From: Kelly Subject: Diamond in the Sky, Part 2 Date: 3 Jan 2000 22:38:13 -0800 I'm sorry it's taken forever for me to get another section of this out. Anyway, I hope you like it. I haven't gotten any comments on Part 1, so please tell me what you think. Compliments, criticism, it's all good. This is the first time I've tried anything like this, and I'd really like to know what kind of job I'm doing at it. liliana004@hotmail.com Diamond in the Sky by Kelly, Morgan, and Billy intro, disclaimers, etc. in Part 1 *** *** *** Part 2 *** *** *** Deep in an obscure corner of Down Below frequented by more rats than people, the Narn began to congregate. Some were wounded. Some, like Na'Grom spoke only Narn. Others knew English, and Na'Grom counted on that. It was to be a rather special meeting. Narn were coming to this secluded hole in Babylon 5 from all over the sector and those surrounding it. Today, the last surviving member of the Kha'ri would speak. Any hope they had as a people would meet here in this dank corner of their last refuge. Three humans had followed Na'Grom to this place: Kathryn, Zoe, and Rudy. Kathryn had never sensed so much anger, pain, and hopelessness in one place. The force of the emotion was like walking into a brick wall. Kathryn could feel many pairs of eyes staring at her and the two human children. She hoped that the fact that Na'Grom had asked them to come here was enough to make their presence acceptable to the others. "Wait," Na'Grom instructed her guests at the periphery of the gathering before disappearing into the throngs of Narn. For several minutes, she went looking for someone to finally bridge the communication gap between herself and the Earthers she'd collected today. Unfortunately, this left her friends unattended for several minutes. Several minutes that some angry Narn and a tactless little boy were determined to make the worst of. "Na'Grom, wait," Kathryn called out after her, but it was too late. Na'Grom had left them alone. "Try not to do or say anything that might get anyone upset with us, all right?" she whispered to Rudy and Zoe. Fear filled her voice. Kathryn would have given anything for a changeling net so that she could disappear into the background. "Upset people?" Rudy said. "I'm a people person." Right, Kathryn thought, and I'm Joan of Arc. Rudy looked around and soon realized they were heavily outnumbered. Oh, please don't do anything we will regret latter, he told himself. Then his eyes caught something. He thought it was a ruby, and it had to be valuable. His eyes were locked on it. He wanted to just look away, but he soon found himself right behind the Narn and his hand on the jewel. That's when he made a false move and gently brushed the Narn's back. Suddenly, his wrist was caught in a strong grip, and Rudy was lifted up until he was face to face with a very angry Narn and a few of his friends. "Uh, I was just cleaning it." Realizing it was the stupidest defense he had ever come up with, Rudy took in a deep breath and screamed with all of his might. "DORUK!" Kathryn took a step toward Rudy and the Narn. "Please," she said, "let him go. I'll take him out of here, and he won't bother you any more." Doruk heard the scream, recognizing Rudy's voice, and came running. What could Rudy have done this time? If anything happened to him, Doruk would never forgive himself. He raced around the corner, and entered a room filled with Narns. Kathryn, Zoe, and Rudy were there as well. He watched as Kathryn tried to get the Narn to put Rudy down, but it didn't seem to be working. Doruk pulled his hood back to show his face and began making his way through the crowd. "I think you need to listen to the woman," he said as he came eye to eye with the Narn. When Rudy saw him, Doruk noticed his face light up. "Doruk I knew you would come. I swear I'm sorry! Just don't let them kill me!" Rudy screamed as he dangled in the air. "Don't worry, Rudy. You will be out of here in a moment." He turned back to the Narn. "You know who and what I am. I have helped your people. Don't make me repeat myself." Na'Grom, fashionably late, assured the angry Narn that Rudy wasn't worth the trouble in her native tongue. She then helped Doruk disentangle the little thief from his captor. It had been difficult to find a translator. Her elders were too busy with their meeting to honor her request to translate for a rag-tag band of young Earthers. She searched for words to explain her failure, unaware that she and Doruk had unwittingly managed to grab the right attention. A hand fell to her shoulder. "Might I be of some assistance?" someone asked in Narn. She looked back, surprised to find Citizen G'Kar himself. "I assume this is the Narn you spoke of." he asked Doruk. "Perhaps we'd better come away from here and talk in a less volatile location." "Yes I think it is wise, who knows what ears are listening down here. Rudy go home, I'll be there in a few minutes." "But Doruk . . ." Rudy protested. "Go now, I'll deal with you latter." Rudy realized arguing with Doruk was hopeless at this point so he turned around and headed home with a tear in his eye. G'Kar lead the group minus Rudy away from the gathered Narn, promising his people he would return to speak shortly. As they walked, Na'Grom told him of the events that lead her to B5 and to him. He listened quietly. When she finished her story, he asked her some questions that were quite incomprehensible to their company. Then he addressed all of them in Standard English. "This is most distressing." he began. "Na'Grom has given me some more pieces to a puzzle that has been troubling me, but I'm no closer to solving it. Nor am I quite sure how to explain your part in it, if indeed you have one. But I shall certainly try." "Just before the Centauri invaded my world," he began, "some of my people, fearing the worst, arranged to have certain artifacts of, shall we say, 'cultural significance' smuggled away from Narn. One such relic was the Eye of G'Dan. "I don't suppose any of you are up on your Narn history, are you? I'll try to give you the short version. "A thousand years ago, a powerful race sometimes called the Shadows came to my world. I don't know if you are familiar with them. If you are not, count yourselves lucky. The Shadows set about eliminating the mindwalkers-- whom you call telepaths-- of my world, because they proved the only weapon we had that could harm them. The Eye belonged to one of the mindwalkers who aided G'Quon in the final confrontation that chased the Shadows from Narn. "It is written that the Eye was used as a weapon, but exactly how is not clear. The Eye has been locked up in a shrine for so long, no one knows if the stories are true or how the thing is used if they are. In any case, when the Centauri came, the Eye was entrusted to a courier who was a direct descendant of G'Dan in the hopes that a blood relative could bear it safely here and unlock its mystery. "This is where Na’Grom’s part of the story fits in. The courier carrying the Eye was her pouch brother. She tells me he's been killed, but she knows nothing of the Eye. She's come to Babylon 5 and sought you out because of her brother's last words. You see, 'Na'fariki,' Sha’Grall’s last word, is Narn for Mindwalker. Na’Grom guessed that he meant for her to find a Mindwalker on Babylon 5, but he died before explaining why. "Well there you have it. I'm not quite sure what to make of it myself. You've all been drawn into some pretty unfortunate business that seems to have nothing to do with you, unless I'm missing something. Any thoughts?" "Maybe the Eye is a weapon that can only be used by a telepath," Kathryn said thoughtfully. "That would explain why Sha'Grall wanted Na'Grom to look for one, if that was what he meant." Kathryn paused for a moment. Na'Grom had found the "mindwalker" she was looking for, but now what? "If there's anything I can do to help," Kathryn said, then broke off suddenly before continuing, "well, I'll try." She had been about to say "I will," but she remembered a rumor she had heard about something G'Kar asked Lyta Alexander to do once and decided not to commit herself *too* strongly. "Maybe I could have the rangers keep an eye out for it," Doruk said, although he really hadn't been paying attention. How could he have pushed Rudy away like that? As soon as this discussion was over he would find him and make it up to him. As G'Kar spoke, Na'Grom slipped away silently, upset by what he had told her. There was something she had to do, and she wanted to be alone to do it. She found a suitable corner that didn't seem to be inhabited by any other vagrants. There she sat down and unraveled the tied on the green pouch. Strange, she'd viciously defended the pouch from would-be thieves and kept it with her constantly, but she hadn't the strength to look inside until now. Even now, she only did so for the sake of others. If there was a chance that the Eye was there, G'Kar at least should know. With a heavy heart, she reached inside. Her family's fragment of the Book of Na'Kili was there. For years her family had tried to restore that holy book, like many Narn. So much of it had been lost from the original copies, thanks to war and the ravages of time. But what remained was a guiding light for the faithful. If Sha'Grall had taken it with him, their father, G'Tem, must have been certain Narn would fall. It was the only way the book would have left his keeping. Na'Grom closed her eyes. Part of her had known the book was there. She'd been trying to ignore it. But now holding it in her hands, feeling its battered pages, there was no pushing aside the grim truth it symbolized. G'Tem was dead. Sha'Grall was dead. She was the last. She drew forth the next stinging reminder from Sha'Grall's bag. It was small hexagonal frame. She pushed a button and a picture of home flashed into being. She pushed it again and an image of her and her mother Na'Grall replaced it. She quickly turned it off again. There wasn't time for sentimentality. She wasn't likely to make time for it, either. The bag also held a pair of gloves, some data crystals, and a food packet she wished she'd found earlier, but it seemed there was no hope for her people stashed away in her newly inherited bag of her brother's worldly possessions. But she wasn't about to quit. Sure enough, sewn into the bottom of the pouch was a stone like rough unpolished quartz. Thin gold wire twined about the rock on one end. Perhaps it had once been worn as a pendant. There was a rusty red cloud within the rock, but the edges were clear. It wasn't much of an Eye, more of an eye sore. But it wasn't prized for it's aesthetic quality. "Whatcha got there, Lizard?" Na’Grom caught a brief glimpse of a dim-eyed and bedraggled Earther before she got smacked with a length of pipe. The world winked, but she refused to be robbed so easily. Clutching the stone so tightly in her fist that the wire sank into her palm, she leaped hissing at her attacker. He swatted her out of the way with his makeshift cudgel. There was a crack of bone on contact. As she hissed things in Narn G'Tem never would have approved of, the Lurker helped himself to the food packet and the frame. Things might have been different had security not taken her knives. Even so, there was no way she was going to let this brigand go without drawing his blood. Her only thought was to tear out his throat. But there was little chance of that. Na'Grom was bleeding pretty badly, her left arm was useless, and only her anger was keeping her conscious. It wouldn't last. "Now whatcha got in your hand?" her attacker demanded, returning his full attention to her. Suddenly, a thin crimson line inched across his filthy neck. "What the h***?" he said, wiping the blood away. The wound was no worse than a bad paper cut, more surprising than painful. He knelt to pry the prize from her bloody fingers. As quick as a viper, she bit his hand. The thug yelped in pain, trying to yank back his hand and realizing with renewed agony, that that wasn't the smartest thing to do. Nor was hitting her with the pipe again, but it did the trick. When she finally sank into unconsciousness, she might have been missing some food and some pictures, but her attacker was missing some fingers. The stone in her hand, slick with her blood, throbbed in time to her slowing heartbeat. Meanwhile, Kathryn glanced around, noticing that Na'Grom was no longer with them. That seemed odd. The girl had listened intently to what G'Kar had said about the Eye; why would she just leave? A few moments later, she heard a scream of pain. The others looked up, startled. Kathryn lowered her mental blocks, reaching out telepathically to find out what was happening. Pain, anger, and fear rushed into her mind, so intense that she pulled away quickly, throwing her blocks back up to protect herself from the force of the emotion. "Na'Grom has been in a fight," she said. "She's hurt, and I think it's bad." Kathryn gestured for the others to follow her and ran toward Na'Grom. She let her blocks down again, although Na'Grom's pain made her wince. It was the only way to find the girl. Kathryn found Na'Grom lying unconscious, bruised and bleeding. "Hurry!" she yelled, looking back to see if G'Kar and Doruk were still behind her. "Please, God, let her be all right," she whispered. Zoe arrived only a few seconds after Kathryn. She gasped in horror when she saw her friend lying on the ground. She knelt down beside Na'Grom and touched her neck, searching for a pulse. When she did, she touched Na'Grom's mind by accident. Never having had any Psi Corps training, Zoe didn't have much control over her telepathic abilities. Zoe cried out in pain and grabbed her left arm. It felt as if it was on fire. It took her a moment to realize that it was Na'Grom, not her, who was injured. Kathryn took hold of Zoe's arm and pulled her away from Na'Grom. She realized what must have happened. Zoe was a telepath. "Are you all right?" she asked. Zoe simply stared at her for a moment, still shaken by what had happened. Then, she nodded slowly. "What happened?" "N...nothing" Zoe's voice shook. "I...well, she just looks really bad and it scared me. She's my friend, and I'm worried about her." Zoe knew it was a pretty poor excuse, but it was the best she could come up with. G'Kar and Doruk followed the others after the telepath's outburst, arriving a few moments later. G'Kar knelt to examine the wounded young Narn. "She will be all right. I will take her to Medlab." he announced. "But we must keep this quiet. This could easily start a riot should my people hear of the attack and take it personally." He himself taking it personally was more than enough to take care of whoever was responsible. "I'm coming too," Zoe announced, wanting to make sure that her friend would be okay. As G'Kar started to pick her up, Na'Grom's eyes fluttered. "No." she said weakly, only half conscious. "You take care of her," Doruk said. "I'll get the attacker." He charged down the hall, hoping he'd be able to catch whoever did this. "Wait," Kathryn said, putting her hand on Zoe's shoulder. G'Kar walked on ahead, not seeming to notice. "You're a telepath, aren't you?" she whispered. A look of panic crossed the girl's face, and she took off running. Kathryn didn't follow. She knew that Zoe would think she wanted to turn her in, and chasing after her would only frighten the poor girl. The only thought in Zoe's head was "Run!" She raced down the corridors of Babylon 5 as fast as she could go. Finally, she was forced to stop and catch her breath. She looked around anxiously, expecting to see Kathryn right behind her. She wasn't there, though. Good. Zoe wanted to kick herself. How had she been so stupid as to actually trust someone in Psi Corps? She should have run away from Kathryn at the first opportunity, but she hadn't. Now, after all that she had done to escape the Corps, Zoe was going to be caught. Burying her face in her hands, the girl sobbed. Her mind went back to the days before she had discovered she was a telepath. Everything had been so easy and simple then. Now, she would give anything to be home, or to see her parents again. In all the time since she had run away, Zoe had never felt so alone. *** *** *** Rudy hadn't followed the rest of the group. Instead, he'd remained where he was, thinking that perhaps following Na'Grom here wasn't a particularly good decision. Footsteps signaled his fight or flight response as he realized the attacker was coming right for him. Reaching into his pocket, Rudy pulled out Doruk's pike, which he had recently borrowed without asking. He extended and kept his eyes focused on the corner. This would be his chance to prove himself to Doruk and to himself. A man ran around the corner carrying a pipe. As soon as he noticed Rudy, he decided that the boy was no threat and ran straight for him, attempting to run him over and move him out of his escape path. Rudy waited until the man was inches from him, then he stepped quickly out of the way and hit the man in the back of the head with all of his might. If it had been Doruk, the attacker would've been out of the fight for sure, but Rudy was no Doruk. Though his aim was true, there was not enough power in the hit to do more than give a bad headache. Furious, the man turned toward Rudy. Before Rudy could recover, his face was introduced to the man's fist. Not one to be selfish, he allowed Rudy's kidneys to meet his fist also. Rudy stumbled back, falling to the ground. He tried to stand, but a kick to stomach sent him flying down the hall until a wall stopped him. Rudy again tried to stand but the man was already on top of him. The man kicked him a few times. Then, he raised the pipe for the final blow. As Doruk raced down the hall, he began to realize that his little plan was a bit foolish. After all, he didn't even know who the attacker was, let alone if there was only one. Then again, according to his luck and Babylon 5, all he had to do was keep moving and whoever it was would find him. Doruk was coming around a corner when he saw a body fly into the wall at the end of the hall and another figure begin kicking him. He approached slowly, realizing he hadn't been noticed yet. He reached for his pike to find it was missing! He was about ten feet from the figures when he finally realized who the person on the floor was it was Rudy. Suddenly, he was consumed with anger and rage. He targeted it all on the man who was assaulting Rudy. He ran up to him, catching his wrist before he could hit Rudy with the pipe. Then, in a burst of rage he let it all out. He kicked the man in the stomach then kneed him in the face before hitting him on the back with a double fist. The man hit the ground and tried to reach for his pipe but his fingers were suddenly crushed by Doruk's boot. He screamed in pain before another boot smashed into his face and everything went black. Doruk walked over and picked his pike up off the ground. Then he picked up Rudy and carried him down the hall. On his way past the man he kicked him a few more times in the side for good measure. "You did good Rudy. Very good." he said with a smile. *** *** *** The semi-conscious Narn struggled feebly all the way to Medlab, where G'Kar delivered her into Dr. Franklin's care. After a few words to the doctor, he was gone. Na'Grom became fully awake and aware once more only when a medic tried to pry open her clenched fingers and attend to her wounded hand. In strange surroundings, surrounded by aliens, she thought she was being robbed again, or finished off. Instinct demanded that she fight or flee, and family honor demanded that she defend the Eye. Na'Grom punched the unsuspecting medic right in the eye, howling in pain from taxing the broken arm that they'd been good enough to set for her. Then, she rolled off the table and immediately regretted it. Her head felt as if it had been the center of an explosion that was now sparking others of greater intensity. Her side hurt as well, keeping her bent nearly double. She was in no condition to fight her way through the maze of Earthers between her and the nearest door. They were all staring at her, circling, talking too fast in that strange babble of theirs. Even if they'd been speaking slowly enough for her to attempt a translation, she was too frightened and hurt to translate with any accuracy. She so wanted to cut them! "Stay back!" she warned in Narn, as incomprehensible to them as they were to her. "I've spilled Earther blood once this day. I will do so again if any dare to come closer!" They were backing her into a corner. There was no chance of escape, Na'Grom realized. Despite her condition, she fell into a fighting position. The fierceness in her eyes and grim determination in her face could not have been any stronger if she'd a battalion of elite troops behind her to back her up. Hopeless as she felt the situation was, no one could tell it by looking at her. It was at this moment that Kathryn walked in, having decided to come see if Na'Grom was all right. She found Na'Grom standing in a corner, glaring angrily at the doctors, one of whom was holding his hand over his eye. The girl was obviously in great pain from her injuries, but she seemed ready to kill. G'Kar, probably the only person who could resolve whatever misunderstanding had occurred, was nowhere to be seen. Well, considering how her day was going, was that really a surprise? "What happened?" she asked. "We tried to take a look at her hand," Dr. Franklin told her, "and she just went crazy." Kathryn looked at Na'Grom, who was gripping something tightly in one hand. Whatever it was, she must have thought that the doctors were trying to take it. "It's all right, Na'Grom," Kathryn said slowly, hoping that the girl would understand at least some of what she was saying. "No one's going to hurt you." Na'Grom, relieved to see a familiar face, looked at Kathryn and asked "Where? How...back...do I get?" "You're in Medlab," Kathryn answered, "and you need to stay here to rest." Kathryn pointed first to Na'Grom and then to the bed to get her point across. "You're hurt pretty badly." Kathryn had to admire the girl's courage. Alone and badly injured, she'd been willing to fight to protect whatever it was she was holding. It had to be something very important. "The Eye," she said aloud. "Na'Grom, is that the Eye of G'Dan?" Kathryn pointed to Na'Grom's hand, being careful not to get so close that the Narn would think she was trying to take it. When she heard G'Dan's name, Na'Grom realized that Kathryn had guessed what she had found. Na'Grom had learned something of the Eye's nature in her brief scuffle with the thief. Then, she'd tapped into it by mistake with limited success. Perhaps she could use it more productively if she tried. Rather than focusing on inflicting injury as when she inadvertently nicked her attacker's throat, she looked at Kathryn and concentrated on images of what she had experienced. In so doing, she hoped to communicate what little she knew of the Eye, as well as test its power. She had no idea if it worked, but it was worth a shot. It was also the only way she could see to complete what she believed was her brother's mission. She sent pictures of the ruddy crystal wrapped in wire and the sensation of the thing coming alive in her bloody fist. Then followed the shallow slice that her hate had inflicted upon the thief. But being a Narn without a telepathic bone in her body, the imagery she sent was confused and laced with foreign thoughts- proof positive that she had no idea what she was doing. Concern over whether or not her attempt at communication worked along with worries about her lost and stolen property seeped into her sloppy message. At the end, she tried to convey an image of what she hoped Kathryn could do, but as she hadn't experienced it, the imagined scene was dark, choppy and disproportionate. What seemed like flickering still frames depicted scenes of Kathryn holding the Eye and the Narn Gathering in Down Below. When she had finished, she finally unclenched her fist to give Kathryn the crystal, praying that the Mindwalker was trustworthy. She was shocked to find that the faintly glowing stone had begun to sink into her palm, skin growing around it. The red glow pulsed in time with her heartbeat. This wasn't good. Na'Grom did what she had to do. With the long nails of her other hand, she grimly pried the Eye out of her flesh. The pulsing light quickened as she did until the stone was free. Slathered in dark Narn blood, it went dim. She offered it to Kathryn, but collapsed in exhaustion and pain before she could see her take it. The images that flooded Kathryn's mind were confusing, and she struggled to make sense of them. Na'Grom obviously wanted her to take the Eye, but what was she supposed to do with it? Give it to G'Kar? Hang onto it herself? That was why Sha'Grall had wanted Na'Grom to find a Mindwalker, right? Although she wasn't quite sure what she was expected to do, Kathryn knew that if this girl needed her help so badly that she was willing to tear her own hand apart with her fingernails in order to get it, she couldn't refuse. Taking a deep breath, she took the Eye from Na'Grom's limp hand. Now, doctors were lifting Na'Grom back into a bed and bandaging her hand. Kathryn felt the stone pulsing in her hand. It seemed to be pushing against her skin, as if it were trying to burrow its way in. The wire nicked her hand, drawing a little bit of blood, and the stone pushed even harder. It hurt, but Kathryn tightened her grip. "I don't suppose you could explain what's going on here?" Dr. Franklin asked her. "Not really," Kathryn replied and told him what she did know. She held out her hand. The stone was beginning to embed itself into her skin, and it pulsed with an eerie red glow. The expression on Dr. Franklin's face was one of shock. Quickly, she closed her hand, not wanting to look at it. Without another word, Kathryn turned and walked away. In her quarters, she decided to test the Eye's power. Na'Grom seemed to have been able to use it for telekinesis. Kathryn pulled a penny out of a drawer and placed it on her desk. Years ago, when she had been tested for telekinetic abilities, she had felt that she could almost make the coin move. Almost, but not quite. Now, she concentrated and it slid across the desk. With no effort at all, she made it hover in mid air and sent it sailing around the room. Putting the penny back, she decided to try a larger object, the desk itself. This was more difficult, but after a few moments of intense concentration, the desk hovered a couple inches off the ground. Kathryn could only hold it for a moment, though, before she was forced to put it down. Kathryn sat down, realizing that her heart was beating a mile a minute and the stone was pulsing in time to her frantic heartbeat. This kind of power was exhilarating, but it frightened her as well. Kathryn wondered what Mr. Banek would say if he knew what she could do now. She wasn't going to use the Eye for one of his schemes, that was for sure. Power like this had more important uses. It belonged to the Narn, and she would use it to help them if she could. If not, she'd have to give it back. Another question, much more troubling, was what would Bester do if he found out? The Corps would be very interested in this weapon, and she would sooner die than let it fall into their hands. Kathryn let out a long sigh. What on earth (as inappropriate as that figure of speech was) had she gotten herself into? To be continued...