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Rangers Redux (fiction)
- Thread starter channe
- Start date
Shaal Mayan
Regular
Congarats Channe Hope everything goes well for you. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
A_M_Swallow
Regular
Good luck with your new job.
It is my birthday today. I am one year older.
I am going to (not necessarily in this order) have a root beer, buy Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," and be schlepped along to the comedy club by my friends, where they will most likely point to me when the comedian asks if it's anyone's birthday, and thus be the butt of joke after joke the entire night.
Oh, yeah, if I have time, I might also get to Dulann's interview. Whee!
I am going to (not necessarily in this order) have a root beer, buy Neil Gaiman's "American Gods," and be schlepped along to the comedy club by my friends, where they will most likely point to me when the comedian asks if it's anyone's birthday, and thus be the butt of joke after joke the entire night.
Oh, yeah, if I have time, I might also get to Dulann's interview. Whee!
Once again, folks, this MAY incorporate two lines of JMS dialogue (they're coming off the top of my head this time, so I might not even get it right...)
Give me feedback on this one, if you would. I wrote this pretty quickly, and it has to do with a lot of Anla'shok philosophy - or, at least, the elementary version of it. If there's anything that seems wrong or inconsistent with the series/movie, do let me know. Besides the fact that I use "we live/die for the One etc.," waaaaaay too much.
-- -- --
TRANSCRIPT
Ranger Dulann 3f Chu'domo, First Officer/Shok'nali (Liandra) Rating: 9A Date: 62165 Kurali 19-90
Maddox | Ranger Dulann. Welcome. I'm Grayson Maddox, Chairman of the IA Enforcement Oversight Committee. This is Cameron Proud, the Vice-Chairman. Thank you for coming today. I hope this meeting wasn't a problem.
Dulann | I am a Ranger. As such, duty will always be my first priority.
Maddox | And they say Minbari don't have a sense of humor. You say that with such a straight face, Dulann - may I call you Dulann?
Dulann | It is my name.
Maddox | You say that with such a straight face. Are you sure you wouldn't rather be somewhere else?
Dulann | Minbari do not lie.
Maddox | On my homeworld, Dulann, they usually finish that sentence with the words "...but instead hide the truth." We're worried that there might be some hidden truth among the logs, records, and debriefings of your last two missions - the final sojourn of the Enfalli, and your first on the Liandra. We just have a few questions. You are religious-caste, correct?
Dulann | I am of the third fane of Chu'domo.
Maddox | Interesting that a fane so devoted to peace should lend so many of their young men to an organization primarily concerned with war, isn't it? I understand that many of the warrior caste might be attracted to the Rangers, especially after the recent civil war and the atrocities of the past decade - but the religious caste?
Dulann | As the Chairman of the Enforcement Oversight Committee, sir, you should be quite aware that the mission of the Rangers is to assist in the development of peace.
Maddox | On my homeworld, men and women who swear a vow to defend their government and wander about the stars in tin cans loaded to the gills with weaponry are usually called a "military" and engage in something called "war." If the Rangers are not the military of the Interstellar Alliance, what are they?
Dulann | I see you have not spent much time studying the very thing you say you oversee.
Maddox | Please answer the question, Ranger Dulann.
Dulann | Minbar, as you may have noted, is not Earth. The Anla'shok were created by Valen to be the eyes and ears of those watching for the return of the Shadows. The Shadows are now gone, but our original mission remains. We are the eyes and the ears of the Interstellar Alliance. If necessary, we fight. If necessary, we die.
Maddox | You die for the Interstellar Alliance.
Dulann | We fight for the Interstellar Alliance, but we die for the One.
Maddox | Are all Minbari like this? Do you all speak in riddles and think in circles and soundbites and force-fed doctrine?
Dulann | If you are of the Anla'shok, you must, with your whole being, be ready to live or die for the One. It is your life. We cannot manufacture that belief. We cannot force-feed that belief to our trainees. A Ranger comes to that belief on his own time and embraces it on his own volition. If there is not purity behind that belief, you should not be a Ranger.
Maddox | And is it hard for non-Minbari to, as you in the Anla'shok say, "come to Valen?"
Dulann | Not that I have seen.
Maddox | Was it hard for David Martel? We know the two of you are close.
Dulann | Do you ask in my capacity as his first officer, or as his friend?
Maddox | I wouldn't presume on the second count. As his first officer.
Dulann | Everything David Martel has done in service to the Anla'shok has reflected his deep desire to serve Entil'zha and to further the peace of the Interstellar Alliance. He has no personal agenda, if that is what you are asking.
Maddox | Including turning his tail and running like a coward to preserve his own life. I'd call that a personal agenda.
Dulann | That assumption is unfair, sir.
Maddox | Oh?
Dulann | Captain Martel aimed only to preserve the lives of the crew of the Enfalli. He does not think of himself.
Maddox | He's human. All we do is think about ourselves. The old survival instinct and all that.
Dulann | Then you do not know David Martel.
Maddox | You speak very highly of him.
Dulann | With good reason.
Maddox | Which brings me to your - truth, is it? Your driving mantra, your principle through which the other Rangers begin to know who you are and where you stand? What is it - "my life for the Shok'na?" Forgive my halting comprehension of Adronato, but Shok'na refers only to your Captain - and not Entil'zha Delenn or this proverbial "One?"
Dulann | You are correct.
Maddox | So you'd die for him. What happened to dying for the One?
Dulann | I live for the One. I die for the One. We have stated this. I will also die for David Martel.
Maddox | What is it about him, Dulann? Why do you - and your shipmates - put your lives on the line for him? Is he the Second Coming, or the Buddha reborn - ? Last time I looked, this kind of singleminded devotion was considered quite dangerous by my culture, and cost Earth dearly during our late Civil War. Are you simply the leader of David Martel's cult of personality?
Dulann | My committment to David stems from our long history as friends and as part of the Anla'shok. I respect him. I apologize if this does not feed your lust for, as humans put it, "dirt," but it is the truth.
Maddox | Minbari humor again. All right, Dulann. I believe you speak the truth and we'll leave it there.
(to be continued)
Give me feedback on this one, if you would. I wrote this pretty quickly, and it has to do with a lot of Anla'shok philosophy - or, at least, the elementary version of it. If there's anything that seems wrong or inconsistent with the series/movie, do let me know. Besides the fact that I use "we live/die for the One etc.," waaaaaay too much.
-- -- --
TRANSCRIPT
Ranger Dulann 3f Chu'domo, First Officer/Shok'nali (Liandra) Rating: 9A Date: 62165 Kurali 19-90
Maddox | Ranger Dulann. Welcome. I'm Grayson Maddox, Chairman of the IA Enforcement Oversight Committee. This is Cameron Proud, the Vice-Chairman. Thank you for coming today. I hope this meeting wasn't a problem.
Dulann | I am a Ranger. As such, duty will always be my first priority.
Maddox | And they say Minbari don't have a sense of humor. You say that with such a straight face, Dulann - may I call you Dulann?
Dulann | It is my name.
Maddox | You say that with such a straight face. Are you sure you wouldn't rather be somewhere else?
Dulann | Minbari do not lie.
Maddox | On my homeworld, Dulann, they usually finish that sentence with the words "...but instead hide the truth." We're worried that there might be some hidden truth among the logs, records, and debriefings of your last two missions - the final sojourn of the Enfalli, and your first on the Liandra. We just have a few questions. You are religious-caste, correct?
Dulann | I am of the third fane of Chu'domo.
Maddox | Interesting that a fane so devoted to peace should lend so many of their young men to an organization primarily concerned with war, isn't it? I understand that many of the warrior caste might be attracted to the Rangers, especially after the recent civil war and the atrocities of the past decade - but the religious caste?
Dulann | As the Chairman of the Enforcement Oversight Committee, sir, you should be quite aware that the mission of the Rangers is to assist in the development of peace.
Maddox | On my homeworld, men and women who swear a vow to defend their government and wander about the stars in tin cans loaded to the gills with weaponry are usually called a "military" and engage in something called "war." If the Rangers are not the military of the Interstellar Alliance, what are they?
Dulann | I see you have not spent much time studying the very thing you say you oversee.
Maddox | Please answer the question, Ranger Dulann.
Dulann | Minbar, as you may have noted, is not Earth. The Anla'shok were created by Valen to be the eyes and ears of those watching for the return of the Shadows. The Shadows are now gone, but our original mission remains. We are the eyes and the ears of the Interstellar Alliance. If necessary, we fight. If necessary, we die.
Maddox | You die for the Interstellar Alliance.
Dulann | We fight for the Interstellar Alliance, but we die for the One.
Maddox | Are all Minbari like this? Do you all speak in riddles and think in circles and soundbites and force-fed doctrine?
Dulann | If you are of the Anla'shok, you must, with your whole being, be ready to live or die for the One. It is your life. We cannot manufacture that belief. We cannot force-feed that belief to our trainees. A Ranger comes to that belief on his own time and embraces it on his own volition. If there is not purity behind that belief, you should not be a Ranger.
Maddox | And is it hard for non-Minbari to, as you in the Anla'shok say, "come to Valen?"
Dulann | Not that I have seen.
Maddox | Was it hard for David Martel? We know the two of you are close.
Dulann | Do you ask in my capacity as his first officer, or as his friend?
Maddox | I wouldn't presume on the second count. As his first officer.
Dulann | Everything David Martel has done in service to the Anla'shok has reflected his deep desire to serve Entil'zha and to further the peace of the Interstellar Alliance. He has no personal agenda, if that is what you are asking.
Maddox | Including turning his tail and running like a coward to preserve his own life. I'd call that a personal agenda.
Dulann | That assumption is unfair, sir.
Maddox | Oh?
Dulann | Captain Martel aimed only to preserve the lives of the crew of the Enfalli. He does not think of himself.
Maddox | He's human. All we do is think about ourselves. The old survival instinct and all that.
Dulann | Then you do not know David Martel.
Maddox | You speak very highly of him.
Dulann | With good reason.
Maddox | Which brings me to your - truth, is it? Your driving mantra, your principle through which the other Rangers begin to know who you are and where you stand? What is it - "my life for the Shok'na?" Forgive my halting comprehension of Adronato, but Shok'na refers only to your Captain - and not Entil'zha Delenn or this proverbial "One?"
Dulann | You are correct.
Maddox | So you'd die for him. What happened to dying for the One?
Dulann | I live for the One. I die for the One. We have stated this. I will also die for David Martel.
Maddox | What is it about him, Dulann? Why do you - and your shipmates - put your lives on the line for him? Is he the Second Coming, or the Buddha reborn - ? Last time I looked, this kind of singleminded devotion was considered quite dangerous by my culture, and cost Earth dearly during our late Civil War. Are you simply the leader of David Martel's cult of personality?
Dulann | My committment to David stems from our long history as friends and as part of the Anla'shok. I respect him. I apologize if this does not feed your lust for, as humans put it, "dirt," but it is the truth.
Maddox | Minbari humor again. All right, Dulann. I believe you speak the truth and we'll leave it there.
(to be continued)
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Excellent interviews. Best wishes and luck in your other ventures. Hopefully your new job proves interesting and beneficial... but still allows continuing the story.
My wishes are motivated by partially selfish reasons, because while I keep juggling with parts of one incredibly annoying chapter, employing all familiar tactics and still failing to get it right, I find your story refreshing to read, educating and fluently written. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
My wishes are motivated by partially selfish reasons, because while I keep juggling with parts of one incredibly annoying chapter, employing all familiar tactics and still failing to get it right, I find your story refreshing to read, educating and fluently written. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
Shaal Mayan
Regular
please more rangers fan fic.
Redux is on hiatus until Monday. I'm spending this weekend moving to a different city, so let's just say this weekend is the really boring part where they're loading the new upgrades into the cargo bay (did I get to that yet? I don't think so. Ok, think of that little tidbit as a commercial for next week's episode... /forums/images/icons/wink.gif )
One of my professors used to tell me that "if you don't get any negative feedback, something is either very wrong, or very right, and usually it's not the latter." But I'll take your word for it this time, people.
I'll have the mid-episode standard disclaimer up when I return.
One of my professors used to tell me that "if you don't get any negative feedback, something is either very wrong, or very right, and usually it's not the latter." But I'll take your word for it this time, people.
I'll have the mid-episode standard disclaimer up when I return.
Shaal Mayan
Regular
The little minbari poet will await the return of the ranger story. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif
Channe , if you are interested , there is an adronato diccionary , writed by a guy called Jonh Hightower here :
www.jumpnow.de
Its a great fanfic site , and the diccionry author has a bunch of good stories posted there .
www.jumpnow.de
Its a great fanfic site , and the diccionry author has a bunch of good stories posted there .
I'm ba-ack!
Kribu is having trouble with italics. Is anyone else having trouble with italics? Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
Read the last paragraph of the first entry on the page - it's supposed to come right after. I'm not too happy with this (it's unedited, as usual), but there's no easy way to write a briefing for prose. It *always* looks better on TV. And sounds better.
Think of this as the Grey 17 of Rangers Redux.
-- -- --
And, if the maxim "idle hands are the devil's playground" was also true, then the Liandra was the Anla'shok's premier haven for saints, as moments later, the bridge doors opened, spewing forth the remainder of the core crew. Firell, calm as a clear Minbari summer day; Malcolm, palms shoved in pockets;
Tafeek, nearly breathless; Tirk, the lumbering innocent. And, Na'feel, still bleeding.
Kitaro, refusing to believe that Narns had some strange ability to teleport, figured that she had been using the com-port directly outside the Liandra's berth.
-- -- --
(snipped the rest. Every so often, when you're a writer, you'll write something so incredibly bad that you wonder what on Earth you were thinking. This entry was one of those times. Do stay tuned - I need to watch certain parts of Rangers to try and get the dialogue style right...)
Kribu is having trouble with italics. Is anyone else having trouble with italics? Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
Read the last paragraph of the first entry on the page - it's supposed to come right after. I'm not too happy with this (it's unedited, as usual), but there's no easy way to write a briefing for prose. It *always* looks better on TV. And sounds better.
Think of this as the Grey 17 of Rangers Redux.
-- -- --
And, if the maxim "idle hands are the devil's playground" was also true, then the Liandra was the Anla'shok's premier haven for saints, as moments later, the bridge doors opened, spewing forth the remainder of the core crew. Firell, calm as a clear Minbari summer day; Malcolm, palms shoved in pockets;
Tafeek, nearly breathless; Tirk, the lumbering innocent. And, Na'feel, still bleeding.
Kitaro, refusing to believe that Narns had some strange ability to teleport, figured that she had been using the com-port directly outside the Liandra's berth.
-- -- --
(snipped the rest. Every so often, when you're a writer, you'll write something so incredibly bad that you wonder what on Earth you were thinking. This entry was one of those times. Do stay tuned - I need to watch certain parts of Rangers to try and get the dialogue style right...)
D
**DONOTDELETE**
Guest
Many thanks. /forums/images/icons/smile.gif Editing is a minor problem, as far as the audience can be kept puzzled. I greatly appreciate being able to read this.
This is better, but still Grey-17 bad. Very sorry. Tired I am.
Pleasantries, as usual, were exchanged, with Tirk hanging back silently, taking a position behind Malcolm. A stiff, expectant moment passed through the crew as Martel stood and surveyed them with the hurt, set face of a deposed king, crossing his arms in front of him.
"We will depart Minbar at 0400 three days from now. We are to reach the Drazi Freehold at a reasonable speed and restock. Our cargo is two Drazi envoys. Our mission is to deliver them to an undisclosed location, whereupon we will return to Minbar for reassignment." He paused, turned on his heel, and paced, slowly, one hand consistently dropping to rest on the back of his chair, as he let the bad news sink in; he continued, for the moment stemming the inevitable tide of outraged questions from his crew. "Just because we are once again running the taxi service for the luminaries of the Interstellar Alliance does not mean we can afford to sacrifice the vigilance for which we are so reputed."
Dulann made a mental note to inform David of the fact that his vocabulary increased when he was angry, sarcastic, or both.
"Remember to stay awake out there," Martel continued, moving from one point to the next without a beat. "We'll run this like the last three so we can concentrate on making sure the Liandra can handle the circuitry we'll be installing tomorrow morning. Malcolm, you'll be point contact; that should make adequate use of your talence. Sarah is cha
'sa. Na'feel, keep our new systems running at optimum, because, as we all know, the old girl really enjoys handling engines built for ships three times as young."
If the world had crashed in a flaming orgy of destruction around Kitaro's ears at that very moment, the news couldn't have been worse. He cast a glance, as he usually did in such situations, at Sarah - she was sitting, her white-knuckled hands gripping the worktable, obviously about to explode with questions. Waiting for the.
"And that's it. Any questions?"
- moment when she would be allowed to speak, which came quickly.
"Another taxi run," Sarah said, the disappointment in her voice quite palpable as the undercurrent of anger running under Na'feel's voice. "Underappreciated again."
Martel smiled, jauntily, and took his seat. "You're obviously not one to look on the bright side of things, are you, Sarah?"
Sarah tilted her head, the wry expression on her face all the answer anyone needed.
"There's more," Martel continued. "Tonight, myself, Sarah, Malcolm, and Dulann are to report to Council offices for a supporting deposition regarding the Enfalli matter. It's my understanding that the IA Enforcement Oversight Committee has requested it, so remember the facts and don't wander. Tafeek, you'll have the bridge while we're gone. Na'feel, Tirk, make sure our new equipment arrives undamaged and in working order. When you get back, Sarah, help them." He paused to collect his thoughts. "And that's it. If you don't have anything to add, you're dismissed."
No one said a word.
Except for Sarah, who muttered something that vaguely sounded like a Fik curse, leaned back in her chair, and waited, and Kitaro, who hovered over his tasks once more with bent shoulders.
And Martel himself, who found himself pondering the difference between death and uselessness - and which one was truly better.
Pleasantries, as usual, were exchanged, with Tirk hanging back silently, taking a position behind Malcolm. A stiff, expectant moment passed through the crew as Martel stood and surveyed them with the hurt, set face of a deposed king, crossing his arms in front of him.
"We will depart Minbar at 0400 three days from now. We are to reach the Drazi Freehold at a reasonable speed and restock. Our cargo is two Drazi envoys. Our mission is to deliver them to an undisclosed location, whereupon we will return to Minbar for reassignment." He paused, turned on his heel, and paced, slowly, one hand consistently dropping to rest on the back of his chair, as he let the bad news sink in; he continued, for the moment stemming the inevitable tide of outraged questions from his crew. "Just because we are once again running the taxi service for the luminaries of the Interstellar Alliance does not mean we can afford to sacrifice the vigilance for which we are so reputed."
Dulann made a mental note to inform David of the fact that his vocabulary increased when he was angry, sarcastic, or both.
"Remember to stay awake out there," Martel continued, moving from one point to the next without a beat. "We'll run this like the last three so we can concentrate on making sure the Liandra can handle the circuitry we'll be installing tomorrow morning. Malcolm, you'll be point contact; that should make adequate use of your talence. Sarah is cha
'sa. Na'feel, keep our new systems running at optimum, because, as we all know, the old girl really enjoys handling engines built for ships three times as young."
If the world had crashed in a flaming orgy of destruction around Kitaro's ears at that very moment, the news couldn't have been worse. He cast a glance, as he usually did in such situations, at Sarah - she was sitting, her white-knuckled hands gripping the worktable, obviously about to explode with questions. Waiting for the.
"And that's it. Any questions?"
- moment when she would be allowed to speak, which came quickly.
"Another taxi run," Sarah said, the disappointment in her voice quite palpable as the undercurrent of anger running under Na'feel's voice. "Underappreciated again."
Martel smiled, jauntily, and took his seat. "You're obviously not one to look on the bright side of things, are you, Sarah?"
Sarah tilted her head, the wry expression on her face all the answer anyone needed.
"There's more," Martel continued. "Tonight, myself, Sarah, Malcolm, and Dulann are to report to Council offices for a supporting deposition regarding the Enfalli matter. It's my understanding that the IA Enforcement Oversight Committee has requested it, so remember the facts and don't wander. Tafeek, you'll have the bridge while we're gone. Na'feel, Tirk, make sure our new equipment arrives undamaged and in working order. When you get back, Sarah, help them." He paused to collect his thoughts. "And that's it. If you don't have anything to add, you're dismissed."
No one said a word.
Except for Sarah, who muttered something that vaguely sounded like a Fik curse, leaned back in her chair, and waited, and Kitaro, who hovered over his tasks once more with bent shoulders.
And Martel himself, who found himself pondering the difference between death and uselessness - and which one was truly better.
