The Lady of Downbelow
a.k.a. "Not My Babylon Circus, Not My Downbelow Monkeys"
+++++PART+02+++++
0800hrs January 4, 2257 – Kosh first arrives & poisoned
1520hrs January 4, 2257
"Lady! Lady!"
Nova looked up at the frantic call, but a second after her head jerked in response, watched the boy slide into a wall before reorienting towards her with no visible damage, she relaxed. It hadn't been panicked. Just enthusiastic, which was typical Daniel. "How many times have I told you not to run around like that? You're going to either end up hurting yourself or crashing into someone who's going to hurt you." As she spoke, she straightened the boy's clothes and brushed his hair back out of his eyes.
He rolled his eyes at her. "Ladyyy," he drawled her new title out in annoyance. "You aren't listening!" For some reason, none of the children called her by name. Only 'Lady', or very, very rarely, 'Lady Nova'.
Nova smiled inwardly. How only a month had changed the boy. "Alright, what is it?"
"Charlie found 'em! And they're perfect! Come ON! You have to come see!" He tugged at her hand.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," she assured. "Let me get my bag and we'll go." Not that the bright blue cloth bag—still as a bright blue as it had been the first day she'd arrived on Babylon 5—was ever far from her, if not already hanging from her wrist.
As she followed Daniel, she listened with only half an ear as the boy chattered about everything and anything: things that had happened to him personally, things that had happened to others in their area, things that had happened to those around the ship, and everything else that came to his mind.
"—and then Saldri said that we were all gonna get in HUGE trouble—"
When not in her presence, he had a rather remarkable ability to go almost anywhere unnoticed, blending in and observing. When he was with her though, it was as if the floodgates opened and he never stopped talking.
"—have you heard that weird new ass-a-dor is sick and—"
"Ambassador," Nova corrected out of habit. When she had first met Daniel, he couldn't make eye contact with anyone and held himself as if he was always waiting to be hit.
"—yeah, that! And he's really sick and they can't figure out why 'cause they're not supposed to open his weirdo suit and there's all these new macho guys in Brown trying to find out who made him sick and—"
She couldn't help but smile at the flow of words and happy boyish bouncing. Privately, she thought it one of her best achievements since she'd come to Babylon 5. "There's Charlie," she gestured, spotting the ten-year-old girl.
"Lady!" Charles waved happily and pointed to the side. "I found perfect ones, Lady!"
"So, Danny's being telling me," Nova smiled at her. "Let's take a look." She knelt and dragged off the dust-colored tarp that almost perfectly blended into the floor and walls. "Wow, these are nice!" she softly whistled as she eyed the sunlamps bulbs and casings critically. "They look in perfect condition…" she looked up at the two children who were grinning at her triumphantly, "Do you know why they were thrown out?"
Charlie nodded and pointed, "That bit there has a lot of wires hanging out."
Nova dutifully went to examine the panel, which indeed had a handful of multicolored wires, ends stripped clean. "Hmmm…" Nova pulled out her sonic screwdriver and peered inside. A couple settings on the screwdriver in analysis mode gave a possible answer. "Ah!" she hooked out one black-and-yellow wire in particular and tugged it out. She looked at the boy, "Daniel, do you still have that carbo-nanofiber mesh you found last week?"
His brows furrowed as he thought and dug through his pockets. "This one, Lady?"
"There we are," she took the small ragged bit of metallic-braided cloth, barely a few centimeters in area, and wrapped the wire. "Charlie, how about that clear nail polish?" Why someone hadn't yet realized how well clear nail polish could be used as glue for anything porous was beyond her.
The girl brightened and pulled out the almost-empty bottle. Knowing what was expected—they had done this trick several times before—Charlie held onto the bottle and handed the top to Nova.
"Thank you," she smiled. A dab of the nitrocellulose onto mesh instantly soaked through the carbo-nanofiber and adhered it in place to the wire. Nova handed the applicator back to Charlie, who dutifully put the cap back on and the bottle back in her chest pocket, and blew gently to speed the adherence. When she thought enough time had passed, she poked it with the very tip of her pinkie. No tacky feeling. Good enough. "Alright, I think that should do it."
She got back to her feet and put her hands on her hips, smiling at the two children who smiled just as brightly back. "Have we contacted Harn?"
Daniel nodded, "Jamie should be on his way back by now. We were extra-certain-sure this was perfect and Jamie wanted to get to Harn before anyone else!"
Hr'Mola'Keby was a local Narn, who—as far as she could figure out—had been in Brown Sector for as long as Babylon 5 had been in operation. Since no one could pronounce his name correctly, he went by Harn and was currently the best muscle-for-hire in the area. He had no problems working for children, taking direction, or being paid in trade.
He also found it hilarious when she first approached him and found out that she wanted his muscles for moving cargo.
"And you were absolutely right," Nova said, making his chest puff up even bigger. "What about Kari?"
"She and Jack haven't come back from the sellers yet," Charlie reported.
Nova nodded. "Alright, then we'll wait here for Jamie and Harn and then be back in plenty of time for supper."
It had started with just James and Karianne, but the others had joined them one by one until Nova found herself in charge of five orphans, none of whom were old enough to legally get a job, and all of whom thought living in Brown Sector was better than wherever they were before. They were relatively close in age too; Kari being the youngest at eight, and Jaqueline the oldest at 14, though she had been 13 when they met.
Kari was the best haggler of them all (including Nova herself), while Jack (eternally dressed and addressed as a boy to avoid undue attention) was their best fighter. They were usually paired together when the group needed something from the vendors or black market.
Jamie was Kari's older brother and was tall and skinny for his age of eleven. He had the lightest build and as such was the fastest. He was the second oldest and had taken it upon himself early on to be the protector of the younger ones, often as runner or distraction. In the early days, he and Danny wouldn't be far apart from each other, back when the littlest (though not the youngest) had still been so shy of Nova. She was almost certain that, unlike the others, Daniel had run away from an abusive situation. He was too good at dodging and being quiet when needed, flinching at every unexpected sound or movement.
Charlie was ten-and-a-half (the "and a half" was very important and must always be said if you asked her), was the second-fastest but wasn't particularly good at anything. Thus, she became the go-to for odd jobs, such as staying with sunlamps to make sure no one found and took off with them. "What's for supper?" Charlie asked.
"Stew!" Danny answered before she could, practically bouncing on his toes.
"Oooo," Charlie's eyes widened in awe.
"Did I hear stew?" Harn's gravely voice came from a right hallway.
Nova turned and nodded, even as Danny once again spoke for her. "Uh huh! The Lady made her special stew for dinner!"
Nova raised an eyebrow, "Special stew? Why is it special?"
The nine-year-old blinked at her, adorably confused. "Because you made it!"
Harn chuckled at the exchange. He loved working for this little group, but he had his own needs. "Is the stew payment?"
Nova nodded, "Two bowls for two sunlamps." She gestured to the floor.
Harn, ever the professional, walked around the lights. "You need them intact, or they for parts?"
"Intact."
"Hmmm…" He eyed them critically. "Five bowls of stew. Gonna have to hire a franny for them, fragile as they are."
Nova sighed, but nodded her agreement. She knew that two were payment to rent the franny. "Five bowls for the two lights, transport, discretion, and protection," she said firmly. Meaning that he was promising not only to move the sunlamps, but to ensure they arrived. If he had to hire a franny, it might cause a stir of interest from the local bandits and thieves, who would come investigating. Discretion so that thieves didn't notice as much as possible; protection so that if they did notice and follow, the lamps would be defended.
He shook his head. "Can do five bowls for transportation and discretion, but protection will be extra."
Five bowls was as much as she could barter and still have enough left over for their own dinner. Nova huffed out a breath. The sunlamps wouldn't do the thieves any good, but they wouldn't know that and would think that something that big and being transported so carefully was worth stealing, if only to sell it immediately afterward.
Harn could see her internal struggle. He was a Narn, fallen from grace and working his way back to his family name. He still had his honor, what little was left. "Five bowls…and medic next time I need it."
"Done," Nova said instantly.
He held up a finger, "No matter how bad, all paid for."
She nodded again. She would have done that anyway, no matter how hurt he was the next time he crawled to her beaten and bloody, but he didn't need to know that. She shook hands to seal the deal. "Agreed."
Nova nodded, stepped back, and gestured. "James, you go with Harn for the franny, and Daniel, you keep watch with them and show Harn the way. Charlotte will come with me. Hopefully, between the two of us, we'll have everything ready to install them once you get there." The children all nodded seriously. "Harn, if you use discretion, protection, transportation, for the lamps and the children, AND help me install them, I'll give you the five bowls, one future medstay, and…a future favor."
Charlie and Danny sucked in sharp breaths, knowing what she just offered was a LOT. "Lady…" Charlie hissed in warning. Nova waved her silent, watching Harn.
His eyes had bugged in shock. In the Downbelow, where barter, trade, and stealing were a part of life, a future favor was practically unheard of. A future favor meant that the one owed could ask for ANYTHING of the ower, in every sense of the word, and the ower would have to perform to the best of their ability, up to and including their own possible death.
Harn shook on it. He was earning back his honor, but he wasn't stupid. What she just offered was too good to pass up. He wouldn't ask, though he certainly wanted to, why normal looking sunlamps would be worth so much, but he made it a policy not to ask.
As he was leaving with the two boys beside him, he heard the Lady ask, "Wait, Danny, did you say that the new ambassador was sick?"
+++B5+++
Harn had paused momentarily when Danny had first directed him towards Gray-17. However, with the future favor in mind, he kept going. A feeling of unease has grown incrementally the farther they went in until he was about ready to turn back, no matter how lucrative the job…
…until, like a bubble that had burst, all tension vanished. Instantly, he noticed both boys relax almost completely. "What is it?" he rumbled.
"The Lady calls it a safety guard—"
"Safeguard," James corrected quietly.
"—so that no one will accidentally come along and steal anything, even though she's gonna give it all away for free, she doesn't want any bad people to take over and start charging," Danny's words tumbled over themselves.
Harn blinked, nodding. 'The Lady' was probably right. While the underground black-market was new on Babylon 5, it was already guarded and secure. If anyone came across whatever this was, then the chances it would be taken and sold were high. "What is being guarded?"
"You'll see!" Danny grinned. "It's this way."
"You'll have to close your eyes to get there," Jamie instructed. "It's another safeguard," he explained when Harn hesitated. "No one who sees the entrance can get inside. It's like your eyes slide right passed and you forget you saw anything." The Narn considered, then nodded and dutifully closed his eyes. He led the franny with his right arm while his left was tugged by small hands in the correct direction. "Okay, you can open them again." When he did, he stared in amazement taking it all in.
It was a vast hydroponics garden! Enough water beds and plants to feed three times the small group that built it, with plenty of room to expand later. He saw beds of potatoes, carrots, yuccaota, karinbati, and even yori! Three small sunlamps were already in place but there were obviously two spots that were waiting to be filled by the large ones he currently was bringing.
Nova and Charlie were ready for them. "Wonderful, just in time. Put them here," Nova pointed to a spot right below where she things set up, "and we can lift them easier."
No wonder she had wagered a future favor! This was priceless to Downbelow, where food was sometimes a luxury that couldn't be afforded. It would be too tempting a target if the wrong people found out.
Perhaps he would suggest another few safety measures while he helped install the lights…?
09.18.2021
+++++DW+B5+DW+++++
Awesome betaing skills go to denise3, BarbedCaress, emptyvoices, and Random_human1511! Not all of them know B5, but all were willing to take a peek and offer their opinions. Thanks bunches guys!
Please let me know what you think! I know its not perfect, but I've done my best. Reviews are love and remind me to keep writing!