From: Nick Subject: 'Stranger with this face' (sequel to 'Redemption') part three Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1999 17:30:51 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Okay, i'm back. And yes i know it's been awhile but RL was intruding bigtime and you know how hard it is to be creative when your job involves removing your brain and putting it in your locker at the start of each shift... I think i left in in there most of the time! But anyway, i got to use my brain at work for at least ten minutes today, and so i'm now inspired enough to write something! This is part 3 of the sequel to 'Redemption' The disclaimer's in part one (I think). Enjoy! PART THREE The hangar was suddenly quiet again, the strong breeze caused by the shuttle's take-off slowly dying down. In the aftermath of the take-off the hangar was deserted and Lennier picked up his bag and wandered aimlessly to the exit. He didn't know what madness had made him get off the shuttle to stop here and watch it disappear over the horizon but now he knew he was stranded here. And as if to remind him of this fact, the computer monitors that littered the bay showed a continuously looped message telling of the quarantine which was now in effect. ********************** This bed was awful. Groaning to herself, Marianne stretched out on it and closed her eyes. The mattress was lumpy and a little damp, probably hadn't been aired in a while, she reasoned. And was that a spring poking her in the back? Oh what the hell, she was that tired, it would take more than a few rusty old springs to keep her awake tonight. * Dr Franklin hadn't been exaggerating when he'd described the 'Lumati situation' as a disaster. There had been countless deaths and although Marianne had known this assignment was going to be a harrowing one, nothing could really have prepared her for the horrors she'd seen today... * Franklin had said something to her once about looking into the eyes of a dying man and seeing that man's god reflected back. Marianne had seen *a lot* of reflected gods that day and now, sinking into the lumpy mattress and covered by a scratchy blanket that smelt distinctly mouldy, she wished, not for the first time that she had memories of happier times to fall back on... * A few feet away, her rooms mate; Kathy was starting to snore- obviously not having the same difficulties. Earlier, Kathy had told her about her home, back on Earth, of parents who fought like cats and dogs and four brothers who teased her and pulled her hair as she was growing up. And inspite of the scorn with which the young med. Tech had spoken of them, Marianne could tell that she missed them. Marianne didn't have that luxury. And today more than ever she wished she could remember her own family. * She knew all of the details of course: two parents, one younger brother, all killed in the shuttle crash that had left her with permanent amnesia. As far as Marianne was concerned, her life had begun when she'd woken up in a Mars hospital two years ago. According to the government records she'd been part way through her medical training when the crash had occurred which perhaps explained why she found it so easy to pick up medical terms and knowledge. * It was odd but having little memory of her previous life never really bothered her, and she was perfectly content to live in the present. And right now if 'the present' included the death and disease she saw today then so be it. ********************* "Lennier?" Grare winced against the light that suddenly bathed the rooms he shared with the Minbari. As a night-dwelling species, the Brakiri often found adjusting to sudden bright light rather difficult and the small man let his eyes adjust before speaking again. "Where have you been?" Receiving little in the way of an answer from the Minbari who simply stashed his duffel bag into his footlocker and removed his shoes in preparation for bed, Grare continued to talk, his voice becoming little more than a constant stream of babble. "They closed the shuttleport, you know- quarantine- one of the volunteers has the virus, we were all tested today-" That got his attention, "Who?" "Who what?" "Who has the virus?" Lennier's voice was typically calm but his roommate still detected a little uncharacteristic urgency. "The Drazi woman, Palorr" "In Valen's name..." Lennier offered the words as a soft prayer and promised himself that he would visit with the woman tomorrow. She had worked almost tirelessly since she had arrived here at the same time as he had. She did *not* deserve this... "What happened to you Lennier? I was worried- the others noticed your absence." "There was no need to worry, Grare." Lennier's voice remained soft but his countenance now lost its previous skittishness and impatience. Grare noted to himself that the walls were once again rebuilt and that the man before him was indeed the Lennier he was used to. "One of us fell sick- of course there was something to worry about! Particularly after your... 'turn'. I was fearful that you also had the disease- nothing has occurred to reassure me otherwise." * Lennier closed his eyes briefly in a vain attempt at shutting out the faintly whining voice; "If it is any consolation to you I plan to undergo the blood test tomorrow." He said, lying back in the narrow bed. "Well, I'm very glad to hear it." Grare followed suit, curling up on his own narrow bunk. "Lennier, whatever troubled you earlier- I take it by your reappearance that whatever it was, it is settled now... resolved even?" "Yes Grare. The matter is resolved." Lennier lied, startling himself by doing so with such ease. <> he added silently and admitted to himself that sleep wasn't going to come easily to him. ******************** The temple was in a kind of peaceful chaos when Lennier and Grare arrived. The new staff appeared to have settled in well, their tones and mannerisms betraying little of their urgency as they moved from bed to bed, armed with syringes, performing blood tests on all of the patients. Grare pulled aside one of the orderlies to ask what was going on. "The head PA ordered testing of everyone here to ensure all the patients do actually have the virus. We've had such primitive testing equipment up until now that we could only assume that everyone who grew sick had the virus. She's also getting us to segregate everyone according to how advanced the disease is in each of them. Go through there and get cleaned up- there're clean overalls in there." The Narn then reached out to touch Lennier's arm, half whispering as he did so "Are you alright Lennier? We were worried about you when you ran out of here yesterday. You still need to be tested for the virus. Miss Charlton- that's the head PA, she's in charge of staff and volunteer testing as well. She's through there. She'll give you a blood test. Good luck my friend." "Wait, G'Nare, how is Palorr? I heard she developed the virus..." Lennier kept a firm grip on the male's wrist, then he noticed the Narn's downcast eyes and felt his own heart sink. "She has grown worse overnight. The disease has spread through her system faster than it does with the Lumati. She's already in the final stages. Get tested and then I'll take you to her." "Very well." Letting go of his friend, Lennier slowly walked over to the curtained off area G'Nare had earlier gestured to. * As he rounded the makeshift barrier, he caught sight of a petite woman stooped over a microscope, glasses discarded on the desk beside her and hair held back with one delicate hand as the other scribbled notes onto a chart beside her. The medical scrubs she wore were obviously too big for her and the bottoms of the pants had been rolled up and stapled in place. Although her seated position obscured his view, he could tell that the tunic she wore reached down to her knees and the overcoat probably got under her feet when she walked- it's sleeves had been impatiently pushed up by hands too busy to waste time on taking more permanent measures. * In the stillness of the small space, he could hear her humming to herself as she chewed frantically on her lower lip. "Hm... mm... ah ha... uhm... now I've got you. Oh-maybe not.uhm..." "Miss Charlton?" Lennier had entirely forgotten about the Brakiri who stood beside him. "We met yesterday- I'm Grare." the slight man stepped forward and offered his hand which was instantly seized by the woman who hid her surprise behind a warm smile, "Hi, call me Marianne- this is hardly the time for formalities. Besides Marianne is easier to shout.Hello, who are you?" Lennier found himself being peered at by the woman who let go of Grare's hand to reach out to him. "L-Lennier.My name is Lennier. I'm one of the volunteers..." "Well you're not Lumati so that was my guess as well!" she grinned and he felt suddenly foolish for stating the obvious. "Are you alright Lennier? You look a little pale- even for a minbari- here, have my seat." She got up, still gripping his hand with surprising strength and used her extra leverage to manoeuvre him into her seat before he could protest. "Lennier wasn't tested yesterday." Grare informed her; slightly smugly- he'd finally gotten his friend to the help he needed. "Oh, I see.." Marianne's concern increased and she reached over both her desk and Lennier to pluck a pair of prophylactic gloves from a freshly opened box. "Well let's keep our fingers crossed eh?" wheeling a stool over to him she positioned herself side on to Lennier's now outstretched arm "It's probably just exhaustion- you volunteers have been working your socks off- I'm impressed, we all are. Things would have been a lot worse here if it weren't for what you all did." Glancing up suddenly through heavy lashes she grinned, "Actually I've been wondering when I was going to get to meet the famous minbari! You're quite the hero amongst the others.G'Nare tells me you work five times as hard as the rest. I think I was expecting some kind of automaton, not real flesh and blood! Dr Franklin wants to meet you too. There, all done." She held up the tiny vial of blood triumphantly before turning her stool and pushing off on one small foot to land at the other side of the room where a row of bottles balanced precariously on the computer monitor that stood there. "Now, where's the...ah ha. This won't take a second." She called over her shoulder as she fiddled about making a slide. * Moments later she returned, still perched on the stool, slide in hand, "This is a quicker way of diagnosing the virus- I can see how far it's progressed as well." Lennier saw that he was in the way and started to rise. A hand shot out to hold him where he was, "No don't get up. I've taken quite a lot of blood- you'll still be feeling woozy. I can work around you." pushing his chair aside she manoeuvred herself side on to the microscope and slotted Lennier's sample in place. "Okay, lets see... Where are you, you little- ah ha... Nup, no sign of em. You're clear, see for yourself." Straightening up she tugged on his sleeve, waking him from his reverie. Obediently he peered into the microscope "I... can't see anything." "Exactly." "In that case," this time Lennier made it his feet without being stopped. "I promised that I would visit Palorr." Marianne was nodding quickly but at the same time distractedly as she replaced Lennier's slide with the one she'd been examining when he had first entered. "Okay, but come straight back after. I can see how exhausted you are and I want to assign you light duties only for a couple of days. You can help me here. Grare, would you mind finding Dr Hobbs- she mentioned needing more help." "Of course." "There're clean scrubs through there. You'll have to customise them a little- being mostly women we've run out of all the small sizes!" ********************* Closest to the makeshift staffroom where Marianne still stooped over her microscope were the beds containing the terminal cases. Row upon row of barely moving, barely breathing bodies, so diseased as to look already decayed. * Palorr's cot stood a little apart from the rest in a vain attempt to remind her that she was one of the staff, not *just* anyone. The staff and volunteers tried to treat her a little differently from the Lumati, not so much so as to upset the native patients, but just enough to give her hope- she was one of *them*. * Lennier saw no difference between his friend and the Lumati patients. Although the sores manifested themselves differently on her dark and slightly scaly Drazi skin, there was little doubt as to their cause. Her voice was dry and rasping as she struggled for each breath she took and used to give her speech. "Lennier- I wondered when you'd come. You don't have it do you?" "No Palorr. So far I am clear." He forced himself to take her proffered hand, hiding his nausea behind a wall of calm. "Lennier, I know... I look pretty awful... I'm so glad that you're all right. You've worked so tirelessly. I thought for certain you'd fall to it... I can see that you've fallen to *something* though... What's wrong Lennier?" "It is nothing. My concern is with you." "Lennier, it requires less energy to listen than to speak. I wish to conserve energy so I'm asking you to speak to me. If you cannot do that for an old friend... Lennier, I've become a burden to my colleagues- As one who has spent all her time here *working*, that is... unsatisfactory to me. Let me give *something* back, Let me help *you*" * "Lennier," A short, rather squat human hovered beside him, "Marianne asked me to find you. She needs help with one of the patients." "Of course." Lennier rose smoothly to his feet and bowed to Palorr, promising to return later "Be... sure you do Lennier... I still want to know what is troubling you." Palorr let her head fall back against the pillow and as he turned to leave, Lennier heard her address the human as Stanton, asking him to keep an eye on her dear friend Lennier. ************************ Tucking his hands into the too-long scrubs he found in the store cupboard, Lennier found he was shaking. He could feel the unsteadiness of his hands and how precariously he stood upon his two feet. Marianne had shown no signs of recognising him, that was something, he supposed. * Standing before a stained and cracked mirror to straighten the ridiculously oversized tunic, he found himself remembering Deborah's fearful words to him in her cell more than two years ago, "There is so much I *mustn't* remember... Promise me that if we meet again, you'll walk away." * He'd already broken his promise to her. A part of him had *known* he should leave the Lumati homeworld but he couldn't do it. And now, here he stood, about to spend the next three days trapped in that tiny makeshift office with her; watching her, listening to her, comparing her to Deborah... There were already recognisable similarities- seeing how she chewed on her lower lip when her mind was elsewhere, how she held people's gaze with odd, flickering glances... * There were differences also. Marianne was obviously more confident; she was able to relax, even in the midst of the chaotic ward. Just as he'd suspected, Marianne was everything Deborah would have given all that she had to be and Lennier found himself wanting to stay just a little longer, just to see how like and unlike Deborah this stranger truly was. ***************** END PART THREE. PART FOUR WILL FOLLOW THE NEXT TIME I HAVE A 'GOOD' DAY AT WORK (THAT'S A RELATIVE TERM)! -- Nick From: Nick Subject: 'Stranger With This Face' : Part Four Date: Sat, 20 Feb 1999 19:11:36 +0000 Ah deary me, just when you thought it was safe to check your email, up pops that strange woman with the Lennier saga that's turning out longer than war and peace! Any semblence of a life i might have had has temporarily evaporated due to a cash flow 'problem' known as the student loan co. so, i should *in theory* have plenty of time to get this finished... Don't start counting your chickens just yet! Can't see a disclaimer? Well pretend! 'STRANGER WITH THIS FACE': PART FOUR "Lennier, how are we getting on?" Marianne was peering at the computer screen before her as she casually threw the question into the awkwardly silent room. The two of them had worked untiringly for over six hours in the tiny makeshift office, barely speaking to one another, although she could not work out why the atmosphere was so tense. She guessed that the minbari was shy but although she knew how urgent their work had become, she also couldn't concentrate in this rigid and stilted environment. * "I have completed the inventory of our supplies." His reply was rigid, formal and he straightened stiffly the moment she cleared her throat to ask the question, although he barely looked at her when he answered. * "Okay..." time to try a different approach. "And are *you* alright? I'm sorry to have dragged you away from your friend, I know how worried you all are about her but I really *did* need help in here..." * "I understand. And I agree that the best way to help Palorr is to find a cure for this virus." * "That's right. Look, I know that the stuff I've had you doing today isn't quite in the same league as what you've been doing here in the past but it really *did* need seeing to. If it's any consolation, being stuck in front of a computer all day isn't why I started doing this job either..." * "There is no need to apologise." * "I'm glad. I didn't want you to resent me- I mean, you volunteers worked so hard and did an excellent job- I feel awkward just coming in here changing things and shouting orders!" * "I do not- 'resent' you." * "Okay... well now we've got that cleared up, why don't we stop for a while. You said you were almost done and I'm getting tunnel vision! Time for a coffee. Mugs are in the box to your left- the one marked 'emergency rations!" * Finding himself smiling lightly at the humour, Lennier did as he was bid and took the two cups over to where Marianne was swilling the coffee pot around in circles, eyeing it suspiciously. "I don't know when this was made- It's gonna be pretty rank..." she poured the thick, black liquid into one cup but was stopped before she had a chance to fill the other. * "I do not drink coffee." * "Oh, of course. Wise man- this stuff should carry a government health warning!" Marianne winced as she forced her throat to stop retching and to swallow the tar-like substance. * "It does!" Franklin's slightly booming voice startled Lennier as he filled his own cup with water. "Marianne, you drink *far* too much of that stuff- I said so in your last med. examination-" * "I- ugh- know- Is there any milk anywhere?" * "Lillian left some Soya stuff in the fridge next to those blood cultures. There's some sweetener in that petri dish." Franklin replied, fetching a protein shake from his own personal stash. "So, Lennier, Dr Hobbs mentioned that you were here. How are you?" Lennier felt himself shrinking under Franklin's gaze. The human was grinning over the top of his drink but there was no mistaking the slight edge in the man's voice. If Lennier's answer weren't convincing, the man would never let up. There was also the question of just how much Franklin knew about what happened between he and the Sheridans... * "Stephen," Marianne had fished the sweetener out of it's hiding place and took an experimental sip of her coffee- still awful but probably less likely to burn through the porcelain of her 'You don't have to be mad to work here, but it helps' mug. "I'm done with analysing those cultures and you were right about that antibiotic combination- I'm still worried about possible side effects though- Here, take a look at this-" * She steered the doctor over to the microscope, winking at Lennier over her shoulder and motioning for him to leave, quickly. * As he discarded his cup and edged away, back onto the ward, Lennier could hear Franklin and Marianne discussing the samples she'd been working on and he heaved a sigh of relief. The ward was a little quieter than it had been earlier- the mass re-screening was over now and most patients simply lay flat out in their beds, unseeing eyes fixated on the high domed ceiling. * Palorr was dozing when he silently approached her bed and perched on the edge of a chair he found nearby. Minutes later her eyes forced themselves open and she blinked up at her surroundings before her gaze finally settled on her returning visitor. * "Why didn't you wake me Lennier?" Lightly stroking her arm with a crooked finger, he shook his head, "You need your rest..." * "Are you here to tell me what's wrong with you?" Lennier groaned inwardly, this woman was nothing if not persistent. "I noticed before, you looked a little- 'awkward' when that other man mentioned the new PA. Does it have something to do with her? You ran out of here when she first arrived..." Palorr's body may have been weak and betraying her but there was obviously nothing wrong with her powers of observation or her mental faculties and Lennier found himself wondering if it would be easier to watch his friend slowly slip away if she were not sane- Maybe if she were so mad as to be no longer recognisable as Palorr, standing by helplessly as her once robust body withered and decayed before him would be less painful... ******************* "So, what was *that* all about?" Marianne snapped as soon as her Minbari assistant was out of the way. * "Sorry?" Franklin finished his drink in three short gulps before returning to the microscope. * "Scaring my assistant. I was just getting him to lighten up and you storm in here all guns blazing and put the fear of god into him!" Marianne had to fight to keep her voice from becoming shrill. * "What are you talking about? All I *did* was ask him where he'd been! It's been nearly *three years* for gods sake! Why are you so protective of him all of a sudden? There's no need- he used to be a ranger, from what I hear he's more than capable of looking after himself- Oh, I get it," Realisation lit up his face and he grinned "Didn't take *you* long!" Knowing *exactly* how to get a rise out of his protégé, he tweaked his grin to just this side of a leer and waggled his eyebrows at her. * "Stephen!" her voice rose warningly and she lifted her cup as if threatening to tip its contents at him. * "Marianne! I didn't think you were *like* that! Here we are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the dead and dying- under-funded and overworked and you've got a *crush* on a volunteer support worker! I must say, I'm *shocked*" * Marianne took a deep breath- this was getting her nowhere. Knowing Dr Franklin as she did she was pretty sure that if she didn't shut him up now then he was going to tease her to within an inch of her life. * "Give it a rest, Stephen. It's been a long day." aiming for a passive offensive stance Marianne retreated back to her computer. * Realising that he'd gone a little too far, Stephen wheeled a seat over and seated himself beside her, tugging a packet of biscuits out of the emergency supplies box as he did so. * "Peace offering?" he waggled the open pack at her and relenting with a small smile, she took a biscuit. "I'm sorry. I sometimes forget how sensitive you can be." * "I *don't* have a 'crush' on him." She said firmly, nibbling the top off the two layered biscuit to scrape at the cream in the middle of it with tiny, razor sharp teeth. "I just- he feels familiar. You know? I get that lot- things and people that seem familiar but I don't know why... There's so much I don't know about myself, don't *remember* I tend to grab hold of anything familiar and hang on for dear life!" * "Yeah, I know... But you've never tried to trace any possible family connections.... Go back to your old home and ask questions... I've never understood why..." * "I don't know." she shrugged as she finished the middle of her biscuit and added it's bottom to the other half which had been abandoned temporarily on the desk beside her coffee. She reached for another. "I just can't bring myself to- I suppose if I remember what happened then I'll start to remember my family and I'll have to deal with having lost people I care about- I'll have to mourn... This way it's like someone *else* was in that crash and lost her whole family and *my* life started when I woke up in that hospital bed. I'm quite happy living in the here and now- most of the time..." * "But you still have difficulty relating to people- You're still encountering things for the first time! You don't even know if you've had a boyfriend before!" * "Exactly." a glum expression on her face, she flipped the top off her second biscuit to add to the pile growing on the desk and demolished the cream insert, adding the biscuit's base to the pile. "In these 'enlightened times' of ours, I sometimes feel like the universe's oldest virgin!" * Franklin guffawed, spitting biscuit crumbs over the small room and seeing his expression, Marianne giggled inspite of herself. "Well, anyway," she added, pulling her defence mechanisms back into place with a firm tug, "I really don't have *time* for anything more than friendship- And if I did, I think I'd probably start with someone of the same race as myself, that way I'd know for sure that all the right bits were fitting into all the right pieces!" Enjoying the snigger her remark forced out of her mentor, Marianne picked up the biscuit half on the top of her pile and dunked it into her coffee. Holding it there she counted to five before removing it and holding it up, moving it gently back and forwards, watching it bend and sway before popping it into her mouth moments before it disintegrated. * "I have *never* known *anyone* to eat a biscuit like that!" Franklin remarked, eyeing the young woman with obvious distaste "That is *the* most disgusting thing I've ever seen anyone do!" * "Oh be quiet, just because *you* have no vices!" ************************ "Lennier, one of the patients is asking for you.." Grare squatted down at his friend's side, placing on hand on the minbari's shoulder. "It's Gnitha- I don't think he has long-" Excusing himself politely, Lennier left Palorr's side and moved the short distance to the terminal wing. * "Greetings Gnitha." he spoke solemnly, trying his hardest to quell his shock at the Lumati's condition which had worsened over night to leave the man completely blind and paralysed with pain as his immune system won the fight against each of his internal organs. Gnitha could only gasp for breath and flail one hand about to seek out his own, which he offered almost instantly. He didn't have long left. ************************ It was dark when Lennier struggled to his feet, hands numbly pulling the sheet over the dead Lumati's face as he had done countless times before. Only a skeleton team remained in the hospice through the night and Gnitha's body would remain, for now where it was, undisturbed in his final rest. * "Lennier?" Marianne's pupils were wide in the dark of the office as he passed and her skin was almost luminous against the black backdrop. "I'm sorry about Gnitha..." * "It was- probably for the best." Avoiding her eyes, he concentrated on keeping his voice steady. "I have come to see each death here as a release, a blessing almost." * "I'm afraid I'm not so well-trained, nor do I want to be. I hope each death is as painful to me as the last. Have a drink with me Lennier?" Her whole manner beseeching him, he found himself agreeing and followed her into the office. "The others turned in a couple of hours ago. I wanted to stay and finish up. Also I didn't want you to be alone..." * Suddenly a little shy she busied herself with filling an antiquated kettle with water and searched out a tin of tea and not wanting to appear rude, Lennier agreed to stay, if only for a short while. "The database of patient reports is completed by the way... Now we know what stage of the disease each person is facing and we can more easily observe the virus' progression." * "Indeed." Lennier perched himself on a chair and took the cup she offered him. "When we arrived here, our first concern was for making people as comfortable as possible. I confess it did not occur to us to take inventories or commence investigations..." * "Oh I *know*. And I don't want you to think that any of us is accusing you of harming the Lumati in any way- I'm sorry, what I said came out all wrong-" Turning to the supplies container she retrieved a tin of powdered milk, having used up all of Dr Hobbs' supply. * "Marianne," Lennier found himself getting to his feet and moving the tin from her fingers, standing in front of her. "You have not offended me. I understand that had these people received organised medical care straight away their chances would have been far greater. Although there is no dispute that myself and the other volunteers did our best it is now clear that our *best* was not good enough." Returning the milk tin to her hands, Lennier retreated back to his seat, leaving Marianne to stare momentarily at the object in her hands. As if waking up, she snapped her head around to face him before forcing her concentration back to the matter in hand- that of spooning the strange powdered milk into the two cups. * "Lennier, I don't know many Minbari- well actually you're the only one- I wondered if this- 'altruism' is a personality trait common to all your people?" *"We believe serving others to be a great honour." He affirmed and Marianne stiffened for a moment, midway through spooning milk into her mug, * "I remember someone once telling me that- It's strange but you remind me of things. I don't know if anyone told you this but I was involved in a shuttle accident about three years ago. My entire family was lost and I was left with almost total amnesia. All I was left with was my name- I suppose the amount of time I spent in hospital recovering meant that I was around members of the medical profession so much that they became pretty much my family and I decided to train as a medical technician. Dr Franklin thought I was wasted and sponsored me so that I could train as a physician's assistant- I've picked things up so quickly that I think I must have undergone similar training before the accident. I've never tried to find out more about myself because I suppose I'm happy with this life and I don't want to spoil it by forcing myself to remember and mourn my family... But every now and then something happens that- I don't know, 'rings a bell' I suppose. Arriving here and meeting you did that." * Lennier could feel panic rising in his gut and he sank back further into his seat in a vain effort at putting some distance between himself and her recollections. This could, he realised, be even more difficult, even more dangerous than he'd first convinced himself. In light of this, he forced himself to stand and make his excuses before retreating; leaving her looking hurt and confused. *********************** The air outside was humid, sticky even and offered no reprieve from the closeness of the temple. Lennier took a few deep breaths as he stood on the steps and stared into the blackness of the city at night. Maybe it was just because of the plague, but while most cities on most worlds still held some life in them after dark, the Lumati capital became as silent as a desert at night, wrapping every building and lonely traveller in a thick veil of heat and smog. * Safe now from Marianne's reminiscences and fleeting glances, Lennier suddenly felt very alone- even more than usual. He was trapped here now, on a dying planet with little more than a broken promise for company. So what now? Escape was impossible now; the quarantine had put pay to that idea and one question now remained- what now? *********************** End of part four. Part five will follow, ttfn Nick ----