A Dark, Distorted Mirror. Volume 5 : Among the Stars, like Giants. Part 1 : Learning How to Live

myself able to command warriors. I thought myself worthy to stand in the Grey Council, where Valen himself once stood.

'So you brought me to the Grey Council, and you showed me just how little power I had, and you made for yourself someone whom you could command, someone you could hurt as much as you liked.

'I apologise, Kalain. I thought you tortured me for your own pleasure. I was wrong.'

'I had to.... I was a warrior. I was....'

'Wrong?'

'I was wrong.'

'I forgive you, Kalain. You hurt me, and you weakened me, and you almost broke me, but you did not. I am stronger now than I ever was, and for that I thank you, and I forgive you.'

'I never apologised, and I never sought your forgiveness.'

'I know, but I offer it all the same. Be at peace, Kalain.'

'And you. There is.... someone else who wants to talk to you. I think you want to talk to him as well. I will see you again in another life, worker.'

'May your Gods welcome you home,' she said, the words sounding hollow to her, but she knew they were important to him.

Perhaps the Day of the Dead did not show you those you wished to speak to, but rather those you needed to speak to.

She touched her necklace gently, and then all the air seemed to be sucked from the room.

'My lady,' said his voice. 'I swear you are more lovely than ever.'

She whispered his name, just once, and there were tears in her eyes.

* * *

The room was larger than she was used to, larger than she found comfortable, even. This was the place she had spent more time in than any other on Babylon 5, more even than her sleeping quarters, and yet she had never liked it.

Perhaps it was because this room seemed to breed so much strife, so much conflict.

Sometimes Delenn longed for the old days. There had been just a handful of them at the beginning. Herself, Londo, Lethke, Taan Churok, Vizhak. There were so many now, people she did not know, people who had not seen the things she had, people who did not seem to understand why there had to be an Alliance.

The races needed to be one. They needed to protect and help and shelter each other.

And yet so many did not understand.

Durano was still speaking. Delenn did not know him well. Londo had sent him personally, and Londo usually had good judgment. There was just something in him that made her uncomfortable. He was so.... rigid and formal. It was as if all his life was a mask and no one knew what lay beneath it, not even Durano himself.

'The death toll is still being calculated, but has run to over eleven thousand so far. While most of that clearly occurred in the early bombing raids, a significant number have succumbed to illness, injury and disease. Most of the hospitals in the capital were intentionally destroyed during the attack.

'We have received messages from one of the raiders demanding ransom for those captured. These include the Governor, his wife, several Government officials and assorted other nobles. The raider was a Centauri, who styled himself Lord Rem Lanas. There is no record of such a person, and there is certainly no such noble house.

'My Government is asking for financial aid, as well as food shipments and medical equipment. We also request military assistance to protect Gorash and to restore order. We also request to be released from certain of our obligations under the Kazomi Treaty. Far too many of our worlds are too sparsely defended, and we may be attacked elsewhere.'

'That is not possible, I am afraid, Minister,' John said, standing up after Durano had finished. 'The Kazomi Treaty expressly forbids that, you realise. However, the rest of your Government's requests are not unreasonable.'

G'Kael rose, and all eyes turned to him. The Narn was usually quiet, and rarely spoke. When he did, however, he commanded the attention of everyone listening. He had the rare gift of being either the centre of attention or completely ignored as the situation demanded.

'I communicated with the Kha'Ri before this meeting,' he said slowly. 'We had heard about the attack, and were anticipating these requests. My Government is of the view that this is an internal Centauri matter, and is not within the purview of the Alliance.'

'What makes them say that?' John asked.

'A Centauri world was attacked by raiders, who are apparently led by a Centauri lord. Centauri dignitaries were captured, and the raiders sent ransom demands to the Centauri Government. The Kha'Ri believes this is a problem of internal security, in which the Alliance is forbidden to intervene, save for the pursuit of Shadow agents or vassals.'

'That is incorrect, and you are fully aware of that,' Durano replied. 'Other races were seen taking part in the attack, including Narns and Drazi and humans. There were also sightings of one creature that may well have been a Z'shailyl. On top of that, at least two Alliance dignitaries were killed in the attack, and it is possible others were injured or captured. These raiders may well choose to attack another world, one not belonging to us. Clearly this is a problem for the whole Alliance.'

'My Government's position remains,' G'Kael said, sitting down.

Ambassador Kalika stood up. The Abbai had joined the Alliance late in the war, afraid of possible retribution from the Shadows. Some, particularly the Drazi, regarded that as cowardice, but to many in the former League of Non-Aligned Worlds it denoted courage, and she was the unofficial mouthpiece of many of those races.

'If the Centauri are too weak to defend their own worlds, why should the rest of us help them?' she asked. 'Planetary defence is a matter for individual Governments and not for the Alliance.'

'And why are we too weak to defend our worlds?' Durano asked. 'Where are our ships? Where are our armies? They are here. They are chasing ghost stories across the galaxy! They pursue the faintest rumour of Shadow ships, they follow legends of ancient vessels to distant corners of the galaxy. As well have them chasing the Sanctuary of Aeons, or the Well of Souls, or humanity's Holy Grail! You have bled us dry, all of you! Will you see us all die?'

'That is the price of allying with the Enemy,' Kalika replied coolly, unaffected by the uncharacteristic loss of equilibrium from the Centauri. 'Why should we defend you? Why should we help those who fought beside those who would destroy us all?'

'Why?' Delenn said, rising. 'Because we are an Alliance. Because the weaknesses of one must be borne by the strength of another. Because we can stand stronger together than we ever could apart.

'Because we are all of one blood, all of one soul, and if we cannot stand together, then we shall surely die apart. I count Emperor Mollari as one of my closest friends. He was here at the very beginning, when this Alliance was born. He suffered as we all did in the ruins of Kazomi Seven. He bled, as we all did, to give rise to this. Shall we abandon him now? Shall we say his sacrifice was for nothing?

'This matter will be voted on. Does this body wish to grant Minister Durano's request for assistance?'

She had been genuinely uncertain how it would turn. The war had been over for more than a year, and many of those here had become used to peace. The Centauri were not liked or trusted. They had after all allied with the Shadows. Humanity had as well, but they had an entirely new Government, and their representative here, an Ambassador Luchenko, was genuinely liked by most. Besides, they had John to support them, and his words carried a lot of weight.

But the Centauri.... they had too many enemies, particularly the Drazi and the Narns. They were still ruled by the same people as during the war. Durano was cold and arrogant and had few personal friends.

Lethke voted in agreement, as she was sure he would. He and Londo had been friends for a very long time. G'Kael voted against, although Delenn could not tell whether or not he was comfortable with that course of action. She and John voted for. Kalika against. Taan Churok abstained, as he always did, a silent protest against what had been done to his people.