Out Of The Darkness Chapter 4: , a babylon 5 fanfic

[AC][AL][GD (Graphic Descriptions)][V (Not quite mild violence, not quite extreme violence)]

Disclaimers: All B5 characters and settings belong to JMS and Warner Brothers and anybody else with legitimate legal claim. Don't want them, not claiming them, just borrowing them. Only one character's mine, but if the Great Maker needs her, or someone similar to her, she's his.

Spoiler warning: *Definitely* contains spoilers up to the current U.S. episodes of Season 5 (as much as I can actually use within the context of this story), as well as Book #9. *Could definitely* contain spoilers through the end of Season 5.

This is my first foray into the mystery genre, so please forgive any really glaring errors.

Big boxes of virtual Godivas to all who helped in the birth of this baby! You guys are the best!

Enough of my stalling. After some brief spoiler space for those who may not be up-to-date with the U.S.. . .

Perpetual dedication:
Dedicated to those of us who think there had to be a better way for Ivanova to realize it.

******

Going back to Earhart's was something I had been looking forward to. Everything was just how I remembered it, with one small exception. Somewhere along the line, they'd opened the doors to the Rangers.
I counted uniforms, and came up with nine human Rangers, all of them mingling with Earthforce officers. Good. Maybe the Earthforce rats would learn a thing or two.
One of the Rangers I spotted was Alina. She was sitting with Stephen, laughing like someone had just told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard.
I slid up to the bar, and a drink appeared before I'd even had the chance to order. One sip told me that it was a half-decent pint of ale. I would have preferred vodka, but this would do.
Funny, two years ago I wouldn't have touched a pint of ale.
I shrugged off the idea and handed the bartender my credit chit.
When I turned back to the room, it felt like every Ranger in the place was staring at me. In a way, I could understand what they must have been going through, what it felt like to be hunted. The days when I had been near the top of Clark's most-wanted list were still fresh in my memory.
A couple of the Rangers gave me curt, but polite nods. A few others smiled and lifted their glasses toward me. I memorized each face, chalking them up as potential allies simply by their reaction to my presence. The more chilly receptions, however, I gave more attention. If I'd learned anything from Garibaldi, it was to keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
"Susan!"
I turned toward the voice and found Stephen gesturing me to their table. I didn't want to disturb their night, but standing at the bar by myself was getting to be depressing. Besides, they were offering, right?
So, I went over.
"Come to check up on me?" Stephen asked.
"No, just needed to get away."
"You're more than welcome to join us, Captain," Alina said.
It took a little convincing for them to get me to sit down, but eventually I ended up in the chair beside Alina. The waiter showed up with another round of drinks, completely unasked.
"So, Captain, how are you settling in?" Alina asked.
"Okay, I guess. I never realized how much I missed a hot water shower, though."
Stephen gave me a sarcastic look. "You got command of the most advanced Earth destroyer in history and you're complaining about the shower?"
"You should have seen the utility closet that passed for my office," I said. "Give me White Star 3 any day."
Alina raised an eyebrow. "And what do you know, that's precisely what President Sheridan did. Funny, that."
The smile on her face was the only thing that told me she was joking.
I stared at her for a couple of seconds, dropping the telepathic barriers and allowing the white noise of thoughts into my mind. It took a lot of concentration just to separate the voices, even more to localize the voices I was listening for. I found Stephen, wondering just what I was doing.
I *still* couldn't hear Alina.
I threw the barriers back up, praying no one had noticed.
Alina simply stared directly at me, smiling like a Cheshire cat.
"Back to your old uniform, Captain?" she asked. "I must say, I like the new addition. Is that what I think it is?"
I looked down at my uniform. Since I was officially representing the Alliance again, I had made a conscious decision that morning to go back to wearing my black uniform. It was essentially the same one I'd worn throughout the Shadow War, with a few minor modifications to bring it up to date. I'd pulled my statbar off of my Earthforce uniform, but I was having trouble trying to figure out where to put my Earthforce rank patches. The new addition Alina was referring to was attached to the vest over my uniform.
"Yes, it is," I told her, cradling the Ranger pin in the palm of my hand. "I'm not doing something offensive by wearing it, am I?"
"If anyone finds it offensive, Captain, consider them merely uninformed. You are in an extremely unique position. There has never been a single leader of the Rangers, even on a local level, that was not a trained member. I believe President Sheridan may be the closest until now, but he has never had sole leadership. You have led us more times than you realize, Captain, only now it's official. You have every right to wear it, and I believe he would approve, as would Delenn."
"He?" Stephen asked. "He who?"
"Marcus," I told him. "This is his."
Stephen shook his head. "And I thought you were bad before."
"What's *that* supposed to mean?" I asked, indignant.
"'For aught that I could ever read, / Could ever hear by tale or history, / The course of true love never did run smooth,'" Alina said.
"I've heard that before. What's it from?" Stephen asked.
She smiled shyly. "Shakespeare. A Midsummer Night's Dream. It was a favorite of mine when I was a teenager."
I quietly watched her for a few seconds. There were times when she reminded me too much of Marcus. Had their paths ever crossed during their time in the Rangers? That certainly could explain a lot. "Alina?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"What made you join the Rangers?"
The non-sequitur threw her off. "Well, a friend asked for my help, and I said yes."
"A friend?" Stephen asked.
"A friend," she stated. "He passed on a couple of years ago."
"During the Shadow War?" I asked.
"Yes," she whispered. "He never returned from a mission here."
I felt a brief stab of guilt. Was I the one who sent her friend to his fate? "Alina, I'm-"
"-sorry? Don't be. He wouldn't tell anyone, but I know that he was aware of what he was getting into when he left. He knew he wouldn't come back."
Stephen reached out and took her hand. "But you stuck with the Rangers, right? Delenn saw that, and made you her assistant. Now, you're here."
"Yes," she said, forcing a smile. "Thanks to Rathenn I am here, and I have a whole new array of friends."
"Rathenn?" Stephen asked. "I've heard that name a lot tonight. You two close?"
Alina shrugged. "As close as a human can get to a former Satai, I suppose."
Stephen looked worried. "Involved?"
"Romantically?" she asked, shocked. "Hardly."
"Best friends," I stated.
"That's probably closer to it."
It was a well-guarded secret at that time that Delenn had once held the title of Satai. She'd been a member of the Grey Council, Minbar's ruling body. From what I'd seen, they hadn't been very thrilled with her serving among humans, a race that they had nearly wiped off the face of the galaxy. I could only imagine how pleased they'd been with the idea of a human and another former Satai as close friends.
But it made me wonder one thing. Just how closely had the Grey Council been involved with the Rangers?
"Normally," Alina said, "those who held the title of Satai would never associate with humans, let along the general public on Minbar. After Delenn, Rathenn may be the only former Satai alive with a good deal of experience around humans. He basically *was* Sinclair's liaison to the Grey Council."
"You knew Jeff?" I asked.
"Yes," she stated.
The tone of her voice suggested that I shouldn't press the issue. For once, I listened. "So, you two out enjoying yourselves?" I asked.
"I think so," Stephen said. "How about you, Alina?"
"Wonderful. No one ever told me that Ambassador G'Kar was so fascinating."
I had to laugh. "G'Kar? Fascinating?"
"Yes," Alina said. "Stephen and I were discussing the Book of G'Kar with him. Have you read it yet?"
Read it? I didn't even know it existed. "No," I said. "It's hard to get the best-sellers out near the Rim."
"You should, Captain. G'Kar's take on philosophy is very enlightening. I can loan you my copy if you would like."
"That's okay," I told her, "I'll get one of my own. Marcus would probably appreciate it more than I would."
Alina smiled. "You never know."
"Would you look at the time?" Stephen asked. "Hate to break this up, ladies, but some of us have to be on duty early tomorrow." He grabbed Alina's hand. "Besides, I promised Delenn I'd have you back early. The last thing I need is her mad at me."
They made their excuses, and left me to my drink. I watched them walk out, hand-in-hand. In two sips, I finished the drink.
There were too many reports to deal with stacked up in my quarters, and I'd neglected them for far too long.

**********

All I could do was flip through the reports. I wasn't even paying attention to what I was reading.
There was just something wrong with trying to concentrate on paperwork when a lunatic was running rampant on my station. In the seven days I'd been back, three people had been brutally assaulted, two fatally.
A long sip of coffee helped me stay awake. After last night, I wasn't ready to see Marcus just yet. There were still far too many things I needed to sort out for myself.
So, I tried to work. Distraction had always done it before.
But not now.
I had no idea what to do about the killer. Whoever he was, whatever he was, he had managed to find the one place to hide that Garibaldi didn't know about. I didn't think such a place existed.
If Marcus was right, and this plan didn't work, I wasn't sure we had any other options. I had no choice but to put my faith in Garibaldi, his security team, and the few Rangers he'd chosen to work with him. Damn, I hated it when things got out of my control.
And then there was this whole situation with Marcus.
I couldn't bring myself to tell him yet, but in the last thirteen months everything that happened after the collision came back to me. I remembered waking up in that Minbari bed, after he'd forced the medical techs to make it horizontal. If I closed my eyes, I could still see him standing beside the bed.
I'd had an idea of what was going through his mind. I'd seen it in his eyes, felt it whenever he had reached out and held my hand. The sight of him fighting back the tears, though, that had cut me right through to my soul. I could remember telling him it wouldn't be so bad, trying to keep his spirits up.
There was something immensely wrong with the person doing the dying to also be the one doing the reassuring.
Then it had happened. I'd seen the words in his mind. The first telepathic contact I had willingly initiated in decades, and of course it was going to be on my deathbed. But that second changed everything.
I had wished that Lorien had been there, had wanted so desperately to tell him that he was right.
At that second, I made a promise to myself that no matter how much time I had left, I would do what he said and embrace that gift. I had decided to let myself care one last time.
Then John had come and taken him away to the final battle, the battle he had managed to help win, and then escape.
Then the damned fool had found the way to save my life.
And then he was gone.
My world got turned upside-down again, for what I had promised myself would be the last time.
Promises just didn't seem to mean that much these days.
The doorbell rang, just in time to drag me out of the past.
"Who's there?"
"Susan? It's Stephen."
"Come in." Great. Here I was, enjoying a nice funk. The last thing I needed was for Stephen to try and cheer me up.
If I wanted that, all I had to do was go to sleep.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine. I thought you had an early shift tomorrow?"
He walked over and sat in the chair that faced me. When I looked up, I could see the concern on his face.
"Nothing's wrong with Marcus, Stephen. Why do you look so worried? Is Lochley okay?"
"They're both fine. I just got the word, and I thought you'd take this better coming from me."
My warning signals all picked that moment to go off. "As opposed to?"
"Corwin."
The universe was truly out to get me. "Let me guess, not only are there no telepaths of any sort in the quarter of a million plus people on this tin can, but Lyta's also the closest?"
He nodded. "That was a guess, right?"
"Yes. You're getting almost as bad as Garibaldi. At least he's got a reason to be paranoid."
"So, now what do we do?"
I reached for the coffee, which had gone cold. "I don't know, Stephen. We either pray to every deity known that this guy takes a few days off, which I *sincerely* doubt is going to happen, or I risk a surface scan and pray nothing goes wrong. And God forbid I find anything. How in the hell do we explain *that* to Garibaldi without telling him about me?"
Stephen leaned back. "*Now* who's being paranoid?"
"We've been over this, Stephen. The only people who I want to know about this are you, John and Delenn. Any more and we risk the Corps finding out. That's not paranoid, that's just good judgment. I really don't like the idea of Lochley knowing, but if it's going to save lives I suppose I can live with it."
"What about Marcus? You're going to have to tell him."
I watched Stephen for a long minute. He needed to know the truth, needed to know that he had another telepath to protect. "He already knows."
Surprise like I'd never seen before was on Stephen's face. "What? Wait a minute, you mean you told him?"
"Not exactly. Let's just say that you now have a standing order to keep anyone from the Corps away from Marcus."
"Those neurotransmitter levels, they weren't a fluke? He really *has* become a telepath?"
"When all of this is over, I'll tell you the whole story. Provided I can sort it all out for myself, first. He *is* in contact with someone. Me."
"How?" he asked.
"I promise I'll explain it all to you as soon as I can. One good thing about it, he's helping us with this investigation."
"Through you?"
"Through me."
Something picked that moment to click in my mind. "Ah, hell. I have to scan Lochley, Stephen. Marcus may recognize something that Lyta wouldn't. Can you get me in there privately?"
Stephen glanced at the clock. "Now too soon? There's a skeleton crew on at this hour. Shouldn't be too hard to get rid of them."
"Only if I can get some fresh coffee on the way."
"I'll buy," he said.
"Then let's go."

**********

Lochley didn't look much better than the last time I'd seen her. A part of me cringed at the sight of the halo around her head. I could only assume it was still there to keep the neck wound from re-opening. Her hands were literally encased in bandages.
I took a long sip of caff, fighting to stay awake. The fatigue was making it hard to remember what little I knew about surface scans.
"I've got the securecam and audio inputs taken down. Everything that's not essential is offline. Are you ready?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Susan, this is still your call. If you don't want to do this, you don't have to."
I put the coffee mug down. "I was joking, Stephen. Let's get this over with. Wake her and get her consent."
Stephen grabbed a hypodermic and gave Lochley what I assumed was a stimulant. It only took a few seconds for it to work. She struggled against the halo as much as the damned thing would let her, trying to talk to us the whole time, until Stephen put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back against the bed.
"Don't try to speak, just relax," he said. "Captain, I need you to listen. Your vocal chords and hands were severely damaged in the attack. I've got to be honest with you, I'm not sure if you'll ever get your voice or any use of your hands back. You can't talk or write. If you understand me so far, blink your eyes twice for yes."
Lochley blinked twice.
"Good. Do you remember anything about the person who attacked you?"
Two more blinks.
"Good. Look, Captain, you're the only person that's seen this killer. What you remember is the best lead we have to finding them. The problem is that right now you can't give anyone this information yourself. I need your consent, but I have a telepath here that can try a surface scan on you to see if she can find that information."
I could feel Lochley's fear. Stephen must have sensed it, too, because he tried to calm her down even more.
"Captain," he said, "I know this attack scared you. Everybody's afraid because of this guy. You can still help us find him, make him pay. You want to do that, right?"
Lochley blinked twice.
"Good. Right now, the only way you can do that is to let her scan you. Just remember the attack. Bring it to the front of your mind. She should be able to find it there, but she needs your consent to look. She can't do anything if you don't let her, Captain."
"Good. Lochley's eyes closed. I was beginning to think she was going to say no when she opened her eyes and blinked twice.
"We have your consent?" Stephen asked.
Two more blinks, and Stephen turned toward me. "We've got her consent. Whenever you're ready."
My stomach did a somersault as I walked around the bed. I had only practiced surface scans before, but I had never had any indications that anything had gone wrong. Just repeat that, and everything should go along just fine, right?
I looked into Lochley's eyes, feeling her surprise instantly. "I'll explain it to you later," I whispered. "Just think about the attack."
The pull into her mind felt almost physical. The first two or three seconds of telepathic contact were always confusing for me, trying to sort through the conflicting thoughts and sensations. When I finally got everything under control, I heard a voice. Lochley's voice. She was talking to someone about a meeting with the Gaim ambassador. Who was she talking to? I recognized Alina's voice. It was nothing but a diplomatic discussion. I only gave it passing attention until Alina bowed and excused herself.
Lochley kept walking, straight into Brown Sector. A Ranger passed her as she went around one corner, a human the likes of which neither one of us had seen before. I separated myself just enough to concentrate on him. He was taller than Lochley by almost a foot. A seven-foot tall human being? That was certainly tall enough to have taken out the Minbari. Other than his height, there wasn't anything outstanding about the Ranger's appearance. I could have seen that face over and over and not have had a second thought about him.
Lochley trusted him. No matter what was happening on the station, Rangers just weren't murders.
She hadn't thought anything was wrong until the Ranger had walked past. She turned around for a second look, not quite believing a man could be that tall. All she saw was an empty corridor.
Alina's voice came from another corridor. I turned back in time to see her come around the corner with a smile on her face. She said she had a message from Delenn.
But there was something different about the way Alina walked. What was it? Lochley hadn't realized it then, but I saw it immediately. Alina looked taller than she had before.
Alina slowly led me back down the corridor.
I didn't see her slip behind me.
An arm came up under my chin.
I didn't want to believe it was happening. "Minette," I whispered.
I could hear Stephen's voice calling out, repeatedly shouting my name. Where was he?
I furiously swatted my hands at my neck, trying to stop the blade. I could feel it slice into my hand over and over again, until finally I couldn't feel it anymore and my hands just stopped working.
Alina's voice whispered in my ear. "In shadows I live, in shadows you die."
"Susan!"
I closed my eyes as my head fell back. I felt the knife begin to work its way across my throat. Warmth trickled down my neck.
Blood.
But there was no pain.
The knife finished its path.
I was gasping for breath, inhaling my own blood.
Everything was getting darker.
I was dying again.
A wall of black slammed across my senses.
The connection was broken.
I fell onto the floor in a heap.
"Susan! It's Stephen! Can you hear me?"
I managed to open my eyes, but the room was spinning. I clamped my hands around my throat. It was intact. I could feel my hands again.
The knife hadn't been for me.
I looked up into Stephen's worried face for a second, still fighting to breathe. At least the room was beginning to straighten itself out. "The scan," I said, wheezing, "I couldn't break it. What happened?"
Stephen helped me sit up. "I don't know."
"I broke it."
Alina was standing in the doorway, looking very concerned. I still couldn't read her, but considering what I'd just seen, I could guess what that look was all about.
Somehow, my link was still on my hand. I slapped it and called for a security team.
Alina sounded stunned, "What?"
I stared right into Alina's green eyes as I pulled myself off of the floor. "Come back to finish what you started?"
She at least had the decency to look confused. "What are you talking about? Finish what?"
I jerked my head toward Lochley. "Killing her."
She shook her head. "I did not do this, Captain."
I stared into that frighteningly familiar face, and I could feel the knife at my throat again. A chill raced down my spine. "I'm not the one you have to convince."
"Stephen, please tell her. *You* know why I've been coming here, why I'm here now."
"Yes, Alina," he said, sounding skeptical. "I know. And right now I'm beginning to think I should check on him."
Keeping one eye on Alina, I turned to Stephen. "Check on who?"
Before Stephen could answer, Garibaldi came through the Medlab doors with Thompson and Callahan in tow. "You called, Captain?"
"Get her in the brig. Charge is attempted murder."
Garibaldi looked like I'd just told him Daffy Duck was really a chicken in disguise. "Attempted murder? Who'd she try to kill?"
"Lochley."
I didn't think Garibaldi could have looked any more surprised, but somehow he did. "She's our killer?"
"Possibly. Get her in the maximum security cell."
Garibaldi nodded as Callahan cuffed Alina, then the three of them led her out of Medlab One.
"You were in deep, Susan," Stephen said. "She may have saved your life. You had better be right on this."
"I'm sorry, but I know what I saw, Stephen. The last thing Lochley remembered before the attack was Alina telling her that there was a message from Delenn. They were alone, in an empty corridor when it happened. Nobody shows up out of thin air, Stephen. Nobody."
He shook his head. "I trust you, Susan. I just don't believe it. Come on, let me take a look at you and then I'll check on the captain." He wrapped an arm around my waist and led me to a medical bed.
"Stephen?" I asked.
"Yes?"
I leaned back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling. "She said you knew why she came in here."
He sighed. "Yes, I do."
The tone of his voice worried me. When I caught a glimpse of his eyes, my worried were confirmed. "Well?" I asked.
He looked me right in the eyes. "She's been coming in to see Marcus."

**********

"How in the hell do you know Marcus?"
I stared across the interrogation room at Alina, waiting to see who would blink first. She sat at the table and stared right back at me, not budging an inch.
"How in the hell did you manage to scan Lochley?" she asked.
With a nod to the guard, I dismissed him. As soon as the door closed behind him, I pulled my PPG from my hip and gave it a charge. Garibaldi didn't know it, but I could play good cop-bad cop with the best of them.
I walked over to the table and leaned against it. "I'm the one asking the questions. You do one thing out of line, you'll be orbiting Epsilon Three without a ship. Do I make myself crystal clear?"
She nodded.
"Good. Now, let's try this again. How do you know Marcus?"
Her head dropped. "We grew up together."
"You grew up together?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"Arisia Mining Colony."
Had to give her credit for one thing, she'd done her homework. "That's interesting. I've checked every database in Earthdome going back twenty years, including all of the colonies. Believe me, Arisia was the first place I checked. There's no mention of an Alina Minette anywhere."
"That's because I wasn't born there."
"Where were you born?"
"London."
"On Earth? Why aren't you in the birth records?"
She shook her head. "I don't know."
"You don't know?" I was fighting to keep my temper in check. She seemed so damned sincere. Every instinct I had told me she was telling the truth. If it had been anybody else, I probably would have tested my instincts telepathically. "Are your parents still in London?"
"No."
"Were they killed when Arisia exploded?"
"No."
"What happened to them?"
"My mother died on Earth when I was four. My father was a mining engineer. He got a job with Cole Mining and we moved to Arisia when I was five. He died in a mining accident when I was eighteen."
I pushed away from the table. "Okay, let's try something else. You broke a telepathic scan. Are you a rogue?"
She finally looked up from the table, and a part of me wished to God that she hadn't. She was obviously fighting back tears, and losing. "I was," she whispered.
"When did you leave the Corps?"
"I never joined."
"Sleepers?"
She shook her head.
"The Corps doesn't miss anyone. How did they miss you?"
"I could ask you the same question," she said, defeated.
The sound of her voice was enough to keep me from getting angry. "Who are you?"
My entire field of vision turned white, and somehow I knew I was seeing an explosion. She wanted me to see it, because she knew it would be familiar. "The picture," I whispered.
"What picture?"
I shook my head in an attempt to clear my vision. "Marcus has this picture. It's of him and his brother and this girl. I *thought* she looked familiar. Were you ever a redhead?"
"Yes," she said with a sad smile. "He still has a picture of me?"
"He thinks you're dead."
Standing, she began to pace the room. "The girl he knew is dead, Captain. She died when that transport exploded."
I could feel her guilt. It nearly overwhelmed me. "How did you kill them?"
"I told you, I didn't kill anyone."
"I don't mean the Rangers. That transport. It exploded. It was an accident."
Her eyes locked onto mine. "How much did Marcus tell you about me?"
"Just that you were both a telepath and a telekinetic and that you died when that transport exploded." All of a sudden it dawned on me. "That's it. You think something you did telekinetically caused that explosion?"
She nodded. "I made it to a lifepod, but I was alone. I floated in that debris for four days before a Minbari freighter found me. They wanted to drop me off on one of the colonies, but I begged them to let me stay. The captain finally granted me temporary asylum."
"But that was near the end of the war, why stay with them?"
"I don't know. I guess I thought that if I got scanned by the Corps, they'd know about the explosion. The Minbari ship had a telepath on board. I showed him what happened. He managed to convince me not to feel so guilty, that it was nothing I'd done."
"But you still don't believe it."
She shook her head. "Not really."
"So, you let yourself be listed as having died in the explosion?"
"Wouldn't you? The Corps wouldn't come looking for a dead telepath. They wouldn't try to harass Marcus or Will. I thought once everything settled down I could contact them. The closest I came was in Tuzanor four years ago. I found out he had been there the day after he'd left for his mission to Zagros Seven. I almost got drummed out of the Rangers for the tirade I threw in Sinclair's office."
"Alina, I'm only going to ask you this once. Did you attack Captain Lochley?"
She looked straight into my eyes and calmly said, "No."
I started to pace, sizing everything up as I walked. She was a telepath. Judging by how fast she'd placed that explosion into my mind without my even knowing, she was one hell of a powerful telepath, a P11, maybe even a P12. Definitely around Psi Cop level. I had no choice but to believe what she was telling me, even though I didn't want to. A part of me was sure she'd scanned me, coming up with the girl in the picture.
But I wanted to believe her, at least for Marcus's sake.
I put what I knew of Alina against what I'd seen in Lochley's mind. The woman I'd seen during the scan had been taller, but I'd chalked that up to the trauma of the experience. In person, Alina was barely over five feet tall. Granted, my knowledge of Ranger training was limited to what little Marcus had told me over the years, but I was pretty sure that I could have beaten Alina in a hand-to-hand fight. Alina was just too little and too thin for me to see her as that much of a threat.
Which was probably why the universe had given her the double dose of mental ability. Telekinesis must have been one hell of an ace in the hole.
Telekinesis.
The ability to move things with the mind.
Why would a telekinetic need a murder weapon?
"Captain, what if I could give you information?" Alina asked.
"What kind of information?"
"The kind of information only a strong telepath who'd been near the scene could give."
Now, there was an opening if ever I'd seen one. "How strong a telepath?"
"Well, it is the Minbari scale, but I believe it translates to about a P13."
My jaw dropped. "A stable P13 *and* a telekinetic? That's impossible! The Corps has been trying for years to induce telekinesis in strong telepaths. They've failed every single time."
"Now you know why I hid out with the Minbari."
I was still trying to get over the shock. "I know someone you should talk to."
"Lyta Alexander?"
That was a little too convenient for my tastes. "Yes," I said skeptically.
"If you're worried about me scanning you, Captain, don't be. Lyta Alexander is the other reason I was assigned to Babylon Five. Delenn thought I should work with her as well. Once she found out that Marcus and I were old friends, she requested me as her aide."
"Let's get back to the subject. What information?"
"For a few seconds, I think I made contact with its mind." She didn't look comfortable with what she was telling me. "After I left Captain Lochley, I thought I might try searching for the killer telepathically. The first thing I picked up on was the Captain's fear. Betrayal and fear." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Close to her, I found something frightening. Darkness. Evil. Pure hatred. It was almost like looking into a pool of water at night. The darkness goes all the way to the bottom, but any light just shimmers on the surface. I kept feeling reflected bits of the signal I was using."
A chill ran down my spine at her words. "But, you did contact it?"
"That much I'm sure of."
"So we have a telepathic footprint."
"As close as I could get to one. By the time I was sure who it was, your security people stopped me and I lost contact."
I smiled. "But you could recognize him again?"
"Possibly."
"Possibly?" I caught a glimpse of the fear in her eyes. "What is it? You said you contacted him?"
"I did. Captain, you don't understand. I don't know what this creature is, but I will stake my life that he isn't human. Or Minbari for that matter."
"Damn. There goes our two best leads. At least we can rule out most of the Rangers." I took a deep breath, and a leap of faith. "Alina, would you be willing to work with security until Lyta gets back? Do telepathic scans, that kind of thing? It should only be for a few days."
She bowed. "Of course, Captain. Anything I can do to help you, I will."
I felt as if the weight of the entire galaxy were finally off of my shoulders. "Thank you."
"Captain, I'd have scanned Captain Lochley for you if I'd known you needed a telepath."
"Something tells me she wouldn't have let you close enough." I turned to leave, but one thing still nagged at the back of my mind. "That reminds me, we ran a search for every known telepath on the station, including within the Rangers. Why didn't we find you?"
She looked right at me and smiled. "A promise was kept."
"A promise?"
"I was studying on Minbar when the Rangers were brought back into full service four years ago," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "The Minbari trained me to be a healer, Captain. Sinclair thought it would be a good idea to have a doctor in the ranks who could get the job done just as well without medicines and modern technology. So, he invited me to join. I accepted, but only on the condition that I would be protected from the Corps. He agreed to it. Eventually, he opened the ranks to any trained telepath who wanted to join. He agreed to list human telepaths as normals, under different names if that was what they wanted. Psi Corps would have to put a spy in our ranks to find us, and believe me, we'd find them first."
I couldn't resist smiling at the tone of her voice. She sounded like she loved the Corps about as much as I did. "Remind me to introduce you to a man named Bester."
She winced. "I've heard of him. Nasty, that one."
"Rangers always did have better intelligence gathering."
"The best. You aren't making a mistake, Captain. I didn't do it. I am trained to save lives, not take them."
"Still, I'd like to keep you in here for a few days."
"Captain?"
I headed for the door, stopping just before it opened. "To be honest, you could probably pass a scan run by a Psi Cop and they wouldn't even blink. God knows I can't tell if you're telling me the truth. Until Lyta gets back, I've got no choice but to believe you. You can come and go as you please, but a guard has to go with you anywhere you go."
"Captain, if you're going to believe me, why keep me in here?"
"Marcus. If you are who you say you are, and this guy gets to you before he wakes up, he'll kill me."

*****

I could still get through the Mess Hall in my sleep. I, at least, was quite proud of that fact. I saw Stephen and Michael sitting alone, and carried my tray to their table. "Good morning, gentlemen. Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all, Captain," Stephen said, pointing toward the chair in front of me. "I've been looking for you, actually."
Now, not having had my first cup of coffee, I was lost. Marcus was okay. Lochley was stable and recovering as well as could be expected. "Why?"
"I need to know if you believe her," Stephen said.
"She can make me believe whatever she wants me to believe, Stephen. I've got Corwin tracking the details of her story right now. Until I get some verification, I don't have a choice but to believe her."
He shook his head. "Susan, if she'd wanted to hurt Marcus, she could have done it ten times over already. She could have killed both of us in Medlab."
"So you believe she's innocent?" I asked.
"I've known her for seven months, Susan. You've known her eight days. How can you be so sure she's guilty?"
"How can you be so sure she's not?"
"Guys, guys," Garibaldi said. "She's under a twenty-four hour guard. We'll have a pretty good idea of whether or not she's innocent if any more Rangers end up dead." He looked me straight in the eyes. "What I want to know is when you're going to tell me where that information came from, Ivanova."
I took a long sip of coffee before answering. "Remember Stephen said he knew of a telepath on the station?"
Michael nodded.
"Remember I said we'd call that person in as a last resort?"
He nodded again.
"Let's just say we needed our last resort."
"So, who's the teep? We need to line up a deposition."
I took a deep breath. "The telepath asked for anonymity in exchange for doing the scan. I had no choice but to grant the request."
"Wish you'd talked to be about it first," Michael grumbled. "I'm only the person *in charge* of the investigation, remember?"
"There wasn't time, Michael. Look, I told you all of the information the telepath gave me. Have you come up with anything new?"
Michael finished the last dregs of his meal before answering. "No, nothing. I've got security stretched so tight in case this teep of your is wrong that I'm praying there isn't a fight somewhere. If the killer's still out there, unless he makes a serious mistake, there's nothing more I can do."
Finishing off my own breakfast, I pushed myself away from the table. "So, we hope the guy makes a mistake."

**********

I had managed a full head of steam by the time I got to Blue Ten. "Damn it, Garibaldi, what happened?"
The sight of yet another nearly headless Minbari sitting at Michael's feet stopped me cold. This time, it was a sight that didn't immediately turn my stomach.
I wasn't quite sure whether or not I liked that fact.
"Name's Mishann. Same MO as Rashann and Dornan," Michael said, walking away from the corpse.
"Wasn't he paired up?" I asked.
"Yes. A human Ranger named Jamison. We're looking for him right now."
My jaw dropped. "Looking for him? Wasn't he with the body?"
He shook his head. "Alina found the body," he said, sounding as if it didn't surprise him. He pointed toward where Callahan was speaking with the small, astoundingly sedate, Ranger. I had to give her a lot of credit for being so calm.
"And where's her guard?" I asked.
"Callahan was her guard. Said Alina had some appointments to attend to for Delenn. Best we can get from them is that they came across Jamison, alone, down the corridor. He said that Mishann had disappeared, and wanted their help to find him. The three of them got together and went looking."
I remembered Marcus's words. It was easy to separate a team. He knew it wouldn't work. I quickly turned back to Garibaldi. "Michael, that means Jamison is our killer!"
"I know. Stephen was right. I've got people combing every possible area they can, even the ventilation shafts. If we still had working internal scanners, we'd be set."
I pounded the wall, frustrated. During the Shadow War we'd had to cannibalize the closest thing we'd had to internal scanners for spare parts. I'd found a requisition form dated last month that would have given us the equipment to repair them.
"Michael, put as many people on it as you can. If we don't find him we're going to have another victim on our hands."
I walked away from him, grabbing Alina's arm and pulling her aside. "Did you get anything?"
She led me further away. When we were somewhat isolated, she began to talk. "Yes, I did. Whatever this creature is, Jamison was nothing more than its disguise."
"Disguise?"
"Captain, I have no idea what that was I saw. I know it looked human, but it wasn't human. I have never dealt with anything like this."
"Explain."
"The killer's a shapeshifter, Captain. I'm convinced that Jamison was just a mask he put on. That's probably why security has had so much trouble finding him before now. He probably has the capacity to change his appearance at will. I was trained to heal every form of life known to both the Minbari *and* the Vorlons, Captain. I know of *no* species or disease that would allow for shapeshifting. We could very well be dealing with a whole new lifeform."
I started to pace. "Okay, Jamison was a disguise. Our killer posed as him. The problem is, the *real* Jamison checked out. So, where is he now?"
"Ivanova!"
I turned to find Garibaldi standing at the end of an adjacent hallway. I had the distinct feeling that I wasn't going to like what he had to say. "Michael?"
"We found Jamison."
Alina stepped up behind me. "You what? You found him? How?"
He gestured toward an area further up the hall. "Take a look."
I did just that, and found two bloody sheets draped on the floor. One looked like it covered the body of something that had once been human. The other covered a lump that I figured was its severed head. "Damn it! This has got to stop! How can he pose as *anybody* he wants?"
"I could tell when I spoke with the fake Jamison that it wasn't him. It felt like something alien," Alina said. "Do you think it could be a form of telepathic camouflage?"
"That would take one hell of a strong telepath," I told her. "Definitely stronger than you."
She visibly shivered. "I don't even want to think about that. If he were that much stronger than me, I wouldn't even feel him. We're talking orders of magnitude stronger, Captain, the difference between a Psi Cop and a commercial telepath. But, if he were *that* much stronger, I shouldn't have been able to feel him at all. Theoretically, he could block me out without even thinking about it. I got a footprint on him."
"So, we know the camo isn't telepathic," Garibaldi said. "I'll have my people run some checks." His eyes widened as though he'd thought of something nasty. "Ivanova, are you *sure* we can't get the internal scanners working?"
I shook my head. "We can't. The supplies aren't due in for another two weeks and we don't have anything that could jury-rig it. Before you ask, I tried to get Earthdome to ship it faster. They can't."
Garibaldi sighed. "There *is* one thing that could allow for the shapeshifting, but it puts out one *hell* of an energy signature."
"What?" I asked.
"A changeling net," he bluntly answered. "And if he's got one of those, without internal scanners we may never find him."

**********

I walked the corridors of the vacant space station that was now my second home. I was becoming just as comfortable here as in its crowded real-world counterpart, and that was getting to be annoying.
It didn't take me long to find Marcus. He was studying what looked like Mishann's corpse. I could feel his disbelief before anything else. He'd found something.
"What is it?"
"This," he said, pointing toward the dead Minbari's throat. "I didn't see it before. Our friend is getting sloppy."
I looked at the corpse, not quite sure what I was supposed to be seeing. "What am I looking for?"
"It's called Fen Dran," he whispered.
"Fen Dran?"
"The pattern of the cut. Look."
I did, and was surprised at its familiarity. "So, these are ritual-style killings?"
"Possibly. The only problem is, it's an ancient Minbari ritual. As far as I know, it hasn't been used for centuries."
"And this would involve that little thing about Minbari not killing other Minbari?"
"That's the problem, yes. Not even the warrior caste still uses this technique."
I leaned toward him. "So, how do you know about it?"
"Something I picked up on Minbar."
Over the short time I'd known him, I had found out about some of the things he had 'picked up' on Minbar. "Marcus, why do these things you 'pick up' on Minbar seem to always involve someone dying, usually you?"
He shrugged, "I was looking for a heroic suicide, remember? Maybe I was trying to expand my resources?"
"Not funny." I gestured toward the corpse. "So, we're really looking for a Minbari?"
"It would appear so."
"You're not sure?"
He shook his head. "I don't like it. This ritual is too old. It's perfectly done, like they just learned the technique."
"Could they be trying to make it look like a Minbari is doing the killing?"
"It's possible, but who outside of the Minbari would know how to do this?"
"You do," I reminded him.
"It's not exactly something they taught the Rangers, Susan," he said, looking me in the eye. "If I were you, I'd be searching for a Minbari, probably warrior caste. Right now, it's the only thing that fits."
I stood up, taking a deep breath. He hadn't seen it in my mind, so it was time to tell him. "Well, it would explain why Rangers are the ones getting killed. The problem is it doesn't gel with the information I got from an old friend of yours."
"What old-?" His eyes shot open. "Lee? She's alive?"
It was nice to know that I could still keep a few things a secret, even here. "Lee? Her name was Lee?"
"Nickname. Her name was Liana Stewart. What is she doing here?"
"She claims that when Delenn found out you were old friends, she was reassigned."
"Delenn did that for me?" he asked, surprised.
"Before your ego gets any bigger, it was before Delenn knew you were still alive. Apparently she wants your friend to work with Lyta."
He stood up beside me. "If Lee's here, she's probably been more help to you already than I could ever be. That was always her way. Where is she?"
I bit my lip, turning away from him. "She's safe, Marcus."
"Where is she, Susan?" he insisted.
"I can't-"
He slowly walked around in front of me. When I finally looked up at him, his expression said it all. "Maximum security? Have you gone mad? What in the hell is Liana doing in a maximum security cell?"
"I'm protecting her, Marcus."
"A half-truth is worse than a lie, Susan. You don't trust her." He shook his head. "Pardon me for not being surprised. The idea that you have her in that cell-"
"Marcus! This is insane! You obviously didn't see what I saw in Lochley's mind. Lochley is convinced that your friend Lee attacked her. Besides, how do we know it's really Liana, anyway? Sure, she looks like the girl in your picture, but faces can be changed."
"You are *such* a cynic! Couldn't you just scan her?"
"Yeah, right. A P8 scanning a P13. Do the words 'no way in hell' mean anything to you?"
I could feel the beginning of an idea forming in his mind. "What if . . . yes. What if you asked her a question that only Liana could answer correctly?"
"And that would be?"
He started to pace, folding his hands at the small of his back. "Let's see. Got it. Ask her what I gave her for her ninth birthday."
"Her ninth birthday?"
"Ninth. You might say it stuck with her."
"So what-"
He held up a hand to stop me. "No. Get the answer, then come back to me."
"Why?"
"You just said she was a P13, Susan. If you knew the answer, how hard would it be for her to pick it out of your mind?"
"I'd know if she tried."
He gave me a skeptical look. "Would you? When was the last time a Psi Cop tried to scan you? For that matter, when was the last time Lyta tried to scan you?"
"Damn," I said, seeing his point. "I could always feel it before. I just assumed. Are you sure about this?"
"Positive."
I couldn't help but look at Mishann's body. "If she's got something to do with this, Marcus," I warned.
"I know . . . I don't believe she does, Susan. I can't believe that. I'm not sure what, but there is something definitely wrong with this whole thing."
This whole thing was beginning to get to him. I could see it as well as feel it. He was so happy even at the prospect of having his old friend back, but it paled in comparison to what was going on around us. This situation violated everything either one of us knew about the Minbari and their culture, everything we had once considered stable. In his mind, he was going over what for him was the recent civil war, his encounter with Neroon, everything he had known. His common sense was screaming that no Minbari would do this.
"You may be right. We'll figure this one out," I told him. I tried to comfort him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "Alina . . . Liana claims that she got a telepathic footprint on the killer. She's convinced that he isn't human or Minbari. I've got Garibaldi working with her until Lyta gets back. This information of yours will help us."
My hand slipped from his shoulder. I'd never seen him like this before, and it was beginning to worry me.
"You've got more important things to worry about than me," he said. "Be careful, Susan."
"I know, I know. You're not around to save my life this time."
My attempt to cheer him up failed miserably.
In all the time I'd known him, this was the first time I'd seen him openly worried. Even when we'd been confronted with the reality of spies in our ranks during the civil war, he'd been the level-headed one, never letting on how rattled he must have been.
Nothing I said was going to comfort him. What I saw when I looked in his eyes actually frightened me.
"I'll make you a deal," I said. "You concentrate on getting well again, I'll worry about finding this guy."
"Susan, I-"
"You don't like me doing this alone." I tapped my finger on my temple. "I'm not alone. You're right here, remember?"
"Much as you'd prefer otherwise."
I put my hands on my hips, mustering as much attitude as I could. "If after everything we've been through you still believe that, then I suppose some things are going to have to change."
He gave me a bewildered look, which I took to mean that he had no clue of what I was about to do. Good. It was a shot in the dark, but I was willing to bet it would work.
So, before I lost my nerve, I very softly kissed him.
If I hadn't believed this place was different before, what I felt during that kiss was enough to convince me. His thoughts were mixing with mine at a frightening rate, until after a few seconds I couldn't separate whose thoughts were whose. Longing. Regret. Nervousness. Affection. Tenderness. Wonder. Emotion after emotion hit me, until I couldn't fight them off anymore. What surprised me was that I was happier when I wasn't working against the tide.
I pulled away when I finally couldn't handle the deluge anymore.
"I think I could live with this," I whispered. "Tell you what. Tonight, let's try to forget about these murders."
"And do what?"
"Talk." I found his hand at my waist and wrapped my fingers around it. "I don't think we've just talked since we found that Vorlon fleet. God, that was what, a year and a half ago?"
He backed a half-step away. "A year and a half ago? Has it really been a year since-"
"Just over. A lot's changed since you decided to take this little vacation from reality. Out there's a very different place from the one you left."
The expression on his face reminded me of a lost child, but there was a desperate curiosity in his eyes. "Tell me?" he asked. "I want to know what's happened to everyone."
"No, you don't," I whispered. "I wasn't here, but Lyta and Delenn did send me a few messages. I'll tell you what I can, but you might get just as much from ISN."
"It's more than I know now."
I shrugged. "Okay, where do you want me to start?"
He led me down a dark corridor, away from the chaos of his view of reality. "Well, how about why you weren't here?"
I grumbled as he led me away. Even though I was asleep, it was going to be another long night.

[End Part 4 of 6]