Oblivion

For all the mean game I talk about writing, I have not posted anything (fictional at least) other than my poems. Admittedly, scripts would be difficult to post as would my longer stories, unless I broke them up (which is certainly a possibility in the future). But for today, I leave you with a short-short piece of fan fiction from my favorite sci-fi show (and my only piece of fan fiction), Babylon 5. For those that know the story, it is pretty obvious where and when it takes place, and is sort of a combined perspective from the episode and one of the novels (The Technomage Trilogy). It is a little more internalised, which is harder to get in TV and certainly a departure from what I have normally written. For those that do not know the story, I admit it really does not stand on its own as it takes a fragment of the end of the third season episode 'Z'Ha'Dum' and expands upon it, if one calls something this short expansion :)

'Oblivion'

He finally understood…

If you go to Z’Ha’Dum, you will die.

John knew the price, standing above the chasm, the Enemy behind him, calling his name. The Enemy, his wife, but not his wife. A monster, pulled from one of those Ships… a shell of the woman she was. They told her what to say, and the lie was almost convincing… almost. The Enemy closed around him, behind her, their glowing eyes, yearning for him to join them. Join… the Shadows. They asked him to turn his back on everything. His family, friends, his duty, her… the woman that Anna was, and the one, now… racing in his mind. He only wanted to be with her, but that would not be. They would kill him, and Kosh, as usual, would be right.

Damn them… If I’m going to die, then you bastards are going to hell with me.

He sent the signal…

It would be over in a moment, not that the Shadows would know. Not that he would feel. An instant of destruction, and the war… would it end? What would his sacrifice be worth? Enough to save Babylon 5? Surely the Shadows and their terrible vessels would be poised to strike, for John refused to join the Enemy. They would destroy the station and all he held dear. At least the Enemy would feel this sting.

They continued to close on him, though one of the creatures had stopped, occupied for some reason. Then it fell, and John could not understand why. He thought he saw a.... no, it did not matter. He saw her face, smiling, but her countenance betraying the control of her masters. She would kill him herself if she could. He knew he could stop her, but no matter what she had become, John could never kill Anna. He glanced skyward. At least... not face to face.

Any second now.

Another Shadow fell from behind Anna. Again, he thought he should have been confused, his tactician’s brain telling him something… someone else was at work. Unfortunately, his human instinct told him the end would soon render the thought moot.

He turned away from her and stared into the abyss…

Jump…

What… that voice. Piercing into his soul, but from where? How? Impossible. He had held the remnants of the encounter suit in his hands, even spoken to him before he passed. Kosh perished so that the fledgling Alliance would survive, ordering a strike against the Shadows at the cost of his own life.

He glanced into the darkness. It tore at him, but called to him somehow. Still, he was afraid. She advanced toward him, begging him to reconsider. He tried to blot her voice out, but he had loved her so. No, not her. A monster, created by them… the Enemy. His link beeped. The White Star was coming.

Jump… Now!

He jumped…

John felt the voice leap at him, literally drawing him over the ledge and into the darkness. Anna’s voice faded, and he said his final goodbyes. The chasm looked like it would not end, and continued to speak to him, in His voice somehow. Above, the world sounded as if it shattered. Screams… no. The White Star… its engines howling, preparing to unleash the thermonuclear fury contained within. Though fear encircled him, John forced a smile. He almost wanted to see it happen, but imagining was enough, and the reality would consume him all too soon.

Or would it?

He welcomed the abyss…

The voice fell silent. Only the darkness remained. He could not even hear what he thought he might. He must have been too close, destroyed in an instant. Or was he? Images raced through his mind… images of yesterday, the present, tomorrow… even if tomorrow would not be. He saw her… all that he knew, could hold on to, in the descent into the beyond.

Delenn…

Oblivion claimed John in the abyss beneath Z’Ha’Dum.

C.