Excerpt
Chapter 1
Luddig wasn't a particularly happy Drazi.
He did not like the building to which he had been sent. He did not like
the office within the building. And he most certainly
did not like that he was being kept waiting in the office within the
building.
Luddig was a first-tier ambassador in the Drazi diplomatic corps, and he
had fought long and hard to get to where he was. As he drummed his fingers
impatiently on the expansive desk he was sitting beside, he couldn't help
but wonder why it was that things never quite seemed to work out the way
that he wanted them to.
Seated next to Luddig was his immediate aide, Vidkun. They provided quite
a contrast to one another, Luddig being somewhat heavyset and jowly while
Vidkun was small and slim. Not that Vidkun was a weakling by any means. He
was whipcord thin and had a certain air of quiet strength about him.
Luddig, on the other hand, was like a perpetually seething volcano that
tended to overwhelm any who stood before him with belligerence and
bombast. As diplomats went, he wasn't particularly genteel. Then again,
he'd never had to be. His activities were confined mostly to his office
and occasional backdoor maneuvers.
It was one of those activities that had brought him here, to Centauri
Prime, to the place called the "Tower of Power." It was an impressive and
elegantly simple structure that, when viewed from the ground, seemed to
stretch forever to the sky.
Luddig had not come here on his own, of course. It had been set up
meticulously and scrupulously in advance. No one on
the Drazi Homeworld had been aware that he was coming to Centauri Prime .
. . well, not "officially" aware. He had brought Vidkun along primarily to
have someone to complain to.
"This is how they treat Luddig of the Drazi!" Luddig said in disgust. He
was one of those who chose to affect the popular Drazi habit of referring
to himself in the third person. "An hour and a half we wait," he
continued. "Waiting and waiting in this stupid room for this stupid
minister." He cuffed Vidkun abruptly on the shoulder. Vidkun barely
reacted. By this point in his career, he scarcely seemed to notice. "We
had a deal!"
"Perhaps you should remind him of that, sir," Vidkun said with exaggerated
politeness.
"Remind him! Of course Luddig will remind him! Drazi do not have to,
should not have to, tolerate such poor attention to Drazi interests!"
"Of course not, sir."
"Stop agreeing!" Luddig said in annoyance, striking Vidkun once more on
the shoulder. Since it was the exact same place, it left Vidkun a bit
sore, but stoutly he said nothing. "You keep agreeing. It shows you are
trying to mock Luddig!"
Vidkun tried to figure out if there was any conceivable way in which he
could respond to the accusation. If he said it wasn't true, then he'd be
disagreeing and thereby disproving the contention. Except he'd be calling
Luddig a liar. If he agreed that was what he was doing, Luddig would shout
at him that he was doing it again. Vidkun wisely chose to say nothing at
all, instead inclining his head slightly in acknowledgment without
actually providing any admission one way or the other.
Clearly Luddig was about to press the matter when, with miraculously good
timing, Minister Castig Lione entered.
Lione was a tall man whose build and general look bordered on the
cadaverous. He had such gravity about him that he could have used it to
maintain a satellite in orbit, Vidkun mused. Then he noticed several of
the black-clad youths known as the Prime Candidates following Lione,
dropping back and away from the minister as he walked into his office.
Vidkun came to the conclusion that Lione already did have satellites. They
were the youth of Centauri Prime, and as near as Vidkun could tell, the
best and the brightest. Their loyalty to Castig Lione was reputedly
unyielding and unwavering. If Lione had told them to break every bone in
their bodies, they would do so and do it willingly.
Vidkun did not, as a rule, like fanatics. If nothing else, they tended to
be a bit too loud for his taste.
"Ambassador Luddig," said Lione, bowing deeply in respect. For a man of
his height, bowing was no easy thing. Luddig should have appreciated the
gesture. Instead he scowled even more fiercely. Vidkun rose and returned
the bow, and got another quick physical rebuke from his superior. "To
what," continued Lione, "do I owe this honor?"
"This honor." Luddig made an incredulous noise that conveyed contempt.
"This honor. This treatment is more like."
"Treatment?" His eyebrows puckered in confusion. "Was there a problem with
your arrival? My Prime Candidates were given specific instructions to
provide you full protection in escorting you from the port. I cannot, of
course, account for the reactions your presence might engender among our
populace."
"It has nothing to do with that--"
Lione continued as if Luddig had not spoken. "In case you are unaware, all
foreigners have been banned from the surface of Centauri Prime. That is
how highly charged sentiments have been running. Fortunately, as a
minister, I have certain . . . latitude. So I was able to arrange for your
visit to our fair--"
"It has nothing to do with that!"
Lione blinked owlishly. "Then I am not quite sure what you are referring
to."
"We had an arrangement!"
"Did we?"
"About Mipas!"
"Ah." Lione did an exceptional job of acting as if he had been unaware of
what was getting Luddig so agitated. "You're speak-
ing about the unfortunate, but necessary, attack on Mipas."
"Unfortunate but necessary how! Unfortunate, yes! Necessary . . . Drazi do
not see that! Has Centauri Prime totally taken leave of senses? Or has
Centauri Prime forgotten that Mipas is under Drazi jurisdiction!"
"Jurisdiction, yes. Curious how that happened, isn't it." Lione's calm,
even lazy tone suddenly shifted. "Curious that the Drazi government paid
so little attention to Mipas . . . until valuable minerals were found on
it. Suddenly a world that was just beyond the outermost edge of the Drazi
borders became Drazi property . . . when your government reconfigured the
borders
to allow for . . ." Lione actually chuckled, and it was not the most
pleasant of sounds. ". . . to allow for the expanding universe theory. 'If
the universe is expanding, Drazi territory must
expand with it to keep up with natural law.' That was priceless,
I have to admit. No one in the Alliance gainsayed you, simply because they
were stunned by the sheer gall your people
displayed."
"If Centauri Prime has issue with expansion of--"
Lione held up a hand, stilling the new torrent of words. "The Centaurum
has no such issues. Expand territories all you wish. Reconfigure your
borders and decide that you're entitled to take possession of the Vorlon
Homeworld, for all we care. But Mipas, well . . ." and he shook his head
sadly. "The fact is that our intelligence informed us that Mipas was
acting in concert with, and providing aid to, certain insurrectionist
factions here on Centauri Prime."
"Is lie!"
"Is not," Lione responded coolly. "The information we have received is
quite definitive. Mipas was aiding those who would overthrow our beloved
emperor and drive our prime minister out of office. Naturally, out of a
sense of self-preservation, we had to take action."
Between gritted teeth, Luddig said, "We had an understanding."
"Did we?"
"Do not play games with Drazi!" Luddig warned. "Centauri Prime is as
interested in mineral deposits on Mipas as Drazi!
I know that! You know that! Everyone know that! We had arrangements!"
"And how much you must have enjoyed those arrangements, Luddig," said
Lione. "Under-the-table payments made to you by certain Mipas officials.
And you, in turn, pass those payments along to us. A token of respect; a
tithe, if you will, to purchase our goodwill. And you succeeded for quite
some time, Luddig. I commend you for your industry. And I commend you for
the deftness with which you managed to cut yourself in to those payments.
How much did you manage to keep for yourself? Ten percent? Twenty?"
"Do you think Drazi not take risks!" Luddig said hotly. "Luddig of Drazi
has his own expenses, own concerns. Certain officials turn their own blind
eye to 'under-the-table payments,' as you say. Money has to cover their
eyes, too. It was beneficial arrangement for all."
"Yes, yes, I daresay it was. Just as this little arrangement exists with
other governments, other 'officials' such as yourselves. Others who
envelop themselves in cloaks of self-righteousness, more than happy to
complain publicly about the Centauri, while you have no difficulty in
private backroom dealings. I can smell the corruption in all the
governments of your pathetic Alliance. The odor of hypocrisy permeates
even the vacuum of space, Ambassador Luddig."
Vidkun watched in fascination as Luddig became so angry that the skin
flaps under his throat stood out and turned pale red. "Luddig does not
have to sit here and listen to this!"
"Stand if you prefer, then," Lione said lazily. "It does not matter to
me." Then once again, his attitude shifted, from torpor to quiet
intensity. "Understand this, Ambassador. We stand by the results of our
investigation. And since we know that the
Mipasians were acting with the insurrectionists, we can only assume that
the Drazi were aware of this connection and approved of it. That,
Ambassador, would mean that you are--rather than our silent partners--our
enemies. We do not advise that you become enemies of the Centauri
Republic. That would be most unfortunate for all concerned."
Vidkun had the distinct feeling that Lione was assuming Luddig would wilt
under the implied threat. To Vidkun's surprise--and, if he had to guess, to
Lione's surprise as well--Luddig did not come remotely close to wilting.
Instead he was on his feet, breathing so hard that it was rasping in his
chest. "You threaten Drazi?" he demanded.
"I threaten no one," Lione said.
But Luddig wasn't buying it. "You are! You violate Drazi interests! You
renege on deal!"
"The deal, such as it was, was entirely unofficial, Luddig," Lione pointed
out. "You said so yourself. If you wish to complain about it to the
Interstellar Alliance--if you wish to try to roust your fellows from their
stupor and bring them into full war with us--then you will have to go
public with the terms of our little arrangement. That will not go over
particularly well, I assure you, because it will bring not only your own
government under scrutiny, but others as well. No one is going to want
that."
"Maybe Drazi do not care about scrutiny or deals," Luddig shot back.
"Maybe Drazi care about Centauri thinking they can do whatever they wish,
whenever they wish, to whomever they wish. Maybe Drazi believe that
Alliance is willing to overlook 'deals' or treat them as stopgap measures
to full war that can no longer be avoided because of Centauri stupidity
and arrogance!"
Lione did not answer immediately. Instead he contemplated what Luddig had
said. He leaned back in his chair, the furniture creaking under his
weight, and he interlaced his fingers while studying Luddig very, very
carefully.
Then he smiled.
Vidkun felt his spine seize up.
"It seems, Ambassador, that we may have underestimated
the . . . vehemence with which you will be pursuing your claim. Very well."
"Very well what?" Luddig's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"I shall take your concerns to the prime minister and we shall see if
restitution cannot somehow be arranged."
Luddig puffed out his chest with sudden confidence. "Yes! That is attitude
Drazi want to see!"
"Excuse me a moment, won't you? No, no, don't get up. I have a small room
designed for . . . private communications. Will not take but a minute." He
did not rise from his seat so much as he seemed to uncoil.
The moment he walked out of the room, Vidkun turned to Luddig, and said,
"We are dead."
"What!" Luddig scoffed at the very idea. "You saw! He spoke of
restitution! He spoke of--"
"Ambassador, with all respect, what he spoke of doesn't matter. In these
sorts of things, what is not said is often more important than what is. I
am telling you, we are--"
"We are Drazi! And you are coward!" Luddig said angrily, stabbing a finger
at Vidkun.
"Sir, I am no coward," Vidkun said, bristling.
"Yes! Your own cowardice stops you from seeing that Centauri do not wish
to anger Drazi! You are not worthy of being aide to Luddig! A new aide
will be required upon our return!"
Vidkun was about to argue the point further, protesting the accusations of
cowardice, when the door opened and Lione entered again, stooping slightly
to avoid the top of the door frame. "The prime minister wishes to see you,
but his schedule simply will not allow it for today. Tomorrow, however,
bright and early, he would be more than happy to discuss the matter. In
the meantime, deluxe accommodations have been arranged for you at a
facility nearby. We certainly hope that will suffice."
"For now," Luddig said noncommittally. "We reserve judgment until we
actually see accommodations."
"Very prudent," Lione said agreeably.
As they headed down to street level, Vidkun's head was spinning. Every
early warning system in his makeup was screaming at him that they were in
mortal danger. But Luddig was so overwhelmingly confident, and Lione
seemed so eager to please, that he was finding it harder and harder to
believe that there was, in fact, any jeopardy. It might be, he thought
bleakly, that Luddig was correct. Perhaps he was indeed a coward, and
simply didn't have the proper mental strength to pursue a career in the
diplomatic corps.
They walked out into the street, a pleasant sun beaming down at them, and
a glorious day on Centauri Prime apparently lying ahead of them. There
were passersby, casting glances in their
direction, but there did not appear to be any problem. There were Prime
Candidates forming a protective circle around them, but Luddig--chatting
animatedly with Lione--didn't pay them any mind. He was calm, cool, and
confidently secure that he had a complete handle on the situation.
"Kill the Drazi!"
The shout came from someone in the crowd, and it was suddenly taken up by
others. What had appeared only moments before to be a benign, loose
assemblage of people suddenly firmed up into a mob.
"Kill the Drazi! Death to outworlders! Centauri Prime over all! Death to
enemies of the Great Republic!" These and other sentiments suddenly seemed
to come from everyone, everywhere.
And the enraged Centauri citizens were advancing, coming in from all sides.
The Prime Candidates melted away. Suddenly the protective wall of bodies
was gone.