Author's Note: The idea that crept into my head after listening to the Babylon Podcast (#167) Tim and Summer were talking about the 'Day of the Dead'.
This is an AR episode filler. All reviews comments are welcome.
Rating: K
Disclaimer: All the characters belong to the Great Maker – JMS.
Most Excellent Beta: Layhee
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Lennier had arrived at the station earlier that day. He had finished his training cycle on Minbar and was owed a few days leave till the next cycle began. He'd decided to leave the training base in Tuzanor and go to Babylon 5, just to get away for a few days. He had heard about an upcoming Brakiri festival, the 'Day of the Dead,' And it would be easier to attend the festival on Babylon 5 than make the longer trek Brakir.
After he had checked in at customs, Lennier knew the first thing he had to do was to arrange some temporary quarters as soon as possible. When that task had been accomplished, he entered the Zocalo. He was amazed how it was alive with activity, with the station's Brakiri inhabitants preparing for the festival. He remembered reading about the Day of the Dead back in Tuzanor – the name of the festival had haunted him as he searched the records for more information. He'd discovered that the festival was related to a comet that passed the Brakiri home world every two hundred years, but nothing really anymore than that. He thought that it was probably due to the fact that when the last Day of the Dead occurred, the Minbari people were still keeping to themselves, and didn't want to interact with the other races.
He left the Zocalo and made his way towards his room. He was almost there when he saw there was quite a fuss being made in the area where his room was, even more so than in the Zocalo, he mused. There were Brakiri walking around and hanging skull pendants on the walls.
He walked up to a nearby Brakiri vendor who was pushing his mobile stall through the hallways of the station. The vendor looked up and recognised him. "Ah, you are Lennier, yes? Ambassador Delenn's aide, yes?" The Minbari nodded with an astonished look on his face before the vendor continued, "Tell me, who would you like to talk to who has gone beyond on this day?"
Lennier was perplexed, "Beyond?"
"Yes, beyond, or as your people call it, 'beyond the veil'." He laughed and continued, "Today the dead will rise again." The vendor smiled and handed Lennier a candy skull, before going back to his business.
Lennier entered his room; the first thing that shocked him was how big it was. There was a central living and kitchen area. He walked towards the partition doors, and opened them to see an adjoining bedroom with a Human style bed and bathroom. Grimacing, he and had already decided he would get no sleep in that thing, not wanting to tempt death. Then, he thought to himself wryly that he probably wouldn't have gotten any sleep anyway, since the Brakiri were a primarily nocturnal people.
Returning to the living area, he dropped his shoulder bag that contained his belongings, such as they were onto a nearby table. Opening it, he lifted out a rolled-up mat, undid the fastenings, and rolled it out so that it spread along the floor of the room. He also took out a Denn'bok which had belonged to his father; he hadn't yet earned the right to carry one, and if he was really honest with himself, he secretly preferred hand-to-hand combat anyway, but his Ranger training required him to be trained with the Denn'bok.
He also thought that if the vendor was talking literally, that the dead would come back this night, he didn't want to take the chance by being attacked by an unknown entity. He would return his father's Denn'bok back to its sanctuary when he returned to Minbar.
After unpacking, he decided that he would go seek out Vir and have a drink with him for what the humans called old times' sake. He tried to get a message to Vir through the Babcom system, but it informed him that he was off station.
Reluctantly, he decided to go see Delenn. No, you don't want to do that, his inner voice said. You are just torturing yourself! He ignored the voice and made his way towards the doorway, this time he heard the voice even louder shout at him, Stop this madness! He told it to be quiet, quickly placing the thoughts at the back of his mind, left his room, and made his way to Delenn's quarters.
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When he returned to his room later that day, he wished that he'd listened to his inner voice and not gone to see her. It had pained him greatly to see Delenn so happy and in love with a human, with Sheridan 'Star Killer.' he closed his eyes and remembered the family he'd lost when the Drala'fi was destroyed. He knew Sheridan was a good man, he had saved them all from the Shadows, the Vorlons, and the fascist government overpowering Earth, but he was still Star Killer and Lennier just couldn't ignore that fact.
He wondered if he should tell Delenn about his feelings towards her, how she was affecting him or maybe he should just – what is the human phrase? – let sleeping dogs lie, continue with his training, and then just go out into the field to do his duty for the greater good. Eventually, he decided on the latter. They were married now; he couldn't undo the ritual. Hoping to clear his mind and his emotions, he decided to meditate.
Kneeling on the mat, he placed the collapsed Denn'bok in front of him, formed a triangle with his hands, and closed his eyes.
How long had passed he was not sure, but now, he felt the presence of another being in the room with him. Quickly, he opened his eyes, extended his pike, and charged at the stranger. However, the stranger anticipated the move, ducked, and flipped the Minbari over him, and kicking him to the other side of the room. As he did, the Minbari lost his grasp of the pike and landed with a loud thud on the floor.
"Bloody hell, is that anyway to treat a friend?" the voice asked as the shadow picked up the discarded pike and collapsed it.
Lennier slowly picked himself up, noting the room was dimly lit with an eerie red glow; there were areas of darkness in the room all around him. Now unarmed, he took a basic defensive stance in case of an attack.
"Who are you?" he asked suspiciously.
"That's a dangerous question, Lennier," The familiar voice answered as its owner stepped out of the shadows.
The Minbari paled. "M – Marcus?" he asked, astonished.
The Ranger grinned, "Of course it's me. Who did you expect? Kosh? Mr. Morden?"
The lights had now returned to normal, Lennier looked at Marcus and smiled at his friend. He had changed, his hair was a little bit longer but the most striking difference was that he no longer had his beard. Lennier thought to himself that it made Marcus look younger than he actually had been.
Marcus smiled towards his friend and then walked towards a nearby wall, where a wall-length mirror hung. He stopped and looked at his reflection. "The buggers!" he exclaimed. "The buggers have shaved my beard off! Lennier, do you know how long it took me to grow the bloody thing and get it just right?" He sighed. "Valen, I look like a bloody pre-pubescent teenager."
Lennier let out a slight chuckle at his comment. He'd missed his friend, half the time he hadn't had a clue what Marcus was talking about, but it was the tone of his voice that had always made him laugh. He beckoned for them to sit down. Eventually, Lennier's curiosity won out. "What is it like, Marcus?" he asked.
"What is what like?" Marcus returned the question with another question of his own. He knew what Lennier was asking about and to be honest if their roles were reversed he'd probably end up asking the same thing.
"The other side."
"Oh, that." He stroked his chin in thought, half expecting to feel his beard but felt bare skin instead. He frowned when he realised his facial hair was no longer there. He turned his attention to the Denn'bok instead. He looked at it and then handed it over to Lennier before continuing, "I can't say I'm afraid. I mean, I know what it's like but there are no appropriate words to describe it."
"Bu—"
Marcus cut him off, "It's no good trying to ask me the same question in a thousand other ways, Lennier. It's something I cannot give you an answer for."
Lennier nodded his head in reluctant understanding.
"So," Marcus asked as he stood from his chair, "how is everyone?" He went towards the kitchen area, obviously looking for something in the cupboards but couldn't find what he was looking for – probably due to the fact they were all empty. So, he took an empty glass from a nearby holder, filled it up with water from the tap, and went to sit back at the table.
Lennier looked at his friend warmly before beginning, "Well, Captain Sheridan is now President of the Interstellar Alliance..."
Marcus nearly spat out the water he was drinking. "The Interstellar what?"
"…Delenn proposed this while we were on our way to Earth before the final battle with President Clark. Sheridan won, by the way."
"Of that I had no doubt," Marcus said cheerfully.
Lennier carried on, "President Clark committed suicide, and then turned the planetary defence grid towards Earth. After the last of the platforms had been destroyed, Sheridan surrendered himself to his government. He was told in no uncertain terms to resign from EarthForce. Luckily, he got full amnesty for all EA personnel who sided with him. That's when the proposal for the Alliance was put to President Luchenko and he took up the role of ISA President."
"And Delenn?" he asked. He knew he was walking on eggshells here; he could see Lennier wore the uniform of the Anla'shok. He hoped that he hadn't joined their ranks for the same reasons that he had when he was alive…Sounds really weird, that…Since at first he was worrying about upsetting him, Marcus realized that did didn't really matter since he can't exactly die again.
"She is his wife now, Vice-President and head of the Advisory Board," he replied, the sadness in his voice evident.
Marcus grew more uncomfortable. His instincts were screaming at him, telling him Lennier was walking in his footsteps.
"Dr. Franklin is still here."
Marcus smiled at the thought of his friend. "Tell him I said hello, will you?"
Lennier nodded his head, "Of course," before continuing. "Mr. Garibaldi is head of Intelligence for the Alliance, and now has the backing of a major Mars corporation, Edgars Industries."
"Well, he's certainly gone up in the world." Marcus quipped. Lennier had left the most important person till last. "What about Susan?" Marcus asked softly.
"She recovered."
Marcus stood up from his seat and cried, "Yes!" then slumped back into his seat, taking a sip of his water. "I saved her."
"I – I wouldn't go that far, Marcus." The Ranger trainee looked at him nervously, "Yes, you saved her body, but her soul is another matter entirely." He'd witnessed one of Susan's breakdowns first hand, he'd felt so bad that he could not be able to help her in her time of grief.
"How so?" he asked.
"Shortly after she recovered, I arrived back at the station with Dr. Franklin - I was there, Marcus - I have never, ever seen her the way she was those first few days. She hadn't slept, she barely ate, was always in some kind of stupor and that was when she wasn't crying."
Now Marcus was stunned, "She – she cried over me?"
"Yes, my friend," he sighed sadly. "I believe she loved you, too."
Marcus stood up immediately and began to pace the room frantically like a trapped animal in a cage, clearly struggling with his emotions, till eventually he whispered, "She loved me." A single tear slid down his face.
"Sheridan had promoted her to Captain as one of his last duties as an EarthForce officer. After that meeting, she requested a transfer to another command and left the station in the New Year., She now commands her own ship, the Titans."
He walked back to the table and again slumped down in his chair. "Oh bugger, why didn't I tell her that I loved her sooner?" he asked sadly. "I never wanted her to suffer like this."
"I think your sacrifice will haunt her for the rest of her life, Marcus."
Marcus' face now went from sad to determined in less than a second. "Lennier, I need a favour," he asked.
"Of course, Marcus. What do you require?"
"Do you have any spare data crystals? I – I can't leave Susan feeling like this."
The Minbari stood, searched his bag, and brought out a data crystal. He made it a point to carry some spares with him, just in case the need arose to record some necessary information. He brought a crystal out and gave it to Marcus, he excused himself into the bedroom, guessing what Marcus wanted to do, closed the doors, and meditated.
After a short while, Marcus opened the doors and gave Lennier the crystal. "Please make sure Susan gets this," he said softly.
"Of course."
Now that he had recorded the message to Susan explaining why he did what he did, he had to deal with Lennier.
"So," Marcus said, wanting to change the subject. It was time to address the issue of why he was here and to see if his suspicions were correct. "Why are you wearing an Anla'shok uniform?"
Lennier felt uncomfortable with the question. "I – I felt bad, after you did what you did for Ivanova, so I asked to take your place. They accepted."
Marcus looked at the Minbari and stared into his very soul. "I do not want you to atone for me, Lennier," he said firmly, "you have your own life to lead. For Valen's sake, man, don't make the same mistakes I made. You don't belong in the Anla'shok, go back to Temple..."
Lennier could see the sadness in his friend's eyes, the sadness of a love that he knew could never be returned because of his sacrifice.
Marcus continued, "Lennier please, reconsider," he begged his friend. "You're looking for a way to earn her love, but joining the Rangers when Delenn is head of the Rangers is like rubbing salt into an open wound, the pain will be too much for you in the end..."
Lennier remained determinedly silent.
Almost as stubborn as me, Marcus thought before continuing, "...This isn't the calling of your heart, Lennier…" He could see Lenniers face harden.
"I have chosen the path," the Minbari said firmly. "I cannot deviate now. I live for the one, I die for the one."
"It's a good battle-cry, but it's not for you."
"Why are you trying to dissuade me, Marcus?" Lennier asked irritably.
"Because, I care for you, my friend. I told you before to be careful – do you remember? – in the bar while we were searching for Delenn. You told me that your love for Delenn was a higher, nobler, perfect love and that you would stay by her side for as long as you lived."
"It still is and I still will."
"Are you sure?" Marcus asked "because from where I'm sitting, it's evolved into something much more than that, hasn't it? And you know deep down that what you want with Delenn is something you will never, ever have."
Lennier openly glared back at Marcus, who by now was pushing him far too hard. What with some truths that you will not admit to. There was that annoying inner voice again.
Marcus could see that he was getting nowhere; he could see Lennier's path, even though Lennier could not. It was paved with sorrow and as much as Marcus didn't want to, he had to tell him. "Lennier… one day you will betray the Anla'shok."
Lennier looked at him, shock written on his face. "No, Marcus, you are wrong."
"I wish I was." Marcus sighed sadly. His suspicions were confirmed; Lennier had joined the Rangers for all the wrong reasons, like he had done. Judging by Lennier's face and determination, he couldn't talk his friend out of making the same mistakes he had.
For the rest of the festival, they sat in relative silence, until the Babcom screen flickered into existence. On the screen, a stern-looking woman appeared. "This is Captain Lochley, addressing the people affected by the phenomenon. Please remain calm, I have been told that everything will return back to normal shortly. Thank you for your attention." Then the screen flickered off.
"She looks stern," Marcus said.
"Apparently she was married to Sheridan, for a time."
That shocked Marcus, "Bloody hell… She's still not as beautiful as Susan though," he said as he stood from the chair, looked upward and around as if trying to work something out in his head. "I have to go now, Lennier." He smiled sadly as he put his right hand over his heart and stretched his left hand palm outward. "Be well, my friend, in whatever path you follow. Iszil'zha veni."
Lennier returned the gesture, "May Valen guide you."
With that, Marcus' figure faded away. The lights flickered a couple of times and then everything turned back to normal.
Lennier's original purpose for attending The Day of the Dead had been to get some answers to his life's questions, but now all he had was questions. He could live with that.
The main thing that was bothering him, though, was Marcus' prophecy. 'One day, you will betray the Anla'shok.'
End