A Call to Arms Read Free Page A

you’ve talked to the head of construction... what’s his name... Drake?”
    Garibaldi gave a sour smile. In his mind’s eye he conjured up Drake’s image: a small, efficient man who worked hard at being affable, yet with a certain prissiness about him, and a meanness based, perhaps, on a fear of things getting out of order, out of control. Not endearing qualities.
    “Talked, yelled, screamed... He’s a bright guy, but he’s one of those people who wants everything perfect before he does anything. So nothing gets done.”
    “Roast leg of lamb,” Sheridan commented as the waiter wheeled over a cart. “You know my tastes.”
    “And it’s nice when they coincide with my own,” Garibaldi replied.
    “Well, I understand Drake’s caution,” Sheridan said. “Reverse-engineering Minbari and Vorlon technology so it’ll work with Human tech ... it’s never been done before.”
    Garibaldi nodded, unconvinced. “Maybe so. Once we’re done you’re going to have the leanest, meanest fleet on the block. Of course, all the other races are gonna go nuts when they find out.”
    “I know,” Sheridan said. “That’s why we’re doing this in secret. If they knew we were building a whole new class of destroyer, they’d be all over us. Fortunately, we’ve got a pretty good smoke screen to hide the funding, and Delenn’s keeping everyone’s attention back on Minbar getting ready for the anniversary. Nobody knows we’re here.”
    Just then a Minbari Ranger came over. “Mr. President... we’re clear of all the shipping lanes. We can jump at any time.”
    “Good,” Sheridan said. “Proceed.”
    The Ranger saluted sharply, turned, and left. There was a subtle change that rippled through the people in the dining room. It was as though somehow, almost telepathically, everyone was aware that the White Star was about to make an important move.
    “One thing’s for sure,” Sheridan said. “Even if anybody does know where we are, no one’s going to follow us from here on out. I haven’t seen anything yet that could keep up with a White Star on full burn.”
     

Chapter 4
     
    With the command for the jump from space to hyperspace, the White Star’s crew began the evolution that would take her from one piece of empty space to another.
    Only this particular piece was not quite empty.
    Sitting less than a mile from the White Star was a farseer ‘bot. It was a small, rounded object, and it had gone unnoticed by the White Star’s detectors. The ‘bot was small and glittering. It looked like a curved mass of quicksilver, and it reflected the White Star . It hung all by itself in the void of space, turning slowly to keep the Minbari craft in sight. The ‘bot seemed alone and isolated, turning by itself with no sign of a guiding intelligence.
    And yet, just beneath the surface of the object, a curious thing happened. Though the ‘bot seemed solid, closer examination led to a brief, vertiginous tunneling effect.
    This dizzying ride led to a sphere, small enough to be held in a man’s hand. Obviously, it was remotely connected to the farseer ’bot.
    A man was holding the sphere, a man whose face was hidden in a hood, part of a cloak that muffled him from head to toe. The man was standing in a darkened room, its only source of light a powerglobe on the ground near where he sat, cross-legged.
    In the glowing surface of the crystal sphere, the White Star picked up speed and vanished into a jump point that had opened in front of it. The man watched intently. A voice behind the man with the sphere said, “Galen...”
    Without turning around, the man with the probe responded. “I’m here.”
    “The Circle requires your presence.”
    Galen pushed back his hood and stood up. He was a tall young man, an Earther. “I’m busy,” he said, his attention still on the probe.
    “They know of your activities. You will come to them... or they will come to you. Either way, you will be called to account.”
    Galen moved