Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке - Гэрет Уильямс

"You did that, didn't you?"

"I took a few…. little liberties with your personal seal and your personal guards."

"Not to mention my person. The Emperor's Name, why?"

She began dressing herself, not in one of her usual fine gowns, but in the more utilitarian costume she wore when she was doing something surreptitious. Close, tight-fitting hunting clothes. "Officially…. reasons of security of course. In Lord Kiro's absence his house was vulnerable to attack from those insane Shadow Criers. Someone had to protect him."

Jarno folded his arms high on his chest. "And unofficially?"

"He has his own ambitions for the throne, of course."

"Well of course he does. So does half of the Court. And the other half, come to that."

"Yes, but Kiro is just open enough to make an attempt, and he has the lineage to succeed as well. Don't forget that his House once held the throne."

"I haven't forgotten, and nor have I forgotten how they lost it."

"In any case, Kiro has been away gathering support in his southern estates. He may even be contemplating an alliance with dear old Londo, anything that would further his chances of the throne. We have to deal with him before that can happen."

"That's what this is about, isn't it? Kiro was in talks with your husband."

"My ex-husband. Don't forget he is legally dead. And yes, there is that, but more importantly, you are going to take over Kiro's House and estates, which will be a great step towards the throne. And you are going to do it tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yes. A little premature I'll admit, but my sources said that Kiro wasn't due to return for another few days. I'll have to have some of them shot." Mariel smiled and moved closer to Jarno, reaching up to touch his face. "Come on, dear. We have work to do."

"Work? Attacking another Lord's house? Such a thing has not been done for centuries."

"Great men are not bound by normal rules, Jarno. The first Emperor said that, remember. And behind every great man, there is a great woman showing him how to do it right. Get dressed, quickly. We had better get my dear sister-wife as well. We may need her testimony that we were provoked if matters do not go well."

"I can't do this. I…." He looked at her, and he could feel all his old weaknesses rising to the fore. She was right of course. Great men were not bound by normal rules. But was he a great man?

Would he ever be?

Pitifully, pathetically, hopelessly, he nodded, and went to get dressed.

There was power, but not as she had expected; knowledge, but not as she had anticipated; wisdom, but not as she had wished.

And there was something else, a nagging, burning sensation that the Machine was doing…. something. She did not know what, and she could not find out.

Furious, Donne shifted her consciousness to her holographic form and let it step out into view. As she looked at her companions she was struck by their weakness. The two mundanes were the worst. Number One and Number Two were seated in the far corner of the cavern, ostensibly on watch, but actually talking about their concerns in hushed voices they presumably believed she could not hear.

Ivanova was still comatose, curled up like a tiny baby. From time to time pathetic whimpers escaped from her mouth.

And Tu'Pari…. he was sitting cross-legged next to the equally comatose G'Kar. The Narn assassin was sharpening his long, wicked knife with a methodical air, gazing distantly at the walls.

"Wake him up," Donne ordered Tu'Pari. He smiled, set down the knife, and began to reach into one of his pockets. Whatever strange device he was planning to use however, he did not get the chance. G'Kar opened one eye and stirred.

"I am already awake," he said in a hoarse voice. "I was…. remembering…. the night the Centauri took over…. a farmhouse…. near Na'khamamah. It was a…. rebel base…. We waited until…. dusk and…." He coughed. "We…. killed…. them all…."

"An interesting story, Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar," Tu'Pari said idly. "If you wished to trade stories of death you should have told me. I have a great many of them."

"No." G'Kar tried to shake his head. "Not death. The…. last Centauri…. looked at me…. knowing he was going to die…. The look…. in his…. eyes. I will…. never forget." He smiled, and then broke into another coughing fit. "I see it…. in…. yours…. now."

"Shut up," Donne snapped. "The Machine is doing something. Whatever it is, I can't get close enough to find out and stop it. What is it doing?"

"Many things."

"Something programmed into it. You did it, I'm certain of that, and it has something to do with that blasted station of yours. What is it doing?"

"Never…. find out…. Never…. make the Machine…. yours…."

"Reality check. It is mine."

G'Kar shook his head weakly.

"Tu'Pari. Hurt him."

"I am…. not…. afraid…. to die."

"I've heard that before," Tu'Pari said in a civilised tone. "Many many times. And they all took it back before the end. How permanent do you want this, my lady?"

"I want him capable of sharing everything he knows with me. Leave his head alone. And stay away from any major blood vessels and muscle concentrations. You know more about Narn biology than I do. I want something painful, but not too devastating."

"Happy to oblige, my lady. I was in the Resistance once. That was where I learned much of my skill. G'Kar was something of a legend for his capacity to absorb pain. This might take a while."

"Not too long. If he hasn't told us anything in…. half an hour or so…. take out his eye."

"Business and pleasure combined," the assassin said, smiling. "How fortunate."

Donne suddenly looked up. Someone was…. coming. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew, but some sense not her own alerted her that someone was approaching. A few moments later the sound of a voice was heard.

"Zathras do this, Zathras do that. Zathras go check on G'Kar. Zathras not doing anything important, oh no. Zathras just checking temporal units in place, yes. Not important at all. Zathras not mind if whole station slip back in time thousand years. No, wait. Yes, Zathras do mind. That would be not good.

"Ah, is bad life being Zathras. Zathras does not mind though. He…. Ah, you is not meant to be being here?"

The strangest alien Donne had ever seen came into view. He hesitated for a moment, looking around, seemingly taking in everything in one swift glance: Donne's body in the Machine, G'Kar on the floor.

"Ah. Zathras be leaving now."

He turned to flee, and ran straight into Number One. She pushed him roughly forward and he fell sprawling to the floor.

"This not good. No, not good at all."

"That, my friend," said Tu'Pari, "very much depends on your perspective."

I am not afraid.

I am a warrior; born of warriors, bred of warriors, lived as a warrior, trained as a warrior, called a warrior by the greatest warrior of all. I am not afraid.

The captain in charge of the Valentha repeated those words to himself as he tried to restore order to the ship he had been given control of by the Primarch. He remembered the surprise and horror as this holy ship had been given a captain who was not of the Satai for the first time in known history.

He also remembered his pride. The Primarch had told him that the Valentha was to be used differently now. It was to be both a focus of faith for the people and a warship, the foremost in the fleet. The captain's heart had surged with pride.

And now, his first battle on his new ship, and he had been beaten, forced to retreat like the tiniest of goks.

There had only been three ships in the Tarolin system when the invaders arrived. The Yojiro had fallen within seconds, torn apart by blow after blow. The Seppun had been at the far end of the system and had received the warning to pull back and regroup with the Valentha. These invaders, whoever they were, were too strong to deal with individually.

Mere seconds of combat had proved that.

"Are the communications back on line yet?"

The captain smiled when he received an affirmative. "Send a message to the Primarch. He must know about this, and now."

"Should we not counterattack now? Shai Alyt Kozorr and Lady Kats are still on the planet."

"Kozorr is a warrior, and if the worker wishes to play with warriors then she had better learn the strength of one. No, Hor Alyt, we need the Primarch. With him at our side not all the forces of Hell could stand against us."

"Will he be here in time?"

"He is the Primarch. Of course he will be."

The general sense of chaos that gripped the Babylon 4 station began to take hold less than an hour after G'Kar's forced removal from the Heart of the Great Machine. When the survivors looked back and histories and recordings were made, it was established that the problems had in fact begun much earlier. Perhaps even at the commencement of the project. Those whose views tended towards the short-sighted argued that the station should never have been constructed. Minister Vizhak had argued that at the first meeting of the United Alliance Council after the Battle that would be known as the Third Line. Far too many agreed with him.

Even before the…. incidents of the night in question, there had been numerous unexplained happenings on the station. Bad dreams, strange visions. Certain areas of the station were said to be haunted and few would go there.

Few people had been able to sleep well that night, many waking to a sense of unexplained urgency and fear. There were reports of people rousing only to find themselves looking at images of things that had already happened, or perhaps had yet to happen. Mysterious voices and sounds were heard.

Even the legendary Primarch Sinoval, whose nickname of the Cursed was not yet in public use, was said to be uneasy about the station. This was never confirmed by the man himself, and those who were aware of his bargain with the Soul Hunters found it unlikely that anything could unnerve him. Indeed, some laid the blame for the mysteries at the door of the Soul Hunters, claiming that allowing them on the station was a bad omen. No comment came from Cathedral.

If there was one instant that the inhabitants of the station came to regard as the turning point — being largely unaware of events on the planet below — it was the moment when they heard of the departure of Captain Sheridan. He had been renowned among the Narns and infamous among the Minbari for many years, but his recent actions in support of the League and Alliance worlds had won him many friends there as well. The news of his sudden departure did not go down well.

Delenn, who unlike Sinoval had not yet acquired the nickname that would later be synonymous with her real name, was acutely aware of the tensions on the station. She had been unable to rest or meditate following John's departure and so she had tried going for a walk. She was horrified by what she saw — people running around, crying out for peace, weeping in corners. She watched helplessly, in horror, as a young Brakiri child bit out her own tongue in a frenzy.

"Valen's Name, what is happening?" she breathed.

She had made her way at last to the command room, and was not surprised to find many of the dignitaries already there. Ta'Lon was fielding increasingly angry questions from Taan Churok and Lethke, while Mr. Garibaldi and Dr. Kirkish were talking quietly. There was no sign of Sinoval, or of G'Kar.

"Mr. Garibaldi?" she asked, curiously. "Have you not been recalled to Sanctuary?"

He looked up, surprised. "Why should I have been?"

"John and Captain Ben Zayn have been. I…. assumed there was a major problem there and Bester was recalling as many of his agents as possible."

"News to me. I haven't heard directly from the Boss in months."

Ta'Lon suddenly slammed his fist on the table. "This will get us nowhere! Minister Churok, Minister Lethke, there is only one person who can explain what is happening here and we have no idea where he is. The Machine has not been acknowledging any of my messages, and the person I sent down to try to find G'Kar has not reported back."

"Then something must have gone wrong," protested Taan Churok. "We should investigate."

"We should leave," said Lethke calmly.

"That will not be necessary," Ta'Lon protested. "I will go down to the surface myself and try to find G'Kar. I will also take as many of my Ranger security team as can be spared from maintaining order here. That may not be very many."

"We have some of our own Security…. on board our ships," Delenn said. "We will be happy to lend you whatever assistance we can." She glared at Taan Churok and Lethke, and they fell silent.

"Thank you," Ta'Lon said, nodding. "They would be better employed on the station. The Machine…. is a concern for G'Kar and the Rangers, and no one else."

"You forgot the Boss on that one," Garibaldi said. "He's got a stake in this too. Perhaps more than anyone except G'Kar. I'd better go down with you. Besides, you might need another pair of hands."

"Me too," spoke up Dr. Kirkish. "I was sent here to study the Machine for Mr. Bester, after all. I think I know more about it than most other people here. I might be able to help."

Delenn looked at the two of them, a sense of paranoia creeping over her. Ben Zayn had been very insistent that John leave this place. Coincidence? A genuine emergency at Sanctuary — but how genuine could it be if Garibaldi knew nothing about it? Or was there something deeper at work here? Just how much could Bester be trusted?

She was about to open her mouth and voice her opinions when she swayed and almost fell. A bright light burst in front of her eyes.

The light is killing me!

She was with John, holding him. He looked so….

"We've won!" he cried. "It's over, Delenn."

"Yes," she said, laughing. "It's over. It…."

Something rose up before them, swamping everything with its shadow. She could not see what it was. It was huge. A light burst out, burning and blazing. John threw her aside and turned to face it.

The light is killing me!

She felt strong hands catch her and turned to see Taan Churok, his stern face filled with compassion.

"You saw something?" asked Ta'Lon. She could only nod weakly. "Another one. This will only get worse as time goes on. We must leave for the surface immediately. Mr. Garibaldi, Dr. Kirkish, gather whatever you need and meet me at the docking bays. Minister Churok, Minister Lethke, can you bring over as much of your Security as you can spare from your ships?"

"What if what's afflicting this place starts affecting people on our ships?" asked Lethke.

Ta'Lon shook his head. "It won't."