Темное, кривое зеркало. Том 3 : След на песке.(ЛП)

"Mr. Bester. A pleasure as always. I should just let you know, your representative here, Miss Donne…. She committed another murder last night. She was quite clumsy this time, and chose inappropriately. A fairly high-ranking member of the Ministry of Trade. Pressure is mounting on me to find this murderer, both from our beloved President and from my own sense of justice. Have you reconsidered my offer?"

Bester was swearing inwardly. He had known for a long time that Donne had certain…. sociopathic tendencies, but so long as only mundanes were harmed, what did it matter? Evidently, it mattered to some.

"Put me in contact with G'Kar so that I may form a…. useful alliance with him, and I will ensure Donne is not blamed. Otherwise…. well, under the Wartime Emergency Provisions she would be executed if found guilty, which I assure you there is more than enough evidence to manage. I just want to speak with G'Kar."

"I will have to pass your request on to G'Kar, Mr. Welles," Bester said smoothly. "I will contact you again."

"Do not take too long." The image faded and Bester walked away from the screen, muttering to himself. That was one offer he had been made recently. There had been another — ostensibly from Ambassador Sheridan, but originating from a far more powerful source. That source wanted G'Kar betrayed…. utterly.

He weighed up the possibilities in his mind, thinking over and over again of his people — the ones who trusted him and who relied on him…. who needed him. He thought of the woman he loved, the child they had together and the ones they hoped for later.

And after several hours, a plan began to shape itself in his mind.

* * *

Catherine Sakai groaned softly as consciousness returned to her. Everything around her was dark, pitch black. But there was a more metaphorical darkness engulfing her as well.

She had seen them kill Julie, shooting her in the back without a second thought. Security guards. People wearing the uniform of security guards.

She hadn't been over-paranoid. She had been, if anything, not paranoid enough.

She had run, even managing to escape from Julie's apartment, but some time later — it could have been hours even — wandering around helplessly, she had been hit from behind, and fallen….

And now she was awake.

Lights suddenly came on all around her, and she shut her eyes from the pain. She tried to raise her hands to shield her face, but they were fixed to the chair she was sitting in.

"Greetings, Miss Sakai," said a voice she knew. Polite, polished, urbane, civilised….

She looked in the direction of the voice and saw a face she knew as well. The face of a man who was believed to have died years ago at Orion 7.

"I suppose you would like to know what has been happening, hmm?" asked William Edgars.

Chapter 3

Once upon a time there was a man with a dream, a simple dream — to explore the stars, to learn from the wonders dead races had left behind, to discover the past and to build a better future. And then there came other men, with other dreams — dreams of money, and power, and riches.

And from these men there came a company called Interplanetary Expeditions, and then there came power, and money. The company grew strong and wealthy, and those who commanded it commanded power and influence elsewhere, even in government.

And then there came a race of aliens called the Minbari. Seeking revenge for a wrong, they erased and destroyed countless dreams, and for a time even those who sought to discover the past in the name of the future found their goals in doubt.

But then there came a saviour, who made them an offer — an offer which seemed so innocuous, which seemed to give so much and ask so little in return. A simple favour, to be paid back at a future date.

This is that future date, and the favour asked for is being repaid.

It is not much, really. One person, just one soul against the countless others balanced out before them.

One person whose life — and death — will change the galaxy.

* * *

Captain John Sheridan could not resist a smile as he looked at the hall of the main spaceport on Kazomi 7. As a sign of the triumph of hope over despair, of construction over destruction, there could hardly be a better symbol.

He remembered arriving here last year, as the colony was only just recovering from the horrors of the Drakh occupation. He remembered the devastation, the pitiful cries of the starving and the dying, the signs of despair and terror.

And now…. Kazomi 7 was the centre of an Alliance — a precarious one, to be sure, but an Alliance of Worlds nonetheless. There was hope in the eyes of those around him, eyes that were gazing at the future as if they had forgotten what it looked like.

"Impressive, isn't it?" he remarked to his companion. Commander Corwin nodded briefly. He had been distracted almost since they had left Babylon 4. Still, he was looking at the numerous customs officials and arrivals here, noting each of them almost abstractly.