Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке

I am not afraid.

I am a warrior; born of warriors, bred of warriors, lived as a warrior, trained as a warrior, called a warrior by the greatest warrior of all. I am not afraid.

The captain in charge of the Valentha repeated those words to himself as he tried to restore order to the ship he had been given control of by the Primarch. He remembered the surprise and horror as this holy ship had been given a captain who was not of the Satai for the first time in known history.

He also remembered his pride. The Primarch had told him that the Valentha was to be used differently now. It was to be both a focus of faith for the people and a warship, the foremost in the fleet. The captain's heart had surged with pride.

And now, his first battle on his new ship, and he had been beaten, forced to retreat like the tiniest of goks.

There had only been three ships in the Tarolin system when the invaders arrived. The Yojiro had fallen within seconds, torn apart by blow after blow. The Seppun had been at the far end of the system and had received the warning to pull back and regroup with the Valentha. These invaders, whoever they were, were too strong to deal with individually.

Mere seconds of combat had proved that.

'Are the communications back on line yet?'

The captain smiled when he received an affirmative. 'Send a message to the Primarch. He must know about this, and now.'

'Should we not counterattack now? Shai Alyt Kozorr and Lady Kats are still on the planet.'

'Kozorr is a warrior, and if the worker wishes to play with warriors then she had better learn the strength of one. No, Hor Alyt, we need the Primarch. With him at our side not all the forces of Hell could stand against us.'

'Will he be here in time?'

'He is the Primarch. Of course he will be.'

* * *

The general sense of chaos that gripped the Babylon 4 station began to take hold less than an hour after G'Kar's forced removal from the Heart of the Great Machine. When the survivors looked back and histories and recordings were made, it was established that the problems had in fact begun much earlier. Perhaps even at the commencement of the project. Those whose views tended towards the short-sighted argued that the station should never have been constructed. Minister Vizhak had argued that at the first meeting of the United Alliance Council after the Battle that would be known as the Third Line. Far too many agreed with him.

Even before the…. incidents of the night in question, there had been numerous unexplained happenings on the station. Bad dreams, strange visions. Certain areas of the station were said to be haunted and few would go there.

Few people had been able to sleep well that night, many waking to a sense of unexplained urgency and fear. There were reports of people rousing only to find themselves looking at images of things that had already happened, or perhaps had yet to happen. Mysterious voices and sounds were heard.

Even the legendary Primarch Sinoval, whose nickname of the Cursed was not yet in public use, was said to be uneasy about the station. This was never confirmed by the man himself, and those who were aware of his bargain with the Soul Hunters found it unlikely that anything could unnerve him. Indeed, some laid the blame for the mysteries at the door of the Soul Hunters, claiming that allowing them on the station was a bad omen. No comment came from Cathedral.

If there was one instant that the inhabitants of the station came to regard as the turning point — being largely unaware of events on the planet below — it was the moment when they heard of the departure of Captain Sheridan. He had been renowned among the Narns and infamous among the Minbari for many years, but his recent actions in support of the League and Alliance worlds had won him many friends there as well. The news of his sudden departure did not go down well.

Delenn, who unlike Sinoval had not yet acquired the nickname that would later be synonymous with her real name, was acutely aware of the tensions on the station. She had been unable to rest or meditate following John's departure and so she had tried going for a walk. She was horrified by what she saw — people running around, crying out for peace, weeping in corners. She watched helplessly, in horror, as a young Brakiri child bit out her own tongue in a frenzy.

'Valen's Name, what is happening?' she breathed.

She had made her way at last to the command room, and was not surprised to find many of the dignitaries already there. Ta'Lon was fielding increasingly angry questions from Taan Churok and Lethke, while Mr. Garibaldi and Dr. Kirkish were talking quietly. There was no sign of Sinoval, or of G'Kar.

'Mr. Garibaldi?' she asked, curiously. 'Have you not been recalled to Sanctuary?'

He looked up, surprised. 'Why should I have been?'

'John and Captain Ben Zayn have been. I…. assumed there was a major problem there and Bester was recalling as many of his agents as possible.'

'News to me. I haven't heard directly from the Boss in months.'

Ta'Lon suddenly slammed his fist on the table. 'This will get us nowhere! Minister Churok, Minister Lethke, there is only one person who can explain what is happening here and we have no idea where he is. The Machine has not been acknowledging any of my messages, and the person I sent down to try to find G'Kar has not reported back.'

'Then something must have gone wrong,' protested Taan Churok. 'We should investigate.'

'We should leave,' said Lethke calmly.

'That will not be necessary,' Ta'Lon protested. 'I will go down to the surface myself and try to find G'Kar. I will also take as many of my Ranger security team as can be spared from maintaining order here. That may not be very many.'

'We have some of our own Security…. on board our ships,' Delenn said. 'We will be happy to lend you whatever assistance we can.' She glared at Taan Churok and Lethke, and they fell silent.

'Thank you,' Ta'Lon said, nodding. 'They would be better employed on the station. The Machine…. is a concern for G'Kar and the Rangers, and no one else.'

'You forgot the Boss on that one,' Garibaldi said. 'He's got a stake in this too. Perhaps more than anyone except G'Kar. I'd better go down with you. Besides, you might need another pair of hands.'

'Me too,' spoke up Dr. Kirkish. 'I was sent here to study the Machine for Mr. Bester, after all. I think I know more about it than most other people here. I might be able to help.'

Delenn looked at the two of them, a sense of paranoia creeping over her. Ben Zayn had been very insistent that John leave this place. Coincidence? A genuine emergency at Sanctuary — but how genuine could it be if Garibaldi knew nothing about it? Or was there something deeper at work here? Just how much could Bester be trusted?

She was about to open her mouth and voice her opinions when she swayed and almost fell. A bright light burst in front of her eyes.

The light is killing me!

She was with John, holding him. He looked so….

'We've won!' he cried. 'It's over, Delenn.'

'Yes,' she said, laughing. 'It's over. It….'

Something rose up before them, swamping everything with its shadow. She could not see what it was. It was huge. A light burst out, burning and blazing. John threw her aside and turned to face it.

The light is killing me!

She felt strong hands catch her and turned to see Taan Churok, his stern face filled with compassion.

'You saw something?' asked Ta'Lon. She could only nod weakly. 'Another one. This will only get worse as time goes on. We must leave for the surface immediately. Mr. Garibaldi, Dr. Kirkish, gather whatever you need and meet me at the docking bays. Minister Churok, Minister Lethke, can you bring over as much of your Security as you can spare from your ships?'

'What if what's afflicting this place starts affecting people on our ships?' asked Lethke.