From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" <xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net>
Subject: Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 1 of ---(WIP)
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 04:46:43 -0400

Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 1 of ---(WIP)

     Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any
improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net]

Think of this as a space opera.

          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.

Rated PG-10 (Vocabulary)

    The shuttle dropped through the dark Glenthorian sky, undetected by
any of the myriad 
defense systems monitoring the airspace over the various countries. As
the sun was coming up the
shuttle lightly landed in the field behind an enormous ranch house. Lyta
and Maya exited into the
arriving morning. The crisp pungent odors of a working ranch grabbed
their sense of smell and
jolted their senses into full operation.

    "It's beautiful, mommy!' exclaimed Maya. "Are we going to stay
here?"

   "Yes, sweetheart. We are going to be here a very long time," answered
her mother.

   People were coming out of the main house to meet them. It was going
to be the first time most
of them had ever met their employer. Lyta and Maya walked to meet them. 

   "We have been here before, haven't we," asked Maya, as the leader of
the group approached
Lyta, hand outstretched.

   "Good morning, Miss Alexander," said her  foreman. "It is good to see
you again."

*************************************************************************
   "Accept incoming call", said Delenn in response to the communications
system signal.

   "In response to your inquiry, Ambassador Delenn, we have had four
inquiries in the past
month," answered the young man on the screen.

   "Did you trace them?"

   "Yes, ma'am, but they were official requests of planets she has been
known to have visited in the
past several years."

   Miffed at the lack of specific data from her request, Delenn thanked
the young man and ended
the connection.

   "Something bothering you, Delenn?" asked her husband from the door of
her office.

   "Not really. I am curious that we have gotten four official inquiries
from as many governments,
in the last month about Lyta Alexander."

   "Her again. I can't ever seem to get away from her or her
influences."

   "John, maybe they want information, so they can prosecute her for
some crime."

   "I'm not that lucky. You shouldn't have arranged for her to be given
Minbari citizenship."

   "I thought it was appropriate, since in one way or another she has
done a great deal for us."

   "Just because her daughter was declared a citizen for arriving here
first on a whitestar."

   "John. You have no reason to hate her. She has never done anything to
harm you."

   "I don't know why. I just do."

   This worried Delenn. It wasn't like John to not be able to resolve
his irrational feelings, but his
feelings toward Lyta seemed to be an exception. She sure wished Sheraun
had been able to
intercept Lyta as she was leaving Mars.
  
*****************************************************************************

  Lyta had been back on Gelnthor less than a standard month when she
scheduled a meeting with
her friend, Ambassador Hental. The ambassador had learned in the past to
expect most anything
out of the strange human redhead. Since she and G'Kar had departed
several years ago, a number
of good things had happened to his planet and she was in one way or
another responsible.

   She had made a few investments before she left and her assets had
been looked after well. He
didn't know what she wanted, but he just knew a lot of money would
eventually be involved. The
woman was fearless and one hell of a business partner. She had provided
valuable data and
information for dealing with a number of the species who were members of
the Interstellar
Alliance. For that she had been rewarded handsomely with stock interests
in a number of
companies now doing business with the IA member worlds, even though she
was off planet when
the business deals had been consummated.

   As the helicopter carrying Ambassador Hental circled for landing , he
finally noticed a shuttle
type of craft beneath camouflage netting sitting just in front of the
barn. He thought that it didn't
look like the kind of ship one would use for interstellar travel. He
thought that it might make it as
far as the local moon.

   Lyta met him when his craft landed. "Good  morning, ambassador," she
greeted him.

   "Good morning, Miss Alexander," replied Hental. "Please, call me,
Rohe."

   "You have a deal, if you will call me Lyta," she responded, taking
his offered hand in hers and
leading him away from the chopper.

    A few minutes later in the house library, Lyta and Rohe were
drinking a local tea and getting
comfortable.

   "I know you didn't get me out here to just pass the time of day."

   "I have a proposition for you. It is going to sound strange, but I
think you will like it. Do you
know what a telepath is?" she asked.

   "I have seen references to them in ISN newscasts. Something about
reading minds, I believe."

   "That and more, actually," she replied. "If someone uses them during
business deals and
meetings, a company can be badly hurt, due to industrial espionage and
having their negotiators
compromised by being influenced against their best interests."

   "I don't like the sound of that. We have had some deals go sour
recently. I believe you may have
explained why, but what can we do about it. It is impossible to prove."

   Lyta smiled wickedly, "I have a solution, if you are interested."

   "I am listening."

   "Use your own telepaths."

   "We don't have any."

   "I know where we can get as many as we need, if you are willing to
work with me."

   "The earth telepaths, the ones that were fighting amongst themselves,
you have influence with
them. In fact according to reports you led the faction that won."

   "Don't believe everything you see on ISN. I was involved, to some
extent, but I wouldn't
characterize me as a major player."

   Playing down her part in the war, Lyta convinced Rohe, that giving
human telepaths a place to
live and employment on Glenthor and in its diplomatic missions could be
a boon to business and
interplanetary politics. She also convinced him to help her get
Glenthorian citizenship for her and
Maya.

   Do you think a telepath gild might be feasible?" asked Rohe.

   Lyta nodded, yes.

   "I will layout a basic floor plan, loosely based on our other gilds,"
he continued.

   Lyta nodded agreement, then requested, "Set up a meeting between a
few of these people and
let me see what we are up against."

   Two weeks later Lyta found herself sitting in a room adjacent to one
in which Rohe had set up a
meeting with executives of one of the offworld companies he suspected of
skullduggery. Lyta had
told him she was too well known in the telepathic community to be
present in the meeting room.
Lyta had been relaxing enjoying a good lunch when she felt the meeting
attendees arrive in the
meeting room. She felt the presence of a telepath and reached out to
her. She had been a psi cop
before the war. The telepath realized she had been discovered and tried
to mindblast Lyta.  The
favor was returned with such intensity that the former psi cop pitched
forward onto the meeting
table, unconscious and bleeding profusely from the eyes, ears and nose.
The meeting ended
abruptly, but not before Lyta had put blocks and controls into the mind
of the former psi cop.

   "The meeting was adjourned as you know," said Rohe.

   "I am not surprised. I don't think their telepath will want to do
business here again, anytime
soon. You know, of course, this is only one example of what has been
going on," answered Lyta.

   "I can't monitor every meeting myself, but I have people who can, she
continued.
******************************************************************************
   That evening Lyta went back to her ranch and fired up her shuttle. It
was midnight when she
lifted off and fifteen minutes later she was in hyperspace near the
jumpgate that had been installed
in the Glenthorian system. Piggybacking her signal on the jumpgate's
hyperspace beacon, she
initiated a call to Michael Garibaldi on Mars.

   Michael came online and looked perplexed at the image of Lyta showing
on his communications
screen. "Lyta. Where did you disappear to?"

   "That isn't why I called you Michael, and don't waste time trying to
trace this call. You will find
it originates in hyperspace with no definite point of origin."

   "What can I do for you Lyta?"

   "You still have active communications with a great many of my
people?"

   "Yes."

   "I need to communicate with them. I may have found a solution for
some of them. I am
especially interested in those who were with Byron. Also, I am
interested in the commercial
telepaths that worked for psi corps."

   "Can I ask why?"

   "It seems that many of the high level telepaths, especially the
former psi cops and bloodhounds
of Psi Corps are going the way of the worst of the former rogues."

   "Give me a few days, Lyta, and I will set up the communications you
need."

   "Michael, I will need a transport to pick them up in. A lease
arrangement would probably be
best. If this can't be done for a reasonable price, I will transport
them by public carrier. However,
I would prefer to handle them in one group."

   "Get back to me in a week, Lyta."

   "Thanks, Michael. You won't regret this," responded Lyta.

   Thirty minutes later she was back at the ranch having either a very
late supper, or a very early
breakfast.
******************************************************************************
   During the next couple of months, Lyta worked with her business
associates and government
officials to identify other instances of telepath interference with
Glenthorian business and
interplanetary relations. She convinced them that she could supply
reliable telepaths to counter
those who had been used against them. 

   Within two months, Lyta had most of the telepaths she wanted on
planet and was working to
get them ready for their tasks. Some of the telepaths were skeptical,
but when Lyta briefed them
on the advantages they would enjoy in their new capacity, those fears
were laid to rest. 
******************************************************************************
   Taking Maya with her, Lyta started a series of trips to a number of
worlds to get her telepaths
installed in places where they could work with her business associates
and the Glenthorian
interplanetary offices. Her plans for making Glenthor a financial power
to be reckoned with were
being set up and put into operation.
*****************************************************************************
   "We need to talk, Lyta," said Rohe over the communications link.

   "About what?" she asked.

   "Not over this link," he responded.

   This caused Lyta's internal alarm system to come alive with doubts.

   "This Thursday afternoon in your office?" she asked.

   "Fifteen hundred then."
  
**************************************************************************
   In Rohe's office were a dozen political and industrial power brokers
talking amongst themselves
as they awaited Lyta's arrival.

   "I am new in the group," said one of the younger executives, "I have
never met Ms. Alexander.
What is her specialty? He asked.

   "She makes things happen," answered one of his older associates.

   "She is a storehouse of information of all kinds," answered another.

   "She is one tough negotiator," said a third.

   "Given that, what makes her special?" the man insisted.

   "When you meet her, you will know," replied Rohe.

   It was then that Rohe's secretary opened the meeting room door and
Lyta strolled in. She gave
the impression she owned the place. "Rohe. Gentlemen. I am told there is
something important
you wish to discuss with me." Taking the seat at the head of the table,
she continued, "I am here
to listen, so, let's get the show on the road. Shall we?"

   Her entrance and attitude plus the deference given her wasn't lost on
the new man. Lyta was
treated to a plethora  of instances of interference in their business
dealings that couldn't be
explained. The interference of telpaths was suspected. The worst of it
seemed to be occurring
with their trade delegation representatives on Babylon 5. She listened
attentively, but made no
comments. She had not had time to train enough of her people to handle
all the situations that
might occur. She had hoped to get enough of them trained so that the
first trained could help train
those that would follow.

   She didn't want to go anywhere near Babylon 5 again and didn't
hesitate to espouse that feeling.

   The arguments of her business partners were intense and compelling.
Finally against her better
judgement, Lyta was convinced to make a trip to Babylon 5, to work with
the Glenthorian trade
mission that had been established there. She had accepted the task only
because she learned that
thanks to Delenn's influence, she would be traveling as a citizen of the
Minbari Federation on a
diplomatic passport issued by the Glenthorian Planetary Republic which
carried with it diplomatic
immunity. EA couldn't touch her this time out. She was also taking half
a dozen of her best
telepaths.

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

   Lyta's shuttle had enough seats to accommodate her crew and Maya.
Sleeping arrangements
were sparse. There were eight berths, but seats had to be folded to
allow them to be used. Other
facilities were Spartan at best and there was only food heating
equipment. In this atmosphere
they lifted off and made for the local jumpgate. The trip would take
almost two weeks if she
followed the regular hyperspace beacon system, so she didn't. Instead,
she used her enhanced
abilities to navigate a shortcut through the parts of hyperspace that
could not be used by normal
shipping and cut the trip down to three days. The extremely intense
gravity wells were in fact a
warping of hyperspace that allowed for travel over vast interstellar
distances in very short periods
of time. However, it was extremely dangerous, since there were no
beacons to follow through it.
****************************************************************************
The shuttle had exited the local Epsilon III jumpgate and Lyta hailed
Babylon 5 C&C. It was
midnight Babylon 5 time and Lyta didn't recognize the controller who
cleared her for entry to the
station. In all honesty, the young officer on watch did not know who
Lyta was. As they neared the
station entrance Lyta could see an earthforce destroyer type warship
standing off in the shadow of
the station. It looked similar to the ship Susan Ivanova had been
commanding when she had last
seen her, except it had no rotating section and looked a hell of a lot
bigger and more deadly.

  The customs and immigration control personnel had not been briefed on
the arrival of the
Glenthorian contingent since they were a almost two weeks early
arriving, but their identicards
and other data were in order. None of the night watch were familiar with
Lyta so her arrival went
unnoticed.
******************************************************************************
   The next morning Lyta met with her ambassador and his aide. They gave
her a short briefing on
their situation and provided her with an embassy credit card to pay for
purchases. The first thing
she and her group did was go to breakfast in the Zocalo. Since she
wasn't going to be here long
enough to set up housekeeping, she resigned herself to a lot of cafe
eating.
******************************************************************************
   The breakfast she had ordered for her and Maya wasn't too bad. They
were about finished when
a voice from behind her said, "Lyta Alexander, you are under arrest."

   "Good morning to you, too, Captain Lockley," replied Lyta, holding
her arms over her head so
she could be put into handcuffs.

   "You were warned about ever setting foot on this station again,"
continued Lockley.

   "Do what you have to, captain. Just be ready to take the consequences
of your actions,"
answered Lyta.

   The security man fastened the set of high security handcuff around
Lyta's wrists. As soon as he
stepped back, they fell off in ten broken pieces.

   "You are embarrassing yourself, captain," commented Lyta, going back
to her breakfast.

   Behind her the security man drew his PPG and powered it up. Before he
could move his mind
went blank and his hand started to point the PPG at Captain Lockley's
head.

   "It's not much fun, is it, captain? Having someone point a loaded
weapon at your head?" asked
Lyta.

   Realizing her danger and her inability to do anything about it,
Lockley said, "Let him go, Lyta."


   "Is that an order or a request, captain? I didn't start this mess."

   Just then Zack Allen walked up to Lyta's table. "Good morning, Lyta."

   "Hello, Zack," answered Lyta releasing the guard with the PPG, which
was now a useless piece
metal and plastic. "Long time no see."

   "Mommy, why are they trying to arrest you?" asked Maya.

   "They are suffering from terminal stupidity, sweetheart," answered
their mother.

   "You can say that again," said a familiar female voice from somewhere
behind Lyta. "Zack, you
should know better," continued Captain Susan Ivanova.

   "Let me guess. That monster parked outside is yours, isn't it,
Susan?" asked Lyta.

   "Sure is. What brings you here?" asked Susan.

   "I am part of a trade delegation, and I am here in a diplomatic
status," replied Lyta.

   "You mean you're here on official business as a diplomatic
representative?" asked Lockley,
incredulously.

   In response Lyta handed her identicard to the guard who ran it
through his scanner. 

   "Captain. She is a member of the Glenthorian trade delegation and has
diplomatic immunity,"
said the guard.

   "I am sorry, Lyta," said Lockley.

   With no further conversation, Captain Lockley, realizing her gross
mistake, turned and walked
off.

   "Lyta," said Zack.

   "Good day, Zack," said  Lyta.

   "May I have breakfast with you?" asked Susan. Who was holding Maya in
her arms and getting
hugs and big wet kisses. "I think she remembers me," continued Ivanova.

   "Either she loves you, Susan, or she thinks you are a charity case."

   Putting Maya down, Susan took an empty seat and ordered a cup of real
coffee.

   "That stuff costs a fortune, Susan."

   "I will let them put it on your tab."


   "What can I do for you."

   "Nothing. Just let me enjoy your company. I never got to say thanks
properly last time I saw
you."

   "Not necessary. I know how you feel. Remember what I am."

   "I am not likely ever to forget that. Why are you really here?"

   Looking at the others at adjoining tables, Lyta said, "There is an
unacknowledged problem with
former psi cops, bloodhounds and other high psi types who don't want to
be on a short EA leash."

   "Does Lockley know?"

   "No and very few others know either. I am working on both a short
term and long term
solution."

   Susan looked at her expectantly and waited for her to continue.

   <Maya gave me the idea from what she did to Bester at the end of my
war with Psi Corps.>

   Susan looked stunned at hearing the voice in her head.

   <What did she do to him?>

   <She put in a set of commands that causes him to get blindingly
splitting headaches every time
he tries to use his ability.>

   Susan looked at Maya, who was smiling innocently back at her and
said, "I love it. By the way,
why are you down on Lockley?"

   Lyta explained what resulted in her and Lockley being on different
sides of the fence.

   "That would have been a tough call, but I can think of several ways
to approach it that don't
involve public confrontation. Of at least four ways to handle the
situation, she picked the worst.
Then again, we are friends, so I wouldn't have wanted confrontation to
start with. I think she felt
she had to prove something and she picked the wrong person to prove it
with."

   "I agree. She could have approached me privately and I would have
changed my tactics and
took the pressure off her, but she didn't, and even Lorien can't change
history." 


   Lyta and her companions finished breakfast and started to leave.

   "Can I keep Maya with me for a while?" asked Ivanova.

   Lyta looked at Maya.

   "I'll be good mommy."

   Lyta smiled and said, "Sure."

   "Okay, munchkin, come with Aunt Susan," said Susan taking Maya's hand
in hers.

   Lyta watched Maya and Susan walk away and she thought of what Susan
might have had with
Marcus and a great ache passed through her heart.  
*****************************************************************************
   Susan and Maya exited the transport tube just down the passageway
from C&C and Captain
Lockley's office.

   "Are we going to see Captain Lockley, Aunt Susan."

   "Yes, we are. She needs her feathers ruffled then smoothed out,"
answered Susan.

   Maya looked sideways at Ivanova.

   "You will understand later, sweetheart."
******************************************************************************
   "What can I do for you, Captain Ivanova," asked Lockley.

   "I think, maybe, what I can do for you might be the better question,"
answered Susan.

   "Where did you get the little girl. You don't have children."

   "She isn't mine. She belongs to Lyta."

   "I didn't know she had a child."

   "No. I don't suppose you did, but one look at her and it is obvious
who her mother is."

   Lockley looked at Maya again and said, "You are right. It is
obvious."
   "Why didn't you notice it in the Zocalo?"

   Lockley looked Susan in the eyes for at least a full minute, but said
nothing. 

   "You have a problem with Lyta. I am curious about that."
   "It's really none of your business, Captain Ivanova.'

   "True, but your ignorance and arrogance may create an unnecessary
hazard for this station and
the people on it."

   "Just what are you implying."

   "I imply nothing. Did you read the accounts of how my last command
got shot all to hell and
how we survived?"

   "Yes, and?"

   "If it hadn't been for Lyta, we wouldn't be having this
conversation."

   "I don't understand."

   "Listen captain and learn the truth."

   Susan proceeded to tell Lockley what had actually happened to her
former command. 
***************************************************************************** 
  Meanwhile, Maya wandered out into C&C and proceeded to watch the
activities there. Since she
had been brought in by Susan, Lt. Corwin and the rest of the watch more
or less ignored her as
she wandered over to the observation window.

   Looking out at the stars, Maya became aware of a feeling of intense
fear emanating from one of
the ships outside. She focused on the feeling and read the terror of a
pilot who had lost control of
his ship due to a mechanical failure. The ship was going to veer sharply
off course and hit another
ship and possibly the station.

   Alarms were sounding around her, but she didn't notice. She was busy
reading the pilots mind
and trying to stop the collision.

   Captain Lockley with Susan right behind her stepped into C&C from her
office and demanded a
situation report (sitrep). Lt. Corwin's update was frightening. An out
of control freighter was
about to ram a passenger ship and would probably continue on course
until it impacted the
station.

   As he was explaining the situation, several of the tracking console
operators called their
attention to changes in the situation.

   Something had stopped the freighter from closing on the passenger
vessel and was slowing the
freighter's progress toward the station.

   Lt. Corwin and the two captains watched the displays show the
freighter slowly coming to a
complete halt less than a hundred meters from the rotating section of
the station and then slowly
move back until it was just over a kilometer away.

   Lockley asked of no one in particular, "Anyone care to tell me what
the hell just happened?"

   Susan pointed toward Maya who was standing looking out the
observation window with her
back to the rest of C&C.

   Lockley looked at Susan and asked, "Her?"

   Susan just nodded, yes, in response.

   Lockley said, "Lt. I want a full report and the recordings of this
incident by the end of your
shift."

   "Yes sir, captain," responded Corwin.

   "Nothing ever changes does it Lt. Corwin?" asked Ivanova.

   "No sir. It doesn't," he replied.

   Susan walked over to Maya and put her hand on her shoulder and
whispered in her ear, "Very
impressive, sweetheart. Your mom will be proud."

   Maya looked at Susan, but said nothing.

   Susan and Maya returned to Lockley's office.

   Lockley looked up and said, "I will think about what you told me,
Susan." Then she continued,
"She is a smaller version of her mother, isn't she?"

   "Yes," answered Susan. "I have to get back to my ship. Thanks for
your time, captain."

   "My pleasure."

   "Come on Maya, I will show you where I work," said Susan, taking
Maya's hand and leading
her out of C&C.

   Watching them go, Lockley wondered how she could be so wrong about
Lyta. The revelation
about Ivanova's mother, and Lyta's relationship with Ivanova herself,
and her feelings about Psi
Corps was enlightening to say the least. If she had known that Ivanova
was a latent telepath she
would have really been surprised.
******************************************************************************
   Maya kept up a running mental conversation with Susan as they walked
through the Zocalo
toward the docking bays. Susan was amazed that it was easier to
communicate with the youngster
this way than it would be using vocal means. What she didn't realize was
that Maya was doing a
complete scan on her as they were "talking".

   They boarded Susan's shuttle and sat back to enjoy the ride to her
ship.

   <Mommy!>

   Sitting in a meeting with her ambassador, Lyta heard Maya's mental
call and answered, "Yes,
dear."

   <I am going to visit Aunt Susan's ship.>

   <Behave and don't break anything.>

   <I promise.>

   <Mommy says it's okay if I visit, but I'm not to break anything.>

   Susan laughed and pulled Maya to her in a hug.   

   <Aunt Susan. I didn't know you are a telepath.>

   <How did you learn that?> thought Susan looking at Maya. <You looked
into my mind,> she
admonished. As she thought about it the death of her mother, her hatred
of Psi Corps and other
losses in her life came to the forefront of her thoughts.

   Maya nodded.

   Susan was stunned. She had felt absolutely nothing and Maya was
starting to cry.

   <What's wrong, dear?> Susan asked. She had said nothing to elicit
this response.

   <It hurts. The pain in your mind. Your mommy. I am sorry.>

   Maya was hugging her tightly, tears streaming down her face. 

   Susan was going to have a talk with Lyta. She had never had anyone
share her hurt and pain
like this before. Maya hadn't just scanned her. She had in some way
shared her feelings as if they
were her own. Susan had never heard of this before in a telepath. She
knew a telepath could feel
the pain if they were scanning a person as the pain was being
experienced, but to experience it
from a vague memory, if that's what it was. She looked at Maya and her
rising irritation faded
away.

   Slowly, Susan began to feel better and Maya wasn't crying anymore. By
the time they boarded
Susan's ship everything was back to normal.

   Susan wasn't sure about the young telepath, but there wasn't much she
could do about it. It
hadn't been an invasive scan. She just couldn't understand what it had
been.

   "You will notice, Maya, that this ship is in better condition than my
last one," commented Susan
as she approached her XO and several junior officers(JO), all of whom
saluted smartly.

   "New crew member, captain," asked the XO with a smile on his face.

   "No, Pat. She belongs to a friend of mine," answered Susan.
"Problems?" she asked, nodding
toward the JOs. 

   "No. They want to know if they can let their worker bees pull some
liberty on the station?"

   "I hadn't planned to be here that long, but I now think it might be a
good idea. A day or so delay
heading home won't hurt anyone. Besides, we are well ahead of schedule
and Babylon 5 is one of
a kind. Go ahead. Liberty at department head and division officer
discretion."

   The XO turned to the JOs and said, "You heard the captain. Make it
happen. I'll see to setting
up a shuttle schedule, captain."

   As Susan started to walk away with Maya, her XO asked, "I didn't know
you did babysitting."

   "Believe me commander, she doesn't need anyone to babysit her,"
replied Susan.

   The XO looked at her kind of funny when she said that. Then looked at
Maya again. Maya just
put on her best little girl smile.
*****************************************************************************
   "I am hungry, Maya. How about you?" asked Susan.

   <I am very hungry.>

   <Let's go see what my steward has fixed for lunch.>

   As they walked the passageways they had elicited confused looks from
officers and crew alike.
It seemed as if they were conversing as they walked, but they weren't
talking.

   It was mid afternoon when Susan and Maya returned to the ship's
hanger bay. The XO was
waiting to receive any orders before the captain departed.

   "Any orders captain?"

   "No. Just carry on. I am going to return Maya to her mother."

   "Captain. I have heard rumors that you and the girl have been
behaving strangely today."

   "How so?"

   "Rumor has it you and she appear to be deep in conversation, but no
talking is being done."

   "Maya is a high powered telepath, Pat. We were conversing using
thought."

   The XO had a puzzled expression on his face.

   "Maya," said Susan, "Show him."

   <It works like this, commander. You think a thought and I read it,
then I project an answer.>

   <I just think it?>

   <That's all there is to it.>

   The XO smiled and then laughed. "Captain, that is the best practical
joke, I ever heard of, even
if that wasn't the intent."

   "Yes, I suppose it is," answered Susan.

   Maya smiled at the comment.
******************************************************************************

End Part 1 of ? I try to send in 32KB chunks, all my browser will allow.
From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" <xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net>
Subject: Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 2 of ---(WIP)
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 18:10:21 -0400

Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 2 of ---(WIP)

     Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any
improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net]

Think of this as a space opera.

          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.

Rated PG-10 (Vocabulary)


   <We need to find your mom,> said Susan as they entered the Zocalo.

   <I can find her, Aunt Susan,> replied Maya. <Mommy! Where are you?>

   <No need to yell, sweetheart. You and Aunt Susan wait there. I am
coming there to buy a late
lunch.>

   Maya looked at Susan.

   <I heard,> said Susan, looking for an empty table. 

   "Did she behave, Susan?"

   "She has been a real pleasure to have around. All children should be
this well behaved. Sure
doesn't take after her mom and dad," Susan said sweetly. 

   Lyta chuckled and then, seriously, asked, "Did you talk to Captain
Lockley?"

   "Yes. She is hard headed and doesn't like to admit to making a
mistake."

   "Sounds like someone I know," she shot back.

   "Yeah, that too. I am extending my stay here for a couple of days so
my crew can let their hair
down before we head home. It's been over a year since they have had
access to any decent
recreation facilities beside those on the ship."

   "How do the married members feel about the delay?"

   "I don't know. Some will relish the chance to buy some special things
for their loved ones.

Anyway they may never have a chance like this again. After all, there is
only one Babylon 5 and
there are things here, you simply cannot get anywhere else." 

   "True, so true," replied Lyta.

   Lyta ordered a small lunch as several of her people joined her.

   "We aren't intruding are we?" asked one of the young men.

   Lyta waved to empty chairs for them to sit down. They sat down and
immediately ordered
lunch.

   "I think I could use a meeting with Captain Lockley. She and I need
to come to terms with one
another," said Lyta.

   "Let me arrange it, Lyta," requested Susan.

   "Be my guest," she replied.

   "I need to have a chat with you about Maya."

   Lyta looked at her and asked, "About what?"

   "I am not sure. I am hoping you can tell me."

   "Susan. You're sounding like a fuzzy Vorlon."

   Susan scrunched her eyebrows and smirked at the image that statement
brought to mind.

   "I will send Maya to my quarters with Emily. Then we can talk, but I
warn you, she can
probably overhear us anywhere on the station."

   Susan was visibly shaken at that statement, but said nothing.

   Lyta finished her lunch and told Maya to go with Emily, a young
female member of her group. 
******************************************************************************
   Lyta walked into the stone garden area of Babylon 5 as Susan
explained what happened on the
shuttle ride to her ship, earlier that morning.

   "I never heard of a telepath that could do what she did. Not even
you, and I didn't even feel her
in my mind."

   "Susan. There are some things about Maya that you are going to find
frightening, if not
terrifying," replied Lyta.

   "I don't think I like the sound of that."

   "I know. I have been surprised by some of the things she can do. I
can't even do some of them. I
think it has something to do with my Psi Corps conditioning. She doesn't
have any of that
conditioning."

   "Exactly what does that mean?"

   "As you know every telepath is born a mundane and remains so until he
or she starts to show
the ability. Maya was telepathic from the time she was conceived. Even
before she was born she
was touching my mind. It was eerie the first time it happened. As
powerful and as sensitive as I
am, I never felt it the first time she entered my mind. I was about four
months pregnant and was
going to sleep one night on G'Kar's ship. I felt something warm and soft
and thought I was having
a waking dream. It took me some time to realize what was happening. It
is strange enough being
pregnant. Feeling the fetus's thoughts and feelings is bizarre the first
time or so you experience it.
I must be the first non first-one mother to have the experience."

   "How does that affect me?"

   "She has formed a bond with you. It is more personal than you can
possibly imagine. Apparently
she loves you very much. I can't give you a better explanation than
that. For some reason she has
developed a close relationship with you. It is not an invasion of your
privacy like you would
expect or feel with a normal teep. For her what she feels for and with
you is normal."

   Susan was thoroughly confused. "I don't know what to think or feel
about this."

   "Do you feel invaded, used or abused?"

   "No. I thought I knew something about telepathy. It is obvious there
is a great deal I really don't
know."

   "Susan. Maya is unique. She is half Vorlon, she was a telepath before
she was born. She didn't
have any experience without her abilities. They were there from the very
beginning. She doesn't
understand the mundane viewpoint at all. I think you should feel special
that she has bonded with
you. Most people she ignores or worse."

   "I got that feeling when I went to see Lockley this morning. She was
with me remember?"

   "She didn't respond to Lockley?

   "Totally ignored her. There is one other thing. The station and a
passenger ship almost got hit
by a freighter that lost its navigation thrusters. Somehow it was
stopped before it hit the station or
the other ship and it wasn't done by its crew."

   "What does that have to do with me? This is the first I have heard
about it."


   "I think Maya stopped that freighter, but there is no way to prove
it."

   "Did you ask her?"

   "No. Can you hear what they would say if an earthforce captain was
heard asking a small child
if she averted a station disaster?" 

   "I will ask her," she responded, then continued, "I have someone I
want you to meet."

   Susan looked at her curiously.

   "I told you, Maya is particular about people. I want you to meet the
only other person she has
attached herself to besides me and you. Me because I am her mother. You,
I don't know why, and
the other person, I don't know either, but she seems to find the two of
you special."

   Now, Susan looked really confused.

   "Am I late?" asked a strong male voice from behind them.

   "Not at all," replied Lyta.

   Susan turned to look at their visitor. Somehow he looked familiar,
but she couldn't place him.

   "Susan. I would like to introduce one of my senior aides, Charles
Wayne. I believe you may
have met him before," stated Lyta.

   At the sound of his name, Susan remembered the man and what she had
done to him. She began
to feel very uncomfortable.

   "Lyta. This isn't fair," said Susan.

   "Chuck. I think you remember Captain Ivanova," continued an amused
Lyta.

   "Yes. I might say it was an unforgettable moment in my life, though I
have really tried to forget
it," he replied.

   Susan looked like she would like to find a rock, any rock, to crawl
under. "He is your senior
aide?"

   "Yes, and if it hadn't been for you he would have been killed in the
telepath war," said Lyta.

   "As it turned out, Captain Ivanova, your treatment of me, cemented my
position in Bester's eyes
as a most trustworthy psi cop. That trust allowed me to be very useful
to Lyta as a behind the
lines agent and the opportunity to escape when the time came. For that
chance I am grateful.
However, it took me a long time to see it that way. Lyta explained a lot
about you. I realize your
treatment of me wasn't aimed at me as a person, but at me the psi cop
representing the corps. You
would have reacted the same way no matter who the psi cop might have
been," explained Wayne. 

   "I am truly sorry for what I did to you," replied Ivanova.

   "Apology accepted. Captain. Life is too damned short to hold useless
grudges," responded
Wayne.

   "Could I offer to buy both of you dinner tonight," asked Lyta. "You
can even invite Captain
Lockley, Susan."

   Susan thought about what she had just been told and what was asked of
her. "I can do that," she
answered.

   "If I am going to dinner, I need to contact Lockley and get myself
properly attired. I haven't had
an excuse to wear a dress in almost two years," responded Susan with a
smile. 

   "I will make the reservations, and let you both know in about twenty
minutes," offered Wayne,
taking his leave.

   "Mister Wayne, just contact my ship when you finish," said Susan as
he turned and walked
away.

   "Lyta. Are you trying to play matchmaker?" asked Susan.

   "Honestly. Not at all. I just wanted you to meet him. I wanted you to
see him as a human being,
not a psi cop animal. If there are feelings or anything else, it is none
of my doing. Why?"

   "I don't know. For some reason I find him extremely attractive."

   "Just think about Marcus and it will pass."

   "I am thinking about Marcus, but I still find Charles extremely
attractive," she replied, seriously.

   "Maybe it's because he has many of the traits, you loved about
Marcus."

   Susan just looked at Lyta. Obviously she was thinking about that.

   "I will see you later, Susan. I have another meeting, shortly,"
stated Lyta.

   "Didn't you say that Maya, got attached to Charles?"

   "Yes."

   Susan turned and walked away, obviously deep in thought.

   Lyta smiled at her back. Maya had to be the one responsible for the
reactions she had just
witnessed.
******************************************************************************
   "C&C can you patch me through to Captain Lockley?" Susan spoke into
her link.

   "Lockley here. What can I do for you, Captain Ivanova?"

   "Will you be free for dinner this evening. I was asked to invite you.
I will have the particulars in
about half an hour."

   Lockley, who was walking through Brown sector with Zack on a routine
inspection tour,
thought for a few moments, then spoke into her link, "I have nothing
scheduled after 1800.
Anytime after that is fine."

   "Captain, if you don't mind, could you wear civies?"

   Zack looked at Lockley as she answered the link, "Sure."

   "Captain?" asked Zack.

   "Beats the hell out of me, Zack, but it is a free supper," answered
Lockley. 

   As she answered Zack, Captain Lockley realized she didn't have any
civilian clothes. However,
she thought, she could submit it as a requirement for an official
function. She figured Lyta would
be there and she was an official of the Glenthorian trade delegation.
She was beginning to
appreciate the accounting course that been one of the academy graduation
requirements.
******************************************************************************
   Lyta was in her quarters getting ready for the dinner. It was for
2000. She was trying to decide
what to wear. She turned with a skirt and blouse and jacket combo and
asked, "What do you
think sweetheart?"

   "You will be beautiful, mommy. It doesn't matter what you wear,"
answered Maya.

   "Maya. I have to ask you a few questions."

   Maya looked at her expectantly.

   "What did you do in C&C today?"

   "Nothing, mommy. I was looking out at the ships and stars when I felt
someone become very
scared."

   "And..."


   "They were becoming very scared. I couldn't help feeling their fear.
I saw what was scaring
them and made it go away."

   Lyta hugged Maya and kissed her on the cheek. "You did good,
sweetheart. You may have
saved a great many people. Someone knows what you did, but she won't
tell, because she can't
prove it. You must be more careful in the future."

   Maya returned the hug and buried her face in her mothers shoulder and
neck. "I am sorry,"
came a muffled response.

   "Maya. Are you trying to get Mister Wayne and Aunt Susan together?"

   Maya shook her head, no.

   You like both of them very much, don't you?"

   She shook her head, yes.
******************************************************************************
   Susan like Lockley had to buy a dress and the accessories to go with
it, because she didn't have
any civilian clothes with her.

   She had met Lockley in the Zocalo while shopping for a dress. It had
been a pleasure shopping.
She had forgotten what it was like to do it. Lockley had admitted that
she couldn't remember the
last time she had indulged. They had spent almost two hours finding
something that they liked.

   "Call me Elizabeth, please. I so seldom get to do something not
military. I want to enjoy this,"
said Lockley.

   "Only if you call me Susan. I like to be someone besides the captain,
occasionally," replied
Susan.

   "Susan. What do you know about Lyta's staff?"

   "I know they are all telepaths. Most of them are at least P-10s or
above. A couple are high
P-12s."

   "That worries me. The last time there were a bunch of telepaths on
board we had a disaster."

   "It won't happen with these people. Lyta hand picked them and deep
scanned all of them. They
are absolutely loyal to her and she doesn't allow any funny stuff. If
you ask tonight, I am sure she
will enlighten you. She appreciates your position, more than you might
imagine. Remember she
has fought several wars in the last several years."

   "She has sent people to their certain deaths. She has killed on a
personal level and in battle, and
been responsible for the safety and welfare of a very large group of
people. I suppose you are
right."

   "I have some things to take care of before dinner," said Susan,
paying for her purchase. As an afterthought she asked, "Elizabeth. What
happened to the guard ships normally kept in the vicinity?"

   "I don't know. I hadn't really noticed with everything else going on.
Why?"

   "I'm not sure. It just seems very odd considering what has happened
in the last few years."

   "We can discuss it later, if you want. Right now I have some things
that need my attention. I'll see you at dinner."
******************************************************************************
   The XO and Chief Duty Officer(CDO) were waiting to see the captain
off. As Ivanova
approached both men had to fight to keep their jaws from hitting the
deck. They knew their
skipper was a real looker, but nothing had prepared them for the way she
looked tonight. The
dress ended about ten centimeters above her knees. The blouse and jacket
showed off her upper
body to perfection and the high heels made her legs seem like they went
on forever. Captain
Ivanova was one hundred-seventy nine centimeters tall in her bare feet.
With the heels she
towered over the two men.

   "Cap...tain Ivanova," the CDO managed to get out, before swallowing
hard. "Are there any
special orders for tonight, sir?"

   "Only one CDO. Don't wait up. I'll see you in the morning XO."

   "Will you be returning tonight?" asked the XO.

   "I'll see you in the morning, Pat," responded Susan.

   As she boarded the shuttle, Ivanova was tickled to see the reaction
of crew members already
aboard who were going on liberty. There were ten other crew members
already seated and every
one of them tried to hide their drooling. She wondered if the crew would
ever look at her again
the way the used to.

   As Susan walked through the arrival and customs areas, she could
almost hear the heads
swiveling to follow her movements and breath being held by those same
observers. She hadn't felt
this good in years, and she wasn't sure why.

   She was about fifteen minutes early so she sat at the Fresh Aire's
bar and carefully nursed a
vodka over ice. It was exhilarating to watch the men try to stare at her
and hide the fact at the
same time.

   Captain Lockley walked up beside her. "You are absolutely ravishing
tonight, Captain Ivanova."
   Turning and looking Lockley up and down, "Stunning doesn't begin to
describe you, Captain
Lockley, replied Susan. "Do you think the station can stand have two
really beautiful mature
women out and about at the same time?" she asked.

   Before Lockley could respond, she noticed Lyta and two men coming
across the Zocalo. "I
think we've just been outclassed, Susan," noted Lockley, pointing to
Lyta and her escorts.

   Susan was stunned. "There has to be a law against being that
beautiful," she replied.

   Every male head, human and other wise was turned toward Lyta as eyes
followed her every
move. She had an air that advertised, "Look, But Don't Touch", in any
language you could
imagine.

   She approached the headwaiter and was escorted to her reserved table.
A waiter came over and
invited Susan and Elizabeth to join Lyta as her guests. Her escorts
waited and helped the two
other women with their seats.
******************************************************************************
   They had just finished ordering their meal and drinks, no one
commented on Lockley ordering a
non alcholic drink, when Lyta did the introductions. Lyta's
escorts, actually her two senior staff members, Charles Wayne and Larry
Evans, both average
looking and in their late thirties, were seated on opposite sides of the
table with Ivanova and
Lockley respectively. Lyta told Susan and Elizabeth that the men were
former psi cops. Charles
used to be a regular psi cop and Larry specialized in
counterintelligence.

   Charles looked over at Lockley and asked, "Are you really the captain
of this station?"

   Lockley smiled and said, "Yes. Are you surprised?" she asked.

   "Very pleasantly," he responded.

   "And you, Captain Ivanova," asked Evans.

   "I sort of own the "hog" parked alongside the station."

   "Susan. I can think of lots of things to call your ship. However,
"hog" isn't one of them," commented Lyta.

   "The term is referencing a motorcycle made during earth's twentieth
century. Garibaldi showed it to me in some very old vids he owns,"
replied Susan.

   "Makes sense now," answered Lyta.

   Lyta carefully steered the conversation away from business and back
to personal experiences.
She was careful to avoid her own experiences. It turned out that the two
captains and their
unofficial escorts hit it off so well, Lyta began to feel like a fifth
wheel. It was what she wanted. 


   Lyta's experiences had brought her to the belief that both Ivanova
and Lockley were working
too hard to excel in what was patently a man's world. They had
sacrificed their personal lives for
success. It wouldn't hurt to get them to step out of the rat race for a
short break. It was to be a
step she never seriously considered, when they stepped.

   Dinner was over and the two couples were enjoying dancing to the
restaurant's band. Lyta
kicked back and watched things proceed.

   "Could I have the next dance?" asked a male voice from behind her.

   Lyta turned to see who had addressed her and saw a handsome gentleman
of about thirty-five,
dressed in an earthforce uniform and sporting commanders insignia
standing about two meters
away. She knew it had taken a lot of nerve for the man to approach her.
She also noted the
wedding band on his left hand.

   "Of course," she answered. It would be interesting to see what line
of approach he used.

   The music ended, but Susan, Lockley and their dates did not return to
the table, instead they
danced the next dance. Susan looked over at the table about half-way
through the dance and
noticed that Lyta was no longer there.

   "Tell me commander, what is your best line?" asked Lyta.

   The man looked confused. "I don't understand," he replied.

   Lyta flowed with the commander's movements. He was a superb dancer.
The music stopped and
they made their way back to her table.

   "What did you mean by "what is my best line"," he asked. Then he
continued, "I don't have one,
if you mean pickup line. I am happily married. I just haven't had a
chance to dance in almost two
years. Who wouldn't want to dance with the most beautiful woman in the
place?"

   "Touche. You are also the best dancer I have ever had the pleasure to
share a floor with."

   Susan and Lockley and company were already back at the table when
Lyta and the commander
approached.

   Looking at he XO, Susan asked, "What brings you out tonight,
commander?"

   "I just had to see this place. I have heard so many things about it,
I couldn't pass up the
opportunity to see for myself. The shopping and souvenirs are something
to behold. It's like a
huge bazaar, and I just got to dance with the most beautiful woman I've
ever seen."

   "What will your wife say?"


   "I won't know, sir, until I tell her. I don't think she will begrudge
me a few dances. Besides I
have you as witness that I behaved myself."

   "Captain Lockley. May I introduce my XO, the best XO in the fleet,
Patrick Owens."

   "Pleased to meet you commander," said Lockley.

   "Likewise captain," he responded.

   The music starting up was a tango from mid twentieth century earth's
Brazilian area.

   Lyta stood up and took the commander's hand. "Shall we?"

   On the dance floor, Owen's was stunned by Lyta ability. He had never
danced with anyone this
well coordinated before. He suspected that after tonight, he never would
again.

   Lyta's and Commander Owen's efforts were not going unnoticed at their
table nor at a number
of other tables.

   "I think I want to dance at least one dance with your exec," said
Lockley.

   "You and me, Elizabeth. I never even knew he could dance," responded
Ivanova.

   "You girls are impressed by the commander's dancing. I want at least
one with my boss. She is
also very good," commented Wayne.

   "Me too," added Evans. "I think I am going to remember tonight for a
long time to came."

   "That makes two of us, Larry," responded Wayne.

   "How did you two wind up with being here tonight?" asked Ivanova.

   "Easy. Lyta told the entire staff that she was having dinner with the
station CO and the CO of
the destroyer alongside and needed two volunteers to accompany her. When
no one volunteered,
Chuck and I got "volunteered"," answered Evans.

   "We didn't know that you two were females, much less, knockouts,"
added Wayne.

   "Luck of the draw. I hope we don't disappoint you, Charles,"
commented Lockley.

   Both men looked at one another and Wayne responded, "Not much chance
of that Captain
Lockley."
*****************************************************************************
   "What do you think of Susan, commander?" asked Lyta.


   "Speaking as someone who has server under a number of COs, she is the
best yet. She is very
sharp, cares about her people and finishes the job and if she had balls,
they would be the size of
this station," he responded.

   "Sounds like an accurate description of the Susan I know."

   "Don't get me wrong. Captain Ivanova is as hard as nails, but she is
not careless or foolish
about what we can and cannot do. She doesn't like to get people killed."

   "When you get home, you tell your wife she has herself one hell of a
husband."

   "If you say so."

   The next dance was slow and all three couples danced, Wayne with
Lyta, Lockley with
Commander Owens and Susan with Evans.

   "Boss dancing with you is so easy, it makes me look good," said
Wayne.

   "I know. You aren't a bad dancer. You just need more practice."

   "You would be a great practice partner."

   "I don't often get to do this. I have a feeling it won't come again
for a very long time."
************************************************************************
   "You are very good, Captain Lockley," commented the commander.

   "You are an expert, commander. What's your secret?"

   "My wife used to be a dance instructor."

   Lockley laughed. "Figures. You and she must dance a lot."

   "Every chance we get, which hasn't been many the last few years.
However, I do plan to make
up for lost time."
*****************************************************************************
    "Captain Ivanova, you are easy on the eyes and arms, and you smell
terrific," said Evans.

   "Is that the latest pick-up line?"

   "Pick-up line? I don't understand."

   "You guys really didn't know what you were in for tonight, did you?"

   "No. We thought we would be trapped into listening to Lyta and a
couple of middle-aged men
discuss trade problems and solutions. We never dreamed of you two."

   "Sometimes the universe smiles on you, Larry. Like it did tonight."

   Susan snuggled a little closer to him and was rewarded by his
breathing changing. She could
feel his heartbeat through her breast against his chest and it increased
markedly. She smiled
inwardly. They were real males and responded as such. In that respect
telepaths were not different
from mundanes.
******************************************************************************
   It was approaching midnight when Commander Owens took his leave of
the dance party. Lyta
insisted on escorting him back to the shuttle departure area. They were
almost there when they
passed a darkened passageway leading to some loading areas. They were
not paying attention
when a voice from the shadows ordered them to stop. Lyta had been
conversing with the
commander and had not detected the thug. She scanned him and found that
he intended to kill
them after robbing them.

   The thug stepped forward into the light and revealed a PPG leveled at
them.

   "Move and die. I want your money and jewelry."

   "The commander looked at Lyta and said, "I am sorry to get you into
this."

   "No problem commander. We aren't in any trouble, he is," replied
Lyta.

   "You might be pretty now, lady, but one shot from this thing and
nobody will want to look at
what's left."

   Commander Owens was removing his wallet when Lyta said, "Don't
bother. He intends to kill
us anyway, and we wouldn't be his first."

   "You can make it easy or hard. It's your choice."

   "Commander. Call C&C and have them get security down here to pick up
a dead robber," said
Lyta, matter of factly.

  With that she turned to face the thug and smiled a smile that almost
turned the man's blood to
ice. He was scared out of his wits, when his hand moved the PPG until it
was in front of his face.
As his mouth opened he became terrified. He could do nothing to stop
himself from putting the
muzzle of the weapon into his mouth.

   "You may want to turn your head commander. This is going to be
messy," commented Lyta.
Then to the thug, "Your crime career is over and your life is forfeit."

   Commander Owens was stunned, and at the same time fascinated, at what
was transpiring
before him. There was a PPG blast muffled by the thugs mouth and his
fried brains splattered over
the bulkhead behind him as his lifeless body fell to the deck.

   "Are you going to call security, commander?" asked Lyta.

   Owens called security, identified himself and was told to wait until
they arrived.

   "I hope you don't let this spoil your evening, commander."

   "No, it won't. I just never watched anyone blow his brains out
before."

   "Truth is, I don't do it very often, either."

   It was less than three minutes before a security man arrived to take
charge of the scene.

   "We will need statements from both of you commander," said the guard.

   "Not a problem, officer," replied Owens.

   Zack Allen arrived a few minutes later as Lyta and Owens were
finishing their statements.

   "Lyta. What are you doing here?" asked Zack.

   I was escorting the commander back to his shuttle loading area, when
the gentleman over there
tried to rob and kill us," answered Lyta.

   The first officer asked, How did you know he intended to kill you?"

   "Bob, you don't know who Lyta is, do you?" asked Zack.

   "No sir. I don't."

   "Meet the most powerful telepath you will ever meet," answered Zack.
"If she says he was
going to kill them, believe her."

   "Who killed him?"

   "She probably did. She probably made him think frying his own brains
was the best idea he ever
had. Am I close, Lyta?"

   She only nodded her head slightly in response.

   "Don't worry about it, Lyta. No one is going to miss him. Besides,
with your papers, we
couldn't do anything to you even if we wanted to."

   "Can we go?" asked Owens.


   "Sure commander. Have a good night. Goodnight, Lyta," replied Zack.

   "Goodnight, Zack, officer," answered Lyta. Then she and Owens left.

   After Lyta and the commander had departed the area, Bob looked at
Zack and asked, "Chief. 

   Were you serious about what you said she did?"

   "As a heart attack, Bob. She is about as dangerous a being as you can
imagine. Remind me to
show you some security camera footage that I have kept, tomorrow. It
should scare the hell out
of you, every time you think of her," replied Zack.
******************************************************************************
   "You have provided me a most pleasant and memorable, if unusual
evening. I won't be
forgetting it anytime soon. That is a promise, Lyta."

   Lyta gave him a light kiss on the lips and said, "if I am ever near
Mars again, I will look you and
your family up." Then, giving it some thought, she added, "When you get
back, look up a man at
Edgar Industries named Michael Garibaldi. He is easy to find. He owns
and runs it. Tell him Lyta
Alexander said to take care of your wife and family. If he asks for
proof give him these numbers,
and tell him to remember John Sheridan."

   Before Lyta gave him the numbers, he got paper and pen from his
"beachguard"(people in
charge of fleet landing during a ship's stay in a port) chief.

   "He will never forget those numbers and what they meant, commander."

   Giving the chief back his pen, he told Lyta goodnight one more time,
then went to board the
shuttle.

   As Lyta walked away she could read the surface thoughts of the beach
guard. They appreciated
beautiful women.
******************************************************************************
   "I am calling it a night, ladies and gentlemen," announced Larry
Evans. "Thank you for a very
memorable evening Captain Lockley. It was a real pleasure making your
acquaintance, Captain
Ivanova," he added.

   "Would you mind escorting me back to my quarters, Mister Evans?"
asked Lockley.

   Larry's offered arm answered her question.

   Elizabeth and Larry left.

   "If you wish, Captain Ivanova, I would be happy to escort you to the
shuttle boarding area,"
offered Charles.


   "That won't be necessary, Charles," replied Ivanova.

   "Well, thank you for a wonderful evening, and I bid you goodnight,
captain. I have a day full of
meetings tomorrow, and it is very late."

   "You misunderstand, Charles. I plan to escort you back to your
quarters."

   Looking surprised, Wayne offered Susan his arm and they left the
restaurant.

   The two couples leaving were noticed by many of the patrons.
**************************************************************************
   On her way back to her quarters, Lyta passed through the Zocalo and
noted that Lockley,
Ivanova and their escorts were already gone. She smiled to herself and
felt quite satisfied how
things went for the evening.

   Entering her quarters Lyta saw that Maya had been put to bed. Emily
was asleep on the bed
beside her. Lyta gently touched Emily's mind and she awoke.

   "Thank you for watching Maya, Emily."

   Showing a sleepy smile, Emily, replied, "It was a pleasure. She is
very interesting."

   As Emily left her quarters, Lyta said, "You will have to tell me
about it sometime."

   Lyta got ready for bed, wondering what kind of mischief Wayne and
Evans were getting into.
****************************************************************************

END PART 2


From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" <xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net>
Subject: Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 3 of ---(WIP)
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 15:59:51 -0400

Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 3 of ---(WIP)

     Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any
improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net]

Think of this as a space opera.

          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.

Rated PG-10 (Vocabulary)
   Passageways outside Lockley's quarters  were now guarded as were her
XO's and other
officer's quarters. Since the days of Sheridan, it had changed as
concerned safety of the station's
senior staff. This made it impossible for the captain and her escort to
get where they were without
being observed.



   "I had a wonderful time captain. I think I should go before rumors
get started," said Evans.

   "I appreciate the gesture, Larry. How about coming for a nightcap. I
haven't had a man in for a
very long time," replied Lockley.

   Kissing her lightly on the lips, he insisted, "We don't need the
kinds of problems my coming in
could generate, Elizabeth. Your superiors will have a fit when they find
out you spent the evening
with a telepath, especially a former psi cop who works for a foreign
government. My boss will
have my head for compromising my position. Besides, I know from Lyta
that telepaths make you
feel creepy." Then, stepping away from the captain, he smiled a weak
smile as he turned and
walked away.

   Entering her quarters, a disappointed Lockley said to herself, "Not
all of them, Larry. Not all of
them."

   Lockley prided herself in believing she didn't need anybody. It was a
characteristic she shared
with Ivanova. She had wanted so badly to sleep with Evans. She was a
normal woman. She just
had denied the fact for a good many years. She couldn't readily remember
the last time she had
shared a man's bed, or anybody's bed for that matter,  not counting her
short marriage to John
Sheridan.

  She undressed and got into bed. Her whole body was aching for the
intimacy she had been
anticipating. Sleep was a long time in coming.
****************************************************************************
    As they walked toward Wayne's quarters, he asked, "Where are you
going to spend the night
Captain Ivanova?" 

   He was using her formal title to erect a barrier between the two of
them. He wasn't sure it was
working. He wasn't sure what she had in mind, but he was sure it would
mean trouble. 

   God, he didn't believe he was having this conversation with himself.
Here he was with an
incredibly beautiful, independent, self-made woman, who was apparently
intending to sleep with
him, and all he could do was argue with himself about why he should run
like hell the other way.

   "A penny for your thoughts, Charley," she said.

   "Not in this lifetime, captain."

   Susan was becoming aware that she could feel Wayne's apprehension.
She had never been able
to do anything like that before. She thought maybe it was just her
imagination, or maybe she was
better at reading body language and facial expressions than she thought.

  "You don't want me to come in. Do you, Charley?" she asked.

  He was stunned. She was a latent telepath. He had been told by Lyta
and she had also told him
Ivanova could not scan anyone because she was less than a P-1. He
wondered how anyone could
know that if she had never been tested.

   Actually, Wayne was confused by his own feelings. He had accepted
that Susan's reaction to
him and her actions toward him in the past had really been self
preservation. Still it had been a
murderous brain numbing year on her ship. He was having trouble
reconciling the Ivanova he had
known with the one who had her arm linked with his now.

   "What is bothering you, Charles?" 

   She had used his formal name. He was beginning to feel he might get
out of this, yet.

   "It's how I treated you aboard the Zeus, isn't it?"

   Wayne didn't know how to answer. 

   "Captain. I have accepted that your actions on board Zeus were
essentially self preservation, on
an intellectual level."

   "Your personal feelings from then, those are the problem?"

   He nodded.

   "What can I do to make up for it. What do I have to do to redeem
myself?"

   "I don't know," he said quietly. "I want to forgive and forget, but
it isn't that easy."

   "Do you know why I came here with you?"

   Looking her straight in the eyes, he whispered, "Yes. I don't have to
be a genius or telepath to
understand
that."

   "Your breathing is a little ragged."

   "I know."

   "At least invite me in for a nightcap. I'll leave after the drink."

   "Captain. Every fiber of my being tells me that you should leave,
now."

   "One drink, Charles. I won't bite."

   Against his better judgement, Wayne opened his door and Ivanova
followed him in. He was
getting a feeling of waves of desire washing over him. The only other
woman he had been with on
his own had been a lower level telepath. He did not include forced
breeding at Psi Corps demand.
He had felt nothing for the women and had finally convinced his
superiors to simply remove his
sperm and artificially inseminate them. The fact that they had no more
choice than he had never
occurred to him before. He had simply hated them. He now realized that
he was right to hate the
corps for what it did to him, but it was wrong to have hated the women,
who were as helpless
as he.

   It hurt to think that he had done to them something similar to what
Ivanova had done to him.

   Ivanova was bothered by what she was seeing in his mind. Then the
horror of the situation
broke over her like a fifty foot wave on the beach. She could read his
mind.

   Wayne felt the gentle probe and spun around from making the drinks to
stare at Ivanova.

    "Captain. You aren't latent anymore."

    "I don't understand," answered Susan.

   Wayne came over gave her the drink and sat down on the opposite side
of his table.

   "Try to read my thoughts,"

   "I can't. I am not even a P-1."

   Susan studied him over her drink. She wanted him very badly. In her
mind she could already feel
his touch on her unclothed skin and her breathing increased.

   The intensity of the feelings of desire almost knocked Wayne out of
his chair.

   With great difficulty, he managed to say, "I think you should go,
Captain Ivanova."

   His mouth was saying the right things, but his biological needs were
ignoring his mouth.

   Susan stood up and put her drink on the table and stepped around to
Wayne.

   Wayne stood up intending to show her to the door. She put her arms
around his neck and kissed
him very deeply. Inside his head several things were happening at once.
His needs took over and
he returned her kiss. He had never felt like this before. Another part
of his mind registered that
although Ivanova had been a latent telepath, that was no longer the
case.

   Instead of showing her to the door, Wayne found himself removing her
blouse and bra. He had
no control over what he was doing. Ivanova was all positive responses.
Somewhere in her mind,
she was trying to understand what she was doing, but the effort got lost
in her desires.

   Wayne broke the embrace and staggered back still trying to keep
control of the situation.

   "Captain...Susan...we shouldn't........
***************************************************************************
DAY 2
***************************************************************************
   Wayne awoke when his alarm went off. He struggled awake and realized
he wasn't alone. Last
night hadn't been a dream. He had his arms full of woman, one Susan
Ivanova, captain Earth
Alliance and commanding officer of the massive destroyer parked
alongside the station.

   Susan slowly awoke to a sense of security and warmth and realized she
wasn't alone. She was
encircled by someone's arms. Slowly, last night worked its way into her
consciousness. She turned
far enough to find herself looking into the face of Charles Wayne. She
kissed him and turned over
until they were front to front.

   "Don't say anything, Charley. It was wonderful."

   "I know. I think we need to talk to Lyta this morning."

   She kissed him again, deeply, and they made love again. Finally they
were driven out of bed by
an insistent incoming call signal.

   Susan went to shower and Wayne answered the call. "Accept. Audio
only."

   "Good morning, Charles," said Lyta's voice.

   "Morning, boss."

   "Do you know where I can find Captain Ivanova?"

   "Umm, she is here, Miss Alexander."

   The formal address wasn't lost on Lyta. "Her ship is trying to
contact her, or rather her XO is."

   "I will have her call them. I think you, me and she need to talk
asap."

   "Why?"

   "Not over an open circuit."

   "In my quarters in thirty minutes."

   Wayne went into the bathroom and began shaving as Susan showered.
Before they left his
quarters, he took her in his arms, kissed her on the neck and said, "I
hope this wasn't just a one
night stand."

   Whispering into his ear, she said, "Not even."
******************************************************************************
   Lyta looked at Charles and Susan. She didn't have to ask. The way
they looked at one another
and behaved said it all. Susan had found someone else to focus on
besides Marcus.

   As soon as Susan was patched through to the Ares, her XO's face
appeared on the screen. Good morning, Captain Ivanova. You have a call
from General Nelms. He is questioning our
stay here at Babylon 5."

   "Just who is he. I've never heard of him, and I thought I knew all of
the ones who have any
clout."

   "I looked him up in the files. He is a paper pusher and is apparently
involved in the "Welcome
Home" show they have planned for us."

   "Well, at least he can't order us anywhere. I will be back aboard
later this morning. I have some
things to work out with Lyta."

   "Yes sir," answered Owens.

   Lyta looked from Wayne to Ivanova. "What is the problem, Charley?"

   "It's not exactly a problem, but it seems that Susan is no longer a
latent telepath." 

   Lyta looked at Susan and raised one eyebrow.

   "I was able to sense his feelings, and at least once it seemed like I
could read his thoughts."

   "He is a P-12. No way should you be able to read any of his thoughts,
unless he had his walls
down."

   "I didn't. She also projected intense feelings of desire. They were
strong enough to get through
my blocks," replied Charley.

   Maya woke up at this time. "Hi, Aunt Susan."

   "Good morning, Maya," responded Susan.

   "Mommy. Did you know Aunt Susan is a telepath?"

   Lyta looked at Maya. "Why do you say that."

   "Yesterday, I saw and felt it when I shared her mind."

   "Is that what you call it?" asked Susan.

   Maya shook her head in agreement.

   Lyta made a call and ordered breakfast from one of the delivery
restaurants in the Zocalo. She
then asked Susan to have a seat. Susan sat down on the sofa that was to
the right side of the main
room, as referenced to the entryway. Lyta sat down beside her and told
her to relax.

   "If it weren't for the blocking your mother taught you when you were
a child, you would be
screaming your head off now, or worse, Susan," commented Lyta.

   "What are you getting at, Lyta?"

   "You are showing signs that your telepathic abilities are beginning
to awaken."

   "Must not be much to them. I can't read any thoughts."

   "That's because you are just beginning to use them and you have a
hatred for it. This is
hampering your ability. It may be for the best though. You have a
natural, more or less, aversion
to invading people's privacy."

   "How strong will I be when it is all said and done?"

   "I don't know yet, but you read Charley and he is a high P-12 and had
his guard up."

   "I think I may have a solution, Lyta," said Charley.

   "You want to train her?"

   "It might not be a bad idea. After all, we do have a working
relationship. Besides, she needs
someone nearby, just in case."

   "Susan?" asked Lyta.

   "I agree with Charley, but he can't do his job and be with me all the
time."

   "I can," interjected Maya.

   "You?" asked Susan.

   "It works fine, Susan," said Lyta. "Maya can stay with you while you
are here at Babylon 5 and
Charley can go with you when you leave. It shouldn't take long for you
to learn enough to keep
out of trouble. You have hidden your truth for almost forty years, a few
more shouldn't be a
problem," she continued. Remember, Maya may be as strong as I am. She is
much stronger than a
normal P-12."

   It was a few minutes after they had agreed that Maya would shadow
Susan while she was at the
station, that their breakfast's arrived.

  Right after breakfast, Charley left to make preparations for that
day's business.
******************************************************************************
   "Tell me about it Susan?"

   "Not much to tell. I think I am in love with him and I don't know
why."

   "Maybe you see in him the qualities of Marcus."

   "You may be right. I look at Charley, and somehow I feel that Marcus
would heartily approve of him."

   "Steven told me that once when he was on Mars with Marcus, Number One
asked him to dinner
and Marcus gave him some good advice."

   "Which was?"

   "Happiness doesn't often come to us and you should take it when it is
available, but when it calls
you by name, don't ignore it, or words to that effect. I think he would
tell you grab Charley and
hold on for all you're worth."  

   "If it is to be, I damn sure will," she answered. "Maya are you ready
to be my babysitter?" she
asked.

   "I am ready, Aunt Susan."

   "You know what to do, Maya?"

   "Make sure Aunt Susan keeps her blocks in place, and help her if they
fail."

   "She is all yours, Susan. Take good care of her."

   Susan and Maya left for her ship.
****************************************************************************
   Still wearing her dress from the evening before, Susan and Maya
debarked the shuttle to find the
XO and CDO waiting for them.

   "Babysitting again, captain?" asked Owens.

   "Other way around, XO," she replied. "I need to get changed into
something better suited to
work."

   "That general has been calling every fifteen minutes, captain. He is
getting to be a pain in the
ass."

   "XO. Language," admonished Susan, indicating Maya.

   "My apologies."
******************************************************************************
   Ivanova's call went through and General Leftcourt's face appeared on
the communications
screen in her office.

   "Good morning, Captain Ivanova. What can I do for you? I am assuming
this isn't just a
courtesy call," stated Leftcourt.

   "General, I just want to make sure I understand my position as
commanding officer of the
Ares."

   "I wasn't aware of a problem, Susan."

   "General, I arrived at Babylon 5 almost two weeks ahead of schedule
due to the efforts of my
crew. Unless I receive official orders from your office, I intend to
stick around here for a week or
ten days. That will get me back to earth three or four days ahead of my
present schedule. My
crew has worked very hard and has had almost no chance for a break in
more than a year.
Babylon 5 is unique, and I am going to let them blow off steam for a
while, and when we get back
there shouldn't be the kinds of problems that have been experienced in
the past with other crews."

   "Sounds like a well thought out solution to me. I suppose you are
getting calls from General
Nelms. He obviously isn't familiar with your record or he wouldn't be
bothering you. When he
calls again, refer him to my office and I will put a halt to him."

   "Thank you general."

   "Susan, is that a child there with you?"

   "Yes sir."

   "Yours?"

   "No sir. She belongs to a friend."

   "Whom?"

   "I'd rather not say, general. She is helping me with a personal
problem that has come up. I will
be happy to explain when I get back," hesitating she added," I notice
that except for the Ares
there is no protection for the station. Considering my experience with
the Drakh,
isn't this a little short sighted?"

   "I wasn't aware of the situation. Captain Lockley hasn't mentioned it
in any of her
communiques. I will look into it and get back to you asap. I appreciate
your concern, Susan."

   "I'm am looking forward to buying you a drink. I have something for
you, too. I think you will
like it. Good day, Susan."

   The transmission ended.

   As soon as he broke the connection he started making inquiries. Susan
had been correct.
Leaving Babylon 5 undefended by at least a token destroyer or two, or
the equivalent from other
alliance members, was a bad error in someone's judgement.  
******************************************************************************
   "He likes you, Aunt Susan."

   "How do you mean that. You can't read minds over a transmission link.
Can you?"

   "No. He likes you like mommy likes me."

   "I see. You may be right. I never thought of that before."

   It explained a lot about Leftcourt's reactions to the things she had
done in the past. He had been
one of her instructors at the academy when he wasn't directing
operations against the minbari
during the Earth-Minbari War.

   Susan's communications panel sounded an incoming signal beep and she
accepted. The man on
the screen was unfamiliar to her.

   "I am General Nelms," said the image without hesitation.

   Susan studied the image for a full minute. She was even less
impressed by the man on the screen
than she was when she first heard of him. Something in her demeanor must
have irked him.

   "I have been trying to reach you for most of the morning. I am
charged with the "Welcome
Home" celebration that is planned for your ship. Even though you are
ahead of schedule, your XO
tells me you have no intention of arriving in earth orbit early."

   "You have your information straight, so what's your problem?"

   "I have been told to move up the date of the event two weeks since
you are ahead of schedule."

   "With all due respect General, you are not in my chain of command. I
suggest you call General
Leftcourt's office and speak to him. Since I am in command of this ship,
until I get official orders
from his office changing my schedule, or I am officially relieved of my
command, I will do as I
please, and it pleases me to give my crew some well earned R&R."

   "You will regret this captain."

   "Don't threaten me, general. I have recorded this conversation, and
the one I just had with
General Leftcourt."

   "As you wish, captain."

   After the transmission ended, Susan said under her breath, "Pompous
ass!"

   From the doorway of her office, "Captain. Language," said her XO.

   "You heard?"

   "Enough. He could make trouble."

   "He can die, too. I have been through too much to let some lowlife
paper pusher tell me what to
do with my ship."

   "They can issue orders."

   "I can ignore them, and complain I had to guard the station, until
they got a decent one
stationed here, too. That would be the truth."

   "I think I am beginning to understand some of the rumors I heard
about you, before I  became
your XO."

   "They do have a tendency to precede me. Now, what can I do for you,
Pat?"

   "I am wondering if maybe we shouldn't keep a couple of the plants at
full power. If anything
happens, and I hope it doesn't, we might be hard pressed to respond."

   Looking at him seriously, "Do it. Pat. Have them keep the rest on hot
standby, but I still want
max liberty for the crew. Make sure the crew understands that they will
be subject to short notice
recall. I wouldn't want to try to fight without a minimum crew."

   "You got it, skipper."
***************************************************************************
   Back on earth, General Nelms called General Leftcourt.

   "What can I do for you General Nelms?"

   "I just talked to Captain Ivanova, CO of the Ares."

   "Did she tell you to piss off?"

   "Not in those words."

   "Let me give you some good advice, general. Leave Captain Ivanova
alone. Screw with her,
and she will hand your head on a stick."

   "I have a job to do, General Leftcourt. Some very influential people
want to make a grand show
of the Ares returning from her maiden voyage. Captain Ivanova got her
last command shot up so
badly, we had to scrap the ship."

   "Yes, she did. I believe it was determined that if it had been anyone
else they wouldn't have got
back alive. So, what is your point?"

   "My superiors aren't going to like this."
   "Send them to me. I'll take you off the hook. She is probably our
best combat commander and
as such she gets leeway in doing what she wants with her command. Do you
understand my
position?"

   "Completely, General Leftcourt."

   Leftcourt knew this was not the last he was going to hear about
this."
******************************************************************************
   The XO had gone to carry out the captain's orders. Susan was busy
working her way through a
stack of messages and ship's status reports. Maya was laying down to
take a nap on her couch.

   It was almost noon when her link beeped. It was Wayne.

   "Captain Ivanova, I hope I am not interrupting anything important."

   Looking at the report in her hand, "No such luck, Charley. What can I
do for you?"

   "I was thinking dinner and a show. They are having a small stage play
at the Fresh Aire
tonight."

   "I accept. I will see you about 1800, unless something comes up. In
which case, I'll let you
know."

   She went back to the stack of papers, but her mind was already on
dinner and beyond.

   Waking Maya who had been sleeping for almost two hours, Susan said,
"Come on, munchkin,
it's time for me to do a walk-through inspection of the ship."

   With Maya in tow she left for the tour.
******************************************************************************
   "What's bothering you, Larry?" asked Lyta looking at him over her
lunch plate. "You've
seemed a bit put off today."

   "I was just thinking of last night and Captain Lockley."

   "Problems?"

   "I am not sure. I am one of your senior staff members and represent
Glenthor in these trade
issues."

   "So. What's the problem?"

   "Captain Lockley is by default the senior EA representative on the
station."

   "Not really. She is earthforce, but after Sheridan and Delenn went to
Minbar, earth sent a trade
council representative, who is effectively a separate diplomatic entity,
not associated with the
command functions of the station."

   "So my seeing Captain Lockley isn't really a breach of ethics or a
conflict of interest?"

   "Not from a trade delegation point of view."

   "How will earthforce feel about one of their senior captains seeing a
telepath who
represents a foreign government?"

   "I don't know, we will just have to wait and see. You and Lockley
pursue your feelings
wherever they lead. We can make whatever arrangements are needed."

   "Thank you, Lyta."

   "Don't thank me, yet. She still might turn out to be a head ripper."

   "I will take my chances."
******************************************************************************
   "You were unable to get the destroyer to leave Babylon 5?" hissed the
voice from the speaker.

   "Yes. General Leftcourt blocked our attempt. It is commanded by his
favorite Captain, Susan
Ivanova."

   "We are familiar with her name. It will be a pleasure to destroy her
and her ship," replied the
hissing voice.

   "Be aware, it is the most modern up to date ship in the EA fleet. It
is much more powerful than
an ordinary earthforce destroyer."

   "It is of no consequence. We will send more ships and we will destroy
it," insisted the hissing
voice.
******************************************************************************
   Ivanova dropped Maya off at Lyta's quarters. Emily was there to
accept responsibility for her
and Wayne was there waiting for Susan. The evening went off without a
hitch and Susan and
Charles had a good time. They returned to his quarters and she spent the
night again.

   The next morning she picked up Maya and headed for her ship. No one
on watch even raised an
eyebrow when she arrived.
******************************************************************************
   "Good evening, Mister Evans."

   Larry Evans, sitting at a small table just outside a small bar,
looked up to see who had
addressed
him. It was Captain Lockley. She sat down across the table from him.

   "Mind if I join you?"

   "Not at all, Captain. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

   "Duty is over for the day, and I just want some good company."

   "I'll do my best. Have you eaten yet?"

   "No and I am hungry."

   They walked across the Zocalo to another small bar that was also a
small restaurant. They had a
quiet dinner and Larry once again walked Lockley back to her quarters.

   "I don't suppose I could invite you in for a few minutes. After all
it is rather early."

   "Thanks for the offer, Captain Lockley, but I think it would be
better if I didn't. "

   "You didn't call me Elizabeth all night. Why?"

   "I consider first names very personal, captain. Using your title
keeps things on a non-personal,
professional level. In short, if I don't go into places where trouble is
found, I am not likely to find
it. Besides, like I said last night, I know how you feel about
telepaths, I want to leave it at that."

   "Lyta told you I have no use for telepaths, but she never told you
why?"

   "It doesn't matter, captain. I have known Lyta Alexander a number of
years and you couldn't
want a better friend."

   "Or a more dangerous enemy," Lockley added.

   "You, Sheridan and the others never trusted her. You used her then
left her swinging in the
wind. Did it ever occur to any of you, captain, that if you had taken
care of her as well as you do
your lowest enlisted man, she would most likely never have joined
Byron's group. But then, if she
hadn't, she wouldn't have eventually destroyed Psi Corps, so I guess it
wasn't all bad."

   "As a matter of fact it did, long after the fact, and we both know
you can't turn back a clock.
Yes, I find telepaths creepy, but Lyta actually terrifies me."

   "Why? What has she ever done to harm you, even after you slugged her
and threw her into the
brig? What has she ever done to harm anyone who wasn't trying to hurt or
kill her?"

   "Absolutely none. She has never threatened me or anything else. I
don't know of her harming
anyone who didn't try to harm her first."

   "Then what is your problem, captain. She could be the best friend you
have ever had, if you give
her a chance."

   Lockley mulled Evans's last statement over, but didn't reply.

   "As you said, captain, telepaths creep you out, and for the record, I
am a telepath. Goodnight
Captain Lockley."

  Larry turned and walked away. Lockley entered her quarters, once again
feeling a pain in her
heart."
*****************************************************************************
   On his way to his quarters, he ran into Lyta heading toward hers.

   "Evening, boss."

   "Larry. My name is Lyta, not boss."

   "I know, but "boss" has a ring to it."
   Lyta laughed and asked, "I saw you earlier with Captain Lockley. Did
you strike out again?"

   "I didn't even go to bat."

   "Why not, if I am not being too personal?"

   "She told me flat out that telepaths creep her out. She said you
terrify her. I then reminded her
that I was a telepath. So, I think that is all over, kaput. It is just
as well. With her feelings toward
our kind, it was doomed to failure."

   "Sometimes we have to play against a stacked deck, Larry. Psi Corps
may be gone, but we will
suffer from their legacy for the next hundred years or so."

   "I will admit, I find Captain Lockley extremely attractive and she
certainly has sex appeal. I
can't figure out why someone hasn't had any success with her."

   "She is a powerful woman, Larry. That frightens most men. Maybe the
ones it doesn't frighten
just don't appeal to her."

   "Men like me."

   "I suppose so."

   "Do you have that problem?"

   "You mean no men pursuers?"

   "Yes. I mean, you aren't singled out as a powerful woman by a uniform
or position."

   "I never thought about it. I have had a psi cop rogue as a lover. I
have a minbari warrior caste
whitestar captain who would like to find me, and he knows more about me
than you do, so no, I
don't think I have a man problem."

   They were at Lyta's door, so Larry bid her goodnight and went to his
quarters."
*****************************************************************************
   In her quarters, Lockley tuned in ISN and poured herself a cup of
tea. She was sitting watching the news when an item about Ivanova's ship
came on. It was a short piece featuring stock footage of the ship's
commissioning and a sound bite and voiceover of  Ivanova's short
commissionin speech. It stated that there was a big celebration planned
for the ship's return from her maiden patrol. There followed the routine
talking head filler and comments on Ivanova's career to date. Her
exploits during the civil war were included, she had a very impressive
career to date. Then she thought about the message she had seen
concerning particulars about the ceremony, not included in the
broadcast. Four years as a captain and early selection to flag rank was
in her future. Well she had earned it the hard way. It never occurred to
her that Susan was unaware of her impending promotion.

   She mulled over the scene with Evans this evening. It seemed she just
couldn't get anywhere
with him. Her mouth had scotched any chance she might have had with him.
Why in the hell had
she opened her mouth about telepaths creeping her out and even worse,
trashing Lyta hadn't
helped. It was painfully obvious that many telepaths considered her a
saint for bringing down Psi
Corps. (If Lockley had known Psi Corps' real agenda she would change her
mind about the
redhead in a minute.) 

   Evans had been the first man in years who hadn't been intimidated by
her position of power
and authority. He simply wasn't afraid of her, and if dancing with him
had been any indication, he
found her attractive. Maybe it was the attitude she projected at him.
Unfortunately, she had no
one to discuss it with. She could run it past Ivanova.

   Later when she finally went to sleep, her dreams featured Larry
Evans.
***********************************************************************
   Larry Evans turned out his light and tried to go to sleep. It would
be so much easier if he had
never met Lockley. He kept telling himself this, until he fell asleep.
   Susan and Charles were not having any problems at all.
***********************************************************************
END PART 3



From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" <xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net>
Subject: Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 4 of ---(WIP)
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 16:01:12 -0400

Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 4 of ---(WIP)

     Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any
improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net]

Think of this as a space opera.

          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.

Rated PG-10 (Vocabulary)
*****************************************************************************
DAY 3
*****************************************************************************
0800 Captain Lockley's office

   Susan was making a courtesy call on Lockley when a call from
Earthdome was put through to
her. A high ranking official instructed her to prepare to leave for
earth. He indicated that she
would be receiving confirmation within the hour. When she asked why she
wasn't
receiving the orders through her chain of command, she was told General
Leftcourt had been in
an accident and was in intensive care.

   After the transmission ended, Lockley looked at Susan and said, "They
sure want you and the
Ares out of here."

   "I discussed that with General Leftcourt the other day and pointed
out that if we weren't here,
Babylon 5 would be totally defenseless except for your interceptor grid
and your fighters and they
wouldn't last ten minutes against a force intending to destroy you."

   "You really think there is that much danger?"

   "Seems to me, the attack you suffered shortly after you took over
should answer that question."

   "Point made."

   "You have your orders. You don't have much choice."

   "Oh, but I do."

   "Disobeying orders could cost you your career, Susan."

   "So what. I can always hit John Sheridan, Michael Garibaldi or even
Lyta Alexander up for a
job. They will probably hire me, just for old times sake, if nothing
else."

   "It's your call," she replied. "On another subject, how are you and
Charles Wayne making
out?"

   Smiling, Susan replied, "Very funny you should put it that way."

   "I assume you and he are hitting it off."

   "Yes. How are you and Larry?"

   "We aren't. Every time I get him alone, I put my foot in my mouth up
to the hip."

   "He seemed like a likeable sort at the restaurant the other night."

   "Last night, I told him that telepaths creep me out and that Lyta
terrifies me. I don't think I
made many points."

   "I agree. Is there anything I can do, if I am not butting in?"

   "I honestly don't know."

   "Can I ask you a question?"

   "Sure."

   "Have you ever sat down with Lyta and had her explain exactly why she
took down Psi Corps. I
mean besides the obvious one of freeing her people."

   "No. The thought never occurred to me."

   "Maybe you should do that. Afterward, you may see Lyta, Larry and a
good many other people
through different eyes."

   "I will take it under advisement. Are you still babysitting Lyta's
daughter?"

   "No. She is babysitting me."

   "That sounds interesting. May I ask why?"

   "I will explain it some day in the far future. Then you will
understand my feelings about these
new orders I just received. I have to be going, Elizabeth."

   "See you later."

   Ivanova retrieved Maya from C&C and departed. On her way back to her
ship she met Charles
Wayne. He wasn't busy so she asked him to come visit with her.
****************************************************************************
0915 aboard EAS Ares
   Aboard the Aries, Susan instructed her communications personnel to
not validate receipt of any
further message traffic from earth. They were instructed to pass their
communications guard to
Babylon 5. However, they were also to continue copying incoming traffic
even though they
weren't acknowledging receiving it. She figured the ruse would buy her
maybe twelve to
twenty-four hours at most.

   Charles had been impressed with the tour of the ship Susan had given
him. Maya tagged along
and appeared totally disinterested. As they were returning to her office
they ran into the XO.

   "XO could you do me a favor?"

   "Sure, Captain."

   "Keep an eye on Maya. I have some business to discuss with Mister
Wayne."

   Looking doubtful, the XO took Maya's hand and led her away.

   Susan and Charles entered her office. She locked the door behind
them.

   "You have already seen the ship, haven't you, Maya."

   "Yes, sir. Aunt Susan isn't fooling me."

   "I don't understand?"

   "It isn't business that Aunt Susan has with Mister Wayne."

   Slightly amused, the XO asked, "Let's let them believe they have
fooled us."

   "If you say so."

   Commander Owens remembered who Maya's mother was and would bet the
little girl was a full
blown telepath. He would have to be careful of his thoughts when she was
around.
*****************************************************************************
1100 EAS Ares
    In her office Susan was being hugged from behind by Charles. He was
nibbling her neck and
ear lobe. She twisted in his embrace, not to get loose, but to make his
efforts easier. For the first
time in her life Susan was about to use her desk or any desk for that
matter for some purpose
other than the one it was built for. They had finished and she was still
perched on the edge of the
desk with her legs wrapped around Wayne's waist and her arms around his
neck kissing him very
passionately.
****************************************************************************
1145 EAS Ares captain's office
   Hearing the loud clearing of a male throat, she stiffened then looked
over Charley's shoulder to
see the holoimage of Draal on the other side of the room.

   "Maybe I should come back," he said then vanished.

   Susan and Charles separated and got dressed. Susan was still
straightening her blouse when
Draal reappeared.

   "I am sorry, commander. It seems my timing leaves something to be
desired."

   "It's captain now, Draal, and yes, your timing stinks. I know I am
going to hate what you have
to say."

   "Ah, captain. Who is your friend, if that is the correct word?"

   "His name is Charles Wayne. Charley meet Draal. Give it to me
straight up, Draal."

   "Commander, it has been years since my last visit. One would think
you are not happy to see
me."

   "It's not that I am not glad to see you, but the last time you
initiated a visit, I ended up in your
machine, and we ended up in a war because of it. No. Make that two wars"

   "That is true, commander. Unfortunately, it is more than true that I
bring bad news, now."

   "Let's hear it, Draal."

   "There is a fairly large fleet of Drakh cruisers on their way here.
They intend to destroy Babylon
5, you and your ship. Which is very impressive, by the way."

   "How many, Draal?"

   "Too many. Thirty or so if I counted correctly."

   Silently, Susan mouthed the words to herself. In that instant she
knew why they had been
ordered away from the station. She also realized she her crew and her
ship would never see earth
again. Against those odds, she had no chance. The station had even less.

   "Draal. I will do what I can, but it won't be nearly enough. Can you
help us?"

   "I will do what I can, but I am limited to what the planetary
defenses can do. I am sorry, but
even with my help, you and your ship will not survive. However, between
us we may be able to
save the station."

   "It won't be the first time I have been outgunned and outmanned. If I
have my way, it won't be
the last. How long before they get here?"

   "Ten hours at the most."

   "Have you met Captain Lockley?"

   "Not yet."

   "I will call you from Babylon 5, in a little while. I need for you to
tell her what you told me."

   "I will be waiting, Captain Ivanova," he said, as his holo image
faded from view."

   Walking to her desk she picked up her communications link and paged
the XO.
*****************************************************************************
1100 Babylon 5
   Lockley was on her way to the mess hall for a light lunch. The lift
door in front of her opened
and she entered without looking to see who might already be in the car.
As the door closed and
she gave her destination, she realized that Larry Evans was standing in
a back corner of the car.
He made no effort to say anything, but he could smell her clean
fragrance. It made his heart skip a
beat. Looking her over from head to foot, he couldn't help but be
impressed with the curves that
were not nearly hidden inside her uniform. Before he could think of
something to say, she spoke
first.

   "Good morning, Mister Evans."

   "Good morning, captain," he replied.

   The car descended for a few seconds. Lockley stopped it between
levels and turned to face
Evans.

   "Mister Evans. I owe you an apology."

   "For what?"

   "I made statements and remarks last night that were out of line."

   "You stated your feelings and beliefs. There is nothing to apologize
for. There aren't any laws
against holding beliefs nor expressing them. You were honest. Most
aren't. I respect you for
that."

   "Still, I painted you with a brush that you didn't deserve."

   "Don't fret, captain. I have been a telepath since I was three years
old. The hatred and loathing
are nothing new. I am accustomed to it. Remember, I was a psi cop, and
all that it entails. I was
hated not only by normals, but by my fellow telepaths. I am quite used
to it."

   "I had hoped we could start over."

   "Captain, I don't want to burst your bubble, but there isn't anything
to start over. We never had
a relationship. It was all in your imagination.

   "Perhaps, you are correct, Mister Evans."

   "At least we agree on something."

   Lockley smiled at him and restarted the car.

   "Mister Evans. Is it true that psi cops didn't adhere to the rules
about unauthorized scans?"

   "Unfortunately, that was true in most cases."

   "Have you ever conducted an unauthorized scan?"

   "Yes. There were a number of instances. I wasn't given a choice."

   "How did you feel about it?"

   "I consider an unauthorized scan to be the same as rape. Only, it is
mental, instead of physical. I
would give anything to go back and undo the damage some of those scans
caused, but time only
flows in one direction."

   "You don't seem to like being a telepath."

   "Look at it this way, captain. Suppose you were born a man and then
someone did a sex change
on you, without your permission. No matter whether you wanted it or not,
you damn sure can't
undo it. Does that answer your question."

   "Yes. I suppose it does."

   "Captain. You said you were terrified of Lyta. Consider, she never
asked to be a telepath. Then,
the Vorlons reengineered her at the genetic level, she didn't ask for
that either, and they didn't
bother
to give her an instruction manual telling her how to recognize her
abilities, or how to use them.
Did it ever occur to you that she may be as terrified at what she is
becoming as you are? Like my
example, she can't undo what has been done to her. "

   "You have made your point, Mister Evans."

   The lift door opened and Evans got off.
******************************************************************************
1230 Babylon 5
   On her way back to her office, Lockley ran into Lyta who was going in
the same direction. They
got in the same lift car. Lockley looked oddly at Lyta when she realized
they were both headed
for C&C.

   "You have business in C&C, Lyta?" asked Lockley.

   "Not that I am aware of."

   "Why are you going there?"

   "I got a call from Captain Ivanova, asking me to meet her there."

   "Did she give you a reason?"

   "No."

   Lockley looked frustrated.

   "Captain. Before you develop an ulcer, remember, Susan called me and
made a request. As
soon as I learn what she wants, I will be out of your space. You don't
like me, but why not give
Susan the benefit of the doubt?"

   "If you knew I detest you, why did you invite me to dinner the other
night? 

   "Let's just chalk that one up to a mistake on my part. It won't
happen again."

   "If you didn't want me to see Mister Evans, why did you introduce
us?"

   "Like I just said, chalk it up to a massive mistake on my part."

   They arrived in C&C to find Susan waiting for them.

   "In your office, Elizabeth," said Susan.

   They were in Lockley's office and seated when Lockley demanded an
explanation.

   "Sit down, Elizabeth, and listen," commanded Susan. Raising her link
to her mouth, she told
C&C, "Tell Draal we're ready in Captain Lockley's office."

   Less than a minute later Draal's holoimage appeared.

   "Captain Ivanova, I take it the other captain is Captain Lockley, the
station commander. Hello
captain. I have been remiss in my duties by not having introduced myself
to you before this." then
he looked at Lyta. "Who invited her."

   "I did Draal. She saved my ass when the Zeus was attacked by the
Drakh."

   "She is dangerous, Captain Lockley," stated Draal.

   Lyta got up and was at the door before Susan asked, "Where are you
going?"

   "I know when I am not wanted. You three have fun," Lyta replied, and
left the office.

   "Was that necessary, Draal?" asked Susan.

   "I didn't intend for her to leave," he replied.

   "Would one of you explain to me just what is going on here!" demanded
Lockley.

   "Show her, Draal."

   "First Captain Lockley, let me explain myself." Draal proceeded to
explain the great machine to
Lockley.

   Draal stepped to one side of the office and another holoimage
appeared in the middle of the
room. It showed a large fleet of ships moving through hyperspace.

   "What am I looking at?" asked Lockley."

   Draal stepped into the holoimage and pointed at one of thirty ships
that all looked alike. "This is a Drakh cruiser. It has more firepower
than a regular earthforce destroyer, like the one
you commanded, Captain Lockley. They normally have seventy-five fighters
attached to them.
These other ships are heavily armed escorts and support and troop ships.
If the communications I
have
intercepted and decoded are to be believed, they will arrive here in
just over nine hours. Their
mission is to capture then destroy Babylon 5."

   Lockley's mouth dropped open. She had just heard her death sentence
and that of everyone
onboard Babylon 5.

   "What are our options?"

   "We fight," replied Susan. "Draal will use planetary defenses where
possible to destroy what he
can. I will place the Ares between the attackers and the station and
take out as many as I can. The
rest is up to you. The Ares will not survive. If we are very lucky, the
station may have a slim
chance. That is our only option, Elizabeth."

   "Considering what you have just shown me, why was Lyta called here?"

   "She may be our only hope for survival," replied Susan.

   "What can she do that you and Draal can't."

   "If she were in the machine instead of me, she could kill everyone in
the Drakh fleet and destroy
their ships where they are now. As it is she will have to wait until
they get here. She has been
aware of the Drakh fleet for at least two days now."

   "How could she manage that?" asked Lockley.

   "Just believe Draal, Elizabeth," commented Susan.  "I have seen what
she can do. You would
not believe me, even if I told you."

   "You are referring to your dead crewman?" asked Draal.

   "You know about that?"

   "I know more about Lyta than she does about herself. Yes, to your
question, and that wasn't
the first time either, but you will never be able to prove any of it,"
answered Draal. "I wasn't
aware of her presence on the station. She shields herself exceptionally
well."

   "So how does her being here help us?" asked Lockley.

   "If she helps, then we will win, but she and her daughter are
virtually impossible to kill, so she
may let things take their course."

   A very cold chill ran down Lockley's spine and spread throughout her
body.

   "I can see it now. If we approach her, she will remind us that the
only time we give a damn
about her is when we need her to pull our chestnuts out of the fire, and
she will be correct."

   "Nicely put, Captain Lockley," commented Draal.

   "That may not be necessary. She has some of her people on the
station. She will not stand by
and let them be killed. The Lyta that is my friend, won't let that
happen," stated Ivanova.

   "Captain Ivanova is correct. Lyta won't allow that to happen. She is
powerful almost beyond
belief, but she still has a human soul. Her compassion won't allow a
quarter of a million innocent
people come to harm, if she can stop it, and she can."

   "I have to get back to my ship. Elizabeth, tell your pilots that the
weak spot on the Drakh
fighters are their engines, also there aren't any pilots in their
fighters. They are remote controlled
from their parent ship. Kill the mothership, and the fighters are just
so much junk."

   "So, do we approach Lyta, or what?"

   "In this case, it is definitely "or what"," replied Susan.
******************************************************************************
1300 Babylon 5
   On her way back to her ship, Susan found Lyta and Maya waiting for
her.

   "Susan, you should take Maya with you. She can protect you," said
Lyta.

   "What about you?"

   "I can take care of myself, but even if I kill every Drakh as the
ships exit Hyperspace, their
fighters will be on a collision course with the station. If they hit,
the impact damage will be severe
to all outer areas around the point of impact. Add in the possible
damage if the fighter explodes
and the damage might be fatal to the station. So don't be fooled into
thinking nothing can go
wrong."

   Lyta's statement hit her like a bucket of icewater in the face.
"Okay. I'll take the munchkin.
You make sure nothing happens to Charles."

  "I will do what I can."

  Susan put her arms around Lyta and hugged her very tightly. Then she
and Maya hastened down
the passageway.
*****************************************************************************  
1415 EAS Ares
   Back on her ship Susan held a meeting with her department heads,
division officers and leading
chiefs and gave them the bad news.

   "Today we learn just how well the new tactics, we have been
practicing for the last fifteen
months work. I expect everyone to do his job to the best of his ability.
If we had five more ships
like the Ares, we might have a snowball's chance in hell on a hot
summer's day of getting out of
this alive. Since there is only we and Draal between the Drakh and the
station, we will let them
know they have been in a fight. We are expendable gentlemen, but I won't
waste our lives. There
are a quarter million beings on Babylon 5, we are nineteen
hundred-seventy one, the numbers say
the station is more valuable. You have your orders, do it."

   Silently her department heads, division officers and leading chiefs
filed out of the briefing room.

   "Captain. We have everyone back aboard."

   Susan pushed a button on an intercom box mounted on the wall. "CIC
this is the captain, plot a
course that puts us one thousand kilometers from Babylon 5 directly
opposite Epsilon III. When
you have the course plotted get us underway at best speed. Captain out.

   "Did you have to tell them that we wouldn't be surviving this
conflict, captain?"

   "No, I didn't, Pat, but I feel they have a right to know what we are
dying for. It is a small
reward for the price we will pay for our career choices."

   "Why did you bring the little girl?"

   "Lyta thought she might be able to protect us."
   Commander Owens looked at his skipper as if she were mad. "You can't
be serious."

   "I am serious commander. She is a telekenitic in addition to being a
telepath. She may keep us
from being hit by the one that would destroy us."

   "I find it hard to believe, Lyta would subject her daughter to this
much danger."

   "That's the point, Pat. She is in no real personal danger."

   The XO shook his head in disbelief.

   "Remember what Lyta did the night of the dance?"

   "Sure. I'm not likely to ever forget it."

   "Well, Maya is as powerful as her mother. Don't let her human
appearance fool you. She is at
least half Vorlon with a little bit of Lorien thrown in for good
measure."

   "Whatever you say, captain," answered Owens with doubt ringing in his
voice.

   Susan went to her cabin to retrieve Maya. In her cabin she told Maya
what was expected of her.
Maya nodded assent and said, "I will do my best Aunt Susan, but
remember, I have never tried
anything like this before."

   "There is a first time for everything, sweetheart. Why don't you take
a nap? I will wake you
when the time comes."

   Maya lay down on the couch and within three minutes was fast asleep.
**************************************************************************
1445 Babylon 5
   In her office Lockley received the news that the Ares was underway
and proceeding to a station
one thousand kilometers off the starboard side of the station. Lockley
walked out into C&C to
watch the ship in its maneuvers.

   Lt. Corwin commented, "She sure is a big mother."

   "Didn't you put in for duty aboard her Lt.?"

   "Yes sir, but the competition was too stiff."

   "How do you mean?"

   "Well, sir, Captain Ivanova hand picked her all officers and most of
her very senior enlisted
personnel.
She apparently wanted people who weren't afraid to say no to the boss,
and had metric tons of
space combat in their records."

   "I was in competition for CO, but she had the edge in hard combat
experience, even though she
is a junior captain. She is General Leftcout's rising star, too. He has
been impressed with the way
she has handled so many hairy political and military misadventures in
the past. No doubt about it,
Lt., she is very damned good. Having John Sheridan push through her
promotion before he
resigned didn't hurt either. Having the only true Earth-Minbari War hero
in your camp is better
that credits in the bank."

   "Do you think, they will get out of this alive?"

   "Not a chance Lt.. Not one damned chance in hell."

   "But if she does?"

   "Hell Lt., If she gets out of this alive, I'll personally punch her
ticket for JCS."

   "She isn't even a general yet."
   "She would have been, if she had made it back to earth. They had a
big celebration of the Ares'
return to coincide with her early selection."

   "Doesn't that irk you just a bit, seeing them give someone so junior
a promotion ahead of you?"

   "They wouldn't be giving her anything. She has earned everything she
has. You served with her
for several years on board this station. How would you rate her?"

   "I see your point. Even when she was a LCdr., she behaved and did the
job the way you would
expect a veteran senior officer. She was efficient, focused, dedicated
and hard as nails."

   "You have answered your question. However, it is a moot point. If she
had five or six ships like
the Ares, she might have a chance."

   "I keep remembering what she did to Clark's advanced destroyer
squadron. She was totally
outgunned and outnumbered. She won that one. I won't print her and her
ship's obituary  until I
see a dead body and the ship in pieces."

   "Your attitude demonstrates why she is so successful."

    Lt. Corwin looked at Lockley with a puzzled expression.

    "She hasn't been here for four years and you still believe in her
and her abilities. She brings out
the best in her crew. Many would chafe under a CO like Captain Ivanova,
but she has a way of
letting her people know she really cares for them. I wouldn't be
surprised if she didn't learn that
from Sinclair and Sheridan."

   "Captain. Look at that maneuver. Can you believe anything that large
can turn that fast?"

   "Yes. Captain Ivanova had input into the ship's design. She insisted
that the ship be built to
twist and turn like one of those whitestars she commanded. It took some
real head knocking, but
the brass saw the advantage that would give a ship that has artifical
gravity. It also has the
reactors placed throughout the ship instead of being clustered in the
stern and all major power
conduits and signal and control cabling runs down both sides of the ship
about fifty meters off the
centerline. You have to destroy the entire ship to put it completely out
of action. You won't kill
that ship with one lucky shot. She even had them put in three complete
control centers. In old
earth terminology, the Ares is bad."

   "I was reading up on the published specs. She has more firepower in
her weapons systems than
any three of the old type destroyers. I am told it was developed from
data gleaned from the
Shadow battlecruiser that was found on Ganymede."

   "I have heard that, but have never seen anything you could call
proof."

   At that, Lockley went back into her office and called security to
check on the progress of
getting people moved away from the outer hull area. She was going to
copy Ivanova's idea of
filling the outer hull areas with inert gases. Hopefully it would lower
the chances of fires
spreading and becoming uncontrollable. Problem was that some of the
lurkers were hiding out and
refusing to go. They were told, if they stayed they would be suffocated
by the gasses that would
flood the spaces they were occupying. She would be damned if she would
let some derelict keep
her from protecting the thousands of others on her station. 
******************************************************************************
1700 on station 1,000 kilometers to starboard of Babylon 5
   The Ares was in position and Susan's crew members were finished with
their preparations. They
were in the process of double checking to make sure nothing had been
missed. Her fighters were
ready for launching. It wouldn't take but a few minutes to launch them,
and she wanted them to
have full fuel tanks when the fray began. They wouldn't get a chance to
refuel until the battle was
over, if her plan worked. If it didn't work, there wouldn't be anyplace
for them to land anyway.
*****************************************************************************
2100 Babylon 5
   "Lyta. I am taking our contingent to the waiting areas in the central
core. It will be as far from
the outer hull as we can get, and should be the safest if there are hull
breaches," stated Larry
Evans.

   "Good luck, Larry. I hope to see all of you when this is over. You
better get moving. The
Drakh will be here in less than an hour."

   Larry and his band moved off and Lyta returned to her quarters. She
sat down on the floor in
the center of the room and began to stretch out her senses. In a few
moments she could "see" the
Ares, the local jumpgate and the planet. Her expanded senses told her
that the Drakh would be
there in under thirty minutes. She minutely examined the Ares and its
crew, including its pilots
and the pilots of Babylon 5. When she started the slaughter, she didn't
want to kill any innocents.

  Lyta had never killed on such a wholesale basis before, but her
programming left no doubt in her
mind, she could do it without compunction.

  She had disabled the door opening mechanism, so no one would be
interrupting her. 
***********************************************************************
2115 Babylon 5
   "Captain Lockley," called Lt. Corwin.

   Coming on deck in C&C from her office, she asked, "What's wrong Lt.?"

   "We just detected a very large energy spike from somewhere on the
station."

   "Did you get a location?"

   "No sir. It saturated our receivers."

   "Just what we need another problem. Keep monitoring maybe it was a
fluke. By the way, is
there anything on our hyperspace monitor beacons yet?"

   "No sir."

   "Captain. We are getting something on the outermost set of beacons,"
said one of the monitor
console operators.

   "Looking at the large monitor screen off to one side of the space
Lockley and Corwin got their
first look at a Drakh cruiser and the fighters in close escort under the
center of the ship."

   "They look nasty, Captain."

   "Yes they do, Mr. Corwin. Yes they do. Launch our fighters and have
them take up station
between the jumpgate and us and between us and the Ares."

   "Captain. The Ares hasn't launched fighters yet."

   "Send this feed to Captain Ivanova."
******************************************************************************
2130 EAS Ares
   "They are here Aunt Susan," said Maya. "They will exit hyperspace in
about ten minutes."

   "Launch fighters. Have them take station between us and the station."

   The fighters began launching from their bays and moving to their
assigned waiting points.

   "To all fighters in the area, this is Captain Ivanova of the EAS
Ares. Keep out of our line of fire.
Concentrate on any fighters that get by us that are headed for the
station. Remember, these
fighters are most likely remote controlled, so they can out maneuver
you. You must completely
destroy them so they cannot go ballistic and hit the station. Ivanova
out."

   Ship to ship the fighter pilots made their last checks then hit the
launch button. Each one
wondering if he would see the end of the day, was determined to take
these Drakh down, if it
could be done.
**************************************************************************
2140 Epsilon III jumpgate
   The local jumpgate energized and a Drakh scout ship started to exit.
On the tracking station the
Captain watched as the jumpgate energized. Onboard the Ares the fire
control systems locked
onto the jumpgate the instant it energized and onto the scout ship as it
appeared in the vortex. A
long pulse from one of the main batteries on the Ares and the scout ship
vanished in a small
explosion.

   "Not bad considering the distance. The next targets won't be as
easy," commented Captain
Ivanova.
***********************************************************************
   "I hope that was an enemy ship," commented Lt. Corwin.

   "Were we expecting anybody at this time?" asked Lockley to the
various console operators and
received no answer.

   On Epsilon III, Draal was watching the approach of the Drakh fleet.
He felt the touch of Lyta's
mind as she reached out and familiarized herself with the non-enemy
minds. When he had told
Lockley that Lyta's was dangerous, he had not been joking. She was one
person who could kill
him in spite of The Great Machine. He also realized that with her in the
game, the only really big
danger to the Ares and the station would be the fighters.
***********************************************************************
END PART 4

From: "Aubrey W. Adkins" <xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net>
Subject: Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 5 of ---(WIP)
Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 10:32:49 -0400

Adventures of Lyta After G'Kar Part 5 of ---(WIP)

     Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any
improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@norfolk.infi.net]

Think of this as a space opera.

          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.

Rated PG-10 (Vocabulary)
***************************************************************************
2100 Babylon 5 time in Earthdome

   Back on earth general Leftcourt was awake in the intensive care unit
of Earthdome hospital. A secured circuit had been hastily run when he
was declared out of immediate danger. He was watching the latest
incoming transmissions from Babylon 5. 

   On the screen was the face of Captain Lockley, the station's present
CO. "This is Babylon 5 to
Earthdome, there is a massive Drakh fleet less that thirty minutes from
our location. We believe
that their intent is the destruction of Babylon 5. The EAS Ares under
command of Captain Susan
Ivanova has positioned itself in the expected path of the fleet. She and
I believe her and her ship's
destruction are inevitable. However, she is going to try to buy the
station's life with their's. It is
noted that had she followed orders and departed the area she and her
ship would be safe, leaving
Babylon 5 completely undefended. She has chosen to not follow orders and
to protect the station
at all costs. If any of us survive, I intend to see that her efforts and
those of her crew are not
forgotten...."
***************************************************************************
2105 Babylon 5 time

   At that point jamming overwhelmed the signal.

   "General Lang. You were saying something about bringing Captain
Ivanova before a general
court martial for failure to obey orders?" managed Leftcourt in a weary
voice.

   "We sent her confirmation orders, but she blatantly ignored them. No
matter the out come, I
will see her in front of a court martial."

   "I am sure you will. I will be court martialing you and your entire
staff for putting Babylon 5
and the Ares in their present predicament. In fact you are under house
arrest as of now General
Lang." Looking at his aide, "Brad. See that arrest warrants are issued
for General Lang's entire
staff, down to the coffee boy. I want them in the brig. General Lang is
to be escorted to his
quarters and placed under guard. The charge is treason against the Earth
Alliance and the
Interstellar Alliance, and recklessly endangering EA and IA property,
and the innocent lives of the
quarter million persons presently onboard Babylon 5."

   General Lang was stunned at the pronouncement. He was angered at the
security guard that
had been summoned to arrest him. "You can't get away with this,
Leftcourt!"

   "If Captain Ivanova and her crew don't survive, General Lang, You
won't live long enough to
stand trial."

   "Is that a threat?"

   "No. It is a solemn promise. Now, get the stupid son of a bitch out
of my sight."

   "You do know, this isn't going to be a popular move, general,"
commented his aide.

   "I know, Brad, but at my age and position, you can afford to ignore
it."

   Thinking to himself, Leftcourt started smiling and a twinkle appeared
in his eyes.

   "What's so funny, general?" asked Brad.

   "The next to last time Susan Ivanova shot her way out of a hopeless
situation, we made her a
captain. I guess if she pulls it off this time, we will have to make her
a general."

   "With all due respect, I thought we were going to do that when she
got back from this
deployment?"

   "So we were. I suppose if she gets out of this alive, we will have to
up the stakes. We'll let her
shoot Lang and his lackeys."

   Brad gave Leftcourt the strangest look.
******************************************************************************
2140 Babylon 5

   In her quarters, Lyta had expanded her mind and senses to be able to
detect any change in the
fabric of space that would signal the opening of jump points. If it
could be said that she had a
combat mode, so to speak, it was fully activated. She marshaled all the
energy she could and
waited. It was a very short wait.
******************************************************************************
2145 Babylon 5 

   In C&C Lockley stood beside Lt. Corwin and waited. On the displays
were the beginnings of
more jump points than Lockley or any of her crew had ever seen in one
place at one time.

   On board Ares, Ivanova, saw the same type display, and muttered under
her breath, "Looks just
like when those damned advanced destroyers ambushed us."

   "Did you say something captain?" asked a nearby console operator.

   "I said, I been there and done that. Target the jump point centers
and open fire all systems."

   Using its four forward main batteries and all of her secondary
batteries the Ares began to pour
deadly energy into the jump points even before they were fully formed.
The Drakh on the ships hit
by the main battery fire, never knew what hit them. The Ares took out
eight of the cruisers before
they could transit to normal space, but many of the their accompanying
fighters survived and
automatically targeted Babylon 5 like very large missiles.

   The Ares began to pivot on its axis to bring her aft batteries into
play. Onboard Susan had
issued orders for engineering personal to bypass safeties on their
reactors and give her maximum
power for maneuvering and weapons systems. Knowing they were going to
die anyway, the
engineers didn't hesitate to answer the order.

   The Ares barely vibrated from the impact as she was hit by the first
fighter, even though it
exploded. The next six hits happened quickly and then began a series of
continuous collisions with
periodic explosions. 
*****************************************************************************
   In secondary command and control the XO was watching everything that
was taking place
outside the ship. The monitor and control consoles and displays mirrored
the main CIC area. The
main difference was the situation displays screens were slightly
smaller. If CIC became too
damaged to carry on, his station could continue the battle. There was a
third smaller CIC and
it was commanded by the operations officer.

   As he watched the ship's maneuvering he thought about the first time
he had met Captain
Ivanova about two years ago. It was in earthforce headquarters in
Earthdome and she was
interviewing him for his present position.

   "I have reviewed your service record Commander Owens. There is an
item or two I would like
expanded upon," said Captain Susan Ivanova.

   "No problem, captain. Could I ask one question first?"

   Susan nodded assent.

   "What am I doing here? There are numerous other candidates and they
don't have my
negatives."

   "Well, Mr. Owens. I read the service records of two hundred
candidates and picked those few I
wanted to actually interview. As far as negatives, they are relative and
determined by perspective. 
Now, it is my turn," responded Susan.
   "Tell me about the incident on the Farragut."

   "Not much to tell. I was the new XO on board. My predecessor was
killed in an accident.
Everything was doing just fine until we were ordered to start attacking
civilian non-combatant
targets. It was supposed to be for terror effects. I explained to the
skipper that I couldn't, in good
faith, follow his orders in the matter, and requested to be relieved of
my duties. I was and I spent
the rest of the war in confinement. I wouldn't mutiny, but I wouldn't
willing kill innocent people.
The war crimes tribunal exonerated me for my actions, or rather lack of
actions. They left my rank
intact, but I don't expect any promotions between now and eternity. I
will retire next year as a
commander, unless I screw something up. I hope that answers your
question, Captain Ivanova."

   "Do you know what I did during that war commander? If I had been
captured, I would have
been shot. Instead, this is my second major command as an earthforce
captain. My first one got
shot out from under me, quite literally. Don't you suppose, I have some
pretty high negatives?
About as high as they get, I should think."

   "Yes sir. It took a lot of courage and conviction to do what you and
Captain Sheridan did."

   "Don't you think it took courage to tell your CO you couldn't, in
good conscience, support him.
He would have been within his rights at that time to have held a court
martial and had you shot on
the spot. You had to know that."

   "I hadn't thought of courage having anything to do with it."

   "Perspective, commander, perspective. It is everything."

   Owens had been floored when he learned she had selected him for her
second in command.
******************************************************************************
   The remainder of the time before commissioning had gone quickly.
There was a mountain of
details to take care of in getting the ship ready to go. Training...who,
how much, which equipment
and systems; overseeing final testing carried out by the contractors and
a million others. It had
seemed like the madhouse it was, until, one morning, standing on the
command deck in CIC,
Captain Ivanova said, "Helm, we are free of lines and cables. Take us
out, ahead dead slow."

   Everywhere there was a monitor, it was displayed as the huge ship
began to move ever so
slowly. Shipyard workers and crew alike felt chills as it became obvious
they were at last
underway.

   On her bridge Susan and the XO felt the same chills as the rest of
the crew.

   "Now we test her until she breaks, Mr. Owens," said Susan.

   "Till she breaks, Captain?"

   "That's what I said. I take it you have never been on builder's
trials, have you commander."


   "No sir. This the first time I have ever been part of a commissioning
crew."

   "Then get ready for one hell of a ride. We are going to test the Ares
until she either passes all
her certifications, or we will break her balls. Do you suppose, I should
say his balls, since Ares is a
male name?"

   "Whatever you want, captain."

   Over the last few months Owens had found himself really liking his
new CO. She was hard as
nails, but she had a softer side that she seldom let be seen, and when
it was, it was a very short
exposure.

*****************************************************************************
   "Tell me, Mr. Nagi," asked Captain Ivanova, "Have you ever actually
overloaded one of these
reactors to the extent that the meltdown safety cut in?"

   "These reactors don't meltdown, captain. They explode," answered
Nagi, the chief test
coordinator.

   "Yes, I know that, but have the final safeties ever been tested to
the shutdown/explode point
before, or are we dealing with theory?" insisted Ivanova.

   Nagi walked over to a middle aged man and tapped him on the shoulder.
Getting his attention,
he asked him something, then jerked his thumb in the direction of the
captain.

   The fellow walked over to where Susan was standing.

   "Captain Ivanova. Mr. Nagi asked me your question. No. we have never
done that. The safeties
have been statically tested, but it has been considered too expensive
and dangerous to do it for
real on an operating reactor."

   "What is your name and position?" asked Ivanova.

   "Stein, Captain, Joseph Stein. I prefer Joe and I designed the
reactor installation for this ship,
after you pushed through your changes," answered Stein.

   "You didn't care for my changes."

   "Actually, it made my job somewhat easier. By locating some of them
in other parts of the ship,
you caused power runs to be shorter and reduced the possibility of an
operator error messing up
the whole system. It had good points and some not so good," responded
Stein.

   "What were the negatives?"

   "Only one impacted ship's operations. Separating the reactors
requires more operators as
compared to the original setup," answered Stein.

   "Have either of you ever had to take a warship into combat?"

   Both shook their heads, no.

   "I have, and all the changes, I pushed through on the design of this
ship, are intended to make it
hard to kill and increase the chances the crew will come back alive. I
hope I never have to test
them for real."

   "What do you want from me, captain?" asked Stein.

   "What I want, Joe, is for you and your crew to recalibrate the cutout
point for the safeties to
give me a ten seconds warning before the reactors explode. That's time
enough for a man to
intervene and manually shut them down. Think you can do that for me?"

   "Yes sir. May I ask why?"

   "We are going to test the safeties, Joe," replied Susan with a wicked
smile on her face. "Let me
know when you have completed the job." With that she left the reactor
room.

   "Do you think she might be a little nuts, Joe?"

   "No. Mr. Nagi. She is not nuts. She is a very good combat tactician.
She wants to know exactly
what the limits of her equipment are. I was involved with her showing us
why she wanted the
design changes. She may be a lot of things, but nuts isn't one of them."
******************************************************************************
   They had been running tests of all kinds on every system on the ship
for two weeks when Stein
told Ivanova the recalibrations were completed. By then the crew had
come to expect almost
anything on short notice. However, the final few caught almost all of
them by surprise.

   "This is the captain. We will begin some additional testing at 1300,
which will cause the ship to
be maneuvered violently. It is incumbent on you to make sure all your
spaces are secure. Anyone
injured because he didn't secure his space properly will be held
accountable. Any damage, cause
by failure to properly secure equipment or material, will be charged to
the responsible party. It is
now 0800. I won't accept excuses. Captain out."

   "You are really going to do this, Captain Ivanova?" asked the XO,
looking at her doubtfully.

   "Pat. We have to know what her or his limits are. In a fight it could
be the difference between
living and dying, and my personal experiences tell me, the universe is a
very dangerous place."

   Owens wanted to argue, but she was correct.

   It was 1230 and Mr. Nagi had joined the XO and CO on the command deck
of CIC.


   "We are ready anytime you are Captain," commented Nagi.

   "Helm. Bring us to a full stop and hold our position with station
keeping  thrusters," ordered
Ivanova.
***************************************************************************
   On board the accompanying observation vessels, the bridge crews were
surprised to see the
Ares coming to a halt. The reactors were being powered down, too. Then
they received incoming
transmissions from its captain.

   "Intrepid, Moscva this Ares. We are going to conduct additional
acceleration and power tests
combined with hard course changes. I want Intrepid to stay with us and
make recordings and
observations. Moscva, I want you to monitor and record from one thousand
kilometers in front of us. We intend to start tests at 1300."

   The Moscva moved away increasing speed as she went. She would be on
station in less that
thirty minutes.    
*****************************************************************************  
   It was almost 1300 and the Intrepid bridge crew was monitoring the
Ares, waiting to see what
would happen. 

   "She is powering up her reactors, captain," said a console operator.

   "Jesus Christ!" exclaimed another. "Look at her power curve!"

   His CO stepped over behind him and looked over his shoulder at his
screen. "Make damned
sure you have recordings of this. What are they trying to do? Blow her
up?"

   "Captain. Her power readings are way past what we have monitored
before."

   Another operator, commented, "Captain, she is moving away fast."

   On the visual display the huge ship was starting to accelerate. 

   "Helm. Stay with her," commanded the captain.

   "Captain. At her present rate of acceleration, she will pass our
maximum speed in less than five
minutes."

   Another operator observed, "Sir. She is at one-hundred and fifty
percent of her design
maximum power. Their reactors must be ready to explode."

   One of the operators said, "She has exceeded our maximum speed,
Captain. We can't keep up
with her."



   Ten minutes later from a position well back of the Ares, the Intrepid
monitors watched as each
of the Ares' reactors performed an emergency shutdown. They were
startled when the ship
executed a 180 degree turn on its vertical axis, powered up several
reactors, and used her main
engines to come to a very rapid stop. 

   The captain commented to his bridge crew, "I saw it, but I don't
believe it. I wouldn't have
thought you could turn something that large that quickly, much less
bring it to a stop."
***********************************************************************
1300 On board the Ares.

   Susan looked over at the engineer manning the main propulsion control
console station. "Lt. I
want maximum power and speed, now!"

   The man started pushing buttons and talking into the mouthpiece of
his communications
headset.

   There was a delay of almost two minutes, then the deck began a mild
vibration which rapidly
increased until it could shake a coffee cup off a table. The vibration
continued at that level for
almost five minutes as the ship accelerated. As the ship reached full
speed the vibration diminished
until it was no longer noticeable.

   One by one the reactors reached the maximum overload point, and the
safeties tripped as
designed and powered them down.

   "Helm. Reverse course, spin on our vertical axis," ordered Susan.

   The crew experienced a slight nauseous sensation for a few seconds as
the ship executed the
spin. In selected compartments, objects had been deliberately left loose
and were video recorded
to show the effects of spin when there was artificial gravity and no
gravity. Susan felt it would
reinforce the necessity to keep everything secured properly.
***********************************************************************
   "Mr. Nagi, I want the data crystal recordings that were made during
my little tests," said Susan.

   "Of course, captain." 

   Later in Susan's underway cabin/office, Owens asked, "You have all
the data crystals, captain. What are you planning to do with them?"

   "I am classifying them and locking them up. We have shown what this
ship can really do. I don't want that information in any computer files,
or anyplace else that someone can access it. Would you keep it where it
could be stolen so easily?" replied Susan.

   "No sir. I wouldn't. What about Mr. Nagi?"

   "No one has had a chance to review this data. I want our best
computer man to make "duplicates" for Mr. Nagi and anyone else who needs
them. Do I make myself clear?"

   "As glass, captain."
***********************************************************************
END PART 5            After this, they emerge more slowly.