From: Laura Hale <lhale@niu.edu>
Subject: Lennier Story
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 01:07:28 -0500

This story is based on thoughts for how Lennier would react to being
tossed into our time, and how he would survive. Part 2 is still in the
beta stage and I want to thank my beta for kind words of support, and
her spell checker.
------

Time travel, is by standards of the day in 1999, a mere metaphysical
theory.  It has never been done and the likelihood of it happening in
the next 10 years so astronomically low, that only the curious
mathematicians have even contemplated the probability of time travel
occurring.

Lennier found himself aboard as vehicle of unknown origins during the
course of his ranger training.  The unknown, and anticipation of it, and
the dealing with it, was a big issue.  Rangers would encounter all types
of unknowns in their travel; one had to be prepared for the
predicaments.  This was the dilemma Lennier had: to successfully gain
control of an unknown ship and bring it about to dock.  At this time it
wasn’t happening.  The ship was hurtling forward at speeds nearing that
of light.  He was nearing a point that humans would label as
frustrated.  He couldn’t seem to grasp any of the ship.  He was at the
point where the most he could do was stop the ship and then call for
help.  He hit another button and low and behold he was in a jump gate.

The realization hit him then that the situation had just intensified
from marginally worrisome to very bad.  He jabbed other buttons in a
frantic attempt to remove himself from hyperspace.  For another hour and
half, he examined the situation.  He went about methodically trying to
lose speed and get out of hyperspace, as the test had apparently gone
very wrong.  Nothing happened, after much effort on Lennier’s part.  He
eventually decided the safest course of action was to do nothing.  He
waited out two days before the ship, of its own recourse, dropped out of
hyperspace.  It was still hurtling through real space at light speed
near light speed times.  The on board systems started screeching in
alarm.  Lennier sat completing pre-death rituals in the event that he
did live.  He felt an immense pull, and then a snap.  It felt like his
limbs had momentarily turned to liquid and had then been forcibly made
solid again.  He carefully made his way to a view port and looked out.
The stars had stopped moving.  The universe was as it should be:
imperceptibly moving towards its final destination.

Lennier then did a minbari mental double take.  Out side of the view
port, on its dark side was Luna, Earth’s moon.   There were
installations showing the human’s untold presence in their solar
system.  There was no defense net.  This looked like Earth but it lacked
the things that made this Earth in his time.  There was a lack of human
activity.  There was a lack of human presence.  There were no
installations, and space stations orbiting the sky.  It was empty and
barren.  This side of the moon normally possessed such that told you
humans occupied this space.    If this was Earth and all the stars and
Luna indicated it was, then it was not the Earth of his time.  If this
was Earth of another, more primitive time, then Lennier knew he had to
conceal his presence.  If he revealed himself, he may jeopardize the
future for the people aboard Babylon 5 and Minbar.

----

The time travel theory is based upon a special I saw on discovery
channel.
comments are welcome. Constructive critism taken too.

--
Laura Michelle Hale -- Lhale@niu.edu
"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts and keeps his mind open
to what is."
--  27 of the Tao te Ching