CANAISIS ∞ Chronicle One ∞ 2: A Captain's Journey

46 ∞ From Rage to Mission

As he drew back for another blow, he screamed, "What do you know, Canaisis?"

The rod slammed against the marble, and a large chip flew off. Gripping the bar harder, he drew back again.

"Do you know she left me after finding out she was dying?"

A hairline crack spidered across the marble from the metal rod's impact.

He couldn't seem to help himself ​​with the adrenaline driving him beyond sense or reason. He drew back for another blow and shouted even louder, "I could have saved her! She could have gone into cold sleep!"

This time, marble chips exploded outward, exposing a small hole.

"I could have waited until a cure could be found if she hadn't turned away from me! She said she would love me forever—everything I sacrificed for us, and it wasn't enough!"

He rammed the bar forward with all his strength, intent on destroying this symbol of his love. The marble plate cracked inward from his strike, and he stumbled forward a bit, but he wasn't done.

Canaisis' calm voice spoke inside his ear. «You became a captain of a Living Ship for more than your wife, Captain Levant.»

Panting from his exertion within his suit, he changed his grip to make overhand blows at the wall.

"Of course I did—I believed in Humanity! I thought we deserved to reach the stars! I wanted to be a part of Humanity taking its next step in progress! What's your point, Canaisis? We're extinct now!"

His anger flowed into his arms as he swung with all his might. The bar bent a little from the impact, but the marble sounded a very satisfactory crack.

«Humanity still has a chance, Captain. You swore an oath when you became my Captain—I call you to your Mission and your duty.»

Canaisis' voice seemed to ring in his ears as he felt his energy waning. But he still had anger left to go, so he drew back for another overhead blow at the wall. This time when the bar struck, the marble plate crumbled, and his bar stuck in the hole. He jerked on the bar, and all the chunks fell to the floor, leaving a black square opening. He dropped the bar and tilted his helmet for his lamps to shine inside.

"How can you possibly want anything to do with Humanity, Canaisis?"

His voice was calmer now, but the black rage simmered just below the surface, waiting. The porcelain ceramic urn within reflected blue and white colors back at him.

"She left me, Canaisis." He spoke in a lower voice that hid the darkness within him. "She left to go enjoy the last few months of her life... And then she really left me." He couldn't help it—tears started down his cheeks, and he couldn't even wipe them.

Reaching into the hole, he carefully took the urn into his gloved hands and extracted it. He looked down at the intricate patterns of blue glazing laid on the white porcelain.

«Captain, I'm very much in fear for your life. Would you make me watch you die? You swore an oath to be my Captain—we have a mission. I ask you to return to your duty. Don't leave me alone.»

He looked up. His lamps shone deeper into the hole in the wall, lighting up seven small round objects. A memory caught up with him. He recalled the day he'd held the funeral service, setting those seven acorns there beside the urn to honor his wife's love of Oak trees. He placed the urn on the floor, and reached inside. Brushing them forward with his gloved fingers, he caught them as they fell into his other hand.

Seven little acorns rested there in his palm as his anger and rage dissolved. Breathing returned to normal, and memories and thoughts flowed through his mind as he stared at the acorns.

From such little things, great majestic trees grew. No matter where these acorns landed, they would try to grow despite the odds.

Life finds a way, he remembered reading somewhere in a book. And it was true. From these precious little objects, a forest could come to be, if given a chance. They deserved that chance, even if Humanity didn't. But the real question was, did Humanity deserve a second chance?

Canaisis seemed to think so. But was that from programming or her own thoughts?

And what of Canaisis? Did she deserve to face the Universe alone? If Humanity's extinction had devastated him, how did it make her feel? He'd never considered her feelings in this. But now, he had to consider what she would feel if he left her all alone...

A calm lucidity came over him as he marveled at these little round objects that carried the seed to trees of such beauty, the last of his anger and bitterness draining away. They could be symbols of hope if he let them. He gazed at the seven acorns and, right then and there, he made a decision. His swirling emotions crystallized into a clear, distinct purpose.

A forest there would be one day, for his wife. A forest where children could play, because Humanity deserved that chance as well. And Canaisis... she did not deserve what he was doing to her.

In a calm and tired voice, he said, "I accept the Mission, Canaisis." Within himself, he felt an iron-hard resolve take its place, and he drew a long breath as it took hold.

He placed the seeds within a pouch on his tool belt and returned to the sled to pick out a nutrient and water pack. But as he sat down, the need to rest overwhelmed him, the adrenaline spent. He fell asleep, his mind drifting into dreams, and Ayla went with him...

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