Chapter 10
In the infirmary, Lena was stabilised and out of critical condition. All that was left was for Dr. Franklin to operate on her and stop the internal bleeding. While his staff was preparing the equipment needed for Lena's operation, Steven was watching her energy levels. He noticed that there were sudden spikes in them that shouldn't be there. He looked at his patient through the glass, but she was lying still. These energy spikes were much higher than her usual levels, much more like the energy levels recorded by the doctors who cured Kosh…
"We're ready," one of the surgeons cut in.
His thought patterns were interrupted and he turned away from the screen showing Lena's energy levels. Nodding to each other, the surgery team put on the gas masks and entered the contained room Lena was in. They approached her with the equipment, not noticing any change in her physically.
"The bleeding is in the stomach region," Steven explained.
He approached her, putting on the latex gloves.
"The shot missed her heart and lungs, penetrating the body above the stomach," he began. "There was some minor damage done to the liver, but that has regenerated itself. There has been some damage to…"
Steven stopped and looked closer.
"Wait a minute. There was some damage to the stomach but…"
He trailed off again, looking astounded.
"But what?" questioned one of the doctors.
"The stomach has healed itself," Steven murmured. "And the liver has regenerated quicker than it would do in a human. There's still some muscle tissue I need to stitch up, but all her internal organs are fine. The Vorlons must have genetically modified her so that all her organs regenerate, not just the liver. Her physiology is astounding!"
"Lucky her."
"Indeed."
Steven moved closer and took one of the laser healers from the table. As he leaned over her body to get at the damaged muscle tissue, he saw a brief pulse of light under her rib cage. Intrigued, he looked closer and saw that there was a dim light slowly pulsating, wrapped around Lena's heart.
"What the hell is that?" he mumbled.
As he started the laser and worked on the muscle tissue, Lena's energy levels began to rise in an immediate response to being healed. The spikes also grew until they were no longer spikes, but long, gentle pulses. The light behind Lena's ribcage began to shine brightly through the bones, glowing with life that Steven had never seen before. In that moment, he saw something within his mind. A planet close to the edge of the galaxy. Lena was there, standing out in the open with the glowing form of a white dragon hovering above her.
Then from the Rim, a portal into Thirdspace opened. An entire fleet of Vorlon ships flew out, pulsing with life and carrying with them aggression for one race that needed to be extinguished. Behind Lena and the dragon was a Vorlon transport and out of it walked a Vorlon. Then Steven was brought back to the infirmary, looking down at the open body of Lena. The light had gone, and the internal bleeding had stopped.
"Dr. Franklin," a nurse was saying.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked.
"The bleeding just stopped."
Steven nodded and looked back to Lena.
"Finish her up and let her recover."
----
In the Brown Sector, the two Drazi who had been assigned to kill Lena were waiting to meet up with Vrychka. They were feeling very nervous about it seeing as they had failed quite badly with the task. It seemed unlikely that the Noxx general was going to reward them kindly for their failure.
"Gentlemen," a voice came out of the dark.
The pair of Drazi looked round and saw Vrychka.
"How did it go?" she asked.
"Err… not very well, general," the first Drazi replied, nervously.
"How do you mean 'not very well'? Is she dead?"
"Not exactly, no…"
"Not exactly? She's either dead or she's not!"
"Ok, so we didn't kill her."
Vrychka snarled unpleasantly. "Why?"
"We shot her, and she was lying on her back bleeding to death," the second Drazi explained. "We were just about to kill before we heard someone shout. We had been spotted by the Centauri Ambassador. We had no choice but to run."
"Cowards! You should have killed Mollari as well!"
"But why? The Centauri are not your enemy…"
"Because you might have saved your own skins."
The tone in Vrychka's voice did not fill the Drazi with confidence.
"We do not take failure well," she snarled. "You will pay for it."
"Please general," the first Drazi began. "Give us another chance!"
"No! If you want something done properly, do it yourself!"
Vrychka pulled out a plasma pistol and shot both Drazi in the head before the two of them could even see what she was doing. With a separate thud each, the two bodies feel on the floor, leaving a splatter of blood where there head struck.
"Byshon," Vrychka called. "Take them away to my transport."
The body guard Byshon came from around the corner, bringing with him Vrychka's second body guard. The both took a dead Drazi each and carried them off, the general following them slowly. In the Brown Sector, no one would care about two bodies being carried off. Killings like these were common in these parts. Luckily, Vrychka had the foresight of changing the meeting place to here, just in case she had to make the Drazi pay for their mistakes.
----
Back in the infirmary, Lena had returned to consciousness and was now breathing the Babylon 5 atmosphere after the initial Vorlon atmosphere. As she was resting, Lyta Alexander and Londo Mollari entered the room where she was recovering. Lena smiled, happy to see people other than medical staff.
"How are you feeling?" asked Lyta.
"Like I've fallen from a cliff," Lena replied.
"Pretty bad then."
She nodded and turned to Londo.
"Thank you," she said. "You saved my life."
"You're welcome," Londo replied.
"I was lucky that attack happened in the Green Sector. If I'd been living in down below as I was planning to originally when that happened, I would have been left to die. Or become a meal for some wandering Pak'ma'ra."
"Yes, and we couldn't have that."
Lena smiled painfully. "I don't think I would be very satisfying."
"Well, at least your sense of humour hasn't been lost."
"How do you know if I had a sense of humour?"
"Just a guess. I like to assume most people have them."
"You are right; I do have a sense of humour. But not everyone appreciates it."
At that moment, Steven walked in with a data pad containing the information on how Lena was doing. At the sight of him, Lena suddenly became wary. How much work had he needed to do with her after her attack? If he had to scan or operate, then he might have seen her secret.
"You're recovering exceptionally fast," Steven noted.
"Good," Lena replied. "I have been modified by the Vorlons, of course."
"Yes. To stabilise you, we needed to put you in a Vorlon atmosphere."
She nodded. "That would be expected, yes."
"Can I speak to you privately for a moment?"
"Of course."
Steven turned to Londo and Lyta.
"You can just wait outside if you wish."
They both nodded, leaving the room which Lena was recovering in. Steven crossed the room and sat down at Lena's bed side, setting down the data pad on the table. He observed Lena intently, not gaining any expressions from her.
"Is something wrong?" she asked.
"You had internal bleeding from your injuries," Steven began. "You had some minor damage to the liver, but that repaired itself very quickly. You also had damage to the stomach, and the cells there also regenerated."
"Vorlon modifications."
"But something else happened while I operated on you."
Lena paused. "And?"
"Before I went in, I checked your energy levels. They kept showing spikes that were much stronger than your basic level. At first I wasn't sure why, but after the operation, I ran some checks on similar energy levels. They were the same as the levels monitored when Kosh was healed here after he was poisoned."
Lena remained silent.
"But that wasn't all. First of all, I noticed that you had a bright, pulsating light that was wrapped around your heart and trailing into your lungs. The light grew brighter as I worked on healing your damaged muscle tissue. It glowed so brightly that the beams shone through your ribs. After that I saw something; a planet near the edge of the galaxy. And then I saw you with a white dragon and a Vorlon ship. When I came back, your internal bleeding had stopped and you were ready to bee stitched up. Now, can you explain to me what it was I saw?"
"You saw my secret."
"What secret, eh?"
"If you don't know, I cannot tell you. You wouldn't understand."
"That's a Vorlon you've got inside you, isn't it?"
She paused. "Yes."
"Part of one?"
"No, a whole Vorlon."
"And is this white dragon I saw in the vision your Vorlon?"
"Ask no more questions about my Vorlon."
"Why are you keeping it such a secret?"
"Because it is not time for you to know."
Lena shifted to get more comfortable, closed her eyes and went to sleep. Steven was surprised at how quickly she went to sleep, just as much as he was by how quickly she had recovered. A normal human would still be breathing with an aide; she was almost ready to be discharged. Sighing, Steven left the room, seeing outside that only Lyta remained as Londo needed to be elsewhere.
"She's resting again," Steven stated. "She'll be ready to leave by at least tomorrow at the rate she is recovering."
"She is a very unique individual," Lyta replied.
"You can say that again."
"So, you operated on her then?"
"Yeah. I take it you know what I saw?"
Lyta nodded. "The Vorlon."
"Should I mention this to Sheridan?"
"No. She is protecting that Vorlon too much for you to bring it out."
"Then what should I do about it?"
"Ignore it. Pretend it isn't there."
"That's difficult after what I saw, Lyta. When you operate on someone, they don't just start glowing from inside their ribcage! People don't have orbs of light in their hearts, pumping light through their veins!"
"I know. But Lena cares for that Vorlon; do not endanger it."
Steven sighed. "Alright, I'll keep quiet."
"Good, it is for the best at the moment."
"Why do you think the Vorlon remained behind with her?"
"With Vorlons, you never know. Maybe it has a plan later. Maybe it tried to avoid going beyond the Rim. Or maybe it just wanted to stay with the woman it loved, rather than be with its own kind. Whatever it is, I'm sure it is a purpose that means a lot to both the Vorlon and to Lena."
"I've seen some pretty strange things; this is one of them."
"You get used to Vorlons when you've seen them a lot."
"You used to carry Kosh around, didn't you?"
"Yes, both of them."
"Did they both… err… seem different?"
"Incredibly different, and I know which one I preferred."