BABYLON 5: THE VIRTUAL SIXTH SEASON
"THE PRICE OF FREEDOM"
Episode 13
WHAT WAS, AND WHAT MAY BE
There were some days, Lieutenant David Corwin wearily considered as he watched the first morning arrival from Brakiri space make its way into the docking bay, when getting a good night's sleep was just about impossible. For a few months after the Shadow War had ended, Corwin had endured nightmares revolving around the events of the day when the Shadows had come to Babylon 5 - the day that Captain Ivanova, himself and G'Kar had stood in this very spot, all but helplessly waiting for the hammer to fall. A day when Mr. Garibaldi had gone missing - the day they'd all thought that President Sheridan had died at Z'ha'dum. Only, the thing was, every once in a while, the dream had ended in a way that real life hadn't - with the Shadow warships opening fire. He'd never wanted to analyze those dreams too closely - and then, for the longest time, the dreams had gone away.
That had changed last night - and before his shift had started, he'd needed way more coffee then usual to get going. Corwin managed a smile, then, however - at least the quality was still going strong...the IGOT girls were seeing to that. But it still didn't answer the question of why he'd dreamt about that day again, after so long - the morning had been quiet, thus far. Although someone had told him, once, that dreams sometimes reflected in reality - hadn't that been Delenn? He couldn't quite remember...
"Uh... I think you should take a look at this, sir." Corwin turned with a frown to take in the uncertain expression on the face of Amanda Kreies, in her now-familiar position over at the gate control station. "To be honest, I'm having a hard time believing what I'm seeing."
Corwin sighed - never failed, did it? It had been a quiet few days...but as anyone who lived and worked here knew only too well, peace and quiet were things that was almost always in short supply on Babylon 5. "All right," he said, "So who's trying to sneak up on us from the depths of hyperspace this time..." Which was, of course, when Kreies transferred the image she was looking at to one of the nearby wall screens - an image that stopped Corwin cold.
An image that bought back a memory of another day - the day when four Earth Alliance warships had descended upon the station, and a lot of people had died - the ominous forms of Earth Force destroyers and heavy cruisers, silouetted against the red and black hell of hyperspace. "How many?" he quietly asked his watch 2IC.
"At least seven." Kreies replied -- and then, her eyes widened further. "My God! Sir, the lead ship, it's..."
Corwin took a deep breath -- now, even he was having a hard time believing what he was seeing - but there it was, just the same. The lead destroyer in that formation was nothing more than a black shadow against hyperspace...but the shadow's most defining features were the curving black 'arms' that emerged from its fighter bays and drive section. "Oh, Hell - " he muttered. "Here we go again."
Ever since the news had broken the year before, most everyone knew that a couple of the Warlock Class ships, one of them Captain Ivanova's 'Saint-Germain', had been built using Shadow technology. And also that the ISA had ordered the Earth Alliance to completely change the design of the class after that crisis was over, so that even though the name remained the same, there were eventually going to be at least three different models of the destroyer in active service, the first two of which looked nothing like the third.
And then there was the wild card - a ship halfway between the Omegas and the earliest of the Warlocks. Only a handful had ever been built, and now there was only one left - this ship.
The EAS Dark Thunder.
And even as the jump gate came online and began to spit out the first Earthforce ships, Corwin suddenly made the connection he'd been searching for, only a few moments before - a dream about the Shadows, and now, one of the rare Earth Alliance Shadowtech warships had shown up at Babylon 5. This was just too weird - maybe he could ask Sherann about this one later - but for now, there were other details to attend to - the first being, to get the Captain out of bed. And then...
"Sir," Kreies reported, somewhat unnecessarily, "Captain Barns of the Dark Thunder for you, on primary comm."
"Captain Barns," Corwin began, as the image of the destroyer's CO flashed onto the screen in front of him, "If you don't mind me asking..."
"What brings a complete Alliance battlegroup to Babylon 5?" Barns replied, his tone pleasant, yet full of steel. "Well, Lieutenant, I think that's a subject best discussed with Captain Lochley in attendance. For right now though, what you do need to know is that my crews will be coming aboard shortly for some leave from duty - and also that the Earthforce Joint Chiefs of Staff put in a request for extra supplies for this mission to be issued from stocks onboard Babylon 5. At 0200 hours this day, that request was approved by the Interstellar Alliance Advisory Council."
Corwin winced. Even now, he could remember what had happened back in '59 when General Frankin and his Gropos had come aboard - it hadn't been pretty, but then again, this situation was completely different - destroyer crews tended to be a little more gentle when it came to station property. The numbers were still going to strain the facilities, though, at least on the short term - while resupplying seven warships wasn't going to make the supply techs very happy at all. "Thanks for the warning, sir."
Barns nodded. "Oh, and one other thing, Lieutenant, you may want to tell Captain Lochley that Captain Foraker of the EAS Acheron is acting as my adjutant during this phase of our campaign. I've heard that the captain and some of his crew would like to get together with their old CO sometime during our layover."
Corwin blinked. "I'll let her know just as soon as she's awake, sir."
Barns laughed wryly. "Another late night dealing with crises, was it?"
"More like paperwork, sir."
"Heard and understood, Lieutenant. We'll talk more when I come aboard - Dark Thunder out."
Now this, Corwin considered, was a reunion he would definitely like to witness. And, he mentally added a moment later, as the pit techs began passing out orbital parking slots to the various capital ships bearing down on the station, this might even be exactly what the Captain needed - a chance to get together with old friends and maybe, oh...relax a little? What with the crackdown, the recent soul hunter crisis and the host of other things that had happened since New Year's, there sure hadn't been a whole lot of that going on around here just lately.
With a grin, he linked in to the Captain's quarters. "Captain, this is Lieutenant Corwin in C&C, with your friendly neighborhood wakeup call."
"You're being unusually cheerful this morning, Lieutenant." Lochley's reply came, a moment later. "Does this mean the news is good, bad, or worse?"
Corwin raised his eyebrows, and tried not to laugh. "Well, Captain, it's like this..."
****************
Almost unnoticed amidst the confusion caused by the arrival of the Earthforce battlegroup into orbit around Epsilon 3, a single White Star emerged from the jump gate, and after the captain of that ship exchanged words with one of Babylon 5's now harried technicians, the Ranger warship smoothly slipped into an empty parking orbit just above and behind the station's docking bay sphere. A few minutes passed, and then another request was made -- at which point a small transport left the White Star, and made its way over to the station.
****************
Geneva, Earth
Bureau 13 Headquarters
07:20 EST.
Deep beneath the surface, things were, as certain individuals had learned in the recent past, not always as they seemed. But that...episode was past, and for the time being, there were far more interesting issues to deal with. His expression one of calculated interest, the man who had no name, a man who was, however, known as 'Mr. Molyneux' by many of his closest...associates, opened the report that had arrived on his desk a short time before, and leant back in his chair, thoughtfully considering the possibilities at hand.
One of the Bureau's exploration teams had recently acquired a number of interesting artifacts on their latest pass through the Rim territories, including, of course, a small amount of 'First Ones' technology - but amongst the collection had been a rather interesting...crystal. As the report made clear, the internal composition of the crystal was, to put it mildly, somewhat unusual. The operative in charge of the expedition had put forth the hypothesis that it was an advanced storage device of some sort - and Molyneux had been inclined to agree with that...until, of course, he had made certain inquiries - until he had cross referenced the report with data from the other branches of the Earth Alliance space operations division.
A connection had been made - a rather interesting connection, all things considered. And now, an experiment would be necessary - soon enough, all the pieces would be in place. The Earthforce ships sent to Babylon 5 had now arrived, the expected reunion between the primary and secondary targets was about to occur. And when it did... his people would begin the experiment.
Soon enough, Molyneux gravely considered, he would find out whether he was right or not about these...crystals.
Soon enough.
After a moment, the head of Bureau 13 rose to his feet and left the room, but not before reviewing the status of the operation one more time...and for a moment, his eyes lingered upon the names that identified the Bureau's targets.
The primary target: Captain Anthony Foraker, commanding officer, EAS Acheron.
And the secondary?
Captain Elizabeth Lochley, commanding officer...Babylon 5.
****************
Babylon 5
Transit Lounge 3
07:30 EST.
As had not often been the case of late, Babylon 5's transit lounges were once again packed with personnel disembarking from their respective starships - a situation which allowed G'Stral the liberty of moving through that crowd with the near certainty that this new influx would keep Chief Allan and his men busy enough that none of them would notice him.
He knew the Chief didn't like him hanging out in this part of the station...but sometimes it was necessary. On occasion, G'Stral's contacts would meet him here, and even more rarely, items would be exchanged from hand to hand in passing, and the like. There was always the chance, of course, that the Chief or Sergeant Satamba would see this happen, but almost from the moment he'd begun this little 'career' of his, G'Stral had decided it was best to keep the opposition on their toes - sometimes, you just had to do the unexpected. To close deals right under their noses...now that was one of the things that made this all worthwhile.
Today, however, was not one of those days. Today, he'd wandered up to the arrivals concourse when he'd heard about the unexpected arrival of the Earth warships. Having nothing else better to do, G'Stral had decided to play a...game, he supposed the Earthers would call it - the purpose of the game was to guess what the Earthforce crews were up to...from observing their expressions as they arrived onboard Babylon 5.
His eyes narrowed with concentration, the Narn slouched down in a corner, and watched the humans stream by in all their multitude. None of them looked very happy, for starters - whatever they were doing, he supposed it was necessary...but the convinction he had seen in Captain Lochley's eyes on occasion in the last few months seemed to be absent in theirs. And with seven Earth warships sent out on this operation, there was probably going to be a fairly serious battle eventually...but with who, now that was the question, wasn't it? And where?
And that was when it happened. Even as he watched, a small cadre of black-cloaked Rangers appeared amongst the passing military personnel. Six of them, to be exact - two humans and four Minbari. The human Rangers were a male and a...female. G'Stral abruptly rose to his feet, the game now forgotten, as he focused on the female Ranger. What he was seeing, it was more than enough to make him take notice.
Unbidden, the memories returned...of a day almost three years before, when the young human woman passing in front of him had come upon the gang of youths who'd been troubling him in Down Below. At the time, he'd believed her not much older then himself as the humans reckoned things, but the thing that G'Stral had found interesting right from the start was that she'd been wearing the grey and black of an Anla'shok trainee. Then, the girl had demanded that his opponents cease their attack...and, of course, had been mocked in return.
Even now, G'Stral found it impossible to forget what had come next. The human female, her expression now ominous, had reached to her side, opened a Minbari warrior pike - a weapon a human of her age should not even possess! - and had moved to aid him in his struggle. For him, this had been one of the few bright spots in that dark and bleak year - and after the battle was done and the gang had fled, he and the girl, Julia her name had been, had shared a few words, and then he had asked her why she had aided him.
"There is a purpose to everything and every deed." she had replied. "If I had not surprised your opponents, there is every chance you would now be lying in this place, close to death. They asked you for credits, G'Stral, and you refused. For some humans, that is more than enough excuse to kill."
Her hair was far longer now than it had been the last time he had seen her...but that was not the most noticable change. His curiousity now piqued, G'Stral slowly moved into the crowd and began to follow the Ranger party - if his eyes did not decieve him, she now appeared as a human female of twenty years would...perhaps five or six years older than he.
This, of course, was clearly an impossibility, and would require that she had aged at somewhat over twice the normal rate for a human since the last time he had seen her.
G'Stral cursed, then, as he realized what he had done. The corridor he was moving through was now nearly empty. No doubt the Rangers would eventually notice that someone had followed them out of the transit lounge - and if it was one thing Rangers did not like, it was being followed...
At which point, the familiar sound of a warrior pike being opened filled the corridor behind him, and he ground his teeth irritably, before turning to face the Ranger standing there...one of the party's Minbari Rangers, his face full of suspicion. How did the humans put it, 'too little, too late'?
"Narn...why are you following us? A spy, are you?"
G'Stral laughed bitterly. "That's a good one - if I was a spy, don't you think my pursuit would have a little less obvious?"
"I had considered that possibility." the Minbari admitted, "All the same, you follow us for a reason - tell me what this is about, and I may yet leave you in peace."
"Look, all I wanted to do was have a few words with one of your fellow Rangers, Julia's her name. It's not every day someone saves my life, you know..."
"She remembers." a whisper came from behind him. G'Stral turned...and there she was, all in black, her expression serious, but with a faint smile on her lips. "Hello, G'Stral - how have you been?"
"I...I saw you when you came." he managed, all the cockiness suddenly gone from him for some reason. "You will not mind if I ask..."
"What I've been up to since I saved your life? Why I look older then I should?"
The Minbari laughed. "A story that is, to fill many nights."
"Now, now, Larieken," Julia replied, her smile bright, "Be nice."
"If I must."
"So," the young Ranger continued, as she turned back to face G'stral, "What I've been up to, and what I've seen." She laughed. "Why not? It's not often I get to talk to someone who isn't Anla'shok these days. I have one condition, however..."
G'Stral grimaced - he knew what was coming. "Name it."
"That you do the same for me."
"The story of my time in this place...is not a pleasant one."
"That's my condition." Julia replied. "And you do owe me one, after all. Do we have a deal, or don't we?"
He paused - but finally, he nodded ruefully. "This isn't about money, like so many of of my bargains..."
"But it is about information. And that's almost as important for you, isn't it?"
"How did you..."
"Know?" Julia raised one eyebrow. "Meet me at 19:00 hrs this evening, in the main courtyard of the Ranger compound - and maybe you'll find out."
****************
Freighter Tiber Prize
Primary Docking Bay
08:05 EST.
"Okay, boys," Jeremiah Stone began, as his two associates on the other side of the crew galley gazed back at their superior uneasily, "Now that we're finally here, it's time for the scoop. The Old Man has a mission for us to carry out - bit of an experiment, really..."
"The last time we undertook one of his experiments, we nearly got killed!"
Stone's congenial attitude suddenly evaporated. "Okay, listen up, you little pipsqueak - when the Old Man says 'jump', you say how high, got it?"
"Mallory," the third operative entreated, "Don't be an idiot. All we've got to do to start with is sneak through customs with our 'cargo' and rendezvous with Olfhar, who's gonna be acting the part of the 'smuggler' wanting to buy what we've 'got'."
"And remember," Stone reminded Mallory, "The Old Man helped you when no one else would - if we hadn't been there when Planetary Security finally caught up with you, you'd be dead, and is anyone going to support your wife and two kids back in New York if you're dead? I don't think so!"
"Guess you're right." the sullen operative finally allowed. "So, let me see if I've got this straight - we're supposed to go meet up with Olfhar, get caught by station security, and make sure the head of security gets a hold of the cargo?"
"There, Walson, y'see?" Stone exclaimed, as a smile appeared on his face like a lightbulb going on. "When it comes down to it, our friend Mallory here really does know what side his bread's buttered on."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Mallory grumbled. "Let's just get this over with, so I can go home. Hey, what's this cargo the Old Man's so all fired up about, anyways?"
Stone disappeared out of the galley - and a moment later, came back with a large black case. "Well, you know what," Stone muttered, as he opened the case and leaned back, "That's the really interesting part..."
****************
Elsewhere...
{What have you learned?}
{The feeling is not to be ignored, cannot be forgotten. A crystal is here}
{Impossible - only one crystal were we able to salvage from the home-that-is-now-ashes} Hakrah informed his vision-walker. {The rest of us have detected no resonance.}
{You will detect the resonance soon enough.} the vision-walker sharply replied. {The crystal is here, brought to this place by those who are not of the People. No good can come of this.}
{Go now - I must think on this matter.}
The vision-walker inclined his head in agreement, and left the chamber, at which point the V'cha'richae named Hakrah rose to his feet, his expression grim. The one singing crystal they had saved from their dead home had been given to the Anla'shok humans who had saved them as a union-gift - no more had they found. But now, one of his companions insisted that another was here...if this was true, then the colony's vision-walker had spoken truly. A singing crystal, in the hands of the Others? 'No good would come of this' was a mild description of the chaos that might yet result.
And yet...perhaps this was the sign they had all been waiting for. Proof that the legend of the Lost Ones was true, after all. Hakrah nodded, the decision made - if it was true, then and only then might the hunt for their new home begin.
****************** Act One *****************
Babylon 5
Blue Sector, near Sanctuary 'Alpha'
08:35 EST, June 27th, 2263.
"Does someone want to tell me what's going on here?" Prado demanded, as Vir and Volga lead him down the corridor, working desperately against a flood of Earthforce personnel going in the other direction. "Where are all these...humans going? And where have they come from?"
Vir looked at Volga, and the younger Centauri sighed mournfully. "Well, I heard something about some Earth warships coming through the gate a few hours ago -"
"How many Earth warships, exactly?"
Volga frowned. "Uh...seven. I think."
Prado and Vir exchanged a long glance. "What was that you said about this 'Sanctuary' place, Vir?"
In short order, the three Centauri arrived at one of the station's four Sanctuaries - and found, to their amazement, that it was full to the brim with members of many of the species that conducted business oon Babylon 5 - and many of them were clearly upset. While out the windows...
For a wonder, it looked as if Volga had been right, after all. In what he supposed the human military considered a 'triumphant' array, a staggered diamond of destroyers and cruisers hung at station-keeping besides Babylon 5, while the tiny sparkling fires of dozens of Earth fighters moved through the void. And then, Vir looked at the Earth destroyer closest to the station, and it was that which stopped him dead in his tracks - until Volga slammed into him from behind, that was. "Sorry!"
"Never mind!" Vir hissed, as he tried to get a better look at the shimmery black Earth warship. "That...isn't what I think it is, is it?"
"Ambassador." Vir broke out of the daze the sight had induced in him to see Ta'Lon approaching through the crowd. "Once you have taken a closer look at the vessel in question, I am afraid you will find your initial suspicions proven correct." Without further ado, the Narn turned around, and despite protests from many of the other spectators in the Sanctuary, pushed right back through to the edge of the chamber, Vir following close behind him.
Vir took in a deep breath...and proceeded to hold it. He had read fairly detailed reports about these ships that the humans had built, had even watched that Warlock 'crisis' unfold on ISN before President Sheridan and the rest had left the station - but watching events occuring on a screen was very different from looking at one of those ships at close range.
"Breathe, Ambassador." Ta'Lon suggested, as he cast a critical eye across the shimmery Shadowtech hull of the EAS Dark Thunder. "What does this tell you?"
"That a lot of the generals in Earthforce are insane?"
"Many of the individuals in this room will not be so kind." the Narn replied. "And while, as we both know, the Earth Alliance has paid the penalties for the use of Shadow technology both in this ship and the Warlock Class, the arrival of the Dark Thunder and its companion vessels will no doubt resurrect many of the complaints from that crisis in Council soon enough."
Vir conceded the point, as they moved back towards the Sanctuary entrance. "Ta'Lon, have you ever noticed that every time things around here begin to get even a little bit quiet, something like this happens?"
"Hmm. That's an interesting observation, Ambassador - you may be right."
****************
"And that's what happened." Corwin finished explaining, as he followed Lochley down the corridor at speed towards her office. "I've tried to get an explanation out of Earthdome as to what the Hell's going on, but the only thing they've told me is that because of matters of planetary security, Captain Barns would have to explain it all to you in person."
Lochley nodded, as they arrived at their destination - good, they weren't here yet. Jerry Barns. Almost five years it was since the last time she'd seen him, now where had it bbeen...she smiled as the memory came back to her - of course. The Acheron and Barns' Elysium had taken part in a war game in Jovian space - Barns and his crew had taken top prize, of course, but even then, she and Anthony had only been a step behind them. A year and half it had been since she and her former first officer had said their goodbyes...the moment she'd stepped off of the Acheron for the last time. The moment he'd taken command. How had that command changed him, she wondered...
The same, she considered, could also apply to Barns. About half way through the reign of President Clark, Barns had disappeared from plain view - now, of course, in hindsight, it was obvious what project he'd been assigned to oversee. For as most everyone now knew, there had once been more then one Omega-X destroyer in active service - all the rest, of course, had been destroyed by the White Star Fleet...under Susan Ivanova's command. Now only the Dark Thunder was left - what could it like to command such a ship?
"Captain Lochley." She looked up, and quickly wiped the smile off her face, as Jerry Barns entered her office, Anthony Foraker close behind him. Lochley noted the expression on her friend's face, and she nodded grimly - just as she'd suspected, whatever this was about, it wasn't going to be pleasant. "It's good to see you again - even thouugh I must say I was surprised when I learned you'd taken command of Babylon 5."
"We all do what we have to, Captain." she carefully replied, sitting down even as Barns and Foraker did the same. "I'm sure you'll agree?"
Barns laughed wryly. "That, Elizabeth, would be the understatement of the century in this case. What I am about to tell you and your first officer must not go beyond the borders of this room - this most especially applies to the representatives from the other Alliance powers. Agreed?"
Damn and Hell. That Barns had addressed her on a first name basis meant that this was worse then serious, it was potentially critical. The last time he'd done that had been during the Lysaker standoff, a mission that had nearly claimed both of their lives back when they'd both been lieutenants younger then Corwin - so long ago, that had been...they'd both been different people, then. "If you were trying to get my attention," she quietly replied, "I think you just succeeded."
Barns nodded. "Several weeks ago, the Earth Alliance stood on the brink of disaster. You don't need to know the details for now, but let's just say that if this coup had succeeded, we and the Interstellar Alliance would very likely now be at war."
"A coup needs a ringleader."
Barns nodded. "You've heard of General Gregory Wallace, I trust?"
"Of course - isn't he the commander of Seventh Fleet?"
"Was the commander of Seventh Fleet." Barns quietly corrected. "No longer."
"Why?"
"Wallace hated the Interstellar Alliance because it's led by John Sheridan, Elizabeth. He blames the President for the deaths of his two brothers who were killed in the Civil War, and he would have destroyed that organization for the...crimes of its leader. Not many of us agreed with him, but enough did to carry the plot forward."
"But you stopped him...right?"
Barns took a deep breath. "We were able to intercept and capture some of the group responsible for the plot, including Wallace - and the powers that be within the Alliance judicial system rushed him to trial almost immediately."
"But that didn't end the crisis, did it?"
Barns shook his head somberly. "Wallace made a deal with the lawyers, that he would confess and name his co-conspirators within the Earth Alliance government, but he died before he could do that - circumstances unknown. While a group of captains and their crews loyal to his ideals have vowed to carry on his work. This, we cannot allow."
"My God." Corwin whispered. "Now I can understand the need for the secrecy - and the reason Earthforce Command assigned your command to lead the hunt, sir."
"Exactly, Lieutenant." Barns confirmed. "It could take us months to track them all down - but if it's one thing the crew of the Dark Thunder has demonstrated from the start, it's this...once they've got a mission and a purpose, they don't give up. Not ever.
But before we begin this hunt, we need to give our crews several days to relax, to enjoy some leave from their posts. This stopover may be the last break they get for weeks if not months - and, as I told your first officer, it gives us chance to take on supplies - and for you and Captain Foraker to tell each other what you've been up to in the eighteen months seen you've last seen one another."
"It does indeed!" Lochley confirmed.
"In that case," Barns concluded, as he rose to his feet, "I believe we should set aside this grimness for the time being. If you need me, I'll be on my ship, helping my first officer get as many of the crew over here as I possibly can."
"And that's going to be a difficult task?" An unexpected twinkle showed up in Jerry Barns' eyes, and the Dark Thunder's captain allowed a small laugh to escape as he left her office. After a guarded nod in her direction, Corwin shortly did the same...which left Lochley alone in the room with her former first officer. His hair, she noted absent-mindedly, was a hell of a lot more silvery then it had been the last time she'd seen him, but otherwise he looked pretty much the same - ruggedly handsome, she supposed some women would say...
"Liz," Foraker began, "You look tired. Hasn't that young pup of a first officer been doing his job properly?"
"What, Corwin?"
Foraker snorted. "Even the name spells out 'wet behind the ears' in ten foot high letters. What did I say the day we came through the gate in January '62? I was right, wasn't I?"
Lochley firmly clamped down on the first response that came to mind. Anthony, of course, had told her she was 'crazy to say yes to Sheridan' - and in some respects, she supposed he'd been right. But on the other hand...
"Not...exactly."
"And what kind of answer is that?"
"The only answer you're going to get for now. Look, Anthony, we've both got a thousand and one things to take care of right now - if I'm not mistaken, Barns will be breathing down your neck long before the day is over if everything doesn't go exactly acccording to plan. Why don't we get together later on for dinner?"
"I guess that'll have to do - tell me the place and the time, I'll be there. Oh, and one other thing before I go - a few of the crew would like to say 'hi'. You won't mind if I bring them along, will you?"
Lochley sighed. Looked like the officer's club was going to be hopping tonight.
****************
The Zocalo
11:15 EST.
There were some days, G'Stral bitterly considered as he paused close to the entrance of Vintauka's tailor shop, when it seemed as if the universe was definitely out to get him...or embarrass him, at the very least. The situation could be described in the following fashion - on a great many occasions in the past several years, he'd made a point of scornfully dismissing the upper echelon of station society, the businessmen and the rich who had money to burn, who spent credits merely to impress as they escorted their companions to evening meal - a meal that cost more then he could afford to spend in several months.
The Narn sighed deeply, as he inched ever closer to the tailor shop entrance, hoping even now that no one who knew him would see him here. The credits he'd managed to scrape together as a result of his 'service agreements' had barely been enough to keep him alive on more then one occasion - and while things had been a bit better just lately, enough so that he'd managed to set aside a fairly sizable reserve fund for rockier times, not once had G'Stral ever believed he would feel the need to impress someone by the way he dressed.
That, of course, had now changed.
He grimaced, and forced himself to walk into the shop - if he was to show up tonight at the Ranger compound wearing what he usually wore, he knew what would happen. She would be kind to him, but this time, kindness simply wasn't enough. He had his pride to preserve - and after all, there was always the chance he would run into Pratchett, now wasn't there? G'Stral grinned - as a matter of fact, he was looking forward to seeing the expression on her face when she saw what he was planning on wearing...
"Now, now, what's this all about, then?" G'Stral ground his teeth, and forced himself to meet the open sneer on the face of Shasan Vintauka, who was, of course, the owner of the establishment. Vintauka had arrived on Babylon 5 from Brakos just after the end of the Shadow War, and since then, the Brakiri entrepreneur had made it his personal mission to attract as much business, from as many races, as was theoretically possible. He was good at his job, but was usually a very difficult person to deal with. "I've heard about you, Narn - and your deals, oh yes! I will not have your bargaining in this place of business."
He was going to be polite, he was going to be polite... "You misunderstand." he ground out. "I...require your assistance."
Vintauka blinked - and then began to laugh. "You don't expect me to take you seriously, do you, boy? To the Comet with you and your request for 'assistance' - I have no time for this nonsense - and many more important customers to deal with..."
"G'Stral?"
Nearly he turned and ran at that point, but G'Stral finally decided that would be admitting to one and all, Julia included, that he was incapable of taking this step - and that, he would not do. "Doctor Hobbs - well, this is just great. Now I suppose the news of my little mistake here is going to be all over the station by dinner, right?"
"Not necessarily," the doctor corrected, her expression difficult to read. "Although someone did say something to me at breakfast this morning about a friend of his seeing you take off in pursuit of some Rangers. That wouldn't be connected to this little shopping trip of yours by any chance, would it?"
G'Stral scowled - now who had that been... Allan or Satamba? Not, of course, that it really mattered - either he was going to do this and surprise everyone, or... "It might."
"In that case," Hobbs carefully replied, "And since I heard you say something to Shasan about 'assistance'..."
"Now you hold on just a..."
"As I see it," Hobbs continued resolutely, "You have two choices here, G'Stral - either I help you choose something to wear and act as an intermediary between you and Vintauka - or you deal with him directly, and, if your history is anything to go by, annoy him to the point where he throws you out of the shop and tells you never to come back. Which will it be?"
There was a long pause - but finally G'Stral nodded, almost but not quite respectfully. "And who taught you to bargain like this...Franklin?"
"That...would be telling. Now, then - are we going to have to start from the foundation here, or do you have even a passing aquaintance with the words 'fashion sense'?"
Things went reasonably smoothly after that - and about thirty minutes later, G'Stral found himself standing in front of the mirror...as a stranger looked back out. Hobbs stood in the corner and waited to see what he would do, smiling faintly. The combination was an unusual one for his kind - but then he'd never been one to run with the crowd, now had he? Dark slacks, a charcoal shirt, and over both, a midnight-black tunic with just the slightest hint of jade thrown in for good measure along the seams and within the collar. G'Stral bent down and tugged on the boots one last time - and then he grinned, before rising to his feet and turning to face the still non-plussed Vintauka.
"I'll take it."
****************
The Eclipse Cafe
12:35 EST.
There was a time when Thomas Wingrove had been proud of his race and their accomplishments...proud of his perfect record, of the A-level he'd attained at Earthforce Academy after the end of the Earth-Minbari War... but that had all been shot to hell when Morgan Clark had arranged to have Luis Santiago assassinated. Pride had quickly become disatisfaction, and then, of course, he'd served under Robert Hardishane on the Theseus during those months of darkness in '60 and '61 when nothing was set in stone - the only certainty being that he and his CO were going to follow Major Ryan and Captain Tikopai, and eventually John Sheridan, to the bitter end - which meant winning...or dying.
Well, the end hadn't exactly been bitter, but it hadn't much felt like victory, either. Wingrove shook his head sadly as he ordered another drink - at least the senior officers that had served under Sheridan, himself included, hadn't ended up being shot out of hand afterrwards - although he had heard that the more radical ones had been shoved into all-but-impossible missions, like Ivanova and Tikopai getting involved in that nasty Warlock business last year...and that a few of them had even died as a result of their orders.
And then there was this whole Wallace thing - what the hell had the General been thinking when he and his fellow conspirators had thrown together that squadron and triedd to start another war? Too damn many people had been killed in the past few years already...and now it was going to be his job to go and kill some more.
Wingrove sighed - he didn't have to like it, but he supposed someone had to do it...
"Well, well." a bright, familiar voice suddenly drawled at his elbow, "If it isn't Honor Boy, in the flesh!"
Wingrove jumped and nearly spilled his drink. "Damnit, Griffon, what the Hell are you playing at?"
"You looked entirely too miserable for your own good." Leslie Griffon replied, as she slid onto the seat next to the Acheron's first officer. "And since the Captains have ordered us to have some fun and relax for a couple of days before we ship out..."
"Relax?" Wingrove barked out a laugh. "That's a good one." At which point, he watched Griffon's eyes grow narrow, and wished he'd never opened his mouth in the first place. Leslie and the rest of her Academy friends had managed to turn his time there into a living hell - and whenever she got that look in her eyes, he knew that trouble was only just around the corner. "Oh God - me and my big mouth."
"Captain's orders are captain's orders!" Griffon reminded him. "And since we appear to have a dereliction of duty going on here, I'm making it my personal mission to make sure that YOU have some fun while we're on Babylon 5. Sir."
"Yippee." Wingrove muttered. "What, exactly, did you have in mind?"
"Excuse me - are these seats taken?"
Wingrove slowly turned around, and came to face to face with the most worried looking Centauri he'd ever seen in his life. "What?"
"Please tell me these seats aren't taken?"
He frowned, and slowly turned to look at the three seats beside Griffon that had been vacated by a few personnel from the Dark Thunder only a moment before. "Not as far as I know."
"Volga!" a tight, snippish voice inquired from somewhere in the crowd, "Where have you got to?"
Wingrove chuckled, as the Centauri's face grew even more mournful. "Over here...my love."
"Love indeed!" the voice retorted, and shortly thereafter, the owner of that voice stalked out of the crowd, another member of her race close behind. "It's bad enough that Vir ran off with that Narn to try and deal with something or other, but now all these human military people are taking over the station and no one can get into a decent restaurant. You promised me a midday meal this morning, Volga - somewhere we could sit down together and talk without Vir interrupting!"
"Look, Prythia - I've found us somewhere to sit down and eat, see?"
"In the Zocalo?" the female Centauri all but shrieked. "How are we supposed to talk to one another when I can't even hear myself think?"
"And anyways," Volga desperately continued, "There's a couple of Earthforce officers here who helped me find our seats, er..."
"Commander Thomas Wingrove, EAS Acheron," he supplied, "And this is Commander Griffon of the Dark Thunder. And you are?"
"Volga Jaddo, attache to Ambassador Cotto - this is my wife, Prythia...and, er, our associate, Prado."
"Griffon?" Prythia Jaddo inquired with a frown. "Isn't that some sort of weird animal from a human legend, or something?"
Griffon raised her eyebrows. "That's an interesting comparison..."
"You're not, however, the first one to make it." Wingrove supplied, as he quickly downed the rest of his drink, and nodded his head in the direction of the bartender, who smiled and nodded in understanding. "So sorry, I must be going now..."
"Wingrove!" Griffon bellowed, as she jumped out of her seat and took off in pursuit, "I'm going to get you for that!"
"Humans." Prythia sniffed, as Volga began looking at the menu. "I'll never understand them."
****************
Gray Sector, Level 12
17:45 EST.
Almost from the moment he'd seen them, Baxter had figured out exactly what these two were up to. He'd been on the station almost from the moment it'd gone online - he'd seen it all during those years - and these guys were just more of the same ol', same 'ol. The flight plan he'd picked up in the office earlier in the day told him this lot had come in on the Tiber Prize from beyond the Nighthawk asteroid field - from the Rim, it looked like. And that, wouldn't you know it, probably meant only one thing...that these idiots had probably been poking around in the ruins of one of the planets where the Ancients had used to hang out.
Sheer stupidity, it was - but did they ever learn? Hell no! Baxter chuckled as he slowly wove his way through the corridors in pursuit of his targets. He remembered what'd happened when that Ikaran war machine had gone berserk down here back when Sinclair had still been around - and a long time ago, Chief Garibaldi had made up his mind that was never gonna happen again. That was where he and the rest of the lads came in - and even as he reached up to tap the link woven into the collar in his jacket, Terence Baxter, one time lurker and now undercover agent for Babylon 5 security, knew that this was going to be one very interesting bust, indeed.
****************
Gray Sector, Level 15
18:50 EST.
It had taken a Hell of a lot longer for the security boys to take the bait then Walson had thought, but in the end they finally had, the bristly-chinned operative considered with a thin smile, as two burly, gray-uniformed guards held him face down on the deck. Mallory, of course, had played his role a little too well...the goons hadn't been quite as pleasant with him, if his groans were anything to go by.
"Well, well - what do we have here?" a deep voice announced from behind, and Walson relaxed - that was Satamba, of course. "Didn't anyone tell you boys that it's against regulations to bring artifacts onboard Babylon 5 without registering them first?"
"To Hell with your regulations!" Yuri Olfhar spat. "This transaction has nothing to do with you...and in any case," the Slovakian smuggler added a moment later, "One would think that you learned your lesson during Lochley's crackdown..."
Thump
"Not the best thing you could have said," Satamba ground out, his eyes glittering darkly, as Olfhar sagged to the deck. "But this situation looks just a little more simple, in any case. McCaffrey, what do we have here?"
"Some pretty weird stuff, Sergeant," the other security guard replied, as Satamba critically gazed into the handful of cases on the nearby table. "In fact, there's a couple of things that look like they might even be organic tech."
Satamba whistled. "You boys been poking around in Shadow space?"
"Not...Shadow space." Walson managed. "We're not...stupid."
"Nope, just not very smart - we caught you, now didn't we? Okay, McCaffrey, take 'em away, and get this stuff down to the hazardous relics lockup so the Chief can take a look at 'em."
Walson grinned, even as McCaffrey and his goons grabbed them off the deck and dragged them away. "Stage one complete." he subvocalized into the transmitter in his mouth. "Stand by."
****************
Central Corridor: the Ranger Compound, main courtyard
19:05 EST.
The location was the correct one, and so was the time...but for G'Lan's sake, where was she, then? G'Stral began to pace - he knew he was drawing curious glances from the windows above, but he didn't care - the less time he had to spend here, hoowever, the happier he'd be. He'd been on time - she'd promised...
"G'Stral. Thank you for coming."
He turned at those whispered words - and to his surprise, found himself breaking into a smile. She was wearing a dark green skirt, a gray blouse, and a high necked black jacket trimmed in silver and jade - while she had her braids tied up almost in a circlet of sorts...and then, he noticed that there was also a pair of emerald stars set in silver circles pinned to the collars of that jacket. Questions there would be a plenty this evening...and, he now hoped, an equal number of answers.
"If you were trying to impress me..." Julia observed, "You've succeeded."
G'Stral nervously cleared his throat before tugging at the throat of his own tunic - for some reason, yet again he found he could not be his usual self around her, and on top of that, his clothes were beginnning to itch. "It's...no big deal, really. I just thought...the few times I've run into the head Ranger around here, I was wearing...what you saw me in when you came aboard. Took me a while, you know, but I finally decided that if I was going to come meet you in the Ranger compound, that I shouldn't look like...well, something a raiak`vah dragged into its cave."
"Some would call that an accurate comparison," the Ranger thoughtfully replied, "But not, I believe, those who know you well. Shall we go?"
G'Stral almost had time to say yes - but then a bark of laughter filled the courtyard and he winced...this encounter, of course, had been destined to happen from the moment he'd stepped into the courtyard. Surprise, surprise.
"Well, well." Jamie Pratchett observed with a grin from one of the nearby tower portals, "Look what the cat dragged in."
Julia turned, and in a single fluid motion, bowed in the direction of her superior. "Anla'shok Val'na Pratchett - you are well this evening, I trust?"
Pratchett snorted. "Oh yeah they taught you all the pretty words to use, didn't they? Let's cut to the chase, shall we, Anla'shok Tikopai...why are you hanging out with G'Stral, of all people? And why the heck is he dressed like that?"
"During the weeks of darkness two years ago when we believed the President lost at Z'ha'dum," Julia explained, "I spent a period of time in this place watching over the High Councillor and his chosen - I was also allowed to watch over her fighting pike at the same time. This proved useful...for on one of my progressions, I came across G'Stral struggling with a group of youths in Down Below...and I moved to aid him, as was just. In short, Val'na...
I saved his life."
"You did what?" Jamie exclaimed.
"I saved his life." Julia repeated, as she cast a warning glance in G'Stral's direction. He got the hint - sat down on a seat in the corner of the courtyard, and kept quiet. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
"This was before he opened his mouth and showed you how irritating he can be, right?"
Now that was just too much to bear. "She's telling you the truth, okay?" G'Stral hotly exclaimed, as he rose to his feet and strode forth to Julia's side. "I trust her - I owe her a debt larger then you can imagine."
"A likely story - she's the reason you're not wearing your regular ratty jumpsuit?"
"Give me a break, Pratchett - do you really expect me to walk into a restaurant with a Ranger, dressed in that?"
"Okay..." the older Ranger eventually replied, "Fine by me. Off you go then, kids...do have a good time, though, wont'cha?"
"Is she always like this?" Julia asked him, as the older Ranger vanished back into the tower.
"Unfortunately, yes." G'Stral confirmed, his expression dour. "Now, can we get out of here, please?"
Julia laughed, nodded, and gestured towards the courtyard exit. "After you."
****************
Earhart's
19:52 EST.
Dinner, of course, had gone well - and now that the party was really starting to get underway, a partly bemused Lochley watched Anthony's officers telling tall tales to her own personnel around the nearest dozen or so tables - and for a wonder, it seemed as if she was actually starting to relax and enjoy herself. How long had it been since she could honestly say that had been the case? Too long.
Way the Hell too long.
"So, Lieutenant," Foraker confided, wine glass in hand, "Did Liz ever tell you about the time we found the orbital towers out on the Rim?"
"Orbital...towers?" Corwin replied with a frown, as he took a deep sip from his own drink. "You don't mean..."
"I do indeed. This was back in '57, of course, before the war, when the Omegas were still conducting active exploration missions out beyond Sector 750. Now where was it, exactly - I can never remember, for some reason..."
"GC 13791." Lochley supplied with a sigh.
"Bingo!" Foraker replied. "Thank you, Liz. Anyways, we jump into orbit around this planet covered in ruins, and wouldn't you know it, there's these three huge towers reaching from the equator right out to geosynch..."
"I remember hearing something about that before I came out here..." Hobbs allowed with a smile. "But I didn't know your ship was the one that found them, Captain!"
"Our momentary claim to fame..." Lochley allowed.
"'Momentary' meaning that right around the time the first IPX people arrived," Foraker explained, "The towers began falling over."
"No!" Corwin exclaimed. "Really?"
"Yes-siree. We told those archeological idiots the towers weren't stable, but did they listen to us? Hell, no!" Foraker began to laugh. "I've never seen scientists move so fast in my life..."
"Ah, Captain, you got a moment?"
Lochley turned towards the door, and there Zack was - in full uniform, even...damnit, she'd known this was too good to last. "Chief, come on...you know the rule!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Zack replied, "And I didn't really want to interrupt your party and all - but the Sarge made a bust right around dinner time that uncovered some stuff we think is from the Rim -- maybe not Shadoww technology, but could be just as old."
"And don't you have any protocols in place to deal with this sort of thing?"
"Yeah - Captain Ivanova drew 'em up, back when she was first officer around here. The first step was to...
"Contact the commanding officer." Lochley wearily finished for him.
Zack nodded grimly. "Great," she ground out. "And how, exactly, did these 'artifacts' get on board?"
"Couple of smugglers came onboard the station this morning, Captain - we've got 'em in the brig right now for questioning."
"Okay." Lochley finally allowed, as she threw her hands up in surrender. "Guess I'd better come take a look, then."
"C'mon, Liz..." Foraker added, as he came to her side, "This isn't such a big deal - probably no different from a dozen and one things we've found out on the Rim together. In fact...why don't I come along wwith you and the Chief and take a look at these artifacts?"
Lochley smiled, and nodded. "Why the Hell not. All right, Zack, let's get going - the sooner we get this over with..."
"The sooner the party can continue," Foraker finished for her> He turned to face Corwin, who now seemed to be deep in conversation with a pair of brunettes from the crew of the Dark Thunder. "Oh, Lieutenant?"
"Sir?"
"Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to keep the party humming along nicely until Captain Lochley and I return. Do you accept?"
Corwin grinned. "Yes, sir!"
"Hmm. Maybe he's not quite so wet behind the ears as I originally thought..." Foraker muttered, as he and Lochley followed Zack out of the club.
Neither officer, of course, saw the microscopic spy-eyes zip away from the ceiling to follow them.
****************
Onboard the Tiber Prize, Jeremiah Stone sat back in his chair, and began to grin, as the image of the two targets shimmered into view in front of him - and then, he began to chuckle. "Welcome to my house, said the spider to the fly..." he whispered. "Now, the question is,
Which one of you is going to be the one it attacks?"
****************
Too late - he had not moved quickly enough, and now, it was going to be too late. Hakrah could sense the pattern forming, even as he hastened out of Babylon 5's 'alien sector' towards his goal. Too late and too slow - the vision-walker had been right - and now someone was about to pay the price for his mistakes.
The singing crystal was here.
And the song it sang...
Was chaos.
****************** Act Two *****************
Green Sector: Central Corridor
19:45 EST, June 27th, 2263.
The restaurant that Julia eventually decided to go to was named 'Moriarty's'. Like its more upscale competitor 'Fresh Aire', the dining establishment in question was located in the Central Corridor - but further to spinward and about half a mile up-corridor. Instead of being located at 'ground' level, Moriarty's was situated on a terrace near the top of a business complex along the edge of one of the rare and very shallow lakes scattered throughout the station interior - the viewpoint was, to put it mildly, a good one.
G'Stral, of course, had made the mistake of grumbling about the 'expense' - and in response, had been assured that 'the Anla'shok takes care of its own - and also its friends and guests'. The challenge thus issued, the Narn immediately began another of his traditional bargaining sessions, a exchange that continued almost until they'd reached the restaurant entrance...but finally, the bargain being found acceptable to both parties, G'Stral and Julia walked in together...and in short order, the evening manager guided them to a table overlooking the water and buildings below.
Soon thereafter, G'Stral discovered exactly why she'd chosen this establishment - Moriarty's had the good fortune to employ among its kitchen staff a certified Narn Feihrusavar who had arrived on Babylon 5 shortly before his people's homeworld had fallen to the Centauri. The master-of-food in question had turned his talents towards pleasing as many members of as many races as he possibly could - while still hoping the day would come when Narn would be freed, and proud members of his species would come to the restaurant to enjoy the fruits of his labours. And tonight, the Feihrusavar had spied G'Stral entering the restaurant with his Ranger companion - and a short time later, the waiter had set before him a familiar list of 'choices' - meals that he had eaten in his youth, before he had come to this place...but certainly not since.
And finally - the moment came, as the waiter carefully set the piping-hot plate of mes'haag pie in front of him. While Julia watched on, a small smile on her face as she waited to see how he'd react, G'Stral carefully sliced a piece off the corner of the pie, raised the fork to his mouth - and was instantly transported back to his youth - to the years before the war had destroyed the Regime and...
And his family.
"It's good, is it?"
"Perfect." he managed, still fighting off the sheer sense of displacement he had been feeling from the moment she'd stepped aboard earlier in the day. "Do you know how long it's been since I've eaten this?"
"I can guess." Julia replied, as she sipped delicately at the icewater in front of her before attacking her own meal. "While if you don't mind me asking..."
G'Stral's expression darkened slightly - for G'Lan's sake, how did she do that? He sighed then, however...and nodded - she had the right to know. "How did that part of my life end...and what happened to my family."
Julia nodded. He gritted his teeth, before beginning the tale - even now, the words hurt...and the memories - but it needed to be said. "My father was a fusion specialist - he was assigned to the Na'Garamar colony about four years after the end of your race's war with the Minbari. For a while, we did okay...and even though growing up on the side of a mountain range wasn't easy for my pouch-brothers and I - we learned the lessons we needed to survive...and how to prosper, if all went well. For the Regime was growing, wasn't it!... in their broadcasts, the kHa'Ri assured us that noone would ever defeat us again.
The kHa'Ri were wrong." he muttered, as he continued to eat. "And my family eventually paid the price for their mistakes when the Centauri returned. The evacuation of Na'Garamar began when the front lines got close enough - but not until the very end, with Centauri warships bearing down on us like rah'gahr, was my family chosen to leave. By that point, of course, more then half of the outer colonies had fallen - and like so many others, our exodus from that place was one drenched in blood."
He looked up from his plate - and once again, was surprised, as he saw unshed tears glistening in Julia's eyes. "You were...separated from them, of course," she managed, "Their ship made it past the Centauri blockade...did yours?"
G'Stral shook his head - his expression now bitter. "There were too many Centauri warships in the way - they forced us down, and then they threw the survivors, myself included, into a work camp - and we were in there when Homeworld fell...and after. It was brutal, Tikopai - but in the end, it was their own belief in what they were doing that did them in. Na'Garamar was a deep range colony, and not an important holding for them...and they were so concerned with dealing with uprisings on Homeworld that they began to forget about us...they thought we weren't important. Bit by bit, they thinned out the garrison - and then, one day, when the local Centauri warships were out of the system...we acted."
Julia smiled sadly. "A breakout."
"A revolt would be more accurate - we overpowered the local authorities...and killed most of them in the process. And then, we broke into their transports and made for the local gate. We reached it just as a small group of their war cruisers jumped back in from patrol. They gave chase, of course - and one of the transports was destroyed. The rest of us got away, though, and we reached Babylon 5 about six weeks after Sheridan fought his own war of independence."
"I remember that time only too well..." Julia allowed, "Only for me, it was a little bit different - I arrived here the day after the station seceded, on the Ranger High Councillor's White Star. Now - are you going to tell me what happened to your family? You don't have to if you don't want to..."
G'Stral lowered his head. "I have to - that's part of the story...part of our deal. They made it back to Homeworld, but I eventually learned they were killed in the first hour of the Centauri bombardment that ended the war. Ironic, isn't it? They escaped, and I didn't - but in the end, they were the ones to die - while I lived."
He paused then, expecting her to say she was sorry, as humans so often did - such a meaningless phrase, that was - but yet again, she surprised him by simply...waiting for him to go on, her attention focused on one thing and one thing only...his story. "There's not much more to tell. Since no one on Babylon 5 was going to help me, I had to help myself. Took me a while, but I finally found someone to work for, someone who appreciated my style - and the credits he paid me kept me alive, even as the Shadow War was tearing the galaxy apart. But you'd know about that, wouldn't you?" he shrewdly noted, changing subjects just for a moment.
"The rest of my story will come soon enough." Julia reminded him. "First, you have to finish yours."
"Guess so." G'Stral paused for a moment, then, as he continued to carve his way through the now-rapidly cooling pie. "Thirty second rundown - I learned when to bargain, and when to cut my losses - when to fight, and when to run. When to take my chances, when to lie...and when to tell the truth. It took a long time, Tikopai, but once you've learned how to play the game around here, the rest becomes just a little bit easier. Have to admit I've made some enemies...but as long as they hate one another more then they hate me, I'm more valuable to them alive then I am dead.
None of which would've been possible, of course..." he quietly concluded, "If you hadn't saved my life when you did."
"And that," Julia noted, "Would be your version of 'thanks', right?"
"Guess so..." G'Stral's head snapped up, his eyes now sparkling with irritation. "All right, I've had just about enough of this - that's about the third or fourth time you've done that to me today! What's up with this habit you have of filling in cracks in people's stories and lives before they finish telling their tales? You're not telepathic, are you?"
There was a long pause...but finally Julia laughed. "Not quite. I should apologize, G'Stral - as a matter of fact, I've been holding back on that angle of what I am ever since we met at the Compound earlier on. You wanted some answers - well, to make things just a little clearer, I'm going to have to go back in time a little ways before we first met." As he watched, her finger came up to rest upon one of the jade and silver stars on her collars. "What do you suppose these mean?"
G'Stral shrugged.
"All right then - you're going to have to keep an open mind on this one, though. A lot of the people who've trained me, the people in the Rangers who are my friends, have dealt with this oddity right from the start - have...dealt with the fact that I'm not exactly an ordinary girl, if you know what I mean?"
The Narn laughed himself, then. "I think I've figured out that part already, thanks."
"About three years ago," Julia continued, "I came to Babylon 5 and learned that I was what the Vorlon Ambassador Kosh called...an 'Observer' - there's only three of us in the galaxy that I know of, one of whom is the wife of our High Councillor..."
"Oh yeah, I've seen that guy on ISN from time to time - what's his name, Frostcastle, or something?"
"Oh dear!" Julia managed, as she tried desperately to hide a giggle. "I'd better not tell him about this..."
"And why not?" G'Stral observed. "If Pratchett's anything to go by, the whole lot of you are too serious for your own good. So what's that mean, exactly...you being an 'Observer'?"
Julia sighed. "That's a good question, G'Stral - and none of us have a really clear answer yet - one of the things we have figured out, though, is that seems to be our job to record really important events for future reference, in my case, mostly in the form of horribly scribbled notations written in a notebook. But as I was saying...right around the time the High Councillor was pulling the White Star Fleet together to fight the Shadows, they decided to give us our own badge of service..."
The discussion continued - and even as it did, neither the Ranger nor G'Stral noticed two pairs of eyes peeking through the glass and plant partition seperating their terrace from the one just above.
****************
"I told you that was him!" Selene accused, as an astonished Jaida turned away from peeking and listening to face her friend. "What's he doing here? Why's he dressed like that? And who's the girl?"
"Don't know, don't know, and if we listen closely," Jaida retorted, as she leant forward towards her friend so her father wouldn't hear what they were talking about - not that he was paying attention right now anyways, 'cause he was paying more attention to his own lady friend then he was to them, "Maybe we'll find out. I just heard her say 'White Star Fleet'...". The Centauri girl's eyes widened. "Hey - do you think she's a Ranger?"
"No way! Really?" Selene frowned, as she bent back over to take another look at the elegantly dressed young woman sitting with G'Stral below them. "I didn't know the Minbari let kids become Rangers - " Both of them grinned then, the reason for the meal now forgotten as they began to wrap their minds around this new and very interesting mystery. "Do you suppose she's been on a White Star yet?"
"Ssssh! Just listen - and make sure he doesn't see us!"
****************
Station Hazardous Relics Lockup
20:05 EST.
"Nice setup you've got here." Foraker commented, as he and Lochley briefly paused in the HZR lockup's 'airlock' as Zack entered the code for the secondary door. "Even if someone did get past the first door looking for their stuff, you could still trap them here."
"And then pump the trap full of gas, yeah..." Zack replied with a wary grin. "Mr. Garibaldi and Captain Ivanova came up with the idea after the Ikarran incident, so if we ever did have to deal with weirdness like that again, we could put the artifacts someplace the 'owners' couldn't get at them, if you know what I mean?"
Foraker frowned. "Ikarran incident?"
The Chief nodded bitterly. "Before my time, but Mr. Garibaldi told me about it once. Guess this doctor and his buddy smuggled some ancient organic stuff onboard, and this assistant wasn't, well, as careful as he could've been - and zap, one of the artifacts attached itself to his chest. Next thing they knew, there was this seven foot tall war machine going 'round blowing holes in the walls -"
"And how, exactly, did Mr. Garibaldi take this thing down, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Well, that's the weird part - he didn't. Apparently Commander Sinclair went in and convinced the guy to take the artifact off, or something..."
"You don't say..."
Lochley cleared her throat, and Allan rather abruptly got the hint that story time was over. "Well, hey, that was the past! This time, though, it looks like we managed to shut these guys down before they could do any harm with this stuff."
"So what exactly do we have here, Chief?" Lochley inquired, as they passed through the door and into the lockup proper - a room whose far wall was covered with small lockers - yet another layer of security dreamed up by Michael Garibaldi, she supposed. The guy'd been incredibly paranoid about his job...but in this case, even she had to admit that most of the time that was a good thing.
"Wellll, there's some stuff that looks like it might be organic tech, but as you can see," Allan continued, as he opened one of the containers, grabbed hold of a greenish hoop and passed it over, "Whatever this is, it's been dead for what could be thousands of years, just full of cracks..."
"For this, he dragged us away from the party?" Foraker muttered in Lochley's ear as he critically examined the artifact - she smiled and nodded, before wiping the grin from her face.
"Ah, Chief?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know - get to the good stuff, already. Now this," Allan indicated, as he opened another container, "was the really strange one. The guys we took down insisted that they didn't know where it was from, and that they bought it all from a trader out on the Rim - and since their backgrounds check out as far as we can tell, your guess is as good as mine as to what it is, but it looks to be pretty much intact." At which point he lifted a crystal out of the container - octahedral, clear, maybe forty centimeters long -- and Lochley stiffened in surprise.
"Anthony..."
"My God." Foraker managed, his eyes showing he was just as surprised as she was by this...whatever it was that Zack Allan was holding in his hands. "Damnit, Liz - haven't we seen one of these things before? More than one?"
"I don't...think so." She frowned. "You're right, though - looking at that thing's giving me the strangest feeling of deja vu..."
"You both okay?" Allan inquired, his expression now one of suspicion.
"Just fine, Chief..." Foraker replied. "But do you mind if I take a closer look at that?"
Allan shrugged. "Don't see why the Hell not - half a dozen of my people have handled the thing so far - and no one's found an 'on' switch, if you know what I'm saying?" And with that, he passed the crystal to the Acheron's captain.
Which was, as it turned out, one of the bigger mistakes Babylon 5's security chief had made recently - but there was no predicting what came next. Even as Foraker took the crystal into his hands, Lochley felt a completely irrational stab of fear pass through her. "Anthony, wait!..."
"What..." A deep rumbling shudder passed through her mind - while the crystal, if only for a moment, went from clear to blazing red, a glow that seemed to shimmer around Foraker for a moment - and was gone. As gone as Foraker, as it turned out, as he slumped to the deck, unconscious, the crystal falling from his hands...
She didn't think - she just acted. And even as Allan began to bellow, Lochley leapt forward and caught the falling crystal in her hands - and only then did she realize what she'd done.
"Captain," Allan growled, as his hand came down on her arm, "Are you out of your flippin' mind?"
"I..." Lochley shuddered as Allan grabbed the crystal out of her hands and put it back in the container - and then she knelt down to check on Anthony's condition. He was out cold, but at least he was still breathing. While the crystal had done exactly nothing to her - but Zack was right - she wasn't normally this impulsive! "Chief, let's forget about that for the time being - I think Captain Foraker's condition should be our main worry for now, don't you?"
"Damn straight." Allan raised his hand to his mouth. "This is Chief Allan to Medlab One - we need a team in HZR lockup, stat. We've got a man down!"
****************
Moriarty's
20:27 EST.
"Turtle brownies?"
"What?" Julia managed, her mouth full of chocolate and caramel -- she swallowed...and then sighed. "Oh...yeah. Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had one of these?"
"This sounds familiar." G'Stral replied, his voice droll. "So the Minbari aren't real big on desserts, then?"
"Give the Narn five points for accuracy." she retorted. "So...what do you think?"
"About the dessert, or your implausible stories?" G'Stral shot back. She narrowed her eyes - "Yeah, yeah, I know - you didn't deserve that. What do I think? I think you were out of your mind to get sucked into this Ranger business, that's what I think. After all, you were only, what, twelve human years old when this all started?"
"More or less. In case you haven't noticed, G'Stral, I didn't have much of a choice, not with...you know who involved - and he was by far the kindest of them all. And even with that being true," she continued, her voice low, "Where I've walked, there's been so many times I should've died. On the bridge of Tashann's White Star at Corianna VI, during the Thirdspace crisis... during the final battle for Earth, the battle where my mother's Earthforce destroyer got shot to pieces. And then, of course," she whispered, "There was the time when a Shadow servant shot me from behind, and left me for dead."
G'Stral whistled. "Truth?"
Julia nodded - resolutely, regretfully. "That was only a couple of weeks before I rescued you, actually - it's one thing the Minbari are really good at, and that's medical tech. I don't suppose you've heard what caused High Councillor Westcastle to go to Z'ha'dum?"
G'Stral shook his head warily - and she leant forward, and explained - quietly, and to the point. "You were in the way -" he finally said. "And since the Shadows gave them their marching orders - their servants got you out of the way, the easiest way they knew how." He paused. "There's something about you," he finally said, "Rarely seen in humans your age..."
"And how are you any different?" she reminded him. "You lost your family and your home, you came to a place you didn't know anything about - and while you've had some hard times, you've still made a living for yourself here, G'Stral - in Valen's name, you've even dealt with Captain Lochley herself on a number of occasions and lived to tell the tale!"
"That is also a truth." G'Stral finally admitted. "So...where you do you think you'll be going from here? And what about me? Any guesses?"
"The future is never set in stone," Julia reminded him, as she set her dish aside and leant towards him, her fingers steepled under her chin. "But you're a part of the pattern that's formed here, G'Stral, never forget this. What was can never be reclaimed - what may be is all we have to hope for."
"That's your 'talent' speaking, I suppose."
She raised one eyebrow. "Maybe. Shall we go?"
****************
"Father!!"
"Great Maker, Jaida, you're restless tonight!" Ari Tefano snapped, as his dining companion leant back from the table and glared at the girls. "What is the matter with you?"
"Oh nothing, we just have to check on something - can we please, please go?"
"By all means, yes. We will be talking about your manners later on, however, young lady!"
And with that Jaida and Selene sprang out of their chairs and raced down off the terrace, even as the two figures they were most interested in turned around the corner outside Moriarty's, and vanished from sight. "What'd you hear? What'd you hear?"
"Some pretty wild stuff!" Selene blurted out. "She was talking pretty quiet there for a while..."
"And so was he." Jaida darkly replied.
"Yeah. But wow, she said she was on a White Star during the last battle of the Shadow War. And at the battle where President Sheridan went to Earth to boot out Clark!"
Jaida nodded solemnly, trying to wrap her thoughts around those impossibilities - the girl G'Stral had been sitting with didn't look much more than, oh, eighteen or nineteen Earth years, maybe - and the Shadow War, of course, had been over for more then two years, now. "That's what she said."
"But that's just not possible!" Selene insisted, as they ran out of the building and down the walkway beside the lake, looking for their two targets. "That would be like Captain Lochley letting us take one of the station fighters out for a spin!"
"Those were desperate times, remember." she reminded her friend. "But you're right - even the Rangers couldn't have been that desperate."
"Oh, where'd they go?" Selene skidded to a halt as they came to the end of the lake. "This just isn't fair!"
"Well, um, maybe she went back to the Ranger compound - we could always go that way..."
"Are you nuts?" Selene exploded. "Pratchett might catch us if we went there - and then we'd have to explain everything."
Jaida gulped - and nodded. They'd heard a few things about the Ranger commander from G'Stral - none of which were very flattering. "So much for following them, huh?"
"Yeah. Guess it wasn't such a good idea, after all."
"Okay. Let's go, then." And even though the hunt had come to a sudden and unexpected end, Jaida found herself unable to ignore the subject even after she'd said goodbye to Selene and gone home...at which point her father had returned to give her the expected lecture. "A girl named Julia," she muttered later on, as she began to fall asleep. A girl who'd danced with Shadows... and been touched by Vorlons? She had heard her say something about that. A girl who'd become... a Ranger...
****************
Selene frantically burrowed through the stash of starship drawings she'd made over the past couple of years while peeking out of viewports in Red Sector - and finally came across the one she'd been looking for, one she'd made on a day when Trish had been so sure they were both going to die - a day when even the lurkers had been quiet, waiting for their world to end.
A day in which warships from a hundred worlds had filled the skies of Babylon 5 - a day in which she'd summoned up the nerve to go one of the station's Sanctuaries to see the departure of the fleet - the day she'd made this particular sketch.
Selene closed her eyes, and tried to remember the sight she'd seen - of what had to be the entire White Star Fleet passing along the station's starboard quarter, as the rest of the President's armada maneuvered to jump. They'd been moving so quickly - and she'd only had time to draw a few of 'em before the President had given his command, and everyone had jumped into hyperspace.
That girl, Julia, had only been sixteen or seventeen at the time - and if the stories she'd been telling G'Stral were true, she'd been a member of that flyby. And then, she'd become a Ranger...
Selene's eyes widened, then - if one kid could become a Ranger, couldn't more?
****************
The Ranger Compound: Guest Quarters.
21:47 EST.
"Your evening went well, I trust?" Larieken inquired, as Julia slipped down the darkened corridor towards the meditation chamber, candle in hand.
"Well?" she retorted. "It was...interesting, let's leave it at that for the time being, shall we?"
"It shall be as you wish." the Minbari Ranger gravely replied. "Sleep well, then, shaen'li alanna'la - perhaps we will speak more on this when day comes to this place once again."
Perhaps - and yet...Julia set the candle down on the black tiled floor as the portal slid shut behind her...tiles that'd been imported from Raenl'aigh Province on Minbar when this place had first been built - and she frowned. She'd watched the pattern unfold, of course, and tried to figure out what it all meant. There was G'Stral, coming out of his shell for the first time in a very long time, if she read him right - then there was that dark-haired girl and her Centauri companion, who'd come racing out of the restaurant after they'd left. She had a pretty good idea who'd they'd been looking for - her - and an even better idea what they'd overheard. The acoustics in that restaurant had been pretty good, after all - even she'd caught snatches of conversation clearly from twenty feet away on the other side of the terrace. But what did all mean?
She shivered. A pattern was forming here - a pattern that needed to be fulfilled. Someone - of course! Someone was in danger, or would be - and those three, the girls and G'Stral - would they be involved in saving that someone? Julia sighed - she would have to be watchful. There was always the chance they would need some help, when the time came.
****************
Onboard the Tiber Prize
22:21 EST.
"Well, well..." Stone muttered to himself, as he watched Lilian Hobbs and her people run Foraker down the corridor to Medlab on a stretcher from the viewpoint of the multiple spyeyes he'd sent in pursuit of the medical team. Luckily for everyone concerned, most especially Stone, Allan had been his usual predictable self. Stone sniggered - the chief had all but thrown the crystal at Foraker, for God's sake!
"Looks like the Old Man was right, after all." Tomorrow morning, he'd arrange to break Mallory and Walson out of protective custody and whisk them out of sight - for right now, though, it was time to take a little nap.
****************
Medlab One
23:05 EST.
"You're sure there's nothing I can do?"
"Apart from hovering in the window and looking unhappy, you mean?" Hobbs retorted, as Lochley paced back and forth in her office. "Let me be frank with you, Captain - your friend Captain Foraker is in stable condition at the moment, and as near as we can tell, he isn't in any danger..."
"Then why hasn't he woken up yet?" Lochley snapped.
"The human mind sometimes plays strange games with us - most especially after it comes into contact with alien technology." Hobbs reminded her. "Whatever that crystal is, it had a most immediate and obvious effect on the Acheron's captain - I'm almost tempted to call this a 'light coma' - but until we do some more tests, I won't know for certain what's going here.
In the meantime, however, Captain - you should get some sleep. That's not a suggestion, by the way."
Lochley opened her mouth to argue that point - then thought better of it, as a spike of pain caught her unawares - another headache - just typical. "Ah, Hell! You're right, of course. Sixteen hours is a long enough day, especially with all these Earthforce crews running around the station."
"Of course I'm right." Hobbs replied, with a small smile. "I'm a doctor - that's part of our job description."
"Oh really? I..." Lochley yawned, and then grimaced.
"Good night, Captain."
****************
The Central Corridor
01:15 EST, June 28th, 2263.
It had been...a nightmare, he'd been sure of it. Or was it just another leftover memory from Kosh? Either way, Colin had found himself unable to sleep - and after a time, he'd dressed, pulled on one of his old off-hours Academy jackets and gone out on walkabout. What had he seen, he pondered, as he wandered at random along the pathways and between the buildings, dimly lit as they were in the near-darkness of Babylon 5's interior at this time of night...
What had he seen?
"Restless, you are!" a vibrant deep voice announced behind him, and Colin jumped. "And, no doubt, for the same reason as I. A mistake has been made, telepath - and now we must decide what to do about it."
He slowly turned around - and blinked. A tall, dark-skinned humanoid in emerald robes, his head bald and scaly save for a single trailing tendril of hair at his chin, stood in the middle of the path behind him. His expression was severe, and sad at the same time... "Ah, do I know you?"
"No!" the reply came. "Not yet. But I know you, telepath! I have seen you in passing on many occasions - and on this dark night of our soul, the disturbance awoke you, yes? I have heard the crystal singing its song of pain - and as yet, I have not yet decided what it is I must do. Perhaps you can help me make this decision."
"If I'm going to help you," Colin managed, "It'd be nice if I knew who and what you are, first..."
"But of course! My name is Hakrah - and I am the leader of the V'cha'richae in this place."
Of course - now he remembered, from the briefing the Corps had given him on the various species living on Babylon 5 before he'd come here. The V'cha'richae had been one of the species that had been...foolish enough to associate themselves openly with the Vorlons. And during the final stages of the Shadow War, the Shadows had cast one of their deathclouds against the V'cha'richae homeworld. Colin tried not to grimace - as near as the Alliance authorities knew, Hakrah and his people were the only surviving members of their race. "The 'crystal', you said - what crystal would that be, exactly?"
"Before understanding comes," Hakrah gravely replied, "An explanation, I must give you. In the times before the Dark Ones destroyed our world, many of my kind owned -sligaaarnazza- what you would call 'singing crystals'. Only one was rescued from the ruins by the Anla'shok who aided us, and this we gave to him as an union gift when he joined himself to his partner-in-life. It was our belief that no more would be found, then - that this phase of our existence was over. All that changed a short time ago, however, when our vision-walker detected the dark-song-arrived. At first, we did not believe him - but finally, all could hear, and the decision was made that someone should act."
"And that someone was you?"
"It is as you say - the conclave sent me forth to try and prevent the dark song from affecting those who dwell in this place. The crystal tricked me, however..." Hakrah explained, "And a short time ago, what was feared came to pass."
Colin muttered a curse. "You're trying to tell me this crystal your, uh, shaman detected attacked someone onboard Babylon 5? What are these things, some sort of telepathic booster?"
"Not...as such, no." Hakrah lowered his gaze. "But the song of this crystal is a dark one - and our vision-walker may not be able to control the song should he choose to interfere. You, on the other hand..."
"Now hold on just a minute, here!..."
"You, on the other hand," the V'cha'richae insisted, "Are a powerful human telepath, a member of this Psi Corps I have heard of. I ask you now for your help, human - together we may be able to defeat the crystal, and rescue the one it has attacked."
Well...this looked like it was going to be...interesting. "You're sure there's no one else who can do this for you?"
"Very sure." Hakrah regarded him impassively, his arms now folded tightly acros his chest. "You are the one - there is no other."
Colin sighed - now, the question was, who should he approach to ask about this...attack? The decision wasn't a difficult one - Elizabeth, of course. Except - he ran through the shift rotation in his head - she was probably asleep right now, although it certainly didn't hurt to ask. "Hakrah," he gravely replied, "Just to let you know, I think we might have to wait a little while longer before we can deal with this problem..."
****************
Blue Sector, Level 28
07:20 EST.
"Yoooou promised, Dad!" Akili accused, as Glenn Satamba paused in front of the door, and turned back to face his daughter with a frown. "You promised you'd tell us if we could go. Please, can we, can we?"
Glenn sighed - and then made his way back towards the kitchen, his daughter dutifully tagging along behind. "Ah, Miriam..."
"You forgot, didn't you?" his wife replied from behind the partition. "You won't mind if I ask what crisis caused this particular memory lapse?"
"Better that you don't know." he finally replied. "Now what's this all about?"
"He forgot?" JoJo asked his sister.
Akili glared at her father. "Yep - he sure did."
"The parents in Resource Management who have kids put their heads together," Miriam explained, "And tried to figure out a way for the children to have a picnic and play some games together..."
"A picnic? On BABYLON 5?" Satamba paused then, however, as he figured it out...and then he let out a deep belly laugh. "Hold on - did you..."
"The rank doth have its privileges once in a while." his wife wryly replied. "Indeed I did - after much discussion, Resource Management came to the decision that they wouldn't damage the grass too much...as long as someone keeps a close eye on them, that is. Which someone will. The someone being Alisande Reynauf, one of my better agronomists, who is taking a day off to organize this little expedition."
"She'd better." Glenn growled, his memory of what had almost happened to his family during the crackdown still too fresh for his own peace of mind. "Still - it has been a while since the kids have been out in the open - and the Central Corridor's as near as you get to 'open' on Babylon 5..."
"It is indeed. So," his wife carefully continued, as the kids watched and waited, their eyes wide with expectation, "Are we going to let them go out and play?"
"As long as they stay close to Mrs. Reynauf - and as long as Akili makes sure she looks out for her brother at all times..." Glenn finally grinned. "Yeah, they can go."
"Yippee!!"
****************
Captain's Office
08:01 EST.
"Lieutenant..."
"Captain?"
"You let me sleep in."
"You needed the sleep." Corwin pointed out, as Lochley shook her head to clear away the last traces of grogginess, and fight off the headache that had only gotten worse since she'd risen. "And as Dr. Hobbs explained when I dropped in after you'd gone to bed, there was nothing you could have done at the time - and until she figures out exactly what is going on, there's still nothing you can do."
"I'm afraid, Lieutenant, that you're wrong about that." Lochley replied. "There's definitely something I have to do - even though I don't have to like it. Now that Captain Foraker's out cold, I have to deal with the repurcussions of what's happened to him. Starting with..."
"Oh damn..." Corwin managed, "I'd forgotten about him."
"Captain Lochley!" a voice barked, "What the hell is going on here?" It had, Lochley considered, taken longer then she'd thought it would for Jerry Barns to arrive on her doorstep, but now he had...and the captain of the Dark Thunder was clearly not amused. "I've just been informed by my XO that the captain of the Acheron was taken to Medlab last night, after being struck unconscious by an ancient artifact your chief of security was foolish enough to give to him. Why the Hell didn't you call and tell me about this the instant it happened?"
"I did call, actually!" Lochley snapped, "And Commander MacDonald told me that you were asleep, as a matter of fact - the 'first decent sleep he's had in months' I believe he said. I decided, Captain, not to disturb you for the very same reason Babylon 5's chief physician told me to go to bed...there was nothing we could have done to help him last night, Jerry...and as things stand right now, that hasn't changed one bit. Dr. Hobbs and her people are doing their best to try and figure out what's going on, but we have to give them some breathing room, so they can do their job!"
Barns' left hand clenched into a fist - and for a moment she thought the yelling match would continue - but as he had so many times before, Jerry Barns proved her wrong, as his face relaxed. "Damnit - you're right of course, Elizabeth...but for this to happen now..." Barns shook his head, and closed his eyes. "Every hour we delay here means the captains loyal to Wallace will be that much harder to find. Whatever caused Foraker to collapse - I hope your doctor finds the cure, and soon."
"Ah, Captain...I think we might be able to help you out with that problem." Lochley froze, and slowly turned towards the door - not now, damn it, she did not need this, not now!... but there he was, just the same.
Colin.
While the colder side of her personality still wanted to call him... "Mr. Ferris!" she ground out, "This had better be good - because if it isn't, you can turn around and walk right back out that door!"
The Psi Cop cleared his throat uncomfortably. "The explanation makes a certain amount of sense after you've had a little bit of time to think about it...but I'm not the one to give that explanation. He, on the other hand, is." At which point Lochley watched Ferris nod at someone behind him, and a dark-skinned humanoid in emerald robes stepped into view, his expression grave. "Captain, this is Hakrah - the leader of Babylon 5's resident V'cha'richae population. He has something to tell you..."
****************
Security Central
08:13 EST.
"Okay..." Wingrove all but snarled, "Let's try this again, shall we? You've told us that some trader out on the Rim sold you the crystal, and that you came here trying to sell it, along with the rest of that junk you dredged out of some First Ones garbage pit - only problem is, I don't believe you. It all fits together just a little too easily..."
Within the holding cell, Walson yawned, and checked the time. "Don't know what the Hell your problem is, 'Force, but like we already said, we're not responsible for what happened to your captain - anyone idiotic enough to grab hold of an ancient's artifact like that should have his head examined."
The anger in Wingrove's eyes darkened towards black rage at that point -- which was, of course, when Zack and Griffon stepped in. "Woah, there, sir..." the Chief cautioned, "We don't want to make a bad situation worse, here."
"And how do you define worse, Chief?" Wingrove roared. "Does 'worse' equal these bastards laughing at us when we're not looking? Of pretending they don't know what the Hell's going on, here?"
"No, sir." Allan replied. "'Worse' equals me letting you pound these jerks into the deck and then having them press charges. They're not worth it, sir."
"He's right, Thomas." Griffon agreed. "C'mon - we've been here for almost three hours now, and we've gotten exactly...nowhere with this angle of attack. Don't you think we should go to Medlab and see how your captain's doing? Heck, while we're away, we'll probably think up a bunch more questions to ask these idiots."
"Idiot?" Walson spat. "Who are you calling an idiot, 'Force?"
"You're the one behind bars," Griffon pointed out, her tone smug. "You figure it out." And with that, the two officers left Zack alone with the 'smugglers'.
"Well, well," the Chief pondered, "What are we gonna do with you two?"
"Let us go?" Mallory snidely suggested.
"I don't think so. Marten!"
"Chief?"
"We're wasting our time here. Take these two over to the secondary holding area."
Zack did not see the amused glitter in Walson's eyes as he gave out the order - or hear the word the 'smuggler' whispered, a moment later.
"Finally."
****************
Captain's Office
08:27 EST.
"Do you seriously expect me to believe that..."
"Expect, no." Hakrah disagreed, his expression stern, "Need, yes! Captain Lochley, I have explained much of the situation to you, as much as I believed you would understand - but there is one thing I have not yet said. My people are all, to a greater or lesser degree, able to sense the emanations coming from the singing crystals...
And also identify the individuals to which they are singing." In this case, the song's focus is on Captain Foraker - but not the entire focus. The crystal sings to you as well, Captain - I have sensed this, and know it to be true."
"This is all way too far out on the limb for me..." Barns began.
"Wait!" Lochley turned her focus back to the dark-skinned V'cha'richae leader, at the same time as she continued trying to fend off her mysterious, ongoing headache. "Hakrah - this 'song' you're referring to - if I'm only experiencing a fraction of what Captain Foraker's experiencing -- what are some of the symptoms you'd expect?"
"With a song as dark as this one is," Hakrah mused, "Perhaps flashes of light, headaches, dizziness..."
"Captain," Corwin carefully inquired, "Are you..." Lochley nodded; sharply... once - and then winced. "Great - this just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?"
"Okay," Lochley continued, "So what do we have to do to fight off the crystal's effects?"
"Fight off?" Hakrah began to laugh. "You cannot fight the crystal, Captain. You must embrace the song, and learn what it is the crystal wishes to teach us."
"That thing attacked Captain Foraker - and I could be next!"
"If we do not embrace the song as one, and learn what it is the crystal intends!" Hakrah insisted.
"As one?"
Colin cleared his throat. "That's, ah, where I come in, Captain."
Lochley's eyes widened. "Oh no! - no way in Hell will I agree to th..."
"It is the only way to save your friend, Captain!" Hakrah interrupted, as he leant across the desk towards her. "The only way to ensure that you will not share his fate. For if we do not act," the V'cha'richae concluded, "The crystal may drag you both down into darkness.
And this, I will not allow!"
****************** Act Three *****************
Command & Control
08:41 EST, June 28th, 2263
Orders were orders, and even though every instinct told him that he should stay at his CO's side during this strange investigation that the...V'cha'richae (damn, you couldn't get much worse then that for an unprounouncable species title) was conducting, Corwin knew the Captain was right - someone had to 'watch the farm' while she, Officer Ferris and Hakrah went wandering around inside Captain Foraker's head - and that someone was, of course, him.
"Lieutenant Corwin - may we have a word with you?" Corwin drew in a deep breath and turned to face the entrance of C&C - and there they were - Ta'Lon, Vir...and also, surprisingly, Rathenn.
"Ambassadors - what brings you up here?"
"We thought it best that we should come and warn you about this in person," Ta'Lon carefully began, "Before you hear about this matter from the other...parties involved."
Corwin scowled - just from those words, it was now clear that a certain amount of arguing, and possibly some more shouting, was probably going to be involved - and he beckoned the three representatives up towards the captain's station. "Okay - what's this all about...this time?"
"As there was a last, and undoubtedly will also be a next," Rathenn wearily allowed. "Forever they seek to challenge...while we strive to maintain the balance, as is just. In short..."
"In short, Lieutenant," Vir explained, "Certain ambassadors from the ISA member governments have decided..." and this at a whisper, "To attempt a reopening of ISA investigation 71-62."
Corwin frowned...and then his eyes widened, as he remembered the analysis of that particular 'case' that had been aired on ISN late the year before...
"Oh Hell - you're not trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me...are you?"
All three of the ambassadors nodded. "They wish to appeal the decision of that 'case'," Ta'Lon confirmed, "And, along the way, impound the Earth warship Dark Thunder in orbit around Epsilon 3 until such time as the situation is resolved to their satisfaction."
"WHAT?"
"Quietly, Lieutenant." Vir hissed. "We don't need to draw any more attention to this matter then we have already. And now that Captain Lochley is, ah, mysteriously indisposed..."
"Again." Ta'Lon dourly clarified.
"As acting commanding officer of Babylon 5, we were wondering if you would terribly mind attending a council meeting at 13:00 hours station time this afternoon..."
"In which we shall attempt to head the troublemakers off 'at the pass'." Ta'Lon concluded. "Do you believe yourself up to the challenge, Lieutenant?"
Corwin thought about that for a moment...and then he grinned. "Before the crackdown, I might not have been so quick to answer that question, Ambassador..."
"But now?"
"Hell yes! Where do I sign up?"
"There, you see?" Ta'Lon said, as he turned to face Rathenn. "I told you that was what he would say."
"I never should have doubted you for a moment, Ambassador."
"Indeed not." the Narn replied, as Corwin tried not to laugh. "And now, we must go - we have a great deal of planning to do, and very little time to do it in. Ambassadors, this is what I propose..."
****************
Ranger Compound, Guest Quarters
08:51 EST.
'And every investigation,' Julia wrote, 'Usually starts with gathering clues...'. The question was, where was she to start, this time around? Her mysterious talents were telling her that G'Stral and the girls she'd noticed the previous evening were connected in some way - that they were probably meant to help someone or several somebodies who were probably about to get themselves into trouble - the question was, how? It was a most...interesting problem.
However, even though she was officially here on leave, a long time ago grandmother Katherine had taught her that those who 'lollygagged around in bed' never got anything done - so shortly thereafter, she began the short trek down to the Compound's dining hall...
Which was when the distinctive smell of coffee stopped her dead in her tracks. Julia frowned - coffee, on Babylon 5? The last time she'd been here, hadn't coffee been on the prohibited plants list? William, at least, had bemoaned the lack of that beverage on more than one occasion during the Shadow War. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she wandered down the hall in the direction of the aroma, stopped at the portal of one of the 'regulars' on station, Colvhar Vendim, and stuck her head in the door.
"Unbelievable, isn't it?" the blonde-haired Ranger drawled, as he poured his raven-haired companion a cup from the battered field percolator on his side table. "Before last week, I didn't even know you could get coffee on the station, and then..." Abruptly Vendim's voice trailed off as he realized someone was standing on his 'front porch' and then he grinned. "Hey, Julia... how's it going?"
Vendim, of course, had been one of the Rangers to first make her feel welcome when she'd first arrived on board, three years before - and so she returned the smile. "Hi, Colvhar - not too badly, actually! I went out to dinner with an old friend last night - we had lots to talk about..."
"Yeah, so I hear. Hey, can I offer you a cup?"
"No, thanks - I'm a tea drinker myself, actually. What I am curious about, though is...where did you get it from?"
"The coffee?" Vendim chuckled. "Well, there's these two girls on-station who're looking after a tiny coffee plantation over in hydroponics..."
Julia's eyes widened, as she felt her Observer's Sense shift into high gear. "No, let me guess - the human one's dark-haired, and the other one's a Centauri, right?"
"Yeah - you didn't run into them last night, did you?"
"You might say that I did - they didn't tell me their names, though..."
A short time later, after Vendim told her what she needed to know, Julia made a discreet inquiry to learn where it was the young ladies in question lived...and then she opened another connection. Some moments later, as she sat down to breakfast, Larieken appeared at her side, his expression polite...as always. "You called?"
"I did. Larieken, can you do me a real big favour?"
****************
Red Sector, Level 12
08:57 EST.
There almost always came a moment in every Bureau operation, Walson considered with a grin, when an opportunity like this would come - the goons that Allan had assigned to take them to the secondary holding area aboard didn't appear to be 'overly intelligent gentlemen' as the Old Man had been known to put it from time to time. He, on the other hand, was willing to be a little more specific then that - the low level personnel in Babylon 5's security detachment had, well, a reputation for being upstaged by their opposition on many a occasion. Heck, besides Allan, Satamba and maybe a few others, they were like security the galaxy over - hired hands, the lot of them. While escorts from point A to point B - he laughed. Sometimes, it was like taking candy from a baby.
"Hey..." the patrol head growled, "What's so funny, smuggler? You want to share the joke with us, maybe?"
Walson paused, glanced over at his partner, and scratched his stubbled chin thoughtfully. "Naah..."
Which was, of course, when the miniscule remotes controlled by their team leader moved into contact with the three members of the patrol - injecting enough Klaraxol nerve-toxin to knock them out silently...and professionally. Only micrograms, but for the average human, that was more than enough. "You just experienced the punch-line first hand, though. Any questions?" He paused again. "No? I'm sorry - in that case, I must be going."
"Hey Walson!" a familiar voice drawled from a side passageway, "Cut the crap already - c'mon, now we've gotta find a place to hide until we're done finding out what effect the crystal has on the captain of that 'Force ship."
"Yes sir, Mr. Stone!" the cocky young operative replied with a grin, as he and Mallory turned aside, and vanished into the darkness besides their leader. "Hey...when the time comes - you're sure we can get out of this place in one piece?"
"Well, you know what?" Stone replied with a jaunty grin, "If Frost could do it - twice, I might add! - we can manage the same feat in a heartbeat...got it?"
"Right you are, then, Mr. Stone. So...once we do go to ground - what comes next?"
"Wellll, it's like this..."
****************
Medlab One
09:04 EST.
"Okay, let me see if I've got this straight," Lochley began, as Colin and Hakrah stood beside her above the still unconscious Foraker - while the heavy weight of the alien singing crystal rested next to the V'cha'richae on a small rolling table that Hobbs had appropriated from a nearby storage room. "Hakrah's going to attempt to establish a link with Captain Foraker using this...singing crystal thing, while you're going to try strengthening the link between us telepathically?"
"While attempting to monitor your response to it at the same time, yes," Colin confirmed. "It isn't going to be the easiest thing in the world to do...but Hakrah's convinced me it's necessary. A lot of Corps telepaths call what we're about to attempt a 'gestalt' - and while it's much easier if other telepaths are involved - as long as neither you or Hakrah resists...it should work. Theoretically."
"The crystal sings to both you and Foraker, Captain..." Hakrah reiterated, as he carefully took hold of Foraker's hand and placed it on top of the crystal and then placed his own hand onto the shimmery white surface, as well. "We must learn why this is so - and only with the telepath's aid and your cooperation, will this be possible."
"Right." Lochley took a deep breath. "And you're sure that Captain Foraker will respond to the crystal's presence?"
"There is a reason for this convergence of forces," Hakrah replied. "We must learn what has caused this to occur. Foraker is unconscious...for a reason. The crystal sings to you...for a reason, and yet, has left you standing while it has struck him down. I must learn why this is so before I can be at peace. Now, Captain! - I will perform the ceremony of summoning." And with that, the V'cha'richae closed his eyes, and began to chant softly in his own language - and Lochley's eyes widened as she felt...or heard, something tremble, far off in the distance - a rumbling drawing ever nearer.
"What's going on?" Colin asked, as he noted in the change in her expression.
"It awakens," Hakrah muttered, "Far too easily - the time of visions draws near."
"Captain," Hobbs inquired, her normally pleasant features now tinged with worry as she attached small monitoring devices to all three of them, "Are you sure you want to do this? This...thing has harmed Captain Foraker in some way - it could do the same to you!"
"Yes, it could." Lochley agreed, "But from what they're telling me, Doctor, this is probably the only way to find out what's really going on here."
"Mr. Ferris?"
"You have my assurances, Doctor," Colin replied, "That if anything starts to go wrong, I'll be the first to break the gestalt - and I have no intention of letting the crystal do the same thing to her that it did to Captain Foraker."
"That, I suppose..." Hobbs allowed, "Along with my own monitoring of the situation, will have to suffice for the time being."
"Telepath," Hakrah whispered, "You are ready?"
"Whenever you are." Colin confirmed. A moment later, Lochley flinched as she felt his long fingers gently reach out to touch the side of her face as he reached out his other hand to take hold of Hakrah's - but then she took another deep breath - this was...necessary, he needed the connection to do what he had to do - this was...the right thing to do.
"Whatever you're going to do, Hakrah...do it.
Now."
Hakrah inclined his head in her direction. "It shall be as you say, Captain - the time has come for you to look at the crystal." Lochley complied with his suggestion...and her eyes widened as she realized that the singing crystal was now... faintly glowing. "Ah, yes..." Hakrah repeated, his voice rising. "It stirs.
It is...awake!"
The crystal flashed - and Medlab faded away into darkness.
And then into vision.
****************
"Okay, Commander - what have you found for us this time?"
"Looks pretty damn interesting, actually," Foraker replied, as he brought an image of the planetary system up on the nearby screen. "Almost the first thing we noticed after coming out of hyperspace is that the third planet of this system has a fairly standard nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere - but then we looked a little more closely - and this is what we found."
"My God!" The image her first officer was displaying said it all - almost the entire surface area of the planet ahead of them was covered in enormous geometric patterns - a cityscape larger than anything she'd ever seen before - while two silvery spheres rode in orbit mid way between the planet and its lowest moon. "Are those..."
Foraker nodded sagely. "They are indeed - orbital habitats, Captain - big ones, maybe twenty or twenty five miles in diameter, and almsot certainly hollow. If you want my honest opinion, they're probably the best place to start our investigation of the system..."
"Hold on, Commander - not so fast. Are you absolutely sure there's no intelligent life in this system?"
"Absolutely?...no. But I can tell you with certainty that we aren't detecting any communication going on, or, for that matter, any energy sources, either on the planetary surface or in the habitats. They're cold, Captain - and have been for thousands for years, by the look of it. Your orders?"
A long moment passed - and then she made the only decision she could in the circumstances - orders were orders, after all. "Take us into orbit - we'll make up our mind where to start exploring once we get there..."
****************
And then...there was darkness again, as the dream from her past faded away...and then light.
"What the Hell?" she burst out, as the Medlab walls returned into focus around her.
"Be at peace, Captain." Hakrah suggested. "The crystal has decided not to tell us the story all at once - and for this I am thankful indeed. Its song, while not as dark as it was, is still very powerful."
"May I suggest," Colin pointed out, "That we use this intermission to examine what we've seen already? For starters - that was you, along with Captain Foraker..."
"On the bridge of the Acheron." Lochley confirmed. "Over six years ago, it was. I remember that exploration...at the time, it was a Hell of a find, I'll tell you - but no matter how hard we looked, we couldn't find the builders. But why is the crystal showing us this now, damnit? It doesn't make any sense!"
"The veil of mystery will be cast away once the crystal has finished telling its tale," Hakrah sternly cautioned. "We are merely passengers on the river of life...on the ocean of memory. We must be patient, and wait for understanding to come."
"I hope you're right."
"And I additionally hope..." Colin muttered, "That your 'ocean', Hakrah...doesn't decide to throw a hurricane in our direction."
****************
Security Central
09:17 EST.
This whole thing, Zack Allan dourly pondered, was slowly starting to turn into an investigation like so many others he'd conducted since taking over Security from Mr. Garibaldi almost two and a half years ago...yet another entry in the 'things didn't add up' category. At first, it hadn't seemed that way - but then Zack had dug a little deeper, a