Telepath Wolf Season 1

by OriginalHealer

Summary:

Eventual Susan/Talia.

Ivanova is a werewolf who was banned from her pack when she joined Earthforce. When her father dies she is named Alpha of the pack. Now, on B5 Susan is first attracted to Talia and then falls in love with her, but Susan is wary and closed off due to Talia being part of PsiCorps

Notes:

This plot was originally conceived when by chance I found some old VHS tapes I have and started to sort through them, I found some B5 Chapters from when they were aired in my country and I used to program the VCR to record them when I was not going to be home to watch it... Can you guess which two episodes were what prompted this into my mind?

Anyway, this is going to be a multichaptered fic, I plan to go through Season 1 to Season 4, not quite sure about Season 5 since I didn’t really like it.

Please be informed that this story is going to portray a little different approach to Susan’s and Talia’s relationship, which means YES, as most of my stories, this is a FEMLASH, if this bothers you, you shouldn’t really be here, so leave now if you’re not comfortable with the idea.

I most probably will change the time line and other B5 attributes to suite my needs, however I will stick to cannon major plot and daily problems of the station. Be informed though that I already changed the fact that Susan is not a normal Russian jew human, so…

Keep in mind that I do not own Babylon 5 or its characters, so if you recognize any of them, THEY’RE NOT MINE. (Which means that I am not making money out of writing this, I’m only doing it for the pleasure of sharing a piece of my mind with you all)

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 01

Healer

A lot has changed for everyone in the galaxy since Babylon 5 came into play.  Yes, it was originally meant to be for peace, but after a few years it became the operation center that would lead us to survival and hopefully victory too. There are still many untold stories of all the living creatures that at one point or another, were at least once on board the station, but today, I’m standing for the first time in years in calm, an odd occurrence.

We are at Mimbar, and tomorrow she will officially become Anla’Shok Na. I can’t help being proud of her. She has been through a lot, we both have.

It is tonight that as an omen, snows at Mimbar. I can’t get to see the stars, or the Moon to which she and the others in the pack like to sing to. There are only clouds letting down the snowflakes that melt into the buildings and desperately try to cling into my pajama robe. I take out the old penny that I’ve had with me since I was a child and smile fondly at the memories it brings to me.

A pair of arms wrap around my waist and a warm body is pressed into my back. I lean into it, knowing it was her. Having heard and smelled her since she opened the door to the back yard that is in our home.

“Why are you alone under the snow?” she asked slightly amused

“Just remembering the past, and wondering about it too” I said turning in her arms and kissing her softly

“What were you wondering about?” she asked in my mind, and I could sense her worry.

She usually didn’t use her telepathic abilities; It took me a while, but I understand why she was so reluctant and afraid at the beginning of our relationship, and now, every time she reaches into my mind, I can feel how she sees me, and her feelings and her worries and everything that is her; when she does, there are no barriers between us and is almost magical. It is perfect, even if it only lasts for a few seconds.

“Did I ever tell you what happened when my telepathic abilities manifested for the first time?” I asked her once she broke the kiss and her mind retreated from mine.

She shook her head before answering “Not explicitly. I know the Corps took you in and raised you, generating the loyalty you professed them when we met on Babylon 5”

I nodded “Yes, but that’s not it. I was 4, almost 5 years old when my telepathic abilities manifested” I told her looking up to the sky, snow still falling down. “The reason that I was so loyal to the Corps, Susan, the reason for me to believe their propaganda all those years, was because they were there for me when everybody else had left me”

I looked at her face then and smiled softly at her, taking her hand and leading her into our house now. I grabbed two towels to dry off the melting snow and reached for two clean robes to get dressed on. After a moment I could feel Susan’s mind trying not to probe, but to ease my own mind, to calm me down, which is when I realized I was feeling sad and angry and everything I felt all those years ago.

“I’m fine. Sorry I worried you” I told her, taking her hand when she offered it to me, our rolls shifting now, being her who lead us to our bedroom. We got lain on our bed, my head on her shoulder, and she just holding me, placing soothing circles on my back.

“What happened there?” she asked referring to just a few moments ago

“I got lost in the memory” I sighed “The first time I was able to feel someone else’s feelings, was my father’s anger toward my mother. The first thought I heard not belonging to me, was how he was going to kill her and then what he was planning to do to me” She gasped but kept quiet, I kissed her shoulder before settling into a more comfortable position where I was still held by her and I was able to look at her face. “We were on vacation near the old Ukraine region. I told my mom about it, and she called the Corps” I could see her jaw clenching tight, which is why I brought up my right hand and gently cupped her cheek. “He didn’t do anything to me.” I reassured her. After a long moment she sighed relieved and waited patiently for me to go on. “Unfortunately, my mother was not as lucky as me. The Corps didn’t arrive on time to help us. My father attacked my mother. She has hurting and crying, and I could feel her dying, even when I didn’t know it at the moment. She told me to run, and as I crossed the threshold at the door I was able to hear her last thought… ‘please let her find shelter until they find her’”

“What did you do?” she asked me after placing a kiss on my forehead.

“I kept running and got lost in the forest. It was snowing too then. It was really cold and I could barely feel my feet and my hands. I ended up leaning against a big tree, but I was shivering, both from crying and the cold weather. I closed my eyes ready to give up, but then, something amazing happened. I felt concern and a little amount of curiosity in my mind, I knew it was not mine so I looked up and found a creature staring down at me.”

“A creature?” Susan asked me now amused

I nodded “I know now what it was. It was one of us. A pup at the moment. But at the time, all I knew was that it resembled a wolf, only bigger and I must say, uglier.”

“Hey!” She complained poking my ribs

“It’s the truth!” I defended myself. “The wolf then disappeared from sight, I didn’t know if I had imagined it or not, but after a few minutes it came back with a fur coat in its snout. It placed it front of me and it’s feelings helped me understand that it was for me, to keep me warm. As soon as I put it on, the wolf laid next to me and invited me to snuggle against it.” I smiled remembering how safe I had felt then. I realized then that I felt just as safe when Susan held me, like she was doing right now. “At sunrise, I noticed that we were not alone anymore, there were two other wolves, both bigger than the one still next to me. When they noticed I had awakened I felt three different emotions, one was relief, the other was amusement and the other appeared to be pride with a hint of anger. Noises then were heard from the forest, the three of them turned into the direction the noise was coming from and after a grunt from the biggest wolf, the one I had snuggled into licked my face and then the three left running in the direction opposite to the noise.” I yawned then, feeling tired after the long day we had had. “Inside one of the pockets of the coat, I found this old penny that I have kept as a lucky charm. It wasn’t long after that, that the Psi Corps agents arrived and took me in to the Corps.”

“What happened to your father?”

“I don’t know. And I never asked, after all Corps is Mother, Corps is Father, remember?”

“Were” she said dryly

“Were” I confirmed. “Susan?” I asked her when I felt we were both about to drift to sleep “Do you know of any pack in Ukraine or at least someone who does?”

“Why?”

“To this day, I don’t know what happened to my very first friend and the other two wolves” I told her seriously

“I don’t know any pack there now.”

“But you did?” I asked hopeful “Before your pack left Earth to follow you?”

She shook her head “No. But I know who those three wolves were” she said in a serious tone

“You have to tell me what happened to them” I requested her, straightening into a sitting position.

“The oldest one, Andrei, died in 2258. The other, Ganya, died during the Earth-Mimbari war. The one you cuddled into then, is the one you cuddle into every night” she said smirking.

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Summary:

Please remember that this story portrays a little different approach to Susan’s and Talia’s relationship, which means YES, as most of my stories, this is a FEMLASH, if this bothers you, you shouldn’t be here, so leave now if you’re not comfortable with this fact.

So yes, Susan is a werewolf, kinda like the ones portrayed in the Underworld movies. You know, strong, virtually immortal, and able to control when they shift. She and her brother, and a few others that will come, were born werewolves, not turned. However there are and will be bitten ones here too.

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 02

Healer

I don’t usually dwell in the past, not since he banned me from the pack after I joined Earthforce. I knew he was hurting after Ganya died and relatively so shortly after my mother; but after that, the distance just kept growing between us. He only ever spoke to me when it was pack related and he went berserker when I joined Earthforce, I just don’t understand why couldn’t he see that I was trying to honor my brother.

I didn’t have much contact with the pack since he banned me. A few letters from some of them, but always short ones, and a few visits here and there from my aunt Magda. That was of course until I came to Babylon 5, where I found another banned wolf. He worked as a bartender at one of the establishments at the casino here. We became, not friends per sei, but we could relate to each other. It turns out he was banned from my own pack just a few months before I was borned.

The previous week, my cousin Louba had arrived to the station and told me that my father was ill and that his metabolism, even when shifted, was not helping in the least. When I asked her how it happened she explained that it was due to a Hunter but that on the bright side he had managed to get rid of said Hunter and unite the last small pack in the area, into our own. She said that he had entered into a coma and that was why she came, because I had to know. Unfortunately, having been on the station for less than a couple of months, I could not risk it and jeopardize my position to go back. Which is part of the reason I was dwelling into the past.

“What is it Susan?” Asked me Maher, the banned wolf, one night when we were heading for the gym after his shift at the bar.

“Papa is sick” I told him simply upon exiting the turbolift

“Are you going to head back to Earth?”

“No”

We sparred for an hour before he spoke again.

“Is your father all that’s on your mind?” he asked me when he managed to pin me down

“Does it matter?” I asked unimpressed getting freed from his hold

“You have been distracted and your pheromones have been disturbingly high” he stated amused

“It’s not of your business” I told him coldly heading for my gym bag, ready to leave.

“Like it or not you’re my alpha, so that means whatever is troubling you is my concern”

“I’m not your alpha!” I barked at him “We are not a pack!” I said storming off

Truth was, that I knew we indeed were a small pack, a two wolf pack actually and that was not something I needed. However, he was right, there was something else bothering me, and it was not just the Ragesh 3 problem with the Centauris. It was that damn telepath the Psi Corps had assigned to Babylon 5. She had arrived on the same ship as my cousin and had tried to approach me ever since.

The problem here was not only the obvious fact that she was part of the Corps, but also the fact that she looked so much like her, the girl that plagued my dreams since I met her; and even her scent was similar. But it couldn’t be, not after all this years.

The next day I picked up a distress signal so I asked for Mr. Garibaldi to come to CnC in order to let him know. It didn’t take long for him to stride in

“Just got your message. What’s up?”

“I’m picking a long range distress signal from a ship in the secondary jump point. First I was afraid it had something to do with the attack at Ragesh 3 but it’s an Earth registered ship and the last distress signal mentioned raiders” I informed him while still monitoring my console

“I knew they’d be back sooner or later” stated Garibaldi clearly pleased by that fact “Ok, I’ll grab a fighter and check it out. Tell the…” However, he didn’t have a chance to finish that sentence because one member of the CnC crew interrupted him

“We just lost signal” she informed worried. I looked apologetically at Garibaldi and returned my attention to my console once again

“Damn!” Cursed Mr. Garibaldi while heading out.

At that moment my senses were invaded by her scent and I had to fight myself in order to keep my composure.

“Lt. Commander Ivanova?” She asked while coming closer, rounding the bridge

“Yes?” I asked annoyed glancing at her

“Talia Winters. Licensed Commercial Telepath” She started her introduction coming to a halt on her stride a few paces before reaching me “Psi Corps rating P5. I was assigned to Babylon 5 a few weeks ago” As she said that I turned back to my console just to gather my wits and keep on as if she hadn’t an effect on me.

“Tell fighter Jax to stand by for launch” I ordered to my staff “I want those ships prepped and ready to go” I informed them while walking to the lower bridge.

“Psi Corps regulations require me to log in with the 2^nd in Command” Continued Ms Winters while walking round the bridge again, stopping at the point where she could directly look at me, keeping her back to the door. “I’ve tried to reach you three times, but I guess you’ve been busy” she said looking oddly at me “I figured I’d try the direct approach” she finished with a small smirk

“Your diligence is commendable” I told her while walking back to my post again, on the opposite side of where she was standing “Anything else?”

“No, I just-”

“Then excuse me but I’m in the middle of 15 things, all of them annoying” I told her rashly turning away from her, then after a moment I glanced over my shoulder to where she was still standing “Thank you for coming by” with that I turned again and tried to focus on my job.

As she walked out of the Observation Dome, Mr Garibaldi asked for clearance to head to the point where we lost signal with the Earth vessel, so I was able to do my job then.

Before lunch, I decided to pay a visit to Commander Sinclair at his office. Upon arriving there I could hear the ISN feed reporting on the elections stating that Santiago was at the leading point.

“Commander?” I asked standing at attention at the entrance to his office

“Fade” Ordered Sinclair to the computer before turning to me “Lt. Commander.” He acknowledged beckoning for me to approach and have a seat.

“I thought I’d take the chance to see if there was any word yet from Earth Central regarding the Centauri problem.” I told him

“No, and that worries me. They’ve had plenty of time to digest the report, but so far nothing” he said in what was clearly a tone of defeat

“Who do you think attacked the Colony?” I asked him. Surely he would have a lead “Narns? The Mimbari?”

“Not the Mimbari” he said without a doubt “It’s not their way, they’re to honorable to pull up something like this”

“I’m surprised you even describe the Mimbari that way” I told him truthfully “After all, you fought them during the war”

“Well, my father always told me ‘the best way to understand someone is to fight them make them angry, that’s when you see the real person’” So it must be a tactical thing, because my father used to tell both Ganya and me that same thing, different words, but the context is the same.

“Was he a Pilot?” I asked the commander, wanting to know if my theory was right

“The best…” stated Sinclair with pride “The Sinclairs have been fighting pilots all the way back to the Battle of Britain” He continued “He taught me everything I know about flying and combat” there it was, my theory confirmed. “He said to ignore the propaganda, focus on what you see. I’ve never seen the Mimbari fight dishonorably, they never pulled a sneak attack”

“Perhaps” I acknowledged, then decided to change subjects “Any word yet on the election?”

He turned briefly to the monitor still feeding the ISN report, then back at me “It’s gonna be close. So… who you’re voting for?”

“I think I’ll vote for Marie Crane” I told him seriously while standing and turning to leave “I’ve always thought a leader should have a strong chin” Just like my brother and father, I thought briefly “he has no chin, and his vice-president has several” I told him pointedly, trying to convey that it was not just about the physical appearance “This to me, is not a good combination” I told him an walked out.

By the time this short meeting was over, it was lunch time so I headed to the Zocalo where I spotted Mr. Garibaldi eating by himself, after a brief debate with myself, I decided to head to him, and maybe join him for lunch too.

“You eat like a starving man” I mocked him while leaning on the counter

“Seeing that dead, has a way of doing that to me” he said not slowing down with his consuming of food.

On that moment her scent reached my nose and I had to glance around to make sure that my senses were not playing tricks to me. Sure enough, Ms Winters was close by but it appeared she hadn’t noticed me yet.

“There were 15 bodies on that ship we found” Continued Garibaldi, to which I nod, to let him know I was listening to him “I mean, what’s going on around here?” he asked before continuing his assault to his lunch, so I kept my eye still on Ms Winters, to avoid any kind of confrontation “We’ve got war going on Ragesh 3. Pirates are working here. You ask me the Universe is going to hell on a hand basket”

I glanced back at him “You filled in the Commander yet?”

He nodded “Report’s on his desk” I looked back up to keep an eye on the blond who was coming closer and closer by the time, but still appeared not to have noticed I was around yet. “This makes it the 3^rd time this month that raiders hit a ship in this sector”  Stated a worried Garibaldi at the same time that Ms Winters spotted me.

“They’re getting bolder” I said. Ms Winters had stopped at a trinket stand, probably to assess if I was going to stay around still for a while.

“Yeah, and more powerful” informed Mr Garibaldi “The weapons they used to hit on the supply ship are way more powerful than anything the raiders have ever used before”

“Any idea where they’ll hit next?” I asked focusing my sight once again on him

“Not yet. Thing is transport rounds are kept secret so they can avoid being attacked like this” he said thoughtfully

“It sounds like there’s a leak” I told him looking from the corner of my eye that Ms Winters was focused on me

“I’m checking it now”

“Good” I told him, and upon noticing that Ms Winters had decided to approach, I decided to flee “Keep me informed” I asked Mr Garibaldi before straightening up and heading to the nearest turbolift. I briefly glanced back upon entering the lift, and I noticed the disappointment in the blonde’s eyes, but I could not face her for a number of reasons.

That little stunt might have forced me to eat lunch alone, if it wasn’t for Maher who found me on my way to my quarters. We ordered take out, Chinese, which I’ve come to enjoy even when at first it was hard to get around.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s really bothering you?” he asked halfway through our lunch

I sighed “With Father dying, I am worried for the pack”

“Understandable, even with everything, they’re still family” We agreed “But that’s not what had you fuming in anger when I bumped into you” he said smirking

“We have a situation with raiders attacking supply ships in the area and there’s the Ragesh 3 situation too”

“Come on Susan, we both know that you can take any work load or problem and not let it get you like this” he said seriously “Besides, even when it would explain your mood, it does not explain the other matter”

“What other matter?” I asked not knowing what he was talking about

“Your scent, pheromones” he said smirking looking at me over the rim of his glass.

“My body seems to be reacting to someone” I finally confessed

“No shit? I wouldn’t have guessed if you didn’t tell me” he mocked me

“I’m serious. It has never been this strong.” I sighed and ran my hand through my head “And her scent does remind me of the time I supposedly got lost” I finally told him

“When you gave your family coat to the lost girl in the woods?”

I nodded “Ms Winters reminds me a lot of that little girl” I told him “And it annoys me the way my body reacts to her presence. I can’t lose myself to her”

“Why not?” he asked me “If your wolf decided she’s worthy, you could turn her”

“She’s Psi Corps” I told him after a minute. “I have to go. Tell Louba that the three of us could run together tonight.”

“It would be best if we just spared, there’s not much place to run up here” he said. I nodded

“See you tonight”

When I walked back to my post at CnC, I was surprised to find Mr Garibaldi at my post

“Mr Garibaldi, you’re sitting at my station, using my equipment” I started walking to reach him “Is there a reason for this? Or to save time should I just snap your hands off at your wrists?”

“All incoming ships log their flight paths through your console” he said as if that was explanation enough, I just stared waiting for him to elaborate “So I’m backtracking to find out what company sold out those routes to the supply ships”

“Do you have any leads?” I asked him now calm

“Possible. Possible” she said and stood to leave.

My day did not get any better as it progressed, Commander Sinclair made me ignore a direct order that was given to him, on his defense though, I was not supposed to have heard about it, which was his argument in the first place. So he ordered me to take his place and take vote on the Council that had been summoned by Ambassador Mollari requesting the other world to take part on the Narn attack on Ragesh 3.

“Any other instructions Commander?” I asked him before he left to deal himself with the raiders in the area

“Lots of them” he said smiling “Unfortunately  I wasn’t able to find you before I left” I had to smile at that “So you never heard about any orders from Earth Central” Said orders were to abstain and do nothing to help the Centauri “The last thing you heard, we were voting for sanctions. Clear?”

“Yes Sir. Clear as crystal” I assured him and left to change for my formal uniform to attend to the Council.

I was sitting between Ambassador Delenn and Ambassador Mollari during the Council Meeting, while Ambassador G’Kar paced from side to side explaining the actions of his government and the reasons they had to take Ragesh 3. It was all tiring and pointless, since we all knew he was lying, however everything turned around when G’Kar linked directly to Ragesh 3 and Ambassador Mollari’s nephew stated they had requested help from the Narn Regime, however they would keep contact with the Homeland in order to maintain peace. He was really stressed and reading that statement, which made it clear he was being forced, however, that was only speculation and in the end we couldn’t really do anything to aide Mollari since his own government had decided not to take action at all.

It turned out that Londo Mollari did not take the news to well and decided to take matters into his own hands, planning to kill Ambassador G’Kar. Luckily he was stopped thanks to the fact that Ms Winters had bumped into him and got a glimpse of what he had planned, so she contacted Mr. Garibaldi, who intercepted and stopped Londo before anything really happened.

When Commander Sinclair returned to the station, he arrived with interesting news, that demanded the presence of G’Kar to a meeting.

I was sitting at the Commander’s chair at his desk, while Commander Sinclair, still with his flight suit on stood at the CnC entrance to his office, along with a security detail.

“I understand there’s a problem?” asked Ambassador G’Kar upon entering Commander Sinclair’s office. Coming to stand right in front of me.

“I’m afraid there is Ambassador” I told him standing up to be at eye level with him “and I’m afraid it’s you”

“We managed to drive out the raiders out of this sector for now” Said Sinclair approaching the Ambassador “but look at what I fund on the Command and Control ship” At that moment Mr Garibaldi entered the office dragging a Narn prisoner with him, making him kneel in front of G’Kar, they both exchanged a few words on their native language before Sinclair carried on “I kept wondering where did the raiders were getting their heavy weapons. Then I thought about our conversation. Narns will sell to anyone who can afford to pay, just like they did during the war. Your government always provides and advisor to show how to operate the weapons and to make sure they aren’t resold to a 3^rd party” Said the angry Commander “When we tracked the raiders Command and Control ship we disabled her, went aboard and found your friend here”

“And that’s not all” Intervened Mr. Garibaldi “When the ship docked and we went inside we found these data crystals” he continued handing said crystals to G’Kar who upon taking them threw them onto the desk “They contain reports your captain here monitored between Ragesh 3 and Narn Central Command”

“They confirm everything Ambassador Mollari said about the attack on the Centaruy Colony” stated Sinclair “That it was unprovoked and that the invitation was made at a point of a gun” He paused for good measure, assessing G’Kar’s reaction “Now it seems to me that you have two choices. To tell your forces on Ragesh 3 to withdraw, or we take this evidence to the Council” He turned then to Garibaldi “Chief?” with that Garibaldi took the prisoner away “Your choice Ambassador” and with that he left the room leaving a mad Narn behind.

After that crisis was taken care of and my duty was off, I headed to my quarters and got changed out of my uniform. Only upon reaching the casino for my usual drink, did I remember I had told Maher that Louba, him and me could spar/run together. I’d have to go change again either if we were to take a run or spar for a while on the gym, but for now, what I wanted was my usual drink.

Never did I imagine that Ms Winters would ambush me there, or that I would end up telling her, a member of the Corps, about my late mother.

Chapter 3: Chapter 03

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 03

Healer

I had been aboard Babylon 5 for a week and a half and I still haven’t been able to report with Lt. Commander Ivanova, as was Psi Corps regulation, being her the Second in Command on the Station. I had tried to set up an appointment three times, I had been told to try at a later date, to reschedule or simply ignored without instructions of a suitable time for her. It was starting to become annoying, which is why I decided to try a more direct approach, leading me to the Observation Dome of the station.

 “Lt. Commander Ivanova?” I asked upon entering waiting for any sign or any kind of response from the woman on the main console.

She was magnificent, her figure demanded respect and awe, which I’m sure is what had helped her to get to the position she is now. And on top of that, she was beautiful, the most beautiful living creature I’ve ever seen, to this day, I still believe that.

 “Yes?” She asked clearly annoyed glancing back at me. Her voice, strong and commanding but also like a balm to the ears.

“Talia Winters. Licensed Commercial Telepath” I started walking toward her, coming to a halt on my stride a few paces before invading her personal space “Psi Corps rating P5. I was assigned to Babylon 5 a few weeks ago” I told her as she turned back to her console probably to keep on with her duties.

“Tell fighter Jax to stand by for launch” She ordered around “I want those ships prepped and ready to go” she said while walking to a lower level of the bridge.

“Psi Corps regulations require me to log in with the 2^nd in Command” I continued while walking round the bridge again, stopping at the point where I could look directly at Lt. Commander Ivanova. “I’ve tried to reach you three times, but I guess you’ve been busy” I said looking pointedly at her “I figured I’d try the direct approach” I finished smirking

“Your diligence is commendable” She said dryly “Anything else?”

“No, I just-”

“Then excuse me but I’m in the middle of 15 things, all of them annoying” She stated rashly turning away, then after a moment she glanced back at me “Thank you for coming by” with that she turned again and I had no other choice than to leave the CnC too.

Later that day, while walking through Zocalo I found myself with the chance to approach her again. She was leaning against a counter, alongside Security Chief Mr. Garibaldi who was having something to eat. I doubted for a moment, stalling at the nearest stand around, biding my time, to make sure she wasn’t leaving anytime soon. As soon as I thought it was safe to say she was going to join Mr. Garibaldi for lunch, I headed in their direction and to my disappointment she noticed me and decided to leave, heading in a different direction.

I couldn’t fathom what it was about me that provoked that reaction in her. I really wanted to know, and it would have been relatively easy to probe into her mind and find out, but that was against Psi Corps regulation, and even if it wasn’t, it was wrong. The fact that you can do something that most people can’t, doesn’t immediately give you the right to use it, especially when it is invading their privacy, so I would have to find another way to find out why she’s avoiding me like the plague.

I was thinking about that, trying to come up with a plan that would let me come close to Lt. Commander when I found myself with Mr. Garibaldi in a turbolift on blue sector.

“Destination” asked the generic computer voice

“Blue 14” I said crossing my hands at my back. After a few seconds I thought to ask for help and the Security Chief was here so I took the chance “Mr. Garibaldi, can I ask you a question?” He nodded once almost so imperceptibly, that I might have imagined that he did. “I’ve tried twice to talk to Lt. Commander Ivanova and I don’t know if it’s me or her but, I can’t get through” I confessed frustrated “I can’t imagine what it is I’ve done to upset her”

“Well…” He started a little uncertain “Unlike me, Lt. Commander takes a lot to warm up to people, especially if she’s working” Which he said was consistent with what I’ve seen so far, but Psi Corps Regulations stated I should log in with her. “Tell you what…” he continued “when she’s off duty at 1800hrs, she always stops by at the casino to wind down. That might be a good time to talk to her”

I pondered what he said. It made sense. If I was not able to reach the officer, then maybe I could reach the woman. “All right, I’ll try that” I smiled at him “Thanks”

“Afterwards, if you’d like, you can stop by my quarters and I can show you my favorite thing in the whole universe” he offered as the turbolift door opened and I started to walk away, I stopped after just a few paces because I was assaulted by a curious image of Daffy Duck’s cartoons, clearly from Mr Garibaldi’s mind “Ok Ok. My second favorite thing in the universe” he conceded which made me smile when I left.

On my way to my next meeting, I accidentally bumped into Ambassador Mollari and was assaulted by a gruesome image of how he was thinking to take Ambassador G’Kar’s life. Mollari left in a hurry and it took me a few minutes to be able to contact Mr Garibaldi to inform him of what I saw. Maybe Londo wouldn’t act upon his feelings at the moment, but maybe he was, so it was better to be safe.

I spent the rest of the evening as mediator at a meeting where thankfully, both parties were willing to be honest to each other, which made things easier for everyone. By the time I was done I realized it was almost 1900hrs so I left to the Casino in search for my prey.

I spotted her instantly, leaning alone against the counter, a drink in front of her, she appeared to be either lost in thought or really concentrated on the ISN news regarding the election of President Santiago. I approached the bar and asked for a glass of water and watched her while waiting for my drink.

As soon as it was handed to me, I walked to the other side of the bar, where Lt. Commander was sitting alone. I left a space between us thinking that she might not be overly fond to me invading her personal space during her off duty time. Then maybe my plan was not the best, but I was already there so I had to go through with it now. I was wondering what to tell her, how to break the uncomfortable silence that had set upon us, when she did

“I wanted to thank you about this afternoon” I looked at her silently asking what was she talking about since I really had no idea. “The situation with the Centauri Ambassador” she clarified

“Oh!” I said when it hit me “It was an accident, really” I told her looking down for a brief moment “I’ve been trained to block out casual thoughts but, when you hit something that powerful…” I trailed off, letting her know that way that I could feel the discomfort I was causing her and the animosity she felt at the moment.

“I understand…” she said after a deep calming breath “I feel I should explain my behavior earlier” she continued “it was rude”

“It’s all right” I assured her “I just wanted to know if it was me” I told her grabbing my drink and taking the empty seat at her left side

“It’s what you represent” she acknowledged finishing her drink. There was the awkward silence again, until the barman provided her with another drink.

“There you go Susan” He said placing it in front of her

“Thanks Maher” she said smiling softly at him and right then I knew I wanted her to smile at me, and no one else, so I turned my gaze away “My mother was like you” she suddenly said, I was looking at my gloved hands when she said that, so I focused my attention all on her again “a telepath” she clarified “None of us ever knew, it was her secret since she was a little girl.” She said, sadness in her voice “She wasn’t trained, she was never able to use it well”

“Well, that’s why we have the Psi Corps” I told her proudly “To help telepaths bring out their talents to the fullest”

“Yes, I imagine that’s what they told you” she said in a defeated tone “Were you raised by the Corps?” she asked me, but I did not offer a response, instead I took a sip to my drink “Then you never had to make the choice” she continued while fumbling with the straw of her drink “When they discover what you are, they give you three choices. You can either join the Psi Corps, or go to prison. Or agree to take certain drugs for the rest of your life” she said bitterly “Drugs that inhibit your telepathic abilities”

“That’s the law” I defended “Unregistered telepaths have to be controlled to protect the privacy of others”

“Have you ever seen the results?” She asked, her gaze so strong and piercing that I had to look away. “They caught up with my mother on her 35^th birthday. She didn’t want to join the Corps, didn’t want to go to prison…”

“So they gave her the treatment.” I finished for her

She nodded “For ten years a man in a gray suite came to the door once a week and gave her the injections. They were strong. Terribly strong” I could see that her eyes were getting misty and even if I tried I couldn’t help but feel the pain emanating from her. “Every day we just watched her drift further and further away from us. The light in her eyes just went out bit by bit” she sighed “And when we thought she could go no further… she took her own life” she finished taking a sip from her drink and looking at me over the rim of her glass. Unshed tears on her eyes

“I’m sorry” I told her truthfully

“What happened back then, is not your fault” she said sighing. “But it’s part of what you are. And yet, you’re as much as a victim as my mother”

“I don’t feel like a victim” I told her

“No. And so far I cannot tell if that is good… or bad” She said standing to leave. I hesitated for a moment but I remembered I had decided I wanted to see her smile as much as possible.

“Perhaps tomorrow we can start out on better terms” I offered her with a small smile

“I very much doubt it” she told me “Maher, I won’t be able to stay tonight. Tell Louba I’m sorry” she said to the barman who nodded in acknowledgement “Good night” she said turning her attention back to me before she left.

I’m not sure how long I was there, going over the conversation I had just had with Lt. Commander Ivanova, over and over again; wondering if maybe there was something I could have said that could have changed how we parted.

“Susan’s not usually so rude” said the barman placing another glass of water in front of me.

I sighed defeated “She hates me”

“Not really” said the barman “She doesn’t even know you right? So how can she hate you?”

I realized that tears were running down my cheeks then “But she won’t want to know me because of what I am”

“She’s stubborn, I’ll give you that” he said handing me a handkerchief. “But she worth’s the hard work”

I chuckled “How long have you known her?” I asked curiously, aware that the tears had not stopped yet

“Since she came to the station” he said leaning on the counter in front of me “But she’s like family” he assured me

“Hey Maher! Is Susan not here yet?” a read headed woman interrupted whatever I was about to tell him

Maher, the barman, shook his head “she was around for a while, but she’s got something to deal with” he told the read head with a smile “You up for this, or do you wish to leave it for your next visit?”

“I’ll take any chance I get to kick ass” she said smirking

“Bring it” he told her smiling while handing over his shift to another barman. Then he turned to me, his smile still on his face “It’s your choice blondie, but if you are up for the challenge, Susan is an amazing friend” he said leaving and leading the read head out.

I left a few minutes after that. That night my dreams were filled with possibilities and hope for a future with Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova

Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 04

Healer

The incident with the Soulhunters at Babylon 5 was troublesome at best. During the time that they stayed on board we received a lot of complains from the alien races demanding that we made these Soulhunters leave the station at once.

The family of the guy that died on medlab while the soulhunter had been in containment, didn’t have any money or resources to send his body back home, so we had to throw it into the space.

Dr. Franklin came to the CnC to let me know everything was ready. As soon as the pod was launched into space I said a prayer for him

“From the stars we come, and to the stars we return.” I started, apparently surprising Dr. Franklin “From now until the end of time. We therefore commit this body to the deep” I was silent for a moment and noticed Stephen watching me intently. “Something Doctor?”

“It’s all so brief, isn’t it?” he asked “Typical human lifespan is almost a 100 years but it’s barely a second compared to what’s out there” he continued looking at the stars “Wouldn’t be so bad if life didn’t take so long to figure it out. Seems you just start to get it right and then… it’s over”

“Doesn’t’ matter” I disagreed with him. Maybe because I knew that unless I got killed in combat, I could live practically forever. According to the pack records my father was 50 when he was turned and he was a little over 200 by now. “If we lived 200 years, or 300, or 1000 years… we’d still be human.” I told him sternly “We’d still make the same mistakes”

“You’re a pessimist” he said amused

“I’m Russian, Doctor.” I offered “We understand these things” knowing myself that it wasn’t the fact of being Russian that helped me understand this piece of wisdom.

The Soulhunter kidnapped Ambassador Delenn, but luckily Commander Sinclair was able to rescue her and stop the first Soulhunter that came on board. Over the next week, after the Soulhunters left and Commander Sinclair made it clear to their people that they were effectively banned from Babylon 5, things calmed down a bit, at least in what the station was concerned.

Ms Winters apparently had decided that the fact that I had shared that little piece of information with her at the bar, automatically made her someone I wanted in my life, so she kept showing up wherever I turned, which forced me to change routes to go back and forth on the station and to change my schedule as regularly as possible.

Louba had went back to Earth but Maher had been pestering me to contact home, even when we knew my father was in a comatose state, he said it would be good for me to close circles and be at peace with  my wolf. I finally gave up and used the Golden Channels to contact aunt Magda.

Our conversation was kept brief because I was using the channel without authorization, and what Louba had said did not prepared me for what I saw. I covered my tracks on the system in order to avoid a reprimand from both the Security Chief and the Commander, but I knew now I would have to contact back home again.

I was at the CnC pondering about what would happen to the pack when father died. Originally, Ganya was supposed to be Alpha, but with him dead, there was no one back home to actually take his place. The only way to keep the pack together would be a challenge between candidates, but that would bring down the pack’s numbers.

“There has been a breach in the communication channels Lt. Commander” stated Mr Garibaldi coming into my personal space “And the Commander asked me to run this with you. I discovered an anomaly in the system and upon tracking it, it turns out the Golden Channels have been used without authorization” he continued “We might be facing a threat to the station and to Earth Command itself”

“You’re overreacting Mr Garibaldi” I told him flatly “There could be several reasons for this communications anomaly”

“Such as?” he asked no believing that

“Computer error… Magnetic pulse…”

“I checked that!” he said annoyed

“Well then maybe one of the ambassadors is trying to save a few credits” I offered lamely “Or perhaps is what us Russian pilots use to call ‘gremlins’” I told him in a light mocking tone

“Lt Commander!” Started Mr Garibaldi “Gold Channels are priority access, usable only by express permission of Commander Sinclair” he continued lecturing me “No one outside of the Ambassadors and the Senior Officers even know they exist.” He sighed “If someone has hacked into them, communication security is at risk”

“The Pireaus is requesting permission to depart” Said an Ensign interrupting us.

“Re-route the Balosian fighter, dock H” I told her “And inform the Pireaus she can depart at 1200”

“Affirmative”

“Mr Garibaldi, I know it’s a problem. But one transmission is not a conspiracy. I told him turning my attention back to him “Now, you’ll inform me as the Commander ordered and I will attend to it as my duties permit” I informed him “In the meantime, I suggest you monitor the Gold Channels more closely in case there is a 2^nd occurance”

“I’ve already seen to it” he said. I would have to be more sneaky next time.

“Well then, thankfully there’s no further need for us to chat” I told him as I turned away and continued with my duties.

I left CnC for my lunch break which I had at my quarters. I took the chance to use encrypted codes and contact back home using the Golden Channels.

“He’s getting worse, Dimitri says he might not make it through the night” had said aunt Magda before I had to cut the link.

I went back to the Observation Dome to find Mr Garibaldi at my station.

“Garibaldi, why are your fingers on my console?” I asked irritated

“Our gremlins made another call”

“Did you track it?” I asked a little concerned, adopting what Ganya always said was the Peter Pan pose.

“Got a prefix on the Russian consortium, then I hit a wall program, hard, blacked my board” he said annoyed

“If he used ICE you’ve got him” I told him “It’ll show on the scan”

“I know” he said while typing in the data required for the ‘search’

‘System clear. No Illegal programs detected’ stated the computer voice

“What?” asked an astounded Garibaldi. That’s not possible.

“Display all Gold Channel unauthorized transmissions” I ordered the computer

‘No unauthorized transmissions logged’ stated the computer system

“What?” Asked Mr Garibaldi getting more annoyed

“You sure this is not just a figment of your demented imagination?” I asked him “A cry for help perhaps?”

Garibaldi smirked, clearly unconvinced, but he left the Dome anyway.

The next hours were relatively uneventful, which prevented me from contacting home again, so when the weapon fire report came in I knew that would be my last chance to contact home before Garibaldi confirmed it was me using the Golden Channel.

“Chief, we’ve got a report of weapon fire at Brown 7” I told him over the Babcom system “I want you to check it out”

“With pleasure” he said between teeth.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep watch for your gremlin” I told him before ending the link and heading to my quarters where I used the ICE to open a channel back home.

“He’s come out of the coma” was the first thing that aunt Magda said. “You’ll only have a few minutes, at best” she said pointedly

“I understand” I assured her “Father?”

“Is that you Susan?” asked my father trying to sit to get a better view of me

“Yes” I told him nodding slightly

“Oh dear God” he said relieved “I never thought that I’d see your face again” I smiled bitterly, I knew it was not the moment to point fingers, but it was his fault, after all he had banned me “It makes this easier” he said after a moment “I know I haven’t been the best of fathers to you” he lamented. I was about to tell him otherwise but refrained myself. He was the best father while Ganya and I grew up, but things changed when it was only the two of us and we both knew that “But when your mother… passed and your brother was killed in the war, I was too wrapped up in my own grief to pay attention to your needs” on that we both agreed “And when you joined Earthforce against my wishes…”

“You don’t have to say it father…” I cut him up, knowing that in about a minute or two, Garibalidi would surely be notified about the transmission

“Yes! Yes I must!” He insisted “There’s no more time” And he had no idea how accurate that was “I want you to know how proud I am of you Susan” he said sighing “I always have been. Even when you gave your coat to that girl when you got lost in the woods” he said fondly and I had to smile at the memory, he had beaten me and punished me quite hard for giving my family coat to a random girl. I argued all day that if I hadn’t done that she would have frozen to death and that I always knew my way back but was not going to leave her alone. In the end, no one ever said it out loud, but they were awed by my actions “But a father should give his daughter love, as well as respect, and in that I failed you” I shook my head but was unable to form words, my eyes were teary now “I’m sorry. I’m ashamed. Forgive Me” he pleaded, I was surprised but I nodded once, making my father smile. “You’ll have to take care of the pack now”

“What?” I asked taken by surprise

“You are to take my place, as is your right and duty” he said seriously

“But I can’t go back to Earth” I said in a hushed whisper

“Arrangements have been made Susatchka. The pack will come to you” he said motioning with his head. I could see aunt Magda come closer and nod her agreement.

“Are you sure Papa?” I asked for confirmation. It meant that I was part of the pack again.

“I’m giving you my last order” he said sternly. I gasped but managed to nod “Thank you, Dushenka Moya”

“Little Soul” I smiled, letting my tears run freely now. “You haven’t called me that since I was…” I was cut short when he released his last breath, a soft smile on his face “Papa?”

Aunt Magda shook her head. “Sorry. The pack will follow you” she said and she ended the link. It was after an hour or so, Maher came into my quarters and hugged me while I cried for the loss of my father, and my return to the pack.

When I composed myself, I told Maher he could stay there until his shift started and I headed back to the CnC. Upon entering I noticed Mr Garibaldi there, so I squared my shoulders and resigned myself to the fact that I had been discovered, so I would deal with the consequences.

“Mr Garibaldi, shouldn’t you be on Brown 7?”

“It’s taken care of” he simply said

“Is there anything else?” I asked him when he didn’t say anything

“My gremlin made another call. This time I tracked it”

I stiffened and looked at the console instead of him “And?”

“You’re not gonna believe this, but it was just what you originally said” he stated softly “a computer error. I fixed it and I don’t’ think it’ll happen again” he continued, looking pointedly at me “Will it?”

“No, it won’t” I answered softly, knowing that the reason he was letting me off the hook was that he had most probably heard my conversation and knew my father had died while at it. I sighed

“Buy you a drink?” he asked softly

“I’m on duty” I told him, my voice about to crack again. Garibaldi noticed and turned to leave. “Garibaldi?” I called turning to face him just when we has about to get to the door. “Maybe some other time” I told him hesitantly. He nodded and then left the Dome.

That night, when I was at the Casino, I was approached once again by Ms Winters, who after a court nod launched into telling me how stressful but amazing her day had been, but that she felt good about having saved a life.

“So it is the second time you save a life, and the second you help Ambassador Mollari” I told her standing to leave.

“I think I understand now why you and all the other officers joined the Earthforce. You are constantly saving lives” she said excitedly and I frowned

“I would suggest you stop playing the hero. You have no training and could get hurt” I told her sternly

“Is that worry for my well being I hear in your voice?” she asked teasingly “And here I thought you didn’t like me”

“I don’t” I told her “It is, however, my duty to worry about the well being of everyone on the station” I pointed before nodding slightly toward Maher who joined me while I walked away.

Chapter 5: Chapter 5

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 05

Healer

Over the next couple of weeks I tried hard to get Lt. Commander to notice me, also, I wanted to know the real person she was, the one that appeared so carefree in the presence of Maher.

Maher had been right the first time we spoke, she is stubborn. For every step I took forward to her, she took at least three in the opposite direction, both literally and emotionally. Whenever I managed to corner her where she would have no choice but to stay where she was, she would only grunt and listen uninterested while I talked.

I had gone so far as to ask Mr Garibaldi to provide me with her daily schedule, with the pretense that I didn’t want to interrupt her while she was at an important meeting. I believe that the only reason he cooperated with me, was because of his obvious crush on me, too bad I was not interested in any officer other than the stunning Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova.

It was after I started to literally stalk her that she started to actually get around her schedule and keep avoiding me, however at nights I could always find her, even if it was only for a little while. It was certainly taking a toll on my confidence, but I was able to share a few drinks with her every night without her actually disregarding me or being totally mean to either me or the Corps.

I was at the moment in one of the ambassadorial conference rooms as had requested Commander Sinclair, to help mediate negotiations between the Narn and the Centauri. Problem was that Ambassador Mollari had not arrived yet, his attaché Vir Cotto was playing some sort of video game unaware of the tension in the room, Ambassador G’Kar was fuming, his attaché Ko D’ath was restless and Commander Sinclair was feeling frustrated. It was getting too much for me to handle, luckily Commander Sinclair sent Mr Vir to fetch Ambassador Mollari, so as soon as he left the room I walked out to clear my mind while we waited.

“Talia?” Asked a male voice behind me.

“Yeah?” I asked turning to him “Oh! I’m sorry” I told him upon realizing it was Commander Sinclair catching up with me

“Are you all right?” he asked me worried

“I just had to get some distance” I assured him “Too much strong emotions in close proximity is hard to block” I sighed “These talks are very important to you, aren’t they?”

“Earth Central wants a peaceful settlement. And so do I” he said smiling softly “It’ll show them Babylon 5 is doing the job it was meant to do”

“If you even get the Narn and the Centauri to cooperate” I reminded him

“Londo and G’Kar know that a peaceful solution would benefit more than a conflict. That’s where you come in” He said quite sure “You’re my peeler” I looked at him confused and luckily he noticed “You’re gonna peel away their lies until they’re left with the inescapable truth”

“Sounds like you got a good shot” I agreed

“I do… If Londo ever shows up” he said smirking so with that we came back to the conference room and waited, while Vir somehow convinced Ko D’Ath to give it a go with his video game.

After a few hours Ambassador Mollari arrived, however his thoughts were not in the negotiations at all, so he might as well not showed up. Both Ambassadors kept telling lie after lie after lie, it came a point where it became awkwardly uncomfortable for me, but at last Commander Sinclair decided that we should all take a break for the day.

“Talia” he said approaching me when I left the conference room “You haven’t eaten yet. Why don’t you let me take you out for dinner? My treat” he said smiling

“I’m not interested Commander, thank you” I told him seriously. The thoughts coming all day from Ambassador Mollari had disturbed me a lot and I was not in the mood to deal with crushes of any kind.

“You’re not interested in eating Ms Winters?” he asked amused “I don’t think that would be good for your health”

I sighed “I’ll order take in. Thanks for your concern though” I turned to leave

“It’s not a romantic invitation Talia” he said catching up with me “I’ve seen you watching Susan and trying to approach her” he said knowingly and I froze “Don’t worry, I don’t mind” he assured me “I just don’t think Susan would appreciate you showing up for your date without eating something first”

“I don’t have a date with Lt. Commander” I told him blushing

“Oh, of course not” he said softly “You both only happen to meet every other night for a few drinks at the bar of the Casino” he turned to leave “I’ll pick you at your quarters in one hour.”

I sighed and shook my head at his retreating form. He sure was an interesting person to be around. With that in mind, I headed to my quarters to get changed.

“This place is marvelous” I told him in awe looking around. He had decided to bring us to one the fanciest restaurants in the station.

“After the effort you put through today, I thought you deserved it.” He said helping me to my seat

“Oh they were quite a mindful” I confessed “I haven’t sensed so many lies since I worked for the Political Bureau” I said as Commander Sinclair chuckled softly “and Londo…” I trailed off at the memory of his thoughts.

“What about him?”

“Well, his thoughts, they were… intensely…” I trailed off again

“Intensely what?” he asked me curiously

“Erotic” I told him in a whisper

“I’m not surprised” he said glancing to a side of the restaurant and there were seated Londo and the woman who had occupied his thoughts earlier, the reason he had been late in the first place. “Anyway, how’s everything coming along for you and Susan?”

I sighed “Not as good as for them” I said still looking at Ambassador Mollari, then I turned my head back to Commander Sinclair “She’s just so frustrating”

“Susan Ivanova? Frustrating? I might have to throw you to the brig for defaming my XO” he said jokingly and I chuckled a little

“I understand her position towards the Corps” I told him after a moment “But I don’t understand why she keeps pushing me away, yes I’m a telepath, but I’m also a person. Much like she is Lt Commander, but also a person behind the uniform”

“Susan doesn’t get out of her uniform that much” he told me “For her, being an Earthforce officer is what defines her. Maybe she thinks that as she is defined by her uniform, you are defined by yours”

I thought about that for a moment before answering “I am defined by my uniform Commander, as much as she is by hers. But she told me so herself, she hates the Corps, not me”

“Then I don’t see the problem”

“I don’t either, and regardless of that, she just keeps pushing me away”

“Maybe she’s being cautious” he said after a moment “Her trust is not something easy to gain”

The next day Ambassador Mollari didn’t show at all at the Negotiations, and left Mr Vir in charge. In turn, upon learning about this, Ambassador G’Kar decided if Londo wasn’t being serious about it, then he wouldn’t be either, so he left Ko D’ath in charge.

“Keep them talking while I go find Londo” said Commander Sinclair striding off.

It was even more stressful than the previous day, with Mr Vir as clueless and Ko D’ath as restless as the day before. So by the time lunch break was due, I excused myself and left for my quarters. Imagine my surprise when I found both Ambassador Mollari and Commander Sinclair waiting at the door.

“Talia, we need your help” said Commander as I let them in

“I thought that was what I was trying to do” I told him curtly

Ambassador Mollari then proceeded to tell me about Adira, the woman he had been with, and some purple files that were important for his position and now her being kidnapped and about to be murdered unless I scanned the man responsible, with whom conveniently Ambassador G’Kar had set up a business meeting to buy said files.

“I won’t do it” I said firmly “It goes against all Psi Corps regulations to interfere in personal matters”

“Ms Winters, the life of a woman is at stake” said Londo clearly distressed “to say nothing of my career” Ah, so there it was; his career is what he wanted to save.

“Is he serious about that woman’s life?” I asked the Commander who nodded slightly “Ambassador Mollari… what do you care more about?” I asked him looking directly into his eyes, letting him know with that I was going to use my abilities to determine if he was being truthful or not. “Your files and saving your career? Or that woman’s life?”

He hesitated and I was about to leave but he relented. “I don’t want her to get hurt, much less to get killed. Please Ms Winters…” he begged so I agreed.

“All right.” I said after a moment “But I won’t break Psi Corps rules. The information must come only from his surface thoughts” I told them “No delivered probes…”

“But certainly his thoughts will all be on the deal!” interrupted Ambassador Mollari

“There is a way” I told them shyly. “We have to trick him into thinking about that”

“How will we do that?” asked me the Commander

I told them that I would meet up with Ambassador G’Kar as they had planned and wait for this man to show up, then I would explain to him what he musn’t think about and with that I would get the information and pass it on to him, who would be close and out of sight.

“I don’t see how telling him not to think about Adira, will help you get the information” stated an upset Ambassador.

“Ambassador…” I told him making him focus on me instead of pacing “Don’t think about Ambassador G’Kar wearing pink robes” And with that he had in his mind a very clear image of what I asked him not to think about.

“Oh” he said understanding now “Sneaky… I like it”

I was sitting with Ambassador G’Kar’s in a bar at the Zocalo when his contact, Mr Trakis arrived.

“A great pleasure” said G’Kar as soon as Mr Trakis had recognized him “This is Ms Winters, our resident Telepath” he said gesturing to me, I nodded as a greeting to Mr Trakis.

“Telepath?” He asked distressed “You said nothing about this” he accused G’Kar

“Oh, it’s standard procedure in such dealings” said G’Kar dismissively

“I don’t like anyone playing around my head” said offended Mr Trakis.

“I won’t be” I told him as offended as he was. I don’t understand why everyone, no matter human or alien, reacts the same way to us. They immediately jump to the conclusion that we are going to invade and roam into their private thoughts without their consent. “My purpose here is to verify the merchandise” I said pointedly “So it’s imperative that you don’t think of anything else, such as the source of your information, your intent in selling it, or where Adira Tyree is now” And as expected, as soon as I requested him not to think about these things, he gave me the information I needed to help this woman. He was holding her hostage in the alien sector. I turned to the end of the room where I knew Commander Sinclair was hiding “The alien sector, somewhere in level 4”

“Security” Said Sinclair tapping into his combadge as soon as he came out of hiding. “She’s in the alien sector, level 4”

“Affirmative” was heard by the link as Mr Trakis turned and started to run to get away, however his way was blocked by Ambassador Mollari  who knocked him out. Then he took a data crystal from within Trakis’s robes, presumably his precious purple files, and as he approached us he thanked G’Kar for helping him saving his career and the honor of the Centauri Republic. Ambassador G’Kar looked back and forth between Londo and myself before he left fuming, and I couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

That night, after everything was solved for Ambassodor Mollari and the Centauri woman we had helped, I headed to the Casino, where I knew I could find Susan. That was the only thing in her routine that hadn’t changed over the past couple of weeks. As Mr Garibaldi had offered once, every night after her shift was over, she went to the Casino for a drink to wind down. By that moment I also knew that she sometimes left with Maher for late night activities.

“We only spar against each other at the gym” had said Maher when I asked him about his relationship with Susan a few nights before.

“Many interpretations could be given to that” I told him seriously

“Though it’s cute you’re jealous blondie, you don’t have to be for me” He said smirking I looked hard at him, letting him know that was not as amusing as he thought. “Susan’s my alpha” he said then

“Your what?”

“Never mind” he tried to avoid

“What do you mean by alpha?” I asked confused, it was not a common term. At least not that I knew of.

“It’s a Russian thing” he finally said and I knew he was lying, and he knew I knew.  “She’s literally like a sister to me. The annoying sister” I let it slide for the time being, I would have to dig into this alpha business of them.

As I was recalling that conversation with Maher, I arrived at the Casino and instantly spotted her. She looked crestfallen and my heart clenched at the sight. She was sitting alone on a table, not at her usual spot on the counter. I approached Maher who was at his spot behind the bar.

“Could you try to cheer her up?” He asked me while handing me my usual glass of water “She’s had a tough day. She just lost someone and she needs a friend now”

I nodded and approached Susan with a sad smile. “Good evening Lt. Commander” I greeted after she nodded acknowledging my presence, then I took the seat at her side. “You can’t even imagine how stressful, yet gratifying my day was” I then proceeded to tell her about the negotiations that Commander Sinclair and I had to attend for a couple of days now between Ambassador Mollari and Ambassador G’Kar, and how it all had went and ended today, the negotiations failing itself, however I had helped to save the life of a female Centauri.

“So it is the second time you save a life, and the second you help Ambassador Mollari” she said standing to leave.

“I think I understand now why you and all the other officers joined the Earthforce.” I told her excitedly, trying to cheer her up. I thought the one she had lost, was someone under her command, which is the reason I was trying to remind her that what they do on the service is worth it. “You are helping by constantly saving lives” She frowned at me then. Not that it was a new feature on her face, but I hadn’t seen her frowning at my sight in almost a week.

 “I would suggest you stop playing the hero. You have no training and could get hurt” she said sternly but with a hint of something else on her tone, apprehension I thought it was.

“Is that worry for my well being I hear in your voice?” I asked teasingly “And here I thought you didn’t like me” I said in mock surprise.

“I don’t” she said coldly “It is, however, my duty to worry about the well being of everyone on the station” she pointed before nodding slightly toward Maher who joined her on her way out.

I spent the night wondering what had exactly happened today to her. Who had she lost to make her so grumpy? I thought she was warming up to me, sure, we were far from being best friends, but we had had civil interactions and non-aggressive chats between us; so why was she reverting? As far as I knew, the major problem at the station for the last few days had been the one I had been involved with, related with Ambassador Mollari, and that had been solved by Commander Sinclair. I should have asked Maher then, because by the time I learned who she had lost that day, I felt terrible for the way I tried to ‘cheer her up’.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 06

Healer

I spent the next week in contact with the pack Elders and Unit Leaders, making arrangements for their arrival to the station and future accommodations for them. The pack currently was formed by 186 wolves, 188 if you counted Maher and myself, of different ages and very different areas of expertise, up to that moment most of them had been working in the family businesses, managed by my father and a few others, now I also had to learn the current in and outs of said businesses, last I knew about the business was what was going on before I left to join Earthforce; so in order to update myself with the current situation, dealings and contracts, I had barely been sleeping. I had even stopped sparing with Maher, and most of the nights I couldn’t even make it to the Casino. Whenever I was not on duty on the station, I was in meetings via com-link with the pack members in charge of accounts, personnel and operations; it had been decided by my father that the ‘Company’ HQ would be re-allocated at B5, and if I ever was posted somewhere else, HQ would move to wherever I was.

Most of the pack would arrive in two weeks on board the Azimov, and with the ‘Company’ credits I had already made reservations for them to stay at Red Sector, but upon their arrival we would have to work out a more permanent arrangement. I had also bought two offices to start operations, of course they would have to be decorated and set up for meetings.

And due to the fact that the Company itself wouldn’t need all of the hired staff because HQ had become considerably smaller, I would also have to meet each pack member, one by one, and find out if we could provide job for them on board the station, based upon their abilities, so I would suggest a few places in light of that, and then I would probably have to ask a few favors around; but it didn’t matter, it was my duty to take care of the pack and I would do everything within my power to comply with it.

It had been decided that about 30 members of the pack, would stay back on Earth or where they were at the moment; this because some of them were working for other companies and serving as liaison between us, and their direct families of course would not leave them behind.

All in all, it had taken a toll on me, I was tired and more grumpy. Oddly enough, only three people seemed to notice; Maher, which was not surprising at all; Mr Garibaldi, who kept trying to lighten the mood around; and unfortunately Ms Winters, who also had taken upon herself to make sure I did not ‘over do’ myself with my duties on the station.

I was at the Observation Dome, making sure everything was going all right with the traffic of incoming ships, we had been receiving more this last week due to Earth Central’s orders to have some sort of Cultural Week on board the station, when all species were encouraged to demonstrate their religious beliefs.  Command staff was forced to make an appearance at this demonstrations; and because of those damn demonstrations, my duties as XO of the station, and my meetings via com-link with the pack, I had been running on for 59 hours without sleep. Luckily for me, that day the pack would board the Azimov so I wouldn’t be able to contact them until they arrived, unless of course it was an emergency, and there was no demonstration prepared for that night, so I would be free to sleep as soon as my duty shift was over.

Things seemed to be running smoothly so I decided to take a moment to relax sitting for a moment, when the door to CnC opened and her scent hit me hard.

“Not now Ms Winters” I told her standing up and then turning to face her

“You’ve missed lunch again and since no one saw you at the mess hall this morning, I think it’s safe to assume that you did not have breakfast. That won’t do Lt. Commander…” she said concerned “Wait… how did you know it was me before you turned around?” she asked as an after thought

“Who else Ms Winters, would burst into the CnC and walk to my station if there was no emergency?” I asked trying to divert her attention, I should have waited for her to speak first.

“It is an emergency” she said indignantly crossing her arms

“I hardly doubt it”

“You have not eaten in all day, and look at the bags under your eyes, you’re excerting yourself” she said, concern again in her voice.

“I don’t think that qualifies as an emergency”

She uncrossed her arms and sighed taking a step closer to me. “Your duty shift is almost over, let me take you out for dinner” she asked softly

“I already have plans” I told her sternly

“Come on Lt. Commander!” she was getting irritated “I just want to make sure you eat”

“I fail to see how my feeding arrangements are of any concern to you” I told her turning to leave.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t make sure you were all right?” she asked smiling and walking with me.

“I was unaware that we were friends” I told her coldly. The hurt in her eyes almost made me reach out to hug her and reassure her that if that was what she wanted, we could be friends, however Stephen bumped into us as he turned around the corner.

“Oh sorry” he apologized “I was just on my way to see you” he told me

“What can I do for you Doctor?”

“Well, a little birdie told me you missed lunch, and that it’s the third time this week” he said softly “I just wanted to know if you had already eaten today”

“I’m fine, thanks” I told him “I’ve not slept well the last few nights and I was on my way to catch some sleep” I said as curtly as possible

“Dr. Franklin” started Ms Winters “Lt. Commander has not had anything to eat at all, not since lunch yesterday” she said concerned

“Is that truth Susan?” he asked now concerned too. I kept silent “Then I’m going to prescribe you to eat as soon as possible” he said seriously

“Come on Stephen, I’m not hungry and I’m really tired.” I told him annoyed

“Go eat!” He said seriously “Or I’ll give you an indefinite leave of duty” he added before I could even protest

“Fine” I grunted and turned to leave

“Ms Winters, would you be so kind as to accompany Lt. Commander and make sure she does have something to eat” said Stephen clearly amused

“What!?” I asked outraged “I do not need babysitting” I said walking back to them

“Susan” started Stephen “It’s not babysitting, it’s just making sure you follow doctor’s orders” he said smirking

And so I had to have dinner with Ms Winters; and I had to reluctantly admit, though only to myself, that it was not so bad, and I was actually enjoying myself.

“I’ll escort you to your quarters” I told her once we had paid the bill

“Oh no Lt. Commander” she said smiling “I asked you out, therefore I will escort you… besides, you’re tired, so I better make sure you arrive safe and sound to get some rest” I chuckled but relented.

“Lt. Commander” she said softly when we reached my quarters

“Thank you Ms Winters” I told her with a small smile

“Sleep well” she said and turned to leave

“Ms Winters?” I called her before she walked away “Would you like to join me tomorrow for the Centauri’s demonstration?”

“I’d love to” she said smiling

“I’ll pick you at your quarters at 1900”

“It’s a date” she said leaving me surprised by her statement.

I slept surprisingly well that night, and the next day was relatively quiet, so as soon as my shift ended I changed into my formal dress uniform, and headed to Ms Winters’ quarters.

“You’re early” she said smiling at me when she opened the door. I was speechless for a moment. She was wearing a gorgeous long black dress, and even when she was wearing the Psi Corps insignia and the gloves issued for all their telepaths, she looked stunning.

“There was no boom today” I told her smiling “Are you ready?” I asked her shyly “Londo said that they were only waiting on the Commander and myself to start the feast” I explained

She smiled at me, and for the first time I thought that maybe Maher was right, maybe my wolf had found what we’ve been looking for.

“Lead the way Lt. Commander”

When we arrived to Londo’s demonstration, the only available seats were near Londo, at the other end of the table to where Mr. Garibaldi and the Commander were seated. The night was progressing slowly but amiably, and almost everyone was enjoying themselves, some more than others, even Ambassador Delenn who looked confused. I heard the Commander speaking to Mr. Garibaldi about Ms Sakai, so I decided not to intervene, since that was clearly a personal matter, and anyway, I was not supposed to hear that conversation given the distance between us at the moment.

“Delenn!” said Londo clearly intoxicated “Is it not magnificent?”

“It is quite elaborate” answered politely Ambassador Delenn, causing Londo to laugh.

“It’s a celebration of life” started to explain Vir “it comes from a time of our world’s history when two dominant species were fighting for supremacy.” He continued proudly “Our people, and a species we called Xon”

“Yes!” Confirmed Londo so promptly that caused Ms Winters to chuckle

“He’s clearly enjoying himself” she whispered leaning closer to me. I nodded in agreement, trying not to be distracted by her and keeping my attention on Vir’s story.

“Each year we’d count how many of our people survived and we’d celebrate our good fortune”

“What happened to the Xon?” asked Ms Winters

“Yeah, what happened to them?” Echoed Mr. Garibaldi

“Dead! All of them!” Declared Londo “And good riddance!” then he stood raising his cup “Valtoooooooooooo!” Causing everyone else to toast with him. “Come on Commander! Loosen up!” he prompted “You’re supposed to enjoy yourself” He accused and threw a piece of food toward the Commander

“I am” said the Commander “Words just can’t express how much I’m enjoying this” he said politely

“He’s not enjoying this at all” told me Ms Winters

“I know” I told her smiling and tugging at Londo’s coat to get his attention “Londo… tell me, what are all this statues?” I said motioning for the golden statues placed on the table

“Ah!” exclaimed Londo “Our household Gods! In our world, where everyday is a struggle for survival, you need all the Gods you can get” I chuckled at his words and after a few seconds so did Ms Winters and Londo himself “Here” he said when he calmed from his fit of laughter “this is Benzen” he said handing me the nearest statue “God of food” then he got on the table and crawled to the next statue “And Li, Goddess of passion… and Morgeth, God of the underworld and protector of front doors” He exclaimed “Gods by the bushes! Gods by the pond! Gods for all occasions!”

“Are you all right?” I asked Ms Winters when I noticed she looked light headed, focusing my attention now on her instead of on Londo who was laying on the table, speaking to Delenn.

“Too many and such strong emotions” she said massaging her temple

“Would you like us to retire for the night?” She smiled and at that moment I heard a thud on the table, I turned to look at Londo who was lying now unconscious.

“Ah! He has become one with his inner self!” Declared Vir

“He’s passed out” said flatly Mr Garibaldi

“That too” acknowledged Vir

I smiled and looked back at Ms Winters who was a little pale now “Come on” I said standing up and offering my hand to help her up too “Let’s take you away of such strong emotions”

She smiled again and took my hand. This time it was me who escorted her to her quarters.

“Are you feeling better?” I asked concerned when we reached her door.

She nodded “I am now”

I smiled “Thank you for your company this evening Ms Winters”

“It was my pleasure Lt. Commander”

 “Well then, good night”  I turned to leave but she grabbed me by my wrist and I was forced to turn back to her “Is there—” I never got to end that question because she leaned in and softly pecked my lips, sending chills all through my body; and as soon as it started, it had ended.

“Good night, Lt. Commander” she said smirking before closing the door to her quarters.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 07

Healer

After I unsuccessfully tried to cheer up the Lt Commander that night as had asked me Maher, she became more absorbed in her duties. It was as if she was actively trying to avoid anything and anyone not related to the operations of the station, not just me.

She had already missed lunch several times and I had made it my duty to make sure she ate something on a daily basis. So I went one morning to the mess hall and bumped into Commander Sinclair, when I asked him if he had seen Lt. Commander there that morning and he denied seen her I got more worried than before. The day before she had only had a toast and coffee late in the morning with Maher, or that’s what he said, at lunch she ate half the salad I had brought her to the CnC, she had not had anything for dinner and she had not made an appearance for breakfast either here or with Maher.

“Can I help you with anything?” he asked me when he noticed my apprehension

“It’s just that the Lt. Commander has missed lunch a few times this week and it worries me” I told him truthfully

“I’ll see to that” he said softly “I’ll try to make sure she is fine”

“Thank you Commander”

I kept track, thanks to the computer system and Mr Garibaldi, of her whereabouts, she had mostly kept herself to the observation dome, so when it was way past lunch time and she had not even made an effort to leave the dome I strode there ready to make sure she ate something today.

“Not now Ms Winters” she said before I even reached her, then she stood and turned around

Her appearance at that moment was saddening, she looked tired and worried and it pained me to know that she did not trust me enough to tell me, or anyone else for that matter, what was troubling her so.

 “You’ve missed lunch again and since no one saw you at the mess hall this morning, I think it’s safe to assume that you did not have breakfast. That won’t do Lt. Commander…” I told her concerned “Wait…” I stopped my ranting when I noticed that she had called upon me before I reached her and before turning to acknowledge who it was that had come into the CnC “how did you know it was me before you turned around?”

“Who else Ms Winters, would burst into the CnC and walk to my station if there was no emergency?” she asked mockingly, I knew she had just avoided answering truthfully, but I let it slide for the moment. This was something I’d have to look into, just as that alpha business with Maher.

“It is an emergency” I told her crossing my arms

“I hardly doubt it”

“You have not eaten in all day, and look at the bags under your eyes, you’re exerting yourself” Couldn’t she see I was worried about her?.

“I don’t think that qualifies as an emergency”

I sighted and took a step closer to her, almost reaching to cup her face. “Your duty shift is almost over, let me take you out for dinner”

“I already have plans”

“Come on Lt. Commander! I just want to make sure you eat”

“I fail to see how my feeding arrangements are of any concern to you” she said turning to leave.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t make sure you were all right?” I asked walking by her side as we left the Dome.

“I was unaware that we were friends” She said so harshly and coldly that it hurt.

Then Dr. Franklin turned around the corner. I guess that the Commander relied our conversation that morning to Dr. Franklin because after a small argument he made sure that Lt. Commander ate, and he even assigned me the task to take her out, which I did with pleasure.

Lt. Commander Ivanova slowly relaxed as dinner progressed, it came a moment when even with all my blocks in place, I could feel her at ease and happy.

 “Lt. Commander” I acknowledged softly when we reached her quarters after dinner, since I had escorted her there.

“Thank you Ms Winters” she said with a small smile.

“Sleep well” I smiled and turned to leave

“Ms Winters?” she called “Would you like to join me tomorrow for the Centauri’s demonstration?”

I should have told her no, I knew that even with my blocks up at maximum level, I would get overwhelmed by everyone’s feelings and thoughts, especially when they were all intoxicated, after all, it was a Centauri celebration, so alcohol would not lack. But the smile in her face and the hesitancy on her voice made the decision for me “I’d love to”

“I’ll pick you at your quarters at 1900”

“It’s a date” I told her.

She arrived early the next day, stating that there had not been any booms, so we departed to Londo’s celebration. As I had originally expected, there were so many people there, all giving free reign to their emotions, and even when most of them weren’t harmful, there were a few arousing thoughts, and that made me uneasy seeing as I had to deal with my own thoughts and feelings for Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova, who was by my side seemingly unaffected by the amount of drinks she’d had.

Everything was going as well as it could be expected, easy banter going around between the attendants to Centauri’s demonstration of his culture, but as Londo launched into an explanation of their household gods, I had to tune him off and try to strengthen my blocks because as night progressed, everyone’s feelings became more passionate and erotic.

“Are you all right?” asked me Susan looking at me. I didn’t notice then that my mind had skipped the titles and referred to her as Susan, instead of Lt. Commander, as I always did.

The only thing that mattered at that moment was that I realized that her feelings for me were of warmth, and concern and care. “Too many and such strong emotions” I told her overwhelmed, massaging my temple

“Would you like us to retire for the night?” my response got cut in my throat by Londo passing out sprawled on the table.

“Ah! He has become one with his inner self!” Declared Vir

“He’s passed out” said flatly Mr Garibaldi

“That too” acknowledged Vir

 “Come on” said Susan standing up and offering her hand to help me up too “Let’s take you away of such strong emotions” I smiled and hand in hand we walked toward my quarters.

“Are you feeling better?” she asked concerned when we reached our destination.

“I am now”

 “Thank you for your company this evening Ms Winters” she said dropping my hand. I could feel she was hesitant about something, however the feeling of warmth and care had only intensified.

“It was my pleasure Lt. Commander”

 “Well then, good night” She said turning to leave, I made a last minute decision and stopped her from leaving by grabbing her wrist. “Is there—” she started to ask me, but I cut her question with a kiss, a soft peck really, but it was quite overwhelming too.

I kept it short out of respect of her privacy, me being a close-proximity telepath wouldn’t be able to keep my blocks up for long if I didn’t. As it was, I knew then that my feelings were reciprocated, but for some reason she was both wary and hesitant. I strengthened the blocks and did not probe into her mind to know, because even when it would have been relatively easy given our current circumstances, it would mean not only an invasion of her privacy, but most certainly losing the trust she had placed on me.

“Good night, Lt. Commander” I told her smirking before closing the door to my quarters.

I should have known not to act so rashly; I should have stopped myself; I should have let her ease into whatever our relationship was evolving to, on her own terms; because if I had, then maybe she wouldn’t have been avoiding me more avidly and adamant than when I first came to Babylon 5.

She stopped visiting Maher at the Casino; and even when I was glad she had not stopped eating, she kept ordering take in or huddling with other officers, whenever I even glimpsed her and tried to approach her, she would leave as fast as she could.

“You just missed Susan, Ms Winters” told me the Commander one day at lunch.

“It seems that’s all I’ve been doing for the last past days” I told him sadly taking a seat at his side. “I think I made a huge mistake” I said regrettably

“Why? What did you do?” he asked amused

“I kissed her, and now she’s avoiding me”

“When did that happen?” he asked interested

“After Londo’s feast” I informed him “She had walked me to my quarters and I couldn’t help it…” I sighed “It seemed right at the moment. I wanted her to know my feelings for her and I thought she felt the same”

“Well, maybe she’s just not had the time to actually speak with you,” He said softly “after all, we’ve been quite busy this last few days. I’ve seen you on the Dome and you know how it has been”

“I understand that you all have duties” I said annoyed “I have too. I’ve had many meetings to attend to, too. But I still try to find her whenever I have free time. I know she does have at least a few hours a day duty free” I sighed “It hurts not really knowing where I stand”

“Things seem to have quieted down for a bit, maybe you could try again tomorrow morning” he said before leaving.

I took to heart the Commander’s suggestion to try to talk to Susan again in the morning, so as I was headed to the Observation Dome, I found myself face to face with her, she appeared to be in a hurry, and I assumed it was to get away from me.

“Lt. Commander, I was on my way to find you” I said smiling at her, but she just kept on walking. “Susan!” I called out

“Ms Winters” she said turning to look at me “This is not a good moment”

“When then? You’ve been ignoring me and avoiding me for the last 5 days” I told her, unable to hide how hurt I was by that “Even more so than when I first came on board”

“I’ve been busy, as I am now” she said “I have to go” she turned to leave

“Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you” I confessed walking at her side “I thought we were getting somewhere”

“We’ll have to postpone this chat” she said about to get into the locker rooms to the docking bays

“How much longer?” I asked grabbing her by the wrist, causing her to flinch which in turn made me drop her hand “I see” I told her looking down about to cry.

“No, you don’t.” She said in a low whisper “However, I have to get out now. A ship has requested assistance and the Commander has asked me to escort her back here” with that she left.

I heard, from Mr Garibaldi, that she had engaged in combat and that the starfury she had used was going to be in the repair shop for a week.

“But is she all right?” I asked him

“Yeah, she seems fine. Doc said not a scratch on her body” he said dismissively

What happened over the next weeks was something that both scared me and intrigued me.

Chapter 8: Chapter 8

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 08

Healer

I tried with all my might to avoid talking, or even look at her the days following the kiss. It helped me the fact that I had been caught up in work to the point that whenever she strode into the Dome, she would realize that I was up to my neck with dozens of things going on the Station; then there was the fact that whenever I was not on duty I was keeping track of where she was in order to stay away from that spot; and also, I had told Maher to meet me in the Gym when his duty shift was over for our sparing sessions.

“What is it now?” he asked me after the 4rd day of this routine

“The Azimov is due for tomorrow” I told him avoiding his kicks

“Is that why you are avoiding, once again, a certain blonde telepath?” he asked smirking.

I knocked him on the floor “Stay out this” I snarled at him

“Is that an order?” he asked still smirking

“I will make it an order if you don’t shut the hell up” I told him angry

“She’s been trying to reach you”

 “I don’t care” I told him when I stood up and left

By the next day, everything seemed quiet and smooth. Not a single problem to handle at the station, and I dreaded that, because it would mean that I’d have to actually face her if she came to the CnC as was her daily routine.

The universe, however favored me in the most unpleasant way at the moment, we received a distress call from the Azimov, and that made my heart sink.

“This is Babylon Control, what’s your status Azimov?”

“We’ve had a fire on our Command and Control center, it’s under control now, but we lost navigation systems as well as some communication ones… we are requesting an escort to get to Babylon 5”

“What’s your Location?”

“Grid 471 by 18 was our last report” that got me worried

“Confirmed Azimov, we’ll be right there” I said ending the link and standing to address the Commander. “Commander… We’ve just received a distress signal from star liner Azimov…” I told him as neutrally as possible “They had a fire on their command and control center”

“How serious?” he asked concerned

“Well, it seems to be taken care of, however they’ve lost their navigational computer and most of their communication channels” I informed him “They were on their way here but now they’re just flying blind”

“Location?”

“Grid 471 by 18” I informed him seriously

“That’s raider territory”

“Exactly…” which is why I was more worried. My pack was on board that ship, they trusted me to keep them safe. If anything happened to them I would not be able to forgive myself “I recommend we dispatch a fighter wing to meet the Azimov and then escort her back here” I said professionally “A potential combat situation requires the presence of at least one command officer” I told him, hoping he would get the hint

“Is Garibaldi available?” he asked me

I sighed “I suppose” then I turned back to my console, I had to find a way to go help them, and also stay away from Ms Winters as long as possible

“What?”

“Nothing” I sighed again, then I thought up a plan to get out of the station “I certainly have plenty of things to occupy myself here” I told him annoyed “Yes Sir! I think I’ll just walk to and fro for a while, maybe over to my console” I said walking to my console for demonstration “After that, maybe I’ll try pacing fro and to you know, just for the knick of it” I told him walking back to him “Oh and there’s the view, of course” I said motioning for the sky out “Granted it’s not quite the same as if you were outside, for someone who has over 100 hours of combat flying experience”

Commander Sinclair stood from his console and walked toward me “If you’d rather…” He said, and I knew I had accomplished my goal.

“No, no, that’s okay” I told him “Don’t worry about me. I’m just gonna sit here and knit something.” I looked into his eyes then “Maybe a nice sweater, some socks…”

“Or you could take this opportunity to stop avoiding Ms Winters and actually talk to her” he said knowingly

I sighed “Does the term ‘stir crazy’ ring a bell Commander?” I asked him honestly “I can’t face her yet, and I can’t just stay here and do nothing when civilians are in danger” Not to mention the fact that most of those civilians, were part of my pack.

“I have an idea Lt. Commander” He smiled softly at me “Why don’t you take out the fighter wing and escort the Azimov back to base?”

“Well, if you insist sir” I told him smiling too before I walked out of the CnC

“Susan, you should probably know that she’s worried, and mortified” he said softly

As I was on my way to the docking bay locking rooms to put on my flight suite, I caught her scent just around the corner, however I did not make an effort to actually avoid it since that was the fastest way to the docking bays.

“Lt. Commander, I was on my way to find you” she said smiling softly at me, but seeing as I kept walking she faltered for a moment. “Susan!” she called out

“Ms Winters” I told her turning to look at her “This is not a good moment”

“When then? You’ve been ignoring me and avoiding me for the last 5 days” she said hurt “Even more so than when I first came on board”

“I’ve been busy, as I am now” I told her “I have to go” I said turning to leave

“Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you” she said walking at my side “I thought we were getting somewhere” she said as we reached the locking room to cargo bay

“We’ll have to postpone this chat” I told her

“How much longer?” she asked grabbing me by my wrist again. I flinched and she dropped her hand “I see” she said looking down

“No, you don’t.” I whispered “However, I have to get out now. A ship has requested assistance and the Commander asked me to escort her back here” with that I left her in the hall and I got ready to launch.

“Stand by. Alpha Wing ready to launch”

“Roger” Acknowledged the Commander through the com link

“Launch” I said as I my fighter was dropped into space. “We’re going to a sector noted for attacks by raiders” I told my wing man “So I suggest minimal chatter until we contact the Azimov. I don’t wanna attract any attention. Just wanna get in and get out”

“Confirmed Alpha Leader” he stated

“Prepare for jump” and with that we headed into hyperspace through the jump gate.

The journey to the last known location of the Azimov was silent as I had requested. Even when we jumped back into normal space all that was said between us was regarding the coordinates of the ship we had went there for.

The entire ride I just kept picturing Ms Winters sad looks, and images of ship destroyed by raiders, hoping that we get there before Azimov shared their fate.

“There she is, Alpha Leader” stated my wing man when he had a visual

“Acknowledged” I told him. “This is Babylon Escort Wing Alpha to Star liner Azimov. Please follow in formation behind us. We’ll escort you to the station” I said relieved.

“Confirmed Alpha Wing. Thanks for the save”

“No problem” I said smiling

However, we had not even reached the jump gate when things started to get messy.

“Alpha One” said my wingman “Picking up long range scan signature. Looks like a raider ship”

“Has it seen us yet?” I asked him

“No. I don’t think so”

“All right” I sighed. “Continue to run silent. With a Civilian ship around, we don’t want a conflict if we can avoid it. Speed to maximum” I ordered

“Alpha Leader, Raider ship detected at coordinates 400 by 20 by 15” he reported to me

“Just one ship, it’s probably a scout. We’ve got one hour before we hit the jump gate” I pondered about it “Jam all channels, we can’t let it contact the rest”

“Jamming…raider’s breaking off. Alpha Leader, what are your instructions?”

“It might be breaking off to get outside jamming range to bring reinforcements” I informed him. “Stay with the Azimov and escort her back to base” I ordered him “I’ll take out the raider” I informed breaking off formation and following the raider ship.

“Negative. Violation of orders”

“The hell with orders!” I snapped at him “If that ship brings back reinforcements we’ll all be dead” And I certainly wanted my pack alive “Get going, I’ll catch up”

I followed the raider and managed to destroy it, however as soon as I hit and destroyed the target, my radar showed that there were several raider ships right in front on me, when I turned up to visually confirm, I realized that there were over a dozen out there.

“Not good” I said turning around. I had a lot of trouble to get past them, but I used a few asteroids as well as both my skills and reflexes. I destroyed 9 of their ships, the others were in bad shape and retreated. My own fighter was in pretty bad shape, to the point I highly doubted we could make it back. I was not wounded at all, the few bumps and bruises I received, would have healed completely by the time I was back on the station, if the starfury made it there.

When I landed on the bay I was received by a technical and medical team.

“Ivanova! You should have requested back up!” reprimanded me the Commander

“Back up wouldn’t have made it in time Sir!” I told him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to change out of this suite” I said turning to leave.

“Susan!” said the Commander sighing “you don’t have to go into reckless and dangerous situations to avoid facing reality” he said sternly

“That, was reality, sir” I said leaving them behind. I had to hurry if I was to be at Customs and receive the pack. I took a fast sonic shower and got my uniform on.

I was donning on my jacket when I was entering Customs.

“Passengers from starcraft Azimov now arriving at Customs area 10” I heard announced

“There you are!” said Mr. Garibaldi catching up to me “What happened out there?”

“Nothing” I told him when we came to a halt in front of gate 10

“Nothing?” He asked skeptically “I just got the repair report on your fighter. It will be in the shop for a week, minimum” he said now accusingly but smirking “And on top of that, I hear you broke necks about tearing formation and engaging in combat without back up?”

“It was an educated risk” I told him smirking. At that moment a little boy came past the gate and ran to his parents who were waiting for him “Sometimes it works out” I told him smiling softly as aunt Magda and Louba were in line to get past the gate, the rest of the pack surely behind them.

“And sometimes it doesn’t” he said sadly. I looked up to him, silently questioning what that was about “It’s a long story” he said “Come on, I’ll fill you in” he said gesturing with his head for us to leave

I shook my head “It’ll have to be at another time” I told him as Louba and aunt Magda approached smiling at me.

“Susan” Said aunt Magda hugging me tightly

“Welcome to Babylon 5” I told her. “Mr Garibaldi, let me introduce you to my aunt Magda, and my cousin Louba” I said gesturing to each of them “This is Mr Garibaldi, the station’s Security Chief”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both” said politely Mr. Garibaldi

“You too” said aunt Magda

“Is this the reason you went out today Lt. Commander?” asked me Garibaldi.

I nodded “Part of it” I accepted

“We’ll talk tomorrow then” he said smiling, he turned to my family “Ladies” and he left then.

As soon as every member of the pack that had come on the Azimov, had boarded and registered on B5, I acted as a tourist guide through the station, leading them all to their quarters in Red Sector.

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 09

Healer

A few days later, the station was in an uproar due to the attack on Shaal Mayan, Delenn’s friend, who had come on board the station to do a few demonstrations on her latest works. The worst part was that it was not the first attack on the alien population on the station, and it was getting out of control since we didn’t even had a lead on the attackers. That of course, had not affected the traffic and there I was, at my post in CnC, doing my job when things began to go ‘boom’, again.

Ms Winters came in as I gave instructions to a Centauri cruiser to dock.

“Acknowledged Babylon Control” I got response from the Centauri Liner after I gave them green light to dock. “Also, we have two detainees; we want to give custody of them to a commanding officer”

“Detainees?”

“Yes Babylon Control, they don’t seem dangerous but as we said, we better hand them over to you”

“Babylon Control to Centauri Liner Cobo, we’ll have someone waiting there to take custody of the detainees” I said ending the link as Garibaldi walked in, presumably to try and pry information from me regarding my excursion to retrieve the Azimov. He had tried to do that several times, and he was already prying around Red Sector on this matter; luckily, the both of us had been up to our necks with several things.

“Detainees? What kind? Raiders? Hijackers?” He asked after obviously overhearing

“Unknown” I told him flatly, trying to ignore Ms Winters who was at the other side “All he said was that they don’t look dangerous and that they want to hand them over to someone of command… so if you’ve got a minute” I told him

“No, I don’t” Said Mr Garibaldi, forcing me to look sharply at him “Lt. Commander I’m up to my eyeballs” he said gesturing with his hand “I’ve got all my people looking into these attacks”

“Well, it’ll only take a minute” I told him

“I don’t have a minute” he said sharply which in turn made me answer him in the same fashion

“Well, neither do I. Unless of course you’d like me to tell the Commander to do it” I said heading to my console, causing Ms Winters to chuckle slightly.

“Okay… all right” relented Mr Garibaldi “I’ll do it” he said walking away

“Good” I said, but noticed he had stopped midway to the door, with a smirk on his face

“Just one quick stop on the way. I found an illegal planter in the garden last week” he said, and I knew he was talking about me “Someone’s actually using our hydroponic system to grow coffee and everyone knows that the garden’s used only for fruit, vegetables, grains…”

“Technically, coffee beans are a kind of grain, right?” asked an amused Ms Winters

“Not according to our guidelines Ms Winters” said Garibaldi smirking “And it’s too bad because the beans looked just about ripe…”

“Mr. Garibaldi” I said trying to get his attention, but he obviously ignored me

“And coffee is so expensive to import…” he continued

“Mr GARIBALDI!” I yelled effectively getting his attention “I think I’ll take a walk, clear up my mind before carrying on with my duties” I told him “So I might just stop by and pick up the detainees” I said walking to him, apparently being followed by a smirking Ms Winters “You’re a vicious man” I said walking past him

“I’m the Head of Security” he said amused “It’s in the job description”

“I’m sure it is” said chuckling Ms Winters, still at my tail.

“Ms Winters” I finally acknowledged directly her presence “Sorry about that”

“Don’t worry, I get it” she said smiling, still walking at my side “Just came by to see if we could finally catch up, I’ve been meaning to speak to you since… you know” she said softly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I told her coldly “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pick up to do” I said walking into Customs where I was able to see two security guards dragging two teenage Centauris, a male and a female. “Ms Winters.” I nodded my head before heading to the door where the Centauris were being dragged. I could hear Ms Winters scoff, but she stayed there.

“Let go!” yelled the male Centauri, trying to get freed “I’m a Centauri Citizen! You’ve no right to manhandle me!”

And then, to make matters worse I smelled him before he rounded the corner to the gate. So in one hand I had to deal with the Centauris detainees, on the other I had to avoid him, and on another (which I didn’t really had) I had to deal with Ms Winters. I grunted upon realizing that, motioning for the guards to stop in front of me.

“We demand to see Ambassador Cotto!” stated the female Centauri and I sighed.

“Take them to Blue 5” I ordered “And make sure there is a Centauri representative and that he’s informed of this”

I turned to leave but was faced with a serious Ms Winters and at the same time he called out to me. I sighed resigned and turned to face him

“Susan” he said again “It’s been a long time” he said smiling

“It’s been eight years Malcolm” I told him seriously “What are you doing in Babylon 5?”

“I’m looking for something” he said “Something I never stopped wanting”

I stiffened, both because of his words and what reaction these might cause on Ms Winters “I have to go. I have duties” I said before Ms Winters even uttered a word, which I knew she was about to.

“Same old Susan” he said mockingly “Duty first”

“That’s right” I simply said “Enjoy your stay” I told him before turning to face Ms Winters “See you at another time, Ms Winters” I said nodding briefly at her before leaving to the CnC

After my shift ended, I went to the Zocalo, to continue with the meetings I had with the pack members while I ate something. The last for the evening had just left when I smelt Malcolm and Ms Winters approaching from different directions.

“So… you do take a break every now and then” he said smiling once he spotted and approached me

“Actually, her shift just ended” said Ms Winters taking a seat without invitation

“Then maybe we can talk” he said hopefully “There was a time when you and I could spend entire evenings just talking, when we weren’t…” he said suggestively and I noticed Ms Winters stiffening, I smiled at that

“That was a long time ago Malcolm” I told him, then I looked at Ms Winters “A different place, a different me”

“All the more reason to start over” argued Malcolm

“She’s not interested in reliving the past” said annoyed Ms Winters. Malcolm was about to retort but I beat him to it

“I’m tired, I have to go” I told both them as I stood up

“Susan” he tried as Ms Winters stood to follow me

“Malcolm…” I sighed “It’s been 8 years” I said, then I remembered I was not supposed to get involved with Ms Winters, which was exactly what I appeared to be doing. “Let’s take it slow, all right?” I asked him, he smiled and nodded.

As I turned to walk away, I could see Ms Winters fuming and heading the opposite way. I smiled softly at her retreating form, heading to my quarters to get some sleep.

Next morning, as I walked out of my quarters ready for duty, I stumbled across a silver package, inside, there was a single red rose, a natural one with a note on it.

‘Meet me for dinner tonight? ‘Symphonia’19:00hrs. We can take it as slow as you wish’ I smiled and smelled the rose. It was odd, I could not smell Malcolm on it, or on the note for that matter. Nevertheless, I silently agreed to go to dinner with him.

During my shift I spoke with Commander Sinclair about the attacks and the possible implication of Home Guard and ProEarth groups in them; he also informed me of the attack on Ambassador Kosh prior to my arrival to the station, when he was framed for it. I reminded him that Vorlons are a secretive species, so a lot of assumptions were made about them.

As I came out of my quarters, fully dressed for my date with Malcolm, I bumped into Mr Garibaldi.

“Hot date tonight?” He asked amused

“Something like that?” I told him as I entered the turbolift

“Have fun” he said as the doors closed.

 “Welcome to Symphonia, Lt.Commander.” I was greeted by the host as I arrived there “Your companion has not arrived yet, but we were asked to lead to your reserved table” she said softly

“Thanks” I told her following after her.

The location of the table was at the balcony, directly above the gardens. It was a lovely view.

“Would you like something to drink while you wait?” asked me politely the host

“Just water, please” she nodded and left, returning a few minutes later with a glass and a pitcher of water, setting them on the table.

“Your waitress will be coming to bring you the menu when your companion arrives” she said curtly.

“Thank you”

I was looking out at the gardens wondering how long would it take for Malcolm to show up when I smelled her coming in my direction. I whipped my head to look at her, and as I had suspected, she was walking directly to my table, being lead by the hostess. She was wearing a lovely blue long dress, her Psi Corps insignia and gloves in place. I was taken aback by her appearance and shocked by the fact that it had been her and not Malcolm as I had believed who sent the note. She had tricked me, knowing what I said to him yesterday, and that angered me to no end.

Chapter 10: Chapter 10

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 10

Healer

 

I knew that Susan and I had to talk about the kiss and our relationship, but no matter what I did, she tried to avoid me; she had been avoiding me for weeks now and that was just getting ridiculous, so thinking about that I walked into the Observation Dome to make sure she listened.

I strolled in as she was giving docking instructions to a Centauri ship.

 “Aknowledged Babylon Control” was heard over the com link “Also, we have two detainees, we want to give custody of them to a commanding officer”

“Detainees?” she asked worried

“Yes Babylon Control, they don’t seem dangerous but as we said, we better hand them over to you”

“Babylon Control to Centauri Liner Cobo, we’ll have someone waiting there to take custody of the detainees” she said ending the link as Mr Garibaldi walked in.

“Detainees?” What kind? Raiders? Kijackers?” He asked effectively stopping any kind of conversation I had planned with Susan. I sighed

“Unknown” she told him concerned “All he said was that they don’t look dangerous and that they want to hand them over to someone of command… so if you’ve got a minute”

“No, I don’t” Said Mr Garibaldi “Lt. Commander I’m up to my eyeballs” he said gesturing with his hand “I’ve got all my people looking into these attacks” So the attacks on the aliens were not a rumor after all.

“Well, it’ll only take a minute” she said stubbornly

“I don’t have a minute” he said sharply

“Well, neither do I.” she told him annoyed “Unless of course you’d like me to tell the Commander to do it” she said heading to her console, and I couldn’t help to chuckle at their antics.

“Okay… all right” relented Mr Garibaldi “I’ll do it” he said walking away

“Good” said Susan grinning, but her grin was replaced by a frown when she noticed Mr Garibaldi smirking.

“Just one quick stop on the way. I found and illegal planter in the garden last week” he said “Someone’s actually using our hydroponic system to grow coffee and everyone knows that the garden’s used only for fruit, vegetables, grains…”

“Technically, coffee beans are a kind of grain, right?” I asked amused, figuring that this illegal planter was Susan

“Not according to our guidelines Ms Winters” said Garibaldi still smirking “And it’s too bad because the beans looked just about ripe…”

“Mr. Garibaldi” said Susan trying to get his attention, but he ignored her

“And coffee is so expensive to import…” he continued

“Mr GARIBALDI!” she yelled effectively getting his attention “I think I’ll take a walk, clear up my mind before carrying on with my duties” she told him “So I might just stop by and pick up the detainees” she continued walking to him, I smiled at Mr Garibaldi and followed her out. “You’re a vicious man” she said as we walked past him

“I’m the Head of Security” he said amused “It’s in the job description”

“I’m sure it is” I noted chuckling.

“Ms Winters” she finally acknowledged me by the time we reached the turbo lift “Sorry about that” she said apologetically

“Don’t worry, I get it” I told her smiling “Just came by to see if we could finally catch up, I’ve been meaning to speak to you since… you know” I said softly referring to our quasi-date.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” she said coldly and clenching tightly her jaw “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a pick up to do” she continued as we walked into Customs where two security guards dragging two teenage Centauris. “Ms Winters.” She nodded her head dismissing me before turning her attention to her job. I scuffed but remained close.

“Let go!” yelled the male Centauri, trying to get freed “I’m a Centauri Citizen! You’ve no right to manhandle me!”

Susan grunted softly motioning for the guards to stop in front of me.

“We demand to see Ambassador Cotto!” stated the female Centari. I chuckled again. Though I was a little sorry for Vir, about how would Londo react when he heard that.

“Take them to Blue 5” ordered Susan “And make sure there is a Centauri representative and that he’s informed of this”

I stood directly in front of her when I realized she was turning to leave, however before I could utter a word, someone called out for her.

“Susan” said a man who was just getting past the gate “It’s been a long time” he said smiling to her

“It’s been eight years Malcolm” she told him seriously “What are you doing in Babylon 5?”

“I’m looking for something” he said “Something I never stopped wanting”

I got angry because his thoughts at that moment were all pouring out and were all erotic involving Susan and him. I noticed however that Susan grimaced at his words. So I smirked and was about to call her on this, but she beat me to speak

 “I have to go. I have duties” she said turning her back at this man.

“Same old Susan” he said mockingly “Duty first”

“That’s right” she simply said “Enjoy your stay” she told him before turning to face me. “See you at another time, Ms Winters” she nodded briefly and I did the same in a quiet agreement that this was not the moment for our conversation.

I had a couple of meetings that they, both of them long and tiring, but luckily, both of them at the Zocalo, so I was able to watch her from the corner of my eye as she came after her shift ended. She ordered a cup of coffee just as I was finishing the meeting I had been at. I walked to her table and realized that from the other side, the guy from this morning was walking to her too.

 “So… you do take a break every now and then” he said smiling at her.

“Actually, her shift just ended” I told him harshly, taking a seat at Susan’s side, trying to make it clear for him that his attentions to her were not appreciated.

He smirked “Then maybe we can talk” he said hopefully “There was a time when you and I could spend entire evenings just talking, when we weren’t…” he said suggestively which only angered me even more

“That was a long time ago Malcolm” told him Susan, then she looked at me and softly added “A different place, a different me” I smiled at that, she was saying she was not interested in him now.

“All the more reason to start over” argued this Malcolm character

“She’s not interested in reliving the past” I told him annoyed.

“I’m tired, I have to go” said Susan standing before he could retort.

“Susan” he tried as I walked by her side.

“Malcolm…” she sighed “It’s been 8 years” she said, “Let’s take it slow, all right?” I asked him, he smiled triumphantly and nodded, which made my blood boil. I looked at Susan who just turned to walk away so I did the same. If she wanted to take things slow, then we could do that.  

I was walking away from Red Sector, fuming at what had happened, and I wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going so I got startled when I hit into someone, and I was both embarrassed and shocked when I realized who it was.

“You all right?” he asked me

“Yes, sorry Ambassador. I was not paying attention to my surroundings” I said apologetically

“Yes, you seemed quite out of your element Ms Winters” he said amused “And even angry”

I sighed “I am Ambassador, but that’s not excuse for not paying attention to my surroundings” I told him embarrassed “I should always pay attention because even with my blocks in place, I can still hear murmurs… if  I come into contact, like I just did, I could unwillingly scan the person I touched”

“You did not scan me, did you?” he asked worried

“Not at all Ambassador” I tried to reassure him “I believe I was too engrossed in my mind to even be aware of other’s minds” I told him truthfully. “So I guess we just found another way to stop a telepath from probing other’s minds” I said upon realizing that I had indeed not heard even the murmurs in my head since I turned and left that Malcolm guy.

“But I don’t think we would want to have fuming telepaths around” he said smirking

“No, I don’t suppose we would” I agreed.

“Ms Winters, is there anything I can do for you?” he asked

“Well, short from forcing someone to leave the station… and another someone to stop being stubborn and listen to me… I don’t think there is” I told him sighing

“If someone is a danger to the station, I think you could bring that up with the Commander or Lt. Commander, or even Mr Garibaldi, and they would be locked and thrown away.” I chuckled

“I’m afraid that Susan, I mean, Lt Commander, does not really want him to leave the station” I said sighing again

“Ms Winters” he said softly “I’m not an expert in humans, but I consider myself an expert in relationships… why don’t you try to woo her and court her”

“So everybody knows she’s the object of my affections?” I asked him smiling softly

“I don’t think that Mollari or Mr Garibaldi know yet” he said smirking “though seriously Ms Winters, you are a female, you should know you women like being swept off your feet”

“I’ve tried, she just keeps avoiding me and walking away” I told him sadly

“Then try a different approach” he said smiling “I’ve heard that there’s this nice place, somewhere around this Sector. Nice dinner, nice view, nice service… it is called Symphonia.” He said smirking

“You’ve got to have a reservation placed in advance to get in there”

“Is that so?” he asked amused “Well, then it’s good for you that I made a reservation there for tomorrow that won’t be used. I was on my way to cancel it, but if you come with me, we can place it under your name” he said smirking

“Why would you do that Ambassador?” I asked wary of his intentions as we walked “What’s in it for you?”

“Just trying to help” he said, and I knew he was being truthful. “Lately, Lt. Commander seems to be working extra hard” he said and I nodded “I heard she was avoiding you and that it was the reason for that extra work” I nodded again

“It seems so” I said sighing

“Well, if she exerts herself because of that, then she won’t be able to perform her duties on board the station” he said leading me out of the turbolift “She’s important to the station, if anything happens to her, the station won’t properly work” he continued “So, it’s in my best interest that she as you humans say, gets her act together” he said smiling “and if in the process two people are to be happy, then I don’t see why not help out”

“Thank you Ambassador” I told him softly, he smiled but nodded in acknowledgment.

Ambassador G’Kar did introduce me to both the hostess and the manager of the restaurant and explained them that he wanted to shift his reservation to my name. Then I asked them to let Lt Commander to our table the next day as soon as she arrived, even if I was not with her yet. Ambassador G’Kar smirked

“Don’t forget to woo Ms Winters” he whispered before leaving.

I walked through the Zocalo and found a perfect way to ask her out. I asked a florist for a rose and asked for a messenger to make sure it was delivered to Susan’s quarters early in the morning along with a note, which dictated to the messenger as I was paying to his boss for the service and the rose.

‘Meet me for dinner tonight? ‘Symphonia’19:00hrs. We can take it as slow as you wish’

I smiled and retired for the night. All through the next day, I was anxious, wondering if she would show up, or if she even knew it was me who asked her out.

She was looking out at the gardens lost in thought when I arrived and the hostess lead me to our table. She was dressed in a black gown, she looked lovely in it, however, her features were marred by a frown and the glare she sent me as I took a sat in front of her.

“Thank you” I told politely to the hostess who was retiring. “I’m glad you came” I said smiling and turning to her

“I’m leaving” she said standing up

“Susan!” I said standing too “Can’t we at least have dinner before you storm off?”

“I don’t want to have dinner with you” she said coldly

“Susan please! Just hear me out” I pleaded her.

“There’s nothing to hear out” she said walking away. I sighed, wondering what else could I do.

I left the restaurant too, in hopes of finding her close by, but it appeared that I was out of luck, so I decided to go to her quarters and wait for her there. It was hours before she arrived there, and to my greatest annoyance, she was holding hands with that obnoxious man.

Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 11

Healer

I stormed off the restaurant leaving behind Ms Winters and a bewildered hostess; but I didn’t care, I was angry and hurt by the deceit. Ms Winters should have gotten the hint that I did not wish to speak to her, and yet she was adamant in forcing herself upon me! 

I was on my way to the Casino to find myself a drink when Malcolm called out for me. I reluctantly stopped in my stride and after an easy but awkward banter between us, I agreed to have a drink with him. Soon I forgot that I was angry and found myself enjoying the evening.

“We had some good times together” said Malcolm chuckling and I laughed at that too. He was right in that.

“Yeah… we sure did” I agreed taking a sip to my drink

“Tell me…” he asked me “Do you ever regret leaving me?”

“Regret?” I mused “No… No, IO was a great career move” I told him truthfully “It opened a lot of doors, and serving there was very exciting for me”

“I never wanted to let you go Susan” he said softly “I feel the same today”

I sighed “Malcolm, I’m still committed to my career” I reminded him “And you know what that means” Not to mention the fact that now I had to take care of the family business and protect my pack.

“And I can accept that now” he said still smiling “Which is why I’m going into business here”

“What!” I asked surprised and confused

“I do believe this is really the 1^st time I’ve ever surprised you”

“But you’re not serious. Are you?”

“Absolutely” he said firmly “In fact I’ve already secured an office and quarters” he continued “All I need is a few more clients. I hope you might be able to help me with that” he said smirking “But the important thing is that we’ll be together again. Right?”

I was speechless for a moment, then I remembered that I had cared deeply for him and that if it hadn’t been for my career, I would have not left him back then. I had been close to turning him into one of us, so maybe this was for the best. Him coming back when I was confused about Ms Winters could mean she was not meant for me and the pack.

“All right. Let’s see where this leads” I told him. He smiled and after a few more minutes we were walking to my quarters.

Her scent hit me hard upon exiting the turbolift, which made me angry again. Before rounding the corner to my quarters I took Malcolm’s hand in mine and kept with the easy banter going between us.

“It seems you have visits” said Malcom when he noticed Ms Winters at my door

I sighed and turned to her “Ms Winters. This is not an appropriate time for us to argue” I told her “I’m a little busy at the moment”

“I can see that” she said seething “I don’t know why I even bother” she said storming off, her words hurting more than I would care to admit.

“What’s with her?” Asked Malcolm when we entered my quarters, our hands still entwined.

“We don’t agree on many levels. She’s Psi Corps” I told him and he nodded, accepting that was enough explanation. “Any way” I continued “Thank you. I had a lovely evening”

“Well… I was hoping it wasn’t over yet” he said as he leaned in to kiss me. The kiss felt wrong, rough and forced, unlike the kiss that Ms Winters had donned on me weeks ago. As I was musing on that, my com link chirped, so I eagerly ended up the kiss. “That’s not too flattering” he said as I walked to the monitor

“It’s duty” I told him sternly as I linked in “Ivanova here”

I was greeted by a tired looking Commander “We’ve had a new riot in the central” he said “I need you in the briefing room” he ordered as Malcolm stood behind me.

“I’m on my way” I told the Commander ending the link. Then I turned to face Malcolm “You have to go” and headed to my room

“Did he say there was a riot?” he asked with a glint in his eyes

“Malcolm!” I admonished “Out!”

“Catch you on your next break?”

I should have told him no, I had enjoyed the evening with him, but when he kissed me I knew I would not enjoy anything more that his friendship. “Yes” I finally told him, causing him to smile before leaving me to get dressed.

I arrived to the Commander’s office and after Mr. Garibaldi teased me about my looks, we got to business. Things were not going well with these attacks.

Next day, I had to avoid both Malcolm and Ms Winters; I was not looking toward the end of my shift, so by lunch when Mr Garibaldi and the Commander told me that they needed to show me something I quickly agreed not knowing how it would affect me.

Michael and Jeff came to my quarters as friends to show me a video from medlab featuring Malcolm and Roberts, our original suspect to the attacks; Malcolm went on about how the aliens had no rights and that he was part of a group that was taking matters into their own hands. I sighed knowing that Malcolm was involved in the attacks, even if he had not been on the station for that long, he was part of the group who was behind them.

“I’ve never would have dreamed…” I told them

“A man can change a lot in 8 years” said Michael “There’s no reason you should’ve known”

“Exactly what it is you want me to do Commander?” I asked Jeff getting to business

“Introduce me” he said simply “Tell him I’m not happy with all the aliens forcing themselves on Earth” he continued “Groups like this, always like to recruit friends in high places” he said knowingly “If they accept me, it could give us a chance to nail them all before they do anymore damage”

“Very well” I told him seriously “On one condition”

“Name it”

“I want to be there when they take them down”

Jeff nodded and started to walk to the door, followed closely by Mr Garibaldi “There’s a diplomatic reception at the Council tonight” he informed me “That might be a good way to get the ball rolling”

I nodded stiffly “As you wish” when they left, I contacted Malcolm through the Babcom system and asked him to come with me to the reception, he readily agreed.

I had not foreseen that Ms Winters might be there too, but upon seeing me arriving lead by Malcolm, she looked down and after a moment she continued her conversation with Ambassadors G’Kar and Delenn, and their companion who later was introduced by Delenn to the Commander as the Head of the agricultural delegation from Abba Four.

All through the night I felt sick by the acting both Jeff and I had to put up in order to look convincing to Malcolm, in part it helped me that for and unknown reason to me, G’Kar kept sending me annoyed and harsh glances, along with the hurt glances that Ms Winters was coming with.

A few of hours later, Malcolm suggested the Commander and myself to join him for a few drinks. Jeff agreed and offered his quarters.

“Lt. Commander, a word with you please?” asked me G’Kar as we were leaving.

“Excuse me for a moment” I told Malcolm and Jeff with a roll of my eyes. Then I headed a few paces away with G’Kar at my side.

“You humans are an odd race” he said out of the blue

“I beg your pardon” I asked confused

“You are intently trying to hurt yourselves by being with someone you don’t want to… and in the process hurt the one person you do want to be with” he said “you are an odd race indeed”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” I told him and turned to leave

“Oh, but you do Lt. Commander” he said in a mocking tone “After all, you both kept looking at each other” he said before turning and heading once again to Ms Winters. I sighed and turned to head out with Jeff and Malcolm.

Once in Jeff’s quarters he offered us a drink.

“Were you in the war Biggs?” asked Jeff as he handed a glass with scotch to Malcolm

“No, I missed it”

“Sit down, sit down” beckoned Jeff “Let me tell you something. I fought… my best friends died… and we won” he said somberly “Not because we out fought them… not because we were luckier, stronger or smarter than them” he continued “We won because the damn Mimbari let us win. You know what that victory tasted like?” he asked rhetorically and in apparent anger “Ashes”

“You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard that” said Malcolm pleased “There’s a movement back on Earth… It’s growing, gaining in support from people just like you”

“So I’ve heard” Said Jeff leaning in, feigning interest

“We want to put Earth back at the center of the Universe” said Malcolm excitedly “Our Universe. Get rid of alien influences! Get rid of Aliens! Put Earth first! We must get back to our roots!”

“Who’s we?” I asked him

Malcolm hesitated and stood up, pacing toward the counter before reaching a decision. “Friends of mine” he turned to look at Jeff and me then “And perhaps soon friends of yours” he walked back to where we were sitting “I want you to meet them. Both of you”

“I’d like that” said Jeff standing

“Yes” I simply said standing too

“Of course we must be discreet. Not every human agrees with our plans” said Malcolm “So I’d like a small gesture, to show where your sentiments lie”

“What sort of gesture?” Asked worried Jeff

“Something to put every alien in the station in their place!” he ranted “To Earth!” he said extending his cup for a toast, which both Jeff and I met”

Next morning as I was headed toward the Council Chambers for Jeff’s announcement, I was followed by her.

“Susan! Please wait!” she asked catching her breath

“Ms Winters, I’m late for a meeting at the Council Chambers, I really need to go now” I told her walking away

“I’m sorry okay?” she asked annoyed

“Well, that’s lovely” I said sacastically

“I know you’re busy, but can we just please talk about us?” she asked me hopefully

“There is no us to talk about” I said as I entered the Council Chambers

Commander Sinclair informed the Ambassadors assembled at the Council Chambers that that they were all safe from attacks now, when questioned about it, Mr. Garibaldi stated that the perpetrators had fled to Earth and that Earthforce had already been informed about it. Ambassador G’Kar rose to argue that he did not believe what we were telling them, however Jeff shut him by saying that the investigation was already closed and over, effectively dismissing everyone gathered there.

“Lt Commander, there’s a private call for you” said Ensign Moore. “He says it’s Mr Biggs”

“Patch me through” I told him as I took an earplug and mic. “Ivanova” I said into the link

“Why so formal Susan?” I heard him in an amused tone

“What can I do for you?” I asked slightly annoyed

“My friends are ready for you and the Commander” he said “Today, in half an hour”

“Where?” I asked him

“I’ll take you there. Meet me at the Zocalo. Unarmed” he said seriously

“Will do” I told him ending the link, and immediately contacting the Commander through Babcom system, linking to Garibaldi’s office. “Commander. I just heard form Malcolm, he’s set up the meeting”

“Where is it?” Asked Garibaldi

“He didn’t tell me” I informed them “He’ll meet us in the Zocalo in half an hour to takes us there. We are to be unarmed” Jeff nodded and I ended the link

On Jeff’s orders we linked with Security all the way to Zocalo and from there on, in order for us to be tracked and monitored.

As we walked into Cargo Bay 5 lead by Malcolm I could smell 6 people there whose scent I didn’t recognize and to my utter shock, Talia’s scent too. I cautiously looked around the area but didn’t see anyone, however their scents were all over the place.

“This is it” said Malcolm gesturing around

“Where are the others?” Asked Jeff

“Already here” said Malcolm pointing ahead, and as he did, 4 people dressed in black gowns covering their whole bodies, literally appeared out of thin air. So there were only two missing unknown scents and Talia, whose scents were behind some crates at our left. “Worth! Activate the jammer. Alvarez, on scan” ordered Malcolm and two of the figures did what they were told. “We don’t want to be disturbed” said Malcolm simply looking back to Jeff and me.

“I’m impressed” said Jeff “What are those things?”

“Blacklight camouflage developed by Earthforce” explained Malcolm “They’re still under wraps, but our friends got us prototypes”

“We have friends everywhere” said one of the guys who had set to work. Alvarez, considering he was still holding a scanner “We hope that you’ll be one of them”

“I’ll help anyway I can” said Jeff

“We’re counting on it” said Malcolm smirking “Worth, is the jamming up?”

“Perimeter secured” answered Worth coming back to where we were gathered

“The recent attacks on Earth, Mars and here were just a prelude” said Malcolm proudly “In two days time there’ll be a mass assassination. In one night, we’ll take the four major ambassadors stationed here… Mollari, Delenn, G’Kar and Kosh” I fidgeted as he was explaining his plans, but he didn’t notice, or didn’t care at all. “They’re deaths will be the signal to terminate the Ambassadors on Earth”

“But the scale of it…” I intervened “I mean… you would need hundreds of people”

“Well, as Alvarez said, we’ve got friends everywhere” he answered cockily

“What do you want us to do?” I asked pacing around, not believing that Talia was a part of this.

“Get us into the ambassadorial wing and off the station undetected after we’ve finished” said Malcolm to Jeff who turned to look at me, I nodded at him once not knowing how far we would have to actually take this charade.

“No problem” said Jeff

“Good!” said Malcolm excitedly “Then there’s just one more thing. I call it a loyalty test” he said snapping his fingers and immediately one of his men went behind the crates where Talia’s scent was coming from. He returned with Talia unconscious on his arms; and another man at his side dragging Mila Shaar, the head of the agricultural delegation from Abba Four, to whom Delenn had introduced Jeff at the Diplomatic Reception.

My blood boiled at the sight of her being manhandled and Talia being on someone else’s arms. So I snarled, which ironically gained a pleased grin from Malcolm

“Commander please!” pleaded desperately Mila Shaar “I don’t know what these men-” but her plea was silenced by Malcolm slapping her.

“Shut up!” ordered Malcolm forcing her to kneel, at that moment the man that was holding Talia dropped her unconscious body to the floor, causing her to grunt in pain. I clenched my jaw and fists about to burst and attack everyone there.

“Kill them” said Malcolm to Jeff and myself

“No please!” kept pleading Mila Shaar

“Come on Jeff… you said it yourself, the only good alien is a dead one” he said gesturing to the alien in question “As for you Susan, you hate telepaths, this one’s been bothering you and even tried to stop us from getting this scum” I growled angered by the damage that they had caused to Talia.

“Have mercy on me!” cried out Shaar as Malcolm offered a PPG to Jeff. “She trusted you!” she yelled at me “Before they did this to her she kept saying that you wouldn’t let anything happen to us! She trusted you! Have mercy, please!”

Then an alarm was set off. “Malcolm! The scanner shows a whole lot of people heading our way” said Alvarez

That moment Jeff took the PPG from Malcolm’s hand, he punched him on his face and proceeded to shoot to the cloaked figures. Meanwhile I scooped Talia in my arms and lead Mila for cover behind some crates, Jeff keept the shooting off our backs. As soon as both of them were relatively safe and sheltered, I dashed to the nearest cloaked figure and knocked them down, taking his PPG. I shoot at another one, who was coming closer to Talia’s form. Then Jeff apparently took down the last remaining cloaked figure. I was walking back to them when I noticed Malcolm pointing a PPG to Jeff’s back.

“I wouldn’t” I said pointing the weapon in my hands at him “Give me an excuse and you are dead”

I kept pointing at him until Garibaldi and his team burst in and they took custody of the cloaked figures. As soon as two guards held Malcolm I reached for Talia and Mila Shaar.

“Talia?” I asked softly shaking her body with no apparent response. “Talia!” I panicked shaking her more roughly

“They injected her something, twice” said Mila as Michael approached us. “I hope she’s all right, sorry for what I said” I nodded and waited as the medical team that Garibaldi had requested came in and took the injured to Medlab.

“Stephen,” I called out to him before he left “Make sure she’s fine, please” He nodded and went to do his job.

“You all right?” asked Jeff coming at my side

“Not yet” I told him as we walked to his office

“Go to medlab, I’ll file the report” he told me softly

I took upon his offer and watched Stephen treat Talia. “She’ll be fine, they just gave her a sedative and apparently sleepers… both should wear off in a few hours”

I sighed relieved “Thanks” I said and turned to leave

“Won’t you stay here until she wakes?” he asked confused “She would be thrilled to see you”

“I know” I said “but I’m not ready to face her” 

After contacting Earth Central regarding the prisoners, we were ordered to send them back home where they would be dealt with. I was watching them being lead by our security staff into the shuttle bay, Malcolm being the last to be lead away.

“I can’t believe you did this to me Susan” he said over his shoulder filled with rage “What kind of a human are you to side with them?” he asked disgusted.

I turned to look at my left, where a few feet away were standing Delenn with her friend Shaal Mayan, along with Mila Shaar, G’Kar and Talia. I smiled softly at them before turning back to address Malcolm

“I find many of this people to be more human than you and your kind” I told him seriously and calm “But I don’t suppose you’d understand that” I said sadly

“I don’t know you anymore!” he yelled at me

“I never knew you” I told him not rising my voice. When he was finally out of sight I turned to my left again, nodded curtly at them and then turned and left to meet with the pack. I had been neglecting those duties for the past few of days.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 12

Healer

Mr Garibaldi sure was a stubborn man, he would have made an excellent wolf. Even with everything going around the station, he had been pestering me for weeks to no end, until finally and without much options I agreed to speak to him regarding my incursion into space to retrieve the Azimov. At this point I didn’t know who was more stubborn, Michael or Ms Winters.

We were in one of the adjacent offices I had bought for the ‘Company’ in Red Sector, the offices were not operational yet, but would be by tomorrow, that’s why I had been summoned there, to make sure everything was all right; and most of the meetings I’ve had with the pack had been at the Zocalo, but seeing as Mr Garibaldi had came to corner me just as I was about to leave after a status report for the state of the office, I had asked him to step in.

“Are you smuggling people somewhere Lt. Commander?” he asked seriously

“What! No, no I’m not Mr Garibaldi”

“Then why were you so adamant in bringing the Azimov to base?” he asked suspiciously “And what’s with all the secrecy when your cousin or ‘friends’ are around, hu?”

“Garibaldi, there’s nothing illegal going on here” I assured him, thinking that the reason he was so adamant in knowing was part of his duty as Security Chief

“Then tell me what’s this all about?” he gestured around.

“This is family business” I told him sincerely

“So this is about the pack your father sent you a couple of months ago?” he asked and I froze for a moment. I knew deep down he had heard my conversation with Papa, but when he didn’t mention it, I assumed he would just not bring it up, ever.

“That was a private conversation Mr. Garibaldi” I said sharply

“Well, the gremlin was using a Gold Channel without authorization, of course I would have heard it when I finally tracked it” he said

I sighed, not wanting to get into an argument about that “My family has a multidisciplinary company, which is what my father meant” I told him “HQ was in the Russian Consortium, I am heir to it. Since I can’t go back there because of my duties to Earthforce, we’re moving HQ here” which was partly the truth.

“So you’re bringing here everyone that works for this Company of yours?” he asked skeptically.

“And their families” I informed him as Maher walked in. Once the pack had arrived and I got into a meeting with all of them present, I brought Maher back into the pack and made him my Beta, so every wolf in the station knew that if I was unavailable due to station business, they could bring it up to him.

“Ah Susan!” he said approaching us. “Are you planning to deprive the station from their Security Chief and hire him for us instead?” he asked amused before sitting between Mr Garibaldi and myself

“Mr Garibaldi, meet Maher Padikkal”

“Best friend and personal assistant of hers. Nice to meet you” said Maher extending his arm for a handshake

“Yeah, you too” said Mr Garibaldi cautiously taking Maher’s hand

“So, you didn’t answer. You leaving B5 staff for us?” asked Maher amused “We’ve got nice payments and wicked benefits”

“No, but thanks for the offer” said Mr Garibaldi standing up “We’ll continue this later” he said to me

“There’s nothing else to discuss about Michael” I told him seriously

“We’ll see” he said before leaving

“Thanks” I told Maher once Michael had left

“No problem”

“So, what do you need?” I asked him, now in a rush to leave, knowing somehow that Ms Winters was nearby

“Er… Dimitri wanted to thank you for putting in a nice word for him with Dr. Franklin.”

“Not a problem, he’s one of the finest doctors I’ve met and the station could do with him supporting Stephen” I told him dismissively “Besides, it never hurts to have someone who knows about our ‘condition’ in medlab”

“Yeah. So seeing as that worked out, I was thinking that it would be helpful if you were added as a reference by the rest of the pack when they applied for any positions. But I wanted to run this with you before actually telling the pack to do it”

“Go ahead.” I said sighing “Maher, do we know yet if the Hunters have made any move at all since the attack on my father?” I asked him a few paces away from the door waiting for him to come too,

“No, not yet, but Scott’s still back on Earth, he’ll let us know if he hears anything” he said smirking.

“What?” I asked annoyed as the door opened. I didn’t need to turn to know she was walking in. “I would make you clean the station bulk heads if I could” I muttered

“I’m sure you’ll find something else for me to do” he said walking past me and leaving me alone with her.

“Can we talk like grownups now Susan? Or are you going to be facing to the wall?” she asked amused

I sighed and gestured for her to take a seat, taking a seat myself

“I’ve been busy”

“I know, but you’ve also been avoiding me” she said hurt

“I just have a lot in my mind, as you can see I no longer have only duties to Earthforce and the station” I said motioning around “But also to my family and our family business”

She nodded “Maher mentioned that. I’m sorry”

“Why?” I asked her confused

“The reason you have this on your shoulders now is the death of your father” she said calmly “I wish I knew that it was him you lost the day you suggested I stopped being a hero. I was trying to cheer you up, thought the one you lost that day was someone under your command” she said shyly.

I sighed “Doesn’t matter. Not your fault anyway”

An awkward and uncomfortable silence fell upon us. I could see her fidgeting nervously looking at her gloved hands. I wanted to reach out and take her hands in mine, but I couldn’t, no matter what I wanted, I had to protect the pack, therefore I couldn’t get romantically involved with a telepath, it would expose us. It was bad enough having her around all of us, some of the younger wolves and the recently turned ones, had no control over their emotions yet, even I was having a hard time controlling them.

“Susan?” she called me hesitantly. “Where do we stand?” she asked in a whisper

“I… I don’t know” I admitted

“We could actually date you know?” she said after a moment “See where that takes us”

I shook my head “I can’t”

“Why?”

“I just can’t” I told her standing to leave “Good night Ms Winters” I told her and left the office.

I walked to a local in Zocalo, where I was to have the last meeting with the members of the pack before taking said meetings to the office. Talia kept following closely until I took a seat on the table that I had reserved for these meetings.

“You better give me a damn good reason of why you can’t Susan, or I swear to God that I’ll take it off from your mind” she said angry. I snarled and stood to be eyelevel with her.

“That’s it!” I told her coldly and angered myself “You’re a telepath, I can’t trust you to stay out of my mind” I said. When she looked down I took my seat again, as one of the youngest wolves approached our table.

His name was Vladimir, he was 18, and was a born werewolf, who like me, had born under the full moon. His record showed that he and his family were part of the small pack my father had merged with ours during his final battle.

The kid had a grin on his face and snarled down at me. I snarled back at him and stood once again “Sit down boy!” I ordered him

“I’m not a boy” he said angered, but sitting nevertheless

“What are your skills?” I asked him trying to calm myself down, aware that we were in a public place, that he was indeed a kid, and that Ms Winters was still there, looking down, and now probably trying to get a hold of her emotions as well as what was coming from both Vladimir and myself.

“I’m the best fighter in the pack” he said making me stare down at him with a low growl. Every wolf on the station knew I had ordered not to use the word ‘pack’ when they were in public areas. He was smirking, knowing he was disregarding my authority. “We’ll see. For that, we’ll schedule a sparring session for you with Maher” I told him “Now, what skills do you posses that might be useful to the station?”

“Look, why don’t you and your blonde friend come to my quarters and I can show you my skills?” My blood boiled at his comment, causing me to growl at him at the same time I stood between him and Talia.

“You leave her out of this!” I ordered him

He paled at my ferocity but that didn’t stop his next comment. “What claim do you have on her?”

“None” I told him

“Then let her decide if I should leave her out of this. It’s my right to court anyone I deem worthy”

And even when I was angry and about to rip his head off, I knew he was right. Pack laws dictate that any wolf can court anyone they deem worthy as long as there’s no previous claim made on the worthy party. The only way to bypass that, is in a fight for the right of mating. With the statement he just did, he was claiming Talia for himself. It now depended on Talia if she would accept his courting or not.

“Fine” I said stepping away but looking apologetically at Talia. I was tempted to reach with my mind and ask her, beg her, not to accept. But doing that would not only be dishonorable, it would expose me as a latent telepath to a member of the Psi Corps.

“What’s your name babe?” he asked cockily to Talia, who only looked confused at him

“I would suggest you start thinking about something else kid, before I rip out your balls!” she said angry after a moment, probably having just gotten an image of what Vladimir had in mind. The thought of anyone touching her angered me even more, and I couldn’t help but step between them again

“I think it’s clear she’s not interested in you courting her” I growled at him

“This is not over yet” he said starting to turn, but I stopped him.

“You will report to Maher Padikkal tomorrow at 0400, kid” I ordered him “And you better stop acting as a prat, or else…”

“What? You’ll ban me? You’d be doing me a favor” He said and left.

I was shaking with rage, I tried to calm down, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to bottle everything up, so still shaking and about to shift due to the raw emotion of the moment, I headed to the nearest turbolift, wanting to get to either the Yellow or Gray Sector where Maher and I usually went to run. However, a few paces before reaching the lift, Talia grabbed me by my wrist, as had become her habit, tugging at me to turn and face her. As I turned, I closed my eyes, once again trying to bottle everything I was feeling, in fear of hurting her.

“You’re not going to hurt me” she said softly

“Get out of my head!” I snarled at her, with my eyes still close

“Your thoughts are pouring out of you Susan. Even with my blocks up, I can’t help but pick at them” she said annoyed “Now calm down”

“Calm down! You want me to calm down?” I asked mockingly “Don’t you get it? I can’t!” I yelled at her.

“Susan!” I heard Louba from the other side. I sighed relieved, smelling her and Maher coming as fast as humanly possible, sure that I was doing a scene and that any moment now a station’s security detail would come to assess the situation.

“Get her away” I told Louba motioning with my head to Talia. My eyes still closed. “Make sure she’s safe” I whispered, hoping Talia hadn’t heard me. I turned then to Maher. “This kid, Vladimir, is going to be trouble. He is to see you at 0400”

“Come on, you need to let the steam out” he said taking me to Gray Sector, where we shifted and viciously sparred until I passed out.

I woke up to the computer alarm in my quarters, and found a message from Maher stating that he had taken me back, that he would keep an eye on Vladimir and that Louba had taken Talia to her quarters. I sighed relieved, then I realized that Talia would be more adamant in us to have a chat, now not only about that damn kiss. So as was my routine now, I kept avoiding her.

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 13

Healer

On behalf of the small trade agreement between Ambassador G’Kar and Ambassdor Delenn, I had agreed to go to the Diplomatic Reception. G’Kar, Delenn and Mila Shaar had finally come to an understanding when ‘she’ walked in the arm of that Malcolm guy. I felt sick to the stomach and had to look down in order to put up stronger walls and compose myself.

All through the night I kept getting hostile thoughts from Malcolm not just to me, but to the none human gathered there. My head was throbbing due to that.

“Are you all right Ms Winters?” asked me concerned Ambassador Delenn after coming back from introducing Mila Shaar to Commander Sinclair.

“I was about to ask the same myself, you look pale” said G’Kar

“Yeah, I’m fine, I just keep getting these hostile thoughts, even with my blocks up” I told them

“Hostile?” asked G’Kar I nodded and motioned with my head toward Susan and her companion. “Both of them?” he asked confused

I shook my head “No”

We continued talking about the agreement, then the topic changed to the recent attacks that were not only occurring in Babylon 5, but also in what was ‘considered’ human territory.

“Ms Winters, sorry for my bluntness but weren’t you and the Lt. Commander what you humans call an item?” asked suddenly Ambassador Delenn, probably having noticed the exchange in glances going back and forth between Susan and me.

I sighed “I wish we were a couple” I looked at Susan who was smiling to Malcolm, though to be honest it was a forced smile. “We have yet to actually talk about where we stand” then I turned back to Delenn “It’s complicated, I don’t know if it’s only the fact that I’m a telepath, or the fact that I’m part of Psi Corps, or if there’s something else”

At that moment Susan, Malcolm and the Commander started to walk out of the Council Chambers. I sighed again and watched them leaving, however Ambassador G’Kar excused himself and briefly talked with Susan before she left. He refused to tell me what that was about when he returned. I retired feeling tired and sad after a few minutes.

Next morning I decided to try my luck again and see if I could get her see sense, or at least tell me what was actually bothering her about all this situation. I knew that she was attracted to me and that she cared for me, I had felt it in her mind several times when both of us were caught off guard. I saw her walking fast toward the opposite direction I was coming from.

“Susan! Please wait!” I asked trying to catch my breath

“Ms Winters, I’m late for a meeting at the Council Chambers, I really need to go now” she said still walking away

“I’m sorry okay?” I told her on the verge of tears

“Well, that’s lovely” she said flatly

“I know you’re busy, but can we just please talk about us?”

“There is no us to talk about” she said coldly as she entered the Council Chambers

I headed to Zocalo for a last minute meeting requested by Mila Shaar. As I was turning the corner to Sector Red I bumped into someone and got a glimpse of his thoughts regarding Mila and their plan of abducting her at the moment, I had no time to look for Mr Garibaldi and I decided to walk to my meeting, thinking that maybe the kidnapper would desist if he saw her with someone. I was wrong.

As soon as I got to Zocalo I saw her stiffed posture, I walked to her and she was not alone, there was Malcolm with her.

“Sorry I’m late” I told softly and lowering my blocks just in case I heard the attacker’s thoughts.

“You really have a terrible sense of timing” said Malcolm mockingly “However you just saved me the effort of looking for you” no sooner than he said that I got assaulted by his thoughts. I learned he was involved with the attacks on the non humans, what he was planning to do about the Ambassadors and what his plans were for us. By the moment the assault of images stopped, another man was at my side, and both him and Malcolm, were pointing concealed PPGs to Mila and myself “Move” he ordered

He lead us to a cargo bay and tied us up. “Your plans won’t work” I told him flatly “Susan is not like that. Both she and the Commander will stop you” I said firmly

“That what you think?” he asked amused “Susan and Jeff both despise aliens” he said spitting at Mila, who was crying. Fear pouring out of her. “As for Susan, you’ve been quite annoying, I would kill you myself if I didn’t want to give her your head on a platter”

“You’re wrong, she will help us out” I assured him. He just glared at me and before I knew it, I was injected with something by his goon.

“Don’t worry, I’ll save you for her” he said mockingly as I lost consciousness.

I woke up to a massive headache in Medlab. When I stood startled by where I was, Mila who was at my side called for Dr. Franklin

“You are in Medlab, lay down” he requested me

“We have to stop them, they are planning on killing the Ambassadors” I said trying to get up

“They already stopped them” said Mila softly “You were right, she and the Commander stopped them” she said smiling.

“What happened?” I asked “Last I remember we were lead to a cargo bay”

Dr. Franklin nodded and proceeded to explain to me that I had been injected with sleepers that should have already wore off. Then he and Mila told me how Susan and the Commander had been pretending to be alien haters in order to be accepted into their inner circle and how everything had developed in Cargo Bay.

“She was really worried for you” told me Mila in a soft whisper

“I know she cares for me” I told her “The problem is that she doesn’t seem to want to act upon it”

She looked confused at me for a moment, but then nodded and left Medlab telling me that she along with Ambassador Delenn, and her friend Shaal Mayan, would be at Customs to make sure that the prisoners responsible for the attack, were indeed sent to Earth.

Next morning I met with them and Ambassador G’Kar at Customs just as the prisoners were lead through the gate. Susan and the Commander were there too. I noticed Susan glancing briefly our way before turning her attention to the prisoners. Malcolm being the last in line.

“Such great hatred for so little real reason” said intrigued Shaal Mayan

“It seems incomprehensible, right?” asked Mila Shaar

“The human ways are often unfathomable” said Ambassador Delenn “No offense intended Ms Winters” she added softly

“None taken” I told her, while looking at Susan, who had a pained expression on her face

“But in time one learns to live with them” said G’Kar after a brief pause “If one has an exceedingly strong constitution, though” he added smiling

“I can’t believe you did this to me Susan” said Malcolm over his shoulder filled with rage as he was being dragged to the gate“What kind of a human are you to side with them?” he asked disgusted, gesturing with his head to where we were standing.

Susan glanced at us and smiled softly before turning back to address Malcolm “I find many of this people to be more human than you and your kind” She said surprisingly calm “But I don’t suppose you’d understand that”

“I don’t know you anymore!” he yelled at her

“I never knew you” She said softly. When he was finally out of sight she turned our way again, nodded curtly and then turned to leave. I thought about following her, but I had duties to complete before.

As was her habit, the next days Susan kept avoiding me so I gave up, I decided to just stop pretending that there would ever be something real between us. As things were going, I was not even going to gain her friendship, much less her love. As I was sitting at Zocalo over lunch one day, pondering about it, Maher came to sit with me.

“Hey blondie! Haven’t seen you around in a while” he said cheerfully

I nodded “I had to stop” I said simply “It’s not only frustrating, it’s also humiliating”

“I warned you it wouldn’t be easy” he said smiling “And since her father died and she inherited everything in his possession, things had been harder”

“When did he die?” I asked worried

“That day you came to the Casino and told her about you helping Ambassador Mollari and the dancer”

I blanched at that. “Why didn’t you tell me it was her father?” I asked annoyed

“I didn’t?” he asked feigning innocence. “My bad then” he said smirking. “I’ll make it up to you then” he said after a moment “Tonight she has to be at Red 5. 53G. Family business… she should be free by 2030, since she has a meeting here at 2100. Why don’t you stop by. I’ll stall her and make sure she doesn’t flee” he said smirking and leaving.

So, in a last attempt, at 2040 I walked down Red 5, heading to 23G. I saw Mr Garibaldi on my way there, he nodded slightly and continued his journey, his thoughts apparently on Susan too. When I arrived to my destination and entered what was an office, I heard Susan mutter something under her teeth while intently facing the wall.

“I’m sure you’ll find something else for me to do” said Maher walking past us and leaving me alone with her.

“Can we talk like grownups now Susan? Or are you going to be facing to the wall?” I asked hopefully

She sighed and gestured for me to take a seat, taking a seat herself “I’ve been busy” she simply said

“I know, but you’ve also been avoiding me” I told her, and she knew I was right

“I just have a lot in my mind, as you can see I no longer have only duties to Earthforce and the station” she said motioning around “But also to my family and our family business”

I nodded “Maher mentioned that. I’m sorry” I told her sadly

“Why?”

“The reason you have this on your shoulders now is the death of your father. I wish I knew that it was him you lost the day you suggested I stopped being a hero. I was trying to cheer you up, thought the one you lost that day was someone under your command” I told her apologetically.

 “Doesn’t matter. Not your fault anyway” she said sighing

 “Susan?” I called hesitantly when I couldn’t stand the awkward and uncomfortable silence fell upon us. “Where do we stand?”

“I… I don’t know” she admitted

“We could date” I told her sighing “See where that takes us”

“I can’t” she said shaking her head

“Why?”

“I just can’t” she said standing to leave “Good night Ms Winters”

It took me a moment to realize that she had left me there alone, so I walked out of the office and remembering that Maher had said she had a meeting in Zocalo, I walked there, quite angry by the time I caught up with her.  

“You better give me a damn good reason of why you can’t Susan, or I swear to God that I’ll take it off from your mind” I told her harshly, she glared at me and stood up from the seat she had claimed.

“That’s it!” she said angered herself “You’re a telepath, I can’t trust you to stay out of my mind” As soon as those words left her mouth, they hit me so hard that I had to look down, ashamed of myself. She was partially right, we weren’t even a couple yet and I was already threatening to enter into her mind without her consent.

I was still looking down when a kid approached us. His thoughts were all chaotic but focused on defeating Susan. How, or when, that was not clear. I tried to pull up my blocks again, calm down, let Susan handle her business and then try once again.

I was not really paying attention to what was said between the both of them, of course that was until the kid mentioned Susan’s blonde friend, his quarters and skills. I looked up in order to see what that was about only to find Susan standing between the kid and myself, and her growling at him, which was odd itself.

“You leave her out of this!” she said, anger evident in her voice. Her thoughts all focused on keeping me away from him. My heart swelled at that.

“What claim do you have on her?” asked the kid smirking

“None” she told him, regret in her voice, which confused me even more.

“Then let her decide if I should leave her out of this. It’s my right to court anyone I deem worthy” said the kid

I could see Susan flinch at his words and after a moment she agreed stepping back. I was angry at her again. What the hell was that? She keeps being jealous and overprotective, when I approach her she tries to send me away, then if someone comes she’s angry and then she just lets them ‘court’ me?   

“What’s your name babe?” I heard the boy asking, I looked at him then, realizing that I had been staring at Susan, and as soon as my gaze fell upon him I could see quite erotic, though childish thoughts of him portraying me.

“I would suggest you start thinking about something else kid, before I rip out your balls!” I yelled angry at both him and Susan.

 “I think it’s clear she’s not interested in you courting her” Said Susan stepping once again between the kid and myself

“This is not over yet” he said starting to turn.

“You will report to Maher Padikkal tomorrow at 0400, kid” Said Susan “And you better stop acting as a prat, or else…”

“What? You’ll ban me? You’d be doing me a favor” He said and left.

Susan was shaking with rage, trying to calm down. She was about to leave, but this time I wouldn’t let her. I was tired of that and her stupid stubbornness. As I grabbed her wrist to stop her from entering a turbolift, I was hit by her thoughts ‘Calm down, or you’ll end up hurting Talia’ over and over again.

“You’re not going to hurt me” I told her softly

“Get out of my head!” she said angry with her eyes closed

“Your thoughts are pouring out of you Susan. Even with my blocks up, I can’t help but pick at them” I informed her annoyed by her supposition “Now calm down”

“Calm down! You want me to calm down?” she asked mockingly “Don’t you get it? I can’t!” she yelled.

“Susan!” I heard a voice calling for her, I turned to look that way and saw Maher and the redhead friend of his that usually hung out with him and Susan at nights.

“Get her away” said Susan to the redhead motioning with her head to me, still keeping her eyes closed.

The redhead nodded even when Susan could not see, she freed Susan’s wrist from my grip and lead me away from Zocalo

“She’s fine, she just needs to calm down, there’s nothing you could have done, or accomplished for your relationship at the moment, not with how angry she was” she said truthfully while we were walking “My name’s Louba, I’m Susan’s cousin” she said politely

“Talia Winters” I told her in a daze

“I know” she said smirking.

I nodded. “Will she be all right?” I asked worried

“Once she calms down” she said once we reached my quarters “Good night Ms Winters” she said turning to leave. Upon reaching the corner, she turned and looked at me again. “Don’t give up on her. She needs you” she said leaving me alone and confused about what had just happened.

Over the next weeks it was impossible to reach Susan because of the load of work she had, and the accident in the docking bay and the subsequent illegal strike of the docker’s guild. However I realized that she still made time to hang out with Ms Connally for dinner. When I saw that she had gone on a date with her instead of me I got angry, again, but I thought of a plan to make her at least listen to me, once she heard me out, if she still wanted me to stay away, I would, even if it pained me to do so, unless it was on a professional level, which would be inevitable. So I burst into CnC once again, and it was luck on my part that at the same time she had to be dealing with several transports waiting to dock, convoys on their way to the station, an annoying reporter harassing the Commander and Londo and G’Kar about to kill each other, because in that chaos, she finally agreed to hear me out.

Chapter 14: Chapter 14

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 14

Healer

I was at my post in CnC trying to control the traffic of the ships that arrived to the station, however the docking bays were full and it was hard to manage, so while the docking bay workers did their best to clear said bays, I did my best to try and keep everyone calmed upon arrival having to wait. That was of course until the Narn Captain of the Tal’Quith stated that he had a special cargo for Ambassador G’Kar, so in hopes of diplomacy and not having to face an angered Narn reclaiming about delayed in his shipment, I contacted Mr Delvientos, the foreman of the docking bay workers, and asked him if there was any possible way to let a ship in now, considering I was being pressured for docking privileges by an angry Narn. Mr Delvientos told me that I could send the Narn Ship to Bay 8; unfortunately as the Narn ship was entering the bay an alarm sounded, what happened next was that due to a computer failure a transport was raising to be dispatched, in direct line with the Narn ship that was just docking.

“It’s going to collide with the Narn ship” said one of the ensigns assigned to CnC

“Computer, override docking sequence. Six Gamma Six Codes” I ordered “Tal’Quith switch to Beacon Zeta” I instructed the Narn Vessel “Stand by, do not alter your course. I repeat, do not attempt to alter course” However, upon seeing the transport, the Narn panicked “Do not start your engines!” I barked at him through the link, but it was too late, he had already done just that and in his failed attempt to avoid collision, he ended up causing an accident.

“Send a swift and medical team down there now!” I ordered

“Yes ma’am” I heard Corwin say

“Hydraulic and fuel lines are ruptured!” said Mr Delvientos through the link

“Lock the entire section” I ordered him “Swift team’s on its way”

“Well, tell them to hurry. I’ve got two people trapped there” he said worried “If we don’t get them out fast, they’re dead”

I sighed and ended the link “Damage report” As I received the report I shook my head, we had lost a man down there and G’Kar’s whole cargo had also been lost, which caused more problems that what it was worth. “Inform Ambassador G’Kar” I ordered as I walked out to inform Jeff about this situation.

An hour later found me in the Conference room along with Jeff, Ambassador G’Kar and Neeoma, the representative of the Dockers guild; all of as trying, in a way, to find out what exactly had caused the accident in order to fix it and prevent it from happening it again.

“Don’t try to blame my people on this!” snapped Neeoma when G’Kar actually suggested it was their incompetence which had caused the delayed in the first place. “We’ve said all along that the docks equipment isn’t up to handle the traffic we get” she said pacing around the room

“The malfunctioning might have been caused by an operator error Ms Connally” tried to reason Jeff

“Even if that were true, what do you expect?” Asked Neeoma annoyed “My people have been forced to work triple shifts because we are understaffed in every area” In that I knew she was right, two members of the pack, Alexei and Anton, had been hired to work on the dock and even with their constitution and stamina, the triple shifts had started to take a toll on them, so I could only imagine what they were doing to the regular staff. In fact I was as mad as Neeoma about the accident because firstly that falls under the operation of the station, which is my job to oversee; secondly, because we had lost a guy down there and Anton was in critical condition, which meant that if it wasn’t for his werewolf metabolism, he would have been dead too.

“Neeoma, we are not here to assign blame” I told her trying to calm her down

“Maybe you aren’t Lt. Commander” intervened G’Kar “But my government wants to know who’s responsible for damaging our ship”

“Then I suggest you start with your ship’s Captain!” I interrupted his rant “Who panicked and fired his engines inside the docking bay against my direct orders!”

“No! Don’t try to place this on us Lt. Commander” retorted the Ambassador “We are the victims”

“You lost some cargo Ambassador” said Neeoma “Alberto Delvientos lost his life”

“That’s a tragedy” said simply G’Kar “But what was our Captain to do? His ship was placed in jeopardy and he reacted! And by G’Quan I’ll see that we are compensated for the damage! Now if you’ll excuse me, I must attend to a pressing matter” he said and left the room as Michael came in

“The accident was caused by equipment failure” he reported “A cluster of defected microchips blew out”

“How’s that possible?” asked Jeff astonished

“Looks like the contractors used substandard chips. That would explain how they managed such a low bid for the installation” stated Michael “We’re checking it all now”

“Ivanova, how long before we can get Bay 6 back on line?” asked Jeff

I sighed “Several hours at least. We’re gonna have to re-route the controls from all the other docking bays until new chips can be installed”

“This is gonna play havoc with our schedule” stated Jeff

“The problems dockside run much deeper than that Commander” said an annoyed Neeoma

“I’m aware of that Ms Connally” said Jeff sternly “But I’ve done everything I can to make the Senate understand we need an increase on the station’s budget. I just hope they listen this time”

“You mean before someone else gets killed?” asked Neeoma harshly before she stormed off.

As she left, Jeff was informed that Senator Hidoshi was on Gold Channel wanting to speak to him regarding the new budget. We walked to CnC where both Jeff and Michael stayed at the commander’s station while I walked to mine. I overheard their conversation and regrettably the new budget was refused, again. While I heard that conversation going on, I reviewed all the reports on my own station and found we had a new problem; along with a message from Dimitri informing me that Anton was doing better and had sent him home rest against Stephen’s orders, but with no real option other than exposing ourselves. There was another message from Alexei stating that he was sticking and siding with his dock comrades. So, after reading the full reports regarding the dockworkers, I informed Jeff about that.

“Commander, we’ve got a problem” I called for him. I waited until him and Michael were by my side “We have waiting transports and the dockworkers are calling in sick” As I did, Talia decided it was as good time as any to burst into the Dome

“How serious is it?” asked Jeff as Talia came to a halt at our side

“Well, as far as we can determine, none of them are actually ill. They’re just calling in sick”

“Sounds like the blue flu” intervened Talia

“Excuse me?” I asked confused

“Yeah, that sounds right. My grandmother was a Boston Cop” started Michael “I remember her telling me about the Blue Flu. They used to use it to get around sanctions on work strikes”

“So we have an illegal strike on our hands” said Jeff turning and leaving with Michael

“I see this is not a good time, but we still need to talk Susan” said Talia before she too left.

As she did, I sighed and turned back to my duties. “This is Babylon Control. Our docking schedule’s being revised, please stand by”

Sometime after lunch, Senator Hidoshi contacted Jeff and informed him that Earthforce had sent Mr Zento for negotiations with the dockworkers. Both Jeff and I hoped that it worked out, because if it didn’t, the Rush Act would be enacted.

When my duty shift was over, and seeing as there wasn’t really much I could do by Earthforce standards, I decided to try a different approach, so I went in search of Neeoma.

“Neeoma, a word please” I asked her once I found her in Zocalo

“Did the Commander send you based on our relationship?” she asked a little angered. When I came on board the station, it was required of me to meet with all the guilds’ representatives, and as it was, Neeoma and I became fast acquaintances and later on sort of friends. And as far as I knew, it wouldn’t be long before she became a member of our pack, considering that Maher was successfully courting her.

“No, I came here on my own accord” I told her “Join me for dinner?” I asked her gesturing around

“I have things to do Susan” she said sternly

“I know, me too. But I think it is important we talk”

“Fine” she agreed after a moment so I lead us to a relatively empty restaurant and ordered something for us to eat.

“I know how you feel” I told her simply “Those people are all your responsibility, it is your duty to make sure they’re safe and they’re needs are looked into and taken care of”

“Did Mr Garibaldi talk to you about this?” she asked a little amused now

“This doesn’t have to do with him, the Commander or my alliance to Earthforce” I told her softly, earning a confused look. I smiled at her. “I have people to take care too…” I sighed knowing she didn’t understand where I was coming from “Anton is one of those people. He’s the husband of one of the people that work for my family” I told her “Anton and Alexei”

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know, I heard that he was released from Medlab today, but was given a sick leave” she said smiling softly “a real sick leave” she added smirking

“He was” I told her smirking too “Look, you said you’re understaffed and both Anton and Alexei told me what you said about the triple shifts” she nodded but did not interrupt my rant “Which is in part why I’m here. There are more people here on the station without a job, including the family members of the ones working for my family”

“With the budget we’re given, we can’t pay extra hours, much less hire new personnel Susan” she said understanding where I was heading

I nodded “I know, but Jeff will find a way out of this” I told her softly “The Commander is a resourceful man, I know he will find a way to help you and your people”

“Our people Susan” she said smiling.

The rest of our dinner went fine and after a few hours Maher showed up. I stood to leave and wish them good night

“By the way Neeoma” I said before leaving “As you know, Earthforce is sending a negotiator; in case things don’t go smoothly, stay close to Alexei. He’ll make sure you don’t get any physical harm” She blanched but nodded, understanding that I meant if the negotiator invoked the Rush Act.

Things didn’t go smoothly after all, and upon the dockworkers declaring a full strike, forgoing they’re Blue Flu story, Mr Zento indeed invoked the Rush Act, Jeff stalled him by reminding him that he needed the Senate approval before Babylon 5 could support him. Zento left fuming stating he would have in the hour and that by then Mr Garibaldi better be ready to arrest Neeoma and the workers on strike.

I was up to my neck with ships demanding docking privileges and since they were on strike, the dockworkers were not helping things along. I briefly wondered why didn’t they go on strike like the old Japanese, then of course if they did, they’re needs would not be looked into so it was pointless. As that thought left my mind, she, once again, came striding to my station on the Dome.

“What now Ms Winters?”

“Susan, I’m tired of waiting. I’m tired of being patient. And I certainly am tired of you avoiding me.”

I sighed “Ms Winters we’ve been through this” I said as I turned to my console, another ship demanding to dock at once

“Babylon Control, these is the Kusari, still standing by for docking instructions”

“As you see, I’m busy right now” I said to Talia before addressing the Kusari “All docking bays are full. I’m sorry, we cannot accommodate you at the time”

“We’ve already been holding for 3 hours!” said the Captain of the Kusari ending the link

“Yeah well, I’ve been holding for months” said Talia annoyed as Jeff walked into the Dome followed by the annoying reporting pressing for information regarding the strike

“No comment!” I heard the Commander a few feet away, still walking toward my position

“I don’t care how busy you are at the moment. I’ve given you plenty of time so far” Said Talia sternly

As she said that Jeff and the reporter were standing right behind me “Not now Talia!” I hissed at her “Commander, we have another situation” I started

“Yes, you’ve been avoiding me since I kissed you” said Talia interrupting my report to Jeff

“Any comments on this?” asked the reporter

“Report Lt. Commander” said Jeff between his teeth

“As you know, I kissed her after Londo’s demonstration a few months back and she has yet to aknowledge that it meant something for her too” said Talia annoyed

“Ms Winters, I meant on the other situation, pertaining the station. Not your personal life” said Jeff annoyed now, Talia just huffed and crossed her arms

“We have 4 transports holding and a Mimbari convoy on the way” I informed him

“They’ll have to wait” he said harshly as Londo and G’Kar burst in arguing against each other.

“Commander! This creature is a thief” said Londo gesturing toward G’Kar “I demand you arrest him at once”

“Call me that again Mollari and I’ll tear your pale throat out” snapped G’Kar

“This Barbarian has stolen the Golden Statue of one of our Gods from the Centauri Cultural Center!” declared Londo as Talia tugged at my jacket demanding my attention

“Susan, please” she said as Londo and G’Kar kept bickering back and forth “I just want us to work this out”

“Ms Winters, I told you there’s nothing to work out here” I told her turning my attention back to the Ambassadors, however Talia did not relented

“There is, you care for me, I can feel it”

“You have to stop getting into my head” I told her angry and annoyed

“Allow me take you out on a date, an official date. No tricks” she said grinning

“WHAT!” I snapped at her.

“I demand you arrest him!” snapped both Londo and G’Kar when I did. I turned to look at them

“Any comments now Commander?” asked the reporter

“That’s enough!” yelled Jeff “Get the hell out of here!” He ordered “All of you!” he said looking at both Ambassadors, the reporter and Talia “Now, Lt Commander Ivanova, in 10 seconds you will escort any unauthorized person to the brig and leave them there” he ordered me

“Yes sir!” I said smirking inwardly “10… 9…” I started the reverse count walking toward Talia who backed away toward the Reporter who in turned walked backwards toward the Ambassadors “8… 7…”

“Just one date Susan!” said Talia still walking backwards

“6… 5…” I kept counting

“You’ll have to take me to the brig if you don’t agree then!” said Talia standing by the doorway

“4…3…” I said as the only one left was Talia

“Two… One” said Michael entering “So what’d I missed?”

“Mr Garibaldi please…” I was about to ask him to escort Talia to the brig seeing as she had disobeyed the Commander’s orders however, I was interrupted by and Ensign

“Commander, call from Senator Hidoshi” he said slightly amused

“I’ll take it here” said Jeff walking to his station. “Lt. Commander, make sure you sort that out” he said nodding with his head toward Talia

“Susan, just one real date” she pleaded as I heard Senator Hidoshi informing the Commander that the Rush Act had the support of the Senate and that the situation on B5 had been officially declared an illegal strike, which meant to move in the security forces. “Give us a chance, I know you feel the same way”

I sighed “Is that what it will take for you to let me focus on my job?” I asked her. She nodded “Fine”

“Tonight then. I’ll pick you at your quarters at 2000” she said turning to leave

“Ms Winters” said the Commander stopping her once his conversation with Senator Hidoshi was over. “Next time please execute your wooing when we don’t have a crisis on the station, or I’ll personally take you to the brig for obstruction on the operation of the station” Talia nodded before smirking at me and turning to leave. “Chief, get your people ready full tactical alert” said Jeff to Michael as I walked back to my station. Michael nodded and left to get ready. “Lt Commander, I need to see the full text of the Senate Order”

“Yes Sir” I turned to my console again and downloaded the requested file.

As I had told Neeoma, Jeff found a way to help the dockworkers within the law, ironically the option was only available after the Rush Act had been invoked. Since it declared that he was to end the strike ‘by any means necessary’, he chose to end it by reallocating 1.3 million credits from the military budget to the dock one in order to hire new workers and start the required upgrades.

So with that piece of good news after all that had happened lately, I waited anxiously at my quarters for Talia to arrive to go on our date.

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 15

Healer

That night Susan seemed tense during the first hour, however even when it was slow, she had managed to ease up and we were both enjoying our date. I smiled thinking about that, knowing that she liked my company as much as I did hers.

“See? It’s not that bad to date a telepath” I told her grinning

“I agreed to one date Ms Winters, not to date you” she said sternly, her mood changing drastically

“Why do you keep doing this?” I asked hurt and annoyed “Why can’t you accept that we both want to be together?” I continued but did so raising my voice

“Because I don’t trust you!” She said angered

“Then let me win your trust Susan” I told her firmly

“Yeah? How do you plan on doing that?” she asked mockingly

“We can be friends and that way I will prove you that I am trustworthy” I told her smirking

“Friends?” she asked annoyed

“Yes, you know what friends are, right?”

“You’re not starting our ‘friendship’ in good terms if you plan to tease me like that” she said pouting, which I found adorable

I chuckled “Oh, but teasing is a vital part of any friendship”

“Is that so?” she asked now amused

I nodded and extended my hand, offering it to her for a handshake “Friends?”

“On one condition” she stated after hesitating a moment

“Deal” I told her

“You don’t even know what the condition is yet” she said amused

“Doesn’t matter. I agree to your terms”

“Fine then, promise you’ll stay out of my mind and I’ll agree to be friends” I did not hesitate and shook firmly her hand

We spent the rest of the diner chatting about everything and nothing, it was nice. And I was glad that I had at least won this battle against her, I was not willing to let her get away from me, but I was willing to actually take it at the pace she decided to set. Yes, I was tired of that push and pull we had going on, but that was in the mindset of us becoming a couple, so as friends, we could get to know each other better and I could slowly ease her into dating; or so I hoped.

After a few hours we noticed it was getting late and she offered to escort me to my quarters, I would have argued against that, but decided to take whatever she offered me, because of one thing I was sure, as much as I loved her, she had the worst and most annoying mood changes I’ve ever faced.

I noticed her flinching and looking over her shoulder every few meters. “Is everything all right?” I asked worried by her attitude

“No” she said sternly “We’re being followed… and I’m not gonna let this keep going on” she said coming to a halt “That’s enough” she said a little louder “I know you’re there so you better come forth and get it over with”

“I was beginning to think you were not an apt fighter” said mockingly the kid from Zocalo from the other day, followed closely by two lurkers and a little boy, no older than 10

“Well, unlike you, I was not in the mood to cause a scene and risk hurting innocent people” said Susan standing protectively between me and the newcomers

“Oh such a great leader” said the kid mockingly while the two lurkers looked confused and the little boy scared “You know what I want” he said gesturing with his head to me

“She did not want you Vladimir!” snarled Susan angry

“Are you claiming her?” asked Vladimir gritting his teeth

“I am certainly not doing such a thing” said Susan after hesitating a moment, which did not go unnoticed by the kid

“Then step back, I’ll… fight her, for the right of mating”

“Fight me?” I asked worried

“If you want her, you’ll have to kill me first” said Susan, her body shaking with rage

“Is that so?” asked the kid amused while taking of his shirt “Seize her” he ordered the lurkers who immediately launched forward to Susan.

Susan gave me a nudge to push me further away and then she turned to fight off these two lurkers who suddenly changed into something else, into creatures that resembled wolves.

“Susan!” I yelled at her when I saw her pinned down by one of them, I tried to run to her but I was held back by Vladimir, who was holding me by my waist “Susan!!!!!”

“Such a weakling” mocked Vladimir staring down at Susan who had just gotten rid of the creature that had originally pinned her but had been tackled by the other one “You don’t deserve her, or your position” he yelled over the growling going on “And now I am going to make her mine” he said changing too.

“NO!” I heard Susan yell as she pushed away the two creatures that she had been fighting. She looked up and I watched her shaking as she ran toward me, at that moment, everything seemed to go in slow motion to me, for I was able to see Susan slowly running toward us as she too turned into one of those things, while the one holding me tried to sink down it’s jaws on my neck. The next think I knew is I was tackled to the side by the little boy whose weight hit my legs and Susan tackled and fought off the one that had stop me from reaching her.

“Susan!” I yelled again trying to stand, but unable to do so due to what I assumed was a broken leg. The boy stood up in a protecting manner between me and the other two creatures that were approaching us.

“No!” he told them “He didn’t tell you, but we’re not the only ones here and she” he said while pointing at me “Is our alpha’s human” The two creatures snarled and growled at him but he did not move “She is our rightful alpha!” he yelled as the creatures launched forward and attacked him

He was fast beaten by them, they had managed to break his bones and crush his body into the wall. He fell unconscious at my side. They were about to attack me again when a loud growl was heard at my side and suddenly, the creature I recognized as Susan, was crouching between me and the other three, growling at all of them.

Growls and grunts was everything I heard and slowly the two creatures that had attacked the boy moved a few feet away and the other two launched against each other. I watched worried for Susan.

My whole body was tense watching as Susan and the other creature fought off, both snarling, growling and trying to bite one another. I watched Susan’s face flung sideways with the force of a blow. The other creature turned slowly to meet her gaze as blood ran down Susan’s snout from the deep claw marks. I breathed in trying to control the rage I could feel coming from both of them.

Susan leapt up so she was above his height, steady waiting for the moment to attack, she didn't think as she let out a roar which echoed through the air as she swung down using her whole body weight as she flung herself towards the other creature raising both clawed feet. His eyes widened in shock as he realized what was about to happen.

I stared in shock as Susan’s clawed feet slammed in to his side as his feet left the ground only to feel the agonizing pain as his body smashed straight in to the wall in front of me. He whimpered out feeling pain from the hit but standing once again to attack Susan, who was not able to stop his claws from slicing across her arm as he tried to run past her to me. He had just leapt at me and I thought that was it, but Susan tackled him again and pinned him to the ground. ‘I will not allow him to touch her again’ was the mantra dripping of from Susan’s thoughts while taking him up by his throat.

She eyed the wall before she forced her feet in to the floor then smashed his head right in to it sending blood spattering across the wall. She violently threw him sideways watching as he hit another wall. She moved towards him very slowly ignoring the cold blood as it ran down her arm. The kid spat the blood out of his snout as he got up turning and swinging his claws at Susan who managed to move sideways in a lightening fast motion.

The creature leaped forward snapping his jaws only to miss Susan’s throat as she side stepped sharply again, as both of Susan's clawed hands came down hard slamming in to his shoulders. Susan sneered as she dug her claws in deeply in to the other creature's shoulders watching as the blood ran down the fur.

Susan ignored his whimper of agonizing pain as she forced him downwards so he was on his knees in a violent motion. She opened her jaws wide showing off all her teeth in a threatening manner watching as the other creature did the same while trying to get free. Susan forced him down further, then brought her jaws down clamping them around his neck slowly forcing his head back. A few seconds later, his neck snapped and his limps stopped struggling, the creature, now a kid again, was dead and when that realization hit everyone there, the two creatures that had stood back approached growling at Susan.

“Stand down!” ordered Susan turning back into a human, her body bent in a protective crouch between them and myself.

Chapter 16: Chapter 16

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 16

Healer

 

“Stand down!” I snarled at the two remaining wolves while shifting back to human form, my body crouched protecting Talia and the little boy who had saved Talia’s life. They stared at each other and after hesitating for a moment, they both showed throat to me, which at least meant that Vladimir had been training them in our ways, even when he failed to be a good alpha. “Leave!” I ordered them as they shifted back too, knowing that I would have to track them down and decide if I was to integrate them into my pack, or ban them, which did not seem a bright idea.

“But-” started one of them

I growled at them both “I said LEAVE!” I yelled as I reached for my now torn dress. I was growling and shaking even when they were out of sight.

“Susan?” asked me Talia hesitantly and obviously scared which made me growl even more, I had not been able to keep her safe and now she was afraid of me “Not of you, for you” she said softly placing her hand on my arm, right below a deep gash that was already healing.

“I thought you had promised to stay out of my mind” I said gritting my teeth

“Once again your thoughts are pouring out of you” she said soothingly and softly running her gloved hand up and down my arm “I can’t help it, even with all my blocks up”

“But you’re not keeping them at full strength” I told her knowingly, still shaking but now seated on the floor at her side

She shook her head “I can’t. Not when I know you’re not yourself, you’re hurt and we can be attacked again”

“I am myself, we won’t be attacked again, at least not by them, and I’m fine” I told her, looking at my already healed arm and then at all the blood splattered around us. “Can you walk?” I asked concerned, facing her now.

She tried to stand but winced in pain “I don’t think I can” she confessed settling at my side against the wall.

I brought my hand up and opened a link “Ivanova to security”

“Go ahead Lt. Commander” answered Michael

“Send teams down to my location, make sure that Dr Franklin comes too” I said tiredly

“Why? What happened?”

“Ms Winters and I were attacked by a group of Lurkers” I explained, hoping Talia would understand that what I was about to say would be the official story “One of them is dead. Talia’s leg seems to be broken and we have a kid lying unconscious right here” I sighed “Also, I need a change of clothes Chief”

“On my way”

“Are you an alien?” asked Talia concerned

I shook my head “I’m human, mostly.” I told her “And I was born in Earth”

“Mostly?” she asked then “Is this why you don’t trust telepaths?”

“Not exactly” I told her through gritted teeth, still trying to calm down

“What are you?” she asked, her voice trembling

“Does it matter? I thought love was supposed to be unconditional” I said mockingly

She kept silent then, not uttering a word; five minutes later Stephen, Michael, and both a security and medical team had arrived, luckily Dimitri being part of Stephen’s team. He looked worriedly at me, glancing between the boy, Talia and the dead body. I simply nodded, letting him know that it had been pack business. He nodded in acknowledgement, and apparently it had been noticed by Talia, who placed her hand in mine, making me turn my attention to the others around us again.

“What happened to you?” Asked worried the Commander coming behind another security detail, looking at my disheveled appearance and offering his jacket as Stephen hurried to my side and scanned me for any injuries I may had.

 “We were ambushed and attacked by 3 lurkers when I was escorting Ms Winters back to her quarters” I explained as Stephen tried to usher me into a gurney “I can walk!” I snapped at him

“I am sure you can Lt Commander” he said seriously “However it is medical procedure that you don’t” I was annoyed but had to comply when the Commander looked sternly at me.

“Fine” I said laying down

Once in Medlab, I answered as honestly as possible to all the questions Michael had, Talia just kept staring at me, nodding in confirmation of what I had just said if Mr Garibaldi turned to look at her.

“You’re medically free to go Lt Commander” stated one of Stephen’s aids providing me a full change of clothes, while I kept answering questions to Michael and the Med team fixed Talia’s leg, apparently she would have to stay the night and walk with a crane for a few days, but other than that, she was fine too.

“What about this boy?” asked Stephen while his team was placing the kid on a biobed,

“All I know is that he saved Talia’s life” I told him but I was looking past him toward Dimitri, who nodded in understanding.

“Well, then that’s all I need for now” said Michael turning to leave, I hesitated for a moment, but knowing him, it wouldn’t take long to track Vladimir back to me.

“Garibaldi” I called out for him standing from the biobed that Stephen had assigned me when we came in “There’s one more thing you should know” He stood there beckoning me with his silence to keep going “You remember the incident in Zocalo a few weeks ago?” I asked walking to him

“Lt Commander, you’ll have to be a little more specific, there are incidents in Zocalo every day, all the time” he said a little annoyed which prompted a chuckle from Talia.

I sighed “I mean the one involving me”

“Oh, you mean when you yelled to a kid out of the blue?” he asked

I nodded “It was not out of the blue, and it was him”

“I don’t understand” he said, though I’m not sure if he was playing dumb or not.

I grunted in frustration “The ‘leader’” I said gritting my teeth “of the ones who attacked us today, is the same one that I yelled at that day”

“Is that why he attacked you today?” asked Jeff

“I would suppose that’d be the reason” I told him

“Then, why did you yell at him that day?” asked Garibaldi. As soon as he voiced his question I looked at Talia and upon looking the glint in her eyes I lowered my eyes to the floor.

“Because he was making inappropriate comments about me” said Talia after a moment “And he was actually suggesting that the both of us joined him for inappropriate activities”

“Inappropriate?” asked both Jeff and Michael at the same time

“His favorite thing in the whole universe?” asked in turn Talia, as if that would explain it to them. Ironically, slowly their minds wrapped around what she was implying and Garibaldi blushed, which made me chuckle.

“OH!” understanding dawning on the Commander too at seeing Michael’s blush “I never thought I’d see our Security Chief blushing” he joked and I chuckled but my chuckle was quickly replaced by anger when I smelt Garibaldi’s arousal

“I suggest you leave now Mr Garibaldi” I told him coldly, crossing my arms. He nodded and left.

“We’ll find them” said Jeff placing his hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. I nodded. Then he smiled and left Medlab too.

“Susan…” called me Talia hesitantly. I sighed but walked to her side. “Are you sure you’re all right?” I nodded “I won’t press you about it, but I do expect an explanation” she said seriously before laying down and closing her eyes.

I stayed there watching her sleep while I waited for news on the kid.

“She’s fine you know?” stated Stephen “You should rest too”

I shook my head “How’s the boy?”

“He was in critical condition when we picked him up, but he was stabilized and he seems to be doing fine now” I nodded but said nothing. “Rest now Susan, if anything changes in any of them, I’ll call you” I nodded but stayed there a little longer. I was about to ask Dimitri to come with me when Louba and Maher strode in.

“What are you doing here?” I hissed at them

“Dimitri called, he told us what you said that happened” said Louba, then she looked at me and smirked

“What?” I asked annoyed. She glanced down at me, which in turn made me look at what she was smirking. I grunted upon realizing that I had sat at Talia’s side and was softly stroking her hair while she slept; the realization of that made me freeze.

“Yet you don’t take your hand away from her” said Louba still smirking, as if reading my thoughts

“Shut up” I told her standing and walking to their side.

“You should listen to your wolf” said Maher seriously

“If I did, the station would be destroyed by now” I told him

“You don’t understand, do you?” asked me Louba smiling softly

“What do I have to understand?”

“That maybe she is what both you and your wolf want. Not just you.” Said Maher

I looked back at Talia’s sleeping form “Even if I did, she’s a telepath, there’s no way any wolf would want that” I admitted sadly

“Your wolf has made a choice that you don’t understand, that’s why it’s so hard” stated  Louba

“Now that you’re here, I need you to come with me” I said focusing on them once again

“Where?” asked Maher

“Track down the others” I said as Dimitri came out from Stephen’s office “Set up a meeting with the Elders on board the station” I told him “I need to consult with them what to do about everything”

I explained them on our way to where I was attacked by Vladimir, that he had turned these two lurkers without our knowledge, and that we had to track every one that had been turned on board the station, bring them with us and decide what to do about them. It was not their fault they didn’t know about the pack, and it was definitely not their fault they were turned, however, it would be hard to identify if they were volunteers or were changed against their will.

It turned out that Vladimir had turned and started training 10 human lurkers, one Mimbari who was a member of the Working Cast but borned in the Religious Cast; and one Narn who was ill, apparently his biology rejecting the bite; and that the two who joined him that night were the only ones who willingly accepted the bite, or at least that was what they claimed; if truth, it would explain why they were the ones he had chosen to come with him to the attack on me.

It was decided that they would join our pack, and I established a new rule stating that we were not to turn anyone without my consent and that we definitely would not turn other alien races, seeing as they would much likely not survive the change. Dimitri did everything in his power to help the Narn, whose name sadly no one knew seeing as he had been bitten just that morning, however, his hopes were not high.

From the records we learned that the boy in Medlab was called Yury and that he was Vladimir’s little brother, which just made the boy’s sacrifice greater. They were the children of the alpha of the last small pack Papa had merged with our own, and all their family by blood had already passed away, which meant that Vladimir was everything Yury had had. I talked with aunt Magda and we agreed that she would take him in while I sorted things out; and if things worked out with him being fostered by us and he remained loyal to the pack and not his selfishness, if the boy agreed I would officially make him an Ivanov by right of cast and adoption in a few years.

I ordered the elders, Louba, Maher and aunt Magda to keep the last part a secret to see if the boy was truthful in his wish to help. The only thing that they were allowed to make of public knowledge in the pack, and only because it would not be easy to hide, was that since the boy did not have any family left, he would be staying with aunt Magda and Louba.

The situation was a little tense with the newest members of the pack since Vladimir’s attack on Talia and me; however they all accepted it was both my right and duty to act as I did. Ha’Rok, the bitten Narn who luckily had survived after 5 days; and Elafe, the Mimbari, were easily adapting to their life as members of the pack. Maher took them under his wing once they made an oath not to tell their governments, under any circumstances, about us and what they were now; and as everyone else, they were training in our history and fighting techniques. I made sure that the file of every new member of the pack was added to our archive and soon they were also part of our rotation transports to both Earth and the nearest planets with moon, in order for everyone to run free once in a while, after all, Sectors Gray and Yellow were not big enough for 3 wolves to run around, much less about 160. So far, I had been the only one who had not gone to a planet run, but that didn’t matter, I hadn’t run under the moon for years now, I could do a few more running through deserted parts of the station.

Things with Talia had gone relatively smooth since that day too, I don’t know if it was what she saw, which she had yet to bring up; or if it was only the fact that we had agreed to be friends. Thing is it was easier for me to accept the friendship of a telepath, than it was accepting their wooing; and Talia was proving to be a good and patient friend with me, even when we both knew that friendship was not the only thing she, or I for that matter, wanted from our relationship.

After a late night chatting with Talia about friends and family, and me explaining a little about what the ‘Company’ did, she offered to provide her services for future negotiations on our behalf. I told her that as far as I knew, we’d never done business with telepaths intervening, but if one of our contractors or clients requested that, I would make sure to contact her. Little by little I realized that I enjoyed her company more than anyone’s ever, and that scared me and thrilled me at the same time. That night I barely slept thinking about that fact and wondering if maybe Maher and Louba were right.

 “Morning Lt. Commander” greeted me Jeff as I entered the CnC, tired and obviously restless due to me tossing around on bed

“Commander” I greeted

“Sleep well?” he asked amused

“Sleeping is not the problem sir” I informed him dully “Waking up… that is a problem.” I told him seriously

“How is Ms Winters?” he asked after a second

“I think she’s doing fine sir” I told him confused at his line of questioning

“And the boy?”

“He’s been taken care of by my aunt” I told him “Mr Garibaldi is still trying to contact any relatives back on Earth”

“I know, but he has no leads and that is worrisome” stated Jeff “any word on the lurkers that escaped?” he asked as an alarm started to sound

“Picking up a distress signal” said Lieutenant JG Corwin

“Put it on screen” I ordered as I walked to my station followed by Jeff

“Requesting assistance… I repeat, starfury pilots to Earth vessels, requesting assistance” said the pilot on screen

“Babylon 5 to fighter. What is your situation?”

“We were escorting a transport, were hit by raiders. They’re in pursuit and our power’s down to 50%”

“Launch Delta Wing” ordered Jeff “Tell them to home in on this signal”

“They’re coming in” said the pilot over the link “Taking evasive actions… they’re all over the place…” and then he was gone, the raiders had hit him.

Even when we knew the pilot that asked for assistance was gone, we dispatched the Delta Wing. They came back with their hands empty.

“By the time the rescue teams got there, there wasn’t much left to save” I told Jeff and Michael while pouring some coffee for me. We had conveyed on Jeff’s office in order to assess this situation.

“Security analysis” asked Jeff

“We cut off their supply of weapons, but they continue to attack” said Michael “The last two were in close proximity to Babylon 5”

“We can’t let this go on” stated Jeff “If we can’t guarantee safe passage to the station--”

“I know” I said interrupting him “Just two problems though. 1, by the time we hear of an attack in progress, it’s already too late to do anything about it. 2, we can’t figure out how they’re getting there so fast” I said frustrated

“Ships that small have to use jump gates as anybody else” reasoned Michael “Getting from the last point of attack to the nearest gate, takes four hours at maximum burn… they were gone in less than two”

“Put Delta Wing on standby alert” ordered Jeff “They should be ready to leave the second we hear of a new attack” he sighed “Lt Commander, you’ll take first tactical watch”

I nodded “Will do. Also, I recommend we put together a profile of all incoming ships for the next few weeks” I suggested “See who’s carrying valuable cargo. We’ll figure out who they’re likely to hit next”

“Agreed” said Jeff nodding “See to it” I nodded in acknowledgement

“It’ll be though” said Michael “Not everyone files a complete manifest. A lot of them just flat out lie”

“All we can do is try to help them” reasoned Jeff “If they won’t cooperate they’ll just have to accept the consequences… That’s all”

With his dismissal I left the office and asked Corwin to work on the profile of the incoming ships, once that was done I went to the starfurys’ bays and got ready for my watch with the Delta Wing. It was only after an hour that Jeff informed me that there was an attack in progress on the Achilles, so I lead the Wing through the jump gate, once we went out to normal space, we were 20 minutes away from the last known position of the Achilles.

“Delta 7 and 8, stay back and guard the gate” I ordered “If the raiders manage to double back and get past us, I want to know how the hell they’re getting in and out so fast”

“Acknowledged” was the response I received

“Maximum burn, weapons’ systems on stand by. We’re gonna need them”

“Confirmed Delta leader”

We arrived to the target destination in order to chase of the raiders, we were pursuing them, wanting to know how they were getting in and out, when Jeff’s voice was heard over the link

“Babylon Control to Delta Wing… do you copy Delta Leader?”

“Confirmed Babylon Control” I stated

“What’s your status?”

“The raiders broke off the attack as soon as we arrived, we are in pursuit” I reported

“Negative Delta Leader, do not pursue. Repeat, do not pursue. Return to base”

“But Commander-”

“It’s a diversion Lt Commander. They want our forces as far from the station as possible. Return to base at once” he ordered “And Lt Commander, await in hyperspace at the gate for instructions”

“Confirmed Babylon Control” I sighed “You heard the Commander, let’s go back”

We were waiting to open the jump gate as we were ordered. I wasn’t sure what exactly Jeff had planned, and they were already under attack. It turned out the raiders were using a transport ship big enough to create their own jump points.

“Babylon Control to Delta Wing, proceed” ordered Jeff once the raiders were in position between the station, the Alpha Wing and the jump gate.

“Confirmed Babylon Control”

“Delta Wing, proceed to CnC vessel” ordered Jeff

As we did the vessel in question opened a jump point and I was ordered not to proceed on the chase. We had not succeeded in destroying their transport ship, however we had destroyed several raider’s ships, so with luck, it would take them a while to re-organize their attacks.

Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 17

Healer

I had just had lunch with Talia at Zocalo, we had talked about what happened with B4 in Sector 14 and the incursion the Commander and Mr Garibaldi did in order to save the staff that had been stationed there, and then the chat diverted to Jinxo and what he believed was the Babylon curse. Talia said that she could understand his fear of leaving the station given the history he had with B1 to B4, but that she did not believe in curses. I partly agreed, seeing as my condition was some form of curse, however it was not the time to argue about that, and the time to do that would not come at all considering that Talia was just a friend and would not be part of the pack.

She noticed my discomfort to where our chat appeared to be heading but still didn’t eased the conversation to a different topic; she had tried to bring up the night of our ‘date’ several times, but I always found a way to avoid talking about it, and this time I was saved by Garibaldi who came looking for me, Talia walked with us for a bit though.

“Has the president staff given us his itinerary?” asked Garibaldi

“No, they think he’ll be safer if they let us know his plans the last minute” I informed him

“On the bright side, they can’t blame you if anything goes wrong” stated Talia before heading her own way. “You still owe me a chat, I haven’t forgotten” she said smiling before turning and leaving.

“You seem to be oddly comfortable around her now” said Michael

“We’re friends, it would be awkward not to be comfortable around friends” I stated

“Any way, if you ask me this whole damn luau of a ‘visit’ seems a waste of time and money” he said after pondering for a minute, obviously deciding not to press on for more information regarding my building relationship with Talia

“Well, we are getting a new fighter wing out this luau of a visit” I argued

“Fighters we should have had years ago. Now we have to renovate the old Cobra Bays and invest time” he argued back

I agreed “With untrained crews at our expense. Is there something about this that surprises you Mr. Garibaldi?”

“Nothing the Government does, surprises me” he stated

I smirked “That’s a very Russian attitude. I commend you” I told him when we arrived to Cobra Bays, as we were walking down the bays something blew up ahead.

Medical and repair teams were sent right away and I left Michael to do his job in investigating what had caused the explosion.

“Lt Commander, you have a call on hold on your station” greeted me Lieutenant JG Corwin as I entered the CnC

“Ivanova” I answered through the link

“This is Major Liana Kemmer, Chief of the President’s Security, I just arrived on board and I demand an immediate briefing on the explosion” she stated petulantly

“Please hold” I told her cutting off the link and contacting the Commander to let him know about this, he asked me to take her to Security Central in 5 minutes. I relayed the acceptance to Major Kemmer and carried on with my duties until my shift ended.

“Hi” greeted me Talia as she intercepted me on my way to my quarters after my visit to the office in Red 5 by the end of my shift. “You have not been to the Casino lately” she said walking with me

“Yeah, I’ve had things to do for the ‘Company’, so I don’t have much free time anymore”

“But you’re taking care of your health, right?” she asked concerned

“Sure, I have not skipped a single meal. If I did, you’d be pestering me about it and wouldn’t let me do my job”

“Of course, what are friends for if not pester you about your unhealthy habits?” she asked teasingly as we reached the turbo lift. “Lunch tomorrow?”

I shook my head “Raincheck? The president’s coming in tomorrow and I still don’t know the actual itinerary” I explained

“Sure” she said smiling “Good night Susan”

The next morning, I was doing my job on CnC and working over some reports that had to be done when I received a notification that security was issuing a fugitive alert.

“Commander” I called for Jeff who was a few feet away. “Security is putting a station-wide fugitive alert” I told him “It’s for Mr Garibaldi” I said confused

“What?” he asked walking over to look at my console “Cancel that alert” he ordered as Major Kemmer walked in

“You can’t do that Commander” she stated flatly “I have evidence that Garibaldi is part of the sabotage” she said standing between Jeff and I. “I want him in custody before the President arrives” she ordered

“Mr Garibaldi is many things but not a saboteur” snapped Jeff “I’ve had it up to here with this personal vendetta of yours” he said gesturing over his head “Kill that alert” he ordered me

“Yes Sir! Ivanova to all security posts, cancel fugitive alert immediately” I ordered over the link

“If you insist in obstructing me Commander, then I have no choice but to invoke presidential authority” declared Kemmer

“And I’m sick of that too!” Countered Jeff “This is my station and it’s time you realize that” he said before turning to me “Lt Commander Ivanova! Escort Major Kemmer off the Observation Dome”

“With pleasure” I said placing my hand on her arm “You are going to resist, I hope” she scuffed but left the Dome on her own accord “You know that she’s going to call Earth Central, right?” I asked Jeff once she had left.

“It’ll buy me some time” he simply said

“For what?”

“Find Garibaldi before Kemmer and her hounds do” he said walking off too. I sighed.

“Station One, commence level 6 maintenance on all off station communication channels” I ordered figuring it would give Jeff some extra time

“Lt Commander, that will tie up communications for hours” argued the Ensign on shift.

“Yes, I believe it will” I said returning to my reports.

“Lt Commander, Major Kemmer wants to speak to you” said the Ensign timidly after about an hour or so

“On screen” I ordered and turned my attention to Kemmer

“Lt Commander, why are all communication channels to Earth off line?” she asked annoyed

“Maintenance check. We wouldn’t want the President to be out of touch when he arrives here” I explained

“I demand you open a channel to Earth immediately”

“I’m a Lt Commander in Earthforce, Major” I said stressing her title “I do not take demands. If you request, I’ll consider it”

“Very well then, I request that you open a Channel to Earth Dome” she said angered

“Request denied. Have a nice day” I told her smirking and ending the link

“Lt Commander” called for me Lieutenant JG Corwin when I was about to leave for lunch. “The fighters from Zeta Wing will be arriving shortly. I’ve already cleared all traffic for them, do you want to welcome them?”

I sighed “Want to? No. Have to? Yes” I said walking over to my console again. “Thanks”

“Zeta Wing to Babylon Control” I heard over the link less than five minutes later “Requesting permission to dock”

“Welcome to Babylon 5 Zeta Wing” I said “You’re clear for entry. We’ve cleared all the traffic”

“Babyblon 5, this Zeta Wing. We’re awaiting your instructions”

“Proceed to central docking hub, then to cobra 3, where they’ll be permanently stationed”

“Acknowledged Babylon Control”

As I was about to leave to finally eat something, we received an incoming communication from Earth Dome, once I took the call I was ordered to inform the Commander and Major Kemmer that they had to attend to this call.

“Yes sir” I said as I opened a link to contact Jeff “Commander, you have a Gold priority transmission from General Netter”

“On my way” he said over the link as Talia came into the Dome, as she did I just stared dubiously at her

“Don’t look at me like that” she said smiling “I know you said we wouldn’t have lunch together today, but you failed to say you wouldn’t eat, your shift is almost over and given the circumstances it seems you’re going to have to pull a double shift” she continued offering me a lunch box from one of the restaurants in Zocalo.

“Things have not been quiet today” I said taking her offer placing it under my console “Thanks”

“You’re not going to eat that?” she asked “I’ll pester you until you do, you know?”

“Please don’t. The Commander’s on his way with Major Pain in the Ass to take a call from a General from Earth Central” I told her “I’ll eat as soon as that is sorted out” She looked unconvinced at me “Promise” I assured her. She crossed her arms but nodded as Jeff and Kemmer came in. She stepped back but did not leave.

“Ms Winters, what did I tell you about timing your wooing?” asked Jeff as he and Kemmer stopped at the monitor

“I assure you Commander, I’m here just to make sure your XO is properly fed” said Talia smiling

Jeff shook his head in disbelief but didn’t press about it. “Patch us through Lt. Commander” I looked pointedly at Talia hoping she’d understand that she had to leave the Dome before I did.

“See you later then” she said nodding and exiting the Dome as I opened the link with General Netter

“Commander Sinclair! Why are you obstructing Major Kemmer’s job?” he asked angered

“I am not sir” said Jeff in a cold voice

“You are not cooperating with her, so from here on you and your staff are ordered to give Major Kemmer full cooperation in all that she requests regarding Presidential security. Is that understood?”

“Yes Sir”

“I expect everything to be secure when the president’s party comes out form hyperspace” ordered the General. Kemmer saluted as the link was ended

“I trust our positions are now clear Commander Sinclair?” she asked petulantly

“I wanna find Garibaldi as much as you do” stated Jeff “The only difference is I haven’t already judged him”

“I resent your implication” said Kemmer

“That’s your privilege, but the fact is that Garibaldi is as loyal as you are, and if you weren’t so twisted up inside about what happened to your father, you’d realize that” ranted Jeff “It’s not justice you’re after Major, it’s blood”

Kemmer was about to argue with him when her com badge chirped “Kemmer here”

“Major, we’ve got a sighting on Garibaldi. Brown 5. We found out he’s been paying for things with Centauri ducats” was heard over the link

“Apparently what we found in his quarters was only a part of his payoff” she said looking triumphantly, once again “Close in. I’m on my way.”

“I guess Garibaldi is running out of luck” I told Jeff while taking out my lunch

“When you finish that, have all personnel preparing for the President’s arrival”

Michael had been locked out, and we would have to wait until the president had boarded B5 before finding a way to help him. So, while the president’s shuttle left EarthForce1 I was operating the station’s show, I felt like a movie producer at the time.

“Illuminate center sections” I ordered as the President’s shuttle was flying around the station during his oh so long and so boring speech. “Prepare to drop fighters on my mark… Begin countdown” And countdown began at T-30 seconds “Clear all Cobra Bays for drop”

“T-15… 14”

“Ivanova abort!” I heard Miahel over the link

“Garibaldi?” I asked confused, he was supposed to be in the brig

“10…9…”

“There’s a bomb in the bay!” stated a frenetic Michael.

“What?”

“Abort the drop Ivanova!” he yelled

“7…6…5…”

“Where are you?” I asked

“4…3…”

“Just do it!” He yelled again

“2…”

“Freeze count!” I ordered the computer

“Holding at T minus one” I heard the computer state

After the formal reception was over I was having a late dinner with Talia, Maher and Neeoma.

“It appears that our dockworkers were saved this time by Mr Garibaldi” said Neeoma

“Not just them” I said “Charges were found on all the bay doors, if they’d opened it would have meant losing the whole wing and half the station”

“Did you have to act your part in the movie though?” asked Maher smirking, which made me wonder why I had told him I felt like a movie producer during the president’s arrival

“What are you talking about?” asked Talia

“Lt Commander Ivanova here, waited until the last second to freeze count on the drop” explained Neeoma smirking too

“Is that truth?” asked Talia worriedly

I nodded “I didn’t know what was with Garibaldi, and I had orders” I explained

We enjoyed the rest of the evening in amiably chat with each other and when dinner was over I walked Talia to her quarters.

“Susan, you asked me once to stop playing hero” she said in a low whisper looking down at the floor “I know I can’t ask you that, seeing as it is your job” she said looking up at me with teary eyes “But please, do not take any unnecessary risks”

“Hey” I said cupping her cheek “I couldn’t just ignore my job and Garibaldi was not explaining his reasoning” She leaned into my touch and before I knew it she was pressed to my chest, hugging me with a tremendous force. I hugged her back tracing soothing circles with my hand on her back.

“He’s the Chief of Security, I do believe there will be times when he won’t make sense, but you should trust him” She said sobbing

“All right” I agreed “If it is related to the Station, I will try not to question him”

“Try?” she asked chuckling through her sobbing

“Yes, try. That’s the best I can promise” I told her lifting her chin to make her look at me. I felt her lean in to kiss me, and I really wanted to just close the distance and kiss her too, but I was still not ready to trust a telepath in a more personal level so I took a step back. “Besides, you’ve seen how tough I really am” I said without thinking

“Want to come in?” she asked hopeful “So we can talk about that” she said pointedly

“Perhaps at another time” I told her. “I’m sure you’re tired”

She sighed “I am, but I would set that aside for you” she said in a sad tone while entering to her quarters

“Hey, will you be all right?” I asked her before she closed the door.

She nodded “Good night Lt Commander” she said, hurt evident in her voice. And I berated myself for causing her such pain.

Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 18

Healer

It had been a week since I almost kissed Talia and started avoiding her, again; and even when I tried not to, my mind just kept going about it. I was more at edge than usual and that was the reason that Jeff had ordered me to take a day off, so in light of that and the fact that I had to clear my mind from Talia and whatever our relationship actually was, I had decided to stay in my quarters and catch up with some reading… ‘Working without a Net by Marlan Ellison’  I was enjoying it and actually chuckling at its content when the door chimed. I reluctantly placed the book down and stood to open the door, hoping it wouldn’t be her at the other side.

“Open” I ordered once I was in front the door. I gasped upon seeing who was there, I couldn’t believe he had left Earth to come to the station. He was the second oldest living member of the pack and had decided that his place would forever be on Earth.

“Susotchka” he greeted me stepping in “It’s good to see you again”

“Rabbi Koslov!” I greeted him in a warm hug

“So formal?” he asked seriously and taking a step back “You used to call me Uncle Yossel”

“I can’t believe you’re here”

“Neither can I” he confessed “This is my first time among the stars you know?” he asked “Such vastness, seen so close, makes one feel very small”

“You must be tired. Please, sit down” I said leading him to the couch “Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you. The seat, however, I’ll take” he said sitting down

“You’re here about Papa” I said after a moment of silence

“In part, yes. But mostly I am here about you” he looked softly at me “Andrei’s death was a great sorrow for all of us. Before he died, he entrusted me with a Legacy” he explained “Your Legacy. I was hoping you’d go back so I could give it to you there, but…”

“The station was in a crisis at the time, and it has been crisis after crisis here” I explained him “I couldn’t get away.”

“Of course, you’re a military officer in an important position, duty must come first” he stated “I understand, and so would Andrei. It’s the way he raised you” I smiled at what he said “However, I’m concerned. I was told you have not sat Shiva”

I shook my head “No, I haven’t”

“It still can be done” he started “I’ll sit with you, and the pack too. I’ll arrange everything”

“I’m afraid I can’t” I told him sighing “My duties here are very extensive. Between the station and the Company, I just don’t have any time. Besides, it’s been several months. There’s no point”

“I see. Well, I think I’ll get some rest. I’m staying over at the sanctuary area in… what do you call it?”

“Blue 3. I’ll take you there” I said walking with him to the door

“No, no. I’ll find my own way back” he said softly “You have duties. But you will have dinner with me tonight”

“Of course” I agreed “I’ll come by at 2000”

“Huh?”

“Eight o’clock” I explained

“Blue 3… twenty hundred…. Such a mess” he said musing about the terms “You’ve done well Susatchka” he continued looking fondly at me “Andrei was very proud of you. And so am I”

“Thank you Uncle Yossel”

As soon as he left I laid down on my bed and let my mind drift away in everything but the forgotten book on the couch.

“Good, good” said Uncle Yossel as I arrived at his quarters that night “Magda told me that you should take me to Zocalo for dinner” he said smirking

“That’s where we’re going, almost all food establishments are there” I said smiling at him

“Oh by the way, you look lovely Susotchka”

“Thanks” I said leading him to Red Sector. As we approached Zocalo I was embraced by her scent and I could see her approaching us with a smile on her face

“I almost thought you’d stood me up” she said

“I beg your pardon” I asked confused but she just kept smiling

“I asked her to join us for dinner” explained Uncle Yossel

“What? Why?”

“Oh Susotchka, don’t be rude” he said offering her arm to Talia who took it without a second thought. I stared at them as they walked into a restaurant. “Don’t stay behind Susan. Come along”

I sighed but followed nonetheless and we were soon lead to a table. Talia and I ordered without a second thought, uncle Yossel looked confused and Talia decided to order for him. When our plates were delivered I watched amused as he unsuccessfully tried to use the uhki, the Centauri version of chopsticks

“What did you say this was again?” Asked Uncle Yossel mortified

“It’s treel” I told him, he just looked confused and Talia chuckled softly

“It’s a sort of fish” she explained “The Centauri raise them”

“Is it Kosher?” asked Uncle Yossel

“That, I can’t say” I told him

He hesitated before dubiously tasting it “mmh, wonderful”

“So… how are things back home?” I asked

“They change… they stay the same… they change again. Russia is Russia” he started “Your father used to say ‘If regret could be harvested, Russia would be the world’s fruit basket’” he said imitating Papa

“I remember” I said fondly

“You know, he would have liked this vastness… and this lovely lady” he said gesturing to Talia who blushed a little at his comment

“He said that we had no business in space until we could learn to live in peace on Earth, even with the Hunters” I reminded him “And you know how he felt about Earthforce”

“How did he feel about it?” Asked Talia intrigued

“He never approved my decision, and banned me when I joined the force” I said bitterly

“He didn’t mean to hurt you by it Susatchka” tried to explain uncle Yossel, I had to swallow my remark at the fact that he did it knowing how much pain it would cause me to leave the pack and become an Omega “It was just that he was so terribly afraid of losing you” he continued “as he lost Sofie and Ganya”

“He lost me long before that” I said coldly “And you know what my chances were by being an outcast, they hardly ever survive on their own!”

“Is that why you won’t sit Shiva?” he asked me. Talia now silently watching

“No” I said firmly “I told you my duties won’t allow it. Just talking station wise we’ve got 3 trade convoys due by Saturday and-”

“Commander Sinclair seems to think he can handle it” said Uncle Yossel interrupting my rant “and he said you could have as much time as you need”

“You spoke to the Commander about this?” I asked angered by that

“Yes, a fine man. He even put me in contact with your Talia here”

“You should have not done that, and she is not mine. Stop meddling” I said furious now

“I’m a rabbi and an elder, and when I see a jew or one of us denying one of our most basic traditions, I meddle” he said

“I’m also your Alpha, and I am ordering you to back off” I said, not caring about the fact that Talia was right there

“Are you really going to pull rank on me Susatchka?” he asked hurt by that

“Susan… calm down” asked me Talia placing her gloved hand over mine

“My father tried to control my life when he was alive” I said gritting my teeth “I don’t need anyone to take his place now that he’s gone” I said looking directly in his eyes,

“He’s not trying to do that Susan” Said Talia griping my hand “He’s just trying to help you”

I turned to her “And you… you are supposed to be my friend” I said hurt by the fact that she was apparently siding with Yossel instead of backing me up.

“I am” she said seriously

“Friends don’t go acting against each other’s backs” I said standing to leave

“They do when they see the one they love hurting and sabotaging themselves” retorted Talia standing too

“That’s why I haven’t explained you what happened after our date… I knew I couldn’t trust you” I told her “Please excuse me” I said sarcastically leaving them both behind.

“I just keep hurting her” I barely heard Talia sob as I left.

Next morning, as I entered CnC I was told that the Commander was waiting for me at his office, so I headed there.

“You wished to see me Commander?”

“Yes. I wanted to offer my condolences on the death of your father” he said in that soft trademark tone of his

“Thank you”

“Why didn’t you request leave to attend the funeral?”

“You were in the middle of the Euphrates treaty and the negotiations with Londo and G’Kar at the time. I was needed here” I explained him

“That’s commendable” he said before looking sternly at me “but since Babylon 5 is quiet now, I’m granting you and indefinite leave to sit shiva for your father” I hesitated at what he said

“That won’t be necessary. May I return to my post?” I asked already walking to the door

“No, you may not” he stated, making me look back at him “Have a seat?” he asked gesturing for me to sit in front of him

“I prefer to stand”

“That’s an order” he said simply. “You’re the best officer I’ve ever served with, Ivanova” he stated once I was sitting “I couldn’t run this station without you. But I also consider you a friend” he confessed, which I already knew, and surely he knew I considered him my friend too “And as your friend, I’m telling you it does no good to bottle up your feelings… your father is dead and you need to express your grief or it’ll eat you up” he said sternly “If you won’t allow me to help, at least let Ms Winters in, she loves you”

I sighed “I appreciate your concern, Jeff. But my feelings are my own, and how I display them, or not, is my choice. This includes not only my family, but Talia too” I told him and he gave me a small smile “Now, if I may return to my duty” I asked him only standing, waiting for his approval before heading to my station on the CnC, he nodded slightly, but he stopped me as I was about to cross the threshold

“Susan… before you make any choice on your feelings, make sure you do know what it is you’re really feeling”

The day was quiet and slow giving me plenty of time to ponder about what Jeff had said. It surprised me though that even when I missed lunch, Talia did not bring anything to the Dome as was her habit whenever I was not able to make it to Zocalo to grab something to eat. When my shift was over I headed to the Casino before heading to the office for the daily report, I watched her leave in the opposite direction I had came, sending me a sad glance before leaving.

Next morning, as I was donning on my uniform jacket and I was headed out, I heard the door chime.

“Open” I said as I was about to leave. “Rabbi?” I asked confused upon seeing Uncle Yossel there with a red box between his hands

“Susan” he greeted me

“I owe you and apology” I said as he came in “My behavior the other day was inexcusable, you came all this way for me”

“No no. It is I who must apologize, I handled things badly” he said placing the box on the counter “Your Talia, however, she was just caught up between her love for you and my bad handling of things”

“I’ve already told you, she’s not MY Talia” I said a little annoyed, but secretly enjoying how it sounded

“She wishes to be” he simply said “She would be a fine addition to the pack”

“She’s a telepath” I argued

“So was your mother”

“My mother was not a loyal member to the Psi Corps”

“She wouldn’t be the first you know?”

“The first?” I asked confused

“You know, the first telepath from Psi Corps to be part of the pack” started Rabbi Koslov “Which is part of what I brought you” he said gesturing to the red box he had placed on the counter

I opened it and gasped at what was inside “The Crest of arms!” I said taking it out and placing it on the counter

“It has passed through the pack from Alpha to Alpha, since the creation of the first pack” he said looking fondly at it “Andrei prized it beyond all his other possessions”

“I know…” I told him admiring it

“Do you know why?” I shook my head, I really didn’t know, I just thought it was part of being Alpha of the pack “The Alpha before your father abdicated in favor of Andrei” I looked up sharply at him “Oh yes, and you see, the Alpha back then is a telepath of the Psi Corps, a P12”

“Lance was a P12?” I asked astonished. He just nodded once. “Why isn’t that mentioned on our history texts? And how is it then that the Corps does not know about the pack then?”

“Andrei only became Alpha a few years after the Psi Corps started operations, of course they’ve evolved from then, but still…”  He said turning around the Crest and taking a scroll and a data crystal out from it “You’ll find everything there” he said handing them to me “Make sure you update it”

“Update it?”

“Yes, it contains the information of everyone that was ever part of the pack, since the moment the pack started, including the ones who had joined and were banned over the years” he explained

“Thank you”

“Well… I will be leaving in the morning” he said changing the subject “There is nothing more here for me to do. Unless you changed your mind about shiva?” he asked hopefully.

I simply shook my head “It’s not because I’ve ceased being a Jew”

“Then why?” he asked

“My father, was not a loving man” I started explaining “But in his own way I always felt he loved me… until my mother began the Psi Corps treatments”

“It was the law, there was nothing he or anyone else could do” he defended Papa “You cannot blame him for it”

“I don’t. I blame him for denying me his love” I told him “Even as Mama became incapable of giving me hers, I needed him, Yossel, and he wasn’t there. My father wasn’t there for me. And when my mother took her life and Ganya died, still he couldn’t find a shred of love for me…” I continued with a lump in my throat “So I left to honor Ganya, and he never forgave me for it”

“He made you Alpha though”

“But he did not forgive me for joining Earthforce, as if I were the one who abandoned him” I told him

“And now he has left for good, you cannot forgive him?”

“No, I can’t” I said as he looked down “I was an Omega for many years Yossel, I could have been easily hunted because of that”

“Then the tragedy is greater than I thought. Without forgiveness, you cannot mourn, and without mourning you can never let go of the pain” he said cupping my cheek

“I have to go on duty” I told him taking a step back

“You cannot run away from your own heart, Susan” He said sternly “Not even in space”

“I’ll see you before you leave” I said as I walked past him.

Thinking about his words, I tried to reach Talia, if anything just to apologize for my rude behavior, however, it seemed as if our roles had changed and now it was her the one actively trying to avoid me, and out of whatever it was I felt for her, I decided to respect her space. So next morning, after considering it hard, I went to see Uncle Yossel off.

“Uncle Yossel?” I called for him while I approached his spot in customs, making him lose his place in line

“Ah Susan, I was afraid I’d miss you” he said smiling as passengers for a liner were called to board “My starship”

“Thanks again for coming” I told him

“My pleasure… where else could I dine on treel with my favorite Ivanova?” he asked jokingly

I chuckled “Does Louba know I’m your favorite?”

“They all know Susatchka” I smiled at him “So you’ll take care of yourself?”

“Yes”

“You’re very dear to me Susatcka, as you were to Andrei… even if he never said it” I hugged him tightly not knowing when and if I’d see him again. “Shalom Susatcka. May God keep you in his thoughts” he said placing his right hand on my cheek “And remember to follow your heart, it’ll be harder to lead the pack if your heart is distressed… Take care”

“You too” I told him and he turned to get back in line again. As I watched him there, ready to leave I got flashbacks of the time I spent with Papa back on Earth, and the conversation we had right before he passed away. My eyes filled with tears and I called out for Uncle Yossel in despair, he looked back concerned “Stay” I asked him “Help me sit shiva” He nodded and we both walked out of Customs; he made the preparations and I headed to ask Jeff is his offer was still on the table, and then to find Talia to ask her to forgive me.

I walked into the CnC toward Jeff who was standing at my post, covering for me. “Commander, may I have a word?”

“Of course” He nodded

“I’d like to take your offer of leave” I told him

“Granted” he said smiling kindly at me

“Thank you”

“Lt. Commander?” he called before I had the chance to leave

“Yes Sir?”

“I believe it is customary for friends to pay their respects during shiva… I’ll see you there”

“I’d like that” I said truthfully

I was not as lucky with Talia as I was with Jeff, seeing as she actually snapped at me and left me astonished in the Zocalo; I didn’t want to use my speed and strength to force her to listen to me, so once Uncle Yossel confirmed me that everything was ready, I settled to leave a message for her.

“Computer, contact with Ms Winters at her quarters”

“Ms Winters is not available at the moment, would you like to leave a message” asked the computer after a minute

I sighed “Yes, start recording… Talia, I’m truly and deeply sorry for snapping at you the other night. I was out of line and I regret hurting you. I’ll be sitting shiva for my father and I’d really like you to be there… end recording…” I ordered the computer as I headed into to my bedchambers to change.

A few hours later found myself in front of part the pack, who kept taking shifts to be all present at one time or another, even Ha’Rok and Elafe made an appearance; and a few jews from the station, all gathered at the sanctuary area.

“As you know, we’re all gathered here to help Susan sit Shiva for Andrei Ivanov… Beloved husband of Sofie, of blessed memory; father of Ganya, of blessed memory; and of Susan.” Said Uncle Yossel after a prayer was done “Some of you did not know Andrei Ivanov, some of you did. But let me say a few words about him… He was, he was a Russian Jew, and a scholar, and a man devoted to logic and reason, and above all, to peace, which is what made him the great leader he was.”

And with that, stories of Papa started while we all sat down. Yossel at my left, Maher at my right.

“He was beyond pissed off when Susan and Ganya ran alone into the woods that day” said Aunt Magda “we found Ganya soon enough and he was ordered to stay at Andrei’s side until we were all back home, but Susan here… she covered her tracks well” she said smirking making the pack chuckle softly “We spent the whole night looking for her, it was Ganya who... uncovered her tracks…” She said instead of saying that it was him who had found my scent, mindful of the humans there. “She had found a lost girl in the woods and decided to share and gift her, her coat to keep warm... when he made sure that the girl was found and we all headed back home, he yelled at Susan like no one had ever seen him do, ever, and he punished her literally until the following year”

“Oh I remember his yelling, not even Mama was able to calm him down” I told everyone “He even brought that up on our last conversation” I added sadly

“That’s because he was impressed and proud by that Susan” said Yossel

“Yes” agreed Aunt Magda “He told me, every time your name was brought up, that even when he was really mad at you for running away and giving away your coat, that he was proud by your determination to help a stranger”

Stories kept coming and after a couple of hours, I could smell Talia pacing back and forth in front the doorframe leading to this area, as if doubting if she should walk in or not. I sighed before starting to tell a story once she stopped pacing standing by the door, not coming in, but not leaving either.

“When I was 13, I developed a passion for Kasharev, a radical neo-communist author” I explained

“Boy” said Yossel “Your father felt that Kasharev would be personally responsible for the destruction of Russian culture”

“Exactly” I agreed smiling “But he was invited to a reading by Kasharev and I begged him to take me. Of course he had no intention of going, but I whined and pouted as only a 13 year old can” I said smirking “Eventually, he was forced to surrender. So, after the reading there was a question-and-answer session, and for days I had been formulating the perfect question with which to impress my idol” I continued excitedly “The time comes and I stand up trembling” I said shaking to illustrate my point, earning chuckles from everyone there “I ask my question…” I said smiling noticing that Talia had finally decided to walk in, she was standing there, staring directly at me.

“And?” she asked giving me a small smile “What happened?” she prompted as Maher stood and offered her his seat.

“He probably said it was the most foolish thing he had ever heard and he had no intention in bending to talk to a bourgeois little twit who was barely out of her diapers” I said chuckling an turning my attention back to everyone else “I was crushed”

“Obviously” said Talia smirking placing her leather clad hand on my lap

I nodded “But then Papa stood up and he said that his daughter was neither a bourgeois nor a little twit and that had been out of diapers for many, many years. While Kasharev’s writing had yet to rise above the contents of those garments”

“That sounds exactly as Andrei” said Dimitri as everyone chuckled with me

“He then added that were not he a man of peace, he would have horse whipped Kasharev through the streets of St. Petesburg as his own father should have done many years ago” I concluded my story bursting in full laughter while taking Talia’s hand from my lap to my own hand.

“Bravo, Bravo” said Yossel as I reached for my drink

“What did you do?” asked me Talia intertwining our fingers

“Well, of course I was mortified, but then Papa took my hand and as we walked out he said to me ‘That was a good question dushenka moya’” I said smiling fondly at the memory

“What does it mean?” asked me Talia

“Little Soul… he used to call me that before Mama passed away”

“I’m sorry” she said softly

“Don’t worry…” I told her “Shiva is to remember the good times and bad times equally, seeing as that is the way to mourn”

Time went out really fast and soon it was time for our last prayer, which was to be read by me. By that time, Jeff had joined us too.

“I wanna thank you all for sharing this time of sorrow with me” I said in front of everyone gathered there “You’ve helped me find somebody long lost and very precious to me… The Father I loved” I said looking at all of them once, thanking them for their stories “Though it is tradition to recite the Mourning prayer in Hebrew, I would like to read it in English tonight, so that my non Jew friends, especially Talia, may share it with us.”

As I read the prayer, I lost control of my emotions, a lump formed in my throat and by the time I read the last line I was sobbing uncontrollably. Talia was the first to run to me and hug me with all her might, behind her Jeff, Maher, Louba and Yossel joined in the weird group hug we had going on.

I don’t know if I imagined it or not, but for a moment I felt how everyone there cared for me and after that I felt the love Talia had for me, very much like I used to feel Mama’s; and I cried harder, holding tightly to Talia, whom I accepted that very moment, I had fallen in love with.

Chapter 19: Chapter 19

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 19

Healer

The morning that Commander Sinclair asked me to come to his office because he needed my assistance, I was not expecting what happened, however I believe it was a pillar to my relationship with Susan.

“Ms Winters, thank you for coming on such short notice” greeted me the Commander as I walked into his office, a man already there with him “This is Rabbi Koslov and it is on his behalf that I asked you to come here” he said introducing me.

“Nice to meet you Rabbi” I said politely “What can I do for you?” I asked taking the seat that the Commander offered me

“I was informed of your… relationship with Susan Ivanova” he said hesitantly

“I hope that my affection for her does not affect any business proposal” I said sternly

“Oh no, on the contrary” he said holding his hands up “I am an old friend of the Ivanov Family”

“Ms Winters, Rabbi Koslov has just informed me of something important regarding Lt. Commander, and before we proceed, it is important we know what you know about Ivanova’s father?” said the Commander

“Is she in any trouble?” I asked concerned “He didn’t inherit her problems right?” I asked looking at Rabbi Koslov

“So you know he passed away?” asked the Rabbi. I nodded. “I understand she was speaking to him from here the moment he died”

“I… I didn’t know that” I whispered. That would explain why she was so upset that day.

“As I told the Commander” said the Rabbi “Susan has always been very private about such matters” I nodded in agreement “And unfortunately there was bad blood between them. You know about her mother?”

“Yes, she told me. I do believe that has been the main problem between us”

“Yes, you being loyal to what she hates can’t be easy for her” he said “Susan has traveled a hard road, and now that she has to take care of the… family, that road is harder still. I’m worried about her”

“How can I help?” I asked looking at him and the Commander

“It is Jewish tradition to mourn the dead by sitting Shiva…” he started “Susan has not done this and I believe it would help her accept her father’s death” he continued

“I’ll do anything to help her” I told him seriously “But I can’t force her to comply with your tradition”

“Oh, no, no one can” stated the Rabbi “she’s been postponing it by giving excuses to herself, so we will eliminate them and see how she copes with that… I asked the commander to grant her a leave of duty”

“And she can take as much as she needs” agreed the commander

“What about the ‘Company’?” I asked Rabbi Koslov

“You know about her duties then?” He asked cautiously

“Only part of them, I believe” I told him truthfully, deducing that he knew about Susan’s ‘condition’ and what had happened when we were attacked after our date.

“Oh well, business is taken care of, not to worry about it dear” he said dismissively

“Then, what can I do?” I asked not understanding

“You’ll join me for dinner tonight with her and see if you can help me talk her into sitting Shiva… with you there, it might be easier for her to cope with it”

“How do you know my presence will help and not make things worse?” I asked concerned about that, after all, we had had a lot of bumps in our road, and we were not even out of it yet.

“Because you are as stubborn as she is” he said smiling “Otherwise, you wouldn’t care for her after how rude she has been to you” I looked surprised at him “Oh yes, the Commander here and Mr Padikkal, Maher as you know him, have told me all they’ve witnessed so far” he said smirking “So, will I see you tonight?” I just nodded “Good, Susan said she would pick me at 8 o’clock, see you in… what was it again… Zocalo?” I nodded “strange word… Zocalo at 8:15?” I nodded again and then he left.

“Are you all right?” asked me the Commander

“Just overwhelmed” I stated before leaving too

I watched as she and Rabbi Koslov approached, and I was once again stunned by her beauty.

“I almost thought you’d stood me up” I said approaching them with a smile

 “I beg your pardon?” asked Susan clearly confused

“I asked her to join us for dinner” explained Rabbi Koslov

We had a relatively nice dinner though I could feel Susan’s longing and the Rabbi’s nervousness and I was trying hard to block their thoughts.

The conversation stirred to Earth and space “You know, he would have liked this vastness… and this lovely lady” said the Rabbi referring to Susan’s father and gesturing in my direction.

“He said that we had no business in space until we could learn to live in peace on Earth, even with the hunters.” Said Susan and I had to wonder what kind of hunters was she talking about. Was she hunted due to her ‘nature’? “And you know how he felt about Earthforce” stated Susan sadly

“How did he feel about it?” I asked concerned, not brave enough to ask what was really on my mind

“He never approved my decision, and banned me when I joined” she said bitterly

“He didn’t mean to hurt you by it Susatchka” started to explain Rabbi Koslov, things went down from there. I tried to intervene and calm Susan down, but I failed. Susan kept bickering with him about how her father had neglected her and that he had no right to meddle in her life now

“I’m a rabbi and an elder, and when I see a jew or one of us denying one of our most basic traditions, I meddle” he said

“I’m also your alpha, and I am ordering you to back off” she said angered. I wondered again what this alpha business was and if it had anything to do with what she was, if so, then Maher and Rabbi Koslov were surely like her and those lurkers, I had not being able yet to bring up that subject to her attention, but it was not the first time she was referred as that.

“Are you really going to pull rank on me Susatchka?” he asked her, hurt evident in his voice.

“Susan… calm down” I pleaded placing a hand over hers

“My father tried to control my life when he was alive” she said voicing her exact thoughts “I don’t need anyone to take his place now that he’s gone”

“He’s not trying to do that Susan” I said griping her hand “He’s just trying to help you”

‘Unbelievable’ was her thought before she snapped at me “And you… you are supposed to be my friend”

“I am” I argued

“Friends don’t go acting against each other’s backs” she said standing to leave

“They do when they see the one they love hurting and sabotaging themselves” I said standing too

“That’s why I haven’t explained you what happened after our date… I knew I couldn’t trust you” she said “Please excuse me” she voiced sarcastically ‘for believing I had a friend’ her mind added. I don’t know if she did it consciously or not

“I just keep hurting her” I sobbed sitting back down.

Rabbi Koslov took my hand in his “She’s doing that by herself” he said “She just doesn’t know how to deal with her feelings”

“I was only trying to help her” I said still sobbing

“I know child…” he said lifting my chin with his free hand to force me to look at him “You’re good for her, don’t you forget that”

I cried myself to sleep that night, and by morning even when I didn’t want to face anyone, I had to because of my duties. She tried to approach me a few times over the next couple of days, but I had managed to avoid her and when not working I kept to my quarters, however by lunch on the third day I decided to venture to Zocalo to buy something to eat.

“Talia, wait!” I heard Susan call for me when I was about to return to my quarters. I stiffened but kept walking still hurt and not wanting to see her at the moment. “Just stop!” she ordered angry taking my arm and forcing me to face her. The anger in her eyes made me angered myself.

“No, you stop!” I told her freeing my arm from her grip “I love you! I really do, but if you keep pushing me away…I won’t always be here, not even as a friend” she tried to reach for my arm again, but I took a step back “You need to stop keeping at arm’s length the people that love you Susan, or you’ll end up alone… Have you given it a thought? Because I did, and I believe that the reason your relationship with your father was so fractured, was not only his fault!” I yelled at her, and upon seeing she was just staring at me, not even arguing or trying to deny what I said I just huffed and left to my quarters.

“Incoming call for Ms Winters” I heard the Computer announce while I was staring at the wall

“Who’s it from?”

“Lt Commander Ivanova” answered the computer

“Ignore” I ordered it and after a minute or so it let me know that there was a recorded message from Susan. I hesitated but finally decided to listen to eat. “On screen”

“Talia, I’m truly and deeply sorry for snapping at you the other night. I was out of line and I regret hurting you. I’ll be sitting shiva for my father and I’d really like you to be there…”

“End of message”

“Replay” I ordered the computer. I listened to her message over and over again, tears running down my cheeks. I was upset and annoyed by her change of moods, but at least I was comforted by the fact that she wanted me with her. I contacted Maher and asked him where they would be sitting shiva, once he told me I headed there.

However, upon reaching the sanctuary area in Blue 3, I got hit by the thoughts of everyone gathered there, so I kept pacing at the entrance, composing myself and strengthening my walls. The little nagging doubt at my mind regarding if it would be wise or productive to actually face Susan in this moment of grief, preventing me from coming in, then, upon thinking about that I got hit by Susan’s thoughts.

‘It’s my fault. I hurt her and now she won’t come’ I had been trying hard to block everyone’s thoughts, after all at PsiCorps we learn to block casual thoughts, however this was stronger and it pained me to know she was hurting too, so in lights of that I decided to walk to her as she started telling a story about her childhood.

“When I was 13, I developed a passion for Kasharev, a radical neo-communist author”

“Boy” said Rabbi Koslov “Your father felt that Kasharev would be personally responsible for the destruction of Russian culture”

“Exactly” she agreed “But he was invited to a reading by Kasharev and I begged him to take me. Of course he had no intention of going, but I whined and pouted as only a 13 year old can. Eventually, he was forced to surrender. So, after the reading there was a question-and-answer session and for days I had been formulating the perfect question with which to impress my idol” she said truly excited “The time comes and I stand up trembling… I ask my question…” she stopped her story when she noticed me standing a few feet away.

“And? What happened?” I asked her with a small smile, prompting her to continue as Maher stood and offered me his seat, which was conveniently at her side

 “He probably said it was the most foolish thing he had ever heard and he had no intention in bending to talk to a bourgeois little twit who was barely out of her diapers” she said chuckling “I was crushed”

“Obviously” I said smirking while placing my hand on her lap

“But then Papa stood up and he said that his daughter was neither a bourgeois nor a little twit and that had been out of diapers for many, many years. While Kasharev’s writing had yet to rise above the contents of those garments”

“That sounds exactly as Andrei” said the Doctor that had treated us a few weeks ago after we were attacked by that annoying kid.

“He then added that were not he a man of peace, he would have horse whipped Kasharev through the streets of St. Petesburg as his own father should have done many years ago” Continued Susan bursting in full laughter while taking my hand from her lap, but to my surprise, keeping it in her own.

“Bravo, Bravo” said Rabbi Koslov

“What did you do?” I asked her intertwining our fingers and smiling when she didn’t pull hers away

“Well, of course I was mortified, but then Papa took my hand and as we walked out he said to me ‘That was a good question dushenka moya’” I felt her sadness and longing at those words.

“What does it mean?” I asked her

“Little Soul… he used to call me that before Mama passed away”

“I’m sorry” I said realizing that I had managed to hurt her again

“Don’t worry…” she told me smiling softly “Shiva is to remember the good times and bad times equally, seeing as that is the way to mourn”

Stories kept coming all night, from people who knew Susan’s father and by those stories I got a glimpse of the man that raised her and with that I loved her even more than before.

“I wanna thank you all for sharing this time of sorrow with me” said Susan standing in front of everyone gathered there “You’ve helped me find somebody long lost and very precious to me… The Father I loved” she said looking at all the present “Though it is tradition to recite the Mourning prayer in Hebrew, I would like to read it in English tonight, so that my non Jew friends, especially Talia, may share it with us.”

My heart swelled at hearing that she specially wanted to share this with me, it gave me hope.

‘Oh God full of compassion, who dwells on high, grant perfect rest beneath the shattering winds of thy presence… among the holy pure who shine us the brightness of the firmament… To Andrei, my father… who has gone to his eternal home… Amen’

As Susan read the prayer, her eyes filled with tears and by the time she had finished it, she began to sob, so heartbreakingly that I rushed to her side and hugged her without a second thought, not caring of anything but her, pouring into that hug all my feelings for her.

Next morning I was with Susan at Customs seeing Rabbi Koslov off.

“Thank you Uncle Yossel” said Susan

“You will write, or com-link or whatever” stated Rabbi Koslov taking Susan’s hands in his

“I will” she replied smiling broadly

Rabbi Koslov then turned to me and wrapped in a warm hug “You’ll take good care of her?” he stated more than asked.

“With everything I am” I told him. I watched Susan stared surprised at me, so I just smiled at her as Rabbi Koslov chuckled and walked away.

“Talia… I…” she started after a minute “I…” I could see her hesitation and even when it saddened me, I offered her a small smile while cupping her cheek

“I know” I told her “And you’re not ready yet, I can see that now” she tried to look away but I didn’t let her “It’s okay.” I assured her in a whisper “I won’t leave you… we can still be just friends, for now” with that I walked away and headed to my first appointment of the day.

A week later I was asked to do a deep scan on Karl Edward Mueller, who was charged of murder of two people and brutally assaulting a guard in the station. He was sentenced to the death of personality. I really didn’t want to do it, however the Commander and the Judge made a very good argument on why I had to. So with a heavy heart I headed to his cell.

“Mr Mueller, I’m here to perform the scan prior to brain-wipe” I told him, but he just stared at me “I can produce the order if you want to see it”

“So, you’re going to walk around in my head?” he asked somewhat amused “I’d think twice if I were you. Something might jump out of the shadows and bite you”

“Any attempt at intimidation will go on your record” I told him

“So?” He asked mockingly “It’s not like I’m going to remember any of this, right? That’s the plan, to take out everything that makes me, me”

“Mr Mueller, if you continue this I’ll ask the guards to restrain you” I threatened “Is that what you want?” He just stared at me but didn’t say anything “Good. If you’ll please sit” I asked him gesturing for the table and chairs placed there for us “This will only take a minute”

Inside his mind, at first it was dark and I was alone and felt scared, really scared. It reminded me of a nightmare I once had, in which I was surrounded by mirrors and one of the reflections was me, but not me at the same time, as if it was somebody else I was scared of. And in Mueller’s mind, the feeling returned. Slowly, the darkness faded and I saw how Mueller killed a Security Guard.

‘Another voice for the choir’ said Mueller in the mindscape

‘Another voice plus the two lurkers you killed’ I accused

‘No. More’ he said as the images of people started to appear surrounding us ‘And more’

‘Oh God! No!’ I sobbed ‘How many?” I asked as more people kept appearing

‘How many worlds are out there?’ he asked amused ‘How many banquets? Many voices waiting to be recruited into my choir’ he said proudly ‘I have to keep adding voices until the choir’s big enough to sing me into heaven when I die’ he explained ‘Don’t you see Ms Winters?’ With that I hastily retreated from his mind. I was panting and tried to get away but my legs were weak and I needed the assistance of two of the guards there to stay standing

“No, stay. Stay for the symphony” Requested Mueller smirking and I had to leave, it was just too much.

I walked aimlessly for a while and found myself in the hydroponic gardens, watching the fruit there. I felt worry creep into my mind, an emotion that apparently was not mine. “There you are” said Susan walking to where I was sitting, relief in her voice, which made me realize that it was her worry I had felt. I smiled comforted by that thought “Mr Garibaldi’s looking for you” she said. I motioned for her to sit too, she hesitated but did so at my side “I heard you had to perform a scan on Mueller”

“Yes. I got a good look” I told her bitterly “More than enough for a comparison scan after he’s been wiped” I sighed “You can tell Mr Garibaldi that he can proceed whenever he wants”

“Are you okay?”she asked concerned, worried again, while placing her hand over mine on my lap.

I shook my head “No, not really”

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?”

“You’re already doing that” I said smiling softly and looking into her eyes “Over the years I’ve scanned minds that were so different and alien, that at times I was afraid I wouldn’t find my way back out again… but at least, those minds held more humanity than what I saw a few hours ago” I told her, looking at our hands again. She took her hand from my grasp but scooted closer and gave me a one-arm hug while listening to me. “The things that live inside him, and… terrible things Susan” I leaned my head on her shoulder, taking in the warmth that she was offering me “Mr Garibaldi said earlier that he would bet good money he had killed before… he would’ve not lost” I started to cry again, don’t know for how long, I just know that Susan was there, and that she was holding me, protecting me from what had happened.

As it was, my scan was a waste of time, energy and tears. Mr Mueller escaped confinement but was injured in the process, he went to Down Below and took a hostage who was acting as a healer there with the help of an alien machine. This machine was designed to take the life energy of a person and transfer it to another one. Mueller was being healed by this woman, but when her daughter’s life was threatened, she changed the configuration of the machine and ended of taking Mueller’s life energy transferring it into her.

“I told the Commander I didn’t want to do it. I’ve never liked performing deep scans” I told Susan over dinner. “Still, he made me do it and it was all for nothing”

“It never is for nothing” said Susan taking my hand in hers “No one knew that would happen, and even if someone did, when we do the right thing, it’s never for nothing” she told me once I looked at her instead of the table

“That woman was right though” I told her “The right thing and the necessary thing, are not the same Susan” I said. Her stare hardened a bit before she stood up, then she placed a kiss on my head before leaving without another word.

Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 20

Healer

Over the weeks after Rabbi Koslov left the station, Susan and I got closer and I am certain we had become real friends; not just for the sake of pretending to be so because of our obvious feelings for each other, but because we actually found true friendship in one another. After trying unsuccessfully for several times, I had finally decided not to press her about what happened after our date in favor of showing her that no matter what, I trusted her and more importantly, I loved her. However it seemed that Mr Garibaldi decided to interpret my friendship with Susan as his cue for openly flirting with me, it had gotten to the point that it was becoming creepy, he had even started to stalk me around the station, which made me realize what an odd behavior had compelled me to stalk Susan myself in the first place!

On one such day, when I had just left Susan at the Dome after breakfast for her to deal with the odd readings that the station was receiving from the planet below, even Commander Sinclair noticed Mr Garibaldi’s behavior. I was pacing waiting for the lift to arrive, hopefully this time without Garibaldi inside, when the Commander stood at my side.

“Ms Winters” he acknowledged

“Hello Commander” I offered as greeting

“Problem with the transport tube?” He asked, knowing that I had already been there when he arrived to CnC

“No, not really” I told him truthfully “It seems that every time I get into the tube Mr Garibaldi is there” I informed him “It’s like he knows” I said a little irritated. I was about to be late for a meeting if I didn’t head there on that moment.

“Talia” sighed the Commander “Mr Garibaldi is many things but he’s not-” he could not finish his statement because at that moment the doors to the transport tube opened and surely enough Mr Garibaldi was inside smirking like an idiot

“I think I’ll take the stairs” I said walking away as the doors to the lift closed again

“I think I’ll just join you” stated the Commander walking with me

I told him then what I had noticed about Mr Garibaldi’s behavior and that it was starting to creep me out.

“Have you told Ivanova?”

“She’d get mad at him, what if I’m mistaken?” I asked as we reached the office I was headed to

“I’ll talk to him” he assured me.

The meeting I had with these two aliens, Rash and Zuks, was successful and we had come to a good deal between the parties. I was wary at first, since they both had only boarded the day before and were leaving the next day, they had only come for our meeting. But since we worked things out, they would be coming once a month for the next semester and then work on a new deal.

That night Susan and I were enjoying a few drinks at my quarters when ISN news informed about the armed conflict rising up in Mars, news which ended abruptly our night together.

“I have to go” she said placing her glass on the counter and retrieving her uniform jacket

“Will you be needed on CnC because of this?” I asked confused, placing my own glass down.

She shook her head while donning on her uniform “Company business, we have people on Mars” she said before leaving. I sighed and retired to sleep after that.

“I appreciate the commission gentlemen” I told Rash and Zuks the next morning, taking turn in shaking their hands at Customs, where I had walked them to, they had after all been quite generous with my fees “See you next month”

As they left and I turned to leave, Mr Garibaldi appeared at my side with a frantic look on his face

“I need to talk to you” he said urgently

“What? Transport tube’s out of order?” I asked annoyed turning to leave. He had approached me several times now over the last few weeks under the pretense of needing something but being just his childish way to try and flirt.

“Wait!” he demanded grabbing me by my arm “Look, I’m sorry” he said dropping his hand when I glared at him “But I need your help”

“As lines go Mr Garibaldi, that is not terribly original” I told him seriously annoyed now

“That’s not a line dammit!” he said, his temper rising “I… I just want 5 minutes” he sighed “Please”

I studied him and noticed that his plea was heartfelt “Ok” I said turning and motioning for him to follow me out and then lead the way. We walked to Zocalo and entered the Casino’s bar.

“Look, I appreciate you take the time” he started “This really is important” he stated as he helped me to my seat “Before I came to Babylon 5 my last job was working sercurity on the Mars Colony, I was there about a year” he explained as Maher brought us drinks. Water for Mr Garibaldi and fresh juice for me, which showed how well he knew his customers.

“Thanks Maher” I told him nodding toward our drinks

“No problem blondie” he said walking away

“The job wasn’t great” continued Mr Garibaldi getting back my attention “we got nothing but fly from Earth Dome, but one thing made it worth all the grief” he said smiling softly “Her name’s Liz Hampton, we met a few days after I got there and we got involved”

“Sounds serious” I told him, taking hint from the strong and caring emotions I felt radiating from him as he spoke of her

“Yeah, it was. We even talked about marriage a few times” he confessed “But I was… look, I was messed up” he said ashamed “Got fired from my last 5 jobs, I kinda figured I had something to prove so when Jeff asks me to come work to Babylon 5 I asked her to come with me, she said no. We argued, I got hot, I said a lot of stupid things. The kinda things that come to haunt you in the middle of the night” he sighed depressed “Last we spoke I ended with a slammed door and me on the next transport out. We haven’t talked since then” he then looked up “For the past 3 years I’ve wanted to call her, I needed to call her but… I didn’t know if she even wants to hear from me. And now this” he said sighing again “Talia, I have to talk to her, I need to know if she’s ok”

“I sympathize Mr Garibaldi, I do” I told him “I hope you realize that, but what do you expect me to do about it?” I asked him truly confused “If you couldn’t get through, how am I-”

“Psi Corps has an intelligence and training operation center in Syria Planum” he said interrupting my rant and taking me by surprise

“How do you know about the Center? That’s supposed to be classified” I asked mortified

“It is, but it has never stopped me before” he said smirking slightly “Point is they’ve got the equipment to put together a relay, get me into the local com, I can take it from there” he explained excitedly

“You’re asking a lot” I told him seriously. That facility was supposed to be kept secret even within the Corps. The only reason I knew about it was because I got a brief period of service and training there, and still, I was ordered by the Corps to keep it from public knowledge.

“I know” he said simply “And if there were any other way, I’d take it. I can’t sleep not knowing if she’s okay” He said taking my hands in his “You’re my last hope”

“Alright” I told him freeing my hands “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll do what I can”

“Thanks” he said as I stood and headed to CnC to talk about this to Susan, she said she had people there too, so if I was able to help Mr Garibaldi, I sure as hell would do it for Susan too.

I entered the Dome to one of the most comical, yet stressing situations that I remember ever happening on the Station. I later learned that what I heard was the result of Susan’s frustration to the lack of obedience from the civilians that were supposed to do the scans on Epsilon 3. However, the sight of Susan pacing in front her console and the words coming out of her mouth were what made the situation comical.

“I will not ignore Ivanova’s recommendations. Ivanova is God” she said, and I couldn’t help but think that was almost accurate to my eyes, she was like a Goddess after all, so with a smirk on my face I headed to her side. “And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out! Babylon Control out” she said clearly upset

I informed her about what Mr Garibaldi had requested from me and offered to do the same to contact her people on Mars. She refused, of course, she didn’t want Psi Corps to meddle in her business, to which I could only nod and leave her to continue with her duties.

As I arrived to my quarters I received a message from Susan stating that she wouldn’t be able to make it for dinner after all, due to a mission she and the Commander were leading to the planet below the station, but if I wanted I still could join Maher and Neeoma along with Louba, however I decided to decline, and after I informed Maher and Louba, I called my contacts on Mars.

After a few hours I got the same response from the last person that could have helped me aid Mr Garibaldi. Her name was Yuki, she was a P7 and we had a mutual friend from the time I had been on Syria Planum.

“I’m sorry Ms Winters, but there’s nothing I can do” she said over the Babcom system “In order to preserve our confidential status access to our facilities confined only to members of Psi Corps, we can’t let anyone outside the government know that this center exists”

“But Mr Garibaldi already knows about it” I told her defeated

“He may suspect, but that is not the same as confirmation” she stated “For all we know this request on his part is only a cover so he can confirm allegations and pass that information to others”

“That’s completely paranoid” I grunted

“Possibly, but with fighting going on a quarter mile from the facility, I think we are entitled to a little Paranoia” she retorted

“How is it back there?”  I asked, suddenly feeling ashamed for not having asked that before I asked for favors

“Not good. The Free Mars movement has been growing for nearly a decade” she said confirming what we all knew “but no one suspected they were this organized or this well armed” I sighed again “Look, I can’t help your friend connect to the comnet from here, but I can check on her name and see if she is listed on the one of the wounded”

I nodded “That would help. Thank you”

“No promises, but… I’ll do what I can” she said before ending the link

I stayed at my quarters pondering about everything going on, then my mind wandered to what was the deal with all the secrecy around Epsilon 3. And as always, Susan occupied the majority of my thoughts. About two hours later, Yuki contacted me and informed me of her discoveries, which were not encouraging, so I left in search of Mr Garibaldi, I found him at CnC, and there were no signs of Susan or the Commander yet, so I figured they must still be on their mission.

“Mr Garibaldi, can I see you for a moment?” I asked him. By the look on his face, I noticed he was about to retort “I have some news” I told him pointedly

“Yell if you link in” he ordered to the staff on duty on CnC before walking with me to the aisle just by the Dome’s entrance “Well?”

“They won’t let you access the local communications net” I sighed “They’re not happy about you knowing about the center either”

“Yeah well, it’s an imperfect universe” he said smirking “Is that all you have for me?” He asked disappointed

“No, no it isn’t. I asked them to check the net for any information about your friend.” I started “They couldn’t get into the logs of the dead and wounded, but they were able to access the list of survivors”

“And?”

“Her name isn’t on it” I informed him “They can’t find her name anywhere… whether she’s not in Mars any more-”

“She’s there alright” he interrupted me “She had a life there, a career, she wouldn’t have left that in just two years” he said more to himself than to me

“Then it’s possible that something’s happened to her” I told him as his link chirped

“Yeah?”

“Mr Garibaldi, we’ve got a signal” I think it was Corwin who reported to Mr Garibaldi

“I’m on my way” he sighed

“I’m sorry” I told him about to leave

“Don’t be” he said in a serious tone “She’s alright. She has to be” he said trying to convince himself before returning to his duties and entering the Dome again

Next morning I walked into Zocalo and could see Susan and Maher discussing under their breaths. As I approached I noticed him flinch and I just caught up the end of her statement to Maher.

“I’m serious. Keep her safe, keep everyone safe” then she turned to me and offered me a small and tired smile

 “You ok?” I asked her concerned noticing her appearance. Her usual tough and commanding presence was noticeably off, significantly depleted. Her shoulders were drooped when normally they were held back and high. Susan looked dispirited, upset and exhausted. Her blue Earth Force uniform jacket was off, held tight in her hand, and its accompanying white shirt was undone at the collar, revealing her weary state and readiness for the end of an unsettling day, which to me had just started. “You look tired”

She sighed and nodded “Haven’t slept in almost three days. Came here for breakfast and am about to catch some sleep” she said “Things are getting messier than usual” she stopped talking abruptly as if realizing she shouldn’t be talking about it, then she sighed and looked me in the eye “You busy today?”

“Not really, free all day” I told her smiling

“Walk with me?” she asked me and the tone in which she did made me realize it was a plea

“Sure” I told her tilting my head motioning for her to lead the way. The walk to her quarters was in complete silence and I was worried. The only thought escaping through Susan’s mind was ‘Boom Boom Boom’ over and over, and I could feel her worry about that. As we reached her door I noticed she hesitated once again. “Want some company while you dose off?” I asked her. She looked up, fear marred her features and that worried me even more, so I closed the gap between us and embraced her in a tight hug “I won’t pry, promise” I assured her “Just want to make sure you’re ok. I’m worried about you” I told her softly. She nodded and led us to her bed chambers where she dropped her jacket on a stool before laying on her bed, her eyes locked on mine. I watched her for a while, unsure of what to do now.

“I should ask you to leave” she said in low whisper

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked taken aback by what she just said “I don’t understand. Is this about Mars and that cruiser stationed outside the station?” I said glaring at her

She closed her eyes briefly before returning her gaze to me and shaking her head “Not about Mars” she then sighed and turned to lay on her side, still facing me. She motioned for me to join on her bed. I had barely sat when she changed positions and decided to use my lap as a makeshift pillow, taking a deep breath. “Might as well get some rest before you have to leave” she said sighing again, this was a side of Susan I had never seen and it was worrying me to no end.

“I don’t have to leave, I told you I have the day off” I reminded her while debating if I should stroke Susan’s hair now that we were in this situation, she made the decision for me the moment she draped one arm across my legs and tried to stifle a yawn.

“In a few hours Maher might come and get you. You have to go with him if he does come” she said seriously but about to fall sleep.

“Why? Where?” I asked her, containing the need I felt to send probe into her mind. Her thoughts now, the ones I couldn’t block, were centered on being tired but content at the moment.

“Because I want you to be safe, so away” she said and with those words she dose off. I spent the next few hours strengthening all the blocks around my mind in order to avoid eavesdropping on hers while she slept. After a couple of hours her link chirped and she had to go back to CnC to deal with whatever the crisis of the day was.

“Talia?” she called me from the threshold to her quarters. She stayed silent until our eyes met. “I need you to remember what happened with Mueller” she said tiredly

“What do you mean?” I asked more confused “Did he survive? Is that why you’re worried?”

“No, he’s dead” she said shaking her head “Just remember, it never is for nothing”

“What’s really going on Susan?” I asked her before she walked out of her quarters

“Boom” was all she said before crossing the door, leaving me confused there.

Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 21

Healer

A few members of the pack who I had assigned to keep tabs on whatever was going on in Down Below without interfering unless it was a life-death situation, informed me that Dr Franklin had set up an underground free clinic for the people there, and that he had patients going over for consult on a daily basis, however he was taking supplies from Medlab, information that was confirmed by Dimitri. So, I headed down there just to make sure he was fine and knew what he was doing.

“I’d like to see the doctor” I told the girl at the reception area, who was looking down at some pads

“The line forms to the rear” she said without glancing up

I sighed “I’m sure it does” I said serious which prompted her to look up at me now

“Oh! I’m sorry” she said worried realizing who I was “Please go right in, I’ll buzz the Doctor”

I walked in through the provisional curtains and heard Stephen more clearly now, giving instructions to the patient he had just attended.

“You start by removing your clothes” said Stephen without even looking in my direction as his patient walked away

“Not without dinner and flowers” I told him jokingly.

“Lt. Commander!” he said surprised at seeing me there “What are you doing down here?”

“What a coincidence” I said amused “I was about to ask you the exact same thing”

“Just doing my job”

“Your job is Chief of Staff of the Medlab facilities” I reminded him

“No. My job is healing people.” he argued “Medlabs aren’t free, not everyone can afford it. Especially in Down Below”

“Well, they have my sympathies” I told him coldly “But this is an unauthorized clinic”

“This is a free clinic” he stated

“Same thing. The tax payers back home want us to be self-supporting” I told him “and won’t approve of diverting resources of medicine supplies”

“I know” he said defeated “That’s why I didn’t tell you”

“I don’t like having to hear about this in the grapevine Doctor” I explained him “I’m in charge of Station Operations. This is a station” I said gesturing around “And this, certainly is for operations” I told him picking up a medical instrument before placing it down where it was

“All right. Fine.” He said “But there are about a dozen people out there waiting to see me” he argued “So what will you do about it?” he challenged

I smirked “Nothing. And there’s only half a dozen, I counted” He looked surprised at me “Look, I don’t mind if you bend the rules a little Doctor.” I told him “I mean, I’ve bend a few myself. But I like to be informed” I explained him “If I’m gonna share the blame, I at least want to share some of the fun”

“You can start by taking off your jacket and wash your hands…”

“I am not a Doctor” I told him stopping his rant

“No, but I’m sure we can find something for you to do” he said amused now “If you’re gonna join in the fun, you might as well join in all the way, right?”

I sighed but relented unbuttoning my jacket and walking to the back to wash my hands as he had asked, while he muttered under his breath that there should be more patients waiting in line.

After lunch I left Stephen in Down Below and headed to the Dome, where I was told by Mr Garibaldi that he was looking for Talia.

“Why? Is she in any trouble?” I asked concerned

“No… no” he said firmly “She was to do a scan on Mueller and I don’t know where she is or if we’re ready to take him for the wipe”

“I’ll look for her” I told him leaving the Dome now worried. I had heard once a telepath say that a scan on sentenced prisoners to the death of personality, were hard to perform and were never looked forward to by them.

I went to the cell where Mueller had been held and asked the guards; one of them being Zack Allan, a member of my pack who had recently been hired by Mr Garibaldi to be part of the station security force; if Talia had already passed through there, when they said that she had but had left very distressed I gave them hell for not taking her to Medlab or making sure she was fine, specially Zack. After Michael came to see what was going on, he ushered me out and told me that he still needed to know if she had performed the scan deep enough for a comparison scan after the wipe, which is why I still had to find her.

I expanded my senses and tracked her scent. It guided to the hydroponic gardens, curiously near where I grew coffee. I smiled softly upon seeing her, but ended up frowning when I looked the state she was in. She was pale and her hair looked disheveled, and indeed she was clearly distressed which made me worry even more.

I ended up hugging her while she cried over what she had saw in Mueller’s mind, I really didn’t know how to make her feel better, so I gave myself in that hug.

Later on, we learned that Mueller had died when he tried to escape the mind-wipe and Talia felt terrible thinking that the scan she had made, the effort she had put in it and the experience in itself had been all futile. I did not think that way, but didn’t know how to prove her that, so I ended up walking away from her, once again, with the difference this time, was with my mind set on finding a way to make her see it had not been futile.

I had to give up for the moment on finding a way to convince Talia that everything we did, was worth it; we had been receiving strange readings and a lot of seismic activity coming from Epsilon 3 for a few days, so we assembled an archeological team to head to the surface and to more tests and determine what was going on.

“Shuttle 1 is ready to go Commander” I informed the Commander as he entered the Dome

“Any change on those signs or any disturbances?” he asked

“The surface layers have calmed down but we’re still receiving a rumble further down” I informed him “Normally I wouldn’t bother, but we are in orbit over this thing”

“Alright, let’s just check it out to be sure”

“Agreed…” I told him before turning to my console “Shuttle 1 you’re clear to begin geological survey”

“Confirmed Babylon Control, initiating launch” came the response from Dr Tasaki

“I have to go play diplomat for a few hours” said Jeff apologetically “Let me know when the survey team comes back”

“Will do”

As soon as the shuttle approached the planet, a beam of light, presumably a weapon, was shot from the surface and as a result our energy faltered for a moment and we briefly lost contact with the survey team.

“Babylon Control to Shuttle 1” I called over the link as soon as the energy was restored on CnC “Shuttle 1 do you receive?”

“Alright Babylon Control, we’re receiving you” answered Dr Tasaki

“What the hell was that?” I asked him, seeing as he was closer to the source “All our stations blacked out for a second”

“Same here Babylon 5” was the response I got “it was some kind of power surge off the scale. Pulled our systems off line, it must have come from somewhere deep inside the planet”

I sighed “What’s your situation?”

“Shuttle controls are out, can’t get back unassisted” he reported “You’re gonna have to send someone here to give us a lift”

“Confirmed, we’ll send two starfurys ASAP” I told him at the same time I looked pointedly at Lt JG Corwin, conveying in that action that the escort party should already be out there “Stand by, don’t go anywhere” I told the shuttle team in an attempt to lighten the mood. I headed to the shuttle bay as soon as they came back.

“Dr Tasaki!” I called him as soon as I glimpsed him

“Lt. Commander” he greeted me as his team scattered

“What was it?”

“I’ve no idea”

“We were told that the planet we’re orbiting was stable, safe and inhabited” I told him worried about the situation “Now it appears to be none of these things”

“Incorrect” replied Dr Tasaki “We don’t know for sure if someone is actually alive down there. The seismic activity on the planet could have triggered an automatic system of some kind” he said apparently excited about the possibilities “We’ll know more once we go back down there” he then turned to leave

“What are you going to do now?” I asked before he walked out of the bay

“In order? Process the data we collected from the power burst and then call my wife”

“This doesn’t worry you in the slightest?” I asked surprised by his actions

“On the contrary, it scares the hell out of me” he said smirking “But what better way to go out than in pursue of scientific knowledge?” he then left to process his data

I returned to the Dome and after running a few tests I was ready to give my report to the Commander.

“It seems that the beacon was what caused our systems and the shuttle’s systems to fail.” I told him while I displayed the data on a screen for him to see “The signal seems to have diminished in the past few hours”

“Are you sure it’s a beacon?”

“Well, once our instruments were back online we were able to run a few scans” I explained “It’s definitely a series of regular signals repeated in specific intervals, but so far we haven’t been able to decipher them”

Jeff sighed and pondered this information for a moment “How’s Dr Tasaki?” he finally asked

“Kid with a new puzzle” I offered with a small smile “He wants to go back and check it out”

“Alright, I’ll authorize it but only on the condition we can find a way to get them down there safely” stated the Commander

“Agreed. I’ll take care of it 1^st thing tomorrow morning” Jeff turned to leave and I remembered that while the scans were running, we had received a status report from EarthDome and the lack of information on Mars was not a good sign. “Oh by the way Commander” I called Jeff stopping him in his tracks “Have you heard any news today from the Mars Colony?”

“No, why?”

“There’s always something about it in the daily Earthforce data report, but it just came in and there wasn’t any news from Mars, nothing” I told him in a serious tone “Now, usually it’s a sign that they’re running military exercises, but we would have got some warning about it”

“Maybe it’s just a glitch in the system” tried to reassure me Jeff, but something in the tone he said that, made me wonder if he really thought that. “Goodnight Lt. Commander”

“Goodnight Commander”

That night I had a date with Talia, of course you wouldn’t have caught me dead at the time acknowledging it as what it was; but being honest, even when we were actually friends then, we were fast crossing that boundary and somewhere along the line we started to actually date each other instead of just hanging out together. Thankfully she hadn’t called me on that, because I don’t know what I would have done if she did, probably run for the hills, as I had done before. Also, she had stopped trying to talk about what happened after our first date, for which I was grateful, though I must admit I was curious as to what was stopping her now that we were getting along and heading to where she wanted us to be.

We had enjoyed our evening together and headed to her quarters for a drink. I shouldn’t have asked her to turn on the feed from ISN, but I did and when they broke the news from Mars and the rising conflict there I left her to go and speak with the pack, we had people there. I decided that a scouting team would be sent to Mars to assess the situation and aid in any possible way, considering we had lost all official communication and no one could get a hold of the comnet without clearance from higher up in the Earthforce military structure. So we would have to find a way to contact our people back and forth, that’s why we were sending scouts.

Next morning, after I agreed to dinner with Talia, Maher and Neeoma, who by the end of the year would surely be the newest member to the pack; and after designing a plan for the geology team to go down back, I walked to the mess hall with my tray in hand and sat at Jeff’s side.

“Commander. I take it that you heard the news from Mars last night” I told him after looking at his grimm face.

“I did. Terrible to see places I grew up, going up in flames” he sighed

“That’s right, you were born in Mars” Earlier I had bumped into Mr Garibaldi and he told me about Jeff being from Mars and being there where they met. “Do you still have family or friends there?” I asked him

“No, thank God” he said somewhat relieved “You?”

“Yes” I told him truthfully

“Sorry, hope they’re doing fine”

“Me too” I whispered “Mr Garibaldi is taking it pretty hard” I said diverting his attention from me

“Yeah, I figured as much” stated Jeff “I’m gonna check on him later”

“You alright Commander?” I asked him when I noticed his sight drifting off

“I don’t know, maybe I’m just tired” he sighed “What’s the status on Epsilon 3?”

“The Geology team leaves in a few hours”

“Good. Keep me informed” he said and walked away

Later that morning I was in the Shuttle Bay giving final instructions to the Geology team. “Now, we’ll be providing fighter support in case you run into any trouble while you’re down there” I told them “but I don’t want you taking any unnecessary chances”

“We won’t” assured me Dr Tasaki

“Just take your readings, make a low altitude scan of the surface and get out in one piece” I continued “We’ll be monitoring your progress from CnC”

“Good. I work best with an audience” he said cockily “Anything else?”

“Just one thing” I said annoyed “Starfurys are designed for combat in space, not inside an atmosphere” I informed them now dead serious “Don’t drop to low or you’re on your own”

I headed to CnC to oversee the mission and make sure there was no traffic on their way in or out, which was rather difficult considering all the spaceships coming to and going from the station.

The shuttle was in a low orbit around the planet for a few hours, running up their scans “Survey 1 to Babylon Control. Ready for our final run. Initiating atmosphere drop at 5km inside the atmosphere curtain” was heard over the link and my blood momentarily froze

“Negative Survey 1. Do not enter atmosphere” I ordered “The fighters won’t be able to follow you in”

“Don’t worry Babylon Control” said nonchalantly Dr Tasaki “I’m not going far, just enough to get some samples” he said as the Shuttle descended to a lower orbit “You can’t expect us to come this far without getting some minimal-” He was cut off by an alarm on both the Shuttle and the Station scans, showing three projectiles headed directly to the Shuttle

“Doctor! Take evasive action! Get out of there!” I ordered

“Too late” said a member of his team “we got locked on”

“Hang on” said Dr Tasaki as one of the projectiles hit the rear of the Shuttle, making their control fail

“Babylon Control to fighter escort!” I called “Can you reach the Shuttle?”

“Negative Babylon Control” was the response I received from Flight Leader

“All fighters, target guns on lower atmosphere” I ordered hoping that would work “wide angle firing pattern!”

“Babylon Control, what the hell are you doing?” asked Dr Tasaki as soon as the Fighters started firing

“Incoming fire to distract the missiles, pulling them off curse” I explained “Hit your after burners, maximum burn” I ordered him “With any luck they can’t follow you outside the atmosphere”

“We won’t have enough fuel to get back” he retorted wasting time

“The Fighters will tow you back in. Now do it!” I ordered running out of patience “Before the missiles lock on again”

Luckily he stopped being an a-ss and complied with my orders then “Survey 1 to Babylon Control. We’re clear, returning to base” he said, relieve clear on his voice

“Confirmed Survey 1. Upon arrival you will report for debriefing” I said still angered by the lack of discipline they showed “And just one more thing” I continued as I started pacing “On your trip back I’d like you to take the time to learn the Babylon 5 Mantra. Ivanova is always right” I said seriously “I will listen to Ivanova. I will not ignore Ivanova’s recommendations.” I continued as Talia entered the Dome “Ivanova is God. And if this ever happens again, Ivanova will personally rip your lungs out!” I said not caring at the moment what Talia had to say. “Babylon Control out” I stopped pacing, ended the link and turned around to see the Dome staff frozen and Talia standing at my side with a slight smirk on her face. I looked around the Dome and everyone resumed their activities, Talia’s smirk widened. “Civilians” I said sighing and turning my attention to her.

“Though day?” she asked, her smirk still in place. I only grunted. “Anyway, wanted to confirm our dinner plans for tonight. There’s something I need to talk to you about” she said, the smirk being replaced by worry.

“Everything alright?” I asked her now worried myself

She nodded “Mr Garibaldi asked for a favor, and if it works, I think I can help you too”

“Me?” I asked not understanding

“He asked me to use Psi Corps’ resources to contact someone in Mars” she said barely loud enough for me to hear

“Is it possible to do that?” I asked her in turn

“It may be. No promises, but if you provide me the names of the ones you want to contact, I’ll try now and let you know what happened over dinner, if we’re still on for that”

I sighed “Yes, I think I still can make it to dinner”

“Good. So, want me to try?”

I shook my head “I don’t want to owe any favors to Psi Corps” I said flatly, hoping that Tessa and the others would be safe until our scouts got there.

She nodded “See you tonight then” she said before leaving the Dome.

As soon as Dr Tasaki boarded the station again, he and I headed to Jeff’s office for the debriefing. Dr. Tasaki stated that all scans showed the same, no life forms on the planet, but after close revision to the video feed from the Shuttle, we could hypothesize that there was an old automatic defense system and that meant that whatever was down there, it was important enough to require said defense system. Based on that and believing that it could threaten the Station’s security until we learned more about what was down there, Jeff and I agreed to go down there again, this time only him an me. My argument was due to security reasons, Jeff’s, due to a first contact potential situation. I called to Talia’s quarters and left a message for her apologizing for not being able to make it to dinner, but that I would have to go on a mission with the Commander to the planet below.

Jeff and I were able to get the shuttle to a landing grid on the planet. No life signs were detected and we noticed the atmosphere was not compatible to our own, so we took the necessary precautions before setting out to explore what was down there. We found ourselves in a series of artificial tunnels, where we could find alien corpses, obviously attacked by something. I noticed Jeff was about to step into the next aisle of the tunnels and there were more dead bodies there so in a wolf impulse I stopped him from taking another step, he eyed me curiously until I threw a few pebbles to the tunnel and immediately after they hit ground, shots were issued from both sides of the wall.

“Well, that’ll cut down on tourism” I said looking back at Jeff. He sighed and picked up more pebbles, he threw one after the fire stopped he counted to 4 and threw another one, then repeated the process but counting to 3, no shooting after 3 seconds but certainly life threatening after 4. “Three second recharge before firing” I voiced out loud

“Looks like it” he agreed “Can you cover that in 3 seconds?” he asked worriedly eyeing the aisle, that was about 8 meters or so.

“Not a problem” I told him truthfully

“Ok, stand by” he said leaning down to pick up another pebble. As soon as the firing stop we ran to the other side. I noticed Jeff was not going to make it so I tackled him using my force and speed at the time to get us both safely to the other side, as we landed on the floor a new set of firing had started.

“You okay?” he asked as we stood up when the firing stopped

“Yeah. I’m fine” I told him trying to hide my grin at his surprised face.

As we walked further down the tunnels we found ourselves walking over a bridge that hovered above and stood beneath a massive and complex system of circuits and machines.

“Holly!” said Jeff astonished by the sight. I must say, I was too. To this day it is one of the most incredible and beautiful things that technology has had to offer. “Babylon Control, do you copy?”

“Babylon Control here, we copy Commander” said Corwin over the link. As Jeff began to describe what we were seeing I wonder where was Michael, he was supposed to be on the Dome. “It has to be 10, 20 miles deep”

“Commander! You ok?” Asked Garibaldi, presumably when he entered CnC

“We’re fine” said dismissively Jeff and I chuckled at that “Michael, you wouldn’t believe it. Incredible. A whole new era of technology” he continued excitedly “machines as big as buildings, all around us” An alarm was heard over the link at the same time that the bridge beneath our feet, along with the whole planet, began to shake

“Commander you have to get out of there!” said frantically Michael “You hear me? Clear out!”

Our path to the shuttle was blocked by debris caused by the quake, rocks that we barely missed by the way, I had to use my wolf again to keep us both alive in that situation.

“Commander, you alright?” I asked to make sure

“Yeah, thanks though” he said surprised again. If that kept up, I knew I would have to come clean with him, or at least think of a plausible reason to explain to him my strength and speed. “We’re gonna have to find another way out of here” he said as I turned around and glimpsed a hologram projection of an alien, who turned his head glancing to a different direction.

“What the hell?” the words slipped from my mouth before I had a chance to register I had asked that out loud.

“Help me” said the alien “Save me” then it faded away

“You saw it too?” I asked Jeff now worried about my mental health. A crazy and schizophrenic wolf is never good for a pack, and when that wolf happens to be the Alpha, it’s much worse.

“Yeah, and on the station” said Jeff. I sighed relieved a little by that fact and followed Jeff through the tunnel to which the projection had been staring at.

We found the alien connected to a machine that apparently was connected itself to the core of the planet. “Help me or your people, all your people will die” stated the alien barely above a whisper “You must help me” he concluded at the moment another quake started

“Help me get him out of this” ordered Jeff

“Commander” I told him complying with the order and starting to disconnect the alien from the machine “We don’t have a lot of time, we’re off the way we came in, we don’t know if we can find another way back to the ship before we run out of air” I told him enumerating the odds against us

“We can’t just leave him like this” he countered heatedly

“I know” I told him “It’s a Russian thing. When we’re about to do something stupid, we like to catalogue the full extension of our stupidity for future reference” I said smiling to him as we managed to complete disconnect the alien from the machine. It took us a few minutes but luckily we found our way back to the shuttle, however the seismic activity had exponentially increased in those minutes.

“Shuttle 1 to Babylon Control, do you read?” asked Jeff over the link as we boarded the Shuttle and while he started up the engines I buckled our guest to his seat

“Yeah, yeah, we’re getting you. What’s your situation?” came Garibaldi’s response

“We’re coming out, tell the fighters to initiate air cover now” said Jeff taking control of the shuttle while I medically tended to the alien on board as best as I could “and have a full medical team standing by when we arrive”

“Confirmed, initiating air cover”

As we exited the atmosphere, luckily in one piece, the Earthaliane heavy cruiser Hyperion came through the jump gate, her Captain stated that he came with orders to take control over the station.

The alien was treated by Stephen as soon as we boarded B5 and while Jeff stayed in Medlab to speak with Dr. Franklin, I returned to my post on CnC in time to be informed that Captain Pierce, Hyperion’s captain, was coming on board that moment and expected to meet with Jeff in his briefing room.

In theory Captain Pierce was sent by Earth Dome to call dibs on whatever we had discovered on Epsilon 3 and to protect Babylon 5 when other races were told to ‘sod off’ when they tried to acquire the technology, considering that we were in neutral space. While Captain Pierce and Commander Sinclair were discussing the details in Jeff’s office, a fighter left the Hyperion headed to the planet’s surface, the readings coming from the planet had went now off the scale and the fighter did not make it down, even with air cover.

I contacted the Commander over the link in order to informed him about this new development. “Something’s happening on Epsilon 3 Commander. You better take a look” A few minutes later Jeff came to CnC while I was at station 1 reviewing the newest data, so we walked together to my console. “A flight of ships departed from the Hyperion a little while ago headed down to Epsilon 3” I explained him

“Did they get through?” Asked Jeff, and I felt he was dreading the answer.

“Negative” I informed him “Bring up tactical display” I ordered the computer “They’re encountering heavy fire from the surface” I showed him as the data was displayed “Four of the Hyperion ships have been disabled in the last 5 minutes”

“They’re encountering attack heavier than when we went down” concluded Jeff

“I noticed the same thing. Definite escalation”

“They’re pulling back” noted Jeff

“Commander, Captain Pierce on the link for you” informed us Lt JG Corwin

“Put him through… Captain Pierce, what’s the idea of dispatching a team down to the planet surface without checking with me first?” asked Jeff clearly upset

“Unnecessary” stated nonchalantly Pierce “We have your log, your flight pattern-”

“But it didn’t work, did it?” Asked Jeff interrupting Captain Pierce “Because you can’t get to the planet surface without a properly encoded jamming device” added Jeff taking me by surprise, we had not used such a device, but I was able to school my features and not let such feeling show on my features.

“What?” asked Pierce as surprised as I was “Why wasn’t I informed?”

“You didn’t ask” said Jeff as nonchalantly as had being Pierce a few seconds ago

“Commander, I demand you turn over this jamming device at once”

“It’s being repaired” stated Jeff “but I’ll see what I can do. Babylon Control out” he concluded cutting the link

“Commander, we didn’t use a jamming device” I said “we don’t even have a jamming device” I added as an after thought

“I know” he smirked “But he doesn’t know that, with luck it will discourage him from sending more ships down there until we finish working this out” he said as an alarm went wild on the Dome “What’s that?”

“That’s the thing I wanted to tell you” I told him looking at the readings from the planet “We’re picking an increase of seismic activity inside Epsilon 3” I informed him “It doubled its increasing rate about the same time the Hyperion ships began their approach” I continued, stepping aside to let him look at the readings for himself “But they’re not natural quakes. It’s a massive artificial disruption located near the planet’s core”

“How serious?”

“Serious and growing in magnitude” I sighed “According to our projections if this keeps on, the planet will start to break apart from the inside until it explodes” I paused to gather my thoughts and feelings about this mess “Commander,  if that planet goes, it will take us with it. The Hyperion can get out of the way, we can’t. We’ll be ripped apart.” With those words, Jeff paled and called for an emergency session in his office with Garibaldi and myself

It took Garibaldi two hours to get there and I couldn’t help but ask if that was his concept of emergency, because if so, we probably would be in a lot more troubles than I had originally expected if the planet blew up. Of course, I had used that time to gather as much data as possible regarding the planet.

“Data from our latest scan confirm our suspicions” I told them taking off my jacket. I was beyond tired and worried about the well being of everyone on board the station “Epsilon 3 is a labyrinth of passages, and a highly advanced fusion reactor, some of which are 5 to 10 miles across” I sighed and sat across Jeff “The scale of it out standing. There’s power up there to a level we’ve never dreamed of, for the past 5 hours we’ve been monitoring the gradual but definite change in all of the fusion reactors, they’re all moving to its critical mass.”

“A doomsday machine” simply said Garibaldi

“Exactly” I agreed “I’d say we have at most 48 hours before they blow up, taking the planet and us with it”

“How long would it take to evacuate the station?” asked Jeff

“We’re talking about a quarter million humans and aliens” said Garibaldi stating the obvious problem there “even if we called every ship in the sector, it’d take at least 3 to 5 days”

“Have you informed Captain Pierce?” asked me Jeff sighing

I nodded “He insists it’s one more reason why his people have to go down there”

“You opinion?” asked me Jeff in an almost defeated tone

“Not a chance” I told him seriously “This chain reaction started the last time they tried to land down there” I said explaining my reasoning “Now my guess is the planet is booby trapped to keep it from falling into the wrong hands. If they go down there again, we may not have 48hrs”

“So why didn’t it start when the two of you went down there?” Asked Garibaldi

“Better guess… because there was someone down there still running the show” said Jeff voicing my thoughts too.

“The guy you brought back?” asked Garibaldi incuriously

“Exactly. As long as he remains unconscious they system keeps running on automatic” I said “heading towards self destruct, without anyone to stop it”

“Alright” said Jeff, clearly having reached a conclusion and decided on a course of action “We’ll give it another 12 hours, see if we can find a way around this thing. If not, we’ll evacuate the station, try to get as many as we can away from here”

“It’ll be a panic, stampede at the docking bays” said Mr Garibaldi

“I know” stated Jeff “We’ll hold back making an announcement as long as possible, but you better go ahead and tell your own people” he ordered us, clearly referring to B5’s staff, however I would inform Maher to make sure he got the pack away safely “This could get messy. Get something to eat and catch an hour or so of sleep. We got a long road ahead of us”

Garibaldi promptly left and I stood hovering at Jeff’s desk “So if we go down there it blows” I started grabbing my jacket “if we don’t, it blows anyway, just a little later” I said donning on my jacket “It’s a good thing I’m Russian, we’re used to hopeless situations” I said in an attempt to joke. Jeff gave me a sad smile, clearly understanding my actions. I returned the smile and left his office, a few minutes later, while walking through Blue Sector trying to get to Zocalo to grab breakfast and to speak with Maher, I bumped into Ambassador Mollari.

“Ah, Lt Commander, just the person I’ve been looking for”

“Ambassador, this is not a good time” I warned him, I really was not in the mood to deal with his antics at the moment

“No, I imagine no” he half conceded “You been holding off on me” he added smugly

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” I told him truthfully “The situation is status quo” I added a second later, trying to cover all bases there

“Oh, of course. An Earth war cruiser parked outside the station mysteriously trips to the planet beneath us” he said clearly fishing for information “Rumor’s that you have found someone down there and brought him back here. This to you is status quo, yes? You must lead a very interesting life”

“Ambassador!” I snapped

“You did find something down there, didn’t you?” He continued “Something valuable perhaps? I wish to remind you that my government has contributed substantial amounts of money into the station, we are entitled to an equal share of anything you find down there” he added, unknowingly making Captain Pierce right about what the alien races would do

“Ambassador, do you really want to know what’s going on down there right now?” I asked glaring at him

“Yes, absolutely”

I leaned on him as to whisper a secret, for which he leaned forward too. “Boom, boom. Boom, boom” I said loudly in his ear “Have a nice day” I told him before walking away from the confused centauri.

While I was having breakfast, Maher informed me of the chat Talia mentioned having with Mr Garibaldi, and it worried me what he learned about this secret Psi Corps facility in Syria Planum that both Talia and Michael seemed to know about. I asked him to make sure to send word to our people on Mars about it and try to gather information about it, as well as keeping an eye out to avoid being caught by the telepaths there. After that, I informed him that we might have to evacuate the station within a day from that moment, that the commander could issue the evacuation order any moment now, and if that happened he had to make sure that the pack left the station safe and sound, and he would have to take Talia with them, make sure she survived.

“We won’t leave you Susan” he said stubbornly

“I’m ordering you to do so” I told him seriously, smelling Talia’s scent approaching us “I’m serious. Keep her safe, keep everyone safe” I ordered him before turning to face Talia.

After a few pleasantries, Talia agreed to walk with me for a while “Want some company while you dose off?” asked me Talia when we reached my quarters. I looked up and before I could say anything she had me in a fierce hug “I won’t pry, promise” she assured me “Just want to make sure you’re ok. I’m worried about you” she added softly.

I nodded and led us to my bed chambers where I dropped off my jacket before laying down. I locked my eyes on Talia, studying her features, making sure I had all of them committed to memory. I could spend all day looking into those soulful blue eyes, eyes that looked upon me with such care and tenderness that it was frightening.

“I should ask you to leave” I finally told her in a low whisper

“I’m sorry, what?” she asked clearly surprised by my words “I don’t understand. Is this about Mars and that cruiser stationed outside the station?” she asked me, which made me close my eyes and remind myself that rumors spread fast around this place.

“Not about Mars” I told her sighing before turning to lay on my side and face her. I patted the empty space on my bed, inviting her to join me, hoping that she would do so. I was relieved the moment she sat down next to me, and I made sure to shift our positions in order for me to lay my head on her lap, taking a deep breath in to fill my lungs with her scent. “Might as well get some rest before you have to leave” I sighed draping an arm around her legs.

“I don’t have to leave, I told you I have the day off” she said stubbornly

“In a few hours Maher might come and get you.” I yawned, trying to stay awake a little longer, if only to enjoy this moment that I was sure then, would be the most intimate I would get with Talia, whether we survived that crisis or not. “You have to go with him if he does come”

“Why? Where?” she asked concerned.

‘Because I can’t stand the thought of you being hurt or worse, dead’ I thought before I could stop myself, I could only hope that she did not pick up on that stray thought “Because I want you to be safe, so away” I told her, closing my eyes and basking in the feeling of being so close to the woman I loved.  

I ended up snuggling against her on my bed for a few hours, enjoying her company and her scent and just her in general. A couple of hours later my link chirped and I was asked to report to CnC, and was also informed that Dr. Franklin had sent word of our alien friend from Epsilon 3. I was afraid of leaving her to comply with my duties as an Earthforce officer, and therefore being unable to keep her safe, but I was not about to turn my back on Jeff and everyone else on the station. I would certainly do everything within my power to prevent Epsilon 3 from taking us down, but being realistic, it was a fat chance we had of actually stopping what was happening down there.

“Talia?” I called her before leaving my quarters. “I need you to remember what happened with Mueller” I said when her eyes met mine

“What do you mean?” she asked confused “Did he survive? Is that why you’re worried?”

“No, he’s dead” I said shaking my head “Just remember, it never is for nothing” I begged her

“What’s really going on Susan?” she asked barely above a whisper

I sighed again “Boom” was what I told her before I headed to the Observation Dome.

As soon as I sorted things out on CnC, I called for the Commander and asked him to join me there, a little less than an hour after I sent him this message, he was back on the Dome with me.

“I got your message, what’s up?” he asked me the moment he saw me, both of us walking over to my console

“Dr Franklin’s reporting that the patient’s awake and confirmed our information” I told him “If any ships land on the planet, it will self destruct”

“Did you tell the Hyperion?”

I sighed, I had done so and Captain Pierce gave me hell about that “Yes, unfortunately they figured out there’s no jamming device” I said, ready to open the link with Captain Pierce I had previously prepared

“How can you tell?”

“Because they’re about to launch an expedition the planet surface” I told him gesturing outside

“What!” Snapped Jeff looking at the fighters from the Hyperion “Get Pierce on the line!”

“Already done” I told him as I opened the link

“Captain, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” Asked Jeff losing his temper “That planet will blow up if your team goes down there! We’ve just received confirmation”

“From a source with every reason to lie to protect what’s down there” countered stubbornly Pierce “Our people have been monitoring the same activity you have and they assure us that we can safely land on the planet as long as normal precautions are taken” To which I thought that his people were a bunch of incompetent officers

“Damn it Captain! I have a quarter million people here!” Argued Jeff “I’m not gonna let you jeopardize their lives!”

“Commander! It is not your decision. We’re going. What you gonna do? Shoot us down” Asked mockingly Pierce

“If that’s what’s required to protect the station, yes!” said firmly Jeff

“Excuse me?” Asked Pierce, apparently not believing Jeff’s words

“Lt Commander, put Delta and Zeta flight on alert” Ordered me Jeff, ignoring Pierce “stand by for immediate launch”

“Orders?” I asked already giving the flights through the console, the orders to stand on alert

“Planetary blockade” stated the Commander

“Commander! If you order your ships to fire on my fighters, you can kiss your career goodbye” threatened Captain Pierce

“If you go down there, I will anyway” said simply Jeff

“You’re bluffing” said Pierce

“Lt Commander, open fighter bay doors” continued Jeff

“Fighter doors, aye!” I said complying with his order

“Stand by for launch.” He ordered me before turning his attention back to Captain Pierce “It’s up to you Captain. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve nothing to lose” as soon as he said that, Captain Pierce ended the link “Status?”

“They’re canceling launch” informed an Ensign

“Tell the fighters to stand down, but keep them ready in case we need them after all”

“We’ve got a ship coming through the jump gate” intervened Lt JG Corwin

As soon as the ship in question was out from hyperspace, it launched a beacon toward B5 and the Hyperion. “We’re being scanned” I informed the Commander looking at my console “They’re accessing our language and translation files”

“Everyone alright?” Asked Jeff as soon as the scan seemed to be over

“I think so” I told him, after the chorus of ‘yes sir’ “We’ve got a signal coming through” I said as I opened the link to said signal

“This is Takard… we… have… your… language…files…” Stated the alien that appeared to be in charge of the ship that had just scanned us “take it… to learn… to speak. We have... been 500 years searching… for this place. We… received it’s call signal”

“Must be talking of the beacon that went off” I reminded Jeff

“This world belongs to us… We are last of our people… Searched 500 years… we will take!” continued the alien “Give you… 10 of your hours to move aside…We do not wish to kill… but we will if you not… let us take what is ours” and with that he cut the link

“Open channel to the-” started Jeff, but was cut off by Pierce over the link, broadcasting to us and the alien ship

“This is the Earth Alliance Cruiser Hyperion to intruder. This sector is under Earth jurisdiction. Any attempt to seize this planet by force or to launch an attack, will be met with deadly force. You have 9 hours in which to withdraw” he ended cutting the link

“Worst case of testosterone I’ve ever seen” I said as another set of alien ships came through the gate.

For some unknown reason to me, the day to day traffic coming to and from the station, had not diminished in the least, so I had to deal with the traffic and the crisis at the same time; and was taken aback by the fact that Jeff had not given the order to evacuate the station yet.

“We have another ship asking for leave” informed me Corwin

“Get them for launch ASAP” I ordered him “The more we get out now, the fewer we’ll have to evacuate later”

“Garibaldi to CnC” came Garibaldi’s voice over the link “Somebody just grabbed the patient you brought back from the planet. It’s like he created a diversion in Blue 7” he said as Jeff walked over to stand at my side “By the time my guards got back, he was gone”

“He’s not fit for travel” whispered Jeff “Hold off all traveling ships”

“It’s too late” I told him “Several transports have already left and one’s about to get to the gate in… wait a minute” I said looking at the reading in my console “where the hell did it go?”

“Signal coming from the enemy flag ship” stated Corwin opening the link

“You have ignored our warnings. You sent ships to our world. No more lies! Now we take what is ours and we stop your people!” said the alien leader

“He’s right” I informed Jeff upon finding the ship that had not headed to the gate “the transport’s heading down to the planet”

As the transport approached the planet, the alien ships started firing upon not only them, but the station and the Hyperion too. Captain Pierce returned fire first and by doing so pressured Jeff to give the order to launch the fighters and fire back too.

“My God! Whoever is in that shuttle is a mad man!” I said impressed by the maneuvers and ability displayed by the shuttle’s pilot during his approach to the planet. The surface defenses were not activated by the shuttle and I had then an inkling to at least one of the people on board it. Mr Garibaldi, stubborn as he was, decided to take off after the shuttle with the pretense to bring it back, but ended up helping the perpetrators. Meanwhile the fight on orbit was still going on. After a few minutes of this, we had received considerable damage on the Cobra Bays, and as the alien ships prepared to fire again, an energy surge from the planet drained all of our systems from power, a second later an image projection of Dral, Delenn’s friend, appeared in front of us.

“I am sending this message to all three parties involved in the struggle for control of this planet. It belongs to none of you. It belongs only to itself and to the future” he said vehemently “Commander Sinclair, the secrets buried here must remain a secret, it would give any race an advantage over all others, and it’s in the interest of all races that none should get exclusive control of it. We entrust the safe keeping of this place to the Babylon 5 Advisory Council, we rely upon your guidance Commander. Make sure that this world is left alone until the time is right” continued Dral in a serious tone, leaving no room for arguing “If in light of self interest should be insufficient for the cause, understand this: the defense system of this planet is now fully operational, do not attempt to come here again. Any approach will be met up with resistance. Any ship attempting to land, will be destroyed. When the time is right, it will be here, waiting for you, but not until then. Good bye” he concluded as his image faded away and the energy was restored to our systems.

“Somebody better get Pierce on the link” ordered Jeff

“Commander, the enemy ships are moving again” informed us Lt JG Corwin “It’s heading toward the planet”

“What? Didn’t they get the message?” I asked confused by their action

“They got it” assured me Jeff “But I don’t think they believed it”

The alien ships were destroyed within seconds of that. Mr Garibaldi came back with Londo and Delenn, who were the people responsible of taking the alien from Medlab and bringing Dral to the planet to take his place. A few hours later, Captain Pierce informed us that he received confirmation from President Santiago, confirming that Jeff had complete jurisdiction over Babylon 5 and this sector.

After that crisis was dealt with, I was able to comply with a request that Jeff had made and we managed to get a com channel to Mars for Mr Garibaldi. The person he was trying to contact, according to Jeff, was apparently the love of his life, and it turned out that she was injured but alive, however, she was married then. I informed Jeff about this before he passed on the link to Michael.

That night, when my shift finally came to an end and all the reports were filed, I headed to Talia’s quarters and for the first time since we had met, I was the one who trapped her in a bone crushing hug; I did so with the sole purpose of reminding me that she was safe and the station had not blown up.

“Susan, are you alright?” she asked concerned and a little short of air, but returning the hug herself

I chuckled lightly and loosened the grip I had on her “Terrific” I told her taking a deep breath to fill my lungs with her pleasant scent “I’m fine. I just need to sleep for more than a couple hours, just wanted to make sure you were fine before I retired to my quarters” I said putting an end to the hug

“Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked me frowning

I smiled at her and shook my head “No particular reason.” I surprised us both by placing a kiss on her cheek then. “Good night Talia” I then headed to my quarters and as I laid sprawled on my bed, I decided that as soon as I had rested from this ‘near boom’ experience, I would ask her out on a date myself, an official date.

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 22

Healer

“I’ve often wondered what it is like being a telepath” mused Mr Williams, a client whom I was currently walking with toward a turbolift heading to the meeting we had scheduled.

“It’s like staying in a hotel room where you just can hear the people talking next door” I explained “You can try to shut it out, but it’s always there” I said as we reached the lift, waiting for it “The key is not to eavesdrop unless you’re invited”

“So is it difficult to block out other people’s thoughts?”

“Depends on the thoughts” I said as the door to the lift opened, Mr Garibaldi already in it, apparently still trying to gain my attention.

“Destination” asked the computer

“Blue 14” I ordered as the door closed “Casual thoughts are very easy to block,” I continued ignoring Garibaldi’s presence “but strong emotions have a way to slip through, whether you want them to or not” which is why I couldn’t help but pick up at Susan’s almost all of the time. And also, as if the Universe wanted me to prove something, I got hit by Mr Garibaldi’s lustful thoughts, so I ended elbowing him hard as we reached our destination in Blue 14. “I won’t tell her this time, but if this happens again Mr Garibaldi, Susan will certainly be less lenient than me” I told him leaving the lift followed by an amused Mr Williams

“So you couldn’t block his thoughts, I assume” he said amused

“It is annoying at best” I told him

“And who’s Susan?” he asked “His girlfriend?”

I shook my head “Not his” I told him smirking at the memory of the way she hugged and kissed me the previous night.

“Oh, yours then?”

“Not exactly, not yet anyway” I informed him as we reached Ms Sakai, the person we were to meet.

Ms Sakai was offered to exploit the resources of a potentially hostile planet for the company that Mr Williams represented, the only conditions were that she committed not to tell Commander Sinclair about her mission, to which she agreed; and that she needed to obtain the approval of one of the parties that contested for that part of space, which is when Ambassador G’Kar approached us. Seeing as I was already done with what I was hired for, I retired for the evening to my quarters.

Once I arrived there I received a message from Commander Sinclair requesting my presence at his office as soon as possible. I was not expecting to see Susan there, or the other two people who were there, Mr Bester and Ms Kelsey, P12 telepaths that were Psi Cops, the police for the Psi Corps. We were informed that there was a rogue telepath on board the station and that I was requested to assist them in any way they deem necessary.

“He is very unstable” said Bester providing the file of the rogue to the Commander “His name is Jason Ironheart” and then I understood why they wanted me there, so I sighed “I believe you know him Ms Winters”

“Yes, he was my instructor at the Psi Corps training Academy” I stated and informed the Commander but did so looking at Susan

“His job was to work with telepaths P5 through P10.” Explained Ms Kelsey “High level training. Jamming, long-range scanning, that sort of thing”

“What’s his Psi rating?” asked the Commander

“He’s a P10” stated Bester “All instructors at the Academy are rated at least P10”

“And Psi Cops?” asked Susan “What are you rated?”

“P12” answered Ms Kelsey “Someone has to keep an eye on the rest”

“Yes, but who watches the watcher?” Asked Susan angered

“One year ago, Jason Ironheart was reassigned to Earth Force Military Intelligence” said dismissively Ms Kelsey “working on a covert operation”

“What kind of covert operation?” Asked interested Commander Sinclair

“That information is on a need to know basis Commander” said smugly Bester “And you don’t need to know. Let’s just say that what’s on his brain would compromise Earth Force Defence and lead to the death of many of our covert operatives on other worlds”

“We think he intends to sell that information to other governments” stated Ms Kelsey

“That’s nonsense” I told them offended “Jason would never do anything like that”

“Our job is to find him and bringing him alive, if possible” said Bester coldly “Dead, if necessary”

“Have you had any kind of contact with Jason Ironheart since you left the Academy?” asked me mockingly Ms Kelsey

“Just letters” I answered honestly “The last one was a few months before I got assigned to Babylon 5”

“You understand we have to scan you to be sure” stated Bester

“Is that necessary?” I asked pained “I’m telling you the truth”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not” stated Kelsey

“Look, if she doesn’t want to be scanned-” started Susan

“She’s required to submit” Said Bester interrupting her “If she’s seen him, or heard from him, his mental fingerprints will be in her thoughts”

“The process is not pleasant” declared Kelsey “You may stay, or leave. As you chose”

I watched Susan exchange a look with the Commander as Bester offered me his hand to help me stand, I hesitantly took it and let him lead me to the center of the office where he started the scan with the help of Kesley.

I tried to keep them away from my thoughts involving Susan, but the harder I tried, the stronger they pushed causing me pain, I vaguely heard Susan’s voice getting angry and I got worried for her, I didn’t want her confronting the Psi Cops. Suddenly, as one of them was about to get into my memory of our date, the night we were attacked, something inside of me snapped and I found myself freed from the scan; however I was exhausted and had a terrible headache so with trembling legs I approached the Commander’s desk and gripped tightly at the edge to catch my balance. Susan handed me a glass with water and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Are you all right?” she asked worriedly, I just managed to nod slightly before Bester intervened

“She’s telling the truth” he said smugly “She hasn’t seen him”

“Surprising given your… involvement” stated Kelsey amused, causing Susan to flinch and remove her hand walking behind the desk once again “If Ironheart has not shown yet, he will. We must be informed at once” she ordered “Do not attempt any contact with him, especially you Ms Winters” she said approaching to me, I noticed Susan stiffen at the threat posed to me “Do not approach him, do not speak to him. Is that clear?”

“Yes” I answered weakly

“You can leave now” said Bester dismissing me with those words. I glanced briefly up to Susan before she nodded once almost imperceptibly letting me know she would be fine. I nodded too and smiled softly to her before heading out.

I was walking down through Blue Sector trying to reach my quarters when after turning a corner I felt a probe on my mind, I immediately identified the culprit and I froze in place.

“Hello Talia” said Jason “I’ve been looking for you” I unfroze and walked away, knowing I couldn’t stand against Bester “Talia! Talia!” he called for me while catching up to me “Wait please” I stopped, but did not look back at him

“I can’t see you” I told him “The Psi Cops are here”

“I know” he simply said as he walked to stand at my side “Listen Talia”

“What did you do?” I asked him hurt “Why are they after you? Do you know what they did to me?”

“Yes, yes I do” he said “That’s why I waited until after they scanned you to make contact” he explained “But it’s ok. We’ll be safe, for a while at least. I have to talk to you. I need a place” he urged me “A place where I can wait, just for a little while”

“Why? What’s going on Jason?”

“All I can say now is that I can’t let them find me” he said seriously “If they do, then I’ll have to kill them, or they’ll have to kill me” I paled at his words “But it’s not just us Talia. There are thousands, millions of lives at stake.” He said looking me in the eye “Including your Lt. Commander” he added softly, I looked worried at him “Just give me 5 minutes to explain, that’s all I need, then if you want me to leave, I will… Please”

I nodded and lead him to my quarters, where he launched into his explanation.

“A year ago I volunteered for a Psi Corps experiment. It was an attempt to make telepaths even stronger, turning a P5 into a P10 and a P10 into…” he hesitated before carrying on “Into God knows what”

“Why?”

“Because in this business, whoever has the strongest telepath wins” he said standing up to be at eyelevel with me “The military wants to scan the enemy. The enemy wants a telepath strong enough to block the scan and we want someone who can cut through the block” he explained “They said it was necessary to help protect the Earth” he continued as he walked past me toward the counter “Anyway, the experiments went on for months. Genetic manipulation, mutated  strains of serotonin and other toxins to increase neural processing… Five, Ten, sometimes Fifteen injections a day, the pain was… Then one day I woke up and I could see everything. It was as if my mind had been just a seed for all those years and then suddenly it blossomed” he said amazed by his own words “I could cut through any block without even trying. All I had to do was to look at them to see what was inside” I looked dubiously at him “Like right now Talia, I know everything you are, everything you remember I know it. And what you are feeling for everyone around here too”

“Jason… I-”

“It’s okay Talia. You don’t need to explain. I knew you had found someone; and what we had ended way before you were assigned to this place” he said placing a hand on my shoulder giving it a soft squeeze. “But you need to know everything” he said softly, and I nodded mutely “When I was able to cut through any block, that’s when I discovered the truth” he said walking around “Talia, do you remember the tk test you took just before you graduated the Academy?” he asked me out of the blue

“Of course” I told him “I used an old penny I’ve had since I was a girl, before the Corps took me in” I said fondly “I tried for days to move it with my thoughts. I couldn’t do it”

“That’s because only one in every 1000 humans has telepathic abilities; and only one in every 10000 telepaths has telekinetic abilities and half of them are clinically insane!” I nodded in agreement, that’s why they did the tests, to be able to help control our abilities “You see! That was the real purpose of the experiment” he snapped “To create a stable telekinetic and it worked! It worked Talia!” he said excitedly “That is why I cannot go back, even if it means letting them kill me”

“You mean to tell me that they turned you into a teek?”

He nodded “I thought they wanted telekinetics for big jobs. Heavy construction in cero gravity or defense” he explained “I mean, imagine a telekinetic shield as a defense against beam weapons for diplomats or presidents. But they didn’t want big! No, they wanted mental control over small objects, the smaller the better” he said rounding me

“Jason, that just doesn’t make any sense”

“No?” he asked angered “Think about it. You want assassinate someone, so you bring in a telekinetic. He reaches into the person’s throat and gently, quietly, with a thought, he pinches the carotid artery shut” he said mimicking with his fingers the motions “The blood stops, the brain starves, the target dies and then you just let go… Murder without a trace” he continued freeing his imaginary target “No fingerprints, no poisons”

“Oh God!” I said astonished

“But they didn’t understand Talia!” he continued “The Power… how far it-” he stumbled down reaching for his head

“Jason! What is it?” I asked reaching for him

“Get out, please. Quickly, I can’t control this” he said as the station began to shake “Get out!” I walked away and behind me, a telekinetic shield raised

As I was walking in Red Sector I overheard the Commander stating that Jason’s shield was covering 16 levels. I stayed hidden from sight, worried that Bester and Kelsey would know if I approached the Commander before I reached Jason again. I had to help him, so with that in mind, I set off to find a way to talk to him and get him out of this situation.

I found myself in front of his shield, just outside the turbolift in a deserted corridor. I tried touching it but was shocked by it’s force.

“Jason?” I asked aloud “If you can hear me, this won’t work. I need to talk to you Jason, please” As I pleaded to him, the shield dissolved; and as I walked past it, it formed up again. I kept walking through the fallen debris in that Sector. “Jason?” I rushed to him and held his hands in mine when I spotted him

“I thought that seeing you, being with you again would be enough to help me hold it together, to shut out the voices” he said sighing “Just rest, for a little while before the end. Before… I shouldn’t have come” he said sadly “I put you at risk, everyone. I never meant… I never wanted”

“I know, I know” I told him softly

“We all thought that Psi Corps was controlled by the government” he continued “but that’s changing. The Corps is starting to pull the strings behind the scene, they’re more powerful than you can begin to imagine. Telepaths may be the ultimate blackmailers Talia” he said looking me in the eye “I’ve seen it all and I see it all”

“Jason” I whispered

“There is no more Jason” he snapped at me “I am something else. I am becoming”

“Becoming what?” I asked worried

“Everything” he answered in a whisper leaning into me, tears were rolling down our eyes in that moment. Jason pressed his forehead against mine quietly sobbing

“How can I help you?” I asked sobbing too

“I don’t think…” he started but stopped himself

“What?”

“Your Susan” he said closing his eyes but keeping his forehead pressed to mine “she can help me, can you ask her to come. I’m willing to talk to her” he said

“I don’t think she’ll trust you” I told him seriously

“I know” he said “That’s why she’s my only option at the moment… Please” he said as another mind quake began

Things did not go smoothly with Susan then, but I was half expecting it. I managed to talk her into talking to and helping Jason, but it cost me greatly. We managed to get Jason to a transport ship. Susan and I both walked to the Dome where we learned that Jason was not doing anything, he was just sitting there, facing B5.

“Picking up energy surge” stated one tech

“How big?” asked the Commander

“Off the scale” was the response he received but I was no longer paying attention because Jason’s ship blew up in a blast of light, making us all cover our eyes. When I was able to look out again, I watched pure energy in the form of Jason.

“Jason?” I asked mesmerized, taking a few steps forward

“Talia” I heard Jason’s voice respond, but it was everywhere, not just outside or coming through the communication lines “I have become” he stated gesturing to himself “In memory of love, I give you a gift” he said as a beam of light came through the panel and hit me in the head. I fell unconscious after a brief moment. Next thing I know I was in Medlab, Susan on the biobed next to mine, unconscious at the moment.

“What happened?” I asked as Dr Franklin approached me.

“Your friend has left” he said scanning me “He hit you and Ivanova with a beam of energy that knocked you both out, but nothing appears to be wrong with either of you” He said placing down his equipment “I’m discharging you, but you’re free to stay until she wakes if you wish to”

I sighed “Thanks, but I’d rather get some rest” I said offering him a small smile as I left for my quarters.

I couldn’t sleep, something had been nagging me since I woke in Medlab. A voice in my mind told me to take out the old penny and try once again. I placed it on the counter and sat there, staring intently at it, not quite sure what to do. ‘We’re not weaklings. Try!’ prompted me the voice in my mind. After a couple of hours I relented and tried to move it, a few seconds later it moved several inches away.

Chapter 23: Chapter 23

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 23

Healer

The very next morning after Dral took control of Epsilon 3, I was at the Commander’s office at his request to assist to a meeting that would be held between him, the two Psi Cops that had come on board, and Talia.

“He is very unstable” said the male Psi Cop, who had introduced himself as Bester, providing the file of a rogue telepath to the Commander “His name is Jason Ironheart. I believe you know him Ms Winters”

“Yes, he was my instructor at the Psi Corps training Academy” she answered looking at me

“His job was to work with telepaths P5 through P10.” Explained the female “High level training. Jamming, long-range scanning, that sort of thing”

“What’s his Psi rating?” asked the Commander

“He’s a P10” stated the male “All instructors at the Academy are rated at least P10”

“And Psi Cops?” I asked upset by their mere presence “What are you rated?”

“P12” answered the female “Someone has to keep an eye on the rest”

“Yes, but who watches the watcher?” I asked annoyed

“One year ago, Jason Ironheart was reassigned to Earth Force Military Intelligence” said dismissively Ms Kelsey “working on a covert operation”

“What kind of covert operation?” Asked Jeff interested

“That information is on a need to know basis Commander” said smugly Bester “And you don’t need to know. Let’s just say that what’s on his brain would compromise Earth Force Defense and lead to the death of many of our covert operatives on other worlds”

“We think he intends to sell that information to other governments” stated Ms Kelsey

“That’s nonsense” intervened Talia clearly offended by the accusation “Jason would never do anything like that”

“Our job is to find him and bring him alive, if possible” said Bester coldly “Dead, if necessary”

“Have you had any kind of contact with Jason Ironheart since you left the Academy?” asked Kelsey to Talia

“Just letters” she said flatly “The last one was a few months before I got assigned to Babylon 5”

“You understand we have to scan you to be sure” stated Bester

“Is that necessary?” she asked frowning “I’m telling you the truth”

“Perhaps. Perhaps not” stated Kelsey

“Look, if she doesn’t want to be scanned-” I said approaching them

“She’s required to submit” Said Bester cutting me off “If she’s seen him, or heard from him, his mental fingerprints will be in her thoughts”

“The process is not pleasant” declared Kelsey “You may stay, or leave. As you chose” she said mockingly as I exchanged a worried look with Jeff while Talia stood in the middle of these two telepaths.

They began their scan on her and I felt worried and helpless watching her wince in pain.

“That’s enough!” I yelled and was ready to launch at them, but Jeff put his hand on my shoulder, silently asking me to stay put. Seeing Talia in evident pain made me restless and agitated, I looked pleadingly at Jeff asking him to let me do something, knowing that if he didn’t do anything about it then, my wolf would take control over me and rip off the Psi Cops throats.

“She said that’s enough” stated Jeff angered himself. Half a minute later, which felt like an eternity to me, they retired from her mind and Talia looked exhausted and still in pain. She approached Jeff’s desk and gripped the edge for support. I walked around to her and offering her a glass of water I placed my hand on her shoulder.

“Are you all right?” I asked worried, she nodded slightly

“She’s telling the truth” said Bester smugly “She hasn’t seen him”

“Surprising given your… involvement” stated Kelsey amused. I flinched at the implication of that and walked away from Talia, standing once again behind Jeff’s desk. “If Ironheart has not shown yet, he will. We must be informed at once” she ordered “Do not attempt any contact with him, especially you Ms Winters” she said approaching Talia in a threatening way, which angered me to no end, no one threatened my mate. The realization of the fact that I had just acknowledged Talia as my mate and all its implications, hit me so hard that I did nothing but stand there. “Do not approach him, do not speak to him. Is that clear?”

“Yes” answered Talia weakly

“You can leave now” said Bester dismissing her. She glanced at me waiting for something, after a moment she smiled to me and left Jeff’s office.

“What level of physical threat does he represent?” I asked looking to the door frame Talia had just walked through, worried that if this man tried to approach her and she refused to help him due to her loyalty to the Corps, she might be in danger.

“Oh, so it’s not unrequited... Interesting” said Bester mockingly. I looked up and glared at him knowing he had just scanned me “You do know that if this between you two… evolves, you’ll have to submit to Psi Corps scans and regulations right?”

“What!” I asked angered “Are you threatening me?”

“Oh no, just pointing out facts” he said smirking

“Lt Commander Ivanova made you a question and I for one would like the answer to that. What level of physical threat does Ironheart represent?” said Jeff standing between Bester and myself trying to get us back on topic.

“That’s something else you don’t need to know” intervened Kelsey “Just find him, we’ll do the rest”

A few hours later, after the incident with the force field generated by Ironheart had cost us part of the station; Bester, Kelsey the Commander and myself were once again gathered at that office.

“You should have told us what he was capable of” demanded Jeff to Bester while walking around the telepath

“We had our orders” simply said Bester

“Listen, I don’t care if you had a message from God complete with stone tablets” said Jeff clearly angered “You lied to me! You withheld information and put the station at risk”

“Call me crazy” I said intervening “but don’t you think it might have helped for us to know what we were facing?”

“We were doing what we thought was best” provided Kelsey, I rolled my eyes at that

“You were wrong!” Yelled Jeff “And because of that I have a half dozen wounded men and a section of Blue 16 turned into a no man’s land!” He said trying to explain them the gravity of the situation “Every corridor or transport tube in there is blocked by some kind of force field! Now I want the truth and I want it now!”

“Mr Ironheart is no longer what you or I would consider… entirely human” explained Bester

“Then what is he?” I asked concerned

“We don’t know” said Bester “After the last phase of the experiment, Ironheart began to show signs of stress, paranoia, psychosis” he explained “One night he slipped out of his room, killed the head researcher and escaped”

“At each step of the way his telekinetic abilities have grown stronger, more violent” continued Kelsey

“In his enhanced state he’s a valuable commodity” stated Bester “If word got out, other governments might try to grab him first. We couldn’t take that chance. It was a calculated risk”

“Good old Psi Corps” I said mockingly “You guys never cease to amaze me! All the moral fiber of Jack the Ripper” I accused them “What do you do on your spare time? Juggle babies over fire pits? Because there goes another calculated risk!”

“You’re not helping the situation” stated Kelsey offended

“Lady! You are the situation” I said firmly

“We’ve seen how powerful he is” said Jeff trying to get us all back in track “How did just the two of you had planned to stop him?”

“He’s got to have defenses” I argued

“During the experiment, Ironheart was programmed with a fail-safe code that would shut him down” said Bester “But we have to be in the line of sight to do it. You have two choices: Let us take him down our way, or you’ll have to kill him before he blows out the station and everyone on it”

I was walking down the station trying to track down this Ironheart and staying as far away as possible of the Psi Cops, when I smelt Talia around the corner, I debated whether to walk away or not, but I had to make sure she was all right so instinct won and I kept walking on her general direction.

“Susan, I need to talk to you” she said coming at my side

“Are you all right?” I asked glancing up and down her body to assess if she was injured in any way

She nodded “I’ve seen Jason”

“What? Where?” I asked her, a low growl erupting from my throat remembering Bester’s taunting words

“It’s a long story and we don’t have much time” she said looking me in the eye “We need to talk privately and quickly” I nodded, if only just to make sure she was okay, and lead her to the ‘Company’s’ office in Red Sector.

“Jason’s changing” she said. I nodded, the Psi Cops had already said that “His telekinetic abilities are growing faster than anticipated. It’s almost beyond his control”

“Has he harmed you?” I asked growling

She shook her head “He would never do that” she said convinced

“He has already killed a man” I snarled at her

“Is that what they told you?” she asked me already knowing the answer “You are not supposed to trust telepaths, why do you trust what they say?”

“So I shouldn’t trust you either?” I asked annoyed

“I did not say that Susan! I’ve tried hard to gain your trust remember?”

“Well, running off to a long lost and apparently crazy lover is not helping your case!”

“So says the one who reacquainted herself with an alien murderer!”

“Malcolm at least killed aliens, not his own kind!” I yelled at her

“So it is good to be a murderer as long as you don’t kill your own people? Great! Good to know I can kill you now!”

“Don’t even try that!” I snarled at her “I’m not the one endangering the station”

“Jason does not want to endanger the station or hurt anyone” she said sighing “But what he’s becoming doesn’t leave him much a choice”

“What is he becoming?” I asked now wondering if maybe he had been bitten by my kind and it was what was wrecking his mind

“It’s hard to explain” she said “He wants to see you, alone and unarmed. He’ll drop his defenses but only for you” I looked hard at her “I know it’s asking you to take a terrible chance, but it’s the only one we’ve got” I sighed. She might be right; and if he was one of us, it was my duty to try to help him

“Talia… What’s between you and Ironheart?” I asked her through gritted teeth, not able to stop the words from coming to my mouth even when I dreaded the answer “Why did he come here?”

“To see me” she said simply, I winced but nodded “He was everything to me, the perfect model of what it meant to be in the Corps” she sighed “Do you know Susan, what it’s like when telepaths make love?” I growled not wanting to even think of Talia in someone else’s arms “You drop every defense. And when your partner is another telepath, it’s all mirrors, reflecting each other’s feelings… deeper and deeper, until somewhere along the line your souls mix and it’s a feeling so profound it makes you hurt” she said uncaring of how her words were hurting me “It’s the only moment in the life of a telepath when you don’t hear the voices” she whispered before looking up at me “He came to say goodbye Susan, he only came to say goodbye”

“Mr Bester told me something” I said angered by what she had just told me “He informed me that if we” I said gesturing between us “keep on with whatever this is between us, then Psi Corps will have the same control over me as they do over you, that I’d have to comply with their laws… Is it truth?”

She looked down “If we get in a serious and committed relation, then yes, you’d be ordered to regularly submit to the scans”

“When in your ‘wooing’ were you planning to inform me of that fact!?” I asked through gritted teeth gripping her shoulders

“When you were ready to accept us” she said in whisper

“I don’t have time for this” I said pushing her away, feeling hurt and betrayed. After all this year, all these months, I was about to give in to her; the situation with Vladimir, uncle Yossel’s visit and just the last couple of days with our near Boom experience because of Epsilon 3, had put things in a different perspective; the night before I had decided to ask her out on a date and just that day I had acknowledged her as my mate! So yes, I was angered and felt hurt, betrayed and most of all defeated; I knew I shouldn’t have trusted a telepath and I berated myself for even thinking about the possibility of it actually working out and letting myself fall for her “If I help your…‘lover’,” I spat after a moment “you have to promise to stay the hell away from me, I don’t want anything to do with the Psi Corps, nothing at all!” she began to sob, but nodded “All right. Where and when?”

“Blue 12. Now” she stated between sobs. I nodded and informed the Commander that Ironheart had asked my presence, so I would try to negotiate with him.

“Let us know if we should help him, and be careful” said Jeff

After we got past the shield, we walked together through the fallen debris in order to reach Ironheart.

“We need to speak” stated Ironheart as we came closer to him “The Psi Corps is dedicated to one thing Lt Commander. Control. Control over telepaths, the economy, the courts”

“Yeah, tell me something I didn’t know” I said bitterly as I noticed that his scent was changing every passing second.

“They want control over matter, over thought itself. But there is something even more powerful. Something they didn’t even know existed until I crossed the line. Not mind over matter” he said getting excited “Mind over energy. I was suddenly able to influence molecules, atoms, neutrons… I look at you” she said gesturing my body “and I see not a woman, but a galaxy of subatomic particles which I can pull apart and rearrange with a casual thought”

“Don’t” I said annoyed

“This is a power we were never meant to have. We’re not ready for it” he said softly

“If Psi Corps take him back, they’ll dissect him” said Talia in a sad tone “Take him apart to find out what combination of drugs release this power”

“Oh, are you feeling like a victim now?” I asked mockingly, annoyed at her attitude towards Ironheart, she just looked down, hurt by my words

“Can you imagine Lt Commander, what they would do with this power? What anyone would do with it?”

“Which is exactly why they say you should not be allowed to leave here alive” I conceded “Why should I trust you will not misuse this? We already have 6 people hurt”

“An accident” he said “At each new level it takes me a while to adjust. I have to fight every minute of it to control the forces in my head.” He explained “If I’m distracted for even a second…” he trailed off

“What about the researcher you killed?” I asked him, just to prove that he was a killer and not the nice guy he appeared to be.

“I didn’t want to” he said softly “but he was the only one who could replicate the process. There must never be any more like me.” I looked dubiously at him and glanced sideways to Talia “I mean you no harm Susan Ivanova, daughter of Andrei and Alpha of your pack” he said

“How do you know that?” I asked worried. I noticed Talia looking interested now at both of us

“I see everything” he said contentedly “If I meant you any harm I could vaporize you right now with a single thought. But that would not only prove you right… it would also break your pack and Talia too… Please, you must believe me”

“Assuming I do” I said looking briefly at Talia who had a pleading look on her eyes “What is it you want from me?”

“Your help, and your trust” he stated “I need to get away from here. I need time to finish becoming… and then I’ll be gone. Please”

I sighed and opened a link to speak with the Commander

“Sinclair, is everything all right Ivanova?”

“Condition Green Commander” I told him sternly “Is Mr Garibaldi there?”

“I’m right here Ivanova” I heard Michael state

“Have your security team clear a path from Red 16 to the docking bay” I asked him, noting the confused look on Talia “I don’t want anyone on the way”

“On it” he said

“Make sure that no one outside your team knows what’s going on”

“Confirmed” he said

“Lt Commander” asked me Jeff “What’s going on?”

“I’m with Ironheart and Ms Winters, we’re coming out” I said

“You’re coming through Red Sector?” he asked confused, knowing we were in Blue 12.

“No sir” I said ending the link

“Why would you ask to clear the way where we’re not coming through?” asked Talia.

I arched an eyebrow at her as I used the BabCom system to contact Maher.

“Hey Susan! What happened? Where are you?” he asked worried

“Maher, no questions asked. I need you to take a few volunteers. Security will clear a path from Red 16 to the docking bays… I need you to keep their attention somewhere between that”

He looked confused but nodded “How long?”

“Not sure, as long as you can without exposure or casualties… all of you must keep singing or something in your minds. Psi Cops are on board and will head to you” He nodded again and ended the link

“Now we’ll have to trust that will draw the attention of not only them but people around this area” I told Talia and Ironheart, who was looking a little pale “Drop the shield and follow me”

I lead Talia and Ironheart through hardly used corridors on Blue Sector, which I knew would be mostly deserted, I also kept sniffing ahead to make sure that we would not bump into nasty surprises, however, before reaching the docking bays, a hatch door opened and both Bester and Kelsey approached us. I should have given a thought as to how they knew where to find us, but I didn’t, and later in life, it proved to be crucial.

“No! I refuse!” Stated Ironheart “I am not going back with you”

“This man is under the protection of Babylon 5” I declared standing between them.

“You don’t know what you’re doing!” yelled Bester

“Ivanova!” called me Ironheart “We have to hurry. There’s not much-” he said as sparks of energy began to run over his body

“The fail-safe code” said Talia “They’re trying to shut him down” she accused as the station began to shake “Mind quake!” yelled Talia “They’re distracting him, he’s losing control”

“Let him go!” I ordered Bester taking a few strides toward him, Kelsey rounded me and approached Ironheart “Let him go!” I repeated and punched Bester, placing him on the floor

“I won’t go” said Ironheart to Kelsey

“Leave him alone, you don’t understand” said Talia approaching Ironheart but being knocked away by his shield

“I won’t go back” repeated Ironheart as I bent over Talia to make sure she was alright “Please, no” he said to Kelsey who had drawn a PPG with which she was aiming at him “Don’t make me do this. You cannot harm me” I stood up, trying to get Kelsey out of the way but Ironheart’s shield threw me a few feet away “You cannot harm one who has dreamed a dream like mine” he finished while disintegrating Kelsey, as the mind quake intensified.

“Look out!” yelled Talia at me when she noticed that metal pieces from the station were starting to fall upon us and one in particular was about to fall on my head as I stood. She tackled me out of the way a second before it hit me.

It took me another second to gather my thoughts and absorb the scene in front of me. Bester had stood up and was shooting at Jason, who then returned the fire with a blast of energy before collapsing on the floor the moment he hit Bester

“We must take him to a doctor” I informed Talia as we approached Ironheart

“No!” he demanded “No time. Must get to ship… Hurry!”  We complied and after I set him on a shuttle, Talia and I headed to CnC

“What’s he doing?” I heard Jeff ask confused as Talia and I walked in

“Nothing” informed Lieutenant JG Corwin “He’s not moving to the jump gate. He’s just sitting there” He stated as I took his spot over my console.

“Picking up energy surge!” said one tech

“How big?” asked the Commander

“Off the scale”

We all then focused our attention on Ironheart’s ship as it blew up in a blast of light, momentarily blinding us. Outside the Dome, pure energy in the form of Ironheart was there, staring at us.

“Jason?” asked Talia mesmerized, taking a few steps forward

“Talia” was heard everywhere in Ironheart’s voice. “I have become” he stated gesturing to himself “In memory of love, I give you a gift” he said as a beam of light came through the panel and hit Talia on her front head, a second later she lost consciousness and I was barely able to catch her before she hit the ground, where I gently placed her when I heard Ironheart call my name.

“The Control that Psi Corps had on her, is fading out because of her feelings for you” he told me as a beam of light then hit me.

I woke a few hours later in Medlab. Stephen told me that Talia had been discharged just a few minutes ago and he assured me we were both fine, and that nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary with every test and scan he did on us after we got hit by Ironheart.

Bester was forced to leave the station empty handed, though he was shown the feedback from the outer cameras of the station at the time of the event, mainly because it was hard to believe, I know I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t been there myself. Bester was also told by the Commander to make sure that his report mentioned that Talia was freed of any charge because she had been controlled by Ironheart to help her, so her record with the Psi Corps was clean.

Maher reported that they kept the security teams busy as I had requested, but that the Psi Cops never came close to them, which worried me a little, but I didn’t really ponder that too much because I was exhausted and annoyed and confused and angered.

Something bothered me about Talia after Ironheart left, at first I was not sure if it was just my imagination or not, but her scent was changing… sometimes it was the same I was used to, however, more often than not, she had a stronger scent, which was similar in essence, but it seemed at the same time opposite to what usually identified her. And even when that fact made it difficult at first for me to keep track of her when in proximity, both scents made the wolf in me quite happy.

I still had not told anyone in the pack that I had referred to Talia, even when it was only in my mind, as my mate; especially because we were both staying away from each other. I could not bear even the memory of how hurt she was when she told me what it was like to make love with another telepath, and I wouldn’t offer her that even when it was painfully obvious she longed for it. Then, there was also the fact that if we acted upon our feelings, I would have to submit to Psi Corps and their regulations, which if happened, meant they’d discover that I was a latent telepath, not to mention the fact that I would put the pack at risk.

On the other hand, we werewolves can have any number of partners as any other human can, as long as their presence and scent does not bother or angers our wolf; however, the wolf mates for life, which means it chooses one partner for life, and when it does, we can never be with anyone else, this means that there will never be anyone else out there for me other than Talia, even if she dies before I do. So no, I would not tell the pack about that, because they would pester me to pursue her, even more so than what they were doing then. I would have to keep a tight leash on my wolf because if I didn’t, I could end up endangering the station.

Chapter 24: Chapter 24

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 24

Healer

I was worried about the pack, most of them had already found jobs on the station, I only had about 20 of them jobless, and 18 out of them had decided not to pursue a job at all, stating that they would be of better use for the pack as trainers to the young ones, or as my eyes and ears around the station, where security and commanding officers had trouble getting information; which proved to be useful over our stay on Babylon 5. We had already made contact with our people on Mars and learned that Tessa was part of the resistance; after she explained the reasons she had for joining and the support that the members of the pack there showed toward her decision, I agreed to let them stay there and keep on with the duties they had attained there, we would help the movement but doing it in low scale, not openly joining, but providing supplies and medical aid and with communication when possible. It turned out that we were not the only ‘group’ that was helping in that way, but of course we only learnt about them later on, when they increased their visits to B5.

So in lights of that, I decided to set up a meeting with the only 2 members of the pack who had not decided yet what to do, Ha’Rok and Elafe. I knew they both had become fast friends being the only ‘aliens’ in the pack. I felt the worry emanating from both of them, and that gave me something to ponder about later on.

“I am proud of both of you and the control you’ve managed to attain over your instincts in such a relatively short time” I told them both in order to soothe them, they looked content with themselves then. “Now, I need to know what you did before coming to B5 and what you were looking for here”

“Looking for?” asked me confused Elafe

I nodded “Yes, what were you seeking by coming to Babylon 5?”

“I just wanted to know this place” told me truthfully Ha’Rok “Get a glimpse to the miracle everyone in the galaxy was talking about… I unfortunately didn’t have enough savings to make a trip back to the Homeworld” he sighed “Now I don’t think I can”

“Not for now” I told him “even when you’ve both proven control over your wolves, as I said earlier, when provoked you are still hard to contain, and you still have to train harder when under the influence of the full moon”

“Provoked?” Asked now Elafe

I nodded again. “I ordered Maher to test you both.” I said looking them in the eye, one after the other. “That’s part of the reason I’d also like to learn about your religious beliefs” I stood and paced a bit around the office “I understand that you are a follower of G’Quan, but I don’t know what it entitles, or what is required from you or when your ceremonies should be performed” I told Ha’Rok “As for you” I said looking at Elafe “All I know about Mimbaris is that you believe in Valen. And both G’Quan and Valen seem to me a lot like Earth’s Jesus, in which I being a Jew I don’t believe.”

Since both Ha’Rok and Elafe told me that their religious beliefs were extensive and not to be explained or learned in a short amount of time, I agreed to schedule a couple hours a week with each of them in order for them to teach me and anyone else in the pack who was interested.

I learned that Ha’Rok was originally a trader and that he had briefly served on the Narn armada, in what he called the ‘Sar’Et’, which was mandatory to all Narn when they received their new name. As for Elafe, he was as he had originally stated, a member of the Worker Cast, and he had specialized in repairing ships. In light of that, I suggested Ha’Rok to train us in whichever fighting techniques he had learned during the Sar’Et and also to become our Company’s trading consultant with alien races, seeing as we wanted to do business with other worlds, so we might as well start with Narn and Mimbari. Elafe declined the offer to apply for any position on B5, so I asked him if he would be willing to work alongside Ha’Rok, and be our liaison with the Mimbari Federation; I explained them that they would be hired and properly payed by the Company for their consultation services in that regard; when they agreed I gave them their first assignment, to contact their government’s representatives in B5 in order to assure that working for us wouldn’t represent a problem for them and to open the first channel for negotiations on behalf of the Company.

I spent that night musing on the fact that lately I had been able to pick up on others’ people feelings, more so than before, and was now somewhat able to hear rumors of thoughts. I knew for sure that I was a latent telepath, I had after all, learned over the years to block casual scans and detect instantly if someone was doing one on me, and sometimes I was even able to get their feelings, but this was different, it was stronger now. I thought of speaking about this with Talia, mainly because this started after Ironheart left, but decided against it because she most certainly would rat me out to the Psi Corps.

A little over three months after the Ironheart incident and my fallout with Talia, Mr Garibaldi was informed by Lou Welsh that there was a man on the station that was supposed to be part of Quarter Master Corp who was looking to obtain a military supply contract with B5, however it turned out that in truth it was a Colonel from Earthforce Internal Affairs sent to do a special investigation on Babylon 5’s command staff, which meant us; and he was accompanied by a Military Specialist from Psi Corps. Things that week certainly looked troublesome.

“Recent events on Mars Colony show a need for increased scrutiny of all off-world installations” stated Col Ari Ben Zayn during the debriefing at Jeff’s office after he had been busted by Mr Garibaldi “Similar investigations are happening on all outposts. We must know who is loyal to Earthforce and who’s not”

“As Commander of Babylon 5, I vouch for the loyalty of every member of my staff” said Jeff “And I resent your tactics, you have no right to snoop around the station without my knowledge!”

“I have every right. My authority comes directly from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” stated arrogantly the Colonel “I’m not here to prosecute anyone. I just want to ask questions and clarify some details. It’s all fairly routine”

“And what part does Psi Corps play in this routine?” I asked annoyed at the telepaths presence “Regulations prohibit the use of telepaths on Command level investigations”

“There are new regulations Lt Commander Ivanova” stated Ben Zayn “And under them all staff must submit to a telepathic scan as part of an official investigation, command staff as well”

“The hell I will!” I snarled at him remembering Bester’s words about me submitting to their rules “Psi Corps may be running the rest of the world but I refuse to-”

“Ivanova!” Called me Jeff interrupting my rant “I’ll check this new regulations Colonel. Meanwhile, I’ll have someone show you and Mr Gray to your new quarters in Blue sector”

“Mr Garibaldi will escort me”

“Mr Garibaldi has duties” countered Jeff to Ben Zayn’s statement

“Not any more” said the Colonel “I’m assigning him to my staff for this investigation”

“What?” asked Garibaldi surprised by that fact

“I like his style” simply said Ben Zayn

“As Chief of Security, Mr Garibaldi is essential to the operation of the station” seethed Jeff

“Is there some problem with Babylon 5’s Security?” asked mockingly Ben Zayn “You made no mention of it on your last report”

“No” answered Jeff “There is no problem-”

“Then Mr Garibaldi’s second can handle it. I need him to expedite this matter” I already hated the Colonel, but his arrogance made me want to order the pack to dispose him “I’ll present you with an interview schedule shortly” he said standing, which prompt Mr Grey, Jeff and myself to do so too. “You may carry on Commander” Jeff saluted the man which in turn forced me to comply too, the Colonel took his time before returning the salute. “Mr Gray, Mr Garibaldi” he said walking to the door

“A pleasure to meet you all” said politely Mr Gray before following Michael and Ben Zayn

“By God” complained Jeff as soon as they were all out of sight and hearing range “If I ever find out who’s behind this circus act!”

“I will not submit to a telepathic scan Commander!” I informed him angered by the idea “It’s against my person and my principles!”

“I don’t like it any better than you do” he said seriously “Enough people have played with my brain already this year… Return to duty” I nodded stiffly “I won’t let it happen, to either of us” he reassured me. I nodded again and walked to the CnC

I was complying with my duties controlling traffic when Mr Gray decided it was a good time to walk into the Dome. ‘Is this a trait that all telepaths have?’ I asked to myself thinking about Talia and her unannounced and unauthorized visits there which had stopped after Ironheart’s visit to the station, and I reluctantly had to admit that I missed them and her terribly.

“Lt Commander?” he asked tentatively

“Civilians are not allowed on the Observation Dome without authorization from Commander Sinclair” I informed him not turning to face him “Please go”

“As the Colonel’s liaison I have every right to be here” he said “So relax, I just wanted to look at the stars for a moment. They never lose their beauty do they?”

“Mr Gray, I am very busy” I said walking past him

“Lt Commander” he said following me “I’m aware of your hostility toward Psi Corps and the reason for it” he stated as an ensign handed me a pad “And I sympathize”

“Oh, how nice” I said sarcastically “I’ll send you a card on your birthday” I said returning the pad after making an update on the information and walking back to my console

“You know? When I was a boy I dreamed of becoming a combat pilot.” Said Gray following me once again “I built models of every space fighter available, I collected squadron patches. It was all I ever wanted to be… When I was 16 I applied for Earthdome and I was accepted, and then my talent manifested itself the first month” he said, sadness palpable on his tone “telepaths are not allowed in the military circle, so… I was expelled”

“I am sorry” I told him truthfully, but still not facing him and trying to focus on my job

“It’s not easy to have your dreams snatched away just because you’re different” he said honestly “I didn’t take it very well, then the Corps came. They said I could still serve in Earthforce as a Psi Corps liaison”

“A boyhood dream come true… I’m in tears”

“It saved my life” he countered “Gave me a purpose again, and granted, it’s not the same as your kind of soldering, but part of a dream is better than none”

“Is there a point to your story Mr Gray?” I asked losing my patience

“I just want you to know I love the Force and respect the people like you who serve it”

“A pretty speech” I told him “Did the Colonel write it for you?”

“No. But he’s gonna insist that everyone be scanned” he warned “It’s just easier if you accept that. Now, I give you my word, I’ll respect your personal privacy” he added “The only thoughts I’ll be looking for are those concerned with your duties and Earthforce; even with that incident on IO 3 years ago, your record is impeccable, and with the declarations the both of you made, I’m certain you have nothing to fear”

Since I arrived to B5, I hadn’t thought a single moment about the Omega killed by Hunters on IO on October of 2255, or the fact that I myself had been saved from Hunters by my ex-fiancée, who also happened to be an Earthforce officer and ironically enough, a Hunter too. “Mr Gray” I snapped finally turning to face him, hoping he hadn’t picked up on my stray thoughts from IO “I’m grateful that Psi Corps has given you a purpose in life, but when that purpose includes scanning my mind to prove my loyalty, it’s not only an invasion of my privacy, but my honor” I told him seriously “As for fear, if you enter my mind for any reason, I will twist your head off and use it as a chamber pot!” I warned him raising my voice “If you’ll excuse me…” I told him as I returned to my duties, grateful that he got the hint and left the Dome.

Later that night, I ended up watching Talia in Zocalo, hoping she wouldn’t catch me. I just needed an assurance that she was not involved in whatever Psi Corps were planning. After she retired to her quarters apparently without being contacted by the Colonel or Mr Gray, I headed to my quarters too.

I had a nightmare that night. It reminded me of Mama and when she was given the sleepers, and at a point, I saw myself in her place, knowing that taking my life, as she had done it, was the only way out. I woke up startled by the intensity of it and debated whether to look for Maher and spar for a while, head for a run through Grey Sector, or something else entirely. After some deliberation, in the morning I headed to Jeff’s quarters.

“Come” he said as the door to his quarters opened

“My apologies Commander” I said walking to him and handing him the slip I had brought with me “but this matter can’t wait”

“What’s this about?” he asked confused taking the slip

“I wish to resign my commission, effective immediately”

“What?” he asked me angered and surprised

“I had a talk yesterday with Mr Gray, he said the Colonel will insist that I be scanned” I told him with a lump in my throat “I cannot allow that and this is the only way to avoid it without putting you in a bad position”

“Forget it!” he said seriously “I refuse to accept your resignation”

“I’m within my rights!” I told him raising my voice “I won’t have the Psi Corps probing me as some sort of rat lab experiment!”

“And I won’t have you ruin your career or leave Babylon 5! You’re too important to me!” he countered “Besides, I found a way to avoid the scans within the regulations” he said softly now

“Are you sure?”

“Yes” he said nodding with that smile of his on his face

I sighed “Can I borrow your PPG to shoot myself squared in the head?”

“That won’t be necessary, this time” he said chuckling

“Thank you Commander” I told him walking to the door

“Susan?”

“Yes”

“Why are you so scared of being scanned?” he asked truly concerned “Surely your mother must have made contact with your mind at some point or another”

I sighed again while deciding how much to actually tell him “Yes, she did” I confirmed him looking down “And you can’t imagine what it’s like to share your own mother’s love for you… to feel it in your thoughts” I looked up and stared at him “No one’s ever been that close to me Commander. And I want no one to intrude upon that memory, especially Psi Corps” I told him before leaving for my shift.

By lunch I headed for Zocalo while the Commnder had to be questioned by the Colonel in the presence of Mr Garibaldi and Mr Gray. I was having lunch, sitting alone on the table, staring at Talia who was browsing through the market when Mr Gray decided to approach me again.

“Commader Ivanova, May I sit down?” he asked hopefully

I snorted, he was supposed to be an Earthforce lover, and still he couldn’t get the ranks right. “Aren’t you supposed to be peeking into someone’s mind?” I asked him annoyed

He had the audacity to chuckle and take a seat in front of me. “You’re very charming, in an odd sort of way” he said taking me by surprise “The fact is I’ve been dismissed. It seems Commander Sinclair knows the regulations very well”

“The Commander prizes knowledge and honesty” I told him with a small smile

“So I noticed. I’ll long savor the look on the Colonel’s face” he said smirking “Not many people are willing to stand up to him. It’s very refreshing”

“I’m curious” I told him “You’re not like most Psi Corps people and you don’t seem overly fond of the Colonel” I said as I lost Talia’s scent, which lead me to believe she had left Zocalo

“I’m not” he confessed “He’s efficient, but lacks compassion. Sometimes I wonder if he’s even human” he stated “As for Psi Corps, I doubt you really know any of our people well, especially Ms Winters”

“You’re scanning me!” I snapped at him

“I’m sorry” he said putting up his arms in the surrender gesture “The thought of Ms Winters was very loud, and I mean, very loud in your mind at my mention of Psi Corps. I’m sorry” he continued “You say you hate us, yet, you’re longing for her” he said confused

“Get the hell out of my mind!” I ordered him trying not to block his delivered probe in fear of being discovered now. I should have known not to trust him, even when he promised to respect my privacy, it was obvious that telepaths had no sense of honor at all

“I am surprised you were aware of it” he said referring to his probe, which only made me glare at him “Unless… of course, she must have been in your mind before she was given the sleepers, your mother” he said triumphantly.

“You are never to discuss my mother!” I yelled at him “Ever! Is that clear?” I asked as my link chirped “Ivanova”

“Lt Commander, you are needed in the Observation Dome” said Lt JG Corwin

I ended the link dropping my napkin on the table, and glared hard at the telepath in front of me, before standing to leave. I had only walked a few paces when I got hit by Talia’s second scent, I walked to the direction where it was, and it was obvious that she had been hiding behind a decoration there. “And you” I addressed her now angered at her for doing that and at myself for not noticing that her scent had not disappeared but shifted again “should never spy on me again like you just did” I said before heading to the dome

The reason I had been summoned to the Dome was that we caught a few ships trading with weapons and some of them were apparently headed for Mars, so I decided to contact the Commander and inform him of that.

“Commander we’ve had a further development on one of those arms deals” I said through the link

“This is Colonel Ari Ben Zayn” was certainly not the voice I was expecting to hear “Commander Sinclair is in the middle of an investigation and can’t be disturbed. Whatever it is Lt Commander, handle it”

Five minutes later, Jeff was confined to his quarters and was relieved of his duties by the Colonel, who annoyingly strolled into the CnC to give out a set of orders on how to run the station.

“That’s all for now” he said before sitting on Jeff’s chair at his console on the Dome

“Mr Garibaldi, what the hell’s going on?” I demanded in a hushed whisper

“I wish I had a clue” he stated before the Colonel interrupted us calling me to attention.

“Lt Commander, at 1500 Mr Garibaldi will escort you to Blue 8 for a formal inquiry” he said arrogantly “Mr Gray will also be present” he added smirking “I’ll be in my quarters until then”

“I don’t know what this guy’s after but he’s pulling out all the stops to get it” said Garibaldi once the Colonel had left the Dome

“I won’t do it” I told him gritting my teeth “I will not submit to a scan”

“He’ll charge you with insubordination”

“And I’ll be replaced and dishonorably discharged” I told him seriously “It’s a very Russian ending, I should’ve expected it” I told him in an attempt to joke “I’ll be able to focus on the Family business now though.” I sighed “Station One, take my post” I ordered Corwin before walking out the Dome, followed closely by Garibaldi

“Whoa! Ivanova!” He said trying to stop me “Hey! Wait up!” He called out of breath barely catching up with me “Am I wrong or are you leaving your post?”

“Yes I am” I told him still walking away “I’ve always been proud to be a member of the Earthforce, but right now, I’d sooner serve the Mimbari! At least they got a sense of honor!” I yelled before sighing “Look, you once offered to buy me a drink Garibaldi, if that offer still stands, I think I could use one” I told him truthfully

“Yeah, yeah sure” he said “I’ll tell you what, I’ll meet you in the Casino in about 10 minutes, I’ve got to check something first” I nodded “In the mean time, just stay cool” I snorted, that was easier said than done “We can beat this together, somehow” I sighed and left him there, heading for the Casino

As soon as I unbuttoned my jacket, Maher was placing a drink in front me and watching me concerned. I drank it in one gulp and motioned for him to pour me another one. I repeated that routine until he decided to just leave the bottle of vodka on the counter at my side. Maher handed me a second bottle as soon as I emptied the first.

“Are you alright there?” he asked me concerned when he placed a third bottle on the counter. I just grunted. “Is this about blondie again?” I huffed and shook my head. He of course had been the one to whom I had ranted on after Ironheart left, so it was not such a wild guess, considering that for the last couple of months every time I came to the Casino and later on headed for a run or demanded a sparring partner, it was always about Talia.

“I wish!” I stated as I poured more vodka into my then empty glass

“What is it then?” he asked leaning on the counter

“You know what?” I asked looking at him after drinking up the full glass and pouring me some more “Now that I am, once again, thinking about her, I don’t know which is more annoying” I said drinking up “The fact that her scent keeps shifting, or the fact that both of her scents make my wolf swoon pleased by them” I sighed “I have to admit though, that even when she’s Psi Corps and blindly loyal to them, I do miss my stubborn mate” I concluded staring at my empty glass

“Whoa! Mate?” he asked surprised and I berated myself for the slip of my tongue

“Never mind” I told him filling my glass once again

“Never mind? Susan, you just acknowledged-”

“I know, so drop it” I said cutting off his rant and staring hard at him. After a few seconds he relented and went back to the other patrons at the Casino

I could feel him staring at me while tending to the other clients so it didn’t surprise me when I heard him call Louba and ask her to send members of the pack there, just to keep an eye out he said; luckily he didn’t mention anything about mates. He approached me again when Oskar and Nikkita arrived; event which coincided with myself finishing off the third bottle Maher had provided me.

“Another one!” I ordered rising both my glass and the bottle. A second later a man bumped into me “Hey! Careful!” I admonished him annoyed

“Oooh” He said eying me up and down “Check out the cute Commander” he said stroking my hair. I could see Maher, Oskar and Nikkita flinch and stare at the scene

“Cute?” I asked him in a low whisper, feeling his lust and smelling his arousal.

“Oh yeah!” He said sure of himself, which annoyed me even more.

I punched him square in the face, and with that a fight broke loose in the Casino. Oskar ended up covering my right, while Nikkita covered my left and Maher took charge of my back. We were, I must say, kicking ass and had just knocked out everyone there when Garibaldi and a security detail arrived.

“Ivanova?” asked Garibaldi clearly impressed but rather annoyed

“Are you gonna arrest me Garibaldi?” I asked mockingly

“No way! I wanna live to see the future” He said smirking, I always knew he was a smart man “I just wanna talk and reason with you, recite a few passages from my favorite reading? For as long as it takes?” he asked hopefully. I smiled at him and his kinda cute attitude.

“You don’t play fair” I told him “Okay, I surrender” I said putting up my hands “Go home” I ordered the pack there, the three of them chuckled and nodded, Maher being the only one who stayed, seeing as his job was at the Casino.

“Okay, pills” said Garibaldi handing a couple to me “This’ll help you put yourself together”

“For my court martial?” I asked mockingly

“Commander’s last shot” he told me “Clean up this trash” he ordered his men as we walked out.

Garibaldi walked me to the interrogation room where the Colonel and Mr Gray were facing Jeff. It took a few minutes for me to understand what was going on exactly, but the Commander proved to be, once again, a resourceful man. He revealed that the Colonel turned a routine investigation into a man hunt out of jealousy for being passed down on the list of Command to run Babylon 5, however he hadn’t been able to do anything about it until his friend, Mr Bester, intervened. At this revelation, Colonel Ari Ben Zayn got so angry that Mr Gray was able to call out on his hatred toward Jeff, which prompted the Colonel to punch Mr Gray, then he took out his PPG and threatened Jeff but Mr Gray managed to cause the Colonel ‘mental pain’, giving a chance to Commander Sinclair to knock out the Colonel.

Next morning I was walking through Blue Sector with the Commander, glad to get rid of the annoying Colonel and Mr Gray.

“I never thought I’d be grateful to a member of the Psi Corps” I told Jeff sincerely “I hope this affair doesn’t turn up badly for Mr Gray”

“He’ll be alright” he said “The record clearly shows the Colonel overstepped himself and Psychiatric soon should confirm his mental state”

“And Mr Bester?” I asked worried about his intervention

“Mr Bester won’t come out of the shadows since there are bound to be some questions about this” He said as we entered the turbolift.

“It’s good to have things back to normal” I said looking at Mr Garibaldi and Lennier passing by in a blur, both riding a motorcycle through the halls.

During the following days, as was expected, Maher pestered me to approach Talia and resume our relationship. I ended up giving him an Alpha order to never bring up that subject again, I could see him wanting to do it, but the order prevented him from doing so.

A week after Mr Gray left I over-heard some pilots of both Delta and Zeta Wing, Warren Keffer among them, talking about a ‘ghost’ in hyperspace, and that worried me, since there were no official reports done yet by any of them. I asked Anton and Alexei to keep an eye and ear out for anything unusual that they saw or heard from the other dock workers, I also asked the same regarding the people that came on board the station to Zack and the few of us who were part of the Security force, and to Dimitri about the ones that visited the Medlab facilities. The rest of the pack was to be listening for anything remotely similar to this or anything suspicious at all around the station.

Later on, I was approached by Ambassadors Delenn and G’Kar who wanted to confirm with me if this Company of mine and the sudden interest in starting business with aliens had anything to do with Babylon 5. I scheduled a meeting with them at the office in Red Sector, where I explained them that I had inherited my family business after my father passed away earlier that year, and that usually the ones who ran anything related to the Company were Maher and Louba, to whom I introduced them. I assured them that nothing to do with the Company was related to my job as an officer of Earthforce.

“And what’s in it to you then Lt. Commander?” asked G’Kar not convinced yet

“I understand your reluctance Ambassador, I only wish to keep the family business going and make sure that all my people are taken care of”

“I read the file on this Company” started Ambassador Delenn “And you’ve never done business with non-humans, why the sudden interest?”

“I was not running the Company before” I told them “And the situation with Malcolm a few months ago and the negotiations Ms Winters helped mediate with you both,” I said looking to Delenn “got me to think that we should expand our markets, specially after HQ moved here, I mean there are over a quarter million humans and aliens alike on board, it’s a great opportunity to grow”

“I see your point” said softly G’Kar “Are you doing this for Ms Winters?”

“Of course not, she has nothing to do with the Company” I told him upset by the comment

“What made you choose Elafe to be this liaison with my people?” asked me Delenn “He has no previous experience in this area”

“I know he doesn’t, he said so” I told her honestly “But B5’s purpose is to give hope and chances to everyone. I know that even after all these years, your people and mine, even when civil to each other, are still facing each other from different sides of the bridge, I figured I’d do my part and start crossing that bridge, and Elafe is willing to cross it too”

Delenn smiled softly “You just made a decision I have to make, easier for me Lt Commander” she said looking me in the eye “Thank you. I will talk to my Government and let them know that an Earth Company wants to start business with us. I’m sure there will be no problem as long as you allow a Telepath to mediate whichever negotiations are scheduled in the future” she said smirking “In order to make it easier for you, I’m sure my people won’t mind you having a Human Telepath doing so”

“Yes, my Government will agree under the same condition, I’m sure” stated G’Kar

I sighed “Fine, I agree”

“Very well, then ask Elafe to contact Ms Winters for any meeting he schedules” said Delenn as I had feared “What about you Ambassador?” she asked looking at G’Kar “Do you agree to have Ms Winters with Ha’Rok for negotiations too?”

“That’s a marvelous idea” stated G’Kar before nodding and leaving, followed by Ambassador Delenn who slightly bowed and left.

“Well, that went better than I expected” said Louba

“Yeah” agreed Maher “Now you can offer blondie a permanent position with us and she can partly leave Psi Corps”

“She’s loyal to the Corps” I snarled at him “There’s no way she’d be willing to leave them for this”

“No, not for this Susan, but she’d leave them for you” said Louba smirking. I growled at both of them and decided to leave for a run in Gray Sector in order to clear my mind.

Even when she accepted the offer made by the Company, Talia had so far kept her promise; she mostly stayed away from me over the months following the Ironheart incident, with the exception of the few meetings I had to actually attend to and later on our interaction with Alisa. That poor girl experienced what Talia defined as a ‘mind burst’, while trying to run away from Zocalo after “shoplifting” from a kiosk there.

Alisa turned out to be a telepath whose abilities had just manifested; she had been living alone in Down Below for about a year, I was surprised when Oskar, one of the lurkers turned by Vladimir, and who had helped me at the Casino along with Maher and Nikkita, told me that Alisa was next on Vladimir’s list of bites, but he never got a chance to approach and turn her.

Talia kept ‘suggesting’ that we contacted Psi Corps and turned the girl in, and obviously I kept opposing to that, sure that I would find another way out for the girl, an alternative to the options ‘offered’ by the Corps.

To be fair, Talia looked really concerned for the girl and kept watch over her, helping her to adapt and start controlling her abilities. Na’Toth approached her and offered Alisa to go with the Narn in exchange of genetic samples, but I was not so sure that going with them was that good an option. I told Alisa exactly what happened to my mother in hopes to make her see that the Corps was not what Talia said at all.

I was running out of options and I didn’t want to agree to hand Alisa to the Corps, or have her become a rogue, so as a last resort I took Alisa to meet Ambassador Delenn, who explained her that telepaths are greatly honored in her culture, and after a bit of a complication caused by Alisa scanning Delenn, Delenn decided to offer her a place among the Mimbari, which luckily Alisa accepted.

Just before leaving for the Mimbari Homeworld, Alisa thanked Talia who was clearly not happy about her decision, and me.

“I’ll never forget you” she said before wrapping me in a tight hug “You should talk to her, the feelings… this love you both have for each other, it is overwhelming” she whispered in my ear, referring obviously to Talia and myself.

“I can´t” I told her simply, she looked confused at me for a moment before nodding and turning to hug Talia, then she left; we only saw her again over 20 years later, in Mimbar.

Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 25

Healer

As the weeks passed after Jason left, I noticed that more often than not, the voice in my mind kept talking to me, asking me to go in one direction or another, or which deals were convenient to us or not, or prompting me for example, to keep fighting for Susan.

There was one time in which I was walking through Zocalo when I saw Susan chatting amiably to a telepath from Psi Corps and that angered me to no end, and the voice in my mind was upset too. ‘See? If you don’t want to anymore, then you should let me fight for her’ she said ‘She should be chatting and smiling at us, not anyone else, and certainly not another telepath!’

“You’re right” I told to myself while approaching Susan and the telepath she was with

“You’re scanning me!” I heard Susan snap at him and I smirked at that, knowing that whatever he thought he was doing, he had just lost Susan’s respect and therefore what he had planned had went to waste.

“I’m sorry” he said raising his arms in the surrender gesture “The thought of Ms Winters was very loud, and I mean, very loud in your mind when I mentioned Psi Corps. I’m sorry” he continued, which made me freeze in my spot, curious as to what was actually going on there at the moment. “You say you hate us, yet, you’re longing for her”

“Get the hell out of my mind!” Ordered Susan before I had a chance to let his words sink in my mind and what that entitled.

“I am surprised you were aware of it” he said presumably referring to a delivered probe. I could see Susan glaring at him “Unless… of course, she must have been in your mind before she was given the sleepers, your mother” he said triumphantly. I berated myself for not coming to that conclusion before

“You are never to discuss my mother!” Yelled Susan “Ever! Is that clear?” she snapped at him as her link chirped “Ivanova” she answered still glaring at him

“Lt Commander, you are needed in the Observation Dome”

She cut the link, dropped her napkin on the table, and glared hard at the telepath there before standing to leave. She walked to where I was and she looked hard at me too “And you” she said in a cold and hating tone “should never spy on me again like you just did” she said before she left me surprised by the fact that she knew I was there

‘Of course she knew’ said the voice in my head ‘Like when she knew we were being followed by the lurkers that attacked us’ “What do you mean?” I asked myself ‘You truly don’t remember, do you? Before the Corps took us in… I believe, dear me, that our Susan is like the creature that saved us in the woods’ And with those words, I remembered my life, however short it was, before I was taken in the by Psi Corps.

A few weeks after the voice in my mind; who by that moment I had dubbed as Tee which was how my birth mother used to call me; made her presence known, I was asked by a Mimbari and a Narn to mediate on a regular basis on the behalf of the ‘Company’ they represented, between said Company and their governments. I was surprised on our second meeting, when they introduced me to their boss.

After going over what would be required of me and the clauses on the Confidentiality Agreement that I was asked to sign, I couldn’t keep it in any more.

“I thought you said you didn’t want anything to do with Psi Corps, at all” I told Susan, aware of the people and the tension present in the room.

“I still don’t” she simply said, providing me a copy of what would be my contract for me to read

“Then why am I here?” I asked taking the document from her hands

She sighed and finally looked up, that was the first time our eyes had met in a long time “I was asked by Ambassadors Delenn and G’Kar to have a telepath mediating in all future meetings and agreements” she then looked down to the Confidentialy Agreement that I had signed before voicing my question “They asked for you. I could have suggested and looked for a different telepath, I just thought that it would be easier to have you mediate for us, seeing as you are already here in B5, besides, seeing as the suggested you took the job, it means they trust you”

“But you don’t” I retorted

She looked up and stared sadly at me “I trust in your professionalism, after all you are committed to what being a telepath entitles”

‘She’s keeping her promise to give us a job if she was required to use a telepath’ said Tee ‘Sign it already, it is a good agreement, and we might have to spend more time with her, we could win her over again’

“Okay, I’ll sign” I said to both Tee and Susan “Just make sure your people don’t schedule anything before consulting with me. I don’t want any meetings to overlap” I added as I signed. Susan looked up again, apparently confused by what I was telling her “You don’t expect me to refuse any other offers that come to my table, right?”

She shook her head “No, I didn’t suppose you would leave Psi Corps for this” she said sadly. “Maher and Louba will be taking it from here. If you have any doubt or concern, go to them” she stood up and archived the files I had just signed, then she handed me a copy of both. “Good day Ms Winters” she turned and nodded to the Narn and the Mimbari that had contacted me, and then nodded too to Maher, who just looked apologetically at me. A minute later, Susan was gone.

Over the next weeks, I only caught glimpses of her from a distance, and the few times we actually had to be in the same room because of her duties to the Company.

On a certain occasion, after a tiresome meeting with troublesome clients, I headed for an early drink in Zocalo, as I exited the transport tube I noticed that Susan was there too, I briefly debated whether to head somewhere else or sit on the stool that was nearer to me, which also happened to be right in her line of sight. When she noticed me there I had no choice than to sit, however I sent her a small nod in acknowledgment, which oddly enough, she reciprocated. I knew she was uncomfortable, I could see it on her features, but still she decided to stay there, unfortunately her link chirped after a few seconds of me being there.

“Ivanova here” she answered as I pretended to focus on the menu that was provided to me

“Lt Commander, the Mimbari ship is through”

“I’m on my way” she said looking up “Check please” she asked the bartender handing him her credit card.

“Hey! Hey thief!” Was heard a few feet away “Stop her!” I watched Susan turn around to face the source of the commotion and I glanced there too, curious about what was going on.

At that moment a teen girl was running away, Susan stood I guess to chase the teen and I was surprised when I heard the girl’s mind screaming in pain as she experienced a mind burst. The moment she collapsed on the floor I was at her and Susan’s side, who was already kneeled checking the girl’s pupils.

“Get Dr Franklin, fast” I told her kneeling too

“You know this girl?” She asked me surprised

“No” I told her shaking my head “She’s just having a mind burst, she’s a telepath” I informed her stroking the girls hair, knowing that what she was currently going through was not the best of experiences.

A few minutes later we were in Medlab, the girl on a biobed, and both Susan and I hovering there, watching Dr Franklin doing his job.

“Readings are all normal, except the EEG” he informed us “What happened to her?”

“She took a mind burst” I said simply “She’s a telepath, a strong one” I added, looking down to the kid again “I felt her scream in my mind when she took the burst”

“What do you mean by burst?” Asked Susan with a frown on her face ‘At least she’s talking to us again’ added Tee in my mind

“If you’re borned with your Psi talent active you learn early on how to block the noise of other minds” I explained looking directly at Susan’s eyes “But sometimes the talent is latent until it’s triggered, usually puberty does it” I added before looking at the girl again “This girl looks about the right age for that”

“So the reaction is the same as if a deaf person suddenly hears a rocket inside their head?” asked Dr Frankling

“Exactly, she didn’t know what was happening and her mind just ran away and hid” I said sighing

“If her telepathic abilities just broke up, then the Psi Corps doesn’t know about her yet” said Susan apparently enjoying that fact

“There’s got to be some genetic records somewhere” I told her “As soon as we find out who she is, I’ll arrange for her transport to Earth” I added letting her know that was the protocol in this cases “A Psi Corps Rep can meet her there”

“Negative!” she said stubbornly, as always “She was committing a theft when she went down. She’s under Station jurisdiction until that is dealt with. She’s not going anywhere”

I couldn’t help to wonder if she just wanted to go against what I said, or if she was truly concerned about complying her duties to the station. “You’re not being reasonable” I told her ‘And when if it’s related to a telepath is she reasonable?’ Asked me Tee, I snorted at that, which obviously was not met with joy from Susan

“Fine, it’s my call and I’m making it!” she argued

“Excuse me but until this is resolved” Intervened Dr. Franklin “she’s still my patient and I’m ordering you out” he said looking at me “both of you” he added a second later staring at Susan. She nodded slightly but complied with his orders, I smirked following her out.

She headed, I know, to her quarters to change into her formal dress uniform in order to attend to the welcoming ceremony to the Mimbari war hero. I knew that would last at least 4 hours, so after 3 I headed back to Medlab, hoping Dr Franklin would not kick me out again.

He agreed to let me stay if I promised to not fight with Susan when she showed up again, I had no choice but to agree to his terms. A couple hours later, as Dr. Franklin performed more tests on the girl who was getting restless on her sleep, Susan entered the Medlab.

“How’s she doing?” She asked concerned, which reminded me that even when Susan did not like Psi Corps, she would always do what she thought would be the best for the people she was responsible of, this kid included.

“Well, she’s coming around” said Dr. Franklin as she opened her eyes, he leaned into the girl in order to be at eye level with her. “How do you feel?”

There was just a second of calm, which was broke when the girl lost control of her abilities again, I reached for her hands. ‘Talk her through this’ said Tee ‘I’ll try to keep her mind out from ours and get us the information you need to provide Susan and the Doc’  

“Calm down” I told her gently while everything she was hearing in her mind and everything that she remembered, was projected into mine, Tee helping me sort through all that information “Do as I say” I told Alisa, which I learned was her name, but she kept struggling in her mind, clearly overwhelmed by what she was experiencing “I’ll walk with you in your head. Now relax” she started to do that and I was able to focus completely on her “Imagine a wall inside your mind, behind your eyes” I ordered her, projecting myself briefly into her mind in order for her to see me there and physically in Medlab, while Tee kept my mind safe at the moment, knowing with certainty that Alisa was stronger than me. “Build it brick by brick” I showed her how I built my own wall

“I can’t” said Alisa struggling

“Yes you can!” I told her forcefully “Focus Alisa! See the wall. The sounds will go away as the wall goes higher” I assured her “You’ll only hear what you wanna hear” Slowly Alisa stopped struggling and started to regain control over her mind “Yes, like that. Just like that” I told her being able to see the wall she was building in her mind

“It’s better” said Alisa softly the moment she opened her eyes. I patted her hand and turned to Dr. Franklin and Susan letting them know that we had to talk, for which we walked a few feet away from Alisa’s biobed

“So how’d you get her name?” Asked me Franklin

“She can’t control her talent. She’s broadcasting every thought in her head” I told him “Her name is Alisa Beldon” I continued, now looking at Susan “she came to the station with her father looking for work”

“Computer, access Beldon Alisa” she said walking to the nearest console, not giving me a chance to continue “Here it is” she said when the search was done “Came here two years ago with her father, both Earth born, she was 12. Mother’s death recorded in Earth 6 years prior. No further information”

“Her father died last year. An accident” I told her causing Susan to sigh “She’s been living on her own in Down Below ever since”

“Am I under arrest?” Asked Alisa regaining our attention, making us walk back to her side “I had to eat, you don’t stay alive unless you have credits to pay with” she told us, which made Susan and I share a hurt look knowing she was right “You don’t have to feel bad about it, I’m used to do it for myself” she added hurriedly “My mom died young too, same as yours” she told Susan and I flinch knowing she was about to blow up to the kid

“Stop that!” Ordered and angered Susan, walking to stand a few feet away, near to the threshold leading to the hall

“What’s the matter?” Asked Alisa confused

“Alisa, you must never read someone’s mind without permission” I told her ‘No matter how much you want to or how easy it seems’ I added with my mind

“But it was so plain” she said defensively ‘Even when it was, it was a violation to her privacy’ I told her with my mind, she nodded and looked at Susan again “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean anything. I didn’t want to offend you” Susan nodded slightly but kept silent

“As I said, she needs to be properly trained” I informed them “As soon as you’re with the Psi Corps, the better you’ll be able to deal with this gift of yours” I told Alisa

“We still haven’t dealt with the charges against her!” Snapped Susan “Let’s take care of one crisis at a time, shall we?” she asked sarcastically “Keep me informed of her condition” she asked Dr Franklin before turning to leave. I watched him follow her to the door and was able to overhear their conversation

“Lt Commander, is there a particular reason you are so interested in this case?” He asked fishing for something, though I didn’t know what or why at the moment

“Yes” said Susan firmly, she then turned to face me and raised her voice to make sure I clearly heard her “She’s not leaving here Ms Winters, not as long as I have anything to do about that” I watched her leave, angered again.

‘We are not going to get her back if we keep up like this’ told me Tee, and I sadly agreed with myself.

“You’re in love with her” Stated Alisa, making me snap out of my musings

“I am” I whispered “But things have not worked out between us”

“What happened?” she asked me truthfully curious

I sighed “Don’t worry about that” I told her smiling “Why don’t you take a nap? You need to rest”

She stared at me for a moment and I knew she was considering looking into my mind to satiate her curiosity, she decided against it and nodded before laying down.

Before I left, I asked Dr Franklin to run a test on Alisa’s blood in order to know exactly what was her Psi Rating, I knew she was stronger than me, which meant she was at least a P7 or P8. A few hours later I came back with clothes for Alisa. I talked her about what life could be for her if she joined the Corps and how they would make sure she never needed anything at all

“I appreciate the clothes” she said studying the items I had brought for her “The other ones were getting pretty ripe” she added amused

“We should get you more outfits before your trip to Earth” I told her smirking

“And the Psi Corps pays for all of these?” she asked still amazed by that fact

“Of course” I told her as Susan walked in “The Corps takes care of its own”

“Why don’t you tell her what else the Psi Corps does when it takes care of someone?” Asked Susan sarcastically

“Lt Commander,” I started staring at her “this really isn’t of your concern” I was annoyed by her cold shoulder attitude now, and I really was getting tired of going in circles around her instead of being with her

“Yes it is and you know damn well why it is!” She said angered, stepping closer to us “Now, why don’t you let me talk to her for a while? Unless you’re afraid to let her know the other side”

I frowned at her. By that moment she should have known that not everything to do with the Corps was in any way related to her and her mother, or us for that matter. I scoffed but decided to walk away. While Susan presumably told Alisa in detail about her mother, I was with Dr Franklin waiting for the results on her blood tests.

“Definitely a high P10” I informed them after a few hours when we got the results back

“I bet Na’Toth would high up the bid if she saw those results” said Alisa smirking

“I thought you didn’t like contact with the Narn mind” stated Susan confused by Alisa’s comment

“I don’t have to go into their minds” retorted Alisa “I just have to give them the bio genetic samples they want” she added shrugging

“I could supply you with historical records of the Narn Regime” said Susan hurriedly. Disliking as much as I did the Narn proposal to Alisa “Take a good look at their homeworld Alisa” she suggested “The Centauri occupation left it bleak, barren, almost death. The narns are only interested in conquering other races now. They make slaves of their victims and despite Na’Toth’s claims, they’re probably gonna try to make one of you as well” she looked at me “A little like the Psi Corps” she added

“Lt Commander!” I snapped “granted you have your problems with the Psi Corps, and I sympathize with your feelings, but I won’t have you poisoning her with them”

“Like the facts about the lives they’ve ruined?” she countered “The people they’ve destroyed-?”

“And the good they’ve done!” I added interrupting her rant “Just because your mother didn’t cooperate-”

“Like your friend Ironheart-?”

“You leave him out of this” I told her through gritted teeth “don’t you dare bring him into this”

“I can’t believe that you’re still loyal to them even after that!”

“Corps is Mother, Corps is Father!” I retorted

“Bull shit! She deserves to know what kind of parenting the Psi Corps does! They killed my mother; they killed Ironheart, AND THEY HAVE YOU!” Whatever I was planning to answer to her argument, it died in my throat the moment she yelled that last part, I couldn’t believe that it pained her more the fact that I was loyal to Psi Corps than it pained her, her own mother’s death.

“STOP IT! STOPT IT BOTH OF YOU!” Yelled Alisa interrupting our bickering “You keep arguing about what you want, you don’t care about what I want… You don’t even ask” she said sadly gripping her head

“Alright, what do you want?” I conceded now worried about her, she was right, Susan and I were arguing back and forth about her future based on our own wishes and beliefs and surely we were bombarding Alisa’s mind with our own issues.

“To know the truth about my choices…” she answered truthfully “Is that all of it? Narn, Psi Corps, the drugs?”

“No” Said Susan surprising me “There’s one more possibility you should consider” I was just hoping she was not about to suggest that Alisa became a rogue.

Of course I should have trusted Susan from the beginning, she wouldn’t have let that happen to Alisa, she ended up taking her to meet Ambassador Delenn and after a mishap caused by Alisa’s curiosity prompting her to get into the Mimbari’s mind, it was worked out and she was offered a place among their telepaths, which ended up being the offer she decided to accept. I still thought she should have gone to Psi Corps, but I respected her choice and Susan’s efforts.

“And the Narn. Aghhhhh! Even though the price was right” said Alisa to Susan at customs as I walked to stand at Susan’s side

“There is no high enough price to compensate being surrounded by Narns” I told her earning a smile from the teen “I just thought I’d stop by and wish you luck. I don’t agree with your decision, but the Commander’s right, you could be of big help with the Mimbari.” I said smiling softly “And who knows? Maybe you’ll learn a trick or two and come back to teach us”

“Thanks, I might do that” she said grinning before hugging Susan good bye “I won’t forget you” she said. I know she whispered something else into Susan’s ears, but I couldn’t catch it.

“I can’t” said Susan looking at Alisa, who nodded curtly before turning to hug me in turn

‘She loves you too!’ Alisa’s mind screamed in mine ‘Don’t let her slip away’ “I think I wanna go the rest of the way by myself” she said out loud when she broke contact with me “Good bye”

“Bye” whispered Susan

“Good bye” I told her, sending a soft ‘Be safe’ into her mind as she walked away ‘So, what’s the plan?’ Asked me Tee ‘We woo her again’ I told myself “Are you busy right now?” I asked Susan smiling as she was turning to leave

“Hum, no, not right now” she said hesitating

“I wasn’t exactly polite to you over this whole thing” I told her truthfully

“Yeah, we both got a little hot, I think” she said awkwardly

“How about if I buy you a drink?” I asked her hopefully “To make up for it”

“I go on duty in half an hour” she told me, obviously looking for an excuse

“Good, then it’s gonna be coffee”

She sighed, but nodded her agreement. Unfortunatley, after she finished her cup and headed to the Dome to start her shift, she decided that her pride was more powerful than anything I could possibly say. “Ms Winters, this changes nothing between us”

“I think it changes everything Susan, you said-”

“Whatever you think is going on, it’s not.” She said cutting me off “I don’t want to talk to you again, unless it’s work related.”  She added before leaving.

‘So much for wooing’ said Tee in a sarcastic yet defeated tone ‘We might as well give up, I’m tired of this’ I added

I found myself several times staring at Susan from a distance in the following weeks, longing for her to at least acknowledge me again, I missed her so much.

By that time, Tee and I had spent a lot of time in meditation ‘together’ and going through our Psi Corps training. She remembered receiving training from different instructors than I did. We knew that at some point we had literally been one and the same, but somewhere along our life with the Corps, we had been split. What was odd was what happened when we split, usually, when a telepath experienced a mental disorder, mainly multiple personalities, Psi Corps tried to train the strongest and eliminate the weakest; but it appeared that they had decided to train us both when they found out about Tee. Tee said that she had a mission to comply here in B5, but aside from it involving keeping us safe she could not remember what it was exactly, she did remember that before Jason ‘gifted’ us, she was encaged within my mind, always watching and trying to talk to me in order to do certain things her way. We still could not work out exactly how the Corps trained us both at the same time, neither she nor me remembered having black outs at all, and she remembered being ‘free’ before heading to Babylon 5.

I had been lost in thought while having lunch one day, originally watching Susan across from where I was sitting, when Ambassador Delenn approached me. We had an amiably enough conversation to think that we were more than acquaintances though not friends yet. She told me that she noticed that my withdrawal from Susan had both of us looking to be unhappy.

“It seems obvious you both love each other” she said smiling, and I knew she was right, there was no doubt about how we felt, the problem was that her pride appeared to be more important to her than whatever I could offer “Which is why I don’t understand why you are staying as far away from her as possible”

“She found out I withheld information regarding certain aspects that would affect our lives if we did officially embark in a relationship, and she did not take it well” I said sighing “I don’t blame her though” I added looking past the Ambassador to look at Susan again.

“Still, both of you are hurting, and even when obviously missing each other you stubbornly refuse to work it out” she said teasingly “I indeed find you humans and your ways to be unfathomable” she said standing and staring at me “Do you want her to be part of your life?” she asked me then

“More than anything” I told her, at the same time Tee said the exact same thing in my mind. It was somewhat comforting knowing that both of us who were so different even when we were somewhat the same, wanted Susan to be in our life.

“Then you should not be sitting alone just talking to yourself and staring at her” she said amused before nodding in the Mimbari custom way and leaving.

‘She’s right you know? You can’t just quit. You have to fight for her!’ Said Tee “How? She was clear in her wish to be left alone, and I’m tired of this, she should fight for us too” I told her at the same time that Susan’s cousin, Louba, and the kid that helped me when we were attacked after our date, approached Susan and sat with her joining in for lunch. ‘How could we have forgotten about him?’ Asked me Tee surprised ‘He might be the key. We have to get him to tell us what was going on that night and everything he knows about Susan. Then maybe we can find a way to fight for her’

I spent the next weeks trying to get to talk to the kid, he was always around Louba or Louba’s mother, so it was a hard task to accomplish, and when I finally was able to approach him, he was not as useful as I had originally hoped for.

“Look, I don’t want to be rude, seeing as you are her ma… I mean, you are important to her” he said “But I really can’t talk to you about that, or what happened.” He started to walk away, but had to stop a few paces ahead to wait for the lift doors to open “Don’t give up on her though, she’s driving all of us nuts because of your absence” he said smirking before taking the transport tube that had just arrived.

Fighting for Susan turned out to be easier said than done, on New Year’s Eve I almost had her confessing her love for me and agreeing to work something out for us, she even admitted she did not want to lose me… but the death of President Santiago and the repercussions it had to Earthforce, put us in an uncomfortable impasse.

Chapter 26: Season Finale (CH 26)

Telepath Wolf

Chapter 26

Healer

“Lt Commander, may I have a word with you before you leave?” Asked me Dr Franklin one day after my weekly rounds to the clinic. I nodded, and let him lead me to his ‘back office’ “Listen, I don’t want you to get angry or anything, but remember when you said you wanted to share the fun as well as the blame?” I nodded but stared skeptically at him while feeling his hesitation and wariness about whatever that was about “Right, well, I need to inform you of something I’m involved with, that you might want to share the fun too”

He went on to tell me how he had started an underground railroad to smuggle rogue telepaths to other worlds, all of them obviously being ‘hunted’ by Psi Corps. He was using the clinic as a front cover and he had contacts that felt strong for their cause. He stated that he watched my interaction with Alisa and how I was adamant to keep her away from the Corps so he made the decision to let me on his covert operation.

“Look Doctor, I won’t stop you from helping them, but don’t expect me to go out of my way to aid telepaths, no matter if they’re affiliated or not to the Psi Corps” I told him truthfully

“But Alisa’s a telepath, and you helped her” he argued

I sighed “Because she is a just a kid.”

“There are children you could help too” he said in a hopeful tone

“Even when I know you might find young telepaths in the group you want to help, I simply don’t trust telepaths” I told him

“Ok fine, then I can only ask you not to report me on this” he said hopefully

“Just keep an eye out. Mr Garibaldi is a sharp man and so is the Commander” I told him before I left.

I asked Maher to keep an eye out too, and I ordered everyone to be on the lookout, considering that there were more telepaths on the station than we originally thought. So far we had only taken measures to avoid the registered alien and human telepaths on B5, we hadn’t count on the rogues.

Reports had come from our people in Mars stating that they had not found anything yet regarding the Psi Corps facility in Syria Planum, however they had noticed a group of people, humans and Mimbaris mostly, usually dressed with robes from some sort of cult, that were coming and going gathering information too, and that they stated that they were sympathizers to the Free Mars movement. Tessa’s report stated that they were more than apt fighters and that a few of them had taken to teach the rebels a few moves and strategic plans.

According to Zack, some people that were regularly on and off the station, matched the physical and dress description provided by Tessa, reason which I ordered everyone else to do everything within their power to find out more about them but being cautious of them, we didn’t want to expose ourselves to this strangers.

The new year was fast approaching and President Santiago was scheduled for a big speech on New Year’s Eve from IO’s jump point. And in the Galaxy front, the Narn and the Centauri kept attacking each other’s colonies, fighting over the control for Quadrant 37.

A piece of good news was that Maher had told Neeoma about our nature and being his mate, and Neeoma asked to be part of the pack, though not immediately, she stated she would like to wait a year or two before actually turning into one us, however she promised in the mean time, to keep our secret and help us in any possible way. Maher of course, was beyond ecstatic and I somewhat envied him, and the relationship he had with his mate.

“You know you could have something even better with Blondie if only you were not so stubborn” he told me once, but I left him standing there, not in the mood to argue, spar or anything at all.

On December 30, a lurker informant of Mr Garibaldi was attacked and luckily made it to Zocalo before collapsing. According to Mr Garibaldi, the last thing he said were the words ‘They’re gonna kill him’. Unfortunately he died in the Medlab facilities that same day. Garibaldi’s investigation on that matter lead him to a man named Deveraux, whom he placed in custody. No one in the pack knew anything about what had happened, and I ordered them to stay away of it in fear of interfering with Garibaldi, maybe I made a mistake then, but keeping everyone in the pack safe was my priority as Alpha.

By December 31^st, Jeff asked Garibaldi and myself to join him and Ms Sakai for dinner, which luckily gave me the perfect excuse to avoid Talia who had decided that day to approach me again and ask me out. To this day, I don’t know what possessed her to be so persistent about us, I’m grateful she was, but I really do not understand why she put up with all the shit I gave her.

“So, what’s the occasion?” Asked Garibaldi over dinner

“Who says there has to an occasion for joining you for dinner?” asked an amused Ms Sakai

“I didn’t get to be Chief of Security ‘cause of my good looks” added Garibaldi smirking. He was partly right, his ‘looks’ certainly were not that nice to look at.

“So, what’s up?” I asked too now intrigued, having gotten a scent of nervousness and joy from both Jeff and Ms Sakai

“We need you to do a job for us” said Jeff in a serious tone

“No problem, give me the guy’s name and I’ll-” Jumped Garibaldi, but his rant got interrupted by Jeff

“Not that kind of job” said Jeff amused now “I think the official title is ‘best man’”

“Best…?” asked confused Garibaldi, and I couldn’t help but wonder why his mind was so fast sometimes and others, such as this, he seemed to be so slow “You two?” He asked a minute later

“And I’ll need a maid of honor” said Ms Sakai looking at me “I don’t know anyone here so if you wouldn’t mind…”

“I’ll be honored” I assured her “Congratulations”

“Well, it’s great” said Garibaldi getting over the initial shock “After all this time, I’m glad things are working out for you. I’ve always been proud to be your friend Jeff, and I’m honored to be your best man, well, I’m honored to be the best at anything” we all chuckled at his rant, he was about to continue when his link chirped “Never fails… Garibaldi, what?”

“Chief, the prisoner you brought in, Deveroux, is missing” was heard over the link, I did not recognize who it was

“Missing?” Asked Garibaldi in an angry tone “What the hell do you mean?”

“I don’t know sir, he’s just gone” was the response he got

“Alright, I’m on my way” he said ending the link “I knew there was more to this guy than meets the eye” he told us “I checked the weapon I took of him, every PPG has a serial number on the inner coil. They are harder than diamonds so the number can’t be removed. But this PPG didn’t have a number”

“So you say he found a way to remove it?” I asked not getting his point

“I’m saying it was never there” he stated “Only special agents on Earthforce Security get unnumbered PPGs. This guy’s name wasn’t on file and now he’s gone. I don’t like this” he said standing and leaving to follow up on his case.

After dinner was over I changed into my uniform again and headed to CnC, a few more ships were scheduled to arrive before New Year’s Eve so I was on duty, partly due to the fact that being jew, I did not celebrate New Year as almost everyone else in the galaxy did. When the last scheduled ship for the day had docked I dismissed the ensign that was on call and gave him leave to go celebrate like everyone else did. I decided to lean back on my chair and turn on the ISN live feed on the President’s coming speech. It appeared that vice-president Clark disembarked ‘Earthforce 1’ earlier that day due to an illness, but that President Santiago continued with his journey to Jupiter. Talia came to the dome on that same moment, which in part pleased me but mostly it annoyed me too.

“You are not supposed to be here” I told her dryly still staring at the monitor with the ISN feed

“I just thought I’d make you company, no matter what you said earlier today, no one should spend New Year’s Eve alone” she said smiling

“I’m Jew” I told her simply. She stared at me, clearly not understanding what that had to do with anything at all. I sighed “I don’t celebrate New Year today” I clarified

“Susan” she started after a few moments of uncomfortable silence “I know I hurt you, I know I should have told you myself” she said sighing “But your pride and attitude won’t even let me fight for you and win your heart back” she added getting closer to where I was.

“It’s not a matter of ‘winning’ my heart” I said about to lose my temper “It’s about you losing my trust”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what would be asked of you-”

“You don’t get to be sorry!” I interrupted standing and glaring at her “You ruined whatever could have developed between us by not being completely honest with me!” I snarled at her

“I was always honest Susan!” she countered “I never lied to you!” she added, by that moment her scent shifting back and forth with each word that left her mouth.

“Withholding information is the same as lying” I countered back “I think that after our ‘date’ I deserved to know what would Psi Corps try to force me into if we continued seeing each other” I snarled

“No, you didn’t. At that time you agreed only to be friends” she snarled back

“Then what about after Uncle Yossel left?! Or as we got closer?! You know as well as I do that we were dating even when we didn’t acknowledged it Talia!”

“You lied to me too!” she said raising her voice “I think that after WE, as you put it, started dating, I deserved a truthful explanation of what happened with Vladimir after our first date, not the crap you officially reported to Mr Garibaldi and Commander Sinclair” she said looking me in the eye.

“I kept you safe!” I told her

“You killed him!” she stubbornly stated the obvious

“He wanted to force himself on you and I couldn’t let that happen!” I yelled at her “That’s what happened! Are you happy now?”

“No! I’m not!” She took a deep breath and sighed “I love you Susan, why can’t you see that?”

“And yet you are loyal to them, you won’t leave the Corps! You don’t even think about the alternatives!”

“I don’t have a choice!” She yelled back, her scent shifting and settling into her second one.

“The hell you do! You just don’t want to see them! I offered you an out and you refused to take it! You did not sign for exclusivity with my Company”

“What did you expect me to do?” she asked softening her tone then, looking sadly at me “I didn’t think you’d want to be near me… hell you can barely look at me even in those meetings you do have to attend!”

“Because I don’t want you to see how weak I feel!” I said choking a sob

“Tell me you love me too Susan, and we’ll work something out, together” she said offering me her hand, he scent settling once again on the one I had originally come to associate to her.

“Apparently that’s not enough” I said about to crack

“If you’d asked me to, really asked me to do it, I’d take the treatment in order to be with you Susan” she added.

“I can’t let you take the drugs Talia” I said softly, standing closer to her “I don’t want to lose you the same way I lost my mother” I added staring at her hand that was still raised, waiting for me to take it.

“You won’t lose me Susan, unless you keep pushing me away” she said taking another step toward me

“I can’t be with you! Don’t you see? We can’t actually be together Talia! I won’t be part of the Psi Corps, and you will not be part of my pack!” I told her without thinking taking a few steps back. I berated myself for letting it slip from my tongue

“You can’t blame me for not leaving the Corps when you obviously won’t leave your pack or tell me what you mean by that, what you really are!” she said in a serious tone while lowering her hand realizing I was not going to take it.

“Be as it might, you can’t compare the Psi Corps to us!” I told her angered again “We don’t take people by force, we don’t force them to be with us and we do not kill them!”

“And still, you’re not denying that you wouldn’t leave them!” she argued pacing

“I’m their leader! I am responsible for them! You are not responsible for anyone in the Corps!”

“Fine, answer me this then” she said taking a deep breath “If you were not their Alpha, would you leave your pack for me?”

My linked chirped preventing me from giving her an answer and interrupting my mind from going on overload by the fact that Talia knew that I was an Alpha, and probably even knew what I was and was just waiting for me to come clean with that information. “What!” I asked annoyed into my link

“Lt Commander, Mr Garibaldi contacted me with an ultraviolet alert” said Jeff over the link and I’m sure I paled, because Talia was again at my side in a second helping me to my seat.

“My orders sir?”

“You’re still at CnC?” he asked me

“Affirmative”

“Stay put. I’ll go meet with Mr Garibaldi as he requested, then we’ll contact you. But stay alert”

“Confirmed” I said into the link

“What is it?”Asked me Talia concerned “What’s an ultraviolet alert?”

That question snapped me back of my reverie. “Go to Maher, stay near him until I say otherwise”

“I won’t leave until you answer my question” she said stubbornly

“If you were not Psi Corps” I told her simply, deciding it was best to answer to her first question instead of going into detail of what possible scenarios the ultraviolet alert entitled “Now go!”

She was by the threshold when she stopped and looked back at me "And, yes," she said leaning against the wall next to the door, "The Corps would have wanted you to submit, but I never said I would ask you to comply with it, or actually let them into your mind” she sighed softly and ran a hand through her hair, her scent once again shifting back and forth, which was more confusing by the moment “I have thought about the alternatives Susan. Maintaining an association with the Corps allows me more freedom than the other options… It's not that I don’t consider them, it’s just that most of the time, I don't think about them. At least I didn’t until the moment I met and fell in love with you" she said holding my gaze “but as I just told you, if you asked me to, I’d take the drugs, or even become a rogue” she finally said as she walked out

I contacted Maher over the Babcom system and told him I had sent Talia to him, I told him I did not know exactly what was going on yet, but it was bad and dangerous so he had to keep alert and ready to take everyone, including Talia, away from B5. When I ended the link, I sobbed for several minutes, reliving the fear I had experienced about losing Talia on the few days that Epsilon 3 appeared to be a bomb about to explode; and all the mixed emotions I had felt ever since Mr Bester and Ironheart appeared in our lives. This last few months had been tough on me and my wolf, who made me run through deserted sectors of the station more often, and viciously spar against my pack mates. I had just barely gotten control over myself when the CnC link chirped.

“Sinclair to CnC”

“On line” I told him

“Mr Garibaldi was not at his quarters as he requested. I thought I’d check my quarters in case he doubled back. Still no sign of him. He is not answering his link. I don’t like it” he said worried

“Agreed. He wouldn’t call you with an ultraviolet alert and then vanish unless-”

“I know” he cut me “Keep trying to get him on the link. Let me know as soon as you hear anything” He ordered

“Confirmed”

I tried unsuccessfully to contact Garibaldi. A minute after the countdown to the New Year ended, I was informed by Dr Franklin that Mr Garibaldi was in the Medlab due to a shot wound. Jeff went in to check up on him and he learned that there was a plot to kill President Santiago at the transfer point in IO, which prompted the Commander to call in all the staff to their posts and ordered us to try and contact the President’s staff to warn them about that.

“Have you contacted Earthforce 1 yet?” asked Jeff as he walked into the Dome. We were all frantically trying to reach them on every channel known to us and our systems to no avail.

“Conventional channels have been jammed” I informed him “It started five minutes ago” I said glancing sideways to the feed from ISN

“What about Gold Channels?”

“The same” I told him “All channels around Jupiter are jammed”

“Use civilian channels!” he ordered frustrated “Get Earthcentral online”

“All I’m getting is a recording message from the relay station from Proxima” said Lt JG Corwin, who was one of the people I had assigned to try with the Civilian channels

“Keep working on Civilian channels” ordered Jeff “Maybe ISN can warn them”

We all kept working as we heard that ISN was reporting a 10 minute delay on the speech that had not started yet and no one knew the reason.

“According to our sources the speech is to contain…” started the reporter “Just a minute, we’re picking up an emergency signal now” Then the image on the screen changed to a feed from IO portraying the Earthforce 1 exploding. We all stopped dead in our tracks and stared in shock at the screen “Are we still on air?” asked the reporter “Station IO is dispatching hospital ships but it doesn’t seem possible that anyone could’ve survived”

“Shut it off!” Ordered Jeff as we shared a concerned look. If who had shot Garibaldi was still on the station, we had to lock him down and get a confession from him about what he knew and who were involved.

“Dr Franklin thinks they can begin the operation in about five hours” told me Jeff a few minutes later, when both of us were in the Medlab. “Even under good conditions the odds of survival are 50-50” he added sadly and I debated whether or not give Garibaldi the bite, it would increase his chances of survival, but I decided against it. I couldn’t force him into this and he was not in any condition to make a choice for himself. I had only been close to change one person in my life, and that was because two factors aligned together: he was about to die, and my ex-fiancée asked me to save him; however he had not consented to what it would entitle, but thanked me nevertheless, luckily he lived through that particular crisis without my help and to this date, even when he’s already passed away, I still think fondly of him and consider him one of the best friends I’ve ever had. So I could not change Garibaldi, it was against all that was taught in our pack, and everything I had ordered after we discovered what Vladimir had done. “Garibaldi mentioned a name, Deveraux… Check all out going ships. Find him.” He ordered, and I regretted for a second not sending anyone in the pack to keep an eye on Garibaldi while he conducted his investigation when he told us early in the night about this Deveraux guy “I want guards posted here around the clock plus 24hrs medical care observation. There’s always a chance that whoever started this, will try to finish it. I won’t allow that to happen. Understood?” he asked Garibaldi’s Second in Command

“Understood” He answered dryly and something in his scent seemed off. I left with Jeff the Medlab. I ordered Oskar and Dimitri to keep guard on Garibaldi; I then ordered Maher to assign a detail to find Deveraux, Zack would have to be part of that considering he was the only of us who had come across his scent, so he would have to track him down. Unluckily it turned out that Deveraux had boarded a ship and that meant that he was not on the station the anymore.

I tiredly boarded a transport tube and was joined by G’Kar and Na’Toth, they both sat across from me.

“I was looking for the Commander” said shyly G’Kar

“He’s in medlab” I said simply

“Mr Garibaldi?” asked G’Kar concerned

“We won’t know for a while yet” I said sighing

“I came to tell him that there seems no point to discussing Quadrant 37 on another Counsil Meeting” informed me G’Kar

“We imagine you’ve heard about it” added Na’Toth

I nodded, I had heard that someone had wiped out the Narn armada stationed there and a base they had there “Yes, a little while ago. Any clues to who did it?”

“No, none” told me Na’Toth

“My condolences on the death of your President” said G’Kar after a moment “This has been a black day for both of us Lt Commander Ivanova, a black and terrible day”

“We will find whoever is responsible for the destruction of our base” started Na’Toth “And we will retaliate”

“Though our two races have had our troubles…” started G’Kar “I wish you luck in your own quest for justice. May the guilty be found and punished” he said as I stood and exited at my destination.

I headed back to the Medlab after I caught on some sleep and told Talia it was safe for her to leave to her quarters or whatever her activities were, I just asked her to stay away from me and let me do my job. I think the only reason she agreed to, was that she knew this crisis was not going to be solved in a matter of hours.

“I just heard” said Londo as he entered the Medlab and stood at my side watching over the window to the ICU where Garibaldi was laying unconscious, while a group of Doctors worked on him “Is the Comander-?”

“I just relieved him” I told him “He’ll be back in four hours” Jeff and I had reached an agreement regarding our schedules to keep watch over Garibaldi and the station.

“How is he?” Asked Londo concerned about Michael

I shrugged not knowing the answer to that “They’re still operating. It’s taking longer than expected”

“Well… if you don’t mind, I would like to wait with you” said truthfully Londo “He’s an annoying man, but I would miss him if he…”

He did not finish that statement, with which I totally agreed. Garibaldi was annoying and obnoxious, but he was like the comic relieve we all needed in times like that. Little did I know of the things that the year that had just started, had in storage for us; they say that however you spend the beginning of the year is how you spend the rest of it, that year, 2259, I understood that saying.

Notes:

We finally reached the end of Season 1. And Susan was once again, about to give in to Talia, but stupid ‘booms’ keep coming their way, though I believe she actually gave in, don’t you?

So, what do you think? Don’t forget to let me know…

BTW, there’s a paragraph here that I remembered and decided to adapt from someone else’s fic, that fitted my needs for TW, I can’t remember whose and which fic, so if you do know where’s it from, let me know so I can add a special note here and give credit for that piece. (I’m talking about Talia’s statement about not thinking in the alternatives to Psi Corps, I know someone else wrote something similar in a different scenario and I don’t want anyone giving me hell for that… they can give me hell for not remembering whose, but not for not giving proper credit)

I have already outlined what I want for Season two and in lights of that, I rearranged the timeline (episodes) as I did with this Season. I will be posting soon here on AO3 TW-S02E01 (which will be E27 in general) --- Already up through to Ch 35 on ff . net

Oh! If you are wondering about the “Kosh, ViCaR and Talia incident” that in the series happened in S01E09 (Deathwalker), I decided to use it later on in Season 2, that’s why it was not here…

Notes:

And if you have a twitter account and are interested, you can follow me at @OriginalHealer

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 1 of Telepath Wolf