Writer's Note: Apart from the first element, which ties off yet another of those sneaky hanging plot threads, the majority of this part takes place shortly after the events depicted in the fifth season episode "View from the Gallery."
RIMSTALKER: THE WALKERS IN THE DARKNESS; PART 3
"REFLECTIONS IN SHADOW"
**"A light kindled in the sky, a blaze of yellow fire behind dark barriers..."**
Tolkien, 'Return of the King'
* * *
My words, are the words of the future; the words of pain, and of a faith undeserving. I can see it happening, as I take up the task of writing it all down; see it in my memories, all the things we did, all the things we went through. For what we were is not what we are, and where we are going is a place that *he* will not willingly approach; for I know my Rimstalker, and know him true. And at the same time, what I've just seen, what I've just done, is, without a doubt, among the hardest things I've ever had to do to him.
One last time, before my term progressed too far, before Brianna took my place at William's side, until his final return to Tuzanor, I went with him to Earth. It was the middle of February, 2262, less then a week before the President sent William and the Fleet to save the Enfeeli, and we had come to Earth, accompanied by a single escort, to act as a high-level courier between President Sheridan and his counterpart at Earthdome. Amazingly enough, President Luchenko had managed to hold onto the reins of power, and our commander-in-chief, as always, had some things up his sleeve...some items of interest that wouldn't pay off for some years to come. But you have to start somewhere, I suppose.
But that task was not my chief concern on this trip; because something far more *critical* happened, as we slept, that night, far above Earth.
When I came to, eyes narrow with exhaustion, it was to see William standing in front of the mirror in our quarters aboard the White Star Four, an expression of astonishment and disbelief on his face. With slow steps, he then moved to gaze out on the panorama of Earth, and the ships who orbitted her...including our White Star escort. And then, he doubled over, seemingly in pain, and I drew close to him, close enough to see a shimmer of light pass across his body. What *was* this, I asked myself?...what was wrong? And this I asked him, and received an answer in forgotten memories.
And then, in the several minutes that remained, I fought a battle with myself that I pray I will never have to fight again. For in those few minutes, I looked through my husband's eyes, and into the soul of what he had once been; before all the pain, the suffering, and the darkness we had passed through together had changed him, hardened him. I couldn't even tell him what *year* it was, for fear something might be changed... some tiny element that would have let the shadows that were destroy what we had become.
And then, the man that William had been was gone, back to 2259, and I caught him, as he collapsed into my arms. And the following day, I was discreetly able to determine that he couldn't remember *any* of what I had seen.
Perhaps that's for the best. The circle has closed, time's arrow has reached its target. What he saw, is what we have become; and even after all we've been through together, all we've seen in the service of John Sheridan and our Entil'zha's, I'm not so sure I'd want to change a thing that we did.
It has, after all, been one Hell of a ride; enough adventure for a dozen lifetimes.
Shouldn't that be enough for anyone?
* * *
March 15th, 2262; the Ranger Compound, Babylon 5.
"They *must* have known..." William ground out, his expression fierce, as across the table, Shival and the Tall Man nodded solemnly, while Jennifer simply stood in the corner and looked at him with that gaze of hers, with Brianna almost doing the same, next to her. He had come to hate the implication of those looks...it always seemed to imply that it was his fault that things had gone...awry. "If at least part of the White Star fleet had stayed behind, those aliens would never have attacked the station. As it was, we barely got back in time; too many good men and women died protecting this place, performing a duty we could have spared them!"
"It has happened before, William, and it will happen again, I assure you." Shival replied patiently. "It is the way of things..and that you feel anger and pain at what occurred here is understandable. While President Sheridan and our Entil'zha were put in danger by this assault, they have faith in your abilities, William...they knew that once you learned of the danger, you would move, as you humans say, Heaven and Earth itself to return to protect them from those who would do them harm. And as we saw, you went so far as to leave the Fleet in the capable hands of Val'na Tashann and press on at the limits of your command's endurance.
For, was it not your White Star that first emerged into the chaos of that battle, and renewed the hopes of all those in this place?"
Paused in mid-tirade by Shival's words of wisdom (as always) William gathered his thoughts, and a breath, and then nodded ruefully. "I pushed her far harder then I should have, Shival; but it was worth it; it has *always* been worth it. To protect this place, after the life it's given me, and those I care and know (at that, the cool gaze from the women in the corner softened somewhat...a moment of shared understanding) I would do anything to protect Babylon 5."
"An enviable trait..." the Tall Man replied, his expression regretful. "But I did warn you that things might not go as planned after the mission to the Enfeeli homeworld, William, did I not? Sooner or later, you may rush into something you will not be able to escape from...and every time this happens, you increase the chance that your unborn children will be orphaned even before they enter this universe of wonder we have made for ourselves. This is not the gift they should receive, Rimstalker...not what they deserve." And with that, Shival and the Tall Man left the chamber...left him to his thoughts.
And the firing squad, so to speak. If bullets were words.
"He speaks the truth, you know..." Jennifer began, her expression regretful. "In seven months, or so Dr. Franklin assures me, our children are going to arrive into the world we've created for them. William, I know how much the White Star Fleet means to you, and I *understand* that you were all but responsible for building them from the bottom up, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end."
"And not just with us." Brianna added, her expression pensive. "The Great Alliance of Light that came together in this place; it is shifting...changing. It isn't easy to see, yet...but I can see it, William, and in the end, even I may fall prey to the tide, as well."
William frowned. What, in Valen's Name, was that all about? Not that Brianna seemed likely to give him time to consider the matter, she was already pressing on.
"...in any case, you simply can't take chances like you used to; and Jennifer is now arrived at the stage where she must step down from her position of authority at your side, or risk the health of your unborn children. The time is coming when you must admit that change is coming; you will soon have a family to protect, William, in this new Age we have helped to bring about. And *that* duty stands above and beyond all others."
"Their words are just..." a new voice intruded, a voice they knew all too well, and as one, all the Rangers in the room bowed, as Delenn entered, her expression grave. "But the question foremost in my mind is this: do you understand them, William?"
He nearly *jumped* at that point; he could not remember a time in which his Entil'zha had addressed him by first name; it would seem that all his friends, and his love, were right in what they had just said...as much as he didn't want to admit it, they were right. The Great War was over; the prophecy he had followed, nearly complete. He had stalked the truth, in the far darkness, for years, now...but how was a warrior like himself to adjust to the new realities?
He met her eyes, and nodded regretfully.. "As much as a part of me doesn't want to hear those words; yes, I understand them, and you, as always. Another change is coming; a change to something, perhaps better...different, yes, but better. And all things considered, if I don't have to fight to protect those I care about...if others are present, to take up the burden..."
His Entil'zha...Delenn, smiled, then. "There are always others to take up such burdens. You have set an example rarely seen in these times, and there are those waiting behind you who wish to shine by their own light. It is only right for you to step aside, and give them their time to do so."
He nodded, yet still regretful in the understanding; he already knew exactly who he would pass his station on to; who would become the next Sha'vei of the White Star Fleet; and he knew that she would approve of the choice. "When, then, do you wish me to relinquish command of the Fleet?"
"While an important task awaits you on Minbar, when President Sheridan and I move the Alliance headquarters to Tuzanor near year's end, it would not do for the *first* human Sha'vei of the White Star Fleet to break ties with his command..abruptly. No, for now, you may feel free to move slowly; and when the time comes, you will know who will stand to replace you, and can move on to your new destiny...at peace with the choices you have made."
"This task you mention; may I hear of it?"
A smile, partly mysterious. "Soon." And then, she was gone.
"There, you see?" Jennifer whispered in his ear. "You've agreed, and spoke the words I wanted you to. Thank you."
"She made it...somehow easier, you know. In the time we've served beneath her, in the time since I first spoke to her, back before the start of the War, I have seen all her moods, Jen. I've been warned, aided, and chastised by her...but this is almost the first time I can remember her *welcoming* me into something."
"Precisely." Jennifer nodded briskly to her companion, and after a bow to her fellow Val'na, Brianna slipped out of the chamber. "Now, if you've finished determining our future destiny, husband mine, let us retire to our chambers; my stomach is telling me it's time to eat."
He laughed. "Ready to eat another horse, I suppose?"
"And why would that be?"
* * *
White Star Five; on patrol; three days later; the quarters of the Commanding Officer.
The chime broke Tashann out of his meditation, and the Minbari rose to his feet, and moved over to the comm terminal. "Yes?"
"Val'na..." his Second informed him, "White Star 66 has just come out of hyperspace nearby, and is moving to rendezvous with us."
Talion's ship...interesting. "I see; very good, I will be on the bridge shortly." In the few minutes it took to walk between one place and the other, he wondered what could *possibly* have brought Talion all the way out here. While a portion of the Fleet, including his command, had returned to patroling the outer reaches between the territories of the various Alliance members, Talion's command had been placed on reserve, by their Sha'vei, near to Babylon 5, so that what had occurred would not soon re-occur. A sensible precaution, and yet...
And yet, now, here he was. As he entered the bridge, he quite rightly wondered what had happened.
"Incoming message, awaiting your arrival, sir."
"On screen."
"Talion!...in Valen's Name, what brings you out here?"
At that, his friend smiled. "Under ordinary circumstances, I would not have found the need, but I was ordered by the Sha'vei to find you. He has sent a message, a message that cannot, for now, be trusted as a person-to-person communique. He entrusted my command to bring that message to you...and in turn, I have entrusted another we know to carry the message to you, in person."
He met his Second's gaze, and the other Minbari nodded. A small shuttle was, even now, on its way from Talion's White Star to his own. "Very well, then, Talion, I thank you for the trust, although I do wonder what the message contains."
"It's important, as you will see, Tashann. You must go now...the messenger will soon be with you."
His stride long, it did not take long for him to reach the shuttle bay, and even as he arrived, re-pressurization concluded, and the hatch of the shuttle opened, to reveal a very familiar figure...
"Julia!" He moved forward, former worries forgotten, and he bowed to the journeywoman Ranger, the degree one used between close comrades, or friends. "I am not surprised to find you as William's messenger."
A smile touched Julia's face at that remark, but at the same time, he could not help but note a faint tinge of regret in her eyes. "I go where I am called to go; and in this case, Tashann, I was called...here! We can't always be on the bridges of our respective commands, and while I'm sure that William and I will be off to the far reaches ourselves again, soon enough, for the present, I was able to carry an important message to someone who helped me when I needed help the most. This I have done; and now, we must go, for Talion and I are needed back at Babylon 5."
A quick visit, then...how unfortunate. "Of course; such is our way. Valen go with you, Julia, and keep you safe from harm."
"And you, Tashann." And then, she was gone; a black-haired whirlwind of energy, into the night. As he strode down the Grand corridor back to his quarters, it was easy to think back to the first time he had met her; a thin rake of a youthling, on the day after Babylon 5 seceded from the Earth Alliance. To compare *that* to the assured young woman he now saw, was as to seperate night from day. And yet, Julia had been through the Fire, herself, to reach this point, as they all had.
The Fire had changed them all.
Upon reaching his quarters, he immediately inserted the message crystal into his reader, and nodded, unsurprised, as the image of William appeared on the screen. But the words his commander and friend spoke in that message were *not* what he was expecting...not at all. His next action, was certain and deliberate.
"Computer; establish tachyon relay to Babylon 5; attention, Sha'vei Westcastle." In a few more moments, the screen blinked, and a live version of the man who had filled the message appeared, his expression grave, if tired. "Tashann; I've been waiting for you to call."
"This message that you had Julia bring to me; William, you cannot possibly mean to tell me, that..."
His friend nodded, and Tashann sighed; so, it *was* true. "I'm afraid so, friend. The time is coming soon when Jennifer will be leaving for Tuzanor; even in the advanced stages of her term, she will be able to pass on what she knows to the new Trainees who have come to us...and at the same same time, I believe she also wishes to begin chronicling what happened to us during the Great War."
"Of course; the Observer in her has been ready to tell that story for some time now. But after...?"
"Afterwards, Tashann, there'll be the children to take care of; and even with help, she won't want to put them in danger; Minbar is, for now, the safest place I can think of to raise them...we don't have a home on Earth anymore, after all that's happened. I believe she intends to become one of the first human Sech among the Rangers, Tashann, and I will not bar her from that wish. And where she is..."
"You must be, too, for her sake, and for the sake of the children. I do not pretend to like this, my friend, but there is wisdom in the choices you have made. And as long as the Entil'zha approves, then my answer...
"Is YES."
At that, William smiled. "Thank you. It means a lot to me to know that one of our original cadre will move on to command the Fleet, after I am gone. And while it won't happen until September, I felt it best to get the matter out of the way...now."
"Of course; if there is nothing else?"
"Return to your rest, Tashann; I'll see you soon." And then, he was gone, and while he could, quite rightly, have returned to that rest, for the rest of his down period, he found no sleep, but instead, found regrets, and memories of what had been. Memories of a young cadre of Rangers, determined and true, who had set forth on a path, against the Darkness.
So long ago, and far away, it seemed now. They had all aged, and one of them, a true friend, was dead now, taken by the War. Tashann smiled grimly. The wheel turned; what had been created, was now falling part, or passing on.
And it was not *his* task to stand in the way of that wheel.
No one could.
* * *
To be continued...
* * *
Next time: As the telepath crisis on Babylon 5 reaches its tragic conclusion, Brianna attempts to comfort Lyta on her loss, and the more powerful telepath discovers the bargain that the Ranger made with Bester, and offers an alternative plan, of sorts...