every inch of my tar-black soul (babylon 5 | delenn/neroon)

[fiachairecht]

every inch of my tar-black soul. babylon 5, delenn/neroon. minbari do not kill minbari. this is a lie. 386w, rated t. for an au comment ficathon on lj years ago.

The Humans lost the Earth-Minbari War, but rather than destroying the planet the Minbari enslave it. Cue Satai Delenn of the Gray Council visiting Earth, and there meeting John Sheridan.

Minbari do not kill Minbari. The war ends after Sinclair’s interrogation. that is the first lie.

*

As they are Minbari, they must be integrated into their new society. Earth is not a colony, the Minbari are not overlords, and one day the humans may be allowed to move into the caste system properly, the human caste abolished and the differences gone. Those are the second, third, and fourth lies.

*

The cries change from no mercy to always remember and the hatred starts to ebb. The humans don't know why they were spared, but they are grateful. Those are the fifth and sixth lies.

*

Delenn warns that the humans' silence is ominous. Neroon shakes his head in disbelief, tells her she's going soft, they have nothing to worry about. Those are the seventh and eighth lies.

*

She watches the newsfeeds on the Council ship with a heavy heart. They say the explosion was an accident, nothing was irreparably damaged and no Minbari lives were lost. That is the ninth lie.

*

At least they have the decency to send Neroon with her — every night, he reminds her she is alive and she should be pleased with that. They say it's because she knows the most about humans. That is the tenth lie.

*

They stand side by side, Warrior and Religious, and no one could say who was more deadly; they are both the face of the enemy, of black death from the skies. They say if the people behind the attacks come forward now, it will all be over. That is the eleventh lie.

*

She is not surprised when the third man breaks on the third hour of the third day of interrogation: three is still sacred. She tells herself she feels nothing when she learns that the same man who took down the Black Star is the same man that destroyed two ships and a factory. That is the twelfth lie.

*

Delenn allows no one but Neroon in the room while she questions Sheridan. The lines of his body as he screams don't send a arousal spiraling through her, she doesn't devour neroon with her eyes and he doesn't do the same. Those are the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth lies.

*

Minbari do not kill Minbari (unless). The war ends after Sheridan's interrogation. That is the last lie.