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Teaser


Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 11 October 2642. Captain Robert Dale recording. We are still in orbit over the planet Ys'talla in N2S7 as to support a diplomatic mission to the Miqo'te. The planet's governing body, the Council of Clans, is considering a new defense treaty with the Alliance that could provide great benefits to this region of space.

Although our main purpose is diplomacy, I have won permission to consult the Miqo'te on the matter of their origins. Ys'talla is not their original homeworld according to their teachings and examination of the planet's fossil records. And now we have proof of how they ended up on this planet through the efforts of the Darglan. I'm hoping we find clues as to where more knowledge of the Darglan can be found.



The capital city of the planet Ys'talla had the unassuming name of Sweetwater Springs. As he had walked along the long pathways between buildings in the Ys'talla Academy of Sciences and felt the warm sea air that regularly moved through the city, he reflected on the reasons why.

Set aside the obvious fact that the name was actually a near-unpronounceable one, and that "Sweetwater Springs" was just the English translation. The fact that a city that sounded like it was a resort and vacation town had become a gleaming planetary capital was, in fact, due to being a resort town. Or rather, a recognized meeting place for the various nations and clans and tribes of the Miqo'te. It had been such for thousands of years, since the planet had been settled, declared a neutral place where no warfare or violence was allowed. The step up to planetary capital had not been a large one.

Robert and his entourage - Caterina and Meridina - were walking another pedestrian bridge between two of the main towers of the Academy. The gleaming splendor of the capital was visible out the windows. The architecture tended toward the round shape - inspired by old Gersallian building? - and wide avenues spoke of former street markets. The smell in the air was a scent of tropical wood like none on Earth, a faint hint of sweetness with the strong wood smell.

The Miqo'te themselves were an interesting sight. Felinoid species weren't unknown in the Multiverse, of course. The Caitians of S5T3 were a valued member of the Federation. One of the species of L4R2 were the Rr'timm, and on the few times Robert had seen one they always made him think of panthers to the point he half-expected to meet one named Bagheera. Universe E5B1 had once contained the Dilgar, who had a feline look to them.

But those species all had distinct elements to set them apart from Humans, including actual fur over their bodies. The Miqo'te, however, had skin of the same texture and feel as Human skin. Their fur was limited to the tails that came out of their backsides, or rather the base of their spines, and to the cat-ears on the tops of their heads, which were surfaced with fur. The eyes were certainly cat-like. Their clothing varied by tribe and culture in terms of coloring, style, taste.

And as Tom Barnes had so helpfully pointed out the day before during a walk in the capital's marketplace and parks, the Miqo'te girls had busts like a number of other humanoid species did. While Robert already knew that from briefly meeting a Miqo'te piloting officer on the Aurora, the outfits of the troupe of dancing girls they'd seen had made that an inescapable fact.

Stepping into the building reminded Robert of stepping into retail stores back in the pre-spaceship days of his life. Powerful air vents acted as something of a barrier for the outside air. The tropical wood smell was replaced by something flowery like lavender mixed with cinnamon and the warm sea air was now climate-controlled cool air. What little perspiration had formed on his forehead now grew cool. His skin immediately stopped that slight production of sweat in recognition of the changed climate. The halls were colored in earthy tones of brown and pale yellow. Plates in the characters of the Miqo'te language pointed toward various places. Caterina's omnitool provided a translation and she directed them down the hall and then to the right.

Their eventual destination was an office. Windows looked out to a classroom that was now empty. Tomes bound in leather revealed the Miqo'te, at least urban ones, had the same tastes in printing books as Humans did. A male with rust-colored hair and fur on his tail and head indicated seats for them. Robert and the others noted that his skin, while fair in tone, seemed to be bluish-gray, and his eyes were widely dilated. "I am H'rmaz R'mar," he said. "Assistant to Doctor Y'shmyn O'yano, the Professor of Ys'tallan History."

"Mister R'mar, Doctor… or do you prefer Professor?" Robert asked, looking at the scholar. She was wearing a white coat that matched the fur and short-cut hair on her head. Red markings - tattoos? Some sort of facial marking? - were visible on her cheeks, giving the impression of cat whiskers. Eyes of light teal color looked up from a book. "I'm Captain Robert Dale of the Alliance Starship Aurora."

"Ah, Captain. Doctor will do." The translators rendered her speech into an accent that sounded like a well-spoken English academic. "I received your message and the materials your science officer provided."

"That's why I brought her along." Robert gestured to Caterina, who as usual looked like she was about to burst into questions. "This is Lieutenant Caterina Delgado, Aurora science officer. And my chief of security Lieutenant Commander Meridina, who helped rescue the Darglan Jornam."

"Doctor, it's a pleasure to meet you," Caterina said, offering her hand. Y'shmyn accepted it.

"Doctor." Meridina did not offer her hand. She bowed her head in greetings.

By this point Robert could feel what Meridina had already felt. He looked to Y'shmyn with a bit of surprise. Y'shmyn smiled back. "Yes, Captain. You and I share the Gift. Azeyma has blessed me with power. In my younger days I made use of it, but today I am an academic, and I vastly prefer mysteries in books than hunting slavers across the U'nar Plains."

"I see." Robert nodded and accepted his seat among those that H'rmaz offered. "What can you tell us about your history of how you came to be on Ys'talla?"

"Very little, until now," Y'shmyn confessed. "I have studied what our oldest oral histories hold to have been our arrival point, known as Azeyma's Rest. There is an ongoing excavation there. But all evidence we have found simply reflects the state of the Miqo'te when we arrived on Ys'talla. We were a pre-industrial species. Almost all of the tribes were nomadic or semi-nomadic, and some still are I will add. Our science was laughable and superstitious beliefs still predominated."

"My grandmother told me as a child that Menphina and Azeyma opened a door to this world so that our people could escape a great calamity," H'rmaz offered. "That is the belief of most Miqo'te today."

"And it will remain so, I suspect. We do not recall the place of the Darglan in our histories."

"It's possible the Darglan hid themselves during the transplantation," said Caterina. "They might have interacted with you through holographic disguises."

"To protect our culture from the effects of being introduced to space flight and interuniversal drive at our stage of development? A reasonable hypothesis." Y'shmyn looked thoughtful. A pen levitated from the surface of her desk and began to spin in mid-air. "I will continue my academic work on the matter. As it is, many of my colleagues I've consulted find the theory of the Darglan role meritable, and I am writing a paper on the evidence. I hope to lay out the case well enough to be accepted by our people."

"I am curious as to why your people were brought to this world. Was it a war of some sort?" asked Meridina.

"It was something wrong with our world of origin. Our oral histories all match in that respect, whether one is a Keeper or a Seeker."

"Keeper? Seeker?"

At Caterina's question, Y'shmyn said, "You may have noticed that my assistant has a different base coloration from my own, with wider eyes. Miqo'te have developed into two distinct racial groups, diurnal and nocturnal. I am a Seeker and I function best in daylight. H'rmaz's ancestors on our original homeworld took to caves and night-time living, becoming nocturnal. Keepers."

"The distinction does not matter as greatly any more," H'rmaz said. "Aside from physical attributes and some theological squabbling about whether Azeyma or Menphina is the more important deity for our people."

"At least, not in our cities. In the countrysides, it can vary. I have learned this from harsh experience." Y'shmyn spun her finger around and the pen spinning in mid-air began to spin with greater speed. Robert got the feeling it was something she did while in deep thought. "The Darglan. Such a mystery. We learned they existed from our contacts with the Gersallians, small as they are. To think that we owe our existence on this world to that ancient species…"

"Your people tend to be isolationist, right?" Caterina asked.

"In general." Y'shmyn frowned. "It is an annoying tendency, mind you. The Coserians and their Jeaxian proxies nearly enslaved us due to it, and to this day we have trouble with the Jeaxian warlords and the most violent of our own clans."

Robert was darkly reminded of Doctor Opani's ordeal as a volunteer. "So I've heard."

"It is waking us up, bit by bit. I hope, in fact, to one day see my species within your Alliance, Captain." She smiled slyly. "Although I would be grateful to you for not mentioning that to the Academy Chairwoman. She is rather strict about political neutrality among the senior academics."

"A wise policy," H'rmaz observed.

"And we are getting off the subject that you came all this way to speak with me on," Y'shmyn added. "I presume you have more questions about our history?"

"We're trying to learn more about what the Darglan did during their time," Robert said.

"For the sake of knowledge?"

"Yes," Caterina insisted. But she looked to Robert for correction, indicating her answer was more her own desires than the official ones.

"Among other things," he clarified. "The more we learn about Darglan activities in the past, the more likely we are to locate other remaining sources of Darglan technology. Now that we know more about what they were doing back in the day and that there might be other caretaker stations like Jornam's, we need to make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands."

"I think I understand." Y'shmyn took the pen out of mid-air with her hand. "You're hoping the Darglan might have left observers here too?"

"Maybe not living observers," said Caterina. "But perhaps observation stations. Automated ones, maybe. Or, like in N2C5, they may have had a central location to observe any other systems they were interested in. With probes or automated observers for remote watching."

Y'shmyn thought deeply about that. "I have heard nothing of such a site being found. But our sensor technology is not as advanced as your own, Captain. It is possible your sensors might detect something our means have missed." She pulled a sheet of paper out of a drawer. "I shall write you a recommendation to my colleague at the Azeyma's Rest dig site. Perhaps you will find something there."

"If we do, you'll be the first to know," Robert promised.

"I should hope you inform Professor B'rrel first," Y'shmyn remarked. "He will be your man at the dig site." She smiled slightly. "I do hope you find something. It would be quite the discovery."

"Thank you for your help, Doctor." Robert stood, prompting the others to do the same. "We appreciate your time."

Undiscovered Frontier
"All That Remains"

The command staff met in the conference lounge off the bridge upon the trio's return. "I've already spoken with Doctor B'rrel via commlink," Robert informed everyone. "He's ready to receive a science team in the morning."

"Which will be this evening by ship time," Caterina clarified. "Due to the hour difference."

"Right. Jarod, you and Cat will take down a contingent of science officers."

"I'll also invite our new xenoarcheology specialist, Doctor Tralamina," Caterina said.

"I'll leave the team makeup to you and Jarod," Robert said. He turned to Julia. "Have we heard anything else about the defense treaty negotiations?"

Julia crossed her arms and sighed. "A couple of the critical votes are being troublesome. Chief U'mhaka was basically asking for his weight in latinum."

"So he wants to be bribed into voting for the treaty." Robert sighed at that. But he shouldn't be too shocked. Some people were just naturally greedy. "And who's the other hold-out?"

"Chief U'dahra."

A mental image appeared in Robert's mind that he wished to rub out. "The one who showed up on the train with nothing but women in his retinue, half of whom were dressed like they were going to a swimsuit contest?" And more than a few looked unhappy to be there, Robert thought darkly, well aware that the Miqo'te were still having issues with their nomadic groups' blaise attitude toward the rights of servants as people.

Julia nodded to him. "Yes."

"And what does he want?"

"Me."

For a moment Robert had to process that answer. "You? As in…"

"As in biblically," Julia clarified. Seeing the looks she was getting, she continued, "Well, he didn't say that, but it was pretty clear he wants me to visit his personal quarters wearing those skimpy things half of the girls in his retinue wear, and that would be just the start of the evening."

"It might be because of your height," said Jarod, matter-of-factly. "Miqo'te females average about four-eleven, you're six feet tall. The idea of being with someone taller than him might be the point."

"I figure it's being head of his own clan and thinking this gives him access to any woman he wants," Julia answered with more than a hint of just how she felt about Chief U'dahra's attitude towards women.

"Well, we'll write him off the list," Robert said.

Julia continued form there. "If we can bring Chieftess Y'mali over, that should give us enough votes. She's sympathetic, but she's opposed to joining wars by the Alliance." Julia tapped some keys to show the text of the proposed treaty. "I think that if Emissary Jopari and I amend a couple of the terms, Chieftess Y'mali might even swing the other borderline isolationists over to a yes vote, and we won't need either of those bastard chiefs."

"I doubt the Senate will mind the idea of the Miqo'te not sending troops to fight the Reich," Locarno noted. "That's not really the point here."

"Forward the amendments to Jopari, then," Robert said. "Anything else?"

"Yeah." Now it was Zack's turn. "Karen has been released for active duty. I'm trying to make arrangements for her to meet up with us. And Ys'talla is pretty far for an average transport so having her come out this way just for us to leave in the week it's going to take her to get here would be… well, annoying as all hell."

"Right." Robert nodded. "I can't think of any reason we'll need the Koenig any time soon, so if you want to launch and meet up with her at a fleet base, go ahead. Your crew could probably use the deployment time anyway."

Zack leaned back in his chair. "Fine. I'll send her a signal and work with Apley on a good spot to meet her. You're going to want Tom back, I guess?"

"Th' lad willnae be happy if ye have him workin' as a third wheel once th' lass is back aboard," Scotty pointed out. "Besides, I still have some work t' dae with him t' make him ready for his new post."

For a moment the room quieted as everyone considered what Scotty meant. Not about Tom, but about his new job, as it reminded everyone of how the senior staff was being divided with Julia assuming command of the Enterprise at the end of the year. Cat even briefly glanced toward her sister Angel, who was also going to transfer with Julia.

"I could use Tom here, actually," Jarod added, quickly cutting through the moment before any further awkwardness could build. "If we find Darglan technology, he's one of the few qualified officers with it. I'll want everyone I can get."

"That makes sense," Zack said. "I"ll have Ana Poniatowski run Engineering until we meet up with Karen."

"Alright then. I'll leave you and Lieutenant Apley to make the arrangements, let me or Julia know when you're ready to launch." Robert shifted his weight in his chair. "Alright, anything else?" When nobody answered he nodded and stood. "Alright. You're all dismissed."

Everyone got up and left. Everyone, that is, except Julia. The look in her aquamarine-colored green eyes told Robert she wanted to talk and he too remained. "Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"About?"

"About all of this drama about the Enterprise." Julia drew in a breath and let it out. "I'm not sorry for taking command. But I never meant to tear our team apart."

"Well, I'm not sure that was in your power," Robert answered. "I mean, let's face it, Scotty is thrilled at the idea of a new Enterprise, and of getting to be the first chief engineer to put the design through standard field operations. And Angel…" Robert shrugged. "...that's on me. I chose this." He gently held his hand up and caused the teacup in front of him to briefly levitate in the air. "I chose it over her. I don't blame her for wanting to move on, especially if she gets to keep her favorite sparring partner."

Julia smiled thinly at that. "She's on my list of potential First Officers. Not that she'd get the position first, I doubt Maran will approve a two rank jump."

"And Angel would have to qualify for command first," Robert added. "I'm not sure she wants that."

"Nor does Jarod," Julia said.

"You already asked?"

"No." She shook her head. "But I know him. He barely tolerates the idea of being in charge if both of us aren't available. He doesn't want a command posting. Frankly I think he'll leave before he accepts something like that."

"Right." Robert considered the question for the moment. "Nick?"

"I'll ask him, but only if it's okay with you. As things stand you're already losing three senior officers. Four if Caterina wants to stay with Angel."

"I know," Robert said. "We're both going to have adjustment periods." After a moment he added, "And go ahead and ask Nick, it's fine."

"Alright. Later, of course." Julia stood. "I'll go speak with Emissary Jopari."

"And I'd better get back out to the bridge."

They left the conference lounge together.




Given the excavation they were due to assist that evening, Caterina and Jarod were relieved from further duty so they could get sleep. Caterina stopped by Science Lab 1 long enough to check on the process of examining the database given to Lucy by the Darglan caretaker Jornam before heading to her quarters. When she arrived she pulled off her uniform jacket and hung it up.

Before she could remove her skirt and finish swapping into her sleeping clothes, a door chime sounded. Caterina called out, "Come in!" and walked to the exit from her bedroom.

Violeta stepped in wearing her uniform and carrying a bag. Caterina skipped up to her and accepted a warm kiss from her girlfriend. When the kiss was over Violeta said, "I'm due on the bridge in two hours. But I wanted to show you what I picked up during my shore leave this morning."

"Oh?"

Violeta set the bag down on the coffee table and pulled out several items. One was a necklace with an amber piece, the amber mixed with a blue substance that gave it a beautiful mix of colors. A data slip was marked with Miqo'te characters and added English labels denoting titles. "Movies?" asked Cat.

"Some Miqo'te romances. Action-romances, comedy-romances… and one harem romance that I'm told is pretty spicy with the love scenes."

"But…"

"Love scenes between the ladies only," Violeta added, grinning.

Caterina matched the grin. "Okay, that's different." Nevertheless a little pink blush had formed on her cheeks at the thought of what the movie in question contained.

Violeta removed the next items and the blush deepened. "Those… those are…" Caterina held up one her size. "...you bought me a dancing girl outfit?"

"Sure." Violeta put an arm around Cat and kissed her reddening cheek. "I can't wait to see how it looks on you."

"But…" Caterina shook her head, laughing at the silliness of it. "I mean… you and I have been naked before. Together. In bed."

"Among other places," Violeta added with a grin that brought Caterina's blood rushing to her cheeks (among other places).

"So… I mean, we've seen each other without clothes. It just seems weird that we'll enjoy being in clothes more." Caterina dug into the bag's bottom and pulled out more clothes. "Wait," she said. "These are your uniform undershirt and…"

When she turned to present them to Violeta, Violeta had removed her uniform jacket and trousers. She was wearing the same kind of "dancing girl" bikini outfit, where the fabric was no thicker than a centimeter save the diagonal bands that provided support and just enough coverage to be appropriate. The bottom worked under the same principles. Violeta raised her arms up and bent her elbows to put her hands above her head, a seductive smile on her face as she swayed slightly in her pose.

Caterina looked at this display intently. She swallowed. "Okay," she said, her heart picking up. "I see what you mean."

Violeta nodded. "I'd like to see you in yours," she said. "If you're okay with it."

The initial, instinctive reaction was "No". Cat had spent her life avoiding these things. Ever since it became clear she wasn't going to have the curves that all of the other girls she knew had. Just looking in her mirror in bra and panties in her teen years had convinced Caterina she was too short, thin, and puny to make a swimsuit like that work. She'd always worn one-piece suits and that was that.

But the glint in her girlfriend's vivid purple eyes convinced her that maybe, just maybe, she could look good in something like that.

Caterina picked up the suit. As she did, Violeta murmured, "And just think how much fun it'll be taking them back off."

It didn't take much thinking for Caterina to decide that it would, indeed, be a lot of fun.




The yellow sun of Ys'talla gave the excavation site the feeling of being in an open air oven. Azeyma's Rest was three hundred kilometers from Sweetwater Springs in an area of semi-arid steppe land and scrub that saw just enough rainfall to support agriculture (with the assistance of the underground springs in the general region and a river system that helped replenish those springs). Looking at it was enough to tell Jarod that the Darglan had picked the site well. That judgement did not include the possible existence of game animals for the Miqo'te to hunt after their arrival. Today there seemed to be few, but thousands of years of hunting and being pushed out of habitats by growing Miqo'te communities could easily account for that.

Professor B'rrel was a male Miqo'te of bronze complexion with wheat-colored hair, including facial hair that gave him an almost leonine appearance. He was dressed in a work jacket and shorts that were almost khaki in their coloration, with his feet padded by dark brown boots. Jarod had already observed that B'rrel tended to let his tail swish absent-mindedly when he was focused enough on something else, whether it be a conversation or examining an artifact.

"We have definite estimates for the ages of these artifacts," he was saying to Jarod. "The deepest strata include tools and weapons that are approximately three thousand and two hundred twenty-six years old."

Jarod did the conversion in his head. "So roughly three thousand and sixty-four years old by Human reckoning."

"Mrrr… yes, I suppose." B'rrel held up one item. "Some puzzle us. For instance, this amulet."

Jarod visually inspected it. The band was of old, crackled leather, while the amulet proper was a crystal of white color that could pass for ice. He held it in his right palm. It felt cool to the touch, cooler than the environment suggests it would be. Jarod activated his omnitool with his right hand and ran the scanner over the crystal. "Hrm. I've never seen a material like this before."

"Yes. We have found a few similar items. They seem to be jewelry, set into amulets and rings. You don't suppose…"

Jarod could tell what B'rrel was getting at. "I can cross-check what information we have on the Darglans to be sure. Although I don't recall anything like this in their technology."

"Very well." B'rrel looked out over the site from the covered platform they were standing on. Jarod looked as well, watching the Miqo'te archeologists and students at work digging and checking while, among their number, Alliance science officers were scanning away for more signs of the Darglan. Their black and dark-blue field action uniforms set them apart from the other examiners. Jarod had insisted on the action uniforms, not because he worried about a confrontation but because they were made for easier use in extreme climates, and the warmth of the semi-arid steppe was just high enough to be a concern.

"It will be something to corroborate the theory," B'rrel said. "Some of the clans may dislike discounting divine involvement in our arrival on Ys'talla, but for me, the thought that the Darglan had a hand in our destinies… marvelous. An honor."

"I wonder what your homeworld was like?"

"As in the world our species comes from?" B'rrel's tail widened its arc of movement in response. "A good question. I wonder if it still survives."

Jarod had no response to that. It was an interesting speculation, certainly, but not what he had on his mind right now. There was too much going on, and far more important questions still loomed.




While the action uniform did provide some protection from the heat, Caterina found she was wishing she had the looser, cooler near-khaki outfits of the Miqo'te archeologists. Or the cooling suit that Doctor Tralamina was currently clad in. Tralamina was a Gy'toran. Facially he looked more like a koala than anything, although the facial structure was still different with deeper dark eyes and a tall, lithe body of very fine violet fur. The fur was more hair than fur, in fact, but it did give Gy'torans a unique appearance compared to most Humanoid species.

Of course, the main differences revolved around the fact that they also had four arms. Or rather, six limbs, given the incredible dexterity of the Gy'toran species. Tralamina was currently walking on his two legs, but he could easily use his middle pair of appendages as a set of legs too given the segmented nature of the Gy'toran body that gave them an almost insectoid quality. If push came to it, Gy'torans like Tralamina could even run on all six limbs, although it could be awkward for them. Caterina had only seen such in video records, in fact.

For the moment Tralamina was busy examining a blade. "This is quite peculiar," he said with the benefit of auto-translation. He held up the rusted weapon. "The blade is larger than one would imagine a Miqo'te of either gender would utilize. In fact, it appears to be large even for most other species, such that it would be a two-handed weapon. Yet the balance and design imply it is for one-handed use."

"Maybe it was ceremonial?" Caterina suggested while scanning away with her hand-held sensor. The omnitool was also scanning, but the scanner she held had ground-penetrating capability beyond what the omnitool could do.

"Perhaps. I shall take it to Professor B'rrel."

With that Tralamina left her vicinity. Caterina tried not to feel frustrated with him. The assignment of a xenoarchaeologist to the Aurora civilian science specialist team had seemed unnecessary. Indeed, Tralamina's secondary speciality as a geologist received more use than his primary skill. The chance to practice his education in these circumstances was clearly causing him great joy.

But we're not here to look for swords, Caterina grumbled to herself as the scans came up empty yet again. She moved over to another search area. Given the map they had already searched half of the existing excavation. If nothing came up they had nothing to do but wait and see if B'rrel's team could find anything else.

Tralamina returned. "The good Professor has informed me that there are more blades like that one," he said. "So the idea that they are ceremonial is definitely a good theory."

"Thank you."

Caterina couldn't keep the frustration out of her voice. And Tralamina heard it. "It is possible there is nothing," he pointed out. "The Darglan would not have left anything to contaminate the Miqo'te species culturally or socially."

"Not intentionally," Caterina said. "But maybe we could find something. An old disguised sensor, maybe."

"Perhaps our wind will change," Tralamina said, keeping his reassuring tone. "In the meantime, I hope to see if we can find any signs of their cutlery. Or perhaps animal bones. How the Miqo'te ate can help us determine how the initial settlement may have sustained itself…"

Before Caterina could respond, her omnitool started blinking with an incoming message. "Lucero to Jarod or Science Officer Delgado."

Caterina pressed a key to open a channel. Jarod started speaking first. "Go ahead, Lieutenant."

"I've got something for you," she said. "We've found something in Jornam's database."

"We'll beam up in a few minutes. Jarod out."

"Hrm," said Tralamina. "I hope this doesn't lead to us leaving this excavation so soon. It is such an excellent dig site."

"That's why I'm leaving you in charge of it," said Cat. She smiled at him. "Let me know if you find anything."

"Of course, Lieutenant," he chittered, quite happy with himself. "Of course!"




Robert and Julia entered Science Lab 1 at the same time as Jarod and Caterina, coming in from the opposite side. The former two were a little rumpled; it was 0143 ship time and they'd been called from bed.

The two sets of newcomers converged at the central console where Lucy, Barnes, and Meridina were sitting and going over data. "Yeah, that's definitely a jump drive," Barnes remarked.

There was no need to ask what he was talking about. The computer was showing an image of a lab with azure-tinted walls. Orange-skinned figures with tall skulls and wearing dark green coats were gathered around a machine, a squat, wide device that was easily three meters long and about one hundred and twenty centimeters wide. It was squat, like a standard probe or torpedo casing, but with interfaces along its top side and an open port at the end.

"I thought jump drives were five meters long?" Robert asked. "I remember seeing them as being pretty long…"

"They are," Barnes agreed. "I mean, that's the smallest model, and it's got crap for redundancy. The Aurora's jump drive is almost ten meters in length and two meters wide, and it's the best frakking model we've got. It's why we can't install the damn things on smaller ships like runabouts. Not enough power or volume."

Lucy tapped keys that brought up Darglan characters, then converted them to alphanumeric ones. "But this model is far more efficient according to their lab data. And it's capable of a wider band of universes."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Julia.

"Different bands of space-time, different continuums" Caterina said. "I mean, they exist theoretically, and we have some possible confirmation of them from a handful of encounters. Like the Q in S5T3. It's possible that the Darglan may have been building a jump drive that would access those continuums."

"And it may be why they were punished," Meridina said. She couldn't take her eyes off the image. "I saw something like this."

All heads turned to face her. Robert asked, "Where?"

"In Jornam's mind, as he lay dying," Meridina replied. "He… he pleaded with me to forget the memory. That it was an error." A horrified look crossed Meridina's face at the implications.

Implications that the others quickly grasped. "Could this be what caused the Darkness to attack three thousand years ago?" Robert asked, holding a finger toward the screen.

"I believe so."

"I suppose," Caterina said. She eyed the image. "I mean, if it accessed other bands of space-time, other continuum… it might have brought something into our continuum, our band of space-time and universes I mean, that was hostile."

"Or it might just be a cooler new jump drive," Barnes pointed out. "Something we could use."

"I would hesitate to share this device with anyone, Lieutenant Barnes," said Meridina. "It is dangerous."

"In more than one way." Robert kept his eyes on the image. "Imagine if it's still out there. If someone found it…"

"Swenya's Light, no," Meridina said in a hushed tone.

"We have to find it, then," said Lucy. "I'll keep searching the Darglan databases we have."

"Well, maybe there's another way?"

Everyone looked to Caterina. Her old shyness disliked this, but she was used to it enough that she didn't stammer when she resumed speaking. "Years ago, we were told that old species, 'Ancient Ones', punished the Gersallians and took away their IU drives, right?"

"Yes," said Meridina, who remembered learning it at the same time as Caterina.

"Well, it's likely the Ancient Ones came from E5B1, right?" asked Caterina. "At least some of them. And we know that E5B1 had species known as First Ones. If there's anything left, any sources of information from those First Ones…"

"I find it unlikely," Jarod said, shaking his head. "These kinds of species and beings aren't the type to just leave maps lying around."

"It's still worth a shot," Cat insisted.

For a moment Robert considered the question. A feeling within him built up, a sense that Caterina had a point and this was the thing to do. He nodded. "Alright. I'll ask Admiral Maran to contact President Sheridan. If anyone knows what we're looking for, Sheridan may know who we should ask."

Chapter Text

The call shortly after Robert got out of the shower. He finished pulling on his uniform pants and sat at his desk to accept the call. "Dale here."

"We have Admiral Maran for you, sir."

"Put him through."

Admiral Maran looked as he always did. At middle-age for a Gersallian, he had dark hair going gray at the temples and a trimmed beard of similarly-graying dark hair. He looked natural and at ease at his desk in the Alliance Defense Command complex, with the distant skyline of L2M1 Earth's city of Portland (in what was still called Oregon by some) visible in the window behind him. "Captain."

"Admiral."

"How is Ys'talla?"

"Beautiful. Hot. And I find a few of their chiefs to be completely disgusting beings."

"Ah." A hint of a smile came to the admiral's image. "Just as I remember it, then. To get down to business, Captain, I've contacted Tuzanor with your request."

"We already heard back from them?"

"We did," confirmed Maran. "President Sheridan has asked me to send you to Minbar to discuss the matter in person."

Robert didn't hide his surprise at that. "He wants to see me in person? He doesn't trust comms?"

"He has expressed concern on the matter, yes. Normally I would not mind ordering the Aurora to Minbar, but for now we need her to stay at Ys'talla."

"Is there a threat?"

"Nothing definitive. But the Coserians and their Jeaxian warlord proxies won't be happy if the Miqo'te come under Alliance protection. The Aurora's presence will dissuade them from any direct pressure."

Robert nodded once in acceptance. "Alright, I suppose Sheridan can wait."

"We'd rather not, Captain." Maran's expression darkened. "We've had reports of unknown parties launching survey missions into the region around the Darglan Homeworld. We suspect someone is looking for Darglan technology. If there is some newer, superior model of jump drive out there we can't allow it to fall into the wrong hands."

Robert recognized what he was getting at. "So you want me to leave the Aurora and visit Minbar personally?"

"Yes. And we need you to keep it off of scanners, so to speak."

"The Koenig is launching in a couple of hours to rendezvous with Lieutenant Derbely," Robert said. "Could you arrange for her to be re-directed to Minbar?"

"No. We can't allow anyone to know the Koenig was there. What we can do is have her drop you off while cloaked before proceeding to a more visible port." Maran thought for a moment and checked something on his systems. "Ah. I will have Derbely re-routed to Babylon-5. As soon as you're dropped off on Minbar Commander Carrey can go pick her up."

"While we take private ships," Robert said. "Or make some other arrangements?"

"I have no doubt that President Sheridan will arrange something for you if there is actionable information," Maran said.

"Right." Robert thought on this for a moment. Being away from the Aurora for days, perhaps a week or more, had an excitement that wasn't quite able to hide the danger this involved. "I understand that you won't want me to bring any kind of team."

"A team of your officers would be too visible."

"I need to bring at least one," Robert said. "Meridina. She touched Jornam's mind before he died. She saw this drive and the lab it was built in from his mind and maybe information this recording wouldn't have."

"Meridina will work. But no others. Everything must seem to be running as normal." Maran put a hand on the table. "I'll let Sheridan know you're coming. Maran out."

After he disappeared Robert pressed the key on his desk for the ship's comm system. "Dale to Carrey."

After a moment a reply came. "Carrey here."

"Delay your launch. There's been a change in your itinerary. And your passenger list. I'll explain shortly."

"Alright. I'll have the crew to depart whenever you're ready. Carrey out."




"I don't like this."

Julia's complaint was not unsurprising. She stood inside Robert's ready office as he finished up enough paperwork to make it look good. "You're not even taking a runabout."

"Yep," he said. "Maran wants us under the radar on this one."

"Which means you won't have any help if you get into trouble," Julia pointed out. "I mean… at least they should have Zack take you where you need to go."

"Then it begs the question of where we came from, and what ship we're in." Robert finished a final item and turned the system off. He stood up and faced Julia. The concern on her face was unmistakeable. "We're bringing a portable IU radio with us, if we run into any trouble we'll call you for help."

"IU radios don't have jump anchors installed, so there's no guarantee we'll get to you in time."

"Normally, yes." Robert grinned. "That's why I'm going to Science Lab 2 next."




Jarod, Scotty, and Barnes were waiting for Robert and Meridina when they arrived at Lab 2. Julia followed them in and saw that the three were at the work table with a portable IU radio. "Will it work?" Robert asked them.

Scotty feigned offense. "Oh, dinnae ye have any faith, Captain?"

Robert smiled at him and answered, "I do, Mister Scott, I do."

"Ah, good."

"We hooked an anchor unit into the radio," Jarod explained. "And we've confirmed it's working."

"But as usual, there's a damned catch," Barnes added.

"Aye." Scotty tapped the table. "We cannae put a big enough power source intae th' thing t' let it send out regularly." He indicated a physical switch near the top of the pack. "Ye flip this switch t' turn on th' anchor. Th' batteries will keep it runnin' for ten minutes or so."

"Right. And it's still backpack mobile?"

"It is," Jarod assured him.

"Excellent work, then." Robert took the straps and put it on. It was heavy-ish, certainly too heavy to effectively carry in his arms, but as a backpack unit it would work. He took a few steps with it and took it off. "Have it sent to the Koenig." He checked the time. "And we'd better get going. Sheridan's a busy man."

"You're not going in uniform, are you?" asked Jarod.

"No. Civilian clothes."

"Yeah, but if you get into a frakking fight, that's not gonna do you jack crap," Barnes said. "Action uniforms at least give you options."

"We'll have personal forcefield generators for safety," Robert assured them.

"Yes." Meridina looked toward him. "Although, Robert, I would like to accompany you to your quarters. I may have some suggestions for garments."

After they left, Julia became the center of attention. "Any idea why Maran's risking them like this?" Jarod asked.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I understand wanting us to stay at Ys'talla longer, but this secrecy is a bit too much."

For a moment everyone was frowning. And then a small, quiet smile came to Jarod's face. "Maybe there's an alternative," he said.

"Like?" asked Scotty.

Jarod looked to Julia. Julia, in turn, wondered what he was saying before she caught the look in his eye. A grin formed on her face. "Yes," she said. "I think I know what you mean…"




Zack was waiting at the airlock for Robert and Meridina. From what Robert had told him, Zack expected to see them in civilian clothes.

What he got instead was the two shimmering into view behind him, inside the airlock. He turned to face them and saw that Robert now wearing the same purple armor and blue robe combination that Meridina and Lucy favored. He had a bag over one shoulder and a holster for his charge pistol on the hip. And, like Meridina, there was no sign of his rank strip.

Meridina had her own bag and her lightsaber on her hip.

"Well, and truly incognito, eh?" Zack asked. "Was that why you came in with cloaking devices?"

"That's why we did our goodbyes quietly," Robert answered. "As far as the crew knows, Meridina took me off to train in the holodeck."

"Right." Zack motioned to the airlock. "Well, let's get going before someone from the crew notices you."

"And so I can get out of this thing," Robert added. "You won't believe how much this chafes."

The resulting chuckle from Zack made Robert glower at his friend while Meridina watched on in quiet bemusement.




Robert and Meridina had been assigned guest quarters on Deck 3. The room, of course, was barely the size of a hotel room, with two bunk beds, a meal replicator, and a table with a computer access panel and controls. Seeing it made Robert appreciate the officers and crew on the Koenig all the more. And it made him consider that he did wish they were going to remain as transportation, but Maran's orders were already cut.

For the moment Robert was busy putting away the pieces of the armor, which he was determined to adjust before he ever put it on again. Meridina sat on the floor nearby, already out of her suit and wearing a sleeveless white vest and baggy trousers. "I would like to resume your training while we journey to Minbar."

After she said that Robert went to the computer and tapped its communication key. "Guest Quarters to Bridge."

"You know that the crew already knows you're aboard, right?" asked Zack. "You can't hide anything on this ship, Rob."

Robert sighed at that. "I figured. Just make sure people know that we're not supposed to be here."

"My people know to keep their lips shut," Zack replied. "What do you need?"

"What's our ETA to Minbar?"

"Since you're in a hurry, Poniatowski and Hajar have the warp drive running us up to Warp 9.25. We should be there in the morning."

Robert sighed at that. He hoped that whatever Sheridan had to share with them was worth coming out all this way. "I appreciate the extra speed, Zack."

"Just pray we don't blow a plasma injector. Or maybe use your funky life force powers to reinforce them or something."

Robert chuckled at that. He could sense that Meridina was amused as well. "Yeah, I'm not sure we can do that much."

"Then just pray. Or pay for our funerals. Karen will probably kill Ana, Jean, and me if we blow out any vital components in the system before picking her up."

"We'll think of something to save you from her wrath. Dale out." Robert let the line cut. With nothing more to do he sat down in front of Meridina. His T-shirt matched the color of her vest while the pair of blue shorts certainly did not. "Okay, training. In what?"

"Clarity. Control." A slight grin came to her face. "And then we shall resume your sword training."

"Here?" Robert asked in surprise.

"Of course not," Meridina scoffed. "The cargo bay is spacious enough."

Robert already saw what his evening would look like. A lot of getting clapped on the shoulders and arms and chest by a wooden stick. He let out a resigned sigh and closed his eyes to focus on his life energy.




After the day of training Robert and Meridina retired to their bunks. Meridina slept soundly.

Robert did not.

Getting to sleep was challenge enough. The cot was somewhat uncomfortable. He had little room to turn. It felt too cold to be without the blanket but once he pulled it on he felt too hot. His mind kept wandering. The cloak and dagger aspects of this seemed to be so unnecessary. Why a clandestine meeting to Sheridan? What would that accomplish that a call couldn't? What was Maran so worried about?

And that jump drive in the records. Was Tom Barnes right? That it was just an improved model? Or was it the source of an ancient Darglan mistake? Could they bring about the same destruction if they used it?

Sleep came for Robert. But his rest was haunted by the dreams. He watched Nazi troops burning their way through New Liberty. Julia strapped into a strange chair, screaming in agony. The fear in the amber eyes of the girl in the red and gold clothing before her eyes went white and raw power whipped around him.

Metal figures. A tall man in a long coat. A blond woman, or girl, right at the end of her teens from what Robert could tell. She spoke with an accent when she said two words.

"Bad Wolf."

Robert, as he often did when the dreams got intense, shot up to a sitting position. But the bunk space was too short for that. He slammed his head into the top of the bunk space and cried out in surprise and pain while flopping back to a laying position. A hand went to his forehead while his head throbbed from the impact.

Before he could finish getting his bearings, blue light appeared on the back of his left hand. A comm tone rang. He groaned and tapped it. "Yes?"

"Gooood morning, buddy," crooned Zack. "Just wanted you to know we're an hour out from Minbar and that I had Hajar re-align the replicators in the mess hall. If you get up now you can probably fix a quick breakfast in between your shower and departure."

WIth his head still throbbing, Robert was in a cranky mood. "I don't care what Scotty says," he grumbled, "it's not a real shower unless it includes water!"

"Agreed, Rob. That's why I'm going to let you use my shower. You and Meridina both."

That dampened the crankiness somewhat. Before he could react, Meridina answered, "That sounds pleasant."

Robert looked off the bunk. Meridina was sitting quietly at the desk in her night clothes - a silver silken suit that went down to her knees - with a cup of steaming liquid in her hand and a plate of Gersallian breakfast pastries on the desk. She looked up at him with concern.

Robert blinked and shook his head. This was a mistake, of course. "Okay, cool," he mumbled, now woozy. "I'll be up to your quarters in about ten minutes. Dale out."

"Your dreams are quite intense." Meridina sipped at her cup. "And I see why you worry about the term 'Bad Wolf'. I feel a particular energy from that element of your vision. It is… worrying."

"Tell me about it," Robert sighed. "Right now I just want some damn toast and eggs and a big aspirin."

Meridina said nothing to that request.




It was on approach to Minbar that the Koenig picked up instructions on how to deliver Robert and Meridina. The signal came in on the Rangers communication band; a specific point of space, a location on the surface in Tuzanor, and instructions to beam at a specific time.

Robert and Meridina materialized into a scene of beauty, once again wearing the swevyra'se armor and robes. Their destination was a courtyard of sorts, filled with sculptures of beautiful crystal that seemed to sing as the wind brushed across it.

Waiting for them were two figures. One was a Human woman with a dark bronze complexion and the second was a Minbari man. Both were in full Ranger garb and no others. The woman bowed respectfully. "I am Lucille Solonandrasana," she said. "President Sheridan will see you shortly. Please follow us."

Robert and Meridina followed them. And not without difficulty, as they were nearly enthralled by how gorgeous the Minbari buildings and garden looked. Inside the structure the walls seemed slightly more normal-looking, with blues and purples and violets as the colors for the walls.

They were escorted to an office deep in the complex and left alone. Robert set down the portable IU radio set and both put down their bags and placed them at the side of the room. "Such a gorgeous place," Meridina said. "I see why Mastrash Ledosh was so enamored with it."

Robert nodded without giving any verbal agreement. He didn't need to. This place was stupendously beautiful.

A few moments later the door opened. Sheridan walked in carrying… a baby carrier.

Robert blinked and then watched avidly as one of the most influential leaders in the Multiverse, the man who had led the galaxy to victory over the Shadows and then led the rebellion against the fascist President Clark on Earth, gave an almost worried look toward the carrier. Relief appeared on the man's bearded face. "I put the earmuffs on," he confided to them in a soft voice. "As long as we're careful we shouldn't wake him."

"Your son?" asked Robert.

Sheridan nodded. "Delenn had some… religious caste ritual to attend, and she couldn't have David there." The smile of a proud father eager to show off his newborn son appeared and the carrier was turned to present the occupant. David Sheridan was only a few months old, clad in a blue baby one-piece suit that had little cartoony animals covering it. At first glance he looked like any baby would, or so Robert thought, but upon second glance he noted the formative Minbari bone crest circling the baby's head. The earmuffs were placed lower than they would be on a Human infant's head.

"He looks… great," Robert said, trying to avoid even thinking about how babies often didn't look cute or adorable until they were quite a bit older.

Meridina's reply was more authentic. "A healthy, wonderful child. Although I continue to be confused by the Human desire to place unrealistic, drawn pictures on their childrens' clothing."

Sheridan chuckled at that. "Delenn has said the same thing. They were a gift from my father, actually." He pulled up a spare chair and placed the carrier into it, facing him so he could keep an eye on David. "Well, we should get on to business, as soon as Delenn gets back I have a Council meeting to get to."

"I understand." Robert deliberately kept his voice as soft as possible without letting it become inaudible. "Admiral Maran filled you in?"

"He did." Sheridan nodded. "I'm sorry that we couldn't handle this over the comms."

"What's going on?"

"Well, as you may recall, a certain legally questionable Akdorian-flagged Human ship was raided a little over a year ago." Sheridan flashed them a quick grin. Robert had no doubt he knew what had happened to the Pedicarus. "The raiders made off with some ancient computer databanks taken from what we now know to be the Darglan Homeworld. I'm sure you can imagine how certain parties felt about that."

"They probably didn't know what they had before," Robert remarked. "Now that they do, I can't imagine they're happy about it."

"They're not. In particular, a company called Interplanetary Expeditions, IPX for short, has been demanding greater Earthforce support for their expeditions into neutral space. They've also prompted several influential Earth Alliance Senators to oppose the Allied Systems' annexation of the Darglan Homeworld and surrounding space. Space that, I will point out, your people have yet to fully assert control over due to your war efforts. And the InterStellar Alliance has had its own concerns diverting our attention."

"Especially since Delenn sent Rangers to fight on our side in the war," Meridina added.

"So I'm assuming IPX has been running illegal excavations into the space around the Darglan Homeworld?" Robert asked.

"They're being quiet about whether they are or not," Sheridan revealed. "Miss Holloran has been discreetly tracking IPX's movements in the region and even she can't be sure what they're up to. At best guess, they're still doing preliminary survey work while avoiding your patrols." Sheridan's eyes briefly glanced toward the baby carrier. "And they're laying the legal groundwork by encouraging the Earth Senate to pass a resolution declaring the Alliance annexation of the Darglan Homeworld null and void."

"Which is nothing but a political statement." Robert shook his head. "But is one we have to take seriously while we're busy fighting the Nazis. Dammit."

"The Alliance has invited the Minbari and other species to join us in protecting the Darglan Homeworld and what is left," Meridina noted. "Certainly this IPX could work with us?"

"No, they can't," Sheridan said. "Trust me, I know these people. IPX claim to be xenoarchaeologists out to further our understanding of old civilizations, but they actually work for Earthforce. Since the Minbari War their entire purpose has been finding the remains of old civilizations to see if there are any technologies that can improve Earth's technology. Even if they agree to cooperate with you, it would be for show while they pulled every dirty trick in the book to steal whatever they could from your efforts."

"So this is the reason for the secrecy?" Robert asked. "To keep IPX from figuring out that we're looking for a big new find?"

"Exactly. Because given the situation, they might just show up with an Earthforce destroyer to assert control," replied Sheridan. "So it's best if we keep this off their scanners. Do you know where to look?"

"We're waiting to see if any more data comes from examining the Darglan data we have on hand," said Robert. "But we did have an idea."

"Yes?"

"We know that the Darglan were forced to give up their interuniversal drives after a war with an enemy called the Darkness," said Meridina.

Sheridan let out a little sigh that covered a sentiment Robert could sense within him, a sentiment summed up as "Here we go again".

"And we know that a number of ancient species were responsible for this demand," Meridina continued.

"You think it was the First Ones?" Sheridan asked.

"It makes sense," Robert answered. "We know the Shadows hated them enough that they wiped them out in the end. And we were thinking that maybe these First Ones might have an idea where we can locate that Darglan prototype jump drive."

"There aren't an First Ones left in our galaxy. They're all gone." Sheridan turned thoughtful. "But there is someone that might have the information you want."

"Oh?"

A distant look came over Sheridan's face. "She's dangerous," he said. "Part of it might be my fault. A lot happened after the Shadow War and, in retrospect, I was too hard on her." Seeing his guests weren't sure whom he was talking about, he said. "Her name is Lyta Alexander. She's a telepath, one of the most powerful living telepaths to ever exist."

"Indeed?"

"Yes. She was augmented by the Vorlons years ago," Sheridan said. "They did… things to her. They told her things about their past that no other Human being has ever been told. I'm not sure how much they changed her, but it's enough to know she scares the hell out of me. I'm not looking forward to her return."

"Where did she go?" Meridina asked.

"G'Kar of the Narn wanted to go out on the frontier," Sheridan said. "He felt his people were relying too much on him for leadership. So he bought a ship, inviting Lyta along, and they flew off to travel the frontier for a year." Sheridan shook his head. "A year that's almost up."

"Do you think Lyta Alexander will assist us?" Meridina asked.

"I can't say for sure." Sheridan had a pensive look now. "By the time she left, she was bitter. She felt used by us, by Psi Corps, by everyone. And it wouldn't surprise me if she's already itching for a fight with the Psi Corps."

"I have heard of this 'Psi Corps'," Meridina said. Her voice betrayed only a sliver of her distaste. "Their behavior is abominable for farisa."

"That's your word for telepath, right?" When Meridina nodded, Sheridan could only nod in agreement with her sentiment. "They're a monster of our own creation. Frankly I wish we could have removed them along with Clark, but circumstances didn't allow it."

"Yes. Sometimes we must be content with what could be done, not what might have been done."

Robert spent the conversation thinking things over. Lyta sounded dangerous, immensely so. But she was likely their best shot at finding something. And if these IPX people were on the move… well, they had shot down a White Star to preserve the secrecy of their digs. There was no telling what they'd do. "Maybe we can offer her something," Robert remarked.

Sheridan immediately provided his attention. "What do you have in mind?"

"Well, she's opposed to the Psi Corps, right? I'm betting she's sympathetic to the telepaths who run from them?"

"I'd say so." Sheridan thought of Byron's group, and old thoughts of blame and guilt and betrayal briefly worked their way through his mind.

"The Alliance has laws allowing such people to claim asylum. To my knowledge, few have tried, and we've gone out of our way to avoid causing friction with the Earth Alliance over this." Robert considered his options. "But I have friends, allies, who could be persuaded to act in support of these fugitives and whatever organizations help them. We could organize an underground railroad of sorts to bring them to the Alliance, our Alliance."

"You could," Sheridan agreed. "And Lyta might work with you for assurances on that. Just be careful. The Psi Corps isn't above its own dirty tricks, you might put people in the crossfire. God help them if a Psi Cop catches them."

"I may be able to provide aid there," said Meridina. "I am not the only farisa in my family. My mother is a great farisa with many connections across the Interdependency. She would know which of them would be willing to protect the minds of those involved in this 'underground railroad'."

"Well, it sounds like you have a plan, then," said Sheridan. "Now you just need to find Lyta and G'Kar."

"And a ship."

"Oh, I already arranged that," Sheridan revealed. "Or rather, Admiral Maran and I arranged it. A private craft is waiting for you at Tuzanor spaceport." Sheridan pulled a data crystal from a shelf in his desk and handed it to Robert. "The access codes for it are there. Holloran has some information on suspected sightings of G'Kar and Lyta. You'll find those loaded as well."

"If we need help from a combat ship, any chance of it?" Robert asked. "Something to get to us quickly?"

"It depends." Sheridan thought about it for a moment. "If you send a transmission back to me with the channel encoded in that crystal, I'm sure Delenn can arrange for a White Star to be on 'training maneuvers' in the area. But that won't work more than once."

"No, it won't," Robert agreed. He put the data crystal away and stood up. "That's it, then. Thank you for having us, Mister President."

"Good luck, Captain, Commander."

Robert and Meridina picked up their things very carefully. Once everything was together they went to the door.

As they stepped through it, a sudden cry pierced the air. It grew in volume, joined by earnest pleas for calm, until they were nearly out of the building.




The Aurora retained her place in geosynchronous orbit of Ys'talla, which rotated quietly from the window of the conference lounge as Julia waited. She had made the calls she felt necessary and could do no more. It was back to business. Which was why she was currently in her usual chair in the conference lounge off the bridge. This interview wouldn't have felt right in Robert's ready office.

Indeed, despite this venue, a part of her still felt wrong over the conversation she was about to have.

She forced those thoughts from her mind when the door opened and Locarno entered. "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Sit down, please," she replied gently. He sat down across from her. Julia looked over Locarno briefly. He was handsome and intelligent. His hair, brown with a tinge of red, was combed precisely. His light-green eyes looked back at her with curiosity. "I've got something to ask you, Nick. You don't have to give me an answer right away, either, just within the next few weeks."

"You want to know if I want to serve on the Enterprise," he said, recognizing what was coming up.

"Not just that." Julia put her hands on the table. "I want to know if you would like to be my First Officer."

For a moment Locarno went quiet. He lowered his eyes as if in thought. Julia waited patiently for him to respond while trying to gauge his likely reaction from the way he was looking.

"You want me to be second-in-command?" he asked. "To be that close to a command of my own?"

"Yes," she said. "I do." Looking into his face, Julia thought she could tell what was wrong. "You've learned your lesson, Nick. And I think you'll make a great captain one day."

"I suppose you do." Locarno drew in a breath. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel the same way, that I wasn't interested."

"But?" Julia drew the word out.

"Honestly?" He met her eye to eye. "I think that's the reason why I can't. Not right now."

"So your answer is no?"

"Correct. No. I'm not interested in being your First Officer, or taking any other command position," Locarno said. "Frankly, the way I feel… I'll resign my commission before I accept a command."

"You've been making progress over the past," Julia pointed out. "Why do you feel this way?"

"It's one thing to be inching toward forgiveness from Jean, but it's another to go looking for command again," Locarno answered. "I don't mind doing the occasional bridge watch for you, or heading a department, but I'm not interested in ship command right now. Maybe not ever. So again, my answer is no."

After a moment of looking into his eyes for any sign that he was waving, Julia nodded. "Fair enough."

"And before you ask, no." Locarno shook his head. "I'm not transferring to the Enterprise. This is my ship, this is my place, it's where I'm staying."

"Alright. I understand."

"Do you?"

Julia blinked. Locarno's voice sounded heated. "What do you mean?"

Locarno, for his part, seemed to consider what he was going to say next. "I understand you want command. That's your choice. I wish you the best of luck. But this… this is wrong."

Julia said nothing, inviting him to continue.

"This crew, this team, we've done amazing things," Locarno said. "And now you're tearing it apart. Why? You don't have to break up everything just because you're getting a new ship."

"It's not just me," Julia pointed out. "Angel asked me even before I said yes. Scotty made it clear he wants to serve on the Enterprise. Am I just supposed to tell them 'no'?"

"You could try to talk them out of it," Locarno suggested. "You could keep our crew as intact as possible."

"You and I both know this crew isn't going to last forever, no matter if I take people with me or not. It's part of this life," Julia retorted.

"That doesn't mean you just do it on a whim." Locarno drew in a breath. "Because… because we're a family, remember? And you're splitting us up."

Julia went quiet at that. And as much as she wished… she knew he wasn't wrong. They were a family, and now they were going to be divided between two ships. They might never work together again.

I knew this would happen. And I said 'Yes' anyway.

"You're right. We're splitting up. But we'll still be family, being on different ships doesn't change that." Julia stood up from the chair. "But thank you for telling me how you feel, Nick. Thank you for your honesty. You're dismissed."

Locarno stood and nodded before walking out. The door slid closed behind him, leaving Julia to her private thoughts.




The ship that left Tuzanor Spaceport thirty minutes later was not a common ship in the E5B1 Universe, but was instead a New Chongqing Spaceworks Type 121 Personal High Speed Transport Vessel. The craft was the size of a standard runabout in the Alliance service (or Starfleet's for that matter). The warp nacelles were built into the top of the craft instead of the bottom, unlike runabouts. It wasn't the sleekest vessel either, built for power and volume, with the advantage that it made it less aesthetically-pleasing and, thus, less likely get noticed. The hull was colored a bland gray.

While it wasn't pretty, it was fast, and within an hour it had traveled to within range of the system's jumpgate.

In the helm area of the craft, Robert was in the piloting seat and Meridina in the co-pilot chair. "We're clear to the jumpgate," Robert said. "I'm setting a course for our first destination, Kalnit Station."

"Have you heard of this place?"

"I haven't. Going by the library computers, it's an open port on the edge of Brakiri space."

Meridina checked the list. "Minister Holloran rated it as only the third likely location."

"She did." Robert nodded. "But consider it for a moment. In our way."

A moment passed and Meridina concentrated with her swevyra. She felt her energy connect to the wider universe and let the insights come in. "I see," she said. "And I agree."

"Thanks." Robert smiled. "Besides, if she and G'Kar are on their way back to B5, it's the second furthest possible route they could take."

"I see. The closest being too obvious…"

"...and the furthest being just as obvious," he finished the thought for her. "According to these calculations on hyperspace travel times by sublight capability, we should be at our destination gate late tonight. Then it'll be a six hour warp flight at Warp 5."

"So we will not get to our destination until the early morning hours," Meridina noted. "Which is how much of the Multiverse's populace experiences interstellar flight, I imagine."

"We're going to be missing that Warp 9.2 cruise speed before we're done," Robert sighed. Outside the window ahead the jumpgate started flashing to light. Points of light formed along the four struts, traveling down and inward until they jumped from the struts and coalesced to form a hyperspace jumppoint. Robert triggered the impulse drives and flew their ship into the brown-colored vortex and into the shifting crimson energies of hyperspace.

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The dock cargo area was completely quiet for a moment. Robert kept his gun low to avoid triggering anyone shooting. Talking would give time for the others to think of something, at least.

Not that he let himself really think about that.

"I applaud your use of misdirecting thoughts," continued Bester. "If I didn't have someone watching the docks, we might have fallen for it."

"What is it that you want?" Robert asked.

"Peace, quiet, and justice. In reverse order." Bester took another step closer, but he was consciously remaining far enough away to avoid being grabbed at. "We came for Miss Alexander. She and her traveling companion have done well staying below the Corps' notice this past year, but we knew they would have to come back to civilized space for resupply sooner or later. It's quite interesting that you've sought her out as well, Captain."

"I wasn't aware you were a fan," Robert replied. "Actually, I've never heard of you before, Mister Bester."

"I suppose I should be hurt that Sheridan and the others never mentioned me. We have worked together before, in common cause."

"What do you want from us?" asked Meridina.

Bester remained quiet for a moment. "An eye for an eye. A year ago, unknown raiders killed two of my telepaths on a cargo ship, the Pedicarus. Ah, sorry, Captain, I'm afraid that flicker of recognition was quite loud enough for me." Bester held a gloved finger up. "I've actually known it was your crew for some time. All we had to do was determine the source of the stolen databanks. After all, your Alliance had just opened contact with our galaxy. Who else would have seen value in Darglan computers? The fact that within two weeks of that attack your people launched their operation to secure the Gamma Piratus Facility merely confirmed my suspicions."

Robert and Meridina said nothing.

"The sad thing is, if your people had simply asked, we would have given you access to that data. After all, we don't want the Reich rummaging around the Multiverse either." Bester's face became a mask of anger. "Instead you attacked our operation and killed two of our people. We can't ignore that."

"And that's why you're thinking of killing us?" Robert asked.

"You'd already be a gibbering lunatic trying to rip his own eyes out if I went with my first plan," Bester said. "A nice little warning to your Alliance at the penalty for crossing the Corps. That's what we do to mundanes who kill our own. The reason you're sane, Captain, is because we don't know what you are. You're not one of us, but you're clearly not a mundane either. The attack on the United Systems Senate demonstrated that fact." Bester looked between them. "So killing you would be a waste. Miss Alexander has to die, unfortunately. She's become an unacceptable threat to our kind."

"You mean a threat to your Corps," Lyta retorted. "You don't give a damn about any telepath that doesn't want to be a drone."

"If I thought I could persuade you otherwise, I would try. But you're not going to change your mind and I have other things to do." Bester returned his gaze to Robert. Robert could feel the telepath poking at the edges of his mind. "I am curious as to why you came looking for Miss Alexander. Well, I'm sure your debriefing can cover that before we send you to the labs."

"Labs?"

"To see what you are, Captain. To find out how your powers work. The same with the Commander here."

"Somehow, Bester, I don't think poking us with needles will tell you much about what we can do."

"You might be surprised by what our scientists can manage."

"I'm not exactly in a hurry to find out."

"Maybe not." That satisfied grin reappeared on Bester's face. He motioned him. "But I have a dozen Psi Corps agents who say otherwise. It would be a loss if you made us kill you. But one way or another, you are coming with us."

The conversation was going nowhere. The only thing they could do now was fight and hope their personal forcefields would let them hold out long enough. He glanced toward Meridina and sensed she agreed.

It was also clear that Bester could tell. He raised his hand and made a motion. PPG guns snapped up to open fire.

Before the fight could break out, the door to the docking area slid open.

Eyes turned that way and watched a single large figure step in. Red eyes looked over the gathered crowd and the hairless being stopped in his tracks. "Well," said the Narn, "it seems I have the wrong dock." He looked toward them, or rather Lyta, with an intent expression.

"G'Kar," Lyta said. "Sorry, we're busy."

"So it appears."

A series of things happened at once. G'Kar took a quick step and threw a punch at a surprised Psi Corps man who had trouble with alien minds. Meridina's lightsaber flashed to life, the blue blade immediately intercepting PPG shots that flashed red over the walls. Robert drew up his power and threw out a wave of force that sent Bester and another of his agents flying. Lyta glared toward the nearest of them, who promptly turned and shot her buddy before being shot by the agent beside her.

This, alone, was unlikely to have gotten them free. Bester's other agents had them in a kill zone. But these things were not the only things to happen.

Two people descended from the upper dock floor, the same the Psi Corps themselves had just used. There was a metallic sound and one of the newcomers was spinning around a metal staff that smacked teeth from the jaw of a Psi Corps agent. The other arrival hit the ground and held her arms out. Two quick metallic shrieks sounded, that of memory metal taking form into two short blades.

Robert turned with his gun raised and put a pulse shot into the arm of a Psi Corps shooter bearing down on the newcomers. One was a Minbari with a light bone crest on his head and a Minbari fighting pike in his hands, the other a Dorei woman with blue skin and light purple spotting. She had dark blue hair pulled into a combat bun at the back of her head and purple eyes that made Robert think of Violeta Arterria's gene-engineered eye color. She moved with deadly grace, driving her blades into one of the Psi Corps men and then the other with a speed that told him she had abilities even as he started to sense them.

A shrill cry came from another of the enemy agents, who had just had his hands and forearms severed by Meridina's blade. She twirled the blue energy blade around and deflected a shot heading toward her. The red PPG shot flashed red over the back of another of the Psi Corps operatives, this one threatening G'Kar from behind.

The sudden arrival of the two newcomers immediately turned the fight against Bester's people. They began to fall back toward the far side of the dock under his telepathic guidance. Bester had a PPG out now and aimed toward Lyta.

Meridina moved in his way as the shot fired. Her lightsaber intercepted the blast and sent it back into Bester's hands. Bester's control was enough that he didn't cry out, but he dropped his weapon. Robert had him dead to rights.

But he could feel it. There were more figures coming. Maybe more Psi Corps, or Kalnit Station security forces, mercenaries… whoever it was, he sensed they didn't want to be here when they arrived.

So instead of shooting Bester, Robert knocked him back with energy.

The Minbari put down his opponent by jabbing one end of his fighting pike into his belly and the other end swinging to smack the man in the face. He turned to Robert and said, "Our ship is nearby, we should go there."

"And you are?"

Meridina stepped up beside him. "Lennier," she said. "Druni."

"Meridina." The Dorei woman, who looked younger than Robert expected from seeing her fight, smiled at Meridina. "It is good to see you, but we should get going."

"She's right." Lyta joined the conversation. "I could sense it in their heads. Your ship's been sabotaged. Probably ours as well." She looked to G'Kar who nodded.

"A Narn couple among the dockworkers warned me about the sabotage. Repairs are proceeding, but we do not have time to wait."

"This way." Lennier took the lead and led them to the door.




Bester watched them go with a frown. The plan to take Lyta Alexander out had been months in the making, waiting only the news of her presence to swing into action. Now this unexpected complication had ruined everything.

There was still a chance, however. He activated his link. "Bester to Omega Squadron, launch. They're fleeing in a vessel, unknown configuration, likely alien. Disable if you can, but destroy it before it can escape."

"Understood."




The vessel that Lennier and Druni led them to in Dock 18 was a Dorei design, a blue-colored ship resembling a bird with wings swept back, with a feather design painted on the wings in green color. The cockpit was in the "head' part of the ship with the body widest where the wings were attached to the ship. Robert could make out a pair of twin ball turrets built into the top and bottom of the ship and an array of plasma cannons in the front of the wings. The wings themselves sloped down slightly enough to end in warp nacelles. "Nice ship," Robert said to them.

"The Keyeri is her name," Druni said. "She is fueled , stocked, and ready."

As they entered the airlock Robert asked, "Do you have a transporter? We left some things on our ship that we should bring along."

"I'll show you to it," said Druni, leaving Lennier to head to the cockpit and start the ship up. The inside of the ship was likewise colored to Dorei standards, vibrant green with purple trim. From the airlock entrance along the ship's port side one could either turn left to the cockpit and what Robert guessed was the main quarters, or to the right and the engineering spaces, mess hall, and cargo space.

G'Kar and Lyta went off to do their own thing - possibly argue - while Druni led them to the cargo bay of the ship. Robert thought it more of a storage room from the look of it. Even the cargo bay on the Koenig was larger. In one corner was a transporter. Robert activated it and quickly aligned the scanners on the Type 121 they were leaving behind. It wasn't hard to find the device he was looking for. He initiated the transporter and the portable IU radio appeared on the transporter pad in a burst of light.

"What is that?" Druni asked. "Why is it so important?"

"Oh, it's how we're going to call the cavalry if we need to."

The entire ship shuddered. It was lifting off. They left the cargo bay and followed steps back up to the main hall of the ship and toward the cockpit. Lennier was lifting off. As they walked along Robert looked back at Meridina and asked, "How do you know them?"

"They were on the team Commander Andreys assembled to rescue Jarod from the Centre," Meridina answered. "Druni Jestani is a former Sister of the Silver Moon."

Robert nodded. "One of the Dorei orders, right. The all-lesbian one?"

A sound of frustration came from their hostess. "Goddess, if I hear that one more time I may scream," she growled. "No. Men are in the Order too as lay members. And it is not unheard of for a Sister to marry a man in the laity."

"Alright, alright," Robert answered, recognizing that he'd inadvertently stepped into a bit of a minefield there. "That's the last time I let Tom's descriptions worm into my brain."

They made it to the cockpit area. The lone seat at the front and in the middle was for the pilot. Flanking seats were for other functions. Druni took one. "You are trained, yes? Those are the controls for the ship's main weapons and sensors," she said, indicating the seat beside her. The seat behind that was described as being for the turrets.

"And yours?" Robert asked while taking the sensors and weapons post.

"Ship communications and operations."

"Right." Robert could already see they were pulling away from Kalnit Station. Lennier weaved them between an Earth freighter - possible with Bester? - and an Abbai ship. Robert checked the sensor returns and the weapons. "For a ship this size, it's pretty well-armed," he observed. "Four ultralight plasma cannons and dual pulse guns on the turrets for covering the other arcs. You could probably shoot up a corvette with these thing. What is this design?"

"It is from the Henjan-Kimati Shipbuilding company in the Daxai Republic, a Model 4 Rotaga armed courier," Druni answered. "It is used by a number of Dorei governments and corporations for protective interstellar transport of low volume high-value goods or important individuals."

"I cannot imagine your share of the bounty from the Deadman's Hand covered this," Meridina noted.

"No, it did not," Lennier said. "That reward bought us an unarmed private transport."

"And we crashed it," Druni added. She grinned. "Into the palace of a Jeaxian slaver. I shall tell you the story some other time, but right now…"

Robert was already looking at his screens and seeing what she meant. "...right now we have incoming contacts." He used the panel's viewing capability to zoom in on the approaching craft. "Earth Alliance Starfuries. Their weapons are armed."

"Black Omega fighters," said Lyta. "They're an elite wing of Psi Corps pilots."

"Are we ready to go to warp?"

"I am getting us clear of Kalnit's traffic lanes now," said Lennier. "I recommend you raise shields.

"Shields are raised," said Druni, while Meridina began tracking the Starfuries. The positioning of the four turrets meant only two would point toward the aft. She breathed in and let her instincts guide her in opening fire.

Since she didn't consciously think of her target, the telepathic pilots had no warning. Bursts of white light slammed into the lead fighter and blew upper wings off. As it began to spin helplessly in space, the other fighters returned fire. Their weapons played over the Keyeri's shields. The vessel rumbled slightly. "Shields down to eighty-eight percent," was Druni's report.

The Dorei courier ship raced on through the void with the Psi Corps fighters in hot pursuit. White pulses flashed back and forth between hunter and hunted. Another of the Starfuries took a hit, this one just off the cockpit. It stopped accelerating.

"We are clear in three… two… one." Lennier hit a sequence of keys. "I have finalized our course. Activating warp drive now."

With a quick rumble through the deck, the Keyeri jumped to warp.

"They don't have warp drives so no pursuit." Robert let the tension of the unexpected fight out with a breath. "Alright, now that the crazy part is over, perhaps we should all talk?"

That prompted laughter from behind them. All eyes turned to face G'Kar. The Narn leader was smiling and an amused twinkle was in his eyes. "Captain, if you believe the 'crazy part' is over, you have clearly not been involved in our humble universe for long enough."

"Fine. Now that the most recent crazy part is over, we should talk." Robert turned his head to face Druni. "How did you find us?"

"It wasn't easy," she answered. "I had to meditate to get enough clarity. And Lennier's guess that you would go for Lyta helped narrow down the potential choices."

Robert almost asked why before it came to him. "Julia asked you to help?"

"She did." Druni grinned. "And Lennier and I like helping people out, so we said yes."

Lennier nodded. "Although I did not expect to face Agent Bester." He looked back. "Do you have a destination in mind?"

"Not yet." Robert turned to look at Lyta. "That depends on Miss Alexander. Which reminds me that I have a call to make. Does this ship have a secure IU radio?"

"It's meant to be a government or corporate transport," Druni reminded him. "Of course it does."

"Then I have a call to make." Robert stood up. "Do you have a mess room or something where we can direct the call?"

"In the back, to your left," Druni replied. "If you eat my seemai strips, I will throw you out of the airlock."

Robert was familiar with what she was talking about; strips of seemai fruit, which always seemed to him to taste like an avocado mixed with a grapefruit. "Meridina will keep me out of trouble." He looked over her console. Druni moved to let him input the call channel and an access code. "Let me know when he answers?"

Druni nodded in reply and let them depart.




Angela found Julia right where she expected her to be. Namely, in her Deck 3 office, thinking and worrying. Julia looked up and asked, "What is it?" when Angel entered fully.

"I was just seeing how you were holding up," Angel said.

"Ah. I'm alright." Julia motioned to her screen. "Emissary Jopari just let me know that the treaty passed final reading. As soon as the Committee of Chiefs signs off on it, and they probably will, the defense treaty will be in force."

"What about the Senate? We still have to ratify, right?"

Julia nodded. "The treaty's going before the Senate today. Passage is expected without complaint."

"Well, our job's done then." Angel sat in a chair. "Now we can jump to E5B1 and help Rob and Meridina."

Julia shook her head. "No, we can't. Orders are we remain here."

Angel frowned. "Why?"

"To help finish the excavations of the Azeyma's Rest site, and to protect the planet until a force of Dorei starbirds arrives," answered Julia. "Although I think the real reason is that Maran and Sheridan don't want us traipsing around E5B1 looking for Rob and Meridina."

"What are they hiding?"

"I've no idea." There was an unease in the room. "I've thought about calling Zack and asking him to look for Robert and the others."

"It's an idea," Angel agreed. "Of course, if Maran finds out he'll order him away."

"Yeah." Julia thought on it another moment before sitting up in her chair and activating her systems.

A wry grin appeared on Angel's face. "Calling Zack?"

"Yep." After a few key presses and a wait on the screen, Zack's image appeared. He looked slightly bleary but quite satisfied. "How is B5?"

"Incredible. We gave Karen a welcome back party and beat B5 Security at darts," Zack replied. "I'm letting some of the other crew take shore leave over there right now. Then we'll jump back to N2S7 and heard your way."

"How about you stick around and go find Rob and Meridina?"

Zack seemed to think on it. "I suppose, if I can find any indication of where they went. At least until Maran calls for me to go somewhere."

"Well, do what you can and let me know?"

"Sure, I…" Zack stopped. "Speak of the devil."

Julia blinked. "What?"

"Admiral Maran's calling," Zack said. "Sorry. I'd better take this."

"Yeah, you'd better," Julia sighed. She canceled the call on her end and looked at Angel. "That's just… ugh! How did he know?!"

"Well, he's either spying on us, or he's got bad timing," Angel pointed out.

"I'll go with 'bad timing' because the other option is something I don't want to contemplate," mumbled Julia. With a stroke of a key she shut down her screen. "That's it. I want to go hit something."

Angel laughed. "Usually that's my line."

"It's a good line." Julia stepped around her desk and went for the door.




Zack watched Julia disappear from his office desk computer screen. Three seconds later, Maran appeared. "Yes, Admiral?"

"Commander, you've picked up Lieutenant Derbely, correct?"

"We have, sir."

"And you've undoubtedly recovered from whatever celebration you had to welcome her back?"

"Mostly, sir." Zack grinned at that. "April's a bit under the weather, but we're good."

"Excellent. Because you're the closest ship for a special mission I've got in mind." Maran tapped a control on his desk. "I'm sending coordinates and a series of special codes to you on a double-encrypted subchannel."

Zack blinked at that. Double-encryption? That implied Maran was worried about interception. By whom? "Alright sir." He tapped a key on his end and acknowledged the subchannel had opened. "What can I do for you?"

"At those coordinates you'll find an Earth-built transport vessel named the Hycantha. Identify yourselves to them with the codes I have just sent to you. You are to escort it into hyperspace and to the Gamma Orionis Jump Gate, at the edge of Alliance space. There will you oversee its rendezvous with the Gersallian transport Hencerasa and the transfer of its passengers. Once this is complete, escort the Hencerasa to our colony at the Reynar System. This mission is on a time limit, so you are authorized to use interuniversal jumps to hide your course and get to the target area as quickly as possible."

As Maran laid out the orders, Zack grew concerned. That concern grew when the computer finished the double-encryption on the coordinates and displayed the location. "Sir, these coordinates… this is for the Sheffer System. In Earth Alliance space."

"Yes, they are," Maran said. "Earthforce's sensor systems in that system can't see you through your cloak. Use a narrow beam transmission to contact the Hycantha and let them know you've got them under escort."

Zack's concern became a full-fledged bad feeling. "If we're escorting them, who is it against? I mean, are you expecting us to engage Earthforce?"

"Not unless absolutely necessary and they fire first. And do not engage if it puts your ship at risk. However, it is imperative that the passengers and crew on the Hycantha get to Reynar. If you have to abandon the Hycantha and beam them aboard, do so. Captain Dale's safety may be at stake."

Just what does he have Rob doing? What does this have to do with the hunt for Darglan stuff? Zack forced himself to nod once. "I see, sir. I'll do what's necessary."

"Before you go, Commander, one last clarification of your engagement orders." Maran's mouth shifted slightly, becoming a frown. "Normal Earthforce vessels are to be left alone unless absolutely necessary to safeguard the people on the Hycantha, and under no circumstances can you destroy one. But if you're facing a vessel used by the Psi Corps and it threatens the Hycantha, feel free to commence an engagement on your terms."

"Sir?" Zack blinked. "Are you telling me to open fire, without provocation, on a ship belonging to a branch of the Earth Alliance's government?'

"Yes. Psi Corps has already committed hostile actions against the Alliance and they can pose a grave threat to your ship. Consult Commander King's records of the engagement at Venir a year ago September if you want to understand what I mean. If a Psi Corps vessel is involved, do not hesitate to destroy it."

Zack swallowed. I effectively fired the first shot against the Nazis. Will I fire the first shot against these people as well? Still, he knew what he had to say in response. "Orders understood, Admiral. Is there anything else?"

"No. As I said, Captain Dale's safety may rest on this mission. Get to it immediately. Maran out."

Once Maran disappeared from the screen Zack left his office and walked to the bridge. Apley looked at him from the helm. "Sir?" He could see that Zack was no longer in a happy mood.

"Order all of our people back from B5. All shore leaves are canceled."

Magda and April looked at each other with worry. "Sending orders, sir," she said. "It will take them a few minutes to get through departures and arrive at a point to beam out through their magnetic shields."

Zack nodded. He supposed he could ask Captain Lochley to temporarily lower the mag-shields so he could get his people off… but given his orders, he didn't want to specify what they were doing to her. "Set the jump drive to…" Zack consulted his memory. "...set it to Vega Fleet Base, Universe L4R2."

"Sir. Vega is just outside of the spatial aspect zone," Magda pointed out. "We won't actually arrive there."

"I'm well aware of that, Magda. We're not staying in L4R2. We'll be free-jumping back to E5B1 as soon as the jump drive can be safely re-engaged. Once we're back in E5B1, engage the cloaking device. Apley, you'll lay in a course for the Sheffer System, maximum warp."

"That's in Earth Alliance space," Apley said. Now he was showing worry.

"I'm aware of that, Ap." Zack imagined a more strict officer would have been angry with his people for seeming to question his orders. But he was proud of them. "Those are our orders straight from the top."

Apley drew in a breath and realized what that meant. "Alright. I'll lay in the course and engage as soon as our double-jump is complete."

"What's going on?" asked April. "Why are we sneaking into EA space?"

"Escort mission," Zack answered. "I'm not sure who we're escorting yet. All I know is that our orders are to leave Earthforce alone, to get the people on the ship to the Reynar System, and that if a Psi Corps-operated vessel tries to stop the ship we're covering, we're to blow them out of the stars before they can blink our way." He drew in a breath. "And that Captain Dale's safety is at stake."

That caused nods all around. This was for comrades and friends, then. They could accept that.

Magda's board toned. "Sir, the last of our crew just beamed off." Another tone went off. "Babylon Control just signaled. They want to know if everything is fine."

"Put me on." When Magda nodded, Zack raised his voice and said, "Babylon Control, this is Commander Carrey on the Starship Koenig. We've been called on priority assignment and are about to commence an interuniversal jump. Please provide us a flight path to a safe jumping point."

The voice that came over the line was that of a woman, with a firm tone. "Captain Lochley here. I understand, Commander. Good luck."

"Thank you, Captain. Hopefully we'll be back some day. Carrey out."

"We're getting a flight path, activating impulsor drives."

The Koenig twisted away from B5 and gained speed as she flew toward the station's rear. Once she was clear of the station and at a safe distance, Magda activated the jump drive. A green vortex expanded into existence and they accelerated into it.




The mess room on the Keyeri was a two-part room set into the starboard side of the ship just aft of the quarters. The rear portion was a kitchen, or rather a kitchenette, while the forward portion was a dining area with a small round table that could comfortably seat six people.

The dining area's fore-side wall had a viewscreen embedded into it. Admiral Maran's image appeared after a few minutes of quiet. "The Koenig is en route to rendezvous with the Hycantha," he said.

"That's good." Lyta put her hands on the table and tapped a key. "Lennier, can you please take us on a course for the Kuzaram star system?"

"I am doing so now."

"That's in Minbari space," Robert observed.

"It is," Lyta said. "But it's not too far from where we're going. As soon as your ship makes the rendezvous with the Hycantha, I'll provide you with the system in question. Provided that Admiral Maran can follow through on my request."

Maran nodded. "I've consulted with Secretary Saratova and President Morgan. We've found a world that fits your criteria. In this universe it's inhabited by a Centauri colony, the Kitamo Colony. In A4P5, it's uninhabited, but is considered acceptable for Human habitation with no environmental or biological hazards. We can arrange prefabricated colony structures to be available when your first colonists arrive."

There was evident pleasure on Lyta's face at that. "Thank you very much, Admiral. You won't regret this, I promise. In time the telepaths of the Byron Free Colony will be among the Allied System's strongest supporters."

"And we thank you for your help," Maran answered, diplomatically evading the issue that Lyta's help was coming at a cost. Near-Earth garden worlds were not entirely rare, but given the desire for colonies setting one aside as a refugee colony exclusive to one group of refugees did present a challenge. If this was about anything less than potentially-dangerous Darglan technology that could fall into the hands of people like the Psi Corps, Robert doubted Maran could have managed it. The best Lyta could have hoped for was an enclave on New Liberty which was clearly not what she desired.

"I'll keep you informed of any new developments, Admiral," Robert said.

"Please do, Captain. Maran out." He disappeared from the screen.

"You admire him," Lyta observed.

"Maran is a good man," Robert answered. "He's not afraid to step forward when he has to, he always recognizes success and rewards it, and he watches out for his subordinates."

"He reminds me of John Sheridan, a little."

Robert considered that and gave a slight nod. "The thought crossed my mind too."

Given the conflicted look on Lyta's face, Robert realized the comparison hadn't entirely been a compliment. "The thing about people like that is… the moment you're not useful anymore, and you decide to stand for something they find inconvenient to their plans, all of that effort goes away. They'll turn on you without pause."

There was just the right bit of bitterness in Lyta's voice to tell Robert what she was referring to. Meridina was the one to ask, "What happened?"

"I tried to do the right thing. We all did. And we bled and died for them. But we weren't convenient politically, so they ignored us," Lyta said, sourly. "They gave us shelter and then let Bester and his Bloodhounds hunt us down because it was easier than standing up to him. The only reason Bester left empty-handed was because they came up with a procedural technicality to stop him." Lyta's voice was picking up in anger. "And when we finally demanded our due, they all turned on us. And Byron paid the price."

"I have heard of this incident," said Meridina. "Did Byron not attempt to blackmail the InterStellar Alliance's council members into giving you a world."

"Yes, he did," stated Lyta. She glared intently at Meridina. "The fact that he felt it necessary to go that far should tell you just how bad things were for us. How little they cared for us in the long run. "

Meridina looked at her with sympathy. "I understand your pain and anger. But if you let it drive you, it will consume you."

"I'm not in the mood to be psycho-analyzed." Lyta stood up from the table. "I'm going to lay down for a while. Let me know if we get to Kuzaram. If we end up stopping by, the Minbari colonists were quite good to me and G'Kar when we dropped in a few months ago."

Once she was gone Robert glanced toward Meridina. Meridina bowed her head. "I fear for her," she admitted. "That much pain and anger can mislead."

"But she has to want to let us help," Robert pointed out. "She has to be willing to hear us. She's not. We can't do anything for her."

"I fear you are right." Meridina stood. "I shall find a room and meditate."

Robert nodded. "And I…" He stood, feeling an old, familiar, and very uncomfortable sensation. "...am going to find a bathroom before my bladder explodes."

"That is why I was very careful with those Jovian sunspots." The merest hint of a smile appeared on Meridina's face before she stepped out.




Meridina sensed the arrival into the cargo bay and nodded. "You are G'Kar, yes?"

"I am." The Narn sat down on the floor in front of her. "You are one of the near-Human species from the other universes?"

"Yes. I am Meridina of Gersal, formerly a swevyra'se, a Knight, in the Order of Swenya." Meridina opened her eyes and considered G'Kar. "I have spent some time reading a translation of your book."

"I see." He showed no sign off the sort of reaction a writer might ordinarily give to his or her or their work being read by another. "Do you have questions?"

"There are always questions. But for the most part, I have observations."

"And those would be?"

Meridina clasped her hands together. "You are a man who once dwelled in darkness, full of anger and pain. You did things in the name of your people you should not have done."

G'Kar shook his head. "Indeed. I was a different man."

"And yet here you are. I sense the Light in you, strong, pure. You have let go of the hatreds that bound you to your past. You seek to lead your people to embrace those qualities. That is an admirable goal."

"When you speak of Light, what is it that you mean?" G'Kar asked.

"The Light of Life. The Flow of Life surrounding us all. Light enriches and strengthens it. Darkness chokes it." Meridina held her hand up and used it to levitate a tool that Druni or Lennier had left on the ground. "My training as a swevyra'se, a Knight of Life, allows me to draw upon the energies of my swevyra." Sensing what G'Kar was about to ask, she added, "There is no term in the Human English tongue for it, and I am unfamiliar with your own language enough to know if you have a word for it. Swevyra is the energy of life within oneself. Some have a swevyra that lets them feel the Flow of Life and to connect with the universe, or Multiverse."

"I see." G'Kar folded his hands in his lap. "An extraordinary gift. But not exclusive to your species?"

"Any may have a swevyra that has such a connection."

"As your Captain does. And the young Dorei woman Lennier has been traveling with."

"Indeed." Meridina settled her hands back onto her knees. "I sense you feel no anxiety over such a thing existing. Even though your universe seems to lack in any traditions similar to my own."

"I would feel no anxiety over something like this," G'Kar answered. "What you have told me merely confirms my own views on life. That it is wondrous and full of mystery, and that we should be privileged when the mystery is revealed to us."

Meridina nodded and smiled. "I have learned to feel the same."

"You have used the Human word 'Knight' to describe yourself. I once met a Human who considered himself such. He was willing to fight against superior odds to reclaim a picture belonging to an old woman, an image dear to her memory."

"A worthy act. Such things strengthen the Flow of Life, and that is the purpose of a swevyra'se."

"And you say you are no longer one?" A curious look came to G'Kar's eyes. "Why?"

Meridina met his eyes with her own. She knew he was perceptive enough to see the pain behind them. "To do what was right, to follow the path I know I must take for the good of everything I cherish, of those I cherish… I left my Order. To remain would be to betray everything I have built."

"A difficult decision. I am familiar with them." G'Kar drew in a breath and closed his eyes. "Yes, very familiar."

"May I ask you something?"

"You may."

"Your book has become a guide to your people," said Meridina. "Yet you rejected their pleas to lead them and instead departed for the edge of civilized space. Why?"

"Because it was the necessary thing," said G'Kar. "My people wished to raise me to power. Over a book that I had never intended to release until after my death. I fear that they are missing the point of my writings."

"Or they find it easier to be led by you than to follow your wisdom, hard-earned that it is, themselves," Meridina observed. "Swenya, it is said, had the same problem."

"And how did Swenya handle it?" asked G'Kar.

"She formed the Order, and refused all other roles," Meridina answered. "She devoted herself to teaching her Code to those of our people with a connected swevyra."

"A decent alternative."

"Yes." Meridina met him eye to eye again. "But she did not hide from her people either. Though she refused the power they pleaded her to take, Swenya remained to advise those they elected to lead them. No control, nothing but guidance."

G'Kar considered that. "You feel that is what I should have done."

"I do," Meridina answered. "I do understand why you chose this instead, but if your people feel lost enough to beg you to lead them, they can be lured into darkness by their own fears."

For a long moment nothing was said. G'Kar finally nodded in acceptance of her point. "Perhaps my time away from the Homeworld has come to its proper end," he said. "Once we have completed this excursion, I will consider returning."

"It may be that your time away has been for the best, just as your return will be," Meridina agreed.




The benefit to the bunk he had on the Keyeri was that Robert didn't bump his head when he woke up in a start from the dreams. The vision in his head, of the Aurora being assailed by a fleet of dark shapes, her hull spewing flame and gas and debris, had come to him before. It was not a common one, but this time it was so powerful…

And then there was the face. The woman who was saying "Bad Wolf" to him in his dreams. He was starting to make out detail. Definitely a younger woman, maybe even at the end of her teens. Blond hair. And the accent…

Expecting he wouldn't be getting back to sleep, Robert changed clothes and went to the kitchen. He found that Druni or Lennier had thoughtfully programmed the replicator with coffee. A drink from it did much to get the sleep out of his eyes. That it also made his taste buds recoil was an unpleasant side effect. The replicator was apparently where the ship's builder had skimped.

With a mug of dreadfully bad coffee in his hand, Robert journeyed up to the cockpit. Lennier was resting and Druni had taken a turn at the helm. She didn't look back when she said, "I thought I felt something peculiar about you."

"Oh?"

She turned to face him. "It's not a common thing. Being able to sense possible futures through the Gift."

"It's a curse," Robert grumbled. "The news is almost always bad."

"That's because you let it be," Druni said. "Your energy responds to your mood. When it's good, and when you feel good about the future, you see the futures that are good. When you're brooding and angry and feeling uncertain or bad about the future, that's when your dreams fill with bad stuff."

"You speak from experience, I'm guessing?"

"A little. I've had some clairvoyant visions. It's what helped me find you and Meridina."

"Thank you for that. Again."

"No thanks are necessary," Druni assured him. "But they are welcome."

Robert nodded and sipped at the atrocious coffee again to see if it woke him up further. It did, although not pleasantly. He looked out the cockpit canopy at the streaks of warp space. "Do you enjoy being out here?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes," Druni said. "Flying from star to star, going between universes. Always finding somewhere new to visit. Helping people." She looked at him with glee in her purple eyes. "You know what that's like, don't you?"

Robert grinned and nodded. "Oh yeah, I do."

"But you gave it up."

"We did." He shrugged. "Had to, really. After we lost the Facility, we had nowhere to keep the Aurora maintained. And I like to think there have been benefits."

"More resources, certainly," Druni answered.

"If I might ask, why did you leave your Order?"

Robert hoped he hadn't stepped on a mine with the question. Druni's emotional reaction was sad, but layered with resigned acceptance. "I was trying to fight a rogue Coserian cybertrooper in the Unaligned Worlds. It was my first mission as a Sentinel of the Silver Moon."

"Sentinel?"

"The first rank when we graduate to full Sisters," Druni clarified. "I was on the planet Junan, a colony of Kilpak - they are the four-eyed bipeds from my home universe - and the machine was attacking civilians. We fought. I was losing, despite my gifts. His weapons were too great. So I used a technique that my uncle Tormarin had taught me. He was Gifted too."

"This is the lightning attack you used on the Deadman's Hand?" Upon seeing her surprised expression Robert said, "It was in Commander Andreys' report."

"Yes. It is a simple technique," Druni said. "You use your power to separate positive and negative charges in the air. When this creates an electrical field from the charges attempting to meet, you direct it through yourself with your power and channel it into a lightning bolt."

Robert imagined that technique. It explained the hand movements Julia had described. "Sounds useful."

"It can be. But lightning is associated with the powers of darkness. Even if the lightning is not formed from the Gift itself, but from the natural charge in the air." Druni's eyes lowered. "My Sisters discovered what I had done. I was ordered to meditate on my 'error' and to swear to never again use the power. I instead told them I would leave the Silver Moon rather than denounce a technique that can save lives. So I left. And my parents disowned me."

"What?" Robert blinked.

"I am Astra… you are familiar with the Dorei nations, yes?"

"Um, moderately. I know Sindai nations are still polytheist, that the Daxai are the most powerful of the Merchant and Corporate Republics…" Robert shrugged. "...and I think I heard that the Astra have the holiest sites for the Eternal Goddess religion?"

"The Lushan host the Church's headquarters, but the oldest temples are in my nation, yes. The Queens of the Astra are always Ordained Priestesses and ceremonial guardians of the Temple of the Lunar Revelation. Anyway, I will not force you to listen to an academic lecture about our religion. You simply need to know that the Astra are generally a religiously devout and conservative people. Astra with the Gift are expected to join the Church's Holy Orders for the Gifted. Leaving as I did, from defiance of the Order's rules… my parents were quite upset."

Robert could sense the pain inside of her at that outcome. "Maybe they'll… well, if you show you're still…"

"They do not understand. Few do. Even your teacher Meridina believed the power was dangerous." Tears streaked down Druni's cheeks. "I know it is a dangerous use of power. Such energy can kill. If you're not careful with it…"

"The same with a lot of things. I've made mistakes that got my people killed. Even though I thought I was doing the right thing." Robert took in a breath and thought of what else to say. "All you can do is try to do the right thing and consider the consequences of what you do."

"Yes." Druni sat back in the cockpit chair. The emotional moment had drained her. Robert regretted asking her about her past. He looked away and thought of something else he might say, something that might make her feel better. It was Druni, however, who spoke next. "The weapon Meridina now carries. I saw the fight on Gersal with that fallen Mastrash. It is the same weapon that her student Lucy used, isn't it?"

"Yes and no." Robert shook his head. "The weapon Lucy used to beat Goras was Swenya's Blade. The actual relic. She found out how to reactivate it. And after months of trying, she figured out how to build her own."

"Extraordinary," Druni stated, with heartfelt awe. "I still use my tenari, but I would love to have such weapons."

"Lucy taught Meridina how to build one. Meridina could teach you."

"I will ask, then." Druni turned her head and faced him. Her lips, a darker and richer shade of blue than her skin, formed a smile. "And you, Captain Dale? Have you learned how to build one?"

"No." Robert shook his head. "I'm afraid my control is pretty bad. I haven't gotten it to work."

"Practice will improve you."

"Maybe. But I'm a horrible duelist anyway, so I'm not sure I should." Robert rubbed at his forehead at the thought of it. "Honestly, I'd only ever intended to learn enough of this stuff to control it, not to master it. If things hadn't…"

There was a beep at their consoles. Druni checked her board. "We're arriving in the Kuzaram System. I'm taking us out of warp."

The Keyeri slowed to sublight speed as they approached the planet. Robert checked the file on the planet. Under the Allied Systems' planetary class charge, Kuzaram was an O1-type garden planet, a world that had just enough ocean area at 90.04% to be considered an oceanic world instead of a standard continental garden planet like Earth. The main Minbari colony was in a valley on the lone continent on the planet, which took up 7% of the planet's area and was roughly the size of South America.

Landing would give them a chance to stretch their legs. On the other hand, their mission was still covert enough that even a Minbari colony might not be safe. "Don't approach the colony. Keep us a distance away and off their scanners if you can."

"Alright." Druni started operating the helm. "What else?"

"Nothing." Robert laid back in the seat. "Now we wait for developments."




The Koenig came out of warp a few thousand kilometers from the Jump Gate in the Sheffer system. Sensors showed traffic in the area was light. "I'm reading one vessel with an Earthforce ID," Magda said to Zack. "According to our records, it's an Artemis-class vessel. A heavy frigate in Earthforce parlance."

"Right. But no other combat ships?"

"Nothing. Just a few transporters. Mostly Earth Alliance-flagged, plus a Drazi merchant ship… and one of the Earth ships is reading as the Hycantha."

"There's our ship. Take us to her, full impulse."

The Koenig, hidden by her cloak, moved through the system without any sign of being detected. Within minutes the Hycantha was on screen. "It's a M'Gede Technologies Commercial Transport," Magda said. "It's meant for running cargo with a small passenger limit, but my sensors are showing that it's got at least twice the passenger total that it's rated for."

"Hrm. Send them a tight beam transmission with the following codes." Zack used the small console to the right of his command chair to provide the identification codes Maran had sent for Magda's use.

"I'm sending the transmission." After several seconds. "They're responding with a tight beam transmission of their own. They have acknowledged our presence and are heading to the jump gate."

"Follow them, Ap," Zack said. "Keep us close enough that we'll use their jump point."

"Yes sir," Apley replied.




Robert had taken over in the cockpit for Druni, who wanted a drink and a chance to talk to Meridina. The controls were Dorei standard which he had a passive familiarity with, enough that he could fly in sublight with them. But he suspected Lennier or Druni, or perhaps Meridina, would have to guide the ship to warp if they were being completely safe.

With nothing to do Robert stared out at the void of space. Without an atmosphere, there was no bright carpet of distant, twinkling lights like he had known growing up on the family farm. His memories fell back to the time his Grandmother Anna had shown him the constellations and taught him their names in English and in German. He remembered her telling him about how her father taught her the very same stars in the years between the wars. Frederick Beck had been an officer in the Imperial German Navy and a veteran of Jutland; teaching his children astronomy had been a way for him to spend time with them, or so Grandma Anna had said. As a child he had always thought she seemed especially quiet after those lessons. Now, as an adult who had lost his father as well… Robert realized that Grandma Anna had been recalling

At the time he hadn't thought much of the stars. He'd never wanted to be an astronaut growing up. Not when he had the family farm that he was being raised to inherit. It was ironic that something that he had only loved as a way to spend time with his grandmother had become something that was part of his everyday life.

He felt Lyta approach before he heard her treading down the deck. Robert turned in the pilot chair to face her. "Yes?"

"Your ship just made contact with the Hycantha," she said. "You need to set a course for an F sequence star about one parsec away from the Darglan home system."

Robert turned back to the console and brought up the star charts. He specified the Darglan homeworld, now known to be She'teyal. "I'm reading…" He nodded. "Just one system. An F4 sequence star."

Druni and Meridina walked into the cockpit behind Lyta. "You have a destination, then." Meridina wasn't asking.

"We do." Robert indicated the holo-screen he was looking at.

Druni slipped by Lyta and took the helm right as Robert vacated it. "I am laying in a course. At our best warp velocity, we'll be there in three days."

"That sounds right," said Lyta. "By then the Hycantha will be at Gamma Orionis."

"Take us out, then," said Robert. "Please." He added the last in last second recollection that this was not his ship.

Druni's hands moved over the ship controls. The Keyeri re-orientated itself and made the jump to warp speed.




The Keyeri left the Kuzaram system at Warp 5.2, its fastest safe speed, its occupants settling in for their long flight.

They might not have settled in so well had they known that, at that moment, their ship was a dot on a set of subspace scanners showing on a bridge many light years away.

The ship was black, appropriately enough. Indeed, in defiance of the usual procedure for such vessels, it had no name or marking insignia painted on its hull. Without a very specific set of frequencies set for listening, someone wouldn't even get the ship's IFF transponder code to learn its name: Muninn. This was an intentional feature since those commanding the ship were not particularly interested in being known.

Captain Phan sat in the main chair. The Vietnamese woman watched the scanner return and turned to her special passenger, the man she was reporting to. She kept her gloved hands together in her lap.

Alfred Bester watched the dot. Do we know what course they're on? Bester asked.

Toward the claimed Alliance zone. Our new star charts say they are heading to the vicinity of the Darglan homeworld. Phan frowned. How do you intend to evade the Alliance's sensor nets?

Their sensor nets are incomplete due to the demands of their war effort. Bester walked up to the screen and tapped a star. Warp-equipped scout ships from IPX have had success sneaking into Alliance territory through Delta Serpentis. We'll do the same. Have all stealth measures running to keep us hidden and by the time the Alliance realizes we were here, we'll be done with the mission and escaping in hyperspace. Bester felt the doubt come from Phan, and other members of the crew. I understand your skepticism. But Lyta Alexander is a danger to the Corps. And now that we know who's with her, the recovery of Captain Dale and Commander Meridina is a priority. With study, we may learn how to improve future generations of our people. It's for the good of us all.

Phan nodded. The Corps is Mother, the Corps is Father. Helm, set a course for Delta Serpentis, cruise speed.

The Muninn's bow turned toward the starboard and "lifted". There was no flash; the internal warp drive activated and the black-coated vessel jumped to warp.

Chapter Text

Ship's Log: ASV Koenig; 18 October 2642. Commander Zachary Carrey commanding. We are currently six hours out from Gamma Orionis at the edge of Earth Alliance-held space. So far we have had no problems with our escort of the transport vessel Hycantha. I'm still wondering how this ship is linked to Captain Dale's current mission. I imagine a deal has been struck with someone, but I would like to know who it is, and more importantly, just what we're escorting into Alliance space.

I must also log that Doctor Opani and the seven other Dorei members of my crew have spent the last three days sleeping with sedatives due to the unexpected impact of hyperspace upon their latent psionic talents. I will be submitting a report to the Alliance Stellar Navy on the dangers of exposing those with telepathy to hyperspace.

A scan of the Hycantha was showing on the large wall-screen in Zack's office off the bridge. Magda and Apley were seated across from him and looking at the same. "There's nothing special about the cargo," Magda insisted. "The materials scan indicates manufactured consumer goods."

"So the ship is carrying… what? Furniture?"

"Or house furnishings. Office supplies. Cookware." Magda shrugged. "It could be any of that. The only thing particular is that this ship is rated for seven crew and twenty-five passengers, but I'm reading about sixty-five separate life signs with our sensors."

"So what, refugees?"

"I'm not sure from where," said Apley. "We don't have any reports of major wars or conflicts or even disasters."

"Maybe they're fleeing from something in specific?" Magda proposed.

"Fugitives?" Zack frowned. "So, what, we're helping criminals?"

"Maybe." Apley shook his head. "We'd have to know what was going on with Captain Dale to know for sure."

"Yeah." Zack thought it over and figured he was still missing pieces if he was going to figure this out. "Well, you're both dismissed. We still have some time before we're jumping out of hyperspace."

"Frankly, I can't wait to be back in realspace," grumbled Magda. "Hyperspace is a nightmare."

"Tell me about it," grumbled Zack, who had decided that the boredom of watching streaks in warp space was now preferable to the red and black chaos of hyperspace.




On the Keyeri, everyone seemed to have gone off to do their own thing. Lennier and G'Kar were catching up in the cockpit, Lyta was sleeping (or may be sleeping, nobody knew there), and the others were in the cargo bay.

There wasn't a lot of room in the cargo bay, and having three people sitting in it took up quite a bit of space. The lack of space had been a concern for Robert. Of greater interest to him, however, was the disparate number of parts levitating in the air in front of him. His will held them in place. He kept his mind clear and visualized the pieces flowing together just right…

Two came together, then a third, and the blue crystal they'd brought with them. For a moment Robert thought he had it. But then a piece fell out of place. He tried to pull it back but lost his grips on some of the others, and within moments his focus was gone and all of the parts rained to the floor in front of him. He let out a growl of utter frustration and stood up. "This isn't working," he announced.

"It may take you time to learn the control necessary," Meridina replied.

"I'm not sure I ever will. I'm not even sure of the point of it. I was horrible in our testing duels." Robert picked up the various pieces that had fallen everywhere and gathered them together.

The crystal had rolled over to where Druni was sitting,, beside the wall and a container full of nonperishable soup. She considered the crystal. "Is this a domari crystal?" she asked them.

"I believe Lucy acquired that from McQuarrie Station," Meridina replied. "Although it may be the same as your domari."

"I see. One moment." Druni handed the items to Robert and left the cargo bay.

After she left Robert started setting them up again for another try. One that he really did not have his heart set upon. Meridina reached over and took his arm. "You do not have to try again," she said. "I believe it may be counter-productive."

Robert drew his hand back from the pile. "I'm sorry if that upsets you," he said.

"It does not." Meridina shook her head. "We all have our own strengths with our connection to the universe. I had expectations that increased training might lead you to finding the skills to fight with a blade and your power. But it is becoming clear this isn't the path you're meant to be on."

"Oh?"

"Not all with swevyra fight," she pointed out. "Among the Order, those who lack the skill or control find other avenues in which to serve."

"Like your healing specialists."

"Yes." Meridina set her hand on his shoulder. "Do not let this undermine you. Whether or not you are ever able to take up the blade, we will work to develop your talents wherever they lead."

"Right." There was a trace of bitterness in his voice that Meridina felt. He had given up his relationship with Angel for this training because he, because they all, believed it was vital for the future of the Multiverse. Now, months after that decision, it seemed like his learning was, if not over, going in directions that seemed to make his decision a mockery. He was never going to be as powerful as Lucy or Meridina.

Meridina said nothing to that. There was nothing to say. It was a truth they had to face.

Druni returned to the cargo bay with crystals in her hand. Unlike the blue crystals Meridina had brought, these were a vibrant purple color matching her eye color. "Can I try?" she asked

Robert gestured to the pile before standing up. "I'm going to get something to eat and see if Lennier needs a break. Good luck."

He walked out. Behind him, Meridina waited for Druni to settle into a seated position. "This is not a test of mechanical skill," she said to Druni, "but of your ability to listen to what your swevyra tells you. Let the parts come together in your mind. Sense how they are to form…"




The arrival of a squadron of Dorei starbirds filled the holo-viewscreen on the Aurora bridge. The Dorei built their starships with a certain aesthetic grace, or so Julia thought. They looked like great blue and green and purple birds in flight, all of varying sizes. The Layama-class cruiser-grade starbird in charge of the formation was the first to move into orbit. The other seven starbirds moved out of formation to take up positions around Ys'talla.

"Squadron Captain Igmata has sent us a message, Commander." Lieutenant Jupap, the yellow and red-feathered Alakin at Ops, twisted in his chair slightly. His chirping voice, with a beaked mouth never designed by nature to speak English quite like Humans or other species do, filled the bridge again. "We are clear to depart."

"Good. Ensign, take us out."

"Aye ma'am." Violeta's fingers moved over her board. The Aurora broke away from orbit. "Where are we setting course?"

Julia thought about that. "Delta Serpentis. Take us to the Delta Serpentis system."

"Aye ma'am."

"Commander, I am confused," said Jupap. "Delta Serpentis has only two small mining facilities in this universe. It is well within Dorei space and far from any point of trouble. Why are we going there?"

"Because in E5B1, that's inside what used to be Darglan space. Which is now our space." Julia settled back into her chair. "And given what we're looking for, if we have to jump into E5B1, it'll be there."

"Ah. Yes. I comprehend." Without further word Jupap returned his attention to his screens while Violeta initiated the warp drive, sending the Aurora zipping away from Ys'talla at a speed of Warp 9.2.




Deeper in the ship, Caterina and Jarod were waiting when Lucy, Scotty, and Barnes arrived in Science Lab 2. The two had a table set up with varying pieces of recovered crystal and similar pieces from the Azeyma's Rest site. Some were part of necklaces and bracelets, some were separate, and one, of bright red coloring, was part of a tube-top garment.

"So, what's this about?" Barnes asked.

"These are crystals that Professor B'rrel let us keep from the dig site," Jarod explained. "We kept them because they're not naturally-occurring crystals."

"Here." Cat held a crystal blue one up and handed it to Scotty. "What does it feel like to you?"

Scotty accepted it and looked it over in the palm of his hand. "When did ye get th' rock wet?"

"Never," Cat insisted.

"But that dinnae make sense," he protested. "This feels like it's just been pulled from a lake."

Jarod handed Barnes a crystal with bright red coloring. Barnes looked it over "You didn't have this near a heat source, did you?"

"Not at all. But it feels hot, doesn't it?"

Barnes ran his omnitool scanner over it. "Not just feels. It is hot. It's at least five degrees hotter than the environment. Are you saying this Goddamned crystal is generating its own heat?"

"From all we can tell, yes, it is," Jarod said.

Lucy picked up a crystal that was not any color, so therefore had a whitish look to it. She focused on it and felt something. "These crystals… it's like they're infused with some sort of energy. I can sense power in this one, in all of them. There's something… different, though. It's like… it's like I'm holding a battery of power in my hand." She stared at it. "Pure… congealed energy."

"Ye cannae tell me these are 'magic rocks'," Scotty protested. "They must hae been produced by someone."

"Our scans don't show any of the usual signs of an artificially-grown crystalline structure," Caterina said. "Everything about their internal structure says they formed naturally. But what kind of world could have something like this form?" Her hazel eyes lit up. "Imagine finding a world like that, I mean… what's it like? Could it have some… some form of energy field that produces these things? What kind of life forms evolved there?"

"Aside from the Miqo'te," Jarod said.

"Well, we don't know if the Miqo'te naturally evolved on the world the Darglan took them from either." Cat shrugged. "We don't know anything. But imagine if we could find out?"

Lucy patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "Maybe we will one day, Cat."

Caterina nodded without answering.




After Lennier confirmed he was rested enough, Robert returned to the room they'd set aside for him and decided to nap. As he fell asleep, he decided he was not going to let his dreams be bad this time. He tried to dwell on happy thoughts as he fell asleep.

At first there was no dreaming, just the pleasant timeless bliss of sleep. The first hint of a dream was pleasant. Warm, golden fields of grain in front of him. A beautiful house. The kind of place he'd grown up in. Children playing in the yard. Two girls, a red-haired girl and a blond girl. That made him curious. Were they meant to be his children? He thought he could feel their names at the tip of his mind, but the names wouldn't materialize.

There was a glimpse of a ceremony. The Citadel Council chambers. He could see Shepard standing before them with a sense of weight to her expression.

Now it was a party. Roars of laughter and joy filled the Lookout and his friends, and others, seemed exhausted but ecstatic. A banner simply read "Victory!"

The images went by faster - a city on a bay, an ecumenopolis like Solaris where cheering crowds celebrated something, Julia sitting at a table with him and the girl in the red-and-gold vest, the two laughing in tandem about something - until they stopped. There was nothingness around him.

A figure appeared in the darkness with him. He looked into her eyes. The girl. "Bad Wolf," she said.

The accent. He could place it now.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The choice will be yours," the girl said, her English accent clear. She was wearing a blue shirt and matching trousers. The shirt was plain save one design, a large pinkish rose glittering on the front. "Bad Wolf."

"But I don't understand!" he shouted.

The girl's eyes began to glow with gold power. "You will. The choice will be yours. All that you have seen will come if you make the right one. Remember."

Robert sat up in his bunk. Whatever rest he had gotten, he wasn't sure it mattered given how much the dream left him agitated. Such a cryptic phrase. What was "Bad Wolf" supposed to mean anyway?

There was a knock on the door to the bunk and living closet. Robert reached over and hit the key to admit whomever it was. Lyta stood in the doorway. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think I ever want to travel with you again," she said. "It's not easy to sleep when your mind keeps screaming 'Bad Wolf!' so loud that it wakes me up."

"I'm sorry," Robert said. "It's just… something I'm going through."

"Really?" Lyta blinked. "And it involves your mind looping with the phrase 'Bad Wolf' all day or night long?"

"Whenever I have the dreams that phrase keeps popping up," said Robert. "It's just 'Bad Wolf'."

"Bester is right about that," Lyta remarked. "Whatever you are, it isn't the same as the rest of us telepaths."

"Remind me to send that news on a gift card made for absolute bastards," grumbled Robert. "Did you need something?"

"Aside from the fact that you disturbed my rest? I suppose not. We've arriving in our target system soon, though, so you'll want to be ready." Behind her, the sound of a familiar electronic snap-hiss combination was joined by a laugh of joy. "And it sounds like Druni has completed the little project they had going on in the cargo bay."

"Well, I'm glad someone did," Robert sighed. "Any word from the Hycantha?"

"They'll be at Gamma Orionis soon," Lyta said. "As soon as I get confirmation, I'll tell you which planet we're heading to."

"Well, I'd better get my armor ready. Just in case."

"Given that we're dealing with Bester?" Lyta showed him a wry smile. "That may be the smartest thing I've heard you say."

"Well, thanks for the compliment, Miss Alexander. I'll be out shortly."

She left and Robert got to work getting ready. He suspected they would end up fighting someone by the end of this trip.





The Jump Gate at Gamma Orionis activated. The moment the blue jump point finished opening the Hycantha emerged. The Koenig followed suit, still hidden behind its cloaking device. On the bridge Zack breathed in a sigh of relief that nothing had gone wrong. "Anything on sensors?"

"A handful of ships," said Magda. "There's a cargo transfer station in this system, in orbit over the Kenyatta Colony."

"Any sign of the Hencerasa?"

"Scanning… I'm detecting a Gersallian vessel, Umibetan Combine Model 3, private registry, on sensors. Reading ID code… it's the Hencerasa." Magda turned to face him again. "It's approximately two AUs away and closing at impulse."

"Well, at least the rendezvous is on time," Zack noted. "Keep us steady near the Hycantha."

"Yes sir," said Apley.

Zack watched the Earth transport burn its way toward the rendezvous. Just who were these people being transferred? What was Maran doing and how did Robert's visit to Minbar play into it? He didn't like being in the dark. It made him think of the last time he was in the dark, and the crew he'd lost at 33LA because of it.

The bridge door swished open and admitted Doctor Roliri Opani. The young Dorei woman was a Mayali, from the Southern Hemisphere tropical continent of Keral. Her dark teal skin was matched with the light purple of the irregularly-shaped spots running down the sides of her face to her neck, with dark purple hair pulled back into a braided ponytail at the back of her head. "So we're finally out?" she asked, relief on her features. Her teal eyes, in a much lighter shade than her skin, showed what seemed to be a surprising amount of fatigue to Zack.

"We're back in normal space, yes."

"Good." Opani shuddered with relief. "That dimension is… it is difficult for us."

"I already logged it to Command," Zack said. "Although it makes me wonder how the telepaths of this universe can handle it."

"That is the oddest part." Opani walked up and sat beside Magda at the auxiliary station, allowing her to sit and face Zack. "According to medical records from the Minbari, the Earth Alliance, and the Centauri… actually, virtually every race with telepaths, the effects of hyperspace are not severe. Not like we felt."

"What did you feel?" asked Zack. "It sounded like all of the Dorei on the crew were picking up other thoughts."

"We were," Opani said. "Whenever we slept we would end up with alien thoughts in our minds. It was almost like falling asleep when you're maintaining skin contact with someone. Once asleep, you meld mind-states. That's what this feels like."

"Huh. But you can't read minds actively, right?" Zack leaned forward in his chair. A thought was coming to him. "I mean, that's part of your physiology."

"No, we cannot. We lack telepaths like some other species have had."

Magda looked at Opani with a bewildered expression. "Then… that would mean the other side had to be responsible for the contact."

Opani frowned at that. "Yes, I suppose it would. I suppose it would indeed. Hyperspace wouldn't change our physiology to let us remotely enter minds, but it would make us more likely to hear those who could remotely contact other minds."

Zack swallowed. Everything now made sense. "Of course," he murmured.

Everyone turned to him.

"That's what we're doing," Zack said. "That's why Admiral Maran talked about possibly fighting Psi Corps. The Hycantha's passengers… they're fugitives all right. They're fugitive telepaths, fleeing the Psi Corps."

Apley nodded. "I read the report from Commander King and Lieutenant Caldwell on the Venir incident. The cloaking device didn't do them any good, telepaths were tracking them through mind-reading."

"That's why we've been allowed to engage Psi Corps if they show up." Zack frowned. "Because we'll have to get in the first shot. April, make sure torpedoes are loaded. Magda… find the Dorei crew most qualified for manning bridge stations, I want them up here on the double. Just in case. King's officer Lieutenant Trymi was able to resist telepathic compulsion, if need be they'll take over our stations."

"Until then, sir?" asked Apley.

"Keep us on course. And Magda, keep an eye out. Just in case." Zack drew in a breath. "Just in case," he repeated to himself in a murmur.




Lyta stepped into the cockpit of the Keyeri and joined the others. "I just got the signal," she said. "The rendezvous is being made. Pardon me." With that said she moved beside Druni and took a place leaning over the helm beside Lennier. "Take us into orbit of the fifth planet."

"Very well." Lennier fired the ship's impulsors and sent them flying toward said world. "We'll make orbit in four hours."

"By then the transfer will be complete and my people will be off to safety," Lyta said.

"I can't help but notice a slight flaw in your planning, Lyta," said G'Kar.

"Oh?" She turned back to face her traveling compatriot.

"You've told them which planet they can find this device," he said. "They don't need you anymore."

"Not to find the planet, no." The grin on Lyta's face grew. "Of course, they may have trouble finding it on a planet over fifty percent larger than Earth. And then there are the traps…"

Everyone save Lennier looked at her. "Traps?" Robert asked.

Lyta directed the grin at him. "You don't think the Vorlons would have let just anyone walk into this place, do you? Anyone finding the Darglan site we're heading to wouldn't get very far unless they have the direct support of a Vorlon."

"Or someone aligned with them?"

"Close enough. Not that I think you'll betray me, you've come too far for that. But like Michael, I like to leave room for people to disappoint me." The grin became more forced. "After all, it's happened plenty of times before."

Robert wasn't about to speak on that. His impression of Lyta was that she had been disappointed one too many times by those she considered friends and allies. Unfortunately, her bitterness had clearly undermined her ability to socialize.

He just hoped that bitterness wouldn't undermine their ability to work together.




The fifth planet of the F4 star system - on Alliance maps it was designated F41-001-5 - had seemed to be a barren Mars-type world from a distance. But once they were closer the sensors on the Keyeri made clear the signs of a badly-damaged garden world, with an atmosphere that still had traces of the weapons used to purge much of its life. "What happened here?" Druni wondered aloud.

"The Shadows happened," Lyta said darkly. "They didn't use their planet-killer for this world. Instead a squadron of Shadow vessels came out of hyperspace and started slicing up the cities and bombing the planet until not a single Darglan was alive."

"All of that death." Robert closed his eyes. He thought he could feel it, even after a thousand years. The screams and cries of an innocent people being extirpated from existence by a vicious enemy. He frowned. "If they'd kept their interuniversal drives, they would have survived."

"No, they wouldn't have," replied Lyta.

Robert almost asked how she could know that, but he held his tongue.

"Take us in on the equatorial continent," Lyta said to Lennier. "There's a mountain range about eighteen degrees north of the equator, near an old mountain lake that feeds the river flowing into the northern sea."

Lennier followed her instructions. The Keyeri banked into the planet. The void of space gradually gave way to twilight. The sun was beginning to rise over this area of the planet.

After a thousand years life was starting to return here. Trees lined the mountainside and the valley. They'd returned in enough numbers that they stretched out like an emerald carpet below the Keyeri.

The mountain lake was old, as in it had existed for tens of thousands of years. Robert was not an expert geologist and wasn't sure of what he was guessing, but he could imagine the lake forming from an old, extinct caldera. Or perhaps a meteor crater.

Lennier seemed to double-check something. "There appears to be an old tunnel set into one of the mountainsides," he said.

"That's where we're going." Lyta noddded. "Put us down at the tunnel entrance."

Lennier did so The ship drew closer to the ground until, finally, it stopped all horizontal movement and settled onto the soil.

"I have a feeling we need someone to stay with the ship." Robert stood from the chair. "Just in case."

"I shall remain," Lennier said. He turned back to his panels while the others filed out of the cockpit.




G'Kar and Lyta stepped down from the Keyeri's rear cargo bay door first, following the ramp down to the firm earth beneath. Robert and Meridina followed. They were in the combat armor with newly-replicated robes to replace the ones they had to leave on Kalnit Station. Robert's pulse pistol was back at its proper place on his belt while Meridina's weapon hung once again from her own.

Druni, in the rear, was wearing her own light armor. It was of similar style to the Gersallian-made armor Meridina and Robert had brought for themselves, with the primary color being green. It also looked to be of a more flexible material. Robert noticed she was carrying her tenari and asked, "What, no lightsaber?"

"I just built one, and I need to train with it before I try to fight with it," she pointed out.

"Fair enough."

"This way."

With Lyta in the lead they walked up to the tunnel entrance. A wall of rock covered it, barring the way in. "I sense no danger," Meridina said. "But I do not sense an entryway either."

Robert looked around at the ground. "Maybe there's another entrance plate like the Facilities had, or that database?"

"No," said Lyta. "Not here anyway. The entrance was sealed by weapons fire from the inside. The last, defiant gesture of the Darglan inside against the Shadows and the followers they sent to seize this place."

"Then we have to dig our way in." Robert stepped up and looked it over. "If we pull out the right rocks, maybe the rest will give way."

Meridina and Druni nodded. The three raised their hands. Three rocks began to pull free.

This is going to take a while, Robert thought to himself as he focused on the next part of the rock barrier.




On the Koenig bridge the Hencerasa now loomed large on the screen. The Gersallians built their ships to look sturdy. If they didn't have the lines they did, they'd look more like bricks, or so Zack thought.

"The Hencerasa is taking position beside the Hycantha. They'll start transferring their passengers in a minute." After forty seconds Magda announced the transports were taking place.

Zack didn't relax. He had an idea that this was when things were about to go wrong.

Itt didn't take long for him to be proven right.

"Sir, I'm getting a gravitational surge nearby." Magda's attention went to her board. "Jump point forming."

"On screen."

The viewscreen showed a blue energy vortex form. The vessel that emerged from it wasn't very large. But it had Earthforce markings. Zack's jaw clenched.

"Artemis-class heavy frigate," Magda said. "An older, Dilgar War-era model with railgun armament."

"Code Red. All hands to battlestations."

While the ship went on combat alert, Magda added, "They're signaling the other two ships."

"Put them on speakers, I want to hear this."

"This is Major Linda Tsukara of the Catoblepas to Hycantha and Hencerasa. System control informed us that you were meeting off-flight plan. Please stand by for contraband scan."

"Acknowledged, Catoblepas."

For several tense moments the scan commenced. "Catoblepas to civilian ships. You're clear of contraband. But I would like to ask why you are transferring extra passengers not on the Hycantha's listed manifest."

The same voice that had answered before came through. "I understand your concern, Major. We picked up an Allied System-flagged civilian vessel in hyperspace that had suffered a catastrophic drive failure. They were drifting off of the beacons. We had to let them transport aboard after our attempt to pull their ship to safety failed. Since there aren't any jump gates available in Allied Systems territory yet, we flagged down the first ship with warp drive that we could to get these people home."

It was a good story, with just the right feeling to it… Zack was skeptical, however, that it would be accepted. "Sherlily, target weapons and sublight drives only," he said. "And when we decloak, I want our IFF systems disengaged." He received a pair of affirmatives to that.

Several more moments passed. "Good job, Hycantha. Someone has to take care of these idiots who jump into hyperspace without realizing what it's like. That is all. Catoblepas out."

The Earth frigate turned away toward the jump gate and accelerated.

"Cancel Code Red." Zack loosened his grip on his command chair. Well, at least I'm not starting another war yet. "How much longer until the Hencerasa completes the transfer?"

"That model of ship has a personal transporter capacity of six. Give them another three minutes."

Two and a half minutes later the Hycantha's engines fired again. She resumed her course toward the Kenyatta Colony.

The Hencerasa's drives fired up as well. After making a turn in space the warp nacelles on the ship lit up and the Gersallian ship was at warp.

"They're on course for the Reynar System, Warp 6," Magda said.

"Match their speed and course. Engage when ready." Zack leaned back in his seat with immense relief. They were in the home stretch.

Well, Rob, I did my end, he thought. Hope your's is coming up just as well.




It got easier once they had moved enough of the stones. Meridina and Druni, together, moved most of them, entire chunks, and slowly an entranceway took shape.

The group stepped in together. For the benefit of G'Kar, Robert and Druni activated lights on their omnitool and multidevice respectively. The air inside reminded Robert of the musty air of the Darglan Facilities he'd been in before. Directly inside were decomposed skeletal remains with pulse rifles still in what was left of their arms. "They died here," Meridina noted.

"Likely of starvation," Lyta said. "They would have been here to keep out Shadow servitors."

"A horrible way to go." Druni knelt beside one. "I hope the Goddess welcomed them with a feast."

The lights played over halls made of blue-sheened material just like prior Darglan structures. The remains of what had likely been a security post also contained a dead Darglan. Robert tapped at his omnitool to activate a scanner mode. "Wiring," he said. "For the security systems?"

Druni nodded. "And power system."

They followed the wiring into the base. It was like any base could be expected to be. Halls lined with doors leading to what appeared to be labs or storage rooms or offices. More skeletal Darglan remains could be found here and there, some bearing the signs of damage. "They may have mercy-killed one another when it was clear there was no escape," Meridina said.

"This feels wrong," Robert murmured. "I feel like I'm walking over graves."

"You are," G'Kar remarked. "But it is good you feel that way. It shows the proper respect to the dead."

Robert nodded quietly and kept the scanner following one of the biggest drunk lines. They walked past bulkheads, turned into another corridor, and then another.

Finally they entered a large chamber. Robert moved from side to side with the omnitool and noted what he was reading. "This looks like the reactor room for the facility." He tapped keys. "I can't be sure, but it looks like most of the reactors are offline.”

"With no repairs for a thousand years, I'm not surprised." Druni stepped around another tall-skulled skeleton and toward a panel. Her fingers went over the hardlight keyboard being projected by her multidevice. "I'm trying to run a remote access to this console. One moment…"

The console lit up, forming a blue hardlight interface. Druni set a finger on it and the console characters changed to a new language. After a moment of looking Druni began to operate the console. "Fifty percent of the reactors are offline, and another twenty-five percent are flagged as unsafe, but the last quarter…" She tapped a final key.

Light filled the room. More lights appeared on some of the intact reactors around the room, indicating they were in operation. "There we are," said Druni. "We've got power. And I'm remote accessing a map of the entire place." She looked to the others. "I can take us right to the command room."

They departed that chamber and continued on. With the lights working it felt less like a sepulchre they were violating, although there was no hiding the skeletal remains they still found. "To think this is what has been left of the Darglan…" Meridina shook her head. "My people will be heartbroken to see this place."

"You looked up to them," Lyta said. "But you should consider that they might not deserve it."

Meridina turned and faced her. "Why? What could possibly justify the loss of such a brilliant people?"

"I'm not saying they deserved… this," Lyta countered, gesturing to the nearest set of remains. "But the Darglan weren't perfect. They made a terrible mistake and it cost a lot of beings their lives. It nearly destroyed multiple universes."

"You are an agent of the people who punished them," Meridina observed. "How do we know your superiors were honest about what happened?"

"Believe whatever you like, Meridina. But you'll see soon enough." They continued onward.

Robert knew they'd made it to the command room the moment he saw it. The layout was the same as those of the Facilities. He walked toward the central holotank and ran a hand over it. The display there shifted to show English characters. "It looks like the Darglan sabotaged their AI system here. Or maybe it scrambled itself. Either way…" He continued tapping the display. "...let me see if I can find anything."

Druni joined him while Meridina paced around the room. Lyta and G'Kar remained by the door. The Narn looked to his traveling partner and said, "I can't help but notice that there have been no traps."

Lyta turned her head toward him and smiled. G'Kar responded by shaking his head and grinning.

"It looks like some of the data is recoverable," Druni said. "I'm running a compiling program."

"You're into computer sciences?" Robert asked.

"I did dabble during my days as an Initiate." Druni slowly grinned. "And two years ago I spent a few months with a Trill girlfriend. Zaharia showed me quite a few things. When we weren't busy counting each other's spots."

"Huh." Robert continued his own search through the system. "And here I figured you and Lennier were…"

"No." Druni cut him off with that. "We're not. Lennier is… there isn't anything I or anyone can do to heal the hole in his heart."

"Right." Robert continued to examine what he could find. "It looks like they didn't destroy everything. I've just found an old file in the system. It looks like… I don't know…"

Druni brought it up herself. "It's a recorded holo-video. Give me a moment, I think I can load it into the holo-tank…"

After several seconds an image appeared. It was a courtyard of some sort. The architecture was Darglan. Most of those gathered were. But some were not.

Among those who were not were a number of beings Robert didn't recognize. The others did. "A Vorlon," G'Kar noted.

"Kosh," Lyta clarified. Her voice wavered and Robert could detect an old sadness within her.

Thanks to her thought, he knew which one was the Vorlon; a large hulking, armless being with a pod-shaped head that had a singular circular port at the front. There were other beings lined up with him. Some were formed from energy. One looked like a hovering, flaming head made of wood. Another was a dark, intimidating-as-hell spider-like species with glowing yellow eyes.

He scanned the rest of the figures, some clearly standing in judgment while others seemed to be present as witnesses. A few had basic humanoid, even human-looking, appearances, including a redheaded woman with strong features and a fey humanoid clad in a veil. A furry biped stood beside a man in a red coat with a scarf hanging from his shoulders and curly hair buried under a hat. A human-looking woman with dark hair and in a very familiar looking blue robe was standing beside a powerfully-built male in green and gold-colored clothing.

Meridina's eyes widened at the assemblage, or rather, at one figure present. "Swenya."

Robert looked at the image and had to admit that the woman in the blue robe looked very much like the painting of Swenya in the Order's Council Chamber.

"We have completed our judgement," said Kosh, facing an assemblage of Darglan while many more watched from the crowd. "You have disappointed us. Punishment is necessary."

"On behalf of our people, we plead mercy from you, ancient ones," said the lead Darglan. "We do not deny it was in error, but the error was by a select group of our people led astray. Can you punish us for the crimes of a few?"

The spider-looking alien's eyes glistened with malicious anger. When it spoke, it was with a subdued hummed tone, as if through a device. "You have jeopardized the other species of this galaxy and many others. You cannot expect mercy for allowing the Darkness a way in."

"Still, there is truth to their words." The veiled fey humanoid was speaking. "It was the error of a minority."

The dark-haired woman stepped forward and between the judges and the Darglan. "Whatever the crimes a minority committed, out of ignorance or out of impatience, you cannot hold an entire species to be worthy of death!"

"You have no place to speak on this matter, child," intoned the spidery alien. Robert felt Lyta's apprehension and distaste at the creature and realized the being's identity. The Shadow continued, "You are here as a guest at our sufferance."

"Many of my followers died in this war as well," retorted the woman. "The blood of Gersal's bravest swevyra'se has earned us a voice here. And I will not let you ignore that many Darglan died to fix a mistake made by a few. They deserve a chance at life."

"The child speaks well," intoned the flaming head. The light within it seemed to pulse as it spoke. "And we have taken this into consideration."

The furry biped spoke next. "There will be no killings among the Darglan species."

There was palpable relief among the assembled.

"We require the Darglan to give up their interuniversal drives," the furry being added. "They are hereby banned from any further use of the technology."

The relief did not go away. It was joined with a sense of sadness, as was clear in the voice of the lead Darglan. "It is a terrible price, but as the war caused by our mistake was even more terrible, we accept this judgement. We will immediately commence the destruction of all interuniversal drives. We beg only a delay to allow our people in the other universes to be brought back to She'teyal."

"You will be given thirty cycles to commence the evacuation," answered Kosh.

"And know that if your people violate this judgement, your species' existence is forfeit," added the Shadow.

Robert paused the video. "And the Shadows did it anyway two thousand years later," he remarked sadly. A memory came to his mind. "That explains the conversation we found in that Darglan video last year."

"Given the timing, I guess it came from the databanks you stole from IPX and Psi Corps?" Lyta asked.

"Yeah." Robert nodded. "It was an audio file of two Darglan arguing. One insisted they had to reactivate their IU technology, that the Shadows were going to attack and the Vorlons wouldn't stop them. The other insisted this would cause an attack anyway." He shook his head. "But the first one was right, since the audio ended with the Shadow Planet-Killer attacking She'teyal."

"The Shadows moved earlier than the Vorlons expected in that war," Lyta said. "Maybe this is why…"

"If what I've heard is true, their early attack is why Valen and the Minbari were able to lead the galaxy to victory against them." Robert chuckled at the dark humor of it all. "They were so determined to destroy the Darglan that it cost them the war."

"Such is the usual cost of hatred and darkness," Meridina said. "It causes one to lose perspective and to misjudge."

Robert nodded. And he frowned as a thought came to him. "There's no drive here, is there?" he asked, directing his gaze at Lyta. "There never was."

"Nope," she said. "I don't have any idea where the Darglan built it, or even if it's still around."

"You tricked us." Meridina stepped up beside Robert while keeping her eyes on Lyta as well. "To help your people."

"Actually, no." Lyta shook her head. "Not that I wouldn't have if I had to. But I figured that if there was anywhere you could confirm whether or not the Dimensional Drive was intact, it would be here. According to what I learned from the Vorlons, this used to be the main scientific research base for the Darglan government. All of their secrets were here."

Robert understood the point, but he still couldn't help but feel used. Nevertheless, he conceded the point with "Fair enough."

"With time, at least some of this could be reconstructed." Druni looked up from her multidevice's holo-display. "This is still a valuable find. And we might find the Dimensional Drive's location here."

"We'll need to report this to Maran," said Robert. "Let's…"

Druni's multidevice beeped. She pressed the comm key and Lennier appeared on the display. "What is it?" she asked.

"You may wish to finish what you are doing immediately," Lennier said. "Sensors have detected indications of a ship coming out of warp in the star system." He looked at something. "And there are now Earth Alliance fighters entering orbit."

"They must have followed us," Robert said. "Dammit. We can't let them have this place." He took a few steps to Druni's side and looked at the screen. "Lennier, there's something I need you to do…"




On the Muninn Bester watched the Thunderbolts from the ship's complement begin to enter orbit. One by one the Psi Corps pilots inside extended their atmospheric wings to stabilize for that form of flight. Two shuttles full of Bloodhounds were already entering a first stage atmospheric entry course.

"We have confirmed the location of the craft from Kalnit." The lead pilot was reporting verbally given the distance. "Orders?"

"Disable them," Bester said.

Sensors, are there any Alliance ships moving toward us? That telepathic request came from Captain Phan.

No ma'am.

And their ship is too small to carry a jump drive and can't call in help that way. Bester nodded. We have them.




Everyone ran from the Darglan base as quickly as possible. "Remind me that we need transporter beacons," Druni requested of the others.

"If this occurs again, I shall," Meridina promised.

The moment they got to the exit they'd carved, Robert heard the roar of shuttle engines outside. They emerged from the tunnel opening and into the clearing outside of it to find two Earth shuttles looming over the trees. Thrusters were firing to bring the two craft into a hovering position.

"Get to the Keyeri," Druni demanded. "I'll handle this."

Robert could guess what was about to happen. He felt the air crackle with power as Druni's arms began to wheel around. She was splitting the positive and negative charges in the air. After several seconds of letting this power build up she stabbed her fingers toward one shuttle. The built-up charge surged through Druni's arm and outward. A bolt of lightning formed and struck the side of the shuttle with more than enough force to knock it out of the air.

The other shuttle clearly recognized what had happened and began to maneuver away. Druni used the opportunity to run to the back of the Keyeri, where Meridina and G'Kar were waiting. They boarded together.

By this point Robert and Lyta were in the cockpit. "Did it work?" asked Robert.

"I am not sure," Lennier admitted. "The device seems to be non-functional. I was able to use our ship's IU radio to establish a connection on the provided channel, so they know of our situation."

"Of course it is." Robert shook his head while settling into the station for the main weapons and tactical display. "Lyta, can you let Druni and Meridina know that the anchor needs to be repaired?"

For a moment Lyta's eyes flitted toward the back. "Done, she said."

"Good. Now please take that station and raise the shields." He tilted his head toward the one beside him for ship communications and operations. Lyta blinked down into it. Behind him G'Kar took the turret controls. "You know how to use those?" he asked the Narn.

"I am familiar with a number of ship control systems and weapons," was the answer. "I shall make this work as well."

"Right. Lennier?"

"Firing thruster." The ship rumbled beneath them. "We're taking off."

"Get us a shot at that second shuttle while you're at it."

"I will do so."

The Keyeri spun in mid-air until it was facing the shuttle in question. Robert triggered the wing-mounted cannons. Four bursts of amethyst energy slammed into the craft. It exploded in mid-air, sending flaming ruins into the forest. His eyes went to the tactical sensors. "Aerospace fighters are closing in."

"Beginning ascent."

The Keyeri tilted upward and accelerated. The sensors showed the atmosphere-capable Earth fighters flying up behind them. Robert had seen the model before: Thunderbolts, with four wings in a flat X that carried extendable wings. The cannons mounted into the chin of the fighters opened up on the Keyeri. The vessel shuddered slightly.

"The shields absorbed it," Lyta said.

"I am tracking," G'Kar added. "Firing."

The four turrets had all turned to face the rear of the ship. Pulses of blue-white light lashed out through the atmosphere at the pursuing fighters. The initial shots missed given the distance and relative velocities. The two dorsal turrets tracked together until a Thunderbolt could no longer evade them. The hits blew off the wings of the craft first. As it began to turn dart-like toward the ground, one last pulse hit the main body. The Thunderbolt was reduced to a flaming wreck.

"It has been quite a while since I shot down an enemy fighter," G'Kar announced.

The other fighters were still on them. "They're firing missiles," Robert said.

"Evading."

"I'm tracking them."

Lennier changed the ship's heading and attitude while G'Kar applied the turrets to firing on the incoming missiles. Most of the missiles kept up with them through the maneuver. One couldn't re-engage, and G'Kar shot down two of them.

The last slammed into the rear of the ship. This time the shaking was even more violent than ever. "That hit reduced shield effectiveness to below half."

Lyta's report made it clear; they couldn't let themselves get hit by a missile again.

Lennier leveled the ship out and got them out of the atmosphere. Robert watched the tactical sensors indicate a ship entering effective range. And it was fairly large. "The profile is an Earthforce ship," he said. "But it's not painted in Earthforce colors."

"It's a Psi Corps ship," Lyta said. "Probably Bester's." A blinking button on the console drew Lyta's attention. She pressed it.

A screen on the side of the cockpit activated, and Lyta's suggestion confirmed. Bester's face filled the screen. "You might want to surrender," Bester told them. "We might even let the Minbari and the… Dorei, isn't it? We may even let them go."

"And we should believe you because…?"

"Because you don't have a choice, Captain," Bester replied. "There are no ships in range to help you. My ship can overtake yours in warp flight. Even if you get the attention of your fleet, we'll have more than enough time to destroy you or tractor your ship into hyperspace. I'm giving you a minute to decide whether or not you're coming voluntarily."

And with that, his image disappeared.

Robert tapped his omnitool. "Meridina? I hope you're done back there."




Meridina heard Robert's request while holding up the portable radio/drive anchor. The device, their lifeline to the Aurora, was utterly dead.

Druni had one end open and was trying to finish the modification to bring it back online. "Just a couple more pieces."

"I get the feeling we are almost out of time," Meridina warned her.

"I know, but I can't rush this. Somehow your entire power source got drained and we don't have anything completely like it, so I have to improvise."

"Meridina, tell me that thing is ready."

"I cannot," she answered Robert. "It needs a new power supply. We are attaching it now."

"Then hurry it up. Bester brought a cruiser."

"Two more connections," Druni said.

Meridina did not reply. She focused on holding the device in place.




The Keyeri shot away from the planet at full speed. The Psi Corps cruiser followed behind, as did its fighter complement.

With no enemies in front of them Robert was reduced to watching the tactical sensors and glancing toward Lyta, who was showing greater concentration. "I'm trying to shield everyone from them," she said. "But if Bester puts enough telepaths…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence. Robert could feel something in his mind. A feeling, an instinct, telling him to stop fighting. To surrender. It would be easier.

"They are quite persistent," was all Lennier would say. He kept his hands on the controls. Enemy Starfuries were closing the distance behind them.

If you're in my head, how about this? He focused on Meridina. Meridina, please tell me it's ready.

A response came. We are almost done.

WIthin moments the enemy fighters were backing off a little bit. Bester's ship kept a reasonable speed up to follow but stopped trying to overtake the Keyeri. Robert's thought had the effect he had looked for. Let Bester wonder what they were doing.

We are done, Meridina said. I have sent out a brief message on the radio to confirm the anchor is active.

As Robert began counting down the time, the enemy Starfuries surged ahead. Bester had inevitably decided there was no immediate danger. Fire began to hit their shields again. Lennier's maneuvers worked to keep them guessing at where to shoot. The turrets fired under G'Kar's direction. One pulse clipped the engine of a Starfury and sent it careening away.

When another of the black-painted Starfuries entered the bow firing arc, Robert triggered the plasma cannons again. The four streams of purple shots converged on the fighter and blew it to pieces. Come on, dammit, where are you?

"I hope your help comes very soon," said Lennier.

Robert was about to announce "So do I" when the green point of light appeared in the distance. "Interuniversal jump point. Someone's coming in."

Robert breathed a sigh of relief at seeing the familiar form of the Aurora emerge a moment later.




"Dorei courier ship on sensors," said Caterina. "And so is an Earthforce ship."

Julia frowned at that. An Earthforce ship in Alliance space, without authorization? "Can we identify them?"

"Well, they're painted all back instead of standard Earthforce color schemes. According to recognition charts this one is a Bellona-class cruiser. But I'm not picking up an IFF trace."

"The Dorei ship is hailing."

"Put them on."

"Dale to Aurora." Hearing Robert's voice brought immense relief to Julia. "That ship is a Psi Corps vessel. The entire crew is probably telepathic. Be ready if they attempt a telepathic attack on you."

"Angel, do you have a target lock?" asked Julia.

"We're locked on," Angel confirmed.

"If you feel anything start to go into your mind, open fire."

"Right."

"Give me a minute, then," Robert said. "Fire on my command."




On the Keyeri, Bester's face reappeared on the screen. Robert looked at him and kept his expression neutral. "Agent Bester, this is Captain Dale of the Starship Aurora. You and your ship are in violation of Alliance space. I order you to withdraw or we will be forced to open fire."

Bester's expression was carefully kept, but Robert sensed he was angry beneath it. "If you want to do this the legal way, Captain, I must inform you that I will report to my superiors and to Earthgov that the Allied Systems are harboring a known terrorist. Of course, if you were to turn Miss Alexander over to our custody…"

"Tell your superiors whatever you want, Bester," Robert retorted. "Because from where I'm sitting, a Psi Corps-crewed warship has been opening fire on a civilian ship with an Alliance registry in the heart of the Alliance-claimed zone in this universe. Your superiors might not be too happy about that."

"I will remind you that the Earth Alliance doesn't recognize your sole claim to former Darglan space. But very well. I'm not here to cause a war. But I'm warning you now." Bester's face reflected his anger. "You've just made yourself, and everyone you represent, an enemy of the Psi Corps, Captain Dale. And you will regret that."

The screen disengaged. Robert observed on his systems as the Psi Corps fighters returned to their ship. They took up a formation around it. Moments later, a brown vortex opened in space and Bester's ship entered.

"Well, we did it," Robert sighed, looking to the others. "Do you mind putting the Aurora back on? I think your ship will fit in the hangar deck…"

Chapter Text