From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part VIII, Act I Date: Mon, 22 Feb 1999 23:17:20 STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" Part VIII, Act I "It has been said, by some, that all of our lives, all of the universe itself, in all its intricate wonder, beauty and terror, might be a dream in the mind of some unknown being...and Valen forbid that this being, if it exists, should ever wake from its slumber. And while I, for one, was never one to believe in such things, if such a being existed, and it dreamt of us, that fateful day, so long ago now, the dream it dreamt would have been a dream of change and sadness..." * * * Tuzanor. Ranger Compound Medical Facility. Launch minus Sixty-six hours... In the instant of her anger, a stab of sudden pain passed along her spine; and she winced, her thoughts in sudden turmoil, between the moments, as she turned away from the others to face the great crystal window of the physician's abode, and the vista of the Ranger Compound, beyond. Had that been *hate*, waiting in the wings of her mind? It had been years since that emotion had emerged as far into the light of day as it had, in the moment just past; years seperating her from the resentful girl she had been, a child forever passed between family friends, and looking to the stars for a mother who had never been there for her, when she had needed one the most. Wait to spring out, it had, until she had been forced to face something she never had, before...Nicholas Dawson; the only human member of the team that had first designed, and then built, her new command...the only department head on the SHARD who wasn't a Ranger...and thus, as far as she could tell, didn't give a damn about the Anla'shok, or their code. Another moment passed; a moment of understanding the warning, another in how many, that *he* had left behind? And then that moment passed, as well... requiring her to deal with this matter, in her own way...the only way she knew how. And she turned around, to once again meet Nicholas Dawson's openly scornful gaze. "Yes; as a matter of fact, Mr. Dawson, that's *exactly* what the President has done; and as for the reason that's so, well, maybe you should have looked into my back history a little, before judging me merely on what you *think* you know!" "Which was exactly what I was expecting to hear from someone as clearly inexperienced about things as you appear to be, *Miss* Tikopai!" the engineer sarcastically replied. "Rumour's told me everything I needed to know; that the President had given command of the ship I helped to design to someone who's not even twenty years old..." "Tell me, Mr. Dawson...do I look my age?" THAT stopped him in his tracks, if only for a moment...as Dawson's gaze quickly passed across her, and a faint frown appeared, reinforcing her convinction to do this thing...to attack this weak spot, before the chance slipped away, never to return. "What difference should that make? The facts don't lie!...even if you *are* one of these Rangers that I've heard about, the Rangers don't normally accept recruits until their Eighteenth year..." She nodded at Veyshahk, and the Minbari nodded in understanding, and moved to secure the door to the room. "Normally, yes, that is the case; but as you will soon learn, my years spent with the Rangers were *far* from normal." "Which means...what?" "You will see. Before I continue with this, however, you must understand that what I am about to say cannot be told to any other who isn't a Ranger...including the members of your own department. Is this clear?" The engineer frowned again, then...more seriously, this time. "Hey, what's this all about, anyways? I came here to resolve this situation to my own satisfaction, and all of a sudden, I find myself being lectured at? What gives?" "What 'gives'..." Veyshahk noted, his expression patient, knowing...and relieved. "As your kind says, will soon become apparent. This is, however, important, and if you to serve beneath her, and beside me, you must *understand*, as I do, and the others that she and her companions have touched, over the years." An obviously now confused Nicholas Dawson shook his head irritably, and turned as if to go. "I don't need this!..." "I have a question for you, Mr Dawson..." she began again, stopping him in mid-step. "Where were you during the Shadow War, if you don't mind me asking?" Which got him to stop, turn around, and glare at her...so far, so good. "On Earth, of course!...where we all were, during President Clark's reign of terror. I stayed low, like all the other smart people, and I was never noticed...until Varsak came to get me, of course. And anyways, that was six years ago; you must've been on Earth at the time as well, right?" She laughed, adding to his discomfiture. "Not quite, I'm afraid! By my thirteenth birthday, I had already been drawn to the side of the ones who would later teach me much of what I know today. At the time I first met them, they commanded the Rangers of Babylon 5..." "Are you trying to tell me that Westcastle guy I've seen on the news from time to time in the last little while started to teach you the ways of the Rangers when you were...*thirteen* years old? Geez, he must have been a sucker for sore punishment!" "The name you are searching for, Mr. Dawson..." she tartly replied, "Is William Westcastle...and you are right, in that almost seven of our years ago, he commanded the Rangers of Babylon 5. But more importantly, he decided, at the time, that I should train beneath his life partner, Jennifer Westcastle... already, at that time, a master of the Minbari warrior pike; and this was a bargain I agreed to wisely, as I later discovered." "And now..." the engineer muttered, "You're going to tell me you earned the right to use one, too, I suppose..." With a sudden grin, she withdrew her thousand year old pike from its place of concealment, and almost laughed as Dawson's eyes narrowed; she was getting closer, now..."For many months, she served as my guide in the ways of the Rangers...and during that time, I came beneath the fire of the enemy more then once...and grew both in knowledge, and maturity, as a result." "Hooh boy..." Dawson muttered. "Here it comes..." "As you say. By the time the Earth Alliance Civil War had reached its waning stages...when President Sheridan, who was, at the time, in his last days as an officer of Earthforce, moved to topple President Clark's regime, I stood in service on the bridge of High Councillor Westcastle's White Star, when the fleet of Liberation arrived, that day...a day, Mr. Dawson, that I'm *sure* you remember, all too well?" "Are you trying to tell me..." Dawson disbelievingly replied, "That you were serving *actively* with the Rangers, before your *fifteenth* birthday?" She sighed, remembering those times...the pain, the unbearable hope, the sadness...and the final victories, the victories that cost so much to attain. "I was, yes...and part of the *reason* I was, is what I saved until last, to tell you; the thing you must, above all else, keep to yourself! I would not tell another this; but of all the senior crew of my new command, you are now the ONLY one who does not have access to this information; this must be corrected, if we are to trust one another. There is a reason I was called into service...a reason I advanced so quickly, so obviously, to that position...and now, this one. I was forced into adulthood, you see, almost five years ahead of schedule, by a force now banished from the galaxy, along with the Shadows. I was touched by *Vorlons*, Mr. Dawson...and for their own reasons, reasons I both understand and am baffled by, they made me what I am, today. At first, I thought it was *all* to do with fighting the Shadows...but as time has passed, now I'm not so sure, any longer." She paused then, to give the engineer time to think about what he had been told...and then, disbelief appeared on Dawson's face, as she had expected. "I don't believe this!...no way, uh uh. There is no *way* that any of this can POSSIBLY be true!" "And why not, Human?" Veyshahk exclaimed, his voice stentorian. "That time in our history was full of miracles!...why should this not have also come to be? In any case, I choose to back her claims...all that she has told you *is* the truth, and in matters such as these, as you well know, my kind does not lie." "So he believes the story..." Dawson grumbled. "So what? Still doesn't give me what I need; if you want me to accept any of this cockamanie story, you're going to have to give me *proof*." "If I showed you a set of records proving these things as the truth, would that sway your opinion?" "It might..." the engineer allowed, after a moment's consideration. Fair enough. "Veyshahk?" "Val'na." "May I borrow your computer for a moment?" The Minbari smiled, and bowed slightly. "As this will, in a short while, no longer be my place of work, the request is easily granted." "Computer..." she addressed the table-top instrument, in the tongue of the Religious Caste, "Process request for restricted files on subject development, Anla'shok equivalent human years 2260 to 2262...identifer, Tikopai, Julia, Val'na." That, of course, got her another look from Dawson...that she spoke all three Minbari tongues fluently was something he would discover in due course... "*Greetings, Val'na. Voice pattern recognized; connection established...download complete. Records standing by.*" She turned towards Dawson, and pointed at the screen. "There's your evidence...some of my history, among the Rangers, what I've seen, what I've endured, where I have walked, to reach this place, this time, and this position. Examine them closely...if you dare." "You're serious about this, aren't you?" Dawson replied, something almost resembling a *bit* of respect now showing on his face. "We have an important mission to perform...one you will learn about, as soon as we rendezvous with the rest, aboard the SHARD OF NIGHT...and we cannot have matters as *insignificant* as this getting in the way!" "Insignificant, huh?" came the grumbled reply. "Then I guess I should look at these records of yours, then, shouldn't I?" "I guess you *should*..." she retorted, almost sagging in relief, as Dawson sat down in front of the terminal. "Computer!" "*Ready*" "Play records!" * * * Out in the far darkness, two ships had come together for a reason known to the commander of the first...soon to be known to the second... "What?" Tashann exclaimed, as his old friend Talion Quintara nodded patiently on the other side of the table in White Star 4's galley, and ate his meal in silence. "Impossible, Talion...this cannot be true! Lanniel would not do such a thing without speaking to me directly about the matter!" The Val'na sighed, his well-bearded face grim with knowledge. "I don't believe she could do that *this* time, Tashann...but since I have served in her triad for the past eighteen months, perhaps she trusted me just enough to courier this message to you, acting as an intermediary within the Rangers." Tashann's eyes narrowed. "And the message is?" "As best as I can determine, from the little she told me before White Star 6 jumped for Minbar, this is both a Caste, and also, more importantly, a Clan matter...the elders of the Storm Dancers Clan have conferred, and a A'veinsha Ne'vrei has been called." Tashann's breath caught, to hear that; the last time any of the Clans or families had enacted such a measure had been during the Civil War, six years before..."I *see*. And was she...allowed...to tell you something about the reason this occurred?" Talion nodded bluntly. "It concerns a transfer of command between Alit Di'shiania Rahkeel and another known to us both." "As I suspected..." Tashann bitterly replied, after a moment. "I find it astonishing that Rahkeel was able to convince his Elders this warranted a call of Crisis!... but not entirely unsurprising. Lanniel, however...I do not believe, Talion, that Lanniel will see this matter in the same light that Rahkeel does..." "Time will tell on that score, I am afraid." * * * Launch Minus Sixty-five hours... Sixty degrees ahead of the outer moon of Minbar, a point of gravitational stability existed; a zone dictated by the more normal laws of physics...an area known to humans as a Lagrange point. Within this zone of equilibrium, a ship orbited the planet below; a ship abandoned, for more then a revolution of the planet below, by all but its confused skeleton crew of engineers. Until now, that was, as one of the more *esoteric*, if accepted, in this day and age, laws of physics was suddenly called upon, as ten thousand kilometers behind and below the SHARD OF NIGHT, the vacuum crackled, and then ripped asunder, as a jump point sprang into being, and the Twenty-seventh command of the White Star Fleet fell back into space-time, to rendezvous with a small group of Ranger transports waiting for *just* that arrival. And after a short time, a similar craft emerged from that warship's hangar bay... * * * "You will forgive us for our abruptness, Na'lai..." the holographic image of Montoya informed Klairika, as the White Star 27 abruptly accelerated away from the small squadron of transports that, for now, she found herself in command of. "But our orders are equally clear, I am afraid. Since the EXCALIBUR is already underway looking for the cure to the plague, we have a great deal of catching up to do, in a very short time." "I understand..." she replied, as Sheynell sat beside her, smiling a faint smile, and Dasouri fidgeted behind her (if Drazi *did* fidget, that was, she wasn't quite sure) "But from what little I know of this situation, don't be surprised if we see one another, out on the Rim, in very short order." "I look forward to that day." Montoya concluded, and then, the signal cut, as space once again tore in front of the departing ship, and the White Star vanished from sight. "Now..." Sheynell began, still smiling that annoying smile she had been smiling for several hours now. "Does someone want to tell me where our new command is? Because I *sure* don't see it close at hand." "That *is* the idea, Sheynell, as you very well know..from what we have learned enroute after receiving our orders, this is entirely the idea! The SHARD OF NIGHT is a stealth warship, harder to see and find then anything the Alliance has ever built before. And if our mission is to succeed, the Drakh must *not* see us coming..." "She does, however, have a point, I am afraid." Dasouri pointed out. "If we cannot find our new ship, how can we board?" "Already taken care of, if you *must* know." Klairika showed the other two a message crystal, before placing it into the transmitter in front of her. "The crew presently onboard is awaiting this signal; once it is received, they will rendezvous with us, and we will come aboard." "Well...that's convenient, isn't it?" And then, Sheynell whipped her head around, and glared at Dasouri. "I *heard* that!" "Never said a word." the Drazi replied, with a shrug. "Have no idea what you are talking about." "Now, you listen here!..." "Peace, friends!" Klairika entreated. "Please! It's time." And then, she sent the signal...and almost stopped breathing for a moment, as a black shadow suddenly blotted out the stars above them... ...A black shadow that suddenly engaged its engine and superstructure running lights, revealing the almost awe-inspiring shape of the ship itself...so like a White Star, and yet, so *different*, she thought to herself, while admiring the sight. Longer, darker, sharper and meaner; a predator in an ocean of hostile enemies. The skin shimmered, gray and pearl, beneath the stars, while at almost every angle, weapons emplacements could be seen... "Oh *my*..." Sheynell whispered, her eyes glued to the approaching battlecruiser. "And I thought I'd seen it all..." "Bigger..." Dasouri noted, his expression now humble. "*Much* bigger then White Star ships; have been told that bigger starships are harder to control. Thing I enjoyed the most about commanding White Star ships is their *grace*...will this be lost, in vessel above? Vessel named SHARD OF NIGHT?" Grace? Klairika smiled; once again, she was reminded that Dasouri wasn't exactly your 'average' Drazi...but was that so bad? "As I far as I know, Dasouri..." she replied honestly, "All reports seem to indicate this command is just as maneuverable as a White Star, even if it *is* twice as large." "Will not believe it until we are underway for the first time." Dasouri stated bluntly. "You'll get that chance soon enough, Dasouri, I think." "Attention, incoming transport group..." a crisp voice announced over the comm channel...and a moment later, an image sprang into being, of what appeared to be a Worker-Caste Minbari on a rather *well* laid out bridge. "Ah!...Na'lai Alidiae, there you are. I am Lesaki, Assistant Engineer aboard the Interstellar Alliance battlecruiser SHARD OF NIGHT. If you will come aboard, I am prepared to turn command of the vessel over to you, at this time." And I, she silently chanted, am going to convince myself I'm ready for this sooner or later, she told herself. Father...was this what you intended, when you told me to join the Anla'shok? "That's all well and...good, Lesaki, but...where is, ah, the entrance to the hangar bay?" The Minbari engineer smiled a secret smile. "Ah yes...now, Na'lai, learn the *first* secret about your new command." And with that said, Lesaki turned to someone off to one side, and nodded curtly...while on the shuttle, the astonished Rangers watched as a segment of the hull between and below the aft gravimetric stablizers split along a previously invisible line, and pulled away in four directions, revealing the diamond-shaped hangar bay entrance! "*Very* interesting..." Sheynell commented, after another moment's gaping. "Now that IS a neat trick!" "There are many more surprises awaiting your arrival, Anla'shok Keynes." Lesaki concluded. "Many more...we await your ingress. SHARD OF NIGHT...out." Inside that opening, she realized, the future awaited; her future... their future. And without any further hesitation, almost without volition, even, she found her hand moving to the flight controls...and the shuttle leapt forward, followed by its companions. It was time, she realized, to step out of the known... And into the *interesting*! * * * Tuzanor primary spaceport; Launch Minus Sixty-four hours... "Okay..." Dawson entreated behind her, as Veyshahk and Julia cast another long, amused glance at one another, "How many times am I going to have to apologize before you two forget about this? So I was wrong!...I've been wrong before, and I'm bound to be wrong again, sooner or later." "Until, I believe, your penance is served, Dawson." Veyshahk replied. "Though the way that things are going presently, that will, I would guess, not take as long as I previously believed." And then, the Minbari doctor stopped in his tracks, a frown coming onto his face. "Val'na Tikopai; I believe that there is someone...waiting for you on the platform." "Who's that?" Dawson inquired, squinting at the red-haired, black-robed figure on the edge of the platform, as a White Star shrieked by overhead. "Someone you know...Captain?" Julia blinked, and then sighed; yes, it *was* her. "Gentlemen; I will join you at the transport... shortly. If you will give me a moment alone?" Nodding, Veyshahk and Dawson moved away towards the craft waiting to take them up to orbit, and beyond...and the time had come for something she had hoped to avoid. "You didn't...have to do this, you know. It's not like I'm going away...*forever*, after all." "You say the words, Julia..." Jennifer replied, her long hair whipped by the wind, "But that doesn't make this any easier." "But why *now*? We won't be launching for at least another two and a half days!" "William...William has decided that he will say his farewells to you then, Julia...but I could not wait for that moment to say *mine*. At a distance, the meaning is lost, the message faded, as you well know, as you well understand." And then, for a moment, their austere facades cracked, and the two Observers, young and older, embraced for a moment, before resuming their distance. "I understand your words...and will hold them close to my heart, my former Mistress...my *friend*...and as we both know, this is *not* goodbye..." For we will succeed in our quest...and I *will* come this way again." * * * "What are they doing?" Nicholas asked Veyshahk, as the he watched the two Ranger women step a little farther away from one another, and raise their left arms, hand upright, for little more then a moment, before his new Captain turned away, and strode towards them, an expression of combined determination and sadness on her face. The Minbari bowed his head in acceptance of what had occurred. "In time, Nicholas Dawson, you will understand...perhaps. But for now, it would seem that we have places to be, and things to do." "And just you wait until you and the...Captain learn some more about the place we're going *first*. It's going to knock your socks off!" "We do not wear *socks*, as such, Mr. Dawson." "Are you planning on cutting me some slack ANYTIME soon, Veyshahk?" "Time will tell on that score, I am afraid... Time will tell indeed." "So..." his Captain inquired, as she joined them a moment later. "Did you have an interesting conversation while you were waiting for me?" "If only you knew, Captain..." he wryly replied. "If *only* you knew." "It was a beginning, Val'na." Veyshahk finalized, as they entered the transport. "But we all have to begin somewhere, now don't we?" * * * ->dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part VIII, Act II Date: Sun, 28 Feb 1999 23:31:45 Writer's Note: *NOW*, it gets interesting. With the news at the start of the weekend, some may think me either out of my mind to continue with this, *or* (alternately) too dedicated for my own good. Well, it may be a little of both, connected together with a healthy dollop of 'this story has taken on a life of its own.' Believe it or not, this is exactly what has happened! It seems that William, Jennifer, Julia and the rest now mean as much to me as jms's characters mean to him, astonishingly enough. And so, as you have seen, there is a beginning to this. There will be a middle. And there will, inevitably, also be an end; this is my promise to you all...this sequel will NOT be cancelled. The road may not be an easy one, but no road ever is... * * * STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART VIII, ACT II Interstellar Alliance Starship SHARD OF NIGHT; Launch Minus Sixty Three Hours... Klairika walked down the Grand Corridor of the SHARD in what amounted to a daze, so overwhelmed was she by everything she had seen, thus far. The others had drifted away, each to explore the ship in their own ways, and by their own methods...she had simply allowed herself to walk where the need summoned her, and she had learned a great deal, already, as a result. In human terms, and she would *have* to think in human terms from now on, because so much of her new crew came from that race, the SHARD was almost six hundred metres long from prow to stern, with eleven decks, and a computer system more powerful then anything she had ever encountered before...a system that overpowered even the responsive systems she was used to in the White Star Fleet. Unbelievably enough, the battlecruiser had *six* fusion reactors, all of which were less then a twentieth as large as the admittedly primitive power plants in her race's enormous fleet cruisers...but there was, of course, a reason for that great number...and that was when she had to once again address the issue of the ship's arsenal in her mind. Unlike her former White Star command, the combined firepower of this ship was, it seemed, almost equal to one of the Minbari Sharlin-class heavy cruisers...and not only could she go head on head with much larger capital ships, the SHARD also had the capability to repel attacks from behind, when such attacks could not be addressed utilizing the six new-design stealthfighters carried aboard. Lesaki, the SHARD's assistant engineer, had also informed her, shortly after she had come aboard, that it had originally been the designer's intent that this ship be the prototype of a replacement for the heavy-cruiser design; more efficient, smaller, harder to see, harder to kill. That none of that would come to pass now was equally obvious, she realized...but for now, perhaps this blind wandering had gone on, long enough...and she rose out of her contemplation of the situation, to determine where she was...and, more importantly, who else was in the vicinity. Ahead of her, a small group of mixed human and Minbari Rangers approached, packs of gear on their shoulders, their expressions a combination of surprise and appreciation; they were, no doubt, only newly come aboard. She could not, however, blame them for what they felt; something similar had happened to her when she had come aboard with Sheynell and Dasouri, two hours before. And then, rather abruptly, she realized that one of the Minbari in that group of Rangers was Julia's close comrade, Larieken!...and a moment later, he noticed her, as well, and after a brief word to the other Rangers in his group, Larieken stood aside, let them pass, and approached her, a small smile on his face. "Larieken! I have to say, all things considered, that I'm not really all that surprised to see you here." "Just so, Na'lai Alidiae." the Minbari replied, after a brief bow to address her new rank. "Where my commander and friend walks, I walk, in her footsteps, at her call. I have helped to teach her, and now that she ascended to the captaincy of this command, here I will serve, as long as I am needed." "That is a good thing, I will admit." Klairika replied, as the two began to walk along the corridor together. "Although, to be honest with you, Larieken, I have never understood the loyalty you hold towards her." "The President, and our Entil'zha, has commanded that we serve together, that I serve *you*, almost as I would her, and so, I will tell you what you need to hear, what no one, up until now, may have *ever* told you. Six of her years ago, when we thought the President and the High Councillor lost at Z'ha'dum, the Entil'zha called upon me to guard what we thought, at that time, was our last hope, our only chance, if all went perfectly, for the future generations among the Younger Races to know of what happened during the Shadow War..." "I...what, exactly, are we talking about here, Larieken?" "Ah...then she has not seen fit to tell you, yet...not entirely unsurprising, as the details of what she is are not known to many, or even believed in by some of those who do know. Before I continue, however, perhaps it would be best if I were to carry my belongings to my new quarters. And although it will be some time before those quarters are set up to my satisfaction, it will have to do, for now..." "I cannot argue with your logic, Larieken." "Perhaps that *may* be so..." Larieken replied, his calm expression suddenly becoming a little more concerned. "But to inquire: can I assume that the method of quarters assigning is similar to that aboard a White Star?" "You need to ask?" Almost without volition, she laid a finger atop the barely noticable crystal that had been set into her skin beneath her right ear the day she had become a Ranger. This was something that had been implemented by High Councillor Westcastle and his now-dead equal among the fleet, Sha'vei Vikotal, when the White Star Fleet had still been under construction, and all things considered, it made perfect sense. While some of her kind would always spend time away from the Fleet, should they ever be called upon to serve aboard a White Star, the computer aboard that ship would instantly be able to recognize them; who they were, where they had been, what they had done, and assign them quarters aboard, if such were available. She smiled, then; only the Minbari, in her opinion, could have come up with a technology as flawlessly simple as this one was. And while she suspected that other elements of their society might do things just a little differently then this (such as the crews aboard their heavy cruisers, for instance) for the Rangers, this worked....and that was all that mattered. "Fair enough." And with that comment, Larieken bowed towards her again. "Then we will speak on this matter later on...after all the crew has arrived, including our Val'na, and we have begun to settle into our new duties aboard this vessel." And then he turned to go. She could see, already, that serving with this one would be a pleasure...in fact, was already being given cause to believe that the SHARD's entire *command crew* would work together better then almost any other she had ever known. That this was how it had been intended to be, she did not doubt. Did not want to doubt... And then, a complex chime-alert alerted her to one of the other interesting idiosyncrasies of this new design; as a bead of light ran along the wall of the corridor towards her, came to a halt alongside, and a holographic image expanded into being, showing the bridge of the SHARD, and Sheynell in the captain's chair of the battlecruiser, still getting used to the operative capabilities of the new design. Klairika shook her head, and nearly laughed; as Julia's Second aboard this ship, Sheynell had delved into her duties almost immediately upon arrival. In fact, apart from a brief visit to her own quarters to drop off her belongings, the telepath had been on the bridge almost continously since then... "Ah, Klairika, there you are. Thought I'd give this new crew-tracer gizmo a try to see if it worked as well as I thought it might..." "You needn't have worried, of course. Varsak, as Lesaki has already pointed out to us both, was quite determined to make this ship one of the most advanced in Alliance history...there will, no doubt, be many marvels such as this one to 'test', in the days to come. Now, since you have managed to locate me, what is, as your kind says, up?" Sheynell grinned, and Klairika realized, suddenly, that her new friend was about to unleash a matter of importance. "A signal arrived, a moment ago, from the transport XEVREI." "And this transport is carrying...who?" "Oh...just the ship's physician, the chief engineer, and our Val'na." By the Comet...had that much time passed already? "How close are they to docking?" she snapped, already half in motion. "Any moment, now, by the looks of it." Klairika glared at the image. "Anla'shok Keynes, we need to have a *talk*, I believe, about what you consider to be appropriate timing. You know where to find me, I will assume? And, shall we say, in short order?" Sheynell straightened in the image, still smiling a little impishly. "I understand you commands, noble Na'lai...and will comply. Bridge out!" This was going to be interesting, she realized, as she made her way over to the nearest corridor wall terminal (not terribly difficult to find; although they were small, they were emplaced quite close together on most of the decks) and accessed the local comm network. "This is the First Officer to Anla'shok Dasouri and Larieken." Without pause, two holograms sprang into being. "Na'lai?" "Gentlemen, I would suggest you make your way to the shuttlebay without delay...Val'na Tikopai and the rest of the command crew are about to come aboard. And, Larieken...?" "Yes, Na'lai?" "Assemble everyone among the crew who isn't on active duty. Alidiae out." * * * A few minutes later...aboard the transport XEVREI. Almost, she was afraid to take this first step, knowing all too well that after this step was taken, there would be no going back. She could feel the eyes of the other two boring into her, but she didn't care, really. This was a moment to carefully consider what lay ahead of her, and what lay behind...and what she had seen, upon their approach, had been more then enough to indicate what that entailed. The image she had seen in the President's office has simply NOT done this ship justice, she now knew. From a tiny mote of light almost lost against the stars, the SHARD OF NIGHT had grown into a gray and silvery creature of hidden purpose and intent, its shape so familiar and at the same time, so alien. So *many* things about this ship were different; Nicholas had as much hinted this during their flight up from Minbar. A few of those things would be obvious, she knew...but it was clear she would have to rely on Nicholas and his crew to reveal all the new and hidden secrets the battlecruiser held; and to aid her Ranger crew until they were familiar with all of them. And now, this step had to be taken; there was no going back from it. And so, after a moment of final contemplation, she placed her hand upon the airlock toggle in the transport, and commanded it to iris open... ...Revealing the dark gray interior of the SHARD's shuttlebay. The central portion of that enclosure was similar in design to those she was familiar with aboard the White Stars...but off to either side, two annexes stretched off towards the prow...and within them, dimly visible, the fighters housed aboard. This, Nicholas had made *quite* clear to her, was another of the advances that made her new ship what it was; the SHARD's fighters could launch *forward*, through two small, equally sealable exits in the curved hull between the outboard engines and the secondary batteries. This gave her a tactical advantage that no White Star had ever had...the ability to deploy fighters DIRECTLY towards approaching hostiles! But then, her musings aside, she focussed on the scene in front of her, and chuckled. Oh, she would get her for this, in the end, but Klairika couldn't be blamed; there were traditions to address, after all. On either side of the bay exit, two squads of Rangers stood at attention, three-deep, while directly in front of her, Klairika, Sheynell, Larieken and Dasouri waited, also at attention. She knew what she had to do; what was expected of her. Although no command-rank Ranger had ever captained a ship such as this one before, the precedence was there, among the Minbari Fleet, and *very* explicit. "I see you..." she stated, as her boots left the interior of the shuttle, and she stood upon the deck of the SHARD for the first time. "Followed by those I have called to my side, in our hour of action, in Earth's hour of need." Klairika bowed, as did all those in the command crew who stood behind her. "We have waited for your arrival, and now that you have arrived, accompanied by those you have called to your side, we are...complete. *Vi'dalae An'shaka* is yours, Val'na Tikopai. Command us." "Thank you for that honour, Klairika..." she replied, striding briskly between the two squads of Rangers, the rest of her newly-assembled command staff falling in behind her. "But now that's out of the way, it's time we got down to business." Arriving at the exit, she turned to the computer terminal waiting there. "Computer; identify and acknowledge." "Identity confirmed; Anla'shok Val'na Tikopai, Julia Katherine." "Computer, prepare to update command log." "Authorization required." Now *this* was where it came down to the point of no return. With a brief sigh, she withdrew the datacrystal that William had given to her at their last meeting from her tunic, and placed it into the terminal reader. "Computer; update and acknowledge." "Acknowledged. The office of the President of the Interstellar Alliance this day, on the eighteenth hour, transfers command of the Interstellar Alliance battlecruiser SHARD OF NIGHT from Alit Di'siania Rahkeel of the Storm Dancer Clan to Anla'shok Val'na Julia Katherine Tikopai. So noted; so logged." "Well..." she muttered to herself, before reslinging her personal pack of gear on her shoulder, "I suppose *that* was fairly painless, wasn't it?" But at the same time, she knew that it meant *so* much...something her mother had faced far more then once in the past twenty years had now just happened to her... "Larieken, dismiss the crew. The rest of you, please return to your duties or preparations...except you, Klairika. Let's walk." As the others began to move about their tasks, the Brakiri fell in at Julia's side, her expression one of polite inquiry. "Val'na?" "Tell me something, Klairika; did all of this...overwhelm you as much as it's overwhelming me, when you first came aboard?" The last, almost plaintively. An amused nod. "If you must know, I spent much of the past two hours simply wandering from place to place aboard, seeing what I could see, learning what I could learn by simply...looking. Unfortunately, I suspect that this will not be enough; in fact, I do not doubt that when, and if, we assemble for our first command-level briefing, that a great deal of truly surprising information will find its way into our hands, courtesy of Chief Engineer Dawson and his crew." "And speaking of *just* that!...it's already getting quite late in the day, so I think we should wait until the morning watch for that meeting, once we've all had a little bit of rest, and the chance to set up our quarters the way we *want* them...how long until all of our belongings and supplies are aboard, by the way?" "Our contacts on the surface ensure us that all of our initial supplies, and the remainder of our crew, will be aboard no later then sixty-one standard hours from now. We *will* be beginning our mission at the hour the President commanded, Val'na...and not a moment later." "As it should be, Klairika...as it should be. But for now, I want some dinner, I want to set up my quarters, *and* my candlestands, and maybe get some sleep. Because the next couple of days are going to be long ones...for all of us." * * * Tuzanor... "So, what do you think?" William asked his wife, as the Minbari designers laid out their creations atop his desk. There was a moment's pause, and then, Jennifer laughed softly. "In Valen's Name, William!...this is astonishing. How far have you taken this?" "To her entire crew. The command staff will be wearing these, and ther rest of the crew will be wearing *those*. It's necessary, and it's something I've wanted to act on for some time now; and now that I've managed to convince the rest of the High Council that this was necessary, in Julia's command, we're going to get the chance to try something a little different..." Jennifer nodded. "For too long, the Ranger uniforms have been cast across the spectrum of Minbari culture, different styles, different makes...it's a bold move, William...a bold one, indeed. But if I may, let me make a observation or two..." "Please." "The command-rank uniforms...by any chance, did you use some sort of *precedence* in their design?" William nodded, his expression now determined, as he rose from his seat, and made his way over to the window of his chambers, to look up at the sky, and the ship he knew lay beyond that sky. "Seven of our years ago, an Army of Light began to come together at Babylon 5; an Army built by our Entil'zha, and by the President, in the role he then filled as Captain and leader of that place. And in an act of compassion and of belief in what he had done, in breaking away from the Earth Alliance, she gave him and his command staff new uniforms of black and silver, to show what they were, and who they were, and why they were doing what they did. Almost, those uniforms have passed into history, Jennifer...and so, before they are forgotten, I have decided that another uniform should be created, to honour the memory of that which came before it, a uniform of purpose, a uniform reflecting two purposes..." William returned to join her, and took up into his hands the black and silver-edged Ranger uniform he had asked the Minbari to make for him, one among six. "Because while Julia and her crew are Rangers, if I have my way, no one they meet will be able to forget that they are also members of the Army of Light, as well...a NEW Army of Light, born from the ashes of the old." * * * -> dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part VIII, Act III Date: Fri, 05 Mar 1999 00:12:19 STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART VIII, ACT III OF III Interstellar Alliance battlecruiser SHARD OF NIGHT; start of morning watch...captain's quarters. Launch minus forty-eight hours. It had taken a while, but most of the traces that had been left by the former occupant of these quarters were gone, now...as it should be, in situations such as this one. Julia knelt before her most treasured candlestand, the one that William and Jennifer had given her just after the end of the Shadow War, her eyes closed, her breathing slow and steady, thoughts passing in an even, more-or-less ordered tumble thorugh her mind. There were other stands, of course, scattered around the room, gifts made by friends both near and far...but for this moment, and this time, she would use no other. She'd been doing this for years now, of course, finding peace in the most unlikely of situations, but that was the way it had always been, since she had come to the Rangers; come into William's circle, come to serve at Jennifer's right hand. And it was in doing this, that she most often gained access to that part of her inner self that Observed...and the thin, but well bound set of volumes above her new bed was the legacy of *that* discipline. The newest now sat beside the three candles burning in front of her; she had last written in it just before the President had given her command of this vessel; when the next time would be, she was not sure... Gathering her robe about herself, she rose and turned towards the doorway. "Yes?" A hologram of Larieken, in full battle dress, even, sprang into being by the foyer, one she quickly banished by opening the door, and ushering her friend in. The Minbari entered, deposited a curiously wrapped, rather large package on the table nearest to the entrance, and then looked around with some curiousity. After a moment, apparently unsurprised by what he saw, he replied, "Ah; you were meditating before your candles, as always, at this hour of the day...various forces have pulled on you over the years, but this facet of your personality will, I imagine, forever remain constant, yes?" She laughed, and turned to take in what she had wrought, once again, before nodding. "You should know better then to ask that, my friend. I have my writing, my candles, my chimes, and my patterns of light and shadow to Observe, and record. I have this ship to command, and a place to seek for peace, when the stresses of command become too much, as I have no doubt they will, in the months, and possibly years, that still lie ahead of us in this mission. This is that place of peace; my place of rest, as well. That is all this place is to me, for now; isn't that enough?" After a moment, Larieken smiled, and nodded his understanding. "Of course. Do not, however, forget this; we will all be changed by what we are attempting, even you, and as you change, your place of peace will change along with you." "We'll just have to see about that...but anyways, I'm sure you didn't come here just to check out my quarters?" "Indeed not. While your tasks aboard are not strenous for the time being, since our mission has yet to fully begin, care must be taken, as always, in observing the schedule." "That's part of your job description, is it not?" she noted quizzically. "Keeping a handle on the minituae of ship's operations, details that Klairika, Sheynell and I shouldn't have to worry about?" "As you say. And as *I* was saying, Na'lai Alidiae and Anla'shok Keynes would like to see you on the bridge at the Eleventh hour...thereafter, the Na'lai has, with your expected approval, scheduled the first gathering of the command staff. Thereafter,, Chief Engineer Dawson would like to speak to you about certain...matters pertaining to this vessel; secrets that you may, as he says, share with us as you chooose, or not. You are our Val'na...our captain. Such matters must be decided by you, and you alone. The rest of the day is yours, to use as you see fit." And then, almost as an afterthought, Larieken added, "And less then an hour ago, a rather *large* shipment from Tuzanor arrived aboard. There was a package for each member of our crew in the shipment, labelled by name. I have taken the liberty of delivering yours to you, in person. If you will excuse me, I will allow you to examine the contents of the package...privately. And when next we see one another, certain matters will have *changed*, as you will soon discover." And with that curious comment, Larieken bowed briefly, turned away, and left her quarters. Leaving her with this violet-tinged package, sitting on the table, only just out of reach. She sighed, and, after moment, moved to unseal the latch on the package, and immediately discovered a message crystal, and a note, in William's by-now familiar handwriting. It read: 'Play this, and hear my words, then open what is, and accept what you find, as given.' -W. Now throughly mystified, she took up the crystal, walked slowly over to her nightstand, activated the computer terminal set into the stand, and played the message... * * * Bridge level; conference room. Unable to wait any longer, and needing to learn what the words that the High Councillor had spoken in the message had meant, Sheynell briefly moved out of the hubbub of Rangers and technicians presently filling the bridge, sat down, and with the faint pearly glow of the stars behind her, opened her package, and folded the cloth aside... And simply gaped, when she saw what lay within. He couldn't have...he shouldn't have!...but he had. NOW, it began to make sense!...she *had* given up something that had meant a great deal to her, before the dream had gone sour...the Corps. Another ritual she would have to learn to understand the reasoning behind; the Minbari seemed to have so *many* of them... But finally, she did; and left the bridge at a run; almost as a child would run, having been given a remarkable new toy to play with... * * * "On the cusp between yesterday and tomorrow..." William spoke to her, out of the hologram, "I greet you, Julia. This will not be the last time I speak to you before you stride forth, but this is an important matter; and needed to be dealt with, before the moment of our parting arrives. All throughout your time with us, you have gone through stages of what Tashann's people term the ceremony of Rebirth. From the young, bold teenager that you were, the first time I met you on Babylon 5, into the woman you have become...an Observer, a Ranger, and, above all, a friend, as I have been a friend, and also, a teacher, to you. But now, that has come to an end, with the dawning of your present task; the time of instruction, concluded. Tashann would say, of course, that your Rebirth is now complete...and since this is so, two things are required, to make the ceremony complete. First, to accept the following. In choosing to follow us when you did, you lost something that might have been precious, something forever denied to you, now. In following us in our quest against the Darknesss, and later, when you became a Ranger yourself, you gave up the chance to have what might be considered a normal life...although, I suppose, there are also good sides to that thought...if you *had* gone the other way, you would have quite likely been on Earth right at this moment, suffering the fate of all her people..." The High Councillor smiled bitterly, then. "You were lucky enough, however, not to face *that* particular Darkness personally; although I cannot say whether or not the path you now follow will be any easier to endure. It will not be a simple task to protect the EXCALIBUR and search for the cure, but it is a necessary one. Finally, as you may know, the other side of the ceremony requires that I, speaking in my role as High Councillor of the Anla'shok, lay a gift of passage upon you, and your crew. This I have done, and after this message has concluded, you will find another, detailing the background, and *code* of that gift of passage. After acceptance of this gift, you and your followers will be setting a precedence that all the Rangers may soon follow. Time will tell, I suppose, whether or not what we do here, today, is the right thing, or not." A final, broader smile. "And now, it is up to you to open your gift from Jennifer and I, and accept what it is, and the reason it was made. And if you wish to talk about the matter, before your departure, you know where to reach me." And that was it... With trembling hand, she reached out, then, and took a hold of the package, and slowly began to open it. In only a moment more, she revealed what lay within...and then it was, that she *stopped*, the shock and amazement she felt at seeing what this priceless gift was, to read the other message, to take it in, and what it meant...to *understand*. She took up the contents, and after a moment, walked over to the crystal-paned closet set into one corner of the quarters area, and drew the doors open, revealing the uniforms hanging within. Setting the package down for a moment, she detached the signs of her order, and of her calling, from the uniform she had worn for more then four years now, the uniform she had earned, in her passage through the Fire...and began to dress anew, making herself ready for the new day. First, she put on what the Minbari termed 'Ae'ishareith' the cowled shirt, trousers, and ankle length boots that had been part of the Ranger regimentals for more then a thousand years, now...briefly pausing, to hook her warrior pike in its by-now familiar place at her side. There were, however, distinct diffeences to this set; on one shoulder of the shirt was sewn a small Ranger symbol, and on the other, a tiny notched diamond of black in a setting of silver and gold... This, she now knew as the SHARD's crest, itself. A far *larger* edition of the crest had been etched into the doors leading into the bridge. And finally, she took another good look at the new tunic that William had arranged to have made for her and (she imagined, from Larieken's earlier comments) the rest of her senior staff. Tighter, shorter and *far* less bulky then most Ranger battle-dress, the tunic was midnight black in colour (or rather, lack thereof), with five, silver buckles down the front...while along all the major seams in the tunic, silvery Zirka thread had been sewn. After a moment in which she attached the signs of duty and position, she put it on, closed the clasp on the shoulder-belt that ran across and down the front of the tunic, and finally turned around to look in the mirror... And almost burst out laughing...but admire the view, she did. In Valen's Name!...even *she* had to admit that this new uniform looked *damn* good on a person... Now, the question was, she mused, as she finally left her quarters, was this; had the rest of the crew responded to this surprise the same way she had? As she walked through the corridors, she could see the many of the crew now seemed to be wearing a black-and-gray uniform similar in style to her own (minus the Zirka thread, however) and the raised eyebrows and impressed looks she got, on the way to the bridge, seemed to confirm the suspicion that had been growing on her since she had put the uniform on, only a few moments before. This looked like it was going to be one *Hell* of a morale booster. She smiled, and turned aside, heading for the transport tube. Time to find out if the breakfasts on her new command were as good as the dinner had been, the previous night... * * * The bridge of the SHARD. Three hours later. Forty-five hours to launch. "The Fit is perfect!..." Dasouri exclaimed again, as he turned away from the flight control station to meet the gaze of his first officer. "Not that I am surprised, but High Council obviously plots to take member of Drazi race where Drazi have never walked before! It is curious...reminds me somewhat of uniform I saw Security man on Babylon 5 wear, when walk there, I did, not so long before I came to become a Ranger." "That, Dasouri..." Klairika replied, "Was entirely his intent, I'm sure. In fact, from the way I understand it, I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks of us as members of the Army of Light reborn, striding forth to take on the Darkness beyond our borders." "While I don't know him as well as our commander does..." Sheynell wryly noted, as she conferred with the more junior weapons officers at Tactical, "I'm sure you're right on that score. And to my great surprise, it looks as if we'll actually be able to go one on one with the Drakh...the weapons compliment on this ship; it's unbelievable, given its size!" On the ramp up and behind the executive and tactical stations, Nicholas chuckled, and nodded in agreement, while behind him, Veyshahk sighed, his facing showing concern...for sooner rather then later, some of the crew might have to visit his department, even given the fact the SHARD was packing some *very* significant firepower. "That was Varsak's intent, Miss Keynes, when he designed and built this ship, even though I'm quite certain that he didn't have the Drakh in mind. While only six hundred and ten metres long, this ship has capital-class weapons batteries more then capable of taking on a destroyer-class starship..." "And possibly destroying said opponent, I will note..." Sheynell replied, as she passed her hands rapidly across several crystalline controls on her board, once again, it seemed, analyzing the capabilities of the weapons under her command. "Exactly." the engineer replied. "And as you will soon learn, that is only the merest beginning, compared to the rest that this ship is capable of." At that point, a faint triple chime sounded, and Klairika rose to her feet, turning towards the main bridge entrance, beyond the presently deactivated imager behind her. "Speaking of just that, Mr. Dawson, will soon be your greatest concern..." * * * The doors slid aside, and for the first time in her life, the first of hundreds of moments like this in the years to come, Julia stepped onto the bridge of the SHARD, and paused for a moment. The handful of Rangers and engineering personnel at the stations around the rear hemisphere had turned towards her and come to attention, their faces showing nothing but respect. "Relax, gentlemen..." she murmured, as she strode by, towards the center of the bridge. "Please." "Relax?" her First inquired, as the remainder of the command staff, now all in their new black-and-silver uniforms, fell in behind them, and followed her into the conference chamber. "How are we to maintain the sharpness of our command if you are telling them to 'relax', all the time?" Julia gave Klairika a look. "We're not running a drill squad here, as you well realize. And while the mission is a serious one, we're going to start tearing ourselves apart, out there in the darkness, if we get all worked up about discipline. It shouldn't be necessary, in any case; most of us are Rangers, we know why we are here, and what needs to be done." "Perhaps..." the Brakiri grudgedly admitted, as they all took a seat. "We will have to see, on that regard. But for now, I believe, as you say, the 'chair' is yours..." "Exactly." Quickly, and briefly, she met the gazes of everyone around the table...most of her senior staff were nearly as young as she *appeared* to be, and that was both frightening and daunting...they were the brightest of a new generation of Rangers, ready to take on their foes! "Ladies and gentlemen; I'm not going to beat around the bushes on this one; what we are about to attempt is a more difficult task then any of us have ever faced before, and more critical, even, then the situations that some of us faced during the final fires of the Shadow War. The President has tasked us with a mission more difficult then even I realized, at first; our *primary* objective, as most of you now know, is to protect the EXCALIBUR during her mission to find the cure to the plague contracted by the men and women of Earth...a dark shadow of death cast on them by the Drakh. It is the President's belief that once the Drakh learn of what Captain Gideon and his crew intend, that they will try and destroy his command. We cannot allow that to happen; and as such, in a little less then two days from now, we will walk forth on our personal crusade; but before this happens, it now falls to our chief engineer, one of the members of the team that designed this ship, to explain to us how this will be allowed to happen." Nicholas nodded firmly at her pointed inquiry, and rose to his feet, briefly pausing to lower the lights in the room, and bring a representation of the SHARD into being over the table. "Captain...fellow members of our senior crew...I won't pretend to understand the nature of what you are, as Anla'shok. But after an extended discussion with Captain Tikopai, I've decided to accept the situation as it is...for now. And I'm certain, given time, that I will come to understand you and your ways more fully...but right now, my key concern is ensuring you know everything you need to about this ship, its technology, and its secrets. To begin...while some of you have already seen the obvious similarities to the ships of the White Star Class in terms of operation and response, there are many advances built into this warship that have never been seen before in a ship of the Interstellar Alliance. Firstly...the stealth characteristics of the SHARD, once fully enabled, will allow us to become nearly invisible relative to just about any Alliance and non-aligned scanning technology I know of...and, we can hope, the technology of the Drakh and their allies, as well. Secondly, and far more importantly, as Ranger Keynes has already discovered, when we must engage the Enemy, the capital and secondary batteries aboard this vessel allow us the freedom to explore multiple offensive and defensive positions, as required. This, together with the squadron of new-design fighters we can deploy, gives us a formidable edge, in undertaking our mission. But finally, and most importantly, in my mind, is a technology so far ahead of its time that even I was surprised by it, at first. Varsak managed to incorporate a system of remote probes into the design...an advance that will allow us to detect and pinpoint enemy ship movements on a volume of space bigger then any scanning system designed to date..." "Remote probes?" Klarika inquired, a smile on her face. "Exactly *how* remote are we talking here, Mr. Dawson?" Dawson smiled grimly, in return. "The system can deploy across fifty million kilometers of distance in realspace, giving us scanning access to an area of space larger then most *solar* systems. Additionally, segments of the probe network are designed to remain in hyperspace when the chance arises, passing messages to us via a back-door bounce off of most any system gates we'll find between here and the Rim." "Fascinating..." Larieken commented, echoing the human's grim smile. "And *very* useful, Mr. Dawson, very useful indeed. I will assume that this network incorporates elements of an inferometric nature?" "Exactly right. The probe units on the outer edge of the envelope can communicate both to us and to one another; and while there will be cee-limitations when we use the system in such a fashion, we can still pinpoint ship movements, and identify who's who, over an *extremely* large region." "So..." Sheynell mused calculatingly, "We could be as much as half a light year away from the EXCALIBUR, if you will let me use that example, and still be able to see what's up, and who's who..." "Or maybe even more then that..." Nicholas replied. "Even *I* still don't know for sure the limitations of this system...Varsak never let us push it too far when he was Chief Engineer. From now, however, in my opinion, the sky's the limit. And if anyone has any questions or concerns during our learning curve, here, please feel free to ask. I helped to build this sucker, after all...and there's not much I don't know about her." "Thank you, Mr. Dawson." Julia finalized, as the engineer nodded briskly to all, and resumed his seat. "Now...would everyone care to let me know how things are going with your individual departments and concerns?" "Medical section is nearly ready to go, as I promised you, Val'na." Veyshahk clinically noted. "My primary assistants, Anla'shok Jharais and Nividia, arrived aboard earlier today, and I forsee no problems that will delay our readiness for departure." "Flight control roster is nearly being assembled..." Dasouri gruffly noted. "All are Rangers that I am familiar with...good pilots, all. High Councillor is to be thanked for his choice in this." "Ship's batteries are *more* then ready for action." Sheynell noted. "Although your Weapons *Officer* still fears to see what discharging the main gun will be like..." A small laugh passed around the table, and Julia nodded. "Like a storm, upon the darkness, Sheynell, I'm sure." "I have *no* doubt you're right about that...Val'na." "Operations?" "As expected..." Larieken replied, "The majority of our crew are now aboard, and settling in. As Anla'shok Dasouri just noted, duty rosters are currently being assembled; Fehteadi, my second, assures me that the rosters will be complete, by the end of this day. The remainder of our supplies will be aboard by the evening watch, tomorrow, along with the last of our crew, currently inbound from the Rim on White Star 124. I have *no* doubt whatsoever that we will be ready to depart at the given hour, and in the ordered fashion." "Like thieves..." Klairika commented, "We slip into the darkness, unseen... ...and pray we will not be caught. Thank you all for coming with such promptness...for now, you may return to your duties, and your preparations. And while things are going well, so far, we must be certain not to miss something which, while it may appear trivial at the moment, may become critical to our aims at a later date. You are dismissed." "So..." Julia confided in her first officer, as the rest rose and left the conference room. "What do you think?" "I think..." Klairika replied, after a moment, "That if we can fight as well as we can talk and get along with one another...that we *may* have a chance of succeeding in our aims." "*MAY*?" "May, yes. Do not, for a moment, assume that since you have assembled a force of nature beneath your command, my comrade, that this will make the task ahead any easier. If anything, there will, no doubt, come a time when we become too smart for our own good." And with that final, cryptic comment, Klairika rose herself, bowed, an ironic smile on her face, and began to leave the room. "And *that* was supposed to make me feel better?" she exclaimed. "No..." came the final, fading reply. "It was, as your kind says, supposed to give you a 'reality check'...is that the correct term?" Julia nodded glumly, once again feeling the weight of the task ahead upon her. "Bang on, I'm afraid." * * * Later... Julia sat on the corner of her Chief Engineer's desk, while Dawson reclined in his seat, pipe in mouth, the wreath of smoke coming from it instantly wisked away by the ship's systems. "Okay, Nicholas...now we're alone, what's this all about?" "There's a few things that you should know, that maybe the others aren't ready to hear, just yet." "Such as?" "As you know by now, since I told you part of the story on the way up here, yesterday...the SHARD has a hull partly based on Vorlon-type organic principles...an outgrowth of the technology developed for the White Star Class." "Yes, yes...and?" "Impatience might get us all killed, Captain..." the engineer gently chided her. "I don't need a lecture, right now, Nicholas...I'm not in the mood." "Okayyy, fine...it all comes down to this, in the end; even *I* don't know how far some of Varsak's team went with this Vorlon-tech incorporation into the ship's systems. Varsak seemed to leave it purposefully open-ended when we parted ways, almost as if it would be a pleasant surprise when I actually found out by myself." "Pleasant? Did I just hear you say *PLEASANT*?" "That you did, Captain...that you did; you have to remember, that's just the way he was. But the critical aspect we're going to have to remember, and maybe even plan for, is this: now I've come to understand some of what happened during the Shadow War, the following may be true; the Drakh were once Shadow allies, and they're almost certainly not done pulling Shadowtech out of their bag of tricks, just yet. And *since* that's true, there's a greater then average chance..." "That the ship's systems could detect and respond to such technology, because of its nature?" "You're quick, Captain...that's one thing I'm not afraid of admitting. Yeah...you hit that bang on; that's *exactly* what might happen, and if so, it should give us an advantage, of sorts." "Any advantage we can grasp, Mr. Dawson, is one we should take. We've got a long road to walk on, before this is done...and the longer the Drakh, and whoever else we come across out there that chooses to take on the EXCALIBUR and her crew, don't know about us and our advantages...the better. Because, you see, I *do* want to come out of this alive, with all of my body parts still firmly attached. How about you?" Dawson saw fit not to argue with her, on that score. * * * To be continued... * * * -> dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part IX, Act I of II Date: Fri, 12 Mar 1999 00:42:43 STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART IX, ACT I "What we did not realize, at the time, was that noble members of a more then honorable Minbari warrior caste clan were engaged in something that would eventually affect us personally...to start with, a war of words, not weapons, and of spirit, as well. But the outcome of that first confrontation would inevitably lead to what followed, months farther down the line..." * * * Interstellar Alliance Starship SHARD OF NIGHT. Bridge, middle of night watch. Thirty hours to Mission Commencement. "Still up, are you?" Sheynell inquired, as she emerged onto the bridge in her favorite off-duty clothing, a simple charcoal-and-grey jumpsuit, with the Ranger insignia emblazoned in the usual position. Klairika nodded, a trifle glumly, from the telepath's point of view, as she paced around the perimeter of the holographic imager. "Even though things are beginning to calm down, even though our Val'na herself seems to show no fear at what lies ahead, and sleeps even now, I have not been able to do the same...it almost seems that the nearer we get to launch, the more concerns and problems to solve I am discovering..." "It's a big job, isn't it, first officer on a command this large..." Sheynell replied, all innocently. "Makes one wonder how execs on the larger Alliance destroyers don't blow a blood vessel, or two...after all, those ships have as much as *three* times more crew then the SHARD, don't they?" Klairika soon got the point, and began to laugh softly. "You are trying to imply, if gently, that I should cease what, for now, is meaningless worrying, and roll some of the tasks down onto you, the others, and certain members of our crew, if I not mistaken." "Exactly right. Admittedly, we've got one heck of a job ahead of us, Klairika...but after everything we've been through already, seperately and in groups, over the last few years, for now, I think we should take everything in stride..." "And when it comes down to actually *being* in trouble, then that is the time to worry?" "Could be the...." Rather abruptly, Sheynell's attention trailed off, and her head whipped around, eyes suddenly bright and centered, as a bright signal chime sounded in the bridge, and the plot of Minbar-nearspace orbital activity in the holoprojection rather abruptly changed...as several of the sensor drones observed a jump point open and close less then a hundred kilometers above the planet's surface. "Report." Klairika declared, pointedly catching the attention of the Ranger presently on duty at the Sensors board. "Na'lai...something interesting and unusual seems to have happened; a White Star's just dropped into the system *very* close to Minbar, and is heading down into the atmosphere, even as we speak." "The commander of that White Star..." Sheynell murmured, her gaze still intent on the tiny blip of the descending warship, "Does *not* want to be here, but has no choice in the matter. She's been summoned back home...as for why, I can' tell...that's hidden beneath the surface." Klairika blinked. If Sheynell was trying to remind her of her powerful psi abilities, that was *certainly* the best way to go about it. "Are we able to determine which White Star that is?" The Ranger nodded. "Yes, Na'lai, with *this* system, that's all too easy. White Star 6." Another surprise; she *knew* the commander of that ship, a Minbari who had been a member of the Anla'shok for years, now...had moved through the heart of the Shadow War, and all that followed...and now stood second in command of the White Star Fleet, behind Sha'vei Tashann. Lanniel. * * * The polar glaciers were behind them, now, as the White Star 6 flew southwards through the night, towards the home she swore she had left behind forever, when the War against the darkness had only newly been born. For the moment, cloud covered the world below them from horizon to horizon...but only for the moment, as great rents in the deck soon began to appear, and familiar daggers of rock and snow pierced that grey blanket... Chayankeer, had, of course, never left her soul; it would take *much* more then what had happened, to rip *that* away from her. And sometimes, she liked to think that she had taken some of the icy fire that lived on the top of those peaks with her, into war...the coolness she had maintained, in the face of all comers, and all situations, an echo of the great Plateau and its mountain ranges, among the tallest on Minbar. "Val'na." Lanniel blinked, and came back to the here and now, to meet the openly concerned gaze of her First, Alidarra...a loyal member of her crew since the end of the Shadow War. "We are now approaching the southern edge of the Great Ranges; are you still intent on bringing our command to the surface at Refuge Bazalshieon, as we previously discussed?" She smiled mirthlessly, and nodded. "While I have been summoned here on Clan business, Alidarra, and have responded to the call of *A'viensha ne'vrei* as I must, I am still Anla'shok, and my people, my family, and finally, my *father*, must not be allowed to forget that this is so. So yes, we will be landing on the battlements pad in my ancient home..." "It is well that you have confirmed this..." the other Minbari replied, her expression now guardedly amused, before turning to the view projected on the bridge holo-curtain. "Observe." Just so...Lanniel nodded unsurprisingly, as the White Star 6 cleared the southernmost range of Mountains on the edge of the Plateau, revealing the lowlands of Der'liamand beyond...and in the near distance, within the valley of the Varht, the greatest or the rivers draining the glaciers behind them, on a cliff above the thundering waters below, a great citadel of stone and lights could be seen, its crystal towers shining dimly beneath the moons. Bazalshieon; chief Refuge of her Clan, and home to most of its elders. Including her father, Takier...the Warmaster of the Storm Dancers since the death of the previous owner of that title during the war with the humans, now more then twenty cycles in the past. "Do you have the battlement landing zone in sight, Alidarra?" "I do. Do you think, Val'na, that they are watching?" "I would be surprised, my friend, if the *entire* clan has not turned out to observe our arrival." Lanniel straightened in her chair of command. "Prepare to reconfigure for landing procedures." A moment passed, and then Alidarra nodded to indicate that all had been made ready for their descent...it was time, she now understood, to walk amidst the shadows of her past...and, if all went well, banish some, if not ALL of them. "Then take us down." she added, almost fatalistically. * * * At the peak of the Tower of Morning-Rise, more then three hundred pike-lengths above the rushing waters below, D'hal Takier observed, with narrowed eyes, the crystal-shaking arrival of his eldest daughter's command. His lips tightened, and twisted sardonically, as he watched; that vessel of space was not, of course, the one he had intended for her to direct, when they had both been younger, and Shadows had not walked openly, behind the veils of deception that were. But his daughter had been touched by something that, even now, he treated with disdain, even after all it had done for his race...the force named Anla'shok, a force that had, at the time Lanniel had left his side, been commanded by the human Jeffrey Sinclair. Unbidden, the mists of memory cleared, and he remembered...recalled a time in which the rest of his Caste had turned their backs on Sinclair, inspired by the exortations of Alit Neroon of the Star Riders...all but a handful who had *believed*, including his daughter, that what Sinclair spoke of was the truth...that the Shadows had returned, that War would come again, and that the Anla'shok would be central and key to defeating the Shadows and their dark intent. In the end, of course, it had all been true. And even after Sinclair had moved on to enact his own, mysterious destiny, and Delenn had followed him to become Entil'zha, Lanniel had stayed, and climbed in stature. First to command the vessel he saw below him, on Bazalshieon's battlements, and then to second in command of the White Star Fleet, itself. A noble accomplishment, to be sure...but at the same time, everything that Lanniel stood for was *also* tainted by that which Sinclair had begun, by bringing the HUMANS into the Anla'shok. This, of course, had eventually culminated in the rise to ascension of the too-bold human that some among his Clan, in whispers most furtive when they did not believe he would be able to hear them, named *Rimstalker*...the human, William Westcastle, and she who followed him... And, inevitably, *she* who followed HER. And that, when it came down to it, was the root of the problem his clan now faced, in this decisive, turning moment of summonings. That Sheridan, speaking in the name of Delenn's Alliance and for the weakness within the all-too-tainted Anla'shok, had transferred command of the Caste's newest instrument of purpose from Di'shiana Rahkeel, his greatest Warleader, to one named Julia Tikopai...a youthful, inexperienced human instructed by Westcastle and his life partner, and raised, inexplicably, to command rank by Sheridan himself... BEFORE her twentieth naming day, if what he had heard from Rahkeel already was, indeed, the truth! Takier gritted his teeth, and nodded, his anger about the matter only barely held in check. This, above all else, demonstrated that what Sinclair had created, and Sheridan, Delenn and their followers had perpetuated, was nothing more then a human trick designed to weaken his Caste and his people, and, he believed, to keep them in line, especially since the disastrous end of the Civil War with the Religious Caste. And with *Vi'dalae An'shaka*, their greatest creation, turned over to the humans in such a fashion, what other evidence was required, that something *needed* to be done? "She has come, has she?" his guest inquired, and Takier turned away from the parapet, and nodded. "Yes; this was *not* a call that she could ignore with all justification, as you well understand. It is my belief that had we *not* done as we did, Lanniel would, even now, be out on the Rim, searching for the cure to that which the Drakh have imposed upon the Humans..." A mirthless smile. "And you believe this search to be a fruitless one, do you, Takier? Or, do you think, instead, that the Humans have brought this upon themselves by standing so much at the forefront of things in recent years, that this is the price that must be paid, for the defeat of the Darkness?" Takier paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "You know and *understand* my thoughts on the matter of Sheridan and Delenn's Alliance, and its influence on Ranger matters in recent years...but no, I do not believe that the wholesale extermination of his homeworld's people should be allowed to come to pass. Too many innocent lives are at stake for that to be an option." "So...while you rail against Sheridan and the Alliance and the Humans among the Rangers, you believe that the Humans, themselves, should be saved. Are these two matters not connected at the root?" "You should know better then to ask that!" he roared. "Of course. But as we were saying..." * * * Below... "It is...an imposing place." Alidarra confided to her commander, as she and Lanniel strode along the battlements of Bazalshieon. "I had heard rumours that places such as this existed, but to actually *stand* in one..." "Originally..." Lanniel critically noted, "You were Religious Caste, Alidarra, and as such, would have, in the past, been considered the Enemy by some among my Clan, my father included. But now that we are at peace, with the Grey Council reestablished, the protection of the Anla'shok and our Entil'zha stands over us both, and we are free to do things we would not have, even a short time ago." "Of course. I must ask, however, the following..." Alidarra declared, nodding towards the four great crystalline towers of the Refuge, surrounded by lesser spires. "Why *four*, and not three?" "Easily answered, though perhaps not so easily understood, on your part." Lanniel took a deep breath, and then began to recite, from memory, something she had never, for a moment, forgotten. "The Way is as four-fold; of Morning, the coming of light and life, of Noon, when the struggle is least, of Evening, and the passing of the summer days, and of Shadow....of death, and endings, of the ice beyond our view, and the coldness, at road's end..." A chuckle sounded in the darkness from around the corner on the battlements, and both Rangers stiffened for a moment, until a familiar figure, to Lanniel, at least, stepped into view; his face more lined then when she had last seen him, cycles before...but seemingly wiser, as a result. "It is well, even now, child, that you have not forgotten the Way; not forgotten what it was that I helped to teach you." "Never..." she replied, a smile now coming to her face. "Please, allow me to introduce you to my First, Anla'shok Alidarra!...and Alidarra, I have the extreme honour of introducing you to my former mentor and friend, D'hal Miyonn, instructor of the Way of the Windflower, and...?" The last, ended on a questioning note, to which Miyonn nodded. "Yes...as I'm sure you're well aware, Lanniel, time *has* moved on as it usually does, and with the passing of D'hal Maeriaa beyond the Veil five cycles ago, I am now the Eldermost among the Storm Dancers." Lanniel sighed; this was not surprising news, but disappointing, yet the same...again, she felt the passing of years. "A difficult position to endure." she commented, as the three approached the skybridge that lead from the battlements into the Refuge proper. "And I'm sure that my father hasn't made your tasks any easier, either..." Miyonn's face grew grim, and the older Minbari nodded. "Your father has, despite the protestations of your mother, Deilann, grown ever more set in his ways since you left us to join the Anla'shok. And now that this matter regarding the battlecruiser 'Vi'dalae An'shaka', has arisen... Di'shiania Rahkeel's insistence that something needed to be done about the humans among the Rangers has given your father all the impetus he requires. The Council meeting tomorrow will not be a pleasant one, Lanniel, for any of us...but since you are Anla'shok, and share the duties and position of the human named Julia Tikopai, it will be *least* pleasant for you." "This I understood, Miyonn, the moment the message of Summons reached me, and even as I turned my White Star back towards Minbar, I was preparing myself mentally for what laid ahead. But the matter *must* be dealt with, at the source; I cannot *believe* that Rahkeel would go to such lengths as this!...what difference does it make *who* commands this prototype vessel, and what race crews it, as long as it is being used where it is *most* needed...in helping to solve this crisis that the Humans now face?" "Ah, yes, I thought that is what you would think, despite Rahkeel's hopes to the contrary. However, there are some things about this human that both Rahkeel and your father think to be an impeteous upstart that may surprise you. The choice, as made, was not random, in the slightest..." "Master!" a faint cry came, then, as the trio passed through the great entrance of the Refuge. "Master?" Miyonn sighed, and raised his voice. "Selvahn...I am quite *clearly* over here, in plain view; kindly cease your pointless dashing around, and come to pay your respects to your eldest sister." The face of an astonished Minbari only just passing out of the upper end of adolescence stuck around a nearby corner, soon followed by the rest of his body. "Lanniel? Surely not...and yet, it is so! Lanniel, you have returned to us!" Lanniel stiffened; once again, she was reminded of how much time had passed. When she had left Bazalshieon in the middle of the night to go to Tuzanor, Selvahn had only been a child. And now...now, what HAD he become? "Master!?" she inquired, throwing a pointed gaze at Miyonn. "He will explain, himself." was the Elder's reply. "This *is* a night of surprises!" Lanniel's younger brother proclaimed, the astonished smile still on his face. "Though I imagine the crisis that Di'shiana Rahkeel has imposed upon us has much to do with your return, even though I am too young to know or understand the details, or so the Master tells me..." "Why 'Master'?" she gently inquired. "Selvahn, when last I saw you, you were completely intent on becoming a Warrior!" "Times have changed." Selvahn replied, a touch ruefully. "And while Father would like to have closed me away from the Universe to make of me what he would, like Tirivail, the Master decided otherwise. And gradually, over time, he was able to teach me some of the Way, and helped to guide me away from what some think of as the more destructive side of our Caste...the side always eager for War. But you thought this too, didn't you, Lanniel? Isn't that why you left, to become a Ranger? To fight at the side of your Entil'zha, against the Shadows?" "The answer to that..." she replied, after a moment, "Is a *little* more complicated then that, I am afraid, Selvahn." "But most answers *are*, aren't they?" a smooth, bitter and *all* too familiar voice intruded, and Lanniel gritted her teeth for a moment; the family reunion would not be complete without her *other* sibling including herself in this, now would it? "Tirivail; how pleasant it is, to hear your voice again." The middle of Takier's three children, dressed, of course, in perfect, studded, Warrior blacks, scowled at that comment. "I did not believe that you would come, Lanniel; I thought, perhaps, that you would even consider the call of your *Anla'shok* to be above that of Clan and Caste...you have surprised me, to say the least. However, you have also disappointed me, in bringing *her* with you." Almost without visible movement, Tirivail's warrior pike sprang into her hand, and extended. "I am well aware of her Caste origin, sister mine, and I wil not allow her to enter any further into our ancient home, a place for Warriors, not such as...her kind." Beside her, Alidarra stiffened angrily, and Lanniel realized that she would have to deal with this matter herself, or risk having her First enter into combat with Tirivail, a match that Alidarra, would, of a certainty, lose, since her skills were certainly lesser then Tirivail's. This, because like herself, her sister had been trained by a master almost equal to Durhan in the wielding of the denn'bok... Her father. There was only *one* way to answer this challenge, only *one* member of the entourage who could meet Tirivail on equal terms. She stepped forward, and with a movement even smoother then her sister's, extended her own pike, and moved to guard. "I challenge your claim, Tirivail; we are Anla'shok, and as she is my First, I will protect her, as she would protect me, in turn. I will *not* allow you to do harm to her, *regardless* of which Caste and Family she belongs to!" "That it should come to this..." Tirivail coldly noted, as the two began to circle, "Where sister is drawn to fight sister. This only emphasizes, in my mind, that what we have both been drawn here to discuss with our Clan must be acted upon. The Anla'shok weakens us!...both in Caste, Clan, and most importantly, with the advent of the humans among you. It must be answered for!...it WILL be answered for, here and now!" "Stop this immediately!" Miyonn thundered...he still *could* thunder, when the need arose. "I will not have you do harm to one another, in this place!" Tirivail laughed coldly. "You cannot stop this, D'hal, anymore then she could avoid this encounter, and I am done talking, in any case. Defend her, then, if you can, Lanniel...for no one else will." And as they prepared to close with one another, Lanniel suddenly realized that there was probably only one person in the entire Refuge who *could* stop this from happening... And she knew, in her heart, that he would not act. And an instant later, the expected clash of pike on pike occurred, and it began. But how would it end? * * * The answer to *that* question, coming this weekend. Plus a fateful Council, a dark design, and a fate inescapable...as Lanniel faces the forces that begin to plot against Julia and the crew of the SHARD OF NIGHT... --> dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, 2nd Interlude... Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:15:1 Refuge Bazalshieon, Chayankeer Province, Minbar. D'hal Takier's place of power. Six hours after Lanniel's departure... "The majority of the Council supported Miyonn..." Takier stated plainly, his scowl dark and bitter. "As you predicted they would, although I had hoped otherwise. And since we were unable to convince Lanniel to aid us, it is plain that we must act on this matter ourselves." "She has become *tainted* during her time among the Anla'shok..." Rahkeel pointedly added. "For her to refuse to aid other members of her Clan, in this time of need? It is scarcely believable!" "It is a dark day, indeed..." their guest pondered. "But not a wholly unexpected one, as you have just mentioned, Takier. Ever since *Delenn* arranged to have our creation taken away from us, I knew that this day would come." Shai Alit Kozorr leant forward into the light, and smiled a completely disturbing smile. "And since you have proven with this little exercise of Summoning that the other Elders of your Clan are not willing to deal with this matter openly, a solution to this problem must be found using other, less *visible* avenues." "Meaning what, exactly?" Takier demanded. "Make your meaning plain, Kozorr!" "As you wish, Takier...attend! Eventually, there will come a day when Sheridan, Delenn and all who follow them will be proven wrong about their choices in this matter. And on that day, one of two possible outcomes will occur. 'Vi'dalae An'shaka' will once again be ours...or the Anla'shok will be denied its use. One...or the other." "Denied its use?" Rahkeel exclaimed, his interest plain. "How?" "All in goood time, Alit Rahkeel." Kozorr replied, a mysterious smile now on his face. "All in good time." * * * -->dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part IX, Act II of II Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 23:14:06 Here we are, then, with another (the next to last) in the adventures of the SHARD OF NIGHT, this time around. And although Julia and her crew are mostly out of view in this one (and the one before it) there was a reason for that...and in any case, Ms. Tikopai and the rest will return full force in the last chapter of AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part 10. Many thanks go, this time around (Part 9) to Anne Clements (Jakhel@aol.com, fellow VS6 producer) for the loan of her Minbari character, Lanniel, for use in my story...was important, and much will result from the events contained within, farther down the road. Usual rules apply, as per disclaimer way back in Part 1. Everything jms created belongs to jms. Everything I created is purely for fun, mine and yours, the reader. So, without further ado, it's on with the show... STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART IX, ACT II OF II. Refuge Bazalshieon, Chayankeer Province, Minbar. Just before local midnight... This was not the first time she had proven this, and she had no doubt that it would not be the last. Move followed move, and parry, parry, as Lanniel battled her sister across the octagonal, crystal paved courtyard at Bazalshieon's heart. She could feel a multitude of eyes on her, observers watching the sibling war from the balconies that lined the hollow, multi-storied interior of the Refuge, but she had no time or inclination to look, at the moment, for that would give Tirivail all the opportunity she would need, and by Valen, she would not give her sister that chance; a chance to prove her choice in bringing Alidarra here as wrong, to the rest of the Clan. For a while, then, it continued; Tirivail was good with the pike, this she would admit...better then when last they had met in a match such as this one. But while her sister had been instructed to the best of her father's abilities, Lanniel's own skills had been refined by Sech F'hursna Durhan, himself...and the inevitable eventually occurred, as her sister left herself open for what appeared, to the others, to be an infintesimally short moment; a moment more then long enough for her purposes, however. With a sudden cry, Tirivail fell to the floor, her pike clattering away across the crystal tiles, and gazed up into her sister's cold, disappointed gaze, and the butt end of her warrior pike. "I met your challenge, Tirivail." Lanniel noted dispassionately. "And while I will admit that your skills have improved since the last time we met in combat, according to Valen's own strictures, in place for more then a thousand years, you will *now* accept my judgement on this matter! Alidarra will walk at my side in this place unharmed, until we are done with the Council. Do you *understand* me, sister?" Tirivail began to nod, bitterly...but a familiar laugh sounded, then, and Lanniel turned, the pain of what she had just done beginning to resound in her heart, to meet her father's sardonic, amused gaze. "So...I've often wondered which of you was still the stronger in the wielding of the weapons that *I* gave you, myself. Interesting that your time amidst the Anla'shok has not blunted that skill...interesting, indeed." "It was *chance*, father, that is all!" Tirivail bitterly interjected, casting a scathing glance in Lanniel's direction. "Will you not give me another opportunity to prove myself the stronger?" "No..." Takier bluntly informed his daughter, shaking his head. "Even now, after all the insult that her kind have given us, she is still my daughter and your eldest sister, Tirivail...we must recognize this. Additionally, since she has triumphed over you in combat, her decision stands...although I would *suggest* quite strongly, Lanniel, that you keep up your guard, if your Religious Caste assistant intends to stay at your side, in this place. I cannot answer for what may happen if you do not..." "You will *hold* your tongue, Takier!" Miyonn harshly informed his Warmaster, as Lanniel held her own anger strongly in check. "As long as Anla'shok Alidarra is present in Refuge Bazalshieon, she stands under my protection, and that of my aides amongst the Clan. I will not have you do her harm!...it is forbidden, in any case, now that the Grey Council guides us, once again." "It shall be as you say, *D'hal* Miyonn!" Takier replied, twisting the honorific into something barbed, as Tirivail fell in at her father's side, still casting a bitter gaze at Lanniel. "I will not, for now, contest this matter...we have, shall I say, larger issues to discuss, in any case, in the morning." "But *I* shall remember this insult, sister!" Tirivail hissed. "Be assured of that!" And with that said, both Minbari turned on their heels, and departed through the Shadows exit of the courtyard. "It is as I said, is it not?" Selvahn noted sadly, as Lanniel, Miyonn and their companions also departed the arena of battle. "Tirivail has become something, in Father's hands, that is indicative of all our worst attributes... and now, after what has just happened, I believe that Tirivail will come to hate you, in time...if this has not already come to pass." "You may be right, brother..." Lanniel replied, as the party arrived at the base of the Noontide Tower, "But for now, I find that the moment is passing me by...it has been a *long* flight back in from the Rim, and fatigue is beginning to overcome me..." Miyonn laughed, and nodded. "Understandable, after all that has happened tonight. Come, Lanniel!...we will go to visit your mother Deilann, and after what I will assume is now a much needed meal, we shall find our beds, and, Valen willing, some small semblance of rest. For when the sun stands at mid-rise tomorrow, the Council of *A'viensha ne'vrei* will begin; even I cannot prevent that occurence. And I must ask...will you be ready, to face your father and Rahkeel, when the time comes? In that encounter, I cannot help you, cannot teach you more then I have already." "I have faced death countless times over, my dear friend..." Lanniel replied, forcing a small smile onto her face. "During my time among the stars in the White Star Fleet, I have faced Shadows, darkness, deception and conflict beyond measure. In comparision, is not this Council is only one more battle to be fought? A more personal one, I will admit, but this...*claim* of Rahkeel's cannot be allowed to go any farther. It must be dealt with...here, and NOW." * * * The SHARD OF NIGHT; captain's quarters. One day to mission commencement. Now, only one candle burned, as Julia prepared to write in her book of Observance. She did not know what that symbolism was meant to refer to, only that it felt right. A single ray of hope, burning against the darkness, perhaps? The EXCALIBUR, and her crew, as Earth's last hope? Or maybe, instead, her crew and her ship of wonders, protecting Captain Gideon and his crew from the unknown? She did not know...and for a moment, as she raised her gaze to the enormous mirror on the far wall (a gift from Jennifer) and into the reflection of her inner self, she knew that question could not, for now, be answered, as a pale-faced young woman, narrow of face, with features so fine, looked back at her out of that other dimension. So *serious* she was, too serious, sometimes, for her own good. From time to time, there were those who had helped to teach her that...and the trials ahead would knock that farther home, in due course. Of that, had no doubt, whatsoever. Another shiver, as she and Mirror-Julia looked at one another. So young, she was, to attempt this...too young? But was there, any longer, a choice in the matter? Galen had spoken of this moment, she was sure, predicted what was to come...now, she walked with prophecy, with order, and for Light. She sighed; so many words, so much meaning...too many for anyone's good. When, in the end, it came down to only one thing. Drawing that line that the enemies of her kind could not be allowed to cross... And so, she wrote. "Between one passage of light, and the next, there is Shadow, as there has always been shadow. A shadow of deception, a shadow of what was, a shadow of hates both present and yet to come. And against that Shadow, Light has sent forth its champions, yet again; not the same as before, but the same, in ways we cannot see, or understand...a fellowship set upon a road long and deceptive. But Darkness does not accept that this can be allowed, and strives to unmake that which has been created. And because this is so, another company walks in their footsteps, and ahead of the whispers that mark their passing through the worlds of Night. Countless beings are counting on these companies of Light, and they cannot fail, or a world will die. And in one day more, we walk in their name, and in Valen's. We move to protect that which must be protected, so all may live. We stand between the darkness and the light, and move in shadows...and pray we will not fall off the knife edge that stands between." She paused for a moment, sighed, and then nodded. Once again, that side of her had fallen silent...that was all there was, for the time being. Julia set her fine-quilled pen down, rose from the table, and made as to put on her still-almost brand new uniform. There was much do do, this day, much, indeed... While behind her, and out of her sight, the end of the last stroke written glittered briefly, before the ink dried onto the page... * * * Refuge Bazalshieon. Mid-morning...near the Council chambers. It was a fine day outside, the finest she could ever remember seeing in this place. So many times, in her youth, Bazalshieon had been blasted by snow, coated in ice, and rocked by the howling winds of the storms that had given her Clan its name...but not now. For the moment, the sun burned down from a totally clear sky upon the snow and ice of the Great Ranges...and cast shards of spectral light through the mighty windows of the Council chamber, as Lanniel walked towards its great triangular entrance, Miyonn, Alidarra and Selvahn at her side. Upon reaching that entrance, Lanniel stopped, and drew her First aside. "Alidarra!" she whispered, her tone full of caution, "While I admire your resolve to follow me in all things and to places, I regret to tell you that *this* is one place you cannot follow. The interior of that chamber is only open to members of my clan...and no one else." "But Val'na!..." "I'm sorry, my friend, but there can be no arguments, this time. This stricture predates even the Refuge itself; back to the time when the Castes warred upon each other, before the coming of Valen...it is ancient, and hallowed, and cannot be argued with." "But what of your father's warning?" Alidarra shot back. "That harm might come to me, if you did not stand at my side?" "I thought that it might come to this..." Miyonn mused, as the two Rangers turned, their expressions attentive, to face the Storm Dancer Elder. "And since I promised your First that she would be safe in this place, during the term of the Council, I must, persay, uphold this promise, even when you and I are not near to her." Miyonn cleared his throat pointedly. "Selvahn?" "Master?" "My student, I pass down to you an all important task; while we are cloistered inside, you will protect Anla'shok Alidarra with all the means at your disposal, should such protection become necessary. We will hope, however, that this will *not* be the case, this day." "I understand." Lanniel's younger brother replied. "She serves you, Lanniel, and you have survived much, together. For this reason, and others, I will do as the Master says...so that you can do what you *must*, this day." "*Thank* you, Selvahn..." she whispered, smiling a wider smile then she had in, what, years, it felt like..."I will remember this." "Of course. And when it comes time for me to step forward and serve the One, as you have, perhaps you will, shall we say, pass on your recommendations?" "You have my word on this." "You're quite done, then, are you?" Miyonn inquired, gathering himself to stride into the chamber. "Ah...good. Lanniel...attend to the Duty that awaits us, then, if you would..." Lanniel took a deep breath, and fell in at her former Master's right hand, and without pause, they passed through the portal, and into the Council chamber, beyond. Their faces showing either solemnness, worry, or, in the case of a few, irritation at the delay, the eleven other members of the Storm Dancer Council sat at their ancient table of deliberation, constructed more then eleven hundred cycles before. A unique number for a Minbari Council, to be sure...but her clan was unique in so many ways, this was merely another. Sharing the Way with the other beliefs of her race sometimes created certain unusual distinctions... For instance...the Council was one of few on Minbar that could easily be deadlocked. Taking the seat that had been provided for her, Lanniel looked around, and took in the relative emptiness of the chamber, unusual, to say the least, but these were unusual times. The only members of the clan in attendance, for now, were those directly connected to the matter of Rahkeel's former command. As for the rest of the Clan, they only knew that the first of a new class of warship had been constructed...and that their greatest Warleader had been relieved of that command in recent days, perhaps unjustifiably. And that at least *one* of their elders was ready to issue a challenge against the President and the Anla'shok, and that another of their own, a senior Ranger, had come to stand in her order's defence. Lanniel's mouth tightened, as across the chamber, now that all were present, Rahkeel rose to his feet, all too ready, it seemed, to say what he wanted to. And as for defending her order and their ways, that she *would* do, for she could do no other thing. Although when this was finished, there would have to be a reckoning, of sorts; while she understood *some* of what had brought this human, Julia Tikopai, to her present rank and position, there were many things about that Ranger's background that Lanniel now wished to inquire into further, should the opportunity arise... But that time was later, and not now...as the great portal boomed shut behind her...and Rahkeel rose to his feet, and began to speak. "I address you all as I am; as Di'shiana of our clan, seniormost Warleader in the field, acting in the name of our Warmaster, he who follows in the path countless others have tread since our Clan came to be. And I address you, also, this day, as one *dishonoured* by the actions of others, those not of our kind!...but linked to us, we have heard, in many ways. I refer, of course, to the humans...and primarily among them, the human elevated by chance to his present position, the President of the Interstellar Alliance, one John Sheridan! Initially, after I first met him, I thought Sheridan to be a fair man, but now, I know otherwise. It is the way of his kind, the way of this Alliance that he and others have built, to create what the humans refer to as 'a level playing field.' But this weakens our kind!...weakens all that we are, and all we can be. This began, of course, with Sinclair. Against the wishes of our Caste elders and the Shai Alit himself, Sinclair was allowed to bring humans into the Anla'shok...and those aligned with him taught these humans our ways, our languages, and our way of thinking. Things we thought to keep secret were brought out into the open...for is it not the way of the Anla'shok to observe, record, and return secret matters to their leaders, so that those leaders can decide what must be done about such matters?" "I contest that claim!" she declared, rising to her feet, but keeping a firm grasp, for now, on the anger she felt at Rahkeel's words. "The Anla'shok do not *spy* on their own, and your insinuation that we have been collecting secrets to pass on to the humans is insulting, to say the very least!" "Ah yes, Val'na..." Rahkeel ground out, "But that is what I was expecting you to say!...but no matter. Regardless of how the discovery was made, what was initially conceived of as purely a Warrior Caste project was somehow discovered by Entil'zha Delenn...and as we all *know*, her connection to President Sheridan is a well known one. What she knows, he knows...and once he found out that 'Vi'dalae An'shaka' existed, it must be assumed that he could not *resist* the temptation to place it in the hands of those he knew he could control... Human Anla'shok!...and more specifically, a human Val'na trained in part by that human that some name Rimstalker...the High Councillor, William Westcastle! Tell us, Val'na Lanniel!...is it not true that Westcastle has served at Sheridan's right hand for many years, now?" "This is so, yes." "Then I rest my case! It is *clear* that this impetous young human, Julia Tikopai, is a creature of Westcastle, and, by intuitive connection, Sheridan himself! Whatever he wishes, she will do, and our ship, the ship that *our* Caste arranged to have constructed, that our Shai Alit arranged to have me commmand for the Alliance, *and* for our Caste, is now serving the humans and their interests...and not ours! This cannot be borne! And as such, honoured Elders, I ask you now, this day, to take action, to gather the rest of our Caste around our banner, and take back for our kind my former command, a mighty craft built *by* Minbari, *for* Minbari!" "Are you *quite* done, Di'shiana?" Miyonn pointedly inquired. "Because if you are, I'm quite certain that there are others in this chamber who *also* have an opinion on this matter." A look of puzzled frustration appeared on Rahkeel's face. "I do not understand the *need* for such examinations, D'hal!...why should we waste time on something that will hinder our cause?" Miyonn began to laugh, and some of the worried expressions among the other Councilmembers began to relax...while the scowls in the *other* faction intensified, in turn. "Our cause? How, exactly, do you presuppose this matter is the cause of the Storm Dancers, in sum? It has never been our way to involve ourselves at the heart of things like the Wind Swords Clan, and others, and I have not been convinced, despite your exortations, Rahkeel, that we should change the traditions of a thousand years on a moment's notice!" "Then you would do nothing about this?" came a familiar snarl from the other end of the table, and Lanniel sighed; well, of *course* her father would now have something to say. "Sheridan and his cabal weaken us, take away our thunder...and you would do nothing?" "D'hal Takier..." Miyonn patiently replied, "What *needs* to be done? In the end, the purpose of any command of space is to be utilized where it is most needed. During the time in which Di'shiana Alit Rahkeel commanded his ship, it was needed to perform intelligence gathering missions on the fringes of the Alliance. Now, howver, the situation has changed; the race which stood closest to us during the Shadow War, the race we almost destroyed, by mistake, now *needs* our help. The Human ship EXCALIBUR must be allowed to complete its mission...and for that to occur, the Anla'shok of 'Vi'dalae An'shaka' have a duty that overrides all others...to protect the humans and their vessel..to protect the EXCALIBUR!" "Using *our* ship!" "It was never *our* ship, Rahkeel." Miyonn informed the younger Minbari. "We only had the use of it, for a time. Now, it moves on to a greater destiny then any of us can see, or understand. And *you* would act to prevent the passage of so noble a destiny as this, simply because you, Rahkeel, find the notion of another commanding *your* ship too bitter to swallow?" Rahkeel said nothing, but his expression spoke volumes. "And as for YOU, D'hal Takier!" Miyonn continued, "I am disappointed that you would use this opportunity to further your own ambitions in such a fashion. Disappointed, *indeed*!" Amidst the murmurings of agreement, Takier decided to make one last, desperate move. "But what of this human that Sheridan has chosen to command 'Vi'dalae An'shaka'?...this Julia Tikopai? Can we not find some way to prove that she is too immature to take on a role such as this?" "Lanniel!" Rahkeel implored. "Above and beyond all other calls, you are a Storm Dancer, you are one of *us*! If there is anything you can do to aid our cause, *now* is the time." For a moment, she paused, considering...but then, the moment passed. And while she knew that this break would, in all probabilities, be a final one, there seemed to be no other choice to make that would be better, in this case...for herself, *and* for the crew now coming together beneath her youthful and, she knew from reputation, brilliant equal, Tikopai. "D'hal Takier...Di'shiana Rahkeel, I regret to inform you that I cannot, for now, agree to such demands. I am Anla'shok Val'na, second in command of the White Star Fleet, and as such, I serve not only our people and our clan, but the races of the Alliance, as well. And I say, the ship the humans call SHARD OF NIGHT *must* be used where it MOST needed. Who commands it is, for now, unimportant...the only thing that matters is that the task is completed...that the people of Earth are saved. And to conclude, before my departure, to return to the search for that selfsame cure the humans now search for!...I will echo D'hal Miyonn in saying that I am *very* disappointed in you both. I answered the call of *A'viensha ne'vrei* because every time it has been called in the past, it has been for an IMPORTANT reason. This was not one such...I found this calling, instead, to be petty, insulting...and, in conclusion, a waste of my time." She rose, then, and bowed coldly towards the two, shocked into momentary silence by her words...but she knew that would not last, she could see the anger gathering behind her father's eyes, already. "I will take my leave of you, now; I have wasted nearly enough time here already, as it is...there is *much* to be done, out on the Rim, on the path the EXCALIBUR now follows." Miyonn turned towards his furious Warmaster, then, as Takier's eldest daughter left the Council chamber, her piece more then said. "I believe, at this point, D'hal, a vote is usually called. Shall we, as the humans have been known to say, 'cut to the chase', and get this over with, so I can return to my mountains, and my Way?" * * * A short time later... The goodbyes had been said, to those that mattered...Miyonn. Her mother. Selvahn. The others, she suspected, were lost to her now, her father, she knew, for all time. But, Lanniel realized, as she strode back along the battlements towards the White Star Six, that was something that had begun the moment she left Bazalshieon, all those cycles before, to begin the war against the Shadows. This was merely the concluding move in the game. The steps up to the landing pad were long, but the end eventually came, and she turned, one last time, to look upon the place that had made of her what she was...and then, she turned away, and made her way towards her command. She did not think that she would come this way again. * * * Below... With a barely restrained glare of malice, Tirivail watched as her fallen sister's starship command rose almost silently from its landing site, turned in mid-air, and quickly receded beyond the mountains of Chayankeer, and out of sight. Lanniel had, she decided, insulted her honour for the last time...in due course, she knew, an opportunity would arise, and Lanniel and her would meet in battle, again. And *that* match was one that Tirivail fully intended to win. Permanantly. * * * Continued...in the second and final interlude of AS DARKNESS FALLS, with one, final, revealing and disturbing twist... -->dgolding@connect.ab.ca From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part X, Act I Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 21:51:58 After a brief pause, here we are, one more time, with the first half of the conclusion to 'AS DARKNESS FALLS'. Although having just discovered that CRUSADE (what there is of it, unless we are able to convince Warner Bros and the distributors otherwise) will be debuting in Canada on June 12th, the hiatus between prologue and main story will not, I suspect, be a long one...as you will soon discover... STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART X, ACT I "And in the end, all the hours and days shrank down towards a liminality I could feel and touch, as the barriers came down, and the path on which we were to walk began to make itself known. And afterwards, I was to discover that all through that final night, we were all asking ourselves the same questions... The four questions that have troubled the races of this galaxy since the First Ones awakened to sentience, and looked up towards the stars above...and ONE other..." Excerpt from Julia Tikopai's final written work, "On the Knife's Edge" first published in the Earth Year 2317 * * * "Why are you here?" * * * The SHARD OF NIGHT. Hangar bay...the start of the Night Watch. Everyone who could sleep was sleeping, now, but she was not one of them, for the time being...there were too many questions circling around in her mind to sleep, for the time being. As always, she asked herself, what had brought her to this point, who had pulled the strings, and when...and as she wondered, she also walked. And in that random wander, she had come to the hangar bay; why was she here?...she knew not why, only that it felt right...and being what she was, she *never* ignored such things. "You look lost...Captain." a laconic, dry voice commented, and Julia looked up, startled out of her musing, to find that her feet had brought her beneath the outward-sweeping fins of one of the SHARD's six fighters. And on top of that fin, the lower half of his body invisible within a maintenence opening, a swarthy Ranger who looked to be at least *part* Arabian gazed down at her, his one raised eyebrow seemingly at odds with the challenging grin just beneath. "Or, is it only the same thing that's plaguing half of the other human members of this crew? Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest...you just can't escape from thinking about them all, can you?" "It's a little more complicated then *that*, I'm afraid!" she replied, unconsciously echoing the other's smile, to a degree. "But that is, of course, one of the triggers for my walkabout, this night. For now, however...I don't believe we've been introduced...?" "The name..." the other replied, "is Azhahk Fenric. Pleased to meet you, Captain...finally!...but since it's the middle of the night, can we skip the whole Minbari rank thing for now, if it's all right with you? You'll be getting enough of that in the weeks and months to come, I'm sure..." "I don't see why not; but, if you don't mind me asking...Azhahk?" she blurted out, before she could stop herself, as the other Ranger closed the access cover, and hopped down to join her. Fenric nodded, with a slightly bemused shake of head thrown in, for good measure. "Ever since I've left the home country, I've been dealing with just that sort of response, or worse. Although I've been told that Azhahk is a character from one of my mother's favorite childhood tales...how she convinced my father on that matter, is something I've often wondered..." Wait...of course. Julia nodded firmly, as the name finally clicked. "My apologies, Anla'shok Fenric!...as my fighter squadron commander, I should have searched you down long before this!" "The apology's unnecessary, Captain. It's easy for me to understand that the demands on your time must have been enormous since you came aboard. With this being a new ship, and also adding in the fact that most of the crew have never served with one another, I *was* more or less expecting our first meeting to occur after departure; in this, you have surprised me. But I learn, you see!...you will find that it will be much harder to surprise me, from now on." "Ah...a challenge is it, then? I accept!" "As you say...Captain." Fenric said, smiling THAT smile again. "But verbal jousting aside, I'm sure you would like to know some details about the squadron of fighters that our High Council has decided, in their infinite wisdom, to place under my command, and yours, yes?" "You *could* say that." She replied, frowning a little, as she took in the swept-nacelled, purplish-gray craft above her. "They just don't...really look like Minbari fighters..." "No, and that was intentional on the part of the designer..." "Ta'vash Varsak?" "Exactly, Captain...you are quick on the uptake, I will note; something else I will have cause to remember. A bit of background for you: early in the development of the White Star project, a small set of fighters were built, utilizing many of the principles later used in the ships of the White Star Fleet. Preliminary, and experimental, only; and yet, I note, those fighters *were* used by Entil'zha Sinclair, before he left us. What the mission was, I suspect we will never now know...but this much *is*..." Julia blinked, as the information on *that* episode in Ranger history returned to her, courtesy of her ever-so-reliable and ruthless mind...an episode that most of the Rangers knew nothing about, but that William had explained to her, several years before. How Entil'zha Sinclair had taken those fighters to stop the Shadows from ruining the course of an arrow launched...and how his love, Catherine Sakai, had been lost to him, as a result. Another memory came, then...of the letter that Sinclair has written to her, more then a thousand years ago, now...a letter that had reached her younger self in the Valley of Sorrows, more then six years before. Had he ever found her, she wondered? "...Captain?" She forced an apologetic smile onto her face. "I'm sorry...my mind wandered, for a moment. You were saying?" "Ah...now what was I saying?...but of course. Varsak based his new fighter concept on that earlier design, refining it, of course, until the concept blended elements of the White Star fighters with his own stealth designs. The result of this blending is what you see in front of you." Fenric gestured with pride at his fighters, which resembled two sharpened arrowheads melded together in opposition, one smaller and more tapered then the other, while the pilot's cockpit was suspended above the main body, further echoing the craft's White Star-design origins. Almost the most notable thing for now, however, was that the hulls of each fighter resembled the hull of the SHARD. Which, in itself, implied certain *unusual* and useful characteristics... "The fighters under my command are toughter, faster, and harder to see then any any Alliance fighter that has come before them, and their weapons are to be feared. In short, Captain, they echo your command in many ways...a trait I am sure you will come to appreciate, in due course." "For now, I'm not going to argue your point...indeed..." she added, fighting off a yawn, "I'm now suddenly finding that I don't have the energy for such an endeavour..." "Ah..." Fenric finalized, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Then you have discovered that to joust with warriors such as I requires a great deal of energy, yes?" "Oh...we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" "As you say...Captain." Fenric bowed to her, then, a proper one, and respectful. "Sleep well, and deeply...for in a few short hours, we will need all the strength we possess, and more besides..." * * * "Who are you?" * * * Larieken's quarters...a short time later. The hull-facing wall seemed to be open to space, but as Larieken's face emerged from the shadows, and into the glow of the candles lit upon the triangular stand at the center of his domain, he knew that to be only an illusion. There was that, and there was reality...and sometimes, no, most times, reality was by far, the most disturbing of the two... "So." he mused, turning towards the barely seen figure silhouetted against those stars. "You come to collect on the promise I made you, when first we met another, aboard this vessel. Quite understandable...I wondered, to be honest, why you had waited so long to continue our discussion..." The angular planes of Klairika's face emerged out of the darkness, her gaze intent. "There is a time and a place for everything, Larieken; until now, the time and *the* place were not in the same location, at the same instant. My people have known how to sense such convergences for millenia, now, and also, the hard way, how to use them to our greatest advantage..." "Ah. You refer, of course, to what the your people name 'The Day of the Dead'?" "That is the convergence most often referred to by non-Brakiri, yes; there *are*, of course, others...MANY others. But come!...we do not stand together, this night of all nights, to discuss such matters. Our Val'na holds a secret close to her that you understand, Larieken; if I am to serve her to the best of my ability, and if we are to serve one another in the same fashion...I would *know* the truth behind the veil, my new companion! Now." Larieken nodded. "A promise is a promise...and I am bound by such, as well you know. And while you may think the matter a secret, it is not as...difficult to understand as you may think; while at the same time, the matter is not *widely* spread about. For there are many among the humans who would not take kindly to knowing that those such as our Val'na still walk in their midst..." "How so?" "From time to time, in their history, the humans have named her kind 'Prophets', those who spoke forth when, perhaps, they should have kept their silence, instead...and simply listened to the words, not mistaking them for 'divine' wisdom." The last sentence, said with a stab of sarcasm. "Larieken..." Klairika replied, her exhaustion beginning to show through, "While I understand the Minbari need for complete understanding, in this case, might we not simply cover the...ah, what are the words?...abridged version?" He nodded. "Of course...the hour is late, and we will all need to be at our most alert, soon enough. Very well, then, Klairika, if I may refer to you by your given name?...the matter is explained thusly. Julia Tikopai, the human I hold as one of my closest companions, is a member of that select group the Vorlons, in their time, named 'Watchers'...or, *Observers*, if you will. Over the centuries, and millenia, every one of the younger races has had them...for when the need was greatest, then would they appear, scholars and warriors in equal measure, to record the most important events in the histories of their respective races, to warn the generations yet to be. In *this* generation, however, a most interesting occurence has come to pass...for amongst the humans, *three* Observers have appeared...Jennifer Westcastle, she who is life partner to the man we name Rimstalker, was the first; then, our Val'na was discovered by Westcastle and his followers, at that point, only an untested youth of their kind. This would soon be corrected, as well you know, as she followed them through the fires of the Shadow War..." "These Rangers I know..." Klairika noted. "And in the case of my good friend Sech Westcastle, what you say about her only reveals the core of why she does what she does. But, Larieken...what of the third?" "The third..." Larieken concluded, "Is one Alkanion Verah, a man touched by Shadows, and twisted by Vorlons, in response. Even now, years after the end of the Shadow War, he needs to be attended to during all waking hours...for after being touched by the Vorlons, he became quite mad..." "But why three?" Klairika mused. "Jennifer's Observance of the Shadow War, I can understand as necessary!...but what of Julia, and this Verah person? It seems clear to me that while our commander came into her own during the Shadow Conflict, it was NOT her duty to *observe* that conflict!" "Which implies..." Larieken dryly replied, "That the events that Julia has been called forth to Observe, and, perhaps, Alkanion Verah, as well, have *yet* to occur...perhaps it is that these events have been set in motion by the actions of the Drakh, when they attacked the human homeworld..." "And everything that has happened, as a result of that attack!...the launch of the EXCALIBUR on its quest, the preparations leading up to our own departure...may be only the opening elements of this grand movement you refer to; yes, Larieken, that *does* makes sense! Perhaps we are called together in convergence, Larieken, and what we do, what *both* crews attempt, is what Julia must record, for posterity... For certainly, assuming that the EXCALIBUR's crew can find a cure for the plague, such an assault can never again be allowed to occur. Perhaps it is Julia's task to warn the generations to come, of this fact!" "We will have to see..." Larieken muttered, as the candles burned lower. "I, for one, cannot help but think that it will not be that simple...and that soon enough, we will learn of the *real* reason we have, as you say, been called together in convergence, to act as One. Part of me wishes for that day, Na'lai...but at the same time, there is another part of me that thinks knowing the full truth might destroy us all; all that we are, and all that we might be. But that is for later...for the present, it grows late, and what little rest we will get before we arise will be necessary rest. For now, it is enough to know and understand that we are about to attempt what some think to be impossible... More then enough." Eyes weighed down by her own exhaustion, Klairika could only but nod mutely in reply, as she moved towards the entrance. Long and hard she had fought, in the last few years, to overcome her race's nocturnal tendencies, and even now, she had not wholly succeeded, as this meeting demonstrated. But she would sleep, for a time, at least...that much *was* certain. While behind her, Larieken reached out a finger and one thumb, and resolutely pinched off the flames at candles-tip, and darkness came again... * * * "What can be done?" * * * Middle decks...the SHARD'S medical department... "You can't sleep, I suppose..." Veyshahk noted clinicly, while Dasouri paced in front of the physician's desk. "Understandable, given the circumstances, but why are you so worried, if I may inquire? We haven't even started on our mission, yet...and we *certainly* haven't been placed in danger of any kind." "Worry is easy to explain..." the Drazi replied, as he threw a quick and frustrated glance in Veyshahk's direction. "For years, have worked towards making my people more peaceful...and generally failing, for reasons I need not explain to you. Now, stand as Ship's Guide for first major capital ship crewed by Rangers...a vessel whose *integral* purpose is to stand between ship of Humans and the Enemy. For once Drakh learn of EXCALIBUR's purpose, Doctor, Drakh will *not* stop trying to destroy ship of humans until it is destroyed, wiped from their sight! Joined Rangers to help keep peace; now, find instead, that chief purpose as Ranger on *this* ship is to help wage war against those who would do us harm! How can purposes be reconciled?" the Drazi desparately declared. Veyshahk thought things through for a moment, before beginning to chuckle softly. "Is that what you think, Dasouri? That the chief purpose of this ship and her crew is to fight the Drakh?" "Just said that, yes, Doctor!" "Then let me note, my new Drazi companion, that while you walk on the correct path, for one of your kind, you still have a very long way to go, and a great deal to learn, as well!" Dasouri glared at the doctor for a moment, and then, rather abruptly, his gaze softened, and the Drazi nodded ruefully. "Have had this explained to me on a number of occasions during training taken to become Ranger...and you are, I imagine, right, Doctor...tell me, then, what *is* purpose of this ship?" "Now how to say this, properly? Ah yes!...while you are correct in saying that ONE of the purposes of this vessel is draw a line in space between the EXCALIBUR and our enemies, to say that is our *greatest* purpose is incorrect, despite what our orders say. What we want to do, instead, is LEARN...for there is still SO much we do not know about our galaxy; and in the course of our travels, we will meet many races and peoples we have not, before. Some may look upon us with hostile eyes, but I have no doubt that we will also meet others who will greet us peacefully...and some of those may even choose to aid us in what I consider my *own* personal quest on this voyage...to help find the cure to the plague that afflicts the peoples of Earth." Dasouri's eyes brightened, as he listened to the words, and finally, he nodded briskly. "So! *Now*, it becomes clearer, in my mind...in turn, if we can help find cure to plague, will help to avert GREATER war that certain Alliance members, and surviving humans, may seek to wage against Drakh if EXCALIBUR's mission fails!" "Exactly. I'm happy to see you're following my line of logic, Dasouri." Dasouri straightened. "Capable of things that certain *other* Draz not capable of...understand way of peace. Understand way of G'kar. And now that you have taken time to explain matters to me, Doctor, begin to understand why we are doing what we are doing, as well." And with that, the Drazi let out a deep breath, and seemed to relax somewhat. "Believe that I will *now* be able to find sleep; *thank you*, Doctor..." "Of course. But are you sure you won't need?..." Dasouri raised one hand, and shook his head briskly. "No. Sleep well, Doctor." "Sleep?" Veyshahk muttered to himself, as Dasouri departed, before casting a baleful glance around the half-unpacked mess of gear that still filled the center of his new medical facilities... "Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?" * * * "What do you want?" * * * Primary Weapons Control; Deck Three. Eight hours to 'official' commencement of mission... Her footsteps resounding in the silence, Sheynell made her way through the darkness, along the path, and finally came to the heart of the unwakened beast around her. For now, the chamber was silent...but in only five more hours, it would awake...and her people, those humans and Minbari that, as yet, she knew hardly anything about, would arrive to begin their duties. Duties that could last months...or years, even! Had this been what she wanted, when she had agreed to join the Rangers, over a year before? To be exiled farther from everything she knew, and understood? The answer, of course, was *yes*...to surround herself with duty, honour and obligation, was the only thing she could do, now. This was something she had learned from Brianna, in her short time alongside the older telepath...that only in the actions of the present, could one hope to banish the specters of the past. But it wasn't easy...it would *never* be easy. She closed her eyes against the shadows around her, and summoned a different kind of darkness...a darkness painted only by the palette of memory. She wished she could forget the person she had been, but that was impossible, now. *That* Sheynell would forever be a part of her, for as long as she lived...a dark angel, only barely hidden beneath the covers...a cold instrument that had, in its time, been loyal only to two things... The Corps...and Bester. She shuddered. The Corps was gone now, splintered by the Telepath War, and as for Bester...that was harder to say. There were rumours, of course, that he had survived the War, and was even now biding his time, waiting for the right moment to return...but these were rumours only. Until she actually saw the man again, face to face, she wouldn't believe the stories...and then, she blinked, as she sensed a by-now familiar presence drawing nearer, and began to smile. Did he *really* think he could sneak up on her, like that? He had a lot to learn about her...but then again, they all did, didn't they? "I thought I'd find you here, Miss Keynes..." Nicholas commented, as the engineer emerged out of the darkness. "Just about everyone else has retired to their beds, except for us...ironic, isn't it, that the loners are almost always last to act on anything, including stuff this simple?" "Is that what you think I am?" she asked, turning towards Dawson. "A loner?" "I know the signs, Miss Keynes...for years now, every time I've looked in the mirror, I've seen them. Do you have *any* idea how lonely it's been, working on this ship with no one but Minbari? I don't have anything against them, they're generally decent people...but they're not, well, exactly talkative, when it comes down to it." She laughed. "I've noticed that, yes, Mr. Dawson. But when they *do* have something to say, it's usually a good idea to listen, isn't it?" "You've got *that* right." Dawson took a deep breath, and then added, "Look!...I don't know a whole lot about your background, other then you're one hell of a telepath...a P12, right?" She nodded. "Okay, then...well, all I'm really trying to say is, once in a while, it'd be nice to just talk to someone without it being part of the job, if you know what I'm saying?" Was this for real, she thought? Was he (she wouldn't use the Corps expression for Nicholas's kind *ever* again, of course) actually trying to establish some sort of friendship with her, like Julia, and some of the other Rangers had? Quickly, and very politely, Sheynell touched on the surface thoughts in Nicholas's mind...and blinked. All things considered, it looked like he was being absolutely truthful about this matter!...although, there also seemed to be some sort of apologetic tinge to it all... Oh...of *course*...now she could see. Nicholas hadn't been very polite to Julia the first time they had met...and this was, in some small part, his way of making up for that slight. Why not? "Of course I do!..." she began again, throwing on a bright smile for good measure. "And while I'm sure we should try and get a few hours sleep before departure, there's certainlyl still time to sit down, have a hot drink...and simply talk for a while, about whatever you would like..." "Really?" "Really! We're going to be working together for a long time, *Nicholas*, after all!...wouldn't be so bad, would it, if we became friends as a result of that, now would it?" "I'm not going to argue with you, Miss..." "*Sheynell*, Nicholas...please!" "...Sheynell! So, what do you want to talk about?" Nicholas inquired, as they began to make their way out of the Weapons Control facility. Oh, so it was going to be up to her, was it? "Try this one on for size, then; 'what was...what is, and what may be'." "Uh...that's a little...broad, isn't it?" "Probably..." she agreed. "But I'm sure we can get more specific, when the time comes..." * * * To be (yes!) concluded... From: dgolding@connect.ab.ca Subject: STAR AND CIRCLE: AS DARKNESS FALLS, Part X, Act II Date: Tue, 23 Mar 1999 21:51:45 STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS" PART X, ACT II "And in the end, I knew what it was I wanted to do, and why..." * * * On the Rim... He walked alone, now, as always he had walked alone, from the beginning, through the middle, and towards whatever end awaited him. Moreil's jaws tightened briefly into a mirthless smile, as he gazed upon the firmament before him. The path awaited...and soon enough, his path would cross with those he needed to find, to complete his quest. It was inevitable. It was *destiny*...so had his people believed from the start, even before they had served the Great Masters. The path they now followed, in the name of the Drakh, could end only in tragedy. In time, perhaps, he might be able to call some of them to his side... Perhaps. He would walk a long road until that day came...but then again, such roads always were long... * * * The SHARD OF NIGHT. Main bridge. Three and a half hours before 'official' departure... "I received your summons..." Klairika began, as she strode around the holographic imager, and into the command hemisphere of the bridge. "As did your *entire* crew, from what I was able to see, on my way here." The captain's chair swiveled around, and her Captain, and Val'na, affixed her with an amused gaze, as at the rest of the bridge stations, the other senior crew attended to their duties, and tried to hide their smiles. "Attend, then, Na'lai Alidiae, to this piece of wisdom! A little more then sixty-eight standard hours ago, the President of the Interstellar Alliance, one John J. Sheridan, commanded me to assemble the crew of this ship...and also, commanded me to be ready for departure in no more then three days from the time of that command. No *more* then three days, I say again...he didn't say *anything* about LESS, now did he?" Almost without volition, Klairika found herself beginning to laugh. "You do realize, of course, that when we fall out of parking orbit, they will know, yes?" "I'm counting on it." came the reply. "And I've never been one to shirk from a display...I learned *that* little mote of wisdom from those who made me what I am, today." "And now...you intend to remind them of this fact?" "Exactly. Klairika?..." "Yes, Val'na?" "Assume your station." Within an instant, Klairika noted, Julia's tone had shifted over from companionable to steely...to the tone that the Rimstalker himself, with the aid of Sha'vei Tashann, had taught her to use, in her years of service to them both. She moved... "So assumed. Your orders?" "Stand by. Stations and departments...report!" "Operational configuration..." Larieken noted, "Is nominal...at least as nominal as this command will ever possess. Scientific stations are operating at full capacity, and the sensor network is already deployed, ready for your command." "Your tactical officer..." Sheynell continued, "Begs leave to report that all onboard batteries, and personnel, stand ready for our first engagement with the foe. We are ready, and willing, to act in your name...and in Valen's." "Flight officer..." Dasouri noted, "Has been waiting for this moment ever since he learned what role he was to perform on this vessel named SHARD OF NIGHT...he is also ready for your command." "Of course..." Julia murmured. "Doctor?" A hologram of Veyshahk instantly sprang into being, an image which immediately bowed. "We expected this...there are no surprises. I am pleased to report that with the aid of my assistants, Anla'shok Larais and Nividia, your medical department stands ready for departure." "Please tell me, Veyshahk, that you got at least a *little* sleep since last we talked?" "Some, yes...when there was time. But when we have departed, Val'na, then, will I will sleep long and deeply!" "I understand...Mr. Dawson!" Another hologram...and another image, as Veyshahk's faded from sight; this time of Nicholas Dawson, amidst his crew, and within his domain. "No need to ask, Captain!...we've been ready for this moment since you first came aboard. All drive systems stand ready, and all the reactors are humming along just fine, thank you very much." "I have no doubt of that...thank you, Mr. Dawson." And with that said, Julia's eyes met hers, once again, above her smile. "And that, Na'lai Alidiae, would appear to be *your* cue." "A show was it, you said?" "Oh, *yes*." "Then a show you shall have!...one that *they* will not soon be able to soon forget. Flight control!" "Na'lai?" "Prepare to take us down to the top of Minbar's atmosphere; and stand by on jump engines..." * * * Julia leant back into her seat, listening and watching, as the crew she had assembled, a crew of friends, a crew of companions, a team that would, in the months and years to come, come together ever more closely, attended to her First's commands. Even as the stationary starfield beyond the forward portals began to move... Even as the greatest vessel any Ranger had ever commanded began its fall towards the slightly less then half-lit planet below... * * * Tuzanor. Interstellar Alliance Headquarters. Less then twenty minutes later... "Why do you think he wanted us to hurry?" Jennifer asked her husband, as together with William, she emerged onto the stone and crystal outlook on the peak of the Headquarters complex. "What could possibly be going on?" "I can guess..." William muttered, as they emerged onto the pinnacle, and the cold dawn wind blowing across and between the towers of Tuzanor. "Only *too* easily." Wrapping his thick brown Ranger cloak more tightly around himself, he turned towards the only other inhabitants of the outlook...and seeing their expressions only reinforced his opinion of why they had been summoned here, at such an early hour... His face bleak, but also showing the necessity of it all, John Sheridan stood quietly next to his wife, his eyes turned skywards, as were Delenn's. They were looking for something...and William thought he knew exactly what that 'something' was... "Mr. President...John. We're here." Sheridan nodded. "William...I'm sorry that we had to drag you and your wife out of bed at this early hour, but Delenn and I both thought that you deserved to see this." He nodded ruefully. "Of course. How long ago did they..." "Their final pass over us is even now beginning..." Delenn murmured, her gaze far away, and sad. "It will not be long, now." And then, it hit him...why that *little*..."Well I will be *damned*!..." he muttered. "Looks like I'm not even get to say my goodbyes to her..." "She didn't want to say goodbye, William..." Jennifer replied, her expression almost as sad as Delenn's was, now. "Not the way you mean it." He let out a long breath, and shook his head wonderingly. "Even after all the years we've known her, I'm not sure we'll ever *understand* her." "You will..." Delenn commented, a small and mysterious smile now lighting her face, as the eastern sky slowly began to lighten. "In time." "There they are!" Everyone on the outlook turned, as one, then, at Sheridan's outcry...and William realized, as he watched a brilliant light flare into being mid way up from the western horizon, touched by the still-hidden sun, and begin to cross the sky, that time was now all he had... And also, as the silvery beacon of the SHARD OF NIGHT passed over Tuzanor, and began its descent towards the dawn, that Julia having not said goodbye meant something important... * * * The crystalline blaze of Tuzanor had passed below their port quarter, now, and the fires of dawn was reaching around Minbar's bulk, trying to touch them, as Julia rose from her seat, her smile wide, and full of promise. She would not let that dawn touch her command...for now, they lived in shadows, behind the veils that were. For they had a mission...an important one, that required those veils... And that, for now, was enough for her. MORE then enough... "Anla'shok Dasouri..." "Val'na!" "Second star to the left, and straight on towards morning." At that, Dasouri cast a rather confused glance in her direction, and Julia met Sheynell's now-amused gaze, and she nodded...best to put the poor fellow out of his misery..."You may jump, Helm... At your discretion." * * * ...even as ahead of that fleeing silver spark and above the magnificent two-crescent and two-planet conjunction that lit Minbar's dawn skies, this morning of all mornings, a mighty blue flare of light appeared, and swiftly expanded into a tunnel in the sky...a tunnel that swallowed that silvery shard of darkness...an arrow launched from the same bow that had launched the EXCALIBUR, days before... William nodded, a smile now on his face, as he stood beside his President and his Entil'zha, with his dearest one in his arms, and watched that tunnel fade from sight... She, and all who followed her, would do what they had to do, no matter how long it took. And then, once the task was complete, they would return to them... * * * "And that, as you have seen, was how it began. But that was certainly *not* how how it ended..." * * * TO BE CONTINUED (!) in "The Darkest Road" the first episode of STAR AND CIRCLE: "THE SEEKER'S FIRE"...coming to a computer screen near you, more or less coincident with the premiere of CRUSADE... -->dgolding@connect.ab.ca