("My Master's Keeper", Act II)

"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
EPISODE FIFTEEN: "MY MASTER'S KEEPER"

(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)

* * *

        <<Act Two>>

        Sector 180, 41x17x5 -- 3:11 hrs, EST, Aug 23rd, 2267. The bridge of the 'Stormwind'.

        "The truth." Rahkeel mused, as he carefully considered what to say next to this mysterious human who named himself 'Messenger', and what might result thereafter. "The truth of *why* this crew follows us in search of the ideal moment to ambush Tikopai and her crew... at the same time as serving the interests of the Warrior Caste and our Shai Alyt. It is a seemingly simple request, except..."

        "Yet you hesitate!" the Messenger exclaimed, his tone bitter. "Perhaps the Others *were* right -- perhaps I *am* wasting my time here."

        "Again, you say the *Others*." Rahkeel craftily noted. "Would you care to be a little more specific about their identities... Messenger?"

        "Until you tell me what I want to hear, I am afraid that will not be possible."

        "Ah, but of course -- I suppose that would be part of the 'message' as well, wouldn't it?" Rahkeel laughed, the sound bitter across the 'Stormwind's' bridge. "So -- there would appear to be deadlock between us, then. You won't tell me what I want to hear because I won't tell you what *you* want to hear... and yet, someone must break their silence for the pattern to be... completed. But to do so may imply an alliance between us... and to have an alliance, one party must trust the other. What reason can you give us to trust you... Messenger? Besides the idle promises you have given us thus far, that is?"

        There was a pause, and then the Messenger laughed, as well. "The Others did warn me that you had a way with words, Rahkeel. Very well, if it is a tidbit you want, then a tidbit... you shall have." The silver haired human closed his eyes and seemed to whisper a command -- and then Rahkeel's eyes widened as the the other ship shimmered and then vanished from sight... before reappearing a moment thereafter. "So..." the Messenger inquired, "What did you sensors show you, Alyt, when my ship... disappeared before your very eyes?"

        "Tirivail?"

        "His vessel possesses stealth characteristics similar to those shared by your command and also... Tikopai's." Tirivail reported, her tone unsettled. "But how could this be?"

        "Ah yes, but that *is* the question, isn't it?" the Messenger stated. "The road beckons, Alyt -- you must follow it, and I, to receive the answers to that question... and others."

        "You will allow us a moment alone to discuss this matter."

        "As you wish."

        Rahkeel gestured sharply, and the other captain's face abruptly faded from sight. "He talks smoothly, for a human." Tirivail muttered, her expression dark. "Perhaps too smoothly. It is my experience, Alyt, and my father's before me, that *his* kind always has something to hide... and that it is not wise to make alliances with such individuals."

        "And yet, his little demonstration implies that 'his kind' may possess technology almost as powerful as our own, and if they are willing to aid us in our search for an ideal moment to ambush Tikopai and her crew..."

        Rahkeel glanced around at the rest of his crew, and found his decision to be uncontested, as was just. And then, as contact was re-established with the other vessel, the story began to be told -- even if what the Messenger wanted to hear was not necessarily the whole truth.

        "You pursue this young woman and her followers..." the Messenger stated. "To pursue implies need, to need..."

        "Implies *hate*, yes." Rahkeel said. "It was not that way in the beginning of course. In the beginning, *Vid'alae an'shaka* belonged to the Warrior Caste -- but then Delenn learned of its existence, and in turn, she told Sheridan about it, as well. A bargain was struck between them and my Shai Alyt that day... that the ship would serve the interests of the Interstellar Alliance while at the same time being crewed by Warrior Caste personnel. And for a time, the bargain *was* kept -- but then the Drakh attacked and poisoned the peoples of Earth... and again, as humans often do, Sheridan showed us that bargains meant nothing to him... and changed the rules."

        "Yes, he *has* done that a lot over the past few years, hasn't he?" the Messenger observed. "But as you were saying..."

        "Sheridan removed us from the ship that was once ours... and replaced us with *Anla'shok* -- Rangers commanded by a human barely come of age, a changeling touched by Vorlons. And then another of that order, a Minbari I once considered honorable, refused to aid me on the very soil of our homeland when I sought to challenge the decision that had been made." Rahkeel nodded in appreciation, then, as he saw the renewed flame of anger appear in Tirivail's eyes... for it was Lanniel he referred to, of course -- the Storm Dancer who had turned her back on the rest to stand with the Anla'shok in all things, or so it now seemed. "And so it stands -- Sheridan has humiliated us, and so have the Anla'shok. This, together with the commands of our Shai Alyt, are what guides us on this path. And that is why, in the end, we will confront Tikopai and her Rangers...

        And carry out our duty."

        "It is as I suspected, then." the Messenger replied after another long moment had passed. "The Others were not wrong about you. And it would also appear as if I haven't made this trip in vain, after all."

        "You are ready to give us your message, then?" Rahkeel inquired.

        "Yes -- but *before* I do, there is something you must see, and a place we must travel to, in order that you might understand what is at stake."

        "I... see." Rahkeel frowned -- in the name of the Betrayer, exactly *what* was going on here... and how many layers of mystery would they have to peel back before the truth of the matter was revealed? "Send us your coordinates, then -- we will follow." And then, even as the Messenger vanished from the screen, the 'Stormwind's' captain said one more thing. "Even if it is into darkness."

        "Then let us travel down that path freely..." Tirivail observed. "As is just. For do not the humans say, that the darkest time comes just before... the dawn?"

* * *

        The Hyades Cluster -- Murasaki's Star. 6:17 hrs, EST.

        More than a hundred years before, a human explorer came to the Hyades cluster with his colleagues, and as humans were wont to do from time to time, decided to name several of the local planetary objects after those he knew, and those who were famous among his kind... and in turn, as the decades passed, one of those bodies in turn earned his name, as well.

        Many centuries before that arrival, Murasaki's Star had also earned the title Pi Tauri -- and many thousands of human years before that another title entirely by the race that had colonized it for a time... but none of these things mattered to Mei'riki as she piloted her small ship out of the local jump gate and into orbit around the small, reddish and ice-capped sixth world of the system -- and for the time being at least, everything *seemed* to be going according to plan. This, after more than a day of travel at a speed only made possible by the augmentation of her craft by the ancient technology of the Masters -- technology that had allowed her arrival at this place ahead of everyone else involved.

        Her eyes narrowed then, however -- now that the first phase of the operation was over and done with, there were other concerns to address. For instance -- where was a za-deinarakh on the hunt to hide herself until the quarry arrived? In due course the answer came to her -- for at one time this place had been inhabited, and those... inhabitants had been active in mining the local region -- had, in fact, left several small asteroidal bodies in close orbit around their homeworld.

        Mei'riki let out a small hiss of pleasure as she commanded her ship to descend. From the surface of one of those small worlds, she might observe the arrival of the quarry, unseen... and then, once they had commenced *negotiations*, she would descend, and prepare the next phase of her trap.

        But first, there was one... other small matter to attend to, as she entered a private code into the communications board of her vessel -- and a moment later, a face appeared on the screen. "The bargain we have made," she inquired, "It will be kept?"

        "Yes." the other replied. "It will. None of the military forces involved in this matter will interfere with your plans to capture the rogue Zha'vanare and your... other target. But that is all I can promise... nothing more."

        "It is enough." Mei'riki allowed. "Without interference, there is very little that can go wrong with this plan."

        "We shall see, soon enough..." the other replied, "Whether you are right or not about that... za-deinarakh.

        Soon enough."

* * *

        ISAS 'Shard of Night' -- just beyond the Murasaki jump gate. 8:20 hrs, EST.

        "...And after we jumped away, did you manage to get any more sleep?"

        "A little, yes." Julia finally admitted, as she drank deeply of her morning cup of tea. "Dare I ask..."

        "That's what hot coffee's for." Sheynell replied, her eyes, from Julia's perspective, showing exactly how much sleep she'd gotten during the remainder of the night watch -- which wasn't much. "As your tactical officer, it's my job to be the worrywort of the crew..."

        "Oh, I see! -- which means you've wound yourself up as a tight as a spring, right? Didn't I see Veyshahk giving you a lecture about that just the other day?"

        "Now you hold on *just* a minute..."

        "A-ha!" a familiar voice jauntily announced, "And here the ladies are, eating the most important meal of the day."

        "Important, yes..." Julia sidestepped, as Dawson sat down to join them, even as Sheynell glowered at them both across the rim of her coffee cup. "Tasty, however... is another thing entirely. If it's one thing I really miss from my youth, it's the fruit from the valley on Earth where I used to live..."

        "Well, that's the price you pay for taking on a mission like ours, I'm afraid." the engineer replied with a shrug as he echoed Sheynell's earlier move towards serious coffee intake. "The deep patrol from hell, with an occasional epic crisis just to keep us on our toes. Now, if you don't mind me asking..."

        "No, I *haven't* changed my mind about the way we're going to do this." Julia replied, her tone suddenly fierce. "As much as I would like to, we simply cannot go in guns blazing on this one... in a little while, Sheynell, Larieken, I and a few of the others are going to leave the ship in a transport escorted by Mr. Fenric and his fighter squadron, and then, once things have calmed down a bit and we've met with the Zha'vanare, Klairika's to bring the *Shard* into the atmosphere behind us and watch for trouble."

        "Bet you had to argue a bit about that with her, right?"

        Julia ruefully nodded. "Indeed I did. For some reason, our first officer's still having problems forgetting what happened at Amaranth..." At that, Dawson snorted. "... but I think this time, I'm going to look before I leap. And just in case this does happen to be a trap, and some sort of Drakh fleet tries to jump us..."

        "We'll be ready and waiting to scoop you up and take off in short order." Dawson finished for her. "Yeah, I guess that'll do for a short-order plan... as long as nothing unexpected happens."

* * *

        Elsewhere...

        "Unexpected, he says..." Galen observed from his hidden sanctum -- the only place onboard the *Excalibur* where he truly felt safe from the prying eyes and ears of Matthew's officers and crew. 'Unexpected', in Galen's opinion, would serve as a general description for the entire mission of the *Shard of Night*'s crew to date... but perhaps a small test was in order -- perhaps young Tikopai and her Rangers were growing too complacent due to all their recent... successes.

        "So sorry to disappoint you, Mr. Dawson..." the Technomage observed, "But I'm afraid several 'unexpected' somethings are *indeed* headed in your direction."

* * *

        Drakh courier vessel *Mis'rah* -- 9:10 hrs, EST.

        Sharp as a blade, the tiny black form of the *Mis'rah* stealthily made its way through hyperspace towards the world-or-meeting... and Belanak found himself glad to note that his crew had now erased all signs of the 'damage' displayed when they had first enticed the human Observer and her crew to investigate the 'distress call' they had sent earlier. They had taken a chance with the daggership so near -- but nevertheless, he had... suspected how things would go, from the very start. Had *known* that destiny was not for him and his crew.

        And now, it was time to embrace another -- to take a chance, as their opponents would say... something that the Drakh Entire and their myriad scattered cells considered almost repellent. The Entire, as all his kind knew, normally left nothing to chance... but not even they were all-powerful. Their worst mistake, of course, had been to trust Palakz -- but others had been made, as well... while Belanak and the rest of the Zha'vanare continued their own work, if more quietly.

        And if some form of peace, or survival for that matter, resulted from this effort... it would make this all worthwhile -- even if he did not live to see that moment come. For if the humans managed to find a cure to the plague the Entire had cast against their primeworld, Belanak knew that their wrath would be great, and that they would not rest until those who had done this thing to them were punished for their crimes. Many of his people would surely die before the humans were satisfied... there was even the chance that the race might come close to extinction if the vendetta was pursued for too long. And that was an outcome he would not accept. And if there *was* a way to prevent that doom from coming to pass, perhaps he, Belanak, would be the one to find it.

        But for now, there were more... immediate concerns to deal with. And so it was that shortly thereafter Belanak found himself once more upon the bridge of the *Mis'rah*, awaiting jumpout -- and when that moment came, for the signal that would follow. "Fal'meain..." he carefully inquired, "Are there any signs of the Observer's warship in planetary nearspace?"

        "None." the other Drakh replied. "You do realize of course, Rak'shivalht, that this means nothing -- that vessel could be within striking range of the *Mis'rah* at this very moment, and we would not know it until it was too late."

        "She has agreed to meet with us," Belanak reprovingly reminded his First, "And one is lead to hope that this time, the Anla'shok under her command may be persuaded to listen to what we have to say, before striking out against us..."

        He paused then, however, as a message-warning sounded -- and Belanak turned to face the Zener presently serving at his communications station, and rose to his feet. {The message-we-await} he rasped in the servant's own tongue, {It comes?}

        {It comes.} the servant acknowledged. {The signal arises from a great canyon in the world-beneath's northern wastes -- a canyon issuing from a great volcano near the ice-beyond.}

        "Then descend we must," Belanak concluded, "To meet our destiny."

* * *

        And even as the *Mis'rah* sank out of orbit, another ship arose from its asteroid hiding place unseen, undetected even by Julia Tikopai's ever watchful Rangers, and also sank towards the reddish wastes below, glistening in the light of Murasaki's Star. And within that vessel, preparations were being made -- as Mei'riki, leaving her ship to take care of the details of descent, drew out of storage several large containers, and proceeded to open the largest.

        <Our time has come, then?>

        <It has.> Mei'riki replied. <Our targets draw near, faithful-ones... the hunt, it comes.>

        A hiss of pleasure passed along the canyons of her mind -- followed abruptly by the abrupt emergence of six tentacled dein'ak from within the support chamber that protected them when *she* could not -- creatures that swarmed up her body to commune with their favored companions. Cousins of the Keepers they were, of course -- but with a very different purpose. Instead of merging with and controlling sentient beings, the dein'ak were used to immobilize their prey... and disable those who might interfere with the hunt. And while they easily tired, the dein'ak were, for the most part, *very* good at what they did.

        Her servants thus freed to do her bidding, Mei'riki turned her attention back to the descent -- and was pleased to see the surface now very near indeed. And when they landed, then would the hunt begin.

        And soon thereafter... if all went as planned, her Zha'vanare and Anla'shok quarry would once again understand the meaning...

        Of terror.

* * *

        In hyperspace.

        Life, as his ancient zhaka-nahr instructor had once taught him, could sometimes be treated as a weavework of questions and answers. In the beginning the pattern would be simple, with more questions than answers. But as time progressed, he had been told, the answers would lead to more difficult questions... and some of those would not be solved before life's-end.

        <What has brought you to this place? What has set you upon the path?>

        Palakz thought he knew the answers to those questions -- believed that he had done the right thing when the Anla'shok warship he hunted had shattered his order of battle above the human world named Sinzar... for in the days that had followed, he had gathered a new order in his hands, and set out to destroy one of the greatest enemies his people had ever possessed.

        <Who are you?>

        At first glance, this was an easy question to answer -- he was Vekh'shivalht, and Zha'vanare... the leader of the greatest fleet of ships one of his kind had ever commanded. And yet, at the same time, there was no doubt he had also been declared renegade by the Council of Return... for by now the Entire had no doubt accumulated sufficient evidence to conclude that he and his still lived.

        <Who do you serve, and who do you trust?>

        Less easy, these questions were to address... for if he *was* renegade, he did not serve the Council, did not serve the Entire. Perhaps he served the race as a *whole* instead... yes, this was undoubtedly partly true, for until the Rangers and their warship were destroyed, the race as a whole, both Zha'vanare and Entire, were threatened. And as for who he trusted... he trusted his Favored Claw, of course -- and in the memory of the Ancient Masters for leading him onto the path.

        <And once this search is over, once you have captured the enemy, what then?>

        That question, of course, had been posed recently by Raeznon herself... and was indeed a difficult one to address. To think beyond the end of this hunt... could not be conceived of, at least for the time being. Once the threat was removed, perhaps then he would address the consequences of his actions, but for now...

        For now, there were other matters to attend to.

        Or, as his opponents might say, other fish to fry. For that was another thing the zhaka'nahr had said to him from time to time... that to understand one's enemy, one occasionally had to think as they did. Though whether this would lead him to victory or not... had yet to be determined.

        "Raeznon..." he rasped, "Our status?"

        "We approach the system-of-meeting. Your orders?"

        "We prepare for battle." Palakz replied. "We prepare...

        To *strike*."

* * *

"And now," Galen allowed, "The *real* test begins."

* * *

To be continued...

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