“That is still hasty, Lord Refa,” Clark said quickly. “You must not let this… unfortunate incident… colour your view of our people.”

“We shall see,” he said. “We shall see.”

“Mr. Welles, take the three of them away.”

Corwin met Clark’s gaze firmly and then turned, walking solemnly from the room. He caught Sheridan’s gaze as he gently released Delenn and the two officers shared a meaning more important than any words could convey.

Humanity had just been damned.

I will not allow harm to come to my little ones, not here in my great house.

More valuable to me.

Welcome to the world, Satai Delenn. Out of the Darkness and into the Light.

Thoughts, memories, feelings, words… all just words, locked in the back of her mind, trapped there, perhaps forever.

She had emerged from the chrysalis too early. Her transformation had not been complete. The effect it had had on her was… as yet unknown. Physically, she was a strange mix of human and Minbari. Genetically, she was unstable. Mentally, she was… trapped.

Satai Delenn had said few words since she had been torn prematurely from her chrysalis. There were no hints even that the woman she had been existed any more. The only description Dr. Kyle aboard the Babylon had been able to put to her was, ‘a child’.

Mr. Welles knew little about Valen, less about prophecy, and next to nothing about the Enemy, the Great War and Delenn’s place in it. None of that mattered to him. All that did matter to him was serving humanity to the best of his not inconsiderable ability. He was an idealist and a pragmatist, a dreamer and a maker, a warmonger and a pacifist. Mr. Welles was a study in contradictions, almost as much as the woman before him, an irony that he did not suspect or even care about.

His duty was to serve humanity, and nothing else mattered.

Recent events were threatening to run away from all of them. Two security guards brutally murdered aboard the Babylon; Captain Sheridan and his XO, Commander Corwin, suspended on charges of negligence and possible treason; Satai Delenn mysteriously transformed; both Captain Sheridan and Lieutenant Ivanova throwing around accusations; and the Minbari fleet could be here at any time.

The only currency Welles recognised was information, but where it came to Satai Delenn, the bank was definitely closed.

The door opened and Cutter showed in Miss Lyta Alexander, licensed telepath P5. Welles noted Cutter’s obvious ogling of Miss Alexander and even more obvious interest in Satai Delenn, but he let it pass. Cutter was a good man, dedicated and loyal. Welles knew no one with not one vice.

“Miss Alexander, thank you for coming. You are familiar with recent events, I trust.”

“Yes,” she said, and of course Welles knew it. She had in fact been on board the Babylon at the time of Satai Delenn’s mysterious change and the two murders, all for no adequately explained reason.

“Of course you are. It is my task to find the gold of truth in the river of lies, Miss Alexander. Satai Delenn is being unco-operative, although whether from perversity or mental weakness, I cannot say. That is where you come in. You have scanned her before on a number of occasions. I would like you to do so now.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Another person might have erupted into violence, but Welles merely raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“I am entitled to refuse without giving a reason. I am not Earthforce personnel and you have no authority over me.”

“Actually, under the terms of the Wartime Emergencies Act of twenty-two forty-seven, any ranking member of Earthforce or associated organisations has the right to demand any service from any member of the public as long as he or she believes it is in the best interests of Earth and humanity. That Act has never been repealed, Miss Alexander.”

“I will not do this.”

“You never had any problems before.” Welles flicked a glance at Satai Delenn. She was responding to Miss Alexander’s presence. She was looking up at the telepath, her mouth half open and her eyes fixed, as though she recognised her but did not know from where.

“This would be wrong. I cannot do it.” Welles knew a great many things, but the fact that Miss Alexander had a Vorlon inside her mind – gained from Satai Delenn during a telepathic scan – and the fact that Miss Alexander and Satai Delenn had a unique telepathic and mental connection, were not among them. He could read people very skilfully, however, and spotting the look in both their expressions would have been possible for someone far worse at the task than he.

“I…” Miss Alexander whispered. There was silent pleading in Delenn’s eyes. “I’ll do it.”

Again, Mr. Welles did not know that she had been guided to this change by the advice of the Vorlon within her, but he did know that more than just his urgings had been responsible for it. He stood, and offered his companion his seat. She took it cautiously, and looked across the table at Delenn. Slowly, Miss Alexander removed her gloves and took Delenn’s hands.

“Chrysalis,” Miss Alexander said slowly. “The chrysalis was a means of rebirth. A means of ending this war. She was to be a living connection between our peoples, but… something went wrong.”

“Did she kill those guards?” Welles asked.

“No. No, she didn’t. She was inside the chrysalis when they died.”

“Then who did kill them?”

“Lieutenant Ivanova.”

“Is that what you read from her, or simply your opinion?”

“I…”

“I want the facts, Miss Alexander, not opinions.”

“Yes… I…” Miss Alexander blinked and threw her head back, almost in spasm. Her hands slipped from Delenn’s and she sat back.

“What else did you find out?”

“I’m… not sure. She entered the chrysalis in order to change. It was part of a prophecy of her people. She hoped to show the results of this prophecy to their leaders and convince them to end this war. But… something went wrong. She emerged from the chrysalis too early.”

Welles absorbed this information completely, not missing a word. Such was his gift. “Why? An accident?”

“No. Force. Lieutenant Ivanova broke her free. I… don’t know what effect the premature emergence has had on her, but this wasn’t the intended result. Lieutenant Ivanova was going to kill her.”

“And that is why Lieutenant Ivanova killed those two guards? To get to Satai Delenn?”

“Yes, although Ivanova probably intended to blame their deaths on Delenn as well. To set up these exact circumstances if she failed.”

Welles’ mind was processing all this information, evaluating theories, linking events together, piecing the puzzle. The whole thing sounded preposterous, but it had the faintest ring of truth. He elected to continue with the questioning. If this was an elaborate lie, then sooner or later the facts would betray it. If this was, against all odds, the truth…

“Why would Lieutenant Ivanova try to kill Satai Delenn?” he asked. “This all seems a little elaborate for simple revenge, especially when Lieutenant Ivanova knew that Delenn was slated for execution very soon.”

“This is more than just revenge. Lieutenant Ivanova’s friends, these… Shadows we were told about…” Was he mistaken, or did he see Miss Alexander shiver slightly as she mentioned the name of humanity’s allies? “They and the Minbari have fought before. A thousand years ago.”

Welles knew this. Lieutenant – or perhaps Ambassador – Ivanova had told the Resistance Government as much. He had been thoroughly briefed by General Hague on humanity’s new allies.

“I think Lieutenant Ivanova was afraid that Delenn might… influence some of us…”

Welles raised a hand. “Let me continue. Perhaps the Shadows have a vendetta with the Minbari. As we are the Minbari’s only even half powerful enemies at the moment, they could wish to ally with us out of mutual protection, but if they are as powerful as we have been led to believe, then why should they need our protection? Sympathy for one who has suffered as they have? Perhaps, but there must be more than that.