Author: Nora
Rating: M
Warning: If you are underage or don't care for relations between two women please go somewhere else.
Disclaimer: No infringement is intended upon the copyrights held by JMS, PTEN, TNT and anyone else who owns a piece of Babylon 5. I'm doing this to amuse myself and anyone else who cares to read.
Feedback is welcome at thanks to my Beta Leah
Summary: Captain Ivanova is sent on a mission sanctioned by the Psi-Corps and she meets someone from her past.
No Assembly Required
Part 1 - The Past Revisited
MARS - January 7, 2262
She could feel them trying to destroy her. How could they? After all she had done for them. She was their creature, they had made her and now she had outlived her usefulness. She wasn't going to go down without a fight. She screamed in defiance as she felt her carefully constructed psyche being shredded into a million torn and bloody pieces.
Mr. Braden looked down at the blonde-haired woman lying silently on the bed. She was curled in a fetal position on her side, her clothing not adequate to protect her from the chill in the air. The room was antiseptic and had a psychic imprint that was a cross between a hospital and a morgue. The walls were white and pristine in their cleanliness, bright white lights flashed down, adding no warmth to the room, only illumination. There was a feeling of death that lingered in the air, as if this was the last place many lost souls spent their final minutes in.
He had worked with two other P-12's to undo what had been done to the young woman. Initially he had told Al that he didn't think she was a good choice for the sleeper program. It was possible Director Johnson would take an interest in her, but then again the Director was a fickle man and there were no guarantees she would be placed in a position that would provide a return on the investment they had made in conditioning her. Even though the Director had a definite weak spot for beautiful blondes. Al had other ideas. He said regardless of where she was posted, she could be moved to other sensitive locations, so they had proceeded. It was only with the aid of the Vorlon data crystal that they had been able to destroy the artificial construct and bring back the original personality. That was a fortuitous accident. Who would have thought that the data crystal would almost literally fall into his lap?
Al was suspicious, that was obvious. She had been slated for termination; she had been involved in several assassinations. As a tool her thirst for more death and general disregard for protocol was making her a liability to the corps regardless of her unique abilities and programming. However, Braden was sure that she would be more useful with her original personality. He had something to offer that he didn't think she would be able to refuse. That of course was what had Al suspicious, there was very little that he didn't know or find out about and currently Braden's request had him on alert. However Al still owed him some favors from the past.
"Ms Winters, tell me what you remember?" A deep voice asked bringing Talia out of her musings. She looked closely at the man. He was muscular and fit, even if his gray hair and the lines around his eyes and mouth belied his true age. She thought she should remember him but it seemed that when she tried to think of the past it was like looking though a foggy netherworld. Some of the time the fog parted letting her see a glimpse of her past and other times there was nothingness. "I don't know. It's all indistinct." Talia shook her head trying to focus in on her memories.
"Hummm… well your memory should return. You will no doubt recall things that you will find unpleasant. I am here to help you with those," His deep rich baritone voice resonated in the silence of the room.
"Should I know you?" Talia asked still uncertain.
"We have only met once before Talia. I did an evaluation before you underwent psychic surgery about nine years ago. I'm here to make sure that we were able to undo all of that programming. My name is Lucas Braden," He stated smiling gently at her.
Quadrant 298 - February 12, 2263
"Delta 2, bank left." Delta leader called out to the starfury on his right as he executed a particularly intricate maneuver to try and get the attackers off his squad. Lt. Hayes tried his usual flashy style to impress the Captain.
"Boom, Boom, and Boom. I'd say that about finishes my re-qualification run," Captain Susan Ivanova stated rather smugly after trouncing several of her complacent veteran pilots. She headed back to the fighter bays relishing her victory.
"Captain, you know you cheated." Lt. Commander Jeff McKinney stated as he met Susan in the locker room.
Susan finished pulling on her boots after having taken a quick shower. "You know Lt. Commander you are no fun. Besides it wasn't exactly cheating, I'd call it changing the rules." She looks up at the Lt. Commander. He would be the perfect poster boy for Earth Alliance military. He had his blonde hair neatly trimmed. He was six inches taller than her with a very fit build. In this case the man definitely made the uniform look good. He had emerald green eyes, a chiseled jaw, and an easy-going manner that made him instant friends.
"With all due respect ma'am, I'd say you were playing a whole different game," McKinney stated with the barest hint of a southern drawl as he grinned down at his CO. "Not that I'm saying it wasn't about time Lt. Hayes had his tail handed to him, but ma'am you and Alpha wing took out all of Delta wing and there were only two of you. You know that's going to smart. And I am the one who gets to hear his whining."
"Just think of it as diplomacy training without the annoying politics of other governments. There is just me." Susan stated standing. She pulled her blue EA jacket over her white shirt.
"Well they say it's always better to live in a dictatorship ma'am," the Lt. Commander stated smiling as the Captain snorted at his comment. She headed toward the lift going to the bridge.
"When will we reach the transfer station on Io?" Susan asked as she stepped onto the lift.
"Eight days ma'am," McKinney moved in beside his Captain. "So are you looking forward to heading back to your old stomping grounds?"
"Not really, the last year out here has been good. I'm still not the most popular person with some people," Ivanova stated in an entirely candid moment. She had loosened up a lot in the past eight months. The first four had been spent taking the measure of her people and handling numerous border issues. It had taken her a while to get used to life on a warship and the Warlock class was a magnificent vessel. So far both the ship and crew had performed up to her high expectations with a few notable exceptions the most recent being Lt. Hayes display of ego. Luckily Susan was more than happy to deliver the cure for that. Recapping the past year of accomplishments she had done remarkably well. Her orders had sent her on the fringes of Earth controlled territory. She and the crew had apprehended raiders, made first contact, settled disputes and generally kept the peace. It had sent a signal that Earth had recovered from the Civil War, and was more than able to keep peace within its territory. She knew she was sent here for several reasons; the biggest had been to get her out of the spotlight. Many had not been pleased that she had escaped court martial for her role in the civil war and to boot she had been promoted to Captain, one of the youngest in the fleet. That brought her to the second reason she had been sent out. She had seen more combat in the two years prior to her promotion than many of her superiors. President Luchenko wasn't stupid. She could kill two birds with one stone. Susan was worried now that her yearlong tour was over. Politics was never something she wanted any part of. She liked the military for just that reason. You get orders and then you carry them out. No questions just execute it as stated. Okay maybe it wasn't as cut and dried with the former President Clarke but that's why she had followed her CO's lead. Sometimes conscience did come in to play. Of course Clarke had never been elected to the Presidency.
"Well ma'am, unless you want me to find some emergency for us to handle out on the Rim, Io it will be," the Lt. Commander stated stepping out of the lift and on to the bridge.
"That's not necessary, but I appreciate the thought. Lt. Jesai have you finished calibrating the sensors?" the Captain asked as she took her seat. The young lieutenant was another of her problem issues. Susan had worried about the crew she was assigned. She knew that she could have ended up with a ship of incompetent misfits, but it looked like she had only been saddled with a few that required a lot more work. What was it that Captain Hinton had said; you spend 95 of your time on the worst 5 of your crew.
"Yes ma'am. I've uploaded the information to your console." The Lt. stated pleased that she had just completed the adjustments the Captain had asked. She had a checkered history in getting things done to the Captain's specifications. She usually ran through things so fast that she missed the details and that caused problems with the Captain.
Earthdome - February 12, 2263
"Thank you for meeting with me Madam President," Lucas Braden stated taking a seat across from Susanna Luchenko. He left his antique cane resting on the edge of his chair.
"I wasn't aware that there was much of a choice involved Mr. Braden," the President was annoyed by the presence of the man in front of her.
"There is always a choice. Have you considered the proposal?" Braden asked leaning forward in his seat taking in the sight of the brunette. He could sense without his telepathic abilities that she wasn't happy.
"It has its merit, but sending a Warlock class destroyer with a civilian expedition could raise a lot of eyebrows in the Senate. This smells like something Clark would have done. I really don't like it," Luchenko stared into blue eyes.
"It isn't without precedent. IPX had a rather cozy relationship with the previous regime and we will be sharing the technology. Besides BTW is an interstellar company, they could choose to go to the Minbari, Centari, or the newly founded Interstellar Alliance. I am sure any of them would be interested in the proposal," Braden said rather smugly. He knew that Luchenko wouldn't turn him down and he didn't have to be a telepath to read her body language.
"I am surprised the Director of Psi-Corps gave you leave to personally oversee this project, but because of your unique position with BTW Conglomerate I can see how it might be in the Corps best interest." Luchenko sighed to herself, "You have my approval and you'll have the Senate's. Orders are being cut as we speak for the destroyer of your choice. The EAS Mediator is headed for Io after her shakedown cruise for a full debriefing and new orders," the President sat back in her chair as she looked at the man in front of her. She had known of Lucas Braden for a long time, and had met him when she was a Senator from the Russian Consortium. He always put her at ease even though he wore the uniform of a Psi-Cop. Susanna suspected that the only thing that kept him from having an unfortunate accident was that his family was the B of BTW, and he still had influence with them. The fact that he had access to the billions of dollars at their disposal had no doubt helped the Corps somewhere along the way. She wondered if the cane was really necessary. The man had to be at least eighty but he seemed anything but infirm.
Braden stood and nodded slightly to the President, "It is as always a pleasure to see you. I'll pass along the information to my associates." With that Braden took his cane and headed out the door.
IO Transfer Station - February 20, 2263
The EAS Mediator came through the jump gate on schedule. Captain Susan Ivanova looked out the bridge view port at Jupiter's huge red spot as it floated onto the screen. The trip through hyperspace was uneventful and Susan was already approving shore leave for her crew. They were scheduled to be at Io for three weeks for retrofits and to recap the last twelve months of data. Basically a chance to make sure everything worked out like it was supposed to. The Warlock class ships had new shielding that was a hybrid of Shadow technology and it still made Susan uneasy but so far it had proved highly effective in battle. Internal gravity was also new for the Warlock class ships and it had taken some of her crew a while to get used to not being in zero g.
"Captain, you've got a secure communication on Gold channel from Earth Dome, do you want to take it in your office?" Ensign Shelton asked.
Susan nodded in affirmation and headed through a door to the right of the bridge where her office was. She sat down and keyed the channel open. General Bremerton came on the screen. He was a no-nonsense, by the book career military man who had been in service for thirty-three years. This was longer than Susan had been alive. Luckily for Susan he wasn't a big fan of Clark's but he had not been in favor of open rebellion either.
"Captain, I have new orders for you. You will be receiving a hard copy as we speak through normal channels. Your ship is being assigned to assist BTW Conglomerate. You have an appointment to meet with Lucas Braden from Psi-Corps and Jonas Telrin from BTW at 1700 hours today. I want you to be on your best behavior," the Admiral was well aware of Ivanova's dislike for Psi-Corps.
"Sir, since when are we babysitting corporations?" Susan asked annoyed at this turn of events.
"Since I just ordered you to Captain," the General stated forcefully. It was the only way to get Ivanova's attention. He softened his tone somewhat and then continued, "I know this isn't what you were expecting, but this came straight from the top. Evidently the President owes BTW for their help after the war. So play nice Susan. Knowing you and your usual efficiency, you'll finish up and have them off your ship before you know it."
"Yes sir," Susan stated and the Admiral signed off.
IO Transfer Station - February 20, 2263 - 1650 Conference Room
Lucas Braden sat down in his seat, resting his cane nearby. He took in the feel of the room. He looked to his two companions. Jonas Telrin was dressed in a blue business suit. He was of medium height and had an unassuming manner. He would never stick out as anything other than ordinary, even if he was one of the top executives of BTW and Braden's nephew. Braden looked to the woman on his right. Talia Winters was very nervous about the meeting. She had pulled up her gloves twice and adjusted her dress three times in the last five minutes. During the past year, the blonde telepath hadn't left his side. He had tested her in every way possible to ensure the artificial personality had been destroyed. She still had some problems reconciling what the artificial personality had done while in control of her body. So far she had not met anyone from her past so this would be an interesting meeting for a variety of reasons. He had followed Ivanova's career closely and was looking forward to seeing her again, although he doubted that she remembered their first meeting.
Lt. Commander McKinney had to struggle to keep up with his shorter Captain. He lengthened his stride, and knew she was unsettled with the meeting they were about to attend. He had looked through her file before he was posted to the EAS Mediator. He knew she had an intense hatred of Psi-Corps and he hoped she could put it aside so they could carry out their orders.
Susan slowed and took a deep breath to let out some of the tension in her body and then steeled herself for the meeting. She went in the conference room and surveyed the participants. Her attention was immediately drawn to Talia Winters. She felt all the air leave her lungs as she literally fell in the chair across from her.
Her XO sat next to her and noticed her distraction with the gorgeous blonde. He immediately introduced himself and his Captain.
Braden leaned forward gauging the tension in the room. He could feel the energy that charged the air between the two women. He acknowledged the young mans introductions and began his own, "Captain, Lt. Commander, I am Lucas Braden. This is Jonas Telrin and my personal assistant Talia Winters, whom I believe the Captain is familiar with. I will get to business," Braden noticed that this got the Captain's attention as she focused in on him as he continued. "We will be traveling to a classified location with thirty other research personal and our equipment. After we are under way, I will give a formal briefing of what we expect to find." Braden turned to Jonas and nodded to him. The brown haired man took out two data crystals and passed them to the Captain.
"These give the specifications of how much space our equipment will require. There is an additional one on a new modification BTW will be installing on the Mediator. The modification should not delay our departure date of March 14. If you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them," Jonas finished in a rush as he saw thunderclouds brewing in the Captain's eyes.
"What modifications?" Ivanova asked in a deathly quiet voice.
"Really they are quite remarkable. The implants are placed on the outside hull where they increase the range of your sensors in Hyperspace and augment several of your other systems. I've already sent a liaison to work with your chief engineer, Lt. Commander Renovitch." Jonas hoped his quick response would defuse the situation.
"I see, and I assume you were given permission through all the proper channels." Susan was still angry but stewing over this latest pronouncement realizing that her world had turned upside down as soon as she passed through the door. She could smell a Psi-Corps plot, but she knew she needed some distance before she made any overt move.
"Of course Captain, I wouldn't presume to do anything otherwise," Jonas was honestly taken aback that she would think he would do things any other way.
Susan pushed her chair back and pocketed the data crystals as she stood, "Well if that's all we will be going now." The Lt. Commander quickly followed his Captain's lead, surprised by her abrupt change. The two swiftly stepped out of the room.
Braden sat back in chair and quietly said, "Well that could have been worse."
Talia looked briefly to Braden silently asking for permission to leave. He nodded his head.
Talia finally caught up with Susan just before she stepped into the lift with her second in command. "Captain, I would like to talk to you."
Susan didn't break her stride as she followed her XO into the lift. Talia also stepped in. Susan briefly looked at Talia and coldly said, "I think we said everything there was to say right before you left Babylon 5."
Talia sighed, "I don't think you understand what is going on here Captain." Talia moved in closer to Susan, "We really need to talk." Talia put particular emphasis on talk, her low husky voice igniting Susan's memory.
Ten minutes later the two are sitting in Talia's quarters. Susan sat on the couch beside her, "Talk."
Talia looked into Susan's stormy blue eyes, "The artificial personality has been destroyed Susan. I've been free of it for almost a year now. I've wanted to contact you but Mr. Braden has monitored me closely. They have been testing me to make sure it's gone," Talia's voice almost broke but she pressed forward. "I think Michael is inadvertently responsible for me getting a reprieve. I was slated for termination, and Mr. Braden came across a data crystal they found in his possession when he was reprogrammed. It was a recording that Kosh made with the assistance of a ViCaR." Talia felt Susan move her knee closer to her almost touching her dress. Talia was so scared that Susan would out and out reject her. Their parting had not been pleasant. She had reconciled all the memories of the artificial personality with her own and she was still sickened by what she had been forced to do. She felt Susan's gaze on her body, looking at her trying to gauge the sincerity of her words. Finally she could stand it no longer, "Susan, Susan say something."
Susan couldn't help herself. She wanted so badly to believe that this was Talia, her Talia not that creature that had inhabited her body. Hope however was a precious quantity that was in short supply for her. This could all so easily be another Psi-Corps trick. "What can I say Talia, I don't know what to believe. You've just got to give me some time," with that Susan stood up and headed out the door. She kept silently cursing herself for a coward all the way back to the Mediator.
The intervening three weeks alternated between flying by and crawling to a halt for Susan. During the day she spent most of her time immersed in the modifications to her ship, debriefing with General Mitchell the CO at the Io transfer station, and overseeing the BTW personal that were invading her ship. There were two people she avoided like the plague, Mr. Braden and Ms. Winters. It didn't help that every time she avoided Talia, she saw such pain it almost broke her heart. Still she had walled up her emotions so tightly it was almost impossible for her to break down and let anyone in. It was a lot easier just to stay alone. It was too painful when they left, and they always left whether by their choice or not. Susan's nights were filled with misery; she constantly awoke to nightmares. Some were of her mother, Sophie; Ganya, her brother; others of death, that of Talia, Marcus, and when she thought John was finished at Zha'dum. Andre' came to her and she always felt his disappointment with her choices even though she knew he had forgiven her before he died. Finally she had gone to the ships doctor to get a sedative so she could sleep.
IO Transfer Station - March 11, 2263 - 10:50 EST
"Captain, you've got a priority message from Mars dome. Do you want to take it in your office?" Ensign Shelton looked up from his console noting that the Captain was looking a lot worse than she had when he had left on leave two weeks before. He had just returned from Earth after seeing his mom and dad in Ottawa Canada. The Captain brought him back from his memories with little more than an unintelligible mutter that he assumed was a yes since she was headed to her office.
Susan keyed the comm channel open. Michael Garibaldi's smiling face appeared.
"I would say it's great to see you Susan, but you look like hell." His eyes showed concern as he looked at his old friend.
"Save it Michael, did you find the information I asked about?" Susan asked straight to the point.
"Well I did some digging around and what Talia told you could be true. It was hard to find out anything on Braden but I have a few friends who were able to give me the low down on him. It seems he works mostly in R&D. He's more of a scientist than a Psi-Cop and he's been involved in a lot of bad things. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't program Talia, so I don't know what you can and can't trust about her. There were some rumors he was the one who invented dust. He was on Mars for a few years from 2252 to 2254 and even earlier around 2234. I've heard other rumors that point to that being when the first Shadow ships were found on Syria Planum. I remember seeing something back then when I was flying shuttles. I don't know what he's got planned Susan but I'd expect the worst. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for you though. You know the funny thing is I did get the data crystal from Kosh but I don't remember having it with me that day, but I can't find it now." Michael finished in a serious tone.
"Thanks, it looks like married life is suiting you." Susan had a brief smile ghosting across her face after seeing that her friend was happy.
"Well you know Lise is about the only person who can keep me straight. That offer still stands; I could use you at Edgars industries if you decide Earthforce isn't what you want to do."
"I don't think I could do anything else Michael, but thanks for the offer and for the information. Anything on Jonas Telrin?" Susan asked.
"He's about as clean as you can get. He seems like a by the book businessman. Not even a hint of scandal associated with him. Which of course means he's real good at hiding his problems or he is what he seems." Michael paused and looked at the papers on his desk, "I think he's the real deal though from the people I've quizzed here at Edgars that have had dealings with him."
"That doesn't make this any less confusing," Ivanova chewed her lower lip.
"So when are you heading out?"
"Three days."
"Well keep in touch Susan, and if I come up with anything else between now and then I'll let you know." With that Garibaldi closed the connection and Susan stared at the blank screen a few minutes before returning to the bridge.
"Ma'am, if I could have a word with you?" Lt. Commander McKinney asked as Susan stepped back on the bridge.
"Sure, why not." Susan headed back to her office. She took her seat and motioned for McKinney to take his.
"Uh, ma'am, I hmmm…" McKinney stammered not being able to articulate what he wanted to say.
"Spit it out Lt. Commander." Ivanova was annoyed with her executive officer.
"You haven't exactly been yourself since we've been here at Io. If you want to talk I'm here," Jeff tried to ease some of his Captain's burdens.
"Noted, anything else?" McKinney shook his head no. "Good I'm going to go downside and get a meal. It will probably be a while before we get downtime. Actually I think I'm going to stay planet side tonight. Do you think you can handle the final preparations up here?" Susan decided at the last minute to try and unwind before facing God only knew how long with at least two telepaths only a few doors down from her quarters. At least Braden and Talia hadn't taken up residence in their quarters yet.
"Yes Ma'am. Do you want me to prep a shuttle for you or are you going to take a commercial one down?" McKinney asked standing.
"See if you can get someone to drop me off and then pick me up around lunch tomorrow," Susan stated after thinking for a few minutes.
