Three days after the Drakh attack on Earth; just before midnight, Minbari Local Time.
Outside the broad window of his office, the gloomy rain-filled night seemed all too appropriate, John Sheridan mused, as he stood, all alone, the smell of the rain filling the night, the falling drops silouetted against the pale glowing towers of Tuzanor.
It was a dark and stormy night...as, for all intents and purposes, a dark and stormy night of the soul had come upon the people of Earth. For even though the Drakh had been driven away, their dreams of conquest unrealized, the task ahead of the crew that was, even now, pulling together on the EXCALIBUR would be a tremendously difficult undertaking. He *hoped* that he had made the right choice, in picking Matthew Gideon as her captain...time would tell, on that score. Time would tell, indeed...
But there were other choices to be made for now; equally difficult, and equally necessary. While EXCALIBUR and her new crew were well capable of taking care of themselves, given the choice, he wasn't about to only rely on their skills...since the Drakh would no doubt begin to try taking out the destroyer once they learned of her mission; would keep on trying, until either they succeeded, or the EXCALIBUR and her crew, did.
There was, however, a way to boost the chances of the later outcome; an option that would, as he realized all too well, send another crew, and another ship, into the darkness until the EXCALIBUR's mission was completed...however long that took.
Sheridan prayed that it wouldn't take the full five years that Earth's people and creatures had left to them, on the *outside*. And even though he knew he would have to fight tooth and nail with some involved to make this happen, in his mind it had *already* happened...the decision had already been made. And it wasn't as if there wasn't a precedence for this sort of thing...the concept went back to the days when Earth's great powers sailed the oceans of water instead of the vastness of space...
Three centuries before, the 'big gun' ships that been the top of the line in that age, such as battleships and aircraft carriers, had *always* gone on their missions escorted by other, lesser cruisers and smaller ships. This 'escort group' had served to draw a line against the Enemy...and while battle tactics had certainly changed in the galactic-scale warfare of the present day, many things hadn't changed in the slightest.
Although the matter of EXCALIBUR's escort was certainly trickier to plan then those of bygone days . On one hand, there were the myriad ships of the White Star Fleet to draw on...but he had promised the people of Earth that the Rangers and their Fleet would be out on the front lines of the search, and to hold any of them back from that task would be difficult. That, when it came down to it, only left *one* other option open to him...an option even now holding station at the Langrange point sixty degrees ahead of Minbar's outer moon...
The SHARD OF NIGHT was something that almost no one involved, not the threatened billions of the Earth Alliance, not the Drakh, and *certainly* not the crew of the EXCALIBUR, knew anything about...and it had to stay that way, if this plan of his had any chance of working; the powerful little ISA battlecruiser could end up being his ace-in-the-hole...but only if the Drakh spies that Galen had warned him about didn't find out about her first.
And if the secrecy could be maintained, the SHARD and her crew stood a good chance at fulfilling the role he had planned for them...
...as one of the only, if not *the* only ship in the Alliance that the Drakh wouldn't be able to see coming, *until* it would already be too late for them to do anything about that advance.
Admittedly, the SHARD was only one ship, and no matter how hard she fought, some of the Drakh would get through from time to time, to attack the EXCALIBUR. But that would be acceptable odds; the crew and weapons of the EXCALIBUR would stand a much better chance against a Drakh offensive fleet weakened in such a fashion...
It was then that the main doors to his office opened, and Sheridan turned away from the view and his thoughts to see two out of the handful of people he trusted implicitly enter the room.
The first, her long dark hair swept cleanly away beneath the tiara-like shape of her headbone, was his partner...the only one he now loved; Delenn. Tonight, she wore black, the jewel of her present calling vivid against the darkness...and again, he was reminded that she was Entil'zha to those he would shortly be sending into the Night on this impossible mission. She was their leader, and he knew that the responsibility of sending the Rangers into tasks that might possibly kill them weighed heavily on her.
The second, steps behind and beside his Leader, was a human who had chosen to walk at his side throughout the battles that had raged during his final years in Earthforce, the time he had spent commanding Babylon 5. This man, his hair now streaked broadly with silver, his beard close behind, had served both he *and* Delenn loyally for the better part of a decade; and had, for the most part, been responsible for making of the White Star Fleet what it was today. But the smile that had come so often to Councillor Westcastle's face over the past five years was missing, now.
"In the darkness, with the rain..." his wife began, her eyes heavy with the knowledge of his many moods. "You may think the image appropriate, John, but in my opinion, it is a little overdone. The skies do not yet weep at the passing of Earth's people...there is still *hope*, I will not let you forget this."
"I *know*..." he replied, the weight of what had happened in the last week showing in his voice...but he didn't much care. "But for a while, I needed to be alone. The decisions I've had to make about the EXCALIBUR and her mission were difficult ones..and the decisions aren't finished with, yet."
"We understand this, sir..." William interjected from the other side of the window, as he reached out his hand to touch the rain falling from Minbar's skies. "But the decision you have *yet* to make is one that the Entil'zha and I have decided should not...*cannot* be made alone...Mr. President. By my estimate, one hundred and twenty Anla'shok will be required for this task...would you speak to each and every one of those Rangers, and send them to their deaths yourself?"
"While some of the decisions may be made by you..." Delenn reminded him seriously, "This is something that only *I* can do."
"I know..." Sheridan slowly replied, his voice rough with exhaustion. "But I have to talk to the command crew, Delenn!...and especially the Captain, whoever we end up choosing to do the job. And I'm *damned* if I know who that should be..."
Beside him, William turned away from the gloom and the light beyond the window's edge, his expression all too bleak, and knowing. "Mr. President. Entil'zha...if you will please let me make a *suggestion*?"
* * *
A short time later; the Westcastle family quarters.
Their faces stony, William and his beloved wife and instructor sat across from one another, their table of black stone bare, save for his half-eaten dinner, now gone cold, and the single, tall candle that burned in the table’s center. For the first time in his memory, something had come between them...a something that affected billions of humans, across a hundred sectors.
He had not wanted to tell her what he and the others had decided, less then a hour before...had wanted to put off this matter for as many hours as was possible. But *she*, of course, had seen it in his face the instant he walked past the threshold of their home. Had *known* that a terrible and momentous decision had been made...and had demanded that he tell her what had happened, in the name of their union, and what they had shared in the past...together.
He could not refuse such a request...and so, he had told her. And the walls of silence had come crashing down; a wall of pain, terrible to behold.
And so inevitable.
Eventually, she spoke again, as he knew she would. "I will not ask you to explain *why* you and the others are doing this, William; I understand the reasons. But I will never be able to bring myself to accept what you have done together, this night."
He nodded, all too bitterly, in response to those biting words. "The President has called upon the Rangers to help save the people of Earth in their darkest hour of need; and the Call must be answered, the duty borne. We are Anla'shok, Jennifer, and so is *she*...and when the President asks her to do this, as you know, she will go, with the rest, because it is the right thing to do. Even though this could mean death at the hands of the Drakh, or worse..."
And then, Jennifer raised her gaze to meet his, her cheeks streaked with tears. "Or worse? I seem to have forgotten!...there's always 'worse' out there, isn't there? The Universe wasn't content to simply throw the Shadows at us, and steal away part of our lives, now was it? NO!...it also had to pull the Drakh out of its deck, and steal the rest of HER youth, as well! Will it never end, William? Will there never come a time when we can simply stand back and say, 'it is done...the battle is over?
And will the war against the Darkness continue through the lives of our children, and theirs? *Farther*?" William quickly rose, then, and moved to end her suffering...and time enough it was, as Jennifer turned, and clung to him, as if seeking solace from the Night beyond their balcony's verge.
"Valen willing..." he whispered, "That will not be the case. But if they are to enjoy the future they deserve, for now, Julia and the crew she will surround herself with must walk the path of the Fire, once again...one more mission, a mission of terrible importance..."
"Five years..." Jennifer replied, her eyes now beginning to dull with the need for slumber. "An exile from all those they know and love...
In the name of Earth, and her people. What have they done, to deserve such a thing?"
William nodded somberly at that final comment, as he gently took his love towards their bed, and the sleep that he hoped they would both be able to find. Five years; only, he hoped...he *prayed*...that it would not take that long to find the cure.
For everyone's sake.
* * *
Outside ISA Headquarters, Tuzanor; mid-morning, local time.
Four days after the Drakh attack on Earth.
What I do, I do in the name of duty, she thought, as she strode briskly down the stone and crystal colonade that curved around the tower just south of ISA headquarters. Behind her, to the southeast, the brilliant white sun of Minbar was rising above the deep layer of fog that filled the Valley of Sorrows...the calling card of the previous night's rain. The sun, however, shone cleanly through that fog layer, casting shards of rainbow light from the crystal pillars of the colonade.
A new dawn; bringing with it so many questions...
What I do, I do in the name of honour, she mentally added, moments later, as she passed through the sun-facing entrance of ISA HQ, emblazoned, like the other two portals, with the star-and-spiral emblem of the Alliance. The President has called upon me, and come I must, for that is the way of my kind; to follow the orders of the man who has guided us through eight of the most frightening, wonderous years the galaxy has ever seen...
But there were, however, some things she didn't understand. Already, her Sha'vei had begun to redeploy elements of the Fleet in response to the President's command; the ones nearest to the Rim, the ones most able to begin the search, were already gone, and most of the rest wouldn't be too far behind.
So why, then, wasn't she with Tashann at this moment, helping to direct that deployment? Why, in Valen's Name, had the President summoned *her* to this place? The possibilities...both troubled and excited her.
And finally, the moment came as expected, and she found herself in the foyer that lead to the President's office; a place of light, and of the Minbari whose place it was. Her name were Chiraval; chosen by Delenn, as Julia understood it, another member of the family of Mir...and Julia arrived to find Delenn's younger cousin attentive, and waiting on the threshold.
Chiraval bowed to her, a bow that Julia returned. "Anla'shok Val'na Tikopai." the young Minbari whispered, her smile a smile of tragic repose. "You are...expected."
Julia frowned at that...it had been her understanding the rank was only to be temporary...what was *going* on? "I understand...if I may pass?" Chiraval nodded, and pulled open the door to let her pass...but even as she made to do so, Julia felt a touch upon her arm, and turned.
"In the last five of your years..." Chiraval murmured, "I have seen many different visitors pass through this portal, Val'na. And it is often the case that those visitors emerge changed by their ordeal. This is your first time into his place of power...and I have heard of you...what you are, where you have been...and you will not emerge from this without being changed by his touch. This I know to be true, already."
"We shall see."
"We shall, at that." Chiraval backed away, then. "You may enter."
Julia paused at the verge, took a deep breath, and then stepped inside...beyond the point of no return. As if in grave accompanyment to that thought, the door closed behind her with a rather ill-timed boom, while her eyes were drawn, as if magnetically, to meet the gaze of the man whose room this was; the tired, but penetrating gaze of President John Sheridan.
And then, it began. A moment of revelation. A moment of perfect beauty...before the storm.
"Do you know why you are here, Captain Tikopai?" the President began, rising out of his chair. At this beginning, she felt an almost palpable shock go through her... CAPTAIN? This was the title that all but screamed the word 'Mother', in her mind!...her mother had been a captain through thick and thin, through crises both known and classified, and was still out there, on the deep range, even now probably receiving new orders to do with the search for the plague cure.
Her mother was the captain in the family...not HER! And that shock must have certainly reached her face by now, because President Sheridan was nodding grimly at her discomfort. After a moment, he gestured her to take a seat, which she did...before sitting down himself.
"You heard correctly, *Captain*...and you will forgive me if, for the time being, I do not use the Ranger rank you hold, because I am not familiar with the term. 'Captain' is a word I know, and a word I understand, all too well...and its meaning, and all the baggage the comes with the rank."
"Of course, sir..." she whispered, still doing her best to deal with what had just happened; she knew her histories, and would not even question his wisdom on *that* topic... "I...understand."
"No, Captain..." the President replied, his gaze now sharp. "I don't believe that you do; but that's the reason I summoned you here today, so that you might *begin* to understand what this is all about. First: it is my understanding that High Councillor Westcastle temporarily conferred upon you your present rank just prior to the defence of Earth against the Drakh. Is this true, or not?"
"It is...sir."
The President made a note on a piece of paper on his desk, before bringing another into plain sight, and signing it. "So far, so good, Captain...as of right now, as President of the Interstellar Alliance, and with the agreement of your leader, Entil'zha Delenn, I am making that promotion PERMANANT." The President pushed the scroll across the desk, and with a nod of his head, invited her to pick it up, and read it...which she did, her hand shaking, all the while...
"I...thank you for this honour...sir." But why? What did this *mean*?
"You may not want to thank me just yet, Captain; with that permanancy comes a job I wouldn't wish on anyone, not even you...despite the glowing recommendations I've received from the Rangers who have both trained with and commanded you, over the past five years." She nodded at that, knowing *exactly* which Rangers would appear on that list...but what of the task that went with the rank? What was the mission?
"Sir...with all due respect, and you will forgive me for saying this, but I don't believe I understand where this is going, any longer! My commander, Tashann of the Minbari, is even now redeploying the White Star Fleet in preparation for the start of the EXCALIBUR's search for the cure to the plague that ails the people of Earth. You imply that I must *command*...and yet, every Ranger command I know of is already on its way out towards the Rim!"
"Not every command, Captain..." came the inevitable reply. "There's one closer to home then just about anybody realizes...and if your mission is to succeed, that must continue to be the case." The President rose to his feet, then, inviting her to follow suit. "The mission that the EXCALIBUR is about to begin is a critical one; it is a mission that cannot fail, if the people of Earth are to survive...and they must survive, because if we let that plague run its course, we will have conceded victory to the Drakh and their forces... and that cannot be allowed.
As such, the EXCALIBUR must be PROTECTED against attacks both by the Drakh, and also by any other hostile forces she encounters, while searching for the cure. And for the protector to succeed in its aims, that protector must remain secret, and hidden...*must* do the job, and do it well. " President Sheridan closed his eyes, for a moment, before continuing. "To be honest, Captain, the only way the EXCALIBUR will end up being destroyed by its enemies, is if its protector has already *been* destroyed. The job must be done perfectly, until the mission is complete."
"Forgive me for interrupting, sir!" she interjected, almost desperate now to find out where this was going. "But I must know what this *means*! 'Protector', you say!...WHAT protector are you referring to?"
The President finally smiled at her directness, and with a flick of a switch on his desk, both darkened the office and activated the holographic projector on his desk. "THIS protector, Captain."
Julia's thoughts paused, then, the astonishment now prevalent upon her beyond even that which had come with the President's earlier pronouncement. In future years, she would look back on this moment as the beginning of something both terrible and wonderful, a duty heavier then a mountain and brighter then a rainbow...
A gray and silver ship hovered over the President's desk; at first, she thought it a White Star...and then, as she leant closer, she realized that the image was being projected in real time.
And she saw.
"In Valen's Name..." she whispered, her voice near to cracking with the awe she felt, at seeing this vision of possibilities made real. "It's...it's *beautiful*, Mr. President! And terrifying, at the same time, so...purposeful. What is she? What is her *name*?"
"Her name, Captain..." the President replied, almost fatalisically, "Is the SHARD OF NIGHT, the first battlecruiser-class starship to serve the Interstellar Alliance to date...and there is, besides the EXCALIBUR, no other ship in known space that can do what she can do.
And it has been decided that the Rangers shall crew the SHARD OF NIGHT, and serve as escort and protector for the EXCALIBUR, in all the dark places she must walk."
"Vi'dalae An'shaka." she murmured in translation, her mind whirling with the possibilities of what this meant...and...and did *this* mean what she thought it meant? Was he asking her to...
The President finally smiled at that comment. "Well, I suppose I should have expected that, from a Ranger...but the time for hinting is past, Captain...it's time to answer both the question you just asked, and also the question that began this meeting between us.
The Interstellar Alliance, in consultation with the Ranger High Council, had decided to declare you the Captain of the Interstellar Alliance battlecruiser SHARD OF NIGHT, for the duration of the present crisis." The President stuck out his hand. "Congratulations, Captain Tikopai...in the words of someone we both knew, long ago...
'And so it begins.'"
He had!...and the declaration still hit her harder then she had been expecting. Another hammerblow, to accompany the rest that had come before it. And for almost the first time in her life, she didn't know what to say.
Which didn't last, however...because even as she took the President's hand to accept the task, a buzz of exhilaration and astonishment still resounding through her, the door to the President's office slammed *wide* open...
Revealing someone who had a great deal to say on the matter of the ISA battlecruiser SHARD OF NIGHT.
A great deal, indeed...
* * *
<To be continued...in Act II, revealing the identity of the President's *furious* 'mystery' guest...>
STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS"
PART VII, ACT II of III
If he had known how bad this day was going to be, Nicholas later thought, he would never have even got out of bed.
* * *
"Good morning, Chief Engineer Dawson.." Nicholas' bedside computer began, as he rolled out from beneath the covers with a deep groan. "It is 0800 hours, Ship’s standard time. Your shift begins in one hour."
"Good morning, huh?" he muttered, as he rose to his feet. "I think it's time somebody needs a little bit of reprogramming." That of course, wasn't fair...but at the moment, it was all too easy to blame the computer for all of his problems. Better that then argue the point with the rest of the crew, who, in his opinion, didn't understand his problems nearly as much as he would have liked them to...they were, after all, Minbari; it wasn't as if *their* people had been infected with this plague, now was it?
It wasn't a good morning...and he was, as far he could tell, even more tired now then he had been before he had gone to sleep, this because the night had been, as the previous two had also been, filled with a succession of nightmares...terrifying images of those he knew and loved, all dead.
It seemed to him that there was no rest in sleeping, and no escape, in duty.
And as for duty, it wasn't even as if his job was all that difficult, at the moment. Ever since the SHARD had arrived back in Minbar orbit, and the wait for new orders had begun, the Captain had placed most of the ship's departments in standby mode...and this affected Engineering just as much as the others aboard. It took very little energy to maintain an orbital park in a Langrange Point, and beyond the necessary systems checks, things were peaceful.
"Computer..." he inquired, as he finally pulled on the Minbari-styled gray and black tunic and slacks that the rest of his department also wore, "Are there any messages?"
"One message...from Na'vrei Sha'var Drakan. Do you wish to see the message?"
Nicholas frowned...this was unusual, to say the least. Although, it was possible that Drakan had some news relating to the new orders they had come back to Minbar to receive..."Yeah...display message."
With a flicker, Drakan's face appeared on the comm screen, and it was *far* grimmer then Nicholas had ever seen it before. "Chief Engineer Dawson; once you have awakened, I require your presence on the bridge. We have received our orders from Alliance Headquarters, and they concern all aboard, most of all, you AND your personnel." And that was it.
What the Hell was going on? Not only had Drakan seemed grim in that message, but towards the end, it seemed he was also pretty ticked off about something...but what? Time to find out what was going on, he mused, as he left his quarters at a run...
And almost immediately, ran into another member of the crew, one of the Warrior Caste aboard. This Minbari, whose name he couldn't quite recall at the moment, seemed, for want of a better word, to have *all* of his possessions with him...and he wasn't alone in this, either. The corridor was packed with many more crew, all with their possessions, all grim-faced...and, in some cases, very angry about something...
"What's going on?" he asked the crew member he had run into.
The Minbari twisted his mouth into a sneer. "Haven't you heard, human? The President of the Interstellar Alliance has recalled the majority of this crew to Minbar, to receive orders detailing our new postings to *other* commands!"
"What? You can't be serious!"
"You have served with us honorably for some time now, Nicholas Dawson; and because this is so, and also because you aided in the design and construction of *Vi'dalae An'shaka*, I will pretend that I did not hear that."
Nicholas winced. This was one thing he always had to remind himself about; when Minbari spoke to other races about matters, the things they told you were almost always the truth. "I'm sorry...you're right. My apologies...what did you mean by 'majority'?"
"It is a mystery to a lowly warrior such as myself, Chief Engineer Dawson!...but the only part of this crew that is not being recalled is YOUR department. Now, I must, by means, bid you good day."
Which left Nicholas with only one option to take, and take it, he did. In only a few more minutes, he arrived at the bridge...and stopped dead in his tracks, so astonished was he by the sight he beheld. The bridge of the SHARD, normally bustling with personnel, busy with their tasks and duties, was, for all intents and purposes...
Empty.
All except, of course, for the office he had come here to find...Drakan.
"I expected you here sooner, Dawson..." the Minbari began, his expression impatient. "In fact, all things considered, I was sorely tempted to wake you out of your nightmares...but now you are here, that would appear to no longer be necessary. I will assume that you have *heard* some of what is occurring from those you have passed on the way to the bridge?"
He nodded, still confused by it all. "Yes, sir. With all due respect, are you going to tell me why almost the entire active crew of this vessel seems to be abandoning their positions and duties?"
"Slightly less then two standard hours ago..." Drakan replied, "The office of the President of the Interstellar Alliance issued an order to my Captain. The order required that the entire active crew of this command return to Minbar to prepare for reassignment to *other* duties. The only department onboard, as you have already no doubt learned, to be exempt from this order is yours, Dawson."
Oh...Hell. "And the Captain?"
"Captain Rahkeel departed for Tuzanor within moments of receiving the order, Dawson. I invite you to consider what his response to this...request would have been."
Nicholas thought about that comment for a moment, and then replied, "From what I know about the Captain, at first, despite your ways, he would not have believed it was true. And then, realizing that it was, he would have gone to the source, to demand an explanation for what he would consider...an outrage."
"Exactly. But until this is resolved, one way, or the other...it would appear that the command of this vessel falls on your shoulders, Dawson. And while it is not a difficult command, as long as we are here...it is a great responsibility...one that should not be taken lightly."
Nicholas straightened a little more. "And you, sir?"
"I, along with the rest of the crew, must obey the orders we have been given. Until and *if* Captain Rahkeel is able to resolve the situation to his satisfaction, our time aboard this ship is done."
"I...understand."
Drakan smiled thinly. "I do not believe that is the case, Dawson...but perhaps you will understand what this all means, in due course." And with that, the warrior strode out of the bridge; he had said what he wanted to say...no more *needed* to be said, now did it?
But what did it all mean, he pondered, as he sank into the captain's chair at the centre of the bridge, silent, now, except for the faint crystal chimes of the bridge systemics. If all of the Warrior Caste Minbari had been recalled to Minbar, who would replace them?
* * *
"What we do, we do in the name of *honour*."
* * *
President Sheridan's office...
Julia turned in astonishment, as a Warrior Caste Minbari burst into the office, his face suffused with anger and outrage. Who, in Valen's Name, was *this*? And then she turned to look at the President, and realized that he quite clearly knew who this was...
"Mr. President!" Chiraval exclaimed, entering the office behind the other Minbari. "My apologies for this intrustion...but he moved far more quickly then I expected...I had no time to..."
"You will be *silent*, Chiraval!" The Minbari roared, and the room was filled with his voice, if only for a moment. "This matter does not concern you! You will leave this place...NOW."
There was a slight pause, and then Sheridan nodded, his expression amazingly calm, considering...and the young Minbari female dissapeared through the door, her face stony. "Captain Rahkeel..."
"Mr. *President*."
"Do you want to explain yourself, or I should I just cut to the chase, and have you thrown out of Alliance Headquarters on general principles? The orders that were passed on to you and your crew were explicit and to the point, and were to be obeyed *without* question!"
"Without question? No, Mr. President, these are orders I *cannot* accept without question! When you recalled us to Minbar, I assumed that we were to take part in the search for the cure to what ails the people of your homeworld! Now, instead, we find ourselves relieved of our duties, and torn away from the command that we, as your kind say, 'wrote the book on'...I could not accept these orders at face value! If we are not to command the starship you call SHARD OF NIGHT during this crisis, then who will?"
"Captain Tikopai..." Sheridan dryly interjected, "Do you have anything to add, at this point?"
"CAPTAIN?" Rahkeel incredulously replied, after a moment, as the Minbari finally turned his gaze towards her. "Mr. President!...you cannot mean to tell me that this stripling human Anla'shok is a Captain, surely? What would, among the Anla'shok, be termed Val'na?"
"That's right!" she hotly replied. "And don't think, for a moment, Captain, that I'm going to back down on this matter, or allow you to ignore the fact that I'm here, and also that the decision you don't want to hear has already been made!"
"Mr. President...you *will* explain this!"
"Actually..." Sheridan mused, leaning back in his chair, "I suspect that Captain Tikopai might do a much better job of explaining this matter then I. Captain?"
"Captain Rahkeel..." Julia began again, forcing Rahkeel to listen to her again, something he clearly did not want to do. "While I understand your reluctance to accept what has occurred, the situation we face regarding the plague the Drakh have inflicted upon my people has caused many difficult decisions to be made...and this is one of them. The advanced prototype battlecruiser we both call *Vi'dalae An'shaka* has been chosen to join the destroyer-class starship EXCALIBUR in the search for the cure to this plague...
And unfortunately, for you and your crew, it was also the decision of the President and his board of Advisors that the Rangers take over the responsibility of crewing your former command...and this crew, as you may already guess by looking at me, will be made up of the best, the brightest, the sharpest, and *yes*, the YOUNGEST Rangers we can find. It's a difficult job, Captain...but we're the cutting edge of the next generation in the Anla'shok, and we're not afraid to do what has to be done.
Because if we fail, billions of my people are going to die, five years from now."
There was a pause, while a now astonished Rahkeel digested this information, and then, the Minbari turned back towards Sherian, still, for all intents and purposes, ignoring her! "Mr. President...let me be plain on this matter, so that even *she* will understand. In our culture, you give children crystals and chimes to play with, while those slightly older are given simple tasks, progressions that will not put anyone in danger...least of all, those who are *performing* the tasks. What you and she propose to do here, this day, is far more dangerous then anything I have ever encountered before!...you would give this human youthling, this child who pretends to be Anla'shok, control of a power capable of levelling a world?"
"I would..." Sheridan replied, his gaze level and firm. "And I *have*, Captain. There is no other choice...believe me, if I thought there WAS another, I would gladly take it! But it was the Rangers who volunteered for this job, and we have to throw their best, their brightest, and, in the end, as Captain Tikopai mentioned, their youngest...into the fire once again, so that the EXCALIBUR has a hope in Hell of succeeding in its quest!"
"So..." Rahkeel replied, his voice far quieter now. "There's no way I can change your mind about this, is there, Mr. President?"
"I'm sorry, Captain...the decision's been made, and I cannot unmake it."
"And you will not even tell me more about the nature of their mission?"
"No...I can't."
"Then Valen help us all, and *them*, Mr. President. For it seems that no one else will." And with that said, Rahkeel turned, and stormed out of the office.
* * *
The High Plateau of Chayankeer...several minutes later. The Refuge Alaxtra of the Storm Dancer Clan.
The wind off the polar ice was especially bitter today, but Miyonn did not feel it...the cold did not concern him, for he had been practicing the Way of the Windflower in this place for longer then many in his Clan had lived, through storms, through ice, through snow, in all the seasons. The movements of the Way were not always understandable to those who saw them...there had, of course, been times in the past millenium when they had been mocked by other Clans for the things they had done, and the discipline they followed. The others had quite rightly noted that they were not as predisposed to War as some other clans in the Warrior Caste...but this, also, did not overly concern him, either.
For the Storm Dancers had survived within the Circle of the Way since before the time of Valen's Peace, had they not?
"D'Hal Miyonn!" a cry came, and Miyonn eased out of the movements of the Way with a grimace, his pattern interrupted...but even so, the ending movement was as it should be, with one foot on crystal, the other on fertile soil, and a bow to respect the tenacity of the flowers themselves, violet and blue against the pale crystal and rock of the plateau...
"D'Hal Miyonn!...there you are!" Miyonn turned, gathering his robe about him, to meet the gaze of his assistant, Hareil. "D'Hal, I regret the intrusion, but you must return to the Refuge; a matter of some importance has arisen, requiring your attentions."
"Important, you say, Hareil," he replied, as the two stepped off of crystal and began the climb towards Alaxtra, his clifftop Refuge. "For you to disturb my practice, it must be."
"It concerns *Vi'dalae An'shaka*, D'Hal."
Miyonn paused in his climb, and affixed Hareil with a narrowed stare. "So...it is as I suspected, all along...although, I must admit, this tragic crisis that the humans face seems to have accelerated matters, somewhat"
"Precisely. Sheridan has relieved Di'siania Rahkeel of his command, and is beginning the process of turning the battlecruiser over to the Anla'shok, so that they may aid the humans and their destroyer command...a ship named...EXCALIBUR?"
Miyonn began to laugh, then. "So! To be as right as I was, and for the wrong reasons...it is ironic, is it not, Hareil? Nevertheless, the expected will happen...Rahkeel, in his anger, will call the Clan Elders to summons... he may even invoke A'viensha ne'vrei, if he becomes angry enough...and I know him, Hareil...I know him *all* too well. Out of curiousity, did Rahkeel's message to this place mention who Sheridan chose to replace him, as commander of *Vi'dalae An'shaka*?"
"Yes. A unusually young human Anla'shok named Julia Tikopai." Hareil mused. "This Ranger, dark of hair, and strong of spirit and will, has passed as rumour in the night for some time now..."
"Interesting that you should note this..." Miyonn replied, as the two Minbari reached the main level of the Refuge. "But not all that terribly surprising...for you see, I have kept track of her adventures as best I can for some time now. You may be interested, my friend, to hear that she was touched by Vorlons before their departure beyond the Rim...and that she is aged beyond her years, and touched by Fate, as a result."
"That is simplifying matters somewhat, is it not, D'hal?"
"Indeed it is. For now, however, since the Di'siania contacted us first, let us set this matter aside for the time being, and turn to another, admittedly related matter. Since Rahkeel contacted us first, he has, no doubt, already contacted Takier..."
At which point the chime of another incoming call sounded within the Refuge, and Miyonn sighed. "That's probably him now, as a matter of fact..."
* * *
Tuzanor...
Alone at the communications terminal, Rahkeel brooded, his anger still only barely kept in check. Now that the messages had been sent to the Elders, movement on this matter was inevitable. Even now, he found it scarcely conceivable that this could have happened...eighteen months previously, the President had seemed a reasonable man when he had come aboard with his companion, Ms. Halloran...but all that seemed to have been blown away, now. The decision, as made, was a foolish one, and rash; to give *this much power* to one as youthful as Tikopai...was simply wrong.
Now...who else could he contact about this matter? Who had the power to intervene, to do what was necessary? Rahkeel thought about the matter for a while...and then, he smiled. Of *course*...thinking for a moment, he keyed in a command, and waited for a response from the Minbar primary hyperspace relay station...a response that came, soon enough.
"Greetings, Captain; how may we serve?"
"I wish to send a message to Val'na Lanniel of Anla'shok command White Star Six. It will read, as follows..."
* * *
"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Captain Tikopai. Captain Rahkeel had no right to come bursting into my office like he did; in fact, all things considered, I may have to raise the level of security a bit more..."
"No apologies are necessary, Mr. President." Julia replied, as she took a deep sip of the glass of water that the President had given to her. "All things considered, this situation may have been inevitable...and regardless of how much security you had, I suspect that Rahkeel would still have found a way to get in. I only hope that he doesn’t decide to do someting rash...like trying to hurt me and my crew once we begin our mission."
"You should not overly concern yourself with such an outcome, Val'na..." another voice intruded...a voice Julia knew all too well, and she looked around, and smiled, to see her Entil'zha, Delenn, in the doorway. "The mission that you and your crew will be undertaking is a critical one; leave it to me and the President to take care of any objections that Captain Rahkeel may have regarding this situation."
And with that said, she knew from experience that if Rahkeel tried to hatch any plots designed to hurt her, perhaps even with the aid of dark forces within the Minbari government or elsewhere, that President Sheridan and the Entil'zha, together with their allies, would draw a harsh line against any such plotters...a harsh line, indeed. "I thank you for that reassurance, Entil'zha, it means...a *great* deal to me."
"Well..." President Sheridan interjected, as Delenn came to his side, "Now *that's* been decided, Captain, I'm afraid that it's time for you to begin your duties. As you may know, the EXCALIBUR has already begun its mission, and there’s no time to lose. In fact, I'd like to have you and your command away from Minbar no more then seventy-two hours from now."
Seventy-two hours? Ouch. "I...see, sir. But what of my crew, now that this has been decided? Captain Rahkeel and his crew have only just vacated their positions aboard the SHARD OF NIGHT...will it be possible to pull together the crew we require on such short notice?"
The President nodded. "I believe that it can be done, Captain...and what I believe is possible, usually comes to pass. Together with the Ranger High Council, I will be choosing the majority of your crew...but I have decided that your first task, Captain, will be to produce for us a roster of the Rangers you believe would serve you well as a command crew."
"A First officer...” she began listing off, “An operations officer. A tactical officer. A Helmsman...and a Chief of Medical Staff. Correct?"
"Precisely, Captain."
"If this mission is to succeed..." Delenn cautioned her, "Those you choose must either already know you well, or be able to work with you without conflicts of personality...or, ideally, both."
"I understand..." she replied, rising to her feet. "I will have the roster on your desk before the end of the day, sir. We have a job to do, and there is no time to lose...do I have your leave to depart?"
The President nodded briskly, and she turned, and left his office at a fast walk...a walk that soon thereafter became a run.
Now where in Valen's Name was Larieken? There were decisions to be made...
* * *
"And that was how it all began. And also, over the next standard day, how three of my closest aquaintances within the Rangers got the shock of their lives...and finally, how two others began to walk upon the path of destiny that had been waiting for them..."
STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS"
PART VII, ACT III OF III
"And for one of the last times in several years, I stood under the sun of Minbar, and felt her wind and her water upon my face, and was glad of it."
* * *
It was now nearing noon on this day of wonders, and Julia could feel time running through her fingertips, as she stood on the Point of Gajn'darahl, leaning into the spray cast by the great waterfall beside. It was refreshing, to say the least...and she *needed* something refreshing at the moment. For the Valley of Sorrows, this was, indeed, a warm day...far more common were the winds of ice that blew off the glaciers to the north; so near, and yet so far...
The decision that the President wanted her to make was both a difficult one and, at the same time, made so *easy* because of what her Entil'zha had said to her, shortly thereafter...but for now, there was time for something else. Something to help her relax about everything that had already happened.
Undoing her tunic to reveal the short-sleeved gray shirt beneath, Julia set the tunic carefully down on top of the close-cropped foliage that fringed the stones of the Point, and withdrew her ancient warrior pike from its place at her side. Opening it, she relaxed, then, into the moves that Jennifer had taught her, so long ago, and far away...in another age...
Time blurred...and she remembered what had been. How a Ranger taught by Durhan himself had taken an adolescent child under her wing...a child touched by forces older then the human Race, and pointed as an arrow towards the future. How that Ranger had also stood here, on the day the man who would eventually become her husband had first taken the White Star Fleet to war...and how *she* had come upon her Mistress with their enemies, at all together the wrong moment, and paid the price for that mistake.
For a long moment, she rested her right hand upon the faint scar, between ribs and spine, on her right side, that was the legacy of that time...and smiled faintly, before continuing the moves of her practice. She had learned a harsh lesson that day, a lesson she would never forget, as long as she lived...that one always had to watch for treachery unbidden, and that guardians within the circle of friendship were sometimes more necessary then duty itself...
A sudden movement, and she whirled, the weapon in her hands...to meet an all too familiar two-handed block, a move dealt by one of her dearest friends within the Anla'shok. Over the long silver length of the pike, Larieken smiled a similar faint smile, and as one, they retracted their weapons, and bowed to one another. "Again and anon, you return to the site of your greatest tragedy..." the Minbari murmured. "To practice, to hone yourself against the future that might be. And now, we find that future has arrived...and that decisions must be made."
"You know of this already? How? I came here *straight* from the President's office, without telling anyone about this matter!"
Larieken shrugged, as they settled onto the bench near the parapet, beneath the water's thunder. "It is the way of things, Julia; the word came that I was needed...and so, after inquiring on the nature of the matter, I came to this place, knowing that I would find you here. What you need me to do, I *will* do, Val'na Tikopai...command me."
She smiled...how she deserved friends as good as Larieken was hard to determine! "I'll never understand why you've done this for the last six years, you know. There was a time, not so long ago, when our positions were reversed, when you were Anla'shok and I was Lakotal...a student of our disciplines!"
"Do not concern yourself with such matters...as you know, I was commanded to protect you, when protection was required. And now that you, as Captain-to-be of the vessel your people name SHARD OF NIGHT, have been given the task of protecting the EXCALIBUR from her enemies without revealing yourself and your command to her crew, this *must* continue. Additionally, as you no doubt realize, the logistical problems of a command as big as this one cannot fall completely on its Captain's shoulders...the senior crew of the command must be willing to take up some of that burden, as required."
"Sounds to me like you're volunteering for something...something like..."
"No!" Larieken sharply interrupted, a suddenly appeared frown on his face. "While I will join you, I am not fit to be your First aboard *Vi'dalae An'shaka*...the task of OPERATIONS will be more then sufficient, for now...a duty that I have, from time to time, performed within the White Star Fleet, as well you know."
"I can't make you change your mind?" she entreated.
"No...I’m afraid not. The role of your First awaits another...one who you must summon back to your side...one you know all too well...and one who is close to your former mistress, Sech Jennifer Westcastle..."
She frowned...who was he referring to? The answer was on the tip of her tongue...
"Think back!...and you will understand."
And at that, realization came...of *course*. "Klairika?"
Larieken nodded, the smile now returned. "Exactly. And along just that vein, as I have heard the Entil'zha has commanded, we *must* assemble a command crew of those we know and those *they* know, among the Anla'shok. One you have remembered, already...another I would suggest is she who came to us out of the chaos of the Telepath War...a child of Earth brought to us by your lost friend and comrade, Brianna Tolmanes..."
"Sheynell..." At that, when another nod came, she laughed. "I didn't *think* it was going to be this easy, Larieken! Why, she would make an *excellent* tactical officer, wouldn't she?"
"Indeed that is so, Val'na...Anla’shok Keynes’s training within the Psi Corps...her subseqent service beneath the one named Bester...and finally, her training as a Ranger and service aboard White Star 27 have honed her sharply, creating for us what we need now...a Mistress of battles willing to fight for her crew, for her captain...and her friend; and a telepath, a strong telepath, to draw on when telepathy is required."
"Okay!..." she whispered, counting furiously. "With you and me, that's four, Larieken!...*five*, given the fact that I've also learned that the President has retained the present engineering crew of the SHARD, and their Chief..."
"Yes...a 'Nicholas Dawson.'" Larieken mused thoughtfully. "Interesting, for a vessel wholly designed by my people, that the Master of Engineering should be a *human*. I must investigate this matter more closely..."
"Larieken! In this case, that just might make things easier...although, Mr. Dawson is, of course, going to have to get used to the fact that the rest of the new crew will all be Anla'shok, except for his department's people. All right!...that leaves us with only two problems that I can see...we need a primary helmsman, and a ship's physician..and we need them fast!"
Larieken rose from the bench, his brow furrowed in thought...and then his expression cleared. "This may not work...but we can but try! For the helmsman, may I suggest the following...around the time that Sheynell first came to us, a Drazi named Dasouri also passed through Anla'shok training...a Drazi, if you can believe this, dedicated to peace, and to the words of G'kar. He has since been assigned to White Star flight duties, I believe. And as for the physician, can we not contact the Minbari who helped to save Sheynell's life, slightly more then a standard year ago? I believe that his name is... Veyshahk?"
She looked up at him, then, and shook her head disbelievingly. "Okay, Larieken, you've proved your point...now I *know* why I keep you around. You're hired!"
"Ah, so this was a test, was it?” the Minbari drolly inquired. “Honestly, however, Julia, the time for humour is later, not now...for the time being, it will be necessary for you to return to Alliance Headquarters with the list we have produced...and while they may be astonished that we were able to produce it this quickly, perhaps they will also think we are dedicated to the duty ahead of us, yes?"
"Oh yeah..." she dead-panned, grabbing her tunic and heading for the stairs that lead back to ground level. "I think you *could* say that."
* * *
13:30 hrs...local time.
John Sheridan ran over the list of five names on the screen in front of him, and shook his head, while William hovered nearby, a knowing smile on his face. "Well, I'll be *damned*..."
"Let me guess...the list she produced for you is virtually identical to the list I produced for you, last summer."
"If she's trying to convince me I made the right choice, William, she's doing one *Hell* of a good job so far."
"It isn't as much of a surprise as you might think, Mr. President..." the Ranger High Councillor replied thoughtfully. "Ever since you told me that this was what you wanted, Sech Westcastle, I and the rest have been working towards this end, leaving her no option but to reassemble the group of close comrades, past AND future, that you see on that list."
"Very interesting, William...very interesting, indeed. Let's just hope it all works out the way we're intending."
"Yes, sir. For now, however, I must return to the Tower of the Council. There are calls that must be made before the end of this day, summoning most of those on that list back to Minbar from their duties within the White Star Fleet."
"And the doctor?"
"He is also a Ranger, Mr. President..." William reminded Sheridan, on his way out the door. "I am trusting in Val'na Tikopai's skills to take care of that problem, herself."
* * *
White Star 4; on the Way to the Rim. Forty minutes later.
"How goes the deployment?"
"Well enough." Tashann addressed the holographic image of his friend, projected light years across space from Tuzanor. "Well enough, indeed...there are elements of the Fleet already underway that have passed farther from the core Alliance worlds then we have ever dared travel...and we have sworn to walk ahead of the EXCALIBUR...this, we will do. But for the moment, William, let us bypass what your kind terms 'small talk' and come STRAIGHT to the point. I must assume that the President has given the captaincy of our latest Ranger command to a young mutual friend of ours...and since this is so, that the time has also come to recall those she requires to Minbar?"
"Precisely...and this has to happen as quickly as possible, Tashann. The President has commanded the launch of the SHARD OF NIGHT on its mission within three standard days, which doesn't give us very much time, I'm afraid. How long will it take..."
"Not as long as you believe, High Councillor..." Tashann dryly replied. "As a matter of fact, within a day after the end of the battle at Earth, I commanded Montoya to rendezvous first with White Star 98 and then, with her sister vessel, White Star 106. Val'na Alidiae and Anla'shok's Dasouri and Keynes are presently on their way to Minbar, and should reach you in no more then six standard hours, I would say...along with all of Julia's possessions from her time aboard my White Star.
I caution you, however, that since their orders do not go beyond that return, there are a number of concerns they have that you will have to deal with. Val'na Alidiae, in particular, is one I worry about; for all intents and purposes, William, in doing this thing that we do, you will be stripping her of her command, and reducing her back towards what she once was...this must be answered for."
"I know." William replied, a thoughtful frown now on his face. "And while this is not something I do lightly or easily, Tashann, it is necessary...but there may be a solution, something that I've thought of addressing for some time now...something that can be addressed aboard the SHARD, for the first time operationally."
"Continue...!"
"For all intents and purposes, in the recent past, there has never been a Ranger command large enough to implement a rank structure *beyond* that of the Captain to his or her Ranger crew. The nominal crew of a White Star has never more then about fifty...but in the SHARD OF NIGHT, we are talking about a crew that is *far* more then twice as large as that. And while there cannot be two Val'nae on the same command, ther was a time, when Shadows still walked, and Valen stood on this side of the Veil, that another order of Anla'shok once existed...an order set between the Val'nae and their soldiers..."
Tashann laughed. "A thousand years and more it has been since the Rangers have used the rank of *Na'lai*, William...but you are right, perhaps the time has come again..."
* * *
White Star 27...enroute to Minbar.
"This is intolerable!" Klairika exclaimed, as Sheynell nodded bleakly from her spot leaning against the other wall of the Brakir’s quarters. "I’m relieved of my command by the High Council, ordered to come aboard Val'na Montoya's vessel, and now, we are nearly returned to Minbar...and STILL no one will tell us what is going on!"
The telepath's eyes drifted into the distance for a moment, and then returned. "I think you're about to have some of your questions answered, Klairika...someone's coming; someone I *think* we're going to be seeing a lot more of, from now on."
A moment later, the door slid open, and a Drazi in Ranger blacks entered, his face showing a mixed expression of apology and duty. "Sorry to intrude, Val'na Alidiae...Anla'shok Keynes, but ordered to come to this place by the master of this vessel, I was. Must introduce myself, given fact that I seem to share your fates, Human, and Brakiri. I am...Dasouri. It is a honour to meet you both."
Sheynell nodded pleasantly, while Klairika all but ignored the Drazi, her every mannerism cold and distant. "I, for one, do remember you, Dasouri, from my own time of training on Minbar. I must say, at the time, that it astonished me to learn of your dedication to peace..."
"Yes. After recent crises of my race, decided to act...and so, as you know, I became a Ranger, and to my great surprise, was taught to fly a White Star!...first great surprise, this was. But I now believe *greater* surprises are about to fall upon us."
"The surprise that awaits you all..." another, familiar voice announced, "Is not as surprising as you may believe." All three Rangers turned towards the door, then, as Sheynell's captain, Indego Montoya, entered the room. "We have just received a transmission from the High Council on Minbar...a transmission that concerns your *new* orders."
"Sir!..." Sheynell entreated, "We're not being taken out of space, are we?"
"Far from it, Anla'shok Keynes...far from it. And while I must admit that I will find it difficult to be without your capable hands at the operations console, there is someone on Minbar who needs you more then I...and a duty awaits you. A duty more important then words can describe."
With that cryptic comment, Montoya gave a data crystal to Klairika. "As senior Ranger in this grouping, Val'na...or, shall I say, *Na'lai* Alidiae, I entrust you with this. Play the message, and you will understand what this is all about." And with that, the Ranger captain nodded to them all politely, turned on his heel, and left them to their thoughts.
A moment later, the explosion came. "NA'LAI?" Klairika erupted...and then, the fury suddenly faded into puzzlement. "But...what does that mean? If it’s a Ranger rank, it’s one I've never heard of, before!"
Sheynell nodded towards the crystal in Klairika's hand. "Then why don't we play *that*? I'm guessing that it will give us some, if not all, of the answers we're searching for."
"Agreed." Dasouri interjected. "If we do not play, will not know what this is about; and for the moment, as I have seen, such a situation would appear to be... unacceptable for you...and *you*."
"Then, by all means, let us discover what this is all about!" Klairika declared, as she strode over to the comm terminal. "Why my White Star is, even now, on its way back towards the Rim, without me on it, and you and Sheynell are being torn away from your respective commands..."
With a decisive move, the Brakiri Ranger placed the crystal into the datareader on the terminal surface. "Computer...play message!"
After a moment, an image of William Westcastle sprang onto the screen, and the High Councillor began to speak. Within two minutes, all three of the Rangers felt the need to sit down, so astonished were they by what he had to tell them. And within five minutes, after the message was concluded, a number of other responses were called for...
"*Now*, I understand!..." Klairika murmured, her eyes wide with wonder. "A fellow Ranger, and one that I would seem to be able to call friend, has been given a task that few others can shoulder...and she needs our help; we cannot refuse to answer this call."
"It is...a great challenge!" Dasouri exclaimed, a grin lighting up his face. "A new command, a difficult mission, it is what we were born for!"
While Sheynell just rose to her feet, shaking her head...and on the way out the door, was heard to say, "And I thought that being a Psi Cop was dangerous. Just you *wait* until I get my hands on her, she has got*to be out of her MIND to think this is a good idea!"
"Do you believe..." Dasouri asked his new first officer a moment later, a puzzled frown on his face, as the door closed behind the annoyed telepath, "That she will recover from this surprise...Na'lai Alidiae?"
Klairika shrugged, now smiling openly. "I believe that the humans have a saying that fits this moment all too well, Dasouri...
'All bets are off.'"
* * *
Tuzanor. Ranger Compound Medical Facility.
"What you ask..." Veyshahk mused, as Julia leant against the wall of the physician's office, "Was something I thought to refuse immediately, at first thought. But then I realized that I needed to think about the matter some more..."
"I understand your doubts, Veyshahk, all too well! You've served in this place with honour since before the end of the Shadow War...and the Family Teleri for years before that, first as aide and then as a doctor of the arts. For the entirety of your Ranger career, you've worked here in Tuzanor, on the surface of your homeworld, helping those who were hurt in accidents or those who came here to recuperate from wounds taken in battle with our enemies.
But now, as I've just mentioned, there’s a greater obligation awaiting us in the outer darkness, and on the far reaches. We are walking into danger, Veyshahk, there’s no denying that. As long as our mission lasts, we’ll be standing between the EXCALIBUR and her enemies...the Drakh, and others that crew may encounter, along the road they walk; and that puts us right under the barrel of the gun.
My Rangers...the crew that the President, our Entil'zha, and the High Council are even now working to assemble, are going to need the very best care they can find, out there...and you come highly recommended, I’m afraid."
Veyshahk laughed, at that. "Ah yes!...now I recall, from earlier in your recruitment speech!...the indubitable Miss Keynes will be joining us on this crusade, as well, yes?"
Julia nodded. "Exactly! Her...and some others I know well...and some *they* know well. And so it goes, Veyshahk; we have to use the contacts that we've been given...that's one part of the compact that will bind us together, that will make of us a force that can protect Captain Gideon and his command, for as long as it takes them to find the cure to the plague. We have no other choice...the President will stand for nothing less then success, when it comes down to it. And I have no intention of disappointing him."
"Well, then..." the Minbari thoughtfully replied, "It would not *do* for me to say no to you, then, in the face of such a challenge, now would it?"
Julia's smile lit like a firecracker, at that point. "Then, you'll come?"
"There will, no doubt, be somewhat of an adjustment period, while I grow used to the onboard facilities and other such matters...and I would *appreciate* it if you could arrange for me to bring several of my closest assistants along...but *yes*, I see no reason why I should not accede to your request.
And as a matter of principle, Val'na, there is another reason, as well. For as long as this sickness ails the other side of my race's soul, we must strive, both human and Minbari, to find the cure to the plague the Drakh have cast upon your people. For if the humans of Earth die in their multitudes, what, then, will become of us?"
Just as quickly as that, Veyshahk watched her smile fade away. "I don't know, Veyshahk...I don't *want* to know. But that's why we're going to do what we're doing...and why the crew of the EXCALIBUR is already out there, as well..."
And then, Veyshahk observed a dangerous gleam in the eyes of his terribly youthful, but also terribly focused captain, a gleam he would see, again and again, in the times to come. "Because the death of Earth's people is NOT an option I'm willing to accept."
At that moment, a faint sound alerted them, the sound of booted feet treading lightly upon the floor, and Veyshahk and Julia both turned, to find a tall, thin-faced, brown-haired human man in what *appeared* to be Minbari Worker-caste clothes appraising them from the entryway of the doctor's inner sanctum. A moment later, the man sighed deeply, and shook his head, apparently in disbelief.
"I didn't want to believe it, even when I found out who my new Captain was going to be, so I decided to come down here and check things out, personal like. Well, I guess the rumours were true, after all...
Someone who's barely more then a *girl* is being given command of the one of the most powerful ships in the Interstellar Alliance! Good God, I know the decision's already been made, but I never thought I'd see the day when Sheridan would do something like *this*."
Veyshahk winced, as beside him, Julia's face rapidly darkened towards anger. And here he was, at ground zero, between what he feared would be two intractable forces of nature. For a moment, before the bomb, so to speak, went off, he thought to leave...
But then, he changed his mind...if only for the simple truth that in the aftermath of this matter, a doctor might actually be *required*...
* * *
"Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, as you understand. Ever since William and Jennifer took me under their wing, all I knew was the circle of their friends, and my colleagues among the Rangers. But now, for the first time, I was being forced into working with someone who wasn't a Ranger...*Mister* Nicholas Dawson. And Valen help me, I hated him on sight..."