From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:35 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 17:06:02 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: I think I fixed it this time...FC Intro (take 3) Seems that I have one of those goofy mailers that reads a "dot" on a line of it's own as an "end of message" character. So I try the into for _Forced Confrontation_ again... Take 3 (Oh, and is it my server or is the net-at-large playing jeopardy with the parts of this story? So far I've gotten parst 2 and 4 back, but not the others) ____________________________________________________________________________ ____Ok, Here it is again....Forced Confrontation The snow storm we're having has forced the agency I work for to close early :) So I got to cleaning off my hard drive and realized that FC needed like 2 more scenes to be complete. So I completed it and decided to send up the whole thing at once. I quit sending it before because I've gotten close to *no* feedback... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Tell me what you think! Good, bad or indifferent. Flames, however, will be ignored. This is the first multi-part story I've posted anywhere, and I'd really like to know what you thin of it. I'm at kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us Just a few things about the story. I owe a huge thanks to Trudy for helping me with this puppy. Especially with the characterization of Delenn. I don't know much about the physics of B5 travel, so if my timing seems silly, sorry, but it isn't crucial to the story so I didn't obsess over it. It's a character story. I tried to keep my personal biases about the characters out of it (there's a character I really can't stand who plays a large roll in this story and I tried to "be nice") but I think I might have gone 180 degrees the other way. The story was started about a year ago - after "A Race Through Dark Places" aired and it was originally supposed to take place after that episode. But then the Lumati snuck in so you can place it wherever you want between "aRtDP" and "Divided Loyalties". And of course the standard disclaimers: Sheridan, Garibaldi, Susan and Sophie Ivanova, Talia Winters, Lennier, Delenn and Babylon 5 are all the property of JMS, PTEN and Warner Brothers. They are used without permission but also without malice. The story and the other characters are mine, but will be transferred to JMS et. al if for some weird reason they should decide they want them. If anyone wants to put this on a web page or archive it somewhere - go for it, just keep my name on it. Ok, enough chatter...on to the story.... Kymberlee kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us KKARICKE@Delphi.com fax: 319.372.1839 http://aea16.k12.ia.us/ricke/kkar.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B-Fiver, Trekkie, X-Phile >"If I live through this job without and Monkeemaniac. < completely loosing my mind, it will be ***Author of "The > a miracle of Biblical proportions." Netpicker's Guide to the < -Cmdr. Susan Ivanova X-Files" Now on v6.0.1 on- >"Well, there goes my faith in the all-mighty" line or via e-mail requests < -Lt. David Corwin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:38 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 14:59:24 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 1/8 by: Kymberlee Part 1 "What a day," Commander Susan Ivanova muttered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yes sir", one of the techs answered from below her and to her left, "And it's only half over." Ivanova glared at her and said, "Did you *have* to remind me of that?" She glanced at the chronometer built into her console and decided that it was time for lunch. After stretching her back she turned to the technician that she had just been speaking to. "I'm going to get something to eat, you're in charge." She had stepped into the transport tube and ordered it to the Zocalo before she noticed that the tube already held Security Chief Michael Garibaldi. "Good morning, Commander." He smiled like a Cheshire cat. Ivanova didn't react immediately, still not used to her new rank. When she did reply she simply said, "No it isn't," without even looking at him. Garibaldi refused to be intimidated by either her rank or her dour attitude, that she would of course, contribute to her Russian heritage. "Looks like someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he remarked. "And exactly why are *you* in such a good mood this morning, Mr. Garibaldi?" she snapped. "Remember that tip we got yesterday about the little punk who was tapping into the EF links? It panned out. We caught him this morning. I was just on my way to inform the Captain." Ivanova raised an approving eyebrow, "Good." "Something tells me your day isn't going as well, " he prodded. Luckily he was saved from the explanation of her day when the tube topped and the doors opened. Ivanova stepped out and simply said, "You're right." ********** Captain John Sheridan flipped the data crystal over and over between his fingers. He had been given orders that he wasn't sure he would be able to carry out successfully. "This shouldn't be *that* difficult," he muttered out loud. "What shouldn't be?" Garibaldi asked as he stepped into the Captain's Office. "Garibaldi, how long have you been here?" Sheridan asked. "Long enough to know that, once again, the higher ups of Earth Force and/or the Earth Alliance have dumped another one of their problems on us," Garibaldi answered with a slight smirk. Sheridan sent him a look, asking how he figured that out. "That's how most days start out around here, right?" Sheridan lightened a little at the other man's attempt at poke fun of the situation. "You know the people around here pretty well, don't you Mr. Garibaldi?" "I like to think so. It makes my job easier." "Have you been following the reports on the 'nets about the Dwarbs?" Sheridan asked. Garibaldi blinked at the non-sequiter and said, "Little bits here and there. Why? What's up?" "This is the Dwarb situation, in a nutshell," Sheridan began and waved Garibaldi to a chair. As Garibaldi sat down he continued, "About three weeks ago a probe entered Minbari space. It was from a race who called themselves the Dwarbs and it informed the Minbari that they had just achieved unmanned, long range space travel and they were seeking contact with other worlds. Last week an Earth Alliance scout ship encountered another probe with the same message. The Narns claim to have received a probe as well, but we aren't quite sure if that's true. At any rate, the Earth Alliance felt that it would be best if first contact were made from Babylon 5, in order to keep everything on the up and up, so to speak. I've already talked to Ambassador Delenn; she says that the Minbari have agreed to a joint mission, as long as she goes along." Sheridan paused for a breath and leaned back in his chair. "We also learned from the recording on the probe that the Dwarbs are a very matriarchal society. Men, in their society, have about as many rights and as much status as women did on Earth in most countries during the eighteenth and nineteenth century, if that." Garibaldi shrugged, "I don't see why this is a problem. Delenn's female, after all, and you've been looking for an opportunity for Ivanova to spread her diplomatic wings. No problem." "That's the easy part. The hard part comes from the fact that first contact groups also must include a telepath. After the little disaster on Sifra IV, no on one wants to get duped by a group of hostile aliens again. Telepaths have generally been able to keep that from happening, by forcing everyone's cards onto the table." The light bulb went on. "And you're afraid of what's going to happen if you stick Ivanova and Talia Winters in a shuttle craft for an extended period of time," Garibaldi stated flatly. "I got this order from the president, himself. He looked at who we have here and he thinks that we have the perfect representatives right here on the station. And we do, until personalities start getting involved." Sheridan stood up and started pacing. "I know that they'll manage to avoid killing one another, at least until they're back here, but I don't think they can work together. Ivanova is just so damn hostile towards telepaths. She'll balk against anything Ms. Winters says just as a matter of course and her incredible hostility is certainly going to make it hard for Talia to get accurate readings on the Dwarbs." Garibaldi stood and straightened his uniform jacket. "Good luck, sir," he said and started for the door. As he reached the exit he turned and added, "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes." "Thanks." Sheridan called after him sarcastically. He tapped the crystal on the desk a few more times and then used it to activate his link. "Sheridan to Ivanova" "Yes sir?" her voice answered. He sighed. "I need to see you in my office." ********** Ivanova decided that she'd rather have lunch one of the restaurants than in the EF commissary. She sat down at a small table near the bar. A waiter came over and took her order and she turned her attention to the news broadcast on the monitor above the bar. They were showing a prerecorded clip of the President talking about the Dwarb situation. He was saying: "We now have all of the preliminary data we need to make contact with that culture. Since the Earth Alliance was not the only people contacted by the Dwarbs, I have turned this matter over to Captain John Sheridan of Babylon 5, to make this a truly universal action." She wondered briefly if the Captain was aware of this yet. Just then her lunch arrived and her link beeped at the same time. "Sheridan to Ivanova," it said. She rolled her eyes. This was definitely one of *those* days. "Yes sir?" "I need to see you in my office." ********** "You wanted to see me, sir." "Have a seat." He offered her a glass of orange juice, which she accepted. A small lunch beat no lunch. He crossed back to his seat behind his desk and before sitting down, he took a minute to really look at her. Her expression was that of mixed annoyance, fatigue and out and out anger. Her back and shoulders were so tense it hurt Sheridan just to look at them and she was sitting on the edge of the chair like she might bolt at any second. "Commander, is it my imagination or are you under a bit of stress lately?" "With all due respect sir, you don't want to know," she replied coolly. "Of course I do. If things have gotten so bad around here that-" he was cut off as she stood and started pacing around the room. "Sir, do you have any idea what's been going on in C&C today?" She was nearly yelling. "Well, no, I assumed that everything was under control. If it's been that bad, why didn't you contact me?" Sheridan was starting to become very curious about what could have been so bad up there to set his executive officer off so badly, but not be bad enough to require his attention. "Six Narn freighters showed up - armed - and extremely upset that we didn't have any information on a renegade ship. One of Londo Molari's relatives showed up in his own personal cruiser that he had his own personal modifications made on and wanted to dock immediately - we didn't know he was coming - Londo says it was an oversight on his part that we weren't informed. So we didn't have a place for him to dock, and he ended up screaming in my ear for an hour and a half until we could let him in. When we did, none of our standard equipment matched his ship! The Drazi have decided that they've played along with my "solution" to their problem for long enough and ended up starting a fight in the-" Sheridan cut her off with a wave of his hand. He smiled as sincerely as he could without actually laughing at her, "How would you like to spend a little time away from the station and all of...*that*?" Ivanova stopped pacing, "Sir?" "We have been given the opportunity to launch the first collective First Contact mission from Babylon 5." He paused to see if she would make the connection herself. When she just stared blankly at him he continued. "Have you heard of the Dwarbs?" "Yes sir, they've just recently started interstellar flight. They've contacted the Earth Alliance and the Minbari through probes. Right before you called me here I caught a news clip of the president saying that he had handed the task of first contact to you," she reported. Sheridan winced at the fact that it was on the news already. Even if he had wanted to, there was no backing out now. "Right, the probe message also made it clear that the society was very much female dominated. The president suggested that with you starting to expand your diplomatic talents and the Minbari representative to the station also being female, that we had the start of a great First Contact Team." He paused and studied the wall behind Ivanova's left shoulder. "Sir, if I may?" she started. He nodded. "What *aren't* you telling me?" "Commander, have you ever been involved in a first contact situation?" Sheridan asked trying to find a good way to break the news to her. "Yes sir. I'm sure you've seen the reports on the Soul Hunter incident, and there was the alien we found on the planet we're orbiting." He had already made it clear that he was assigning her to the FCT, why was he asking these things now? "Those were "accidental" First Contacts. Have you ever been on a team that was deliberately sent out to make first contact with an alien species?" Sheridan realized that he was stalling, putting off the inevitable. "No sir, up until about five weeks ago, I was considered about as diplomatic as a Nakaleen Feeder," she told him. In fact, she still wondered where he got this brilliant idea that she'd make a decent diplomat at all. Certainly neither her record or her co-workers would have suggested her for that line of work. Captain John Sheridan took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and explained, "On every First Contact Team there must be at least one diplomat, one Earth Force Officer and one telepath." She didn't react outwardly. She simply nodded and said, "Yes sir. After Sifra IV, Earth Alliance decided that telepaths would help to keep the talks honest." "Good. Then you'll co-operate with Ms. Winters on this mission." This was going too well, he thought to himself. Ivanova, for her part, seemed caught between reactions to that statement. Finally she said through tightly controlled anger, "Sir, I am an Earth Force officer. I don't let personal ... considerations... get in the way of my work." Ok, she isn't taking this as well as I originally thought. Too bad. She needs to get over this. "Fine then, the briefing on the situation will be tomorrow morning at 0800 hours. You'll depart from there." "Yes sir," she answered and turned to leave. "Ivanova," Sheridan called. She turned around. "Do I need to tell Ms. Winters to stay away from windows?" Sighing, she answered, "No sir." [Continued in Part 2] From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:40 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:00:39 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 2/8 by: Kymberlee Part 2 That night, after her shift had ended, Ivanova went for a drink. She had earned it. As she nursed it the news showed the clip of the president talking about the Dwarbs again. She threw back the rest of her drink and ordered another one. Garibaldi sat down next to her and asked, "Can I assume from that, that you've had a bad day?" "I didn't know what a bad day was until today, Mr. Garibaldi," she answered sipping her second drink. "Wanna talk about it?" he offered. "No," she said staring into her drink. "Maybe - I don't know what difference it'll make." "You might feel better," he tried. She just sighed and swirled her drink around in the glass. "Worried about the FCT tomorrow?" "Garibaldi, do I look like a diplomat to you? I've threatened to toss both the Narn and the Centauri ambassadors out an airlock. I tried to stop the Drazi fighting and ended up with a broken foot and would have gotten killed if it hadn't been for you. I can't even count the number of times I've either argued with or disobeyed a direct order!" She paused for a breath and Garibaldi interupted her. "That's why Delenn's going. Sure, you're representing Earth alliance, but what's so hard about that? These people are making friendly overtures and seeking contact. This should be a piece of cake, and it'll look great on your record." She mumbled something into her glass. "Say again," Garibaldi said. "I said, It won't matter what my record looks like if I get court-martialed for murder." "Hey, I know this is hard for you, but you really have to get over this. Avoid her as much as you can, but you have to learn to work with her and people like her. It's just a part of Earth Force." He hoped she wouldn't turn on him for saying that. Dammit, someone has to, he thought, she's been holding onto this too hard for too long. She finished her drink and stood up. "Easier said than done." She walked away, leaving Garibaldi to wonder what it would take to get her to realize that telepaths weren't all "bad". ******** The next morning at 0800, Ivanova showed up at Sheridan's office to find Talia Winters and Ambassador Delenn already waiting for the Captain. "Ambassador," she said by way of greeting. She gave Talia a cool glance and impersonal nod of acknowledgement. "Good morning, Commander," Talia said anyway. They sat silently for a short while. Ivanova was pointedly not looking at Talia Winters and Talia was alternately watching the floor and Ivanova. Both were clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Delenn watched them both with a combination of curiosity and amusement. After several strained moments Captain Sheridan walked in. "Good morning, ladies," he said as he sat down and shuffled through a few flimsies on his desk top. Finding the one he wanted, he handed it to Ivanova. "The ship has been pre-programed, but here's a copy of all of the co-ordinates - just in case..." "Encouraging," she muttered taking the flimsy. "Well, the one good thing about FCT briefings is that they're always...well, brief, because we don't know much," Sheridan began with a smile, "What we gathered from the probe is that the women have all the power in that society, men are treated as property, little more. "What we've gotten on their language has been entirely written. The probe transmitted a lot of pictures and symbols. We didn't get anything on their oral communication. The computers and the translation teams were able to crack the language, though, and the hand-held computers you've been issued are programed to translate written English into their written language and vice versa. So, even if you have to write back and forth the whole time, you should be able to communicate fairly easily. "They've just recently developed the ability to send an unmanned probe beyond their solar system, so this will almost undoubtedly, be their first contact with anyone from off their homeworld. According to the probe, their technology matched the level achieved on Earth at about the beginning of the 21st century. The say they are 'seeking otherworldly friends and an information exchange'." "Do we know who to contact once we arrive?" Ivanova asked. "No, they didn't tell us that." Sheridan paused trying to think of an accurate analogy to explain this situation. "Think of the probes we encountered as a slightly more advanced version of the Voyager probes sent out from Earth, in the last half for the 20th century. If an alien intelligence had encountered either of those probes, who would it have reported to? At that time the Earth was comprised of over 100 nations, each with it's own leader. Besides, when we sent out the Voyagers, we didn't expect a response for 25, 50, maybe even 100 years. We didn't even know who would be alive, let alone who would be in any kind of power. We don't know if this is a unified planet or not. That's the...fun...of First Contact missions." "I would suggest that we go to the planet and see what opportunities present themselves. Perhaps, once we arrive, there will be more information available to us," Ambassador Delenn said, speaking for the first time since Ivanova had arrived. "Sure, nothing like going into a situation just on this side of totally blind." Ivanova was becoming more and more convinced that this mission was doomed. "Just for once, Commander, try and show a little enthusiasm, and maybe just a hint of optimism," Sheridan said. He looked at each member of the team, "Dismissed and good luck." The FC Team stood up and filed out of the room. Ivanova was the last to pass the Captain, as she did he leaned over and whispered to her, "Behave yourself." [Continued in Part 3] From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:42 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:01:31 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 3/8 by: Kymberlee Part 3 "Okay, this is going to be about an eight hour trip in hyper-space. We'll leave hyper-space just outside their system and check out what kind of satellites they have in orbit before proceeding to the planet itself. So, get comfortable." Ivanova slid in behind the controls of the small cruiser and started the pre-launch checklist. Fifteen minutes later they were in hyper-space. Ivanova set the controls on automatic and leaned back to rest. Eight hours in hyper-space would get very boring very soon. Not being the type who could sit still for very long she dug into her travel bag and grabbed out her book. "What are you reading?" Talia asked trying to see over Ivanova's chair. Ivanova shook her head. I really don't want to talk to you, she thought toward the telepath. "Sorry, I was just making casual conversation. You said we were going to be stuck in here for a while." Talia said, sounding a little deflated. Ivanova slammed the book shut and spun around in her seat, shooting daggers at the other woman. "Whoa!" Talia yelled, putting her hands up before Ivanova could say anything. "I *don't* know what you were thinking. As a principle, telepaths don't read people's minds without invitation or court order. To be honest, I don't even know if I'd go into your mind *with* a court order. Your body language made it very clear that you didn't want to talk." She paused and studied Ivanova's face. Ivanova was regarding her very carefully, not moving or saying anything. "Look, I can't block out strong emotions no matter how hard I try. But I really don't want to know what's going on in everyone's minds. I'm not going to scan anyone." She said the last sentence very deliberately. "Uh huh," Ivanova whispered as she turned around to face the controls again, noticing as she did so that Delenn was watching the two of them curiously. Maybe I should apologize for that, she thought to herself. And then in a moment of irony, she thought to herself, If she can feel emotions, then she knows I'm sorry and I don't have to say it. Right? Right. ********** It was actually just under nine hours later when the controls beeped for attention. Ivanova leaned forward and tapped in a few commands and watched as a swirling blue jump point formed in front of them. Scanning the controls she said, "Well, here we are. Wherever that maybe." Delenn put down the hand-held unit she was studying to look out the main viewer. She saw a bright yellow star and could just barely make out two of the eight planets they had learned orbited the star. "Did the probe transmission include any details of what we are required to do now?" she asked. Ivanova was punching in more commands as she answered, "No, but the inhabited planet is supposed to be the 4th planet from the sun. We'll move into the system and take up an orbit around the 5th planet and see what kind of satellites are in orbit. We need to try and tap into the defense network, assuming they have one, and if possible, see if they have any kind of information relays we can scan to see if we can get a little more information on where to land and who to contact." It took them slightly under half an hour to assume an orbit around the gas giant that made the 5th planet of the system. Ivanova put them in a standard parking orbit and moved to the set of controls on her left. "I'm going to start scanning all known communication frequencies and old style radio and microwave frequencies. Ms. Winters, if you could watch these two monitors and let me know when anything shows up?" "Of course," Talia answered and moved to sit in front of the indicated screens. Ivanova started with standard communication frequencies. She had gotten all the way through with nothing showing up. She started on the radio signals next. "There! Back up just a little bit!" Ivanova responded almost immediately to Talia's announcement of success and stopped the automatic sweep. She manually backed it down a few frequencies. "Stop! We've got it." Talia frowned at the screen. "We have a picture, but again, there's no audio, just the visual." Delenn took the computer that had been trained to translate and inserted it into the port of the larger machine. A few lights came on and the strip across the bottom of the screen that had held information in the Dwarb's written language disappeared and came on again. This time it displayed the words in English. All three watched as information scrolled across the screen. After a few minutes of stunned silence Delenn said, "This would appear to be a news broadcast. This could be a most fortunate discovery. Historically, most cultures broadcast information about their leaders on a daily basis across news nets. Hopefully, we can find out who we should wish to contact." Ivanova and Talia were still watching the screen. They nodded, but remained silent. They watched the information and video about a person who seemed to be prominent entertainer scroll by and then saw the information they needed show up. "At Northern Capital today, announcement was made that space probes has been lost. Homing Signal no longer working. Perhaps it has encountered alien life already? Perhaps it has gotten lost and run into a star?" "Perhaps," Ivanova mumbled, "It's being dissected by Earth Force, just like every other alien thing we find." Delenn gave her a curious glance, "I have always wondered why humans have such a strong desire to take apart that which they know they cannot put back together." "Plain old curiosity, ambassador," Talia put in. "We want to know if it's a threat," Ivanova added, "Very little that is dead is a threat. We analyze it and then spend the next ten years or so juggling the data around until we're sure we know what we're dealing with." They finished watching the news article. It gave a little bit more information about the government group that launched the space probe and about the space race between the northern and southern hemispheres. It ended by showing what looked like a middle aged native of the planet giving an explanation of possible ramifications of loosing contact with the probes. "Earth had a space race in the twentieth century," Ivanova told the others. "The Russians won, of course." "You may have put the first man in space, Commander, but it was the Americans who put the first man on the moon," Talia told her. "It's all a matter of perspective." Ivanova just rolled her eyes. I will NOT start an argument over this, she told herself. Even if I really want to. She turned back to the news report. Something about it didn't seem right. Something itched at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite place it. She started to mentally review the information in the report and scanned the screen. Before she could decide what the problem was a console beeped. Ivanova turned and read the report it showed her. "That's the scanner's report of the orbital inventory of the planet. On the good news side, nothing they have in orbit matches anything our computers can identify as a weapon. On the bad news side, they are capable of seeing us and transmitting that image to the planet." She wiped the report off the screen and had it pull up the map of the planet that had been sent on the probe. "Northern Capital is here," Ivanova said pointing to the screen. There are some woods, or a park of some sort about 1.2 kilometers from the city - assuming that this map is accurate." She leaned back to mentally calculate the size of the ship and how much space they would need to land it. "Well, if you ladies are ready, I would suggest we pay a visit to Northern Capital." [Continued in Part 4] From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:44 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:02:22 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 4/8 by: Kymberlee Part 4 "This seems a little too - I don't know - abrubt," Talia said tensely. Ivanova stretched her shoulders and replied, "I know. "Have you ever read any of the fiction written in the late 20th century about what the humans of that time thought about alien contact?" "MmHmm, most of the times the aliens ended up getting disected," Talia said. "Thank you for bringing that up." Ivanova rolled her eyes. "As I understand it, the Earth Force *sent* some radio messages, but they went unanswered. Of course, I don't know what they expected from a race that's still using radio waves and desn't have spoken language. So, it seemed that the only way to let them know we're here is to pay them a visit." "I believe I have found a news article on the leader of the people who sent the probe," Delenn interjected into their conversation. Ivanova and Talia Winters stepped back to the console where Delenn was still watching the news feed. The words scrolling across the screen were describing some economic deal struck between the northern and southern continents. Commander Ivanova started pacing the small cabin of the ship. "Something here just doesn't sit right." Delenn and Talia turned to watch her pace and listen to her think out loud. "They have radio style communication, but they don't seem to have spoken language or at least a way of transmitting it. And what's even weirder, I've seen nothing that looks like a name for anyone." "In Earth History weren't your people, at one time, able to send sound, but not images? Perhaps they simply have evolved their technology in the reverse order?" Delenn querried. Talia creased her forehead. "I'd be surprised if they could send a probe into space before they could transmit sound across their own planet." "We're going to need to go down there and check things out if we want to know anything. It's about midday at their 'Northern Capitol' so why don't we set down and see what they think of us. Ivanova moved over to the controls and waited for the others to be seated before sending the computer the landing directions and coordinates. ********** After settling down in a forest area Ivanova grabbed a satchel that had been prepared by Captain Sheridan. It had a small computer full of Earth History, translated into written Dwarb, some food and general medicine - for emergencies, and two chaged PPG's - for different kinds of emergencies. Ivanova grabbed out a hand held computer with the translation software and the map of the planet. Preliminary scans, followed by their own scans revealed that the atmosphere was very much like Earth's and very breathable. Ivanova opened the door and the three of them stepped out - the first non-Dwarbs to set foot on the land. "So far so good," Ivanova commented as they stepped out. Just as the words passed her lips, she felt a warm presence somewhere in her mind. Some curiosity, but no hostility. It was followed by a mental picture of her and her companions and the probe that the Earth Force intercepted. There was a sort of question to the images. There were no words or sounds. "What the HELL?" she demanded, "Don't these people realize that it's *rude* to intrude on someone's thoughts without permission?" The Dwarb closest to her recoiled as she sensed Susan's anger and fear. Talia found herself needing to explain the Dwarbs to Ivanova and Ivanova to the Dwarbs at the same time. Fortunately, Delenn stepped in, "Commander, telepathy is the natural form of communication for these people. They consider it no more rude than if you were to start speaking to someone of a non-telepathic race. They mean no harm." While the Commander tried to figure out exactly how Delenn had known that, Talia sent the attendant Dwarbs a message explaining that she and Ivanova were human and not all humans were telepaths. Shock and pity rang through Talia's mind. "Don't feel bad for her. For us, only one in 1000 people are telepathic, we've developed other ways to communicate," Talia 'told' them. Ivanova was distracted by watching Talia comunicate with the Dwarbs. Odd, she could 'hear' what the Dwarbs were 'saying' but she got nothing from Talia in response. She started to watch the clouds over head - it was the only thing she could think of to help control her temper. She was going to *kill* Sheridan! Talia was blinking dazedly as she continued to converse with the aliens. Ambassador Delenn, as usual, looked calm, with a hint of interest in her expression; nothing else. "I believe we should endeavor to communicate with these people, Commander," Delenn said, and Ivanova had to fight the urge to look around for Sinclair. came the query. The thought had a, well, flavor to it that Ivanova could only describe as female. "They can't hear us." Talia explained. "They don't have a sense of hearing." Ivanova gritted her teeth. "So now what do we do?" she inquired. "They can hear your thoughts," Talia said. When Ivanova glared at her she added, "You have to realize that they *can't help it*. It would be like sitting in a quiet room and having other people talk without having you hear them. You can't just shut off your hearing and they can't block out your thoughts." "They must have some need for privacy. I mean they can't just lead their lives as totally open books!" Ivanova was incredulous. "Sure they can," Talia told her. "Do not hold them to the same standards of 'normalcy' as you would for a non-telepathic race," Delenn added. The lead female began to explain how their telepathic society worked. As soon as Ivanova felt the woman enter her mind she immediately tried to block her out. "Stop!" Talia found herself growing frusterated. "They can't stop. They aren't malicious, surely you can tell that." The leader watched their interchange. As Ivanova struggled to control her desire to get as many jumps away from this planet as she could, the leader quickly interjected an image of them in a city and in a building that seemed roughly analogus to a hotel. With that, the leader turned around and started walking in the direction of the Northern Capitol. Talia and Ivanova, glaring at each other, fell in behind, and Delenn followed. [Continued in Part 5] From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:47 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:03:03 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 5/8 by: Kymberlee Part 5 They were led into a large one-story building. The leader led them into a lobby and asked them to wait while they announced the arrival of the aliens to the leader of the region. Ivanova paced the room, her hands clasped behind her back. "Well, what do you think?" Ivanova demanded, as the door to the suite of rooms they had been given shut behind her. "I don't know," Talia replied, and Ivanova found that she was gritting her teeth yet again. At this rate, she would have a terrible headache within an hour. The problem was, since these people *were* telepathic, they would have to rely on Talia to explain the cultural intricacies of telepathic communication. It wasn't that she didn't trust Talia, it was that...well... she just didn't trust *telepaths*. And to discover a whole race of them! She started to think about exactly what she was going to do to the Captain when she got back. "I mean, they're all telepaths - " "No, they are not," Delenn interrupted. The two human women turned to look at her. Delenn had been rather silent throughout the entire trip - something else seemed to have been occupying her attention. "What do you mean, Ambassador?" Talia asked. "They told me that they were all telepathic, and that's part of the reason they consider us to be civilized." That was it. "What do you mean, they told you?" Ivanova practically shouted. "When did they do this?" "During the walk back to the city," Talia replied. "The leader and I were just chatting about their society." "And the captain wonders why - " Ivanova began. "If you would listen to me?" Delenn said, interrupting again. Ivanova shot another glare at Talia, and then turned her attention back to the Minbari. "I was communicating with the male, through the computer," Delenn said, gesturing to the computer that the other two had forgotten she carried. "It appears that it is the females that are telepathic - the males can only receive, not project. It is for this reason that they are considered to be little more than animals. There are also some females without telepathy; they are treated as a deaf human would be. They require special adaptations to fit into society, but are still considered superior to males." Talia had finally come up with an appropriate analogy to explain things to the Commander. "Commander, have you done much studying about the electronic revolution of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries?" "Some, that's when humans started connecting computers and using them for communication and information," Susan told her. "When they first started using them for real time communication they had something known as relay chats. A group of people could all join one channel and use their keyboards to hold a converation. Their channel could be joined by anyone, but the only people who saw the conversation were those on that channel. Also, two people could form a spin-off channel and mark that as private, and no one else could see that conversation. "Dwarb telepathy is much like that. They can communicate with everyone in the vicinity, or create a private link with one person who is willing to reciprocate the link." "That's why I didn't hear your 'conversation' on the walk here." Ivanova realized. "She didn't want to aggravate you any further. They could tell you were uncomfortable with the situation and didn't want to create an enemy," Talia informed her. Ivanova sighed, "Great, so they're either in my mind or I'm in the dark. Perfect." Susan turned to Talia Winters who was looking out a large picture window. "I don't have a whole lot of choices do I?" Talia sighed and considered her wording. "They are curious about us, our peoples, cultures and forms of communication. They aren't looking to be invasive or...or upsetting." Ivanova resumed her pacing and after several long moments said to the room at large, "So," she paused, "How am I supposed to communicate with them, since I'm not a telepath?" Talia smiled at the apparent change of heart. "Well, unless you already have their attention, you'll have to tap them on the shoulder or something. Once they open the communication, they'll pick up on your surface thoughts - those thoughts that are in the 'front' of your mind." Ivanova just nodded. She was still uncertain about this whole thing, but she hated being useless, which meant she had to be able to communicate with these people. "Ok, but when we talk," she indicated the three of them by drawing a circle in the air between them, "at least when we aren't in their presence - let's keep it verbal, okay?" "Okay," Talia agreed. ********** Fifteen minutes later several large Dwarbs, males and females, came and escorted them into a large office. The female Dwarb behind the desk rose and bowed her head to each of the three in turn. There was a question in the air. Talia finally moved forward and told her that she would speak for the group, at least in the beginning. The female Dwarb nodded towards Susan and Talia told her telepathically, translating for the others with her voice, "She's a little skittish, but she's coming around." Commander Ivanova stepped up next to the human telepath, glared at her, but let the comment go. "Shouldn't we do introductions first or something?" "For all the good they'd do," Talia smiled. "They don't have names here. Their telepathy works by sending emotions, concepts and images. They just send an image of the person they're referring to." "Well, what am I supposed to do?" Ivanova interjected. "I can't just say 'that woman' everytime I want to refer to one of them." Feeling confident and in her element Talia just said, "You'll get used to doing it their way." "That's what the Lumati ambassador said," Ivanova muttered as she felt the impending sense of doom creep back over her. The woman behind the desk indicated to three chairs on their side of the desk and sat in her own chair behind it. The three visitors sat and Talia explained briefly that Susan and Delenn weren't telepaths, but could understand and communicate well enough if she initiated communication. The Commander and the Ambassador both blinked as they felt the communication channels open. Ivanova glanced around the room as she bacame aware of each person at the edge of her mind. the leader began, Ivanova waited for someone to say something. No one did. She felt that everyone was waiting for her. "Well, good, because we'd very much like to open up diplomatic relations with you and your people." Talia shook her head as she watched puzzlement cross the Dwarb leader's face and mind. The Commander wasn't likely to stop talking when communicating with this race, before the mission was over. Talia explained quickly and the leader nodded as amazement replaced the puzzlement. Suddenly the air was filled with thousand questions about their non-telepathic communication, culture, planet and people. Ivanova bolted up out of her chair, "Excuse me," she said as she pressed her hands to her temples and fled the room. "She's not used to this," Talia explained, "Perhaps if you could slow down your questions..." She sent an underlying message that told their host that she wasn't trying to be disrespectful. The Dwarb nodded at them again as Talia stood and moved to the door. She stepped into the lobby where she found Ivanova sitting on a small couch. "You alright?" Susan wasn't sure if she should glare or smile. Screwing on her most fatalistic expression, she replied, "What the hell was that?" "Curiosity." "Thank you," Ivanova said flatly. "Can she *not* do that again?" "I think so," Talia said indicated back to the office with one gloved hand. Susan blew out her breath in a puff of air, squared her shoulders and walked back in. As she took her chair she felt the leader re-include them in the circle of conversation. She and Delenn were obviously in the middle of a discussion. "Umm...ambassador? Exactly what have you been discussing in the short time I was...uh...out of the room?" Ivanova asked. "Telepathy is an amazingly efficent way of communicating, Commander," was Delenn's only response. "And you were communicating...what?" Ivanova pressed. "Culture, tradition, values...I have a deeper understanding of what these people are about from this past 5 minute conversation than I could have gained from 5 hours of verbal communication," was Delenn's answer. "I'd just as soon take the time," the Commander said *almost* under her breath. Delenn just smiled and Talia sighed. Their host inquired. Ivanova crossed her arms and dug the nails of one hand into the opposite arm to keep from flinching from the contact. Jeffery Sinclair had once said that he had to play diplomat, that didn't mean he had to like it. Of course, he had been trying to b.s. a pro-earther, and didn't mean it. Well, Ivanova thought to herself, I do mean it. This is *not* what I signed on to B5 for. Delenn accepted the dinner invitation for all three of them. Delenn stood and bowed, the Dwarb did the same. A few seconds later two male Dwarbs came to the door and gestured for the visitors to follow them. [Continued in Part 6] From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:50 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:03:38 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 6/8 _Forced Confrontation_ by: Kymberlee Part 6 They were lead down several hallways to a large suite. They entered the main room and could see four rooms adjoining it: two doors on the far wall, one on each side. There were three overstuffed couches forming a "U" in the center of the room, with a small table in the center. Two desks facing each other, against the left hand wall each had a computer terminal attached to it. Delenn bowed to their escorts and Susan barely caught herself from saying "Thank you" and bowed also. Talia sent a telepathic 'thank you' and moved across the room and sank into one of the couches. Commander Ivanova moved around the suite and stuck her head into each of the bedrooms. Satisfied that things seemed to be in order, she chose an overstuffed chair across from the couch Talia was sitting in and collapsed into it. "When did they say dinner would be?" she asked Talia. "Soon, they'll come get us." Delenn seated herself at one of the computer and began to look for a way to interface her hand held translation unit with their larger one. She was still trying various input methods when the lights in the room began to flash on and off several times. Ivanova jumped up, and took a defensive stance, unsure of what that meant. Talia stood and moved to the door, "It's alright," she said over her shoulder, "It's the door signal." "How do you know that?" Ivanova querried. Talia moved into the door's sensor area and watched as it opened, "I could feel the presence of a woman at the door, it was a logical conclusion." Came the telepathic invitation. Talia grinned and sent their thanks, verbally for the benefit of the her travelling ocmpanions, telepathically for their host. As they filed out behind their guest Ivanova paused next to Talia, "You're enjoying this, aren't you." "You wouldn't understand if I answered that, Commander," was Talia's only answer. ********** They were lead down a hall to a moderately sized room with a long table that was laden with food. The Leader of the Dwarbs was standing at the middle of one of the long sides. Delenn took long appreciative gazes at the cushions that covered the floor all around the low table and at the tapestries that covered the walls. The Dwarb leader indicated that they should sit across the table from her. Ivanova moved directly across from her and Talia moved to Ivanova's left and Delenn to her right. A female Dwarb moved through the doorway and sat across from Talia and the male that had escorted them to their quarters sat across from Delenn. The leader indicated for them all to sit down. Ivanova took her first good look around the room and noticed all the rich and varried colors used in the tapestries and pillows. Even the food was brightly colored and looked very appetizing. She was reminded of the Centauri celebration of life she had been witness to not long after she joined Babylon 5. She smiled to herself a little. She had gotten used to the boisterous Centauri, the blusterus Narn, the elusive Minbari and the...well...it was highly possible that the words to describe the Volrons hadn't been invented yet. Maybe she could get through this short mission. Ivanova was surprised to find that she was no longer jumping everytime she "heard" someone in her mind. She nodded to the Dwarb's assessment. This was from the second female. Talia heard the thought in her mind, but not with her ears and turned and stared openly at the commander. "You said I'd get used to this," was Ivanova's only comment. She drew a small medical analyzer from her pocket and began extracting small portions of various foods and running bioanalysis on them. As each food was analyzed, a series of amber lights would light until a green one lit up. Delenn and Talia watched to be sure each food passed the test. Almost everything did. A small dish with a green sauce of some sort only caused three of the four amber lights to light. "That'll make you pretty sick, best to stay clear of it." This was from Delenn. Delenn bowed her head, The three Dwarbs each took a plate of food, put some food on their plate and passed their plates to their left. Catching on, the three women also picked up a plate from the center, put small amounts of food on their plates and passed the serving plates to thier left. When all of the plates had made it all the way around the table Talia finally decided to ask, The leader's companion smiled and replied, Ivanova stiffled a laugh. She had figured that out. , the leader told them. She carefully paced her sending so that she wouldn't upset either of the non-telepaths. She sent images of artworks, sculptures and paintings and archatecture. She sent small parts of their version of plays. Delenn like the idea that the plays were not acted out on the stage, but the whole thing was acted out in the audience's mind. It removed the restriction of costumes, props and sets and allowed the actor to truely become their charater. She showed children in school. Boys and girls were separated due to their differing abilities, but they often played together and eventually had relationships and had children of their own. Different images of political leaders and major historical events were shown next. Ivanova was impressed with how little internal turmoil these people had in their histories. Maybe there was something to what Delenn and Talia had tried to explain the her about them living very openly and honestly. The leader asked. Ivanova looked down at her plate and noticed that while she had been "listening" to the Dwarb she had continued to eat. Now her plate was almost clean and she wondered if she even liked any of it. The Dwarbs picked up a plate and started the whole plate passing routine agian. Ivanova took a little more, just to see if she'd remember eating it, or if she'd like it. As they ate the Dwarbs explained what each food was, most of it was fruit and the visitors found most of it very good. Until Talia took a bite of something that resembled a prune. Her face screwed up and her mind reeled as she tried to politely figure out what to do with it. Ivanova laughed out loud, not bothering to hide the fact that she was enjoying the other woman's discomfort. The leader sent a message to Ivanova. At first Susan didn't understand. The image was that of a lemon and an underlying message of curiousity. After a second she understood the question and replied, she replied indicating the blackish fruit. Everyone watched Talia as she forced herself to swallow it. And laughed as they heard her make a mental note not to eat anymore of them. After a few more minutes of eating in silence the leader suggested, an image of the leader and of Delenn popped into everyone's mind, the word "your" was actually an image of Talia and Ivanova. Talia's face took on an air of concentration as she tried to think of what would best represent humans. Soon, everyone felt images of people, some of which the others from Babylon 5 knew, others they didn't - and with them a "concept" of the person, what they did, what kind of person they were, what they looked like...various scenes from entertainment vids and a few live plays Talia had seen...the Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel, Michaelangelo's David, some works by Andy Warhol and about a dozen pieces of more contemporary artwork. Talia then shifted from the artistic to daily life. Unfortunately Talia's perception of childhood and family all centered around the Psi-Corps. the leader asked Talia began to explain that telepathy wasn't the norm for humans and that telepaths need to find each other and help each other use their talents to the best of their abilities. As Talia told the Dwarbs about the Corps, everyone began to feel a very subtle change in the air around them. What had started out as a very jovial and relaxed atmosphere was starting to get charged with anger. "Commander?" Delenn asked, leaving the question open. Ivanova just shook her head. Talia continued her description of a loving group of people who took in children, not their own, fed clothed and loved them and made sure they had a place in the Universe. Ivanova interjected. Delenn could feel the tension of a long, bitter argument starting to surface. She didn't have a clue what to do about it, however. the second female asked. Ivanova's eyes darted between Talia and the Dwarbs, but before she could decide how or if to anwer, Talia explained the whole situation. The dam broke. Ivanova clamped down on the telepathic connection she shared with the group, trying to force them out of her mind. The argument; however, continued verbally. Almost word for word they repeated the argument they had had when trying to decide what they should do with Alisa Belden. If only Ivanova's mother had co-operated with the Corp...Yeah, like Jason Ironheart co-operated... Talia had finally had it. "You know, I've always wondered why you were so hostile towards the Corp...this goes deeper than the fact that your mother had to take the sleepers. You aren't *hiding* something are you Commander?" Ivanova was only a couple of inches taller than Winters, but she took full advantage of that fact as she stared the other woman down and said, very calmly, "Go to hell." With that she stood and left the banquet room and headed back to the rooms they had been given to clear head. She didn't even notice the irony in that phrase as she calmly strode out. ********** Delenn frowned slightly as she watched Commander Ivanova stride out. This was obviously a problem that had been building for some time. Talia projected. the second female repeated. the leader interjected. Delenn replied, with an image of Ivanova, Talia stared at the ambassador in surprise. She hadn't anticipated *anything* like this! the leader said. Delenn replied. Talia had the uncomfortable feeling that things were beginning to get completely out of hand. "Ambassador," she said aloud, "perhaps we had better see how Commander Ivanova is." the leader said. Delenn replied, bowing her head to the leader. The five of them stood up, and the leader sent an image of the male. she said. Delenn replied, bowing again, and then the two women followed the male Dwarb out. Ivanova wandered down the halls only making a few wrong turns as she went. She figured she was putting out a a fair amount of anger, because each time she passed a Dwarb they turned very quickly to look at her and then stode off as fast as they could in the opposidte direction. By the time she made it back to their suite the edge had worn off her anger and she figured that as long as she could stay clear of Ms. Winters for the evening, she'd be able to get on with the mission in the morning. She paced the central room in large circles several times before choosing one of the bedrooms, going in and shutting the door. "Think she'll even talk to me when we get back?" Talia asked Delenn as they followed their guide back. "Her anger is considerable, and it seems to cause her to act unpredictably...I do not know," Delenn relpied. "I was just trying to explain why she hates the Corps..." Delenn interjected, "Perhaps the problem stems from the fact, that it was not your story to tell." They walked a few more steps and Delenn added, "How would you feel if she had been the one to explain the Psi-Corp? Your bias is as strong as hers, but who is to say who's perception is right?" They were silent the rest of the way down the hall. When their guide indicated to the door, Talia sent a message of thanks and Delenn bowed. Talia let the thought slip that Minbari must have the flattest abdomens in the universe if they all bow as much as Delenn. She heard the male Dwarb snicker from down the hall as he sensed the thought. They entered the room and looked around at the unoccupied space. "She wouldn't have gone 'exploring' would she? I mean...we don't know what constitutes an off-limits area here..." Talia objected. She fell silent as Delenn indicated the closed door to the bedroom. "Oh." Delenn went back to trying to interface her computer with theirs and Talia sat down on one of the couches and rested her eyes. A few minutes later Ivanova emerged from the smaller room, she acknowledged Delenn's presence and walked to the door. "I'm going to go get out bags from the shuttle." "Commander," Delenn said as Ivanova moved out the door, "perhaps it would be best to ask if some of the Dwarbs could guide you. It is remarkably dark on this world at night." Still not really wanting to be near anyone Ivanova started to argue, but realized the wisdom of the ambassador's words. It wouldn't do her any good to go wandering around in the woods of a planet where she knew nothing of the predators. "Yeah, ok, I'll ask if they have someone they can send with me." And with that she left. "She won't even look at me," Talia complained when the door had shut again. "Perhaps she will feel better after getting some air," Delenn said as nuetrally as she could. [Continued in Part 7] kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us KKARICKE@Delphi.com fax: 319.372.1839 http://aea16.k12.ia.us/ricke/kkar.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B-Fiver, Trekkie, X-Phile >"If I live through this job without and Monkeemaniac. < completely loosing my mind, it will be ***Author of "The > a miracle of Biblical proportions." Netpicker's Guide to the < -Cmdr. Susan Ivanova X-Files" Now on v6.0.1 on- >"Well, there goes my faith in the all-mighty" line or via e-mail requests < -Lt. David Corwin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:52 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:04:48 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 7/8 by: Kymberlee Part 7 An hour and a half later Ivanova came back in with her own bag over one shoulder. She was followed by two Dwarbs, an armed female and a male who carried Talia's and Delenn's travel bags. The male set the bags on the low table and moved back to the door. Ivanova bowed to them and took her bag back into the room she had claimed earlier. Talia stood and moved from the computer she had been toying with to claim her bag. "Good Night, Ambassador." Talia took the closest bedroom, the one right next to the one Ivanova had chosen. Delenn had finally gotten her computer to form a very loose interlink with theDwarb computer and was engaged in a video presentation that was completely incomprehensible without the captioning, and she hadn't gotten that part to work yet. "Good Night Ms. Winters, perhaps we will start tomorrow on another foot." Talia laughed and politely explained, "The expression is 'get off on better footing' - and I hope so." As Talia's door closed, Ivanova's opened. "Ambassador, I meant to tell you, I called B5 to check in. The Captain sends his congratulations on a mission going so well. Good Night," she shut the door again. Delenn decided that it wasn't a good time to ask what the Commander had told the Captain, and what had been left out. ********** She was running. She had no idea where she was, but it was black and there was some sort of tunnel. Smoke or fog clouding her vision. People were laughing, but it was a sick sound. People were whispering, but she couldn't pick out one voice or discriminate any words. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew that she was running *to* something, not *from* something. She heard her mother calling her...she slowed down and looked around. Her mother was standing between to figures wearing comedy and tradgedy masks, "Mama?" Her mother looked at the two men, "Will it make the voices go away?" "It will make them sing like birds, Sophie," Comedy answered. "A shame you refused to co-operate," Tradgedy told her. She started moving towards her mother agian, "Don't let them do it, Mama. Don't let them do it!" Talia Winters was suddenly between her and her mother. "It is their duty. Do you know yours?" She put up her hand and the telepath vanished. Behind the swirl of smoke left behind she could see her mother, "Only one way out. Only one way," she was saying. A too familiar terror was rising in her throat. One of them men was giving her mother a sleeper shot. "MAMA!" She knew too well the result the sleepers would have on her mother eventually. If only she could stop her... Her mother's head lolled forward. "She'll be fine." Comedy was saying, "Now, do you hear the birds?" "A real gem," Tradgedy said. "Mama, it's me - Susan." She moved towards her remembering how confused and scared her mother would be right after the shots...then her mother looked up at her...with her own face. "Only one way out...only one way." A scream rose in her throat. ********** Delenn heard someone knocking on her door. She opened one eye. It was still dark outside the window, she wondered what was wrong. She opened the other eye, stood and moved to the door. "Ms. Winters?" "Ambassador...um...I'm really sorry, but..." she was looking around furitively. "Come in," Delenn said stepping aside and indicating to an over-stuffed chair in the corner of the bedroom. Talia sat. "I just had a very strange experience..." she looking everywhere but at Delenn, "I..." she paused and started again, "Telepaths generally let their defences down at night, while they are asleep. Sometimes this means picking up on a stray thought or something from people in the vicinity. Usually it doesn't mean much, it becomes incorporated in a dream or something." She took a deep breath and continued, choosing her words carefully. "But sometimes, especially if there are two telepaths in the same area, they can share a dream, either one picks up on the other's, or they intermingle - generally causing great confusion in the morning as they try and decipher a dream that was only half theirs." "And..." Delenn prompted. Talia stayed quiet. "Are you receiving the dreams of the Dwarbs nearby? As you said earlier, they cannot block their thoughts even when awake." Talia's head dropped and she stared at the floor, "I wish it were that simple." Delenn waited for her to clarify that statement. "It was the Commander's dream I was getting - it had to be - and it wasn't very pleasant. In fact, she was terrified. It's not unheard of for telepaths to pick up on the dreams of normals, especailly if they've had recient contact with their minds, but-" A scream split the night. "Perhaps I should go have a talk with the Commander," Delenn said nuetrally. ********** She sat bolt upright in her bed, breathing hard. One hand reached up and pulled her tangled hair out of her face. It took several long seconds to remember where she was, and she wasn't comforted when she did. She wanted to get as far away from this planet and it's telepathic inhabitants as she could. She was trying to calm her breathing when she heard knocking on her door, only then did she realize that she must have screamed aloud. "What?!" she softened her tone a little, "Come in." Delenn pushed open the door to the room, stepped in and closed the door again. "I'm sorry ambassador, it was just a nightmare. I'm sorry to wake you. I'm alright." Ivanova knew that her still-fast breathing, tangled hair and rumpled bed clothes belied her last words. "*Just* a nightmare?" Delenn replied still standing in the doorway of the dark room. Ivanova reached over and turned on the small bedside lamp. When the faint glow illuminated the room, Susan gestured to the chair next to the room's small table. Delenn crossed the small space and sat facing the clearly shaken EarthForce Commander. "Look...um....I've been having nightmares since I was about 17, when Ganya died. Granted, they aren't usually so bad that I wake up screaming, but..." she trailed off. "Ganya?" Delenn asked politely. "He was my brother. He died in the war. Mama killed herself a year later." Ivanova had no idea why she was telling the Minbari ambassador all this, but she found that once she had started talking, the words just tumbled out. "I don't know how much you know about human telepaths and Psi-Corps and all of that, but if the government finds out you are a telepath you either have to join the Corps, go to jail or take drugs to inhibit your telepathic ability. Most of the time the Corps finds out about telepaths as kids and they really don't have to make a choice. My mother kept it to herself and when they find out she already had a life of her own, a family, kids...so she had to go on the drugs. The drugs are horrible depressants and eventually my mother became terribly depressed because of them, and killed herself." Delenn sat patiently and listened. Nodding occasionally, but not saying anything. After a Susan stopped speaking Delenn asked, "And these nightmares, they are always the same?" "Mostly. Usually they start up whenever I have to deal with the Corp, or around my mother's yartzeit." "Yartzeit?" Delenn interupted quietly. "It's the Jewish tradition to honor those who have passed away. Each year on the anneversary of their death the loved ones of the person who died light candles and say prayers and visit the cemetary if they can. Mama's is in about two weeks." Ivanova realized that she was keeping the ambassador awake after a very long day and said, "Look, um, I'm sorry to wake you up and then go on like this, it's not your problem really." "Do you want to tell me about the dream?" Delenn asked ignoring Susan's last statement. Ivanova leaned back against the wall and sighed. She had never been one for venting, but perhaps talking would help. She sighed again and tossed a mental coin, and then began, "I'm in a dark tunnel running towards something. When I finally get there there are two men with my mother. It's the officers from the Psi-Corps. I can't see their faces, but I know that it's them. I try to warn her, but they give her the shot anyway. When I look at her face it's mine." Delenn waited until she was sure Susan was done describing her dream. "Among the Minbari, telepathy is a heriditary trait. Could it be that you are concerned that you inherited your mother's gifts." "Nothing like cutting to the heart of the matter," Ivanova muttered. "Was your mother a strong telepath?" Delenn asked, not quite changing the subject. "The Corps said she was a P4. I'm not quite sure what *exactly* that means, but Talia's a P5, so I guess it's strong enough. They said that most telepaths have telepathic children, so Mama sent me and Ganya away to school. She needed to keep us away from the Corps. I asked her a couple of times if I was a telepath, but she always said it was better if I didn't know." Delenn's face clearly showed her confusion, "Why wouldn't she want you to know something about yourself." "Because strong telepaths can pick up on emotions from across the room! If I were to start thinking about hiding the fact that I'm a telepath they'd know right away. This way, it's just a general sense of fear - and hate. Sort of a, 'what I don't know won't hurt me.'" Delenn nodded, "And that is why this mission bothers you so much. It is not what the Dwarbs will learn about you, but rather, what you might learn about yourself." Susan nodded, "Something like that. If Talia finds out...She's Corp! My life will be over." "You speak as if you already know that you *are* a telepath," Delenn interjected. "I've been very careful not to find out accidentaly. But sometimes, I can tell what someone is feeling. But that could just be perception, right? Tone of voice and body language can tell you that too, right?" Susan paused for a breath and realized that she had started to raise her voice, "Look at me. I'm nearly hysterical over something that might not even be true." She sucked in her breath and said, "I suppose if there was a safe way to find out... I want to know but...I can't exactly go to the Corps and ask one of them to tell me!" "I think I can understand," Delenn said, not knowing how to solve this delema. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Susan yawned. "Thank you Delenn. It's nice to know I have someone I can talk to. Someone who I know won't turn me into the Corp on mere suspicion." "I think you have more friends than you know," Delenn said as she stood and moved to the door. "You just need to let yourself see them. Good night. I hope you sleep well." "Thank you. I'm sorry I woke you, but I really appreciate the chance to talk." Delenn bowed slightly, "What is it that Mr. Garibaldi says? Any time?" Susan smiled as she pulled the blankets up around her chin, "Good Night." And when she fell asleep again, she slept soundly and didn't dream. [Concluded in Part 8] kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us KKARICKE@Delphi.com fax: 319.372.1839 http://aea16.k12.ia.us/ricke/kkar.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B-Fiver, Trekkie, X-Phile >"If I live through this job without and Monkeemaniac. < completely loosing my mind, it will be ***Author of "The > a miracle of Biblical proportions." Netpicker's Guide to the < -Cmdr. Susan Ivanova X-Files" Now on v6.0.1 on- >"Well, there goes my faith in the all-mighty" line or via e-mail requests < -Lt. David Corwin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From kricke@aea16.k12.ia.usSat Dec 9 03:12:54 1995 Date: Fri, 8 Dec 1995 15:06:00 -0600 From: Kymberlee Reply to: b5-creative@blob.best.net To: b5-creative@blob.best.net Subject: Forced Confrontation 8/8 by: Kymberlee Part 8 Ivanova opened the door from her bedroom and stumbled into the suite's central room, yawning. She *hated* mornings; but at least this time, it was the sun that had woken her, rather than a computer alarm. "Good morning, Commander," Ambassador Delenn said, looking up from the translation computer. "Morning," Ivanova mumbled. Delenn looked at her, she wondered if the Commander was feeling any better, but said nothing; which was probably just as well. Ivanova appreciated the ambassador talking to her last night, but really was *not* in the mood for the vague answers and questions within questions that was usually accompanied a conversation with the ambassador. Just then the door leading to the corridor opened, and Talia Winters came in, carrying a large tray. "Their leader had the kitchen prepare us some breakfast," she said, putting the tray on the table next to the computer. "I'm not sure what foods are all right for us, though." "Then why did you take it?" Ivanova demanded. She wasn't up to being diplomatic, either. It was too early for that. "Courtesy," Talia replied, with apparent calm. "Well, courtesy won't get us fed," Ivanova declared, starting to wake up. She picked up the satchel from where she had left it the evening before, opened it, and pulled out the tester they had used at dinner. She set about testing the foods on the breakfast tray. As she nodded at each thing that passed, Talia helped herself to a plateful of fruit and some sort of fried bread. Susan took a cup of juice and something that reminded her of yogurt. "What about you, Ambassador?" Ivanova asked. Delenn appeared to be engrossed by whatever was on the computer screen, but she looked up when Ivanova spoke. "No, thank you, Commander," she answered. "I have already eaten." Ivanova wondered when Delenn had gotten up and where she had gotten breakfast, but shrugged it off for the moment and turned to her own breakfast. "So, what are we supposed to do today?" she asked then. "When I picked up breakfast there was a message that the leader wants to take us on a tour of the city," Talia replied. "She wants us to get an impression of what their society is like before we start to talk about the actual mechanics of First Contact negotiations." "And that's it?" "I believe it to be a good idea," Delenn interjected. "There are certain places in this city that I wish to see." "Oh?" Ivanova asked, she and Talia both turning to look at the Minbari. "What places?" "I would be interested in seeing their religious places," the ambassador responded. "Yes, that's probably a good idea," Ivanova said thoughtfully. "It would certainly give us some insight into their culture." Talia's lips tightened, but she didn't say anything; just nodded. "Please extend our gratitude to the Dwarb leader, Ms. Winters." Delenn asked. "Of course, Ambassador," Talia replied. ********** Soon after breakfast the Dwarb leader and two assistants came by to collect them for the tour of the capital city. Ivanova let herself get thouroghly involved in the tour and by mid-day meal she had, again, stopped flinching at telepathic contact and had more or less forgiven Talia for the scene at dinner the previous night. The leader took them to a school, an art museum, a chemistry lab and a library. Ivanova was amazed at the lack of apparent security, police or other law enforcement. Susan had to admit that that would be an upside to telepathy. Knowing for certain who did what would seriously speed up the legal system. That night the leader invited them to dinner again. As they ate they discussed what they had seen that day and how they compared to simalar institutions on Earth and Minbar and their associated colonies. As the meal was winding down Ivanova addressed the leader, "We'll need to be leaving in the morning. Our mission was just to make primary contact with your people and see if you would be interested in a more elaborate relationship. We have people on both of our worlds," she indicated both her and Delenn, "who would be very excited to come out and study your culture. You would, of course, be more than welcome to either have people from your world visit our worlds, or we can send information to you here." the leader answered. "Great," Ivanova said smiling and looking as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "As soon as we get back, I'll talk to my government and we'll get things set in motion." The rest of dinner passed fairly quietly and that night equally so. Soon after dinner the three visitors retired to their rooms to rest after a long, but productive day. ********** The next morning they awoke to find a tray of food on the table of the center room. After eating they packed their things and prepared to leave. The leader walked with them to the shuttle. Talia bowed and projected, Although the thought was not projected Ivanova could read in Talia's expression, "And how many people who are paranoid of their *own* race, when someone is a little different." Perhaps she deserved that look, she thought to herself. Maybe it was time to re-evaluate her tendancy to lump all telepaths together and start to take them one at a time, just like she did with any other person. She bowed to the leader and thought towards her, She then turned and boarded the shuttle. Talia followed her. Delenn bowed to the Dwarb leader and joined her companions. As the door cycled shut the leader could barely "hear" Ivanova think to herself, ********** Ten hours later the shuttle landed in docking bay 9. After waiting for the bay to be repressurized, the three women climbed out of the shuttle. As they stepped down the stairs they saw that they were being greated by the Captain, Garibaldi and Lennier. "Well Commander, I trust everything went well?" He looked around taking in the shuttle and the three women. "Shuttle's in one piece, three people left, three came back - looks promising." Lennier was helping Delenn with her bag and Garibaldi was already hitting on Talia so Susan turned to the Captain and said in a low whisper, "With all due respect sir, if you ever do that to me again..." she trailed off not really sure how to finish the threat. "Pardon me?" he asked her, a little shocked at her tone, but even more shocked at her reaction. Ivanova hitched her bag up on her shoulder and started off towards her cabin. Sheridan followed, perplexed. "Ok, Commander - what *didn't* you tell me when you were checking in?" "It's a long story," she muttered, trying to decide if she was too tired to go into it all or too angry not to. "Well then, go home unpack and get a few hours rest. Report to my office in 3 hours for debriefing." "Yes sir." She sighed heading off in the direction of her quarters. ********** Slightly under three hours after landing Ivanova woke up from her nap and pulled on her uniform. Fifteen minutes later she was at the door to Sheridan's office. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and walked in. "You wanted me to report for debriefing, sir?" "Have a seat." Sheridan said waving her to a chair on the other side of the desk from him. She sat. "Now, before I toss you in the brig, you want to tell me what it was that I 'did to you'?" Sheridan said with a hint of a smile to remove any real threat from the comment. "You really didn't know did you?" she asked slightly stunned. "Know what?" Sheridan was starting to getting to get aggrivated now. "They're all telepaths! Every blasted one of them. Well, not all of them just the women, and the men aren't given much credit for much of anything since they aren't. And they can't stay out of your head!" She was up out of her chair and pacing now. Sheridan's jaw dropped and at the same time all kinds of oddities fell into place. No wonder they didn't have any kind of oral language on the probes. "But you seem to have made it through in one piece." "Yeah I suppose," Ivanova said dropping back into the chair. Not sure if he should broach the topic or not Sheridan took a deep breath and asked, "And Miss Winters? How did the two of you get along?" Ivanova shrugged. "Okay I suppose. There was one minor incident, but we got it worked out." She paused and then added, "A frightening thing occured to me on that planet, sir." "And what would that be?" Sheridan asked against his own better judgement. "I realized that Miss Winters and I could very probably be friends, if I'd let it happen." Sheridan smiled. He was really glad she was starting to see the person behind the badge. But he just couldn't resist one last barb, "Looks like it's time to check the temperature in hell." [End] Soooo...? What did you think? kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us kricke@aea16.k12.ia.us KKARICKE@Delphi.com fax: 319.372.1839 http://aea16.k12.ia.us/ricke/kkar.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ B-Fiver, Trekkie, X-Phile >"If I live through this job without and Monkeemaniac. < completely loosing my mind, it will be ***Author of "The > a miracle of Biblical proportions." Netpicker's Guide to the < -Cmdr. Susan Ivanova X-Files" Now on v6.0.1 on- >"Well, there goes my faith in the all-mighty" line or via e-mail requests < -Lt. David Corwin ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~