Author's Note (2008):

This is my first attempt at fan fiction. I watched Babylon 5 for the first time last year (way behind the curve, I know). I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to your reviews. I welcome all comments and constructive criticism. This is a re-posting of this chapter...with a few important fixes and better grammar. Many, many thanks to my beta Laurie M. This story is so much better because of you! Thanks!

Disclaimer:

None of these characters are mine. I've only borrowed them for a little while. Babylon 5 is all JMS.

Author's Note (2013):

Greetings. In the last year I've begun editing and rewriting (let's say streamlining) this story. Chapters 1-5 are now re-posted. There aren't any major plot changes, but I think it flows better overall and I hope the characterization is improved.

Prelude (dialogue by JMS)

The bridge shook and a blinding flash played across the atmosphere in front of the White Star. "I thought you said that we killed that thing!"

"We did!" Lennier insisted.

"This is the Earth Alliance Destroyer Agamemnon, to unidentified vessel"

"Oh hell."

"We have recorded an attack in this sector. You will surrender your vessel and prepare to be boarded."

Sheridan shook his head, "Of all the ships, why does it have to be the Agamemnon?"

Delenn looked at him, knowing concern creasing her features, "They must think we are responsible for the attack on Ganymede,"

"Oh, of course, that's the way our luck runs."

The Agamemnon fired again into the swirling clouds. "Captain, shall I return fire?" Lennier asked. Delenn looked at Sheridan, concern shifting to pity and anguish that he should have to make such a decision. Sheridan seemed frozen. Lennier's voice rose, "Captain? Shall I return fire?"

In an instant his decision was made. "Negative. I won't fire on her."

"Are they equipped for atmospheric maneuvering?" Delenn's insistent voice penetrated his thoughts.

"No, but they can track us down like a bloodhound, they can wait us out, they can knock us down, or…or board us if we try to escape—" The White Star shook again.

"They're getting closer! John, I know this is not what you wanted but if we remain here we will be destroyed. Our only choices are to fight, or to surrender—"

"No, we can't surrender, and I won't open fire on my old ship!"

"Then…what do you recommend?" Lennier asked.

Sheridan paused. He had no idea what to do. "Lennier, activate jump engines." Delenn ordered, suddenly taking control.

Lennier hesitated, "Inside the atmosphere?"

"Yes."

"What?" Sheridan checked himself and tried to see where she was going with this.

Stepping forward Lennier tried to reason with Delenn, "With all due respect for your innovative choice of strategy, may I suggest that the energy involved in opening a jump point inside a hydrogen rich atmosphere would be…explosive at best."

Sheridan grabbed onto the sliver of hope Delenn had provided him "No, she's right. We'll get as close as we can to the edge of the atmosphere. That should minimize the eruption…I…I hope. Send a message in Interlac, tell them we are prepared to surrender but we need them to back off a little. Then bring her up slowly."

Lennier moved quickly back to his post. His fingers practically danced across the console. Sheridan settled back into the command chair, "Let me see it. Wait…"

Chapter 1: Bad Luck

Another burst of fire came from the Agamemnon's main gun, this one right on top of them. "Jump engines are offline!" Lennier shouted as the pocket of exploding hydrogen rocked the bridge. "Captain, if we don't get out of here soon the Agamemnon won't need to destroy us, the atmosphere will do it for them," his voice was growing increasingly desperate.

"I thought you told them we were prepared to surrender!" Sheridan shouted.

"I did! Apparently, they didn't want to 'back off a little'."

"Unbelievable," Sheridan moaned. "We just can't get a break." He turned to Delenn with a sad grimace, "I'm sorry we won't get try your unique idea." His brain had been working overtime and now it seemed to be completely blank. The Shadow vessel had been destroyed. If anything, that should have been the impossible task. They had come so far only to be stopped by one lucky shot. "Right, we're just going to have to make a run for it on sub-light engines," he threw himself back into his chair, despair written across his face. "I…I can't fire on them," he whispered apologetically. Maybe if the Shadow ship hadn't hit them, maybe if he hadn't taken them quite so deep into the atmosphere…so many maybes. There was no way to outrun the Agamemnon now, and they were all very likely going to die trying.

"No. John," Delenn's voice was determined and he turned to look at her. Her hand came to rest on his arm, "We cannot outrun them damaged as we are now, and you are right, you cannot surrender to them." Her voice softened, "I know you were prepared for this to be a one-way trip, but I believe there is another way."

Confusion clouded his face. "What—?"

"Simply, you will not be caught here. I will." She turned to face her aide, her voice commanding, "Lennier, I am entrusting you with the Captain's safety." She paused to think, "You will have to hide in engineering. If we are boarded the drive core will throw off enough interference to mask your life signs. As far as Earth Force is aware there will only be Minbari aboard this ship. When the opportunity presents itself," a small shrug crept into her shoulders, "make your way back to Babylon 5."

Sheridan jumped out of his chair as he started to protest, both his and Lennier's arguments overlapping. "You can't think I'd let you…"

"Delenn, my place is at your side…"

Delenn raised a hand to silence their objections, her entire body vibrating with authority, "Lennier, you will do as I ask. You will continue to coordinate our work with the Anla'shok. Further understanding is not required, only obedience." The final word, Lennier cast his eyes downward and nodded dumbly. Turning to Sheridan her eyes pleaded with him, "If you are caught here we will lose everything we are fighting for. If I can prevent that, I must." She placed her hand over his heart, a Minbari farewell. "You must return to Babylon 5 and continue gathering against the coming darkness." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she uttered her last sentence. "If our paths diverge here, then I will see you again in the place where no shadows fall."

Sheridan stood mouth agape. His previous experience with the Minbari characterized them as rigid, inflexible. They didn't just change horses mid-stream. It was the weakness he had capitalized on to destroy the Black Star. Even Delenn had shown herself to struggle with the unexpected the first time they had faced a Shadow vessel. Now she was taking charge rapidly, and adapting on the fly. It was so…human. He glanced over at Lennier. The Minbari aide's face was already schooled to impassiveness, but there had been genuine shock a moment before. "Delenn, I don't know what they'll do once you've surrendered. I don't like the Intel I've been getting from Earth-dome. President Clark isn't to be trusted—Hell, how will it be any better for a Minbari to be caught here? All Clark needs is more fear against an alien menace…there could be another war!"

"John please, trust me. I have been in my share of difficult diplomatic situations. I cannot believe that anyone in your government wants to repeat what happened ten years ago, and I will do anything in my power to prevent that. Now, we do not have much time. I cannot contact the Agamemnon until you are hidden."

Sheridan reached out and took her hand in his. His eyes locked onto her face and he gazed into her grey-green eyes. He wanted time to stop so he could drink everything in, her eyes, her lips, and the shape of her face. A few hours ago she had held his hand as he slept. He didn't know what he was feeling. He only knew that the idea of letting her do this alone left an ache in his chest. She was asking for his trust, just as she had placed her trust in him. Her words to him before they had left Babylon 5 rang in his ears. "Are you sure you wish to go through with this?" He thought he had been. Now he wasn't.

With a grimace he let go of her hand and strode off the bridge. Lennier bowed deeply to Delenn and followed him. Delenn let out a sigh and settled into the command chair. There was a dull ache in her chest. The way John had looked at her had stolen her breath. She shook her head slightly; the situation was deadly serious. She could not afford to let herself dwell on such things. No matter how pleasant. Above all, John needed to be free to fight the Shadows. She was sure Kosh would agree. They had not discussed this outcome while they were planning the operation on Babylon 5, but somewhere in the back of her mind she had known that this predicament was a very real possibility. Her mind calmed as she ran through her options. She was thankful that the White Star was running a skeleton crew for this particular mission. Every member aboard was religious caste and would do anything she asked of them. The thought of harm coming to them pained her, but she was committed. They were already at war, whether they knew it or not.

Another explosion brought her mind to the present and the Agamemnon sounded over the comm channel again, "Unidentified ship, this is your final warning. Surrender your vessel or be destroyed."

Delenn turned to the Minbari who had stepped into Lennier's place. "Open a channel to them." The Minbari nodded to her indicating it was done. "This is Ambassador Delenn of the Minbari Federation to the Earth Alliance Destroyer Agamemnon, why have you fired on us? We are on a mission of mercy, and have committed no hostilities against you. Cease your fire."

The stern face of human in his mid-forties filled the White Star's view screen, his eyes widening slightly in surprise at seeing Delenn. "Negative, Minbari ship. This is Captain Horne of the EAS Agamemnon. A ship in this vicinity fired upon the Ganymede colony." His face hardened as he spoke, "You will assume a position five thousand kilometers above your present location, power down your engines, and prepare to be boarded. Any deviation from this course and you will be destroyed."

Delenn's face remained serene and emotionless. "Captain Horne, I understand your situation, but we did not fire on your colony. I hope that we can avoid another incident that both our worlds can ill afford," she said with heavy emphasis. Horne's lips thinned. "As a gesture of our goodwill we will move to the position you have indicated. We will also send you the sensor data we took of the area prior to your arrival. Perhaps it will be of some use in your investigation."

He gave a short nod, "Am I to understand you are the commanding officer aboard this ship?"

"I am."

"Very well. We are monitoring your movements. Agamemnon out."

The screen shut off and Delenn let out a careful breath. "Move us to the coordinates the Agamemnon requested. Slowly." She turned to the crewman at the communications station, "Make a copy of our sensor records of the Shadow vessel's attack on Ganymede, but do not include anything of our subsequent battle. Transmit it to the Agamemnon." A plan was forming in Delenn's mind, and the less information Earth obtained about the capabilities of the White Star the better. She turned to the Minbari manning the console behind her, "Are the auto-repair systems functioning?"

"Yes, Ambassador. Baring unforeseen eventualities, full functionality will be returned to the jump engines in one hour, six minutes. Hull integrity should be restored in forty-two minutes."

She had to stall for an hour and, how did the humans put it? Perform some slight of hand.

As the communication channel closed Thomas Horne slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair. Damn, this was complicated! In addition to investigating the attack on Ganymede, hardly a simple matter itself, he now had to avoid an interstellar incident with the Minbari. What in the name of everything holy were they doing here? Why would they attack an EA colony now? If they had attacked the colony why not fire on the Aggie? It didn't make any sense. He'd certainly never heard of the Minbari performing a 'mission of mercy', unless you counted being put out of yours.

Dealing with raiders or pirates would have been straightforward; he would've yanked the crew off their ship so fast it would have made their heads spin. But the Minbari, shit, he was going to have to tread very carefully. Horne sighed; he had not risen to command quickly and did not relish the idea of losing it over a confrontation with a strange ship commanded by an even stranger Minbari.

He vaguely remembered a report on ISN saying the hybrid woman was the Minbari ambassador to Babylon 5. Yet here they were skulking about inside a gas giant, days away from that station. He hoped this was all some sort of misunderstanding.

There was more here than met the eye, and he felt, best left to someone above his pay grade. "Lieutenant, get me General Fontaine on a secure line."

Sheridan and Lennier made their way to the engineering section of the White Star in silence. Sheridan was brooding. He understood the logic behind Delenn's decision, but that didn't mean he liked it. He mentally reviewed Earth Force procedure for a situation such as this. They were in Earth Alliance territory without a filed flight plan, practically on top of the site of an attack against an EA colony. The Agamemnon certainly had the jurisdiction to detain them. Add the fact this was a ship of unknown design and ability to the equation, any EAS Captain worth his or her salt would jump at the chance to investigate it. Alliance soldiers would be coming aboard, and would certainly be armed. Even so, the idea of tangling with the Minbari would cause them to act more cautiously.

Lennier's voice interrupted his thoughts, "How long do you think we have until we are boarded?"

"You're not a latent telepath by any chance, are you Mr. Lennier?" At the Minbari's confused expression Sheridan continued, "Sorry, not much of a joke. I was just thinking about it and I'm not sure. It depends on how much of a cowboy their Captain is." Lennier looked completely lost now. "Uh, a cowboy is someone who likes to be independent, someone who'll take the bull by the…you know what. Never mind." He changed the subject, "How the hell are we supposed to get back to Babylon 5? I wish Delenn had been a little more clear on that matter."

"I believe our best option is to 'stowaway' on a ship heading from Earth Alliance controlled space to the station. That is the correct use of the term, is it not?"

"Yes, it is, but how can we leave the White Star in the hands of Earth Force? We can't just abandon her here."

Lennier glanced at Sheridan. There was something heavy in his voice. Lennier was aware of the Human custom that dictated ships be spoken of in the feminine, but he wasn't sure exactly which 'her' the Captain had been referring to just now. He stopped in his tracks. He didn't like the idea of leaving her behind either. Taking a few quick steps back down the hall he opened a service locker. "Then we will most likely need these," he said as he withdrew two breathing masks from it. "Flooding the ship's air recycling system with an incapacitating agent will allow us to take back the ship quickly and efficiently without loss of life. If auto-repair systems are functioning, we merely have to wait until engines are operating at full capacity to effect our escape."

"That's…an idea Mr. Lennier…wait, we have auto-repair systems? No, never mind that, you said 'if'. Will we be able to monitor those systems in engineering?" Lennier gave an affirmative nod and Sheridan thought for a moment. "Our people will be out of commission too unless you plan on distributing breathers to the entire crew under the noses of Earth Force personnel. How will we fly the ship?"

"If necessary, the White Star can function with merely a single occupant when it is fully operational. Give the auto-repair systems some time and the two of us should be sufficient."

Sheridan shook his head, "Right, of course we will. Remind me to make time to get a detailed lesson on the complete specs of the White Star when we get back to Babylon 5."

"I'm sure it can be arranged, Captain."

"So, can we set up our chemical warfare from a crawl space in engineering?"

"Not from the crawl space, no, but it will only take me a few minutes to set up it up from the console there. Then we will merely have to press a button to initiate it," he said as they reached engineering. "I will do so now."

"No, wait, I don't think that's such a good idea. I doubt any of the crew coming aboard from the Agamemnon will speak Minbari much less be familiar with your console layout. I'd hate for one of them to trigger our surprise early." He nodded to himself. "This…this could work." Sheridan allowed himself a sliver of a smile. "They'll assume a ship this size has too large a crew to move, so they'll come to us. Delenn just needs to keep them dancing a little while."

"Dancing? Why would Delenn engage in a human courting ritual?"

"Uh, it's a figure of speech. It means to keep them busy, distracted."

"Are your courting rituals not intended to focus the attention of those involved on their partner?"

Sheridan blinked. "Well, sure they are. But sometimes you go dancing just for fun. It's not always about a serious commitment."

"Among the Religious Caste such rituals are always about a serious commitment, but I believe I understand your meaning. You hope Delenn will keep them occupied without giving away sensitive information." Sheridan nodded. "This should not be an issue. Delenn is…very capable."

Sheridan almost laughed, "No argument here." With Delenn he always felt a step behind, a little off balance. He was pretty sure she enjoyed playing her cards so close to her chest some of the time, and he had to admit, that mystique added something to her appeal. Oh yes, that 'cat that ate the canary' smile was definitely becoming on her. He mentally chided himself, now was not the time to follow that line of thought. "We should give her a heads up, uh, inform her of our plan."

Lennier pulled up a report on the console and skimmed it quickly. "I must advise against that Captain. We have not yet regained hull integrity and we are slowing climbing out of Jupiter's atmosphere. Our communications are not secure. Any open comm may be intercepted by the Agamemnon."

"Well then, I guess we wait." Lennier led the way to a service duct near floor level and maneuvered open the hatch. Sheridan followed him inside.

Delenn paced on the bridge. They had held their required position for forty-five minutes and still there had been no communication from the Agamemnon. In fact there had been no movement at all. The Agamemnon, following their communication with the White Star, had initiated a coded transmission, and then hung motionless in space. Delenn's stomach churned. They were deep within Sol's system. Had they been calling for backup surely those ships would have arrived by now. Perhaps they were investigating the visual records transmitted by the White Star. A small part of Delenn's mind held giddily to the idea that perhaps the Agamemnon would just leave them there. In another twenty-five minutes the jump engines would be online and the White Star would be gone before the Agamemnon knew what was happening. She resisted the urge to ask for an update on the repairs. That would have been the third time in the last ten minutes.

"Ambassador, the Agamemnon is receiving a transmission. It is encoded as well." So much for wishful thinking, Delenn settled back into the command chair. It seemed that they had been waiting for orders. "We are being hailed."

"Captain Horne, I trust you have had the opportunity to review the information we sent you."

"I have. The accuracy of the information remains to be verified."

Delenn flushed with anger, "Minbari do not lie, Captain."

Horne plodded on, "Nonetheless, you jumped into Earth Alliance space without authorization. You are under our jurisdiction and we will search your ship. Prepare to receive boarding parties—"

Delenn interrupted him, "I will consent to a legal search as defined under the treaty between the Earth Alliance and the Minbari Federation, Captain, but I will warn you that should any harm come to my crew you will force our hand." Something changed in Horne's face. Delenn detected the unease brought on by her statement and knew that it might spell trouble.

"That is understood, Ambassador. Horne, out." The screen winked out again. Delenn let out a rushed breath and headed towards the docking bay.

She stood flanked by two members of the crew as an Alliance assault shuttle maneuvered its way into the docking bay. She was certain that John and Lennier would be well hidden by now, but felt a flutter of fear for their safety anyway. Delenn and her makeshift retinue moved to meet their guests, and watched as the shuttle disgorged thirty heavily armed soldiers. Her eyes narrowed angrily as she approached Captain Horne and the lead group. "Such a show of force is not necessary, Captain, I assure you. We agreed to submit to a legal search."

Horne drew up under her penetrating gaze, "My apologies, Ambassador, but my orders are to escort you to Alliance headquarters for debriefing."

"I see." Delenn glanced at the assembled troops. They were not here to provide an escort. They were here to seize the White Star by force. This was not going to go well. Even if they made it safely away from the Agamemnon, now they were going to have to find a way to deal with the Earth Force soldiers on board and that might turn out unpleasantly. She had to keep stalling. "Given some time to affect repairs to my ship, we can easily accompany you there. Perhaps you would care to join me on the bridge."

"You misunderstand, my orders are to escort only you. Immediately." Delenn blinked, this was unexpected. Why did they want her when Minbari technology was available for the taking? "Your ship and crew will remain here under guard. A vessel has been dispatched to take your ship in tow." Horne tried to stare down the Minbari woman standing before him. She stood unshrinking, even outnumbered ten to one.

Delenn willed herself to relax. They might take her, but John and Lennier would have time to escape. She tried one last ditch effort to buy herself time. "I'm sorry Captain, but none of my crew speak English. I'm afraid that without me here you will find executing your search more difficult."

"You have no translation software onboard, Ambassador? I find that hard to believe."

"Of course we do. However, our main computer system sustained some damage in your attack." Not a lie, but not the whole truth either.

Horne's frustration was obviously mounting. He motioned to one of the men standing behind him. "Find me someone that speaks Minbari, I don't care what ship they have to be pulled off of." The officer moved back towards the shuttle to relay his orders and Horne turned back to Delenn. He watched her closely for a moment trying to see if she was lying, but her face was serene. Her calm was eerie. "Ambassador, regardless of our communication problems you will come with me to the Agamemnon now." When she remained still he scowled, "I would hate for this to become more unpleasant." He left the implied threat hanging in the air as he gestured two soldiers cradling PPG rifles forward. They stepped up, flanking Delenn.

Delenn inclined her head slightly, "If I must accompany you Captain, my aide can show your men to the bridge." Delenn turned to the Minbari standing next to her and spoke in Adronato. "Take them to the bridge. Loose them if you can do so without drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. As soon as you are able inform Lennier and…our Captain…what has occurred here." The woman clasped her hands together and bowed deeply.

Horne eyed Delenn suspiciously but said nothing. Looking to his second in command he began barking orders, "Secure the docking bay. Then lock down the bridge and rest of the ship. Report in when you've finished." He watched as the Minbari woman appointed by Delenn lead several of his men away.

Delenn stepped forward and nodded to Horne who turned and led her to the shuttle. She had run out of time. Even so, she hoped she had bought enough of it for the White Star to complete its repairs. All that mattered was that John escaped to lead the Army of Light. Lennier was capable and resourceful. He would be an able liaison between the Minbari and the forces that were gathering. Satisfied that their work would continue without her she began to steel herself for the task ahead. Earth-dome would want answers. Answers she could not give them. She wondered just how long would she be in their custody for 'debriefing'.

The crawlspace Sheridan and Lennier were hiding in was cramped and hot. Sheridan's patience was wearing thin. He wanted to be out there doing something, not hiding like a wounded animal. Lennier sat with his eyes closed, breathing slowly. Sheridan wondered if he was really as calm as he seemed, or if he too was fighting the urge to do something rash. The Minbari were so reserved, how was a person supposed to tell? Sheridan's thoughts drifted involuntarily to the previous night. Delenn. He didn't know what possessed him to tell her the things he had. He kept finding himself opening up and sharing personal moments when he was in her presence. There was just something about her that inspired an intimate confidence. He tried to puzzle it out. It wasn't that she was physically attractive. He had worked with good-looking women before. Why did she have such an effect on him? Hell, every time she walked into the room he had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping. With Delenn there was so much more than met the eye and he wanted to know everything about her.

He thought again of the smile she had given him before he had drifted off to sleep. That smile was worth fighting a dozen Shadow ships. She was strong, and beautiful, and…and he was in love with a Minbari. He threw his head back in disbelief as the revelation broke over him. Immediately he regretted the action because his skull cracked against the bulkhead with a loud thunk. "Ow…"

Lennier looked up as Sheridan cursed and rubbed the back of his head. "Captain Sheridan, are you alright?"

"Yeah…I…the waiting is just getting to me." Sheridan looked slightly abashed. He was in love with Delenn and he had left her to clean up his mess with the Agamemnon, alone. He wanted to hit something preferably with a fist this time.

"I will confirm that full power has been restored, but I believe enough time has passed to safely carry out the next stage of our plan."

"Good, let's get this show on the road."

Lennier tilted his head slightly, but decided not to ask. He began crawling towards the service hatch with Sheridan hot on his heels. As quietly as he could, he slide open the hatch and peered out. Lennier gave Sheridan a curt nod and climbed out. "It will only take me a few minutes to configure the system."

Sheridan took a brief moment to stretch out the kink in his neck and then set himself up in the archway between the drive-core room and the hallway outside it. "That's fine. I'll keep a look-out." The ship seemed unnaturally quiet as Sheridan waited. Suddenly he caught a glimpse of movement in the distance. "We've got company," he whispered as he ducked back around the frame. "How much longer?"

"Just—" Lennier cut off as a voice reached their ears.

"Don't move! Where exactly do you think you're going?" English, one of the soldiers from the Aggie then. Sheridan tried to place the voice, but decided it wasn't someone who had served directly under him. "I said, where are going? You're not allowed to wander around by yourself, Captain's orders." A woman's voice responded in Adronato. His heart skipped a beat before he realized it wasn't Delenn.

"Let's go! If you don't start moving, I will shoot." Sheridan risked a look around the corner. The soldier stood with his back to Sheridan, his PPG rifle trained on the Minbari woman in front of him. Her eyes looked past the man with the gun and caught Sheridan's, trying desperately to communicate something.

The soldier took a step towards the woman in front of him just as Sheridan leapt into action. He slammed into the soldier from behind. Both of them hit the deck in a tangle of arms and legs, the rifle clattering away across the floor. The soldier tried to get to his knees and lunged for the gun. Sheridan scrambled to keep him pinned to the ground. A flailing arm caught him upside the head and he blinked with dizziness. Looking up with some relief he saw that the woman had recovered the rifle. Another wave of dizziness washed over him. That was funny; the room seemed to be swimming around him. Dimly he realized that the soldier had ceased struggling. The woman in front of him dropped the rifle as she slid to her knees. She was saying something, but he couldn't focus enough to make out the words. The gas, he thought desperately. Fighting to stay conscious, he stumbled and fell as he turned back the way he came. His breather was lying uselessly on the floor, fifty feet away.

As soon as she was secured in her seat aboard the Alliance shuttle Delenn began to meditate on her current predicament. Captain Horne did not seem like an unreasonable man. He certainly did not seem to be particularly happy about carrying out his current assignment. The question was, how to turn this to her advantage. She listened to the whine as the shuttle engines powered up and tried to squelch the nagging worry that if she could not sway to him with reason she had absolutely nothing to bargain with. Her status as an Ambassador was a meager currency. Once, she could have brought all the fury of the Minbari crashing down on his head. A mere captain would have been mad to trifle with her. But she had given all that up to pursue Valen's prophecy. To become what she was now. Her thoughts were interrupted as the deck bucked violently beneath her. Her head snapped backwards and stars swam in her vision. She fared better than the two soldiers guarding her. They had not yet fastened themselves into restraints. Either they had been counting on the pilot's skill or wanted more freedom of movement should she attempt an escape.

Both men were thrown off their feet and across the cargo area. The first flew headlong into Delenn, knocking the wind out of her. The second hit the bulkhead next to her with a sickening crack. The man lying across her made a grab for the restraints crisscrossing her chest as the shuttle reversed its orientation. His fingers failed to find purchase and he and his friend spun back towards the opposite bulkhead. She saw their impact and then her stomach jumped into her throat as she felt the unfamiliar sensation of freefall. She closed her eyes and fought against the nausea that her aching head spurred on. On the other side of the hold she could hear one guard moan in pain. The other remained silent.

Sheridan came to with a pounding headache. "Captain Sheridan, can you hear me?"

"Yeah…yeah, ugh…how long was I out?"

"Approximately five minutes. You were only briefly exposed before I got to you with the breather."

"Thank you, Mr. Lennier. How did I get here?" he said as he realized they were on the bridge.

"With my assistance. I thought it best to move swiftly to assess the situation."

"Of course…uh, what is the situation?" Sheridan stumbled slightly as he regained his feet. That stuff really packed a punch. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so hung over.

"There is an Earth Force assault-style shuttle in the docking bay. Sensors indicate thirty-four humans aboard the White Star, in addition to you. I believe we can safely assume that everyone has been neutralized. None of the life signs has moved since I began monitoring them from here. The Agamemnon is holding position along side us."

"Repairs?"

"The jump drive is operational, and hull integrity has been restored. I am bringing the engines online now. Our hull should disguise the energy build-up."

"Good, be ready to get out of here in a hurry. Where's Delenn?"

"I did not see her between here and engineering, but I have not had time to do a thorough search of the ship." Sheridan caught the concern underlying Lennier's voice. He was worried, and worse, he made no attempt to conceal it.

Sheridan glanced down at an Earth Force soldier sprawled on the deck below him, "How long will they be out?"

"I thought it best to wait until we had effected our escape before we reset the air-recycling system. Once the air is clear our crew will be out for an additional hour at most, the Humans will be out for considerably longer."

"Minbari constitution, I guess. I'm going to find Delenn."

Lennier began to nod and then stopped, "Captain Sheridan, a third ship has just entered extreme sensor range and the Agamemnon has just launched two Starfuries. They are towing grappling cables."

"Damn it…looks like our time's up. Get us the hell out of here!"

The White Star shuddered unexpectedly as they made the jump into hyperspace. "What the hell was that?" Sheridan barked.

"There's been an explosive decompression of the docking bay. It…it appears the shuttle was attempting to leave at the same time we made our jump."

"Attempting? Did it make it out?"

"It impacted the ventral bulkhead before clearing the bay. It no longer registers on our sensors, but there is a considerable field of debris in our wake."

"No! Bring us about." A horrible thought had occurred to him. If Delenn wasn't here she must have gone to meet the boarding party personally.

"Captain Sheridan, I must point out that it is entirely likely that the Agamemnon will come after us. We can out run them, but if we take the time to make a detailed scan of the debris field we will be forced to confront them again."

"I know that, damn it!" Lennier didn't understand the ramifications yet, Sheridan knew, or he would never leave. Revulsion curdled sourly in his stomach. The good of the crew and success of the mission versus the sacrifice of an individual; it was the burden of leadership. A burden he had carried countless times. But never, had it felt as heavy as it did now. "I…I'm sorry. Just…put us on course for Babylon 5. And get the air cleared in here. Then help me make some sense of this mess." Maybe Delenn hadn't been in the bay. He would hold onto that hope for as long as he could.