Chapter 29

Minbari Shuttle: As the Satai's took their seats; they looked at each other and began to speak in hushed tones. The honor guards just turned to the front and gave them their privacy. Delenn turned and looked at Racine, "How do you propose we tell the rest of the council of what we have discovered?"

Racine put his head down, "I don't know Delenn, I just don't know. They must be informed, but I'm not sure how they will take this information."

Delenn looked at him, "I will tell them, it will most likely sound better coming from one of the religious caste."

Racine smiled, "Even if that is true, the other warriors may not believe that the humans have Minbari souls."

Delenn looked at him with a glint of determination in her eyes, "Then we will make them believe. We will show them the recordings we have from our talks with Nosann, Captain Grove and Commander Sinclair."

Racine looked at her, "Let us hope that that will be enough to convince them."

They sat back as the shuttle was landing, and then they proceeded to the council chamber.

..
Gray Council chamber: As Racine and Delenn entered, Satai Hedronn came over to them. "Delenn, Racine, we have a problem."

Racine looked at him, "What sort of problem Hedronn?"

"A Shai Alyt of the Wind sword clan, ah Sinavel, has defied the council's orders. He went to the Vega system to confront the humans."

Delenn looked worried, "This could destroy the peace talks. We must stop him."

Hedronn smiled, "There is no need Delenn. Lennon must have foreseen this possibility. He had members of the Anla-shok in the system to 'assist' the humans with their scanning of the system. The lead Anla-shok convinced Sinavel that he would have to fire upon his fellow Minbari, if he meant to attack the humans."

Racine looked at him now, "No Minbari would ever fire on another Minbari."

Hedronn looked at him, "The Anla-shok were counting on that fact Racine. Sinavel withdrew, and is now returning to Minbari space."

The relief was apparent on Delenn's face, "Then we have many things to discuss this day, and all of them pertain to how we Minbari treat other Minbari."

Hedronn just looked at her, with a puzzled look on his face. "You will see what she means in due time Hedronn." the three of them then headed for their positions on the circle.

..
Once all the council members were present, Delenn stepped forward.

"You have asked Racine and I to keep you appraised of the negotiations with the humans. You also asked that we investigate the story of the humans punishing one of their own people for attacking a Minbari prisoner. In the course of our inquireries, we have discovered something that has mystified the religious caste for a very long time. As we all know, the soul of every Minbari is reborn into the next generation of Minbari. But for the last thousand years, the number of souls reborn has been slowly decreasing. For the last few centuries, the religious caste has been trying to determine why this was happening. Racine and I have discovered where those souls have been going."

Racine stepped forward, and held out a data crystal. "On this crystal are the interviews with the three people who were there at the time of the incident with Nosann. During the interviews, Delenn used a Tri-Luminary to confirm that they spoke the truth. As you will see, the results of these interviews were not what we were expecting."

He then walked over and placed the crystal in a display unit and activated it.

..
The room was filled with the view of the room where they had spoken to Nosann, Captain Grove and Commander Sinclair. Some of the council members were moved by Nosann's telling of the honor given him by the human, and then they saw how the Tri-Luminary glowed behind Captain Grove. Many of the council members began to talk amongst themselves. But there was absolute silence in the council chambers, when they saw the Tri-Luminaries reaction to Commander Sinclair.

Satai Hedronn stepped forward, "Is this for real Delenn?"

"Yes Hedronn, it is. You all saw how the Tri-Luminary glowed by the first human, but even we where shocked by the reaction of the Tri-Luminary to the presence of the Human Sinclair. The Tri-Luminary was actually vibrating in my hand."

Satai Shakiri stepped toward Delenn, "Are you trying to tell this council that the humans have Minbari souls?"

"Yes Satai, they do, in whole or in part. And this one human, Sinclair, has not only a Minbari soul, but the soul of the greatest of all the Minbari. Valen."

No one in the council said anything, Delenn continued. "You have all heard the stories of how the three Tri-Luminaries would react in the presence of Valen. Many of you have seen how they react to one who is of Valen's line. Now we see this reaction in the presence of the human Sinclair."

Delenn waited a few moments before continuing. "I know that what we have shown you today is hard for some of you to believe, for it was hard for us to believe it as well. But if it is true, then it explains why the Vorlons have steered us to the humans. Not only are they to be our ally in the coming war with the shadows, but they are our kindred spirits."

..
Hedronn looked at her, "Delenn, I have seen the evidence that you have shown us. I for one am convinced, but many Minbari will not be. This information can not be made public knowledge, not until our people have been prepared for it."

Satai Shakiri looked at Hedronn, and then Delenn. "For once, the warrior caste agrees with the religious caste. Our people must be made ready for this kind of revelation. And more importantly, the humans must not be made aware of it until the time is right."

Delenn looked at Shakiri, "I agree, so we must end the war now. Then we can begin to prepare for the coming war with the shadows."

The council members all nodded their heads.

"Good, we are in agreement. Now to our other problem at hand, Shai Alyt Sinavel."

..
Delenn had the transmission from the Anla-shok played for all to see. When it was done, Satai Shakiri stepped forward, "I would ask that the council remember that Sinavel was only trying to seek justice for his slain clan brothers and sisters. I would propose that we allow the Wind Sword clan elders to handle this problem internally. If it appears that the Gray council is going to interfere with every action that the warrior caste make, then that could lead to many problems in the future."

The council members spoke amongst themselves for a few moments. Then Satai Nishram of the workers came forward. She removed her hood and looked at Shakiri.

"We agree with the warrior caste, for the most part. But the Wind Sword elders must be made aware that the council will except nothing less than Sinavel's removal from command, and that he never be allowed to serve as a warrior again."

Shakiri looked at her, "Do you know what you are asking of them, or of him. What is a warrior if he can not be allowed to serve his people as a warrior?"

"How he serves the people of Minbar is up to him, he just will not be a warrior. His actions could have not only prolonged this war, but they could have brought greater destruction to all of our people."

Shakiri lowered his head, for he knew that she was speaking truthfully. "You are right Satai Nishram. I will contact the Wind Sword elders and inform them of the council's wishes."

Nishram looked at him, "We all know that what we ask is hard Satai Shakiri, but it is for the good of all the Minbari people."

..
Satai Shakiri's quarters: Satai Shakiri had a signal sent to the Elders of the Wind Sword clan. He looked upon their faces, and they could see that what he had to say was serious. "My clan elders, the council wishes for you to discipline Sinavel for his actions. But they are adamant about his no longer being a warrior. They will not back down from this point."

Elder Dosalann looked at him with a shocked expression. "They can't be serious. Sinavel is one of our best warriors. He was only seeking justice for the deaths of our brothers and sisters."

"I know that Dosalann, but I also know that his actions could have made this war far worse for all of the people of Minbar."

The woman looked at him, "We thank you for telling us. Please inform the council that we will see to Sinavel's punishment."

"Yes my elders."

The signal ended, and Shakiri just sat in his quarters and prayed for his friend Sinavel. "What trouble have you gotten yourself into now my old friend?"

..
Bridge of the Cruiser Tragotti: Shai Alyt Sinavel watched as his crew went about their duties. He knew that they were all disappointed at the outcome of their hunt. He also knew that there would be fallout from the actions that he had taken. He then decided that his crew would not pay for his actions. "Comm., send to all ships of the group. They are to proceed back to our staging area, the Tragotti is going to meet with the clan elders."

"Yes Shai Alyt."

He now turned to his Alyt, "I am going to my quarters to meditate. Inform me when we reach our destination."

"Yes Shai Alyt."

Sinavel left the bridge and went to his quarters. He had things to prepare before his meeting with the elders, and not much time to prepare them. Soon his Alyt informed him that they had arrived. He quietly made his way to the launch bay and boarded a flyer sent by the elders.

..
Meeting Chamber on the Cruiser Valen's Blood: The guards thoroughly searched Shai Alyt Sinavel before he entered the chamber. When he entered he saw that all of the clan elders were assembled. He knew in his heart that things would not go well for him, but he was determined to not let the elders blame his crew. He walked to a point in front of the elders and kneeled in front of them and lowered his head.

"My elders. I have brought shame upon our clan, and almost made outcasts of us all. I alone am responsible. I alone will accept your punishment."

He looked at the elders now. "I sought vengeance for my clan brothers and sisters. I wanted the blood of the humans, to pay for the blood of our people. But to get that blood, I would have had to kill my fellow Minbari. That I could not do."

He then lowered his head. The most senior elder stood slowly.

"Sinavel. We do not fault you for seeking justice for our lost brethren. And we do not fault you for not firing on your own people. But you went on your hunt without approval of the clan elders. And you defied a Gray council order, and in so doing you risked the honor of our entire clan. We have no choice but to remove you from us. From this day forward, you are no longer of our clan. No other warrior clan will take you in, you are outcast."

The elder slowly sat back down and refused to look at Sinavel.

"I understand elders. But if I can not be a warrior, then I choose not to live."

Sinavel bit down hard on his back tooth, and then it crumbled and released the poison it held. He slumped forward, even as the guards were rushing forward to stop him. The first to reach him felt for a pulse and found none.

"He is dead my elder."

The senior elder just nodded, "Inform the Tragotti that their new Shai Alyt will be there within the hour, and remove the body."

The lead guard looked at the elders, "We will see to his burial."

"No, there will be no burial. He was outcast, he is not of our clan."

The guards bowed and picked up the body.

..
Bridge of the Tragotti: Alyt Kalane was pacing back and forth on the bridge. His comm. tech received the message from the Valen's Blood and passed it to Alyt Kalane. Kalane walked over to a bridge station and activated the ship wide intercom.

"Shai Alyt Sinavel is dead. The humans are responsible for this. The Gray council would make peace with the humans, we will not. This ship is leaving Minbari space in 10 minutes. Those who choose may leave now. May Valen watch over you." he then cut the signal.

Ten minutes later, the Tragotti began to move away from the other ships in the system at full emergency speed. Before they could be stopped, they jumped into hyperspace.

..
Council Chambers of the Valen's Blood: The Shai Alyt entered the chamber and bowed before the elders.

"The Tragotti has jumped out of the system my elders."

The senior elder just nodded, "Inform the Gray council that the matter of Sinavel has been completed."

"And the Tragotti my elder?"

"Of course, inform them of that as well."

"Yes my elder."