Address criticisms to [xazqrten@cox.net]

******************************

   "What have I done to deserve to be treated so disrespectfully by you and 
your employees, Mister Ashley?" inquired King.

   "I spent some time in Earthforce, Lieutenant Colonel King, and you are just 
about the poorest excuse for an officer over the rank of second lieutenant that 
I've ever met. Of course, that's only my personal opinion, and around here it's 
the one that counts. You're here only because the Nightwatch that was here 
before you forced through a contract that requires your presence. Before that 
we had two GS-7's doing the job with a GS-12 making the rounds once every month 
or so to see that they didn't have any problems. That contract is coming up for 
renewal, Lieutenant Colonel King, and I intend to see to it that your office 
here is deleted," responded Ashley.

   "We'll see about that, Mister Ashley."

   "Yes we will, lieutenant colonel," commented Goldstein. "In fact, I'd be 
surprised if you ever make it to full colonel."

   "What makes you so say that?"

   "Like you said, let's see about it."

   "By the way, Lieutenant Colonel King, I turned down your request for a 
different office space. I intend to make sure that your office is exactly what 
is called for in the contract and not one thing more. Also, for your 
information that female officer is a student here," added Ashley.

   "You won't let us use the company cafeteria or gymnasium. That's not the way 
to build a working relationship."

   "You’re getting smarter all the time, Lieutenant Colonel King. You get 
exactly what's in the contract. That's why there is no heat or air conditioning 
in your office. It's not in the contract. I only put in the lights so you won't 
trip and fall. I won't give you a chance to sue me."

   "Have it your way, Mister Ashley, but things won't remain as they are 
forever."

   "Of that you can be sure," shot back Ashley.

   King stepped up to the security station and told the guard on duty, "When 
that female officer returns, tell her to report to me in my office and give her 
directions how to find it."

   "No problem, lieutenant colonel. That will be my pleasure," responded the 
guard.

   King walked away. Goldstein looked at Ashley and smiled. "Can it be this 
easy?"

   "It's not a done deal, Frank, but I think Susan will be happy to oblige."

   Susan had barely noticed the Earthforce lieutenant colonel as she had headed 
for her taxi. She had seen other junior officers in the hallways, but had 
ignored them. If he hadn't been the rank he was, she wouldn't have noticed him 
at all.

******************************

In King's 'office':

   "Good morning, colonel," said First Lieutenant Farrell Wisemore.

   Catching the scowl on King's face, Second Lieutenant Gerald Bailey 
asked, "How did the request for a larger space go, colonel?"

   "For the time being, we’re stuck with what we have, Lieutenant Bailey," 
replied King. "Ashley has a really painful erection for us."

   "Is he even submitting our requests up our chain of command, sir?" asked 
Wisemore.

   "As far as I know he is. The last one I checked on went up, and I never 
heard anything more about it."

   "Maybe we should do our own follow up, sir. Maybe demand an explanation 
about why we are being treated like this and why headquarters is ignoring us," 
commented Bailey.

   "I don't think we are being ignored, lieutenant. I think this is Colonel 
Pearson's way of sending us a message."

   "What message would that be, sir?" asked Bailey.

   "Do you know how this office came into being, Gerald?"   

   "Not really. I was told by one of the employees that this office's function 
used to be taken care of by a pair of GS-7s before former President Clark  
became president."

   "That's right, lieutenant. However, during the Clark administration, 
Nightwatch took over the functions of looking after government and military 
interests. They forced the present contract on the company, and demanded and 
got a quite nice office. It was in what is now conference room number one. You 
have seen the conference room. It's about six times the size of this one. They 
had executive style desks and a number of other creature comforts."

   "Why can't we get it back, Sir?" asked Wisemore.

   "Nightwatch bullied the company into giving it to them, under threat of 
closing them down for not supporting Clark."

   "What does that have to do with us, sir?"

   "My predecessor and his assistants were former members of Nightwatch. The 
instant that Clark was gone, the company threw them out of the conference room 
and shoehorned them into this one."

   "Again, sir, what does that have to do with us?"

   "I was a member of Nightwatch. A lot of us were. It seemed right at the 
time. We could make people toe the line. It never occurred to us that we, in 
many cases, trampled on procedure and people's rights. When President Clark 
committed suicide, and the rightful government was reestablished, we had to 
answer for our actions. There were wholesale courts martial and many of the 
Nightwatch saw their careers vanish. Some of the extremists were sent to 
prison. I was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the cloud has remained over my 
head ever since. I was a lieutenant colonel before Clark was even elected to 
the office of vice-president. If Clark had never happened, I'd be at least a 
full colonel now, maybe even a flag officer selectee. I made the mistake of 
going with the flow at the wrong time."

   "It doesn't seem fair, sir," noted Bailey.

   "If it's one thing life isn't, Mister Bailey, it's being fair. You take your 
best shot and live with the results."

   "Do you have enough time in to retire, sir?" Asked Wisemore.

   "I will by the time I finish my tour in this assignment, and yes, I'm going 
to call it quits."

   "Your next duty station can't be as frustrating as this one, sir. Maybe they 
might even forget about the Nightwatch period," offered Bailey.

   "Not on your life, Lieutenant. They didn't even tell me that there is a flag 
officer attending classes in the building."

   "I haven't seen any military in the building, since I've been here, sir, 
except for those coming to meet with us. None of them has been more than a 
captain," said Bailey.

   "I saw her leaving the building just a few minutes ago. She was out of 
uniform. I left orders with the security desk for her to report to me here when 
she returns."

   "You left orders, sir?" asked Bailey incredulously.

   "You have a problem with that, Mister Bailey?"

   "No sir, colonel. With all due respect, it's your funeral."

   "The fact that she's a flag officer doesn't give her the right to run around 
in an improper uniform."

   "With all due respect, colonel, are you sure you aren't letting your 
frustration cloud your better judgement?" asked bailey.

   "You have work to do, gentlemen. I suggest you get to it."

   As they returned to their desks, the two young officers exchanged looks that 
said they now understood why their boss had been passed over for promotion. 
Both were just hoping that they didn't have their careers ruined from the 
collateral damage that would result from the backlash inflicted on Lieutenant 
Colonel King by the flag officer. Both figured rightfully that here must a 
reason for the uniform variation that gotten under the colonel's skin.

******************************

At the county courthouse:

   Susan had been passed through the security checkpoint at the courthouse 
entrance without any problems, even though she was carrying, in effect, a 
weapon. The chief of security took one look at the denn'bok and recognized it 
for what it was, and remembered the short news item on television several weeks 
before when it was presented to Susan. There were news reporters at the 
entrance trying to get a comment of any kind from Susan, but she politely 
ignored them. In the courtroom, she sat in one of the middle pew type seats. 
She noted that courtroom decor hadn't changed significantly in the last few 
hundred years.

   At 0900 hours sharp, the judge entered the courtroom and the proceedings got 
underway.

   The judge looked at both the defense and prosecuting attorneys. "Where are 
the defendants?" she asked. 

   "Your Honor, the defense has agreed that since this is only a preliminary 
hearing, and two of the three defendants are still in the hospital intensive 
care unit, and the third is unable to talk due to his facial injuries that we 
proceed with the trial," said the prosecuting attorney.

   "Is this true, Mister Willis?" asked the judge addressing the defense 
attorney. "I assume you are representing all three defendants."

   "Yes, your honor. However, that is true only for this one arraignment. If 
these charges go to full trial, the two defendants other than Mister Walsh will 
be retaining their own separate attorneys."

   "Mister Nash, are you ready to present your case?"

   "Yes, Your Honor. The prosecution calls Brigadier General Susan Ivanova-
Wayne to the stand."

   Susan proceeded to the witness stand and was sworn in. She was as calm as a 
block of ice. Compared to what she had faced the last time she had been 
questioned under oath, this would be a light picnic. It took a few minutes for 
the prosecutor to present Susan to the court in the manner he wanted. He 
emphasized her background and accomplishments. 

   "Mister Nash, are you going to question her or hold a pep rally?" inquired 
the judge.

   "I only wanted the court to understand, your honor, that contrary to what 
some might believe, not every woman who is attacked goes looking for it. It 
would be easy to say that if she hadn't been there it wouldn't have happened. I 
only want to stress that if it had been any other woman than General Wayne, we 
probably wouldn't be having this hearing. We would most likely be working from 
what we could get from a dead body."

   "The court accepts your logic, counselor, continue with your questioning of 
the witness."

   Susan was asked to tell the court what happened the night of the attack. She 
proceeded to repeat what she had said in her initial statement verbatim.  When 
she reached the part about the thoughts of the accused, the defense lawyer 
objected, stating that telepathic scans were not allowed in a criminal trial.

   "Your Honor, I object on the grounds that telepathic scans are not allowed 
in criminal proceedings," griped Mr. Willis.

   "Mister Nash?" queried the judge.

   "Your Honor, in this case it should be allowed for a number of reasons."

   "Go on, Mister Nash."

   "In the first place, every witness is allowed to testify to what they know 
or experience during a crime. If a conversation between the accused and someone 
else is overheard by the victim, they are allowed to testify to what they have 
heard. Secondly, General Wayne was the intended victim. She never scanned the 
accused. What she perceived telepathically was the equivalent of you or me 
overhearing a conversation. The fact that the mental conversations she 
overheard were directed at harming her is very pertinent, and unlike a third 
party scan, her information is first person, and she didn't scan anyone to get 
it."

   "Do you have enough evidence to hold these men without her testifying as to 
what she heard of their thoughts?"

   "Yes I do, Your Honor. She was only repeating exactly what she gave as her 
police statement. The telepathic information is only being used to show why 
Mrs. Wayne proceeded against the accused in the manner that she did. We have 
other testimony and hard evidence to show that she would not have been the 
first victim of the three defendants."

   "Since we aren't dealing with a jury here today, and we are only deciding if 
there is enough evidence to warrant binding the defendants over for a full 
trial, I'll allow the testimony. However, I suggest that you get a ruling 
before presenting it in court at the actual trial. Do you have any problems 
with that, Mister Willis."

   Willis screwed up his face, but replied, "No, Your Honor."

   Susan returned to her testimony. In a few minutes, she had finished. Then 
Willis began his cross-examination.

   "You say you were walking back to the train station, Mrs. Wayne. Wasn't that 
a dangerous thing to do?"

   "No. I didn't think so."

   "Elaborate."

   "On what?"

   "Why wasn't it dangerous?"

   "I didn't say it wasn't dangerous."

   "Just answer the questions, Mrs. Wayne."

   "I just did," Susan shot back.

   "Your honor," whined Willis, "the witness is being uncooperative."

   "Since you are the defense council and she is the victim, I fail to see your 
problem. Surely, you don't expect her to help you defend the people who are 
accused of trying to attack and abduct her."

   "What did you say, Mrs. Wayne?" queried Willis.

   "I said I didn't think it was dangerous, and I still don't. In case you 
didn't recognize it, Mister Willis, that was an opinion."

   "Witness will cease badgering the defense counsel," said the judge.

   Susan turned to look at the judge. Even though the judge's face wore a 
neutral expression, the eyes betrayed amusement at Willis' predicament with 
Susan. Obviously, the woman wasn't impressed in the least with the courtroom 
situation. Considering her experiences, as outlined by the prosecuting 
attorney, the judge wasn't at all surprised.

   "Would you describe the area as dangerous for other women?"

   "I have no background for such a determination."

   "You don't think it was dangerous for you, but you don't know about other 
women. That seems to be a bit odd, Mrs. Wayne."

   Susan just looked at him with a neutral expression on her face.

   "I'm waiting, Mrs. Wayne."

   "For what?"

   "An answer."

   "Ask a question."

   Willis looked at the judge. There was no help there. "She has a point, Mr. 
Willis. If you want an answer, you have to first ask a question," observed the 
judge. This brought titters of laughter from the court observers.

   "Why weren't you afraid, Mrs. Wayne?"

   "Why wasn't I afraid of what?"

   "The situation, Mrs. Wayne. Why weren't you afraid of the situation?"

   Susan looked puzzled. "What situation was I supposed to be afraid of, Mr. 
Willis?"

   "Your honor, please direct the witness to answer my questions."

   "As far as I can determine, she has, to the best of her ability. If you want 
to ask leading questions requiring a yes or no answer, you have the courts 
permission," said the judge.

   "Your Honor, I intend to show that General Wayne was never in any real 
danger, and that she used the occasion of her alleged attack to ruthlessly 
attack my clients." 

   The judge looked at Willis. "The court is awaiting your presentation, Mr. 
Willis."

   Willis held up several data crystals. "I would like to play the video data 
on these crystals and have them entered as defense exhibits one, two and three."

   "Are these originals, Mr. Willis?" asked the judge.

   "No, Your Honor. The originals are not available. They are only going to be 
used to demonstrate that General Wayne was, in fact, the predator in the events 
of Saturday evening between her and my clients."

   "Get on with it, Mr. Willis."

   A crystal reader and display unit was set up in the front of the courtroom. 
Willis put his first crystal into the reader. It was a copy of what had 
transpired in the Minbari embassy. "As can be seen, Your Honor, this video 
shows that General Wayne is very adept in the use of a Minbari weapon called a 
denn'bok. It is similar to the quarter-staff used in middle-ages Europe during 
the centuries known as 'The Dark Ages'."

   "This may demonstrate that General Wayne is an accomplished denn'bok artist. 
However, she was unarmed at the time of the alleged attack. I fail to see any 
connection," noted the judge.

   "This next video is a compilation of exercises that she does every day in 
the Ashley, Incorporated company gymnasium." Willis inserted the second crystal 
and started the reader again. What was shown was Susan and Macel going at it in 
hand-to-hand combat. It was obvious that both parties were very good at what 
they were doing. "I had this video evaluated by several martial arts experts, 
Your Honor. They all agreed that both of the people shown would be classified 
as high-ranking experts in several disciplines. This should convince even the 
skeptical observer that General Wayne was never in any real danger, and she 
only used the situation as an excuse to almost cripple my clients."

   "Being a trained fighter, doesn't convince me that General Wayne was the 
aggressor in the situation Saturday Evening."

   "Maybe the third crystal's data will, Your Honor," said Willis fitting the 
third crystal in the reader socket.

   As the picture started running, it showed Susan and her friend entering the 
restroom. "Is this what I think it is, Mr. Willis. Your are showing us a 
restroom video?"

   "Yes, Your Honor. Just keep watching." 

   The video showed Susan going into one of the restroom stalls and her friend 
stepping over to the mirror. At this point Willis fast-forwarded the video to 
the point just before a man entered the restroom. The video showed Susan's 
friend being smashed over the head with what appeared to be a wicked looking 
pistol. It then showed Susan coming out of the stall and having the thief's gun 
shoved into her face. "Pay close attention to the audio, Your Honor."

   Susan watched the video. It was a good copy. It was better than the ones 
shown on the newscasts. She felt a light attempt to scan her, and looked around 
the darkened courtroom. In a few seconds, she had located the telepath trying 
to scan her. He was in the row of seats just behind the defense counsel.

   Willis paused the video. "At this point, Your Honor, the man is already 
dead. You will note that at no time has General Wayne shown any of the fear to 
be expected in a situation such as this." Willis then restarted the video.	

   "Continue, Mr. Willis," ordered the judge.

   Willis restarted the video again. After it had finished, he noted, "Your 
Honor, when she twisted his head, she broke his neck and he was essentially 
dead from that point on."

   "Mr. Willis. What is the point of these videos. I'm waiting for an 
explanation."

   "I am trying to establish that General Wayne was at no time in any real 
danger. I believe these videos prove that my clients never stood a chance of 
harming her, therefore, I'm requesting that the charges against my clients be 
dismissed, and charges be filed against General Wayne for an unprovoked attack 
on my clients resulting in grievous bodily harm to all three of them."

   Without smiling, the judge said, "Request denied. Unless you have any more 
questions for this witness, I'm going to allow the prosecutor continue with his 
presentation."

   Willis scowled at Susan, he had a great many more questions, but, knowing 
that she would play word games with him until he got frustrated and screamed, 
and that the judge would haul him up short, said, "I have no further questions 
for the general." He couldn't help feeling that Susan was laughing at him. 
Obviously, she had been grilled by experts under circumstances he couldn't hope 
to match, and she had already made it abundantly clear that it was she, not he 
who was in command of this situation.

   Susan turned and looked at the judge. "Your Honor, the defense counsel has 
brought a telepath into the courtroom, and he attempted to scan me while Mr. 
Willis was showing the videos. I want to register a complaint."

   The judge looked at Willis. "Is there anything to what she is saying, Mr. 
Willis?"

   "Well, Your Honor..."

   "That's a yes or no question, Mr. Willis."

   "Yes, I hired the telepath and brought him in. No he wasn't suppose to scan 
her or anyone else."

   "What good is he, if he doesn't scan anyone?"

   "He was supposed to listen to the surface thoughts of the witness and try 
and find any weaknesses."

   "Really! When did that become accepted practice in a court of law? I'm sure 
you're going to quote me chapter and verse."

   "There isn't any law against a telepath sitting in a court of law. As long 
as he or she doesn't scan anyone, no law has been broken."

   "You mean the telepath just listens to whatever thoughts that might be 
available, and then tells you about them. Is that about it?"

   "Err, yes, Your Honor."

   "How many times in the past five years have you been disciplined by the 
state bar association?"

   "Three, Your Honor."

   "I'm citing you for contempt, Mr. Willis. I will figure out what further 
charges I may want to bring against you. You will be addressing the state bar 
association about this. Maybe you're tired of practicing law. Is that it?"

   "No, Your Honor."

   "Well, you could fool me. Now tell me again, what did you hope to gain by 
bringing him into this courtroom?"

   "Just what I told Your Honor the first time. I was looking for a weakness in 
the testimony of the witnesses."

   "You, telepath, come up here. Identify yourself and tell me what he is 
paying you to do," ordered the judge.

   "My name is Joseph Nance. I was paid to listen to the thoughts of the 
witnesses and try to find any inconsistencies between what they were thinking 
and what they were actually saying." 

   "In other words, you would have to scan the witness to determine if he or 
she were lying?"

   "Something like that, Your Honor."

   "I believe that amounts to unauthorized scanning. Doesn't it?"

   Looking like he wanted to crawl under a rock and hide, the telepath 
replied, "Yes, Your Honor."

   "What did you learn from scanning General Wayne?"

   "Nothing, Your Honor. I can't scan her. She's too strong."

   "What's your rating?"

   "I'm rated at very high P-11. I'm just short of being strong enough to be a 
psi cop."

   "How about you, General Wayne?"

   "I've never been tested. I have no idea what my rating would be."

   "Tell me, Joe. How strong would you estimate her to be?"

   "I have no idea, Your Honor. I've only met one telepath stronger than she 
is, and she was enhanced beyond our ability to test by the Vorlons."

   "So you don't know if the general would be a P-1 or a P-12?"

   "No, Your Honor. Under present circumstances it isn't possible to make that 
determination."

   "Bailiff arrest and detain Mr. Nance for unauthorized scanning of a trial 
witness. Mr. Nash are you ready to finish your presentation?"

   "Yes, Your Honor. The prosecution would like to enter the tape from police 
vehicle number 113 into evidence at this time. It was recorded just before and 
during the time the attack on Mrs. Wayne was occurring." Inserting the crystal 
in the reader, Nash started the playback. "The infrared and low-light images 
clearly show the attempted attack on Mrs. Wayne and her response. The 
prosecution also enters a true copy of the emergency phone call Mrs. Wayne made 
just before the attack." He played back the phone call. "It is clear that Mrs. 
Wayne was well aware of the gravity of her situation. It is also clear that she 
didn't want to have to fight her way out of the situation. If you will compare 
the time-date stamps on this recording and the recordings made by the police 
car recorders you will see that the response time of the officers was only a 
few minutes after the call came in."

   "You have more witnesses to present at this time, Mr. Nash?"

   "Yes, Your Honor. I have the driver of the attackers' car and the policemen 
that answered the call."

   Fifteen minutes later, Nash finished his presentation. Willis declined to 
make a presentation. 

   "I've heard enough. This court binds over the three defendants to the 
circuit court for trial on the charges of attacking and attempting to abduct 
General Susan Ivanova-Wayne for the purposes of rape and murder. I will hear 
petitions for bail. Mr. Willis?"

   "The defendants have no real formal police records. They are members of well-
known families that have strong ties to the community. I see no reason to deny 
bail."

   "Mr. Nash?"

   "The people are working up cases against these three defendants on charges 
of multiple counts of abduction, rape and first degree murder. The people feel 
that given the resources of the families of the defendants, that no amount of 
bail will be enough to discourage them running from prosecution. The people are 
prepared to present DNA evidence that will show that the defendants are 
involved in several abductions, rapes and murders, if necessary. We would 
prefer to bring these charges up separately and will do so. However, if 
necessary, we will do it now."

   "Do you have the DNA test results with you, Mr. Nash?" He then retrieved 
several folders from the prosecutor's table and handed them to the judge.

   The judge studied the papers in the folders for several minutes. Looking up 
at both attorneys, she said, "Mr. Willis, the data in these test results forces 
me, in good judgment and for concern toward the future safety of young women in 
this community, to deny bail to your clients. The defendants are to be held 
without bail until their trial. They are remanded to the county jail until that 
time. Court date is set for 0900 on the tenth of September. Next case."
 
   Susan asked Nash, "May I leave now?"

   "Mrs. Wayne, would you come up here, please, before you leave?"

   Susan approached the judge, and was handed a business card. "I'd appreciate 
it if you would call me later this evening," said the judge. 
   
   "I'll do that, Your Honor." Susan left the courtroom flanked by the 
prosecutor and defense attorneys.

******************************   

In the courthouse hallway:

   "I really appreciate your efforts today, Mrs. Wayne," said Nash.

   "It was no problem. I wasn't going to let them walk. Especially not after 
the elder Walsh kidnapped me and killed my unborn child."

   "You might be the perfect witness, Mrs. Wayne," noted Willis.

   Susan looked at him as if he were a piece of dog dung.

   "Mrs. Wayne, it was nothing personal in the courtroom. It's how this 
business is," continued Willis.

   "For me, it's very personal. If I'd known what they had done to those other 
women, I'd have gone ahead and killed them. At the very least, it would have 
saved the state the price of the trials."

   "Ah, but you didn't. That says a lot about you. You are the most cold-
blooded person I've ever met, but you aren't a killer per se. You only killed 
in self-defense. You didn't have a choice," commented Willis.

   "Unlike your clients. Eh, Brad?"

   "I only defend them. It's not my job to judge them. The constitution 
guarantees every citizen the right to a fair trial and legal representation at 
that trial. However, I will be making Walsh put up about a million credits up 
front for a retainer. If he is convicted, I intend to be paid." 

   "You really mean whenever, don't you Mr. Willis?" asked Susan.

   "Better get ready for the press. I can hear them from here," said Nash.

   "You two play with the press. I have more important things to do," stated 
Susan.

   "If you think the press is going to go away, General Wayne, you really are 
naive," noted Willis. "You’re about to become a celebrity, whether you want to 
be or not. Before you argue with me, just let's make a side bet. A hundred 
credits say that before the trial is over, every talk show on television is 
going to be beating a path to your door."

   "Don't take the bet, Mrs. Wayne. In this instance, he knows what he's 
talking about. My advice is to get yourself an agent. You're going to need 
one," said Nash.

   "He's telling you the truth, Mrs. Wayne. Your testimony today will be on the 
news tonight, and there isn't anything you can do to stop it. You are 
considered, more or less, a public figure," explained Willis.

   "Why did you bring that telepath into court today? You took a hell of a 
risk," noted Susan. 

   "Desperate measures for a desperate situation, Mrs. Wayne. It's going to 
take every trick in my book and maybe a few more that I'll have to make up to 
keep Walsh from being sentenced to death of personality," answered Willis. "DNA 
evidence is almost impossible to beat, unless someone handling it or testing it 
somehow makes a gross error. You don't want to bet your life on that happening. 
It happens in less than one tenth of one tenth of one percent of cases."

   "That's pretty cynical, Mr. Willis," said Susan.

   "It's called being real. Let's face it, Mrs. Wayne, my colleague's job is to 
put people, criminals that is, in prison. It's my job to keep them out. Whether 
they are actually guilty or innocent is not the most important thing. The most 
important things are can he prove them guilty or can I prove them not guilty, 
and take my word for it, both things can be done. They are more often than 
anyone wants to admit."

   "He speaks for himself, Mrs. Wayne. I like to think that I don't prosecute 
innocent people," commented Nash.

   "However, Mr. Nash, your job is not to prove them innocent, correct?" asked 
Susan.

   "That is correct," he replied.

   "Is there another way out of this building?" asked Susan.

   "I'm afraid the only one available to you, Mrs. Wayne, is through the front 
doors," said Willis.

   Susan stopped at the security desk, which was located some ten meters inside 
the front doors of the court building. "I really don't want to go out there," 
Susan said to the guard. "It's going to be like swimming into the midst of a 
piranha feeding frenzy."

   "You're the main course, Mrs. Wayne. You might fare better if you let the 
two attorneys walk out just in front of you. Let the reporters jump at them 
then you quickly walk right on by," responded the guard.

   "Sounds like a plan," replied Susan. 

   "We'll pull them to the right hand side of the steps, Mrs. Wayne. If you're 
quick, you should be able to make it down the left side of the steps to the 
street before they realize it's you," said Nash.

   "Good luck, Mrs. Wayne. I'll expect to see you here again next month," noted 
Willis. "I won't be so easy next time."

   "Mr. Willis, this wasn't one of my good days. I'll be ready," replied Susan.

   Willis and Nash went through the right hand set of doors. "I'm not looking 
forward to that," Willis said softly to Nash. Nash laughed.

   As soon as the reporters descended on Willis and Nash, Susan walked out the 
far left hand set of doors. The steps on her side were empty and she quickly 
walked down the steps to the street. She opened the door on a waiting taxi and 
was gone before the reporters realized she was even there. The guard's little 
ruse had worked quite nicely. She changed her mind about wasting any more time 
going home and changing. Instead she had the taxi driver take her directly back 
to the Ashley Company building.

******************************

At the Ashley Company building:

   Susan paid off the taxi and stopped to pick up her security badge. The guard 
on duty, the same one Lt. Colonel King had told to give his message to Susan, 
handed Susan her badge and said, "Sir, Lt. Colonel King left orders for you to 
report to him in his office."

   "Really. Did he say what it's about?"

   "He seems to think you're out of uniform. I believe he wants to explain this 
to you."

   Susan smiled at the guard and replied, "And here I thought today was a bust. 
Thank you very much. I must run now. I wouldn't want to incite the wrath of the 
lt. colonel by ignoring his orders, now would I?"

   Fighting to keep a straight face the guard replied, "No, sir. I'm sure you 
wouldn't. His office is left down the hall to the fourth door. It used to be a 
maintenance storage facility."

   Susan gave the guard a quizzical look, but continued on her way. She would 
have to ask Wally about that.

******************************

In King's 'office':

   "Colonel King, If you have no objections, Gerald and I and going to make a 
snack run. Is there anything we can bring back for you?" asked First Lieutenant 
Wisemore.

   "I'll take a very large latte and two bagels with cream cheese, " replied 
King. "Here's five credits. Bring back the change."

******************************

   The two young officers exited the office and almost immediately ran into 
Susan. "Gentlemen, you need to watch where you're going."

   Both men looked at the female who was standing in front of them. The stars 
on her shoulder boards almost caused their hearts to stop. This had to be the 
woman King had talked about. "Please, excuse us, general," said both men almost 
in unison.

   "Do you men by any chance work for Lieutenant Colonel King?" asked Susan.

   "Yes, sir!" replied Wisemore.

   Seeing an opportunity, Susan took it. "I want the two of you to accompany me 
to the cafeteria. I'll buy the coffee and snacks, and you can tell me about 
yourselves and Lt. Colonel King, and most importantly exactly what it is that 
you do around here."

   The men looked at one another. Neither dared to tell this general that they 
couldn't do that. "General, You would learn much more from Colonel King, than 
from us," pleaded Bailey.

   "I'll talk to him after you and I have a chat. Gentlemen, this isn't a 
request. Besides, I'm buying the coffee and snacks. It isn't polite to refuse 
free drinks and food."

   "We aren't allowed in the cafeteria, general," stated Wisemore.

   "Whose rule is that?"

   "It's Mr. Ashley's rule. None of us, including the colonel, are allowed to 
use the cafeteria or gymnasium," explained Bailey.

   "Well, Mr. Bailey, let's go down there and see. I bet you they will allow 
you in with me. If they don't, Wally and I will have some words to exchange."

   "Who's Wally, general?" asked Bailey.

   "Wallace Ashley, the man who owns this company. We go way back."

   The two young men soon found themselves at a table in the cafeteria seated 
at a table with Susan, enjoying coffee and sandwiches.

   "They never batted an eye at us, general," said Wisemore.

   "Of course not. I eat breakfast here every morning, lieutenant. Right after 
my workout and shower."

   "They let you use the gym, sir?" asked Bailey.

   "Of course, Mr. Bailey. I use it on a not-to-interfere basis with the rest 
of the company employees. I and my Minbari workout partner come in every 
morning from 0400 to 0600."

   "Minbari workout partner?" asked Bailey.

   "Enough about me. We’re here for you to tell me about yourselves, your 
office,and how you and it fit in here."

   "That's just it, general. We don't fit in here... at all," commented 
Wisemore.

   "Take your time and explain things to me."

   Twenty minutes later, Susan and the two young officers had finished their 
coffees and snacks. "I think I have a fairly complete picture of the situation, 
gentlemen. You both know this situation is hurting your careers. I think 
something can be done about that, unless you want to waste more time here."

   "We have both put in for reassignments, general, but they never got acted 
on," noted Wisemore.

   "They will be acted on now. I can guarantee that."

   "Sir. Exactly how can you have any real effect on our requests? You’re an 
unrestricted line officer, not supply corps."

   "Mr. Wisemore, I'm General Zaleski's relief. In short, in about four weeks, 
I'll be the CINC of your section of the supply corps, more or less."

   "Colonel King is going to crap in his shorts when he find's out who he left 
orders for," said Bailey.

   "Oh, he's going to do much more than that, gentlemen... much more. Have 
another coffee on me. I'm going to be conversing with Lt. Colonel King for a 
little while."

   "General, sir. Please don't spill any blood on the carpet. We might not be 
able to get the stains out," commented Bailey.

   Twisting her mouth from side to side, Susan replied, "You may have a future 
in comedy, Mr. Bailey. I'll call down here when it's safe for you to return."

******************************

In the cafeteria:

   Wisemore and Bailey were getting second cups of coffee when Wallace Ashley 
walked into the cafeteria and got into line behind them.

   "Might I inquire, Lieutenant Wisemore, what the two of you are doing in 
here?" asked Ashley.

   "We are guests, sir," replied Wisemore.

   "Whose guests, if I might ask?"

   "General Wayne’s, sir," replied Bailey.

   Ashley thought about this for a moment. "She brought you in here?"

   "Yes, sir. She wanted to talk to us, so she brought us in here. She even 
paid for our coffee and sandwiches," said Bailey.

   This piqued Ashley’s curiosity. "I’ll pay for your coffee, if you’ll sit 
with me and tell me about the general."

   "If you wish, sir," responded Wisemore.

    Sitting at a table away from the other patrons, Ashley asked, "What did 
Susan want from you boys."

   "She said she knew you from way back. Since you call by her first name, I 
guess she was telling us the truth," said Bailey.

   "A long time ago, I was a fighter pilot. One of the best in Earthforce, if I 
may say so. She and I were wingmen. I was her pilot training instructor, and we 
flew together for just over two years. She was a much better pilot than I ever 
was. She may even have been the best in Earthforce at that time."

   "That explains the wings on her jacket. But if she used to be a fighter 
pilot, why does she wear the wings on the left side of the jacket just over her 
ribbons?" asked Wisemore.

   "She must still be an active fighter pilot. Otherwise, she would have moved 
the wings to the right side of her jacket."

   "I’ve never met a general before today, much less one who is a fighter 
pilot. You’d think that would be something left for the young guns, sir," 
stated Bailey.

   "What kind of questions was she asking you?"

   "She wanted to know what our function was here and also about the functions 
of our office. She wanted to know how and where we fit in," replied Wisemore.

   "What did you tell her?”

   "The truth, sir. We told her that we didn’t belong here and that neither we 
nor our offic’ had any function here, unless you count being a constant 
irritation to you."

   Ashley was caught off-guard by the honesty of the statement. "So you don’t 
want to be here. Why not? It’s as easy an assignment as you will ever find."

   "It surely is, but it does nothing for our careers, Mr. Ashley. From a 
career point of view, it is a total waste of time and money. We have put in for 
reassignments, but they seem to have been ignored," said Bailey.

   "If anyone can do something for you, it’s Susan. She hates to see manpower 
and materials wasted. I believe your Lt. Colonel King will be learning some 
valuable lessons shortly."

   "Better him than us, sir."

   "Enjoy the coffee. See me after Susan gets through with Mr. King."

   After Ashley left, the two men studied one another for a few minutes. "Do 
you think that maybe this is our lucky day, Gerald?" asked Wisemore.

   "One damn thing’s for sure... it isn’t Lt. Colonel King’s."

   Both of the young men had been living with the reality of King and his 
office, and, like all junior personnel, had smiled and chuckled to hide 
frustration with a situation that they were powerless to change. The fact that 
was about to change filled them with a feeling of hope for better times. 

******************************

END PART 19  

20

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