Redheaded Telepath
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PART 3:
Chapter XX
Next morning in his office while having his coffee, Paul was distracted to
the point of being oblivious to all going around him. He was replaying last night
in his mind when he was jostled so hard he almost fell out of his chair. Barbara
and Ivanova were staring at him.
"Are you all right Paul?" asked Barbara.
"Yes, sure. Hello Ivanova, what can I do for you?”
"Nothing. I just stopped to say hi and steal a cup of tea," she smiled.
Somehow this didn't look like her usual hello smile.
"I just finished having breakfast with Lyta. She was beaming. Did everything
go alright last night?"
"Yes. Just fine. Why?"
"She just seemed to be in a better mood than I've seen in ages."
"We took a walk in the park area and she seemed to enjoy it immensely."
"That must be it. Thanks for the tea."
After Ivanova left, Paul said to Barbara, "Why do I get the idea there is
an ongoing joke amongst Ambassador Delenn, Susan, and Lyta and the joke is me?
I even felt it last time I talked to the captain."
"Paul, I assure you aren't a joke to any of them. Prey maybe, victim
possibly, but joke, never," she replied.
His expression was pure question.
"Talk to Lyta."
He would. She could bet on it.
That evening he and Lyta ate in. It seemed that they were both reasonably
good cooks. Lyta cleared the dishes and he wiped the table. She took a shower
and put on pajamas then sat down to watch ISN propaganda for a few minutes. He
came out of the shower and sat on the other end of the couch. She was clean and
smelled very good. He was several feet away and could feel desire start to build.
He stifled it and asked, "About last night?"
She studied him before responding, "Did it bother you?"
"It's just that I had never been with a woman before last night."
"Paul, how do you feel about me?"
"You already know the answer to that."
"I want to hear it from you."
"If you want to hear me say I love you, I'm sorry. I'm not sure what love
is; however, I want to be with you. I had feelings for you before I had even
seen a picture of you. You have me at a disadvantage."
"You already know that I did a deep scan on you when you first came aboard
the station. What you don't know is that nothing since then has just ‘happened'
except for the captain assigning you to my quarters. I had nothing to do with
that. I could have had you moved when I came back aboard."
"Why didn't you?"
"Remember last night?"
"As if I could forget. What about it?"
"That didn't just happen."
"Somehow, I didn't think so."
"When I scanned you, I liked what I found. Honesty, to a fault. Compassion,
love, and you are not bad looking. I’m sorry, but that was when I decided that I
wanted you and I don't do one night stands." She stood and held out her hand. He
stood up and took it. As they walked to her bed, she said, "I will have the other
bed removed tomorrow."
Paul knew where this was going and thought about the fact that no one except
his parents had ever cared for him before. Now there were a group of people who
cared for him, one in particular.
Captain Sheridan, Delenn, and Ivanova were conducting a strategy session
centered on the reports of attacks on shipping and isolated colonies and low
tech planets. It was decided to field test the Whitestar II and a battle cruiser.
They were to be sent to the area of the latest attacks and make their presence
felt. The rangers would man and fight them. Conditions on Narn, Centauri Prime,
Minbar and some other allied worlds were discussed at length. The propaganda from
Earth was unabated and getting more sinister with each passing day. It was discussed
that as soon as enough ships had been upgraded they would be used to escort
vessels through the Earth blockade. The final decision would be made after
consulting with their present allies. It would be made clear to them that if and
when this became necessary, the rules of engagement would be ‘shoot-to-kill'.
Ivanova asked, "Have either of you seen Paul lately?"
Delenn said she had seen him earlier that morning. Sheridan said he had talked
with him yesterday.
"Did he seem okay to you?"
"He was just fine. Why?” Inquired Sheridan.
"Lyta said that she had handled their problem. What did she mean?"
"The prey had been caught," answered the captain.
"You mean...?"
"Yes. Lyta had facility supplies people remove the second bed."
At that, Lyta entered his office, said good morning and got a cup of coffee.
She looked at her friends. They were all smiles. "Something I should know?"
"We were discussing hunters and prey," quipped Delenn.
"Oh? What kind of hunters and prey?"
"Red-headed telepaths and tall, handsome, helpless men named Paul," answered
Ivanova.
"I caught him fair and square. He didn't object. I had the bed removed
because we don't need it anymore. You know, I really don't need sleep like you
do. But that's not why I am here. I want to have someone run me through the
starfury trainer. I know how to fly one, but I need to practice for proficiency."
"May I ask why?" asked the captain.
"I need the experience to help in developing some improvements for them."
He thought for a moment, "This is a completely new idea isn't it."
"Yes. I need another favor."
"Name it."
"Draal has been scanning space around Coriana VI and found remains of Shadow
and Vorlon vessels that were destroyed there. I want as many pieces of each of
them as I can get. The larger the better."
"We are starting to patrol some of the less developed sectors. We will do what
we can. When do you want to begin in the simulator?"
"Today, if it is possible."
"Commander, it's yours to handle."
"Lyta. Follow me. By the way, how is Paul?"
"He is even nicer and sweeter than my scans revealed."
"It's time something good happened to you."
***********************************
Chapter XXI
Paul awoke from a deep sleep with his head spinning and his stomach churning.
Hopping out of bed he headed for the bathroom. He heard sounds of retching issuing
from the inside of the bathroom. A few minutes later, Lyta came out of the bathroom.
She explained that she must have had a reaction to something they had eaten the
night before. Next time they went to Earhart's, she would more careful what she
ordered. Paul's queasiness abated and he went back to bed. It had been three
months since Lyta had returned to the station and two months since she and Paul
had gotten married. It had been a small affair officiated by Brother Theo and
attended by only her closest friends. As she got back in bed she made a mental
note to check in with Doctor Franklin later this morning.
In Med-Lab 1, the duty doctor was hip deep in sick people and aliens. The place
was a stinking mess. The whole station must be affected. What could make the
whole station sick at once? Ten minutes after he was called, Franklin arrived in
sickbay. He didn't believe his eyes. He called C&C; the answering face looked ill.
He started to explain his problem and was cut off. Apparently C&C was experiencing
the same malady. It was going to be a very long night.
At 0700 Lyta called Med-Lab 1. A haggard Dr. Franklin answered. "Steven, could
I come by for a quick check up this morning. I was sick last night and I don't
know why."
If it had been anyone but Lyta, Steven would have been short and sharp, but
Lyta just didn't get sick, ever. "Lyta, we’re swamped down here. We have
thousands of people in here since last night and all have been showing symptoms
of dizziness and vomiting all over the place. Can I call you back when we get
straightened out down here?"
"Of course, Steven; it's nothing that won't wait."
*******************************
0800 in the War Room:
"I’m sorry to call this meeting at a time when most of the station is turning
itself out, but we have a real problem," said Captain Sheridan. "The entire
Babylon 5 population, including various aliens, was assailed by some form of
dizziness and stomach distress at about 0300 this morning."
"Captain, where did it start?" asked a supply lieutenant.
"It hit everywhere at once. It didn't have a single starting point."
Ivanova said, "Captain, we checked all the various station logs the only
thing noted was an energy surge from Epsilon III. It wasn't focused at any point.
It was almost like a large burp."
The meeting continued for an hour while details were worked out to get the
station cleaned up. A decision to further investigate the phenomenon was reached
and the meeting was adjourned.
"Lyta, stay. I need to speak to you," requested the captain.
Lyta remained seated as the other others left.
"I understand even you were sick last night."
"Yes. I can't explain it. I have an appointment in Med-Lab 1 in a few minutes."
"Your being sick bothers me. I didn't think you could just get sick."
"Neither did I. Welcome to reality. Captain, I really do have to get down to
Med-Lab 1."
He nodded his head and she left.
An hour later in sickbay Doctor Franklin looked at Lyta and said, "We have
found your problem. You seem to have three heartbeats."
"Three heartbeats??"
"You’re pregnant, and you're suffering morning sickness, but you can probably
control it to some extent."
"That answers the question about having children. Steven, my sickness happened
at the same time that everyone else got sick. Do you think there’s a connection?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure how to check it out. Are you going to tell the
captain? Three heartbeats means you’re carrying twins."
"Yes. Be careful what you ask for...," she said in a tired voice.
She was heading for the office across the Zocalo when she saw Paul, Ivanova,
Zack, and Barbara having lunch. She approached and took an offered seat. All eyes
were on her.
"What?" she asked.
Paul asked, “Did Steven find anything wrong?"
"Yes," she replied noncommittally.
They were obviously waiting for her to continue.
"He found two growths in my abdomen."
They all looked both surprised and worried.
Ivanova asked, "What kind of growths?"
“He said that I need not worry. They would go away by themselves."
"How long," asked Paul. He had a worried expression on his face.
"About six or seven months," she replied. She couldn't keep the straight
face any longer and smiled.
The four friends looked confused.
"I’m pregnant and I’m carrying twins."
Her friends realized they had been had. Ivanova smiled. Either Lyta had
developed a wicked sense of humor or she had a side to her personality that
no one had ever dreamed existed before.
The captain and Delenn stopped at the table and were told the news. There
were congratulations for Paul and Lyta. The captain told them he had contacted
Draal and that everyone on Epsilon III suffered the same sickness as the station
at the exact same time. Even Draal had been affected.
"Captain, I think I know what happened last night," said Ivanova.
"You do?"
“Yes. Everyone was sick at the same time Lyta was sick. I think that we
all inadvertently shared her first bout of morning sickness."
Delenn asked, "That is part of human reproduction?"
Lyta said, "Yes. I think I have it under control now. I wasn't expecting it
last night."
The look from the captain was one of mock despair. "You think you can control
it?"
"Yes. I discussed it with Stephen. I can't stop all of the physical effects on
me, but I can control the mental projection part."
As they left the captain said to Delenn, "Now I understand women better."
Delenn shot him a bemused look and said, "Really."
*********************************
Chapter XXII
The testing of the pieces of Vorlon and Shadow vessels had been in progress
for some months; thanks to the new equipment that had been developed, the
engineers and scientist were obtaining mountains of new data. Processing and
analyzing it were the tough problems and the data didn't reveal its secrets
easily. They had been fortunate enough to get a couple of dead ‘keeper' devices,
but it was hard to determine if they were individually sentient or simply a
conduit for a master controller. They had also learned how to handle pieces
of Shadow technology without undue danger and, after a fashion, they had been
able to duplicate some of its properties in a rudimentary way. They had better
luck with the Vorlon technology. They had been able to get it to grow for some
months; lately, they had been able to get better control of how it grew. The
engineers and scientists thought they were light-years away from an organic
ship. Time would prove them wrong.
Worel was very pleased with his teams. The Minbari side added stability and
the humans provided a drive that was hard to believe. The integrating of the
teams had given him a staff that wouldn't give up and was intensely focused
and stable.
They had used the test data gleaned from the pieces of Vorlon and Shadow
vessels to invent a beam of phased energy that could break molecular bonds
without releasing astronomical quantities of energy. It would be a devastating
weapon when it was deployed. A Whitestar gunboat would be able to disintegrate
almost anything. The new beam could destroy the Whitestar armor that had the
latest modifications, but only when the beam was held on the armor for an
extended period of time. Ambassador Delenn and the advisor would be pleased
with their progress.
Onboard Babylon 5, Commander Ivanova was giving Captain Sheridan an update
on the latest clash between a force consisting of the Whitestar II and a Minbari
cruiser that was chasing renegades and pirates. Due to the serious toll caused
by their mounting losses, it was getting to the point where the renegades and
pirates would run at the opening of a jumpgate.
"Captain, the Whitestar II is returning to the station. The war cruiser is
returning to Minbar for repairs. The new armor works better than expected,"
explained Ivanova.
"When is the Whitestar II due to arrive?"
"Four days from now. I’ll schedule a complete debriefing with its captain.”
Sheridan nodded approval. Ivanova turned to leave and the captain picked up
the next piece of paper.
At the arrival briefing, the captain got good and bad news. One of the
raiders that was encountered had been a Narn heavy cruiser. The ship had been
in the process of attacking a pair of merchant transports, when the Minbari
cruiser had exited hyperspace to answer the distress call from the transports.
When they were challenged for identification, the Narn cruiser and her fighters
commenced an unprovoked attack on the Minbari cruiser. At that time, the
Whitestar II entered normal space firing on the Narn fighters even while she
was still in the jump-point. She had received direct hits from the Narn
cruiser's main batteries, but suffered minimal damage and then had literally
vaporized the cruiser. The bad news was one of the fighters had escaped into
hyperspace. Sheridan's policy on renegades and pirates was that no prisoners
would be taken except for intelligence gathering purposes. Prisoners were
shown the same mercy they had showed to their victims.
****************************
Chapter XXIII
"Ambassador G’Kar, this is the data crystal I informed you about," said
his aide.
G’Kar had heard about the loss of the heavy cruiser Ba'lth. He had been
informed that it was destroyed in a Centauri ambush. No amplifying data had
been forthcoming from home world. Londo had denied the accusation, but that
was to be expected. Maybe this data crystal would hold the truth. His aide
had told him it was taken from a Narn fighter that had escaped the destruction.
G’Kar watched the data unfold on the large wall monitor. He saw the unprovoked
attack on the transports, the arrival of the Minbari cruiser, the attack on
it and the arrival of one of the whitestar ships. The battle and its results
were astonishing. The whitestar had offered the opportunity for surrender to
the Narn cruiser and returned fire when the cruiser attacked. Witnessing the
cruiser breakup like a water-filled balloon thrown against a mesh fence was
frightening. He already knew Sheridan had destroyed two Shadow battle cruisers
with Whitestar I, but the firepower demonstrated here was magnitudes beyond
that. It was time to put in a call to homeworld. He wanted to know what idiot
had allowed this to happen.
******************************
In Earthdome the same data was being reviewed by Earthgov inner circle
representatives. "Is this for real?" inquired the President.
"Yes sir. The ship doing all the damage is under control of John Sheridan
and Minbari Ambassador Delenn," answered the top psi cop. "The Narn heavy
cruiser had main batteries at least as powerful as our best ships. Our
estimates are that this ship could wipe out anything presently in our fleet."
Referring to the Narn weapons, the vice-president commented, “It didn’t look
like they were very effective.”
"Could they have this advanced technology installed on the station?" asked
General Phillips who was sitting half-way down the table.
"We don't know for sure. I would expect they would at the earliest
opportunity. I would. You can probably rest assured that they have more than
one of these ships equally equipped," replied another general.
"What you gentlemen are saying is that another assault on Babylon 5 might
not be a good idea?" the President asked to no one in particular.
"It would be a slaughter of our personnel with no hope for success,"
answered the psi cop.
"Gentlemen, if there is nothing else, this meeting is adjourned," said
President Clark.
Aside, the president addressed the psi cop, "Robert, how is the telepath
situation on Babylon 5?"
"Sir, we can't seem to operate there. As soon as we exit the jumpgate into
Epsilon III space, our best people seem to go blank. They aren't even able to
read each other. As soon as they exit that part of space, they return to normal.
We have, so far, been unable to explain it. We are working on it," explained
the psi cop. He did not let his true feelings about any of this color his
verbal responses.
**********************************
Chapter XXIV
"How am I doing Dr. Franklin?" asked Carolyn Sanderson.
"According to Dr. Abbot, both you and the baby are doing just fine, despite
the lack of prenatal care. You should deliver sometime in the next few weeks,"
replied Doctor Franklin. "And you, Mrs. Blaine, are in perfect health and so
are your twins. You should deliver about a month after Carolyn does."
As they left Med-Lab 1, Lyta said, "Let’s meet Paul for lunch. I feel like
eating out."
The women headed for Paul's office talking in low voices. They could have
had the conversation without talking, but it wasn't a good habit to do it in
public. They didn't notice the tourist who was taking pictures of everything
in sight. Who ever does?
As they ordered a light lunch, Ivanova approached the table.
"Hi, guys, may I join you?" she asked.
"Of course, Susan," responded Lyta.
The conversation was centered on babies and their care. Paul almost felt
left out.
"You aren't going to be left out, Paul," said Lyta. "I’ll make sure you
experience it with me."
"I don't think sharing should go that far."
********************************
In an Earthgov analysis center, the data available from the crystal was
being viewed again and again as information from it was being fed into the
large supercomputers to determine just what it was they were observing. The
scenes were dissected and what they showed still didn't make any sense. The
small starship that had done all the damage was targeting fighters and firing
on them even as it exited hyperspace. That would indicate a tracking system
that could define a target in normal space while still in hyperspace. Present
physics had said that wasn't possible. General Phillips had noted that the
pilots of the affected Narn fighters would, if they could, probably argue that
point. Whatever the ship was using against the fighters didn't show up as regular
pulse cannon fire. It was almost invisible. The results were devastating. When
the fire hit the fighters they seemed to break up and disperse like an expanding
gas cloud. No explosion, just dispersal and they were gone. While it was
destroying the fighters, the ship was being constantly bombarded by the main
batteries of the Narn cruiser. She was demanding the Narns surrender at the
same time. When she ran out of fighters between herself and the Narn cruiser,
she opened fire with what must have been her main weapon system. Her pulse
weapons had been tearing the cruiser apart. The main battery output looked
like a larger version of the smaller systems fire. When the beam hit the cruiser,
the ship began to expand into a large gas cloud. There were no explosions. Even
the engines did not explode.
"I have seen something similar to this once before," said a voice from the
back of the small audience.
"Where?" demanded the general.
"During the Earth-Minbari War. We tried to open a jump-point inside a
jumpgate. The results on the test ship were very similar to this. Large amounts
of energy were dissipated when the jumpgate was destroyed and the ship involved
was reduced to an expanding gas cloud. What is missing here is the release of
large amounts of energy, unless the energy is being released into hyperspace,"
continued the man who had spoken before. "In fact, what you just saw might be
possible if you could fire a piece of hyperspace out of a gun barrel."
"Okay. Say we accept that without argument. How do you get hit with the
output from heavy fusion cannons without being destroyed or seriously damaged?"
"Sorry, general, I don't even begin to have any ideas about that," replied
the older man.
*********************************
Chapter XXV
The head psi cop had called a meeting of his top operatives. He was really
worried. Eight months and they were no closer to an answer now than they had
been then. Following a thorough discussion of all the effects reported by telepaths
who had been sent to Babylon 5, it was apparent that there was some type of
dampening field being used on them. It was decided to run a series of tests to
determine the extent of the effects as a function of distance using Babylon 5
as the test area’s center. Problems arose concerning just what was going to be
tested. It was going to be like looking for a needle in a dozen haystacks. Not
having any idea what the needle might look like was adding a degree of difficulty.
**************************
Back on Babylon 5, Lyta had already figured that sooner or later Psi Corps
would start hunting for the source that was interfering with their telepaths.
She would stop jamming all of them and only jam them on an individual basis as
necessary. Since the hardware was being removed from the revived telepaths,
they could be brought to the station to keep any outside telepaths under
observation and control. The apparent randomness of effects would drive them
up the walls. She had known that using Draal as a power source and scanning the
telepaths that been sent aboard the station after she had returned to Epsilon
III would pay off. With so much inside information, it shouldn't be too hard
to cause enough problems for President Clark that his friends' would want him
gone. She was getting strong enough that she needed only minimal help from the
great machine. Very soon she wouldn't need any. Only the fact that she had
begun training and restraining her twins, while they were still in her womb,
required her to use the great machine now. She would have been surprised to
know just who in Earthgov shared her feelings.
************************
Sheridan and Ivanova were watching the ISN broadcast to see what the next
Earthgov lies would be. The newscaster was reporting on a Narn warship that
had been attacked and destroyed in an unprovoked action by forces known to be
under Babylon 5 military control. The video that followed showed a Whitestar
gunboat completely destroying a Narn cruiser with what looked to be a beam
type weapon. There were no fighters shown and the Narn cannon fire wasn't
present. A Minbari warship was visible in the background. The video stopped
and the newscaster was emphasizing the absence of any hostile actions on the
part of the Narn vessel.
Looks passed between Ivanova and Sheridan.
"Captain, that was the same video we have from our crews."
"Yes, and if we didn't know better we would believe it too. Since they
have shown theirs, we might as well show ours."
"You mean add it to our broadcast?"
"First we rerun their own transmission and then run ours and show how the
original was altered."
"I’ll get the technicians on it right away," and Susan left the captain’s
office.
Sheridan's comm. link buzzed. "Sheridan here," he said.
"Captain, Miss Sanderson just gave birth to a 3.5 kilogram girl. Both mother
and daughter are doing fine," said Dr. Franklin.
Sheridan's next thought was how Bester was going to react to having his lover
and his daughter on Babylon 5 during a firefight. His next thought after that
was that they would be evacuated to Epsilon III before the shooting began. He
intended for all the recovered telepaths to be evacuated before that time. He
hoped making Lyta go wasn't going to be a problem.
***************************
Chapter XXVI
Somewhere in Earthdome planners were discussing the implications of the
video that had been presented to the inner circle. The concerns expressed
were centered on gathering enough intelligence to formulate a plan to attack
Babylon 5 one more time. Intent was to destroy the space station. No attempt
at capturing it would be made. The edited video would serve as a pretext of
destroying an outlaw pirate base of operations. Since the capital ships could
generate their own jump points they would attack Babylon 5 from all directions
at once. It was decided to use almost everything except a small force which
would be left to guard Earth. The plan would mean a swift and decisively
fatal end to the station.
Aboard Babylon 5 the newly arrived telepaths found that they could use
their abilities. The word about past problems must have been exaggerated.
No one questioned their arrival or their movements. They were unaware that
everything they did, said, or thought was being monitored. Their own arrogance
was going to prove to be their worst enemy.
In Med-Lab 1 Captain Sheridan was saying to Lyta, "You think it’s a good
idea to let these psi cops run around unfettered?"
"Yes. They’re being constantly monitored," responded Lyta. "It was a
forgone conclusion that Clark would use the video of the Narn cruiser's
destruction as an excuse to attack Babylon 5 again. By letting the psi cops
do their thing, I’m able to establish links between them and my telepaths
that will enable us to learn their most closely guarded secrets. You didn't
think my people were here for shopping and games, did you?"
"Your people? Why do you refer to them that way?"
"I gave them their lives and sanity back. There were no strings attached.
They seem to feel a deep appreciation toward me for that. Think of how you feel
about Lorien. I left it up to them to go or stay. They chose to stay. They hate
President Clark and especially Psi Corps. They know they can go back home when
he and Psi Corps are gone."
"Have you developed an agenda that you haven't talked about?"
Flinching with the pain of a contraction she said, "Yes. I intend to help
you take down Clark and I intend to destroy Psi Corps. After we get rid of
Clark, I’ll begin my campaign against Psi Corps. I don't mean to do them physical
harm, but I will destroy their organization. They have almost destroyed our
planet and our way of life. They won't be given a second chance."
"How do you figure they almost destroyed the planet?"
"Captain, Paul, it's time for her to go to the delivery room," broke in
Dr. Abbot.
"Captain, the Vorlons were destroying everything that had been touched by
the Shadows. Do you really think they wouldn't have destroyed Earth?"
"I hadn't thought of it that way before. Your point is made. What’re your
telepaths going to do when they get back to Earth?"
As she was wheeled into the isolation room that had been temporarily
converted to a delivery room, she said, "All they want is to live their lives
without looking over their shoulders. They want what we all want. Just to be
left alone. None of them want anything to do with running the place."
"You would know it if they did."
*************************
The two psi cops had been aboard Babylon 5 for two weeks and had been wandering
around all open areas of the station. They had scanned hundreds of maintenance
personnel and what operations personnel they could find. Now, sitting at a small
cafe table in the Zocalo they were mentally comparing the results of their efforts.
They were not the only operatives here. The last month had been a major
intelligence effort.
{It's obvious they haven't had time to make any changes to the station,} noted
the leader.
{I don't see what the fuss is all about. This place won't last two hours in an
all out attack,} said his companion.
{I wouldn't make any hasty judgments. Sheridan has record of pulling lost
rabbits out of his hat,} cautioned the first.
{When he passed us last week I tried to scan him. All I got was zip. No shields,
there just wasn't anything there; that seems odd.}
{We haven't been able to scan any of the command staff since we’ve arrived
here.}
The leader ended the ‘conversation' saying, {We just report our findings.
Let the analysis boys make what they can of it. Besides our ship leaves in two
hours.}
The two finished their drinks and left. They had not noticed the two young
males watching them. They had not noticed them for any of the two weeks they
had been under observation. One of the men contemptuously thought at the other
one, {To think we were made to fear such as these.}
His partner shot back at him, {Don't think too badly of them, after all,
they’ve never had any experience with a ‘real' telepath before.} With that they
followed the psi cops until they boarded their ship and were gone. They lost
mental contact when the ship entered hyperspace.
****************************
Chapter XXVII
Months later in Earthdome, the strategy meeting had been in progress for
more than an hour. The analysis of the Babylon 5 situation was that the
whitestar vessel seen in the video presented earlier was most likely all
the rebels had. There was apparently no evidence of any of these weapons and
armor having been installed in Babylon 5 itself. The fact that none of the
telepaths could scan any of the command staff didn't seem to bother anyone
but the head of Psi Corps. He had stated his misgivings and sat down. The
generals and admirals weren't happy with the plan, but they agreed that to
allow Babylon 5 time to upgrade its systems would be an even greater mistake.
The decision was made to destroy Babylon 5 and the meeting broke up. There
were planning meetings and myriad details to attend to in preparation for the
coming assault.
In Psi Corps headquarters the meetings were in progress about how the
telepathic community could support the upcoming operations.
"I don't want any of our people in the attacking ships if it can be avoided,"
said the director. "We were not able to read the command staff. That leaves
too many unanswered questions in my mind."
"Sir, is there any theory about why we can't read them?" asked a younger man.
"Alfred, can you supply any thoughts on the issue?" asked the top cop.
"The last time I went to Babylon 5, I tried to scan the command staff at a
meeting I held with them. Lyta Alexander was there at Captain Sheridan's
insistence. I objected, but she stayed," said Bester. He was interrupted by
another young psi cop.
"Isn't she a rogue?"
"Yes," answered Bester.
"Why didn't you arrest her?" he continued.
"You don't go into a lion’s den and pull the male lion's whiskers if you
value your health. Babylon 5 is Sheridan's den," Bester answered again. "My
point is she is a P-5 and shouldn't have been of any consequence, but when I
attempted to scan the command staff she blocked me out. When I tried to scan
her, she damned near took my head off. That's why you can't scan the command
staff."
"Do you think it is possible that she is responsible for our people not
being able to function in close proximity to Babylon 5 in the recent past?"
asked the director.
"I would put credits on it and give good odds," replied Bester.
“Then I’m going to assume that the fact that we have operated unencumbered
recently wasn't an accident, but was probably planned," continued the director.
"Sir, I agree with you. That would mean that our forces are walking into
a trap. Sheridan wants this attack. He’ll destroy most of force's starships
and be able to claim self-defense," replied Bester.
"That's why we’re going to leave the remainder of our people onboard Babylon
5. Their removal would serve to alert Sheridan to when the attack is coming.
Let me emphasise, we must make sure that none of our people are on the attacking
ships if it can be avoided. This is a no-mercy attack and I believe none of
the attacking ships are likely to survive," responded the director. "Personally,
I believe the upgrades have already been installed. The lack of any information
about them being in progress is in itself suspect.”
"Sir," asked someone from the back of the room, "if this is a concern, why
is the plan proceeding?"
"Son, I voiced these misgivings in the staff meeting. The intelligence
analysis specialists argued that there was no real evidence to support my
views. President Clark wants this to happen; so, they tell him what he wants
to hear and the generals and admirals are his ‘yes' men," replied the director.
"Sir, is it true that the Minbari war cruisers have returned to Minbar due
to conflicts going on there?" the same man continued.
"Yes. The other races aligned with Babylon 5 have also withdrawn their
warships. The cargo and passenger ships are required to orbit the station at
a minimum of 50,000 kilometers. I truly believe these occurrences are
intended to maintain a killing zone around the station with minimum chance
of damaging friendly shipping. I can't really see any other reasonable
explanation," concluded the director.
After the meeting had been dismissed, the director took Bester aside and
said, "I understand Carolyn Sanderson was seen aboard Babylon 5."
Bester nodded, "I was shown a picture of a very pregnant woman that looked
like her, but there was no sign of the Shadow implants. If it was her, then
they have advanced their medical technology beyond anything here on Earth."
The director reflected on that last statement.
*****************************************
Chapter XXVIII
In another small conference room somewhere else in Earthdome, a meeting
was taking place between three generals and two admirals. They were discussing
their misgivings about the decision to attack Babylon 5. They reviewed the
videos of the Whitestar destroying the Narn Cruiser over and over again. One
general pointed out repeatedly that if this ship could get a firing solution
on a ship in real space while it was still in hyperspace, the inverse was
probably true.
"If they can target one way I am willing to bet my life that they can target
the other way. It means that when our ships exit hyperspace they’ll already be
under fire. It also means that to avoid this they will have to enter real space
much farther from Babylon 5 than was first thought. It’s going to be a slaughter,
ours," said the senior general present.
"We’ll have to make sure the forces under our control are left behind to
defend Earth. This may finally be the opportunity we need to bring the nonsense
of the last few years to an end," intoned one of the admirals. "I just wish it
wasn't going to cost so many lives."
"I don't believe any of the decisions and choices leading up to this were
ours to make. There was a figure in twentieth century Earth who ran amuck like
President Clark has. It was in Germany, his name was Adolph Hitler. He led his
nation to near-utter destruction. The stakes here are much higher," said the
other admiral.
"Sheridan is a master tactician. I’m glad I don't have to fight him,” said
the older general.
"Fear, general?" asked the senior admiral.
"No. Healthy respect. He has a record of getting out of tight spots and
besting superior forces. That alone would be enough to make me have second
thoughts about this mission, but it looks as if he may have superior forces.
To not be a little frightened of that prospect is pure stupidity," replied
the older man. "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid."
In Psi Corps headquarters Bester had met with the director and requested
that he be permitted to observe the coming fight. The director reflected on
the request. He could scan him, but Bester would know in an instant. Besides
Bester would play it close to his chest to maintain plausible deniability for
Psi Corps and his superior officers. "Where are you going to observe from?"
"Babylon 5. I’ll be safe," replied Bester.
"It's your funeral, Alfred, but good luck anyway."
Shaking his head, he watched Bester leave and couldn't help thinking that
there was a boy that definitely marched to a different drummer. Bester's
attitude made him feel pity for what force was going pay for this excursion.
The director had never met Captain Sheridan, but his record spoke of someone
to be reckoned with even if he wasn't a telepath. Telepathy wasn't everything.
It was a poor substitute for a really intelligent mind.
He had thought that putting Clark into the presidency was a mistake when
it had been done. The man had a god complex. His removal couldn't come too
soon. He knew that all wasn't right in the ranks and his lack of knowledge
about it bothered him. He had heard about the ‘allies'. He hadn't been brought
in on it. That bothered him even more. One or more of his fellow directors
wasn't what he appeared to be. After the political mess in Earthgov was
straightened out, he would give it his undivided attention.
***********************************
Chapter XXIX
When he arrived on Babylon 5, Bester was surprised that there wasn't anyone
waiting for him. In fact, he could have been anybody for all the attention he
received. When he had last talked to the director two weeks ago, he had felt
the twinge of regret the director had not outwardly expressed. He passed through
customs and proceeded toward the Zocalo. If observations were to be believed,
everything aboard the station was normal. He could hear the background buzz of
thoughts being given off by the people around him. There wasn't any fear. He
proceeded to the office of the station’s ‘official' telepath.
Entering the office he was greeted by a pretty young lady who asked what she
could do for him.
"I would like to see Mister Blaine, if it isn't an intrusion," said Bester
politely.
Paul Blaine opened the door as Bester made his request. "How may I help
you, Mr. Bester?" asked Blaine.
"You know me?" asked Bester.
"I have seen your picture before. What can I do for you?" Paul responded.
"I’m looking for Miss Carolyn Sanderson."
"I don't do missing persons. What you want is security. They’re just across
the hall, and yes, from your perspective I’m a blip; however, don't expect me
to cower."
"You scanned me!"
"Yes, what makes you think you are so special? You think you can do whatever
you want with blips. The game is over on that issue," responded Paul. "Don't
bother because you know you’re not sorry in the least."
Whatever he had been expecting, this wasn't it. This man had gone through his
blocks and he had not even been aware of it. He began to think that this whole
thing may have been engineered from Babylon 5. But how?
{Why don't you ask Lyta?} blasted in his mind. It had cut through his blocks
as if they weren't even there.
"I will," he replied in an even voice.
******************************
Crossing the hall he entered the security office and told the young officer
that he was trying to find Miss Carolyn Sanderson. He was given the information
about how to contact Lyta Blaine. Before he could leave security the comm. panel
buzzed. Captain Sheridan told the officer to send Mr. Bester to C&C. Bester left
security wondering at how things were different. He had come down in the world.
No escort and no drugs to suppress his telepathic abilities, he felt depressed.
He was unaware of the young man who remained just out of sight. He was being
watched, just not brazenly.
****************************
In Sheridan's office Bester was handed coffee and told to be seated. He sat
down and waited. "Captain, you found a way to remove the things in the telepaths
heads didn't you?" asked Bester.
"We did. What brings you to Babylon 5 at a time like this?" queried Sheridan.
"Time like what, Captain?"
"We’re going to be attacked very soon, Mr. Bester. This is not a safe place to
be, but you already know that. So why are you here? It’s a bad seat if you are l
ooking for a fireworks display."
"Captain, don't insult my intelligence. You have orchestrated this whole affair.
Only a fool like President Clark and his lackeys would believe otherwise."
"Mr. Bester, you give me too much credit. I had nothing to do with any
orchestration of anything. I don't have very much time for pleasantries, and
Lyta wants to see you in her quarters."
"Do you know why?"
"Yes, she needs a babysitter for her sons."
"Captain Sheridan, I have a picture of someone on the station who looks very
much like Carolyn. Is she on the station?" asked Bester.
"Yes, that is all I can tell you at this time."
Bester left C&C and proceeded to the quarters of Lyta Blaine. A young man
caught up with him and volunteered to show him the way. He agreed.
**************************************
Chapter XXX
Arriving in front of Lyta's quarters, Bester pushed the doorbell. The door
opened and Bester heard a female say, "Come on in." It was Lyta.
"Mr. Bester, I do believe you’re out of uniform. But I won't hold that against
you," said Lyta with a smile.
"Captain Sheridan said you wanted to see me. I’m not used to coming running
when a blip summons me," he said with some snideness.
"I see. We can change that if it will make you more sociable. Would you
prefer that?"
"You know how I feel about blips, Miss Alexander.”
"The name is Blaine and you know it. I think you need a lesson in humility."
"And I suppose you..." He never finished the sentence. He was on fire all
of his nerves were sending messages - unbelievable burning pain - from every
part of his body. He screamed for his life. It ended as abruptly as it had
started. With tears streaming down his face Bester pulled himself up from the
floor into the nearest chair. All he could manage was to look at Lyta with
unbridled fear.
"Do you want to start over and show some manners? Maybe you didn't get my
point," she said in a voice an emotionless voice.
He nodded, "I’ll start over."
"You were telling me about blips; maybe you will continue and enlighten me.
Feel free to say anything you want. Be prepared to pay the price for snide
remarks.”
"You wanted to see me. Why?" he asked.
"Some time ago you made a deal with the captain. Do you still consider it
valid?"
"My cooperation for his efforts to free Carolyn from the Shadow devices.
Yes. I still consider it valid. You know how badly I want her back."
"When is the attack supposed to start?"
[Straight to the point, do not pass GO, do not collect $200.00,] he thought
to himself. He answered without hesitation, "If they stick to the schedule,
three days from now. Give or take a few hours."
He had been as accurate as her data was. Well, it's about time to see what
he was really made of.
"You told the captain once that the telepath is the human of the future. Would
you explain what exactly what you meant? If you wish, send it telepathically."
He did.
"Would you be interested in something more challenging?" she asked.
"Such as?" he replied.
She sent it to him. His jaw dropped. "Can you handle that type of challenge?"
He knew she could scan him. He replied, "Just do a deep scan and see for
yourself."
Five minutes later she sat back and regarded him. "Bester, I hate to admit it,
but you surprise me, and that’s not easy."
He looked at her. "There is more isn't there?”
"Yes. Carolyn, please come in here?" asked Lyta.
Bester looked over at the door to the adjoining room and his eyes misted up.
"You got her back?"
"Hello, Alfred. Say hello to your daughter. Her name is Lyta Alfreda Sanderson.
She even looks like you," said Carolyn in a quiet controlled voice. She walked
over to him and handed him the baby. "I can read you, Alfred. You don't have to
try to hide your feelings from me."
"I’ll be in C&C if you need me. Can you handle the boys, too?"
"Yes, Linda is on her way over," replied Carolyn.
After Lyta left, Bester just sat holding the baby. He appeared to be in shock.
He didn't know what to think or ask first.
"Alfred, without Lyta, all of us would have died. As you saw in her mind, she
doesn't hate anymore, but this attack must be allowed to happen to ensure that
President Clark becomes history by his own hand. She abhors the loss of life, but
it can't be helped. She will stop it before all of the ships are destroyed."
"She can really do that?" he asked.
"That and much more."
*************************************
Chapter XXXI
Sheridan was having a meeting in his office with Lyta and Ivanova. The
discussion centered on the upcoming attack.
"Lyta, I would like to have you and your people evacuated to Epsilon III
before the firefight begins. They’re too valuable to risk. I would appreciate
it if you went with them," said Captain Sheridan.
"As you wish. We’ll start tonight," replied Lyta.
"Bester seems to think that this whole mess was orchestrated by us. I didn't
have anything to do with it. Did you?" he asked.
"Yes and no. I only used an opportunity what became available," she replied.
"Why?"
"The only way to get rid of President Clark is to let him put himself into a
position which leaves him no choice but to quit. The losses that force is going
to sustain in the impending fight will do just that. This fight was coming. It
will just come at the time and place of our choosing," she answered.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Would it have changed anything? Do you think I would have started the
wheels in motion if I felt we weren't ready? Could you have hidden the knowledge
without someone noticing something was amiss? Let me assure you, you couldn't have.
The knowledge would have influenced your decisions. You created a crucible to deal
with the Shadows and Vorlons. You weren't sure that it would work, but you did it
anyway when the opportunity arose. I have done the same. The difference is that
I’m rather sure of the outcome. There will be casualties. It can't be helped. I
am sorry for that."
He wanted to get angry with her. She had nerve doing this without consulting
with him. Come to think of it, Lorien had been the same way.
"I’m sorry, captain, this is the only way. You’ll understand in time."
He hoped so. It was too late to stop now.
"I’m going to take Bester with me. He’s important for my future plans."
Sheridan and Ivanova came to see Lyta off. They said good-byes. Lyta wished
them the best of luck. She didn't like leaving, but for things to play out, she
must not be here.
"Captain Sheridan, take care and good luck," said Bester.
Realizing that Bester meant every word, "Mr. Bester, I promise to be here
to welcome you back."
The hatch of the shuttle closed, and Ivanova and the captain exited the
docking bay and headed toward C&C. The party would be starting sometime day
after tomorrow. Neither of them wanted this fight, but there was no way to avoid
it. Lyta still reminded Sheridan of his younger sister - starting things and
leaving him to finish them. Damn.
****************************
In the war room the representatives of his alliance were awaiting Sheridan's
arrival. They were anxious about this situation and they were getting very vocal
about it. Sheridan arrived and started to address them.
"Gentle beings, I know you have misgivings about what is coming. Since we
had you move your ships away from the station you have had nothing but
questions and our answers were not very comforting," said Sheridan with
confidence. "We have been aware for some time that President Clark has been
looking for any excuse to attack Babylon 5 again. The incident that was shown
on INS is precisely what he was looking for. We are prepared for the attack as
much as we can be. We have decided to evacuate you to your respective ships or
to Epsilon III if you wish. It isn't possible to evacuate everyone on the
station. We will evacuate as many beings as possible before the force ships
arrive. We will have about four hours notice before they arrive. We will continue
the evacuation until one hour before force arrives. If you have questions, ask
them. Those who wish may leave now to facilitate evacuation."
**********************************
Chapter XXXII
It was the morning when the assault on Babylon 5 was set to kick off. The
attacking force would arrive at Epsilon III about 1300 Babylon 5 time. President
Clark was pleased. His advisors had shown him and his staff how the data crystal
showing the Narn cruiser's destruction had been faked. There was no advanced
technology. The station was a ‘sitting duck'. President Clark had called this
meeting which included all his top military leaders except those who were on
their flagships. They had wanted to personally lead the attack. He thought that
was a bit melodramatic, but there shouldn't be any harm in it. They were getting
a tri-video feed from four monitor buoys that been surreptitiously inserted
into space around Babylon 5. The scene showed a continuous stream of shuttles
coming and going between the orbiting ships and the station. A smaller stream
of small ships was shuttling to the planet the station was orbiting. The large
ships had moved closer to the station to facilitate the passenger transfers. As
quickly as they were loaded, the ships departed through the local jumpgate. It
was 1100 hours. Two hours from now the station would be destroyed.
********************************
"Captain Drake, are you ready for the fireworks this afternoon?" asked Admiral
Groves.
"Yes sir. Ever since the Minbari ambassador and her ships intervened in our
assault on Babylon 5, I’ve been praying for a chance to finish the job," replied
Captain Blake.
"Well, son, we aren't here for an assault this time. No talking, just blow
her to hell and be done with it. Sheridan has been one pain in the ass."
"Yes sir, but he won't be after today. I understand there will be some aid
from other races. Is that true?" asked Drake.
"That is what we were briefed. They didn't say who they were; just gave us
descriptions of the ship types, so there wouldn't be any friendly fire
incidents," replied the admiral.
*************************
It was the morning after they had arrived on Epsilon III that Lyta took Alfred
and Paul into the planetarium. After taking seats in what appeared to be the
center of a large round domed room. Alfred and Paul noted that there was enough
spacing between the adjacent chairs to rotate each chair through 360+ degrees.
You could spin around like sitting on a barstool. The lights lowered until it was
pitch black inside the room. Alfred suddenly found himself sitting in what appeared
to be outer space somewhere above the planet and about 10 kilometers from Babylon 5.
"Lyta, just what is this?" asked Paul.
"It is a three dimensional tactical display. It is superior to anything
available anywhere else," answered Lyta.
"Lyta, I have seen the tri-vee displays in dome. This makes them look like
children’s drawings," replied Bester.
"Alfred, this display is what Earth may develop in several thousand years, but
I doubt they will. You’re seeing this in your head. If you think about it you can
move the point of view you are experiencing. Try it," said Lyta.
Sure enough as Bester thought of Babylon 5 from the viewpoint of the local
jumpgate his perspective changed to that view. He experimented for a few minutes
and was amazed at the results.
"You built this didn't you, Lyta?"
"No. I did the basic design and some of the more difficult detailed blueprints
and reviewed the final design drafts, but the actual work and final design work
were done by a team of Human and Minbari engineers and technicians," replied Lyta.
As she spoke there appeared a myriad of red dots around Babylon 5. They were
set at irregular intervals that extended away from the station to a distance of
about 50,000 kilometers. She explained that they were a special type of mine.
They don't register on sensors and they attach themselves to any ship not
included in their database. The lights came up. The demonstration was over.
"Can we watch the coming fight from here?" Asked Bester.
"Better than that, we’ll participate. No one on the station will be aware of
our efforts until it’s all over," answered Lyta.
********************************
Chapter XXXIII
“Captain,” said Ivanova, “if our sensors are correct the fleet will be here
in less than 15 minutes. Aren’t we going to launch the fighters?”
“Not unless the enemy closes to 500 kilometers,” replied the captain. “Lyta
said to let them get that close before launching and to restrict the fighters
to less than 500 kilometers. If she has something planned, I don’t want to screw
it up. Are all other ships outside the 100,000 kilometer limit?”
“Yes, none are closer than 150,000 kilometers. The station defenses are on
full automatic,” answered the commander.
“Sir, something is coming through the jumpgate,” said Lt. Corwin. “They’re
here. Sir, we have jump points being formed on all sides of the station. The
closest is 5,000 kilometers away. The exiting ships are coming straight at us.”
Coming through most of the jump points were force destroyers and their
fighters. There were unidentifiable ships and what appeared to be other fighters
coming through the remainder. The distances varied from 5,000-50,000 kilometers
from the station.
“Captain, they’re ignoring our hails. I don’t suppose we’re going to be
allowed to surrender, are we?” asked Ivanova.
“No Susan, that is not an option,” replied Sheridan.
“We’re supposed to just wait like a sitting duck?” asked Ivanova.
“Yes.”
“Captain we have incoming missiles equipped with nuclear warheads. They will
be here in less than six minutes,” announced Lt. Corwin.
Five long minutes passed. With the outside video cameras at maximum magnification,
it was just possible to identify the largest of the warheads.
“Captain, the defense grid is being activated. The system is tracking the
incoming missiles. The defense system has locked onto the missiles and has taken
them under fire,” said an enlisted woman manning a weapons console. “They are
one minute from impact.”
Even as the weapons console operator spoke what must have been the lead
missile seen on the monitors seemed to be breaking up into small gaseous particle
clouds that were dissipating along the tracks the missiles were following.
*******************************
Sitting in the display room on Epsilon III, Bester asked Lyta, {Why don’t the
mines you showed us appear in the main display?}
{They’ll show up when they’re activated,} she replied. The conversation was
not done verbally. It was a telepathic exchange.
{The missiles appear to be useless.}
{They are useless.}
{Is it true that not all the Shadow ships left with the Shadows?} queried
Bester.
{Yes. I am hoping they can’t pass up the opportunity to exact revenge,} answered
Lyta.
{Does Captain Sheridan know about them?}
{No. He would have had a heart attack if he knew.}
******************************
On board his ship Captain Drake said, “Admiral, our missiles didn’t make
it.”
As the various ships continued to close on Babylon, they opened fire with
their main batteries. Even at extreme range they should be able to affect her
defense grid. It appeared that hitting such a large slow moving target was too
easy. The energy beams were reaching the station. Strangely, there was no
responding counter battery fire.
“I wonder why she’s not returning any of our fire?” asked Captain Drake. “They
haven’t launched any fighters either.”
“Captain Drake, the fear of her weapons is apparently overblown. We’re still
well out of her targeting range,” replied the admiral. “Her main batteries are
limited to about 300 kilometers.”
******************************
“Captain, why haven’t our defenses returned their fire?” asked Lt. Corwin.
“I don’t know, Mr. Corwin. Commander contact Epsilon III. I want to talk
to Lyta,” said Sheridan in a calm voice. He was wondering what in hell was
going on here.
“Captain, I can’t get any response from Epsilon III. They apparently
aren’t listening,” replied Ivanova.
“How much damage have we suffered so far?” asked the captain.
“Sir, none of the fire has actually reached the station itself. It seems
that it is dissipating to somewhere, but instruments aren’t showing where
it’s going,” came a response from another console.
*******************************
“Activate the ten innermost layers of mines,” ordered Lyta.
Red dots appeared as close as five hundred kilometers from the station and
as far away as one thousand kilometers. The leading ships would be within these
layers of mines in less than a minute.
**********************
In C&C there was shock on the troops faces as one of the lead ships started
to expand into a gas cloud. Less than a minute later several ships started to
dissolve into gas clouds.
**********************
“Admiral, we have just lost three ships and the station hasn’t even fired
on us. I think we may be in some sort of minefield,” said Captain Drake with
a touch of concern in his voice.
“Have you scanned for anything that could be a mine?” asked the admiral.
“Yes, sir. There isn’t anything large enough to show up on our sensors, not
even small asteroids.”
********************
By this time the entire fleet was within 45,000 kilometers of Babylon 5.
Lyta ordered the outer layers of the minefield – the ones that were beyond
the outermost warships - to be activated.
In a respectful voice, Bester said, “Very good Lyta, they can’t go forward
or backward without hitting a mine.”
“I hope that when the force ships start to be destroyed in large numbers the
last of the Shadow battle cruisers will make their attack,” she replied.
Warships began to be destroyed all over the space around Babylon 5. The
station had still not used its main batteries. More than two hundred ships
and fighters had been destroyed. The force commanders were almost at the
panic stage.
“Activate the rest of the mines,” ordered Lyta.
There were now too many red dots to count shown on the display. It reminded
Bester of pictures he had seen of children’s disease called chickenpox.
The star field as seen from C&C through the outside video cameras was dotted
with many small and large gas clouds as major warships and their fighters were
destroyed by the mines. Without warning, the consoles indicated distortions
occurring in several places very close to the station. The weapons consoles
lit up like proverbial Christmas trees as the tracking systems detected and
locked onto the distortions. In the time it took the captain to comprehend
what was occurring, the station was being hit with Shadow slicer beams.
“Damn,” wondered Sheridan, “Where did they come from?”
Before he could finish the thought, the station’s main batteries had
already been answering the incoming fire. Babylon 5 shook under the impact
of the concentrated firepower. Almost as quickly as it began, it was over.
The Shadow battle cruisers were bits and pieces and gas clouds. The firefight
with them has lasted less than thirty seconds.
“Captain, Lyta’s calling,” said Ivanova.
“Sheridan here. Go ahead, Lyta.”
“Captain. Let them surrender or destroy them. It’s your call. If you wish,
I will destroy all of them.”
“Ivanova, tell the survivors we will accept their unconditional surrender.
Their officers will be held for trial on charges of treason against the Earth
Alliance constitution. There is a choice. Surrender or be destroyed.”
“Captain. There’s a Captain Drake calling for you,” said Ivanova.
“Captain, I have Admiral Groves; he wants to negotiate terms of surrender.”
“There is no negotiation. We have targeted your ships. We offer the same
terms you offered us. None.”
“Captain Sheridan, this is Admiral Groves; you do not have...” He never
finished the sentence. Where his ship had been there was now a spreading gas
cloud. There were no more arguments.
“Captain, it’s Lyta again,” said Ivanova.
“Yes, Lyta?”
“Captain, I need for you to come down here. There are some things we need
to discuss,” said Lyta.
Two days later Sheridan landed on Epsilon III. He was met by Lyta and Bester.
They escorted him below.
Lyta was saying, “I told you there would be things in your mind that you
wouldn’t understand. I’m going to correct that, so you won’t be confused by
those thoughts in the future. It will make life much easier for you.”
Sheridan arrived back on the station the next day. He knew that Lyta had
an agenda, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember what it was. Oh well,
he had plenty to keep him busy. They were communicating with the new
provisional Earth government. New elections were being scheduled and former
President Clark and his supports had been arrested. When the fall came, it
was swift. There was much to be done. Bester and his new wife and daughter
had accompanied him back to the station. Bester was returning to Earth to
help root out the remaining Shadow sympathizers. It was going to be a big
task, but he seemed to be genuinely looking forward to it. Sheridan couldn’t
help wondering when Bester had started coloring over the grey in his hair. It
made him look fifteen years younger.
**********************************
Chapter XXXIV
The director watched as Bester entered his office and waited to be asked
to take a seat. “Sit down Alfred and tell me about your trip,” said the
director. Pushing a button on his comm. panel he ordered coffee be sent in.
“I watched the attack on Babylon 5 from the conference room with Clark and
his supporters. Can you enlighten me about what really happened out there?”
“Yes sir I can, but I won’t at this time. Lyta would like to meet you.
She’ll be happy to explain everything,” replied Bester.
“She wants to meet me? Why?”
“Sir, I think it would be better if she does the explaining. It is
rather complicated.”
“Do you think there is any danger involved?” asked the director.
“Not from Lyta. She has something she wants to discuss with you, and I think
you will want to hear it.”
“Where does she want to meet me and when?”
“Here is just fine and now, if you have no objections,” answered Bester.
An aide that the director didn’t immediately recognize brought the coffee
in on a silver serving tray and sat it on the director’s desk. When the aide
didn’t leave the director asked, “Don’t you have duties somewhere else?”
“No sir, my business is here with you,” answered the aide.
“Mister director, meet Lyta Blaine, formerly Lyta Alexander,” said Bester.
The director looked at the aide again and sure enough it was a female, a
young redheaded female. “Mr. Director, I am pleased to meet you,“ she said
settling into a chair.
“Mrs. Blaine, I have heard many stories about you. Some are very impressive.”
“Mister Director, they are all gross exaggerations. People make up stories
to explain what they can’t readily understand. What I really came here for
was to determine if you would be interested in a project I’m undertaking. It
will involve telepaths who want to make a difference. I also want to assist
in removing the last remnants of the Shadow’s influence. There will be benefits
for you and your organization. Would you be interested?” asked Lyta.
“First, I need to know more about what you have planned. Then, if I like
it, we will proceed from there.”
Lyta projected an overview of her plans into the director’s mind. He just
looked at her. He liked what he saw. Here was a plan worthy of all his efforts.
The scope of it was staggering, but he wanted to be part of it. “I’m impressed
Mrs. Blaine. I’m more than interested and I’m also interested in how you
managed to get here without being detected or detained?” said the Director.
“I will show you at another time. You’ll like it. Unless you’ve called
someone, we’re going to have trouble in about one minute,” said Lyta.
“I didn’t send for anyone and neither did Alfred.”
“They’re armed and they’re coming to kill you. We’ll wait for them here,”
she said.
“Do you really think that’s wise?”
“Yes. They’re going to kill one another,” said Lyta.
When he asked how she knew, she just shot him a withering look. Just then
the door was thrown open and four armed men rushed in with weapons at the ready.
With no hesitation they shot each other in the chest at point blank range. They
were dead before they hit the floor.
“Mr. Director, they just didn’t shoot one another. I forced them to,” said
Lyta. “I leave it to you to get rid of the bodies. I want you to make some excuse
to be unavailable for a couple of days. Let Alfred know when, and I will take it
from there.”
The director nodded assent and Lyta walked out of his office. The director
thought of one last question and rushed after her. When he got to the long
hallway, she had disappeared. Going back to his office he asked Bester where
she had gone. Bester said she was going back to Epsilon III.
**************************************
Chapter XXXV
2282 on Minbar:
Delenn sat holding John’s head in her lap. The tree provided a cool shade.
The smells were sublime and the clear sky was gorgeous. They had retired to
Minbar about six months ago. It would soon be twenty years since John had
returned from Z’ha’dum. If they had calculated correctly, he had only two
more weeks at most. The thoughts were tearing her apart. In a week or so she
would lose John. It wasn’t fair, David deserved better. If only Lyta had been
able to find a way to give John his life back. She hadn’t heard from Lyta in
almost eighteen years. Lyta had returned to Epsilon III and vanished. No one
had heard anything about her since. John often wondered about her. To make so
many contributions and then be gone.
An old Minbari was approaching her and John, he stopped and said “Good
afternoon. It’s a good day to be alive.”
They looked at the man. Neither recognized him. “Good afternoon,” they
responded in unison, and laughed.
The old gentleman said, “I have a message for you, It is very important.”
Delenn and John read the message; they hadn’t been planning to leave Minbar
again. The message changed that.
“I have been instructed to explain everything after we leave for your ship.
Come, we don’t have much time,” he continued.
*****************************
After they were seated in the shuttle, it took off under the control of the
autopilot and rose through the atmosphere toward the waiting Whitestar 25. The
old man got up out of his seat and motioned for Delenn and Sheridan to follow
him to the rear of the ship. He said, “I will show you the answers you
requested.” They walked through the aftermost part of the shuttle.
******************************
On board the Whitestar 25 the navigator was watching the approach of the
shuttle. It was about 20 kilometers away and he could see only the navigation
lights. Ship’s sensors were tracking her at a distance of slightly less than
20 kilometers when the shuttle exploded. Sensors showed no pieces larger than
a small breadbox where the shuttle had been a microsecond before.
The authorities examined the data crystals from Whitestar 25. There had
apparently been a tremendous spike in the shuttle engines’ power output that
had caused catastrophic engine failure resulting in the explosion that destroyed
it. One microsecond it was there, the next it was little pieces. If it had not
been for Whitestar sensors being as advanced as they were, the cause might have
never been discovered because the flight recorder was never found. Small pieces
of what may have been it were all that were ever recovered.
The investigators determined that a finding of death by accident for John
Sheridan, Delenn of the family Mir, and an unidentified Minbari of advanced
age was in order. An engine malfunction had resulted in a fatal explosion.
The recovered DNA fragments had been identified as those of John Sheridan and
Delenn of the family Mir. The DNA of the elderly Minbari male could not be
positively identified beyond his sex and age.
*****************************
On Earth Susan Ivanova, now the most senior admiral in Earthforce attended
a formal funeral for her old friends. There were eulogies galore. On board
Babylon 5 and on Minbar there were services to pay respects to a couple who
had made many sacrifices to see peace in their time. The fact that the space
station was still there and fulfilling its original functions attested to
their efforts.
Ivanova left the funeral services thinking of John and Delenn and a part
of their legacy. There was now a population on Epsilon III; the planet was
becoming a crossroads itself. Immigration to the planet was forbidden. But
much trade passed between it and Babylon 5. Her real regrets were that poor
Lyta had never been able to see it come about. Her disappearance under
mysterious circumstances still bothered the admiral. It was as if she had
never existed. Draal had been unable to supply any answers. The loss of close
friends always left the heart hurting.
*********************************
Chapter XXXVI
Ivanova was in bed again. The pain in her joints was almost unbearable
these last few months. She had just celebrated her birthday last week. She
now had the dubious honor of being the oldest human being ever to live on
Earth according to all available documentation. She was one hundred and
seventy-five years old. She felt twice that age today.
She had been under a nurse’s care for the last ten years. They had not been
easy years for her nurse. She had not been a good patient. The nurse’s patience
and concern for her patient was something to behold. She was apparently totally
dedicated to the old admiral. Her nurse had brought her supper and she had
eaten sparingly. She thought to herself that if all life had left for her was
more of the pain she was experiencing, she would be better off dead. Her close
friends had been dead for more than a century. She had never been blessed with
children and watching those of John, Delenn, Steven, Michael and Marcus grow up
and have children of their own had been painful. What hurt even more was
realizing that almost all of those children were already dead.
She was almost asleep and her nurse was getting up to leave for her room
when there was a light knock. There was a hooded figure standing in the
doorway. She heard the stranger tell her nurse, “It’s time to go.” The voice
was very soft.
The nurse came to Susan’s bed and said “We must leave now.” We don’t have
much time. Susan let the nurse help her get up and put on a robe.
The stranger stepped close and took one of Susan’s hands in hers. She said
to the nurse, “We have less time than I thought.” Susan felt a warm glow all
over. The pain wasn’t as bad as before. She was helped out of her bedroom and
down a dimly lighted corridor. The glow felt so warm and comforting. She heard
someone say, “Hurry or we’re going to lose her.”
*****************************
The fire was a really bad one. The firemen had not been able to get it under
control. The bodies, what was left of them had been identified using DNA records.
Admiral Susan Ivanova and her personal nurse had perished in the fire. There
were funeral services being conducted on a number of planets in her honor. She
had been a great influence in the causes for peace and understanding amongst
the many races that called Earth a friend and ally. All her contemporaries were
already history. Governments and alliances had risen and fallen. She had seen
it all.
*********************************************
EPILOGUE
No one was there to see the tears or hear the muffled crying. She hated it
when the memories came back and they always did. Sometimes it would be ten
thousand years between the times. But they always came back. The friends she
had managed to get to in time John, Delenn, Ivanova, Draal, her husband Paul,
a few others, and even Bester. Good old Alfred. She had hated that son of a
bitch, once. He had turned out to be one of the best choices she had ever made.
It had really hurt when he died. But she couldn’t extend the life of others forever.
She didn’t know what forever meant. She had been able to give them more than a
thousand years of good useful life. But that had been more than a hundred
thousand years ago.
Her plans were humming along smoothly. It really paid to get good help.
There were still wars, there would always be wars. But one at a time, the races
were coming of age and learning real responsibility.
“Aunt Lyta,” asked the little redheaded girl, “will you help me with my
homework?”
“Yes dear. What are you working on?” Lyta inquired.
“We’re studying ancient history. Did you ever study history, Aunt Lyta?”
“Yes I did, sweetheart. I’m really good at history,” replied Lyta. She said
it with a small smile and a tear forming in her eye.
Somewhere far beyond the rim an Old First One smiled. A Vorlon and Shadow
agreed with Lorien; she was a good choice.
****************************
END PART 3
FINA
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