Disclaimers: Babylon 5 and Highlander are not mine. I'm just using the basis to write some interesting ideas down. This is an AU story.

Notes: 1. This takes places just after Phoenix Rising (S5 Ep12).

2. This story is a Crossover with Highlander.

3. The Game has been over for 50 years, revealed as a false feeling brought on by some compounds in the atmosphere (Vorlon tampering).

4. // … // indicates telepathic conversation.

5. italics are thoughts.

Chapter 9 – Meetings and Gatherings

The next day

Susan Ivanova was currently making her way to the third gym. It had been booked by Adam Dawson for use in training. Marcus had said last night that he would be training with the older immortal, and that Lyta would also training. You could call her jealous but she did not believe that she could in any way compare to the thin, beautiful telepath. She had always regarded herself as slightly, well, frumpy. She passed one of Zack's security men on the way in.

The clash of steel against steel was ringing around the room. The first thing she saw was a shock to her system. Lyta and Zack were sparring, both breathing heavily and sweating, as swords clashed. Long sword against Katana. The second thing she noticed made her wonder if she had stepped though a dimensional portal. Methos was clearly beating the Ranger with a Minbari fighting pike.

Susan winced as she saw a particularly nasty strike land, the snapping of ribs audible, as Marcus flew backwards into a bench that didn't appear to belong there.

"What the hell?" Susan could barely recognise her own voice as reflexes kicked in and she led with a spin kick that Methos barely avoided. She tried to follow him but felt strikes impact her body, the next thing she knew she was staring at the ceiling with Marcus' voice asking if she was okay.

* * * * * * * *

Nick Wolfe's quarters, Babylon 5

Nick and Amanda were reading a StellarCom message on the BabCom unit in their room. It was from the freighter Resurrection and explained what happened when they left the Sol System. Both of them were rather dismayed that the Psi Corps had even got out there in the first place. They also saw that it had been copied to the colony that the immortals were concentrating on.

Amanda reacted first. "We need to tell the old man and Cassie about this." Nick winced, part of the deal he did with Methos for the Atlantean information included that the hardware would not be used until they had sufficient weaponry to allow the colony to withstand an attack by anyone. Amanda caught the wince. "It's almost able to defend itself, love. Just relax, Darling, I'll take the blame… or the credit."

Both Nick and Amanda had seen the ISN segment on the formation of the new telepath registration body. It was surprising how quickly the ranks had swelled, at the last bulletin the RTO had almost two thousand members. Primarily these came from the camps after some of the initial recruits had gone in and explained the differences between the two organisations. It had surprises them, the way membership climbed. Lyta had joined very early on. Other Psi Corps members had also switched, enjoying for the first time the freedoms that the rest of humanity took for granted. It made the strike they had organised on some Psi Corps camps a waste of effort, but fun to plan nonetheless.

* * * * * * * *

ISN Broadcast

"…With the RTO membership numbers at fifteen thousand and still climbing. The Senate's decision appears to be a very popular one with telepaths. ISN polls of business and government departments have found an almost ecstatic agreement with the statement that they would prefer to work with RTO registered telepaths rather than the Psi Corps. This early reaction after only two days of operation is far more positive than even the most optimistic prediction. It remains to be seen whether or not this initial surge of goodwill is indicative of things to come.

"In other news, Mars security has finally stepped down from the level 2 alert it was placed onto after the attack on some Psi Corps Re-education Camps earlier this week. Proxima 3 has increased imports on several …"

* * * * * * * *

Babylon 5, Captain's Office

"You WHAT?" The explosion of sound brought winces to the two faces that were looking at an infuriated Methos. Cassandra looked rather bemused by the whole situation.

"Relax, Darling, they couldn't just let them board, you know." Amanda's composed features showed no stress, despite the wince that had crossed her face just before. It was something nobody had really seen before, an immortal hyperventilating. Cassandra was watching him, worried for him and for them, sometimes his hold on sanity and civilisation could get extremely thin.

Methos controlled himself with effort. "And why couldn't you let them board?" Cassandra winced as the tone of the question registered, she had heard that tone from him before. If their answers weren't very good…

The explanations came out in a jumble of words. Slowly, pointed questions from both Methos and Cassandra, had the whole story brought to light. The explanation left Cassandra banging her head into the Captain's desk and Methos swearing, at least the rest of them thought he was swearing, they couldn't understand him.

Cassandra sat with her head in her hands as she listened to Methos finish a particularly nasty epithet in Ancient Egyptian, before starting up again in Sumerian. She moved so that she was resting her chin on her hands and waited for Methos to calm down. She saw Zack enter the room, stop, turn around and leave. The incongruity of it left her fighting the giggles as Methos continued his swearing marathon.

Several hours later, Methos was once again thinking rationally. His instructions had been to the point and rather drastic. Nobody really liked it, Cassandra protested the assignment of the active squadron on the freighter to the station. Zack didn't like that Methos wanted the B5 security people armed with Atlantean hand weapons. And Nick and Amanda didn't like the fact that the colony wasn't going to get its full complement of fighter squadrons just yet.

* * * * * * * *

Wing 3 Training room, Atlantis (Earth colony 183)

Kyra Ryan spun, her sword whipping around to engage her husbands saber. She seemed to falter as he used the edge to slip her blade past him and ended the move by placing the flat of the blade against her neck. She froze, the habit of millennia overriding the more recent trust placed by memory and love, and her mind flashed back 220 years.

African Jungle, 220 years ago

Kyra ran. She ran though the jungle away from the three that were hunting her. Broadsword strapped to her back, she pushed her way into a clearing when the buzz of another immortal hit her.

She had her sword out and ready, so when she sensed the blade slicing it's way towards her back. She spun, sword leading. The clash of steel filled the clearing as her assailant use a vicious move to sever the tendons in her hand while sending her sword spinning, to land in the dirt of the jungle floor a good three meters from where she stood.

She stiffened as the blade caressed her neck, she was on her knees hugging the wounded limb to her body. She felt rather than heard or saw her opponent move around, he used his blade to tip her head up. As she took in her assailant's dirty and ripped clothes and his matted hair and beard, she almost sighed in relief. It wasn't one of the ones that had been hunting her for the better part of two weeks.

His voice sounded rusty, as if it hadn't been used in years. "What are you doing here?"

His question was answered before she opened her mouth, as the three that had been chasing her came into sensing range. She watched as his eyes went cold and hard, then grunted as she felt a knife drive into her heart. Her last thought was that he seemed familiar somehow.

When she revived, she was surprised. She honestly had thought herself dead, permanently. Her pleasure stopped when she tried to get up, she found herself securely bound, unable to move more than a few centimetres in any direction.

She was able to move her head slightly, so she tried to see where she was. It was a clearing of some kind, but a very unusual one as she couldn't see the sky and no tree trunk was in sight. Also visible was her sword and the hilts of three others. They appeared to have been driven into the ground about a metre back from their heads.

She felt the returning buzz of immortals reviving before she heard the gasps for air next to her.

"Ah good. Everybody's awake again." The same raspy/rusty voice commented. "It's time to find out just what you all are doing here." The face from before appeared over her, ignoring the protests from the three men to get their side first, the immortal placed his hands either side of her head. Suddenly Kyra felt like someone had attached a live power cable to her head. She heard screams, incoherent and loud, and realised that they were hers, then as fast as it started, it stopped. She lay there dazed as the strange unknown immortal moved on. She heard the screams similar to hers three more times.

She felt the Quickening, heard the harsh protests, the begging and pleading before another Quickening, and saw it strike next to her. The strange immortal appeared before her, his grin slightly crazed. His sword fell a third time and he moved rapidly away from the area.

Kyra screamed as the Quickening hit her. Lives and memories flashing without retention.

She left the jungle a week later, and despite questioning the familiar seeming immortal somewhat relentlessly , no answers and an invitation to return whenever she felt the need.

Present

Kyra snapped to the present when she felt an impact on her leg, looking down she saw a pixie-like face framed by white-blond hair. "Daddy beat you again, Mommy." Her daughters statement of the obvious brought a smile to the faces of both parents.

"Course he did, sweetheart. Now get to school." Unusual for many children, she watched as Katherine Emily Ryan yelled with delight, grabbed her bag and was out the door with a screamed, "BYE!".

A bottle of water held in a callused hand, provoked a sigh. "Thanks, Rich." The water was cool. "She's going to be so disappointed."

"Why do you think that, love?" His expression showed how curious he was to her reasons for that statement. She gave him a dirty look.

"We're both going to the Conclave on B5. So she's coming with us, and going to be missing school and her friends."

"She's known we were going for the past five days. Don't you think she would've mentioned it? Quit borrowing trouble." Richard Ryan enfolded his wife of 180 years in a hug that was far to intimate for the wing training area, but neither cared.

* * * * * * * *

Babylon 5, two days later

Corwin stepped up to report as Captain Lochley entered the Control Center of the massive station. The Wolf Industries freighter bearing an additional squadron and their control officer had arrived last night, replacements weren't that odd, but these definitely were. The black ovoid craft were nothing like he had ever seen, from the conversations with the pilots had revealed very little about them or their use. Again the Wolfe Industry people refitting one of the launch bays weren't unusual with a new type of fighter, but what were they installing around the stations hull at precise intervals. The Captain was keeping her month shut, as was Chief Allan and the President. Corwin was definitely annoyed, his Watcher contacts had similarly come up with nothing. And over the last 12 hours a number of RTO registered telepaths had come aboard. Not to mention the immortals that were apparently on their way to the station. Yep, it was going to be a very stressful couple of days.s