From 76202.563@compuserve.com Sun Aug 4 00:59:36 1996 Date: 24 Jun 96 12:39:07 EDT From: "Rebekah E. Reese" <76202.563@compuserve.com> Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: NEW: Home Fires Burning, pt 1 OK. This is my first fanfic that actually might get completed. Comments, criticisms are very welcome, but all flames will be instantaneously deleted. :) I don't have that much asbestos, I'm afraid... This story is based around the TV show Babylon 5 (of course). It's a viewpoint story I decided to do while watching "Severed Dreams" for the 2nd or 3rd time. Basically, anything that you recognize belongs to J. Michael Straczynski and I have no malicious intent, honest. Anything that you don't recognize is mine. Please do not post this anywhere but the two normal archives without my permission. Spoilers for 3rd season, at least until "Severed Dreams" perhaps further. Thanks to all my beta readers for their help and encouragement. I didn't realize it would take me this long to post it. Home Fires Burning by Rebekah Reese 76202.563@compuserve.com --Part 1-- ~Prologue~ He was floating. He didn't remember what had happened to him or even where he was. It was fairly dark although there was some light. He saw a lot of flashes off to his left, but when he tried to turn his head to see what was going on, he found he couldn't. Not only did both his head and his neck hurt like crazy, but his neck seemed to have stiffened up on him. //Great. Whiplash. Yippee,\\ he thought, his face twisting into a grimace. He reached his arm up to feel for bumps and bruises and came away with the conclusion that he'd done a really good job getting himself hurt. Discovering a still-bleeding knot on his head, he wondered how long it would take for him to lose what the medical profession referred to as "too much" blood. //I wonder how much "too much" is,\\ he thought in disgust. Sighing, he decided there was nothing he could really do about it. He was far too cramped to be able to maneuver properly to take care of himself. He shivered, noting that the temperature, or at least his temperature, had gone down. Just then, he saw it, hanging there like a beacon. And he remembered. He knew where he was, what he was doing, and why. He couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten hurt, but he figured he must have taken a hit from someone. Sighing, he thought, //If someone had told me back at Christmas everything that was going to happen these past few months, I would've thought they were nuts. Certifiably insane. This can't be happening. It just can't.\\ Everything seemed so unreal to him, like a waking nightmare. He didn't understand how it had all come about. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting when he got assigned to this detail back then. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't this. //This whole scenario is just wrong,\\ he thought. Even seeing it happen right before his eyes, he couldn't quite believe it. It was like he'd been watching an oncoming collision, and been paralyzed, unable to do anything about it. And now... //No! No, it can't be. What are they doing...?\\ As he watched, horrified, at the scene before him, he felt the darkness overcoming him, and blessed unconsciousness took him away as the bright orange fire blossom exploded in front of him. ~Chapter 1~ December 25, 2259 "I can't say I'll be unhappy when elections come up again in another year. I'm looking forward to Clark not being in office anymore." "Clark has done so much for us! How can you say that? He's revolutionized the way Earthgov works. He-" "Oh, he's revolutionized it, all right. Backwards. Clark has set his watchdogs up all over the place." "*Watchdogs*! You mean the Nightwatch, don't you? Don't you realize that the Nightwatch is one of the best things to come along, ever? The people need to have someone watching out for them, so they don't get influenced by the wrong things." "You know, I could've sworn this was a free society I guess I was wrong. And this new thing I've just heard about..." Alex shook his head. //Some things never change,\\ he thought. Despite the political argument that was now going on between great-uncle Joe and Uncle Mark, Alex was extremely glad to be at the family Christmas dinner table. It would be awhile before he got to see them again, no matter what happened, and what with the way things *were* going, it was likely to be a very long time. He looked around at the family surrounding the long table. His mother, Maggie, had just gotten up to get some more iced tea. His father, Alex Sr., was standing up carving more turkey for everyone. Alex took the proffered mashed potatoes from his Uncle Grayson across the table and passed them to his little brother Keith, who passed them to their cousin Lana, who had asked for them. At the head of the table was Grandpa Osbourne, and the rest of the family was spread around the tables. Next to grandfather were the two combatants, great-uncle Joe and Uncle Mark. //It was a mistake having *them* sit together . . . ,\\ Alex thought ruefully. Joe was a retired Earth Force general and a veteran of the Earth Minbari War. Mark was proud to be working for the Ministry of Peace, and God help you if you called it "Minipax" in Uncle Mark's hearing. Uncle Joe took a quick swallow of his drink. Continuing, he said, "An old friend of mine told me they're planning to put political officers on every major Earthforce station and capital ship. Can you imagine? Political officers?" "Uncle Joe," Mark said patronizingly, " that's just a rumor. If it were true, though, I'd agree with the decision." "Why on earth would you? Military officers having their own personal political watchdogs looking over their shoulders at every step of the way? I think not, young man. Some things do well to be done by committee, but the military isn't one of them." Mother had sat down with the tea and was sitting with a worried expression on her face. Dad had started passing another plate of turkey around, and was glaring at Mark. It was obvious he was holding his peace on the subject. Alex noticed that Uncle Grayson was also looking a bit perturbed with Mark. "Surely you can see that certain key Earth Force officers have made very bad political moves in the last several months? Especially Captain Sheridan. He's always getting himself into trouble. *If* political officers were to be put in place, which they're not, I would consider the captain a prime example of a military officer who needs some ... guidance." //Captain Sheridan's a hero,\\ Alex thought. //And you simply can't have too many people trying to make the same decisions in split-second military problems. People get killed that way.\\ "Oh, you do, do you? That's what's wrong with you bureaucrats. You assume you can know what's going on at a place light years away enough to make his decisions for him. How do you know that the decisions he makes aren't the best ones? You aren't there. He is. Young man, you are suffering from an extreme case of overconfidence." "Overconfidence! Why -" Mark spluttered. Maggie interrupted, "Mark, Uncle Joe, *please*, this is Christmas. Can't we just be a family and not have these political arguments? Especially with Alex shipping out tomorrow, and none of us any idea when we'll see him again. Let's have some peace here, all right?" "I'm sorry, m'darlin' niece," said Joe. "I'll try not to let this young puppy provoke me." "I'm sorry too, sis. It won't happen again. Today, at least," Mark smiled charmingly. "Hmph," muttered Grandpa. "You always cause trouble, Mark, whether you mean to or not." Thinking on it, Alex realized that Grandpa was right; there was just something about Mark that made most people set their teeth on edge. And ever since Mark had gone to work for Minipax, it had gotten worse. Mark was arrogant, condescending, and sure he knew everything - at least around family, and friends. When it came to people he had to convince of something, however, he was charm itself. They always came away marveling at what a wonderful person he was. Grabbing the dressing that his mother was passing to him, he noticed that she still worried. Wanting to get her back into the spirit of Christmas, he smiled encouragingly at her. He finally got a smile, somewhat stiff, but nonetheless a smile. * * * * * * December 26, 2259 Walking into the main Earth Force transport facility the next day, he spied some of his friends from the academy standing in a corner. Smiling broadly, he went over to them. "Well, Lieutenant Commander Osbourne! How good of you to show up," 2nd Lt. Max Griswelder said sarcastically. "Hey, it's not my fault! The tube from Indianapolis had some kind of technical malfunction and got stuck somewhere in Virginia. It's good to see you, too, Max," Alex replied, shaking Max's hand. "Hey Lisa, Devin. It's been awhile since I've seen you guys in person." "Yep," said Lisa. "We've been out on patrol with the _Agamemnon_. We were *way* out there." "Hey, Alex, congratulations on your promotion! That's great, man, now you're a wing commander!" "Well, I'm happy with it so far, anyway. Except for this short shore leave thing. I barely even got home, for Christmas no less, and they tell me I'm supposed to report back *today*? Does anyone know what's up?" "What's up, Lieutenant Osbourne, is that you have to be taught how to fly a new bird. The Thunderbolts are ready and waiting for you, " announced the captain, striding in with the XO. "Thunderbolts! Awesome," said Devin. "I'm glad you think so, Mr. Strider, because you're going to be spending an awful lot of time in them over the next few weeks. You have to learn how to fly them in atmosphere now, as well as in space," said the XO. "All right, everyone, gather up your things and let's get to the transport to take us to Miramar 2." * * * * * * --End of part 1-- From 76202.563@compuserve.com Sun Aug 4 01:35:29 1996 Date: 15 Jul 96 09:14:11 EDT From: "Rebekah E. Reese" <76202.563@compuserve.com> Reply-To: b5-creative@lists.best.com To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: Home Fires Burning 2 Disclaimer in part 1 ***** --Part 2-- December 30, 2259 Alex was sitting in the barracks on Miramar 2, reading a book off his viewer. He had so little free time that he wanted to get as much reading in as possible; when he got out of Earth Force someday, he hoped to go back to school and get a doctorate in history. He was just getting engrossed in his book, on the first meeting between Earth and the Centauri, when Max dashed in. "Alex!" he called. "Put that book down and come in and see what's on ISN!" "Not now, Max, I've got free time. I don't have to look at ISN if I don't want to." "But Alex, the Centauri have just attacked Babylon 5!" "What? You're kidding! Why would they do a crazy thing like that?" "I don't know. That's why you have to come and see for yourself," Max said, dragging Alex off his bunk. "Ok, ok, I'm coming. Quit pulling." The announcer said just as Alex and Max came into the room "--and it seems that the Centauri attacked because Babylon 5 is granting safety to a lone Narn warship, apparently the last of its kind. All other Narn warships were destroyed in their attack on the Centauri suppl- wait. We're just getting word now," the announcer said, tipping his head to one side as if listening," that the Centauri warship that attacked Babylon 5 has been destroyed by the Babylon 5 defense grid and fighter squadrons. I repeat, Babylon 5 has destroyed the Centauri warship that attacked it." //My God,\\ thought Alex. //Does this mean we're at war with the Centauri? That could be trouble, especially with the way they so easily took out the Narns at the end. And the way they took out that Narn fleet so easily -- almost as if they had a secret weapon...\\ ISN began showing vid of the battle against the Centauri warship. As the warship was going into its final explosion, Devin walked in from his shift of Thunderbolt training. "Hey, guys, what's up? Some kind of battle, I take it?" "What's up," Max said dryly, "is one Centauri warship. Babylon 5 defenses just blew it to smithereens." "What! Why?" Is Sheridan nuts, he may be starting a war --" "Sheridan's *not* nuts," Alex replied heatedly. "He was simply protecting a lone Narn warship. Anyway, from what it looks like the Centauri shot first. Firing on a station with 250,000 people in it - some of them their own! The question is, are *they* nuts? Have they gotten too cocky after beating the Narns back into the Stone Age ...?" The XO strode in. "What are you all doing sitting around down here? You people," indicating Alex, Max, and several others, " have the next shift of Thunderbolt training. And the rest of you should be going into rest cycle. Let's get a move on, people, the galaxy's not going to stop and wait for you." "Yes, sir!" said Alex and Max, moving to grab their gear. * * * * * * December 31, 2259 Alex, Max, Devin, Lisa and the rest of the squadron were all sitting in the wardroom, watching ISN. The announcer was saying, "... have said that as long as Captain Sheridan apologizes for his actions against their vessel, they will take no further action. The formal apology will take place in the presence of the ambassadors in the Babylon 5 Zen Garden at 1400 hours. ISN is not being allowed to carry a live feed of the apology, but will report directly thereafter." "Sheridan shouldn't have to apologize," Alex exclaimed. "The *Centauri* fired on him!" "Yes, but if he hadn't been harboring a Narn vessel, this would have never happened in the first place. So it's really his fault," argued Devin. "No, it's not. There's official Earth Force policy that states that Sheridan has a perfect right to grant asylum to anyone who asks it." He sighed. "What time is it, anyone?" "1100 hours." "Good," Alex said. "We have time to eat lunch and go to tactics class before the broadcast." Getting up, he walked out of the room on his way to the mess hall. 1430 hours Members of the squadron were strewn all about the wardroom. Some were playing poker, others were taking a nap, and still others in the back corner were having a heated discussion. Alex and a few others sat intently in front of the vid, waiting for ISN to have a report on the apology. The broadcast had just begun a story on a new medical treatment when they switched back to the main newsroom. The announcer was just sitting down behind the desk. She said, "Members of a splinter group of the Centauri Republic have just made an assassination attempt on the life of Captain John Sheridan, commander of Babylon 5. The captain was on his way to give an apology to the Centauri before a massed group of ambassadors and diplomats when the transport tube he was in exploded. The captain managed to fling himself out of the car, but was falling and would have hit the ground at over 60 miles per hour, Commander Susan Ivanova said." "My God," someone murmured. "Apparently, he was saved by a being of light. When asked by members of the press to describe the being, the captain said that he did not remember falling, only ending up on the ground. People who were there claim to have seen holy, or supernatural, members of their religion. We have no vid of this being, and while many people saw it, they all saw a different being. ISN is presently trying to get an interview with Captain Sheridan..." //Saved by a being of light, something supernatural? What in the galaxy is going on over there...,\\ thought Alex. //I hope that Zack contacts me soon. It's been awhile since I've heard from him, and as second in command of security on Babylon 5, he ought to know at least *some* of what's going on over there.\\ "Attempted assassination by the Centauri? I do hope they don't still expect his apology! That would be somewhat ridiculous, now..." muttered Lisa. "Ain't that the truth," Max agreed. "Well, *our* captain still wants us to run through those X-40 drills several more times today," Alex announced. "And frankly, I agree with her. Our performance ratings on that last run were rather pitiful, unfortunately. I want you guys to be able to do this in your sleep, if need be. So come on, everyone up. Back to work." * * * * * * January 31, 2260 The new Thunderbolt pilots stood at attention as the captain addressed them. Finishing up the remarks by noting, "And I'm glad to be able to take the Thunderbolts where they might be of some use. We're going to a part of space where raiders are plenteous. We're going to find and root out as many of the raiders as we possibly can. You've done well these past several weeks; I'm proud of you. Prepare for transport to our ship. Dismissed." With that, she walked off the podium. Alex and the others began walking back to their barracks to pick up their things. "Well, we're finally going to get to go someplace, eh guys?" Max said. "I'm looking forward to kicking some raider butt." Alex agreed, saying, "I'm really looking forward to putting my bird through her paces for real." Later, they all boarded the transport with Captain Hiroshi, headed to where the _Churchill_ was docked. --end part 2-- ***** Rebekah 76202.563@compuserve.com 'What are you so nervous about? We went up against the entire Earth Alliance, and two carrier groups.' 'Yeah, but this is the post office. This could get us in real trouble.' - Garibaldi to Security Officer, Babylon 5 From 76202.563@compuserve.com Sun Aug 4 01:35:32 1996 Date: 15 Jul 96 09:14:19 EDT From: "Rebekah E. Reese" <76202.563@compuserve.com> Reply-To: b5-creative@lists.best.com To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: Home Fires Burning 3 Disclaimer in part 1 ***** --part 3-- Chapter 2 February 16, 2260 The _Churchill_ had been chasing down raiders for several weeks when Alex finally got some free time. He decided to check his mail, which he knew had been backing up for some time.. There were messages from his mother, and from his little brother (in which he was told about having to collect bugs for a science project - what fun!). Great Uncle Joe had sent him a message warning him to be careful around those with Nightwatch armbands; Alex had already decided to watch what he said and where, being not entirely certain about what Minipax expected from the Nightwatch folks. Then, he discovered a message waiting from his friend, Zack Allen. Alex eagerly pressed the play button, wanting a first-hand account of what had gone on there several weeks ago. Zack's face popped up on the screen, and he was smiling. "Hey, Alex! Congrats on the promotion. That's great, man. And the _Churchill_ - that's one primo starship. I'm glad you had a chance to be home for Christmas. Your family is great. I really enjoyed staying with them those few days the last time I was on Earth. I wish I had been able to get home to Proxima III for Christmas, but it's not likely that I'll have any free time at all for a good long while. Wow. I assume you've heard - you being the current events man and all - about that wild and woolly week we had a little while back. First, those Minipax guys showed up so that the one could get the details of an Earth-Centauri treaty down. You heard me right. 'Parently, though, they didn't bother to tell the Captain that. So of course the Captain agreed to protect the Narn warship, and, well, things kinda went downhill from there, ya know? Then, of course, those couple of Centauri tried to assassinate him - we didn't even get to try them - and the "Incident" happened," Zack said with a wry smile. "I don't know what happened *really* - I wasn't there when it happened, unfortunately. But *everyone* I've talked to swears they saw an important religious figure of their culture save the Captain's life. Now, saving the Captain is all well and good, but right now it's being a pain in the butt for Security. We've had to detail extra men to Customs - the most hated and boring detail in any case -- to handle the backload of traffic from religious types who wanted to come see the place that was "blessed". I don't think I've ever been so busy in my life, but hey, here, if it's not one thing, it's another. We had a nasty little incident with a mad bomber a few days ago. I'm not sure which is worse, religious folks jamming Customs, or a mad bomber. Anyway, back to the wild and woolly week? One of the Minipax guys was a Nightwatch chief. I don't know about this anymore, Alex. I mean, it's a lot more now than just wandering around station with an armband to get an extra fifty credits. These guys are gettin' serious! 'Parently, everyone *else* had been reporting stuff to him. I hadn't seen anything to report, but they found all this nitpicky stuff. So then the leader made me confirm some stuff that a local shopkeeper had said, just so I could "report" something...," his face twisted into a grimace, "and next thing I know, guy's shop is being closed down, on charges of sedition, and the shopkeeper is taken away somewhere, and I have no idea where they've taken him. I feel bad about that. I mean, he wasn't saying anything that anyone else hasn't said. I'm just not sure what's right anymore, Alex. Weird things have been going on around here. Secret meetings and such. Chief's involved, I know he is, but he won't tell me what's goin' on. He won't trust me, ... ah, maybe *he's* involved with what the Night- ah, nah, couldn't be." Zack's comlink beeped just then. He sighed, then said, "Well, that's that, I guess. Gotta go for now, buddy. Talk to you later. " The screen went blank. Alex sat and thought for awhile on what he should tell his friend. He didn't know that much about Nightwatch, himself - except that quite a few people on board the Churchill, especially security officers, were wearing the armband. *Devin* was wearing the armband. When Alex had asked him about it, he had mumbled something about "50 extra credits a week for nothing." He knew that Uncle Joe hated the whole idea of Nightwatch. Joe thought it was like some form of secret police, like they'd had a long time ago during World War Two. Alex didn't really think it went that far - Uncle Joe was maybe being a little paranoid. Although he *really* didn't like the idea of so many of Security being members - //I'm confused,\\ he thought. //And I'm getting a headache for it... Nuts! It's almost 1800. I've got to meet the XO in Officer's Mess in five minutes...\\ He hurriedly pressed "Record." "Zack. I don't have a whole lot of time, unfortunately. However, I would be careful about *any* associations, one way or another. Try not to make any hard-and-fast decisions until you have the facts of what's *really* going on. These are strange times, buddy. Good luck. I'll send you a more complete message later, I hope. Bye for now," he said, pressing the "send" button. He quickly got up, pulled on his uniform jacket, and dashed out into the hallway to make his appointment. --end part 3-- ***** Rebekah 76202.563@compuserve.com 'What are you so nervous about? We went up against the entire Earth Alliance, and two carrier groups.' 'Yeah, but this is the post office. This could get us in real trouble.' - Garibaldi to Security Officer, Babylon 5 From 76202.563@compuserve.com Sun Aug 4 01:35:34 1996 Date: 15 Jul 96 09:14:27 EDT From: "Rebekah E. Reese" <76202.563@compuserve.com> Reply-To: b5-creative@lists.best.com To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: Home Fires Burning 4 Disclaimer in part 1 ***** --Part 4-- ~Chapter 3~ March 5, 2260 Devin came dashing into the gym, where Alex, Max and several others were exercising. "I can't believe it," he said breathlessly. "I just can't believe it." "What is it?" Max asked. "It can't be true. It can't be," Devin said, almost panicked now. "Whoa, there, buddy. Take it easy. Take a deep breath," Alex said, watching as Devin complied. "*What* can't be true?" Taking another deep breath, Devin said," I just saw it on ISN. Some wacko created a fake message saying that President Clark assassinated President Santiago! But the really weird thing is, ISN is actually treating this nonsense as if it might be true!" Looking at Devin solemnly for a moment, Alex lifted his eyebrow skeptically and said, "How can you know for sure that it's a fake?" "Are you saying that you think it might actually be true?" Devin asked incredulously, his eyes going round. "Well, I'm certainly not going to rule it out. I have to admit, I thought there was something awfully convenient about how Clark got sick and wasn't on Earth Force One when it exploded...." "I don't *believe* this! You're actually considering.... How can you possibly believe that *Clark* would do something like that? He's one of the best presidents we've ever had. He's done so much for all of us, I know you don't agree but you're wrong, and..." "Devin," said Alex. "What?" "I don't want to get into this right now. What I do want to do is go see this message on ISN for myself, OK? Now, come on." * * * * * In an isolated corner of the hydroponics labs which happened to have a window, Alex leaned against an apple tree and stared out at hyperspace. He thought about the message on ISN that he'd seen earlier. It showed President Clark speaking to some unknown individual. //Who had a really creepy voice,\\ he thought. //Slimy in a very charming way. Ick.\\ Clark had seemed quite gleeful at the prospect of a dead President Santiago. Alex didn't think it was a hoax, something to discredit Clark. He wasn't sure, but he certainly wasn't going to throw the idea straight out the airlock like Devin had. If such a message was true, it would explain much of the things he'd seen back on Earth at Christmas, and he was only there four days. Things were being ... re-defined. Homeless weren't homeless anymore, they were ungrateful for not taking the jobs Earthgov was offering to everyone. Meaningless jobs, but jobs. There was a shop back home in Greenwood, Indiana, that Alex had always loved going to. It had everything: comic books, posters, science fiction books, baseball cards - it was kind of a collector's shop, although not just collector's items were sold there. The proprietor, Mr. Reams, always had political posters and other such items up for sale or sometimes just for decoration. What the posters were about depended on Mr. Reams' feelings toward the EA government and president of the time. Alex remembered that Reams had been pretty harsh toward one of the previous presidents - Franchon, he thought. But Franchon didn't get it nearly as bad from Reams as Clark did. Reams had had all kinds of posters up mocking President Clark. There had even been pamplets out, explaining what was wrong with the president's new policies. Back in June of 2259, on Alex's last leave, he'd visited Reams' shop. Seen how the man was. Reams had been doing as well as always, keeping in business, making a profit. There were no signs whatsoever of Reams having any financial trouble whatsoever. However, when Alex had gone back at Christmas, Reams' shop had been closed and empty. Alex asked around, and people in town said that they hadn't seen Reams in about a month and a half. No one knew what had happened to him. Just, one day he was there, the next day he wasn't, his shop was completely bare, and there was a "For Sale or Lease" sign up. Alex suspected he knew what had happened to Reams, at least to a certain extent. Alex leaned over, his elbows resting on his knees as his chin rested on his hands. He groaned, feeling a splitting headache coming on. Some days, it just didn't pay to get out of bed in the morning. And he had a feeling it was going to get even worse. * * * * * --end part 4-- ***** Rebekah 76202.563@compuserve.com 'What are you so nervous about? We went up against the entire Earth Alliance, and two carrier groups.' 'Yeah, but this is the post office. This could get us in real trouble.' - Garibaldi to Security Officer, Babylon 5 From 76202.563@compuserve.com Sun Aug 4 01:35:37 1996 Date: 15 Jul 96 09:14:33 EDT From: "Rebekah E. Reese" <76202.563@compuserve.com> Reply-To: b5-creative@lists.best.com To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: Home Fires Burning 5 Disclaimer in part 1 ***** --Part 5-- March 7, 2260 //*Another* message from Zack? He's never kept in such close contact with me before. I wonder what's up now,\\ Alex thought, as he looked at his vidscreen. He pressed "play," and watched Zack pop up on the screen. "This is a short one," Zack said. "I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. It has to be a mistake. President Clark wouldn't - and Chief just doesn't understand. I'm in so deep now - I'm not sure I can get out. And anyway, I'm not sure I want out of Nightwatch. Chief's hiding something from me. Had a special code for it, 'cept I can't find it anywhere. So I have to wonder. Nightwatch says the only people who hafta worry are people with something to hide. Chief seems to be hiding something. Dammit, and he accuses *me* of not trustin' *him*. Yet he won't tell me a damn thing. And he has the gall to get upset when I spill a few things to Julie Musante - gorgeous dame - the Minipax chick. I got my neck hanging on the line here, and he wants to be upset over a few nothin's? Well, I told him right off about that." He sighed, looking down. "Damn, Alex, I've really gotten myself inta a bind here, haven't I? I go one way, the Chief feels he can't trust me. Go the other, and Nightwatch decides that *I'm* a problem to be taken care of. I don't like this at all, A-man." He turned to look at something to his left. "Gotta go." With that, the screen blacked out. //Boy, Zack, you really have a talent for getting yourself into trouble, don't you?\\ Alex mused silently. //And I don't even know what to tell you.\\ He stood up and started pacing the room, running his fingers through his chestnut-brown hair. He finally collapsed on his bed, face down, and buried his head in the pillow. //I can't even tell you what I want to tell you, which is "Get the hell *away* from the Nightwatch!" - because Nightwatch is everywhere here, too. Fact is, I better go erase your message before someone starts snooping where they shouldn't.\\ Most members of the Nightwatch weren't so bad, young things too naive to know better, or simply in it for the money, like Zack. The ones you really had to watch out for were the ones who were either in it for the power it gave them to cause havoc, or they were true zealots in a way Alex didn't want to contemplate. Reading inbetween the lines of letters from his mom and dad (who preferred getting it down in print) he could see that the situation back home was steadily growing worse. It was rather like the "big brother is watching you" scare back in the 20th century, but this time, there *were* thought police to take care of things. He shuddered. Most teeps he'd met were OK sorts, but some of them.... And there was never any *real* way to tell the difference between the two. Thing was, people back home *weren't* all that scared of "big brother" watching them. They seemed to want it, be afraid because of the big scare Earth'd had a decade back. More and more reins of power were getting handed over to the government, and few people cared. They just wanted to make sure they *never* came so close again to being invaded. He checked the chrono on his comlink. Time to go back on duty again, patrolling for pirates. * * * * * --end part 5 -- Rebekah 76202.563@compuserve.com 'What are you so nervous about? We went up against the entire Earth Alliance, and two carrier groups.' 'Yeah, but this is the post office. This could get us in real trouble.' - Garibaldi to Security Officer, Babylon 5