The Shadows pressed forward, pushing the White Stars back. One tried a counterattack, rushing forward, and briefly drove the Shadow back.
But there were too many Shadows… far too many…
Sinoval stood in the centre of the Hall of the Grey Council, the One amongst the Nine. He was watching the battle taking place with calm, patient eyes.
Unlike many in the Council, Sinoval was a consummate strategist, a planner and a tactician. He could read the ebb and flow of the battle effortlessly. He could evaluate weak spots and vulnerabilities, strengths and fortified positions.
At the moment the battle was too early to be accurately read. There were more Shadows than he had been expecting, but the Minbari fleet still outnumbered them. The presence of three Earthforce heavy destroyers – one the Babylon he remembered so well from the attack on Mars – had surprised him, but what surprised him more was that two of them were focussing on the Shadows just as much as on the Minbari. He had not been expecting that turn of events, but he put it down to deep-rooted terror, as the humans finally witnessed just what they had allied themselves to. The presence of a Narn warship and a Centauri cruiser had surprised him as well – more so as they were fighting back to back, working against the Enemy.
There were games within games taking place, and he did not like the thought that others were manipulating events.
“Holy One!” It was Kalain. Sinoval turned to face him, irked that his contemplation of the battle had been interrupted. “We have received a message. It is from… it is from her. Zha’valen.”
He could see the shock on the faces of Rathenn and Lennann, the two members of the religious caste still on the Grey Council. The two of them had objected the most strongly when Delenn had been named Zha’valen – outcast. Sinoval himself had not believed the story he had put out – that Delenn had gone with Starkiller willingly, had helped him escape from Minbar, and was working with the Enemy of her own will. It had, however, suited him to pretend that he did. With Delenn gone, his was the only voice the Grey Council could hear.
And yet…
He listened as the acolyte who had brought Kalain the message replayed it. Afterwards, for a moment, there was silence. He could tell what each member of the Council was thinking. His own thoughts could be summed up in one word.
Starkiller.
Sheridan had escaped from Minbar, had killed two members of this assembly and crippled – physically and emotionally – three more. He was responsible for countless Minbari deaths. He had dared to face down Sinoval in this very Hall. The fact that Sheridan was also – indirectly – responsible for Sinoval holding the position he did today was not lost on the Holy One. On the contrary, that counted as one more weight against him.
“Bring them to me,” Sinoval snapped. “The Starkiller and De… and the Zha’valen. Bring them before me in chains and let them face my judgement.” This war would end here, in the skies of Proxima, but it could not end until Sheridan was dead, and Del… and the Zha’valen was punished for her treason.
Sinoval understood that humans had a saying. Great empires are always built on blood.
He would build a Minbari empire on the blood of two people.
Captain Ben Zayn could practically feel the evil directed towards him, the focussed evil of millennia. He welcomed it. He was a soldier, a warrior. He had fought on countless battlefields and survived them all. He would survive this one.
Beside him, Gray’s head snapped backwards with the force of the telepathic encounter. Ben Zayn took advantage, driving forward with both broadsides and the fore firing team. He had fought the Shadows before as well. No enemy was invincible.
He wasn’t surprised to learn that the Babylon was fighting alongside him. He knew most, if not all, of Bester’s little secrets. He was surprised at the arrival of a Narn and a Centauri ship, fighting together of all things.
Ben Zayn felt the rush of battle, felt at once the furious passion of the warrior and the calm serenity of one who has accepted his inevitable death.
For the duration of this battle he knew that he was immortal.
“Minbari coming forward!”
Sheridan swore.
His Starfury screen had been cut down to almost nothing, but it had bought enough time to lay his mine screen, allowing him to concentrate on the Shadows, the enemy he was still slightly surprised to be fighting. The Minbari had finally managed to breach his minefield. He wasn’t surprised – it was inevitable – but he did wonder how much it had cost them to do it.
“Forward interceptors and mass dispersion fire!” he ordered, glancing at Corwin, who was observing the tactical displays and plotting strategies. For the moment, the Shadows were concentrating on the Minbari. Sheridan knew enough to leave two enemies to fight each other, but he doubted he’d be ignored for long.
He also shot a glance at Alisa Beldon. She was leaning heavily against a display, breathing hard. Her aid had helped him take down two of the big Shadow ships and a handful of the smaller ones, but it had taken a lot out of her. She was exhausted. She looked up and smiled wearily.
Damn you, Bester! Sheridan thought. Why did you have to involve children in this?
The ship rocked beneath the barrage of Minbari fire. The interceptors were overheating.
“A boarding pod!” Corwin said. “But that’s…”
Sheridan shared his incredulity. The Minbari didn’t board ships. It wasn’t their way. They must want something here really badly to try and…
His eyes widened. “Delenn! David, can we shoot it down?”
“Nope. It’s too small for our dispersion fire and it’s got that stealth stuff so we can’t target it.”
“Ah hell! Get the… the Narn bat squad patrolling the area where they’re likely to arrive. Patch a message through to…” He thought of Delenn. “No. I’ll go and warn her. Mr. Corwin, you have the bridge. I won’t be long.” Corwin watched as Sheridan ran from the bridge. He was more than a little surprised. Just how closely did the Captain feel for Delenn to do this?
He looked up at the Minbari fleet and swallowed. He was no Starkiller, but he’d studied the great man long enough.
He knew what to do.
Delenn straightened, hearing the warning alarm. She closed her eyes and thought of John. She wondered if he would hate her for this, but she knew that if he did, then she would accept it. There was no other option. She could feel her people dying. The Shadows were too strong, and the Minbari were too weak. Driven by pride and arrogance they had destroyed themselves just as surely as they were being destroyed by the Shadows.
She opened the door and left her room. Her people would come for her. They would take her before the Grey Council, and she would end this.
She stumbled as the ship rocked, but then she could hear the sound of fighting. Hitching her dress up slightly, she ran forward. She had to end this.
Rounding a corner, she entered one of the shuttle docking bays, to find it engulfed by Narns and Minbari, fighting, with gun and sword and pike. She heard the ringing of pike meeting katok, she heard the cries of the dying and the gasps of the wounded.
She closed her eyes and mouthed a silent prayer for forgiveness.
She had to find the leader of the Minbari. It was likely she would recognise him or her. The leader would certainly spot her. Slowly, she began working her way around the wall of the docking bay, avoiding the Narns, hoping she would pass unnoticed.