"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE SEVENTEEN: "A PLACE TO CALL HOME"
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(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
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<<Act Two>>
##Kaitlyn's personal diary - Oct 28th, 2267##
Okay, this has got to be the best one yet - the story of the Watcher from the back end of Beyond! And who is the Watcher? As with everything, it's all in the details.
Exhibit A - I heard part of hid story as he stood at his (sister's?) bedside... a lady I think is one of the people we're not supposed to talk about - a person who's dying from the plague. I asked Tracie to do some digging for me... and she found out some stuff - and if it's true... then I may have stumbled onto something that might even be too big for *me*.
{Pause to consider} Okay, let's look at it this way -- the term's not mainstream anymore, but Tracie's what people a couple of centuries ago used to call a 'hacker'... she loves digging into the world networks and finding out things... secret things, things that regular people aren't supposed to know - and leaving no signs behind for the 'bad guys' to follow her back here. And for all that she's only seventeen years old, and only a couple of months older then me, I've never seen anyone do what she can do.
For instance - seven years ago, back before the President of the Interstellar Alliance came to punt out the old Earth Alliance president, Tracie dug up a secret report dealing with that ship that appeared on ISN years and years back... and who *really* controlled it - and we had to keep our mouths shut, because that was the biggest and baddest secret at the time - big enough to kill for, she guessed. Even now, some of my friends don't believe the truth - that President Sheridan and the rest were out there fighting those things, and that the War, and everything that came with it, really happened.
{sigh} Maybe one of these days I'll get to go out there to see the places we read about in those secret reports, like Babylon 5 and Corianna 6... but only if the crew of the *Excalibur* succeeds in their mission. Only if they find a cure for the plague...
{pause} I'm not supposed to talk about that... don't suppose writing about it's any better, really. Anyways, Tracie found out that Marie Dawson used to live on a ranch farther into the Front Range... *and* that her brother Nicholas vanished a few years back. And if this guy was the one I saw standing at her bedside?... wow. In any case, once I'm out of this joint, maybe we'll pay this place a visit. Who knows, maybe we'll even run into the family ghost!
#Diary end#
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Outside Colorado Springs, Earth - 00:20 hrs, Local Time.
If he tried, he could hear her saying the words - the words he'd expected to hear the next time he came back to the place he'd grown up in, before school and the stars had beckoned... among other things. The words she'd never be able to say again.
<Welcome home, Nick>
The Dawson Ranch -- and now Nicholas moved through the grass of that ranch, feeling very much like he was walking on water. The only thing making this possible, of course, was the 'Shard of Night's main computer, together with a simplified version of the VR gear he and Lesaki had cooked up for his first foray to Earth back in the spring... the only way he could come. It was a beautiful fall night, the sky dark but for the glow cast by the almost full moon... and the fainter one on the horizon behind that came from the 'Springs. Of course in his great-grandfather's day that light had filled the heavens, but that was before the energy conservation laws had come into effect...
<Welcome...>
Nicholas muttered a curse. Okay, enough of that crap - he had things to do, and putting it off any longer wasn't a really good idea, all things considered. After all, he couldn't stay in the VR gear forever - and there was always a chance that the Captain would figure out a way to get around the 'firewall' he'd erected around his office before he could finish... and he couldn't take that chance.
And then he looked up - and realized that he'd arrived. Of course - he'd set the controls so that even when 'walking', his rate of progress would be over three times normal. While the lights were still on in the house - and that meant that at least one of his parents were awake. Nicholas gritted his teeth as he ascended the steps... and then, before he could change his mind, walked *through* the front door.
* * *
It had taken a long time, but she'd finally fallen asleep... and for that, Robert Dawson was truly grateful. It was a hard thing, waiting for one of your children to die... and an even harder one accepting that there was nothing you could do about it. No one, least of all himself, had wanted to believe when the word had come out... that an alien race which had almost succeeded in destroying the Earth had exposed the entire population of the planet, both human and animal, to a plague that didn't have a cure. While the only saving grace had been the fact that the plague would take 'pretty much' five years to adjust to human chemistries... that they had a window in which to find a cure.
Robert ran a hand back through his thinning silver hair, and then drew deeply on his pipe, an antique that had been passed from generation to generation for almost two centuries, as he looked out from the back porch into the darkness, over the land his family had held since the bargain hunting that had gone on in the Big Crash of the previous century. The problem with that statement was the words 'pretty much' - most everyone would live out the full five years... but not everyone. A few thousand people had died almost immediately - and then a few thousand more - and soon it would be ten thousand at once... and so on. Almost a year had gone by now since the attack, and...
Damnit. Damn and Hell. Laurell had done the lion's share of crying for the family, but he'd sworn a long time ago that he would keep strong for everyone else...
And that was when something *completely* unexpected happened. "Hey, Dad." an all too familiar voice said behind him. "I figured I'd find you out here."
"Nick?" he managed, whirling about. "What are you doing..." He stopped, taking in the shimmery apparition that was standing at the back of the porch - and then he nodded. "Ah - I see. You're not really here at all, are you?"
"No. Actually, you can't even see the star we're orbiting from Earth -- but that's beside the point for now. A few months ago, just after you first sent word that Marie was dying, I went to see her... and she made me promise to come see everyone when her time was drawing near."
"And for her, you always kept your promises, didn't you?" Nicholas nodded. "So - how long can you..." He stopped as his son's image suddenly shimmered. "Of course."
"It takes a lot of power to project this far..." his son told him. "A Hell of a lot. And even with Minbari technology - nothing good lasts forever. But before I do go -- there's something I need to talk about with you - something related to what you told me back in the spring. The thing is - there have been days this year when I've been so busy I've been able to put this whole thing out of my mind... days when I wasn't even sure we'd survive to have this conversation."
"But now we are, Nick... so why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
There was a long pause - and then Robert's son drew in a deep breath, and nodded. "If everyone in the family is destined to die but me... I'm going to have to find somewhere to belong that's bigger than my job - bigger than the ships I've helped to build. I need a place to call home - and if that place isn't here, then where?"
Now it was Robert in turn who had to pause, and take a breath before continuing. "Damn. You always *were* the one to ask the hard questions."
"Yeah - guess so. But out of everyone I know, you were the only one I could think of who might be able to give me an answer."
"A place to call home, huh?" Nicholas nodded, at which point Robert paused again to draw on his pipe... and then it came to him - an answer he hoped his son would understand. "Well, for someone who builds warships and helps keep them working, seems to me that the home of a starship engineer should be space."
"What? But, Dad!..."
"Woah there, Nick... hear me out. Keep in mind that you've gone and done something that no other member of our family has done to date - you had the guts to leave the cradle, and keep on going... and I admire you for making that decision. So yes... my answer stands, Nicholas -- I'm fairly sure that your home is space - almost sure, as a matter of fact, that you wouldn't be really happy living on any piece of ground I can think of. While the communities of space..."
"Are the men and women of the starships?" his son replied, wide-eyed. "Whether they're human or not. Maybe!..." And then his image flickered, and then began to fade - an action which, going from his son's expression, was not something that had been planned. "What do you mean, a temporary loss of power?" Nicholas bellowed to someone out of Robert's field of view. "I gotta go, Dad... Lesaki, I'm going to *get* you for this..."
And for the first time in a long, long while, Robert found that he had a reason to smile. "Glad to be of service."
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"One problem solved, another to be dealt with." Nicholas muttered, as he gazed up at the residential tower his other sister and her husband dwelt in. "Now what was it again... the seventy-fifth floor?"
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Elsewhere, a hand in a dark glove touched a contact. "Report."
"We've detected an anomalous projection of power, sir - we believe that someone, or something, is attempting to either break into the Earth communication grid... or alternately, that the individual in question is attempting to contact someone on-world... in person."
"In person? Given the current state of planetary health, I find that comment an interesting one."
"Forgive me, sir - I merely meant that certain other races possess holographic technology hundreds of years ahead of our own. The Minbari, for instance."
"Ah... I see. So you believe that the other races would go so far as to walk among the people of Earth in holographic form, to observe our descent into the abyss? An interesting idea, if it is true. In any case, you are to continue monitoring for further... anomalous activity. If anything else unusual occurs, you are to inform me at once, of course."
"Yes, sir."
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"Nicholas?" Meighan Francis-Dawson exclaimed, as her brother materialized out of thin air just on the other side of the tea kettle. "What the... are you trying to... is this..."
"Real? It is, indeed. And no, I'm not trying to give you a heart attack." At which point Nicholas launched into pretty much the same explanation he'd given his father - an explanation that Meighan didn't accept quite so easily.
"Okay, let me see if I've got this straight - making a call from your ship wasn't good enough, so you had to come in person?"
"They gave me the means, and you *know* I've got the will. I had to come, Meigs... I promised."
"Goddamnit, Nick, can't you ever call any of us by our proper names?"
"Damnit, Meighan, I didn't come here to argue with you! I came because I promised *her* that I would come and see everyone, so that you knew I was still alive. So here I am, the living telegram returned from the edge of the galaxy-- isn't there anything you want to say to me that means something?"
"No, I mean yes!... I..." She stopped, and tried again. "You're right... and I guess - I guess I'm being a bit of an idiot."
"I wasn't going to say it."
"Nick!"
"Okay, okay... peace! So where's your better half -- hard at work on some night shift job?"
Meighan nodded. "He had to, Nick - you have no idea how hard it'd been since the attack for people lliving close to the line like we do. And while Dad and Mom have been helping every way they can, the price of everything's gone sky high, people are hoarding..."
"Waiting for the end?" her brother spat. "That's crap, Meigs... but not really all that surprising, given what we heard on the networks out here and on Minbar. While I don't suppose anyone cares about what's going on out here, or believes we'll put a stop to this thing before it's too late?"
"And you're a part of that?"
"Yeah, I guess I am at that. I'm going to tell you something that no one else knows, Meigs - something that not even Dad knows, even though I've spoken to him and Mom often enough since this all started. The ship I'm the chief engineer on - our chief job is to protect the *Excalibur* from her enemies... and so far I think we've done a damn good job."
"This ship you're on - is it a Ranger ship?"
"Yeah - and one of a kind. Once we find the cure and everything returns to normal, I'll try and give you a tour..."
"If everything returns to normal. That's a... big if."
"I know - and..." That, of course, was when the comm screen chimed. "Guess I'd better go - I can't do this VR thing forever, anyways... I need a *break*."
"Your ship's on EST, I suppose." <chime>
"Yep." <chime>
"So what... you've been up since the middle of the night trying to project yourself 'half way across the galaxy'?" <chime>
"Something like that, yeah." <chime - chime> "Hey, are you going to answer that, or what?"
"You know who it's going to be."
"Yeah." <chime> "I know. I'll be back... later." And even as Meighan turned to answer the call, her brother faded from sight. It was the hospital, of course... with news that her sister was going to live through the night - and if all went well, maybe even a little longer.
What both of them had forgotten, however, was the fact that in this day and age, even with Morgan Clark's reign of terror a thing of the past... that lines of communication could also be lines of...
Observance.
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The operative was, to put it mildly, pleased with himself as he looked at the image his computers had sifted out of the data flow for him one more time. He'd ordered those computers to watch for anything out of the ordinary in amongst the interweaved comm nets of Earth... and to his surprise, it hadn't taken them very long to find the thing he was looking for... proof that outside forces were taking an interest in the affairs of Earth.
And this qualified as that, oh *yes* - an image showing an attractive blonde-haired woman... and behind her, just fading away as her conversation started - what appeared to be a hologram of another human being.
Yes... this would do nicely. And now, the Old Man would have to be informed. While steps would have to be taken.
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Sector 979 - the 'Shard of Night'... main bridge. 11:11 hrs, EST.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sheynell asked Julia, a worried expression on her face as both women made their way to the bridge. "Sure that it's the right thing to do?"
"After weighing all considerations," she replied, expression serious and voice level, "I've come to the conclusion that the answer to that question is... yes. Which was only possible once I put my anger about Mr. Dawson's actions aside and..."
"Listened to the song?" Sheynell finished for her, eyebrows raised. "Come on... that's a little Vorlon even for *you*."
"May-be." Julia agreed with a laugh. "In any case, we've probed the system and the Artifact to death, and nothing's moving out there. While I don't think we can wait for Nicholas to come out of his cocoon, either."
"No - although Lesaki's fairly sure he's broken contact with his family on Earth to take a rest - I think we have to let him do what he has to... and come out when he wants to."
"And until that happens, the Anla'shok of this ship have a job to do - and we *are* going to do it. Klairika?"
"Val'na." the Brakiri acknowledged, her hands hovering above the controls.
"Open a jump point - Dasouri, take us in."
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Every weapon had been waiting for this moment - while every instinct the Authority possessed told him that he should shoot down the arriving vessel even as it emerged from its nexuspoint - that no one other than the Creators was to be trusted. Except... except the curiousity to *know* had not gone away, had in fact even grown stronger. And so it was that the Authority held its instincts in check as the blue iris of the nexuspoint shimmered into being - and a dark gray and violet warship erupted from that point, dropping smallcraft as it came.
And almost immediately, it recognized the flavor of the emissions coming from the mothercraft as it moved at speed towards the surface of the place its Creators had once named as Home and *then* as Memorial before their departure into the darkness-beyond. The flavor that spoke of the Ordered Ones, those who had succeeded in drawing the Creators into their war with the Enemy, so long ago - but not the same. Different - and somehow... inquisitive.
The Authority, despite its better judgment, found its curiousity growing still further as this strange echo of Order entered its domain... and then it made a decision. Answers were required to its questions before any further decisions were to be made. And so it was that the Authority launched its emissaries to rendezvous with the new arrival.
Very... small emissaries.
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Colorado Springs Hospital - 06:00 hrs, Local Time.
<beep, beep, beep>
"What?"
"Kaitlyn, I know you're there - wake up!"
Kaitlyn fumbled with the hidden microphone she kept hidden in her ear for just this purpose, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she focused on the tiny sceen of her commpad. While she'd dozed a bit to keep the docs happy, she'd been waiting for this call. "Okay, that's better... what's going on?"
"That tip you gave me about this Dawson lady had lead to something really weird, Kait - EA Security's been told to put a bug on a comm line belonging to a Meighan Francis-Dawson... the sister of this Marie Dawson person you told me was in the hospital. Apparently something is out there - something that wants in, and is interested in this family for some reason. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you?"
"Yeah, I do - but you gotta guarantee that this a local connection *only* - no bouncing off of satellites or anything."
"Oh c'mon, Kait - this is *me* we're talking about!" Tracie insisted. "No one's listening - guaranteed."
"Okay." she whispered. "It's like this. Last night, I went wandering in the halls...
And I saw a man who wasn't there."
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To be continued...
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