Fic: Excalibur
Title: Excalibur I
Show: Crusade
Characters: Matthew Gideon
Rating: G
Tags: introspection
My humble offering to this year's Babylon 5 Love month. There will be two more vignettes, hopefully complementing this one.
This is unbetaed. Please excuse any weirdness.
Excalibur I
Gideon - In the Beginning
He couldn’t believe it. They had given him command of the Excalibur.
Hearing the words had sent a trickle of excitement running through his veins - not unlike the feeling of picking up a hand of cards and discovering that against all odds you’ve been dealt a perfect royal flush, just like that.
He had heard of the Excalibur of course. She was one of the most advanced, the most powerful ships ever built, the only surviving one of two prototypes of the new Whitestar destroyer class warships and a product of the collaborate efforts of the Minbari Federation and Earth Alliance.
Had the circumstances been any different Matthew Gideon would have been exhilarated to get this command. Yet, he was all too aware that under different circumstances he wouldn’t have stood the slightest chance of getting it.
It seemed a strange quirk of fate that President Sheridan had picked Matthew of all people for the job of finding a cure for the Drakh plague. After his first initial elation had passed, he had begun to wonder. Had it really been a sign of trust in Matthew’s abilities that had made Sheridan choose him instead of any other captain? He wanted to believe that, but deep down he couldn’t. Instead a tiny, yet persistent voice kept nagging him with speculations and suspicions. Choosing Matthew - it might have been not so much a sign of confidence in his abilities as a captain, but instead the desperate hope that he would bring something else to the table, something that transcended mere competence.
Regardless of his success as an officer and captain he had always had the reputation of a wildcard. There was his well-known penchant for any kind of card-game or gamble together with his unerring luck in that field. Highly irregular for a career-officer, wouldn’t you say? Better to give it up, right? He had been advised to that end more than once. None of those friendly and well-meaning advisors had understood though that his love for gambling was just an outward sign for something that ran much deeper. The universe owed him. In the past he had lost so much; he had lost everything. He couldn’t say exactly when it at happened, but at one point he had decided it was time for payback, and since then he had bet on it, had been willing to take every risk necessary, and the universe - the universe was following suit.
Sheridan didn’t know about Matthew’s bet. How could he? Nonetheless, Matthew kept wondering if Sheridan had gained some form of strange insight into it. It would explain so much, wouldn’t it? It certainly would explain how Sheridan could have come to the decision that Matthew might be the best choice to somehow tilt the scales of fate in their favour, allowing him to beat the odds and bring salvation to an Earth that was rapidly spiralling towards desolation.
Matthew wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of being put into this game as the joker. He wasn’t opposed to the role, not completely at least, but if anything it would be the ultimate test. This gamble had the highest stakes imaginable, and the responsibility coming with it was enough to bring even the best men to his knees.
“Take the scenic route, will you?” he said casually, addressing the shuttle pilot who was ferrying him and the others over to the Excalibur. This was the first time he was able to study her in all her glory. He wanted to take his time.
His own words, spoken not so long ago down on Mars, came back to him. “This is my command,” he had told the senator. “I’ll do whatever is necessary. If that means turning the entire galaxy upside down and shaking its pockets to see what falls out that’s what I’ll do.”
With the memory came back the grim determination he had felt while he had said those words, taking the reins firmly in hand, making this mission truly his own, and pledging himself to its success. It had been the first step. Letting his eyes roam over the Excalibur’s hull felt like the second one, his gaze taking possession of every contour and every silhouette of her.
The third and last step would follow once they were on board and on their way: coming to know the crew and turning them into his crew while leading them into the unknown and towards success. Slowly, almost reluctantly his eyes travelled away from the Excalibur, briefly resting upon silent Mars, before he looked up, staring outward and towards the Rim.
He would find the cure. He would find salvation for Earth. And if your luck holds, the tiny voice in his mind whispered once again, you might even find your own.
Show: Crusade
Characters: Matthew Gideon
Rating: G
Tags: introspection
My humble offering to this year's Babylon 5 Love month. There will be two more vignettes, hopefully complementing this one.
This is unbetaed. Please excuse any weirdness.
Excalibur I
Gideon - In the Beginning
He couldn’t believe it. They had given him command of the Excalibur.
Hearing the words had sent a trickle of excitement running through his veins - not unlike the feeling of picking up a hand of cards and discovering that against all odds you’ve been dealt a perfect royal flush, just like that.
He had heard of the Excalibur of course. She was one of the most advanced, the most powerful ships ever built, the only surviving one of two prototypes of the new Whitestar destroyer class warships and a product of the collaborate efforts of the Minbari Federation and Earth Alliance.
Had the circumstances been any different Matthew Gideon would have been exhilarated to get this command. Yet, he was all too aware that under different circumstances he wouldn’t have stood the slightest chance of getting it.
It seemed a strange quirk of fate that President Sheridan had picked Matthew of all people for the job of finding a cure for the Drakh plague. After his first initial elation had passed, he had begun to wonder. Had it really been a sign of trust in Matthew’s abilities that had made Sheridan choose him instead of any other captain? He wanted to believe that, but deep down he couldn’t. Instead a tiny, yet persistent voice kept nagging him with speculations and suspicions. Choosing Matthew - it might have been not so much a sign of confidence in his abilities as a captain, but instead the desperate hope that he would bring something else to the table, something that transcended mere competence.
Regardless of his success as an officer and captain he had always had the reputation of a wildcard. There was his well-known penchant for any kind of card-game or gamble together with his unerring luck in that field. Highly irregular for a career-officer, wouldn’t you say? Better to give it up, right? He had been advised to that end more than once. None of those friendly and well-meaning advisors had understood though that his love for gambling was just an outward sign for something that ran much deeper. The universe owed him. In the past he had lost so much; he had lost everything. He couldn’t say exactly when it at happened, but at one point he had decided it was time for payback, and since then he had bet on it, had been willing to take every risk necessary, and the universe - the universe was following suit.
Sheridan didn’t know about Matthew’s bet. How could he? Nonetheless, Matthew kept wondering if Sheridan had gained some form of strange insight into it. It would explain so much, wouldn’t it? It certainly would explain how Sheridan could have come to the decision that Matthew might be the best choice to somehow tilt the scales of fate in their favour, allowing him to beat the odds and bring salvation to an Earth that was rapidly spiralling towards desolation.
Matthew wasn’t sure how he felt about the idea of being put into this game as the joker. He wasn’t opposed to the role, not completely at least, but if anything it would be the ultimate test. This gamble had the highest stakes imaginable, and the responsibility coming with it was enough to bring even the best men to his knees.
“Take the scenic route, will you?” he said casually, addressing the shuttle pilot who was ferrying him and the others over to the Excalibur. This was the first time he was able to study her in all her glory. He wanted to take his time.
His own words, spoken not so long ago down on Mars, came back to him. “This is my command,” he had told the senator. “I’ll do whatever is necessary. If that means turning the entire galaxy upside down and shaking its pockets to see what falls out that’s what I’ll do.”
With the memory came back the grim determination he had felt while he had said those words, taking the reins firmly in hand, making this mission truly his own, and pledging himself to its success. It had been the first step. Letting his eyes roam over the Excalibur’s hull felt like the second one, his gaze taking possession of every contour and every silhouette of her.
The third and last step would follow once they were on board and on their way: coming to know the crew and turning them into his crew while leading them into the unknown and towards success. Slowly, almost reluctantly his eyes travelled away from the Excalibur, briefly resting upon silent Mars, before he looked up, staring outward and towards the Rim.
He would find the cure. He would find salvation for Earth. And if your luck holds, the tiny voice in his mind whispered once again, you might even find your own.