sent a request to Narn for urgent aid. Delenn likewise to Proxima. Both doubted that help would arrive in time.
Vejar sat alone in his darkened room and reached out to the skies. He could feel it coming. A Fist of Darkness, so some races called it. A creation of flesh and technology and evil. A weapon designed for the sole purpose of destroying entire planets.
And he realised something else also. Whatever the Shadows could do, so could the Vorlons.
Ulkesh arrived in the Council chamber as preparations were being made. Delenn stood up, her skin crawling as she looked at him. This was the being who had sent her to Z'ha'dum, sent her to die, who had toyed with her love for John for his own purposes.
But he was also the representative of an ancient and powerful civilisation, a race that could help save this planet.
<No. There will be no help.>
'What?' Delenn whispered, hardly able to believe what she was hearing. Always before, the voice of a Vorlon had been musical in her mind, a whisper of symphony and melody and rhapsody, a rise and fall of beauty. Now Ulkesh's voice was that of the grave, the dank and dreary rustling of bones, the dreaming of dead men.
<There will be no help. Leave this world. Its purpose is done.>
Delenn did not need to look at her companions to see the stunned horror on their faces. She also did not need to look to feel the rising fury in Vizhak and G'Kael and Taan Churok, even the normally calm Lethke.
But she spoke first.
'How dare you?' she cried. 'How dare you? This is our home now. The cradle of all our hopes and dreams. We crafted something here, something that will live on long after all of us have gone. We created an alliance from death and torture and pain, and we made something better.
'And you expect us just to leave!'
<The Alliance will endure. This world has served its purpose. Let it die.>
'No,' Delenn said firmly. 'I will fight to save it, as will we all here. If you will not help us, then leave. You will not be welcome here any longer! None of you will!'
Ulkesh looked at them all, the darkness within his eye stalk seeming so much more intense, so much deeper. There was a slow surge of wind chimes, clattering against one another, echoing far distant screams,
<It is not necessary for you to die,> he said, after a time.
'You don't understand us at all,' Delenn said. 'You do not understand. Now, stay and help. Or go, and do not return!'
Ulkesh lowered his eye stalk and turned. Delenn did not see him leave. She turned back to the others.
'Well said,' said G'Kael, approvingly.
'We have no time to worry about the Vorlons. We have to defend Kazomi Seven. There will be time for worries later....'
'Come on,' Corwin said. 'Come on, come on.'
'A message from Proxima, Captain.'
Corwin drew in a deep breath. He had been expecting this. 'Put it through.'
Unsurprisingly, it was from the General. Corwin had rarely seen Sheridan look so angry. 'Captain Corwin,' he said. 'You are abandoning your post. Return to Greater Krindar immed....'
'Sorry, General. Kazomi Seven is under attack from a Shadow planet killer. They need every ship they can get to help them.'
'We received a message as well. That is beside the point. Return to your position.'
'Oh for the love of.... Listen to yourself! Kazomi Seven is under threat. The whole world is going to be blown up....'
'You don't know that, Captain.'
'Yes, I do! The whole planet is going to be destroyed unless we help them. All of us. Put these damned
'That's.... not the....'
'No, it isn't. But I remember when you would have done anything to save her, and never mind what was right. We went all the way to Z'ha'dum to get her back, didn't we? What's a quick trip to Kazomi Seven?'
'Captain....'
'No, General. We're going. Court martial me when we get back. If Kazomi Seven is still there, and Delenn's still alive, it'll be worth it.
'Of course, you could come along and help us yourself.'
'Captain.... David, I....'
'Think about it. Think about the person you want to be. If you like I could find you and hit you again. A
Corwin let out the deep breath. 'Come on, come on,' he whispered.
The races in service to the Shadows called it a 'Fist of Darkness'. To the fleets of Kazomi 7 it was a death cloud, a vast thing that shimmered into view in the skies above their home, the centre of the United Alliance, a place where Valen had once stood and taught, a place that was home to the Blessed Delenn, a place where lived the only technomage in the worlds of the younger races.
Delenn stood on the bridge of the Drazi warship that had been given the honour of carrying her, and looked at it silently. Many had said she should not be here, but she had remained firm. There was too little time to launch a full evacuation of the planet, and she would not leave while others stayed.
Shadow ships swarmed around it, their cries piercing in the night. The cloud blocked out the stars, leaving an empty void in space.
One of the Drazi said something, and another chuckled, an unusual sound to come from a Drazi.
Delenn mentally translated it.
'At least we are fighting in the shade.'
The fleet swept forward.
G'Kael had learned patience, he had learned endurance, and he had learned composure. He had learned many things, from many teachers. The two most important teachers had been Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar and the Centauri.
Sometimes their lessons were hard to remember.
'How long can it take?' he cried. 'We cannot rely on communications staying open much longer.'
Na'Toth let out a wry chuckle. 'There is nothing that takes as long as waiting for a politician to reach a decision.'
G'Kael muttered something angrily, and then tried to re–establish his composure. Na'Toth should know. She had been a member of the Kha'Ri until recently. 'We don't have time,' he snapped again.
'You did not have to stay here,' Na'Toth pointed out. 'You could have left.'
'No, I couldn't. There's.... something about this world. It's special somehow. I'm not going to run and hide while it gets destroyed. I've done too much running and hiding. Besides.... I want to spit on that Vorlon's encounter suit and prove to it that we were right.' He paused, and then looked at her. 'Why did you stay?'
'Did I have anywhere else to go?
He shrugged. 'Well said.' The communications screen lit up, and he turned to it. The picture was crackling. 'About time,' he said. 'We need military aid out here, and quick. As much as we can spare.' There was no reply. 'Can you hear me? We need....'
'.... can't.... sound.... blocking.... Kha'Ri in.... closed session.... cannot talk to.... can you hear...?'
'No!' he shouted. 'Listen to me. Send help now!'
'.... must.... repeat.... signal....'
The screen went blank.
'Too late,' G'Kael sighed. He looked up, through the stone that made this building, past roof and clouds and sky, into the heavens. He imagined all the stars there. He imagined them all going out as a cloud swept over the planet. 'I think we're on our own now.'
'No,' Na'Toth said. 'We always were.'
