** "Time. There was never enough time for us to enjoy what we had with one another. Our relationship was built in the midst of a crucible of pain and suffering. So *many* people around us died in the War, and the wars that followed it. Was it our folly to believe that having won the toss, having paid the ultimate sacrifice in so many ways, that it would be over just because we said it should be?? It never works that way...and now...now it is almost too late for apologies...too late to take back the words that should never have been said. Some say destiny...most say something else entirely." **
From the afterword of "Annontated Notes on the Last War of the Shadow" as published in the EY 2290
* * *
Nov 20, 2259. Enroute to Minbar.
William leant into the hardness of the bunk, his eyes narrow with exhaustion, while beside him, and within the circle of his arms, Jennie slept the sleep of the dead. So much they had been through...he nodded grimly. The voice from the future called out its litany again in his mind. Pain and fire and sorrow...and this was only the beginning. The Shadows still loomed in the background, their long darkness still threatened the galaxy... but a great deal more had changed then that, by the look of things. He had seen the haunted look in Tashann's eyes...what the Minbari, even though Tashann served under his command, wouldn't tell him. Disturbing...*far* too disturbing.
*EIGHTY-FOUR DAYS*, lost, through an accident of fate and design. The anniversary of the Beginning, lost, and gone. It was *not* fair at all...he had been more then ready to raise a glass to all the dead they had survived...and he suspected that Jennie would have raised one with him. The ATLANTA...all the people killed at Nighthawk... and they had survived, and carried on. And for what reason? Because of a 'destiny' prophesized by the Vorlons...that was no reason, even though it seemed to work all too well. There were still too many questions, and too few answers for anyone's good.
And now, they were returning to the place that had given them a new life, summoned back by the man who lead them in what they were...a man who was now more alone then anyone had a right to be.
* * *
Elsewhere...
Brianna was as far from rest as her leader was...and, at the same time, as far as it was possible to be from the waking world. Ever since their return through the rift, the shades of what were coming had intruded on her thoughts...and Ulkesh...Ulkesh was *always* there, in the background. She turned in the dream, and he was, as usual, there.
##Your mind is once again quiet enough to hear us. Know that it is the Time of the Testing##
"The Testing? What is the Test...and why is it happening?" she asked...not that she expected a straight answer from Ulkesh, but that didn't stop her from asking. Maybe, sooner or later, the Vorlon would make a mistake, and actually tell her something she needed to know...but, at the same time, it was not *possible* for her to wish to be on his bad side...he had shown himself to her only *once*...and forever in the background was her need to *see* him again.
##We must be sure that we have made the right choices. Mistakes and choices of anger made.##
"By who?"
##The Watcher and The Stalker are touched by darkness. This must be corrected. You will assist##
*THIS* didn't sound good at all. "They are my friends, Ulkesh!...my leaders...they *saved* me from what I was...what the Shadows made me!! I will not hurt them."
##They are not ready for that which is, and will be. You have seen the Beginning, and the End. The Middle awaits. They must be ready...*he* is coming. You **will** assist##
She nodded. "As you wish."
##Then let it begin##
Brianna snapped awake, and let her breath out in a great rush. Damnit!..she had been holding her breath again.
"He?" she whispered, eyes wide, and wondering. "He *who*?"
* * *
Tuzanor. Nov 23rd, 2259...
A low, scudding overcast hung over the Valley of Sorrows, and great snowflakes fell from the sky, on top of the heavy cover of snow that already lay over the Ranger Compound. Jennie raised her eyes to the horizon; the ever present mountains of her memories were hidden in the storm. They had returned to Minbar Winter...something they had never seen in their time here as Trainees. A harsh cold wind blew across the landing pad, and the three of them quickly backed away as the Minbari Flyer, with a slight sigh, rose off the pad and receded into the snow.
Beside her, William and Brianna drew the hoods of their insulated cloaks up over their heads. A great deal had changed...and none more, it seemed, then the man who waited for them. She cast her gaze across the figure, dressed in the all too familiar brown and gray, and stopped. An angular scar rode on the cheek of the Entil'zha...more had changed then she suspected!
"Entil'zha!" William called out, and as one, the three Rangers bowed to their leader. "In Valen's Name, we have returned...we are honored to have the Entil'zha welcome us home."
Sinclair nodded, the light of interest in William's comment showing his eyes. "I bid you welcome, Val'na...and all who follow you. You are important to the Rangers, and to I...and you have traveled through the darkness to places I cannot go. I would have no other meet you."
"We understand." Then, William got right to the point. "Entil'zha; rumours of darkness swirl around us...is it true?"
"I'm afraid that it is, and I regret the movements that trapped you where you were, for so long...perhaps some of what happened could have been avoided...but more likely not. A great deal has happened since your departure, and the future has never looked darker."
"The Narns...?" she inquired, heart heavy. G'kael...
"Have fallen, Jennifer, as you and G'kael predicted. A little more then a month ago, the last of their fleet was ambushed by the Shadows, and destroyed. It was a desperate gamble...and one they were fated to lose. The Centauri did not waste any time, as G'kael also predicted. Shortly after the ambush, a large fleet of their warships bombarded the Narn Homeworld...a great many have died."
"Mass drivers." William ground out, mouth bitter behind his moustache and beard.
"Unfortunately, so." Sinclair brushed the snow off his hood, face grim. "So much we could have done, with the proper resources...but the Rangers are not yet ready... almost, but not quite. And so, we watch, and the Darkness unfolds to cover all that we know."
The Centauri have fallen in with that Darkness, and the Narns are broken." Brianna whispered, her voice leaden. "They won't stop there...it would be too much to hope. The League worlds will be next...and what then? When will it be Earth's turn??"
"It will be soon...that is undeniable." William muttered. We have seen what lies hidden beneath the pleasantries, and sooner or later, Clark will move...I should have seen it sooner. Whether or not we will be ready when that happens is unknown. However...all is not lost; we've heard that Ambassador Delenn has told Captain Sheridan the truth. Is this so?"
Sinclair smiled..a little. "If only on Babylon 5, a little hope remains for us; yes, William, you are correct. Shortly after the fall of Narn, the existence of the Rangers was revealed to Captain Sheridan...this, after being told of the Shadows the month before...a desperate gamble, but, as it turned out, the correct one to make. The Captain has taken the news well...and I hope that, like you, William, he will eventually stand at the forefront of the battle that is coming.
For now, however, you may rest. Ambassador Ulkesh has told me that you should join him in *your* place of meditation at nightfall this evening. He has something to tell you...and no, I don't know what it is. Only, that Ulkesh was one of the loudest voices in calling you back to this place."
"I do not pretend to like this, Entil'zha...the Vorlons have done much for us, but at the same time, there is still so much that we do not know of them. And now, Ulkesh summons us..."
Sinclair nodded somberly as they moved inside out of the snow. "I understand your concerns, William, but I highly doubt that the Vorlons wish us ill. Ulkesh is darker then the other Vorlon I know, but he helps us, all the same. In any case, you are Rangers...and I will *not* let you come to any harm."
William nodded, but his eyes stayed dark. "We will have to wait and see, what the Vorlon intends for us, then. Good day, Entil'zha."
As they parted ways with Sinclair, Jennie caught Brianna's eyes...and almost jumped, at the palpable fear that suddenly showed there. "You know something, don't you?"
Brianna nodded, and then shook her head somberly. "Ulkesh spoke to me, when we were returning. *Someone* is coming. I don't know who...SOMEONE to test you, somehow. Ulkesh wouldn't say more...I suspect he *will* this evening, but I don't think you're going to enjoy whatever's in store for you...that's just the impression I got."
Brianna turned away, and a knot of fear appeared inside her. Not enjoy?? What could this mean?
* * *
The storm had broken at last, and the bright stars once more showed their faces over the Valley of Sorrows.
The light from the buildings behind spilled out over the long ledge, as William held his gaze on the long, familiar mountain range bordering one side of the compound. Automatically, his eyes found the now aging scar created by the Z'nipc so many months before...*that* had been a Test, also...if of a different sort. And they had passed that one in defeating the Shadow creature; how many more awaited...how many *more* brushes with death?
William gazed to his side, where Brianna knelt, deep in meditation, and Jennie, almost in silence, whirled her denn'bok about in a circle of silver fire barely bigger then herself. She had become a holy terror with that weapon...and although she had as yet only used the weapon in true combat a few times, more would be coming, that he knew.
"He is coming." Brianna intoned, rising to her feet, and turning. In an instant, Jennie came to a halt, and closed the pike. Seconds later, the weapon vanished, and as one, the three turned, to see the moving mountain of the Vorlon appear.
"Ambassador...you honor us with your presence." he intoned, as they bowed. "May we ask the reason you have summoned us here?"
#Darkness has touched you.#
"Gideon. We could do nothing about that."
#Irrevelant. Companions to darkness you are...flawed. We must be sure we have made the right decision...chosen the correct path. You must be tested. The Inquisitor is coming.#
"The...*Inquisitor*?? I don't understand." And then, an instant later, the thought crossed his mind...*do* I WANT to understand?
#All will be explained..all will be seen. You will go to my ship...and wait. The Inquisitor will join you there; obey the Guide.# Ulkesh turned away, and departed, leaving the three alone on the ledge once more...now with their uncertainties, and doubts.
"Inquisitor..." Jennie breathed, her face a mask. "To inquisit...to look for answers, to *extract* secrets. I don't like this...but what choice do we have?"
"If you don't do as Ulkesh asks," Brianna added, her voice low, "The Vorlons will abandon you. Sooner or later, the Shadows will strike again..and you shall have no shelter. This I know."
"The Guide?"
Brianna looked over at him. "That would be me, William, if you haven't already guessed. The Inquisitor will arrive in, if I understand correctly, slightly more then twenty of our hours. We may sleep, if we can, and then take a shuttle up to the docks above...to where Ulkesh's ship is. There we will find the Inquisitor...whoever he, she or *it* is."
"Then lets try and get some rest...while we can. We going to need it, I think."
* * *
Nov 24th, 2259; Minbari Orbital Installation "Vashonn"
"It's almost hypnotic..." Jennie whispered to him, as William's gaze ran across the flickering, shifting surface of Ulkesh's ship, cradled in the dark blue crystalline dock. "Isn't it?"
"I try not to look too closely...where's Brianna?"
"The Inquisitor's transport docked a short time ago...she was summoned to join him."
* * *
Brianna watched the side of the yellow and brown Vorlon transport iris open, fear threatening to overcome her better judgement. A figure emerged...and her mouth nearly dropped open. What she had been expecting was another Vorlon...*not* what came towards her now!
A harsh faced, immaculately dressed, if sallow faced *man*, face glacial, eyes of winter, walking with a staff with a great bulb of crystal on one end. On every second step, the staff hit the ground, making a 'click... click...click' sound. The eyes of the Inquisitor met her own, and Brianna shuddered...it was as if a beam of ice had caught her in its grip...
"As Servant to servant, I greet you. You seem surprised to see what I am. You should not have been. By now, you should *realize* what our Masters are capable of."
"As you say, Mr..?"
The Inquisitor's mouth curled into an unpleasant, cold smile. "Sebastian will be sufficient. So!...I find that my duties, all comments by certain parties to the contrary, are as yet incomplete...and I also find that you are asked to assist me. I need *no* assistants...what I have come to do, I will do *myself*."
"Then what will be my part in this...Inquisition?"
"Those I have come to meet will answer my questions...individually, for the most part...and I *will* find the answer I want from them, whether they wish to give it to me or not. *You* will keep them isolated, uncertain..." Sebastian bent close to her, "..and unexpectant of what awaits them. It would not be...acceptable...for one to warn the other of what awaits, that is, if I choose to *release* the first...and I already *know* who that will be."
"I...understand."
"You do not like this...but your wishes are immaterial to me...and, additionally, quite foolish. I have not been sent here to test *you*...put aside your fears. However..." Sebastian paused contemplatively. "Whether or not your companions will pass my judgement has *yet* to be determined.
Take me to them. *Now*."
The fear inside of her turned to horror at that point. This Sebastian was beyond cold...his efficiency and mercilessness was complete. William and Jennifer knew *not* what they were facing...and could not. In the back of her mind, the song of Ulkesh loomed, threatening and harsh. Too many watchers...too little time...
And no warning.
Oh Valen!...watch over them. They need it, now more then *ever*,
to survive this man and what he he intends.
RIMSTALKER: DESTINY'S CALL, PART 12
"THE FATAL FLAW" ACT II OF II
**"It is often said that for a race opposed diametrically in principles to those that the various intelligent species in the universe called The Shadows, the Vorlons didn't offer their help until almost too late, and then, when John Sheridan, and others, decided to burn the rule book at the end of 2260, then, it was quite literally as if the genie had been let out of the bottle. Both races possessed an almost callous, cynical viewpoint on the galaxy almost as their private playground...if any one of the 'toys' stepped too far out of line, then a sometimes devastating, and always painful response was called for.
One of the more outspoken of those critical of this worldview is Jennifer Clifford, self styled 'Observer' and inside historian of the Great War's Three phases. She is famous for her articles on the Great War, and is currently dividing her time between her duties on the Ranger High Council in Tuzanor, and writing her own autobiographical view of her experiences with destiny, war, and these two ancient cultures. Here, she talks of her first experience with the darker side of the Vorlon culture, in late 2259.
'Almost through happenstance, in a story well known to all of our readers, one of our former comrades fell in with the Shadows and decided to serve them. This man then turned his attentions to us just about for the rest of the War. But during the time I refer to, this problem receded into the background, and was replaced by a larger one. The Vorlon then assigned to Minbar had played a large part in guiding our entrance into the Rangers, and one thing the Vorlons didn't like to do was doubt the choices they made. Hence, this particular Vorlon decided a test of our loyalties was in order..."**
An excerpt from "Two Sides of Darkness" the third part of Amanda Zefram Teague's "Holding the Line." as published in the Earth year 2279
* * *
Nov 24th, 2259. [The First Cycle of Hell: Elapsed Time:0]
An isolated part of the orbital complex had been set aside for the Inquisitor to ask his 'questions', and while it was, like most Minbari areas of meeting, airy and spacious, the usual well-lit environment was absent...only a faint bluish-red glow suffused the chamber. Jennie looked about herself...she was *quite* alone.
Or was she?
All of a sudden, a blaze of light leapt into existence about her, and another appeared nearby. Within it was a *man*...expression cold, and forboding...face caught in bitter lines, a peak of dark, slightly graying hair on his head.
She tried to believe what she was seeing and hearing, as the other approached. She knew her histories...it had been an interest of youth. The man *appeared* to be dressed as a well-to-do English gentleman would in the period almost *four* centuries before the present. It immediately threw her off, this uncertainty...this man certainly *wasn't* a Vorlon, which is what she had been expecting. But this man *did*, quite obviously, work *for* the Vorlons...he had arrived in this place on one of their transports. What was *going on here*?
"You are acceptive of orders, I see. How good of you; how...predictable." A shimmering sound crossed the floor towards her, out of the darkness, and she looked down, to see something resembling a old-styled Gaelic torc at her feet. "Put it on." Jennie bent down, and with slightly trembling hand, stretched the circlet, and slipped it into place around her neck. A deeper fear then she was used to feeling entered her at that point...this *couldn't* be what she thought it was...could the Vorlons be *that* cruel?
The Inquisitor nodded at her. "Very well. The situation, as it stands, is quite simple, and *most* unfortuanate. You have given the Vorlon cause to doubt...and thus, I have been summoned here to test your loyalties. We will determine, here and now, whether or not the Vorlon is correct in his fears."
"He is not." she coolly replied.
"We shall see. Very well, let us begin; *Who are you?*"
She stood proudly...*this* one was easy to answer. "I am a Ranger...and I serve the One. We travel in all the places others will not, and do the things that others cannot do."
"I see. But then...you do not even know who 'The One' is, do you? And why? I see you can answer *neither* question; dissapointing, but *not* unexpected."
The Inquisitor grounded his staff, and Jennie half-sagged against the near wall, shocked by the pain that briefly...suddenly, coursed through her...she had been right. Eyes wide, she raised her hands to the ring around her neck, and met the Inquisitor's knowing gaze.
"Unacceptable response! Perhaps now, Anla'shok that you have the audacity to call yourself!...when you do not even belong to the race that created that word, you more clearly understand the seriousness of the question! I am not interested in catechisms or ritual phrases, I have heard more of that from those who have stood before me, as you stand now, then you could possibly have memorized, courtesy of this organization you so *cherish*. So...I ask again: **Who are you**?"
She thought, frantically...maybe..."I am the Obser...aughhh!" This time, a blue flicker of energy flamed in her half-closed eyes, and she could not stop herself from sagging to the floor.
"Unacceptable response! I do not wish to know the title *they* have given you, I know of this already. It is a simple answer I look for...and yet, I find *another* who cannot answer the simplest of questions! You are all the same: flawed, imperfect!... incapable of even giving the correct answer to a most simple question...yet another who believes herself *chosen* of God...an angel of mercy out to record the ills of the land, perhaps?" The Inquisitor shook his head sadly. "And you believe that you can *save* the masses through this 'observing', do you?"
"It is what I am, and what I do. If only so those who are yet to come can avoid the mistakes we made in coming to this place, and this time. I am what I am...watcher; warrior; guard to those that *matter*."
"All at the same time? Fascinating." The Inquisitor walked closer to her, but she did not rise...sooner rather then later she would give him another wrong answer, and then...no, this situation was *intolerable*!! How *dare* Ulkesh do this to her? "And these three things make you what you are?"
"No...of course not. Our beliefs make us what we are, and guide the choices we make...to *bring* us to what we are."
"So...you believe you do what you do because it is right...because you can *save* the future from the mistakes of the present." The Inquisitor pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Perhaps...but *why*?"
"I...I do what I do because those that we face seek to destroy us, understand what we have faced already, agents of evil...invisible warriors...even assassins! I joined Earthforce even before I knew of the Shadows... because I sought to stop that which was wrong. And now I, as a Ranger, stand against the Darkness...because of its wrongness."
"So." The Inquisitor leaned towards her on his staff, eyes narrow. "Your Enemy is wrong, because *you* see that you are right?"
"Yes, of co.." A corona of blue fire surrounded her, and she crumpled, a shrill whine escaping from her lips...not a scream; but almost. The *pain*...how much *longer* would this go on? With hands trembling, she touched the torc around her neck again, and turned one eye towards her tormentor, who stood, regarding her, somewhat sadly, it seemed.
"Any time you wish to, you may remove it. But I know you...you are all the same...*pride* will prevent you from removing it...in what you are, what you are doing, and, of course, most importantly, *why*. Removing it will tell the Vorlon that his beliefs are true...and your holy cause will have *failed*. But, you are incapable of admitting that failure, and that is what I have come here to cure. One way or the other, we will break you of that fault. Whether or not you survive the breaking...is entirely up to you."
* * *
Interlude. Babylon 5; Elapsed Time, 2 hours, 30 minutes.
"Delenn...I have heard disturbing news from Homeworld. He who troubled us so...he lied to the Captain!"
"Not lies, Lennier, but he twists the words to his own liking enough that we heard what we wanted to hear. The Captain told me his words exactly..'perhaps now, they will let me rest'. We are not alone in this fight...and the Vorlons have been given great cause to doubt. Darkness is everywhere."
"But Delenn!...these are *Rangers* he is testing! This cannot be allowed."
A casting of eyes across the report, and the names in that report. "So. I do not believe *we* can stop this, Lennier, even if we tried.. But Mr. Sebastian operates in such a fashion that he would repeat himself, the siutations are similar enough. Perhaps Anla'shok Westcastle can be warned soon enough to act...before it is *too* late."
* * *
[The Second Cycle of Hell: Elaspsed Time, 3 hours, 45 minutes]
"We have been told..." the Inquisitor commented, as he circled about Jennie's half-crouched form, "That you have done *well* in your duties to date. Of course, what *well* means is somewhat... debatable."
"I have seen the darkness of the war to come, I have defeated an agent of our Enemy, I have stopped their plots. If you wish to define *well*, Mr. Sebastian, then define that as a beginning! See what the other Rangers see of us...we have done our duty in the name of Light, and the team we are building will last long after we are gone."
"Ah...so, through fire, and with the Hounds of Hell barking after your heels, you lead your comrades and your friends into places that others will not go. But then, that was burnt into your soul by this place, was it not? Very well...are you willing to risk those comrades, those friends of yours? To sacrifice them, to sacrifice YOURSELF if necessary, to stop your enemies?"
She opened her mouth wide, indecisive, oh God, no! The flame, the pain...the silent scream.
"But of course not!...if you sacrificed yourself to that greater cause, then your own cause, your *HOLY* cause, would fail, wouldn't it? The Observer, the Chosen one, you would die, and you cannot allow that to happen, can you?"
"The...the greater need is to save all that can be saved."
"You are weak...indecisive!! And that indecisiveness will kill your comrades and friends more surely then anything else you do. And that, you see, is the root *flaw* at the heart of it all...you seek to save that which *cannot* be saved, and thus, you are turned from what you could be, what you *are*...do you do this thing out of loyalty to your Anla'shok, or out of a need to better your OWN name? To further *your* status?; is this the mark of a true leader?"
"I do this thing because it is RIGHT! Because it is WRONG to allow those around us to die through neglection! If we cannot try and save those that fall for us, or have fallen through faults not their own, then we are *not* the leaders we should be."
The Inquisitor nodded. "Now, perhaps, we begin to cut to the root of the problem. Those who have fallen through faults not their own...is this not a paradox? How can you further your great cause, and save those who cannot, or should not be saved, at the same time? You are lost, a ship without a rudder, and sooner or later, that is what will kill all who follow you."
She turned on him, and the rage came through at last. "How *dare* you say that...how *dare* you? After all that I've been through? The pain of seeing loved ones die, the agony of watching MY command destroyed by those we face, and you tell me all I do is NOT enough? *You* are the one who is wrong, you are the one who is lost, I have *told* you again and again who I am, and you go ON and ON, just what is the answer you're looking for?"
The Inquisitor's face, which had been growing icier and icier during this outburst, finally twisted into a sneer. "Who are you?"
"I am a Ranger, damn y..." The corona of fire passed across her, head to toe, and she collapsed, finally...completely. There was no escape, and the click of the dreaded staff sang around her body.
"You are a failure, at all you do, not a leader...not a *holy* watcher of that which is...only a failure. And that..." The Inquisitor slowly intoned, as he bent his furious, blazing eyes down towards her, "Is what will kill you, here *and* now."
It was inevitable...the scream came, at last, over the Inquisitor's mocking laughter.
* * *
Interlude. Elapsed time, 4 hrs, 15 minutes.
"Anla'shok Westcastle?"
"Yes?" William barked, as he ceased his pacing. Hours it had been now...hours of silence...hours of fear.
"There is a message for you...from Babylon 5."
"I will come." Anything to break this *waiting*
He followed the Minbari to the terminal, and was shocked to see who the caller was.
"Ambassador, in Valen's Name, this is..."
"There is no time for that now, Anla'shok! The one you care for is in the hands of a monster. I fear that if you do not intervene, she will die at his hands. He is waiting for you. *Go*...or save her not at all!"
"I understand." William roughly turned away, and almost ran into Brianna. "Get *out* of my way!"
"No, William!...I *promised* him I wouldn't let you..." Brianna faltered, and stopped, halted by the murderous gaze he knew he was showing.
"I hold you as a friend, Brianna, and a comrade, but if you *do not* step out of my way, that may not last. The Inquisitor has had Jennifer in his hands for more then FOUR hours now, and I have just received a warning that four hours may be too long. Step out of my way, *now.*"
Brianna did.
* * *
[The Last Cycle of Hell...elapsed time, 4 hours, 19 minutes.]
"This isn't going to work, I'm afraid." The Inquisitor whispered in her nearly unhearing ear. "I cannot cure you of what cannot be excised, it is in you, through and through, like a cancer. The Vorlon's fears are proven true, and he will hear this from me soon enough. You are lost, and the Darkness takes advantage. We have been..."
The door opened. "Ah...always the same, emotions of weakness betray you all. Our final player *finally* arrives."
"Enough." came a voice she knew, and Jennie weakly turned her head to see William enter the chamber. "I have been warned of you...and I will not let you torture her *any* longer."
"No!" she cried out, "William, leave me!...you cannot defeat him, you don't know what he's capable of!"
William narrowed his eyes. "I swore never to leave you again. I can..."
"I doubt that *very* much." The Inquisitor grounded his staff, and a vast sheet of fire raced across the floor, and flung William against the wall, where he hung, head loosely to one side, half-unconscious from the blow. Jennie hid her eyes, and whimpered...wrung out, through and through, and now this *thing* would do the same to the man she loved...
"And what have we here?" The Inquisitor asked of the man he had trapped on the wall, pinned like an insect. "Drawn by a warning he could not interpret. No matter; I have determined her weakness, you have already displayed your own. Trapped in hers like a fly in amber, trapped by your *caring*...pitiful. You're just as bad as she is."
"Go to Hell."
"Always the same declaration, William Westcastle, Stalker of naught!...and always the same meaning. Forever trying to escape from your fate, forever trying to reclaim the past. It cannot be done, it is impossible...and you are equally damned by your belief in prophecy. What will come of this on the day when all must be sacrificed, when you are held back by as weak an emotion as *love* of her? Weakness preying on weakness!...tainted by darkness, tainted by sin!" The Inquisitor casually ran great strings of fire across William's body. "You cannot be saved...you do not deserve to be saved..."
"*STOP THIS*!"
The Inquisitor turned a curious eye on the barely standing, furious, disheveled Jennifer. "And what is he to you? You plead with me to save him for as weak an emotion as *love*?"
"No..so, you want to know *who* I am? I am more then companion to this man, I stand *with* this man against the darkness, because *he* says it is the right thing to do!... not I! He leads me, not because of our love for one another, but because he can do NO other thing! If he asks me to make the sacrifice, if there is no other choice, if *that* is the right thing to do, then I will do it, willingly!!"
"But what of your *destiny*? What of all the writings you would do? What of all those indifferent souls you seek to save and protect? What of *he* who you try to save, *he* who infects you, *he* who is the cause and effect of all your pain?"
"If we cannot do what must be done in his name, and in the name of the Rangers...in VALEN's name, then nothing else matters! If we do not strive to save them, to redeem them from the darkness, then we fail in what we are. And if we must *die* in that saving, then so be it, we will have done our duty for the side of Light. Do you understand?...DO YOU?"
"Is this true?" the Inquisitor asked of William. "Speak truly...now, more then ever, I hold your lives in my hands."
"Yes. She does what she does because of what we were, what we are, what we will be. We lead because it is *necessary*, not because we seek greatness. This is what we are...for better, or for worse. Believe us, and see what the result will be."
The Inquisitor paused...one long pause. And then he nodded...and waved his staff. A moment of fugue...and then, William and Jennie stood alone, and the torc...the damned torc!...was gone from around her neck. A second later, they were holding one another, and then...
The 'click, click' of the Inquisitor's Staff interrupted their reunion, and they turned, as one, to see him standing nearby. "It is as I suspected, and as the Vorlon did. You do not follow this course through delusions of grandeur, of becoming immortal through your writings...of saving the fallen for the sake of salvation...and alone, in the dark, one or the other of you will abandon your standing, and follow the course to the end. It is well...it is enough. Follow your course...and all will be as you have seen."
There was another flash...and then, the Inquisitor was gone.
* * *
"But I didn't even do anything!" Brianna protested, as the three of them watched the Inquisitor's transport leave the orbital dock.
William smiled at her. "I don't know about that.." he replied, and then turned his head slightly to meet Jennie's incoming kiss.
* * *
Nov 28th, 2259. Tuzanor, the Ranger Compound.
"Trials." Sinclair muttered. "Too many trials."
##They have responded as expected. They will enter the fire...and perhaps they will survive. Perhaps.##
"They will."
##We will see.## The Vorlon, inscrutable as always, turned, and left the chamber. Sinclair nodded. "They may surprise you." he whispered to the departing cowl of the encounter suit.
* * *
"The Orders are clear enough." William commented. "Things are getting worse by the day; we are needed, once again, on Babylon 5...and then, elsewhere."
"But there's *nothing* at those coordinates but empty space!"
"You may be *surprised* at what empty space contains, Observer."
"Nothing will surprise me, anymore, Tashann."
"Enough already, In Valen's Name!" William barked from the door, his mouth half twisted into a smile. "We have places to be."
"And destinies to follow?" Talion inquired, his eyebrows high.
Jennie laughed, and then went to join her love. "No, Talion, we make our *own* destinies from now on."
* * *
Next: It is the End of the Earth Year 2259...and as events spiral out of control, both on the station named Babylon 5 and throughout the known universe, the Rimstalker, the Observer and their companions will be caught in the middle of the Hurricane...night is falling, and what will follow is uncertain. "The Peace of the Sword" the FINAL part of "Destiny's Call", coming soon.