Sheridan wasn’t catching some of what she had said. The Daughters of Valeria? Some sort of religious order? Went to the sea? “Draal?” he said softly. It was not a name he recognised.

“My father’s greatest friend. He was my teacher when I was a child, and my conscience as an adult. He… was an old and dear friend.”

“Was?”

“He is still alive… I hope. But… I am lost to him now. I am lost to everyone.” She looked up and met his gaze. Sheridan was aware of how he must look. He hadn’t shaved in days, and fatigue and bitterness never seemed to leave his eyes. Anna had complained about his appearance often enough. “And you, Captain? Do you have any family here?”

Coming from anyone else, Sheridan would have lashed out after a question like that, but not here. He had hit Delenn once and had felt sick afterwards. “My parents and sister died on Earth,” he said, trying to keep all emotion and tone from his voice. He saw Delenn’s eyes widen and she breathed in sharply, a soft gasp of contrition. “My daughter died a few years ago. My wife is still here but… she’s not the same woman I married.”

“I… I am sorry, Captain. I… Oh, Valen…” She looked as though she were about to cry. He met her gaze for a moment and he saw, reflected in her eyes, the light of a dying Earth, and a dying dream with it. “He was right,” she breathed. “Mr. Welles was right. I… I have destroyed so much. So much gone never to be reclaimed. So much gone forever. Valen forgive me.”

Sheridan listened silently to her litany, and then, without wholly realising what he was doing, he knelt down beside her chair and touched her hand, covering it with his own.

The room was silent, save for the rhythmic thud of her heartbeat and the quiet, peaceful motions of their breathing, which seemed in tune with each other.

Lyta Alexander was a woman with a mission, and that mission was to track down the man who was always hanging around with Captain Sheridan. Marcus, she understood his name to be. She had run into him a number of times since his return to Proxima 3 with Captain Sheridan, and he had tried to avoid her, on one occasion actively running away. Lyta had been on Proxima 3 long enough to realise that Captain Sheridan never liked hanging around on planet when he could possibly avoid it, and it was a fair bet that he would be off again soon. That would mean Marcus would be going off with him, and she had to get hold of him first.

That was however, easier said than done. Points to bear in mind:

1. Sheridan was on the planet, not aboard the Babylon.

2. Marcus was as close to Sheridan as his shadow, so it made sense that Marcus would be on the planet as well.

3. Find Sheridan, and therefore, find Marcus.

Unfortunately Sheridan was a master at not being found. It was one of the reasons why he was still alive. Lyta had precious few hours left before her next attempt at scanning the mind of that Minbari for Mr. Welles, and she wanted to make sure she found Marcus before that.

(And every moment she spent looking for – and thinking about – Marcus was a moment she did not spend remembering her dreams.)

Easier said than done. General Hague had no idea where he was, and Sheridan was definitely not meeting with the Resistance Government, who were batting heads with each other all afternoon. Sheridan was also not with his wife, who had probably passed out in some bar somewhere.

There was only one place left to check, and she had made sure to leave it until last. Delenn’s cell was not exactly the most pleasant place on the planet, and there was a possibility that Welles would be there. Lyta did not like Welles, not at all. She didn’t like having to invade Delenn’s mind, and she definitely didn’t like having Welles watch her while she was doing it.

Welles… it was as if he were a simple automaton. Whatever humanity was inside of him had been destroyed with Earth. She had tried a casual scan of him once, just out of curiosity, and she had been repelled by the cold, precise purpose of the man. To him, everything was a set of problems to be solved, and steps to be taken in the reclamation of humanity’s legacy. There was no humanity in him.

Still, despite the risk of running into Welles, she decided that she had to check the area out. Marcus might well be worth the risk.

The security guard on duty at the entrance to the prison block looked up sharply. Lyta recognised him. A cool, precise, dedicated man named Morishi. He at least had some sort of soul to him, even if that soul was blackened to extreme violence whenever anybody mentioned Minbari.

“Miss Alexander,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you for another three hours.”

“I was looking for someone,” she said breezily. “Tell me, is Captain Sheridan in here?”

“You know I’m not allowed to give out information like that, Miss Alexander.”

“Of course,” she said smiling. She sat up on his desk and crossed her legs, still smiling as she stared at him. Why couldn’t it have been Cutter? He would have been so busy staring at her legs – or maybe her chest – that he wouldn’t have noticed any attempt to scan his mind. Morishi was too professional by far. Still, Lyta was very good at what she did. “Mr. Welles then? I have something I should just talk over with him.”

“Mr. Welles is resting,” Morishi said, not taking his eyes away from hers. Never loosing her smile, she slowly took off one black glove and touched his cheek. “You… should… come… back… at… fifteen… Yes, of course, Miss Alexander. Just go straight in.”

Lyta jumped down from the desk and breezed straight past him, replacing her glove as she did so. Morishi would get into trouble for that when Welles came back, but that could be dealt with later. She had at least discovered that Sheridan was in Delenn’s cell, and therefore Marcus would be with him.

She made her way along the tortuous corridors swiftly, smiling and nodding at the various guards as she did so. Cutter was one of them, and to him she did not smile. She had no need of telepathy to pick up what he was thinking.

The nearer she got to Delenn’s cell, the slower her walk became. She could practically sense the fear and the hatred that came from inside the room, ingrained in there over long weeks of questions and pain. She had been inside Delenn’s mind a total of six times now, and she did not like the experience. She had no reason to love the Minbari, but she felt the fear and grief and anguish in Delenn’s mind, and it unnerved her.

(Besides, there was something else there, something that knew Lyta was there too.)

But not all the fear and the grief and the anguish came from Delenn. Rounding the corner, she ran almost smack into Marcus. He had clearly been pacing up and down, and she could sense the concern in his mind. He stepped back from her and nodded his head in what she supposed was an apology. He then stepped aside. She looked at him and smiled. She’d spent a long time perfecting that smile.

“Satai Delenn is in her normal room,” Marcus said. “Captain Sheridan is with her.”

“I didn’t come here for Satai Delenn, or for Captain Sheridan.”

“Oh?”

“I came here for you. How would you like dinner tonight? I’m not much of a cook, but I’m sure I could manage something.”

He simply stared. “Miss Alexander…”

“That makes me feel like a schoolteacher. My name is Lyta, and you are Marcus.”

“You hardly know me.”

“Then dinner will be a good chance to get to know you. My quarters at… say… eight o’clock tonight.”

“I don’t know where your quarters are.”

She smiled again, and touched his forehead lightly. “Now you do.” She was very unprepared for his reaction. He lunged forward and threw her against the wall, pressing her against it tightly.

“Never do that to me again!” he snapped. “Never!”

She looked up into his eyes and her smile faded. A subtle telepathic sting and he recoiled, rubbing at his forehead. It was a momentary burst of pain, and nothing more. “And never do that to me again,” she said. “Unless I ask you to.”