I have, so far, written 3 stories dealing with the episode War Without End and the book, To Dream in the City of Shadows. This is the fourth.
A sequel to my stories Under the Cover of Shadows, There are Always Shadows, and Love Among the Shadows. I guess it could be called the Shadow series?
JMS, Warner Brothers, and Del Rey Books own the rights to the various aspects of the B5 Universe. I'm just visiting.
Inspector Thomas Olsen was tired of reports. Tired of reading them, and even more tired of writing them. It felt like this entire assignment had involved one report after another. Some in Basic, some in Minbar. That's why his superiors had picked him. He could read, write, and speak the three Minbari dialects. Not that he'd seen all that many Minbari reports.
In fact he'd seen just two. Delenn's account on Ambassador Sinclair's disappearance in the rift at sector 14 and then the official version the Religious Caste leaders had made for the Anla'shok. These didn't vary much from the short communique that Earthgov had received at the time. Earthgov had simply accepted them. According to a friend, the government (especially Clark) had actually been relieved at Sinclair's death.
There had been a half-hearted attempt to gather more information--but the galaxy had intervened. Like the Shadow War--something he and most of Earth knew next-to-nothing about. He had read a couple of accounts in the papers--it seemed more fantastical than real.
Thomas leaned back in his chair and groaned. Ambassador Delenn had cancelled her afternoon appointment with him. Her aide had said something about being busy...Matters of the new Alliance. He had hoped to get a letter of introduction from her, before travelling on to Minbar.
He briefly wondered if Delenn was giving him the run-around.
He was therefore surprised when his console beeped. He wasn't expecting any messages. Perhaps Earthgov was sending him new instructions. He ordered the message played. He gave a low whistle. It was from Ambassador Delenn.
"Inspector Olsen, I regret that my schedule precluded meeting with you today. I have arranged ten minutes tomorrow." He started to read the accompanying text file.
#
#
Ambassador Delenn looked as frazzled as any Human after a particularly frustrating day. He'd heard rumors about the ambassadors disagreeing over what it took to join the new Interstellar Alliance. He smiled as he greeted her with a small bow.
"Inspector Olsen, I would like to apologize for having to cancel our appointment yesterday."
"That's all right, ma'am...Madam Ambassador." He nervously smiled. "You have received confirmation of my orders from Earth Dome?"
"Yes, I have. We shall cooperate of course.."
"There are questions about what he--and all of you--were doing at Babylon 4."
Delenn frowned and thought a second before responding. "We had received reports that allies of the Shadows were planning on using the rift and destroying the station. We went to prevent that."
Olsen felt puzzled, but hoped he controlled his expression enough to give nothing away. "The station was destroyed...Or taken to another time." He remembered the reports from the first time Sinclair visited the station. "Sinclair was caught in the rift when it closed?"
"That is correct."
"So he was on the station when it went to this other time."
Again Delenn hesitated slightly he thought. "He was on the station when the rift closed." She picked up a packet on her table and handed it to him. "I have instructed my government to cooperate with you. I can understand your government's concerns about the strangeness of Ambassador Sinclair's disappearance, but no one in the Minbari Government was responsible."
He took the packet. "Thank-you, Madam Ambassador. There is one other question. I understand that Ambassador Sinclair was somehow connected to the Rangers."
She smiled. "He was Entil'Zha until his disappearance. I took his place." She bowed slightly, bringing the interview to an end. She smiled as she shook his hand in Earth fashion, "Remember, revelations come in many ways."
#
#
Olsen kept a blank face as the ranger he was interviewing shook her head then bowed. Another interview with nothing new learned. Thomas watched as the woman walked away and wanted to throw something--anything. He settled for kicking a stone.
He'd been on Minbar now for three days, and still all he knew had been what he'd read in the original reports. He had been given a tour of the Ranger training facilities and the foundation for the new Alliance capital.
He repeated Sheridan's version of what happened in Sector 14 to himself.
"Ambassador Jeffrey Sinclair disappeared when the time rift in Sector 14 closed permanently. After an extensive search, we could find no sign of him or remnants of the rift. I ordered the search abandoned..."
Thomas wondered at the ommisions. The ones Earthgov wanted him to find out about. He also suspected that the ambassador's few surviving relatives wanted proof that Sinclair hadn't been killed by Clark or by the Minbari.
He was curious why they had gone to Sector 14 in the first place. He had reported Delenn's rather vague answer about preventing the Shadows from using the rift. He and his superiors wondered just what the Shadows were going to do with the rift.
That the rift was gone was fact. The quarantine on Sector 14 had been lifted just four months after Sinclair's disappearance.
And what had happened to Babylon 4? He'd read the reports on Sinclair's first visit to the station--as well as the survivors. But it all made no sense.
"A wise man once said one must look for answers, not be content to wait for them..." Thomas turned quickly having not heard the elder Minbari Ranger approach. "I am Sech Turval, Delenn said you would be coming."
Thomas nodded. "I am Thomas Olsen from the Bureau of Investigation..."
"I know who you are. But do you?"
"Huh?" Thomas stared at Turval.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
"I've been sent to investigate the disappearance..."
"I know about that. We have co-operated with your government as best we may. But, you, I understand, speak all three of our languages fluently."
Thomas blushed slightly and laughed nervously. "Not quite fluently. I need more practice with the Warrior Caste dialect."
It was Turval's turn to laugh. "I see. But why learn our languages at all?"
Olsen shrugged. "I don't know...It seemed important...somehow."
"Ahhh. What do you know about the Anla'shok...What you call Rangers?"
"I know as much as any human on Earth. They are warriors..."
"No," Turval smiled sadly. "It is a common misconception. Many Humans and Minbari come expecting to fight...We turn most away. Entil'Zha Delenn said you were a worthy candidate."
"Me?" Olsen's eyes opened wide in surprise. "I'm not a warrior--I'm an investigator."
"The Anla'shok are not warriors--yes, we fight when necessary--but our primary mission is to keep the peace. To gather information."
Despite his major misgivings, Thomas had to admit to being intrigued. He had been curious about these Rangers ever since Delenn and Sheridan had introduced them to Earthgov only a few weeks ago. He knew his curiosity showed on his face as Turval continued his description of the Anla'shok.
Without knowing exactly how, two hours later Inspector Thomas Olsen sent in his resignation and joined the Anla'shok.
#
#
Anla'shok Thomas Olsen looked around the graduating class. It had been a grueling experience, but never before in his life had he felt this sense of purpose. He turned his attention back to the speaker.
"It has been written for a thousand years that Valen, a Minbari not born of Minbari, appeared at the hour of our greatest need. He brought with him a station to replace those destroyed by the Shadows..."
Thomas choked suddenly and started coughing. His neighbor patted his back and whispered. "Are you all right?"
"Fine...just fine..." He noticed Delenn watching him, a tiny wisp of a smile on her face. He now worked for her...He lived for the one, would die for the one.
His life in Earthgov was long ago and far away.
They wouldn't believe the truth anyway.