PART 2

When Susan didn't take Duncan's proffered hand, he nodded his head in understanding and gestured to the chair opposite her. "May I?" he inquired. Susan nodded in mute assent. "Thank you."

He settled himself in the chair and looked at her kindly. "I fear my announcement has shocked you a little, Captain."

"You could say that," Susan replied, slowly. She looked at him suspiciously through narrowed eyes, trying to decide if either she was drunk or the man before her was insane.

Duncan sighed, then took his glasses off to wearily rub the bridge of his nose. "You must forgive me, Captain, but I'm afraid I'm rather tired at the moment. I've been trying to catch up with you and your ship for the last couple of weeks. I found out you were going to dock here and got the first available transport. It wasn't the most comfortable or quiet of ships."

He replaced his glasses and looked back up at her with another smile. "Perhaps it would be best if I started at the beginning."

Susan continued to stare quietly at him and he took this as a good sign.

"I first met Marcus when I lived on Babylon 5 a couple of years ago. I rented a little spot in Down Below and sold my meagre wares. It was all rubbish, but Marcus used to come by every day and buy something from me. It was his way of making sure I had some money to live on, he knew I wouldn't accept charity." As Duncan paused, he saw Susan smile. "He was a good man, Captain, and a good friend."

Susan nodded. "Yes, he was," she agreed quietly.

Duncan started to cough, his body shuddering as he tried to stop and catch his breath. Susan looked at him in concern and called the barman urgently for a glass of water. Once it arrived, she handed it to him and watched as he sipped the liquid, the coughing finally subsiding.

"Are you OK?" asked Susan.

Duncan waved a hand at her not to worry. "Yes, I'm fine. I've had this for a long while. In fact it was because of this, that I became involved with the Vindrizi," he replied, looking at her for a sign of recognition.

"Vindrizi?" repeated Susan with a frown. "Weren't they the all-knowing parasites that had to merge with 'hosts' to survive?" She vaguely remembered Stephen telling her that he had set up a program to help them as he'd been with Marcus when the truth had come out.

She also recalled the rest of that conversation with much more clarity. Stephen had told her that Marcus wanted a second chance with her. She felt her stomach drop at that thought. She knew exactly how that felt now. She snapped back to reality when Duncan continued to speak.

"Marcus didn't believe they had good intentions until I proved it to him. He cared for and trusted me, you see and I'll always be grateful to him for that. When everyone else had given up on me, Marcus treated me like a person again. He didn't want me to leave Babylon 5 but I wanted so much to see all the wondrous things that the Vindrizi had shown me for myself."

Duncan smiled at the memory then looked directly at her. "And that's why I'm here now. He was there for me and I wanted to do something for him in return. I heard what he did for you, Captain, and it wasn't a surprise. He loved you even back then, you know. He used to talk to me about you all the time."

Susan didn't know what to say as she digested this new information about Marcus' feelings for her. It made her realise just how blind she'd been. "I don't understand," she began. "What can you do to help him? He's dead."

Duncan heard the hopelessness in her voice and shook his head. "I've been to places that you couldn't even dream about, Captain. The Vindrizi left me just enough memories to find these worlds and through that I have been able to bear witness to the most amazing sights."

He rummaged about in his coat pockets, pulled out a data crystal and held it out to her. "This contains all the information needed to revive Marcus."

Susan looked at the crystal totally stunned. Minutes earlier she'd been starting to think that she'd never find anything and then suddenly all her dreams were being handed back to her in the form of one small piece of glass. She couldn't believe it was that easy, there had to be something else going on here. She wasn't about to get her hopes up to have them dashed by a person she'd never even met before.

Duncan saw the doubt on her face and placed the crystal on the table. "I understand your caution Captain, but please trust me. Marcus did."

Susan thought about what he'd said, then tentatively reached out and placed her hand over the crystal. "What's on it?"

"It's the formula for a serum that will restore his life."

"Where did you get it? How do I know this isn't a trick?"

Duncan slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid I made my friends a promise that I wouldn't reveal their identity."

"You can't honestly expect me to just believe everything you've said without even checking it out?" exclaimed Susan, getting angry. "Who are your friends? WHAT are your friends, that they have this technology?"

Duncan smiled again. "All I can say is that they not a race that you would know of, Captain." He leaned forward across the table and stared at her earnestly. "You must realise that I would never do anything to hurt Marcus, I merely want to help both you and him."

Susan looked back at the sincerity clearly showing on his face and suddenly something inside her decided to trust this old man before her. Not wanting to appear to give in too easily though, Susan proposed a compromise. "OK then, I want you to come back to my ship with me where I'll put in a call to Dr. Franklin on Babylon 5. If he confirms who you are, we'll talk," she told him in a tone that dared

him to refuse.

"Ah, yes, the good doctor. I remember him well," said Duncan, nodding his head. "I will go with you."

Susan gave a curt nod and stood up, pocketing the crystal. Duncan also got to his feet and she motioned him to move ahead of her. She followed him outside and they made their way to the shuttle that would take them back to her ship.

Once back aboard, Susan immediately took Duncan to her quarters and went over to the communications unit. She punched a button and the face of her second in command appeared on a small screen in front of her. "Lewis, get me Babylon 5 and patch the signal through to this terminal only. It's personal."

"Yes sir," came the reply. "It'll take a couple of minutes."

After a brief acknowledgement, Susan punched another button and the screen went blank.

Lewis set up the link and waited for contact with the station, wondering what the call was about. The Captain only ever received calls from Babylon 5, she never made them. The face of Corwin flashed on the screen before him, interrupting his pondering.

"Hey David," greeted Lewis. They'd known each other during training and were old friends.

"Hi Robert. How's it going?" replied Corwin, with a smile. "Still enjoying it?"

"Of course."

Corwin pulled a disbelieving face and Lewis sighed. "I've told you before David, I don't know what the Captain was like when she was there, but here she's fine. She's strict but quiet and just a little…." He paused slightly before adding with a shrug of his shoulders, "…sad."

Corwin nodded in understanding and Lewis frowned. "Why don't you ever talk about what happened back there? It's not much of a secret anymore, you know. I've heard the rumours about the Ranger…"

"It's not my story to tell, Robert. Now, how can I help you?" Corwin answered, effectively ending the conversation.

Lewis grimaced slightly, but didn't push it. "The Captain wants to speak to someone there. I'll transfer you to her terminal."

Corwin nodded and took a deep breath, bracing himself to talk to his old superior again. He hadn't meant to be rude to Robert, it was just that he didn't feel right gossiping about Ivanova. He liked and respected her too much to do that.

Susan handed Duncan the cup of tea she'd made and stood looking at him as he sat on the couch, sipping it.

"How do you know this serum is going to work?" Susan asked the question quietly, fearing the answer.

Duncan put his cup down and looked up at her. "You'd like some proof, is that it Captain?"

Susan nodded. Duncan stood up, stretched his arms out to each side and slowly turned around until he faced her again. "Well?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Susan frowned. "Well, what?"

Duncan took a step towards her and said, "I'm proof that the serum works, Captain. A month ago I was dead."

END PART 2