Always here. She came by invitation, by ancient right.
"What right?" Sinoval asked. There was a great deal about the Well he did not know. Although theoretically the entire Well was open to him, he could immerse himself in it until every star in the galaxy died and he would still not know everything.
The First sent her here. To talk, Primarch. To talk with you.
"That would be my cue, I think."
From nowhere, or perhaps from everywhere, a human woman appeared. She was tall, with long brown hair. Sinoval supposed she would be considered pretty by humans, except for the scars adorning the side of her face and the hideous damage to one eye. She was dressed in a simple human uniform of grey and black, and seemed unarmed.
Of course, appearances were often deceptive.
"And you are?"
"A messenger. Or an ally. Maybe a friend, that I don't know yet. God knows I've no reason to like you.... but the past is over, hmm? I've got a message for you."
"I am listening."
"You're doing this the wrong way."
"Doing what, exactly?"
"This. All of this. Let me see if I get this right. You want to bring down the Vorlons, yes. You want to defeat them, cast them down, sow their ground with salt, blow their planets apart from space. You want to destroy them."
"I want to destroy them, yes. This is not their galaxy any longer. What they are doing is wrong."
"Right, dead on in fact. But why is it wrong? Because it's only half of what's there. They lie and they deceive and now they think they've won, but they haven't. They'll destroy everything they're trying to save and not realise what they're doing. Their balance is gone now, gone for good, and it won't be coming back. Everything's skewed.
"That's where you come in.
"You're going to build an army, right? You've got the Soul Hunters, you've got this insanely cool flying castle here, you've got a hidden planet somewhere full of Vindrizi. You're going to put together an army and challenge the Vorlons.
"It won't work."
"Why not?"
"You can't beat them with weapons. All you can do that way is kill them, and that won't work. You'll just replace them with something worse. Maybe even yourself."
"I have no wish to rule. Not any longer."
"You say that now. Hell, people can change. I certainly have. You have to change your thinking as well. This isn't a war you can win with weapons. Oh, they'll be a part of it, but they aren't it. You need the truth. The Vorlons aren't necessary any longer. All of us, all the younger races.... we can make it to the stars on our own. We don't need them.
"Of course, that would sound a lot better if I'd worked it out for myself instead of being told it by someone even older than the Vorlons, but what are you going to do, hmm?"
"I'm going to listen to you, it appears. So what do I do next?"
"Gather allies. Narn, Centauri, Drazi, Minbari.... even us. Tell them the truth. Tell them we can do this by ourselves. Once enough of us know, and believe, then there won't be a thing the Vorlons can do about it. Not one single thing."
"Believe it or not, that was exactly my plan. I may not be as military–minded as you or the First seem to think."
She shrugged. "Ah, well. There you go. Looks like I was a little redundant after all."
"I wouldn't say that. All alliances have to begin somewhere after all." Sinoval extended his hand. A human gesture, but one whose meaning he understood, and even respected after a fashion. "You know who I am."
"Oh, yes." She took it. "I'm Susan Ivanova. Nice to meet you."
"David, I'm sorry. What can I say? We examined the Dark Star Three and.... there was a fuel line rupture. It could have gone undetected for years, and it really couldn't be fixed. We decided it was better to.... well, scuttle it. We did tell you."
"No, John. You didn't."
John Sheridan sighed. "I'm sorry. We did send a message to you. Something obviously happened. Look, I'm sorry, but you saw a lot of action in that ship. It was bound to happen. I know how.... attached we can get to our ships sometimes. I felt the same way with the Babylon. Look, the new Dark Star line will be ready in just a couple of months. I'll guarantee you the first one we get. And your crew as well. What do you say to that?"
What could he say? He could still hear Carolyn screaming. He would always hear her screaming. She would scream forever, her soul, her mind, her personality absorbed into that terrible network.
And now more Dark Star fleets were coming. More trapped telepaths. More nameless screams.
"David, I've got to go. There's a meeting with the Drazi Ambassador any minute now. They want increased patrols around their border. Something about the Streib. They're a bit.... touchy at the moment. God knows, it took Delenn long enough to get them to change their mind about taking Kazomi Seven back. I'll talk to you later."
The signal ended, and David reeled back. Carolyn was still screaming.
There was nothing wrong with the Agamemnon. There had never been anything wrong with it. And to scuttle a ship without even informing its captain! No, that was wrong. That was all wrong.
We decided it was better to scuttle it.
Who was 'we'?
"What was the point of this?" he whispered. "I couldn't save you, Carolyn. I told you I would look after you.... and.... I lied. I told you....
"I couldn't save you.
"Just like I couldn't save Mary."
What was the point of it all? All that fighting, all those deaths. He could see them all. Mary and Marcus and Michael and Susan and Carolyn and his parents and family and friends and home.
And why? What the hell was it all for in the end?
His hand touched something cold and hard. He looked at it.
It was his PPG.
He had loved Mary, and all she was now was a pile of ash and a plaque. If he hadn't been fighting this war, he could have been with her. They could have had this last year–and–a–half together. Maybe he would even have noticed her illness. Maybe he could have done something.
Maybe he could have saved her life. Maybe they would still be together.
He could see her in front of him.
Maybe they could be together again.
She was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't hear her. Carolyn's screaming filled his mind.
"I love you," he sobbed, his body racked with pain. The weapon felt so solid in his hand.
Maybe they could be together again.
No one needed him now. No one. Nothing. Mary was gone. Carolyn was gone. Susan was gone. John was a stranger to him now. Delenn was safe, with her own life and her own mission.
No one needed him now.
"I love you, Mary.
"I'll be with you soon."
He raised the PPG to his head.
The voices had almost stopped now. In fact they had stopped dead as he set foot on the hard ground of his new home and looked up at the sky.
He could feel its fear now. It was afraid. The Vorlons were here. The Rangers were here. The technomages were here. They would destroy it if they found it.
But they would not. He would protect it. It was a part of him now.
He found himself missing Centauri Prime already, but he had had to leave. He had to come here.
Lennier walked forward, looking for the Ranger Headquarters. He had been away from them for a while. It was time to serve his calling again.
The gun jerked upwards as it fired. There was a blast of heat and he fell backwards. The muscles in his hand loosened and the PPG fell to the ground.
David stood up and looked around. Lyta was standing in the doorway. She took a step inside and the door closed behind her.