The Excalibur arrives at Mars for a conference on finding a new home world for Humanity, along with a secret conference on the status of the war with the Drakh.  Max presents the new weapons he's found on alien worlds during the Excalibur's voyages to date.  The EA leaders on Mars assure Gideon and company that a major strike back at the Drakh will be launched soon, though they cannot promise exactly when it will be.

On Centauri Prime, Emperor Londo Mollari sits on his throne, ruminating over all that has happened and how things have gone so badly for him, his friends, and his world.

In addition to his own situation, Londo thinks of poor Captain Sheridan, still off on his personal quest to find Delenn.  Sheridan has been almost impossible to reach since then.  He remained with Babylon 5 and the Army of Light long enough to finish the civil war with the late President Clark, and to direct the liberation of Earth.  Immediately afterward, though, he turned over command of Babylon 5 to Ivanova (who passed it on to Lochley soon after) and then set out to find Delenn.  He's hardly been seen since, even after Earth was destroyed by the Drakh.

Sheridan would have surely been elected president of the new Interstellar Alliance, Londo thinks, had he been available.  And how much better that might have been!  Having G'Kar as president  instead made it all the more difficult for the Centauri to remain in the ISA-- not that Shiv'kala and the Drakh would have allowed them to remain in it for long, in any event.  Scarcely six months had passed between the founding of the ISA and Shiv'kala's order to Londo to withdraw the Centauri membership.  Frankly, Londo wasn't surprised at the overwhelming popular support among the Centauri people for the move, though it disappointed him tremendously.  But then, he's been getting used to disappointments.

Later, Ambassador Vir Cotto visits and Londo has dinner with  him, but Londo is strangely silent and Vir departs wondering what has become of the happy and friendly Londo of long ago.  Vir vows to look into this situation, though of course very carefully.

In the throne room, Shiv'kala creeps from the shadows and warns Londo to be careful of what he tells Vir and others in the future, or the consequences will be harsh and devastating for Londo, and for all of Centauri Prime.  Londo gives a muttered acknowledgement and then calls for the staff to bring him multiple cases of brevari.

On Minbar, the Grey Council convenes at the behest of its leader, Rathenn.  The Council's new makeup of five Religious Caste members, along with two each from the Workers and Warriors, still rankles the other castes, but Rathenn and his lieutenant, Dhaliri, care not.  Rathenn announces a new program of expansion for the Minbari, and orders the workers to begin building new ships.  Rathenn also announces that the post of Ranger One, vacated since Neroon fled Minbar at the end of the Civil War, will again be filled.  He nominates Forrell, and Dhaliri seconds the nomination.  The other Religious Caste puppets also vote in favor, and, over the objections of the other four members, the skulking Forrell becomes the new "Anla'shok Na," or Ranger One.  No one outside of the leadership of the Religious Caste trusts Forrell, as some whisper that he was the last to see Delenn alive--something he refuses to speak about.

After the Council meeting, Forrell thanks Rathenn and Dhaliri for their support, and promises that his "associates" will be most grateful.  

On Mars, Senator Redway announces that his vice-presidential running mate will be General Elizabeth Lochley, the decorated former commander of Babylon 5 (from 2262-'66).  Lochley meets with Redway and is puzzled by his uncharacteristically  erratic behavior, which borders on paranoia.  She wonders if she's made the right decision, but concludes that the senator probably only suffered from nervousness at such a momentous occasion.

Aboard the Excalibur, Dureena practices with her new sword, which she acquired recently from the Techno-Mage cave.  She wonders why it won't do anything magical for her--she'd expected energy beams or flames or something!-- and concludes sadly that it probably will work only for the Mage who created it.  She nevertheless continues to carry it with her and to practice her swordplay.

Meanwhile, Max gets a message from his ex-wife on Mars, desperately requesting his assistance.  Max starts to respond, then thinks twice and deletes the message.  He's reluctant to get involved with her again, and, deep inside, he feels she's probably better off without him.

Neroon, recovering from the mysterious injuries he'd suffered before Galen found him, departs on a new mission, but will not speak of it with anyone...

Annotations for "Ruling from the Tomb."

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DarkCrusade is the Crusade Alternate Universe story--
the complete, five-year Crusade saga, following one slight change in 2261, "the year everything changed."
Story, design, and layout by Van Allen Plexico. Send correspondence and comments to vplexico@bellsouth.net
Babylon 5 and Crusade created by J. Michael Straczynski and property of Warner Communications.