Day 8: Fic 3: Jagged Hearts

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Last one, and it's a bit longer. The divisions are arbitrary here, just so the thing fits in three (I hope) posts.

Jagged Hearts, Parts 1-3

                                     Jagged Hearts

 Part III: the Lennier/Ivanova AU 2272

 Set between ‘Objects at Rest’ and ‘Sleeping in Light’, eleven years after the founding of the Interstellar Alliance. AU-- in this storyline,  Susan Ivanova spent only 10 years as a starship captain exploring the Rim. When she was 'promoted' to a desk job at EarthForce headquarters, she resigned and accepted  an alternative offer to head the Rangers for the ISA.

 Some Minbari phrases and titles from the Earth-Minbari dictionary, assembled by John Hightower.

Thanks to Tim and Summer of the Babylon Podcast for asking the question, “Whatever happened to the Centauri Royal Telepaths?”

 Standard disclaimer applies; not my characters or settings or backgrounds, those are JMS and other copyright-owning folks'.  But they are my words.

 
Part I

The winter sun on Minbar is almost luminous, more like moonlight than sunlight, due to the cold dry atmosphere, and the planet’s distance from their sun. Today the sun was lightly shining on the group of beings assembled in the courtyard garden that lay between the ISA headquarters and the Ranger Academy building. It was an odd assortment of people of various races. Most were in Ranger robes, but there were religious caste Minbari, as well as workers and even a few warriors.  There were several humans, mostly older, and a few other races as well. They were standing outside a small open temple in the center of the garden, and watching the five people inside who stood around an open box embedded in the center of a  stone pedestal.

Susan Ivanova, Anla’Shok Na, watched as each of the celebrants approached the box in turn and put in their offering. President Delenn of the Interstellar Alliance had put in a small tin of tea as her offering. “It was his favorite, and I always kept some on hand for him,” she said simply.

Entil’zha John Sheridan placed a crystal in the box. “This is a piece of crystal from the navigational controls of one of the original White Stars. I always picture him at the helm.”

Dr. Stephen Franklin, head of the Xenobiology Section of EarthForce in Geneva, put in a small ring with an outsize crystal adorning it. “He gave it to me as a joke after we pretended to be a honeymooning couple while undercover on Mars. He said no spouse of his would lack a proper ring.” The others laughed softly.

Lennier put in a picture of the two of them, the Minbari smiling gingerly and the human grinning broadly, taken at a booth in the Zocalo in happier times. “He could make anyone laugh when they needed it.”

Susan took a deep breath, and from an inner pocket of her robes, took out a Ranger pin. “He wore this with pride, always. I took it off him before he went into cryosleep. He should have it back today.” She gently placed it in the silk-lined box. She stepped back and let Lennier continue the Minbari portion of the ritual. The soft words washed over her, letting her forget for a moment what was coming next. She heard Delenn’s light voice and John’s husky baritone join in the ritual replies. Stephen stood silent, head bowed, saying his own prayers to his own gods. Then the words stopped, and Lennier put his hand on her arm. “It is time,” he said simply.

Susan lifted her hand to her mouth, and spoke into the open comlink. “Do it.”

They all braced themselves as if waiting for a sign or some kind, a crack of thunder, a bolt of lightning. Delenn had pressed close to John, her eyes closed in painful memory. Her husband put his arm around her and held her close. Susan’s eyes filled briefly with tears, and she reached out blindly towards Lennier, who discreetly took her hand and squeezed it hard. John’s eyes widened as he noted the exchange, but he said nothing. Years of practicing diplomacy had taught him a few things, he thought to himself wryly, like when to speak out and when to keep quiet. He would think about this later.

The comlink chirruped and over the link came the doctor’s voice. “It is done. He lived for the One; he died for the One.”

Lennier dropped Susan’s hand, and with Stephen and John’s help, started to slide a stone circle over the open box. Suddenly, Stephen said, “Look!”

As they all gathered close, they saw that Marcus’ Ranger pin was weeping; two red drops and one clear. Susan reached out gently to touch it, then stopped, “Close it up.”

They moved the circle into place and  Lennier put a small black triangle of glass on top. He used a firestarter to light a flame at the top. “It will burn as long as his memory lives on with us. Let this be a memorial to all Rangers lost in the line of duty, and to those lost following the calling of their heart.”

As they stepped out of the temple, John took Susan’s arm, “Wait a minute. There’s something I want you to see.” They heard a far-off rumble from the southeast, and turning that way, they all saw a formation of four White Stars, approaching, one ahead of the others who trailed behind in an incomplete ‘V’ formation.

“God, John, those are original White Stars! There aren’t many of those left!” said Susan.

“Only twenty or so,” replied Delenn as she came up beside them. “It took a bit of work to get these here in time.”

Stephen was gazing up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun. “That’s the ‘missing man’ formation.”

“Yes it is,” replied John softly. “It seemed appropriate. He wasn’t a military man, but he was a heck of a fine pilot.” He looked at Susan’s drawn face, and quoted, “’And so we commend his body unto the deep.’ They will escort the cryo-chamber into space, and put it on a trajectory into Minbar’s sun.”

The five of them stood close together watching the lead ship pull away and disappear into the west.

Later, over dinner, they discussed their plans. It had been a long difficult year since Lennier had returned, starting with the attempt on David’s life and ending with Marcus’ long-delayed Zann’cha’ri. John and Delenn had decided to take a family vacation of sorts. They needed to meet with the representatives of two races petitioning to join the Interstellar Alliance at Babylon 5. Both races were methane breathers, and the station, with its accommodations for various types of aliens, was an ideal meeting place. It was only polite not to expect them to be the one wearing encounter suits each time they met. They were going to drop out of hyperspace near Proxima 3 to drop David off to visit his aunt and her family, then continue on to the station. Stephen would go with them, and then leave from Babylon 5 to return to Earth. After the negotiations, they would return to Proxima, where they would spend a few days, then return to Minbar. Over dinner, Susan announced that she wanted to go with them. John and Delenn were delighted, as was David. Stephen was pleased as well.

After David had gone off to bed, Lennier voiced his concern. “I do not think it wise for all three of you to leave Minbar at the same time, and on the same ship. We have never determined if there was anyone else involved in the plot last year. If they are still out there, you would be presenting them with an attractive target.”

Delenn looked concerned, but Susan laughed. “We’ll be taking the presidential liner. It’s built along the same lines as the old White Star Monitor class, but with updated armament and defenses. It’ll be manned entirely by hand-picked Rangers. What could go wrong? What we can’t outfight, we can outrun.”

Lennier started to continue his protest, but bit back his reply when he caught sight of Delenn’s worried face. He had no real basis for his objections, just a ‘bad feeling.’ He had learned to trust his bad feelings during his years of wandering, but he knew the others did not understand. “I recently received a message from Vir. He sends his greetings, by the way. An informant I have used in the past wishes to meet with me on Centauri Prime. If it is acceptable, and if you can take on my personal flyer, I will accompany you as far as Proxima.”

“I know there a few open berths, aren’t there, Susan? It would be great to have you along,” replied John.

The conversation continued onwards, even after Stephen had retired to catch up on his messages from work. Finally, Lennier and Susan also left. Both John and Delenn embraced Susan at the door, hoping to convey their sympathy for her still obvious distress. As they walked back to the Ranger Academy, where both had quarters, Lennier said, “May I ask why you decided to accompany them on this trip? I did not know you were considering it until now.”

Susan said, “I hadn’t been. I have tons of work here, but I need to get away for a little while. And after today, I feel the need to have my family around me. And John and Delenn, and David too, are the closest thing I have to family now.”

Lennier was silent at this admission. He felt a little left out of things somehow. Although he had been accepted completely by the others, he did not feel they were ‘family’. He wished he did, and he wished that Susan had included him in her list.

 

Part 2

A few days later, they were on their way. One evening, Susan found herself wandering over to Lennier’s quarters. John was putting David to bed, and Delenn was meditating. Stephen was catching up on medical journals. She hit the door chime, and heard a voice from within say, “Open,” and she went on in. Lennier was sitting cross-legged in front of a low table decorated with a lit candle and several crystals scattered across its surface. He was wearing a tan robe, open to the waist, which revealed his milk-white skin, underlying musculature, and several intriguing scars which criss-crossed his chest.

“I’m sorry if I’m interrupting,” she began…

“No, I was finished,” answered Lennier, as he hastily tied closed his robe. “How may I be of service?”

“It’s nothing important. I guess I’m just at loose ends. I never did do the vacation thing very well.”

“If I know you, you have brought work with you.”

“I’m not in the mood for that either.” Lennier cocked in head in disbelief. “Yeah, I know!’ she continued. “It’s not like me, is it? I just feel betwixt-and-between these days. Not at work, not on vacation. One phase of my life has ended, but nothing new has begun…” Her voice tapered off in awkward confusion. She cleared her throat and began again, “I’m a little worried about Delenn. She seems to be meditating a lot these days. Do you have any idea why?”

“She is preparing for her loss. It takes a great deal of time to develop the emotional flexibility needed to withstand the loss of a mate. More so in her case, both because of the strength of their bond, and because she knows it is coming. The apprehension grows with each passing year, and must be dealt with through mental preparation.”

“She’ll be all right, won’t she? I mean, she’ll be able to get through it?”

Lennier hesitated. “I believe so. In some extreme cases, one mate will choose to follow another back to the Universe, in the hopes that their souls will be reborn together…”

Susan interjected, aghast, “She wouldn’t do that, would she?”

“Not with her responsibility to the Alliance, and especially not with David involved. Even an adult child requires the presence of a parent if possible. It would be considered selfish of her to leave her child, and Delenn has never been that.” Lennier sighed, “No, she will stay, and she will survive, and she will suffer.”

“Perhaps she will find someone else,” Susan said quietly. “No one could replace him, I know, but she might find some comfort elsewhere.”

“It is not the custom of our people to do this. Sometimes, with arranged marriages, where there is no real bonding, it has happened, but it is not sanctioned.”

Susan whistled, “I’ll bet anything John doesn’t know that. It’s certainly not our custom.”

“If he was unaware at the time, surely he has been among Minbari long enough to have learned of it by now. Do not worry, Susan. Delenn knew, and it was her choice.”

“Just when you think their story can’t get sadder, it does. Life just isn’t fair.”

“It is not sad. What is sad is never finding love, or not recognizing love when you find it.”

“Or rejecting it,” added Susan, “Like I did with Marcus.”

“Marcus did love you, I believe that,” Lennier stopped, then continued with some trepidation. “I was never sure whether you actually loved him.”

Susan looked at him curiously, “You know, you’re the first person to ask me that. I think everyone assumed my heart was broken; that there was something between us. Or maybe they were too polite to ask.”

“I guess I am not too polite. I find I would like to know. I think perhaps I need to know.”

She drew a deep breath. Things had been strange between them since they had returned from his father’s Zann’cha’ri. Something, some bond, had started to form during their trip, but it seemed to have stalled with their return to Tuzanoor and their normal lives. Marcus’ ceremony had brought those feelings back to the fore. Now she had a decision to make about where to take this situation. “I don’t know, Lennier. Honestly. I think I was beginning to love him, but I was afraid to look at my feelings too closely. I’ve regretted that for years. I never even acknowledged his feelings, even though I was aware of them. We just didn’t have time, with all that was going on, and then it was over.”

Lennier considered her admission in silence. The small hope that had begun during their earlier trip was growing again. In his more realistic moments, he knew what he was thinking was unlikely at best. Still, as Delenn always said, ‘the heart does as the heart does’, and this attraction was real, at least on his part. Marcus had once told him, ‘faint heart never won fair lady.’ How odd was it for him to take mating advice from his long-gone erstwhile rival?

“Susan,” he began, as he rose and sat beside her on the low couch, “I would like to try something.”

“Yes?” She was quaking inwardly, not knowing whether she feared or hoped for this encounter.

He reached out tentatively, and stroked her face, touching her eyes, which closed and fluttered under his gentle fingers. Then he ran a fingertip down her nose, which made her wrinkle it slightly and laugh. “That tickles!”

“Do you wish me to stop?” His voice was slightly husky.

“No,” she whispered. “No, I don’t”

Now using both hands, he cupped her chin in his palms, stroking her cheekbones with his thumbs. Then he touched her lips, which, with a slight moan, parted in response. His feather light touch outlined her mouth, and he could feel her warm breath flowing towards his palms. As he leaned towards her, hoping he had observed enough human kisses to do this right, her link suddenly shattered the quiet.

“Susan?” John’s voice seemed to fill the room. Lennier jumped back, startled. Susan cursed all the gods of payback that she knew.

“Yeah, what is it!” she barked into the link.

“You wanted to know when that message came in from Minbar. Just letting you know. Did I interrupt something?”

“No, no,” she said ruefully, with a heated glance at Lennier which gave him great hope for the future. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be right there.”

“Ok, I’ll wait for you in the command center. Sheridan out.”

Susan got up slowly and said quietly, and with great emphasis, “We will continue this later. I have to go, I’m sorry.”

“Duty calls us all, Susan. Your devotion to service honors us. I am…sorry we could not finish our,” he hesitated, “our conversation?”

“It was communication of a sort, wasn’t it?” She grinned at him wickedly. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Lennier shook his head, “We will reach the Proxima jumpgate overnight. I will have to leave early in the morning to make my appointment on Centauri Prime. It will have to wait until we get back to Minbar.”

“Then it’ll wait. This isn’t over. Not this time.” She stopped at the door and turned back. She put her hand over her heart and extended the other one towards the Minbari. He repeated the gesture, with a slight bow. “I’ll see you when I see you then,” and with that she was gone.

 

Part 3

Later the next evening, Lennier approached a three story stone townhouse located a few blocks from the Imperial Palace on Centauri Prime. He had had a long, exhausting day, trying to pry information from a reluctant informant, and what he had learned had hardly been worth the trouble. He was tired, and dirty, and hungry. He hoped Vir had something restful planned, and not some wild Centauri party to welcome his return. He raised the golden door-knocker and let it fall, the hollow sound echoing in the passage behind the ornate front door.

“Yes, Ser? May I help you?” asked a young, very pretty Centauri girl.

“Is Ser Cotto in? I believe I am expected,” answered Lennier.

“May I say who is calling?”

“Tell him it is Lennier…” Just then Vir came pelting down the stairway at the end of the hallway visible beyond the door.

“You’re here! Come in, come in! Take his coat, Tanar. And bring us some drinks, tea for my Minbari friend, brevari for me. Come, come…” and he led his old friend into a small room off the main hall. It was dark until he ordered the lamps on. The lights revealed an intimate space with a few pieces of plush furniture, a vid-screen, and some old books on wooden shelves against one wall. There was a large desk in the center of the room, with a wheeled leather chair in front of it. The windows were covered with dark red plush curtains which gave the room a warm cozy feel.

Lennier settled into one of the chairs with a sigh. “It is good to see you, Vir,” he said.

“And you too, my old friend. How went your meeting today?”

The Minbari snorted, “Useless. That Drazi never has any good information. But he always sounds so plausible when he contacts me. I fall for it every time.”

“What was he selling this time?”

Lennier sighed, “I’m still trying to track down the source of the assassination attempt on David Sheridan last year. Or whatever it was.  I still think there were two groups, almost working at cross-purposes. But what is the likelihood of both of them striking at the same time? Or were they working together, and one double-crossed the other? We got nowhere questioning the few we took into custody. The ones in charge were killed or killed themselves.”

Vir stirred uneasily in his chair, then turned towards the door in relief as Tanar entered with a tray containing their drinks and a few small things to eat. After she had left, and they had each helped themselves, Vir said quietly, “I may be able to help.”

“Have you heard something?” asked Lennier.

“It’s a long story. First I have to tell you something of Centauri history.”

“I am listening.”

“Do you know anything about Centauri telepaths?” He continued as Lennier shook his head. “Our telepaths, when identified, are put into the service of our government. They work for the military, for the intelligence service, or at the Royal Court. Usually they come into their powers at puberty, but the very strong ones can be identified as early as 4 or 5 years of age. They are taken from their families, raised in a central location in the capitol, and trained in the use of their abilities. After training, they are assigned a role in the government.”

“I understand. It is not a bad system, although perhaps unfortunate for their parents.”

“Well at least they are not discriminated against, and their position in society is guaranteed. And the great families typically foster their male children at 5 years of age anyway. It is hard on the mothers who lose their daughters though. Centauri females are largely kept isolated once they become mothers. It is considered a mark of respect. Unmarried daughters give them a reason to go out in society.”

“What has this to do with the Alliance, Vir?”

“The Emperor traditionally had four Royal telepaths. Two went with him wherever he went, and two remained at Court. So he could keep track of what was going on, and the Court could keep track of him. When Cartagia came into power, he banned telepaths from the Court. They remained in use by the military and intelligence agencies, but they felt their exile from the Court deeply. When Londo rose to Emperor, many of them assumed, since he was a traditionalist, he would resume their service in the Court. But he didn’t. No one knows quite why…not even I know. Not that I’m that close to Londo right now. Anyway, the telepaths who lost their place are still quite bitter over it. Some of them blame the Shadow War for changing everything, and some of them blame the Alliance.”

“How can they blame the Alliance for the acts of a madman, and for whatever Londo is up to?” exclaimed Lennier.

“I don’t know! It is quite unreasonable. The Shadow influence on Emperor Cartagia was not widely understood, and few knew much about Londo’s association with the Shadows either.  It’s all mixed up with the wars and the bombings…. Remember, the Centauri people were told that the Regent had started the attacks on the Alliance, thereby instigating the war. Some, however, never accepted that explanation. Various conspiracy theories have sprung up over the years, and most have blamed the Alliance rather than admit any fault on our part.”

“So you think these telepaths were behind the assassination attempts?”

“Not exactly. I have someone coming over later. After dinner. She will be able to tell you more than I can.”

“Who is this someone?”

“My sister. Anilia is a telepath.”

Lennier looked at Vir in shock. “I’ve known you for over ten years, Vir. I never knew you had a sister!”

“She was taken from our family when she was four years old. Before I was born. I never knew her. I think losing her was why my family didn’t foster me until I was fifteen. When I came back to Centauri Prime, she looked me up. We see each other occasionally. When she told me what she suspected…well, I’m glad you turned up when you did.”

“What does she know?” Lennier demanded.

“Later, later. After dinner. She wants to tell you herself. It’s all rumor and supposition at this point. Although she said she would try to get some more solid information today. Now, let’s go in, relax, eat, and talk of other things.” With that, Vir stood, and gestured to Lennier to precede him into the dining room.

After dinner, they returned to the small library to await the arrival of Vir’s sister. Lennier told Vir what had happened at Marcus’ Zann’cha’ri.

“I never knew him very well, but he seemed respected, and well-liked,” Vir said. He added with a suggestive leer in his voice, “especially by Commander Ivanova.”

Lennier bristled, and replied, “Marcus was an honorable man, Vir, and Susan never gave anyone reason to speculate about them. She was, she is…” he spluttered to a halt as Vir began to laugh, and wagged a finger at him.

“I knew it! I knew it! You never stop talking about her when you’re here! There’s something going on, isn’t there?” he chortled.

“Maybe,” Lennier acknowledged grudgingly. Then, with a note of despair, “I do not know. Maybe there is, and maybe there isn’t. It is a strange situation, and I cannot be sure what she wants.”

“Are you sure what you want?”

“No, not really. I feel called to her somehow. But it is very strange. Human and Minbari?”

“Well, that’s certainly never happened before,” Vir said with a deadpan expression.

Lennier shook his head, “John and Delenn are different. I am full Minbari for one thing…”

“Piffle. You feel what you feel.”

“But what does she feel? What does she want?” asked Lennier plaintively.

Vir snapped his fingers, and got up from his chair. “I have just the thing!” He rummaged about in his desk, and came up with a small red leather book. It was worn and stained. He turned the pages over, obviously looking for something. “This is my journal. I kept it all through the years on Babylon 5 and on Minbar. I couldn’t record most of what actually happened, that would have been a breach of security, not to mention protocol. But I wrote down events, feelings, thoughts…Ah! Here it is!”

He sat back down, and looked at his friend. “When my wife, my ex-wife now, came aboard the station, I knew little or nothing about women. I went to Ivanova for advice.”

“You asked Susan for mating advice?” asked Lennier incredulously.

“Bold of me, wasn’t it?” Vir said with some pride. “Here it is, this is what she told me would help me relate to my wife, although I had little experience with women. At the time,” he added hastily.

“Of course,” said Lennier, swallowing a smile.

“She said “Enthusiasm, sincerity, genuine compassion, and humor, can carry you through any lack of prior experience.’ Isn’t that good?” Vir was sincerely admiring of the advice.

Lennier repeated the words to himself, vowing to remember it for recording later, “That helps quite a bit, Vir. Thank you.”

“No problem,” answered Vir. They both turned towards the open door at the sound of a door chime. “That’ll be Anilia. I’ll get it, and send Tanar off to bed. We’ll want no interruptions.” He went out of the room to fetch his sister.

Vir spoke briefly to Tanar, letting her know her services were no longer required that evening. He waited until the maidservant had gone out the back way before opening the front door. Anilia brushed past him, and said urgently, “Close the door! Is the Minbari here? I must speak with him!”

“He is in the library,” Vir began, looking on open-mouthed as she rushed past him.

He followed as quickly as he could, and shut the door behind them. Lennier had risen as Anilia entered the room, and bowed to her in greeting. She looked back and forth between the two of them.

“Vir, are you certain he can be trusted? It could mean my life if he is some sort of spy,” asked Anilia anxiously.

“Yes, yes,” said Vir soothingly. “Calm down. I have known Lennier for over ten years! You may speak to him as if you were speaking to me.”

Anilia sat down abruptly. “You must get to them quickly. You must go now. It mustn’t be allowed to happen. You mustn’t let them do it!” She spoke rapidly and held onto Vir’s hands as he stood over her.

“Do what to whom? I will do what I can to help you, but you must calm yourself and speak clearly,” said Lennier, his agitation growing as he witnessed her abject panic.

“The Alliance will not survive this blow. I cannot believe they would go this far…”

Lennier had to keep himself from shaking the Centauri woman. “What blow!” he shouted.

Vir sat down beside Anilia, still holding her hands in his. “Tell me who is doing this thing, sister.”

“The other telepaths are involved somehow, but I do not think they are the instigators. Remember I told you last year, before the attempt on the Sheridan child, that it was about to happen?”

Lennier held himself still with effort and spoke softly to Vir, “You knew that was going to happen, and you didn’t tell me. Why?”

“I sent a messenger when I heard about it. He got to Minbar after everything was over. If they had suspected you were involved, he would have spoken out. At the time it was a rumor, disquieting to be sure, but still just a rumor. And the attempt was thwarted. I know you believed there was more to it, but,” and here he hung his head a little, “I’m ashamed to say I did not agree.” Vir paused to look warmly at his sister, “Anilia is involved in some other operations as well, that are important to our people. I could not risk anyone tracing information back to her. It was only recently that we have begun to suspect that you were correct. We have been trying to figure out what they knew then, and what they know now. Anilia has put herself at great personal risk! ” Vir looked a little coldly at his friend.

Lennier bowed his head in apology and said, “Please continue. And thank you for your efforts in this matter. What have you heard?”

“They have someone on board the ship. A Ranger, who is working with them. There is a bomb…”

Lennier jumped to his feet, “What Ranger! Do you know where the bomb is located? When do they plan to detonate it?”

Anilia shook her head. “They never mention his name. I don’t know where it is located, but it is remotely controlled, and they speak as if it will take out the whole ship. The plan is to activate it inside the jumpgate at Babylon 5.”

Lennier looked at Vir and said deliberately, “John and Delenn are both on board that ship. So is Susan, and Stephen Franklin. This would cripple the Alliance, and the Rangers. A detonation of any size inside the gate would destroy it, and if it is large enough the shock wave might take out the station as well.”

Vir replied anxiously, “What I do not understand is who is behind all these plots? It can’t be our telepaths…they would have no contact with Rangers. Or with Minbari telepaths, like the one involved in the plot last year. Or with your clan members! And yet they know about things before they happen. Are they picking it up from someone’s mind? Someone on Centauri Prime? Is there one controlling force that is behind all these events?”

“We need to know these things, Vir, but right now it is more important that I catch up with that ship. Can we get a message to them?” asked Lennier impatiently.

“Yes, except we don’t know who the traitor is. If we send a message and it is intercepted somehow, he might set the bomb off early,” said Vir.

“That settles it, then. I will have to deliver the message in person. My ship was being refueled and refitted. With any luck it will be ready to go.” Lennier was pulling on his jacket as he spoke.

Vir put out his arms and Lennier grasped his forearms in farewell. “The Great Maker be with you. I will continue to investigate from this end.”

Lennier bowed low to Anilia, “You have done me a great service today. I thank you.”

She nodded her head, and remained seated while Vir accompanied Lennier to the door. The space port was only a few blocks away, he could walk the distance in the time it would take to call a hovercab. “Good-bye, my friend. And good hunting!” said Vir as he watched Lennier stride quickly away into the night.