Gosh dang it. The other one screwed up so I had to delete it and re-upload it…is that the right term? Oh well…enjoy part three.
Disclaimer: Still the same only Saffire is mine. All Hail the mighty JMS for his wonderful B5 story so that Fanfic writers could write about this stuff ^_^
I assume that you've read the previous parts of the story and know what ~ and italics mean :)
Thank you to everyone who reviewed…and putting up with the long wait for me to post ^-^ have a free…black light bulb
Now go climb a tree, it's part three ^_^
A Friend's Friend
Part III
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Saffire rested with Galen in his quarters. It had been two and a half days since she arrived, and she was getting rather bored.
~How much longer, Galen?~ She rolled onto her back.
"If we are on schedule, we should be there soon," Galen chuckled and looked up from his reading, "Now who's impatient?" Saffire glared at him and flipped her tail. She was about to get up and go explore the ship when Galen's door chime rang. Saffire flipped back over and stared at the door as Galen set his book down.
"Open," he replied crisply and clearly. The door slid open and Dureena stepped through with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Hello, Galen. I heard you had a unique visitor, and I thought I'd come see for myself." Dureena smiled and looked around the room, her eyes coming to rest on the feline.
"Dureena, meet Saffire, she's getting a ride to Babylon 5 with us," Galen leaned back against the chair and folded his arms across his chest.
Saffire met and held Dureena's gaze. In Saffire's culture, eye color described a person's soul, and this woman's eyes said a lot to Saffire. No wonder he likes her, Saffire looked to Galen and a smile came to her eyes, they would be cute together.
~Nice to meet you Dureena~ Saffire commented looking back to Dureena and nodding.
"The pleasure is mine, I assure you." Dureena shook off the awe and looked to Galen, who was smiling like a Cheshire cat. "Mathew told me to tell you that we are ahead of schedule, and we will be jumping to Babylon 5 space soon." Almost as if on queue, the ship gave a slight lurch as they jumped to normal space. Saffire made a small squeal and looked at Galen.
~Should we contact her now or wait till we wake him?~
"I believe we should wait," Galen commented, after a moment's hesitation. He turned back to Dureena and cocked his head to the side, (he decided to have a talk with Saffire about the fact that she was wearing off on him) "Will you be joining us on the station?"
"I believe Mathew is giving everyone leave. So it's either join you two or sit on my hands in a nearly empty ship. What do you think I'll do?"
"Is that a lengthy way of saying yes?" Galen asked, raising an eyebrow.
Oh jeez, Saffire groaned. She let out a big sigh then headed for the door. ~I'm going to go terrorize the crew now, I have some pent up energy I want to release before we get aboard B5. See you when we dock~ She walked out shaking her head.
"And I think I should go get some things before we dock. I'll see you later," Dureena half smiled, half waved and left.
Galen shrugged and turned back to his book, "No better companion then a book." He shrugged again and continued his reading.
…
A half hour later, after all the hassle of docking, Galen, Saffire, and Dureena reached Babylon 5's customs.
"Identicards, please," the security guard requested, Galen sighed heavily as he handed his over. The guard checked it, returned it, and waved Galen through. Dureena also passed without incident, but when Saffire went to follow them through, the fun started. The guard took one look at her and assumed her hostile. He drew his PPG.
~I know that you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking…oh jeez you are. Look if I was going to hurt you people, the only ones that would still be standing would be Galen and any telepaths in the room.~ She flipped her tail. ~Look, if you call Dr. Franklin he will tell you that I am a very peaceful very busy cat~
"Security to Allen," the guard spoke to his comm. Badge, "We need you in Customs."
"On my way," the badge replied.
~Finally, someone who knows me! I still can't believe they replaced the whole staff~ Saffire flipped her tail a few more times and let out an annoyed sigh.
"You see," the guard told Galen, "I would call Franklin, but he was reassigned to Earth just before the plague hit." Saffire looked at the guard, hopping that he was just playing some sick joke. When the look on his face said he wasn't, Saffire felt her legs get weak. She had told Steven she had a bad feeling about him accepting that job. She realized that she was sitting and decided to lie down before her legs gave out.
While the customs guard went back to checking people in, Saffire laid on the floor and tried to figure out how to get to Marcus with Franklin back on Earth. She silently cursed herself for getting so attached to so many people. She sometimes wished that she had never committed the act that got her banished, then she could have stayed on her planet and not had to get involved with her guardianees' friends… Her thoughts trailed off as she thought of how boring her life would have been without knowing the many people and faces of Babylon 5.
Saffire closed her eyes against the harshness of the lights and listened to the sounds that the cool metal carried to her sensitive ears. Footsteps, many of those; machinery; even bits and pieces of conversation were carried to her. Some of the people's happy cries of reunion even flowed to her. Hearing two sets of feet heading in her direction, Saffire opened her eyes and saw Zack Allen being followed by a very angry looking Galen.
"Then why do you hold her here? Just for fun?" Galen was demanding.
"O.k. look, I just found out it was her that was causing the 'problem.' I have no idea why my guys are holding her here," Zack turned to Galen, "Now look, I know that you're a Technomage, and I know that Saffire is usually a regular here but my men don't." He turned back and finished walking to Saffire shaking his head.
~Hello, Zack~ Her 'voice' seemed sad again.
"Hiya Saffire, how ya been?" Zack sat in the seat next to the one where she was laying and started stroking her back.
~Well, let's see~ she sat up ~I just found that my friend was infected by the plague, and I haven't really had a chance to actually sleep in who knows long~ She sighed and looked Zack in the eye. ~Can I go to Med-lab now? I need to see Marcus~
"I don't see why not. Come on, I'll escort you two there to make sure you don't run into any more trouble," Zack stood up, nodded to the guard and headed down the hall. Saffire got up and shuffled after him with Galen in tow.
…
They reached Med-lab about ten minutes later, along the way they had picked up Dureena who had tagged along ever since. They entered the room and Zack turned to Saffire.
"Well, here we are. If anyone gives you any trouble, call me and I'll take care of it." Zack smiled, nodded then walked away. He stopped and talked to one of the doctors before exiting completely.
"So, what are we here to do?" Dureena asked, sounding rather bored. Saffire sighed and walked across the room to the farthest, unoccupied iso-lab.
"She needs to rest before we start," Galen looked after the feline concerned.
"Start what?! Galen, what's going on?" Dureena started getting impatient.
"I'll explain later," he looked from Saffire (who was now getting comfortable on the iso-lab bed) to Dureena. The look on her face pleaded with Galen. He let out a sigh of frustration, "Alright, alright. I'll go tell Saffire that I'll be back in an hour. We'll go for a walk and I'll fill you in on the situation."
~You won't be more than an hour?~ Galen smiled.
"Ah, so you were listening." Galen looked back to the feline. His smile quickly faded when he noticed how tired the cat looked. She was so worn down that part of the ever- present sparkle had left her eyes. "No more than an hour, I promise. In the mean time, you get some sleep alright?" Saffire nodded and laid her head on her paws and closed her eyes. Galen and Dureena left.
When Saffire sensed the two gone, she opened her eyes and sat up.
Now for a trick that Galen hasn't seen yet, she thought. She closed her eyes and focused on one life force in particular. It took a minute or two but she found it. Closing her eyes, she pictured herself a few feet in front of the target. When she opened her eyes, the bright white lights of med-lab faded to the darkness of a captain's quarters at night. After her eyes adjusted, she made her way to the bedroom. As she slid the door open with her tail, the captain sat up and looked her way.
"Who's here?" Came a slightly groggy, but very threatening voice. Saffire walked to the foot of the bed. "Lights!" The lights nearly blinded Saffire, but she didn't show it, instead she merely stood watching the captain non-threateningly. In turn the captain starred at her as if she was a ghost. "How did you…I thought you were…"
~And it's nice to see you too, Susan. I have a message~
"It's been so long, I thought you were killed in the shadow war," Susan admitted sadly. Saffire made a growl that Susan recognized as her laugh, it was so good to hear that laugh.
~It'll take more than over-sized spiders to kill me~ She jumped up next to Susan and laid her head on the available lap. Susan stroked the cat's head, happy to have her friend back.
"So what's this message?"
~Go to Babylon 5~ Saffire said without lifting her head.
"But I haven't found a way to bring him back yet," Susan said sadly, shaking her head.
~That doesn't mean others haven't~ Saffire looked up to Susan with a smile in her eyes. ~So just change course. I would love to discuss the details Susan, but I am running out of time. I must rest and prepare~
Saffire laid her head back on Susan's lap for a moment longer before getting up and trotting to the main quarters. She sat down and pictured the Med-lab iso-bed that she had come from and closed her eyes.
When she opened them she was safely back on Babylon 5. We will start tomorrow, she thought before laying her head down to sleep.
*wipes sweat off forehead* whew I finally got that done!! What do you think? You wanted Dureena Ami so I gave her to you :) and I gave you Susan so there. Ok I need you guys to tell me if I am moving too slow. If you guys want me to I will speed up the tempo. And as always, I would like feedback. If you review I'll give you…a puppy named fido. Well see ya next chapter later, Night Sky.
