Author's Note: I'm now thinking that I'm going to follow seasons 3-4 from Talia's POV rather than skipping to the end of season four. You can let me know if you have any serious objections to seeing what Talia was doing during the Shadow War, but I'm going to do it anyway.
Thanks for the review folks! Now on with the story:
The Sleeper walked disdainfully between two security guards through the docking bay. Mr. Garibaldi had placed her under 'protective custody' because there was nothing he could do officially; officially she was still Talia Winters. Talia hadn't seen him or any of the other command staff since the Sleeper had taken control of her body, aside from Susan's brief and painful visit. Talia was grateful for their absence; she didn't want this alter ego rummaging around in the minds of her friends. Still, when the turbolift doors had opened she had truly expected to see Garibaldi standing there. "Its like he knows," she had once complained. Now she missed him as her body had stepped inside without her direction.
A Psi Cop met them at the gate. She wore the traditional imposing black uniform, although she did not need the extra height the heels of the boots provided.
"Miss Winters," She said, her mind completely closed to the Sleeper's tentative touch. "Please come with me."
She turned a walked briskly away, leaving the Sleeper to follow. As the Sleeper hurried after her, the guards remained at the gate. Talia felt a trill of trepidation as her body stepped onto the ship and she came face to face with Bester.
"Ah, Miss Winters. How good to see you again." He smiled broadly. "Please sit down, this won't take long."
The Sleeper obediently sat. Talia drew herself fearfully into the tiny back corner of her prison as she saw what they intended to do. She also felt the Sleeper's moment of brief anxiety as well. Then it started.
Bester and the woman were ruthless with their scan, searching every layer of the Sleeper's mind, oblivious to the agony it caused her. Remarkably their minds slide right past the box, unaware that it was even there. But they examined everything. Talia found herself swept up in memory after memory.
–She was sitting on a pale grey carpet in her quarts, sipping a cup of tea and mulling over how to get Lt. Commander Ivanova to talk to her. It was only two day after she arrived on B5.-
-An image of daffy duck she had picked up from Garibaldi; his second favorite thing in the universe.-
-A shocking cold feel as if she had walked through a ghost. And as she fainted there was the after image of a dark spidery nightmare.-
-Kosh's iris swirling close and the faint tinkling sound of chimes.-
-She was sitting across for the slaver Tarkis (a pale alien with dark hair but dressed in gaudy red cloths) under the guise of monitoring negotiations be between him a G'Kar. She felt her own satisfaction as she plucked the location of Adira Tyree from his mind.-
-Iron Heart's dark eyes gazing into hers under the Utopia Planitia on Mars. His gloved hand capturing hers.-
-Abby's face's oval face, framed by her think red hair. Not as Talia remembered her from her love and care at the during Talia's first year at the Core, but the more recent image of her Talia had taken when she scanned Able Horn. The face with the word deceased flashing under it. Would Talia become a similar mystery covered up by the Core?-
-Her bare hand brushing over the empty sheets next to her, still warm.-
Both Talia and the Sleeper breathed a sigh of relief as the Psi Cops withdrew their minds.
Shaking her thoughts clear of the flurry of images Talia found she could 'see' the 'bruised' areas of the Sleeper's mind as the Sleeper dropped Talia's head into her hands. As the Sleeper struggled against her internal pain, Talia listened to what Bester and the other Psi Cop were discussing.
"Interesting," Bester mused. "Sheridan is defiantly involved in something. We will need to keep a closer eye on him."
"Still, we barely learned anything useful. This was a waste of a sleeper. She didn't even manage to take out that rouge telepath that exposed her. Now we are going to have to send someone to track her down."
What? Talia thought to herself. What about the Underground Railroad? What about IronHeart's gift? You now have a stable telekinetic completely under your control!
"Lyta Alexander no longer knows anything damaging about us now that she's exposed Talia," Bester was saying. "We can leave hunting her to the Blood Hounds' discretion."
"As you wish," the woman deferred. "Do you want to send another commercial telepath to Babylon 5?"
"No, they'll be looking out for that now. Have the assignment option posted on public channels. Anyone who wants it can take it."
"I don't think there will be any who will want it. Commercial telepaths are in high demand as it is and Babylon 5 is not the safest place to live."
As the two Psi Cops continued chatting, Talia shut herself off from her hostaged body's senses. Against all reason it seemed that the Psi Cops were still unaware of many things their deep scan should have revealed. But they had glided right past the box she had hidden in during their scan of the Sleeper. IronHeart's gift was too well shielded! Neither the Sleeper nor the Psi Cops were able to sense it, Talia's enhanced Psi abilities, or Talia.... And Talia had been using those gifts during the Underground Railroad incident to create an illusion for Bester, so the illusion would have fooled the Sleeper as well. The Sleeper, of course, was only a P-6 or P-7, just higher than Talia had officially been. With some amusement, Talia realized that she was actually the most powerful telepath in the room, even though she was trapped inside of her own body.
Exhaustion followed the relief; for although Talia no longer had a body, her mind still required rest. It was strange though, to drift off in that dark box knowing that her body was still moving, doing things...
