From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1/2 of 1A(WIP) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 18:26:16 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1/2 of 1A(WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net It had been almost ten years since she had attended the family get together on earth at the embassy. Willa's husband had been killed in a freak boating accident. John had married Marsha and they now had three beautiful children, counting Lynn. John had confronted Marsha about Lynn and had learned the truth about her. It had taken him awhile to get over not being told when she was born. The Sheridan's now had three children two girls and a boy. Michael and Alfreda had two boys. Except for the Sheridan children, they all bore a strong resemblance to Lyta. Not surprising since they were her grandchildren. She had a son who was seven years younger than his sister. Fortunately her daughter had taken it upon herself to tutor her younger brother. He was a tremendously powerful telepath and not nearly as sedate as his sister. It was a constant effort to keep him out of mischief. Fortunately he did have his sister's fondness for other people, especially those less fortunate than he. He seemed to love everybody. Lyta had worked very hard over the last ten years to train the children. It was harder than expected because of their abilities. Her use of mundanes as teachers and mentors had been a departure from the Psi Corps philosophy of isolating the young telepaths and rearing them to be elitist. Forcing them to compete in class and sports with mundanes and not allowing them to use any of the advantages they had as telepaths and telekinetics taught them respect for others even though they were different. Lyta's charges blended in very well with any group they were part of. Restraint of their abilities had been a foremost part of their overall training. They had been monitored in classes to prevent cheating through the use of telepathy. Lyta was pleased with the results. She had telepaths that had no problems interacting with non telepaths. The children wanted to go on a shopping trip to Babylon 5. They hadn't been off planet in many years and they were sure that they could find things to buy there that weren't available on the planet. Sort of the grass is greener syndrome. She had decided to let them go and make it a field trip with a tour of the station. She would send them with Ralph Brown. He was liked and respected very much by all the children and they would behave to please him. Ralph was a mundane, but since he was their martial arts instructor, he would be keep them out of mischief. Lyta called her ambassador on Babylon 5 to arrange the tour. The captain would not be thrilled at having a group of young telepaths running around loose on her station. "Security. This is the captain." Hitting the accept button, the security chief answered, "yes ma'am. What can I do for you?" "We are going to have a group of school kids visiting the station tomorrow from Epsilon III. They requested a tour of the station as part of a field trip." Looking at her c.o., the chief asked, "is there anything special I should know about them? I mean are they outlaws or something?" "No chief, nothing like that. One of them is the daughter of Lyta Blaine. She is their prime minister, but that isn't what you need to be concerned about." "Just what should I be concerned with, captain?" "Remember about ten years ago, back on earth, they had three muggers killed by what was reported to be an escaped insane telekinetic teep? Well this Blaine girl and her mother were the targets. Psi Cors put out the explanation, but no one ever saw anyone else in the area." "You think her mother was the killer?" "The policeman that investigated believes the daughter did it. He said she was terrified and panicked. He said that the mother being who she is would probably only have crippled them. She has responded to attacks in that manner before. The way the bodies were totally mangled made him believe they were killed by someone totally out of control, like a frightened child." "So, your concern isn't for the kids, but for the station lowlife." "You got it in one chief." "I will assign two of my people to be with them constantly. When are they supposed to arrive?" "First shuttle in the morning. Oh chief, try to keep them away from the Psi Corps types we have onboard." "Thanks captain, love you too." The captain smiled but she was really concerned. Psi Corps types were pushy and there were several psi cops on board investigating a supposed rogue telepath problem. She just hoped they didn't take an interest in the children. She called Epsilon III's ambassador and told her about her concerns. The ambassador smiled and told her it wouldn't present any problem for them, if the psi cops didn't bother the children. She made it clear to the captain that the children could do real damage to the psi cops if provoked. That was just what the captain did not want to hear. Lyta had a long talk with the children who were telepaths and emphasized that they not use any of their talents while they were on Babylon 5. She made special note to Julie to not use her telekinetic abilities under any conditions. They would be accompanied by station security, Ambassador Martin and Alfreda. All the children acknowledged that they understood why they were being restricted. **************************************************************************** "Alright everybody," said Mr. Brown, "we stay together in a loose group. We will be escorted by station security. Since Julie is Mrs. Blaine's daughter , they don't want any incidents. I am informed that there are some psi cops onboard the station. We will try to steer clear of them." As Ralph finished talking , two security personnel came around the corner. One was female and one was male. Both appeared to be about forty years of age. The male security officer spoke, "good morning, I am Sergeant Powers and this my associate Sergeant Phillips. We will be your escorts for your tour." Phillips handed out sheets of paper to each member of the group. "This is an itinerary of the places we will be visiting. The open time between 1100 and 1300 is for shopping and lunch. If there are any questions feel free to ask either of us or anyone in the places we will be visiting." The troop trailed after the female security guard, the male brought up the rear. The two senior sergeants had been chosen for their maturity and because they had children about the ages of the students from Epsilon III. The tour included some of the lesser seen areas of the station, such as reclamation, power generation and waste processing. "We are getting the whole enchilada. I wonder about the regular tours?" asked Lynn. "There are no regular scheduled tours," said Mrs. Phillips. "Yours is the first school student tour ever done on Babylon 5." "Then why are we getting this one?" asked Lynn. "Let's just say you have influence in high places," remarked Sergeant Phillips. "Mom," remarked Julie. Powers gave her a thumbs up as an acknowledgment. Before the children realized it they were back in the Zocolo and it was almost 1100. They were met by a small contingent of security personnel and Phillips explained that each group of five would be escorted by at least one guard. This didn't seem to bother the kids at all. The telepaths arranged themselves so that they were evenly mixed with their mundane classmates. Lyta had made them promise before she arranged for the trip. She wanted all the students to be protected from the psi cops while on the station. The students would have done it anyway, without being told. None of them had any love for Psi Corps. "What are you buying, Lynn?" asked Maurice, one of the non telepath students. "Mom likes scarves and they have some exquisite ones in this shop." "Aren't they expensive?" "Yeah, but there is some room for bargaining with the owner." "How do you know?" "It's expected silly." Lynn gave it her best shot and bought the scarf for about half of the listed price. Her classmates watched and learned. They were having a good time and the shop owners made a fair profit. For not using their telepathic abilities the students were astute shoppers. They gathered in a cafe using several tables and ordered lunch. They hadn't noticed the two male psi cops at a table outside a cafe across the Zocolo. The psi cops had taken an interest in them. asked the younger male. answered the much older man. Just about that time Julie excused herself and got up. She intended to go to the restroom, when she felt the attempt to scan her. Across the Zocolo the older psi cop sent, His pardner grinned, Snapping her head around Julie glared across the Zocolo at the young psi cop. The older man saw her reaction and felt the pain his pardner was experiencing. His companion's eyes were rolled back in their sockets and he behaved as if he was having an epileptic fit. His mind felt like a complete blank. Across the Zocolo he watched the tall redhead turn and walk toward the restrooms. One of the security guards seeing the young man go into convulsions called medical and reported an emergency. Two of his fellow officers were moving toward the scene to render aid. Julie returned to her seat and received stares from her classmates. "What happened asked Lynn?" "He tried to scan me. I don't like it." "You did that?" asked one of her mundane classmates. Julie nodded. "Well, if I gotta walk down some dark alley, I want you to go with me," replied her friend. Several of her classmates nodded agreement with the last statement. Julie looked up to find Alfreda glaring at her. "You weren't supposed to do things like that." The med techs left with the young psi cop. His pardner approached Julie's table. "I want to offer apologies for my companion he was completely out of order. I don't know how or what you did to him. My only concern is will he recover?" "Yes. It is only painful. I didn't do any permanent damage, if you don't count his ego. He'll be okay in about an hour." "He begged for it. Maybe he learned something he won't forget." With the man nodded and left in the general direction of Medlab. "I am sorry Alfreda, I reacted instead of thinking." I am not used to having people try to scan me." "I will have to tell Lyta, but as long as there is no permanent damage." "With lunch and shopping behind them the group continued their tour. The last place they were scheduled to visit was Command and Control (C&C). it would prove to be the most interesting visit of the tour. ***************************************************************************** "How is he doctor?" asked the older psi cop. "He doesn't have any physical damage and except for being stimulated hs neural functions appear normal. Exactly what happened?" "I don't really know doc. One instant he was talking and the next he was having fits." The doctor was watching the monitoring devices and noticed that the neural stimulation seemed to have decreased just a bit. A few minutes later it was obvious that the stimulation was indeed decreasing. "From the readings I'd say things should return to normal in about an hour. I want to keep him under observation for an hour or so after that." "No problem doc. I'll check back later." With that the psi cop left. [I wonder what she did? I never saw anything like it in my life. Whatever it was, she is dangerous. I'd better let the boss know.] ****************************************************************************** The psi cop put through a call to his headquarters. "Interesting report Phil. Who was she.?" Asked his boss "I don't know. She is on station with a group of students from Epsilon III." His boss perked up. "Describe her to me." " She is maybe 16 years old, about 188 cm tall, weighs about 77 kg, flaming red hair and beautiful." "Can you get a picture of her?" "Yeah, but it will take a few hours." "Do it. I think I know who she might be, but it won't hurt to be positive." His boss closed the link. Phil headed toward the Zocolo. He bought a small single use disposable camera and took up a position near a wall that had a view of space outside the station. Waiting was something he had learned a long time ago. ****************************************************************************** "My name is Chita Murphy, Spanish mother and Irish father. I have a nasty temper and I like spicy food. I am also the commanding officer of Babylon 5. I want you to enjoy and remember your visit to the sation. You are free to look around ask any questions that come to mind. I ask only that you don't touch any of the console controls. There are three monitor/maintenance consoles that the operators will show you how to use. Feel free to push their buttons." As the students fanned out to various watch stations the captain looked at Alfreda. "Have we met somewhere before?" asked the captain. "No ma'am." "You look familiar somehow." "You may have met my father. I am told I look a lot like him," answered Alfreda. "Who is your father?" "Alfred Bester>" "Head of Psi Corps?" "Yes ma'am." "Are you with the corps?" "No ma'am. I used to be, but Mrs. Blaine offered me a job I couldn't refuse. However, for your curiosity, I used to be a psi cop." "Could I speak to you in my office?" Looking at her, Alfreda nodded and followed her to her office. "Mrs. Blaine, what happened in the Zocolo earlier today?" "A young psi cop tried to scan one of the students." "And?" "She didn't like it." "And?" "She let him know." "Which student?" "Julie Blaine, Lyta's daughter. The tall redhead. She didn't do any permanent damage." "How do you know?" "Captain, she could have fried his brains and broken every bone in his body. The fact that she didn't is indicative of her restraint. I detected the scan attempt, but she responded too quickly for me to intervene." "Could you control her physic abilities if it became necessary?" "No. She is too powerful. Only Lyta might be able to do that." "Might?" "Yes." It dawned on the captain that she had more than she bargained for on her hands. A telepath no one could control was unsettling. She dismissed Alfreda and called Medlab. "Doctor, how is the telepath doing?" "He is awake and appears to be just fine. We are keeping him here a few hours for observation." The captain closed the link and walked back out into C&C. She noted Julie Blaine looking out of the observation window. Tall, redhead and beautiful. She was a tall version of her mother. One of the controllers said, "we have a problem people. We have had a collision between two freighters." "Specify ensign," barked the captain. "We have had a collision less than four kilometers from the station and one of the ships is out of control and on a collision course with C&C. Captain we can't get a tractor beam on it and there isn't any ship near enough." The captain was issuing orders to evacuate C&C and to close the blast doors, when she heard Julie yell. "There isn't anyone aboard the ship. It wasn't an accident. It's a bomb." The blast doors had just begun to close when there as a brilliant flash of light. A minute later when the captain regained her vision as the spots slowly disappeared from in front of her eyes, she noted everyone was still standing and apparently okay except Julie. She was lying on the deck with blood running from her nose and the corners of her eyes. The captain called Medlab for an emergency team to C&C asap. The medics arrived within five minutes. Julie was still unconscious, but the bleeding had diminished. The medics checked her vital signs, wiped the blood, put her on a stretcher and headed for Medlab. "Captain, you need to look at the monitor records." "I guess we are lucky it went off before it hit us," said Captain Murphy." "Captain, it detonated less than two kilometers away. We should have been vaporized." "Explain." "Sensors before they went off line measured a blast equal to about 20 megatons of high explosives. It was a fair size thermonuclear blast." 'How much damage did we sustain?" "Almost none. The only damage was a couple of light sensitive sensors. They can be repaired according to the automated test equipment." "What happened to the other ship?" "It was about ten kilometers away when the bomb exploded. It was vaporized. There is some light emp (electromagnetic pulse) damage to several other freighters who are waiting their turn to dock. Most of the traffic was on the far side of the station and was shielded from the primary blast. The rest were far enough away to escape any direct damage." Turning to her watch commander, "Lt. Evans, I want all sensor logs and monitor camera records confiscated and put in a safe place. I want an investigative team assembled immediately. I don't believe this was any accident." "Yes, ma'am, captain." Looking around, the captain was not surprised that Alfreda and ambassador Martin wern't there anymore. The students and watchstanders were talking in low tones. It sounded like a hive of bees. ****************************************************************************** Talking into her comm panel, "enlighten me doctor. What happened to the Blaine girl?" "I can't say captain. Her adrenaline level is off the scale, her blood pressure must have been off the scale too. Her major arteries and veins are distended, her neurological readings are all over the place. I can't make heads or tails of it. What happened to her up there?" "If I knew doc, I wouldn't be asking you. Captain out." Speaking into her comm link, "lt. Evans come in here, please." Lt. Evans appeared in her doorway, "Yes, ma'am?" "Show me what the cameras saw." Stepping to the comm panel the lt. punched in some commands and he and the captain watched the explosion from a dozen vantage points. "Captain, we had a starfury and three maintenance robots damaged during the explosion." "How were they damaged?" "They ran into something." The captain's face was all question marks. "Look at the gun camera footage and sensor replay of the damaged starfury " The captain watched and saw nothing until the starfury impacted something that wasn't there and was deflected." "What did it hit?" "That's just it, ma'am, there is nothing there." "Lt. Evans, there had to be something there. Starfuries just don't bounce off of nothing." The captain's comm panel chirped for an incoming call. "Captain this is maintenance, we are sending the robot recorder to your office now." "Thank you. Captain out. Stick around lt. Maybe this recording will tell us something good." Ten minutes later a security officer delivered the recording. As they watched the robot's recording both stopped breathing for a full minute. The 'bot had been about twenty kilometers away toward the after part of the station. Its recording of the blast showed the energy being deflected by what looked like a shield around the station or at least in the area of the blast. The shield, if that is what it was, was not visible except where the blast impacted it. It didn't register on any sensors. It wasn't there, but it was." "What do you think, lt.?" "To be perfectly honest captain, it beats the hell out of me." Murphy nodded agreement. The comm panel chirped again and the captain dismissed the lt. "Accept call." The face of Lyta Blaine appeared to replace the Babcom logo. "What can I do for you Mrs. Blaine?" "I understand Julie has been injured. Explain to me how this happened in C&C." "Mrs. Blaine, do you know what just happened up here." "No, it's none of my business. What happened to Julie. You were supposed to look after them for this tour." "Mrs. Blaine, we had an incident up here. We are trying to determine what happened." She quickly explained what happened and that when she regained her sight, Julie was on the deck. She explained about her investigation and its results. She even showed Lyta the recordings made by the starfury pilot and the various maintenance robots. "According to our sensors we should have been vaporized. I am trying to learn what happened, but it is going to take time." "I am bringing a shuttle to pick up Julie. The other students can finish the tour. Captain, my apologies. Oh and captain, for what it's worth, I think the children were the targets." As if things weren't bad enough, that little bit of news made her start to worry even more. ***************************************************************************** In Medlab the doctor had just told the young psi cop he could go. He wandered past the room where Julie was being examined. He recognized her from the Zocolo. "What happen to her?" "None of your concern," replied one of the nurses. "You have no business here, so leave." His pardner beckoned for him to leave. As they walked away his pardner shot him a nasty look. The younger man fumed. He hated it when Phil was right. He had tried to scan her and the ensuing pain ought to be a sufficient reminder, but he was too stubborn for his own good. ****************************************************************************** Lyta blew through customs in a second and headed for the captain's office with the station's security chief trailing behind. The customs officer had alerted the captain. They arrived at the captain's office in record time. "Come in Mrs. Blaine." "You can call me Lyta, captain. This is not a cordiality visit. I want all the recordings that are available concerning your accident. You can either give them to me or I will take them, your choice. In return I am going to show you exactly what happened. Then I am going to put in blocks so you can't tell anyone else. Nothing short of a complete mindwipe will erase those blocks." 'I don't care who you are, you can't just come in here..." The captain found she couldn't finish her sentence. "Wrong, captain. I most certainly can." The captain sat down and glared at Lyta. She would be damned if this woman was going to tell her what she could and couldn't do on her own station. "Chief try to shoot me with your ppg," said Lyta in a flat voice. The chief looked at the captain who nodded to go ahead. Pointing his ppg at Lyta he fired, but the blast was harmlessly deflected into the wall before it came within a meter of Lyta. The captain and security chief stared open mouthed. "Now you know what happened and if you are not convinced I can reproduce the incident for you." "Julie put a telekinetic shield between us and the blast?" "Yes. I don't want that fact to be known publically. Let me show you what Whitestar 36 recorded." Lyta put the data crystal in the slot and replay began. It was very obvious that there had been a shield of some sort between the blast and the station. The fact that it didn't register on the Whitestar's sensors spoke volumes." "Mrs. Blaine. You have a deal. Do you have a plausible explanation we can report as a conclusion to the investigation I ordered?" "Yes. I have some experts with me who will rearrange the records to fit our explanation. They will also work with the pilot and make sure his memories are correct. He won't be harmed." "How will you put the blocks in place?" "I am going to do that now. Call Lt. Evans in, please." Thirty minutes later she was finished with the lt. and the security chief. "How do you feel chief?" "Just fine captain, any reason I shouldn't" "Well you and the lt. fell asleep during Lyta's presentation. That isn't very good manners." "No ma'am. I am sorry Mrs. Blaine." "Forget it fellows. It wasn't very interesting anyway." The chief and the lt. departed. "That's all there is to it?" "Yes." "When are you going to do me?' "You will be the last. I need your help getting everyone else taken care of first. You will remember everything. You just won't be able to tell anyone." Lyta could read her worry for her people. She didn't seem to worry about herself. She reminded her of John Sheridan. ****************************************************************************** Several hours later Lyta was finished, as much as she could be, with her part of the memory reconstruction. She had to cross the Zocolo and pass close to customs on her way to Medlab. She gave the people in the Zocolo a casual once over as she crossed. She hadn't really noticed the two psi cops sitting a café table adjacent to the customs area. She felt the stare and looked in its direction. it was then she noticed the psi cops. One was in his early forties and the younger one might have been very early twenties. She was astonished when the younger one tried to scan her. Phil looked in the direction indicated and his blood felt like it dropped its temperature about 30 degrees Celsius. It was a psi cop's nightmare. Lyta Alexander.> God he hoped she hadn't noticed them. If she knew about the scan attempt on her daughter, they would get their brains fried. From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 2/2 of 1A(WIP) Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 18:31:00 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 2/2 of 1A(WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net He was too late. His companion tried to scan her. His world went black. The next thing Phil would know was waking up in Medlab. As the two psi cops slid from their chairs, Lyta never slowed her pace as she continued in the direction of Medlab. A security man had seen the two men fall off their chairs and rushed over. He called Medlab for a medical team. The medical team arrived a few minutes later. The security man was questioning any witness he could corral, but none had seen anyone near the two. Being Psi cops in uniform they had been avoided by others around them. The medical team was passing to Medlab, "both are unconscious, one has broken arms and legs. We are transporting them now." In Medlab, Lyta was getting an update on Julies condition. It was not good. She would live. However, her mental condition was open to question. Lyta couldn't feel anything through their subconscious link, so she tried a very light scan. Julie's mind was completely closed. Lyta was worried. It must have taken everything she had to put a shield around the station. Personally Lyta wouldn't have believed it possible if she hadn't seen positive proof. She made arrangements for her doctors to take Julie home, for all the good it would do. A she was leaving Medlab, she noticed the doctors working on the two psi cops. She scanned the older man. He was unconscious, but otherwise unharmed. The younger one was not so fortunate. She had made a real mess out of him. She walked over and stood next to the older man. She reached into his mind and returned him to consciousness. He awoke with the galaxies worst headache and found himself looking up into the face of Lyta Alexander. He was all fear. She smiled at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to harm you. You will be okay in a few minutes." She reached into his mind and made the headache go away. "Your young friend won't learn, will he?" "No ma'am, I am afraid not. What do you intend to do." "I already fried part of his brain. I am going to make sure he never scans anyone else. When I get through he will effectively be a mundane." Phil just looked at her. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't doubt thet she could do it. It was the flat even way she said it. Like she was asking the time of day. This woman fairly radiated unbridled power. Lyta walked into the adjacent treatment room where the younger psi cop was being treated. She walked up to the table and rubbed her hands lightly over the mans arms and legs. The doctor objected. "Ma'am, you shouldn't be in here." "I understand." Five minutes later when Lyta left the room, the doctor was looking at the x-rays and couldn't see any outright breaks. There were some hairline fractures but nothing else. Lyta had scrambled the psi cops brain and put in so many blocks no one would ever see into it again. For all practical purposes he was now a mundane, but he would always remember what he had been as a psi cop. Lyta was approaching the immigration/customs area when she was intercepted by Captain Murphy. "Mrs. Blaine. I want to apologize again for what happened to Julie." "Captain, you have nothing to apologize for. Even if I had been standing next to you, things would have been the same. Sometimes things happen over which we have no control. This was one of those times." "Lyta, was the bomb really as big as the sensors indicated?" "No captain. It was much larger. It would have vaporized more than half the station and killed everyone on board." The captain just managed to keep her jaw from dropping. "When will you get around to 'fixing' me." "I might not even put blocks in your mind. It might be better to let someone discover the truth one day." The captain smiled, "whenever you are ready, Mrs. Blaine." Lyta acknowledged her statement and went through immigration. ****************************************************************************** MTC From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1B(WIP) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 22:18:19 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1B(WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net It had been almost four months since the incident on Babylon 5. Julie was still in an apparently self induced coma. Physically she was fine. Mentally no one had a clue. It was as if her mind just cut itself off from the world. Scans had revealed physical changes occuring in her brain. The doctors were mystified. It was hoped that this was part of a healing process, since initial scans had detected some physical damage to blood vessels throughout her brain. Her head hurt. It ached so badly that tears were starting to run down her cheeks. She tried her best to control it, but her success was limited. Everything was black, blacker than she had ever experienced before. She wasn't afraid, only severely confused and disoriented. She had been looking at the stars. Where was she? What had happened? [I must have fainted, but if I fainted???] The confusion only made her head hurt more. She attempted to enter one of the meditative states that Delenn had taught her class about. it was working after a fashion. Lyta was off world when Julie finally regained consciousness. Alfreda, Paul and Julie's little brother were there after being notified by the doctor. As Julie looked up at them, Alfreda in a no nonsense voice said, "Your mom wasn't pleased with you for breaking your promise." Paul interrupted, Julie projected an image of being inside a barrel bouncing down an endless hill. Looking behind her father she saw several of her classmates. She smiled at them. "Hi guys." Her friends stepped a little farther into the room, she noticed that her favorite best friend Harold was standing behind the others. She smiled at him. "Harold, you can come closer than that." Her friends gathered around her bed. Harold was standing closest to the head of the bed. He was smiling, but Julie could feel his concern for her. Without warning she reached out and took his hand in hers. She expressed shock at what she felt. The big lug was in love with her and was really distraught at her condition. She really liked Harold. He was the smartest person she ever knew, including her mother. He was also the nicest. Fortunately Harold was a mundane and didn't have a clue to her feelings toward him. She would have to talk to her mom about this, after all she wasn't quite sixteen yet and Harold was almost seventeen. Alfreda had noticed Julie's response to touching Harold. She wasn't surprised. Julie's class were at the age where their hormones were raging. She remembered her teens and felt sorry for them. She had never had to deal with it like they were going to have to. Psi Corps had shielded her from that. Oh, she had experienced the desires, she just never had any opportunity to act on them. Paul not being very empathic missed the significance of his daughters reactions. Later that afternoon Lyta came to visit Julie. Julie was hurt at the idea that she had let her mother down and Lyta was aware of it. Looking at the iv's that had been hooked up to her, Julie figured she had been hospitalized for more than a few days. Smiling at her daughter she left. Julie was almost overpowered by the relief she felt from her mother. Obviously she must have been hurt much worse than anyone was willing to admit. How and why were two questions that she kept coming up with blanks on. Odd, she had expected her mother to rag her out for breaking her promise. Her relief over Julie being okay probably made her forget about it for the moment, but she didn't really believe it. Harold came to visit again about an hour after her mother left. They had a really long talk about many things. She had kissed him on the cheek before he left. She was thrilled at his emotional response. She definitely had to ask mom about this. Harold and her other friends came to see her every day. They never knew how much she really appreciated it, but they were aware of being appreciated. Julie was released a week later with orders to keep increasing her exercises a little each day over the next few weeks. ****************************************************** Julie nodded. She remembered that night like it was yesterday. She nodded again. Julie looked surprised. Lyta played the data crystals and showed Julie what had happened the afternoon when she was in C&C. she asked slowly, Lyta said it like asking the price of eggs. Looking stunned, Julie replied, Julie was punished for the incident with the psi cop. The students must realize that total control was everything. The fact that she had permanently crippled the psi cop without actually killing him was after all a demonstration of control. The students never learned of what Julie had done in C&C, except Harold. That was something he would learn in the future. ****************************************************** inquired Lyta. It was disconcerting to Harold to keep hearing Mrs. Blaine in his mind. "Almost eighteen ma'am." "About three years ma'am, except for the last month, I didn't know I was working with you." Lyta had wanted it that way. She had been afraid Harold would have been intimidated if he had known who his real collaborator was. Intimidated people don't do their best work. Harold was a genius in half dozen disciplines. Those around him weren't aware of his real abilities. He kept that part of himself hidden from them. He was a nice young man. Lyta walked over to where Harold was working with the special equipment he had helped develop. He didn't know he had helped. He had supplied the equations and proofs that made it possible. She stood so close behind him he could feel the heat of her body. The male in Harold responded instantly. After a few minutes he was having trouble breathing. "Is everything alright, Harold." "Yes ma'am." Lyta could feel his emotions and sex drive playing hell with his concentration. He was trying his best to ignore her presence, but it was getting to be impossible. She was breathing on the back of his neck and he was beginning to sweat. He could smell her perfume. His heart was beating like a triphammer. [Jesus, this is Julie's mom. She is older than my mom.] [Does my closeness bother you Harold?] she knew it did and she liked the way he was trying to cope with it. Turning slowly to face her, Harold said, "I am sorry Mrs. Blaine. Your presence is driving me up a wall." Looking him in the eyes, Lyta said, "If you're a normal male and you are, it should. It's natural. It's how you handle it that counts. You have done so nicely, Harold." "Was this some kind of test?" "Yes and you passed." [Women, will I ever understand them?] [Maybe, Harold, maybe.] with that Lyta walked out of the lab. ****************************************************** Later that evening Lyta told Paul what she had done to Harold. He sputtered and demanded explanation. She gave it to him. Lyta and Paul were unaware that Julie had overheard their exchange. She liked Harold very much. She wasn't sure she really knew anything about love. It pleased her to hear her mother's real opinion of mundanes. Mom believed what she preached. Most don't. She enjoyed making Harold uncomfortable. All she had to do was stand really near so he could smell her and almost feel her body heat. With her empathic abilities to read his emotions, she knew exactly what effects she had on him. It was cruel in a way, but Harold never complained. When she thought about it, she could easily see herself with him. From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1C(WIP) Date: Fri, 28 Nov 1997 21:47:48 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1C(WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net It was Christmas, Julie was nineteen and Harold was almost twenty one and Julie had made up her mind. she was going to have Harold. It must be said that Harold had no idea what was coming. Julie had put up mistletoe all over the hall her parents' rented for a Christmas party. She wasn't leaving anything to chance. She and Harold had been going to shows and dinners with her parents for several years. Their relationship was sort of brother and sister, which was okay with Harold. The most that Julie had got from him was a kiss on the cheek, which was not what she wanted. asked Julie. Next day Julie ran into Delenn and John Sheridan, who were doing some last minute shopping. They were on planet for strategy meetings and since the holidays were here, they elected to stay and go to Lyta's Christmas party. These occasions only came along once in a decade or so. The Sheridans had not seen Julie since she was about ten years old. She had been a little skinny redheaded girl with freckles and pigtails. Now she was nothing short of a knockout. Tall, well proportioned, beautiful face and a killer smile. John's jaw had dropped. Delenn chided him. Julie responded smiling. She was pleased to have this effect on men, even old ones, but she would be more pleased if she had this effect on Harold. asked Delenn. Both of the Sheridans looked at her in disbelief. inquired John. She explained about her and Harold. The Sheridans were familiar with Harold and his work. He had grown up to be a big brawny guy with lots of brains. They could understand Julie's interest. [Not hardly,] thought both Sheridans to themselves. Giving her husband a dirty look, John was laughing to himself. Lyta was going to be frosted and Delenn could handle her better than he could. Julie and Delenn sat at a sidewalk cafe table eating lunch while Delenn told her about her parents. Mom was pretty high handed about the whole thing. She raped himand used her abilities to ravage him. Pure sweet mom. No wonder dad wouldn't tell me. I can see why she won't either. Miss goody two shoes, doesn't abuse her abilities, hell. She was pure predator.> Delenn was smiling at Julie's tirade. She couldn't hide her amusement. At the party, everyone was having a great time. Lyta had acquired many friends over the years and it looked like all of them were here. In one of the coatrooms Julie had cornered Harold under a sprig of mistletoe. They were alone and Harold was worried. His female companion seemed to always be trying to jockey him into compromising positions. It was all he could do to avoid them. This time he had made a mistake. She had him alone and he couldn't avoid her kissing him. He just knew her parents would kill him. Oh, they were nice enough, but they would never condone a mundane and their daughter ever being anything, but coworker friends. He was normal and she drove him to distraction. If she were a mundane he would have probably married her by now. The fact that he had never cultivated any relationship with any of the mundane females in his class never occurred to him. His mother had warned him to be extra careful around Julie. They were afraid of the repercussions from her parents if anything happened between them. Her mother could get his family kicked off the planet at a moment's notice. This fear had dictated Harold's lack of response to all of Julie's endeavors. Harold was fully aware that his usefulness to Lyta's programs was the only reason he was here tonight. He knew when his usefulness was over he would be dismissed. He had been born on Epsilon III and his parents had attained citizenship here, but that was only a piece of paper. His only trip off planet had been the student tour of Babylon 5. However, if his family was kicked off planet the only place they could go at the moment was earth. There was no escape. She had her arms around his neck and was standing on her tiptoes, she kissed him an open mouth kiss and at the same time projected her feelings of pleasure into his mind. Harold's knees buckled. Julie went down with him, never breaking lip contact. Her emotions were going haywire when Lyta walked in on them. "Julie! Get up off him." She could read her daughter's emotions and they shocked her. Harold's emotions were those of someone terrified for his life, pure fear. She sensed he had not been a willing participant. Delenn walked in behind Lyta. She seemed to be very amused at the whole thing. "What's so funny, Delenn!" "Nothing." This said in spite of her apparent amusement. Looking up She noticed that the youngsters were under a sprig of mistletoe. She pointed it out to Lyta, who wasn't amused. "I am sorry Mrs. Blaine, I let it get out of control," said Harold. Julie remained silent letting Harold take the blame for the situation. "Harold, you go back to the party." "Yes ma'am," replied Harold as he walked out of the coatroom. Delenn was not successfully choking back her laughter at the goings on. Lyta turned and asked, Delenn just waved her hand as she fought to keep her amusement under control. Julie wasn't saying anything. Her mom was pissed. She wasn't looking forward to going home tonight. Giving Delenn, who was still trying to keep her amusement under control, a nasty look, Lyta stormed out of the coatroom. Julie looked devastated. Delenn shaking her head turned and went back to the party. After Delenn left Julie sat down and thought about what she had just learned. Lyta was pissed at her for her actions, but she wasn't mad at Harold. She hadn't been angry at her kissing Harold, only that she had coerced him to do it by using telepathy to get past his reservations. Harold was scared to death of her mom. She couldn't understand why. He had been working for years with her and her mom and as far as she knew, her mom held Harold in the highest esteem. She was going to talk to his mother. Maybe she could shed some light on that situation. She went back to the party to try to enjoy the remainder of the evening, because there was going to be hell to pay when she got home. MTC From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1D(WIP) Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 21:29:44 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1D(WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net Julie had left the party before her parents. Knowing she was going to get it when Lyta got home, she waited up for her mom to get home. She wasn't disappointed. Lyta came through with fire in her eyes. Paul was close behind. Julie looked at her mother from her place on the couch and said nothing. asked Paul. Lyta sent him a complete image replay of what she had seen in the coatroom. Glaring at Paul, Looking at her daughter in astonishment, Julie shook her head. Her mother was speechless for at least a full minute. Julie recounted her meeting and conversation with Delenn. said Paul. This got him a first rate, looks could kill, glare from his wife. [About time she got her's.] Realizing Julie was trying an end run to change the subject, interjected Paul. Julie was confused by the turn of the conversation. What did her sister-in-law have to do with this? Lyta thought about what she had sensed in Harold earlier this evening. They were right. Harold had no reason to fear her. She thought the world of him. It hadn't occurred to her that Harold being a non telepath was never privy to any of the mental conversations carried on around him. All he knew was what was said directly to him. Tomorrow she would have a talk with him. She decided to let her anger fizzle. She would take this up with Julie when she had all the facts. Paul relaxed, the crisis was over. When Lyta took it up later, she would not be operating from an emotional standpoint. ****************************************************** "Tell me Harold. Why are you terrified of me? What have I done to make you feel this way?" asked Lyta. Harold had been called into her office on a weekend. He must be going to get it good. Her opening questions did nothing to belay his fears. He was hesitant in answering. His boss just sat behind her desk waiting. "I asked valid questions, Harold. I would appreciate some answers." This delivered in a level non-threatening tone. "Ma'am, I don't want to do anything to get me and my family thrown off the planet, and making passes at Julie would surely do that. My mother told me about the laws prohibiting telepath and mundane relationships." Lyta was distressed. [What laws?] She sensed that Harold was telling her the truth as he understood it. Her distress was quickly becoming anger. "Harold, who told your mother this?" she asked in a conversational tone. "I don't know Mrs. Blaine?" "Call your mother and tell her I want to meet with her. This afternoon will be fine if it doesn't mess up her weekend plans, otherwise Monday will be fine. I'll be here until about 1500." "Harold, when you come in Monday I want you do some research for me." She then outlined what she wanted, a detailed presentation of human telepath genealogies using all facts as parameters for comparisons. "What exactly should I be looking for ma'am?" "I will know it when you find it." Harold was completely confused, but he would do his best. He always did. As Harold left her office, Lyta was already requisitioning his mother's personnel files. They were delivered less than thirty minutes later. Opening the records of Elizabeth Manning, she began to read, PH.D. in theoretical physics at fifteen...and a long list of professional and educational accomplishments extending back some fifty years. She had not married until she was forty two and Harold was born when she was forty five. Lyta requested her husband's file. Elizabeth had been the primary reason they had been able to assemble the data from the shadow and vorlon ship fragments into first semblance of a usable database. She had also been a key to translating that database into solid information that could be used to design ways to emulate it and defeat it. She was undoubtedly one of the most valuable assets on the planet. It began to explain Harold. She received Frank Manning's records while she was still reading Elizabeth's. She started reading Frank's records as soon as she finished Elizabeth's. Frank's records were almost as impressive as his wife's. He had been forty five when they married. Harold's parents were much older than most. They were better educated and their accomplishments were way ahead of their contemporaries. Lyta met Paul and Julie in an open air restaurant for a light lunch. They were interested in her meeting with Harold. She recounted it and what she had learned about his parents. Paul whistled and Julie looked suitably impressed. They were about half way through their lunch when her comm badge beeped. "Yes?" "Elizabeth Manning Requesting a meeting for this afternoon." "Schedule it for 1330." Her order was acknowledged and the link closed. ****************************************************** "Come in Mrs. Manning." Elizabeth Manning entered Lyta's office followed by an older gentleman, obviously her husband and her son. Lyta waved them to chairs. "Mrs. Manning, I talked with Harold this morning. Would you enlighten me about his fears? I want to know whom said what, when and where." Elizabeth looked worried, but she began talking and told Lyta a story right out of some warped fiction writer's mind. Her boss's son was in Julie's classes and her boss had told her he could get her kicked off the planet if her son didn't keep away from Julie. She couldn't offer any explanation for his behavior. Her boss intimated that it was a rule that telepaths and mundanes keep to themselves. As Elizabeth continued her explanation, Lyta ordered up Elizabeth's boss's personnel records. She explained that there was no truth to her boss's statements and that she would take care of the situation. She told them of the incident in the coatroom. His parents were surprised. "Harold," his mother asked, "just what do you think you were doing?" "May I call you Elizabeth?" asked Lyta. Elizabeth nodded assent. "Elizabeth, it wasn't his fault. Julie instigated the whole thing. She is going to apologize before you leave today." Mr. Manning spoke up, "Mrs. Blaine, I don't believe I have ever met your daughter or your husband." "Neither have I," said his wife. "We can remedy that right now." Paul and Julie came in through a door located behind and to the left of Lyta's desk. Lyta made introductions. Frank Manning's jaw dropped. The young woman standing in front of him was very tall, well proportioned, had flaming red hair, an unbelievably beautiful face and was without doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She combined all the best features of her parents. Lyta noticed his reaction. "Is something wrong Mr. Manning?" asked Lyta. "No ma'am. .....Not at all." "Julie, I believe you owe Harold an apology." Julie apologized to Howard for her actions the night before. Harold looked embarrassed. Lyta made small talk with Harold's parents and learned that they had never been recognized for any of their contributions. They hadn't wanted to say anything, but Lyta had wormed the information out of them. The records she had requested were delivered just as her meeting with the Mannings was finishing up. She and Paul walked Frank and Elizabeth into the outer office. Julie and Harold didn't immediately follow. Julie stepped in front of Harold. "Put your arms around me Harold." Harold complied and Julie put her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down on her own. Harold's arms tightened around her. In the outer office Frank asked Lyta, "where are the kids?" Lyta stepped back to look into her office and saw the young couple intertwined and oblivious to all around them. She quietly pulled the door shut. The other three looked at her with questioning expressions. "They are occupied. Mr. Manning, why did you react the way you did when Julie came into the room?" asked Lyta. Frank explained his reaction. Lyta and Paul were amused. "Did I say something inappropriate?" asked Frank. "Not at all Frank. Not at all," replied Paul. Inside Lyta's office Howard released Julie. "We better get out there with our parents." Julie agreed and they left the office. Lyta invited Howard and his parents over for Sunday dinner. The Mannings were surprised, but accepted. After the Mannings departed, Lyta made a note to her secretary to have Mark Orlan in her office at 0900 Monday morning. She, her husband and daughter went home. Lyta invited Marsha and family to join her, Paul, Julie and the Mannings for Sunday dinner. It turned out to be a winner. The Mannings forgot that they were the only normals in a house full of very powerful telepaths. Lyta's extended family was impressed by their non telepath guests. In private they expressed their admiration for Julie's choice of mate. They assumed that the inevitable was a Julie and Harold marriage before too long. Nobody had asked Harold what he thought. Harold's parents had the feeling that their son was being shown off to the family even though they couldn't prove it. Frank was rightly proud of his son, and to have Lyta's daughter and Harold make a pairing was more than he could have ever hoped for. Elizabeth and Frank had married very late in life and had never intended to have any children. They had been blessed with Harold, who had developed beyond anything most parents ever dream of. Lyta's daughter was a whole other story, intelligent, talented in many ways, beautiful and a force to be reckoned with. They could only wait and see. That they would become part of a family of telepaths never occurred to Frank and Elizabeth even in their wildest dreams. MTC From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1E (WIP) Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 20:57:19 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1E (WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net Six months earlier in a sector adjacent to Centauri space. "Captain I am receiving a distress call from a Centauri freighter. She reports that she is under attack by Drakh fighters." "Navigation, let's check it out," responded the captain. Whitestar 30 had been on patrol for three weeks and this was the first indication of raider action she had discovered. Investigation was in order. As per standard procedures, the captain notified his control center located on Epsilon III. His communication was monitored by Whitestar 37 whose captain set course for the communicated coordinates. The way the signals had been received caused him some concern. He didn't let the captain of 30 know he was coming. Membari captains had a stiffnecked pride and the thought of maybe needing backup never occurred to them. "Captain Bareon, are we going to use the local jumpgate this time?" asked the human navigator. Membari being creatures of habit, the question earned the navigator a mild frown from his captain. "Mr. O'Conner, begin sensor sweeps before we initiate the jumpgate. Weapons, I want all systems armed and charged and targeting anything we can't identify as friendly when we exit the jumpgate." "Captain?" asked the weapons coordinator. "N'dar, there isn't any traffic scheduled in this part of the sector at this time. It could be a trap of some sort," said the captain to his Narn weapons officer. Nodding assent, N'dar went about prepping his weapons systems. The whitestar fleet had received many upgrades over the years, these included batteries that covered the after areas behind the ship and waist batteries that covered the midsection throughout a 360 degree spectrum. Losing a ship to attack on an unprotected area to the Drakh on the first encounter between them and the rangers had been an expensive lesson in lives and materials. It had been necessary to make the living arrangements more Spartan to accommodate the increased firepower. The whitestars were nothing more than heavily armed weapons platforms with a pilot on board. Esthetically they were beautiful. Practically they were the deadliest things a spacefarer could encounter on any rational basis. "Ready to initiate jumpgate sequence," announced the navigator. "Sean, bring the jump and phasing engines and hologram projection system on line before we jump." "Aye, aye, captain." There was a slight increase in the vibration for a moment as the jump and phasing engines came online, then it retreated into the background as to be unnoticeable. "Initiating jumpgate sequence, captain." "Sensors are detecting several large ships within 100,000 kilometers of the jumpgate. At least one is a Drakh raider mother ship. I am detecting at least thirty fighters. Captain there has to be more than one mother ship." "Weapons?" "I have them targeted captain. I will take out the mother ships first." "Very well, N'dar. Communications, pass this data to control." "Already on it captain" Whitestar 30 exited the jumpgate with her main batteries already cutting up one Drakh mother ship. As the first one exploded, the second came under fire. Whitestar 30 was buffeted with synchronized weapons fire coming from behind. There had been two more mother ships hiding in close proximity and behind the jumpgate and their fighters were giving the after portion of Whitestar 30 a pasting. The after batteries were engaging the Drakh fighters, but the system had not been designed to engage more than thirty targets under fire simultaneously. The Drakh were making the same maneuvers on all sides of the ranger starship. Captain Bareon was putting his ship through maneuvers that on a ship without artificial gravity would have ripped heads off crew members. The sharp changes of course were keeping the Drakh fighters from concentrating their fire on one area for any length of time, but they was still doing real damage to the whitestar's hull and several weapons pods had been disabled. "Navigator, pilot us a course to bring main batteries to bear on the remaining mother ships." At the captain's orders, the ship spun on axis and took the remaining mother ships under fire. In less than five minutes the Drakh mother ships were reduced to wreckage. The fighters having no way to escape made kamikaze runs on the whitestar and most were blown up, but several had managed to hit the ship. There was massive structural damage to most sections of the ship. Her jump and phasing engines were offline and she couldn't run. Using thrusters the captain maneuvered the ship and kept up continuous weapons fire from those systems still functioning. It was a losing battle, he had destroyed more than 40 Drakh fighters and their mother ships, but his ship was damaged badly, maybe beyond repair. Abandoning ship was not an option with an enemy like the Drakh. A jump point opened almost on top of Whitestar 30, or what was left of it and out of it came Whitestar 37 with all of her weapons engaged. The remaining Drakh fighters tried to ram her, but failed. "Captain Bareon, is there anything we can do to help you?" "Yes. I need to evacuate what's left of my crew and remove the artificial intelligence unit (AIU). We only have life support for about twenty minutes. I will have the remainder of my men ready when your shuttle gets here. I have loaded our shuttle with my wounded. I will have my logs and a preliminary damage assessment ready by the time your shuttle gets here. Bareon out." It was decided to tow the damaged whitestar back to Epsilon III. It was hoped that the damage that had been sustained would yield intelligence about Drakh weapons development and that they could salvage valuable system components that hadn't been irreparably damaged. The tactics used by the Drakh were studied for flaws that could be exploited in future engagements. Suicide runs were hard to stop. Only total destruction of the incoming ship was effective. If there were too many for the ships weapons systems to engage, then at least one would succeed in its efforts. This did not bode well for the fleet and several whitestars had been destroyed learning just that. Most of the whitestar fleet, particularly the older ones, had not beet retrofitted with the advanced telepathic interface that had been tested some years prior by John Sheridan. Developing an interface that could work with multiple live inputs simultaneously had been more difficult than Lyta first imagined. What was so simple in theory had turned out to be a monster in application. If you had someone like Sheridan who had a deep knowledge of all aspects of ship's operations during a firefight, everything worked as expected. The problem was there wasn't enough of him to go around. Most of his experience had been received while fighting for his life. That gave him unique perspectives to situations that had, so far, been missing in the command training scenarios. How do you teach a male or female how to react to a real life or death situation without actually trying to kill them. There were very good training programs in use, but they lacked the impact of real life and death situations.? There were meetings held to discuss what was being learned about the latest Drakh efforts. During several of these meetings the events concerning the attempt to blow up the station were discussed and Lyta allowed the data crystals that held the actual pictures of the event to be used. In the first of these meetings, after viewing the pictures of the B5 attack, Captain Bareon asked Lyta, " what can any of us do to generate such a shield? There is only one each of you and your daughter." It was a question that was asked at every meeting. The non-telepaths were rightly worried and the telepaths were actually In the same boat. None of them were powerful enough TKs to generate a field. Lyta told them that she had some ideas for nullifying the effectiveness of suicide ships, but it would take some research and development, and some downright dangerous testing, all of which would take time. Adding more firepower to the whitestars wasn't a viable plan. They were carrying all the weaponry they could physically support. To add another system would mean building a larger ship. It wasn't out of the question. It was too expensive. The R&D would cost more than the planet could presently afford. However, Lyta thought, there were myriad ways to remove feline fur. She kept thinking of the attack on Babylon 5 some years ago and made her decision. Christmas was coming and John and Delenn were coming home for some meetings and the holidays. They could provide transportation for the equipment and personnel. Over the coming months the Drakh continued with the faked raid traps. They had destroyed some unsuspecting Alliance warships that had answered the faked distress signals. The whitestars used skullduggery of their own. They destroyed a large number of Drakh raiders and their fighters. One whitestar would answer the distress signal using the local jumpgate and when engaged by the Drakh fighters, would call In his escorts, who would use their phasing engines to arrive on the scene with complete surprise to the Drakh. It was a very successful tactic. Since all communications were jammed upon exiting the local jumpgate and no Drakh had survived these encounters, the tactic continued to work time after time. Other problems were going to develop for the Drakh and other Shadow allies that were still raiding for a living, problems they could not possibly imagine because no one had ever seen anything like them before. ****************************************************** Lyta gave John and Delenn Sheridan each a very big hug when she met them as they debarked their shuttle. inquired Delenn. responded Delenn. John was enjoying the banter between the women. Facing Delenn, Raising his hands palm up, Sheridan said, Delenn nodded affirmative. Lyta was referring to a program to move a 50 mile diameter asteroid into synchronous orbit around one of the uninhabitable planets In the Fjon system. The asteroid would be hollowed out and used for a way station to the larger development being constructed on the surface and underground on the planet. replied Delenn. continued Delenn. They continued small talk as they walked toward transportation to Lyta's office. ****************************************************** In her office Lyta outlined her plans for upgrading the older whitestars and building new ones. She explained to the Sheridans that equipment and personnel they would be taking back with them would be developing new interfaces for the ships. At this time she didn't give them a list of personnel. She showed them the videos of the bombing attack on Babylon 5 and its results. John was intrigued. asked John. added Delenn. Truth was Lyta already had someone In mind. MTC From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" Subject: Lyta Chronicles Part 1F (WIP) Date: Thu, 01 Jan 1998 14:25:48 -0800 All characters/places/persons not belonging to the writer are the sole properties of their owners, PTEN, WB, JMS, and will be turned over to the owners at the request of their agents. All other characters/places/persons are public domain. Title: Lyta Chronicles Part 1F (WIP) There are no spoilers in this story. "--" = spoken words <--> = telepathy [--] = self thoughts `--' = emphasis Negative comments welcome at: xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net "Good morning, Mr. Orlan. I am so glad you could meet with me with such short notice." < I am a P-9 telepath Mrs. Blaine. Why are you using vocal communication?> "I want a voice record of this meeting, Mr. Orlan." She neglected to tell him that she could record the meeting even if it were conducted telepathically. There were many technologies that few on the planet knew existed. That was one. "As you wish. What do you want from me?" "I have had reason to review your records and find a few things that appear to be out of order." "Such as?" "You immigrated to Epsilon III, but there isn't any record of your psychiatric profile being conducted or the results. Can you explain this discrepancy?" "I have been on the planet for more than fifteen years. Isn't it a little late to be bringing this up now?" "Answer my question." "I don't have to sit here and be subjected to this." "Your present position requires that you be deep scanned before you can be appointed to it. The records of that are also missing. Why?' "What is your point Mrs. Blaine?" "Explain to me your beliefs about telepath superiority and the data to support them?" "Just what is the purpose of this meeting Mrs. Blaine?" asked Orlan in exasperation. "Any of these items are reason enough for me to have you summarily removed from the planet. I ask you again. Explain these discrepancies?" " I can't.' "You can't or you won't?" "I can't and that is the truth." "Mr. Orlan, you have three weeks to supply me with satisfactory answers. If you fail to do so, you will be expelled from Epsilon III. You are suspended from your position pending those answers. Your superior will be notified." "You can't do that. I have rights." "I can do it. You have no rights until you supply those answers. You are dismissed." Looking incensed at Lyta's statement Mr. Orlan left her office. [Bitch!] Lyta read his mind and smiled. Marsha entered Lyta's office from the adjoining room. Lyta looked at her and smiled, Lyta went to her safe which was organic in nature and opened it using her mental signature. Only two people could open it, and the other was Julie. She couldn't keep anything away from her daughter. The link that she had built with Julie when she was a fetus was darling, but sometimes she wished it didn't work so damned well. If she had only known how well it worked. Lyta made her call to Bester using the special encryption device that had been developed for just the occasions. They had agreed on a course of action. Bester would use special psi cops and they would arrive on Epsilon III at irregular intervals under cover as mundane businessmen and women. It was going to be a messy situation. Lyta had committed to giving them training in how to fool other telepaths into mistaking them for mundanes. ****************************************************** Lyta received the forged documents that showed that Orlan had indeed had the profiles and scans required for his immigration to Epsilon III. She immediately turned them over to the psi cops who were heading up the investigation. They were a husband and wife team and they were very good at their jobs. As agreed with Bester, Lyta stood aside and let the psi cops do their thing. She was only interested in the final results. If anyone had ever told her she would be using Psi Corps personnel on Epsilon III, she would have had them committed. Times do change. She was pleased that Harold was able to make available preliminary results of the genetics inquiry she requested from him. The initial findings tended to confirm a suspicion about telepath genetics that she had recognized in her and Willa's children. Lyta had made arrangements for the Sheridans to take Harold and Julie with them when they returned to the Fjon system. She wanted Harold and Julie to work at defining Julie's telekinetic abilities and she wanted it done where prying eyes and ears couldn't see or hear about the results. She really wanted to be at Julie's wedding, but it didn't look like that would be possible, since they would be several thousand light years away. Two weeks later she wished Julie, Harold, John, Delenn and several of Julie's classmates luck as they boarded a shuttle for the Whitestar Alpha. Two whitestars would be making the trip for added safety. The policy now was at least two whitestars went on patrol together, none ever went alone. ****************************************************** John passed the word for a meeting in the messhall for the crew and passengers prior to getting underway. In the messhall, "I want to welcome our passengers aboard and introduce them to the crew. Some of you will be working with the crew to become familiar with the various systems on the ship. The rest will be checking out the new equipment we are taking with us. All of you will be using crew quarters." John introduced the passengers and his crew and gave them their individual assignments. One of the crew asked, "why isn't Julie assigned any of the crew stations?" "Because she can run the whole ship by herself. She already knows more about this ship than any of you crew members." That statement caused some raised eyebrows. "How so captain?" "Fifteen years ago she made this ship do things nobody else has been able to duplicate. You know that this ship has a telepathic interface in addition to its regular control systems, well, she is the ultimate telepath as far as this ship is concerned. She can read what she needs from your mind faster than you can think about it and translate it into telepathic orders directly into the ships systems. She will have done it before you can reach for the control. That's why. Maybe we will have a chance for her to do a demonstration before the trip is over." Julie looked slightly embarrassed. "Captain, how come she has a cabin to herself?" "Because she isn't crew." "Julie, you can take us out." "Everyone please sit down. What you are about to experience may make you disoriented and you may lose your balance and fall." Everyone took a seat at a table, except Julie. The crew was speechless. They heard the exchange in their heads and noticed the loving responses from the ships intelligence unit. The ship was in love with Julie and would quite likely do anything for her.