"I'll have a poke around tomorrow, if you like. Rustle up a few old contacts. They might know something a bit more recent.... like if this aide of his is in town. Ah.... what was his name? The door chimed and Dan looked up. "I'll get it," he said, rising to his feet and putting his coffee on the table. "Probably the other woman who was supposed to come round when you were out." He grinned, and Catherine smiled back, albeit somewhat weakly.
Her senses were a bit dulled at the moment, but she still heard the buzz of a PPG charging just as Dan opened the door. Acting on instinct she spun round, dropping her coffee, droplets scattering black rain everywhere. She shouted a warning, but it was too late.
Far too late.
The thump of a body hitting the floor coincided with the sound of her cup shattering.
* * *
The speeches were over and business had returned to something resembling normality at Kazomi 7's spaceport. Delenn had gone to meet with Lethke. Taan Churok and Vejar remained, working as hard as they ever did, and Valen.... he had left too.
For a while he had stood there, the love and adoration of his people enveloping him, and he reflecting it back towards them. The wave of ill-feeling resulting from the fate of the Keeper's host had evaporated, and conversation was now lively - if quiet - and filled with wonder.
Valen drifted through the streets and alleys of Kazomi 7, his mind elevated on a higher plane. Few who saw him could comprehend the thoughts raging through his mind. Only one person he had met since his.... change had been able to identify with him and she.... was away. Besides, she had been changed almost as much as he had.
He remembered so much, some that had happened, some that had not. He could see clearly the slopes of Mount H'leya as he addressed the throng of his own people and others. He could hear the words of his speech as easily as if they were being spoken now beside him.
And yet he could not remember where he had been born, or the name of the first woman he had kissed, or even the name of his brother.
Many times he had pondered on the strangeness of this, and he had come up with many answers. Some satisfied him. Most did not.
But then, there had been very few people he could ever remember who had any sense of.... of centre. Any point of focus around which their lives were based. Marrain - a name and a face he knew but who had been dead for centuries - he had been thus focussed. For a while at least. His whole life had been based around one thing, and when that base was shattered he had fallen, and never recovered.
"I should have led!" the familiar voice cried out, one arm pointing across the room. "I was worthy, more worthy than you! I challenge you, as our people have always settled our differences. Here.... in the heart of the Wheel."
He shook his head sadly. He had known almost instantly that Marrain had not wanted to kill him. Oh no, he had wanted to die there. Some small element of what he had been had remained. As it happened, Marrain had not died then. Unable to bear the pain of the Starfire Wheel he had fallen free, crawling into the shadows at the corner of the temple, to watch.
He remembered.... raising his arms, letting the brutal radiation flow over him, into him. He was not afraid. He knew what to do. He knew....
He sighed, and pulled his thoughts back to the present. What had happened to Marrain in the end? He hoped he had found the peace he had searched for, but somehow he doubted it.
Few indeed with that point of focus. But one who was still alive....
He had spoken to Sinoval.... when.... a few days ago? Delenn had been discussing the problems with the Keepers and the refugees. She had then been called away, and Valen, out of curiosity, had stepped forward and continued the conversation.
Sinoval's dark eyes had narrowed, but he had been willing to speak. He still did not like the one who purported to be Valen, although primarily because of Vorlon involvement in the affair. "Good day," Sinoval had said. "How are you?" His words had been polite but hard. There was little warmth in anything he said.
"Well." Speaking with Sinoval was so like speaking to Marrain. He would look for the deeper meaning behind each word and rarely hesitated to make judgements based on what he saw there. "Delenn has spoken to you of the...." He paused. There had been a different name for the things in his day.... what had Delenn called them? "The Keepers...."
"Yes. We have found some here. Fortunately we have our own methods of detecting and destroying them. I would offer their help to you, but I fear their aid would come at a price higher than you would wish to pay."
The Soul Hunters, of course. Sinoval had made some sort of bargain with them. Valen wondered idly if some report of the Enaid Accord had survived. Unlikely, of course, since it had been very secret even then. Still, the alliance with the Soul Hunters had been very beneficial for a while - but a lot can happen in a thousand years, and no alliance lasts forever. Sinoval must have offered more than Valen had been able to offer.
"How do you think the.... Keepers came to be attached to our people?"
"The Enemy, the humans.... there are a number of possibilities. Rest assured those responsible will not survive much longer. A good evening and a good rest." The screen had faded and Valen sat back, puzzled.
He was still at a loss to understand Sinoval's antipathy towards him. Perhaps it was the Vorlons, although there seemed to be more to it than that. It might well be little more than the reasons which had turned Marrain away from the light. Marrain had been so focussed and sure, and the source of that focus was that he was the greatest warrior of his age.... perhaps ever. He had been strong, fast, skilled, wise. And then along had come one who was stronger, faster, more skilled, wiser.
Valen looked up and sighed. He had been wandering for longer than he had thought. It was time to return to Delenn. There was.... work ahead.
* * *
She was not quite sure how she had escaped from the sights of the gunmen. She had hidden, but even a cursory search would have revealed her hiding place within seconds. The assailants did not seem interested in her however. From her position beside the door to the kitchen she could hear at least two people moving around. Their movements were precise and definite, as if they knew exactly what they were looking for. Within minutes they were gone. Catherine finally allowed herself to breathe again after she heard the door close. Slowly, she crept out of the kitchen and looked around. Little seemed disturbed. Nothing of any value seemed to have been taken. Just....
Her personal computer. She could see almost immediately that it had been touched, and she knew without checking what would have been taken.
The G'Kar Files. Project Bermuda Triangle. It was the only thing of any interest stored there.
But very few people knew about that file, very few....
Unless this came from IPX themselves, but why.... or who.... or....
She realised just how quickly her thoughts had been running and she breathed out slowly, finally bringing herself to look at the one thing she did not want to look at.
For all that she wished to believe otherwise, there was no escaping it. A single glance showed her that Dan was dead. The shot had hit him point blank in the chest. There were traces of blood, but the wound had been cauterised almost instantly. He was dead.
Catherine swayed backwards and fell on to her chair.... where he had been sitting mere moments before. Her mind was reeling, but she forced herself to think.
Could this have been directed at him? He had a fair few enemies, that was certain. Maybe it was something he had been working on, something he had unwittingly stumbled upon without knowing it. Maybe....
Maybe she wouldn't have to hide somewhere else.
She wasn't crying, she couldn't. She.... she didn't know.
The G'Kar Files. It must have been.
Run. That was the only option. If this was connected to IPX then it was too big just for her. She needed help.... from somewhere. Had this been to find out what she knew? Then why the strange meeting earlier?
Stop thinking. She grabbed as much stuff as she could and fled. Time for thinking - and mourning - later. She needed help, and she knew where to find it.
* * *
Will you come to find me?
He looked around, puzzled. Everything was darkness. There was nothing to be seen or heard or felt.
Only her voice.
Will you come to find me?
He knew instantly whose voice it was.
Find me....
Will you follow me through darkness, through fire, past death and despair?
Find me.... please.
He picked a direction and began to walk. He did not know why he chose this direction rather than any other, but it seemed fitting.
Light engulfed him. A brilliant, dazzling light. He raised his hands. The light was hurting him.
There she was, chained as if set out for a sacrifice.
"I am lost in darkness!" she cried. "Find me. I am here for you."
And then they were.... around him. They were not in the light - they were the light. They spoke to him, and their words chilled him.
Follow us into darkness, into fire, past death and despair.
The darkness or the light. Choose.
"I.... I'm afraid of the darkness."
Then do what must be done.
He knew what to do. There was a dagger in his hand. Perhaps it had always been there. He stepped forward and looked into her eyes.
"I am lost in darkness for you," she whispered, staring at him. There was no fear, no accusation, only.... acceptance in her eyes. "I came here for you. There was no other way."
"I am afraid of the darkness," he repeated.
"No," she said softly. "I am afraid of the light."
Follow us.
He raised his hand. There was a trace of pity in Delenn's emerald eyes as Sheridan drove the dagger into her, killing her with one stroke.
Chapter 2
"Tell me, Miss Hampton, what is the current situation on the Sakai problem?" "Everything is proceeding as you planned, sir. Her partner was killed, and Sakai escaped. We have her under surveillance, and she is currently heading for Dome Three."
"Hmm.... is there any likely indication of why she is going there?"
"Little accurate information. Records do show that Miss Sakai has several friends and associates there. One in particular has some influence and a little power. A Miss Julie Musante. A former member of the Ministry for the Interior and currently a private lawyer specialising in interstellar commercial law...."
"Yes, yes, Miss Hampton. Thank you for your information. Maintain surveillance on Miss Sakai and inform our agents in Dome Three. Also.... establish a base of operations somewhere near Miss Musante's residence."
"Yes, sir."
The conversation ended and the man sat back, stretching out in his chair, the one item of luxury in an otherwise spartan office. "You see, Mr. Zento. Everything is going according to plan."
"I still don't see the point of this, sir," replied a man many would identify as being one of the richest and most influential in what remained of the Earth Alliance. "Surely we could have managed this with much less effort...."
"Oh, if it was just our own concerns involved, then yes, of course we could. But.... we are working on orders from a different source here, Mr. Zento, and they, for whatever reason, want Miss Sakai put through the proverbial wringer. We can only assume that their reasons are important and do as we are told. Everyone, Mr. Zento, answers to somebody, and I am no exception. Do you understand?"
"Of course I do, sir."
"Good. I am glad this is going so well thus far. I had anticipated it being much harder. Oh well, sometimes the Gods smile on us. If not on others.... Wouldn't you agree?"
"I'm an atheist, sir."
"Ah, that is a pity. One should always have something to believe in, Mr. Zento. Something to pray to, something to curse...."
"If you say so, sir."
"Ah." He fell silent. "Ah," he repeated, more sadly than before.
Both of them resumed their waiting.
* * *
"This is a beautiful place."
Delenn looked at her companion thoughtfully. For all that Valen - or Jeffrey Sinclair - represented, she was still unsure of his status and her relationship with him. There was so much about him she simply could not understand, and was not sure she wanted to understand. He was a legend and a hero and.... now.... he was what?
"How so?" she asked softly.
It had been a long day, but with as much work done as she could reasonably cope with she had gone for a walk, feeling the light and the darkness of her new home. He had come across to her and joined her. No word had been spoken and none had been offered.... until now.
"There is hope here. A hope for the future. Something I have seen so rarely.... except in the last days of the war, and then only briefly."
"But.... after the war, surely? There was hope then? A time for rebuilding and healing...."
"A time of hardship and betrayal. The war lasted so long, too many just did not know what peace was meant to be. The clans warred among each other for years afterwards. It took decades for the Grey Council to be accepted and even longer for a true balance of power to be struck. And then there was Marrain.... No, the war might have been over, but the aftermath.... that still endures even now."
"Marrain, yes...." Delenn said his name softly. Some - mostly religious caste, it had to be said - referred to him as 'the Betrayer'.
"A great man.... once. Time.... and darkness.... can seize us all."
"You are maudlin today," she whispered softly.
"Perhaps.... I am remembering a great deal, some of which I have not yet experienced, some of which I have. My thoughts often come back to Derannimer."
"Yes.... We know so little of her. She led the Grey Council for many years after you.... went beyond."
He stopped and looked a little surprised. "She did? That is good to know."
"You did not know?"
"No. Not everything. I.... recall making her my successor, but not how she would endure. I am glad she did well. She was.... a beautiful person. Not just in flesh, but in spirit. She shone so brightly.... That light once shone also in Marrain and Parlonn, but there is no light so bright it can never be eclipsed by shadows."
She nodded, and an uncomfortable silence fell across them both. Finally, he spoke again.
"Tell me.... Delenn. Do you know what became of our children? Derannimer and I.... we had children."
She shook her head sadly. "No. Your descendants left Minbar after you.... passed beyond. Some must have returned later, but we know little. Not even their names."
"Nor do I." She looked at him. "I cannot remember their names, or even how many there were. I struggle to recall, but it is like a net around my mind. So much I do not know.... Cathrenn. A daughter. We.... called her Cathrenn."
"Did you look through our records while you were on Minbar? I am sure some survived.... on the Valentha at least. Perhaps...."
"No." Soft, but certain. "No, I could not. The.... the Vorlons.... I did not think they would let me. What I do remember they have programmed into me. I doubt I would be permitted to know anything else."
"It is sad. I find it hard to reconcile these last few revelations with the Vorlons I have always.... liked to think I knew. I wonder if...."
"There are factions, I think. The Vorlons are powerful, yes, but they do not all think alike. At least not in any way we can comprehend. My presence among you is the result of a compromise of sorts between the factions. What the other half of this compromise will be.... I do not know."
"Perhaps Lyta does," Delenn muttered. "Have you spoken to her recently?"
He shook his head. "She is.... elsewhere, with Captain Sheridan. Perhaps later, but for now, I am unsure. There is something within her.... Ah, how can I tell? I am probably acting on an instinct a thousand years out of date."
She smiled. "Perhaps, but I was always taught never to ignore instinct. The warrior caste swear by it."
"That may not be the best of recommendations."
Delenn laughed, and he smiled. "Yes," she said, smiling. "But still, not all of the warrior caste are as...." She searched for a word.
"Unprincipled?" he suggested.
"They have their own principles, I think. Very different from the rest of us. They now have the power in our society, and I fear for the fate of my people."
"You have done well enough for your people here. And not all of your people are Minbari."
She smiled. "Very true."
They reached the Main Government Building - what Vejar somewhat inexplicably had called the Neuadd - and Delenn came to a halt. "I have no doubt there is more business to attend to. And then I would like to meditate."
"I understand. And.... call someone, I believe?"
"I.... yes. Yes, I miss him."
"It takes no arcane knowledge to realise that. Nor does it take any foreknowledge of the future to know that you will be happy."
A cloud passed over her features. "Will we?" she said softly.
"Well, for a time at least."
She nodded, briefly, and began to mount the steps to the Neuadd. As she was halfway up, she paused, brief memories of an encounter near this spot with one possessed surfacing in her mind. "Will you be needing anything?" she asked.