Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке

'They were sheltering you…. and you, Lady, are guilty.'

She shook her head and tried to restrain a sob. 'And there it is. A high and mighty worker aspiring to a position above her station. Only the warriors should rule, yes? Only they are fit to rule, and let the rest of us stay down in the gutter where we belong. You have no idea how many times I have heard that.'

'You wrong me, Lady. Sinoval raised you to whatever position you hold because he thought you were deserving of it. I do not dispute that, but surely you more than anyone are intelligent enough to see the evil in what he has done. You have seen that, and yet you continue to serve him. That is why you are guilty.'

'Yes, Sinoval has done a great deal that was wrong, but I believe in him. I chose to serve him not out of weakness, but because I know he is right, and….' She fell silent, and shied away. 'I believe in him, and I always will.'

'Truly? Or are you merely grateful to him for saving you? I saw you, remember…. begging on your knees, screaming…. tears running down your face….'

'Stop it!' She was crying again. 'Yes, you saw me…. and you did nothing! You stood there and watched. How can you justify that?'

'I followed Kalain. He was my superior then, and I believed in him. Whatever madness afflicted him, it is gone now. It died with him. In a way, Lady, you are responsible for my actions now.'

'Me?'

'Your…. ordeal showed me that the ones who rule can be as wrong and as flawed as any of us. After Kalain died I chose to embark on my own path instead of following Sinoval's. Had I not witnessed your torture, I would probably still be as those sheep on the planet, following Sinoval simply because he has claimed the right to rule. You and Kalain showed me that I did not have to follow blindly.'

'You're…. you….'

'I'm sorry, Lady. I've obviously overwhelmed you. Rest here. Sleep if you wish. I will have food and drink brought to you, and I would like to talk with you again when you are feeling better. I…. I can see why Sinoval thinks so highly of you.' He turned, and began to walk away.

A few moments later, he stopped. 'Tell me, Lady, what is your definition of a great man? One theory could be that a great man is someone who takes his own path rather than meekly following others. What do you think of that?'

She said nothing. There was nothing to say. He left.

* * *

There had been no time for explanations, little time for questions, or answers. The next few hours passed hurriedly aboard Babylon 4.

Captain Dexter Smith was brought on board the station under heavy armed guard. He was met at the docking bay by Taan Churok.

'I was right,' he said in harsh English. 'I should have killed you.'

'Yes,' came the muted reply. 'You should have.'

The rest of the crew of the Babylon remained on board, although the ship was now operated by a large number of Narn Rangers. Captain Sheridan did not go near the ship, nor ask about anyone on it.

The survivors of the chaos on Epsilon 3 were brought up to the station. G'Kar was immediately rushed to the medical bay for extensive emergency work. Later reports said that he was stable, albeit with extensive internal and external injuries. Healing would take months at least.

Attempts were made to keep Ta'Lon in the medical bay as well, but he politely refused. He did consent to having his eye bandaged and disinfected, but then he insisted on meeting G'Dok and the other Ranger lieutenants. His second act was to tell them about those who had died on the planet. His first act was to rebuff all allegations that he was too weak to lead.

'I trust that scratch hasn't made you unfit to fight?' asked G'Dok.

'Hardly,' came the reply. 'It's just an eye, after all. I have a spare.'

Ko'Dath and G'Dan came over from the Parmenion to liaise with the Narns on the station. Neither made any remark about Ta'Lon's injuries.

Dr. Mary Kirkish was also taken to the medical bay, and was diagnosed as suffering from extreme stress and trauma. She was sedated and left to rest. Commander David Corwin went to see her while she was sleeping. He whispered three words to her, words she did not hear, and then resumed his duties on the Parmenion.

Zathras remained on the planet for a while, advising and coaching Michael Garibaldi as much as he could. He frequently clicked and muttered in his own language, but it was clear that something was definitely not good.

Susan Ivanova was brought to the station. She was now semi-conscious, and seemed aware of her surroundings. Lyta Alexander, remaining on the Parmenion to scan for the presence of Shadow ships, gave a slight shudder at this time, although she would not explain why. Ivanova was taken to a cell and left there to await the attentions of those in authority.

No one dared touch the bodies at the Heart of the Machine.

A few hours after the ending of what would later be called the first stage of the Battle of the Third Line, a council was called. It was not attended by quite the number of dignitaries who had been present at G'Kar's doomed summit, but there was still enough power wielded in the room to influence a considerable portion of the galaxy.

It was Ta'Lon who spoke first. 'Our current situation here is one of great danger,' he explained. 'The threat to this place has not ended with the surrender of the human forces. This station has a greater purpose than as a mere command centre for the war in the present. It has…. another destiny.'

'This station was built to go backwards in time a thousand years, and serve a vital role in the last war against the Darkness.'

Some of those present knew that already, but a great many did not. Lethke and Taan Churok in particular looked astonished. 'You will…. forgive us….' Lethke said, 'But that sounds a little…. uh…. hard to believe.'

'It is true,' Delenn said. 'This station…. this very station was used by Valen a thousand years ago. It was in the archives of the Grey Council, information known only to us. No one knew where the station had come from or how it had got there…. until now.'

'Two years ago, we saw this station going back in time,' spoke up Sheridan. 'It's true.'

'Then if that was this place's intended purpose, why not send it back immediately on construction?' asked Taan Churok. 'Why build a command station if it's going to have to be…. hah, sent back in time?'

'It was hoped that we would be able to take advantage of the station for the duration of this war,' Ta'Lon explained. 'We did not have the resources to build two stations, and so we…. risked a great deal. But at the time we planned this there was no sign of Valen, who would take the station back. How were we to know that he would appear on Minbar?'

'So what is the problem?' asked Lethke. 'The station is secure. I will admit we could use some extra defences, but a quick message to Kazomi Seven will solve that.'

'Problem?' barked Zathras. Lethke looked at the strange creature with a hint of surprise and a lot of condescension. 'Problem. Zathras tell you where problem is. Problem is that great Darkness will be coming here. Soon. Now. If Enemy destroys station now, it will never go back, if station never goes back, goodness loses the war then, and…. big temporal paradoxes. All reality be rearranged. Very bad.'

'Weakness!' snapped Taan Churok. 'If these Shadows come, then we will fight them.'

'Drazi, yes,' noted Zathras. 'Skulls block out brains. Very sad. Poor design. Listen, Machine is damaged. Bad woman did bad things to it. Opening temporal rift needs…. much energy. Very difficult. Some alignments need correcting, much machinery needs to be repaired. Machine may not be powerful enough after bad things done. Very unstable. What will happen later…. Zathras cannot say, but Zathras not like to think. Could be very bad.'

'What he means,' said Ta'Lon, noting bafflement on the faces of the Drazi and the Brakiri, 'is that the Machine is growing very unstable at the moment. The forced rejection of Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar…. the weapons raised against us here…. the death of its previous host…. We cannot be sure if the Machine will be able to maintain its integrity for much longer. If we are to send Babylon Four back into the past it will have to be done now, or we risk losing the chance for a long time to come.'

'When can we…. manage this feat?' asked Lethke. He looked at Zathras.