To Dream in the City of Sorrows (34 page)

“Didn’t you notice each box had a different glyph?” he asked, examining her stabilizer and comparing it to his own. “I just wanted to see if I could find any difference between them.”

“And?”

“They look exactly the same to me. Here.” Sinclair handed her a stabilizer, hoping she wouldn’t notice he was giving her his, and keeping hers for himself. “See you in space,” he said, and gave her a quick kiss.

“See you in space.”

Sinclair walked to his fighter, still examining the stabilizer. They looked exactly the same, but it also looked as if some distinction had been made. The way Sinclair saw it, the only one of the three of them that he could be absolutely sure would be given a device that would have a protective effect was himself. The Vorlon and the Minbari both seemed to have a vested interest in his safety. He’d take his chances with the stabilizer meant for her. It might have been an unnecessary thing to do, but after eight months around Ulkesh, it didn’t seem unwarranted.

He climbed aboard his fighter and prepared to launch.

C
HAPTER 29

Sinclair made visual sighting first. They had already begun deceleration when he saw the tiny blue dot that his ship’s sensors confirmed was the time-rift area. That there was anything to see at all was a change from Sinclair’s first visit to Sector 14 the year before; the area, while emitting high levels of tachyons and other radiation, had looked normal from the outside, showing a visible distortion only as his shuttle had passed from normal space into the rift area itself.

But as they continued toward the rift, Sinclair could see it now appeared as a bright blue disk with a small black area at its center, surrounded for a few hundred miles by a visual distortion that caused the light of the stars beyond to undulate like so much phosphorescent foam upon an ocean.

“You’re sure it’s safe for us to go through this stuff?” Marcus said from Fighter 3 as they approached the outer edge of the distortion.

“The Vorlons and Minbari think so,” Sinclair said. “Besides, this distortion will hide our approach until the last possible moment.”

As they passed through, an energy discharge momentarily surged around each of the fighters.

“Remember,” Sinclair said, “the closer we are to the rim of the disk, the better. But try not to come in contact with it.”

“But it isn’t the opening itself?” Sakai asked.

“No, that seems to be an outer boundary where the energy levels and distortion are highest,” Sinclair said. “The actual rift opening is that dark area in the middle. That’s what the Shadows are trying to open up, and that’s what we want to keep closed down.”

The nearer they got, the more the phenomenon in front of them resembled a mile-wide wheel of blue fire, with a much smaller dark area in the middle that was constantly changing shape and size, opening and closing in an unpredictable pattern. Occasionally the center would open just enough to reveal a field of slowly spinning stars. A closer look revealed those stars were not shining through from the other side of the disk, but rather from some distant time or place within the rift.

For the moment, their trajectory was taking them straight toward that opening, on line with its axis, in their attempt to stay hidden from the Shadow fighters as long as possible. So far, it seemed to be working.

“The Shadow apparatus is on the other side,” Sinclair said. “The minute we crest the rim, we should see at least four Shadow fighters, but there may be more than that. Engage at will. We have to get all of the enemy fighters before we can blow the apparatus from a safe distance away. All right, let’s do it.”

“Entil’Zha veni!” Marcus said.

“Entil’Zha veni,” agreed Sakai.

“God help us,” Sinclair said, and pitched his fighter up and away from the rift opening into a vector toward the rim, followed on his left by Marcus and on his right by Sakai.

Before they’d even reached the top, Sinclair saw the first enemy fighter. It was coming over the rim, a strange spiky ship, just slightly smaller than his own fighter. It seemed to have a stubbornly indeterminate shape and an indistinct gray mottled surface, making it difficult to look at closely. It had no discernible features other than a front maw from which the alien immediately fired at Sinclair.

“Go!” he yelled as he went into a steep dive under both the enemy fire and ship. Sakai rolled right and disappeared over the disk edge, Marcus rolled left and did the same. Sinclair headed straight at the disk, then pulled up sharply to skim along the tops of the radiant energy flares and surging time-space distortion fields. The cockpit around him seemed to shimmer and shift with the distortion, and he climbed away as soon as he could and headed back for the rim. The Shadow fighter was on his tail. Sinclair slipped left and spun his fighter on its vertical axis to face his opponent and avoid another incoming energy burst. Still hurtling-backward-toward the rim, Sinclair fired and scored a direct hit on the Shadow fighter’s own weapons port, exploding the alien ship from within.

He was finally on the other side of the rift. He turned his fighter around again as his com suddenly crackled to life. He had apparently been cut off from communication while on the other side of the rift, “–you okay? Fighter One, respond!” It was Catherine.

“I’m fine, Fighter Two.”

He saw her in pursuit of a Shadow fighter, firing once just under it, then again, hitting one of the craft’s spiked projections, wounding but not destroying it.

Another ship was zeroing in on her.

“Fighter Two, ten o’clock starboard, enemy in pursuit.”

He set course to intercept as Sakai went into a turn, but Marcus was already in pursuit of the enemy fighter.

“I’m on it,” Marcus said as he came in from above. The enemy ship was about to fire as Marcus fired once, grazing the Shadow fighter and jarring it just enough to knock the enemy’s shot at Sakai off course. Sakai came around and finished the Shadow fighter off.

Sinclair turned toward the remaining wounded Shadow fighter, which was coming around again with renewed vigor. He pulled up to evade an incoming shot, brought his ship into a tight loop up and over, then dove down on the fighter from above, firing two shots that shattered the enemy ship.

“All right,” Sinclair said, bringing his ship to join the others. “We seem to be clear of bogeys out here. Let’s take a look at the main target.”

The three fighters fell into line and headed for the rift opening. For the first time, Sinclair got a quick look at the Shadow device they’d been sent to destroy, and it was nothing like he’d expected.

A single jet-black sphere, about the size of a Starfury, floated over the center of the constantly changing rift opening. It was so dark it was difficult to see at all, and was visible only as it occasionally cut off the light of the stars behind it in the rift. Emanating from the sphere were eight pulsing tendrils that seemed too long and fluid to be metal or any other hard material, and yet were clearly solid. The tendrils seemed to be sunk right into the rolling substance of the disk around the rift opening, as if they were pumping something in or out.

And it was guarded by two more Shadow fighters.

“You know the drill,” Sinclair said. “We have to take out those fighters without hitting that contraption. Which from this angle, won’t be easy.”

“They don’t look like they’re going anywhere,” Sakai said.

“Get the feeling they’re more afraid of their bosses than us?” Marcus asked.

“Safe assumption, Fighter Three,” Sinclair said. “No way we’re going to draw them out into the open. So here’s what we’ll do. All three of us will go in just close enough to get their attention and draw their fire. Fighter Two you’ll roll off to the right and up, Fighter Three you’ll roll off to the left and down. I’ll stick around in front to keep their attention while you two loop back and catch them in a pincer, Fighter Two shooting from directly above the one on the right, Fighter Three from directly below the one on the left, so that you’re never shooting in the direction of the apparatus itself.”

“Fighter One,” Sakai protested immediately. “You’re the better shot. I’ll take decoy out front.”

“I’m pretty good at dodging,” Sinclair replied. “Besides, it’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“For them or us?” Sakai asked.

“Entil’Zha,” Marcus said. “Perhaps you should let me take decoy. After all, you’re–“

“That’s an order,” Sinclair said firmly, cutting off the discussion. “We’re approaching the targets. Get ready.”

As soon as they were in maximum range, the Shadow fighters opened fire at them. They avoided the first few rounds easily enough, but as they drew closer and the barrage increased, it became increasingly more risky for three ships than just one. Now was the time.

“Go!” Sinclair ordered. As Marcus and Sakai peeled off, Sinclair put his own fighter into a highly erratic evasive pattern. On closest approach, his fighter shook from a volley that stripped the top covering of metal from his port engine nacelle with a shower of sparks, but without doing serious damage.

“Fighter One. Get out of there now!” Sakai shouted over his com.

Sinclair immediately turned and accelerated straight down the center away from the rift opening, as behind him Marcus and Sakai came in for the attack.

“Got ‘em!” Marcus yelled, after firing a shot that spun the Shadow fighter away from the apparatus and into the rift’s energy disk where it exploded.

A second later, Sakai scored a direct hit on the final Shadow fighter, blowing it apart instantly. “Zero bogeys,” she said.

His sensors – though not working perfectly within the time rift’s distortion field – indicated that was so.

“Five Shadow fighters accounted for,” he said. “One more than they told us to expect.”

“But who’s counting?” Marcus chimed in.

“The area seems to be clean,” Sinclair continued, “so let’s get to the main event.”

“A pleasure.” Sakai sighed. “I don’t like the look of that thing.”

“I’m sure that makes three of us,” Sinclair agreed. “We’re supposed to be outside the distortion field to be absolutely safe when we blow that thing.”

“At that distance, we won’t be able to see it,” Marcus protested.

“We can rely on the computer targeting to do the job. We’ll fire three missiles each. I’m sure we’ll know right away if we’ve hit or missed.”

“I hope so,” Marcus said. “The least we deserve after all of this is a decent fireworks display.”

“I’m just happy to get away from here,” Sakai said. “I haven’t experienced any time flashes, or anything like that, but the area still gives me the weirdest feeling. I don’t like it here at all.”

“These time stabilizers do seem to be working as advertised,” Sinclair said. “But I agree with you, Fighter Two. This is one area of space I’d just as soon never have to visit again.”

They reached the area demarcating the time rift’s extended distortion field from normal space. Sinclair felt a surge of relief as the brief energy discharge around their ships marked their passage out of the timerift area. He brought his fighter back around, followed by Marcus and Sakai.

“Computer, target object at rift according to sensor readings. Ready missiles for preset detonation at minimum range, and wait for my command. Fighter Two?”

“Ready.”

“Fighter Three?”

“All set.”

“Fire missiles.”

The missiles launched, and Sinclair began a silent countdown: nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one ...

Sinclair saw a small burst of light in the middle of the rift. That should do it, he thought, as he watched the fireball expand rapidly.

Without warning, there was a blinding flash of light, as disorienting as those that had preceded the time flashes Sinclair had experienced once before.

Suddenly, the Universe exploded around them.

Sinclair felt his ship tumbling wildly out of control, tried desperately to stay conscious. As darkness threatened to swallow him, he fought to bring his ship back under control, struggled to speak.

“Computer. Emergency override. All systems to stabilizers.”

The ship slowed its tumble, but he still didn’t have full control. It was enough, however, so he could check on Catherine and Marcus.

“Fighter Two, are you okay? Fighter Two?”

There was an agonizing pause, then: “I’m all right. What the hell happened?”

Sinclair breathed a whole lot easier, even as he continued to work his console to reestablish full control over his ship. “I don’t know yet. Fighter Three? Come in. Are you all right? Fighter Three? Fighter Two, can you see him–“

“I’m okay, Fighter One,” Marcus said finally, sounding shaken. “Sort of.”

“Full attitude control reestablished,” intoned the onboard computer. Sinclair looked up and was puzzled. Then why was the star field outside his canopy still rotating?

“Oh, my God!” That was Sakai’s voice. “Look at the rift. We’re right on top of it.”

Sinclair realized what he was looking at: the rotating star field in front of him was the one in the rift.

Somehow, the explosion of the Shadow device had done a lot more than anyone had anticipated. It had altered the time rift. The disk of blue energy was now only a thin ring surrounding a mile-wide, open and obviously passable portal. And they were being drawn into it, Sakai straight ahead of him, Marcus right behind him. By all the laws of physics he could think of, they should have been hurled clear of the rift by the force of that explosion, but he had come to accept that the laws of physics just didn’t seem to work the way they should near the rift, and instead they were being pulled rapidly toward it.

“We’re going to hit the portal within five minutes if we don’t get out of here,” Sinclair said. “Let’s go back the way we came. Formation turn to starboard.”

Sinclair tried to turn his fighter to the right, but it didn’t respond to manual control. “Computer, bring fighter around to starboard, formation turn.”

“Unable to carry out command,” the computer intoned. “The ship is locked into present course, will not respond to directional controls. Please advise–“