Chapter 3: Truth and Deception

Babylon 5, Dark Star

Mr. Gregory Pierce, Earth Force Special Investigations, was snooping around and asking a lot of questions about the strange bone like ship that had destroyed the IPX transport Nimrod almost two weeks ago. And if Ambassador Londo Mollari was to be entirely honest, he was downright annoying. All those questions about that ship, and the warning, which apparently no one was aware of, or at least no one he knew, and Londo knew quite a few people. Even Mr. Morden was strangely quiet on the subject, and oddly pale when he was shown a picture. That alone made it worth everything, though Londo was unnerved by anything that could make that man nervous.

"Look, Ambassador, anything you can tell me about this would be extremely appreciated. My superiors would really like to know who it was that killed our people." Mr. Pierce said in an agitated tone.

"Yes, yes Nr. Pierce, I completely understand, but I want you to understand, I am not telling you or anyone else about those damn ghosts. I tell Mr. Garibaldi about them and they show up. So no, I will not tell you anything, I don't want their attention drawn to me. It would likely prove to be very bad to my continued existence." Londo said with a wave of his hand.

The message was clear, and nothing Mr. Pierce could say or do would change Londo's mind. To say he was unnerved would likely be correct, and Mr. Pierce decided that it would be a bad idea to press him at the moment; maybe it would be better to come back when Londo was winning, or drunk. but at least he had given him a lead, Garibaldi. If what Londo said was true then the Chief of security did know something, even if he didn't know it, though Mr. Pierce doubted that. It would make perfect sense of the drunk had lied to him, even if he supposedly had stopped drinking.

Londo watched the man walk out of Dark Star with a small smile on his face as he took another drink and turned to one of the other... he couldn't tell if the individual sitting next to him was male or female, Pak'ma'ra were strange like that. He quickly downed his drink and motioned for another as he said to the Pak'ma'ra, "So, have you heard about this new commanding officer were getting, suppose to be some kind of War Hero, killed a whole lot of Minbari. I think that's a good sign for future talks don't you." The Pak'ma'ra got up and walked away. "Well, nice talking to you too."

Someplace else

The woman with Red hair no longer wore an Arabian style of dress, her pointed ears and pale skin now visible for all to see, though that was the norm where she now walked. The white walls were made of a bone like material that seemed to hum with telepathic power and the woman felt more at home here than she ever could have on that Mon'keigh station. She still felt like she needed to clean herself again, the overall feel of that station was filth, but she understood that it was needed, the circle was needed, though not for the reason the Vorlons thought. Her kind used it to prevent something far worse from happening a thousand years ago, but soon the circle would begin a new and then she would move the piece on her board as needed. Vorlon interference would then no longer be a concern, but they still needed to pay in the short term for their presumption.

Callis 2, Centauri Space

Centauri politics were complicated, filled with blackmail, scheming, and assassination, and that was just the way that Governor Antino Devro liked it. It's how he got his current position after all, and granted it has seemed to have cursed him, first with the loss of his sons in a shuttle accident, then the loss of his wives to some kind of wasting disease. Terrible tragedy those, but Governor Devro never lost his smile of his sense of humor, though it did grow dark at times, he remained the life of any party he went to or hosted. The only survivor of his immediate family was his daughter, a powerful telepath, who was known to call him a deceiver in the clothes of a great man.

The governor was in his room, ready to go out and give a small speech to his people, he did enjoy doing that so, when he noticed he had a guest. "Why, hello there, and what's your name? I find its very important to know the people who work for me. It makes everything go so much smoother."

"No," the raspy voice said, "I come with a message from your daughter. She wants you to die a slow and painful death."

"Oh, well gosh, that's not very nice. She's just upset that I killed her mother, that's all. Not that you'll ever tell anyone, I mean you seem like the trust worthy type."

The assassin lunged out, thrusting his blade into the governor's chest, where it promptly shattered without even cutting the fabric. Then, faster than should be possible, the governor's hand lashed out and caught the assassin on the chin. The assassin flew across the room and slammed into the wall, now barely conscious The lights flickered for a moment due to the impact and for the briefest of instances the governor looked like he had an almost metallic gold shine to his skin.

"Ah, I do so love the taste of Centauri souls, the light decadence of them makes them so sweet. I'll have to make sure that enough survive that can rebuild so that I can continue to feed. Not that you would know, because I am feeling a tad peckish, I suppose I could stop for a quick snake before ensuring the Emperor gets what he has rightly coming to him. Must keep my subjects digging." The governor then smiled and laughed. The assassin was gone moments later, as if he never existed and the Governor walked out onto the balcony to give his speech to his public.

AN: After far too long, I finally manage to update. Sorry to all who I kept waiting.