182 - Emerge - Moby Dick - Garnigal - Serenifly

[garnigal.livejournal.com]

The truth emerged slowly, like some giant sea creature gone unseen for centuries. It was nearly unrecognizable, still disguised by noise that clung like barnacles, by falsehoods that attached like lampreys. But when it rose from the depths, it was unstoppable, undeniable and relentless.

***

It began slowly, in the mind of a single teenage girl. Confusion reigned in the mind of this young girl, as it reigned in the mind of most teenagers.

At least she had that in common with them.

Her confusion was not born out of hormonal storms and peer competition, however. Hers was artificially created, an experiment and a safeguard against the truth ever coming out.

But the truth has a way of making itself heard above the noise.

***

Her voice was never meant to be heard. Her secret messages were never expected to be decoded. But as always, they underestimated the power of love, the guilt of family. They would have (did) fall prey to greed, and they assumed her brother would as well.

But he turned his back on his bright future, walked away from a fortune, sacrificed his pride in order to save his sister.

They could never understand.

***

Girl and brother on the run, fleeing, flying from the law, from they who controlled the law. Brother and girl found transport, found asylum.

Found sanctuary.

It wasn’t peaceful or serene, wasn’t really even safe, but it gave them a place to hide, a place to catch their breath. It gave them other people to rely on, other people to decode the messages.

And the truth broke the surface, giving them tantalizing hints at the monster below the surface, giving them clues and the tools to scrape off a barnacle and detach a lamprey.

***

But even the black wasn’t enough to hide the truth forever. Even running wasn’t enough to keep them hidden. Even sanctuary could be breached.

They made their second great mistake. First they underestimated the individual, now they misunderstand the group. Their group existed only to consolidate power, to accumulate money. They existed only to control.

They assumed those on Serenity wanted the same.

They saw there was dissention on Serenity, distrust on Serenity, battles for supremacy. They assumed they understood the causes, and attempted to widen those cracks.

But those on Serenity wanted only freedom, wanted the sky, wanted to opt out. Money was only a means to an end and power was beyond their grasp. They might not always agree, but in the end they stood back to back to back against the growing threat, stood between the girl and the enemy.

Stood up for the truth.

***

So they sent their greatest weapons to bury the truth forever. Sent Captain Ahab to harpoon the mighty whale that lurked beneath the lovely surface of a teenage girl. Believed that this was like every other mission.

And they made their last, and greatest mistake.

They believed they were the only ones capable of ruthlessness.

***

In the end, the truth was revealed.

In the end, confusion was deposed.

In the end, sanctuary was restored.

In the end, Serenity flew.