The room was comfortable, large enough for his purposes, possessed all the amenities a visiting dignitary might need, near enough to the main Council chambers, and with a quite stunning view of the city, which seemed so much more alive since he had last been here.
Which meant, of course, that all his retainers hated the place.
'Quite inadequate,' blustered one. 'Too small,' said another. 'Security provisions are worthless.' 'Barbarian little cultures.... they have no idea how to treat a civilised ruler.'
Londo listened to all this with a smile. Things felt almost normal. He considered letting all the courtiers know that the rooms were fine, but then they would only find something else to complain about.
He was looking out at the city. The suns were shining. He could see children running and playing. There was a shrine he could just make out. It seemed wonderfully.... peaceful. He made a mental note to ask Lethke what it was.
Everything was so different. He had last seen this place over a year and a half ago, and then it had been a bombed-out wreck, haunted by monsters and ghosts and demons. He had fled through those streets in mortal peril of his life. Lennier had left some vital part of his soul behind. Delenn had nearly died here.
Delenn....
Londo wondered what had happened to her. More than anything else, more so even than G'Kar, she had a talent for making the most convoluted problem seem so wonderfully simple. She possessed a good heart, and a shining soul. He could see that as he looked around him. Everything in the city bore her touch.
And now she was gone. Perhaps never to return.
'I trust the rooms are to your satisfaction?' said a familiar voice.
Londo turned around with a start, and then he noticed who it was. 'Gah! G'Kar, do not do that to me! I am an old man. My hearts are not in the best of shape, least of all after the rigours of the last few.... well, years. Great Maker!' He began to breathe harder. 'A wonderful sight, isn't it?'
'A miracle,' came the reply. 'A triumph of hope over despair.'
'We have Delenn to thank for it.'
G'Kar nodded, stepping out on to the balcony. 'Indeed we do.'
'You have heard, then? Ah.... are there any plans for a rescue?'
'I have as many of my Rangers as can be spared out gathering information, but they are stretched very thin. Of course, Captain Sheridan has gone to try to rescue her. I fear he may simply be throwing his life away in a foolish quest for revenge.'
'How does it look out there? The galaxy, I mean. I have not been seeing as much since I took on that damned uncomfortable chair. We have been.... considerably out of touch for a long time.'
'Tense. The Shadows have been moving at last, attacking Drazi and Brakiri territories. They have not moved against the Alliance directly.... yet. The Minbari.... well, they are completely falling apart . There are rumours of a civil war, even. One of their major colonies was attacked a few months ago, at the same time as.... the Battle at Epsilon Three. We have had no word from any of the prominent Minbari leaders except Delenn.'
'Sinoval is here. Have you seen him?'
'No, but I knew he was here. He has requested a private appointment with me later.' G'Kar shook his head sadly. 'He is a very different person from the one I met at Babylon Four. Something has claimed him. He was interested in peace and unity then, but now.... I cannot be sure.
'And of course, our two races are at each other's throats.... again.'
'That will end, G'Kar. And soon. I promise you. I have made approaches to your representative here.... G'Kael. He will contact his Government, and we will begin peace negotiations. The Alliance should support me in this. Both of us have lost too many to this war.'
'Do you think you can get past all those who desire war? Those who cannot see beyond the cycle of hatred?'
Londo sighed, and leant on the balcony wall, looking out across the city again. 'Can you, G'Kar?'
There was a long silence. 'It is not easy. It never will be. For.... years we have hated your race for what you did to us, and that hatred corrupted us. I fear we now fight simply because we do not know how to stop.... but.... yes. For the good of my people, and in memory of the few good Centauri I have ever met.... I can see beyond hatred, to the needs of peace.'
'I sometimes wonder if you are not right in your opinion of us. I am Centauri. I am proud of my people, and of my Republic.... but Great Maker! How much of it was built on blood? My ascension saw me swimming in it.... and I reached the throne only thanks to the machinations of a madman who would rather see everything destroyed than reach out his hand in a plea for help.
'Still.... I have seen too many of my people die not to want to end this now. There will be peace, no matter what must be given away to secure it.' A faint smile touched his face. 'We won't give up the homeworld, though.'
'We won't give up ours,' replied G'Kar, with solemnity.
Londo laughed. 'We don't want it. I have never been there, but I have heard things from those who have. Hot, dry, dusty.... the air so thick you cannot breathe it....'
'Yes, Majesty. We do apologise. We should have designed our world so that you would find it more amenable.'
'Hah! Humour from a Narn. Will true wonders never cease?'
'Probably not.'
'Well.... I do not know about your lot, but I think I can get my army to see reason. Marrago is the Lord- General again. He is a good man, a good friend, and his soldiers almost worship him. As long as our worlds are protected he will agree to an accord, and if he does, so will his men. Of course, after the recent battle at the homeworld.... it may be harder to convince some people that we need peace. There have been cries in the Court that we should.... hah, listen to this.... sweep you all before us, and take over your homeworld. As if we were not ready to fall entirely not two months ago.'
'Your victory, Mollari. It was a little.... easy, was it not?'
'Easy? I suppose. What are you getting at?'
'There were rumours in your Court.... Rumours I heard while I was there. Some of your soldiers seemed to think the battle was not won by them alone. Some seemed to say the battle was not even a victory.... but a massacre. Did events fit with your generals' assessments of how the battle would turn out?'
'No,' Londo admitted. 'They were predicting a bloody stand-off.... but so what if things were a little easier than that? Perhaps Marrago was merely being pessimistic. And rumours.... in the Royal Court! Bah! I would bet you a ducat to a duck that not one hundredth of them are true.'
'Warleader G'Sten testified before the Kha'Ri upon his return. I managed to gain access to the report yesterday. He claimed that an alien fleet came out of nowhere and wiped out his ships. He claimed your ships did not even fire once.'
'The lies of a defeated general trying to pass the blame elsewhere!'
'G'Sten is my uncle. If he says there was alien assistance.... then I believe him.'
'Him over me? Who were these aliens he claimed to see? Great big flying cows? How about a herd of spoo descending from the heavens?'
'He did not see.' The Narn was maintaining his calm equanimity before Londo's aggression. That only made Londo all the angrier. 'His sensors could not track them clearly.'
'Hah! So there are no records. He is lying, G'Kar. I know nothing about any.... mysterious alien allies come to our aid. I wish I could say I did. We need all the help we can get. But no.... I am convinced that our fleet acted alone, and yours was simply overconfident.'
'I fear you blind yourself to the truth, Mollari.... but I hope you are right. I must go now. I am expecting a report from an agent in the Kha'Ri soon. I had never realised how much I would miss the Great Machine. There were times when being unable to touch, to eat, to drink.... times when I missed them all. But without it, we are all but blind and deaf in the galaxy.
'I will talk to you tomorrow, Mollari.'
'Goodbye, G'Kar.' Londo was still looking out across the city. He did not turn round as his friend left.
'Something's wrong.'
