Chapter 12
07:56, February 15, 2262.
Commander Suli Kargas stared at the screen in front of her with bloodshot eyes. It didn't change. She yawned and tried to look interested, but knowing very well that barring a miracle, the information on the screen was not likely to ever change. Suli was stuck, as many before her had been, on one of the Earth Alliance's deep space listening posts, which were widely regarded as the worst possible posting in Earthforce.
Constructed soon after the Earth/Minbari war along the borders of the Alliance, these posts were supposed to prevent any future attack by alien races. The tiny base that Suli found herself stuck in was Listening Post Serene, built inside a slowly rotating asteroid, just inside Narn space. Actually, Suli wasn't sure if it was still Narn space, so much had happened over the past few years that no one really knew where the borders of each race's control began and ended.
The listening posts may have been designed to prevent alien governments from launching sneak attacks on Earth, but all they had been used for over the past few years had been to watch the other alien races, and then finally Earth, going to war with themselves and each other. There was little the fifty or so Earthforce personal on each base could do about this, their job was just to sit and watch, and if something important enough happened, report their findings.
In the three months Suli had been in charge the most interesting thing that had occurred had been the arrival a single Narn battle cruiser which had stopped off at a nearby colony for supplies and then left two days later. It was a boring job, but someone, and for now that someone was Suli, had to do it. She had been appointed here just after the end of the civil war back on Earth, and despite the boredom she was feeling, she knew it was a great opportunity. Another three months and she would be on her way back to Earth, and probably a posting on a destroyer, or maybe, if she was lucky, even a space station.
Suli picked up the drink container that floated near her station and took a brief sip of the sweet protein drink inside. In the zero-g environment of the listening post, one could not be too choosy about what they had to eat or drink, and quickly learnt to take what they could get. Fortunately, only a week ago, a supply ship had arrived and the listening post's storerooms were crammed high with enough goods to last the six months until the next supply run.
Taking another sip of the sugary drink, Suli looked around at her command. The three other officers on duty in the control room of the base were either snoozing or reading the latest issue of Universe Today, which they picked up each day off the network from Earth. It was like almost every other day Suli had experienced since being sent to the most boring posting imaginable. She sighed and picked up a data pad she had been working with. Someone had to stay alert, and it looked like today it was the base commander's turn.
An hour later, she was still engrossed in the wonderful world of duty reports and crew evaluations where a flashing light on the screen in front of her caught her attention. Frowning she put aside the data pad, allowing it to float freely next to her. The light indicated an object approaching the listening post, but it was too distant to tell exactly what. She looked up at the other crew. "Ford," she called to the lieutenant reading the paper. "Wake Bartolo and Kennett up. It looks like we might have something."
Lieutenant Ford put down his paper and looked at his own screen, immediately noticing the same thing she did. Unstrapping himself from his chair, he floated over to the side of the other two officers and shook them roughly until they were awake. Rubbing the sleep from their eyes, they looked about in confusion for a moment before also noticing the warning. Suddenly everyone was all business, trying to discover exactly what the object was.
"What the hell is that," Bartolo asked, still a little sleepy. His hands though were already busy flying across the keyboard in front of him, while at the same trying brushing away the long red hair that kept flopping down in front of his eyes. It took him nearly a minute before he remembered that he didn't have either long red hair, or in fact any hair at all. Instead, some one put a wig over his balding head while he had been asleep. A feminine chuckle from nearby alerted him to who had been responsible and he glared at Anna Kennett, the base's communications monitor, who smiled sweetly back at him, the picture of innocence.
"Save it for later you two," Suli ordered. "I want information on that thing, and I want it fast."
"It looks like a rock to me, Commander," Ford said, having just received the first reading from the base's powerful sensors. "A big rock, but a rock none the less."
"Damn," Suli replied. "Not another one." Asteroids were a common annoyance to those stationed on listening posts. Almost impossible to find by passive sensors until they where right on you, asteroids were responsible for close to two thirds of all false alarms. "Ok everyone," the Commander said. "Stand down, it is just another rock."
Bartolo groaned and slumped back in his chair, scratching his head. "Damn rocks," he said in annoyance.
"Wait a minute Commander," Ford called. "We are getting another reading from behind the asteroid. I don't know what it is, but it is big, damn big."
"Can you bring it up on the screen," Suli asked.
"Just doing it Commander," the lieutenant replied, bringing up on the display a large, constantly shifting image of some sort of vessel. "I am having trouble locking on. The image keeps shifting around and the computer is having trouble catching it."
"Try your best Lieutenant," Suli said, watching the long flat image on the screen waver and flicker. Then she noticed something strange and her face drained of colour. "Oh shit," she swore, slamming her hand down on the large red alert button that sat in the middle of the console in front of her.
"What wrong," Ford asked, a puzzled frown on his face.
"That asteroid is heading right for us," the Commander told him. "If it hits we are dead."
The other officers quickly confirmed their commander's calculations. The asteroid was indeed heading straight for the base at high speed, and even if it didn't strike the base directly, the impact with the asteroid the base was built inside would be enough to probably kill everyone stationed there.
"Should we order a full evacuation, Commander?" Ford asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
Suli nodded and opened a channel to the entire base. "This is Commander Kargas," she said. "An incoming asteroid is about to strike this base. All personal are to proceed immediately to the life pods. I repeat all personal are to proceed immediately to the life pods. This is not a drill."
She repeated the same message another two times, watching as the asteroid drew ever closer on the screen. A distant thud rang through the station signalling the first of the life pods launching. She knew it was unlikely that she and the rest of the officers in the control room would have time to escape now, but at least most of her crew would escape.
"Commander," Kennett called to Suli from her post. "I am picking up some kind of transmission from the ship following the asteroid."
"What sort of transmission?" Suli asked wearily.
The communications monitor shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "It is an a signal emanating from that big ship behind the asteroid and directed at space behind us."
"Behind us," the Commander said, forgetting all about the doom rushing towards them. "Show me."
The screen flickered and changed, showing the area of space to the rear of the station. Points of green light showed the life pods that had been launched from the base as well a small cloud of red dots. "What are they," she asked. As she spoke one of the green dots winked out, then another and another until only the red dots remained. Suli could only watch in shock as her crew were slaughtered, one by one.
She knew there was nothing she could do though. Whoever was out there had planned this attack to perfection. She turned back to the stunned officers. "Are we being jammed?" she asked Kennett. When the other woman didn't reply she asked again, this time louder. "Ensign Kennett, are we being jammed."
The younger woman blinked and looked down at her console. "No commander," she replied. "No jamming signal detected."
"Good," Suli replied. "Dump our records from the last ten minutes and then attach them to a message for Earthforce. Then when that it done send it on a tight beam transmission to the nearest Earthforce base."
The communication monitor nodded and quickly carried out her orders. Suli looked around at the worried, but strangely determined faces of her officers. "I don't know who these guys are," she said. "But Earthforce is going to know they are coming."
"Message sent," Ensign Kennett suddenly said, and then their lives ended in a brilliant flash of light that lit up space for miles around as the unstable Quantium-40 core of the incoming asteroid exploded on contact with the base. Shards of rubble, tossed out be initial impact, were incinerated by the enormous explosion that followed, as both asteroids vanished in a rapidly expanding fireball. Had the sensors at the base, or in fact the base itself, survived for a moment longer they would have seen the enemy fighters scrambling to avoid the explosion, and the massive wave of energy that followed shortly after.
On the bridge of the Enlightener, Harvey Kiel sat back and look on in pleasure as the listening post was obliterated. The test had gone just as they had planned, the Earthforce base had not even known they were there until it was too late. He looked over at the Anderson who also nodded in satisfaction.
"Mass driver test successful," came the voice of one of the bridge crew. "Weapon has been reloaded, and gravity generators are recharging. Estimate ten minutes before we are ready to fire again."
"Well," Anderson said walking over to Kiel side, while still watching the fireball that was only now just beginning to fade from the screens. "I think we can say that was successful. Of course, we could have done the job just as well with the fighters against such a small target."
"But we did need to test the weapon," Kiel replied. "And now we know it works we can move on to bigger targets." He looked over the helmsman. "Set course for the next target," he said, loud enough so that everyone on the bridge could hear him. Then he turned back to Anderson and continued their conversation telepathically. 'The fools never knew what hit them.'
'No Sir,' Anderson replied. 'Have you finalised the next target yet?'
'You were not present at the meeting,' Kiel queried. When Anderson shook his head, he continued. 'It was decided there that one more test against an outpost would be needed, and then we can move on to the major targets.'
'Will they be necessary though,' Anderson asked. 'I mean once Earthforce knows what power we have under our control won't they just buckle and surrender.'
'Perhaps,' Kiel replied. 'But either way I want to make an example of at least one world. Given the choice between Proxima III and Mars I have chosen Proxima. It is less defended and will put less strain on our resources.'
'A very good choice, Sir, and we might also take the time to remove Ivanova's ship while we are there. She, and that new ship of hers, might become a problem otherwise.'
Kiel smiled. 'Yes I think we can spare a few minutes to destroy the Rasputin and anyone else who stands in our way. I have just learned that we do not need to worry about the Interstellar Alliance for now. They have problems on some world near Drazi space and their fleet will be out of the way for some time.'
'Did our allies arrange that?' Anderson asked.
'No this has nothing to do with them this time; it is just lucky for us that it all worked out this way. With the Interstellar Alliance out of the way for at least a week, or maybe even more, we will have all the time we need to finish conquering the Earth Alliance. Then by the time Sheridan recalls his ships, we will have all of Earthforce under our command and there will be nothing he can do.'
'Unless Earth decides not to surrender,' Anderson warned.
Kiel smiled and patted the console in front of him. 'Well, if they continue to try to fight then we will have to show them just what we can do won't we. One shot from this baby and we level Earthdome and a good portion of Europe. I don't think they will try and resist us a second time after that.'
'Indeed Sir,' Anderson said with a broad smile.
"Ready to jump," the voice of the helmsman called.
"Engage," Kiel said.
He turned back to Anderson. 'I have always wanted to say that,' he said, his mind broadcasting the humour he felt. Ahead a vast orange circle appeared against the black background of space, as a jump point large enough to admit the ten-kilometre long vessel, was opened by the warship's engines. The warship jumped forward into Hyperspace, followed by the small escort of alien fighters that were just returning from destroying the last of the listening post's life pods. Behind, it left nothing more that dust, and a few floating tiny chunks of wreckage from the pods.
"Are these all of your findings?" Susan asked Goran Habbib, the newly appointed chief medical officer, and the person responsible for Dr. Taylor's autopsy.
"Yes Captain," he replied a little nervously. Standing in front of the captain he had quickly realised that Ivanova had a way of staring down at you, even though you were the one standing and she the one sitting.
"Hmmm natural causes then," the Captain said, reading the data pad. "Are you certain. Ms. Chang seemed quite sure it was murder."
Dr. Habbib nodded, trying to look confident in his work. "According to all the tests I conducted Dr. Taylor died of heart failure."
"I would have thought she was a little young," Susan mused. "I think I am older than she was."
Habbib shrugged. "It is rare I admit for someone of her age to die like this, especially given the testing we perform on all Earthforce staff these days, but not unknown. I would put down stress as the most likely cause."
"Indeed," Susan said. "I think I know how she felt." She tapped the data pad a couple of time with one finger, as if considering its contents. Dr. Habbib looked on, his hands twitching nervously. Finally, Susan looked up again. "Very well, I accept your report. However, I am not sure if Ms. Chang will. She might still insist on further investigation, which of course is her right, so if I were you I would make sure you can support your findings, she does seem particularly interested in Dr. Taylor for some reason."
"I stand by my report Captain," the doctor said, his confidence growing now that he had the Captain's approval of his work. He hadn't wanted this job thrust on him, and would have been content to remain in charge of the second shift in sickbay, doing what he did best, healing people. Amanda Taylor's sudden death though had been something he had not counted on, and now he found himself thrust into the spotlight.
"Good," Susan replied. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the black uniform of the Psi-Cop, closely followed by Talia's green uniform, enter the bridge. "You can take your report to Ms. Chang then." She paused. "In fact that looks like her just coming now."
Habbib spun around and his nervous twitch returned as the tall telepath strode onto the bridge through the open doors. She stared at him for a second before walking across towards Susan. "Is that the autopsy report?" she asked, pointing towards the data pad in Susan's hands.
"It is," Susan replied, handing over the pad. "Dr Habbib here had just finished explaining it to me and was about to bring it along to your quarters."
"Natural Causes?" Sarah sneered after she had scanned the findings. "You have to be kidding me." She glared at the doctor in annoyance and opened her mind just enough to feel his thoughts. The doctor was a little frightened, of both her, and the captain, but, to her surprise, she could feel no malice or fear of discovery that she would have experienced if he had falsified the report. He obviously thought that what he had reported was correct.
"Now Ms. Chang," Susan said. "Surely you are not questioning the doctor's word are you?"
"No Captain," Sarah said slowly, raising the blocks in her mind again. Just before she did though she picked up the Captain's surface thoughts, not scanning her, but just sensing her feelings. To her surprise the fear and hatred that had been so strong the day before where gone and in their place as almost overwhelming sense of confidence and something else Sarah couldn't quite identify. She was a little intrigued as to what would cause such a change but right now, she had other things more important to do. "I would like to investigate further though Captain," she said.
Susan looked at her quizzically. "I thought you would want to track down Mr. Anderson while the trail is still fresh," she said. "After all, every day you wait the trail gets colder."
"I will conduct both investigations at the same time," Sarah replied.
The Captain shrugged. "Whatever you think is best Ms. Chang, I will not stand in your way, unless you harass my crew unnecessarily. Then I may be forced to take action."
"Of course Captain," Sarah said. "I will keep my investigations low key, and will cause as little disruption as possible."
"Thank you," Susan replied. "Don't let me hold you up then, the quicker you get started, the quicker you get a result."
Sarah nodded, and after a pointed glance at Dr. Habbib to let him know she was going to examine his report very closely indeed, she left the bridge. Talia, who had been standing quietly next to the door turned and followed her. Susan noticed the blonde telepath looked very tired this morning, as if she had not slept well, and for once Talia did not attempt to speak to the Captain. Susan followed them with her eyes until they were out of sight and then turned back to look at the doctor.
"Can I go too Captain?" Habbib asked, wiping the sweat from his forehead with an already damp handkerchief.
"Of course," she replied. "But make sure you are free to assist Ms. Chang if she needs you help."
The doctor indicated that he would make himself available and hurried out of the room, heading for the safety of sickbay. Susan smiled faintly at his discomfort, but then realised that until yesterday she probably felt the same way about being in the Psi-Cop's presence. In a way, she still did, but somehow something had changed. Her determination had returned and she no longer felt fear at being in the presence of another telepath. She still hated Psi-Corp, but she was no longer afraid.
It had taken her several hours this morning to finally accept that what she had experienced last night had not been a dream, but rather a vision bought on by some alien creature. Somehow, it had contacted her across the vastness of space, a feat even the most powerful human telepath could not manage, and awakened something inside her. For what purpose she didn't know, but she had not sensed any malice, or other negative emotions, directed towards her by the alien.
She had not been able to detect the song the alien had shown her since, no matter how she had tried. She had tried her best, but all she could manage was to hear a few of the voices at once. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she could feel them with her mind whenever she concentrated hard enough. Susan wondered if this was similar to what other telepaths felt when they scanned someone. It wasn't like what she had felt years ago when she had slipped into her mother's mind. This was different somehow, as if she was doing it another way now.
More than anything, Susan wanted to hear the beautiful song again, to hear the billions of voices all calling out at once. It wasn't something she could explain, just a feeling of peace and calm that washed over her whenever she thought about what she had experienced. It had no words, no music, but it was still a song, and one Susan could not get out of her mind. Her memories of the song were growing weaker as the hours passed, but every time she recalled it the same feeling of calm washed over her and she was filled with strength of purpose unlike anything she had felt before.
It reminded Susan a little of the way she steeled herself before battle, putting aside all other thoughts and concentrating only on what was important, her fighter, and the enemy. This was similar, but different. It was as if by recalling the song, she was putting aside all her fears and worries and concentrating instead on what she had to do, only on what actually mattered. She could only hope now that she could continue to recall it. She liked being this way, unafraid and powerful. It reminded her of the way she had been on Babylon 5 in the year before everything had started to go wrong.
Then she had been strong, determined, and not about to let anything get in her way. Later, during the Shadow War and the Civil War, she had let events around her carry her along from day to day. Then, after the wars were over the truth of what she had been through had been too much to bear and she had fled, seeking to escape her memories. Now she was again beginning to feel some of that control returning. She didn't know what exactly the alien sought from her, or why it had chosen her, but inside she felt the strength of her soul and knew that, no matter what the creature wanted, it was helping her.
Leaning back in her chair, and propping her feet up on the console in front of her, Susan began to hum a soft, gentle tune, much to the surprise of everyone else on the bridge. Susan didn't notice their stares though she was too busy listening to the song that flowed in her head. Her mind followed the song and reached out around her. She could feel two strong voices nearby, Talia and Chang probably, and beyond there were others, telepaths working on the planet below, and others even more distant. Susan soon forgot about them though, letting her mind drift and remember just the beauty the alien had shown her.
Talia rubbed her forehead as she tried to ease the pain she still felt there, a dull throbbing hidden somewhere in the back of her mind. She felt a faint tingle that was similar to what she felt when someone was scanning her, and reached out with her mind, looking for the source. There was nothing there, but, for a brief second, the nightmare she had experienced last night returned. She didn't remember much, just a faint recollection of an alien creature with mountainous teeth, and a body that blocked out the light. The blonde telepath shuddered slightly, a faint twinge of fear running through her. It soon passed though and she resumed her watch.
The Psi-Cop had left Talia to guard the door of her quarters while inside she was making a call to Mars. Talia wasn't really interested in playing watch dog so amused herself by creating nightmares to plague the weak, pitiful personality hiding somewhere deep within her mind. To her surprise, the resistance she felt was stronger than usual. She smiled. 'You can not resist me forever sister,' she thought. 'Soon I will find where you are hiding and crush you for the last time. Then there will only be me, as it was meant to be.'
The other personality did not reply, but then Talia did not expect it to. Bored with that game, she looked across the hall toward a trolley one of the maintenance staff had left behind when she had ordered him to leave. Reaching out with her mind, she grasped an electronic cutter with her telekinetic powers and lifted it off the cart. She started it spinning, and then to keep her abilities sharp she gently pushed the on/off switch making the narrow beam of energy flash as it spun faster and faster. The light amused her for a while, relieving her boredom while she waited for the Psi-Cop to return from making her call.
Inside Sarah Chang was busy discussing her findings with her boss on Mars. "It looks like the doctor could be correct Sir," she was saying. " But I would like to make sure."
On the screen, Bester nodded. "Yes Ms. Chang, so do I. Amanda Taylor might have only been a P3, but she was one of my better agents. I want no stone left unturned in your investigation of her death. If someone did murder her, then I want that person found and bought down. Scan whoever you have to, but I want to know for sure."
"Yes Sir," she replied, before hesitating for a second. "I am not sure Captain Ivanova will like that though," she said cautiously, not wanting to upset Bester.
"Tell her to speak to me if she complains," Bester replied, his voice conveying his determination. "I don't care how she feels about it. It is about time she learned that telepaths do not have to obey every whim of mundanes. Threaten her if you have to, but make sure she doesn't get in the way."
Sarah nodded. "Why does she hate us so?" she asked. "I don't understand the hatred I felt from her. It was irrational."
Bester nodded. "I have found Ivanova to be a very irrational person when it comes to her hatred for telepaths. She blames the Corps for the suicide of her mother and me personally for... other things. Every time I go near her I have the distinct impression that she wants to kill me."
Sarah shook her head sadly. "I feel sorry for her. Perhaps there is something I can do, to ease her pain?"
"I wouldn't try if I were you Ms. Chang," Bester said. "If she thought you were messing with her mind she would probably order you spaced. Her record shows several incidents of hatred, and even violence towards telepaths, although nothing that would get her into any trouble with the authorities, at least not yet."
Sarah nodded, before changing the topic back to matters that were more important that Ivanova's feelings towards her kind. "What about Anderson?" she asked. "Do you still want me to try and find him as well?"
Bester nodded. "Yes," he said. "I don't expect you to have much luck, but I want any leads investigated while you are looking into Dr. Taylor's death."
"Yes Sir."
"Do you have any leads yet?" Bester asked. "On either matter?"
"Not yet sir," she replied. "I am still looking over the report. From what I can see Dr. Habbib appears to be correct in his findings, although there is one other possibility."
"And that is?"
"Someone with telekinetic abilities might be able to achieve the same result." Sarah looked pointedly at the door leading out of the room. "Someone with powers like Ms. Winters perhaps."
Bester shook his head. "She could not possibly have been responsible. Apart from the fact that she only seems capable of manipulating macro objects, she is also one hundred percent loyal to Psi-Corp and could never kill another telepath. I made sure of that part of her programming myself after they bought her in."
Sarah nodded in acceptance. "I guess that either leaves Dr. Habbib's findings then, or maybe something we are still overlooking."
"Keep looking Ms. Chang," Bester urged. "I want every possibility checked out before you close the book on this case. Send the doctor's report to me and I will have some of the researchers here check out possibilities for you."
"Yes Sir," Sarah replied, pulling the data crystal out of the pad and sliding it into the reader in front of her. The system on the Rasputin was a little different than she was used to, but it took only moment or two for her to attach the report to the signal and send it to Bester's office.
"Good," he said, as he watched the information appear on his screen. "I will leave you to continue your investigation now. I have found something interesting here on Mars, so I will continue my search here. If you find out anything further, either about Anderson or Dr. Taylor let me know. Do not worry about the time of day or anything stupid like that, I need to know as soon as possible if you find anything."
"Yes Sir," Sarah said again as the screen went black, the link to Mars terminated by Bester. She sighed, realising that she had a lot of work in front of her. This was going to be a tougher job than she had originally thought, but if successful then she would have Bester's thanks and that would get her a long way in the Psi-Corps. Eager to begin, she collected Talia from outside her quarters and dragged her off towards sickbay. She had a few things that she needed to discuss with Dr. Habbib before she began her investigation into Anderson's disappearance.
10:34, February 17, 2262.
"And the last thing on the list is the testing of our new weapons systems," Petrov said, reading from a data pad on the table in front of him. "We still haven't had completed a successful field test of the particle cannons yet. Lieutenant-Commander Dreyer says he will look into it, so hopefully he can come up with something we can use for target practice. Everything else is running well though, all things considered."
Susan nodded in agreement. The past two days had been very busy, as she had put the Rasputin and her crew through a long series of tests and drills to ensure they were ready for anything that might arise. After all, the Rasputin was a new warship with a new, and in some cases inexperienced, crew. To Susan's surprise, the drills had gone quite well, with the only exception being the crew assigned to the main gun who had missed all but three of the holographic drones that were meant to represent enemy fighters.
"Good," Susan said. "When you get back to the Rasputin, tell Lt. Commander Dreyer that I want to see him later to speak about the problem with that cannon crew. Also, see if you can't get Dr. Kozlowski to have a look at the targeting systems, there may be something he can do. While we can run everything from the bridge if necessary, I'd prefer to have a full gunnery crew on station in any combat situation."
"Will do Captain," her second in command replied, making a quick note on the data pad. "I am not sure there is much they can do though. The particle cannon's targeting system appears to be too slow to track and fire on enemy fighters that might pass in front of our bow. Large ships like destroyers it would have no trouble at all, but fighters are just too quick and manoeuvrable for it."
"I know Commander," Susan conceded. "I wanted to see if we couldn't upgrade it a little though. That incident with the raiders made me wonder if the Rasputin had enough anti-fighter defences."
"Well the new model interceptors should be enough," Petrov said. "They are around thirty percent more efficient than the last model."
"True, but if we were attacked by a similar number raiders as last time then we could still be in trouble." Susan paused and sipped the glass of fruit juice that had been sitting in front of her. "How did the fighter drills go this morning? As I was called down to the surface for this meeting, I haven't had a chance to check up on them yet."
"A lot better than I expect Captain. I don't think we have anything to worry about there."
Susan agreed and looked down at the green liquid in her glass, considering the last two days. A new spirit of confidence and determination had filled her and the weariness that had been her constant companion for the past few years began to fade. Renewed, she had thrown herself and the Rasputin's crew into the drills, eager to have everything running as well as it could. To her surprise, the crew had taken to the drill like ducks to water and submerged themselves into the work. Even Petrov, who always worried about the smallest details, seemed happy, well at least as happy as he could be.
Not that everything was going her way; she would have worried if it had. While the Rasputin's crew were working out well, even beginning to become something of a team, her attempts to try discover her telepathic abilities had met with almost total failure. Susan had tried, but so far had been unable to do anything she knew telepaths were supposed to be able to do. In fact, she was starting to doubt that she had any abilities at all, apart from those she had already discovered years ago.
She could block casual scans, detect when someone was scanning her and if touching another telepath could scan their surface, but she did not seem to have any abilities beyond that. The alien creature had told her in her dream, or vision, that she had the potential, but as far as Susan was concerned, that potential wasn't likely to ever show itself. Perhaps she was afraid of what she might find, but Susan was more of the opinion that it wasn't there at all.
"Captain," Petrov said again, cutting into her musings.
Susan blinked and looked up from her drink. "Sorry, what was that Commander?"
"I just asked if I could authorise shore leave for the fighter pilots and anyone else not involved in the test today. It might improve morale. Not that there is any morale problem at the moment of course."
After considering this for a moment, Susan shook her head. "No," she replied. "I don't want any animosity between the pilots and the rest of the crew. There was a lot of that on Babylon 5, with some of the pilots thinking they were above the rest of the crew. Keep the fighter pilots out there training if you can. Get Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt to design some new drills or something if he is having trouble keeping them busy. I want the crew to work as a team, so no one gets shore leave until everyone has completed the drills successfully. And tell him that if he can't come up with something to keep his pilots busy, I'm certain I can."
"Yes Captain," Petrov said. Susan wasn't sure if he agreed with her or not. He did however mark down her orders on his data pad. "I will speak to Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt when I get back to the Rasputin."
"You might want to get going now then Commander," Susan suggested. "The shuttle is waiting on the landing strip, and as I didn't know how long the meeting with President Mitrovic was going to take, I didn't set a departure time. Of course, had I know that the only reason he wanted to speak to us was so he could ask use for his pilots to drill with ours, I wouldn't have come. I think next time I'll check first, those sorts of things can be discussed over the link. Anyway, you take the shuttle, I'll be along later."
"What about you?" Petrov asked. "Won't you need a shuttle as well?"
"I have a few other things I want to do first," she replied. "Send it back down when you get back."
"Well I will see you back on the Rasputin then Captain," Petrov said getting to his feet. "Do you want me to take charge of the drills until you get back?"
"That would probably be best Commander," Susan said with a nod. "I don't know how long I will be. "
Petrov nodded and smiled, then after saying goodbye headed off across the market to catch the transport out to the shuttle landing field. The small cafe they had chosen for their late breakfast was situated just outside the parkland that surrounded the Colonial Administration Building, and because few people ever went to visit the President or the rest of the Proxima government it was nice and quiet. That had meant that they had been able to sit and discuss recent events without being disturbed, which had pleased Susan no end.
Susan put aside the fruit drink she had ordered and stretched. Looking down at her link, she was a little shocked by the time they had been at the cafe. She was a little annoyed with President Mitrovic for keeping her away from the ship for so long. There were many drills to complete before she would be happy with the crew's performance and the readiness of her vessel. After paying for her drink, she walked towards the plaza that led to the dome's shopping centre.
Reagan Dome was built in a circular pattern with the strut that held up the entire structure as the centre point. Built around that was the gothic Colonial Administration Building, followed by a small strip of parkland and a few other government buildings and some small cafes. Then came the plaza Susan was walking across now. It appeared to be made of a local stone, which was a little uncommon for Earth designed structures that usually tended to be constructed entirely of stronger composite materials. Still the rough surface of the stone gave the plaza a feeling of age and history, remind Susan a little of some of the old streets she had walked down during her brief visit to her home town of St. Petersburg earlier this year.
As Susan walked slowly though the main market of Reagan Dome, enjoying the sights and sounds around her, she realised that the past two days had been better than any she had experienced in a long time. The song the alien had shown her was fading now, but if she concentrated as hard as she could she could just pick up its faint echoes. At least, thanks to the alien's assistance, she had been able to restore her determination to face down her fears, and problems. This was part of why she found herself deciding to make a short visit to the market after her visit with the President today.
Back on Babylon 5, her quarters had always been well appointed with paintings and several plants that she had cared for. On the Rasputin though, the walls and shelves were still bare. There was no sense of home about it. Susan was beginning to look increasingly on the Rasputin as her new home, at least for now. For four years Babylon 5 had been her home, her family, and she had never thought to replace that. The past two days though had made her think differently about the ship.
She still didn't like the idea of the Shadow technology that was powering it, but for the most part that was hidden beneath the surface. It did not protrude into her life, and although she knew it always there, she had slowly grown used to the idea. It still reminded her of the Shadows and the destroyers that had nearly taken her life, but there was no malice in the Rasputin. The modified Omega destroyers she had faced in the Whitestars had been horrible, spiked vessels, almost radiating an aura of fear. The Rasputin was not like this, and its silver hull could not look more different, reflecting light instead of drawing it in.
All of this, the changes of feelings, and the awakening of something within her, had led Susan to make a quick trip into the market today. She didn't know quite what she was looking for, but needed something to brighten up her quarters. She hadn't spent a lot of time there yet, but if it was going to be her new home then at least it had to look like it. Already, on the way into the President's office, she had bought a large lizard-skin rug for her lounge room. While she normally didn't like the idea of owning something that was once part of a living creature, the brilliant mosaic of colours had caught her eye and she had been unable to avoid purchasing it. Petrov had also help to convince her to buy it, agreeing with her assessment that her office needed some brightening up.
Now as she walked across the plaza she was looking for a shop selling potted plants. They were probably very expensive here, anything living bought from Earth was, but she had plenty of money in her account right now. Looking around, Susan was a little surprised to very few people on the streets around her. Reagan was supposed to have a population of around three hundred thousand, but few of them seemed to be active.
Not that the number of people out shopping this morning really concerned her, there were other, more important, concerns, and most of them involving the two telepaths currently residing on her ship. One she wanted to get closer to, but the other she wanted gone, and preferably as far away as possible. Every minute the Psi-Cop was on board was another minute when there was a chance that Susan's telepathic abilities, however pathetic and weak, could be discovered. However, the Psi-Cop and Talia were a long way away, she could worry about them when she returned to the Rasputin, right now she had shopping to do.