Well, I finally did it! I finally found my muse..or rather it found me. I put one small incident in Gedi's life on the computer so I can put it here.
I found this one in one of my notebooks with the other pieces of the Battle story. So without further delay, a short piece entitled. At the Temple
This one was written way before September 11, but after reading it as I typed, it was incredibly fitting.
Minbar
2263
Tuzenor, Minbar
Gedi decided to find some solitude before leaving and found herself at the smaller temple on the grounds dedicated to Valen. Most of the human Rangers referred to it as ‘the chapel’. She sat on one of the simple stone benches lining the walls and closed her eyes. It had been a tough day, training and finally getting surrounded by her friends in a makeshift Rebirth Ceremony. Gedi took a deep breath and let it out, trying to relax and just sit.
The cooing of the birds in the rafters was the only sound and Gedi found it comforting. A movement to her right alerted her and she opened her eyes to find Entil’zha Delenn standing next to her.
“May I sit with you?” The small woman asked quietly. Gedi wasn’t really in the mood for company, but how could she refuse?
“Of course Entil’zha.” Delenn sat next to her gracefully with a little hesitation as if thinking. Gedi returned to her pretense of meditation and hoped Delenn would respect her silence. But, because it was Delenn sitting next to her, that wasn’t what she was there for.
“It is a heavy burden to carry so many lives on ones shoulders. During the battles between Earth and Minbar during the great war, many of us had to carry the deaths of thousands that were lost on both sides. The burden became too much to bear toward the end and I found myself seeking an answer in a sanctuary much like this one.” Gedi opened her eyes and looked at Delenn as she paused, looking around the small but cavernous chapel.
It seems that many races seek release from our burdens in sacred places. Hoping in some way the universe can ease our guilt and erase the grief that scars our souls.” Something in Delenn’s voice made Gedi look at her closer. She saw everything that was going through her mind and heart mirrored in Delenn’s face. The pain, understanding, and weight of so much responsibility. Gedi realized that over the years, Delenn had seen so much more death and suffering than any one sane person could stand, and yet there sat a perfectly calm, rational, and strong woman with so much more left to give the universe.
It is hard enough to live and see friends and loved ones die from old age or accident and not feel guilt that there was something to be done to prevent their end. But to know that your acrtions caused so many deathws because it was necessary, and needed....” Delenn’s gaze stopped at the statue of Valen at the end of the chapel. Gedi followed that gaze then looked back at Delenn.
“Valen taught us that for those lives to have meaning, we must remember them in our actions and in our living.” Delenn looked at Gedi then, directly and locked her eyes on Gedi’s. You are not alone in your burden. It is shared by those that have gone before you all the way to Valen himself and it is shared by those to come after, knowing that what you have done was necessary. It is never easy, but sharing the pain of that burden with others makes the living in the future of those actions bearable.”
Gedi realized that Delenn spoke from personal experience, the depth of that experience Gedi only knew about from stories. A tightness gripped her chest and throat, but she vowed not to give in to the tears in front of Delenn. The Ranger oath now took on a new meaning and gave Gedi a renewed purpose in those few words.
We live for the One, we die for the One. Gedi always knew and had been told it represented Entil’zha, and ultimately Valen in that title. For Gedi, it was the incredible strength of the woman that held the reins of the most powerful force in the galaxy. And yet was so very fragile right then.
“All life has meaning, both in the living of it and in the loss of it. Our purpose in living is to carry that with us so we do not forget why the universe has placed us here.” Delenn sighed, as if settling her burden once again into a hidden corner of her mind, then stood.
“It is time to go now.” Delenn bowed to the statue then left the building.
Gedi sat for a while longer, her mind racing and yet perfectly calm. She didn’t know what to think or say only because of the immense impact those words had made on her. She finally stood, smoothed her uniform, bowed deeply to the statue and turned to face life once more. She hoped to follow in the steps of the One that had left her a few minutes ago.
------------------
PM
"Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There would never be another. It changed the future .. and it changed us."
--General Susan Ivanova
Sleeping In Light
I found this one in one of my notebooks with the other pieces of the Battle story. So without further delay, a short piece entitled. At the Temple
This one was written way before September 11, but after reading it as I typed, it was incredibly fitting.
Minbar
2263
Tuzenor, Minbar
Gedi decided to find some solitude before leaving and found herself at the smaller temple on the grounds dedicated to Valen. Most of the human Rangers referred to it as ‘the chapel’. She sat on one of the simple stone benches lining the walls and closed her eyes. It had been a tough day, training and finally getting surrounded by her friends in a makeshift Rebirth Ceremony. Gedi took a deep breath and let it out, trying to relax and just sit.
The cooing of the birds in the rafters was the only sound and Gedi found it comforting. A movement to her right alerted her and she opened her eyes to find Entil’zha Delenn standing next to her.
“May I sit with you?” The small woman asked quietly. Gedi wasn’t really in the mood for company, but how could she refuse?
“Of course Entil’zha.” Delenn sat next to her gracefully with a little hesitation as if thinking. Gedi returned to her pretense of meditation and hoped Delenn would respect her silence. But, because it was Delenn sitting next to her, that wasn’t what she was there for.
“It is a heavy burden to carry so many lives on ones shoulders. During the battles between Earth and Minbar during the great war, many of us had to carry the deaths of thousands that were lost on both sides. The burden became too much to bear toward the end and I found myself seeking an answer in a sanctuary much like this one.” Gedi opened her eyes and looked at Delenn as she paused, looking around the small but cavernous chapel.
It seems that many races seek release from our burdens in sacred places. Hoping in some way the universe can ease our guilt and erase the grief that scars our souls.” Something in Delenn’s voice made Gedi look at her closer. She saw everything that was going through her mind and heart mirrored in Delenn’s face. The pain, understanding, and weight of so much responsibility. Gedi realized that over the years, Delenn had seen so much more death and suffering than any one sane person could stand, and yet there sat a perfectly calm, rational, and strong woman with so much more left to give the universe.
It is hard enough to live and see friends and loved ones die from old age or accident and not feel guilt that there was something to be done to prevent their end. But to know that your acrtions caused so many deathws because it was necessary, and needed....” Delenn’s gaze stopped at the statue of Valen at the end of the chapel. Gedi followed that gaze then looked back at Delenn.
“Valen taught us that for those lives to have meaning, we must remember them in our actions and in our living.” Delenn looked at Gedi then, directly and locked her eyes on Gedi’s. You are not alone in your burden. It is shared by those that have gone before you all the way to Valen himself and it is shared by those to come after, knowing that what you have done was necessary. It is never easy, but sharing the pain of that burden with others makes the living in the future of those actions bearable.”
Gedi realized that Delenn spoke from personal experience, the depth of that experience Gedi only knew about from stories. A tightness gripped her chest and throat, but she vowed not to give in to the tears in front of Delenn. The Ranger oath now took on a new meaning and gave Gedi a renewed purpose in those few words.
We live for the One, we die for the One. Gedi always knew and had been told it represented Entil’zha, and ultimately Valen in that title. For Gedi, it was the incredible strength of the woman that held the reins of the most powerful force in the galaxy. And yet was so very fragile right then.
“All life has meaning, both in the living of it and in the loss of it. Our purpose in living is to carry that with us so we do not forget why the universe has placed us here.” Delenn sighed, as if settling her burden once again into a hidden corner of her mind, then stood.
“It is time to go now.” Delenn bowed to the statue then left the building.
Gedi sat for a while longer, her mind racing and yet perfectly calm. She didn’t know what to think or say only because of the immense impact those words had made on her. She finally stood, smoothed her uniform, bowed deeply to the statue and turned to face life once more. She hoped to follow in the steps of the One that had left her a few minutes ago.
------------------
PM
"Babylon 5 was the last of the Babylon stations. There would never be another. It changed the future .. and it changed us."
--General Susan Ivanova
Sleeping In Light
