See Prologue for Disclaimer.

Part 16 of 36

"What are you doing here? You have gone back in time!"

"Susan, however you must slowly know, that everything is possible. I have heard you and I'm here to give you some courage. You know, that I had said, Marcus will provide something large. That he will also do. He will awaken from his coma. How and when, that can't I tell you, but I promise you, that you both will be happy together. Marcus and you, you will be the beginning of a new organization. You will know what I have spoken about, if it's so far. Don't worry about him. He has friends, who worry about him. And you go on in your training. I'm very proud of you. You are still better, than Marcus was."

"Thanks Jeff, I have needed that now. It's good to see you again. We all miss you awfully. Tell me how is the past? Have you found Catherine?"

"Susan, we have no more time, but let me tell you, that I miss you all also and I'm very happy in my current life. I have found Catherine and have we married. In some weeks our first child would have been born."

"That pleases me for you and Catherine. Goodbye, Jeff."

"Good bye my friend. And take care of you and Marcus. I intend still much with you both."

Then Jeffrey Sinclair had disappeared again, however Susan felt much better. She didn't know, what he planned, but there were hope, that Marcus would get healthy again.

Just as she wanted to go, Sech Durhan came in.

"Ah, Susan. Nice to see you. I have missed you today in the meditation lesson. Is everything okay?"

"I had received a call from Babylon 5. The message had churned me too much. I went here to quieten my thoughts."

"Would you like to speak about it, Susan?" the master asked.

"Not really, but I think, it would do me well. Does it really interest you?"

"Yes.", the minbari simply said.

Susan began to tell him the story of Marcus, how he had come to the station, drove her nuts, how she was wounded and how he had sacrificed his life for her. The Sech wasn't especially surprised by this deed. He had already known that Marcus was something unique. She told him, from her promotion and from the conversations, she had with Marcus. To the conclusion she mentioned the call from Stephen and her encounter with Valen.

"Marcus is a fighter. He will overcome the disease, because he knows, that there is somebody in reality, who loves him. What your telepathic abilities concerns, you should urgently see one of the minbari - telepaths. In our history books two persons are mentioned, who should dispose of similar abilities. They were friends of Valen."

Susan looked amazes at him.

"Valen had led a kind of journal, which serve us now as something like law - and history books. The religious caste analyzes each one of these books. One deals only with his friends from another time. We have read it never fully, because we thought, it contains nothing of meaning for the minbari and it's very private. We preserve the privacy of Valen, if it's possible for us. If you want, I give you the book, so that you can read it. I think it will help you, to understand something."

"Thanks, Sech Durhan. It would be very nice of you, if you give me the book to read."

The Sech and Susan went in a secret chamber of Valen's temple. It was guarded by three warriors. When they saw the Sech, they opened the door. In front of them several room high shelves was found, which stood all full with leather bounded books. The Sech removed one and gave it Susan. She raised it carefully. The pages were yellowed by the centuries and very fragile.

"I will give you back the book as fast as possible."

"Don't worry about this. We have copies of each book here. Besides that we have no application for this one."

Susan went in her room and began to read the book. She recognized already on the first page the curved handwriting of her former superior. The book was written for the largest part in English, which many of the minbari did not understand.

°Dear friends, if you read this book, then I no more with you. No fear, I'm not dead. I lead a very happy life with my wife Catherine and my children on Minbar. I have gone back in time 1000 years to lead with Babylon 4 the first large battle against the shadows and to care so for 1000 years of peace. I hope you have been just as successful as we. It's dreamlike here. I'm a kind saint here.°

Susan flew over the next couple of pages, until she found something that interested her. It was a chapter directed directly to her.

°Susan, this paragraph is especially for you. I know that you are now in the ranger training and will finish this very soon. I also know, that you have found a man, who loves you and want to spend the rest of your life with you. He is also a ranger and has wanted to sacrifice his life for you.

I know, you wonder now, why I know that all, where I'm in the past! The explanation is simple. I'm a 'teep' just like you. As I have travelled through the time, something has happened with me. I can't explain what, in any case it gives me the chance to see into the future, and therefore I know almost everything about you all. I have seen each individual second of your life, since I have disappeared into the past. When I had seen Marcus the first time, I have known that he's something particular. Now I know what it was. As he has transferred his life force to you, something has happened with you both. It has made very strong telepaths out of you. Nevertheless, this isn't yet everything. You both own the ability to change the dreams of the others and you can see like I into the future. Perhaps it will last some time, until this ability shows itself with you, but it's there. Have patience to experiment and try with it. Among the minbari, there are also some with this gift. They are descendants of Catherine and me. Marcus and you, you both have now the task to found an organization, which trains and protects such persons, call them dream-chancer. It's a demanding task, which only good rangers can fulfil. There are still many challenges waiting for you. More I wouldn't like to betray you now; otherwise the whole tension from your life is out. I promise you, that you will have a very happy life from now. Don't forget me, Jeff.°

The next pages were over other of his friends and over his life as Valen. The reading of the book showed Susan, how much she missed her old friend.

In the next morning Susan participated again in the lessons, however her thinks circled around Jeff's book. In the lunch break she used the chance and looked for Durhan.

"Sech Durhan, thank you that you have given me the book. It has helped me very much. However I have one question."

"Please!"

"Valen speaks in his book about persons, who call themselves dream-chancer. There also should be some among the minbari. In the book it's said, that I should get in contact with them. However, I don't know where I can find them. Can you help me?"

"The dream-chancer are a very old legend among the minbari. There are only a few, who know about them. I will bring you to them."

Susan and Sech Durhan went together to a smaller temple, which lay behind that from Valen. Durhan opened the door and let Susan enter. When she was inside, she saw several hundred minbari. All lay on beds and appeared to sleep.

"What do they do there?" Susan asked the Sech.

"They watch over the dreams of the creatures on Minbar. It's a very important task. There is Tilaan, the principal of the temple. The legend predicts that about 1000 years after the emergence of Valen and after the war against the darkness a new large master comes to Minbar and takes over the direction of the dream-chancer. We already wait very patiently for this person. It would have to emerge very soon. Unfortunately nothing is known about the appearance or the abilities of this person."

Durhan led Susan to Tilaan.

"Tilaan, this is Captain Susan Ivanova of Babylon 5. She's my best student. She has read the private book of Valen and wanted to know something about the dream-chancer."

Susan noticed that Tilaan wanted to scan her. Susan blocked the scan.

"Pleasure to meet you. You are an acquaintance of Entil'Zha Delenn."

"Yes, I'm her friend. I also was a friend of Entil'Zha Sinclair."

Tilaan heard very tensely. "It would be an honour, to tell you more about us. If you have some time now, I can lead you around and tell you something."

"Yes, that would be very nice. I have no courses more and I'm free up to the evening."

Sech Durhan dismissed. Tilaan brought Susan in a small adjoining room, where they talked in all quiet at a cup of tea.

"You have read the private book? Have you understood, what it says?"

"Yes, I think, I have understood the most. Why do you ask?"

"You know, we try already since several hundred years to decode the book. We aren't successful. What does it say?"

"The book really conforms to the crewmembers of Babylon 5. Valen must have suspected very much about us. We all were very good friend of Jeffrey Sinclair. A chapter conforms directly to me. Valen tells me something about my life, everything is correct. He tells that I'm also a dream-chancer. However I'm not sure."

"There are possibilities to test this. Tell me, have you connections to dead or seriously ill persons?"

"Often I meet with a friend, who lies since some time in coma. We meet in a dream world, most it's Tuzanor and have conversations or he helps me with my training. Besides that I have seen Sinclair in a dream."

"That sounds very much like a dream-chancer. We have a special test to be completely sure, that you belong to us."

"Then you do it, I want to be completely sure. The book mentions something else."

Tilaan made the test at Susan. To it she had to penetrate into her thoughts. Susan had her granted. There passed some minutes before Tilaan removed from Susan's thought. Hastily she left the room and came back with another person. It was a very old minbari. He also entered Susan's thoughts. As he was finished Susan wanted to know, what he had done.

What do you think so far? Please R&R.