blair. He goes back to Gunner, the squadron
commander, and says that Blair and Maniac intend to go AWOL. This is just the break that Gunner has been
looking for to lose one Pilgrim half-breed.
Chapter
XVI :
While still on Earth, Tolwyn, and
Bellegarde learn that the President of the Terran Confederation has been
assassinated by Pilgrims. An emergency
meeting of the Senate convenes. Tolwyn
asks for another vote, and this time it’s unanimous: destroy all Pilgrim
systems and enclaves. Space Marshal
Gregarov says she’s ready to present her findings on Tolwyn to the joint
chiefs. Bellegarde counters with info
he’s dug up on the Space Marshal. Her
air-tight alibi isn’t so tight after all.
A Confederation ConCom ship encounters
wreckage of the Olympus in
interstellar space. The ship’s captain
realizes that this information must get to Admiral Tolwyn as soon as possible
since it might affect his decision to launch the attack.
Blair and Maniac head out for CAP “a
routine security patrol.” As they break
away to go AWOL and jump to McDaniel, pilots from the new squadron
intercept. After a fierce dogfight,
Blair and Maniac manage to escape and jump, though Blair’s Rapier is severely
damaged.
Chapter
XVII :
Blair and Maniac meet up with Karista’s
ship and help her get to the jump point.
Blair’s forced to abandon his Rapier and go aboard Karista’s ship. They jump back to the Promise System, where
they are surrounded by Rapiers from the Tiger’s
Claw. Angel contacts them:
“Lieutenants Blair and Marshall? You’re
under arrest.”
Cuffed and in the company of two
Marines, Blair, Maniac, and Karista try to tell Captain Gerald about the coming
Pilgrims. He doesn’t buy any of
it. Karista tells him to analyze the
leaf. He does. Recorded within the leaf’s cells are
holographic images of millions of ships (like the one Vukar and Makorshk saw
before they died). Gerald recognizes
the system around them as Sirius, but he still doesn’t believe what he’s
seeing; it could’ve been manufactured. Karista tells him that Sirius is just one entry point of the
Pilgrims. Pull up long range
telemetry. Gerald does, and what he
sees renders him cold and speechless.
Hundreds of thousands of ships are headed his way. They have to contact Tolwyn.
Chapter
XVIII :
The order to destroy all Pilgrim
systems and enclaves is relayed directly or via communication drones to the
ships presently maintaining no-fly zones.
Various captains grimly accept the orders and prepare to launch
planetary missiles or LC troopships with Marines. Even as Gerald sends off a message to Tolwyn, he receives his
orders to attack the planet below.
Paladin, Aristee, and the protur have
reached the Confederation border and are sent off in a small launch that should
take them to the nearest supply lane.
They’re overwhelmed as they spot thousands of the sleek ships. “... and they will return in the night for
their children,” the protur says reverently, quoting from Pilgrim scripture.
Chapter
XIX :
Klaxons blare on the Tiger’s Claw as the battle begins. Despite going AWOL, Gerald allows Blair and
Maniac to fly, much to the dismay of the new squadron. Pilgrim fighters are everywhere, but they
won’t fire unless fired upon. Blair
reaches out and touches the script of the Pilgrim pilot in his sights. He’s amazed by the clarity and order of the
woman’s thoughts — and she’s only in his sights because she wants to be
there. The Pilgrim fighters carry
superior weapons and are far more maneuverable than the Confederation’s.
Fighters and great Pilgrim warships are
appearing all over the Confederation.
Captains over the no-fly zones are so tied up with the appearance of
this new threat that only a few launch their missiles. Even so, those missiles are summarily
obliterated. We go to the Promise
System, where that old man and grandson we read about in the prologue are
looking up at the night sky, at thousands of tiny lights. “What are they, grandpa?” The old man shakes his head in astonishment,
sensing the truth. “I told you that
someday you would meet your broturs and sosturs. Well... the day has come...”
Paladin, Aristee, and the protur are
picked up by a Pilgrim flagship.
Aristee can’t believe what’s happening, and she’s overjoyed. On the other hand, Paladin is shocked. “You see, James? You chose the right side after all,” Aristee tells him.
Chapter
XX :
Tolwyn and Bellegarde are conducting
operations of the TCN Fourteenth Fleet while receiving reports from the other
fleets and other sectors. The
Confederation is losing this battle on all fronts —
And the same goes for the
Kilrathi. The Emperor prepares for
ritual suicide. One of the older
admirals (a Kilrathi we saw in the previous book), drives his supercruiser
directly toward a Pilgrim warship but instead finds himself plunging into a
gravity well.
Chapter
XXI :
Back in the Promise System, Blair is
shot down by pilots from the new squadron.
His Rapier plummets into the planet’s atmosphere. He ejects, but his pod will still burn up.
On Kilrah, the Emperor makes a formal
announcement that their Kilrathi Empire, the Eighth Empire of Kilrah, will
surrender to the attacking Pilgrims.
For many Clan leaders/barons, the shame and dishonor is too much to
bear. Some commit the Kilrathi ritual
suicide (“Zu’kara”).
Chapter
XXII :
Flames surround Blair’s pod. Life support failing. And then... darkness. Bright lights. And his pod is sitting on a strange flight deck. He’s been taken aboard a Pilgrim ship. Rescued.
Why? The pod opens, and Paladin
is staring down at him. Tense moment as
Blair doesn’t want any help from his fallen mentor. “You should’ve let me die,” Blair says. “It would’ve been easier than watching you now.” Paladin says he’s not a traitor, and he
knows Blair won’t believe that. Not
yet. They go up to the bridge of this
Pilgrim flagship, where Blair is introduced to a well-groomed man of forty :
Ivar Chu McDaniel V. Blair is astounded
by the large number of ships, the advanced technology, and the fact that
McDaniel is only the fifth Ivar Chu in nearly 350 years. Where did the original 1,200 Pilgrims go and
how did they manage to advance so far?
McDaniel just smiles and says, “We had help.”
Meanwhile, the acting President of the
Terran Confederation makes a stunning announcement: The Terran Confederation will
unconditionally surrender to the Pilgrims, whose ships are seemingly
everywhere. Tolwyn and Bellegarde are
furious and would rather die fighting.
Then they watch as the president receives a communication from Ivar
Chu. He’s coming down to Earth to address
the senate.
Chapter
XXIII :
Back on the Pilgrim flagship, Blair
watches as Ivar Chu says that they’ve come for all Pilgrims who are
willing. The original Pilgrims were
religious separatists — and that hasn’t changed. They live now in a place so far away that it will take humanity a
hundred billion millennia before they reach it. They have no intentions of ruling the Confederation or the
Kilrathi Empire. They just want to pick
up all Pilgrims who are willing and leave.
As proof, Ivar Chu returns the ship that disappeared in the Sirius
System, stating that it fired upon them and they didn’t want to engage it. He has returned ships to the Kilrathi as
well. He doesn’t care if the Cats and
Confederation kill each other.
“Contrary to the belief of the Pilgrims who live here, these stars are
not ours, they’re yours. Destroy them
if you want. We’ve found our own.” A senator springs to his feet. “Why didn’t you come for your people during
the first Pilgrim war? Don’t you
realize how many died?” Ivar Chu slowly
nods. “Our people started that war
alone. And they had to finish it
alone. It was a grave error, an act of
hubris, and they paid dearly for it.
But now they shouldn’t pay for one rebel’s ambition. It’s time for them to come home.”
Epilogue
:
Now on about 2654.160 (June 9TH,
2654), Paladin and Blair discuss whether or not they’ll go; both are torn and
both face consequences if they stay.
Ivar Chu returns from Earth and has the protur and Aristee arrested. “He’s no protur, and she... she needs time
to find truth in her life,” says Ivar Chu.
Later on, Paladin and Blair run into William Santyana and his family,
who were saved by the Pilgrims and have decided to go with the them — something
Blair finds ironic since Santyana’s spent most of his recent days plotting
escapes. Santyana says that his
Confederation experience got him into this war in the first place; getting far
away from the Confederation is exactly what he needs. They’re excited and nervous about a new life.
Back on the TCS Tiger’s Claw, Karista wants Blair to go with him. He seriously considers going. Does he really belong here? He remembers the beating and the abuse he’s
taken all of his life about being Pilgrim.
But he realizes that despite that, he’s made a place for himself
here. She leaves with a promise to
contact him, to tell him all about the Pilgrims, about a life he could still
have.
Christopher Blair returns to his
quarters, where Jeannette “Angel” Devereaux is waiting for him. Through the porthole behind her, he sees
hundreds of Pilgrims ships streaking into a deep blue haze.
“Blueness doth express trueness.”
- Ben Jonson ( 1573 – 1637 ),
English dramatist, poet. Amorphus, in Cynthia’s
Revels, act 5, sc. 2.
“Truth is always congruous and agrees
with itself;
every truth in the universe agrees with all others.”
-
Daniel Webster ( 1782 – 1852 )
Some notes, February 10TH, 2001. . .
ANDREW MODEEN’S EDITS / CHANGES ( for the more canon Origin Systems’ WC game series’ continuity sake ) : “CS Tiger Claw” to “TCS Tiger’s Claw,” “Jeanette ‘Angel’ Devereax” to “Jeannette ‘Angel’ Devereaux,” inserting of actual dates of prologue & epilogue ( taken from E-mail conversations with Peter Telep ), inserting of ship/fighter classes, inserting of “88TH Fighter Wing” name ( the flight wing of the Tiger’s Claw ), inserting of Paladin’s full name, various capitalization of proper nouns ( to be consistent with the form of the Baen Books novel series ), crediting of WC CIC & WC Legacy websites, slight reformatting throughout to make overall document you’re reading “uniform.”