"THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS, DARKLY" ACT III OF III
**"One mistake...out of so *many* others."**
Comment made by Lyta Alexander at the close of the Thirdspace Crisis, Mid-2261
* * *
The chaos begat by the Artifact had created a medium of use for the covert retrieval team...or rather, the three members of the team who were still on their feet. It had, within the past thirty-six hours, become increasingly apparent to them that the Artifact was emitting strong telepathic impulses...however, the implants they had been given by the Corps, those devices that concealed, and, on command, nullified their telepathic powers, if prying minds drew too close, had, interestingly enough, given some small measure of *protection* against the artifact's emissions.
From a catwalk above the Zocalo, the leader of the team, Ziang by name, looked down onto the growing chaos below, his gaze ruthless. It was...unfortunate that one of his valued comrades, Sheya Alexander, had made the mistake of lowering her shield when she did; Ziang had dismissed her, and Sheya had possessed enough will to return to their shuttle before the worst effects had set in; he did, however, still have the other members of the team on hand, Sheya's sister, Karell, and his second, Lori Waite.
Ziang thought on this for a moment. Word had come to him that Sheya's cousin, Lyta, had also fallen victim to the artifact's 'attentions'. Now *that* was an interesting situation in itself; few knew the truth that he did; that from Lyta's grandmother had come another line of telepaths; his mentor had made it clear that Lyta herself did not even know of this; and that was the way it had to stay, for the forseeable future. This had been one of the reasons for the concealment of his team, interestingly enough.
And Miss Alexander's present condition only made their task all the more easier. Things below seemed to be getting out of hand; Ziang decided that it was time to be on his way.
For there was still a hunt to conduct.
* * *
The Ranger Compound.
Within a few mere minutes after the activation of the Artifact, the Rangers worked to rapidly transform their compound into the fortress it had partially been intended to be from the beginning. Without a sound, the skybridges between the towers of the compound split down the middle, and silently retracted out of sight, and as soon as all were inside, the doors were sealed, and barred. Meanwhile, the normally brilliant lights within the Garden flickered and faded, and soon the central Core of the station was plunged into a shadowy existence darker then any seen the station's construction. Within the towers, however, many candles soon flared into being; the light could not be banished that easily.
"So..." Shival declared, as his many of his group leaders, including Viridal and Tashann, arrived in the Council chamber to to discuss the situation. "I'm going to assume that we have secured the compound, against all comers?"
Viridal nodded, his gaze fierce. "Yes, Sha'vei; it is, however, becoming clear that a certain number of the civilian population in the decks beyond have fallen victim to the Artifact's...advances. Fierce fighting has broken out in the Zocalo, and several other gathering areas, and the malady seems to be spreading. However, the majority of the civilians have answered the call for lockdown, and have not, it seems, been affected in the slightest. They should be safe, as long as they do not leave those quarters."
"Yes, Viridal, I have noted this. What other news do we know?"
"Before the Artifact activated," Tashann added, "We were able to confirm that Sha'vei Westcastle was able to take his White Star into hyperspace, and my Second, Dreann, accompanied him, to command the White Star 11, in my place. As for I, it seemed a greater priority to ensure that our telepath, Anla'shok Tolmanes, was brought out of danger and into the compound...safely."
"Prudent; and her condition?"
"At the moment, not good. She has spent the minutes since the Artifact's activation simply...screaming, or so it is reported."
"I see; and what of our *other* concerns?"
"Lakotal Tikopai has been seperated from her staff, but is *demanding* that she be let loose. Sha'vei; she has gone so far as to declare that we shall all be destroyed, when 'They' come to free her."
Shival's lips tightened. "I doubt that it will go so easily as that."
"We see fit to agree; finally, Val'na Westcastle's condition remains stable. And there are quite enough here to protect all entryways from those who would seek us out."
Shival nodded in finality. "I trust in Valen, and the One, that it will not come to that, Tashann; even now, the Entil'zha and Captain Sheridan are, I believe, moving to counter this threat; and with the Rimstalker standing at their right hand, there is fair chance all can still go well for us, this day."
"Then let us pray for them, then..." Tharvonn declared. "Let us pray for them all!"
* * *
Finally, the moment that had been inevitable, from the very beginning, came to pass, as the Artifact, having built its energy stores up to the point needed, revealed its true and darkest nature.
In a matter of moments, the unfolding was concluded, and a sinister green and white flare at the heart of the Gate signalled that the connection had been made. Beyond the Gate, the forces of the Tower waited in their multitudes, having gathered once it was clear that the way through the Gap Between was to be reopened. Without pause, first one, and then another, and then more of their fighter craft passed through the vortex, and took station on the edge of the shield that, even now, protected their way in against all comers.
The pilots gazed upon their opponents, and immediately decided that there would not even be, for now, the enjoyable sport of combat against desperate, outmatched foes, the combat that had drawn them through thousands of systems in their home domain. These primitive craft facing them were nothing more then nuisances, to be swatted aside, to make room for more interesting prey.
But observe; now the pests appraoched them, tiny scraps of energy flying towards *their* craft. These were meant to be weapons? It was clear that these creatures, these humans that they had touched so easily in their dreams, were as nothing, were to be enthralled and then devoured, in the name of all that they were. But that was for later, for now, there was pests to elliminate...
The Firstcomers moved to attack, and scant moments after that, the Starfuries of Delta Squadron ceased to be a concern to them. The way was secure, and although more of the primitive pests were massing in the near distance, they would join their brethren's fate, soon enough.
For in a short while, their comrades would come thorugh the Gap Between...
* * *
Around Babylon 5, space twisted, and began to open up into Jump points. The Starfury pilots saw this, and comm channel traffic began to grow a good deal less strained, as a small cluster of White Stars and Minbai War cruisers moved out into the breach. These were the forces who had banished the Vorlons and Shadows, after all.
Maybe, just maybe, they could beat these things...
* * *
White Star Four.
Things, it would seem, had changed remarkably since he had left to join the squadron. The artifact...the artifact had *finally* revealed itself for what it truly was...a twisted, demonic version of a jumpgate. But a gate to where?
"And into the jaws of Hell they rode..." Talion murmured behind him. "Demons to the left, and demons to the right, but blink they didn't, nor shy from their tasks."
"Thank you for that brilliant poetry, Talion, but I really wish you hadn't; our status?"
"Standing by, Sha'vei...waiting for the Entil'zha and Commander Ivanova to reach their ships, and get caught up to speed. Captain Sheridan's...apparently got something sneaky in mind, or that's the rumour...and the rest of the squadron is standing by on the Commander's word; she has been designated as 'control' for this assault."
"They'd better hurry..." he whispered. Even at this distance, it was clear that a number of small ships had emerged from the Artifact, and that implied that more could come through at any time.
"Message from Val'na Devlin's command, sir; Commander Ivanova is in place, and..." Talion's eyes widened. "Oh Hell..."
He looked up, and winced; hundreds more of the tiny ships from the Edge of Beyond were hurtling out of the gate, a veritable cloud...
"Orders coming in!"
"Control to Assault fleet!" Commander Ivanova's terse voice came to them, over the comm. "Break and attack, but target only the front of the artifact! I repeat, target the FRONT of the artifact only."
He sighed, and rose from his seat. "That, I take it, would be our cue..."
"Yes, sir." But what was the plan?
It didn't matter; once again, they were to draw the line against the darkness, the line that nothing must cross. Without pause, he switched to the Religious Caste tongue. "Engines to maximum, ready evasive pattern, target nearest enemy vessls, and...FIRE!"
Which they did.
Things rapidly degenerated, after that.
* * *
In her mind, Julia listened to the whispers, and shook her head mirthlessly. *They*, in their love, were showing her a little of what was happening outside her cell; ships, battling in the night, flaring into brightness and death; ships she knew, and recognized. In a tiny corner of her mind, a doubt arose, and was instantly silenced. They would be out of the way soon enough, and then, darling Julia, they would be coming to free her, and give her everything she wanted.
* * *
The pain had come again, and calmly and professionally, the Ranger physician had administered to her needs, and the pain had gone away. Through a slight haze, Jennifer looked into the shadowy corners beyond the candles, and imagined she saw something moving there.
Something wicked this way was coming, she decided blurrily; but William stood in its path; would that be enough?
* * *
Smoke filled the bridge, as he came back to himself; smoke and the faint sound of chiming alert; he tasted blood in his mouth, and then, the realization came that Talion was looking down at him, open concern on his face. "What..."
The concern faded a little, as Talion relaxed. As near as he could determine, he was, somehow, flat out on the deck, and certainly not in his command chair, which was the last thing he remembered... "Thank Valen for small miracles! Sha'vei, how do you feel?"
"What...happened?" A blurry memory came, of a face off in the middle of a firestorm, between his command and a needle-like cone of black organic death, spitting bright red fire at them...and then, a flare of light; and after that, nothing, until now, that was.
"Sir, two of those Things trapped us; we managed to get one of them, but the other...before Dreann's White Star and several other vessels destroyed it."
"It hurt us..."
Talion nodded. "Yes, quite badly, I'm afraid; our rear gravimetric planes are all but gone, life support is shaky, and control?; well, we don't have any...sir. We've drifted away from the field of battle somewhat, which may be something of a good thing; otherwise, another of those things could quite easily have taken another pot shot at us, by now..."
Slowly, carefully, he got to his feet, and moved forward through the wreckage, between several of his crew that had been with him from the start, the blood on their clothes shocking, the pain on their faces even more so, and into the observation area, where the tumbling stars looked back at him, and, every so often, the flares of light from the now more distant battle. For *some* reason, it seemed that the pace had dwindled, somehow...had the enemy been that successful?
And then, he winced, and threw up his arms to protect his eyes, as the artifact, seemingly so impervious to anything the humans and Minbari had thrown against it and its minions up to then, suddenly ballooned out into a nova of fire.
* * *
On Babylon 5, a great many things happened at that point, as the people controlled by those on the other side of the Arfifact realized that the force in their minds suddenly wasn't there, any longer. In the Ranger Compound, Brianna felt the oppressive force fall away from her, and eased the scream she had been about to create away into nothingness, and collapsed onto the pallet nearby, at peace for the first time in almost a week.
While nearby, as their presence faded away from Julia's mind, the young Ranger trainee came back to herself for the first time in a long, long while, as the smile of blissful, mocking anticipation on her face faded away, to be first replaced by honest puzzlement, and *then*, by dear anguish. Oh no!...all the things she had done, all the things she had said in the service of those vile hateful things, in their Tower...
It was too much; how could she have been so gullible, so easily controlled?
She knew why. Her largest flaw; and those THINGS had discovered it immediately. Numbly, she fell to her knees, and did not move to wipe away the bitter tears that came, then. Could there possibly be any way to make up for the things she had done? Perhaps it would be better, far better, to just walk away from it all...permamently?
Behind her, the door opened.
* * *
So was it said, and so I will repeat it, for the benefit of history, so we will remember, so this will *never* happen again. A single mistake, compounded into a multitude; but thus, do we learn from our mistakes; thus, is history made.
After the Thirdspace Crisis was done, the Rangers were soon able to determine how victory had been brought about. Lyta Alexander, courtesy of some leftover programming that the Vorlons left behind, had been able to tell the Captain how to destroy the Thirdspace jumpgate, permamently. This, you must understand, showed great courage; but this was THE Captain, after all, he seemed to always have enough courage to put most of the rest of us to shame. Into it, he went, with a warhead, through the chaos of the battle between, and face the Enemy, he did. But the thing about warheads is, as the Commander had been known to say from time to time; sooner or later, there's always a BOOM.
The aftermath was numbing in its intensity; and the injuries were frightening in their number. Mine were minor, compared to some that were endured, both physical and mental. Meanwhile, the rubble field left by the battle would take a long time to clean up; in many respects, it would be among the worst that the people of Babylon 5 would ever see, in all the station's long years of existence.
But I speak in generalities; the specific pains of those close to me should also be dealt with. William and his crew found themselves dragged in by a small group of Starfuries at the end of the battle; it was a hard blow for him, after bringing his White Star through the Shadow War nearly without a scratch; the back end of the White Star 4, I'm afraid, had very nearly been shot off by the forces that came out of Thirdspace. But ships can be fixed, and sooner then he believed, she would be back under his command. The important thing, to me, was that *he* was safe, and that he came back to me, in one piece; nothing else has ever mattered more.
Julia's problems were, I'm afraid, a little more complex. She was finally able to tell me, a few days after the end of the crisis, that the 'things' on the far side of the artifact had taken advantage of what she knew to be her largest flaw, the inherent loneliness that had permeated her whole life up to that point. *They* took advantage of that, and twisted her whole being to serve their purpose. Which, of course, explained her comments when she attacked me, the madness that I saw in her eyes, usually oh so friendly, but not then, I'm afraid.
In a rather shocking twist, Julia then moved to *burn* the staff that Brianna had given her, six months before; down to ash, and beyond. It took longer then I would have liked for that guilt trip to run its course, but Shival, Tashann and I were able to convince her that her place was still with the Rangers; it was hard, but we managed it.
But now, the most shocking part of all, and the thing that in the end, guided us through the rest of that fateful summer. After a period in which she seemed to recover, and explained that she had gone through some of the same things Lyta had gone through during the Crisis, because of their shared history with the Vorlons, Brianna abruptly vanished from sight one night, without leaving a message of any kind. William and a few others spent most of the next few days combing the station looking for her, but without luck. To have this as an endnote to the week just past was, perhaps, the hardest blow of all; for we were the three from which the rest came; William and I lost her to Ulkesh, but she came back to us, in the end; this disapearance without an explanation was quite baffling, in contrast.
Soon enough, we would find out the reason behind the disapearance, from a known but unexpected source; and some of the things we would find out, would tell us all about the lies behind the walls of truth...
* * *
Hyperspace. Enroute to Earth.
"Well, then!" Lori Waite sharply commented, as Ziang carefully, and with relish, replaced his shiny omega sigil in the place so long denied it..the rightful place. "I don't wish to go through *that* again, any time soon."
"Indeed not; it was most unpleasant for all of us, and I fear that if we had not had the devices to counter the effects of the alien construct, we, too, may have fallen to its...currents, as Sheya did."
"Interesting." Karell commented from the rear, "That the construct was destroyed by those our mentor considers...irritating."
Ziang chuckled. "Irritating, Karell? You are too modest, by far."
"Nevertheless...despite all, and thorugh the crisis brought about by the telepathic madness induced among the mundanes on Babylon 5, we were able to attain the goal of our mission; and *that*, Ziang, is all that matters!"
Ziang turned a cold gaze to the shackled and drugged woman at the back of the shuttle, and nodded with satisfaction. "Indeed that is so, Karell, indeed that is so."
The door to the cockpit opened, and Sheya entered, to join her fellow telepaths. "A message has come for us; the mothership will rendezvous with us in seven hours time."
Ziang smiled. "Indeed; and then, we can finally go home."
* * *
Epsilon Three, the Great Machine.
"Told you, Draal, Zathras did <tck, tck> but *no* one ever listen to Zathras."
"Yes, yes, Zathras, I do understand that you like it when your predictions come true."
"Zathras not right nearly enough; Draal, you will confirm <tck, tck> that Promise of Future did, indeed, destroy weapon of practice, the weapon not intended to *be*?"
Draal sighed. "Didn't I just say that?"
"Zathras just making sure."
"And this means what, exactly, my friend?"
"<Tch, tch> Many, many things, and One; Zathras must meet Promise of Future; she has a destiny!"
"I cannot help but note that was your brother's favorite word, as well."
"Ahh...do not complain, Zathras always do what is best for Zathras own good, as well as Rest."
Draal shook his head, and laughed. "I don't know why I put up with you lot, sometimes, but I cannot say that it hasn't been entertaining. Very well, Zathras, let us investigate this, put matters in motion, and see what comes of it."
* * *
To be continued...
Next time: After a warning from an unexpected source, William and a team of Rangers head off in pursuit of the Psi Corps team who kidnapped Brianna. Meanwhile, Julia is invited down to Epsilon 3! Enough said, I suppose. "Canyons of the Mind" the next part of the RIMSTALKER saga, coming soon.