The Paths Not Taken, Epilogue
//Private thoughts or mental argument - when one person is trying to decide something.//
~Emphasis marks~
"Translated words from another language."
~~~~ Scene change - small (or POV change)
******** Scene change - large (or POV change)
********
"My apologies for interrupting you, Captain," The deep voice boomed loudly, startling her into dropping the report she had been holding. Her gun was out in less time than it took to blink, the whine of it charging the only sound before a few seconds of utter silence.
Lochley blinked a few times, gaze set on the intruder. "I locked that door."
"I didn't use the door." He replied, walking forward, passing through the edge of a chair as he moved in front of her desk.
She blinked again, then hazarded a guess. "Draal?"
"At your service," the unsmiling minbari hologram replied as she sighed and holstered her PPG.
"Well, at least I'm not getting out of the shower like the reports said you liked to - why are you here?"
"I would have saved my appearance for a more fortunate time, my dear Lochley, but I am the last carrier of a message for you. I do wish we could have met under better circumstances."
"What?"
"The population of the universe just changed, Captain. By one individual."
She looked at him, mildly puzzled, then froze for a moment. She reached into a drawer in her desk and pulled out the copper coil, a question on her face.
Draal nodded grimly. "About an hour ago."
"Did Chief Al-"
"Found her almost two hours ago. He couldn't do anything to help, besides kind words, considering how far along she was. There aren't any medical facilities on the little explorer ship G'Kar has, and Lyta couldn't go anywhere else. I wasn't told exactly how, just that it wasn't an easy passage."
Lochley had placed her chin on her fist. "Your machine can see that far?"
"No. My own has a range of only a few hundred lightyears. I've been asking the other caretakers to help look. Rae piped in a few minutes before I contacted you. But if you want verification, your Mr. Allan should be back in 3, 4 days. They need to dispose of the - remains - first. Probably will want to find a suitable planet for burial . . . but there's one thing I'm hoping you could shed some light on."
"I'll try."
"Why would she have a written request made out - long before this - to have her remains destroyed? Most humans prefer to bury the body, or save the ashes after cremation. Why would Miss Alexander want to have no remains left it all?"
Lochley stared at the coil, twirling it in her hand. "Captain Ivanova left a request when she departed. A personal favor. Accompanying it was a set of stills taken from a securecam in the Zocalo. Last y . . . two years ago, a Psi Cop named Bester came here to harass Garibaldi and a few others. Miss Alexander among them. He brought a contract with him - power of attourney. Remove Lyta from the rogue list in return the Corps getting her body after her death. Lyta was too desperate by that time to refuse the contract. The words were legible in the still. It was not the least bit fair, but Lyta either didn't know how to ask for help, or she still had enough shreds of pride left not to. She didn't know Bester didn't have the authority to actually help - there'd be one less popsicle in the cryo's if he could have. He just took the calls for background checks which Lyta's employers made, and lied. Since he broke the contract first, I can't personally fault her for wanting to break her side also."
None of this was news to Draal, but he listened attentively anyway.
"I'll check this with Zack when he returns. I didn't know Lyta very well, but if it took 3 days to die - no, the message had to get here - 6 days - no one deserves that. Probably took a hit from a Black Omega Squad . . ." She looked back at Draal's hologram. "Well, I won't shoot the messenger. Thank you for letting us know a little of what's going on."
Draal just faded from her sight.
He did not, however, return his attention to Epsilon 3. He popped back into vision several decks down, towards the front of the station a few hundred feet, and eight degrees retrograde.
Lilian Hobbs, the new Chief of Medical Staff, was not the least bit thrilled to be woken up by a loud, obnoxious, rude, arrogant, ugly minbari who didn't know when to keep his oversized holographic butt on his planet.
At least, that's the gist of what she was muttering crossly at him while she fumbled around in the near-dark to find a shirt to cover herself. Well, her version was decidedly more impolite. And it included some very exact medical terminology.
"Are you decent yet?"
"Yeah, fine, you can look now." She growled.
Draal blinked as he turned his vision back on. The doctor sat on her bed, scowling at him. "What do you want at this time of night?"
"I carry a message. But I doubt it will leave you smiling."
"So?!"
"Lyta Alexander just gave birth about an hour ago . . . the child could not start breathing on her own. Her mother . . . there . . . I don't have all the details, but a human can only lose so much blood before . . . well, you've seen death enough to know." He left the actual words unsaid.
"Oh god . . ." Lilian whispered.
"Mr. Allan didn't take it as well as he could have, I guess. He cared for her alot. It was a hell of a surprise, to actually see the truth," Draal admitted.
"I had hoped - she had to take injections for the first few months, but was able to stop before she left - the records don't show how she left, you know? I guess Zack tried to protect her . . . Draal, Zack took off with almost zero notice 3 days ago. Scuttlebutt was Lyta's on her deathbed and he'd gone to say goodbye. I had hoped it was the pregnancy at term or something - but with no medical facilities - I never told anyone about the baby. I still won't, unless I have to. Do you what it was like, to have the added, secret worry of their baby? Me, him, her. That's all who knew. Well G'Kar must by now. I had hoped they'd be all right. Damn."
"Delenn knew. The White Star had supplies for the infant, medical and personal. I can guess how she'll react to the news. But not a word can be spoken publicly. I suppose . . . a human such as yourself might take ~some~ small comfort in knowing the child and mother are 'together'. Such as it is."
Hobbs blinked back tears.
"I should apologize for upsetting you, Doctor. I should go before anyone wanders in and sees me nattering at you. Until next time . . ." He poofed out of existence.
"Next time . . . there's always a next time of some sort to a culture with reincarnation, isn't there." She commented to herself, then threw a pillow across the room in frustration. "There is no next time for hopes!"
She buried her face in her sheets, muttering another swearword crossly.
~~~~
Draal, not feeling even a bit remorseful over half-truths that were sometimes - but only sometimes - worse than lies, paid two last visits before returning his concentration to Epsilon Three. First he was yelled at by a fellow caretaker for linking with and abusing her own machine, giving in return the apologies ritual demanded. Then, while using the augmented power of two Great machines linked to boost his signal far enough to reach the little explorer ship, he got a sharp lecture from B5's Security Chief on 'how cruel it was to leave someone hanging as to the fate of a pregnant woman' for all his troubles. At the end of the brief tirade, Draal just pointed out to Zack that he'd probably been scanned by various Psi Cops between then and now, it wouldn't have been safe for Zack to have known. And those are just the cutest little baby booties I've ever seen!
"Don't change the topic." Zack said, rolling his eyes. "You knew! You knew all along that they were FINE and you didn't so much as hint!"
"I'm right, you know."
Then G'Kar walked in after bringing aboard the last of the supplies, and engaged Draal in a 6-hour discussion over various aspects of the religion that had sprung up over the Narn's new 'Most Holy'. It had been over two weeks since their last discussion, and Draal had some new skews to pass along that the local Narns had concocted. G'Kar's new book included the discussions, dismantling the more dangerous ideas, although the credit was given to 'one of my fellow discoverers'.
Zack spent most of the argument time cradling his surrogate daughter after she'd passed a medical with flying colors, the same as her surrogate mother had before going right back to sleep. He'd just smiled when G'Kar commented on her inheriting his hair color. . . "Almost the length too, but that can change in humans, correct?"
Zack nodded. "She does have quite a headful, doesn't she." He stroked her tiny head as she slept, wary of the little edges of bone he could feel. //So fragile!// He grinned again. "You'll have to learn to braid soon, I guess. Another few inches."
" 'Braid'?"
"Separate into 3 or more strands and weave together. The coil you sent was braided. When Lyta wakes up I'll ask to braid her hair, show you the basics. I'm a little out of practice myself. We might have time before we reach the planet you picked for the funeral."
"It's a good place for a memorial, actually. Nice green sky, plants, trees, oceans. I was thinking maybe a wooded mountain slope, view of the sea. Lots of trees for a cremation pyre. Maybe on a section having early summer - lots of flowering plants. We'll want to have it memorable enough to block the truth if - when - you are scanned." G'Kar paused, wondering if he was even being heard. The baby had awoken and Zack seemed lost in her eyes.
He waved a hand a few feet in front of Zack's face. "Did I forget to mention the lower deck is full of a dozen nutrient tanks, each of which is growing a clone of Lyta? Since I'm not about to mate with your woman, I took genetic samples, grew them, and mated with the clones. Emily has four half-siblings coming already."
G'Kar waited for a response, but Zack just watched the baby blowing bubbles at him. "I expect to breed all twelve clones on a continual basis, shipping the pouchlings back to Narn to be raised and trained by the rogues Babylon 5 forced back into running. We game them a good home. We're breeding them, also."
Another pause. "The local sun just went nova. This might be a good time to mention I'm actually a Centauri in disguise. Did I say Centauri? I meant Pak'Ma'Ra."
G'Kar finally sighed and wandered off to check the flight console.
"Your uncle G'Kar is nuts, Em. Permit me to give you the first of what will be an oft-repeated statement. I've already seen the lower deck." Zack whispered at her.
Emily gurgled, broadcasting absolute contentment, attempting to grasp onto his shirt to feel the fabric.
//Strange, to feel what she was feeling. It wasn't the same as when Lyta had been broadcasting . . . this was . . . flavored different. Flavored? That doesn't fit right . . . I'll ask Lyta if there's a word for how different minds seem different.//
"Signature would be the closest," came the soft answer from a few feet away.
"You're up!" He grinned. "Come, sit. I just changed her. She seems so happy . . . innocent. Aren't you, sweetie?"
"aaa!"
"G'Kar has also mentioned how she resembles me . . . I hope she grows up to not look like me, I'm not exactly the female standard of beauty."
"She'll be beautiful. Her mom is so pretty."
"Yup. She is."
"Zack . . ." Lyta warned crossly.
"Well! You are! Look, she's just as much yours as she is mine. I just . . . oh, you're going to be mad at me for while, anyway. But -" He bit his tongue for a moment, figuring out how to say what he had to say.
"Zack, whatever it is, spill it."
"Did you just-"
"It's written all over your face. Can I have . . . Emily - back? To feed her."
"Sure, but I don't think she's hungry." He carefully shifted her over.
"Well, ~I~ hope she is." Lyta loosened her shirt enough to let the baby nurse. "OW!"
"Hungry?"
"Yes," she winced. "Ow. You had to tell me something?"
"Uh. Yeah. Um . . . I . . . have . . . well - I should tell you I've got a son. Not yet . . . but coming."
"What?" Lyta looked at him, meekly surprised. "Zack, I know you refused to speak to me after Byron's death, but, but -"
Zack had scrambled in his pocket for the picture frame he carried, interrupting, "I've got a picture that was sent a couple of days before I got the note-" He opened it so she could see.
Lyta slumped limply back against the wall and began to cry, stunned.
"He can't stay with me, of course, not yet, but the adoption is almost complete, and, and I thought you'd be pleased, you'd been so concerned about what would happen to Tyler and since both of his parents have died, Delenn gave me permission to - mmpf!"
Lyta kept the kiss up until Zack stopped trying to talk, her free hand keeping his head against hers until he reciprocated, pressing against her gently.
"I've missed you." She whispered against his face, brushing his unshaved face with her lips.
"I'm a couple of days early, but, happy valentine's day, Lyta. . . there'll be interesting questions in a few years, if he looks like his mom - since you and Delenn both said she looked a lot like you - but I can handle it, when and if it happens, why Tyler Allan would look like the records of you." Zack paused, looking at the pictures again. "I got results back from the search about a week before the note. It took long enough, but I guess it was worth it." He tapped the picture across the Tyler's. "These two - well - uh - I found the guy who hurt you, I could remember his name from the memories I got from you. I - uh - these two boys are - um - brothers. They're . . . they’re yours. You were right about the older being able to move things. The younger boy, he's normal for a - well the record says he's still a latent. I thought you'd want a picture - I could only find this one of them together. I thought you might want to see them - there's copies of all the written information I could get in the bag I brought. And other pictures of them separate. I thought you'd want to see them . . . because I might never see you or Em again."
"My wha - oh god. Th - the - the - oh . . . they're - I want to say they're beautiful but they already resemble ~him~ . . . those poor boys. They - don't have his personality, do they? And - and you will see us! I'll make sure of it. It just might be a few years. I hope I won't have to wait so long. I've missed you. Both boys. . . I can't quite grasp it, that they're . . . there."
"Maybe I can borrow the holographic system on Epsilon 3 once in a while. Visit that way, send messages at least. Didn't you know? Draal was here while you were sleeping. He left a few minutes ago, but said he'd be back soon."
"That must be who G'Kar keeps having arguments with. I wondered."
"You never . . . ?"
"Didn't ask, didn't scan. Just thought he was a little crazy. I never could sense anyone else here." Lyta made Emily switch sides before she continued after a faint wince. "I noticed a couple of changes to my room when I woke up. Whose idea was the hammock?"
"Delenn's, I think. Takes up less space, and will fit Em for the first few months. There's a way to close it to keep her from accidentally rolling out. Not enough room for a crib . . . not enough room to stand sideways in there. Any luck on finding a planet-sized home?"
"No. All the ones 'suitable' are either eyeball deep in poisons, or already inhabited. Or both. We're looking for ones already green, we won't be able to afford domes and internal atmosphere, like the colonies on Mars have. The planet we're headed back to now was almost right, except there's some 3 legged critters on one of the main continents which have some stone tools in use. I met one last month - not very smart, but sentient. So it won't be home. The trouble is, even if we DO find a suitable planet, getting alliance permission, since we've already got 6 different species who want to send their telepaths away. However, humans will be the biggest population. There's going to be hell from the Corps, added to all the other problems."
"Gravity range, local life, finding or building jumpgate, stuff like that?"
"Yes. And atmosphere. There are the methane breathers to consider. Some of them want in. We might have to find an entire system that's uninhabited to get all the physical needs met. The red tape alone will choke us."
"You'll get it done. You can be very persistent. Plus you're smart enough to know how to read the fine print, not get snookered."
"Are you saying I've got good business sense? Why am I here then?"
"You're no good at terrorism."
"I didn't kill anyone, Zack, just had a few buildings leveled, data systems wiped, stuff like that. Symbolism and information. But you're right." She sighed. "You were always right. I wish I'd been smart enough to listen to you in the first place."
"That's enough wishing. Stick to planning. Getting all the details right. Help my little Emily grow up to be proud of her mom."
The computer beeped at them from down the hall, warning them they were about to hit atmosphere. Lyta had told Zack not to look at the controls, to keep any memory of the planet's location from him. They wanted to keep G'Kar's ruse a secret as long as possible, and Zack was sure he'd be scanned.
Zack got the other two strapped in before securing himself down. The vibrations made Emily squawk a few times, but otherwise she didn't seem to mind the bumpy ride as long as Lyta kept a hand on her. The planet had a very turbulent upper atmosphere.
********
It was pretty, in a very macabre sort of way. Clear weather, pristine mountains, a natural clearing in the trees, within sight of a purplish ocean. It was warm and the flowers were everywhere. G'Kar's tremendous physical strength lent itself to hauling fallen dried logs to the place they selected and piling them side by side in layers until it was a bonfire size. Lyta they helped to a cushion placed in a little hollow where she could sit back and doze, still tired, out if sight of the burn area. Zack picked some of the hundreds of blossoms, at first attempting to weave them into wreaths of some sort, but he soon gave up that idea and instead choose to simply pile them on top of the logs as they came.
It was a cremation fire, in truth. A local animal with a similar skull size to humans was caught and killed, then G'Kar almost severed it's limbs, making precise cuts at some of the joints. Zack was both horrified and fascinated, but understood why it had been half-butchered when the Narn began to wrap the carcass up. Once laid out and wrapped snugly in the Narn style of burial robes, the occupant's shape could be passed for a slightly plump human form. A few extra bits he also wrapped up, placing the smaller bundle on top of where 'lytas' belly would be. A much smaller bundle. Baby sized. They covered it with smaller dry branches and more flowers, then G'Kar doused it with the contents one of his scarce bottles of alcohol, a heavy brown liqueur that made Zack's stomach turn just on the scent. Then G'Kar stepped back, looking around. It was just past the local noon, he held the flaming torch in his hand ready to light the pyre, but it simply wasn't as it should have been.
"No," the Narn said. "It is your right. It is for your mate. I was merely the one asked to protect her." He handed Zack the torch.
//It is for her, isn't it.// He thought, taking the branch by the dry end, and walked up to the bonfire. He touched the large woodpile ablaze, walked around it and started it burning in several more places, trying to not look at the cloth-bound body inside. He returned to the grassy place he'd been sitting on, and stayed by G'Kar's side as they watched it burn down, letting the image be burned into his mind as well. He didn't have to try to remember the oddly familiar scent of burning flesh. //Oh, god - I swear by all things holy will never eat meat again.// He had to continually fight his stomach to keep the acid down. The fire was about two thirds of the way down when it happened. Not like a firecracker or a champange bottle, but still a definite pop.
It look a few seconds to realise it was the skull exploding under pressure and heat, the sealed compartment finally giving way.
"Some earth cultures believe that sound is the soul as it frees itself from the body." The stoic Narn commented.
Zack just wanted to throw up, and would have had his belly not been empty.
It was full dark before G'Kar got up and returned to the shuttle briefly, coming back to offer Zack a container of self-heating meal rations. Zack turned him down. "No, I'm not hungry. . . what did you say we needed to do after this?"
"The Cairn. Her spirit will not remain here for long, but it needs the symbols of what it was before for its quest. What she used in life, the memories of will be cherised in death. I brought what was needed. Clothing - what she wore that day, a few copies of the crystals she was fond of reading, a hairbrush, little things as such. She could not eat the meal I would usually set out - Narn food required a stronger stomach than what she had, but I think the human substitutes will be enough. You didn't bring any religious icons as such?"
"No." Zack admitted. "I . . . was taught you don't need to be buried with a cross to get into heaven. I just hope the preachers were right."
It was growing light again before Zack would get up from his vigil, the glowing coals outshone by the glowing horizon from sunrise. He helped G'Kar place the rocks at the head of the ashes, building a stone box with the mentioned items inside. One of her hairbrushes, a few long auburn strands still gracing the bristles, her bloodstained shirt and other articles of clothing, a hand-carved necklace she'd been given after the Shadow war by a shopkeeper on Babylon Five who'd heard of all she'd done for him and his family and the station, a few trinkets, some small food packets. Before capping it, G'Kar placed a single sheet of paper on which he had written something on top of the other things. Zack read it, then looked at him, puzzled.
The Narn looked a little sheepish. "A blessing. She will need its words for her great journey. I might not want to be called 'Most Holy', but she used the title for me more than once."
"She did?" Zack was surprised.
"Usually when annoyed. I don't think the prayer will hurt, either way."
"Oh. No, I don't think it will."
They sealed the Cairn.
The local star was well on its way up when Zack walked back to the ship, alone.
~~~~