The Lost Goats, 58
Aug. 7th, 2012 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
avevale_intelligencerAnd while this was going on...
"They've got to run out of ammo soon," Galen shouted over the gunfire.
"Which side?" Probity yelled back.
"Either side!" Galen bellowed.
"This is ridiculous," An muttered. She got to her feet, ignoring Probity's frantic gestures, and walked forward. "Listen to me, all of you--"
The first shot took her through one wing, the second low in the torso. Her halo flickered, blazed brightly, and went out, and she turned in the air like a dancer and fell, oh so slowly. Probity screamed and leapt up, heedless of the bullets, but even as she flew to An's side everyone still standing in the control room was lowering his or her weapon, shocked into inaction by what they had seen.
At the door, Voltimand Nyrond lowered his head into his hand, trying to hold back tears. Beside him, Arioch and Adhemar looked fearful. Even in their minds, removed from their human origin by aeons of immortal life, the ancient eidolon held power.
Probity leant over An, tears filling her eyes too. On the floor, An smiled up at her.
"It was the only way," she whispered. "Someone had to get shot, or they'd have been at it all day."
"I need to get you to a hospital," Probity said between choking sobs.
"No need," An said. "I'm...due a vacation anyway. I'll...see you...soon." She reached up and put her finger to Probity's lips. "Look after him. Make sure he knows this was my choice, not his." The eyes flickered, drifted shut. "Love you...Probity."
Golden sparkles softly surrounded her body, and when Probity's dazzled vision cleared, An was nowhere to be seen.
Swiftlly her rational mind took control. What had just happened was inexplicable, and therefore of low immediate priority. She moved to Galen's side. "This wasn't your fault," she said, speaking quickly. "You said yourself, you didn't even know why she was here. You didn't bring her, neither did I. There's no reason to--"
Galen turned and looked at her. "Viscera, what are you doing?"
Probity frowned. "Trying to keep you alive. Your deathblock--"
Galen smiled. "But she's not--" Then he checked. "Uh, yeah, you're right. Uh, thank you, Viscera. Yes, not my fault. I must remember that."
At the door, Voltimand suddenly lifted his head as if listening to something, as if someone was whispering in his ear. Slowly he smiled, glanced at Adhemar and Arioch, and nodded. His hand went to his shoulder, as if covering another's hand there; then he advanced into the now deathly quiet room and began taking guns from the numbed hands of Vigilante and henchperson alike. Adhemar and Arioch shook themselves, and followed him. Gradually a pile of weapons began to build up in the centre of the room, and the shocked combatants, biddable as cattle, allowed themselves to be shepherded out of the double doors.
"What's happening now?" Probity demanded.
"We're done here." Galen said. "Vigil on the surface will arrest the pirates and other criminals. There won't be any more trouble." He looked around. "You know, I bet I could get Wuk Affiliated if I..." His voice died away into mumbling.
Probity looked fondly at him. He really was coping very well. She moved toward the passageway down which Snood had bolted, and whither Zander had followed him. Someone had better make sure everything was secure at that end.
********
On the surface, the Vigil Commander was assisting Jenny into his troop ship, while reading her her rights as understood by the Corps.
"...and you have the right to make your peace with whatever deity or deities you worship, if you do not worship a deity one will be assigned to you to peacemaking purposes only..."
Jenny smiled at him as he secured her seat belt.
********
Snood awoke. There, in front of him, in the stairwell, unavoidable, was the hanging body of Osmotherley Habbinge.
"You did this." Zander spoke in a low voice on one side of him. "If you were a Nyrond--if you were worthy--you'd be dying right now."
"You're a sheep in goat's clothing," Soren said, on his other side, "and this is goat territory. You don't belong. You can't do it right."
"People talk a lot of nonsense about sheep and goats," Zander said. "They think one or other is better, or happier, or more free, or more intelligent."
"But none of that matters to a sheep or to a goat. They are what they are. All that stuff is part of the way humans think about them."
"Like you. You think sheep are stupid, that it's better to be a goat." Zander looked him in the wide, terrified eyes. "Do you still think so?"
"The Vigil are preoccupied with the real pirates," Soren said.
"You, as you pointed out a while back, have committed no actual major crimes," Zander said.
"On the other hand, you have caused suffering, sorrow and death by your actions, which might trouble even the conscience of a goat."
"Here's your choice." Zander laid something on the floor in front of Snood. "You can take this, buy passage to an Affiliated world, get yourself some decent medical help, find a job if you choose, write a book, live your life. Sheep aren't slaughtered any more, and you won't be troubled with goats, wolves or any other metaphorical predator."
"Or," Soren said, "you can take this, run, go into hiding, blow it all on some other stupid scheme for revenge on a 'verse that never really even knew you existed, keep on trying to be a goat, and probably get yourself killed. You don't have the moral compass to live well like that, but we can't stop you trying."
"And frankly," Zander added, "we don't care."
He and Soren both stood up. "One thing, though," Soren said. "Before you leave, get Habbinge down and bury him decent. He loved you, for what that's worth, even if you never knew or cared. And a little spadework might do you some good."
Their footsteps resounded on the bare boards. The front door slammed.
"They've got to run out of ammo soon," Galen shouted over the gunfire.
"Which side?" Probity yelled back.
"Either side!" Galen bellowed.
"This is ridiculous," An muttered. She got to her feet, ignoring Probity's frantic gestures, and walked forward. "Listen to me, all of you--"
The first shot took her through one wing, the second low in the torso. Her halo flickered, blazed brightly, and went out, and she turned in the air like a dancer and fell, oh so slowly. Probity screamed and leapt up, heedless of the bullets, but even as she flew to An's side everyone still standing in the control room was lowering his or her weapon, shocked into inaction by what they had seen.
At the door, Voltimand Nyrond lowered his head into his hand, trying to hold back tears. Beside him, Arioch and Adhemar looked fearful. Even in their minds, removed from their human origin by aeons of immortal life, the ancient eidolon held power.
Probity leant over An, tears filling her eyes too. On the floor, An smiled up at her.
"It was the only way," she whispered. "Someone had to get shot, or they'd have been at it all day."
"I need to get you to a hospital," Probity said between choking sobs.
"No need," An said. "I'm...due a vacation anyway. I'll...see you...soon." She reached up and put her finger to Probity's lips. "Look after him. Make sure he knows this was my choice, not his." The eyes flickered, drifted shut. "Love you...Probity."
Golden sparkles softly surrounded her body, and when Probity's dazzled vision cleared, An was nowhere to be seen.
Swiftlly her rational mind took control. What had just happened was inexplicable, and therefore of low immediate priority. She moved to Galen's side. "This wasn't your fault," she said, speaking quickly. "You said yourself, you didn't even know why she was here. You didn't bring her, neither did I. There's no reason to--"
Galen turned and looked at her. "Viscera, what are you doing?"
Probity frowned. "Trying to keep you alive. Your deathblock--"
Galen smiled. "But she's not--" Then he checked. "Uh, yeah, you're right. Uh, thank you, Viscera. Yes, not my fault. I must remember that."
At the door, Voltimand suddenly lifted his head as if listening to something, as if someone was whispering in his ear. Slowly he smiled, glanced at Adhemar and Arioch, and nodded. His hand went to his shoulder, as if covering another's hand there; then he advanced into the now deathly quiet room and began taking guns from the numbed hands of Vigilante and henchperson alike. Adhemar and Arioch shook themselves, and followed him. Gradually a pile of weapons began to build up in the centre of the room, and the shocked combatants, biddable as cattle, allowed themselves to be shepherded out of the double doors.
"What's happening now?" Probity demanded.
"We're done here." Galen said. "Vigil on the surface will arrest the pirates and other criminals. There won't be any more trouble." He looked around. "You know, I bet I could get Wuk Affiliated if I..." His voice died away into mumbling.
Probity looked fondly at him. He really was coping very well. She moved toward the passageway down which Snood had bolted, and whither Zander had followed him. Someone had better make sure everything was secure at that end.
********
On the surface, the Vigil Commander was assisting Jenny into his troop ship, while reading her her rights as understood by the Corps.
"...and you have the right to make your peace with whatever deity or deities you worship, if you do not worship a deity one will be assigned to you to peacemaking purposes only..."
Jenny smiled at him as he secured her seat belt.
********
Snood awoke. There, in front of him, in the stairwell, unavoidable, was the hanging body of Osmotherley Habbinge.
"You did this." Zander spoke in a low voice on one side of him. "If you were a Nyrond--if you were worthy--you'd be dying right now."
"You're a sheep in goat's clothing," Soren said, on his other side, "and this is goat territory. You don't belong. You can't do it right."
"People talk a lot of nonsense about sheep and goats," Zander said. "They think one or other is better, or happier, or more free, or more intelligent."
"But none of that matters to a sheep or to a goat. They are what they are. All that stuff is part of the way humans think about them."
"Like you. You think sheep are stupid, that it's better to be a goat." Zander looked him in the wide, terrified eyes. "Do you still think so?"
"The Vigil are preoccupied with the real pirates," Soren said.
"You, as you pointed out a while back, have committed no actual major crimes," Zander said.
"On the other hand, you have caused suffering, sorrow and death by your actions, which might trouble even the conscience of a goat."
"Here's your choice." Zander laid something on the floor in front of Snood. "You can take this, buy passage to an Affiliated world, get yourself some decent medical help, find a job if you choose, write a book, live your life. Sheep aren't slaughtered any more, and you won't be troubled with goats, wolves or any other metaphorical predator."
"Or," Soren said, "you can take this, run, go into hiding, blow it all on some other stupid scheme for revenge on a 'verse that never really even knew you existed, keep on trying to be a goat, and probably get yourself killed. You don't have the moral compass to live well like that, but we can't stop you trying."
"And frankly," Zander added, "we don't care."
He and Soren both stood up. "One thing, though," Soren said. "Before you leave, get Habbinge down and bury him decent. He loved you, for what that's worth, even if you never knew or cared. And a little spadework might do you some good."
Their footsteps resounded on the bare boards. The front door slammed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-08-07 10:55 am (UTC)The Vigil had, prettyt much, departed. They had their guilty parties, enough to justify their existence for another period and (covertly) they were glad that they hadn't been obliged to "deal with" the Nyronds, who were an infuriating time-waste and generally managed to argue themselves out of serious repercussions in the longer term.
The Nyrond Call To Arms had also pretty well trailed off. The sudden blow-up on Wuk had disinfluenced those Nyronds tender in the death-block or self-preservation departments, and the obvious lack of booty had steered a number of others into other directions (it was said that Luitvold was running several Cascading Cornocopiae out in the Wittelbaum Sector, and they were always good for a bit of fall-out, especially when there was only one world a Nyrond could be on at a time).
The pirates were long gone -- most of them scattering as the Vigil arrived, most of the rest leaving as the Vigil did (in custody), and most of what few remained running up flags (or ID codes) of convenience and scampering for the stars and the possibility of fat merchant convoys somewhere else. Pandrax, contrarily, had slipped back into the Wuk volume and had managed to forge a small version of DNAP-Jenny's fleet, with a view to relieving TransEcliptic Mining and Extraction MNA of a quantity of their autumn yield. Which meant obtaining some barges to carry the loot. And there was a chap called Tullian who was offering a Good Deal on "barges (slghtly-used)" three systems over.
And, out of nowhere, Palinurus (or some of his Young People, in a borrowed decommissioned medical yacht) had turned up, offering basic emergency aid and counselling to the people of Wuk, for next to nothing and an amnesty from the homeship.
Which was how Soren, Zander, Galen, Adhemar and Voltimand (Arioch had absented himself, on account of a parrot that thought it was funny to scream his name out loud, whilst adding reference to Blood and Souls) came to meet in a slightly dingy but Vigil-free bar on the edge of the city. And, desirous of expanding their knowledge-base, Galen's troupe of auxiliaries (Probity et al) had "happened" to choose the same establishment and were watching (and listening in on) the proceedings.