User:EthanKel/The Merchant Marines

The legend of The Merchant Marines

The young, eager pilots gathered around the Elder beseeching him to recount the tales of the former times when The Merchant Marines had first begun. It was a tale that they never tired of hearing, their eager, young hearts yearning and desiring those same travels and adventures on the roads to glory and space conquest that had begun so long ago in another far away galaxy.

"Tell us the stories old one,” these pilots would jokingly goad the Elder into relating these fireside side chats of times long past. So, he would begin these tales gazing at them with his piercing blue eyes surrounded by the many wrinkles of age and time, his head capped with hair gone white giving him the appearance of a wizened old sage or maybe even a prophet or one who just might have stepped too far over the edge too many times during his many travels through the vastness of interstellar space.

"Gather round young pilots," he would begin with a low voice drawing them in even closer lest they miss one single word that they so eagerly awaited and anticipated. "Gather round and hear these tales young pilots," he would suddenly say after a few moments of deliberate pause with a voice strong and sure yet also a voice with a tone of quiet desperation, a voice knowing that each time that he told this story was each time closer to the last time that he would ever speak of the times of The Merchant Marines thoroughly enjoying their looks of curiosity, impatience, and query.

"Gather round," he would suddenly cry out after another deliberate long pause as they drew near to him, surprising and startling the young pilots who were now wondering and considering his sanity."

"Gather round" he would speak with a laughing glint in his eyes as he watched their faces relishing every moment of their expectant anticipation of the tales to come "gather round and hear these tales before my voice becomes forever silent in this life and sleeps forever among the stars that we all so yearn to travel and explore!"

"Gather round," he would lower his voice again to an almost whisper, gather round because this time may well be the last time this story proceeds from spoken words."

Slowly his voice would begin again, steady and sure picking up speed as he spoke, a voice of confident command and a voice of a seasoned pilot in its command of the spoken language of the stars. "Hmmm, now, let's see," he would ponder for a few moments - his eyes staring far off into that place of distant memories while he slowly stroked his long white beard, "Where to begin," he would muse, "Ooh yes," he would sigh, " it all comes back to me now, ahhhhh but it seems like only yesterday that The Merchant Marine's rose from its ashes like the proverbial Phoenix of legends lore." This bird, this Phoenix is reflected in the golden eagle icon of our corporation, we are this "Phoenix" and like that proverbial Phoenix which rose from its own ashes, so have we, not once or twice but three times before the great exodus to this new universe!"

That statement would always intensely intrigue the curiosity of these new pilots who had begun wondering why, how or even if such resurrections should even occur but they knew that if not for these resurrections, The Merchant Marines might have ceased possibly forever never reaching this new universe and their hearts would fill even more pride knowing of the great sacrifices made to reach this universe.

"Before the great exodus to this universe, the third incarnation," the Elder continued, "began with a voice, an almost silent, ethereal cosmic voice in its manner of calling to the spirit, a voice like a silent whisper that travelled throughout the other galaxy searching for they of The Merchant Marine's who might once again dare to defy the odds and resurrect this Phoenix in this third incarnation with the vision to once again be the corporation that it had been so long ago - a vision that had become almost forgotten and living only in the memories of its former members, a vision of what it had once been, a vision of a strong and honorable corporation and a vision of a corporation worthy of note desiring to dwell once again in celestial homes among the stars."

(To be continued)