It was cold, and dark, and he was alone.
No, he was not alone. Carolyn was with him. In some strange way he could not explain, so was Lyta.
And this strange man, who spoke to him from nowhere. He was here as well.
"Trust me, all of you," Corwin told his crew as the Agamemnon swept into the heart of the cloud. "I know what I'm doing. I hope."
Outside the cloud, Daro and Kulomani were fighting off the Shadow warships, adopting defensive positions, buying time.
"I hope you know what you're doing," Corwin said.
Of course I do. The Fist of Darkness is alive. There is intelligence. There is power and there is hatred. As with any living thing, find the brain and destroy it. Then the cloud will die.
"Fine, so where's the brain?"
There.
Corwin looked, and moved forward. Something burst through the darkness, a spear of rock and poison and anger. It barely missed the Agamemnon, so close, but silent in space.
"Carolyn, can you hear me?"
Pain, pain. It hurts!
"Carolyn, we need your help. All of us do."
Hurts!
"Carolyn, billions of people drown in blood if we fail. We will not fail. We need your help."
What.... what must I do?
"Protect us. Take us forward, and keep us safe. We'll do the rest."
"Captain!" cried a voice, and Corwin turned. He did not need to hear the tech's warning to realise that another spear had been launched. This one would not miss.
"Carolyn!" Corwin cried.
A shield of light rose up around the ship, and the spear struck it directly. The whole ship rocked, and Corwin stumbled. They had been hit, but they were still alive.
"Carolyn," he whispered.
I'm still here. Do what you must.
Corwin smiled. "Take us forward."
Vejar hummed as the smoke moved around him. He could feel it, feel the cloud rushing around him, feel the presence within it, feel the light and the pain that was Carolyn Sanderson, and a million like her.
"There you are," he whispered, seeing with eyes that were not his own. "I can feel you. I am not afraid."
He prepared an incantation.
Corwin leapt back as a glowing symbol appeared in the air before his eyes. "What the...."
Have no fear, Captain. Just a little something to protect you all, and to help defeat the Fist of Darkness. You will be able to strike it now.
"About time. All batteries.... fire!"
"Please," Delenn said. "Where are you? There's still time. It doesn't have to be this way!"
No, there is nothing else.
"Stop this! There can be peace."
No peace. No forgiveness. We will die, and that will be all.
There was a burst of light, a light that struck everyone in the ship. Delenn felt it burning her eyes, burning into the back of her mind. She fell, again.
Vejar smiled, and then he frowned. "Damn you, Galen," he whispered. "We will both pay for this in time."
There was the faint echo of a scream, one that touched them all. Delenn found tears in her eyes.
The Fist of Darkness died.
Before, there had been only revenge and hatred. Now, there was only the knowledge that they did what they must do. The Shadows knew their triumph, their unholy Fist of Darkness, had been destroyed, and there was nothing left for them but death.
The warships moved forward, not caring when jump points opened up behind them, and the Dark Stars swept forward.
The Shadows went to their deaths.
We tried to show you heaven. Now you will all see hell.
General John Sheridan said nothing as he watched the Shadows' last stand. They went to their deaths knowingly, charging forward, not even caring to try to escape.
Soon. It will all be over soon.
And what then?
The future.
He did not know if that thought was his own, or another's.
Vejar sat back, his mind returning to his body. "I have seen heaven," he whispered. "And I have known hell. I doubt there is anything left for you to show us."
Delenn's eyes brightened as realisation came to her of who had just arrived.
David Corwin smiled. "Well, I'll be damned," he muttered. "See that, Carolyn! Maybe we're getting somewhere after all."
Delenn was alone, staring at the stars. "I remember," she whispered, "when I first realised I could reach out and touch them. My father carried me on his shoulders and pointed up into the night sky. They seemed so close. Then I looked down into the lake, and they shimmered there. I felt I could just reach out and touch them, scoop them up in my hands."
She sighed. "So this is what victory feels like. All these years and yet.... what has our struggle brought us?"
An echo of an echo, a whisper of a dead man's torment, reached her ears. "There is a saying among some peoples. Everyone gains exactly what they deserve. It would appear you have gained the victory which you most deserved."
She shivered, and held herself tight against the cold. "For all our sakes, I hope not.
"I hope not."
So what now?
Soon. It is almost over now. There is just one more thing to be done. One more battle to be fought.
To Z'ha'dum.
Chapter 5
"It is over."
"Yes, it is over."
"You have won."
"Yes, we have won."
They came, from star to distant star. From worlds of fire and worlds of ice. From darkness and light. From hope and despair. From love and hatred.
They came, they gathered, ships passing in the night. Old friends, older enemies, all drawn by the same irresistible force.
It will soon be over.
The words hung in all their minds.
It will soon be over.
No one was sure when exactly it had begun. People spoke of the Battle of the Second Line, where the Shadow ships had first appeared in force to go to war. Some mentioned the Third Line as the true beginning of the war, the apocalyptic battle that had seen the destruction of an entire planet. Some spoke of the terrible day when Minbar had been scorched with fire and fury from the heavens.
Some, most notably the Narn and the Centauri, referred to the beginning - or perhaps continuation is a better word - of their conflict, over three years gone now. Some, who saw with wisdom, placed it at the very beginning, when the Centauri had reached a defenceless, peaceful world and launched an unprovoked attack.
Then there were those who were reminded of the human / Minbari conflict, the Battle of the Line, the Battles of Mars and Orion, the fall of the Black Star, the fateful first encounter.
A precious few even cast their minds back a thousand years, to the appearance of Valen, and the first War of Shadow.