Maximillian Eilerson steps out of the
shuttle and squints into the dazzling lights that are nearly blinding
him.
"You gentlemen mind turning that down a
bit?"
Major Lee steps forward, nods to
Max.
"Welcome to our outpost, Mr. Eilerson.
We're very glad you have chosen to turn yourself in."
Max frowns at Lee. "Turn
myself--? Look, Major, I was a victim in all of this.
Gideon and his bunch all but kidnapped me. I was never part of
their conspiracy."
Major Lee nods patiently. EarthForce
troops move up behind him, weapons at the ready. They eye Max as
if he were a bug to be squished.
"And just what was that conspiracy, Mr.
Eilerson? And how did you come to be here, now? Tell me
all about it, and then we can more closely examine your own role in
it, and your status for the present, and the future."
Max smiles a weak, nervous smile.
"Fine. Fine. Where to begin?" He runs a
hand through his hair. "I suppose it started when the
Excalibur picked up a transmission very similar to those we
encountered previously, with this thing they're calling the 'Shadow
Hybrid.' Gideon is completely obsessed with it, and ordered the
Excalibur to pursue it. Never mind that our ship was being
hunted by every Earth ship in the galaxy, or that we had a far more
important mission--finding weapons to use against the Drakh--we should
have been pursuing all along. The Captain, I'm afraid, is quite
insane at this point..."
Major Lee nods. "As I have
suspected. Go on, Mr. Eilerson. You were pursuing a Shadow
vessel signal. And that led you--here?"
Max looks around nervously, then nods.
"As we got closer to your base--we didn't know it was here, of
course, before--we picked up emissions from the Shadow Hybrid, and
traced them into this system. We dropped out of hyperspace in a
concealed location out beyond your larger moon, to investigate.
Seeing my chance, while they were distracted, I stole a shuttle and,
well, here I am."
Lee nods again. "I see, I
see." An officer leans in and whispers a few words into his
ear, and he looks up at Max, a puzzled expression spreading over his
face. "So, tell me, Mr. Eilerson--where is the Excalibur
now? Because I'm told it's not where you claim it to be.
We can't find it anywhere in this system."
As Max frowns, meeting Major Lee's eyes,
alarms begin sounding throughout the base.
*
* *
Seconds earlier:
Gideon and Matheson are standing in the
shadows of the same EarthForce outpost, looking on in shock and horror
at the sight they have discovered: row after row of EarthForce
ships, covered in Shadow organic technology.
"Somehow, I knew it all along,
John."
Matheson nods. "Yes."
"But that doesn't make it any easier to
look at in the flesh." Gideon turns away from the ships,
pulls out a device from his pocket, activates it. "Let's
get the hell out of here."
Alarms blare all around them.
Matheson's eyes widen. "I thought
Mr. Eilerson said that thing would be undetectable by the sensors
here."
Gideon's face twists into a sour
expression. "Well, crap."
*
* *
Gideon, Matheson, and Eilerson all sat in
front of Major Lee's desk. He glared at them.
"You idiots really have no idea what
you've stepped into here, do you?"
"We're starting to sort it out,"
Gideon replied.
Lee nodded. "And that's the
problem."
"It doesn't have to be a problem,"
Gideon says. "We're all loyal Earth patriots here."
Lee snorts. "Tell it to General
Chartier. He'll be here shortly."
Max gulps. Matheson closes his eyes and
shakes his head. Gideon purses his lips, considering the room
around him, and waits, waits...
*
* *
Minbar:
Alisa Beldon and Tennier hide from a violent
crowd rioting in the streets of Tuzanor. Tennier has done his
best, the last few days, to protect her from the battling mobs, but
the violence and turmoil sweeping across Minbar has proven impossible
to completely avoid. A full-scale civil war seems only days, or
hours, away, as much of the population has risen up to challenge the
rule of the Grey Council.
Fleeing from a gang of Warrior Caste thugs,
the two round a corner and run headlong into a figure in a black
cloak, the hood pulled forward over his head, his face in
shadows. The mysterious figure stops them, staring at Alisa for
a long moment.
"This way," he says, and gestures
for them to follow him through a doorway, just ahead of the mob.
*
* *
An orbiting lab above Centauri Prime:
Garibaldi has
Dr. Sarah Chambers and her team working on the Drakh plague that has
been inflicted upon Centauri Prime.
"We think we have roughly two
years before the plague adapts to Centauri biology and kills the
entire planet's population," Chambers says.
Over a communications link, Emperor Mollari
nods slowly. "As I feared." He looks at
Garibaldi and a slight smile crosses his lips. "But you
will keep trying, yes? We may be little more than a tourist
attraction, but we would prefer that existence to... none at
all. You agree, Mr. Garibaldi?"
Garibaldi nods. "We'll figure this
out, Londo. We won't give up. We will find a cure."
Londo sighs and settles back into his
throne. All around him, it feels as if the entire world he loves
so much has just taken a deep breath, and is holding it, holding it,
waiting...
*
* * a
Galen has timed his rescue
perfectly.
Receiving the signal from Gideon--the same
one that got them caught in the first place--Galen has swooped in with
his ship in full stealth mode, and has made his way deep into the
outpost. He reaches the door to the detention area--
--and the door explodes outward, nearly
hitting him as it tumbles by.
The smoke clears, and Galen switches to
low-light lenses, peering into the haze.
Out walk Max, Gideon, and Matheson.
Max's left hand is covered with some strange, alien technology.
As Galen stares at it, it seems to boil away, eventually leaving only
a tiny ring about Max's wrist.
"Very nice," Galen observes.
"May I examine that?"
Max laughs once. "Fat
chance. You have your secrets--which amount to about eighty
percent of everything we've encountered so far-- and I have
mine. I'd just as soon keep mine to myself."
Galen frowns. "I see."
He gestures back the way he came. "Gentlemen? This
way."
The four race down the corridor, past the
many EA troops and technicians Galen has knocked out along the way in.
*
* *
"There's no doubt anymore," Max is
saying, on the bridge of Excalibur, as it slides out of its hiding
place far from the location he gave Major Lee. "We're
full-blown fugitives. Traitors to our homeworld."
"Our homeworld doesn't exist anymore,
Mr. Eilerson," Gideon replies. "But its ideals
do. And in that arena, we aren't the ones who are
traitors."
Max considers this, nods.
"I'd feel better, though," Matheson
says, "f we didn't have all the rest of humanity against
us."
Max gathers up his bravado, feels himself
slipping back into himself once more. "It just makes the
odds a bit more even, Lieutenant. That's all."
Gideon allows himself a small smile.
"And that ratio's going to change soon enough."
Matheson glances over at him. "How
so?"
"We're going to blow the whistle on
them. On the whole operation. I can't imagine the entire
EarthGov knows about this, and surely they wouldn't approve of
it. We're going to let some sunlight into Major Lee's shadowy
little project."
The others look at one another, considering
the ramifications of such actions, but no one speaks.
"Besides," Gideon says, "I'm
sick of being an outlaw. We're not the bad guys here, and I
don't like being treated like one."
"The ship is clear of the system and
ready for jump," Matheson says. "Heading?"
"Mars."
*
* *
Minbar:
The rioting has devolved into violence
everywhere.
"Things have gotten out of hand,"
Marcus observes from his place of hiding.
Beside him, Neroon nods. He looks
stricken, weary and defeated. "The Grey Council... the
Rangers... now this... I wonder if there is any hope for my people any
longer? Is this the end?"
"Entil'zha--Sinclair--used to quote
something to us," Marcus replies. "'Though we are not
now that which in olden days moved Heaven and earth...'"
Neroon allows a smile and glances over at
Marcus. "Yes, I recall hearing that. 'To strive, to
seek, to find, and not to yield.'"
"And not to yield," Marcus
agrees. "We will save this world. And Centauri
Prime. And the human race. All of it."
"To hear you say it, I believe it could
be true," Neroon says. "Somehow."
"Yes. Somehow."
All around them, Minbar dissolves into fire
and destruction. Gritting their teeth, they plunge back into the
fray, striving, seeking...
*
* *
The shuttle from Excalibur lands at the main
port of MarsDome, and Gideon and Matheson and their security detail
hurry across the walkway into the entryway to the city itself.
"We have some time before we're expected
at the president's office," Matheson says.
"I don't care. I'm not relaxing
till this is all done," Gideon replies.
They hurry on.
Rounding a corner, they enter a broad, high
area, with balconies and apartment levels on both sides, like a metal
canyon.
Gideon glances at the case Matheson carries;
it holds all their evidence to date: data crystals, printouts,
recordings from Lee's base, and more. "This is it," he
whispers to himself. "This is it."
Matheson stops suddenly, his eyes showing
panic. "Something--I'm getting something
strong--someone--"
"What?" Gideon demands, stopping,
staring at him. "Your telepathy? You sense
something?"
"Danger!"
The shots ring out, two of them, from high
above.
Gideon drops limply to the walkway, blood
pooling under him.
*
* *
Minbar:
In a dark chamber in the Grey Council's
complex at Tuzanor, a lone woman sits in a chair, waiting. They
have interrogated her over and over, so many times she has lost
count. She wishes now only for an end to come.
The door slides open and a Ranger--she thinks
of them now as Dark Rangers-- enters. He sneers at her, leaves
food on the table, and picks up her empty tray.
"You should be grateful you are
here," he says then. "The city--the world outside--is
in chaos. Minbari kills Minbari. You should thank us for
keeping you safe."
She says nothing, merely turns away, closing
her eyes."
"Suit yourself, Delenn."
He exits the chamber and the door clangs shut
behind him.
"It was the end of the Earth year
2270, and though we'd achieved some small victories, we'd also
suffered great setbacks... and the toughest challenges still lay
ahead. Whether we'd survive them or not was anybody's guess, for
now even our own people were against us. Still, we were, each of
us in our own way, resolved to fight on... to give our lives, our
fortunes, and our sacred honor... to strive, to seek, to find...
and not to yield." --John Matheson
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