From analise@verinet.com Wed Dec 25 01:21:10 1996 Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 23:43:16 +0000 From: Analise Hairabedian To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: 24 Hours (Part One) Ok folks, new story. Hey...no one dies in this one. Its a new thing for me...in honor of the holidays (yeah whatever) ...As usual, the disclaimers...these ain't my characters..they belong to WB and JMS etc, etc...... Merry Xmas! 24 HOURS --part one-- by Analise H. (analise@verinet.com) ******************************************************************** 13:02 Tired. Susan Ivanova was tired. She wanted nothing more than to simply lie on her couch and never move again. Who would have guessed that such a simple event could be so troublesome? Her com panel was paging her, she noted idylly through her exhaustion. What could possibly be wrong now? With an effort of will that would have made her father proud, she pulled herself up off the cushions and walked over to the console. She hung her head, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and looked up. "Yes?" she activated the screen with her word. It was the annoying little man down at the flower stand. Again. Mentally, she reminded herself that she had been the one to volunteer herself for this ...this ...trial. There was no one to blame but herself. "Commander." he began, in that self-important tone that made her want to walk down to the Zocalo and smash his face in personally, "I have been unable to locate the particular species of rose that you were looking for. I have spent an inordinate amount of time on this project, and I hope that you realize that I will need to be compensated--" Ivanova cut him off with a glare. "You will be paid what we agreed upon. No more. Now, if by chance you do not *do* what we agreed upon..then I will not pay you..what we agreed upon. You may, of course, lodge a formal complaint with the nearest Station official...who will in turn take that complaint to the Commander. That would be me." Her brow was lowering as she spoke and the flower man's face was becoming more and more florid. "I ...of course...will put your complaint through the ...um.. "proper" channels, and then I will hunt down the person who sent the complaint and I will personally rip his lungs out through his nose. Understand?" He nodded stiltedly. She straightened. "Good. Now, I'm sure that everything will be ready on time...the exact way it was *agreed upon*." He nodded again, and the connection was cut. She sighed and fell back onto the couch with a groan. Surely this was not part of her job description. She needed some sleep..and she was unlikely to get any in the next 24 hours. In fact, it would be a bloody miracle if she managed to stay standing tomorrow. That brought a faint grin to her lips as she imagined herself slumping to the floor, dead asleep, in the middle of the ceremony. Somehow, she didn't think that either John or Delenn would appreciate that on their wedding day. ********* 13:34 Ambassador Delenn was sitting at her workstation, pouring over several different casualty reports. Mostly accidents, thankfully. The cleanup after the war had been ..difficult, and now, it seemed, there were even more problems than there had been before. She straightened the stack of reports and stood. Problems that could be dealt with, she reminded herself...unlike controlling First Ones running around....these were actually within the realm of the reasonable to solve. Stretching, she moved away from her desk..noting with a smile that Lennier still managed to keep everything neat and tidy, even with the added burden of the wedding coming tomorrow. Her eyes snagged on the datacrystal that she had purchased on human wedding rituals as she moved into the kitchen to make herself some tea. She had thought them quite different from Minbari Joining Ceremonies at first, but had since revised her opinion. There were many things that were identical...the vocal declaration of devotion, the presence of ones family or clan, an elder officiating....the meaning behind the event. She dropped a few knots of the compressed Minbari tea balls into the hot water and watched as they dissolved..painting the water a yellow-brown. In a moment, the spicy aroma of G'hsin filled her nostrils, a scent that always reminded her of her youth in the Temple. She crossed to sit down on the low couch and let her head fall back against the headrest, easing her tired neck muscles. John had been gone for almost a week now and though she had been too busy to dwell on it too much, these moments of quiet always brought his absence to a sharp ache. Her fingers unconsciously went to the ring on her finger, twisting it. I don't know when we'll have the time...' he'd said when he'd slipped it on...the truth of those words was never more evident than it was when she was between tasks. When she was busy, there was no time to dwell on it. And she was busy most of the time...as was he. She wondered idylly if the Universe was ever going to let them enjoy the beautiful thing that it had given the two of them. She leaned forward and picked up the handleless tea cup in both hands, warming her palms briefly before taking a sip. John would be back tonight, she thought with a smile. And tomorrow they would be joined. She looked down at the datapad that held her schedule. Wedding:14.00 hours, it said. Looking at her timetable..at the slew of things to be done, it was impossible to believe that the two of them had ever had the time to fall in love, much less get married. Thank Valen for Susan Ivanova, she thought, taking another small sip. The Commander had insisted on giving them the ceremony as her gift, even though Lennier would have been more than capable of taking on the responsibility. Her aide still had many things to occupy him, however, not the least of which was organizing the Minbari delegation that would be arriving tonight. Clan Leaders..including her own...were attending this ceremony, not to mention a great number of Elders and even some of those who had been Satai. It might be enough to make her nervous...if she wasn't so busy. She slid the datacrystal into the slot on the low table in front of her and began to go over the nuances of the human ceremony once more. She and John had decided to blend their two cultures' traditions into something that was as unique as they were....and though she knew her own traditions well enough...she also wanted to know his just as well. This was going to be a perfect moment for them in the midst of all their shared responsibilities...a moment just for them. ************* 14:12 Marcus blinked at the navigational display. He tapped it with his finger, it didn't change. He frowned and pounded on it. Still nothing. Jarail noticed his actions and moved smoothly over to look at the screen. "Whats the matter, Marcus?" he asked, his accent barely noticeable. Marcus looked up at his fellow Ranger. "It looks like we've just stopped in hyperspace." he said. "But though the navigational sensors say we've stopped..the rest of the ship hasn't seemed to notice." Jarail frowned and peered at the readout. He too, tapped on it. "Tried that....we may have to move up to more advanced troubleshooting techniques.." Marcus said wryly. Jarail did not smile. Marcus hadn't expected him to. The Minbari had spent a long time with humans now, but not long enough to understand sarcasm. "This is not good, Marcus." "I gathered as much."Jarail ignored the wry comment and went on. "If the ship is not recognizing that it is stopped, then we will not be able to tell it to continue." Marcus blinked again. He hadn't quite come that far along into the problem yet, but what Jarail said made sense. The ship's computer ran everything, if it didn't think that they were dead in the water...that meant that there was a major problem with the sensors. He ran a hand over his face, rubbing his eyes. They were still 11 hours away from Babylon 5...the Captain was getting married tomorrow. It had been hard enough to get the time to have the wedding at all, and Marcus knew that both Lennier and Ivanova had been working very hard to get it done and done right. Now this. He sat back in his chair. Maybe he was overreacting. They still had about 24 or so hours till the wedding. Surely they could get the ship going again by then? Maybe the problem wasn't as serious as he thought. Glancing at Jarail killed that thought though. The man was down on his hands and knees looking under the console. That was a bad sign. The computer must have completely flipped. He glanced at the empty captain's chair. Sheridan was in his cabin catching up on some sleep. With any luck, they could take care of this problem without disturbing him. With any luck they could get him to his own wedding on time, with him none the wiser about these problems. It would only work him up. No, the man deserved a worry and trouble free wedding. He would do his best to see that he got it. It would be difficult to keep the Captain from learning of the ships troubles...but with a little ingenuity..he could do it. With a hopeful outlook, he dropped to his knees next to Jarail and peered under the console, watching as the man deftly rerouted the navigational sensors directly into the System Controls panel. Watching as, suddenly, the lights on the bridge dimmed and the emergency lights came up. Jarail's eyes widened and he quickly switched the wires back. The lights returned to normal. He glanced worriedly at Marcus. "This is very, very bad." he whispered. "Somehow Environmental Controls are entwined into the Navigational computer."He shook his head. "This must have happened when the Vree insisted on giving our ship a maintenance check before we left. They got into the systems.." "Damned Vree...always thinking that everyone needs to conform to their ways.." Marcus muttered. "But I thought they were just checking engines...hull integrity..that sort of thing." "I thought so too...apparently they did a bit more." Jarail sighed. "Maybe we can send a message back to Vree and find out what they did, so we can repair it." "It will take almost 3 hours to get a reply..." Marcus said, doing some mental calculations. 1.5 hours to send it, another 1.5 back....who knew how long to repair the damage....it might just work. And the Captain need never know. He'd been in his cabin working for most the trip already. "Lets do it." Marcus said, heading over to the com panel. "And we aren't going to let the Captain know about this...are we boys?" he asked , directing the remark at everyone on the bridge. There were nods all around. Everyone was in agreement on this. Both Sheridan and Delenn deserved a peaceful, trouble-free wedding. It was the least any of them could do in return for the service they had given the Galaxy. 24 hours. That was plenty of time. *********************** 14:56 Michael Garibaldi was sitting in his office, about to take a small, much needed lunch break, when his link beeped. He sighed and set his sandwich back down on his desk. "Garibaldi, this better be good.." "It isn't Chief....I think that's the nature of bad news." Zack's voice said. "What now? Did you realize I was about to take my first bite from a homemade Italian meatball sub?" "Chief...we've got a problem down here. I was making my rounds and I checked in on customs station 3.." "And...?" "Well, Jenkins didn't catch it, cause he's new here...but an old friend of ours just boarded the station under fake ID." "Who?" Michael had already forgotten about the sandwich. "Its Kyle Howard. He's going by the name Jason Liski, claims to be a merchant of some kind....Jenkins said he was carrying a bunch of hardware." Garibaldi felt his stomach twist at the name. "Damn! Find him. Turn the Station upside down if you have to! I'll be down in a second." He stopped before he cut the link. "And Zack, keep this quiet. Lets just grab this guy and not make any fuss that will mess up tomorrow...." He slapped the link, grabbed his PPG and left....his sandwich lying forgotten on the desk. About a year back, that Nightwatch bastard had been caught causing trouble for Ambassador Delenn. Nothing outward..but he could have done a lot of damage if he hadn't been stopped. He'd been spreading vicious lies about Delenn among the League Ambassadors. It had almost come to the point where a few of them had started a movement to have her thrown off the station and shipped back to Minbar. They'd caught the guy before that happened, but later, when the Nightwatch had been shipped off the Station, he'd gone with them. The timing of his return was no coincidence. This wedding was not a secret...and it was unlikely that anyone on Earth was going to be too happy about it. At least those in power. Still, he was going to do whatever he could to make sure that this wedding went well. And he planned on having Howard caught and locked up long before John got back. ****************** 16:02 Lennier bowed respectfully to the small group that had just disembarked from the shuttle. They were all Clan Elders of Delenn's Phane, it was tradition at least one be at her Joining..and it was a measure of their respect for Entil'Zha that they had all come. Lennier hid a small smile. Was it only a few years ago that these stuffy old men and women had refused to see Delenn as even Minbari...much less as a highly respected leader? Now they were coming, and coming in droves. On Minbar, it was an indication of your status...the number of high officials that came to your Joining. <"Welcome to Babylon 5."> Lennier said, keeping his eyes on a spot near the First Elder's collarbone. It was disrespectful to look an Elder in the face. <"I have arranged for quarters for you and your respected fellows."> He gestured towards a black-clad security man, who stepped forward. <"Mr. Orien will show you the way."> <"This way"> Orien said in stuttering, badly inflected Minbari. Lennier refrained from cringing. He had tried to teach the men he had been assigned for this duty a smattering of his language..just to make it easier on them...but it had turned into a phrase lesson instead. They now knew how to say "this way" and "enjoy your stay". And that was the extent of their Minbari. The next group was arriving, and by their dress, he guessed them to be of Delenn's order back on Minbar. These would be Delenn's personal attendants at the ceremony, as was traditional. In the Religious Caste, when you were Joined, it was given to those you served with as novices to attend you. Lennier bowed to them. < "Welcome. I will take you to Delenn shortly, but in the meantime..if you would follow Mr. Laurence to your quarters? I will come for you later so you may prepare with Entil'zha."> The small Minbari woman in front bowed to him , and Lennier gestured to Mr. Laurence. It went on like this for hours it seemed, and Lennier felt exhaustion creeping in. Surely the entire planet of Minbar was arriving for this. He felt a momentary twinge for Captain Sheridan. The man would not have any of his family attending due to the situation on Earth, and Lennier wondered if the entire observation dome would be filled with Minbari during the ceremony. It was certainly a great thing for Delenn....though he doubted that she would care....that so many dignitaries were coming to her Joining. The white flow of religious robes gave way to the brown of the Worker Caste. These were mostly military Minbari...those who had fought alongside the others during the Shadow War. Even a few of the Elders of the Worker were present..including the three that Lennier secretly suspected had been Satai. He had worked too closely to one of the Satai to not know when he was facing another. And then the black. The Warrior Caste had stepped in near the end of the War, and their aid had been much needed. Truly, it had been amazing to see how well they fought. Not to disparage the fine work of the Religious and the Worker in their attempts, but it was clear that Valen's old axiom held true. They work, we pray, you fight. It was easy to see how they had shredded Earth's defenses so easily during the EM war. Neroon and two others that Lennier knew had also been Satai, stopped and bowed before him .These men and women knew English. "Lennier" Neroon said, a small smile curled one side of his mouth, his eyes hooded as always. It was easy to think back to when this man was an enemy. "Welcome to Babylon 5." he said. The speech rolling off his tongue easily. "If you follow Mr. Lydon, he will show you to your quarters." "Thank you...." Neroon gave Lennier a small bow...something that would have never happened 6 months earlier, and his small entourage moved past. And then they were all gone. He stood alone in the center of the Spaceport and he looked at the chrono on the wall. He had been here for 3 hours. He needed to sit down, but there was no time for that. He had turned to go, when movement caught his eye across the room. Another Minbari. He sighed inwardly and made his way across the floor towards the man. Tall, in his early mid life, he wore the clothes of a Religious who did not spend much time in the Temple. "Which delegation are you with?" Lennier asked, after bowing formally. "I can direct you to your quarters." "I am not with any delegation...simply with myself. I wish to speak with Delenn. Can you arrange that?" "Delenn, as you know, is soon to be Joined...and it is highly irregular for anyone to see her before the ceremony besides her attendants.."(or those of high rank, he thought silently) Lennier tilted his head. This man should know that. "I am aware of this. And I still need to see her. Tell her that Ravenn wishes to speak with her. She will see me." With that, he bowed to Lennier and left the spaceport. Lennier let himself sigh. Why did that name sound so familiar? And why did he suddenly have the feeling that things were about to go very awry? *************** 16:45 "What is the problem here?" Ivanova was on the verge of pulling her hair out. She had arranged for the food to be prepared in a specific way, which, according to Lennier was very important to the Joining Ceremony. There was to be Earth food as well, but the Minbari part was the one causing the problems. Susan had arranged with Lennier for 3 Minbari chefs to take part in the preparation of the food. "Those guys have been standing in front of the stove for over 5 hours!" Kelly said, his mustache bristling. We need to use it! Christ, how long does it take to simmer up that green crap anyway?" "How the hell should I know?" Ivanova asked, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose between finger and thumb. She opened her eyes again and looked directly at the chef. "Can't you compromise? I mean that's the whole point of this thing. Just figure it out! What do you want *me* to do about it?" "Kick those guys *out* of my kitchen. That's what I want!" "That's not going to happen. Look.." she gestured around her. "This is a big station. Find another kitchen. Those guys.." she pointed at the Minbari, who were murmuring some sort of prayer now over the stove, " obviously aren't going anywhere. So figure out what needs to be done to get what you need done, done! The wedding is in 21 hours...and there had better be food on the Captain's side of the room...because if there isn't...there's going to be a little bit of extra debris floating around outside the station...and its going to have a mustache!" her voice was rising with each new word. The man's face was turning red, but at her last comment...he snorted and stormed out of the kitchen. Ivanova sank down into a nearby chair and rubbed her forehead. There was a quiet murmur in the background of Minbari voices mixing with the smell of whatever they were cooking. Sooner or later, she told herself, she was going to run out of threats and then she was going to have to think of another way to grind this wedding out smoothly. She wasn't so sure she was up to it. Where were the Shadows when you needed them? ******************* END PART ONE---- **************************************************************** Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. ----Mark Twain **************************************************************** From analise@verinet.com Wed Dec 25 01:21:31 1996 Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 23:48:09 +0000 From: Analise Hairabedian To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: 24 Hours (Part Two) 24 HOURS --part two-- by Analise H. (analise@verinet.com) ********************************************************* 21:08 "We found where he was staying, Chief...or at least where he was planning on staying. It looks like he never actually checked in." Zack said, leaning tiredly against the wall. Garibaldi exhaled sharply, trying to think. "Look, what do we know about this guy? He's a fanatical alien-hater...he came here just when the Captain's about to get married..so he must have some plan to really mess things up." He wrinkled his forehead. 18 hours, the quiet clock in his head told him. 18 hours till this guy did whatever he was going to do...if not less. "He brought some kind of equipment onto the station..." "Jenkins said it looked like spare parts...it coulda been ..." Zack paused, reluctant to finish the thought. Garibaldi had already had the same idea. "Yeah...I know. Could be a bomb." he said softly, "and this guy could be anywhere. Hell, he worked here...he knows the station as well as any of us..." "Jeez Chief, we gotta get our hands on this guy before he plants the thing....if that's what he's gonna do." "I know Zack, I k now....and if he really does have a bomb, that's more reason than ever to find him before the Captain gets back.." ****************** 21:30 Lennier knelt in his meditation...trying to figure out what to do. He had finally remembered who Ravenn was. It had been news a time back. Ravenn was Religious Caste of a prominent family..oftentimes, the higher ranked Clans would make deals between themselves to improve the bloodlines of their Clan. Ravenn's Clan Elders had done this...as had Delenn's. They had intended to be joined ...but the EM War had interfered...and then Delenn had come to Babylon 5. It hadn't happened...Lennier had forgotten about it, as he was sure the Delenn had. After all, she had had a great deal more to think about in the past years..especially since her change. Lennier doubted that before Delenn had re-attained her status on Minbar as Ranger One..that Ravenn would be interfering now. But like the rest of Minbar....he obviously was willing to look past her physical change now in the face of her powerful status. It was the only explanation for his presence here, now. Ravenn did have the right to stop Delenn's marriage to the Captain. It was an old right, but it held water..as the humans said. Lennier stood and blew out the candle. He did not pace, but his legs were dying to. He moved to the couch instead and sat. Once Delenn was joined, all of Ravenn's claims would be forfeit...but until that time...he glanced at the chrono, less than 18 hours now...he had to find a way to keep Ravenn away from Delenn. This wedding would go smoothly, he told himself. If he had to lock Ravenn in his rooms for the duration..he would. And Delenn would not learn of this. Somehow, he would keep them from seeing each other. ******************** 24:40 Marcus was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Sheridan had,so far, cooperated with his plan of keeping him out of it, by staying in his quarters for most of the time. But there had been a harrowing moment when he'd walked in right as Marcus was listening to the *third* message that the Vree had sent. He hadn't paid any attention to what Marcus was doing though, he seemed to be in a happy, if a little distant, mood. The bearded ranger wanted to keep him that way. He had asked a few questions about arrival times and Marcus had said that they might be a little behind schedule because the ships engines weren't running at full capacity...but it was no trouble, and they would only be a few hours late. It was now 10 hours since the trouble started, and they hadn't moved an inch. In one hour, they were supposed to be emerging into Babylon 5 space. They had a few hours leeway because of the lie about the engines...but then Sheridan was going to start asking questions. Marcus pressed his forehead into his hands, rubbing his temples. If only the blasted Vree would just cooperate..they could have had this taken care of with the first message. But no. They had sent their original request for help out and had received a reply that was the equivalent of...."what are you talking about? We didn't touch your ships computer.." Well, it was obvious to an infant, that they had. But it took another message to explain that. Another reply to tell them that no, they really hadn't....and then finally....in their most recent reply, they had admitted it...and were going to fetch the Vree who had worked on it. 9 hours, and still they were where they started. They only had 14 hours left to get Sheridan to the station....11 of which the journey would take regardless. That left 3 hours to get the ship running again, and the Vree were finally doing something. It was enough to make one cry. The com beeped and Marcus lunged for the receive button, praying to whatever gods were listening. "To the whitestar....Technician Kazzl has given us schematics of what he has done to your systems. They look much improved to us....I suppose you are not advanced enough to understand the upgrade we have freely given you. In any event, I am attaching the information in a file. We apologize that you were not able to benefit from our technical expertise." Message end. Marcus opened the file and, with Jarail and all the other bridge crew gathered around, they began to see just what had been done to their ship...and how to undo it. ************* 03:12 Sleep. Wouldn't that be nice. Ivanova stood in the doorway of the Observation dome and tried to refrain from screaming. It was late after all, and most sentient beings were sleeping. Except the Llort. Except *these* Llort. In less than 11 hours, the wedding would be conducted in this room. The Observation dome....which was currently filled with a large group of young Llort and their teacher....finger painting. There was paint everywhere. All over the floors, the walls...even the transparent plex that separated the youngsters from space. A space she wished she could fling every last one of their cute little paint-covered asses into. She wrinkled her nose. The paint smelled like dead fish...please let the smell not be permanent, she thought.The teacher noticed her and moved carefully across the room, avoiding stepping on any of the little dears' masterpieces. "Can we help you Commander?" the teacher asked politely. Ivanova was too tired to pretend courtesy. "What...." she ran a hand over her eyes. They were all still there..."Are you doing in here?" she asked. "We decided to conduct class under the stars tonight. Since our sleep schedules differ so diametrically from yours, I thought that there would be no problem in bringing the children here. No one is up to be disturbed by them." "But..." she shook her head..flowers, food, paint, dead fish... "The wedding is tomorrow..no, today. In less than 10 hours this room will have half of Minbar in it. The two people most responsible for the lives of everyone in this bloody Galaxy will be in it." she gestured at the children. "And *now* dead FISH will be in it as well!" her voice was rising, she couldn't control it. "Dead fish?" The teacher's large head cocked to one side. Ivanova shook her head rapidly, her hair flying around her head.. "No! Nevermind. Just get them out! Now! And you'd better pray that that paint comes off easily...and that that smell goes away...because otherwise...otherwise..." she stopped and sighed. She was just out of threats. She'd used them all up in the past two days. Tiredly, she flapped her hands at the Llort teacher who was moving away from her, gathering up the children. In 5 minutes, Susan was alone in the Observation Dome. Alone with the paint covered wall, alone with the smell of dead fish. She sank onto one of the benches and leaned back against the wall. Without opening her eyes, she lifted her link up and contacted C&C. "Get me maintenance...no..just get me Winston..." she amended. A moment later, a sleepy voice came on line. "Yes Commander, whats the trouble?" "I need a clean up crew in the Dome. Now. Tell them to bring the heaviest solvents they can find...this is going to be a tough one." "Yes Sir...." his voice was already more alert. She silently thanked him for not asking any questions, she cut the link and let her hand fall back into her lap. After a long moment where she felt herself drifting off, she shook herself awake and got back to her feet. She brushed off her pants automatically, and her fingers caught on something wet on her rear. Bringing her hand up, she saw the telltale smear of yellow paint on her fingertips. She was too tired to be angry. Instead she just shuffled out...she still had to make sure that the food was actually being prepared. She hadn't had time yesterday with her regular duties to go back and check on the reluctant chef. She moved slowly down the corridor. If this didn't earn her a spot in Heaven, she didn't know what would. ****************** 04:23 Garibaldi held up a hand to his mouth, motioning silence. All around him, his men crouched down quietly. He reached a hand across the door frame and popped his card into the slot. He met Zack's eyes, and then hit the activate button. The door slid open, and he and Zack flew through the portal. "Security! Freeze!" he yelled. The scrawny man at the table dropped his drink and lunged for the gun lying on the bed. Garibaldi flung himself at the man, tackling him at the chest level and bearing him down to the floor where they both landed with a thud that jarred Michaels teeth. He pulled back his arm to knock the guy cold, but he saw that the impact of landing on the floor with himself on top had been enough. The man was unconscious. Garibaldi climbed to his feet slowly, rubbing his elbow gingerly where it had banged into the deck. It was the same arm he had broken a little under a year ago when Earth had tried to board the station. That was the last thing he needed right now, to reinjure his damn arm. It was him alright. Kyle Howard. The little scumbag. "Search the room boys....look for that equipment that Jenkins mentioned.." He turned to look at Zack. "Good work on this Zack. If you hadn't spotted him in that maintenance outfit we would have spent a lot of wasted hours searching brown insteada blue sector." "Yeah...well, I figured the guy would've been trying to fit into what he had known best here. I guess my hunch played off." he looked around. "But if he managed to plant a bomb in the last 10 hours...we still need to find it." "Yeah, but we got him now.." Garibaldi jerked a thumb at the now reviving Howard. "He'll tell us what we want to know...if he knows whats good for him.." he added the last while looking directly into the mans eyes. Kyle laughed. "Oh yeah? Think what you like, Traitor. I'll never tell you where the bomb is." he said smugly. "Oh? So there IS a bomb?" Michael grinned a grin that didn't reach his eyes. "Thanks Kyle..." The man frowned slightly at his flub, and then seemed to decide that he shouldn't speak anymore. "Take him to holding, make sure there are at least four guys watching him. Its not that I'm worried...but I just don't want to take any chances with this many important Minbari on the station..." "Sure thing, Chief.." One of the guys murmured, hauling Howard to his feet and pushing him out the door. "This ain't over.." Zack sighed. "Is it ever?" Garibaldi shook his head. "Have teams go over every inch of the Station near the Observation dome. I want that thing found. And quickly." ****************** 04:08 Ravenn slipped quietly down the hallways of Green Sector. Delenn's aide had done a fine job of keeping him away from her, but he *would* see her before the wedding. It was very late, and likely that her little watchdog was asleep now, as was Delenn...but she would wake for him. He rounded the corner...and found a large imposing Minbari in studded black standing there. In the middle of the hall. Past the large man's shoulder, he could see another black clad form further down. <"She is sleeping."> the Warrior said, looking down on Ravenn. The smaller man got over his shock quickly. He had heard that there were some in the Star Riders who did more for Delenn than just support her at the end of the war. Some had become friends with her. <"Lennier asked us that we see that she not be disturbed." > Ravenn nodded, trying to cover his surprise with a calm facade. <"I see. I will come back later."> <"None may see her before the Joining."> the big man said. <"She will see me"> he said firmly. The warrior did not respond, he only smiled. Ravenn turned and left. There was a way. He *would* see Delenn. And it had to be before the Joining. ****************** 05:30 Delenn awoke to the delicious smell of Jilini tea brewing. The tea was a rare treat as it was only brewed up a few times in a person's life. A Joining was one of those times. Her old friend Grishaya was standing at her bedside with a white robe made of a fine semi-iridescent material. She stood up and let the robe be wrapped around her body, luxuriating in the soft texture. She bowed her thanks to her friend and moved into the main room. There were 3 others of her old order there, making the ritual preparations necessary for the Joining. It had been so wonderful to see her old friends again. They had stayed up late, talking about the old times...and the new. It had been gloriously relaxing, she couldn't remember when she had been happier. Here on her Joining...no, Wedding Day. She silently amended. According to human custom, she was not allowed to see John until the ceremony, and she thought that was a fine tradition. It upped the suspense, the delicious anticipation that seemed to be growing the closer that the time came. Kalen handed her a cup of the Jilini and she took it in both hands, warming her palms. She bowed her thanks and moved to sit at her desk. There were a few things that needed to be done today....Layann placed a silent hand over the terminal and shook her head, smiling. "Today is not a day for work, Delenn." She gestured at the candles that Grishaya was setting up. "Let us meditate together, and then we will begin the preparations." "If you insist Laya...but there are things that have to be..." Kalen cut her off, moving to take her arm and lead her to the mat. "No. These things will wait. And the things that cannot wait will be taken care of by another. This is your day, Delenn." he admonished gently. She sighed and nodded with a smile. He was right. And she knew that she would enjoy it...it was going to be a perfect day. ***************** 09:31 This was hell. Any minute now, the Captain would wake up and wonder why it seemed to be taking so long to get back to B5. Marcus had tampered with the Chronos in his cabin, so it looked like it wasn't as late as it was...and so far it had worked. They were only 4 hours from the station...less actually since they had been redlining the engines. And so, Marcus sat at his station, a false grin plastered to his face waiting for the Captain to walk onto the bridge any second now. The entire crew had gone the entire night without sleep to repair the ship and keep it running. Once they had figured out the mishmash that the Vree called schematics, it had taken them almost 2 hours to get movement out of the ship again...and they had been running on adrenaline since then. They would make it on time. They would. Not like it was really that big of a deal, Marcus tried to tell himself. After all, it was only a wedding. A wedding that the most powerful people on Minbar had come to witness. A wedding that was being broadcast throughout the major governments as the occasion that would finally wash the bad taste of the Shadow War out of everyones mouth. And to him, most importantly, the wedding that Sheridan and Delenn had been putting off for everyone else's sake for the better part of a year. No...not that big of a deal. Now he was making himself upset again The doors swished open and Marcus froze the grin on his face. The chronos in Sheridan's quarters had been set back to their regular time, so the Captain knew now, how behind they were. Marcus waited for the storm to hit...at least they were almost there. Sheridan murmured good mornings to everyone and settled in the chair. Nothing. Marcus blinked. That was it? "You know....its funny.." the Captain said, swiveling his chair to look at Marcus. The ranger braced himself. "I don't remember the trip taking this long before.." he said absently. "Its almost as if, now that the day is finally here...time is playing tricks on me." he chuckled softly. "Don't laugh, but I thought our ETA was 01:00 hours." Marcus let out an involuntary bark of forced laughter that was so loud it startled Jarail next to him. The Minbari elbowed him sharply under the console and gave him a look. Don't blow this opportunity' the look said. "Well, pre-wedding nerves can do that to you..." Marcus said finally, unable to believe their good fortune. "We should be arriving at B5 in about 3 hours." "Not much time to get ready...but I suppose that everyone has things going smoothly there. If Ivanova and Lennier are running things...I'm sure it will all go off without a hitch." "I'm sure.." Marcus said. Hopefully *this* was the only glitch of the day. He could feel exhaustion hovering at the edges of his consciousness. He wasn't sure he would be awake for the wedding , Hell, at this rate, he wasn't sure he would be *alive* for the wedding. He was going to have a nervous breakdown long before. ***************** 10:02 Crews were combing the station looking for the bomb. Garibaldi had finally had to let Ivanova in on it. He couldn't keep a crisis this large under his hat. He was on the verge of evacuating everyone down to Epsilon III. Ivanova had looked at him like he was insane when he suggested that...muttered something about dead fish, roses and how he'd better find the damned thing, because there was no way they were calling off this wedding. Then she had stalked off. "Less than four hours.." he said to himself.."and the Captain hasn't showed up yet." Ivanova had told him that she'd received a message from Marcus saying that they had been delayed, but that they should be there in time. According to the message, he was due to arrive in less than 2 hours. They HAD to find the bomb before then. He leaned against a nearby bulkhead and closed his eyes. He was still wearing the Flak jacket from their earlier arrest. The scumbag had not spilled anything, true to his word. He was tempted to fling the guy out the airlock just for fun at this rate. No threats were working. If only there was a single telepath on the station....but no. Lyta was on Mars. He'd tried to get in contact with Lennier to see if there were any Minbari telepaths among the guests...but he had been unable to get in touch with him. He had caught a glimpse of the young Minbari once in the halls, but he had been surrounded by a group of tall, black clad warriors...all arguing....and Garibaldi hadn't wanted to interrupt their discussion. Now all they could do was search and hope-- his link beeped, breaking his chain of thought. "Garibaldi, go".Please let them have found it. "Good news and bad news, Chief." Zacks voice came. "Just tell me!" the big man snapped. "Good news is we found the bomb..." "Great! Disarm it and blow it out of an airlock!--" "Bad news is...its linked...and we don't know how....or where, the others are." Zack sounded exhausted. Garibaldi just wanted to lie down. Could anything else go wrong? "Keep looking..." was all Michael could think to say. He cut the connection and rubbed his hand across the back of his head. His eyes felt like they were swimming in sand. "Mr. Garibaldi..." It was Lennier, coming down the hall at a rapid rate. The young Minbari looked exhausted, there were deep shadows under his eyes. "Lennier...I was hoping to talk to you..." "Please, Mr. Garibaldi...I have an urgent request." "Do you know if there are any telepaths with the visiting Minbari?" they both ended up talking over each other. "I do not believe so...but I must ask for a few of your security people. There is a problem with---" The Chief interrupted him. "Look, I can't spare anyone right now..we've got ...ummm...some trouble, and I need all my men....what kind of problem?" Lennier was shaking his head. "No..if you cannot spare the men, then I shall have to take care of it myself. What kind of trouble?" Garibaldi wasn't about to tell Delenn's aide anything that he didn't want Delenn to know about. "Uh, nothing. Not to worry. Its under control. " A moment later, they both went their separate ways down the hall...certain that the other had been hiding something, but too tired to worry about it. **************** 11:50 The jumpgate whirled to life and spit out the sleek little Minbari-vorlon ship that carried the Captain. He was standing at the front viewport, watching the station approach with a sense of growing anticipation. He had not seen Delenn for over a week, and now he was going to marry her. He had no case of cold feet, all he had was a warm glowing feeling of joy. He felt as if he were alone in the universe. Alone but for the woman who waited for him on the slowly spinning station outside. The bridge crew was too weary to do anything beyond gratefully arranging for the shuttle that would take Marcus and Sheridan to the station. As soon as they achieved orbit around the station, the Captain turned and strode from the bridge, thanking the crew as he always did, but his mind was several kilometers away..focused on the woman he would be married to in a few hours. Marcus pushed himself up from his seat where he had been fighting sleep and followed the man out, meeting the eyes of each of the crew to give silent thanks. Now that they were there...and with a little under 2 hours to spare...the adrenaline was wearing off, leaving him a shell...a husk left out to dry in the desert sun. A moment later, the shuttle was swooping in towards the station and then it was docking. It happened in a haze for Marcus...and then Sheridan was touching his shoulder. They were there. The pair of them disembarked, finding Ivanova waiting for them. Sheridan barely noticed, but Marcus did. Susan looked like death warmed over. The smile she had plastered over her face looked vaguely familiar. He had seen it on the faces of each one of the bridge crew whenever Sheridan appeared. The facade of happiness, masking utter exhaustion. He knew that he wore it now...and if Sheridan hadn't noticed anything amiss with the whitestar fiasco...then he would notice nothing amiss about Susan. "Welcome back, Captain." "Thanks Susan. Is everything rolling along smoothly?" he asked. Marcus could see a tiny tick twitching the corner of her mouth. "Of course Captain. Things couldn't be going betterr." They all turned to move out of the spaceport and Marcus immediately noticed the number of security men that were...well, everywhere. He could understand wanting things to be safe...but this was a little overdoing it. He glanced at Ivanova and received a slight shake of the head in response. "Has anyone talked to Delenn?" Sheridan asked. "Or is she in that seclusion ceremony thing she was talking about." "So far as we know, Captain. I assume all is well...the Minbari arrived yesterday, along with her attendants. They locked themselves into her quarters with her...and thats all I know." Sheridan nodded. "She told me about it. "He looked at both of them with a smile. "Well, I'm going to go and get ready myself. Not too much time left." He raised his brows at Susan. "Are you going to go over some kind of practice thing with me? Its been a long time since I've done anything like this." he grinned. "Of course. Lennier and I have discussed it at length...I'll be by in an hour to fill you in on how its to be." she said. He nodded and then he was gone, striding down the hall, whistling. As soon as he was out of sight, both Marcus and Ivanova collapsed into the hard plastic chairs of the Spaceport. "I don't know how you managed to do that..." muttered Ivanova. "I figured he'd be fuming and worried by the time you got here." "Thats the odd bit." Marcus said, his eyes closed, his head tilted back. "He's in his own little world. He didn't even notice that we were running over 10 hours behind." He cracked an eye open and glanced at Susan. "You look like hell." he said suddenly. She grimaced. "Thanks a lot. " She pushed wearily to her feet. "I've got to get moving. Theres still the chance that we won't even have a wedding.." she said. Marcus jerked upright. "WHAT?" after all that? She ran a hand over her eyes. "Theres a bomb on the station. Garibaldi and his men are looking for it. They've found part of it...but apparently its linked to several others. Its in the area of the Observation Dome...so if we just keep everyone out..." "You're telling me that I ..that we...that I've gone through all this...and now it might not even happen?" "It *is* a bomb Marcus.." Susan said wryly. "What do you want? To blow up the wedding party?" He opened his mouth...and shut it again. He was too tired to be having this conversation. Instead, he pushed to his feet and stalked off, muttering something about finding the damn thing himself. Ivanova stared after him for a moment and then headed the opposite direction towards the lift. She had to make sure that the Observation Dome was coming together. She'd ordered extra flowers at the last minute to cover up the dead fish smell...it had cost a fortune, but she wasn't going to have John and Delenn remembering their wedding everytime they passed a fish market. Then she still had to go over the ceremony with John. She needed Lennier for that...she wasn't sure she trusted her memory when it came to the Minbari half of the ceremony. Lennier. Now where would he be? ********************** END PART TWO-- **************************************************************** Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. ----Mark Twain **************************************************************** From analise@verinet.com Wed Dec 25 01:21:38 1996 Date: Sat, 21 Dec 1996 23:58:11 +0000 From: Analise Hairabedian To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: 24 Hours (Part Three) 24 HOURS --part three-- Analise H (analise@verinet.com) ******************************************************** 12:45 Lennier's legs were cramping. He had stood personal watch in Delenn's corridor after the altercation with the Star Riders. He had been standing here for over 2 hours now and he had not slept at all that night. Only an hour and 15 minutes, he reminded his legs. And then we don't have to worry about Ravenn destroying Delenn's Joining. The sound of footsteps made him look up. Commander Ivanova was moving rapidly down the hall towards him...he envied her energy. She had obviously gotten a good nights sleep. "Lennier. We need to go to the Captain's quarters and brief him on what he needs to do for the ceremony. Lennier shook his head. "I....cannot leave here." he said. Ivanova just stared at him, slightly wild eyed.For a moment, Lennier feared for his life. Then she took a deep breath. "Why not?" she asked calmly. Lennier debated about whether or not to tell her...and finally opted to share his burden. "There is a minbari here...on the station..." "There are *lots* of minbari on the station...most of those are gathering in the Observation Dome as we speak.." Ivanova snapped. Lennier held up his hand. "No. This one was betrothed to Delenn when she was young. He has the right to deny her permission to join with anyone else." Susan's eyes were getting wider ...and wilder. "This isn't happening..." she whispered. She propped herself up against the wall with one hand, rubbing the back of her neck with the other. "If she is joined before he can claim his right on her, then his claim dies. I have to make sure that he does not see her before the Joining." "Can't...can't you have someone else watch?" Susan asked. She needed a drink. Badly. "I had some warriors watching...but they...can be ..difficult. They have decided to join the festivities instead. I have had to watch for Ravenn." "Look. Maybe he won't come.. Maybe you can slip away for just a few minutes. The Captain is a bright guy, this won't take long..." Ivanova asked. "If he were to see her....the Joining would be off. "Lennier said flatly. "And then Captain Sheridan would have no need of knowing how to conduct himself." Susan was silent. He had a point there. But she also needed Lennier. Security was too busy to watch for him, hell *everyone* was busy looking for that blasted bomb. She wanted to sit down. Her eyes drifted past Lenniers shoulder. "Lennier...what does this Ravenn look like?" "He is about my height...a little taller perhaps. He wears unusual clothing for a Minbari, he is a scholar you see..." Ivanova cut him off. "He just walked into Delenn's quarters." she said, pushing past Lennier. The young Minbari spun around, stunned. He had taken his eyes off the door for 3 minutes, and look what had happened. He followed behind Susan, his mind a blank. All his vigilance...ruined for one careless moment. The Commander hit the door chime and folded her arms in wait. She didn't have long. An older minbari woman was standing there when the door cycled open. <"Yes?"> she asked in minbari. Lennier moved closer. <"We will remove Ravenn..."> was all he could think to say to her. "Why would you do that,Lennier?" Delenn's voice floated out to him. The older minbari stood aside with a small bow and the pair of them entered to see Delenn, dressed in a plain iridescent robe, sitting on the couch next to Ravenn. She was....smiling. Lennier frowned. "Delenn?" he asked. "Do you see who has come to give me his best wishes?" she gestured to Ravenn. The man only stared at Lennier in a rather hostile way. "Yes. I wished only to let her know that I no longer claimed any right to her through our betrothal. It is better to enter into a new union, free of the fetters of the old." Lennier couldn't find words. Susan just smiled. "Sorry we bothered you...Lennier has something to do now." she said. Taking the stunned minbari's arm, she pulled him out of the room and into the hall. "Come on brave knight...we have work to do.." she muttered, and dragged him off down the corridor. ************ 13:34 Garibaldi was sweating. The timer on the first bomb had been set for 14:05...right when Delenn was due to start her portion of the ceremony...and after the Captain would already be in the room. They had found 3 of the 4...he was sure there was only one more left...he had seen the timer configuration before...it was standard gropo issue. It was set up for 4 separate charges that could be linked with a signal instead of wiring. He *had* seen it rigged with 5 charges before...but he didn't even want to consider that possibility. By the time they found the fourth one they would know by looking at it if it was set up to send a signal to a fifth. But he wanted so badly to believe that there was only one more. His men were standing by, ready to evacuate everyone to a safe part of the station at 13:45. That gave them plenty of time to seal off that part of the station. Garibaldi did not plan on letting that happen. He would find the thing ...even though he only had 11 minutes left by his own deadline. He'd talked briefly with Marcus when the ranger had arrived to join the search. The man had said that the Captain was walking on cloud nine. He didn't want to ruin that...not after all the hardships he and Delenn had gone through lately. This thing was going to go smoothly he repeated to himself...even as the seconds ticked by..and still no bomb. "Mr. Garibaldi!" It was Johns voice. Oh boy. The Captain had finally noticed all the extra activity. "Captain.." he said, straightening. Sheridan was decked out in his dress uniform, looking neatly cleaned and pressed. There was even a boutonniere in his lapel. Ivanova had thought of everything. "Is this what you planned on wearing to the wedding?" John flipped up the collar of the flak jacket he still wore. Michael shook his head wearily. "No sir. I was going to go change just now." "Better hurry...only 20 more minutes." and then John was gone, walking off down the hall towards the Dome...whistling. Garibaldi stared after him for a long moment, suddenly wishing he could just lie down now...let the bomb go off. At least he could sleep then. "Chief!"his link yelled. Zack. He slapped it. "Go.." he said "We found it." ********************** 14:00 The room was beautiful. Flowers of every kind draped the walls and dripped from the ceiling. The scent of roses was everywhere. Only the most sensitive noted an odd fishy smell, but they passed it off as imagination. Chairs had been set up in perfect rows, food lined each side of the room and music played from the tiny string quartet in the corner. Outside the giant glass wall that looked out into space, the huge rust colored surface of Epsilon III shone in ...silhouetting those who stood in front of it. That honor had been given to Deneval, the most highly revered Elder in Delenn's clan....and the diminutive form of Brother Theo. The pair of them seemed incongruous next to each other, and yet somehow perfect. John Sheridan had entered first, followed by those he had chosen to stand with him. Susan Ivanova first, then Michael Garibaldi and lastly, Stephen Franklin. They all wore their best dress uniforms...and if anyone noticed that both the Chief of security and the Commander looked a little worn around the edges, no one said anything. Both Lennier and Marcus, who sat in the first row of seats..were doing their best to look alert. And then several crystal chimes had sounded, and Delenn's entourage entered. All four wore hooded robes of a deep crimson red, and the smallest one in front carried a small crystal bowl of red fruit. She stepped up to the front of the room first, bowed to both Deneval and Theo, then she set the bowl at Johns feet, bowed and moved to the right hand side of the room. The next minbari, a tall man, moved forward and placed a tall, stately, unlit candle in an elegant crystal holder at John's feet. Then he bowed and moved to stand next to his fellow. The third bowed as well and set down a candle that was identical to its mate but for the fact that this one was lit. That left the fourth to stand in front of him with a bowl of clear water. When she too, had moved into her place...the room became quiet. And then the strings in the corner started up. John smiled faintly to himself as he recognized the sounds of the wedding march. Delenn had done her homework. He had hardly expected anything less. And then all other thoughts vanished as she appeared in the doorway across the room. She had modified the Minbari religious robes. They were now a blend of traditional Earth and the Minbari fashion that he had come to relate as being uniquely hers. Layers of flowing white fabric spilled from her shoulders and hips. The style was simple, similar to her own robes, but these flattered her slender figure, following the curves of her hips and breasts as if it were her own skin. The hood of the robe was still there, taking the place of the veil, but it was pulled partially back on her head, revealing her beautiful face and her long dark curls cascading over her shoulders. Her slender hands were folded in front of her serenely as she walked towards him, and he couldn't stop himself from grinning. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, and she was coming tohim...was going to spend the rest of his life with him. Somehow, the room held only them. They watched the ceremony through a haze of exhaustion, all of them who had done their best to make sure this was a day for them and only them. And it had been. Watching the pair of them step through the ritual, seeing them nearly glowing in their happiness...it was almost enough to make all of them forget the past 24 hours....almost. It was hard to completely forget, after all. Hard when your eyes kept trying to slam shut...when you nearly found yourself face first in the pate..or nodding off in the middle of a conversation....hard...but worth it. They all managed to stay standing through the speeches, through the toasts and through the personal thanks of the newly wedded couple. They managed the same way they had managed the whole time. And much later, as John pulled Delenn aside from the all the well-wishers for a moment alone with her...whisking her out into the hall...they found Susan, Michael, Marcus and even Lennier slumped together on the wide bench in the corridor....fast asleep. END--------------- Happy Holidays! **************************************************************** Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. ----Mark Twain ****************************************************************