(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
* * *
<<ACT THREE>>
April 8th, 2267 -- 09:30 hrs, Ship's Time.
Julia laid one hand against the crystalline surface of the portal in her ready room, and gazed resolutely out on the shimmering red-and-black nothingness of hyperspace. Slightly more then twenty thousand kilometres in front of her command, the EXCALIBUR was running its own course through the murk -- that ship, and all the crew aboard her, were the reason she and *her* crew were out here. In fact, this was the nearest they'd ever come to Captain Gideon's command to date... but at the same time, their mission, and incidentally the very commissioning of the SHARD OF NIGHT, had brought her chief engineer into a position where he had chosen to seperate himself from the rest of his family -- a position that denied him the opportunity to rejoin them when it mattered the most. She sighed bitterly -- it wasn't fair, but what choice was there? If Nicholas was allowed to let emotion overcome reason, if he tried to get to Earth and his sister's bedside, he would only become yet another victim of the Drakh plague...
While on top of that, and far more heartless in her opinion, was the knowledge that Nicholas had set himself up as the individual who knew more about the SHARD then anyone else aboard, even including the other Minbari engineers who had helped to build her. And if they lost him... she shook her head sadly at the thought -- his loss simply wasn't an option. She would regret saying this to him at the meeting now only moments away, but what choice did she have? As his captain, she would have to be hard on him because... because it was necessary.
While as a fellow human being, she intended to exercise reason and persuasion, because Nicholas was also the last hope for his family to continue, should the people and creaturs of Earth be doomed to extinction.
Behind her, the door signal chimed, and Julia silently drained the last cooling remnants of her morning tea before setting the mug down on her desk and turning towards the door. "You may enter, Mr. Dawson."
Her chief engineer came through the door then, and strangely enough, for someone who had received a great deal of bad news and then proceeded to (quite understandably) drink himself into a near-stupor the night before, his expression was neither bitter or pained... but *resolute*, instead. At that, she winced, without letting herself show it -- he had obviously made a decision of some sort, and if it was the decision she was afraid of, a great deal of possibly angry argument would soon be ensuing. And this was something she was not looking forward to at all, even though she knew in her heart that it was necessary.
"Mr. Dawson," she continued, her tone perhaps a bit cooler then she would have liked, "You've recovered from last night's misadventure, I trust?"
Dawson grimaced slightly at that barb. "I owe you and Anla'shok Keynes an apology, Captain. While the news from Earth was a harsh blow I wasn't expecting quite this soon... I should never have allowed myself to believe I could run away from the situation the way I did. It's never anything but a temporary solution, and once it's gone, it's gone, leaving you right back where you started, but with a nasty headache as compensation."
She allowed herself to smile slightly, at that. "I trust that Veyshahk was able to assist you with that... concern?"
"Yep, he sure did, although he *did* have a few sharp words for me because of my... 'unwise choices'."
"He is a Minbari, and as you probably know, alcohol affects them in a far more... drastic fashion then it does us. If 'unwise' was as far as he went, you were probably let off easy. For now, however, if you don't mind me being a little more direct, I would appreciate it if you could tell what you intend to do about this situation with your family."
A sigh. "I'll be honest with you, Captain -- before I drank myself silly last night, I was so far down in the dumps that I didn't think that there was anything I *could* do. But you know what?... last night, Sheynell said something that lodged in my brain, which was somewhat of a miracle all by itself... she said 'being one of the best engineers our race has ever produced has to be good for something'. She was right, Captain -- I've figured out a way to visit my sister *without* actually setting foot on Earth."
"You have?" she burst out, even as a wave of relief passed through her, a wave brought on by the knowledge that even in his present state, her Chief wasn't about to do something... unwise. But at the same time, his statement was an interesting revelation all by itself. "This, I've *got* to hear!"
"Fair enough, Captain, fair enough. As near as I can tell, no one's ever tried something like this before on nearly as great a distance scale as I'm about to, but well, as we've already figured out on a number of occasions, with this ship, sometimes the impossible becomes the possible. As it turns out, it's the hyperspace/realspace whisker net that ends up being the key element of the plan..."
* * *
Leilan, Minbari Federation, six hours later.
Unseen, the STORMWIND hovered at the gravitationally stable point between Leilan and Sizstreth, its brown dwarf mother world, and because this was so, Rahkeel could for a time allow himself to relax a little, and enjoy the panorama for what it was. In his opinion, Leilan was almost the most interesting world his people had colonized, and it was also one of the oldest Federation colonies, as well. Many cycles before the Shadows had first come upon his people, cycles in which each Caste had fought the other for control of their civilization, splinter groups had from time to time broken away once the knowledge of jump technology had spread far and wide, and one such group sponsored by the Worker Caste had come to this place. The other Castes had learned of it soon enough, and the colony had suffered greatly during the Great War of Valen, but afterwards, peace had come, and the colony had prospered.
Leilan, it was to be admitted, was a... *unique* place, to be sure. While a moon of Sizstreth, Leilan was almost as large a world as Minbar, and the combination of heating from the brown dwarf and the more distant white primary was more then sufficient to make it a livable world. The original Worker Caste colonists had brought many Minbar life and treeforms with them during their trek through hyperspace, and after a small amount of climatic manipulation, these forms had quickly adapted to their new landscape... until now, hundreds of cycles after the arrival of those colonists, great islands of trees and seas of grass covered the continents. The lifeforms, of course, had needed to adapt to the strange cycle of revolution and eclipse, but they had adapted, just the same. As had the colonial descendants... including the individual they had come here in search of.
This had been Varsak's original homeworld before he had come to Minbar in his youth to study -- and this had been the world he had returned to in disgrace and exile, when he had been banished from his place aboard his creation because of his crimes of pride. Rahkeel smiled, then -- even now, Tirivail and her small group of warriors were descending towards the planet below, their assualt craft shielded from sight by the same technology that concealed his own command... as well as, he darkly admitted, the command of the changeling... the command that had once been his.
The command that just might, if all went well, be his again... in due course. If all went well. If all went according to plan. Not that the Shai Alyt needed to hear of this, of course. But then again, not even the Shai Alyt needed to know *everything*.
* * *
"Observe the timing!" the Storm Dancer named Lakarr exclaimed, as the three stealthed assault craft descended deeper into Leilan's atmosphere, their movements now slow and careful as they approached Heivall, the colonial capital. "The eclipse approaches, even now."
Tirivail gazed upwards through the portal, then, to take in the great crescent and dimly-lit darkside of Siztreth high above, with Leilan's sun just off to one side. "Agreed -- our window of opportunity is, however, a small one. What is our present location?"
Lakarr quickly checked the display, even as the descent concluded, and the assault wing began to make its way through the dimly lit near-eclipse landscape. "We will be approaching *his* refuge in mere moments, Sha'liat -- as eclipse begins, as a matter of fact."
"This is well. I trust that you and the other group commanders know what is required at that point?"
Lakarr nodded. "Your briefing was... specific, Sha'liat. We will secure the perimeter, neutralize his 'field' personnel, and then move upon the main dwelling itself. By the time that he learns of our arrival, it will already be too late for him to do anything about it."
"And then we will have him, yes?"
"Indeed we will, Sha'liat Tirivail..." Lakarr confirmed. "Indeed we *will*."
* * *
Varsak stood in the portal, and contemplated the end of all that had been, knowing in his heart what lay ahead, and the pain that would result. Pride had bought him to this end... pride had placed him upon the road he would shortly be setting his feet upon. The human, Dawson, had been right in his assessment... but the realization of his flaws had come too little, too late.
Now, his enemies were closing in, this much was certain. In the space of only a few moments, his perimeter guards had been silently and effectively neutralized, and the remainder who had moved out to meet the threat would no doubt soon face the same fate. The assailants had likely been sent by the Warrior Caste -- no, he decided, it was best not to dance around the matter -- had probably been sent by the Shai Alyt himself. What they wanted was still unclear... but his fate was now all but sealed, this he realized. The ship he had built for them had been lost, and now a price would have to be paid for that loss.
It happened then, quicker then he had been expecting, as several sets of chian'kan, one of the premier wall assualt tools of the Warrior Caste, suddenly emerged out of the darkness below to latch onto the edge of the portal. Involuntarily he backed away, only to hear the distant cries and muffled thumps that announced the arrival of other intruders into his refuge. A pause, then... and finally his enemies revealed themselves, as black-clothed, grim-faced warriors burst through the door and the portal, more or less simultaneously.
"You are Varsak, of the Worker Caste?" the lead warrior inquired, his tone steely, his face forbidding.
"I am he."
"Take him." the warrior instructed, and in an instant, Varsak found himself grabbed from behind and forced to the floor, as the lead warrior turned aside, and activated his communicator. "Sha'liat... we have him."
"This is well, Lakarr." a distant, satisfied voice replied. "You will bring him to my craft at once -- time is short, and the Alyt... awaits."
"It shall be as you say." the warrior named Lakarr finalized, before he turned back towards his troops and nodded firmly. And that was all the warning Varsak had, as a gauntlet smashed down upon his head, and he fell down towards darkness.
* * *
Centauri Prime -- the capital.
His hands steepled in thought, Palakz moved through the darkened underworld of the Palace, two of his soldiers behind him. Even now, after so much time had passed, he still found the manner of the Centauri's downfall amusing -- and even as Emperor Mollari's people had rebuilt after the... 'disastrous' attack made by the Narn and Drazi forces years before, the darkness beneath the surface remained. This was now a Drakh place of power... not the greatest of course, that being the location he and his forces had just come from... forces he had abandoned into Raeznon's care, where they would be safe from any prying eyes -- but a place of power, nevertheless. And also a place of secrets -- and as any Drakh of his stature realized, secrets always attracted agents of enemy powers sooner or later -- agents who answered to the individual Alliance powers.
And also to the Alliance itself. For this reason he had come to Centauri Prime, because the agents *were* here, searching for the secrets they sought... and in the aftermath of the attack on the human Primeworld, the search had intensified. The Emperor, Palakz understood, was not... pleased about their presence, of course, but one of the problems about intelligence operatives is that they were traditionally difficult to capture -- and Sheridan and his Alliance undoubtedly had only sent their best to infiltrate Mollari's regime and uncover its secrets.
Which was all to the good... he enjoyed challenges, from time to time.
A movement out of the corner of his eye was all he was allowed, and Palakz turned, as another Drakh appeared out of the darkness. "Vak'shahn."
"Palakz. Long it has been since we have seen one another -- but I have receieved your message, and our... associates have been busy observing the target you seek."
"The Centauri's pattern has not changed, then?"
The other Drakh inclined his head fractionally. "Mostly she stays within the rules of her kind, but she also appears to be braver then most of her people, I will admit... brave enough to stand beneath our gaze and serve Sheridan's Alliance the way she does. Three times now she has gone so far as to creep through the catacombs beneath Mollari's palace in search of that she seeks, unnoticed by those in his... employ. The Nak'laht have watched her movements, as well as the Z'shailyl on occasion, and they have given her glimpses, just enough that she remains interested in the pursuit-- just enough that she will yet again gain the courage to resume her search for the unknowable... but not enough to give her information to take back to her masters."
"A valuable piece to be played in the game, then..." Palakz mused. "A piece waiting to be used by he who needs it the most."
"I have examined your message in full, Palakz." Vak'shahn replied, his gaze speculative and interested. "You believe this agent of Alliance will lead you to your 'Adversary', do you?"
"If this matter is handled properly," Palakz sharply replied, "The answer to your question may be yes. We must be very careful, however, Vak'shahn, not to confront her until the time is right -- even now, some of Mollari's followers may possess enough personal initiative to order her killed if she is found!"
"I assure you, Palakz, even if this *did* occur, there would be a way to save this foolish female for your own use... but I know you, brother-in-arms. You are devious, and a wise player of the dark game. She will come to you, in her own time... and walk into the trap you intend, without any interference on our part. So shall it be."
"So shall it be." Palakz agreed.
* * *
Islane moved stealthily through the dark hallways, unseen as always... or so it could be hoped. Her uncle had, in his time, taught her the ways of the Court, and she had used that information to its fullest extent in the time she had been here. In the light of day, she was another person... but once true darkness fell? Well that was another story entirely. A time of intrigue and mystery it had been, and it had all begun the night fire had fallen from the sky and killed a third of her immediate family. In the days and years that had followed that tragedy, she had sworn to find out who had been responsible for the massacre and the destruction -- she did not believe for a moment that it had been the Regent who had incurred the wrath of the Narn and Drazi, did not believe the 'official' explanation that had emerged in due course... and so her search had begun -- a search for answers. Islane had enjoyed playing the great game of intrigue and intelligence from a very young age, and there were those who searched for those with talents such as hers... the human Tessa Halloran was one such individual.
The Alliance's director of covert intelligence had allowed herself to 'meet' with Islane when she had visited Babylon 5 slightly more then a year after that night of fire -- and certain matters had been discussed. Halloran had... made it clear at the time that while her President trusted the Centauri ambassador to the station, certain portions of his government, up to and including the Emperor, did not fit under the same... umbrella, had she put it? Yes, that was it -- a curious term, yet appropriate. There was a curious darkness to the Capital now, a darkness that had not been present in her youth... a darkness that revolved around the mysterious dark-cloaked figures she had glimpsed on occasion -- and Islane, of House Refa, meant to track them down, or perish in the attempt.
Unfortunately for her, the power responsible for that darkness had different plans in store, as behind her, several dark, wedge-shaped heads emerged around a corner, their dimly glowing red eyes intent upon their master's latest... target.
* * *
"So," Nicholas mused, as Lesaki gazed down upon the holographic design hovering above the primary engineering console, "What do you think?"
"It is... an interesting concept, sir," the Minbari allowed, after a moment. "At the very least we will have to remote-reconfigure most of the onboard crystals to support the holographic matrix... and then there is the problem of power."
Nicholas nodded somberly. "The power for a send even at the distance suggested will require the fusion cell to be disengaged from its safeties for a minimum of sixty seconds at least -- and while the Earthforce presence close to Earth is a Hell of a lot smaller then it was before the Drakh attack, if anyone in the Fleet detects us while we're operational, we could blow our cover pretty thoroughly."
"Yes, sir..." Lesaki replied. "Stealth is all-important to our mission, and if your military manages to capture the remote and learn of its origin, we will, how does your kind say it?... ah yes -- be 'up the creek'."
"Now, now..." Nicholas said, waving a finger, "None of that, 'specially not around your clansmen. I don't want to be upheld as an example of a human the 'noble' Workers should avoid at all costs."
"I trust not, sir. If you would please continue?"
"Ah... right. What if we sent two instead of one? The second could shield the first's emissions during the critical low-altitude part of the mission."
"Yes. That *just* might work..."
* * *
"By the Comet!" Klairika softly exclaimed, as she and Julia gazed down on the two engineers and their assistants hard at work planning for the upcoming 'mission' from the engineering section's upper galleries. "You can't be serious! Has anything like this ever been *done* before?"
Julia smiled at that -- she knew of someone who pulled it off on a regular basis, but telling her first officer about this 'individual' probably wasn't a very good idea, at least not *yet*. "That's hard to say -- I'm sure someone somewhere has tried a holographic in-person send across interplanetary distances before... but this might be the first time any of our kind or those we work with has tried it with Minbari tech."
The Brakiri sniffed at that remark. "I would be more inclined to say that it is the SHARD's *Vorlon* technology that will be playing a more important role in this endeavour."
"Perhaps..." she admitted. "But he wants to go see her before it's too late, Klairika - and although he can't go in person, this is certainly the next best thing."
"And if it does not work, what then?"
"It will." she finalized, her eyes once again on the now-reinvigorated figure of her chief engineer down below. "I know it will."
* * *
To the unaided eye, the movement could not be seen, but to those sensors that could see them, the pattern slowly forming was obvious, as half a dozen of the SHARD's remote probes turned away from their mothership in formation, and retreated into the red mist of hyperspace in unison. Not all of those units would go so far as Earth, but to the two that would, the rest would serve as a link to the place they would soon return to, if all went well -- a tether of information and energy, across the void. But as to the final answer to the question that had been asked, that answer would be given, soon enough.
And the bravery of one soul would not go unnoticed.