From: Mr G D Williams <csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: A Dark, Distorted Mirror Part 1 of 4 [AT] [MV]
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 1997 13:09:02 +0100 (BST)

Hello people. The idea for this has been with me for a while, but it's
taken me this long to work out everything. It's a concept that I don't
think has been done before - at least not that I've seen - and when I was
planning out everything I soon understood why. Nevertheless I continued
and here is the first part.

I realise I've been intentionally vague in my opening statement, but I
don't want to spoil anybody's surprise by saying straight off what my idea
is. I'll save a more detailed discussion for the bottom - after the story.
I'll just say that feedback is very welcome, and should be sent to
csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk.

There are no Spoilers as such here, but I am drawing upon elements
throughout the B5 universe and people who haven't seen up to the most
recently shown episode may be spoiled.

Legal Disclaimer: B5 and all related characters, concepts etc belong to
JMS and Warner Bros. I am only borrowing them, and am writing this solely
for pleasure - my own and (hopefully) the readers. I am making no money
out of this at all.

A Dark, Distorted Mirror, Part 1 of 4 [AT] [MV]
by Gareth Williams, csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk

"The Minbari cruiser's closing, Captain." The Commander's voice was tense,
and he looked up into the face of his Captain, hoping to see the sort of
miracle he had witnessed before. Instead, the Captain's eyes were blank
and distant. Almost dead. "Captain?"

Captain John Sheridan suddenly came to life. "Lay out dispersion fire.
Make them back off. A little." They couldn't target the Minbari ship
directly, of course, but there were other ways. There were always other
ways.

"Yes, Sir." The Commander began manipulating the controls with an easy
skill. He had always been a talented gunner and, despite his youth, he was
one of the most experienced gunners the EAS Babylon had. After the
Captain, of course.

The dispersion fire had only limited effectiveness of course. Not being
able to target the Minbari made their task that much more difficult, but
none of them were willing to give up simply because their enemy was better
equipped, better armed and in better condition than they were. As the
Captain had put it, "They fall down too. It just hurts them more."

"Any sign we've hit them yet, David?" Sheridan asked. He was in his chair.
He hardly ever left it these days.

"Not quite," the Commander replied. "They're still messing with our
sensors too much for us to tell. Lieutenant?"

"They are slowing down, and their weapons seem no more effective than ours
are."

"Well I'll be," muttered Sheridan. "Maybe that countering system the Narns
sold us does actually work after all. How are the jump engines looking,
Stephen?"

"Another ten minutes or so."

"Damn! Fine. Keep laying out that dispersion fire, David." Sometimes the
Commander had a great deal of trouble reading Captain Sheridan, but now
was not one of those times. The Captain seemed to live for combat, only
becoming truly alive in battle. The Commander had heard that the Minbari
still called Sheridan "StarKiller" after the Black Star victory. That had
been a memorable occasion.

"Captain!" spoke up the lieutenant. "We've losing hull integrity on aft
decks. Down to almost 30%. The Minbari cruiser has taken damage at last.
Forward thrusters, I think."

Captain Sheridan nodded. "Good. Order all StarFuries to open fire on
Minbari forward thrusters. Make the damage as large as they can, but get
out of there after a minute. David, ready that fusion bomb."

He looked so competent and collected, the Commander thought. Always ready
for everything. No panic. No fear. The Commander supposed he understood.
The Captain had lost too much in this war to have any fears for his life.

"Starfuries pulling back," the lieutenant snapped. "The cruiser's powering
up their forward batteries!"

"Launch fusion bokb and enact evasive manouevres. Get that bomb out
there!"

There was a moment, the Commander knew, in the heat of every battle when
time seemed to slow down, when the threat of impending death or the
promise of renewed life stretched out over what was little more than a few
seconds. How long for the cruiser to fire their forward batteries? How
long for the fusion bomb to reach the target at last made visible by
damage?

"Bomb launched, Captain," said the lieutenant. He knew about the long
second as well. The Commander clenched his hand into a fist. This was a
very long second.

Then the floor seemed to shake and shudder beneath his feet. At first the
Commander thought the Minbari ship had managed to fire, but then the long
second passed and he realised that the bomb had worked.

"So," he whispered under his breath. "Maybe Narn technology does work
after all." He looked around. There was no joy in their victory. This time
they had won, yes, but what was one victory when set aside the mass of
defeat? They had all lost so much in this war. Far too much.

"Get those StarFuries back in stat!" barked the Captain. "Are our jump
engines back on line? Good. Open a jump point as soon as the 'Furies are
back in. The nearest safe haven we can dock is Vega 7, so set a course for
there and get whatever Mechbots we've got working to repair that damage."

"Aye, Captain."

"So much for this year being better than the last one," Sheridan said
angrily. 

"We're still alive, aren't we?"

"If you can call this alive. And it's only mid-January. I have a feeling
about this year, Mr. Corwin. I think 2258 is going to be the year when
everrything changes. Status, Lt. Franklin?"

"All 'Furies aboard, Captain."

"Good." Captain "StarKiller" Sheridan nodded to himself. This had been a
very long war. Ten years too long. "Good."

		      -------------

"The other half of our soul," the Minbari woman muttered to herself. "The
other half of our soul." She sat back and sighed softly. She had been here
for how long now? A few days, and the prophecies of Valen made as much
sense as they had when she had bgeun. Less sense than usual in fact. But
she knew why she was down here on Minbar, reading prophecies until she was
likely to go blind. This was preferrable to being with the Grey Council.

"You need rest," said a stern and commanding voice. She looked up and
smiled wanly. Draal had always had that effect on her. Her father's best
friend, he was the only part of him she still had left. "You have been
here too long, Delenn."

"When I was a child, you berated me for not studying long enough," she
replied, her eyes sparkling.

"That was then, and the great preogative of age is the ability to change
one's mind at will. Then, you were always daydreaming, staring out of that
window like a statue cast in crystal. And now you are always studying. The
prophecies have been with us for a thousand years, Delenn. You cannot
solve them all overnight." 

"I can try, and fourteen cycles is hardly overnight, old friend."

"I thought you might have learned by now." He sat down beside her and
began brushing his fingers through the small beard he had taken to
wearing. A strange habit, almost Centauri in fashion. "You cannot solve
the universe all by yourself, Delenn. Neroon tried to teach you that,
remember?"

She started and rose suddenly. "Neroon is no longer here, Draal. He made
his own choice."

"As did you, but the fact that your choices were in agreement does not
make them right."

Draal was so infuriating when he was like this, but Delenn knew that her
decision had been the right one. Neroon had his own path to lead, and she
had hers.  Wherever Neroon was now, she hoped he was well. "Perhaps you
are right," she said. "Perhaps I do need rest." She slowly slid her hand
over her heart and bowed her head. A ritual gesture, but one which
contained so many layers of ceremony and anger and loss that it was almost
painful for her to make.

She knew that Draal was watching her as she left the library, but she was
not bothered by it. It was almost... comforting. At times he did remind
her of her father.

The sight of the sun of Minbar reflecting off the crystalline rocks never
failed to take her breath away, and they did not fail to do so now. But
while they did stun her with their beauty, they brought little comfort.
She saw a white robed Acolyte standing not far away, and sighed.

"It appears the call of duty reaches you, Delenn," Draal said, emerging
from the library to stand beside her. "Remember the third principle of
sentient life, Delenn."

"I know," she replied, smiling softly. "The ability to sacrifice onself
for a friend, a loved one, or a cause."

"And little sacrifices mean just as much as the big ones."

"I know. I know."

Ashan, the Acolyte, walked forward, keeping his head bowed as was
traditional when approaching a member of the Grey Council. "Satai Delenn,
the Grey Council requests your presence."

"More discussion about the Rangers, I suppose."

"Branmer was a great man," Draal said softly. He and Branmer had been
friends.

"There have been many great figures in out history," Delenn replied. "And
all are dead."

"Death claims us all sooner or later."

"In far too many cases, it is the sooner." Delenn looked down at Ashan.
"We cannot keep the Council waiting. I will take the Zha'Len up to the
Council chambers. Thank you, Ashan."

Delenn cast one last look over the glittering expanse of crystal colour
and she smiled sadly. Everything was changing, and not for the better. She
suddenly shivered, and wrapped her robe tighter around her as she walked
to her ship.

			   -------------

"I am very grateful for your kind assistance, Administrator Na'Far,"
Sheridan was saying. "With your help, repairs should only take twenty four
hours or so, and then we will be gone."

"You are always welcome here, Captain Sheridan," the Narn said, speaking
slowly and precisely as ever. Na'Far may have lacked the ruthless ambition
to rise far in the kHa'Ri, but he at least had the attention to detail and
keen mind that made him an excellent choice to run a colocny, even one as
snmall as generally unimportant as this one. "We all owe you a great
dfebt. I was at Gorash 15 when you helped us in our battle against the
Centauri."

"Yes, I know." The Narns, eh? Great allies when it came to politeness, and
fawning, but ask for any ships or mines or high velocity fusion bombs and
it was all "not politically advantageous" or "large sums of money needed
to meet overheads". They hadn't been speaking about large sums of money or
political advantages when he'd led the Babylon to the battle of Gorash 15,
or to carry supplies to Frallus 12, or to launch that last, desperate
attack against the Centuari at Sector 37.

*Oh, stop moaning* Sheridan thought to himself. *They have been useful
allies after a fashion. At least they gave us sanctuary from the Minbari
and even sell us the odd fusuion bomb or small cruiser every now and then.
Better than no allies at all, I suppose.*

"Thank you again for your assistance, Administrator. My Government greatly
apporeciates everything you're doing for us."

"It is a small matter, Captain Sheridan. Would you care to bring a few
members of your command crew down to the surface for a little rest. I
would very much like to meet you in person."

"Why yes, thank you, Administrator. I would be honoured to. I will see you
in one standard hour then."

"Until then, Captain."

The Narn's face blinked from the viewscreen and Captain Sheridan sat back,
sighing softly. There was something about the Narns he just plain didn't
like. It wasn't anything he could put his finger on, but it always annoyed
him, having to go grovelling to them for help. Perhaps that was it. He
shouldn't have to go grovelling to Narns for help. He shouldn't have to go
to a human colony and ask permission to set out orbit there. Dammit, he
shouldn't have to go to a human colony where the humans were ruled by
Narns, worked for Narns and taxed by Narns.

On the other hand, if the Narns hadn't made such a swift move on Vega 7
and other colonies after the Battle of the Line, the Minbari might have
turned their attentions to it, and turned the planet into a desolate rock,
just as they had Earth.

Captain Sheridan hadn't been to Earth in over fourteen years, and now he
would never be able to. The Minbari had stripped away the atmosphere,
boiled the seas and oceans and destroyed every living thing on the planet.
He'd heard people like Corwin and Anna and General Hague tell him often
enough that he couldn't have gotten there early enough to do any good, but
he should have been there, if only to die with his plent.

And now what was he? A rebel leader, a hero, a demon, a mass murderer, the
StarKiller, husband, father, or simply a man who didn't know when to stop
fighting a war he couldn't win?

"Commander Corwin,I'll be going down to the planet for a personal meeting
with Administrator Na'Far. Would you like to come as well?"

"I'll be busy here, Captain, I'm afraid," Corwin replied, with false
sincerity. Corwin liked Narns even less than Sheridan did.

"Very well. Lieutenant Franklin, contact Lieutenants Keffer and Connally.
The four of us can fly down to the surface and socialise with a Narn or
three.

"Yes, Captain." Franklin did not look happy, but then no one did these
days.

Administrator Na'Far. A Narn ruling a colony of humans. Sheridan was not
looking forward to this.

			  ------------

"Blasted reptile vermin! Outta chuck 'em all back into spave, if you ask
me!"

"Marcus. You're drunk."

"Certainly hope so, or all that fine... whatever it was... would've gone
to waste."

Joseph Cole gave a fond look at his wife Katherine, who smiled back and
shrugged. Her shrug said it all: He's your brother. Ergo, your problem.

"One step above the Minbari, I think. Oh, the Centuari too. Those
ridiculous hairstyles of theirs. Wonder if they realise how stupid they
look." Joseph rose to his feet and moved towards his younger brother, who
was gesticulating wildly. "drazi, too! You'd have thought someone could
teach them to put a proper sentence together. It's not that hard. No, Joe,
lemme 'lone."

"Marcus, if you keep insulting aliens like you've been doing, you'll get
into a fight."

"Fine, take 'em all on." Fortunately for Marcus, the bar contained only
humans at the moment. The Narns tended to stick to their own places and
there were precious few other non-humans around. Vega 7 wasn't exactly a
thriving hub of activity at the best of times.

Katherine sighed softly. "And again."

"He's just drunk, that's all. He doesn't mean it."

"He's always drunk, Joe. He works on the mines all day and drinks all
night. He's going to kill himself one day. If a Narn doesn't do it for him
first."

"I know, I know, but... It's understandable really. Things haven't been
easy here under the Narns. Not since the War."

"I know things haven't been very nice here, but you can't let Marcus just
throw his life away. I care about him too, you know."

Joseph turned back to his brother, who was trying to rearrange his hair
into a Centauri crest. "Come on, Marcus. Let's go home."

"Home? Ain't got no home. Minbaris destroyed it. Destroyed it all."

Joseph sighed again. This was going to be a long night.

		     --------------

"You seem a little... on edge, Captain Sheridan?" Na'Far politely offered
Sheridan a drink, which he equally politely refused. He'd tasted Narn
drinks before. Connally hadn't, and took it. A quick swallow later and she
was clearly regretting it.

"Just a little... added tension from the fight, that's all. I always feel
like this after a mission."

"I see. And what news of the Minbari? If that is not secret of course?"

"Same as usual, really. Just... well, holding their own."

"I have some experience with the Minbari, you know. I was told that they
always acted as one. When the war began fourteen of your years ago, they
all went mad together. Perhaps they have all woken up together?"

"A little late for that, isn't it?"

"What is the human saying? Better late than never?"

"I've never put much stock in sayings myself."

"How are things with your Government, Administrator?" Franklin asked. He
had travelled quite a way before the war, hitch hiking on starships of all
things. He was one of few people aboard the Babylon who'd ever met a
Minbari face to face with both walking away alive. Franklin had trained to
be a doctor until the death of his father a few years back. That had made
him seek out a position aboard the Babylon. He had enough medical
knowledge to be an effective doctor, but he claimed to prefer this.
Sheridan had known General Franklin quite well. "Old FireStorm" had had a
good death. Better than many others.

Franklin was the only one remotely at each in this room, spartan and dark
as were all Narn accommodations. A rack of candles rested on a stone
table, an ancient book caught in their flickering glow. Keffer was hanging
around the back of the room, plainly wishing he was somewhere else.
Connally was still recovering from whatever it was Na'Far had given her,
and Sheridan... he just wanted to be away from here.

"Oh, the same as usual, Lieutenant," Na'Far replied. "Or so I am lead to
believe. I am a little far out from the political spectrum here, you
know."

"Yes, but still, your help has been very valuable to us, Administrator."
Sheridan said. Was that a flash of something in the Narn's blood red eyes.
Something mysterious.

"It is freely given, Captain. In memory of Gorash 15. How long will your
repairs take?"

"About twenty four hours or so."

"Ah." The Narn suddenly looked down. "I am sorry for this, Captain. The
order came directly from the kHa'Ri themselves. I disagreed, but cannot
ignore it."

Every instinct in Sheridan's body warned him about something, and then he
caught it. Not a smell, not a sound or a sight, but a feeling. A feeling
that had never been wrong before. Minbari!

Instantly, he grabbed his PPG and spun around so that his back was to the
wall. It was too late. The door to Na'Far's room burst open and six
Minbari poured in, big ones, wearing black and carrying those pikes of
theirs. Warrior caste. Sheridan fired instantly, catching the first one
square in the chest. The Minbari fell, but the others were fast, so damned
fast.

Keffer was the nearest to them. He made a brief movement of surprise, but
was helpless as a pike smashed across his face, sending him tumbling back
against the wall, still and unmoving. Poor Warren. He only ever seemed
alive in his beloved StarFury. Sheridan fired again, but this time he
inflicted only a flesh wound.

Franklin had tried to draw his own PPG, but his instincts were still those
of a doctor, not a warrior, and he was felled with a simple blows to the
leg and side. Connally had managed to get her own weapon out, and she had
downed one Minbari.

The ship! The ship comes first! Sheridan activated his Link as quickly as
he could. "Sheridan to Corwin! Get out of here! Repeat! Get the Hell out
of here! Corwin, you..." A pike struck his arm, knocking him off balance,
and causing him to fumble his PPG. Sheridan tried lunging forward with a
punch, but it barely connected.

Damn Minbari! They were too fast, and too good.

A pike crashed against his skull, and consciousness faded.

			    --------------

Elsewhere, out on the Rim, a dead world swarmed with life once more. From
a world called only Z'Ha'Dum, a shuttle rose up and flew into space.

To Be Continued...

Well, there we are. I'm sure you've all worked out by now that this is a
parallel universe story, where the Minbari didn't surrender at the Battle
of the Line, and went on to destroy Earth. Working out where everyone was
in this was a nightmare, but here are the rules I used when devising this:

1. Everything must remain consistent to the aired B5 episodes. I am not
allowed to make characters up unless strictly necessary.

2. Everything that happened up to and including the Battle of the Line
happened exactly as related on TV. The only deviation is the results of
the Battle.

3. All the major characters will appear, as well as most of the supporting
cast. They might not appear as you expect them too, however. Trust me.
They're all around somewhere.

4. Events of prophecy etc. have to continue as relayed in the series.
(This was the biggest headache.)

5. I've devised the whole story in a series of short stories - like
episodes. This first episode is a four parter, other will vary from a
single parter to a mammoth seven parts, or even longer.

So, there we are. What did you all think? I hope you enjoyed it. Anyone
with any comments, criticisms, or questions is free to e-mail me. My
address should be at the top of the page. Part 2 will be along soon-ish.
(And don't worry, I haven't forgotten about From One Warrior To Another.
The next part of that will be out soon as well.)


From: Mr G D Williams <csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Story Submission - A Dark Distorted Mirror Part 2 of 4 [AT] [MV]
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 01:15:12 +0100 (BST)

Hello people, hope everyone enjoyed Part 1. Here's the second part of my
parallel universe saga. Hope you like it. Feedback is very welcome. (And
please don't kill me for what I've done to Ivanova.)

This story is set in early 2258 in a parallel universe where the Minbari
didn't surrender at the Battle of the Line and went on to conquer Earth.
There are no Spoilers as such, but I am drawing upon information given
across the B5 universe and people who haven't seen up to the middle of the
fourth season may be spoiled.

Legal Disclaimer: Babylon 5 and all characters are owned by JMS and Warner
Bros. I've merely taken them all down, put them in different positions and
let them loose. I am making no money from writing this and do so solely
for pleasure - my own and that of the reader.

A Dark, Distorted Mirror, Part 2 of 4 [AT] [MV]
by Gareth Williams, csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk

General William Hague looked out from his office window over the grey slag
heaps and dusty skies of Proxima 3 and he sighed softly. What sort of
place was this for a human to live? Where was the grass, the trees, the
soft whistling of birdsong in the morning? Proxima 3 was a wasteland, a
strategically valaubale and important wasteland to be sure, but a
wasteland all the same.

It was also the new home for the human race.

Ever since the Minbari had conquered and then proceded to destroy Earth,
humanity had been forced to flee, anywhere and everywhere. Most of their
colonies had already fallen, Orion crushed, Mars torn apart, the Vega
system under threat and only saved by letting the Narns take control.
Proxima 3 was the last bastion of human strength, the site of the last,
best hope for victory over the Minbari. A dry, desolate, foul world.

And who was that last, best hope for victory? Not General Hague himself,
certainly not President Marie Crane or Vice President Morgan Clark. No,
the last, best hope of the human race was a man who was dead in every way
that counted except for the physical. Captain John J. Sheridan. The
StarKiller.

And that last, best hope was over thirty hours overdue from a routine
scouting mission to Sector 14. He and his Babylon were effectively all
that was left of the once mighty EarthForce. If he was lost anywhere, then
so was EarthForce, some ten years after Earth itself was lost.

General Hague had not been present at Earth during the last dicth defence
that was the Battle of the Line. He had been vainly trying to defend the
Orion colonies, only for the Minbari to tear through their defences as if
they did not even exist. If Sheridan had not come to the rescue shortly
before launching his almost apocalyptic assault on the Minbari fleet in
what became know as the Battle for Mars, Hague would have died at Orion.

His comm unit buzzed and he moved back to the desk. *About time, John* he
thought. *I'm too old for you to give me shocks like this.* But the face
that appeared in the comm unit was not Sheridan, but his second, Commander
David Corwin.

"What is it?" Hague asked. "Report, Mr. Corwin."

"Our initial scout of Sector 14 showed that the area was empty, sir. No
sign of any Centauri encroachment, but we did run into a Minbari cruiser,
probably also on patrol. We destroyed it in a firefight but the Babylon
was seriously damaged. Communications were down and jump engines
dangerously unstable. The Captain ordered us to put into Vega 7 for
repairs. He went down to the surface to meet with Administrator Na'Far,
and di not return. I received a message ordering me to take the Babylon
from Vega 7, and only just in time. There was a Minbari cruiser hidden
just behind Vega 7's moon. Captain Sheridan and Lieutenants Franklin,
Keffer and Connally are unaccounted for. They may be dead, or captured.
Fortunately we have managed to complete most of our repairs,
communications system only recently back on line. I am requesting
permission to return to Vega 7 and find the Captain, sir, launching a
rescue attempt if necessary."

General Hague sat back and rubbed at his eyes. "Permission denied,
Commander."

"But, sir..."

"I said permission denied. The Babylon is too valuable to risk. If Vega 7
has been compromised, all we can do is notify the Narn Government and
abandon the area. As for Captain Sheridan... if he is alive then I am sure
he will be able to evade or escape capture, and make his way here. He is
very resourceful, as you well know. And if he is dead, then I cannot, and
will not let you risk our only surviving heavy cruiser on a suicide run.
We all need the Babylon too much, Commander."

"General, please!"

"That is an order, Commander! You are to return to Proxima 3 immediately
for a full debriefing. Is that understood?"

"Yes, General."

"Good. Hague out." The viewscreen went blank and Sheridan buried his head
in his hands in despair. What to do when even the last, best hope was
gone? First, have a drink, and second, try to find something to tell
Sheridan's wife.

Corwin also sat back from his viewscreen aboard the bridge of the Babylon..
"Like Hell!" he spat. "Lieutenant, set course for Vega 7. We're going to
get the Captain back if we have to tear every Minbari in existance apart."

			 ------------------

"I am Grey. I stand between the candle and the star. We are Grey. We stand
between the darkness and the light. I come to take the place that has been
prepared for me." Delenn drew back the hood of her rough, grey robe and
stepped into the column of light, completing the circle of the nine.

"It is good to have you back with us, Delenn," said Satai Lennann to her
right. "You seem to be away from us every chance you can get. I hope it is
not our company?"

"No," she said, smiling softly in reply. "I study the prophecies, Lennann.
It is hard and tiring work."

"I am sure it is," rasped out a harsh voice from across the circle. "But
we have a commitment to the nine, and the covenant we have formed with
Valen. Do not forget that, Delenn. Your first duty is always to the
Council, not to your personal quest. We are Nine here after all, not
eight."

"I do not forget that, Sinoval," she replied as the warrior pulled back
his own hood. "I merely seek to serve in any way I can."

"But who do you serve most, Delenn? The Council, or your own interests?"

"Sinoval!" barked Hedronn. "That is enough! Never has a Satai cast
aspersions on the actions of another. We must simply trust that Delenn is
serving Valen, as are we all. And now we must turn to the matters we were
discussing.

"For too long have the Rangers been leaderless and without order.
Branmer's death means that there is no Entil'zha to stand against the
Enemy that is coming. We must choose one, and swiftly, for without an
Entil'zha, there can be no Rangers. If we are unable to choose an
Entil'zha then how may we choose a leader once the cycle of mourning for
Dukhat is over."

"Has anyone been able to find Branmer's choice of replacement?" Lennann
asked. "This... Alyt Neroon?"

"Neroon has made his own decision," Delenn spoke out, hoping that none of
the others could hear the pain in her voice. "He has felt a calling
elsewhere. It would not be right of us to question that."

"Neroon has ran away," Sinoval snorted contemptuously. "Hiding from the
war we must fight. It is a great loss. He served Branmer well in the war
against both the Earthers and the Enemy, but if he will not serve, than
another must."

"But who?" asked Lennann. "None of the others has the desire, or the
training or the talent to lead."

"The Rangers are warriors," Sinoval pointed out. "As is only fitting,
since who else must fight the war against the Enemy? And who better to
lead them than a warrior? I led the Wind Swords well in the war against
the Earthers, did I not? Many within my own clan serve as Rangers, do they
not? I speak for the warrior caste here, do I not? Satais, I offer myself
for the position of Ranger One."

"This is impossible, Sinoval, as you well know," Hedronn said. "Your
duties as Satai, your duties to the Nine, deny you the time to be
Entil'zha also."

"Delenn finds the time to study the prophecies and that does not take away
from her duties as Satai. Or perhaps it does, in which case she should be
dismissed from this assemblage."

"Sinoval! I have warned you before. No aspersions are to be cast upon a
member of this Council. Delenn has served us well these last sixteen
cycles, and she was the chosen of Dukhat. You have been here far less than
she, and should display the respect accorded to that."

Hedronn looked at Sinoval angrily, worker and warrior locking gazes across
the hall of the council. Delenn looked between the two with rapid despair.
Sinoval's ambitions were well known, but a feud between worker caste and
warrior caste could tear apart not only the Council but also all of
Minbar. That one as filled with pride and arrogance as Sinoval should rise
so far was a black thing for all of Minbar, but Delenn would not let one
warrior destroy the Council, not when the argument was fought over her.

"Hedronn! Sinoval! This Council is not a place for arguings and
shoutings," she said. "We all serve as best and in what ways we can. If
Sinoval believes he can serve best by leading the Rangers, then so be it."

"You would support me?" Sinoval said, suspicion flaring in his dark eyes.

"No. I support the Rangers, I support the fulfillment of the task that is
ahead and I support the actions that we must take to fulfill that task. If
you are the best person to lead the Rangers, as you claim, then you should
have the position of Ranger One. If you are not, then we must trust that
you will acknowledge this, and pass the position on to one better
qualified. Without trust in one another, then the Council will surely
fall, and Minbar cannot be far behind."

"The voice of reason as ever," whispered Lennann, and she smiled at his
encouragement.

Sinoval suddenly turned as a young Acolyte stepped forward to speak with
him. His column of light faded and Delenn was left to stare at the
blackness where it had been.. She did not think she liekd this new
development. When the light came back on, she knew from the expression
of triumph on Sinoval's face that she would not like this.

"Fellow Satai," he said. "I have great news. The StarKiller human Sheridan
has been captured by warriors from the Wind Sword clan. He is being
brought here in chains, to face our judgement for his crimes."

Delenn started. StarKiller? She knew of Sheridan, all Minbari did, not
only for the Black Star, but also for his direct attack upon the very
heart of Minbar - the Grey Council itself. Mere weeks following the fall
of Earth, as the great Minbari fleet had turned its attention to the other
human colony on Mars, Sheridan had launched a foolish assault on this very
ship, killing two Satais and allowing many refugees to flee the planet.
And therefore, Sheridan had set in motion events to allow Sinoval and
Lennann to come to power.

As Delenn looked at Sinoval, she doubted the warrior intened to thank
Sheridan for giving him this position. Oh no, not at all.

			-----------------

As night fell over the mining colony of Vega 7, the people therein slept.
Marcus Cole, miner, slept the sleep of the drunk, and the angry. His
brother Joseph, and his wife Katherine, slept a frustrated, distant sleep.
Administrator Na'Far slept the guilt-ridden sleep of one ashamed. In
chains and in cells, Lieutenants Franklin and Connally did not sleep.
while Lieutenant Keffer screamed with the pain of his injuries.

Above the colony world, minor and insignificant, there loomed something
ancient and dark, issuing a scream that tore open the night. Any early
warning systems were destroyed. It was alone in the night.

Except for something beneath the surface of Vega 7, something recently
awakened by mining operations, something ancient and dark, buried there
for a millenium.

It began to stir.

			 -------------------

"My name is John. J. Sheridan. Rank: Captain, EarthForce. My serial
number..."

Delenn looked at the human in the centre of the circle with curious eyes.
To think that this was the legendary StarKiller. Just a man. Bloodied,
marked but unbowed. Standing tall and triumphant, even in his chains.
Bloodied but unbowed. No, this was not just a man. He was the StarKiller,
and looking at him, Delenn realised that he probably could kill stars.

"We know who you are, Earther," Sinoval spat, in Sheridan's native
language. Sheridan turned to face him, and Delenn caught just one glimpse
of the sheer hatred burning in his human eyes. It mirrored that in
Sinoval's own.

*One warrior to another... Is this what Neroon meant when he spoke of the
urge to fight and struggle? To reach for the very stars? Of hatred and
fire and respect and honour burning in one heart?*

"That is all I am authorised to tell you," Sheridan replied, saying the
words obviously by rote. "I demand to know what has happened to my
crewmembers."

"They were irrelevant, StarKiller. Merely lackeys. They will be killed and
their remains disposed of."

"You bastard!" Sheridan shouted. "I swear to God you'll pay for their
deaths you soulless black hearted bastard! For everything you did to
Earth, to my people, to my daughter! I'll crush the life from your
worthless throat with my own two hands!"

Sinoval chuckled. "I do not think so, StarKiller, and if we are talking of
reparations, remember who struck first in this war. Who fired the first
shot? Whose blood is on whose hands? There is enough blood on yours to
mark an entire generation."

*One warrior to another. They may not be of the same blood, but they are
of the same heart.* Delenn started. *One warrior to another. The same
heart. The same soul? The other half of our souls?

*Valen, no!*

"What is it, Delenn?" Lennann asked, obviously noting her distress.

"My apologies, Lennann. I was merely... distracted. There was such hatred
in his voice." He was looking directly at her now, but she stood firm
before the steely hatred in his eyes. "Such hatred."

"He is a primitive barbarian," Sinoval said. "His language is proof enough
of that. I was not aware you spoke it, Delenn."

"I have learned bits and pieces," she said hesitantly. *Valen's Name, what
is what I suspect is true? It is too... too obscene to consider.* "I hole
that he should be held until we can decide his fate."

"What is to decide? He is the StarKiller! The blood of many is on his
hands, including two who once stood here. Simply execute him and have done
with it."

"That would be premature," Delenn said. "He may have information that
would be of use to us. We must discover what he knows." *And I must test
what I suspect, Valen help me be wrong.*

"I agree with Delenn," Hedronn said. "If, as you keep requesting, Sinoval,
we do attack the rest of the Earther civilisation, we will need his
knowledge."

"Very well," Sinoval acknowledged. "I do not want a mongrel human kept in
this place, though. This is for us only. Hold him on the surface."

"That would be... wise," Delenn agreed. She looked at Sheridan as he was
led out by two Acolytes. He flased her a gazeand she met it firmly. His
hatred was almost tangible. *Valen's Name, how could anyone hate so much?*

And then a memory, Dukhat lying in her arms, the humans who had done this
still nearby. A question posed to her. A question... and an answer. "Kill
them! Kill them all!"

"And now," Hedronn was saying. "The position of Entil'zha..."

		      --------------------

*My name is John J. Sheridan. Rank: Captain, EarthForce. My serial
number... Yesh, keep saying that, Johnny. Maybe it'll let you keep your
sanity until they decide to kill you.*

His first memory after being knocked senseless on Vega 7 was of waking in
a small room. Everything smelled Minbari, an infuriating scent that
reminded him of clove oil and steel. He did not know how long he had been
there, but he remembered being taken before the circle of the Nine - the
fabled Grey Council, no less - and then of being taken from there to here,
a cold, dark, small cell somewhere on the surface. He had tried pacing up
and down - eight paces long, six wide - but when that did little to
relieve his boredom, he tried visualising Anna, not as she was now, but of
how she had been when they had met, introduced by his siter Elizabeth.
When that did not kill, he turned to his daughter, also called Elizabeth,
and the last time he had seen her, buried under a ton of falling rock as
the Minbari bombed Orion 7. He hadn't even been able to find her body.

Not just his daughter died that day. His wife had as well, at least she
had inside, collapsing and erecting a wall around everything that she was
and ever would be, only breakuing through the wall by drink. He supposed
that he had died that day as well, and his wall was similar to hers, but
his was only ever broken by battle. The last charge at Sector 14 against
the Centauri. The suicide run on the Grey Council ship over Mars. The
liberation of General Hague from Orion.

In his heart, Captain John J. Sheridan was dead, but then so was humanity,
so it made little difference.

He started at the noise of the door opening. Tghere was a brief flash of
light as someone stepped inside, and the darkness again. Darkness and a
smell. Orange blossom. It was impossible, but it was orange blossom, just
like in his father's garden as a child.

And then there was light, and a thirty year old memory faded. A Minbari
was in front of him. He had seen her arguing in the Hall.

"Greeting," she said softly, in English. "I am called..."

"Satai Delenn," he finished for her, studying her closely. She looked
almost... frail, but a fire burned in her eyes, just behind the surface.
She seemed to be studying him. "I heard your name spoken in Council.
You're the one who wanted me sent here."

"You speak our language?" She did not sound surprised.

"You aren't the only one to have picked up bits and pieces of someone
else's language. What is to stop me tearing you apart here and now?"

"You could try, but you would fail."

"You can only kill me once. What have I got to lose?"

She inclined her head slowly. "Surely you have something to live for?"

"Yes. I do. The hope that I can kill a few more of you monsters before I
die!"

She seemed surprised. "Such hatred," she whispered in her native tongue,
and then something about Valen. "How can you live with such hatred?"

"Simple enough when it's all you've had for ten years. You took my life,
my home, parents, sister, daughter... you took everything away from me
until hatred is all I have left."

"And all you deserve?"

"Perhaps, but I don't care anymore."

"Then I have a question. Why have you not attacked me? I am Satai. I am
the embodiment of everything you hate. Why have you not tried to kill me?"

"Because you'd be expecting that, and I didn't become the StarKiller by
doing what people expected of me."

"You seem almost proud of that title."

"Earned in battle, granted me by my enemies. Damn straight I am."

"I am equally as proud of my title. Satai. Perhaps you understand,
Captain?"

"Whatever. I take it you're here to question me?"

"No. I simply wanted to talk."

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"No," she said softly. She then doused her light and left, leaving
Sheridan to stare after her, only the lingering trace of orange blossom to
mark her presence.

"Interesting, wasn't she?" said another voice. A female voice. Speaking
English.

"Who? Where are you?"

"Right here, Captain. Oh, a little light perhaps." There was a brief and
dull light illuminating the face of a woman in the corner of the cell. "I
entered when she did, and hid here. She didn't see me. You don't have to
worry about that."

"I didn't see you either. What are you doing here, and how did you get in?
Minbar isn't exactly full of humans."

"I have a few... friends, here and then. Don't worry, Captain, I just came
in to see you. To... talk. After we're done, we'll both leave together."

"Oh just like that? Walk out the door?"

"Exactly."

"Just my luck. Stuck in the middle of a Minbari cell with either a
madwoman or a hallucination."

"Hardly mad, Captain, and very real. By the way, my name is Susan Ivanova,
and I have one question to ask you. A simple enough question really.

"Captain, what do you want?"

To Be Continued...
(Soon, I promise.)

From: Mr G D Williams <csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Story Submission - A Dark, Distorted Mirror Part 3 of 4 [AT] [MV]
Date: Sun, 27 Apr 1997 17:41:14 +0100 (BST)

Hi people, here be Part 3 as promised. Hope everyone's enjoying it so far.
(And if you aren't mad at me yet for what I've done to Ivanova, wait and
see what happens to Sheridan and Delenn.) Feedback is always very welcome
(even if only to shout at me) and should be sent to
csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk

This is  a parallel universe story set in a world where the Minbari didn't
surrender at the Battle of the Line and went on to conquer and destroy
Earth. The time is early 2258.

There are no Spoilers as such, but I am drawing upon all elements of the
B5 universe in writing this and people who haven't seen up to the middle
of the fourth season may be spoiled.

Legal Disclaimer: Babylon 5 and all related characters are owned by JMS
and Warner Bros. I am making no money out of writing this and do so purely
for pleasure - my own and that of the reader.

A Dark, Distorted Mirror, Part 3 of 4  [AT] [MV]
by Gareth Williams, csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk

Captain John J. Sheridan must have died and gone to Hell. Maybe that
Minbari pike had done more than merely knock him unconscious for a few
hours. Maybe it had caved his skull in and his body was now lying in some
unmarked hole in Vega 7, unadorned and unremembered, while his soul was
in whatever particular level of Hades the Devil reserved for people like
him. For people with more blood on their hands than could be found on
entire planets.

List of charges: The destruction of the Black Star. Guilty as charged, and
damn proud of it. A foolish attack on the Grey Council and the death of
two of its members. As stated. Countless Minbari and Centauri over the
course of a fourteen year war. No defence. His daughter, left alone for a
matter of minutes, but just long enough for a Minbari bomb to blow her
apart. Negligence? Guilty. Of allowing his wife to become a drunken,
sodden shadow of her former self? Guilty. Of giving hope where there could
be none to people fighting an unwinnable war? Guilty.

A long enough list of charges, and surely enough to guarentee his eternal
damnation. John Sheridan had never been an especially religious man, but
he believed in Hell. He had seen it when he had returned to the ruins of
his home world. If that had been Hell then maybe so was this.

Betrayed by a Narn who owed him more than could ever be repaid. Three of
his crewmates - Franklin, Connally and Keffer - captured, probably already
dead. Brought to Minbar in chains and presented before the Grey Council as
an animal. Bartered and argued over. Questioned by one of their number,
Satai Delenn, who had seemed to taunt him and who smelled almost
tantalisingly of orange blossom. And now, locked alone in the dark with a
madwoman. A beautiful madwoman to be sure, but a madwoman all the same. A
madwoman who asked the same nonsensical question.

"What do you want?"

John Sheridan looked at Susan Ivanova and finally decided to reply. If
this was an illusion brought about by some Minbari trickery he could
pretend to succumb to it in order to trick them. And if this was some
Hell-sent denizen about to torture him, then he would accept his fate. He
had never fled from anything in his life, and he was not about to start
now.

The trouble was, having decided to answer the question, he didn't know
what answer to give. "What do you mean?" he said at last. "It's a pretty
stupid question, don't you think? Coming in a place like this?"

"Do you know anywhere better to ask?" she replied smiling. "Perhaps we
should go to Las Vegas and I can ask you there."

"There is no Las Vegas any more."

"I know. It's a pity really. I'd have liked to have seen it. Just once."

"You haven't missed much, believe me."

"If you say so. Well, Captain. What do you want?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

"It's important. Very important. What do you want?"

Sheridan laughed. This was absurd. "I want to be out of this cell. How's
that for a start?"

"That's all you want? I can't believe your ambitions are that limited,
Captain."

"They aren't. I'm just... not sure how to answer that question."

"Just do your best."

He laughed again. If this woman was a demon, she was certainly an
entertaining one. "I want to return to the Babylon. I want to return to my
crew. I want to be a million miles away from this planet, and from that
high and mighty, perfect Grey Council. I want each and every Minbari on
the face of this universe wiped from existance. I want them to suffer as
we have. And I want the Narns to experience something from our point of
view as well. After all I've done for them, they betrayed me, so let them
suffer, let their planet be bombed from space and their people enslaved.
And the Centauri too, while we're at it. They stood back and watched as we
fought and died, so let them suffer. I want Earth back, whole again. I
want my wife to be the woman she was when I married her, not the... the
shadow she is today. I want my daughter back in my arms again. And... and
I want a large vanilla ice cream, with a flake and wafer. Does that answer
your question?"

Ivanova laughed. Quite an attractive laugh, really. "I'm not sure what I
can do about your daughter, or the ice cream, but I'll see what I can do
about the others."

Sheridan couldn't help himself. He was laughing too. "Just like that? You
are an illusion."

"Could an illusion do this?" Ivanova stepped up to the door and pushed
gently. It slid open. Sheridan blinked as light suddenly filled his cell,
and then he stared up at Ivanova. She extended her arm. "Shall we go then?
Or were you planning on staying here?"

                            ------------------

Delenn knew that it was Draal behind her before he had begun to speak.
Over the years she had come to recognise the sound of his footsteps. It
was a comforting sound. It reminded her of her father.

"You are working again. I suppose I should not be surprised, Delenn. After
all, you never listened to me when you were a child, so why should you
start now, hmm?"

She turned, and smiled. "I must have been a terrible burden to you, old
friend. To be saddled with so disobedient a child?"

"A burden? No, a challenge certainly. I never met anyone with such a
desire for knowledge as you, for all that it frequently led you into...
strange directions." He paused and looked at her in that studied, deep way
that he often used. "What is it, Delenn? Something is troubling you."

She knew better than to lie to her old teacher, her father's best friend.
"I... I think I have uncovered something, old friend. Something that
shakes me to my very core. I hope... I pray that I am wrong, but I doubt
that I am."

"This something, would it involve the human Sheridan? Oh, don't look so
surprised, Delenn. There are still some on the Grey Council who still
listen to a doddering old man and feed him crumbs of information from time
to time. Just enough to keep my mind working. The StarKiller is being held
in this very building, Delenn, and I find you here, still studying and
working when you do not have to. What is it about this human?"

"He is... I do not know how to describe it, old friend. There is such
hatred in his eyes, such... capability for destruction. It is both
terrifying and... strangely reassuring. I cannot explain it, Draal, only
say how I feel. I think I have known him for a very long while. Perhaps he
is the One the prophecies speak of, the One who is destined to lead us
against the Enemy that is returning."

"Or perhaps he is simply a mass murderer. I would have thought that one
such as he would be a better candidate to serve the Enemy rather than lead
against them."

"That is what I must know. Where will he side? Is he the One spoken of?
There is great... possibility within him and it must be turned to our
side. If he can serve our cause, then he will be a valuable ally." She
made to say more, but hesitated. She knew Draal suspected her of holding
something back, but not even he could suspect this. That she thought
StarKiller Sheridan, a man hated and feared throughout the Minbari
Federation, housed a Minbari soul.

"Persuading him to do so will be difficult, Delenn, if not impossible."

"But I must try. It may be that we have our new Entil'zha locked in a cell
in this very building."

Draal's eyes turned hard. "I did not hear that, Delenn. It is one thing to
speak of Sheridan as a potential ally. For better or for worse, the man is
a force in this galaxy, but as Entil'zha? A human, even this one, to lead
the Rangers? No, Delenn, that is beyond stupidity and into blasphemy."

"I am sorry, old friend. I think... my mind runs away with me. But would
Sinoval be a better choice? For unless there is an alternative, it will
be Sinoval who is our new Entil'zha. I saw Sinoval and Sheridan in the
Hall of the Council today. It were as though they were two sides of the
same mirror. I fear that Sinoval's ambitions are running away with him."

"But you cannot stop him when you are down here, Delenn. You are the
chosen of Dukhat, never forget that. You must be the voice of reason in
the Council opposing Sinoval. You cannot do so if you hide down here all
the time."

"Oh, but I can, Draal. I can." She paused, and looked up at him, the man
who had shaped her life for so long. Then she rose to her feet and made
the ritual gesture of leaving. He repeated it and watched as she left,
never suspecting that beneath her robes she bore a Triluminary.

With which to test Sheridan's soul.

                      --------------------

"The transmissions indicate that Captain Sheridan was taken to Minbar,
Commander," the lieutenant said. David Corwin listened, and nodded, but
said nothing.

Minbar. If the Resistance Government on Proxima 3 knew what he was doing,
he would probably be spaced so fast that he would think he'd been born in
a vacuum, but this had to be done. Captain Sheridan had saved his life
more times than he could count, and now that Sheridan was in danger,
Corwin had to go to the rescue.

"Any word on the others?" Lieutenants Franklin, Keffer and Connally, all
of whom had gone down to Vega 7 with Captain Sheridan, none of whom had
returned.

"The message we intercepted just said the Captain, Sir, but I presume..."  

"Never presume anything," Corwin snapped. "Very well, if we're going to
assault the Minbari homeworld then now is as good a time as ever, I
suppose. Set course for..."

"Wait, Commander. We're picking up a coded message. It's EarthForce, sir."

"If it's the Resistance Government then..."

"No, sir. It's... and old code, sir. Three or four years, but it seems to
be coming from Minbar."

"How could the Minbari know four old... The Captain! Put it on!"

Corwin swivelled on the chair - the Captain's chair - and turned to the
reception screen. It was fuzzy and blank, but the message that came
through was clear.

*Captain Sheridan will be fine. I can get him off Minbar, but we'll need
transport when that happens. Care to give us a lift, David? Wait at these
co-ordinates.*

"It's a trap, sir. Got to be."

"No," Corwin breathed. "Oh no it isn't." He'd recognised the voice, and he
was mouthing a silent prayer of thanks to the God he no longer believed
in. "Set course for the relayed co-ordinates. I think we're going to get
the Captain back."

                     ---------------------

Sheridan was feeling lost in this labyrinth of Minbari corridors, but
Ivanova seemed to know where they were going. Didn't these damned Minbari
know how to build a corridor in a straight line? He was also feeling more
than a little uncomfortable, and a little more alive. Here he was, on the
homeworld of his sworn enemy, trapped in some bureaucratic complex, with
no weapons and his spaceship several systems away, with his only ally a
mysterious woman who seemed more than half insane.

It was exhilarating.

"You do know where we're going, don't you?" he asked Ivanova. Sheridan
hated trusting others with matters like this.

"You're too tense. Where's your sense of fun? Of adventure?"

"You aren't trying to cheer me up, are you? I hate being cheered up."

"Fine, then we're all to die lingering, horrible deaths. Especially if the
Minbari catch us. Feeling better now?"

"Not really."

"Good. My brother always said I was too pessimistic." They came to a
divergence of corridors and Ivanova looked down both of them. "It's this
way," she said, indicating one of the routes. "I think."

"Which way did you come in?"

"That's... ah, sort of hard of explain."

The two of them had made four steps in the direction Ivanova had indicated
when a door opened in front of them and out stepped a Minbari. And not
just any Minbari. 

Satai Delenn.

                --------------------------

For a brief moment Delenn was stunned. It was the StarKiller. Somehow he
had escaped. She barely noticed the human woman beside him, focusing
instead on Sheridan, forced to step back from the blazing fury in his
eyes.

And then the human woman said something and Delenn turned to her.

Time seemed to slow, a moment that Commander Corwin called the long
second. The human woman was no longer just a human, but a blackening
silhouette, a darkness so absolute that it penetrated to her very soul, a
hatred more powerful than Sheridan's because it was hidden beneath a
pacific and calm surface.

Delenn's thought was as terrible as the one she had reached concerning
Sheridan's soul. The Enemy is awake, and it has come here.

And then she surrendered herself to the instincts of battle, rigorously
forged in her by her father, by Derhan, by Neroon. It did not matter who
the woman was, or why she was interested in Sheridan. It only mattered
that she served the Enemy - the Enemy that Delenn had dedicated her life
to fighting.

Delenn struck forward, lashing out with her fist and catching the human
woman off guard, knocking her backwards. The woman stumbled, but then
Sheridan moved forward. He seemed to hesitate before hitting her, a brief
moment that allowed Delenn to duck his punch and strike out at his belly.
He too stumbled and she gained enough time to unfold her fighting pike, a
weapon centuries old, given her in love by Neroon. It was a deadly weapon
in the hands of a master, and while Delenn was no Derhan, she had been
trained well enough.

Backing up so that she was against the wall, she gripped the staff tightly
in both hands. She did not know human physiology as well as she might
have, but she knew enough to incapacitate these two, and then the Council
would have to be warned. Not just that Sheridan had escaped, but that the
Enemy was here.

There was a sudden noise, a buzzing and crackling. Delenn started and
turned. There was a shimmering directly before her eyes, a shimmering in
the shape of a giant, misshapen crab. Reason left her and she lunged
forward with her staff, lashing out vainly at the beast before her, a
beast from each and every one of her worst nightmares.

It moved with a speed that seemed impossible. One swift motion and she
fell, in agony, very much aware that the warm dampness she felt in her
belly was her own blood.

                --------------------------

"What the Hell was that?" Sheridan asked as he stared at the fallen
Delenn. "Do you mind telling me?"

"A friend, Captain. You'll find we have them everywhere. Come on. She
might have raised an alarm or something."

Ivanova bent down and picked up the strange weapon Delenn had been using.
"A quick blow to the neck and she'll be out of your misery, Captain."

Orange blossom. "No, we'll take her with us."

"And you said I was crazy?"

"Look, the Minbari won't threaten us if we've got one of the Grey Council
with us. Think what a hostage she'd make, not to mention what she knows.
Now come on, you said you knew a way out of this place."

Ivanova shrugged and compressed the pike. "Always wanted one of these.
Asked my father for one for Christmas one year. It's this way."

Sheridan bent down to pick up Delenn and he noticed a small triangular
object that had fallen from her robes. Without thinking, he stuffed it
into a pocket and picked her up. He was surprised at how light she was,
and at the fact that the smell of orange blossom was now replaced by the
scent of blood and death. Had he been less preoccupied, Sheridan might
have noticed the same buzzing and crackling noise that had so affected
Satai Delenn.

                ------------------------

"Captain! Good to see you again. I thought... that is... Good to have you
back, sir."

"Good to be back, David." Sheridan stepped off the shuttle into the small
docking bay aboard the Babylon. "We have a guest in need of urgent medical
assistance. If you can get Doctor Kyle to have a look at her stat."

"I'm here, Captain," the elderly doctor said, brushing past Sheridan to
enter the shuttle. Ivanova was staying very quiet behind Sheridan. The
doctor came out. "But Captain, she's a..."

"A Minbari, I know. To be more precise, she's Satai Delenn of the Grey
Council." Corwin whistled softly. "She may just be our means of ending
this whole thing and even if she isn't, can you think of a better
hostage?"

"Trust you to come out smelling of roses, sir."

"Smelling of orange blossom, more like."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"Nothing. How is she, Doctor?" Delenn's wound had seemed quite serious at
first, but Sheridan had seen the incredible Minbari constitution first
hand. She had remained half conscious all the time he had been carrying
her from the complex to the shuttle, and she had been drifting in and out
of consciousness during the time they had taken the shuttle from the
planet to the Babylon. They had met no form of resistance during their
escape, something which worried Sheridan quite a bit.

"She'll recover. It looks worse than it is."

Sheridan nodded. "Good. I want her alive. She has a hell of a lot of
questions to answer."

"She's not the only one," Corwin muttered. "Captain, what exactly happened
on Vega 7? And how did you get out of there so easily? I mean, I don't
want to be disrespectful or anything, but you don't just leave the Minbari
homeworld like it was a corner shop."

"That's funny. I was wondering the same thing myself." Sheridan glanced at
Ivanova, who stepped out from behind him.

"I told you. We have friends everywhere, Captain."

But Sheridan had not heard Ivanova's response. He had only heard Corwin's
reaction. "Susan!"

"You two know each other?" To Sheridan's surprise, Ivanova sidled up to
Corwin and, staring at his still dumbfounded face, gave him a long and
very passionate kiss. "You two do know each other."

"We used to," Corwin replied. "I thought you were dead. I mean, I'd hoped
from the voice, but then I thought it couldn't be you. You were dead."

"I was. I got better."

Corwin was still staring at her, but then he shook his head and blinked.
"I'm sorry, Captain. I was... distracted."

"I can see that. What word on Lieutenants Keffer, Franklin and Connally?"

"None, sir. I thought they were with you."

"I don't know where they are, but I know a Narn who does. Na'far set me
up, and I want to find out why. He mentioned something about the kHa'Ri.
If the Narns have started working with the Minbari, then we're all in
trouble. Set course for Vega 7." He looked at Ivanova. "Mysteries can wait
until later."

              -----------------------

Satai Sinoval, Shai Alyt of the holy jyhad, WarLeader of the Wind Swords
clan, member of the Grey Council and soon to be Entil'zha, entered his
personal quarters and looked sharply at the person already there.

"The StarKiller has escaped," he snapped. "He walked out from this very
building where you assured me he would be safe. He simply walked out and
no one thought to try and stop him. It was as if my guards had been...
ordered not to interfere, not to even notice he was there. But that could
only have happened if I had ordered such, and I definitely did not do so."

"I took a few... liberties, Sinoval. Apologies if I caused offence."

"I suppose you had a good reason."

"Just call it cashing in one of the many favours you owe me. Actually, I
have it on very good authority that Sheridan was seen by someone. A
certain... friend of yours. I doubt it is common knowledge yet, but I
don't think Satai Delenn will be bothering you in Council much any more."

"You're certain of this? Sheridan killed her?"

"Killed or captured. It really doesn't matter. If you're smart, you can
blame his escape on her. I knew you'd like it. So tell me, is your gain
worth his disappearance?"

"I will not rest until Sheridan and all with him are dead. Blood calls out
for blood! For the Black Star, for the Emphili and the Dogato, for..."

"Yes yes. I know. You'll have your chance with him sooner or later. Be
patient, as I have. Besides, now you'll be able to take the war to the
Earthers with little interference from Delenn. I'd like to be there when
you do it, of course. Personally, I owe the Earthers too much to stand by
while you wipe them out with all those lovely weapons I provided you with.
Well, what do you say to that, Entil'zha? Or should that be, Holy One?"

"I say that you have more than earned your sobriquet this day."

As she smiled, Sinoval thought that WarMaster Jha'Dur, last of the Dilgar,
had never more earned the name that had caused her to be hated and reviled
throughout the galaxy.

DeathWalker.

To be Continued...


From: Mr G D Williams <csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk>
Subject: Story Submission: A Dark, Distorted Mirror Part 4 of 4 [AT] [AC]
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 00:51:58 +0100 (BST)

Well, here we are, the final part of "A Dark, Distorted Mirror". This is
not the end, however. I've got a whole load of future stories to follow on
after this and continue the tale (trivia like time, food and Real Life
permitting) and bring in characters like G'Kar, Londo, Bester, Lyta and
ooh, just about everyone sooner or later. Anyway, I hope everyone's
enjoying it, and thanks to everyone who sent me encouraging e-mails.
Apologies if I haven't gotten back to people yet, but the Inbox here is a
mess and it's going to take me a while to sort everything out. Feedback is
very welcome, and should be sent to csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk.

This is set in a parallel universe where the Minbari did not surrender at
the Battle of the Line and went on to conquer and destroy Earth. The time
is early 2258.

There are no Spoilers as such, but I am drawing upon all elements of the
B5 universe in writing this and people who have not seen up to the middle
of Season 4 or so may be spoiled.

Legal Disclaimer: B5 and all related characters are owned by JMS and
Warner Bros. I am making no money out of writing this and do so purely for
pleasure.

A Dark, Distorted Mirror, Part 4 of 4 [AT] [AC]
by Gareth Williams, csrcb@csv.warwick.ac.uk

"Fellow Satai." Sinoval bowed his head slowly, almost wanting to pull down
his hood, to hide his face from the empty circle of light which stood
across the chamber from him. For so long he had wanted this, but now that
it was here, that his greatest opponent in the Grey Council was gone, he
felt strangely... shameful.

"Satai Delenn is lost to us."

"What do you mean, lost?" barked up Satai Lennann. Religious caste, and
just as new to the Council as Sinoval himself was. But Lennann had no clan
leadership, no warship of loyal warriors, no great record in the jyhad
against the Earthers, nothing to support him. He was simply a simpering
nonentity fawning after Delenn. "What's happened to her?"

"The StarKiller has escaped. He had... assistance from somewhere. During
his... escape, he encountered Satai Delenn and took her with him. As a
hostage, I presume. I shudder to think that she went with him willingly."

"What are you saying?" shouted Lennann. "Are you accusing...?"

"I am accusing no one and I am saying nothing," Sinoval replied through
gritted teeth. He hated doing this, hated casting doubt - however indirect
- upon a fellow member of this Council, but it had to be done. Sheridan
had had help in his escape, but that help had not come from Delenn. And
yet if Delenn were not blamed, then investigation might alight upon
Sinoval himself, and upon the creature he protected.

Still, as Sinoval looked at Lennann, he felt a surge of anger. Delenn was
at least worthy of respect. Lennann was not. Did Delenn truly have no
better supporters than this? Sinoval knew that Sheridan's foolish attack
upon this very ship shortly after the destruction of Earth had killed two
of her greatest supporters, but was Lennann really the only one to speak
up for her?

No, he was not. "She will have to be found and rescued," Hedronn said, as
brusque and to the point as ever. Sinoval admired the man. "She is one of
the Nine. She will be found."

"Sheridan has left the planet. Our sensor probes detected a human shuttle
leaving the atmosphere. For some reason, they did not alert us to this
fact until many hours later. He has undoubtedly met up with his ship."

"Then... they are lost to us?" breathed Lennann, his voice filled with an
anguish Sinoval himself shared. To have Sheridan - the StarKiller - in his
grasp, bought by a Narn Government that owed Sheridan its very
existance... only to lose him again. And to have one of the Nine fall
before him. Sinoval did not like Delenn, but she was of the Nine, as was
he.

And all of this, thanks to the machinations of a creature he should have
killed the moment he had lain eyes upon her. Instead, he had become
intrigued, and listened and learned...

And fallen. Not for nothing did they call her DeathWalker.

"No," Sinoval said. Blood calls out for blood. The blood of those slain
upon the Black Star, on the Emphili, the blood of two Satai, even the
blood of Delenn. It all called out for blood - Sheridan's blood. "Sheridan
is an Earther and Earthers are a predictible people. He will return to the
site of his earlier capture, to find his missing crewmen, and to discover
why he was betrayed there. He will be returning to Vega 7."

"Then I doubt he will return from there," Hedronn said, and Sinoval
started. He had not expected such a reaction from the staid, determined
worker. "Vega 7 is touched by a force far greater than our own. Our probes
have detected something... moving there. Something ancient and dark.
Something that seeks to fly again."

Sinoval's face went white.

		      ---------------------

"How is she?" Sheridan asked Doctor Kyle. A simple enough question,
really, innocuous and casual, the sort of thing he might use when asking
about the health of a friend, or a relative, his wife Anna, or even...
perhaps... in a past year, his daughter Elizabeth.

Except that this was not Anna, and Elizabeth was two years dead. Nor was
this a relative, and definitely not a friend.

Satai Delenn's breathing was harsh and ragged, but the movements of her
chest seemed to return to a steady rhthym of breathing. Sheridan still did
not know what had brought the Minbari down. He had caught only the
faintest glimpse of movement and a soft scream. Ivanova had tried to pass
it off, but Sheridan knew better.

"She's fine. Minbari have a remarkable constitution. She will be on her
feet in a few hours, I suppose. A stomach wound is normally painful, but
if caught early enough, it can be fixed."

"Good, she has one hell of a lot of questions to answer." And she isn't
the only one. "Keep me informed."

Sheridan left the small Medlab facilities aboard the Babylon with a
conflict of emotions. Ever since he had arrived on Vega 7 nothing had
seemed to go right. Betrayed by the Narn Administrator there, captured by
the Minbari, questioned, threatened with torture and then... an intriguing
conversation with the woman now lying in Medlab. He could have attacked
her, maybe killed her, so why hadn't he? He'd told her it was because he
didn't like doing the expected, but was that the whole truth? Why did she
smell so tantalisingly of orange blossom, and why was the woman who'd
rescued him?

Start at the end and work your way backwards. Not exactly Sherlock Holmes,
but at least Sheridan had a place to start.

He found Commander David Corwin precisely where he'd expected to find him,
in his ready room, just off from the bridge, poring over starmaps 
and technical data.

"What news on repairs?" Sheridan asked. "Did you get them all done
before...?"

"Mostly, sir. Hull integrity is back up to over 80%. Communications,
navigation and rotations are all back on line, as are our jump engines,
although they're still a bit unstable. They'll need a thorough repair when
we get into Proxima. We can't repair the hull around the observation dome
and external cameras, aft batteries and StarFury drop
port C are all still inoperable, sir."

"Not good, but it could be worse."

"Um, sir... it probably is. General Hague at the Resistance Government
told me in no uncertain terms to... um... leave you and the others behind,
sir."

"So you said, screw him."

"Basically, yes."

"That was an incredibly stupid and irresponsible thing to do, Mr. Corwin.
However, I can't thank you enough. Just don't do it again."

Corwin smiled. "No, sir."

Not for the first time, Sheridan was struck by how young his Commander and
Executive Officer was. Too young to fight back on Earth, he'd been one of
hundreds of thousands of refugees who'd escaped from the Battle of Mars
just after the Line, where Sheridan had launched his suicidal attack upon
the Grey Council. The difference was that those other refugees hadn't made
their way up to the bridge and taken over Helm when the lieutenant manning
it had been killed. Sheridan had made Corwin a second lieutenant on the
spot and ever since, Corwin had risen almost as fast as Sheridan himself.
One of many attached to his coat tails. One of many who would probably die
a lonely, pointless death on an alien world.

"I do have another question, David. A more... personal one. How do you
know Ms. Ivanova?"

"Susan? She was in EarthForce, sir. She joined back on Earth and was away
on a training run at Ganymede when the Minbari took Earth. Somehow she
made her way to Proxima 3 and managed to get attached to General
Franklin's personal staff. I met her there when the Babylon was being
refitted and redesigned a few years ago. The Resistance Government
insisted I be posted somewhere they could keep an eye on me. I don't think
they trusted me then, and they certainly won't after this."

"I'll deal with that."

"Thank you, sir. Anyway, I met Susan and... well... things got... um..."

"I'm a married man, David. I understand."

"Thank you, sir." Corwin was blushing. "Then I was posted back here, and
Susan was sent out on secret missions for General Hague. They called it
the Babylon Project - after this ship. I don't know what she was doing
exactly, but we kept in touch and met up whenever we could, but... well...
she was on some secret mission out on the Rim. We heard a report that her
shuttle had crashed and that everyone on board had died. I was... quite...
upset about it, sir."

"Yes, I remember. God, why didn't I see anything back then? Why did I
never notice her... or you?"

"I think we were all a little mad back then, sir. Madness just takes a
while to heal."

"Sometimes it never heals, Mr. Corwin." Sheridan rose and left the room.
He was tired and he still had more questions than answers. He wanted some
sleep before he arrived at Vega 7. Sleep and some answers. And his
daughter...

It wasn't his daughter waiting for him when he opened the door. "How? How
did you get in here?"

Susan smiled. "Just a knack." She was lying on his bed. Absolutely naked.
"Are you coming in or not?" Sheridan could only stand in his doorway and
stare, Anna almost superimposing herself on the sight before him. He
caught the faintest hint of orange blossom.

He closed his eyes, and silently wept.

Then he took a step forward and the door closed behind him.

		     ---------------------

"Come on, Warren, hang in there."

"Hurts... Doc..."

"Damn! I wish I... I wish I could remember what to do. I only stopped
being a doctor a few years ago. Warren!"

"How much can we do for him, Stephen? You can see that wound there."

"I won't let him die, Neeoma."

"You might have to."

"Any word from the Babylon yet?"

"No."

"Come on, Warren. Don't you die on me. Don't you dare!"

		  -------------------------

"Who are you?"

Susan smiled. "That's a very philosophical question. Since when did you
become a Vorlon?"

Sheridan was pacing slowly up and down his room while Susan was lying
casually on the bed, smiling, looking more at home here than he did. And
why not? He was hardly ever here. When he was on the Babylon, he was
always either on the bridge, or in the ready room, or flying a StarFury.
Susan looked so at home in his bed. *That's Anna's place. She belongs
there.*

"You know what I mean. You turn up, having been dead for three years, in a
Minbari cell, just in time to help me escape there... and we do so with
minimal effort and one unconscious Satai. All the work of your... friends.
Why? I mean... I don't understand any of this."

"You didn't need to understand anything half an hour ago."

"I do now."

"Ah. You've been talking to David, I gather. A nice boy and what we had
together was fun, but that's all it was - fun. I always knew he'd go far.
A Commander, eh? Well, well, well. Still... I'm changed now. I've been
different ever since I arrived at Z'Ha'Dum."

"Z'Ha'Dum? The base of operations of your... friends. What are they?
Aliens? Humans? I saw a bit of what hit Delenn, and that was nothing I'd
ever seen before."

"They're aliens. And I wouldn't advise trying to pronounce their name,
unless you can speak Welsh of course. It's ten thousand letters long." She
paused, and drew in a deep breath. "I'm not sure how to explain this to
you. They're old, very old, and they're powerful, but... all they want to
do is live in peace. The planet my shuttle crashed onto - Z'Ha'Dum - it's
their homeworld, and a very holy place for them. They worship something
there - I don't know what.

"Anyway, my friends... they have a long standing grudge with the Minbari.
All my friends want to do is live in peace, but the Minbari won't let
them. I don't know why, but I guess the Vorlons have something to do with
it. A thousand years ago, my friends tried to return to Z'Ha'Dum after
having been driven off it. The Minbari objected, and went so far as to
attack Z'Ha'Dum, with the help of the Vorlons and a few other long dead
races. My friends were forced to flee, but they left a few behind, hidden
from the Minbari. I sort of... attracted their attention when I crashed on
their heads. They're very friendly actually. Or well, they were once I'd
explained the situation. They want to return to Z'Ha'Dum and live there,
but there's the Minbari and the Vorlons to consider. So, they're offering
help to us because they know what we're going through. They don't want to
have to destroy the Minbari, but they'll do so because all they want to do
is live alone, in peace, on their world. Is that so much to ask?"

"The Minbari are one thing," Sheridan said. "What about the Vorlons? If
your... friends get involved, then we might get the Vorlons annoyed with
us. I do not want that to happen. It would make the Line look like a
church social."

"Exactly. which is why my friends can't lend their support openly. They're
having to move slowly, but they'll do what they can to help."

"Thank you."

"I thought you'd be pleased. These are the first decent allies we've had
since this whole thing started. So what if they can't come out in the
open! They're willing to help us, Captain. Maybe even help us get revenge.
We can't get Earth back, and you can't get your daughter back, but we can
still make those monsters that did it to us pay!"

Something suddenly clicked in Sheridan's mind and he turned to Ivanova.
"What did you want? If they asked you the same question that you asked me,
then what did you want?"

Ivanova smiled.

Sheridan's Link beeped. Cursing slightly, Sheridan went to his desk and
picked it up. "Yes?"

"We've reached Vega 7, sir. We're out of hyperspace. The jump engines are
down, though, I'm afraid. Again. Our repairs weren't complete and it'll
take a while to get them back on line again so we can get to Proxima. But
ah... that isn't the worst of it."

"What do you mean?"

"We've scanned the planet, sir. Out of a total population of over four
hundred thousand Narns and humans, we have a grand total of five life
signs."

"Five?"

"I think you'll find it's more than four and less then six," Ivanova
interjected, and than shrugged when Sheridan glared at her.

"I'll be up on the bridge in a minute, David. Sheridan out." He turned to
Susan. "Five. Out of the whole planet. What happened to them all?" He was
beginning to dress hurriedly when his Link beeped again. It was Dr. Kyle.

"Captain, someone's just tried to kill your Minbari guest."

		     --------------------

"It was Maya Hernandez," Dr. Kyle said. "She was trying to corrupt the
blood we were giving her with Metazine. It's a painkiller and soporphic
for humans, but it can be deadly to Minbari, especially in large doses."

"Mind telling me why you never mentioned this little biological weakness
before, Doctor?"

Kyle shot Sheridan an angry look. "I heal, Captain. I do not kill.
Besides, Metazine is only effective inside the bloodstream. Not a very
useful weapon really."

"Aw Hell. I know, I know. I'm sorry, Doctor. Things have been a little...
weird lately. Where is Doctor Hernandez now?"

"No idea. She fled as soon as I caught her."

"Any idea why she did it?"

"Her husband and son died on Earth. Maybe she's just seen too much of this
war."

"We all have." Sheridan turned to Corwin. "Have her found and locked up."

"Yes, sir." Corwin had looked uncomfortable ever since he had linked his
message to Sheridan. "Will you want this done before or after I come back
from the planet?"

"You won't be going to the planet, Mr. Corwin. I'll need you to run things
here. I'll be going."

"Captain! Have you forgotten what happened the last time you went down
there?"

"No, and I'm not likely to. Trust me, Mr. Corwin."

"But you can't go alone."

"I don't think five life signs are going to be much of a threat. Besides,
I won't be going alone. She's coming with me." He pointed to Delenn,
sitting impassively in a chair at the end of her bed. Her hands were
manacled together, but her face was impassive and calm. "I'm not letting
her out of my sight. She has too much information to let her die
somewhere, and no, Mr. Corwin, she is not going to run off anywhere. I'll
take a full Security team down to the planet with me if you insist, but
that will be all. Good day, Mr. Corwin. You," he looked at Delenn. "Come
with me."

Silently, her face as calm as ever, she rose and followed him, looking as
tranquil in her dignity as she did proud in her chains.

		  ---------------------------

Minbari... damned Minbari... destroyed Earth... finished Earth... ruined
it... killed everyone...

Killed...

Katherine, come on Katherine! Wake up, Katherine... You can't die on me.
Joseph's dead. You can't die too. Please, Katherine.

Please.

Minbari... Katherine... Joseph dead... Earth dead... Earth gone...
Everyone gone... but me... I'm here... I'm always here... Katherine...
I... I love you, Katherine... I love you, Katherine... you can't die...

Everyone around him was dead, and so was the man called Marcus Cole. But
his death was not the death of flesh, but the death of spirit, the death
of futile dreams and ambitions and hopes.

For Marcus Cole, something new and terrible was being born.

	       -----------------------------

"What do you think happened here?" Delenn remained silent, staring
straight ahead. Sheridan looked at her calm demeanour and wished that he
could possess the same. He could not look at the burnt buildings, the
rubble, the devastation, the nightmare that had once been Vega 7 and
maintain anything other than a slow, simmering anger. So like Earth. This
was so like Earth.

Landing the shuttle had been difficult. There had been so little flat
space to do it on, but land it they had, and now they were walking through
rubble and devastation, stepping over dead bodies, crushed or burned,
heading for the SOS signal Corwin had identified. Vega 7 was rubble, and
Sheridan could not help but wonder if this had happened in spite of his
actions, or because of them.

There was a sound to his left, and Sheridan spun, holding his PPG ready.
One of the Security guards had done the same. Sheridan gestured for him to
lower his weapon and he moved forward, the other slowly following him.
This place had once been a home. One body lay half buried under what had
been a wall. Sheridan could see dried blood everywhere. There was another
body not far away, a woman, her skull crushed open. And kneeling over her,
whispering something over and over again was a man, tears of pain and
agony running down his cheeks into his short black beard. He looked up and
for a brief instant, Sheridan saw himself reflected in those eyes. Himself
as he had been.

"My name's John Sheridan," he said slowly lowering his PPG. One out of
five.

"The StarKiller," the man whispered. "She's dead. They're all dead."

"Who was it? What happened here?"

"Minbari. Must have been. Didn't see them, but who else could it have
been? Minbari... Minbari... I'm Marcus... Marcus Cole."

"Do you have anywhere we can take you to? Family, perhaps, on another
world?"

"All dead. All gone except me." He had a slightly strange accent, and
Sheridan realised it was British. He hadn't heard a British accent in
years. "Everyone's gone except me. And you. Help me, StarKiller. Help me
to kill them all."

Hatred. Such a cycle. It never ended, did it? Sheridan had said similar
words after the death of his daughter. Could anyone ever find the courage
to break free of the old ways, the old cycles, the old vendettas? Could
Sheridan himself? Perhaps he didn't want to.

"I'll do what I can," he said simply. "You'll be welcome aboard the
Babylon, Mr. Cole."

"Thank you."

"We can... arrange to have these bodies buried, if you'd like."

"Leave them. Just shells. Nothing more. Can I help you at all?"

"Do you know the way to the main bureaucratic centre here? I need to know
if anyone survived there."

"Yes, it's this way. Follow me." Sheridan marvelled at Marcus' stilted,
precise delivery. Such control should be impossible after such loss, and
sooner or later, the grief would burst free again. Sheridan half expected
it to happen when Marcus saw Delenn, but he simply ignored her, as if she
were not even there.

Marcus led them through rubbled streets and over battered bodies. He must
have known some of them, but he said nothing. He never said anything. It
was as though the destruction of his home planet had destroyed his spirit
as well. Sheridan looked at Delenn, but she was silent. Had the Minbari
done this? Could they have done this? This was just like Earth. So like
Earth.

And there they were. Franklin and Connally, working over two slumped
forms. One was Narn, the other...

"Oh my God," Sheridan breathed. "How is he, Stephen?"

"Not good." Sheridan made a gesture and the doctor Kyle had insisted he
take rushed forward. He and Franklin began working over Keffer's body. He
was moaning, but softly this time. And then Sheridan saw the Narn. It was
Na'far.

"He hasn't been saying much," Connally said. "He's dying as well. Whatever
you want him to tell you, you'd better ask him now, Captain."

Sheridan cast one last gaze at his crewman and scrambled towards the Narn
who had betrayed him. His legs were crushed, and his face burned and
blistered. There was such loss and grief in his blood red eyes. "G'Quan
forgive me," he whispered in a Narn dialect Sheridan understood.
"G'Quan... protect me."

"What happened here? Who did this?"

"The enemy... ancient and dark... the enemy... ah, G'Quan forgive me...
should have listened... should have listened... listen to... Minbari...
they... know..." The words trailed off, and Sheridan looked up. He hadn't
heard the last two words, but what he had heard was enough.

"Damn!" he heard Franklin swear. Sheridan didn't need to be told. Keffer
was dead.

"We... were being kept underground," Connally was saying. "I don't know
why we lived. But... Warren... he was slower than we were... That blow
earlier hit him pretty hard. He couldn't move fast enough, and when the
wall came down..."

Sheridan turned away, still and quiet. Everything else seemed irrelevant.
He heard Marcus say something to Connally and  Connally reply. Franklin
and the doctor were talking softly but the only words which reached his
ears were from Delenn.

"Valen guard your souls."

Sheridan spun to face her. Without thinking, without anger or hatred but
with just a cold, solid finality, he struck her to the face. Her hands
restrained, she fell backwards onto the rubble. Sheridan had drawn his
PPG, again without thinking, and he was pointing it at her. There was a
buzz as it charged. It was the long second again, an eternity of time
where all that mattered was the look in her eyes. Like a startled child
who has lost her innocence.

Disgusted, although whether with himself or with her he did not know,
Sheridan replaced his PPG. "Death's too easy for you," he spat. "Come on.
Bring Warren's body back to the shuttle. He deserves a decent send-off at
least."

And they left Vega 7 behind them, a dead world filled with only the dead
and the memories of the living.

	   ------------------

Doctor Hernandez was running scared. She'd failed. Doctor Kyle had spotted
her, and now they were looking for her. Security. Why? Didn't they
understand? The Minbari bitch shouldn't be allowed to live. She should
have been left to rot, just like everyone on Earth, just like her husband,
just like her son.

But Doctor Hernandez had a friend, a friend who'd explained everything,
who'd talked it over with her, who'd made her understand, who'd told her
what she'd needed to do.

"Are you there?" Maya panted. This was where she'd been told she would be
safe. This was where her friend had said she would meet her. Everything
would be all right now. "Are you here?"

"I'm here," said a soft voice.

"I... I got caught. Security's looking for me. But why? She deserves to
die, right? You told me that. She deserves to die. Why are they hunting me
because I did what I had to?"

"You failed. I need that Minbari bitch dead. She knows who I am, what I
am. You failed, and you'll draw attention to me. I can't allow that."

"You... you're scaring me."

"Good." A soft motion, a dull thud, and Doctor Maya Hernandez was dead
before she'd had a chance to understand what was happening to her. Susan
Ivanova compressed her Minbari fighting pike and stepped out of the
shadows. So... one attempt had failed. It wasn't the end of the world. She
had time.

Time enough to see that Minbari whore dead.

	--------------------

"From the stars we came, and to the stars shall we return. From now until
the end of time."

Sheridan finished the ritual eulogy and stared at the blank viewscreen,
blank because the external cameras weren't working. They should have been
at the Observation Dome, but it was still damaged. This was unfair. Keffer
deserved a better send off than this. Not even any time to give him a
StarFury escort. This was not fair.

Sheridan looked away from the blank screen at the others on the bridge.
Franklin was still, a bitter anger in his eyes. Sometimes the man still
thought like a doctor. Corwin looked uncomfortable. Connally was not
around, probably drinking a toast to Keffer's memory. And Delenn... were
those genuine tears in her eyes, or simply a result of the bruise he had
given her?

"How long until jump engines are back on line, Mr. Corwin?"

"A good half hour or so, I'm afraid. They're shot to Hell. They'll need a
complete overhaul once we get into Proxima."

Sheridan nodded soberly and then Delenn spoke up. "Captain, please, you
must listen to me. My people would never do something like this. It was
another race, an older race. Your companion is a part of them. They are
evil, dark and terrible. We call them..."

"Shut up! I don't care what you call them, but Susan's told me all about
them. I know about your little vendetta against them. I don't know why it
started, and I don't care. All I know is that for the first time in
fourteen years, we aren't alone any longer."

"Captain, please, listen to me!"

"Do I have to gag you? You're here because I want to keep you where I can
see you - because I need you alive, but when the day comes when that
doesn't apply, I'll volunteer to be the one who presses the button that
sends you out into space."

"I will face death, but not before I have spoken..."

Sheridan drew his PPG and pointed it directly at her. She met his eyes
with a cold indifference, but there was a dark pleading at their centre.
He regretted his words the instant they left his mouth, but it would do no
good now. "How you face death doesn't concern me. Now shut up or I will
have you gagged."

"Captain!" Franklin spoke up suddenly. "Two jump points opening right on
top of us!"

"Aw Hell! Minbari. Begin evasive manoeuvres, David. Launch StarFuries and
get those jump engines back on line ASAP. How could they find us here?
We're behind a moon for God's sake."

"No idea, Captain," Corwin said. "They're hailing us."

Sheridan gritted his teeth and looked at Delenn. She was staring down. "On
screen. Maybe we can talk our way out of this one."

A Minbari face appeared on the viewscreen. She did not bother with
introductions. "You have Satai Delenn. You will turn her over to us and
surrender yourselves immediately."

"Do the words, not a hope in Hell ring a bell? We've got the upper hand
here. You can't fire on us and risk killing your precious Satai Delenn,
can you?" The viewscreen went blank. "Can they?"

"They are warrior caste, Captain," Delenn suddenly said. "My death,
especially where you could be blamed for it, would suit them only too
well."

"Politics. Great! David!"

"I'm doing what I can, sir. I... wait... another jump point opening."

Sheridan leapt to his feet. "There must be something we can do."

"I... oh my God," Franklin whispered. "Both Minbari ships are destroyed.
I... There's something out there, but... I've never seen anything like it
before."

"That's impossible. Nothing's that strong or that fast. Try to hail them."

"Trying, sir. Trying and failing. They've gone."

"Nothing's that fast. They'd need to give their jump engines a chance to
cool down a little first. Who the hell were they? Did the external cameras
pick up anything?"

"Negative, sir," David replied. "They're all still off-line, and we didn't
have time to launch any StarFuries. Whatever that thing was, nobody saw
it."

Sheridan sat back down. "What could it have been?"

"One of my friends, Captain." It was Susan, walking casually onto the
bridge and smiling. "Our friends, I should say. I thought we might be in a
little danger here, so I asked them to come in and help us out."

"That was one of our friends? Two Minbari cruisers in ten seconds?"

"If need be. They're on our side now, Captain. They can't help much, but
when they can, they will."

Sheridan looked around at his bridge crew, seeing awe on their faces. Awe
and something he'd doubted he would ever see again.

Hope.

"It looks as if things are finally going our way. After fourteen years,
things are finally going our way!" He let out a laugh, and then the whole
bridge was laughing and smiling and cheering. One grain of hope in a
decade of despair.

The whole bridge... except one.

"Well, Satai Delenn," Sheridan said smugly. "It looks as if we aren't
alone any more. I don't know who these allies are, but at least they're
willing to fight, which is more than the Narns will. What do you think
about that, eh, Satai Delenn? What do you think about that?"

She looked at him, her face very pale. There was fear in her eyes. "I
think that we are all doomed, Captain." She lowered her head.

"Valen help us, I think that we are all doomed."

Not The End.

Next: Heeding The Warning - A Four Parter
Sheridan tries to uncover who had him betrayed by confronting the kHa'Ri
themselves, while Delenn begins a brutal inquisition and someone is
gathering his forces to confront the Enemy, not suspecting that the Enemy
is already coming towards him.