"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE FIFTEEN: "MY MASTER'S KEEPER"
'Featuring'
PETER WINGFIELD as Palakz
NANA VISITOR as Raeznon
NICHOLAS LEA as Rahkeel
GEMA ZAMPROGNA as Tirivail
MARK HARELIK as Belanak
NANCY BELL as Fal'meain
With,
RUTGER HAUER as The Messenger
*and* COURTNEY COX-ARQUETTE as Mei'riki
* * *
(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
* * *
<<Act One>>
The Hyades Cluster -- 1:51 hrs, EST -- August 23, 2267.
"We await your reply." the Drakh voice concluded, "And also a rendezvous point -- of *your* choosing." And then the channel fell silent -- the same could not be said a moment later, however, for the bridge of the Interstellar Alliance battlecruiser named *Shard of Night*.
"In *peace*?" Nicholas Dawson erupted with a guffaw. "I'm sorry -- maybe I'm missing something here, but aren't the Drakh supposed to be the 'Enemies of Humanity', or something?"
"That had been guiding assumption for some time now, yes." Larieken agreed. "But perhaps we do not as yet understand the full nature of our opponents. For instance -- the Drakh referred to himself as 'Zha'vanare'. I would be most interested to learn what this means."
"That may be so," Klairika agreed, "But perhaps there are other things we should be concerned about. For instance -- it would appear that these Drakh brought their ship close to the *Excalibur* in order to attract our attention -- and then, they called for you by the title the Vorlons gave you, Val'na -- Observer. This implies..."
"This implies that someone has given the Drakh information about the nature of this vessel and her crew." Julia concluded, her tone suddenly brittle and full of anger. "And that our mission may have been compromised, as a result. A citizen of the Interstellar Alliance who has betrayed all that we hold dear..."
"Ye gods, there she goes into dramatic mode again." Dawson drawled. "There's a word that describes such a person, Captain -- and that's *traitor*."
"Remember also, however, the other words Drakh used." Dasouri said. "We come in peace -- we await your reply."
"We wish a rendezvous with you... but why?" Julia began to massage her temple -- she could feel a headache coming on already, and not just because of lack of sleep... her Observer's sense, for instance, seemed to be going crazy, implying that this was probably more important then it seemed. "What's going on here? -- and more importantly..."
"What are we going to do about this?" Sheynell suddenly said, adding her voice to the discussion for the first time. "Val'na, let me be frank -- this feels like a trap. For all we know, the Drakh may be trying to draw you into their grasp in order to deprive the ISA of one of it's finest Rangers..."
"That may well be true," Julia interrupted, "But just the same, I find myself curious to find out what exactly the Drakh are up to -- if they're telling the truth, and why. Very well, then -- Larieken, are there any likely worlds nearby that we can conduct this rendezvous at?"
"But!..."
Julia turned a glare upon her friend, and after a moment, the telepath subsided. "Larieken -- an answer, if you please?"
A moment passed, and then the Minbari nodded. "There is a marginally inhabitable world on the fringes of the Hyades cluster, perhaps nine light years from our present position -- will that suffice?"
"It should... while as to answer other *concerns*, while we will be sending down a landing party to meet with this Drakh 'Zha'vanare', at the same time the meeting is taking place, I want Anla'shok Fenric and his fighter squadron nearby at all times, as well as the *Shard* within the planetary atmosphere, ready to come down and help out, should Anla'shok Keynes' assessment of the situation be accurate."
"As well as a fully armed escort for the away team members?" Sheynell suggested, to which Larieken emphatically nodded.
"Indeed." Julia confirmed. "And now... I suppose I should send a reply. Mr. Dawson -- can we bounce a message off enough of our whiskers so that the Drakh don't know where the message is coming from?"
The engineer grinned. "Thus ensuring they don't figure out where *we* are, until and if it's too late. No problem, Captain -- if you'll just give me a minute to set things up?"
* * *
Drakh courier vessel *Mis'rah* -- 2:02 hrs, EST.
His eyes closed, his breathing steady but even, the Drakh named Belanak knelt before the ka-rakh of black rock that he had taken from Z'ha'dum before the end, and thought on matters of state.
Although, he wearily amended a moment later, perhaps that was not an accurate description for his kind. The 'state', of course, that body that ruled his race and the many who belonged to the Drakh Entire, were rumored to think of his kind as aberrations... as a disease that needed to be eradicated, for perfection to be obtained. Order out of chaos, he mused ironically -- how amusing that was, given how the Council of Return had long ago sworn to follow in the footsteps of the Masters... and to seek revenge against those who had banished them.
Revenge. In the end, that was all it came down to -- and in the end, none of the rest mattered. The council had flung much of their military strength against the primeworld of the humans when the Nak'laht had managed to activate one of the fists-of-darkness.. and many warriors had died -- but not enough to matter. Later still, the Council had cast still more squadrons against Sheridan's daggership, the *Excalibur* -- the vessel now commanded by the one named Gideon -- and many of those had been destroyed by the vessel certain Drakh named the 'Adversary'.
That, of course, was an inaccurate term, as he'd learned a short time before. As it turned out, certain citizens of Sheridan's Alliance sought revenge against those who had wronged them almost as eagerly as the Council of Return... and among those was a Minbari named Rahkeel -- a warrior who had once served as warrior-captain upon the vessel the fearful named Adversary. Belanak, of course, knew better -- knew from the information his fellow Zha'vanare Palakz had obtained from Rahkeel that the vessel was named *Kene`l`lan a`zeit* -- or, as the humans would put it, *Shard of Night*... and that a human female named Tikopai commanded that vessel -- a Ranger who had, early on in her service to the Alliance, also earned the title 'Observer'.
Belanak's mouth tightened as he rose to his feet and placed a hand upon the talisman he had saved from the lost world of his Masters. In his experience, to observe was to understand -- the question was, could he make this female understand the problem that was facing his kind? Make her understand that not *all* of the Drakh served the Entire, or, for that matter, sought to destroy her ship and crew... or agreed that her race should perish for the crime of banishing their Masters beyond the Rim? It was a most distressing problem...
"Rak'shivalht Belanak." Belanak turned and inclined his head as an image of his First, Fal'meain, appeared on the wall behind him. Titles and names -- those were what identified individuals to the rest, spoke of which clan they served, and purpose -- and that was his, worker-captain as opposed to the *Vekh* of the warriors. "A message has come from the human Observer -- she has agreed to your request."
Belanak frowned -- Fal'meain was new to her duties, having only just begun her first cycle of life... and thus, was perhaps unused to human subtleties. "With conditions, I will assume?"
The younger Drakh inclined her head. "Indeed. We are to move to the coordinates indicated, and there we are to wait for the arrival of the Observer and her... fellow Anla'shok. We are not to descend to the planetary surface before their arrival, we are to make our position plain to them -- and we are to keep our weapons deactivated at all times."
"Tell me, Fal'meain..." Belanak inquired. "Do you find these terms... displeasing? Is it your belief that these *Anla'shok* will prove the Council right, and destroy us rather than hear what it is we have to say?"
"I am... concerned, Rak'shivalht." Fal'meain finally admitted. "If our intelligence is accurate -- if the information the Minbari gave to Palakz is equally so... then this human and her crew have killed many of our kind..."
"Our kind?" Belanak replied, his voice now sharp as a blade. "Be *careful* where it is that you walk, Fal'meain -- and how it is you define 'our' kind."
"Forgive me." Fal'meain quickly replied, "I meant to say, many of the *Entire* have been killed by this human and her crew."
"That will suffice." the worker-captain allowed. "So... concerned, is it, then? Well this is -- but nevertheless, you shall make for the rendezvous coordinates at once -- while I will join you on the bridge shortly." And then, even as the image of his First faded from the screen, Belanak laid a careful claw atop one of the two living weapons on his chest, took a deep breath -- and prayed to the Masters, if any of them were still listening, that he would not have to use those weapons against his fellow Drakh.
What neither of the Drakh were aware of, however, was that elsewhere on their ship, another Zha'vanare had opened a commmunications channel, and was about to send a message elsewhere.
* * *
Drakh fleet carrier *Nelaziz* -- enroute in hyperspace -- 2:22 hrs, EST.
"It is as you had suspected, Vekh'shivalht," the Drakh on the other end of the channel informed Palakz, "While Belanak is as we are, and as such does not answer to the will of the Entire, what he is doing is..."
"Wrong." the Vekh'shivalht coldly replied. "To reach out to this *Tikopai* female, to begin negotiations with the Anla'shok who has destroyed many of our ships, who has even gone so far as to destroy ships crewed by OUR kind..."
"One assumes," the other asked, "That you are planning to do something about this?"
"Yes." Palakz coldly replied, "We are. You will relay to us the rendezvous point that the *Observer* has given to you -- and then, when the time is right, we we will be there to close the trap... as is just."
"I will advise caution at this time -- for while the rendezvous point supplied by the Observer is deep within a gravity well, it is our belief that the warship we once named 'Adversary' is more than capable of operating within atmospheric environments, as are Sheridan's White Stars."
"That is a safe assumption to make, given that her command appears to be based upon similar if more advanced technology." Palakz agreed. "For now, however, you are to say nothing and do nothing that is seen as unusual -- for if Belanak is lead to believe that we are setting a trap for the Rangers, he will surely break off the attack... and this mission will meet with failure."
"We understand, and will comply."
"In that case -- be at peace, for we will be with you soon." And then, even as the image faded, Palakz opened another channel. "Raeznon!"
"My Vekh'shivalht -- command me."
Palakz bared his teeth. "We have the coordinates for the rendezvous -- prepare to set an *intercept* course."
* * *
Sector 180 -- 2:47 hrs, EST.
The human who named himself Messenger reclined in the captain's chair of the ship the Others had given to him for this purpose, and dozed. The Others had commanded the timing for this rendezvous, and as was just, the Messenger had not seen fit to argue with that judgment -- had even agreed to the points they had made, that it was best to keep the Minbari and his partially-renegade crew off balance, until the time was right. Until *he* was sure the Minbari had been convinced that his path was the right path to follow.
A faint chime sounded within his mind, then -- and the Messenger's eyes opened. "Ready to speak to us, are they?"
<Yes.>
"Excellent." He smiled, then, as an image of the *Stormwind's* bridge shimmered into being. "Alyt Rahkeel -- finished arguing with your crew, have you?"
"We have... arrived at a decision." the other captain carefully replied. "We have... decided that we will hear your 'message' -- and then decide what it is we will do."
"Well -- that's a start, isn't it?" he replied. "Very well... but where am I to begin? Ah, yes... Alyt, let's be honest with each other -- have you, or have you not, been wasting your time since you took command of the *Stormwind*, what was it, almost five months ago, now?"
"Explain your words... *carefully*, if you please." the warrior replied, his expression now deadly.
The Messenger bowed, half-mockingly, in Rahkeel's direction. "But of course -- if specifics is what you want, then specifics you shall have. For five months now, since you captured the engineer named Varsak and extracted many of the secrets of his creation from him before doing away with the poor Worker entirely -- you and your crew have been attempting to intercept the Alliance battlecruiser *Shard of Night*, in order that you might separate the ship from its Ranger crew... or, should that plot fail, destroy it and them, in order to fulfill the wishes of Shai Alyt Kozorr. Am I reasonably on track, thus far?"
"How do you..."
"Know all of this?" The Messenger laughed. "Oh come now, Rahkeel, you couldn't have been more obvious if you'd tried -- although, I must admit that the idea you had of capturing the Drakh servant was a novel one, since it brought you together with the only other ship's commander in the galaxy who wants the same thing you do."
"The Drakh, you mean?"
"His *name*, since you're so interested in specifics... is Palakz, Rahkeel. He has seen many of his warriors killed by the Rangers you seek -- and he has even gone so far as to disobey the orders of his leaders in order to *continue* the search for those Rangers. They are angry at him, of course -- have even gone so far as to send ships and hunters to search for him... but what does that matter? After all, he believes he's doing the right thing, for the right reasons.
Can the same be said for you, I wonder?" the Messenger pondered.. "Are *you* doing the right things, for the right reasons?"
"You would question my motives, my actions?"
"I must." the Messenger confirmed. "The Others have sent me to this place to give you a message -- to give you some *hope* that in time, your quest may yet succeed. But before I give you that message, Rahkeel, I must understand why it is you and your followers are doing this thing... what, indeed, has drawn you onto this path, a path that many of your kind would be horrified to find you following. So... what will it be? Are you going to tell me the truth, or were the Others wrong, and am I just wasting my time?"
* * *
In another part of hyperspace, a much smaller vessel then the ones captained by Belanak or Rahkeel moved at speed thorugh the gravitmetric murk, while the owner of that vessel considered the nature of the transmissions between the Zha'vanare vessels, and was pleased. As she had suspected would be the case from the moment she had learned about Belanak's mission to contact the mistress of the warship named *Shard of Night*, Mei'riki had known that at least one of Belanak's crew was symphathetic to Palakz's cause, and would inform the Vekh'shivalht of the rendezvous location... while the warrior, of course, would be unable to resist the tempation -- and would bring his renegade fleet of Zha'vanare in pursuit of the target he and his Favored Claw had been seeking since the destruction of the fleets answering to La'skaa.
And now... now it would be necessary for her to enter the fray, as well. While unlike Belanak, Mei'riki had no objection of arriving at the rendezvous location and landing on the planetary surface ahead of the Zha'vanare and their quarry... for as she had told Uneenvaz a short time before, she knew the way Palakz thought... knew what he would attempt, and why.
For of course, Palakz's greatest weakness was that while hate burned within him as strongly if not *more* strongly then many of the Entire, for a member of her race, the Vekh'shivalht was more honorable than most... and it was her belief that Palakz would attempt to capture this human female and then order her ship to surrender. And that, of course, was what she would be waiting for. And then...
Why, then there was *every* chance that she would return to the Entire with both Palakz and Tikopai in hand.
And that, she suspected, would please the Council... to no end.
* **
To be continued...
* * *
Return to "The Seeker's Fire" Episode Index