" Status?" " Engine's damaged." "Twenty percent capacity." "Automatic weapons tracking system, disabled." " David, how many left?" " Six." "Lead ship's coming around for another pass." " We can't let them get away." " Repair teams are doing all they can." "Tell them to do more." "We don't break off." "Those are the rules." "We follow and we never stop." " We live for The One, we die for The One." " Yes, sir." "These raiders have been preying on Alliance shipping lanes." "We have to send them a message." "Malcolm, any word on backup?" "Nothing, sir." "We..." "In Valen's name." "Brace for impact!" "Captain Gregg!" "Captain!" " Healer!" "We need a healer up here." " The raiders are getting away." " If we don't pursue them..." " Engine status?" "Still holding at 20 percent." "We can continue the chase." " Weapons?" " Weapons systems are off-line." "That last hit." "The only reason we are still alive is because they do not know which they have hit worse, our engines or the weapons systems." "If it is the engines..." "But if we try and follow and they take just one shot at us they'll know we've got nothing." "They'll blow us out of the sky without a second thought." "Without weapons, we don't have a chance." " Stand down." " No, we can..." "I said, stand down." "We live for The One, we die for The One." "But we don't die stupidly." "Send the distress signal." "Show me." "Impressive, aren't they?" ""Impressive" is not exactly the word I was searching for, G'Kar." ""Ominous," perhaps?" "No. "Menacing. "" ""Potentially hostile," "heavily armed," and "aesthetically displeasing"?" "Try "unknown. "" "Understand their intent, that they are hostile or menacing even ominous, is to know something about them." "We have been a spacefaring race for over 1 000 years yet we know nothing about this race." "It is as if they came out of nowhere." "I imagine the humans felt that way when they first saw your ships." " We were hardly menacing." " Of course." "So that whole Earth-Minbari War was just a silly rumor?" "This recording is the last thing we received from one of our long-range patrol ships." "Why the last?" "The Interstellar Alliance has one purpose:" "To create peace among its member worlds." "As new worlds join, so the responsibility becomes greater as does the amount of space we cover." "Space contains an infinite number of mysteries." "It appears we have awakened one of them." "Is that why you asked me to come?" "We have arranged to meet secretly with a group who may have information concerning this new race." "You have traveled the stars more than anyone this high up in the Alliance and you have the ear of President Sheridan." "You could be of great help to us." "I'll do whatever I can." "Discreetly, of course." "I know your reputation, G'Kar." ""Discreet" is not in your vocabulary." "So please consider any closed door you encounter an open one." "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to summon the rest of the Council." "We have an unpleasant duty before us." "One of the Anla'shok has acted inappropriately and must be punished, perhaps even expelled." " What was his crime?" " Staying alive." "Curious." "Until now, I hadn't known it was a crime." " David." " Dulann." "I have heard that the Council has made its decision about you." "Yeah?" "It's been at least two weeks and I sure haven't heard anything." "Minbari ears are substantially more sensitive than human ears." "At least ours are bigger and better placed." " Size is not everything." " Yeah, I've heard that before." "So I am informed." "You know, even being tossed out would be better than this." "I should be commanding a ship right now, not..." " Not this." " The ways of the Council are wise." "They felt that a menial task such as this would calm your mind clear your thoughts of distractions." "Water." "More quickly this time." "Think they'd consider it a distraction if I belted Tannier?" "I noticed you left your right side exposed again." "That's fine if you stick with traditional moves." "But not everybody plays by the same rules." "Try something new once in a while." "Something new?" "Such as running away?" "I just love it when you get all self-righteous and stuff." "It makes your head bone quiver right back here." "You retreated from a combat zone." "You violated the principles of combat at the very core of the Anla'shok." "You weren't there." "We were." "It was David's responsibility..." "To uphold the Ranger code." "The weapons were down." "What were we supposed to do?" "Look mean and hope the bad guys surrendered?" "Sarah, you know as much about ship weapons as anyone but despite your training, you still don't know what it is to be one of us." "Still, in the end, the decision was his, not yours." "I have no quarrel with you." " Maybe not, but I've got one with you..." " Sarah, Malcolm, that's enough." "I won't have you getting in trouble on my behalf." "This situation calls for a calm mind and clear thoughts." " Am I right, Dulann?" " Yes." "So there you are." "Now go on." "And once again, he runs from a fight." "And we're not supposed to do that, are we, Tannier?" "Like I said, you should really watch your right side." "You know, you're right." "This job has completely calmed my mind." "So, what do you think of the Valen?" "They say it's faster than anything in the fleet." "Yeah, sure." "I suppose." "You know, things in space don't have to be aerodynamic." "You could put an engine on a brick, looks like what they've done and it would be fast, but..." " You're just mad because..." " Sorry, I didn't..." " That's okay." "Maybe it would've been my ship, maybe it wouldn't have." "The Valen is fresh off the assembly line." "It needs a captain." " You were next up..." " No, you don't know that." "They would've given it to Tannier even if things hadn't gone wrong on the Enfali." "The stupid, annoying thing is that, for years ever since I heard of the Rangers and the Alliance, I wanted to join up." "Be part of something bigger than myself, you know?" "Make a difference." "That was my dream ever since my folks died." "After they were gone, I got shuttled around a lot." "Never really felt like I belonged anywhere, you know." "I guess I retreated." "I read." "I fell in love with legends, ancient histories Greek and African mythologies from Earth Centauri mythologies and their household gods." "With 1 000 known worlds, it never ends." "That was when I first heard of the Rangers the Anla'shok, out there on the edge creating the future like King Arthur and his knights." "A thousand years of history, philosophy, tradition." "Practically a myth on their own." "God, I so wanted to be a part of that." "Hey." "They won't throw you out, not for this." "Maybe." "Maybe." "We'll see." "Is that the Liandra?" "I can't believe she's still flying." "Word is, her last crew died onboard." "Nobody knows who or what killed them." "They couldn't even find the ship for a week." "It just fell off the charts." "It's been through hell, that's for sure." "Some folks think she's cursed." "Yeah, I know the feeling." "Well, I guess I'd better get ready." "The Council will be calling for me soon." "Listen, Sarah if this doesn't go well..." " It will." "But if it doesn't I want you to know you're one of the best people we've got." "It was a pleasure serving with you on the Enfali." "It would have been an honor serving alongside you again even if it was on a flying brick." "David, as a wise man said:" ""We live for The One, we die for The One. "" "And as another wise man said, "It ain't over till it's over. "" "Dulann, what...?" "You shouldn't be here." "I am your friend." "Where else should I be?" "You know this could be trouble." "When you are involved, I expect nothing less." "I must make them understand that there is nothing to be gained by expelling you." "Well, you'd get my room." "It has a better view than yours." "A point I had not considered." "Step into the circle, David Martell, and prepare to receive judgment." "If I may, I would like to offer a statement on behalf of my friend." "Go on." "With great respect for the honored Council if David Martell is expelled from the Anla'shok, I will go with him as will Sarah Cantrell and Malcolm Bridges." "Dulann, don't do this." "He doesn't know what he's saying." "It was their wish to stand with you." "And mine." "Dulann, the ways of our order were created for a reason." "They are not to be set aside lightly." "David gave the order to stand down not to save his own life but to save the lives of his captain, his crew and the ship itself." "His concern was for us, not for himself." "I know." "I saw it in his soul." "We all know that you are blessed by being sensitive to such things." "No one questions that." "But his motives change nothing." "Anla'shok David Martell, it is the judgment of this council that you violated our most sacred principle:" "That we do not break away from combat." "That we do not retreat, whatever the reason." "So it is with great personal sadness and reluctance that I remove you..." " May I also speak?" "You said I should consider any closed door open, so I did." "This situation caught my interest and I decided to look into it." "As I understand it, this human is here today because he chose to preserve the lives of his crew instead of fighting an impossible battle and getting them all killed a violation of Minbari tradition." "That is correct." "We live for The One, we die for The One." "All that." "Yes." "Interesting that you place all your emphasis on the second half of that sentence." "Is it not just as honorable to live for The One as it is to die?" "It doesn't just say "we die. " It says "we live. "" "Dying is not honorable." "It only relieves you of an even greater obligation." "His actions have led other Rangers into dissension." "Indeed." "They put their lives and their careers at risk for his sake." "I've met very few who can foster that kind of loyalty." "One in particular comes to mind." "Stubborn, difficult, fractious annoying, independent and willful." "And what happened to him?" "He became the president of this Alliance of which the Anla'shok is part." "In fact, I just spoke with him a few moments ago." "Would you all like to hear what we discussed?" "It may have some bearing on another topic we discussed earlier, Sindell." "The Council will recess to hear this new information." "Pretty, isn't it?" "Not as nice as my homeworld, of course, but still quite nice." " Are they...?" " Finished?" "Yes." "There was a great deal of heated discussion, but the result is this:" "You may remain with the Anla'shok, and you will be given a ship." "G'Kar, what did you tell them?" " Four true things." " That's all?" "You try finding one true thing in this economy." " That's not..." " What I said is of no consequence at least not yet." "Just prove me right." "How can I prove it if I don't even know what it is?" "There, you see?" "Another truth." "David, accept the miracle and move on." "Funny thing." "This place is all about hope." "Truth is, I'd pretty much given up, until..." " Thank you, G'Kar." " Don't thank me yet." "The Council isn't giving you command of the Valen." "For you, the Council has chosen a slightly different vessel." "Not..." "Not the Liandra?" "The ship that went missing, whose crew was killed?" "The ship everybody says is cursed?" "That Liandra, you ask?" "Yes, that Liandra." "I'll take it." "What the hell was I thinking?" "The thing's had the crap kicked out of it at least a dozen times." "You don't solve problems by hitting them." "Yeah, well, it made me feel better." " How old is she, anyway?" " In human terms, 20 years." "The lines and colors are representative of the Shu-Nali sense of design." "Until recently, we strove for a certain aesthetic in our ships a design both lethal, yet pleasing to the eye." "Then humans became involved in designing ships for the Alliance." "Oh, so you're blaming us for how the Valen looks?" "If human military designers had their way every color of the spectrum would be removed except for gray, green and black and we would all live in windowless boxes." "I see." "You trying to start another war?" "Humans start wars." "Minbari finish them." "Then why don't you finish checking this section while I start finding out how bad things are on the bridge." "By the way, I understand Tannier was given command of the Valen today." "Was that your head?" "How ever did that happen?" "Come up here and I'll show you." "Sold us out!" "Son of a bitch sold us out!" "Get us the hell out of here." "We're losing pressure on all decks." "We're gonna die, sir!" "There's no way out." "Dulann?" "Hey, Dulann." "I was calling you from the bridge." "When you didn't answer, I figured..." "You okay?" "Yes, I'm..." "I'm fine." "I'm fine." "All right." "Well, I checked the ship's records to see what happened to her crew." "Nothing." "The records must have been wiped by whatever happened." "They suffocated." "The ship was holed beyond their capacity to repair it." "They tried to get back to safety but they ran out of air." "How do you know that?" "They're still here." "I heard about the Council's decision." "I suppose congratulations are in order." "They gave me command of the Valen, you know." "It's a fine ship." "A bit larger than I'm used to, but I'll adapt." "It's a great responsibility." "I've been assigned my first mission." "Transporting a group of Alliance dignitaries to a security meeting." "They haven't told me why yet, or where, but..." "Anyway, to avoid drawing attention they've decided to limit me to just one escort ship." "I told them I want the Liandra." "They agreed." "Why me?" "Why the Liandra?" "Would it be rubbing my nose in the fact that you got the better ship?" "Do you think me so small that I would take pleasure in your situation?" "We depart at dawn in three days' time." "Have the rest of your crew selected and ready to leave or I'll find someone else." "The command staff are assembled on the bridge, awaiting your inspection." "You're sure these are the ones you wanted?" "Yes." "Why?" "There is a Narn and a Drazi out there." "The Narn and the Drazi are the most recent members of the Alliance." "These are the first recruits we got from them." "They've been waiting for a ship nearly as long as I have." "I'm not saying there's any lack of ethnic understanding around here but every time a ship is staffed, it's always either Minbari or human." "They have not yet absorbed the quiet core of what it is to be Anla'shok." "They are intemperate." "So am I." "No one else will give them a chance." "It may as well be me." "As you wish." "Tannier came to see me the other day." "I couldn't tell if he was being an ass or trying to apologize." "Knowing Tannier, it could very well have been both at the same time." "So here I am feeling bad." "Why should I feel bad when he was the one saying I should be tossed out?" "Tannier believes in the decisions of the Council." "If the Council has absolved you, then he must believe it was the correct decision because the Council cannot be mistaken." "It is not for him to decide whether to believe in you or not." "He believes in the cause, and that is enough." "So you're saying I should apologize for shutting him out?" "I'm saying that..." "That the crew are waiting to begin the welcome ceremony." "The rest is between you and you." "Some of you have served with me before." "It's an honor to see you again." "The rest of you I chose based on reports from the Council and my own observations." "To all of you, welcome aboard." "You may proceed with the naming of names." "This star reminds us that we are born of the stars." "We live in starlight, we die in starlight." "We come from the stars in life, and we return to the stars in death." "When we are done, this star shall be placed in the heart of the ship where it shall remain for as long as we do." "Your name, your place, your truth." "Sarah Cantrell of Mars, weapons and tactical-combat specialist." "I live to serve, I serve to live." "Tafeek of Minbar, political and first-contact specialist." "I come to the stars by a difficult road." "Kitaro Sasaki of Earth." "Navigations, communications, and translation specialist." "I'm just really glad to be here, sir." "Firell of Minbar, healer." "My heart speaks quietly and infrequently." "Malcolm Bridges of Beta Colony." "Infiltration and covert-operations specialist." "In dreams, I never see my face." "Na'Feel of Narn." "Engines, environment, and weapons support." "I understand nobody else would have me." "Tirk." "Drazi." "I carry very large things." "I..." "I..." "Tirk." "Drazi." "Dulann of Minbar." "Shok-nali." "First officer." "My life for the Shok-na." "David Martell." "No place in particular." "Shok-na." "Captain." "I'm looking for something." "We are Rangers." "We walk in the dark places no others will enter." "We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass." "We live for The One." "We die for The One." "Com system's acting up." "We barely got ship-to-ship." "I'll go you one better." "The engines don't work." "The what?" "Toe-sucking spawn of a bladder fish!" " Son of a fish, piece of smelt!" " Na'Feel?" "Yes, captain?" " The engines..." " Just a little fine-tuning." "We'll be ready when you are." " You're sure?" " Of course." " Why would you think otherwise?" " I just..." "Good." "That's good, Na'Feel." "As you were." "Tok-swallowing fenbarger!" "Twenty credits say we blow up on the ground." " You are so covered." " Thrak it!" "David, I was trying to reach you." "Is there a problem?" "No, no." "No problem, Tannier." "The ship is in such great shape that some of the crew didn't think another prelaunch check was necessary, but I figured you know, what the hell?" "Let's kill time while you're getting all the diplomats onboard." "Good." "Then we are ready to depart." "Absolutely." "After you, Tannier." "Today's a good day to die." "Oh, with you, every day's a good day to die." "We're ready to go." "Initiate jumpgate sequence." "Thirty credits." "Hit it." "Stand by to jump." "A lot of work for a milk run, but at least we're on our way." "A milk run?" "A no-brainer." "Escorting a bunch of diplomats on a joyride to some conference or other." "But since we're still trying to get this crate fully operational it's probably a good thing we're not getting into a fight with anybody." "We've nearly reached our destination." "Thanks for finally letting me know." "I'm sorry, but it was necessary to keep the location secret for security reasons." "We didn't even tell the diplomats where we were going until a few minutes ago." "Based on my readings, we're near Beta Durani 7." "That is correct." "Tell your people to get ready to jump." "Something I don't understand." "Why come all this way for a meeting?" "I mean, everybody was already assembled back on Minbar." "Why not have the meeting there?" "Maybe they wanted the diplomats to see something they couldn't transport." "Beta Durani 7 is a domed colony, roughly 600 people." "It's an archaeological dig." "What does a security meeting have to do with an archaeological dig?" "I don't know." "But I guess we'll find out." "Prepare to jump." "I've got an energy spike." "Jump point forming at 6:00." "Evasive maneuvers." "Weapons, prepare to fire." "Telemetry online." "Ocular targeting enabled." "Weapons, ready to fire." "Fire at will." "No." "Direct hit." "Colony destroyed." "Get those people out." "We'll cover you." "It's too late!" "Bring us about." "Put us between the Valen and the enemy." " Coming about." "I got you, you son of a..." "Oh, no." "Dulann!" "Valen to Liandra." "Do you receive?" "Do you receive?" " We're here." "What's your status?" " Engines are hit." "We can barely maneuver." "Rear decks are on fire." "Captain, two of the enemy ships are moving away." "We hit one of them." "They may be trying to go for repairs." "Or they know it'll only take one of them to finish us off." "Can you engage?" "Weapons are at 1 0 percent, not enough to do any damage." " Engines?" " Functional, but barely." "I've ordered the diplomats into the escape pods." "I want you to pick them up and get them to safety." "Captain, I've got a clear shot of the enemy." "You said you didn't have enough to do any damage." "We don't, but if I can send a burst up the engines, we can cripple her." "Take your best shot." "David, weapons systems are gone." "Nothing left." " They're powering up." " We can get between..." "Not in time." "There's only one way to stop them now." "Full power to engines." "Don't do this." "You've got time to get to the escape pods." "The least we could do is buy you some time to get away." "Full burn." "We live for The One we die for The One." "Navigation set course to intercept those pods and grapple them aboard." "Use the engine repair bay, since it has a big air lock." "Yes, sir." "What about com systems?" "Tachyon communications are off-line." "We've got short-range ship-to-ship." "That's it." "I'm working on it now, but I'm not holding out any hope." "Jump engines are down." "We can navigate in normal space, but only about half-speed." "Do the best you can." "When the enemy ship doesn't report in they're gonna look for it and us." "We need to put as much space between us and them as we can." "Tafeek, go with her." "We're gonna have hysterical diplomats with nowhere to put them." "Do what you can to calm them down." "Take us in." "I must return to my home planet." "Will you make that happen?" "Yes, yes, we'll make every possible effort." "No, the captain is not available just now." "We don't have any first-class accommodation." "However, we do have several long hallways and a number of very nice closets." "Nonsense!" "This is an outrage!" " How is he?" " Concussion." "Injuries to half a dozen internal organs internal bleeding." "I can sustain him, but not for long." "He needs more than I can do here." "We have to get him to a proper medical facility." "Ship." "Everything's under control." "The ship's fine." "We're just heading to safe water so we can get you the treatment that you need." "We're not in hyperspace." "I could feel it if we were." "No." "No, we're not." "Taking the scenic route?" "Something like that." "It'll be okay, Dulann." "We'll make it, and so will you." "I had a dream about the last crew of the Liandra." "They were fighting to get home." "Lost, alone." "They are not at peace here, David." "Something here is disturbing them." "They're probably worried about you joining them." "Hell, if I found out you were moving to my place, I'd be pissed too." "But we're gonna disappoint them, because you're gonna be just fine." " Anyway, I should get back to the..." " No." "You don't understand." "I don't know what it is." "I don't know what's disturbed them." "All I know is something is wrong." " Son of a bitch sold us out." " The bastard sold us out." "That bastard sold us out!" "The bastard sold us out!" "I couldn't get out to where the air was." "I never saw his face." "And we need you to speak to the captain on our behalf, G'Kar." "He is needlessly endangering us." "I am sure there must be a planet with a breathable atmosphere somewhere in this sector." "He could land, drop us off, and get help." "Minister Kafta, this ship is being held together by little pieces of wire and good intentions." "If we land in this condition, assuming we don't have an unpleasant encounter with the ground on the way down I doubt they could take off again." "They would be trapped with us." "The ship looking for them would find it, find them, find us, find you." "A brilliant cascade of cause-and-effect." "Isn't the universe an amazing place?" "I wouldn't live anywhere else." "Citizen G'Kar, Captain Martell would like to speak with you." "Of course." "Love to stay." "Can't." "Have to go." "Kiss-kiss, love-love." "Bye." "I sometimes think that prolonged exposure to humans has driven him mad." "You should be careful." "Yes." "Your name is Tirk, isn't it?" "That isn't a Drazi name." "My mother created it." "She says it means:" ""Don't touch me." "I'm not having another child after this, ever. "" "That is a great deal of meaning to put into such a short name." "They must be very, very proud of you." "Yes." "You wanted to see me, captain?" "G'Kar, yes." "Please, come in." "You were a military tactician before becoming an ambassador." " I'd like your thoughts." " Whatever I can do to help." "I've been reviewing the enemy attack and something is bothering me." "When the enemy jumped out, they targeted the Valen's engines first." "Then they blew the hell out of Beta Durani 7 hit our weapons, then they hesitated." "Do you see anything wrong with this picture?" "In combat, you destroy the biggest ship first by targeting the weapons array, since they're fairly volatile." "You only go for the engines as a last resort since they're heavily shielded to keep radiation from affecting the crew." "Exactly." "As if they were trying to cripple the Valen instead of destroying it." "Perhaps they wanted to capture us alive." "That would explain the hesitation waiting for us to get to the escape pods find out how much we know." "How much you know about what, G'Kar?" "G'Kar, why were you coming here in the first place?" "Who are these people?" "If we're gonna survive, we have to know what we're up against." "That's what we were hoping to find out." "Until recently, all we knew was that ships identical to the ones that attacked us are trying to destabilize the Alliance by attacking its weaker members." "Then we learned that information relevant to this new race had been found at an archaeological dig at Beta Durani 7." "Which was?" "Every spacefaring race has two things in common." "First, they all have a food identical to what humans call "Swedish meatballs. "" "Don't ask." "I don't understand it." "It's just there." "And they all share a myth about a time when ancient dark forces prowled the universe only to be cast down or cast away by an even greater force, a force of light." "Until recently, I assumed that's all it was, myths." "Then we received this recording from the archaeological team at Beta Durani 7." "They found a city eight miles beneath the surface of the planet." "A city billions of years old." "Older than anything found before." "According to the hieroglyphs this city was built by an ancient race that drove off the forces of darkness a billion years ago." "They indicate that the enemy was driven from normal space into a place of eternal darkness." " A parallel dimension?" " It's possible." "The translators were still working on the rest of it." "At first, they weren't sure how much to believe." "Then they found this." "What the hell is that?" "A door." "To another place." "Another space." "We sent a probe through that door." "It came back changed distorted beyond recognition." "The hieroglyphs warned of a time when the enemy might return." "We have reason to believe there is a connection between this and the ships that attacked us." "And I can assure you that the entire situation is well in hand." "I'll be back soon with more information." "It'll all be just..." "Fine." "Sorry." "Tafeek said the other diplomats were starting to panic talking about getting in the escape pods and taking their chances outside." "We tried to find you, but no one knew where you..." "You see, I'm with covert operations which is why I have the holo-suit, and sometimes it's necessary to..." "To..." " I think I'll be going now." " Excellent idea." "What's our status?" "Weapons are up to 25-percent capacity." "About enough to take out a big rock." "It's a start." "You never know when you'll be attacked by somebody with a big rock." " We've got company." "Routing it to your system." "Have they seen us yet?" "Engines are running so far below normal it's getting lost in the electromagnetic noise generated by the local star." "It's only a matter of time before they find us." "There's only three options in combat:" "Run, fight or hide." "We can't run." "We can't fight." "That leaves hide." "Can you bring us in close to that comet?" "Put us right inside the tail?" "It'll be bumpy." "We're talking explosive gas jets melting ice, chunks of rock being knocked off by steam venting but yeah, I can do it." "Some chunks of rock and ice can be as big as we are." " I should be running weapons in case." " Understand that if you fire the enemy will see the energy spike." "They'll come in right after us." "That's the chance we'll have to take." "Get us inside, Kit." "Sarah, you'll only have a few seconds to ID a ship-killer and take it out so I'll leave it up to you." "Just don't fire unless you think you absolutely have to, okay?" "Shouldn't have made that joke about taking out a rock." "By the way, about the naming ceremony earlier." ""I live to serve, I serve to live. "" "You say that every time." "That's pretty lame, as far as your truth goes." "Yeah, well, it's about as revealing as I want to get in this lifetime." "See you on the other side of hell." "It's okay, Sarah." "Just sign up with the Liandra." "I'm sure they just exaggerated that part about the ship being cursed." "Oh, somebody just shoot me in the head." "Oh, crap." " Sarah..." " It's gonna miss us." "It's gonna miss us." "I'm reasonably sure it's gonna miss us." "Oh, jeez." "We've got damage to the hull." "Losing air pressure in aft compartments." " If we stay here, we'll decompress." " Any sign of the enemy?" "I can't tell from inside here." "We'll have to go out." "All right." "We'll have to take our chances." "Move us away." "Any sign of pursuit?" "Enemy ship moved away on an oblique angle." " We're clear." " Captain?" "Yes, Firell?" "There's a problem." "First Officer Dulann is missing." "What?" "What do you...?" "What do you want?" "And when we came back, Dulann was simply gone." "Did he say anything before that?" "Anything at all?" "Nothing more than what he said to you." "That something is wrong and that the spirits of this ship do not rest easy." "What happened to kill the last crew is less of an issue than keeping this one alive." "And I simply don't buy..." "Look, I've known Dulann for over three years." "I know he's slightly telepathic but I don't buy this whole bit about sensing the dead." "Minbari are sensitive to such things." "Telepaths, even minor ones like Dulann are more sensitive still." "And when one of our kind is near death the veil becomes very thin indeed." "Perhaps what has stirred the dead here has some relevance to our current situation." "We, like they, are facing the possibility we may never arrive home." " Perhaps..." " Captain." " Any word on Dulann?" " No." "I've got every crewman I can spare searching the ship." "He has to be here someplace." "We'll find him." " Anything new at your end?" " Possibly." "It's just a thought." "Right now, a thought would be good." "Thank you, Firell." "Come on." "What's up?" "I tried to work up an analysis of the ships pursuing us but I'm getting nowhere because something doesn't make sense." "Why chase us at all?" "The colony's gone." "That news will get out whether we're alive or dead." "And since the meeting was about them, it narrows down the list of suspects." "So why put in all this time and effort chasing us down?" "Maybe they think we saw something during the attack that we could use against them." "That's one possibility." "Here's another." "Maybe it's not information." "Maybe we have something we don't know we have." "Bridge to captain." " Yes?" " They've found Dulann." "Stay away." "Get away from me." "It's me." "Dulann, it's me, David." "It's okay." "Everything's gonna be okay." "Just come with me back to..." "No." "Listen." "You don't understand." "They're in me." "They're inside my head." "Dulann, listen to me." "Your bloodstream is becoming toxic the longer you're out of Medbay." " What you're hearing isn't real." " No." "Listen." "Someone sold them out, betraying them." "Now they feel the same happening again." "Dulann, that's not possible." "Everyone here was either on the Liandra or the Valen when the attack started." "No." "Check the records." "Dulann, all of the records were erased." "Private encoded log not on the main system." "No one could find it." "No one knew to erase it." "Code word..." "Code word Entil'Zha." "Healer!" "I need a healer in here, stat!" "Com system?" "Still down." "Weapons?" "Still down." "Captain?" "Definitely down." "Ship." "Check all records for encrypted files." "Password required." "Entil'Zha." "We can get that out of the way and concentrate..." "Record found." "Show me." "Not much time left." "Locked in as soon as the first attack hit." "We're running out of air." "I don't know who sold us out." "I didn't see his face." "Avenge us." "We cannot rest until we are avenged." "Whoever survives us is the one who killed us." "We never gave up." "We live for The One." "We..." "Dulann was right." "Maybe so but what does that have to do with our situation?" "He said there was a traitor onboard then and one aboard now." "He was right about the first." "Maybe he's right again." "It can't be the same guy." "Nobody here was on the Liandra when the first crew was killed." " No." "But maybe it's enough there is a traitor onboard." "Not that it's the same traitor." "When those ships attacked the Valen they deliberately avoided hitting the weapons array." "They could have taken it out immediately, but they didn't." "They waited." "But for what?" "The escape pods." "They must have had someone onboard." "A mole." "Exactly." "Nobody but Tannier knew where we were going till before we got there." "A mole could've sent a signal to bring the enemy." "They could've been shadowing us just beyond scanner range, waiting for the signal." "Check the com records from the minute we jumped out until those ships attacked us." "Look for any unusual signal." "You should not be here." "I am sorry." "It is easy to get turned around in here." "I take it from the equipment that all the high-powered relays go through this section." "That is why you should not be here." "You could be injured." "Of course." "Captain, I've found something in the com record." "Listen." "It came in on a subchannel." "Auto-recorders confirm it's from the Valen." "We..." " What is it?" " We're getting that same signal again." "Amplified, strong enough to penetrate the overflow from the main com system." " Where's it coming from?" " Cargo Bay 4." "We can't put it on the PA, we'll scare him." "You stay here, jam the signals." "You come with me." "Malcolm, you go that way." "Come through the back." "We'll catch him in between." " What the...?" " David?" "I just saw Kafta in the passage leading to the escape pods." "I'll check it out." "Keep going." "Pick up whoever else you can along the way." "Hey, this area's off-limits." "Hey, I said..." "Escape pod standing by." "Tirk." " We need a healer, fast." " Kafta." "It was Kafta." "Oh, crap." "David." "Escape pod activated." " David, are you okay?" " Yeah." "Stick him in a holding cell until he wakes up." "Something else." "Tirk's been shot." "They're bringing him to Medbay now." " What about the signal?" " It was still sending." "Malcolm disconnected it from the power relays." "Let's hope we can jam it enough to keep it from going far." " Bridge to captain." " Yeah?" "It looks like the signal got through." "We've got company." "Confirm one enemy ship at 1 0,000 kilometers and closing." "Outside maximum effective range for high-energy weapons." "The other one probably isn't far." " What's the weapons status?" " Thirty percent of maximum." "It'll have to do." "I feel like a jackrabbit." "In, out, in, out." "Engines?" "Eighty percent of maximum." "You can thank me later." "I'll do that." " Distance to jumpgate?" " At this speed two hours, maybe three." "All right, so we're back to three choices." "Run, fight or hide." "There's nowhere to hide, there's no weapons to speak of so we run." "Na'Feel, I need you to give me everything you've got." "If they jump to hyperspace, they'll overshoot us." "There's only so fast you can travel in normal space." "Pour it on and let's hope we get to the jumpgate before they close the distance." "I've got an energy spike." "Enemy ship is preparing to fire." "Beam spread reduced the impact to 1 0 percent of effective strength." "Closer it gets, the stronger the hits will become." "Until they achieve hull-breaching capacity." "We've got another spike." "What the hell is that?" "Evasive maneuvers." " Mines!" "Come about!" " No time." " Sarah, clear the road." " I'm on it." " We're clear." " Yes!" "Good shooting, Sarah." "Thanks." " Launch countermeasures." " Launching." "Even with countermeasures, that hit with 5 percent more energy than the last one." "Correction, 1 0 percent and building fast." "Twenty-five percent." "Estimate we're a few more shots away from a kill." "We're not gonna make it." "We can't even slow them down." "Maybe we can." " Bridge to Malcolm." " Right here." " You still have that signal device?" " Right here." "Drop it into an escape pod with a remote-controlled detonation cap and launch it." "Move, move, move!" "The ambassador tried to escape into one of the pods when I stopped him." "He told them what he was planning to do so when they see the pod launch, they'll think it's him." "We're all set down here." "Launch escape pod!" "Come on." "Go for it, you son of a bitch." "Stand by." "Stand by." "Stand by." "Wait for it." "Now!" "Bring us back on course." "Captain, there's something you should know." "That last hit overloaded the weapons system." " How long until...?" " We can't repair the weapons unless we bring the ship into docking for repairs." "From this point on, we're completely defenseless." "Okay, here's the deal." "There's one more enemy ship out there." "Tell me who they are and how to beat them and maybe you'll walk out of this room in one piece." "How to beat them?" "Beat them?" "You really don't have the slightest idea of what you're up against, do you?" "What I know is that your people only recently joined the Alliance that you're on the fringe of Alliance territory and none of your ships have been bothered." "I'm thinking maybe you made a deal and as part of that deal you joined up to spy on us for the other side." "What do you think?" "I think that I have absolutely nothing to say to you." "Let's try this again." "Who are they?" "What do they want?" " It won't do you any good." " I'm not gonna say it again." "If you don't give me what I want, there's no reason to keep you alive." "Rangers don't murder in cold blood." "Yeah, well, lately, I've been having disciplinary problems." "We live for The One, we die for The One." " If I go, you go!" " Enough!" "Enough." "What are we dealing with and who are they?" "They do not have a name as you understand the concept." "They are called the Hand." "The hand of God, the hand of Death." "The hand that reaches forth and blots out whole suns." "They have left a thousand worlds in their wake blackened cinders that were once thriving planets." "For millions of years, they have been outcast hungrily staring out across the darkness between the stars searching for a way back, and now they have found it." "The ships that are after us, are they the Hand?" "Those?" "Those are only toys given to those races who serve the Hand as I serve the Hand." "Together we will prepare the way for their return." "And part of preparing involves selling out the Alliance?" "Is that it?" "Because we could oppose them?" "If you had seen what I had seen, you would have done the same!" "Compared to the Hand the Shadows who straddled the galaxy on legs of fire during the Shadow War were nothing more than insects." "If they're so powerful why are they interested in you?" "You must be small change as far as they're concerned." "The Hand rewards loyalty." "It is their only virtue." "And they do not know what I know of their plans so they cannot allow my return to Minbar where I could be questioned further." "They are coming, captain." "You cannot stop them." "You cannot fight them." "You cannot defeat them." "You can only join them or be ground into dust before them." "Sarah, destination is in sight." "Repeat, I can see the jumpgate." "We're gonna make it." "What?" "Let me see." "Oh, my God." "We did it." "Oh, no." "It isn't fair." "It isn't fair!" "It's just sitting there, like a spider in a web." "Why not?" "They know we've got no place else to go." "If we try and run, they'll catch us." "And run where?" "There's no jumpgate for two light-months." "Captain, I'm picking up a holographic signal from the enemy ship." "They want to talk." "Put them through." "This is Captain David Martell of the Ranger attack ship Liandra." " Identify yourself." "What...?" " You will release your prisoner or be destroyed." "Well, he likes to get straight to the point, doesn't he?" "Destroy us and you don't get the prisoner." "It seems, I don't know, counterproductive." "Instructions were to exert every effort to reclaim the prisoner to avoid questioning." "This has already cost us more than anticipated." "Release him to us and you may leave this place alive." "That solution is preferred by those we serve." "But if destroying your ship is the only way to prevent him from being questioned further, we will do so." " I'm sure there must be some other..." " There can be no negotiation." "We await your decision." "You're sure we have no weapons?" "No weapons at all?" "Nothing." "But if you want, I'll put on a breather suit zip out an airlock and throw rocks at them." "I'm game if you are." "We're not gonna give up, are we?" "I mean, not after all this." "You must know they won't let us leave here alive even if we do turn over the prisoner." "I wouldn't." "Well, it's tactically unwise." "I'm going outside." "I need some fresh air." "There's nothing outside but hard vacuum." "Typical." "David." "Hey." "I was out for a walk, thought I'd stop in and see how you're doing." "She says I'm dying." "Other than that, not too bad." "How are things with you?" "We're..." "Everything's just fine, Dulann." "Nothing to worry about except hanging in until we get you to a real hospital." "How curious." "I was under the impression that we were trapped without weapons facing imminent destruction unless we turned over the prisoner." " Dulann, how did you know that?" " They told me." "Right." "So, what are you going to do?" "Dulann, I don't know." "I mean, it's like the Enfali all over again." "No weapons, our engines are failing, we're outgunned..." "No, not like Enfali." "We were outnumbered and outgunned." "But there is just the one ship, yes?" "Yes." "But, Dulann I've used every trick that I know of just to keep us alive this far." "I've got nothing left." "Then perhaps that is what you should use." " Nothing?" " Yes." "As in I've got nothing new to use?" " Exactly." " Dulann, that's not..." "Enlightenment." "I'll see you later." "Are you sure?" "Positive." "Malcolm, just the man I'm looking for." "In light of the demands, make arrangements with the prisoner." " What are we gonna do?" " Give them exactly what they want." "Kit, open up a channel to the enemy ship." "Yes, sir." "We've made our decision." "We will agree to turn the prisoner over to you in exchange for safe passage for myself and my crew." " What?" " David, don't do this." "There's no other way, nothing we can do." "Where is the prisoner now?" "I've asked one of my crewmen to escort him to the escape pod." "He should be launching any time." "We know what you did to our sister ship." "We will scan the pod to ensure that Minister Kafta is aboard and that there are no remote-controlled devices onboard and we will make contact with him once he is clear of your vessel." "If any one of these precautions indicate trickery..." "Understood." "Escape pod is launching." "They're scanning the pod." "Keep the pod directly between us and the alien ship." "Well, they won't shoot at us as long as he's between us." "They're opening up a com channel." "I am safe." "It is as we thought." "They have no stomach for death." "Now, please take me aboard." "I grow weary of their presence." "You have done well." "Our scan of the pod confirms that you have followed our instructions to the letter." "Of course." "What would be the point in trying anything else?" "A race as advanced as yours there's no way you'd fall for the same gag twice." " Now, about our safe passage." " Stand by." "For a moment there, I thought you came up with some kind of angle I just couldn't figure out." "But your angle was to give them what they wanted." "Yes, it was." "Okay, I'm parking the ship right here and we're not leaving until somebody tells me what the hell just happened here." "Back on Earth there were two train robbers in the North American West Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." "They came up with a great idea." "Rob a train, wait two days then rob the same train all over again in exactly the same way." "Because nobody ever figured they'd pull the same gag twice in a row." "Since we had nothing left to pull, I thought we'd try the same thing." "Since they were gonna scan the pod we couldn't put any large, remote-controlled detonators inside so I borrowed about 50 grenades from the armory." "And Kafta?" "He was responsible for the death of over 1 000 people onboard the Valen and Beta Durani 7." "He wanted to join his associates." "He did." "So that's why you wanted me to keep the ship on a straight line with the pod." "So they'd think the transmission was coming from the pod." "They know what we did last time and they knew that we knew that they knew." "So they made the logical assumption that we wouldn't dare try it again." "And you didn't tell us this..." "Because I wanted your reactions to be sincere." "They were." "Kit take us through the gate." " Put us on a beacon for Minbar." " Yes, sir." "It's been a damn long day." "Your actions aboard the Liandra are to be commended." "My actions onboard the Liandra were born out of desperation." "I'm not proud of them." "I keep going over it in my head thinking I could have done something more found some other way." "We all ask such questions." "Upon learning what happened I wondered, had we been less harsh with you had you been allowed to command the Valen instead of Tannier would the same thing have happened?" "Tannier acted honorably." "He gave his life to buy us time to get away." "He did as well as anyone could have done under the circumstances." "As did you." "Those are important words, David." ""Under the circumstances. "" "We do the best we can with what we are given." "We are imperfect reflections of the universe around us." "We cannot change the past, we can only learn from it and try to create a future in which such errors do not recur." "Sadly, we're still working on that last part." "I guess the question now is, where do we go from here?" "Figured I'd find you up here." "I stopped off at the hospital and saw Dulann." "He's looking better." "Yeah, they say he should be on his feet in a few days." "Tirk, well, he's gonna take a little while longer but he says he'll be ready when we need him." "Whenever that is." "So how long are we grounded for this time?" "Not long." "Just until they get her up and running again." "The Liandra?" "It's the only one available." "But there's no rush this time." "They'll make sure she's in top condition before we go." "Right." "Top condition for a cursed 20-year-old ship that's been through, what, two wars, four crews some of which are still there, in a sort of, kind of dead kind of way." "Dulann thinks since we found the traitor and saved the ship, they'll be quiet now." "At least for a while." "As for the Liandra well, the funny thing is, I really don't mind." "Maybe it has something to do with going through all that together but as far as ships go I think this one will do just fine." "So do we have a mission yet?" " I greatly appreciate the ride, captain." " No, it's my pleasure, G'Kar." "You know, rumor has it you spent the last few years just wandering the galaxy." " Yes, with a friend." "She's gone now." "It was..." "Well, there are no words, really." "There are things out there beyond imagination and I have a rather healthy imagination." "You'll have to tell me about it sometime." "No reason for it." "The path I took is not the path you will take and where you walk, you will see things even more astonishing and you will do so in fine company." "Nearing Epsilon jumpgate." "Prepare to jump." "I hope the security conference goes well." "Let us know if you come up with anything." " I will." " Standing by." "Jump." "I should get my bags." "Are you coming aboard?" "No." "No, we have to get back." "You know, actually, I've never seen it before." "Maybe next time, we'll stop over for a few days." "You should." "It's quite a place." "A place of good times and bad of pain and growth, but in the end a place of great hope." "But if you ever do come aboard, remember one thing:" "No one there is exactly what he seems." "But then who is?"