“I am sorry? What is… insurance?”

“Never mind. You really do not want to know. Really, you do not.”

Susan Ivanova had always found the fine art of diplomacy an annoying irritation at best, but she had learned to live with it, diplomacy having become a vital part of her new life. She found she infinitely preferred working behind the scenes to out in the open however, which was why she was not present at Lord Refa’s little meeting with Captain Sheridan and the Resistance Government, and why she was instead making for the quarters of an old friend.

Marcus was with her, as always. It was possible to get around his almost constant surveillance of her, but she had been doing that a lot lately and he was growing suspicious. Besides, when he wasn’t watching her, she couldn’t be watching him either.

But when she received a linked message she realised that she would have to act sooner than she had anticipated. Marcus was more than just charming company at the moment, he was turning into a real threat. She had things to do, and he was standing in her way. She hadn’t planned on doing this for a while yet, but she’d learned to seize an opportunity when she was given it.

For the best part of a year that Minbari whore had been standing in her way. It wasn’t enough that she’d destroyed Susan’s planet, killed her brother and her father, and all her hopes for the future. No, it was because of her that Susan was forced into going against Captain Sheridan. She liked Sheridan, she admired him. In a very strange way he reminded her of her father. And she had grown to like Sheridan’s wife, Anna. She’d first made contact with Anna as part of a short-term scheme for Anna to kill Delenn and be rid of an obstacle with no blood on her own hands, but in the process of doing so, she had come to like her, and to share in her hopes and dreams. She hoped that Sheridan would come to his senses one day and get back with Anna. She pondered the possibility and had actually managed to entwine that hope into her plans.

And then there was Marcus. She had seen him around before, always following Captain Sheridan, but then the good captain had assigned him permanently to her side. Ostensibly Marcus was her diplomatic aide and bodyguard. In reality, he was a spy, but given that she knew this – a handy, almost invisible tracking and listening device she’d implanted inside Sheridan ensured she knew almost everything that was going on, or at least she had until it had stopped working a few months ago – he only discovered what she was too lazy to prevent him discovering.

But he was still an irritant, so why hadn’t she got rid of him? She was surprised by the depth of her feelings for him. Her first efforts at seduction had been little more than attempts to get him on her side. She had not expected to find such innocence, however, and she had certainly not expected to find such emotion in him. He… intrigued her, but he also reminded her a little of the way her brother Ganya had been before Psi Corps took their mother.

The Shadows didn’t like this, of course. They were all for killing him, but she had resisted, and as everything was going along the lines of their plan, then what did it matter?

And now she’d been given a window of opportunity. Not a very large one, and there were a few things she had to do first, but… if she timed this right, she could kill Delenn, make certain that any sympathy Delenn might hold amongst the people on board the Babylon was destroyed for good, and try and get Anna and John back together.

A simple enough trick, but first she had to get rid of Marcus.

“I thought you were going to see a friend,” he said, evidently noticing their detour. “This is the way to the Detention Centre.”

“I am,” she said. “I just need to talk to someone there first. Mr. Welles has been talking about added security for me, or something, and he wanted me to go and discuss the matter with him. It won’t take long.”

“And the message you got over the link?” The one she’d made damned sure he hadn’t heard, despite his efforts to do so.

“That was from Mr. Welles, letting me know where I could find him.”

“Ah.” He didn’t believe her, but she didn’t mind. Oh Marcus, you’ll understand in time. It’s all her fault. That Minbari…

Morishi was on the desk as he usually was and he let her past without questioning. Susan Ivanova was one of the few people with free run of the entire Main Dome. It was wonderful what a Vice President with a Keeper would do.

Susan absently reached out and took Marcus’ hand in hers. He started, but did not move his hand away. She smiled. She wondered if Captain Sheridan suspected she would have this result. Well, to be sure, there wasn’t really anyone else Sheridan could send here. David? He was still too tongue-tied around her to do anything. Everyone on board the Babylon was too noticeably connected with Sheridan, and everyone knew it. No, Marcus was the ideal choice, but still… sometimes she wished her transmitter inside Sheridan was still working. He must have discovered it somehow, and had it removed, and he wasn’t letting her get close enough to plant another one. Oh well, such is life.

They reached the end of a corridor, where the security guard called Boggs was waiting. Susan smiled slightly. Evidently the source of her information had been taking steps to make this easier. She’d have to remember to thank him.

“So where is Mr. Welles, then?” Marcus asked.

“Right in there,” Susan said as Boggs opened the door. Marcus came to a halt, obviously suspecting something. Susan’s smile grew wider.

Boggs lunged forward and elbowed Marcus in the face. The spy tumbled, and Susan released his hand just as soon as she’d pulled his link from it. Marcus staggered back and raised an arm to block Boggs’ next attack. Marcus then lashed out two punches in quick succession, and the security guard had to fall back. Susan sighed melodramatically and waited for Marcus to step off balance. She then reached out and pushed him through the open door. He fell inside the cell and she pulled the door shut quickly.

Boggs was rising slowly, fingering his bloodied nose gingerly. “I told you to be careful,” Susan said. “Well, I would have told you to be careful.”

“Whatever,” Boggs muttered. “Just give me a few moments with him and I’ll…”

“You’ll do nothing. If he gets even slightly scratched, I’ll have you reduced to waste disposal. Just keep him in there out of the way until I do what I’ve got to do. If he’s been hurt at all when I get back, you will be so dead you shouldn’t even have been born. Understand?”

“Yes, miss.”

“Good. Thank you.” Susan turned and left, her two Shadow companions by her side. They hadn’t shown themselves in the fight – they hadn’t needed to – but if it had been necessary, they would have done.

It is good to have friends, she thought, even if only for a little while.

And one of her friends needed her now.

Anna Sheridan looked ill. Not quite as bad as she had been before, but she still looked bad. Susan needed only one look at her friend to know that Anna hadn’t been sleeping much recently, and that she’d probably been drinking instead.

Anna had made a trip up to the Babylon to see John a few days ago, but he’d been busy, apparently. Not too busy to be spending time with his favourite Minbari, however, but Anna had provided an inadvertent clue as to why this was the case. The word, ‘chrysalis’.

From her counterpart among the Minbari, Susan had learned all about the prophecies of Valen and she knew the significance of the word. Her mind had immediately started working, and she’d at last found a means to get rid of Delenn. All she needed was to get John out of the way, and now he was here on the planet, on a diplomatic mission with a Centauri noble, who was in fact, as Susan had been so handily informed, the ambassador to Minbar.