Day 8: Fic 3: Jagged Hearts
Aug. 8th, 2007 09:15 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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babylon5_love
Jagged Hearts
Thanks to Tim and Summer of the Babylon Podcast for asking the question, “Whatever happened to the Centauri Royal Telepaths?”
As Lennier sped through Centauri space towards the jumpgate, planning to intercept the others along the route they had taken half a day before, the people he was frantically worried about were sitting down to dinner. John and Delenn had invited Susan and Stephen to their quarters for what John called a ‘celebratory’ meal. Susan smiled at the typically Minbari spread laid out on the table, all vegetarian and no alcohol. John had certainly changed in the last decade. No way he would have considered this party fare before he’d gotten married!
“So, what are we celebrating?” she asked, sneaking a
“Well,” began John, a huge smile on his face, “This is the first time since David was born that Delenn and I have been anywhere without him. Together, at the same time, traveling to the same place, time to be alone…” He added reflectively as he watched his wife gracefully enter the room, carrying a tray with drinks, “Maybe we should make this a quick meal. You two must have things to do, right?”
Susan almost laughed out loud at the hopeful expresson on his face. “We won’t stay long, don’t worry! We wouldn’t want to overstay our welcome!”
Stephen had gone over to help Delenn with the tray and had missed the exchange between the other humans. “What are you two laughing about?” demanded Stephen. “Come on, share.”
“We may have to eat and run, Stephen,” chortled Susan. “John has suddenly remembered he’s alone with his wife for once, and is regretting the invitation.”
Delenn came up and took her husband’s arm, “You did not say that, John! It is disrespectful to our guests.”
He looked at her with sad eyes and said, “You mean you don’t want to be alone with me?”
She started to laugh, “Do you even need to ask? But we also need to eat, and that we can do just as well with company, or better. When we eat alone, you often do not allow me to finish…” she paused and blushed. “Um, perhaps we’d better sit down and begin.”
Susan and Stephen exchanged fond glances. It was like old times, teasing Delenn. Her sense of humor had always leaned more to the subtle and ironic, rather than the broad and suggestive. She’d learned over the years, but you could still catch her out with some good old-fashioned human ribaldry.
As the old friends ate and talked they kept the conversation deliberately light. They had all been affected by the final loss of Marcus, and wanted to focus on happier times.
Afterwards, Susan brought out a small flask of brandy, and addressed John. “A little in your coffee won’t hurt. I don’t think you could stand more than a little, after all this time, anyway. It’s ok for you to be near alcohol, isn’t it, Delenn?”
“Oh yes, as long as I don’t drink it. Some Minbari cannot even stand the odor, but I never had any trouble, even before my transformation.”
“What exactly does it do to your people? I’ve seen the medical data your people have released, which was not terribly complete, by the way, but I’ve never seen the effects personally,” asked Stephen.
“It’s hard to describe. I’m not a physician, or a biologist. You know it’s a neurotoxin of sorts, affecting mostly the pathways that control aggressive, violent behavior. Enough of it is fatal, a little can be most unpleasant, both for the Minbari, and also for anyone around them at the time. You don’t want to see it, Stephen, believe me,” answered Delenn.
John and Susan were debating the quality of the coffee, and discussing whether any areas of Minbar were suitable for cultivation of the plants. Stephen had declined brandy, but was indulging in some Minbari slon’sha. Usually a Minbari meal ended with fruit as dessert, but they had a few sweets reserved for special occasions. This was a light pastry, glazed with some substance similar to honey.
“It is one of Lennier’s favorites. I was hoping he would be able to join us. Do you know what business took him to Centauri Prime, Susan?” asked Delenn.
Susan shifted uncomfortably. She hated bringing up the events of last year when everyone was so relaxed. “Information on that business with his clan last year. You know he still feels some responsibility.”
John looked at her intently. “He knows we don’t hold him responsible, right? Because we don’t.”
“Yeah, he knows. But he doesn’t accept it. It’s an honor thing,” she answered. “And besides, he’s right. We do still need to find out for sure who was behind it. Until we know, we can’t be sure they won’t try again.”
They all looked somber at that thought, and Stephen attempted to lighten the mood by asking after Vir. Susan regaled them with stories Lennier had brought back from Centauri Prime. Delenn offered to make some more coffee and tea, and Stephen helped her take some of the plates and cups into the small kitchen area of their quarters. John and Susan helped themselves to some more brandy while the others were gone.
In the small kitchen area, Delenn set more water to heat for tea, and refilled the carafe with coffee. Stephen rinsed out cups, dried them, and replaced them on the tray.
“How are you doing?” he asked Delenn. “I mean, with the whole thing with Marcus and all.”
Delenn sighed, “I am glad it is over and at the same time, terribly sad. It was hard to think of him in that chamber all these years. Most times I felt he left us back in 2261, and all that we had kept was an empty shell. Sometimes, though, I almost thought I could hear him calling me, begging for release. It seemed cruel to keep any part of him there when he deserved to move on.”
Stephen nodded. “You know, I believe in heroic efforts to preserve life. It’s what I do, but sometimes extreme measures can seem, well, extreme.”
Delenn looked down at the cup she had picked up, “But I am a hypocrite. If you came to me tomorrow and proposed some scheme to keep John alive past his allotted span, I am afraid I would leap at it, no matter what it was. That is why it has been hard watching Susan waver over her decision concerning Marcus. I pushed her to let him go, knowing I might not be able to in her position. She saw that and became very angry with me.”
“It is part of being human to see clearly what others should do, and yet be reluctant to apply those lessons to your own life. Susan was caught in a difficult situation, and so are you. Don’t punish yourself for loving him so much.” Stephen laid one arm gently around her shoulders. Her hands had begun to shake, and he took the cup from her and laid it back on the tray. He took her in his arms as she began to softly cry. He was close to tears himself. Saying good-bye is a process. The seeds of farewell are planted in the beginning of every relationship. Sometimes the harvest lasts a lifetime.
“How are you doing?” John asked Susan. “What with Marcus, and Lenn…I mean, with everything?”
Susan looked up sharply, but decided to ignore his near reference to Lennier. She didn’t want to go there right now. “All right, I guess. It was a good send-off. I think he would have liked it. I’m glad we were all able to be there. I wish G’Kar could have come, and Michael. But with both Mary and Lise sick I could see him not wanting to be off-planet.”
And this would be a dicey time for G’Kar to leave Narn as well.”
“Yes, it’s good to have friends around at times like this. That’s why I’m so glad Lennier is back. Delenn never stopped missing him, and wishing he would come back. She can use all the friends she can get.” He stopped abruptly, then continued, “It’s her greatest fear, Susan. Being alone. She’s spent so much of her life isolated from those around her, set apart…aside from everything else, that’s what I hate the most about having to leave her.”
“She’ll have friends, John. We won’t let her down. I’m in this for the long haul, and so is Lennier, now.”
“What do you mean, now? Has something changed for him, um, recently?”
Susan almost laughed out loud. John was trying to probe delicately, but his curiosity was evident. Then again, she reflected, maybe it would help him to understand Lennier’s stance. “When we were gone, you know, to Lennier’s father’s Zann’cha’ri, a couple of things happened. You know I came to my decision to release Marcus. After the flyer crash, we were holed up in a rest along the road, and Lennier came to a decision too.”
John held his breath. He wasn’t sure what to expect here, but he didn’t want to stop Susan’s confidence. It was hard enough to get her to open up. “What kind of decision?” he asked gently.
“He decided to perform his own ceremony of release. He let go of his feelings for Delenn…how did he put it? He said he couldn’t be the friend she needed unless he let go of the love she didn’t want.”
John sighed, “I wish I could tell him how much I appreciate that. His friendship is terrifically important to her.”
“I think he knows. He doesn’t talk much, but he sees a lot, and understands more than he shows.” She hesitated, “He’s an interesting person. I’ve gotten to know him a little better since he’s been working for the
John waited a moment, but she seemed finished. “Anyone Delenn put that much trust and faith in has to be a pretty good guy.”
Susan decided it was time to change the subject, “So do you two talk a lot about your, well, your leaving?”
“Yeah, I asked Lennier about the ritual thing before he left. He said the same thing, it’s her way of preparing.” She hesitated, then went ahead, “He told me Minbari don’t re-marry. Did you know that?”
John closed his eyes, as if to ward off something he didn’t want to see. “I know now. I didn’t know when I asked her to marry me. She knew, of course. At one point, early on, I hoped Lennier might re-appear afterwards and well…but that’s not going to happen. I just hate the thought of her alone…” His voice trailed off, pain apparent in his tone.
“Well, we all hate the thought of your leaving,” she spoke a little briskly, trying to head off the emotions welling up in her. “Did Lorien say how it would happen?”
“He said I’d just stop. I guess I’ll have some warning.” He paused, then went on, “Did you ever hear what happened on the Brakiri Day of the Dead, back on the station, after you left?”
“I heard it was pretty wild, but no details. Why, did you see something?”
“Not me personally, but
Susan stared, “You’re kidding me. She didn’t even know Kosh!”
“That was the weird thing. She didn’t even recognize his name, and it was his full name, which wasn’t widely known.”
“Well, what did he say? Typical Vorlon vagueness, I suppose.”
“He said, ‘When the long night comes, return to the end of the beginning.’ I’ve thought about that for years.”
“What do you think it means? If it means anything.”
“I think I’ll see them again, Kosh and maybe Lorien. At the end. I’m not afraid of it, you know. Only I can’t bear the thought of those I’m leaving behind.”
“We’ll take care of them, John. It won’t be near the same, but we’ll all do our best.”
John pressed her arm in thanks, and rose as Delenn and Stephen entered, taking the tray from his wife with a warm and welcoming smile. Stephen sat down near Susan and they exchanged a glance that said clearly, ‘almost time to go.’ After one more drink, that’s just what they did.
Part 5
Lennier sat in the cockpit of his flyer, trying to meditate away his mounting fear. He had shifted as much power as he could to the engines, and he had set the proper course to catch up with the others as quickly as possible. If they had stayed the alloted time in Proxima space, and if they kept to their stated course, and if they went at a normal speed, he should be able to intercept them well before they reached the jumpgate at Epsilon 3. There was nothing to do now but wait. He had decided Vir was right about trying to communicate with the liner; he couldn’t be sure the message would not be intercepted by the traitor in their midst. The ship had a secure line back to Minbar, but he had no access to it. His private comlink to Susan wouldn’t work in hyperspace, or it might, but not until he was practically on top of the liner, in which case he might as well tell them personally rather than risk his message being garbled.
He tried not to think about what would happen if he got there too late, or if the traitor decided to set off the bomb early, or if it malfunctioned…so many things could go wrong and result in him finding only debris, if that. Or perhaps the bomb would only disable the ship and set it adrift in hyperspace, off the beacons, lost forever. He vowed to spend the rest of his life searching for it if that was the case. He toyed with various messages he could send that would reveal something to Susan or Delenn, but that their betrayer wouldn’t understand, but he couldn’t come up with anything. He was almost amused at his lack of ability to await the outcome calmly. He had lost a lot of his talent for patient waiting over the years. When he had joined the Anla’shok, he had told Delenn he would try to become more what she wanted. It was Sheridan he was trying to emulate, and partly Marcus. That hadn’t worked out too well. The irony of it was, he was far more like the humans now, after his years of wandering and hard living, than he ever imagined he could be. Maybe that’s why he was so attracted to one of them now. Although he found he did not think of Susan as human as such; she was just Susan, and unique. Realizing he still had several hours before he could possibly catch up to the ship, he decided to try and sleep. There would be no time for rest once he got on board.
***************************************
The next morning John and Delenn didn’t appear for breakfast, and Susan forbade anyone to try and reach them by link. “Oh no, been there, done that, been chewed out good for it. Leave ‘em alone. It’s a vacation for them too,” she instructed the Ranger who’d wanted to give them a report on the nothing that was happening right now.
She wandered the bridge until she caught two of the crew making faces at each other behind her back. A far cry from when she ruled C&C with an iron fist, she thought. Rangers were a different breed. She’d never been able to figure out Marcus. For the first time in years she realized the thought of Marcus was not followed by a stab of pain. Maybe the Minbari had a point about those rituals…an alarm began to sound from the navigation station.
“Anla’shok Na, a vessel is approaching on an intercept vector. It is moving quite quickly.”
“Can you get a visual on it? Have you tried hailing it?”
“I believe it is Sech Lennier’s flyer, Anla’shok Na. He is requesting permission to dock.”
“Go ahead. I’ll head down to the docking bay to see what’s up.” Susan felt her spirits rise at the prospect of seeing Lennier again. He must have finished his business on Centauri Prime early, and decided to re-join them. It probably hadn’t panned out. He was indefatigable in chasing down leads on whoever had led his clan members astray, and threatened the
She watched the flyer dock from the observation platform, then descended to the bay floor to greet Lennier. His face lit up when he saw her waiting at the end of the walkway, but sobered quickly as he recalled his mission. When he got close enough, he bowed deeply, placing one hand over his heart, and she did the same. “It’s good to see you back so quickly…” she began, but he interrupted, “We have to talk. I need to speak to you, John, Delenn, and Stephen. Right away, and somewhere we won’t be interrupted and preferably cannot be easily overheard.”
Susan was taken aback by his vehemence, but simply nodded, and hit her link, catching John and Delenn in their quarters, where she asked them to stay until her arrival. She reached Stephen in the cafeteria, and asked him to join them. Lennier was walking ahead of her as she talked, and she had to speed up to catch up with him. Something was definitely wrong.
When they reached the presidential quarters, Lennier hit the door chime, then barreled in as soon as the door was open, almost knocking John over. Stephen was right behind them, and in the confusion of greetings and questions, Lennier’s voice was almost lost. Finally, he said loudly, “Everyone be quiet!”
They all stared at him, and Delenn immediately sat down in alarm. “What is wrong, my friend? What has you so upset?”
The others took their seats, and Lennier turned to Susan, “Is there any way you can be sure we are not being overheard?”
Susan looked at John for permission, then went to the comscreen on the wall, hit a few commands, and said “I’m sure now. What’s going on?”
Lennier took a deep breath and began. He told them quickly what he had learned from Vir and his sister on Centauri Prime. Delenn turned pale and reached for John’s hand, which he took and gripped hard. Susan swore, and spoke, “John and I personally vetted every Ranger in this crew! How could this have happened?”
“More importantly, what are we going to do about it? We can’t search the whole ship, not by ourselves!” queried John.
“How many crew members are there?” wondered Stephen.
“About fifty. We have at least a day and a half before we reach the Epsilon 3 jumpgate. That gives us some time,” interjected Susan.
“Do you suppose the Ranger is a telepath, like the ones on Centauri Prime who knew about this plot?” asked Stephen.
Susan answered before she thought, “No, I’d know that. I always know if someone’s a telepath when I meet them.” The others stared at her, except John, who smiled a little at her gaffe, and Delenn, whose face remained impassive. Susan registered the others’ reactions, then looked away, a little afraid.
Lennier said slowly, “So, you are a latent telepath? That is…interesting.”
Stephen sputtered a bit, then blurted out, “Why didn’t you tell any of us? John, did you know? Lord, this is a surprise!”
“Does it matter right now?” said Susan in some disarray from the accidental revelation of her long kept secret. She snuck a glance at Lennier, hoping he wasn’t upset, but his expression merely showed concern.
Delenn, who had been sitting silently for a few moments, then addressed Lennier directly, as the others continued talking. “Do you know what they want, Lennier? Is it personal or political?”
“I cannot be sure. I am still not sure who is behind these attacks. There is a directing force, I am sure of it. But I do not know enough yet.”
The discussion raging around her, Delenn came to a decision. “Be silent, all of you.”
They all stopped with varying degrees of astonishment or disturbance at her authoritative tone. “I am president of the
She stood, and paced the room for a moment, then spoke, “Susan, I need you to make sure David is safe on Proxima. There is a chance our renegade Ranger got off there, or
that he is not acting alone. Send a party from the Ranger station nearest Proxima Three to guard him and John’s other family members. This may be a co-ordinated attack, if it is personal.” She went on, “John, you helped in the design of this ship. You and Lennier access the computer plans, and try to determine areas where a small, easily concealed explosive device would do the most damage. It takes a great deal of force to destroy a jumpgate, and I doubt they smuggled anything large on board, so location will be important. Make copies of the plans for each of us, to aid us in our search.” Then she turned to Stephen and Susan, “Stephen, is there any drug or medicine you could use to force people to speak the truth? We would need something for human and Minbari; I believe all the crew members are one or the other species. Susan, I will need you to set up an interview process. You and I will speak to each crew member, seeing if we can identify the traitor. Your own intuition, and perhaps your psi talents, can help with the humans…and I may be of some use questioning the Minbari crew members. If we suspect someone, Stephen can help us interrogate them further. If someone leaves us and does not return to his or her duties, we will need to be able to track them…do their links still contain homing beacons? Are they useful at short range, on board ship?”
Stephen was clearly rattled at this new incarnation of the gentle Minbari he had known for years, and Susan stared at her with one raised eyebrow, and open admiration. John and Lennier exchanged glances of pride, mixed with amusement. They both knew this version of Delenn well, and were just glad she was on their side. Lennier bowed deeply, then went over to the comscreen to begin his task.
John gave Delenn a quick hug and whispered in her ear, “Don’t be too hard on them. We’re all a little scared. I love you.” Then he went to join Lennier in their allotted task.
Stephen left for the ship’s medical facilities, still shaking his head, while Susan put a quick call in to Proxima to arrange the extra guards. She then left with Delenn to set up the interviews in the main conference room.
Part 6
John and Lennier worked in a stressful but companionable silence on the maps. They could only find a half dozen good locations for a small but powerful explosive to both take out the ship and trigger the chain reaction that would destroy a jumpgate. They both agreed that timing would be critical to the success of the blast. So the explosion was probably not a timed detonation, but operated by remote control by someone actually on the ship. This meant a suicide bomber, which Lennier as a Minbari had a particularly hard time understanding. Self-sacrifice in the cause of life was one thing, but to kill oneself to purposefully cause the death of innocents was incomprehensible. The shock wave from the explosive destruction of a jumpgate could take out
Susan and Delenn did not wait for Stephen to begin the interviews.
As each Ranger filed into the room, he or she stood in front of a desk at which Susan was seated. She asked a few questions while trying to keep her mind open for any anomaly she could scan. Since she had never been able to read anyone but her mother, it seemed pretty futile, but she did her best. Delenn asked provocative questions, trying to trip them up, but mostly they seemed confused or mildly upset. When they left, Susan tracked them on the desk computer, and so far, they had all either returned to their station or headed for crew quarters, or one of the common areas. None of them high-tailed it to the engine rooms. Susan was beginning to chafe at this seemingly profitless activity; she wanted to join the search belowdecks. Besides, it all reminded her too much of the day they uncovered Talia’s hidden personality. Now, that brought back bad memories. The next Ranger entered, a Minbari called Lashon as she recalled. As he stood in front of her, she felt a chill go over her, and realized that she couldn’t ‘feel’ anything from the Minbari. He had no mental signature at all. Delenn was staring at him uneasily, looking as if she was trying to focus her eyes on something about chest level. The Ranger stared back with no expression, and finally asked, “How may I be of service, Anla’shok Na, Madame President?”
Just then Stephen entered the doorway with a tray of vials and syringes. Delenn swayed on her feet, then collapsed onto the floor. The Ranger bolted for the door, crashing into Stephen, sending glass vials everywhere. Stephen made a grab at the escaping man, ripping loose his Ranger cloak to reveal a wrinkled grey blob attached to the man’s shoulder. As Stephen recoiled in horror, the blob opened one yellow eye. Lashon sprinted out the door, dragging his cloak back over the creature. Susan swore, and ran for the door. “Take care of Delenn!” she shouted back over her shoulder, as she chased the Ranger down the corridor.
Stephen was helping Delenn into a chair when Susan returned from her fruitless quest. “He got away. I don’t know if he’s the only one. We can track him by his link.” She headed for the computer as she spoke.
Delenn looked up from Stephen’s ministrations, “Warn them, Susan. He must be heading for the explosives. What was that thing?”
Susan shook her head, “I tried. There are a few areas of the engine room where internal communications don’t work. I can’t get through. I’ll keep trying.”
Stephen interjected, “I don’t know if it helps, but I’ve seen one of those before. On Mars.”
The two women stared at him. “Go on,” said Susan.
“It was attached to a member of the Mars Resistance, a man called Captain Jack. It directed his actions, took over his mind. He had no control over what he did or said,” answered Stephen with a shudder. “We removed it, but he said they grew back, they always grew back. You could never get rid of it completely.”
“It is Shadow-touched,” said Delenn shakily. “I could feel it. I could almost see it, vaguely, there on his shoulder. I’ve seen or felt something like it before, but I can’t remember…”
“It doesn’t matter,” said Susan forcefully. “We’ve got to get ahold of John and Lennier before he gets down there. We’ll follow him, he’ll lead us to the bomb, and we’ll get rid of it. Then we’ll worry about dealing with Lashon and the whatever-it-is.”
The other two nodded and followed her quickly out of the room.
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