13

Beta Durani

The ship that punched through hyperspace was an alien design unknown to Earth space, a two kilometre long super dreadnought that lit up sensors across the system. The vessel boasted a long spike shaped main hull with stubby wings bristling with heavy weapons, a stern studded with semicircular gravitic drives and purple glowing thrusters, while its main body boasted dozens of smaller gun turrets.

The vessel was running with limited ECM, enough to prevent detailed scans of its interior though not enough to hide the scale of its reactors. Most notable though was the colours marking the hull, a base of yellow with intricate black patterns swirling in a unique style over the ship. It was instantly recognisable as a Dilgar vessel, and like the Sekhmet class prototypes from the war years each ship bore the unique markings of one of the great Dilgar clans.
The patterns on this particular ship were universally known and elicited immediate and grim reactions in those who saw it, the weaving of lines and curves etched in the mind of the galaxy. There were only three Valari class flagships in the Dilgar Navy, one for each major fleet given the markings of the Warmaster who commanded them, and in this case the warship wore the unmistakeable markings of Warmaster Jha'dur.

It cruised towards Beta Prime on a fixed course and a regulated speed passing between the ranks of EA warships recovering from the battle that had ended only four hours before. For all its power this lone ship was no match for even a weakened EA fleet and not long ago it would have been unthinkable to see such a vessel surrounded by its former opponents acting so easily and casually, perhaps arrogantly.
"She's coming to a halt." Commander Carroll reported. "Signalling the station for permission to send aboard a delegation."
Sheridan leaned over the communications console of the Agamemnon with a deep frown.
"What the hell is a Dilgar battleship doing out here?"
"Unknown sir, it must have already been close when we were under attack."
"Pretty convenient." Sheridan snorted.
"Sir, I have the Admiral."
"Better patch him through."

A moment later Hamato's stern and lined face appeared on one of the smaller video monitors wearing a classic neutral expression.
"Captain, have you examined our new guest?"
"Yes sir, we're getting all the data we can but it won't be much."
"Are you aware of the markings?"
"Yes sir. Is it her?"
Hamato nodded curtly. "She's requesting a face to face meeting, she claims to have valuable data."
"Do you believe her sir?"
"Jha'dur is a manipulator of the highest order, a schemer and a gamer who likes nothing more than toying with lives." Hamato said bluntly. "But the Dilgar have so far proven true to their word, surprised as I am to admit it."
"You're going to allow it?"
"I see no choice. While the source is repulsive she may in fact have information we can use, and it is unusual for her to leave Alaca."
"I guess having a bounty on her head that could buy a small moon would probably make her a bit of a recluse."

"She wants to talk to me, I expect she sought me out deliberately, but I want you there too Captain."
"Me sir?"
"Your father is a master diplomat, which makes you the closest thing we have to a negotiator right now out here. Also if things become violent I could use your help."
"You think she'll try to attack us?"
"Her, no. I on the other hand..." Hamato exhaled. "Meet me on Beta Prime."

Fifteen minutes later Sheridan was stood in the docking bay with his palms sweating. In a few moments he would be face to face with the closest thing the galaxy had to the devil, a literal embodiment of evil in the classic sense. Sheridan believed the word evil was vastly overused, he tended to shy away from such dramatic turns of phrase, but in this case he felt entirely justified in describing Jha'dur as pure unreserved evil.
But it was not her that had him concerned, intimidating as she was Sheridan did not fear her. For all she had done she was still the avatar of a broken down people, a remnant of a dead society hanging on by her fingernails. No, it wasn't her, it was Hamato. The Admiral was a legend in the Force, utterly unshakeable, unmoved by triumph or disaster, even getting him to raise an eyebrow required an epoch making event. And yet this paragon of control had expressed doubts about his ability to restrain himself in the same room as Jha'dur.

That had bothered him. Sheridan had never faced Jha'dur in battle, all he knew of her came from stories and the history vids and it was enough to repulse him. But Hamato had been her nemesis, or at least the closest anyone had managed to the role and his failure to end her at Balos had ultimately driven him out of the Navy. Now he was within throttling range of her.
That this person could crack the restraint of humanity's most unmoveable leader worried Sheridan, and as he considered the impossible image of Hamato snapping he was left with the question of whether he actually would try to save her life. There was not an easy answer.

Finally the airlock ahead finished cycling, the doors parting to release the destroyer of worlds. She was surprisingly small physically, slender of frame and not especially tall, but her presence and confidence was engineered to dominate. She was obviously a military officer used to giving orders and expecting obedience. Her confidence was no doubt part of that, the need to inspire followers, to grant them faith in her decisions even if she did not share it herself. It was the way of command and Sheridan often acted the same way.

But there was a different level to her, something Sheridan did not reflect. He was a soldier, a man of duty doing what had to be done to protect those whom he loved and represented. But Jha'dur, that wasn't her reason for being in uniform. Sheridan served his nation, but with Jha'dur it was more like her nation served her. Sheridan would do anything for Earth while Jha'dur would do anything to Alaca. It was no secret that she had the blood of tens of millions of Dilgar on her hands beside the alien worlds she had afflicted, if she had love for her people, or anything else for that matter, she did not show it.
She halted in front of him in the blue uniform of a Warmaster, a less ornate version with minimal decoration presumably a duty uniform. She sized him up briefly, placing his face in her memory, assessing his bearing and stature and concluding that they were satisfactory.
"Captain John Sheridan, I didn't expect to be greeted by such an illustrious officer." She said pleasantly. "In fact I was expecting a platoon of armed guards."
"It can always be arranged."
"Steer away from such hollow responses Captain, they don't suit your sincere nature." Jha'dur chided. "Is the Admiral waiting?"
"He is."
"Then please lead on."

Sheridan marched her through customs stiffly keeping his formal military bearing. He didn't stop or break stride until they reached the turbolift, ignoring the glances from the weary and wounded troops crammed into the departure lounges waiting for shuttles out to hospital ships. Jha'dur was likewise unconcerned despite being within range of hundreds of soldiers who would have little hesitation in simply beating her to death as a favour to the universe. She knew they wouldn't, unlike Drazi or Narn forces the humans were far too disciplined to lynch her while she was under Sheridan's protection.

They stepped into the lift and Sheridan hit the controls, bracing himself for the longest elevator journey of his life.
"The Minbari hate you." Jha'dur said out of nowhere.
"I got that impression." Sheridan returned concisely, not really wanting a casual chat with Satan's sister.
"You tricked the Black Star into destruction using a dishonourable tactic, faking a distress signal to lure it into a killzone." Jha'dur smiled. "The fact they used a ship in fake distress to lure your ships into a killzone apparently not registering with them. They really have no sense of irony, or poetic justice perhaps."
"The Minbari hate me then." Sheridan shrugged. "Somehow I'll find the courage to live on."
The Warmaster laughed, catching Sheridan a little off guard.

"They just despise you for using their own trick better than they did. What took them layers of coordination and excessive planning you did with a wrecked ship and a few mines. You could not ask for a better bit of symbolism Captain, if you were to boil this war down to its most basic facets it is human tenacity and adaptability against Minbari technology and raw power. It could easily go either way, but I would certainly prefer Earth to win."
"Why?"
"I have reasons." She replied simply. "But I'll go into them with your Admiral, I trust you will be there?"
"Admiral Hamato has asked for my presence and opinions."
"Good, you are a soldier Captain, no nonsense straight thinking Man of war. Bedrock of Earth Force, I learned to respect people like you Captain and so too will the Minbari."

The lift arrived at its destination with the sealed off meeting room waiting for them. More usually such rooms held meetings between business magnates or government officials, fairly small and informal with a single desk and a video screen. Two guards on the door stood to attention as Sheridan approached, the Captain standing them at ease.
"The Admiral is inside and waiting sir."
"Very good Corporal, seal the room, no interruptions."
"Yes sir."

The door whirred open and retracted into the wall, the Admiral sitting at the desk with his eyes locked on a status report. He carefully and precisely set aside the paper as Jha'dur walked in, Sheridan bringing up the rear and closing the door behind him locking the three of them into the confined space. Hamato did not stand, his expression stony and his eyes hard. He was a man who was still consolidating his forces after a hard battle and assessing casualty reports, he had a very limited tolerance for distraction on a good day and this was not a good day.
"Warmaster." He gestured at the chair opposite, Sheridan slinking off to the side to stand beside the wall and keep a low profile. Despite his presence been requested he doubted he would have much to offer, this was a contest between master strategists and he counted himself privileged to simply be in the same room as this event.
Jha'dur took the seat, her demeanour pleasant and open, utterly against type for someone of her reputation. Sheridan guessed it was a facade, a screen to deflect casual analysis, but Hamato wasn't about to be taken in by it.

"Thank you for receiving me Admiral." Jha'dur said by way of greeting. Hamato had not welcomed her or offered to shake her hand, if she was upset by the apparent snub she didn't show it. "I apologise for the short notice but I think you'll agree it is justified."
"You claim to have information for us." Hamato spoke flatly. "Information too sensitive to transmit."
"Right here." She produced a data crystal. "My people have considerable influence in the galaxy, more than you may think."
"I am sure." Hamato remained unimpressed. "What is it?"
"Straight to the point." Jha'dur half smiled. "No interest in how we got this? Whether our methods were sound?"
"It will depend on whether what you say is worth my time. So far you haven't given me anything."
"We both know that isn't true." Jha'dur beamed. "I know the game Admiral, you have been scrutinising every move I make, every inflection and twitch of a muscle. You feign obstinance but you are extremely alert, and you have two questions. The information, well thats probably the lesser of the two right now. You want to know why I came here to deliver it in person."

"Why don't we answer one question at a time." Hamato steered. "What is on the crystal."
"As you wish, it's sensor data combined with some profiles."
"What kind of profiles?"
"Everything we have on the Minbari fleet commanders." She savoured Hamato's reaction, he barely flinched but for once he looked her in the eye, and in this game the tiny reaction was seismic. "And I assure you they are extremely detailed."

"Where would you, a Warmaster, come across this sort of information?"
"I have a friend or two on Minbar. Try not to look so surprised."
Hamato's face was utterly frozen.
"How do you have friends on Minbar?"
"Trying to determine if I've been giving Earth secrets to them? If I've been sat at a desk on Minbar telling them all about Earth?" Jha'dur cocked an eyebrow. "I haven't, and even if I offered they don't care. Most Minbari have no interest in learning about you, they have no curiosity. A dull people, not nearly so entertaining as you."
"Are we your entertainment?"
"In some ways, and it would be a shame to lose that." Jha'dur nodded. "But obviously Earth is far more than that, so we help you."
"What about your Minbari friends?"

"I use the term loosely. I met them after Balos, it was informal as the Minbari are quite isolationist but seems I had attracted the attention of a senior warrior named Sineval. He was, well, an idiot but a useful one. Ambitious, prideful, lot of repressed anger which this war has let him release."
"Have I fought him?"
"No, even the Minbari are smart enough not to give him real power." Jha'dur scoffed. "His clan was a moving force behind this war, very militant and aggressive. Happily your forces gutted theirs and they have lost much power and prestige, their removal has made a negotiated end to this war a possibility, if a somewhat distant one right now."
"Yet the Minbari continue to fight, and with increasing effectiveness."
"That is because they reshuffled their forces and brought back Branmer. Do you know the name?"
"Signals Intel intercepted a few mentions, former priest who changed roles. Last we heard he had been sent home."
"He's back, you faced him today." Jha'dur informed. "And he learned his lessons well."

Hamato nodded briefly in agreement. "The Minbari fleet that attacked here was more fluid and more dynamic, they were rough around the edges and not nearly as well trained as previous fleets, but they made up for it with their flexibility."
"That is Branmer's influence, he doesn't believe in rigid battles and managing every aspect, he's making his officers learn to think for themselves which is rare in Minbari society. Sineval hates him, which means he's probably every bit as good as his reputation suggests."
"We're looking to force battle at Jericho, our fleets are ready to intercept him."
"They won't, you can tell Ferguson not to bother." Jha'dur waved the idea aside. "Branmer isn't heading back toward Minbari space, he headed up past Cyrus colony towards Narn space."
"Narn space?" Sheridan interjected. "Why the hell would he do that?"
"Because my good Captain Branmer is a master of his craft." She tossed him the data crystal. "Put that in the computer."

He checked with Hamato, the old officer giving him a nod.
"Branmer is the best weapon the Minbari have." Jha'dur said with some note of admiration. "He knows how to fight a modern war, a war where he cannot rely on the usual Minbari advantages of stealth and superior ships. He knows he has to make his own advantages, manipulate circumstances to favour him. He understands that sometimes defeat is just preparation for victory."
"What do you mean?"
"You defeated him today Admiral, drove him off, saved the station." Jha'dur remarked. "A sound tactical victory, but Branmer was not defeated, he did what he had to do, he sacrificed many lives to do it, but he might just have won the war."

The screen activated showing a map of the major powers crossed by a wobbly network of jump routes.
"Branmer has had scouts laying beacons in hyperspace for weeks, setting up his own network just outside the main routes, it's dangerous but it works and it will be a miracle if you find them."
"Beacons in hyperspace are a short term measure." Sheridan noted. "They need to constantly burn thrusters to stay in position, once they run out of fuel the gravitic tides just carry them away."
"That's true, and despite their advanced technology even the Minbari beacons only last a month. However it is enough."
She gestured at the map.

"We don't know how extensive his network is but it is clearly present across your space. It let him get to Durani without notice, and now it let him reach Cyrus, but he won't stay there, he isn't planning on hitting the colony."
A light flashed on the Narn border.
"Last night a Narn sensor probe detected unknown ships transiting its location, Minbari ships. We back traced the route and found they had circled around EA space and plan to breach your border from the opposite direction. They crossed at Grid Epsilon a few minutes later."
"Wait, Grid Epsilon?" Sheridan frowned. "We haven't heard anything about that, the whole sector is quiet."
"Of course it is, they are following their own beacons out of range of yours. The Narn only detected them because that probe had enhanced sensors, a fluke."
"Our main forces are concentrated here and at Jericho." Hamato frowned. "With reserves at Orion, Proxima and Earth. We have virtually nothing in the Epsilon Sector or the league facing sectors."
"The Minbari could burn down a third of the Alliance before we can respond." Sheridan noted grimly.

"Could, but won't." Jha'dur shook her head. "Branmer is a true warrior Admiral, he refuses to bomb population centres, he won't level defenceless worlds. "
"How big was this Minbari fleet?"
"Substantial." Jha'dur brought up the sensor returns. "At least one hundred capital ships, plus several hundred lesser vessels."
"Mother of..." Sheridan caught himself. "Where did they come from?"
"Recalled from deep patrols, half built ships rushed through the shipyards and commissioned in haste, recently retired ships reactivated, battle damaged vessels from early battles brought back to service, that sort of thing. This fleet is the final reserve of the Warrior caste, the last real force they can scrape together without waiting for the new builds."

Hamato looked at the screen carefully, a tiny twitch of his jaw revealing the realisation of exactly how dire this situation was.
"This fleet crosses the border heading down from Narn space. Branmer is heading up past Cyrus. He's going to combine forces somewhere within our territory."
"My assessment also." Jha'dur nodded. "It is a very dangerous force, less precise than the honed pre-war fleets but they still carry a technical edge and have two excellent commanders, Branmer and Neroon."
"Tell me about Neroon."
"A warrior, but not as blinkered as his brethren. Branmer has accepted him as a protege and is instructing him. What Branmer lacks in experience and tactical knowledge Neroon amply makes up for. Alone they are dangerous, but as a team they are extremely formidable."
"A fleet of power led by those two warriors?" Sheridan grimaced. "We've got nothing nearby that can stop them, we'd have to go after him ourselves."
"Not just us, Ferguson too." Hamato gritted his teeth. "He knew."
"He did." Jha'dur nodded leaving Sheridan apparently out of the loop.
"Who knew?"

"Branmer." Hamato answered. "He knew the only threat to his combined fleet was our own combined fleet. Thats why he hit here."
"But our losses weren't heavy, we can still go after him."
"Can we?" Hamato raised an eyebrow, Sheridan's stomach suddenly sinking to his knees.
"The supply yards."
"The supply yards." Hamato confirmed. "He played us like a virtuoso. He knew our main weakness, our dependence on supplies, he knew how fast our ships go through fuel and munitions in a pitched battle and he used it against us."
"What about Ferguson?"
"His ships expended most of their supplies driving back the other Minbari attack weeks ago, they were due to cycle back here for rest and refit while we took over holding the border. Those supplies were for him." Hamato reminded.

"You can see it in his tactics, he led your ships on that long stern chase didn't he?" Jha'dur pointed out. "Made you follow him, burn through your fuel. Why not just jump closer to the station? Why not keep a reserve in hyperspace to hit the yards while the main force pinned you down? Because the supply yards were only half the battle, he needed your ships exhausted too. If he had just hit the yards your fleet would still be fully armed, you could have gone after him, but not today."
Hamato closed his eyes for a long moment.
"He has a golden opportunity." Jha'dur continued. "he has evaded your sensor nets, hamstrung your two main fleets, and now all of Alliance territory is at his feet and no one is going to be able to stop him from taking the most powerful fleet in this region and doing whatever he wants with it."
"He's going for our industry?" Sheridan guessed. "Proxima?"
"You're thinking too small Captain." Jha'dur shook her head. "Your Admiral knows."

She inhaled and leaned back in her chair.
"Branmer is a great man, this is quite possibly the finest exercise in strategy I have ever seen. His objective is to win the war Captain, he can't do it by simply destroying ships because he knows you can just replace them faster than he can. He can't win a war of attrition so he needs to launch a decisive strike while he still has the resources to do so. These are the last real massed fleets he will have, this is his last chance, he isn't going to waste it. Branmer will try to end this war in one massive incredibly daring move, a final gamble with the last of the Minbari fleets. Do or die Captain, it is exhilarating to behold."
Sheridan shook his head with dawning realisation.
"He's not going to..."
"Earth." Hamato said flatly. "He's going to Earth."

"It's logical when you look at it." Jha'dur broke the silence. "You are a new stellar power, the bulk of your population and industry is still on your homeworld, the same as us or the Narn. What use are the ships at Proxima without the computer systems made on Earth? Or the precision components needed in laser and plasma weapons made in Earth laboratories and then shipped to the colonies? Your financial sector is almost exclusively Earth based, your scientific and research facilities, main government functions and bureaucracy, all Earth based."
"So he attacks our main concentration of economic and industrial targets." Hamato concluded. "Very efficient of him."
"Your economy and industry is your greatest advantage, cripple it and you can't support the war any more. He wins the war in one strike." Jha'dur passed on her observation. "Turning your strength into a weakness. Very daring strategy, I doubt any other Minbari would have the courage or vision to try such a plan."
"We need to warn Earth Force Command." Sheridan spoke quickly.

"Already done." Jha'dur stated. "As I am telling you this the Dilgar and Narn Ambassadors are briefing your President. I just thought you should hear it from me first hand."
Hamato frowned very briefly before moving on.
"Captain, take control of whatever supplies remain. We do not have the fuel to reach Earth so I need you to prioritise our most effective warships. Take fuel from damaged and less useful warships and fill up are better vessels. We might not be able to get all the fleet to Earth but we can get the best third or so of our ships there. It might be enough."
"Yes sir." Sheridan at once set into work, moving fast for the door.
"Inform Admiral Ferguson, ensure he knows the situation and order him to concentrate resources in his best ships and burn for Earth."
"Risky, that leaves your border undefended." Jha'dur noted.
"Carry out my orders Captain."
"Understood sir."

Sheridan hurriedly departed leaving the Admiral and the Warmaster.
"Shouldn't you be running around giving orders?" She asked.
"I never need to run around." Hamato said bluntly. "I have time, Sheridan is highly skilled and quite capable of organising this without my oversight."
"So here we sit." She smiled. "Ask me."
"Ask you?"
"Don't be coy Admiral, I know it's on your mind. Ask me why I didn't just give this data to a trusted courier, or simply let your President tell you. Why come so far to deliver this to you in person?"
"I already know the answer. Vanity."
She snorted a laugh. "Nothing so banal Admiral, no, it is because I wanted to sit here and meet you. I'm your biggest fan."
"I don't have time for your mockery."

"It isn't mockery." She looked slightly wounded. "It is genuine respect. I have fought many commanders and slaughtered most of them, not many have ruined my plans, and only you managed to really beat me. You defeated me at Markab, drove me right back to Balos where I returned the favour."
"Barely." Hamato noted.
"You were lauded as a hero, a military genius, but too often people use the word genius to label that which they do not understand. A nebulous concept. But I understand you Admiral, I know how you think and how you fight, I understand you and that gives me a perspective lesser people cannot share."
"I doubt that."
"There are perhaps four people in this galaxy who are on our level Admiral, just four who can really understand the full subtlety and innovation of our strategies. Beside you and I only Dar'sen and now Branmer can truly appreciate our works. We are a very exclusive club Admiral and I wanted to get your measure, make sure you weren't just lucky. I knew you would not simply sit down for a conversation so I used this to get in the same room as you."
"And your opinion?"
"Not disappointed."
"Well then, if that is all..."

"Leaving so soon? I thought you had time?"
"I do, I simply have no desire to spend it with you."
"Direct as always." She showed no offence. "My reputation can upset people, but I had hoped you would see beyond that."
"I do, and I still have no interest in socialising."
"You don't wish to speak with me about the Minbari? Hear my insights? Whatever your view of me you must appreciate my analysis. You know it will be accurate."
"Probably, but I have developed my own analysis of Branmer. I have met him in battle, twice, you have not."
"And after I travelled all this way."
"Take your games elsewhere." Hamato said soundly. "I don't have the time or patience to indulge your theatrics."
"You hate me Admiral? For what I did?"
"Truly your powers of deduction are unrivalled."

"And now you plan to weaponise sarcasm? You have some catching up to do." She dismissed. "I understand your position, it is common enough, but also the product of a closed mind."
"I prefer to think of it as the response of someone with a soul."
"A soul? Don't start getting all Vorlon on me Admiral." Jha'dur chuckled. "What I did I did with a purpose. No life I took was taken in vain, they all contributed toward something, some higher purpose."
"I don't believe that, and neither do you."

"That is ultimately the difference between us Admiral." She leaned forward and scrutinised the human. "You have fought battles but you do not know what it is to kill. You take life but you do it with a word, a thought, a button. I understand death like you cannot, and because of that I understand life. Life is an exquisite thing, the only truly beautiful thing in this universe, and you will never truly understand that until you have held a life in your own hands and squeezed."
"I am a soldier, I kill because it is the last option. You kill because you enjoyed it."
"Of course I enjoyed it. Does that disgust you? I can tell it does and that is unfortunate." She shrugged. "I can just sit here and tell you it was all for a grander cause, the survival of the species, that sacrifices had to be made and I regret what I was forced to do."
She smiled coldly.

" But its a lie. Certainly that is the official government policy, they might even believe it, but of the Warmasters alive today I'm the only one who had no problem getting my hands dirty. The rest are dead and gone."
"Why?"
"It made me feel alive, it made every second last forever, it gave me a joy you will never understand. Don't give me that look Admiral, don't judge me when you haven't experienced the thrill of killing an entire world. It changes you forever, makes the life you lead before hand look like a dull grey picture with no sensation to it. Every life I took made me feel more alive, so yes, I did it as often as I needed to."
"And what about the lives you took? Did you not think anything of them? The hopes you were extinguishing? The dreams they had? The ones they loved?"
"People are resources, biological machines that serve a function or do not. Do you feel bad when you drain a battery and toss it away? Why should I feel the same for a life? It's the same thing, don't insult me with this nonsense about the dignity of sentience."

Hamato gently shook his head.
"All you are doing is confirming what I always suspected."
"I see things better than you do, I see the laws and moral restrictions you labour under as the deluded tools of control they are. These laws and demands are made by conglomerations of the weak to hold down and crush the will of the strong, to destroy visionaries and steal the heart from them! They do it because they fear us, they fear true innovation and genius because they know we are a threat to them. They know they are inferior so use the weapon of society against us! But it only works if you let them! All you have to do is say no."
She bared her teeth in a snarl of contempt as she tore through memories.
"I am free Admiral, free of everything, nothing holds me back, nothing tells me 'no you can't' anymore. I am on the outside looking in and that gives me a far greater perspective than you, I am here because I was born to it and because I fought every second of my life to get up here and to stay here. This is where I belong, this is what I was meant to do, this is what I was always going to become, and I feel nothing for those too weak to follow me. Not even pity."
"Is that all?" Hamato asked. "or is there more to this theatre?"

"Theatre? It is the truth Admiral, it is the way of things and if you are as intelligent as you seem to be you must see it too."
"I see many things Warmaster, but nothing that makes me discard the lives of innocent beings as a form of sadistic entertainment."
"Innocence is a flawed concept Admiral, I never..."
"Why are you telling me all this? Why are you delivering these speeches to me? Are you trying to convert me to your philosophy?"
"No Admiral, I just want you to see me for what I am."
"I already do, your problem is that you do not."
"I know my own mind Admiral."
"Perhaps, but I don't think you accept it. I have met people like you before Warmaster."
"There are no people like me. I am unique, and because of that I am dangerous. Your experience of other people means nothing right now, it offers you no advantage when facing me."

Hamato steepled his fingers, fixing the Warmaster with the full coldness of his gaze.
"The war council thinks you have changed, your people think you have changed, but you have not. You are still Deathwalker, the same hatred and need to prove yourself still fills you. But prove yourself to whom? Everyone you looked up to is dead. You are right, you are unique. There is no one like you and part of that is that you are completely alone. Not your lover, not your friends, not your worshippers, not your enemies, no one is in the same league as you and while you declare that fact with pride in truth it haunts you. You are not one of us, and as it is your greatest strength it is also your greatest weakness. Which, if I recall, was the basis of your entire military strategy. Strength into weakness."

"You were paying attention after all then." She allowed. "But I have proven myself, my achievements speak for themselves. My monument is in the hatred of my enemies, even you Admiral."
"You're lying, you don't care what the galaxy at large thinks, you have already dismissed them as resources. Why should you suddenly value their opinions? Unless you were wrong and they do matter to you."
"I am not wrong Admiral, though I am enjoying this little verbal assault course. If I am alone I accept that, it is the price I pay."
"It is more than that." Hamato reasoned. "You are obsessed with finding a worthy enemy, a peer so you are no longer utterly alone. You don't care if its a friend or enemy at this point, you just want to know you are not an aberration. It is your one need, you need an equal and you seek it wherever you go, it informs your every action, even politics. The Dilgar need a worthy ally, someone their equal and you settled on Earth, I assume the others were lacking?"
"Essentially yes, The Narn and Centauri are unreliable, the Minbari too stagnant, the Drazi too uncontrolled."

"Never the less a worthy race isn't a real solution to your problem." Hamato continued. "You need someone just like you, you need proof that you are not infact unique, that you are not a mistake of the universe. You want to be a part of something, even if it is just a partnership with a single being it will give you the validation that you need, that you are in some way like somebody else."
"Are you telling me Admiral that my great desire in life is to be normal?" She grinned. "Perhaps I did overestimate your intelligence."
"You do not fool me Deathwalker. You are afraid, you always have been."
"You think I am afraid of you Admiral?"
"No, you do not fear me, or fleets or armies, or even death. What you fear is yourself, and even if there is another monster out there like you it will not bring you comfort. Fear will still dictate your existence Deathwalker, and no amount of blood and bravado will distract you from that simple truth."
He pushed the chair back and stood.
"That's all I needed."

"All you needed?"
"You were right, I had no desire to meet you face to face, but it was necessary. Earth is becoming increasingly dependent on the Dilgar and it is necessary to understand who we are allying with. You came here to assess me and in so doing allowed me to assess you."
"Bravo." She said simply. "And your analysis?"
"Hell would be a fouler place for your presence." He delivered flatly. "But your personality is not up for debate, your motives are, and ultimately I believe that your reasons are genuine. I think your views are deeply warped and largely repulsive but Earth does not have the luxury of picking and choosing its allies these days."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
"You couldn't care less, you dismiss my opinions on morality because you do not believe I am qualified to pass judgement on you." Hamato said simply. "You only care about my opinion of you as a commander."
"And?"
"You are the most dangerous person in this galaxy."
"Now that I will definitely take as a compliment."
"Which only confirms my opinion of you." Hamato exhaled quietly. "But I also agree you want to help Earth, for your own reasons, and this information is genuine."
"Then let us shake hands Admiral, that is the custom is it not?"
She stood and extended a hand. After a brief moment of hesitation Hamato took it.
"To both our worlds, and to us." She smiled, an expression Hamato did not return.
"It seems we need each other." He said sombrely. "And God have mercy on our souls."