BY: GLADIATOR
On Board Babylon 5
On
Board Babylon 5
Captain
Sheridan shook hands with Captain Sulu, and each introduced their corresponding
senior officers. “I must thank
you Captain Sheridan for allowing Excelsior
to dock here.”
Sulu
addressed the space station's commander. “She
is in much need of repair.”
“I’m
afraid with all the Shadow activity in the outer worlds, our home here in the
station has become a real blister of activity.“ Sheridan started in.
“Ships from all over are docked here for repairs.
For the most part though, when a ship encounters a Shadow vessel, they
don’t come back.” “We will help you anyway we can.
As many maintenance Bots we can spare will be at your disposal.”
“Shadows?”
Sulu’s eyebrow went up, not unlike Spock's.
“We seem to have encountered some Shadows of our own.”
“Well
that's what I was afraid of,” Sheridan replied in his normally gruff voice.
“I’m afraid the appearance of your ship in our space is somewhat of
an omen. We need to talk...
in private. Please follow me
Captain Sulu. Commander Ivanona
will handle coordinating your damage repair efforts.” Sheridan turned on his
heels and headed out of the docking bay.
The
ship was very lively and very close quartered compared to a Federation Space
Dock. The mass of beings running to
and fro gave Sulu the gravest suspicion that all were aware of his presence.
He followed in Sheridan's steps as the crowd made a path for them to
pass. He had never seen many of the
alien races inhabiting the station.
The
more he thought about it, the more he was sure of his intuitive notions.
He learned from Captain Kirk that following a hunch is sometimes the best
and most logical course to follow in determining a starship captain’s actions.
That wormhole had dumped Excelsior
in an alternate universe from his own, and whatever that Shadow was that hounded
the ship, no doubt the cause.
After
a long ride in a primitive form of turbolift, they arrived at the quarters of a
one G’Kar. As Sulu entered the
alien gave a look of anguish and starred at him with a cold, red eye.
G’Kar’s other lost in a past war so loathsome, that it manifested
each night in the way of nightmares. He
sat at a small table with an old book in front him.
The room was dark, except for the lighted candles serenely illuminating
the colorful tapestries hung on the walls.
The
two captains took seats opposite G’Kar. Introductions
were made, however the reptilian hominoid would not take Sulu’s hand.
Delin also entered G’Kar's quarters and took her place at Sheridan's
side.
“This
ancient text is known by G’Kar’s people as the book of G’quan.
Many consider its contents only myth.” Sheridan laid one had on the
thickly bound manuscript. “G’Kar
if you would please fill Captain Sulu in on the unpleasant news you spoke to me
of several weeks ago.”
“The
Narn, have referenced this book throughout their existence.
In times of peace, and in times of war, the Book of G’quan can be
looked upon for guidance. It has been handed down generation after generation from our
Elders.” G’Kar opened the book to a marker.
The
parchment was yellowish in color, but a rough sketch of Excelsior could clearly be made out amongst the cryptic writings and
strange images on the pages.
“Please
look closely at some of these words...” G’Kar pointed to several names.
Yog-Sothoth
Nyogth
Umr
at Tawil
“You
may read these names herein, but do not say them aloud.
I will translate for you what I have transcribed over the past several
weeks.”
“Messenger
of fear in sight... dark deception
kills the light”
“Hybrid
children watch the sea, pray for father roaming free”
“Fearless
wretch”
“Insanity”
“He
watches, lurking beneath the sea”
“Great
Old Ones, forbidden site, he searches”
“Hunter
of the Shadows is rising”
“Immortal”
“In
madness you’ll dwell”
Sulu,
now in a semi-comatose state after hearing G’Kar’s translation felt a chill
to his very soul.
“Crawling
chaos underground, cult has summoned twisted sound”
“Out
from ruins once possessed, fallen city living death”
G’Kar
turned another page and continued. Sulu
felt fear he had never known...this was too weird.
“Timeless
sleep”
“Has
been upset”
“He
awakens...”
As
G’kar stopped for a moment, Sulu noted the other inscriptions on the script.
Pictures of obelisks. Winged
creatures, and ruins. He noted one
apparition looked painfully familiar to a Grey.
“Not
dead which eternal lie”
“Stranger
eons, death may die”
“Drain
you of your sanity”
“Face
the thing that should not be”
The
Narn looked up, expressionless. It
was Delin who spoke next.
“The
Mimbari also have references to these First Ones, and to the lost city of R'lyeh.
G’Kar’s
eyes seemed to glow. “From what I
can gather Captain Sulu, your ship's presence here confirms the ancient texts
rendition, that a dimensional gateway has opened to a race of divine
super-beings. Their master scheme,
though fully unknown, woefully annihilates all forms of life in our known
universe."
“Our current bouts with the Shadows are only the tip of a Titanic iceberg in our path.”
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