Title: Strings Attached
Author: owlet
Rating: M (maybe not really, I just want to be sure)
Disclaimer: JMS wrote everything B5, Warner Brothers® gave it a place to stay (at least for a while, sigh) nothing here is mine.
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2
So there he was; and there we were standing attention in Sech Turval's office trying to look collected. Well, me trying, my Minbari co-conspirators succeeding. I will always envy them their poise and dignity, I suppose. Sech Turval introduced us and we bowed, then he asked Sovann to serve the tea he'd prepared and we settled around a table waiting for her.
I was watching the Shai Alyt through my eyelashes the whole time; know thine enemy and all that. He wasn't unpleasant to look at, I suppose, by Minbari standards; tall, slender (at least I supposed he was under all that bulk of the traditional uniform), a fluid grace in his movements. But there was something scary about him too; he was definitely not someone to cross. Too bad that we were planning to do just that.
Sovann reappeared with the tea, and as tradition commanded served the Shai Alyt first since he was a guest.
The cup slipped from her fingers, and the scalding liquid landed in Coplann's lap. Everyone was frozen in shock as he jumped to his feet, hissing. The delicate little priestess began to apologize profusely, her voice unsteady and tears in her eyes. Sech Turval grabbed a napkin and gave it to the swearing warrior who started to dab at his robes.
"I apologize, Shai Alyt, for this most unfortunate accident. Perhaps you would like to retire to your quarters and change; we can meet in the training rooms as soon as you are ready," Sech Turval suggested with an angry look at Sovann who seemed to shrink a little.
"That is acceptable," Coplann said with a terse nod, and left with what was left of his dignity.
"And you get yourselves to the training rooms, I will clean up here," Sech Turval said, and turned to his task mumbling angrily to himself.
We fled his office and I glanced at Sovann. Her eyes were still full of tears, and she was still shaking.
With laughter.
I gave her an incredulous look.
"Sovann!"
"You should have seen your faces. Of course it had to be me – he would have suspected anyone else. But the timid little priestess deliberately dousing him with hot tea? No, not possible."
We joined her laughter, and went to the training rooms. The Shai Alyt reappeared just as we were finished warming up.
"Now let me see what else you are capable off," he said snidely moving to stand beside Sech Turval who had arrived a few minutes earlier.
Right, show time.
We paired off, Tavin standing in front of me.
"Begin," Sech Turval commanded and we obeyed.
If I may say so, we outdid ourselves. Sovann and Laval pretended to try and hit each other with their aim terribly off, so their staves hardly ever connected. Tavin and I were locked in a sort of I-Am-Worse-than-You combat trying to outdo each other in sheer incompetence, moving perfectly through the traditional forms, but using them in the completely wrong moments. I really had fun until I looked at the face of the Shai Alyt.
Uh-oh.
"Enough!"
The word came like a whiplash and the four of us flinched and hurriedly moved to stand in line, heads down.
"This is disgraceful! You are a shame to your teachers and should never have been allowed to even touch a den'bok! Especially you, Tavin. You are a Star Rider! And you are not even able to defeat a human! Or is that why you did not return to your clan and stayed with the Anla'Shok in the latest conflict, because you are a disgrace to them?"
Tavin had started to tremble and her mouth was a razor-thin line. I had to put a stop to this.
"Leave her alone!"
He turned to me, an incredulous expression on his face.
"Leave her alone. She followed the calling of her heart when she joined the Rangers. You would have no right to question her decision to remain with us, even if she was of your clan, which she is not. So. Lay. Off."
Now I had his attention. I had to force myself not to take a step back as he closed in on me, dark eyes burning.
I am a Ranger. I walk in the dark places no others will enter. I stand on the bridge that no one may pass.
Seemed like this particular bridge was mine to guard.
"You dare to raise your voice against me?"
I swallowed and lowered my eyes. Tactical retreat sounded like a good idea right now; he looked as if he was about to snap me in half.
"I apologize, Shai Alyt, for raising my voice."
Then I looked back up and swallowed again.
"But I will not apologize for my words. They were true, and you know it. It is not your right to judge Tavin, it is not your right to judge any of us."
We stared at each other for a moment.
"We will see. But I think I have seen enough for now," he said quietly, turned on his heel in one fluid motion and left the training area.
I deflated a little and looked around. Tavin looked grim, Sovann and Laval were bug-eyed.
Sech Turval looked murderous.
"What were you thinking? Do you know what consequences your stupidity could have had?"
I fidgeted a little.
"I'm sorry, Sech Turval, I didn't really think, I just reacted."
"Explain."
I looked at Tavin.
"Tavin was unable to defend herself. She is Minbari, she will accept everything thrown at her by her superiors. I'm human, and I'm still unable to go against my nature. That makes me an interesting person but a mediocre Anla'Shok. I had to protect my friend, that's what my instincts told me to do."
There, make some sense of that, I thought.
"Hmph. And as to why he criticised you; I have taught you myself, seen you train countless times during the last years. I know that you can do better than what you have just shown the Shai-Alyt."
I bit my lip and said nothing.
"Tell me why, Anla'Shok Devon," he thundered.
Now I had to, couldn't disobey a direct order. And I couldn't lie.
"We're trying to get out of this mess. All of us are ... reluctant to bond with the Shai-Alyt, so we try to convince him that we are not worthy of him so he will look elsewhere. I talk back to him because I'm relatively safe. I mean, it's hardly a secret what Warrior Caste Minbari think about humans. He wouldn't choose me."
Sech Turval fiddled with his walking-stick. I eyed it warily, generations of Rangers lived in fear of it. He usually whacked you with it if you fell asleep during meditation.
"I take it you came up with this gok-brained scheme?"
"Yes, Sech Turval, I talked the others into it."
"Very well. I shall inform Sech Durhan of this. And I will not offer this information to the Shai-Alyt; but I will not lie if I am asked a direct question."
I blinked a few times and then beamed at him. He was on our side.
I bowed low.
"Thank you, Sech Turval."
He nodded at me tersely.
"We shall speak of this no more," he said and left.
The girls and I grinned at each other, and we went to our respective rooms. I had one of my own, since I was keeper of the archives. I even had a shower (the guest rooms were equipped with those too, since some visitors were human) and a flat, human style bed. I checked my messages (still nothing from my parents) and went to bed in the balmy peace of a Tuzanor night, quieting the voice inside my head that insisted that I had gotten myself into terrible trouble.
...
So we continued our charade with the blessing of our teachers and trainers; like exhaling and then doing push-ups (results in a beautiful, flushed face and a heart rate that goes through the sky – but you need to be really fit to pull that one off), triggering lots of alarms during the stealth exercises, repeatedly killing the poor dummy we were practising first aid on. A malfunction appeared in the Shai-Alyt's quarters (the environmental controls) and Laval offered to fix it for him. With the result of everything in the quarters being soaked by a water-pipe that she had accidentally opened.
We were of course very apologetic about everything and offered to take care of his soaked clothes; but he, and for the life of me I couldn't imagine why, glowered at us, declined, and handed the task to his aides.
Our reputation was, of course, shot to hell, but that didn't scare us. The thought of him getting wind of this ... was another matter entirely though.
He did, of course.
I knew something was up when a Warrior Caste Minbari I recognized as one of the Shai-Alyt's aides entered the library and asked me (politely!) to follow him. I did so and he led me to the new temporary quarters of the Shai-Alyt in the guest wing (the old ones were still a little moist, I guessed).
Coplann turned away from the window as I entered the room and bowed.
"You asked to see me," I asked after a few moments of awkward silence.
"Yes I did. Sech Turval was very good at misleading me for a while, but I finally asked the right questions. I know what is going on here."
Oh shit. Shitshitshitshitshitshit.
I grimaced.
"You couldn't have assumed this to work indefinitely?"
There was a faint mockery in his voice as he said that.
"It was worth a try, Shai-Alyt."
"But why did you do it? Why involve yourself in a Minbari matter?"
I looked down. He hadn't offered me a cup of tea as was custom among the Minbari, hadn't even asked me to sit. He was being incredibly rude and he knew I was aware of that; and now this. I was just as much a Ranger as any of the Minbari! My answer came through gritted teeth.
"We are Rangers. It is a well known fact that we live for the One and that we die for the One. Well, here's another perhaps not so well-known fact; we look out for each other."
His lips turned upwards in a mocking smile.
"Indeed. Then perhaps it will interest you that I have made my decision among you."
My eyes grew wide.
"Not Tavin. Please tell me it's not Tavin!"
Coplann's face was unreadable.
"As I have said; I have made my decision and nothing you could say or do will change it. I will proclaim it tomorrow. You may leave now."
Like in a daze I bowed and fled his presence.
...