Disclaimers: Okay... Babylon 5 and its wonderful characters are not mine. They belong to J. Michael Straczynski and Babylonian Productions. No profits are intended, I just had to get this out of my head.
A good day...
by CalR
Today was going to be a good day...
Talia Winters was happy, her whole body thrumming with energy and she was repressing an irresistible desire to shape a few steps of dance as she entered the blue lighted elevator.
As usual, Garibaldi was there. Sometimes, the telepath was swearing that the man had mastered the art of ubiquity. He had the uncanny knack to always be in the same elevator than her. And this fact was far too frequent to be of coincidence. What was he doing of his days? Spying her?
Usually, Talia sticked to the stairs in order to avoid him, but today she was late on her shedule, and she refused to let a minor annoyance like Mr Garibaldi to spoil her exceptionnaly good humor.
"Mr Garibaldi.", she aknowledged, hardly hiding a beaming smile.
"Miss Winters", he beamed in return despite a very tired look.
"Red one."
As usual, the chief of security was a little behind her and she could feel his gaze as she could feel the edge of his thoughts on her. When will he learn? For a telepath a lacivious thought was equivalent to a rape. With time, she had hoped that he would have, at last, learned that.
But even Garibaldi's lewdness was unable to stop her giddyness. After all, today was such a good day. From their own volition, her gloved fingers began to tap the files she was holding in an erratic rythm.
"Something on your mind, Miss Winters?"
The voice took her out of her thoughts. "I beg your pardon?"
"You look like a little preoccupied. May be I can help?" Polite, he was the poster child for gentlemaness.
"No, I'm not preoccupied, but thank you for asking."
There was a short silence except for the faint humming of the lift and then, the fingers began anew their unnerving dance.
"Are you sure I cannot help?"
"I'm fine." she told him a little harshly, unable to decide what was annoying her more: the man's polite but nagging insistance or her own body's act of rebellion.
"Red one!" announced the speaker and the door opened before her.
Not to soon. Thank god.
"You know I'm alway ready to lent an understanding ear."
"I know that Mr Garibaldi." She said as she was stepping out of the lift, without bothering turning to look a him. "and, my answer to your next question is no, Mr Garibaldi. Not today."
"How did you guess? You're reading my mind or what?"
"Or what." she answered cooly. She knew that his sentence was rethorical, but questionning her integrity, even for rethorical purpose, was always irritating her. "You always ask me out at last once a week." she finally explained. " Provided you didn't do it yet this week, I guessed it was for today. Be careful, you're beginning to be previsible and that's no good for a chief of the security." she arched a brow toward him with a hint of a smile.
"Have a good day, Mr Garibaldi." and she left for the red section, leaving a bewildered, Garibaldi wondering if the ever serious telepath had just made a joke on him.
As she was heading to the Zocalo, she let her smile blossom into a full one. Okay, today was an excellent day. Even the noise produced by the hundreds minds cruising this sector wasn't bothering her. Either she grew accustomed to crowd or they grew accustomed to her or may be it was the fact that she was deliriously happy. In fact, she couldn't remember a time when she had been this happy in her whole life.
***
It was her first meeting in the morning. A divorcing couple needed her services to 'put everything on the table' as the future ex-husband told her. Talia was, of course, trained to this particular type of transaction but even it was some credits easyly earned, she didn't particularly liked that. Hearing with her ears and her mind the same arguments said and said again, seeing a couple loosing themselves in petty bickerings wasn't her idea of a nice job.
But today was an excellent day and she wouldn't allow any interripping couple destroying that.
She mentally shut her ears to the voices as they were digressing (the wife had a really irritating voice) and allowed a part of her mind to wander on the events of the previous evening. Finally, her thoughts focused on her favorite subject. Her moves, her voice, the colors of her thoughts and all too soon, her soul was caught in a spiraling mantra: Susan, Susan, Susan, Susan, Susan, SusanSusansusansusansusansusansusansusansusansusan
"...And WHO the hell is Susan! I knew that you were cheating me Marty! I knew that! Oh, if I had only listened to my mother..."
Talia realised with horror she was emiting while scanning her client and the woman has picked the name, unconscious that it was a foreign thought. The telepath was furious at her mental lapse and at the breach of her personnal ethic. Correcting this and making amend would take most of the morning. Darn, she had hoped to see Susan at her pause. She had a growing need to see the commander.
May be today was only a very good day...
And what if she dropped a visit at the commander's personnal quarters for lunch? The corner of her mouth twiched in a smile. In fact, she had the perfect excuse to drop at Susan appartments.
Nah, today was shaping itself to be a wonderful day...under the table, one of her foot was softly swinging to a music only known by her heart.
******
The afternoon found Talia Winters still at work. This time, the negociation was much more serious. Defining the precise frontier between the Brakiri's and the Gaims' worlds was an exacting and time-consuming job, and she felt honored of the trust the aliens entitled her. Determined not to relapse like this morning, she was concentrating fiercely on the negociation, ignoring her growing hunger.
She had skipped lunch to pay the handsome commander a visit and apparently, her host was glad to see her too. Susan was looking very worried but the telepath had decided not to press the issue. At this stade of their relationship, Talia was coaxing Susan's confidences with patience and understanding. Sooner or later, she would tell her what was eating her alive, and Talia would be here to support and love her.
An urgent and violent need to see her again took her by surprise. Somehow, with the time they spent together, her emotions became attuned to the commander's ones. She could feel a foreign anguish churning at her empty stomach and thought for a while she might be sick.
Susan needs me!
She knew that the commander was spending the day in the captain's office with the rest of the command staff for an important reunion. A meeting that was, for unknown reasons, terrorising the usually strong officer.
She needs me! The feelings were increasing with each second as the discussions before her were evolving. She was engrossed with her mind that she almost missed her cue.
"...I think that at this stade of our negociations, the Babylon 5 Council must ratify our treaty in order to avoid any protestations from both sides" clicked the metallic voice of the Gaims' traductor.
"I have no objection to this." answered the Brakiri's ambassador. "When is the next session of the council?"
"I think the matter is too urgent to wait for the next session. We must ask for one. This matter is very sensible for our two worlds and must be settled as soon as possible. "
"I must agree with ambassador Skrrri'n," cut in Talia, "In fact I propose to refer to Captain Sheridan immediatly."
"Good idea." admitted the Brakiri. The Gaim merely nodded. "The sooner is the better." clicked his traductor.
"Good." said Talia as she stood, collecting her documents. "I'll see the captain immediatly." and she left the room almost running as the tearing sensation in her reached a pitch...and then nothing.
Susan!
She really didn't like the way her supposed good day was turning.
She barged in the captain office, noting with relief Susan in a corer of the room, pale but seemingly unharmed. There was also Garibaldi, Franklin and a red haired woman, who was the moment turning her back at her.
"Oh Captain, there you are. I was looking for you..."
Curious, the stranger was no one else than Lyta Alexander, the ancient telepath aboard Babylon5. That explained why Susan asked about her last night.
Her gaze and Alexender's one met. And a telepathic word hammered her soul:
Z'HA'DUM! Z'HA'DUM! Z'HA'DUM!! Z'HA'DUM!!
And something moved within her
What's happening? Talia felt a dark wave sweeping her mind, overwhelming her mental barriers, destroying everything on its way. She felt her mind raped, her memories destroyed, and her own inner self stifling under the irrepressible assault as the alien force was taking over her mind and her body. Her resistance lasted a few hundredths of second before succumbing.
The last thing she heard before falling into an unfathomable darkness was her own irate voice yelling:
"YOU! You blew
my cover!
You're dead, you hear me, you're DEAD!" ...
"The Corps is
Mother, the Corps is Father.
You're dead Lyta Alexander! We'll find you, the Corps will find
you!"
End.
Loved it, hated it, indifferent? Tell me!