Out of the Darkness (27 page)

"Highness, are you sure?" one of the guards asked.

"No. But one of the perks of being a highness is that people must obey your orders, even when there's no certainty in your mind at all. Doit."

The door closed, and he turned to Delenn.

"I felt you would be able to talk more freely if we were alone. Now then," he said. "Let us chat."

G'Kar heard a noise at his door and stood. He was certain that this was going to be it. And he steeled himself for the escape attempt he knew he would have to make, no matter how hopeless it was. Whenever they entered his cell, they always did so with enough restraints, shock prods, and such to control a dozen Narn. But today he would have to display strength on a par with more than that, for he knew in his heart that he would not have another opportunity.

But then the door opened only slightly, and instead of someone coming in to pull him out, a body was shoved in. It stumbled and fell, and the door slammed shut.

G'Kar squinted with his one eye. Only a small bit of light filtered through the tiny window in the door. The sounds of the crowd were getting louder, reaching a fever pitch, it seemed, only to get louder still. And then his new cellmate stood, steadying himself a moment, then trying to make out the other person he sensed in the darkness. "Hello? Who's there?"

G'Kar heard that distinctive voice and, to his own surprise, laughed softly.

Sheridan took a step into the meager light and peered into the gloom. "G'Kar? Is that... you?"

The Narn thought about just the right thing to say, given the circumstances.

"Please tell me," he said finally, "that you brought a deck of cards."

Londo simply stood there, regarding her for a long moment. "No hug?" he asked.

"Have you come here to gloat, Londo?" she asked icily. "Or perhaps you would like me to thank you, after sixteen years, for the lovely present you gave David."

"That won't be necessary." To her surprise, it seemed as if he couldn't look her in the eye.

"Were you pleased with yourself when you did that?" she asked. She knew this was precisely the wrong tack to take. Anything from pleading to wheedling would probably serve her better, but she was so consumed with fury that she could not contain herself. "Dooming a child not yet born, to a monstrous fate ... was that something you did routinely, or was it specially reserved just for us?"

"You were my friends," he said.

"Then may the gods have mercy on your enemies."

"They actually seem to, now that you mention it," he commented thoughtfully. "My enemies seem to fare much better than my friends. Everyone I have ever loved, or felt close to, has come to a bad end, whereas those who oppose me thrive. Perhaps the gods are already carrying through on your wishes, Delenn."

"If they are, then David would be free, we would be gone, and you would all be punished for what you have done."

"It may very well be ... that that can be arranged. The first two, at least. The third, well," and he rolled his eyes, "we will have to leave that in the hands of others, I fear."

For a moment, just one blessed moment, she felt hope stirring. "Are you saying... that David, John, and I will be freed?"

"David... yes. I believe I can arrange that. You and your husband, however," and he shook his head gravely. "You desired to be gone. Well... dead is gone. It will, at least, end your torment That is the most I can offer you."

"You're the emperor," she said. "I would have thought nothing beyond your abilities."

"I would have thought that, too. Odd how things do not always work out the way one hopes."

"You said David could be freed. How? What do you get out of it?"

"Information."

She snorted. It was a most un-Delenn-like sound. "I knew it. Well, you will have no more luck with–"

But he was waving his hands, endeavoring to quiet her. "This is information you will part with, I think. It will not, in any way, compromise the security of the Interstellar Alliance. I would suspect that what I desire to know is so old that it can be of no use to anyone but me."

"Old?" She looked with curiosity at him.

"I am interested ... in the beginning," he said. "The beginning of all... this," and he gestured around himself as if to encompass the totality of existence. "It started with the Earth-Minbari War. It started with your people, really. Yours and the Humans. I know our side ... I know the Humans' side ... I would like to hear your side."

"Why?"

"Because, Delenn," he said with the air of someone who was releasing a great weight from himself, "when one does not see much of a future for himself, one becomes more and more intrigued by the past. I wish... to know these things. To fill in the gaps of my knowledge. My recollections of recent times fade in and out. I keep a journal from time to time, and that is all that preserves me, because I look at the entries several days later and cannot recall the incidents that prompted them. But my memory of times long past, ah ..." and he waggled a finger at her, "that remains, clear and pure. But it is only partial knowledge. I desire to know the rest. And you can tell me."

"And if I do this thing... then David is free."

"I will see to it. His main importance was to get you here."

"That... thing on his neck. That will be removed from him?"

He hesitated. "I suspect," he said, "that if I tried to lie to you now, you would know. So I will be honest with you: I cannot guarantee that, no. I will try. I will present a case, plead for it. Say that he has suffered enough. All I can promise you, though, is that he will be free ... and safe. It is the best I can offer you, Delenn."

She wanted to ask him to whom he would present such a case, but she suspected that she would not receive an answer. Her mind racing, she weighed her options ... and discovered that, in truth, she had precious few.

"What do you want to know?" she said finally.

"Everything."

So she told him everything. It took some minutes, and it seemed as if she had to keep raising her voice as the cheers and shouts from outside grew louder still. He nodded, listening carefully, asking questions here and there. Finally she finished and there was silence for quite some time, punctuated only by the crowd's huzzahs.

"You ... were responsible," he whispered. He seemed overwhelmed by the idea. "You were responsible for the Earth-Minbari War."

"Not solely. But... yes. Had I counseled differently ... had I not been caught up in the moment ... it would not have happened. Then again–" she shrugged "–perhaps had I voted differently, others of the Grey Council might have changed their vote. Or the military might have staged a holy war, unapproved by the Council, out of vengeance. It is possible that it might have occurred anyway. But... in this reality ... yes. The stain is on my soul. I have spent much of my life endeavoring to cleanse it. I do not know, even now, how successful I have been."

"You did what you thought was right for your people ... and millions died because of it."

"Yes."

To her surprise, he laughed softly. "It may very well be, Delenn ... that we have more in common than either of us has thought... or is ready to admit."

And suddenly an explosion from overhead nearly deafened them.

Delenn looked up in the general direction of the sound, and the screams that were accompanying them. "In Valen's name," she whispered, "what's happening?"

Displaying remarkable sangfroid, as if nothing was capable of surprising him anymore, Londo speculated, "I would guess that we are under attack. This may be your lucky day, Delenn," he said grimly. "The punishment you desired may well be upon us. You could wind up getting all three of your wishes sooner than you anticipated."

C
HAPTER 20

Durla stood next to Vallko, amazed and impressed that the minister of spirituality was able to work up the crowd to this degree of ardor.

Vallko, Durla, and other ministers were standing on the steps that led into the temple. The courtyard and the streets nearby were absolutely packed. It might very well have been that every Centauri in the capital city was there, for word had spread that this was not going to be just another spiritual rally. Oh, those were exciting and uplifting enough, of course, but the rumors flying throughout the city implied that some special announcement would be made, one that was to be a culmination of years of effort. Probably the only Centauri who were not present were the permanent guards stationed around the Tower of Power, some of the palace staff... and, of course, the emperor himself. Durla had informed him of the plans for the day, and incredibly, the emperor had elected not to come. "It is your performance, Durla," he had said. "I would rather not be seen as simply your assistant." That was fine with Durla. The more the focus was on him, the more he liked it.

Durla could not have asked for a better day. The sky was pure blue, not a cloud disturbing the vista. In the near distance, the Tower of Power stretched toward the sky, proud and unbending, as if pointing the way to greatness.

He knew that in hyperspace, even as Vallko spoke of the proud destiny that awaited Centauri Prime, the ships were waiting. By this time, they were at their stations, awaiting only the go-ahead from Durla to start their assault. But Durla had time. Standing on the edge of history, he wanted to savor the moment a while longer, as one studies a particularly succulent meal and appreciates it before carving into it. A worldwide communications web was, even now, transmitting this rally on a narrow-cast beam into hyperspace. There, in front of all of Centauri Prime, Durla would give the codes that would signal the attack. Once and for all, the people would indisputably link with him the coming greatness that was the destiny of Centauri Prime.

"For many years now, we have taken back what was ours, bit by bit," Vallko proclaimed. "We have done so through the sweat and endeavors of true Centauri." Again, for about the thirtieth time since he had begun his speech an hour ago, cheers and chants interrupted him. He allowed them to build and die down before continuing, "We have worked together ... we have fulfilled the desires of the Great Maker, and we have shaped the destiny that is, by rights, ours!" More cheers, more waiting. "Because our work is pure ... because the Centauri way is the right way ... because we have resisted the impurities that other races would bring to us ... we have been lifted up, elevated to a position that is unrivaled in our history!"

Durla nodded, smiling, but feeling a bit impatient. As if sensing his thoughts, Vallko said, "I leave it now to your beloved prime minister, Durla, to bring you to the next step in our history. For remember that it is his visions of what we should be that have guided us to where we are... and what we will become."

This was the loudest cheer of all, the welcoming cheer for Durla. At least, that was how he perceived it. He stood at the top of the great steps, his arms outstretched the way they had been when he had witnessed the ships departing for their glorious quest. The cheering washed over him like a physical wave. "My friends ..." he began. He got no further.

The massive explosion ripped through the air, startling and terrifying the entire crowd. Then another explosion, and a third, and everyone looked to the skies, screaming, convinced that death was being rained down upon them once again.

It was Lione who saw it first. "The Tower!" he shrieked, and pointed.

Sure enough, the Tower of Power was crumbling. Charges blasted up from beneath, enveloping it, the lack of windows causing the force of the explosion to be contained. Smoke blew out of newly formed cracks, rubble flew, and then the entire upper section began to tilt even as the lower half collapsed.

"Impossible! Impossible!" Lione clearly couldn't believe what he was seeing. "There are guards ... no one could get close enough... no one–"

Another explosion ripped straight up the middle, and the entire upper section was blown apart. Debris hurtled everywhere. People screamed, trying to run, unable to move because they were so packed in. Vallko's and Durla's cries for calm did nothing to stem the tide.

Then the first of the bodies fell to the ground, having been hurled a great distance by the force of the blast. Impressively, it was mostly intact, but that lasted only until it landed on the temple stairs with a disgusting noise. At that point the body smashed apart like an overripe melon. But even in that condition, everyone could see that it was not a Centauri body.

And more started to plummet from overhead, and they weren't even close to intact. Heads, arms, legs, torsos, all grey and scaly, cloaked in shreds of black cloth, spewing down from the skies as if a gigantic pustule had been popped.

A hole gaped in the ceiling of the catacombs, exposing them to sunlight for the first time in their history. The area directly above had once been the foundation for the Tower of Power; now there was nothing but the tattered remains of the ground where Renegar's explosives had blasted apart the Tower from underneath.

Renegar clambered down from the surface and turned to Vir as the others held their collective breath. "Well?" Vir demanded. "What's happening?"

"It's raining Drakh," Renegar said.

"Good." Vir turned to Adi. "All right, Adi. Time for phase two. Tap into the broadcast web. Now."

What had seconds before been pure pandemonium had incredibly, eerily, fallen into silence, a silence that was even more deafening than the shouting had been. The Centauri were looking in wonder at the alien creatures who were suddenly in their midst, albeit in pieces.

"Wha-what is ..." Kuto, the minister of information, couldn't comprehend what he was seeing.

Lione turned to Durla, kicking aside the remains of the body that had landed nearby. All the blood was draining from his face. "You... you said the upper portions of the tower were to be kept empty ... for expansion ... no one was to go up there, not even me... Were these ... these ..."

"Quiet!" Durla said urgently. "I have to think... I..."