"Oh? I thought you had everything under control?"
"Not always. Politics, you know. More precisely, our faction and…. the other one. Oh, we all want the same thing of course — order as opposed to chaos. But there are ways and means. Our faction prefers a more…. controlled form of order. You've seen for yourself how good the other races are at maintaining stability. They need a strong hand, discipline I suppose. But the other faction…. the old guard, shall we say? They're a tad…. liberal for these days."
"And it was this other faction which had control of the…. Sinclair situation?"
"Yes. Our lot brought him back to deal with problems among the Minbari. Things had escalated too far there for us to be without influence."
"The bombing?"
"Not just that, but yes. There was also a warrior named Sinoval who's proven very unco-operative and difficult. We needed a saviour to detract from his popularity. We control Valen, he controls the Minbari and there we are — back on track. Unfortunately the other faction had their own ideas. Something to do with free will, I believe."
Edgars smiled. "Always a bad idea."
"Exactly. Give any ten people a choice and nine of them will instantly pick the wrong one. But still, the old guard insisted we give Valen his free will, for this time zone at least. We agreed, and they now owe us big. Don't worry, we'll win the next one.
"Anyway, things weren't exactly turning out as we'd planned. Valen controlled by us and controlling the Minbari was a good thing. Valen running around free and not controlling anything is just too much of a risk. What if the Enemy manage to kill him, or something goes wrong? The past and the future depend on him just too much. We weren't even going to bring him out this early because of the risk, but….
"We need him controlled. Our deal with the…. other faction prevents us from doing so openly, but through Miss Sakai…."
"Ah, yes. So even the Vorlons don't agree on everything, then? That is a revelation."
Morden shrugged. "Just the minutiae. The end goal is the same. It's just…. the way to get there. Besides, our faction is in the ascendancy now. The old-fashioned attitudes won't trouble us much longer."
"Good. It's always a shame, but some rights just don't apply in desperate times. We all have to do what we'd…. rather not do, in a good cause. Don't you agree?"
Morden, more than used to such weak philosophical thinking from his former employer these days, nodded. "Of course."
"You said you would win the next one. What exactly, if I may ask…?"
"They've got the past, with Valen. We will have the future. Sheridan…. and Delenn. The old guard is an anachronism, and the future…. belongs to us."
"Good. Yes…. very good."
* * *
John Sheridan opened his eyes and found himself looking directly into the face of the woman he loved. He had no idea how much time had passed, but the candle had burned down quite a lot. He….
He remembered being inside Delenn's soul. He had seen…. everything. Had she seen the same things within him that he had seen within her?
Her eyes were closed, and a soft tear was running down her cheek. "John," she whispered.
"I'm here. I…." He hesitated. He had been going to say, "I'll always be here," but he knew that was not the case.
"Death is not the end," she whispered. "Whatever happens, the circle goes on. It continues into another life, another soul, but it does continue."
"I know. And…. and I'll be waiting for you. I won't start the next journey without you."
She smiled, and opened her beautiful green eyes. They seemed to light up through her sadness. "We shall begin the next journey together, my love."
"Always."
He entwined his fingers around hers, and they remained there as the candles burned down and finally extinguished themselves, leaving the two lovers in darkness.
* * *
There had not been much in the way of interstellar travel from Proxima 3 these last few years. Very few races welcomed humans to their worlds, at least not in any substantial numbers, and the other human colonies had been little better than slave holdings.
Since President Clark had pulled off his diplomatic coup with the Narn Government, however, that had changed. The former human colonies were now freed from the Narns and interstellar travel had started up again. Many alien worlds now welcomed humanity and numerous businesses saw potential for cashing in on the rising economy.
Some worlds were still very much off-limits, but by no means all.
"Destination, please?"
Catherine Sakai looked around her with eyes which seemed far older than the face they were set in.
"A long way away," she whispered. "A long way away."
* * *
Elsewhere, many light years distant, the suns rose over Kazomi 7, and Valen, the former Jeffrey Sinclair, still standing in the position he had been in all night, looked up, and smiled.
He then turned and began to walk out into the city.
* * *
And elsewhere still, Alfred Bester sent a heavily-encoded message right into the heart of the darkness, his mind working faster than ever before. He knew what to do now. He knew how he had to do it. Playing three factions off against each other was not easy, but neither was it impossible, especially when none of the other factions had his…. advantages.
A face appeared in the viewscreen.
"Ambassador Sheridan," Bester said, smiling. "Is it too early? Did I wake you?"
"I do not sleep, Mr. Bester. What can I do for you?"
"I've been considering your offer since the last time we met. I'd like you to know that I've reached a decision…."
Гэрет Д. Уильямс
Часть 3. Стратегия завоевателей
На Проксиме бурно расширяющиеся планы Правительства Сопротивления наконец затронули и Г'Кара, однако, судьба, которую ему уготовили — не смерть… но нечто гораздо худшее. Уэллс идёт по узкой дорожке, но получает помощь из совершенно неожиданного источника. Тем временем на Приме Центавра Лондо демонстрирует, как работает настоящий политик…
Вероятнее всего, именно второму императору мы обязаны сомнительными удовольствиями нашей системы протекционизма и закулисного влияния среди дворянства. Хотя всем известно, что именно первый император создал Двор и ввёл обычай строить дворянские имения в столице или рядом с ней — что являлось, безусловно, частью стратегии «поместим их туда, где я смогу за ними приглядывать» — только его наследник развил и усовершенствовал весь замысел.
Возможно, из-за шаткости своего положения в ранние годы правления второй император был более чем его отец напуган растущей силой дворянства. Люди склонны забывать, что создатель Империи и непобедимый герой-завоеватель начал своё правление чуть более чем подростком, подталкиваемый и принуждаемый к действиям, которые он сам находил аморальными.
Его советник, Верховный жрец Ричили, чьё имя вызывало лишь страх и проклятья, упорядочил и стабилизировал ситуацию в эти ранние годы. Ему же приписывается и изобретение системы прямого подчинения дворян лично императору. Центаурум был создан задолго до Империи, но первому императору удалось в значительной степени укротить его. А его сын, подгоняемый собственными страхами, «с помощью» Ричили превратил Центаурум в пристройку Двора, полностью подчинив его себе.
Вскоре выяснилось, что ни один центаврианин, открыто находящийся в оппозиции императору, никогда не достигнет влиятельных позиций в Правительстве и всё его попытки выступить в Центауруме будут оставлены без внимания. В результате, дворянам пришлось проводить больше времени, доказывая императору свою лояльность, чем интригуя против него; и, тайно плетя интриги (чаще против своих собратьев, нежели императора), каждый стремился показать ему, что более предан, чем остальные. Это привело к классическому «балансу террора», когда дворяне были слишком заняты, маневрируя между себе подобными, и не могли осознать, в какой степени император и Ричили манипулируют ими.
К сожалению, такое положение вещей могло существовать, пока был сильный император, контролирующий ситуацию; а после казни Ричили и начала первой завоевательной войны император редко появлялся при Дворе. Во время его правления среди дворянства возникли различные группировки, и после ухода императора они начали властвовать при Дворе, а значит, и в Империи.
Подобная ситуация длится и поныне. Безусловно, последующие императоры пытались возродить технику «баланса террора», но эти попытки имели весьма ограниченный успех особенно после прекращения первой императорской династии со смертью седьмого императора. И с тех пор нами управляют главы различных дворянских Домов, вышедшие из самых низов Двора и не забывшие об этом. Естественно, некоторые из них имели больший успех, чем другие. Самым примечательным был император Моллари, правивший несколько лет до своей несчастной и ужасной смерти.
