ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

43. Beyond the End

Commodore Reemon Erra gazed as Tooran glided majestically towards the blue hills in the distance, before ascending over the evening sun. Erra couldn't stop marvelling at how different she looked now.

The Commodore found himself reminiscing about the moment when he, along with the rest of Tooran's crew found themselves adrift inside the wormhole, with no chance of being rescued. Back then, Erra had really believed it was the end for him and his beloved ship. He felt they were both too wounded, scarred and tired to carry on. He was certain that their story would end there. But it didn't.

Tooran was not only salvaged but resurrected and transformed into a formidable warmachine. And over the last 2 years she had been modified and upgraded so many times that now, as Tooran rose like a mighty Keishaal into the fading lights of the sun, Erra could hardly recognise her. The old Amarthian kept watching till the ship vanished completely.

Now alone once more, the foreboding silence surrounding him descended into his thoughts. It compelled Erra to sink back into his contemplation. He quietly counted down the last moments of Hermesh.

“You were never really good at saying goodbyes, were you, old friend?” Erra heard a voice coming from a distance.

He looked up to see General Naaroke Barmin gazing down at him. Erra, who hadn't noticed him enter, did not answer. For now, even words felt empty to the Commodore.

Sensing his friend's delicate state of mind, General Barmin spoke again, “Let me distract you by telling you a little secret, Reemon. That dream you had where Sheel stood in front of the entity you know as Ishtar; in it, that third human was me.”

“You?” Erra asked, finally moved to speak by that unexpected revelation.

“When you become one of us, you remember all your past lives and how each of them ended. Ishtar was able to turn me into the past incarnation that I missed the most.” General Barmin smiled wistfully, “Dmitry Petrovich Neverovsky, a human who lived a very long time ago. Ironically, in that life, I was also a general, but of human soldiers. And even though we fought using relatively primitive weapons, we still found ways to slaughter each other in crude and barbaric manners.

My death came at the Battle of Leipzig. Fought over two days, it was one of the greatest battles of that time. In human age, I was in my early 40s. Being a professional soldier, who started his career at the age of 15, one would say, I had lived long enough. Yet life took its time to leave my body. A metal projectile had shattered my leg leaving me incapacitated. As I lay wounded, blood flow to my leg stopped, making the tissues die. That part of my body became infected. The infection slowly spread all throughout me, forcing me to experience a slow and excruciatingly painful death.”

“And that is the life you wanted to relive?”

“I know it sounds strange. But even in that unholy agony, all I wanted was to hold on to life, one torturous moment at a time. When death finally came, it set me on a path to enlightenment in the next life. For never before in all my previous lives had I valued life more.”

“Naaroke, I'm sorry but I am not afraid to die anymore. I'm tired of this life.” Erra said finally, “I just wish that…” Erra sighed, gazing helplessly at his hands.

“Tekkar could live for a bit longer?” There was kindness on Barmin's face.

“Yes.”

“And for the first time in her life the dutiful soldier disobeyed her mentor and surrogate father.”

Erra was visibly taken aback by the intrepidity of that statement. Seeing that he did not protest, the General pushed on. “Just because we Amarthians don't procreate like other biological beings, doesn't mean that we've stopped caring for others as if they were family. She is the daughter you always wanted and you are the father she never had.”