The Other Half of my Soul addm-1

by Gareth D. Williams

  “Can you scan her?” Corwin asked Lyta. “Try and find out… something.”

  “No,” she said. “Scanning without permission is against the law.”

  “That’s never stopped you before.” Lyta had several cautions for inappropriate use of her telepathic powers. “We have to know what happened to her.”

  “Chrysalis. That’s all I can tell you. I won’t scan her, Commander, and you can’t make me.”

  Corwin rubbed at his eyes. He was tired, he was stressed and he wasn’t cut out to be running a starship. Where the hell was Captain Sheridan?

  His link beeped. “Corwin here. Is that you, Captain?”

  “’Fraid not, sir,” said Zack. “There’s still no sign of him. There is another matter, though.”

  “You’ve found Susan?”

  “Not that either. Mr. Welles is here with a group of his own Security people, sir. The Resistance Government has heard about what happened. They want to take Satai Delenn into custody on the planet and they want you and the Captain to meet them to discuss the, ah, situation.”

  Corwin closed his eyes. And he’d thought things couldn’t get worse.

  * * * * * * *

  Ironically, Londo’s thoughts were on Refa as he was waiting for the Emperor – may the Great Maker enable us all to actually remember his name – to rise and deign to meet him.

  The assassination attempt of the night before had been greeted with another this morning – poisoned brivare. Fortunately Londo had spent considerable time memorising the taste and smell of every type of popular poison used amongst the Centauri, and he had faintly recognised the tang of lemons. Having the drink tested confirmed that it had been poisoned. Now he was definitely not happy. A second assassination attempt in two days was one thing, but having to tip out a whole vat of warm, steaming, fine brivare really annoyed him. Someone was going to pay for this.

  And Londo wasn’t the only one, either. His fine network of overpaid and underworked sources had reported that Lady Drusella had eaten some very bad marnago the night before and had been afflicted with a terminal stomach ache. Since her husband had died during the War, her daughter Lyndisty now inherited the vast family fortune, at least until someone found her a husband. (Londo silently wished any husband of hers good fortune. He had known fish less wet than she was.)

  This whole affair was getting serious. Centauri Prime was returning to the old ways, and this was not good. With the Narns biting at Centauri heels, and G’Kar’s Ancient Enemy growing stronger all the time – not to mention the humans and the Minbari shortly to be ripping each other apart – Centauri Prime had to be stable and orderly, and that meant having a stable and orderly ruler. Londo had tried contacting Urza, but he was on a state mission to Gorash 7 – they still called him ‘The Hero of Gorash’ and he knew how to use that hero worship. So, it was a matter to bring to the attention of the Emperor himself.

  Unfortunately, it was not the Emperor who greeted him.

  “Why, dear Londo,” said the voice, and he grit his teeth very firmly together. “It is so good to see you again. I was just talking with Daggair the other day, and we were complaining that we see so little of you these days.”

  “My Lady Elrisia,” he said, smiling. “A pleasure, as always,” he lied.

  “I hear there was an attempt on your life last night. I am so glad it failed.”

  “A seasonal occurrence, my lady. I am… always alert to these things. After all, no one has killed me yet.”

  “But they only have to be lucky once, Londo. You have to be lucky all the time.”

  Londo looked at his companion and silently thanked all the Gods in the Centauri pantheon that he had not been the one to marry her. Lady Elrisia was beautiful, unscrupulous, intelligent, ambitious and devious. Most Centauri ladies possessed at least two of those characteristics. The more dangerous ones possessed three or four. Lady Elrisia had all five. She was almost as bad as – if not worse than – her husband, the absent and mercifully forgotten Lord Refa.

  “I… came here to meet the Emperor. I thought that with First Minister Jaddo away…”

  “The Emperor is sleeping now. He is… quite tired.”

  “I see. You will tell him I was here.”

  “Of course. He appreciates your concern for his health, dear Londo. He told me so last night.”

  “I am gratified that his Majesty thinks so highly of me.”

  “You may go, Londo.”

  “My lady.”

  “Oh, there is one thing. I understand that there was a Minbari poet with you last night. He is well, I trust.”

  “Very well, my lady. Shaal Lennier is currently enjoying my hospitality.”

  “I would be most interested in hearing his work. Could you possibly arrange a private meeting at all?”

  “I shall… broach the subject with him, my lady. Good day.”

  “Good day, Londo. It was a pleasure as always. We should meet more often.”

  Londo waited until he was outside the palace before he started swearing. This was not good. This was definitely not good. Nothing these days ever did seem to be good. Time for a meeting with Mr. Lennier, it seemed. Perhaps G’Kar might have some handy advice in store.

  * * * * * * *

  “What?”

  “You heard me, Commander Corwin. The Resistance Government wishes to see you, Captain Sheridan and your prisoner. And they wish to do so now.”

  “And if the Minbari happen to turn up while we’re… seeing the Resistance Government, Mr. Welles? Or aren’t they worried about the Minbari?”

  “I am only relaying their instructions, Commander Corwin. I understand that Mr. Allan is investigating this incident up here?”

  “Yes, and he is doing so well enough for me. We do not need…”

  “What you need is irrelevant. I and my men will meet with Mr. Allan to co-ordinate this matter.”

  “You can’t do that.”

  “Commander Corwin. The actions of the senior staff on this ship have been, at best, incompetent, and at worst, treasonous. And not just in this incident, but for some time.”

  “We run this ship as we see best…”

  “Then you may explain that to the Resistance Government. I am sure that if what you say is the case, then you will have nothing to worry about, Commander.”

  “And who do you expect to run the ship while I’m on the planet?”

  “The people here are capable of running the ship for a few hours.”

  “But…”

  “Those are the direct instructions of the Resistance Government, Commander. You, Captain Sheridan and the Minbari are to attend the Resistance Government at once.”

  “Delenn can hardly move. Her health is…”

  “Irrelevant. You will do as you have been ordered by your direct superiors in the chain of command. Is that clear, Commander?”

  “Perfectly clear.”

  “Good. There was no need for all that hostility then, was there? I do have one question, though. Where is Captain Sheridan?”

  * * * * * * *

  Captain Sheridan was waking slowly. He stirred, and opened his eyes gradually. For a brief moment, he was surprised. This was definitely not his room on the Babylon. These were his quarters in the Main Dome. Well, he supposed they were Anna’s quarters. She lived here. He could not recall spending more than fifteen minutes at a time here before.

  Anna was sitting beside him on the bed. She was smiling. “Good morning,” she said.

  “Anna,” he mumbled, surprised. She was… she looked beautiful. She looked happy. “Anna…”

  “If you said any other name, I’d be very angry,” she said, her eyes dancing. “I love you, John.”

  The fog of sleep left him, and he remembered last night. She had come to him after his meeting with the Resistance Government and Lord Refa. She had… been like the Anna she had always been before. She had cooked him something – it wasn’t much, food on Proxima never was, but his cooking could make anything taste awfu
l – and they had talked for a long time, about the past, about their future, about Elizabeth. Sheridan had not felt guilty about doing so. His link was on and if there were an emergency David could call him. He had been astounded throughout the meal, as if this were all a dream. He had resigned himself years ago to the fact that he and Anna could never be as they had been. The war, Elizabeth’s death, the destruction of Earth… it had all just become too much for them. John had watched Anna sinking deeper and deeper into her own private world and had been unable – or unwilling – to prevent her, knowing that he was doing precisely the same thing. He never stopped loving her, but he had stopped believing that they could be happy again.

  Last night had surprised him. For a few hours at least, he had actually been happy. Both of them had.

  “I love you,” he whispered, and he watched her smile, the smile lighting up her face. She looked so beautiful.

  And then he blinked. “What time is it?”

  “O-six hundred or so,” she said. “You always did get up early.”

  “But… oh my God, the ship, De…” He nearly said Delenn’s name, but then he stopped himself. So much had changed in one day, but he did not want to jeopardise it. He looked around for his link and saw it lying by his side.

  “John, they can get by without you for one night.”

  “But the Minbari, the…” chrysalis. “Anything could have happened.” He picked the link up, and saw to his horror that it had been deactivated. He looked at Anna.

  “I just wanted us to be alone,” she whispered. “I… I didn’t want to lose you again.” Her smile was gone, and his heart went out to her. He clambered across the bed and held her tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder. He felt her hair brush his cheek. He loved her. He always had.

  Slowly, he re-activated his link, and patched a message through to Corwin. “Anything to report, David?” he asked.

  “Captain, where the hell have you been?” A belated, “Sir.”

  “In bed,” Sheridan replied slowly, and Anna chuckled. “I’m sorry. Things are okay up there, aren’t they? Nothing… unusual?”

  “The only usual thing that’s happened up here is that everything’s fallen apart. The Resistance Government wants to see us both. This is serious. They want to see Satai Delenn as well.”

  “Delenn? But…” She’s still in the chrysalis, isn’t she? She wasn’t meant to come out this early. I told her I’d be there for her. I promised her I’d be there for her.

  “Oh my God, David. What’s happened?”

  “Oh boy. Look, Captain, the Resistance Government wants to see all three of us sharp-ish. They’ll explain everything. You really won’t like this.”

  “I… all right. I’ll be at the Conference Hall. Sheridan out.”

  Sheridan pulled back to look at Anna. “I heard,” she sighed. “There’s always something, isn’t there?”

  “Aw, I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be. It’s your duty… I’ll have to find something to do now, I suppose. Just… make sure you come back to me, John. We’ve spent too long apart.”

  “Always.” He kissed her, and held her tightly, as if he were afraid he would lose her if he ever let her go. He remembered his vision from aboard Babylon 4. Much of what happened there was still a blur to him, but that vision he would never forget. The sight of Anna’s body slumping and falling as he shot her.

  It would never happen, he told himself. Never.

  But he had always suspected it might. Now, he knew for certain that it never would.

  “I love you,” he said, pulling back.

  “I love you, too,” she replied. “Just come back to me… Oh, and make sure you get dressed first. It might help.”

  He smiled.

  * * * * * * *

  “Well, Commander,” Clark said. “Can you explain this?”

  “I would appreciate it, Vice President, if you would tell me what I am accused of before you ask me to plead guilty.”

  Corwin stared at the four people looking at him, and he tried to avoid swallowing hard. Beside him was Delenn. She was standing as straight as he was, but she had not answered any of the questions put to her, and her very presence, with her tinges of human appearance, was enough to damn her, Corwin and the Captain.

  “Dammit, man!” Hague exploded. “Two of your security guards are dead, and you bring that… that freak here! How can you live with yourself? Why did you go through with this? You must have known something! How could you have let her do this?”

  “Satai Delenn’s change has nothing to do with the deaths of the two Security officers,” Corwin said firmly. “I have reason to believe that they were killed by…” He did swallow, unable to even speak her name without feeling as though his heart were about to burst. “By Lieutenant Ivanova.”

  “What?” snapped Clark. “Young man, this…”

  “This is absurd!” snapped Hague.

  “Excuse me, Commander,” said Takashima. “Are you telling me that Ambassador Ivanova killed two security guards aboard the Babylon?”

  “Yes, General.” As much as it hurt to say it, Susan wasn’t the same woman as the one he had known – the one he had fallen in love with.

  “And do you have a motive for her to do this or are you making this up as you go along?”

  “Miss Alexander and I saw her attempting to kill Satai Delenn. The security guards were under orders to let no one but myself and Captain Sheridan past. She must have killed them so that she could get to Satai Delenn.”

  “Then I just have one more question, Commander. What has happened to Satai Delenn?”

  “She has… changed, General.”

  “We can see that,” snapped Clark. “Are you telling us you knew this was happening?”

  Deep breath. “Yes, Vice President.”

  “Then why did you permit her to do such a thing? And how did she do it for that matter?”

  “It was a piece of Minbari technology. I do not know the specifics. I believe the transformation was broken off early – probably by… Ambassador Ivanova. As to why… apparently the Minbari have some form of prophecy which seems to state this transformation would take place. She believes she may serve as a means of ending this war.”

  “Then why does she not tell us this herself?”

  “The… premature ending of the transformation has affected her in a way we have not been able to determine just yet. Her mental abilities may have been damaged.”

  “Did you know anything about her change at all, Commander?”

  “A little, sir.”

  “Then why did you permit her to make this change without asking for our permission, and without knowing the full outcome?”

  “With respect, sir,” spoke up Takashima. Corwin turned to face her. He did not like her expression. “You are being too hard on him. Commander Corwin is, after all, the second in command of the Babylon. Perhaps the one to blame is the one who is in command of the Babylon.”

  “Ah, yes. And what part does Captain Sheridan play in all this, hmm?”

  As if on cue, the door opened and Captain Sheridan walked in, accompanied by Mr. Welles. The Captain did not look even remotely happy. Mr. Welles did not either, but then he never did.

  “What has been happening?” Sheridan asked. “I… Delenn!”

  She turned to face him, and Corwin caught a glimpse of his expression as he saw her. Shock, wonderment, terror, concern… all at once. He stepped forward slowly towards her. She turned her head slightly.

  “John,” she whispered. “John.” She stepped forward and fell into his arms. He held her tightly, while looking at both Corwin and Clark. His face was… stunned.

  “What has happened?” he asked.

  “We will deal with you later, Captain,” Clark said. “What news, Mr. Welles?”

  “The one security guard was killed by a single blow to the chest. It broke a number of ribs and crushed his heart. The second guard was disembowelled. The two weapons involved are very different. My gues
s is the killings weren’t committed by the same person.”

  “Hmm.” Clark seemed to ponder this for a moment. “Anything else?”

  “A strange machine of a type we have not yet been able to identify. It does not seem to be a weapon, but I cannot tell its exact use either. It does look Minbari in origin.”

  “Could she have used that to kill the guards?”

  “It is possible, Vice President.”

  “Keep your men on the matter, Mr. Welles. Well, Captain, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  “What exactly am I being accused of, sir?”

  “Incompetence and negligence at least, Captain. Treason at most. Did you know of Satai Delenn’s change?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you authorise her… change?”

  “Yes I did.”

  “Why?”

  “She believed it could end this war. Prevent an attack here.”

  “The Minbari are more than welcome to attack here, Captain Sheridan. With our new allies, we will destroy them utterly. I have every confidence in them. You, on the other hand… for well over a year, you have been insubordinate, reckless and dismissive of orders. You failed to secure the technological deposits at Epsilon Three for us. You prevented Mr. Welles from completing his interrogation of Satai Delenn. You have frequently put personal motivations above the good of humanity.

  “Now, whether you are a traitor or merely misguided remains to be seen, but for the moment, I think it would be safer for you to be relieved of command. Yes, Captain Sheridan, you are hereby stripped of your command pending allegations of treason. You will be incarcerated here until such time as these allegations may be confirmed or denied.”

  Corwin could see Sheridan straightening, almost unconsciously. Delenn was still next to him, but the expression on his face was carefully neutral.

  “I think General Takashima will be the best person to command the Babylon in your absence. Do you have anything to say before you are taken to a cell?”

  “Just this,” he said slowly. “I fight the Minbari not because I hate them, but to defend humanity. I wear this uniform because I believe in what it stands for. I serve humanity because I feel it is the right place for me to be.