("The Few and Far Between", Act I)

"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE SIXTEEN: "THE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN"

Featuring,

MEREDITH MONROE as Courtney Ellis
SAID TAGHMAOUI as Azhahk Fenric
JASON PRIESTLEY as Nathan Gardinier
MEGAN WARD as Rebecca Anderson
GARY COLE as Captain Matthew Gideon
DANIEL DAE KIM as Lieutenant John Matheson
PETER WOODWARD as Galen

with,
RUTGER HAUER as Guttricht Haaker
BRUCE BOXLEITNER as President John Sheridan
and WILLIAM B. DAVIS as Prein

(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)

* * *

        <<Act One>>

        <Personal diary activated -- Ellis, Courtney. Begin Recording>

        A long time ago, before plagues were unleashed, in an age when the darkness of the Shadows looked set to overcome the galaxy, my father wrote me a letter... my *Dad*, Malcolm Ellis, who joined the Anla'shok when the White Stars were only a dream yet to be realized. And in that one small letter, he tried to explain it all to me, why he'd left his job for FutureCorp and gone to Minbar... and who the enemy really was.

        Even for the starry-eyed eleven year old I was at the time, it was a lot to take in, and when *mother* found out... well! But just like with Pandora opening her box, once the secret was out, that was it -- there was no going back. And wouldn't you know it? -- the day came when I looked up into the night sky and swore I'd follow him in everything he'd done -- to help save the galaxy, on the side of... Light.

        Dad, of course, later went on to command a full battle triad under High Councillor Westcastle back when 'our' Rimstalker was still the Sha'vei of the Fleet. He survived all the battles, even Corianna VI... for which my mother was eternally grateful, even *though* she still hasn't forgiven him for leaving her even as Clark was slamming the proverbial door at the edge of Earth-sys... and now he's serving as the latest adjutant to the High Councillor, back in Tuzanor -- now that was a place that took some getting used to when Mom and I arrived! And yah, the day finally came when I followed through on my vow, even though at the time it looked like the galaxy was breaking out with a serious case of peace.

        And then, of course, the Drakh decided to go on the warpath and nine different kinds of Hell broke loose -- and the head honchos in ISA HQ decided to throw me, in the words of our esteemed President, 'straight into the heart of the fire.' And now, I never know from one moment to the next whether I'm going to see the end of the tale, or not...

        <End Recording>

* * *

        Interstellar Alliance Starship *Shard of Night* -- in hyperspace, approaching Sector 975. 15:57 hrs, EST -- Sept 4th, 2267.

        "Tactical, our status if you please." Courtney Ellis cleared her throat nervously as she noted the anticipatory note in her captain's voice, and then shuddered as she briefly glanced in the direction of the slim, dark-haired and often fiery-eyed Ranger who sat in the *Shard of Night*'s captain's chair from her duty station in the bridge's rear hemisphere. There were a lot of days when Julia Tikopai gave Courtney a bad case of the creeps -- there were, after all, those rumours going around that the captain wasn't any older in *real* years then she was, that Tikopai had been born just before (or was it after?) the Battle of the Line --and also that it had been the *Vorlons* who were responsible for her present-day mid twenties appearance. But one thing Courtney had learned the hard way was when her Val'na got that note in her voice, the best thing was to your job quietly and *not* get in her way.

        "The whiskers confirm that there aren't any Drakh warships in the area... or anything else, for that matter." Now there was another Ranger who gave her chills -- Sheynell Keynes, one of the few *telepathic* members of the Anla'shok, and a P12 at that. "Nevertheless, the main gun and all our secondary batteries stand ready for action."

        "If the reports are accurate, Anla'shok Keynes, we may yet have to use those weapons." the *Shard*'s first officer remarked. "Val'na?..."

        "Well, I don't suppose there's any point of putting this off any longer -- bring the forward jump engines on line... Dasouri, take us in."

        Courtney tensed up as the now-familiar rumble of the *Shard*'s main drive edged up another notch, and the rippling white-and-blue maw of a jump point tore open in front of them. This, of course, was the moment when any warship, even the *Shard* was vulnerable to attack -- but to her relief, this transition, like so many of the others they'd undertaken so far, was relatively painless -- 'Relatively', of course, was defined as the fact that even now, after going through it as often as she'd had on this tour of duty, jump transition *still* left her a little queasy at times. And then a moment later, the hull of the battlecruiser shimmered over from its regular mix of silver and dark grey to midnight black... not a bad idea, Courtney considered... because if the Swarm *had* come back, it would be better to see them before they could see you.

        "Damn, but there's a *lot* of debris out there." Nicholas Dawson remarked from behind. "Captain, whatever tore into those Narn ships didn't leave much behind."

        "That is confirmed." Courtney perked her ears up -- when the battlecruiser's operations offficer spoke up, it usually paid to listen. "While the debris field is comparable in mass to the ships listed as being part of the explorer group. It would, however, be a mistake to assume that *no* one survived the attack."

        "Exactly, Larieken -- if even *one* lifepod got away from the ships and their attackers before they were destroyed, there's a chance we might be able to confirm the identity of the attackers. I'd like you to coordinate with Mr. Dawson on the search for those pods."

        "Val'na..."

        "Klairika, you have something to add?"

        "There is also a marginally inhabitable world within range of the debris field -- there may be a chance that a pod may have landed somewhere on the surface."

        "Anla'shok Fenric."

        Almost immediately, a hologram of the ship's fighter group leader shimmered into view. "Captain?"

        "I want you to lead a team down to the planet's surface to look for survivors."

        "As you say." the rugged Arabian Ranger politely replied. "May I assume, Captain, that you would like several of my pilots to stay behind and guard your command?"

        "Sounds like a good plan to me -- why don't you take three fighters with you as well as a transport? Your choice of Rangers as crew, of course."

        "Thank you, Captain -- we'll be getting underway shortly." And that was when, even as Fenric's face faded from view, that the comm crystal at Courtney's station began calling out its -summons- signal... and that chime pattern told her everything she needed to know... Azhahk just *loved* giving her a hard time, and that included dragging her to some of the weirdest places she'd ever seen... like that wrecked Vree saucer they'd boarded just after leaving Minbar back at the start of the mission, for instance.

        "Hey, Ellis! " Courtney turned as Aaron Carter, another of the junior Rangers onboard, came to her side. "I'll take your station -- get going, before the captain gives you a piece of her mind."

        "Thanks, Aaron..." she jauntily replied as she headed for the main bridge exit. "I'll see you later, 'kay?"

* * *

        The *Excalibur*. 16:03 hrs, EST.
        "Okay, Captain," John Matheson began as he came through the door of the *Excalibur*'s conference room, "Here I am. Now... are you going to tell me what's on your mind, or am I going to have to drag it out of you piecemeal?"

        "Is that a threat, Lieutenant?" Matthew Gideon inquired, his tone deceptively casual. "Or a promise?"

        "Well, that all depends on the topic of discussion. Which is..."

        "Something interesting and possibly dangerous -- which is the reason I've invited no one else to this meeting, not Max, not Dureena... and *definitely* not Galen." Gideon took a deep breath, and then began. "Over the past several months, I've been gathering some clues -- backing away and trying to see the big picture, even as we've been bouncing from world to world looking for a cure to the plague. And the thing is, Lieutenant... I think I'm starting to see a pattern forming around us, a pattern that's pointing towards something I don't like... not one damn bit."

        "*Please* tell me we're not talking about a conspiracy. I *hate* conspiracies."

        "It might be... but if it is, it's one at the very highest levels of Interstellar Alliance command."

        "Sounds interesting, *if* it's true."

        "Right now, John, I'd much rather prefer it wasn't, but the evidence suggests otherwise. Right around the same time Franklin and that Senator were on board -- on the same mission when that fleet of Drakh ships jumped us... something happened out there -- something important. It looks as if there was another fleet of Drakh ships, or maybe *more* than one, on their way over to make our lives even more miserable... except something was waiting for them - something that ripped through those ships like they weren't even there... something that apparently left the field of battle without suffering any damage of its own."

        "Okay, let me see if I've got this straight..." Matheson finally replied. "You think that some mysterious ship or ships destroyed this second Drakh fleet -- and that the battle was so one sided that none of the 'friendlies' were even touched?" Gideon nodded. "Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, sir... but who likes us enough to do such a thing?"

        "That's a damn good question... but what *if* 'like' doesn't have anything to do with it?" Gideon challenged. "What if Sheridan's assigned some sort of crack unit to keep tabs on us, to make sure we don't get too deeply into trouble? After all, a lot of people have said that we're just 'one ship in a galaxy of enemies'..."

        "I'm not so sure I like where you're going with this, Captain." Matheson replied, his tone now wary. "If this is true -- are you implying that the President doesn't think we're capable of protecting ourselves?"

        "No, I'm not saying that... not yet, not until we can gather some more concrete evidence, one way or the other, on whether I'm right about this or not. But if I am..."

        "You're not going to be happy."

        "Damn straight, I'm not!" Gideon suddenly snapped, his anger now come to the surface. "Here we are, the crew of the most powerful ship ever built by the Alliance, with a chance that someone, be it Sheridan, his Advisory Council or someone else entirely, thinks that *we* still need babysitting. I won't stand for it, John... I will *not* stand for it."

        "One other thing..." Matheson replied after a long, long moment. "If you are right, and there *is* someone following us -- what happens if we ever run into the warship that attacked the destroyer you used to serve on... we get into a fight, and this 'protector' ship intervenes on our behalf?"

        "If they show up," Gideon ground out, "We fire a shot across the son of a bitch's bow, and we get some answers, John. We get... some answers."

        "Understood, Captain. Now, if there's nothing else?"

        "Carry on, Lieutenant." And then Gideon allowed himself a smile, even as his first officer returned to his duties. The sooner everyone realized that he and his crew could take of themselves... the better.

* * *

Elsewhere on the *Excalibur*, a green light flickered in Gideon's quarters, a light that no one could see -- but the light was there, just the same. The object that some called 'the apocalypse box' was remembering things to come -- and seeing convergences in the pattern -- including the one that would change everything. The ones He saught and the ones He needed to find... they were out there. They were coming. Very soon now.

* * *

        The fog-wrapped world they were approaching looked, Courtney mused, like it had come straight from Hell... so close to its dim orange sun that the dwarf star was over twice as wide as the Sun was from Earth -- covered in lava flows and shaken by one too many Richter Eight earthquakes for her peace of mind, if the planetwide rifts were anything to go by. "If anyone's fallen into that mess," she muttered, "They're done for."

        "It is, I fear, too early to make that particular judgement call." the transport's co-pilot, Shein, replied. Shein, of course, hailed from the same Worker clan as Satai Kats of the Grey Council, a matter that the young Minbari Ranger was known to go on and on about, being quite proud of her cousin and the... status of their clan. Courtney, of course, thought that Shein was just snooty and full of airs. "We have not as yet even conducted a proper search."

        "Yeah?... well so what? In case you've forgotten, Shein -- the ship or ships that did this to the Narns are still out there, and if they come back while we're searching and the *Shard* gets tied up in the battle, we just might be sitting ducks down here."

        "Sitting... ducks?" Shein replied with a puzzled frown. "Forgive me for asking..."

        "Enough!" Azhahk Fenric finally barked from his seat behind his two bickering colleagues. "Anla'shok, we have a job to do, here -- kindly save the verbal jousting for later on, once we're safely back onboard *Anshaka'dal*."

        "Yes, sir!" Courtney managed. "Gladly, sir..." she muttered under her breath, so Shein couldn't hear. Which was, of course, when the faint -ping- of a distress beacon became audible. "Holy smoke... there it is!"

        "Well done, Miss Ellis." Fenric declared. "Hmm... well that didn't take nearly as long as I'd feared it would. Explorer Prime to Command, do you copy?"

        "Reading you loud and clear." the voice of the *Shard*'s captain came back to them a moment later. "Have you found a pod, Mr. Fenric?"

        "We've picked up a beacon signal, Captain... more than that I cannot say until we've investigated the site." Fenric replied, even as the transport and its fighter cover headed lower into the atmosphere. "Estimate that it will take us approximately fifteen minutes to reach the crash site..."

        And *that* was when everything suddenly went straight to Hell.

* * *

        In the more than hundred years that had passed since Mankind had been given jump technology by the Centauri, a great many things had been said about the places they had seen and the events they had witnessed... while a number of analogies had also been made as well by humans trying to understand things they had never seen before. One such was hyperspace -- and a popular analogy in the early years of EA galactic exploration had been to consider hyperspace as a unknown sea where dangers lurked around every corner.

        Unfortunately, that analogy was now about to come back and bite the hand that had created it, as a small swarm of shimmery black ships suddenly 'surfaced' from out of the hyperspace murk. And even as the sensor drones that made up the 'Shard of Night's whisker network noted this sudden change in the pattern, the swarm's outrider fighters came upon those drones from behind...

        And obliterated them.

* * *

        "What the *Hell*?" Dawson exclaimed, even as the rest of the Rangers on the bridge of the *Shard* prepared for battle. "I don't believe it -- how did they..."

        "Mr. Dawson... what's happened?"

        "The drones barely registered the presence of those hostiles when they were destroyed..." the engineer reported, his voice tense. "Let me be honest with you, Captain -- the drones use almost the same stealth technology that we do -- and those ships saw them immediately, tracked them down..."

        "And blew them into tiny little pieces." Sheynell finished for him. "In Valen's Name -- if they could see the drones..."

        "They might be able to see us, as well." Julia quickly acknowledged, even as a stab of fear suddenly passed through her... and also a memory of Galen's warning from a few days before -- that she wasn't indestructible, and neither was her ship. "If so, we may have just lost our greatest tactical advantage."

        <chime> "Jump points forming -- both behind us *and* between us and the planet." Klairika warned. "We've got at least *three* cruiser-class warships coming out of hyperspace, with fighters accompanying."

        "Show me." Julia rose to her feet then as the image came into existence before her -- of an angular black warship with *many* long tapered arms, its shimmery black skin all but screaming of the use of Shadow technology. "Have they seen us yet?"

        "It doesn't look like it... hold!"

        There was a pause, then Sheynell spoke again, and said the words that none of the Rangers wanted to hear. "Both fighter swarms have just turned towards our position, and the warship behind us has done the same. I think... they've seen us."

        "And if they can see us..." Klairika replied, "Then they can most *assuredly* fire on us. We are only one ship, Val'na... while they are many."

        <You are not indestructible.> This didn't make any sense -- the Drakh hadn't been able to see them any of the times they'd gone against them, but now *these* enemies could? And who were they, for that matter? That was not the most important consideration, however -- had someone betrayed them from within? *Had* someone given the masters of those dark ships the means by which to find them? "Klairika -- can we reach our team on the surface before those ships reach firing range?"

        "Not without revealing our position to them." the 'Shard's first officer replied, her tone grim. "We would have to engage at least one of their squadrons and most likely at least one of the cruisers as well, in order to recover our away team. And as we do not, for the time being at least, know exactly how powerful their weapons are..."

        "So you're advocating retreat, is that it?" Julia exclaimed, even as the rest of the Rangers around her held their breath and waited to see what would come next. "You think we should leave *our* people to be captured by these... whatever they are?"

        "If there was another choice for us to make, I would gladly take it!" the Brakiri replied, her tone now angrier then Julia could ever remember hearing it. "But until and *if* we can come up with a means to counter this new threat... we walk into battle against this enemy at our own peril. Val'na."

        "Damnit!" Julia wrung her hands, looking for another way out, and finding none. "I... accept your reasoning, Na'lai -- *this* time. Activate jump engines, and get us the Hell out of here. Mr. Dawson... do you think we can outrun the enemy?"

        The engineer nodded, his expression somber -- even *he* realized what was going on here. "I guarantee it, Captain... we'll lose them if they try to follow."

        "We'll be back, Azhahk." Julia promised in a whisper, even as Klairika opened a jump point behind them, and Dasouri turned the 'Shard' in space and all but *flung* it into hyperspace, before any of the enemy warships could respond. "I promise."

        A moment passed, and then another warning chime sounded on the bridge. "At least one of the warships is following us." Sheynell reported. "But they can't match our speed. We should be out of sensor range in about ten minutes or so... max."

        Julia nodded curtly. "Klairika... are we near enough to the tachyon beacon system to send a message, point to point, without the enemy picking it up?" Her first officer nodded. "All right -- then send to Val'na Nathan Gardinier of the warship *Night's Dagger*, I want to talk to him, soonest."

        "And then?"

        Julia drew in a deep breath. "Get me ISA Headquarters on Minbar -- looks like I'm going to have to speak to the President, as well." John Sheridan, she knew, wasn't to like what she was going to have to tell him, or most of the senior Rangers for that matter once the word got out. But the feeling was mutual.

        Because if this was for real, if their secret *was* out -- then their primary mission had just become a *whole* lot harder.

* * *

        "Oh *no*." Courtney managed, as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. "They... left."

        Fenric nodded grimly at this, even as his pilot skimmed the shuttle low over the moonscape beneath, looking for a safe place to land. "The evidence seems to suggest that the enemy saw them, Miss Ellis -- and even with the weaponry at their disposal, the odds were against our Captain and her crew if this is the case. And now... now we must hide, until and *if* they return."

        "If?" Courtney managed. "What do you mean, if?"

        "I believe you know what I mean." Fenric replied. "Remember your vows, Miss Ellis."

        Courtney gulped, then -- now she knew what he was getting at. "I live for the One." she whispered. "I would *die* for the One."

        The fighter commander nodded, his eyes bright. "And now, let us hide... while we still can!"

* * *

        Above.

        "{Cowardsss. They ran, when they could have fought}."

        The Zener's companion laughed. "So... it would appear that even Tikopai understands the meaning of superior odds. I must admit I'm pleased that our little ploy worked, Iloune`ee. Remember that doubt is ever an agent of chaos... and we have given the Changeling and her crew a reason to doubt -- a reason to believe that the secret of their precious 'darklight' technology' has been broken."

        The Zener nodded, his large eyes full of sadistic mirth. "{We did not see them -- but they *thought* that we did. We took a chance on guessing where they were -- and we were *right*. The Drakh and others have also given our enemy cause to doubt the... validity of her cause. And because this is so, she and her followers may yet be destroyed}."

        "Indeed, my friend..." Guttricht Haaker mused, he who was also known as 'The Messenger' to a select few. "Indeed. But before that moment comes... there is much to do.

        Much... indeed."

* * *

To be continued...

* * *

Return to "The Seeker's Fire" Episode Index