"It is time to step up our activity on Babylon 5", Sinclair continued. "It's crucial to us as a source of supplies and information. Now that we have human Rangers to send there on a full-time basis, I want to increase the flow of both those commodities. It's time to inform Sheridan of our activities."
Jenimer shook his head. "The Vorlons say it is not yet time." Even though Ulkesh wasn't walking with them, he was there, as always, needlessly putting obstacles in their way. But the Minbari, including Delenn apparently, joined the Vorlons in believing that Sheridan wasn't ready to be told everything. They had a timetable and they would not budge from it.
"I had a feeling you'd say that, but if we're going to intensify our activities on Babylon 5, we're going to attract attention. If we get the wrong sort of attention from the stations security chief, it will be impossible to do our work there, I can guarantee you that. If nothing else, we need to at least inform Chief Garibaldi of what's going on. Just him, no one else. I'll ask him to give the Rangers his cooperation, and, where necessary, turn a blind eye."
"But he will inform Sheridan immediately if you do that", said Rathenn.
"Not if I ask him not to."
"You are not his commanding officer anymore", said Jenimer.
"No, but we're still friends. And he owes me. He'll do this if I ask him to, and he'll prove an invaluable ally, I promise you. There's no other way."
Jenimer considered it. "Perhaps you're right. But the security chief only. And the message you send must be carefully worded."
"It will be", said Sinclair, then silently adding, it'll have to be if it's going to tell Garibaldi what he needs to know and still get by Ulkesh. "I'll instruct one of the Rangers to deliver it personally. A copy of the message should also go to Delenn, to keep her informed." Whether she would get the entire message he sent to Garibaldi, he had yet to decide. One thing at a time.
"I'm sure Ulkesh will agree to this."
"Wonderful", Sinclair said as neutrally as he could, and left it at that.
As soon as he got back to his quarters, he sat down to compose the message. He would make a visual recording, but first he wanted to carefully work out what he would say. He wrote the first words.
Hello, old friend, it's been a while.
Best to keep it simple. Garibaldi wasn't one for sentiment.
I'm trusting this message to an associate of mine who is sworn to bring it to you at any cost – including his own life.
That should help convince him of the life-and-death seriousness of what Sinclair was about to say.
My job on the Minbari homeworld is more than just representing Earth. Even the President doesn't know about that part yet, and I don't think it would be wise of you to tell him.
Be careful about what you say and who you speak to from Earth. Garibaldi would almost certainly understand that part of the message.
There's a great darkness coming. Some of the Minbari have been waiting for it a long time.
He hoped that was vague enough for the Vorlon. The next part could be, and had to be, stated directly.
I have to ask and trust that you will tell no one, not even Sheridan, what I'm about to say. The bearer of this message is one of my Rangers. Some are Minbari. Most are Humans. They have been drawn here to work together and prepare for the fight ahead. Their job, for now, is to patrol the frontier, to listen, to watch, and to return with reports too sensitive to trust to regular channels. They are my eyes and ears. Where you see them, you see me. In the name of our frindship, I ask you to give them every courtesy and cooperation.
Sinclair paused. That was the heart of the matter. He thought for a moment, and then decided to continue the direct approach.
I wish I could tell you more. I wish I could warn you. But the others don't think it's time yet.
It still wasn't enough. He had to say something more specific. He owed Garbaldi and Babylon 5 itself at least that much. What did he really want to say to his old friend? He wanted to warn him about the Shadows. By now, he must have heard something, seen some of the reports, heard some of the rumors.
But Sinclair wanted to warn him about more than the Shadows. He also wanted to warn Garibaldi about the Vorlons. He was a little surprised when he realized how strongly he felt about this, since he wasn't really sure what he wanted to warn Garibaldi against. That they were evasive? That they knew far more than they were willing to say? It was more than that. Garibaldi already knew those things. He knew Kosh.
And maybe that was the point. Those on Babylon 5 only knew Kosh, knew only that one Vorlon, only the one side of the Vorlons Kosh represented. Mysterious but seeming benign. Sinclair had believed that image himself, until he finally met another Vorlon. Ulkesh represented another side of the Vorlons, and Sinclair believed that to be a much darker side. Perhaps the more influental side.
Sinclair remembered that Garibaldi was fond of saying "the enemy to my enemy is my friend". Sinclair was finding it increasingly hard to see the Vorlon's as anyone's friends, but they were clearly enemies of the Shadows, who appeared to be enemy to all. So it was essential to cooperate with the Vorlons. And equally essential not to trust them too far. How would he get that across to Garibaldi without letting the Vorlon know he was doing so?
He thought about his friend for a moment. Although almost completely uninhibited when off duty, Garibaldi took his job as security chief very seriously, and was thorough and cautios on the job. Garibaldi once told him he had a motto as security chief. It came from an old, old movie he'd seen once; he had a fascination for late twenty-first century popular culture. "There's a line in this film", Garibaldi had told him. "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. And if I don't know which a person is, I stay really close."
That was it, Sinclair suddenly thought. He would use that. "Stay close to the Vorlon" might just resonate with Garibaldi the right way.
Now, what about the Shadows? He couldn't call them by name – or could he? It was, after all, a perfectly common word, one often used to denote danger in a general sense. Link that with the Vorlons in the same sentence, and maybe the point would be clear enough.
Stay close to the Vorlon, and watch out for Shadows. They move when you're not looking.
They. Would Garibaldi discern he meant that both the Shadows and the Vorlons had a tendency to "move when you're not looking"? Sinclair would just have to trust Garibaldi's instincts.
He reread the message. A bit melodramatic, perhaps, but it should do the job. Satisfied, he walked over to the computer to make the visual recording. As he sat down, he thought of his old friend and of all friends of Babylon 5, and he felt the familiar surge of conflicting emotions. The strong feelings carried through as he began. "Hello, old friend. It's been a while…"
AW: B5 | 2.09 | Schatten am Horizont (The Coming of Shadows)
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