Chapter 16

Settling In and Setting Off


Earthdome

Geneva, Switzerland

February 14, 2271

11am

Presidential news conferences, started in the old United States back in the mid-twentieth century, had been the bane of the chief executive's existence for the three centuries that they had been around. Hollifield remembered how some of the old presidents abhorred them, like George W. Bush, Elaine Norris, Hector Ramirez, Shinzi Kantonaka, and, most especially, William Morgan Clark. He laughed at the fact that Bush and Clark came in the same line of thought, because, back in the early twenty-first, Bush's opposition accused him of trying to take over the government for his conservative power base permanently. If he only had been around when Clark was in office, thought Hollifield.

He took a question from Interstellar Network News reporter Ashwari Ghandi, whom he knew was a distant relative of the old Ghandi family who once dominated Indian politics. She looked stylish in her Indian-adapted business suit, and he found her attractive, but he also found her to be a tough bitch when it came to journalism.

"Mr. President, may I ask why you are leaving so soon after taking office for a conference on Babylon 5," she asked.

"Well, this had been previously scheduled before we were able to cure Earth of the plague. Now that Earth is free of it, we have to plan on what we want to do next concerning the Drakh. Granted, we're not quite ready yet to launch an offensive war against them, but we need to be ready should they decide to launch another attack against us."

She had, as always, a follow-up. Having been around since the days of President Levy before the Minbari War, when she was just a young cub reporter, he knew she always had a follow-up. "Mr. President, why should you go? Surely just sending the vice-president and/or the joint chiefs would be sufficient, would it not?"

He smiled and said, "Normally I would agree with you, but there is another reason why I'm going: I have to pack up my stuff from my quarters there and move them back here, and they are somewhat of a personal nature.," he laughed and the press room understood it to be a joke, "No, the real reason I'm going is that President Sheridan will also be there and this is a chance to have a summit with him on issues other than the Drakh. I guess you can say I'll be bagging two birds with one stone."

Having experience with the media for years, he handled the press conference like a pro. Questions ranged from the budget to whether or not he would be throwing the first pitch to open the professional baseball season, which was typical for the room. After two hours, he ended the conference and headed back to his quarters, where he grabbed his suitcase and made his way to the airport.

His new military liaison, Major Susan Ivanova, met him in the hallway. "Ready, Mr. President," she said in her on-duty, professional manner.

Hollifield joked, "And a fine howdy-ya-do to you too, Major! So do we get this carnival called the presidential show on the road?"

Ivanova smiled briefly, but covered it up in a blink of an eye. "Right now, sir. The shuttle is ready to take off and Earthforce One is expecting us."

Hollifield nodded and followed her out to his limousine, which, much like in days when a car's wheels actually touched the ground, was a long convoy of cars.

Whitestar 93

February 14, 2271

4:30pm

Hollifield remembered what Garibaldi told him once about a quote from his old friend, Londo Mollari: "On my world, we have learned that an inauguration is simply a signal to assassins that a new target has been set up on the firing range." He smiled at the thought, and remembered the old days when he was captain of the guard and Londo was diplomatic liaison to Earth for the Centauri Republic. Back then, neither one of them ever expected to be the ruling men of their respective homeworlds, but, as the fickle finger of fate would have it, they now were the center of power on them. Londo was now Emperor Mollari II, and he was a much different person today than he used to be, and only Hollifield knew why.

The captain of the Whitestar was a Swedish female, Olga Horvath, and this Ranger had all the classic features of women from that country:blond, blue-eyed, and very shapely. He had trained with her as a Ranger back when he was deputy ambassador to Minbar, theoretically helping Sinclair with his duties. But President Clark's real duty for him was to spy on him as well as the Minbari, and that gave him the critical role of playing the double agent. He sent back information all right, but most of it was false, or at least false enough. When he first arrived, he met with Sinclair and told him exactly why he was there and what the new president was really up to, and Sinclair, grateful to have an old friend as an ally and not an enemy, asked him to train as a Ranger so he could lead them if necessary. He was referred to as "Ranger Two", even to this day, even though it was not an official title. "Ranger One", or Anla'shok Na in the Minbari tongue, was the leader of the Rangers, but there was no official second.

Horvath bowed to him in the Minbari fashion, then spoke to him, "Good idea of taking this ship instead of Earthforce One. I can imagine that there are a few people who wouldn't mind seeing your life functions cease."

Hollifield snorted, "A few? You've never worked in Earthdome, have you my dear? I remember once, when I was Santiago's chief of staff, when he told me that he would not be surprised if at least half of the Earth Senate plotted to have him killed. Of course, he didn't think that Clark would be bold enough to have him offed."

Horvath frowned and said, "I never liked him, back when he was just a talking head on the vids. He always seemed to be someone who would stab you in the back when he got the chance, and he would do anything to stay in power."

Two days later, they were on their way in hyperspace to the last jumpgate before arriving at Babylon 5. He entered a shuttle and traveled back to Earthforce One at a time when all the reporters were asleep. Ivanova personally oversaw his arrival, and, next thing he knew, he was on board and in his suite. It was much more elaborate than the VIP quarters on the Whitestar, but Hollifield was not big on creature comforts. His senior advisor, Dan Tanner, had left him a stack of critical reports for him to read before he slept. Glad I took that speed-reading course when I was at Chapel Hill, he thought, as he began to skim over them.

Babylon 5

February 17, 2271

7:30am

Captain Elizabeth Loughley knew that the president hated pomp and circumstance, and had just wanted to come on board with as little fanfare as possible. So she took some delicious pleasure in assembling a full honor guard and had the entire command staff assembled for his arrival, which was sure to win her a grimace as he came into the reception area in the arrival/departure area on the station. Sure enough, he entered with his staff and, upon seeing protocol fulfilled to the maximum, he grimaced and shook his head. Loughley shot Ivanova a look and Ivanova responded with a sly smile. They'd scored one on the president.

President Hollifield walked up and shook her hand, and knowing that the media was around, had to look official. "Thank you for the elaborate ceremony, Captain. I was expecting more of a restrained reception, but it's nice to see the formality."

Loughley smiled and said, almost too sweetly, "Well, it's the least we could do for you, Mr. President."

A couple of hours later, the joking was over with, as he met with President John Sheridan of the Interstellar Alliance in the Rotunda.
They fielded a few questions during the photo opportunity, then headed out for the conference room for the real discussions.

Sheridan and Hollifield entered the room by themselves, and Sheridan threw his jacket on one chair and sat down on another. "God, if you only how bad all of that crap with the media can be. Sure you don't want to resign and let Santos take charge of things?"

Hollifield laughed and replied, "Nah, she'd have me killed if I put her in a position like that. Besides, she's got enough on her plate as it is as the vice-president."

Sheridan and Hollifield sat next to each other and began to work on the next plan for the Drakh. They poured over the latest intelligence gathered by their respective agencies, and were able to conclude that the Drakh were up to something in and around Centauri space.

Before adjourning the meeting, Hollifield asked, "Is Ambassador Cotto around? If he is, I'd like to meet him and discuss some of what we've talked about."

Sheridan replied, "You sure you want to do that? I'm not sure if we can fully trust him."

Hollifield smirked and said, "Well, that's why I am wanting to meet with him, because I'm a telepath, and I can tell if we can trust him. I have my reasons."

"Why? Do you think that Londo is working with them?"

"Yeah, but I don't think he's doing it voluntarily. You know how the Drakh operate, just like their Shadow masters did. I wouldn't be surprised if they are working with this new Prime Minister of theirs, Durla."

Sheridan nodded and said, "I'll set up a meeting for later tonight in your quarters. We'll do it on the Q.T. and I'll contact Ivanova and Loughley so they can arrange it."

Hollifield went up and shook his hand, "Good. Thanks John. I'll see you tomorrow at the meeting."

Presidential Suite

Babylon 5

February 17, 2271

6:15pm

Ambassador Vir Cotto had changed a lot since he first came on board so many years ago. He was thinner, having taken up the very un-Centauri practice of working out. He also seemed to be much more confident and much more haunted about what he knew. Hollifield scanned him lightly and read that Cotto was extremely nervous. He took out a device and turned it on, and the device let out a short whine as it powered up.

"That's a jammer, isn't it," he asked.

Hollifield nodded and placed it on the table beside the sofa on which he was sitting. Cotto was sitting in an overstuffed chair opposite him, and clearly was uncomfortable despite the device's ability to negate any and all bugs that might be in the room.

"Something's up, Vir. And I think you know what it might be."

"What do you mean? If you think that Londo would consort with the Drakh..."

"I think that is exactly what he's doing, but he's not doing it willingly"

Cotto's jaw dropped and it took him a moment to respond, "Why do you think that way?"

Hollifield came to the point quickly, "Have you ever heard of a keeper?"

Cotto's face flushed and he stood up and walked around the chair. He turned back to Hollifield and asked, "How did you know?"

"You know I'm a telepath, Cotto. You also know that, against the Interstellar Alliance's protests, I paid a state visit to Centauri Prime a year before the telepath war broke out. I sensed it on his left shoulder and that's when I knew he was not in complete control of things."

Cotto sat back down again and didn't say anything for a while, then gulped down the glass of water sitting in front of him on the coffee table. He finally said, "I found out myself not long ago. But, if you knew that long ago, why didn't you do something about it?"

"Because I knew that if I did something about Londo without being ready to take down the Drakh as well, it wouldn't do much good. So I've had to be patient and find the right time to act. That's where you come in, Vir. President Sheridan and I need intelligence from Centauri Prime, and I have some old contacts that can help you out. Before coming here, I sent a message in a roundabout way to them to ask them to help you out. I know you are planning something, and you need all the help you can,and I'm here to offer it. However, we have to be patient with this."

Cotto nodded his head and asked, "Tell me what you need me to do."

When Cotto left three hours later, Hollifield went into the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out a canister of iced sweet tea, a specialty of southeastern America where he was from. He poured himself a tall glass, then spoke aloud, "Would you like some, Alwyn?"

Alwyn came out of the bedroom with a smirk on his face, "I'd rather have some good Kentucky or Tennessee whiskey, but since you don't drink, I'll be glad to share some of that sweet tea with you."

Hollifield grabbed another tumbler from the cabinet and poured it full, then placed it in front of Alwyn. He took a sip of his and nodded,
appreciative of how good this brand of instant tea was, because usually the stuff you were able to get in space was rather bland.

"So he knows now. I'm surprised Galen hasn't brought him on this sooner."

Hollifield nodded and replied, "Well, Galen doesn't know him as well as I do, and you've told me that Galen doesn't trust easily. When are you going to see him?"

"Tomorrow before the meeting. With the crisis now over, he might be tempted to go back to the hideaway and leave all of this to us, but his abilities are needed in the fight to come. It'll be a tough sell, but I think I can persuade him."

Hollifield nodded again, then took another sip of his tea. "With everything going on Alwyn, we need every resource we can get."

Alwyn smiled and asked him, "You know, it's not politically wise for a president to put himself on the front lines of a war."

Hollifield shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'm going with them, whether its politically wise or not. Dan Tanner is instructing the folks back home what to say and do while I'm away, and what to say just in case I don't come back."

"Besides, I'm the most powerful telepath we have, and we need that edge. If Lyta Alexander was still alive and I had a chance to train her myself, then I would be less likely to go. But she's dead and I'm here, and I need to go."

Alwyn shook his head, "That's the Garrison Hollifield I know! If I could vote, I'd vote for you."

Hollifield snorted, "Well, you should live in Chicago, so you can vote early and often. Now, if you will excuse me, I need some rest. I'll see you tomorrow, Alwyn."

Alwyn smiled and departed without another word.

Remnants of the Founders Homeworld

August 8, 2377

Time Unknown

Odo was shocked that he was alive. He was also shocked that he was on board with Captain Benjamin Sisko and the others. The last thing he remembered was watching powerful energy beams slamming into his people's homeworld and seeing the changeling in front of him vaporize. He woke up in a strange vessel, not knowing if this were real or part of some afterlife.

He was resting in his bucket when the chime came from his door. He knew who it was, so it didn't bother him to be forced to return to solid form, and he'd had a good night's sleep for a change.

"Enter," he said to the computer, and the door opened and Sisko entered with the man with the bone in his head, whom Sisko called Valen.

"Odo, how are you feeling," Sisko asked.

"Better. How did you find me? Last thing I remembered before waking up here was watching my world be destroyed."

Sisko said, "I'm sorry we couldn't get here in time. We didn't expect the enemy to strike so soon. But I am glad we were able to beam you on board, because we're going to need your help for what is to come."

Odo asked, "Does it involve the people who destroyed my people's homeworld?"

Sisko nodded, "Yes, we believe it does."

Odo said simply, "Then you have whatever I can give you, because I want to see justice come to the bastards who did this to my world!"

Valen then spoke up, "Believe me, there are plenty of people who want the same thing."