A Place to Call Home
By Terri Osborne
terri@terriosborne.com
Part 18
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.
Spoilers through Season 5 and the Psi Corps novels.
And thanks to Sarah, Sharon and Keith, my eagle-eyed beta readers! Virtual boxes of Godivas to all of you!
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April 10, 2264
Alina awoke, or at least
thought she awoke, in the middle of painfully familiar territory. The empty corridors that
surrounded her were so real, so like those she remembered, that she was forced to remind
herself they no longer existed. Even the windows held the appropriate view of the
forbidding surface of Arisia Three.
It was a surface that she knew
had been destroyed along with the only place that she had ever called home.
"It still exists in our
memories, Lee."
Alina swallowed hard, fighting
the pain that voice evoked. Too many years had passed since the last time she had heard
it. Years of searching. Years of being just a bit too late. She shook her head slowly,
convinced that her mind was playing tricks again. Lyta had warned her about the dreams she
might have. Maybe it was the proximity of the other telepaths.
Maybe it was just her
imagination.
Maybe.
A tall figure stepped between
her and the window. The vision was blurry at first, but it slowly resolved into something
. . . someone that she had never honestly believed she would see again. Granted, he looked
much older than she remembered, and she was not quite certain what it was that had
possessed him to grow the beard, but the Marcus Cole that she had known still rested in
the vision that stood before her.
"Am I dreaming?" she
asked. "Is that really you?"
His lips twisted wryly.
"You sound just like Susan."
"Where are you?"
"I'm not completely
sure," he shrugged. "I think-"
"You're in Susan's
mind," she finished, rigidly keeping her emotions in check. "I thought she was
carrying you, but I wasn't sure how."
He shook his head slowly, the
dark locks falling against his face. "Must have been that damned machine," he
whispered.
"What machine?"
"It's a long story."
She felt the pain coming from
him; pain, sadness and longing. Garibaldi had been right all along. "No action taken
out of love is ever wrong, Marcus."
A flash of humor crossed his
face. "I had almost forgotten how utterly annoying that was."
"What, the fact that I
always knew what you were thinking? I'm a telepath, Marcus. Considering your girlfriend's
one, too, I would expect you'd be used to it by now."
The corner of his mouth
twisted with exasperation. "Don't tell me she told you, too."
Alina shook her head.
"No, Lyta did."
"Lyta knew!"
"Yes," she patiently
replied. "She found out when she had to send some password telepathically. And would
you like to tell me why this is driving you batty, or should I just scan you and get it
over with? Of course, provided that's even possible here, wherever the devil we are."
He watched her with a wide
smile, the irritation that she sensed not quite making it into his gaze. "It's
nothing. I'm just letting something get to me that I shouldn't, I suppose."
For a long moment, she looked
up at him, trying to decide whether to pursue the topic. Unable to suppress her emotions
any longer, she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight embrace,
burying her face against his shoulder.
He brushed a hand against the
back of her head, smoothing her dark hair. "Lee?" he murmured. "What's
wrong?"
Gathering what little of her
composure remained, she lifted her head from his shoulder. "I've never been happier
to see someone, Marcus. You have no idea how long I've been looking for you."
He curled a finger under her
chin, lifting her eyes to his. "Fifteen years?" he asked, smiling.
She nodded. "I always
kept missing you-"
"-by that much?"
It was old, utterly awful
joke. Still, it lifted her spirits. "Yes. I was in Tuzanor when Will came, but our
paths never crossed. When the news came in that he'd died, I was already working on a ship
off-planet. I-"
"You joined the
Rangers?"
She nodded. "It's a long
story, but yes. Sinclair needed me there."
His smile stilled. "Why
am I not surprised that you knew Sinclair. Did they tell you how Will died?"
"Yes," she replied.
"It was not your fault, Marcus. Don't blame yourself for what the Shadows did."
"Too late."
She cupped a hand against his
jaw, the scruff of the beard itching her palm. A storm of emotion clouded his normally
brilliant green eyes. Everything she had ever known about him told her something was
wrong, and that something had to do with Susan Ivanova. "You really do love her,
don't you?"
He very slowly nodded.
The longing she felt from him
grew more intense.
"What is it, Marcus? What
happened?"
His eyes lowered to the floor.
"I was an idiot, that's what."
She gave a soft laugh, slowly
shaking her head. "You wouldn't be the first person, Galahad."
A slow groan rose from the
space between them.
"What's the matter?"
With a shake of his head, he
answered, "Nothing. Look, Lee, I need your help."
Her heart leapt into her
throat at hearing his words. The Marcus she had known only asked for help on the big
things, things he could not handle alone. It had happened so rarely in their youth, Alina
had to struggle to remember any instance.
At that moment, not a single
one came to mind.
Swallowing hard, she nodded.
"What is it?"
His eyes raised to hers once
again, and she could see the trouble clouding their depths. "It's Susan. Is she with
you and Lyta?"
"Yes."
Marcus sighed. "Then she is
putting up a general block."
Her jaw dropped. "A
general block strong enough to keep you out? How is that possible?"
"That was my next
question."
Needing to think, Alina turned
toward the window. She stared at the roiling surface of Arisia Three and considered the
question. If Susan really was as terrified of a scan as Lyta had suggested, the blocks
made sense. Throw up everything you have and pray to God that it holds. However, Susan had
only been able to block a P5 naturally before. Blocking an external influence was one
thing, but how could she block out Marcus?
The neural blocks, she
thought, but I didn't find Marcus when I was working. Kalenn always said that if
you can't find it, you can't block it off. So, if I didn't do it, how? In
Valen's name, Susan, did you do this yourself?
"Wait a minute," she
said, turning back toward him. "How did you find me, Marcus?"
He shrugged. "I'm not
sure, exactly. I knew I couldn't get through to Susan anymore and I could feel all of
these presences that hadn't been there before. Something told me that Lyta wouldn't
believe me, she think I was a figment of her imagination. Then I found you."
She smiled. "I'm going to
be honest with you, I think you're tied into Susan's telepathy. I'm not certain precisely how
you did it, but you obviously did. I put neural blocks into her mind, but I didn't find
you while I was putting them in. I don't believe they're responsible for this. Whatever is
blocking you out, I have a feeling Susan's put that up by herself. If she did, you'll be
the only way that it can come down."
A glimmer of hope surfaced on
his features. "Really? How?"
Wrapping an arm around his
waist, she led him down the corridor. "Come on. Let's talk."
[End Part 18]