DO YOU DREAM OF ME? (Part 1)
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
                             By Cheryl Ockenden
                        (peri@darien.globalnet.co.uk)
                         Standard Disclaimers apply
                       
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                           'You cannot harm me. 
           You cannot harm one who has dreamed a dream like mine'
                            - Jason Ironheart

                            *****************

Human Date: June 21st 1265   

   "Entil'zha, we've found a lone ship... floating in space..."

Valen sat in his quarters in Tuzanor, the vidscreen showing a young Minbari 
dressed in the robes of the still recently formed Anla'shok. 
   
   "What type of ship, Dorann?"
   
Valen was still worried about the possibility that some of the Shadow allies
would come for revenge, after the Shadow War had ended. The Minbari were
tending to their wounds and would be for a long time to come. The last
thing they needed right now was another war.

The young Minbari frowned. "That's the strange thing..." He paused, as if
trying to figure something out, possibly how to explain what they'd found.
 
   "Care to elaborate?" Valen arched the space where his eyebrows has been -
only few years earlier - in anticipation. One thing he'd learnt from his 
time on Minbar, you could never rush a Minbari. 

Dorann took a deep breath and let it out again before speaking.

   "It's very damaged... Entil'zha, it looks like one of ours, it is..
   but it isn't and I've never seen anything like it!"
   
   "Dorann, you're not making much sense..." 
   
Valen found his worry about the shadow allies dissolving and turning into
confusion.

   "There's more, there's a survivor. An alien survivor. She's female, but
   we have never seen this race before. We brought her in, only barely alive 
   but the doctors are tending to her now. They say that she's now stable. 
   She was still semi-conscious when we found her. She seemed to be mumbling 
   under her breath but we haven't been able to translate as yet."

   "Any idea when you'll know more? About the survivor? The ship?"

   "We won't know any more about the survivor until she's well enough to talk,
   possibly not even then. We've got translators working on what she's already 
   said and they'll have to translate for us when she does talk. It's going
   to be a very slow process. I'll send a copy of what she's been saying,
   after I sign off. The ship... the ship.."

Dorann shook his head in disbelief and then took another breath.

   "The ship is of unknown origin, yet it uses Minbari and Vorlon technology.
   How can this be so?"

                        ****************************

The last thing she remembered was the twisting of the time rift as it pulled 
her in. Over and over, she dreamt that she was falling into a darkness so 
totally black that she'd never escape from it. Behind her, the ship that had 
shot her towards the rift, fell into the darkness, following her every move. 
She only saw it because it was blacker than the darkness surrounding them 
both. Its dark, mottled surface seemed to glisten, but it didn't seem alive 
any more. She was sure it had been once. She fought hard and imagined that 
she saw a light. She thought of him, until the shadows closed in on the 
light, and the blacker-than-space darkness engulfed her again.

                        ****************************

He fumbled with the buttons on his console, willing the message to download
faster. Of all the places.. of all the times... and she was here?

The console window was off as he waited for the message to arrive, and he
stared into its blank blackness, remembering the last time he had seen her. 
The last time he had let her go...

He blinked, and suddenly noticed the twin images of Kosh & Ulkesh, reflected 
in the console window. He didn't realise how long they had been there, it 
couldn't have been that long. 

The musical chimes twinkled and squeaked as Kosh spoke.

   "The arrow always finds its target."

Ulkesh hummed darkly in response to Kosh's statement.

   "Do not forget who you truely are."

Valen turned to face them and as he stood up Ulkesh simply turned and glided 
out of the room. Kosh hesitated for a moment longer..  

   "You are the arrow. Do not deviate from your destiny."

With that, he too turned and left. Behind him, the console was playing back 
the downloaded message over and over again. 

   "...don't leave me... it's so dark... Jeff.."

                        **************************

Part 2 continues soon...