Long Night Of Centauri Prime Read online

  chapter 2 Londo staggered from the impact. It took him a moment to understand fully what had occurred. His first, momentarily panicked impression was that he had been shot with a PPG blast. Odd that he would have been disturbed at such a notion. He was, after all, planning to do himself in before the evening was out, so it would have been almost ungrateful to be angry at someone who might have saved him the effort. Then the very fact that he still was able to construct a coherent thought was enough to tip him to the realization that what had hit him was some sort of simple projectile. It had ricocheted off his forehead and tumbled to the ground. A rock, and easy enough to spot; it was the only one tinged with red. Immediately the guards sprang into action. Half of them formed an impenetrable wall of bodies-a barrier against any possible encroachers. The rest bolted off in the direction from which the rock had come. Londo had the briefest glimpse of a small form darting into shadows of nearby buildings. "Come, Majesty," said Durla, pulling at Londo's arm. "We must go ... back to the palace. . :' "No." "But we-" "No! " Londo thundered with such vehemence that the guards around him were literally caught flatfooted. That provided Londo the opportunity he needed to push impulsively 28 through the guards and run after the group who were, in turn, pursuing his assailant. "Majesty!" called a horrified Durla, but Londo had already obtained a decent lead. Nevertheless, moments after the guards set out in pursuit of the emperor, they managed to draw alongside him ... not a difficult accomplishment since they were by and large younger and in better shape. As for Londo, he found he was already starting to feel winded, and felt a grim annoyance that he had let himself get into such poor shape. Perhaps, he thought bleakly, he should have taken a cue from Vir. Lately Vir had whipped himself into impressively good shape. "How did you do it?" he once had asked. "Ate less, drank no alcohol, and exercised." "Radical," Londo had responded, sniffing in disgust. Now, as his hearts pounded and his breath rasped, he felt as if it hadn't been such a radical notion after all. Durla, only a few steps behind, called, "Majesty! This really is most improper! There could be an ambush! It's insanity!" "Why would it ... be an ambush?" huffed Londo. "You said it ... yourself ... this is insanity ... So who would ... create an ambush ... and have it hinge ... on the target doing something ... insane?" The chase was slowing considerably. There was fallen rubble from shattered buildings, blocking the path. This hadn't deterred the guards, though, as they had scrambled over debris with as much alacrity as they could manage. They had dedicated themselves to corralling whoever had made such a vile attempt against their emperor. Then they slowed and fanned out, creating a semicircle around one burned-out area. It was quite evident, even from a distance, that they had brought the assailant to heel. Londo slowed, then stopped, and straightened his coat and vest in order to restore some measure of dignity. Durla, who drew up next to him, looked disgustingly fit and not the slightest out of breath. "Your Majesty, I really must insist," he began. "Oh, must you," said Londo, turning on him. "On what would you insist, precisely?" "Let me bring you back to the palace, where you'll be safe-" That was when they heard a female voice cry out, "Let me go! Let me go, you great buffoons! And don't touch them! They had nothing to do with it!" "That is a child's voice," Londo said, looking at Durla with open skepticism. "Are you telling me that I must be escorted by armed guards back to the palace in order that I might avoid the wrath of a little girl?" Durla seemed about to try a response, but apparently he realized there was nothing he could say at that particular moment that was was going to make him look especially good. "No, Your Majesty, of course not." "Good. Because I certainly would not want to think you were questioning my bravery." Quite quickly Durla responded, "I would never dream of doing such a thing, Majesty." "Good. Then we understand each other." "Yes, Majesty." "Now then ... I want to know what it is we're dealing with," he said, and he gestured toward the cluster of figures that had gathered ahead of them. Durla nodded and moved off to get a summary of the events from the guards who had caught up with the "assailant ." He listened as he was filled in on the situation, and when he returned to Londo, he clearly looked rather uncomfortable about it all. "It appears ... you were correct, Majesty. It is a young girl, not more than fifteen." "There are other people with her?" "Yes, Majesty. A family ... or at least what's left of one. They've constructed a rather crude shelter from material at hand. They claim to have taken the girl in because she was wandering the streets and they felt sorry for her." "I see." "Yes, and they appear somewhat ... irate . . . that she has put them at risk by drawing the wrath of the emperor down upon them." "Really. Let them know that my wrath is not exactly out in full bloom today, despite any untimely provocations," he said, as he gingerly fingered the cut on his head. It was already starting to become swollen. "Better yet ... I shall tell them myself." "It could still be a trick, Your Majesty" Durla warned. "A trap of some sort." "Should that be the case, Durla, and they draw a PPG or some similar weapon that they plan to utilize," Londo said, clapping him on the shoulder, "I am fully confident that you will throw yourself into the path of the blast, intercept it with your own body, then die with praises for your beloved emperor upon your lips. Yes?" Durla looked less than thrilled at the notion. "It ... would be my honor, Majesty, to serve you in that manner." "Let us both hope you have the opportunity," Londo told him. Squaring his shoulders, Londo walked over to where the guards had surrounded his attacker. They hesitated to let Londo through, though, only moving when Durla gave them a silent nod. For some reason this irked Londo to no end. He was the emperor. If he couldn't even get a handful of guards to attend to his wishes without someone else validating his desires, what in the world was the point of ruling? But move aside they did, giving Londo a clear view into the face of a wounded and hurting Centauri Prime. There, in a makeshift lean-to, stood a Centauri family. A father, hair cut low, and a young mother. As was the style with many young women, she had a long tail of hair, which most women kept meticulously braided. In her case, however, it simply hung loosely around her shoulders, looking unkempt and in disarray, the entirety of it rooted squarely in the middle of her otherwise-shaved head, so its askew nature made it look like a follicle fountain. They also had two boys and a girl with them, between the ages of twelve and fifteen. Even had Londo not known which of the youngsters had decided to use him for target practice, he would have been able to tell just by looking at them. The boys, like their parents, were staring toward the ground, afraid even to gaze into the face of their emperor. The father-the father, of all people-was visibly trembling. A fine testament to Centauri manhood, that. But the girl, well ... she was a different story, wasn't she. She didn't avert her eyes or shrink in fear of Londo's approach . Instead she stood tall and proud, with a level and unflinching gaze. There was some redness to her scalp, which Londo knew all too well: she had only recently taken up the female tradition of shaving her head, indicating her ascension into maturity. She looked quite gaunt, with high cheekbones and a swollen lip that marred her features. The blood on her lip was fresh. "Did someone strike you?" Londo demanded, and then without waiting for reply, turned to his guards and said, "Who did this?" "I did, Majesty" one of the guards said, stepping forward. "She was resisting, and I-" "Get out," Londo said without hesitation. "If you cannot rein in a single child without brutality, you have no place representing the office of emperor. No, do not look to Darla!" Londo continued, anger rising. "I am still the power here, not the captain of the guards. I say you are out. Now leave." The guard did not hesitate. Instead he bowed quickly to the emperor and walked quickly away. Londo then turned back to the girl and found nothing but disdain on her face. "You do not approve of my action?" he asked. The question had been intended as rhetorical, but she immediately shot back a reply. "You discharge a single guard and fancy yourself the protector of the people? Don't make me laugh." "The insolence!" raged Durla, as if he himself had been insulted . "Majesty, please permit me to-" But Londo held up a calming hand and looked more closely at the girl. "I have seen you before, yes? Have I not?" This time she didn'
t offer an immediate reply. "Answer your emperor!" Durla snapped, and Londo did not remonstrate him. Youthful insolence was one thing, and tolerance certainly could be a virtue, but if one's emperor asks a question , then Great Maker, one answers the question or suffers the consequences. Fortunately enough, the girl at least had the good sense to recognize those things that were worth taking stands over, and those that were not. "We have ... encountered each other one or two times before. At the palace. During official functions ." When Londo continued to stare at her without full recognition, she added, "My mother was the lady Celes ... my father, Lord Antono Refa." The identification hit Londo like a hammer blow. Lord Refa, his one-time ally, whose political machinations had been instrumental in costing Londo everything he had held dear. Whereas Londo had made many ill-considered decisions that had set him on a path toward darkness, Refa had dashed headlong down that same path, reveling in the lies, duplicities , and betrayals that were a part of power brokering and advancement in the great Centauri Republic. He had been a strategist and manipulator of the old school, well versed in the ways of deceit that had made the old Republic such a morass of power-hungry bastards. And he had been directly responsible for the deaths of several of those close to Londo. Londo had gained a revenge of sorts, arranging for Refa to meet a brutal and violent death at the hands of enraged Narns. It had only been later that Londo had come to realize just how much both he and Refa had been used by the Shadows. Granted, Refa had been overzealous in embracing the power when it was presented him, but Londo had also held Refa accountable for acts that had not been his responsibility. Every so often Londo would envision what it must have been like for Refa, to die beneath the fists and bludgeons of the Narns. He had taken such pleasure in it at the time. Now the recollection only filled him with disgust and self-loathing. Looking upon the face of the young girl, however, Londofor the first time-actually felt guilty. Then something about the girl's phrasing caught Londo's attention . "Your mother `was' the Lady Celes? Then she is-?" "Dead," the girl said tonelessly. If there was any capacity for mourning within her, it had either been burned away or buried so deeply that it could not harm her. "She was one of the first to die in the bombing." "I ... am sorry for your loss," Londo told her. Durla quickly added, "However, the emperor's sympathy for your plight does not excuse your abominable assault on him." "My assault? I hit him with a rock!" said the girl. "And what, pray tell, should excuse him for his crimes?" "My crimes." Londo stifled a bitter laugh. "And what know you of my crimes, child?" "I know that the emperor is supposed to protect his people. You blamed the regent for bringing us to this state, but you were the one who left the regent in place. If you had been here, attending to your people, instead of wasting your time on some far-off space station, perhaps you would have been able to prevent this. "And where would you take us now?" she added, and she pointed at him with a quavering finger. "That whole speech about Centauri `standing proudly alone'? What sort of... of prideful stupidity is that? We were the injured party here! Instead we wind up having to pay reparations that will cripple our economy beyond endurance? We lick our wounds and sulk in the darkness? We should be demanding that the Alliance help us in any way they can!" "And what of Centauri pride?" asked Londo quietly. "What of that, hmm?" "To blazes with Centauri pride!" she said with fire. "What of Centauri blood? What of Centauri bodies piled high? I've seen crying infants, looking for nourishment by pulling at the breasts of their dead mothers. Have you? I have seen people, sightless, limbless, hopeless. Have you? You claimed you wanted to walk to the temple alone to symbolize something. What excrement! You didn't want anyone around because you didn't want to have to look into their accusing eyes and feel guilty on your coronation day. You didn't want to have your personal triumph spoiled by seeing all those who suffered because of your stupidity. You didn't want to have to look upon the bodies that you crawled over to get into power." "Silence!" Durla fairly exploded. "Majesty, truly, this is too much! The insolence, the-" "Why do you rage, Durla?" Londo asked calmly. "She simply uses words now, not stones. It is a funny thing about words. They cannot harm you unless you allow them to ... unlike rocks, which tend to act as they wish." He paused, and then said quietly, "You are wrong, child. Wrong about a great many things ... but right enough about a few. Which things you are right about, I think I shall keep to myself for the time being. Think of it as imperial privilege. You are quite brave, do you know that?" For a moment the girl seemed taken aback, and then she gathered herself. "I'm not brave. I'm just too tired and hungry and angry to care anymore." "Perhaps they are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps bravery is simply apathy with delusions of grandeur." "Then they are your delusions, Majesty," she said with a slight bow that was clearly intended to be ironic rather than respectful. "I have no delusions left." "Indeed. Then perhaps ... we should attend to that." Londo scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment, and then said to Durla, "See that these people-this family-is fed and clothed and found a decent shelter. Take money from my discretionary funds as needed. You,"and he pointed to the girl, "what is your name? I should recall it from our past encounters , but I regret I do not." "Senna," she said. She looked slightly suspicious and uncertain of what was about to happen. That pleased Londo. Considering that she had spoken with such conviction before, and considering that all of her conviction had been tied up with the utter certainty that Londo was a heartless bastard who cared nothing for his people, it pleased him to see her a bit confused. "Senna," repeated Londo. "Senna . . . you are going to live at the palace. With me." "Majesty!" cried a shocked Durla. Senna looked no less wary. "I'm not flattered. I have no interest in becoming an imperial concubine . . ." This drew a bitter laugh from Londo. "That is quite fortunate , for if that were your career goal, I could assure you that you would not have much opportunity to pursue it on Centauri Prime." She shook her head in puzzlement. "Then what?" "You have a spirit to you, Senna," said Londo. "A spirit that is symbolic, I think, of not only what the Centauri Republic was, but of what it could be again. A spirit that is . . . lacking, somewhat, I think, in the palace. Too many people with their own agendas hanging about, and I do not exclude myself. You shine with the youthful light of conviction, Senna. I would have that light shining in the palace. Light tends to chase away shadows. " "Majesty . . ." For a moment she seemed overwhelmed, and then her more customary attitude of defiance came back to her. "With all respect . . ." "You ricocheted a rock off my head, child. It's a little late to speak of respect." "Majesty ... those are very pretty words. But I still do not ... I don't wish to be grateful to you." "Nor would you have need to be. If you wish, think of it as simply something that I am doing in memory of your parents. Lord Refa was ... an ally, for a time. I feel some degree of responsibility for his. . ." Death. For his death. . . . family," he continued. "His family, of which you are the only surviving member, yes?" She nodded and he concluded , "So ... there it is." "There what is?" "Senna," Londo said, his patience starting to erode ever so slightly, "I am offering you a home that is a considerable step up from the streets. You will have comfort, the best teachers available to complete your education, and you will want for nothing. In that way-" "You can purchase peace of mind?" Londo stared at her for a moment, and then turned to Durla and said, "Come. We are wasting our time here." Durla appeared rather relieved at this decision. "Shall we punish her, Majesty? She did assault you." "She has lost her parents, Durla. She has been punished enough." "But " "Enough." There was no mistaking the tone in his voice. A line had been drawn and Durla would cross it at his own peril. It was peril that Durla rather wisely chose not to face. Instead, he simply bowed his head in acknowledgement and acquiescence. And so they returned to the palace, for what Londo was convinced would be his last night alive.