A Dark, Distorted Mirror. Volume 4. A Future, Born in Pain

'And what are you going to do when you get there? The defence grid should still be operational. It was only enhanced with Shadowtech, like the Saint–Germain, not completely built from it as we were. Oh God, let's just hope it holds. Keep trying to get through to the Morningstar and the Dark Thunder. We're going to get as much back on–line as we can. De'Molay out.'

Bethany stepped back and activated her link.

'Yes?' came Jaiena's voice.

'You'd better hurry down there. I think we're going to have even less time than we thought.'

* * *

Captain David Corwin had been fighting the Shadows for over two years, starting with their first appearance here, defending the Proxima system from the Minbari attackers. Now he had returned, and once again the Shadows were defending Proxima, but this time he was in the attacking force.

And this time the Shadows were being defeated.

He didn't know how or why this was happening, and that annoyed him. He had a very unpleasant feeling about all this, but he knew his duty. Whatever had hit the Shadows, seemingly focussed through the Dark Star ships, had not paralysed them completely as it had the Earthforce ships. They were still moving sluggishly; weakened, but still deadly. The Shadows were ancient and fell, their lives dedicated to warfare.

But, slowly, they were being beaten back. Clearly they were less willing to relinquish Proxima than they had been to concede other defeats, but inexorably they were being forced back.

And the Dark Stars followed them.

Corwin turned to the viewscreen and saw the face of the Brakiri there, Kulomani. 'Captain,' Corwin said, puzzled as to why the captain of the Dark Star 4 should contact him.

'Captain Corwin. Our battle plan has.... as Captain Daro put it, fallen completely apart. Are we to move on Proxima Three itself as originally planned?'

'Why haven't you asked Captain Sheridan about this?'

'We have.... or to be more precise, we have tried. There is no response from Dark Star One.'

Corwin swore to himself. Captain Sheridan was his oldest and dearest friend, but he had changed in recent months, and not for the better. If he wanted to ignore his allies, then so be it. They had a mission here, and that was to save humanity from the consequences of their bargains.

Just why the other captains had elected him as the one to turn to, he had no idea.

'Yes, we move on Proxima Three, as per the original plan. Destroy any Shadow ships there, disable any further Earthforce ships, take out the defence grid, and then.... hopefully by then, Captain Sheridan will be able to proceed.'

'And what about these four Earthforce ships here?'

'Leave them. They are disabled and dead. God alone knows what happened to them, but they're no threat to us. Proxima Three is our target, Captain. Let's go for it.'

And the Dark Stars moved closer to Proxima 3.

* * *

Power in the Centauri Royal Court was a fragile and temporary thing at best. With an advancement system heavily and unofficially based on dead men's purple boots, assassination, blackmail, poison, bribery and so forth were all common. During the brief reign of Emperor Refa I and the following months, the Court had been in a state of near civil war. For almost a year, things had been quiet.

Oh, there were still the usual manoeuvrings, a few notable disappearances and various minor power struggles, but the first year of the reign of Emperor Mollari II had been marked more by struggles against alien threats than internal ones.

A false sense of security had settled over the Court. All it took was one message to revive the sense of paranoia and mistrust that had gripped them for years.

Lord–General Marrago was the last to arrive at the meeting of the Emperor's Government Council, and no one could deny he was an imposing figure. For centuries his family had protected the Centarum and the Throne. Few families boasted such an honourable and eventful past, and Marrago's own career had been distinguished in plenty.

He nodded briefly at the few of the Council he was on good terms with and then took his seat at the left hand of the Emperor. The others were of course already here, and Marrago cast his gaze across at them. First, there were those Londo trusted implicitly: the First Consort Lady Timov, Minister of Resource Procurement; Vir Cotto, Minister of Foreign Policy; Durano, Minister of Intelligence. Somewhere at the back of the room was Lennier, the Imperial Bodyguard. And there was Marrago himself, the Lord–General and Minister of War.

Then there were the others, men Marrago neither liked nor respected, but who were here by the demands of politics. He despised men of politics, and the feeling was largely mutual. No one ever forgot, or allowed him to forget, that it had been a member of his family who had murdered and deposed an Emperor.

'I take it,' said Minister Vitari slowly, 'that the occupation of Tolonius is proceeding as planned?' He was a precise man, of few words, and always carefully chosen. News of the victory there had come through already.

'It is,' said the Emperor quickly, not allowing his Lord–General time to speak. 'Lord–General Marrago and I have spoken and I have received his full report. However there is a more urgent matter to discuss. A few hours ago I received a message from the United Alliance Council, and communicated with Minister Lethke of that body.

'Our emissaries have been expelled from Kazomi Seven, our embassy is rejected, all our ships and personnel are ordered to leave Alliance space and we are not to enter their territory. There are various other matters, but the fact is, the Alliance and this Republic are now no longer allies. They may even join with the Narns in their war with us.'

There was pandemonium among the lesser Ministers, but Vitari managed to break in. 'If such an event occurs, can we defeat both the Narns and the Alliance?'

'No,' said Marrago simply, his face shrouded with concern. 'As it stands, our war with the Narns is far from a sure thing. They are currently over–extended, and weakened as a result, and this is allowing us to punch holes in their lines and reclaim our captured colonies. However, with the support of the Alliance behind them, they will be able to hold the lines and advance on the homeworld once more. I have also heard some things about the Alliance Dark Star ships. I am convinced they are more than a match for an equal number of our capital warships.'

'The Narns were beaten back easily enough when they attacked here,' boasted one of the junior Ministers. 'We can surely defeat them again, and the Alliance with them.'

'The Narns were beaten because they underestimated us,' Marrago replied smoothly. 'They did not bring enough ships, thinking no doubt we were still in the state of chaos we were in some months earlier, before Emperor Mollari's ascension. They underestimated us and overextended their own resources. They will not make such mistakes again.'

'What reasons has the Alliance given for breaking off diplomatic relations?' asked Durano, a thoughtful expression on his face. The Minister of Intelligence was known for being coolly calculating, with a kutari–sharp mind. He was also renowned for being politically impartial, which was why he had survived the troubles.

'The Kha'Ri have fabricated evidence to suggest we are allied with the Shadows. The Alliance Council is convinced of the truth of this.' Emperor Mollari shook his head. 'As the Alliance is at war with the Shadows at present, they obviously cannot maintain relations with someone allied with their enemies.

'But of course we are not. I have made no deal with the Shadows, and I am convinced that no one here would do such a thing. This is a lie by the Kha'Ri, or a trick by the Shadows to cast doubt on us.'

'Lord–General,' said Durano, looking directly at Marrago. 'Is there any truth that the Shadows assisted your forces at Tolonius?'

The Lord–General shifted uncomfortably in his seat. 'There were some.... anomalous forces present. Some Narn ships were destroyed in.... unusual circumstances. Whatever these forces were, our scanners could not accurately detect them. It is possible they were Shadow vessels.'

'And you did not try to ascertain what these.... 'anomalous forces' were?'

'Enough, Durano!' snapped the Emperor. 'The Lord–General is not under interrogation here. The Shadows