title: "Ask the Question"next
author: Rodlox
Pairing: Lyta/Sebastian
summary: from a week in the life of this not-quite-odd couple, we see if the station can survive them both
dedication: to Gok, who let me ask the question.
the +++++ are Vorlon non-English words. you know, the chirp-warble- stuff?TO BEGIN...
"Welcome to Babylon 5," Captain Sheridan said.+++++yes++++++ replied the Vorlon, exiting its ship.
"If I might ask, what should we call you?"
+++++Kosh+++++
"No; I'm sorry, but wasn't that your predecessor's name?" Sheridan asked, wondering if he was missing some detail about ambassadorial recall among Vorlons. And it was so soon after sending Lyta back out into space, after she'd found Earthgov's spy.
+++++we are all Kosh++++++
"I see."
+++++no++++++
"Okay, well do you mind me asking if you'll be continuing your predecessor's work?"
+++++no. improvements+++++
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AND FROM THENCE...
Kosh Larrevk, who had replaced the still-living Kosh Naranek as ambassador to Babylon Five, had brought a tool to the station.Unlike Ulkesh, Larrevk had long-term plans for the Lyta Alexander.
Plans which extended further than Ulkesh was comfortable with.Whenever the station hands were getting too pushy, Sebastian would be there to interpose himself, standing between her and Sheridan - it was usually Sheridan. And Sheridan never looked too happy with Sebastian being on board.
Protection to comradery, borne of their being assigned to many tasks together by Kosh Larrevk, borne of their sharing common points of reference.
Comradery to friendship, borne of eating together, borne of Zack always being afraid of Lyta - even confessing it once, to her.
Friendship to affection, borne of them both having gone a long time without anyone to love, save for the too alien Vorlons.
Affection led to Ishmael, their son.
Their son, whom had been kidnapped.
The Vorlons had enhanced them both, and it showed clearest of all in Ishmael.
Right now, the babysitter was literally against a way, pressed by something rather like a forcefield, eminating from Sebastian's walking stick. The cold & pale face was back, quick to lose the warmth gained through family life; Sebastian was back at work.
With one exception now: no Vorlons to tell him what to do.
"You saw nothing?" Sebastian asked. "Your eyes do see, do they not?"
Brother Matthews nodded. "Yessir. And I would like to keep them thus."
"They obviously are failing you. Therefore, why delay the inevitable?"
"Twas not my eyes' fault, I say," Matthews said.
"And why not?"
"Because...because someone was in my mind, blotting out part of my line of sight."
Lyta stood up at the term. "A telepath?" she asked. It made a certain sense, if vaguely distasteful.
Matthews tried to nod, found he couldn't. "Yes. I got only a brief glimpse of them, the 'knappers -- before my legs gave out from under me, then my eyesight went, just long enough fer them."
Lyta walked over to her husband and Matthews, temptation running in her. How she wanted to delve through this monk's mind, to tear out whatever he saw, to grasp what he knew - however little.
But she restrained herself, and placed a hand on Sebastian's shoulder; "Temper," Lyta said, more from habit than intention - to temper one's actions, not one's short temper; that was her meaning.
Sebastian closed his eyes, nodding; and his walking stick's light faded without leaving entirely. But he did not take a step back. Instead, he opened his eyes, metaphorically boring into the Brother. "And now, what to do with you?"
Brother Matthews swallowed nervously. "I - I - Let me and my Brothers, we can see where the kidnappers went, find out where they are." Biting his own lip, "Please." Such had been Commander Ivanova's idea, to use the Brothers as eyes throughout the station. Supplimented with an obscure race to watch the other-atmosphere regions, virtually nothing escaped their gaze.
It was the rare exceptions to the 'virtually' that had Matthew worried.
Lyta said, "Lets' hope your idea works."
Brother Matthew nodded.
~~~~~~~~
tbc.(next time - Byron and Bester...both on station). *eg*
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title: "Ask the Question" part 2
author: Rodlox
Pairing: Lyta/Sebastian
summary: from a week in the life of this not-quite-odd couple, we see if the station can survive them both
dedication: to Gok, who let me ask the question.
the +++++ are Vorlon non-English words. you know, the chirp- warble- stuff?> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AND FROM THENCE...
> Kosh Larrevk, who had replaced the still-living Kosh Naranek as
> ambassador to Babylon Five, had brought a tool to the station.> Lyta said, "Lets' hope your idea works."
> Brother Matthew nodded.
> ~~~~~~~~Sebastian paid no heed to the nervous looks of the monks as he and his sweet Lyta stood peering over the monks' shoulders, watching the various screens in the monitoring room. The heads of Security had quickly deemed it okay to let Sebastian and - more particularly - Lyta use the room, and the monks. "I found something," one of the monks then said.
Sebastian was no telepath, not even remotely; but his stare could pierce one's soul - or so people rumored. That monk could feel *something*, and he feared what might happen, particularly if he were wrong.
"It's in the ambassadorial section of the station," the monk said. "I don't know who that guy is, talking to an ambassador..."
Lyta recognized him: Carlos Mendes, one of the telepaths who kept switching sides between the Corps and the Resistance. A fervent anti- Vorlon and anti-Shadow man, Mendes had tried to assassinate both Sebastian and Morden, failing twice.
Lyta's ears could hear the faint words, as could Sebastian's. They heard the man tell the Teepo ambassador "Soon enough, we'll know the secrets. Then, with that mod's kid on our side, the Corps'll fall once and finally!"
The Corps only existed in one place anymore: on Teepo. Jointly ruled by telepaths named Bester and Byron. It had only been through pooling their disparate forces that the goal of a telepath homeworld had been achieved. But that soon fell through, with one half of the new homeworld being claimed by Bester's adherents, and the other half in the possession of Byron's cattle.
And now one of the go-betweens of the two sides was on the station -- with her son! Lyta narrowed her eyes, and charged out the door, with Sebastian following intently.
Down two flights, and halfway to the ambassadorial sector, when -
"Good afternoon, Lyta," said a man's smooth voice. Not Morden.
Bester.
Only remembering the words on the monitor kept her from ripping his mind apart right then and there. "What?" she asked, knowing not to ask 'what do you want' or 'what are you doing here'.
"My, my, I just thought to extend greetings to you, the both of you," giving a nod to Sebastian, who didn't acknowledge it. "Was there some place the two of you were running to, or just exercise?"
"I do not see," Sebastian said, running one hand over the ball of his walking stick, "how either would be any of your concern."
"To the contrary," Bester said, keeping a wary eye on that stick - it'd burned him once before. "I have always been concerned for the two of - you. You can see that," Bester said, specifically to Lyta.
"Was that an invitation?" Lyta asked. Bester said nothing, offered no resistance; Lyta barged into his mind, finding file folders full of information about the history of the PsiCorps, about her own raising and work history, about the Shadow War, and collected reports concerning the use of an unknown biological weapon by the Byronites at this summit on Babylon Five.
It was worse than she'd thought. Byron's lackey's weren't simply going to dissect her son. No, they were going to use him as a live weapon, then dissect him at their leisure.
A leisure they certainly would not have. Lyta left Bester's mind, and left it intact.
"The Captain here has offered to broker a peace for the people of Teepo," Bester said. "I came early, to relive some old memories; and I suspect that Byron will be late as usual."
Sheridan had died in the War, having never gone to Zhahadum, having never met Lorien. And his successor as Captain of Babylon Five was -
~~~~~
tbc.next time: the One who Will Be was, and now - someone else. :)