"Certainly possible. If any Narn would have, it'd be him. He's not quite as xenophobic as some of his fellows. He's got an aide of some sort who comes here from time to time. I'll remember his name in a minute."
"That's a fair bit."
"Well, you know me. Even when I'm not working, the old instincts linger. It's surprising how much you overhear even when you're not trying."
He came back to the couch, carrying two mugs of the nearest thing to coffee available in the post-fall days. Catherine took her mug with a smile and, kicking off her shoes, swung her legs up onto the sofa.
"Why the interest?" Dan asked again, sitting down beside her.
"He's…. involved in IPX somehow. I'm certain of it. At a fairly high level too." She sipped the coffee. It didn't taste of anything at all. "For what reason I can only guess."
"I'll have a poke around tomorrow, if you like. Rustle up a few old contacts. They might know something a bit more recent…. like if this aide of his is in town. Ah…. what was his name? The door chimed and Dan looked up. "I'll get it," he said, rising to his feet and putting his coffee on the table. "Probably the other woman who was supposed to come round when you were out." He grinned, and Catherine smiled back, albeit somewhat weakly.
Her senses were a bit dulled at the moment, but she still heard the buzz of a PPG charging just as Dan opened the door. Acting on instinct she spun round, dropping her coffee, droplets scattering black rain everywhere. She shouted a warning, but it was too late.
Far too late.
The thump of a body hitting the floor coincided with the sound of her cup shattering.
* * *
The speeches were over and business had returned to something resembling normality at Kazomi 7's spaceport. Delenn had gone to meet with Lethke. Taan Churok and Vejar remained, working as hard as they ever did, and Valen…. he had left too.
For a while he had stood there, the love and adoration of his people enveloping him, and he reflecting it back towards them. The wave of ill-feeling resulting from the fate of the Keeper's host had evaporated, and conversation was now lively — if quiet — and filled with wonder.
Valen drifted through the streets and alleys of Kazomi 7, his mind elevated on a higher plane. Few who saw him could comprehend the thoughts raging through his mind. Only one person he had met since his…. change had been able to identify with him and she…. was away. Besides, she had been changed almost as much as he had.
He remembered so much, some that had happened, some that had not. He could see clearly the slopes of Mount H'leya as he addressed the throng of his own people and others. He could hear the words of his speech as easily as if they were being spoken now beside him.
And yet he could not remember where he had been born, or the name of the first woman he had kissed, or even the name of his brother.
Many times he had pondered on the strangeness of this, and he had come up with many answers. Some satisfied him. Most did not.
But then, there had been very few people he could ever remember who had any sense of…. of centre. Any point of focus around which their lives were based. Marrain — a name and a face he knew but who had been dead for centuries — he had been thus focussed. For a while at least. His whole life had been based around one thing, and when that base was shattered he had fallen, and never recovered.
"I should have led!" the familiar voice cried out, one arm pointing across the room. "I was worthy, more worthy than you! I challenge you, as our people have always settled our differences. Here…. in the heart of the Wheel."
He shook his head sadly. He had known almost instantly that Marrain had not wanted to kill him. Oh no, he had wanted to die there. Some small element of what he had been had remained. As it happened, Marrain had not died then. Unable to bear the pain of the Starfire Wheel he had fallen free, crawling into the shadows at the corner of the temple, to watch.
He remembered…. raising his arms, letting the brutal radiation flow over him, into him. He was not afraid. He knew what to do. He knew….
He sighed, and pulled his thoughts back to the present. What had happened to Marrain in the end? He hoped he had found the peace he had searched for, but somehow he doubted it.
Few indeed with that point of focus. But one who was still alive….
He had spoken to Sinoval…. when…. a few days ago? Delenn had been discussing the problems with the Keepers and the refugees. She had then been called away, and Valen, out of curiosity, had stepped forward and continued the conversation.
Sinoval's dark eyes had narrowed, but he had been willing to speak. He still did not like the one who purported to be Valen, although primarily because of Vorlon involvement in the affair. "Good day," Sinoval had said. "How are you?" His words had been polite but hard. There was little warmth in anything he said.
"Well." Speaking with Sinoval was so like speaking to Marrain. He would look for the deeper meaning behind each word and rarely hesitated to make judgements based on what he saw there. "Delenn has spoken to you of the…." He paused. There had been a different name for the things in his day…. what had Delenn called them? "The Keepers…."
"Yes. We have found some here. Fortunately we have our own methods of detecting and destroying them. I would offer their help to you, but I fear their aid would come at a price higher than you would wish to pay."
The Soul Hunters, of course. Sinoval had made some sort of bargain with them. Valen wondered idly if some report of the Enaid Accord had survived. Unlikely, of course, since it had been very secret even then. Still, the alliance with the Soul Hunters had been very beneficial for a while — but a lot can happen in a thousand years, and no alliance lasts forever. Sinoval must have offered more than Valen had been able to offer.
"How do you think the…. Keepers came to be attached to our people?"
"The Enemy, the humans…. there are a number of possibilities. Rest assured those responsible will not survive much longer. A good evening and a good rest." The screen had faded and Valen sat back, puzzled.
He was still at a loss to understand Sinoval's antipathy towards him. Perhaps it was the Vorlons, although there seemed to be more to it than that. It might well be little more than the reasons which had turned Marrain away from the light. Marrain had been so focussed and sure, and the source of that focus was that he was the greatest warrior of his age…. perhaps ever. He had been strong, fast, skilled, wise. And then along had come one who was stronger, faster, more skilled, wiser.
Valen looked up and sighed. He had been wandering for longer than he had thought. It was time to return to Delenn. There was…. work ahead.
* * *
She was not quite sure how she had escaped from the sights of the gunmen. She had hidden, but even a cursory search would have revealed her hiding place within seconds. The assailants did not seem interested in her however. From her position beside the door to the kitchen she could hear at least two people moving around. Their movements were precise and definite, as if they knew exactly what they were looking for. Within minutes they were gone. Catherine finally allowed herself to breathe again after she heard the door close. Slowly, she crept out of the kitchen and looked around. Little seemed disturbed. Nothing of any value seemed to have been taken. Just….
Her personal computer. She could see almost immediately that it had been touched, and she knew without checking what would have been taken.
The G'Kar Files. Project Bermuda Triangle. It was the only thing of any interest stored there.
But very few people knew about that file, very few….
Unless this came from IPX themselves, but why…. or who…. or….
She realised just how quickly her thoughts had been running and she breathed out slowly, finally bringing herself to look at the one thing she did not want to look at.
For all that she wished to believe otherwise, there was no escaping it. A single glance showed her that Dan was dead. The shot had hit him point blank in the chest. There were traces of blood, but the wound had been cauterised almost instantly. He was dead.
Catherine swayed backwards and fell on to her chair…. where he had been sitting mere moments before. Her mind was reeling, but she forced herself to think.
Could this have been directed at him? He had a fair few enemies, that was certain. Maybe it was something he had been working on, something he had unwittingly stumbled upon without knowing it. Maybe….
Maybe she wouldn't have to hide somewhere else.
She wasn't crying, she couldn't. She…. she didn't know.
The G'Kar Files. It must have been.
Run. That was the only option. If this was connected to IPX then it was too big just for her. She needed help…. from somewhere. Had this been to find out what she knew? Then why the strange meeting earlier?
Stop thinking. She grabbed as much stuff as she could and fled. Time for thinking — and mourning — later. She needed help, and she knew where to find it.
* * *
Will you come to find me?
He looked around, puzzled. Everything was darkness. There was nothing to be seen or heard or felt.
Only her voice.
Will you come to find me?
He knew instantly whose voice it was.
Find me….
Will you follow me through darkness, through fire, past death and despair?
Find me…. please.
He picked a direction and began to walk. He did not know why he chose this direction rather than any other, but it seemed fitting.
Light engulfed him. A brilliant, dazzling light. He raised his hands. The light was hurting him.
There she was, chained as if set out for a sacrifice.
"I am lost in darkness!" she cried. "Find me. I am here for you."
And then they were…. around him. They were not in the light — they were the light. They spoke to him, and their words chilled him.
Follow us into darkness, into fire, past death and despair.
The darkness or the light. Choose.
"I…. I'm afraid of the darkness."
Then do what must be done.
He knew what to do. There was a dagger in his hand. Perhaps it had always been there. He stepped forward and looked into her eyes.
"I am lost in darkness for you," she whispered, staring at him. There was no fear, no accusation, only…. acceptance in her eyes. "I came here for you. There was no other way."
"I am afraid of the darkness," he repeated.
"No," she said softly. "I am afraid of the light."
Follow us.
He raised his hand. There was a trace of pity in Delenn's emerald eyes as Sheridan drove the dagger into her, killing her with one stroke.
