Peter David - Out of the Darkness

“Do you not trust my judgment, Captain?” Durla demanded suspiciously. “I did not say that at all, Prime Minister. It is just that, since this is a military operation…”

“And the military operation has been sabotaged repeatedly,” Durla pointed out. “With all respect to yourselves, and very much to General Rhys… the one person I know I can trust is me. It has been my vision, my drive that has brought us to this point, and my words will launch the attack. Is that understood? Do all of you understand that?” There was a chorus of “Yes, sir” from around the table. Durla nodded in approval. “Then, gentlemen… to work.” As one, they rose from the table, filing out of the room and stopping only to congratulate the prime minister on his momentous achievement. At the last, General Rhys hesitated. “Prime Minister…”

“It will be a masterpiece of coordination, General,” Durla told him. In his mind’s eye, he could already see it. “I am coordinating with Minister Vallko. He is going to be having one of his spiritual gatherings at the great temple. There, I will address the people, and speak to them of our capturing the glory that is Centauri Prime. We will stand on the brink of history… and then I will transmit the go-codes. And the rise from the great blackness will begin.”

General Rhys looked as if he were about to say something, but then thought better of it. Instead he simply said, “It has been an honor to serve under you, Prime Minister.”

“Yes. It has, hasn’t it.”

He was right. It was just like in his dream, a dream made into reality.

Durla stood on a cliffside, and stretched out his arms as the ships roared to life and took off, one by one. And as each one swung by him, throbbing with power, they banked slightly in acknowledgment.

They bowed to him.

Just as everyone would. Sheridan and Delenn, who had by this point been informed of the whereabouts of their son, and were no doubt on their way to Centauri Prime. Once there, they would become public symbols of the humiliation that had been heaped upon the great Centauri Republic, and their fate would represent all the Alliance had to look forward to.

And Londo… well, Londo would probably decide that he had contributed all that he could to Centauri Prime. He would step aside willingly and name Durla as regent until such time that Londo’s passing would ensure Durla’s appointment as emperor. Then, of course, that time would come quite, quite soon.

The skies were so thick with ships that they blotted out the sun. It was as if night had fallen upon Durla. An endless night of glory, waiting to swallow him. And he fed himself to it willingly.

“You should not have come here,” Senna said as the small vehicle took them toward the palace. “Vir, this was not a good time…”

“I had to,” he said as the Centauri Prime spaceport receded into the background. “I stopped receiving communiques from Mariel. I lost track of where Durla’s plans stood. I was…”

“Concerned for her?” Senna asked.

He nodded. “And not just for her… also for you, and Londo. And now apparently David Sheridan has been added to the mix. You knew about this?”

She nodded, looking grim. “It’s a terrible thing. He simply showed up. No one knew he was coming, not even Lione, and he was most upset about it. The only one who did not seem surprised was Durla. Sometimes I think nothing surprises him.”

“Oh, I think we can arrange a surprise or two for him,” Vir said grimly. “Can you get me in to see Mariel?”

“He’s put her into seclusion. She’s not allowed visitors.”

“So you can’t.”

She smiled. “I didn’t say that.”

Senna strode up to the two guards who were standing outside Durla’s suite of rooms, and said firmly, “The emperor wishes to see you.”

They looked at one another, and then back to Senna. “Why?” one of them asked.

“I have known the man for nearly half my life, and if there is one thing I have learned, it is never to ask why. Lately, he does not take well to that… if you know what I mean.” And she put a finger to her temple and mimed a weapon being fired.

The guards hesitated a moment. Senna crossed her arms and displayed her best look of impatience. “I do not think the emperor likes to be kept waiting.”

Durla had ordered that a guard be kept outside his suite at all times. But Durla was not around, and Senna was well known to be trusted by the emperor. Somehow it seemed thatignoring the emperor’s wishes, as relayed by Senna, might prove to have a negative impact on their life expectancy.

They bowed slightly to Senna and hurried off down the corridor.

The moment they were gone, Senna whispered, “Vir!” In re sponse to her summons, Vir hustled down the corridor to her side. “The door is sealed,” she told him. “So I am not quite certain how we can get in…”

Vir, looking utterly confident, pulled a small device from the interior of his jacket. He aimed it at the door, and it emitted a brief burst of noise. The door promptly slid open.

Senna glanced at the device appraisingly. “Where did you get that?”

“I move with an interesting group of people these days,” Vir replied, and without another word walked into Durla’s suite of rooms. Senna followed.

He took a few steps in and then stopped. There, on the bal cony, looking out at the city, was Mariel. At least, he was reasonably sure it was she. Her back was to him. “Mariel,” he called cautiously.

Mariel turned and looked at him, and it seemed as if she could scarcely believe what she was seeing. Nor could Vir entirely believe his eyes, either. The woman he had known, the vibrant, beautiful young woman, was gone. She had beenreplaced by someone whose face exhibited unending sadness, whose skin carried with it fading bruises that hinted of past atrocities.

“Vir,” she whispered, and ran to him. She threw her arms around him, held him tightly, kissed him with such ferocity that he actually had to apply strength to separate her fromhim. “Vir… you’ve finally come to take me out of here?”

“Mariel, sit down.”

“Vir!” She allowed herself to be guided over to a chair. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited,” she said. “Is itfinally over? When do we leave? I do not care that I am still married to Durla, I will go with you, do whatever you want…”

She was speaking so fast, she was almost incomprehensible, and he gripped her firmly by the arms, kneeling so that they were on eye level. “Mariel… first things first. What is Durla doing? Where is he now?”

“1 don’t know,” she said.

“What is his timetable? Where stand the ships he’s been working on? How close to completion are—”

“I don’t know, I don’t know!” Her voice was rising, and Vir realized that she was rapidly coming to the end of her rope. “He doesn’t talk to me anymore, doesn’t tell me anything about anything! I don’t know what his plans are, and I don’t care anymore! I just want to be with you! The two of us, as it was always meant to be!”

“Vir, this isn’t getting us anywhere. We should go,” Senna warned him in a low voice.

“Vir, you can’t.” Mariel was clutching on to his arm, and all last traces of dignity, of strength, fell away from her. “Vir, you can’t leave me here…”

“Mariel, it’s not that easy. No harm will come to you, I promise, but I can’t just take you out of here. We’ll be noticed, we’ll…”

“I don’t care! Don’t you understand, Vir? All that I have endured, I have endured for you! My love for you, it is boundless, it is endless. Please, Vir, I will do whatever you ask, whenever you ask! I have done nothing but dream of you, night after night. Whenever I was in his arms, it was yours I imagined. His lips crushing against mine, but I felt them to be yours and took comfort from that! You are my everything, my—”