Legion: A Poem
By: Kat "Bruinhilda" Anderson

The following story occured to me in poetic form, and I decided to keep it that way. Many thanks belong to Fatima, for proofreading this, and offering advice. Lothri is Jessica's character, but since this was a Gherkin story, I needed to at least mention him. So if he's different when Jessica writes him, it's me who screwed up.

There were four of us in the beginning.
Gentle Lya, clever Ralni, loyal Salan
And Calthri, the leader.

We were there when the Queen came.
Others bowed their heads before her.
We did not.

Our Elders said the Queen was our punishment
For the sins of our past.
A thousand Gherkins offered themselves freely.

Lothri, a philosopher, tried to convince the Elders
Of their error. They did not listen.
They joined the Queen, and left us without leaders.

We four followed Lothri, as many more did
Passively hiding ourselves
Denying the Queen our lifeforce.

It was Calthri who proposed
We return to the old ways
And fight for our freedom.

Lothri said no.
The whole concept of war was repugnant
And Calthri found no other followers.

We four went alone to the camps.
The guards did not expect a fight from us
And were easily killed.

We spent seven years fighting for our people.
But they ran from us as well,
Horrified at what we were.

We wondered if we were wrong.
Was death more noble than living
With blood on our hands?

Then Lothri came to us.
With shame in his face, he asked our help.
We gladly gave it.

Few Gherkins remained at that time.
Bounty hunters scoured the planet
And we had no more ships to flee in.

We posed as meek refugees,
And joined Lothri's followers
As they surrendered to the Queen.

We were taken off-planet, our only way out.
The guards expected no trouble from us.
We took their ship easily.

The Queen's ships hounded us constantly.
We had traded one trap for another
And none but we four would kill to escape.

We risked making a deal with Pedulant smugglers,
Who took Lothri and his people to safety.
We four flew to meet the Queen.

The battle was short; our ship was captured
And we were taken to the Psychocrypt.
Four Gherkins became one Crystal.

We served the Queen for many more years
Forgotten by all.
We never learned what became of Lothri.

Then, our ship was raided by Rangers.
The battle was far fiercer than any
We had fought before.

They were after the Crown's cargo:
Gherkin bodies in stasis
And the psychocrystals to revive them.

But an explosion killed the bodies
(Ours were among them)
And the battle shattered many crystals.

Only ours remained, snatched by human hands
Growing weaker as our bodies died.
Our saviors despaired.

One body survived, thrown clear by some accident.
He was dying from his crystal's loss.
There was nothing they could do.

One Ranger found he could not stand by
and do nothing.
He joined our crystal to our kin's body.

Four became five
Though the fifth remains silent
Trapped in one man's form.

We wished to join the Rangers
Rather than our fellow survivors
Who would not have welcomed us back.

The Rangers said yes, the Politicians said no,
And the fight over us began.
We could not stand by and watch.

Nor could the Rangers
Who helped us escape one night
Giving us a ship and weapons.

We started our war, we four alone
So many years in the past.
Now together as one, we'll fight it again.
And the Forever help those who get in our way.

______________________________________________________

Back to Bruinhilda's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!