Visions of Peace (21 page)

From over his shoulder came Keynes’ voice once more. He had to confess, its tone was beginning to irritate him. ‘They may have just not found our other deep space task forces yet.’

Ignoring the admiral, he pressed on. ‘Madam President, we have some good leads. We do not believe the Centauri Republic as a whole is responsible for these attacks. With just a little more time--’

‘I am sorry,’ said Luchenko. ‘I have the safety of the entire Earth Alliance to consider, not to mention the men and women manning ships near Republic space. I might have believed a rogue House was responsible for the attack on EarthDome, but a military force strong enough to destroy a carrier group? That is just not believable. That was an action undertaken by the Centauri military, not a group of disgruntled nobles. Admiral!’

The admiral strode forward, positioning herself between Shaw and the President. He swore she actually clicked her heels while standing to attention.

‘Order the fleets into Centauri space,’ said Luchenko. ‘Make sure they understand the protocols we discussed. If this is not a prelude to an all-out war, we don’t want to start one inadvertently. Have them jump into the listed systems and show the Centauri we will not tolerate any attacks. In deference to our friends in the ISA, we will not initiate hostilities--under no circumstance should any ship open fire before it is fired upon. We just want to show our presence and prepare for the blockades if needed.’

‘If the Centauri attack our fleets?’ asked Admiral Keynes.

‘Then we will respond with deadly force.’

July 8th 2263, House Kaado, Centauri Prime

Veneta Kaado looked ruefully at the empty Brivari bottle in his hand before dropping it to the side of the settee. He lost track how many hours he and Territt had been in his bunker and, in truth, he was beginning to get bored. Hours had past since the attack on Earth. In fact, he was pretty sure it had happened the day before. Minister Territt had stopped drinking a while before and stayed intent on watching the news channels displayed on the huge screen before them. Veneta had been woolgathering, enjoying the effects of the Brivari as he indulged in self-congratulation. Territt’s attention on the screen annoyed him, and he considered it something close to bad manners to halt the celebration so suddenly. Even if only two Centauri were present, they had a duty to celebrate their successes. It was just the way things were done.

He groped for a second bottle on the floor, knowing he had already emptied it but feeling compelled to check once more. More bottles waited in his cellar, Veneta knew, but he would not summon a servant here, in the bunker. He sniffed. He, at least, intended to follow tradition even if Territt was boorish. The suffering endured by a lack of more Brivari was, of course, another duty he had to shoulder. Adherence to duty maketh the noble, after all.

‘It’s been too long,’ said Territt, bringing Veneta out of his reverie. ‘We should have heard something by now.’

Veneta struggled to focus. Ah yes, their conspiracy. He no longer knew how long it was since Territt made his call to the attack squadron but guessed this was causing the Minister’s concern. Squinting at the screen, he gradually deduced one problem.

‘You have it on an Abbai channel.’

Territt’s examined the screen, a little perplexed. ‘So it is,’ he decided. ‘Still, makes little difference, eh? So many aliens out there!’

Veneta laughed. ‘True words, Minister. We ought to do something about that.’

‘One major plot at a time, my friend,’ Territt said as he searched for the screen control, rooting around the settee beneath him to locate it. ‘Let’s get back to the Earthers ...’

‘Did you know the Abbai were pacifists?’ Veneta mused.

‘Ridiculous, isn’t it? The Dilgar should have wiped them out when they had the chance.’

Ah, the Dilgar. A most impressive people.’

Territt shrugged. ‘If you think so. They couldn’t stay the distance though. No sense of destiny. Only one race in the galaxy truly deserves the greatness it was born with.’

Nodding, Veneta was about to respond when Territt hushed him. Looking at the screen, Veneta saw the Minister had located the ISN feed once more. Clearly the presenter on the screen was agitated about something, and Veneta tapped his foot impatiently while Territt reversed the feedback several minutes to catch the beginning of the report. The slightly greying male presenter started formally in the studied way human newsreaders were trained to speak, but his lethargy gradually gave way to excitement at the incoming news.

‘We have received confirmation of today’s earlier rumours that the Centauri have struck at one of our task forces. EarthForce has released the names of the ships destroyed--the carrier
Corax
, cruisers
Ares, Eros, Lexington and Persephone
, and the dreadnought
Dowding
. No survivors have been found, and it appears none are expected to be recovered. Officials within EarthForce have confirmed that Centauri ships were responsible for the sudden attack, and that it occurred in Narn space.

At this time, we have no word of whether the attack is linked to the destruction of EarthDome yesterday, or whether war has officially been declared by either side. We have ISN Military Correspondent Dan Withers online to tell us a bit about EarthForce procedure in this situation and what we can expect to see next. Dan, is this an inevitable prelude to war?’

The screen flickered as the image of a much younger man filled the screen, but Territt fingered the control once again to one of the many Centauri news channels.

‘I wanted to see that,’ protested Veneta. ‘Why are you looking at this court gossip?’

Territt smiled. ‘My friend, what laughably passes for news reports in our Republic has some uses. Observe.’

Growing dark, the screen displayed a star field that slowly panned around to reveal a blue-green world. Two of the largest warships Veneta had ever seen hung in orbit above its verdant surface, both dwarfing the dozen Primus battlecruisers that held steady formation with them. He had seen technical diagrams of these vessels before but had paid them little interest. Line drawings and specification charts did them no justice, and his breath was taken away with some real scale to relate them to. That his people were capable of building such ships made him feel intensely proud. The voiceover relayed events as the two ships fired their massive engines, slowly leaving orbit under the escort of the battlecruisers.

 ‘As unexpected as the arrival of both the
Turhan
and the
Cartagia
at our supply colony on Gorash was, more surprising was their recent departure, as seen here. Never before have two Octurions flown together in the same fleet and certainly not with so many battlecruisers. Unnamed sources in the Royal Court have told us that the
Turhan
and
Cartagia
will be voyaging throughout our border worlds, demonstrating our resolve to resist the insidious accusations of the Interstellar Alliance and, in particular, Earth. The Emperor himself is said to believe that the Republic will be blamed for every mishap the ISA suffers and that we must show willingness to defend ourselves so the terrible attack on Centauri Prime can never be repeated.’

Muting the screen, Territt turned to Veneta. ‘You know what that means?’

‘Mobilisation,’ Veneta said, nodding. ‘It’s working.’

‘Indeed. Now for the final piece of the puzzle,’ said Territt as he once again accessed the ISN feed. Entering its menu system, he selected the most recent address from the Emperor.

Turning back to the screen, Veneta rolled his eyes as the imposing image of Emperor Mollari appeared. ‘My friends of Earth,’ the Emperor said. ‘We Centauri have suffered alongside you for your recent tragedies. First the cowardly attack on your centre of government and now the loss of several ships as they travelled peacefully through Narn space. We condemn the conduct of your enemies, for we know the pain a dreadful attack like this causes.’

‘However, I must once again refute the rumours coming from within your own government that the Centauri Republic has any hand or purpose in these reprehensible actions. We Centauri are a peace-loving people and have no desire for war. We simply seek to rebuild our homeworld from the ruins left by the unwarranted attack by the Drazi and Narn.’

Territt gave a callous laugh, ‘He doesn’t know what is going on.’

‘Of course not,’ said Veneta. ‘We made sure he wouldn’t.’

‘True.’ A minute passed by before Territt spoke again. ‘Veneta? Send for some more Brivari. I feel like celebrating.’

July 8th 2263, Tuzanor, Minbar

‘Then help me understand, Londo. Just what is going on in the Republic?’

Tuthenn stood dutifully out of the communication link’s field of view as the President of the Interstellar Alliance desperately tried to pick his way through the half-truths and evasions of the Centauri Emperor. The Ranger-Analyst had his own auxiliary screen, and he scrutinised it to glean any additional information he could on the state of the Emperor’s mind.

‘President Sheridan, I have already told you. The Republic has no interest in starting a war with anyone, let alone Earth. The very idea is preposterous.’

Sheridan sighed. ‘Londo, you and I have known each other for years, and we have clashed before. But the stakes have never been so high. We might have been able to manage the attack on EarthDome, worked with you to find the perpetrators. Now things have escalated with this attack on an EarthForce fleet.’

‘And as I explained to you earlier, there is no possibility that Centauri ships were involved in that tragedy. All squadrons are accounted for.’

‘I’ll bet,’ Sheridan said. ‘I have just seen a report on the movements of your fleets. Londo, you have mobilised your entire military!’

‘So would you, President Sheridan, in my position. Earth has placed warships along our borders, and we have reason to believe the Narn will join them. Who knows what other fleets of your highly vaunted Alliance will join them?’ Londo sat back in his throne, imperiously staring down at Sheridan. ‘We will not tolerate any threat on our sovereignty. If Earth ships enter Centauri space, there will be war. You can be sure of that. Tell President Luchenko. There will be war.’

Sheridan hammered a fist down next to his display. ‘Londo, that is exactly what I am trying to avoid! Damn it, man. We have been down this road before, and you know where that led.’

‘And that is what I will avoid, Sheridan. I have a duty to my people. We have suffered enough in recent years and have agreed to every demand your Alliance has made of us, simply so we can attend to our own problems in peace. It appears there are many in the galaxy that are all too ready to blame us for what goes wrong, who will not be satisfied until we are no more. I will not tolerate these constant attacks on our character.’

‘Character?’ Sheridan was faintly incredulous. ‘Londo, I know you realise what is at stake here. I have spoken directly with the captain of the ship dispatched to find what happened to the
Corax
and its task force. I know the man. I am satisfied with his assessment that, wherever they came from, the attackers were Centauri.’

‘They did not come from the Republic. All ships are accounted for. Have you considered looking into what the Narn are doing? You know they still possess many of our weapons.’

‘No way, Londo. You tried that line before. It did not work then, and it will not work now. The attack on EarthDome came from your Republic and the ships that destroyed the
Corax
were most certainly from your Republic. Londo, I have to ask; do you even know what your own military is doing?’

For a moment, the Emperor regarded Sheridan with something the President guessed was either loathing or contempt, and he suppressed a shudder. He had never seen such malevolence in the old Ambassador before.

‘President Sheridan, you know my position. We will not tolerate an invasion. You tell Luchenko if she dares violate our territory, the wrath of the Centauri will follow her fleets back to Earth and finish what the Minbari started!’

The display went dead as the Emperor cut the link. ‘Damn him!’ Sheridan swore violently.

Tuthenn stepped forward but paused to allow Sheridan’s frustration to run its course before he spoke. ‘The Emperor’s speech was guarded, for all the passion he displayed. He gave nothing away.’

Sheridan looked up at the Minbari. ‘Then we are back where we started. I swear, Tuthenn, Londo has changed. I have known him for years now, but I do not recognise the man I just spoke to.’

After another respectful pause, Tuthenn said ‘There is . . . something. I do not think he was alone. We can analyse the transmission, but I do not believe we will discover anyone else in the throne room with him as he spoke with you. Still ... I cannot shake the feeling someone or something was present and that his words were guarded--not from you but that other.’

Sheridan looked quizzically at Tuthenn as he considered this. ‘It is not like you analysts to work on hunches.’

‘Oh, hunches, or intuition, as we like to call it, are certainly factors in our work. However, they must always be tempered with facts. Intuition is the raw material which, with facts, forge the conclusion. I believe this is a dead end though.’

‘How so?’ asked Sheridan.

‘If we find no trace of anyone else in that transmission, no trace heartbeat or breathing, then we will have nothing with which to pursue this line of investigation. And I believe that any force powerful or canny enough to force the Emperor of the Centauri Republic to be careful with his words will evade our attempts to uncover it through so simple a method.’

While Sheridan seemed to think this over, Tuthenn interrupted him. ‘My apologies, President Sheridan. This is the nature of what we do. As Ranger-Analysts we are taught to consider all possibilities, to follow every logical path to its conclusion. I should not have mentioned this without something more to go on.’

‘No, no, that is fine. So, where does that leave us?’

‘I must return to the intelligence centre and continue my analysis. I think you know as well as I that evidence of the Republic’s innocence can avert war.’