but it will be better.'
'Be careful. I might start believing your press releases and think maybe you are Valen.'
'I am, torn from the world I know, into one I do not. It has been twelve years since my last human memory. I am more Valen, more prophet than human now. I look before me, and see a row of footsteps in the sand…. my footsteps. And I see a hooded figure waiting with an axe…. and that figure is me. I am walking towards my own destruction, and I know that there is nothing I can do to avoid my fate.
'Soon, maybe tomorrow, maybe in a decade, I will go back in time to live out my role then. I will look at Marrain as he first greets me, and I will know of his eventual betrayal. I will meet Parlonn and see his face eaten away by despair and anger. I will bring the Tak'cha into my alliance, knowing of the follies they will absorb from my words. I will know every failure, every wrong decision that I made, and I will be powerless to change any of them, because they have already happened.
'The greatest gift of any sentient race is the capacity for hope, Lyta. A thousand years ago someone came to me for aid, although he did not know it. His son had been killed in combat and he was grieving as you are. I told him what I could to ease his mind, and I will do so again when I am returned there. And yet when I first meet him, I will know of his son's death and be unable to change it.
'But today, for the moment…. I have hope, Lyta. You have hope. I do not know your future. I do not know what effect my words will have on you. But I do know…. that you can hope for the future, and that you have the ability to make things right.'
He paused, and looked at her. For a moment her eyes flashed a brilliant, luminous gold, and she smiled. Something older, deeper and…. wiser…. was smiling as well.
'Maybe that's why he wanted you here,' she said. 'Thank you. I…. I think I'd better get to bed now. Good night.'
'Good night, Lyta.'
She turned and left, not saying another word. He did not look at her as she did so, staring out instead into the night.
That was the only question he could not answer.
Edgars sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers, looking at his companion with a wry expression. 'Well, that could have gone worse.'
'Indeed,' agreed Morden. 'I was listening in. Many thanks, by the way, for not revealing the full details of our…. prior working relationship.'
'They hardly mattered, and would only have aroused…. even more suspicion in her than there was already. No, what was a little lie really? Do you think she'll do as she's supposed to?'
'She'll have no choice. Forces stronger than my Master or theirs are compelling her.'
Edgars raised an eyebrow. 'Oh?'
'She loves him.'
'Ah. Yes. It's been a while since I experienced that particular emotion. I hadn't expected you to be such a romantic these days.'
'Death changes a man, wouldn't you say?'
'I wouldn't know. You're the one who's been there, after all. I was rather surprised at the speed of this, though. I had been assured that Miss Sakai wouldn't need to be used for some months yet. The whole affair was quite rushed.'
'Yes. We apologise for that. Things…. got in the way.'
'Oh? I thought you had everything under control?'
'Not always. Politics, you know. More precisely, our faction and…. the other one. Oh, we all want the same thing of course — order as opposed to chaos. But there are ways and means. Our faction prefers a more…. controlled form of order. You've seen for yourself how good the other races are at maintaining stability. They need a strong hand, discipline I suppose. But the other faction…. the old guard, shall we say? They're a tad…. liberal for these days.'
'And it was this other faction which had control of the…. Sinclair situation?'
'Yes. Our lot brought him back to deal with problems among the Minbari. Things had escalated too far there for us to be without influence.'
'The bombing?'
'Not just that, but yes. There was also a warrior named Sinoval who's proven very unco-operative and difficult. We needed a saviour to detract from his popularity. We control Valen, he controls the Minbari and there we are — back on track. Unfortunately the other faction had their own ideas. Something to do with free will, I believe.'
Edgars smiled. 'Always a bad idea.'
'Exactly. Give any ten people a choice and nine of them will instantly pick the wrong one. But still, the old guard insisted we give Valen his free will, for this time zone at least. We agreed, and they now owe us big. Don't worry, we'll win the next one.
'Anyway, things weren't exactly turning out as we'd planned. Valen controlled by us and controlling the Minbari was a good thing. Valen running around free and not controlling anything is just too much of a risk. What if the Enemy manage to kill him, or something goes wrong? The past and the future depend on him just too much. We weren't even going to bring him out this early because of the risk, but….
'We need him controlled. Our deal with the…. other faction prevents us from doing so openly, but through Miss Sakai….'
'Ah, yes. So even the Vorlons don't agree on everything, then? That is a revelation.'
Morden shrugged. 'Just the minutiae. The end goal is the same. It's just…. the way to get there. Besides, our faction is in the ascendancy now. The old-fashioned attitudes won't trouble us much longer.'
'Good. It's always a shame, but some rights just don't apply in desperate times. We all have to do what we'd…. rather not do, in a good cause. Don't you agree?'
Morden, more than used to such weak philosophical thinking from his former employer these days, nodded. 'Of course.'
'You said you would win the next one. What exactly, if I may ask…?'
'They've got the past, with Valen. We will have the future. Sheridan…. and Delenn. The old guard is an anachronism, and the future…. belongs to us.'
'Good. Yes…. very good.'
John Sheridan opened his eyes and found himself looking directly into the face of the woman he loved. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the candle had burned down quite a lot. He….
He remembered being inside Delenn's soul. He had seen…. everything. Had she seen the same things within him that he had seen within her?
Her eyes were closed, and a soft tear was running down her cheek. 'John,' she whispered.
'I'm here. I….' He hesitated. He had been going to say, 'I'll always be here,' but he knew that was not the case.
'Death is not the end,' she whispered. 'Whatever happens, the circle goes on. It continues into another life, another soul, but it does continue.'
'I know. And…. and I'll be waiting for you. I won't start the next journey without you.'
She smiled, and opened her beautiful green eyes. They seemed to light up through her sadness. 'We shall begin the next journey together, my love.'
'Always.'
He entwined his fingers around hers, and they remained there as the candles burned down and finally extinguished themselves, leaving the two lovers in darkness.
There had not been much in the way of interstellar travel from Proxima 3 these last few years. Very few races welcomed humans to their worlds, at least not in any substantial numbers, and the other human colonies had
