(no subject)
I had hoped to have another fic finished, but alas. Unbetaed; all mistakes my own.
dark things
G, gen, Lennier.
A familiar dream.
The Black Star floats through space, strong and powerful.
The Black Star explodes, slow motion; the fire on the inside blooming outwards and then dying, snuffed out by the vacuum.
The clan elders in his room, (sorry, sorry, we regret, so sorry - ) candles and rituals and then it's over.
Lennier twists in his sleep.
You lost family too!
We all lost family, clan member serving with clan member, clan member mourning with clan member. I remember you Ashan, I remember sitting in prayer together.
I remember late at night; ("do you think they screamed?")
(There’s no air in space Ashan.)
He hears her screaming.
Lennier wakes and lies still, the echoes of dreaming falling from his ears.
(In a room on Minbar The Dreaming reveals truths about ourselves; shows us what we need to see.)
He performs his rituals and dresses, mentally preparing for the day. He confirms meetings, replies to messages received during the night, checks the time. Delenn should just be getting up. Half an hour for her rituals, another half an hour to get ready.
Lennier meditates for an hour before going to start the day.
He walks on the Black Star (though he knows he's never been here) and sees them all in rows, tied into the machinery, their faces frozen in a scream.
("Would you freeze in space? Would you die first?" "Don’t ask such questions, Lennier.")
In sleep Lennier's breath comes quicker.
We regret, we’re sorry, sorry, the war is over -
(He screamed when they told him.)
The walls are dark, but he supposes (in his dream anyway) that the name did not come from nowhere.
She is crouched over a human body.
She is tied into the ship, and frozen.
She says, I am only a shadow in your mind.
He wakes abruptly. His view screen is bleeping brightly in the dark room. An urgent matter, of course, and he dresses quickly to attend to it.
They say it looks like death.
They say when it passes it screams in your mind.
They say -
("Do you hear it screaming, Lennier?")
- the ship is alive.
The walls are too dark,
("your eyes kinda slide of it.")
His mother is sitting at the centre, crouched over a human body
(SheridanMordenSinclair-)
His mother is tied into a machine, wires penetrating her skull bone, and she looks at him, reaches out and -
("They only need me to help with the memorial rituals. I’ll be back in a few days. Don’t be afraid for me.")
- she is screaming.
In his sleep, Lennier’s heart beats faster.
His heart is beating too fast, his breath too quick. They have defeated the Shadows this time; they are destroyed or fled. Delenn and Sheridan come back onto the command deck of the White Star and Delenn walks over to place a gentle hand on his arm. "You fought with honour. Are you well, Lennier?"
"Yes, Ambassador."
"Good." Delenn looks over to where the ship has been damaged. "They are terrible ships. I would not blame you for being afraid."
"I was not afraid."
It is the first lie.
dark things
G, gen, Lennier.
A familiar dream.
The Black Star floats through space, strong and powerful.
The Black Star explodes, slow motion; the fire on the inside blooming outwards and then dying, snuffed out by the vacuum.
The clan elders in his room, (sorry, sorry, we regret, so sorry - ) candles and rituals and then it's over.
Lennier twists in his sleep.
You lost family too!
We all lost family, clan member serving with clan member, clan member mourning with clan member. I remember you Ashan, I remember sitting in prayer together.
I remember late at night; ("do you think they screamed?")
(There’s no air in space Ashan.)
He hears her screaming.
Lennier wakes and lies still, the echoes of dreaming falling from his ears.
(In a room on Minbar The Dreaming reveals truths about ourselves; shows us what we need to see.)
He performs his rituals and dresses, mentally preparing for the day. He confirms meetings, replies to messages received during the night, checks the time. Delenn should just be getting up. Half an hour for her rituals, another half an hour to get ready.
Lennier meditates for an hour before going to start the day.
He walks on the Black Star (though he knows he's never been here) and sees them all in rows, tied into the machinery, their faces frozen in a scream.
("Would you freeze in space? Would you die first?" "Don’t ask such questions, Lennier.")
In sleep Lennier's breath comes quicker.
We regret, we’re sorry, sorry, the war is over -
(He screamed when they told him.)
The walls are dark, but he supposes (in his dream anyway) that the name did not come from nowhere.
She is crouched over a human body.
She is tied into the ship, and frozen.
She says, I am only a shadow in your mind.
He wakes abruptly. His view screen is bleeping brightly in the dark room. An urgent matter, of course, and he dresses quickly to attend to it.
They say it looks like death.
They say when it passes it screams in your mind.
They say -
("Do you hear it screaming, Lennier?")
- the ship is alive.
The walls are too dark,
("your eyes kinda slide of it.")
His mother is sitting at the centre, crouched over a human body
(SheridanMordenSinclair-)
His mother is tied into a machine, wires penetrating her skull bone, and she looks at him, reaches out and -
("They only need me to help with the memorial rituals. I’ll be back in a few days. Don’t be afraid for me.")
- she is screaming.
In his sleep, Lennier’s heart beats faster.
His heart is beating too fast, his breath too quick. They have defeated the Shadows this time; they are destroyed or fled. Delenn and Sheridan come back onto the command deck of the White Star and Delenn walks over to place a gentle hand on his arm. "You fought with honour. Are you well, Lennier?"
"Yes, Ambassador."
"Good." Delenn looks over to where the ship has been damaged. "They are terrible ships. I would not blame you for being afraid."
"I was not afraid."
It is the first lie.