Date: Tue, 22 Aug 2000
Subject: Safely Past 1/1 minor Z/L.
~~~~~~~
title: Safely Past.
author: Rodlox.
notes: one of Lyta's major gripes was that she got used during the
war for Earth's liberation. If she hadn't gone, would she still have
been as accepting of Byron's Easy Answer?
JMS owns all canon characters and species. any AND ALL original ones
belong to me....ask, and i'll send you the specs.
archive: anyone who asks me...
items in square brackets [and italics] are thoughts.
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Babylon Five Canon Universe:
Voiceprint recognized: Zack Allan.
Password verified: ****-*.
Begin recording......
"We had the usual cases today: couple of muggings, one murder, a woman who thought a Pak'ma'ra was stalking her -- turned out it was interested in the perfume she'd put on her fur-lined coat.
"But the thing that got me was this alien who'd staggered in, literally. Must've been bleeding from a dozen different holes. Somehow it just looked familiar to me, though dammed if I know how or where. I was there in the docking bay to greet whoever got off that new ship, with Ivanova and Hobbes nearby. The Commander grabbed her temples, like something was striking inside her mind. The doctor, once the alien was close enough, tried to save it's life, but ultimately failed -- it died before we could get to Medlab.
"The alien's ship promptly turned around and left. We've never seen it since -- nobody has! And it was only as it was leaving that the complaints stopped coming in from telepaths of the various races onboard Babylon-5....complaints that'd started as soon as that weird ship'd come out of hyperspace.
"I wonder if Lyta could have done anything to help. I wonder because of what Doc Franklin told me before he left for Mars.....that Lyta nearly cured one of his patients -- twice!
"Yeah, I miss Lyta. I feel sorry about asking her to scan that
assault victim, even if she did get paid for her efforts and
troubles.
I could see it in her eyes, those deep dark eyes she has. Part of
her doesn't like her telepathy, but we all just ignore her -- or at
least that one part of her......which makes us real idiots: Sheridan,
Franklin, Delenn, and yeah, even me; I'm guilty too.
"I hope she comes back okay from Mars. There're some things I'd like to discuss with her. And if Franklin or anybody gets her killed or even wounded on Mars, I'll resign from my post just to hunt them down.
"Time to go to sleep; I think I'm getting irritable, more so than usual. Computer, end record-"
~~~~~~~~
Then it comes to be, that the soothing light at the end of
your tunnel. Was just a freight train coming your way.
'No Leaf Clover' - Metallica. {borrowed from somebody's
sig line}.
~~~~~~~
Alternate Timeline:
Lyta Alexander could feel it as soon as it appeared. A mental signature that couldn't be confused with anything else. She finished up the job she was doing, verifying that they were both telling the truth, collected her fee, and left towards the docking bays at a quick run. A corner of her mind counted all the aliens - including Humans - that she nearly ran over; Centauri, Gaim, Brakiri, Drazi......
When she arrived in the docking bay, it was just as the slender ship was entering. Ahead of her, she could see Commander Ivanova, Doctor Hobbes, and Chief Allan. Surprised as they may've been to see Lyta, they hid it well.
The alien ship, like an immense-and-long pinecone from an Earth pine tree, was covered in overlapping layers of triangular plates; at the tail end of the ship, several little shoots were growing out, thick and stumpy. One of the flaps towards the front -- but not the very front of it -- opened up, a faint light coming from the ramp itself.
Down the ramp came something which moved on multiple tentacles, with no distinct arms. The body was the same sort of covering as the ship: the fircone-like plates, which opened and closed silently, slowly......radiating pain. And it radiated something else, something that made Susan Ivanova grip her temples and go pale, grinding her teeth and wishing for this to finish; something that made Lyta know where she recognized it from.
It was a [Cam^Set%Eri,] a race she'd encountered while working under Kosh Narenek's ageis, a race whose name could only be said telepathically, a race with telepathic police ruling the mundanes of their kind. Carefully, Lyta gripped it's mind with her own, using Vorlon techniques to calm the [Cam^Set%Eri.]
"Hurry please, doctor," Lyta advised Hobbes, a gargling sound in her voice - proof that it wasn't just Lyta talking. "I don't know how long we can hold like this." Hobbes nodded and went to work, having called Medlab the moment the alien'd stepped off the ramp.
[I recognize you, Female-Lyta,] the [Cam^Set%Eri] thought-said. [But they refuse to tell me their sex, so how am I supposed to speak with them?] Alexander restrained a smile both in mind and face. The [Cam^Set%Eri] had a distinct declension for each gender -- and they had quite a lot of them! [Do you not recognize I, Betic-Isi?]
Doctor Hobbes stepped back, the wounds patched up sufficiently to transport -- or escort -- this alien down to the nearest Medlab. [I'm just glad I didn't have to sedate it, given that I don't know anything about it's biophysiology. I'm also glad that it didn't shake or try to fight free, as those plate-edges look like they could do some serious damage to flesh and bone. ]
"Welcome to Babylon Five," Ivanova greeted again, [and now that - he's? - better, maybe we can convince his goverment to join the Alliance here.] She held out a hand, to which it/he raised one tentacle from contact with the ground. A short handshake, a brief touch -- but it was sufficient to send a Vorlon ship-song into the mind of Susan Ivanova, who recoiled. The alien looked as offended as a walking pinecone could.
Next, it shook Zack's hand, the touch lasting seconds longer there, and with not such a sudden drawback from Mr. Allan. "Hope you enjoy your stay here."
[TECHNOMAGE!] came the unspoken scream from the [Cam^Set%Eri.] Lyta blinked at the ferocity of the mental holler, unconciously taking a step back.
"If you'll come this way," Dr. Hobbes asked the alien, motioning towards the exit to the cleared path to Medlab. [What a beautifull song. Is this a poet or singer for his people?]
Once it was gone, Ivanova excused herself, mentioning urgent business in C&C.
And once Susan was gone, Lyta turned to face Zack. "You mind if I ask you a kind-of personal question, Zack?"
[Now's your chance, Zack], a corner of his mind encouraged. [Reconcile, apologize, make things better again.] "Sure thing. Can I ask you one too?" Lyta smiled, and - after a moment thought - nodded.
"Go ahead."
"Are you a Technomage?" she asked with all seriousness. Zack started to chuckle. "What?"
"Who told you that?" he asked.
"The - well, the name isn't a spoken one...let's just say that that not-so-little fellow you just met told me."
"Then I guess he wasn't entirely right or wrong." Off Lyta's confused face, "My parents were Technomages, Human ones." He waited a while before asking. "Why didn't you go to Mars with Dr. Franklin?....not that I'm happy you're here - oh hell," worried that he'd offended her somehow - again.
Lyta smiled again at him. "It's okay, Zack. I guess my deciding moment came just after Stephen got the call from Sheridan, and he'd come to ask me to come to Mars. I sort-of peeked into his mind, just for a second.....but it was long enough to see what Sheridan was planning to do with those Shadow-affected telepaths." A pause, as she gathered her will and her breath. "I just couldn't do it, couldn't help to send them - my people - to their deaths.......not for Sheridan, not for anybody!"
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TBC?
(MORE PLEASE! - Gok starts begging)