"This will all change once we take over and kick all these worthless morons into the gutter where they belong."
"Look around you, Byron. This is the gutter. Anyway, that day hasn't come yet, and until it does, we're going to have to play by their rules." She released him and returned to her relaxed pose. "Don't forget that." She was almost, but not quite, leaning against the wall. The muck on there would quite ruin her jacket.
There was the sound of a throat being cleared not far away, and Talia turned to look. There he was, Chase. A little more dirty and ragged than the last time they had spoken, but it was unquestionably him. "Miss…. Shaughnessy?" he asked. She nodded. Bridget Shaughnessy was an old alias of hers, one she had used the last time she'd been on Proxima, some years ago now. There was in fact a full history and background for Bridget Shaughnessy in the Hall of Records, very kindly planted there by Al. In many ways she was more real than Talia Winters.
"Yes. Come on, Mr. Chase. What do you have for us?"
He moved forward, and Byron began, very circumspectly, to move around behind him. "You can get me…. off Proxima?" he asked nervously. "Out of human space altogether?"
"Yes," she promised. "I told you. I'll be able to arrange a shuttle to get you into Narn space, and from there you can go where you like."
"Good. I've always liked the Narns. They'll protect me. I think…. I think someone's looking for me. I think…."
"Then the sooner you tell us what we need to know, the sooner you'll be able to leave Proxima and get away from them."
He nodded. "Yes. Yes. Good. Well…. um…. I used to work for IPX, as you know, and…. I accidentally stumbled across some of their…. projects they weren't telling anyone about. I mean, they own a couple of the lesser Ministers, and they've been trying to get more power over someone like Welles or Ryan for some time now, but that's…. common knowledge. At least," he giggled, "common knowledge amongst those of us in the business, anyway."
Talia could see Byron's face. His expression was hardening. He was getting impatient.
"Anyway," Chase continued, "I came across a bit more…. presumably what you're looking for. It was an accident, really. I was approached by some…. freedom fighters…. who wanted to buy some very useful items from us. IPX had a weapons contract from the Government a couple of years back, so I managed to siphon off some of the weapons and get them to these…. individuals."
"Which group?" Byron asked softly. Chase suddenly noticed that someone was behind him, and started.
"Uh…. some of the anti-Narn lot, mainly. Trying to…. ah…. kick the Narns off some of the newly liberated colonies. Acts of revenge…. stuff like that."
Byron nodded, a slight, ironic smile spreading across his face. That smile managed to unnerve Chase even more than he was already.
"Anyway, they wanted to make all the arrangements here…. in the Pit. It wasn't unusual. I mean, nobody really cares what goes on down here. The security forces are being paid off by everyone in existence, including some high-up people at IPX, and, well….
"It was through my dealings with the Security Chief here a couple of months back that I first discovered something was wrong. Allan, I think his name was. He was already getting a substantial pay-off from IPX, but he dug his nose into my business a little more than usual. He was expecting weapons to be coming through here, but for some reason the weapons I was helping supply weren't the ones he was expecting, or going to the people he was expecting them to go to.
"I did a bit of back-checking, because his attitude was starting to make me a little nervous. It turns out that for the past several years IPX has been funnelling a substantial amount of weapons and funds into the area, working through a man called Trace. Now I've heard of him, and I'm…. well…. put it this way, I'd rather stay as far away from him as I can get. I'm not certain what he's doing with the weapons and tech, but I can guess, especially since something goes back the other way, from here to IPX."
He fell silent, and mopped at his sweat-stained forehead.
"What's going back?" Talia asked softly.
"Bodies. In cryogenic suspension. Not many, but a fair number. Of course, no one can do any sort of census in the Pit, and Security don't investigate missing persons. Some of these people came from outside the Pit though; they're lured here somehow, and then disappear. Things are still chaotic up at Main Dome, and some people do vanish. But all these people had something in common, and that's what blew my little enterprise. As I said, Allan wasn't surprised that weapons were coming through here, even if they weren't going direct to Mr. Trace, but it was the type of weapons that tipped him off and caused him to report to IPX."
He shuddered, and looked at Talia carefully, as if seeking confirmation of something he suspected but didn't know to be true.
"What?" asked Byron angrily. "What tipped him off?"
"Well, the weapons I was funnelling through here were for use against the Narns, right. And Narns don't have telepaths. Almost every other weapon or piece of tech coming to Trace from IPX was for use against telepaths. I'd say that those missing people were all teeps."
"Ah," Talia said. That did explain a lot. She was about to say something when there was a sudden movement behind her, and she spun round. There was someone there. People, a lot of them, shimmering into view.
This was impossible. She should have been able to sense them. She heard Chase let out a wild cry and saw Byron start forward. She stepped back quickly, counting the new arrivals. Seven, at least.
"M…. M…. M…." Chase was spluttering.
"Shut up, Chase," snapped an angry voice. "Did you really think you'd evaded us all this time? We wanted to see who you planned to contact, and now we've found them…. Well, many thanks. Thanks to you, we're all getting extra bonuses this month."
"Mr. Trace," Chase said, finally managing a coherent sound. "Ah…. It's…. ah…. You don't want to hurt me…. You don't…."
Talia became aware that Byron was beside her, and suddenly realised what he was planning. So far this Trace and his companions hadn't tried anything aggressive, and she knew it was best to let the other person make the first move, sucker them into revealing more than they intended.
Byron didn't plan on waiting for anything at all.
She reached out to warn him, but it was too late. She could feel his telepathic invasion of Trace's mind, and his psionic suggestion to him.
You will leave this place. You will leave us alone.
Trace smiled slightly. "No," he said, in a friendly tone of voice. "I don't think so." He raised his hand, and revealed a small black box. He pressed a button.
Byron screamed and fell to the ground. He was unconscious by the time he hit it, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head. There was blood welling from his nose.
"He'll have a headache for a while," muttered Trace. "Are you going to make this easy, Miss…. Winters, isn't it? Because let me tell you, between the two of us and at the risk of jeopardising my hard-man image in front of my men here…. I really don't like hurting women. We've all got to have some sort of moral code, don't we? Otherwise we're nothing better than savages, howling in the wilderness."
"This looks pretty much like a wilderness to me," she replied, edging back slowly, careful not to trip over Byron's body. He was alive, she could sense that much, but there was nothing she could do to help him now. She would be lucky if she could help herself. Chase stood stock still, as if paralysed. He was still blubbering.
"Well, yes, it is." Trace was standing still, but two of his men were moving forward. They were wearing the same black clothing as he was, and Talia recognised a Light Refraction Belt. Some of the science labs in Main Dome were working on them, and they were nearly perfected. Obviously Trace and his men had first dibs on any interesting new tech to come this way.
"This is a wilderness, but it's my wilderness. Are you going to surrender?"
"What do you think?"
The nearest of his men darted forward and she reacted instantly, whipping her slender knife from its sheath in her sleeve and lashing out. It caught him straight across the face and he fell back in a shower of blood.
The other man hesitated slightly, just long enough for her to drop the gas bomb she had been holding clenched in her other hand. The instant it hit the ground and cracked, she turned and ran as fast as she could.
Trace waited patiently for the gas to recede, and then looked around. The male teep — the powerful one — was still unconscious. He could be sent on to the Boss without any problem. The female teep — the interesting one — seemed to have got away.
"Well don't just stand there," he barked. "Go find her. What am I paying you for?" Only Nelson stayed behind. He would be needed to make arrangements for the body, and anyway, a simple search-and-locate was a bit beneath him these days.
And then there was Chase. Trace actually liked the pathetic little weasel, but still…. He'd killed people he'd liked before.
Chase was still whimpering, trying futilely to beg for mercy.
Trace raised his PPG.
* * *
There was one person on Centauri Prime who knew of the Shadow involvement in the battle before anyone else. Mr. Morden had sold his soul to a higher power than humanity, and that power had given him certain advantages. He knew that the Shadows had come, and that he had arrived here too late.
He had not hesitated. All transport off-planet had been halted by the news of the upcoming attack, and so he could not have left even if the jump gate had not been disabled. On the other hand, that would not last forever. He had to be clear of the palace, to somewhere safe. The Vorlons knew of the problem here and they could help him escape.
The Centauri Republic was not lost yet. It could still be redeemed from the errors it had made. It would be a hard road, and a difficult one, but it could be done. The Centauri would escape far easier than humanity for their lapse in judgement.
It was a shame, though. He liked Mollari. He really did.
Oh, well. The burden of power was never an easy one. Mollari would understand.
Morden turned the corner, not quite running, to find Lord-General Marrago standing there with a sizeable number of the Palace Guard.
"There he is," Marrago said flatly. "He is under arrest by order of the Emperor. He is to be detained in the special cells in this building. Do not try to resist, Mr. Morden. Their orders are to shoot to kill if you try."
"The Emperor gave no such order," Morden said smiling. "I'm one of his most trusted allies."
"That alliance, and the need for it, has just been terminated. I am a soldier, and I serve and protect my Emperor."
The guards encircled Morden. He did not plan to resist. There were more of them than of him, and they were also considerably stronger. He could have used some of his more…. esoteric talents, but there was little point. He knew now who the Shadow agent here was, and there was no cell that could hold him for long.
He went along with them quietly. Centauri Prime had been given its chance for salvation, and it had been refused. They would pay for that error. With a great fire and a terrible fury, the whole Republic would suffer because of the actions of one man.
