The past two minutes had seen a flurry of exhaustive activity around the site of the explosion, but it had all been worth it. The survivor was still trapped beneath the damaged counter from the café, but Security Chief Cox and his team had finally managed to remove enough of the collapsed roof to allow medical treatment. Now looking down at the woman who had been revealed Frank Cox was somewhat surprised to find that she looked familiar. Then he remembered the recent ISN broadcasts and recognised the woman as the Earthforce captain who had only yesterday taken command of the newest warship in the fleet, a warship that even now hung in space above Mars.
Cursing as he thought of what would happen to him if he allowed her to die, and the paperwork that would be involved, he signalled for his second to bring the medical scanner that she had looped in her belt. Realising that she was needed Belinda Kidd joined the chief, kneeling at the side of the trapped woman and carefully running the medical scanner across her. Then when she was sure of her readings she looked up at Cox and the rest of the rescue team standing behind him. "It looks like her life signs are stable enough, but I am getting some very erratic brainwave readings. I think it would be best if we pulled her out as soon as possible and moved her to medlab where they can take a proper look at her. If there is anything seriously wrong then they can care for her a lot better than we can out here."
Cox nodded and then stood to inform the rest of the security team what was required of them. "Ok everybody, listen up. We need some heavy lifting gear. Try looking in the shuttle bay there should be something in there. Harrison you take care of that." A middle-aged security officer near the back of the ground nodded and jogged off through the shuttle bay doors. Cox took no notice of Harrison's movement, used to having his orders carried out without question. Without stopping he continued speaking, "also someone organise a medical team to transport the injured woman medlab, we don't know what sort of injuries she might have yet. The rest of you are with me, we need to pull as much of the smaller pieces of wreckage away so there will be less to fall down and injure anyone when we lift away the big chunks."
"Yes sir," was the mechanical response from the gathered security officers as they rushed to carry out his orders. The security team began digging into the wreckage, tugging away anything small enough to be carried by hand, and Cox joined them, already imagining the interview he was going to give to the ISN reporters who would come, and the promotion that would surely follow. Of course, she had to be rescued first, and he didn't want to think what would happen to him if he let ISN's favourite hero die.
The darkness slowly faded away again and Susan found herself standing in an icy landscape. She recognised it as the flower-covered plain she had stood in before, but now everything had frozen over. A cold breeze blew out of nowhere, carrying with it the foul, icy stench of death. Susan shivered in the chilly air her thin clothing unable to keep out the cold.
A loud, evil sounding chuckle suddenly echoed all around her. She clapped her hands over her ears but that did little to block it out. Then came the voice, a horrible rasping voice that cut through what was left of her defences and reached deep into the inner reaches of her mind. "You have many surprises Captain," it said, every word striking her as a hammer might strike an anvil. "It might be worthwhile keeping you alive, I know many who would like to know how you have managed to keep it a secret for so long. However, the project must be protected, and for that you must die. This is going to hurt I am afraid, you should have taken the way I offered and not fought, now you will have to suffer for you foolishness. It is nothing personal you understand, just business. But first, let's take a look around and see what other secrets you have shall we."
Then the voice faded and Susan forced herself back to her feet, having been driven into the ground by the blinding pain each word the voice had spoken had caused her. Her head still throbbed after the hammer-like blows and she was disoriented, not knowing entirely what was going on, where she was, or even who exactly she was. The pain faded quickly though as she noticed another red vortex appearing above her, she tried to back away but it kept on coming ever closer.
Suddenly she backed into something cold and smooth. She spun around and found herself looking into a large mirror. This mirror did not reflect her image, however, instead it showed a scene of her past, a time during her academy training. Then the mirror was gone, sucked into the air and towards the vortex, but she noticed another in the distance. She ran towards it and saw another image of her past, this time a battle from the shadow war. That mirror was also dragged into the air and Susan looked around for another.
She seemed to be surrounded by mirrors, each one holding a part of her past, and they were all being slowly sucked up into the sky by the vortex, almost as though something was stealing her memories, stealing her soul. She saw a mirror that held a memory of her mother and grabbed it tight, trying to ensure that this one would not be taken from her. All around her she saw mirrors flying through the air, pulled towards the vortex by an almost irresistible force. She felt the mirror she grasped begin to shudder, as it too was caught up in the suction.
She held it even tighter, and managed to resist the suction the vortex was generating, despite the pain it was causing her. For some reason, the vortex was not taking her, just the mirrors. Then the suction died and she looked out over a barren plain of ice, still grasping the mirror with almost fanatical strength. She couldn't remember why she was holding onto the mirror any more, only that it was vitally important that she continue to hold it, and so she did.
Above her the red vortex still hung in the air, only now something seemed to be coming through, straight towards her. A massive bestial creature of some kind, many times her size and with a drooling mouth full of jagged teeth. The creature burst through the vortex and landed on the icy ground, still a fair distance from her. It was a gigantic wolf, larger than any other creature, Earth native or Alien, that she had encountered before.
She screamed and tried to run, leaping to her feet and stumbling off across the icy plain, the mirror now forgotten in her terror. She was operating on instinct alone now, and her instincts told to her to flee, to hide, and somehow escape the monster that was chasing her. The giant wolf turned in her direction and howled. It was an evil sound that ripped into her very being, and almost knocked her to the ground with its strength. Its claws tore large chunks of icy dirt from the ground as it padded after her, each step it took equal to three of her own strides.
Somewhere inside her, she heard a voice urging her to stand firm and fight, to drive off the beast, but she didn't know how, so she ran instead. Running proved to be little use though as the monstrous beast caught her and knocked her to the ground. As she lay there waiting for it to kill her, she felt it's fetid breath on her face, the warmth not providing the slightest comfort at all.
Then it struck her, a single swipe of its claw that sent her tumbling across the ground. She realised that it was playing with her, letting her live a while longer so it could enjoy the kill even more. Susan was angry at this realisation, angry that she was so helpless and that there was nothing she could do to fight back. If only she had a weapon, any weapon she could fight the wolf, make it pay for what it was about to do to her.
Then as she heard it coming towards her again she felt something by her left hand, something solid and strong. In desperation, she grasped the object and as the wolf reached her swung her hand over and smashed it in the side of the jaw with the large club she now held. The wolf gave a yelp of pain as its face was twisted sideways by the force of the blow. Susan took that opportunity to leap to her feet, the pain and helplessness now gone, replaced by the hungry flames of anger.
She swung the club again, this time striking the wolf on the shoulder, a painful blow that forced the monster to retreat a step. Then the wolf struck out again, a single claw catching her in the stomach and ribbing a gash through her flesh. It was deep wound and the pain was intense. Susan dropped the club and fell to her knees clutching her wounded stomach in her hands. The wolf came closer again and Susan could here its laughter echoing around her again, and realised that it was no longer playing. The next blow would end her life.
She was not finished yet though and fell to the ground, ducking under the wolf's jaws as they closed above her like the snap of some tremendous steel trap. She rolled across the ground to escape the wolf's reach and then pulled herself back to her feet and began running away from the monster once more. As she ran, she looked around for another weapon, a club, a knife, anything. To her surprise, she spotted the hilt of a large knife sticking out of the icy ground just in front of her, just what she had been looking for.
Leaping for the weapons, Susan just managed to avoid another lunge from the wolf, its gigantic jaws closing just behind her flying feet. She tugged the knife free from the ice and it slid out smoothly falling into her hand just in time. The wolf lunged, and again she ducked. This time, as it passed by her, she lunged out with the knife striking the wolf solidly in its side, although the weapons was pulled from her hands at the same time.
The wolf yelped again and rolled over on in the ice, knocking the blade out of the wound. Susan snarled at it in triumph, but then noticed to her horror that bloody wound on the wolf had already begun to fade, disappearing right before her eyes. "You will have to do better than that," a mocking voice taunted her as the wolf climbed back to its feet and again approached, although this time a little more carefully.
She ran her hands through the snow beneath and behind her, trying to find something, anything to strike the wolf. Her fingers closed around a metallic object, and she pulled a PPG rifle from the snow. Without pausing to wonder where it had come from, Susan began pelting the wolf with blast after blast of burning plasma.
Susan was furious now, furious that the wolf would try to kill her, and furious that she had almost given in to death. As her anger grew her mind had supplied her with the weapons to fight with, first the club, then the knife, and now the rifle. She felt the rage begin to rise within her and knew now that she would win, and the wolf would die.
Her shooting was less than accurate with most blasts striking the icy landscape instead of the wolf, but enough made it through to injure the monster. It began to change under her assault though, its skin becoming mirror-like and reflecting the plasma instead of letting it strike flesh and fur. Susan was operating of pure instinct now though, her reason and normal thought processes replaced by anger and the desperate need to survive. Realising that she could no longer hit the wolf, she instead aimed for the ground and blasted the icy landscape with burning plasma. As it melted the ice, the land beneath began to boil and bubble with the fury of her assault. The rock and dirt melted and became molten, turning into pools of lava. The wolf realised what was happening and began to breath onto the melting rock, slowly freezing the rock with its now icy breath.
It wasn't able to match Susan's fury though and the landscape continued to melt around the two combatants, changing from a plain of ice into a land of fire and fury. Terrified the wolf now tried to flee, running across the plain of ice, except it was no longer a plain of ice. Geysers of flame were bursting all around them, and Susan could see the wolf's hide begin to smoulder, and finally catch flame. The mirror-like hid shattered in the heat, exposing the vulnerable fur and flesh beneath. She did not seem effected by the fires though, and if anything they seemed to comfort her, to warm her and to protect her. She felt powerful, more powerful than she had ever thought she could feel, and began to walk across what was now a vast pool of molten lava towards the monstrous wolf. It was now trapped in the lava, slowly melting away before her eyes. Its massive paws had already sunken into the molten rock and now only its upper body and head was left, howling fruitlessly at her to stop, to release it.
Susan would not stop though and picking up handfuls of fiery lava began to pelt the creature, striking it repeatedly. The fur there caught fire, and soon the flames spread across the monster's entire body. The wolf gave one last desperate cry and then fell silent, its body now destroyed. Susan fell to her knees in the lava, and it washed up around her grasping at her and comforting her. She sobbed as waves of pain and regret washed over her. She felt awful as though she had just done something horrible, but she could not think what it could be. She grasped her head in her hands and screamed out in anguish, trying to drive away the thoughts. To her surprise, they retreated and when she opened her eyes again, she once more found herself on the peaceful flower-strewn plain.
What was left of the wolf lay on the ground in front of her, its lidless eyes looking up at her, reflecting the pain of its death. She stared down at them and then realised with horror that she was looking into a pair of human eyes, not the yellow canine eyes she had seen earlier. Gone were the greedy eyes of the hunter, and in their place were the pained eyes of a little boy, at least that was the thought that came unbidden to her.
She reached down to comfort the wolf but then leapt back as a circle of darkness suddenly opened above her. A cold wind whipped out, blowing her clothing and long hair about her, and bringing with it a fetid stench that reminded her of the wolf's breath. She backed slowly away and watched as the wind began to reverse direction and suck the remains of the wolf into the dark circle. She dug her heels into the ground and braced herself, sure that the wind was going to drag her in as well. However, it stopped as soon as it had taken the wolf's body and she found herself standing alone, her only companion the gentle breeze that flowed across the plain, slowly rustling the tall grasses, and softly kissing her face with the faint smell of flower blossom.
The large cargo lifter raised its strong metal arm and dragged the large wooden counter off the trapped woman. The counter was amazingly still relatively intact, and despite being badly damaged in the fighting and the explosion, had still managed to protect the survivor from any major injury. The lifter then backed up and took the counter with it, finally taking away the last of the obstacles that lay in the way of the rescuers. The medical team moved in quickly to take its place, eager to ensure their patient was alive and well.
Belinda Kidd was first to reach the side of the trapped woman, and quickly examined her. Belinda's father was a doctor and she had learned a lot from him, skills that came in very handy during her career in security. The medical team soon joined her, kneeling on the now exposed cafe floor to try to determine if the Earthforce captain would live.
The woman's breathing was strong and healthy, and the erratic brainwaves Belinda had noticed before were now stable and normal. One of the medical team pulled a small hypospray out of her bag and looked over at the security officer. "It looks like she is not too badly wounded, give her this and she should wake up. It would be better to have her conscious so we can determine if she has any injuries that the scanner doesn't show."
Belinda nodded and took the hypospray from the doctor. She pressed it into the woman's neck and press the activator that shot the drug through the pores in the skin and into the bloodstream.
Susan suddenly became aware of a numbers voices around her, coming from unseen sources rather than just the inside of her head. Her vision began to blur again, the grassy plain vanishing, only to be replaced by the wreckage-strewn remains of the café. She blinked and then opened her eyes and looked up into the ice blue eyes of a woman in the grey uniform of Earthforce security.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," the woman said, although Susan could only just grasp her words, her mind still a muddle of confusing images. "How do you feel?"
Susan didn't reply, but instead looked around her, wondering where she was, and trying to determine what had just happened to her. Then it came back to her, the lawyer, the call to Babylon 5, and finally the fight with the gunmen who had suddenly appeared out of the crowd. She reeled in confusion at what she saw, wondering exactly what had just happened to her, and if it had all been just a dream brought on by her injuries. There was certainly nothing now to indicate that any of what had just happened to her had been real.
Shaken to her core she tried to sit, only to be driven back as an incredibly painful headache struck her. One of the medical team noticed her pain and quickly administered a painkiller that began to ease the throbbing a little. Susan still felt as though a thousand elephants were doing the tango inside her head, and the pain only added to her confusion.
The painkiller soon took over and the pain faded, leaving behind only a dull ache somewhere behind her eyes. She bought a hand up and rubbed the spot that where the ache seemed to be worse, but it didn't seem to want to go away. Then she felt strong arms lifting her as she was lifted out of the ruins of the cafe and placed on a white stretcher the medical team had waiting for her. She wanted to protest but found her throat to dry to speak, and all that came out was a dry croak.
Then she was being carted off, into a confusing blur of unfamiliar faces that seemed to spiral around her. She looked away, watching the floor fly past instead, but that provided little comfort. She could see the covered bodies of the victims from the gun battle, still lying where they had fallen. Susan looked at the bodies with a fascinated stare, and then she noticed the cafe, or rather what was left of the cafe. She tried to raise herself into a sitting position to examine the damage, but found she had been strapped down. Her hands scrambled for the clasp of the straps, but they were gently pulled away by one of the medical team that was guiding her stretcher.
Before she could protest, she was being taken down a path that had been cleared through the crowd, past the whirring recorders of the local vid stations that floated around the scene of the explosion, and off towards the nearby medlab. Realising that struggling was getting her nowhere Susan resigned herself to her fate and let herself be dragged off for medical treatment, although at the same time resolving to be out of Medlab before the day was done.
Security Chief Frank Cox watched Captain Ivanova being taken away with a satisfied smile and began to run his speech to ISN through his brain, sure that the rescue of someone with so high a profile would surely attract the attention of the Earth Alliance's premier news broadcaster. Already he had sewn up interviews with several of the local Mars networks and before the day was out, he would be seen on every vid screen across the planet, the hero of the hour. He might even be able to get someone else to do the paperwork for him if this kept up.
"Sir," called one of the security officers still in the ruined cafe. "I think you had best take a look at this."
Cox looked annoyed at the interruption and it showed in his response to his subordinate. "I'm a little busy right now, can't you take care of it."
"I don't think so sir," the man, who Cox now recognised as Harrison, one of his most reliable officers. In addition, Cox noticed the taint of fear in the man's voice as he spoke. "This is bad, very bad."
Interested now, Cox walked briskly over to the other man's side and followed his outstretched arm as it pointed towards the ceiling. There the security chief could see the light from Harrison's torch shining off something. He followed the path of the light and looked closer, and felt fear clutch at his as he recognised the bronze symbol of the Psi-Corps, still attached to the uniform of its owner.
"Oh shit," Cox said, before glancing around hurriedly to make sure no one had caught his outburst and was now looking at him. Seeing everyone still watching the medical team take Ivanova away his mind began to think quickly. If he could get the body down and cover him with a sheet then perhaps no one would notice, and it could all be taken care of back at the office. Cox knew that the one thing that would get as much interest as a rescued Earthforce captain would be a dead Psi-Cop, and he recognised the black uniform at almost the same time as he had seen the Psi-Corps symbol.
"He is still alive chief," Harrison suddenly said, using the medical scanner that Belinda Kidd had left behind earlier.
"What?" Cox said, grabbing the medical scanner from Harrison and looking at it's read out for himself. Sure enough, the scanner showed the telepath was still alive, barely and with a weak heartbeat. "Well we had best get another stretcher for him then, and quickly, I don't want him to die on my watch."
The security chief noticed that the crowd that had gathered earlier was now beginning to disperse, probably thinking that the emergency was now over and anything interesting that was going to happen had already occurred. Some of them still had a liner to catch after all, and although its departure had been delayed by the explosion, it wouldn't wait forever. Even as he watched, he could see several passengers heading through the terminal to the liner. Still he didn't really want any more trouble if he could help it, and he especially didn't want the Psi-Corp to find out what had happened to their man through the news networks. He would much rather tell them latter on in his own office that one of their high and mighty Psi-Cops had been injured.
Spotting the colonel he had spoken to earlier he again grabbed the officer's attention and asked him if he wouldn't mind getting his troops to clear the area around the ruined cafe so he could let the maintenance crews in. The colonel quickly agreed and within two minutes, the region around the cafe was clear of everyone except Cox's security men, and the station maintenance teams.
Once that was done, Cox had no trouble getting another medical team into the cafe and assisting them with the removal of the Psi-Cop. As the gurney was rushed off towards the station's medlab, he wondered how the telepath had ended up in one of the station's air vents. The telepath could have been hunting down a rogue, that exploring the ventilation system was usually something the mighty Psi-Cops left to grunts like him. Still that wasn't really his concern now, that would be up to the Psi-Corp investigators when they arrived, and he could only hope that they didn't blame the injury on him, after all it wasn't his fault that the telepath had decided to go crawling through the station's ventilation system just as a bomb was going off below him.
Still mulling events over in his head, and thinking about the inevitable paperwork this was going to create, Frank Cox left the scene of the battle, heading for his office and the first of the interviews with the local networks. His planned triumph was lessened now, as he continued to worry about what the Psi-Corp would do as they tore up the station to find out what had happened to their agent. He knew they would not just accept what he would put in his report, they never did.
It wasn't until nearly an hour latter that he remembered that he had seen the injured Psi-Cop when he had first arrived on the scene, long after the explosion and then Cox really began to worry. Fortunately for him, the Psi-Corp did not seem very interested in his explanations, instead they snatched the half-dead Psi-Cop out of Medlab and asked him to cover it up, and not to let anyone else know what he had seen, something that Frank Cox was only too happy to do.
Located on the far side of Mars was the domed city of Xanthe Terra, a much smaller and far less known city than Olympus Mons. In many ways though, it was just as important and influential as the capital. Xanthe Terra was the home of the rich and only those with considerable wealth could afford to purchase one of its spectacularly expensive apartments. Luxuries such as private gardens and even the occasional swimming pool were commonplace and on a world where every square metre of land cost a small fortune, the city oozed extravagance.
Tending the small garden of his second story apartment, Harvey Kiel kept up the outward appearance of one of the city's elite. However, unlike the others occupying the city's exclusive apartments, he did not belong here. Even the money that had purchased his apartment was not his own, it had come from his new benefactors, like everything else he owned. For the former Psi-Cop though, this was only a temporary refuge to hide from those who still sought him for the role he had played in the recent troubles on Earth. Wealth and its trappings were of little interest to him, for he knew he was destined for something greater.
Harvey Kiel had faithful served those behind the former Clark regime, and aided the former president by bringing some of his darkest schemes to fruition. Along with a small number of other powerful telepaths who believed in the new order that was coming, he had stood behind the scenes, helping to guide the people of Earth in the direction they needed to go to make that future a reality. It was during his time working on one of the Clark regime's grandest projects that he had come to know his current benefactors and as Sheridan's fleet was busy assaulting Clark's forces above Earth, they had smuggled him off the planet and here to Mars and safety. If it had not been for their assistance, he did not like to think of what might have happened to him. Despite the support he still enjoyed with some in the Psi-Corp hierarchy, many of his former allies in the Corp would have been more than happy to see him turned over to the new government for trial.
A former Psi-Cop, and until recently a very powerful figure amount the Psi-Corp leadership, he no longer wore his old uniform. In fact, his new identity, arranged by those in the Corp who were still loyal to him and the new order, gave his psi-rating as a mere P5, and his occupation as a commercial telepath attached to one of Earth's major mining corporations. However, no matter what his identity card may say, he was still an extremely dangerous man, one that few had the chance to cross even once. Like many of the more powerful male telepaths, he was only short, but with his deep-set eyes and hawk-like nose, he appeared to radiate power and strength, not only mentally, but also physically.
No amount of mental or physical power would have stopped the new Earth government from arresting him if they knew where he was hiding. With an election looming close, the new leaders of Earth were being very thorough in their search for those who had served the former president. Still he was safe now on Mars, far from those who still sought him for the crimes he committed during Clark's rule. With Mars now in the process of becoming a fully independent planet, it was a lot easier for him to hide out here for a while than it would have been back home. He did not intend on hiding out for long though, rather he intended to regain the power he once controlled through a campaign of terror and death, the seeds of which he had only just began to sow.
Just now though, he wasn't sowing anything more dangerous than lettuce plants as he tended his small vegetable garden at the back of his hideout, if one of the most luxurious apartments on Mars could truly be called a hideout. Gardening was one of his few pleasures, and being stuck here in Xanthe Terra for nearly five weeks meant that he had found plenty of time to tend a garden.
Right now, he looked little different from any other middle-aged men as he planted a row of young lettuces in the carefully tiled dirt of the garden. He did not have the look of a man who had been at the centre of the plot to bring Clark to power and who had help guided him from behind the scenes for more years than he cared to think of. That time was gone now though and his concentration was devoted instead to growing his garden, that and the project he was even now guiding to completion.
The sound of heavy footfalls on the rocks of his garden path awoke Kiel from his concentration. He put down the last lettuce plant and let the walls inside his mind lower just enough to allow him to identify the approaching intruder. Then recognising the familiar pattern of the newcomer's mind, the Psi-Cop stood and with barely the slightest effort sent his thoughts into his visitor's mind. 'I trust you have a good reason for interrupting my one simple pleasure Anderson. The task was simple enough, has the nosy lawyer been deposed of yet.
'There is a problem sir, it is about agent K,' came the thoughts of the other telepath, as Kiel allowed his agent access to his own mind. 'I am afraid that operative K has taken it on himself to eliminate Captain Ivanova. He failed and there is… something of a mess. Several innocent's not related to the project have been killed.'
Kiel broadcast his supreme annoyance strongly into Anderson's mind. 'Then where is K, it would seem he does have some explaining to do. We cannot attract attention to ourselves yet. The time for that is latter, when everything is in place.'
The sudden feeling of apprehension that he felt from Anderson's mind shocked him. There was something bothering the military telepath, something he didn't want to tell Kiel. He could feel the indecision, and then finally a brief burst of clarity as Anderson sent his reply. 'I am afraid that K is dead, he was injured in the attack, some sort of spasm or tumour according to the doctors and I had him put down before they could discover anything that might connect us to him.'
Kiel turned and looked at his subordinate with his eyes now, instead of just his mind. 'Was that necessary? He has been a very valuable asset.'
Anderson withered under the piercing gaze of his superior, knowing that he could not hide anything from Kiel now. That knowledge foremost in his mind, he resolved to tell the Psi-Cop the whole story. 'The mundanes on the station were most suspicious about his motives and as to how he was injured. I happened to be nearby and when I examined him I found that his mind had been destroyed."
Now Kiel looked surprised. 'By what, he was a P12 and should have been able to resist any attack that might cause that sort of trauma. He was also ordered to remain back and allow our agents to handle the removal of Ms. Morris.'
'So I thought too. However, I believe that he may have been inside the mind of one of those who died during the gun battle and he could have been caught there and unable to escape. If he was caught in a dying mind then it is possible that he suffered a backlash and his mind might not have been strong enough not withstand the pain.'
'Gun battle?' Kiel looked annoyed that Anderson would leave out important details about the story. He always liked to have the whole story so he could run it over in his mind and search for any answers that others may have missed. 'Perhaps you had best fill me in from the beginning then.'
Anderson sighed. 'As you wish. May I sit down first, it has been a long journey down from the station.'
Kiel waved the other telepath towards a small white bench beside the path and they both sat down. 'Now continue, and don't leave anything out.'
With a slow nod at his superior Darren Anderson thought over what he had been told, and personally observed before sending his thoughts. 'I was on Mars High to meet with General McCarron about my assignment to the Rasputin. K was also on the station with four of our agents watching the lawyer, Julia Morris, as you had requested. Somehow, he found out that the lawyer was going to be meeting Captain Ivanova and sent his agents after both of them. My understanding of your orders were that he was supposed to only kill the lawyer, and even then to do it quietly, but when Ivanova meet with her K sent in our agents and they engaged in a very blood gun battle with Julia Morris and ended up destroying a shop on the embarkation deck.
As he thought Anderson could feel a growing anger insider Kiel at the actions of operative K, he only hoped that this anger would not be turned against him. Quickly subduing off any negative thoughts his superior might detect, he continued. 'Our agents were successful in disposing of Ms. Morris, however one was killed by Captain Ivanova, and as far as I can tell, K then ordered the use of an explosive device. The three remaining agents escaped and they are safe in our facility in Olympus Mons being debriefed. Ivanova was trapped in the wreckage by the explosion and I watched as station security responded and eventually pulled her out. When they took her to Medlab, I followed, hoping to scan her to see what she had learned. I never got close enough though, and then when I was about to leave to come here I heard that K had been found in a air vent above the cafe and had been taken to Medlab. I went there and found that his mind had been fried, so I finished the job and then acting on behalf of the Corp took his body before they could examine him further. I thought it was for the best, as we would have been unable to learn anything from his mind in the condition I found it in, and I didn't think it would be a good idea to let the doctors there poke around too much. He still had those implants, and had they found him they may have been able to link him to the agent who was killed. I then came here as soon as I could to relay this information.'
Kiel nodded slowly as he considered Anderson recounting of what had happened. 'Yes, you did well then. It would have been good if you could have reclaimed the dead agent as well, but he had little of importance on him, and if we had claimed him then they might have traced him back to us.' He stood and began to pace around the tiny area of grass next to the garden. Harvey Kiel was not normally a nervous man, but with the project he was running was now reaching a very critical stage, then everything had to be perfect. He thought of something suddenly and turned back to Anderson. 'Why was K in an air vent, and where was it exactly.'
Anderson thought for a moment as he considered the information he had gathered before replying. 'He was in the airshaft directly above the cafe where the gun battle took place. I believe he may have gained access through the ventilation system, but I am not sure why he was there, and didn't want to quiz the security chief too much. I did surface scan him though and he didn't have any relevant information on his mind at the time, he was more concerned with the trouble the incident would bring him.'
'Hmm, well I guess K bought it on himself. He might have been a valuable assent to the project, but he was still a weak-minded idiot. Make sure his body is disposed of properly.'
His subordinate sent a quick thought of agreement, while Kiel's mind shifted from the problem of the dead Psi-Cop to other more important matters. 'Does Ivanova know anything of the plan?'
Anderson shrugged. 'I was unable to scan her, so she could very well know something. However, I don't believe she knows anything of importance. I examined records pulled from the surviving data crystals from the security cameras while I was waiting for K's body to be transferred. The quality was poor and I was unable to make out their conversation in the short time I had. From what I could tell, there is nothing to suggest that Ivanova has enough information to be a threat to the project, although a paper the lawyer gave her did have the name Arisia 3 on it. The Captain did not seem to be familiar with the planet though and went to make a call soon afterward. The call was to her vessel and I was unable to trace it further as the screen she used was destroyed in the fighting.'
Kiel began to tap his fingers against his forehead, something he always did when he was pondering a problem. 'I would prefer to know what she has learned. If she discovers anything important she would be certain to oppose us.'
'I do not think so. Anyway, she is due to ship out for Proxima soon and as I will be attached to her vessel, I can get rid of her if she tries anything that could threaten us. If could even scan her when I go aboard if you desire.'
Kiel considered this for a moment. 'That might not be a good idea, her record shows an extreme hatred for telepaths and if she discovered what you had done she would certainly respond. She has been violent towards telepaths before, and that fool Bester even claimed that she once tried to kill him with the defence grid of Babylon 5. He was never able to prove it though, and by that time they had broken away from Earth so we were unable to follow up on the report he sent us.'
'What was he doing on Babylon 5 if they were had broken away.'
A raised eyebrow from Kiel was the only indication to Anderson that he was not to pursue the matter, and the dealings of Psi-Cops were not his concern. 'I would still like to know for sure though if she is aware of the project or not. The lawyer knew enough to be a threat, but we do not know if she passed it on.'
'Perhaps we can send another to question her, in disguise of course. A message from Futurecorp asking to meet her and explain what happened might be a suitable ruse. Then when our agent was close, he could do a surface scan on her without her detecting it and if necessary, he can feed her a story to send her off on the wrong track. I know you want her alive for Proxima test, but if she knows something then it would be best if we knew now, rather than risk the project. Her record shows how dangerous she can be.'
Kiel thought this over for a moment before nodding his agreement. 'Send one of the commercial teeps. There is no need to risk any more of our more experienced agents on this. A P5 should be enough to scan her without her noticing, she is only a mundane after all.'
'I have just the person for the job, someone loyal to the cause, yet still expendable in case anything goes wrong again.' Anderson handed Kiel a small data pad with the necessary details on it.
'Good, now have you given any more thought to who will be assisting you in the Proxima part of the Project. I know the military have given you a free hand in the matter.'
'Yes I have, I think this person would be most suitable.' Anderson handed over another data pad, and Kiel quickly read it.
'A P5, are you sure. I would have thought you would have taken another P10 with you. She isn't even part of the project.'
Anderson shook his head and leant over to scroll the information on the data pad down a little. 'There are some important details that you haven't read yet, Sir. As you can see here there is a very good reason why I choose this woman.'
Kiel scanned the new data, and then his face broke out into its first smile in many weeks. He broadcast his laughter telepathically to Anderson as he realised was his devious subordinate had planned. 'I agree, she is perfect, and loyal too. Even if your plan to find out what Ivanova knows fails then this should keep the Captain busy for a while. Good work.'
Anderson responded with a smile of his own. 'I thought you would like it. I didn't want the project to fail, and although I do not consider Ivanova a threat it would be best to assure all possibilities are taken care of.'
'Agreed, although in two weeks time not even the combined might of entire the Earth Alliance will be able to threaten us. The project is nearing completion and if the tests are successful then no one can stop us. Go now and put your plots into action, I must prepare for transport to Site A3 as soon as possible. You must ensure none discover the project until it is too late. We have worked for too long on this and sacrificed too much for it to fail now.'
Anderson stood and inclined his head in a slight bow before departing. Kiel watched him leave, before he too stood and left the garden, although he was heading for his study and communications unit rather than the front door. So intense was his concentration on his plans that he did not even notice the last remaining lettuce that he hadn't had time to plant. It was crushed beneath his boot, but he took no notice, his garden was no longer important.