Hello to all the B5 aficionados. This is the first story that I have posted ( but not the first one that I have written, but as that was very self-indulgent, you don't want to read it. Trust me.) I can safely say that I have not, as yet, read anything like this on the archive. Tell me if you like it. This is dedicated to all those people that are still mourning over the demise of Marcus Cole. Oh yes, thanks to Red Wulf for telling me about this site.
Disclaimer: B5 and associated charaters all belong to JMS (All hail to the Great Maker), WB, TNT, etc. I'm just playing in your universe for a while. I don't mean to step on the flowers.
Spoliers: Just in case there is someone who hasn't seen all five seasons, spoilers for Endgame, and perhaps season five, but not much.
Abstract: Stephen Franklin visits B5 and has a very strange encounter. 2266.
Rediscovering Marcus
By
Hilary Weston
Stephen Franklin stepped into the darkened medlab and just stood for a minute, to absorb the smells, sounds, atmosphere of what had once been his domain. Here he had reigned supreme. No one, not even the President, could order him about in here. Well, that wasn't strictly true, but in matters of health and fitness, he had had ultimate authority.
It had become a ritual to him. Every time in the last four years that his research had brought him to Babylon 5, the first evening he visited medlab; even before he met with Dr. Hobbs or the Captain. He had to reassure himself that they were looking after the place, keeping up the standards that he had set. He ran an experienced eye over the medical instruments laid out ready for the next day's work, noted the equipment upgrades, and the fact that his old chair was still there. It was still his medlab at heart and every time that he stepped into it, a different memory was revived. Most happy, but too many that were sad.
Content that he would not have to reprimand Dr. Hobbs for anything, Stephen then made his other ritual visit. To the adjacent cryogenic chambers.
He paused at the entrance. Someone was already there, standing motionless in front of one of the chambers, gazing at the panel. Stephen knew whose it was. The same one he had come to visit.
Marcus.
Stephen stepped quietly forwards, but the person had heard him. All in the same movement, the figure whirled to face him, took up a fighting stance and activated a fighting pike.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
Stephen stared. The Ranger was a young woman, possibly not yet out of her teens. A tall blonde, she had a look that was already stunning but in another couple of years would be knocking men out in all directions. If she didn't do it with her pike. But Stephen hadn't hesitated at her beauty, but her voice. A clear-cut English accent that was so much like….
"Who are you?" She repeated.
"I'm Dr. Stephen Franklin." He held out his hand, attempting to put the Ranger at ease, but she was now staring at him.
"You were here," she said, "It's your name on the report." She retracted her pike. "Tell me what happened. Tell me the real story."
Stephen looked at Marcus' cryo chamber. Why did she want to know? Hero-worship? Morbid curiosity?
"It's all classified." He said cautiously. "And even if it wasn't, why should I tell you? I don't even know who you are."
The Ranger looked him squarely in the eyes.
"I am Marie Cole. Marcus was my Father."
Stephen was stunned for a second. Father? But….
"I don't know who you are," he said when he had recovered, "But you are not Marcus' daughter." The woman was about to speak but he cut her off. He could feel his anger rising, disgusted that anyone, let alone a Ranger, would dare to masquerade as a family member of his dead friend. That she had the audacity to claim Marcus as her father only compounded the lie further. "Anyone that knew Marcus would know that he had no family left. His brother was killed by the Shadows and he had no children. I don't know what you were hoping to gain by pretending to be related to someone that didn't even look a bit like you, but it hasn't worked."
"I can explain." The woman said, apparently confused at his reaction.
"You're damn right you're going to explain." Stephen grabbed her by the arm, "To security."
He was leading her out of medlab when all the lights snapped on. A second later, Stephen heard the all too familiar sound of trauma teams descending on the medical facility, followed shortly by a fast moving stream of trolleys carrying wounded people. As they flowed past, one of the doctors attending a patient spotted Stephen.
"Doctor Franklin!" Doctor Hobbs voice was urgent but relieved at the familiar figure. "If you could give us a hand?"
"Yes." Stephen was immediately in professional mode. "What happened?"
"Shuttle lost control during final docking. We have extensive burns, lacerations and broken bones."
Doctor Hobbs had continued moving with her patient whilst filling in Stephen and she had no time to say any more before she was carried beyond him. Stephen pushed the young woman to one side where she would not be in the way.
"Don't move." He ordered, then was gone to the nearest wounded person, swiftly checking vital signs and snapping out instructions to the surrounding staff. Absorbed as he was with the immediate crisis, it was some minutes before he even thought again of the dubious Ranger.
One final patient was rushed into medlab some time after the rest. A woman in critical condition. The team that brought her in explained that she had been trapped within the shuttle and had had to be cut free. Clinging to the woman was a small child, seemingly unhurt, but screaming at the top of her lungs for mummy to wake up. Stephen could not work with the girl where she was and shouted for someone to remove her. In stepped the Ranger and gently, but firmly lifted the child clear and began trying to soothe her. Stephen then began to work feverishly to stabilise the woman's condition.
Eventually, things began to calm down. Patients' wounds had been treated and the non-critical cases had been transferred to the infirmary. The critically injured woman who had been brought in last was in intensive care, but it did not look good. They had done all they could and now they just had to wait and see if she was strong enough to pull through. As was always the case, if she could survive the night, then her chances would improve.
It had been late when Stephen had first entered the medlab, and now all he wanted was too collapse into a bed, but first, he had to deal with 'Marie', if that was her name. He looked to the corner where he had last seen her.
She was gone.
"Damn!" He swore. He should never have trusted her. But surely she had been there five minutes before? He had seen her still cradling the distraught child and it made no sense for her to wait till now to escape when it would have been easier to leave when the injured first came.
It was then that Stephen noticed the little girl. She was almost lost in the shadows of his swivel chair, wrapped as she was in a black Ranger cloak. He crept forwards, thinking that she was asleep, which would explain why the woman had waited before escaping, and was surprised to see a pair of large tearful brown eyes staring back at him.
"Where's Mummy?" the girl asked.
"She's sleeping," Stephen lied, "and so should you."
The girl shook her head. "I have to wait for Marie to come back."
"Why?"
"She asked me to look after her brooch. She didn't want to lose it."
Stephen could now see that cradled in the girl's small hands was a Ranger pin. Perhaps she was coming back.
"Do you know where she has gone?" He asked.
"She's gone to get Biddy. I left her on the shuttle."
"Who?"
"My dolly. She'll be scared all by herself."
Stephen didn't know whether to be angry or relieved. Maybe the woman was related to Marcus after all. Dashing off to rescue a doll from a potentially dangerous crash site was just the sort of noble and idiotic thing he would have done. Had done, quite a few times, and usually without heeding the risks or thinking about himself. And for what? A doll. A children's toy that anyone else would not have given a second thought to. But Marcus had always understood the real value of such things and would have known that it meant the world to the girl.
When Marie got back, Stephen decided, she would have her chance to explain.
It had not taken Marie long to reach the docking bays. Luckily, being the middle of the night, about the only people around were those involved with the shuttle crash, so she just had to follow them to find the bay she wanted.
She ran through the customs area but found her way barred by a security guard at the entrance to the bay she wanted.
"I'm sorry Miss," the guard held up a hand to stop her, "You can't come any further."
"But I left something on the shuttle." Marie tried to lie her way through.
"There's been a coolant leak and the area has been sealed off. All personal possessions will be retrieved once the area has been made safe."
The guard pulled Marie to one side to let a hazmat crew with breathers through into the bay. She waited until they were out of sight, then swiftly activated her pike and knocked the guard unconscious.
"Sorry, no time to explain." She apologised as she stepped over his body and into the bay.
The coolant leak was an unexpected complication, but she didn't intend for it to stop her. She searched the walls as she ran, knowing that somewhere there would be emergency equipment, including breathers. It wasn't long before she found what she wanted; the glass fronted cabinet that held various extinguishers, first aid equipment and breathers. She skidded to a halt in front of it and uttered a frustrated curse.
It was empty.
She should have expected that, with the crash being so close. Searching through the debris on the floor in a vain hope that one of the breathers had been overlooked, Marie held a quick debate with herself as to weather she should try and find another cabinet, or continue. She decided to go on. She didn't know when the guard at customs would wake up and raise the alarm, and when that happened there would be very little chance of getting Biddy back tonight.
Marie ran on, examining every breath for the faint, dangerous traces of coolant. She could hold her breath for over two minutes, and each step in clear air increased her chances of getting back out safely. She rounded another corner and the crashed shuttle came into view, tipped up against the bulkhead as if crushed by a giant hand. Luckily the hazmat crews appeared to be working out of sight on the other side of the shuttle, most probably on the coolant leak. That left Marie a clear path to the nearest escape hatch.
She ran the fifty or so feet across the docking bay floor and jumped. Her hands grasped the base of the doorway and she waited a second for her body to swing against the deflated rescue chute before pulling herself up into the shuttle. It was as she was kneeling on the floor of the cabin that she smelt the coolant; the very briefest hint of sickliness that irritated the back of her throat. This was it. Two minutes to find the doll and get out. Marie leaned out of the hatch to the clear air and deflated her lungs as much as possible before breathing in as deep as she could. If she could use the meditation that the Minbari had taught her to slow her heartbeat, then maybe she could manage as much as three minutes.
Remembering that the girl's mother had been cut from the wreckage, Marie worked her way to the front of the cabin where the most damage was. The inside of the shuttle was in worse shape than the outside with seats thrown about, hand luggage scattered everywhere and the floor warped like ripples on a pond. Marie had counted to thirty when she found the blackened metal that indicated cutting tools. Bracing herself against a seat, she began throwing bags, coats, bits of metal, anything across the cabin to reveal what was underneath. When she reached the floor in one place, she started again in a new place.
At two minutes fifteen, Marie could see spots dancing in front of her eyes. Calmly ignoring them, she continued. She was reaching past a large girder to what had once been the very front seats and pulled out a coat. As she threw it away, she could see that it was a girl's coat. This had to be it. She reached as far as she could, blindly groping for anything. Two thirty, and she could feel her lungs starting to fight to let the exhausted air out. She could feel a bag and pushed it to one side, then her hands closed on something hard inside material. That had to be it. She pulled out the doll as her lungs were on the point of implosion, and turned towards the hatch. Halfway across the cabin, she tripped on the wreckage and hit the floor, forcibly causing her to exhale. Then before she could regain control, she breathed in.
Marie could feel the burning of the coolant in her throat and lungs. Her body's reaction was to cough, but she fought the urge knowing that she had to reach cleaner air first. She got up and stumbled to the hatch before collapsing halfway out of the shuttle. Clasping the doll in one hand and steadying herself against the hatchway with the other, she choked and coughed in rasping breaths, breathing heavily until her vision cleared. Marie only allowed herself the luxury of a few seconds before she swung herself out of the hatch and dropped to the ground, where she waited only long enough to check that the way was clear before she was running out of the docking bay and towards medlab.
The guard was beginning to stir when Marie passed him and she was glad that she hadn't tried to find another breather. She would only just make it now before a security team appeared.
Stephen heard the Ranger before she appeared. She was coughing. The long drawn double cough of a gas victim. When she came through the door, he was surprised that she was still standing. One of her sleeves was torn, her face was smeared with grime, scratches had appeared on her hands, and her expression was strained with fatigue. But she was smiling with triumph as she handed the doll to the delighted girl.
"Biddy! You found her!"
"I said I would," the Ranger said, "I keep my promises."
Then her smile faded as her body was wracked with a fit of coughing. She was doubling up with convulsions when Stephen led her to the nearest examination table and gave her some oxygen to breathe.
"Just lie back and let me check you." Stephen ordered as the Ranger struggled to remove the mask from her face. "What happened?"
"I knocked out an officer. Security are probably looking for me. I need to explain."
"Don't worry. I'll talk to Zack. But what happened to you?"
"Coolant leak. I took a lungfull."
Stephen let one of the med techs take over then so that he could inform Zack of the wandering Ranger; after which he placed a few more calls.
Stephen was surprised to hear singing as he entered Tessa's quarters. It was lucky that she was off station at the moment as she might not have been too pleased to put up two extra guests, but it had been the easiest solution.
He had wanted somewhere private to talk to Marie. Stephen had received confirmation from Delenn that she was a Ranger, but nothing else. 'She will tell you herself,' was all he got. If it had just been the matter of talking to Marie, there were any number of places that they could have gone. The added complication was Amy. The little girl had attached herself to the Ranger and refused to be separated from her. That had narrowed the options down to somewhere with a bed for Amy to sleep, and as renting a room would take forever in the middle of the night, he had decided to exploit his open invitation to stay at Tessa's.
Once he had got them settled, Stephen had gone in search of some food, but just about everywhere was shut. He finally tracked down a small shop deep in the red sector so it was some time before he returned to find Amy, clutching Biddy, sleeping in the bed with Marie softly singing to her.
"He loves, if in the bygone years,
Thine eyes have ever shed tears,
Bitter, unavailing tears, for one untimely dead.
If, in the eventide of life,
Sad thoughts of her arise,
Then let the memory of thy wife,
Plead for my boy, he dies.
He dies, if fondly laid aside,
In some old cabinet,
Memorials of thy long dead bride,
Lie, dearly treasured yet.
Then let her hallowed bridal dress,
Her little dainty gloves,
Her withered flowers,
Her faded tress,
Plead for my boy, he loves."
The tune seemed familiar, but Stephen could not quite place it. A beautiful flowing melody that was sweetly sung, but with an underlying sadness that was evident in the singer's voice. A wave of grief overcame him as he listened; the song awakening the memories of Marcus from five years previously, so fitting was it to his friend.
Marie finished and quietly retreated from the bedroom area. She still hadn't found time to wash the grime off her face and she looked tired.
"How are you?" Stephen asked quietly. He didn't need to enquire about Amy; it was obvious that the little girl was fine.
"Much better, thank you." Marie replied, "The voice is a bit dodgy above E, but it should be OK in a week or so."
Stephen was taken aback by this answer, but it prompted him to ask his own question.
"What was that you were singing? I've heard it somewhere, but…"
"Iolanthe." Marie replied. "I know most of the soprano songs from G & S, and quite a few of the other parts."
"You sang it beautifully." This made Marie smile. "Have you ever thought of doing it professionally?"
Marie shook her head. "No. Singing has always been part of my life, but only as a hobby. Dad was the one that got me interested."
"Marcus?" Stephen still found it hard to make the connection.
"He was always singing when I was little." Marie continued, "He would quite often sing me to sleep."
Stephen thought back to the times that Marcus had sung to him. What he had been inflicted to had not been very soothing.
"A Modern Major General?" He inquired.
Marie giggled, "He would sing that to cheer me up."
"Poor you," Stephen said to himself, then louder, "I'm still not convinced that you are who you say you are."
Marie started to protest, but Stephen held up his hand.
"But," he continued, "I will listen to what you have to say. As I have a feeling that it is going to be a long story, why don't we eat while you tell it?"
Marie nodded and sat down to help unpack the food. It was at that point that both of them realised just how hungry they were and it was a couple of minutes serious eating later that Stephen spoke again.
"The first thing that I want to know is how can you be Marcus' daughter when we know he had no family and definitely couldn't have had children."
"He adopted me." Marie stated.
"But why didn't he tell us? There was nothing in his records."
"He was protecting me."
Stephen took a few more seconds to process the information.
"This doesn't make sense. Why on earth should someone stuck on an out of the way place like a mining colony decide to adopt a child? I doubt that the authorities would let a single man adopt anyway."
Marie took a deep breath.
"It's complicated." She said.
"What isn't," Stephen agreed. "Start at the beginning."
As Marie sat forwards to gather her thoughts, Stephen placed a slice of meat onto some bread and chewed. If he wasn't going to interrupt her every five seconds, he had better keep eating.
"I have no memory of my life before Arisia," She began. "I don't even know my birth date. I was about three when Dad found me. He had been patrolling the space around the mining colony and discovered a drifting lifepod. Inside it he found me, barely alive. He took me back to the colony and nursed me back to health.
I know they nearly lost me more than once, but Dad would not give up. Grandma told me that he sat and slept by my bed for weeks, reading to me, or playing music and singing to soothe my deliriums. My earliest memories are of his voice invading my dreams with Shakespeare, G&S, Tolkien, Dickens, Arthur Ransome. When I fully regained consciousness, his was the first face I saw. The first thing I said was 'Daddy' and he has been ever since. He is the only father I have ever known. He tried to find out who my real parents were, but they couldn't find a DNA match, and no one came to claim me. We concluded that I must have been on a ship that had been attacked by raiders, and that maybe my family were space gypsies. You know, the communities that grew out of the Earth/Minbari war refugees. There were a lot of them back then, travelling from one system to another."
"I remember," Stephen put in. "Earth Gov. hated them because they had no records and were almost impossible to keep track of. It took them years to find them all."
"At the time Earth Gov. was still in a shambles after the war and there were orphans everywhere. Basically, it would have cost too much to ship me back to Earth, so the adoption agency was happy to leave me where I was."
"Who called you Marie?" Stephen asked.
"No one. When I was found, I was clutching a ragged piece of blanket with Marie stamped on it. They needed to call me something and that was as good as anything else." She smiled as she remembered something, "Dad said that it was probably the name of the ship I was on, and that I was lucky I wasn't called the Goblin or something."
Stephen laughed. That sounded like Marcus.
"It must have been a strange childhood, growing up on a mining colony?"
"Back then I didn't know it was strange. You assume your life is normal if that is all you know. Arisia was very isolated so there were no other children but that didn't matter. Grandma and Granddad loved me and I think I brought them happiness when the company was struggling. Uncle Billy was fun and played with me a lot before he left. Dad adored me and would take me on his tours of the refining platform. The workers called me Miss Boss. Looking back, they all spoilt me a bit. I was happy and had no need of anything. If I imagined a world beyond the colony, then it was like the one in the books that Dad taught me to read. They were his greatest possessions, and my first friends. Wonderful hardback volumes; all old and possibly priceless some of them, but the most fantastic stories. Sometimes we would spend hours together sitting by his bookcase just reading."
She lapsed into silence, staring into nothing as she remembered those distant times. Stephen hated to disturb her.
"It must have been a tremendous shock when the colony was destroyed. I assume you weren't on it at the time."
"I was at school, but reality hit me a lot earlier than that." Marie hardened her expression. The next bit was going to be tough. "Things started to go wrong when I was five. Uncle Billy decided that he wanted to leave the colony and explore the galaxy. He got into an argument with Dad. I was supposed to be asleep at the time, but I could hear them through the walls. Dad was going on about responsibility and how he should have been playing his part in running the business. Then Uncle Billy said something about getting out to live his own life before he became trapped and that just made Dad mad. I remember putting my head under the pillow to shut out the shouting. The next morning Uncle Billy wasn't at breakfast, and when I asked where he was Grandma said that he had gone away. Nothing more was said, it was like he had dropped out of existence. I did receive messages from him though, and learnt quickly to hide them from Dad. The first two he erased the moment he discovered them."
"That's a bit drastic." Stephen said, his old doubts returning.
"I thought so at the time, but then I didn't understand. Granddad had grown ill with the stress of running the company. He had wanted it to be a success so that he could support Dad, Uncle Billy, and me in whatever we wanted to do, but at the time it had become too much for him. Dad had begun to help him and fully expected Uncle Billy to as well. When he left, Dad thought that he had turned his back on his own family, betrayed his own parents. Dad believed that Granddad wanted the company to continue in the family and so by a misplaced sense of loyalty became trapped in a position that at heart he hated.
When Granddad died Dad took over the running of the company completely. It began to slowly suffocate him. He tried to hide it, from Grandma and me, but some of his fun was gone. He didn't have as much time for me, and when he did see me, he was too tired to play or even sing sometimes. I think he felt that he was neglecting me so he sent me to school on Earth; the same school that Grandma went to. I suppose he thought that I would meet children of my own age, that I would have a better education than he could give me, and that I would have some kind of childhood. All that I knew was that he was sending me away from him and my home. I hated it. The teachers were kind but distant, and the other children were cruel. They all came from Earth families with parents who were high up in the military or something, so a runt from a mining colony on the edge of nowhere wasn't worth acknowledging. I was bullied continuously and cried every night. I couldn't wait for the holidays when I could return to the colony."
"Why didn't you tell Marcus?" Stephen could see how upsetting the memory was to her. "He would have taken you out."
"I loved him too much to do that. He believed he was doing the best for me and I believed that it was my duty to go on. If I didn't, I would have failed him, and I was afraid that he would treat me like Uncle Billy. He never knew what I felt. At that time I think I was also beginning to see how much the problems of the company were affecting him, and that made me ashamed to be so weak. The one thing that kept me going was the school library. It was a vast place with dark oak shelves and thousands of books. You could smell the ancient paper. The other children rarely went there, they all read from data crystals, but it was like a piece of home to me. I was overjoyed to discover that the library had copies of the very same books that Dad had back home. Some of them even had the same covers."
She smiled embarrassedly before she continued.
"I used to tell myself that they were the same books that I had at home and that they had magically followed me across the galaxy. They were the friends I lacked back then. I made myself a den with my favourite books in the furthest corner of the library, behind a bookcase. I could hide there for hours and no one would ever find me. I spent the whole night there once after Grandma died."
"How long were you there for?" Stephen asked. He wondered what Marcus would have thought of this tale.
"Three years all together. Interminably long terms interspersed with too short holidays. I never wanted them to end, as it would mean leaving Dad and my other friends among the workers that I had made. Dad never knew it, but as he was so busy with business, I roamed the refining platform learning the mining processes and procedures. It got that I was able to work most of the machines by myself. I would have loved to have helped Dad, and I probably would have been by now if it wasn't for the Shadows. I was nine at the time the colony was destroyed. I remember the teachers telling me what had happened. They tried to break it gently, but there is no easy way to tell someone that there entire home is gone. They said that it was an accident and that there were no survivors. I wandered around in a daze for a week until Dad contacted me. I was overjoyed that he was alive, but then he had to tell me that Uncle Billy had been killed. I think it was the hardest thing that he had to do. We cried together over the light-years.
Then he told me that he was going away, and that he might not be able to send me any messages. I asked where he was going, but he said that it was better that I didn't know, then other people couldn't hurt me to find out. He said that he wished he could take me with him, but it might be dangerous and I would be safe at school where they would look after me. He ended by saying that he loved me and promising to come back and get me one day.
Then began a year of silence, during which I worried every day. It was during this time that I was visited by two people who wanted to know about Dad and where he was. I didn't like them. The woman was dressed all in black with gloves and the man smiled too much."
"A Psi Cop!" Stephen exclaimed. "Surely she didn't scan you?"
"She probably did, but I didn't know about Psi Cops at the time. I couldn't tell them anything, so they went away. It was then that I began to realise how important it was not to talk about the colony or Dad.
Anyway, a year after the colony was destroyed, martial law was declared on Earth. I had started taking an interest in what had been happening with Mars and B5, as I had a feeling that it involved Dad, and I wondered if I would be getting any more visits from strange people.
Dad obviously thought this would happen as three days after the declaration, he appeared at the school. He looked completely different, with long hair, a beard and strange clothes, but it was my Dad. He barely gave me enough time to pack a bag before we were gone. There was a shuttle just outside the school grounds and we blasted off onto a journey into the unknown. I didn't ask why we were in such a rush as I could see he was scared."
"I can understand why." Stephen put in, "We all knew that our families could have been used as hostages against us if things got too bad. Luckily none of the rest of us had children, but you wouldn't have had a chance. Where did you go."
"Minbar. It was the safest place Dad knew, but even then he took no chances. He made me promise that I would never tell anyone who I really was. I was just to say that I was an orphan that he had found drifting in space. It was the truth, almost, and I knew by now just how serious things were. I was placed with a Minbari family at Tuzanor."
"Wasn't it hard being alone there?"
"No harder than at school, and I wasn't alone. I quickly made friends with a number of the Rangers; I had grown up surrounded by adults so it was a bit like home. I soon picked up a bit of the language and went to a Minbari school for some of the time although one of the human Rangers, Corrinne, taught me in the evenings. I enjoyed it. I even got friendly with Entil'zha Sinclair before he left.
It got a little hairy during the civil war, but luckily Tuzanor wasn't affected much. Dad would visit me whenever he was on Minbar, and when he was away he still managed to get regular messages to me. I began to believe everything would be all right until his last message arrived."
"When was this?"
"During the battle to retake Earth. Most of the Rangers were involved so Tuzanor was relatively quiet."
Stephen had already calculated exactly when and where Marcus must have been, and what he was about to do. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer but he asked anyway.
"What did the message say?"
"I can show you. I've always kept it with me. It's the evidence that can prove who I am."
She reached inside the neck of her Ranger uniform and pulled out a small pouch that she had been wearing around her neck. She shook out a data crystal and handed it to Stephen. He hesitated.
"Are you sure?"
Marie nodded. Stephen placed the crystal in the port and waited for it to play.
Marcus' face appeared on the screen. In the background could be seen the typical Minbari designs that graced the interior of a Whitestar. Stephen had been right. He must have sent the message during his trip from Earth to B5. His friend looked tired and pale, but determined. For a few seconds he didn't speak, obviously struggling to find the right words. After closing his eyes to push back the tears that shone in his gaze, and with a deep shuddering breath, he began.
"Marie. I do not know if this will reach you before you hear the news of what I must do, but I wanted to apologise and explain.
I'm sorry………so sorry for leaving you alone. You have gone through so much in your life all ready and I wish I didn't have to add to your pain, but there are no other options left."
Marcus paused here, as if knowing that he might not be making sense. Stephen could only imagine what would have been going through his mind.
"I have tried to be the best Father I could for you Marie. I'm not perfect, and I probably made mistakes, and there is so much that I would change if I could, especially in the last three years. You haven't had the greatest of childhoods by anyone's standards, but I hope that you have been happy most of the time. I always did what I thought was best for you. I hope you understand that; if not now, then when you are older.
One of the things I always wanted to give you was a Mother. That has always been the most important thing missing from your life. I tried to be both a Mother and a Father, but that is impossible to do. You needed someone else. You may not have thought that it was important as you had your Grandmother when you were little. I had wondered if Hasina would have been your Mother….."
Marcus paused again. Stephen vaguely remembered a Hasina being mentioned on their trip to Mars. She had been killed when Arisia had been destroyed. Marcus continued, a smile beginning to form on his face.
"I think I've mentioned Susan to you. She is the most wonderful woman I've met; beautiful, intelligent, stubborn, fearless, with a fiery temper that could flatten the Warrior Caste. I have fought by her side many times over the past two years.
What she probably wouldn't be, is a good Mother. If she knew that I had even thought about it, I would be blasted on the spot."
Stephen couldn't help but laugh at the idea of Ivanova being a Mother.
"What she is though, is a good friend, and I realised that in a year or two, you will need a friend more than a Mother. She would be someone that you could turn to, to help you through the tough times, and she's had some tough times herself so will understand everything. I had hoped to bring her to Minbar to meet you when things calmed down.
If you had liked her, I had hoped to ask her to marry me one day."
Marcus was smiling broadly now, but the tears that he had fought back before were rolling down his face.
"I love her. I would do anything for her."
The smiled crumbled and folded.
"She's dying.
She was injured in battle, refusing to back down before the enemy had been defeated. She was magnificent.
I got her out before the ship was destroyed, but the damage was too great. I have been watching her grow weaker by the day, and felt a piece of my heart die at the same time. Then I found a way to save her, but it means leaving you alone.
I have never had to make a decision like this before. To choose between the two people that I love, and I hope that you never have to make this decision. Do I stay here for you and let the woman I love die?, or do I save Susan to continue her life and rob you of your Father?"
The tears were flowing freely now.
"Oh Marie. I'm so sorry. I wish I could be there with you now, to hold you through this time, but Susan needs me more than you do. You and Susan are the two bright points in my life. She has made me so happy, and I want to make her just as happy. I can't do that with the time we have left, but I can give her a second chance at life in the hope that she will find the same kind of happiness that I have. Her life is so full of sadness.
Please understand. In a few years you would be leaving me anyway to go out into the universe by yourself. I am asking you to grow up sooner than you would need to, but I know that you are strong enough to cope and to survive.
Remember the promise you made to me. Keep yourself safe and obey the Rangers. They will protect you and teach you what you need to know. Let them be your family from now on. If I succeed in saving Susan, I hope that you will one day meet her, and maybe she will become the friend you need. If that does not happen and you want to talk to someone, go to Delenn. She is a wonderful listener and has an uncanny way of finding out what is bothering you."
Marcus smiled again as he neared the end of the message.
"I know that you will make me proud of you Marie. Whatever rumours you might hear, remember that I love you. Please do not hate me, and do not hate Susan. I do this as my final willing act.
Goodbye."
Just as the message ended, Marcus placed one hand on his heart and the other palm facing forwards in the traditional Minbari farewell.
Stephen removed the data crystal and turned around, to find Marie sitting on the couch and sobbing into her hands. The strong resourceful Ranger had been replaced with Marie's true self, a teenager grieving over her lost Father. Stephen sat beside her and took Marcus' place in holding her as she cried, adding his own tears.
"I miss him so much." She managed to say between sobs.
"So do I." Stephen added.
Eventually, Marie's tears subsided and she found out just how much she had soaked Stephen's shirt.
"I'm sorry," she said as she wiped her eyes, "I didn't think that it would affect me so much after all these years. It's only the second time that I've played that message."
Stephen was aghast, "Why?"
"A misplaced sense of duty. I had promised Dad that I would keep myself safe, which I thought meant keeping my identity secret. It was the last thing he said in his message and so I hid my grief, only letting myself cry at night. I didn't ask too many questions in case someone found out. I was told that Dad had died in a medical accident, but everybody seemed reluctant to talk about a funeral. I couldn't find out why. I blamed Susan at first. I must have hated her for a year."
"You don't hate her now?"
"No. I think it was my way of coping with it."
"You poor girl." Stephen said. "If we had known back then…But Marcus never said anything. We had no idea."
"I knew no better, or I would have told someone years ago."
"So why are you here now?"
"To decide the calling of my heart."
That was a typical Minbari saying, and Stephen waited for Marie to expand.
"I have lived on Minbar for the last seven years. I did as Dad said and obeyed the Rangers. They have taught me so much. I also became friends with Entil'zha Delenn when she moved there, and I have much to thank her for. Dad was right when he said that she knows just what is troubling you.
Well, I grew up, and almost without noticing it, I began Ranger training. No one questioned it as I was well known at the compound, and it seemed the obvious choice at that time. I didn't even consider any other options."
"What gave you doubts?"
"The rebirth ceremony. Do you know of it?"
"Yes. You are to give away something that is of great value to you, and tell someone a secret that you have never told anyone else. I have done it."
"When it was my time, I had nothing to give but that data crystal, and the secret of who I really was. I told Entil'zha the story that I have told you, and she told me something that I had not thought about. In all my life, I have only lived in three places, Arisia, school and Tuzanor. I have not travelled, and know nothing of the universe outside of my life. Although I would make a good Ranger, Entil'zha was concerned that I had joined through a misguided sense of duty and blind faith. She sent me away. I am to travel for a year and learn about the universe and the myriad of paths that I could take through life. If I still want to become a Ranger after that time, there will be no objections, but I have been given the chance to discover if my heart really belongs elsewhere."
"You are lucky," Stephen said, "Not many people get that chance."
"She was also concerned that I had not grieved properly, and suggested that I came to Babylon 5 first. I wanted to find out what really happened. There had been so many rumours that I could never get the story straight, and the official report didn't say much more."
"I did that deliberately." Stephen remembered the guilt that he had felt back then for not protecting his records of the alien healing machine better. It had been under the highest security since then. He did not want a repeat incident.
"What happened?" Marie asked, "Please tell me."
It was Stephen's turn to tell the story. Marie listened carefully as he told of the battle for Earth, Ivanova's injury, how Marcus slipped away from the fleet and hacked into his records, about the alien healing machine and its power to transfer life energy from one person to another. Deciding not to hide anything, he then told of his own desperate flight in pursuit to try and stop Marcus. Finally he related what he found when he arrived; Ivanova cured and Marcus drained of all life.
He cautiously looked at Marie to gauge her reaction. She seemed deep in thought, considering the tale. Finally, she looked up.
"Thank you." She said. "At last I know what happened. It is a relief after all these years. You do not know what I have dreamed about sometimes."
"Worse?"
Marie smiled, "Much worse. It is strangely comforting that Dad chose this way to die. But why did you freeze him?"
"Ivanova ordered it. She took it harder than the rest of us. He is to be held indefinitely in case we can find a way to revive him. I think it was her way of coping with his death, by pretending that he isn't dead."
"Isn't he?" Marie was puzzled.
"Technically, yes. But there is nothing physically wrong with his body, so in theory he could be revived. I don't hold out much hope though."
Marie sighed, "I wish I could have been with him more in the last couple of years. He has become quite a legend with the Rangers. There are loads of stories about him and Ivanova. I don't know how much of them are true. You were his friend. Tell me about him?"
For the rest of the short night, they swapped tales. Stephen told of the Vendrizi, and Arthur, and their trip to Mars. Marie remembered incidents from long ago, practical jokes that they played on each other, and birthday surprises. Together they laughed, learning from each other a new part of the man they thought they had known so well, and remembering what made him so great.
It was as Stephen was in the middle of Marcus' pike battle with Neroon, that he noticed Marie had fallen asleep. Curled up in the chair, she seemed comfortable enough, so he placed a blanket over her and then stretched himself out on the couch.
On being awakened by the bleeping of an incoming message, Stephen had to think hard for a few seconds before he remembered where he was. He looked at the remains of their food and wrinkled his nose at the mess, then picked up the blanket that Marie had somehow thrown off in her sleep and gently tucked it around her still sleeping form. Only then did he answer the message.
Doctor Hobbs looked just like he felt. She probably hadn't slept at all.
"Stephen." She sounded relieved, "I'm glad I found you. You ought to be the first one to know."
Stephen's stomach sank. He could guess what was coming next.
"The mother of that little girl…She didn't make it."
What a way to start the day.
"I'll tell her." Stephen said, though how, he was not quite sure.
"If you can come to medlab later, we have to sort out the details."
Stephen nodded, then cut the link. He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I'll tell her."
Stephen jumped. He was sure Marie had been asleep. He looked at the teenager.
"You don't have to."
"She trusts me." Marie stated, "It would be better for her I think."
"I'll start fixing some breakfast then." He looked at the clock and corrected himself, "Lunch."
Stephen found it hard to believe that less than twenty four hours had passed since he had last been in medlab, but that was probably because he hadn't got much sleep in the interceding hours.
Watching Marie did not help. She was sitting in front of Marcus' cryo chamber, performing a shortened form of the Minbari ritual Ish'ara; the farewell to the dead. It involved prayer and meditation for the departed, and traditionally, two weeks of fasting. Marie did not have the time or the metabolism for the fast, and so was concentrating on only the most important of the prayers.
Even so, she had not moved for over half an hour and Stephen could feel himself slipping into a doze as he leant against the wall at the entrance to the cryogengic cambers. He was supposed to be stopping anyone from disturbing Marie, but Zack managed to approach him completely unnoticed.
"Hiya Doc!"
Stephen jumped. "Don't do that!"
"Sorry." Zack wondered what he had done. He hadn't been any quieter that usual. "I've come to find Marie."
"She's in there." Stephen indicated the Ranger.
"What's she doing?" Zack asked, automatically lowering his voice.
"Ish'ara."
Zack looked at Stephen, then at Marie, and then at Stephen again.
"Yea, whatever." He said, "Look, this arrived from Delenn today." He held up an envelope. "It's for Marie."
"I'll give it to her." Stephen said, "Thanks."
"Right. See you around Doc."
With a last look at Marie, Zack went on his way. Stephen resumed watching.
Eventually, Marie finished her meditation, picked up the photo of Marcus that had been in front of her, and holding it in the flame of the candle that had been lit all through the ritual, let it burn away. When only ashes were left, she blew out the candle and stood up to face Stephen.
"Why did you burn the photo?" He asked.
"It represents the soul leaving the body and rejoining all the other souls until it will be reborn into another body."
"Do you believe that?"
"In a way." Marie replied. "I am a Christian, but there is much that can be learnt from the Minbari."
Stephen remembered the envelope. He gave it to Marie.
"Delenn sent this for you."
Marie opened the envelope with a frown of curiosity. The first thing she drew out was an Earth ID.
"Of course!" Marie exclaimed as she looked at the small card and saw what it was, "Today is my fifteenth finding day. I haven't celebrated it for years, so I'd almost forgotten it."
"Your what?"
"Today I am legally eighteen. I am now an adult."
"Happy Bir… Finding Day." Stephen corrected himself in time. Even if Marie had not thought about it, Delenn would have known that the young woman would need and ID card to be able to travel. He wondered what else was in the envelope.
There was only a letter. Marie started to read, and a few moments later, Stephen was alarmed to see her on the verge of fainting. He caught her before she fell and helped her into a chair.
"Are you alright?" he asked, while checking her pulse.
"I'm fine," Marie assured him and weakly handed him the letter to read.
It was details of a trust fund that had been set up by Marcus for Marie, and which she now had access to. Stephen too had to reach for support when he read the amount.
"Over three million credits!" he exclaimed, "Where did he get that from?"
"I have no idea." Marie said, "Unless it's the insurance money from Arisia." She started to giggle with delighted shock. "Look at me. I've never spent any money in my life. I have always been provided for by other people, and now I have three million credits. I don't know what I'm going to do with it."
"I know some people that could advise you on that." Stephen assured her, "But right now I think it's time for a celebration. I'm going to buy you a drink."
He helped her out of the chair and they began to head out of Medlab. Marie suddenly looked around.
"Where's Amy?" She asked. "I know what I'm going to buy first. The biggest ice-cream on the Zocalo, just for her."
Later that evening, Stephen escorted Marie and Amy to a Finding day party.
Once the shock of the trust fund had worn off and Marie had stopped choking on the drink that Stephen had bought her, she started making a list of what she would need to travel around the galaxy. Top of that list was clothes, and so she and Amy had gone shopping whilst Stephen had contacted Zack, Captain Lochley, Dr. Hobbs, and some of the Rangers on the station, to organise a party.
If Marie had been stunning before, Stephen could do nothing except stare open mouthed at her in her new dress. A deep sapphire blue, it showed off her figure that had previously been hidden beneath her Ranger uniform. She looked completely different.
"You approve." Marie chuckled at his reaction.
He nodded, then looked down at Amy who was tugging at his jacket, demanding a compliment of her new dress.
"But you, little lady, are the most beautiful." He said; then with a mock bow, "My ladies, your presence is awaited."
Swinging Amy between them, they made their way to the party.
For only a few hours notice, everyone had performed a miracle. The room was decorated with balloons and streamers, a veritable feast was set out along one wall, which included a giant decorated cake, and music permeated the air.
"Happy Finding Day!" Everyone shouted as Marie walked in.
This welcome rendered her speechless, and before she could recover, the invited guests began giving her presents, starting with Captain Lochley, then Zack, Dr. Hobbs, Stephen and a number of Rangers that she knew from Minbar. Marie had not been the centre of attention for years and so was overwhelmed by the generosity of the occasion. She sat down and watched dumbstruck as present after present was placed at her feet.
"Why are you crying?" Amy suddenly asked.
Marie had not noticed that she was. She wiped a hand across her face, completely forgetting the make-up that she had only just put on.
"I'm happy," she told the girl. "People sometimes cry when they are happy."
"Well? Are you going to open them?" Captain Lochley demanded with a grin.
Marie looked up to find everyone watching her expectantly. A smile of pure happiness settled on her face as she reached for the first present and tore off the wrapping. The gifts were a mixture of Minbari and Earth presents, and mostly of the practical nature, but each one was greeted with immense joy and gratitude.
Once all the presents had been opened, Marie was presented with the cake on which there were fifteen candles. She blew them out with a single breath, and after her wish there was a general chant of 'Speech, speech'.
"I don't know quite what to say," Marie began, "Except thank you so much for everything. Now I'm starved, so let's eat."
There was a cheer of approval and everyone descended on the food. Later, they danced, and after a suggestion from Amy, introduced the bemused Minbari to the Human tradition of musical chairs. This proved to be quite dangerous as Captain Lochley and Zack were determined to win at all costs. Competitors and chairs were often propelled across the room, and it ended with the two finalists collapsing in giggles on the floor. Now that they had discovered their lost youth, more games were suggested. Anyone passing the room that evening would have thought the commanding officer of the station had gone mad.
Two days later, Marie left Babylon 5. Stephen went with her as far as customs to help her with her bags. She had undergone a transformation from the Ranger that arrived with nothing but her uniform and Minbari fighting pike, to a wealthy Earth woman of property. She had commented that she would probably forget to pick up her bags at the end of the journey, so used was she to having virtually nothing of her own.
The decision of where to go first had been quickly settled by Marie. She was to go to Mars where Amy had an Aunt.
"After that, I'll see what takes my fancy." She had said. "So much has happened in just a few days that I don't want to rush the next step."
Now the moment had come for goodbye. Stephen and Marie stood facing each other, neither knowing quite what to say. Stephen had become fond of this young woman who was so different, yet reminded him so much of Marcus. It was hard to see her go.
"Take care of yourself." He finally said.
Marie laughed, "I will. I have been trained well." Then she turned serious, "If I get into real trouble, Entil'zha has promised me the help of the Rangers."
"If you need advice, you know where you can find me. And I expect regular reports on your progress."
Marie laughed again. "I promise." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, considering what she said next. "Could you do something for me?"
Stephen nodded and Marie handed him a data crystal.
"If you see Susan, could you give her this message? I don't want to contact her without an introduction."
"I haven't talked to Susan since she left," Stephen admitted regretfully, "So I think it's about time I got in touch again."
Just then, the boarding call for Marie's ship came over the PA system. Marie shouldered her bags.
"I really hate goodbyes." She said, tears showing in her eyes.
"Then don't say it. I'm sure we will meet again."
Marie looked around at her surroundings, "Yes, I shall pass this way again; if only to visit Dad." She looked uncertainly at Stephen, "If he is still here."
"I do hope to move him to Earth when I have constructed a long term facility." Stephen said, "But I will let you know when I do, so that you can be here if you want."
"Thank you." She looked down at Amy who had hold of her hand. "It's time to go."
They turned to the departure gate, but just as they got there Amy ran back to Stephen and gave him a big hug.
"Bye bye, Uncle Stephen." She shouted as she ran away again.
Stephen waved. Marie waved back, then broke into song that faded as she walked to the waiting ship.
"Fare thee well, attractive
stranger,
Fare thee well, attractive stranger.
Shouldst thou be in doubt or danger,
Peril or perplexitee,
Call us, and we'll come to thee!
Aye! Call us, and we'll come to thee!
Tripping hither, tripping thither,
Nobody knows why or whither,
We must now be taking wing,
To another fairy ring!"
Stephen grinned, then paled, as a familiar voice sounded from behind him.
"Stephen! I want a word with you."
The last time he had heard her that angry was on Mars. Stephen slowly turned around.
"Hello Tessa."
===================================================================
"True Magic is done with the mind and the spirit. Chants and potions are just a way to focus the magic, but they will not work without the magic of your spirit. Every wizard that you may encounter has a vast imagination, and a mind that can fly free. You still have that great gift. When you go home, you can use your imagination to see this world and us. Your mind is free from all bounds. You can travel anywhere, meet anyone and do anything, all within your mind. That is the first gateway to magic." - Nala, Wizard of T'Tenneb.
===================================================================
Any and all comments please to hilaryweston@hotmail.com
I have a couple of other stories planned, so keep your eyes open.
Ranger Hilary.
www.geocities.com/elenopa/