(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
* * *
<<ACT THREE>>
The SHARD OF NIGHT. Julia's quarters.
"Julia," Will managed some time later, after she finally let him come up for air. "Do you consider yourself sufficiently 'kissed' now?"
"I'm not sure." she breathed out, as she attempted to sort her way through the unfamiliar and thoroughly *satisfying* emotions she was feeling at the moment. Perhaps, the analytical part of her mind mused for a moment, this was somewhat of a backlash response to her conversation with 'Kosh' earlier in the day. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Will McClelland been the first person to listen to her... to eat dinner with her, in a very long time, who hadn't been a Ranger. Who knew?
Right now, the rest of her, the part that was enjoying itself, really didn't seem to give a damn about why, though. "Not having a whole lot of experience with this sort of thing," she told him, "I'm not sure, exactly, how 'sufficient' should be defined. Are you?"
"I'm not going to regret this, am I?"
"That..." she said, as she darted in for another, very brief kiss, "Is certainly up for debate. Although the great G'kar, in his book," she added, as she drifted away from him, "Has noted, in his time, that 'life consists of Moments of Transition, and moments of Revelation.' This whole day's been a 'revelation' of sorts for me... why stop now?"
"That," Will admitted, "Just about covers it, I guess, yeah."
"Look." she entreated. "I... I just really don't want to be alone tonight, not after what's happened! You listened to me when it counted, Will, and now, I want you to stay.
Please tell me you will."
"The Captain's going to kill me," McClelland replied, as he *slowly* began to follow her. "When she finds out about this, you know."
"The Captain..." Julia replied, "Will get over it. That is, of course, if we tell her, which at the moment, I have no intention of doing."
"Yep. I'm *definitely* going to regret this."
"That's not a 'no', is it?"
* * *
Klairika's quarters, a short time later.
"He went *where*?"
"To her quarters." Sheynell replied, as both Klairika and the telepath brushed out their hair in their respective quarters... but courtesy of the holosystem, seemingly side by side. "To be honest, I didn't think she'd let him in, but she did."
She laughed. "And he's still in there?" Sheynell nodded, a wicked glitter now in her eyes. "Very *interesting* indeed. And could a certain departed Vorlon have been responsible for this latest... mood swing of hers, do you think?"
"Only time will tell, I suppose. And what about Mr. Dawson's visitor, the DE'MOLAY's chief engineer, now what was her name?"
"Jaiena Mithrush..."
<chime> "Na'lai Alidiae."
Klairika and Sheynell quickly glanced at one another. "Later?"
"Oh, *definitely* later." She turned aside from her new friend's fading holoimage, then, to take in the, as usual, serious countenance of Anla'shok Teleide, the Minbari Ranger that was, for the time being, in command of the bridge nightwatch. "Yes, Teleide?"
"We have just received a signal routed from the Brakiri homeworld via Minbar, Na'lai. One of our contacts on your homeworld wishes to speak to you. Shall I put the message through to your quarters?"
"Immediately." Teleide nodded, and soon thereafter, his image was replaced by another; a Brakiri she knew well. "Akaesh! To what do I owe *this* unexpected pleasure?"
Her friend bowed. "*Xheialia tullnori*, Klairika. It has been long since we have spoken, and longer still since we have met face to face. You have, if word is to believed, ascended far since the Day of the Dead, following your chosen path."
"All is as it should be." she fatalistically replied. "Although I do not believe I have, as yet, done everything I am supposed to."
Akaesh smiled. "The Comet favours you, in any case." The smile faded, then, however. "For now. As you requested me to, I have investigated these rumours surrounding your family, and the news is not good, I am afraid.
Sionayia, your mother, has not as yet recovered from what she considers to be your 'betrayal of your family', Klairika. I trust you understand these are not my words, but hers?"
"I understand this, yes. You will tell me of this matter."
"So be it. She has consulted the Heige of Convergences, and after receiving their guidance, your mother then sent groups of hunters off world to find you, I do not know how many. I believe she intends to bring you back to Brakir against your will. And once she has you, it is her intent to try and break your spirit, returning you to what she considers 'proper' behaviour, for the first-daughter of a Krona-liaat."
"I see." Klairika turned away from the image for a moment, so Akaesh could not see the expression on her face. "I am Anla'shok now, Akaesh, and I have been set upon a path no daughter of my people has ever followed. She hunts me, does she? I will be more difficult to find then she can possibly imagine."
Akaesh nodded at that. "While we stand apart in our duties as commanded by the Dead, I thought that might have been the case. This warning has been useful to you, then?"
"Akaesh of the Family Triuun!... you who are closer to me then any other Brakiri; there have been days when I have wished you had been my true-brother, instead of just my closest friend. The warning *is* valued."
The other Brakiri bowed again, this time in finality. "So be it, then. *Xheiall axari*, Klairika. Until next we speak."
Hunters, he had said, Klairika thought to herself, as the image faded away, and darkness surrounded her. Hunt her, would she?
For a moment, her expression darkned, but only for a moment. Sionaya, her mother, would soon discover she was no easy prey. And even if the unthinkable did happen, and the hunters somehow managed to find her, either aboard the SHARD or elsewhere... well then, she suspected her captain and Val'na would not rest until she had been rescued.
Even if they had to pursue all the way back to Brakir to do so.
* * *
The beginning of the daywatch.
<chime>
"Wha?"
<chime>
"Where's the 'larm?" Will muttered groggily.
<chime>
"WHAT?" Julia finally cried out, as she forced her head off of the pillow, which also finally yanked the equally lethargic Mr. McClelland towards full consciousness.
"Val'na..." Larieken began, his image, in the main portion of her quarters, distant enough he could not (thankfully) see her... and yet, near enough that she could hear him clearly, and he, her. "Are you well?"
"Hold on, hold on!" she muttered, as she sprang out of bed to grab her long robe, and swept her hair back into a semblance of normality, enroute. "I'm coming!" she cried out, which, of course, drew a immediate chuckle from her 'guest', who was apparently taking the opportunity to dart in the opposite direction and make himself presentable.
"Ah. Val'na, *there* you are." Larieken began again, as she arrived in the main room. "I trust that you've... recovered from your experience?"
"Recovered? Um, yes, why do you ask?" And, she told himself, the 'experience' he was referring to had *better* be the Vorlon one, or heads would roll!
"Do remember," Larieken reminded her, "that the Entil'zha has charged me with ensuring your well-being at all times. I was, shall we say, a little *concerned* when Na'lai Alidiae informed me of what you had done, and what your response had been thereafter."
"I'm better now." she insisted. "Okay?"
"And well that is," Klairika abruptly declared, as the Brakiri entered the holo-field of view. "Captain Tikopai arrived on the bridge of the DE'MOLAY a short time ago, and wishes to discuss the plan of attack for our recovery mission at the Z'shailyl planet, among other things. That is," she added, "If you *have* fully recovered?"
"Didn't you hear me the *first* time?" she exclaimed.
"We just wanted to be sure, that's all." the Brakiri replied, a little *too* innocently, she thought. "Additionally, the Captain is wondering when she can expect her Helmsman and Chief Engineer 'returned' to her?"
Julia cleared her throat, perhaps a little guiltily. "Tell her... tell her that once they've made themselves presentable, they'll be right on over, okay?"
"Hmm. I suppose that *will* suffice, for the time being. So, when can we expect you on the bridge, Val'na?"
"I'll be up there in twenty minutes. Surely you can handle things until then?"
Klairika bowed in her direction. "As you say."
"I do. Tikopai out!"
"That was," McClelland observed, as he emerged from the bedroom already dressed, though still minus his tunic, "A trifle blunt, wasn't it?"
"A little, yes." she said with a sigh, "But I can already see the pattern developing, as we speak. Every one of them are sharp as tacks, and the rumours about *this* night will be circulating for weeks, if I'm not mistaken."
McClelland grinned. "Not just on your ship, trust me on that one. Especially since I wasn't the only one to come over here."
At that, she smiled involuntarily. "I'd forgotten about that! What do you think happened between your Chief and mine, last night?"
McClelland raised one eyebrow. "She doesn't get out very much, does that tell you anything?"
"You're not saying what I *think* you're saying, are you?"
A shrug. "Put two and two together, and you get..."
"A moment of revelation?"
"'Guess so. Hey, look," he noted, "I'm slowing you down here, and your first officer will probably get on your case if you're even a *little* bit late... I know the type. I should probably go, and if I know the Lt. Commander, she'll be getting down to the transport right around the same time as me, that's if she's not there already." McClelland paused then, as he saw her expression. "Hey, are you going to be okay?"
"Eventually." she whispered in response. "I want to thank you, Will, for... everything. For staying. For being here when I needed you to be."
"Well, you know what they say: 'seize the moment when it comes, because it may never come again'. Who *knows* when our two ships will come together again after this mission, if ever!"
"No regrets?" she asked him, as they slipped past one another, and the fingers of their left and right hands briefly clasped together.
McClelland thought about that for a moment, and then grinned. "You know, I don't get nearly enough 'moments of revelation' in my life, nowadays. No regrets.
See you 'round, Julia."
* * *
Fifteen minutes later.
"So," McClelland asked his superior officer, as Jaiena Mithrush piloted their small transport out of the SHARD's hangar and off towards the DE'MOLAY. "How did *your* visit go, Commander?"
Mithrush raised her eyebrows, and sighed. "It went... great! And yours?"
"The Captain's daughter and I had a, um, good talk."
Mithrush smirked. "I *bet* you did."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
"Oh, nothing."
* * *
The SHARD's captain's ready room. Five minutes after that.
"So what exactly *did* happen yesterday?" Bethany asked her daughter, as Julia resignedly sat down at the desk in her ready room, thermal mug of tea in hand. "Your first officer told me you came back to your ship and touched a crystal template in your Engineering department, and then, if not before, Kosh the Vorlon spoke to you... only he's been dead for what, six or seven years now, if what John was telling me is true?"
"When it's Vorlons we're talking about," she replied, as she took a deep sip of the burning-hot liquid in front of her, and not for the first time, thanked her High Councillor for arranging to load a small stock of it aboard before they'd left Minbar. "Seems as if even *that's* up for debate. In any case, before he passed beyond the Veil, Kosh placed a very small fragment of himself into me, apparently to set in motion something he'd begun the previous time I met him."
"Previous time?"
She nodded. "He brought his ship down into the Okanagan Valley in the summer of 2255; that was the first time we met. I think it was then that he pushed me onto my present path... a path I only share with two other humans that I know of."
"But why wait until now to speak to you?"
"That's a very good question, Mother... a question I don't have the answers for right now. Regardless of why, he showed me what he did, and when... and before the fragment left me, he also named me something he hadn't, before.
Seeker."
"Seeker? Seeker of what?"
She frowned, and drank some more tea. "There was something about the 'rest'. And no, I don't know what that means, either."
"Absolutely typical. Even now, years after their departure, years after his 'death', the Vorlons are still pulling our strings."
"Not ours." she corrected. "Only mine, now."
"And may I assume you told my helmsman, Mr. McClelland, all of this?"
"And more. I want to thank you for letting him come over when he did; he came at just the right moment, as it turned out."
"So it seems." At that point, to Julia's relief, her mother switched topics, having left a great deal unsaid. And for the time being at least, the matter was dropped. "For right now, there are other concerns we should think about addressing. Moreil seems convinced that the hunters we saved him from have now met up with reinforcements, and that they may be following us to Talangahta IV.
He says we should hurry."
"That, at least, may be true." she admitted. "The hunters, if Z'shailyl they are, may have already deduced our destination, and could be waiting for us when we arrive; we could even be walking into a trap. And forgive me for my suspicions, but *he* could still be leading us into that trap!"
"Which is why I'm going to make a suggestion at this point. What I think we should do is the following. The DE'MOLAY will lead the jump into the system, while your ship comes in behind, completely in... what do you call it?"
"Darklight mode."
"Right. Prior to that arrival, a group of your people will come over to the DE'MOLAY, and then, together with some of my own, they'll go down with Moreil, while you send down several of your fighters, also stealthed. If Moreil means us harm, whatever forces may be down there will reveal themselves sooner or later..."
"At which point," she concluded, "Mr. Fenric or one of his pilots can come along and strafe them for us."
"They'd better be fast on the uptake, though. If the Z'shailyl are as fast as Moreil is suggesting, they could be in close quarters with us very quickly... at which point, aerial support isn't going to help us at all."
"If that happens," she replied, "We are quite capable of defending both ourselves and your people, if need be. While Moreil will pay the price for his betrayal, if betrayer he is."
"We?" her mother sharply replied. "Julia, you're not thinking of actually going down there with him, are you?"
"This is a joint operation, Mother. In my opinion, one of us should be on the ground during it, and the other in space. My First, Na'lai Alidiae, is more then capable of commanding the SHARD during my absence, while my Operations Officer, Larieken, is sworn to protect me from harm; he will accompany me to the surface."
"As will my XO, and his team. Agreed?"
"Agreed."
"Good. Unless there's anything else to discuss, I think that should just about cover it. DE'MOLAY out."
Julia paused for a moment, then, to gather her thoughts, and then rose, and re-entered the main bridge. "Klairika, how long until we reach our destination?"
"We are now a little less then eleven standard hours from arrival in Talangahta orbit." The Brakiri informed her. "We could, however, reach the world of the Z'shailyl ahead of the DE'MOLAY, of course, if you so commanded it."
"No, I don't think so. We're a team, and we can't abandon the other team member... for any reason. And now the Captain and I have formulated a general plan, it's time we got down to discussing the specifics."
* * *
Elsewhere in hyperpace, dozens of forms moved through the ruddy darkness together, ships guided by hands of purpose. The pilots of those vessels knew exactly where they were going, of course. There had been a time, not so long ago, when the great shadow of the last Fist of Darkness had filled the skies over that place, a shadow that had forced the hands of their race. They had come with their new Masters, then, to the fourth world of the star named Talangahta.
He remembered. He had been there, after all.
Even now, there were many of the Hunters who felt shame that this thing had happened, that so many Clans had moved aside when the Holy World of the Dark Ones had been destroyed. Admittedly, the leaders of the Exiled Ones (Ez'zhata was the generally accepted term, these days) had been punished for their crimes when the Drakh had found them. The Ez'zhata had, it was to be believed, learned the depth of their mistake. The Masters, the Nak'laht and the rest, he had watched them instruct the Fallen, watched them explain what it was they had done wrong. The Masters, of course, were very good at teaching.
They were also very good at giving pain.
In time, the Fallen would, he supposed, earn back the name they had lost. The name that so few of his people could now claim the use of. It had not happened yet, but it would eventually... he knew it would. It was only a matter of time until the People were reunited under the only name that mattered.
Z'shailyl.
The Z'shailyl named Aazhvar gazed out of the crystal bubble on the front end of his warship's bridge, and dark thoughts aside, what he saw was good. The hunter-squadron advanced through hyperspace in an ordered fashion, and there were enough of them now that the Earthers currently on their way to Talangahta would have difficulties dealing with them when the time came. The squadron, of course, not only contained horn-shaped fighters like the group which had tracked their quarry down the first time, but larger warships like his own, as well. Que'zhail, the Sha'drakh had named him... Battleleader. Master of the Hunt.
He only wished that this hunt had not been necessary; that the one they hunted had not done what he had. Aazhvar and *that* one been once closer then comrades; they had worked together from a very young age. He and Moreil had stood and watched in awe when the Dark Ones had returned to their great place of power, had been honoured to walk in those footsteps during the War of Darkness... the *last* War of Darkness, as it tuned out. Had followed the commands of the Dark Ones without question...
Until the end, that was; until it had all begun to go wrong. Aazhvar's mouth twisted at the memory of what had come, then. How Moreil, grown in stature to become a councillor of his people, had stood with the Fallen when they had turned away from the Holy World's funeral pyre. How he, Aazhvar, in the end had been among the last to escape from that dying world. And what price had been paid afterwards.
Involuntarily, Aazhvar's left hand tightened; even now, he had not completely escaped from the anger he felt at the injustice of it all. Would not be able to escape from that anger until his former brother-in-chaos had been captured.
"Que'zhail!"
Aazhvar turned aside from the view, and his thoughts, to meet the gaze of his Favored Claw, a term that the new Masters allowed the Loyal Ones to use. "Viknahz. Your report?"
"The humans draw near to their target, Que'zhail... there is very little time left. Your orders?"
"The *altered* human ship that attacked our Masters at the human colony, you are certain it is the one we pursue?"
"Yes." the other Z'shailyl confirmed. "The outstretched claws have sensed the song of the Machine from that vessel, abomination that it is. It is the same, or one very like it. And the Masters have told us the human vessels named *Warlock* are rare... it must, therefore, be the same one."
Aazhvar nodded. "I agree, and will echo you, Viknahz. That the humans have stolen the Machine to use for their own purposes is a blasphemy against the memory of the Dark Ones! While a team descends to deal with Moreil, we shall attempt to destroy it."
"That will not be easy," Viknahz warned. "Others have attempted this before, the Masters included, and all have failed."
"Nevertheless, we will make the attempt. And if we succeed," Aazhvar reminded his First, "Our status will rise yet further, in the eyes of the Masters."
Viknahz chose not to argue with his commander on that. It was, he had learned the hard way, safer to keep one's silence when the Que'zhail was in *that* mood.
* * *
The DE'MOLAY. Thirty minutes from jump-out at Talangahta.
"Captain Tikopai." Paul Telluride formally addressed the just-arrived commander of their escort, "The Captain told me you were leading the Ranger contigent that's going down to Talangahta IV, and while common sense tells me I should argue with you on that score, the hard-earned experience I've gained serving under your mother for the better part of the last decade tells me that one never crosses a Tikopai, especially one that's already made up her mind about something important."
"Although," his Captain's daughter replied, as she and the rest of the Rangers moved their way into the staging area, the other Rangers standing together with the ensign Telluride had sent to meet them, upon their arrival, "I suspect that if I try and do this too much, *my* first officer will eventually get obstinate enough to keep me aboard while, as she put it recently, 'I stand in harm's way for you.'"
"That is," Telluride noted, "One of the biggies when it comes to XO duties, you know. Just out of curiousity, why *are* you so set on going down to the planet with us?"
"Our guest is the reason." came her sharp reply. "I do not trust him, Commander, and until he openly shows us that he *can* be trusted, I wish to keep his leash short. Speaking of which, where is he?"
Telluride sighed. "He *requested* that he be allowed to return to his ship; there was something that he wanted to get. He said something about 'defense and honour' before he went..."
It was at that point that Moreil appeared, accompanied by his guards, the dark robes he had previously worn abandoned for more useful, tighter fitting garb. What caught everyone's attention, however, was what the Z'shailyl was carrying: a midnight-black staff with crystal tips that was almost as tall as he was. All over the chamber, he could hear the sound of Rangers moving hands to their fighting pikes, ready for trouble. Their commander, of course, had also done so, had actually detached her pike from its place at her side, so ready was she to act.
"Do you," Telluride pointedly inquired, "Want to tell me what *that* is?"
The Z'shailyl seemed to grin, a toothy, dangerous one, if a grin it was. "Yess, Commander. 'Zei'tak'u', this is, honoured weapon of family for fifteen of your generationss. Ancestors fought with forcess of Light long before your birth or mine, and when las-st owner departed beyond the Dark Ones call, inherited it, I did. Others come, also bring their own zei'taku; the One who leads them is a former brother-in-battle; he will seek me out, and we will fight. I know thisss to be true."
"Wonderful. And we can trust you not to start stabbing that thing into our backs when we're not looking?"
The Z'shailyl managed to look affronted. "This isss weapon of *honour*, human! Cannot use this in ssuch a fashion, and will not. Weapon is even older then weapons these Rangerss bear..."
"I'm afraid," Telluride heard Julia Tikopai declare, 'That this not entirely true, Z'shailyl. While *most* of my Anla'shok bear fighting pikes of recent vintage, there is one among us that does not. One among us who bears a weapon older and more hallowed then yours."
"Proof, I must have of thisss claim," a clearly skeptical Moreil replied, "Before belief, I will ssshow."
"As you wish." Rangers and Earthforce alike moved aside, as he watched the younger Tikopai open her pike and move to stance, at which point the now openly curious Moreil moved to inspect it. "How old do you think this weapon is, Z'shailyl?"
Moreil moved to inspect it more closely, and after a moment, he hissed, and gestured a sign of what seemed to be protection. "The signs are clear, sssigns that *we* have been trained to recognize! Ancient weapon of *Minbari*, thisss is! How did you come by this weapon, human?"
"All of us have secrets, Moreil." was her reply. "This is *one* of mine."
"Ssso be it." was the Z'shailyl's final comment, as he moved away from his allies. "You will be tested in battle with it ssssoon enough, human. Prepare, we mussst, for what lies ahead."
* * *
"Jump!" Bethany Tikopai commanded, and without pause, Will McClelland activated the DE'MOLAY's jump engines, and with only a slight shudder, the massive Warlock Class destroyer fell back into normal space. Off to one side, he noted the glyph of their escort vessel fade from the tactical sensors, as the IA battlecruiser engaged its mysterious 'darklight' mode, while a moment later, his Captain ordered the launch of their entire complement of Thunderbolts. The SHARD's first officer, of course, had already launched her own squadron of stealthfighters, all in accordance with the plan worked out before their arrival.
"So, Mac..." Malcolm Piesch whispered, as he leaned over towards him, "Are you going to tell what she's like, or what?"
McClelland thought about that one for a moment, and then made the only reply that seemed to fit. "Well, I suppose I *could* tell you...
But then I'd have to kill you."
"Oh c'mon!" Piesch protested. "You've *gotta* be kidding!"
"I'm really sorry, Malcolm, but there's this whole 'vow of secrecy' thing, involved..."
"Mr. Piesch!"
Piesch abruptly straightened, as he noted the *annoyance* in his captain's tone. "Captain Tikopai, yes, ma'am?"
"Mr. Piesch, what can you tell me about our target?"
The DE'MOLAY's OpO immediately addressed his captain's concerns, all other distractions for the moment, at least, forgotten, as Will piloted the destroyer into high orbit around the fourth planet of the Talangahta system. "The Commander and his Ranger... counterpart have left the forward bays, and are on their way down to the planet with our guest, Captain. Lt. Commander Gage has established an outer perimeter, while our allies are, of course, nowhere to be seen."
"As it should be, Mr. Piesch. The only time we *should* see them is if trouble in the persona of Moreil's hunter 'friends' arrive. And I'm hoping we'll be done with this place and out of here before that happens. What can you tell me about the planet?"
"Looks like an interesting place; a little smaller and lighter then Earth, sizable seas, lots of mountain ranges, and no visible surface habitations, although there's *tons* of sub-surface reflection."
"Which makes sense, given the doctor's opinion that these Z'shailyl are most comfortable in long-wavelength environments, meaning, I suppose, they like to be underground most of the time, and if this world has lots of caves..."
"Exactly. As for the local region, we're only seven-tenths of an AU from a orange dwarf star; sensors are showing three tiny airless balls closer to the star then us, and two giants beyond... and an ancient-tech jumpgate at the Lagrange point ahead of IV's secondary satellite."
"Very good, Mr. Piesch. Keep an eye out for the other Z'shailyl; as soon as they start to jump in, I want to know, if not sooner. Mr. McClelland?"
"Captain?"
"When that happens, you know what to do?"
"Sure do, Captain."
* * *
Following Moreil's instructions, they had long since passed through the outer atmosphere, and were now winging their way over a wide, bluish-gray plain of 'grass' towards a tall, snow-capped range of mountains, the ice slightly orange-tinted under the glow of Talangahta star. Julia huddled deeper inside the waist-length thermal field jacket that went over the rest of her uniform, and even though the inside of the EA atmospheric shuttle that had ferried her down from the DE'MOLAY was quite warm, she looked upon that ice, and the bleak plains below, and involuntarily shivered.
"If you do not mind me inquiring," Larieken asked Moreil, who was sitting pensively nearby, "What drew you to come to this place, after Z'ha'dum was destroyed? It appears to be a, how shall I say it, *unpleasant* place."
The Z'shailyl shrugged. "Hidden from prying eyes, thisss place was. We sssought to move aside from the patterns of chaos that guided our brethren, once we learned the Dark Oness had been banished by the one named... Sssheridan. Those who would be Masterss, those who tried to destroy your world, thought otherwise, and eventually, though we hoped it would not happen, they found usss here."
"If you were level in techonology with them beneath the Shadows," she asked him, "What hold could they possibly have over you?"
Moreil's eyes narrowed at that. "Fissst of Darkness, they brought," he declared. "Told us that if we did not join the Loyal Oness, they would wipe us from this place with darkness and fire."
"The planet killer." Larieken mused.
"Yess. You call them such; all gone now."
"Loyal Ones, you said. Are those the hunters that pursue you?"
"Yess. And others you have not yet met." Moreil rose, then, and to the pilot's discomfort, gazed over his shoulder, and pointed a long-nailed finger along the shuttle's path of flight. "There, you sssee? Great arch there is in face of mountains; go that way, we must."
The pilot cast a gaze over toward his XO at that point, and Commander Telluride curtly nodded. Now that they were drawing nearer, even Julia could see the 'arch' that Moreil referred to. Some time in the recent geologic past, the great river that ran out of the mountains and into the dreary plain they had just crossed had carved a path through a mighty limestone buttress on the edge of the peak-line. It was to that place their companion pointed. "Above, you will find place of landing... once down, into our recent home we musst go, to the hidden place, and reclaim knowledge both recent... and ancient, as well. This I promis-sed you, as a show of trust, yess?"
"Take us down," Telluride ordered. "Let's see whether or not this trip has been worth it, or not."
* * *
The SHARD OF NIGHT, moments later.
"Na'lai." Sheynell began, the glow of her station's crystals reflecting in her eyes, "The whiskers we've left on point in hyperspace confirm the Z'shailyl's earlier warning. They're coming."
"Show me." Klairika commanded, and she shook her head regretfully as the image shimmered down in front of her, revealing dozens of horned and spiky forms moving through hyperspace, scant minutes from jump-out. "So be it. Dasouri, bring us into the expected jump-out zone, Sheynell, make ready to engage the foe... and get me the DE'MOLAY."
"Communication established."
"Captain." she reported, as the Z'shailyl fleet shimmered, and was replaced by an image of an Earthforce bridge readying itself for battle. "The hunters..."
"Are coming. Yes, we know, Mr. Piesch just told me that a moment ago."
"Our landing team has only just reached the target. We must buy them some more time, if they are to succeed in recovering this 'cache' of information the Z'shailyl told us about."
"Won't be the first time we've had to do this, and I don't think it'll be the last, either. Just another day on the job, so to speak. There is, however, one thing to note before we engage... as near as I can tell, this might be the first time in recent Galactic *history* that two warships based on Shadow and Vorlon technologies have fought together for a common goal."
By the Comet. But that was true, wasn't it? "You make an interesting point, Captain!" she allowed. "We can only hope that it will not be the last time this will occur."
"Hope is sometimes all we have. DE'MOLAY out."
In front of her, Dasouri turned around, and abruptly smiled at her. "Is *clear* to see Captain of Warlock destroyer is related to someone we know, Na'lai."
"Trust me, Dasouri," Sheynell muttered, "That's a good thing." It was then, of course, that a sharp warning chime sang through the air, and the SHARD's tactical officer turned back to her board, and nodded briskly. "Four jump points forming.