(disclaimers and associated descriptions in overture)
* * *
<<ACT FOUR>>
All alone with his thoughts, Varsak knelt in the pool of light he had found himself in upon awakening, and waited for the future to become the present, and reveal itself. The darkness beyond was complete, and for the time being, he had no interest in exploring the boundaries of his prison... not that he could stray far in any case, because of the shackles around his wrists... shackles that were rather firmly connected to the bar of crystal behind him.
It seemed clear enough, from the faint crystalline chiming sounds that occasionally echoed around him, that he was on a Minbari-built warship -- and while the style resembled that of the White Stars as well as that of his own creation, it also felt somehow *colder* then either. Not that it really mattered, anyways -- the Warrior Caste had been the ones that had captured him, for reasons he acknowledged even before the event itself had occured -- and the Warriors would, no doubt, come to interrogate him in due course. That they had decided to build another ship of secrecy after Sheridan had discovered 'Vi'dalae An'shaka' was now obvious -- a new dagger to fling in the face of their enemies, perhaps...
Then it was that a portion of the wall slid apart almost silently behind him, but not so silently that he could not hear that opening. Varsak rose to his feet and turned around, and then the anger came -- anger both at himself for being so gullible as to allow this meeting to occur, and also directed towards the lean, fairly tall Warrior who now stood before him. He knew this warrior... he had served beneath him at one point, before the Drakh had attacked the human homeworld. And that he was here meant that decisions had been made -- potentially *life-threatening* decisions.
"You do not seem surprised to see me, Varsak..." Alyt Rahkeel began, his expression speculative, as several other warriors moved into the chamber behind him. "May I ask why that is?"
Varsak snorted, and half-turned away from his arrogant opponent. "That you even have to ask the question demonstrates how *shallow* your personality is, Rahkeel. When Sheridan decided to relieve you of command and gave my creation into the hands of the Anla'shok, you attempted to convince your clan that the action had been what, unlawful? Unwise? No... perhaps I am being too polite -- when they gave *your* battlecruiser to the changeling human, was it rage you felt, Rahkeel? And when your *own* clan decided not to support you, who would you have turned to support your quest for revenge, hmm?"
"You will be silent, Worker!" the tall female behind Rahkeel snapped, as she strode forward, her blade already unsheathed. "You insult my Alyt, and also my *clan*. If you were not so valuable to us, I would kill you where you stand!"
"Valuable, am I?" Varsak parried. "How *interesting*. Now why would that be, Storm Dancer?"
"That is for us to know," the female replied, as she visibly reined her anger in as her commander looked down upon the confrontation with no small amusement, "Not you, Worker -- you have not the right to know the secrets we know. But you *do* know things... important things, and before we are done with you, you will tell us everything we need to know."
"I sincerely doubt that... Sha'liat Tirivail, is it? Yes, I thought as much -- your name is a familiar one to me. Is not your elder sister Anla'shok Val'na, and also second in comand of the Alliance White Star Fleet?"
"She is, *yes*." Tirivail all but hissed, and Varsak smiled, as he realized he had touched upon what was obviously somewhat of a sore point. "And you would do well not to discuss her in my presence. Now, as I was saying -- you will tell us everything we need to know about the target we are about to pursue... you were its chief designer, after all."
An icy coldness gripped at his heart, then, as he *finally* realized what it was these two intended to do... these two Storm Dancers who would seek revenge on those who had shamed them so. He had read the reports sent to him by his friends and associates, and he knew what this meant, all too well. And if they failed, even partly, and this act was revealed to the masses... no, that outcome was too terrible to even be considered. What was *obvious*, however, was that he could not give in to them... at all. "You must know that I cannot and will not do what you wish." he coldly replied. "I will embrace death before betraying the Alliance... betraying the oaths I have sworn... and I will not betray the Anla'shok who crew my creation, for their mission must not fail!"
Rahkeel laughed, and Varsak could not imagine a more unpleasant sound. "She told us you would be like this, Worker -- she's not very happy with you at the moment -- and when we become unhappy, things tend to happen that otherwise would not."
"She?" Varsak replied, his puzzlement all but complete. "She *who*?"
"Behold the face of your enemy, Varsak..." Rahkeel contemptously replied, as the doors behind him slid open once more, to reveal a figure beyond. "This is, I think, one reunion you will *not* enjoy."
A moment of shocked silence followed, as Varsak saw who it was that was standing in the door, and then, the cold within him grew to match the vindictive, brittle smile on the new arrival's face. "Illithan?"
"Greetings, my 'Master'..." the younger engineer replied, her voice full of poison. "So kind of you to have joined us."
"Illithan!... what *is* the meaning of this?"
"Was that a *demand* I heard?" Illithan mockingly pondered, as she turned to Rahkeel and Tirivail, who nodded in reply. "Yes... I do believe it was. Even now, in chains, and completely at our mercy, he is arrogant enough to make demands. Do you even comprehend the position you are in, you fool?"
"I do, yes..." Varsak wearily replied. "And I also behold the darkness within you all. Do what you will to me... but understand this, I will not give you what you want -- I will die before I betray them."
"But that is what they all say, now isn't it?" Illithan mused, "At the beginning. Be assured, Varsak, we *will* break you, and you will give us what we want. However, as much as it pains me to admit it, there is ONE part of your statement that is correct, I'm afraid."
* * *
The darkness, for the weaklings who had built this place, was complete... but the darkness did not bother Aazhvar and his First, as they hurried silently through the labyrinth beneath the Centauri's *great* palace. Once again, he observed the target his master had ordered him to follow... and once again, Aazhvar bitterly considered his recent fall from grace. Besides the One who lead, he was the only other servant of Darkness to have encountered the Adversary since the attack on the human primeworld. Like the One who lead, he had survived the experience -- the Council of Return, and the rest of the Entire as a whole, however, had not treated the loss of so many Z'shailyl soldiers and ships lightly. They had stripped him of his command, and placed him under the command of the Drakh who had also encountered the Adversary and survived... a Drakh who had decided to take the steps necessary to find that enemy, and destroy it, before *it* destroyed him. A leader that was distrusted by some among the Entire, for the things that he did, and the ways that he did them.
An admirable choice, all things considered, even if the method Vekh'shivalht Palakz was using was a... unique one. Once again, the foolish Centauri agent was daring to intrude upon the domain of his masters! This time, however, the plan was not simply to observe her movements... no, *this* time, the pattern would be quite different. An action was about to be taken that would place them irrevocably upon the road towards another confrontation with the Adversary.
And while some steps were necessariy small, the destination would be reached. Eventually. Aazhvar pointed down the corridor towards the dark-cloaked figure of their target, and explained the plan that would allow them to capture their target for the use of the One who Lead. Viknahz nodded in understanding a moment later, before moving away in a *completely* different direction.
* * *
The silence, as always it was, this far beneath the draped halls and carpeted rooms of the Palace's main level, was complete save for the faint dripping of water falling down from above. Hardly anyone ever came down here... which was what made this whole situation so suspicious. The figures she had seen on several occasions *were* moving down here, and their movements betrayed them -- she had observed with great interest how her people moved and how individuals from the *other* races moved, and the figures she had seen had clearly *not* been Centauri. Islane's mouth tightened at that point -- exactly how long had these shadowy forces been moving, beneath the palace floors and behind the walls of sight? What exactly was going on here? And (the most important question, in her opinion) had these mysterious forces been responsible for the manipulation that had caused the Fall?
And then she saw it -- and once again, felt the grim satisfaction of proving a point pursued for good reason. The figure had stealthily moved into view only a moment before, but even at this distance, it was clear this creature was nothing that had ever been borne on Centauri Prime -- the almost-black wedge shaped head, the enormous red eyes -- these were the first clues, but the very *furtiveness* of its movements, almost as careful as her own, told the story in the end. This creature did not want to be discovered, for if it was...
And then, the moment came, as an event happened suddenly, and without warning, that looked like it would finally give her the answers she soought. As Islane watched, the creature moved its hand into a large crack in the wall, and pulled sharply downwards. A harsh grating sound then ensued, and she almost gasped aloud as a portion of the wall slid aside, and the creature slipped inside. Again she had been right!... and if it was alone, and had not seen her, perhaps she could even slip inside and discover more of the enemy warren hidden within the walls of Emperor Mollari's palace! Of course there would be danger, but as Director Halloran had explained to her, if one did not dare, one might never know success. After a quick but thorough glance around her, she darted forwards, and passed through the portal and into the space beyond...
And cried out, as she was suddenly grasped from behind by wiry, claw-tipped arms. It was not possible!... it simply couldn't be, she was too *good* to be captured. And yet it had -- and what would happen now?
"Foolisssh you were to follow usss..." a voice whispered in her ear, as the creature she had been following returned into plain view, his amusement plain. "Sssso smart you thought yourssself -- ssmart enough to follow usss, learn who we were, tell your Alliance *massterrrs* all about our plans, yess? Now learn the truth you sseeek, Centauri, and more besssides."
"Who are you?" she managed.
"Who they are is unimportant, Centauri." another voice allowed, a voice as dry as burnt paper blowing on the wind, and Islane turned her head and finally knew fear, as another alien stepped into view. Tall he was, and forbidding, his face plated and stern -- and Islane, without a moment's hesitation, recognized the new arrival for what it was, a description spread far and wide in the time since they had attacked the human homeworld. Drakh. And if a Drakh was here on Centauri Prime... she sighed bitterly. Suddenly it was all starting to make *so* much sense.
"Who they are is unimportant." the Drakh repeated. "They are my servants, and like myself, they have served the Dark Ones in their time."
"The *Shadows*, you mean." she spat.
The Drakh's mouth twisted into what could almost be called an amused smile. "So your thin-skinned race named the Dark Ones in the times before the Fall, yes. The Dark Ones, they may be gone now, but as long as we remain, their principles remain. As long as their servants remain, the work will continue. You will aid us now, Islane of House Refa, for we have seen that you are capable of many things -- and now, you will serve *me*."
She blinked, unable to believe what she was hearing... but then the anger came. "You must be out of your mind, Drakh! *I*, serve you?... never!"
"You resist, of course." the Drakh matter-of-factly noted, as it turned briefly away from her. "They always resist, in the beginning." And then, as it turned back towards her, whatever it had done complete, Islane realized that the Drakh was now holding something in one hand... something which, a moment later, began to *crawl* out of that hand, and down towards the floor on its multitude of whip-like legs. It took only a moment longer for her to realize what this thing was about to do.
And long before it began to climb up her own leg, Islane of House Refa began, despite her own best intentions, to scream.
* * *
The emergence of a patrolling Omega Class Destroyer from the jump gate off Io was a far rarer sight now then it had been before the Drakh had attacked Earth, but even so, even with the fleet so depleted, Earth *had* to be protected... and the quarantine had to be enforced at all costs, of course. What the captain of the TALOS did not know, however, was that two small objects had also come through the gate with his command, and even as the destroyer turned aside to make its approach to the gate station, those two objects streaked away at maximum acceleration, their drives shielded, their purpose firm. The hands that guided those two sensor clusters were many light years away, but because of the work of a Minbari now captured, the connection between the probes and their distant masters remained firm. And even though the trip to Earth was a long one, eventually, it did end. And that, of course, was exactly what the engineers of the SHARD OF NIGHT had been waiting for.
* * *
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Julia cautiously observed, as Lesaki and the other members of the engineering crew finished connecting the fine-meshed projection net that Nicholas was wearing to the ship's systems, while the engineer himself floated a few inches above the deck on a portable antigrav projector the rest of the team had thrown together on a moment's notice. "It looks a little bit..."
"Ramshackle?" Nicholas dryly finished for her. "I won't argue with you on that point, Captain, but then again, any technology's a little shaky until it's perfected, isn't it? Heck, if we'd waited to go into hyperspace until our ships were perfect, the Shadows would have steamrollered right over us..."
"But they did not, and you cannot." Klairika concluded. "And as such, we will not know if this will work until you try, yes?"
"Don't know about you, Lesaki, but that sure sounded like an invitation, didn't it?"
"Indeed it did, sir." the Minbari replied, as he passed a thin crystal-lined visor to his Chief, who promptly put in on. "If you will just put this on, we will shortly see if the relay is working properly..."
"Woah!"
"May I assume from the exclamation that you see something... interesting, sir?"
"You could say that..." Nicholas carefully replied, as he tried to adjust to the 360 degree simulation the whisker-probes were feeding into the net... a field of darkness and points of light only marred by the brilliant blue and gray pair of worlds below his 'feet'... worlds that were rapidly drawing nearer. "Hell, I could get to *like* this!"
"I feel I must warn you that the power drain is somewhat... higher then we had projected." Lesaki warned. "Whatever it is you are going to do, sir, I suggest that you do it *soon*."
"Fair enough. Do you have the coordinates for her hospital room?"
"We do, sir. The probes were able to break into your homeworld's primary computer network, and track down the medical listing for..."
"Spare me the play by play, Lesaki -- just take me there, okay?"
"As you wish, sir. Activating holographic projection...
*now*."
* * *
From her room, she could sometimes see the snow on the distant peaks of the Rocky Mountains, but for now, the darkness and the thickly falling snow had denied her even *that* luxury. Her parents and siblings had left her side hours before... really, all things considered, what *could* they do? Marie lifted her left hand from the bed, and watched it tremble -- a little more then last night -- the trembling was growing worse every day, and sooner or later...
She reached up, and wiped away the tear that had trickled out of her eye, and turned her attention back to the snow falling outside. No -- she couldn't think about that... not yet. There was still time... time to appreciate what life was all about. The snow... this almost had to be the last big snowstorm of the winter, and spring might be just around the corner!
Would this be the last spring she ever saw?
She finally gave in to the weeping, then, and sat up in her bed, as a strange whisper echoed from outside, in the distance. It was pretty clear that this would be another sleepless night. Another night she wished the family could be beside her, and another night knowing why they weren't. Her husband understood, but the kids didn't, not yet -- damnit, she couldn't think about that, not now... not yet. There was still time -- and then, the thought came that she had been avoiding ever since she'd been.. diagnosed. How the one member of her family she wanted to see the most was the member she's never see again. The brother who had gone to Minbar, the only Dason who didn't have this *damnable* plague...
"Marie..." The whisper returned, more insistent this time, and she sat up straight in her bed, unable to believe what it was she was hearing. It couldn't be! "Nicholas?"
"Focus in, you idiots!..." the faint voice commanded, and then, all of a sudden, a shimmer of light appeared in the corner of a room, and suddenly coalesced, as she watched with open mouth, into a wavery image... of her brother! "Ah, that's more like it."
"Nicholas?" she blurted out again, still unable to believe what she was seeing, as her brother's image turned around and approached the bed. "Is... is that you?"
"I had to find a way to come, Mars..." came the resolute reply, and she reached out a wondering hand then, and jumped as it passed completely through what was *obviously* a projection of some sort. "And since I couldn't come in person, this seemed like the next best thing."
"But how? How is this possible, Nick?"
Nicholas smiled grimly at that remark. "When you've got friends who are Minbari, and a captain who's a Ranger, just about anything's possible, let's leave it at that, shall we?"
"You're with the *Rangers*?"
"Yep. One thing, though -- this has to stay a secret, just between us for now, Mars. If anyone finds out what you know, I could get in a lot of trouble, okay?"
"Are you and the Rangers looking for a cure, Nick?"
"Darn straight we are. And you never do know, we might still find the cure in time to..."
"Don't, Nick... please don't!"
"I have to, damnit!" her brother replied, his eyes showing finally showing the anger and frustration that had been hiding beneath the surface all along. "I can't give up, not until..."
"They say I've got six months, Nick... no more then that. And only about four until I fall into a coma that I probably won't come out of ever again."
"That's not enough time..." came the whispered reply. "Damnit, that's not enough time!"
"Nick, please!... isn't it enough that you've found a way to come to my side without endangering yourself? If we all die, you're the only hope we've got to keep the family going! I'm happy that you came, and I *can* keep a secret..."
"I'm not happy. And, and once you *die*, Mars, I don't think I'll ever be happy again."
She shook her head angrily at that remark. "Don't be stupid, Nick -- *life* goes on, and once I'm gone, you'll find something to make you happy again eventually."
"I doubt it..." And then it was that the image started to flicker, and Nicholas began to swear. "Ah Hell!... Lesaki, just a little longer, please!"
"You have to go, don't you?" she whispered, eyes downcast.
"Wish... I had more time, Mars, but the power curve's running low [crackle]. I'll be back though, you can count on it [buzz]... and I'll keep right on coming back, just as many times as I can manage to!"
"Be careful, Nick!"
"...c..nt on it, Mars. H...'t found a problem I can... ick yet. Lo... you..." And then, the image suddenly convulsed, and faded away... and Marie slowly sank back onto the bed, her hand outstretched, her senses still jangling from the encounter.
"And you, Nick..." she managed. "And you."
* * *
"Did that... help?" Julia managed, as Lesaki finished untangling Nicholas from the net. "You look..."
"Upset, Captain?" Nicholas replied, as he breathed slowly in and out, fighting off the tears. "Yeah, I'm upset -- and yeah, it's gonna take me a long time to get over this when she does go... but yes, Captain, this did help.