He smiled, a hideous sight, and cocked his head. "You're beautiful, you know. I think so. Very beautiful. It would be a shame to mar that beauty, but…. it tells me I must. It tells me that…. it tells me that this should be very messy. Very ugly. Very…. Oh. That isn't nice. Not nice at all."

She found herself backed up against the wall, and looked around frantically. There had to be somewhere she could go, something she could use as a weapon. No, of course there wouldn't be. Sonovar would have made sure of that. Had Sonovar sent him here to kill her? No, that was stupid. If Sonovar wanted to kill her, he could have done so before. He could have killed her at the shelter. He could….

She started, and her throat suddenly went very dry. The door was still open!

It was at the far side of the room, and she would have to get past him to get to it, but…. that was not impossible.

"This won't hurt," he said. "I'll not make it hurt. You've been hurt enough already. Kalain saw to that, and Sonovar, and all the others. Don't worry. Just close your eyes, and it will…." He closed his eyes, still moving forward. His gait was swaying and uncertain, as if he were hypnotised.

Now! She sprang forward, charging directly towards him. He started and raised his hand, something bright gleaming in it. He swung at her, but she reached him first, throwing her whole weight at him. His foot slipped and twisted, and he fell. Recovering her balance and stepping around his frenzied efforts to grasp at her, she made for the door as fast as she could.

Two steps outside the door, she literally ran into Sonovar. Reeling from the impact, she stumbled and would have fallen had he not caught her. Swaying in his not particularly gentle grip, she saw that he was accompanied by two warriors. All three of them were armed.

"Trying to reject my hospitality, my lady?" he said harshly. "I am afraid I cannot accept that."

"He was trying to kill me," she whispered. "What sort of 'hospitality' is that?"

"He? Who?" He gestured to his guards, and they entered the room. A few moments later they emerged, with Kats' mysterious assailant walking between them. There was no visible sign of a weapon.

"Ah," Sonovar said. "Forell. Yes, I understand your…. mistake that he may have intended some harm to you. He is not an easy man to like."

"He tried to kill me," she protested. "He…. he is corrupted somehow. I don't know how, but something is influencing him, something…."

"Silence!" Sonovar barked. "I trust him more than I do you, my lady. He has not betrayed our people, but you will pay for that crime shortly. In any event, Forell, you are not to go near her again, do you understand?"

"Of course, lord," he said, bowing his head. His voice was much more polite and refined now. Almost as if he were an entirely different person from the one who had attacked her.

"And now, my lady," Sonovar said. "I wish to discuss certain matters with you, in your quarters, if you have no objection?" She shook her head, still looking at Forell, and returned to her cell. He followed her.

"I apologise for your treatment, Lady," he said smoothly. "My aides misheard my instructions as to your welfare. They have been corrected. I also apologise if Forell startled you. I sent him ahead to see you were ready to receive me. I understand how he may have…. startled you."

She said no more about just how much he had startled her. He was corrupted in some way, the same taint that had consumed Ashan. Did Sonovar know about it? Was he corrupted as well? She turned to look at him. He stood tall above her, strong and powerful, an arrogant strength shining in his dark eyes.

She said his name softly, trying to infuse as much respect as she could into it.

"Yes, Lady. I suppose I still bear the title Satai, as do you, but such distinctions mean little these days. My name is title enough." He paused, studying her. She did not shift her posture, but she did avert her eyes from his piercing gaze.

"Are you comfortable here? Have you been brought enough food? Drink?"

"Neither," she replied. "But I wish only to be freed."

"Don't we all?" he replied enigmatically. "In any event, that is impossible at the moment. Sinoval will be here soon. It is a long journey from Epsilon Eridani, and that has bought me enough time, but I regret I will not be able to talk with you as much as I would like."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Oh? Nothing? Nothing at all?"

"What have you done to our people…. your people? What possible reason could you have for this?"

"I have many, but here is one. Sinoval will destroy us. Oh, under him we may be able to defeat the Enemy, and the Earthers, perhaps even win every battle we face, but where will that victory bring us? Our people are dead anyway. Sinoval has torn down everything that made us Minbari, and he will not be able to rebuild us. Not in the way he wants. A victory under him will be every bit as dark and terrible as if we had been enslaved by the Earthers.

"I will provide an alternative. Sinoval has committed too many wrongs for him to be allowed to remain."

"Minbari do not kill Minbari. And yet you did. Is that not a wrong?"

He shrugged. "Of course. I know what I have done here, and I accept it, but I punished only those who swore fealty to Sinoval…. only the weak and the cowardly. My actions may have been wrong, but my motives were pure. Can he say the same?"

"I don't need to bother arguing that. Were those in that hospital you killed guilty? Did they deserve to die?"

"They were sheltering you…. and you, Lady, are guilty."

She shook her head and tried to restrain a sob. "And there it is. A high and mighty worker aspiring to a position above her station. Only the warriors should rule, yes? Only they are fit to rule, and let the rest of us stay down in the gutter where we belong. You have no idea how many times I have heard that."

"You wrong me, Lady. Sinoval raised you to whatever position you hold because he thought you were deserving of it. I do not dispute that, but surely you more than anyone are intelligent enough to see the evil in what he has done. You have seen that, and yet you continue to serve him. That is why you are guilty."

"Yes, Sinoval has done a great deal that was wrong, but I believe in him. I chose to serve him not out of weakness, but because I know he is right, and…." She fell silent, and shied away. "I believe in him, and I always will."

"Truly? Or are you merely grateful to him for saving you? I saw you, remember…. begging on your knees, screaming…. tears running down your face…."

"Stop it!" She was crying again. "Yes, you saw me…. and you did nothing! You stood there and watched. How can you justify that?"

"I followed Kalain. He was my superior then, and I believed in him. Whatever madness afflicted him, it is gone now. It died with him. In a way, Lady, you are responsible for my actions now."

"Me?"

"Your…. ordeal showed me that the ones who rule can be as wrong and as flawed as any of us. After Kalain died I chose to embark on my own path instead of following Sinoval's. Had I not witnessed your torture, I would probably still be as those sheep on the planet, following Sinoval simply because he has claimed the right to rule. You and Kalain showed me that I did not have to follow blindly."

"You're…. you…."

"I'm sorry, Lady. I've obviously overwhelmed you. Rest here. Sleep if you wish. I will have food and drink brought to you, and I would like to talk with you again when you are feeling better. I…. I can see why Sinoval thinks so highly of you." He turned, and began to walk away.