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| A Dark, Distorted Mirror | Synopsis |
THE war between human and Minbari had come to a devastating conclusion at Minbar, with the Minbari homeworld devastated by blood and fire. The earth was barren, the skies pouring acid, and the water poisoned.
Elsewhere in the galaxy, however, the shadows of the forthcoming conflict, of the next stage in the coming storm, were rising.
On Centauri Prime there was chaos. The murder of Emperor Refa had left the Court with no clear heir, and the noble Houses were engaged in the flurry of diplomacy, negotiations and treachery that they called the 'Great Game'. In all this, only the presence of the trusted First Minister Malachi seemed able to restore order. Few realised that Malachi was in fact, for reasons of his own, seeking to perpetuate the chaos, adding to it in his own subtle ways. One of those few was Londo Mollari, who was wanted for the murder of Emperor Refa. Londo and his small band of companions, including his wife Timov, the former Lord-General Marrago, and the Minbari bodyguard and former poet Lennier, had fled to the southern island of Selini, there to wait and plot and plan.
One of the most significant problems for the Centauri Republic was their war with the Narns. Lord-General Marrago was convinced that some power within the Court was actively seeking Centauri defeats in the war, but he was unsure who this might be. On the Narn homeworld, their Warleader G'Sten recognised the chaos within the camp of his enemies, and proposed new tactics to facilitate the conclusion of the war.
Plans were also afoot on Proxima 3, home of the Resistance Government of Humanity. Ambassador David Sheridan, representing the Shadows, was developing plans to deal with G'Kar and his Rangers, whose interference was growing to be more than a mere annoyance. An integral part in these plans was Susan Ivanova, still grieving over the death of her friend, Laurel Takashima.
G'Kar meanwhile had not been idle either. The construction project that had occupied both him and his Rangers for almost a year was now approaching completion. It was a space station, built above the Great Machine at Epsilon 3. He called it Babylon 4....
The difficulties on Minbar did not extend merely to the poisoned atmosphere, earth and water. There was great political upheaval as well. Satai Kalain had challenged Holy One Sinoval to a duel in the Starfire Wheel, a duel Sinoval had won through deception and trickery. Immediately after his victory however, a Vorlon appeared within the Temple of Varenni, heralding a man who claimed to be none other than Valen, returned at last to lead his people.
There was some doubt as to whether this was the true Valen of history. Sinoval for one did not think so, but the presence of the Vorlon, and his remarkable oratorical skills, did win over the people of Minbar. Also won over by him was Lyta Alexander, summoned to his side on a matter of protocol by Kosh, the Vorlon who shared her soul.
Elsewhere, John Sheridan and Delenn had finally consummated their relationship, each recognising that the future was bleak, especially in light of Sinoval's revelations about the terminal illness afflicting Sheridan. As a symbol of hope, Delenn proposed a Nafak'cha - a Rebirth Ceremony, as a chance to relinquish the losses of the past, and to herald a new beginning. Sheridan was happy to attend, as was Commander Corwin. Sinoval was initially sceptical, but soon found political advantage in the opportunity to reveal a great secret. His conscience and advisor, the worker Kats, also attended, as did two of Sinoval's Soul Hunter guards. The Ceremony was not complete however until Lyta arrived, bringing with her Valen, who claimed to be a human named Jeffrey Sinclair.
In the course of the Ceremony, the Battle of the Line was relived by Delenn, Sinoval and Valen. Delenn spoke of her enigmatic encounters with the Vorlons, and her attempts to delay the war by bringing a human aboard the Grey Council ship. The human, Andrew Denmark, proved to be a telepath, which caused some delay in the progress of the final assault. The machinations of the warrior caste Warleader, Shakiri, however, meant that this was only a small delay at best.
Sinoval meanwhile explained his first meeting with Jha'dur, Deathwalker, as well as a strange encounter with the Vorlon in Dukhat's sanctuary. The secret he had come to reveal however was an attack made upon him by an agent of the Vorlons, an attack which left him in a deep coma for many months, and which was misinterpreted by many as a suicide attempt. But he learned that he was not the only one with secrets, when the Soul Hunters revealed that one of their order had healed him, for reasons unrevealed.
In the aftermath of the battle Delenn had been visited by Kosh, who had asked her to find and rescue one person in all the débris of the battle, one human survivor - Jeffrey Sinclair. He had also set a piece of himself into her, to better watch and protect one who would be so important in setting right that which had gone so wrong.
With the Ceremony concluded, tensions were eased slightly among the circle. Sinoval accepted that Sinclair really was Valen, but Valen before he had gone back in time to meet his destiny. The image of the time-travelling Babylon 4 remained with Sheridan, Delenn and Corwin. As for Valen himself, he was given leave to go with the refugee Minbari to Kazomi 7, with Delenn. Sinoval wanted only those who would join him willingly, and who would be prepared to fight and die in his war. One of those was Kats, who went with him even after Delenn's knowing prophecy that he would one day send her to her death.
There were others however who would not go with Delenn or Sinoval. Sonovar, Kalain's lieutenant in the Grey Council, was one such. Refusing to swear fealty to the one who had broken the Grey Council and brought the Soul Hunters to Minbar, he set about building his own power in the galaxy. To begin this, he rescued the mortally wounded Kalain, and set the beginnings of an alliance with the alien Tak'cha, a race who had once served Valen, but had been banished from his side for acts of genocide upon races who would not follow him. Sonovar was now ready to begin assembling a power base of his own.
Minbar was evacuated soon afterwards, in the recognition that it would become all but uninhabitable, at least to the Minbari. As soon as they had all gone, a different people came there. The Vorlons had their own plans for the Minbari homeworld.
Valen went with Delenn to Kazomi 7, along with a huge influx of Minbari refugees who would not join Sinoval. This influx posed even greater problems to Kazomi 7's stretched and rebuilding economy, but, guided by Minister Lethke and the technomage Vejar, they were accommodated. The Alliance was beginning to be recognised as a force for peace in the galaxy, a reputation only enhanced by the presence of Valen.
Others were less than pleased with the path taken by Valen, particularly a faction within the Vorlons. It emerged that the Vorlon race was dominated by two factions, one personified by Kosh who seemed to care for the younger races, while the other were more strict and harsh. It was this second faction that had brought Sinclair out of the cryogenic stasis in which he had been held since the Battle of the Line, and had genetically modified him to become Minbari. They had hoped to use him to control the Minbari race, eliminating the problems caused by Sinoval's opposition.
However, the two factions had come to a bargain, with implications that would not be realised for many years to come. Kosh and his faction would gain control of Valen and the Minbari, to do with them as they wished. However, when the time came to send Valen back to meet his destiny, Kosh would relinquish control over all actions and all races.
This left an area of great risk, however. What if Valen should be assassinated in this time, before he could go back? The second Vorlon faction were determined to keep an eye on him, and to do this they ordered their servants to manipulate the life of Jeffrey Sinclair's former lover, Catherine Sakai. She was employed by IPX, which had a great many links to the Vorlons, and which was much more than it seemed. The company was secretly run by the reclusive William Edgars, and had a close connection with the mysterious Vorlon agent, Mr. Morden.
Over the course of one night, Catherine's peaceful life on Proxima was torn apart. Her boyfriend and best friend were murdered, and she was touched by the Vorlon in the heart of the IPX headquarters. The next day she left Proxima for Kazomi 7, unable to explain even to herself why she was doing so.
At Epsilon 3, G'Kar was readying his space station, Babylon 4, with the help of Captain Sheridan. While there, Sheridan had a terrifying and unclear dream of Delenn, who had gone into darkness for him, only to be killed by his own hand. Returning to Kazomi 7 he tried to shake this dream off, and he and Delenn shared a bittersweet ritual, focussing on the fact that even after their bodies had died, their souls would live on.
Matters on Centauri Prime had become more stable in the months since Emperor Refa's death, with much of the credit for this given to First Minister Malachi. There were worrying signs for the future, however. The vital colony world of Gorash 7 was in revolt, and was shortly afterwards taken by the Narns. There were worrying signs of powerful coalition of nobles emerging, dominated by Prince Cartagia and his lover the Lady Elrisia, widow of Emperor Refa. There was also a tide of madness beginning to sweep the planet, arising in the shape of a cult who called themselves the Shadow Criers, and who preached of a coming Darkness before setting themselves on fire.
These problems were not being ignored, however, although salvation was coming from a very strange place. From his sanctuary in Selini, Londo Mollari had devised a plan. Based on legal technicalities he managed to address the local Parliament at Selini, announcing his nomination for the post of Governor. His oratory and vision appealed to the nobles there, mostly exiles from the Court, and he was elected to the post, thereby effectively removing the entire island from the control of the Court.
Matters took a dark turn however when one of his agents in the Court, Lord Dugari, was brutally murdered by Cartagia and Elrisia.
There were plans afoot on Proxima as well, as President Clark and Ambassador Sheridan set affairs in motion to deal with G'Kar once and for all. As part of this plan Susan Ivanova was genetically modified by the Zener, the race of scientists working for the Shadows, and implanted with a Keeper. A terrorist, Therese O'Halloran, was freed from her imprisonment and set to building a team of allies. They would receive inside help from one of G'Kar's allies - the telepath Bester. Proxima's Head of Security, Mr. Welles, tried in vain to get in contact with G'Kar and propose an alliance, and so he settled for a conversation with Captain Smith, of humanity's flagship the Babylon.
Soon, all was readied. Therese had her team - her former associate Number Two, the Narn assassin Tu'Pari, a former covert operative Boggs, Bester's ally Donne and a controlled Susan Ivanova. Their mission was not to kill G'Kar.... but something far worse....
Babylon 4 was at last ready to become operational, and G'Kar readied a summit of the most powerful leaders in the galaxy, hoping to be able to band together a coherent and definite alliance against the Shadows. Present were Delenn, Lethke and Taan Churok from the Alliance, Sheridan, Ben Zayn and Michael Garibaldi representing Bester - who was said to be ill - and Sinoval, accompanied by the Soul Hunters.
Also present however were Donne and her team, who managed to smuggle Ivanova down to the surface. A fleet of ships from the Resistance Government was waiting in hyperspace for the signal to attack.
Matters began to deteriorate very quickly. Strange visions and dreams began to affect those on the station, including Delenn, Sinoval and Garibaldi, who all had strange and ominous visions of the future. Sinoval was soon called away by the news of an attack on one of the Minbari colonies loyal to him, Tarolin 2, and an order from Bester came, recalling Sheridan and Ben Zayn to Sanctuary.
Donne and her team managed to infiltrate the heart of the Great Machine itself, thanks to an act of betrayal by Bester in distracting G'Kar. It was here that Donne revealed a change of plans however, shooting G'Kar and stepping into the Machine rather than letting Ivanova do so. Bester had arranged for the betrayal not only of G'Kar, but of the Resistance Government as well, all to get his hands on the Machine. Donne's former allies were quickly killed, save for Ivanova, who was shocked unconscious, and Tu'Pari, who was only too happy to change sides for enough money.
With the signal sent, Captain Smith and the other ships in the fleet came out from hyperspace to surround Babylon 4, demanding its surrender. With most of the ships defending it gone, and with no word from G'Kar, Lethke reluctantly ordered the surrender, on condition that Alliance citizens be permitted to leave. Smith assented to this, as long as these citizens were not wanted by the Resistance Government. Both of them knew this meant Delenn.
Delenn was soon caught and imprisoned, while the Resistance Government awaited confirmation as to the control of the station and the Machine. She did manage to contact Lyta through the strange telepathic bond they both shared. Lyta managed to alert Sheridan to what was happening, and he ordered the Babylon to turn back to Epsilon 3, defying both Ben Zayn and Bester's representative on his ship, the Parmenion.
One the planet, Donne was becoming irritated by the fact that the Machine was hiding something from her. It had been programmed to do something she could not detect. G'Kar refused to tell her, and as her own innate sociopathic tendencies became more and more pronounced, she ordered him and his lieutenant Ta'Lon tortured. As she watched the tense situation above her she began firing off parts of the Machine's vast arsenal, thus beginning the battle.
The battle was tight, and affected drastically by Donne's random firing at each side. Ultimately however it turned in favour of Sheridan and the Alliance ships. Donne's abuse of the Great Machine exacted a terrible cost to her health and sanity and her vital organs failed. She died as the Machine expelled her. Without a host the Machine would have started to degrade, but neither Ta'Lon nor G'Kar were fit enough to endure the ordeal of entering it. As one of the only other people around, Garibaldi entered the Machine.
The Resistance Government ships managed to flee, thanks to the sacrifice of Dexter Smith of the Babylon, who remained to cover their retreat. Smith knew that he had made crucial mistakes during the mission and that he would be court-martialled upon his return.
There was no time for celebrations, however. The Great Machine was still dangerously unstable. Fortunately the temporal rift necessary to send Babylon 4 into the past had already been partially opened by G'Kar some time ago, and so Garibaldi would be able to maintain it. However, the Shadows would inevitably come to try and prevent the station's destined journey. Defences were hurriedly prepared, and Valen was sent for on Kazomi 7. He arrived, reunited with Catherine thanks to a Vorlon plot which was now unnecessary.
Kosh had already arrived at Kazomi 7 and marshalled the Alliance fleets, taking them to Babylon 4. The bargain he had made with the other Vorlon faction would necessitate his death, and he knew what he had to do. He visited Lyta, and removed the part of himself that was within her. Another would soon come to replace him.
During this time Delenn went to see Dexter Smith, and managed to persuade him to join the fight against the Shadows in exchange for a total amnesty for his crew.
The Shadow ships soon arrived, a vast number, bearing down on Babylon 4. The station managed to enter the temporal rift, but not before it had been boarded by the Shadows. Ivanova was still on board, and, controlled by the Keeper, took steps to try to sabotage the station. In an effort to gain help, Zathras suggested bringing the station out of the rift two years in the past, where they could gain help from that time's Sheridan and Delenn, as they had seen then (The Shadow of her Past, the Illusion of his Future).
The battle in the present was exceptionally hard, as the Shadow ships sought to try to destroy the Machine if they could not destroy the station. It transpired that they did not need to. The Machine was severely damaged by Donne's misuse of it as well as by the strain of holding open the temporal rift. Garibaldi's self-doubts and anguish over Bester's betrayal ultimately caused it to reject him. He died, and the entire planet began to collapse.
Knowing that the battle was unwinnable Delenn ordered an evacuation, but one person did not leave. Aware that he was dying and determined not to let Deathwalker enjoy her last laugh at humanity's expense, Sheridan evacuated the Parmenion and set the ship on a ramming course for the Shadow vessels. The Parmenion was utterly destroyed by the collision and by the explosion of the planet, with Sheridan still on board.
In the past, as had been seen two years ago, Kosh sacrificed his own life to destroy the Shadows, free Ivanova of their influence, and provide the temporal rift with the energy to remain open long enough. Ivanova tried to escape, and made her way to the Babylon for a conversation with Commander Corwin, her former lover. She managed to reconcile herself to her fate with his confused assistance, and she and the others on board Babylon 4 returned to the present. Catherine did not manage to return, and was lost to the rift.
Babylon 4, with Valen and Zathras on board, arrived at their destined place a thousand years before, as was written in history. The warring identities of Valen and Jeffrey Sinclair had been joined with Kosh's death, and he was now ready to fulfill the demands of destiny.
Epsilon 3 was not the only place to experience turmoil at this time. Tarolin 2, a Minbari colony loyal to Sinoval, was the first world to feel Sonovar's wrath. After Kalain's death from his injuries, Sonovar launched his first act against Sinoval. An attack, mostly carried out by Sonovar's Tak'cha allies, was timed to coincide with both Sinoval's presence at Babylon 4, and the arrival of his two closest allies and friends, Kats and Kozorr.
Sonovar's attack was focussed mainly on the Government buildings and personnel. The chaos caused by the assault was huge, and Kats and Kozorr were soon separated. Kats was attacked and nearly killed by a fellow Minbari, who was unknown to her, corrupted by a Keeper. She was later captured by Sonovar.
During this captivity she had a confusing and ambiguous conversation with Sonovar, and was threatened by his constant attendant, Forell. He was believed by many to hold an unhealthy influence over Sonovar, but none knew the full truth - that he was tainted by a Keeper as well, and that he kept Sonovar drugged with the medicine used to counteract Deathwalker's virus, which Sonovar had contracted from Kalain.
Kozorr was soon captured by the Tak'cha while trying to rescue Kats, and Sonovar offered the two of them a deal. He would kill one of them, while the other would be set free to give a message to Sinoval. Kozorr instantly demanded that Kats be the one to go free, and Sonovar agreed. After Kozorr whispered his claims of love to Kats, she was taken away. Sonovar was true to his word, and later told Kats that Kozorr had been killed. She was set free, and Sonovar's forces left, just as Sinoval's arrived. Sonovar had done what he had come for.
On Centauri Prime the brief moment of stability seemed over, and matters soon degenerated into the same chaos as before. For different reasons, both First Minister Malachi and Prince Cartagia were manipulating events for the worse.
Londo and his allies had spent the time consolidating their power base on Selini, and making plans to move slowly northwards. Those plans came to an end when a psionic madness swept the planet. The Shadow Criers, previously disregarded as a group of lunatics, incited mobs to riot and destroy. Londo had to commit his forces to action sooner than anticipated, or risk there being nothing left to save. As the armies of Selini moved to restore order, Londo received a message from Malachi, inviting him to the capital where everything would be explained. Against the advice of his friends, Londo accepted and he and Lennier set forth for the capital.
Matters there were no better than they were elsewhere on the planet. The various nobles had begun manoeuvring around each other with deadly intent. Everything began with the assault upon the estate of Lord Kiro by Lord Jarno, manipulated by Londo's wife Mariel. Kiro was captured and tortured until he eventually confessed to plotting an attack on the Court, and Jarno, Mariel and Londo's other wife Daggair were the subject of a terrifying prophecy from Londo's aunt, the seeress Ladira. Moments later Ladira was dead, and so was Daggair, the first part of the prophecy come true.
Another noble had his eye on the Court, but with a higher prize in mind. Lord Valo, smarting at the efforts from within the Court to prevent his pursuit of the war with the Narns, and secretly manipulated from Selini, launched his own assault on the Court. Malachi fell ill, and was unable to prevent Londo and Lennier's arrival being noticed by people loyal to Cartagia and Elrisia. Both were captured and imprisoned.
While in prison, Londo was taken before a captured Shadow Crier, who shared with him a vision of great forces at war in the skies above Centauri Prime, a Darkness against a Light, spreading a terrible madness that consumed all it touched. He was shaken by this, but managed to retain his sanity.
Valo's attack came as a surprise to almost everyone in the Court, with just one exception. Cartagia had been expecting this, and was willing to use the chaos to further his own ends. He freed Londo and Lennier, tried to kill Malachi, and wounded and incapacitated Valo. Arranging for Londo to confront him in a duel, Cartagia explained his motivations. He had shared the Shadow Crier's vision, and had come to the logical conclusion that the Centauri Republic was doomed and could not be saved by anyone. Rather than go down in history as the last Emperor, he preferred to give that rôle to another - Londo. Cartagia let Londo kill him.
The attack was quelled by the sudden arrival of Lord-General Marrago, who swiftly imposed order on the capital. Valo and Jarno were captured, Elrisia killed by Shadow Criers while trying to flee, and Malachi sorely wounded. In a deathbed confession to Londo, he revealed that he had only intended a social change in the Republic - to break the stranglehold of the nobility, and free the lower classes. Londo swore to help complete this dream.
Londo was then acclaimed Emperor, and made a private promise to save the Republic and foil Cartagia's last plan. He knew it would not be easy.
In the aftermath of both the Battle of the Third Line and the chaos on Centauri Prime, there was a great deal of rebuilding to do. Delenn and Corwin remained at the rubble of Epsilon 3, searching for Sheridan's body. They found it, and by some miracle he was still alive, trapped in a pressurised section of his ship. However he was badly injured, and was diagnosed as permanently paralysed from the neck down.
He was taken to Kazomi 7 for care, but both he and Delenn knew there were deeper concerns. He was still infected by Deathwalker's virus, which would soon become both contagious and terminal. Sinoval had been unable to find a cure, and both recognised sadly that Sheridan would be dead before the end of the year.
On Centauri Prime Londo set about the formation of a new Government, based around his allies Marrago and Durano. An animosity soon developed between the two, but it was Marrago who possessed the greater influence. He arranged for Lord Valo's suicide and formal funeral as a war hero. Lord Jarno was executed as a common criminal, at his own insistence. The second part of Ladira's prophecy had thus come true, leaving only death in madness for Mariel.
Londo was ready to begin reopening negotiations with other races. He informed the Alliance of what had happened, but Marrago's advice and a personal desire not to let the Centauri be seen as weak resulted in no formal request for aid being made.
Rebuilding was also going ahead on Tarolin 2. Kats, blaming herself for Kozorr's death, threw herself into her work with a reckless energy that alarmed and disturbed Sinoval. Neither of them knew however that Kozorr was not dead. Sonovar had merely imprisoned him in the hope of turning him against Sinoval. This he managed, by appealing to Kozorr's own feelings of love for Kats and of inadequacy around Sinoval, and, without either of their knowledge, through drugged wine administered by Forell.
Thus was created another Marrain, with what were likely to be equally tragic consequences.
Kazomi 7 was recovering from the losses sustained at Epsilon 3, but there were personal losses as well. Commander Corwin asked his longtime lover Dr. Mary Kirkish to marry him, but she turned him down, afraid that he would only be killed in the course of the war. Lyta Alexander faced down Ivanova, who had killed her lover Marcus Cole. Lyta's plan to kill Ivanova failed, however, when she made a psychic discovery of Ivanova's tragic past involvement with the Psi Corps.
Delenn, still grieving over Sheridan's condition, was surprised to receive a message from the Shadows, proposing an embassy to discuss peace. She was even more surprised when this embassy turned out to be Ambassador David Sheridan, John's father. She was inclined to mistrust the offer, but others in the Alliance were more receptive. One stage of the negotiations resulted in an exchange of prisoners, with Dexter Smith and Susan Ivanova being exchanged for a handful of Brakiri and Drazi taken prisoner when the Drakh invaded Kazomi 7.
Ambassador Sheridan also made a private request to Delenn - that John be taken back to Proxima for treatment. The Shadows could cure his infection, and at least this way he would be among his own people. Delenn was torn by this offer, and Ambassador Sheridan went to see John himself, in a meeting John later believed to be a delirium-induced dream, an assumption supported by Delenn.
The entire negotiations fell foul however when it was discovered that the Brakiri and Drazi prisoners exchanged were possessed by Keepers. In no uncertain terms, Delenn dismissed the offer and banished Ambassador Sheridan from Kazomi 7. He left, but gave a chilling warning of what the Shadows would do to all the races which supported the Alliance.
With him gone, and the peace hopes destroyed, a Vorlon Ambassador - Ulkesh - arrived on Kazomi 7. He was of the second Vorlon faction, ready to take up his rewards from his bargain with Kosh. It was time for the Shadow War to begin in earnest.
Shadow ships were raiding and destroying Alliance shipping lines, and Delenn accepted that something had to be done. She took Commander Corwin and Lyta aboard the Babylon with a number of other ships to try to intercept a Shadow attack. The skirmish was hard-fought and costly, but ultimately successful. It was a Pyrrhic victory however. When Delenn returned to Kazomi 7, it was to find that Sheridan had slipped into a coma from which it seemed there would be no return.
Matters appeared happier on Tarolin 2, with the seeming return from the dead of Kozorr. Claiming to have been captured by Sonovar and to have escaped, he experienced an awkward reunion with Sinoval, and a tearful one with Kats. His real purpose however was to destroy Cathedral, the base of the Soul Hunters' power. Following instructions provided by Sonovar, Kozorr went deep into the heart of Cathedral, to the Well of Souls - an awe-inspiring, vast temple of countless millions of souls that was the engine which powered Cathedral. Kozorr proved hopelessly incapable of even damaging it, and in fact had to be rescued by Sinoval. Learning of his betrayal, Sinoval banished Kozorr from his side. Kats took news of this badly, and a further gulf was opened between Sinoval and his conscience, and a deeper darkness began to grow within Sinoval.
Another hero was returning home to Proxima. Dexter Smith was honourably discharged from Earthforce, instead of being court-martialled for his 'errors of judgement' at Epsilon 3. Seeking a direction, he returned to his former home in Sector 301 of the Proxima colony, an area called 'the Pit' - a place inhabited only by the lost, the damned, the fallen and the refuse.
He was not the only stranger to come to the Pit however. Bester had grown increasingly worried about a counterattack following his treachery involving Epsilon 3. He was making plans involving a withdrawal from Sanctuary, but he wanted to remove his lover, Talia Winters, from any danger first. He sent her to Proxima to investigate certain secret operations carried out by IPX. Unusually, he also gave her a bodyguard, Byron.
Both Talia and Smith fell foul of the same man during their first few days in Sector 301 - Mr. Trace, a local businessman and crime boss, who was paying off the corrupt local Security chief, Zack Allan. Smith objected to him because of the criminal activities he ran in Sector 301, while Talia found out that he was involved in a conspiracy with IPX. She was unable to receive the full details, but she did discover that Trace was helping IPX capture and exploit telepaths for some unknown purpose. Trace was able to utilise a considerable amount of very expensive technology, and captured Byron. Talia managed to escape, and ran into Smith. The two parted badly, Talia refusing his offer of assistance. However, with Zack's security blockading every way out of the sector, and with IPX's mysterious owner, Mr. Edgars, looking for her, her options seemed limited.
The Narn / Centauri War was now on the verge of reaching Centauri Prime itself. A new, more militant faction had taken over the Kha'Ri, exiling G'Kar's representative there, Na'Toth, to Kazomi 7 as attaché to the Ambassador there, G'Kael. Both Warleader G'Sten and Lord-General Marrago were predicting a bloody victory for their side.
As the Narn fleets approached, Mr. Morden returned to Centauri Prime to reopen negotiations with Londo, now Emperor Mollari. Londo was not as interested in Morden's enigmatic promises now that he was responsible for the whole Republic, and he demanded answers. An alliance with the Vorlons seemed an attractive prospect, but Londo was unwilling to make too generous a deal with strange allies. He was made even more suspicious when Morden revealed that there was a Shadow agent highly placed in the Court, and that the Vorlons could lend no aid until this agent was caught.
As events transpired, Vorlon aid was unnecessary. The Shadows came to the assistance of the Centauri fleet, driving away the attacking Narns without a single Centauri casualty. Morden tried to escape even before news of this became public, only to be arrested by Marrago, apparently on Londo's orders.
On Kazomi 7 Delenn was grieving for Sheridan when she was presented with a most unusual offer from the Vorlon Ambassador, Ulkesh. He would be able to cure Sheridan entirely, not just from the injuries to his neck and back, but also of Deathwalker's virus. The condition for this was that Delenn leave Kazomi 7 and go to Z'ha'dum, to die there. Accepting both out of love and out of a recognition that this age needed warriors more than it did healers, Delenn watched as Sheridan was totally cured, his broken body mended and purged.
She did exact one other concession from Ulkesh, however - that she and Sheridan should spend one last night together. As he slept, she made her way from Kazomi 7. She had made certain preparations - leaving four messages, one for John, one for Lyta, one for Lethke and one for Sinoval, and she had obtained one very useful item.
She then left Kazomi 7 for Z'ha'dum.
New Year's Eve on Proxima was greeted with a most welcome surprise. A Shadow fleet was stationed there, to protect the planet and humanity. Dexter Smith watched the Shadow ships, and felt a chill creep up his spine....
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