SEVEN

The shuttle took off from St Petersburg just after midnight. Ivanova was the sole passenger. It travelled south and west, heading for Switzerland and the centre of operations for the Earth Alliance.

She had spent the night at Rabbi Koslov’s, eventually retiring to the guest bedroom after they had finished poring over the images in the old photograph albums. Ivanova was surprised by how many there had been. Expecting just to see the family portraits she still remembered, she marvelled at the books that went back hundreds of years, through countless generations of her ancestors. All of them were perfectly preserved. Even more surprising was how much Koslov knew about the all the various individuals. Finally he admitted that he had looked through them before with Andrei in his final years.

“He schooled me in your family’s history,” Koslov told her.

“Again and again we looked through them. I think he did this because after he was gone, I could pass the information on to you.”

He reached for a large plain envelope that had been slipped under the cover of one album, pulled out the pages that were covered in Andrei’s elegant handwriting.

“He wrote everything down so I wouldn’t forget and you could remember,” he said.

Ivanova brushed her fingertips over a small monochromatic portrait of a wizened old couple who looked like their lives had been particularly cruel ones. The important thing was they were survivors. She looked over at Rabbi Koslov and smiled. After a hearty breakfast they walked around the old neighbourhood together, continuing to abide by the Rabbi’s rule of reliving only the good memories. She stayed for lunch but then decided that it really was time she was getting back. Ivanova took a taxi back to the garrison headquarters. On the way, looking out at the city wrapped in a blanket of white snow, she realised that everything she needed to do was done. On

her lap were two photo albums documenting the marriage of Andrei and Sophie Ivanova and the first years of their children’s new lives. She had also taken a couple of pieces of her mother’s precious jewellery. Ivanova doubted that she would ever wear the necklaces or rings but she had taken them to have a little piece of her mother with her.

She had also picked out a pair of sapphire earrings. When she returned the coat to Gorev’s secretary she gave them to a delighted Natalya as a way of saying thank you. There in the outer office she decided to move up her flight time.

Upon arrival at EarthDome, Ivanova reported to the Duty Office. There she was logged in and the time of her appointment with the General was confirmed. With hours to spare until the meeting, the Duty Officer directed her to the officer’s mess. Instead Ivanova elected to walk the grounds. She wandered the paths in the pre-dawn light. There was a chill in the air, but here, sheltered by the mountains it was nothing like the cold of Russia, and anyway, she was used to it by now. While lights burned in the senate offices, Ivanova knelt down on the carefully manicured lawns and gently ran her fingers through blades of grass already beginning to bead with dew. She listened to the faint chirrup of birdsong that was interrupted only by the rush of shuttles that flashed across the sky.

She had spotted the tail within the first ten minutes. In the Duty Office, the Lieutenant who processed her identicard had tried not to show any surprise when he logged her details into the system.

“Captain Susan Ivanova,” she had announced and noticed heads tilt away from the monitor screens when they heard her name. After so much attention already, she would have been disappointed if the name had not stirred a reaction.

In Rabbi Koslov’s parlour, over a glass of hot tea, Ivanova had voiced concerns over her impending meeting at EarthDome. The old man listened to her tell of the choices the command staff of Babylon 5 had to make and the consequences they lead to. She told him of the Earth Alliance Destroyers that had gone down in flames as Clark’s forces sought to wrest control of the space station once it had declared independence, and the ships she had ordered the White Star fleet to attack as the campaign to depose the President edged every closer to Earth.

“To turn your guns upon your own comrades is not a decision that is made lightly, at least not by men of conscience,” Koslov observed as he stroking his beard. “Clark would have brought this planet to ruin. If they do not see that, then they don’t deserve you. You don’t belong with them.”

In the gardens of EarthDome, Ivanova wondered whether the officer who had been shadowing her from virtually the moment she arrived had been sent to spy on her or simply to watch over her. Either way he kept a respectful distance. After a night reminiscing, Ivanova had woken later than usual. Koslov told her not to apologise when she saw him waiting at the breakfast table, obviously she had needed the rest.

Ivanova had wanted to see a proper sunrise. Though there might have been time before her original departure time, the view across Pulkovo Airport was not very inspiring. From the window of her billet it was less so.

Here in Geneva, Ivanova looked to the east and watched the first rays of sunlight touch the snow-capped summits of the Alps and tentatively edge their way down into the valley. She sat on one of the stone benches around a reflecting pool and waited until the light danced on the cool water. Beyond the low wall she could see sunlight sparkle through the water from the fountain as it shot high up into the air.

On more than one occasion she wondered what it would have been like to be here the day after Clark was disposed, the day after their hard fought victory. Would she have sat here with Marcus Cole beside her? The Ranger had journeyed with her in search of the last remaining First Ones to call them to arms in the final, decisive battle between the Shadows and the Vorlons. He had stood by her side as they went head-to-head against the ships intent on ambushing Sheridan’s fleet as it headed for Mars on the way to end Clark’s rule. He had made her laugh and driven her to distraction in equal measure. Although the victory did not belong to one man, Marcus deserved to share in it. She sat there until she felt the warm light on her cheek. By then it was time to go.