Live For the One, Die for the One IV
Disclaimer: B5 belongs to Warner Bros., and DBZ
belongs to Akira Toryama. No money is made.
Trunks
cursed loudly as he saw himself go SSJ on the bridge of his White Star during
the fight with the Shadows. Marcus sort of laughed at this.
"Well,
what are you going to say about that?" he asked, and Trunks thought quickly.
Maybe playing dumb would be his best bet…
It
was then that Lyta and Delenn entered his cell together, and looked at the
still swearing Trunks. He had left English and Japanese, and was using some
Minbari, with a lot of Narn thrown in for flavor.
"Is
something wrong, Trunks?" Delenn asked, her face red from all the swearing.
Marcus,
ever the joker, played the tape again.
"Holy-"
said Lyta, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head.
"We
still need to ask Trunks some questions," Delenn added when she could shut her
mouth. "And this will be one of them."
Nodding,
and resigning himself to a quick get away, if he could, Trunks sat down.
"This
may feel a little strange, Mr. Briefs," Lyta told him, as they sat at the small
table in the cell. "Just relax, and don't try to fight it. I won't hurt you."
"Says
you," he mumbled, and took a deep breath, and began a simple mediation
exercise.
"So,
have you ever used your telepathic abilities before?" she asked, eyes
penetrating.
"Not
that I know of. In fact, I didn't know I had telepathic abilities. I
felt something in my head, and I did like that-" here, he pushed slightly at
the probe in his mind. Lyta jolted backwards like she had been hit.
"How
did you do that?" she asked, amazed.
"Oh,
yes," she added. "He's telling the truth."
"I
just- pushed. It was like when I-" he clamped his mouth shut.
"Like
when you what."
Trunks
refused to say anything.
"All
right then, about what we saw on the screen?"
"I
don't know anything about it," he answered, and she shook her head.
"He's
lying."
"Mr.
Briefs, will you please tell us what that was?"
"No."
"Why
not?" Delenn asked, her usual serene nature coming to the breaking point. She
was not used to being denied.
"Because,
it isn't really your business," he said quietly, and Lyta saw images in his
mind of- well, it was hell. Images of people dying all around, the feeling of
horrific pain, and guilt, awful guilt. Guilt of not being able to stop it.
Lyta
felt tears down her face, and pulled away.
"All
right, we won't ask about that," she said softly. Delenn looked like she was
about to protest, but decided against it.
"You
feel any discomfort, and I'll stop the rest of the probe, okay?" she told him,
and he nodded. He could feel her inside his mind, like cool fingers brushing
against his face.
"Do
you have any training in your telepathic talents?" Delenn asked. Trunks shook
his head.
"No,"
he answered, and Lyta nodded.
"From
what I can tell, they were completely latent until you sensed the Shadows, and
you freaked, releasing them. You're strong, P12, at least."
Trunks
cocked an eyebrow, confused. He still didn't know much about it.
"Although,
they seem to have become latent again. Like a sword put back in its sheath."
Delenn
looked thoughtful for a moment. "Since are telling the truth about this, Ranger
Trunks, we will keep you on your White Star, as least until the end of the war.
You have too good a record to move you. But afterwards, you need to have this
ability trained. Understood? If you have such a dislike of the human Psi Corps,
we can have you trained by the Minbari. Will that do?"
Trunks
nodded, and a small smile lit his face. "I know the importance of training,
Entil'zha," he told her, bowing. She nodded graciously in return, and gestured
for him to follow.
Only
Marcus saw the sigh of relief.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Trunks
Briefs was no stranger to battle, or loosing people. As the last days of the
War with Earth approached, he reflected on what had happened.
He
had done his best as a captain of his White Star, and that was the most that
could be expected, without revealing any more about himself.
He
shuddered, thinking about what had happened to those telepaths on the ships.
He
was grateful it wasn't him.
He
wanted to go back to his world, even with the Androids. At least they couldn't
turn your mind inside out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Trunks
listened numbly as he heard the report.
"Marcus,"
he hissed, feeling his inhuman rage grow. The rest of the crew, human and
Minbari alike, cheered the rest of the news. The creation of the Inter Stellar
Alliance, the defeat of the Earth Alliance, and that Sheridan would be
president.
But
Marcus, old friend, Trunks wanted to shout, why did you have to do something
like that?
His
Exec saw the tears on his face, and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Captain,
why don't you go rest for a while," she said aloud, and whispered," I know he
was your friend. Go mourn in peace."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The
trip back to Babylon 5 was painful for Trunks. He had lost so many friends that
loosing the annoying Ranger seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back.
His
eyes were lifeless as he entered the station, and went directly to Med Lab.
"Where
is he?" Trunks asked, wanting to see his friend.
"Sir,
you shouldn't be in here-" said someone, a nurse, he thought. The man grabbed
his hand to lead him out, but he casually tossed him away.
"I
need to speak to Dr. Franklin," he told them, and rather than make this mad man
angry, they ran to get the good doctor.
Dr.
Franklin did not look all that happy about being disturbed, but when he saw the
expression on Trunks' face, he wanted to cringe.
"May
I help you, Ranger Briefs?"
Trunks
grunted. "Where is he?"
Franklin
didn't have to ask who 'he' was.
"Back
here," he gestured, and Trunks followed. Ivanova was sitting on a stool, next
to his bed, and staring at the sheet covered form.
"Ranger
Briefs," acknowledged Susan, her voice rasping harshly.
"Commander,"
he said, and folded down the sheet.
Marcus
was there, his face paler than normal, the eyes that had once always held a
spark of humor closed, the smirk gone, nothing.
Trunks
refused to accept that. Too many friends had left him. Why had this human
impacted him so much? Was it his spirit, his will? Was it that blithe assurance
that if you really deserved what you got, what kind of person were you?
"Dammit,
he didn't deserve this," Trunks whispered, and put his naked hand to that cold
face.
Then
he pulled back, his face confused.
"He's
not gone on," he muttered, and put his hand back.
That
sense he had gotten since coming here, telepathy, was telling him that there
was something left. His ability to sense ki only affirmed that.
"He's
still here!" Trunks shouted.
"What
are you talking about? His heart and brainwaves have stopped. There is
nothing-" Ivanova sobbed," nothing we can do."
"His
ki- his life force isn't completely gone, if only-" then he stopped. There were
no Dragon Balls here, no senzu beans.
Placing
his hand on the other Ranger's chest, he forced some of his ki into him. He
tried again, and again, almost powering up.
:Marcus,
if you are there, then answer me!:
Nothing,
just the feeling that there was something still there, like an echo.
"We're
putting him in cryo. We just wish-"
"Sir,
we have a huge energy signature emanating from Med Lab," said a voice over the
com. Both Ivanova and Franklin looked over at Trunks, who was still placing his
hand on Marcus' chest.
"Come
on, come on, Marcus," chanted Trunks, his eyes never leaving his friend's face.
"I
know, C&C," Franklin said, looking at Trunks. Then he noticed the cracks
starting in the floor beneath him.
"Trunks,"
he said in a calming voice. "I don't know what you are doing, but it won't
bring him back, and you could seriously damage the station. Then a lot of
people other than Marcus would be dead. Do you hear me?"
Trunks
gasped, and looked at the doctor. Franklin stared into his green eyes, shocked
by the anguish that he saw.
"There
are so many ghosts, doctor," he muttered, and looked away, and Franklin saw his
eyes turn blue again, and regain their pupils.
"Ghosts
of what?" asked Susan. She sounded so tired.
"Of
those I couldn't help, couldn't save. I don't know why this is getting to me, I
have lost so many friends before… How strong will I have to get before I stop
loosing friends?"
"I
don't think we ever do," she answered him, her own hand trailing down Marcus'
face.
Franklin
had been fascinated by the strange transformation that had started, and was
trying to use that to overcome his own grief, as the Commander followed Trunks
out.
The
computer had recorded all of it, and his entry into the Med Lab.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Trunks
watched events unfold from the bridge of his White Star. The first year of the
Interstellar Alliance had been a tumultuous one. He shivered, wishing that he
could finally get his time machine repaired. So far, the one part he had lacked
was impossible to find. Maybe the technology didn't exist in this universe.
"I
can't give up," he muttered to himself. "Not like that!"
"Captain?"
Looking
up, his Exec looked at him expectantly.
"Yes?"
"Message
from the Entil'zha," she said, and gestured, and the screen changed to show the
familiar face of Delenn.
"Ranger
Briefs?" she asked, and he nodded.
"We
would order you to Minbar, to ask you about a career change."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Trunks
walked into main Ranger complex at Tuzanor, is pace faster than his escorts',
as they struggled to keep up.
"You
wished to see me, Entil'zha?" he asked, seeing the woman behind the desk.
"Yes.
I will not beat around the bush, as humans say. I would like you to become my
aide, and the Alliance's attaché to the Rangers."
Trunks
stopped cold at that. He had never expected something like that!
"Why?"
"Because,
with the Telepath war coming, we need someone who can be trusted, and it
telepathic themselves, to safeguard any sensitive information. You should know
ahead of time about the situation and what the job entails. Are you willing to
take it?"
"I-"
he thought hard for a few moments. This might be the only thing worthwhile that
he could do, both to remember his friend Marcus, and to get hold of the technology
that he needed for his time machine.
"Yes,
I'll do it."
To be continued.