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

Corwin leapt back as a glowing symbol appeared in the air before his eyes. 'What the....'

Have no fear, Captain. Just a little something to protect you all, and to help defeat the Fist of Darkness. You will be able to strike it now.

'About time. All batteries.... fire!'

* * *

'Please,' Delenn said. 'Where are you? There's still time. It doesn't have to be this way!'

No, there is nothing else.

'Stop this! There can be peace.'

No peace. No forgiveness. We will die, and that will be all.

There was a burst of light, a light that struck everyone in the ship. Delenn felt it burning her eyes, burning into the back of her mind. She fell, again.

* * *

Vejar smiled, and then he frowned. 'Damn you, Galen,' he whispered. 'We will both pay for this in time.'

* * *

There was the faint echo of a scream, one that touched them all. Delenn found tears in her eyes.

The Fist of Darkness died.

* * *

Before, there had been only revenge and hatred. Now, there was only the knowledge that they did what they must do. The Shadows knew their triumph, their unholy Fist of Darkness, had been destroyed, and there was nothing left for them but death.

The warships moved forward, not caring when jump points opened up behind them, and the Dark Stars swept forward.

The Shadows went to their deaths.

* * *

We tried to show you heaven. Now you will all see hell.

* * *

General John Sheridan said nothing as he watched the Shadows' last stand. They went to their deaths knowingly, charging forward, not even caring to try to escape.

Soon. It will all be over soon.

And what then?

The future.

He did not know if that thought was his own, or another's.

* * *

Vejar sat back, his mind returning to his body. 'I have seen heaven,' he whispered. 'And I have known hell. I doubt there is anything left for you to show us.'

* * *

Delenn's eyes brightened as realisation came to her of who had just arrived.

* * *

David Corwin smiled. 'Well, I'll be damned,' he muttered. 'See that, Carolyn! Maybe we're getting somewhere after all.'

* * *

Delenn was alone, staring at the stars. 'I remember,' she whispered, 'when I first realised I could reach out and touch them. My father carried me on his shoulders and pointed up into the night sky. They seemed so close. Then I looked down into the lake, and they shimmered there. I felt I could just reach out and touch them, scoop them up in my hands.'

She sighed. 'So this is what victory feels like. All these years and yet.... what has our struggle brought us?'

An echo of an echo, a whisper of a dead man's torment, reached her ears. 'There is a saying among some peoples. Everyone gains exactly what they deserve. It would appear you have gained the victory which you most deserved.'

She shivered, and held herself tight against the cold. 'For all our sakes, I hope not.

'I hope not.'

* * *

So what now?

Soon. It is almost over now. There is just one more thing to be done. One more battle to be fought.

To Z'ha'dum.

Chapter 5

'It is over.'

'Yes, it is over.'

'You have won.'

'Yes, we have won.'

* * *

They came, from star to distant star. From worlds of fire and worlds of ice. From darkness and light. From hope and despair. From love and hatred.

They came, they gathered, ships passing in the night. Old friends, older enemies, all drawn by the same irresistible force.

It will soon be over.

The words hung in all their minds.

It will soon be over.

No one was sure when exactly it had begun. People spoke of the Battle of the Second Line, where the Shadow ships had first appeared in force to go to war. Some mentioned the Third Line as the true beginning of the war, the apocalyptic battle that had seen the destruction of an entire planet. Some spoke of the terrible day when Minbar had been scorched with fire and fury from the heavens.

Some, most notably the Narn and the Centauri, referred to the beginning - or perhaps continuation is a better word - of their conflict, over three years gone now. Some, who saw with wisdom, placed it at the very beginning, when the Centauri had reached a defenceless, peaceful world and launched an unprovoked attack.

Then there were those who were reminded of the human / Minbari conflict, the Battle of the Line, the Battles of Mars and Orion, the fall of the Black Star, the fateful first encounter.

A precious few even cast their minds back a thousand years, to the appearance of Valen, and the first War of Shadow.

But whenever it had started, whenever the first battle had begun, there was one thing all could agree on.

It will be over soon.

And so to Kazomi 7, they came.

* * *

The newly inaugurated Lord–General Carn Mollari knew little of the world of Kazomi 7. At least, he knew little that was not common knowledge. It was the centre of the United Alliance, a former Drazi colony, a crossroads between trade routes, that had been attacked and devastated by the Drakh in an unprovoked and brutal assault. From out of that period of nightmare and destruction, the Alliance had been formed.

Carn knew that his uncle, the High and August Emperor Mollari II, had played a part in that birthing, but little of the specifics. It was not something his uncle had ever liked to talk about.

He looked down upon the world. It did not seem much at all, really, but then the true wonder was not the planet itself, but what was above it.

Ships from countless different races. Drazi and Brakiri and Gaim and Llort and the Alliance's own ships - the