Days of Future and Past
by Zaxxon
Part 6

[=== From Part 5 ===]

Kosh interrupt him by saying, "Taken care of."
"What?" Sheridan said to Kosh's retreating form. "Come back
here!"
Sheridan's commlink beeped. He tapped it and said, "Sheridan.
Go."
"You have got to see this, Captain," Ivanova's voice said
excitedly.

[=== End of Part 5 ===]

"And if there's more than one murder?" Nathan asked Michael as
they headed Downbelow.
"I've got Zach standing by with a full squad in riot gear waiting
for us," Michael answered.
"Okay," Nathan said. "What does Cerebro say?"
"It says that you're an alpha, I'm a beta, and there isn't any
other mutant in scanning range. Of course, both a mini-Cerebro and
Station internal scans interfere with one other and a mini-Cerebro's
range is limited since it's a hand-held unit," Michael said. Seeing
the Look on Nathan's face, he said, "It's against the Mutant Privacy
Laws to do a Cerebro scans of the Station without a Court Order and
the Babylon Court System is slow. Not to mention, it'll take twenty
hours just to install a Cerebro unit into the internal scanners and I
don't want to think about how much time it'll take to calibrate it to
deal with all the aliens we have board."
"So we'll be making on-foot scans of the *entire* Station?"
Nathan asked.
"You got a better idea?" Michael asked heatly. "Besides, we can
rule out Green sector, MedLabs, and other high-traffic areas. All the
crimes had occured in lite to no traffic areas most of which are
Downbelow."
Both men walked down the various halls causally. Both had their
rifles in their hands at ready-position. Michael would do a sweep with
Nathan covering him. After fifteen minutes of searching, Zach and five
other Security officers in riot gear joined them.
"Hey, Chief," Zach said, "I didn't know you were the X.S.E.."
"It's a family tradition," Michael said off-handly. "Besides, it
was before the Earth-Minbari War."
"Why did you leave the X.S.E. I mean most 'Field Commanders' are
career officers," Nathan asked out of curiosity.
Pointing out his X.S.E. uniform he was wearing, Michael said, "You
never leave the X.S.E.. It's.... It's a way of life, I guess. Didn't
like being an officer. Besides Gropos do the most good in a War.
Officers had to do a lot more paperwork than a mere Chief Warrant
Officer does."
"True," Nathan said dropping the subject.

"What's that noise," Zach asked as they got closer to an
intersection.
"It means we found a mutant," Nathan and Michael said at the same
time. Michael looked closer at the readings and said, "This way."
"Everyone stand sharp," Nathan said.
"Eaglestain and Thomson, either side of the hall. Be prepared to
give us extraction fire. Zach, head in and left. Nathan, in and right.
I got in and center. The rest of us in and hold. Everyone, be ready to
switch to rapid-fire for suppression fire. Now on the count of three,"
Michael said. "One. Two. Three. In."
Nathan was the first to see into the interesection. A tall human
male had a Quynkov in his hand. The Quynkov was a two and half feet
tall slug. Which made the human look even taller than his seven feet
height normally would have.
"Drop the Quynkov," Michael said calmly.
"Guests," the man said. "Now we'll see who's fit."
Nathan's eyes widen and whispered, "Apocalypse."
"I said, 'Drop him.' and I meant it," Michael said. "You have
until the count of three. One."
Garibaldi leveled his gun at the stranger and said, "Two."
Garibaldi let the charge build up and turned to the group and
said, "Three. Let him have it."
Michael was the first to fire. His rifle was specifically
designed to disrupt a mutant's nervious system causing
unconsciousness. When the man simply shrugged the first level shoot,
Michael increased the rifle's setting to level four and fired again.
Michael's rifle was joined by the Security's PPG rifles and Nathan's
rifle. The combined fire power caused the man to release the Quynkov
and staggered back. The group increased their settings. The man was
forced back further. Seeing that he was out-numbered and being pushed
back, the man changes his right hand into a wedge, and struck side
that lead to the outer hull. The man then process to work his way to
work his way through to the outer hull.
"Hull breach," Michael yelled to the group and over his commlink.
"Well, that the last we'll see of him."
"Afraid not, Michael," Nathan said with a shake of his head.
"That was Apocalypse."
Michael looked at Nathan for a moment letting what Nathan just
said stick in and simply said, "Oh great..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Jumpgate activating, Commander," Lieutenent Corwin said.
"There's no scheduled ships at this time," Commander Ivanova said
mostly to herself. "Now what?"
"Identifying... " Corwin began. "It's.... It's a *Vorlon* battle
cruiser."
"Great," Ivanova said. "There's goes the neighborhood. Hey, is
the cruiser *towing* something."
"Checking," Corwin said. "Confirmed. The Vorlon battle cruiser
*is* towing something. Object is composed of some unknown composite
alloy. Size is a mile radius with a height of quarter mile. I can't
tell the density without mass determination. What ever it is, it's
shielded."
"Hey, that looks familiar," Ivanova began. She switch feeds from
the main system to a closer remote system and said, "It can't be!"
"What, Commander?" Corwin asked confused.
Ivanova tapped her console and said, "Good Afternoon, Professor."
"Huh?" Corwin and the rest said.
Over the speakers came, "Greetings, Ensign Susan Ivanova. It is
good to talk to you again."
"Same here, Professor," Ivanova said cheerfully. "And it's
Commander now."
"Congratulation, Commander," the voice Ivanova identified as
'Professor' answered.
Ivanova touched a different panel on her console and said, "C'n'C
to Sheridan."
Sheridan's voice said, "Sheridan. Go."
"You have got to see this, Captain," Ivanova's voice said
excitedly.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"So that what we're facing people," Sheridan informed those at
the meeting. Present were Sheridan, Commander Ivanova, Doctor
Franklin, Chief Garibaldi, who was still in his X.S.E. uniform,
Captain Nathan Dayspring, and PsiCop Bester. "Anything else to add?"
"Yeah," Garibaldi said. "We found the mutant who was murdering
those aliens but he escaped by bashing his way through the
intersection out into space."
"So, we don't have to worry about him then. After all, mutants
are just humans with the 'x-factor.' So he's dead," Doctor Franklin
said. Seeing both Dayspring and Garibaldi's troubled face, he added,
"Right?"
"No," Garibaldi said, "The mutant was an *high*-class mutant of
considerable resources. He probably had a small ship near by."
"But the murders are stopped. correct," Sheridan asked.
"Yes," Garibaldi answered. "For now."
"Okay..." Sheridan said. "As to the problem Bester has brought
us.... Ivanova, Garibaldi, and Dayspring will have to take the
Whitestar into the rift and stop whatever the Shadows have planned."
"But, we don't need the Whitestar, Captain," Ivanova said.
"Huh?" Sheridan, Garibaldi, and Franklin said. Nathan frowned.
"We have Graymalkin," Ivanova said simply.
"How?" Dayspring asked incredibly.
"The Vorlons towed it here," Ivanova answered.
"It is 'taken care of'," Sheridan said to himself. To the group,
he said, "Fine. I take it, Commander, you are familiar with this
'Graymalkin'?"
"Yes," Ivanova said.
"Great," Sheridan said. "Okay, you three get going."
"Captain," Bester spoke up. Ivanova gave a start. It was the
only sign that the others had forgotten he was still there. Bester
continued, "Would not having a P12 telepath along, be helpful?"
Ivanova shook her head, Garibaldi and Dayspring looked at the
Captain and Franklin looked incredible at Bester. Sheridan looked at
Bester, thinking. Finally, Sheridan said, "Yes, it would. You four
should go. Take the shuttle in Bay 12."
"Right," Ivanova said.
Bester took a close look at Garibali's X.S.E. uniform and said
smiling, "I knew, we make a great team."
"Well, you're no 'Elizabeth Frost'," Garibaldi said.
"I'm hurt," Bester said in a mock-hurt voice. In a playful voice,
he said, "Besides, I'm better."
Sheridan just shook is his an thought, // Who's Elizabeth
Frost? //

[=== End of Part 6 ===]