A Place to Call Home

by Terri Osborne

Susan Ivanova and Lyta Alexander take on the Psi Corps. My take on the Telepath Crisis. (Story is incomplete. Publishers are beginning to be interested in my non-B5 work, so I am not sure when I'm going to get back to this.))

3.

A Place to Call Home
By Terri Osborne
terri@terriosborne.com
Part 3

All Babylon 5 characters and settings belong to JMS, Warner Brothers, TNT and anyone else with legitimate legal claim. No infringement of copyright is intended by this work. Only a few select characters are mine, and should the Great Maker need them, or anyone similar to them, I can probably be bought off with a story credit. ;-)

Even though this covers the same time period and the same major event, no infringement upon J. Gregory Keyes' novels is intended. Though, I will draw upon them for some background information.

Content Warning: [AC] [AL]

Anything encased in * these * is telepathic speech.

A note from the author: This story centers around three characters, Susan Ivanova, Alina Minette (yes, she's baaaack) and, to a certain extent, Lyta Alexander. To the I&M'ers out there, stay tuned, my friends. For the spoiler-allergic, provided you haven't read it already, I would recommend waiting to read Only Those Whose Lives Are Brief. In an intentional Babylon Squared/WWE homage, the flipside of at least one scene in Brief will show up here.

Since I'm not sure of everyone's schedules, I'll include this potential spoiler warning: I'm a continuity junkie, so this includes events through Season 5, as well as things that were revealed in the closing credits of Sleeping in Light. (If you've seen it, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. If not, that's okay, it's not quite that obvious.) Background information on the Psi Corps comes from the Keyes novels. Set in the same potential future as Only Those Whose Lives Are Brief. Considering that this covers the time frame of late 2263 - early 2265, I suppose everything is a potential spoiler (though, it would be one INCREDIBLY lucky guess).

And thanks to Sarah, Sharon and Keith, my eagle-eyed beta readers! Virtual boxes of Godivas to all of you!

Now that I've probably confused the daylights out of you, how about we fix that?

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February 28, 2264

Susan dragged herself out of bed with all of the enthusiasm of someone headed for their doom. After all of these years, she still hated mornings.
Of course, getting up in the morning had gotten exponentially more difficult since she had begun having the dreams.
Delenn had suggested that they were her mind's way of dealing with the grief. She believed that the dreams had given Susan the chance to say goodbye.
What Delenn didn't know was that Susan had no intention of doing anything of the kind. The dreams had become her way of keeping him alive.
"Bridge to the Captain. Approaching jumpgate."
Susan groaned as she shrugged into a clean uniform. She reached onto the top of her dresser for her link, but brushed against something else instead.
A Ranger's pin.
A weary smile crossed her face as she wondered if they had noticed it was missing yet.
She grabbed her link, placing it on the back of her hand. Her sleep-clouded mind debated whether to answer the call, and thereby acknowledge her existence.
Arriving at the realization that if she didn't answer soon, they would probably send out a search party, she tapped the link. "I'll be right there. Ivanova out."
She was standing on the bridge as the Valkyrie left the jumpgate. "Any sign of Emphili ships?"
"No, Captain."
Susan nodded. "Okay, keep an eye out. Their captains can get a little nervous. They may not like us hanging around here. You've got the coordinates of the settlement?"
Her executive officer curtly nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Shuttle's ready for you in Bay One."

----------

The ship settled onto the planet's surface in a haze of steam. It was no wonder Lyta had gone off on her own. Every sensor on the shuttle's environmental panel said that the climate was well beyond the long-term tolerance range for a human being. Too hot, too sunny, too humid.
"Sounds like the perfect environment for a Narn," Susan told the panel as she reached for her PPG. The Great Maker only knew what kind of animal was just outside the door, waiting on her to leave the ship and become the lunch special.
She punched up the Valkyrie's map of the settlement, setting the shuttle's scanners on the area around her to see precisely where she had landed. A small white dot appeared on the map just outside the settlement's perimeter, near the small, secluded hut that she was certain belonged to G'Kar. A three-point landing, as usual.
"Perfect," she said, pulling herself out of the pilot's chair. The gravity was very close to that of Earth, which didn't help as she picked up the heavy supply pack and hefted it onto her back. She was bolstered by the thought that at least she wouldn't be bringing all of the pack's contents back to the shuttle.
If she was going to grill G'Kar for information, she might as well bring him some of the luxuries of home as payment.
"Now, I wonder," she muttered, tapping the buttons of her link. As she set up the shuttle's scanners to track her link, she also set up a large portion of the ship's computer as a storage area. She fully intended to fill it with one large data file after this little meeting. Maybe she could even get G'Kar to record it for her.
When everything was set up, she triggered the hatch and stepped outside.
"What is this?" she groaned. "The humid level of Hell?"
It took almost no time for the sweat to begin trickling down her back. A part of her wished she had brought some of her gym clothes on this trip. At least it would have been more comfortable than the white cotton of her uniform shirt.
"Oh, is it time for a diagnostic on the scanners!" she said, surveying the area. The terrain that surrounded her was somewhat more uneven than the scanners and maps had made it out. She noticed a distinct lack of underbrush, but the ferns that seemed to surround her made up for that. It almost felt as if she were standing in a jungle on Earth, only warmer.
Much warmer.
The thought of a jungle made her stop and check her boots and pantlegs for small insects before trudging onward. The last thing her crew needed was for her to bring back some carnivorous alien ant.
It seemed to take an eternity for her to cross the few meters from the shuttle to her destination.
"God, I won't have to go to the gym for a month," she said, struggling to get up the steep slope that greeted her just outside the settlement's walls. She couldn't remember being so exhausted. Maybe there was a communication unit nearby. Judging by the brick and mortar wall that stopped about four feet above her head, the settlement didn't seem likely to have that much in the way of technology.
How was she supposed to get into the place, yell?
"No," she said to herself, "with my luck, they'd probably just shoot me."
From behind her came the creaking of a heavy wooden door opening.
"Hello?"
Susan almost collapsed at the sound of G'Kar's voice. She attempted to turn around, but the load strapped to her back threw her off-balance. A solid hand to her back stopped her from falling back down the slope.
"Captain Ivanova? My goodness. Let me take that from you. This hill is not for someone with such a heavy load."
She attempted to remove the pack, but just removing the strap from one shoulder knocked her off-balance once again. "It's not that. . . . whoa!"
It took a quick hand to the arm to save her from a tumble down the hill. G'Kar relieved her of the pack when she had regained her balance. He carried it as if it were weightless. "Come in, Captain. You need to rest. You must be dehydrated from the climb. Humans cannot tolerate this environment for very long."
Susan wiped the sweat from her brow. He was right. Water hadn't sounded so good in months. She nodded, and followed him through the large entry gate.
The settlement reminded her of something out of an ancient history book. The buildings looked molded out of clay, with dried branches on top for roofing material. Everything around her was a shade of either brown or green. "Desert indians," she whispered.
"What?"
She took a deep breath, difficult in the damp air. "Desert indians. Humans used to build houses like this a long time ago. But they lived in the deserts, not jungles."
"Ah, yes," G'Kar nodded. "I believe I know what you are referring to. Lyta told me stories of her ancestors living in such structures only two centuries ago."
"Lyta," Susan said. "She isn't here?"
The Narn scoffed. "No. Even with the biological enhancements the Vorlons gave her, she was still mostly human. She could not live here for very long. We ventured to other places, but I eventually returned here. Ah, here we are."
G'Kar followed her inside a humble building that appeared to be the settlement's main structure. The shade provided some comfort as she gently lowered herself into a chair made out of stone. When she finally caught her breath, she asked, "How long ago did she leave?"
"Let me think. We found this sanctuary shortly after our travels had begun. After about a year on your Earth calendar we returned to this place." He gestured toward the building that surrounded them. "Lyta suffered as you suffer, Captain. When I chose to make my home here, I gave her our ship to continue her journey."
He handed her a bottle that felt as if it had been anywhere but in that heat. "Your water," he said.
She pulled the top from the bottle and took a long drink. It was water, all right, the purest, coldest, freshest water she had ever tasted. "Thank you, G'Kar," she said, finally pulling the bottle from her lips. "I came here looking for her."
The Narn scoffed once more. "And here I thought an Earthforce shuttle came looking for me. Why would you be looking for Lyta? She hasn't done anything wrong, has she?"
"Not yet," Susan said, recovering somewhat. "It's what she might do that's got Earthdome worried."
"Might do," G'Kar snorted. "Captain, when Lyta joined me on this journey she was an angry person. Angry at Sheridan, your Psi Corps, even the Interstellar Alliance itself. Lyta was furious with the universe and everything that it had done to her. I knew her anger, Captain. I even understood it. But in the year she traveled with me, I saw her change. I saw her discover in herself a capacity for peace that I did not honestly think was possible."
Susan attempted another deep breath of the humid air as she absorbed the information. "I can understand her anger at the Corps, but why John?"
The Narn's eyes shot open. "Why Sheridan? You mean you do not see what was done to her?"
"I know the Vorlons made her a stronger telepath so she could carry Kosh," Susan said. "What else is there to know?"
"Oh, they did much more than that, Captain. Much more. Have you forgotten that Sheridan carried a part of Kosh with him to Z'ha'dum and back?"
It took a second for the true weight of G'Kar's words to sink into Susan's mind. "And as far as we know the Vorlons never had him. So, Lyta didn't need what they did to her just to carry Kosh around. They did it for another reason, but what?"
"What, indeed. After you left Babylon Five her life began to change."
"I know all about Byron."
"Do you now?" G'Kar folded his hands in his lap. "So you know the memories that her time with Byron's colony evoked?"
"Memories?"
"Captain," the Narn said, leaning closer. "What were our best weapons in our fight against the Shadows? Even better than the White Star fleet?"
"Telepaths," Susan said. That was when it finally clicked into place. "Byron said the Vorlons created telepaths on every world they could. They were engineered as weapons to fight the Shadows. To take a telepath and make them stronger would be like putting a nuclear warhead on a missile. Instead of just a weapon, you'd have a weapon of mass destruction."
"Is it any wonder that Z'ha'dum exploded shortly after Lyta entered the area?"
Susan's eyes bulged. "That's right. When we were looking for John, she must have set off the planet's defenses. Once the Shadows left, the defenses must have gone down and she was able to blow it."
"She told me about that trip. It was her belief that those defenses had been constructed to ward off any telepathic intrusion."
"They must have known that the Vorlons would create someone like her."
G'Kar raised a finger. "Yes, but a thought has concerned me since Lyta went off on her own. What if they created more than one of her?"
The heat was beginning to get to her. She took another drag from the water bottle. "More than one Lyta?"
"More than one super-telepath. I have seen Lyta's true power, Captain, and it is terrifying. The idea that there may be more than one of her kind in the galaxy...."
Susan shook her head. "Somehow I don't think that happened, G'Kar. Whoever it was would have had to get to the Vorlon homeworld and back just like she did. We'd have heard about that."
"Would we?"
Susan gave it a moment's thought. "You're right. Damn. I just wish I could understand what she's so mad at John about."
G'Kar placed a hand over hers. "You do understand. More than you realize. You see, you and Lyta have one vital thing in common."
"And that is?"
"Each of you has had someone you care a great deal for sacrifice themselves for a higher purpose, and you have both placed the blame for what happened onto the wrong person."
Susan's brow furrowed. "What Byron did isn't even in the same league as Marcus. Byron was a martyr, pure and simple."
"Yes," G'Kar nodded. "I suppose that much is true."
"You read the reports?"
"I had a first-person account."
"Really?" Susan asked, surprised. "From what I read, it doesn't sound like something Lyta would want to talk about."
G'Kar pulled himself out of the chair. "No, it does not sound like something you would want to talk about."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
The Narn stared at her intently. "What it means, Captain, is that at this moment you are no better off than Lyta was when she joined me on this journey."
Susan crossed her arms over her chest. "Sorry, G'Kar, but I'm not carrying around any repressed anger."
The Narn's eyes widened. "Oh, Lyta wasn't repressing her anger. She was simply directing it at the people she blamed for Byron's death. I had hoped it was not true, but it would appear that you are doing the same thing."
Susan glared at him. "Doing what?"
"You blame yourself for Marcus, correct?"
Her breath caught at the simple statement. "If I'd have been able to stop him, I would have. You have no idea. He still had so much to live for, G'Kar. I mean, where did he get off thinking that my life meant more than his?"
"There are many different varieties of love, Captain, but it all serves the same higher purpose. Marcus and Byron both gave their lives so that the people they loved most could go on."
Whether it was a tear that ran down her cheek, or just a bead of sweat, Susan could not tell. "Stephen told you?"
"I am afraid not. If there is one thing I have learned since I began writing, Captain, it is that the events are what truly tell the story. I have had very few friends who were not Narn, but I was proud to consider Marcus in that group. Naturally, I was curious about his death. Most of it is supposition, of course."
Susan took a deep breath. She could not believe how fresh the wound still was after two years. Two years of searching for a way back. Two years of living with the 'if only's. If only she had come out of it a few minutes earlier. If only she'd accepted what had been so obvious to everyone else. If only she'd admitted the truth.
If only she'd done something.
Maybe G'Kar was right. Maybe she did understand Lyta better than she thought.
Maybe that understanding could help track the telepath down.
"Did Lyta say where she was going?" she asked.
G'Kar scowled. "No. She did not."
Susan's link chose that moment to chirp.
"Ivanova, go."
"Captain, we've got a message coming in from Babylon Five. I can pipe the audio down to you."
"Yes. Let me hear it."
There was a crackle of static before Susan heard Zack Allan's voice from the small speaker. "Captain?"
"What have you got, Zack?"
"We had a visitor who says she was approached by Lyta."
Susan raised an eyebrow. "She told you that?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Did she say where she ran into her?"
"Daltron Seven."
"How long ago?"
Zack hesitated. "Two or three weeks. She wasn't sure."
"Then that's where we go next. Anything else?"
"Something you might be interested in."
"What?"
"She was looking for Marcus. Claimed they were old friends."
Susan's heart stopped for a split second. "What was her name?"
"Liana Stewart."
"Zack, can you do me another favor?"
"Sure, Captain. What?"
"Pull everything you can on her and send the file to my personal address on the Valkyrie."
"Already on its way."
Susan smiled. "You're the best, Zack."
"Hey, I had great teachers. Babylon Five out."
Placing the cap back onto the water bottle, Susan handed it back to G'Kar. "I'm sorry, but-"
"You've got to go. I understand, Captain."
She reached for the pack. "I did bring you a few things, though."
The Narn gave a flattered chuckle. "For me? Captain, you didn't have to."
"Now you tell me," Susan groaned. "Consider it payment for the information on Lyta."
He placed the pack down as if it had no weight. "There is something else you need to know, Captain. It may affect how she responds once you find her."
"What?"
G'Kar pursed his lips. "A part of Lyta's anger was directed at our War Council."
This took her by surprise. "The War Council? What did we do?"
"It is precisely what we did not do that angered her, Captain. And it is high time we all began to acknowledge our part in what has occurred since."
Susan shook her head. "Did not do? I'm sorry, G'Kar, but I don't follow you."
He reached out and took her hand. "She loved Kosh, Captain. Worshipped him as an idol. After the Vorlons became involved in the War, Kosh changed. He abused Lyta in ways you could never understand. When Kosh was eliminated, she was like a ship without direction. The War Council tried to give her that direction. We used her against the Shadows, just as we used every telepath who would join us. Without her, I dare say we may not have won the wars."
"You're right," Susan said. "Without her we wouldn't have been able to figure out how effective telepaths were as weapons."
"Precisely as the Vorlons must have intended her to be used. And I am sorry to say that we, too, treated her as such."
"What?"
"When the Vorlons left the galaxy, what became of Lyta? She no longer had a purpose. Her life as she knew it was gone. And to make matters worse, Sheridan tried to take away her home."
Susan held up a hand. "Now, wait. We needed money to run the station. It was a matter of economics."
"Was it? She was a rogue telepath. No one would hire her. Do you know what she had to do just to get a job?"
She shook her head.
"That which sickened her, Captain. She signed a contract with Bester that took her off of the rogue list."
Susan's stomach turned. "Talk about making a deal with the devil."
"Precisely. And we gave her no other choice. Think on this as you search for her, Captain. She was forced to rejoin the Corps because we had no sense of gratitude. She was a civilian, not a warrior like you or I. We presumed too much of her. We all owed her our lives several times over, Captain. We still do. And how do we choose to repay her?"
"No wonder she's angry," Susan said, her mind whirling with the new information. She could not deny the fact that G'Kar was absolutely right. "Everyone was so afraid of what the Vorlons did to her."
"We fear most that which we do not understand. Now that you know more, take that knowledge with you on your search. Let it color your actions. After all that has happened to you, Captain, you may be the only person left that she will trust."

[End part 3 of ?]