From morden@dircon.co.uk Tue Dec 24 23:09:11 1996 Date: Tue, 29 Oct 1996 00:27:00 -0000 From: Thomas Morley To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: Z'Ha'Dum Epilogue (getting in before the rush) Okay, this is an epilogue to Z'Ha'Dum (MAJOR spoilers, therefore). I plan to have it as a prologue to an "Alternate Universe" Season 4 I hope to write. Assuming I get around to writing it soon, I'll need beta readers who've seen Z'Ha'Dum. Any volunteers? M A J O R s p o i l e r s f o r Z ' H a ' D u m - M A J O R s p o i l e r s f o r Z ' H a ' D u m - ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Z'Ha'Dum [ [ [ [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Epilogue [ [ [ [ [ [ [ *It's useless,* Anna thought, glancing down the pit, *All they'll know is that he died on Z'Ha'Dum. And that triple-damned Delenn will take over the effort. Such a waste.* A small part of Anna that still loved John began to weep. It was ignored. Then Anna noticed the screeching sound in the air. At the urgent instruction of one of her associates, she glanced up. The hybrid ship was plummeting, glowing with the heat of it's travel through their atmosphere. The dome above her shattered. She screamed, and the Shadows with her screamed in harmony. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* He fell. He continued to fall. He persisted in falling. He had been falling for quite some time now. If you call 2.3 seconds a long time. It was for Sheridan. It's a strange phenomenon, noted by many. As you approach Death, time seems to slow. *What next?* thought Sheridan, *Ah, of course. My past life.* Birth. As a baby. Kindergarten. Primary school. High school. Boring. He mentally bemoaned the lack of a fast forward button. The Military. The War. Pain. He cursed the lack of a fast forward button. Anna. Love. He cursed the lack of a pause button. The Icarus Expedition. Pain. Loss. *Anna...*. The Agamemmnon. Babylon 5. The War. Delenn. Love. Anna. More pain. Z'Ha'Dum. Jumping off a balcony. Stupid. ]No...[ *Who was that?* he queried, then answered his own question. He paused; another 1.6 seconds had passed. His mind wandered back to High school physics classes. *The acceleration of a body in a constant gravitational field...gravity of 1.3G...mumble mumble mumble...therefore final acceleration... 13m/s/s...terminal velocity of 80m/s.* *That's pretty fast.* *The propogation speed and blast radius of a six hundred megaton explosion...hmm...hmm...speed of light...inverse square law...so propogation speed....* *Oh dear.* He sighed. *All this assuming I don't go splat first.* The White Star hit the balcony. The bombs counted down the final seconds to detonation. *Anna...I've lost you again...It was my fault again....* ]No![ *Anna....* *John?* His head tried to snap up, but the presence was gone. Was it Anna? Delenn? Would he ever know? Detonation. No, he wouldn't. The physical impact of the explosion smashed Sheridan's body against the floor of the hole. The flash of radiation ripped his soul from his body. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* The city lay in ruins. The bodies of Shadow servants (those that left one behind) were scattered left, right and center. The Shadow fleet floated in orbit, without instructions or purpose. They waited for a message. None came. The center was gone. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Drall viewed these events with a peculiar mixture of sorrow and hope. *How does the Narn prophet put it? Ah yes...moments of Transition, and moments of Revelation.* *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Ivanova stared into space. *Gone....* "We checked the fighter bays. One of the fighters we sent out... didn't come back." "Who was the pilot?" She asked absently. "Mister Garibaldi." She took a momentary break, then returned to staring into space. *Gone. Gone now...gone. Gone....* *Gone.* *Gone.* *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* On board a previously-automatic shuttle, Morden glanced back at the devastation he had unwittingly escaped. He looked over at the distressed Shadow beside him. "Ah. Was that what I thought it was?" The only reply was a barely-audible hiss of distant pain. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Ambassador Delenn came into Command and Control, her eyes red. She saw Ivanova leaning on the Captain's console, staring into space. "Commander," she greeted her sadly. "Oh, hello, ambassador," the Commander replied in the same tone, "What are you doing up at this time of night?" "I was, ah..." Delenn trailed off, unable to produce a satisfactory answer. Susan nodded in understanding. They stared off into space together for a little while. "Still no sign of him," Corwin said, awaking Susan from her reverie. "Is something wrong, Commander?" came Delenn's quiet voice. *Something else, you mean?* Susan sighed. "Garibaldi went out with the last batch of fighters. But he didn't come back." "Ah. That is unfortunate. Mr Garibaldi is a good man, and I would be most upset if we did not see him again." "And the Captain?" "The same goes for him, of course." Delenn tried to hold back the tears. She was not entirely successful. There was a pause. "Ambassador, I'd just like you to know, that if you need anything, a shoulder to cry on, /anything/, I'm here." Delenn looked up at her and, perhaps for the first time, understood exactly what she meant. The moment was interrupted by Corwin calling out that a jump-point was opening. Susan reluctantly returned to her station. "What is it?" "Signature reads Vorlon. We'll know more once it's out." A tense moment passed. "Definately Vorlon. From the size...looks like a one-man pod. Reading one life-form aboard." He looked up. "It's human, Commander." "Bring it into bay 13," Susan said, hardly daring to hope. "Commander..." Delenn began. "Ask the lift for Blue 8, it's the third bay on the left." Susan said, without looking up. Delenn mumbled a word of thanks, then left the room at something only slightly below a run. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* ]Look.[ Conciousness returned painfully to Garibaldi. ]Look. Look![ Vision returned as painfully as conciousness had. Garibaldi gazed out of the Fury's viewport. An image slowly resolved itself before him. Everything was fazed, as though seen through a thick gauze. He didn't try to think much about what he saw. It was a planet; a dirty-yellow planet. Indistinct black shapes floated above it. Details became visible. The shapes were pointed. The planet... the planet looked like a bomb had hit it. Which, of course, it had. It didn't take long for Garibaldi to deduce what he saw, even though it was spinning faster than a merry-go-round on steroids. The sounds again reached him. ]You see?[ Speech had not yet deigned to return, but that didn't matter. *Yeth,* Garibaldi thought, *I thee.* He was so under he was even /thinking/ with a lisp.... ]You did this![ Garibaldi was too zoned out to deny it, though he was only partly to blame. *Yeth, I gueth I did,* he allowed. Something seemed to begin to contract around him. Breathing became difficult. His life began to be crushed. ]No. You shall be taken down. The others shall decide your fate.[ Within a few moments, Garibaldi was lost to the world once more. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Delenn entered the bay. Designs played over the surface of the teardrop-shaped pod. The side opened, and Sheridan floated out, wearing simple black overalls. He glanced up, and saw Delenn. He smiled. She smiled also. They embraced. "I thought you were lost to us," Delenn mumbled into John's shoulder. "I'll never leave you, Delenn," he replied quietly. "Never again." They left the bay, their arms still around one another. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* Delenn slowly returned from sleep. She rolled over. John wasn't there. Her eyes opened. She was alone. It all flooded back to her. John was not there. He was gone. She would never see him again. She was alone. Alone. Gone. She lay back on the slanted bed and cried herself to sleep. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* FINI (For now, at least....) (And if people regard this as a threat, then I'm probably doing something wrong....) [ [ <*> Thomas Morley ] ] <*> morden@dircon.co.uk [ [ <*> http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/2259/ ] ] <*> "It is good Zathras does not mind. [ [ <*> He has even grown to like it. Oh yes."