Trouble Arrives
a mid-fifth season scene
* * *
Lunch. A universal constant, Lt. Corwin thought as he stared at the crowded food court. Even at two o'clock the place was jammed. He was half-tempted to give up and try again in a couple of hours, but the growling of his stomach reminded him that he'd used that reasoning at breakfast in the mess hall. Blacking out at his post from low blood sugar probably wouldn't do much to improve the captain's opinion of him. With that thought to spur him he stepped into the mob and began heading toward one of the fast food restaurants that didn't argue with his digestive system.
His progress was almost immediately halted by a small tornado that plowed into his chest. He looked down at the top of a dark head. A girl stood in front of him, eyes nearly crossed as she tried to read the name badge mere inches from her nose.
"Corwin?" she read. She looked up and tried to refocus on his face. "You really are tall, aren't you?"
His first thought was - no, she was just terribly short. His second thought was that the waif seemed vaguely familiar.
"You work for... well, used to work for Susan, right?" the girl asked even as he tried to place her.
"Ivanova?" Abruptly, the pieces clicked. Telepath, he thought. The kid that the commander had shipped off to Minbar a few years ago. What was her name?
"Alisa..." she supplied helpfully. "Alisa Beldon."
Corwin frowned. "Don't do that."
"I didn't read your mind," she protested with a grin. "You have a very legible *face*, lieutenant."
His frown only deepened.
"It's good to be back," Alisa said. "I wish Susan were still here, though. I used to talk to her a lot. Well, not a lot, but more than now 'cause she's off on her new ship and it's hard to get through, but it would have been even nicer to see her in person again and actually I was going to come looking for you in a few days. Well, maybe not you in particular, but somebody on the command staff who might have talked to her recently just to see how she was doing." She paused to take a breath and look up at him thoughtfully.
She smiled brightly at his bemused expression. "Or maybe I would have come looking for you in particular. You seem pretty approachable. That new captain is awfully... professional. And everybody else is new or new to me anyway but you I remember. Not that I remembered your name or anything until I saw it again, but I remembered that you were tall, which is a strange thing to remember I guess but when you're my height you tend to remember really tall people. You're kind of quiet, too, right?"
Corwin blinked at the sudden silence. He nodded once in surprise and was startled by her peal of laughter.
Alisa continued to talk to him as he stood in line, as he ordered, and as he received his food. When it arrived he looked in bafflement at the extra burger in his left hand and the two drinks on the counter. The clerk merely smiled at him and nodded at the girl. Alisa, without pausing in her monologue, relieved him of the second burger and picked up one of the drinks. Still shaking his head, Corwin began searching for an empty table. He wasn't at all surprised when the girl trailed him across the food court and sat down across from him.
He sat quietly as she continued to prattle happily about how different life on Minbar had been and how nice it was to be among humans again. It didn't seem to register with her at all that he hadn't spoken in fifteen minutes. He smiled slightly. It wasn't as if he would have been able to get a word in edgewise even if he'd tried. He knew that he should be probably be annoyed that she'd weaseled him into feeding her, but sitting here listening to her cheerful, if somewhat one-sided conversation, he couldn't quite manage it.
He ate his lunch rather more slowly than usual as he listened to Alisa's virtual monologue. It finally occurred to him to wonder how she had arrived on the station. He couldn't remember whether a diplomatic ship had been due from Minbar today or not. The Minbari didn't pay their telepaths but did compensate them in other ways. Alisa, of course, was a special case, but Corwin wondered if their practice applied to human telepaths, too. If she hadn't been able to raise the funds to buy a ticket back to Babylon 5 it was likely that a Minbari ship had simply given her free passage. He started when the link on the back of his hand chirped.
*C&C to Corwin.* Ensign Ames said. *We just had our third ship come through the jump gate in the past half hour. Two of them are unscheduled and they're wreaking all kinds of havoc with our docking scheds. We're a little short...*
"I'm on my way," Corwin sighed.
"Can't they solve anything without you?" Alisa teased as he rose.
He shrugged. "Of course they can. But if they ever figure that out, I'll be out of a job." He crumpled the burger wrapper and tossed it into recycling bin several feet away.
"You ought to play basketball."
"Do," he said shortly. "Station rec league," he added at her raised eyebrows.
"Good." She laughed at his puzzled frown. "Nice to know that you do get out every once in a while."
He shook his head. He already had a headache. Trying to figure out her angle was sure to only make it worse. "Nice meeting you," he said as he picked up his drink. "I have a feeling I'll probably be seeing you again."
"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," she grinned impishly.
He shook his head again as he left. That headache was getting worse and he doubted that whatever was happening in C&C was going to help it.
"Hey, lieutenant!" Alisa's voice rang across the food court.
Corwin winced and turned back warily.
"You do have a first name, don't you?" she asked loudly. Her broad grin said that she knew precisely how much it embarrassed him to be shouted at from fifty feet away.
He nodded.
"Well?"
"David." He didn't raise his voice, certain she would hear him anyway.
She grinned and nodded in satisfaction. Corwin shook his head and managed to get a few more steps away before he heard her again.
"Hey, David!"
He spun abruptly and knew that his annoyance would be plain on his face. Alisa gave him a sheepish smile.
"Thank you for lunch." Her grin broke into full-fledged laughter at his aggravated expression.
Corwin sighed wearily as he headed back to C&C. He had a terrible suspicion that the relative peace and quiet of the past few weeks had just vanished.
* * *
end
a mid-fifth season scene
* * *
Lunch. A universal constant, Lt. Corwin thought as he stared at the crowded food court. Even at two o'clock the place was jammed. He was half-tempted to give up and try again in a couple of hours, but the growling of his stomach reminded him that he'd used that reasoning at breakfast in the mess hall. Blacking out at his post from low blood sugar probably wouldn't do much to improve the captain's opinion of him. With that thought to spur him he stepped into the mob and began heading toward one of the fast food restaurants that didn't argue with his digestive system.
His progress was almost immediately halted by a small tornado that plowed into his chest. He looked down at the top of a dark head. A girl stood in front of him, eyes nearly crossed as she tried to read the name badge mere inches from her nose.
"Corwin?" she read. She looked up and tried to refocus on his face. "You really are tall, aren't you?"
His first thought was - no, she was just terribly short. His second thought was that the waif seemed vaguely familiar.
"You work for... well, used to work for Susan, right?" the girl asked even as he tried to place her.
"Ivanova?" Abruptly, the pieces clicked. Telepath, he thought. The kid that the commander had shipped off to Minbar a few years ago. What was her name?
"Alisa..." she supplied helpfully. "Alisa Beldon."
Corwin frowned. "Don't do that."
"I didn't read your mind," she protested with a grin. "You have a very legible *face*, lieutenant."
His frown only deepened.
"It's good to be back," Alisa said. "I wish Susan were still here, though. I used to talk to her a lot. Well, not a lot, but more than now 'cause she's off on her new ship and it's hard to get through, but it would have been even nicer to see her in person again and actually I was going to come looking for you in a few days. Well, maybe not you in particular, but somebody on the command staff who might have talked to her recently just to see how she was doing." She paused to take a breath and look up at him thoughtfully.
She smiled brightly at his bemused expression. "Or maybe I would have come looking for you in particular. You seem pretty approachable. That new captain is awfully... professional. And everybody else is new or new to me anyway but you I remember. Not that I remembered your name or anything until I saw it again, but I remembered that you were tall, which is a strange thing to remember I guess but when you're my height you tend to remember really tall people. You're kind of quiet, too, right?"
Corwin blinked at the sudden silence. He nodded once in surprise and was startled by her peal of laughter.
Alisa continued to talk to him as he stood in line, as he ordered, and as he received his food. When it arrived he looked in bafflement at the extra burger in his left hand and the two drinks on the counter. The clerk merely smiled at him and nodded at the girl. Alisa, without pausing in her monologue, relieved him of the second burger and picked up one of the drinks. Still shaking his head, Corwin began searching for an empty table. He wasn't at all surprised when the girl trailed him across the food court and sat down across from him.
He sat quietly as she continued to prattle happily about how different life on Minbar had been and how nice it was to be among humans again. It didn't seem to register with her at all that he hadn't spoken in fifteen minutes. He smiled slightly. It wasn't as if he would have been able to get a word in edgewise even if he'd tried. He knew that he should be probably be annoyed that she'd weaseled him into feeding her, but sitting here listening to her cheerful, if somewhat one-sided conversation, he couldn't quite manage it.
He ate his lunch rather more slowly than usual as he listened to Alisa's virtual monologue. It finally occurred to him to wonder how she had arrived on the station. He couldn't remember whether a diplomatic ship had been due from Minbar today or not. The Minbari didn't pay their telepaths but did compensate them in other ways. Alisa, of course, was a special case, but Corwin wondered if their practice applied to human telepaths, too. If she hadn't been able to raise the funds to buy a ticket back to Babylon 5 it was likely that a Minbari ship had simply given her free passage. He started when the link on the back of his hand chirped.
*C&C to Corwin.* Ensign Ames said. *We just had our third ship come through the jump gate in the past half hour. Two of them are unscheduled and they're wreaking all kinds of havoc with our docking scheds. We're a little short...*
"I'm on my way," Corwin sighed.
"Can't they solve anything without you?" Alisa teased as he rose.
He shrugged. "Of course they can. But if they ever figure that out, I'll be out of a job." He crumpled the burger wrapper and tossed it into recycling bin several feet away.
"You ought to play basketball."
"Do," he said shortly. "Station rec league," he added at her raised eyebrows.
"Good." She laughed at his puzzled frown. "Nice to know that you do get out every once in a while."
He shook his head. He already had a headache. Trying to figure out her angle was sure to only make it worse. "Nice meeting you," he said as he picked up his drink. "I have a feeling I'll probably be seeing you again."
"You make that sound like it's a bad thing," she grinned impishly.
He shook his head again as he left. That headache was getting worse and he doubted that whatever was happening in C&C was going to help it.
"Hey, lieutenant!" Alisa's voice rang across the food court.
Corwin winced and turned back warily.
"You do have a first name, don't you?" she asked loudly. Her broad grin said that she knew precisely how much it embarrassed him to be shouted at from fifty feet away.
He nodded.
"Well?"
"David." He didn't raise his voice, certain she would hear him anyway.
She grinned and nodded in satisfaction. Corwin shook his head and managed to get a few more steps away before he heard her again.
"Hey, David!"
He spun abruptly and knew that his annoyance would be plain on his face. Alisa gave him a sheepish smile.
"Thank you for lunch." Her grin broke into full-fledged laughter at his aggravated expression.
Corwin sighed wearily as he headed back to C&C. He had a terrible suspicion that the relative peace and quiet of the past few weeks had just vanished.
* * *
end