Chapter Two: Planning Ahead

(Captain Lochley's Office)

"Argh!" Elizabeth Lochley threw her hands into the air and collapsed into her chair. Burying her face into her hands, she growled again and felt a wave of self-loathing wash over her, how could I have been so stupid to listen to Sheridan? Why did I have to accept this god dammed assignment she thought to herself. Taking her head out of her hands, she saw her new 'love bat' that Lt. Cmdr had brought for her recent birthday and smiled. Reaching for it, she tapped it against the table,

"I love you." It said and she smiled. Tapping it again the computerized voice said, "I want you." The woman, slightly stunned, looked at the bat and frowned, puzzled. It hadn't said that before.

Actually, come to think of it, I don't think I've used it before. She thought and grinned at her own forgetfulness. She put the down and picked up a datapad. It was early in the day and she found she had several meetings scheduled for the day ahead. She found herself particularly dreading the meeting scheduled for 1400- another meeting with the Yollu, who were presumably hopping mad that Lochley had allowed a group of Abbai refugees onto the station. Tapping her link, she brought her hand upto her mouth and said, "Lochley to Corwin."

"Go ahead Captain." The man responded presently.

"Lieutenant Commander, I need you to cancel my appointment with the Yollu delegation at 1400." She said with a mischievous grin "I would do it myself, but I don't want to end up in a thousand little pieces and your, ah, charm shall we say, will lessen the blow. Say I have an appointment with Vir or something."

"Yes Captain. I'll get on it right away." Corwin's voice with dripping with dread as he signed off. She liked David, he was a good officer, like his father and his grandfather before that, but he was still naive in many ways and she wanted to help him overcome that.

She continued to look down the list of appointment and other such crap she had to put up with various people to see, she had for once, a fairly quiet evening ahead of her. Maybe she'd by a bottle of wine at lunch for the evening and maybe, she'd invite Dr. Hobbes over. She liked the English Doctor and had been sharing some friendly banter with Franklin's replacement. They both deserved a night off after all. Lochley knew that the Doctor hadn't stopped working since the crisis began last week and the woman was looking more and more haggard every time she stopped by MedLab One. She tapped her link again, "Lochley to MedLab."

"MedLab here. Go ahead Captain." Hobbes responded, sounding tired and run into the ground.

"I know your busy Lillian, so I'll make this quick." Lochley said without preamble, "How would you like to take the evening off tonight. I've got it off and I was wondering if you'd like to keep me company."

"I don't know, Captain" Hobbes said hesitantly, "We've got a massive backlog here and I need to sort through it. Maybe another night." The woman's voice was filled with regret.

"Come on, Doctor. Leave that to the others, they are perfectly competent at what they do." Lochley said, almost pleading, "I think I'll need to see a friendly and understanding face when I finish."

"Oh, all right then. I'll meet at your quarters at, what Nineteen-Hundred?" the woman responded and Lochley smiled.

"See you then, Doctor Lochley out." She smiled once more and knew that she would get through the day now she had an evening with a friend to look forward to.

(Security Office)

Zack Allan paced the room, all the while watching the camera monitors from across the station. He breathed out, and continued to pace. Why can't this place ever be quiet? He groaned mentally. Last month it was the thieves guild, this month the Yollu and the Abbai, what's it going to be next month? The Second Coming? He watched the camera in the casino for a minute and saw that for once, there was no fighting going on. Makes a change, he thought sarcastically. His link went off and rolling his eyes, he pressed it, "Yeah, what is it now?" he said waspishly

"Lt. Commander Corwin needs you in Docking Bay Nine. We've got an Abbai transport coming in." the voice of 2nd Lieutenant Janel Denton said.

"Tell him, I'm on my way." He said, tapping his link as the doors to the office opened. Standing there was Ambassador Folenn, the new Minbari Ambassador to the station. The man bowed low, making the Security Chief feel immediately uncomfortable. He never knew what made him so uncomfortable, but he was. "Can this wait, Ambassador? I've got to go somewhere."

"Yes I know." The gentle looking man from the Worker Caste responded, "An Abbai transport has arrived and I assume you are on your way to sort any trouble. May I walk with you?" the man asked gently with a small smile.

"Errr. Yeah, sure." Zack responded, unsure. The two men left the office and Folenn looked to the Security Chief, making him feel more uncomfortable,

"What do you expect the Yollu to do in regards to this latest group of Abbai refugees?" Folenn said, as though he was testing him.

"I expect they'll kick up a stink and demand they be turned over to their 'custody'. I'll refuse and after that, I don't know, Ambassador." Zack said.

Folenn nodded, "I have dealt with the Yollu before during my time with the Rangers and I have found them to be a most difficult species, like many others in the Interstellar Alliance. However the Yollu always believe they are right, even in the face of overwhealming evidence. You must learn to- as your people say- live with it." Zack smiled, the Minbari Ambassador almost reminded him of Lennier. He wondered for a moment where the young Minbari had gone after fleeing from Sheridan and Delenn. "Thanks for the advice, Ambassador. I'll keep it in mind." Zack said.

"If you wouldn't mind, I would like to come with you to see how your team reacts and if I can be of service, I will help." Folenn responded with a smile, "Of course it is up to you."

Zack smiled at Folenn and nodded, "There's another human saying- the more the merrier. I'd be glad for your help." Folenn smiled back and the two walked onwards to the docking bay where Zack knew, literally hundreds of problems were waiting for him.