And Valen asked the Nine, 'Will you follow me into Darkness, into Fire, into Storm, into Shadow, into Death?' And the Nine said, 'Yes.' Delenn has never asked John Sheridan that question, but for him the answer is clear. He will follow her. Into Darkness. Into Fire. Into Storm. Into Shadow. Into Death? To Z'ha'dum.
Chapter 1
Excerpt from Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar's Speech of Unity.
There is a world, far and distant, out on the Rim. It has been a dead world for so long.
A thousand years ago a great and terrible war was brought to this world. The final battle lasted for many days, but ultimately an evil was driven from it, and those who had pursued the war returned to their homes, content to rest, to bury their dead, to raise their children, to tell stories.
And to forget. Forget, they did, relegating the war to just another legend, to tales of heroes and courage, to a time long ago, a time that held no relevance for the present.
It is the curse of mortal man to forget. Mortal beings cannot learn from their mistakes, for they are doomed to keep forgetting them.
Time has passed. Generations have come and gone. And the Darkness has returned once more.
Z'ha'dum, once a dead world, now teems with life again. The ancient race who for a thousand years hid in secret, have come back to their ancestral home, to their temples and cities and wonders of old. They have come back, and they are ready to go to war once more.
This time, they know they will not lose. This time, they will be careful. This time, they will be ready.
The Shadows may be long-lived. They may be an ancient race, older by far than many can comprehend. They may possess wonders far in advance of the younger races.
But for all that, the Shadows are still mortal.
And it is the doom of mortals to forget.
A ship comes to Z'ha'dum. They are surprised, but eager. This is not what they have planned for, admittedly, but it is something they have wanted. They let it come. They are pleased.
They have forgotten so much, particularly how to hear the one who lives below. The one who is not mortal, and who does not forget. He has begun to speak at last, but no one can hear him. There will be many deaths before anyone can truly hear him.
A ship comes. See. It is here....
She still does not entirely know why she has come. As she looks at the dead, crimson world beneath her, Delenn of Mir contemplates the last time any of her people were here. The climax of the last Great War against the Shadows. Valen had led his mighty fleet here, and brought to an end many years of war.
As she looks at it from this perspective, Delenn of Mir is very much afraid that there are many years of war still to come. Unless she can end it here.
And if this war is won, as was the last, what then? A wait of another thousand years before the killing starts once more? A peace more terrible than any war?
She has been sent here by a race she once thought to be her allies. She does not understand the reason for this, but that does not matter. She has sent all the information she has to the one who might be able to understand.
She is thinking about Sinoval now. She hopes he received her message. It would give him some satisfaction to know he was right. He would take great pleasure in being able to say 'I told you so'.
But he would never get the chance, at least not to her.
John can walk now. He can move, and touch, and live.... Cured both of the injuries sustained in the Battle of the Third Line and of Deathwalker's terminal virus, he can live once more. The United Alliance has its general, one far more able to pursue this war than Delenn herself.
But she will be able to do one last service before the end.
She brings the shuttle into orbit, looking at the planet below her. She has seen it before only in recordings, in dreams, in visions sent by the Vorlons. She has never been here before. It looks dead, abandoned, still scarred by the ravages of war and time.
She prepares the message she is to send. T
This done, she sits back, ensuring it will broadcast itself on a repeating cycle. She thinks back to the time she had been given the 'invitation', and to the aftermath. She had turned Ambassador Sheridan down, knowing the invitation to be a trap. Now.... she was here anyway.
She should have told John about his father. She should have told him. Just one more legacy of regret to lay upon all the countless others heaped up over her lifetime.
--- We read your message, Delenn, — -- says a voice over the audio-only channel. She recognises it immediately, and sits bolt upright. Ambassador Sheridan. John's father. --- I will admit to being surprised, but questions can wait. I am transferring the co-ordinates of a landing site just outside the capital city. You will need suitable breathing equipment when you are on the surface, but we will be able to provide that if necessary. The other external conditions may be.... uncomfortable for you, but I am sure you will be able to cope. Living conditions inside the city are more than adequate, I assure you. — --
'I have received your co-ordinates,' she replies. 'I am setting course now.'
--- Don't worry, Delenn. We won't let you get lost on the way. — --
Her systems begin to beep at her. She feels a slight chill.
Outside her shuttle, three Shadow ships shimmer into view. She hears their loud screams in her mind.
They will not let her get lost. Not at all.
Delenn of Mir prepares herself to set foot on Z'ha'dum.
They had been incredibly vocal in their protests. Virini, the Minister for the Court, had claimed that he had not been given enough time to organise the whole affair, what with the need for personal servants, aides, valets, bodyguards, an alteration to the itinerary, pacifying those who would have to postpone their appointments....
Durano, Minister for the Interior, gave calm, rational reasons for the need for the Republic to have its focal figure at home during this time of crisis.
Marrago, Minister for Defence and Lord-General of the Republic's Armies, spoke of the need for the Republic to be seen to be in a position of strength. The Emperor going personally to meet an alien alliance would surely be seen as a sign of weakness.
Of all of them, only Timov, Minister for Resource Procurement and the Emperor's First Consort, had given him anything like support.
She had reminded him to wrap up tight, not to eat any alien food, and to get enough sleep.
When Londo Mollari, esteemed Emperor of the mighty and glorious Centauri Republic, set his mind on a course, it took a great deal of effort to dissuade him from it.
Still, he could see all their points. The Imperial Barge should by all rights have been accompanied by at least three warships, and there should have been numerous advisors and bodyguards. As it was, the Republic could spare only one warship, the
