Babylon 5
Deadly Relations
Bester Ascendant
By J. Gregory Keyes
Based on an original outline by
J. Michael Straczynski
Psi Corps 02
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A 3S digital back-up edition 1.0
click for scan notes and proofing history
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Contents
part i: Thesis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | part ii: Antithesis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 part iii: Synthesis | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | part iv: Ascendance 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | epilogue
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A DelRey® Book
THE BALLANTINE PUBLISHING GROUP NEW YORK
Published by Ballantine Books :
CREATING BABYLON 5 by David Bassom
Babylon 5 Season-by-Season Guides by Jane Killick
#1 SIGNS AND PORTENTS
#2 THE COMING OF SHADOWS
#3 POINT OF NO RETURN
#4 NO SURRENDER, NO RETREAT
#5 THE WHEEL OF FIRE*
BABYLON 5 SECURITY MANUAL
BABYLON 5: IN THE BEGINNING by Peter David
BABYLON 5: THIRDSPACE by Peter David
BABYLON 5: A CALL TO ARMS by Robert Sheckley
By J. Gregory Keyes:
The Psi Corps Trilogy
BABYLON 5: DARK GENESIS
BABYLON 5: DEADLY RELATIONS
BABYLON 5: FINAL RECKONING*
The Chosen of the Changeling
THE WATERBORN
THE BLACK GOD
The Age of Unreason
NEWTONS CANNON
A CALCULUS OF ANGELS*
*forthcoming
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A DelRey®Book
Published by The Ballantine Publishing Group
TM & copyright © 1999 by Warner Bros.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
Del Rey and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
BABYLON 5, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of Warner Bros. © 1999.
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Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 98-96885
ISBN 0-345-42716-5
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition: March 1999
10 987654321
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For Gene, Gina, John, Pat, and Robert
acknowledgments
Thanks to Steve Saffel and Jenna Scott McCaffrey for insightful editing; Kari Magee, Betina Pavri, and Chris Luchini, and other folks at JPL for their technical expertise (my mistakes are not theirs); and Joseph Cochran for help on the Mars and Beta colonies.
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part i
Thesis
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chapter 1
» Al Bester strained his small body to its limit, reaching on tiptoe for the next branch. The tips of his fingers just brushed it. Above, the waxy leaves of the oak danced in a sudden warm breeze, tantalizing him with glimpses of the beckoning sky beyond. Al loved the sky. In the shapes of cloudssometimes in the stars at night he thought he could see the faces of his parents.
He steadied himself and looked down. The ground seemed unreasonably far away. Maybe he should be happy he had managed to get this farmost kids his age couldnt. After all, two branches down, you had to swing around the trunk, hang in space by one hand for a moment to grip the next limb up.
This limb he simply couldnt reach, and the trunk was still too thick to shimmy up. He was stuck. He would have to wait until he grew taller. If he ever did.
Orhe looked up again, speculatively. Or he could jump. The branch was thick, and he would have to jump pretty high, but if he could snag it, he might be able to pull himself up.
But if he missed, he would probably fall.
He was still staring wistfully up at the unattainable heights when he felt minds stirring below.
Hey, Alfie! Come down! Were gonna play cops nblips.
Why were they bothering him? Couldnt they see he was busy?
Cmon, Alfie!
He looked down reluctantly. Seven kids from his cadre stood below. Way below. He suddenly felt a little dizzy.
Give it up, Alfie, their leaderBrettcalled up. Even I cant get that one.
Like Al, Brett was six years old, but Brett was a good head taller. And everyone liked Brett.
Yeah, come on. Before you hurt yourself . That was Milla. Milla was his height, and he secretly very secretlyadmired her golden hair and blue eyes. He liked the way she laughedwhen she wasnt laughing at him .
Oh, Milla is worried about Alfie, another girlKeefasaid. Woops. Anyone catch that? What she was just thinking?
Al strained, but caught nothing. He would love to know what Milla thought about him.
But then he did catch something. An interweaving mant from below.
He turned his face to the bark, so they wouldnt see his angry and embarrassed blush. His feelings were harder to hide, but he squeezed them in tightly, balling his left fist as he did so, for concentration.
He wouldnt be a baby. He wasnt a babyhe was too old to wet the bed, too old to go in his pants, too old to bloop his feelings all over the place. If the teachers caught you blooping, they made sure everyone knew. That was the next worst thing to being punished by the Grins.
Frowning, he looked determinedly back up at the branch and jumped as hard as he could. That would show them.
But his timing was a little off. He got his arms around the branch all right, but his fingers never quite met up around the thick bough. There was nothing to grab onto, and only pressure and his nails in the bark kept him therepressure he couldnt keep up for long.
He looked down, and that was worse. He was hanging above and off to the side of the limb he had been standing on. He would never land square if he droppedno, hed fall the whole way, and probably break something.
One nice thing, at leasthe had shut the others up. Or rather, stopped their stupid manting. Now what he got was a shim- shimmer of worry and excitement, with at least two strong desires to see what would happen when he fell.
Hang on, Alfie, Im coming up to get you!
Brett. Brett was coming to save him and be the hero. The taller boy was already clambering up the tree.
No way , Al thought. No way .
He swung himself and dropped. The kids below gasped like a crowd watching a circus performer as he hit the branch feet first, teetered for a long, terrible moment, and then found his balance. He stood there, fighting the urge to hug the branch, breathing hard. Below, he sensed a restless pause.
Wow.
He peered down. That had been a girl. Milla? He wasnt sure.
You were lucky. You should have waited for me to help you, Brett said. You shouldnt even be trying to climb it alonethis is constructive play time. Were supposed to play together . Will you come down now?
Okay, he said. But I wont be the Blip this time. He started the descent.
He had played a Blip many times, and that part offered no real challenges.
He reached the soft grass of Alpha Quad and turned to face the others.
You get to be the Blip, Alfie, Azmun said. Azmun was an ugly boy, with a face like a bat.
I said I didnt want to be the Blip.
We voted, Alfie. You have to do what we say.
Yeah. Its for the greater good of the Corps, Milla put in.
So Milla didnt like him. His momentary elation vanished, but his stubbornness remained. I didnt get to vote, he complained, stubbornly.
Okay, Brett interjected. All in favor of Alfie being the Blip, raise your hands.
All hands went up except his own. Of course.
All against
I was the Blip last time. This time I get to be a cop, Al insisted.
But you were a good Blip. Youll probably grow up to be a Blip, Azmun argued.
Anger boiled through Al so fast it felt like his scalp would pop off. His fist actually seemed to ache with a need to punch Azmuns stupid bat-face. You take that back. You take that right back right now, he said.
Azmun hesitated. Al realized his demand had come out calmly, not like he was really mad at all. The way Teacher Huas voice did, when he was mad. It had a similar effect, too, because the anger behind his words was clear, despite his blocks. Weird, and scarier than someone acting mad.
He would have to remember that.
Basically, Azmun was a coward. Unless someone joined in with him and gave him courage, which could easily
Hey, Azmun, dont say things like that, Brett interposed. Apologize, or Ill tell the teachers, and theyll send the Grins after you.
An involuntary thrill of fear ran around the circle.
Im sorry, Azmun mumbled reluctantly. What I meant was, youre good at playin the Blip. Cause youve got strong blocks n stuff.
Cmon, itll be dark soon, Brett said, and weve already blown most of constructive play time. What if Teacher Hua or Ms. Chastainor the Grins scan us and find out we didnt play anything approved?
Tell you what. Alfie and I will both be Blips. Okay? Alfie?
Al blinked at the older boy. What was Brettoh. That was it. He hadnt saved him in the tree, so he would save him now. That was Brett, always trying to be the older brother.
Okay, he said, having no choice at all.
Three goals, Azmun said. The statue of the Grabber, the spout at the fish pond, and the red knob at the rail station is the third. But you both have to choose the same one. Okay? But if one of us touches you, youre caught.
No problem, Brett said. Youll never catch us, Psi Cops. Count to fifty. No cheating. Cmon, Alfie.
We should say the pledge first, Al pointed out.
Oh. Yeah. Brett looked a little sheepish and cleared his throat. He hurried through the pledge, and the other kids followed, some just mumbling.
I pledge my body, heart, soul, and mind to the service of Earth Alliance, and the people who dwell on her myriad spheres. I promise to keep the laws, to keep the faith, to keep my eyes on the truth, I pledge to serve my comrades, my cadre, and the Corps. The Corps teaches, guides, and provides. The Corps is mother, the Corps is father. We are the children of the Corps .
Now, catch us if you can! Brett said, and he started off. Al followed, counting under his breath. Despite himself, he began to feel the excitement. He loved hunting, but it was more challenging when the odds were against you. People were more impressed When you won. He edged nearer Brett, so they were almost touching. Which goal ?
The statue would be the hardest , Brett responded. I say that one .
Okay. Ill lead them off toward the rail station and then double back, Al told him.
No ! Brett shook his head. We should stick together .
Why? Blips wouldnt.
Yes they would. Blips are dumb. Thats why theyre Blips.
You want to get caught? Al glyphed the other kids laughing at them.
No. But Blips are supposed to stick together.
Thats not a real rule , Al cast.
No. But its what were supposed to do.
Right. So lets do something different.
Brett considered for a moment. Okay , he cast, after a moment. Listen, well hide and make a quiet place. When we figure out which way they think we went, well go to the other .
Why not split up, like I said? He was beginning to get irritated. Then at least one of us makes it .
Thats not how Blips think. Blips are selfish thats why theyre Blips. We have to act like Blips .
I thought Blips were Blips because they were stupid , Al rejoined, sarcastically.
Stupid, selfish same thing. Didnt you watch John Trakker last night?
He couldnt argue with that. John Trakker, Psi Cop, often made that very point each week, as he led captured rogues off to be reeducated into productive citizens. And week after week, Blips showed how stupid they really were. Al never missed that vid they showed it in the common room, complete with popcorn. And he had read all of the books, too.
Still, it seemed to him that some Blips might be smarter than those John Trakker came up againstlike, what if a Psi Cop went Blip, one who knew all the tricks? That had happened once on the show, to Johns partner Heng, but only after he had been drugged by an evil rogue, so that wasnt really the same.
No, a Psi Cop would never turn rogue while he was in his right mind.
Well, he wasnt a rogue anyway, and he didnt want to be one, even in a game. He was going to change the rules. He was going to pretend that he was a Psi Cop and that those chasing him were rogues. And Brett
Brett might be a Psi Cop, or he might be a rogue, pretending to be his friend. He would have to keep his eye on Brett. The tell-tell would be if Brett seemed to be trying to get them both caught
They wound their way past the 3-5 cadre house, where he had lived the year before, and it struck Al how small it was, compared to the 6-10 house where he lived now. Of course, his cadre was bigger now, toothirty instead of the twelve last year. And there were more cadres in the 6-10 house.
Ms. Chastain said that was because some teeps didnt join cadres until they were older. They were late bloomers and had to stay in the latents dorm. The other kids called the latents dorm the Basement, and nobody ever went there unless they had to.
Al couldnt imagine not having any psi. How could you have a real cadre without psi? The kids from the Basement were good at playing normals in the games, but everyone made fun of them. Mostly they kept to themselves until they got their psi and could join a real cadre. Some got really old before that happened.
Brett had gone silent, but his blue eyes darted here and there, searching for a hiding place.
The two of them ran up one of the duracrete drainage ditches past the new construction site. Brett trotted a couple of feet out into the mud and leaped up on a fresh foundation. Then, with a running jump, he returned to the ditch, leaving what looked like a one-way trail. Al had to admit it appeared convincing. Maybe Brett was on the level after all.
From the ditch they hopped over to the lawn in front of the infirmary, and then around back.
Quick, Brett whispered. Lets get up on the roof, here. Well be able to see and psee and hear and phear them from way off.
Al nodded, and the two of them went quickly up the slightly creaky metal ladder attached to the corner of the building. They crawled across the roof and lay peering over the raised edge, minds alert for the faintest shim of their pursuers.
The paths of Teeptown were relatively empty, at two oclock on a Sunday afternoon. He saw a couple of women in grey suits they werent teachers or cops or boots, so they were probably busybodies, teeps not strong enough to be cops. There was old m
an Tareq, cleaning up the quad. A boot in EarthForce uniformAl psquinted the shim of each, and his eyes widened. The boot was a normal.
You didnt see many normals in Teeptown. But when you did, they were usually important.
Hey, Al, Brett whispered. Make a quiet place, remember?
Brett was already doing it, glyphing himself as a part of the building. Al, slightly red-faced, joined him in the illusion.
Youre not a bad guy, Alfie, just a little weird, Brett confided.
Im not weird.
Youre always playing alone, always have, even when we were really little. And you dont get excited about anything. If Azmun had mouthed off like that to me, Id have punched him, good.
Its wrong to hit someone in your cadre, Al replied. What hurts one hurts us all.
Yeah, but sometimes you have to show a guy. Youve just gottaI meanI dont know. People want to like youthe cadres gotta hang togetherbut youre just a little too weird. You need to act more regular, you know?
Al shrugged. He didnt care what Brett or anyone else thought
Yeah. If he kept telling himself that, it might eventually be true.
There, Brett whispered, suddenly.
Psquinting, Al could make them outKeefa, anyway. Keefa was a weak blockershed probably end up a busybody or a boot, but never a cop.
A few moments later, they came into sightbut only Keefa, Jon, and Roberto. That was a little worrisome. Where were the rest?
Thats to distract us, I bet, Al whispered. They know Keefa bloops like a teek!
Maybe. They watched the three move up to Bretts false trail, mill about for a moment, then follow it
All right, Brett said. They think we went to the rail station. So well go to the Grabber. He started crawling toward the ladder. Reluctantly, Al followed.
Halfway down the ladder, Al caught it. A shim-shimmer of triumph.
Theyre here! he shouted.
Cursing, Brett hurried down the ladder, just as Azmun, Ekko, and Milla came around the corner.
Brett made it to the ground in time to run, but Al had to jump. He hit hard enough that breath whoofed out of him and his chest hurt. Nevertheless, he ran after Brett.
Babylon 5 11 - Psi Corps 02 - Deadly Relations - Bester Ascendant (Keyes, Gregory) Page 1