Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке

'As you say, Satai.'

'I no longer go by that title. It was taken from me a long time ago.'

'Then how should I address you?'

'My name is Delenn, and it is as good a name as any other. If you are uncomfortable with that, however, then my people gave me another title to replace the one they took from me. Zha'valen.'

'And that means?'

'Outcast.'

He opened his mouth to speak, but then realised he had nothing worth saying. Simply being around her troubled him in a way he could not identify. Maybe because she looked so human, or so vulnerable. It was hard to envisage her as the monstrous butcher he had always believed the Minbari to be.

His link suddenly beeped and he activated it. 'Yes. Smith here.'

It was Lieutenant Franklin, from the bridge of the Babylon. 'Captain, our sensors have detected something approaching from hyperspace. One of our ships. A capital ship.'

'All our capital ships are here. What…?' He suddenly paled, and looked at Delenn. There was a knowing look in her eyes, and he suddenly felt the burden of his ghosts rising up before him.

And a chance to exorcise himself of it forever. 'It's Sheridan. I'm on my way back to the ship. I'll be there as soon as I can.'

'But Captain, your orders are to….'

'The station is secure, and the capture of the station and the Machine were our top priorities. To safeguard our acquisitions here we need to defeat these reinforcements, and for that, I need to be on the bridge of my ship. I will be there immediately.'

He turned and left the holding cell, barking quick instructions to the two security officers on guard there. As he left he heard Delenn saying something, and he turned back to her. 'Walk with Valen, Captain,' she repeated softly.

Troubled, he ignored her, and began to run towards the shuttle bays.

Sheridan. The Starkiller. At last, another chance to prove fully to everyone that he was worthy of sitting in the captain's chair where the Starkiller himself had once sat. They had clashed before, but inconclusively. This time it would be more decisive.

Smith would later wonder how his future would have turned if he had remained on the station, co-ordinating its defence from there. He would never know, but he would always feel that the decision to make for his ship had been the one greatest moment of his life.

* * *

The Parmenion emerged from hyperspace to find the four ships of the Resistance Government waiting for it. Sheridan looked at them, and felt a tightening in his chest. Here it was: the conflict he had been dreading and hoping to avoid ever since he had broken away from Proxima.

'This is Captain Sheridan of the Parmenion,' he said, the comm channels carrying the message to his four opponents, and also, he hoped, to the captains of the Drazi and Brakiri ships. 'Babylon Four and Epsilon Three are under my protection. You are to leave now.'

'Captain Sheridan,' came a reply. A voice he recognised. General Ryan. 'You are wanted for war crimes against the Resistance Government. Stand down your ship now, and we promise to spare those of your crew who are innocent of any wrongs against humanity.'

'That is not an option, General.'

* * *

On board the Stra'Kath, the Drazi captain had been sitting impatiently for hours, wondering why he was not being ordered to fight. Still, he placed trust in Taan Churok, and would wait.

Finally, the order he had been waiting for arrived.

'The control room is ours once more. The station is ours.' Taan Churok's face on the screen. 'Allies are here. Fight.'

The captain grinned. He did not bother checking in with his Brakiri counterpart. If he was willing to fight, then he would join in.

He set target for the human ships, and ordered the Stra'Kath forward.

* * *

Donne smiled. 'You were warned.'

The Machine rumbled, and a missile soared from the bowels of the planet, shooting up into space.

Chapter 5

His spirit was everywhere, even now. It permeated this room, all the rooms, the entire ship. The EAS Babylon, his ship, Sheridan's ship, always. Dexter Smith, Sheridan's replacement on the Babylon, was always aware of that. He had lived in Sheridan's shadow for the year he had been on board, and now at last he was within sight of ending that curse. They had clashed once before, an inconclusive fight at best. This would be different. There would be no retreat here.

Matters hung suspended, in the balance. On their side, four Earthforce capital ships, the Babylon, the Morningstar, the Corinthian and the Marten. Plus, hopefully, the resources of the Great Machine. The signal indicated that the Machine had been taken, but there had been no word since. This had not been unexpected, but Smith was still troubled. He had been readying a crew to visit the planet and ascertain its status when he had received word of Sheridan's arrival.

On their side, one human capital ship, one Drazi Sunhawk, and one Brakiri vessel. Plus the greatest human captain of recent times.

'This is Captain Sheridan of the Parmenion,' came the voice over open comm channels. His voice. Smith straightened when he heard it. He was still breathing heavily from his mad dash back to his ship, but his exhaustion did not bother him at all. 'Babylon Four and Epsilon Three are under my protection. You are to leave, now.'

'Captain Sheridan,' came a reply. A voice Smith recognised. General Ryan. He had command of this mission, but it was very clear that he was in some disfavour with the Resistance Government. 'You are wanted for war crimes against the Resistance Government. Stand down your ship now, and we promise to spare those of your crew who are innocent of any wrongs against humanity.'

'That is not an option, General.'

There was a silence. Smith waited, visualising his opponent. He had never met Sheridan personally, but he knew everything about the infamous Starkiller. He was reckoned the greatest human strategist alive. He had saved the day at the Battle of Mars, many observers held that it was his intervention that had saved the Narns during their first war with the Centauri, and while reports of his more recent activities were highly confidential, Smith had heard rumours of skirmishes with the Streibs and Drakh.

'Launch all remaining Starfury squadrons,' came Ryan's order over a coded channel. Two of the Babylon's four squadrons had been launched already, upon arrival at the station, and the other two were held in strict readiness. Something similar would have been done on board the other ships. Smith gave the order.

'Do not engage unless we are attacked first,' Ryan ordered. 'Repeat…. do not engage unless engaged. If conflict does begin, targets are: the destruction of Sheridan's ship, no survivors taken or mercy offered; the disabling or destruction of the Alliance ships, with survivors taken on board and treated well; and attacks on the station are to be directed at weaponry and Starfuries only. The destruction of the station should come as a very last resort.

'Smith, how is our presence on the station?'

'Enough to hold the command deck, hopefully. I ordered my men to secure and control it, but whether it can be held is uncertain, sir.'

'And Satai Delenn?'