"And in the end, all the hours and days shrank down towards a liminality I could feel and touch, as the barriers came down, and the path on which we were to walk began to make itself known. And afterwards, I was to discover that all through that final night, we were all asking ourselves the same questions...
The four questions that have troubled the races of this galaxy since the First Ones awakened to sentience, and looked up towards the stars above...and ONE other..."
Excerpt from Julia Tikopai's final written work, "On the Knife's Edge" first published in the Earth Year 2317
* * *
"Why are you here?"
* * *
The SHARD OF NIGHT. Hangar bay...the start of the Night Watch.
Everyone who could sleep was sleeping, now, but she was not one of them, for the time being...there were too many questions circling around in her mind to sleep, for the time being. As always, she asked herself, what had brought her to this point, who had pulled the strings, and when...and as she wondered, she also walked. And in that random wander, she had come to the hangar bay; why was she here?...she knew not why, only that it felt right...and being what she was, she *never* ignored such things.
"You look lost...Captain." a laconic, dry voice commented, and Julia looked up, startled out of her musing, to find that her feet had brought her beneath the outward-sweeping fins of one of the SHARD's six fighters. And on top of that fin, the lower half of his body invisible within a maintenence opening, a swarthy Ranger who looked to be at least part Arabian gazed down at her, his one raised eyebrow seemingly at odds with the challenging grin just beneath. "Or, is it only the same thing that's plaguing half of the other human members of this crew? Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest...you just can't escape from thinking about them all, can you?"
"It's a little more complicated then *that*, I'm afraid!" she replied, unconsciously echoing the other's smile, to a degree. "But that is, of course, one of the triggers for my walkabout, this night. For now, however...I don't believe we've been introduced...?"
"The name..." the other replied, "is Azhahk Fenric. Pleased to meet you, Captain...finally!...but since it's the middle of the night, can we skip the whole Minbari rank thing for now, if it's all right with you? You'll be getting enough of that in the weeks and months to come, I'm sure..."
"I don't see why not; but, if you don't mind me asking...Azhahk?" she blurted out, before she could stop herself, as the other Ranger closed the access cover, and hopped down to join her.
Fenric nodded, with a slightly bemused shake of head thrown in, for good measure. "Ever since I've left the home country, I've been dealing with just that sort of response, or worse. Although I've been told that Azhahk is a character from one of my mother's favorite childhood tales...how she convinced my father on that matter, is something I've often wondered..."
Wait...of course. Julia nodded firmly, as the name finally clicked. "My apologies, Anla'shok Fenric!...as my fighter squadron commander, I should have searched you down long before this."
"The apology's unnecessary, Captain. It's easy for me to understand that the demands on your time must have been enormous since you came aboard. With this being a new ship, and also adding in the fact that most of the crew have never served with one another, I was more or less expecting our first meeting to occur after departure; in this, you have surprised me. But I learn, you see!...you will find that it will be much harder to surprise me, from now on."
"Ah...a challenge is it, then? I accept!"
"As you say...Captain." Fenric said, smiling THAT smile again. "But verbal jousting aside, I'm sure you would like to know some details about the squadron of fighters that our High Council has decided, in their infinite wisdom, to place under my command, and yours, yes?"
"You *could* say that." She replied, frowning a little, as she took in the swept-nacelled, purplish-gray craft above her. "They just don't...really look like Minbari fighters..."
"No, and that was intentional on the part of the designer..."
"Ta'vash Varsak?"
"Exactly, Captain...you are quick on the uptake, I will note; something else I will have cause to remember. A bit of background for you: early in the development of the White Star project, a small set of fighters were built, utilizing many of the principles later used in the ships of the White Star Fleet. Preliminary, and experimental, only; and yet, I note, those fighters *were* used by Entil'zha Sinclair, before he left us. What the mission was, I suspect we will never now know...but this much *is*..."
Julia blinked, as the information on that episode in Ranger history returned to her, courtesy of her ever-so-reliable and ruthless mind...an episode that most of the Rangers knew nothing about, but that William had explained to her, several years before. How Entil'zha Sinclair had taken those fighters to stop the Shadows from ruining the course of an arrow launched...and how his love, Catherine Sakai, had been lost to him, as a result.
Another memory came, then...of the letter that Sinclair has written to her, more then a thousand years ago, now...a letter that had reached her younger self in the Valley of Sorrows, more then six years before. Had he ever found her, she wondered?
"...Captain?"
She forced an apologetic smile onto her face. "I'm sorry...my mind wandered, for a moment. You were saying?"
"Ah...now what was I saying?...but of course. Varsak based his new fighter concept on that earlier design, refining it, of course, until the concept blended elements of the White Star fighters with his own stealth designs. The result of this blending is what you see in front of you." Fenric gestured with pride at his fighters, which resembled two sharpened arrowheads melded together in opposition, one smaller and more tapered then the other, while the pilot's cockpit was suspended above the main body, further echoing the craft's White Star-design origins.
Almost the most notable thing for now, however, was that the hulls of each fighter resembled the hull of the SHARD. Which, in itself, implied certain *unusual* and useful characteristics...
"The fighters under my command are toughter, faster, and harder to see then any any Alliance fighter that has come before them, and their weapons are to be feared. In short, Captain, they echo your command in many ways...a trait I am sure you will come to appreciate, in due course."
"For now, I'm not going to argue your point...indeed..." she added, fighting off a yawn, "I'm now suddenly finding that I don't have the energy for such an endeavour..."
"Ah..." Fenric finalized, a devilish glint in his eyes. "Then you have discovered that to joust with warriors such as I requires a great deal of energy, yes?"
"Oh...we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?"
"As you say...Captain." Fenric bowed to her, then, a proper one, and respectful. "Sleep well, and deeply...for in a few short hours, we will need all the strength we possess, and more besides..."
* * *
"Who are you?"
* * *
Larieken's quarters...a short time later.
The hull-facing wall seemed to be open to space, but as Larieken's face emerged from the shadows, and into the glow of the candles lit upon the triangular stand at the center of his domain, he knew that to be only an illusion. There was that, and there was reality...and sometimes, no, most times, reality was by far, the most disturbing of the two...
"So." he mused, turning towards the barely seen figure silhouetted against those stars. "You come to collect on the promise I made you, when first we met another, aboard this vessel. Quite understandable...I wondered, to be honest, why you had waited so long to continue our discussion."
The angular planes of Klairika's face emerged out of the darkness, her gaze intent. "There is a time and a place for everything, Larieken; until now, the time and *the* place were not in the same location, at the same instant. My people have known how to sense such convergences for millenia, now...and also, have learned the hard way, how to use them to our greatest advantage."
"Ah. You refer, of course, to what the your people name 'The Day of the Dead'?"
"That is the convergence most often referred to by non-Brakiri, yes; there *are*, of course, others. MANY others. But come...we do not stand together, this night of all nights, to discuss such matters. Our Val'na holds a secret close to her that you understand, Larieken; if I’m to serve her to the best of my ability, and if we are to serve one another in the same fashion...I would *know* the truth behind the veil, my new companion.
Now."
Larieken nodded. "A promise is a promise...and I am bound by such, as well you know. And while you may think the matter a secret, it is not as...difficult to understand as you may think; while at the same time, the matter is not *widely* spread about. For there are many among the humans who would not take kindly to knowing that those such as our Val'na still walk in their midst..."
"How so?"
"From time to time, in their history, the humans have named her kind 'Prophets', those who spoke forth when, perhaps, they should have kept their silence, instead...and simply listened to the words, not mistaking them for 'divine' wisdom." The last sentence, said with a stab of sarcasm.
"Larieken..." Klairika replied, her exhaustion beginning to show through, "While I understand the Minbari need for complete understanding, in this case, might we not simply cover the...ah, what are the words?...abridged version?"
He nodded. "Of course...the hour is late, and we will all need to be at our most alert, soon enough. Very well, then, Klairika, if I may refer to you by your given name?...the matter is explained thusly. Julia Tikopai, the human I hold as one of my closest companions, is a member of that select group the Vorlons, in their time, named 'Watchers'...or, *Observers*, if you will. Over the centuries, and millenia, every one of the younger races has had them...for when the need was greatest, then would they appear, scholars and warriors in equal measure, to record the most important events in the histories of their respective races, to warn the generations yet to be.
In this generation, however, a most interesting occurence has come to pass...for amongst the humans, *three* Observers have appeared...Jennifer Westcastle, she who is life partner to the man we name Rimstalker, was the first; then, our Val'na was discovered by Westcastle and his followers, at that point, only an untested youth of their kind. This would soon be corrected, as well you know, as she followed them through the fires of the Shadow War..."
"These Rangers I know..." Klairika noted. "And in the case of my good friend Sech Westcastle, what you say about her only reveals the core of why she does what she does. But, Larieken...what of the third?"
"The third..." Larieken concluded, "Is one Alkanion Verah, a man touched by Shadows, and twisted by Vorlons, in response. Even now, years after the end of the Shadow War, he needs to be attended to during all waking hours...for after being touched by the Vorlons, he became quite mad..."
"But why three?" Klairika mused. "Jennifer's Observance of the Shadow War, I can understand as necessary!...but what of Julia, and this Verah person? It seems clear to me that while our commander came into her own during the Shadow Conflict, it was NOT her duty to *observe* that conflict!"
"Which implies..." Larieken dryly replied, "That the events that Julia has been called forth to Observe, and, perhaps, Alkanion Verah, as well, have *yet* to occur...perhaps it is that these events have been set in motion by the actions of the Drakh, when they attacked the human homeworld..."
"And everything that has happened, as a result of that attack!...the launch of the EXCALIBUR on its quest, the preparations leading up to our own departure...may be only the opening elements of this grand movement you refer to; yes, Larieken, that *does* makes sense! Perhaps we are called together in convergence, Larieken, and what we do, what *both* crews attempt, is what Julia must record, for posterity...
For certainly, assuming that the EXCALIBUR's crew can find a cure for the plague, such an assault can never again be allowed to occur. Perhaps it’s Julia's task to warn the generations to come of this fact!"
"We will have to see..." Larieken muttered, as the candles burned lower. "I, for one, cannot help but think that it will not be that simple...and that soon enough, we will learn of the *real* reason we have, as you say, been called together in convergence, to act as One.
Part of me wishes for that day, Na'lai...but at the same time, there is another part of me that thinks knowing the full truth might destroy us all; all that we are, and all that we might be.
But that is for later...for the present, it grows late, and what little rest we will get before we arise will be necessary rest. For now, it is enough to know and understand that we are about to attempt what some think to be impossible...
More then enough."
Eyes weighed down by her own exhaustion, Klairika could only but nod mutely in reply, as she moved towards the entrance. Long and hard she had fought, in the last few years, to overcome her race's nocturnal tendencies, and even now, she had not wholly succeeded, as this meeting demonstrated.
But she would sleep, for a time, at least...that much *was* certain.
While behind her, Larieken reached out a finger and one thumb, and resolutely pinched off the flames at candles-tip, and darkness came again...
* * *
"What can be done?"
* * *
Middle decks...the SHARD'S medical department...
"You can't sleep, I suppose..." Veyshahk clinicly noted, while Dasouri paced in front of the physician's desk. "Understandable, given the circumstances, but why are you so worried, if I may inquire? We haven't even started on our mission, yet...and we *certainly* haven't been placed in danger of any kind."
"Worry is easy to explain..." the Drazi replied, as he threw a quick and frustrated glance in Veyshahk's direction. "For years, have worked towards making my people more peaceful...and generally failing, for reasons I need not explain to you. Now, stand as Ship's Guide for first major capital ship crewed by Rangers...a vessel whose *integral* purpose is to stand between ship of Humans and the Enemy.
For once Drakh learn of EXCALIBUR's purpose, Doctor, Drakh will not stop trying to destroy ship of humans until it is destroyed, wiped from their sight! Joined Rangers to help keep peace; now, find instead, that chief purpose as Ranger on *this* ship is to help wage war against those who would do us harm!
How can purposes be reconciled?" the Drazi desparately declared.
Veyshahk thought things through for a moment, before beginning to chuckle softly. "Is that what you think, Dasouri? That the chief purpose of this ship and her crew is to fight the Drakh?"
"Just said that, yes, Doctor!"
"Then let me note, my new Drazi companion, that while you walk on the correct path, for one of your kind, you still have a very long way to go, and a great deal to learn, as well!"
Dasouri glared at the doctor for a moment, and then, rather abruptly, his gaze softened, and the Drazi nodded ruefully. "Have had this explained to me on a number of occasions during training taken to become Ranger...and you are, I imagine, right, Doctor...tell me, then, what *is* purpose of this ship?"
"Now how to say this, properly? Ah yes!...while you are correct in saying that ONE of the purposes of this vessel is draw a line in space between the EXCALIBUR and our enemies, to say that is our *greatest* purpose is incorrect, despite what our orders say. What we want to do, instead, is LEARN...for there is still SO much we do not know about our galaxy; and in the course of our travels, we will meet many races and peoples we have not, before.
Some may look upon us with hostile eyes, but I have no doubt that we will also meet others who will greet us peacefully...and some of those may even choose to aid us in what I consider my own personal quest on this voyage...to help find the cure to the plague that afflicts the peoples of Earth."
Dasouri's eyes brightened, as he listened to the words, and finally, he nodded briskly. "So! Now it becomes clearer in my mind...in turn, if we can help find cure to plague, will help to avert GREATER war that certain Alliance members, and surviving humans, may seek to wage against Drakh if EXCALIBUR's mission fails!"
"Exactly. I'm happy to see you're following my line of logic, Dasouri."
Dasouri straightened. "Capable of things that certain *other* draz not capable of...understand way of peace. Understand way of G'kar. And now that you have taken time to explain matters to me, Doctor, begin to understand why we are doing what we are doing, as well."
And with that, the Drazi let out a deep breath, and seemed to relax somewhat. "Believe that I will now be able to find sleep; *thank you*, Doctor..."
"Of course. But are you sure you won't need?..."
Dasouri raised one hand, and shook his head briskly. "No. Sleep well, Doctor."
"Sleep?" Veyshahk muttered to himself, as Dasouri departed, before casting a baleful glance around the half-unpacked mess of gear that still filled the center of his new medical facilities... "Well, we'll just have to see about that, now won't we?"
* * *
"What do you want?"
* * *
Primary Weapons Control; Deck Three.
Eight hours to 'official' commencement of mission...
Her footsteps resounding in the silence, Sheynell made her way through the darkness, along the path, and finally came to the heart of the unwakened beast around her. For now, the chamber was silent...but in only five more hours, it would awake...and her people, those humans and Minbari that, as yet, she knew hardly anything about, would arrive to begin their duties.
Duties that could last months...or years, even! Had this been what she wanted, when she had agreed to join the Rangers, over a year before? To be exiled farther from everything she knew, and understood?
The answer, of course, was *yes*...to surround herself with duty, honour and obligation, was the only thing she could do, now. This was something she had learned from Brianna, in her short time alongside the older telepath...that only in the actions of the present, could one hope to banish the specters of the past.
But it wasn't easy...it would *never* be easy. She closed her eyes against the shadows around her, and summoned a different kind of darkness...a darkness painted only by the palette of memory. She wished she could forget the person she had been, but that was impossible, now. That Sheynell would forever be a part of her, for as long as she lived...a dark angel only barely hidden beneath the covers...a cold instrument that had, in its time, been loyal only to two things...
The Corps...and Bester.
She shuddered. The Corps was gone now, splintered by the Telepath War, and as for Bester...that was harder to say. There were rumours, of course, that he had survived the War, and was even now biding his time, waiting for the right moment to return...but these were rumours only. Until she actually saw the man again, face to face, she wouldn't believe the stories...and then, she blinked, as she sensed a by-now familiar presence drawing nearer, and began to smile. Did he *really* think he could sneak up on her, like that?
He had a lot to learn about her...but then again, they all did, didn't they?
"I thought I'd find you here, Miss Keynes..." Nicholas commented, as the engineer emerged out of the darkness. "Just about everyone else has retired to their beds, except for us...ironic, isn't it, that the loners are almost always last to act on anything, including stuff this simple?"
"Is that what you think I am?" she asked, turning towards Dawson. "A loner?"
"I know the signs, Miss Keynes...for years now, every time I've looked in the mirror, I've seen them. Do you have any idea how lonely it's been, working on this ship with no one but Minbari? I don't have anything against them, they're generally decent people...but they're not, well, exactly talkative, when it comes down to it."
She laughed. "I've noticed that, yes, Mr. Dawson. But when they do have something to say, it's usually a good idea to listen, isn't it?"
"You've got *that* right." Dawson took a deep breath, and then added, "Look!...I don't know a whole lot about your background, other then you're one hell of a telepath...a P12, right?" She nodded. "Okay, then...well, all I'm really trying to say is, once in a while, it'd be nice to just talk to someone without it being part of the job, if you know what I'm saying?"
Was this for real, she thought? Was he (she wouldn't use the Corps expression for Nicholas's kind ever again, of course) actually trying to establish some sort of friendship with her, like Julia, and some of the other Rangers had? Quickly, and very politely, Sheynell touched on the surface thoughts in Nicholas's mind...and blinked. All things considered, it looked like he was being absolutely truthful about this matter!...although, there also seemed to be some sort of apologetic tinge to it all...
Oh...of *course*...now she could see. Nicholas hadn't been very polite to Julia the first time they had met...and this was, in some small part, his way of making up for that slight. Why not? "Of course I do!..." she began again, throwing on a bright smile for good measure. "And while I'm sure we should try and get a few hours sleep before departure, there's certainlyl still time to sit down, have a hot drink...and simply talk for a while, about whatever you would like..."
"Really?"
"Really! We're going to be working together for a long time, Nicholas, after all!...wouldn't be so bad, would it, if we became friends as a result of that, now would it?"
"I'm not going to argue with you, Miss..."
"Sheynell, Nicholas...please!"
"...Sheynell! So, what do you want to talk about?" Nicholas inquired, as they began to make their way out of the Weapons Control facility.
Oh, so it was going to be up to her, was it? "Try this one on for size, then; 'what was...what is, and what may be'."
"Uh...that's a little...broad, isn't it?"
"Probably..." she agreed. "But I'm sure we can get more specific, when the time comes..."
* * *
To be (yes!) concluded...
STAR AND CIRCLE: "AS DARKNESS FALLS"
PART X, ACT II
"And in the end, I knew what it was I wanted to do, and why..."
* * *
":Where are you going?"
* * *
On the Rim...
He walked alone, now, as always he had walked alone, from the beginning, through the middle, and towards whatever end awaited him. Moreil's jaws tightened briefly into a mirthless smile, as he gazed upon the firmament before him. The path awaited...and soon enough, his path would cross with those he needed to find, to complete his quest.
It was inevitable.
It was *destiny*...so had his people believed from the start, even before they had served the Great Masters. The path they now followed, in the name of the Drakh, could end only in tragedy. In time, perhaps, he might be able to call some of them to his side...
Perhaps.
He would walk a long road until that day came...but then again, such roads always were long...
* * *
The SHARD OF NIGHT. Main bridge. Three and a half hours before 'official' departure...
"I received your summons..." Klairika began, as she strode around the holographic imager, and into the command hemisphere of the bridge. "As did your *entire* crew, from what I was able to see, on my way here."
The captain's chair swiveled around, and her Captain, and Val'na, affixed her with an amused gaze, as at the rest of the bridge stations, the other senior crew attended to their duties, and tried to hide their own smiles. "Attend, then, Na'lai Alidiae, to this piece of wisdom. A little more then sixty-eight standard hours ago, the President of the Interstellar Alliance, one John J. Sheridan, commanded me to assemble the crew of this ship...and also, commanded me to be ready for departure in no more then three days from the time of that command.
No *more* then three days, I say again...he didn't say anything about LESS, now did he?"
Almost without volition, Klairika found herself beginning to laugh. "You do realize, of course, that when we fall out of parking orbit, they will know, yes?"
"I'm counting on it." came the reply. "And I've never been one to shirk from a display...I learned that little mote of wisdom from those who made me what I am, today."
"And now...you intend to remind them of this fact?"
"Exactly. Klairika?..."
"Yes, Val'na?"
"Assume your station." Within an instant, Klairika noted, Julia's tone had shifted over from companionable to steely...to the tone that the Rimstalker himself, with the aid of Sha'vei Tashann, had taught her to use in her years of service to them both.
She moved.
"So assumed. Your orders?"
"Stand by. Stations and departments...report!"
"Operational configuration..." Larieken noted, "Is nominal...at least as nominal as this command will ever possess. Scientific stations are operating at full capacity, and the sensor network is already deployed, ready for your command."
"Your tactical officer..." Sheynell continued, "Begs leave to report that all onboard batteries, and personnel, stand ready for our first engagement with the foe. We are ready, and willing, to act in your name...and in Valen's."
"Flight officer..." Dasouri noted, "Has been waiting for this moment ever since he learned what role he was to perform on this vessel named SHARD OF NIGHT...he is also ready for your command."
"Of course..." Julia murmured. "Doctor?"
A hologram of Veyshahk instantly sprang into being, an image which immediately bowed. "We expected this...there are no surprises. I am pleased to report that with the aid of my assistants, Anla'shok Jharais and Nividia, your medical department stands ready for departure."
"Please tell me, Veyshahk, that you got at least a *little* sleep since last we talked?"
"Some, yes...when there was time. But when we have departed, Val'na...then will I will sleep long and deeply!"
"I understand...Mr. Dawson!"
Another hologram...and another image, as Veyshahk's faded from sight; this time of Nicholas Dawson, amidst his crew, and within his domain. "No need to ask, Captain!...we've been ready for this moment since you first came aboard. All drive systems stand ready, and all the reactors are humming along just fine, thank you very much."
"I have no doubt of that...thank you, Mr. Dawson." And with that said, Julia's eyes met hers, once again, above her smile. "And that, Na'lai Alidiae, would appear to be your cue..."
"A show, was it you said?"
"Oh, *yes*."
"Then a show you shall have. One that *they* will not soon be able to forget. Flight control!"
"Na'lai?"
"Prepare to take us down to the top of Minbar's atmosphere; and stand by on jump engines."
* * *
Julia leant back into her seat, listening and watching, as the crew she had assembled, a crew of friends, a crew of companions, a team that would, in the months and years to come, come together ever more closely, attended to her First's commands. Even as the stationary starfield beyond the forward portals began to move...
Even as the greatest vessel any Ranger had ever commanded began its fall towards the slightly less then half-lit planet below...
* * *
Tuzanor. Interstellar Alliance Headquarters. Less then twenty minutes later...
"Why do you think he wanted us to hurry?" Jennifer asked her husband, as together with William, she emerged onto the stone and crystal outlook on the peak of the Headquarters complex. "What could possibly be going on?"
"I can guess..." William muttered, as they emerged onto the pinnacle, and the cold dawn wind blowing across and between the towers of Tuzanor. "Only *too* easily." Wrapping his thick brown Ranger cloak more tightly around himself, he turned towards the only other inhabitants of the outlook...and seeing their expressions only reinforced his opinion of why they had been summoned here, at such an early hour...
His face bleak, but also showing the necessity of it all, John Sheridan stood quietly next to his wife, his eyes turned skywards, as were Delenn's. They were looking for something...and William thought he knew exactly what that 'something' was...
"Mr. President...John. We're here."
Sheridan nodded. "William...I'm sorry that we had to drag you and your wife out of bed at this early hour, but Delenn and I both thought that you deserved to see this."
He nodded ruefully. "Of course. How long ago did they..."
"Their final pass over us is even now beginning..." Delenn murmured, her gaze far away, and sad. "It will not be long, now."
And then, it hit him...why that *little*..."Well I will be *damned*!..." he muttered. "Looks like I'm not even get to say my goodbyes to her..."
"She didn't want to say goodbye, William..." Jennifer replied, her expression almost as sad as Delenn's was, now. "Not the way you mean it."
He let out a long breath, and shook his head wonderingly. "Even after all the years we've known her, I'm not sure we'll ever *understand* her."
"You will..." Delenn commented, a small and mysterious smile now lighting her face, as the eastern sky slowly began to lighten. "In time."
"There they are!" Everyone on the outlook turned, as one, then, at Sheridan's outcry...and William realized, as he watched a brilliant light flare into being mid way up from the western horizon, touched by the still-hidden sun, and begin to cross the sky, that time was now all he had...
And also, as the silvery beacon of the SHARD OF NIGHT passed over Tuzanor, and began its descent towards the dawn, that Julia having not said goodbye meant something important...
* * *
The crystalline blaze of Tuzanor had passed below their port quarter, now, and the fires of dawn was reaching around Minbar's bulk to touch them, as Julia rose from her seat, her smile wide and full of promise. She would not let that dawn touch her command...for now, they lived in shadows, behind the veils that were. For they had a mission...an important one, that required those veils...
And that, for now, was enough for her. MORE then enough...
"Anla'shok Dasouri..."
"Val'na!"
"Second star to the right, and straight on towards morning!"
At that, Dasouri cast a rather confused glance in her direction, and Julia met Sheynell's now-amused gaze, and she nodded...best to put the poor fellow out of his misery..."You may jump, Helm...
At your discretion."
* * *
...even as ahead of that fleeing silver spark and above the magnificent two-crescent and two-planet conjunction that lit Minbar's dawn skies, this morning of all mornings, a mighty blue flare of light appeared, and swiftly expanded into a tunnel in the sky...a tunnel that swallowed that silvery shard of darkness...an arrow launched from the same bow that had launched the EXCALIBUR, days before...
William nodded, a smile now on his face, as he stood beside his President and his Entil'zha, with his dearest one in his arms, and watched that tunnel fade from sight...
She, and all who followed her, would do what they had to do, no matter how long it took. And then, once the task was complete, they would return to them...