Author: Shakatany Series: Babylon 5 Pairing: Neroon/? Rating: FRT Chapters: 1/? Disclaimer: These stories are not meant to infringe upon the copyrights held by J. Michael Straczynski, Kathryn M. Drennan, Babylonian Inc. or Time Warner Productions. I'm merely playing with what they've apparently abandoned, adding my own take on that universe. It's not my fault...my muse is forcing me to do it. Summary: After "Objects at Rest" John and Delenn find that once again the dead do not stay dead. Note: This fic is dedicated to John Vickery who has been described as having a voice that could melt the underwear off a cloistered nun at 50 paces. So very true.
In the light of two moons crystal mountains gleam
within their hearts no shadows fall --Shaal Mayan
Chapter 1
Earth Year: 2261
Hell. I'm in hell, Dancer thought. Just let me sleep a little more.I only fell asleep a moment ago...it's hot and babe-within has been restless.
But Anyani was persistent and shook her again. "Come - it is time"
"Time for what?" There was no hurry here on the planet they named Limbo; one day melted into the next.
"He comes." The Centauri seer was given to speaking obliquely which served her well during her decades spent in the Imperial Court on Centauri Prime.
"Who comes?" Of all the survivors of the Shadow prison, Dancer was the one with the most patience for her premonitions but right now...
"The one who will find the key to your deliverance."
Babe-within kicked her as if underlining the importance of what Anyani said. Had her father found them? Anyani had been right far too many times to be ignored now even if it did seem crazy to creep away in the darkness. Groaning, Dancer rose from her pallet. Tr'gan was still asleep nearby; she slept deeply as the heat never bothered the Narns. In the partial darkness she slipped on her caftan - there were few clothes that fit her now that she had this soccer ball in front of her. This one was of Markab design, a noxious riot of color and pattern salvaged from a downed freighter. She slipped on her sandals as she ran her fingers through her short hair; it was still growing in. Just a little while ago she had been as bald as Anyani.
"Where are we going?" she whispered. Anyani, dressed in a strange combination of Abbai and Brakiri travel garments, simply shook her head then took her hand and led her outside. The small, dim emergency lights that never turned off were enough to light their way.
They quietly made their way past the nearby Drazhi encampment and went to the small hanger area where the skimmers and airsleds were kept. Dancer began to heave herself into the first skimmer but Anyani pulled at her sleeve and whispered, "No, we will need the airsled."
Dancer protested as the skimmer was far more comfortable and in her condition she felt every jolt through the barely padded seats but the Centauri was adamant so off they went in the airsled with Dancer hoping that it wouldn't break down. She set course towards the unused landing area.
"No, not there; we must go to the Citadel."
The Citadel was the name given to the deserted ruin some distance away from the Shadow prison complex. "Why? The others said there was nothing useful there."
"The time was wrong. His journey hadn't started yet."
Dancer sighed. Anyani, your sight is often helpful but many times you're as clear as a Vorlon which means not very. Having dealt with her since the departure of the Shadows, Dancer knew there was no way to get her to elaborate if she didn't want to.
It was the middle of the Limbo night. Up above she caught sight of the two moons, smaller than those of Minbar or even those of Mars. The night was so clear that she could see the wisp of the ring that marked the probable destruction of a third moon. At least it was less hot than it would be in a few hours and speeding in the open airsled cooled her off even further.
Somewhere among those stars were Sol and Midiri and Epsilon 3 and other familiar stars but they were as unreachable to her as if she lived on pre-spaceflight Earth. They had yet to figure out where in the galaxy Limbo was situated and being unable to communicate with anyone, there was little chance someone would simply stumble across them...unless Anyani had really seen something that could help them.
They flew the few kilometers to the Citadel in about five minutes. It was a large, round, now open structure, as time had worn away much of its outer wall. She landed close to it and they went inside. There was not much to see in the starlight. The floor was the bedrock, extending partially up the walls, as if the builders couldn't bother being neat. There was a long, low boulder near the entrance that made a suitable bench for her to sit on. "Now what?"
"We wait." Anyani sat down close by, oh so gracefully as she had been taught to do in the Imperial Court. Even when she wasn't pregnant Dancer could never have imitated her elegant movements. She looked around; this was the first time she'd been to the Citadel. All in all a rather boring structure she thought. She felt her hand grasped and looked towards Anyani who was staring rapturously at the ceiling and followed her gaze. There was a strange pattern of brown and blue that looked oddly familiar but even that eventually lost its appeal for her and she half-dozed in the silence for a time. Outside the sky began to brighten and Dancer turned to Anyani who was still gazing up. If they didn't leave soon, the heat would be unbearable for her, burdened as she was by the little heating unit within. Plus babe-within was once more pressing on her bladder.
Suddenly, as if a switch had been thrown somewhere, she heard the sounds of some sort of mechanism being activated, then up above an iris began to dilate and a bright light appeared sending a column of light downward; the light crackled and the iris expanded further as did the column. When it became fully dilated there was the sound of muted thunder and the light vanished as the iris closed. In the center of the structure lay a badly burned figure. Dancer rushed to it then stopped in dismay. The figure had a bonecrest; he was Minbari, not human. She looked closer but his face was so badly burned as to make identification impossible.
"What the hell was that? Where did he come from?" Her nose wrinkled; the smell of his burned flesh reminded her that she hadn't eaten any steak in ages. Oh for a local McBari's.
"He came from the world of his birth along a road long forgotten, past space, past time. The Old Ones built it eons before even the Vorlons and Shadows left their natal wolds." Anyani intoned.
Before? According to legend the Vorlons and the Shadows had been fighting for uncounted millennia, possibly even millions of years. How old was this place? The survivors had assumed it had been built by the Shadows then deserted when the larger facility was completed. However such speculation could wait for another time. Now she needed to get the Minbari to Tr'gan who had been a medic in the Narn military and was the nearest thing they had to a doctor.
Cautiously they stepped closer; Anyani reached down and touched the Minbari but he was deeply unconscious and did not react. The burns were bad; if he'd been human, he would be dead but the Minbari were a tougher species. As Anyani raised his head and shoulders, Dancer clumsily squatted down far enough so she could grasp his feet. Pieces of his burnt clothing fell off as the two women and their burden slowly made their way out of the building and gently placed him in the back of the airsled. Dancer could now understand why Anyani had wanted the open airsled rather than the enclosed skimmer. Her training kicked in and she said to her companion as Anyani retook her seat beside her, "This goes no further until we have more information. We'll tell the others that he came in a lifepod that crashed and the debris was taken out by the tide."
She set the course of the airsled to approach the prison ruins from the sea. The story might not hold for long; the moons were small and it was the primary, a K-type orange dwarf, that created what slight tides there were. Deep inside a small hope was growing. Was Anyani right? Was the Minbari the key to getting off this accursed rock?