Catherine had been waiting in silence for nearly half an hour, and she was becoming more and more agitated by the minute. That was the point, of course, but recognising it did not make the wait any easier.
Finally, after an interminable time, the door opened the briefest fraction and Hampton announced, "He will see you now." Swallowing harshly, Catherine entered, avoiding the suspicious stares of the towering security guards.
She blinked sharply as she walked into the room. There was a slight hiss as the door closed behind her, shutting the room in total darkness. She could see nothing, nothing at all. There was no sound either.
"Mr. Zento," she said softly, walking forward. There was no reply. She said his name again, but still there was nothing. She winced as she bumped into something just in front of her. Feeling it gingerly she realised it was a chair.
"Sit down," said a voice from nowhere. It was electronically distorted. Feeling her way carefully around the chair, Catherine did so. No sooner had she placed her arms on the rests than steel restraints slid out from them, trapping her there. Similar bonds wrapped around her ankles.
"A precaution, nothing more," spoke the same electronic voice. "I apologise for the…. awkwardness of this meeting, but it was necessary."
"Mr. Zento?" she asked softly.
"No. He is busy elsewhere." Even through the distortion, the politeness in the voice came through. Urbane, civilised, efficient, and no one she knew. "I was given the task of conducting this interview."
"What is this about?"
"What does the name G'Kar mean to you?"
A cold sweat gripped her. "Just a name," she replied. "Just…. a name."
"Uh-uh, Miss Sakai. I am afraid that is a lie. Please try to tell the truth. This will go so much more easily if you do. You know more than just his name."
She swallowed harshly. "What is this about?"
"An interview, as I told you. A means to determine…. various issues important to the company at this time. Now again, please answer the question, or certain…. less pleasant methods will have to be employed."
"G'Kar…." she said. Her mouth felt very dry. "A former member of the Narn Government body…. the Kha'Ri. A war hero during their first war with the Centauri. He resigned under mysterious circumstances towards the end of that war, and disappeared. Rumour described him as a prominent preacher of some sort, wandering his homeworld, before he disappeared again just over two years ago. No one has seen him since."
"Not quite no one, Miss Sakai. That is an awful lot of information about a Narn, is it not?"
"He was an important figure. Very prominent."
"Oh yes, but still. You have been investigating him, have you not? Out of a certain…. personal interest. Explain why."
"His name appeared in relation to various…. anomalies in our shipping records. Periods of time unaccounted for, unrecorded journeys."
"I see. And how is he connected to these anomalies?"
"His name appeared somewhere in most of the shipping records. His name or that of others in the Kha'Ri…. all affiliates of his from his time in the Kha'Ri."
"And your conclusion? I trust you have made one."
"I think certain elements within this company have a deal with G'Kar, and are arranging valuable shipments to him, or others in the Narn Government. For what reason, I do not know."
"And what would these shipments consist of?"
"The actual cargoes on the ships which were diverted were all along the lines of weapons technology, genetics information and gene strands, and metals necessary for jump gate construction."
"I see. Is there any trace of such cargoes going missing?"
"No, but I feel the cargo manifests may have been filled in incorrectly."
"Well, my congratulations on such a thorough investigation, Miss Sakai. This matter is now out of your hands. Do not speak to anyone of it, do not continue any investigations, and never mention the name of G'Kar to anyone at all. Resume your normal duties."
"Yes," she said, angrily. She did not like any of this.
"Oh, one last question, Miss Sakai. Are you involved with anyone at the moment?"
She started, and it took her a moment to regain her composure, such as it was in this situation. "Yes," she said. "Yes, I am. Why?"
"Just curious." The metal restraints around her wrists and ankles slid back. She began rubbing at her wrists. "You may go now. Leave by the same way you entered. Good day, Miss Sakai."
"I'm…. well…. this is amazing."
G'Kar's holographic form bowed in mock homage. "Indeed. Babylon Four. The project that never was."
"I…. we were going to build this. We had all the plans drawn up…. everything. It was going to serve as a battle station, a rallying point…. everything."
"As it will yet, but for a war far greater than yours, or even mine. The Shadow War is coming, and sooner than we would like. They were delayed greatly by their losses at the battle of the Second Line, and perhaps…. scared a little by the Vorlon presence there. But now that the war between your people and the Minbari is over, and with the Drakh fleet destroyed…. I fear the Shadow War will soon progress to a far deadlier phase."
Captain John J. Sheridan nodded. "I think so too. It might take a little while, but…. sooner or later…."
"We are hoping later, of course. Babylon Four is not yet complete." Sheridan gave him a cautious glance. "Oh, all the major systems are operational. Navigation, communications, life support, the ion engines and so on. There are just minor details, little bits which still need fixing. We have rushed construction through as fast as we dared. It was inevitable that some details would get…. lost along the way."
"Exactly as I saw it…." Sheridan whispered. He drew in a deep breath. He had been one of those who had helped with the fourth mission of the Babylon Project. He had had input into the drawing up of the plans and in scouting out suitable locations.
And then the Minbari had launched a renewed attack on Orion and grandiose schemes of counterattacks had gone completely out of the window. Sheridan sighed. Everyone had lost a great deal at Orion.
But there was something else. A year and a half ago…. just after G'Kar had entered the Heart of the Great Machine…. Sheridan and Delenn and…. others…. had seen Babylon 4, disappearing backwards in time. A great battle had been fought there, one he could only dimly remember.
"I know," G'Kar said, evidently reading Sheridan's thoughts. "This station has a greater destiny than just this war. It will be sent back in time to aid in the last Shadow War. But first…. let us hope it serves us well enough."
"It will go back in time with Valen," came the muted reply. Sheridan rubbed at his eyes. All these time travel shenanigans made his head ache.
"Yes, I have heard about everything that has happened on Minbar," G'Kar said. "I will have to talk to this…. Valen soon. He is who he claims to be, I suppose?"
"Delenn certainly thinks so. Even Sinoval seemed to accept it, although a bit more reluctantly. I…. I'm not so sure, although it is possible. I knew Jeffrey Sinclair…. whom Valen claims he used to be…. well, before…. Ah hell, you know what I mean."
"The mysteries of time travel, Captain. Some days I think both our languages are lacking some very useful linguistic subtleties."
"Heh…. don't tell Delenn that. She'd probably try and teach us some of hers. Anyway, I knew Jeffrey Sinclair. We were at the academy together. I don't remember him all that well, but little details, the speech, the stance, the bearing…. so on. He is Jeffrey Sinclair. I'm certain of it."
"Then he may be Valen as well. I will have to talk with him soon. Primarch Sinoval as well. We have to tie as many of our allies together as we can for the coming storm. Babylon Four was built to unite us. We are too spread out at the moment. The United Alliance at Kazomi Seven, Mr. Bester at Sanctuary, the Minbari here, there and everywhere, my own agents on Narn…. We are too dispersed. Babylon Four will bring us together…. or so I hope."
"I can't get over just how…. familiar it looks."
"I had access to the original plans in the Machine. Everything was copied as closely as possible. Allies of mine in your Government helped with some of the materials."
Sheridan started at the mention of human allies, but he did not ask. G'Kar had his secrets, and he knew a great deal more than he was telling anyone. Necessary, Sheridan supposed, but awfully risky as well.
"Anyway…. I have a request for you."
"You wish to return to Kazomi Seven?" G'Kar said, and he smiled as Sheridan started. "It is not that difficult to notice. I swear I may be turning into a Centauri, may G'Quan save me from that fate! It is dangerous here. We are not…. well defended. Some of my Narn ships are here, it is true, but Captain Mollari has returned to his homeworld."
Sheridan started. He had known Carn…. a little. "He was a good captain. We'll miss him."
"I hope it is only temporary, but there is great upheaval on Centauri Prime. Probably little more than politicking, but I cannot be sure. Even if it is merely what the Centauri call 'the Great Game', it is still a great risk. I have heard little from my agents there for some time. I am troubled." He shook his head sadly.
"No, Captain, you may return to Kazomi Seven. We have enough ships here to protect this station for the time being, and hopefully the day will come soon when the Alliance will be moved here. Besides, dark days are coming, and love must be allowed to shine in what little time we have. Bester will not be pleased, no doubt, but he still has Captain Ben Zayn and the Ozymandias, so he can survive. And he understands the importance of defending the new Alliance just as we do."