The Vorlons had insisted she come along. They had ordered it, in so many words.
Corwin looked at her, and at the Captain. Neither of them was moving. Neither of them even seemed to be breathing.
And just for a moment, in what might have been a trick of the light, he was sure he saw Lyta's eyes blaze gold. But then the light faded, and she was just herself again.
And the
The door closed behind her, and Delenn looked at the man in front of her. It was strange, but Ambassador Sheridan seemed every bit as at home here, in this barren construct of stone and rock, as he had in the Council rooms of Kazomi 7. She imagined he had a knack of fitting in wherever he went.
'You may remove your breathing equipment now,' he said politely. 'The atmosphere in here is perfectly suitable for you. We have had Minbari here before. Of course your unique biology may cause some difficulties, but I doubt they will be overly serious.'
Delenn unclipped her respirator mask and handed it over to him. She took a few breaths, and then nodded. The air was bearable. The gravity felt a little off, but then she had been used to Kazomi 7 for the last few years.
The building was sparse, and fairly empty. Everything seemed to be made of stone, as if the place had been hacked out of the raw bones of the planet itself. Everything was red, or brown. It was hot.
'You made your way here easily enough, then?' Sheridan said, making small talk.
'Your directions were most precise,' she said. Then, after a pause, 'Thank you.'
'Do you have any baggage? I will have everything taken to your quarters.'
'No,' she replied formally. 'I am as you see me.'
'I doubt that,' he replied, his voice icy. 'If you will follow me, I will introduce you to others who wish to meet you again. It has been a while, for most of them.'
'Are you in charge here, then?' she said, following him as he guided her through the corridors. Everything seemed the same; dark, red and hot.
'This is a private sector of the capital city, built especially for us. The city has a name, by the way, but not even I can pronounce it. Far too many letters. I am.... the highest ranked of those of us here at the moment. The true inhabitants of this city prefer to live in the lower levels, and rarely come up this high. I apologise if the accommodation seems a little.... spartan to you. It was designed by a member of your race, and he had certain.... strict attitudes to what was necessary for life. I have done what I can to make them more habitable, but I am rarely here these days.'
'None of my race has served the Shadows,' she replied tersely. 'None of us ever would.'
'Oh?' he said, with a raised eyebrow. 'Have you forgotten your history? Parlonn lived hereabouts for some years. I can show you the place where he met Marrain and convinced him to join with the.... ah, the Shadows. There's a shrine at the place where Parlonn was murdered down here somewhere. It's quite a way underground, and I don't like travelling there too often. It does get a little claustrophobic at times.'
'Parlonn.... chose his own path.'
'I never said he did not. It is refreshing, actually.... to see that your race can be just as petty as ours. It completely dispels that whole aura of superiority you like to build up around yourselves. Why was it Parlonn changed sides again? Jealousy? Envy?'
'Neither,' she whispered. 'He heard your lies and chose to believe them. It was Marrain who betrayed Valen out of jealousy.'
'Ah yes. I had the two confused. Do forgive me.' He came to a door and stopped. 'This is a.... I don't know if Minbari have a word for it. A living-room would be the English phrase. A place to sit and meet and discuss things that are not business. No vidscreen or television, fortunately. You can't get ISN all the way out here, which is a shame, but I can't say I miss any of the rest of it.'
He pushed the door open and gestured to her to go inside. There were two people there. One of them was a human woman, sitting on a comfortable-looking chair. The other was a tall figure dressed in a black tunic, with the hood pulled up over his head. His back was to her.
'You know Miss Susan Ivanova, of course,' Sheridan said. 'It has been a while, I accept. And.... you will also know our other companion, although that has been even longer.'
'Why did you come here, beloved?' said a harsh voice, one she recognised all too well despite the many years since she had last heard it.
She gasped as he turned round and pushed back his hood. It was Neroon.
'A question I would like answered,' Sheridan replied. He walked over to a table. 'Do you want some tea, or do you not drink it? I know Neroon does not, but then you are partially human. I do hope you've learned something of ours.'
'I....' She could not help but look at Neroon. It had been many years since they had parted, and they had not met since. He had come to her one night, and told her about someone he had met. G'Kar, the Narn prophet who had spoken of the need for the Rangers, and of an alliance to fight the Enemy. Neroon had chosen to believe that a Narn could carry the burden better than a Minbari, and so he had left.
He had asked Delenn to go with him, but she had refused, knowing that she had her duties on the Grey Council.
Two years ago she had received a message from Neroon's friend Ta'Lon, telling her that he had died, trapped by the Shadows and surely killed.
'You have changed, beloved,' he said. Her hands went instinctively to her hair. The last time he had seen her, she had been fully Minbari. He smiled, in the same way he had done before, when they had both been much younger. 'I like it.'
'Milk?' asked Sheridan. 'Sugar? No, I guess not. So.... why have you come?'
'You invited me.'
'So I did. And you turned me down. As I recall, you also exiled me from Kazomi Seven and threatened to go to war with my allies. You
'Your allies attacked ships loyal to the Alliance.'
He shrugged. 'We offered you peace. We offered you neutrality. We offered you treaties, and trade, and a beneficial relationship. We offered to make you strong. You turned us down and preferred to ally with our enemies, who have promised you none of those things. You have, after all, taken on a Vorlon Ambassador to your.... little Alliance, have you not?'
'We have.'
'Ah.' He shook his head sadly. 'You poor fools. You really have no idea.'
'Rather them than you.'
'You think?' he chuckled, as if that was a genuinely funny remark. 'Well, I guess you do. The perils of a Minbari religious caste upbringing. They get to you early. The warrior caste are far more.... flexible. Apart from Sinoval, of course, but even he.... He serves our aims in a way, although he probably doesn't realise it. But the rest of the warrior caste — Sonovar, Kalain.... all of them. Easy to manipulate.' He smiled sadly. 'I take some small satisfaction from that.'
Delenn looked at Neroon. He said nothing. He was still looking at her.
'So,' continued Sheridan. 'Why did you come here?'
'To hear the wisdom you promised me at Kazomi Seven.'
'I heard it said that Minbari do not lie. More propaganda, all part of that aura of superiority again. You know, Delenn, I have met and worked with countless races during my career. Brakiri, Drazi, Narn, Centauri, Sh'lassan, Abbai.... oh.... so many more. All those different cultures, festivals, histories. I put up with Narn scheming, Centauri decadence, Drazi tempers....
'And in all that time, the Minbari are the only people I have ever really disliked.
'One last time, why did you come here?'
'To kill you all,' whispered another voice. Delenn looked down to see Ivanova rising to her feet. 'She's come to kill you all.... and she'll manage it as well.' Ivanova chuckled slightly. 'We're all going to die.'
Sheridan sipped at his tea. 'Yes,' he said. 'Everything does. Sooner or later. I'll show you to your quarters, Delenn. I have no doubt someone will be coming up to meet with you soon.'
