"Calm down, Ambassador," Delenn said slowly. "We will not harm you. Not because of your…. 'diplomatic immunity', but because we are better people than you." Taan Churok growled softly. "You have one hour to gather your belongings and leave Kazomi Seven. And after that, if you or any members of your staff are found within Alliance space…. you will not leave it alive.
"Am I clear?"
"Perfectly. In that case, I wish to make just one point." He looked around the table, pausing at each figure. "Brakiri. Drazi. Narn. Minbari. You are all dead. Each and every member of all your races. We offered you peace. We offered you assistance…. and understanding.
"There will be no peace now. Your choice. Not mine. Not ours. There will be no peace. There will be only death, and the worms and the rats will crawl through this room when we are done, and your Alliance of paper and string will consist only of the dead.
"A sad loss, to be sure. And an unnecessary one. But with you gone…. perhaps the other races will listen. No one ever said we could win all the time."
He turned and stalked from the room. When he was gone Delenn sat down, shooting a warning glance at Taan Churok as he leapt up. "No," she said. "We have given him an hour. Vejar…. I think you had better follow him…. Be sure he does not…. do anything inappropriate. If he is still on this planet after an hour, kill him."
The technomage nodded and left the room. The air seemed to crackle with each movement.
"We should have killed him," Vizhak said angrily. This was one of the few things he and Taan Churok had agreed upon since the Alliance had been founded.
"We should never let our enemies live," growled his Drazi companion.
"We are not murderers," Delenn said firmly. "And this Alliance will not be built upon the callous shedding of blood. But it seems we will have to prepare for war. Ambassador G'Kael, will you be able to arrange a meeting for me with G'Kar? I had…. hoped he would be here."
"He wished to…. avoid too firm a link with the Alliance. Precisely to avoid this sort of situation."
"Well, the Alliance and the Rangers are moving in the same direction now. As we should have been from the start."
She sat back in her chair and looked around at the other members. "Well…. we have lasted over a year, and but for two major battles it has been a peaceful time. I am very much afraid that none of us will ever see peace again in our lifetimes."
Vizhak muttered something in the Drazi language, and Taan Churok chuckled. Delenn took a moment to translate, and then she smiled sadly.
It was an old Drazi proverb. 'Peace comes only with the grave. Yours…. or theirs.'
* * *
"And how did the meeting go?"
"As…. well as could be expected, I suppose." Delenn looked at G'Kar carefully. He had spent the last few months slowly recovering from his injuries. She had spent as much time as she could with him, but that had been sadly very little. The business with the Alliance, the peace talks and…. John had kept her away. A shame. She felt there was much to learn from this Narn. He had somehow embraced an inner peace that had escaped almost everyone else. In all the galaxy, he alone was sure of his place, and his direction.
And now he was running around, packing, behaving with considerable energy.
"I would have liked you to have been there."
"Ah…. no. You did fine without me, from the sound of it." He stopped, and looked at her carefully. "You are sure about this choice? It will not be an easy war."
"Wars never are," she replied sternly. "But yes, I am sure. I want peace, yes…. but not the peace we would have had by surrendering to them."
"Hah! Exactly. But still…. things will be difficult. They have a considerable start on this, but all is not yet lost. We have allies out there. All we need do is find them."
"Allies? Such as who?"
"Well…. before the battle I would have said Mr. Bester…. but it seems that particular relationship has well and truly run its course. Oh well…. but even without him, there is Primarch Sinoval, if no one else. If we can get him on to our side…. then…. In him we could have the greatest friend we will ever need, or the worst enemy. And Emperor Mollari, of course.
"I do not think we are anywhere near as alone as it might seem."
"Perhaps. I…. You look as if you are preparing to leave."
"Oh, I am."
"Was it…. something I said?"
"No. I have…. certain obligations to various allies and contacts I acquired before entering the Machine. I spent two years trapped in metal and rock, and now my body is my own again. It is time I started fulfilling my obligations. There are people I have to see, and things I have to do…. and I have to do them alone."
"You cannot leave now! Your injuries…."
"I can see…. I can speak, I can touch, I can walk and I can think. I need nothing else."
"We need you. We need your Rangers."
"Ta'Lon will fill in here for me. He is a good man, and he will lead the Rangers some day…. if not all of Narn."
"A prophecy, G'Kar?"
"Simple wisdom. It is something we all have, but few of us know how to use. All the knowledge I have gathered is with him, and he will be able to use it just as well as I could. And…. he will follow you."
"Me?"
"Of course. Neroon would have followed you anywhere. And Ta'Lon will honour his friend's memory. Neroon loved you deeply, and Ta'Lon will honour that love. As do I."
"Neroon…. yes. I…. I have missed him."
"We all have, but he is with us, Delenn. All of the fallen are."
She blinked, and smiled slowly and sadly. "Where will you go first?"
"Hmm…. There is an old Narn legend of the prophet G'Quan, that when he went seeking wisdom, he first went into the lair of the…. ah, it is hard to translate. Humans have legends of beasts called 'dragons', I believe…. and they are as close as any other. G'Quan went into the lair of the dragon on the first stage of his quest for wisdom. And so shall I."
"And where will you find this…. dragon?"
He smiled. "Centauri Prime, of course. Where else?"
* * *
"She does not love you. She will never love you. Not while he is there."
"Do you think I don't know that!?"
Sonovar smiled, dancing slowly around Kozorr. He had spent the last few months observing his fighting style, noting the adjustments made to compensate for his injuries. Kozorr had developed something new, and very interesting. But as for Sonovar's other purpose, that was working as well.
"Tell me about Sinoval," he said slowly, making sure to keep just out of reach of Kozorr's charge. That shortened pike of his could make a very deadly stabbing weapon, but it lacked the range of a full denn'bok.
"What is there to tell?" He was not moving very far. His weak leg saw to that. No, Kozorr had become the rock, sure and steady, willing to let the enemy come to his ground, come to where he could deal with them. "You know him just as well as I. He trained you, after all."
"Indeed he did. But the Sinoval I know is long gone. Maybe he died when we besieged Earth, or maybe a little afterwards. Or maybe it was during our attack on the Earthers at Proxima. It doesn't matter. The Sinoval who trained me would never have done the things this…. Primarch Sinoval has done."
"He is the same person he always was."
"You think? Tell me, Kozorr…. what were your feelings when you heard he had been made Holy One…. leader of our Grey Council?"
"I…. What does it matter?"
"Then I will tell you what you thought." He darted inwards, lashing out at Kozorr's legs. The shortened pike came down in a strong parry and then darted out in a riposte. Sonovar dived back, and only just dodged the attack. "You were exultant, overawed…. at last a warrior had come to lead us again. Our greatest warrior. We would be strong as a people, triumphant over our enemies. No more would we suffer the whining platitudes of the priestlings or the weak-willed inferiorities of the workers.
"We would be the strong, the brave, the mighty.
"We were betrayed."
Kozorr was silent, moving slowly and stealthily, each motion an economy of effort. His face was expressionless.
"Shagh Toth in our highest counsels. The Grey Council destroyed. Our world in ruins. The return of the Prophet cast aside as a mere rumour. A worker one of his most trusted allies, setting policy for warriors born! Sinoval has betrayed us!"
Kozorr's eyes flashed with anger. He had a weakness, and it was Sinoval's worker whore. Sonovar had seen that long ago. He did not despise Kozorr for his feelings, but he did despise Kats for manipulating them.
"Kats is as much a warrior as we are. She merely follows a gentler way."
Sonovar chuckled. "Ah, Kozorr," he said, straightening. "I know of your feelings for her, and there is nothing wrong with them. But not even you can claim that a worker belongs in a position of authority such as she holds. She is Sinoval's pet…. and she will never love you the way you love her."
"That…. does not matter to me."
"Why do you follow him anyway? He has betrayed us all. Do you honestly agree with everything he has done? Shagh Toth? Fleeing from Minbar and leaving it for the enemy? Are those the deeds of our great warrior leader?"
"He…. had…. reasons."
"Of course he did. But are they our reasons? Are they the reasons of the true warriors, or the motives of a power-hungry traitor?"
"I follow him because I swore I would. As you say, he is a warrior, and…. while I do not agree with all he has done…. he is a warrior, and my leader."
Sonovar smiled, and nodded. "Then help me make him the leader we all want him to be. Nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to see a true warrior leading us. I want only to ensure that happens."
"He is a true warrior."
"You think? Help me, Kozorr. Help me make me the leader we all want."
"I…." He bowed his head. "I concede the fight to you. Let me return to my cell."
A dry chuckle. "Of course. But first…. some refreshment?"
Exactly on cue Forell shuffled into view, bearing a tray containing two goblets. Sonovar was not sure how he had known the priestling was there. He simply…. had. He was somehow getting a feel for where he was.
"I bring you your elixir, my lord," Forell said humbly. "And…. something for your guest?"
Sonovar grabbed one of the goblets and held it to his mouth. The liquid inside was a thick, red elixir. It smelled of something he could not quite identify. He paused slightly and lowered it, acting on an impulse he could not quite understand.
"Where are my manners?" he asked. "A glass for you, my guest?"
"I am not thirsty."
"You should drink, my lord," Forell said. "It is a medicine of sorts."
"I…. Ah, very well." He pointed to the goblet in Sonovar's hand. "I will take that one," he said seriously.
"It is not poisoned, I assure you," Sonovar said, handing it over. "What would be the point of that? But yes, here you are." He took up the second drink and downed it. It tasted…. sweet. Very sweet. It was also slightly warm.
Kozorr sampled his delicately. Once he was sure that Sonovar had finished his, he drank it all and handed the goblet back to Forell. "What was that?" he asked.
