From morselya@xs1.simplex.nl Wed Dec 25 01:10:58 1996 Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1996 09:17:02 +0100 (MET) From: Lynne Ann Morse To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: first submission, oh boy! (One caveat: this piece of mine is quite lacking of the presense of ANY of the regular characters, it only takes place `in the B5 universe.') Creative fragment: LITTLE THINGS Disclaimers: Babylon 5 is copyright 1996 PTEN & Babylonian Productions. The work below is not intended to infringe on these copyrights. Most of the characters and situations belong to jms, and he can have them back anytime. No disrespect is intended towards any person, real or fictional. The girls began to sing. "Day is done, gone the sun,..." It was the closing song for their scout meeting. "From the lake, from the hill, from the sky...." While they were occupied with the song, Vonda Monroe worried. Before the meeting, two men from the Psi Corps had tried to come in. For testing, they said. But, in the past, they weren't so cavalier about testing. They followed clear procedures, and didn't regard groups like the Girl Scouts as handy reservoirs of test subjects. Since the death of President Santiago, though, the Corps had become ever more insistent that no one should escape their net. "All is well, safely rest,..." Vonda sighed. This feels like we're lying to them, singing how all is well. She looked across the circle to Maddy Taylor, the main leader of the troop. Maddy looked back and made a sympathetic nod. Vonda felt her face relax into a genuine smile. "...God is nigh." With the song's end, the girls scampered, collecting coats, school bags and large colorfully decorated papers -- that day's troop activity. Vonda saw the third leader, Helen Downs, go to the classroom door, to look through it and quickly return. She reported in a hushed tone, "Those Psi-Cops, they're still here." Vonda could see Maddy motioning toward her, a silencing gesture. But Vonda's temper got the better of her; "Dammit, this isn't right!" Helen replied in a brittle tone, "They're only here to test that new girl, Lillian." Vonda saw Lillian nearby, nervously shifting her feet and looking intensely at a classroom display illustrating Centauri- Earth friendship. She thought that Lillian would crawl beneath it, if she could. Vonda crossed over to where the child stood, and knelt down, to look on a level with Lillian's eyes. Vonda said to her, "As long as you're at a Girl Scout meeting, we won't let them do it." Vonda overheard Maddy speaking to Helen, in a hushed but angry tone. "Look, Girl Scouts includes *every* girl. We don't discriminate on any basis. And we don't give outside groups access!" Lillian looked up at them, to Vonda's dismay. Helen's only reaction was to stare back, tense and silent. Vonda felt acute embarrassment for the other adult leaders when she saw the other girls gawking at them. Then a childish voice cut through the tableau: Stephania, the troop clown, yelling in high-spirits, "Psi COPS! Psi COPS, just like on the VIDS!" Two men had entered the room. Vonda watched how Stephania and the others looked at them with fascination and excitement. Their ignorance protected them, she supposed: the visit from the strange men in black, with shiny pins, had not yet become a thing to fear for them. Vonda briefly prayed that Stephania's high spirits wouldn't involve accidentally pointing out Lillian. Vonda had been with Lillian for most of the meeting. Then, Vonda remembered, afterward Lillian had helped Stephania find nearly all the tokens of a game, which Helen had hidden in the room. Vonda frowned, realizing that the new girl was just trying to make friends, but if Lillian were a telepath, she'd slipped up, big-time. Belatedly, Vonda realized her ruminations could well have been overheard. She clamped down on an automatic guilty start, and looked around her again. The whole room was full of confusion, with Stephania's grandstanding providing a counterpoint. She couldn't contain her excitement, as the two Psi Cops entered the classroom, "They're here! They're here!" The rest of the troop screeched their own excitement, and Vonda spitefully hoped the two Psi Cops got a mindful of that. She'd heard somewhere that telepaths weren't very good with children, whose minds were noisy and chaotic. Then Vonda amended her spite somewhat, reflecting that she already found the troop a mindful, and she wasn't even a telepath. But if the girls' screeching reception caused the telepaths any discomfort, they hid it well. Maddy wasn't so strong, "Girls! QUIET!" Then she noticed the visitors. In a hard tone, she said, "Excuse me?" "Ah, Mrs. Taylor. We're here just to run a few tests." The Psi Cop looked around him, taking in the room and its occupants. "Some of the tests might even be considered games. And children like games, last we checked." Vonda nearly clicked her tongue in disapproval, seeing the Psi Cop's attempt to appeal past the adult troop volunteers and directly to the children. The other girls became quiet, working out what they just heard. They didn't have much time to think, though, because their parents started arriving. Moms and dads took one look at the scene, and hurriedly escorted their daughters away. Maddy said, utterly without inflection, "The meeting's over." The Psi Cop answered her, "Well, yes, Mrs. Taylor, the meeting is over now, I'm afraid. Your Mrs. Monroe wouldn't admit us to the room earlier." Vonda quickly began her own defense: "That's because we're here for the girls' sakes, Mr....?" "Ah. Pardon me for my lapse. I'm Mr. Birch, and this is Mr. Amato." Maddy nodded and said, "Hmm"; Helen was more polite, even pleasant, saying, "Pleased to meet you." But Vonda barrelled onward, "As I was saying, Mr. Birch, we're here for the girls." "Of course. And so are we..." "Well, you have plenty of other opportunities." Vonda pushed further, "We're not here to do your recruitment work; we ask what the girls would like to--" "What Mrs. Monroe means to say," Maddy jumped in desperately, "is if the girls ask for us to help them with learning more about telepathy, or other aspects of the Corps' work, we'd be more than happy to arrange a visit for you. Then you could explain what the Corps does. But any follow-up testing would have to go through the school." Mr. Amato gave her a measuring look, and Maddy's brief moment of inspiration evaporated. "How very diplomatic of you. But,... doesn't your Girl Scout Law say something about respecting authority?" Helen nodded, as if the Psi-Cop had voiced her own thoughts. Maddy blinked once, then spoke, "What message do we give our girls about their worth as human beings, if we give in to every demand made by an authority?" Vonda had never heard that kind of voice from Maddy before, and silently cheered her friend, thinking "Way to go!" Maddy's voice took on a more normal color, marked by a mild tremble, "Scouting is about teamwork, and I'm sure, like I said before, we can work this out." Meanwhile, Vonda saw Lillian approach, and she quietly asked the child, "Would you like someone to hold your hand?" The child's response was to offer a hand to the scout leader. Vonda took it and stood. She saw Mr. Birch staring Lillian with a peculiar intensity. The child quickly turned her head and hid her face between Vonda's sweater and her rust-colored, Mars Scouting uniform vest. Vonda wondered, as the hair on the back of her neck went up, if Birch was trying to telepathically scan the girl. Not that I'd ever know, she thought, but she still inwardly protested the invasion for Lillian's sake. Lillian spoke, oddly muffled with her face against Vonda's sweater, "He's staring *funny* at me! Make him stop!" Vonda could feel Lillian trembling. She put a hand on the girl's head. It certainly wouldn't block a scan, but Vonda could at least try and reassure her. She rejoined the conversation, hoping to draw the focus away from Lillian. She said to them, "Respecting authority, yes. But we don't set a good example by allowing others to overstep their authority." "Overstep?" "That's right. Your charter authorizes testing through institutions like schools. Girl Scouts is an extra-curricular activity. You need a specific authorization, from the school principal, to be even in the building after school-hours. And your testing is done only through the school: that's your charter. Unless you're testing the entire school, the warrant needs the name of the person you want to test." Vonda now felt the full force of Mr. Birch's attention. She noticed, distractedly, that Lillian had stopped trembling. She forced herself not to start in her turn. Mr. Birch said, "You seem to know rather much of our business, Mrs. Monroe." "It's a matter of public record, Mr. Birch. That's all." Mr. Amato joined in, "What else do you know, Mrs. Monroe?" All the women present took a sharp breath. Vonda swallowed, but then managed a calm reply, "You wouldn't be performing an unauthorized scan now, would you?" "Tsk, Mrs. Monroe," said Mr. Birch, "If you have nothing to hide, why worry?" "Get the proper authorization, and you will find out, legally, that I have nothing to hide." She realized belatedly that she had clamped her hand very hard on Lillian's, and she willed herself to relax her grip. She felt Lillian's fingers wriggle. "Please," Maddy said, "We would be happy to help you when we can. Go through the school; that's the way it's been done before. It's time for us to go, and get our children home for dinner." Her tone was desperate, as she tried to close off the conversation. Vonda resolved to rein herself in; Maddy was right, it was time to go on with the rest of their lives. Mr. Amato nodded his head, "Yes, of course. It's getting late." He looked at Lillian. Then Vonda saw him smiling at herself as she comforted the child. "Is that your little girl, Mrs. Monroe?" "I'm escorting Lillian to her father." She edited the family name out of her speech, merely to know for herself she tried to keep something back, tried to preserve some kind of trust. "Very well, then. The matter of testing is moot, anyway. A good evening to you, ... all." Mr. Amato and Mr. Birch turned to leave. Vonda rubbed her eyes, while Maddy heaved a huge sigh of relief. Vonda heard Maddy cross the room to Helen. The third troop volunteer was unpacking and pulling a Nightwatch armband up onto her arm. Maddy spoke to her, "You know we're not a political organization." Helen looked as if she were deciding which direction to jump. Then she said, "Psi Corps isn't political." Maddy looked dubious, but replied mildly, "You think so? After they endorsed Clark?" "Look, this was about testing." Vonda replied from the distance, "It was about harrasment." Helen's back straightened, "Just what are you saying? Are you accusing me of something?" "Accusing you? Why should I? The Office of Public Morale says everything is just peachy keen, so why do you want me to disagree?" Helen blushed fiercely, and opened her mouth for an angry reply. Then she appeared to reconsider, and left without even saying good-bye. The two women had collected their belongings when another man stepped into the room. "Daddy!" shrieked Lillian. She dropped her coat and bag, and ran to him. He knelt down to receive her. "Hey, what's this all about?" Maddy spoke, first, "Hello, Mr. Youens. I'm sorry, but there's been a problem." The leader and her volunteer took turns reporting the Psi Cops' visit. Mr. Youens was visibly shaken. Maddy finished, "I think we've established that they have to go through channels, even if they're inconvenienced." "Yes. Thank you, I'm..." Mr. Youens looked in the distance, suddenly sporting a fierce blush. Poor man, Vonda thought, he has no reason to be so embarrassed. But there it was. He probably thought he should have been there, to defend Lillian. Mr Youens went on, "I'm... sorry." He stopped, as if he couldn't say anymore. Vonda wondered what their home situation was, but could think of no polite way to ask. She wouldn't be surprised to learn at least one other family member was either in a Psi Corps relocation camp, or taking sleepers. Maddy broke the silence. "We're looking forward to seeing Lillian next week, Mr. Youens." "Thank you." A short pause, then he shrugged, saying, "Thank you" a last time. What else could he say, Vonda wondered, without spilling a whole tale of woe? He bade them a good evening, released his daughter and helped her pick up her things before turning to leave. "Please, Mr. Youens," Vonda spoke up, "Just one more thing. Be careful leaving the building. They might still waiting by the main door." He turned, and acknowleged her caution with a nod. Lillian waved as they walked away. Maddy said quietly to Vonda, "You should take your own advice." Vonda looked shocked at Maddy. "No, no, it's not what it sounds like. I really admire you for standing up the way you did. But you have to pick your battles. Those guys were serious!" "I know. But... what's important, and what isn't? All I could think of was that today, maybe they'd take away Lillian, or maybe by next month, the Psi Corps wouldn't have to visit anymore because we would be doing those tests for them." "You paranoid." Maddy took a joking tone, to lessen the sting of the name. "Sometimes," Vonda allowed. "But I just couldn't let this one slide. It's the only thing a little nobody like me can do. Their own rules, after all." Maddy made a rueful expression at her friend. "Just you be careful, okay? They backed down now, but..." Maddy shook her head. "Maybe they just didn't want an audience, but next time, I'd be careful." "Yeah, sure. See you next week?" "Until next week, then. I might still see you at the transport tube, if Megan gets out of play rehearsal fast enough." Vonda made her way down the corridor, almost listing to one side from inattention. Ack, it's like this after every meeting, she told herself, trying to minimize the effect of the Psi Cops' presence today. Twenty five energetic girls were a handful on any day. She walked past the main exit and took a hall past the cafeteria. She pushed open the door to the outside, and took a lungful of fresh air. Reasonably fresh air, the smog wasn't so bad today. She saw the two Psi Cops standing near-by. "Damn. Not them again." She continued walking, hoping that her manner would convey she would have nothing more to do with them. But Mr. Birch and Mr. Amato stepped directly in her path, and she had to stop before she actually ran into them. Mr. Birch spoke, "Mrs. Monroe. I'm afraid you'll find this inconvenient, but we have a warrant for your arrest. The charge is impeding a Psi Corps investigation." *** Author's afterward -- Right, this is my first submission to the list. You all have to thank Marion Ros, of the Netherlands, for this... we get together, she listens sympathetically to my current B5 universe-inspired fever-dream, and states, "You HAVE to write this down. AND THEN send it to the creative list." There, Marion, it's all your fault, and sooner or later, you will have a character named after you. Now, it's my sincere hope that these scenes, now that I've written them, NO LONGER come to bother me in the wee hours of the night. A bit of real world background is called for. This particular piece is proof positive that I'm watching WAY too much B5 -- I'm a volunteer for a Girl Scout troop. Recently, our troop welcomed a new arrival. She is a bit solitary, what you might mistake for shyness at first. Her family's moved around a lot. She's got long, long hair. Her name's Susan. I yell at my imagination, "STOP THAT!!" but in vain, as it takes this wonderful train of coincidence and begins creating.... Thanks all for listening! ***