C - perspective: ten generations after the death of Kilgar, Sybex, new first mate on the Tastego, passenger liner now leaving the Xorex star system. Attitudes have shifted. Other clans no longer want the blood of the T'laren, but realize that the Dullon is a danger and an atrocity. Emperor Kilgar's name is rarely spoken, and then only as a curse.
[this story is about Sybex. its secondary purpose is to reveal more about the T'laren and the Rylaxu Empire. its tertiary purpose is to plunge the Dullon into a star and "destroy" him.]
Sybex's mother had a passion for studying T'laren history and art. Sybex inherited it and knows a lot about the T'laren. on a passenger spaceliner, the captain is talking to his new first mate. the captain knew the mate's mother, who died trying to protect members of the Clan T'laren. they talk briefly about the T'laren and Sybex's interest in studying the Clan. T'laren never surrendered to any enemy and have valiantly fought the Dullon for ten generations. the captain tells the young man that he had once met the Dullon when he was young and trying to protect the clan T'laren. in a hollow voice, as if reliving the memories, he tells of how he and some others were smugglers, bandits, and they were hiding members of the Clan T'laren. the Dullon blasted down the door and smashed through the splinters. it [the Dullon] shot several T'laren dead in seconds, then Fairfax, a cyborg-once-T'laren turned a mini-gun loaded with AP ammo on the Dullon. Fairfax fired thousands of rounds into the Dullon, pinning it against a wall. even while suffering the barrage, the Dullon managed to aim a pistol at Fairfax and squeeze off one shot. Fairfax's head exploded from that one round. in shock, the captain threw himself at the Dullon, hoping to slow it down while others escaped. the Dullon almost absently struck him in the head with a backswept hand. when the captain regained consciousness in the hospital hours later, he learned that all of the T'laren he'd hoped to save - some of them friends - were now dead. returned to reality, the captain and the new mate chat for a few moments before something attacks the ship. the Dullon forces its way through an airlock and forcibly enters the ship. the crew panic. it is well known that the Dullon does not kill non-T'laren, but its presence - and a panicked T'laren - could get many people injured. slowly, the first mate admits that he learned only recently that his maternal great-grandmother was of the Clan T'laren. he believes the Dullon is after him. he suggests - and requests - that he be permitted to remain on the bridge - which is an emergency escape vessel - while the others move to the back-up bridge and this will allow him to lure the Dullon onto the bridge/vessel, launch it, and crash it into the solar system's star, hopefully destroying the Dullon forever. other bridge crew protest, but the captain overrules them and orders everyone off the bridge. the captain wants to stay, but his first mate points out that he wouldn't do any more good now than he did before, and that the passengers need him now even more than before. everyone leaves. the mate programs the computers as necessary. the Dullon enters, and silently, coldly points a gun at the mate. the bridge launches, shuddering violently as it does so. without speaking the Dullon looks at the mate. the mate, knowing that he will die anyway, but emboldened to think he will finally avenge his people and do what countless others before him failed to do speaks "I've launched the bridge into the star. can even you survive that?" the Dullon moves tthe controls, and attempts to change course. without speaking it adjusts controls. no good. the bridge hurtles towards the star, and begins to heat up. the Dullon rips open control panels to jury-rig the wiring. no good. Sybex begins to sweat and breathing becomes difficult. the Dullon seems unaffected. "I've beaten you haven't i?" Sybex asks, hoping that it's true. the Dullon relaxes. it's arms hang limp at it's sides. it turns slowly to Sybex, then stiffens, raising it's right arm above it's head and lowering it swiftly in a sweeping arc. the T'laren Harkon Salute, the highest honor a defeated T'laren general can give to an enemy before that enemy crushes him completely. as the bridge heats up, Sybex's eyes begin to blur. as he lifts his hand from the railing to return the salute, he falls to the floor. he never reaches it.
later, the star becomes known as "Juun-to s'Hi'n" or "Savior's Burial Ground" and Sybex is elevated to the level of a Saint, second only in modern mythological significance to Juun-to Io'pah T'laren.