A Dark, Distorted Mirror. Volume 5 : Among the Stars, like Giants. Part 5 : The Three–Edged Sword

Delenn said nothing, but kept walking. The door slid open obediently, and she entered. There was no sign of activity. Through the observation window she could see the battle raging outside. Gently, she laid Kulomani down on a chair. He said nothing.

Picking up the hem of her skirt, careful of her injured ankle, Delenn ran to one of the control panels. She could stop this, order the Dark Stars to stop fighting, contact Sinoval. She looked at the panel and paused. She had studied the systems here. She knew them well.

And yet this.... this was completely alien to her. None of it made sense.

'None of it works,' said a bitter voice from the far corner of the room. Delenn whirled. Sitting against the wall, elbows on his knees, looking tired and drained and haggard, was David Corwin.

Na'Toth moved forward instantly, knife in hand. 'No!' Delenn called. 'He's a friend.'

'I know who he is,' Na'Toth hissed. 'But I cannot trust he is who my eyes say he is.'

'I don't blame you,' David said, rising. Delenn went to him, brushing past Na'Toth. She looked at David, and then stepped forward to hug him tightly. Her son had been named after him.

'Have you seen John?' he asked her. She stiffened, and pulled back.

'We must do this without him.'

'He was.... strange. Like he was before. Distant, and angry and.... I don't know. He looked and acted more like his old self when I saw him on Minbar, but now....'

'We must do this without him,' she said, more firmly.

'None of it works. Not a single thing. I've been trying to contact people, to call for help, anything, but none of it seems to work.'

'There have been.... revisions to the operating system,' Kulomani said. 'In the interests.... of efficiency.'

'The Vorlons have shut us out.'

Kulomani's face twitched in a semblance of a smile. 'You made me.... Commander.... of Babylon Five. I would.... have been a poor choice if I.... could be defeated by something so.... simple. Help me to my terminal.'

He rose, swaying, holding tightly to the back of the chair. Delenn rushed to his side, but G'Kar was there first. Delenn watched as he made his way painfully to the Commander's terminal. He sat down awkwardly, and began.

It was then that they heard the voices.

* * *

Tirivail was dreaming.

She knew that, but she could not force herself awake. She was standing at the top of a giant mountain, looking down upon all the armies of the galaxy massed before her - awaiting her command, her leadership. The finest warriors ever assembled, and she would lead them. Her father was there, kneeling before her to accept her command.

This can be yours, said a voice at her side. She turned, and saw an ethereal being, a spirit crafted of light, attired for war. Lead them against our enemies, and all this can be yours.

'Who are you?' she asked.

The spirit became darker, lightning crackling from it. The sky turned black, the air cold.

Understanding is not required. Questions are not permitted. All that is required is order and obedience. You will obey us.

Tirivail looked down at the armies again. Her sister was there, and her father, and Sinoval, and even Kozorr. She breathed out slowly, although she knew that here she had no need to breathe at all.

'All I have ever known is order,' she said calmly. 'Obedience to those in command. Not to question, not to think, just to hear and to obey. I have always tried to serve to the best of my ability.

'But I was never good enough. Never. I am not worthy to lead armies, and that is not even what I want to do. You cannot give me what I want.

'I refuse.'

You will obey us or you will die.

She smiled. 'I am a warrior. I am not afraid to die.'

The lightning thundered from the sky and tore into the ground at her feet. The spirit of light faded and a voice came, as if from elsewhere.

'At least the Shadows finally admitted it at the end. They accepted they weren't doing any good, weren't doing what they were supposed to do, and they left.'

'Berevain! Berevain!'

'I'm thinking they might have won after all. At least they admitted their mistake, which is more than you ever have.'

'Berevain!'

There were two voices, one nearby, one from a long way away. She could not tell which was which, but she knew someone was calling her by a name she did not know. One was speaking to her, the other was just speaking.

<You will be silent. We are not mistaken.>

A third voice, one as dark and chill as the mountain itself.

'My lady!'

And then she awoke.

Memory returned in an instant. Kats, and the human Inquisitor, and the staff crackling with lightning, and the rush of force that had thrown her against the wall.

'My lady,' said the voice. 'You wake.'

She did not know the voice any more than she knew the face. He was attired as a warrior, but in a strange, almost alien style. She blinked for a moment, and realised that it was warrior garb from a thousand years ago.

'No,' he said. 'Not Berevain. For a moment, I thought....' The man jumped to his feet in one lithe motion, and held out his hand to her. She backed off and rose unaided. 'You are Tirivail,' he said. 'I remember you now.'

<And you will be removed.>

She flinched from the anger of the voice in her mind. She looked at the warrior, but it was not he who had spoken. She doubted that any mortal being could speak with so much anger. 'Who is that?' she asked him.

He looked puzzled for a moment, and then he nodded, understanding. 'You can hear them too, of course. They are our ancestors, or our Gods. They are arguing in the heavens even as we wage war here.'

'We have no Gods,' she said bitterly. He smiled, but did not speak. 'War? Kats!' She spun on her heel and ran towards the observatory. The force of the blow that had struck her had knocked her clean out of the room. Kats was there, with the Inquisitor.

She came skidding to a halt. A wall of blue force filled the doorway. Behind it she could see the silhouettes of figures moving, as if dancing, or fighting. As she reached forward the skin on her hand began to creep, and she pulled back sharply.

'A barrier,' said the warrior.

'Kats is in there!'

'So is Sinoval. Whoever he fights cannot have long to endure. Your lady is safe.'

'I swore to protect her! I promised his ghost I'd keep her safe!'

'She is safe, my lady Berevain. Now, we have a war to fight. Our enemies are everywhere. If we are to liberate the prisoners, we will need all the help we can get.'

'We? Who is 'we'? And who are...?' One of the aliens came into view, dark blood staining his pike. She recognised a Tak'cha when she saw one, then memory returned and understanding dawned, and she realised to whom she was speaking.

'You are Marrain.'

His eyes flashed. 'Marrain the Betrayer, my lady.'

She looked back at the wall of force, and then at Marrain. She nodded once, and then followed him away from the battle.

* * *

'Then I guess I'll die.'