She felt like an outsider, like a trespasser at a sacred and holy ritual. This was not her world. Her world had been blasted to rock and rubble. These were not her people. This was not her cause. o
She should not be here. b
And yet she could not find the strength to rise and leave. e
Sinoval seemed lost in the song, standing still as a statue. Around him burned a golden glow, and then, before Susan's eyes, ghosts began to appear beside him, rising from the earth and shimmering beneath the sky. Tuchanq, human, Narn, Drazi, Centauri and a hundred races she had no name for or comprehension of. There was even a Vorlon flickering below the slategrey clouds. y
The light was almost blinding. u
Sinoval's face was emotionless as the souls joined him in his song. Susan had not thought him capable of singing. Her mother had told her that to sing involved laying out the secrets of one's heart to public view. Susan did not think Sinoval had a heart, let alone any secrets there to lay out. s
But the way he sang, the power and majesty in his voice.... it fitted. It was a song of war and a song of the peace that comes after war. It was a warrior's song, and a peacemaker's song. It was the song of a leader and a prophet and a messiah. y
And a saviour. o
The song stopped, the spirits vanished and Susan again found the courage to look up and around. The sky was a bright blue, a colour so intense it almost blinded her. The ground was red and gold. u
The Tuchanq were on all fours, heads bowed before Sinoval. w
"Saviour," they whispered. "Saviour." i
"One world dies," Sinoval intoned. "And another is returned to life. Such is the way of the universe." l
Susan wanted to hit him. l
obeyus
"Which of us is in charge of me?" o
"I'm telling you, I don't like this. I may not be able to read minds, but I have pretty good instincts. That's what
Mr. Edgars thought my telepathic powers were: hunches and minor premonitions. Something bad's going to happen, and that Vindrizi and that Box are at the centre of it." u
Talia's eyes flashed with momentary anger. Dexter stood there, arms folded, staring at her. "Whatever force controls the Box is on our side. It helps us." w
"But we don't know what it is?" i
"We know enough. It helps us, it is anathema to the Vorlons and the network in some way, and it can foretell the future. I don't need to see a 'Made in Proxima' stamp on the bottom." l
"I can tell enough of the future, thanks, and I don't like it. The Vindrizi, either." l
"You couldn't understand!" Dexter took a step back, as if he had been struck. "I am going to commune with the spirit within the Box. All you have to do is make sure nothing interferes with me. If that's too hard for you, I can get someone else to do it." o
"If it's too hard for my mundane little mind, you mean." He looked at her for a long while. He had seen her pass through numerous personae. Bester had trained her as an infiltrator and saboteur, and she was a master of disguise. There had been times when he had been with her that he had not been sure which persona was real and what was crafted illusion. b
Now, he was sure that what he was looking at was real. She was angry, her eyes blazing. A leader and a soldier and a protector of her people. e
Which did not include him. y
"Do what you like," he spat, walking away. He wanted to be as far away from that accursed Box as possible. u
He did not see the expression on her face, but he did not want to. He walked out among her people, her telepaths, and was stricken afresh by how different he was from them. These weren't his people, and this wasn't his war. His people were the inhabitants of Sector 301. He had sworn to protect and help them, and what was he gaining by getting involved in telepath matters? s
He wished he could go to Bo's, have a drink and a game of poker, or find Bethany and talk to her, joke and flirt and share gossip. y
He leaned against a wall, irritated and tired and wanting a drink. o
He knew that even if she were here, he couldn't talk to Bethany, not about this. He liked her. She was attractive and intelligent and they shared a lot of the same interests, but he didn't feel anything for her. He had only loved two women in his life, and he had killed one of them and just finished arguing with the other. u
"You look troubled," said a voice. Dexter turned to look at the Vindrizi. w
"I'm not in the mood," he said. "I've had enough of this." i
"'This' what?" l
"This. This isn't my concern at all. I want to make Proxima as safe and secure and welloff as I can. I want people to stop using Sector Threeoone as a dumping ground. I want to find someone I can care for, and live a happy life and have children. I'll fight for those I love. I'll fight for my home. l
"But I don't want to fight in some galaxywide war between Gods. I don't want to save the entire universe, and I don't want to be the two of hearts in someone else's galactic poker game." o
"You have strong beliefs." b
"Yeah, guess so." He drummed his fingers against the wall. "God, I wish I was.... somewhere else." e