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Chapter Text

          Attention, shoppers. You can now find all your culinary needs at our kitchen on level 6. Fresh chocolates are on special while they last.

          Talia watched Susan Ivanova squirm as the latter tried to make "conversation" over coffee and breakfast in one of the Zocolo's small cafes. It would be a long morning. Around them buzzed the hustle and bustle of the morning's business: a dozen different species of aliens, shouting and haggling eating and drinking, even fighting - each of them doing a hundred more interesting things than sitting in silence over of a plate of reconstituted eggs, waiting for a chance at a socially acceptable exit.

          Talia did not care for crowded spaces in general, but especially this one, filled with the buzz of alien minds, whose presence had taken some getting used to. By now she learned to tune out the ever-present background noise of the station's human and alien population, but the Zocolo itself was the busiest, and noisiest, of all pubic spaces on Babylon 5. She preferred to spend her off hours in one of the station's quiet botanical gardens, where conversations were always kept to hushed tones and people came to meditate. Sitting in the Zocolo and trying to focus was work.

          Fortunately, her companion didn't expect her to say anything. Ivanova had asked Talia to join for breakfast her to discuss business of some sort, but now that they sat across from one another, Talia could see that the pretext was as weak - and fake - as the imitation "coffee" they were drinking. Ivanova actually had wanted to ask Talia something awkwardly personal, but couldn't bring herself to get the words out, so she rambled and mumbled about everything from the food to the day's schedule at C&C.

          "And then I didn't have hot water this morning in my shower," Ivanova was complaining, as if she - as second in command of the entire station - wasn't one of only two people aboard who had access to real water showers of any temperature. Talia hadn't had a proper shower in months.

          "And they took forty minutes to fix it!" she raged, and stabbed at something that might have once been a potato.

          Talia said nothing. Perhaps, she figured, the commander just wanted to talk to herself in the presence of a telepath.

          Talia didn't mind the silence, per se - sitting still and looking pretty was the daily life of a business telepath. But she did have to spend her mornings preparing for the negotiations she would be assisting with that day - reading up on the parties and their intended transactions. She wished she could get ready for her busy schedule of sitting in silence for pay rather than sitting in silence as someone else worked out whatever the heck she wanted to say in the first place.

          Then Ivanova's comm link beeped.

          Finally, an escape!

          "Ivanova here."

          "The Minbari ship is through," came a male voice from the link on her hand.

          "I'm on my way." She looked around for a waiter and waved. "Check, please." And she withdrew her wallet.

          In a flash, a skinny Asian girl in dirty street clothes snatched the wallet right out of the commander's hand and ran off into the crowd.

          Talia hadn't seen the girl coming. She hadn't even felt her intention until the girl appeared out of nowhere, and by that point, the thief was too fast to stop.

          "Come back here!" Ivanova was screaming, jumping to her feet. "Thief! Stop! Thief! Stop her!"

          Talia watched, in shock - the girl was obviously an experienced purse-snatcher, but it took some unheard-of nerve to rob a senior member of the station's command staff, and under the nose of the station telepath. That wasn't just cocky, it was insane.

          How had she...?

          And then she watched the fleeing girl collapse in the crowd.

          Ignoring the shouts - mostly from the commander - Talia ran through the mass of humans and aliens and hurried till she reached the girl. She assumed the thief had simply tripped, and for the moment was only concerned with retrieving Ivanova's wallet. But when she reached the girl, she just froze.

          As if sensing her shock, the crowd backed off to watch from a "safe" distance. Ivanova pushed her way up behind her, through the throngs of onlookers who had gathered around the collapsed girl. Talia noted quietly the dry irony that she'd only been able to reach her destination so quickly because everyone would clear out of the way of a telepath in the Corps - while even the second in command of the entire station had to literally elbow her way through.

         "There she is!" Ivanova shouted, pointing at the girl's prone figure, as if everyone couldn't see her already.

         But Talia was already kneeling at the girl's side, holding the latter's bare hand in her own gloved one. Up close, Talia realized the girl was older than she had presumed - a teenager.

         "Get Dr. Franklin," Talia replied, not taking her eyes off the girl.

         The teen stirred slightly, but remained mostly unconscious.

         Ivanova, baffled, looked from Talia to the thief and back again. "You know this girl?" she asked, her tone half curious and half accusatory.

         "No," said Talia. "At least, not yet. She's just taken a mind-burst, commander. She's a telepath."

Chapter Text

          Talia accompanied the medical team and the girl to Medlab. Unfortunately, so did Susan Ivanova.

          "I'm sure the medical team can handle this, commander," Talia began cautiously as they walked to the infirmary. "Her injuries are not serious, and you got your wallet back."

          "Do you have some sort of problem with my presence, Miss Winters?"

          "I never said anything of the sort. I just said she's in good hands now."

          "Whose hands - yours, or theirs?"

          "Excuse me?"

          Talia didn't get a reply, however, because they'd reached Medlab. She told the medics there the same story as she had told the first responders, that she and Ivanova had seen the girl collapse in the Zocolo.

          Ivanova added the "robbery" part of the story and let everyone know the girl would be placed under arrest once she woke up.

          It wasn't long before Dr. Franklin himself, senior physician on the station, came to check on the newly arrived patient. He busied himself with tests, as Talia stood perfectly still, watching him work. Ivanova, meanwhile, paced around the room like a caged cat, getting in the way of the staff, but no one dared say anything because she outranked them all by half a parsec.

          "Readings are all normal except the EEG," said Dr. Franklin finally to Talia. "What happened to her?"

          "She took a mind-burst. She's a telepath, a strong one. I felt her when she took the burst."

          He gave her a curious look. Curious - and not accusatory. "What's a burst?" he asked.

          Talia struggled to explain. "Developing telepathy is complicated. Many of us develop it over weeks or months. Some take years. Others are born with it. And for some of us it starts out slowly and then can be really sudden."

          "So she passed out because she developed telepathy?"

          "Something like that," Talia replied. "Those born with psi talent learn to block the noise of other minds. ...Like if you're trying to listen to just one conversation when you're in the Zocolo. It has to be trained."

          "But you said a 'burst.'"

          "Sometimes the talent needs to be triggered. Puberty can do it."

          Franklin nodded. "She looks about that age."

          "And she's really strong."

          "So it's as if a deaf person suddenly heard a rocket engine?"

          It was a terrible analogy, Talia knew, but she didn't think the normal doctor would be able to understand more nuance. It didn't really matter - he just wanted to know why this girl was on his exam table with unusual EEG readings. So she nodded.

          "Exactly," Talia lied. "She didn't know what was happening and her mind ran and hid."

          And that's was when Ivanova decided to stop her pacing. She locked eyes on the unconscious girl.

          "If her telepathy just woke up and Psi Corps doesn't know it..."

          Talia shook her head. "There's probably a genetic record somewhere, if there are any other telepaths in her family. I'll arrange for her transport to Earth. A Psi Corps rep can meet her there."

          "Negative. She committed theft. She's under station jurisdiction."

          Talia nodded. "When she leaves Medlab she can stay in the brig until I arrange for her transportation to Earth."

          "I said, negative. She stays here, Miss Winters. I will not let her leave this station."

          Talia bristled. "You're not being reasonable."

          "It's my call."

          Talia realized with a heavy feeling why Ivanova had chosen to hang around Medlab even after she'd been summoned to C&C to deal with some Minbari issue. She didn't want to leave Talia alone with the girl for an instant, as if Talia might arrange for her to be "kidnapped" back to Earth space. She thought this girl was like her mother, and that if she didn't jump in to "save her," the girl would end up dead, or worse.

          Talia took a steadying breath. "With all due respect, commander, it’s not your call. This station is under Earth Alliance law, and the law is clear. All crimes committed by humans on Babylon 5 fall under EA law, which means that crimes committed by human telepaths fall under Psi Corps jurisdiction-"

          "The Corps doesn't know about her. She's under my jurisdiction."

          "How are you so certain the Corps doesn't know about her family, commander?"

          Ivanova's face turned red. Before she could start shouting in Talia's face, the doctor jumped in.

          "She's coming around."

          Talia escaped from the fuming officer and rushed to the girl's side.

          "How do you feel?" Talia asked, but that was all she managed before the girl started rapid-fire telepathically screaming at her in terror, wide-eyed and shaking. Talia slammed up mental blocks in a panic and it was all she could do to keep herself from toppling over in the Medlab. This girl was so strong, so much stronger than she was. No wonder she'd been able to nick that wallet out from under her nose, even when her talents were just beginning to kick in.

          Talia was no professional psi-tester, but she wondered if this girl was Psi Cop material. She had to calm her down, and quickly, before she accidentally hurt someone.

          "Gently, Alisa. Calm down, and block out the voices inside your head. Relax. Imagine a wall inside your mind. Did you play with clickbricks as a child? Build it, brick by brick."

          "I can't!" the girl screamed, tears forming in her eyes.

          Talia visualized the goal for her. "Yes, you can! Focus! See the wall. It'll go away as the wall goes higher. You'll only hear what you want to hear. Yes, like that. Just like that."

          After a few tense minutes, the girl stopped crying. "It's better," she said at last.

          Talia took Franklin aside. "Oh doctor, thank God I was here! Imagine if she had to go through all this alone!"

          "Where did you get her name?" was all he asked, purely clinical.

          "She can't control her talent, as you saw. Her thoughts are broadcast. Alisa Beldon. Came here with her father."

          The doctor walked over to a panel on the wall. "Computer, access: 'Beldon, Alisa,'" he said. "Station resident."

          Commencing search.

          It did not take long for the computer to find her in the database. "Came here two years ago with her father," the doctor said, looking at the screen, as both Talia and Susan Ivanova clustered around him. "Both Earthborn. She was twelve. Mother's death recorded six years prior. No further information."

          "Does she have a record with the Corps?" Ivanova was asking anxiously.

          "I said, no further information," snapped Franklin testily.

          "Her father died last year," Talia explained. "It was an accident. He was doing some sort of dangerous work on the station, illegally, which is why the death wasn't recorded. She's been living on her own in Downbelow since then. Well, not entirely alone... there are some kids there who have formed a sort of gang-"

          "Am I under arrest?" asked a weak voice from the other end of the room. "I had to eat. You don't stay alive unless you got credits to pay with."

          "Don't feel bad about it," said Ivanova quickly.

          "The correct answer is yes, you are under arrest," replied the doctor coldly. "They say you stole the lieutenant commander's wallet. But you're not going to the brig until you leave my Medlab."

          It made no sense - there was no way Alisa could have tried to pay for food with Susan Ivanova's stolen identicard without alerting every security officer on the entire station. The girl, Talia decided, had to be using her newly developing telepathic abilities to make shop owners not realize she was paying with stolen cards. That way, by the time security caught on to each fraudulent charge - if they caught on - she would be long gone. And a day later, she would steal another.

          And she was doing this before she took the burst?

          Alisa seemed to see Ivanova for the first time - especially her uniform and rank. Talia could see the girl was uneasy, now, though hiding it. "I'm used to doing for myself," the girl was saying, having regained some of her defensive cockiness now that she was awake and sitting up in the bed. She looked at Ivanova. "I'm a lot like you. My mom died young too, same as yours."

          "Stop that!" Susan screamed.

          Dr. Franklin moved in gently. "Hey, no shouting in my Medlab-"

          "What's the matter now?" the girl asked, genuinely confused.

          "Never read someone's mind without permission," Ivanova snapped.

          "I didn't do any such thing!"

          "Yes you did! No one said anything about my mom!"

          Alisa looked at Talia for help, and back to Ivanova. "But it was so plain, like looking at you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything. I thought maybe you'd like me more if you knew we had something in common." She looked back to Talia. "You tell her, I didn't do anything!"

          "She can’t help it, commander," Talia offered. "As I said, she needs to be properly trained. There's no one here on Babylon 5 who can do that. She needs to go back to Earth." She turned to Alisa. "The sooner you're with the Psi Corps, the better."

          "The what?"

          "No," replied Ivanova firmly. "She is going nowhere. We still haven't dealt with the charges against her, and that will take time. Doctor, I have to attend to a matter up in C&C. Keep me posted on her condition."

          She didn't even wait for his reply, just turned and made a line for the Medlab exit. Talia followed.

          "Commander, she's in good hands with Dr. Franklin. You don't have to be so harsh about it."

          Ivanova spun. "She's not leaving this station, Miss Winters. Not if I have anything to say about it. Got that?"

          "Forgive me, but is there some reason you're so interested in her?"

          "Don't play stupid with me, Miss Winters."

          "All right, then please be reasonable. Alisa Beldon is not your mother. She is a fourteen-year-old homeless orphan. She’s terrified. The Corps can help her, train her, send her to school, give her a family-"

          "Negative, Miss Winters. She won’t be handed over to the Corps under my watch. That’s final."

          And she stormed off, leaving Talia standing by the Medlab entrance - in the way - wondering just what in the universe she was supposed to do.

Chapter Text

          Two days passed. Each time Talia tried to go to the Medlab to visit Alisa, a nurse told her that the girl was resting and Dr. Franklin had ordered that she not have any visitors.

          On the first day, the nurse believed the story she was telling, but by the second day, the nurse knew she was lying - and she knew that she was lying to a telepath who knew she was lying. The orders, in actuality, had come from Commander Ivanova, who had insisted Dr. Franklin keep the girl locked up in Medlab until she could come up with a "plan" for her that didn't involve the Corps - much to the frustration of the doctor who wanted his clinic bed back, for use by real patients.

          "I'm sorry," the nurse said. "She's not to have any visitors."

          So Talia needed a new tack. The next day, she went to the Zocolo to buy Alisa presents - a selection of stylish but modest new clothes and shoes in what she estimated would be the girl's size.

           The Human shopkeepers really didn't know what to make of a telepath in their stores. This was no major metropolitan area back on Earth, where a sizeable of small population of telepaths lived and worked - this was a space station light-years from home, and she was the only Human telepath (Alisa excluded) among half a million residents.

           "I didn't order a telepath," said the first lady flatly when Talia walked in. "There must be some mistake."

           "I'm not here for work. I'm here to make a purchase," Talia replied gently.

           "We sell children's clothes."

           "It's a gift. She's fourteen, but small."

           "No no, sorry, we don't sell that," the lady replied, even though Talia could see there was a section for teens in the back.

           The next shop was not much better.

           "Hey, did you call for a telepath?" she heard one man shout to another.

           "Nope."

           "Sorry miss," the first guy said, smiling. "You've got the wrong shop."

           "I'm not here for a negotiation. I'm trying to buy a gift for a teen. Some new clothes."

           He gave her a puzzled look, trying to sort out how a telepath could come to know a teenager on the station, and why in the universe she would be giving this kid clothes. It plainly made no sense how a telepath could be interacting with someone else's children.

           "It's a birthday present," Talia lied. She hoped that sounded like something normals would do. After all, normals all celebrated their own individual birthdays, and it would be ordinary to give someone a present, even if you weren't close. Right?

            Her excuse worked well enough to convince the man to stop trying to figure out how she knew this girl, and to just bring her to the right section of the shop. But none of the clothes were proper - everything was far too skimpy. Even if Alisa could wear it around the station, she would never be able to wear clothes like this at a Corps school. So she thanked the shopkeepers and left.

            She finally lucked out at a small shop with a Centauri owner, one who didn't recognize that she was in the Corps - or care - and who just wanted to sell merchandise. The bald lady, dressed in elaborate flowing silks, took her around the shop and showed her the Human styles and the Centauri styles, which she assured Talia were also worn by stylish Human women back on Earth. Talia picked out a few Human-style outfits for teens and some matching shoes and paid for everything on her identicard. The shopkeeper once again either didn't notice - or care - that her identicard placed her as a member of the Corps. She was just all smiles, so happy to have made a sale.

            Talia made a mental note - the next time she needed clothes for herself, this was the place to go. Then she carried her bags of gifts back to Medlab.

            "Alisa Beldon is not to have any visitors," said the nurse, but it was a different nurse this time.

            "Can I at least leave these for her?" Talia asked, as politely as possible. "Some new clothes?"

            The nurse looked around. "All right, all right, make it quick." And he let her pass.

Chapter Text

          Alisa almost jumped out of bed when she saw Talia and the gifts. Sitting up in the hospital bed, she held up each outfit to her body, feeling the fabric, asking Talia over and over which one the older woman liked the best, and which she thought girls her age typically like to wear.

          "I'm not certain, Alisa, but the shopkeeper told me these are all very popular styles."

          "Did you have clothes like this at my age, Miss Winters?"

          Talia nodded. "Though in school, we wore our uniforms."

          "I really appreciate all the clothes, Miss Winters. The other ones were getting ripe." The girl giggled, admiring a colorful sandal. "I can't believe these are all for me!"

          "We should get you more before your trip to Earth."

          "More? There's more?"

          "Yes, Alisa. Most girls your age have more than three outfits."

          "And the Psi Corps pays for all this? The clothes, the trip back to Earth, my room and board at school?

          Talia nodded, entirely comfortable with the girl responding to her surface thoughts. It was called talking. Talking to normals without making them uncomfortable, however, was a skill one had to learn.

          "Yes. It takes care of its own. All telepaths are a family, Alisa. You’re part of that family now."

          Talia caught sight of the nurse out of the corner of her eye. He was watching them uncomfortably, from a distance, observing that Talia hadn't simply dropped off the gifts, but was now talking to the girl as well - exactly what he had been ordered to prevent. She could feel his discomfort. He had notified Dr. Franklin - and Commander Ivanova.

          Crap.

          "I haven’t had a family in years," the girl was saying, sadly. "Mom died years ago. Dad died last year, leaving me alone. I have no sisters or brothers. And everyone in Downbelow... well, they like me because I'm good at stealing stuff for them, but that's not the same."

          "In the Corps, we’re all brothers and sisters to each other."

          "Dad and I came out here to Babylon 5 to start a new life," Alisa said. "He owed a lot of money to some people back home, so he took what we had left and brought me here. He got some sort of job on the station that he never talked about. I'm sure it wasn't legal. It was OK at first but he gambled away our money and we got stuck in Downbelow. Then he died and left me alone. I hate it here. I want to go home."

          "The Corps will look after you now," said Talia. "And when you get older, the Corps will find you a job and a place to live. You’ll always have free medical care, too."

          "Just for being a telepath?"

          "Yes. And don't worry about the charges commander Ivanova was talking about... once you're in the Corps, that will all be dropped."

          Alisa made a puzzled face.

          "It's the law. They don't have jurisdiction. You can start your life all over again."

          The girl didn't understand, and went back to looking at the clothes. "I can't wait to wear these," she said. "I haven't had pretty clothes since Mom died. I’m glad you’re here with me, Miss Winters."

          "I'm glad to be here to help."

          "I feel scared and alone. You’re the only one who understands what I’m going through. What was it like for you, when your talents appeared?"

          "I don’t remember," Talia replied. "I was too young, probably a toddler. But that’s rare. For most of us, the talent appears later."

          "So you grew up in the Corps?"

          "Yes, on Mars. My parents were also telepaths. They sent me to live at the Center when I was only five. I barely remember them."

          "That’s too bad," said the girl.

          "The Corps is Mother and Father. All children are raised at school. It’s how things are done."

          And that's when familiar presence came crashing into the room.

          "Tell her what else the Psi Corps does," snapped Ivanova.

          Talia sighed. "Please leave, Lt. Commander. This isn't any of your concern."

          "Yes, it is, and you know why it is. I knew you'd try to get around the orders I left for Franklin. So let me talk to her, unless you're afraid to let her hear another side."

          Alisa looked up at her from the bed. "Psi Corps doesn't sound so bad. I don't understand."

          "Did she tell you what they do to those who don't want to join?"

          "No."

          Ivanova took a breath. "Let me tell you a story. It's about a woman who fell in love, got married, had children. One problem: She's a telepath. She kept it from Psi Corps till she's thirty-five. By then, she had two kids. The Corps told her to come with them or go to prison. But she loved her family and she refused to leave them. There was only one way they would let her stay. Every week, for ten years, they injected her with drugs to suppress her telepathy. Every day she died a little, until she finally ended it by taking her own life."

         "That was your mother," said Alisa. "That's the image I saw in your mind the other day. ...Oh wait, am I not supposed to say that?" She looked back to Talia.

         "I have no love for the Psi Corps," said Ivanova flatly. "You've every right to know all about them before you decide to join them."

         "Decide?" interjected Talia. "Her only legal options are to join the Corps, where she belongs, or to go on the same anti-telepathy drugs that killed your mother! You can’t be advocating-"

          "No!" shouted Ivanova, prompting a few nurses to look up at the sudden commotion in their normally quiet Medlab. "I won’t stand by and let you brainwash this helpless girl and make her into another victim of the Psi Corps, not on my watch."

         "Normals make those drugs, commander, not the Corps. They’re produced by a megacorporation on Mars, Waters Industries or something-"

         Ivanova was not listening. "I saw what the Corps did to my family. They've ruined lives."

         "They've done good things too," replied Talia. "You've problems with the Psi Corps. I sympathize with your feelings, but don't poison her with them."

         They were still arguing when the nurses came over and threw both women out of Medlab.

Chapter Text

          After Ivanova's outburst in Medlab, Dr. Franklin decided he was done with this whole business and threw Alisa out as well. Talia was relieved, at first - the girl wasn't sick, after all - but that still didn't solve the problem of where she would end up. Ivanova didn't want her to run away, so she arranged for the girl to be held in the station's brig until she could "find a solution."

          Her solution ended up being trying to sell her to the Narn. Talia's only glimmer of hope in this disaster was that Ivanova permitted Talia to join her and Alisa in visiting the Narn attaché for the proposed negotiation of the "sale."

          "You can't sell her to the Narn," Talia told her flatly when they were alone. "And you can't try to enlist me in helping with an illegal transaction. That goes against Psi Corps regulations and every fiber of my being."

          "No one is selling her! I'm offering her another choice, that's all."

          "Na'Toth thinks this is a sale!"

          "She does not!"

          "Yes, she does - that's why she insisted I be present, over your objection! She wants me there to oversee the negotiation!"

          Ivanova declared that Talia was delusional, so there was no choice but to proceed, and find a way to rescue Alisa. The three of them went to the Narn attaché's spacious quarters, which were mostly devoid of furniture but whose walls were entirely covered in Narn art, all of which struck Talia as dark and foreboding in color and tone. The attaché herself looked over Alisa, declared her to be skinny but yet of Human child-bearing age, and started negotiating the price for her.

           "As a Human female, I expect you will be interested in clothes," she began. Talia wanted to groan. "On the Narn homeworld, you can wear whichever style of dress you wish, either Earth style or Narnish, if you prefer. And you will be paid a stipend each month for clothing, jewelry and adornments... in addition to your fee for services, of course. We're prepared to be very generous."

          "What services will she render?" asked Ivanova cautiously, beginning to realize that perhaps Talia had been right all along, as much as she hated to admit it.

          The Narn snarled. "I was making an offer to Alisa, not to you."

          The girl crossed her arms. "OK, what services?"

          "So simple and yet so rewarding. All we ask is a small sample of blood and tissue twice a month. We're the only race without telepaths. You'd become the genetic mother of an entire breed of Narn telepaths."

          Talia wanted to scream "I told you so!" Instead she just muttered, "I don't believe this."

          To her surprise, Ivanova agreed.

          "Didn't G'Kar try something like this?" ivanova snapped at the attaché. "You trying to succeed where he failed?"

          The Narn looked at her with ferocity.

          "Did you set me up?" Ivanova continued. "Did you really ask for Miss Winters to be here to oversee a sale?"

          "It's not a sale!" the Narn hissed. "It's a very generous offer! She would be our guest, and we're prepared to pay well for the privilege of entertaining her, as the only Human on our homeworld."

           Alisa made a strange face, one Talia couldn't identify.

           "We're leaving," Ivanova declared. "This is over. I'll talk to you later." Her tone implied more of a "threat" than a "talk."

           Alisa took hold of Talia's arm to steady herself.

           "Alisa?"

           "I have to lie down," she said. "I'm dizzy."

           "I hope that isn't a sign of frailty," said the Narn. "We need a healthy Human, not a sick one."

           "Why not check her teeth too?" snapped Ivanova as she headed for the door.

           "You think that's a good idea?"

           "You've made your offer." She turned to Talia and the girl. "Let's get out of here."

           "Tell her I expect her answer soon!" Na'Toth called after them as they walked out. "And good idea about the teeth!"

*****

          Ivanova, furious that she had been tricked, went back to her duties on the station, while Talia took the girl back to her own quarters. The least she could do, she figured, was give her something to eat and some tea before sending her back to the brig.

          "I peeked into her mind," Alisa said with no context, but none was needed. "I know Ivanova says I'm not supposed to, but I did it anyway."

          "What was it like?" Talia asked, knowing the answer.

          "Cold! Ugly. Alien! It's not like looking into a Human mind. It felt like I was falling into something terrible! I thought I would faint!"

          "You might wanna consider telling Ivanova that. Although... I don't think she likes Na'Toth much either."

          "I’m scared of her, Miss Winters," Alisa continued, meaning Ivanova. "She won’t listen to you. And now she tried to sell me. I don’t want to live on the Narn homeworld. I want to go home, back to Earth. No price is high enough to be surrounded by Narns. I’d run away to Downbelow if I could, but she knows that and that's why she makes me sleep in the brig. I'd do it, though, even though it would get me in even more trouble when they found me." She started to sob. "Why did this have to happen to me?"

          Don’t cry. It will be all right. She rubbed the girl's back gently.

          "I don't understand any of this. What did she mean, that the Psi Corps tried to take her mother away?"

          "I think they wanted her mother to train to be a commercial telepath, like me."

          "That doesn’t sound so bad."

          "It's not."

          "Why did she say they were sending her mother away?"

          "Telepaths are only one in a thousand. The Corps doesn't have a school in every city."

          "Couldn’t the family just move? I mean, Dad moved me all the way out here."

          "I don't know their circumstances," Talia replied.

          "I don’t have a family. I can go anywhere. I wish you could come with me, back to Earth, Miss Winters. Then I wouldn’t feel so alone when I go to a new school."

          "My place is here," Talia replied. "It's my job. I'm the only business telepath on the whole station... so I'm very busy. If I wanted to leave, someone else would have to take my place."

          "What was it like at school? Your teachers raised you?"

          "The Corps raised me. We take care of each other."

          "I don’t understand."

          "The telepath community on Mars is very small, and very close. When I first arrived at the Center, an older child, Abby, helped me adjust to life at school. And then when I got older, I helped a younger child like Abby helped me... and like I'm helping you. Older children look after younger children, and the Corps is Mother and Father to all."

          Alisa nodded. "Thanks for letting me see your memories, Miss Winters, and not being a jerk about it. I want to help other kids, too, the way you’ve helped me. But Ivanova won’t allow it. I can’t tell her how I feel because she’d never listen."

          "Just start by telling her about the Narn."

Chapter Text

          That evening, Talia somehow convinced Ivanova to join her and Alisa in the brig and try to work this mess out, reasonably.

          She could have just called the Corps by this point - and perhaps, she realized, she should have - but she worried about losing her job if she did. Even if her actions were legal and proper, what if the command staff no longer trusted her? What if they demanded a replacement telepath?

          On the other hand, the longer this mess went on, the more trouble she would be in for not telling the Corps. Once the Corps found out about Alisa - and eventually, they would - she would be grilled on why she had hidden the girl's presence. At best, it was improper, and at worst, she was intentionally harboring a rogue telepath and helping her evade registration. As the Corps' sole representative on Babylon 5, she had a responsibility not only to follow the law, but also to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

          She didn't want to worry Alisa, but if this mess wasn't resolved soon, Talia would be recalled to Earth space, one way or the other. Maybe, ironically, Alisa would get her wish.

          "You didn't like the Narn mind," Ivanova was saying to the girl in the brig.

          "Was it that obvious?"

          "I never should have brought you to meet Na’Toth. The Narn are only out for themselves."

          "It’s all right," Alisa said, shrugging.

          "I can supply you with history modules on the Narn Regime. The Centauri occupation left it barren, almost dead. The Narns only want to conquer other races now."

          "Oh, now you tell her?" remarked Talia, darkly.

          "They make slaves of their victims. They'll try and make one of you too, like the Psi Corps."

          "That’s a lie!" Talia snapped. "We are not slaves! Commercial telepaths earn fair compensation and benefits. The Corps acts as our union. You know that!"

          "That’s not what I meant."

          "I know what you meant. No, I take that back - I have no idea what you meant, because you're lying! You're angry about what happened to your mom but you're blaming the wrong people! Those laws were written by normals, up in EarthDome. Why don’t you supply Alisa with a history module on who really founded the Psi Corps, and why? Unless you’re afraid to let her hear another side. The truth."

          Talia could hardly believe herself, and her audacity at directly confronting a powerful normal - was she really prepared to throw away her entire career on Babylon 5 to protect this girl she had just met?

          Except she wasn't just defending Alisa now - she was defending herself, her people, and her entire family.

          "Stop it!" shouted Alisa, sitting on the bench of her cell and putting her hands to her ears. "Stop it, both of you! When you fight, it hurts!"

          "All right, Alisa," asked Ivanova, "what do you want?"

          "I want to go home! To Earth!"

          "You are not going to the Psi Corps," declared Ivanova. "That matter is closed. I’ve arranged for another option." And she left.

          "Then why did she ask me at all?!" sobbed the girl.

Chapter Text

          Ivanova's next plan was, apparently, to Talia's horror, to sell Alisa to the Minbari. The Minbari!

          This time, Ivanova skipped the attaché route and went straight to the Minbari ambassador herself. Ivanova no longer seemed to object to Talia's presence, at least - though Talia decided cynically that she probably just didn't want find herself tricked again.

          Talia fetched Alisa from the brig, to bring her to the ambassador's quarters, where Ivanova would be waiting. She told Alisa simply that Ivanova had arranged for her to meet the Minbari ambassador.

          "To sell me again?" she girl remarked, dryly.

          "I hope not, Alisa. I think her plan is to try to send you to the Minbari homeworld, though."

          "How's that any different?"

          They took a series of lifts and tube cars on their way to the Minbari sector of the station.

          "I was three and a half when the Boneheads attacked Earth," Alisa said.

          "Call them Minbari, Alisa," Talia replied gently.

          "I remember hiding in a bunker with my parents, listening to President Levy tell us we were all about to die."

          Yeah, this is going to go really well, thought Talia to herself, sarcastically.

          "Then we didn't die but a lot of people were saying they wished we did. They told us we won the war against the Boneheads when we really lost the war. So why does she want me to go off with them?"

          Talia didn't have an answer.

          "Just to keep me out of the Corps? Like, she said the Narn are bitter because the Centauri bombed the crap out of them. But the Boneheads bombed the crap out of us."

          "Call them Minbari, Alisa."

          She just shrugged. "I'll call them whatever I want." She paused. "But not to their face. You win that one. But why does she want to sell me to them? Wasn't she there for the war? Or was she up here in space?"

          Talia didn't answer.

          "Where were you?"

          "Mars."

          "Were you safe there?"

          "...Not really."

          They met up with Ivanova outside the doors to the ambassador's residence. Ivanova did her best to explain what little of a "plan" she had in all this, which amounted to simply trying to find any way possible to keep Alisa out of the Corps.

          "Commander, can I ask you a question?" began Alisa, and Talia knew she was about to start trouble.

          The girl didn't wait for Ivanova's reply. "After what happened with the Narn, well... I have to know everything upfront. No hiding things from me. I know the Boneheads killed your brother. So why don't you hate them the way you hate the Corps?"

          Talia cursed to herself.

          "My brother died honorably, in the line of duty," Ivanova replied, coolly. "And I told you never to read someone's mind without permission."

          "I didn't read your mind, I read her mind!" she pointed to Talia. "She's the one who knew about your brother, and she doesn't mind my seeing things. Stop accusing me of things I didn't do!"

          Talia jumped in. "It's not her fault. As I said, she needs training." And she gave Alisa a look that said SHUT YOUR FACE that one didn't need telepathy to understand.

          "I’m confused," Alisa continued, ignoring Talia completely. "Why are you so scared of me? I'm just a kid. And your mother was a telepath. When you were growing up, didn’t she ever-"

          "You mention my mother again and I’ll rip your little head off and feed your remains to the Pak’Ma’Ra!"

          Alisa dove behind Talia, terrified, as Ivanova ferociously rang Delenn's door chime.

          I'm not going back with any Boneheads!

          Talia wondered if Alisa could be so rude, that Ivanova would send her to the Corps out of spite. Now that would be funny.

          "Come," came a voice from inside.

          Talia hoped Delenn hadn't heard Ivanova's shouting.

          The doors slid open. The Minbari ambassador's quarters were decorated in quite the opposite style from Na'Toth's. Everything inside was bright and airy, with crystals and meditation cushions placed about in a manner that reminded Talia vaguely of feng shui. Simple, but elegant.

          Or perhaps deceptively pleasing.

          "Thanks for taking the time to see us," said Ivanova, a bit too brusquely.

          The bald ambassador sat on one of her comfortable sofas, a high bone-ridge crest prominent on her skull as with all of her race. She wore some sort of flowing silk robes, tied at the waist, that swept down to her feet.

          "It's my pleasure," said Delenn, appearing oblivious to any knowledge of the disturbance outside. She was all smiles. "So, Alisa, you wish to know about Minbari telepaths?"

          The girl nodded.

          "Well, perhaps we should start with some general information first. For the Minbari, psi ability is considered a gift. The use of it is given as a service to those in need."

          "They're not paid?"

          "Only with our people's high regard. It isn't a job, it's a calling. It's enough for them to be of service."

          She scrunched up her face. "Then how do they live?"

          "Those who wish to help others are greatly respected within our culture. They are encouraged and helped in their goal. They're clothed and fed, and left to do their work. It's a small price to pay for the benefit of many."

          "I think they're like Buddhist monks back on Earth," offered Ivanova, even though Talia could see that Alisa didn't know anything about that.

          "What if they don't want to do that?" asked Alisa. "What if they want to do regular jobs?"

          "This is the role among our people for those with psi ability. We have three castes: the priestly caste, the warrior caste, and the worker caste. Each performs his or his duties as he or she is born to do."

          "I see." She didn't seem too pleased. "I looked into a Narn mind the other day. Wasn't pretty."

          "Alien minds are a problem if you're untrained," said Talia, again looking at Ivanova as if to impress upon her once more Alisa's need for training.

          "Yes, I have heard this," Delenn replied carefully. "We do not all think the same way. We are not the same race, after all. We-"

          Then Delenn paused, mid-sentence.

          "I think we should go," Alisa declared.

          "Don't you need some more time?" asked Delenn, recovering from the moment and now genuinely perplexed. "Don't you have more questions?"

          "No, I got a clear picture. Thanks." And out the door she marched.

*****

          Talia ran out the door after her, leaving Ivanova to clean up whatever diplomatic problems the girl might have caused.

          "I need to talk to you," Alisa was saying in the hall, shaking. "I need to talk to you alone. In private."

          So she took the girl back to her own quarters again, and brewed up some tea. Whatever had occurred this time, she could tell, was much worse than what had happened with Na'Toth.

          "Miss Winters, I saw something terrible," she said at last. "So terrible, I don't even know if I should tell you." She paused. "I mean, I like you and I trust you, but you can't tell anyone I told you this, ever. Promise?"

          Talia nodded, uncomfortable.

          "I know how the war started," the girl continued, staring at the teacup in front of her, but not touching it. "It was Ambassador Delenn. She gave the order to kill all the Humans, wherever we live, across the galaxy. To wipe us all out."

          "Are you sure you’re not mistaken?" Talia asked carefully. "You're not yet trained. Telepaths do make mistakes sometimes, you know. We're not the perfect machines they think we are."

          "No, I'm positive. She shut down real fast when I touched that. She's ashamed of it now. But I know she was the one who gave the order."

          Suddenly Talia felt very, very cold.

          "If what you say is true, Alisa, you're right that this is best kept quiet. If others found out, it could harm the peace process. Remember, just because you know things, doesn’t mean you should tell others. Especially normals."

          She laughed darkly. "Ha! Ivanova threatened to kill me when I mentioned her mom."

          "And sometimes it doesn’t stop at threats. I grew up on Mars. There weren’t many Psi Cops stationed there to keep us safe. ...Things happened. You really are safest with your own kind, Alisa. With people like you, who will protect you."

          "I can’t go live with the Minbari," she said, "no matter how good they are to their own telepaths. I don’t belong there, surrounded by aliens, knowing how close they came to killing everyone on Earth."

          "I understand," Talia replied.

          "My parents may be dead, but if they were alive, they’d never forgive me. They wouldn’t want me to grow up to be a Bonehead."

          "Minbari."

          She shrugged nonchalantly. "Isn’t there anything you can do?"

Chapter Text

          Talia didn't bring Alisa back to the brig this time. Instead, she brought the girl to the other room of her quarters - out of line of sight - and told her to stay put until it was safe to emerge.

          Then she placed a call to the Corps.

          The whole thing was risky, she knew - the Corps would want to know what took her so long to report Alisa's presence, and security would start asking questions if Alisa didn't come back to her cell. And what if Ivanova should find out she was calling the Corps, and try to smuggle the girl out on a Minbari ship, against her will? She doubted Commander Sinclair would be of any help - he was always very tight with his second command and would never back a mere telepath over her, even a (for the moment) relatively trusted one such as Talia.

          She urged the Corps rep on the other end of the call to make arrangements for the girl as quickly as possible, for she believed the senior command staff was imminently preparing to send the girl to Minbari space - despite no formal peace treaty between the planets. "I was in the room," she explained, "when the second in command of this station was trying to work out that exact deal with the Minbari ambassador, who actually seemed to be onboard with it! I don't know how much time we have."

          This was not simply a matter of one young telepath, she told the rep, one who could be as strong as a P12 - this was a brewing interplanetary scandal that could potentially undermine the goodwill that the entire Babylon project had been built upon. This station, she implored, could not be used as a staging ground for the human trafficking of telepaths out of Earth jurisdiction, to alien worlds.

          Then the Psi Corps rep said something that was both surprising and at the same time, not - that Alisa's father had a file.

          "He was in the Corps?" Talia asked, excited. "Or do you mean he was a rogue?"

          "Neither, actually... he was a P2. Registered, but never formally attached."

          "So he didn't flee here to escape the Corps?"

          "Not that I can see... but her psi abilities didn't develop out of nowhere. It can happen, but it's more rare."

          "Well, it's rare enough to find someone of her strength."

          "Indeed."

          Alisa, she figured, must have started to develop her own abilities after her father died, or else she would have known about this.

          When Talia finally disconnected the call, she was nervous. She had to hope that her position as the sole Corps representative on the station carried some weight, and that her plea would reach the right people in time. And she also had to hope that her call - even encrypted with Psi Corps clearances - would not be detected by the command staff and used as a pretext to force Alisa even faster onto a transport to Minbar.

          Gosh, that could become horrible. What if she refused to go - and fought back?

          She went to fetch Alisa. It wasn't that she feared the rep seeing her on-screen - it was that she feared Alisa hearing the call and following her thoughts. She didn't want the girl to feel she was in danger - or worse, that she could become the cause of a major interplanetary crisis. Logically, none of it was her fault - that lay squarely with Ivanova - but it would be very easy for her to feel that it was all her doing.

          "They're sending a transport to pick you up," Talia told her. "I don't know how long it will be, but you can stay here as long as you can. I'd help you pack, but there's not much."

          The girl sighed and plopped herself down in a sofa. "I had to leave all the nice outfits you gave me in a box in the brig. They probably won't let me have them."

          "You'll get more once you're back on Earth. I'll make sure of it."

          Then there was nothing left to do but wait. She told her clients she was feeling ill and that day's negotiations would have to be rescheduled, and then sat down to tell Alisa stories about life back home.

*****

          When the call came in, Talia went up to C&C. Sinclair wasn't on deck, but Ivanova was, and she was shooting daggers at Talia with her eyes.

          "Miss Winters, would you mind telling me why there is a Psi Corps shuttle requesting permission to dock?"

          "Have you tried asking them?" Talia replied.

          "Don’t get smart with me. They say they’re here to pick up Alisa Beldon and transport her back to Earth."

          "Then there’s your answer."

          "Did you contact them? Answer me! Did you place a call to the Corps?"

          "I-"

          But a voice cut in behind her. "I asked her to, commander."

          Talia spun. Had Alisa really been following her the whole time, making herself invisible? Just how strong was this girl?!

          "Alisa!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn’t be here. You have a shuttle to catch."

          "I have to speak to the commander one more time," she said confidently. "Ever since this began, you’ve told me what to do. You’ve never listened to me. I want to go home, to Earth. I want to live with humans, not on an alien homeworld. I told you that, and you ignored me."

          "You’re making a grave mistake," Ivanova pleaded. "You have no idea what these people are capable of. I’m trying to protect you."

          "I appreciate that. But I’m not your mother. I don’t have a family the Psi Corps can take me away from. I need the family only they can provide."

          "She’s made her own decision," Talia said. "You don’t have to like it."

          And "like it" she definitely did not.

          "Thank you again for helping me," Alisa said, turning to Talia.

          "Be sure to write once in a while."

          "I will. I won’t forget you."

          They hugged and said goodbye. After she left, Ivanova just stood still, silent. Then she turned over command to one of the junior officers and stepped out of the C&C. Talia followed.

          "I think she'll be all right," Talia said a last, once they reached the lift. Talia pressed the call button.

          "Are you busy right now?" Ivanova asked, looking ahead at the lift doors and refusing to make eye contact.

          "It's almost 21:00. No, not right now. It's been a very long day, and I was thinking to catch up on some very needed sleep."

          Ivanova sighed, then turned to her. "Look, I wasn't exactly polite to you, or to Alisa, over this whole thing."

          "Yeah, well, we both got a little hot."

          "How about if I buy you a drink to make up for it?"

          "Now?" Talia didn't know which surprised her more: the apology, or the offer of drinks.

          "Sure, I know this nice little place in the Zocolo that's open twenty-four hours. I like to go there when I get off duty, and I should have gone off duty hours ago. They're probably taking bets where I am."

           Talia blinked. "I have to be up early tomorrow, but a drink wouldn't hurt."

           "That's not, like, against the rules of the Corps or something?"

           Talia shook her head, laughing, as the two of them stepped into the lift together.