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

He sat forward. "Are you loyal to me, Ari?" he asked. He did not have to ask. He knew the answer even without scanning his mind.

Sanctuary was the key. It was too open and vulnerable. The Corps — and therefore he — had resources elsewhere; resources no one else knew about.

"Of course, Alfred," he said. "You don't need to ask that."

"Sanctuary is vulnerable at the moment. Very vulnerable. We may have to evacuate to…. other places. If that happens, I may need you to fight a holding action. We need an increase in the number of probes monitoring hyperspace from all directions, even the ones off the main channels. We will also need the Ozymandias in constant combat readiness. Make sure there are at least three…. no, four, telepaths on the ship at all times. Keep Harriman as your main telepath, but it is imperative that we have others."

"Of course," he said.

That was the beginning. Start moving out the most important things. Files, certain experiments….

And Talia. Yes, get her away from here as soon as possible.

She was, in his eyes, the most important thing not just on the station, but in his life.

His eyes.

They were what she remembered most clearly about him.

His eyes.

To any telepath a person's eyes were the mirrors of their soul. One look, and she could see everything she needed. His vulnerability, covered by a hardened shell of cynicism. A lost yearning for protection and a cause. He had been one of the first to join Sheridan's little war, and one of the first to die in that cause.

He was all that had mattered to her. She had accepted her loss, had resolved to continue, taking his cause for her own. The Vorlons had influenced her, manipulated her, but it had been the memory of his eyes she had seen every time she pushed herself forward.

Kosh was gone now as well, and she was alone again. She would not be alone for long, she knew. Another Vorlon would come for her soon, but there was a moment before that would happen, a chance to complete one last duty from the life she was soon to leave behind.

Lyta Alexander raised her PPG and pointed it squarely at the head of the sleeping Susan Ivanova. She would not wake up. A simple telepathic nudge would see to that. It might be…. better if Ivanova could see her death coming, but it would be easier this way.

There was a buzzing sound as she readied the weapon. Her grip firm and her posture straight, she kept it pointed at the slumbering woman.

She could not pull the trigger.

She swore silently and lowered the weapon. She was not a murderer, not in cold blood like this. She had thought she could, but…. It was fortunate her resolve had lasted her even this far.

"You deserve it," she whispered. "You deserve all this…."

But she could not do it. Not kill someone like this.

There was another way.

She stepped forward, and pocketed her gun. She was not sure how much time she would have, but there would be time enough for this. Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, she removed her gloves. She had to see, had to be sure.

Lightly, she touched her fingertips to Ivanova's forehead.

She was in a room somewhere. She did not know where. It was cold. Not uncomfortably so, but chilly all the same. There was only a young girl here. She was sitting on the floor, playing with an old-fashioned, raggedy doll.

"Where am I?" she asked. An image from Ivanova's childhood, perhaps? The decorations looked Russian, she supposed.

The child stopped playing and looked up. She was about…. ten, perhaps. Maybe a little younger. Lyta had never really had much to do with children.

"Are you here to see Mama?" she asked, deadly serious. "You're one of those bad people, aren't you? One of the…. the telepaths."

Lyta looked down, and was startled to see she was wearing the uniform of a Psi Cop. That was strange. Some sleeping memory, perhaps? She did not bother trying to change it. This was Ivanova's dream after all. Not hers.

"Where's your mother?" she asked.

"She's ill at the moment. She sent me here. She said she'd come for me. She's…. I've been waiting a long time. Have you brought her medicine?"

"What medicine?"

"The bad men bring it for her. It makes her sleepy, and not feel well. They say she has to take it. Is my Mama all right?"

Sleepers. Now Lyta understood. Her mother was a telepath who had refused to join the Corps. That was in the old days, of course. Before Earth fell. Things were…. a little different now.

"Dadya says she'll be fine. Where is she?"

"I…. I don't know."

There was the sound of a door opening behind her, and Lyta turned. The young girl cried out. "No! Don't let them take me. Please…. they're the bad men. They're here for me. Mama said she'd protect me. Don't let them…."

Two Psi Cops came in through the door, but these were different even from the people Lyta had trained with. They were huge, twice her size, and they looked like monsters. One of them smiled, revealing an impossible number of fanged teeth. The other one lifted up a net.

"Mama!" cried the young girl. "Mama! Where are you?"

"She can't help you now," said the first Psi Cop. "You've got to come with us. We're your parents now."

Lyta shook as she returned to her own mind. She was swaying gently. Steadying herself, she looked at Ivanova again. Her sleep was more fitful, but Lyta could clearly see an older version of the young girl.

"Damn you," she whispered to herself. Tears in her eyes, she turned and left the room.

Study an enemy's weaknesses, and thou shalt know him.

Sonovar had heard those words many times during his training, first from Warleader and Satai Shakiri, and later from Sinoval himself. And he had taken them to heart, remembering them and acting on them.

But he had added another piece of wisdom to his learning, one he had developed after learning of Shakiri's death. Sonovar alone had worked out who was responsible, and he recognised Shakiri's folly in not turning his teachings inwards.

Know your enemy, true, but know your friends as well. They are just as dangerous to you.

Friends, and potential friends.

And so, as Sonovar walked into the room that had been serving as the cell of Shai Alyt Kozorr, he went armed not only with two fighting pikes, but with all the knowledge he had been able to gather about the man. Information, rumours, and a fascinating device created by Forell to pry into Kozorr's dreams.

The warrior leapt to his feet as Sonovar entered, and his grace was startling. Sonovar let his gaze rest on his companion's injuries, particularly his hand. Kozorr was wearing a glove to disguise the damage and to provide some support, but Sonovar knew just how maimed the limb was. He had been there, after all.

"Your weapon," he said, handing Kozorr's pike back to him. And a strange weapon it was, too. It was a shorter version of the traditional denn'bok, adapted so that it could be wielded with only one hand. Sech Durhan's work, no doubt. A better weaponsmith Sonovar had never known.

"You said you were going to kill me," came the angry reply.

"I have said many things, at many times, to many people."

"Minbari do not lie," he said. "You said you would kill me, and let her go. I am still alive. Did you break your promise concerning Kats as well?"

Sonovar smiled. "Why do you care? She is a worker, an inferior class. By all rights she should not even be permitted to set foot on a warship like this. There was a time when her caste would lower their eyes as we walked past, would grovel at our feet. A time when the warrior caste ruled all, and the workers and the priestlings served our will."

"We never ruled anything. We spent all the time butchering each other."

"It was a golden age. A time of glory, and legends…. and heroes. Would you like to help me bring it back?"

"Kill me, Sonovar, or let me go. I have no interest in your delusions."

Sonovar took a quick step back and extended his pike. "Fight me. Kill me, Kozorr, and I will let you go. I will let her go as well."

"Minbari do not kill Minbari. You may have forgotten that, but I have not."

"You were willing to kill Kalain to save your worker whore. Are you not ready to do the same now, to save her again?"

"Where is she?"

"Maybe she is on this ship, maybe she is with Sinoval, and maybe she is dead. Fight me, and I will tell you."

"I have no interest in your lies!"

"Minbari do not lie. You said as much yourself."

"You have lied to me, Sonovar. If you cannot keep that law, then how can I believe you will respect any of the others? You are no warrior. You are a killer."

"Maybe I am. Maybe I am not. Fight me, Kozorr. Earn for yourself…. or for me…. a true warrior's death. Beyond the wild, impartial skies…. a true and glorious end. To die in battle, can there be any greater glory? Fight me."

He lowered his pike, and stood silent.

"Dare you take the risk of letting me live? What if you kill me, Kozorr? Your…. Primarch Sinoval will be happy with you, will he not? And regardless, you will have ended a threat to his people. Or are you a coward? Has that worker bitch of yours sapped all your will? You were willing to die before! Why not now?"

Anger filling his eyes, Kozorr lifted his pike and sprang forward.

Sonovar smiled as he raised his own blade to block it.

A rope around the neck. A death for peasants, for farmers, for the lowest dregs of Centauri society. Certainly not a death Lord Jarno had ever expected for himself. He was after all a noble of the mighty Centauri Republic and as such he was entitled to certain…. privileges.

He stood at the window, looking out at the gallows in the square beneath his cell. His status brought him one advantage anyway; his last days would be spent in a luxurious palace room, rather than a dark and cold prison.

"You do not have to go through with this, Jarno," said a voice from behind him. Normally, anyone who heard that voice would be expected to be honoured, to snap to attention, to answer and reply with all the respect due to the Emperor of the entire Republic, but if there was one advantage impending death conferred, it was the right to defy certain…. conventions.

"No, I know," he said softly, not turning round. "But it is…. the right thing to do. No noble of this Court has attacked the household of another in centuries…. until me. I saw what was happening in the Court and I did nothing, letting weakness swing me forward and back, never able to take any decisive action.

"No…. I am ready to die."

"Yes," replied the Emperor, "I understand that. I do not agree with it, perhaps. Our new Government could benefit much from you, Jarno. A great deal."

"I have nothing to offer, and my presence at your side would only alienate Kiro's followers. With my death you at least stand a chance of bringing them over to your side. Consider this…. my last service to the Republic."

There was an exasperated tutting from behind him. Jarno still did not turn around. Partly this was because he did not want to see the face of someone who had been…. never a true friend, but always a respected peer. But also he could not take his eyes from the means of his execution. It was a truly sobering sight.