After a thousand years of peace, civil war was breaking out on Minbar; it seemed unthinkable, unbelievable, and yet it was happening. It had to be stopped, but how? It seemed Delenn had a plan, although she had not explained it to anyone. Perhaps in the past members of the religious caste would have trusted her wisdom; after all, was she not the chosen of Dukhat? But now…

She had invited Neroon of the warrior caste to private talks aboard her own vessel. Surely that could mean only one thing, that she was preparing to surrender to the warrior caste, which would spell disaster to all members of the religious caste.

Such treachery could not be allowed, and yet Delenn’s people could not move against her; that would harm their caste almost as much as surrendering would. There was only one possible option; the ship they were on must simply never reach Minbar, and the only way that could be achieved was if everyone aboard were to die while travelling through hyperspace. That way, with nobody at the controls, the ship would simply drift through hyperspace, getting further and further from the beacons, until there was no chance it would ever be found.

The necessary sabotage was simple enough, merely a matter of contaminating the air supply with poisonous residue siphoned from the ship’s engines. It seemed fitting to those involved in the plot that they should be martyrs for the greater good of their caste, even though no one else would ever know of their courage and their sacrifice. Dying would be a small price to pay, and might even be considered welcome, freeing them from the conflict that troubled them so deeply.

But for Lennier, their plot would have succeeded, and then they would truly have been doomed.


The End