as nobles, Kiro. Perhaps you have forgotten that.'
'Forgotten! Jarno, I will ask you one last time. What is the meaning of this outrage? If I do not receive an answer then I will have to take this matter to the Centarum, and have you arrested.'
'Your tone does not befit you, Lord Kiro. This conversation is at an end. I trust we will be able to speak later, when you are suitably calmed.' Kiro made to reply, but Jarno cut the transmission. He then turned to his companion.
'Very masterful,' she said, discarding the covers and rising from the bed. 'I did not know you had it in you.' She smiled. 'I was very impressed.'
'You did that, didn't you?'
'I took a few…. little liberties with your personal seal and your personal guards.'
'Not to mention my person. The Emperor's Name, why?'
She began dressing herself, not in one of her usual fine gowns, but in the more utilitarian costume she wore when she was doing something surreptitious. Close, tight-fitting hunting clothes. 'Officially…. reasons of security of course. In Lord Kiro's absence his house was vulnerable to attack from those insane Shadow Criers. Someone had to protect him.'
Jarno folded his arms high on his chest. 'And unofficially?'
'He has his own ambitions for the throne, of course.'
'Well of course he does. So does half of the Court. And the other half, come to that.'
'Yes, but Kiro is just open enough to make an attempt, and he has the lineage to succeed as well. Don't forget that his House once held the throne.'
'I haven't forgotten, and nor have I forgotten how they lost it.'
'In any case, Kiro has been away gathering support in his southern estates. He may even be contemplating an alliance with dear old Londo, anything that would further his chances of the throne. We have to deal with him before that can happen.'
'That's what this is about, isn't it? Kiro was in talks with your husband.'
'My ex-husband. Don't forget he is legally dead. And yes, there is that, but more importantly, you are going to take over Kiro's House and estates, which will be a great step towards the throne. And you are going to do it tonight.'
'Tonight?'
'Yes. A little premature I'll admit, but my sources said that Kiro wasn't due to return for another few days. I'll have to have some of them shot.' Mariel smiled and moved closer to Jarno, reaching up to touch his face. 'Come on, dear. We have work to do.'
'Work? Attacking another Lord's house? Such a thing has not been done for centuries.'
'Great men are not bound by normal rules, Jarno. The first Emperor said that, remember. And behind every great man, there is a great woman showing him how to do it right. Get dressed, quickly. We had better get my dear sister-wife as well. We may need her testimony that we were provoked if matters do not go well.'
'I can't do this. I….' He looked at her, and he could feel all his old weaknesses rising to the fore. She was right of course. Great men were not bound by normal rules. But was he a great man?
Would he ever be?
Pitifully, pathetically, hopelessly, he nodded, and went to get dressed.
There was power, but not as she had expected; knowledge, but not as she had anticipated; wisdom, but not as she had wished.
And there was something else, a nagging, burning sensation that the Machine was doing…. something. She did not know what, and she could not find out.
Furious, Donne shifted her consciousness to her holographic form and let it step out into view. As she looked at her companions she was struck by their weakness. The two mundanes were the worst. Number One and Number Two were seated in the far corner of the cavern, ostensibly on watch, but actually talking about their concerns in hushed voices they presumably believed she could not hear.
Ivanova was still comatose, curled up like a tiny baby. From time to time pathetic whimpers escaped from her mouth.
And Tu'Pari…. he was sitting cross-legged next to the equally comatose G'Kar. The Narn assassin was sharpening his long, wicked knife with a methodical air, gazing distantly at the walls.
'Wake him up,' Donne ordered Tu'Pari. He smiled, set down the knife, and began to reach into one of his pockets. Whatever strange device he was planning to use however, he did not get the chance. G'Kar opened one eye and stirred.
'I am already awake,' he said in a hoarse voice. 'I was…. remembering…. the night the Centauri took over…. a farmhouse…. near Na'khamamah. It was a…. rebel base…. We waited until…. dusk and….' He coughed. 'We…. killed…. them all….'
'An interesting story, Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar,' Tu'Pari said idly. 'If you wished to trade stories of death you should have told me. I have a great many of them.'
'No.' G'Kar tried to shake his head. 'Not death. The…. last Centauri…. looked at me…. knowing he was going to die…. The look…. in his…. eyes. I will…. never forget.' He smiled, and then broke into another coughing fit. 'I see it…. in…. yours…. now.'
'Shut up,' Donne snapped. 'The Machine is doing something. Whatever it is, I can't get close enough to find out and stop it. What is it doing?'
'Many things.'
'Something programmed into it. You did it, I'm certain of that, and it has something to do with that blasted station of yours. What is it doing?'
'Never…. find out…. Never…. make the Machine…. yours….'
'Reality check. It is mine.'
G'Kar shook his head weakly.
'Tu'Pari. Hurt him.'
'I am…. not…. afraid…. to die.'
'I've heard that before,' Tu'Pari said in a civilised tone. 'Many many times. And they all took it back before the end. How permanent do you want this, my lady?'
'I want him capable of sharing everything he knows with me. Leave his head alone. And stay away from any major blood vessels and muscle concentrations. You know more about Narn biology than I do. I want something painful, but not too devastating.'
'Happy to oblige, my lady. I was in the Resistance once. That was where I learned much of my skill. G'Kar was something of a legend for his capacity to absorb pain. This might take a while.'
'Not too long. If he hasn't told us anything in…. half an hour or so…. take out his eye.'
'Business and pleasure combined,' the assassin said, smiling. 'How fortunate.'
Donne suddenly looked up. Someone was…. coming. She wasn't entirely sure how she knew, but some sense not her own alerted her that someone was approaching. A few moments later the sound of a voice was heard.
'Zathras do this, Zathras do that. Zathras go check on G'Kar. Zathras not doing anything important, oh no. Zathras just checking temporal units in place, yes. Not important at all. Zathras not mind if whole station slip back in time thousand years. No, wait. Yes, Zathras do mind. That would be not good.
'Ah, is bad life being Zathras. Zathras does not mind though. He…. Ah, you is not meant to be being here?'
The strangest alien Donne had ever seen came into view. He hesitated for a moment, looking around, seemingly taking in everything in one swift glance: Donne's body in the Machine, G'Kar on the floor.
'Ah. Zathras be leaving now.'
He turned to flee, and ran straight into Number One. She pushed him roughly forward and he fell sprawling to the floor.
'This not good. No, not good at all.'
'That, my friend,' said Tu'Pari, 'very much depends on your perspective.'
