======The Legacy of Saul-Tii ====== Sapphire-Upon Sea does a brilliant job in her new role. S.E.A. grows and expands in its vision, now seeking to create safety nets for the future as well as looking after the refugees of today. Seeking to put intergalactic policies in place which will keep future refugees safe. Seeking to look after those who are displaced for smaller conflicts as well as large-scale war. Saul-Tii wants all these things, and with their new team, their collaboration with Osmos, and their growing presence on the intergalactic stage, they might just achieve it. Gleaming Jet accepts the offer. They seem keen to get out of politics for a while, and think about what they can do to help others. So much of their past few years was about tearing down, rather than building up. But eventually Gleaming Jet leaves, he gets back into Eternal Skies politics, fighting for better economic and social systems to support everyone. He fights with words this time and he doesn’t use them to incite violence either. Unity is the goal. The future, not vengeance for the past. Not so many cycles after peace starts in the Eternal Sky, Saul-Tii encounters an elderly Balra they've not seen before at a Guild meeting. Talking to him, they find he’s come to say his goodbyes to the Guild whilst he’s still just about fit to travel. Saul-Tii's compassion leads them into deeper conversation with him. They discover why he has had such a long absence from the Guild: he had been the sole survivor of a tragic incident, and had needed a long time on solid ground to recover. Even now he says he feels claustrophobic, he can’t help but think of the vacuum beyond the walls of the auditorium. Besides that, there had been a cover up, and he hadn’t known if he’d be safe on the station, not until the news about Kynlith. The incident was caused by damage to the ship's hull, sustained before the mission had set off, and it had simply been missed, or perhaps, as he now wonders, ignored. He had been the engineer and noticed first, set off the alarms, got into the escape pod. He’d been picked up by search and rescue; they hadn’t found any other intact escape pods on the nearby planet. But when he got back to the Guild he’d been threatened not to mention the prior damage. This was an isolated incident, and if he couldn’t say that on his report, then he wouldn’t be saying anything at all. He now realises the damage had likely been caused by the ship being previously used for smuggling for the Scourge Fleet, and so covered up by Kynlith upon return. He mentions the year it happened and Saul-Tii realises… This was Scion’s ship. He asks about Scion. The Balra speaks fondly of her, and of her work. He asks about who she was to Saul-Tii. And so the two chat and reminisce about this wonderful Sailor, this brave artist. He raises the possibility that she might be out there, her escape pod could have left orbit, flown off into the stars. Saul-Tii ponders this. Does it make a difference? She is beyond the reach of the known galaxy now. Perhaps she will die a long time in the future, perhaps she’ll arrive somewhere strange and help them with her creativity and experience, like a certain Detective Garibaldi helped this station. Or perhaps she died doing what she loved: exploring and creating. His new Balra friend says he’ll be getting a lawyer to go public with the news of the incident, so that these things don’t happen again. Perhaps there is some comfort in knowing she might save lives from beyond the grave. Then again, Scion’s Endless Ark has always been towards life. She might be beyond your reach, but she’ll always be a sanctuary for people, even from beyond the stars. And so work continues on S.E.A. Saul-Tii builds it up, and strengthens it, and turns it into something that can survive without them. And then he leaves, passing it on to excellent hands. Even Sweeping Tides and his brother have joined the team, helping raise S.E.A.’s profile in the Grieving Sea. Sapphire Upon Sea and Veiled Brightness have learned to work well together, and Osmos has strengthened the logistical side of the enterprise. Saul-Tii has created something that will outlive him, and now it is time to go and live. After visiting many deserts of sand and ice and sea; after seeing the sights; there is a final journey, a final moment to share with this friend. A final stop as you explore the stars together. A warped and barren landscape, after a hard and arduous climb, that you view from the top: dream-like spires, sea green, maroon red, deep and mysterious purple. All unfolded beneath Saul-Tii in the glittering glare of an unfamiliar sun. He breathes deep as he looks out upon it, and smiles as his friend joins him at the pinnacle, knowing he has made a way up here for her. The climb was easier knowing she was following behind. As the sunlight gradually fades, the two of them turn their eyes from the landscape to the stars. With the atmosphere so thin, there are so many of them -- more than can feasibly be counted. The first figure eagerly points at the ones they know -- Rylor, Xiess, Do-Loris, ARCOL, and of course Brightest of Brightest. The second nods, and says little. Together, basking in the kaleidoscopic light of an alien sunset, they lie back and watch. Above them, a swirling infinity of stars, their brightness finally unveiled. =====Together, at the End of a Universe, Blinking a Tune===== It is quiet on the bridge. The S.E.A. shuttle’s engine hums softly as it drifts through the serene tides of empty space. The stars outside are a sea of light, and the scale of it all is breathtaking, like standing at the edge of a grand sea with a never-ending horizon. Inside, the two Sailors sit silently, lights dimmed as to not distract from the beauty outside. It is quiet on the bridge, but there is still music. His eyes closed, the older of the two blinks a tune. The other recognises it -- the rhythm and patterns are reminiscent of old lullabies she heard as a child, though the lyrics are distinctly changed. > //“One can think that space is bleak, though we are but a mirror// > //See the stars with hope and joy and they will come much clearer// > //All the stars were made to fall, and we were born to see it// > //One can hear the Heroes Call, but it takes strength to be it// > //Darling, you simply look divine, as you did on the moon// > //The lights and colours suit you well, and I shall join you soon.” //            The old Sailor seems fixated on a cloud of stars as though it were the most beautiful person he had ever seen, and just like he sang, the younger can see them reflected in his eyes as if it were a mirrored tide-pool. Time passes, quietly and comfortably -- who knows how long. Finally, he drags his eyes away from the stars and looks at the bright mind next to him.  Now in his eyes, she could swear she could see a whole ocean fit to burst through. Tides upon tides of joy, of hope, and of the kindest grief the universe had ever known. “I’m glad we got to do this.” And then, just as he says it, just as though the very stars themselves have been watching and listening, his lights falter, a slowing blink that seems to echo through the shuttle despite its silence. His eyes flutter closed, and for a moment, he looks at peace, as if the stars themselves have pulled him into their arms.  The younger Sailor’s heart skips a beat, her body frozen, her mind reeling.  He is gone.  She doesn’t know what to do. Her arms hover above the controls, but it isn’t the shuttle she needs to worry about. It is the silence that has filled the space between them.  **It is quiet on the bridge.** She doesn’t know how long she sits there, staring at him. But slowly, her tentacles begin to be illuminated. Not with grief she has felt before, but in a quiet, profound understanding of how even if one life is ending, perhaps one is just beginning. The stars outside continue to shine, the same as they always have, stretching far into the void.  And Saul-Tii is now one with them. //Written by Allanah B.// ===== The Myth of the Old Man of the Sea ===== Let me tell you a story of the old man of the sea… A Sailor of whom many stories were told in the halls of Cartographers, explorers, travellers, and dreamers. One who fought with space dragons, and bargained with the Selethyan in a battle of art; one who stood between Elder and rebel during the fractious revolutions in the Eternal Skies. But whilst some may object to these stories, there are other stories with a less legendary tilt, whispered everyday inside these walls. The library shelves remember the brush of a clumsy yet helpful hand… Corridors echo with the memory of a kind smile and a gentle hello… The stars shine brighter for having been noticed by an amateur yet determined painter… Some people are heroes, yes. But others are creators. Those who craft a future for the next generation, knowing they won’t be there to see it. It’s hard to see the work of a creator when the lives of you and those around you are infused with their touch. But look a little closer. Children play and run under clear skies. People smile a little more, their eyes relaxed. There’s a peace to this environment. A peace painted across the galaxy by a courageous, wobbling paintbrush.