From: nick Subject: story submission:Souls Travelling Date: Mon, 8 Jun 1998 16:46:28 +0100 (BST) New story, hope you enjoy it. Not *obviously* linked to others i've written, but give me time and i'll link them all in together...if i can get this idea i've had to work... No real spoilers as it's all based on speculation and mostly set a thousand years in B5 past....that should give you a clue as to who it's about... Souls Travelling Part one of two/three *2265* As his wife hurried around their new home, unpacking, arranging and rearranging, John Sheridan stood outside gazing at the endless colours reflected off the crystal buildings around him. It wasn't Earth, but, yes, he felt he could certainly learn to think of this beautiful and delicate place as 'home'. Smiling softly to himself he imagined what this place would be like when there were children running about the place; their sharp, squealing laughter and secret, secret whispering chasing the serene silence from every corner of the house. He was brought out of his reverie by the gentle touch of his wife's hand in his own. "John? It is no use getting wistful again, this child will be born when he, or she is ready, and not before." Laughing, he turned to place a hand on her swollen belly. "That obvious huh? Ah...I'm sorry, I just can't wait!" "I know. But I am tired with organising and unpacking, and 'playing wife'. Lets go for a walk instead." "Okay Mrs Sheridan, where are we going?" "It's a surprise. Tannier..." she called into the house and the ranger house guard appeared briefly from behind a stack of boxes. "Will you excuse us for a while? We are going to take a walk. There is no need to accompany us..." she smiled as the young minbari opened his mouth to argue. She took her husband by the hand and led him down the narrow pathway that led away from the house. "So what are we going to call this little one then?" Sheridan asked as they strolled leisurely through the sleepy minbari city, "Do you have any rules or customs for that?" Inwardly he prayed that there would not be any long drawn out ceremonies or rituals attached... "No. Our name-giving is much like your own. Names often have meanings or children can be named after family or friends...I think it would be nice for our children to have a human and a minbari name." "Yeah that makes sense...So how were you named?" "Oh...well I suppose that is a strange story...I mean it was not 'strange' at first, but when I learnt of Sinclair's destiny..." "How do you mean?" They had been walking for a while when they reached a set of gates. "We are here." she announced "Where?" "You'll see." she smiled gaily and led him into a garden like no other he'd seen, on Minbar anyway...The flowers and plants were mainly minbari ones, unknown to him but interspersed with those were more familiar blooms that looked surprisingly like daffodils, bluebells and tulips. The walls to the garden were of crystal and a strange bluish metal that was wound into complicated swirls. For a moment Sheridan just stood, staring, "Iy's breathtaking...!" "Yes." Delenn smiled on, obviously pleased with his response, and then led him further along the path which was also made from crystal, into the garden. In one corner, there were only one species of plant growing- anenomes, thousands upon thousands of them and in the centre of these, stretching high up into the sky, grew a tree unlike any he'd ever seen before- on Minbar or otherwise. It's trunk was a deep purple-tinged burgundy colour and it's leaves a muted blue-green that looked silver when the breeze caught at them. Tearing his eyes away from it, Sheridan noticed the crimson light that seemed to encompass everything in that area. Casting his mind back to what he knew of Minbari burials, Sheridan remebered that the Minbari would often crush a precious stone on the final resting place of important people to produce a light that would burn for a hundred years. "This is a burial ground?" "Not exactly. It is the final resting place of Valenn's first child. According to scripture he built this garden in her memory. On the hundred year anniversary of her passing, another stone is crushed here to produce this light...That tree was planted here as a sappling when she was buried here and the fire stone changed the colour of it's wood as it grew. There is no other tree like this one anywhere in the known universe...Her name was Delenn." "After you?" "Possibly." "What happened to her?" "It is a long story..." The two of them sat down and smoothing her hands over her dress, Delenn began to speak... **************************************************************************** *1245* It was early evening when Valen returned home from the great space station he had presented his peolpe with fourteen years ago. As he brought his flyer down low over the fields to land he noticed a familiar figure walking jauntily along the road. Smiling to himself, he brought the vessel down yet lower so that the gentle hum of the engine startled her into looking up. She stopped to crane her neck upwards and wave both hands above her head in greeting. Moments later, as he climbed down from the flyer, he was knocked off his feet by the selfsame figure who half screamed with excitement and laughter, "Father, it's *so* good to see you!" she got up and then took both of his hands in her own to pull him up. Then she hugged him again."Missed me?" bewitching green eyes twinkled up at him "Miss you? I could spot you from the *station*, the way you tear about!" He laughed and stood back a little to look at her, "You've *grown* again...I told you not to do that when I'm not here to see it!" "Ha! Well, I tried my best not to. It must be all the flarn they're feeding me at the camp." "And how is your training?" "Fine...Although I *did* manage to knock one of my teachers out cold yesterday..." "Oh Delenn, I'm sure that if you and your fighting pike initiated an assault on our enemies, there'd be no *need* for anyone else- those 'shadows' would turn tail and scream off into the distance at the first sight of you! Which instructor was it anyway?" "Callen." "Ah well, no real harm done..." "we should go inside. Maya is probably waiting for you. And the children have been waiting up every night for over a week for you to return.." "You're right. But later, we'll have a tussle. I want to see how good a fighter you've become." "Very well. But I promise I'll be gentle...!" ************************************************************************** "Delenn's mother, who was of warrior caste, died when the girl was eight. Valen married a second time when his daughter was about ten. His second wife, Maya was of religious caste and the two of them had a further three children- Asta, Metere and Sosann. As a member of the warrior caste, Delenn insisted on training as a member of the Anla'shok- she was only twelve when she left her father's home for the trainign camp. He was sad that she left so young but he knew better than to argue: his child was very stubborn and, as you say, 'headstrong'. He made a wise decision, allowing her to train for she was the best ranger there! *Everyone* said that she would succeed her father as Entil'zha before she reached thirty. The shadow war was still raging. It went on for fourteen years after Valen's arrival on Minbar. And although our people were facing great difficulties and suffering, the influence of their new leader gave them a hope and determination to succeed. So when Delenn returned home to her father that time it was to fight by his side in what was to be the last great battle that would see the ancient enemy off for a thousand years." ************************************************************************* *1232* Valen's eyes filled with tears of pride and joy as his wife, Nessala gently laid their newborn daughter in his arms. "She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen..." he sighed as he gazed down at the angry little red bundle that howled and fidgeted against him. "And she had her father's singing voice..." Nessala was exhausted from her labour but still couldn't resist the urge to tease her husband. "So, what are we to call her? She looks to me like she will make a great addition to the warrior caste, so as a compromise, I'll let you name her...!" "Why thankyou!" he chuckled, looking up briefly at the tired minbari woman who sat beside him. Then he returned his attentions to the by-now quiet infant, "Delenn," he said simply. "Where did you hear *that* name? From your travels in the stars?" he smiled and nodded. "It's the name of an old, very dear friend from long ago and far away..." "Very well. It's a strange name but it will be quite unique, as I think, she will be...Let her sleep. She'll need it if she's going to become a great *warrior* and fight alongside her *exhausted* mother and *aged* father!" "Ha, aged..." then he became serious for a moment, "I never want her to have reason to draw arms against any other. I'm determined, this war *will* end before she comes of age. Then, as a warrior she'll be redundant and I'll talk her into the safety of the temples and the ways of the religious caste..." "You'll never manage it! *My* father never did!" "I know." he said softly, bending forward to bestow a delicate kiss on the infant's forhead. "But I don't want to lose her...and I'll do all that I can to ensure her safety..." Nessala noticed the strange, distant expression her husband wore but knew the sometimes it was best not to ask what he was thinking. She had met him the day he arrived in Minbari space with a great 'gift' for her people- a space station of unknown origin. Nessala was impressed by the quietly confidant man who everyone else was wary and even frightened of. He was taller thatn most minbari, but then so was she and she liked actually having to *look up* when she spoke to him...which she did with the defiance of one accustomed to peering down on all her peers and most of her superiors. For his own part, Valen was intrigued by the bold and often insolent woman who, unlike most of her peers showed an open disapproval of the structured minbari life. One of her clan elders offered, by way of apology and explanation, the opinion that the striking warrior had spent far too long in battle and had forgotten to respect her elders and betters. Valen wasn't offended and the pair were joined and with child by the end of his first year on Minbar. ************************************************************************** *1240* Nessala haned her daughter to her mother as the city around them lit up with millions of explosions. "Take her to the shelters. I'll come back for her soon." She carefully extricated herself form the tangle of her child's arms, "No mother, don't want to stay.." although young Delenn's voice was angry and defiant, in her eyes, Nessala saw real fear. "Little one, be bravwe now. I *must* go and fight alongside your father. But I'll return soon to collect you- I promise. now, look after your grandmother for me." she gave her daughter a final kiss and then hurried away into the night, impatiently brushing the fast-falling tears from her cheeks with her sleave and trying her best to ignore her child's cries. Still perched in her grandmother's arms, Delenn was taken down into the depths of the city, into the shelters. The maze of tunnels and caves were dimly lit with candles placed at equal distances along their lengths. Delenn found herself in one of those caves which already housed several of her mother's relatives and their children. Her granmother removed the child's dolls and books from her shoulder bag and spread the thick quilt, decorated with bright pictures and patterns, that she had originally made to wrap the girl in when she was a baby, on the ground. Delenn curled up on the quilt, burying her face in it and breathing in the soft scent contained within it that simply made her think of 'home'. Her dolls were left ignored, as were her books as she just lay in a lonely silence, waiting for the bangs and crashes above ground to end.Then she would hear the familiar sound of footsteps as her bruised and battle-weary parents arrived to collect her... When they did, her father would wrap the quilt around her as she pretended to sleep and carry her effortlessly up the countless steps to the outside world where the bright light of early morning would hit her straight in the face with it's warmth. When they arrived home, Valen would place her in his and her mother's bed and she would lie, still curled up, feigning sleep and listen to her parents discussing the battle as they tended each other's wounds before climbing into the bed either side of her. The three of them would sleep until a noise outside or hunger woke them and then her father would play with her while his wife pottered about, cleaning up and attempting to cook. "Look Delenn, your mother is trying to poison us again...It's a relief she's a better fighter than she is a cook!" Valen would whisper loudly to his daughter who looked up at him with an adoration that matched that in his own eyes. Nessala would pretend to be cross and start throwing pieces of chopped food at her husband, which he either ate or threw back, as she cooked and all the while, Delenn would jump up and down giggling at her silly parents who, unlike those of most of her friends, still acted like children themselves... In the warmth of the shelter, Delenn closed her ears to the noises above ground and imagined the day when she could go with her parents instead of being forced to hide like a rodent below ground. Later, her childish dreams were intruded on by the mellow sound of a familiar voice. As usual she kept her eyes tightly shut and strained to listen to the 'grown up' conversation her father was having with her grandmother. "...th-there was nothing I could do... ship's engines...ready to self destruct...flew straight into the shadow mother ship and..." Valen's voice cracked and inside her quilt Delenn struggled to understand what he was saying. When she opened her eyes and stared up at him, she saw in his eyes that her mother was dead. And as he carried her up into the street, their bodies were both racked with sobs... ************************************************************************* End of part one. Part two will follow shortly. Let me know what you think. nick xxx From: nick Subject: Souls Travelling Part two Date: Tue, 9 Jun 1998 16:03:10 +0100 (BST) Okay, here's part two. thanks for all your comments, good or bad. Usual disclaimers apply, blah blah blah. SOULS TRAVELLING *1245* It was late that night when Delenn and her father, having finished a gentle sparring match, during which her skill and speed with the den'bok astounded him, sat down side by side to listen to the sounds of the peaceful darkness that surrounded them. "Delenn, I'm stunned. How can you fight so well with a pike that's obviously too long for you and wearing clothing several sizes too big for you?" he gasped, panting slightly and glancing at his daughter's attire. Although she *was* tall for a minbari female of her age, she was still only in her early teens and the smallest anlashok uniform was meant for one at least three years older than her. The tunic she wore reached to well- below her knees and her dark coloured trousers, in addition to being ridiculously baggy at the legs, were also held up by a makeshift belt and several buttons attaching them to her undergarments. Valen also knew without even looking that the trousers were turned up a good five inches and stapled in place. He smirked to himself as he thought about when she would start to wear the long dark cloak typical of members of the anla'shok. "Actually, it's quite useful: people don't consider me a threat because I look like a child dressing up in adults' clothing, and as for the pike...no other ranger can use their den'bok as a vaulting pole!" "Hm..." Valen adopted a pained expression as he remembered how not 15 minutes ago his daughter had used her pike to launch herself high, over his head so that she landed behind him and caught him off guard with a swift jab of her weapon that knocked his feet out from under him. "How long until the final strike against the enemy?" Delenn leaned back on her hands as she drank in the cool night air. "Not long now...our next attack should turn them back altogether. Not even the shadows can hope to win against the minbari, the vorlons and the first ones..." "So the next time we sit out here watching the world go by, it will be in peace time." "I hope so...Are you sure you won't go with Maya and the children to the shelters?" "Positive. I trained to pilot a fighter and fight the shadows for practical reasons, not for theory! When the rest of our forces face the ancient enemy, I will be there too." "But Delenn-" "No father, please listen. As a member of the Anlashok, it is both my *duty* and my *right* to be there. If you refuse me, I'll only defy you, and I don't want to do that." "I know.... but is it so wrong of me to feel concern for my eldest daughter?" "Of course not. But as of the moment I step into the uniform of the Anla'shok, I am a soldier *first* and a child *last* and when my time comes I will gladly give my life to serve my people." With that she got up and having kissed her father on the cheek, went into the house, to bed. Valen remained where he sat, tears filling his eyes as he remembered the stories he'd heard when, as Sinclair, he'd lived on Minbar a thousand years in the future. So far his life had unfolded almost exactly as the stories had foretold. That 'almost' though, was the one thing he could, perhaps, hold onto. <> he incanted grimly to himself. Later that night Valen awoke gasping from a nightmare. Disturbed by his movements, Maya awoke also: "Husband, what is wrong?" "N-nothing, just a nightmare." he replied hurriedly, trying to avoid looking at her and seeing the concern that showed in her face. He clambered out of the bed, kicking aside the sheets that tangled around his legs, and wandered outside the house to sit where he and Delenn had earlier rested. The dream which had woken him so suddenly had visited him several times before: once on the night after his daughter had been born; again shortly after Nessala's death and several more times as the climax of the war with the shadows loomed. He was standing in darkness and could see nothing around him, not even the ground beneath his feet. Before him appeared a small figure, dressed in long, white Minbari burial robes, the hood of which obscured most of her face. In spite of this, Valen knew instantly who she was. <> he could just make out a gentle smile as it passed over the her lips. <> she turned to leave. As she dissappeared he felt a gentle hand on his arm and he turned to face it's owner. She was dressed in the same robe as her predecessor and she reached up to remove the hood. She was human- hed never met this person before and he shrugged her aside to continue after the other figure. <> the human spoke, <> she smiled knowingly and walked away, leaving him entirely alone. Then he saw it: the same flash over and over again- Delenn staring up at him from where she hung, suspended over a deep, ravine. <> she whispered, and he did. "Father?" Delenn approached her father silently, the rangers had trained her well. "Have you been dreaming again?" he smiled up at her and took her hands in his own. She sat herself beside him. "It's nothing for you to worry about." "Sometimes I feel that you know something....I remember mother telling me that you had come to minbar from far away and brought with you 'strange and unknown' technology along with two 'strange and unknown races'...she said that sometimes your wisdom frightened people- your ability to predict events before they happen...is that why you are so nervous? Do you know something about *me*?" "I..." "Father. What is, simply is. I have no *intention* of falling to the shadows and have no fear of them. I will live my life until it is over and then I will *stop*.I am not afraid of the possibility of my dying, so nor should you be." she rested her head on his shoulder and paused, "If you *do* know *something* then please, don't tell me and dont tell anyone else...and don't try to fight it. You cannot *protect* me from my *destiny*." "Do you *believe* in destiny?" "No. No I don't, but you do and it's obviously worrying to you. Worry about the war, worry about the fate of our people, worry about your wife and three young children by all means. But please, for now, try to think of me as just another soldier, and more importantly respect me and treat me as such. For now, let's leave the future in the hands of hands that are not already full up with the horrors and stresses of the present." *********************************************************************************** "The last attack on the shadow forces was, of course launched form Babylon 4. At first Valen was able to keep his daughter and the other younger and less experienced members of the Anlashok from the front line by entrusting them with the care of civilians on Minbar and her colonies- acting as a kind of 'home guard'. However, by the third day of open fighting it was clear to all that reinforcements were necessary: almost a quarter of the Minbari fighter pilots were lost on that day alone. And reluctantly, those reinforcements, all of them merely novices, were called for and arrived the next day. Delenn was among them. She was thirteen years old." *********************************************************************************** *1245* Valen awoke early on day four of the great battle, having slept only fitfully through his four hour resting period. He'd had the same dream again and each time he found himself holding on even tighter to his daughter's tiny wrist and found her voice becoming even more imploring as she begged him to let her go. Still shaking visibly he dressed hurriedly as the same mantra looped itself around his thoughts, <> Delenn didn't bother to hide the awe she felt as the jump point opened to reveal the base of operations in all it's glory. Inside her chest her heart pounded and her breath came thick and fast. She had never seen the space station: her mother had promised to take her in peacetime, but that had never happened for obvious reasons. The other novices joined her in pressing their faces up against the portholes to gaze at their destination. "They're all so young..." Valen gasped as he watched the novices disembark. They were mostly aged between 17 and 25 and all wore the eager expressions of innocents unspoiled by war. "Youth is irrelevent to the acheivement of destiny." the vorlon to the left of him breathed. The last of the novices to disembark was smaller, and more delicately built than her comrades. Trying desperately to stifle the tightness growing in his chest, Valen stepped carefully over to where his daughter stood, wearing as expected, the long cloak of the fully initiated anlashok. The cloak was ridiculously large and it's owner had to push it's sleaves aside to pick up her kit bag, and gather up the excess fabric at it's length in her free hand in order to walk cautiously down the steps without tripping up. <> He did his best to smile welcomingly as he greeted the gaggle of novices who all bowed respectfully and bobbed about nervously. Delenn bowed formally, clasping her hands together in the studious way a child does something she has seen 'grown ups' doing and wants to imitate. Valen watched her and felt for a moment that his heart were already splitting into a thousand pieces. At that moment he felt sure that he was going to lose her and forgetting convention and her previous pleas that he treat her as any of the other rangers, he grasped her in a tight hug. When she pulled away, her eyes were shining with excitement. An hour later when the pilots all scrambled for their fighters, Delenn was amongst the first out of the docking bays. As he watched the ships leave, Valen focused all his attention on keeping fighter 37 in view as he whispered the lord's prayer to himself: something he'd not done since the battle of the line when his entire squadron was wiped out leaving him alone and surrounded by the enemy, an 'enemy' that he now entrusted with the life of his eldest child... As the battle wore on and increasing numbers of fighters fell to the enemy, Valen found himself growing more anxious. Everyone was feeling the fatigue now as the fighting raged on and on. In the end he decided that the best thing he could do, given that his staff were running things well enough on the station as to drive him to redundancy, was to take a fighter himself and join the others in the skies. Ignoring the arguments of his staff and blotting out the murmuring of the vorlon who acted virtually as his shadow, Valen suited up and joined the fight. As he left the docking bay, the vorlon whispered to Zathras who had up until that point, been busy repairing circuits as they failed, but had momentarily stopped to watch his leader, and by now his friend, leave, "Now he seals her fate." ****************************************************************************** end of part two. part three will follow shortly. let me know what you think. ttfn, nick xxxx From: nick Subject: Souls Travelling Part three. Date: Thu, 11 Jun 1998 18:40:33 +0100 (BST) This is the final part of this story, but before you start crying 'you can't end it there...!', I'm not! I'm *trying* to tie all the stories I'm writing in together, so bear with me. Anyway, as always, all comments are welcome, just keep 'em clean. Disclaimer's in the previous part. Enjoy. Souls Travelling Part Three *1245* Delenn was truly in her element, up among the stars and surrounded by fire, destruction and other peoples fear- her enemies desperation. Like her mother before her, she thrived on the battle. Only two other fighters from her squadron remained, both disabled and she found herself chasing three small shadow fighters to allow her two comrades the chance to escape, "Ranger Erlgon, can you eject?" "Affirmative. Just keep those shadows out of my way." "Understood...I've three on my tail. Drawing their fire...." Concentrating hard on pulling the throttle hard to the left she let the enemy vessels follow her and close in to fire. When she was surrounded she wheeled her ship around, letting it lose control as she slammed her free hand down hard on the missile launch button, hitting the thrusters straight after to pull herself out of the path of the flying debris. With her three would-be hunters destroyed, she turned about, ready to clamp onto one of her comrades' lifepods. As she focused on the task of carefully snatching a tight hold on the lifepod, she didn't notice the shadow mother ship in her blind spot. When it fired, the prone lifepod took the brunt of the hit, exploding into a ball of flames before her eyes. Her own ship was thrown aside by the impact and when she moved one protective hand from her face and refocused on the scene around her, she found her ship was once more spinning dangerously out of control. This time however, her chances of regaining control were slim. Shutting her eyes once more she took a deep breath, forcing her mind out of its panic and cast her mind back over her training. Setting her mouth in a thin line of determination she forced the joystick, which she now gripped in both hands, back in the opposite way to that in which she was spinning. A split-second later when she felt the machine slow a little she pushed the joystick forward, straightening up her flight pattern and regaining some semblence of control. "Ranger Delenn, are you alright?" the familiar voice of her father almost screamed over the airwaves. Taking another deep breath, Delenn replied, her own voice calm and clear and without trace of her earlier panic. "Affirmative Entil'zha. Status quo. Continuing assault." "Negative Ranger Delenn. Return to base." "No need, I'm fine. No damage." "That's an order." Delenn groaned and swore under her breath. He was pulling rank on her- typical. However, she had been in the field for a long time now and she wasn't about to start disobeying orders. With a sigh of resignation she turned her ship and pointed it in the direction of the station. Valen watched, relieved, before turning his attention to the mother ship that was coming up dangerously close to him. Swinging his ship around to keep the larger vessel in view he checked his weapons array- he was running low. Muttering curses under his breath he radioed in for assistance. When the pilot of fighter 37 replied to his message he swore even more loudly. "Negative Ranger Delenn. No assistance required. Return to base immediately" he lied. She didn't even bother to reply to his order, instead she accelerated until she reached the mother ship that was, by now powering up to fire: if a ship as small as a minbari fighter was hit by the shadow ship, there was no chance of its pilot surviving. The mother ship had weapons lock. Delenn hit the thrusters, this time with even more urgency, batting her fathers ship out of the way. Neither ship was hit, but another, smaller shadow ship was and as fragments of it flew off in all directions Delenn felt her ship rock as debris made contact with its hull. Glancing at the display before her she noticed with some annoyance that her left engine was off-line, and she had been knocked off course and down toward the planet below. From what seemed like a million miles away, she heard her father's voice over the radio, "Delenn! Delenn pull up. You're heading in too steeply, you'll break up on entry to the planet's atmosphere." "Well I'm not doing this for the good of my health, you know!" she muttered, then said, more clearly into her mouthpiece, "Understood. Left engine out of action, attempting to compensate." "Delenn, listen, you can't enter that planets atmosphere at that angle. Pull up." "I'm *trying*!" Delenn groaned, keeping a tighter grip on the joystick, "You're *not* helping..." "Delenn, I'm right behind you. I'll guide you down." "Oh terrific..." she muttered to herself, then into her mouthpiece, "What's that Ranger One, you're breaking up. Switching radio to mute and attempting to land manually." determindly she flicked a switch and her father's protests fell silent: it would be easier for her to concentrate without having to listen to someone else barking instructions at her. As the ground advanced through the clouds, Delenn, on realising that there was no way her ships left engine was going to come back online within the next five seconds, braced herself for the inevitable crash landing. Behind Valen and his quarry, a shadow ship picked up the transmission that passed between father and daughter and unnoticed by every other ship in the sky, it broke off to follow. When she realised it was all over and that her ship couldn't fall any further, Delenn shook herself free of her seatbelt and grabbing what little she could carry, scrambled out of the craft moments before an explosion ripped through its engines, the force of which threw her to the ground. She stayed where she was for a few moments, wincing a little as she realised that she'd probably broken a couple of ribs: she'd not felt the breaks and had no idea when they had occured, the rush of adrenaline that had been with her since she'd first left the fighter bays had put paid to that. But now, as the adrenaline wore off, she was left with a sharp nagging pain in her chest. Climbing slowly to her feet, she paused to look around her: the planet had a breathable atmosphere, that much she had already known having taken the time to read up on the planets in the area during her voyage to the space station. But it was virtually barren inspite of this and largely comprised desert and rocks with little water to be found. Mentally she patted herself on the back for remembering to bring the first aid kit and a canteen of water out of her craft before it exploded. Not far behind, Valen scanned the ground below for any sign of his daughter's ship, growing more and more desperate with each passing second until at last he spied a thin rivulet of black smoke winding its way up into the sky from a spot a few miles to his right. Turning the nose of his own fighter in the direction of the smoke he sped toward what he hoped was his daughter, alive and well. Unseen and at some distance behind him, the shadow ship still trailed him at a leisurely pace. Delenn absent-mindedly brushed the dust from her clothing and was starting the important business of seeking shelter both from the heat and any possible enemy ships that might have either followed her down or crashed there themselves, when she was distracted by a sharp bleeping sound emanating from the radio headset she still wore. Reaching around to the small pack on her belt she fiddled about with the radios frequency until she could make out the message more clearly. "Delenn, are you there? Can you hear me?" Oh wonderful, he must have followed her down, "This is Delenn, I hear you. I'm okay, go back up, they'll be able to pick up this message...its too dangerous for you to be here." There was a moments hesitation as he mulled over what she'd said: she was right of course...and she *was* safe...Then as he rounded a large group of particularly high rock formations, he saw something that made his blood run cold...<> Delenn started off in the direction of a set of moutainous rocks: she'd looked through some reports on the geography of the planet and knew that some of the minerals contained in the formations would confuse the shadow ships scanners. Checking around her periodically for any ships- friend or foe, she hurried toward the formation, first aid kit in one hand, canteen in the other and her too-long cloak swirling out behind her as she scurried along. Valen froze at the controls of his ship as the deep ravine clawed its way out below him...<> "Delenn, where are you? Stay by your ship, I'm coming down." "What? You can't...don't you *dare*" Delenn tried to keep the worry out of her voice as she again stopped to fiddle with the radio, pushing the receiver further into her ear to compensate for the interference the rock formations were already causing. What was he playing at, she'd be fine where she was so long as she stayed out of sight...Sighing crossly she scanned the sky above for her father's ship and silently prayed that the radio transmissions hadnt been picked up, in which case he could pick her up and they could return to base. With one hand shielding her eyes from the suns glare, Delenn squinted to focus on a shape on the horizon that advanced toward her at some speed: it was a minbari ship- about time. Relieved, she ran forward, waving her arms above her to attract the pilots attention, then she froze as another shape appeared a short distance away: a shadow ship. Gulping, she tapped on the mouthpiece of her radio, "Minbari ship, do you hear me...?" "Affirmative." Valen could see her now, a dark coloured dot on the sandy landscape that became larger and more detailed with each passing second until, she looked like a small doll left behind by someone, all alone in the desert. She had ceased waving her arms now and he knew that instead she was holding the headpiece in her hands to bring it closer to her ears and herr mouth "You're being followed. Pull away. You can't fire in this atmosphere, *it* can." "Negative Delenn, I'm not leaving without you." Valen swivelled around in his seat in an effort to locate the enemy ship with his own eyes. It had blind-sided him- damn. "Delenn, I don't have it in visual yet..." "Well *I* do! It's powering up to fire, get out of there!" she gave up standing and shouting in favour of running for cover. From her hiding place Delenn looked on as the enemy ship fired on the smaller and comparatively helpless minbari fighter: not at full strength though, just enough to disable it. She watched in horror as the fighter began to lose height, smoke billowing from the main thrusters: the engines were hit, he'd *have* to find somewhere to land. Anxiously she glanced around for any possible sights for a gentle landing- there were none. She'd been lucky when she'd crash-landed, she'd had found a relatively flat and rock-free patch of ground but here the landscape was far more rugged and there was *that* canyon to worry about. She watched the battered ships flight path: he was headed straight for the canyon. Delenn broke into a run. Valen's lips formed a grim line as he concentrated on pointing the nose of his ship toward the canyon: hopefully he'd be able to clear its sides and land at its bottom. "Delenn, where are you?" "On my way to you, hang on..." "Where's the shadow ship?" "Don't know. It'll be back soon though..." She scrambled down the shallowest side of the canyon, holding her arms out to the sides to maintain her balance as she proceeded. The canyon was about half a kilometre deep and three kilometres wide. If he landed on *this* side of it, it should only take her 15 minutes to reach him. Valen leapt out of his ship the moment it hit bottom and staggered away from it, dragging one, slightly injured leg behind him as he went: they *had* to get out of that ravine- during his descent hed seen yet another terrifying sight, this time on the ravine floor. As he'd struggled to maintain control of his ship hed noticed a familiar shape stretched across the bottom of the canyon: a second shadow ship. The moment he saw Delenn running toward him, he reached out to grab her arm, pulling her away from the injured shadow vessel not half a mile away. "Delenn, did you see it?" "The second ship? Yes. We have to hide. If we can make it to the west side, the minerals in the rocks should help shield us from the shadow ship's sensors" "Agreed. Lets go." The two of them hurried off, trying to put as much distance between themselves and the shadow ship that lay spread- eagled only a short distance away. "Father, you're limping. Whats wrong?" "It's nothing, just a muscle strain from trying to *leap* out of a burning fighter! I'll be fine." "And it's one injury you would not have if you had *used* your *brain* and *left* me to it." she snapped as they neared the side west side of the canyon. "If *I* had behaved as you are..." "I know, I just couldn't *leave* you..." "We have already discussed this. I am *sure* I remember telling you that for the duration of the war, I am to all intents and purposes, *not* your daughter. Maybe I *dreamt* that: I *must* have because you have followed me down here to where you are little more than a sitting target. If they know who you are...that the leader of the army of light is *here*, stranded on a barren planet with no effective weapons and little or no place to hide...they probably already know- that would explain the other ship following you down." "Delenn, I know. I wasn't thinking, I panicked, but I'm here now so well have to make the best of it. Listen to me," he stopped to take his daughter by the shoulders and pull her around to face him. "You are my *child*. Hopefully one day youll understand the implications of that and when you do you'll also understand why I could never abandon you..." "I did *not* need rescuing. You have put your life, the life, freedom and *dreams* of our *race* in jeopardy by coming here. How can one so wise be so foolish?" exasperated, she pulled away from him and stormed off. He followed. "Does this have something to do with the dreams you have been having? Maya mentioned to me that you had been troubled with bad dreams." "Sort of..." "...What we discussed back on Minbar, about your 'knowing' something..." he nodded slightly as they paused beside the canyon wall and she began to attach her water canteen and first aid kit to her belt leaving her hands free to climb with. "In that case, I don't want to know." with that she began to climb up the steep rockface. Taking one last long glance around him, Valen followed. *********************************************************************************** *2265* "The fighting with the shadows ended that day with our enemies retreat. So while Valen and his daughter were stranded on the planet below, the cleaning up had already begun on babylon 4. The records are vague and as such we do not know the full story of what happened that day on the planet beleow. All we know is that a shadow ship followed Valen down to the planet having no doubt picked up enough radio transmissions to know who he was...and a little of how he escaped that ship's attack..." *********************************************************************************** *1245* "Delenn, you can move much faster than me. Go on up ahead, its me they'll be after." Valen gasped for breath as he tried to keep up. "No father, I'll not leave you." she half screamed back, pausing in her climb to help him up. Moments before, the shadow ship had returned but seemed not to notice the two climbers as it descended into the ravine to investigate it's fallen comrade. "We've time to rest awhile." "Very well. But then *you* will go on ahead. I'll divert the ships attention if necessary while you find somewhere to hide." "If anything, *I* should play decoy." she argued as they crawled onto a narrow shelf in the rock face and she reached for her water bottle which she waved at him He shook his head, then on seeing her expression, relented and took a sip from the bottle. "I am only a *soldier*, but you...you are the future of our people. If you should die, we will all be lost." Valen shook his head emphatically, "No Delenn, no." "Yes father. You know that I am right. I am Anla'shok: I live for the one and I die for the one...In *Valens* name." "Delenn, listen to me," he winced at the sound of his name being used as some holy oath by his own daughter in the way it was by people who barely knew him but revered him none the less. "I am your father long before anything else. No father should outlive, or attempt to outlive his child. It is not my right. You are my daughter first and foremost and I will not let you die for me." She groaned, closing her eyes for a moment, then saw a compromise, "Look: the ship has all but ignored us since you landed here. It would be reasonable to assume that it cannot *sense* us because of the rocks were surrounded by. There is every chance that one of our own ships will be here to rescue us and we will both escape with our lives. Please at least come as far as you can." she pulled him to his feet and resignedly he followed her as they continued their ascent. "We're almost there..." Delenn murmured later, reaching around to direct Valen to each new foothold as she found it. "Oh..." she caught sight of the shadow mother ship rising from the ravine, it's injured comrade suspended below it by some invisible tractor-beam. Valen turned his head to follow her horrified gaze, "Go child, move." He reached up to physically push her further up the rockface. "Come on, quickly..." she stopped and reached her hand down to him, "Take my hand or well *both* die- I *will not* leave you." she shouted to make herself heard above the combined screams of the two shadow vessels. The mother ship was powering up to fire. The two climbers braced themselves, clinging to the rockface as if that would protect them from the attack. The ship fired: one long controlled burst around the ravine, it *couldn't* see them and was just firing indescriminately in the hope of hitting *something*. The wall around the climbers began to crumble, sending dust, rocks and other debris hurtling down the rockface like an avalanche. Valen and Delenn both shut their eyes tight against the impact and held on tight. As soon as the worst was over, they hurriedly resumed their climb, now scaling the rockface for possible hiding places as they scrambled upwards. "Not far now." Delenn gasped, they were only metres from the top which would, she estimated, be littered with caves and crevices to hide in. She turned again to watch for the ship which fired again, this time directly to their left, one short burst of firing- it was finding a way of tracking them. She managed to hold on tight but Valen lost his footing,"Hold on!" she screamed, crouching down from her perch to grab his flailing arm, "Here, put your left foot there, now right here..." Groaning and panting she reached the top - there was no shelter for a few metres but if they hurried there was a cave within staggering distance . She dragged her body onto horizontal ground and concentrated her efforts on pulling her father up. Both of his arms and his torso were over the edge now and she reached down to grab one of his legs. As she did so she spied the mother ship circling above, waiting...it was playing with them. She knew now that it would hunt them down, slowly, agonisingly. Again it fired. As Delenn pulled her father clear of the drop, the force of the gunfire around her caused her to miss her footing and with a scream she found herself hanging, once more from the rock face. Now father and daughter's roles were reversed with him grabbing one of her hands to prevent her from falling as the terror of his dream returned in a flash. Delenn was reeling around from where she hung, desperately trying to keep the mother ship in sight- there it was, circling again. "Father, go. There isn't time. Get to shelter...*leave* me." "No! Now let me help you." "Father, its behind you- please..." he paid no attention. "Father, you must *let go*" the familarity of her words startled him and in his mind's eye he saw his daughter dressed in her burial gown, <> He struggled to get a tighter grip on her hand which was slowly slipping away, not noticing a tiny dagger she removed from her belt as the shadow ship, now behind him advanced readying itself to fire one last time, "Istil'zha veni...In Valens name..." As she spoke she struck at his hand with the knife, forcing his reflexes to withdraw, loosening his grip just enough for her to slip away. She seemed to fall in slow motion, her face upturned and her eyes, triumphant and unafraid, boring into his own. She didn't cry out, the only noise was his own screaming and that of the approaching mother ship. Valen turned to face his foe head on, ready to die as his daughter just had. Closing his eyes he focused only on her and her expression as she fell away from him...<> *********************************************************************************** *2265* "As the shadow ship neared, ready to fire, Valen simply stood and waited. He must have truly expected and *wanted* to die there..." "But he didn't?" "No. One of the vorlon ships arrived in time to destroy the shadow ship. And later, a Minbari shuttle arrived ... Valen was found slumped by the side of the cliff and told that only hours ago, the shadows had been all but destroyed. Defeated never to return for a thousand years. On the station and on Minbar there were celebrations and he was eagerly awaited. But, Valen refused to leave the planet while his daughters body remained there and although he was injured himself, and no doubt suffering from exhaustion, he insisted on going back down into the ravine to retrieve her body...." *********************************************************************************** *1245* "Valen it will grow dark soon. Such a descent would be foolish and treacherous under such conditions. And you are injured. Come back to the base where your wounds can be tended. In the morning we will return to retrieve *all* the bodies of our fallen comrades..." Nager's words fell on deaf ears as Valen started the slow journey down a shallower side of the ravine. Nager had no choice but to follow him. "I'll not leave my daughter out here in the cold and the dark, all alone. For what she'd done, I *owe* that." Half a mile below, in the depths of the ravine, Delenn found herself kneeling beside the empty shell of her own body, curioulsy examining it. Her body lay facing up over a large boulder, head tipped back over it's edge and arms outstretched. Still sticky but no longer warm blood was drying on the boulder where it had run down from her head. Her eyes were closed. Delenn felt no fear and no pain. She simply sat, waiting for what she knew would come. "Are you here for me?" she asked softly, looking up at the silently approaching Vorlon. "Yes..." it replied simply. "Very well." She stood and as she did so, the Vorlon removed the helmet of it's encounter suit. She felt something leave her body and watched, captivated as the light that escaped from her eyes and her mouth, settled into a semi-solid form before her. The figure was humanoid, although it had no bonecrest and so could not be minbari. The figure said nothing but simply stared at it's former host with kind eyes. "My purpose is served?" she asked levelly and the figure smiled serenely and nodded once in a slow, fluis motion as it gestured toward the vortex that opened up close to where Delenn stood."And I'll not be forgotten?" "She carries a part of each of her hosts within her. You will live on." the vorlon replied. Delenn nodded thoughtfully and glanced up to the sky where she imagined her father was, safely on board the base of operations. "He shall have his daughter back." "When, how long?" "Soon..." the silent shape lost it's humanoid form and slipped easily into the Vorlon's encounter suit. "Promise?" there was a moment's hesitation before the vorlon nodded slowly, "Yes..." Satisfied, Delenn turned and entered the vortex to where she knew her mother waited for her. The Vorlon turned and drifted off as the vortex snapped shut. "And it continues..." the vorlon sighed and deep within the folds of the encounter suit the shape wrapped itself around it's carrier and let itself rest, for now... *************************************************************************** *2265* "When Valen found his daughter's broken body, he fell sobbing to his knees. His companion, Nager, maintained a polite distance as his leader removed his own cloak to wrap it around Delenn's body and carried her slowly back up the shallow side of the ravine. I have often wondered what must have gone through his mind that night... Sinclair knew as much of Valen's history as I do, from the stories and legends, and he must have known, from the moment she was born that he would lose her...We will never know if he forced himself to let destiny take it's course, or if his actions were meant to prevent the inevitable. Either way, his pain and his guilt must have been unbearable... The following day Delenn's body was taken back to Minbar and she was buried here. They say that during the remainder of Valen's time on Minbar, he spent great lengths of time at her graveside...He had, of course, several other children by his second wife, Maya, but he never recovered from the loss of his eldest child." *************************************************************************** *1292* Valen knelt as usual beside the gunas tree in his daughter's garden. It was where he came to simply *be*: no bravery, no wise words, no ceremony. As he sat at his daughter's graveside he felt closer to Jeffrey Sinclair than he had done in years: as Valen was leader of the minbari, war hero, a figure to be revered, here sat Jefffrey Sinclair, the husband, fahter and friend who mourned all those he would never see again...all the friends and loved ones who were part of his distant past, even though they were hundreds of years from being born. Today was his last on Minbar, and he of course, had to spend it with his daughter. Had the minbari known he was leaving that night they would no doubt have found a way of recording his destination. Then, Sinclair could have known that even though he had not long lost his second wife, that he would soon take a third, a strange creature, not of the minbari who answered to the name of Catherine... but now as he sat here, Valen could only think of all that he had lost. "Past is irrelevent. There is only future." The vorlon stood unnoticed behind him "Irrelevent? She was my daughter...she *was* the future!" "She is *still* your daughter. She is still the future." "They keep reminding me that souls travel together, or so they believe...Is that true?" The vorlon said nothing and merely turned to glide away. "Will I ever see her again?" It paused but did not turn, "Perhaps." "As Sinclair or as Valen?" "Yes..." That night Valen dreamt of her again. Delenn and the mysterious human who constantly fought for his attention. Everytime Delenn turned to leave and he begged her to stay, he felt a gentle tug on his arm. Each time he shrugged the girl off only to find Delenn gone and her opposite number still there.<> he screamed at her,she smiled sadly, <> ***************************************************************************** *2265* "What happened to Valen remains steeped in legend but we Minbari do not believe he died, only that he went *away* to return when he was needed....I have always been greatly affected by the story of his daughter and when I was a child, after hearing the story told to me, I used to sit in the temple and pray...to try to ask him if he ever had his daughter returned to him. Even now I would like to think that since souls often travel together, that they will be reunited someday. I think I *need* to believe that, as I am sure he did." Her story finished, a thoughtful Delenn Sheridan took her husband by the hand and led him out of the garden and back to their own new lives. ************************************************************************** The End New story will follow shortly. ttfn, nick xxx