Unholy Star, Beyond Faith

Very old friends

[Three ages or about fifteen hundred years later at canopy Aged Colony 3295, the planet, Skye]

A cool breeze was blowing gently thought the boughs of the trees as the very old man stood naked on the edge of the porch waving his member from side-to-side. He did this every morning to get air to an ulcer that was festering in the skin on the underside of his penis. He knew that others in the village considered him to be a crazy pervert, but didn't care as it was the only way he could get relief from the constant pain.  fresh air did him good.

He had his right arm wrapped around a solid wooden upright that supported the overhanging roof above. His tree shack was on one of the higher levels of the complex, and its veranda was without any form of hand-rail protection from a very long drop. From his position, the man was in line with the high branches that radiated out of the thick, towering trunks of massive conifers. He dared not look down or risk a bout of vertigo that might cause him to slip -- a real threat at his age. He suspected that the lack of railings was by design to ensure that a percentage of the aged population fell to their deaths, either as a straightforward suicide or an accident caused by a combination of a broken balance on wobbly joints and freak gusts of wind. But, to be fair, he thought it would be far crueler to be living at ground level where the beasts (and worse) would make easy pickings of the elder colony's residents.

The warm rays of the orange star had been fighting with broken clouds and the forest canopy for a spot on the man's pale skin. He cursed under his breath as the shade won, the sun banished by a lingering cloud mass. Defeated, and not entirely trusting his arthritic legs to carry him reliably, he took a careful step back from the veranda's edge while keeping a firm grip on the upright. When clear of the edge, he reached down in another slow and tentative movement to pick up the robe that he had discarded to the ground earlier.

He stood at the spot for a time, holding the robe and thinking of nothing or no one in particular, but rather, of everything and everyone. He was so absorbed in his abstract thoughts that a hum from the sky didn't register to him at first. It was a sound from his former life, but distinctly out of place here at a colony of forgotten aged outcasts. Ignoring his aches and pains, he shuffled as fast as he could back to the edge and looked up to the sky. His jaw fell as a massive vessel hovered into view from over the top of his shack. It was Amaran fortress class and, unlike other ships, was marked with a distinctive and bold, gold geometric design. The ship hovering above the poor man's house was one he knew well and perhaps the finest vessel in the Galaxy.

As the ship blotted out any of the light that made it through the treetops, the onlooker felt a cold flush of nervous excitement as a platform dropped from the base of the ship. Tiger of Atripliceae knew who would be on that platform and it surprised him a lot.

The platform floated down from the hulk above, and Tiger stood ready to receive its envoy. Leveling with the veranda the platform hovered forward until it was less than a foot from the edge where he was standing.

"Tyger, Tyger burning bright, in the forests of the night!" the words came from the thin, strained voice of a man who, if it were possible, seemed older than his would-be host. Mostly bald and with skin covered in age spots, thin wisps of silky white beard flowed down the front of an ornate black and gold dress. The ancient man stood between a combat ready man and woman, clearly bodyguards. "I see you've dressed up for my visit!" The visitor added in jest to his naked host, "Tell me, have you lost your mind or is there a reason you've been throwing your privates around in the wind. I must say, you had the whole bridge of the Fortress in a knot of laughter, and I haven't seen that for an age!"

Not phased by the fun at his expense, Tiger pretended to ignore his regal guest and moved back to re-attempt to recover his robe. Once covered, he looked to his quests, and in an as formal voice that he could muster, greeted his guests, "Welcome Pachycereus Pringlei, to the Elder Tree,  colony number three-two-nine- five. Tell me kind Sir, how may I serve a prickly old pussy like you on this beautiful, albeit slightly cool day?"

The guest let out a chuckle, and all signs of regalness faded as he drew forth a walking stick that had been hidden under the folds of his light dress and slowly wobbled forward, his entourage picking him up gently at each elbow to breach the gap to the wooden deck. "Well seriously, you can start by telling me what's with the dick waving. Indeed troublesome activity for one of the highest ranked generals of our time!"

"It's a wound. You know, we have no access to medicine or any technology beyond herbs that could heal the sore. It's been festering for months; I can show you if you like?"

"That will not be necessary," answered Pachy who waved the tall muscle-bound bodyguard who came forward and bent her knee to receive a private message whispered to her ear. She then returned to the platform which drew away from the house and began to float back up to the ship leaving Tiger and his guest alone.

The pair relaxed and moved over to an outside bench beside the door, "It's good to see you, Tiger, how long has it been? Fifteen years?"

"At least." agreed Tiger, "I've been here for three years now."

"You know why I'm here, don't you?"

"I can guess: You want my shining star."

"Yes, she's turning twelve soon and, we hope, will join the Ethnaa Aashar."

"Ha Ha! Good luck with that. Her father hates you for your love of his wife and you want to send his daughter into child slavery. He'll never agree to let the Learned steal her life away like that."

"But she is special, Panthera Tigre," Pachy used his friend's formal name, a convention used to impart gravity to a situation, "She's like me."

"Bah! She's nothing like you. She's far more powerful!" Tiger admonished with a wave of his arm.

"Yes! The potential is there, I know. It seems that not only can she observe without the aid of augmentation, but she can subscribe and mutate too, all the more reason for her to join us. She's one of a kind Tiger, can you imagine the breakthroughs she'll forge for the whole of the Galaxy?"

"Fair enough, So what's it got to do with me. I'm here, like everyone else in this damn colony sitting waiting to die. I have no power over Sen, her mother or her father anymore." 

'That's not entirely true. But, as a friend, I just wanted to let you know, out of respect for all that we've been through together."

"Thank you, Pachy. I appreciate that. You know you can stay here and live out the rest of your days with an old comrade. In fact there's a recent opening in the next shack..."

The two men sat and reminisced for a time, occasionally using very harsh language to drive off curious residents who had come to see what the people from the strange ship wanted from Tiger's shack.

After a while, the ship's transport returned with the two bodyguards who retrieved their ward. But before Pachy left the veranda, one of the guards passed him a small globe. He, in turn, passed the globe on to Tiger. "Here, this will help. It's adaptive salve."

Tiger recognised the universal ointment. He quickly hid it under his robe and whispered over to his friend with a wink, "Thank you. What I don't need for myself I'll sell for sex to the other residents."

Both men stood and chuckled. Then briefly embraced before the visitor moved to the platform and floated back to his ship. Tiger knew that it was the last time he would ever see his friend again.