From: Kelly Subject: A Telepath's Fight Date: 30 Sep 1999 12:00:22 -0700 A Telepath's Fight Part 1 of ? By Kelly Disclaimer All characters, locations, etc. are the property of JMS, PTEN, and Babylonian Productions, except for Kathryn and Victor, who belong to me. This is not intended to violate any copyrights. This is my first attempt at fanfic, so any comments or criticisms are welcome, as long as they’re constructive. You can send to the list or e-mail me at liliana004@icqmail.com. This story contains SPOILERS for Divided Loyalties in Season 2. Kathryn Parker stood in the doorway of a small café on Babylon 5. She glanced around the room. She was supposed to meet Ms. Winters here; now, where was she? A blonde woman wearing gloves and a Psi Corps pin sat at a corner table. That must be her. She was arguing with another woman, someone in an Earth Force uniform. “I don’t have anything against you personally,” the other woman said. “but the Psi Corps killed my mother!” “I’m sorry about what happened to her,” Ms. Winters said, “but the Corps didn’t kill her. She took her own life.” “You and I both know that those drugs they gave her drove her to it!” “I’m sorry to interrupt,” Kathryn broke in, “but I . . .” “You must be Kathryn,” Ms. Winters said, extending her hand. “I’m Talia Winters, and this is Commander Susan Ivanova. Commander, this is Kathryn Parker, my new assistant.” “Nice to meet you,” Kathryn replied, shaking hands with Ms. Winters. “I see the Psi Corps likes their victims to start young,” Ivanova said. “You’re what, fifteen?” “Sixteen,” Kathryn replied. She was sure Commander Ivanova could tell that the question bothered her, but it wasn’t for the reason she would think. Kathryn wanted desperately to be taken seriously, but people always thought of her as “just a kid.” “I’m sorry about what happened to your mother,” she said. “I know how you must feel.” “You couldn’t possibly.” “My father was a rogue telepath,” Kathryn said softly. “He managed to hide from the Corps and live a normal life for a while. I never knew how they found him.” As she told Ms. Winters and Commander Ivanova what happened, the memory played itself over in her mind. She had been only ten years old. She was playing a video game when the doorchime rang. “Could you get that, Katie?” her mother called from the bathroom. “Sure, Mom.” Katie got up to answer the door. Standing in the doorway was a Psi Cop. “Is your mother home, Katie?” he asked. Katie nodded. Her mother emerged from the bathroom with her hair in a towel and wearing only one black glove. “Is there a problem?” she asked the Psi Cop. “Mrs. Parker, we believe that your husband is a rogue telepath,” he said. A look of shock and fear crossed her face. “He can’t be! There must be some mistake.” “I’m sorry, but there’s no mistake.” “Katie, go upstairs,” she said. Katie was starting up the stairs when the chime rang again. Her father was home. “Don’t either of you move and don’t say anything,” the Psi Cop said in a harsh whisper. The door opened. Katie’s father was smiling until he saw the Psi Cop. He turned to run, but the Psi Cop pulled out a PPG and shot him in the back. Katie’s mother screamed. Katie ran toward the Psi Cop and punched him as hard as she could. A wave of pain shot through her, and she collapsed. She tried to open her eyes, but it hurt too much. “Leave her alone,” her mother said. “Killing a rogue telepath is one thing, but Katie has done nothing wrong.” Through the fog of pain, Katie was shocked. How could her mother say such a thing? This was her father they were talking about. “I am sorry, Mrs. Parker,” the Psi Cop said, in a tone of voice that did not sound the least bit sorry. “If you don’t believe that he was a telepath, it could be confirmed by . . .” “No,” Katie’s mother cut him off. “If you were right, knowing it doesn’t make this any easier. If you were wrong, knowing it won’t bring him back.” Katie’s mother picked her up and carried her to bed. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered. Tears ran down her face. “I’m so very sorry.” A few days later, after the funeral, Katie summoned the courage to ask her mother a very difficult question. “Mom, on the day Daddy died, when you were talking to the Psi Cop, you said . . .” She stopped. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, and she wondered how she could have any tears left after all the crying she had done. “You mean what I said about killing rogue telepaths?” her mother asked gently. Katie nodded. “Oh, Katie, I’m so sorry. You have to know that I didn’t mean that. I had to make him think that I agreed with what he had done to keep him from getting suspicious. If he thought that I knew your father was a telepath, he would have scanned me.” Katie breathed a small sigh of relief. She hugged her mother, and they cried together. Kathryn shook her head, trying to drag her thoughts back into the present. Rehashing those old memories wasn’t going to do anyone any good, she told herself. Commander Ivanova put her hand on Kathryn’s shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I really am. But I don’t understand how you could be in Psi Corps after what they did to your father. Aren’t you betraying his memory?” Kathryn recoiled as if she had been slapped. “What choice did I have? I could have run, lived in hiding until the Corps finally caught me. I could have taken sleepers and ended up killing myself or going insane. My father wouldn’t have wanted that.” “No,” she said. “I suppose he wouldn’t.” Commander Ivanova walked away. She hadn’t meant to upset the girl, but how could Kathryn have joined the Psi Corps after what they did to her father. That would be like her joining the Corps. “I’m sorry about that, Kathryn,” Ms. Winters said. “Well, you can understand why Commander Ivanova has something against the Psi Corps.” “ It’s all right,” Kathryn replied. “Let’s get down to business now.” Kathryn tried to listen carefully to everything Ms. Winters told her. She would stay on Babylon 5 for six months, first observing Ms. Winters, then acting as her assistant. When this training period was finished, she would take a series of tests to become a licensed commercial telepath. In her quarters that night, Kathryn’s mind flashed back to her conversation with Commander Ivanova. She hadn’t told her the whole truth; there were things that she could never tell anyone. A few months after her father’s death, Kathryn’s world was torn apart again. It had started the same way as before, with her playing a video game in the living room. It was funny how much time she had spent on those games back then. She heard her mother calling her from the kitchen. “What, Mom?” “I didn’t say anything.” Her mother came into the living room. “Yes, you did. I heard you say ‘Katie.’” “No, I was about to ask you what you wanted for dinner, but you answered me before I . . .” Her eyes widened. Katie realized instantly what she was thinking. “Am I a telepath, Mom?” she asked. her mother asked telepathically. she said, trying to direct the thought to her mother. It was weak and shaky, but her mother understood. “I won’t join the Psi Corps,” Katie said. That was unthinkable after what they had done. Katie would have sooner died. “I’m not asking you to,” her mother replied. “There are . . . other options.” “You mean running, becoming a rogue?” “Yes, that’s one possibility. It’s extremely dangerous, though, and you’re likely to get caught.” “Those drugs that they give telepaths to . . . ?” “No!” Katie could feel her mother’s fear and revulsion at the suggestion. “Half of the people who take sleepers end up going insane. “There is one other option. You could join the Corps and work against them from the inside. That’s what I do. I’m part of an organization called the Telepaths’ Underground. We help rogue telepaths escape and do whatever we can to make things difficult for Psi Corps without their knowing that we’re the ones responsible.” Katie’s eyes lit up. “Wow, Mom, that sounds so exciting. That’s what I want to do.” “I want you to think about this carefully, Katie. You need to understand that this would be extremely dangerous. Psi Corps has no sympathy for traitors, even if they are children.” “I understand,” Katie replied, her face and voice turning more serious. She knew the danger, but her mind was made up. If she could do something to help rogue telepaths, maybe she could help someone avoid suffering the fate that her father had. Once again, Kathryn had to pull her mind back into the present. It was getting late, and she needed some sleep. A few hours later, Kathryn woke up, drenched in cold sweat. It had been the same old nightmare she always had, the one where she re-lived her father’s death. Kathryn shuddered. She couldn’t get the image out of her mind. Why? Why did he have to die? She sobbed, covering her face with her hands. “God,” she prayed, “please, help me. I can’t . . .I just can’t take it any more. Six years, and I still have nightmares. Please, please.” Still crying, Kathryn laid back down, trying to get some sleep. It seemed as though she had just drifted off when the alarm woke her the next morning. Kathryn groaned. She had hardly slept at all, and she felt absolutely miserable. By some miracle, she managed to shower and get dressed without falling asleep standing up. By an even greater miracle, she somehow made it through the day. She had observed Ms. Winters working. It was all pretty standard stuff, business negotiations and things of that nature. When she returned to her quarters, she crawled into bed, even though it was only early evening. Once again, the nightmare came. She saw everything play back in slow motion. The door sliding open. Her father’s smile changing to a look of terror when he saw the Psi Cop. Her father turning, trying to get away. The Psi Cop drawing his PPG. “ No!” “Kathryn! Kathryn, are you all right?” She awoke to find Commander Ivanova standing in front of her. What in the world? Was she still dreaming? “ I heard you screaming. When you didn’t answer the door, I thought that you were hurt, or worse,” she explained. “No, just a nightmare.” Kathryn’s alarm sounded. “Alarm off, she said. “Why would you set your alarm for three in the morning?” Ivanova asked. “I didn’t. It’s set to go off at the sound of my voice. I have nightmares a lot, and sometimes I start talking in my sleep or screaming. So, the alarm wakes me.” Something seemed very strange. Kathryn tried to think, tried to figure out what it was, but she was so tired. “Wait a minute,” she said. “If the alarm didn’t go off until now, how could you have heard me screaming?” A look of panic crossed the commander’s face, and Kathryn knew what the reason was. “You’re a telepath,” she whispered. “If you tell anyone . . .” “I won’t,” Kathryn said. “You’re not the only one with secrets to keep from the Psi Corps. I’ve spent the past six years helping rogue telepaths escape.” Commander Ivanova looked puzzled. “Why are you telling me this?” “So you know you can trust me. I know your secret, but you know mine. You know I won’t tell anyone, because if I did, you could tell them what you know about me.” Ivanova seemed a little taken aback. “You didn’t have to do that.” “Yes, I did.” “Your nightmares,” Ivanova asked, “are they about your father?” Kathryn nodded. “You probably have the same kind of dreams.” “Sometimes.” Self consciously, Kathryn wiped a tear from her cheek. “I miss him so much.” “I know.” “I admire your courage,” Susan said. “Being in Psi Corps, but working against them. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get caught?” “Of course,” Kathryn said. “But if I can keep what happened to my father from happening to someone else, then it’s worth the risk. Besides, the other alternatives aren’t any better.” “No, they aren’t.” “I should go,” Susan said. “It might be a good idea for both of us to get a little bit of sleep.” “Right. Goodnight.” As time passed, Susan and Kathryn became good friends, united by the pain that they shared. And, somehow, knowing that there was someone else who knew exactly what it was like made the burden that much easier to bear. Kathryn also helped Susan develop her telepathic abilities. She wasn’t interested in learning how to scan someone, which Kathryn could certainly understand, but it would be useful for her to be able to block scans as well as possible. It was also important for her to learn to “think quietly” in the presence of other telepaths, so that no one could overhear her thoughts. After a while, Susan and Kathryn were able to carry on silent conversations. It was important for them to be able to speak silently, since it would arouse suspicion for Commander Ivanova, whose hatred of the Psi Corps was well-known, to act so friendly toward a telepath. One day, Ms. Winters was conducting some sort of negotiations between Kosh and another being. Kathryn followed her, only to be told “Your presence here is not required,” by Kosh. She left, returning to her quarters. Something strange was going on. “You have one new message,” the computerized voice said when she came in. “Play message,” she said. Rather than a voice or video message, it was a screen full of symbols in code. Kathryn committed the message to memory before erasing it. No, this couldn’t be happening. Andrea was dead. Andrea had been a rogue telepath who lived on Babylon 5 in Downbelow and one of Kathryn’s friends. Kathryn grabbed a bag from her closet and rushed out the door. She had to get down there now. When she got to Downbelow, she ducked into an empty room to change clothes and cover her face. She couldn’t afford to be recognized here. “Kat,” a man’s voice whispered. She turned to look at him. It was Victor, another rogue telepath. “This way.” She followed him into a small room. A group of telepaths stood in a semi-circle, surrounding Andrea, who was lying motionless on the floor. At first, she seemed to be only unconscious, but when Kathryn reached out telepathically, she realized that Andrea wasn’t there. She gasped. This was more than a mindwipe, where a person’s memories and personality were blocked so that they couldn’t remember them. This was more complete. Andrea’s personality, her thoughts, everything that she was, had been totally destroyed. “Why?” Kathryn whispered. Only Psi Corps could have done this. But if they wanted her dead, why not simply just kill her? Victor simply shook his head. He didn’t know. Kathryn thought that maybe she understood, at least partially. Andrea had been a P7, a moderately strong telepath. What if they hadn’t wanted to waste her abilities, but were planning to implant another personality, like a mindwipe? But then, it would have been easier for them to just mindwipe her. Victor said telepathically, breaking into Kathryn’s train of thought. Victor explained telepathically how he and the other rogues had tricked the Psi Cops into thinking that security was right behind them. Not wanting anyone to see what they were doing, they had fled. Kathryn said. Andrea’s body was moved to another, safer place. They all agreed that it had to be kept hidden from the Corps. A few people talked about destroying the body so that it wouldn’t fall into the Corps’ hands, but they couldn’t do it. Even though Andrea was no longer there, it would be too much like killing her. Kathryn left and changed back into her Psi Corps uniform. She looked for Susan, wanting to tell her what happened. When she found her, however, Susan had something that she wanted to ask Kathryn. They were both sitting alone, pretending to ignore the other. When Susan explained what that meant, Kathryn shuddered. The Psi Corps had implanted someone with a personality loyal to the Corps that would, when activated by a secret code word, destroy the real personality and take over. Could this have something to do with Andrea? Susan continued. Susan said. Kathryn felt her fear. She was torn between wanting to make sure that she wasn't the sleeper and being terrified of having Lyta find out she was a telepath. The risk for Kathryn was the same. Suppose Lyta found out her secrets, and was caught by the Psi Corps. Trusting Lyta wasn’t an issue; the Corps could simply rip that information from her mind. Kathryn replied. The question was, what were they going to do?