Yes, Cardinal.
The treacherous and the wicked will come to this place. They will look to their leaders for answers. They will look to their leaders for succour and shelter. They will look to their leaders for revenge.
Yes, Cardinal.
We will permit them. We will know which of their leaders have betrayed us. The virtuous and the loyal will accept what has happened and understand why it was necessary. They will know with no need to ask. Those who question, those who disagree, those are the traitors and the Shadowtainted.
Yes, Cardinal.
But they are ours. They are beneath your attention, Most Favoured Servant. He will come. He will have to. He will bring his fleet and his servants. You will be ready for him.
Yes, Cardinal.
Come to this place we have built for the good of these races. Look for the threads of his webs and cut them where you find them. Draw him out here and run him to ground. When he arrives, as he will, destroy him.
Yes, Cardinal.
We have always trusted you. Since you were enjoined to our service, you have proven your worth. You are our most trusted, our most favoured. Perform this task for us and prove us true in our trust.
Yes, Cardinal.
We have faith in you, Sebastian.
Yes, Cardinal.
Sheridan to Corwin to Kats to Tirivail. A leader to a warriorturnedbuilder to a creator to a warrior. o
To Kats, Babylon 5 had once seemed such a hopeful place. It was a place built to symbolise peace and unity, somewhere new, apart from all the old grudges and the old hatreds. She had watched her world and her people torn apart by war and she wanted no part of that. She wished she could have visited the station under better circumstances. u
Word had reached her the day after General Sheridan arrived to see David. She had been planning a visit to Babylon 5 anyway, to study the work that had been done there and to make arrangements for the appointment of a permanent Ambassador. w
The Grey Council had gathered aboard their ship, in dark and shadowed silence. Takier had walked into the centre of the circle. i
"Something has happened," he said, in his sonorous voice. "We learned recently that the Narn Government had given shelter to some of the former vassal races of the Shadows. Very recently, the Vorlons also learned of this. Their response was to blockade the Narn system and deliver an ultimatum to the planet. They had one day to evacuate their homeworld. When that day was past, they destroyed Narn." l
There had been shock, followed by anger, followed, inevitably, by disbelief. l
"I have dispatched patrol vessels and probes to the area to confirm this," Takier said. "But the Alliance has contacted us. They seem convinced. I doubt that they are lying. Refugees from Narn are arriving on nearby planets. Given some of their recent activities,
it is doubtful if many will be prepared to accept them, and their own colonies cannot support so many people. We will inevitably be asked to take on as many as we can support. I propose we refuse." o
Debate followed, compassion against planetary security. Takier, a warrior to his fingertips, had not surprisingly suggested a war footing. b
"We should close all our jump gates and double all system patrols. We should recall all ships and troops currently in service to the Alliance and declare a Federationwide war footing. All aliens, especially Vorlons, should be expelled from our space." e
It had fallen to Kats to speak up against him, as it often did. "The Alliance has yet to issue a formal response to the incident. I have made arrangements to visit Babylon Five in any event. I think my plans should be hastened. The Alliance will have a meeting on this matter, and we should be there. I agree with the increase in security, but I think any other measures would be premature. Let us first wait to hear the response. y
"And compassion and mercy dictate we should shelter as many of the Narns as we can. It is not so long since we both dealt and received such a blow. If we are to prove ourselves better than the Vorlons, we must show how much we have atoned for our own guilt." u
"Take bodyguards," Takier advised coldly. "Things may be dangerous there." s
"Too many soldiers may cause the Alliance concern. Tirivail may come if she wishes, but I will need no one else." y
"Tirivail?" Takier mused. "If you wish." o
Back in the cabin of the warship Miya , Kats closed her eyes and touched Kozorr's necklace. "I wish you were here," she whispered to his spirit. "I miss you." u
Tirivail was pacing up and down, too angry to meditate, too filled with fire to find true peace. Sheridan and David were talking quietly in their native language. Kats was too weary and too griefstricken for the mental effort of translating. w
She looked up at Tirivail. "Why me?" the warrior woman asked. i
"I trust you," Kats replied. "I have faith in you." l
Tirivail snorted, but said nothing else. l
Babylon 5 grew closer with each second. Kats felt like a drowning woman reaching vainly for the sun, only to realise the light she could see was the surface of the lake on fire. o