A Dark, Distorted Mirror. Volume 5 : Among the Stars, like Giants. Part 4 : Hopes, Aspirations and D

folded. 'I used to be so sure, but recently everything's just been crashing down around me. There were so many things I took for granted that now I don't know anything about. I think most of all I need some time alone to think about them, but I have to talk to David first.

'I shouldn't be gone long. I'll take the first ship out.... passenger, not a Dark Star. I want to travel incognito for one thing. And.... Delenn.... please don't send any Rangers to keep an eye on me. I really do need to be alone.'

She nodded. 'How.... how long will you be gone?'

'Not long. We'll.... talk when I get back. I think we'll have a lot to talk about by then.'

She nodded once, and then turned back to her notes. An instant later he was gone.

* * *

Blind.

I am blind.

The pain is intense, agonising. A million dots of light fill his vision, as far as he can see in any direction. He hears voices, some soothing, some angry. A lover, a leader, a friend, an enemy.

'You will live,' a fierce voice hisses, powerful and determined and female.

'We will destroy them,' growls an older male voice. 'I tell you, nephew, we will destroy them all for what they did.'

'Oh, G'Kar, I'm sorry. I should have come earlier.' A man's voice, younger, filled with doubt and uncertainty.

'I will tell you nothing, animals!' An enemy's voice. An alien's. An invader's. The voice of the man who had dripped the white liquid on to his eyes. 'I will not scream for you.'

'Monster!' hissed the woman.

'No!' cried the older man. 'Wait.'

'After what he did?'

'We wait. When my nephew recovers, we will give him the prisoner. Let G'Kar do what he likes with him, when he recovers.'

'Yes. When he recovers. Do you hear that, monster? You cannot break him.'

'I do not fear you.'

'Perhaps not. But you should.'

All the voices become one. He is afraid he will never see their owners again. All he can see is the light, and hints of the shadows they cast. The shadows seem to reach so far in all directions — they cover him, they shroud him, they taint his future, all of their futures.

'Blind.'

The voices all speak at once. 'He spoke!' 'G'Kar, are you...?' 'Stand aside, do not crowd him.' 'So sorry.' 'G'Kar.' 'Animal.' 'Stand aside.' 'G'Kar.'

G'Kar. Is that his name? All he can think about is the pain in his eyes.

'Blind.'

'No,' says the older male voice. 'No, you are not blind. We have sent for the old woman. She will heal you.'

'She will do nothing,' snaps the female.

'She will,' the older man repeats. 'Or we will break her.'

'Blind.'

'Your will is stronger than that, nephew. Be strong. Remember your father. Remember what they did to him.'

'Father....'

'One more animal dead. Who else would remember something like that?'

'Silence!'

Another voice, female and alien and.... old. So very old. 'I come. I will not hear your threats, for I do not fear your words.'

'You had better fear us!'

'Old woman. Your son blinded my nephew. You will heal him.'

'Mother, don't touch these animals!'

A sound, and then a scream. The alien male is screaming. Good, they should all scream.

'Stop it! Remember, girl. It is a gift. A gift for when he awakes.'

'I do not fear you. I know you will kill me when I am done, just as I know you will kill my son when I am done. But show me this nephew of yours. I would at last look upon the face of this one.'

Some of the stars go out, as a small shadow falls across him. It becomes greater, spreading and growing. There is a sound like an intake of breath, sharp and cold, a brush of wind against his cheek.

'Oh, this one. I had heard, but I had feared. So you are the one I have sought for so long? You accomplished nothing, my son. This one shall outlive all here. His words shall outlive this galaxy. He is touched.'

'Enough with the prophecies! Just heal him!'

'Do you doubt me? You.... warlord. You remember a prophecy, yes. I see it in your eyes. Not mine, but the fate still hangs above you.'

'I remember, witch. And I still live.'

'For now, yes. But this one shall outlive you. Do you wish to know his fate, warlord?'

'Mother, do not...!'

'This one shall befriend an Emperor and meld peoples with his words. His passion shall inspire them, his heart make them kneel before them. He shall be the mouth of the river that flows through his people's souls.

'And he shall see his world die and be powerless to prevent it. He shall die at the hands of one he once called friend, but his words and his legacy shall live on. Not forever, but as close to it as makes no difference.'

'Heal him, woman. I have no patience for your mysticism.'

'You shall see, warlord. And yes, I will heal him — but because the whispers of fate say I will, not for your threats.'

There is a warm pressure on his eyes. The few remaining stars die and the shadow grows. Slowly, it takes shape and form. A woman. A Centauri. A noblewoman.

A seeress.

He moves with the speed of a striking snake. As soon as he can see her form, he seizes her neck and squeezes. There is a crunch of bone and she snaps, falling limp and boneless to the ground.

Slowly he moves from the bed, his vision returning — blurred and unclear, but there all the same. Da'Kal holds him tightly and passionately. G'Sten stands proud and tall, nodding in admiration. The other has fled. G'Kar has not heard his voice for some time.

And there, chained and beaten and bloodied in the corner, lies the Centauri noble who did this to him. He looks up, defiant.

'A gift, nephew,' G'Sten says.

'Kill him,' Da'Kal hisses. 'Kill him.'

'Not yet,' he says. His knife is still at his belt and he pulls it out. The light reflected from it is dull and faint, but he knows full vision will return with time. He knows somehow that one day he will see to the ends of the galaxy, see wonders that most people cannot even contemplate.

'He would have blinded me, taken my eyes and my vision forever. Let such a fate be his, then.

'An eye.... for an eye.'

Blind.

G'Kar huddled in the darkness.

Blind.

* * *

Breath came slowly and darkness filled his vision. He could barely move. For a moment that seemed to last forever he thought he was dead, and his soul lingered in his decomposing corpse. It would be fit punishment for the sins of his life, he supposed, and he wished he had spoken more to Sinoval about such matters when he had had the chance. A golden opportunity to learn about death and what followed it, and he had failed to seize it.

'G'Kar,' he whispered. He was not sure if he had actually spoken the words aloud or only in his mind. If he