...we came in? // "Main Title 4th Season" Christopher Franke, _Babylon 5_ // VRDET- The Marraketh Connection "Epilouge: Home Again, Home Again" by Sean M. Breen //"Duvet" BOA, _Serial Experiments Lain: Cyberia Soundtrack_" ***TRIUMVIR'S EYES ONLY*** FINAL AFTER-ACTION REPORT INCURSION INTO TIMELINE 00-07-00 BETA WRITTEN BY PROFESSOR MALACLYPSE (malaclypse@jihad.net) [...]Upon examination of the Gateway generator system logs, it becomes readily apparent that the system was acted upon by some outside force, most likely intelligently guided. This force was the primary cause of the wormhole's destablization. It is my opinion that the loss of R&D operative Hanlon was caused by this outside force. Also, I believe that Hanlon was in face shunted into another wormhole, and sent somewhere else. This would correspond with the readings gathered by the Gateway mission control crew after the gate collapsed. Tests show that the Gateway generator is now operating at proper levels, and can be used to support the second generation research now underway [...] *** The memorial service was short and to the point. A short fanfare played as the base minister said a few words to mark the passing from this world of Sebastian Hanlon aka Kapella, VRDET operative. Only the command staff had actually shown up, which wasn't surprising; out of the VRDET personnel, only Katze had known Hanlon personally, and Mal had worked with him once or twice in the Blood Jihad long, long ago. After the service, the command staff gathered in a small room off the library for a drink (or drunk, depending on how you view a proper wake). Mal raised his glass of brandy and intoned, "To Kapella. One of us. May he find whatever he was looking for." They drank their respective drinks. Nexxus put down her glass of something and commented, "Too bad there wasn't much of a turnout for the service. I hope we don't end up the same way." Mal shook his head. "Nah," he said, "I figure we'll get full state funerals, with dignitaries from all over the world coming to pay last respects." He grinned, "Or we'll blow up the Earth and there won't be anyone left to remember us." Nexxus and Katze blinked. "Jeez, Mal, that's pretty morbid," Katze noted. Mal shrugged. "Yeah, well, memorials always have that effect on me. Damned annoying, if you ask me." He glanced at the grandfather clock ticking quietly away against the wall. "It's always been a fight between me and Teleute. She'll win, of course, but I intend to give her one hell of a scrap before she gets me. Anyway, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work. See you later." As Nex and Kat fell into conversation, Mal slippped out the door and headed back to his office. A shadow seemed to flow out from the hallway and hover in front of Mal. "I see you've finally returned, Seeker," intoned the shadow. "Bug off, Watcher," growled Mal, "I'm not in the mood to play your little headgames." "Just making sure you were still here. No need to get offensive. The Five appreciated the datadump you sent them, by the by. I suspect it should keep them off our back -- and off *mine* -- for a while. Just don't forget where your loyalties should be." "Well, thanks for the tip, but I know where *my* loyalties are, and where my priorities are. And to you, my dear spectre, that... is a secret." And with that Mal walked through the shadow and went back to work. *** [...]The Marraketh incursion was pulled off surprisingly well for a group of rookie operatives. Some care needs to be taken here to commend the group leaders, as they did a superlative job of maintaining focus during the crisis. [...]However, I should point out that several members of the team did, in fact, separate from the group and get into trouble on their own, which caused the group leaders no end of trouble. In the appendix to this report I have made my reccomendations for commendations, and reports on disciplinary actions taken against the needed operatives[...] *** "So." The word seemed to hang in the air. Mal was behind his desk, hands folded in front of his face Gendo Ikari-style, staring intently at two *very* nervous R&D operatives, who were wishing that they were anywhere else at that moment. "Let me see if I have this straight. You two decided that you could run off on your own ahead of Cal's group. Because of this, you," he pointed at Brynhild, who looked extremely embarrassed, "were turned into a... hobbit, according to your debrief statements. And then *you,*" he said, pointing at Red Paladin, "ran off on our own *again* during the assault on Rhye, and as a consequence was captured. By *spoungin,* no less." Mal sighed. "I really don't know what to do with you two. Outside of Dr. Forrester, who's usually away at WEDJEE, you two have the most seniority of the R&D staff. And yet... you insist on running around like small children on a trip to the toy store! You have to understand that even though our organization is much more informal than the rest of the Jihad, when we're in the field, we *have* to follow some sort of a chain of command. "So, I've made the following decision." Bryn and Red tensed, waiting for the hammer to fall. "Technician Brynhild, you are now officially Deputy Director of VRDET Research and Development. Technician Red Paladin, you are *her* direct lieutenant. Your primary duties will be to coordinate and *lead* any R&D field operations. I don't care if that just means running down to Blockbuster to rent a Playstation game. I expect that this duty will give you an idea of what kind of responsibility I require of my people when you leave the labs. Dismissed." The two promoted techies blinked rapidly, unsure as to what just happened. They looked at Mal, who had gone back to reading paperwork. They looked at each other, shrugged, and headed for the door. Just as they opened the door to Mal's office, his voice called out. "Oh, by the way, congratulations on your promotions, you two." *** [...]The Verthandic Rangers, a group having just formed from the ruins of another JAO, were faced with a crisis of leadership and came through with flying colors. We were understaffed, underequipped, and totally unready for combat, and yet we managed not only to get a founder back home safely, we liberated a nation from under the Wyrm's thumb at the same time[...] *** In all of it's lengthy history, the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs had hosted a number of important guests. Kings, Presidents, and heads of state had wined and dined there, as had celebrities of all shapes, sizes, and sorts. The staff had thought they had seen it all. Until the strange man in the green coat had come in, dropped a briefcase full of hundred dollar bills on the front desk, and politely asked the manager if he could rent the hotel dining hall and the kitchen for an entire night. Faced with that much money, what else could the manager say? And so, it came to pass that the hotel hosted a surreal party for the employees of Verthandi Import/Exports, Limited. Inside the dining hall, the Marraketh adventurers and their support staff were partying hardy. The tech crew that had run the Gateway during the adventure were brandishing large mugs of Irish beer (none of that pissant American or English beer for *them,* no sir) and trying to sing old dirty filksongs, but ending up more like... well, a bunch of drunks trying to sing anything with more melody than "How Dry I Am." Near the back of the room, the respective adventurers were feteing their retiring comrades with plenty of high-class food and drink. Everybody was deliriously happy. Near the end of the evening, as everybody began to wear out from the nonstop partying, Mal unsteadily rose to his feet, clutching a glass of champagne for support. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I would like to propose a toast. To the Verthandic Rangersh, we can go anywhere, do anything, kick ass, take names... what else? Enh, never mind, here's to us, we're the best damn JAO in the damn Jihad!" "HERE HERE!" came the response from the assembled Rangers. And the party went on into the night. *** [...]In conclusion, I can only say that we were faced with the most difficult of situations, and we managed to survive without heavy casualties or loss of life. If the rest of our operations go a smoothly, we should have an interesting time ahead of us in the Jihad. END REPORT SUBMITTED 16 SEPTEMBER 1997 PROFESSOR MALACLYPSE, VRDET *** Mal closed out the report, dropped a quick "Trium's Eyes Only" encrypt key on the file, and schlepped it off into the vast netherworld that makes up the Jihad's internal file-sharing network. "Make sure that doesn't get to anywhere where anyone can see it anytime in the near future, okay?" He yawned slightly. "I'm not in the mood to answer idiotic questions from Treasury or Supply just yet." Minerva's voice answered from the rafters, "Not a problem, otousan. I'll keep it nice and hidden from the goon squad for a week or so." "That's a good girl." Mal got up for a moment to stretch his legs. "Hmm, looks like Nex is running late. Again. What a way to run a railroad." He leaned against the front of the desk, eyes half on his watch, half on the door. Mal flinched when he heard the *thud* of combat boots hitting an expensive mahogany desk behind him. He turned and, naturally, found Nex sitting in his chair, boots up on the desk, smirking at him. "NEX--" he began to yell, then stopped. He blinked, mouthing "Tele..." for the briefest of seconds. Nex blinked at Mal. "What? What is it Mal?" she asked. Mal blinked again, then shook his head. "Nothing, I just thought you were someone else for a minute there. It's nothing, just forget it. Now take your feet off my desk and get the HELL out of my chair!" And from there the meeting progressed. Still, Mal's mind kept drifting back to that moment, when he could have *sworn* that Death Herself was sitting in his chair, and to a similar moment, when he had left Marraketh. He'd opened the return portal right there in the middle of the throne room, and had turned to look at the murals circling the walls. Sure enough, on the side that had been previously blank, a beautiful portrait of Katze and the Rangers was there, all of the adventurers in their full glory. He took one last look when he went through the portal. Everybody else had gone ahead, and he was the last Jihaddi in Marraketh. Mal had taken his bows, glanced up at the mural, and jumped backwards through the hole in reality in surprise. Because he could've sworn that he'd seen a crown, of all things, appear on Katze's head in that painting. And he would've sworn that it *wasn't* there earlier. --- "October knew, of course, that the action of turning a page, of ending a chapter or of shutting a book, did not end a tale. "Having admitted that, he would also avow that happy endings were never difficult to find: 'It is simply a matter,' he explained to April, 'of finding a sunny place in a garden, where the light is golden and the grass is soft; somewhere to rest, to stop reading, and to be content.'" --From _The Man Who Was October_ by G.K. Chesterson / Library of Dreams THE END OF VRDET- THE MARRAKETH CONNECTION VRDET WILL RETURN WHEN? BEATS THE HELL OUT OF ME... //"End of the Tour" They Might Be Giants, _John Henry_// There's a girl with a crown and a scepter Who's on WLSD And she says that the scene isn't what it's been And she's thinking of going home That it's old and it's totally over now And it's old and it's over it's over now And it's over it's over it's over now I can see myself At the end of the tour When the road disappears If there's any more people around When the tour runs aground And if you're still around Then we'll meet at the end of the tour The engagements are booked through the end of the world So we'll meet at the end of the tour OMAKE SCENE: Inside the VRDET base, Gateway room, MAL and a bunch of TECHS (n/d) running around, checking equipment. A small SHOGGOTH sits in the corner. MAL: Okay, check the secondary arrays for damage, we might've been a little parts-happy on that last run -- SHOGGOTH: Tekeili-li! Tekeili-li! MAL: -- make sure that the navigational systems are back up to snuff. Somebody give me a systems diagnostic on the quantum confinement beams -- SHOGGOTH: Tekeili-li! Tekeili-li! MAL: Get the test probe ready for insertion -- SHOGGOTH: Tekeili-li! Tekeili-li! MAL: And would somebody please SHUT THAT THING THE HELL UP?!?! SHOGGOTH: Tekeili-li! Teke-- *BLAM* SHOGGOTH: Arrrrggggghhhhhh.... MAL: Much better. Now, where were we? Never to part since the day we met Out on Interstate Ninety-One I was bent metal you were a flaming wreck As we kissed at the overpass I was sailing along with the people Driving themselves to distraction inside me Then came a knock on the door which was odd And the picture above me changed At the end of the tour When the road disappears If there's any more people around When the tour runs aground And if you're still around Then we'll meet at the end of the tour The engagements are booked through the end of the world So we'll meet at the end of the tour This was the vehicle, these were the people You opened the door and expelled all the people This was the vehicle, these were the people You opened the door and expelled all the people This was the vehicle, these were the people You let them go... At the end of the tour When the road disappears If there's any more people around When the tour runs aground And if you're still around Then we'll meet at the end of the tour The engagements are booked through the end of the world So we'll meet at the end of the tour And we're never gonna tour again No we're never gonna tour again