The first rays of the dawn was just coming over the horizon, giving light to
the destruction of the previous evening's quake. The weak light illuminated the
wounded, layed out in the camp on makeshift beds. It illuminated the dead,
wrapped up in canvas bags and piled up on the edge of the dig. It illuminated
the Edenberry plants, which were the only things undamaged by the quake. But
Lennier and Carter were not illuminated, as they picked their way through the
thick flora towards the transport tube.
Lennier regarded the archeologist as they trudged in silence. A distinct look
of sadness was in her eyes, though the rest of her face was set on grim
determination. He wanted desperately to break the heavy silence but he wasn't
sure what to say. Thinking back on what he knew of humans, based on his
experiences with them. He decided to go right for the question that had been
bothering him since the meeting.
"Are you really just going to leave the site?" He asked, very, very quietly and
carefully because he knew that this would be a very sensitive subject.
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. Her face was very
controlled and calm, but her eyes were brimming with tears which she adamantly
refused to shed. It was several moments before she answered, "Goddess knows I
don't want to, but with all the deaths, I can't endanger the lives of the
others," she looked pained, and shut her eyes as a couple of rougue tears
escaped and slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away irritably.
"Anyways," she said, with an unconvincing smile, "there'll be other digs. Hell,
maybe they'll let me go back here, once the criminal charges are dropped," she
said this last with a rueful chuckle, before moving on.
Knowing that he would not be able to draw her in conversation again, he studied
her some more. It was odd, he thought, that she should intrigue him so much.
She was Delenn's oppposite in almost every way; loud, tough with an slight air
of insanity, yet he couldn't deny he found something about her which was very
attractive.
He could almost hear Neroon and other fanatical Minbari telling him that this
was unatural and that humans were the enemies. He remembered all the things
Delenn had ahd to do to gain permission to marry Sheridan, because, to her,
tradition was everything. All the eyes on Minbar had been on her, and it was
her grand gesture of unification to marry Sheridan Star-killer.
Here, on this desolate planet, an out-cast from his own people, he suddenly
realized that it didn't matter what he did, or who he did it with.
He was yanked from his musings by a sudden loud crunch up ahead. Carter
stopped dead in her tracks, looked back at him, and then bolted up the path.
her pistol drawn, with Lennier close behind her. They topped it and froze in
shock and horror.
The transport tube had been completly crushed by hundreds of vines which, even
now, still contricted over it. They moved around, like snakes, pulling and
pushing the debris around as if they were looking for something.
"Goddess!" Carter whispered, putting her hand to her mouth, as all sorts of
unpleasant things dawned on her. They were both so preoccupied by the nightmare
before them, that they didn't notice the vine wrapping itself about her
ankles...
the destruction of the previous evening's quake. The weak light illuminated the
wounded, layed out in the camp on makeshift beds. It illuminated the dead,
wrapped up in canvas bags and piled up on the edge of the dig. It illuminated
the Edenberry plants, which were the only things undamaged by the quake. But
Lennier and Carter were not illuminated, as they picked their way through the
thick flora towards the transport tube.
Lennier regarded the archeologist as they trudged in silence. A distinct look
of sadness was in her eyes, though the rest of her face was set on grim
determination. He wanted desperately to break the heavy silence but he wasn't
sure what to say. Thinking back on what he knew of humans, based on his
experiences with them. He decided to go right for the question that had been
bothering him since the meeting.
"Are you really just going to leave the site?" He asked, very, very quietly and
carefully because he knew that this would be a very sensitive subject.
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look at him. Her face was very
controlled and calm, but her eyes were brimming with tears which she adamantly
refused to shed. It was several moments before she answered, "Goddess knows I
don't want to, but with all the deaths, I can't endanger the lives of the
others," she looked pained, and shut her eyes as a couple of rougue tears
escaped and slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away irritably.
"Anyways," she said, with an unconvincing smile, "there'll be other digs. Hell,
maybe they'll let me go back here, once the criminal charges are dropped," she
said this last with a rueful chuckle, before moving on.
Knowing that he would not be able to draw her in conversation again, he studied
her some more. It was odd, he thought, that she should intrigue him so much.
She was Delenn's oppposite in almost every way; loud, tough with an slight air
of insanity, yet he couldn't deny he found something about her which was very
attractive.
He could almost hear Neroon and other fanatical Minbari telling him that this
was unatural and that humans were the enemies. He remembered all the things
Delenn had ahd to do to gain permission to marry Sheridan, because, to her,
tradition was everything. All the eyes on Minbar had been on her, and it was
her grand gesture of unification to marry Sheridan Star-killer.
Here, on this desolate planet, an out-cast from his own people, he suddenly
realized that it didn't matter what he did, or who he did it with.
He was yanked from his musings by a sudden loud crunch up ahead. Carter
stopped dead in her tracks, looked back at him, and then bolted up the path.
her pistol drawn, with Lennier close behind her. They topped it and froze in
shock and horror.
The transport tube had been completly crushed by hundreds of vines which, even
now, still contricted over it. They moved around, like snakes, pulling and
pushing the debris around as if they were looking for something.
"Goddess!" Carter whispered, putting her hand to her mouth, as all sorts of
unpleasant things dawned on her. They were both so preoccupied by the nightmare
before them, that they didn't notice the vine wrapping itself about her
ankles...