Disclaimer: B5, and everything associated with it belongs to JMS and not to some random,
starving college student
Spoilers: The whole series.
The stars shone brightly, stretching out in every direction, never dwindling,
never swaying, giving hope to the passengers of the transport that orbited
Minerva 2. There were over a hundred humans and aliens, crowded together on a
cheap passenger pod, looking down on the reddish planet, hopeing that this
time, they could make a life for themselves.
The planet had recently been settled, and was rich in minerals, as well as artifacts.
Mining companies and archeologists alike had swarmed to it, and they all needed
diggers, which were in abundance. Anyone with a strong back and will could dig,
it was dirty work, but for a new dig like this, it could be very profitable.
The general air of the cabin was that of subdued exitement and hope which
penetrated almost everyone.
It did not show, however, upon the haunted face of a young Minbari, who sat
pensively staring out the window. He was wrapped in a heavy black cloak, which
almost covered him completely, and he had spent the entire voyage adimently
refusing to eat or speak to anyone.
Everyone just assumed he was running away from something, as were a lot of
people on the rickety ship, so no one was very curious. Not one of them, unless
he was a telepath and was breaking several rules, could have guessed that, up
until a few months ago, he had been atache to the most famous Minbari in the
galexy.
It would never have crossed any of their minds that he had been a ranger, an
acolyte, and may have one day been a full Satai, and maybe even a member of the
Grey Council, if had not been for one mistake, one error of judgement, a wrong
descision, and everything was lost.
He seethed about it incessantly, replaying the whole incident over and over
again in his mind. His descision to leave Sheridan to die had been born out of
panic and frustration. The same frustration which had prompted him to join the
rangers. He had studied hard, trying to convince himself that it was because he
believed in their cause, and he was not running away.
Now, he knew better, and it was too late. He had ran away, he had left
everything behind, and now he had nothing and no one. For the first time in his
short life, he was truly alone. The thought caused a horrid shudder to go
through him.
It was the first time he had ever allowed himself to think about it with any
depth. He had actually spent the last few months wandering, numbly, around from
system to system, without any hope, ready to just drop dead at any second.
He had spent his last few credits to get on this ship, and he still wasn't sure
why he'd bothered. He would've been just as happy to crawl into a bottle and
show everyone around just why you should never give a Minbari liquor. Instead,
here he was going to some new place where he would have to die in clear
sobriety.
Unless, he realized, he pulled himself up and got a job to do something really
insane and try to start again. There was an idea, he thought. He could almost
hear the humans from B5 telling him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get
back on his feet.
He looked down at the planet in a new light. Maybe not hope, but a resistance
to lying down without a fight. Perhaps he could find a life here, maybe not the
one he had, but it was a start. Even if he didn't, he would be able to tell
Marcus, in that place where the dead meet, that he had gone down fighting.
starving college student
Spoilers: The whole series.
The stars shone brightly, stretching out in every direction, never dwindling,
never swaying, giving hope to the passengers of the transport that orbited
Minerva 2. There were over a hundred humans and aliens, crowded together on a
cheap passenger pod, looking down on the reddish planet, hopeing that this
time, they could make a life for themselves.
The planet had recently been settled, and was rich in minerals, as well as artifacts.
Mining companies and archeologists alike had swarmed to it, and they all needed
diggers, which were in abundance. Anyone with a strong back and will could dig,
it was dirty work, but for a new dig like this, it could be very profitable.
The general air of the cabin was that of subdued exitement and hope which
penetrated almost everyone.
It did not show, however, upon the haunted face of a young Minbari, who sat
pensively staring out the window. He was wrapped in a heavy black cloak, which
almost covered him completely, and he had spent the entire voyage adimently
refusing to eat or speak to anyone.
Everyone just assumed he was running away from something, as were a lot of
people on the rickety ship, so no one was very curious. Not one of them, unless
he was a telepath and was breaking several rules, could have guessed that, up
until a few months ago, he had been atache to the most famous Minbari in the
galexy.
It would never have crossed any of their minds that he had been a ranger, an
acolyte, and may have one day been a full Satai, and maybe even a member of the
Grey Council, if had not been for one mistake, one error of judgement, a wrong
descision, and everything was lost.
He seethed about it incessantly, replaying the whole incident over and over
again in his mind. His descision to leave Sheridan to die had been born out of
panic and frustration. The same frustration which had prompted him to join the
rangers. He had studied hard, trying to convince himself that it was because he
believed in their cause, and he was not running away.
Now, he knew better, and it was too late. He had ran away, he had left
everything behind, and now he had nothing and no one. For the first time in his
short life, he was truly alone. The thought caused a horrid shudder to go
through him.
It was the first time he had ever allowed himself to think about it with any
depth. He had actually spent the last few months wandering, numbly, around from
system to system, without any hope, ready to just drop dead at any second.
He had spent his last few credits to get on this ship, and he still wasn't sure
why he'd bothered. He would've been just as happy to crawl into a bottle and
show everyone around just why you should never give a Minbari liquor. Instead,
here he was going to some new place where he would have to die in clear
sobriety.
Unless, he realized, he pulled himself up and got a job to do something really
insane and try to start again. There was an idea, he thought. He could almost
hear the humans from B5 telling him to stop feeling sorry for himself and get
back on his feet.
He looked down at the planet in a new light. Maybe not hope, but a resistance
to lying down without a fight. Perhaps he could find a life here, maybe not the
one he had, but it was a start. Even if he didn't, he would be able to tell
Marcus, in that place where the dead meet, that he had gone down fighting.