("Their Proper Time and Place", Act I)

		"STAR AND CIRCLE: THE SEEKER'S FIRE"
		EPISODE FIVE: "THEIR PROPER TIME AND PLACE"

(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)

* * *

GUEST STARRING

The entire BABYLON 5 and CRUSADE casts and more besides!

<<ACT ONE>>

"Who are you?" - Galen

* * *

        ISAS EXCALIBUR -- near Transfer point 1175-A. March 10th, 2267.

        #There#

        In a room that looked out to hyperspace, two individuals spoke to one another. One had ascended from nowhere to become Entil'zha of the Anla'shok years before -- an ascent that had certainly saved the Interstellar Alliance from defeat on a number of occasions. In time, most of the Alliance Council had also come to call him 'Admiral'...there were some days when he wasn't sure whether he had deserved that title or not, but the time for wondering was nearly past, now.

        The other, of course, had appeared at his side during one of the many battles that had filled those years. Since then, they had not only saved each other on a number of occasions, *he* had also helped to save the lives of many of their comrades. That they were close friends could not be argued with. That they were approaching the greatest challenge of their lives to date could also not be argued with.

        "The One knows what this is," Zathras declared, as he showed a small box to Sinclair. "Does he not?"

        Sinclair nodded. "There is a bargain to be made, a price to be paid in what we attempt, Zathras -- he told me this moment would come. For a very long time now, I've understood and accepted the need for this sacrifice...and in time, so will she. The path is clear, as always it has been."

        "Path may be clear," the short and quizzical alien accepted, "But path is never easy, this Zathras has known from beginning. To come to this place and this time not easy -- first, needed to be taught what needed to be known. Things you must do, to ensure all will go well; if matters not accomplished properly, *very* bad."

        "The matter of Sheridan being one such -- the matter of our errant visitor from elsewhere being another. Are there any other major reality-altering revelations you can think of at the moment?"

        "<tck, tck> List of things to be done not all known to Zathras, but knowing too much mean defeat, defeat mean no success... no, not waste time on things that have not happened -- this is what must happen. Before anything else, the One must reveal the truth to the Apprentice, help the Visitor in her quest."

        Sinclair sighed. "That won't be an easy task, Zathras -- we may have captured her, but she's been trained by the Empire to be what she is almost from the beginning, as are almost all the great children of the Empire's houses -- the 'Rings' as they are called. To succeed in this aim, we need to show her something that will turn her view of the world upside down and inside out."

        Zathras conceded the point. "Must soon travel to the Great Machine to meet the Guardian and the Gatekeeper... what we seek, they can provide, this Zathras know to be true. Final path you must travel in the service of Light will also be revealed, when destination is arrived at."

        "And until then?"

        Zathras grinned toothily. "Attack, the Visitor will, the wall that cannot be destroyed. Slowly, very slowly, until wall appears strong -- but is weak. Then ... ptttth! ... the One will push, and wall will fall down. The One will see the truth of this when the moment comes." Zathras finalized, with some emphasis.

        "And afterwards?"

        "The Circle must be closed. Told us this truth, THEY did, long ago. Different moments for different paths, Zathras was told; finally, Zathras stopped arguing, when realizing arguments bad for Zathras's health."

        "You know, in all the years we've known one another, you've never told me who 'they' were."

        "The One will learn the answers to all his questions soon enough."

* * *

        "Splinter?" the Other contemptously exclaimed, as Gideon strode up to the mirror. "You don't really expect me to take that comment *seriously*, do you?"

        "When I'm being serious," the captain of the EXCALIBUR replied, as Jaenisara slipped off into the shadows behind the mirror, "It's usually for a damn good reason. In fact, as near as I can tell, you seem to be desperately in need of a reality check."

        "WHAT?"

        "You know what your problem is?" Gideon continued, apparently warming up to the topic even as an incredulous Julia watched on, "You think you've got all the bases covered, when you don't even know what game is being played."

        "I know everything I need to know about you and your kind, Captain Gideon! Your Interstellar Alliance is weak and undisciplined, and sooner or later, our agents will shatter it from within, while our fleets grind yours into powder. It's inevitable, really..."

        "Did I just hear the word 'weak' come out of your mouth a moment ago?" Gideon inquired. "If that's true, then why is it your *glorious* Empire has lost every major battle it's fought in the last nine months, including the one in which your ultimately bad copy of a White Star was supposed to have destroyed *my* command?

        I'll tell you why -- your military leaders are so afraid of getting their heads chopped off that they're all starting to turn on one another, secure in the belief that if all their rivals making the bad decisions are elliminated, they can win the war for your Tyrant... that the 'bad news' will stop coming.

        Only thing is, there's a big problem with that logic, and again and again, history has proved me right. And every time an Imperial poster child like yourself makes that argument, I hear the sound of another nail being pounded into the coffin."

        "The servants of the darkness I love will destroy you!" the Other cried.

        "Why do you love their darkness?" Julia exclaimed. "They don't care for you, or any of their 'allies'... not the Warrior Minbari, and certainly not you! Don't you see that you're their tools in the war against the Light, and peace... and freedom? Don't you understand that once they've broken you, they'll fling you aside and pick up the next rising star that comes along?"

        An almost inarticulate cry of rage emerged from the mirror then, and the Technomage construct shimmered and went blank, while Julia winced and began to massage her suddenly pounding temples. "If you wanted to make her mad, Captain, I believe you may have succeeded."

        "You looked like you needed to be taken out of the line of fire, if only for a little while." Matthew Gideon noted. "And besides, I happen to know most of what going on anyways... the angrier we make her, the more off balance she'll become. And as I understand it, eventually the Admiral's planning on administering a knockout punch of some kind."

        "Oh *terrific*." she muttered. "In that case, can you get one of your doctors to prescribe some painkillers? It looks like I'm going to need them."

        "I suppose that can be arranged." At that point, Gideon's expression grew a little more focused, and crafty. "The rumour mill has it that you're from an alternate reality where the Minbari never turned bad... and also, that you're the Ranger captain responsible for guarding *my* ship, over there."

        Julia sighed. At this point, telling the truth wasn't going to make that much of a difference. "In my universe, Captain, the Drakh have poisoned humanity with a nano-virus that's going to kill most of our race in just under five years. Your opposite has been assigned the task of finding the cure to the plague, before everyone and everything on Earth is killed."

        "And does, ah, 'he' know there's a ship-full of Rangers watching his every move?"

        "Uh... not quite."

        Gideon snorted. "That's what I thought you were going to say. Take it from me -- if I were you, I would start thinking of ways to defuse the bomb that's going to explode when I... ah, *he* does find out."

        "Um... what bomb might that be?"

        "I'll have you know, Miss Tikopai, that we Gideons have never really cared for the idea of secret protectors all that much."

        "Oh." she whispered. "To be honest... I never really thought about this before."

        "Well," Gideon warned her, "Now would probably be a real good time to start. Because sooner or later, the Admiral and his Techno-ladies are gonna figure out a way to send you back home, and once that happens..."

        "Boom." she muttered. "Sooner or later, there's *always* a boom."

        Gideon frowned. "That sounds like a quote of some time; might I ask who the originator was?"

        "The explanation," she wearily noted, "Would take too long, and we don't have the time. Let's just leave at this... your warning is duly noted, *and* appreciated."

        "All part of the service." the captain of the EXCALIBUR concluded, on his way out the door.

        Boom. Julia sighed -- oh Valen, she hoped she wouldn't have to run into *her* doppelganger. From what she'd experienced so far, said encounter would probably NOT be a pleasant one.

* * *

        Aboard the ENCHANTRESS.

        "As sword-sister, I..."

        "You may dispense with the pleasantries, Sha'var Alyt," Susan Ivanova frostily interrupted, cutting a surprised Lochley off in mid-ritual. "I'm just not in the mood. In fact, if the voting in the Council had gone even a little bit differently, I would not even be speaking to you at this time -- instead, my warriors would have already unceremoniously thrown you in the deepest, darkest cell on my flagship they could find... which, incidentally, would have been the ferry to your *very* public execution."

        "Over my dead body." Garibaldi whispered at Lochley's right elbow... at which point, Ivanova pivoted on one heel, and fixed the Armsmaster with a terribly brittle smile.

        "Armsmaster Garibaldi!... let me reveal a terminally important truth to you at this time. If the order had come down, I would quite *cheerfully* have ordered the deaths of whatever portion of this warship's crew decided to get between me and the target of my hunt... yourself included. Luckily for you, however, the target I seek is not the woman you have sworn to protect from harm -- Death has another target in mind, this day."

        Lochley let out a long breath. "May I assume you're referring to my former husband?"

        "You may indeed. The vote of the Council was very close, but the end results cannot be argued with... and my Master confirmed those results in person -- a rare event, in these times. You are not to be blamed for the loss at Zander Prime or for the loss of the Imperial officer most responsible for this crime. You could not, after all, have predicted his actions... through your union with this man, you allowed yourself to be blinded with respect to his true rebellious nature and intentions. It is, in fact, commendable that you broke off that union when you did; if you had not -- if you, in fact, had tried to protect him..."

        "I understand your... point, La'sekvah." Lochley assured Ivanova. "I consider the matter to be a closed one."

        "And she has a knack for self-preservation, as well." Ivanova noted, while Lochley kept an iron grip on the anger that threatened to erupt out of her. "The Tyrant *will* be pleased. And the lives of your darling children will continue for now, it seems."

        "What orders do you have for me and mine?"

        "As it turns out, the Council of Ascension has ordered your battlegroup recalled to Minbar nearspace... and you, yourself, are summoned into the presence of the Council, Sha'var Alyt."

        "While the search for my former husband..."

        "Will be handled by my Wolfpack." Ivanova confided, "Who are *more* then capable of tracking him down and capturing him."

        "And if he resists?"

        Ivanova shrugged. "Well, we'll just have to kill him then, I suppose."

        "I see. Is there... anything else you wish to pass on at this time?"

        A pause, then... but finally, the Imperial Huntleader shook her head very slowly. "No, I think I've managed to cover all the really *important* points during this discussion. You can run along now, Sha'var Alyt...

        WE'LL handle this matter, from here on in."

* * *

        Elsewhere. In between the worlds.

        <We're getting closer, now.> Sheynell noted, as the indistinct presence of Klairika sailed on through the darkness beside her. <The lights of that reality -- they're almost as bright as ours was, when we first stood in the gate.>

        <How long has it been, now?>

        <A few hours at the most -- I think. It's getting difficult to tell how much time is passing in this place.>

        <And when we *do* get close enough, how exactly are we supposed to find her? Our magnificently mysterious ally never saw fit to tell us that detail, now did he?>

        <No. Not yet. As a matter of fact, I haven't felt his presence close by for some time now. It's almost like he's standing aside, waiting for us to make the first...> At that moment, Sheynell froze, as a bizarre, almost frightening icy wave passed through her. Past generations had, she knew, referred to this sensation as 'someone walking over my grave', but what was causing it, in the here and now? She focused her telepathic senses on the origin, and to her astonishment, the still quite distant galaxy of the alternate reality seemed to flare into an endless blaze of light. A blaze that expanded until the light and her were as one...

<flash>

        "Is she safe?" a voice inquired.

        "It was touch and go for a while," another, familiar voice replied, "But yes, she's safe now. Using the Kyle Technique, we managed to remove all of the Shadow circuitry from her brain without damaging any of the higher functions. Once that had been achieved, we were of course able to remove the exterior implants without too much difficulty..."

        "Can she hear us?"

        "I suspect so; as a matter of fact, she has been drifting closer and closer to consciousness for some time now."

        A flare of light dazzled her, and then gradually resolved into two faces, the ceiling of this place just beyond. One of the two was familiar to her -- it was Veyshahk. While the other?

        Oh Valen, no! It was...

        Him.

        "John?" a voice murmured. "What are *you* doing here?"

        Sheynell jumped, then -- the voice was *her* voice, but she hadn't -- she hadn't been the one doing the thinking! Oh no, this was...

        "When I heard you'd been captured, there wasn't anything in the galaxy that could have prevented me from coming here. And when I heard what they'd done to you, there was nothing that was going to tear me from your side, Sheynell. It's taken a long time, but I finally realize how much you mean to me... I don't know what I'd do if you were killed."

        "We're the best telepathic operatives the Alliance has got." the other Sheynell noted. "The regulations aren't going to give us the kind of free time you want."

        "To Hell with the regulations!"

        "Well... if you want to break regulations, why not one more?"

        It was then that she turned to run, to escape. She didn't belong here, there had to be a way out!

        A voice. She could hear a voice. What was it saying? The voice sounded agitated, sounded almost...

        Angry.

<flash>

        <Focus, damn you!> Galen cried, as a very disorientated Sheynell emerged back out into the darkness. <It is bad enough that one of you has been lost through this breach, I will *not* allow another to pass through unheeded!>

        <What... what happened?>

        <You allowed yourself to become synchronized with your alternate self.> the Technomage informed her, his voice stern, his tone frosty. <Perhaps I should have been more clear when we began this operation -- neither of you can allow yourself to relax in this medium. As you have already discovered first hand, it is entirely possible to fall completely through the gate... there is a chance that you will be lost to us as well if you do not *focus* on the matter at hand.

        Do you understand?>

        <I do.> she whispered, her voice trembling.

        <I will not warn you again. The next time this happens, the Praetor Questus may have to break you out of this working. And if that happens, Sheynell Keynes, all that we are working towards will be doomed to disaster, for you are the link that holds us together. Focus on the duty at hand, or lose your captain forever.> And with that harsh reminder, the razor-fine form of the Technomage's mind vanished from the link, leaving the two Rangers alone with their thoughts.

        <What did you see?> Klairika tentatively began.

        <It wasn't what I saw,> Sheynell dully replied.

        <It was what I felt.>

* * *

        For the longest of times, he had enjoyed the feeling of power -- the glory of winning battle after battle at the head of his fleet. But then, the arrogance that came from being one of the Council's premier warriors had taken its toll. In the end, it had come down to the simple fact that this battle could not be lost. He could *not* be beaten!... it simply wasn't possible.

        Not possible. It was then, light years away from any living thing, that John Sheridan clenched one trembling hand. He could not shut out the agony that burned inside him -- the agony of failure. The Empire that had proclaimed him favoured son had now turned against him -- the Councillors who had heaped their commendations and medals upon him were now calling out for his blood. What could be done? Was there any way out for him?

        Yes, there was. He knew there was -- the only choice remaining was the choice that would destroy what he had been, and create a new man in its place. The only thing that remained, the only possible choice to be taken, was to help destroy the system that had created him, or be destroyed in turn. Either it would survive the winnowing to come, or he would.

        There was *no* other option remaining to him.

        And then, all of a sudden, his ship warned him that the unthinkable had occurred, that jump points were beginning to tear space asunder around him. Was this the Imperial Wolfpacks, come to nip at his heels, come to take him down into Hell? Or had he gone far enough towards Alliance space to make himself an interesting target for their intelligence gathering forces?

        A moment later, Sheridan received his answer.

* * *

        Onboard White Star 750, the flagship of the Interstellar Alliance's Third White Star Fleet, a rather interesting conversation was taking place. "The frontier probes detected a disturbance -- and for once, it looked like the probes were right on the money."

        "Interesting." the Minbari who commanded that ship observed. "An Imperial splintership. The predictive abilities of our seers would appear to have been... entirely accurate in this case. You and your partner were right to summon me, Stephen -- this bears investigating. Especially if the pilot of that ship is who I think it is."

        At that moment, another human entered the bridge, and quickly made her way over to the others. "So, were they right?"

        "Apparently. The splintership appears to have one occupant...while its weapons are powered down at this time."

        "Bring us alongside and prepare to grapple."

        "Yes, Sha'vei."

        "You think it's Sheridan in that ship, don't you?"

        "The intelligence reports from the aftermath at the battle of Zander Prime were very specific; it can be no other. Any other splintership in the Imperial Navy would have fired on us long before now."

        "We're still taking a big gamble here, you know."

        Sha'vei Lennier leant forward in his chair, his gaze intent. "Yes, Stephen... we are. But if we are right about this, there is now a chance, a very real chance, that I may now stand on the soil of my homeworld as a free Minbari. It is... my destiny."

        Stephen Franklin sighed, before leaning back in his chair. "You're going to try and get us all killed again, aren't you?"

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To be continued....

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