9

Chapter Twenty-Five: A Family's Secret

KyTeth waited impatiently for Josh at the Star Splash. He did not want to look as though he were waiting for someone, and so he sat down at a table and ordered a coffee. He wondered if 'Charla Connors' was going to show up and wait on his table, but he realized that the Marran family had probably twigged to that old ruse and had grounded Chanaral.

As he was drinking his coffee, he saw a Red-Eyed Narn approach him, and his guard went up immediately. Was he going to have to endure another bout of harassment from a Narn like Khu'Rhi? The Narn stopped at his table, staring at him.

"Well?" he asked irritably, "What do you..."

He stopped in mid-sentence as he caught the "Narn's" scent. It was Josh, made up to be a Narn!

"J'Singh!" He cried, "What the..."

"I am G'Tarn," Josh said in the Narnish language, "and I am here to accompany my Ti'Moka."

"You think any Narn on this station is going to be fooled by that get-up, Josh?" He whispered fiercely, "It won't fool them! They'll catch wind of your scent the minute you come within a metre of them."

"It's not Narns that we need to fool," replied "G'Tarn", "It's the Humans. And they have a relatively poor sense of smell, at least compared to Narns."

Josh sat down, as the waitress brought him a coffee. He had not asked for one, and KyTeth was anxious to get going. He stood up, but the waitress stayed where she was. He looked at her irritably, until she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Welcome to the Star Splash. I'm Teresa Connors, and I'm Charla's mother. What can I get you? We have a very impressive menu."

KyTeth stared at the woman, sitting back down again in astonishment. It was Tunida, Chanaral's mother, and she was dressed as a Human, complete with an Earth hair-do!

"Uh...nothing, thanks, Mrs. Connors," KyTeth told her, dumbfounded, "We were just on our way..."

"May I suggest, gentlemen," she said to them, as if reciting the specials of the day, "that you go to Healer Rha'Noth's apartment and tell him that Dr. Franklin is now ready for Mara'? My youngest daughter Janet will be there in order to return Mara's favor to Ursa Tamaarri. It is there that you will find the other answer that you are seeking. We also have a delicious Waldorf Salad which I would highly recommend, along with a superb French Onion Soup."

"No thanks, Mrs. Connors, but thanks so much for reading us the menu," KyTeth told her, trying as hard as he could to look as though he was considering what to have for lunch. Josh/G'Tarn gulped down his coffee, and they left their money on the table as "Teresa Connors" went over to clear one of the other tables in the prim and efficient manner of a busy waitress.

"Like Mother, like daughter," he thought to himself as they strode out of the restaurant. Josh was in the middle of explaining to him that the Ornos' youngest daughter, Janndennin, had been discovered to be a medical match for Mara', Healer Rha'Noth's daughter, who was slowly deteriorating from her illness. KyTeth felt a surge of hope for the little girl. They needed to get there, quickly! The Marrans most likely did not approve of Janndennin Orno donating any aspect of her physical self to a Narn kid, regardless of the fact that Mara' had helped to save the life of the Centauri girl, Ursa Tamaarri. They had not gone far, however when they were accosted by Garibaldi.

"Kyte!" the Security Chief barked to him in a tone that suggested that he had better stop to talk, "And Josh Singh—nice get-up. Too bad your scent doesn't fool the Pak'ma'ras."

KyTeth and Josh looked at each other nervously.

"Listen, Garibaldi, I'd love to help you, but right now we gotta run..."

"Yeah, right," Garibaldi retorted, "You just love helping me, right? That's why Londo told me you were skulking around the Centauri Wing just a while ago, huh? Because you wanted to ask Vir to solve the mystery of the Mhrr'Unik murders that one of your family members has performed? I guess it turned out that Ed Marsden was wrong about you, Kytey. You've disappointed me again."

KyTeth stared at Garibaldi, horrified at his words. He was coming uncomfortably close to accusing him of murder again.

"Please, Mr. Garibaldi," Josh broke in plaintively, "We're just going to run a very urgent message—it has to do with Mara's medical condition. We ask you to help us. KyTeth will not do, nor has he done, anything of a violent nature. He is a Narn of honor, and the Narns on the station all know it. That's why they were giving him such a hard time at the Mhrr'Unik Peace demonstration..."

"Yeah, right," Garibaldi interrupted him, "He's a real peace-lover, training for the Narn Military. Don't be naive, Josh. Your Dad has asked me to tell you to get your ass back to your place, pronto. Now, do I need to put you in cuffs and march you back, or are you going to get out of that Hallowe'en costume and return to your family like an adult?"

"Go on, Josh," KyTeth urged his friend, "I was worried that this was going to get back to your Dad, and I don't want to cause any friction between you two..."

"There's already friction between us," Josh muttered under his breath, but he nodded at Garibaldi and left to return to his home apartment.

KyTeth braced himself for another throat-grab from the paranoid EarthForce officer, but Garibaldi remained calm and in control of himself.

"What, no police brutality this time, Chief?" he asked bitterly, resigned to the fact that he was going to be forever on Garibaldi's "Most Wanted" list.

"Look, Kyte," Garibaldi said to him in a slightly more reconciliatory tone, "I have your Uncle Ba'Quith in custody. I know you've been trying to protect him because you care about him and you want to help him. But hiding his guilt isn't the way...if you know anything that would connect him to the murders, I need to know what it is. I don't want to doubt you, but I can't take any chances with Narns—you must know that."

"Do you have some evidence that would suggest that he's the one?" KyTeth asked, fearful of the answer, "I thought that it could be him because he's the only one in our clan, other than me, who's been trained in the Fifth Circle Military's fighting techniques. The only thing is, he was never posted on Mhrr'Unik, as far as I know. His posting was on Triar, and he's always felt guilty about his part in what he did to them and their world. Honestly, I've never had any hint from him that he hated the Mhrr'Uniks—he agreed with Councilor Ni'Kar, actually, and he thought all the conquered worlds should be given their independence back. So what would be his motive?"

"I don't know, because he hasn't said one word since we brought him in, and that tells me that he's hiding something. He and his wife had a fight about something, didn't they?"

"Yeah," KyTeth said, "But I don't know what it was about. I've been working with you guys for the past few weeks, trying to keep the Mhrr'Uniks safe. I never even knew that it was one of my clan members that did it until the Elders from my troop told me a few hours ago—but they wouldn't say who."

"And you haven't exactly been beating down our doors to tell us, either, kiddo," Garibaldi remarked sternly, "Look, Kyte. It's not like you've got a very big clan. I'm investigating all of you. I've even brought in The Narn Regime's Big-Wig of Peace and Mhrr'Unik Independence, Councilor Ni'Kar, and it seems to me that he's withholding information, too. He says he wants to give you guys a chance to come clean, but if you haven't come up with the one who did it by the end of the week, he says he'll tell me. I nearly had to pull all his teeth out to get him to agree. I'm going to be bringing in your Dad next, and then you. If we still don't have an answer, then I'll be forced to bring in your wife, and I'd rather not do that since she's carrying your kid in her pouch."

"You leave Ru' out of this!" KyTeth snarled, angry now, "She's the gentlest being this Universe has ever produced!"

"Get me the answer, then," Garibaldi told him, "I'll leave you alone for the next couple of hours so that you can tend to Mara's medical thing, if Josh was telling me the truth about that..."

"He was," KyTeth told him furiously as he began to move away from Mr. Paranoia, "and by the way, I was not "skulking" around the Centauri wing—I was just going to ask Londo about the Mhrr'Unik thing, since he's the one who used to tell me stuff about what was going on in my life when you guys wouldn't."

"Go over there again, and you'll be thrown in the clink," Garibaldi replied, "Zack gave me the low-down on Vir having married Chanaral. Stay away from them or you'll be in trouble...and I don't mean from me. I'm trying to save your ass, believe it or not."

"I don't believe it!" He yelled back, storming away from the Human. "Enough is enough," he thought. "This is harassment."

He supposed that Garibaldi was just doing his job, but it hurt him to have the Chief treat him as though he and his family members were all criminals. What were they going to do next, bring in Ma'Kona and Ti'Nook for questioning? The more he thought about it, the more enraged he became, so he pushed it out of his mind for the time being. He had to get down to Rha'Noth's before the Security Team sent an old Western-style posse after him, complete with guns and cowboy hats.

KyTeth began to quicken his pace. Rha'Noth lived in a rather poor area of the station, just one level above the "Down Below" Section, which was a cesspool of drinking, drugs, and minor criminal activity. As he made his way to Rha'Noth's quarters, he now understood why the little Healer did not like to have anyone visit him down here. He began to feel a twinge of guilt for how much better off he and his family were compared to Rha'Noth's—even though the two families were now a part of the same clan.

KyTeth had to follow a map in order to get to the right place, but he knew the number of Rha'Noth's cramped living area. As he pounded on the door, he could hear a couple of Human voices in the next room, yelling at each other over some silly little matter.

As the door slid open, the Healer, dressed in his prayer-robes, immediately crouched low in a defensive position when he found out that it was KyTeth who had come. He bared his teeth at KyTeth and he screeched at his family members to get behind him, but both his wife and daughter refused. KyTeth could see that the young girl, Mara', was sitting in a wheelchair, and she appeared thin and weak. He realized that he had not seen Mara' or her family members for some time, and he now knew why.

Mara' held out her hand to him gently. "KyTeth," she called, "Come in."

Rha'Noth began to wail even louder than Minnar had done, but KyTeth could not blame him for it. He thought about how he would feel if it was Ma'Kona or Ti'Nook in this situation, and he felt a deep sadness for the family. He then remembered the reason why he had come, and he felt his heart lift somewhat.

"Rha'Noth, it's all right," he told the Healer soothingly, "I've come to bring a message from Tunida Orno: she says that Dr. Franklin is ready now for Mara', and that her young daughter, Janndennin, is going to help her in some way."

"Rha'Noth!" cried his Red-Eyed wife, Kha'Ral, "It is time! You must quickly go, and bring Mara' to Dr. Franklin—take Brino' with you. Cease your pitiful crying, my husband—enough hiding like cowards. It is time for us all to do what must be done."

The family huddled together for a moment, crying a sad song together. Rha'Noth then pushed Mara' out the door in her rickety old wheelchair, followed by little Brino', who jumped up on his father's shoulder and began to pat him on the head, crooning softly to him. Rha'Noth's face appeared extremely sad, even though he had some reason to hope now for Mara's survival...or so KyTeth prayed would be the case. Still, it was far from certain that Dr. Franklin and little Janndennin could save the little girl known by the Narns throughout the Station as "Kyala Mara".

"Kha'Ral, why don't you go, too?" KyTeth encouraged her, "You don't have to stay here and entertain me. Besides, I've got to get back to Garibaldi—he's investigating Uncle Ba'Quith, my Dad, me, and maybe even Ru'Kyla..."

"KyTeth..." Kha'Ral said gently to him, "I am so sorry for this trouble that your family has had to endure. I should have spoken earlier, but Rha'Noth was beside himself with anguish, and I could not leave him in that state with Mara's illness. Now there is hope that she may be cured if the operation is successful, and I realize that I must face up to what has been done. It is entirely my fault. In my haste to do what I considered to be honorable, I have dishonored my own family and clan. But I have felt the great spirit of my courageous little daughter, Mara', and I now know that I can hide no longer. You have been investigating the deaths of the three Mhrr'Unik delegates of late. You need investigate no longer. It is I who am the killer."

KyTeth felt as if he had been hit by a tidal wave. Tunida Orno's words came back to him: "...go to Healer Rha'Noth's apartment...It is there that you will find the other answer that you are seeking". This was the other answer that he had been seeking. He stared at Kha'Ral mutely, unable to think any further. The room appeared to be spinning. He sat down slowly, and as did so he understood what was behind Rha'Noth's cries. How could this be? Kha'Ral, the mother of Kyala Mara', was the murderer of the three Mhrr'Unik delegates? Was nothing sacred anymore? Kha'Ral had always stood up for peace with her husband and the rest of the clan. This was even worse than the idea of Ba'Quith having killed the Mhrr'Uniks.

"KyTeth," she said to him, "I know you must feel betrayed by us. But know that it was not the fault of Rha'Noth. I alone am responsible for what I did. I consulted no one when I went to kill Leader Nn'rrsh."

"Why?" KyTeth asked, his voice barely able to force the word out of his mouth.

"I had a Pouch-sister, La'Rak, whose young daughter died at the hands of the Mhrr'Unik named Nn'rrsh. I was there, ten years ago, when La'Rak asked me to take the Shon-Kar with her, to destroy the one who had killed her Pouchling. My niece Ki'Rak had only been fifteen sun cycles old, a young cadet, when she was killed on the Mhrr'Unik home-world during a training mission. It took many years, but my Pouch-sister La'Rak finally found out the identity of the one who killed our girl. It was one of the insurrection leaders of Mhrr'Unik freedom. She told me his name before she left, and then she went to Mhrr'Unik to claim her vengeance, but she never returned. My only Pouch-sister was killed by those savages. I was enraged, KyTeth! For many years I hated the Mhrr'Unik far worse than I have ever hated the Centauris. I secretly read as much as I could about their physiology, and I studied what had been written about their weaknesses. If ever I got the chance, I knew that I must fulfill my sister's Shon-Kar. I knew that as the wife of a Green-Eye, I had little chance of going to Mhrr'Unik, but I also knew that one day Ni'Atran, Holy Den-Mother of the Red-Eye, would put the guilty one in my path to see if I was still Red-Eye enough to honor my sister and niece. When the insurrection Leader, Nnrrsh, came to Babylon 5, I knew it from the depths of my soul, for I could smell my family's blood on his body. I shielded myself in netting that would protect me from their poison, and I lay in wait for them for many days. I told no one what I was doing, but my daughter Mara' seemed to know anyways. Every once in a while, she came to stare at me, as if counseling me not to do this. But she is a Green-Eye like her father. She does not understand the pulse of the Hunter, nor the call of the Red-Eyed Spirit-Mother, Ni'Atran, to down one's prey. When the three Mhrr'Uniks came out of their weekly slumber, they were at their most sluggish, and I knew this to be the time when I must strike. I killed Nn'rrsh first, with a knife to his throat. The other two, I would have wished to leave alone, but I knew that they would kill my family in retaliation for what I had done. Already, they were jumping at me in hatred, and I knew that they would have to die. After I had killed them, however, the Hunter's hunger left me. Ni'Atran, our Holy Den-Mother, seemed to abandon me, knowing that I must now return alone to my Green-Eyed family. I had fulfilled my Shon-Kar, but at what price?

When I returned to my family and told them what I had done, I felt ashamed. I still do. I know I can hide no longer. I have tried to be a Peace-Maker, but the Hunter in me was at last too strong. Peace is perhaps for the Black-Eye and the Green-Eye, but the Red-Eye follows her nature. KyTeth of the Fifth Circle, I will die at your hands, if you so choose. As a soldier and as my fellow clan-member, you have the right to carry out this punishment. If you choose not to do so, I will turn myself in to Garibaldi and let the Humans do with me what they will."

As he sat in utter dismay, he realized that he and Kha'Ral were not the only ones in the room. Ti'Quith was there, and she had come to put her arm around Kha'Ral. As he looked up, he also saw Ed Marsden there, tears streaming down his eyes.

"Ed!" he cried, "What the...what are you doing here?"

"Ed has been supporting us, bringing us food," Ti'Quith snarled angrily at KyTeth, "While you and your fat old Uncle's clan have been living well and working for the good of those disgusting serpent-creatures! I no longer want anything to do with you. You, who helped Garibaldi in his hunt for Kha'Ral..."

Without warning, Ti'Quith suddenly lunged at KyTeth, biting his neck savagely. Kha'Ral and Ed held her down until she was calmer.

"What is your choice, Kyteth?" she screeched, "Will you kill Kha'Ral, or let the Humans do it?"

KyTeth held his neck wound with the sleeve of his garment, shocked that she thought he would even consider killing Kha'Ral.

"Ti'Quith!" he called, "I'm not going to kill Kha'Ral—you must know that! She is a part of our clan, and I promise that when she turns herself in, I will find a lawyer to defend her."

"You must find a Narn defender!" Ti'Quith demanded, "How about your precious colleague, Ni'Kar? It is because of him and his idiotic Mhrr'Unik independence initiative that Kha'Ral is in trouble!"

"Ti'Quith, enough!" Kha'Ral growled, "You will stop this. I am to blame for my own actions, not Ni'Kar, and not KyTeth! KyTeth did not know anything about this. Stop blaming KyTeth, stop blaming Ba'Quith, and go back with your pouchling G'Quith to live with them in their home. This is no place for you and your infant, and I will be turning myself in now—Ed, come along. You have withheld this for long enough, and I will not have you punished because you tried to be a friend to us. The debate is over, my friends! Arrest me now, Ed, and bring me to Garibaldi. I will tell him how bravely you caught me after my nefarious attempts to elude you..."

"No, Kha'Ral," Ed told her, "I'm as guilty as you are. I knew about this all along, and I didn't tell Garibaldi...I didn't even tell KyTeth. If you're turning yourself in, then so am I."

"Ed..." KyTeth stammered, astonished, "You mean...you knew all along? You didn't even tell Garibaldi?"

"No, kid. I'm sorry...I've struggled with this for so long, and now it's over. I'm going to hand in my resignation, and I guess I'll probably be looking at some jail time. The Chief will be pissed with me, but...I just couldn't turn in Kha'Ral. She and her family have helped me so many times when I was feeling lost here. I love these folks, Kytey. They're like my family."

KyTeth felt as though he wanted to wail out loud, like Rha'Noth and Minnar had done...but he remained silent, unable to speak.