Chapter 6: Child of Mine

Kyan drank his coffee quietly as he enjoyed the peacefulness of the early morning. He could hear the birds twittering about, and felt the warmth of dawn on his face. It wasn't his habit to lament his blindness. In his mind, he could summon up an image that sufficed. This was the one time of the day that Kyan let himself just be. There was no need for games or masks. He was the only one here...or was he? There came the slight shuffle of feet behind him, and Kyan smiled.

"I let you hear me," a soft voice said.

He couldn't help but chuckle. So this was River Tam. "Thank you. That was very considerate."

"Everyone's nervous. They don't like what you do," River whispered. "Worth. You're always weighing what things are worth. Something lost, something gained. It all has to be worth it."

"It seems you understand, little one. Do you know what I am planning?" he asked.

"She knows, but she hasn't told. The girl thinks it's worth it. She's...," River paused. "I am willing to help, but I want something."

Kyan took another sip of coffee. "Name your price."

"No one dies. When the time comes, send the crew away. Keep them safe."

"I wish I could make that kind of promise, but I don't make promises that I can't keep. We have time," Kyan told her. He knew it would be useless to keep the plan from her. "I have five rendezvous points set up, and if at any time you want in or out, tell me."

"I'm leaving now." With that announcement, he heard the door close behind her.

Just maybe, that little girl was saner than they all thought. He hoped Thalia was on her best behavior with River. The two of them were less alike than he had assumed. Kyan would have to alter his plans a bit.

Kyan opened the face plate on his watch and felt the hands. It wasn't even seven yet. He thought back to when they had first taught him things like this. Sure, he could have bought a watch that read the time for him, but something about the old world elegance of the more traditional watches spoke to him. Even though he couldn't see it himself, he demanded nothing short of elegance and perfection.

When it had first happened. Kyan had ended up in a medical center on Persephone. His old friend Jean had taken him there and stashed Thalia in a safe house. There hadn't been much fear of being identified. Those he had worked for were dead, and retinal scanners only really worked if you had retinas. The only ID they had on Kyan was an expensive forgery leading to a clean record. As far as the doctors were concerned, Evan Myers had been attacked on some backwoods planet, and brought in by his father for treatment. They gave saving his sight a valiant try, but even with the latest technology, his optic nerve was too far gone. Kyan did not take the news well to say the least.

Life as a weakling did not appeal to him, and how could a blind man be anything but weak? Kyan balked at the therapists early tries to get him to learn anything. His requests to Jean had been quite simple: all he needed was a loaded pistol. However, the older man wouldn't do it. Instead, he visited Kyan daily and prattled on ignoring his friend's rage.

"Ya know the gel seems to think that you're goin' ta take care o' her. I tol' her t'other day that you can't very well take care o' yourself right now. Well, she jus' looked at me and said that you will learn 'cause you are hers now," Jean told him one afternoon.

Kyan turned toward his friend's voice. "She'll be fine where she is. She doesn't need me."

"What a load of shit," Jean tsked. "You owe it to your father. Garek coulda very easily left ya where he found ya. You didn't need him. Even then you'd made it the whole way to Ariel on your own, can you tell me you woulda preferred it that way, you selfish bastard? You took that child in, and now you owe it to her too."

Those words stayed with Kyan as he sat alone in his room. He thought back to when Garek Zol had offered him a spot on his ship. In the end, he could do no less for Thalia. The next morning, Kyan actually worked with the therapist. By the time he left the rehabilitation clinic, he was ready to give living blind a try. Thalia was his reason back then, and in part, she was his reason now.

Thalia made it back to the house exactly one minute before noon. Kyan could hear the hover craft approaching, and smiled. He had spent the day in his study making some of the final arrangements for their journey. As he emerged from his solitude, he was bowled over by a small form.

"Oh, my gosh! I am soooo sorry," the woman gushed. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Kyan replied curtly as he picked himself off of the floor. "I assume you are Mrs. Tam?"

"How'd you know that?" she asked.

"You are the only woman in this house that I have not met," he said trying not to frown.

"Well, I'm Kaylee. I guess that would make you Mr. Zol, right?"

Kyan gave a small bow. "At your service, my dear." He offered his hand. "May I ask where you were going in such a hurry?"

"I was chasing after River. Didn't you see her pass?" Kaylee asked with a playful giggle. Obviously, no one had told her.

"No," Kyan replied with a slight twitch of his lips, " I did not. If you'll excuse me, Kaylee, I am off to meet someone."

Mara Lee had said the young woman wasn't very bright, but Kyan thought she was innocently delightful. He knew that Kaylee was the gifted mechanic who kept Mal's hunk of scrap metal in the air, and he didn't doubt her talents. In truth, he wondered how she had ended up on the ship.

Thalia was waiting for him on the front porch. "So are we all one big happy family?" she asked teasingly.

Kyan smiled. "Why of course. Little sister seems to be fitting in well."

"Does she?" Kyan could hear the edge on Thalia's voice. "What about the rest of them?"

"They will come around soon. Did you get what I asked for?"

"Yes, and it all checks out. We'll be ready for our first rendezvous." Thalia pressed a bag into his hand. She laughed a little. "Did you miss me?"

"Intolerably, brat," Kyan assured her. He pulled her to him, and hugged her tightly placing a fatherly kiss on the top of her head. "Do you want to meet them?"

She nodded against his chest.