Out of the Darkness (16 page)

"We can only hope. Do you think that we should give the vase to David early? Before his sixteenth birthday?"

"Nah," Sheridan decided. "Let's honor Londo's request. The man who dropped that vase off was the closest thing to the Londo of old that I could recall. I miss him. There's no telling how this entire Centauri situation is going to play out. But on David's sixteenth birthday, whatever the outcome, he'll at least get a sense of the Londo Mollari that we once all knew."

C
HAPTER 9

The catacombs beneath the capital city were considered by many to be little more than a myth. Ostensibly, the great Emperor Olion had constructed them, centuries earlier. Olion, so legend had it, was absolutely paranoid over the notion of his people turning against him. So he had the catacombs constructed as a means of escaping any pursuit. Supposedly he was the only person aside from the actual creator of the catacombs – whom he subsequently had assassinated – to know the layout of the maze. The catacombs led from the city to the outlying regions and provided a handy means of getting in and out unseen, if one were so inclined, not to mention eluding pursuit.

But it was all the stuff of legend. The entrances certainly no longer existed. And even if they did exist, the tunnels would be so overrun with vermin that they would be virtually unpassable.

Years ago, however, when he was a young man looking for fossil remains of primitive Centauri cultures, Renegar – a heavy-set lad even at that tender age – had literally fallen into myth. Renegar had embarked on a one-man excavation on the outskirts of the hinterlands. The ground had given way, and he had fallen through into the catacombs of lore. When he had picked himself up, dusted himself off, and managed to push aside the mounting feelings of panic, he actually found himself rather taken with the place. True, the vermin population wasn't particularly appreciated, but the prospects of exploration proved too enticing for him to pass up.

Having almost no friends, and parents who displayed tittle interest in his comings and goings, Renegar wasn't about to share with anyone his new and exciting discovery.

He brought sounding equipment and other locator devices that hadn't existed centuries ago when the catacombs were first built. Over the course of many years, he managed to map the place rather thoroughly... aided and abetted by the occasional explosive device. Rock falls and other natural "disasters" had blocked some of the paths, and Renegar quickly discovered that the judicious use of explosives could be tremendously helpful. The key word was "judicious," of course. The first time he tried, he nearly blew himself to kingdom come. Necessity became the mother of invention, and his familiarity with explosives and excavation came to serve him well in later life.

The catacombs, as well, found new purpose.

Renegar made his way to the meeting area with sure, steady steps, his knowledge of the catacombs by now so ingrained that he no longer needed the maps he had taken such pains to create in his youth. A rodent ran across his foot, and he kicked it out of the way. It was fortunate that such creatures didn't bother him, else he never would have been able to last in his exploration of the caves.

"Renegar!" The whisper came from up ahead, and he recognized the voice instantly. "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me. Who else would it be?" he asked grimly. He climbed over one more rise and came around a corner to discover the others whom he had decided – insanely, he sometimes thought – to trust not only with his life, but the future of his world.

Vir, naturally, was among them. So was Dunseny. There were far more people Vir had managed to enlist over the years, but no one, with the exception of Vir, knew everyone who was a part of the rebellion. That was probably wise, Renegar mused, but he couldn't help but feel that it put a massive amount of strain on Vir himself.

The strain was beginning to show. Vir was looking more tired, even a bit more despondent, than he usually did. But there was still an air of grim determination about him, as if – having decided upon the course he must follow – he had resolved that he would see it through to the end, no matter what.

"You saw?" Vir said without preamble, and Renegar knew precisely what he was talking about.

"How could I not see? That damnable Durla was everywhere. Is it true, though? That someone tried to kill them both? The emperor and Durla?"

"Durla, for the most part. The emperor was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time," Dunseny said.

"That might well summarize his life," Vir commented ruefully. Then, in a more businesslike tone, he added, "But it's not going to end there. Durla will never let it end there. If one House head endeavored to dispose of him, he's going to fear that all of them may form an alliance against him."

"You're saying he's going to declare war on the Houses?" asked one surly-looking but forceful fighter named Adi.

"Without a doubt. And that can only benefit us."

"How?" The question was echoed around the group, but it was Dunseny who answered.

"The House heads have resources. The military may back Durla, making his power unassailable, but the Houses have their own resources, ranging from personnel to weapons. Not only that, but there are key military personnel who owe ancient allegiances to the Houses, which supersede any way they may be beholden to Durla. In battling the Houses, in challenging the House heads directly, Durla may be sowing dissent within his own support system."

"He won't realize the danger if he thinks he's above them ... which he does," Vir said. "It's the oldest danger in the world: arrogance becomes the enemy's undoing."

"Yes... including yours."

They turned to see who had spoken, and there was a collective and startled gasp from all of them.

A grey-skinned creature stood in the shadows.

Renegar immediately went for his weapon, and the voice boomed again from the monster. "It's too late. Whatever you do to me is of no consequence. Since I have seen you, I will commune with my brethren, and they will in turn seek you out. I've seen all your faces. You're finished. But first..." The creature paused dramatically. "I'm going to sing a few show tunes."

The others looked at each other.

"Juuuust me ... and my shaaadow ..." the creature from the darkness began.

"Tell me I'm dreaming," Adi said.

Vir was watching the entire scene with a severe lack of amusement. "Finian," he said sternly. "What sort of foolishness is this? I recognize your voice; I know it's you."

At that, the creature slumped to the ground in front of the incredulous group. It was at that point that they were able to see the wound that gaped in the back of its head, thick liquid coagulating around it. Clearly the thing, whatever it was, was dead. Then all eyes shifted as Finian, the techno-mage, stepped into view. "Did I scare you?"

"Yes," Vir said flatly.

"Good." This time it wasn't Finian who spoke, but rather Gwynn, another techno-mage who seemed to have taken an interest in the events that occurred on Centauri Prime. Finian, as always, maintained something of an open manner, with his round face and blue eyes that seemed incapable of any sort of deceit. Of course, that alone provided reason enough not to trust him.

As for Gwynn, her attitude was as imperious as ever. She looked at them as if she were observing them from a great height that made their concerns seem childish and irrelevant. Renegar didn't trust either of them. As a general rule of thumb, trusting techno-mages wasn't an especially advisable pastime.

"You have every reason to be scared," Gwynn continued. "We found him wandering the catacombs. He had a bit of an... accident. Rocks, even boulders, can come loose around here at the most unexpected times. If they strike unexpectedly enough, and with sufficient force ..." She shrugged. "The results can be tragic, as you see."

"What is it?" Adi said, looking at it wonderingly.

"That," Vir told him, "is a Drakh. One of the creatures I told you about. Told all of you about," he said, raising his voice. Not that anyone was having trouble hearing him, his voice echoing there in the tunnels. "The creatures who brought a plague to humanity. The ones who are operating behind the scenes here on Centauri Prime. And, I believe, the ones who are truly responsible for the 'visions' that our beloved prime minister is always talking about."

"What's it doing down here?" Renegar demanded.

"We are not sure," Gwynn said evenly, "but he may or may not have followed you, Renegar."

Renegar turned deathly pale. "Impossible," he spat out. "He couldn't have known to follow me ..."

"Perhaps not," Finian agreed. "He may have simply stumbled upon the catacombs on his own, and heard people talking. But I don't think so. I think the Drakh observe evryone, all the time ... and something about Renegar's actions caught this one's attention."

The others looked accusingly at Renegar. He stepped back defensively. "I didn't know!"

Voices began to be raised in anger, but Vir shouted them down. "No one is blaming you, Renegar," he assured his fellow rebel.

"Then maybe someone should be," Gwynn responded. "This is not a game, Vir."

"Don't you think I know that!" Vir shot back at her. "I had one of these damned things in my head, Gwynn! I know what they're capable of!"

"Then know that you were most fortunate that we intercepted this one," Finian said. "We believe that although they have the ability to communicate telepathically with one another, it doesn't happen instantaneously. There is a procedure involved in which they sort of 'agree' to commune en masse. It takes some effort and preparation, and I doubt this one had the time to engage in it. As far as the Drakh are concerned, this fellow will simply have dropped off the face of the planet. They will keep an eye out for him, put their feelers out, and try to locate him. We will make certain that they do not succeed."

"We cannot keep covering for you, however," Gwynn said.

"We haven't been asking you to," Vir pointed out. "It's not as if we've been needing you to hold our hands. We've been doing fairly well on our own. We've managed to impede Durla's war machine..."

"Not enough." Again, it was Dunseny who spoke up. In quick, broad strokes he described all that he had heard at the briefing in the Tower of Power.

Vir was pacing by the time Dunseny was finished. "It's obvious that nothing short of total domination is going to satisfy Durla."

"Durla and the Drakh who support him," Finian said.

There were nods from all around. "It's clear what we have to do," Renegar said. "What we've been doing up to now is fine, as far as it goes. But we have to go further. We have to take on the Drakh, head-to-head. We have to drive these creatures off the face of Centauri Prime!"

There were shouts of agreement, but then Vir's voice carried over theirs once more. "If we take on the Drakh head-to-head, we'll be wiped out."

"You took them on," Renegar said. "You told me yourself. You blew up that death station that the Shadows left behind."

"Yes. I did," Vir confirmed. "And I got lucky. The majority of the Drakh weren't around when it happened; if they had been, the station would have been left intact. The problem is, the Drakh are always around on Centauri Prime. They're watching Londo, they're watching Durla, and they're watching me. Their agents and influence are everywhere.

"Plus, we still don't completely know what their influence over Londo is. There are too many pieces we don't have, too many things that aren't ready."

"We're ready for freedom!" Renegar asserted.

"But we're not ready for suicide," Adi said.

"Coward!"

"I'm no coward." Adi wasn't so easily riled as to react to insults. "I'm just not an idiot, either."

"He's right," Finian said, "as is Vir. You still don't have enough raw power backing you up, and you dare not confront the Drakh directly without it. You will have only one chance to do so, and if you are not fully prepared, they will annihilate you."

"So what do we do?" Renegar demanded.

"We do," Vir told him, "exactly what we've been doing. We prepare things slowly, methodically."

"And get killed?" Renegar replied. "The way Rem did?"

There was dead silence at that. The loss of Rem Lanas was still a gaping wound.

"Maybe," Vir finally said. "Or maybe we're ready when the time is right."

"The more time passes, the more ships Durla gets into place, the more the odds skew in his favor," Renegar said.

"Not necessarily," Finian said. "Your attacks on the construction efforts slow them ... while you continue to convert individuals or groups over to your cause. At the very least, you sow seeds of suspicion, so that when the full Drakh influence is revealed, the people will come flocking to your cause."

"Also, the Drakh will become overconfident," Gwynn said. "The closer the fleet comes to completion, the more sure they will be in their conduct. You see ... they have no glory of their own. They bask purely in the evil of the Shadows. The Shadows were far greater than their servants, but if the Drakh believe they are attaining the Shadows' purpose, they will assume an air of invincibility."

"And that will be a mistake," Vir said. "Besides ... we need their resources."

"What resources?" Adi asked.

"Don't you see?" Vir smiled in grim amusement. "The Drakh on this world ... they aren't the only ones. The entire foul race has contaminated everything good and noble there ever was about Centauri Prime. We don't just want to stop them. We want to obliterate them. We want them to pay for Rem Lanas ... for corrupting every office and every official of importance in our world, up to and including the emperor.

"They, through puppets such as Durla, are constructing engines of destruction. We impede the creation of those engines because we need time to build up our own assets. But ultimately, the fleet will be completed. It's inevitable ... but it's also desirable..."

"Of course," Adi said, understanding. "Because once it's completed, we can use it against the Drakh themselves."

"Yes," said Dunseny. "They think that the fleet will go up against the Alliance ... when in fact they're aiding in the creation of the very fleet that's going to be used to assault the Drakh."