After the Blood Flowed Like Rivers, Part 3 Synopsis of part 2: The proposed mediator for the Earth-Minbari peace negotiations, Dr. Terra McClare, has her first meeting with Religious Caste leader Delenn and with Shai Alyt Branmer’s aide, Alyt Neroon (who had been drafted by Delenn to be shuttle pilot for this trip). The testing started when Neroon’s notoriously prickly pride was hurt because the Minbari did not provide Terra with an identavid for him, and she didn’t know who he was. He insulted Terra, and she had to figure out the best way to respond to him. In the end she had Delenn admitting the Minbari should have provided her with identavids for all persons who she would come into contact with during the negotiations. Then Terra and the two Minbari went into the shuttle to return to the Far Seer so that the testing of Terra could begin. On Earth, President Levi and her aide Jon Hastur have a good gloat over Terra’s first diplomatic victory over the Minbari. As the shuttle deliberately approached the Far Seer from an angle where she got a very good look at it, Terra’s jaw dropped as she took in the beauty, the danger, and the, uh, largeness of the war cruiser. It looked like some mighty fighting fish ready to do battle. Satai Delenn looked at the human, amused. "You have never seen one of our cruisers before, Doctor?" Before Terra could reply, Neroon’s sarcastic voice piped up from where he was expertly piloting the shuttle, "If she had seen one of our cruisers before, Satai Delenn, she would not be here to talk about it." Terra’s empathy picked up a surge of annoyance from the Satai, and realized that some of the negative and angry feelings she had picked up from both of them back on earth were due to some type of friction between the warrior and the Satai. She filed that interesting thought away for future study, and, ignoring the Alyt’s rude comment, answered. "No, I’ve never even seen vids of your cruisers, Satai. Are all of the Minbari’s creations so lovely and graceful, and yet so…efficient?" The shuttle came to berth smoothly under the warrior’s skilled hands as the Satai answered. "We Minbari feel that efficiency does not preclude beauty and grace. There is beauty inherent in efficiency, is there not?" Looking into the gray eyes of the Satai, Terra responded, "In ancient times on earth we use to have a saying on a style of architecture called "Form following function." I think those ancient builders might have understood your designs far better than an empathic zenobiochemist, Satai Delenn. But I do recognize beauty in my soul, as do all thinking beings." She unbuckled her seatbelts and stood up, picking up her suitcase in her left hand. Following Delenn to the door, on impulse she turned to Alyt Neroon, smiled, and said, "Thank you for a smooth journey, Alyt Neroon, and a very good view of your war cruiser’s gun ports. I am extremely thankful that I’m here on a peaceful mission." This time it was the warrior’s turn to drop his jaw when he realized that she saw through his actions as transparently as through a soap bubble. Terra felt his eyes on her as she left the shuttle, and felt a mixture of admiration and annoyance coming from him. As they left the docking bay, Satai Delenn spoke, "I must apologize for Alyt Neroon’s behavior, Doctor. The warrior caste have had a more difficult time than the rest of us in adjusting to our two worlds’ changing relationship." "No apologies are necessary, Satai Delenn. If the Alyt’s feelings were the worst we will encounter during the peace negotiations, I would consider myself blessed." "You seem very cynical for so young a human, Doctor." "Cynical, Satai? No, not really. I would say that I‘m only being realistic. Please do not let my age fool you. No one with an empathy rating like mine could ever truly be considered young." They were walking down a corridor, and a tall Minbari of the religious caste was hastening towards them down the hall. "Ah, Rathenn, there you are. Doctor McClare, this is my aide Rathenn. He will be escorting you to your temporary quarters, and will see that you have everything you need to make your stay as comfortable as possible. He will also keep you up to date on the schedule for your interview and testing periods, and will escort you to where you need to be for them." Terra greeted Rathenn, and Delenn left him to show her to her temporary quarters. "We have placed you in one of the quarters that our telepathic guild stays in, Doctor McClare." Rathenn said in a tenor voice. "We felt that because of your high empathy rating, you would be more comfortable in a telepathically shielded room." "You are very kind, Rathenn, for your concern. A telepathically blocked room will have no effect for an empath, but my shields will appreciate the fact that we seem separated from the rest of the ship population. Proximity to others’ emotions adds to the sensory load." He showed her into the room. It was beautiful. Filled with light, and lovely crystalline structures that she was sure had specific uses. She turned to her host and breathed, "It is so beautiful, yet so restful! Thank you." "If there is anything else you need, Doctor, please do not hesitate to call me. We felt that you would not want to socialize much on your first night here, so we have not scheduled you for any formal dinner functions. I will leave you to rest and unpack for a few hours, then will come and show you to your first interview, which will be with the leader of the Minbari telepathic guild, Menur." She thanked him, and after he left she looked around. It was a very restful room. The bed, at least she assumed it was the bed, was in an alcove to the back of the larger room. It looked like a hospital gurney, except that it was at a 50 degree angle to the floor. How am I going to sleep in that? She thought. Shrugging her shoulders, she went to her suitcase and got her hairbrush out. After unpinning her hair she sat on one of the pile of cushions that dotted the room (there weren’t any chairs) and started brushing it in rhythmic strokes that soothed her inner nervousness. Almost dozing in her ministrations, the door chime sounded and knocked her out of her reverie. Looking at her wrist chron, she saw that only a half an hour had passed. She got up from her pillows (no easy operation) and went to the door, fingering her hair nervously. "Open." Nothing happened. Oh, damn it. She’d spoken in English. She repeated it again in Minbari, and the door opened to reveal Alyt Neroon and two other very large, very bull-necked males dressed in similar armor, but without the rank badges. "Yes?" She asked in Minbari. "Doctor, the Shai Alyt has asked to see you. I will escort you to him." Interpreting her surprise as alarm, he added with a smirk, "Unless you are frightened to go with us without a religious caste around to chase away the shadows." "I am not frightened, Alyt Neroon. And I am not the one with three escorts for one lone human female. I admit that I am surprised. Rathenn told me that I had no appointments scheduled for several hours." His anger at her words burst out as he responded with clenched teeth, "The Shai Alyt of the warrior caste does not make appointments with humans. They come to him if he wishes, and when he wishes." She was more puzzled than anything else at this point. She sensed the usual general hostility and curiosity to humans in all three of them, that odd admiration coming from the Alyt, and somehow felt in no danger from them at all. She turned and placed her hairbrush on a table, and stepped suddenly out into the hall, causing the three of them to back up like she had cooties, or something. Stifling the urge to say something like "lead on Macduff!", she looked at Neroon, waiting for him to lead. He motioned to his men to precede him, then fell in beside her, his eyes never leaving her. What does he think I’m going to do, she thought, pull out a weapon and go for him? Ignoring his stare she followed the silent guards. "You do not…look the same." "I beg your pardon?" "Why would you beg my pardon? You have done nothing." "Oh, I’m sorry. To beg someone’s pardon is a human expression meaning that I did not understand your last comment." "You do not look the same as you did in the shuttle." Oh my God, she realized. My hair is down and he has no idea what’s different. God, talk about a clueless male! This one has got to be the absolute tops. "You must mean my hair." Her hand went to the red mass and touched it. "When you saw me in the shuttle, my hair was up, like this." She wound it up into a bun. "I took it down in my quarters to help me relax." They all stepped into a lift, making a tight fit. Terra continued, "If it makes you uncomfortable, Alyt, I will be happy to put it back up the way it was." "No, it does not make me uncomfortable. I have never seen anything like it before. It is interesting." A sudden insight came to her. "Alyt Neroon, have you seen many humans face to face? From your flying abilities, I gathered that you’re a pilot, not a ground pound…..uh, fighter." Not sure whether to get insulted by her intimation that he only fought in ships, or to be flattered by her compliment on his piloting skills, he answered, "All Minbari, especially the warrior caste, are trained in hand-to-hand fighting techniques. Because I am an Alyt, my duties are on a ship serving the Shai Alyt. Most of the humans I have seen were dead, Doctor." "Well, we have something in common, then. Since my specialty is zenobiochemistry, before today my only experience with your people was the same as yours." Glancing up at his face, which was much too close in the lift for comfort, she saw the humor in his eyes before he saw her looking and covered it up. As they left the lift, she turned and said, "I believe I prefer my more recent experiences, Alyt. Now, where is your Shai Alyt’s suite?" "This way." He lead her around the corner to a door. Touching the visitor’s bell, the four waited until the door slid open. Neroon motioned to guards to go back to wherever they came from and motioned Terra to enter the room. "Shai Alyt, the human is here as you commanded." "Not commanded, Neroon, requested." The Minbari turned around from where he had been standing in front of what appeared to be some kind of alter. Shai Alyt Branmer appeared to be about middle aged, with wrinkles around his eyes and his headbone. The eyes were a startling blue color, and Terra felt as though they looked right through her. "I hope that my aide’s enthusiasm didn’t sweep you from something important to bring you here, Doctor McClare." "Only from brushing my hair as a way to relax, Shai Alyt. I am honored to meet you, sir." He quirked his head to the side, reminding Terra of a curious raven. "You speak our language well." She smiled at the blatently false compliment. "I haven’t had much time to study it yet. If I am chosen to be the mediator for the peace negotiations, then I will have to have a much better command of all of your languages, as well as your customs and beliefs. My empathic ability can tell me that an emotion is present such as anger or defensiveness, but since I am not a telepath, I need to have a better understanding of your culture before I can be at my most effective as a mediator." "And what are you sensing in the room now, Doctor?" "From you, Shai Alyt, I sense a strong curiosity, amusement, and an effort to be charming to me. Underneath that I sense resentment, and that you are strongly skeptical about my abilities to do the mediation job. Oh, and deeper is anger and the pain of loss is there also, but I don’t sense that these are directed at me. You are nursing an injured right leg, right about here, which is causing you much pain, which you are trying to ignore, and mostly succeeding. You really ought to get that looked at, sir. There may be a cracked bone involved which won’t heal correctly if not treated. Shall I continue?" At his amused nod she went on, "From Alyt Neroon I am sensing a great deal of unfocused anger which is manifesting as frustration. He is also curious, and admires my hair. Now he is embarrassed, and the anger inside him is focusing on me as the perceived source of his embarrassment. Shall I go on, Sir?" "No Doctor. You have proven your point. Your records indicate you are a class 25 empath. What is your maximum sensing range? " "It has never been tested, Shai Alyt. At this moment, should I drop my shields, I could sense every person on this ship, with the closer ones in more detail. My sensing range is far longer than my projective range. I could project emotions to probably half the ship personnel from here, but they wouldn’t be very strong." "Did your leaders tell you that we have no empath on Minbar with a rating that even approaches yours?" "No. But I’m not surprised. I am the most powerful recorded empath on Earth. It makes sense to me that the same would be true for Minbar as well." "You seem to take no pride in your gift, Doctor. " "Forgive me if I sound disrespectful, Shai Alyt Branmer, but only a normal person would make a comment like that." A burst of anger came from Neroon, though he remained silent out of respect to the Shai Alyt. "To be empathic, even at a lower level, is a two-edged sword. At the level I was born with, I have never experienced a moment in my life where someone else’s emotions were not intruding themselves on my senses. I cannot bear crowds, I must spend large periods of time alone to clear out the "noise", and if someone else were to get control of my gift, I could become a dangerous weapon which could not be stopped short of killing me. If I had a choice, Shai Alyt, I would destroy this gift inside me and settle down to become a competent zenobiochemist and physician. But since that is not possible, I do my best to make sure that it does no harm to myself and others. Pride has no part in this." "I see. You are very frank for a mediator. Does that trait cause you problems in your sessions?" I smiled at him. "Sometimes. But you need to remember, sir, that I am not part of the Earth negotiating team. I am not a diplomat. The role of a mediator is to solve angers and troubles brought about through cultural misunderstandings, not to back up one or the other of the negotiating teams. I am not allowed to have an opinion about the subjects being discussed. It is just my duty to point out things like the fact that Alyt Neroon is feeling a great deal of annoyance with me at the moment because he feels I am not speaking with enough respect to you. It seems that it is only his honor for you that is keeping him from attempting to thrash me soundly." The Shai Alyt’s laughter was a wonder to the ear. It was almost musical, definitely melodious, and made Terra smile widely in response. She sensed that something dark in Bramner shrunk a little smaller as a result, making the light that was his soul shine even brighter. "I like you Doctor McClare. I will meet with you again soon, I promise." He turned to his aide. "Neroon, please escort the Doctor back to her quarters. I have already taken up enough of her time. That is, if you can keep yourself from trying to thrash her soundly?" And he laughed again, and turned away in dismissal. Terra turned, went to the door, and left the room, not waiting to see if Alyt Neroon followed her. He did, of course, but she noticed that he was not longer angry. He didn’t say anything until they came to the lift again. Once they were inside, he turned to her and said, "Thank you." "For what?" She asked, confused. "For making him laugh. I haven’t heard his laughter for much too long." She studied his face for a moment. "You really care for him, don’t you?" "He is as a father to me." He said simply. After that, they came to her corridor and proceeded down it in silence. At the door to her quarters, his eyes met hers, and with a slight smile he said, "Doctor, I do not attempt to thrash someone soundly. I do it. Goodbye." She kept a straight face until her door closed, then broke down into gales of laughter.