From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 13/16, Part B
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 00:11:36 +1030

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19:45, February 19, 2262.

The EAS Gallant, an ancient Nova class destroyer, was no match for the huge
warship that suddenly appeared out of Hyperspace almost on top of it. The
old ship barely had enough time to manoeuvre before it was being torn about
by the plasma cannons of a hundred or more tiny fighters. Although each
shot from the fighters was only like a tiny nibble to the destroyer, a
hundred tiny nibbles quickly added up and the Gallant broke apart shortly
after getting off two shots with its own weapons. Both missed.

Several life pods were launched but once again the Enlightener's commander
ordered them shot down, not wanting to leave any witnesses behind to inform
Earthforce what was coming their way. Beyond the wreckage of the Gallant
was the Earth Alliance world of Flinn Colony, still slumbering, unaware of
the doom that was approaching them.

Flinn Colony had once been a mining colony, but during the Earth/Minbari
war, it had become a major military base. In the vast canyons, where the
main colony had been built, powerful ground based weaponry were sunk into
the ground. Protected and defended the colony was able to stand against the
attacking Minbari ships, forcing the invaders down onto the planet. There
one of the most bloody battles of the entire war was fought out, as Minbari
ground troops fought Earth Alliance marines for every inch of space and
territory.

The Minbari has won, but their dead littered the surface of the planet.
Even now both sides still speak of the heroes that died in the few, brief,
bloody days of fighting. Located on the border of Earth and Minbari
territory the colony was important enough to rebuild after the war and the
damage done by the Minbari had been repaired. This time though, settlers
also came with the soldiers, turning the once military base into a proper
colony.

When it became obvious that peace with the Minbari was going to last, most
of the soldiers were withdrawn, sent on to other frontiers and outposts.
More and more settlers had arrived from Earth, eager to make a new life on
a new world, and so now, close to fifteen years after the war ended most of
the defences had been stripped away.

In fact the single destroyer, and two remaining gun emplacements on the
surface, were pretty much the sum total of the colony's defences against
enemy attack. In the past more ships would have been posted here but during
the civil war the ships protecting the system had defected to Sheridan's
forces and followed him to Earth. After the war every available ship was
needed to defend the homeworld, until the network of defensive satellites
around Earth could be rebuilt, and only a single old Nova class destroyer
was sent back to the colony.

That gone there was nothing left to protect the base as Kiel's Enlightener
slowly drifted to a stop above the planet, just out of reach of the
planet's surface defences, and activated it's weapon. Below, along the
walls of the canyon, the people of Flinn Colony looked up in confusion as a
bight light suddenly lit up the sky. The defensive weapons that could
protect the base against almost any attacker, powerful plasma cannons
capable of blowing apart attacking fighters and destroyers, were of no use
against the huge chunk of rock that plunged through the almost non existent
atmosphere to impact almost directly on top of the canyon where the colony
had been built.

A huge mushroom cloud rose up above the canyon, carrying dust and even
small slivers of rock into the atmosphere and scattering them across the
entire planet. Below the impact site the wall of the canyon cracked and
quickly collapsed, burying almost the entire colony. Impressive and
beautiful, the buildings carved into the sides of the walls of rock were
swept away and deposited along the canyon floor. Thousands of lives ended
in a brief instant of chaos and pain, but they were the lucky ones. The
rest of the population was condemned to a slow, cold death as power failed
across the colony, and life support slowly began to fade from their
dwellings and work places.

By the time investigators from Earthforce arrived to find out why the
colony was not responding to signals all they would find was a single large
crater and a long, rubble filled trench where the canyon had once been. Of
course, if Harvey Kiel got his way, by the time Earthforce learned of the
colony's destruction they would already know what, and who, had been
responsible, but Earthforce, like every other major power in this sector of
the galaxy, would be incapable of stopping him.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

A brilliant flash lit up space near the edge of the Arisia system, followed
almost immediately be the appearance of a huge swirling, blue rift in space
as the Rasputin plunged back into real space. The warship through, the rift
faded and the Rasputin was left alone, a long silver shape against the
blackness of space. Then its engines flared brightly and, slowly at first,
but quickly picking up speed, the warship turned toward the distant world.

On the bridge Susan sat in the command chair, watching the slowly
approaching planet on the holographic display. Not knowing what to expect
she had ordered the Rasputin to exit Hyperspace a lot further out than
normal. That way it would be possible to detect what was around the planet
before getting too close. Now, even if there was an entire enemy fleet
orbiting the planet, the Rasputin's jump engines would have time to
recharge fully in case she was forced to flee.

No enemy fleet had appeared so far, not even a single scout or fighter. She
was certain that anyone on the planet would not have been able to miss the
jump point forming, it would have shown up on their sensors as a sudden,
brilliant flare of energy, probably setting off every sensor and warning
beacon in the system, assuming Anderson and whoever else might be around
had an early warning system.

"Anything yet," Susan asked the crewman responsible for relaying findings
from the ships sensors.

"Not yet Captain," he replied. "The signal is very jumbled and hard to make
out. Even the planet itself it difficult to register on the sensors."

Susan wondered for a moment why that would be. Arisia 3, as the closest
planet to their current location should stand out strongly against the
background of space. She made her way down into the sunken operations area
where the bridge crew were hunched over their brightly lit consoles.
Leaning over the shoulder of the sensor operator she scanned the
information on his screen for herself.

"What's this," she asked, pointing out the myriad of tiny dots that orbited
the planet, confusing the sensors.

"I don't know Captain," the crewman replied. "They could be part of a large
dust ring, just a lot closer in than the ones around Saturn and similar
worlds.

Susan considered this for a moment. "Unlikely," she replied with a shake of
her head. "I have never heard of a world of Arisia's size having a ring,
usually it's only gas giants." A sudden thought hit her. "Wait a minute,"
she exclaimed. "Could it be fighters? Similar to those we encountered at
Proxima?"

The sensor operator looked doubtful, but not wanting to annoy the captain
by disagreeing with her idea tried to appear supportive, while letting her
down gently. "They could be Captain. It is possible, but some of those
objects are a lot smaller than any fighter would be."

Susan nodded, seeing where he pointed out a collection of hundreds of even
smaller dots, and others that were a lot larger, including one nearly the
size of the Rasputin. She looked away from the sensors console and went
over instead to the communication officer. "Can we enlarge that image at
all Lieutenant?" she asked. "Zoom in so we can see what exactly we are
dealing with."

The young lieutenant shook her head. "We can zoom in Captain, but it will
only enlarge the current image, losing a lot of resolution. So while we can
make the image larger we can't make it any clearer. Once we get closer we
can see what is out there a lot better."

"Do it anyway," Susan said, a horrible suspicion about what they would find
beginning to form in her head. "Humour me, and zoom in on one of those
smaller objects."

The lieutenant looked a little confused as to why the Captain was ordering
this, but she obeyed anyway, zooming in the tiny dot until the filled the
entire screen. Despite the loss of resolution it was plainly evident what
the object was. "It's a body," the communication officer exclaimed. "Look
you can just see the arms and legs. At least that is what it looks like to
me. Humanoid too, although I can't tell what race from this distance."

Susan nodded and looked away from the screen, back up to where Commander
Petrov stood watching what she had been doing. "As I suspected Commander,"
she said. "It looks like Mr. Anderson and his megacorp allies have been
covering their tracks." She turned back to the console and after pushing
the Lieutenant to one side operated the controls herself focusing in on one
of the larger objects in orbit around the planet.

"What do you think that is Commander," she said, pointing to the screen,
which was displaying the rough, broken shape.

Petrov eyed it for almost a minute before replying. "It looks a bit like
the habitat ring of one of those big orbital factories. You know, the ones
you get near Io. It is a bit hard to tell though, it looks like something
has shot it up pretty bad."

"Yes it does doesn't it," Susan agreed. "And I think I know what, well who
anyway, might be responsible." She stepped away from the console, allowing
a slightly anxious young lieutenant to resume her work and then walked back
up the short flight of stairs to the raised command platform where Petrov
and her seat waited. After she was seated again Susan continued. "I think
what we are looking at is the remains of an orbital factory of some kind.
Probably the one where they built the fighters that attacked Proxima."

"Why has it been destroyed though?" Petrov asked. "A factory that size must
have cost someone a large amount of credits. It seems a waste to just
destroy it."

"Well assuming the people responsible for the attack on Proxima were
responsible for the destruction we are looking at then I would say probably
because someone found out we were coming. An organisation that could build
something like an orbital factory would probably also have spies in
Earthforce and Psi-Corps and as soon as they learnt the Rasputin was coming
this way they probably destroyed their factory and took off for a new
location."

"It still seems a bit of waste," Petrov said, shaking his head at the
destruction that was becoming clearer and clearer as each minute passed.

"Well they couldn't take it with them," Susan explained. "After all even if
they had stuck around and destroyed the Rasputin that would only exposed
their operation. They probably wanted to try and hide what they were up to,
and this was the only way they could see of doing it. I am willing to bet
you almost anything that we won't find anything useful left, either in
orbit or down on the planet below."

"Why are there bodies floating in orbit then?" Petrov asked.

"I don't know for sure Commander," Susan replied. "But my guess would be
that those were the workers who build the raiders. The people responsible
probably didn't want any word of their operation getting out so they left
the workers in the factory when they blew it up. They probably promised
them a lot of money for the work they were doing, but knew they couldn't
trust everyone to keep their mouths shut. After anyone that takes a bribe
to keep quiet will open their mouths for a bigger bribe."

"I guess that tells us what sort of people we are dealing with here,"
Petrov said, shock plainly evident on his face.

"Yes it does," Susan agreed. "The sort that care nothing for human or alien
life and only for their profits. The same sort that backed President Clark
during his rule."

Petrov nodded his head in agreement. "I guess we won't find out exactly who
is behind this operation either. There doesn't appear to be a lot left for
us to examine."

"Well we will just have to wait and see Commander," Susan replied. "After
all it is possible that they missed something during the evacuation of the
planet and the destruction of their factory. Even just a tiny clue may
point out where they have gone to. I just hope we can spare the time it is
going to take."

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson turned away from the viewscreen, looking a little sick. He didn't
really have the stomach for such destruction and, despite the fact he knew
that some would have to die for the new order to be reborn, he still didn't
like the killing. Kiel on the other hand seemed to be enjoying himself
immensely, looking on in pleasure as the colony was wiped out. "Another
successful test," he said happily to Anderson.

Anderson looked back at the destroyed colony. "Yes it was Sir, but there
were a lot of people on that colony that died today. Flinn colony was home
to nearly ten thousand settlers."

"Casualties of war Darren," Kiel said casually. "Beside they were just
mundanes, so it was no real loss. A few must die to restore order to our
society. I have told you that often enough before."

"Yes Sir," Anderson replied, although his voice did not sound confident.
The plan had sound so nice and clean when it had been initially explained
to him, but now with each death he was feeling less and less confident that
they were doing the right thing. He pushed those thoughts deep inside
though so the other telepaths on the warship could not pick up on them.
Instead he just kept reminding himself that each death was needed to insure
the security of Earth. Only once Earth was back in the hands of those who
cared for it, instead of aliens and alien sympathisers, would it be secure
and its people safe.

One of the doors onto the bridge opened and a small collection of dark
suited men and woman entered. They were the representatives of the various
megacorporations that had financed the construction of the warship, and
they did not look very happy at all as they hurried across the metal deck
to the command chair where Kiel sat.

"What the hell do you think you are doing," the representative of Microtel
demanded. "We said that this weapon was only going to be tested on small
outposts, not on entire colonies. You can't go around destroying colonies,
after all they are the people we are trying to sell to."

Kiel spun around in his chair to face the irate businessman. "I needed to
see how the weapon would operate against a larger, more heavily defended
world." He turned back and pointed towards the cloud of dust still rising
above the devastated colony. "And as you can see it works quite well. In
fact I think you could say this has been a very successful test indeed."

The businessman's face went red with anger. "But there were over ten
thousand people on that planet. We didn't sign on for that sort of murder.
This weapon was only supposed to be used as a last resort. It is the
raiders we payed you to construct, not this mass driver. This ship is
supposed to be a carrier for our raiders, not an instrument of mass
murder."

Kiel laughed. "And you think that just raiding a few worlds would have
worked. Earthforce would have just sent their fleet after us. We need to
crush Earthforce totally, destroy them so that we rule in their place. Then
we can spread across the other worlds crushing them all before us. My
agents are already in place across Earth and Mars and as soon as Earthdome
surrenders we will be ready to move."

"You.. your mad," one of the other businessmen said, suddenly realising
exactly what Kiel intended.

Kiel looked at him, a strange glint in his eye. "Not mad, just visionary.
By the time I am finished all of the galaxy will bow before me, and
Humanity will be the most powerful race there is. And if you do not
understand that.... well, then I am afraid you will have to be replaced
with someone who does."

        ------------------------------------------------------------

For only the second time since she had taken command of the Rasputin Susan
found herself in the warship's conference room. This time the room was a
lot more crowded, with Sarah Chang, Dr. Kozlowski, the engineer Philip
Moore and several of the junior officers that Susan hadn't even had time to
meet properly yet. All were busy discussing the situation on the planet
below them, the devastation plainly visible on the holographic display
system that was built into the ceiling and walls of the room.

Spread across the table in front of them was a collection of large
printouts from the warships sensor system. They showed various scenes of
the surface of Arisia 3, and when Susan had first seen the colour images it
reminded her a lot of what she imagined hell would look like. A scattering
of craters from a orbital bombardment were most visible, but also the
attack seemed to have set off almost all of the planets volcanoes and now
furious rivers of lava were flowing freely across the rocky surface,
quickly obscuring anything of value that might have existed down there.

Space over the planet was even more confused, with thousand of bodies,
chunks of twisted metal, and larger pieces of the former factory drifting
like a cloud above Arisia 3. Susan had been forced to order the Rasputin to
take a higher orbit than she would have liked, as the lower orbits were
choked with debris. She wasn't sure, but it looked as though more than one
factory may have been present when the destruction occurred, as there was
just way too much debris for a single factory, no matter how large.

"Any suggestions on what to do now?" She asked the command staff as soon as
they had settled into their seats.

The officers looked around at each other, as if waiting for one of the
others to speak. Instead of one of the ship's command staff it was the
Psi-Cop, Sarah Chang, who spoke up first. "My interest here is only in Mr.
Anderson. I want to determine if he is here, and if he isn't where he has
gone. Everything else is unimportant at the moment."

"I wouldn't call thousand of dead bodies unimportant," Susan replied
curtly. "There are a lot of dead people out there." The Captain turned and
looked over at Dr. Habbib, who looked a little out of place among the
Earthforce officers. "Any information on the race of the dead yet?" she
asked him.

The doctor shook his head. "Not yet Captain," he replied. "I can't get good
readings from this distance, and will need to either get closer to the
bodies or the bodies will have to be bought on board. I can tell you that
most are humanoid, although given the region of space that could mean
anything."

"True," Susan agreed, realising that the workers could have come from any
one of a dozen major alien races who had either colonies or homeworlds
nearby. "If we can find out who they are, or maybe just which races they
belong to, then perhaps we can inform their families about what happened."

Dr. Habbib nodded. "I will do what I can Captain," he said.

"I am sure you will doctor," Susan said before turning to Major Logan and
Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt who were sitting close to each along one side
of the table. "I need scout parties sent out to see what they can find,
both on the surface and in orbit. Lt. Commander Schmitt how soon can your
fighters be prepared for a scouting mission?"

"Ten minutes," Alister said confidently. "All starfuries are equipped with
basic sensors which, although not as powerful as a destroyers, should be
enough for close range scans. Of course that will mean getting in fairly
close to the wreckage down there, but I think my boys and girls can handle
it."

"Good," Susan replied. "As soon as this meeting is over I want every
fighter you have out there, looking for any sign of energy readings that
might indicate an active circuit and any possible life signs."

"Will do Captain," Alister replied with a quick, almost casual salute.

Next Susan turned to Major Logan. "Major," she said. "Are your marines
ready for a trip down to the surface? If Lt. Commander Schmitt's pilots
find anything useful I may need to send you in."

Lily looked a little hesitant. "I am not sure about the surface Captain. We
will need radiation suits just to move around down there, and fighting will
be almost impossible if there is any sort of automatic security system."

"It doesn't look like much is left down there at all," Petrov cut in.

"No it doesn't," Susan agreed. "In fact it most of the surface
instillations appear to have been slagged by high energy weapons, probably
from a large cruiser or destroyer." She turned back to the Major. "How
about for missions into some of those large sections of wreckage we have
seen?"

"No problems there Captain," Lily replied. "My men are trained to fight in
low gravity situation and our weapons and environment suits are
specifically built for space. I am not sure how they will work out on the
planet though." She paused and examined one of the computer printouts.
According to these figures it is over 2g down there, with strong winds and
a lethal level of background radiation. Personally I wouldn't want to spend
long down there, but if we need to we will."

"Good," Susan said with a nod of pleasure. "Now has anyone else got
anything to add?"

The Chief Engineer Philip Moore, and his partner in crime, Dr. Kozlowski
immediately jumped in. "We do Captain," the engineer said.

"Go ahead then," Susan replied.

The two men looked at each other, wondering which was going to speak, but
eventually decided that Philip Moore would speak for both of them. The
Chief Engineer tugged a large stack of printouts from a leather briefcase
the doctor handed him. He spread the paper out on the table and then began
his tale. "We have been doing some analysis of the data collected by the
Rasputin's sensors so far," he said, indicating the printouts.

Susan reached over and took one of the papers he had placed on the table.
It contained a diagram of some kind of orbital construction platform,
similar to the ones around Neptune. "What is this," she asked.

"Well that is what I wanted to speak about Captain," Philip replied. "You
see our analysis indicated that there was more than one orbital factory,
possibly as many as three, and one." He paused and indicated the paper
Susan held. "Based on the type of debris we have been seeing at least one
was a class 5 orbital construction yard."

"Like the ones at Neptune," Susan asked.

"Sort of," Philip replied. "Actually a class 5 platform is the largest
currently available, used for building explorer class vessels only. We
think the one here was a class 5, although it is possible it was even
larger."

"What does that mean then," Commander Petrov spoke up, not sure he followed
what the engineer was saying.

"Well, the Captain was saying that she thought whoever did this was using
the orbital factories to built a fleet of fighters, right?"

Susan nodded. "Yes, small raiders like the ones that attacked Proxima."

Philip looked grim. "Well a construction yard that big couldn't be used to
build fighter. It could only be used for larger, much larger, warships or
vessels like the explorer ships."

"So you think Anderson was building a destroyer or similar vessel here
then?" Susan asked.

"Possibly," Philip replied. "Maybe something even bigger. As I said there
could have been as many as three factories here. One might have made
fighters, the other destroyers, or maybe just transport vessels. If I
remember correctly I heard someone mention a JMC tanker a while back."

Petrov nodded. "Yes, we noticed a tanker jumping out of the Proxima system
shortly after the battle with the raiders ended."

"They could have been using the construction yard to build tankers then,"
the engineer said. "Although why they would build something as innocent as
that all the way out here is a bit of mystery."

"So a warship then," Susan said.

"That would be my guess," Philip agreed. "Although I don't know how large,
how many weapons or anything like that. We will need more data before we
can decide on anything like that."

"Well, we had best get cracking and find you something to work with then,"
Susan said, a determined look on her face. "Lt. Commander Schmitt, you can
get your fighters out there searching as soon as possible. Major Logan, get
your men ready for a possible landing on the surface. Everyone else I want
you back at your posts in case there is something lurking out there ready
to jump on us."

The Earthforce officers saluted and began to quickly file out of conference
room, heading towards their duty stations. Susan was left in the room with
just Sarah Chang, Commander Petrov, and Dr. Habbib for company. She looked
at the Psi-Cop. "And you Ms. Chang can assist where ever you think you can
be the most help. Scan around local space to see if you can locate anyone
alive and that sort of thing."

Sarah nodded. "I will do what I can Captain," she said. "But I don't think
there is likely to be any survivors. Mr. Anderson is not known for making
mistakes, although I must admit that I didn't think even he could be up to
something this big." She walked towards the door then halted, looking back
at the Captain. "Whatever you find Captain, I would like a full report.
This ship is currently working for Psi-Corps after all."

"You can have access to whatever I find Ms. Chang," Susan replied. "Of
course we have to find something first."

The Psi-Cop nodded, pleased and left the room. Dr. Habbib moved to follow,
but like Sarah he also stopped just before leaving to talk to Susan.
"Captain Ivanova," he said. "I was just wondering if you could spare me a
moment."

"Of course doctor," Susan said. "What is on your mind?"

"The death of Dr. Taylor actually," Habbib answered. "Ms. Chang sent me the
findings of a group of specialists on Mars. They found that there was an
unusual chemical in Dr. Taylor's blood. They didn't know what it was but
after I was given the report I went back and check again. This time I found
a stronger sample in the doctor's heart and when I tested it I found a
match in the data base."

"What was it," Susan asked.

"A very rare poison," Habbib replied, pulling a data pad out of his pocket
and passing it over to Susan.

She took it and scanned through the information on the pad before passing
it along to Petrov. "Thorn of Jastill?" she asked, beginning to realise the
full implications of what the doctor was telling her. "I don't think I have
every heard of that one."

"It is a Centauri poison," the doctor explained. "Very rare, and not in
common use. It works by attacking the muscles of the heart, so it appears
similar to a heart attack. It fell out of favour with the Centauri though
because it is responsibly easy to trace and also because it is almost
painless."

"Any idea how it got into her system?" Petrov asked.

"None I am afraid Commander," Habbib replied. "Although the poison is easy
to trace it is almost impossible to detect when it was delivered. It is
slow acting and the victim doesn't show any effects until almost the moment
of death. Depending on the size of the dose Dr. Taylor might have been
exposed anytime in the past two months. The poison can remain in a victim's
system for up to that length of time before becoming lethal."

"How does that work?" Susan asked, still a little shocked at the idea that
the doctor had been murdered, probably by someone on this very ship. She
hadn't been effected that way when she had first heard the news of Dr.
Taylor's death, but perhaps that was because she had been more worried
about other matters at that time.

"It is a biological poison," Habbib explained. "It is programmed to only
become active after a certain concentration is reached in the heart
muscles. So if you give someone a high dose then death is almost
instantaneous but if it is a very low dose then it takes a long time for
the poison to find it's way through the blood and into the heart. It can
also depend on the method of delivery."

"All round a very nasty poison indeed," Susan said. She rubbed her forehead
for a moment, trying to think of what to do now. "Alright," she said
eventually. "Keep this under wraps for now doctor. We don't want to start a
panic." She turned to her second in command. "Commander Petrov I want you
to look into this matter. Get the Psi-Cop to help you if she isn't too
busy. Try to prevent her from getting out of hand though, for some reason
she seemed very interested in what had happened to Dr. Taylor."

"Yes Captain," Petrov replied, looking none to happy have being asked to
work with a telepath. Susan wanted to keep the knowledge of the murder from
as many people as possible though, and as she was busy with the search of
the planet, and the floating wreckage above it, that left only Petrov and
Dr. Habbib. Out of those two their was only one choice.

"Dr. Habbib," she continued. The doctor looked at her expectantly. "I want
you to assist Commander Petrov. Put someone else in charge of sick bay for
now. Get a medical scanner, or something like that, so you can scan for the
poison, and remember, whatever else, keep this quiet." Habbib nodded his
agreement.

"Ok then," Susan said. "Everyone has there orders, and I have a search to
conduct."

"Yes Captain," Petrov said with a salute.

They all then left the conference room, Petrov and Habbib heading towards
sick bay, while Susan walked towards the middle of the command deck and the
bridge. Hopefully, somewhere in the wreckage that surrounded the planet,
was a clue that would lead to the location of the telepath Anderson and
whatever he had been building here. Susan still didn't have a clue what
that might be, but the waste, both in live and equipment, that was visible
around the planet, convinced her that something very big indeed was
happening. Now all she had to do was find out what and put a stop to it.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson watched as the bodies of the businessmen were dragged off the
bridge, leaving pools of blood on the deck, one final reminder of their
existence. Crewmen quickly moved to clean away the mess though, while the
soldiers who had shot the businessmen marched off the bridge. Strangely
this time he didn't sick, realising that they had got exactly what they had
deserved. The companies that had financed the building of the warship that
he now found himself on were too greedy for their own good and had only
sought to expand their business empires Now just a few of those businessmen
had learned the price of their greed.

They had not realised that Kiel was not concerned by business dealings,
only in restoring the position of Earth in the galaxy, in making it a power
to be reckoned with. Kiel knew that Clark had been right when he had said
that Earth had to expand to conquer other worlds or it would slowly fade
away. Too much had been given away to the colonies and other worlds and
unless Earth took charge of it's own destiny, instead of just following the
whims of Sheridan and his interstellar alliance, then they would be left
far behind the other races.

Fear was their best weapon, and only through the correct application of
fear would Earthdome surrender to Kiel. Because of this a world was going
to have to die, an example of what he could do. When the two million people
of Proxima III gave their lives just over three days from now fear of Kiel,
and his ship, would spread across the entire sector. That fear would bring
Earth and then, soon afterwards, the alien worlds to their knees, unless
they wish to join the people of Proxima in extinction.

Anderson understood the need for the destruction and death but he did not
like it. Too many were going to die for the cause, and Proxima which
controlled about fair percentage of industry in the Alliance would be a
major loss. But as Kiel had said it could be rebuilt, only this time the
people would be under the control of Kiel and his legions of telepaths. The
disloyalty that had bought down Clark would no longer be allowed and
everyone would work together towards the cause, to make Earth a better
world.

At least that is what Anderson kept telling himself. Watching from the
shadows at the back of the bridge the alien there knew better. He knew it
was unlikely that Kiel would succeed in his attempts to conquer the Earth
Alliance, but even the attempt would leave Earth weakened and open for
conquest by other races. Chaos was about to spread across this tiny corner
of the galaxy and without Earth to assist the Interstellar Alliance then
the alien's people would have a much better chance of spreading that chaos.

As the cleaning crew hurried away from the bridge, having wiped away the
pools of blood, the alien watched the viewscreen as the devastated surface
of Flinn Colony slowly dropped away. A orange rift opened in front of them
and the warship slipped though, bound for Proxima III, now just barely
three days Hyperspace travel away.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/


From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 13/16, Part C
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 00:22:57 +1030

Here is the last part of Chapter 13. From tomorrow I begin 14, which should
be a lot more exciting, especially the last part.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

06:08, February 20, 2262.

Susan yawned as she walked down the hallway leading from her quarters to
the bridge. She was beginning to feel the effects of lack of sleep, after
having spend much of the previous night down on the secondary bridge
scanning nearby space for some sign of life, either a living being or an
active computer. So far nothing had been found though, whoever had caused
this destruction had been very thorough.

The bridge doors opened and Susan was surprised to find that none of her
senior officers were present. Instead the Psi-Cop, Sarah Chang was
comfortably perched in the command station. A frown beginning to form on
her face, Susan walked across to the Psi-Cop's side and noisily cleared her
throat.

Sarah looked up. "Captain Ivanova," she said. "What can I do for you."

"Where is Lieutenant-Commander Heatley," Susan asked, remembering the name
of the night watch commander. "She is supposed to in command her until
someone arrives to replace her."

"I gave her the rest of the morning off," Sarah replied casually. "She was
tired."

Susan's frown grew deeper. "I would prefer it if you did not start making
decisions for me Ms. Chang. This is still an Earthforce ship, despite our
current assignment and Earthforce rules apply. I would be within my rights
just to toss you off the ship and go back to Proxima."

"And miss finding out what happened to Mr. Anderson?" Sarah asked. "I don't
think so. I have noticed that you have been as interested as I have in what
he has been up too."

"True," Susan replied. "But my interest is strictly in what is good for the
Earth Alliance, not just because he is a rogue telepath."

"Like your mother?" Sarah said, a little harshly. "I heard she was a rogue
telepath. Are you sure that you are not just letting your feeling get the
better of you?"

Susan froze and her frown changed to a look of pure hatred, Sarah was quite
surprised by the reaction that short statement induced in the Captain. "You
will never mention my mother again," Susan said icily, through clenched
teeth. "If you do I will toss you into the nearest airlock and push the
button myself. You can not compare the beautiful, loving woman that was my
mother to the monster who did this." Susan waved her hand at the display,
which still showed the carnage orbiting Arisia 3.

"I am sorry Captain," Sarah tried to say, but Susan did not seem at all
interested in hearing her apology.

"And you can get out of my station," Susan continued, in a tone that was
cold and hate filled. When Sarah didn't move she continued. "Now would be a
good time Ms. Chang. Seeing you have seen fit to dismiss the duty officer I
will have to take over."

Sarah quickly the command chair, still a little surprised at the reaction
she had felt from Susan's mind. Although she was only scanning the
Captain's surface thoughts the sudden change in attitude had felt like a
spike was being driven into her mind. She had quickly raised every block
she could in an attempt to block out the hatred that had risen up in the
Captain when she had mentioned Susan's mother.

Realising that words now would be little use she turned away from the
captain and left the bridge. At least now she understood why the Captain
hated Psi-Corps so much now, the images she had picked up from Susan's mind
had been so powerful that she could not avoid feeling the pain the Captain
was feeling. For a moment she felt sad, remember that she had never known
her mother, having been raised by the Corp. Sarah wondered what it must
have been like for the Captain to be the daughter of a telepath, and to
feel her mother's love for her in her mind.

Shaking off those thoughts Sarah headed for the secondary bridge, making a
mental note to stay out of the Captain's way for the rest of the day. She
could monitor what was going on just as well from down there as she could
from the bridge, although she doubted that it would be quite as
comfortable.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

The three fighters dipped lower, almost scrapping the upper atmosphere of
the planet now. Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt though wasn't about to go any
lower though, especially considering the amount of dust that seemed to be
in the atmosphere at the moment. Between the volcanoes and the orbital
bombardment, thick clouds of dust had formed in the lower atmosphere,
occasionally even blocking the view of the surface below.

He had set out early with two other pilots, eager to scan the surface of
the world for any sign of life. The rest of the Rasputin's fighters were
still on the flight deck, waiting until their pilots arrived to take them
out. Alister though had been up early and seeing two other pilots had also
been lounging around the ready room he had grabbed them and set off to
continue the search.

He wasn't sure if they were going to find anything, in fact would be very
surprised if they did, but it was something to do while he was waiting for
the rest of the pilots of come on duty in an hours time. Of course they
were actually always of duty, ready to leap in their fighters at a moments
notice if the warship was attacked, but during a search like this one sleep
was just as important.

Alister turned his fighter around, preparing to make the journey back to
the other side of the planet, where the Rasputin awaited. Just as he did
the distant sun began to peek over the horizon. The glare caught the
metallic surfaces of the fighter, a beautiful sight the old fighter pilot
always enjoyed seeing. He didn't have time to sit around and enjoy the
sights though, more important matters were waiting. Instead he ordered the
other two fighters to follow him and set off towards the warship, making
one last pass over the planet.

Just as he began the scan though a bright flash from the surface caught his
eye. It only lasted an instant, but it was the first sign of life he had
seen from the dull red planet so far. He pressed the transmit button on his
com system. "Did you see that," he asked his two wingmen. "A sudden bright
flash below us. At two o'clock I think it was."

"No Sir," both pilots replied.

Alister knew he had seen something though, so decided to risk a closer
look. The atmosphere below didn't look too thick, compared to the large
dust clouds over the volcanoes further on. "I am going down to take a
closer look," he said. "You two stay up here for now and keep an eye out
for anything interesting."

After his wingmen had indicated that they had heard his orders Alister
pushed his fighter downwards towards the planet's surface. At once the
fighter was pelted with hundreds of tiny particles of dust, but so far
nothing large enough to cause any major damage. It would ruin the
paintwork, and the fighter would need a complete overhaul before it was
used again, but for now it seemed to be flying ok.

He levelled out at about five hundred metres above the surface, still far
enough up to avoid the low hills in the region. This area of the planet
seemed to have come under heavy bombardment and much of the surface was
pitted with craters from the energy weapons, the entire area looking like
it was made of glass. Alister knew that was a common effect as the silicon
in the rock was melted by the heavy weapons used by warship. Then when the
molten rock cool it appear more like glass that anything else.

Alister pulled his fighter up a little, almost doubling its altitude, while
at the same time looking around for any sign of what might have cause the
flash of light. Then he saw it, a low round shape nestled up against one of
the larger hills. It appeared to be some sort of bunker that had somehow
managed to survive the bombardment. All around it were craters and
devastation but somehow this small building had survived.

He switched on the fighter's energy sensors and was surprised by the tiny
blip on the screen, indicating that the bunker did have a small energy
signature. It was not enough to pick up from orbit, and had he not come
down into the atmosphere he never would have found it. Flying over the
bunker he dropped a small drone, which sent out a powerful signal, onto the
ground nearby. After to checking to make sure the signal was coming through
loud and clear he pushed his fighter back up towards space, looking around
to make sure he had all the local landmarks seared into his mind just in
case.

As he scanned the surface he noticed something that he hadn't even seen
before. A long river of lava that was slowly making its way across the
surface of Arisia, straight towards the bunker. A little more urgently he
pushed the fighter faster, ignoring the damage the dust in the atmosphere
was doing to the outer hull of the fighter. It could be repaired, but if he
took too long to get back to the Rasputin and the lava rolled over the
bunker before it could be investigated then perhaps their only chance to
discover what had occurred here would be lost.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Susan was still on the bridge when Alister Schmitt burst in, fresh out of
his fighter. She look one look at the rumpled flight suit he was wearing
and asked, "that does not look like regulation uniform Lt. Commander."

"Sorry Captain," Alister replied, not realising she was just teasing him.
"I didn't have time to change. This news was too important to wait."

"Well go ahead then," she said, spinning around on her chair to face him.

Alister nodded, and after a brief pause to catch his breath relayed the
information about the bunker he had found intact on the surface. Susan was
pleased by the news, happy that finally something had payed off. After all
the Rasputin only had limited time here before it was going to be forced to
return to Proxima III and join up with the fleet under the command of
Vice-Admiral Emmerton. This news was just what she had been looking for.

"Thank you Lt. Commander," she said. "You had better go and get out of that
flight suit. Also put two thunderbolts on stand-by, I may have need of them
later."

"Yes Captain," Alister said, with a sharp salute. He then marched back out
of the bridge door and headed off towards the flight deck.

Susan watched him go before turning back to her console and pressing the
button that would open a channel to her security officer. Susan had ordered
the frequency of the links belonging to each of her commanding officers
programmed into her command console on the bridge. That way it was a lot
quicker to get in touch with them, instead of waiting for the
communication's officer to open a channel each time.

"Yes, what is it," came the reply from the Major, who sound out of breath
for some reason.

"Major Logan I would like to see you on the bridge as soon as possible,"
Susan said, before closing off the channel and sitting back to look at the
planet rotating. Currently the Rasputin was below Arisia 3, on the dark
side of the world, while the bunker Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt had
located was on the opposite side of the world, right in the searing
sunlight. Susan knew it was not perfect, and anyone she sent down there
would have extremely harsh conditions to deal with, but it had to be done
now. If she waited then the lava flow the flight commander had mentioned
would wipe away any possible evidence.

It took Major Logan nearly five minutes to get to the bridge, a long time
considering her quarter, like all of the command staff's, were just down
the hall from the bridge. Susan didn't really notice the time though, busy
thinking about the mission she was about to send the Major and her men on.
She was so preoccupied with this that she didn't even notice the Major
arrive and come to attention, if a little nervously, by her side.

"Captain," a voice called from next to her ear.

Susan turned around and looked at her. "Ah good Major," she said. "It looks
like we may have to send a team down to the planet's surface anyway. I want
to know if you can operate down there, as I don't want to send anyone to
their deaths."

For some reason Logan looked relived, as if she had expected Susan to
reprimand her for something. She straightened her shoulders and her
nervousness was replaced with confidence. "We are ready Captain," she
replied. "In fact I would personally like to lead the mission."

Susan frowned. "Are you sure Major," she asked. "It may be dangerous down
there."

"Nothing I can't handle Captain," Lily replied. Then she paused and
hesitated for a moment before continuing. "Dr. Kozlowski has requested that
he be included in any mission, either to the surface or into the wreckage
floating below us."

Susan's frown deepened. "I am not sure that is a good idea. While attached
to the military he is a civilian and if he is killed down there then I may
have to answer for his death."

"I will make a note in the official logs that he requested to go along, and
that I advised you to accept his request."

"Well, if you want to make it official..."

"I do," Lily said firmly.

"Then you can take him along," Susan agreed at last. "I recognise the logic
of having a specialist like Kozlowski along, try to ensure he doesn't get
into any trouble."

"I will personally watch him every moment Captain," Lily assured her.

"Good," Susan replied. "I want you to go and see Lt. Commander Schmitt for
the coordinates of the structure we want you to investigate. I need a team
assembled as quickly as possible, as this structure is in the path of a
lava flow and if we leave it too long it will no longer be there."

The Major nodded. "I will see to it once. I already have a team standing by
in the shuttle bay. It is just a matter of collecting the doctor and then
taking the shuttle down there. I will need a shuttle pilot though as none
of my men can fly."

"See the Lt. Commander about that," Susan said. "He probably already has
someone standing by. But tell him he is not to go himself. I don't want all
my senior officers risking their lives at once."

"Understood Captain," Lily replied with a salute.

"Dismissed then Major," Susan said. Lily turned to leave, but a sudden
though came to Susan and she stopped her. "Just a moment Major. I want you
to take the Psi-Cop with you as well."

Lily didn't look happy about that. "Do I have to," she asked.

Susan nodded, a devious smile spreading across her face. This morning she
wouldn't have done what she was about to, but after the way Ms. Chang had
compared her mother to Anderson she would welcome a bit of suffering on the
telepath's part. "I am afraid so Major," she told Lily. "It is her
investigation after all, and besides she is a telepath, perhaps she can
pick up something from the bunker."

"Very well Captain," Lily replied. "I will go and see her right now." Then
with another quick salute she marched off the bridge, looking a little
upset about having to take the Psi-Cop along with her. Susan wasn't overly
concerned though, thinking that a few hours on the hellish world below
might do the telepath some good.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

With a burst from it's thrusters the atmospheric shuttle finally made it
down onto the hellish surface of Arisia 3. It had been a bumpy ride, as the
crew had been forced to sit through nearly ten minutes of turbulence from
the rapidly changing atmospheric temperatures. The rise in volcanic
activity across the planet had caused severe disruption to the normal
weather system, and now large, and powerful energy storms were beginning to
form over the planet.

No-one on the Rasputin was an expert, but the closest they could come to
the cause of the newly appeared storms was the release of particles of
Quantium-40 into the atmosphere. Whatever the reason it reduced the amount
of time the landing party could spend on the surface, already reduced to a
maximum of two hours due to the radiation. Now, unless the bunker was
insulated, they would be forced to spend as little as an hour on the
surface before being forced to return to the shuttle and leave.

The shuttle itself had set down on a flat area of rock in front of the
bunker. That rock would also serve as the bed of the river of lave that was
slowly winding its way down the hillside towards the bunker. Fortunately
the hill's slope was gentle and the flow not particularly strong, and so
Major Logan estimated that the team had about four hours before the river
arrived. After making a final check of the landscape around the landing
site to ensure it was secure she ordered the team to proceed.

The outer door opened and an extendable ladder dropped slowly down the
surface, digging into the hard rock to provide a secure passage to the
surface. The marines were first to disembark, so they could check for any
obstacles or enemies around before everyone else left the relative safety
of the shuttle. Clad in powered radiation suits they looked a little like
giant beetles as they slowly made their way down the ladder.

The suits were certainly not a standard item, restricted to military use
only, but they were perfect for this world. Safe within the marines did not
feel most of the 2G pressure, instead the suit's took all the strain. They
also had an inbuilt cooling system, something Sarah Chang really would have
liked to have when she climbed down a few minutes later, clad only in a
standard radiation suit.

The marine quickly scanned the area around the shuttle before making their
way slowly across the rocky ground to the bunker. Each of the two men
carried a large PPG cannon in their hands. These weapon were normally
restricted to ground use only as they were powerful enough to tear holes in
the sides of warships. However somehow the Rasputin had been sent a small
number and Major Logan believed in being prepared for any eventuality.

Nothing dangerous appeared though and the after a quick check of the
bunker, which was still in surprisingly good condition, the two marines
headed back to the shuttle to assist the rest of the team down to the
surface. Apart from Major Logan, Sarah Chang, and Dr. Kozlowski, two other
marines made up the team that the Major had put together last night when
the Captain had first mention the possibility of a mission to the surface.

All were either experienced with this sort of work, or had skill that Lily
though important to the team. One of her team proved his worth soon after
as they realised that the door to the bunker was still locked. Fortunately
the quick application of a lock picking tool was all that was need and
everyone piled into the bunker and out of the tremendously hot conditions
that had been present on the surface.

Inside was a small airlock, which at the moment was very cramped. It seemed
to be working ok, but with very little power in the bunker's systems it
took a few moments before the air was recycled and the inner door opened.
Again the marines went first, but once again their was no danger awaiting
them, just a small room that appeared to be some sort of observation post.

Kozlowski hurried in after them and after checking the reading on a hand
held scanner tore of his helmet and took several deep breaths. The rest of
the team, except for the marines clad in the radiation suits did the same.
Their suits took ten minutes, and a full set of tools to put on so they
would have to remain inside until everyone got back to the Rasputin. Still
they were not overly concerned, as at least they did not have to endure the
tugging of 2Gs every time they tried to take a step.

"Can you find anything out doctor," Lily asked Kozlowski, after removing
her own helmet.

Kozlowski tugged off his gloves and wandered over to look at the computer
consoles that lined one wall. "Hmmm," he said, after playing with them for
a few seconds. "I believe I can, but I will need a portable reactor from
the shuttle before I can access these computers. There is not enough power
in her at the moment."

Lily nodded and quickly order one of the marine to go back and pick up the
necessary part. As he left through the airlock she turned to the telepath,
who was resting against the wall, looking tired after the brief jog across
from the shuttle. Of course on a 2G world every step had a way of making
you feel as if you had just taken ten and that short jog was probably the
equivalent of a long run.

"Are you alright Ms. Chang," Lily asked, a little concern. After all she
didn't want to have to explain how she had managed to get a Psi-Cop killed.
That wasn't something the Major looked forward to at all.

"I am fine Major," Sarah replied, pulling herself back to her feet and
tugging off her helmet and gloves.

"Good," Lily replied. "Can you find out anything?"

"I can try," the Psi-Cop said. "It will take time though." She placed her
helmet on the floor and dropped the gloves into it. Then she placed her
bare hand on the walls and began to run them along, hoping to pick up some
trace of what had occurred her. Actually she already knew that there was no
psychic imprint to be found, that sort of thing only occurred when someone
had died recently, and there was no sign of any dead bodies in the bunker.

In fact all that was here was a single large room, the airlock and a row of
computer consoles that lined one wall, just beneath a series of large
windows that looked out in the direction of the lava flow. Sarah noticed
with some concern that it was a lot closer now, and in fact it would not be
long before it reached the bunker. She wondered why the Captain had sent
her down her, before realising that had they found someone alive her
presence would have sped up any interrogation.

The marine soon returned with the portable fusion reactor and it was hooked
up to the bunker's power system. As soon as it was in place the emergency
lights that had filled the bunker with a dull red glow faded and were
replaced with a soft white light. There was beep from the computer console
and then it also lit up.

"Well doctor," Lily asked. "Is that any help."

"Yes it is," Kozlowski replied. "It appears though that the system has been
coded. It will take some time to crack."

"We don't have a lot of time," Lily said, also noticing the approaching
lava. "Can you tell if we are going to get anything out of this."

"Yes," Kozlowski answered, his hands and mind still working on the console
as quickly as they could. "It appears that it is a communications system
for a mining operation that once existed on the plain outside. Somehow
whoever destroyed the base missed this system."

"Does it help us at all?" Lily asked. "I mean is there anything useful that
we can get out of a communications console."

Kozlowski nodded. "Yes, all the transmissions between the orbiting
factories and this mine would have been routed through this console. It is
difficult, but it may be possible to recall some of the data. It shouldn't
take more than another half hour."

Lily nodded and went over to the window to watch the approaching lava. It
was coming closer every second, but it still looked like it was at least
another hour away. Still she didn't want to be trapped here, so just in
case she order everyone else back to the shuttle, including the Psi-Cop who
looked relieved to be leaving. The shuttle would still be subject to the
same gravity, but at least it had nice comfortable seating.

Half an hour later the doctor was still hard at work, breaking his way
through the layers of encryption that had been placed around the data
stored deep inside the system. "Are you any closer yet doctor," Lily asked,
growing more and more nervous as each minute passed. "I don't want to be
trapped here."

"Just about got it," Kozlowski replied. "Two more layer to go. Fortunately
whoever designed this system used a standard Mircotel operation system.
That makes it a lot easier to crack."

"It doesn't look easy to me," Lily said as she looked at the furious work
the doctor was doing.

"It is if you know what you are doing," he replied. "There got it."

"Good," she said. "Lets get out of here then."

"Just downloading information to a data crystal," Kozlowski said, inserting
a small data crystal into a slot on the console. The screen in front of him
flooded with data as the computer's memory core was dumped onto the
crystal. Fortunately whoever designed the system did a good job and it took
less than ten minutes to download the information. Then the two occupants
of the bunker put their helmets and gloves back on and hurried out the
airlock and jogged the short distance to the shuttle. Actually Lily would
have liked to have run, but the gravity did not allow such luxuries.

As it turned out she had little to worry about and the shuttle was on its
way back to the Rasputin before the lava flow arrived. Inside the passenger
cabin those in the lighter radiation suits quickly discarded them, and Dr.
Kozlowski got to work on deciphering the information he had recovered.

"Anything interesting?" Sarah asked him from her seat opposite.

The doctor didn't answer at first, instead just looking at something on the
screen in front of him. "Oh dear," he said finally. He muttered the same
phrase several more time as he scanned the next two messages he had
retrieved.

"What's the matter?" Sarah asked. "Doesn't the information tell us where
Anderson is gone after all?"

"Worse than that," Kozlowski said. "It tell us where he is going, and what
exactly he is travelling in."

He turned the screen around and Sarah could see a star map on the screen.
Carefully marked out were several systems, two of which she recognised as
the Sol and Proxima systems. "What does this mean," she asked.

"It means that the companies behind this operation do not intend on just
raiding their enemies." Kozlowski paused for a moment and bought up another
message, one which displayed a large wire frame drawing of some kind of
vessel. "They intend on destroying them, along with anyone who works for
them."

        ------------------------------------------------------------



Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/

From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 14/16, part A
Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 00:27:58 +1030

Now things become a little interesting. The rest of this chapter should
appear tomorrow so look out for it then.

For earlier chapters and properly formatted and edited versions of this
story see my webpage at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/stories1.html

Spoilers: There are spoilers for all 5 season of Babylon 5 in this story, so
consider yourself well and truely warned.

Disclaimers: The various B5 characters that I use in my story remain the
property of Waner Brothers, TNT, JMS, and whoever else wants to claim them.
The rest however are the proporty of my imagination and you can do what you
will with them.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

                             Reunion - Part 14
                              By Sel Vecantie

        ------------------------------------------------------------

19:38, February 20, 2262.

"Are you sure about this doctor," Susan asked, flicking through the small
pile of printouts he had handed her. "This information could just be a red
herring to throw us off the track."

"Not with the level of coding that was on it Captain," Kozlowski replied.
"I haven't seen anything like that for a long time. However, it was using a
standard Microtel system, which is easy enough to get around if you know
how."

"And you do?"

Kozlowski nodded, looking pleased with himself. "Indeed Captain. It is what
you might call a hobby of mine."

"I am not sure Earth Central would be pleased to learn of your hobby
doctor," Susan said with a answering smile. "However, it has helped us out
here, so I am sure they will overlook it this time. I am still not exactly
sure what all this means though, perhaps you can explain your findings."

Kozlowski hurried over to her side and pointed out the star map he had
retrieved. "This shows a list of targets that they intend to hit." He
pointed to several markings on the map in order. "You see this is Listening
Post Serene, which we already know has been destroyed. And this is Flinn
Colony, and then you can see Proxima III and finally Earth itself."

"I know how to read the map doctor," Susan replied. "However what I don't
understand is how they intend on doing any damage. Flinn colony was, and
probably still is, one of the most defended bases in the entire Alliance.
Even the Minbari had trouble there during the war. So how does Anderson,
with just one ship, hope to take it on."

The doctor tugged another printout from lower down on the pile and showed
it to the Captain. "Here, this one shows their vessel. As you can see, it's
a lot larger than anything we have encountered before."

Susan took the page and looked at the diagram unconvinced. "Is this all you
managed to retrieve Dr. Kozlowski? It is not a lot to go on."

"I agree," Kozlowski said. "However they have already managed to take out
one base, that much is already part of the record."

"An undefended base," Susan reminded him.

"Yes, but a well hidden and protected one." He paused and took a closer
look at the diagram on the page. "I think what we are dealing with here is
some sort of large weapon, possible a mass driver, or something similar."

"A mass driver?" Susan exclaimed in surprise. "We haven't seen any of them
in use since the Narn/Centauri war. Are you sure that is what Anderson is
using."

The doctor nodded in confirmation. "That would be my guess, a large mass
driver used as the main weapon of a warship. If it was large enough, it
could do considerable damage."

A frown formed on Susan's brow as she considered his words. "Exactly how
large are we talking here doctor?"

Kozlowski shrugged. "I am not sure. The diagram does not have the correct
dimensions on it. Possible at least four, maybe five kilometres long. That
would make it considerably larger than the ones the Centauri used, assuming
that the entire ship is the mass driver."

"And the fighters?" Susan queried. "So far all we have seen is a few
fighters, although judging by what I have seen around this planet, I am
willing to agree that something fairly big has been going on here. But, to
build a warship of that size is not what I would have imagined. Out of all
the alien races only the Vorlons and Shadows developed vessels larger than
Earth's, so for Anderson and his megacorp buddies to come up with something
like this is almost unbelievable. I mean, we are talking about something
that is nearly the size of an explorer ship here."

"Perhaps it is a little unrealistic Captain, but it is still worth checking
out, wouldn't you agree."

Susan nodded slowly. "Yes I would doctor." She turned to the communications
officer. "Lieutenant, open a channel to Flinn Colony."

"Yes Captain," was the reply and then after nearly a minute the lieutenant
said, "I am sorry Captain, there doesn't seem to be any response."

"How is that possible," Susan replied, a little worried that she might
already now the answer. "Try again, and keep trying until you get something
or I tell you to stop." She turned around to face Kozlowski again. "Well
doctor, it seems that you may be correct. If you are right and they are
using a mass driver as a weapon, then that would explain the loss of
communications. We should proceed at once to Flinn Colony and find out what
exactly is going on there. If they are under attack they may need our
help."

"I would advise against that Captain," Kozlowski said, shaking his head.

Susan frowned, annoyed that the doctor was questioning her judgment. "You
would? And why is that Dr. Kozlowski. If the colony is under attack then we
should go there at once to see what is going on. If we wait it may be too
late. There are people's lives at stake after all, several thousand if I
remember correctly."

"It is on the other side of the Earth Alliance Captain," he reminded her.
"I would suggest instead informing Earth Central of our findings while we
head back to Proxima. It is, after all, the next planet on the list, and if
Flinn Colony has already been hit we will serve better by going on to
Proxima III."

Susan considered the suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Good idea doctor. I will need to contact Earthdome though, and let them
know what is going on. Do you mind sticking around and explaining your
findings to the Admiral. I am not really up to date on starship
construction."

"Of course Captain."

"Good," Susan replied, looking over at the communication's officer who was
still trying to raise Flinn Colony. "Lieutenant, open a secure link to
Earthdome, Admiral Mellor's office."

"Yes Captain," the young officer replied. "Opening a channel now."

Realising it would take a few minutes for the link to be established, she
sat back and skimmed through the printouts the doctor had given her. She
had at first been sceptical, not really wanting to believe that a group of
companies, even big megacorps like Microtel and the Jupiter Mining
Corporation could be responsible for such carnage. If the doctor was right,
then they were planning to kill nearly a million people on Proxima, and at
the same time wipe out all their rival companies, most of whom were based
in the Proxima system.

Even the Shadows and Vorlons, who had destroyed entire worlds in their war,
had done so for a cause, albeit a very perverted one, but this was just for
money. Of course the doctor could still be wrong, Susan wasn't sure that
what he had explained was correct. The star maps she had understood, but
the rest was complete nonsense to her, and out of everyone on board, only
Dr. Kozlowski, highly skilled in starship design, had really understood
what the information meant. She would just have to trust his judgment, and
as she sat there waiting for the link to be established, she suddenly
realised exactly how little she knew about the doctor.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Commander Petrov stepped out of the quiet hallway outside the bridge into a
madhouse. Everyone seemed to be shouting orders at once and running from
one console to another, their arms piled high with data pads, clipboards,
and other items. In the centre of this confusion he could see the captain,
currently talking to the Chief Engineer, Philip Moore.

"Can it be done Chief," Susan was asking him.

The tall Polynesian engineer rubbed his jaw as if considering the question.
Finally, looking none to convinced, he said, "Perhaps Captain, but the
engines have not been tested fully yet. We don't want to put too much
strain on them."

"Do it anyway," she replied. "We need as much speed out of this ship as you
can muster. I want her back around Proxima III in thirty six hours."

"I will do what I can Captain," Moore replied, before hurrying past Petrov,
shaking his head and muttering darkly as he walked.

Petrov followed the engineer with his eyes for a second before looking back
to the Captain, who was now noting something down on a data pad one of the
bridge crew had passed her. He walked over to her side. "Captain," he
demanded. "What the hell is going on around here?"

Susan looked up, a little surprised to see him. "Commander," she said.
"There you are, I was about to call you."

"That doesn't explain what is happening here," he said pointedly, looking
around at the busy crew members, all of whom suddenly seemed to be very
interested in their various stations.

"Sorry," Susan replied. "I forgot I haven't had time to inform you yet."

"Inform me about what?" Petrov asked, worry lines beginning to form on his
forehead.

"We have been ordered back to Proxima... urgently," she told him. "I have
just spoken to Admiral Mellor, and he agrees with the information that Dr.
Kozlowski has found and has ordered us back to defend Proxima III against a
possible attack."

"Another attack?" he asked. "With more fighters?"

Susan shook her head. "No Commander, if it was just a few more fighters,
then there would not be a problem. Based on the evidence Dr. Kozlowski
recovered from the communications console on the planet below, he has
conceded that there is a risk, or at least a possible risk, of a major
assault on the planet, possibly with some new warship."

"What! By the companies Major Logan mentioned?" Petrov asked with a
disbelieving air about him. "I can't imagine that anything they can come up
would pose a threat."

"That is what I thought to start with Commander. But after listening to
Kozlowski I thought it best to contact Earthdome, and Admiral Mellor agrees
with the doctor, at least enough to order us to return to Proxima. I am
just recalling all the fighters and search teams right now. We should be
under way in a few minutes."

Petrov nodded, understanding at last why the bridge was so busy. The
preparation for a sudden departure must have caught the crew off guard a
little, and they were struggling to catch up. There was always a lot to do
when preparing to leave orbit, especially when you had to recall fighters
and shuttles. "What do you want me to do, Captain," he asked at last,
fingering the report he had spent the past hour writing up.

Susan noticed his fidgeting and the report in his hands. "Well the first
thing you can do is take that report on Dr. Taylor's murder to Sarah Chang,
I think you will find her resting in her quarters. And then you can get
back here and assist me."

"Yes Captain," Petrov replied with a smart salute.

"Just a minute Commander," she said, stopping him before he left. "Did you
discover who was responsible for the murder?"

"Yes, Captain," Petrov said again. "It looks most likely that it was Mr.
Anderson. The Doc. said that Taylor was a telepath, so she probably found
out what Anderson was up to, and he killed her for it. We found a phial the
poison in his quarters. They are now Ms. Chang's quarters of course, which
didn't make it easy to search."

"The doctor was a telepath?" Susan said, her mind reeling in confusion.
"How could that be? Only Psi-Corps representatives are supposed to be on
board."

Petrov shrugged. "All I know is that her blood has the DNA marker that
indicates telepathic potential. It is possible that she didn't know her
abilities existed, or she may have been a rogue telepath. Either way, it
isn't much use for us now, unless she was an agent of Anderson's."

Susan nodded slowly, indicating that Petrov could leave. Perhaps it was
possible that Dr. Taylor was like her, a latent telepath who had managed to
hide her abilities, but for some reason Susan didn't believe that. The way
she had felt when she had touched the bare arm of the doctor in the lift
came back to her. Suddenly it all made sense. She had picked up on the
sense of hatred from the doctor's mind, hatred directed at Susan herself.
It had been very strong, and she realised now that the strength was due to
the telepathic ability of the doctor's mind. She might not be able to scan
normals, but Susan was beginning to realise that she had no trouble at all
picking up on a telepath's thoughts.

She had wondered why the doctor would have cause to hate her, but if she
was working for Anderson then it all made sense, or did it. Susan couldn't
think of any reason that Anderson would hate her. He would now, if she had
truly discovered his plans, but back then he had not seemed overly
concerned with her. If Dr. Taylor was his agent, then that begged the
question of why he had killed her. Assuming, then, that she wasn't
Anderson's agent, that left only the possibility of the doctor being a
rogue telepath, and Susan wasn't entirely convinced that was correct yet
either.

She sighed and turned back to her work. Psi-Corps would probably try and
take an active role in the investigation now, maybe even Bester himself.
But at least if Anderson was responsible, that would shift the blame away
from her crew and towards someone who was already wanted by Psi-Corps, at
least she assumed he was. Right now though she had more important problems
to deal with.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

By the time Commander Petrov returned from speaking with the Psi-Cop the
Rasputin was already in Hyperspace, and heading for Proxima III at maximum
speed. Dr. Kozlowski had also turned up again, after having headed back to
engineering to make minor adjustments to the engines, when he had finished
explaining his findings to Admiral Mellor. This time he bought with him
more pages of data, calculations of some sort, at least that is what they
looked like to Susan.

Susan held up her hand to stop him speaking, determined to hear the rest of
Petrov's report, no matter how desperate the doctor looked. "Please
Continue Commander," she said. "What did Ms. Chang say then?"

"Well, after I handed over the report and told her what it had contained,
she looked angry more than anything. It was almost as if she already knew
that the doctor was a telepath. She didn't seem surprised that Anderson had
been responsible either. I think there may be more going on here than she
is telling us."

"I agree Commander," Susan said, her mind working overtime to work out what
relationship there had been between the Psi-Cop and the doctor. Certainly
it hadn't taken Chang long after she had disembarked before she found her
way to sick bay. That would suggest that she probably already knew Taylor,
and then the Psi-Cop had pushed to be included in the investigation, which
was even more unusual. A suspicion was beginning to form in Susan's mind,
one that she didn't like one little bit. Sometime soon she was going to
have a long talk to Ms. Chang.

"Do you want me to look into it further then, Captain," her executive
officer asked.

Susan shook her head. "Not right now," she replied. "We have more important
things to deal with right now. This vessel could be going into combat in
less than two days time and I want everything to be ready. I am putting you
in charge of ensuring that, while I keep and eye on things up here.
Coordinate with Lt. Commanders Dreyer and Schmitt, as well as Major Logan,
and see if you can't work out some kind of drill that they can conduct here
in Hyperspace. I am not authorising fighter launches though, that is just
too risky."

"Yes Captain," Petrov said, looking almost pleased to be given the
responsibility. "I will get onto it right away. I assume you would like a
report before we arrive at Proxima?"

She nodded. "Yes Commander, that would be good. I want to know what we have
to work with, just in case. We still don't know what is going on exactly,
but if we do have to go into battle, I want this warship to perform better
than any other ship in the fleet."

"You can count on me Captain," Petrov replied with another perfect salute.

Susan saluted casually  in return, and indicated that he was dismissed. He
quickly hurried off the bridge and Susan was left to deal with Dr.
Kozlowski was standing eagerly nearby, with another stack of printouts in
his hands. Susan wondered for a moment why he didn't use data pads like
Petrov and most of the other officers, they were a little bit easier to
deal with than the piles of paper he kept bringing her. Seeing she was free
again, he stepped forward.

"Was is it now, doctor," Susan asked before he could begin to speak.
Kozlowski handed her several sheets of paper, all of which were covered
with large charts and diagrams. "What exactly is all this?" Susan said,
waving the papers around. "I am not sure I understand any of this."

Kozlowski didn't seem fazed by that. "They are my latest calculation
Captain," he told her. "I have spent the last hour working on them."

"And they tell me what exactly?"

"Well after we had finished talking to the Admiral I decided to make some
calculations to determine the relative power of the vessel we may be
dealing with. After all, if we are going to have to face it in battle, I
assumed you would want to be bought up to date on everything there is to
know about it."

Now Susan was interested, and she leaned forward so she could hear him
better. "That is more like it, doctor," she said. "What can you tell me?"

Kozlowski pulled out the first piece of paper. "Well, I have discovered
that it is a very large vessel, perhaps larger than anything we have seen
before. However this size means that it is slow and cumbersome, and, based
on the current attacks it has made so far and the distances between each, I
have calculated that it may be another two days before it makes it to
Proxima III."

"Assuming the map you found is correct," Susan reminded him. "I am still
not sure that they would let us get hold of it so quickly."

"Well I did wonder about that too Captain," the doctor said. "After all it
was only a mining communications bunker. I have examined the data I have
collected more fully now though, and believe that the bunker may actually
have been a major rely station for their communications network between the
various stations. I don't know why it was down on the planet, but there was
a lot of messages there that had nothing to do with mining. Of course it
might also have been malfunctioning and picking up things it wasn't
supposed to."

"Well it is all we have to go on for now," Susan said. "And Admiral Mellor
seems to think it is genuine. Of course he may know something I don't.
Although I may be putting too much trust in Earthforce intelligence here."

"Well, I will stand by my information Captain," Kozlowski assured her. "I
have checked out the diagram I found and have discovered that it is
possible that such a ship could be built. There are still a few things I am
unsure about, especially the outer hull, but the reactor capacity and
general design matches that of a large Mass Driver, a very large one."

"Well, we will find out soon enough doctor," Susan replied.

Further discussion was cut off by the voice of the communications officer.
"Captain, I have a gold channel communication from Admiral Mellor's office
in Earthdome," she said.

"Put it through, Lieutenant," Susan said, turning away from Kozlowski to
look at the console in front of her and typing in her code to accept the
message.

The Earth Alliance logo on the central screen vanished and was quickly
replaced by the stern face of Admiral Mellor. "Captain," he said grimly. "I
have just received word from the vessel we sent to Flinn Colony. What Dr.
Kozlowski suspected seems to have come true and the colony has been
destroyed."

"Any survivors at all," Susan asked in shock.

The Admiral nodded. "Fortunately yes. Some of the outer mines and two scout
parties in crawlers have been located so far. One of the scouts gave a good
description of what happened. Based on that description, and the damage
that has been done, we have concluded that it is likely that a mass driver
or similar weapon was responsible."

He paused for breath, and for the first time Susan could see the strain the
he was under. The Admiral was, after all, responsible for the protection of
the outer colonies. To allow one to be destroyed, along with thousands of
colonists, meant that a lot of questions were going to be asked. "What now
then, Admiral," she asked.

"We have considered mustering everything we have and sending it to Proxima,
but that might just be what this Anderson character wants us to do. We
still don't know a lot about his motives, and Psi-Corps hasn't been any
help at all. This might all be a trick to make us pull our forces away from
Earth and send them off to Proxima. However, we can't afford to leave both
systems undefended, or Mars. So that leaves us with too many worlds to
defend, and not enough ships to go around."

"You are sending some ships though, aren't you Admiral," Susan asked, but
at the same time beginning to wonder if the Rasputin would be the only
vessel left to defend an entire planet.

"Of course, Captain," Mellor replied. "The Opollo and Vesta have been
recalled from their patrol, along with every other vessel within range.
Also, Vice-Admiral Emmerton is on her way with a small fleet. We don't know
how long this enemy vessel is going to take to get to Proxima. For all we
know it could already be there, but we are sending all the ships we can
spare. We still have thirty destroyers around Earth now, and another seven
at Mars. That will leave Emmerton with at least another seven, depending on
how many make it back from patrol in time."

"We will have to make do then Admiral," Susan said. She didn't know however
if she was relieved or concerned that more destroyers were not being sent
to Proxima. If the information Kozlowski had recovered turned out to be a
ruse and Anderson was after either Earth or Mars, then the caution shown by
Earthforce would prove to be correct. If, however, the target was Proxima
after all, and it was left underdefended then Earthforce would have more
than two million dead on its hands. Assuming that is what Anderson planned
on doing, and given the destruction of Flinn Colony she could easily seeing
him proceeding with the slaughter of the people of Proxima.

"One last thing, Captain," Mellor said. "I want you to act as Emmerton's
second in command. I know there are other higher ranking officers, but I
think your experience might count for more if a battle does start."

"Thank you Admiral," Susan replied, although she was a little surprised
that he would give her so much responsibility. After all, it had only been
a few month ago that she had been fighting on the other side in a civil
war. Still, she wasn't about to turn down his offer because of that. She
was willing to forget, if Earthforce was, especially given the amount of
credits they were paying her now.

"Link in with Vice-Admiral Emmerton as soon as you arrive at Proxima," he
told her. "I will contact you again if there is anything important to
report. Earthdome out."

As the screen went black Susan turned away and looked towards the front of
the vessel. Ahead she could see nothing except Hyperspace, but somewhere,
far in the distance, was the beacon that indicated Proxima's jumpgate. It
was at least another day away, and despite the extra energy being pumped
into the engines, she was worried that they may not make it there in time.
Certainly if only a few destroyers were going to be made available for the
defence of the planet, then the Rasputin had to be there. Its powerful
weapons, not to mention the four squadrons of starfuries, might make all
the difference in a battle.

Based on what Kozlowski had told her they faced a powerful foe, but she
doubted that one single vessel, no matter how large, could take on an
entire fleet of Earthforce Destroyers. Although, after the things she had
seen in the Shadow War, she wouldn't be surprised by anything. After all,
those fighters had used an alien propulsion system, and if the warship they
were preparing to face was based on alien, possible Shadow technology then
they might face a more deadly foe than the Admiral and Kozlowski imagined.
Those troubling thoughts on her mind, she turned back to her discussion
with Dr. Kozlowski, even more eager now to learn anything that could assist
them if it came to a fight.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Bester looked tired to Sarah as she made her report. The Psi-Cop had
obviously been very busy over the previous two days, probably with the
search for Kiel's allies. "Have you discovered anything new Ms. Chang," was
Bester's first question as soon as he recognised the caller.

"Quite a bit, Sir," she replied, with an almost smug grin on her face. "I
have discovered who killed Dr. Taylor as well as some of what Kiel appears
to be up to."

Bester looked more than a little surprised at the news, and quickly
indicated for his assistant to continue with her report. He hadn't expected
her to achieve much at all on her mission, and to have results so quickly
was certainly a lot more than he had expected.

"It appears that Anderson was responsible for the doctor's death," she
informed Bester, while at the same time sending him Petrov's report, minus
any mention of the Commander's efforts of course. "I asked the new head of
security to check for any possible poisons, not just to common ones, and he
discovered traces of an obscure Centauri poison in the heart muscle of Dr.
Taylor. I remembered the package that Anderson picked up from Mr. Hill and
did a search of the quarters he had on the Rasputin, and turned up a phial
of the poison. Putting two and two together, it was fairly easy to conclude
that Anderson had been responsible."

"Good work Ms. Chang," Bester said. "And what about the matter of Kiel's
plans. You said you had information."

Sarah nodded, sending on a second file, this one containing the information
Kozlowski had recovered. "I was able to retrieve this information from a
bunker on the surface, with the help of one of the Rasputin's crew." She
decided not to stretch the truth too far, and give at least a little credit
to Kozlowski. Not too much though, after all if the Captain sent her down
to that hell on the slimmest of reasons, then she deserved to get as much
out of the whole thing as she could.

Bester stared at the screen in front of him, which currently displayed the
diagram of Kiel's warship. "What is this?" he asked.

"I am not exactly sure Sir," Sarah replied. "Earthforce believes that it is
some sort of new warship that Kiel and his companions have built. There was
also some talk about several of the large mega-corps helping out, although
I haven't seen any proof of that yet."

"I have," Bester cut in. "That is what I have been looking into for the
past two days. It seems that Anderson has been the recipient of large
donations from several of the mega-corps, a lot of money indeed."

Sarah nodded. "That could be what was used to fund the building of the
warship that is shown in the information I sent you. Earthforce also
believes that it has been used against two colonies already, although again
I haven't heard much about that yet." Sarah had not been privy to the
discussions between Admiral Mellor and Susan, but had heard some of the
crew discussing what was occurring and had filled in the blanks.

Bester frowned. "I always knew he was mad," the Psi-Cop said. "But I didn't
think he was that mad. Any idea on where he is going next? I assume that if
he has already attacked two colonies, he will not stop there. Kiel never
did know when to call it a day."

Sarah thought back to the discussion between the three crew members she had
stumbled across. "Proxima, I believe, Sir," she said, while at the same
time crossing her fingers and hoping like hell she was correct. The crew
members had mentioned both Earth and Proxima, so she was making a guess
here.

Bester seemed to accept her guess though, nodding in agreement. "Yes," he
said. "That is where I would hit next too. If he does enough damage to
Proxima III he could knock out a lot of competition for the megacorps. I
will have to get my agents on Earth to do a little scouting for me, to see
exactly what those companies are up to."

"What about me Sir," Sarah asked. "If there anything else you want me to do
now?"

Her superior thought for a moment, mulling over the various aspects of what
he had just learned before making a decision. "Stick with the Rasputin for
now Ms. Chang. I will book passage on the next liner to Proxima, there
should be one leaving in a few hours, and meet you there. I shouldn't be
longer than a couple of days at the most."

"And if Kiel and this ship of his arrives before you do?"

"Then I want you to assist Ivanova as much as you can in stopping his
plans. I might not have much respect for Earthforce or the new president,
but I certainly don't want someone like Kiel calling the shots." Bester
paused and thought for a moment. "However, I would like him taken alive if
possible, there are a lot of questions I would like to ask Mr. Kiel and I
am looking forward to asking them."

"I will do my best, Sir," Sarah replied.

"I am sure you will, Ms. Chang," the Psi-Cop replied. "Bester out."

Sarah smiled as the screen went black. She had done well today, managing to
elevate herself in Bester's opinion, even if everything she had given him
had not been her own work. She was sure Commander Petrov wouldn't mind.
After all he would get the credit from Earthforce, and she would get credit
from Psi-Corps, and as neither organisation really ever communicated, her
duplicity would never be discovered.

In fact she was a very happy woman as she put aside the two data crystals
and set off for the dining room. It had been a good day, and despite the
rather horrible trip down to the planet, having to endure the heat and
radiation, she had come out on top again. All she had to do now was capture
Kiel, or rather get Ivanova to capture him, and her future as a Psi-Cop was
secure, and all before her twenty first birthday.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson walked carefully onto the bridge of the Enlightener, careful not
to disturb Kiel, who was sleeping in his command chair as usual. He failed
though, and the former Psi-Cop looked up before he had even made it half
way across the room. 'What is it now Darren,' came Kiel's thoughts, a
little lighter than usual because the telepath's mind was still half
asleep.

'Reports from our agents in Earthdome, Sir,' he replied, telepathically, to
keep the few crew on the bridge from hearing.

'What do they say,' Kiel asked, growing more alert now.

'It is a problem, Sir. It seems that Earthforce is sending destroyers to
Proxima III. Our agents are not sure, but they believe that it is possible
that they are on to us.'

'How many destroyers,' Kiel asked, his mind broadcasting his sudden
interest.

'Our agents thinks that it is five at the moment,' Anderson replied.
'Although they also say that the destroyers stationed around Earth have
been put on high alert.'

Kiel yawned. 'I don't see the problem. Five destroyers are not enough to
take us on, especially after we designed this vessel to take on the entire
fleet if necessary. Our fighter screen will take care of them in a matter
on minutes, and if we destroy five now, that means less later when we go to
Earth.'

'Yes Sir,' Anderson said. 'This was why I didn't really want to disturb you
now. I was just bringing in the report to place on your console so you
could review it at your leisure.'

'I see. Well, it is too late now. Give me the report and I will look at it
now. You. on the other hand, need some sleep. You have been up too long
already. Your mind will not be as alert and strong if you do not get your
sleep.'

'Yes Sir,' Anderson said. 'I will go to my quarters at once.'

'Good,' Kiel replied, turning his attention to the report. His mind
concentrating on the information on the screen in front of him he missed
the strange look that Anderson gave him as his assistant left the bridge.
Kiel quickly tired of the report though, realising that it contained little
of interest, so he tossed it aside. As he had said to Kiel, even if
Earthforce sent their entire fleet, he would still win. It might be one
ship against many, but his vessel was stronger and more powerful than
anything else in existence. Further more, its powerful weapons, including
several clusters of heavy plasma cannons, would enable the Enlightener to
easily destroy any vessel that survived the fighter attack.

Snuggling back down in his seat he went back to his dreams of the battle
that would be fought tomorrow, and after that, to the day when Earth
surrendered to him and he would be elected preside... no wait, Emperor.
After all it would be a new powerful Earth under his rule, and so a new
title was needed. 'Yes,' he thought. 'I will like being an emperor.'

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/

From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 14, Part B
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:26:49 +1030
        ------------------------------------------------------------

08:17, February 22, 2262.

The jumpgate orbiting Proxima III lit up for the third time in as many
hours as the Rasputin made its way back into normal space. To the surprise
of most of her crew, with the notable exception of Dr. Kozlowski, the
warship had made a lot better time than even Susan might have hoped for. In
fact it had taken just under thirty three hours for the return trip from
Arisia 3, not quite as fast as it would have been in a Whitestar, but still
pretty good. The same voyage would have taken a civilian vessel perhaps as
long as a week. Back in engineering the Chief Engineer, Philip Moore, was
mopping his brow in relief, pleased that nothing had gone wrong with the
nine huge engines. They were, after all, still experimental when it came to
exactly how much thrust could be pulled out of them, and he had exceeded
those limits by at least twenty percent.

They were here now though, and from her position on the bridge, Susan could
see the large planet hanging in space, looking almost serene against the
darkness of the void. The Rasputin's scanners however had already picked up
the familiar shapes of two Omega class destroyers, and one of the old
Hyperion class vessels, in orbit around the world. There were no signs of
any other military vessels, so Susan assumed that Vice-Admiral Emmerton and
her fleet had not yet arrived. Fortunately, neither had the enemy vessel,
assuming that it was bound for Proxima and not Earth or one of the smaller
colonies.

With Earth's fleet reduced to around sixty capital ships, down from the
more than two hundred that had existed before the civil war, few colonies
had much in the way of protection at the moment. Most vessels were in a
protective orbit around Earth and Mars, while the rest were either
currently on patrol or on their way to join the small fleet gathering near
Proxima. It seemed that not everyone was bound for Proxima though. In the
distance Susan could see the large shapes of three star liners orbiting
around the planet. They were probably here to evacuate part of the
population in case the destroyers were not enough to hold off any attack.

"Captain, incoming message from Proxima government," the communications
officer called out. "It is President Mitrovic."

"Put him through," She replied looking down to her console as the screen
there cleared to display the chubby, but not at all cheerful looking, face
of the Proxima President. "President Mitrovic," she said crisply "How can I
help you."

"Is it true?" he asked in a worried voice. "Earthforce is telling me that
it is possible that some sort of warship might be on its way to attack my
planet."

"It looks likely," Susan told him, not seeing any reason to cover up what
might happen. "However, Earth is sending a fleet, and we should be able to
deal with it before it causes any damage to your world."

He looked a little more relieved now, mopping away the sweat that had
beaded on his forehead with a bright red handkerchief. "I am happy to hear
that Captain. The way Earthforce was talking, it was as if Proxima had
already fallen to an enemy attack. They said something about two other
colonies already being destroyed."

"Well, I am afraid that part is true, Mr. President," Susan said. "One of
Earthforce's deep space listening posts has vanished and Flinn Colony seems
to have been attacked. Details are still sketchy on both attacks though."

The President's worried look returned at the mention of Flinn Colony. "Are
you sure Proxima is safe then Captain? Flinn Colony was a military base,
but we have always been a civilian colony. Our defences are not secure
enough to stand against an attack."

"That is why we are here," Susan replied. "Earthforce is sending another
five or six destroyers as well. That will give us a total of around nine
capital ships, plus fighters. That should be enough to stop any single
warship quite easily."

Mitrovic didn't look total convinced, but nodded anyway. "I hope you are
right Captain. There are two million people down here who will die if you
are wrong."

"And there are a lot of good soldiers up here who will be just as dead, Mr.
President," Susan reminded him sharply. "I can assure that the only way
anything is going to happen to Proxima is if they get past us first."

The President nodded again. "I realise that Captain, the people of Proxima
know that you will do everything in your power to stop this . If there is
anything I can do to assist, I will. This is, after all, my world and I was
elected to serve the people of Proxima. Perhaps I could come aboard your
vessel and watch the battle from there."

"I don't think that will be necessary," Susan replied, a little quicker
than she intended. In her opinion there were already too many civilians on
board, and although Dr. Kozlowski had turned out to a lot more help than
hindrance, she certainly didn't want anyone else on board. "However, there
is something you can do."

"What is that, Captain," Mitrovic said, an eager look crossing his face.
Obviously, the thought of having his world, not to mention his position,
destroyed was beginning to bring out some of the qualities that had led the
people of Proxima to vote for the President in the first place.

"You can send any fighters currently based on the planet to assist the
fleet. I assume those twelve thunderbolt starfuries are still at the base."

Mitrovic nodded. "Yes Captain they are, and their pilots arrived just a
couple of days ago from Earth. I will go and see that they are in space as
soon as possible."

"Thank you," Susan said. "I am sure they will be of great assistance to
us."

"They will in the air before the hour is out, Captain," Mitrovic assured
her. "I will go an organise it personally."

Susan nodded. "You do that, Mr. President. I will take care of what has to
be done up here. Ivanova out."

She quickly shut down the link before Mitrovic could continue. Based on
past experience, she knew the President liked to talk, usually about minor,
unimportant details, and had she let him he would have probably continued
on for another half an hour or more. This way she would get those fighters
now, and not have to wait. She was sure the president meant well, but he
had a way of becoming very annoying in a short period of time. Susan
imagined that was why he was elected President. After all, it was Mitrovic
that had the most contact with Earth now, and the people of Proxima
obviously did not want to make things easy for any Earth officials,
especially after the way Clark had treated the colony during the war.

Still, she didn't have time to worry about minor matters like that now,
there were more important things to do. Looking up from the screen she
turned to Lieutenant Heneker, the young communications officer.
"Lieutenant," she said, attracting the red-haired woman's attention.

"Yes Captain," Heneker asked, looking up from her work.

"Get Captain James of the Opollo on the link as soon as you can. There are
some things I need to discuss with him."

Heneker nodded and turned to her console, opening a channel to the other
destroyer. Susan sat back and waited. If there was going to be a battle she
wanted to know exactly what she had to work with. She was sure that
Vice-Admiral Emmerton would have her own ideas, but she wasn't here yet and
if the enemy warship showed up before the rest of the fleet arrived, then
she was in charge and so she needed to know as much as she could about the
other vessels already here, just in case.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

On the bridge of the Enlightener Harvey Kiel was watching the view screen
very closely. In one corner of the screen a series of numbers was slowly
counting down the distance to the Proxima beacon. It was close now, very
close, and soon his warship would come leaping out of Hyperspace, ploughing
through the few weak defenders Earthforce had sent. Then it would level the
two major settlements of Proxima III and disappear back into Hyperspace
like a thief in the night. It was going be a glorious day, and one that
Kiel had looked forward to for some time now.

If fact, all through the large crew of the warship, from the bridge
officers all the way down to the large contingent of soldiers, an air of
excitement was beginning to build. Most of the men and woman serving on the
bridge were those who had been assigned to the most loyal ships in Clark's
fleet, or had been members of Nightwatch. The Nightwatch had been one of
Kiel's personal projects, one to which he had devoted all of his energies.
So, when this opportunity had come along, he had called up those still
loyal to serve their world again.

Of course, he had his telepaths conduct loyalty checks to ensure that none
harboured and allegiance to anyone other than him. But, considering the way
most of those now in his employ had been quickly sacked by the new
President when she had come to office, almost all had remained loyal to
him. Of course, there were always a few who were disloyal, too caught up
with feelings of remorse over what they had done under Clark. Those
weaklings had been eliminated quickly, and now the crew ran like a well
oiled machine.

To Kiel it was a vindication of his entire plan. A few would have to die,
but fear would force the rest to soon fall into line. Of course, the
telepaths he had stationed at every major duty post helped to ensure the
loyalty of his crew. No-one could even think about acting against him if
their thoughts were being listened to by a telepath. Soon the theories he
had put into practice here would spread across the Alliance.

The former Psi-Cop smiled as he imagined what was to come. A telepath on
every corner, keeping the normals under control, while he worked to build a
better society for everyone. Of course, like on his own ship, a few would
have to be made an example of before everyone would accept his rule. In
this case it was Proxima III that was going to have to die. As he watched
the distance to the beacon slowly decreasing, he felt his own excitement
growing. Soon the last stage of his plan would begin, and he would be ready
to move on to Earth.

"Sir," came Anderson voice as it cut into his thoughts.

Kiel looked over at his assistant who had just arrived, two data pads in
his hands. "Why is it that the only time I even seem to see you lately,
Darren, is when you have some sort of report to bring me," he asked out
loud.

"Perhaps it is because I am busy finding out all I can about what we are to
face," his assistant replied, handing him the two data pads. "These are the
latest reports from our agents on Proxima III."

Kiel glanced at them for a second and them tossed them onto the console in
front of him. 'I am not interested in reading right now,' he told Anderson,
switching to telepathic speech. 'Why don't you tell me what they say. That
way I can better decide if they are worth my time.'

'Yes Sir,' Anderson replied with a sigh. He wished Kiel would take the
threat of Earthforce more seriously. Anderson was not as convinced,
especially considering the unknown abilities of the Rasputin. Because it
did not use Microtel software, he hadn't been able to access the ship's
data base when he had been on board. Certainly he had managed to tap into
the sensors and communication system, but the central computer had remained
out of his reach. Certainly he would have liked to have found out more,
mainly so he the Rasputin wasn't such an unknown quality now.

'Well Darren,' Kiel said looking at Anderson suspiciously. 'I am waiting.'

'Sorry Sir,' Anderson was quick to reply. 'I was just trying to recall
which parts of the report were important enough to repeat to you. In the
interest of saving time of course.'

'Ah of course,' Kiel said with an understanding nod. 'Get on with it then.
We will be at Proxima soon and if there is anything there that can threaten
us I want to know now so we can destroy it first.'

Anderson nodded and then began his report. 'As you may be aware Sir, most
of our agents have just left Proxima and the few remaining are on the next
liner out, with the exception of Mr. Hill of course. I have taken the
liberty of having him eliminated as punishment for letting that Psi-Cop
find him.'

Kiel nodded, pleased at that little piece of news. 'Yes good Idea. I do not
want disloyal telepaths working for me when I am in charge. Had I thought
of it that is what I would have ordered you to do."

Anderson had actually been a little bit more concerned about his own skin
when he had ordered Hill killed. After all, if everything went wrong and
they were captured, he intended to plead his innocence and Hill was one of
the few people who could link him to anything he had actually done wrong.
For the moment though, he went along with Kiel's line of thought and nodded
in agreement to what his boss was saying.

'The few agents that were left reported on the numbers of Earthforce
vessels as they boarded their liners," Anderson continued. 'They report
that there are currently only three destroyers around Proxima and one of
them is an old Hyperion class vessel, which is no threat at all. The
government is expecting more destroyers, including the Rasputin to arrive
shortly, but if we hurry we may be able to beat them there and take out the
defenders with little trouble.'

'I think I might have found your other vessels Darren,' Kiel said suddenly,
only half listening to his assistant's report. The rest of his attention
was focused on the view screen, which was now showing six tiny dots off in
the distance. "Zoom in on those ships," he called to one of the bridge
crew.

The crewman quickly complied zooming in the image on the view screen until
it was possible to see the easily identifiable shapes of six Omega class
destroyers, slowly making their way through space. They were heading in the
same direction as the Enlightener, straight towards the Proxima beacon.
None seemed to have noticed the huge warship trailing them yet, a fact that
Kiel wanted to ensure would remain true for as long as possible.

Kiel turned around to face Anderson. "If we take them now with our fighters
then we will have six less destroyers to deal with later. Order three waves
of fighters to be launched, that should be enough to take care of six
destroyers."

"It is too late Sir," Anderson said, pointing towards the screen. There it
was now possible to see the brilliant flare of a jump point forming just in
front of the Earthforce destroyers. "It looks like they are making the jump
to the Proxima system.

"Cancel that order then," Kiel said, not appearing at all concerned that
his prey was escaping. "We can take them later, we will just have to use
more fighters."

"Yes Sir," Anderson replied, realising that Kiel was correct. The sheer
number of fighters the Enlightener could carry was what would win the day
against the Earthforce vessels. Even if the Rasputin arrived in time, that
would still total only ten destroyers, and, at the most, three hundred
fighters. The Enlightener carried nearly ten thousand fighters, all layered
along the outer hull, and they would work together a lot better than the
Earthforce fighters could.

Certainly, Earthforce would put up a good fight, but it would only be a
short, and brief battle. Anderson turned around to leave when he noticed
something else suddenly appear on the screen. "What is that," he asked
Kiel, pointing out the five tiny shapes winging their way towards the
Enlightener. "They look like fighters of some kind. It is a bit difficult
to tell from this distance though."

Kiel stared at them for a second before a smile spread across his face.
"Ah, it seem our allies have decided to join us. That will make this even
easier."

Anderson could not help but agree. He had seen the way the alien fighters
had destroyed the Earthforce scout ship back at Arisia 3. They had been
swift and powerful, and with them on Kiel's side he realised that the
chances of victory, already impossibly good, had just become a lot better.
His earlier concerns about the Rasputin were swept away as he watched the
graceful alien fighters pull alongside the warship.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

For the second time in less than an hour the Proxima III jumpgate flared as
a ship arrived. This time though it wasn't a single destroyer but an entire
fleet, something that raised the hopes of those defending the planet no
end. The lead ship, the EAS Typhoeus immediately sent out a signal to the
vessels in orbit around Proxima. Vice-Admiral Emmerton, one of the best
commanders in Earthforce had arrived.

On the Rasputin, Susan felt a faint twinge of relief as the six Omega class
destroyers arrived. She had been worried that she wouldn't see them in
time. No-one knew how far away Anderson's warship was, and if it had
arrived before Emmerton, she knew she would have had a bigger fight on her
hands than she could have handled. Now that problem was gone and the six
destroyers, along with their fighter squadrons, would be added to the
fleet. It was still not a big fleet, but a lot bigger now than it had been
just moments ago.

"Captain I have Vice-Admiral Emmerton on the link for you," Lieutenant
Heneker called. "She is asking to speak with you as soon as possible."

"Put her through then Lieutenant," Susan said, while at the same time
signalling to Commander Petrov to come to the command station. Her
executive officer was busy examining the latest reports from the various
section commanders with one of the bridge crew, but seeing her signal
quickly hurried up the stairs and over to her side.

"Captain Ivanova?" the raspy voice of Vice-Admiral Emmerton asked as soon
as the link was established.

"Yes Admiral," Susan said, quickly saluting the senior officer.

"Good," Emmerton replied. "I wanted to speak to you about tactics for the
defence of this planet. Admiral Mellor informed me you were to be my
second. I must admit it came a something of a surprise to me."

Susan nodded, agreeing with the small dark-haired woman on the screen. It
had come as something of a shock to her as well that Mellor would put so
much faith in her so soon. In fact, the way she had been treated by
Earthforce ever since her return from Babylon 5 had been nothing short of
amazing. For some reason they seemed to want to forget all about what had
happened during the civil war, and although a lot of that could be
explained by the series of specials ISN had been running, Susan still
thought she had been treated a lot better than she probably deserved.

Emmerton didn't pause long for a reply though, continuing straight on.
"However, I will make do with what I have, so I would like to take command
of your vessel for the duration of this battle. It is, after all, designed
as a fleet command vessel and is better equipped for what I have in mind."

"Yes, Admiral," Susan replied calmly, although inside she was seething with
uncertainly. She didn't want to give up command of her destroyer now,
especially after she had spent so long getting used to it. However
Vice-Admiral Emmerton was her superior so there was little she could do
about it. As far as she was concerned the Admiral was making a mistake, but
it was one that she couldn't really complain about. Emmerton was well known
for being stubborn and obstinate when it came to her decisions so there was
little chance that anything Susan said would change her mind.

"I will have a shuttle prepared to bring me over at once, Captain,"
Emmerton continued. "I want all your senior officers ready to meet with at
soon as I arrive."

Susan nodded and looked over at Commander Petrov who indicated, with a
quick hand signal, that he would take care of that. She was just about to
tell the Admiral everything would be ready when one of the bridge crew
suddenly called out. "Jump point forming Captain."

She looked up at once and immediately noticed the huge blue rift in space
that had appeared just behind the jumpgate. The fact that the incoming
vessel wasn't using the gate was immediately suspicious and Susan turned
back to inform Emmerton. The Admiral had already been informed of the
incoming vessel by her own crew. In fact the conversation on the other
destroyer's bridge seemed quite active indeed, and Emmerton herself looked
very concerned all of a sudden.

Susan looked up again, just in time to see a flash at the back of the rift
and then the massive dark shape of the enemy warship slide into real space.
She watched in shock, realising that it was a lot bigger than even
Kozlowski's optimistic predictions had indicated. She couldn't tell for
sure from here, but it looked like it could be nearly ten kilometres long.
She suddenly felt the optimism that had risen with Emmerton's timely
arrival beginning to slip away.

"Captain Ivanova," Emmerton's voice called, drawing Susan's attention back
to her console. "I am afraid it looks like I will have to remain here after
all. I want you to bring the Rasputin around behind the Typhoeus and onto
my flank. I will give you more orders in a minute, Emmerton out."

Susan nodded in agreement as the screen went black, recognising the wisdom
in the Admiral's orders. She looked up again, noticing that the enemy
warship was already moving slowly towards Proxima. It was unlike anything
she had even seen before, with a long cylindrical front section and a huge
command section at the rear. The dark opening in the front of the ship
reminded her of its terrible power and she turned around to face Petrov.
There were orders to give.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson stepped back from the view screen, which was currently showing the
ten Earthforce destroyers manoeuvring to intercept the Enlightener. The
silvery shape of the Rasputin stood out plainly in the middle of the fleet,
the light from Proxima's sun reflecting off its hull. To Anderson and the
rest of the Enlightener's bridge crew the Earthforce ships looked a little
like cumbersome whales, slowly turning to face their foes.

"How long until we are within range of the planet," Kiel asked, a gleam
begin to appear in his eye at the thought of the battle that was about to
begin.

"At least another fifteen minutes, Sir," came the reply from the helmsman.

"Good," Kiel replied. "That will give us time to take care of the
Earthforce destroyers first." He turned to face the crewman in charge of
the mass driver. "Ready the weapon for firing," he said. "Make your first
target Reagan Dome."

"Yes Sir," was the reply. "Reagan Dome targeted. Time to firing range
sixteen point three minutes, Sir."

Kiel nodded in pleasure, leaning back in his chair to enjoy the view. In
just over sixteen minutes the capital of Proxima would be little more than
dust, and then, a few minutes after that, the second city would also fall.
The initial impacts would probably kill around eight hundred thousand
people, and then, as the blast radius from the asteroid impacts spread
outwards, it would wipe away the mines and smaller settlements, possible
killing another half a million. Certainly some would survive in the remote
settlements, but the number of dead around the major cities would be enough
to show Earthforce just how serious he was.

"Enemy destroyer fleet forming up for an attack, Sir," another of the
crewmen called out, bringing his attention back to the Earthforce vessels
that had assembled to stop him.

Kiel eyed the destroyers for a second, as if trying to judge their
strategy. He quickly recognised the work of Vice-Admiral Emmerton. She may
be a very experienced commander, but she had a habit of repeating
strategies that had been successful in the past. Kiel turned to the crewman
who had just spoken. "Activate defence systems and prepare fighters for
launch."

"Yes Sir," the gunnery officer replied, activating the energy weapons that
had been mounted along the entire length of the Enlightener's ten kilometre
hull. "Defence grid activated, Sir," he said, when all the weapons showed
up as active. All along the hull plasma cannons and interceptors were
coming on line, all ready to fire on anything that came with range.

"Good," Kiel replied. "Launch fighters then."

The crewman nodded and activated the fighter defence system. In their slots
along the hull ten thousand drone fighters suddenly came to life, their
engines and weapons powering up. They were all linked into the central
computer on the bridge. So, when the order was given they launched in
waves, quickly forming up around the Enlightener, waiting for further
commands.

Kiel looked on in pleasure as a cloud of fighters erupted from the surface
of the hull. It was a very powerful sight, and one he knew he would never
tire of looking at. All of those fighters were linked to a single computer
and they could all be controlled as one unit, instead of relying on each
individual pilot to perform the required task. They might not be as good as
the starfuries one on one, but as they outnumbered the Earthforce fighters
by as much as a thirty to one, that was not going to be a problem.

"Have half of the fighters form up as a defensive shield," Kiel ordered.
"The rest are to attack the Earthforce vessels." He paused and looked at
the destroyers again, noticing which one had taken the lead. "Target the
lead ship first. That is probably the fleet commander's ship. Take that out
and we will throw the rest into confusion. Then we will be free to pick
them off one by one like grapes." He paused and wonder if that was quite
the right analogy, then shrugged. He didn't have to worry about things like
that now, not when he would be an emperor in less that a week.

The gunnery officer quick hurried to carry out his commands, while Kiel
returned to watching the enemy vessels. The Earthforce destroyers were
launching their own fighters now, probably in response to his actions.
Their numbers look pitifully small though, compared to the huge force
gathered around his warship. The fight might take a little longer than he
might have originally intended, but it wouldn't be long. In less than
fifteen minutes he would be within range of Proxima and, once the two major
cities were destroyed, then there would be nothing to stop him.

He noticed movement above his fighters. That movement quickly turned into
the sleek shapes of the five alien fighters as they tore down towards the
lead Earthforce vessel. The battle was about to begin, and as he watched,
Kiel knew there could only be one possible outcome. The Earthforce fleet
would try hard, but in the end they would die and he would be free to
destroy the planet they protected at his leisure. Perhaps he would even
make them beg a little, although not for too long. He did have a schedule
to keep, after all.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 14, Part C
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 00:27:23 +1030

        ------------------------------------------------------------

The flight deck of the Rasputin was a scene of pure chaos, or at least that
was the way it appeared to the untrained eye. To Lieutenant-Commander
Schmitt's eye everything was running smoothly as he attempted to get all of
his fighters launched as quickly as possible. The sudden appearance of the
enemy warship had almost caught them off guard, but fortunately he had been
prepared for just such an occurrence and had been speaking to the fighter
pilots when the scramble order had come.

Already three squadrons had launched, including the starfury squadron his
daughter was flying in. All that was left was the new Lightning fighters,
which had yet to be tried in combat. Alister fingered the clasps of his
flight suit to make sure everything was completely air tight. Like all
pilots, the thing he feared most of all was a tear in his flight suit. Any
tear or puncture would lead to almost certain death if there was a sudden
depressurisation of the cockpit. The suit was clean though, and it was as
secure as it was going to be.

He swung his leg over into the pilot's section of the lightning's cockpit
while behind him his gunner, Mack Sagali, took up position in his own
cockpit. The Lightings, like some of the Thunderbolts, were two seater
craft and with the extra weaponry, a gunner was now an essential part of
the fighter crew. He pulled the thick straps down over his shoulders and
clicked them into place, now securely locked into the fighter. He actually
hadn't originally intended on flying in this battle, but after one of the
normal pilots had come down sick last night, he had jumped at the chance.
Alister knew that every fighter was important, and as he had said to a
commander of his a long time ago, commanding from the battle itself was the
best way to see what was going on.

Below, one of the flight crew gave him the thumbs up signal, indicating
that all the Lightning's weapons had been loaded onto their pylons. He
glanced back quickly to check himself, and saw that all eight missiles were
in their correct places. The screen in front of him was also showing the
two guided bombs loaded, although they would be little use against enemy
fighters, but his flight crew had obviously thought they might still be
useful. The rest of the fighter's systems also checked out so now all he
had to do was wait.

Below him the fighter rested on a mobile, self powered trolley that carried
the fighter from the launch bay to the flight deck and vice versa. Right
now it was moving him quickly into the main airlock so he brushed back his
dark hair and slipped on his helmet on over his head. A quick twist and it
was in place, and he was ready to go. The canopy above him slowly lowered
into place, while ahead, the huge airlock doors opened to admit his
fighter, along with another five from the same squadron. Just to the left,
the second airlock was being loaded with another six fighters, making up
the full twelve lightnings of Delta Squadron.

The inner doors closed behind the six fighters and, after a brief wait for
the air to be cycled out of the airlock, the outer doors opened, allowing
the fighters to make the short flight down the launch bay and out into
space. Alister didn't even wait for the airlock doors to open fully before
pushing the fighter's thrust to maximum and thundering out of the launch
bay and into the airless void of space. Close behind, the other five
fighters formed up on his wing, quickly followed by the rest of Delta
Squadron and they flew off to assume their positions in the gathering
fleet, ready to give their lives to protect the people of Proxima.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

The helmsman on the Rasputin was the first to notice the incoming Drakh
fighters, showing up on his flight screens at virtually the same time as
they appeared on the battle sensors. "Incoming fighters," he called out,
attracting the attention of his Captain and the rest of the bridge crew.

Susan looked around at the helmsman's call. She had been busy speaking to
Vice-Admiral Emmerton, who was explaining her plans for the coming battle.
Seeing the incoming fighters heading straight towards the Typhoeus she knew
it was too late now for more talk. "Fighters coming your way, Admiral," she
said urgently, after noticing that Emmerton's ship was their target.

The fleet commander quickly signed off, the discussion of battle tactics a
lot less important than the actually fight itself. As Susan and the rest of
the Rasputin's bridge crew watched the Typhoeus manoeuvred around to fire
on the incoming fighters. Several brilliant beams of red energy lanced out
from the destroyer's guns, but the Drakh fighters easily avoided them,
seeming to move out of the way before the destroyer's could even lock on
and fire. To Susan it appeared that the Typhoeus was firing at empty space.

Then the fighters began to return fire, their own powerful beam weapons
slicing straight through the thick hull of the Earthforce vessel with
almost no effort at all. Large shards of metal fell away from the Typhoeus,
followed quickly by a series of explosions deep within the vessel as fuel
lines ruptured and oxygen ignited. Susan knew already that Emmerton's
destroyer was lost, after only a few, brief seconds of combat. "Move us out
of the way," she ordered the helmsman, as the burning destroyer began to
tumble in space, its propulsion system no longer functioning.

Shocked as he was by the damage caused to the Typhoeus, the Rasputin's
helmsman quickly followed her orders and moved the Rasputin out of the way
of the disabled destroyer, avoiding any collision. On the console in front
of Susan the screen flickered back to life as Emmerton sent a message to
Susan. "Looks like you are in command now Captain," Emmerton said, a thin
trail of blood dripping down her forehead, the souvenir of a collision with
a computer console. "I am ordering an evacuation of the Typhoeus, hopefully
most of us will survive. Give them hell, Captain."

Then the screen went blank and another explosion rocked the Typhoeus, this
time in the rotating command module. The rotation stopped and flames began
to leap from the centre of the ship, right were the bridge had been. Susan
said a silent prayer for those on board, and hoped they would make to the
life pods in time. She didn't have time to worry about them now though,
more important things had suddenly come to light.

When the Typhoeus had been hit and the Rasputin had been forced to move out
of its way, her vessel had separated from the rest of the fleet, and now
the Drakh fighters were swinging around again, and this time her ship was
the target. She could see the dotted lines of energy streaking away from
several starfuries as they tried to hit the fighters, but the Drakh vessels
were just too quick. She tapped the button on her console that would
connect her with the gunnery commander.

"Lt. Commander Dreyer," she said. "Concentrate all fire on those Drakh
fighters. If we don't take them out soon there isn't going to be much of a
fleet left to take on the rest of the enemy vessels."

"On to it, Captain," the voice of the gunnery commander said, and Susan
could almost feel the excitement Dreyer felt, so strongly was it evident in
his voice. At least one person on board was enjoying himself, although
Susan wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Before Dreyer had even finished speaking the heavy plasma cannons mounted
on the back of the Rasputin opened fire on the incoming fighters, forcing
them away from the engines. The fighters flew higher instead, directing
their attacks at the huge solar panels that dominated the central section
of the warship, just aft of the habitation section. It was not as crippling
as taking out the engines, but not by much.

Susan flinched as the powerful beams of energy from the Drakh fighters cut
into the solar panels, knowing that if they were destroyed, then the
Rasputin would not have enough energy to maintain artificial gravity across
the entire ship. Only two of the fighters struck the panels, while the rest
went wide. For a second the black material that made up the solar panels
glowed bright green, then somehow the energy seemed to dissipate, absorbed
harmlessly into the Rasputin's power supply system. Susan breathed a sigh
of relief and made a mental note to commend Dr. Kozlowski for his work
later, assuming they survived this battle of course.

The Drakh were not finished with the Rasputin yet though. Carefully
avoiding the fire being directed at them by the various weapons systems,
and the small horde of starfuries in pursuit, they spun around and proceed
to blast the warship, just aft of the flight deck. Slivers of the silvery
outer hull went flying off into space, forcing several starfuries that were
about to engage the Drakh vessels to make sudden turns or be skewered.
Beneath, where the outer hull had once been, she could now see the
glistening black inner hull exposed, a stark reminder of the origin of much
of the Rasputin's technology.

"Damage report," she called out, although it was pretty obvious that there
had been major damage. In fact Susan could already imagine the deaths of
the flight crews where the hull had been breached. She did wonder though
why she hadn't felt the attack. She would have expected to feel a shudder
as the hull was damaged, and there had only been the faintest vibration as
the outer hull was breached.

"Systems report negligible damage Captain," came the reply from behind her,
down in the second sunken pit, where systems relating to tactical and
damage control were situated. "Outer hull has taken some damage, but inner
hull successfully absorbed all weapons damage."

"What!" Susan demanded, spinning around on her chair to face the crewman
who had spoken.

He looked a little nervous at the sudden scrutiny of his work, but repeated
his findings. "The system reports no major damage Captain," he said. "In
fact there was a slight rise in ship's energy levels."

Susan stared at him for a few seconds before understanding suddenly washed
over her and she almost began to laugh. "Of course," she murmured, turning
back to face the front of the ship, while at the same time trying to hold
in her laughter over the situation. The Shadows had obviously not been very
secure about the loyalty of their allies and had built their ships to be
invulnerable to any Drakh attacks. That meant, because the Rasputin was
made of the same material as the Shadow vessels, the Rasputin could not be
harmed by their attacks either, at least not its inner hull.

A brilliant flash lit up space in front of her as one of the attacking
fighters was finally caught by the horde of pursuing starfuries and
destroyed. The four remaining Drakh vessels dropped close to the Rasputin's
hull and tried to avoid the incoming fire of the Earthforce fighters,
recognising that they would not be fired on so close to the Earthforce
ship. They flew down the side of the Rasputin, heading back towards the
engines, realising that if they took out warship's engines it would be
helpless. However, that bought them straight into the sights of Alister
Schmitt and the rest of Delta squadron who just happened to be flying along
underneath the Rasputin at the same time.

Two more Drakh fighters exploded before the last remaining pair turned and
fled, heading back towards the still distant shape of the Enlightener.
Realising that they obviously had no more stomach for a fight, Susan let
them go. The first battle over, she looked around to see what damage had
been done.

The Typhoeus was hanging dormant in space, the fires now extinguished by
the lack of oxygen. It seemed that some, but by no means all of the life
pods had been launched and were now heading back towards Proxima III, a
temporary sanctuary at best. Susan could only hope that Vice-Admiral
Emmerton had managed to escape alive, but given the damage she had seen
dealt to the Typhoeus', Susan didn't hold out much hope for anyone who had
been on the command deck of the ship.

The rest of the fleet was still milling around as if wondering what to do
now that their fleet commander was gone. Susan realised that if someone
didn't take command now, then the fleet was going to be in a lot of
trouble. The huge enemy vessel was already closing on their position, and
the sight of the cloud of fighters speeding towards them only pushed home
the point.

Susan looked over at Lieutenant Heneker. "Open a channel to the fleet,
Lieutenant," she said. "And make it quick."

The communications officer followed out her orders as fast as she could,
nodding to Susan when it was complete. Susan pressed the button on her
console that would complete the link. "Ivanova to fleet," she said, a firm,
commanding edge coming into her voice. "All fighters are to target incoming
enemy fighters. Destroyers are to form up behind the Rasputin for an attack
on their capital ship."

She paused, aware that she would have to say something to try and incite a
little bravery in the Earthforce personal. "Remember we have a planet to
save here, and worrying about what happened to the Typhoeus won't help
anyone. There are nearly two million people on the planet below who are
looking up right now, willing you on. Let's not let them down now."

With that she cut the link and ordered the Rasputin to take the lead,
leaving the wreck of the Typhoeus behind her. The other vessels, along with
the hundreds of starfuries, quickly formed up behind her, heading towards
the enemy vessels. She knew it was probably an impossible battle, given the
results of the battle so far, but she needed to try and do something. Susan
didn't want to die, but if she didn't risk her life here today, then many
others would meet their maker when Anderson's vessel came into firing range
of Proxima.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

A ripple of explosions tore down the side of the old Hyperion class
destroyer, the EAS Grenadier, as it finally lost its battle with the horde
of enemy fighters that had pounced on it. The hundreds of tiny fighters
that had been peppering the old warship with plasma fire turned away as it
began its death throes, and began to concentrate their attention on the
next destroyer. For the moment they ignored the starfuries that were trying
to attack them, only to be engaged by yet more of the Enlightener's
fighters that swept in across the burning hull of the Grenadier.

Two wide beams of purple energy suddenly cut through the ranks of fighters
like a scythe, as the Rasputin's main gun opened up on the enemy vessels.
The Rasputin had been cutting its way through the enemy ranks in an futile
attempt to reach the side of the older destroyer, but in the end it had all
been too late. Another blinding explosion lit up space as the fusion
reactors aboard the destroyed Earthforce ship went critical, showering
every vessel within range with chunks of metal and plastic.

As she turned away from the sight, Susan took some small satisfaction in
the fact that the destruction of the old destroyer had at least managed to
take out a small group of about thirty enemy fighters that were closing on
her vessel from that side. The holographic display that covered the entire
ceiling gave her a perfect view of the entire battle. Unfortunately it was
not one she wanted to see.

The vastly superior numbers of enemy fighters was cutting a swath though
the Earthforce defenders. Even as Susan watched several more starfuries
vanished into tiny particles of dust, while another enemy fighter scored a
hit on one of the destroyers. The fleet was dying, and so far they hadn't
even come close to scratching the main enemy warship. Even the Rasputin
hadn't come off unscathed, as one of the enemy fighters had smashed into
the hull somewhere just below the bridge.

"Report," Susan demanded as Petrov approached from his latest discussion
with one of the tactical officers. Her executive officer was nursing his
arm, which he had injured when the Rasputin had been struck, but Susan
didn't have time to be civil right now.

"The Hesperia has taken critical damage and is withdrawing from battle," he
pointed out the burning destroyer off in the distance. "Its captain isn't
sure if they will survive or not, but is trying to make it back to Proxima.
Their weapons and defence systems are all down, so that are not much use to
us now. Two other destroyers have also taken severe damage, but for the
moment they are still fighting."

Susan ducked as a flight of starfuries flew directly overhead. The
holographic screen made it seem as though they were almost on top of her,
although of course there was no noise. One of the fighters exploded as
another wave of enemy fighters suddenly arrived, and then a faint vibration
ran through the deck and the Rasputin's interceptors opened up, stopping
several incoming bolts of plasma from reaching the hull. Another beam of
energy cut out from somewhere at the front of the warship and two more
enemy fighters exploded into balls of flame.

"We're losing aren't we, Captain," Petrov said, a little despondently. He
wasn't one to normally give up hope so easily, but even to him it was
obvious that the Earthforce ships were going to be destroyed, probably
without even scratching the enemy warship.

"Not yet, Commander," she replied fiercely. "I am not willing to give up
just yet. The modifications Earthforce ordered made to all the targeting
systems seems to be working at least. So those fighters no longer have any
stealth ability. That enables our interceptors to fire and our fighters can
use their targeting systems again."

However, despite her attitude she was begin to come to the same conclusion
as the Commander. The battle was not going well, and although they had
probably managed to destroy maybe a hundred or more enemy fighters, the
Earthforce loses had been considerably higher. Two destroyers were gone,
and a third in full retreat. In fact out of entire fleet only the Rasputin
was still operating at full capacity, its weapons continually firing at
whatever fighter came within range.

To make matters worse, the main enemy vessel was sailing neatly down the
centre of the battle, and any ship that came anywhere within range was
destroyed by its weapons. Susan didn't know how close it had to be before
it could fire on the planet, but she knew that time was rapidly slipping
away. Fleetingly, she thought about throwing the Rasputin in front of it,
but knew that would only stop one shot from the mass driver.

Then a sudden, horribly devious plan leapt into her mind. It was incredibly
risky and would probably end in complete failure, but if it succeed she
would have disabled the enemy vessel and possibly even won the battle.
However, knowing her luck, she would probably end up just a bloody smear in
space, along with her ship and the rest of her crew. At the moment, though
she needed something and this was a possibility.

Susan spun around again and tapped the control that would allow her to
speak to the fleet. "Ivanova to fleet," she said, although she wasn't sure
exactly how many vessel out there were still listening. "Concentrate all
fire on the forward weapons on the enemy vessel. I need them taken out as
quickly as possible. Do anything you can, but those guns have to be taken
out."

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Delta squadron had lost two of its members by the time Susan's call reached
the ears of Alister Schmitt. He had given up trying to control this battle,
instead just concentrating on staying alive, as were the rest of his
pilots. His daughter and the rest of Alpha squadron had vanished off his
display, soon after the battle was joined and he hadn't heard anything from
them since then. In his heart he hoped she was still alive, but his mind
was not so sure.

He could see that the battle wasn't going well at all. The three burning
destroyers stood out plainly, even among the bright flashes of energy
weapons, and all around wreckage was beginning to make flying even more
dangerous than it already was. Twisting his way around the last remnants of
the Hyperion destroyer, he didn't remember what its name was, he looked out
towards the huge enemy vessel that was slowly making its way through the
carnage.

Few Earthforce vessels had even got close to the enemy's main vessel so
far, and those that had, he hadn't seen again. Still, Captain Ivanova must
have a good reason for ordering the enemy's forward weapons destroyed. He
couldn't imagine exactly what that reason might be, but he knew that out
here it wasn't his job to understand the whole strategy of battle. Of
course, he was assuming there was a strategy. With a quick message to the
rest of his fighters, the flight commander turned his Lightning towards the
enemy vessel and flew straight into hell.

It seemed like a hundred enemy fighters leapt at him at once and only by
throwing himself into a sudden dive, followed by a long roll was he able to
avoid their fire. The rest of delta squadron were not so lucky and two of
his men were vaporised almost immediately, another one shortly after. The
remaining seven fighters though, opened up with their own weapon, forcing
the enemy fighters to scatter. Behind the flight commander, in the
fighter's second seat, his gunner began to fire, peppering any vessel who
came within range with cannon fire.

The next minute was unlike anything he had even been through before. There
seemed to be an unlimited number of enemy fighters, while his squadron
seemed to just vanish, and Alister was not even sure if they were alive or
dead. For a few seconds he was joined by two Thunderbolt starfuries before
both of them were destroyed. He didn't even have time to learn which
destroyer they were from. He wasn't sure if he hit any of the enemy
fighters or not, he just fired every time one came close to his sights and
prayer that he hit something.

Finally he was free of attackers and a vast wall of metal filled his
sights. Pulling up quickly he flew along the hull of the enemy warship, his
gunner taking shots at any weapons emplacement that came into view.
Fortunately, the enemy fighters were no longer firing at him, although if
that was because they had lost sight of him, or because they were
programmed not to fire on their own ship, he didn't know.

An explosion rocked the fighter, and one of the consoles in front of him
went dead with a shower of sparks, he was now flying blind. Alister reached
down and switched off the console, stopping the sparks that were beginning
to fall onto his flight suit. He quickly wiped the glowing hot pieces of
metal off his leg. Fortunately, none of the sparks seemed to have cut
through the suit material, and he didn't have to worry about decompression
just yet.

He opened the channel to the gunner. "Do you know where we are, Macki," he
asked. There was no reply and glancing back he saw his gunner slumped over
his console. Alister swore loudly, and quickly switched the weapons systems
to his own console, realising that now he had to fly and fight at the same
time. Still, as long as someone didn't get on his tail, he might survive.
The readings on the screen that rested up against his right leg told him
that Mack was still alive at least, and hopefully he would remain that way.
Too many people had already died today, and he didn't want to lose another.

An enemy fighter swam into his view and with a savage jab at the fire
controls Alister blew it apart, then forced his fighter closer to the
warship's hull to avoid the shower of wreckage from the enemy he had just
destroyed. A surge of exhilaration rushed through him as he realised that
he was alone against thousands of enemies. This was the sort of battle he
had wanted to fight ever since he had first strapped himself into a
fighter. Of course, in his dreams he usually won, and even if he lost, he
could always wake up again.

Suddenly the hull of the warship dropped away and Alister realised he had
reached the front of the enemy vessel, and the six big plasma cannons
Captain Ivanova wanted destroyed. He quickly spun his fighter around one
hundred and eighty degrees, looking for the target. The first enemy gun
turret came into view almost immediately and he depressed the fight
controls for the missiles.

Two bright flares erupted from the lightning's wings, followed by streaks
of flame as two missiles launched themselves at the enemy vessel. One
struck an enemy fighter that suddenly threw itself in front of his missile,
causing a massive explosion that rocked Alister's fighter. The second
missile flew truly though, and struck the plasma cannon just where the
weapon joined the hull of the warship. Another explosion shook the fighter,
but the missile had done the job.

The cannon parted company with the enemy vessel, and went spinning off into
space. As Alister flew past, another explosion tore through the enemy
vessel as the fuel lines that had led to the weapon, burst into flame. A
sudden white cloud erupted as the extinguishers came on, quashing the
flames almost instantly. They prevented the flames from spreading, but a
dark smear on the hull showed where the missile had struck.

The next minute was complete chaos for Alister as he manoeuvred his fighter
around to fire on another three turrets within range. He was joined by two
more Earthforce fighters who appeared out of nowhere, launched their
missiles, and then shooting away from the enemy warship, several of the
enemy's octagonal shaped fighters in pursuit. For the moment, Alister's
fighter was left unmolested, so he intended to make the most of it. Turning
towards the last plasma cannon he could see, he aimed his fighter straight
towards it, almost on a collision course.

At the last moment he pulled up and pressed the release control for the two
bombs mounted on the bottom of the fighter. Then he pushed the thrusters as
much as possible and tore away from the enemy warship, while behind him an
explosion tore into the last cannon, and ate its way down into the hull
below. As they had every other time, the extinguishers came on and the
flames that had erupted quickly died out. However they were not quick
enough to prevent a large, jagged hole from being torn into the hull, a
tiny victory against a vessel that seemed almost invulnerable to the
starfuries fire.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Kiel frowned as a bright flash lit up the front of the Enlightener and on
the view screen a message flashed up informing the bridge crew that another
gun had been taken out. He wondered for a minute what exactly the
Earthforce strategy was, they had lost nearly thirty starfuries in that
attack and all they had done was take out six plasma cannons, which could
quickly be repaired once the warship was back in hyperspace.

That aside, he was a little surprised at how well the enemy was doing. It
appeared that Earthforce must have broken his fighter's stealth technology
and altered their scanner frequencies. That wasn't a major problem, as he
would just order that the new frequencies to be jammed as well next time.
But still, more fighters than he would have like had been destroyed so far.

"That makes just under one hundred and fifty we have lost so far," Anderson
informed Kiel from his post near the tactical computer. "Make that one
sixty," he said as several more fighter were destroyed by Earthforce
vessels."

"They can not win," Kiel said confidently. "Most of their ships have been
disabled or destroyed already and our fighter losses can easily be
replaced."

"Three capital ships destroyed, and two disabled," Anderson filled in the
details from the information that flowed across his screen.

"Good," Kiel replied, turning away from the view screen and wandering over
to look at the mass driver console. "Hmm we are nearly within range," he
muttered to himself before turning back to continue his conversation with
Anderson. "As soon as we are within range, I want the weapon fired on

Proxima. If there are any Earthforce vessels in the way, then they won't be
for long."

Anderson looked up from his console and frowned. "What about the Q-40,
won't an impact like that set it off? We are still within range of any
explosion, and it could damage us."

Kiel shook his head. "The asteroid should be going fast enough to shoot
straight through even a destroyer, with little impact on either its speed
or trajectory. The area in front of the Enlightener is empty of enemies at
the moment anyway."

Anderson nodded, agreeing with Kiel's logic. He looked back at the view
screen. The enemy fighters were now fleeing as fast as they could from the
Enlightener, their strange, almost suicidal, assault on the forward plasma
weapons apparently now over. They had achieved little, as any attempt to
attack that section again would just bring them into range of the fighters
assigned to protect the warship.

The crewman in change of the mass driver called out, "Sirs we are within
optimum firing range."

Kiel smiled, the smile of someone who knew his victory was close at hand.
"Good," he said. "Fire at will."

An almost imperceptible shudder ran through the command section of the
warship as behind them one of the specially prepared asteroids was lowered
gently into the mass driver. A slight vibration began to build beneath the
deck plating as the gravity accelerator began to charge with energy. In
only a few moments time the generator would reach its maximum charge and
the asteroid would be accelerated down the barrel of the mass driver before
being spat out the other end at incredible speed. Then it would plunge
through the atmosphere and Reagan Dome, a city with a population of more
than three hundred thousand, would cease to exist.

"Sir," Anderson suddenly cried out in horror, pointing toward the screen.

Kiel spun around and saw what his assistant was pointing out. One of the
Earthforce destroyers had broken away from the enemy fleet and seemed to be
on a collision course with the bow of the Enlightener. Suddenly the plan of
the Earthforce commander made sense, as there were no weapons left on the
bow to fire on the approaching destroyer, nothing could stop their attack.
Below the vibration began to build to a crescendo as the mass driver
prepared to fire its deadly cargo, straight into the incoming vessel.

"Ivanova," Kiel almost shouted, at last recognising the silvery hull of the
enemy vessel. It was not quite so beautiful as it had been, its outer hull
cracked and broken, but it still looked like a deadly shark to Kiel as it
swooped upwards towards the end of the mass driver. He spun around and
shouted across the bridge, "Stop, don't fire." But it was too late, the
process was too far advanced and, even as Kiel leapt across the gap to jab
at the cancel button, the gravity generator reached maximum charge and
fired the asteroid, straight towards the Rasputin.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

It had taken Susan some time, and a threat of pulling rank, before she had
managed to convince Petrov to agree to her plan. In the end it had been the
realisation that the battle was lost anyway that had led him to agree,
rather than any persuasive argument on the Captain's part. Both commanding
officers realised that even if Susan's plan failed they would still destroy
much of the enemy ship as they smashed the Rasputin into the barrel of the
mass driver.

The deaths of those who had taken out the enemy's bow weapons weighed
heavily on her mind, but Susan knew she hadn't had a choice. Behind her the
Earth destroyers were dying, one by one. Three were now little more than
burning wreckage and most of the rest were close to falling. There were
just too many fighters for them to handle, and no matter how many they
eliminated, another wave always seemed ready to take their place.

The Rasputin had pulled away from the battle and turned around in a wide
arc so it could be aimed straight at the enemy vessel and then power had
been shifted from unimportant tasks and put into the engines and the main
gun. Then she had said a prayer and given the order that sent the Rasputin
and her crew on their way. In less than a minute they would either be dead
or the enemy vessel's deadly main weapon would be disabled for good.

She steeled her nerves and looked down the barrel of the weapon, right into
the eye of death. Then it fired, a burst of light at the end of the tunnel,
followed by a sudden dark mass heading straight towards her. In the
fraction of a second she had to react, Susan wondered if she had been wrong
and all her plans were just going to lead to the death of her crew. That
asteroid had to be travelling at thousands of kilometres an hour by the
time it reached them. It would probably just go straight through the
Rasputin and on to the planet beyond and all the Rasputin's sacrifice would
be for naught.

To her surprise, not to mention the shock of everyone else on board, the
plan worked. Just as the mass driver fired the Rasputin's particle cannon
also fired, at full power. The cannon, capable of cutting through almost
anything, sliced straight through the outer shell of the asteroid just as
it reach the halfway point of its journey. The Quantium-40 core of the
asteroid, so devastating when used against a planet, ignited as soon as the
stream of particles sliced into it. An explosion, brighter than anything
anyone on the Rasputin's bridge could have imagined, lit up the darkness of
space, a glorious eruption of flame and energy that immediately raised the
hopes of all who saw it.

The entire front section of the Enlightener broke apart, huge chunks of
metal breaking off and spiralling away into space. On the Rasputin's bridge
everyone was blinded by the explosion, so no-one was able to see the huge
metal beam heading straight towards their vessel. It was a piece of
wreckage bigger than the destroyer itself, and on a direct collision course
with the Rasputin.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/

From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 15/16, Part A
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 05:00:54 +1030

Here is the first part of chapter 15.

For earlier chapters and properly formatted and edited versions of this
story see my webpage at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/stories1.html

Spoilers: There are spoilers for all 5 season of Babylon 5 in this story, so
consider yourself well and truely warned.

Disclaimers: The various B5 characters that I use in my story remain the
property of Waner Brothers, TNT, JMS, and whoever else wants to claim them.
The rest however are the proporty of my imagination and you can do what you
will with them.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

                            Reunion - Part 15
                              By Sel Vecantie

        ------------------------------------------------------------

A painful ache filled her head as Susan pulled herself back up into her
chair, her vision still blurred from the blinding flash that had filled
every screen on the bridge. Then had come the jarring collision and
everyone had been thrown clear of their seats and were now lying scattered
across the floor. Still, they were alive, which was at least something to
be grateful for. Now securely back on the command chair, Susan rubbed her
eyes in an attempt to recover her lost vision. She hoped it was only
temporary.

The faint hissing sound of the bridge doors opening drew her attention away
from trying to restore her sight. The doors were supposed to remain closed
at all times during battle in case of a hull breach across the hall.
Glancing in that direction, with eyes that were only just beginning to see
objects again, Susan saw two blurry shapes slowly making their way towards
her, one black and the other sort of greenish.

She closed her eyes and blinked a couple of time, letting a few tears wash
her eyes. That seemed to do the trick, and it seemed the after effects of
the explosion were finally began to fade. Although Susan was still seeing
spots in front of her eyes, she could make out the form of Sarah Chang
walking towards her.  The Psi-Cop looked a little worse for wear, with a
red smear of blood across her forehead where she must have bumped her head
against something hard. 'Couldn't happen to a nicer person,' Susan thought
as she watched the telepath trying to make her way across the deck.

Walking slowly along behind Sarah, and looking amused by the whole
situation was Talia. The blonde telepath looked completely unfazed by what
had just happened and the sight of her was enough for Susan to start
straightening her hair. She had braided it tightly this morning, but now it
had come loose and was all over the place. After failing totally in her
attempts to restore some order to her unruly hair, Susan left it as it was
and turned her attention instead to the painful feeling in her bottom lip.

A gentle tap on the sore lip with her index finger, left behind a sharp
stinging feeling in her lip and spots of blood on her finger. She looked
around for a mirror or something so she could determine how bad the damage
was. There weren't any mirrored surfaces on the bridge, except the dark
glass of the computer consoles, and there wasn't enough light at the moment
to see anything in them. It was then she realised that the holographic
display that spanned the entire ceiling of the bridge was not functioning,
which explained the lack of light.

Ignoring for the moment the two telepaths, and the problems they probably
bought with them, Susan looked around for someone who might be in charge of
the screen. Spotting Lieutenant Heneker crawling out from under a console,
one that was showering sparks all over the forward part of the bridge, she
hurried down the stairs to assist. Seeing no-one else on their feet she
grabbed the extinguisher that was mounted beneath the console. Pointing in
the general direction of the problem she pulled the lever and sprayed the
burning console with a white, misty foam until the fire was gone. Then
Susan helped the red headed lieutenant to her feet and over to her station.

"Captain," Chang began, supporting herself against the railing around the
command station.

"Not now, Ms. Chang," Susan cut her off. "I have more important problems
than anything you can think of."

"But..."

Susan turned on the telepath. "I said not now! If you don't just stand
there and be quiet, I will have security escort you off the bridge and into
the nearest airlock." As if illustrate her point two green uniformed
marines stepped through the bridge doors. Susan didn't know where they had
came from, or why they were on the bridge, but it seemed to do the trick,
keeping the telepath quiet.

Sarah didn't look happy, but nodded anyway, realising that, while Susan
probably wouldn't carry out her threat, upsetting the captain would not get
her what she wanted. Instead she glanced around the bridge trying to work
out what had happened. When she had gone to bed late last night everything
had been quiet and peaceful but now it looked like the Rasputin had been
through a major battle. She wondered why she hadn't been informed and
realised that if it hadn't been for the sudden bump that threw her against
the wall of the hallway as she was coming from her quarters, she wouldn't
have known anything was wrong at all.

Susan didn't have time to explain the events of the last half hour to the
telepath, instead she had other concerns. A little bit of effort had bought
the warship's communication channel on-line. Unfortunately it was blaring
all channels at once, and it was impossible to sort out anything from that.
So she left the lieutenant to work on it and made her way back up to the
command station.

"Now, do you mind telling what the hell is going on, Captain?" the Psi-Cop
asked her and she took her seat.

Susan looked at her. "What do you mean?" she asked. "I would have thought
it was fairly obvious. We just collided with something. And as all the
systems seem to be down, it must have been something big."

"What? An asteroid or something like that?"

A flicker of a frown crossed Susan's face before she realised the telepath
really didn't have a clue what was going on. "No, part of Mr. Anderson's
warship. Hopefully the rest of it was destroyed, but I won't know for sure
until we get sensors back on-line."

"Communications back on-line, Captain," came the call from her
communications officer.

"At last," Susan said, clenching her fist in triumph. She tapped her link
to open a channel to the rest of the ship. "This is the Captain, we need
maintenance and medical personal on the bridge and damage reports to the
X/O at once. I repeat, send maintenance and medical personal to the bridge
and damage reports to the executive officer."

The link was silent for a moment and then a voice replied. "Understood
Captain, a team is on their way up."

"Make it quick," Susan said to the voice at the other end. In truth she was
just pleased that anyone had answered at all. The force of the collision
had almost knocked her unconscious for a moment, and she hated to think
what it had done to the rest of the ship. Hopefully, now someone would be
able to get the primary systems back on-line.

"Message from engineering, Captain," Lieutenant Heneker called out.

"Put it through," Susan replied.

The voice of the chief engineer, Philip Moore, filled the bridge, although
with most of the screens down there was no picture. "Engineering to Captain
Ivanova."

Susan pressed a button on the console in front of her. "Ivanova here."

When Moore's voice returned it had a note of relief echoing through it. He
didn't make any mention of his feelings though, just reported on the
situation. "We are on emergency power only at the moment," he said. "Main
power should be back online in around two minutes and most of the systems
should also return at that time."

"What happened Mr. Moore?"

"Energy wave from the explosion Captain," he replied. "We also collided
with something, although I am not sure what without the damage control
systems. The EMP was too strong, and it cut right through the shielding and
flashed most of our systems. They are designed to withstand this sort of
thing though, so they should return to normal operation in a few minutes."

"Good," Susan said. "Get back to it then. Report if you find out anything
else."

"Um, Captain," Chang said, trying to catch Susan's attention.

Susan just frowned at her, before turning back to speak to Commander
Petrov. He wasn't there though and she found herself looking around
frantically to find out what had happened to her executive officer. Looking
over the railing into the rear section of the bridge she spotted him lying
on the floor clutching his injured arm. He must have been thrown there when
the collision occurred.

"Are you all right Commander," she asked, continuing to ignore the annoyed
looking Psi-Cop standing nearby.

He blinked a couple of time and then looked up at her. "I think so,
Captain," he said slowly. "My arm hurts, but apart from that I don't seem
to be too injured."

"Wait there anyway," Susan told him. "There is a medical staff on their way
up here." As in response to her words, three crewmen clad in the
bluish-grey of the medical staff arrived on the bridge. "Down there," she
said to them, pointing down towards the rear section of the bridge. They
had been about to come to her assistance, but there were others on the
bridge that needed attention a lot more than she did. Then, seeing the
Psi-cop still waiting, Susan tugged the jacket on her uniform straight and
went over to see what it was that Chang wanted.

"Can I help you, Ms. Chang," she asked.

"Yes you can, Captain," Sarah replied, her tone less than civil after being
ignored by Susan for so long. "I am still waiting to learn what exactly is
going on. When I went to bed we were still on route to Proxima, so you
might imagine it came as a bit of a surprise when I suddenly found myself
being thrown across the hallway as I went to the dining room."

"You mean I didn't tell you we had arrived at Proxima?" Susan asked, before
remembering that she had been too busy since arriving in the system to
inform the two telepaths anything. She had, however, broadcast a ship-wide
message before the battle had begun, ordering everyone to their stations.
She had even repeated it three times, so if Chang hadn't heard it, then she
must have been still sound asleep. "I guess you shouldn't sleep in so long
then Ms. Chang. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a ship to run."

"No, I won't excuse you," Sarah said angrily. "You said Kiel's ship was out
there and I want to know what is happening."

Susan looked at her sharply. "Kiel? Who is he. I said that Mr. Anderson's
warship is out there, and if you want to know what is going on then I
suggest you go over there." Susan pointed in the direction of the bridge
doors. "And wait until main power comes back online. Until then, I know
little more than you do."

The telepath's eyes narrowed for a moment and seemed about to continue
arguing, but finally she nodded and walked slowly over to the location that
Susan had indicated. Talia didn't follow, instead leaned back against the
railing, watching the bridge crew trying to restore some order to their
systems.

"You too," Susan said when she noticed Talia still standing behind her. The
blonde telepath didn't move, instead just stood there, smiling faintly and
twirling the collar of her jacket around one finger. Susan sighed in
annoyance and turned back to her work. Of course, there wasn't actually a
lot of work for her to at the moment with all the bridge systems, except
for communications, still inoperative.

While she sat there waiting for engineering to restore power, Susan found
herself growing increasingly self conscious of Talia's scrutiny. She
realised that was probably what the personality inhabiting Talia's mind
wanted. For some reason the artificial personality seemed to like nothing
more than manipulating other people, just for her own perverted amusement.
The real Talia was the complete opposite, at least what Susan remembered of
her.

Then, just as she was about to tell Talia to leave again, the voice of
Philip Moore returned. "Main power coming on line now, Captain."

There was a flash and all the lights went dead. For a moment Susan though
something had gone wrong, but then the lights returned, along with the
holographic screen and all of the other ship systems. Well, not quite all.
The long range sensors were still down, the console that controlled them
nothing but burnt chips now. The bridge crew let out a short cheer to
celebrate the good work of the Rasputin's engineers, a cheer that died
quickly when they saw the devastation that was all around them.

All manner of debris, from tiny flakes of metal to giant, kilometre long
pylons, spun slowly in space around them. Somehow the Rasputin was
untouched by all but the smallest particles of the debris cloud. Of the
enemy vessel there was no sign, but then none of the other Earthforce
vessels could be seen either. There did not seem to be any fighting still
going on, at least not that Susan could see.

Noticing that some of the larger chunks of debris were coming closer Susan
looked down at the helmsman and called out, "Ensign Marino, can you move us
clear please." There was no response, so Susan tried again, this time
louder. When the helmsman didn't respond again she looked at Lieutenant
Heneker. "See if he is all right can you, Lieutenant," she asked the
communications officer.

"Yes Captain," Heneker replied leaping out of her seat and shaking the
helmsman by the shoulder.

This time he responded and after opening his eyes he looked over at her.
"Are you here as well, Teri?" he asked. When she pointed back behind him he
looked back and saw Captain Ivanova staring at him. "Sorry Captain, he
replied. "I thought I was dead there for a moment."

"Well you will be if you don't move us away from this debris, Ensign."

"Working on it right now, Captain," Marino replied, unclenching his hands
from around the armrests on his chair and getting to work at the controls.
He had been the only one of the bridge crew to see what had happened after
the explosion. When the main gun had fired, his eyes had been on his
controls and so he avoided most of the flash. Then, when he had looked up,
all he saw was a massive metal pylon, bigger than the warship, coming
straight for him. He quickly pressed whatever controls he had within reach
and held on as tightly as he could as the Rasputin had moved up, and away
from the incoming object.

Although he didn't know it now, he had been solely responsible for saving
all one thousand, three hundred and sixty two lives on board, with the
exception of one of the maintenance staff who had cracked his skull open on
a packing crate in the shuttle bay. Right now though, all he was concerned
about was the laughter ringing in his ears as the bridge crew let out their
amusement at his comment about being dead.

Even Susan smiled slightly, but she grew serious again as the warship's
engines came online and it headed away from the wreckage of the enemy
vessel. It was good that the crew had something to laugh at, even if it was
only the laughter of those happy to have survived. Somehow her plan had
worked, the enemy vessel was gone, Proxima was safe, and most amazing of
all, the Rasputin had survived. She looked heavenward for a moment and
muttered a quick prayer of thanks to whoever was listening.

"Captain," Commander Petrov's voice called out, cutting into her moment of
reflection. "I think you should see this."

She turned around to look at the Commander. "What is it n... oh hell."

While the view in front of the Rasputin was of nothing but debris, behind
it was another matter all together. Somehow they had managed to make it
past the command section of the enemy ship, which like the Rasputin was
still intact. Behind them, about ten kilometres away, was the vast bulk of
the enemy vessel, and its escorting cloud of fighters. There was no sign of
the Earthforce destroyers.

"Damn, it survived," she said, slamming her fist down on the hard armrest
of her chair, then shaking it in pain and realising that smashing your hand
into solid wood isn't a good idea. "Is it still operational," she asked the
Commander.

Petrov turned to the crewman standing next to him, who shook his head. "Not
at the moment, Captain," the crewman said. "In fact, none of the fighters
are moving either."

Susan wondered if that meant that they had been destroyed in the explosion,
or if they, like the Rasputin, had just been temporarily disabled. The
answer to her question came soon after when lights began to shine along the
hull of the enemy vessel and, with a burst of its thrusters, it began to
move slowly away from the Rasputin, continuing its journey towards Proxima.
Then all the drifting fighters powered up and began to cluster around the
wounded vessel, obviously in a defensive posture.

"Damn," she said again. She was about to order the Rasputin to come about
when she felt a strange tingle in her mind. It was if a distant tune was
being played, and somehow she knew what it was. Susan turned around towards
the bridge doors, watching as Sarah Chang walked slowly towards the command
station, although she wasn't looking were she was going, instead focusing
intently on the enemy vessel. Somehow Susan knew just what she was doing.
The Psi-Cop was reaching out with her powerful mind, looking for signs of
other telepaths on the enemy ship.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Sit still please, Sir," Anderson said to Kiel as he tried to tie the
bandage around his superior's injured head. Kiel had thrown himself at the
controls in an attempt to stop the mass driver firing and had only ended up
with a gash on his skull for the trouble. "There, it is done," Anderson
said as he went back to patching up his own wounds.

"Fighters back in defensive positions, Commander," one of the bridge crew
called out. "Any new orders, Sir?"

"Not yet crewman," Kiel replied, feeling the bandage on his head to ensure
it was in place. "First, we need to find out what other damage has been
done."

The former Psi-Cop still acted as calm as ever, but inside he was seething
with rage. Anderson had not done him the discourtesy of pointing out that
he had told Kiel this might happen, but that did not stop him from
remonstrating with himself. He knew now he should have waited until all the
Earthforce destroyers had been taken out, but he had been too eager for
conquest, too eager to win the victory quickly and show he was a power to
be reckoned with.

Now his main weapon, the thing that he was relying on to do the most damage
was gone, and he was left vulnerable. "Damage report," he shouted at one of
the crew.

The crewman quickly hurried to fulfil his tasks, looking down at the
computer and reading off the list of damaged systems. "Mass driver has been
dis..."

"I can see that you idiot," Kiel shouted, pointing to the display screen,
where it was plainly evident that the forward six kilometres of the warship
was no longer there. It was somewhere behind them, scattered across space.
Hopefully the remains of the Rasputin were somewhere out there as well. Its
destruction would be a small ray of sunlight in a otherwise very black day
indeed. "Concentrate on the other systems," he told the crewman, his voice
dropping a little as he calmed down.

"Sorry Sir," the crewman replied. "Main power is back up, but only
operating at fifty percent. Fighter command was up, but when the main power
switched on it shorted out."

"How long?" Kiel asked him, aware that the fighters were the Enlightener's
main line of defence.

"Repair crews are on the way. They estimate about two hours. However the
fighters were given the command to return to base and take up defensive
positions before we lost the computer. That should keep us intact and
protected until the repairs to the main computer are completed."

"Good," Kiel said with a nod of pleasure. At least now he knew that the
enemy vessels, if any were still intact, would be unable to press home the
advantage they currently had and destroy his ship before it could regain
full power. "Anything else."

"Jump engines are also down, but repair crews estimate about two or three
hours and they will have them running again. The rest of the ship came
through the battle fairly well. Artificial gravity was maintained in most
sectors, and the reports of injury are slight. It appears that they only
took out the mass driver. The rest of the ship is intact.

"Sir," Anderson called out, attacking Kiel's attention. "I recommend that
we consider withdrawing from battle as soon as we are able to jump. Those
fighters unable to redock can jump with us, they would have enough fuel to
make it to a safe system outside Earth Alliance space."

"On the eve of my victory," Kiel said. "No Mr. Anderson, we will not run.
Certainly we have lost the mass driver, but we still have thousands of
fighters left. We can destroy the few Earthforce ships that might remain
and then take out Proxima before they can stop us. Then we can still move
on to Earth. It will not be as easy, but still very possible." He turned to
the crewman at the damage control computer. "How many fighters did we
lose?"

The crewman looked down at the screen in front of him again, this time
taking nearly a minute before he came up with an answer. "Just under five
hundred, Sir. Most were engaged with the Earth fleet and were able to avoid
the blast."

"See," Kiel said, turning back to Anderson. "That still leaves us with
around nine and a half thousand fighters, more than enough to destroy
anything Earthforce sends... Wait a minute, someone is trying to scan us."

"I feel it too, Sir," Anderson said, turning around to face the back of the
bridge. "It is coming from somewhere behind us."

"Helmsman," Kiel shouted. "Show us a rear view."

The crewman nodded and switched the display on the viewscreen to see what
was out behind the warship. There, rising out of the cloud of debris like a
silver angel, everyone on the deck could see the Rasputin. From this
distance it was almost impossible to see the minor damage along the
destroyers hull, and to Kiel it looked like it was still intact and able to
fight.

"Damn," he snarled, pounding his fist into his palm. "That bitch survived.
Order all fighters to attack at once."

"They can't be moved until the computer is fixed, Sir," Anderson reminded
him.

"Then get the bloody thing fixed," Kiel raged. "I want all repair crews
working on the computer repairs and then I want that ship." He stabbed a
finger towards the retreating Rasputin. "Destroyed." Then Kiel suddenly
paused and the angry light in his eyes went cold. "No wait, I don't want it
destroyed. I want it disabled. I want Ivanova to beg for mercy and then I
want her here, so I can tear her mind to shreds personally. Now get to
work."

As the crew of the Enlightener hurried to carry out their commander's
orders, neither of the telepaths on the bridge noticed that the scanning
attempt had stopped, they had other things to worry about now.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Talia laughed and clapped loudly as Susan hit the Psi-Cop with her fist.
"Bravo, Captain," she cried out. "I have wanted to do that ever since she
came on board."

Susan looked back at the blonde telepath, who was sitting on the railing
behind the command station and letting her legs dangle over the side.
"You're next," she promised Talia, before turning back to the Psi-Cop, who
was sitting on the floor with a shocked look on her face. "Don't you
realise what you have done," she asked Sarah harshly, pointing towards the
enemy ship in the distance. "They probably know we are here now."

"Sorry Captain," Sarah managed to blurt you, rubbing her jaw where the
Captain had hit her. "I apologise, I should have realised."

"Yes, you should," Susan agreed. She turned to the two marines. "You two,"
she said, indicating with her finger for them to come towards her. "Take
these two civilians and escort them off the bridge. I don't want to see
them back here again. Take them to their quarter or some other place where
they will be out of the way."

"Yes, Sir!" the two soldiers chanted at once. Then they grabbed the two
telepaths, a little roughly, by the arm and guided them out of the room.

"I will see you later then, Captain," Talia called out as she left. For
some reason Susan had the distinct impression the telepath was mocking her.
Just before she left, Talia stopped and looked back with a smile covering
her face. "Oh, and don't worry, Captain, I won't tell anyone."

"Care to tell me what that was all about Captain?" Petrov asked as he came
over to her side, his arm now tightly bandaged and suspended in a sling.

Susan felt a icy chill running down her spine. She knew exactly what Talia
had been talking about. It took a telepath to find another telepath, and
Talia must have been scanning her when she had detected Sarah's scan. Then
Susan stopped, she hadn't felt a scan. Even a surface scan she would have
been able to detect. A wave of relief washed through her as she realised
what Talia had been hinting at.

"I have something of a history with Ms. Winters, Commander," she told him,
deciding that was probably the best explanation to put Petrov's mind at
rest. "It is not something I want to discuss right now."

"Of course, Captain," he replied. "But I was actually asking why you hit
Ms. Chang."

"Oh that," Susan said. "She was scanning the enemy vessel. There is at
least one telepath on that vessel and I had to stop her before she alerted
them to our presence."

"I see," Petrov said with a nod. "Well, in that case, I have to agree with
your actions and will say so if the Psi-Cop makes an official complaint
against you." He paused and looked at the other ship, before a sudden
thought struck and he looked back at Susan with a puzzled frown. "How did
you know she was scanning the enemy vessel?"

Susan felt cold and, while trying to look calm, searched for something to
say, only to aware that the eyes of most of the bridge crew were probably
all focused on her right now. "On Babylon 5 I got to have a lot of
experience with telepaths and one of them told me a little about how their
powers work. I recognised the same look in Ms Chang's eyes just now and
knew what she was trying to do."

Petrov nodded and then asked in an almost teasing tone, "I thought you
didn't like telepaths Captain."

"I don't," Susan replied. "But there are exceptions to every rule." She
turned to look at the bridge doors.

"Ah," was all Petrov said, remembering her admission just a minute ago
about having a history with Ms. Winters. He realised that she must have
been the telepath on Babylon 5 that the Captain was talking about.

"Damage report in, Captain," one of the crew said, breaking up any awkward
moments and preventing any further questions from Commander Petrov,
pleasing Susan no end.

"Lets have it," Susan said, walking away from the Commander, and leaning
over the railing to look down on the crewman who had spoken.

He nodded and began reading from the list on his screen. "It isn't too bad
captain. We have lost three entire solar panels, there is a hull breach on
deck 2 and some of the computer systems have been shorted out."

"Lets take a look at the hull breach," Susan said, thinking it sounded like
the most serious problem at the moment.

The crewman nodded and changed the display so that it showed the bottom of
the ship instead of the normal view. Apart from the three shattered solar
panels, which explained the impact that had thrown everyone to the floor,
it was also possible to see a thin trail of glistening particles flowing
out behind the ship.

"What is that," Susan asked.

"Looks like water or something similar," Petrov said, joining her at the
railing. He suddenly slapped his hand against his forehead. "Wait a
minute... Deck 2, that is water recycling I think, as well as storage."

"Well there goes my shower then," Susan said with a amused smile,
recognising the problem wasn't a major one. "At least that deck wouldn't
have been occupied." She turned back to the crewman. "That reminds me. Why
did artificial gravity remain on when we had been damaged. That chews up a
hell of a lot of power. I would have thought that it would have been the
first system to go down."

The crewman shrugged. "I don't know, Captain. You would have to ask
engineering that."

"I will," Susan replied. "Now, you said some of the computer systems had
shorted out. Which ones specifically."

"Umm," the crewman said as he searched for the information. "Here we go...
Looks like it was mainly minor systems, some of the holographic systems
down in the recreation room, a couple of the doors. Wait..." He looked up.
"It looks like the main gun is also down Captain."

Susan spun around and press the button of her computer console that would
connect her with Lieutenant-Commander Dreyer, who, if she remembered
correctly, had last been heard of inside the main gun's control room. "Lt.
Commander Dreyer, are you there."

A burst of static followed her question and then a weak sounding voice
answered. "Still here Captain... Just anyway."

"Good to hear that Lt. Commander," she said, relieved that he had survived.
"What happened down there."

"Well we fired like you asked, then everything went black. Half the systems
down here are little more that charred hulks. The tech guys are going to
need to do a thorough overhaul before this baby fires again." He paused and
the asked, "did we get it, Captain?"

"You certainly did, Lt. Commander," Susan replied. "Right down the middle
as we planned."

"Good," Dreyer said. "Well, if it is alright with you Captain, I will head
up to the flight deck and see if I can't get a bead on what's happening
from up there. I am not sure how long the oxygen is going to hold out down
here, the filters are fried as well."

"Link in when you are safe," Susan said. "There is still plenty out there
for you to shoot at."

"Sounds like fun, Captain," was the gunnery commanders last words before
Susan shut off the link.

"Well, that is a bit of a problem," Petrov said. "Without the main gun we
can't do a lot against that thing." He pointed at the still massive shape
of the enemy vessel on the screen. "We do still have the secondary weapons,
but they are only a little more powerful that the main guns on the other
destroyers."

"Speaking of other destroyers," Susan said, pointing to a spot on the
screen. "Zoom in on that area."

The crew hurried to fulfil her commands and soon the screen was showing the
battered shapes of six Omega destroyers, and a hundred or so starfuries
milling about. One of the Earthforce vessels was burning badly and even as
they watched an explosion tore through its engineering section. The
destroyer still seemed to be operating though, if only barely. As Susan
watched she realised that considering the damage the destroyer had taken it
was nothing less that a miracle it was still there at all.

"Lieutenant Heneker, see if you can raise them on the link," Susan called
to the communications officer.

"Too much interference Captain," the lieutenant replied. "Probably the same
thing that effected us, we must have come online again a lot faster than
them."

"Keep trying, I want to speak to the other captains before we make our next
move, even if it is only to let them know we are still alive. That
explosion seems to have knocked out every electrical system nearby, I only
hope the starfury pilots made it through alive."

"They seem to be ok," Petrov said, pointing out the fact that the
Earthforce fighters still seemed to be under their pilot's control.

"That's good, Commander," Susan said. "We still have a lot of our boys and
girls out there."

Petrov nodded in agreement and, before he could say anything else, a noisy
disturbance crashed its way onto the deck. Both he and Susan turned around
and stared in amazement as a wild looking Dr. Kozlowski easily sidestepped
the two marines, who had just returned from escorting the telepaths back to
their quarters, and hurried onto the bridge. "Captain Ivanova," he said,
spying her standing behind Petrov. "Just the person I wanted to see."

Susan wasn't sure she could say the same. The doctor looked like he had
just gone ten rounds with an angry Narn. His glasses appeared to be have
been broken, and then stuck back together with tape, while a dirty,
blood-stained bandage was wrapped around his right hand. The doctor's few
remaining strands of hair appeared to be sticking out at right angles,
while his normally spotless white coat was stained with a variety of
substances, including what looked like blood.

"Dr. Kozlowski," Susan said, trying to avoid smiling at the doctor's
slightly comical expression. "Are you here to tell us why the artificial
gravity remained on when all the other systems didn't?"

Kozlowski pulled up suddenly, looking extremely puzzled by her question,
before responding. "That was because I designed the emergency system to
automatically shift energy from storage into artificial gravity in the case
of any power loss. It is to stop injuries to the crew in the event of the a
power failure in the reactors." He paused and tried to pat down his hair,
which refused to obey him, and after every pass of his hand it sprang back
up again. One of the bridge crew laughed, but soon stopped when Susan
stared at her.

"So why are you here then doctor," Petrov asked.

The doctor looked confused for a moment, then a flames seemed to ignite in
his eyes and he pulled out a notebook that he had stashed under his arm. "I
was on the flight deck," he told them. "Watching the fighters. When the
power came back on I noticed that the enemy fighters were not moving."

"Yes we saw that to," Susan informed him. "Because of the explosion I
suspect."

Kozlowski shook his head. "No Captain it wasn't. Those fighters are the
same as the one I examined on Proxima and it was shielded against all forms
of electromagnetic radiation, as is the Rasputin."

"Why were we effected then," Susan asked.

"Well, that was because we were so close, and the same with the enemy
carrier. Also the amount of energy put out by the blast was very powerful.
Most of those fighters were too distant to catch the worst of the blast,
and the energy that hit them was not enough to knock them out for long.
Their systems would have come back on-line in half the time of ours."

Susan frowned, a puzzled look on her face. "Why were they effected then?"

Kozlowski smiled. "Because they were not receiving any instructions from
the enemy vessel," he replied, before standing and looking smug while
everyone tried to work out what that meant.

Finally understanding dawned on the faces of those listening to him. "Which
means they depend on instructions from their mothership so they can
operate."

"Exactly, Captain," Kozlowski said, now smiling broadly. "I also watched
what happened when the enemy ship's power came on. The fighter started up
about thirty seconds later and all returned to protect the enemy vessel and
then made no further move. They could have destroyed us and the other
destroyers ten times over by now, but they haven't moved from their
positions."

"Why is that," Petrov asked, looking at the thousands of enemy fighters,
which were slowly orbiting their command vessel.

Kozlowski shrugged. "I am not sure yet, but I have a theory. Assuming their
ship uses mostly Earth technology, then their systems would have come
on-line in much the same way as ours."

"Which means what exactly," Susan asked, still looking confused.

"Well as soon as the power came online the residual energy from the
explosion, which would have been caught in electrical system, caused a
spike throughout the entire system. That would have shorted out half their
computers. Our shielding should be better, so only a couple of systems
appear to have been affected, mainly those on the lower decks. The systems
down there seemed to have caught more of the blast than the systems on the
upper decks."

"So they don't have any control over their fighters at the moment then,"
Susan asked, possibilities springing into her mind, along with some hope.

"That depends on what orders were given before their computers went down. I
would say they probably gave them an order to protect the warship, although
it may just have been a return to base command. If it was just a return
command, then we can destroy them one by one, without them even shooting
back. If it was a protection order, then we will have a much bigger
problem."

"Can their computers be repaired?" Susan asked, joining Petrov in looking
at the enemy vessels.

Kozlowski nodded. "Yes, they can. I would estimate about three or four
hours repair time, but it depends on how many men they have working on it,
and how badly damaged it was. It could be back on line in as little as one
minutes from now, or it could take as long as half a day."

"Either way it doesn't help us much. If we try to attack, those fighters
could still destroy us."

"Yes, Captain," the doctor agreed. "Unless of course you destroy their
computer system, then they can't do anything at all. Those fighters depends
on signals from their computers to tell them what to do, otherwise they
just continue to follow the last order they were given."

"Does that means we need to get aboard that vessel?" Susan asked.

"There is no way of doing that though," Petrov said. "Any shuttle that was
sent could be cut apart by those fighter."

As he spoke a single starfury could be seen approaching the enemy command
vessel, probably sent on a scouting mission by whoever was commanding the
fighter squadrons now. Before it could get within range of the mothership
twenty of the tiny fighters that were protecting the enemy vessel broke
ranks and blasted the starfury. Fortunately the Earthforce pilot was able
to dodge in time, and he quickly scurried back to his comrades, while the
enemy ships also returned to their positions.

"I guess that answers that question," Susan said, slowly tapping her hand
against her leg in annoyance as she watched the brief battle. "A shuttle is
never going to make it past that sort of protection."

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547



From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 15/16, Part B
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 05:02:11 +1030

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain," Lieutenant Heneker called out. "I have Captain James of the
Opollo on the link."

"Put him through," Susan replied, turning back to her console. The link
from the Opollo flickered and crackled, but she was just able to make out
the older Captain. "Captain James," she said. "What is your situation."

"Not good Captain," James replied, indicating the burning console behind
him. "We have taken several severe hits to engineering, and although we
still have some power, most of the weapons are down."

"Can you manoeuvre?"

James look over at one of his crew, which one, Susan could not see over the
link. Obviously whatever answer he received was positive because, when he
turned back to her, he nodded. "Yes we still have one engine that is
on-line," he informed her. "That is enough to move us around a little, but
not much more."

"And the rest of the fleet?" Susan asked.

"Not good," James replied. "Most of the other vessels have taken damage as
well, and we won't be able to take much more."

Susan nodded, her mind working as quickly as possible to try and come up
with a new plan to deal with the enemy warship. She knew that unless the
enemy fighters were destroyed, or disabled they would eventually overwhelm
the remaining Earthforce defenders. She had a couple of ideas, but nothing
concrete yet.

"Any orders, Captain?" James asked, reminding Susan, that with the
Vice-Admiral missing in action, she was in charge.

She nodded, the inkling of an idea beginning to come together. "All
destroyers except the Rasputin are going to retreat to Proxima III and
prepare to defend the colony. While all fighters are to proceed immediately
to our position."

"Understood," the other captain said with a sharp salute. "I have just
received word that the fighters from Proxima have just arrived. Do I send
them along with the rest?"

"Good," Susan said. "I was wondering when they were going to arrive. We are
going to need every fighter we can get our hands on." It was a fair
distance from the planet below to the region of space around the jumpgate
so it had taken the twelve thunderbolts considerable time to arrive. While
they wouldn't appear to make a great difference against huge number of
enemy fighters, to the depleted Earthforce ranks they were a big boost.

"I will send them along then," James promised, understanding Susan to mean
that she wanted the extra fighters. "Opollo out."

"You have a plan, Captain," Petrov asked. On the screen he could see the
Earthforce fleet breaking up, the destroyers retreating while the fighters
taking a wide arch around the enemy vessels, heading towards the Rasputin's
position. If the enemy commander noticed what was going on he gave no sign,
instead the massive warship just sat there, not a single of its fighters
moving from its position.

"Not yet," Susan replied, also watching the movement on the display. "I
have an idea, but I would hardly call it a plan yet." She looked around her
as if searching for someone. "What happened to Dr. Kozlowski?" she asked.
"He was here just a few seconds ago."

"Over here Captain," the doctor called out from the front section of the
bridge where he had been chatting with the repair crew working on the
sensor console. "Is there something you wanted?"

"What do you know about that troop transport down in the rear shuttle bay?"

"The Akira?" Kozlowski asked with a suprised grin. "Well, I designed most
if it actually. It was sort of a pet project of mine, something to pass the
time when I wasn't working on the Warlock."

"So it works?" Susan asked cautiously.

Kozlowski looked shocked that she could even ask such a question. "Of
course," he replied, sounding a little hurt. "I don't design vessels that
don't work. It is the most powerful troop transport in all of Earthforce."
He paused for a second and looked faintly embarrassed. "Unfortunately, I am
not a skilled pilot, so it hasn't actually been tested yet."

"What are you thinking, Captain?" Petrov asked.

Susan turned around and pointed at the fighters protecting the damaged
enemy warship. "A shuttle is not going to be able to make it past those
fighters, but an armed troop transport just might. If we use our own
fighters to clear a path and then punch through the gap with the troop
transport we might be able to get a force onto that warship."

"And then take out their computer system from the inside," Petrov finished
for her.

"That's right," Susan said, pleased that her executive officer had picked
up the plan so quickly. "Of course it is only an idea and the transport
could be destroyed before it even makes it anywhere near the enemy vessel."

"It shouldn't be, Captain," Kozlowski said, coming back up to the command
station. "It's hull is made of the same material as the Rasputin's, so it
should be able to absorb most of the energy fired at it. I even included
weapons, so you can fire back at anyone attacking. Of course, they haven't
been tested yet either."

"It sounds like our best chance then," Susan said. Actually she would have
preferred to use anything but the evil looking vessel sitting below in the
second shuttle bay, but she didn't have much choice. A normal shuttle would
be shot to pieces in a matter of seconds, while the transport, which looked
very similar to miniature Shadow battle cruiser, would probably survive a
lot longer. It was still a long shot, but everything else she had tried so
far had paid off. Hopefully, this plan would as well.

Susan reached down and tapped a control on the console. The voice of Major
Logan answered. "Major," she said. "I want you to round up your marines and
meet me in the shuttle bay as quickly as possible. I need as many men as
you can find. Authorise distribution of high-energy weapons as well. It
looks like we may have a little job for you."

"Yes, Captain," the Major replied, and nobody listening could miss the
excitement in her voice.

Susan shut down the link and headed for the door. The command bark of
Commander Petrov's voice stopped her cold. "Just where do you think you are
going, Captain?" he asked. He already knew exactly what she intended to do,
and didn't approve one bit.

"Down to the shuttle bay," she replied a little curtly, not appreciating
her movements being question by her X/O. "Someone needs to fly that thing,
and with all the fighter pilots somewhere out there I am the most
experienced pilot left on board."

"The place of a captain is on the bridge," Petrov argued. "You can't just
jump into every dangerous situation that comes along. Let someone else fly
the transport out. We still have shuttle pilots on board."

"They don't have any combat experience though, do they Commander." Susan
turned to resume her journey towards the shuttle bay, the argument over as
far as she was concerned.

"That doesn't matter, Captain," Petrov said as she walked towards the door
leading off the bridge. "This is your command and as the current commander
of this battle group, you have to remain here and direct the action. If you
fly this transport over there, it is likely you will die. As your executive
officer I have to advise strongly against this course of action. The
Rasputin is the only intact warship left and it needs its captain."

Susan stopped again and turned around, walking back to Petrov. "I am
leaving you in command," she told him. "You can take over here while I am
gone, that is your job, after all. If the captain is away or incapacitated,
you are supposed to take over. Right now I want you to look after things
here, while I try and end this battle before we all die."

"What do you want me do then, Captain," Petrov asked, giving up the attempt
to stop Susan risking her life.

Susan paused and looked up at the holographic display. She pointed to the
cluster of enemy fighters. "Do you see those ships, Commander?"

"Of course, Captain."

"If they move, shoot them."

"Is that all, Captain?" Petrov asked as she walked away towards the bridge
doors.

"That's it, Commander," Susan replied, pausing only briefly at the doors.
"If those fighters move, that means the enemy has control of them again and
they will be coming after all the surviving Earthforce vessels, including
this one. So, if they move out of a defensive position, do all you can to
destroy them." She looked down at Dr. Kozlowski. "Doctor, you had better
come with me. I may need you to explain to me how to work the transport's
controls."

"Quite probably, Captain," Kozlowski replied, quickly gathering up his
notebook, glasses, and a bulky package Susan hadn't noticed before and
follower her out the door.

Behind them Petrov made his way over to the command chair and took his
seat. His arm ached horribly, but his thoughts were troubling him more. His
job was to try and keep everyone alive, and as far as he was concerned this
plan of the Captain's was nothing short of suicide. Of course she was right
though, if they didn't make some attempt on the enemy vessel, then the
Rasputin would be destroyed once the repairs on the enemy vessel were
complete. He wasn't sure an assault with the Rasputin's marines was the
best way to go though. Still he wasn't about to try and change the
Captain's mind now. She had shown, quite plainly, her determination to try
and make this work.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

It took Susan a little less than three minutes to make it down to the
shuttle bay, but already Major Logan had the marines assembled. They were a
fairly diverse bunch, not exactly what Susan would have expected from
Earthforce troops. Instead of lining up in regular rows they were scattered
across the entire bay, busily polishing their rifles, and sharpening
knives. Spotting the Major on the far side of the bay, speaking to her
second in command, Susan headed towards her.

As she passed one group of marines she noticed them removing several large
cylindrical shapes from a crate. The soldier in charge, a tall, muscular
corporal with a bandanna wrapped around his head, nodded a greeting as she
passed. Susan didn't return the gesture though, instead looking in surprise
at the weapons they were unpacking. When she had said she authorised the
use of high-energy weapons, she had meant explosives for blowing up the
enemy computers, not portable cannons. Still she wasn't about to complain,
they might need that kind of fire power.

"Captain Ivanova," Lily called out loudly, spying Susan approaching. "I
nearly have everything ready. All you need to do is show us the target and
then we will take it out for you."

That comment bought a round of cheers from the marines, and even a faint
smile from Susan. "We have to get there yet, Major," she said, reaching the
side of her security officer. "It looks like our only chance to end this
without a lot more deaths is to take out the main computer on the enemy
vessel. I would prefer to do this with the Rasputin's guns, but the only
weapon powerful enough to cut through their hull had been disabled, so that
means we are going to have to do it the hard way."

"That is what we are here for, Captain," Lily said with a smile. "Whenever
someone has something difficult they want done, they send for the
Earthforce marines." Then she grew a little more serious. "I would like to
know how we are going to get across to the enemy warship though, Captain.
Last I looked, there were still a lot of enemy fighters out there."

Susan nodded, "True, Major. However, I think I might have a way of breaking
through the defensive ring of fighters."

"Not in one of those shuttle I hope," Lily said, staring at the nearest
shuttle with immediate dislike. She didn't like the sound of taking a
flimsy shuttle into a battle zone.

"No, Major," Susan replied, glancing at the large airlock situated at the
back of the shuttle bay. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought of what
sat in the aft shuttle bay. She could still hear the screams of Shadow
vessels echoing in her mind, and although this vessel was silent, the
memories it bought back were not.

"Oh, that black thing," Lily said. "What exactly is that?"

Kozlowski stepped up and said proudly, "it is a new model troop transport
that I have designed."

"I see," Lily said cautiously. "I don't like using untried technology. I
knew someone, a very good friend of mine, who worked in research. He was
given a new weapon to try, something that all the scientists said would
work fine. Of course it didn't and it blew up in his face. How do we know
this ship won't do the same. It has been sitting back there ever since I
came on board, and so far, I haven't seen it being used."

"That is because there hasn't been need for it yet," Kozlowski replied, a
little annoyed that the Major would question the quality of his work.
"Anyway, it is based on the same technology as the warlock destroyers. I
haven't heard any complaints about the Rasputin yet."

"And right now we don't have any other choice, Major," Susan cut in,
knowing they had very little time, and certainly none to spare for
arguments. "If we don't make an attempt now, while the enemy's computers
are down, then we will be dead either way."

"In that case, if you order it, we are ready," Lily replied. She turned
towards her second. "Lieutenant, get everyone packed up and ready to go."
She turned back to Susan. "I assume you want to leave as soon as possible,
Captain?"

Susan nodded. "Yes, Major. I don't know how much of a window we have, but I
would assume that it isn't going to be long."

"In that case I will speed things up a little," Lily said. She turned
around to look over the shuttle bay. "All right everyone," she shouted.
"The Captain here has a job for us to do. We have to take out the enemy
vessel from the inside, and as quickly as possible. I want all teams to
form up at once and follow Lieutenant Harris' into the aft shuttle bay. So
grab your guns and lets get moving."

"Yes, Sir!" came the reply from the assembled marines. The shuttle bay then
erupted into activity as weapons were slung over shoulders and packs,
loaded with explosives and other equipment, were given a final check.
Lieutenant Harris gave a quick salute to his commander and hurried off to
organise the loading of the transport.

"That should do it, Captain," Lily said with a smile. Then she bowed her
head and swept her hand in the direction of the airlock. "Shall we go," she
asked, inviting Susan to lead the way.

Susan nodded and started walking toward the airlock, Major Logan and Dr.
Kozlowski in tow. Before she could reach the airlock, the lift doors opened
and the two telepaths stepped off. As soon as Sarah Chang saw the Captain
she hurried over, a frown on her face.

"Captain Ivanova," she said in an annoyed voice. "Why didn't you inform me
you were going to try board the enemy warship."

"Because I didn't think I needed to inform you of every move I made," Susan
replied, not slowing down.

"You are going to need me, Captain," Sarah replied, as she hustled to keep
up with Susan.

Susan almost laughed. "Need you? Why exactly would I need you for anything,
Ms. Chang?"

"Because there are telepaths on that vessel," Chang replied. "If you go
over there those telepaths will stop your little invasion dead. You are
going to need me. I am a P12, a Psi-Cop, and therefore powerful enough to
stop the rogues on that ship from harming you or these soldiers. Face facts
Captain, you are going to need me."

With a loud hissing sound the airlock into the aft shuttle bay opened
slowly. Susan and those with her stepped inside. "She has a point,
Captain," Major Logan said softly to Susan as they waited for the second
set of doors to open.

"Very well, Ms. Chang," Susan said. "You can come along, but your assistant
stays here. This is a military operation and therefore civilians are not
welcome." Actually Susan's reason for not wanting Talia along were a lot
more personal that just obeying the rules. In truth she didn't want Talia
anywhere near harm, the thought of the beautiful blonde telepath lying
injured or dead not something she wanted to contemplate.

"I will need her along as well, Captain," Sarah insisted. "She has skills I
need to make use of."

The second set of doors slid open exposing the aft shuttle bay and its
cargo. The glistening black transport was almost invisible in the dim
light, but for some reason it was impossible to miss. It seemed to lurk,
rather that rest in the shuttle bay, a dark presence that caused a cold
shiver to run down the spines of most who saw it. All except Dr. Kozlowski
who hurried forward to see his ship, almost as if it was some long lost
pet.

"Well, Captain?" Sarah pressed, not willing to give up until she had the
answer she wanted. "Can my assistant come along?"

Susan turned and looked at Talia, who smiled sweetly back. For some reason
that smile only reminded her how different this woman was from the Talia
she had known and loved. Back on Babylon 5 Talia had never seemed to really
smile very often, and even when she did it was twinged by a sadness, Susan
had found so attractive.

Susan sighed, knowing that if she disagreed, the Psi-Cop was only going to
continue the argument. She didn't want Talia along, but didn't have time to
argue. "All right," Susan said at last. "She can come along. However, both
of you are going to sit quietly on the way there and then do whatever you
are told to."

"Thank you, Captain," the Psi-Cop said, although there was nothing genuine
in her thanks. Instead her voice sounded almost triumphant, as if she had
just won a great victory.

Susan watched the telepaths walking away, over to where the marines were
gathering to board the transport. She wondered if she had made a mistake,
after all, telepaths always seemed to stick together and it was possible
that Chang was actually working for Anderson, or whoever was on that
warship. For all she knew the whole thing could just be some giant
Psi-Corps plan to take over the Earth Alliance.

Dr. Kozlowski hurried back to her side. "Everything appears to be
operational, Captain," he said. "We can leave as soon as everyone is on
board."

Susan nodded. She turned to Major Logan, who was still looking at the troop
transport with some suspicion. "Major," she said. "You can get your troops
on board, while I will go and see if I can't work out how to fly this
thing." After Lily had nodded her understanding, and walked over to pass on
the orders to her marines, Susan turned back to Kozlowski. "Doctor, you can
wait here."

"But, Captain," he cried. "You can't leave me behind. This will be the
maiden flight, and I want to be on board."

"It is going to be dangerous," Susan argued. "I already have enough
civilians on board as it is, without you as well. After all, there is no
guarantee that any of us are going to survive."

"That's not important," Kozlowski said. "I have to come, I am the only one
who knows what all the controls do. I might not know how to pilot this
ship, but there are several new systems I installed that have never been
used before."

Susan held up her hands to stop his arguments. "All right doctor," she
said. "You can come along, but only if it's understood that you are to stay
out of the fighting and remain with the transport."

"Don't worry about me, Captain," Kozlowski replied with a grin, patting the
package he still had tucked under one arm. "I know how to take care of
myself."

Susan had already turned away and was walking towards the transport, so she
didn't notice the doctor's package, instead assuming that he meant that he
was going to follow her orders. "Good," she replied. "Now, perhaps you can
tell us how to get into this thing." She reached up with her hand to touch
the hull of the transport.

"No!" Kozlowski shouted, batting her hand away. "Don't touch the hull." he
looked around at the marines. "No-one is to touch the outer hull, unless
you are wearing gloves. If you do it will drain the life energy out of your
body." He walked over to a small control panel mounted on the exterior
hull, and after pressing a button, step back.

The entire side of the transport began to drop down, creating a metal ramp
up into the interior of the transport. To Susan's surprise the inside
looked much the same as every other shuttle or transport she had even been
in, and all trace of the Shadow technology vanished. With Kozlwoski at her
side she walked up the ramp and into the vessel.

Rows of seats were arranged in an semi-circular pattern along the walls,
with a sunken area in the centre for cargo. "Where does the pilot go?" she
asked the doctor.

"This way Captain," he replied pointing towards a pressure door on the far
side of the chamber.

Susan nodded and followed him, while behind her Major Logan set about
finding seats for all her troops, as well as the two telepaths. The
pressure door lead into long passage, which had five other doors leading
off it. Kozlowski pointed to the far door, and Susan opened it, peering
into a small cockpit, where two tall seats faced a wide array of consoles
and screens.

"That is the pilot's seat," Kozlowski said, pointing towards the right hand
seat. "And the other is the co-pilot's." He sat down in that seat, placing
his package carefully down next to him. Of course I can't actually act as
your co-pilot, however we should be fine for a short trip."

"What about in a battle?" she asked. "Can the pilot control this transport
without any assistance?"

"Of course, the co-pilot is only here to assist."

Major Logan chose that time to poke her head through the door into the
cockpit. "Everyone is settled, Captain," she said. "We have also found the
turret weapons, so we can shoot back if anything taking a shot at us."

"Good work, Major," Susan replied. "Close the entry ramp and take your
seat." Lily nodded and went back down the corridor, closing the door into
the cockpit behind her. Susan turned to Kozlowski. "I assume there is a
some way of getting from this transport into the enemy ship?"

"Of course, Captain," Kozlowski said with a snort, as if the very idea of
not including a boarding clamp was a basic mistake. "We have a laser cutter
linked to a magnetic boarding clamp. All you need to do is slide up
alongside the enemy vessel and press that button." he pointed to a small
button on the co-pilot's console. "Actually I can take care of that if you
like."

"Good," Susan replied. She tapped her link. "Bridge, we are ready to
launch. Activate the outer airlock and then, after we are free, get whoever
is in change of our fighters on the link." Susan didn't know who was still
alive out there. She hoped it was Alister Schmitt, she had grown quite fond
of the square-jawed flight commander.

"Yes, Captain," Petrov's voice said over the link.

A loud clang sounded from below as Susan strapped herself into the pilot's
chair and indicated for Kozlowski to do the same. At least the controls
were a little familiar, and not totally alien as she had expected after
viewing the transport from the outside. In fact, they were very similar to
the controls of an standard atmospheric shuttle, with the addition of some
new systems she didn't recognise.

The transport shuddered slightly as four large clamps descended from the
ceiling and attached to the transport's hull, lifting it off the deck.
Through the two small windows in the cockpit Susan could see a flashing
light on the wall of the shuttle bay changing from amber to red and then
the floor slid away, exposing the transport to space. Finally, the docking
clamps released and the transport dropped away slowly. There was little
gravity in the shuttle bay now that the doors to space were open, but a
quick firing of the transports upper thrusters and it was clear.

Her hands on the controls, Susan soon found that, although it might look
like a Shadow vessel, the transport handled a little like a standard
shuttle. It was somewhat smoother though, and she discovered that it
answered her commands a lot quicker. As she flew closely along the hull her
link beeped, it was Commander Petrov calling to say that Lt. Commander
Schmitt was now ready for her orders.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Understood, Captain," Schmitt replied, closing down the link. He looked
back at his gunner, who had now regained consciousness. "Hold on tight,
Macki, it looks like we have a bit of a storm coming up."

"I think I will survive, Sir," Mack replied, checking over his controls.
There wasn't a lot of weapons left on the Lightning, but the rotating
plasma cannon would do a lot of damage to anything that came their way.

Alister flicked the switch that would allow him to speak to the other
fighters. "All right, listen up," he said. "We have our orders, we need to
clear a path through those fighters to allow the transport in. Try to stay
alive everyone, but it is more important that the shuttle survives."

A large group of Thunderbolts flew above, and Alister noticed with some
relief that one of them was his daughter's fighter. He hadn't know if she
had been alive or not, but after the explosion had been too concerned with
trying to get his own fighter's systems back on-line to worry. Fortunately
no-one had died during the brief loss of power, and the emergency systems
had done their jobs.

Noticing the dark, spiky shape of the troop transport come shooting out
from below the Rasputin, Alister increased power to his own fighter,
slipping into an escort position. The rest of the surviving Earthforce
fighters gathered around them, forming a protective cloud that would do
anything possible to protect the Captain's transport.

The enemy fighters did not move until the small fleet was just within range
of their weapons, and then they exploded into action. The Earthforce
starfuries scattered as the incoming fire cut into their ranks. Several
vessels took hits, and two exploded before the battle was joined. The void
between the Rasputin and the Enlightener erupted into flame as
multi-coloured bolts of energy began to fly between the enemy fighters and
the Earthforce ships.

Through it all, the dark shape of the troops transport weaved and bobbed as
it tried to avoid incoming fire. Several times it was hit, but the outer
hull dispersed the energy successfully with little damage. On the top of
the transport two large turreted weapons spun around and sent out beams of
energy that sliced straight through any vessel they hit. Each enemy ship
that was destroyed was replaced by another ten, and the enemy quickly began
to press home the attack on the Earthforce fighters.

Then, just when all looked lost, they where through the ring of fighters.
The Transport continued onwards towards the warship, while the starfuries
spun around to provide protection. The enemy fighters stopped, as if
deciding which vessel to pursue, but finally were restricted by their
programming, which told them to provide a defensive ring around the
warship. This allowed the transport to make its way safely to the hull of
the enemy warship, while behind them the battle went on.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

A dull clang rang through the transport as the magnetic docking clamp
attached itself to the outer hull of the enemy ship like a limpet.
Kozlowski switched on the monitor on the console in front of him, watching
as the bright cutting laser sliced into the warship's hull. As soon as it
was through the docking clamp extended itself through the hull of the enemy
warship and expanded to create a secure, air-tight seal. There was a sudden
burst of escaping air before the seal was complete and then passage into
the enemy vessel open.

As soon as the link between the two ships had been established, the first
of the marines leapt through the docking collar into the enemy vessel. They
found themselves inside a dark cargo area, unprotected by any defenders. It
did not remain empty for long though as a door at the far end opened and
spewed out several PPG totting guards.

The warship's defenders were no match for the Earthforce marines, with
their powerful military rifles, and were quickly cut down. The marines knew
that more would soon be on the way, so they spread out and secured the
cargo hold, ready to defend against anyone else who tried to enter, while
the rest of the assault force streamed out of the transport.

"The room is secure, Major," a soldier said, hurrying back from the cargo
bay doors. "We encountered some minor resistance and have neutralised it."

Major Logan nodded. "Good work, Private. Go back to your position and make
sure no-one else gets in here until we have unloaded everything. Sing out
if anyone else enters..."

A voice coming from a hidden speaker broke into their conversation.
"Warning, enemy troops have penetrated cargo bay three. Units one to twenty
are to proceed at once to cargo bay three."

"Damn," Lily said. "All right everyone, looks like we are going to have
some company soon. I want a solid defensive position set up to stop anyone
getting in. All MPC units to the front, and I also want this room searched
for other exits and a scanning team looking for a wall we can cut through.
OK, lets move it."

The marines rushed to carry out her orders. Several of the soldiers, all
carry very large cannons moved across to set up their weapons on tripods,
so they pointed towards the open cargo bay doors. Several enemy troopers
appeared down the corridor beyond, but vanished almost as quickly as the
heavy plasma weapons opened up.

Seeing Ivanova and Kozlowski coming through the passage from the transport,
the Major leaned down and picked up two spare PPG rifles that had been
piled on the deck. "Here you go, Captain," she said, tossing one of the
guns to Susan, and the other to Kozlowski. "I thought you might need
these."

"Thanks, Major," Susan replied, slinging the weapon over her shoulder. She
still had her own pistol, but the more powerful rifles made her feel a
little more secure.

Kozlowski however took one look at the rifle and passed it on to a
surprised Sarah Chang, who was just making her way off the transport. He
took the package he had carried with him out from under his arm and began
to unwrap it. After making sure no-one was watching he removed the weapon
he had hidden within and slipped it under his coat. Then with a smile on
his lips he walked over to look at a nearby console, hoping to learn
something from it.

"What is our position Major," Susan asked.

Lily looked around. "Well there appears be only the one entrance and no-one
is going to get in here without a fight. I have a scanning team searching
the walls for other passages or rooms. Hopefully, we can cut through that
way and get around behind the enemy."

"Will that work?" Susan asked, looking around the dark cargo bay and
noticing the heavy weapons being set up to fire at anyone trying to get
through the cargo doors.

"It should..."

A loud bang sounded from somewhere close by, followed by a bright flash.
Then Susan and Lily were treated to the sight of Dr. Kozlowski frantically
trying to put out a tiny flame that was burning away the few remaining
hairs on his head. One of the marines hurried over and wrapped a jacket
around the doctor's head, extinguishing the fire before it did any damage.
Then the dim lights overhead flickered and died, along with every other
electronic circuit in the cargo bay.

"What the hell did you do now, doctor," Susan demanded as soon as Kozlowski
had calmed down.

The doctor straightened his glasses, and look timidly up at the Captain, as
if worried about what she might think. "I just shut down all the circuits
in this area," he replied. Then he pointed towards a large airlock that
Susan hadn't noticed before. "Otherwise they would have been able to open
that airlock and flush us all out into space. Now they will have to replace
the circuits in this section before they can do anything."

Susan looked at the airlock and then back down at the doctor. "Good
thinking, doctor," she said, knowing that had Kozlowski not done what he
had, it was very possible that everyone could have been killed. She cursed
herself for not thinking of it first. After all, the people they were
dealing with here thought nothing of killing innocent settlers, so they
weren't like to be concerned about spacing everyone in the cargo bay. "How
did you do it," she asked.

"It was actually quite easy," Kozlowski informed her. "All I had to do was
hook the console up to a power cell and create a feedback loop through the
system." He rubbed his head. "Unfortunately the feedback was a little
stronger than I originally thought, and it blew out the entire console."

A soldier came running up, clutching a flare to provide light. "Major," he
said with a salute. "The scanning team has located a weak spot in one of
the walls. We are ready to begin cutting."

Lily nodded. "Proceed. I want a full team through as soon as the cutting is
complete. Secure the room or corridor that lies beyond and then wait for
further orders."

The soldier saluted and hurried off with her orders. Lily turned back to
Susan. "I assume you are coming with us?" she asked.

"Yes, Major," Susan replied, activating her PPG rifle. "I am not going to
be left behind. If this is going to succeed then I want to be there. If it
is going to fail, then it will only be because we are all dead."

On the far side of the cargo bay a bright light flared as the cutting torch
began to slice into the metal of the wall. In a few seconds it would be
through and then the marines, along with Susan and the telepaths would find
themselves in unknown territory. The scanners on the transport had been
unable to detect what lay beyond hull so for all she knew they could be
cutting into the fusion reactors.

The sudden sound of weapons fire near the cargo bay doors drew everyone's
attention in that direction. The enemy forces were beginning to assault the
defensive positions the Rasputin's marines had set up. Almost at the same
time the cutting team finished their work, opening a passage into the next
room, which fortunately was not the fusion reactors.

"Time to go, Captain," Major Logan said, picking up her rifle and slinging
a small pack of explosives across one shoulder. "I don't know what lies
beyond that wall, but it got to be easier than going out the main door."

Susan nodded and followed the Major towards the opening the cutting team
had created. The two telepaths fell in behind, along with Dr. Kozlowski,
and about half of the marines. What lay beyond no-one knew, but they all
knew that the only chance the Earthforce fleet had was for this mission to
succeed. If they failed then the enemy forces would destroy the remaining
destroyers, and after them the settlements on Proxima.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547

From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 15/16, Part C
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 05:04:09 +1030

This is the last part of Chapter 15. Coming in a few days time will be
Chapter 16 which will finally wrap everything up. It looks like being 4-5
part long at the moment, although each part will be a little smaller than
this chapter.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Kiel looked angrier than anyone on the bridge of the Enlightener had ever
seen him before. Somehow, a single enemy troop transport had managed to
make it past the fighter defences and now Earthforce soldiers were fighting
Kiel's own troops somewhere down on the cargo decks. While there wasn't a
lot they do down there, if they found their way on to some of the more
important decks, his whole plan might be jeopardised.

He had received sketchy reports speaking of heavy weapons fire and
mentioning running battles with Earthforce Marines. Vibrating with anger,
Kiel had ordered Anderson to take charge of the fighting and eliminate the
invading Earthforce troops. Anderson tried to duck the delegation,
explaining that he wasn't a trained soldier and had no experience in
marshalling troops in the shooting war. Kiel didn't seem to hear a word,
instead he shoved a PPG pistol in Anderson's hands and pointed him in the
direction of the bridge doors.

Sighing deeply Anderson left the bridge. He didn't intend getting killed
just yet so, instead of heading towards the nearest battle, he went to
recruit some of the other telepaths on board. He was going to need
assistance to take on the large number of Earthforce attackers that were
spreading across the ship like a plague of rats.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

This was the second ambush they had run into since leaving the cargo bay.
Ten Marines out of the fifty they had started with had been hit by enemy
PPG fire and, although none were dead, they had been left behind.
Fortunately, the force of marines had with it two medics along who had
treated the wounds of those injured before they had lost too much blood.
They had organised a shuttle service, carrying the wounded back to the
transport, so they would not be left behind in case of an emergency
evacuation.

The fighting back in the cargo bay seemed to have died down at least, the
enemy forces quickly learning that they would not stand much of a chance
again the portable cannons that had been set up. The soldiers with Susan
were now a long way from the cargo bay, quickly making their way along a
major passage they hoped would lead to one of their designated target
areas. While they weren't yet sure of the Enlightener's layout, the passage
they were in seemed well used.

However, well used also meant well defended and five minutes after leaving
the cargo bay they had run into the first ambush. A short gun battle and
three injured marines latter and they were on there way again, only to run
into yet another ambush, this time with many more enemy troops. Now, as
Susan waited while the Marines exchanged fire with the enemy soldiers, she
became more aware that time was rapidly slipping away, and if they didn't
find the central computer soon, then it might be too late.

Right now though, Susan had another problem - trying to stay alive. She
ducked as a hail of plasma fire cut into the bulkhead above her, showering
both Susan and Dr. Kozlowski with sparks. The Marines, crouched down behind
a pile of packing crates, jumped up and returned fire and were rewarded by
two screams from the enemy force. Susan grabbed the doctors arm and led him
back out of harms way back, to where Talia and Chang were pressed against
the wall.

The Psi-Cop still had her PPG rifle clutched tightly in her hands, and to
Susan's eyes, she looked a little scared. Talia on the other hand looked
completely calm and collected, despite the fact she was unarmed. Susan
tugged her pistol out of its holster and passed it over to Talia. "Here,"
she said. "You might need this, just in case."

Talia smiled as she took the pistol, a idle smile of someone who had just
been given a new toy, even when they didn't want it. Hefting the pistol in
her hand she raised it up until it was level with Susan's head. Then she
smiled again before putting the PPG away by sticking it through the belt of
her uniform. "You are lucky I like you so much, Captain," she said, walking
towards the other side of the bulkhead that was providing them protection,
ignoring the PPG fire flying all about her. Fortunately, either through
luck or timing, she made it across without a single shot coming anywhere
near her.

Susan stared across at her, wondering if Talia really would try and kill
her. She didn't know what the artificial personality inhabiting her head
might do. So far, it had seemed more intent in finding perverse pleasure
from the pain of others, but not in killing anyone. Susan didn't know what
it was capable of though, given that it was Psi-Corps incarnate. She
shuddered again at the thought of such an evil personality inhabiting the
body of someone she had loved so much.

Then her focus on Talia and the memories of the past was claimed by Dr.
Kozlowski who was pulling something out from beneath his jacket, something
that looked vaguely like a PPG rifle. She remember passing a rifle to the
doctor, but hadn't seen him with it since. Then she noticed it wasn't a PPG
weapon at all, in fact she had never seen anything like it in her life
before.

It was a long, dark barrelled weapon that looked like had been put together
in a backyard workshop somewhere. There was nothing beautiful about the
weapon, but for some reason Susan felt strangely apprehensive about it.
Perhaps it was the fact that Kozlowski was holding it, or its innate
strangeness, but Susan knew she wanted to be as far away as possible when
it fired. She moved to intercept the doctor and prevent him from doing
whatever he planned, but she was too late.

With an eager smile on his face the doctor stepped forward to the bulkhead,
pointing the weapon towards the enemy soldiers as he walked. Then, before
any of the enemy could notice him he fired the weapon, and promptly shot
back in the opposite direction, right into Susan arms. Both of them fell
down in a heap, and the weapon went flying off somewhere behind them,
landing with a loud clatter against the metal deck.

The effect on the enemy however was a lot more amazing. There was a bright
purple flash, so powerful that the Earthforce soldiers were left a little
stunned. By the time their vision cleared the enemy soldiers had vanished,
leaving nothing but several black scorch marks on the deck where they had
been. Then when the sound of boots running in the opposite direction
reached her ears, Susan knew that at least one or two enemy soldiers had
survived, even if most had perished.

"What the hell was that," one of the marines said, rubbing his eyes in
attempt to get rid of the spots that still seemed to be dancing around at
the edge of his vision.

The other marines and Major Logan hurried back to see what had happened,
while Talia walked over and picked up Kozlowski's gun. She looked
interested for a moment, but then, seeing that it was now burnt out by the
force of that one, single shot, she passed it over the Susan, who had
shaken off Kozlowski and pulled herself back to her feet. The doctor still
lay on the floor, blinking rabidly.

Susan helped him up, at the same time demanding, "do you mind telling me
what you thought you were doing doctor?"

"Testing my latest project," he replied, spying the weapon in her hand. He
made a move to take it, but Susan moved it out of reach and passed it over
to Major Logan, who slung it across her shoulder. Kozlowski's face fell as
soon as he realised that Susan wasn't going to let him have it back.

"I think you should leave tests like that to research labs," Susan said,
shaking her head at the casual way Kozlowski was treating the incident.
"Somewhere where you're not going to kill a lot of innocent people, namely
me."

"It worked though, Captain," Kozlowski said happily, pointing down the
corridor. "In fact, a lot better than I had planned."

Susan was going to continue the conversation, and inform the doctor of just
what she thought of his gun, but knew that she didn't have time right now.
Despite her misgiving over how it had been accomplished, the corridor was
now clear, but if they stood around here talking it wouldn't be for long.
"Lead the way Major," she said. "Lets get moving again, and see if we can't
avoid any more enemy soldiers for a while.

Lily nodded and quickly gathered up her Marines and headed off down the
corridor, Susan and the others in close pursuit. Kozlowski muttered
something about needed to examine his gun to make certain readings, but
Susan didn't listen, instead just pushed him down the corridor, ever
mindful of the clock that was slowly ticking away the time they had left.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson ran along the corridor as fast as he could. Using a parallel
corridor, the Earthforce invaders were slowly picking their way past the
defenders he had set up. He didn't know what their target was, but they
were getting dangerously close to the bridge. He had set up a large force
to defend the only passage to the bridge, but still had the Earthforce
soldiers to deal with.

He had learned that there were two forces. One was still in the cargo bay,
and somehow they had disabled all the computer systems, denying him
information on their numbers and disposition. The second force was the one
he had to worry about now though. It numbered just over forty, and was
slowly working its way along the main corridor from the cargo bay toward
the central lifts. If they made it, there they could easily get anywhere on
the ship.

Seeing a soldier with a com unit, Anderson grabbed him. "Where are then
now," he demanded urgently.

"Main corridor, blue sector," the soldier quickly responded.

Anderson nodded. "All right, go down to corridor blue six and tell the
force there to more to the main access way. They are to set up an ambush
near the lifts."

The soldier nodded and hurried off down a side corridor. As he left,
Anderson smiled, he had them now. If the Earthforce troops continued down
the main corridor they would reach the lifts, but if he was ready for them
they would be cut down before they could use them. He quickly reviewed the
route in his mind, remembering which teams had telepaths with them and
which didn't. Then he hurried after the soldier, towards the perfect place
to lie in waiting for the enemy.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Major Logan looked carefully at the computer screen. Dr. Kozlowski had
managed to break the code quite easily and now he had pulled up plans for
the ship. "It looks like this corridor leads straight to the main access
lifts," she said, scanning the blue prints. "I don't know where the
computers we are looking for are, but the lift lead up to the bridge."

"What would happen if we knock out the bridge," Susan asked.

Lily shrugged and looked over at the doctor who was still examining the
plans. "Doctor?" she asked.

"That depends on what is on the bridge," he replied, not looking up. "If
all their systems depend on commands from the bridge, a highly unlikely
scenario, then knocking out the bridge would stop this ship. I would think
that each system is independent though." He pressed a series of keys, but
the console did not give him what he wanted, instead it went dead. "Damn,"
he said, the first time Susan had heard him swear.

"What were you trying to do," Lily asked.

"Cause an overload in the fusion reactors," Kozlowski replied. "It appears
that can't be done from here though. They must have detected my access and
shut the system down."

"Come on then," Susan said. "We can't stay here much longer if they know
where we are."

Major Logan nodded, and stepping over the body of the dead guard they had
to shoot to get access to the room, she went back outside to join the rest
of the surviving soldiers. The corridor outside was long and straight, and
according to the maps she had just seen, it was only a short jog to the
lifts. From there it would be easy for the assault team to gain access to
the rest of the ship.

"All right," she said to the marines. "Lets get going. It isn't far now."

She was about to set off again when a sudden call stop her. "Wait Major,"
Sarah Chang called. "I can detect minds waiting for us down that corridor."

Lily frowned. "What do you mean?" she asked, staring at the Psi-Cop.

Sarah's brow crinkled in concentration. "I can detect strong emotions and
right now I can detect fear and anger in quite a few minds, and they are
all along that tunnel we are about to travel down."

"An ambush?" Susan asked, rejoining the rest of the attack force.

"Possibly, Captain," Chang replied in a tired voice. "I am afraid I am not
as good at this as Mr. Bester. My range it a lot more than most telepaths
though, so I can scan minds at some range. Right now I am feeling at least
fifty different minds waiting for us if we go that way."

"What now then, Major?" Susan asked. "Do we take another tunnel?"

Lily thought for a moment. "Can you pinpoint where this ambush is going to
take place?" she asked the Psi-Cop.

"I think so," Sarah replied.

Lily face twisted into an evil grin, as a plan formed in her mind. "Then
there is no need to change our route." She turned to one of the marines.
"Gerry, unpack the launcher. It is time to do a little ambushing of our
own."

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Anderson almost laughed at the way everything was going exactly according
to the plan he had devised. For the past fifteen minutes his troops had
slowed down the enemy considerably, while he prepared for the ambush. Six
telepaths were waiting at the far end of the corridor, along with a force
of fifty soldiers. Also, hidden in the side corridors, were other, smaller
forces, ready to strike from the side. As soon as the enemy soldiers came
into range they would be cut down without even being able to fire back.

He was currently hiding in a small alcove, just off the main passage. It
was small and cramped, but he wouldn't be seen, at least not before it was
too late. Noises from down the corridor attracted his attention and he
peaked out to see what was happening. He was just in time to see a missile
streak past and explode into the gathered soldiers he had prepared for his
ambush. The screams of the dying telepaths echoed in his mind, causing
waves of pain to wash over him, and his mind to join in their screams.

Then, while he was still recovering, the Earthforce troops came running
down the corridor. With no-one left to defend his ambush position, the
battle was a short one. Those few of his troops that survived quickly found
themselves pinned down by enemy fire. The Earthforce soldiers somehow
seemed to know exactly where to fire. A strange rage filled him, something
that was completely out of character for the normally calm telepath.
Clutching his pistol in his hand he looked around for a target. Then he
noticed something that returned a smile to his face. He might not be able
to stop all the Earthforce soldiers, but killing Ivanova would make him
feel a lot better.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Susan suddenly pulled up, an incredibly strong feeling of deja vu washing
over her. The corridor they were now moving down seemed so familiar she
knew she had seen it before, just where she couldn't remember. Then it came
to her, and she remember the strange vision she had seen on Babylon 4. This
was the very same corridor, or at least it looked the same. She though back
to that day and tried to remember all she could about what she had seen.

It quickly came flooding back and she almost cried out in shock as she
remembered exactly what the vision had shown her. Looking up Susan noticed
she had fallen behind the rest of the attack force, and they were busy
fighting the few remaining enemies, the corridor ahead filled with flying
bolts of plasma as both sides traded fire. Spotting Talia walking calmly
towards the battle, not even carrying her PPG pistol, Susan felt her heart
run cold.

"Talia," she shouted. "Look out."

The blonde telepath paused and looked around at Susan, who was running
towards her as fast as she could. Then the blonde telepath took a step
forwards, and it was then she was shot. Susan didn't see who fired, all she
saw was Talia suddenly clutching at her shoulder, her attractive face
twisted in pain. Then Talia's legs seemed to collapse and she dropped to
her knees. Susan reached her side just in time to catch her as she fell
over backwards.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

There was a sudden flash and suddenly the corridor on Babylon 4 vanished.
One moment she was climbing out of the Whitestar into Babylon 4 with the
others, and the next she was elsewhere, right in the middle of a fire
fight. As the PPG fire screamed overhead she became aware that she was
holding someone in her arms. Susan glanced down, looking right into Talia's
half closed eyes.

"Talia?" she gasped in confusion, both bewildered and overjoyed all at the
same time. Then she noticed the wound, the arm of Talia's green uniform was
stained red with the telepath's blood. Susan didn't know what to do, she
didn't even know where she was or how she had come to be here. She gently
cradled Talia in her arms and tried to make sense of what was going on.

Someone called out, "Captain, get out of the way." Susan looked up,
noticing for the first time an Earthforce Major crouched behind a crate,
firing a heavy looking PPG rifle over Susan's head. The Major looked at her
again. "Get back here Captain, you right in the line of fire."

"Captain?" she asked in amazement. Then the corridor and the battle were
gone and she found herself back on Babylon 4, Delenn and Marcus looking
just as confused as she was.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Susan blinked, and to her surprise found herself staring at Major Logan,
who was staring straight back, and look of horror on her face. "Look out,"
the Major screamed. Susan turned around slowly, just in time to see the
telepath Anderson levelling a PPG pistol towards her head. Susan, her arms
occupied with Talia could not reach for her own gun, even if she did
remember where she had dropped it.

There was a bright flash and a loud, cracking noise close by, the sound of
a PPG firing. Susan froze, thinking for a fraction of a second that her
time was up, but instead it was Anderson who staggered as he was hit. He
clutched his hands to his chest, let out a short, strangled cry, and
toppled backwards, his PPG falling from his hands and clattering to the
deck beside him. Susan stared at him in shock, before her attention was
grabbed by the sound of another pistol hitting the metal deck plating.

She spun around and looked at Talia, who was still supported in her arm.
Lying on the deck next to the wounded telepath was the PPG pistol Susan had
given her earlier. Talia looked at her, and as Susan watched the normal
cold look in her eyes seemed to fade, replaced by a sadness she loved so
much. Talia raised a hesitant hand to Susan's face and gave her a look so
beautiful that Susan felt her heart melting away.

"Help me, Susan..." Talia whispered, her words slowly trailing off as her
body went limp and her eyes flickered shut. Her hand slipped away from
Susan's face and dropped lifeless to her side.

"No!" Susan cried, tears suddenly flooding her eyes. She shook the telepath
gently, but there was no response, not even the slightest flutter of an
eyelid. Crying freely now, Susan gently laid Talia out on the deck and
begged her to wake up again. A hand touched her shoulder gently and slowly
began to pull her away. Susan resisted for a second, but then allowed
herself to be guided aside while a marine wielding a medical scanner
stepped in to examine Talia.

After a quick scan the medic looked up at an expectant Susan. "She is alive
Captain, but has lost a lot of blood. I will need to get her back to the
Rasputin as soon as possible. If we can get her to a proper medical bay she
should survive."

"Then we should take her at once," Susan said, looking around for someone
to carry Talia back to the transport.

Lily pulled her away though. "Not yet Captain, we still have a job to
finish."

"But she could die," Susan argued, looking down at Talia's crumpled form,
amazed at how small the telepath looked now. Her tears had stopped, and now
she felt a terrible ache in her soul, as if she knew that Talia was slowly
slipping away from her again. For a moment there, as she held the telepath
in her arms she felt the real Talia returning, overcoming the artificially
personality. Now Talia could be taken away from her again, and she wanted
to everything she could to prevent that happening.

"We all could die if we don't finish this, Captain," Lily said angrily. She
was growing annoyed, and not to mention a little jealous, at the way Susan
was weeping over Talia. As far as she was concerned the telepath could die,
she hadn't forgotten the way Talia had tossed her around with her
telekinetic abilities. The look on Susan's face was so heartbreaking though
that she couldn't bear to let her suffer.

"I will have her taken back to the transport," she told Susan. "They will
be able to care for her there until we leave. Right now we have to finish
off the enemy forces before they regroup. Unless we take out the computer
she will be dead anyway. That is what you told us, remember."

Susan nodded slowly, finally recognising the wisdom in the Major's words.
She knelt down and brushed Talia's hair away from her face. She looked so
peaceful lying there that Susan almost imagined that Talia was just
sleeping, and the telepath's life wasn't slipping away as she watched. A
sudden rage built up inside her, a cold feeling of hatred toward however
had been responsible and picking up her PPG rifle Susan looked around for
the enemy soldier who had shot Talia.

Her rage calmed though when she saw what lay around her, the twisted bodies
of the dead soldiers, and the burn marks on the walls. Whoever had shot
Talia was probably lying dead now, somewhere out there on the blood stained
decks. It didn't really make Susan feel any better, but at least she lost
the anger she was carrying inside her, replacing it instead with a cold
sense of duty. She looked over at Lily. "Lets go, Major," she said. "We
don't have any time to stand around here."

Major Logan nodded and the two officers headed down the corridor towards
the lifts. Behind them Sarah Chang looked at the unconscious form of Talia
and then at the dead soldiers. Feeling a little sick she hurried to catch
up with Susan and the marines. This certainly wasn't how she thought a
live-fire battle would be, in fact before today she had never fired a
weapon in anger. She had used her telepathic abilities to cause pain and
harm to others, but that wasn't the same as seeing blood spilled in battle.
She clutched her rifle tighter than even and hoped this would end soon.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Main computer repairs are now complete, Sir," one of the bridge crew said
to Kiel.

The Psi-Cop didn't answer though, instead just sat there looking at the
screen that showed the progress of the enemy troops. It hadn't moved in
nearly ten minutes, ever since the last communication from Anderson.
Despite his best efforts to raise his assistant there had been no response,
so Kiel was forced to admit that maybe Anderson was now dead. He could only
hope his troops were still down there holding off the attackers or his plan
for domination of the galaxy was coming to a close.

"Sir," the crewman repeated. "Main computers are on-line. What are your
orders."

This time Kiel heard him and looked up. "Order the attack," he said. "Send
our fighters out and destroy every remaining Earthforce vessel."

"Yes, Sir," the crewman replied with a salute.

Then the doors to the bridge opened and everyone's heads turned in that
direction. It wasn't Anderson, as Kiel was hoping, instead the green clad
forms of several EAS Marines leapt into the room, firing as they entered.
Kiel ducked under the first attack and drew his own pistol. While the
Marines slaughtered his bridge crew, he reached out with his mind and send
a thought of pain into the nearest enemy soldier. Then as the soldier
doubled over in pain Kiel peeked over the edge of the console he was hiding
behind, and shot the enemy soldier in the back with his pistol.

He repeated this two more times, careful to remain out of sight until he
had disabled all the enemies who could fire at him. Then as he prepared to
kill a forth marine he felt a tingling in the back of his mind, recognising
another telepath was reaching out to engage him in telepathic combat.
Finishing off the soldier, he glanced over the edge of the console and saw
a tall Asian woman clutching a PPG rifle enter the bridge, looking around
in shock.

Kiel smiled as he recognised the woman as the agent Bester had sent to spy
on him while he had been staying on Mars. Not wanting to risk a mental
battle with another P12 he raised his pistol again and shot her. She moved
at the last minute though, and all his shot did was burn one hand, although
it did knock the rifle out of her grasp at the same time. Annoyed with
himself he raised the pistol for another shot.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah felt a sudden flare of danger, and then a painful burning sensation
in her left hand. She dropped the rifle, and clutched her hand in pain. It
was then she noticed she had been shot and she dived to the ground, just in
time to avoid the second shot that flew over her head. She reached out with
her mind, searching for her attacker, only to have her thoughts driven back
by an incredibly powerful block.

She knew then who she faced. According to the records Bester sent her,
there was only one telepath capable of such powerful blocks, and that was
Harvey Kiel. She felt the renegade beginning to assault her mind now, and
struggled to block his probing attacks. The pain in her hand was
distracting and despite all her training she felt her resolve faltering.

Kiel needed no second invitation and he slipped into her mind and began
assaulting it from within with images of death and pain. She might be his
equal in strength, but Sarah lacked the experience to truly battle a
telepath with the skill of Kiel. She threw every defence she knew at him,
creating wall after wall in her mind, but he broke through each one. Out of
the corner of her eye she could see movement near the doors onto the
bridge, and glanced that way, hoping help was on the way.

It was only a momentary lapse, but Kiel took it. He sent a powerful though
of pain directly into Sarah's mind, sending collapsing to the floor in
pain. Unable to hold him off, she felt every nerve ending in her body begin
to sting, as if a hundred thousand needles were being plunged into her
body. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pain was gone, and she slipped
away into a peaceful sleep.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Firing wildly down the corridor, Susan noticed with some pleasure the last
of the enemy troops beginning to make a run for it. Major Logan and the
remaining marines set off in pursuit, while Susan headed off towards the
bridge with Dr. Kozlowski. It was then that she heard gun fire from the
bridge, and remembered that five marines, along with Sarah Chang had headed
in that direction while she had been busy fighting the troops outside.

The doors were open, and beyond Susan could see the bodies of the marines
lying twisted on the floor, along with several other men she didn't
recognise, but imagined would be the enemy bridge crew. Then she spotted
Sarah Chang, curled up on the floor, looking like she was in incredible
pain. Susan wondered what could be causing such pain and hurried over to
assist her, not noticing the shape of Kiel hiding behind his console.

She had nearly reached Sarah's side when a suddenly powerful thought burst
into her mind. The flimsy blocks she kept erected to prevent her mind from
being scanned were torn down and swept away as Kiel changed targets from
the Psi-Cop to her. She sensed a feeling of surprise as Kiel realised that
she had tried to block him, and then nothing but pain.

The pain assaulted not only her mind, but also her body. It was so powerful
she dropped to her knees and clutched her head in her hands, trying to do
anything to stop the pain Kiel was causing. Susan attempted to bring her
block back up and keep him out, but her latent telepathic abilities were
not strong enough to stop the former Psi-Cop's probing.

Then, just when she was beginning to pass out from the pain, it happened.
It was like a hammer blow in her mind, a sudden burst of energy and pain
that swept her mind clean. Susan's eyes, which had been clenched tightly
shut to try and prevent the pain, opened, just in time to see the deck
rising up to meet her. As she struck the floor with her forehead, real pain
shot though her, taking her mind away from the illusion being sent by Kiel.
Still lying on the floor, Susan looked across at him, noticing that he was
staring at her in shock and just a little, fear.

She picked up her rifle from where it had fallen and tried to point it in
Kiel's direction. The powerful telepath simply smiled and began his assault
on her mind once more. This time though it was different, and she could
feel him inside her mind, feel what he was doing. It was like listening to
a song and seeing the notes appearing in the air in front of you, and to
stop the song all you had to do was pluck the notes out of the air and it
would end.

This is what Susan did, slamming the door into her mind closed and sending
Kiel's mind spiralling back into his body. He staggered at the power of the
blow before getting to his feet and slowly walking toward Susan. 'You are
strong, Captain,' she heard a voice in her mind say. 'But untrained. I will
tear you apart bit by bit.' Susan grabbed hold of a nearby console and
dragged herself up to her feet, her PPG rifle lying forgotten at her feet.
'So you want to challenge me do you, Ivanova,' the voice continued. 'Then
prepare to die in pain.'

The next thing she knew she was staggering after a powerful blow struck her
mind, forcing her back down to her knees. A shockwave of mental energy
passed over her, but somehow she managed to hold her blocks in place. Kiel
didn't let up though, sending a series of short stabbing thoughts into her
mind, each one stronger that the last. They were designed to break down the
barriers she had erected, and Susan quickly felt the thrusts going deeper
and deeper into her mind.

Kiel smiled now, realising he had her. He was surprised that she had put up
such a good fight, an untrained telepath, even a strong one should not be
able to hold off a trained Psi-Cop. Susan's blocks crumbling, he decided to
make her suffer and reached into her mind and snatched from her memories
her greatest fears, amplified them and sent them back a thousand times
stronger.

Caught in a nightmare of her own fears and phobias Susan found herself
unable to hold off Kiel as he prepared to finish her off. Watching her roll
around on the floor screaming in pain amused him, and made up a little for
everything she had done to his plans, so he held off a little while to
watch her suffer.

That proved to be his mistake, perhaps the last he would ever make. Images
of her mother, and everyone she loved, dying over and over in her mind were
too much to handle and Susan screamed as loud as she could, trying to drive
away the demons that haunted her. It was not a audible scream though, but
rather a mental cry of pain, horror and fear. Kiel found himself thrown
into retreat by the power of Susan's cry. It cut through his mind like a
knife, ending the assault he was conducting and causing him to topple over
backwards, striking his head against a console and knocking him out cold.

Susan lay on the floor of the bridge, whimpering in pain and fear. The
cause of the pain was gone, but memory of the fear still remained, running
around and around in her head. The after effects of Kiel's brutal assault
on her mind could still be felt, so strongly that Susan was unable to do
anything but try and hide from the pain. Inside her mind, her worst
nightmares still played over and over, and there seemed no escape.

Then, caught in the nightmare that had plagued her dreams so many nights
recently, she paused, a song suddenly catching her attention. It was so
beautiful and, despite the pain she felt, she tried to reach out towards
it. The nightmare vanished and in its place she heard only the song, and
with it a voice that seemed to speak to her. 'Rest now little one,' was all
it said.

Then it was gone and for the brief fraction of a second there was only
darkness and peace. Then noise, a hundred voices all shouting in her mind
at once. Susan cried out again and slapped her hands over her ears, trying
to block out the noise. As she did she also involuntarily raised the blocks
in her mind, and the voices began to slip away until they were just a faint
hum in the background, still there, but not pounding at her skull like a
sledgehammer.

Susan didn't want them in her mind though, she didn't want to be a
telepath. She tried again and again to push the noise out of her head to
shut out the voices, but they were still there, a faint whisper she could
hear whenever her mind was quiet. Sobbing helplessly, she curled up into a
ball and let her tears flow freely down her cheeks. All her life she had
tried to stop this moment from happening, but now it was here she couldn't
do anything to stop it.

She remembered the dream she had experienced on the Mars station, how she
had been given a choice. She had faced a choice between life or death, and
she had chosen then to live, to embrace her abilities. She had wanted Talia
back, had thought that by seeking to use the telepathic abilities that lay
locked away in her mind she could save her love. Now they had risen within
her and she was a telepath, and no matter what she did, she knew there was
no way to stop the voices now.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Major Logan hurried onto the bridge of the enemy warship, looking
everywhere for the Captain. The last time she had seen Susan it had been
heading in this direction with Dr. Kozlowski. She spotted the doctor at
once, tapping away at a computer console, but it wasn't until she heard a
sobbing sound that she found Susan.

The Captain was lying curled up under a console, her arms wrapped tightly
around her body, sobbing softly, her face wet with tears. "Captain?" Lily
said, reaching down to touch her.

"Go away," Susan cried, the terrible pain she felt reflected in her voice.

"What happened," Lily asked, looking around the room for anything that
could have hurt Susan.

Susan choked out a reply between sobs. "...telepath...the voices..." was
all the Major could make out. She looked around at the carnage on the deck,
and noticed the dead bodies lying everywhere. Five of her marines lay dead,
four lying twisted up as if they died in pain, and the last one sprawled
across one of the computer consoles. There were a large number of other
bodies as well, some dressed in uniforms, and one near Susan with the
symbol of Psi-Corps stuck to his jacket.

Lily understood what must have happened now. The telepath lying near Susan
must have done something to her, something that left her so frightened she
had ended up like this. She knelt down and gently helped the Captain back
up to her feet, although she wasn't getting much assistance from Susan.
Lily looked over at Kozlowski. "Doctor," she called. "A little help over
here would be nice."

"I am a bit busy," Kozlowski replied, not looking up from his work. "Give
me a minute."

Lily was about to go over and strangle him when a large group of her
soldiers arrived. She quickly drafted them into helping her with the
Captain and managed to get Susan up in a seat. She didn't seem to
acknowledge anyone though, just sitting there with tears rolling down her
cheeks. She looked so upset that Lily could not help put feel sorry for
her. She didn't know what the telepath had down to her, but it must have
been horrible to leave her in such a state.

"Captain," Lily said again, this time louder. When Susan still didn't
respond, Lily sat down near her and put her arm around Susan's shoulders to
comfort her. This touch seemed to cause a reaction and Susan seemed shudder
and then she asked in a very small voice. "Is he dead?"

Lily glanced over at the telepath, noticing the blood flecking the edge of
the console and the total lack of movement. "Yes Captain, he is dead."

Susan nodded and wiped her hands across her eyes trying to hide the tears.
She could feel strong protective emotions coming from the Major, and as
much as she hated the idea of being a telepath, Susan didn't want to appear
weak. Despite Lily's strongly voiced protests, she struggled back to her
feet. She still felt horrible, but there was a job to do, one that would
save a lot more lives than just hers.

She looked over at Kozlowski, who was just finished some sort of program on
one of the consoles. Pressing a final key he hurried over to the next
console and typed in another quick command. Then he hurried over the Susan
and Major Logan. "I think it would be a good idea if we left now," he said,
his tone sounding very urgent. "I have rigged the fusion reactors to blow.
I don't think we should be on board when that happens."

"We had better get back to the transport then," Lily said to Susan who
nodded in agreement.

"What about her," Kozlowski, pointing towards Sarah Chang who lay,
unnoticed, next to another console.

Lily quickly ordered two marines to carry the still unconscious Psi-Cop
with them, while others slung the bodies of the five dead soldiers over
their shoulders. Susan followed them all out of the room, not looking back
at Kiel's body. There was no looking back for her now, she could never
return to what she had been. She could only hope that everything she had
ever feared would not come true, and she could keep Psi-Corps away.

Behind her a figure emerged from the darkness at the back of the bridge and
watched as the humans left the bridge. Spotting the fallen figure of Kiel,
the alien hurried over to his side and checked to see if he was still
alive. Then, finding he was, the alien picked up the telepath with one
gloved hand, and dragged him away.

        ------------------------------------------------------------



Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547



From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 16/17, Part A
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 01:08:49 +1030

Here is the first part of chapter 16. This was originally going to be the
final chapter, but it got too large. Instead there will now be a chapter 17
as well, due out in a couple of days time.

For earlier chapters and properly formatted and edited versions of this
story see my webpage at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/stories1.html

Spoilers: There are spoilers for all 5 season of Babylon 5 in this story, so
consider yourself well and truely warned.

Disclaimers: The various B5 characters that I use in my story remain the
property of Waner Brothers, TNT, JMS, and whoever else wants to claim them.
The rest however are the proporty of my imagination and you can do what you
will with them.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

                            Reunion - Part 16
                              By Sel Vecantie

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Like a mosquito that had finished its meal of blood, the black troop
transport detached itself from the hull of the enemy warship and powered
away towards the distant Rasputin. Inside the cockpit, Susan concentrated
solely on keeping the ship flying level and avoiding the enemy fighters.
Fortunately, that task was made a lot easier by the fact that the tiny
fighters were no longer shooting at any of the Earthforce ships, instead
the were passively returning to dock with their mothership.

The remaining starfuries, their numbers perhaps halved by the recent
battles, gathered around the transport in a protective formation. None of
the enemy fighters showed even the slightest interest in their defensive
formation however, but seemed to avoid any contact. Even when shot at, the
fighters did not return fire, a fact that pleased the Earthforce pilots no
end.

It was an anti-climatic ending to what had been an epic battle. A small
Earthforce fleet had defeated a far more powerful enemy and had lived to
tell the tale, at least they had so far. On the journey back from the enemy
warship's bridge Susan and the Marines had not run into any organised
opposition. Instead, the surviving enemy troops had only put up a
half-hearted opposition, before fleeing when the voice of the ship's
computer began warning of an imminent reactor explosion. Everyone, both
friend and foe, had made a mad dash for the life pods, or, in the case of
the Earthforce soldiers, the troop transport.

Most had made it, but among the sudden cloud of life pods escaping, no-one
noticed a single, tiny shuttle that exit the Enlightener's shuttle bay and
shot off, straight towards the jumpgate. As soon as the assault force had
made it back to the Akira, Susan had broadcast a message about the enemy
ship's coming fate, so every vessel was moving as fast as it could away
from the wounded warship. Most of the Earthforce vessel were already out of
range, but the rest, including the transport and the fighters, retreated at
maximum burn.

The transport was halfway back to the Rasputin when it happened. The
program Dr. Kozlowski had designed created a feedback loop in the
Enlightener's two huge fusion reactors. The more energy each reactor put
out the more that was cycled back in to increase the energy production. No
reactor, even the modern ones on board the warship, could handle that much
energy, and fifteen minutes after the program was begun the reaction
finally reached a critical level and the warship exploded.

For the second time that day, a new star was born over Proxima, a brilliant
flash of light that lit up space for miles around. The out of control
fusion reaction tore through the superstructure of the Enlightener, burning
away all in its path and at the same time drawing in more and more fuel.
Then, when the explosion reached the mass driver, it ignited the unstable
Quantium-40 cores inside the asteroids.

Enough Q-40 to power three jumpgates was stockpiled inside the six
remaining asteroid and the explosion it created was suitably immense. The
enemy fighters, recalled by Kozlowski command, were caught in the powerful
energy wave that spread out from the dying warship. Later, when the clean
up teams arrived to neutralise the left over radioactive materials, very
few enemy fighters would be found to have survived to explosion. In fact,
out of the ten thousand fighting drones that had entered the Proxima
system, three were left intact, and only then because they had been
disabled early in the battle and had been left behind the fleet.

Aware of what was about to occur, the Earthforce ships were moving away
from the warship as swiftly as possible, so not even the Akira, or its
protectors, were caught. The survivors from the Enlightener were not so
lucky. The few surviving life pods that had managed to move far enough away
not to be burned to crisp by the explosion were picked up by an Alliance
warship hours after the battle. Those in the slower pods, perhaps the lucky
ones considering the prison that awaited the other survivors, died
instantly as the burning wave of energy turned their tiny life pods into a
brief sparks of multi-coloured light, before scattering their particles
across space.

Only one other vessel survived the day, a tiny shuttle that pulled away on
engines just powerful enough to outrun the wave of energy created by the
explosion. Dark against space, it was almost impossible to detect,
especially on scanners that were already filled with the bright flare of
the Enlightener's destruction and it slipped away without being noticed. In
fact, the first the surviving Earthforce ships knew of the shuttle was when
the jumpgate opened and it escaped into Hyperspace. No-one was prepared to
set out in pursuit though, even if their vessels had been operating at one
hundred percent capacity.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

A large crowd of excited crew members were on hand to greet Susan and the
rest of the attack force as the black transport glided back into its bay.
With a loud clang and a sudden rush of air the outer doors closed and the
aft shuttle bay was slowly repressurised. As soon as an atmosphere had been
established, and the airlock from the main shuttle bay opened, the waiting
crew members all rushed in, eager to greet the triumphant assault force.

Their joyful greetings soon faded though, as the crew glimpsed the first of
the wounded being carried out of the shuttle. Fortunately, only eight of
the soldiers had been killed, but only three of the rest had escaped
without injury. Even Major Logan was limping, a bandage around her leg
covering up the knife wound she had suffered. Others were worse though,
some with life threatening PPG wounds to their torsos, and others with
multiple injuries. A PPG did seal and cauterise the wound within seconds of
being struck, but not before considerable bleeding had occurred.

The welcome party promptly turned into a makeshift medical team. The
walking wounded were assisted down from the transport, although most,
including Major Logan, insisted on making their own way. The worst of the
injured were helped onto stretchers and sent off to sick bay, where the
Rasputin's entire team of doctors was preparing to perform life-saving
operations. However, despite the number of causalities, the general feeling
was one of elation and triumph. Only two hours before the Rasputin's crew
had faced death at the hands of mighty adversary, and now they were
victorious, heroes of Proxima III, and saviours of the entire Earth
Alliance.

Susan didn't feel this way though, instead, she was awash with apprehension
and fear. Throughout the journey back to the Rasputin she had been
preoccupied with the shattering realisation that her carefully constructed
life was sundered. Her once dormant telepathic powers had now bloomed
within her, and with only the slightest amount of effort she could reach
out and peer into someone's mind. This was exactly the ability she had
cursed and hidden from her whole life. The only thing she could think of
was what would happen to her when Psi-Corps finally caught up with her.

Her powers appeared to have increased exponentially since this morning.
Where before she had trouble scanning anyone, even another telepath, now
Susan could pick up the thoughts of others from several metres away, even
when she was trying to block them. Right now her head was throbbing with
the strong emotions she was picking up from the crew waiting outside. She
thought about remaining exactly where she was and hoping they all left, but
knew that wouldn't make any difference. She had to face the crew, she was
their captain after all, and they would be expecting her to make an
appearance.

Closing her eyes for a moment she concentrated on shutting out the voices,
but succeeded only in getting them to fade into the background a little
more. With practice, she would probably be able to shut out all but the
strongest emotions, but now she was still an unskilled telepath, and her
fears about what she had become were preventing her was obtaining the
clarity of mind that she needed.

There was also the worry about Talia, wondering if she would survive, and
if she would still be dominated by the artificial personality. Susan had to
see her, had to make sure she was still all right. She knew that it was
unlikely that the Psi-Corps implanted personality would be removed so
easily, fearing that the brief moment of freedom on the Enlightener had
only been achieved through the pain from Talia's injury. She felt an
overriding compulsion to make sure Talia was still alive. It was more
important now than anything else, even the adulation of her crew and the
people of Proxima.

Straightening her uniform, and making sure her hair was still tightly
braided, Susan made her way down from the transport and into the crowded
shuttle bay. The thoughts and emotions of those gathered below washed over
her mind like an inexorable tidal surge. Strangely, she felt energised and
lifted by what she picked up. Impassioned feelings of elation and euphoria
were most common, and these emotions seemed to wipe away a little of the
fear and self pity that Susan was feeling. It didn't last for long though,
as the pain of feeling so many emotions at once began to eat into her. Even
a fully trained Psi-Cop would have been battered by the onslaught, and for
the first time Susan realised why so many telepaths were loaners, keeping
away from others.

Those crew not otherwise occupied tending to the wounded, quickly gathered
around her, all eager to welcome her back to her ship. After much hand
shaking and many pats on the back, Susan finally made it across to the
airlock. The short trip to the airlock had helped her understand why
telepaths wore gloves, because each time her hands were grasped by one of
the crew she felt the rush of a sharp surge of emotion, and the surface
thoughts of the person congratulating her pounding into her brain.

By the time she found herself walking through the airlock into the main
shuttle bay, she felt sick, her face as white a sheet. While the thoughts
of those in the aft shuttle bay were mainly on the victory, Susan could
already imagine what she would feel when she had to walk among those with
darker things on their minds. She shivered at the mere thought of what
might happen.

"Captain," a weak voice nearby called out.

Susan turned around and saw a stretcher carrying Sarah Chang being wheeled
past, the Psi-Cop looking at her, and holding out her hand. Susan refused
to touch Sarah, knowing that if she did the Psi-Cop would immediately
discover her new-found telepathic abilities. She did, however, venture over
to see what Sarah wanted. Not to close, but close enough to hear what the
other woman was saying.

"I just wanted to thank you, Captain," Sarah said slowly. "You have done
Psi-Corps, and all of Earth a great service.

Susan was confused, wondering exactly what the Psi-Cop meant. For a moment
she imagined that Sarah had somehow learned of her telepathic battle with
Kiel, but when she lowered the blocks in her mind and listened to the
emotions and surface thoughts, of the other telepath there was no sign of
what she feared, instead there were just feelings of gratitude.

Perceiving Susan's confusion, Sarah explained. "If you hadn't shot Kiel
while he had been distracted with me, all of us would probably be dead
right now. Thank you, Captain." Then she was wheeled away, up to sick bay
for tests to see how badly injured she was. While she looked fine to Susan,
but there was always the possibility of internal injuries.

Susan watched the departing stretcher with amazement, wondering how the
Psi-Cop had come to the conclusion that she had shot Kiel, assuming of
course that Kiel was the powerful telepath who had assaulted her on the
Enlightener's bridge. Then it came to her: Sarah didn't suspect she was a
telepath. When the Psi-Cop regained consciousness and learned Kiel was
dead, she had automatically assumed that Susan must have shot him, knowing
that there was no way a normal could defeat a telepath.

That made Susan feel a little better, realising that, at least for the
moment, no-one suspected her abilities. She knew it wouldn't remain that
way, and unless she kept away from all other telepaths for the rest of her
life she would eventually be found out, just like her mother had been.
Sadness welled up in her as she remembered the day her mother's abilities
had finally been discovered by the Psi-Corps, and the horror as the black
uniformed Psi-Cops had shown up at their house. It was a nightmare that
plagued her for many years and although she had only been a child when it
had happened, every detail still remained etched strongly in her mind.

She wiped away the single tear that traced its way down her cheek and
pushed those thoughts deep down inside where they could stay until she was
alone in her quarters. This was meant to be a time of celebration, a time
to revel in the elation's of victory, although looking at the stream of
wounded being carried into the lifts, she didn't feel that victorious. Too
many had died for that. It was a victory, but one built on the sacrifice of
some of Earthforce's finest soldiers. Somewhere, floating alone in the
blackness of space, were thousand of bodies, men and woman who would never
again feel the warm light of Earth's sun on their faces.

As she waited for the lift to arrive, Susan contemplated what would happen
to her now. She couldn't imagine that Earthdome would blame her for the
destruction of the three destroyers, despite the fact she had been in
command at the time. The victory the fleet had won here today was too great
for recriminations. There was no doubt that it had been a grand victory,
despite what she felt deep down inside. In fact, Earthdome would probably
want to proclaim her and all the other survivors as heroes. After the loses
taken during the civil war, they probably needed someone's face to put on
the recruiting posters.

'Perhaps they will make Kozlowski their hero,' Susan thought, almost
chuckling as she imagined the doctor being used to promote Earthforce. Then
she stopped as she realised that was the first happy thought she had felt
since her telepathic abilities had awoken. While it had only been about
half an hour since she had fought Kiel, already Susan wondered if she would
ever feel happiness again, especially now that her greatest fear was
starting to consume her.

The lift arrived and the doors opened, spewing out another stretcher team.
They paused briefly to pass on their congratulations for the victory,
before hurrying off towards the transport to collect another of the
wounded. As she watched them pass, Susan wondered again how Talia was. She
had looked for the blonde telepath among the wounded gathered near the
transport, but by the time she had left the cockpit the worst injured,
including Talia, had already been taken off to sick bay.

Stepping into the lift, she ordered it up to the command deck and the
bridge. Although, more than anything, she wanted to see Talia, Susan knew
her duties were just as important right now. She still didn't know how many
others had survived the battle, how many of the Rasputin's pilots were
dead, and a hundred other details. Although she had put personal feelings
ahead of duty a number of times in the past, her uncertainty about
everything to do with Talia forced her into putting her responsibilities
first this time.

As the lift carried her up towards the command deck, Susan put aside her
feelings for Talia, and her worry about the telepath's condition. Right
now, she could think of nothing she would like to do than bury her head in
her pillow and try to block out the constant noise in her head. She was
exhausted, both emotionally and physically, but she still dragged herself
off the lift and towards the bridge. Rest would come later when the
Rasputin was safely back in orbit around Proxima III and the injured tucked
up in sick bay. Until then, she had to bear her own, less visible injuries
privately, hiding them away until she was alone and had time to deal with
what had happened to her.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Commander Gregor Petrov rubbed his hands across his face, trying to wipe
away the tiredness that was beginning to grip him. Both he and the Captain
had been bombarded with problems since her triumphant return from the enemy
warship. He looked up at Ivanova, who was sitting at the command station,
noticing that she was still talking with Admiral Mellor, who had called
from Earthdome nearly twenty minutes ago. Despite the long day they had
been through, she still seemed to be going strong, but he remembered how
Ivanova had appeared when she had first arrived back on the bridge.

Her face had looked pale and drawn, and it was obvious that she was hiding
something terribly painful just below the surface. Then he had learned of
the injury to the telepath, Talia Winters, and realised that the Captain
must still feel very strongly for her. He had offered to take over while
she went to check on Talia's condition, but Ivanova had refused, instead
throwing herself into her work, taking command of the disorganised
Earthforce fleet again.

He hadn't known much about Ivanova before she came to serve on the
Rasputin, but after the past three hours his respect for her had grown
enormously. Although obviously troubled by what had happened on the enemy
warship, the Captain had quickly organised the scattered Earthforce vessels
into a rescue fleet that had scoured the battle site for any survivors. The
work seemed to be good for Ivanova too, taking her mind off whatever it was
that was troubling her.

Petrov knew she couldn't continue like this for much longer though. The
battle may have only taken just over two hours, but in that time everyone
had been through a lot, himself included. He could still feel a stinging
pain in his left arm every time he tried to move it, despite the
painkillers injected by the medical team. He knew he had to be a lot better
than Ivanova, though. Her shoulders seemed to slump wearily every time she
finished a call, and since she had returned there had been an almost
constant barrage of callers. It seemed as though everyone in the entire
system wanted to talk with her and, as Admiral Mellor signed off, Petrov
decided to put and end to it.

The Captain, more than anyone on board, needed rest. It seemed like
everyone on the bridge was drawing their strength from her. She, on the
other hand, had no-one to look to for support, and that fact was obviously
putting a tremendous strain on her. Gesturing for someone else to take his
place, he headed towards the stairs that led up to the command station.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Captain," the voice of Commander Petrov called out to her as she closed
down the link from Earthdome. Already there were another six messages
awaiting her attention, all marked urgent.

"What is it, Commander," Susan asked wearily, turning around to look at
him.

Petrov hurried up the stairs and over to her side. "I think perhaps it is
time you allowed yourself to be relieved, Captain," he told her. "It has
been three hours, and I think we can take care of things here without your
help for a while. You need some rest. There is not a lot you can do now
that can not wait until later."

"We all need rest," Susan replied a little testily. "But there is still so
much to do. There are still people out there to rescue, and I want to make
sure none of the enemy fighters survived the battle."

"And it can all be handled just as well by someone else," Petrov said. "I
have just called Lieutenant-Commander Heatley in to relieve me, and I will
relieve you. You won't be much use to anyone if you are too tired to stand.
After all, if you are tired, you are more likely to make a mistake."

Susan nodded, realising, for the first time, exactly how terribly fatigued
she felt. Today had been perhaps the most emotionally exhausting day of her
life. It wasn't just the fact that her telepathic abilities had suddenly
erupted into full bloom, but also the concerns she had about Talia's
condition, and a thousand other things. All the pain she felt suddenly
seemed to almost overpower her, and Susan felt the energy that kept her
going over the past few hours starting to slip away.

"Very well, Commander," she said, reluctantly vacating the cushioned
command chair, and allowing Petrov to take over. "But I want you to promise
that you will also get someone to relieve you soon. You have been awake as
long as I have today."

"Understood, Captain," Petrov said as he dropped himself down into the
chair she had just abandoned. "And you can promise me that you will try and
get some sleep, and not worry about anything for a while."

Susan nodded again, promising her X/O she would at least try to get some
sleep. At the moment she didn't imagine it would be very hard, in fact she
was sure that as soon as her head hit the pillow she would be out like a
light. Never before has she been so spent, and it was not just physical
exhaustion, this time it was mental fatigue, unlike anything she had ever
felt before. There was no pain, no headache or anything like that, just a
deep rooted weariness that ran right through her, filling every cell of her
body with a lethargy that made it difficult to do anything.

Although every step felt as though she had an iron ball attached to her
leg, Susan didn't head towards her quarters straight away, there was
someone she wanted to see first. She didn't know what she would find when
Talia awoke, and despite her suspicion that nothing could have changed
permanently, she had to see for herself. While Petrov assumed command on
the bridge, Susan walked down the corridor towards the lifts, intent on not
wasting a moment longer before visiting Talia. Even if she was still
controlled by the artificial personality, Susan had to know if she was
alive.

Behind her Petrov suddenly found himself inundated by calls as ten people
at once called for his attention. He choose one at random and found,
instead of the expected Earthforce officer, the face of an ISN journalist
looked back at him. For a moment he considered calling Susan back, but that
thought quickly passed. Even if she had been at full strength she had
already expressed her desire to have nothing to do with journalists, so
Petrov straightened his uniform and brushed his free hand through his
untidy hair.

He hadn't joined Earthforce to be in the spotlight, but if the Captain
didn't want it, he wasn't going to say no. After checking to make sure he
looked at least presentable, he turned back to the screen. "Can I help
you?" he asked in a pleasant voice. Already he could imagine his mothers
joy when her only son appeared on ISN. He hadn't done a lot in his career
so far that had achieved much notice, but as the first Earthforce spokesman
following such a great victory he was assured to be seen on every vid
screen from here to Babylon 5.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547

From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 16/17, Part B
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 01:09:38 +1030

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Susan tossed and turned in her bed, unable to sleep, despite the incredible
fatigue she felt. So far, in more than seven hours of trying, all she had
managed was two or three short naps. They had been brief respites before
the same nightmare drove her awake, and she found herself unable to stop
from screaming out in fear. She was grateful that the quarters on the
Rasputin were soundproofed so no-one else could hear her suffering, not
that she didn't want it to end, just that she could not face seeming weak
to others.

All her life she had tried to be strong, to face down her fears and pain
quietly and alone, but here in her darkened bedroom there was no escape to
be found. Ever since her mother had taken her own life, Susan had lived in
constant fear of what would happen to her if Psi-Corps ever found out about
her abilities. Through most of her life her telepathic powers had only been
weak, little more than a P1. Since yesterday though, and the terrible
battle of minds with the former Psi-Cop on the Enlightener, her true
ability had finally manifested itself and Susan found herself living in
fear of not only discovery, but also what she had become.

She had tried to see Talia earlier, but the doctors were still operating to
try and save her life. Even if they had spoken together, Susan dreaded the
Talia that she would have found. The few scattered and weak thoughts she
was picking up from Talia's mind felt cold, distant, and certainly had none
of the warmth she expected to find if it was really her Talia that lived
within the body that lay half dead on the operating table.

Feeling tired, sick, and frightened, Susan lay shivering on her bed, her
mind slipping back into the past, and remembering what had caused the
nightmares. In her entire life she had only willingly allowed two telepaths
to see into her mind: her mother, and then, much later, Talia. Both woman
had been an incredible influence on her by defining love and conditioning
her ability to love. Her mother had shown her how to hide her talent, while
Talia had shown her how wonderful her powers could be.

She still remembered vividly the first and only time Talia had entered her
mind, that wonderful one night that seemed so long ago now. Then her
abilities had only been latent, but even so, the experience had been so
incredible that it had effected her ever since. As their bodies had joined
so had their minds, Susan unable to keep out Talia's thoughts of love. At
first there had been surprise on Talia's part, but after that had passed
what had followed was an experience so intense that every love she had ever
felt, before or since, had paled into insignificance.

Only when she had been a child, and had scanned her own mother, had she
felt similar feelings and seen her own love reflected back at her in
another's mind. After Talia had left she had lived in fear of Talia's
artificial personality telling Psi-Corps about her, but somehow, amazingly,
that had not occurred. Eventually she had recovered, and although the loss
of Talia had haunted her for years, she had eventually lost the fear. Now
it was returning again, for all new reasons.

Down in sick bay, fighting for her life was both her greatest love, and her
greatest fear. If, by some miracle Talia recovered and was restored to her
old self, Susan would regain the best companion and most wonderful lover
she had ever had. If, however, Talia recovered, but the implanted
personality was still in control, she faced her greatest fear. She knew the
moment Talia touched her, or even came near her, she could be discovered.
If that happened, she knew without doubt that the artificial personality,
totally loyal to Psi-Corps, would immediately report her. She didn't even
want to consider the other possibility, what would happen if Talia didn't
recover.

This then was the nightmare that kept her awake, the knowledge that unless
the impossible happened and her Talia somehow awoke, she was doomed to
either lose her life to Psi-Corps, or lose the life of the only real lover
she had ever known. This, and the new experience of trying live with a
constant babble of noise in her head, was why her sleep had been so
troubled. Now, no matter what she tried, she was unable to sleep, and the
more she tried the worse the nightmares had become.

The half-empty bottle of vodka sitting near her bed was testament to an
attempt to drink herself into a stupor, but after half a bottle she still
hadn't been able to drift away into slumber. So she had left the rest in
the bottle and dropped back into bed, now nauseous as well as tired.
Shortly after that she had even briefly considered suicide, the blissful
release of a PPG shot to the head almost welcome when compared to the
torture she had to endure.

Her pistol had been safely locked away though, and the thought had quickly
passed as she had dropped into a short drunken doze. Now, four hours later,
she found herself staring in the direction of the bottle once more, hoping
that something could extinguish the pain she was feeling.

She glanced over at the chronometer. It was a little after four, which
meant that she had now been lying here for eight hours, having slept less
than one. Sighing, she went back to watching the darkened ceiling for
another half an hour before finally dragging herself out of bed and staring
blankly at the wall mounted vid screen instead. She considered actually
switching it on and watching one of the local networks, anything to take
her mind off the worrying, but quickly decided that wouldn't help.

In fact, right now there was only one thing that would put her mind at
ease, and that was to see Talia. She had to know now the results of the
doctor's surgery, she had to know if Talia was still alive. Despite the
weariness that seemed to effect every part of her body, she pulled herself
up upright and opening the doors into the lounge room, where she had left
yesterday's uniform. She probably should find a fresh uniform, but at the
moment Susan didn't think she had the strength to open the wardrobe in her
bedroom. Instead, she pulled off her nightgown and tossed in the general
direction of her bed before reaching down to pick up her uniform. Dressing
was a difficult process, but she eventually managed to complete the task.

Fully dressed now, Susan walked back into the bedroom, ignoring the
crumpled sheets and reaching down to pick up her link from the small
bedside table. Her hand hovered for a moment over the small sliver of metal
and electronics before changing her mind and drawing away. She decided that
if there was anything important, Petrov, or whoever was in charge up on the
bridge right now, would have to send someone to look for her. Then, as she
turned to leave, a sparkle caught her eye and held it for a brief second.
There on the bedside table, lying almost hidden beneath her nightgown, were
the two data crystals she had left out so many nights ago.

One was the information Dr. Kozlowski had sent her, while the other was a
Vorlon data crystal, a copy of the thoughts Ambassador Kosh had recorded
from Talia's mind. When she had last looked at them she had been only a
latent telepath, now her powers were considerably stronger. Exactly how
strong she didn't know but perhaps now was the right time to find out.
Forgetting about her other problems for now, Susan sat down on the bed and
slipped the first of the crystals back into the reader.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

The sick bay was now quiet. Those with minor injuries had been patched up
and sent back to their quarters, while the more serious cases were now
resting comfortably in the small wards off the main operations area.
Outside, things were certainly not as quiet, the sick bay having the
unfortunate luck of being located close to the main recreation room, where
some of the crew were still celebrating the victory.

Susan could have put a stop to it, but didn't want to deny the crew their
celebrations. Yesterday, most of them had gone into battle not knowing if
they were going to live and die, and the elation that came with survival
was certainly worth celebrating, even if only for one night. Of course,
there were strict regulations about being drunk on duty, but considering
her own condition, Susan decided not to press the issue.

The newly appointed chief medical officer, Goran Habbib, was the only one
of duty when Susan arrived. He was sitting quietly in a chair just inside
sick bay, his feet resting on a nearby table. The doctor appeared to be
going over the latest reports on the condition of those wounded still in
sick bay. He looked up as Susan entered, and a nervous twitch briefly
affected his face. "Can I help you, Captain," he asked after he jumped to
his feet and saluted her.

Susan glanced around the room, checking to see who else might be around.
"Where is everyone else," she asked after her quick search failed to locate
any of the other medical personal.

"I gave them the rest of the night off," the doctor replied nervously.
"That is all right, isn't it. I mean they were tired, and I thought they
could do with a short rest, especially considering that the automatic
monitoring systems can probably take just as good care of the wounded now.
That is all right isn't it, Captain?"

"Fine doctor," Susan replied, holding up a hand to stop him talking. "I am
not here to check up on your progress, just to see one patient. Where is
Ms. Winters?"

"Oh," Habbib replied, a little relieved that Susan wasn't here for the
report he had promised Commander Petrov, especially considering he hadn't
even started working on it. "Follow me then, Captain." He led Susan across
sick bay, past the operation room and into one of the smaller rooms that
were set aside for those too injured to return to their own quarters.
"Actually, she is one of the only patients we have left. The rest insisted
on being allowed out to join their companions, and as they were no longer
in danger and will probably survive the festivities, I didn't see any
reason to keep them here."

Susan nodded, and then as soon as Habbib had pointed out the room where
Talia was she put a hand across his chest, stopping him. "I would like to
be alone, Doctor," she ordered. "Make sure no-one disturbs me."

Habbib nodded, and after another pointed look from Susan, hurried back to
his chair to his work. He didn't know why the Captain would want to be
alone with the telepath, but he certainly wasn't going to argue. Instead he
went quietly back to his report, wanting to finish it before the second
shift came on duty.

Susan didn't notice him leaving, instead her attention was on the room in
front of her. She didn't know what she would find, but wanted to believe
that Talia was still all right. She pressed the door control and it slid
open, revealing a small room, with four beds. At the moment only one was
occupied, and after closing the door behind her, Susan quickly crossed to
Talia's side.

The blonde telepath lay almost deathly still on the bed, only the gentle
rise and fall of her chest giving any sign she was alive. She was pale, and
much of one bare shoulder was covered by a bandage, and almost certainly
beneath that, a skin regeneration pad. Susan brushed her hand across
Talia's face, and the other woman stirred in her sleep, letting out a soft
moan as Susan's hand touched the naked skin of her cheek. Susan pulled
back, suddenly remembering that physical contact increased telepathic
connection, and the last thing she wanted right now was for Talia to wake
up.

She looked up from Talia for a moment and, spotting the small table nearby,
pulled out the portable data crystal reader. Then, after plugging it into
the wall mounted screen, she placed it carefully on the table. She then dug
around in the same pocket for the data crystal, holding it in her hands for
several, long seconds before finally inserting it into the reader. She was
still debating if this was the right thing to do or not. It was a painful
choice, knowing that if she went ahead with this, Talia could be lost to
her forever. Of course if she didn't, then it was just as likely that she
would never see the real Talia ever again either.

Kneeling down next to the bed Susan closed her eyes and whispering a quick,
heartfelt prayer before taking both of Talia's hands in hers and lowering
the walls she had erected in her mind. At once the voices in her head
increased in volume and number as she began to pick up on the thoughts of
the Rasputin's crew. For a moment she was lost in a jumble of conflicting
voices and emotions before she finally began to sought through them,
searching for the only voice that mattered to her.

Finally she found it, the cold thoughts of the artificial personality
inhabiting Talia's body, dreaming equally cold dreams. Shivering slightly
as she thought again about what she was about to do, Susan almost stopped
right there, but she couldn't leave Talia this way, not when there was a
chance to undo what had been done, so instead she pressed on. At once she
felt pain begin to build in her mind as she encountered a powerful block
erected inside Talia's mind. It was like suddenly hitting a wall of iron
while running flat out, and Susan's probe was nearly ejected from Talia's
mind by the impact.

Closing her eyes tightly and pushing with all the power of her mind, Susan
felt the wall begin to falter, but not fall. Then she noticed what looked
like a miniature door that had been left open just a crack. In Susan's mind
it looked like a tiny speck of light in a wall of darkness. Drawing her
thoughts back for a second, Susan breathed deeply, summoning all her
strength and then she pushed into Talia's mind once more, concentrating all
her strength on that one tiny spot.

She shuddered as pain ripped through her, more pain than she had ever felt
before. For a second she almost lost consciousness, but then it was gone
and she stood in a narrow corridor, the only light coming from a distant
source high above. She sudden realised that she had been here before, in a
dream, a dream that now seemed more real than she had previously imagined.
Hearing the distant sound of someone chanting a rhyme over and over, Susan
hurried in that direction.

Outside the realm of their minds, Talia's eyes flickered open, and then
narrowed as she noticed Susan kneeling beside the bed and felt the unwanted
telepathic contact in her brain. The artificial personality suddenly
realised what Susan was capable of, and also what she was attempting to do,
and there was no way she was going to let herself be removed that easily.
Although she was too weak to push Susan away physically, mentally she was
far more powerful.

Inside Talia's mind Susan was running as fast as she could, trying to reach
that tiny part of Talia's subconscious that was still her. Nearly there,
the corridor suddenly vanished and she was caught in a beam of immobilising
light that held her imprisoned, unable to escape or proceed further. She
tried to move her physical body, but found it was also imprisoned, gripped
by a powerful telekinetic force. Then a voice called for her attention.

"You must have been more desperate that even I could have imagined,"
Talia's voice said. From the shadows of her mind the artificial personality
stepped into the light, appearing to Susan's mind as a black uniformed
Psi-Cop, the symbol of Psi-Corps glowing like a star on her lapel. "It is
pathetic you know, all the years you have wasted hiding away your talent,
and now throwing away your life like this."

"I am not dead yet," Susan snarled, finding that although her body had been
disabled her voice hadn't.

The evil version of Talia smiled. "I could kill you right now," she said
calmly, while at the same time reaching out with her telepathic abilities
and gripping Susan's throat. She squeezed tightly for a few seconds, until
Susan's face began to twist in pain, then she released her. "You see, I
could squeeze the life from you and no-one could help you. I won't just yet
though, first I want to see why you want her back so much."

"You wouldn't understand," Susan said, her voice raspy. "You can't
understand the love we had, what we shared with each other."

Talia raised an eyebrow. "Love?" she asked. "I have all her memories, but I
don't recall anything more than a close friendship... unless..." she paused
and her features twisted in anger. "Of course, that bitch hid it away from
me. That is how she managed to remain alive so long."

Susan wondered what the implanted personality was talking about, but she
was too concerned with trying to free herself to listen to Talia's ranting.
Her arms and legs were held tightly in Talia's telekinetic powers and she
was unable to move, but she could move her head, and fortunately that was
all she would need. "Computer, play," she said weakly. Sitting on the table
next to the bed the portable data reader switched on and began to feed the
thoughts captured on the data crystal onto the screen above the bed.

The evil creature that wore Talia's face spun around as soon as Susan
spoke, looking at her in sudden shock. Like a conductive wire Susan's mind
was receiving the thoughts from the screen and sending them directly into
Talia's brain. In her mind they appeared as a ghostly white shapes that
burst from her body and flew around the room before plunging straight
towards Talia.

The image of Talia screamed once and then vanished in a flash of brilliant
pain that threw Susan's mind clear, tumbling back into her own body.
Finding she could move again she opened her eyes and looked up at Talia,
hoping to see some reaction, some change. Her mind was still sending the
fears collected on the data crystal into Talia's brain and she could see
the effect they were having. Talia's body was twisting in pain, almost as
if she were caught in a horrible nightmare, which of course she now was.
For a second Susan almost stopped sending the images, frightened of hurting
Talia, but she forced herself to press on, knowing this was the only way.

Finally, the data crystal ended and Talia fell still. 'Talia?' Susan sent,
hoping like anything that somehow she had survived. Steeling herself
against what she might find, Susan began to probe Talia's thoughts once
more, seeking any sign of life. This time there was no blocks anywhere, and
although Talia's mind still appeared dark and cold, it was quiet, the
artificial personality stunned into a deep coma, disabled by the fears it
had been forced to confront.

Then, deep inside Talia's mind, she found what she was looking for, the
tiny hiding place where a small part of Talia's real personality had
survived. Like before, Talia sat cross-legged in the darkened chamber, a
blanket pulled up tightly around her, as if to shut out everything from the
outside. Susan knelt beside her, gently pulling the blanket away. So weak
that she could barely move, Talia looked up at her.

"Susan..." she said in amazement, before turning away and shaking her head.
"No it can't be you, you're dead."

Susan took Talia's hands in hers, mimicking what she had done earlier in
the physical world. "No, I am not dead," she said, hoping that the
simulated physical contact would be enough to convince Talia. "I'm alive,
here with you right now. I want you to wake up, to get better."

"That wasn't a dream, was it," Talia said suddenly. "I thought it was a
dream, just like all the others she has sent me, trying to break me so she
can kill me."

"It wasn't a dream," Susan told her. "I thought it was for a while as well,
but then I realised that it had to be true."

Talia looked up at the ceiling. "She is asleep, but she will soon awaken
again."

Susan nodded. "That is why you must come with me now. You have to destroy
her now, while she is asleep."

Talia shook her head, looking despondently down at the floor. "I am not
strong enough, Susan," she tried to explain. "I have never been strong
enough, that is why they could do this to me so easily. It I had been
stronger, I would have survived. All my life I have been weak, have always
given in to those who sought to harm me. I was never strong like you."

"Together we might be strong enough," Susan implored her desperately. She
had tried so hard to get to this point, and she didn't want to fail when
she was so close. "Tell me what I need to do and I will do it."

Understanding suddenly dawned on Talia's face. "You are strong enough,
aren't you," she said in surprise. "You have managed to put her to sleep
haven't you. How is that possible Susan?"

"I don't know," Susan admitted. "All I know is my telepathic abilities have
grown more powerful, perhaps even enough to undo what Psi-Corps has done to
you."

For the first time another emotion made its way on to Talia's face, hope.
She stood and took Susan's hand. "But am I strong enough, though?" she
asked. "This is my fight, not yours. I have to face down my fears and
somehow find the strength to free myself. I have to know that you want me
back."

"I want you back more than anything else in the world," Susan told her in a
voice that was strained with emotion. "I would give up everything, my
command, my life, everything... just to have you with me again."

Talia smiled for the first time in over two years. "Then I will try,
Susan." She looked around at the dark chamber she was trapped in. "After
all, what do I have to lose."

"What can I do?" Susan asked.

Talia raised a weak hand to Susan's face. "Just think of me. Call out with
all your strength, and concentrate all your thoughts on me, on your
memories of me. If I am strong enough, that should be all that is needed.
Go now, this I have to do myself. I have to find the strength to overcome
what they did to me. Just think of me and if I am strong enough, I will
hear your call. You have opened a doorway, all I have to do is be strong
enough to step through it."

Reluctantly Susan nodded, but could not bring herself to pulled her hands
free from Talia's. Eventually, she realised that Talia was right, and this
was a fight she had to go through alone. Giving Talia's hands a final
supportive squeeze, she released them and pulled her thoughts back into her
own mind, opening her eyes once more.

On the bed beside her, Talia twitched in her sleep, and a look of pain
began to appear on her face. Remembering Talia's instructions, Susan tried
to remember all the good times they had spent together. There were actually
very few, they had only really just started to know each other when Talia
was snatched away. However, those few thoughts there were had remained
riveted in her memory, small spikes of happiness in an otherwise painful
existence. Climbing up onto the bed with Talia, Susan slipped her arms
around the other woman's body, trying to comfort her, while at the same
time calling out for Talia will all her strength.

At first there was no response, no change in the ocean of icy darkness that
was Talia's mind. Then a tiny light appeared on the horizon of Talia's
thoughts, a sudden dawn over a sea of night. That tiny spark quickly
spread, a wave of pale light that washed away the darkness, like it was
medicine cleansing Talia's mind of a debilitating infection. Then the
darkness fought back, beginning to dim the light once more. Susan
concentrated even harder, sending her memories and love into Talia's mind
with all the intensity her new found telepathic powers could muster.

Talia heard her and, with one final effort, pushed at the last remnants of
the implanted personality. In her own mind she could see the damage the
Psi-Corps researchers had caused with the experiments that spawned and
grafted the artificial personality inside her subconscious. But she could
also see her own powers, and the gift that Ironheart had given her, the
gift that had enabled her to survive this long. It was more than just her
increased telekinetic powers, it was also a strength of purpose that she
had never possessed before, a strength that she now drew on for the first
time.

With a renewed determination, Talia concentrated on the single thing that
had kept her personality alive this long, the memory of Susan and what they
had shared together. Her path laid out before her, she gathered all the
strength her tired mind could muster and punched through the final blocks
Psi-Corps had placed in her mind. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of
its own destruction, her mind broke free of the shackles that had been
placed around it and for the first time in two and a half years she opened
her eyes.

Susan felt the sudden burst of telepathic power inside Talia's mind and
felt the coldness washing away, replaced by a soft warmth that filled her
mind, and left behind a feeling of comfort. Opening her eyes she stared
into Talia's newly opened blue orbs with a searching gaze. There she saw
her own longing and love reflected back at her, and knew without doubt that
Talia was back, herself once more. She felt tears beginning to form in her
eyes, unable to do anything right now but sob out her joy.

Talia raised a trembling hand to Susan's face and gently wiped away the
gathering tears. "Susan..." she said softly, before her eyes fluttered
closed again and she settled down into Susan's embrace.

For a second Susan though something terrible had happened, and Talia was
drifting away from her again. A quick scan of Talia's mind soon calmed her
fears, Talia was only sleeping, exhausted by what she had been through. The
calmness that slumber bought to Talia's mind, reminded Susan of her own
need for sleep. She shook that off though, urging herself to stay awake, to
watch over Talia while she slept, to ensure nothing happened to reverse the
impossible miracle that had just occurred.

Her mind could not control her body though, and, despite her efforts to
keep her eyes open, Susan let sleep overcome her and her head dropped down
to nestle against Talia's shoulder. As consciousness slipped away she was
enveloped by a feeling of total and utter calm, as if all the hurts and
fears of the previous three years were just washed away, even if only for a
little while. Next to her Talia rolled over in her sleep and unconsciously
snuggled closer to Susan, their bodies touching for the first time in more
than two years.

That was not all that touched either. Their minds also joined, not the
intense, erotic touch of lovers, but the gentle touch of two dreamers. As
their slumber became deeper, more calm, in their dreams they came together
and shared each others most intimate thoughts. When they awoke the next day
each would remember nothing more than a beautiful, peaceful dream, which
just happened to feature the other. But in the few rare times when two
telepaths dreamed together it was never quite so simple. In these dreams
telepaths shared more than just their thoughts, they also shared their
souls, and when they awoke, neither was ever the same again.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Lieutenant Harry Shaw glanced back to make sure the Psi-Cop was still
following. He shivered slightly, as the short telepath just stared back at
him, seeming to look into his very soul. He wondered what stroke of bad
luck had led to him being on duty in the shuttle bay at the exact time that
the Psi-Cop's shuttle had chosen to appear. There were a hundred other
things he would have preferred to be doing right now, but it seemed that
God was not smiling on him tonight.

"We are here," he told the telepath, relieved that at last he had reached
the sick bay. "Is there anything else you want?"

'Wait here,' Bester sent telepathically. 'I may have need for you yet.'

The fair-haired lieutenant nodded and leaned against the wall opposite the
doors leading into medical section. Actually, there was nothing he would
have liked more than to be back in the shuttle bay again... anywhere but
here with the Psi-Cop searching through his mind.

Bester smiled as he turned away and walked through the doors into the room
beyond. The lieutenant's apprehension was a strangely refreshing feeling,
to know that without doing anything he could inspire fear in mundanes. He
had other more important things to do right now though, foremost among them
finding his missing assistant, who had not been there to greet him when his
shuttle had arrived. Lieutenant Shaw said that she had been taken to sick
bay, but looking around the empty room he didn't see anyone at all.

He reached out with his mind and felt the presence of minds down a side
corridor. He walked in that direction, looking around or any signs of a
doctor or nurse who could tell him something. He could have just used his
abilities to find her, but he didn't know how badly injured she was. While
a telepathic scan would rarely cause any serious injury, unless the subject
resisted, an injured mind could be damaged further by unwanted contact. He
certainly didn't want to harm the best assistant he had been graced with
for many years.

Detecting thoughts from behind one door he opened it, his eyes opening wide
in confusion. There, curled up next to each other were Talia Winters, and,
to his amazement, Ivanova. He hadn't imagined that Ivanova would ever
forget what had happened back on Babylon 5. Shaking his head in amazement
he moved to investigate further, but was distracted by another mind coming
towards him, a mind that was broadcasting a strong amount of annoyance.

"Can I help you," the tall, dark-skinned doctor asked testily as he walked
up to Bester. He reminded the Psi-Cop of an old teacher who had caught him
loitering where he most definitely should not have been. Unlike that old
teacher though, there was nothing the doctor could do to him if he refused
to leave.

Bester smiled coldly at him. "I am looking for Sarah Chang," he replied,
after searching the doctor's mind, and learning that he was the chief
medical officer. He decided it best not to cause a fuss, especially with
Ivanova sleeping in the same room. If she woke up, he didn't doubt that she
would not be pleased to see him, and he'd always had a sneaking suspicion
that she would like nothing more than to see him dead.

"She was relea..." Habbib started to reply.

"Thank you," Bester cut him off, already having picked the information he
wanted out of the doctors mind. Leaving Ivanova and Talia, and the over
protective doctor, behind for now, he walked away. He still had to learn
what had happened to Kiel and Anderson, and to discover that knowledge,
Chang was the most likely candidate.

Behind him Habbib's eyes narrowed in anger at the way the Psi-Cop had
searched his mind, with absolutely no regard for the Psi-Corps rules about
such things. He didn't want to cause any trouble though, so he was content
to just watch the Psi-cop closely until he left the medical bay. He could
have reported Bester for the illegal scan, but knew that would get him
nowhere, especially against a Psi-Cop.

As soon as Bester was gone Habbib glanced into the room behind him, pausing
for a second before closing the door and walking away. He had thought for a
moment about waking the Captain and asking her to leave so Ms. Winters
could sleep. But after checking the monitors he realised that the injured
telepath was already sleeping comfortably, and her condition appeared a lot
better than before. So he decided to leave the two women alone, and go back
to his work. Besides, he was always of the opinion that it was best to let
a sleeping tiger rest, that way he kept his head.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Sarah Chang pushed her eyes open and stared at the door leading into her
room, wondering who could be calling at this time of the night. She glanced
down at time on the vid screen, and noticed that it was no longer night. In
fact, she had been asleep for nearly eleven hours, a testament to exactly
how tired the confrontation with Kiel had left her.

The offending door chime rang again, and this time she also felt a thought
pushing its way into her mind. 'Ms. Chang,' Bester's thoughts called.
'Please open the door. It is cold out here, and the company isn't very
pleasant.'

She quickly jumped out of bed, calling out, "just a minute." She grabbed a
robe that was slung over a nearby chair and pulled it on. Despite the fog
in her mind, she had enough presence of mind not to appear half dressed to
her superior. Drawing the robe tightly around her she said calmly, "Enter."

The door heard her command and slid open, admitting the dark clad form of
Bester, who walked briskly into the room. 'How are you feeling,' he asked
telepathically. 'I was a little worried when I heard you had been injured.'

"I am fine now," Sarah replied, preferring to speak out loud instead of
straining her tired mind. Outside her room a young man in a lieutenant's
uniform was visible for a second, before the door slid shut. She imagined
he must be a crew member drafted into serving Bester, the badge did have a
way of convincing people. Despite the Lieutenant's handsome features he
occupied her thoughts for only a moment, before she turned her attention
back to Bester. "I was just exhausted that was all," she explained.

"I am pleased to hear that," Bester said as he sat down in the one chair
that didn't have her clothes scattered all over it. "Now, perhaps you can
tell me exactly what happened, starting with how you ended up so
exhausted."

"Kiel was stronger than I imagined," Sarah told him, a little annoyed at
having to admit that. "I couldn't keep him out of my mind."

Bester nodded, realising that the former Psi-Cop was a powerful telepath
indeed. "I didn't intend on you facing him alone like that," he said. "All
I wanted you to do was find him and then I would take care of him
personally."

"Things happened a little quickly, Sir," she said apologetically. "I didn't
intend on facing him either."

He paused and looked at her for a second, searching her face. "What
happened to him?" he asked. He had already been fully briefed by Earthforce
on the attack, but needed to know what had happened to Kiel. Bester had to
know if he was dead, that he would never again threaten him, or those he
loved.

Sarah shrugged. "I am not entirely sure," she replied. "I think Ivanova
might have shot him while he was trying to kill me. I faintly remember her
just arriving as I lost unconsciousness, and then Kiel's thoughts vanished
from my mind. After that though, I lost consciousness so what happened next
I don't really know."

Bester looked a little surprised at that news, and then a smile spread
across his face. "I wonder what Ivanova will think when she realised what
she has done," he said in an amused tone.

"What do you mean, Sir?" Sarah asked, confused about what he meant.

"Kiel's death has had caused considerable changes within Psi-Corps," Bester
informed her. "Especially the way he died." Seeing Sarah still didn't
understand, he continued his explanation. "There were many within
Psi-Corps, mostly opponents of mine, who were supportive of Kiel. This
madness he attempted has sent a shockwave running through the Corps, and
those who supported him have lost considerable power." Bester paused and
smiled. "I will leave it up to you to guess who has gained power out of
this."

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "You?" she asked, wondering why she wasn't
surprised. If anyone could gain anything out of this chaos it would be
Bester, he thrived on situations like this. After all, he had gone from a
simple Psi-Cop to one of the Corps important powers, all in the space of
less than four years.

Bester nodded. "That's right, Ms. Chang. With Kiel's former allies
disgraced, I will be able to move allies of my own into positions of power
within the Corps. If you remain as my assistant you could rise far. Your
service to the corps has been exemplary in this matter."

"The corps is mother, the corps is father," Sarah replied a little smugly.
"I live to serve."

"Of course," Bester replied. "And your service has been better that I could
ever imagined. In fact, I think you deserve some sort of reward."

"Reward, Sir," Sarah asked in surprise. She certainly hadn't expected that.

Bester nodded sagely, picking up on the sudden elation within his
assistant's mind. "I have booked you a room at the best hotel in Reagan
Dome, where we can discuss your reward. We can leave as soon as you are
packed, unless you want to stay on this cramped warship of course."

"No, Sir," Sarah replied happily. The last thing she wanted to do was spent
another night of the Rasputin, especially when no-one here appreciated her.
The idea of spending a few nights in a luxury hotel was something she
wasn't about to pass up.

"I didn't think so," Bester said with a knowing smile. "Get packed, I will
meet you down in the shuttle bay."

Sarah nodded and, as soon as her boss had left the room, started laughing.
She couldn't believe how well this had all turned out for her. A little
over a year ago she was fresh out of training, just one of twenty two new
Psi-Cops from her year. Now she was rising through the Psi-Corps ranks at
an amazing rate, while the rest of her class were still probably assigned
to one of the bloodhound units, or even worse jobs. With a little luck she
could remain as Bester's assistant while he climbed to new heights of
power, taking her with him.

She paused in her packing, thinking back to who was really responsible for
her success. It was terribly ironic that it was Ivanova, someone who hated
telepaths so much, had done the most to boost her career. If it hadn't been
for Ivanova killing Kiel, and consequently ending his plans for the Earth
Alliance, she would not have been in the position she was now. As she
walked out of the door, Sarah made a mental note to thank Ivanova sometime,
even if just to see the look on the Captain's face.

Right now though, she had other thoughts on her mind, specifically the
long, steaming hot bath she intended to treat herself to once she was
safely ensconced in the hotel. She might not have really earned this sort
of treatment, but she intended to make the most of it while it lasted.
Quickly finishing her packing, she turned off the lights in her room and
left, heading for the shuttle bay and the short trip to Proxima III.

        ------------------------------------------------------------


Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547


From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion, Chapter 16/17, Part C
Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 01:10:10 +1030

        ------------------------------------------------------------

20:25 February 27, 2262.

Susan struggled to change from her standard blue uniform jacket, to the
greyish-blue ceremonial one, while at the same time trying to balance two
data pads in her other hand. Finally managing it, without dropping the
reports, she zipped the jacket up and, after tucking the data pads under
her arm, hurried off down the corridor towards the Rasputin's conference
room.

At the end of the corridor Commander Petrov was waiting for her, as tall
and straight as always, and for a brief second Susan wondered what was
happening to her. It used to be that she was always on time, always
properly dressed and ready for anything. Perhaps it was worry, after all,
Talia was still suffering from a dangerous PPG wound, and although her mind
had recovered her body still had to fully heal. Also Susan wasn't sure if
Talia really wanted her back. They had spent so little time together before
Talia was taken away from her, and although, Susan could never forget what
she had shared that night with Talia, she wasn't sure Talia felt the same
way. For all she knew she might have just been another fling to Talia.

Then, there were her increased telepathic abilities. Ever since she was
eight she had known about her abilities, only for most of her life she had
hidden them, denied they even existed. Now, for some unknown reason, they
had manifested themselves fully, and although she had to admit that without
her powers she would never had survived the battle with Kiel, or bought
Talia back, she still couldn't face the fact that she was now a telepath.

Every minute of the day she had to concentrate to block out the thoughts of
others, or she would find herself overwhelmed by the cacophony of competing
voices. Not that she hadn't tried to control her powers, but nothing she
seemed to do had helped, and she fell asleep each night with a throbbing
headache. Susan had tried to talk to Talia about it, and, although she was
still tired by her ordeal, Talia had tried to help her. What had happened
then though had left Susan feeling even more concerned.

Susan had tried communicating telepathically with Talia, sending her
thoughts into the other woman's mind instead of speaking out loud. All that
had done though was leave Talia with a splitting headache from the strength
of those thoughts. Talia had tried to comfort her, tell her it was just a
matter learning discipline, of learning to send her thoughts more softly,
but Susan hadn't been so sure. In fact, so concerned was she, that she had
refused to try again, no matter how much Talia had tried to convince her.

Now, five days after the battle, and four nights after Talia had been freed
from the artificial personality that had held her mind prisoner, Susan had
new problems. Just two hours ago, Admiral Mellor, the current head of
Earthforce colonial defence, and her direct superior, had arrived. Susan
had no doubt he was here to review the whole matter of the enemy attack on
Proxima III, and what had occurred during the battle. She was fairly
certain that he wasn't here to fix blame for the losses which, considering
the overwhelming odds they'd faced, were not unexpected. But she couldn't
help but wonder exactly why he was here. Officers of his rank rarely just
turned up out of the blue, they usually arrived with all the fanfare
Earthforce could muster.

"Ready, Captain," Petrov asked her with a hint of a grin on his face.

"As ready as I will ever be, Commander," she replied sourly. Susan almost
felt envious of the way he could seemed to be calm no matter the crisis.
There was a time when she also used to be that way, cold and unfeeling now
that she thought back on those days. Now, her days were consumed with
constant worry about what would happen if her telepathic powers were
discovered, and her nights with other people's dreams.

"Uh huh," he said, looking pointedly at her Earthforce insignia.

Susan quickly glanced down, noticing at once that the badge was skewed to
one side. She quickly straightened it, and checked the rest of her uniform
to make sure everything was in place. It wouldn't do to appear before the
admiral looking like she had just climbed out of bed, despite the fact that
is exactly what she had done. It had been the first time in days she had
been to bed early, having spent the past four nights watching over Talia as
she recovered.

A few hours ago, Talia had finally been released from the sick bay, back to
her guest quarters on the command deck, and doctor Habbib had sent Susan to
bed early as well, ordering her to get a proper nights rest or he would
have her confined to quarters. Finally she had given in, but as luck would
have it, her head had no sooner hit the pillows when her linked beeped. It
had been one of the bridge crew announcing that the Admiral was here and
waiting for her in the conference room.

Further thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door hissing open, as
Petrov pressed the door control. Waiting in the conference room, Admiral
Mellor put down the cup of tea he had been sipping and invited them both to
enter. Susan stepped inside and immediately came to attention and salute.
"Captain Ivanova reporting, Sir," she said.

"Sit down, Captain," Mellor replied, pointing towards a chair opposite him.
Then he looked up at Petrov. "I don't need to see you right now, Commander.
Perhaps you would care to return in about half an hour. I would like to
have tour of this fine ship before I continue on to Proxima III to meet
with President Mitrovic."

"Yes, Sir," Petrov replied, leaving the room and closing the door behind
him.

Feeling a little apprehensive, but not knowing quite why, Susan took her
seat and placed the two data pads on the table next to her. "Had I been
informed of your arrival, I would have had a more suitable welcome party
waiting for you, Admiral," Susan said apologetically.

Mellor shook his head. "I wanted this to be an informal meeting, Captain,"
he said, taking the seat opposite. "I am here now just to bring you up to
date on our investigations into the matter of Mr. Kiel."

Susan frowned as she tried to remember the name. "I am not sure I know
him," she replied. "I have heard the name, but can't quite place it."
Mellor pulled out a data pad and slipped it across the table to her. Susan
glanced at it, at once recognising the telepath from the enemy warship.
"Was that his name," she said, trying to avoid shuddering in fear at the
sight of the man who had caused her so much pain. The echoes of the
nightmares he had awakened in her mind still haunted her sleep.

Mellor nodded. "Yes, Harvey Kiel, until the end of Clark's reign a powerful
figure inside Psi-Corps. He was responsible for much of what went on under
the previous government, and until five days ago was the number one figure
on our wanted list. We always knew he was up to something, but we never
imagined it would be anything like this."

"Do you know who helped him out yet. I mean this sort of thing cost a lot
of money, and in my report..."

Mellor held up a hand to stop Susan continuing. "I know what your report
said, Captain. That is part of why I am here." Seeing Susan look of
confusion, he continued. "Kiel's actions had the support of some powerful
people, and not to mention the companies you have indicated. Unfortunately
these powerful allies have made the evidence vanish, and, although you and
I might know who was responsible, we can't act without evidence."

"They can't get away with this," Susan said, her voice betraying the anger
she felt rising inside her. "They can't just kill thousands of people,
destroy and entire colony, and get away with it."

"I had not intended to let them," Mellor said calmly. "But there is little
I can do about it, since it's Earthdome that makes the rules. Without
evidence we don't have anyway of proving that the companies you mentioned
financed the whole thing. So far there has been no proven link."

"What about the bank records I mentioned," Susan asked desperately, not
wanting all of her efforts, and the efforts of her crew, to go to waste
like this.

Mellor shook his head sadly. "I am afraid they seemed to have vanished as
well, Captain, along with the rest of the evidence. We have sent teams to
Arisia 3, but they haven't managed to find even as much information as your
team recovered. The wreckage in orbit has provided little information,
while the planet itself has been swept clean by erupting volcanoes."

"So it has all been for nothing then," Susan said, her voice becoming
despondent at the thought of the businessmen who financed the construction
of the enemy fleet getting away with no penalty. This certainly wasn't her
idea of justice.

"Not entirely," Mellor replied. "I am intending on doing all I can to keep
an eye on the companies responsible, ensuring that they never try this
again. Although I think the results of the battle you commanded here may
convince them, not to mention anyone else who might threaten the Alliance,
to look elsewhere."

"I hope you are right, Admiral," Susan replied. "I certainly don't want to
go through that again."

Mellor smiled ironically at her comments. "I was going to say that if we
had to fight such a battle again, I would want you commanding the fleet.
You did a good job, Captain."

"I did what I had to do, Admiral," Susan said modestly, although she
couldn't help but feel a little lifted by his comments. "I am sure anyone
else would have done the same."

"Perhaps," Mellor replied. "Although I wouldn't say that to Emmerton when
you see her. She is still sore over how easily her command was destroyed.
That is one battle she won't forget in a hurry."

Susan nodded, remember how Emmerton had been pulled out of the life pod,
her left arm covered in burns from the explosion on the Typhoeus' bridge.
The Vice-Admiral had been irritable ever since, although she had treated
Susan with a lot of respect during the one meeting they had conducted. "She
was very lucky to survive," Susan admitted.

"Well, the Joint Chiefs, the President and all of Earthdome are very
pleased with your victory. Our strategic analysts have gone over the
records from the battle and agree that, without the actions you took, our
fleet wouldn't have stood a chance against that ship. You did put the lives
of your crew in jeopardy, but it paid off this time, so you are to be
commended."

"Thank you, Admiral," Susan said.

"I think it is us who should be thanking you, Captain," Mellor replied. "If
you hadn't stopped that ship, then Earth itself might have come under
attack." He paused and took a sip of tea. "However, there is always a price
to pay, even if you win a war."

"A price?" Susan asked, not exactly sure if she liked the idea of that at
all.

"Yes a price," Mellor replied, although it appeared he was having trouble
maintaining a straight face. "In your case you are going to have to
accompany me to Proxima III to attend the little party Mr. Mitrovic's is
holding tomorrow."

"Not another party," Susan said in a pained voice, remembering what had
happened last time. "I suppose there will be reporters there as well."

"Probably one from every network in the Alliance, and a few of the alien
governments as well," Mellor replied with a grin. "You see what I mean by a
price."

Susan groaned. The last thing she wanted right now was to be the centre of
attention, especially with her awakened abilities. There was no way she
would be able to survive that sort of event, at least not without going
totally around the bend. "Do I have to go," she asked the Admiral.

Mellor nodded. "I am afraid the President has insisted that you attend. I
even think he wants to give you a medal."

"When is this party," she asked, hoping that it wasn't tonight. She hoped
the Admiral was kidding about the medal bit.

Mellor thought for a moment, obviously trying to convert Proxima time to
Earth time in his head. "Sixteen hundred hours tomorrow afternoon," he
finally replied, before stopping and counting again. "No, wait, make that
fourteen hundred. You will be there of course, won't you, Captain?"

"I'll be there," she replied, not at all happy about the situation.

"Good," the Admiral replied. "I didn't want to have to disappoint the
President." He looked down at his data pad for a second before continuing.
"I think that is all then." he reached over and picked up the two data pads
Susan had bought along. "I assume these are the latest reports." When she
nodded in confirmation, he continued. "Good, you may as well get some rest
then, Captain. After all, you are probably going to need it. I will see you
tomorrow afternoon."

Susan stood and saluted again. "Yes, Sir," she replied.

Mellor saluted in return. "You are dismissed, Captain. Send in Commander
Petrov as you leave. I still want that tour I mentioned. This ship cost
Earthforce a lot of money and I would like to take a look at what we are
getting for our money while I have the chance."

"I will send him along at once, Admiral," she replied, making her way
towards the door.

As the door opened she was pulled up by the Admiral's voice again. "Oh, one
last thing, Captain," he said. "This party of the President's, he wants
everyone attending to bring a date, I think he wants to make it into some
sort of social event. So invite one of your officers or something like
that."

"Yes, Sir," Susan replied. "I have someone in mind already."

"Great. I will see you there then."

Susan nodded and left the conference room. As soon as she had gone, Mellor
put down the reports and picked up his cup of tea, slowly sipping it as he
turned around to watch the clean up operation on the holographic display in
the Rasputin's conference room. This was his first time on board the new
pride of the Earthforce fleet, and so far he had been very impressed, not
just with the ship and its captain, but with their accomplishments as well.

It hadn't been a easy battle, the wreckage that still floated in space
between the planet and the jumpgate attested to that. But the Rasputin, and
her captain had performed magnificently, and because it had been he who had
selected Ivanova to take command of this vessel, he hadn't done that badly
out of the whole affair either. Mellor smiled when he remembered how the
other Admirals and Generals, led mainly by Lefcourt, had wanted to ship
Ivanova off to some distant posting and forget all about her. Mellor and
his supporters, including the man in charge of the Warlock project, Admiral
Kiernan, had stuck to their guns though, and she had been giving the
posting she had asked for.

Now his choice had been vindicated, and although this victory could never
bring back the nine thousand dead at Flinn Colony, it at least bought some
justice for their families. Earthdome was very pleased with the outcome,
and so were the rest of the command staff, which made him happy as well. To
often in the past few years he had been on the outer, pushed aside because
of his reluctance to follow Clark's commands. However he had never been as
open in his disloyalty as some of the others, fine officers who's only
crime was to believe too strongly in their ideals.

He knew though, that not all of Clark's conspirators were ever discovered,
and evidence seemed to have found a way of disappearing. There were still
others out there who worked behind the scenes, manipulating those in power.
The Admiral didn't like it one bit, but like so many others, he didn't have
the power to do anything about it. Sighing, he pushed aside thoughts of the
past and turned back to the present. He wasn't here to dwell what was out
of his hands, but rather to celebrate the victory.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Susan found herself outside the door to the Rasputin's
guest quarters, wondering if she should go through with this or not. Talia
was still recovering from a debilitating injury and the last thing Susan
wanted to do was put more strain on her already fatigued system. On the
other hand she didn't know if she could go through with this party alone,
and when she was with Talia all the noise in her head seemed to diminish
somewhat and she felt so much better.

Her hand hovering over the door control, she finally made up her mind and
pushed it, before she could regret the choice. "Enter," said a voice from
within. As the door opened, she did just that, still feeling nervous about
her relationship with Talia. She didn't want to rush things after being so
long apart, but every time she was near Talia she couldn't help but feel
lifted.

"Sit down, Susan," Talia's voice called from the bathroom. "I will be out
in the minute."

"Mm, I just love a hot shower," Talia said as she made her way into the
main room. Unlike Susan quarters the guest quarters only had the two rooms,
the bedroom and the small bathroom. "I was wondering if I was going to see
you this morning."

"I slept in," Susan lied. Actually she had spent two hours debating over
the decision about asking Talia along with her tonight. Looking at Talia
now though, her breath taken away by the other woman's beauty, she knew she
had made the right decision.

"Well, you needed it," Talia replied, drying her hair with a white towel.
"The doctor told me how you stayed by my bed while I was asleep. You really
didn't need to do that."

"I wanted to," Susan replied softly, hoping that Talia was feeling the same
way she was right now.

Talia turned around to look at her, letting to towel drop forgotten to the
floor. She smiled, immediately lighting up her whole face. "I hoped that
was what you would say, Susan," she said. "I was worried that you didn't
feel the same way for me any more."

Susan raised her hands to cup Talia's face, gently, her fingers like
feathers against the other woman's face. "I could never forget how much I
love you, Talia. Even after all the time we spent apart, I couldn't forget
about what you meant to me."

Talia took Susan right hand in her own smaller hand and turned it, gently
kissing the knuckles. She looked up, catching Susan eyes in her own. "And I
couldn't forget you, Susan," she whisper, two tears trailing slowly down
her cheeks. "In all that time I spend locked away in my own mind, through
all the horrors she showed me, I never forgot you. It was the only thing
that kept me alive."

She paused, and Susan took the time to move closer, tears beginning to well
up in own eyes and she felt the same heartbreak over the time they had
spent apart. "I'm sorry," she tried to say. "If I had known that part of
you had survived, I would have done something. I went to see you... her...
before she left. There was nothing there... I didn't know."

Talia squeezed Susan's hand and held it against her cheek, unable to stop
the tears from flowing freely. "I know," she sobbed. "I was... I was too
weak. I tried to call out to you. I tried to say something, but there was
nothing I could do. Then she told me she had killed you, showed me how she
had done it, and I didn't know what to believe. I held on to hope though,
held on to the last memory I had of you, hoping that one day you would find
a way to free me."

She paused, allowing Susan to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I
am not usually like this. It's just that I never thought I would see you
again, and I didn't know how you felt about me."

"I love you, Talia," Susan told her in a voice that was beginning to quaver
as well. "When I thought you were dead I tried for so long to get over you,
to try and forget. Most of the time I just threw myself into my work, and
then along came the war and for a while the pain seemed to stop. But I
could never forget you, not after what we shared."

"Hush," Talia said, holding a finger to her lips. "You don't need to
explain now. It's not the right time, the pain for both of us is still too
fresh. Later when we are alone together we can talk about this. Besides you
have a ship to run, Captain. I must admit that came as a bit of shock, in
fact most of what has happened is a shock."

"Do you remember anything about the past two years," Susan asked carefully,
not wanting to bring up any bad memories.

Talia nodded very slowly, as if trying to remember at the same time. "It is
very strange. I have memories in my head, but I don't remember the events.
It is like someone has inserted false memories for the past two years, they
don't seem real, but they must be. Then I have other... more real
memories... of being trapped inside my own mind, being tormented by her."

Susan gently stroked Talia's face. "That must have been horrible, I can't
even imagine what it must have been liked trapped in your own mind for all
that time."

Talia shrugged. "I don't really remember much, it all seemed to pass so
quickly. That's why I was so surprised when you said how long it has been.
Time seemed to have so little meaning, and every day was the same, so
nothing seemed to matter after a while. I just concentrated on staying
alive. Then you came, and all the pain seemed to go away." She stopped and
smiled at Susan. "I am just so happy to have you back, Susan."

"Me too," Susan replied, wiping away her own tears. "You don't know how
long I dreamed of this moment. I used to think about you every night,
dreaming of how, if things had turned out differently I could have kept
you, not letting Psi-Corps take you away. I used to think that if I hadn't
been so scared to say anything, I could have helped you."

"You can't blame yourself, Susan." Talia said, trying to comfort her. "It
is Psi-Corps that is responsible, not you." She shuddered, remembering the
experiments Psi-Corps conducted on her, after she left Babylon 5. "It is an
evil organisation, one that doesn't care about the rights of the telepaths
under its control." Her eyes narrowed and her tone grew angrier. "One day
they will have to pay for what they did, both to me and everyone else they
have ever harmed."

Susan nodded and gathered Talia up in her arms, comforting her. "They will,
Talia. I promise. Some day they will pay for everything they have done."

"That's why you need to learn to use your abilities, Susan. You are
powerful, at least a P11, maybe a lot more. I can feel it when I am in your
mind, or you are in mine. If you don't learn to focus, you won't be able to
hide from them."

Susan didn't say anything. She didn't want to talk about it right now.
After all that had happened to Talia, all the hurt and pain, she couldn't
ever imagine using her telepathic powers again. They had always scared her,
and now that they had grown in power she was even more frightened,
imagining that if she tried to use them then Psi-Corps would find out. She
didn't want to tell Talia this yet, though.

Fortunately the awkward moment was interrupted by a beep from her link.
With quick glance at Talia, as if to say, "what now?" she tapped the
receive button. "Yes," she said irritably, annoyed at this disruption,
despite the difficult topic Talia had just bought up.

"Sorry to disturb you, Captain," the voice on the other end said. "But I
just had a call from Admiral Mellor to ask me to remind you that he expects
to see you at fourteen hundred hours on the dot."

"Understood," Susan replied. "Ivanova out."

"Something up," Talia asked.

Susan nodded. "It is why I came here to see you this morning. The President
of Proxima is having this party and I was... wondering...if you wanted to
come along with me." she paused before adding, "as my date. The Admiral
insisted I take someone, and if you are up to it I would like it to be
you." Susan looked nervous, before finally admitting, "I am not sure I am
really ready to face a big crowd alone just yet."

Talia smiled, and ran her fingers through her hair, a manoeuvre that set
Susan's heart fluttering. "I will... on one condition."

"Anything," Susan replied.

"You shouldn't agree so quickly, Susan," Talia said with a mischievous
grin. Then after deciding that she had kept Susan in suspense long enough
she continued. "I need you to take me shopping. I definitely need a new
wardrobe, and my account appear to be empty at the moment."

Susan nodded, a little bemused. "What is wrong with what you already have?"
she asked.

Talia stared at Susan as if she had just turned into a Narn. "You must be
joking," she said, more than a little surprised. "None of those things are
really my style, especially those ugly green military uniforms."

"I quite like them," Susan said, remembering that she never really did like
what Talia had worn back on Babylon 5.

Talia laughed and stood up, pulling Susan up with her. Then she drew Susan
close, so that their bodies were pressed together. "Well if you don't want
me to come with you," she teased, before leaning forward to place a soft
kiss on Susan's lips. "If you want me along, my adorable Susan Ivanova, you
are going to have to buy me a new dress, at the very least."

"It's a deal," Susan replied, returning Talia's kiss. "We should leave at
once though, there isn't much time. I remember how much you liked to shop."

"Mm, we should, shouldn't we," Talia replied, reluctantly pulling away from
their embrace. She couldn't let go of Susan totally though, her hands
sliding slowing down the other woman's arms until the reached her hands.
There she squeezed them tightly.

"I will just go and organise a shuttle," Susan told her, still holding on
to Talia's hands. She didn't want to let go yet either, not after she had
spent so long dreaming of this moment.

"And I will get dressed and meet you down in the shuttle bay," Talia
replied. She began slowly rub her thumb in a circular motion around Susan's
palm. "Unless you can think of something else that you would rather be
doing."

"Ms. Winters, I am on duty," Susan said in a voice that tried to appear
shocked. She wasn't succeeding very well though, especially when she looked
at the thin robe Talia was wearing. "Unfortunately, I think if we don't go
now, I am not sure we ever will."

Talia nodded, leaning forward to kiss Susan passionately. After nearly a
minute she pulled back and released Susan's hands. "I will see you in the
shuttle bay in fifteen minutes, Susan," she said, a little breathlessly.
"And remember I want a dress, a nice one."

"You'll have it," Susan promised, as she backed out of Talia room, although
she was going so slowly it almost appeared as if she wasn't moving at all.

"Go on," Talia said, giving her a mock shove in the direction of the door.
Susan smiled and with a little wave of her fingers left the room, the door
closing behind her. Talia felt like leaping for joy, so happy did she feel.
She had never felt this way before about anyone, and despite all she had
been through over the past few years, she still thought she was incredibly
lucky.

She had fallen in love with Susan the moment she had laid eyes on her that
day in C&C. She had always known that Susan felt something for her, and
despite the one night they had spent together, and the way Susan had freed
her, she still didn't know how deep the Comm... no, Captain's... feelings
ran.

Despite her own elation, she couldn't help but feel a little sad, not only
for the time that had been lost, but also for Susan. It was obvious that
she was suffering, trying to deal with her new found abilities alone. She
knew that Susan wouldn't be able to hide them forever, not without help,
and if she tried to shut her mind away that would only lead to more pain.
As she pulled on one of the green uniforms, they seemed to be the only
clean items of clothing left in her wardrobe, she made a vow to do all she
could to help Susan.

It wasn't just for Susan either, it was also for herself. If she didn't
help Susan, she knew what would happen, she had seen it so many times
before. While a telepath's abilities were latent, which was usually only up
until puberty, they were difficult to detect, but once they bloomed, an
untrained telepath became a lot easier to find, especially when they tried
to use their powers. Unless Susan learned to control her abilities she
would eventually be discovered by the Psi-Corps, and that would be too
horrible to think about.

Talia didn't want to think of Susan's beautiful spirit crushed by
Psi-Corps, as they turned her into what she had always hated. She could
sense the strength of Susan's mind, it was powerful, too powerful for the
Corps to let her use the sleepers. Even if Psi-Corps would let Susan take
the drugs, Talia couldn't see Susan submitting to that idea, not after what
had happened to her mother. She wouldn't let her either, she couldn't
imagine what it would be like to no longer hear Susan's thoughts in her
mind.

Shuddering in fear for Susan, and herself, Talia resolved to do all she
could to help Susan learn the full extent of her powers, and to train her
to hide her talent away from those who sought her. She felt a little sad
that she had finally found someone who she could love, only to have to face
losing her to Psi-Corps, just as she herself had nearly been lost forever.

Sighing to herself, Talia zipped up the jacket of her uniform, and without
looking back, left the room. She could feel the need Susan had for her,
Susan had been broadcasting her fear and longing so strongly, she couldn't
help but pick up on it. Susan had saved her, now she had to save Susan,
before it was too late.

        ------------------------------------------------------------




Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547



From: "Sel" <vecantie@geocities.com>
Subject: Reunion - Chapter 17/17
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 05:13:34 +1030
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Here is the last, and most definitely final chapter of Reunion. Enjoy the
ending.

For earlier chapters and properly formatted and edited versions of this
story see my webpage at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/stories1.html

Spoilers: There are spoilers for all 5 seasons of Babylon 5 in this story,
so
consider yourself well and truely warned.

Disclaimers: The various B5 characters that I use in my story remain the
property of Waner Brothers, TNT, JMS, and whoever else wants to claim them.
The rest however are the proporty of my imagination and you can do what you
will with them.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

                             Reunion - Part 17
                              By Sel Vecantie

        ------------------------------------------------------------

It was early morning on Proxima III, the darkness of the planet's long
night still covering the surface like a dark veil. Out of the gloom the
large shape of a flying reptile, known locally as a Sunhawk, suddenly
appeared, gliding smoothly in the warm air thermals created by the mines
and factories far below.

Sunhawks were a creature native to Proxima, and spent most of their days
gliding high above the planet's surface, soaking up the sun. While they
were commonly thought of as reptile they actually had a lot in common with
plants as well, able to subsist for nearly a month off just sunlight and
air. Since human settlement of the planet, however, their patterns had
changed slightly. Instead of gliding all day they had taken to sunning
themselves on the outer surfaces of the two domed cities, and then, as the
sun dipped towards the horizon, they would gather at the city gates,
begging for any scraps of food available.

Despite their annoying habits and ugly appearance, the Sunhawks were a lot
smarter than the human population knew. The inhabitants of Proxima
considered them little better than dodos: large, stupid, and little use for
anything. In fact, much of this appearance was little more than an act, a
ruse designed to trick the warm blooded beings into giving them food, and
building places for them to sun themselves during the day. So far it had
worked magnificently, and each day the Sunhawks would glide down from their
mountain homes and sun themselves by roosting on the outer surface of the
great domed city, their vast golden wings outstretched to catch as much
sunlight as possible.

This particular Sunhawk, who's name was Tikilikac in the Sunhawk language,
was even smarter than the rest. He knew that the warm blooded beings were
very strange and liked to work through the night, their strange metal homes
creating large thermals of warm air that allowed him to glide down out of
the mountains while it was still dark. Each morning, a few hours before
sunrise, he would fly from his nightly roost, following the ribbon of light
that stretched from the mountains into the great dome.

Each morning, well after dawn, the rest of the flock would arrive, only to
find that Tikilikac had already taken the best sunning spot, right at the
very top of the dome. While they had spent two hours making their way down
from the mountains he had already been busy for two hours, sunning himself,
and so he could afford to leave earlier, making his way to the gates of the
city, where the warm blooded creatures would occasionally throw food to
him. Even if they didn't there was always the chance of picking up a stupid
lizard or spiky worm on his flight back up to his mountain-top home.

This morning, though, things were different. As Tikilikac glided down out
of the night sky, skilfully avoiding the strange metal beast, who's massive
form occasionally flew the skies above the dome, he noticed a strange
occurrence below. The warm blooded beings, he had noticed, were creatures
of habit. One of their regular patterns was to create light in certain
locations in their city... in almost exactly the same places every night.

This night it was different, though. Far below, near the tall metal
mountain that Tikilikac liked to watch each day, strange bright lights were
strung everywhere, occasionally shining into his eyes with the brightness
of the sun. Curious, Tikilikac leaned over the edge of his perch and looked
downwards, his frilly crest extended to show his interest. What he saw made
him jump for joy, his clawed feet clicking up and down on the metal
railing.

The warm blooded beings were having a big meeting. Tikilikac vaguely
remembered the last big meeting, and recalled that afterwards lots of food
had been available at the back door. He liked big meetings, although it had
been some time since the warm blooded beings had conducted one. There had
been many little meetings, but, if his crafty old brain was thinking
correctly, there hadn't been a big meeting since all the green skinned
beings, and their funny light making sticks, had left.

Cackling to himself, Tikilikac leaned closer, intent on learning all he
could. Perhaps, if he was really smart this time, he could keep the
knowledge of the meeting to himself, so he would get all the food instead
of it going to rest of the, much slower, Sunhawks. There seemed to be a lot
of blue-skinned beings at this meeting, which was good, because they never
ate all the best food, meaning there would be a lot more for him. Truly,
this was going to turn out to be a good night indeed for old Tikilikac.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Below, in the huge Colonial Administration Building, Susan held another
opinion entirely. So far, the party had been almost as bad as she had
imagined; from the bright spot lights outside, to the throng of reporters,
businessmen, and Earthforce personal inside. "God, I really hate parties,"
she muttered under her breath as she made her way up the stairs towards the
podium, ready to receive her medal from the President.

Below her was the great entrance hall, which for the night had been decked
out with holographic light displays, several bands, and long tables covered
with a wide variety of local food. There was even a large bar at the far
end, which had been running a busy trade all night, as none of the
Earthforce personal were that keen on the food provided. Susan wasn't
concerned with any of this though, instead, she was trying to make it
through the night without going totally insane.

Right now, she could pick up constant swells of conflicting emotions from
those gathered below. Greed seemed the most common, especially from the
large number of reporters that were doing the rounds. But that was not the
only emotion she was picking up with her newly augmented telepathic powers.
Envy, anger, happiness, jealousy, and a hundred others also assaulted her
mind. Then, slightly more subdued than the spikes of strong emotion, was a
constant babble of thousands of voices, which she could hear both
telepathically and audibly. The whole, horrible, celebration was giving her
a splitting headache, one that got worse and worse as the night went on.

Susan looked out across the crowded room and, despite the insistent
throbbing in her head, couldn't help but feel a flash of joy at seeing
Talia standing there waiting for her. The blonde telepath was enchanting in
the long, black dress Susan had bought her earlier that day, a look
enhanced by the shimmering lace shawl draped around her shoulders. Not only
did the shawl complement her delicate features perfectly, but it also
covered up the angry red scar the PPG wound had left on her shoulder.

She felt a brief twinge of anger at herself for allowing Talia to be
injured, even though that very injury had been the catalyst that had bought
them together again. The past few days she had been feeling very protective
of Talia, not wanting any harm to come to her ever again. Ironically, it
had been Talia who had been protecting her tonight, helping her block out
the voices and emotions that constantly assaulted her mind. In fact,
without Talia's help, Susan was sure she would have run screaming from the
building hours ago.

She smiled at that thought, wondering what Admiral Mellor and the other
Earthforce officers would have thought if they had seen that. The insistent
presence of President Mitrovic soon took her mind off idle thoughts though,
and focused her attention on the ceremony he was about to conduct. Gritting
her teeth, and trying to looked pleased, she strode forward to the applause
of the gathered crowd. The throbbing in her head grew stronger, and she
lost sight of Talia, which only made matters worse.

Despite her fears, and the constant pounding of the crowd's emotions and
surface thoughts, she made it through the brief ceremony, managing to smile
at all the right times, and even allow the President to pin the small gold
medal onto her ceremonial uniform, just below the Earthforce insignia, and
the single gold bar that signified her command rank.

That done she hurried off the raised platform and through the crowd towards
the spot where she had last seen Talia. Insistent reporters rushed
forwards, all demanding an interview, or at the very least a brief
statement. Susan found herself imprisoned on all sides by reporters and
well wishers, who all circled like a feeding school of sharks, hungry for a
piece of her flesh. To her horror, she found herself becoming disorientated
by the constant noise, the cries of reporters urging a statement, and the
constant seething emotions of those around her.

Then, just as she thought it would all overwhelm her a cool hand, encased
in a black glove, touched her arm. The voices, the noise, and the tidal
surge of emotions retreated, flowing away from her like a retreating wave.
Instead there was only one voice, a soft gentle voice that spoke in her
mind, comforting and relaxing. "Concentrate on my voice, Susan," Talia
sent. "Let me block them out for you."

She nodded, and the reporters took that as an agreement to their request,
and surged forward. Susan was used to crowds of people though, it was just
the mental assault she couldn't handle. Quickly and efficiently she gave
them the short statement they desired, telling everyone across the entire
Earth Alliance, and probably a few other worlds as well, her thoughts.
Then, after she had said how honoured she was to be presented with the
medal by the people of Proxima, and why it was the crews of all the
defending ships who had really earned it, and everything else they expected
to hear, she pushed her way through the crowd.

Throughout the short statement, Talia had stood close by, her body pressed
up against Susan's by the crush, while her mind had filtered out the
thoughts of all those nearby, allowing Susan to relax and speak without
fear. Now she hung on to Susan's arm as the taller woman pushed her way
through the crowd, towards a quiet corner near the entrance to the great
hall. Behind the school of hungry reporters considered following the
Rasputin's Captain, but then found other, more interesting things to
record, as President Mitrovic stepped up to the podium for his third speech
of the night.

Alone in their quiet corner, Susan and Talia drew close, Talia  continued
to block out the thoughts of everyone nearby. "Thank you," Susan said,
holding Talia's hand in her own, looking deeply into the blonde woman's
eyes. "I am not sure I would have been able to take much more of that."

A flicker of a smile briefly touched Talia's lips, then she leant forward,
guiding Susan's hands around her waist. "I would do anything for you,
Susan," she said, her voice barely audible above the chattering crowd.
Susan heard every word though, Talia's words and the feelings accompanying
them sent directly into her mind.

Susan felt her heart begin to pound faster. She pulled Talia against her,
marvelling at the feel of the other woman's body against hers, even through
the thick material of her uniform. She leaned down, and Talia's face came
up to meet her, a look of longing clearly visible the blonde woman's face.
Then, just as their lips were about to touch, she froze.

An icy chill ran down Susan's spine and her whole body began to tense with
a sudden anxiety. Striding across the room, cutting a swath through the
crowd as he walked, was the fearful sight of Bester. Perceiving Susan's
sudden tenseness, Talia slipped off her glove and took Susan's hand in
hers. Susan felt the fear begin to vanish as Talia's calm voice spoke in
her mind. 'Don't worry, Susan,' Talia's voice said. 'I can keep him out for
you. Just stay calm and you have nothing to worry about. Don't let your
fear conquer you unnecessarily. '

Susan nodded almost imperceptibly, indicating that she had understood. She
could have replied telepathically, but she was afraid of alerting Bester,
as well as hurting Talia. Her only attempt at mental communication so far
had left Talia with a headache, and she had been afraid to try since. Her
body went almost rigid, as she straightened to look down on Bester.

"Captain Ivanova," Bester said, a broad, if false looking smile covering
his face. "I hoped I would find you here."

"What do you want?" Susan asked coldly, hoping the Psi-Cop would get the
message and leave.

Bester didn't. Instead, he just held out his arms as if to indicate the
crowded room. "I was just enjoying the party," he said. "Then I saw you,
and remembered that I hadn't thanked you yet."

"What for?" Susan asked, her brow blemished by a frown. She couldn't think
of anything she had done to help Bester.

"Why, for helping me out with Mr. Kiel of course," Bester replied. "Now
that he is gone, I am free to climb the ladder of success. He was a
powerful renegade, and I am pleased he is gone. It will make my job over
the coming months, a lot easier."

"I am happy for you," Susan replied sarcastically. "There was no need to
thank me personally though, you could have just sent a message, or better
still, nothing at all."

"Now, now, Ivanova," Bester said, not appearing at all upset by her words.
"There is no need to be that way, especially after I stayed here on this
rather backward world an extra night, all just to thank you in person. You
should feel honoured."

Susan's face gave no indication of feeling anything more than dislike for
Bester. "You have thanked me, you can leave now," she said, staring down at
him.

Bester smiled again. "You know, Ivanova. I am beginning to think that you
don't like me very much."

"It took you that long to figure it out," Susan said, a false look of
surprise on her face.

Bester shook his head. "I really don't understand why you think I am the
bad guy all the time. I am only here to help, after all." He turned and
looked at Talia. "I can see by your companion tonight, that your reputed
dislike for telepath's isn't as strong as you might like us to believe." He
paused and narrowed his eyes, staring at Talia. "Although I don't know what
Ms. Winters sees in you."

Beside Susan, Talia suddenly gasped as if in pain, and dug her fingernails
into Susan's hand, causing Susan to wince in response. In Susan's own mind,
which was still linked to Talia's, she could feel Bester beginning to probe
the blonde telepath's thoughts. "Leave her alone," she almost shouted at
Bester, taking a step towards him.

Bester stopped his scan and looked towards her instead. "A little
protective tonight aren't we, Captain," Bester said, an evil smile on his
face. "If I didn't know better I would think that there was something going
on between you and Ms. Winters here, although what she could see in a
mundane I just don't know."

"You wouldn't understand," Talia said softly, massaging her forehead as if
in pain.

"So I see," Bester said. "Very well, play your little game then. But
remember, the corps is mother, the corps is father. Don't even think of
trying to betray us."

"Of course not," Talia said, her voice low, and her eyes beginning to fill
with tears. Susan felt her sadness, and squeezed her hand tighter, ignoring
the pain Talia's fingernails were causing to her hands. Talia drew on
Susan's strength and regained a little of her composure.

"I think you should leave now, Mr. Bester," Susan said, the look on her
face barely concealing her anger.

"Be seeing you then, Captain," he replied with his trademark salute. He
looked over at Talia with a sneer on his face. "You can keep her, we have
no use for her any more anyway. The Corps has taken all it needed from Ms.
Winters." Then, before Susan could demand to know what he meant by that
statement, he turned and walked off towards the doors of the hall, where
his assistant, Sarah Chang, was waiting for him.

With a tired gasp, Talia released Susan's hand. Ignoring the stinging pain
in her palm, where Talia's fingernails had dug into the soft flesh, Susan
turned at once to see if she was all right. "How are you feeling?" she
asked. "He didn't hurt you did he?"

Talia shook her head, trying to clear away the cloud of pain. "No, but
blocking a powerful scan like that was... painful."

"I'm so sorry, Talia," Susan tried to comfort her. "Had I known he would
have been here, I wouldn't have come. I never meant for anything like this
to happen to you."

Talia smiled, a brief upturning of her lips. "I am fine, Susan," she said
softly. "And you survived an encounter with a Psi-Cop without him learning
anything about you."

Susan glanced up, checking to make sure Bester had really left. There was
no sign of him, or his assistant. She felt relief wash over her, realising
that Talia was correct, she had survived the encounter with Bester, but
only with Talia's assistance. She didn't know how the confrontation would
have turned out if Talia hadn't been there to support her. She reached out
and stroked Talia's cheek, gently brushing the blonde hair away from the
other woman's face. "I didn't want him to hurt you like that. I would do
anything to protect you from harm," she said tenderly.

"I thought that was my job," Talia giggled. Susan looked at her in surprise
for a second before joining in Talia's laughter. It was more a feeling of
relief than anything else, but it felt so good.

"What's so funny?" a deep voice asked from somewhere close by.

Susan looked up, drawing away from Talia and saluting as she recognised
Admiral Mellor. Her superior officer was dressed, as she was, in a
greyish-blue ceremonial uniform, but in his hands he held a plate of food.
"Don't let me interrupt," Mellor said, while at the same time chewing on a
chunk of greyish meat. "You know this stuff isn't bad after all. Do you
know what it's called?"

"I think it is some sort of lizard meat, Sir," Susan replied. Talia slipped
her hand through the crook of Susan's arm and drew closer, snuggling up
against Susan's side. "I can't remember what it is called, but President
Mitrovic seems to like it," she continued, looking a little embarrassed by
Talia's closeness.

"It is really good, Captain," the Admiral said, picking up another piece of
the meat. "You should try some."

"Perhaps later, Sir," she replied, not really feeling at all hungry at the
moment.

"So, how are you enjoying the party so far?" he asked, with an almost
invisible wink at Talia. "I know how much you were looking forward to it."

"It has been... interesting," Susan replied.

"I see," Mellor said. "Well at least there is a reward at the end of all
this."

"There is?" Susan queried, remembering that he hadn't mentioned anything
about a reward earlier.

Mellor looked at her, mock surprise on his face. "You mean I didn't mention
the three weeks leave I am granting to everyone involved in the battle. I
could have sworn I mentioned it." He shrugged. "Oh well, when you get to my
age..." He paused and look over the room. "Well, it looks like I have other
officers to talk to yet tonight. Enjoy yourself, Captain, although by the
look of your companion I am sure that won't be a problem."

Susan watched the Admiral retreating across the room for a few seconds
before she turned back to Talia. The beautiful telepath was observing the
Admiral's passage with a contemplative expression on her face. Then, as if
she felt Susan's gaze on her, she glanced up, looking straight at Susan, a
thoughtful look in her eyes. "Is something wrong," Susan asked her.

"No, nothing is wrong," Talia replied with a smile, reaching out and taking
Susan hands in hers. A brief spark of electricity seemed to pass between
the two woman as their bare hands touched. "I was just thinking about
something."

"Anything you want to tell me?" Susan asked, almost teasingly.

"Perhaps later," Talia replied, disentangling her hands and slipping her
glove back over the bare flesh. "Right now I need to get something to
drink, even if it only a glass of water." She gave Susan a quick peck on
the cheek. "I won't be long."

She turned and, with one final, adoring gaze in Susan's direction, hurried
across the room towards the bar at the far end. Susan watched her leave,
her eyes drawn unconsciously to low back of Talia's dress, tracing the
outline of the other woman's spine. Then, just as her subconscious was
drawing her down into even more interesting areas, a familiar voice cut
into her thoughts, snatching her away from those pleasant dreams and back
to reality.

"Captain Ivanova," the voice called out, just above the general hubbub of
the crowded room. She turned around with a darkening frown on her face,
expecting to see another reporter or well wisher. Instead the short form of
Dr. Kozlowski appeared out of the crowd, although for a minute she
struggled to recognise him. The normal white coat, glasses, and frizzled
hair was gone, and in its place was a smart, dark blue suit and neatly
combed hair. "What is it, Doctor?" she asked, amazed by the change.

"I just came to say goodbye," he replied, extending a hand for her to
shake. "I have to take a shuttle to the Vega colony in a few hours, and I
doubt we will see each other again before I leave."

Susan raised her eyebrows at the news. "You're leaving? That is rather
sudden isn't it?"

Kozlowski nodded. "Yes, I suppose it is, Captain. But, my assignment here
was only meant to be temporary, and with the Interstellar Alliance finally
coming through with its promise of new technologies, I have been ordered to
the shipyards at Vega colony to start work on a new project. I think, after
all that has happened over the past few weeks, the Warlock destroyers have
proven themselves more than capable. The Rasputin's engineering crew should
now be able to get along without my input.

"Good luck then, Doctor," Susan said, shaking his hand. "We are all going
to miss your presence on the Rasputin." The brief touch sent a shiver
crawling across her skin as she was unable to avoid scanning Kozlowski. For
some reason though, she was unable to read his thoughts properly and the
uneasy feeling she felt soon passed.

Kozlowski looked pleased by her words, not noticing her reaction. "Perhaps
we will meet again sometime, Captain," he said, releasing her hand.

"Perhaps we will, Doctor," she agreed. "What are you going to be working on
now by the way?"

Kozlowski glanced around, as if checking to make sure no-one would
overhear. After realising that everyone else nearby was so wrapped up in
the own conversations to notice what their neighbours were saying, he
leaned closer and with a low voice told Susan of his new mission. "Well, I
am not really supposed to tell anyone, but I guess it can't hurt if I just
tell you. It is a new model explorer ship, using the same basic design, but
with the addition of several of the new technologies that Earth has
acquired over the past few years. It will probably be at least a year
before the first of the new ships is completed, but it is certainly a
project I am looking forward to beginning."

"I am sure you will do a good job," Susan said with a soft smile gracing
her face.

"Thank you, Captain," Kozlowski replied, before glancing down at the
antique watch around his wrist. "Well, it seems my time here is up. I have
a liner to catch in a couple of hours, and I don't want to be late." He
started to walk away, heading towards the main doors, but then paused after
a few steps and looked back for a moment. "Goodbye, Captain. I have enjoyed
my time with the Rasputin, but all things must come to an end. Good luck
with your command, I am sure you will continue to be very successful."

"Thank you, Doctor," Susan said quietly, watching as he walked away through
the crowd, his short frame soon vanishing, swallowed up by the collection
of Proxima businessmen and Earthforce officers. A flicker of a smile
crinkled her lips, as she remembered everything Kozlowski had done. He had
been infuriating at times, but also, somehow, she couldn't help but like
the doctor. She would miss him, especially his knack for solving problems
mere mortals considered impossible. Perhaps that was going a little bit too
far, but she could be fairly certain that without his help, the Rasputin
and her crew might not have achieved as much as they had.

As soon as the doctor was out of sight she glanced around, hoping to see
Talia. The blonde woman appeared to have vanished, and she could no longer
see her over at the bar where she had been. Susan glanced around nervously,
suddenly aware that the thoughts of those around her were beginning to
press in on her again. Worried about what might have happened to Talia she
decided to go looking for her, slowly pushing her way through the crowded
room, towards the last place she had seen Talia.

Halfway to her destination several voices suddenly called out her name,
demanding her attention. She glanced across the room and spied the
Rasputin's command staff and several other Earthforce officers, all
gathered along one corner of the bar, various glasses of liquor in their
hands. She paused, torn for a second between looking for Talia and greeting
her crew. Eventually duty won out and she went to join Petrov, Schmitt, and
the rest.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"So then the pilot says, 'looks like it's a goner, mate." Alister Schmitt
broke out laughing as he finished the joke, the rest of the gathered
Earthforce officers joining in.

Susan smiled politely, but her worry about Talia prevented her was joining
in the general merriment. She had been here an hour, and despite several
increasingly desperate glances around the room, had seen no sign of Talia.
She had listened to six dirty jokes, several old war tales, and survived
three rounds of drinks. Now that the forth round was being dispersed by
Petrov, she was looking desperately for some way to escape. Instead a tall
glass of some bubbling, blue liquid was pressed into her hands.

"What is it?" she asked the Commander.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, Captain, but everyone here seems to be drinking
it tonight.

Susan stared at it for several seconds before finally taking a sip. It was
horrible, just as she had expected, but with her command staff watching she
could hardly refuse to drink it. With a grimace she downed the bitter drink
in a single swallow, hoping the taste wouldn't stick around in her mouth
all night. Then, as she was placing the glass back on the bar, someone's
hand touched hers. 'Come with me, Susan,' Talia's mental voice called
softly in her mind, briefly blocking out the thoughts of the other party
goers.

Susan turned around and her heart almost leapt for joy when she saw Talia
waiting silently behind her, a basket of some kind clutched one hand. "I
was wondering where you went," she said, eyeing the basket with raised
eyebrows.

"I thought I would prepare us a private meal, and look for somewhere away
from this crowd," Talia said telepathically, and then out loud she said,
"If you will come with me, Captain. I am still waiting for that dance you
promised me."

"Of course," Susan replied. Then she turned around to face the collected
officers, who were looking at her and Talia with unvoiced questions in
their eyes. "If you will excuse me."

Petrov was the first to speak. "Of course, Captain. Have a nice night."

"And don't do anything I wouldn't," a more than slightly drunk
Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt added. Ignoring the laughter that comment
caused, Susan took the hand Talia offered and allowed herself to be led
across the room, toward a dark passage leading into the bowels of the
building.

Behind her, the gathered officers watched her departure with some interest.
Finally Petrov spoke up, asking, "so what does everyone think of our
captain?"

"A fine woman, and a great Captain," Schmitt said, raising his glass of
Centauri wine in a toast. "I will sail with anyone who is as fearless as
she is." He looked around at the rest of the officers, who hadn't returned
his toast, before shrugging and downing the drink anyway.

"I haven't really had a chance to get to know her yet,"
Lieutenant-Commander Dreyer said, still nursing the same drink that he had
been given at the beginning of the evening. "But, from what I have seen, I
think she will be a good Captain."

"As soon as she loses her bad taste in friends," Major Logan added, staring
in the direction Susan and Talia had vanished.

Petrov smiled, realising that the Major was probably only jealous. "How
about you, Commander," Lily asked him.

Petrov looked down at his drink for a moment. "Hmm, well... Despite a few
annoying habits, such as pushing herself far too hard, I think I like her.
She is a good Captain, and willing to put herself at risk to save her crew.
I think she is someone I can respect, if not even grow to like."

"To the Captain," Alister cried out, raising a newly filled glass.

"To the Captain," the other officers said together, this time returning his
toast, before bursting out laughing as the flight commander toppled over
backwards and landed on the floor with a crash. His drink flew across the
room, shattering on the stone floor, and splashing purple wine all over the
beautifully clean, shimmering, white dress of some businessmen's escort.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

"Where are we going," Susan asked as Talia led her into an elevator. Talia
had been leading her along the darkened hallways for several minutes,
further and further away from the main hall, towards the centre of the
immense building.

"Somewhere peaceful and quiet," Talia replied, smiling mischievously at
Susan. She looked over at the voice control for the elevator.
"Observation," she said into the elevator's control panel.

The control panel lit up and both women felt a sudden unfamiliar wrenching
feeling as the old model elevator climbed up the centre of the main support
strut for the city's dome, heading for the observation platform built right
at the very top of the dome. A few seconds later the door opened out onto
the dark, cold platform.

Talia shivered as she walked off the elevator. "It is a little colder than
I was told," she said, her silky, shoulder length hair fluttering in the
chilly wind that blew across the top of the dome. "And higher," she said
nervously, glancing over the railing that stretched around the edge of the
platform.

"It is peaceful and quiet though," Susan said as she walked out of the
elevator to join Talia on the platform. "Just like you promised."

"So you like it then?" Talia asked, looking up at Susan with a hopeful look
on her face.

"I do," Susan replied lovingly, sliding an arm around Talia's shoulders and
drawing her closer. "It is perfect, we can sit up here and watch the
sunrise together."

"You always were a romantic, Susan," Talia giggled as she snuggled up
against Susan, enjoying the warmth of the other woman's body.

Susan froze, a cold chill running through her as she realised that was
almost the same thing the artificial personality had said to her when she
had gone to see Talia shortly before the telepath left Babylon 5. She shook
her head and dismissed her irrational fears, realising that the implanted
personality was gone, this was still her Talia, now, and hopefully forever.

Talia didn't notice Susan's reaction, instead she gasped in fear, pointing
towards something on the far edge of the platform. "What is that," she
managed to get out.

Susan turned around to look at what had frightened Talia. "It looks like an
ugly, fat bird of some kind," Susan said, staring at the large
golden-skinned reptile that sat quietly on the railing, watching the two
women with its four beady black eyes. "Or a very ugly lizard."

Tikilikac stared back, watching the strange blue-skinned being in front of
him. This was the first time he had seen one of the warm blooded creatures
this close, usually they just tossed food from the city's great doors and
didn't come very close. He leaned forward a little to observe it closer,
his powerful crest raised in curiosity.

"It's not going to attack us, is it?" Talia asked nervously as the creature
leaned towards them, faint wisps of steam rising from what she could only
assume was its nostrils. It had a predatory glare in its eye, and the sight
of the long, curved beak did not inspire confidence in its nature. Behind
its small, leathery head a spiked red crest rose up, almost looking like it
was challenging them.

Tikilikac didn't notice the growing concern in the thin black-skinned
creature. Instead his attention was drawn toward the basket it carried, and
the wonderful aromas that were rising from it. A Sunhawk's sense of smell
was particularly powerful, and it could sense the odour of stupid lizard,
unmistakable, despite it having been cooked. 'The warm blooded creatures
must have bought it to feed me,' he thought, waddling closer, one claw
outstretched for the basket.

"I think its hungry," Susan said, picking up on the creature's overriding
emotion. "Give it something to eat."

"Are you sure?" Talia asked, stepping back towards the elevator as the
creature came closer.

"It is more interested in the basket of food, than in you," Susan promised
her, noticing where the creature's eyes were focused.

Still nervous, despite Susan's reassuring presence, Talia opened the basket
and pulled out one of the containers she had so carefully packed inside.
The creature though didn't seem interested in the container, instead it was
after the whole basket. It lunged towards Talia and she let out a screech
and dropped it, allowing the Sunhawk to snatch it up and retreat around
behind the elevator to devour its prize.

"Now what are we going to do," Talia said, looking at the disappearing
creature in annoyance. She held up the one container she had saved. "This
is all we have left."

"I wasn't very hungry anyway," Susan replied, eyeing the greyish meat in
the container with some suspicion.

Talia smiled adoringly at her, and put the container down on the ground.
"Well what are we going to do now, then?" she asked, wandering over towards
the railing. She sat down at the edge of the platform, looking out over the
brightly lit panorama of the city that lay spread out across the valley
before them. Susan joined her, taking a seat next to her, their bodies just
touching.

They sat there for several minutes, just watching the distant factories and
mines light up the night. Despite the alien nature of the constructions
when compared to the naturally rocky landscape, it was still a very
beautiful sight. In one place they could see a ribbon of light, probably
the maglev transit system, tracing its way across the dark desert, before
disappearing into a distant mountain.

Only the sound of the bird-like creature munching on their food from its
hiding place behind the elevator did anything to spoil the moment, and most
of the time that noise was lost, carried away by the wind that blew down
from the mountains. Sitting next to each other, the two women said nothing,
instead just enjoying the panorama that stretched out below them.  "Did you
have anything planned for the leave the Admiral promised you, Susan?" Talia
asked finally, breaking their silence, and glancing over at Susan with a
curious, almost apprehensive, expression.

Susan shook her head. "I thought we could just spend time together at Io. I
know it isn't a wonderful vacation spot, but I do know my way around there.
Anyway, all I really want to do is spend those three weeks with you."

Talia smiled, then she reached over and clasped Susan's hand in her own.
Susan flinched slightly at the touch, her mind suddenly picking up the
strong emotions Talia was feeling. They were not negative emotions though,
and the contact soon calmed her, putting her troubled mind at ease. "I
thought we might go on a holiday together," Talia said. "Somewhere peaceful
and quiet where we could be alone, far away from everyone else."

"Did you have anywhere in mind?" Susan asked, a little surprised, but not
perturbed, by the idea. "I am afraid the only places I know don't really
fit the ideal of quiet vacation spots."

Talia hesitated for a second, and through the link between their minds
Susan could pick up a strong feeling of apprehension over what she was
about to say. "I was thinking of something more along the lines of a
Minbari colony," Talia said finally. "I happen to know of a quiet world
that has lots of long beaches, warm days, nice accommodations, and best of
all, less than fifty sentients on the whole planet."

"That sounds perfect," Susan said, a smile lighting up her face as she
thought about the idea. Then the smile vanished as her mind dredged up
obstacles to such a beautiful idea.  "But the Minbari would never allow us
to go there. It is hard enough getting access to Minbar, let alone one of
their colonies."

"I have already arranged it," Talia admitted hesitatingly, not wanting
Susan to be angry with her for making plans without consulting with her
first.

Susan wasn't. Instead she was only a little surprised. "You have?" she
asked.

"I called Ambassador Delenn while you were talking to Dr. Kozlowski," Talia
explained. "It took me a while, especially getting past her new aide, and
then convincing her it was really me, but I did it. She said that she would
arrange everything for me. So, if you want to go, we can."

"I do," Susan admitted. "I could think of nothing better now than spending
a few weeks away from large crowds."

"There is just one thing," Talia said, and Susan could feel the hesitation
in her thoughts. "It's... " Then her voice trailed off, faltering before
she could finish.

"It's what?" Susan pressed, wanting to know what Talia was unable to say.

"A colony of telepaths," Talia finally admitted, knowing what Susan's
reaction would be.

Susan froze for a second, part of her terrified by the prospect. Then her
rational mind took over, taking all her fears and pointing out how stupid
and baseless they were. "I still want to go," she said. She could sense why
Talia wanted to go to the colony, feeling the protective urge that welled
up within the other woman. "As long as they stay out of my mind. I don't
want anyone in there but you."

"No-one will enter your mind unless you want them to, Susan," Talia
promised her. "Shiraka is a place of learning. It is not anything like
Psi-Corps."

Susan looked indecisive. "I am not sure I want to learn how to use my
abilities."

Talia's reaction was one of fear, both for herself, but mostly for Susan.
"You must, Susan. If you don't, you won't be able to hide from Psi-Corps.
They will come and get you, and take you away from me. I don't want that to
happen. Promise me you will try to learn"

Susan gathered Talia up in her arms, comforting her. "I promise," she
whispered gently. "I will go with you and try to learn. I can't promise I
will succeed, but I do promise to try." Talia nodded, her head resting
comfortably against Susan's shoulder. Her hand reached up to cradle Susan's
face, and ever so slowly they found themselves being drawn together.

Then, just before their lips could touch, a loud squealing sound sliced
into their thoughts. Susan looked up and glanced over at the creature, who
had polished off all the food in the basket, and was now looking hungrily
at the container of sliced meat sitting on the ground nearby. "You are
really becoming a nuisance," Susan muttered as she pulled the lid of the
container and slid it over the platform to the Sunhawk, not wanting to get
too close to the creature's sharp looking beak.

Talia was now standing next to the platform, looking at her with a faintly
amused smile. Susan walked back to her side. "You know that they all are
probably wondering what has happened to me," she said, looking over the
edge of the railing, down at the city below. The lights of several vehicles
could be seen, slowly making their way along Reagan Dome's wide streets.
They looked a little like fireflies from up this high, slowly cris-crossing
the city on unknown errands.

"Do you want to go back down?" Talia asked, her voice leaving no doubt in
Susan's mind that she definitely didn't want to leave. "I thought you would
like it up here, it is so quiet and there is no-one around. Well, except
for that stupid bird." She glanced nervously in the direction of the
Sunhawk, who had now retreated behind the elevator again.

"I do like it here," Susan said. "I can still hear their voices though,
still feel their presence with my mind, but it is quieter up here, much
quieter. In fact, I can barely even hear them now."

"You shouldn't even be able to sense anything, Susan," Talia said, sounding
a little worried. "I can't, we are too far away to hear the thoughts of
normals. Perhaps, if there was a telepath down there, it might be
possible."

"I can. It is very faint, but they are still there."

"Are you blocking them?" Talia asked her.

"Of course," Susan replied, sounding a little distressed.

"Here let me help you," Talia said softly, reaching up and placing her
hands on Susan's temples. "Concentrate on my thoughts, only on my thoughts.
Can you feel them, Susan?"

Susan nodded, her breath become ragged with the effort. She could feel
everything that Talia was trying to do, as well as the strong impression of
the protectiveness Talia must be feeling. It was a powerful emotion, Talia
was obviously projecting her thoughts a lot more forcefully than she would
normally.

"Good," Talia replied, her voice growing more distant as Susan's
concentration shifted to the thoughts she was receiving. "Now, picture a
wall rising to stop them. Build it block by block. Are you doing that?"

Again Susan nodded, although a frown creased her brow. "I have done this
before," she said. "I know how to create a block in my mind. My mother
showed me when I was only little."

"No you don't," Talia argued, and her projected thoughts faded as she lost
concentration. "You know how block thoughts as a latent telepath, like you
have all your life. But now you are considerably more powerful, more
powerful, even, than I am. You have to learn again... learn how to block
out all the thoughts you never used to be able to pick up. Now, try again.
Concentrate only on my thoughts."

Susan closed her eyes, focusing all her energy on that one voice in her
mind. The other, distant, voices faded away and left in their place was
just the single, wonderfully gentle, voice of Talia's mind. "I am blocking
out everything for you, Susan," Talia said mentally. "Now try to block out
my voice, build a wall so you can not hear it any more."

Susan wasn't sure she wanted to do that, but complied, mentally imagining a
wall of stone rising in front of her, imprisoning... no, protecting her.
Talia's thoughts faded, disappearing into the distance, now only a faint
whisper in her mind. She opened her eyes and looked at Talia, who smiled
back. "Good, Susan," she said. "Now just keep the block there and you won't
be able to hear anyone, at least not until we go back down."

A single bead of sweat dribbled down Susan's forehead and ran down the side
of her face. "I am not sure how long I can maintain it," she said, her
voice showing the strain of the concentration. "It is very difficult."

Talia nodded in sympathy. "I know Susan, but with practice it will become
easier. It took me nearly a month before I learned to block out the
thoughts of normals properly. Try not to concentrate so hard, just try to
let it come naturally."

Slowly, in almost minute steps of achievement, the effort began to become
easier and the pain of holding the block lessened. Susan felt elated as she
realised that she could no longer hear the voices that had been her
constant companions for the past few days. Instead there was just the sound
of the wind rushing over the surface of the dome, and just above that, the
steady beating of her own heart. "It's working," she said, although she
felt like shouting for joy.

"For now," Talia replied, taking the edge off Susan's celebrations. "It is
only easier now because there is no-one nearby to block, the closest mind
is nearly a hundred metres below us. When we go back down, you will pick
them up again, and your block may not be strong enough. With time, though,
you will learn to block out all but the strongest emotions."

"Maybe we can stay up here until everyone goes away," Susan said wistfully,
looking out over the brightly lit city below.

Talia edged closer, an arm sliding around Susan's waist. "That would be
nice," she said, her voice barely audible above the wind. She dropped her
head down to rest on Susan's shoulder, and she felt for the first time as
if she had truly come home. Almost unconsciously Susan slipped her arms
around Talia, pulling the blonde telepath closer to her body. "Do you think
it will work between us, Susan," Talia asked softly, her free hand amusing
itself with the zipper on Susan's ceremonial uniform as she spoke.

"I don't know, Talia," Susan replied, her voice just as soft and gentle.
One hand slid lower until it rested against the small of Talia's back,
while the other caught Talia's roaming hand and squeezed it gently. They
stood there like that for several minutes, Talia's head resting softly on
her shoulder and her arms draped around Talia's body. For those few brief
minutes the troubles of past days seemed lost as, together, they watched
the flickering lights of the distant factories slowly begin to fade, dimmed
by the radiance of the coming dawn. The dim light of the night faded, and
slowly, a little at a time, the sky began to change from black to pink, and
then finally to a dim red, heralding the arrival of Proxima III's sun.

Talia was the first to break the embrace, pulling her head away from it's
comfortable resting place and looking deeply into Susan's eyes, a deep
penetrating gaze that carried with it all the love she felt. "But we can
always try, can't we?" she asked mentally, while at the same time she
snaked a hand behind Susan's neck and gently pulled her down until their
lips were nearly touching.

Susan nodded almost imperceptibly, before allowing herself to be drawn down
to meet Talia's kiss. As their lips touched, so did their minds and Susan
could feel the love Talia felt for her being reflected back into her mind
like a ray of sunlight against a mirror. "We can always try," she agreed
gently, her fear of using her mind to communicate seeming foolish, even
childish right now.

Disturbed by the unusual antics of the warm blooded creatures who had taken
over its favourite perch, Tikilikac spread his huge, leathery wings and
hopped off the railing, gliding away into the coming dawn. He decided that
perhaps a slow glide around the dome might be a good idea, and perhaps when
he returned, the strange creatures would have left his daytime roost. The
warm blooded beings were strange that way, always rushing around during the
day, wasting valuable sunning time.

His thoughts soon turned to other matters though, the gentle kiss of the
sunlight on his wings, and the warmth of the growing day as he spiralled
around the dome, absorbing what light he could. The air thermals were
particularly good this morning and, to a Sunhawk, little else mattered when
they were aloft, gliding across the landscape, the warm air rushing across
golden wings. To old Tikilikac, the pleasures of a morning flight were
rare, but, as he had eaten well this morning there seemed no need to worry
about wasted sunning time. Instead, he turned away from the dome, and its
strange alien inhabitants, and headed out across the desert, the red sands
of Proxima III rushing along below him.

Back on the platform, neither woman noticed the Sunhawk's departure, its
presence long ago having faded into insignificance. They didn't notice the
glorious dawn either, the giant sun's burning radiance seemed insignificant
compared to the light they saw inside each other's souls. They both knew
this moment wouldn't last, and that soon they would have to leave this
place and return to the real world. But for the next few hours, as they lay
in each other's arms, the real world, with all its problems and concerns,
didn't even exist.

The sensation of their love drove away thoughts of Psi-Corps, and all the
other concerns that had touched their lives. They were now one, both in
mind and body. The walls between them melted away and were replaced only
with a glorious feeling of love and togetherness. Neither was sure where
the other's body ended and their's began, and they didn't really want to
spend too long trying to find out. For this brief moment in time there was
nothing else but each other, and their love... nothing else mattered.

                                  THE END

        ------------------------------------------------------------

                         CREDITS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First I would like to say that this has been the first story I have ever
attempted to write, so please forgive any minor mistakes and errors along
the way. As time has gone by I would like to think that I have improved,
both in style, and grammar.  In future I can only hope to improve my
writing style and fluency.

For the most part I have tried to keep the storyline within the Babylon 5
universe while not involving actual storylines from the show too much. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the fine web pages out
there that have provided me with a wealth of information to use as a
reference for my story. However, almost all of what you have just read has
come from my own imagination, including the Rasputin, Proxima III, and all
of the new characters. I think I prefer this style of writing, and although
it is harder work, the rewards on completion are greater.

I should also take this opportunity to thank everyone who has written in
with comments about my work. Your comments have been greatly appreciated
and certainly encourage me to write further. I don't think I have had one
bad comment, which surprises me greatly, although it is certainly not
displeasing. Apart from everyone who has sent in general comments I would
like to thank several people by name.

Emily: For... well... I think you know what for. Thanks a lot my dearest
love.

Eric Lund: For helping out by editing my work, which has certainly been of
great assistance. I hope you have enjoyed this as much as I have.

Ian Hoskins: For helping out with my internet account, and for providing
the images for my web page.



Now that this story is finally complete that does not mean I am finished, I
have more planned for our heroines yet. Coming soon with be two new
stories, below I will give a brief description of each so you know what to
look out for.

Songs of the Soul: Describes what happens during Ivanova & Talia's holiday
on the Minbari world of Shiraka IVb. This will be a five part story and end
shortly of the B5 episode "Day of the Dead."

The Secret of Arias: This is set after the story described above and is the
tale of an ancient warrior, altered by the Vorlons into the ultimate
weapon, and then imprisoned when it refused to obey them. It will feature
the crew of the Rasputin, with the exception of those who had either died
or left by the end of Reunion, as well as several IPX employees, and an
assortment of new alien characters.

        ------------------------------------------------------------

Sel Vecantie

e-mail: vecantie@geocities.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/9933/
ICQ: 23223547