"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE THIRTEEN: "THE FLAME IN THE CRYSTAL"
(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
* * *
<<Act Four>>
The fringes of star cluster Messier 2. 17:28 hrs, EST -- August 6th, 2267.
What the Craneori were feeling at that moment could not be easily described, but it could be easily defined. The collective, to put it plainly, was *horrified*. They could not believe that this was happening to them -- but it was, just the same. The Ancient Enemy, apparently seeking to work off the debt incurred when they had imprisoned the collective, long ago and far away from here, had brought them to this place -- and the First One had since confirmed the truth of the matter. Their creators... the Craneori sensed them all around, but most strongly in the heart of the silver-white planetary-sized crystal that this ship of Rangers had arrived in orbit around only moments before.
It seemed that their creators had come to this place to hide away from a universe they no longer needed, to live within the confines of this crystal world. That they had built it seemed certain, for such things were not formed naturally. And then it was, the Craneori opened the mouth of their host body, and Jordan Pieke began to laugh... bitterly -- ironically, before they told their tale of woe.
"{For more of your years than we dared to believe, our enemies trapped us in our crystal prisons, and now our quest to find our creators brings us here... to another crystal -- a crystal we must enter in order for our reunion with our masters to be complete."
"Ah, but there lies the difference between what was and what *is*." the First One replied, his tone gentle. "This crystal is not a prison. Your masters, they are sleeping... but they know that we are here. And with the ones these Rangers name Shadows nearby, as well as the ships sent by the Cha'hal'zhamon, it will only be a matter of time until they awaken to deal with this matter."
"So how long do we have to wait?" Julia asked. Now that they were so close to the end of this quest, she found herself impatient for it all to be over -- for the nightmare to be finished and done with, so that they might return to the galaxy and let everyone know that yes!... they really *weren't* dead after all.
Lorien sighed. "By your standards, young Observer, not long at all. They suspect that I am here -- now, I will confirm to them what they already know." Lorien closed his eyes... and then, all of a sudden, the nightside of the 'planet' below began to glow a deep, fiery orange. "All that has come before leads to this moment of reunion.
They come." Lorien stepped aside, and then the hull of the 'Shard of Night' suddenly *rang* with the coming of... another ancient visitor. The floor of the bridge glowed for a moment, and then something that almost appeared to be, for want of a better description, a *flame* moved into view -- a flame that hovered in the air in front of them, with no visible support *or* source.
Leaving Julia yet again with the unenviable task of being the spokesperson to explain the whole mess. "May I... assume I address one of the entities who used to live on the world we name Neilgeitha Prime?"
The air shuddered with their answer. {Yes}
"We come to this place seeking closure." she informed the living flame. "A species you created to fight against the Darkness during the Wars of Chaos and Order, a collective later imprisoned by that same Darkness, took control of my ship and brought us to this place beyond the Rim... where we do not belong. We wish to return to the galaxy -- but before we do, we give into your care those who have caused this to be. Will you have them?"
There was silence -- but then Lorien laughed, before striding forth to stand before the Neilgeithan Ancient. "A shock this is to you, yes?... to realize that something you thought dealt with and forgotten has returned to knock upon the door of the place you have retreated to, to sleep away the ages. Your vengeful children have come looking for you, I am afraid -- and like all good parents, now is the time for you to teach them the error of their ways. To welcome them to the home they have never known."
{We had... forgotten} the Neilgeithan finally... ruefully?... admited. {It has been too long -- we must do this?}
"Yes. And there is one other thing you must do, as well."
{We must apologize to these youngsters who have been... abused by our creations}
Julia's eyes widened -- First Ones, apologize to *them*? Ho boy, was Jennifer going to get a kick out of this one! "Apology is not enough." the First One corrected. "They require your help."
{Name your price.} the Neilgeithan stated. {We will pay it, as is just.}
"Very well. These younger intelligences, these Rangers -- you must help them to return to where they belong -- to where they are most needed."
{It shall be as you say, Ancient One.} And with that, the Neilgeithan faded from sight -- and Klarika gasped, as the planet below them... suddenly began to change.
"The wonders we have seen on this journey, and the terrors we have known..." the *Shard*'s first officer finally muttered, "And one more surprise there is, to astonish us before the end."
"Show us." Julia commanded. The Brakiri nodded, and a moment later, the viewscreen rippled down, to reveal numerous great shards of crystal, some of them easily two or three miles long, ripping away from the planet below and rising into orbit. "What are they doing?"
"I asked them to aid you." Lorien explained. "They agreed that this was necessary -- for balance to be restored."
"Yes, I understood *that* part, but what are they..."
"Watch, and you will understand."
And so they did, as the hundreds of crystal fragments rose to a point where they were level with the orbit of the *Shard* and its companion Cha'hal'zhamon and Shadow vessels, and then... the 'fragments' suddenly proved that they were something else entirely, as they began to re-arrange themselves to form...
A sphere. Julia nodded, as she finally understood what it was that was going on. "They're building an 'explorer portal' to send us home, aren't they?"
"Yes -- though calling it a 'portal' is a somewhat inaccurate term in this instance, I am afraid." Lorien replied. "I have explained the situation to them in full, and the Neilgeithans, as you would name them, have agreed that a path should be opened that will allow you to return to the area of the galaxy where you are most needed, in the least possible time."
"Close to the *Excalibur*, you mean?"
Lorien inclined his head. "Others of your kind have moved to replace you in guarding that vessel of search -- and their enemies draw close around them, even now. They need your help, Observer -- let us finish this, so that you might go to aid them."
"What do we have to do?"
"The Craneori, though they are strong, have nearly exhausted their stores of energy attempting what they have -- they are weak now, and cannot make the trip down to the surface unaided. I regret to inform you that they will require a number of 'hosts' as well as one of your small vessels, to make the trip. Those hosts must descend to the surface of the Neilgeithan's crystal-world, and then once they have returned, you will be allowed to depart... as you have come, in peace."
"{Sorry we are that this must be.}" the Craneori inside Jordan Pieke said, "{But the Eldest One speaks the truth. We need your help now, more than ever before.}"
"In that case," a decisive voice announced from the back of the bridge, "Let us be the first to volunteer." Julia and the rest of the Rangers whirled, to find Elizabeth Trent standing behind them, Renly Moreau at his side. "This is, I think, something we can't *possibly* screw up."
"Thank you, Doctor." an astonished Julia finally managed.
"Thank us when this is all over, and we're finally home." was Trent's reply, as she and Moreau walked over to Pieke. "Okay, let's get this over with, shall we?"
"{It shall be as you say, Doctor}" the apparently equally surprised Craneori said. "{If you will please reach out and touch the wall of this place, there...}" And after that, Julia sent out a call for volunteers... and Rangers being what Rangers were, it wasn't too long before several dozen volunteers, each with several billion Craneori piggybacking for all they were worth, were on their way to the crystal planet below.
* * *
ISAS 'Night's Dagger' -- near the *Excalibur*. 17:51 hrs, EST.
Bad news, when it came, tended to come in threes, Rebecca Anderson wearily remembered. The first piece of bad news, of course, had come when they'd found the Z'shailyl ship making sneak-runs almost on top of Captain Gideon's ship. The second, after they'd destroyed it, and had found about the message it's captain had sent. And now...
"They're coming, aren't they?"
"Yes, sir." she quietly replied. "They are. The hyperspace probes are telling me there's at least one complete squadron moving towards us on an intercept course -- at their present rate of closure, they'll be right on top of the *Excalibur* in about three and a half hours time."
"We can't let that happen, of course." Gardinier said, his tone decisive. "All right -- I guess it's time for us to draw our line in the sand, Rebecca -- we can't let them get to the *Excalibur*. I won't let President Sheridan down!"
"No, sir. Your orders?"
"All right... let's intercept them about an hour's flight time from Gideon and his ship... and there, we'll show them exactly how hard we Rangers can fight when we have to."
"Yes, sir." Anderson emphatically replied, as the helmsman of the 'Night's Dagger' activated her jump engines, and the cruiser jumped into hyperspace. "I guess we *will* at that."
* * *
Elsewhere on the Ranger cruiser, Veyshahk carefully lit another candle, and then stood back to gravely consider the matter at hand. As he had feared, the enemy was coming -- an enemy perhaps numerous enough to destroy the 'Night's Dagger' and then move on to attack Captain Gideon and his crew. An enemy that now, quite obviously, *knew* that the 'Shard of Night' had been lost, and was moving to take advantage of that weakness.
If only he had not been left behind! If only he had not encountered Kirash on Babylon 5... for if he had not, he too would have faced the same fate as the rest of her crew -- instead of this fate. If only...
No. Veyshahk straightened, and turned away from his fears. What had he been thinking? He was Anla'shok, and it was foolish of him to give in to fear, when so many of his kind had died in service to the One, knowing that it was the right thing to do. His duty was to preserve life, but like all the others, he had sworn that strong oath that bound them all to the path.
And now? Veyshahk's hand briefly strayed to the pike at his side -- now it was time to dance. A different dance then the one he had joined in with Kirash... and yet the same. And oh, so very necessary.
"We stand on the bridge, and no one shall pass." as he gathered himself, and headed for the bridge. "We live for the One. We fight for the One.
We would die for the One."
* * *
Z'shailyl scout vessel 'Ln`trac' -- 18:11 hrs, EST.
"So," Aazhvar mused, as his small warship rushed through hyperspace towards its target, followed by all the others, "Are they taking the bait, Viknahz?"
The other Z'shailyl paused to examine his own sensor readouts for a moment, and then he nodded. "They are, Que'zhail -- the ship-that-guards, the one that killed Ves`aili, the Dark Ones watch over him and all those who followed... comes to meet us, as you had intended."
"This is well." Aazhvar proclaimed. Well indeed -- for now, it appeared as if the battle was to happen at a time and place of his choosing, instead of the other way around, which had been the case so often of late when dealing with these... Anla'shok.
* * *
The surface of the Neilgeithan 'crystal-world'. 18:25 hrs, EST.
All around them, they could hear their creators, and sense their great voices -- but for the Craneori, this was still a very difficult step to take. But at the same time, their wait and their search had been so very long.
They were *so* tired...
{Then perhaps it is time for you to rest.} the Voice of their creators suggested. {Time for you to come to where you are most welcome -- where the darkness cannot touch you, and you can forget what was -- all the hates and all the sorrows that were.}
{We are afraid.} the Craneori whispered. {We do not know what it is that awaits us, in your crystal-home}
{Peace.} the Creators replied. {Balance.}
{Closure.}
The Craneori made their decision, then -- and it *was* a good one. With a shudder, the many billion parts of their collective shook themselves free of their hosts, and then, after a last look at the darkness above, they turned...
And plunged into the light below. And what they found inside the world-crystal their Creators had built...
Was astonishing indeed.
* * *
The 'Shard of Night' -- main bridge. 19:05 hrs, EST.
And just like that, it was over -- all except for the tidying up afterwards, that was. "They're at peace now, right?" Julia asked Lorien, even as Dasouri moved the battlecruiser to the heart of what might be the last explorer-portal the Neilgeithans would ever build.
"Peace? Yes..." Lorien mused, "They have found that, and more. And now that we have dealt with this matter to everyone's satisfaction, there are... a few individuals who would like a word with you before you depart." Everyone jumped, then, as Zhe'chal abruptly phased back into view in front of them, accompanied by a shimmery image of the Cha'hal'zhamon dreamspeaker that had named itself Raiphin. Julia's eyes widened -- apparently, they *could* talk to other species in person, at least once in a while.
And then, she took a deep breath, before walking forth to meet the two ancients who'd chosen to deal with their... little problem, and she bowed to both of them... deeply, and with the greatest respect. "Thank you for your aid... both of you. You've gone a long way towards showing us that maybe, just *maybe* we can move past what was, and embrace a better tomorrow."
{You would be wise to leave now, and never return} Zhe'chal warned the watching Rangers. {This we tell you in our parting}
Julia cringed... whoops. Looks like *some* things would never change.
"I, on the other hand," Raiphin wryly added, "Will be a bit more polite than that. We remembered the bargain, and that bargain still stands. If another... crisis besets you, and you return to this place in times hence, call us, and we will come to aid you. This is our promise to you -- this we tell you in our parting."
"And now, it appears that I must say those most dreadful words, as well." Lorien concluded. "This is farewell for now, young Observer -- but I suspect we will meet one another again before you pass beyond the Veil. Until that day, we will be waiting here...
Beyond the Rim."
And then it was that the Neilgeithan explorer-portal flashed to life around them -- and Julia found her world once more consumed by light, even as she sensed the departure of the three ancients from her bridge. Only this time, there was *no* pain...
* * *
An indeterminate amount of time later, consciousness returned -- and with it, a word. "Report." she managed, her voice hoarse. "Where are we?"
"Stand... by." Larieken replied, as the rest of the bridge returned from wherever it was the ancient's portal had sent them. "Stand by -- we are re-establishing communication with the sensor drones that were left here when we passed through the first explorer portal... in Valen's Name!"
"What is it?" she exclaimed. "What's happened?"
"The First One did not lie, Val'na." Larieken solemnly replied. "The sensor logs tell a tale I will reveal in its entirety -- but not now. For now, all we need to know is that a single... unconventional Anla'shok warship appears to be all that is standing between the *Exclaibur* and a much larger group of what appears to be Z'shailyl warships. And if we do not move to aid them..."
"They'll be destroyed. Klairika!"
"We go!" The Brakiri barked a command, and after a moment, the *Shard of Night* whirled through all three axes, and rushed off into the murk, the purpose of its Rangers...
Now clear.
* * *
To be concluded...
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