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								Blood Oath


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								   _Contents:_ [7]Back Cover - [8]Synopsis - [9]Questions - [10]Analysis

								   - [11]Notes - [12]Author


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   _Written by John Vornholt_

								   Released: September 13, 1995

								   ISBN: 0-440-22059-9 (US)

								   Setting: Early 2259, before [13]"The Coming of Shadows"


								     The past catches up with the powerful Narn Ambassador and Garibaldi

								     and Ivanova are sent to track down a killer.


								     _________________________________________________________________


								Back Cover


								                             Running from Death


								   Having narrowly escaped assassination, proud, ruthless Ambassador

								   G'Kar knows he is marked for death. A rival family from his Narn

								   homeland has taken the Shon'Kar, or Blood Oath, to kill him. And when

								   a fiery explosion destroys his transport ship, it looks as if they

								   have succeeded...


								                                 Blood Oath


								   Security Chief Garibaldi and Commander Susan Ivanova join an enraged

								   Na'Toth, G'Kar's aide, in a search for the culprits. Journeying to the

								   Narn Homeworld, they find themselves enveloped by a chilling alien

								   environment. And in this place of deadly traps and cruel disguises,

								   the Narn Blood Oath is turned against them all. Now as strangers on

								   the strange Narn planet, the best and brightest members of Babylon 5

								   are hunted by an enemy only a daring deception can stop!


								Synopsis


								   The book opens in Ambassador G'Kar's quarters where he holds in his

								   hand an untraceable data crystal -- its identity patterns had been

								   removed. Upon slipping it into the viewer, an attractive female Narn

								   appears and begins talking:


								     Hello G'Kar. Do you recognize me? I am Mi'Ra, daughter of Du'Rog. I

								     speak for my mother, Ka'Het, and my brother, T'Kog. We are all that

								     is left of the family you destroyed. Yes, G'Kar, we are beaten, and

								     our titles and lands are gone. Our father is dead, his name

								     disgraced, and his attempt to kill from the grave was a failure

								     ([14]The Parliament of Dreams.) To our shame, every assassin has

								     failed.


								     You think you are safe within the Third Circle and the Earth space

								     station. You are wrong! The widow, the son, and the daughter of

								     Du'Rog have sworn the _Shon'Kar_ against you! No more will you face

								     inept assassins -- but the very family you destroyed! The Prophets

								     willing, by my own hands you will die. From this day forward, the

								     purpose of our _V'Tar_ is to kill you. Let this mark show my will.


								   Mi'Ra marks her forehead by cutting it with a knife and the viewscreen

								   fades to black. G'Kar realizes how serious undertaking the Blood Oath

								   is and that the Narn Government will be of no assistance to him and

								   that further the aliens would not be either. He decides to leave the

								   station for homeworld and deal with Mi'Ra himself.


								   G'Kar's aide, Na'Toth, points out that the cruiser K'sha Na'vas is

								   arriving tomorrow and could get him home in half the time of his

								   personal transport. Nonetheless he insists on leaving immediately

								   without explaining why. Ivanova and Sheridan notice the hasty

								   departure but ultimately let him leave after a brief conversation.

								   Shortly before the ship enters the jump point, a reactor breach begins

								   and the ship explodes. A Starfury sent to find remains or G'Kar finds

								   _absolutely_ no remains. G'Kar is pronounced dead.


								   Na'Toth is surprised by the appearance of Earth Alliance officers

								   informing her of G'Kar's sudden demise. Na'Toth assumes that it was

								   Londo Mollari, and pledges to swear a Blood Oath against the killer.

								   Garibaldi confiscates the files and data crystals from G'Kar's desk as

								   evidence. Departures from the station are stopped and Garibaldi is

								   assigned to track down the killer since the debris pattern is deemed

								   to have been consistant with a bomb.


								   Na'Toth proceeds to attack Londo at knifepoint and is interupted by

								   Garibaldi who convinces her, at least for the moment, to back down.

								   Londo contacts Vir and gives him some orders. Garibaldi warns Na'Toth

								   off Londo and asks her about the unlabeled data crystal.


								   Na'Toth is not entirely surprised by the contents, though Sheridan and

								   Garibaldi are. They decide to search the station for the killer. They

								   do however concede that they can not stop Na'Toth from leaving the

								   station because of diplomatic immunity.


								   Sheridan decides to send Garibaldi and Ivanova as the Earth Alliance

								   delegates to the memorial service on the Narn homeworld. Ivanova

								   points out that both winter coats and bathing suits will be in order

								   on the Narn world because of the drastic temperature extremes on the

								   surface.


								   G'Kar dreams about the past. He is in the Homeworld city of Ka'Pul

								   when assassins make a first attempt on his life (the second was on

								   Babylon 5, in [15]"The Parliament of Dreams.") Both attempts were

								   brought on by the manner in which he disgraced the Du'Rog family to

								   enter the Third Circle. When he awakes G'Kar is being asked to pipe

								   down by Pa'Nar, G'Kar's operative down below.


								   Security, meanwhile is searching Down Below and comes to Pa'Nar's

								   quarters. Pa'Nar initially tries to claim that G'Kar is his cousin

								   Ha'Mok, but is forced to knock the security guard out and let G'Kar

								   escape in a disguise consisting of contact lenses and a mask which

								   changes his spots. G'Kar escapes to the Narn ship K'sha Na'vas, whose

								   captain is an old friend. The K'sha Na'vas is also the ship that will

								   be taking the delegation from Babylon 5 to the Narn homeworld.


								   Garibaldi contacts Talia Winters, the station's resident telepath,

								   upon hearing the news of the downed security guard. He requests that

								   she scan the officer, Leffler, when he regains consciousness.


								   The captain of the K'sha Na'vas, Vin'Tok, reviews the materials

								   concerning G'Kar's death and tries to explain to Sheridan that it

								   should be considered "justifiable homicide." Sheridan disagrees, but

								   realizes that nothing will be done to the Du'Rog family back on the

								   Homeworld. The Narn delegation leaves to attend the memorial service.

								   Sheridan explains to Ivanova and Garibaldi that they are forbidden to

								   take weapons with them, but that they will have diplomatic immunity.


								   Sheridan speaks first at the memorial. Londo follows, expressing his

								   regrets in a very Centauri fashion: "They will send another, but he

								   will not be G'Kar... ...will not yell or sputter as zestfully as

								   G'Kar." Delenn takes the stage and expresses the outrage and pain the

								   people at the service feel about the sudden loss of a good man. She

								   sepaks of the unity and growth of community that has come to be on

								   Babylon 5. Finally, a Minbari candlelight procession commences.


								   As Ivanova is about to depart, Londo turns and asks her if she is

								   familiar with the Early American author Mark Twain, making the point

								   that if she was she would be able to _"[e]njoy this more."_ Garbaldi

								   meanwhile encounters Al Vernon, a human who was married to a Narn and

								   more recently has been trading with the Centauri. Al manages to

								   insinuate himself into the diplomatic party and Sheridan agrees to his

								   presence.


								   Back on the Homeworld, Mi'Ra, living with her family in pitiful

								   conditions, has an encounter with a member of the Thenta Ma'Kur, which

								   she has been "slandering" liberally for their two failures. They take

								   credit for the death of G'Kar and warn of the Earthforce delegations,

								   suggesting that she keep an eye on them.


								   When Garibaldi arrives with Al Vernon, Al quickly introduces himself

								   to Ivanova and the other Narns. Vin'Tok recognizes Al's name and

								   mentions that he was presumed dead. Vernon replies, "Well, as the

								   great Mark Twain said, the reports of my death were greatly

								   exaggerated!" Ivanova notes the repeated mention of Twain, while

								   Garibaldi ponders the need for three warships to escort them to the

								   homeworld.


								   When Leffler comes to, a scan by Talia reveals the name Pa'Nar. Pa'Nar

								   is quickly arrested and questioned about the mysterious Ha'Mok. They

								   escort Ms. Winters in to scan him directly and she begins the scan

								   asking Sheridan and Welch, Garibaldi's assistant, to direct the

								   questioning. The questioning leads Sheridan to realize that G'Kar is

								   probably still alive.


								   On their trip to the homeworld, Garibaldi and Ivanova soon become

								   aware of a guarded door. Na'Toth takes the direct approach for them

								   and G'Kar is discovered. He explains the situation and that he plans

								   to kill Mi'Ra to end the matter once and for all. He explains his plan

								   to use a disguise and go down on the planet when they arrive at the

								   homeworld.


								   The rest of the trip is uneventful with no more interactions with

								   G'Kar. A shuttle transports them to Hekba City, G'Kar's home, and

								   Na'Toth explains that when ready to depart she will summon another

								   shuttle. The heat immediately affects the humans in the party --

								   except Al, who seems to find the temperature pleasant. At the memorial

								   Garibaldi spots Mi'Ra and tries to warn her off visiting Babylon 5

								   since the Shon'Kar would not be recognized there.


								   Afterwards, G'Kar decides to visit his wife, Da'Kal. He asks the

								   humans to introduce themselves and broach the subject of G'Kar being

								   alive with her. After she dismisses a lover and a servant, Ivanova and

								   Garibaldi introduce themselves. Da'Kal mentions that G'Kar spoke well

								   of them; she seems genuinely pleased by their arrival to honor him.

								   The news of G'Kar being alive pleases her and G'Kar is invited in. The

								   rest of the party goes to a tavern to wait for his return.


								   G'Kar and Da'Kal make love. Afterwards, Da'Kal sends money to the

								   Du'Rog family in an attempt to make amends.


								   Some time later, in the Du'Rog house, Mi'Ra finds her brother and

								   mother rejoicing over their newfound wealth. Mi'Ra is disgusted and

								   wishes that she had been able to kill G'Kar herself. She resolves to

								   ask the Earthers some questions when they arrive. She contemplates

								   going somewhere off the Narn homeworld, perhaps to Babylon 5, where

								   their past wouldn't be known and the money might go further.


								   After starting to freeze from the cold, Al finds Ivanova and Garibaldi

								   somewhere to spend the night. First, the three visit Ra'Pak, a member

								   of the Second Circle of the Kha'Ri. Na'Toth returns to find G'Kar,

								   just in time to prevent him from getting in trouble with the guards

								   for being out late at night. (His disguise suggested that he was

								   someone of a lower class who should not be in the main city after

								   hours -- the workers return to the slums at night.) They both also

								   discover that the ship has left without them on a most urgent mission.


								   Back at the inn Garibaldi uses the netlink to contact Babylon 5.

								   During the conversation -- which is listened in upon -- the suggestion

								   that G'Kar isn't dead comes up. Ra'Pak betrays G'Kar to Mi'Ra, perhaps

								   out of jealousy but perhaps also for something he did to her and her

								   family. Mi'Ra begins to use the money to hire a force to take out the

								   humans and G'Kar when they arrive the next day.


								   When the humans arrive at the Du'Rog place the next day, they admit

								   that G'Kar is alive and explain what will happen if Mi'Ra attempts to

								   show up on the station to kill him. Na'Toth and Mi'Ra's mother begin

								   negotiating about monetary settlement to end the Shon'Kar. When the

								   visitors try to leave, Mi'Ra sets her hired guns upon them. A

								   desparate escape into the catacombs under the slums saves them -- just

								   barely. A small child who initially seemed to help them ends up

								   poisoning their water and leaves doing back flips saying, "Compliments

								   of the Thenta Ma'Kur." The poison doesn't affect the humans as badly,

								   and they manage to find an antidote and get it to G'Kar and Na'Toth in

								   time.


								   Mi'Ra shows up again, alone. Al Vernon volunteers a data crystal

								   revealing the truth about the Du'Rog family in return for letting

								   G'Kar live and disavowing the Shon'Kar. Mi'Ra agrees and that resolves

								   the matter. During the course of the discussion it becomes apparent

								   that Londo Mollari, the Centauri Ambassador, had sent Al and saved his

								   life.


								   Upon returning back to the station and things settling down, G'Kar

								   goes and thanks the Centauri, although he can't quite understand why.

								   Londo explains that it is a famous Centauri literary device and that

								   he admired G'Kar's cunning, calling it "as devious as a Centauri..."


								Unanswered Questions


								   This book does not leave very many unanswered questions although it

								   does suggest new dimensions to the relationship between Londo Mollari

								   and G'Kar.


								Analysis


								   This book brings the events of two episodes, Parliament of Dreams and

								   Deathwalker, together nicely. It explains the assasination attempt in

								   light of the Shon'Kar ritual along with the tensions in Narn society

								   between more "modern" practices and ancient traditions.


								Notes


								     * The data crystals used by the computers of many races are grown on

								       Minbar. This makes some sense in light of the number of crystal

								       and crystaline devices we have seen the Minabri use.

								     * Confiscating the materials from G'Kar's desk seems to be a breach

								       of diplomatic immunity, although perhaps we are to understand that

								       these were personal effects and not official ones.

								     * Do Earth Alliance personel sometimes have to submit to telepathic

								       scans? This is not made clear here and has not really be

								       definitively resolved in the show either.

								     * I have left out some of G'Kar's emotional self-examination from

								       this summary since it is not central to the plot.


								jms speaks


								     * _The Narn ship had artificial gravity._

								       Urk...that must've slipped past me (which reminds me, I'd better

								       get back to finishing proofing the next novel). And yes, we'll see

								       more of the Narn homeworld as we go along.

								     * _How accurate is the Narn terminology?_

								       It's accurate in some places, not in others; details slip

								       sometimes.


								     _________________________________________________________________


								   Written by Erik Oliver <[16]oliver@dolphin.upenn.edu>.


								   [22][Next]


								      Last update: October 30, 1996


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