All the usual disclaimer. I don't own these characters. I don't own the plot elements. All I claim is the specific story here. It's an alternate universe story. In the spirit of the Star Trek story "Mirror, Mirror". On the Other Side of the Mirror By Justin Thomas Captain John Sheridan strode, arrogantly through his station. It was his station. While he was supposedly a mere governor of the Earth Empire station Babylon 5 and a soldier in the Imperial Forces, he knew that he was a power in his own right. The sheer terror in how others drew back from his approach told him as much. Especially those low lives who crowded among the Zocalo. It had been named by his predecessor, Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, in a moment of irony. The "great market" provided little more than the bare essentials for the slave caste. And Jeffrey Sinclair had been removed by Sheridan, the "StarKiller". He had arranged it in a conspiracy to remove Emperor Luis Santiago, with General William Hague. Then Hague had come through and had Sinclair recalled and given some post as ambassador to Minbar. The terror of those around him brought him back to reality. They cowered from him and he enjoyed the spectacle of absolute terror which made him feel alive. It was good that he could relax and enjoy himself - after all he was wearing the black, armored uniform of the Imperial Forces, that made him virtually invulnerable. He approached the Stockade gate and recognized Zachary Allen, in his grey armor, indicating security, that contrasted with Sheridan's own black that connotated command. With contempt, he said to Allen, "Open the gate." As he passed, he noted that Allen was wearing the symbol of Right's Watch. The organization had initially seemed like another harmless policy coming out of Imperial Dome. However, of late the organization had started reporting on abuses by the service and station personnel. It was getting so you couldn't even get your kicks torturing someone. Sheridan thought, Damn Emperor Clark!!! Damn General Hague!!! And Damn me for ever putting that imbecile in a position to become Emperor. Allen responded, "Absolutely sir." And proceeded to open the gate. Sheridan walked around the "free area" of his personal empire enjoying the luxury that power gave him. Babylon 5 was an armored fortress. A self- contained battle station containing 250,000 officer, soldiers, diplomats and slaves. It was so strong, with so many heavy weapons that it was thought to be the equivalent of the firepower of more than 50% of the Empire's space fleet. Sheridan then began walking to his cabin, when he heard footsteps behind him. Quickly turning, Sheridan took out his PPG and pointed it at the head of the man following him. At a second's glance, Sheridan recognized the face of Michael Garibaldi, the head of security for B5. The man had a livid scar down the left side of his face that made him look perfect for the job. He had inherited Garibaldi from Sinclair and had briefly thought about arranging for him to have an accident, before realizing that Garibaldi only cared about getting his kicks from torturing the weak. That and the fact that Garibaldi knew B5 better than anybody else, kept him alive. "Why were you following me, Michael?" "Listen, John..." started Garibadi. "It's either Captain, sir or Starkiller." "Captain, listen I'm sorry, but I needed to speak with you off of the link." "About?" "Well I just got a message from a buddy of mine at the Ministry of Justice. Apparently, they are going to be sending over a Civil Rights coordinator for the station. I thought that you should know." "And this means?" Garibaldi responded, "No more sexual liaisons with slaves, no more test "volunteers" for those medical experiments done by Doctor Franklin, no more nightly torture games for me and my men, and no more slaves that satisfy Commander Ivanova in her role in that Queen of Death cult that she started when she got here." "Not good." "No sir. Oh I got a name too." "Really?" "Yes. A Julia Musante." "Thank you, Mr. Garibaldi." "Any time, Captain, sir." Sheridan then walked down to his office and opened the door. He stepped in and saw Commander Susan Ivanova sitting on his desk. Actually sitting was probably not the right word. Laying totally naked was probably a better word. "What are you doing here Susan?" She smiled, the smile of a black widow out to get her prey, "I thought that we might spend some more time getting to know each other better Captain." "I thought we did that when I got here, last year. We stopped after you tried to kill me, when I was in that Star Fury." "Well, why don't we put the past behind us." She said seductively. "Why not?" he kissed her hard, unbuttoning his uniform. ************************************************************** At the docking ring, Sergeant Zachary Allen had changed assignment to inspecting passports of visitors. A beautiful woman came up to him. The woman was conservatively dress. She didn't look cheap as most government women did these days, but rather had a look in her eye which radiated virtue and suggested that she knew her own inner worth. She said, "Mr. Allen?" "Yes? And you are?" "Julia Musante. Ministry of Justice." "Pleased to meet you Ms. Musante." He took a look at her travel papers and found nothing wrong and handed them back. "Is there anything that I can help you with?" "Yes, please tell Captain Sheridan that I wish to speak to him in twenty minutes." "Pardon, ma'am, but the Captain doesn't like to be told what to do and when to do it." "I'm sure." The tone in her voice indicated serious disapproval. ******************************************************************* In Sheridan's office both Sheridan and Ivanova had finished their frantic fucking and now Ivanova was attempting to strangle him. John punched her and threw her across the room. She leapt up and was about to strike again when John pulled his PPG up. "Susan, don't move or I'll shoot. I mean it!!!" She growled from across the room, but seemed to have calmed down. "You knew?!!!" A look of complete surprise and loathing covered her face. "I know you too well." He grinned "Then why did you agree, I mean," she stammered "Because it was enjoyable, you are a beautiful woman and a great lay. And I knew. So there was no danger. After all, remember that I killed my wife Anna. If I could kill her, I can kill anybody." "Now get dressed and get out." Ivanova groaned, but did as he said to. A couple of minutes later, Sheridan heard his door chime. He said "Enter." In walked Julia Musante. She presented her credentials as being from the Ministry of Justice. "So what can I do for you Ms. Musante." "I'm here as an advisor. Some of your recent decisions have been looked on with revulsion back home." "Revulsion?" "Your recent decision to summarily execute 60 of your lurker population was a tad extreme, don't you think." "They'd stolen from the executive food supplies." "And your decision to crucify that political bomber on the station last month?" "He'd gotten into the fusion reactor and was threatening to blow up Babylon 5, if we didn't release all of the slaves in custody." "And how about your well-publicized attempt to kill one Mr. Alfred Bester of the Telepathic Guild." "He's a Psi-Cop." "And that's a reason?" "Isn't it enough." "The Psi-Cops are mandated to deal with telepaths who endanger the government or scan normals without permission." "Telepaths are dangerous. They needed to be hunted down like the animals that they are." "Isn't it the place for the government to make policy." "Well yes." "As the saying goes, the government imposes and the military disposes." "Well, let me tell you something: I run my station how I run my station and I don't tolerate any blond-haired bitch coming into MY station to tell me how to run it." "Captain, I am not here to tell you how to run Babylon 5. The emperor appointed you military governor as a favor. I don't know the details. I honestly don't care about the details. But his programs must be carried out. And his programs involve the newly recreated Ministry of Justice. And the Rights Watch Program. Just as Sheridan was beginning to respond to this, she continued. "Besides, I have my orders, just as you do." She hand him a slip of paper. "Well, I don't like it. But everything seems to be in order." "That's right Captain, follow orders." "Well, since I seem to have no choice, I go along with it. Besides, living here isn't so bad. You might even come to like it here and realize that I'm not as bad a man as you think. Why don't we meet for dinner so that we have a better chance to get to know one another." "Dinner and nothing else Captain." "What, why?" "Let's just say that I would sooner trust that fascist Garibaldi than you. You see, I know that you killed your wife; despite anything that that Court that you bribed back on Earth says, I know that it was your ship that opened fire on your wife's science vessel, the Icarus. Besides, I like my men to not be vicious, sociopaths. You don't quite qualify." "Well, you can believe what you want Ms. Musante; I'll see you at 1800 in the Pleasure Lounge." As she walked out, Sheridan's link chimed. "Yes." He recognized the dark, seductive voice of Ambassador Delenn. "Captain. I have been just now contacted by Draal." Draal, a former teacher to Delenn, had been on the run from Minbar. Apparently he had attempted to assassinate one of the Great Council because he felt that Minbar was becoming "a shadow of what it was." He had escaped to Babylon 5 a year and a half ago, when it was run by Sinclair. He had gone down to Epsilon 3 and then taken over the running of the Great Machine despite the protest of the Machine previous keeper. Draal had contacted Sheridan approximately six months ago and offered his support in the coming Galactic War. Sheridan had been amazed by the resources that this put under his control. He realized that with the resources of Epsilon 3 he could conquer the entire Earth Empire. But with ships like the Hell Star Warship that he had been given joint command of, he could conquer the Galaxy. "Well, what can I do for our distinguished ally." "He would like you to go down to the planet to visit." "What so he can shoot me down?" "You have a suspicious, twisted mind, John; I like that. But remember that for now, we are his allies and he needs us more than we need him, for now." "Point two, Ambassador, I just had the entire Earth Force Bureaucracy come tumbling into my lap." He explained about Ms. Musante. She said, "If it would help, I could have Lennier or one of the other Minbari eliminate her." "I don't think that would help; they'd just send a replacement and it might alert them to our plans." "That must not happen." "I agree." "Well, what about Susan." Delenn said after a moment. "Susan?" He said, stunned. "She is as power hungry as you are; but she can be trusted to do this because while she'll kill you at the first convenience, she knows that our attempt to undermine both our governments and the Alliance of Worlds are at a critical stage. And despite her ... passions and desires, she is not stupid." "I'd agree with you about that. OK, I'll tell Susan." *************************************************************** Julia Musante was being accompanied by Zachary Allen to her quarters. "So Mr. Allen, what can you tell me about the command staff." "Well, the Captain, Ivanova, Garibaldi, they're all dedicated to their work." She respond, "Yes dedicated. Haven't you seen Sheridan spending too much time with the Minbari." "Yeah, well I figure that he's trying his best to live up to his duties." "Sheridan is one of those who belief that they personally deserve power and will do anything to get it. And damn anybody or anything that get in their way." "Well, isn't that the way things are." "Maybe, Zachary, but things are changing back home. We're trying to make the world a better place. And there are some, even among the joint chiefs, who feel that they should keep their power at the expense of Earth." "Maybe. But it sounds a little idealistic." "Sometimes that's all we have." They had reached her door and Zachary said, "Well, here we are." "Would you like to come in Zachary. I know that you want to." "Begging you pardon, ma'am, but why me? Why not Sheridan? I'm nobody here. Hell, I've tried to whack Garibaldi twice so far. Fortunately he doesn't know about it or I'd be dead." "Despite that, I can tell that you are a good person and not a power-obsessed madman like Sheridan or a mindless thug like Garibaldi. You still can make the right choice." "Ms. Musante. Listen. I mean, I would really like to come in but... . Listen, the Captain wants you right now. People don't turn him down. And if I were to go into your quarters, I'm sure it would be great. But half an hour after I walked out, I'd have a little accident. You've never seen the captain go on a berserker rage. To put it mildly, it ain't pretty." "Well, suit yourself." ******************************************************************* "Down to Epsilon Three? John are you out of your mind. He asked for you. Let me tell you something, Draal isn't exactly friendly. He tried to kill me when he came aboard. And he did kill that weird alien that was the former keeper of the planet. Draal is a psychopath. No way." "Susan," John started. He sounded charming. Susan Ivanova knew that he was always at his most charming right before he was at his evilest. "Susan, I need you to do this for me. Draal needs us for some reason right now. I don't know what that is, but I'd guess it has something to do with the Shadows. And right now, we need information. And Draal is able to provide that. But only if we make him happy." "No way, John, forget it." "Yes you will. If you don't I will provide detailed information to the government of your complicity in the plot to kill Emperor Santiago as well as how you arranged for the death of your father, after arriving on Babylon 5, and how you are a telepath. You remember that teeps are not permitted in the imperial forces?" "Damn you!!!" She remained silent for a moment. "I guess I have to do it. But that doesn't mean I'll like. Also, I won't have sex with him, like that Lumati ambassador. His idea of sex was too damn alien for me." "All right Susan. You don't have to have sex with Draal. Just go to the planet." "OK. I'll get ready." She proceeded to walk out of the chamber. John said, "Oh what a day. Oh damn it's 1750. Better get ready for my date." ********************************************************************** Julia Musante had arrived at precisely 1800 at the Pleasure Lounge and was not surprised to see that Sheridan had not arrived. The strippers gave her an indication of the sort of mindset to expect. Though in a way, it wasn't surprising. He was typical of most military officers in the Imperial Forces: ruthless, power hungry, uninterested in the plight of others and willing to do anything to keep power. She didn't like his brutish, almost Neanderthal behavior. There was something that gave her the creeps about Sheridan. But she sat down at a table. Because this meeting was official business. Sheridan arrived about five minutes late, without apologizing. Within two minutes Julia Musante wanted to leave, as he had already tried to grope her and tried to suggest they head to his quarters for a more relaxed atmosphere. "Listen, Captain, why don't we just discuss business and keep this somewhat professional." At this point, Sheridan seemed to give up. "Oh, alright." "Good. Now, first of all, the biggest problem as I see it in the immediate term is your so-called doctor." Actually she didn't, but a lot of people including the Director for Xenobiological Research, Dr. Benjamin Kyle, another "man" that Julia Musante didn't care for, thought that Stephen Franklin was going too far in his medical experiments. "Stephen?" "Yes." "What about him?" "They want his experiments stopped." "But why? He gathers useful research for us and the Empire. I need a good reason." "Shall I list them: his recent attempts to perform vivisection on living children; his infection of a doctor from an alien race that of the virus that was killing it, the Markabs, his experimental surgeries on many of your lurker population that were previously healthy and finally his test use of this alien healing device that you came across on said lurkers." "And your point being?" "You really don't see a problem with this, do you?" "Of course not. Stephen's just a little enthusiastic to learn and advance our knowledge." "Don't argue semantics with me Captain, it is a criminal activity and I want it stopped." Suddenly she noticed the Captain was holding his head. "Captain, are you alright?" Confusion showed on his face and then he seemed to recognize her. "Julie Musante." "Please Captain, call me Julia if you must. Not Julie. And don't try to change the issue. We were discussing putting a stop to your doctor's more ... disgusting medical experiments." "Yes. Alright. Listen, I'm not feeling well." "Have you been poisoned?" He seemed taken aback by this question, as if it were strange. "Listen could we just take this up later." "Well, this meeting was your idea. But we will have to talk again soon." It was only after Sheridan had left that she realized that he had gone in the wrong direction. ******************************************************************** It took Sheridan about twenty minutes to reach his cabin. First of all it was in the wrong direction. Second of all, he was very disturbed by his surroundings. Thirdly, he never liked Julie Musante. Fourthly, the last thing he remembered was being on Babylon 4 and then Centauri Prime some years in the future. That was strange enough. But to find himself on a Babylon 5 that was the same but different talking to a woman he had been glad to have go back to Earth three or four months back, was a totally disorienting experience. But he was able to access his quarters and finally able to think. Except that his quarters were anything but his. Why his quarters were reserved and rather bare, these were clearly designed with luxury in mind. Everything indicated decadence, right up to the art work which included representations of extreme sadism and perverse sexual acts. The only thing that he could think of was that all the theories about there being a infinite number of universes was correct. He didn't like what he had seen of the station. He called the computer and asked it for his record. He was surprised by it. He had graduated from the Imperial Forces academy on the same day as he had, in his own world graduated from Earthforce. He was surprised to hear, though that he had remained married to Elizabeth for more than a year here before divorcing. She was still in the Imperial Forces somewhere, conquering some peaceful people somewhere according to the information provided. He had worked for Captain Sterns as Commander. During the Earth phase of the Interstellar War against the Minbari, he had killed Captain Sterns and taken command of the Prometheus. During that period he had destroyed the Minbari flagship the Bloodstar. Reading over the details of the War he discovered that the Minbari were a savage race of conquerors that had made races as diverse as the Narns, the Centauri, the Drazi, the Gaim, the Pak'mara and others form a League of Allied Worlds for the main purpose of self-defense. His own dossier included a body count of subordinates and superiors that he had killed to get to where he was. He also learned that this was apparently not unusual here, wherever here was. His body count in the Mars uprising alone was appalling, as he had wiped out an entire city as a warning to the other colonists. Finally, there was the report out that suggested that he may have killed his wife, that the Agammenon opened fire on the Icarus in deep space. Though found not guilty, it was apparently not uncommon for criminal trials to be bribed by one party or another. Sheridan was appalled to discover this and find that this had developed in a manner that seemed as logical as the creation of the Earth Alliance. Though why the Minbari should be so different from their counterparts in the Minbari Federation to form a Minbari Domination, as they liked to call themselves, was an interesting question. He then turned to the record of his fellow officers and was surprised to find such familiar faces as Commander Ivanova, Security Chief Michael Garibaldi, Zachary Allen, Doctor Stephen Franklin, and Lieutenant Joshua Corwin. The faces might be identical, except for Garibaldi's which had a livid scar down the side of his face, but these were totally different people. The records suggested that Garibaldi was little more than hired muscle. Dr. Franklin would have gotten along great with Dr. Mengele. Ivanova. Ivanova, her perversions were unimaginable to Sheridan. He checked up on the station and discovered that he would not want to take it on with the weapons on his Babylon 5. This station was colored gun metal grey on the exterior and seemed designed for war. Hell, it could probably take on 2/3 of the Earth Alliance fleet by its lonesome. He checked out Ms. Musante who'd he'd been meeting. Member of the Ministry of Justice. Rights Watch coordinator. Her background indicated that she was one of the people who was a strong supporter of Emperor Clark's (Emperor Morgan Clark?) attempt to route out corruption and brutality from the government. Turns out she had long defied the previous government of Emperor William Santiago and had gone to prison a couple of times. A woman who fought for her convictions. 180 degrees from his own universe. That kind of sums up my situation, 180 degrees from where I started. The differences are amazing. The Julie Musante was a woman who was willing to use her body to get ahead in the world and was probably as corrupt as anybody is back home. Here she is about as virtuous and honorable as anybody else is from this Earth. He made a decision. Twenty minutes later there was a ping at the door. Sheridan said, "Open." "Captain, are you feeling better?" He sensed some hesitation from her. Of course, she thinks that I'm trying to get her in bed. "Thank you for coming to see me here Ms. Musante. I know that you don't want to be here." "What can I do for you Captain?" "What I'm about to tell you, you're not going to believe, but I ask you to trust me." And he started. Who he was. Where he came from. Who she was there. The Shadows. Babylon 4. The Army of Light. She was incredulous. But he spoke in such detail about the politics in Earthdome, Zathras, the Earth-Minbari War, Nightwatch, the Ministry of Truth and other things that he suspected that she was convinced. "Captain, this is a very bizarre story you tell." "Well, Ms. Musante, it's the truth." "I also have a hard time believing that two histories could be so similar and dissimilar simultaneously." "Well, that makes two of us." "And you will just vanish?" "Not exactly. This other John Sheridan will be here. I will be gone." "That's a pity. I told the other Sheridan that he was a sociopath. I like you better. I think that most people here are sociopaths. But I can see it in your eyes that you are not. And I believe you about your ... universe. It sounds like it has problems. But at least it doesn't have the arbitrary cruelty that our Empire's developed as a form of government." "Well, you are a much better person than the Julie Musante that I met." "Sounds like a regular tramp. And a bimbo who didn't have a clue about the threat that she represented." She waited a moment. "Or at least I hope that she had no idea. I hate to think of myself as someone who wants to live in a dictatorship." "Well, I don't like to think of myself as a mass-murderer, but my other self is." She changed the subject slightly. "So do you think that there is a kind of conspiracy going on here similar to your 'Army of Light'? I confess that the strangest idea I have heard is of the Minbari being a force for good. They make all but the worst of us, look like angels here." "I would wager anything that there is a conspiracy going on. I can't prove anything. But if my counterpart is half as smart as I am, he wouldn't leave any evidence lying around." Sheridan keeled over and said, "I'm still here. But not for much longer. I'll be gone soon. My universe is pulling me back." She knew that she had to say something. "Captain, I wish we could have met under other circumstances. Where both of us fight for justice. Against oppression and tyranny, no matter the cost. Or as my father told me: fight for what's right. It doesn't matter whether a thousand people agree with you or one person. Never start ..." She was cut off by Sheridan, "Never start a fight, but always finish it." "Always," She responded. "My dad said the same thing." And for a moment they looked at each other and understood each other completely. "That would have been a good world." And then Sheridan was gone, leaving only "Starkiller" Sheridan. He seemed groggy, "What am I doing here." "You weren't feeling well, so I took you back here. Listen, Captain, something has come up and I will have to return to Earth shortly." "Anything I should know about." She smiled, "A fight for justice." He laughed, "What a joke. The first lesson my father taught me was to take what was mine. What I wanted. Other people are irrelevant. Whether you have to kill a thousand people or one person." She smiled sadly and said, "So different." And then she walked out. For one minute "Starkiller" Sheridan was filled with a sense of goodness that he did not, and indeed could not understand. Then he waived it away with a snort. A question filled his head: "But what did she mean, so different?" He had the feeling that he would never find out. ************************************************************ John Sheridan reappeared on his Babylon 4 and saw Delenn and knew that he was back. He then subsequently passed out. ************************************************************ In the docking bays, Julia Musante was talking to Zachary Allen. He said, "I'm sorry to see you go so soon." "Mr. Allen. Zachary. I need to place my personal feelings aside and do what's right for Earth. For all peoples, if I must. Sometimes I doubt whether or not I will succeed. But once in a while, we are given a gift." "What kind of gift?" "Insight into how things could be, rather than how they are. And how you can make them better. And I realize to do so, I must go to Earth. Even if means disobeying my orders." She walked into the corridor marked "Departures". ****************************************** Starkiller Sheridan stood in C&C. The shuttle taking Ms. Musante was approaching the jumpgate. He could easily order the weapons to fire and claim it was a malfunction. She had humiliated him by not sleeping with him. He was within his rights. His hands approached the control. She was good. Closer. A good person. Closer. In another world, perhaps ... Closer. We may have been together. He pulled his hand away. There was nothing to be gained by killing her. As much pleasure as he got from cold-blooded murder usually, he knew that this would not be one of those times. He saw the jumpgate open up and the ship pass into hyperspace. And vanish. A woman's voice said, "Well so much for bad rubbish." It was Susan Ivanova. He walked over and belted her in the jaw, so hard that she fell to the floor. "What?" "Shut up, Susan." "Don't you want to hear what I have to say about my trip. "Not right now. Maybe later." The end. So what do you think. Please let me know. E-mail at kaythoma@shu.edu