"It has nothing to do with that–"
Lione continued as if Luddig had not spoken. "In case you are unaware, all foreigners have been banned from the surface of Centauri Prime. That is how highly charged sentiments have been running. Fortunately, as a minister, I have certain ... latitude. So I was able to arrange for your visit to our fair–"
"It has nothing to do with that!"
Lione blinked owlishly. "Then I am not quite sure what you are referring to."
"We had an arrangement!"
"Did we?"
"About Mipas!"
"Ah." Lione did an exceptional job of acting as if he had been unaware of what was getting Luddig so agitated. "You're speaking about the unfortunate, but necessary, attack on Mipas."
"Unfortunate but necessary how! Unfortunate, yes! Necessary ... Drazi do not see that! Has Centauri Prime totally taken leave of senses? Or has Centauri Prime forgotten that Mipas is under Drazi jurisdiction!"
"Jurisdiction, yes. Curious how that happened, isn't it." Lione's calm, even lazy tone suddenly shifted. "Curious that the Drazi government paid so little attention to Mipas ... until valuable minerals were found on it. Suddenly a world that was just beyond the outermost edge of the Drazi borders became Drazi property ... when your government reconfigured the borders to allow for..." Lione actually chuckled, and it was not the most pleasant of sounds. "... to allow for the expanding universe theory. 'If the universe is expanding, Drazi territory must expand with it to keep up with natural law.' That was priceless, I have to admit. No one in the Alliance gainsayed you, simply because they were stunned by the sheer gall your people displayed."
"If Centauri Prime has issue with expansion of–"
Lione held up a hand, stilling the new torrent of words. "The Centaurum has no such issues. Expand territories all you wish. Reconfigure your borders and decide that you're entitled to take possession of the Vorlon Homeworld, for all we care. But Mipas, well..." and he shook his head sadly. "The fact is that our intelligence informed us that Mipas was acting in concert with, and providing aid to, certain insurrectionist factions here on Centauri Prime."
"Is lie!"
"Is not," Lione responded coolly. "The information we have received is quite definitive. Mipas was aiding those who would overthrow our beloved emperor and drive our prime minister out of office. Naturally, out of a sense of self-preservation, we had to take action."
Between gritted teeth, Luddig said, "We had an understanding."
"Did we?"
"Do not play games with Drazi!" Luddig warned. "Centauri Prime is as interested in mineral deposits on Mipas as Drazi! I know that! You know that! Everyone know that! We had arrangements!"
"And how much you must have enjoyed those arrangements, Luddig," said Lione. "Under-the-table payments made to you by certain Mipas officials. And you, in turn, pass those payments along to us. A token of respect; a tithe, if you will, to purchase our goodwill. And you succeeded for quite some time, Luddig. I commend you for your industry. And I commend you for the deftness with which you managed to cut yourself in to those payments. How much did you manage to keep for yourself? Ten percent? Twenty?"
"Do you think Drazi not take risks!" Luddig said hotly. "Luddig of Drazi has his own expenses, own concerns. Certain officials turn their own blind eye to 'under-the-table payments,' as you say. Money has to cover their eyes, too. It was beneficial arrangement for all."
"Yes, yes, I daresay it was. Just as this little arrangement exists with other governments, other 'officials' such as yourselves. Others who envelop themselves in cloaks of self-righteousness, more than happy to complain publicly about the Centauri, while you have no difficulty in private backroom dealings. I can smell the corruption in all the governments of your pathetic Alliance. The odor of hypocrisy permeates even the vacuum of space, Ambassador Luddig."
Vidkun watched in fascination as Luddig became so angry that the skin flaps under his throat stood out and turned pale red. "Luddig does not have to sit here and listen to this!"
"Stand if you prefer, then," Lione said lazily. "It does not matter to me." Then once again, his attitude shifted, from torpor to quiet intensity. "Understand this, Ambassador. We stand by the results of our investigation. And since we know that the Mipasians were acting with the insurrectionists, we can only assume that the Drazi were aware of this connection and approved of it. That, Ambassador, would mean that you are – rather than our silent partners – our enemies. We do not advise that you become enemies of the Centauri Republic. That would be most unfortunate for all concerned."
Vidkun had the distinct feeling that Lione was assuming Luddig would wilt under the implied threat. To Vidkun's surprise – and, if he had to guess, to Lione's surprise as well – Luddig did not come remotely close to wilting. Instead he was on his feet, breathing so hard that it was rasping in his chest. "You threaten Drazi?" he demanded.
"I threaten no one," Lione said.
But Luddig wasn't buying it. "You are! You violate Drazi interests! You renege on deal!"
"The deal, such as it was, was entirely unofficial, Luddig," Lione pointed out. "You said so yourself. If you wish to complain about it to the Interstellar Alliance – if you wish to try to roust your fellows from their stupor and bring them into full war with us – then you will have to go public with the terms of our little arrangement. That will not go over particularly well, I assure you, because it will bring not only your own government under scrutiny, but others as well. No one is going to want that."
"Maybe Drazi do not care about scrutiny or deals," Luddig shot back. "Maybe Drazi care about Centauri thinking they can do whatever they wish, whenever they wish, to whomever they wish. Maybe Drazi believe that Alliance is willing to overlook 'deals' or treat them as stopgap measures to full war that can no longer be avoided because of Centauri stupidity and arrogance!"
Lione did not answer immediately. Instead he contemplated what Luddig had said. He leaned back in his chair, the furniture creaking under his weight, and he interlaced his fingers while studying Luddig very, very carefully.
Then he smiled.
Vidkun felt his spine seize up.
"It seems, Ambassador, that we may have underestimated the ... vehemence with which you will be pursuing your claim. Very well."
"Very well what?" Luddig's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"I shall take your concerns to the prime minister and we shall see if restitution cannot somehow be arranged."
Luddig puffed out his chest with sudden confidence. "Yes! That is attitude Drazi want to see!"
"Excuse me a moment, won't you? No, no, don't get up. I have a small room designed for ... private communications. Will not take but a minute." He did not rise from his seat so much as he seemed to uncoil.
The moment he walked out of the room, Vidkun turned to Luddig, and said, "We are dead."
"What!" Luddig scoffed at the very idea. "You saw! He spoke of restitution! He spoke of–"
"Ambassador, with all respect, what he spoke of doesn't matter. In these sorts of things, what is not said is often more important than what is. I am telling you, we are–"
"We are Drazi! And you are coward!" Luddig said angrily, stabbing a finger at Vidkun.
"Sir, I am no coward," Vidkun said, bristling.
"Yes! Your own cowardice stops you from seeing that Centauri do not wish to anger Drazi! You are not worthy of being aide to Luddig! A new aide will be required upon our return!"
Vidkun was about to argue the point further, protesting the accusations of cowardice, when the door opened and Lione entered again, stooping slightly to avoid the top of the door frame. "The prime minister wishes to see you, but his schedule simply will not allow for it today. Tomorrow, however, bright and early, he would be more than happy to discuss the matter. In the meantime, deluxe accommodations have been arranged for you at a facility nearby. We certainly hope that will suffice."
"For now," Luddig said noncommittally. "We reserve judgment until we actually see accommodations."
"Very prudent," Lione said agreeably.
As they headed down to street level, Vidkun's head was spinning. Every early warning system in his makeup was screaming at him that they were in mortal danger. But Luddig was so overwhelmingly confident, and Lione seemed so eager to please, that he was finding it harder and harder to believe that there was, in fact, any jeopardy. It might be, he thought bleakly, that Luddig was correct. Perhaps he was indeed a coward, and simply didn't have the proper mental strength to pursue a career in the diplomatic corps.
They walked out into the street, a pleasant sun beaming down at them, and a glorious day on Centauri Prime apparently lying ahead of them. There were passersby, casting glances in their direction, but there did not appear to be any problem. There were Prime Candidates forming a protective circle around them, but Luddig – chatting animatedly with Lione – didn't pay them any mind. He was calm, cool, and confidently secure that he had a complete handle on the situation.
"Kill the Drazi!"
The shout came from someone in the crowd, and it was suddenly taken up by others. What had appeared only moments before to be a benign, loose assemblage of people suddenly firmed up into a mob.
"Kill the Drazi! Death to outworlders! Centauri Prime over all! Death to enemies of the Great Republic!" These and other sentiments suddenly seemed to come from everyone, everywhere.
And the enraged Centauri citizens were advancing, coming in from all sides.
The Prime Candidates melted away. Suddenly the protective wall of bodies was gone.
Luddig's accusation no longer registered in Vidkun's mind. He was beyond cowardice. He was terrified. The infuriated Centauri were moving toward them with one mind, and there was nowhere to go, nowhere to run. Then suddenly a strong hand was on his arm, pulling him away. The last thing he saw was Luddig going down beneath the clubs and fists of the crowd. Luddig was screaming, and it wasn't a particularly brave-sounding scream. It was high-pitched, and plaintive, and rather pathetic.
Someone held him. Vidkun let out a yelp and turned to see the face of the man who was about to kill him.
To his surprise, there was no anger in the expression of the Centauri man who had yanked him away from the crowd. The Centauri's long, black/red hair was high and swept up. His face was very angular, his chin coming almost to a point. It was his eyes that caught Vidkun the most, though. There was intensity, at least in one of them, but...
Then the world seemed to whirl around as someone else pulled at him, and just as quickly as he had been in the midst of danger, Vidkun was being thrust back into the Tower of Power. He staggered, looking around at his saviors: the very same Prime Candidates who had deserted them moments before, leaving them to the mercy of the mob. The red-haired Centauri was no longer in sight.
Vidkun thought he heard Luddig screaming once more, but then the scream was cut short by a sound like a melon being crushed. The expressions of the Prime Candidates never wavered. They simply stood there, like automatons.
"To my office," came a voice, the voice of Lione. Vidkun was still in shock and offered no resistance as he was escorted back upstairs. Moments later he was seated opposite Castig Lione. He couldn't help but notice that he had been seated in the chair closer to the desk: the one that Luddig had been sitting in.
Lione was shaking his head with a great air of tragedy. "How unfortunate. How very, very unfortunate," he intoned. "To think that such a thing would happen. But there are random acts of violence everywhere..."
"Random?"
"Yes."
"Acts of violence?" He was having trouble processing the words. He had to fight to bring his full faculties to bear upon the situation.
"Yes. Here the two of you were, walking the streets of Centauri Prime, and a lone madman attacked and killed your superior. We tried to stop it, of course."
"A... lone madman?" He felt a pounding in his head, as if his brain were shouting at him to pull himself together, and match what was being said with what had happened.
"Yes, of course. There's only so much protection even the most dedicated guards can offer in the face of such ..." He shook his head. "Very likely, it was the work of the rebels and saboteurs. They were endeavoring to discredit the Centaurum, and such actions are taken to reflect poorly upon this government in the eyes of others. In any event, it is pointless to dwell upon it. My guards dispatched the madman. Justice was done, and it's important that we put the whole unfortunate business behind us."
"You ordered it!" Vidkun was trying to rally. "You ordered the assault! The mob! You!"
"Mob!" Lione sounded shocked. "I saw no mob. Nor, I would suggest, did you." Then he smiled and reached into his pocket. Vidkun automatically flinched, bracing himself for some sort of weapon to be drawn, but Lione instead simply pulled out what appeared to be a credit chip and extended it to Vidkun.
Vidkun took it, looking at it blankly. "What is this ... ?"
"Access to a private account that Luddig set up. He thought we did not have right of entry to it. Luddig apparently thought a number of things that were in error." He shrugged. "It was where he was siphoning payments from the various worlds..."
"Worlds?"
"You don't seriously think that Mipas was unique, do you?" The very notion appeared laughable to him. "No, no ... Luddig had a number of 'clients.' There are quite a few worlds out there in which the Drazi maintain interests. Interests that stem from tradition ... and from profit.
"Everyone is interested in protecting his or her interests, Vidkun. Luddig, unfortunately, is no longer capable of protecting his. You are. His interests ... have become your interests. And very likely his position ... presuming you are canny enough, judicious enough, and..." He cleared his throat and indicated the credit chip with a nod. "... generous enough to make things happen. If, that is, you are interested in doing so."
He stopped talking for a moment, and it seemed to Vidkun as if he was waiting for Vidkun to say something. But the Drazi did not speak. Something warned him that it would be wiser not to.