** "Far from the simple reality it seems in evaluation was the situation of Walther Gideon. Initially a companion to the Westcastles, Gideon then displayed an increasing sense of corruption brought on, apparently, by his need for business success...a need that downspiraled him into the hands of the Shadows very early in the conflict..." **
Amanda Zefram Teague: "The Other Side of Darkness"
* * *
June 18th, 2259.
"By G'quan!! G'kael proclaimed, half in anger, as he entered the *K'vel*'s command ready room, "I was beginning to suspect, Ko'cha, that you wouldn't come at all. Luckily for you, I was proven wrong."
Ko'cha rotated into view, and fixed his friends with a penetrating eye. "That I was able to come at all was an exercise in willpower, G'kael. There are only *six* of our ships still in running order, and our Warleaders are no longer as concerned about the Service as they have been. It is more to their benefit in these days to have the shipyards turn out as many cruisers and dreadnaughts as is possible."
"Bah! That's all they think about in these times, how to fight, and how do die. The Service was built to stop this from happening, and through the machinations of the Centauri, we have been brought to this end. Will they not listen to reason??"
Ko'cha turned away, and spat an oath. "You know better then to ask that, G'kael...in the blood lust of battle, reason is the first thing to go." The Narn shipleader let out a sigh. "However, for the moment, the problems of the war are furthest from my mind. I have to be *more* concerned with the company you are keeping, where they are going, and *why*. It is only out of loyalty to your family, G'kael, that I keep my silence. I would have an answer from you on this..before we continue."
"You know *very* well what they are here for, Ko'cha...the reason speaks in *this*," G'kael pointed mirthlessly at his scars and missing eye, "And in your memories. You keep your silence for fear of death, but death is coming for all of us, Ko'cha, if these humans and the rest that work with them do not change the odds. The Darkness is spreading everywhere...and the humans, in their striving, may be all that stands against it."
Ko'cha nodded. "I thought as much...I do not choose to die under the deathly beams of those dark creatures and their ships, if I can help it. Very well, G'kael, you have my silence, my loyalty and my word...as always. Where do we go...Spymaster?"
* * *
Thirteen hours later...the Narn Frontier.
"Very well..." Tashann drily commented, as he and Dreann disembarked from the tiny Ranger ship that had carried them so far away from their home, "Your message decried a matter of urgency, William. We are here...talk of the matter, and we will decide the importance of it...and how we should proceed."
"It is *more* then important!" Brianna insisted, her eyes angry, "It is death, if we cannot stop it. The Shadows have sent some sort of creature to watch over us, and test us, as well. The First night we were on Narn, it made a mistake, and revealed itself to me telepathically...and it knew it, too. Now the stakes have been raised...the Watcher is aware we know of it's presence, and if it decides to test us again, the Test could very well be lethal.
The Z'nipc, for that is how it thinks of itself, will not play this game placidly, I assure you."
The two Minbari listened to this stolidly, and then nodded. "Some have *suspected* that the accident at Tuzanor was not natural, but there was no proof of outside interference...until now."
"Are you suggesting," Jennie incredulously put in, "That a Servant of the *Shadows*, this Z'nipc, reached the surface of Minbar?"
"It is...a distinct possibility, and a sobering one." Tashann replied. "The Enemy has many resources we do not, and their power continues to spread."
"The Shadows..." William roughly put in, "Are powerful, and their servants are many, but they're *not* indestructible. They've been defeated before, and this Z'nipc thing, like all things dark, has its interests. If we play this right, we *might* be able to trap it into making an error it wouldn't normally make...an error based on its own nature."
"Explain."
Will nodded at Brianna, and she continued. "This creature is most interested in observing the results of its little games unseen. But now, we've got a weapon to detect it...*me*. And I don't think, at this point, that it's going to give up. It's either us...or it."
"Understood." Dreann added. "However, it is prudent to note that the Shadow interest in your cadre, William, continues unabated...by Valen, I would know why."
"Well..." he mused, "If we trap it, I guess we can ask it firsthand, now can't we??"
"Agreed. Also...William, Ranger One has ordered us to assist you in your current mission. We will observe the Narn-Centauri conflict with the aid of G'kael...and should this Z'nipc thing interfere, we will capture it, or..." Dreann regretfully added, "Kill it, if it cannot be captured."
* * *
Several thousand kilometers below and behind the *K'vel*, a tiny ripple passed through space....a ripple which decried the presence of the Z'nipc vessel, safely shielded from view in hyperspace. Its Masters had given it a sensor that partially existed in real space...as long as the Z'nipc had a trace on its targets, the mission would continue. The Red Glare of the Z'nipc's eyes intensified; for a while longer, at least. But if the targets displayed as much talent as the Masters had suggested, and it continued to observe, then the Z'nipc looked forward to doing something it liked doing *very* much...
Killing.
* * *
June 21st, 2259. The Rim of known space...
The tiny, but well appointed ship sprang back into normal space with a stomach-wrenching churn, and Walther shuddered. The ancient gates out on the Rim had been built by a race unknown to Man...and while they worked, some of them worked... strangely. He looked out the port, and nodded grimly. Where they were now was as far beyond human space as it was possible to go. Behind them, a dimly glowing band of stars stretched across the sky...the Milky Way, intensified now by the increased distance from its core...while ahead, and all around them, a gigantic nebula the colour of blood covered the heavens. Directly ahead, a single planet hung in space...a planet ribbed with vast black scars. Expression grim, he joined Corrolan.
"That's Z'ha'dum? It looks...dead."
Corrolan smiled...strangely. "Yes. What were you expecting, Gideon? A fortress, perhaps? A vast proving ground of death? They do not operate that way....as you will shortly discover. However, first, they have decided that a brief demonstration of their abilities is in order. Observe."
Again, at that point, Gideon heard a faint rasping, buzzing sound in the spacecraft, and it seemed(now that he knew what to watch for) that Corrolan *listened* to it!
And then...a nightmare from his past returned to the forefront of his consciousness. Something he had actively tried to disbelieve...but now, there was no hope for that at all, as in front of Corrolan's spacecraft, a more then mile-wide section of vacuum curdled, darkened...and resolved into a vast, glistening, quite BLACK spacecraft of terrifying, arachnid potential.
"There you have it." Corrolan gestured, as the Shadow cruiser slowly spun through space, screaming darkly, and then in a single rush, flashed out of view and faded from sight again. "That was your first truth, Gideon...there are more to come, however, as I'm sure you realized."
Gideon looked towards the surface of Z'ha'dum with a sinking heart. It had all been the truth. Everything that William had said...he had been such a *fool* not to believe.
But now...*now*, there was another chance...if a slim one. If *HE* could just get into the heart of the enemy camp, and out again, and then get the information to wherever William and Jennie were now...then maybe, just *maybe*, he could redeem himself, in their eyes.
In the back of his head, however, a voice tittered...a voice his conscience knew all too well...the voice of the man he had become.
Too late, Gideon!...the voice taunted, as the surface of Z'ha'dum resolved into a blasted wasteland covered, here and there, with vast, sky-scraping pillars. You're in far too deep to back out now, Gideon, too late! They have you just where they want you, Gideon, and you know it!
Shut up, damn you! SHUT. UP.
But the voice didn't shut up, and Gideon very much feared that it was telling the truth this time.
* * *
June 23rd, 2259. The Front Lines...
The harsh thunder of the K'vel's main gun spoke again, as above and behind, the Narn Heavy Cruisers *N'vol* and *Ka'nal*, accompanied by two smaller destroyer-class escorts, bore onwards against the trio of Centauri war cruisers that had ambushed them. Space was crossed with laser and plasma discharges...the colours of death.
"Now you have seen the true face of our war..." Ko'cha remarked from his command chair, as across from the shipleader, Jennie and Will watched on, their faces deathly grim. "The truth of what is going on here."
It's horrible, Jennie told herself, as outside in the vacuum, Narn and Centauri died, and the battle went on. But the history of this war is soaked in the blood of their ancestors. They hate each other...and if the Shadows have their way, both races will pay the price.
Abruptly, one of the Centauri cruisers shatterd into five great fragments in a massive explosion, as its fusion reactor overloaded and detonated. The other two Centauri vessels were partially caught in the explosion, and that was all the Narns needed, as first one, and then the other Centauri cruiser was triangulated by the weapons of the small Narn fleet, and destroyed. The Narn had won *this* engagement, but great rents showed in the skin of the N'vol and its escort...and repair would be difficult.
Short minutes later, space twisted in a orange flash, and the fleet retreated into hyperspace, their job done...for now.
With a motion of his hand, she gestured Ko'cha over. "The truth, Shipleader...you won this engagement, but the Centauri won't give up, not now they're dreaming dreams of empire again. Do you think you can stop them?"
Ko'cha's mouth twisted into a bitter smile. "Without help from your race...or the Minbari?...the rest? You know the answer. The Centauri possess superior technology to us in waging war, even though their fleets have diminished in size since we broke away from their Empire...and of course, there is the matter of their allies. They destroy three or four of our ships for every two we destroy of theirs. Eventually..." The Narn fell silent, and she nodded. The Rangers could observe, but the curse of her kind was that they could not yet *act*.
And the Narns would pay the price of defeat long before that happened, if things continued the way they were...
* * *
June 24th, 2259. Z'ha'dum.
Three days now, they had left him alone, in this *admittedly* well set out section of the labyrinth of the Shadows. Comfortable...every need provided...but set aside from the business of the world, in more ways then one. Gideon paced, his face bitter. When would it end? And WOULD he be given the chance he needed?
The voice in his head laughed, and his face grew even more bitter.
A rumble behind him made him jump, and he whirled, and then frowned. Corrolan, this was not...but instead, a clean cut, well shaven...but *dark* man, a man who *extruded* the prescence of those who lived here.
The man bowed. "Forgive us for leaving you on your own for so long, Mr. Gideon! Mr. Corrolan and I have been...busy."
"And what should I call you?"
"*You* may call me...Morden." Morden waited expectantly for him to respond, and when no response came, inclined his head. "Your silence is protracted and surprising, given your supposed reason for coming here. If you want answers, it will be necessary for you ask questions." Morden crossed the room, and took a seat. "Please...sit."
"I'd rather stand, thank you very much."
Morden's expression darkened. "*SIT*"
Gideon sat.
"Ask your questions." Morden invited. "All being well, they will be answered. And then we will determine what is to come next."
"Fine. Lets...start with the Shadows, then."
Morden sighed. "The Shadows...not their real name, of course, *that* name was given to them by the Minbari. Their real name is ten thousand characters long...I've learned to say it, and in time, so will you."
"We'll see."
Morden's smile returned.
Gideon shuddered. "Fine...have it your way." He took a deep breath. "What's the point, and what's my involvement in all this?" Time to bite the bullet.
"Interesting questions, with more then interesting answers. Those that you call the Shadows are the oldest race currently living in this galaxy. The Vorlons, those that your former *friends* have chosen to side with, have stood in emnity against them for longer then OUR race has been sentinent. *They* believe in advancement through the art of chaos: the art of war, you might say...while the Vorlons, you might call the Vorlons, 'Lords of Order'...unchanging, unyielding...intolerable.
*They* have invited certain humans to this place, to learn exactly what I'm telling you now...Mr. Corrolan and myself are counted among those.
Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, Walther, they are interested in you for a somewhat different reason. The Other side now has working for them your former companions Westcastle and Clifford." Morden's smile twisted a little bit. "A dangerous combination...a combination that can, if all goes well, be turned to our advantage. But that will require your help, I'm afraid."
The small kernel of fear inside Walther grew larger. "I..."
Morden rose, and stood over him, his gaze intense. "You wanted the truth, Walther...and my associates always give individuals they're interested in what they want."
"And if I want out?"
Morden laughed. "It's much too late for *that*, now...Walther."
Abruptly, two sinister, insectoid forms resolved out of the air beside Morden, and Gideon, in a panic, rose and backed away...into a long, chitinous, pointy object. He turned around slowly...and looked full face into another creature like the ones surrrounding Morden. The thing wrapped its arm around Walther's neck...and the panic became abyssmal.
Then, the Thing's eyes *opened*...
And Walther finally screamed.
* * *
June 25th. Tuzanor.
Sinclair read the report, and sighed. The Rangers on Babylon 5 had reported the worst...not so much for the Cause, but for the well being of William and Jennifer. Out of the hundreds, soon to be thousands of Rangers, those two, and others, such as Marcus Cole, *meant* something to him...and this was more then a concern. Walther Gideon had vanished from sight, and Sinclair very much feared that the Shadows had him at last.
Something had to be done.
"#You cannot#" the by now familiar voice of Ulkesh annnounced, and Sinclair looked up to see the Vorlon standing in the entrance to his study. "#They must NOT know. It cannot be allowed#"
"Like Hell! They, above all others, *deserve* to know about this!"
"#The Lost One has descended into darkness. The Watcher will face the Lost One during the time of Fire, and then will the outcome be determined#" The Vorlon turned, and drifted away, and Sinclair silently cursed. So be it...it was not wise, for now, to cross the Vorlon.
William and Jennifer would find out in due course, by themselves, about Gideon...since it seemed, if the Vorlon was to be believed, that sooner or later during the course of the war now unfolding, Gideon would confront his former companions.
Where and when that would occur, was the important question.