Part 4
Susan allowed herself a smug smile when Marie answered the door the next day and did a double take, as it proved that she had not lost her knack for power dressing.
A visit to Robinson's department store had banished the self-pitying Susan Ivanova forever. The first establishment she had found during her visit the previous evening was a hair salon. Short as it was, the stylist had managed to manipulate Susan's self-cut mess into a sleek, no nonsense style. Then Susan re-stocked her make-up before locating an outfit.
She had decided that to strike fear into her opponent, she would need something authoritative without looking too militaristic. Although black was her usual colour choice when dressing to intimidate, Susan knew that her complexion was too pale at the moment to carry it off, so she concentrated on dark colours instead. She had found what she wanted in a dark maroon jacket that was long and fitted, with a mandarin collar. It was reminiscent of the uniform she had worn whilst commanding the Whitestars, and when she tried it on, it felt like she was stepping into the persona of the Commander that she had left behind five years ago. Now she was ready for battle.
As per Susan's recommendations, Marie and Amy were also dressed to impress. Amy was in a smart dress with no frills, and Marie in a blue trouser suit with a scarf in the neck just to break up the stark plainness. Susan nodded with satisfaction. She may have been dismayed at the idea of marching into the college, but Marie was a quick study and had taken note of Susan's instructions.
"Ready?" Susan asked.
"Yes, but are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Marie voiced her concerns. "I could take a correspondent course to get the qualifications for the college and apply again next year."
"And waste a year." Susan added. "They have no grounds for refusing you now."
"But.."
Susan cut her off before she could continue,
"No buts. 'Claim victory in your heart and the universe must follow'. That is a Minbari saying isn't it? You know, your Father would not have helped as many people as he did if he had thought about the buts before acting. Actually, he would have got into less trouble if he had."
That made Marie smile.
"Good." Susan said, "That's settled."
OoOoO
Susan noted that Marie joked with Amy as they travelled to the college campus, turning the situation into a game and making her promise to be on her best behaviour. As they got closer though, she fell silent. Susan wondered what she was frightened of; going up against authority, heading into an unknown situation? She had done both of those things before and surely her Ranger training would ensure that she could cope with most situations.
But this was not like most situations. Marie had been taught to use her skills to help other people; so to undertake a scheme for purely personal reasons must have been alien to her. Plus, this was not like going into battle, where most choices were purely reaction. This confrontation was pre-planned and could be avoided. Marie had thought about avoidance, that was clear. The suggestion about the correspondence course was an attempt to find an outcome that created the least commotion; to keep her life as smooth as possible. That Marie wanted a quiet life was commendable, but Susan could not quite correlate that with being a Ranger. They were anything but quiet.
But that was expected from the Rangers and Marie was not with the Rangers now. She was on her own.
That was it!
Susan sat for a moment and let her mind process the conclusion that had just leapt right out at her. Marie was afraid of being noticed.
It was obvious to Susan now. Why, she had done the same thing herself, hiding from the Corps. Marie had for years kept her identity secret by blending into the background; taking the path of least resistance; not doing anything for people to notice her. Hiding in a crowd had become second nature. Because of that, she was now feeling exposed and probably on the verge of panic. It must have been taking every ounce of courage for her to keep going.
Susan reached over and took Marie's cold hand. She squeezed it and gave Marie a smile of reassurance.
"Don't worry," She said, "I'll take care of everything." Marie responded with a weak smile.
OoOoO
Bruce Martin was relaxing with his mid morning cup of coffee, listening to the Beatles.
According to the Martian calendar, they were technically in early summer, but the one thing that had not been shaken off with the rest of Earth was their timekeeping. Yes, their days were longer than on Earth and a certain adjustment had been made for that, but officially they still worked on a twenty-four hour, twelve-month cycle. Not that Bruce minded. He couldn't have stood the length of the terms if they had adopted the local year.
And so, with temperatures outside the Dome rising, inside his office it was the middle of the winter break, and very nicely quiet.
He had dealt with the small amount of administration that the College generated at this time of year; bills for the varied running costs, appeals against exam results and such. It was all minor business that could be left to his secretary to take care of. He had more important matters to attend to. That afternoon he would be entertaining a group of chairmen from one of the companies that was looking to give them a grant. Considering most of their income came from such company grants, it was important to impress them.
Of course it wasn't hard. Being the most respected College on Mars had its advantages. They attracted the best students who were the first ones to be recruited into high-powered jobs after graduation. This generated a reputation for fast-track career enhancement, which ensured that their places were in high demand. The ability to choose the cream of the applicants from only the top schools ensured that their standing at the top of the league tables was unchallenged, and so led to more companies wanting to recruit from them.
It was a nice self-perpetuating cycle and it looked like it was about to get better. There had been rumblings that the IA was looking into starting a Graduate Recruitment Programme. If that was the case, then Bruce envisaged a very comfortable future. The Interstellar Alliance had always been favourable to Mars.
His secretary announcing that there was someone to see him interrupted his rosy daydream.
"What do they want?" he asked, struggling to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"They want discuss an application that we rejected."
"Can't you deal with it?" It sounded quite straightforward.
"I'm sorry sir, but they demand to see you."
Bruce sighed, and with a silent apology to John, Paul, George and Ringo, instructed them to be sent in. He looked up a few moments later from his pretend paperwork to be greeted by the stern gaze of a woman who was used to being obeyed. Standing behind her was a teenager and a young girl. Sisters? Certainly they were both nervously staring wide-eyed at the older woman. Mother? It was safest to assume so.
Bruce had encountered such mothers before. They were the ones who hadn't succeeded themselves and so looked for glory through their children, pushing them to succeeded, telling them what their ambitions should be without finding out what their child really wanted. He felt sorry for the children as they were the ones most likely to drop out in the first year. Not good for the league tables.
It was not going to be easy to dissuade this mother that college was not for them.
Bruce stood up and held out his hand, "What can I do for you, Mrs?"
The woman didn't take the proffered hand.
"Miss." She corrected. "Susan Ivanova."
Bruce managed not to raise an eyebrow. Perhaps she was divorced. He indicated for all three to sit, then steeled himself for battle.
"I understand you have come in respect of an application that we refused." He began.
"Yes. Marie Cole for the course of Xenogeology."
Bruce did some more speculating as he called up the application on his terminal. Probably Cole was the ex husbands name. He wondered who left whom.
"Ah yes, here we are." He announced as he scanned the information on the screen. "The reason that we refused is because Marie does not hold any of the recognised qualifications that are required for entry to a course."
"And based on that you assume that she is not intelligent enough to attend your college."
"It is not just that," Bruce explained, "We expect our students to come here with a certain level of knowledge. Anyone without that background will be rapidly left behind. We do not have the time or resources to teach students the basics that they should already know."
"What makes you so sure that Marie does not already surpass some of your students?" Ivanova inquired primly. "Have you looked to see where she was educated?"
Bruce studied his terminal. Marie was educated at the Dukhat Memorial School. Not one he had heard of. Then he noticed where it was based.
"Minbar!" He looked up in confusion. He had never heard of a human growing up on Minbar. It explained the lack of recognised qualifications though.
"Miss Cole," He began, "I am sorry for the lack of explanation of our refusal, but the Minbari education system is so different from our own that we have no way of correlating their qualifications to ours. If you wish to gain the relevant Earth qualifications, then we will gladly review your application again next year."
Bruce stood up and extended his hand indicating that the meeting was over. Ivanova rose slowly from her seat. She placed her hands on the desk and leaned close to Bruce's face.
"Why should Marie waste a year of her life to satisfy what is an administrational oversight of your college?"
"What?"
"It surprises me," Ivanova continued, getting into her stride, " That one of the best colleges in the Earth system can be so short-sighted in its applications procedure. We live in a multi species society Mr. Martin, and there already humans that live on planets not within the Earth Alliance. There are also aliens living on our own colonies, and more will come. Marie is just the first of what will be an increasing number of students that apply with no recognised qualifications. If your college does not familiarise itself with alien education systems, then your computer could weed out some of the greatest minds of the galaxy and they will go to your competitors. Do you want that Mr. Martin?"
Bruce shook his head. It took him some seconds to find something to say.
"If what you say is true Miss Ivanova, then it would take us years to correlate all the different systems."
"You had better get started then. Marie does not need to study here."
Bruce felt his blood rise at the superior smugness of the statement. Yes, she had made some valid points, but that did not mean that she could demand anything from him or the college.
"If that is your attitude," He announced, "Then Marie can go elsewhere. I will not have anyone dictate policy to me in my own office. What gives you the right to come in here and demand anything from me?"
"What gives me the right," Ivanova spoke quietly and purposely, "Is that I am one of the people who put you here. Five years ago, Mars was under the rule of Earth and if it were not for me, then you would not be the independent state that you are today. I am Captain Susan Ivanova, and I commanded the fleet that spearheaded the battle to overthrow Clark."
"I thought Sheridan.."
"And he did." Ivanova did not give him time to finish, "I was injured during an ambush with a group of advanced destroyers. We wiped them out and left the way clear for a victory over Mars. If we had failed, then where you are now sitting would most likely be a pile of smoking rubble."
"Captain Ivanova," Bruce felt his way carefully. He had the feeling that so far, he had got off lightly. "Your credentials are most impressive, but we still cannot extrapolate the Minbari education system at such short notice."
"Then you will have to find another way, because I am not leaving until I am satisfied that you have exhausted every avenue." She leaned further over the desk, looking directly into her opponent's eyes. Bruce himself almost fell backwards into his chair. "Marie's father," Ivanova continued, "Saved my life at the cost of his own. Because of that, I am going to make certain that she gets every chance to succeed in her chosen career and ensure that the name of Cole continues to be respected throughout the galaxy. One bureaucrat with an arbitrary computer system is not going to stop me, not when I have faced Shadow fleets and won. Do you think you would stand any chance with me? Mr. Martin."
Bruce swallowed nervously.
"We can't just offer a place." He blurted.
"That is not what I am suggesting." Ivanova settled back into her seat. "Just because I have the means and connections to ruin your college, doesn't mean that I will. I just want a chance for Marie to prove herself to you. Surely that is all anyone wants. Now, if you do not have the means to recognise Marie's qualifications, then is there not an entrance exam that she could sit?"
Bruce considered the proposition.
"It's possible."
"Fine; you do that. If Marie does not meet your requirements, then we shall go elsewhere. Marie is not looking for handouts Mr. Martin, only to be judged on her merit. When you have compiled your test, you can contact us. We shall give your secretary the address. Good day Mr. Martin."
With that, Captain Ivanova stood up and led Marie and the small girl from his office. When the door had closed, Bruce ran his hands through his hair and noisily blew out a breath.
"Well you really misjudged that one Bruce." He said to no one in particular.
OoOoO
Once outside on the street, Marie surprised Susan by throwing her arms around her and giving her a big hug.
"Thank you so much." She said. "You were amazing!"
Susan found herself smiling. "Thank you," she answered back, "But I was being quite restrained. You have yet to see me in full flow. That is something to see."
"I look forward to it."
Susan laughed, "That is not the reaction I usually get. Well we have time before lunch. What would you like to do?"
"I don't know about you," Marie began, hopping from one foot to the other with pent up energy. "But I want to go to the park and run like the wind."
"I've never been to the park."
OoOoO
Marie seemed to regress in age as she ran around in circles with Amy. They played a hectic game of tag, accompanied by gales of laughter, and usually ended up rolling together on the grass.
Susan watched them almost from within a dream. This moment, surreal as it was, seemed so right. She had made a difference, to one person. She had done good.
Is that what had been missing from her life? Had she lost sight of her purpose; her reason for living? Yes, in the military she was defending the innocent, but as Garibaldi had once said, it had become just numbers on a page. She no longer saw the results of her work, the faces of the people she helped.
Here and now, she was watching the euphoric joy of a young woman, looking forward to the next stage of her life. She, Susan Ivanova had done that. Not Captain, just plain, ordinary Susan. Marie's laughter was a far greater reward than any victory gained at the head of a fleet.
Susan closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Over the past five years, a weight had settled onto her, which meant that deep breaths were usually only sighs. Today she passed the point of a sigh and continued, drawing air into her lungs. Each second filled her body with new life, reaching down to her toes and out to her fingertips. Susan stretched out, straining her body to its limits, feeling the energy pulsating through it. No longer did she feel weighed down, constricted. She felt almost light enough to fly.
No more would she brood on the past. From today, Susan Ivanova would walk tall again, starting a new life, looking forward to the future, making small differences to individuals.
To be continued...