From: "Becki H. Blumer" Subject: Fan Fiction Submission: Beyond These Shimmering Stars 1 Date: Thu, 29 Apr 1999 20:33:01 -0500 Meredith D. Holt beckihblumer@fuse.net or crystal_lady3969@yahoo.com Beyond These Shimmering Stars Adult Warnings; None so far "Beyond These Shimmering Stars," by Meredith D. Holt Hi, I know I've been silent for a time, but I'm back now... This is a new I/M story I've had floating around. Let me know what you think. Many thanks to the Ladies, Peggy, Lisa, and Sarah for beta-ing and Kendell Moore for the production of this little baby. Feed back is welcome, send to beckihblumer@fuse.net or crystal_lady3969@yahoo.com . Love Always, Meredith Disclaimer: B5 and all characters belong to JMS. I'm merely borrowing them and promise to put them back when I'm done. Personal disclaimer: I have long come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with me. I pass this on to you. ------ note; this story is set in Season 5, but neither Marcus, or Susan, died. Susan was promoted to Captain after the war and is working on B5, and Delenn has been sending Marcus on odd jobs around the galaxy. Beyond These Shimmering Stars by Meredith D. Holt crystal_lady3969@yahoo.com "Excuse me!" Marcus muttered as he brushed past a group of people in the Zocalo. He was late for a meeting with the Entil 'Zha and the President. Damn! He had no idea what they wanted to discuss with him, but he knew better then to be late for an appointment. He'd been sent on odd jobs around the galaxy ever since they won the civil war. But he always came back to Babylon 5, because it was home, or more importantly, because *she* was here. She being Captain Susan Ivanova, now officially in charge of the station. He hadn't seen her much these past few days, and had been hoping to remedy that. So much for that hope! It would seem that the two major powers in the galaxy had another mission for him. Marcus quickly rounded the bend to the President's office, and stopped short when he saw Susan Ivanova sitting there in. Quickly composing himself, Marcus hurried inside to take a seat next to Lyta, and briefly wondered why the telepath was here. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. President." he apologized. "That's quite all right, Marcus." Delenn offered. Clearing his throat, John Sheridan signaled the meeting had begun. "Now that everyone is here, I want to discuss a mission that requires the talents of all three of you." he paused to let the assembly digest the information, "As you know, we've had some major attacks on our shipping lines, and so far, no evidence has been found to indicate who or why. Lyta has informed me that there are many races the Vorlons had contact with that are as unaware of our existence as we are of theirs. Ivanova, I'm pulling you off duty for a while so you can go on this mission. I want you and Marcus to take a small Minbari fighter out to Sector 12. It’s a deserted area, and Lyta tells me that there is a Vorlon colony there. I want you to scan the area for any life and return." As soon as John finished, Susan was out of her chair protesting; "Mr. President, surely there's some one else, C&C needs me...." she offered. "I'm sure Commander Corwin can cover your absence for a few days, and it'll do him good to see a little command. Now, no arguments." John said sternly. Susan nodded and sat back down. "We would like you to leave with in the hour." Delenn put in, " It is only a twelve hour jump there, and we would like you to stay at least an additional ten hours for scanning. White Star 12 will be passing through the area on the way to Narn, so they will pick you up..." The Minbari woman paused as if wondering how to word her next statement. "You'll stay with them until they finish on Narn, which should be a week, then you'll return here. Think of it as a vacation." John rescued his wife. Susan opened her mouth, then closed it again. Marcus watched her closely, wondering if her resistance was based on that *he* would be present. He almost dozed off when they began explaining the precautions to test, and hoped Susan was paying attention. He tried to think when the last time he'd slept had been, but he knew it was at least more then 48 hours. "Marcus." a soft hand touched his shoulder. It was Susan. "I'm sorry. Zoned out a bit there." he laughed nervously. She nodded, her expression one of deep thought as well. "Well, let's go, you have to pack and so do I." And that's how Marcus fond himself piloting a shuttle an hour later, the cargo; one annoyed Commander, an exhausted Ranger, their luggage, a blanket and the book Susan was reading. "All set?" he asked as they entered hyperspace. She raised an eyebrow and sighed, obviously not in the mood for chit-chat. "Are you going to annoy me the whole way there?" "I could always sing!" he smiled, "I am the very model of a..." "Marcus, shut the hell up or I will stick that pike where the sun don't shine." she cocked a signal sculpted eyebrow, threateningly. "All right," he sighed. He'd fallen head over heels in love with the single most difficult woman in the galaxy. But she couldn't help herself, and he couldn't help but love her the way she was. Silence descended for a while, Susan stared out at the red clouds of hyper space, and Marcus stared at her. Finally, she took out her novel and began reading. Not five minutes later, he asked; "What are you reading?" "Wuthering Heights." She watched him crinkle his nose in distaste. "Never liked that book." "Well I do." she replied tersely. "Are you disagreeing with me for the pure sake of disagreeing with me?" Marcus asked. "No!" she paused, "Well...yeah. Sorry, I'm being a shrew." He looked at her sharply. Susan NEVER apologized to him, NEVER. "That's all right. Maybe we should set up ground rules, five of them, and then you hold up the number of fingers if I break one." he joked. "Marcus," she laughed, "That's stupid." "Don't I know it." he sighed, rubbing his eyes. The ship was on auto pilot now, and he had every intention of taking a nap. "I'm going to take a cat nap. Wake me when we're there." "All right." He closed his eyes, and slipped into slumber. And dreamt of her. Susan tried as hard as she could NOT to gaze on Marcus sleeping face, But she couldn't help it. The jester's mask of humor fell away to reveal the trusting face of a handsome knight. She couldn’t help herself and tenderly brushed a wayward lock away from his face. Here, in the silence, she couldn't sit around and deny the fact that she was falling for him. Part of her wanted to shout 'timber!' and run away, and the other wanted to stick around and see what would happen. Her capacity for trust was nearly non-existent, and she wasn't sure if she could live through another betrayal like Talia's. Yet something deep down told her that Marcus Cole would never hurt, desert, or betray her. Her heart whispered that he would always try to protect her, always care for her, no matter what. But she'd stopped speaking to her heart long ago, or so she'd told Lorien. Now she wondered if it wasn't too late to try and talk. Shaking her head and forcing herself out of her revere, Susan glanced at the Chronometer. Time to wake up the Unicorn up. "Marcus," she nudged him, and he whispered something in Minbari. "Marcus!" "What'd I do?!" he squawked. "Nothing, time to jump to normal space." Susan told him. Nodding, he set about his work silently bringing them back to the tapestry of twinkling lights, suspended above a blue and emerald, almost gem like, planet. She leaned over to help him set up a stationary orbit, working silently along side him. Then she felt it, the barest tremor in the ship. "Did you feel that?" she asked. Looking alarmed, he nodded. "Look at that!" he suddenly exclaimed, pointing to a large point of light approaching. The light slowly formed into a Vorlon ship. "Aw, hell!" Susan swore, frantically trying to help Marcus get them back into hyper space. But it was useless, the ship advanced, firing on their engines. "Brace yourself!" Marcus ordered her as he tried to slow their descent. The shuttle swiftly sunk towards the planet below, but Marcus managed to make a pretty good crash landing. As they jerked and skidded along a field, the shuttle suddenly dipped, wrenching Susan's arm at a rather odd angle, and in the process, hurtling a poorly harnessed instrument at Marcus chest. Yelping in pain, his hand when to his ribs. As they slowed, he glanced at Susan to make sure she was all right. His heart broke when he saw the mask of controlled pain her face had become. Slowly, he released his restraints and went to help her out. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?" he asked, concerned. "I think I broke my arm," Susan winced. Nodding, he helped her out, and they stumbled into the field. The hill before them shielded them from the horizon below, but with Marcus supporting Susan's arm, they made quick work of it. The sun was rising in the east, and as they reached the top of the hill, a wondrous sight unfolded before their eyes. The rising sun highlighted the awesome city of towering crystal spires and suspended walkways that reached out in a complicated, woven network. The purplish twinge of the crystal reflected on the waterways that ran below the buildings, making them look like giant water lilies. Susan's eyes widened in amazement. "I thought John said this place was uninhabited." she murmured. "So did I."