12

Chapter Twenty: Garibaldi's Accusation

Garibaldi was back on duty. What a pain in the ass! KyTeth had been initially pleased by the news that he had made a full recovery from his wounds, but his delight quickly evaporated when the diligent Security Chief began to give him a hard time about the supposedly secret Narn training drills. KyTeth sighed wearily as he saw the suspicious Chief approaching him yet a second time as he waited at the Arrivals Gate for Councilor Ni'Kar, whom he had been notified was arriving on today's flight from Mhrr'Unik. It seemed as if Ni'Kar was finished with his first set of negotiations with the rebels and was coming to Babylon 5 for the second round with the Mhrr'Unik delegates who had arrived here for that purpose.

"Kyte," Garibaldi greeted him coldly, his tone suggesting a hint of mistrust now, "enough farting around. I want to know what's going on with those damn training drills of yours. And don't try giving me the run-around, because I know you're conducting secret military training operations here on B5—which, I might remind you, is in neutral territory. You want to train troops, you do it off station."

KyTeth eyed the Chief warily. Ever since he had accepted his post here on Babylon 5, the EarthForce officers had been treating him differently, just as he had feared. He was no longer "one of them", but had instead been fully transformed into an untrustworthy, skulking snake who must be held in full contempt. At least, that seemed to be the way that the Humans were viewing it—with the exception of Ed Marsden, every alien's friend, who was regarded as an idiot by the rest of the Officers because of it.

At Ed's suggestion, KyTeth had been trying to bridge the cultural relations gap, which was fast becoming a chasm, by running concerts for the EarthForce Officers and others. KyTeth would play his rock tunes, and the proceeds from the concert would go to Earth charities. Everybody, however, seemed to be questioning his motives, especially Garibaldi.

"Man, Garibaldi!" KyTeth exclaimed, using the Earth expression and inflection in a futile attempt to put the Chief at ease, "You are one paranoid bugger after your guy shot you in the back. I can sympathize with you, but you don't need to take it out on me. I'm just doing my job, okay? There is absolutely nothing in the B5 rule book that says I can't run a few drills. And as far as running secret military operations—maybe you should look to yourselves if you want to accuse someone. How about all those GroundPounders you guys moved through here recently? I heard that they were all on their way to quash a rebellion on Akdor. You think nobody was going to notice troops that large? But, I suppose, this being an Earth station and all, that your sweet little "Operation: Sudden Death" doesn't qualify for de-neutralizing neutral territory?"

KyTeth was hesitant to bring up the EarthForce military operation, because he knew that Garibaldi had lost a friend in the maneuver. Seeing Garibaldi's look of pain and fury at the very mention of "Operation: Sudden Death", he felt ashamed to be dredging up the subject now, but he knew it was his only "ace-in-the-hole" to defend the Narn Regime's actions.

Without warning, Garibaldi suddenly grabbed him by the throat and shoved him into the nearest wall. KyTeth was taken by complete surprise. There was little he could do to assuage the Chief's anger with the Human's hand gripped tightly around his throat.

"You've turned into a real jerk since coming back from the Regime, you know that, Kyte?" Garibaldi shouted at him, "Don't tell me you don't have a clue as to what's happening on Mhrr'Unik? These operations, they got anything to do with the murder of the three Mhrr'Unik delegates to B5? Huh? You tell me that! You been trying to skulk around here killing people for your damn Regime? If I find out you're behind this, kiddo, I'll have you locked up so tight you'll wish to G'Quin or whoever the hell your fraggin' prophet is that you'd been tossed out an airlock instead!"

KyTeth reeled in shock, not from the physical abuse—fielding blows had long since become second nature to him—but from Garibaldi's verbal assault. He knew that Garibaldi had come to believe that he was a "lost cause" after having trained on Narn, but he never thought the day would arrive when the Chief would accuse him of murder! His sympathy for Mr. Michael Garibaldi was fast turning into rage.

"How dare you accuse me?" He croaked back against the pressure of Garibaldi's grip on his throat, "I never even heard of any...murders of Mhrr'Unik!"

KyTeth knew that he needed to get his anger under control, quickly. He needed to deal with these accusations calmly and rationally. What if members of his troop were killing the Mhrr'Unik here on the station? One of the troop elders had warned him that some members would try to make trouble for him! KyTeth felt a surge of panic sweeping over him. If his troop members had taken to murder...this B5 posting was fast becoming a nightmare. How would he handle it? As Commander of the troop, he was morally responsible for their actions! He tried to call upon the spirit of Tal Quith to help him, but the emotions surging through him at the present time were too strong to bridle with reason. The damn Narn Regime...screwing up his life again, and he seemed to be helplessly mired in its grip no matter where he went. There was no escape...none!

KyTeth felt the grip on his throat loosening. He heard the calm of a familiar voice, and he saw his old pal, Ed Marsden, clasping the Chief's shoulder firmly.

"Chief," Ed said quietly, "You don't want to do this. This is Kyte, remember? He's still a good kid. I know you've been through a rough ride, but get a hold of yourself. This ain't gonna help the dead Mhrr'Unik guys."

Garibaldi's expression softened, and he let go of the Narn boy.

"Yeah," he murmured, "I went a bit over the top, Kyte. I'm sorry."

KyTeth was shaken, but he felt the reason of Tal Quith beginning to return to his mind, slowly.

"Hey, forget it, Chief," He told Garibaldi, "I shouldn't have brought up all that stuff about the Earth operation, and your guy turning on you, and all that. I'll talk to my...guys, and I'll see if they know anything about these murders. Honestly, Chief, you shocked the schrock right out of me when you told me about that. I truthfully knew nothing about it! But if I find out anyone in my troop is responsible for this atrocity, I'll hand him over to you as quick as lightning."

Garibaldi and Marsden exchanged glances, and the Security Chief lowered his gaze to the floor.

"Thanks," Garibaldi replied, "I'd appreciate it, Kyte."

KyTeth watched the two EarthForce officers walk away from him, and he silently thanked G'Quan that Ed Marsden had been there to intervene. For a man regarded by the rest of his peers to be a naive idiot, he thought, Ed's pretty intelligent. From what KyTeth knew of him, he always acted out of compassion, no matter what species the other person was from. He knew that Ed had formed a close bond with the family of Rha'Noth, especially with Kha'Ral and the two pouchlings. Ed understood the Narns a lot better than most Humans on the station. He at least tried to treat them as if they were whole people instead of "snakes-in-the-grass".

KyTeth walked over to a seat in the Arrivals waiting room and collapsed into it. How was he going to approach his troop about this? In the past few weeks, he had been earning their respect steadily through sheer honor. He had certainly called upon G'Quan, Tal Quith, and Mi'Roc often enough throughout his leadership ordeal. This murder thing, however, was one of the biggest leadership challenges that he had ever faced. This was no child's command: he would have to confront adult murderers, people who would probably think nothing of killing him and his family if he exposed them to Garibaldi and the EarthForce Security Team. He felt the panic washing over him anew. Honor demanded that he turn the culprit over to Garibaldi, should he discover that person's identity; but, if he did so, his family would be in danger yet again from the hidden friends of the culprit! Perhaps it was in his best interest if he did not discover who did it...but then again, there was a larger issue to consider. These murders could jeopardize everything that Ni'Kar was working towards with the Mhrr'Unik peace process, and perhaps that was the point. Someone obviously wanted to sabotage Ni'Kar's work towards Mhrr'Unik independence from Narn.

His furious thoughts were interrupted by a deep, booming voice.

"Well, my Pouch-Friend! I see you are so fascinated by your own worries that you forgot to watch out for the White-Spot!"

He stood up to greet Ni'Kar, feeling reassured his warm presence.

"Ni'Kar, I am so glad to see you!" KyTeth told the big, burly Narn, "How did you know I was worrying? Does it show that bad?"

"Of course," Ni'Kar replied, "There is not a Narn Commander alive who does not wear that expression on his face, when some decision is about to be made. I will listen, should you wish to share your concern with me. Who knows, Commander, I may even have some Old Man's advice to give you! But first, I must tell you something important. We must go to my guest quarters, where we may be alone."

Without further conversation, Ni'Kar led the way to his quarters, which he had booked on an ongoing basis for his own use and for that of his couriers, who were often sent to Babylon 5 on business. He entered a small apartment, and set down his travel bag. He gestured to the boy to sit, bringing a chair next to the bed. Sitting on the bed, Ni'Kar looked intently at KyTeth before he began, as if making sure he had the young Commander's attention.

"Commander KyTeth," he began, his tone completely professional now, "Although you are under the supervision of my brother G'Kar and his attaché Na'Toth, I am the one who recommended you for this post. As such, I am expecting loyalty from you...loyalty not to me, but to the Honor of the Ancients. You showed yourself to be worthy of this trust by your actions with Shad'ra'sha Troop back on Narn. I saw it also in your protection of your own Commander, Ta'Mar, and I saw it when you were willing to go to prison in order to protest the competition that resulted in Mi'Roc's death. As it turned out, you were right, and all of us who encouraged you and your Troop to continue to fight were wrong. It is the older officers amongst us that have Mi'Roc's blood on our hands—not you, G'Roc, and Kat'Ma. I did not recommend you to this post for no reason at all, KyTeth. I did so because I saw in you one whom I could depend upon to make the right and most honorable decisions."

Ni'Kar paused for a minute to let his words sink in. KyTeth felt flattered, but also unworthy. He had never considered himself innocent of Mi'Roc's death, for he had been the one who had made the ultimate decision to let him continue the fighting, not Ni'Kar or Ta'Mar. He was also only a month into his new posting, and he was already mixed up in a horrible murder mystery! He felt completely incompetent in the face of this latest development, and he had the feeling Ni'Kar was about to tell him something that would make it a whole lot more complicated. KyTeth felt that he should tell Ni'Kar what had transpired, but before he could choose his words, Ni'Kar was speaking again.

"This is why I am choosing to trust you, KyTeth," Ni'Kar continued, "To tell you about some of what is going on over on the Mhrr'Unik home-world. I am here to pave the way towards a second round of negotiations to be held on Babylon 5, negotiations which would end in the freeing of their world. I will need you to keep me abreast of what is happening here on Babylon 5, in terms of tensions, rumors, and what the other Narns seem to be feeling about all of this. As Commander of the secret troop here, you are in a position to observe the others. I need to know their moods...who is a danger to the peace process, and who is not. Do not share any of the information that I give you, even with family members. They may share your sense of honor, but they are nonetheless no longer connected to the Narn Military. Let them be free of it. You and I have no choice. We are a part of it, and we must do what we can to bring some degree of honor to its actions. KyTeth, I tell you strongly: Mhrr'Unik must be free, or it will be the end of us. Do you see? The hatred that has developed between the Narns and Centauris is in danger of happening between the Mhrr'Unik and the Narn. It has, in a way, already been happening, and we can afford to have no more enemies. All energy must go into finding a peaceful solution to the situation...and the solution is for all troops posted on Mhrr'Unik to leave at once. Many of our people do not see that. They wish to hold onto the world for pride's sake, and yet who is paying the price for their pride? Not only the people of Mhrr'Unik, but the young Narns who are being sent there to repress them! Thousands have been killed over the years, including two of my eldest sons, Mo'Kar and G'Rha. It is becoming a silent bloodbath. Silent, because it is being kept a secret. No one is supposed to speak of the atrocities on Mhrr'Unik, and yet all who have been there and witnessed its horrors cannot help but speak of it! To not do so would be to go insane. As it was with the Centauri, so it is with us: we will eventually be forced off the Mhrr'Unik home-world. It is only a question of when it will happen, and I intend to do everything within my power to make it occur soon."

KyTeth felt his head spinning, but he forced himself to remain calm. It was becoming obvious that Ni'Kar did not know about the murdered Mhrr'Unik delegates. As he collected his thoughts together in order to find the words to tell him, Ni'Kar continued to confide in him.

"KyTeth, I know G'Kar will be prodding you often, to discover what my secrets are. Tell him nothing—only that, if he wishes to know something about me, he should come to me directly and I will tell him. G'Kar seems to be going back on his word to me that Mhrr'Unik will have its independence—he is stalling in order to flatter the egos of his friends in high governmental positions. Because of this, I will be forcing the issue very soon. I have some of my most loyal troop members situated in strategic positions in the two largest cities on Narn, G'Quanizon and G'Kamazad. We will begin leading uprisings on Narn if G'Kar and his friends from the Third Circle do not agree to sit at the negotiating table with the Mhrr'Unik. G'Kar is very concerned about planetary unity, and he will be forced to deal."

KyTeth remembered the love and concern that G'Kar had expressed to him earlier for all the people of Narn, and he began to feel some doubt about Ni'Kar's plan creeping into his mind.

G'Kar's words to him earlier echoed in his thoughts: "...a civil war would be our destruction, KyTeth. It would pit Black-Eye against Red-Eye, and it would harm all Narns, your family as well as mine."

If a civil war did erupt on Narn, how would that affect his kids from Shad'ra'sha Troop? They were connected to Ni'Kar, and were even using his home castle! They could all be killed as traitors to the Regime if civil war tensions mounted any higher. He remembered that G'Roc had said in his letter that the tensions were already high. Had Ni'Kar even thought about how his actions would affect peoples' families, including his own? KyTeth supposed that, ironically, the big Narn thought only in larger terms, as did his brother G'Kar. The two brothers held that in common, at least! They were both out saving the Universe, and forgetting about their own families and friends in the process. One of them wanted honorable conduct towards the other species' worlds at the cost of his own, and the other wanted offensive military strategies at the cost of other worlds, in order to secure "absolute protection" for his own world! Neither of them gave the smaller matters any more than a passing concern. Perhaps that was the problem, KyTeth mused. "War Lords" never asked ordinary people what they wanted; they just went ahead with their great, overarching plans. KyTeth was beginning to feel his anger return, just as it had when G'Kar had asked him to report on Ni'Kar and his plans.

"You hold on a second, Ni'Kar!" KyTeth finally exploded, "What about Shad'ra'sha Troop and your servants back at the castle? How can you even consider starting a war in G'Kamazad, knowing their lives will be in jeopardy? They are connected to you by the hip, and they'll be made to pay the price if this "uprising" thing doesn't go the way you hope it will, and so will all the families of the Lower Circle people who are your supporters! Before you start trusting me too much with all this bloody information, you'd better know that I ain't interested in being stuck between you and G'Kar. As you had figured, he'd been asking me about you, and I haven't told him anything because I didn't know anything. Maybe it's best we keep it that way, huh? The less I know, the less I'm gonna spill. I mean, this is just getting too schrockin' complicated for me. I'm a sixteen year old kid, don't forget!"

"You are a soldier of the Regime, now, Commander!" Ni'Kar told him brusquely, "And you must deal with the responsibility that this entails. Do not be a coward and run out on me now. I have chosen you to be a part of my Peace-Makers' contingent, and that has always meant taking risks for the good of all of our people, not just our friends and family members! We cannot afford to be selfish in that regard. I need you here. Do not diminish yourself—I have felt the greatness in your soul. I have seen it in your actions! I would trust you before I would trust one twice your age. I understand your concern for the Pouchlings, but you do not see the greater picture, my boy. They are already in danger, as we speak, and they know it. They have agreed to the risk because they wanted to do what was right for all of us. We must seek justice for all the species...Mhrr'Unik, Triar, Richalari, the Drazi worlds, the Centauri, the Narns...it does not matter. We must eventually negotiate peace with all, or we will all perish! My Soul-Mate Trea' understood this, and it was she who gave me the strength to act as I have all these years, running the underground movement. You see, KyTeth, Trea', my mate, was a great prophet. She had the wisdom of the mysterious Ti'Quan, the wife of our prophet G'Quan, in her soul—do you understand? The wisdom of the Mother-Female has been all but ignored since the Centauris stripped our world many years ago. Our collective soul has been poisoned, and it will take the wisdom of the Ancients, both female and male, if we are to cure ourselves! Trea', my mate, saw destruction for us all if we do not change our direction."

KyTeth was glad that he was sitting down. On top of all this, he must now listen to a doomsday revelation! He was familiar with these kinds of revelations through reading certain passages from the Book of G'Quan, and through listening to his father's quiet teachings. He had, however, heard little about G'Quan's wife. Those stories that he had heard about Ti'Quan described her as being a loyal, obedient wife to her prophet husband, and nothing more. Nonetheless, he saw Ni'Kar's point and he agreed with him.

"Okay, Councilor," KyTeth finally conceded, addressing him in a formal manner, "I see that what you are saying is true, from a larger perspective. I will try my best to inform you of what is going on at the station, from my rather limited perspective. But I still fear for the safety of our family and friends. Whatever you say, I'm not willing to let them be sacrificed for the greater good more than they already have been with the death of Mi'Roc. If I do all this reporting to you, I want you to promise me that you'll do everything you can to bring them to Babylon 5 for a while—at least until these civil war tensions abate."

Ni'Kar let out a heavy sigh. "You know, my friend, I worry about my family and your little charges more than you might imagine. I have already made some arrangements back home to transport our young ones here, or to a safer world, if things become very dangerous for them back home. It is true that things could get very ugly for them back home, if civil war tensions increase—especially for the Black-Eyed members of your troop, as our resistance is often erroneously perceived to be the "Black-Eyed Resistance". In fact, it is the resistance of all Narns to that which is unjust. I have not recommended that they come at the present moment, as they will not be completely safe here when the many Narn-hating Mhrr'Unik delegates begin to arrive."

KyTeth started guiltily at the mention of the Mhrr'Unik delegates.

"Er...Ni'Kar...I...I should have mentioned this earlier, but you see...everything has just been so overwhelming for me. So much news about bloodbaths and death! Garibaldi, the Human Security Chief, just informed me...before you arrived, that is...that three Mhrr'Unik delegates were murdered here, just recently."

Ni'Kar stared at KyTeth in shock. Obviously, he had not yet heard the news.

"Who did this?" He snarled in rage, "And why did you not stop me before, to tell me this news?"

Ni'Kar was on his feet now, and KyTeth had instinctively stood up and backed towards the door. Seeing this, Ni'Kar's expression gentled.

"Do not fear me, Pouch-Friend," Ni'Kar reassured him, "I will not treat you as I did Ta'Mar. I do not mean to blame you. Is this what you were worrying about when I first arrived?"

"Yes," KyTeth admitted, "I wanted to talk about it, but I just couldn't get it out. I need some advice, Ni'Kar! This sort of thing has never happened to me before. Garibaldi thought, for one awful minute, that I had been going around killing Mhrr'Unik delegates! What am I going to do if it's one of my troop members? I have to confront them somehow, ask them about it. But what am I supposed to say—'Excuse me, Troops, but did one of you just commit murder'?"

"No," Ni'Kar informed him, speaking more calmly now, "I will go with you to talk to your troops. Do you have any suspicions as to which members might have done such a thing?"

"No," KyTeth answered truthfully, "I only just found out about it before you arrived. It could be anyone, really. And...it may not even be Narns at all! That's something none of us has even considered."

"In all probability, it is a Shon-Kar from one of our people, out of revenge for one of their killings. Many Narn soldiers have been killed while on training duty there. I myself came close to murdering some of them, when I learned of my two sons' respective deaths, both at the claws of a vengeful Mhrr'Unik. I realized that I was the one to blame as a senior member of the Narn Military, and I stopped myself from performing my unjust revenge. Come, we must not lose any time. Call your troops at once!"

"But...we've already trained for today, Ni'Kar! I can't just call them back...they have families to attend to."

"What would you do in a war, if you had to act only at your underlings' convenience?" Ni'Kar asked, humor lacing his tone in spite of the seriousness of the situation, "Do not forget, you are the Commander. When you call them, the soldiers must come."

The pair went out into the corridor, and KyTeth took his Troop list out of the pocket of his jacket.

"I've divided them into two troops," he explained, "The Intermediate Troop and the Advanced Troop. My guess is that we should call the Intermediate Troop first. There are more young shit-disturbers in that one."

"We will call them both at the same time," Ni'kar ordered, "The killing of three Mhrr'Uniks is not an easily accomplished feat. It would certainly take advanced fighting skills, for the Mhrr'Uniks are better fighters than they appear...and they have the benefit of a deadly venom which kills Narns dead upon impact."

"Thanks for all the cheery thoughts, Councilor Ni'Kar."

As KyTeth pounded on doors and ordered his soldiers to report to the "Narn Gym" as it was called, he received many grumbles...until they were told that Ni'Kar of the Fourth Circle wanted to address them. At that point, they became far more animated. KyTeth gave them the list and ordered them to recall the rest of the group while he and Ni'Kar hurried to the "gym", which was little more than an under-used storeroom. KyTeth was frightened. What was Ni'Kar going to do, or say? Would he threaten the troop members? Would he treat them as he had treated Ta'Mar? KyTeth knew he could not allow unnecessary abuse of his troops, murder case or no. The two Narns said nothing to each other, as the soldiers reported for duty in a surprisingly fast and orderly fashion. Before they knew it, the entire Troop was assembled them. KyTeth's heart was pounding. Was he to address them, or was Ni'Kar? He supposed that he had better introduce the "guest speaker", at least. He stepped forward, calming his mind with a Prayer for Reason.

"My Troop members," he informed them, "Only a couple of hours ago, I received some very disturbing news. I was told by the Chief of Security on this station that three Mhrr'Unik delegates were recently found dead. The Chief, Garibaldi, suspects that one of our people has murdered them. I felt it was my responsibility to bring you here to advise you of this fact. Although I would hope that no one in this Troop would be capable of such a dishonorable act, I am afraid that I cannot dismiss the possibility. You have all been trained in methods of fighting which can lead to or cause death. I ask you now, in all honor—soldier-to-soldier—do any of you know anything about this atrocity?"

Silence ensued. KyTeth waited for a full two minutes before taking a deep breath.

"No? Then, until I have been otherwise informed, I will operate under the assumption that none of you is involved. I will now turn you over to Councilor Ni'Kar of the Fourth Circle, who wishes to address you."

KyTeth gestured his respect to Ni'Kar, and then stepped back, standing at attention. Ni'Kar stepped forward, but said nothing. He stood, staring at them silently, for about five minutes. The soldiers, in response, stared blankly ahead of themselves, indicating absolutely nothing with their steady gazes. KyTeth, accustomed as he was to the Human practice of filling silences with conversation, was unnerved by this silent staring match. He knew, however, that he must operate as stoically under pressure as did his troop members, and so he continued to stand at attention, staring intently ahead of him. This was driving him crazy! Why didn't Ni'Kar say something, for G'Quan's sake? What was the point of assembling everybody here if the bugger was not going to address them? After another ten minutes, however, Ni'Kar still had not said anything, and neither had anybody else. KyTeth was about to speak, but stopped himself when he saw Ni'Kar moving to and fro down the lines, looking each soldier in the eyes as he passed.

KyTeth understood then, what he was doing. Ni'Kar was trying to psyche everybody out; but how long would they have to stand there?