From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Thu Apr 4 23:31:31 1996 Date: Wed, 3 Apr 1996 20:05:15 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part One Thanks, everybody, for your help re my confusion over posting! No more tests, I promise, here's something *much* worse, the beginning of a story. Let me know if you want me to keep going. It will get to Babylon 5 eventually, but it starts on Earth with the Psicorp. No spoilers. I haven't even seen season 3 yet. Sue ____________________________________________________________________________ PSI SEARCH Part One "Come on, we're already late!" "So it won't matter if we're a bit later, will it?" The second girl tugged her arm free of her friend's hold, lingering to look in through the windows of the rather stark little office set into the side of the Mall, right by the entrance. The inside wasn't much, more like a transit lounge, with someobody working at a terminal at the back. He or she looked up and the girl pulled back, giggling nervously. "Okay, okay, I'm coming." "So's Christmas, Diamond!" They hurried on, chattering, never noticing that the occupant of the Psicorp Booth behind them had come to the doorway and stood looking after them, frowning thoughtfully. Reaching the school building, Diamond and Christine found the rest of their friends milling about near the stairs. "What are you guys still doing here?" "One's late, all's late," Selina said solemnly, chewing her lip. "You're crazy. You don't even have the same first class as us. Oh Sel! Just joking!" Diamond grinned at Selina until she finally smiled back. "See you in detention." It was good to have friends like this, she decided, when she and Christine had weathered the blast from Kurt Alsen, their homeroom teacher. Even if you couldn't have proper family, at least you could have friends. During her next class, she was called up to the front. The teacher looked at her so seriously that Diamond began ransacking her mind for past sins buried in the debris. "You're to go straight to the principal's office," Ms Jamieson said. "There's someone to see you." "My uncle?" Diamond hazarded nervously. Hard to imagine. Her uncle was her guardian, had been these three years since her parents had died, but he didn't seem to notice her much, or not any more than he'd notice another Persian cat around the house. "No, not your uncle. Take your laptop along with you." "My 'top . . . " A long talk then. What on earth could they have dug up? A quelling look from Jamieson convinced her further echoes would not be greeted kindly and she hastened out, conscious of worried looks from Christine and Selina at her back. Never mind; she'd see them at break and probably have a damn good story too. Principal Stevens was not in his office. Diamond halted at the door, confused, then saw the occupant over by the window. He turned and she recognised the black uniform with an indrawn gasp. "My name is Godric," the Psicop said easily. He had a pleasant smile and seemed not much older than the junior teachers. "Mr Stevens will not be joining us. I asked to speak to you in private, Dianna - ah, so Diamond is your preferred name? Very attractive. Please, sit down." He offered her one of Stevens' comfortable leather armchairs close to the window, the chairs no student was ever allowed near, and took the other. A beeper shrilled out from his wrist and he smiled at her. "Excuse me. Yes? No, don't bother about the other child, this is the one." That slip with my name, Diamond thought, that's supposed to impress me, huh? Well, I know you're a Psicop and okay, I'm impressed, so you can stop now." Godric's smile warmed. "Very clear," he approved. "How old are you, Diamond?" "Why do you ask me? You could just . . . " "Just find it? Of course I could, but the first thing you learn in the Corp is professional - and personal - courtesy among telepaths." His gaze was sharp and keen as he looked at her and Diamond felt abruptly cold. "You - you think I'm a telepath?" TO BE CONTINUED From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Fri Apr 5 20:02:08 1996 Date: Fri, 5 Apr 1996 20:24:45 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part Two PSI SEARCH Part Two "Today, the Psicorp officer at the booth detected a raw talent," Godric told Diamond. "It was either you or the girl with you, but we've eliminated her as a possibility. It was only the briefest scan, so we'll need you to come for more thorough tests to be sure." He stood up. "You can bring that computer with you if you like." Diamond reached for her laptop with numb fingers and was on her feet before she was even conscious of obeying him. Her mind felt equally numb but she struggled to keep control of it. "Thirteen," she managed, standing her ground as she answered him. "I'm thirteen." It was like a dream and not a good one. Being marched out of the school, down the hall past classrooms where kids could see her through open doors. Being taken out into the grounds in full view of windows by a black-clad Psicop. And then to a sleek black hovercar where a second Psicop, a woman, sat waiting. She smiled at Diamond as though she knew her. No, Diamond thought suddenly, wanting to grin, if she knew me she probably wouldn't smile! If the Psicops were reading *that*, they didn't let on. Next stop was her home, where her stunned uncle had been called back from the movie studio to hear the news. "She is only being tested," the female Psicop told him. "She may not be suitable, but if she is, you'll be required to sign the forms authorising us as her guardians." "But - but you can't just waltz her off!" "We can," Godric said coolly. "We'll take care of everything for her, if she turns out to be a telepath. Her expenses, her schooling. She'll want for nothing and she'll have a career many young people envy. She may even travel to space and to other worlds." Diamond could see her uncle cheer up when Godric got to the bit about expenses, probably not even hearing the rest. He rubbed his forehead. 'I've got a cousin in Earthforce," he mumbled, apropos of nothing, watching vaguely as the woman Psicop tapped Diamond on the shoulder and told her to pack. Standing in her white, elegant bedroom that was too old for a teenager, Diamond stared at her with sudden understanding. "You do think I'm a telepath," she said. She hadn't tried to scan the Psicop, but her mind was abruptly full of a certainty that she was right. The blond woman grinned at her. "That's all right," she said, "you couldn't read me if I didn't let you. Yes, we think you're a pretty sure bet, but we still need to run the tests. Just pack enough for a few days. Anything else you need, we'll see to at the Centre." "Can I see my friends?" The woman - her name, Diamond thought, was Riala or something like it - hesitated only a moment. "Your friends will be the Corp," she said quietly. "In training, we think it's not a good idea to expose you to outside influences." She looked about the tasteful bedroom with a slight smile. "You'll like the Corp, I think. Your uncle doesn't know much about young people." "No," Diamond admitted, grinning back as she stuffed the last shirt into her knapsack. She picked up Mr Ted, met his beady gaze and added him to the load. "He's a producer with Mason Studios. His last wife was an actress but she took off with some guy in television who was stationed on Mars. This was her room, but I guess it won't be empty too long." She shrugged at the frilly white furnishings, so much at odds with her slim, still boyish and short-haired self. Riala's head went up and she said, "Godric wants us. Can you carry that?" She led the way out and Diamond followed, not looking back. She withstood her uncle's confused farewell and promise to be in touch, climbed back into the black hovercar's rear seat and was gone. She saw the school below, very briefly, and felt a pang that she hadn't been able to say goodbye to Chris or Sel or the others. Riala turned towards her, smiling. "You can write them a letter," she said. "You'll have your own computer in your room." Only then did Diamond realise that she had left her little laptop, with schoolwork, diary notes and other fragments, behind. She hadn't even thought about it. For a moment she felt weird, scared without knowing why she was scared. She looked at the black-clad shoulders of the two Psicops, saw Godric's black-gloved hand tap a control before him. They weren't talking. They didn't *need* to talk. "We might not see you much after we get back to the Centre," Riala said, turning around again. Her smile was warm and friendly and made Diamond feel instantly better. "But there'll be someone to look after you and see you know your way around. Everyone there will be your family, your brothers and sisters." "We have a saying in the Corp," Godric added. "Do you know what it is?" "No," Diamond whispered, though she had a fair idea. She'd seen documentaries about the Psicorp, read about them on the Net for years, just as though she'd always known this would happen. "The Corp is mother, the Corp is father," Godric said. "I don't have a mother or father." "You do now." TO BE CONTINUED From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Sat May 18 15:40:28 1996 Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 20:38:28 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH: Part 3 What Went Before: I've taken so long to post this that I think I should add a brief foreword. Diamond Kernock, a 13-year-old girl living on Earth, is noticed by Psicorp when she snoops around one of their recruiting booths, and is scanned by the telepath on duty. No more than an hour later, Psicops arrive at her school and take her away to headquarters for testing. If anybody wants parts 1 and 2, email me and I'll post them to you privately. Also a general thank you to people who've written to me about my Morden vignette! Thank you, thank you! I had an idea for another one which I may post sometime . . . Sue _______________________________________________________________ PSI SEARCH Part Three It could be easy to believe that the headquarters of the Psicorp was an entire world in itself. The hovercar glided in over the top of an immense white structure to land in a central courtyard, completely surrounded by the buildings. From the landing field, Diamond could see flower-filled gardens with streams and paths going through them, and people walking about or sitting and talking on the grass. Even as she climbed out after Riala and Godric, someone was coming towrds them, a sturdily-built girl only a few years older than Diamond, in ordinary clothes. Her dark hair was cut to shoulder length, very neatly. She, like the two Psicops, wore a pair of gloves, cream-coloured to match her shirt. "This is Jill Calder," Riala told Diamond. "She'll take care of you until you know your way around." "Which can take years," Jill added with a grin. "I bet you're pretty tired and confused, so why don't we get you to your room and then we can chat." The two Psicops said goodbye and were gone, leaving Diamond looking uncertainly at Jill, her bag at her feet. "All these people - are they all telepaths?" "That's right," Jill said, picking up the bag. "No, don't worry, I've got it. Telepaths aren't all the same, you know. We range from people like me to people like Godric and Riala and Bester, and you don't get telepaths like them very often." As they walked, Diamond stole looks up at the gleaming white buildings forming a huge circle around them. Effectively, the buildings themselves were the wall of the Psicorp. "I'm only a P4," Jill told her. "My job is to teach the kids, the ones who've been here less than a year. Mind, even if you turn out to be a low grade, you're still very important to the Corp." Her voice was hushed and serious. Diamond glanced at her as they walked along a rose-lined path. Nobody she knew was that serious about their job. It was almost scary. She wondered how soon she'd get a chance to go see Sel and Chris and tell them what had happened to her. They'd be dead jealous. The quiet unnerved her; all these people, yet they all seemed to move about like cats. There wasn't even much mechanical noise from the hovers. "You'll get used to it," Jill said, guiding her up the few steps to the entrance of one of the buildings. "I couldn't live any other way now." "How long have you been here?" "Eight years. I came when I was nine. Some kids develop their psi powers very young, there are some children here about six years old, but most seem to get their psi around puberty." "What - what does the Psicorp want with six-year-old kids?" "To help them," Jill said intensely. "Have you any idea what it would have been like for you, being a telepath out there?" She gestured vaguely upwards and outwards as they crossed the beautiful pale marble floor of a lobby which would not have looked out of place in the best hotels on Earth. "You don't know how lucky you are." "I don't know if I'm a telepath yet." "You are." Jill smiled at her, that smile which Godric and Riala had also worn. "Have you been reading my mind?" "Only a surface scan," Jill hastened to tell her as they reached a row of lifts. "And Riala told me she was pretty sure you'd pass the tests." "Am I going to be in some kind of dormitory?" "Of course not." Jill seemed mildly shocked as they got into a lift. "You're important to Psicorp!" The lift stopped on the next floor and two kids about Diamond's age got in. They greeted Jill and Diamond with no sign of surprise. "It's good to meet you," the girl said. "We heard you were coming." Her gaze flickered, just a little, at Diamond's uncovered hands, and she fought an urge to shove them into her pants pockets. The boy's hair was cropped short, like dark moss, and his eyes were a brilliant, arresting blue as he looked at her with almost a challenge. Diamond found his name in her mind without even trying for it. "Scott," she whispered. Scott grinned, then nodded to Jill as the lift halted once more. "See you later," he said and both teenagers got out. "What was her name?" Jill asked and Diamond, startled into answering, blurted, "Alys." "Good. Here we are." Diamond stood just inside the doorway of her room. She was trying to figure out what was wrong. It was perfect. The room she'd always wanted. It was done up in her favourite colours, green and blue bedspread, green curtains the shade of oak leave, a large imitation-wood study desk by the window where she could look out and see the park at Psicorp's heart. On the desk was the latest in computers, shiny cream and silver, and above it were shelves half-full of books. She walked across to them, knowing before she even read the titles what they'd be, the books she'd left behind in her uncle's house, but brand-new hardbacked paper copies, the kind she liked. A book wasn't real on screen! A door in the wall opposite the bed led into a bathroom, again cream and gleaming silver, with a large fluffy blue towel folded on the rail. Diamond walked around it, then out into the bedroom where Jill stood waiting, past her into the walk-in cupboard near the bed. Clothes hung there in her size, every kind of outfit she liked. On a shelf at eye-level, something caught her eye and she drew down the pair of gloves. "Put them on," Jill said softly from behind her. The gloves were blue cotton, light, hardly like wearing anything at all. "The easiest readings of all are when you touch," Jill went on as Diamond stared at her covered hands. "Clothing blocks a telepath, a little. It's a sign of respect, a sign to show non-telepaths we aren't trying to invade their privacy." "But we still _can_ . . . " "Depends how strong you are. If you're like Bester, absolutely nothing is going to block you." "That's the second time you've said that name. Who's Bester?" Jill grinned. "Mr Bester to us. _The_ psicop! He lives on Mars, doesn't come to Earth much, but I met him once a year ago. He's something else. Now, if there's anything more you want in the room or something you don't like, all you have to do is turn the computer on and ask for administration. They won't ask you any questions, they'll just supply you with whatever you want." Something else attracted Diamond's attention and she turned back to the desk by the sunlit window. Lying beside the larger computer, half-concealed in the curtain, was her own little laptop. "Hey! How did they . . . " "You forgot it, so they sent someone to bring it," Jill shrugged. Diamond frowned, trying to remember, but the memory was just out of reach. She wouldn't have just forgotten, would she? "They'll test you tonight," Jill continued. "I'll come to take you to the testing area in a couple of hours, so get some rest." "What if I fail?" "You won't." TO BE CONTINUED REAL SOON . . . From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Sat May 18 15:53:01 1996 Date: Fri, 17 May 1996 19:01:05 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part Four See, I promised, and here it is! How about some feedback, people? Anything helps . . . __________________________________________________________________ PSI SEARCH Part Four Jill walked Diamond to a door and then left. Diamond had no idea how many floors up they'd gone or how many corridors walked to arrive here. The place was silent, except for the soft hum of machinery about her. No one opened the door, no one shouted at her to get a move on, she was keeping them waiting, as the teachers had so often done at school. She stared at the door. It stared back. At last she turned the handle and stepped into the room. There was a man seated behind a desk, against the far wall. He looked as though he had been sitting there for hours and could easily sit there for hours more. "Diamond Kernock," he said softly. He was clad in the black of the Psicops and looked as though he'd never worn any other kind of clothing. Seated, she couldn't see how tall he was, but he didn't look very tall. Dark-haired, round-faced, he was smiling slightly as though she was a favoured student. "Let me look at you." In the next moment she knew how feather-soft and gentle the mindprobes of Jill and even the other Psicops had been. Her thoughts were seized in ice and steel. She couldn't move and her vocal cords were frozen. The room whirled about her and Diamond found herself standing in darkness. Her feet rested on fathomless black, like endless space, yet she didn't fall. "Who are you? *Talk* to me!" Then, not knowing quite what she did, she shrugged off the steel-cold grip on her mind. She spun around, trying to find someone, anyone, reaching out into that darkness beyond sight and hearing and touch. It was the fear of a child left alone in the dark, but it moved far beyond what such a child could do. Diamond felt her psi power abruptly stretch, uncoil and wake and blossom wide, gathering all the half-dreams and imaginings of her life and showing her that they had always been real. She had imagined none of it. She really had known what her friends thought, those times when she was very young, but she'd been scared when they accused her of lying, had learned silence and eventually even forgotten what she'd done. She'd been a normal. She'd been exactly what they wanted her to be. And now she was here alone. "No. Never alone, Diamond." He was abruptly there, the Psicop, holding out his hand, his expression openly sympathetic, yet Diamond could feel the force of his will, pressuring her to the choice he wanted her to make. She mentally _shrugged_ again, attempting to throw off his coercion on her mind. Briefly a look of surprise passed over his face, but he continued to hold out his hand to her. "If you are not with the Corp," he said, "you are lost. Normals will never treat you kindly, for you are more and better than they are. Here is your home. Come home." You aren't making me, Diamond thought, and very deliberately let herself take a step towrds him. Then another step. Her gloved hand was shaking a little, but she forced it to stillness and then extended it towards the Psicop. His hand closed about hers and she was aware of his approval and also, strangely, a brief flicker of weariness and relief. His grip was cool and strong. Diamond closed her eyes. When she blinked them open, she stared in amazement. She still stood by the door and the Psicop still sat behind his desk. Yet she still felt as though he was gripping her hand in greeting . . . or in challenge. "Good," he said, and she realised he spoke with a faint, undefinable accent. His dark eyes studied her and he nodded. "You will do." "Do you mean I - I pass? Sir," Diamond added belatedly, deciding that whoever this guy was, he seemed pretty important and maybe she shouldn't try to rile him right away. The Psicop smiled. "Pass? You have no idea what you are, have you, child? I have brought your powers to full strength, or as close to full as can be done at your age. Over the next three years, you will be taught to properly control and use those powers, but even now there is no normal human being and very few telepaths who can stand above you." Now his look was a definite warning stare. "I am one of those few, Diamond Kernock. My name is Bester and I will teach you, once you are through your orientation." Diamond was muddled and nervous. From what Jill had said, this guy was way too important to be teaching new kids. "Most new kids, yes. You will forgive the intrusion into your thoughts, but you are broadcasting very strongly. That is to be expected after a psi awakening such as you have just had and," Bester paused, smiling thinly, "in one who will be trained as a Psicop. I have assessed you as a P12, Diamond Kernock, and as such, answerable directly to me. There is one other who will be training with you, a boy about your age. His name is Scott Renier and he is also P12. He will teach you what you need to know in your first days." "Jill . . . " Desperately, Diamond clung to the only familiar thing in all this strangeness. "Jill has a lot to do teaching the lower grade telepath children. You must not expect more of her than she can give." The hard floor seemed suddenly uncertain and shifting beneath her feet. Diamond took a deep breath. "Sir, I've just got here. I - I would really like Jill to show me around." Bester considered this and finally smiled, his expression magnanimous. "Very well. I don't suppose it will do any harm. You are still frightened and homesick, I suppose, but you will learn very soon that we are your family." He did not dismiss her, but Diamond found herself backing out the door and quietly closing it. She turned and wandered away without the slightest idea of where she was going, but Jill Calder found her near the lifts and got her back to her room, not questioning her, and ordering a mug of hot chocolate to be delivered by the silent, efficient room service. If she knew what had happened to Diamond in that room and who had been her inquisitor, she gave no sign, only that comfort which was what the girl really needed. Bester was wrong in one thing. She wasn't homesick. Her uncle had always been slightly uncomfortable around her, as though never knowing how to relate to a child who had lost her parents. For those few hours, Jill was her mother as she hugged Diamond and promised her that everything would be fine. "We won't go away," she murmured, knowing somehow how important that promise was. "The Corp will always be here for you. Now, do you think you'll be able to sleep?" She smiled, getting to her feet. "Tomorrow your classes start. You didn't think you'd be able to escape school forever, did you?" Weakly, Diamond joined her laughter. "I hope it's a better kind of school." "Much better," Jill promised, but you'll need to work hard. The Psicorp doesn't want to waste schooltime on pointless things, you know, it wants you to have your diploma by the time you're sixteen so you can go on and do important things. Exciting things." TO BE CONTINUED From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Wed May 29 19:14:05 1996 Date: Mon, 20 May 1996 18:12:08 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part Five PSI SEARCH Part Five Jill let Diamond go and slid off the bed. "I have to go. Will you be all right?" "Yes," Diamond said firmly. "Good girl. I'll be along tomorrow morning to show you where school is, and there'll be someone there to help you. You already met him this morning, in the lift. Scott Renier." Jill grinned at her. "Scott is very cute. If it wasn't cradle-snatching, I'd be after him myself. Finished with that mug? I'll put it outside the door so room service won't bother you. Sleep well." Once she was gone, Diamond did not go to bed, but over to the desk where her little laptop sat. She sat down, with a deep breath, and keyed up her diary to record the real start of her new life. _This_ was the Psicorp Academy? Diamond stood just inside the doorway of the big, white-walled room to which Jill had taken her. She felt stiff and uncomfortable in the formal new outfit Jill had suggested she wear. The place looked like one of the sets at the movie studio where her uncle worked; a set for some fancy boardroom, only one large table with terminals and over on the far wall, another screen, as though this was the centre of a space station or big warship. The thought made her grin, and it was just then that Scott Renier turned around from a conversation with another girl and saw her. "Diamond!" He smiled easily and came over to her, while she stood there and tried not to fall over with nervousness. "Come and meet everyone. This is our new P12, Diamond Kernock." At the words P12, the four other kids in the room all stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Scott led Diamond over to the semi-circle of chairs by the one large window. The others followed and Scott made introductions which Diamond struggled to follow. There was Alys Mitchell, the blond, rather intense girl whom she'd seen with Scott in the lift; Ramon Juarez, dark-haired and olive-skinned, who gave her a looking-over and a quick grin; a stubble-headed girl introduced as Treven something, who was juggling with a couple of mugs and a tennis ball, over and over, while her blue stare considered Diamond and lazstly, a girl with dark red hair and brown eyes, which exotic combination so dazzled the newcomer that, as with the juggler, she only caught the first name. Blaz. "We're the students who are P7 and over," Scott told her. "That's why there are so few here. There are a lot more kids at the lower grades." "They don't split us up by age, or - or where we are in school?" "Well, some. I should've said. There are some little kids with potential to be P7 or better and they teach them separately. And there are the ones who are older than sixteen." Diamond glanced at the others but they didn't interrupt Scott or giggle or chat among themselves while he was speaking. That struck her as seriously strange. "Where's the teacher?" she asked at last. "Right here. We were only waiting for you." A man, conservatively-dressed, his brown hair clipped short, walked over from where he'd been concealed by a computer terminal. He sent his first name, which Diamond picked up as easily as catching a gently-thrown ball: Paul, and his telepathic designation, P10. "We'll begin with a group link, to teach you the basics. They're not something you can explain in words." The sudden rush of information was like a shock of cold, stepping outside into a winter breeze or diving into a pool and feeling the water envelop you. No separate words. Or rather, the words were there, but they were all at once, bypassing the level of her mind which dealt with language. Telepathy. Teekay. Sending, blocking, awareness of a scan. The need to stand together against the great mass of normals who had no psi. All this and more. Diamond opened her eyes, not having known she'd shut them, and gasped aloud. "That's enough," Paul said calmly. "We'll continue with the normal lessons now. Come over to the table and I'll start your computer on an introductory lesson, Diamond." Just like any new school. The normality of that calmed her and she was able to settle down and answer the machine's questions without too much peering at the others to see what they were doing. Scott took her to lunch in a cafeteria that was more like a fancy restaurant, one level down in the building. After school, she asked him when she might get an exeat to see her uncle. Family, Diamond thought, might get more of a hearing than mere friends! Scott stood still in the corridor and studied her, while the other four took off to join friends who were emerging from other classrooms. "You don't understand, do you?" he said, sounding very cool and very adult. "This is _Psicorp_. You don't take holidays, you don't just walk out the door. It's way too dangerous, now they know what you are." "But I'm just talking about going home and seeing my uncle for a couple of hours." "That's your old life." "You mean I - I can't leave?" Scott's blue eyes were as clear and emotionless as glass. "I don't understand why you want to. Everything you could ever want is here." He grinned suddenly and was a boy her own age again. "_I'm_ here." Diamond remembered Jill's comment about Scott and couldn't help laughing. "Are we finished with school for today?" "They are. Not you and me." Her heart sank a little. "What happens with us?" "We've a tutorial with Mr Bester, just an hour. He leaves for Mars in a couple of weeks, so we have to work with him while we can. It's an honour." Honour it might be, but during that hour, Diamond felt that her brain had been run flat through a wringer, shaken and slapped into a wall. She sat at a table, staring at a coin, trying to make it flip over. Nothing happened. Scott did the same trick and the damn coin turned somersaults. "No matter," Bester said. "Psychokinetic ability is always rarer. It is possible you'll develop it later on. Now, we will test your ability to block a probe." Her morning's knowledge reared up like a defensive cobra. She could _feel_ the barrier blocking his psychic strike, while the sweat poured down her face in the air-conditioned room. It wasn't much comfort that Bester was perspiring too. He tested her strength for a few moments, then unleashed his own. Her shield crumbled like cardboard and she slumped back in the chair. "That needs work," Bester said. "Scott will help you with that." He leaned back, studying the two teens. "I have to see a great many students before I go home, so I may not see you two again this trip. When I do come back, I'll test you both again, and I expect much better from you, Diamond. Also from you," and the sudden lash caught Scott in a complacent grin. "Now, be off with you." To Be Continued . . . From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Wed May 29 19:36:32 1996 Date: Sun, 26 May 1996 21:01:43 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part Six SPOILER NOTE: For benefit of Australian readers and other deprived types, from here on the story will have references to events of the episode _Divided Loyalties in season 2_ as well as the much earlier _Mind War_ and _A Race Through Dark Places_. I have not seen beyond this, so any events I have dated beyond this time are pure conjecture on my part, as is the entire physical appearance/structure of this particular Psicorp base "somewhere on Earth". Diamond Kernock is recruited into the Psicorp just after the the time Bester is trying to find out about the 'Underground' of rogue telepaths and tracks them to Babylon 5 (_A Race Through Dark Places_). I've been remiss in not adding the usual disclaimer; that no violation of copyright is intended! Sue Isle ____________________________________________________________ PSI SEARCH Part Six It was becoming harder to think. On the surface, that thought was so dumb that the first few times it filtered through, Diamond dismissed it at once and got on with whatever else she was doing: school, gym, talking with friends. When she was outside, which meant in the interior of the Psicorp "donut", walking or jogging through the gardens, her mind seemed to loosen up and for a little while she thought about Selina and Christine and her other friends back at school. Why had she never tried to call or even written email to them? She had a new group of friends here; that was true, Scott and the others in her class. Anyone else seemed somehow to slide away, she never could arrange to talk with the other kids or go to see a movie screening in the Psicorp theatre or eat with them. They didn't *avoid* her, it was nothing so pointed, they just . . . weren't there. Six months after she'd first come to Psicorp, she was jogging in the gardens when the thought struck her as though for the first time. She'd never called her uncle and he'd never called her. Okay, so they hadn't been that close, but he would at least have called, wouldn't he? Diamond didn't stop jogging. Stand on your own, looking vague, and some adult telepath would come up asking shouldn't you be somewhere. So she kept moving, slowly along the path towards the Academy building, as the entire area where the Psicorp children lived and were taught was known, but instead of going inside she moved on down the service road between it and the next tall building, out beyond the white barricades. Had she tried to make a complicated plan to get out, she knew it would never have worked, but right now, she'd had the luck to fall through the cracks and free. With a whole lot more luck, she'd be able to get over to Sel's house and from there, call Christine. Selina lived not too far from here. Which was a good thing, Diamond realised with a sudden pang. She didn't have any credsticks. Psicorp paid for everything she had and all food and entertainment in HQ was free. She stopped jogging as soon as she reached the street leading away from Psicorp, panting for breath. She was in good shape but hadn't anticipated quite so much running. A glance at the sky told her she had maybe two hours before it got dark, but probably Sel's mother could be talked into dropping her off. She stood outside Selina's house. Somehow it looked different, strange, when for years she'd run in and out of it with Sel and Chris and the others. Diamond had to make herself walk forward, telling herself it was okay, this was one of her best friends, for goodness sake! She walked up the path, up on to the porch full of hanging plants, and straight to the door. The bell sounded loud in her ears. Voices inside, a distant, "I'll get it!" and then Selina was standing in front of her. Staring at her. Not smiling, just a frozen sort of look. Sel's hair seemed to have grown into a great shaggy blond length about her face and she was wearing a tight spangly top and summer skirt, though the weather was becoming windy and cold. "Hi, Sel." "Di . . . how did you get here?" "I walked. It's not so far. I meant to before, meant to call you guys, but somehow . . . " Diamond grinned, shrugging to show helplessness. "You know what my mind's like. So how are you? How's Christine?" "She's fine." Still Selina didn't move. Her mother's voice called from the house, "Who is it, Sel?" "Diamond." That awful silence seemed to spread, broken by the sound of a chair pushing back, and then feet approaching. Mrs Warden came into the hall behind her daughter. "Diamond! What are you doing here?" "I came to see Sel." Mrs Warden's gaze flicked to her shoulder, to the silver and red badge pinned there. Stared at the uneven- looking symbol that was the Greek letter psi and now meant so much more. Diamond's whole body felt tensed up, crazily, as though these were strangers, not friends at all. She knew now that she could never ask this woman, her best friend's mother, to drop her back at the Psicorp. "Anyway," she managed stiffly, "could you say hi to Chris for me? Tell her . . . tell her I didn't forget." At that, there was a slight warming to Sel's face and she nodded. "I'll tell her." Her mother's hands were on her shoulders as though drawing her back. And Diamond suddenly wanted, so badly that it hurt, to look into their minds and know what they were thinking, know what she didn't want to believe; that they were afraid. Of Psicorp. Of what she had become, not even knowing that anything had changed. She didn't look down at her gloved hands, the gloves she'd not even thought to take off as she ran. "I'm sorry," she blurted, turned around and ran so clumsily she nearly fell from the porch. Selina said something behind her, something which could almost have been, "Me too" and then Diamond was clear, running blindly. Someone else called to her, ahead of her, and she looked up, blinking through tears to see the sleek black hovercar with the Psicorp symbol painted on its side. Jill was in the driver's seat, Scott beside her. He scrambled out and came up to her, his eyes bright with concern. Diamond couldn't help it, she started crying right there in the street in front of him. "They didn't want to talk to me," she blurted. "She was my best friend!" "That's before," Scott said. He hugged her hard, then led her towards the hover, climbing into the back seat with her. Jill reached a hand back, clasped Diamond's hand firmly. "Are you all right?" "Just making an idiot of myself!" "No you aren't. You had to know for yourself." She passed a tissue back and waited while Diamond blew her nose and nodded that she was done. "You knew where I was. You just let me go." By "you", Diamond meant not just Jill, but all of them, all the adult telepaths who lived there in just one of Psicorp's hives. "Yeah," Jill admitted softly. "It's hard for you kids who come in so late. If we could only find you in the first few years, like me and Scott were found, the adjustment would be so much easier." Diamond glanced back through the rear window of the 'car towards the windows of the Warden house. Sel, her mother, maybe the rest of the family, would probably be there watching a Psicorp vehicle collect her. There would be no more journeys back, not to here, though there was one more thing she wanted. "My uncle," she said. "Can I see him? You and Scott can be right there; I just want to say hi." "Your uncle isn't on Earth," Jill said. "He emigrated to Syria Planum on Mars two months ago. You're welcome to scan me, there's nothing I could hold back from _you_!" Diamond grinned slightly. "That's better! Go on, scan." "You need the practice," Scott teased. Diamond shook her head. "It's okay. I don't need to scan. Let's go . . . " - back, she began to say, but that wasn't right. "Let's go home." * * * SIX MONTHS LATER (Following Divided Loyalties) "How could this happen? How could a motley gang of failures overpower a Psicop?" "They merged their power," Bester said, anger at himself almost as strong as theirs at him. He stood before the tribunal, aware of the fact that he was in the exact same position as the children he tested. "Together, they were stronger than I was." "Clearly so," the central Psicop of the three said. She stared at him coldly. "And now? The underground will no doubt have moved on to other places, so long after the fact, and I do not imagine Sheridan will consent to your presence on station again." "His consent," Bester bit off the word, "is not required." "No," another of the tribunal spoke, "but he will watch you too closely for you to be able to discover much. If there are any rogue telepaths there, they will be warned of you." "So send others," Bester snapped, "who will not be watched so closely. They _will_ use Babylon 5 as a jumping off point, there's nowhere better. It's been six months, they'll judge themselves safe again." "It doesn't matter," the third said. "Whoever we send, it will be the same." "Only if they are known as Psicorp," Bester said slowly, the idea stirring in his mind. "Psicorp must declare themselves to station, but Academy students are not full Psicorp yet." "Our children," the leading member of the tribunal said slowly, "are not like the children of normals. We take great care to ensure that." "But there's no resident telepath on Babylon 5 now," Bester pointed out with the lightest touch of malice. "No one will know that a couple of teenagers, travelling with their trader parents, are anything but what they seem." "We could get a couple of normals to pose as their parents easily enough," the second tribunal member said thoughtfully. "Good." Bester managed a tight smile completely devoid of warmth. "You see to it then. I have work to do." To be continued From tempest@perth.DIALix.oz.au Sat Jun 15 14:03:01 1996 Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 20:28:03 +0800 (WST) From: Sue Isle Reply-To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com To: b5-creative@lists1.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part 7 PSI SEARCH Part Seven The expected punishment did not eventuate. That was scarier than being sent to her room, grounded or the variety of other things her parents and then her uncle had devised. Psicorp was delighted to have her back. Telepaths Diamond didn't even know came up to her to say how glad they were she was safe! That night she and the rest of the class met in Alys Mitchell's room for an impromptu party. Diamond was too tired to do more than sip her drink and watch Treven Gannon teek Alys' precious collection of ceramic and glass unicorns about the room. "I can't watch," Alys kept moaning, eyes squeezed shut. "Tell me when she stops!" "I'll tickle her," Ramon offered helpfully, eliciting more shrieks from Alys, especially when Ramon whipped around and started tickling her instead. Diamond grinned. She'd seen what happened when a telekinetic's concentration was affected. "Hey," she said to Scott, over by Alys' desk where the tray of drinks had been set, "Ramon and Alys are kind of an item, aren't they?" He shrugged. "They'll probably be authorised in a year or so." "Authorised?" Diamond picked up a glass of Coke. "What do you mean? They need a permit to go out together?" "Well, Ramon is P9 and Alys P8 and if they had a kid, it'd probably be Psicop material . . . what's the matter?" "Are you saying they do need a permit?" "No, 'course not! Anybody can go with anybody they like, but Psicop decides who you'll partner for having kids." His voice indicated that this was perfectly reasonable and obvious. "They usually do that when they know the full extent of your abilities, like when you're sixteen, seventeen, something like that." Diamond stared at him. "I don't want to get married when I'm that young. I don't know if I even want to get married at all!" "Well . . . " Scott began but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Still giggling, Alys got up and went to answer it. She went quiet suddenly, then called over her shoulder. "Scott, Di, you're wanted." Two black-clad figures stood at the door and with a jolt, Diamond recognised Godric and Riala, who'd brought her here six months and forever past. They smiled at her. "It's good to see you're all right," Riala said. "You've got transfer orders, you and Scott. Your packing's being done, just come along with us now." Diamond would have frozen, but for Scott's hand on her shoulder, pushing lightly. She found herself out in the corridor, hearing him answer their friends' surprised but accepting farewells. "Where to?" he asked Godric. "No need to know right now," the Psicop answered. "You'll be briefed on the ship." Ship. That meant space. Diamond found herself harried along between the Psicops and Scott, down in the lift to the beautiful marble foyer, out into the centre of Psicorp, headed for the landing field. Instead of the expected black hovercar, there was another craft, much larger, elegant, gun-metal gray and deadly, nose pointed upwards. "That's the shuttle," Riala said beside her. "It's to take you up to the Delphi. Hurry along now." "Are you coming with us?" Diamond asked. "No, but there's people to brief you. You'll be fine." Then that last connection was broken as she climbed through the hatch into the shuttle, where strangers grabbed her and assisted whether she liked it or not. They strapped her into a seat in a windowless cabin, Scott beside her, smiling in the way of people too busy to pay attention to you. "Welcome aboard the atmospheric shuttle Sunhawk," a piped female voice announced cheerfully above them. "Please do not leave your seats or unfasten your restraints until you are told. Lean your heads back against the seat rests and try to relax throughout launch. Any movement during launch could cause injury. Thank you!" "It's like a straitjacket," Diamond muttered. "How about a cocoon?" Scott suggested, not much happier. "You ever been whisked off like this before?" "Di, I haven't been out of Psicorp, except on little day trips, since I was five!" Someone came into the cabin and sat down in the seat opposite hers and Scott's. Another Psicop, Diamond noted, no one she knew. The woman's blond hair was tied tightly back in a bun and her grey eyes studied them with a no nonsense look. "There isn't much time," she said. "There's a lot you'll have to take on faith, because it isn't safe to talk on certain subjects very much on Earth, even within Psicorp. Now, you two are going to the space station Babylon 5. You're to meet two people on board the Delphi, the passenger cruiser that's waiting in orbit. Their names are Peter and Lana Kresci and they're geologists seeking a permit to go to Minbar. There's not likely to be any difficulty, they only require the formal permission of the Minbari Ambassador. You two will be their children." She waited for the shock to pass, mostly on Diamond's behalf, but Scott was unusually quiet as well. "They're normals, but they work for us. They'll not ask you any questions. Your job is simply to go around that station for the few days you'll be there, and be kids. Nobody suspects kids. While you're moving around, you keep your minds open for telepaths. Any telepaths. Don't approach them, just find out who they are and call us." "The Underground," Scott blurted. "I thought they weren't there any more." "Oh, they're there." The Psicop's voice was hard, remembering. "Babylon 5 is too good a nexus to give up forever. There's not likely to be anyone among them to match you or discover you, unless you're stupid." She stood up. "We think you can handle it. Remember, no one is to find out that you're telepaths and especially not that you're Psicorp. The full reasons why, you may learn at a later date." She strode away, leaving them alone in the cabin. Only moments later, they felt the kick of ignition and were pressed back in their seats, unable to move. Diamond was caught between exhilaration and panic. If Psicorp asked it, it had to be right, didn't it? Still, lying to adults, lying to an entire space station of adults, was beyond her usual scope of taking days off school or answering a teacher back. Though she hadn't, she reflected, done either since arriving at Psicorp. "So who's going to be older?" she asked Scott. "What?" Scott's voice was almost curt. "As twins, we don't cut it," Diamond pointed out. "My hair's a lot lighter than yours and my eyes are more grayish than blue. You're a few months older than me anyway, so we'd better say you're the elder, if anybody asks." "That's lousy genetics," Scott retorted. "Twins can be as unalike as single sibs." "Can not." He turned his head, his look startled by her whiny, argumentative tone. Diamond grinned. "Getting some practice." "At what?" It was Diamond's turn to be surprised. She thought of how the kids were at Psicorp; trained from the very start to respect and obey anybody with a higher P rating. Their own rooms, meals prepared and served, expensive clothes, their own movie theatre, VR games, sports facilities. No family of their own. Psicorp, as Godric had told her, was mother and father. And Scott had come into all this at five. "Hey," she said, not able to keep from grinning as acceleration built up beneath them - going into space - "you don't know how, do you, Scott?" He sounded more aggrieved than excited. "Don't know how - what?" "How to be a kid." The crushing pressure disappeared as fast as it had built up, and Diamond felt lighter than usual. "Gravity is at point nine," the cheery voice announced once more. "You may move about with caution, but inexperienced travellers are advised to stay seated." "Do you think they made a new tape for us?" Scott asked wryly, but he didn't unstrap. "Is there a porthole?" Diamond asked, craning her neck about to try and see one. "Wait till we're on the ship." "You really don't." She grinned at him until he dropped his annoyance and grinned back. "Well, we should have a good long ride on that ship, long enough for me to put you through Kernock's six easy lessons on how to be a total brat." Peter and Lana Kresci met them at the airlock. They were the only passengers from the shuttle, which was, after all, Psicorp property, though unmarked. The two geologists were vaguely alike; both dark-haired, fortyish and without much to say. "Meeting our kids," Peter commented to the ship's officer witnessing the arrival. "Let's get you two over to the cabins." Diamond was dismayed to find the week-long space journey actually boring. For the first day she did little but stare out at space from the viewing deck, but the stars didn't change and no other ships came by. Her supposed parents didn't talk to her and Scott much, except to make sure the cover story was known by all. It was as though they weren't much interested in what Scott and Diamond were there to do. "Best way to be," Scott shrugged when Diamond mentioned this. "If things go wrong, it's best for them to know as little as possible, then they can say Psicorp just asked them to escort these two kids on to the station." "Doesn't help us." "Right, so we'd better not screw up. I think your bratty little sister idea's not bad. You can look twelve without much trouble . . . " "Gee, thanks, big brother!" Diamond looked at her chest and sighed. Unfortunately, Scott was right. "So it won't matter so much if you are kind of serious and responsible. I'm ageing you beyond your years." Scott reached under his bed and pulled out his laptop from its drawer. "That reminds me, we got the math homework delivered for today. Where's your comp?" Diamond sighed and retrieved it. Maybe the scariest thing about Scott, about any of the other Psicorp kids, was the way they always did all the work they were supposed to. It was, of course, impossible for a telepath to lie even slightly, and while they were minors, it was considered okay for the adults to do surface scans on them pretty well any time they liked, P12s or not. That still gave her a niggling, uncomfortable feeling. Then the Delphi arrived at Babylon 5. Diamond and Scott followed their "parents", lugging their bags and staring around them. It didn't take much acting to feel overwhelmed by the place. Most of the beings brushing past them, arriving from other ships or going to them weren't even human. The customs officer was; he checked the cards Lana Kresci handed him, nodded pleasantly and wished them a happy stay, then turned to the next in line. Peter snagged Diamond with his arm to pull her out of the way of an equally oblivious Narn. "Careful. Scott, watch your feet!" A tiny crystal-maned creature darted past, bleeping anxiously for its parent. Scott gaped at it, then shook his head as though to restore calm, and obediently followed the Krescis. They had been here once before, they'd said, for a few days. Diamond's barriers were all over the place. She let the waves of input strike her as they pleased, dizzy and delighted and scared all at once. Most of the thoughts she wouldn't have known what to do with; even 'translated' beyond surface speech, they contained concepts so alien she couldn't judge them. She turned about, staring as a pair of crested Minbari went past, proud and remote, their robes sweeping behind them. Scott gripped her arm painfully hard. "Close it down," he whispered. "You're broadcasting, if anyone here has any telepathy, they'll be on to you. Lock down!" She did, using the pain as her focus. Scott released her arm after a moment or two. "Sorry." "We're going to our suite," he said. "After that, Peter and Lana are going to take a rest then call some people they need to see." "Take a rest?" Diamond grinned. "I'm going to go see this place!" To be continued From perv!rdm@metapro.metapro.DIALix.oz.au Sun Aug 4 01:42:47 1996 Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 21:18:55 +0800 (WST) From: Rob Masters To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part 8 (fwd) Hi Everyone, I'm forwarding this to the list for Sue, who is off the list for a while. Enjoy! -Rob. Forwarded message: >Date: Sun, 21 Jul 1996 16:36:59 +0800 (WST) >From: Sue Isle >To: Rob Masters >Subject: PSI SEARCH Part 8 >Message-ID: _______________________________________ PSI SEARCH Part Eight by Sue Isle Scott stood, looking about him in the crowded aisle of the gift shop. Diamond had already found half a dozen things she wanted. Giggling, she put a "B5" baseball cap, white with a black image of the station, on his head, facing backwards. Scott hated to look silly. He grabbed it off to examine it. "They've got shirts too," Diamond said. "Let's get a few to take back for the others." He wasn't listening to her. Diamond studied her fellow junior psicop's face. Scott Renier was fourteen years old, good-looking, with quite startling blue eyes. He had been in the hands of the Psicorp since he was five and even now, in "civilian" shirt and pants, stood rather stiffly and formally, the baseball cap in his hands. Nothing here, he said in her mind. Pay for those things if you have to get them, then we should move on. "Stop being so serious!" Diamond said aloud. She jammed a cap back on Scott's head and took Lana Kresci's credcard to the Human cashier. Though the station was run by the Earth Alliance, humans seemed to be in a distinct minority among the colourful, passionate alien races, the Narn, the Centauri, Minbari and Drazi, to name only a few. Diamond headed off without waiting for Scott. After six months of admittedly fascinating confinement inside Psicorp, with only her one disastrous attempt to meet an outside friend, this was being let loose in Disneyland with a vengeance. She felt his sending brush her mind, a quick: Let's work apart for a while. I'll meet you back here in an hour. Fine, she sent, quite pleased at the chance. She roamed along the broad corridor, looking into cafes and shops along the way but not diverted to either until she saw the flashing signs for a casino. Gambling, of course, didn't work for a telepath unless you stayed barricaded. If you used your powers, you could just know what cards anyone held and then where was the fun in it? Use your powers thus and it would be quickly obvious what you were. Still, the place looked interesting and she drifted in, past the tables. Quite a few Centauri and Humans were playing and she paused by one group to listen and watch. The loudest and most enthusiastic individual wore a fancy brocaded coat and the highest crest she'd noted among the flamboyant aliens. He was openly gloating with pleasure as he pushed a stack of chips towards his place. _Ambassador Londo Mollari_, Diamond read. She did not mean to do more than a surface scan, but as Bester had told her, her abilities were still erratic and had not yet settled to an adult pattern. Her search abruptly deepened into his mind. There was no jovial laughter there, but a tense, frightened watchfulness, a mental prickling of the hackles. Not of her, not of anyone immediately here, but a constant crying in the dark. Diamond withdrew her probe, rattled by what she'd found. She started to move on, but a hand reached out and grasped her shoulder. "Sorry, children aren't allowed in here," a male voice said. Diamond looked up at a rather pleasant, determined face atop a formal gray uniform with the Earthforce logo in gold on one sleeve. He let her go as soon as he had her attention and pointed toward the exit. "This place will take all your money anyway. I should know." Diamond had to grin. "That's okay. I just wanted to look at the people." "Plenty of those outside. Off you go." She scanned him briefly, surprised to realise he was the Security Chief himself, Michael Garibaldi. Nor had he asked whether her parents were inside. That had to mean he had watched her for long enough to know she was alone. There was no darkness within him, none from a surface scan anyway, only a keen, wolflike watchfulness. Of what? He guarded something, but Diamond was unable to determine what in the time she had. Outside, she walked slowly, hands in the pockets of her pants. Scott was right, they wouldn't find out much here in the public walkways and shops of the station. They'd have to go down to what everyone thought of as Downbelow. She sent out a questioning probe and found him not far away, outside a crowded cafe. Diamond set off there and saw Scott, formal and serious as he waited for her. She shook her head, grinning. Scott would never look like a kid. "There's something in their minds," he murmured as he came forward to walk with her. "Fear of something, something big." "I know. I scanned Ambassador Mollari, from Centauri Prime. He's scared rigid." "Funny you should put it like that." Scott flashed her an image of the Centauri's crest, exaggerated to twice its height, fluffed out like a startled cat's fur. Both started laughing, attracting attention from surprised passers-by. A Narn glared, suspecting he was the reason for the amusement, but Scott and Diamond moved on. Ahead of them was an elevator, to which Scott waved a hand. "After you." People definitely looked at them more, downbelow. Unaccompanied juniors weren't all that common; in fact, Diamond couldn't see anyone her age. She scanned, lightly and widely. Scott moved ahead, his stride slow but definite. He glanced up at the neon sign above a doorway: Dark Star, and went on in. The place was so dark that for a moment no one noticed him, or Diamond following. Then eyes flicked in their direction, and away again. "Come on," Scott said abruptly and turned to lead the way out. He ran straight into a gray-shirted chest and found himself looking up at Michael Garibaldi. "You again," the Security Chief said, looking past Scott to Diamond. "What are you up to down here?" "Just looking around," Diamond said. "Well, at risk of repeating myself, kids aren't allowed in here," Garibaldi said. "What are your names?" "Scott and Diamond Kresci." "Cards?" He inspected their ID and handed the cards back. "Upabove, if you don't mind. It can be dangerous around here." To their annoyance, Garibaldi marched them personally to a lift and got inside with them. When they were back in the main walkway of the brightly-lit Zocalo, the Security Chief left them with a warning. "Don't go back down there on your own. I wouldn't even recommend going down there with your parents!" "He's going to be on our tail," Scott muttered, clearly annoyed. "What now? If there's anything, it's down there." "I'm hungry," Diamond said, ignoring him. She turned and went into the nearest cafe. Scott followed slowly. The place was fairly full but they were able to get themselves a table. Diamond enjoyed people-watching on this station, so different from the Psicorp; aliens, bright colours and unfamiliar sounds. Scott paid attention to his sandwich and so it was Diamond who saw the man watching them. He was different enough to catch her eye; well-dressed in an entirely black outfit, even his hair coal black, somewhat like Scott's hair. His face was very pale in comparison, but his eyes sharp and intent. When he saw Diamond looking at him, he smiled. Her answering look was wary and, as she looked upwards as though to inspect the ceiling, she scanned him. "Ow!" "What? Did you burn yourself on the cup?" Even as he spoke, Scott sounded dubious. He picked up Diamond's hand as though to check for injuries. She managed to nod, still shaken. Her scan had been thrown right back at her, though she would swear the guy hadn't done anything. His mind had not been aware of her as another telepath would be. "The guy at the next table," she murmured. "Try to scan him, be prepared for a shock." "Who?" Scott asked, and when Diamond looked up again, she saw the black-clad man on his way out, already mingling with the crowd. As well as she could, she described the bounce-back sensation of her scan. "It didn't seem to be him," she said, knowing her explanation wasn't helping. "Something around him." "But he was alone," Scott pointed out. "Come on, let's get back to the apartment. We need to make our report." Bester seemed accepting of their null findings, but emphasised that they must search Downbelow once again. He also asked questions about the pale-faced man in black who had been able to bounce a scan from a Psicop. "True, your training is incomplete," he said, sitting back in his chair, a great window behind it showing the bleak red landscape of Mars. "But your power is the equal of any P12." "He didn't block the scan, sir," Diamond replied when he paused. "It didn't reach him. Something stopped it." "Another telepath?" "I don't know, sir. He left right after that." Bester glanced to Scott. "Have the Krescis take you to Downbelow as soon as you can. I will await your report on that excursion." The screen went black. Scott looked about for the Krescis, who were both in the apartment. "Did you hear?" Peter Kresci nodded. "It's getting on for station evening now. Do you want to have dinner first or go down there immediately?" "Mr Bester said asap," Diamond remarked. "All right," Lana Kresci said. "I'll hold the fort here while you escort them down, Peter. Do you have a story in case security stops you again?" The other geologist shrugged. "Curiosity. What else will they believe?" Michael Garibaldi was often the only security personnel in Downbelow. It wasn't a popular assignment; the guards tended to do their circuit quickly and then stand somewhere near the lifts, just in case. He didn't blame them, having personal experience of the kind of incidents which could befall a man in Downbelow. Nor did he have Sheridan's sort of crazy, that led him wandering through the darkest maintenance corridors alone. Still, the place had a creepy sort of appeal, and at least Londo or someone else wanting answers to questions _now_ were least likely to find him there. Lurkers moved about their dubious business, to jobs if they had them, possibly to crime if they did not. Garibaldi mused on what could have brought these people to B5 on the barest hope of work, of staying out here in the stars where authorities couldn't reach them. Perhaps only because they wanted space and would not return to a planet, any planet. The trio ahead of him didn't fit any of those scenarios. Garibaldi recognised the man as one of the visiting geologists, having made it his business to scan through all the station's visitors once a day. He might see a given face only for a second, but he had a good memory for faces. For the kids he didn't even have to try. There was the boy with the adult face, pale beneath the mossy black hair, and the girl, more obviously excited and nervous, who seemed to defer to the boy. That was odd, Garibaldi thought, quickening his step to keep them in sight. Memories of his own childhood were enough to tell him that. Kids didn't defer to other kids, especially not brothers or sisters, but she treated him like - Garibaldi struggled for a parallel and found it - like he was her superior officer. Even the man. A couple of lurkers moved past the trio, checked them out, saw Garibaldi and kept moving. Both the kids looked at them, a deliberate stare, not a nervous glance. The man asked a question and the boy replied, pointing ahead. "Ahead" was the Dark Star, only one of the shadowy little bars/trading posts that proliferated around Downbelow. Grimly, Garibaldi waited. If those kids were going to try getting inside again . . . They didn't, halting in the corridor as though to get their bearings. People came out of the Dark Star, splitting up to go various directions. With a sudden jolt, Garibaldi recognised Morden's features. He'd come out barely more than arm's distance away from Diamond. She looked up at him in surprise, a shock matched by Morden. Her probe lanced out almost without volition from her and she cried out. Garibaldi began to run, blocking Morden's path. "I didn't touch the little girl," he began, a look of resignation on his face when he saw Garibaldi. "He didn't . . . I was just startled," Diamond put in. "I saw he didn't," Garibaldi informed them both. "You get out of here," to Morden. "You three, I think, don't belong down here, as I told you kids before. That way, please." Diamond couldn't move. She couldn't see anyone. Only a great spiky dark thing loomed before her, two, three of them, surrounding and interlacing the space where the man in black, _Morden_, death-bringer, her thoughts told her. They were the death. They were alien, more so than anyone or anything on this station. One surged languidly towards her and Diamond backed so fast she ran into Garibaldi. "Hey, easy, I'm not that dangerous," he oofed, grasping her shoulders. "What's the matter?" "She's just nervous," Peter Kresci said. "If she is, you shouldn't bring her down _here_. Move!" Morden looked at her with obvious curiosity, raising black brows at her before turning to walk away. She controlled the othersight now, reining in her psi, willing to see only the man. To Scott she sent, swift and sharp. We have to report _asap_. Did you see? I was concentrating on Garibaldi. He was on the point of bringing us in for questioning. Something about Morden? Later. Before she had a chance to talk with Scott alone, Morden found her. She'd gone to sleep, too tired to want to discuss anything that night, and in the "morning", Lana had asked Scott to come to a meeting of scientists with her, so he could scan them re their knowledge and opinions of Psicorp. Peter took Diamond to the Zoccalo for breakfast. While he was away placing the order, Morden appeared by Diamond's side. "Good morning," he said, smiling. "I'm sorry we frightened you." "We?" "I know you saw my friends. I also know that no one else here will believe you. You must be a very powerful telepath. Even Talia Winters could see them only for a few scattered moments, but you had to deliberately shut away that sight, didn't you?" "Talia - there is no resident telepath here." "Not now," Morden agreed, still smiling. "There was . . . an accident. But I observe that I'm right. You don't need to be afraid of my associates, Diamond Kernock. They can be very good friends, you know." "Whose friends?" "Mine, and yours. Better friends than you know." Diamond suddenly realised something. If he knew anything of telepaths, he had to know that she couldn't lie in a deep scan, which Scott could do. If he knew he couldn't bribe her, he would kill her. That she could sense in the cold emptiness, the isolated fear beneath the charm and the ready smile. Therefore, he didn't know there was another telepath! "Think about what I've said," Morden advised, moving away. Louder, he said, "And I am sorry I frightened you. If I hadn't been there, the security wouldn't have bothered you." He nodded, smiling at Peter Kresci also. "Good day to you." "That was the man outside the bar in Downbelow," Peter said, sending a concerned look after Morden as he walked away. "He wanted to apologise." "Well, it wasn't his fault." -- Rob Masters -> At Home: rdm@perv.metapro.DIALix.oz.au (Speaking for no-one) GeekCode 3.1: GAT d--@ s: a C++ ULS++$ P+>+++ L+++ E--- W-- N+++ !o !K w--- !O !M V PS+ PE Y+ PGP+ t 5+++ !X R++ tv--- b++++ !DI D+ G++ e h---(++) r++>+++ y** ARA# 47-2 "Whoosh!" |<*>|"You have forgotten something."- Kosh (B5 - Chrysalis) From perv!rdm@metapro.metapro.DIALix.oz.au Sun Aug 4 01:54:58 1996 Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 18:53:26 +0800 (WST) From: Rob Masters To: b5-creative@lists.best.com Subject: PSI SEARCH Part 9 (fwd) Here is the last part of Sue's story. Enjoy! -Rob. Forwarded message: >Greetings! This is the end of this story and my apologies for taking so >damned long about it. I do have a good excuse - I *was* writing a book >and then rewriting (and rewriting) at the publisher's request. I hope >it's been worth it! > >Sue > >___________________________________________________________________ > > > PSI SEARCH Part 9 > > by Sue Isle > > Scott came back to the rooms about two hours later. Diamond did >not tell him about Morden or the creatures around him, and he was >preoccupied with the scans he'd done at the meeting. "I need to find the >officers in charge here," he said. "Garibaldi I've scanned, but no one >else yet. Any chance we could get into C and C?" > Lana Kresci, entering figures into her laptop computer, looked >dubious. "I don't think civilians are allowed up there." > "Why do you want to go into C and C?" Diamond demanded. To her >surprise, Scott glanced away. She pushed a probe at him, lightly, >something he could block with ease if he chose. He did, swiftly. > "Don't do that!" > "So why?" > "I had private instructions," he answered at last, and glanced at >the Krescis in a clear direction. The two normals quickly left the >quarters, but Scott waited until the outer door had slid shut. "Mr Bester >told me I was to scan each of the officers here; Captain Sheridan, >Commander Ivanova, Dr Franklin and Security Chief Garibaldi. He believed >one or more of them was withholding information." > "_How_?" > "He didn't see Captain Sheridan before he left, or the others. If >something happened between their last meetings and Mr Bester's departure >. . . " Scott shrugged, blue eyes very direct. "I can get up to C and C, >even if I have to turn a few minds. Once I'm inside, I can scan quickly." > "It won't be a deep scan, then." > Scott ignored that. " - and if they put me right out, so what?" > There were higher P ratings, Diamond thought. She'd learned that, >that one Psicop was not the same as another. Bester, for instance, >outranked anyone at her branch of the Psicorp. It was also true that >scanning a normal was much easier than another telepath, but she already >suspected that Scott was more than her equal. > "While I'm doing that, you go along to Medlab and figure an excuse >to talk to Dr Franklin. Scan him as deeply as you can without him knowing >what you're doing." > "So did you learn anything from Garibaldi?" > Scott smiled. "Maybe." > The thoughts of normals buzzed, a noisy, undisciplined sound of >bees, constantly in the background. It gave Diamond a faint headache, >which she realised she'd had since arriving at the station. She found >herself longing for the peace and calm of Psicorp. What could Earthforce >officers at this remote station possibly know to interest the Corp? > There was someone already talking to the doctor, her long dark >hair loose over her uniform. With a jolt, Diamond realised that it was >Commander Ivanova. Well, she'd just have to scan them both. Scott would >be annoyed if she didn't. She put on an attitude of shyness and edged >into Medlab. Dr Franklin saw her at once and murmured to Ivanova, who >turned. > "Yes, child?" > "Uh, are you the doctor?" > "I believe I am the doctor." He had a sharp-featured, handsome >face, with eyes that fixed her to the spot. Ivanova smiled. > "Take care of your patient, Stephen. I can wait a few moments." > "I, uh, wondered if you had stuff for a headache. I've been >feeling a bit sick since we docked. I was okay on the ship." > "Hm." Franklin guided her to a table. "Sit up on that. Have you >been feeling dizzy? Nauseous?" > "A bit." > "Maybe it's the station's spin unsettling you, if you've always >lived on a planet before. Where are you from?" > "North America. Earth." > Diamond scanned him quickly, while he was facing her, gently >massaging her temples. It seemed to help the headache and she felt >vaguely guilty. > "Well, I think ye ancient aspirin remedy will sort you out . . . >what is your name?" > "Diamond Kresci." > Commander Ivanova had taken a step closer, patiently indulgent. >The chance was too good to waste. Franklin turned away to search through >bottles on a shelf and Diamond probed straight at Ivanova. > She did not expect what happened. The Commander made a sound of >shock and moved quickly to stand in front of the door. "Stephen, hang on >to her," she said in that tone few people disobeyed. Franklin spun >around, startled, his hand reaching for Diamond's wrist. Diamond jumped >from the table and ran straight for Ivanova, hoping she'd be rattled >enough to give way. She didn't. Her hands shot out to seize Diamond's >shoulders. > "You scanned me, didn't you? You're a telepath!" > "Susan, she's a kid," Franklin remonstrated. > "Stephen, you know me better than that." Ivanova's voice was full >of pain and grief that stopped Diamond where she was. It convinced the >doctor too, she could feel it. She reached out a very light probe, a >surface scan which Ivanova would not detect unless she were a telepath of >Scott's grade. She wasn't. Diamond could sense only faint psi ability, >less than Jill's, but there. > "Call the Captain," Ivanova ordered. > "Yes, ma'am." The wry tone was like a shrug. "Franklin to >Sheridan." > "Sheridan here." The captain's voice crackled from the badge the >doctor and all of the others wore. > "Captain, there's someone here in Medlab you ought to see." > "Is the someone a short human being of less than fifteen years of >age?" > "Well, yes. How did you know?" > "I've got the other one right here. I'm coming down to see you." > Diamond had to sit on the table, both of them staring at her, >until the door slid open and Captain Sheridan walked in. Scott followed, >behind him, Garibaldi. They don't know, Scott sent, very swiftly. > Too late. Ivanova turned on him. "_You_ . . . " > "Him what?" Sheridan asked. > "He's a telepath too. Like her." Ivanova pointed at Diamond. >"Came in here saying she had a headache, then scanned Stephen and me, >first chance she got." > "Scanned?" > "That one no doubt scanned you and Garibaldi." > "And learned nothing of much note, I'm sure," Sheridan said drily. > Garibaldi's badge began to talk and after a moment, the Security >Chief answered it. "They've found the parents," he told his commanding >officer. "They're on their way here." > Peter and Lana Kresci were satisfyingly stunned. _Telepaths_? >No, of course their kids weren't part of some plot. How could the >Commander say such a thing? So the kid stared at her, that was all. >She'd never been in such a place as Babylon Five or met Earthforce >officers. > "They are telepaths," Ivanova stated grimly and Sheridan nodded. > "I don't think Psicorp is meant to do this kind of thing, do you?" > "I don't," Garibaldi said cheerfully. > "Nor me," Franklin agreed innocently. > Diamond saw the moment when the Krescis went to plan two. > "We were asked to bring the kids to the station," Lana stated. >"That's all." > "And say they were yours. They aren't, are they?" > "No." > "Who are your parents?" Sheridan asked Scott. > "Psicorp is mother and father," the boy said stonily, his stare >fierce as he regarded Sheridan. > "Is it now? And what about you?" > Before the Captain's look, Diamond glanced down. She thought of >how her uncle had let her go, putting up little resistance once he >realised he wouldn't have to spend any money on her, ever again. Selina, >standing at her door with her mother holding her, pulling her back from >the contamination of a telepath. > "There's nowhere else," she said. > "Well, you're going back to Earth," Sheridan said calmly. >"Krescis, you can pack. I don't think you'll be seeing Minbar somehow." > "Captain," Ivanova said suddenly, "can I talk to her?" > "If you're sure. I'll talk to the boy." > Alone with a normal, Diamond knew Scott would get out of there. >Did it matter now, though? They'd searched and found nothing, what more >was there to know? > Franklin waved Ivanova to his private office and himself busied >elsewhere in Medlab. Diamond swallowed, wondering why she was nervous. >After all, this person was only a normal. Bester had said it: not even >most telepaths could stand against her even now. > "What did you see when you looked at Morden?" Ivanova asked. > Diamond tried to conceal her shock. Of all the questions she'd >expected in the case of their cover blowing, this was the last. She >opened her mouth, tried to say it, but felt the ominous threat closing in >on her again. "I - shadows. Huge and spiky, but they weren't real, they >were only . . . " > "They're real," Ivanova said. grimly. "Talia saw them. What were >you told, when you came out here?" > "To search for rogue telepaths." Since they'd found nothing, >Diamond did not think that would help them. > "Uh huh." This came as no surprise to the Commander, that was very >plain. "So Bester knows he was had, hm?" > "I don't understand." > "Maybe you don't, at that. He'd hardly be likely to tell kids we >outsmarted him. I think you had another brief as well, didn't you? Or >why were you and your "brother" scanning us?" > "He only told me that a little while ago." Annoyed at herself, >Diamond resolved to say no more. Ivanova smiled thinly. > "So what kind of a telepath are you, Diamond whatever-your-name is, >that Psicorp sends you and Scott here at your age? Knowing, I guess, that >we wouldn't expect even them to put kids into the front line." > Diamond gasped instead of speaking. From Ivanova's mind there >flashed images of ships like the shadow things, cruel and jagged and >wheeling through space, intent upon instruction. Of Babylon 5 dissolving >in fire. "I - I - I didn't mean to . . . " > "I shielded," Ivanova cried, also shocked. "I know that much. I >know what that _means_, if you could pick up those thoughts!" > "But how could those things hurt the station?" > "Fuck the station," Ivanova said kindly. "How about Earth? Mars? >Minbar, Centauri Prime and all the rest? How does galactic destruction >strike you, or is that something Psicorp happened to leave out of your >education? How long have they had you, anyway?" > She flashed an image of Diamond's wrists weighed down by heavy >chains, quite deliberately. > "Twelve months," Diamond replied, it was all she could answer. > "And your friend Scott?" > "Since he was five." > "Shit. Did you *want* to go with Psicorp?" > Diamond shrugged. "They don't leave you a choice." > But Ivanova shook her head. "There's always a choice. My mother >won that choice for me at the cost of her own life!" Her voice snapped >like a whip and Diamond jumped. > "My uncle didn't care," she snapped back, just as quick. "He was >glad somebody else would pay for me. They gave me everything." > "And took away your freedom. How many times have you been out to >hang around with your old friends?" > Diamond's anger faded. "I tried," she whispered. "They were >afraid of me." > Ivanova's anger was gone as well. "Were you scared, when the Corp >came for you?" > "I don't know," Diamond confessed. "I was really confused. The >headmaster called me out of class and they were there in his office. They >treated me like I was somebody special, but at the same time like I was >_going_ to come along with them. I didn't think anything else. Then they >were talking to my uncle about all the advantages I'd have and he just let >them. He usually argues with people, but not them." > "As a normal person, and you as an untrained telepath, neither of >you had a chance," Ivanova told her. "After twelve months, you have to >know about the mindgames telepaths can play. Can you doubt that they >played them on you?" > "No," Diamond whispered, but she thought: the double game here. >Why did Scott know about scanning the officers and me not? Because >they've had him since he was only five, another voice seemed to say within >her. Oddly, it sounded like Selina Warden's voice, friendly, yet mocking. >They own him, Di! They're not all the way through into your head. > She said suddenly, "Send somebody in to where the Captain and >Scott are." > "Why?" > "Scott's a Psicop. He'll be out of there, probably on to a ship." > Ivanova stared at her, then snapped an order into her wristcom. >Diamond didn't move. What else haven't they told me? Why did Morden say >that about better friends than I know? Did he mean the _Corp_? > "Diamond?" She glanced up at Ivanova. "You'll be okay. We'll >take care of you." > > They all came in, the senior officers. Sheridan, looking a little >shaken still. He'd found himself somewhere in Downbelow, not knowing how >he'd got there or what he was doing, just before the security people >tracked him. Others had caught Scott Renier sneaking on to a ship about >to leave for Earth. The young telepath and his putative 'parents' were >now in holding cells. > "We'll need to find somewhere for you well away from Psicorp," >Sheridan told Diamond. "For now you can stay on the station, until we >can organise. . . " > "But I have to go back," Diamond said, surprised. > "Diamond, they'll read you," Ivanova said gently. "They'll know >what you did." > "Scott already has the scans," Diamond told her. "If he was >supposed to do anything else, I don't know it. What else do they know? >Your people didn't know I warned you when they went after Scott, so he >doesn't know there's anything to scan for. And . . . if he doesn't and Mr >Bester doesn't think to look, there's not many else who can scan me." Her >voice shook a little as the adults stared. > "You're P12?" Ivanova asked carefully and Diamond nodded. > "This way I choose to go back. They believe they've got me. But >there's going to be this small corner of my mind which will belong to me. >One day I'll be trusted enough to know all their secrets - to know what >Morden meant when he - he said his friends were better friends of mine >than I knew." She saw the shock in their eyes, but also the knowing of >those terrifying, spiky ships. "When I ran away to see my old friends and >my friends were scared of me, Scott and another telepath were waiting for >me when I came back, crying. To them, this isn't any different." > "Diamond," Sheridan said quietly, "it's a lot different. We may >need you, sooner than you think. You may not have time to grow up before >we need you." > "I grew up the day Psicorp took me," Diamond said to the captain, >knowing as she spoke the words that they were indeed a grim, adult truth. > "Good," said Sheridan, meeting her eyes. "And now, it's time you >were tossed in a holding cell to await transport back to Earth." > "May I take her there, Captain?" Ivanova asked and he nodded. > The two of them walked along the corridors. Diamond felt very >small beside the Commander and no longer so superior. Ivanova had done >what she hadn't: a telepath herself, she'd hidden from the Corp and made >her own life, her own friends. Yet Diamond resolved she'd go through the >Corp until she emerged out the other side, knowing the secrets, still her >own self. > "It's not an easy life, what you're going back to," Ivanova broke >the silence. "You know we could still get you away, maybe to Minbar? >There's another telepath, a couple of years older than you, whom we >smuggled out there. She was living 'wild' in Downbelow." > "But I couldn't help then." > The Commander looked directly at her then and smiled. "True. But >you hardly know what is happening out here." > "I saw inside your minds," Diamond said. "I saw the Centauri >Ambassador's mind. And I saw the things that walk with Morden. And he . >. . " > "He what?" Ivanova asked gently when it seemed Diamond had frozen. >She slowed her steps. > "He's _scared_. A long, long way underneath." Diamond waved a >hand, frustrated at her lack of words. "Will you let me tell you >directly?" > Ivanova stopped. "All right," she said, her voice tense. "Be >quick." > Diamond sent to her what she'd scanned of Morden, that emptiness >and fear beneath the hard exterior of charm. "That's all." > "Thanks. It may help. All right, here we are." They reached a >door where two security guards stood. It slid open and Ivanova gestured >at Diamond to go through, her own expression grim. "Goodbye. You're on >your own from now on." > I always was, Diamond thought, to herself and to the Commander, >whom she knew would be her friend now, even if they never saw one another >again. Then she squared her shoulders and walked on through the doorway >to what awaited her there. > > > > THE END > > > > -- Rob Masters -> At Home: rdm@perv.metapro.DIALix.oz.au (Speaking for no-one) GeekCode 3.1: GAT d--@ s: a C++ ULS++$ P+>+++ L+++ E--- W-- N+++ !o !K w--- !O !M V PS+ PE Y+ PGP+ t 5+++ !X R++ tv--- b++++ !DI D+ G++ e h---(++) r++>+++ y** ARA# 47-2 "Whoosh!" |<*>|"You have forgotten something."- Kosh (B5 - Chrysalis)