Chapter 5: But I Thought This Would Be An Easy Job
Disclaimer: I don't own Babylon 5; no matter how much I wish I did. I do, however, own the character of Jaci (so please don't steal her), Disembodied Voice (also, please don't steal--but you can borrow if you ask nicely and credit me) and Confused Man (who will actually have a real name in this chapter).
AN: Thanks for the lovely reviews! The title is from C.M.'s POV.
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Confused Man sat behind his desk looking rather shell-shocked. "So you mean to tell me Marcus Cole is now alive again because of a thoughtless prayer on your part and there is a disembodied voice following you around?"
"Yep. That's pretty much it." Jaci felt a bit sorry for Confused Man. She was pretty sure that he didn't see dead people walking around everyday. She felt even more sorry when Confused Man cradled his head in his hands.
Confused Man took a few calming breathes and lifted his head. "You found my office because of the coding beside the door?" Marcus inclined his head. "I guess I should be glad then that the new coding I've been asking for hasn't come in yet, or you might have burst into who knows where and then the fat would really be in the fire."
"Why is all of this a big secret? I mean, if we are so advanced that there are space stations in other solar systems, why does most of the population of the earth think that human kind has only managed to set foot on the moon so far?"
"It's rather complicated, and I'm not the best person to answer that. I'm rather far down on the chain, which is why I'm only in charge of the few things we have in this area. One of which you stumbled upon and brought back to life."
Marcus didn't like being called a thing, but he had bigger issues to think about at the moment. "So, when can you get me to Babylon 5?"
"So you're not taking me now?" Jaci asked, feeling slightly hurt.
Confused Man hastily interrupted before the verbal match could begin. "It's not that simple. You were declared dead on the station, and once again by scientists here. There was going to be a study on your body to try to better understand the workings of the machine that transferred all of your life force to another human being."
"Susan," Marcus murmured so low that Confused Man couldn't hear him.
"Now, that study is at a stand still before it even began. It may be changed to study how it is that you're alive again, after just over two years…"
"I've been dead two years?"
"Yes." Confused Man, over the course of the conversation, had moved from being shell-shocked to being in control of the situation. "You have been here for most of that time, waiting for the study to be organized and properly funded. Now, the study might be completely null, but I can't let you go traipsing off without discussing this with those that I answer to."
"I understand." Marcus hesitated, and then asked, "Did it work? The machine? Or did it just kill me?"
"It worked. I don't know all the specifics, but the woman you were trying to save did not die. That day at least."
"Is she still alive now?"
"I don't know. We can find out for you though."
"Thank you. I would appreciate that very much."
Confused Man turned back to Jaci. "About this disembodied voice…. Have you noticed anything unusual when you've heard it?"
"Well, I have noticed this pink glow out of the corner of my eye a few times, but when I turn my head, there's nothing there."
Marcus gaped at her. "You never said anything about a pink glow!"
"You never asked." Jaci shrugged and turned back to Confused Man. "Does that help at all?"
"It might. Of course, this could be a completely new life form that we're dealing with."
Jaci thought she heard a snort and looked at Marcus, but he was still gaping at her. It was Disembodied Voice then; but it evidently didn't feel like talking at the moment.
"I need to contact my superior and figure out what we're going to do with the two of you." Confused Man shifted his chair so that he was directly in front of what looked like an ordinary desktop pc. When he punched a few keys and the screen flickered, Jaci got the feeling that the computer was not ordinary by the average human standards.
"Yes?" A pleasant female voice emitted from the pc's speakers. Jaci couldn't see the screen from where she was seated, but she had a feeling that the visage that the voice belonged to was on it.
"Chris McHenry here. I need to speak with the good doctor, if he isn't in the middle of something important."
"I will patch you through," the mystery woman replied.
Chris McHenry. So that was Confused Man's real name. Jaci decided to just call him C.M. in her head so she didn't actually call him Confused Man out loud to his face. That could cause some embarrassment for both her and C.M.
"Dr. Althea here. What's up, Chris? I know that look."
"We have a problem. Remember that corpse we were holding here for our pending study?"
"Yeah, you guys have that Marcus Cole guy right? Or is that San Francisco?"
"No, that's us. He's not a corpse anymore."
"What?" The voice of Dr. Althea sounded a bit worried. "Nothing destroyed it, I hope?"
"No, no. The body's fine. A little too fine."
"What's that mean?"
"He's not dead anymore. Plus, we've got non-band player."
Jaci wondered if she heard him right. "Excuse me? Did you just call me a non-band player?"
C.M. glanced at her. "Er, yes. It's sort of slang…I'll explain in a few minutes." C.M. turned back to the screen. "It's been an interesting half-hour. "
"I'd say." The voice of Dr. Althea now was a cross between amused and worried. "I'll be there in an hour, Chris. Less if I can pull it off. Who knew that your little outpost would be the one having all the fun?"
The light bathing C.M.'s face from the screen was abruptly gone as Dr. Althea clicked off. "Yeah, all the fun," C.M. said to himself.
TBC…as always, review please!
