The journey back to Babylon 5 was uneventful. True to his word, Reed had the Human chef prepare pizza. The chef was a clever man. He made Italian pizzas for the Humans and a version of pizzas that the Minbari liked. By the time they returned to the station, Fiona felt rested. She enjoyed a couple of weeks of well-earned peace and quiet.
She paid no attention to the news of an Earth Force Ship arriving to enjoy a three-day pass. She went about her business as usual. The Zocalo was unusually crowded. Fiona had to smile. They were gropos. She remembered going on pass with her people. Sometimes they would go on pass right before embarking on an especially dangerous mission. She saw Delenn and realized there was trouble.
Several gropos wanted to fight the Minbari Rangers that protected Delenn. Boys will be boys, she thought. Fiona knew that Delenn was pregnant. She decided she had better go over and protect Delenn. The crowd was too thick for a quick walk so she telekinetically raised herself and then lowered herself in front of Delenn.
"Hello Delenn," Fiona said. "Would your Rangers be insulted if I offered my services to protect you? This way they could concentrate all their efforts on beating the crap out of these scumbags posing as gropos."
One man grumbled, "Who the hell are you bitch?"
Fiona said, "Colonel Fiona Mathers, retired of course." She could instantly tell the Rangers were not offended as they heartily produced their pikes. She said, "I love a good fight."
Delenn said, "You enjoy this sort of thing?"
Fiona said, "There's no turning back. They have to fight honorably and settle this now or else there will just be trouble later."
Delenn saw truth in Fiona's statement as the fight began. Honor was very important to the Rangers. She saw that some Human warriors held it in high regard while others did not. The particular gropos that had chosen to brawl were among those that did not. She watched, as more gropos were willing to take the place of their fallen comrades.
"Break it up!" Zack and his men were having a hard time controlling the rowdy crew of gropos. This time he had a little assistance from an old friend. Collins had arrived along with a general. The gropos wanted to keep fighting but they at least had enough discipline to follow a direct order.
Fiona cheerfully greeted, "Lieutenant Colonel Collins!"
Collins looked at her and said, "Enjoying the scenery?"
"Absolutely," Fiona said. "I see this is what you have to put up with these days."
Zack said, "Excuse me, but what exactly happened here?"
Fiona said, "Those gropos tried to attack Ambassador Delenn. Her security detail was obligated to counterattack."
Collins said, "I'm sure there's more to it than that."
Lochley arrived on the scene. The general wanted her to defer punishment to him. The two discussed the matter with Zack. Good discipline was lacking now among the gropos. Zack did not want any more trouble.
Fiona said, "We have some catching up to do. Stop by my quarters when you get a chance. Delenn, I'll escort you back to your quarters. Oh and Captain Lochley, I'm sure President Sheridan won't be too happy to learn that a bunch of undisciplined gropos tried attacking his wife. Good day."
As Fiona led Delenn into the lift, she could tell something bothered the Minbari woman. Delenn recalled another time when gropos tried to attack her and a female gropo rescued her. The Minbari war was over ten years ago yet still many within the Earth military held a grudge. Fiona saw to it that Delenn safely made it back to her quarters before returning to her own.
So much for a nice day of shopping, Fiona thought. She was pleasantly surprised when Collins arrived but slightly annoyed that the general had come with him. Maybe the man was curious about an ex-gropo officer forced into retirement.
"It's so good to see you again," Fiona said.
"This is General Buck Tyler," Collins introduced.
Fiona said, "Hello. I know, I'll make some coffee and we can have a nice chat." She headed to the kitchenette and started preparing the coffee.
Tyler said, "We didn't come for coffee. We're here to arrest you."
Fiona started laughing and said, "That's a good one."
Collins sternly said, "He's serious Fiona. We have orders to escort you back to Earth."
Fiona turned around abruptly and could tell he was speaking the truth. She continued preparing the coffee telekinetically, an act that bothered the general. She asked, "Why?"
Collins said, "You were recalled back to Earth and you failed to report."
Fiona stood with hands on hips and said, "That's ridiculous. I know better than to ignore a recall order. Just what the devil is going on here?"
Tyler said, "I have my orders straight from the president."
Fiona said, "Very well. It looks like I'll have to go to Earth to straighten this all out. I'll pack a few things – unless of course you intend to parade me around in prison garb."
Tyler said, "That won't be necessary. We leave in two days. I'll have to insist that you remain in your quarters until it's time to go."
Fiona flatly said, "House arrest."
Collins said, "Oh come on Fiona, we have our orders."
Fiona said, "I understand that. I can assure you that I never received any recall orders."
Collins said, "I understand you've been going out on a lot of assignments for the Alliance."
Fiona said, "That's true. John, you'd be surprised at what's going on. When the Vorlons left, they made sure to take all of their technology. The Shadows weren't nearly as considerate. There's a lot of Shadow technology cropping up in the wrong hands. There is also the problem of the super telepaths bent on galactic conquest."
Tyler said, "We've heard a little about that."
Collins asked, "Didn't you take care of that?"
Fiona said, "I dealt with the five that the Vorlons altered. Who knows what the Shadows did? Do you happen to know why I was recalled?"
Collins said, "Rogue telepaths are causing a lot of trouble and it's out of hand. Even the Psi Corps can't keep up with it."
Fiona scoffed, "They're the problem to begin with."
Tyler sternly said, "We didn't come here for a debate on the matter. I'll have to post guards."
Fiona said, "Very well, but if I were you I wouldn't trust Zack or his men. Oh, don't get me wrong. They are very good security officers but we have worked together for a long time. They might not react well to the situation."
Collins said, "I wish you wouldn't take it like this."
Fiona said, "I have no choice. I am obligated to obey a recall order. Now I didn't get one, but you have orders to escort me back to Earth and I must comply."
Tyler said, "Good day."
Fiona sat on the couch after Tyler and Collins left. She telekinetically poured a cup of coffee and made it float across the room to her. She was frustrated over the situation. Why would they claim she failed to report?
#B5#
"This situation is totally unacceptable," Sheridan snapped. He was standing in Lochley's office. The captain sat calmly behind her desk while Tyler and Collins stood impassively. Zack sort of half paced and half stood.
Tyler said, "She failed to obey a recall order. We have been ordered to escort her back to Earth."
Sheridan asked, "When was this recall order issued?"
"Over two weeks ago," Tyler said.
Sheridan cried, "Over two weeks ago? Hell, two weeks ago she was on assignment dealing with that army of telepaths that assembled on Tare. In case you've forgotten, General, she was the one that captured those two hundred telepaths."
Collins said, "We have our orders sir."
Lochley said to Sheridan, "You're not planning on granting her asylum, are you John?"
Sheridan said, "No. I'm going to call President Luchenko to get this matter straightened out. Did you know about this Elizabeth?"
Lochley replied, "I was unaware of any recall orders. Look, she's accepted the fact that she's under house arrest. She's willing to go with them."
Collins said, "That's to be expected. She is a professional."
Sheridan said, "Now it makes sense. You were sent to make sure she didn't try to run. Let's face it. She did run from Earth once."
Collins snapped, "That was totally different sir."
Tyler said, "Calm yourself Lieutenant Colonel Collins."
"Excuse me," Sheridan said as he deliberately left the room. He was furious. He was convinced there had been no recall order. He did not know about one, Lochley did not know about one and Fiona did not know about one. He returned to his quarters and contacted Luchenko. He pointed out that no one knew of the recall order except her and those she had assigned to escort Fiona back to Earth. Luchenko was being stubborn.
Even though Psi Corps apprehended two hundred rogue telepaths on Tare, there was still a major problem with other rogue telepaths causing extensive damage. The problem had been bigger than anyone had previously thought. Luchenko fully expected Fiona to depart with Tyler in two days.
Sheridan went to see Fiona. He was undaunted by the two large gropos that stood on guard outside of her quarters. When he entered her quarters, she was sitting calmly drinking coffee. He explained to her about the problem with the telepaths.
Fiona said, "I understand it is a problem. We knew this was going to happen. Now the bulk of the telepaths have been rounded up. Psi Corps can deal with the rest. I'm tired of cleaning up after their mess."
Sheridan said, "I can't force you to go or not go. We know that the Vorlon interference will eventually be filtered out of the gene pool, but you said it yourself. It will take several millennia. How much longer will these rogues remain a problem?"
Fiona replied, "Oh there will always be problems. The longer they segregate themselves from society the uglier the problem will persist. Psi Corps and its breeding program is a big problem."
Sheridan said, "We're working on a solution."
Fiona said, "I know you are. If this is not resolved by the time General Tyler is ready to leave, I will have to go. I cannot disobey a recall order, even if one was never originally issued. It's been issued now and I must go."
Sheridan had to consider the matter privately. If only he had given her special diplomatic immunity. Being a troubleshooter for the Alliance was not enough for Luchenko. Delenn had considered recruiting her to the Rangers but that would not suffice in the situation. Rangers were not diplomatically immune.
This political matter required a political solution. Sheridan knew that he could not bring a proposal to the assembly. Nor could Delenn as the Minbari Ambassador, for she was his wife. It had to be a planet with a member on the council. That ruled out the Centauri government. Garibaldi agreed to tell the Narn ambassador about the situation.
Narn requested that Sheridan call an emergency meeting of the Alliance Assembly. Sheridan insisted that he could not interfere. Only the Centauri Government was pleased with the situation. Narn was outraged. So were the Pak'Ma'Ra and many other governments. They argued for hours before they came up with an acceptable solution.
"The proposal on the floor is this," Sheridan said. "We have chosen to assign Colonel Fiona Mathers, retired of course, the post of Interstellar Alliance Crisis Intervention Envoy. We do this because of her past, present and anticipated future services to the Interstellar Alliance, which serves to protect the interests of its member planets."
Sheridan had wanted a unanimous decision but the Centauri would not yield. At least all of the other governments readily agreed. He closed the session and happily reported the outcome to a very perturbed Luchenko. As an official envoy, Fiona would enjoy diplomatic immunity.
#B5#
"Somehow the Narn government found out," Fiona repeated. "I have a feeling that you let that information leak out to them."
Sheridan laughed, "Mister Garibaldi happened to say something to the Narn ambassador who, by the way, heard the rumors."
Fiona said, "You're terrible."
Sheridan said, "President Luchenko realizes there's nothing she can do about the situation. She's dropped the warrant against you. She would still like you to go to earth to consult with Anderson."
Fiona said, "Of course I'll go to Earth."
#B5#
Fiona felt strange while she stood on the bridge of the Earth Force ship in civilian clothing. She watched as Babylon 5 disappeared from view. The ship entered hyperspace. Collins then escorted her to her room. She did not mind small quarters. She was extremely adept at maneuvering inside of an Earth Force ship. Collins had to return to duty. It would take several days before they returned to Earth. She ate with him at dinner mess.
"The Crisis Intervention Envoy," Collins said. "I can't believe Sheridan actually manipulated the situation like that."
Fiona said, "There's something you don't know. There's at least one more super telepath out there somewhere."
Collins said, "I thought you took care of them."
Fiona said, "I took care of the five that were surgically altered by the Vorlons. There is at least one more that was not altered by the Vorlons or the Shadows. I have no idea if the Shadows were aggressive in developing super telepaths."
Collins asked, "Do you know where this super telepath is?"
Fiona said, "I don't know. No one seems to know. This one is playing it cool. This one is natural born. I suppose that is one reason why the Alliance is so reluctant to see me compelled back into service. Of course there is still the problem of all that Shadow technology floating around in the galaxy."
Collins said, "We haven't heard much about that. We know that Clark worked with the Shadows, but the only technology he had was his fleet of elite ships. And we both know that Ivanova destroyed those ships."
Fiona said, "That we know of anyway. The giants of the galaxy may have left but the effects of their interference will continue for a long time I'm afraid."
Collins said, "You've changed."
Fiona said, "Battling super telepaths will do that to a person."
Collins asked, "How much have you changed?"
Fiona said, "I'm still very much the same person."
Collins swore, "Damn. There's no ketchup."
He started to stand until he saw Fiona telekinetically fetch another bottle of ketchup. Other diners were startled. She handed him the bottle.
Collins said, "Maybe you'd better not do that in front of the crew. You might frighten them."
Fiona said, "You're overreacting. It's not like the old days when no one knew what I could do. It's all out in the open. You're off duty tonight, right?"
Collins had to smile. He hoped that had correctly interpreted the meaning of her statement. After dinner, he escorted her back to her room. He kissed her, something he had wanted to do since he first saw her but circumstances had not allowed. If Tyler had suspected the changed nature of the relationship, he might have reconsidered asking Collins to keep an eye on the guest.
Collins said, "I love you Fiona. I got you something on Babylon 5. I know it isn't much but I knew the moment I saw you again that I had to do this. Will you marry me?"
Fiona looked at the ring and said, "Yes. Yes, I'll marry you." Collins slipped it onto her finger before the intense intimacy started.
#B5#
Collins found himself slightly embarrassed when he stood in Tyler's office. The general had noticed his executive officer never returned to his quarters. He asked, "What were you doing last night?"
Collins said, "It's a little personal sir."
Tyler said, "A little personal? Oh God, I've been set up. Sheridan was right. He said you were chosen for a reason and now I understand. She's your lover. You should have told me."
Collins said, "It's not what you think. Oh sure, right before the campaign to liberate Earth we were intimate. Then last night, well that is personal. But never before."
Tyler said, "I see, so President Luchenko doesn't know about this situation."
Collins said, "Not to my knowledge sir."
Tyler asked, "What are your plans?"
Collins said, "We're going to get married. We'll need to make the plans of course. She accepted my proposal last night."
Tyler said, "I see. Don't take this the wrong way, but President Luchenko will be pleased. She's concerned that the Alliance is taking the colonel away from us. She's convinced that Sheridan was behind that council meeting despite what the Narn Government says. I hate politics. They ruin everything. If you're sure about this, then I hope it all works out for the best."
"I'm sure it will," Collins smiled.
#B5#
It was a beautiful day. Fiona felt strange as she departed the shuttle. She had not been back to Earth since the liberation. She felt a sense of loss when Collins left. His ship was going on patrol. She would have to start arranging for a wedding when things settled down a bit. They had no idea when they could arrange a ceremony, so she had to prepare for a hastily assembled ceremony.
Fiona went to a hotel and she checked in. The escorts did not know how long she would be staying. Then there was the matter of Luchenko. The president had decided on an alternative course of action. Fiona was summoned to Anderson's office. She felt like a stranger in a city that had once been home. When she entered Anderson's office, she gasped in horror. He was wearing a Psi Cop uniform!
"Hello Colonel," Anderson said.
Fiona said, "Hello. What happened to you?"
Anderson said, "Oh this is my doing."
Fiona said, "You rejoined the Psi Corps voluntarily."
Anderson said, "Voluntarily as in I did this myself, yes. Really, I saw no other choice. The rogues are completely out of hand."
Fiona said, "That's for Psi Corps to deal with."
Anderson said, "Yes, but they seriously underestimated the situation."
Fiona asked, "What does your wife have to say about this?"
Anderson sat in his chair and sadly replied, "She's dead."
"I'm so sorry Tom," Fiona said.
Anderson said, "You always said that no matter what you had to make a decision. If it was wrong, you had two choices: fix it or regret it. I was caught between a difficult choice and I made the wrong decision. Abbey and my unborn son are dead as a result."
Fiona asked, "What happened?"
Anderson said, "I learned about a terrorist telepath cell forming in the city. President Luchenko said I had discretion in how to handle the situation. I chose to deal with it, but I notified Psi Corps of the situation. I found and I rounded most of them up. A few of them had already targeted a department store that they claimed was secretly owned and operated by the Psi Corps. I should have scanned the ones under arrest but no! That had to wait for the Psi Corps! While I was waiting, three of their associates blew up that store. I had no idea that Abbey was there."
Fiona said, "I have to play devil's advocate. Did they know she was there?"
Anderson said, "No. Psi Corps did not know either. What is the use of being a telepath if I'm not allowed to use my skills? I should have scanned them but I chose to wait for Psi Corps. Now I am regretting that decision. If I had scanned them, I could have saved all those people including my wife."
Fiona said, "You know how I feel about the Psi Corps, but I respect your decision."
Anderson said, "I wish you'd consider joining them at least temporarily. The situation is out of control. Hell, I know what happened on Tare. You apprehended over two hundred telepaths and handed them over to the Psi Corps. We did the same thing on Proxima 3. There's no alternative for us. If we go after these violent rogues, we have to hand them over to the Psi Corps. If you decide against it, then I'd like you to consider something else. I'll be leaving this afternoon. I need someone to take over my post as chairman of the committee on telepathic subversive activities."
Fiona said, "I can't do that. The Interstellar Alliance appointed me as the new Crisis Intervention Envoy."
Anderson nodded his head and said, "I understand. I have a job to do and it can't involve sitting behind a desk."
Fiona asked, "How does Psi Corps feel about all this?"
Anderson said, "I was raised by the Corps. Parents can be very forgiving. They promised there wouldn't be any shenanigans and I'll be allowed to leave when I'm ready. I have to do this. I have the training."
Fiona said, "You have the skill and training. You must do what you feel is right. I hope it all works out for you Tom."
Anderson said, "I hope so too. I'm glad you came. You've changed."
Fiona said, "John finally got up the gumption to propose marriage."
"Psi Corps won't like that," Anderson said. "You know how they feel about telepaths marrying non-telepaths."
Fiona said, "I know, but it won't really matter much. They want telepaths to marry other telepaths to ensure strong telepathic children are born. I can't have any children. I waited too long."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Anderson said.
Fiona said, "The fault is mine. I always wanted a child, but that's no longer possible."
"So you're the end of your line," Anderson said.
Fiona said, "In a sense, but I'll be around for a very long time – unless, of course that super telepath manages to kill me."
Anderson said, "I thought you killed all of them."
Fiona said, "There's at least one more super telepath out there that I know of. I hope you can understand why I'm needed elsewhere."
Anderson said, "Not entirely, but at least I can tell your reasons are based on something with a purpose. We were lucky those super telepaths never made it to Earth."
#B5#
Fiona felt a sense of frustration. She should have argued with Anderson. Something was horribly wrong if he felt the Psi Corps was the only way to deal with the rogue telepaths. She met with Luchenko the following day. The president offered her Anderson's post and Fiona declined to accept it. Luchenko allowed her to return to Babylon 5.
On the passenger ships she took, Fiona found she was constantly lost in thought. She had ten thousand years of history to sort through as well as the knowledge of the Vorlons. Then there was Anderson. The man had always respected and admired her. Did he secretly love her? Did he marry Abbey because he knew about her and Collins and decided not to interfere?