"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE NINETEEN: "AT THE HEART OF THE STORM"

'Featuring'
GARY COLE as Captain Matthew Gideon
TRACY SCOGGINS as Captain Elizabeth Lochley
MARCIA GAVEN as Captain Levitt
JOSHUA COX as Commander David Corwin
GRETCHEN MOLL as Lt Commander Amanda Kreies
DANIEL DAE KIM as Lt John Matheson
HEATH LEDGER as Lt Will McClelland
JEFF CONAWAY as Zack Allan
LEAH REMINI as Jamie Pratchett
DEBRAH FARENTINO as Bethany Tikopai
LARA FLYNN BOYLE as Jennifer Westcastle
BRIAN McDERMOTT as Durhan
JAMES MORRISON as Tashann
PETA WILSON as Lanniel
LINDSAY LOHAN as Jaida Tefano
LESLIE FITCH (RCTM) as Selene O'Hara
MEREDITH HENDERSON as Kaitlyn Hughes
EUGENE ROBERT GLAZER as Molyneux
MEREDITH MONROE as Courtney Ellis

* * *

PETER WINGFIELD as Palakz
HOLLY MARIE COMBS as Islane Refa
NICHOLAS LEA as Rahkeel
GEMA ZAMPROGNA as Tirivail
KARI WUHRER as Illithan

With,

RUTGER HAUER as Guttricht Haaker
PETER WOODWARD as Galen
and GREGORY MARTIN as General Ari Ben Zayn

* * *

        (disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)

* * *

        <Willliam McClelland, personal log - observations>

        There were some days when I was almost sure this was going to be a one shot deal, if you know what I'm saying? The first time we met, something... interesting happened - and if that had been the end of it, I wouldn't have been unhappy, wasn't going to be unhappy because she hadn't called. We're both military brats, she a Ranger and I... well, she told me what her mission was, told me there was every chance she would be dead before the year was out.

        All the same, from time to time as I took part in the searches for the cure and the enemies of Earth during that long and desparate year, I found myself thinking of her... of wondering what would happen if we ever met again. And then, just as the whole galaxy was going to hell in a handbasket around us, the answer to that question landed in my lap like a ton of bricks.

* * *

        Babylon 5 - the Ranger Compound. Central Courtyard - 18:55 hrs, EST - Dec 9th, 2267.

        She knew, even as she stepped into the courtyard, that this was the place for their talk. So many meetings had taken place here over the years, meetings that concerned her and also many others among the Anla'shok - meetings of minds and meetings of hearts. And this meeting... looked to be a mix of both.

        "Okay, I said I'd come - but you still haven't answered my question, Julia," Will McClelland said, his expression now somber. She bit her lip - he was uneasy about this, no doubt about it... it was almost like he didn't know where to begin, but then again, did she? "You've told me a little about what you've gone through this year - but damn it all, I've got to know whether or not what happened between us was only a fluke, a spur of the moment thing - or maybe something... more?"

        She took a deep breath. "Have I missed you - and was it important to me. Those aren't the easiest questions in the world to answer, you know."

        "Try. Please - for me."

        She sighed. "All right - I... I've thought of you quite often, Will - wondered whether or not you were facing the same sort of trouble that I have..."

        Will snorted. "I think you already know the answer to that."

        Julia grinned, and nodded - but then the grin faded. "I'm sorry I didn't call, it's just that..."

        A weary nod. "Yeah, yeah, I know - your first duty always has to be to Anla'shok and Alliance, and as long as the darkness remains..." McClelland paused, and shook his head wearily. "That's the thing, isn't it? - there's always more darkness to replace that which we banish. My captains taught me the meaning of that darkness, the battles we fought during the Warlock Crisis and after have shown me how bad it can get. I just wish you didn't have to go chasing after it so whole heartedly all the time!"

        Julia allowed herself to move nearer to him, and almost stealthily her hand slipped into his. "I'm closer to it than you are, Will... for that you should be grateful. And as long as the darkness remains, I have to fight it, no matter the cost. I have to follow the path, and until the end of that path is reached, I can know neither peace nor..."

        "True love?" McClelland suggested.

        Julia winced, and turned away from him. "I can't ask you to wait for me, Will... but please believe that what we've shared - what we continue to share, is precious to me."

        "And once again, she allows her armor to be pierced..."

        "Will!"

        McClelland laughed. "I'm sorry, you didn't deserve that - no, come to think of it, you did deserve that."

        "Will..."

        "Ah, forget it! Tomorrow we're probably going to war, but as for tonight..."

        "Dinner?"

        "You know a place around here, do you?"

        "Or three."

        "And after?"

* * *

        DownBelow - 20:47 hrs, EST.

        "You've seen her, then?" Illithan asked Islane, as the Centauri arrived in the nearly-deserted alcove the renegade engineer had chosen for their meeting place some time earlier. "You're sure she's come aboard?"

        "Quite sure, yes." Islane replied, even as she did her best not to unleash her anger at the unfairness of it all. Illithan... did not trust her, of course, and even though Rahkeel had given the engineer plenty of evidence to suggest who it was she served, even now their working relationship was a fragile one at best. "The description our allies gave us was quite thorough - she and several other Rangers came onboard the station shortly after..."

        "Tikopai." Illithan laughed, the sound chilling in the darkness. "The changeling will soon come to regret making the decisions she has - even with her various victories, she has yet to deal with her true enemies. For a warrior, that is always a fatal mistake."

        "Her true enemies - you refer to Rahkeel, of course." Illithan nodded. "And my master."

        "Your... master." Again the Minbari laughed as she rose to her feet in one smooth motion. "Yes, of course he is. Come now, Centauri - it is time for us to locate our target, and to... speak with her."

        "I still find it hard to believe the Ranger will willingly help us."

        "Believe or do not, it is the truth." Illithan replied, as they made their way out of the alcove and down the corridor. "When she sees me, she will see one of her own, and will not know the difference until it is too late."

        "The same could be said about you."

        Illithan's eyes narrowed. "Be careful, Centauri - grow too bold, and your... watcher may grow annoyed."

        Islane shivered as she felt the keeper stir, but then pressed on anyhow. "I have learned not to overstep my limits. So?"

        "Your words were true in some respects - and that will be what will kill them in the end. They can either surrender to the inevitable, or destroy themselves utterly... and what choice is that?"

        "No choice at all."

        "Exactly. And now, the time has come for you to pass a message on to your master - remind them that while I will do my duty, I expect them to be there for me when I need them."

        At that the Keeper stirred, and Islane listened to its voice for a moment before she replied. "They say that if you bring the Rangers and their ship to us, you will be removed from the ship before it destroyed. The time and place of the rendezvous has been set."

        "And all I have to do is meet it." Illithan mused. "A difficult prospect, to be sure...

        But not an impossible one."

* * *

        Brown Sector, Level Twelve - 20:57 hrs, EST.

        There was no one around - Jaida had made quite sure of that before sending her signal - but then she smiled as an area of shadow in front of her resolved into the figure of the man who had chosen to help her... understand herself, was the way he had put it the first time they'd met like this. And every time they'd come together since then, always late at night and in parts of the station far from the direct view of others, Vejar had taught her something new, shown her something unexpected... told her things she would need to know if she was going to follow in his footsteps. And also told her things that had frightened her, as well - 'the truth' he had said... but not the whole truth. Not yet.

        "Do you hear it, Jaida?" the Technomage asked her. "Do you hear the song?"

        "The... song?"

        Vejar shook his head sadly. "The funeral march, of course. If only they could see what it was they were doing, understand that there is nothing waiting for them in the end but tragedy. They never understand the mistakes they are making until it is too late to do anything about it - but we see, child. We see only too well."

        "Come, Vejar," another voice suggested, a voice full of command yet pleasant, a voice sharp with an accent Jaida recognized only too well, the accent that spoke of the island on Earth where the primary language of the humans had originated -- "Sometimes even wizards must speak plainly."

        At that Vejar inclined his head, as another member of his order stepped into view. "As always, Galen, you speak the truth. When last we spoke, Jaida, I asked you if the Seeker had changed from the last time you dealt with her..."

        "Over four of your years ago." she quickly confirmed. "She helped us..."

        "We know the story." Galen interrupted, his gaze piercing. "We know what it was she did that day, and also what you did, as well. The Seeker has grown in wisdom since them, and so have you, Jaida Tefano... so have you. Vejar has told me of how it was you and he first met, and also of your efforts regarding the secrecy of your association - and finally, how in exchange for those efforts he has begun to teach you what it is to be a member of our order."

        Jaida nodded... carefully. "Yes, sir."

        "And polite, as well - an excellent combination, all things considered."

        Vejar nodded. "And now, as I was saying, she has changed during the four and more years since last you saw her - tell us in your own words, Jaida, how she has changed."

        "For good."

        Vejar's eyes widened, and a faint smile appeared on Galen's face. "And bold, too, when she has to be." he then observed. "Why?"

        "I think... she has seen darkness, and protected the light." Jaida hesitantly began. "She has served the Alliance for a very long time, and also... yes, the last time we met, she was a follower, but now... is she a leader now?"

        Vejar nodded. "She is, yes. For almost a year now, Julia Tikopai has taken on a task that's nearly killed her on more than one occasion, a task that has required her to lead others on a mission of protection... on a crusade to turn back the darkness at any cost. However - as Galen and I already know and the Rangers under the Seeker's command will soon learn, the hour of their greatest trial lies close at hand. We cannot help them directly - not yet, at least - but there is something we can do - something that might, in the end, make all the difference in the world. You have shown yourself capable of watching legends and reporting on their movements without being detected... would you care to aid legends, as well?"

        "It will be a dangeous undertaking," Galen warned, "And there is no guarantee either of success or of survival. "

        Jaida blinked - and then her eyes widened. In a roundabout way, Vejar had been hinting at something like this ever since he'd started teaching her about the Technomages... that sooner or later there might be a 'trial' of some sort she would have to go through. And if this was it... "You can count on me, sir - I want to help."

        "Why?" Galen asked again.

        "I've had many dreams - and I've seen some of them shattered. Seen friends leave - and others changed. My father once told me to find something to believe in, and if I was sure that's what I wanted, to grab a hold of it and never let go. I want this dream to succeed - I *want* to help."

        "In that case," Galen replied, "Time is running short, and this is what we must do."

* * *

        The Garden - near the Ranger compound. 21:17 hrs, EST.

        There was, Courtney had to admit, as she laid back in the field and gazed across the shadow-darkened interior of Babylon 5, a certain justice behind what might be their last night of peace before going to war... and of course she'd been happy the Val'na had allowed leave for the crew before they went to engage the enemy. Because, well, it had given her a chance to see a place that was legendary among the Rangers...

        It was the rustling in the crops that warned her someone was coming - and with a frown Courtney rose to her feet, and turned towards the footsteps coming towards her. "Azhahk, is that you..."

        It was not - and Courtney's eyes widened as she took in the sight of the two figures standing in front of her, and then a word was spoken, and all of a sudden, the ground rushed up to meet her.

* * *

        Transit Lounge Two, 08:47 hrs, EST, Dec 10th, 2267.

         "So let me see if I've got this straight," Gideon said, as he and Matheson made their way out into the maelstrom of species and warriors making their both into and out of the transit lounge, "He came over to the station during the night, and you haven't heard from him since."

        John Matheson nodded, his expression perhaps a bit more solemn than usual. "Exactly. It's nothing he hasn't done before, of course... but for the time being his ship's still in our hangar bay, and that probably means he'll be back... eventually."

        "I guess we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?..." Gideon paused then, however, as a tall figure in black and silver began moving towards them from the far side of the chamber. "And here comes the welcoming party."

        "Ah, Captain Gideon, there you are."

        "Commander Corwin - your CO..."

        "Wanted to come down and meet you personally this morning, sir, but that was before a thousand and one things interfered, mostly to do with this morning's conference - so she sent me down to take you and Lieutenant Matheson to the war room."

        One of Matheson's eyebrows raised. "The... war room?"

        Corwin nodded, as the three made their way out of the transit lounge and towards the nearest transport tube. "First activated during the Shadow War by then-Captain Sheridan and used for an assortment of other purposes since then, including, as you may or may not recall, Captain Ivanova's 'Voice of the Resistance' broadcasts during the period just prior to..."

        Gideon cleared his throat pointedly. "To cut to the chase," Corwin concluded, "It's once more being used for its original purpose."

        And once they arrived, even he had to admit that the chamber was... "Not bad at all." Gideon allowed, as he and Corwin made their way down the stairs towards the table below, while Matheson made his way towards the edge of the chamber to join the rest of the more junior officers attending the proceedings. "This is definitely a good place to have a pow wow."

        "And there's been some fairly large ones here over the years I've been here." Corwin confirmed.

        "Captain Gideon!" Gideon turned around, a smile appearing on his face as Elizabeth Lochley made her way towards him. "You're looking well."

        "Well what can I say? - the universe may be out to get me, but I'm a survivor, and I've got a job to do..."

        "An important task, Captain..." another voice intruded, "But unless we deal with the threat facing us, other ISA worlds may yet face the same fate as Earth."

        Gideon cast a pointed glance in Lochley's direction. "Captain Gideon, this is Tashann - he's the seniormost Ranger assigned to this operation - and now that that everyone's here, it sure looks like it's time we got this show on the road."

        "And so we shall!" Tashann confirmed, his voice rising as he strode to his position at the edge of the central table - the background noise vanishing in an instant, the generals and captains, the warleaders and of course the senior Rangers present, all falling silent to see what Tashann had to say to them all.

        "And so we shall. Almost seven human years ago, we gathered at this place to, as our President once said, 'change the shape of the galaxy' - and while the galaxy has changed, some things have not. The darkness, a different darkness then the one we faced during the Shadow War, reaches out its hand to threaten our peoples and worlds - and this we cannot allow."

        "That's a pretty broad mission statement." a dark-haired human captain in the second tier observed. Gideon had to think for a moment, and then he remembered her name - Captain Levitt of the Mithrandir - who had, quite a few years before, been Captain Hall's XO on the Heracles during the battle of Proxima III. "But maybe not so easy to implement."

        Tashann nodded grimly. "The Shadow technology warships we engaged at GC 9117-C are more than likely members of a much larger force of ships. And as yet, while we have our suspicions as to who the power behind those ships may be, we do not with certainty know who they are, or even where and when they will strike."

        "Tell us, then, why we have gathered all of our strength in this place." a Brakiri captain challenged. "Why are we not attempting to locate the enemy?"

        "Ranger warships are on patrol near all the major and some of the minor Alliance worlds, both in hyper- and normal space." another of the senior Rangers at table replied. "The enemy hasn't appeared yet, and soon enough we will move out from this place to join them."

        "One thing we should remember, though," Lochley observed, "Is not to spread ourselves too thinly. We may have over two hundred ships at our disposal and more out watching for the enemy, but the Alliance covers an awful lot of territory, and until we have a better idea of how many enemy ships there are, and how many they're willing to commit to engagements, maybe the slower and larger capital ships should stay in two or three large battlegroups in hyperspace..."

        "With smaller Ranger tactical squadrons patrolling along the member world borders around them, covering as large an area as possible in the shortest possible span of time." Tashann nodded thoughtfully. "That is one possible course we can follow..."

        Gideon nodded as well - they'd hammer out a decent plan soon enough, and while he had a few observations of his own to make, for now it was probably best to let the more hot headed warriors have their say.

        And that was when he saw her - or rather, when he first saw her watching *him*. Gideon's eyes narrowed as the dark-haired Ranger caught his gaze, and rapidly turned her eyes back towards the current speaker. She was young, damn young to be in on this meeting, and her uniform was darker then those worn by most of the other Rangers in the war room. And hadn't Matheson had said something to him once about that? -- how the Rangers who wore dark uniforms were the ones most often in the thick of battle, or something?

        He shook his head and frowned -- no more than about twenty or twenty-two maybe, in battle dress (if Matheson's claims were accurate) and she'd been watching him. The question was... why?

* * *

        The Ranger Compound - 09:15 hrs, EST.

        "Courtney..." Azhahk Fenric inquired, as he paused to speak to his friend at breakfast, "I did not hear you return from the fields last night - is everything all right?"

        Courtney raised one eyebrow in perplexed amusement. "You were asleep, and yeah, everything's just fine."

        A short distance away, Illithan heard those words, raised her eyes from her own morning meal, and quietly activated the transmitter concealed upon her person. "She does not remember what we have done to her..." the renegade subvocalized. "Moving to second phase."

* * *

        Krindar system. 09:35 hrs, EST.

        "It's quiet out here..." the commander of White Star 122 muttered, as his ship made the final approach to Greater Krindar's jump gate. "Too quiet."

        "And so we must report this silence to Babylon 5, and move on to our next target." his first replied, as the jump vortex yawned open in front of them and the White Star quickly made the transition from real- to hyperspace, and raced off along the next leg of its patrol. "There is, after all, nothing to suggest the enemy will attack this region - one normally assaults worlds in order to capture them or destroy stations of strategic value. Neither of the Krindar worlds possesses such values."

        At that the senior Ranger nodded thoughtfully - all that his first had said was true - the government of the warmer, more heavily populated of the Krindar worlds had chosen to focus much of their orbital infrastructure on supporting the wide range of agricultural operations underway on the surface, while its cooler, drier sister colony possessed no orbital facilities at all apart from its ancient-tech jump gate. "True - nevertheless, we *must* be thorough in this matter - the Sha'vei'e will accept nothing else..."

        Unfortunately for both Rangers, even the most common-sense scenarios sometimes had a weak point - and in this case that was believing the enemy wished, for now, to attack targets of high military value - instead of, for instance, attacking targets to draw firepower away from other areas. No such attack had as yet taken place as White Star 122 moved on to its next port of call. That, however, was about to change, as a random fluctuation in hyperspace briefly flung aside a curtain of mist to reveal over a dozen black warships, their systems powered down, hiding a short distance off of Krindar's primary beacon path.

* * *

         Elsewhere in hyperspace, a dark and unmarked ship approached a much larger and equally shadowy swarm of warships. Many plans were being made, and some would even be carried out. Not all of those plans, however, were aimed at the same goal.

* * *

        Meanwhile, on Greater Krindar, the sun began slipping out of sight in the skies of the colony's greatest city. There was as yet no signs or portents to warn the colonists of what was coming towards them, but then again their enemy wouldn't have wanted it any other way. "The White Star has left the system." Guttricht Haaker told his General. "We are ready to proceed. You need merely give the word."

        General Ari Ben Zayn smiled a smile of purpose, and for a moment, a moment of transition, there was a pause. But then the words that Haaker had been waiting for were given, and those words were, "Proceed, my friend."

        Haaker nodded, and barked out a command. And an instant later, death's calling card began to appear in the skies of both the Krindar worlds.

* * *

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