Welles went to Sheridan's side and helped him up.
"I think we'd better hurry," he said, his voice deadly serious.
To His Most August Majesty Emperor Mollari II of the Centauri Republic, Keeper of the Four Gates of the Temple, Master of the Starless Sky, Bearer of the Purple Shroud;
From the Council of the United Alliance of Kazomi Seven, authorised by Ministers Lethke zum Bartrando, Kullenbrok, Taan Churok, Vizhak, Ha'Cormar'ah G'Kar, and, in absentia, Captain John Sheridan.
Evidence has reached this Council of an alliance between the military forces of the Centauri Republic and the race of First Ones called the Shadows, with whom we are currently at war. We have studied this evidence in some detail and found it to be entirely convincing. We therefore have no hesitation in dismissing your application for a Centauri embassy on Kazomi Seven.
In addition, all ambassadorial staff on Kazomi Seven have been exiled. No Centauri trading vessels, military ships or diplomatic envoys will be permitted to pass through space controlled by the Alliance or any of our races. Any ships that break this blockade will be fired upon.
Furthermore, should the Centauri Republic employ the assistance of the Shadows in any further engagements with the Narn Regime, we will come instantly to the defence of the Narn Regime and assist them against you in any way possible. Any Centauri assault on Alliance ships, stations or territories will be considered an act of war.
If you can provide conclusive proof before this body that your alliance with the Shadows is over and permit such observations and investigations as are necessary to confirm this, and agree to a substantial Alliance military presence in Centauri space and certain restrictions on the size and use of the Centauri military, we will end the blockade and exile and resume diplomatic relations.
Signed and authorised this day by the members of the Council of the United Alliance of Kazomi Seven.
The more Londo read the contents of the message, the less he believed them. What were they thinking? He looked at the names at the top of the page and found it impossible to credit that any of them could have written that. By the Maker, he had helped rebuild Kazomi 7 after the Drakh invasion. He had promised any assistance they might require as soon as he was in a position to give it. He had been one of their most loyal supporters.
And now this. Lethke, Vizhak, G'Kar! That they would believe.... this! That he would make a deal with....
He had been one of the first of G'Kar's Rangers. His bodyguard was one of G'Kar's Rangers.
He had known anger in his life. He had known sorrow and loss and determination to do what must be done. He had never known all four simultaneously, as he did now.
Lethke's face appeared on the viewscreen. Finally.
"Emperor Mollari," the Brakiri said. "This is.... not a good moment."
"Not a good moment?" Londo replied. "Not a good moment?" He held up the message, the contents of the diplomatic pouch. "Tell me, Lethke, when would be a good moment for all my friends to turn on me?"
"Emperor Mollari, we have seen...."
"You have seen? Oh well, then everything is all right! Yes, you have seen some pathetic amateur forgery created by the people we are at war with, and that is enough to convince you to turn against me! How long have we known each other, Lethke? How long have G'Kar and I been working together against the Shadows?
"By the Great Maker, do you honestly think I would authorise something like this?"
"The evidence is.... irrefutable, Emperor Mollari," Lethke replied uncomfortably. "It is not a fake, not a forgery. The Shadows assisted your ships in a battle against the Narns."
"It is a lie!"
"It is no lie."
"I saw what their servants did at Kazomi Seven. Do you think I would...?"
"What I think does not matter. I am one voice among many. We are at war with the Shadows, and that war will continue until they are destroyed and gone. By whatever Gods you worship, please.... don't make us go to war with you as well."
"War? Why not, Lethke? Join with your good friends the Narns and come and invade us. We have the homeworld left, you know. And maybe Immolan. Perhaps a few other worlds you can divide up between yourself and the Narns."
"That is unjustified."
"And this is not?! We are a free and sovereign race. We have made no deals with the Shadows, and any evidence that says otherwise is a lie. If any Alliance ships come into our space, we will not hesitate to deal with them, understand? We have fought the Narns for long enough. We will fight you as well if we have to."
"You know our conditions, Emperor Mollari. Do not talk to me again unless you are willing to agree to them." The screen went blank and Londo let out a great roar of anger and fury. He staggered away from it and hurled the diplomatic pouch into the far corner of the room. Moving swiftly, a shadow emerging from the darkness, Lennier stepped into view and caught it effortlessly.
Londo frequently forgot his bodyguard was there. Lennier was developing a habit of not being noticed.
"You heard all that?" Lennier nodded. "Once word gets out, and it will.... it may not be.... safe for you to be here. Perhaps you should go back to Kazomi Seven. I will have to expel all Alliance personnel from our space anyway. I can do no less in view of their actions. I would rather you left.... voluntarily."
Slowly, silently, Lennier removed his sunburst badge and laid it on a table. "I am your bodyguard," he said with absolute conviction. "I would not be doing my duty if I abandoned you in a moment of difficulty."
"Then you believe me? I swear I did not do what they think I did."
"I believe you."
Londo smiled. "I thank the Maker someone does! When is Marrago due back from Tolonius? I would not be surprised if you were present when he contacted me."
"I believe he said.... before nineteen hundred hours tonight. He was going to be leaving your nephew in charge of the area and returning here to provide a full briefing."
"Good. I will have to contact him and let him know I am calling a full meeting of the Government. I do not like the way this is developing. Someone.... someone is playing a very large trick on us, and when I find out who...."
Londo suddenly stopped, and looked at his companion. "Do you know, I have not heard you speak so much in months?"
Lennier smiled and bowed his head. Londo laughed, but it was one laugh, and no more.
Trace was not sure of the exact moment he realised everything was truly over, the instant he discovered at last that his mysterious patron had his own agenda. It did not really matter. He had risen this far not through the efforts of others, but by his own will.
"There is one thing that makes us winners," he said slowly. "It isn't talent. It isn't strength, or intelligence, or guts. It's the willpower to do what the other guys won't."
He was not sure exactly who he was speaking to. There was no one here who was not dead or unconscious. The crowd had fled as soon as news had come of the attack. How it had got here Trace did not know, but he was willing to believe in primaeval instincts of survival. He had always trusted his instincts.
Plus, of course, everyone had fled to escape from the place where Delenn had died. Their guilt and horror had been clear in all their eyes, even the eyes of people Trace had thought he could have trusted. They had come here hoping to execute an alien freak war criminal and murderess and instead they had found.... something else.