Characters: G’fen, Dunstan Kordieh
G’fen was on his way back toward the Station House after a quick tour of several decks of the Phoenix. He saw Dunstan Kordieh stepping out the door and making his way toward the nearest lift. He seemed deep in thought, so much so that he didn’t notice G’fen nearby.
G’fen decided to get his friend’s attention. “Dunstan! Hello, over here.” They greeted each other. “How was your flight up?”
“Very quiet,” Kordieh replied. “I think I was brought up on just about the last shuttle.”
“My flight was….let’s say less quiet. This place is certainly amazing.”
Kordieh closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, both his voice and expression carried deep sorrow. “Yes, it is. She’s … the Vorlon tech is apparently even partially sentient.”
“I read about this, it’s quite amazing stuff.” G’fen noticed an almost horrified look on his friend. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve just been talking to Chief Darquin … going over the rules and such. Some of the things we talked about made me realize … I never thought about how much I hurt the Phoenix herself when I tried to blow us all up. Somehow I’ll have to find a way to make it up to her, too.”
“I don’t mean to sound rude, but how in the the name of G’Quan do you plan to pull that off? I know it is a very advanced ship, but a ship it still is.” G’fen was anxious to hear his reply.
To his surprise, Kordieh chuckled wryly. “I haven’t any idea. She is indeed an incredibly advanced ship. And I’m barred now from reading up on the technical specs. So … I guess I’ll just have to keep my eyes open.”
“Well, if you ever need anything, I’ll do my best to help.” They continued on their way. “I haven’t been to my quarters yet. Could you help me find them?”
“I’ll try. Were you told what deck they were on?”
“No. I’ve just been to Security, and the main docking bay.”
“That’s odd. You should have at least been told what deck your quarters were on at the time you got off the shuttle. I know I was.” He pressed his knuckles into his chin. After a moment, he smiled. “I know. We’ll go up to the bridge and talk to whoever is on the Ops desk. They should have a full directory of the bunking assignments.”
The two of them went up to the ops deck, and G’fen grabbed the first person he could find. “Hi there, I need to know where my quarters are, could you assist me?”
The woman who stood behind the Ops console was the palest human G’fen had ever seen. With her nearly bone-white skin, ice-blue eyes and long, white gold hair, she almost looked like a ghost. But she smiled at G’fen and said, “Of course. Can you tell me your name?”
“G’fen,” he replied kindly.
“Ah!” she said, her smile widening. “G’fen-san, yes. Let me see ….” She looked down at her console, her hands flying over the controls in a well-choreographed dance. After a moment, she looked up again and said, “Your quarters are on Deck Four, two up from here. Follow the main corridor to your left as you exit the lift, look for the number twenty-seven. Your link is already keyed to the door.”
“Thanks!” G’fen turned to Dunstan. “Would you mind coming with me?”
“Not at all,” Kordieh said. The pair traveled up to Deck Four, and following Yoshino’s directions, soon reached G’fen’s quarters. G’fen keyed in his code, and the door opened.
As they stepped inside, the lights came on — dim, and with a distinct reddish tinge.
G’fen was very pleased by the red tinge. “I’m impressed. How did it know?”
“I imagine that Ops informed the system this room was for a Narn, and it made the appropriate adjustments,” Kordieh said. “I’m glad you’ll be comfortable.”
G’fen looked at the various things in his quarters, taking in the miniature cooking facilities, small bathroom, and the main area which was set up as both living and sleeping space. The bed was still Minbari fashion, but hopefully that could be changed. There was also a small chair and table with a console connected to the Phoenix’s computer systems. “This is wonderful. It’s so similar to what my mentor’s was on Babylon 5.” G’fen felt very proud to have been on Babylon 5 with G’kar.
“Is this what your homeworld would look like?” Kordieh asked. “I’ve never been to any of the Narn worlds.”
“It has become more red over the passing century, with the Centauri invading once, and bombarding our world with Mass Drivers a few years back.” G’fen was becoming increasingly angry with every word. His voice began to rise. “Our world was once an entire jungle, with a clear red sky, but oh no, they couldn’t have that, they had to destroy every tree, stir up enough dust, that our skies will never be clear EVER AGAIN!!!” G’fen had ended shouting.
A gasp filled the sudden silence. G’fen looked at his friend, who was standing quite still, eyes wide and every muscle tensed. Looking into the human’s eyes, G’fen suddenly had a memory of his childhood, when he had often hunted small animals in the fields and hedgerows around his home.
One day, when he hadn’t even been stalking game, he had startled a da’kodi. The small, burrowing creature had stared at him with exactly the same look Kordieh had now.
G’fen brought his mind back to the present, and was horrified by his friend’s face. “Um … I didn’t mean to yell. Don’t worry, I would never hurt you.”
Kordieh took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I know you wouldn’t,” he said at last. “But it really does make it clear to me how you feel about the Centauri. I … I hope you don’t mind my asking this, but I am very curious. How do you feel about our mission now, since it looks like we are going to fight them?”
An almost evil look came over G’fen, one that frightened Kordieh. “I plan to do my share, and everyone else’s…”
Kordieh nodded quickly and said, “Maybe I should leave you to get settled in.” He fought to keep his voice steady. “I still need to report in to Doctor Brannon.”
G’fen’s face returned back to normal. “I’ve scared you off, haven’t I?”
Kordieh’s face relaxed a little, twisting into a wry smile. “I … I do get frightened when I see people really, really angry,” he admitted. “Up here,” he said, tapping his head, “I know you’re not mad at me, but down here,” and he tapped his chest, “I can’t help but remember the last times I saw people that mad. And then, it was at me.” He blew another long breath out his nose. “Does that make sense?”
G’fen felt really bad for upsetting his friend. “I’ll try not become angry in front of you. Just know, I’m not mad at you.”
Kordieh nodded enthusiastically. “I know. And I’ll do my best to handle it better. I mean, that’s why I’m here.”
G’fen had made his face seem calm, but he was still in rage over the Centauri. “You’ll do fine, I have confidence in you.”
“Thank you. I really should go see if I can find Doctor Brannon now.”
“All right. I shall see you soon Dustan!” Kordieh left the room.
G’fen went to the other side of the room. “Computer, list all Centauri stationed on board.”
Copyright (c) 2002 Jamie Lawson and Nick Wistner. All rights reserved.
