Ranger Dawning

  Despite the fact that the bond of the Star Rider clan now joined him to Merreck, Vance still spent much of his spare time in the library. He never considered himself studious, but after a few weeks of forcing himself to pore over tome after tome, he quite enjoyed it. Reading dusty old texts was more enjoyable than watching a data-crystal. It wasn’t passive; the simple act of learning was much more exciting if there was a book to read.

  Since his forced alliance with Merreck, he had not been alone in the library either. Jerklenn joined him on most evenings, expanding her own knowledge of her culture’s history and traditions. When one of them found a particularly pertinent passage, they informed the other. Vance had never been to college, but he now understood what the fuss was about. The satisfaction he found in learning and gaining knowledge, as well as sharing that knowledge with others, rivalled his other training. In fact, Vance began to liken it to the camaraderie he had felt when training with other EarthForce recruits.

  ‘What are you smiling at?’ Jerklenn asked him one evening.

  ‘Just thinking,’ Vance replied. ‘If the guys in my old unit could see me now, they’d think I was mad, or just soft. Spending R&R time studying was definitely frowned upon back on Earth by most EarthForce grunts.’

  ‘What is “R&R”?’

  ‘Rest & Recuperation. After you’ve had a tough time on manoeuvres, you kick back and relax.’

  Jerklenn still looked a little confused. ‘What do you “kick back” against?’

  ‘I think maybe you should spend more time studying Earth colloquialisms. It might make these little interludes easier on me.’

  ‘Well, we are here to be educated, so educate me.’

  Vance considered which details on EarthForce ground pounders at play to share with her, but before he had chance, a figure stepped into the dimly lit library.

  ‘Jerklenn, I would speak with you.’ Merreck stood in the doorway, arms folded. Vance was surprised. Who did Merreck think he was, demanding to speak to Jerklenn like that? What surprised Vance more was that Jerklenn immediately stood and meekly walked toward him. They spoke for several seconds. Vance could not hear the words, but Merreck’s harsh tone was obviously upsetting Jerklenn. He would not stand for it, truce or no truce.

  ‘What’s all this about?’ he said rising to his feet. ‘This does not concern you,’ was Merreck’s curt reply. ‘The hell it doesn’t--’

  ‘Please, Vance,’ said Jerklenn suddenly. ‘Do not involve yourself

  Her words stunned Vance more than a kick in the face. What was going on between them? As they continued their conversation, Vance thought he could hear a little of what they were saying. Words like “dishonour” and “shame” seemed to be repeated, and a realisation dawned on Vance. Perhaps they were betrothed. In his studies, he read little of Minbari courting rituals, but Vance realised he might be in the middle of some strange alien domestic. ‘Look,’ he said, walking forward. ‘I don’t mean to get in the middle of anything, but Merreck, you should know there’s nothing going on between us.’

  Fury flashed across the big Minbari’s eyes, and Vance knew he had said the wrong thing. ‘What does he mean?’ Merreck’s words had venom in them that Vance had not heard before. ‘Is it not enough that you should court shame by spending so much time with the man who--’ Merreck grasped Jerklenn’s arms, and from the look on her face it was hurting.

  ‘Nothing’s going on. Now let go.’ Vance’s casual manner was gone. He clamped his hand over Merreck’s wrist. ‘I said let go,’ Vance repeated

  Merreck slowly tore his eyes away from Jerklenn and glared at Vance. Then, without looking away, he shoved Jerklenn backward. His arms held enough power to send her reeling back across the library, where she clattered into a chair and fell in a heap.

  Vance rushed to her side. Her lip was bleeding, but she was otherwise unhurt. She looked up into Vance’s eyes and could see his anger steadily boiling to the surface. Jerklenn shook her head, but Vance was beyond being reasoned with. He looked up and saw Merreck had advanced. No smirk, no arrogant look of triumph decorated his face, but the Minbari still had his victory. Vance shot forward, his clenched fist connecting with Merreck’s jaw. Merreck made no attempt to avoid the blow, which knocked him sideways. When he looked around, Vance could see that he was smiling.

  ‘We are no longer allies,’ said Merreck, his smile widening.

  ‘Then let’s get to it,’ answered Vance walking past him. He got to the door of the library and stopped. ‘Well? Are you coming to the circle or not?’

  ‘No!’ said Jerklenn, clawing at the bottom of Merreck’s jacket as he followed Vance through the door.

  The walk from the library to the combat hall was a long one. As the other acolytes saw Merreck and Vance walking so purposefully, the whispers began. When their destination was finally confirmed, the rumours spread like wildfire. By the time the pair had reached the combat hall, most of the other acolytes were hot on their trail.

  Vance could hear Jerklenn all the while, pleading for someone to stop them. It was obvious whom she feared for. It was also obvious what would happen, but Vance simply could not stand for this anymore. He hated bullies, but before he had always been tough enough to beat them. Now he would take yet another beating, but he’d make sure he gave as good as he got. For a while, at least.

  ‘This time I will give you no quarter,’ said Merreck as he stood on the edge of the combat circle, denn’bok in hand.

  ‘Neither will I,’ Vance answered, though deep down he knew it was unlikely he would have the choice. With a flick of his wrist, Vance extended his own denn’bok.

  Merreck stepped forward, entering the combat circle. Vance didn’t hesitate to follow him. Both immediately adopted defensive stances, staring into each other’s eyes despite the constant distraction of acolyte after acolyte bursting into the hall.

  Waiting for Merreck to make the first move might have been Vance’s best option, but he was too angry to stop himself. He wanted to end this as quickly as possible. He slid in low, blocking any noise from outside the circle, focusing all his attention on Merreck and trying to read him as best he could. The Minbari made no reaction until the last second, anticipating Vance’s combination and blocking his first blow. Vance swung his weapon around to counter the block, but Merreck read him and blocked that too, quickly countering. The denn’bok swept downward, and Vance heaved himself backward and out of range. He quickly readied for Merreck’s subsequent attack. If he had learned anything from his previous defeats, it was that his opponent was a relentless foe.

  True to form, Merreck leapt in with a second overhead strike. Vance raised his denn’bok high to block. As the weapons clashed, Vance felt the shockwave reverberate through his hands and down his forearms. Merreck struck down again, and Vance held his denn’bok defensively. Too late, Vance spotted Merreck’s blow was merely a feint. At the last moment the Minbari halted his downward sweep and instead jabbed forward, smashing Vance’s nose. He fell backwards, tears streaming from his eyes. Despite the pain and shock, Vance maintained his concentration, turning his fall into a fluid backward roll and immediately finding his feet.

  Blood poured from his nose. He could hear its patter as it struck the cerracrete floor. After blinking the tears from his eyes, he focused his blurry vision on Merreck once more. The Minbari simply waited, knowing he had the upper hand. To his right, Vance noticed Durhan pacing toward the combat circle. Jerklenn ran toward him, demanding he do something to stop the fight, but Durhan shook his head. Vance could not hear their exact words, but Durhan was bound by the laws of the combat circle. And since Vance made the challenge in the first place, he had to see it through to the end.

  Vance needed to take the initiative before he became disoriented, before Merreck could take advantage. But how was he going to do it? The Minbari was just standing there waiting for him. He cast his mind back through all of his EarthForce combat training. Surely there must be something in his repertoire he could use, some dirty tri
ck that would tip the balance.

  In the two seconds he had to think, he realised there was nothing: no move, no feint, no dupe could be used to defeat Merreck. He knew this must be why they had been losing the war before the Minbari had surrendered at the Battle of the Line. There was no option but to adopt the same policy EarthForce had used.

  Vance charged in. The smile instantly dropped from Merreck’s face as he lowered himself into a crouching defence. In the time it took him to cover the distance between them, Vance forgot all his denn’bok training. The weapon was now a useless piece of metal in his hands. He swung it sideways at Merreck, who easily batted it aside. As the denn’boks clashed, Vance loosed his hold on the weapon and barged straight into his opponent. Merreck had not expected a brawl, but he adapted instantly, moving backward and allowing Vance’s own attack to overbalance him. As Vance fell forward, almost on top of Merreck, the Minbari rolled onto his back, hooked his leg beneath Vance and kicked upwards. Vance was in the air for only a split second, long enough for Merreck to rise to a crouch and smash his denn’bok into Vance’s face.

  The force of the blow flung Vance through the air. He landed hard, and from the tightness of his jaw he was sure it was broken. He could hear nothing as he raised a hand to his face. Blood was pouring from one ear, probably a burst eardrum. His head was nodding and he could hardly raise it; lord knew where his denn’bok was.

  Then echoing footsteps. Vance managed to focus his vision for a moment and saw the advancing form. Merreck’s boots reverberated like they were inside a massive cave and the floor was made of glass. Merreck’s face was grim, showing no pity, no remorse. He was about to finish Vance off. Even if he had a clear head and the ability to run, Vance doubted he could have escaped the combat circle in time. He simply stared at Merreck as he approached, awaiting the inevitable strike.

  The footsteps stopped three feet away. Vance raised his head as much as he could; he wanted to look Merreck in the eyes as the final blow came. The Minbari raised his denn’bok high with two hands.

  Vance tried his best to keep watching as the weapon came hurtling toward him, but at the last second an inner reflex forced his eyes closed. He heard the clash but strangely felt no pain, consciousness staying with him. When he opened his eyes, he saw Merreck’s weapon had been blocked by another denn’bok. Maybe Durhan decided to break with tradition after all.

  But it was not Durhan standing within the combat circle. At first Vance thought he was seeing things, maybe the blow to his head had done something to his vision. Jerklenn had come to his defence.

  Vance raised a hand, desperate to stop her. Surely she could not know the rules of the combat circle. Those who entered could be challenged, could even be killed. Merreck himself looked shocked, as though he had no idea how to react to the situation. Then he took two swift steps backward, again adopting a defensive stance. At the same time Jerklenn spun her denn’bok and slid down into a remas stance. That surely couldn’t be right. Vance himself had not studied all the moves and techniques that followed on from the remas.

  With a growl, Merreck burst forward, his weapon spinning in an almost invisible web of strikes. Jerklenn didn’t take a single step backward as she parried each one, wielding her denn’bok with a master’s skill.

  Merreck swiftly retreated, glancing from Jerklenn, who stood resolutely before him, to Vance, who was still on all fours on the ground behind her. His nostrils flared and anger welled in his eyes. Vance had never seen Merreck lose his cool before, but something in this particular situation had him riled.

  The big Minbari stared back at Jerklenn, his eyes narrowing, his teeth gritted, stopping some unspoken Minbari curse from spurting forth. Again he raced forward, bringing his denn’bok round in a devastating arc. Jerklenn ducked and spun, retreating in a blur of speed and ending up at Merreck’s flank. Her denn’bok flashed downward, connecting with Merreck’s heel. He stumbled and flung his arms out in an attempt to hold his balance. At the same time Jerklenn’s free arm snaked forward and snatched Merreck’s denn’bok from his hand. She swiftly twirled each weapon simultaneously and brought them to rest in the crook of each arm.

  Merreck, now incensed, snarled as he charged, unarmed, at Jerklenn. She flung one of the denn’boks toward him. Merreck grabbed the weapon from the air, but before he could bring it to bear, Jerklenn moved forward, her own denn’bok shooting forth, its end aimed at his head. The strike was too fast for Vance to see and he doubted that Merreck even noticed it coming. The end of the denn’bok struck him right between the eyes and his head snapped back. Vance winced at the sight and sound, wondering if Merreck could survive such a vicious blow.

  As the big Minbari fell, Vance tried to gain his feet but stumbled. Several hands grasped him and his fellow acolytes, human and Minbari alike, helped him to his feet.

  Jerklenn did not even seem out of breath. As a number of acolytes rushed to Merreck’s aid, Durhan walked toward her. ‘You have been holding back during your training,’ he said, his voice stern.

  Apologies, Sech Durhan,’ she replied. ‘I had my reasons, but that course of action is no longer necessary.’

  Durhan glanced down at Merreck’s prone form. ‘Indeed,’ he muttered, the hint of a smile crossing his face. With that he turned and left.

  Vance tried to approach Jerklenn. So many questions ran through his befuddled head, but the dizziness would not allow him to walk. Before he could speak, Jerklenn left the hall with the eyes of the other amazed trainees following her.

  The Becoming

  Vance had grown accustomed to being administered to by the white-robed Minbari healers. He took some small consolation that Merreck was unconscious for almost an hour. The Minbari healers fussed around him, ensuring he was stable. Vance could understand most of what they were saying, and the unanimous notion was that he would live. Vance wasn’t sure if he was happy or disappointed at his enemy’s prognosis.

  The dizziness soon cleared from Vance’s head, and the healers painfully straightened and bandaged his broken nose. His jaw was not broken, although he would have difficulty speaking for several days. Vance thanked Valen that the infirmary held no mirrors. He never considered himself vain, but he probably valued his looks a little too much, and the prospect of seeing his features beaten to a pulp was not one he relished.

  In no mood to face Merreck when he awoke, Vance took his leave as soon as the healers finished with him. Besides, he needed to find Jerklenn and get an explanation of what was going on. She wasn’t hard to find. First Vance visited the empty library seeking her, but then he left the academy and worked his way through Tuzanor’s streets to the square where he had tended the garden weeks before. Jerklenn sat silently by the garden, her hands crossed on her lap. Now a picture of serenity, Vance could not reconcile this Jerklenn with the dervish-like warrior she had been earlier.

  As Vance approached she glanced up, meeting his eyes for an instant before looking down, as though ashamed. Without a word, Vance sat beside her, unsure how to begin. Despite the endless questions swirling through his mind, Vance hesitated, knowing Jerklenn was finding the current situation difficult. Tact wasn’t one of his strong points, and if he wasn’t careful he would only be a short sentence away from deeply offending her, possibly so deeply that she would not speak to him again.

  ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ said Jerklenn. Vance was surprised when she spoke first. ‘That I have deceived you, that I have deceived everyone. But I did it for good reason.’

  ‘I believe you,’ said Vance with a smile that made his face throb. He could hear the hurt in her voice and only wanted to allay any fears she had. The reason she deceived everyone was low on his list of questions.

  She continued. ‘Only, when our father died, we were sent to different guardians. It has been as difficult for him as it was for me.’ Vance was suddenly confused. Jerklenn was making little sense. What did she mean by “our father”? Jerklenn looked into his eyes. It was obvious she could see his sudden confusion. ?
??Merreck is my brother,’ she said gently.

  Vance’s eyes widened. Impossible! ‘But how? You’re Religious Caste and he’s Warrior Caste.’ Even as he spoke the words, he understood that this revelation answered most of his questions.

  ‘When our father was killed, Neroon took my brother in but had no need for me. He took the child whom he deemed the strongest, and he groomed my brother to be his protégé. I was sent to family friends in the Religious Caste. I had not seen my brother for many years, until we arrived at the Ranger Academy.’

  ‘I thought the Religious Caste was a peaceful order. You’re the best denn’bok fighter I’ve seen, apart from Durhan.’

  ‘Yes, we are a peaceful order. But it does not mean we are ignorant to the ways of martial training. My father trained both Merreck and I in the way of the denn’bok, and many other fighting methods as well. In the Religious Caste this did not stop. My foster parents respected my father’s wishes that I be versed in all modes of combat. It is better to have training and not need it, than to need it and ... well, I think you know the adage.’

  Vance found himself smiling and Jerklenn suddenly stopped. ‘You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? And all this time I thought you were a peace-loving girl. You’re a real dark horse.’

  ‘I am peace loving. Even those of the Warrior Caste are peace loving. Nobody loves war, Vance, but the Minbari have simply realised that war is an unavoidable part of life and to be prepared is to avoid being a victim.’

  It was only a matter of time. Vance and his big mouth had offended her again. He raised his hand in a gesture of placation, but a smile was already spreading across her face. I have taken offence again, haven’t I?’ she said. ‘Again, you meant nothing by it. I assume a horse that is dark is not a human insult?’

  ‘Well, at least you’re learning,’ said Vance. ‘I’m sorry too. But you know eventually we’ll have a conversation without having to apologise. I should be thanking you anyway. It must have been difficult to face your brother because of my feud.’