Babylon 5 11 - Psi Corps 02 - Deadly Relations - Bester Ascendant (Keyes, Gregory)

by Bester Ascendant (Keyes, Gregory)

  The directors office, the cop told him. Director Johnston wants to see you.

  Mr. Bester.

  Al had never heard his own name sound so threatening. The director maintained his familiar, thin smile as he appeared to review something on the desktop display.

  Sir.

  Ive heard good things about you, of late. You may know that many of your teachers had concerns about you. I did myself, after that little incident in Paris. Im very pleased to say, no one has had the slightest complaint about you since that time.

  Thank you, sir. I believe I learned a valuable lesson.

  The director nodded. You will graduate the Minor Academy this year?

  Yes, sir, if I meet the requirements set by the Corps.

  Oh, Im sure you will have no problems there, Mr. Bester. All of your instructors seem quite certain of you.

  Thats gratifying to hear, sir, but of course I take nothing for granted.

  No, Im sure you dont. He paused, took a small tumbler half full of what appeared to be water, and relaxed back into the arms of his padded chair. Have you seen Dr. Sandoval Bey, recently?

  Al felt it then, a faint touch, a prickling of the skin. Someone, somewhere, was scanning him, a very light scan, like a business teep.

  No, sir. Not in months.

  You two spent quite some time together. You even went on a raid with him, I seem to remember. No, nodont fear to admit it, he cleared it through this office.

  So he told me at the time, Al replied.

  Do you know why he took such an interest in you? He advocated for you at the hearing, took you under his wing. You two met regularly for months.

  I cant say, sir. He saved my life in Paris, I suppose that had something to do with it. He thought my education was incomplete.

  Really? He said that? In what way does he feel the Corps is not doing its job as educator?

  Al felt, suddenly, as if he had walked into a trap. Thats not what I meant, sir. It wasnt the Corps that failed, but myself. The lessons Dr. Bey thought I should learn were there for me all alongI just didnt learn them.

  And what lessons might those be?

  I Al realized that it was hard to articulate what Bey had given him. He taught me to appreciate other people. To work with them, to try to understand their point of view.

  I see. And this Blip you chased together, this Fatima Cristoban did he teach you to understand her point of view? Did he teach you compassion for rogue telepaths?

  Als mouth suddenly felt very dry. There was somethingsome subtext to this conversationthat was leaking from the director. He tried desperately to shut it out Ishe was confused, sir. Very confused. I suppose I did feel sorry for her.

  Tell me, Mr. Bester, the director said, very softly. If you had to choose between a rogue telepath and a mundane who was loyal to EarthGov and to the principles of the Corps, which would you choose?

  I am loyal to the Corps, sir. A rogue is a rogue.

  I see. A commendable attitude. Do you think Dr. Sandoval Bey shares that attitude?

  Of course, sir. But he felt a flicker of doubt at that. Bey might just mightunder the right circumstancesput the telepath first

  And he knew, with sinking heart, that his doubt had been heard and noted by someone he could not see.

  Very well. That will be all, Mr. Bester.

  And as he left, he felt the same flash of hatred he had felt all those years ago, when he had first seen this ice-eyed man. And there was something elsea danger, a threat. Not to himself, but to Bey. And it was mixed with a feeling of terrible triumph.

  He fought to control his breathing all the way back to the dorms. Bey was in dangergrave danger, of that he was sure. He should warn him, go to his office No, that was crazy; send him an anonymous message.

  But what if Bey really had betrayed the Corps? Wouldnt warning him be an act of treason, too?

  Yet it was plainly impossible. Bey was the Corps, represented everything good about it. Even if he had sympathy for some rogues, that didnt mean

  The director was a mundane, a jealous, power-mad mundane, who

  He crushed those thoughts, but they kept coming back. Bey was in danger. How could he do nothing?

  Then he turned a certain corner and for just an instant didnt understand where he was, how his feet had led him there, why the world had suddenly become so vivid. Why he was six years old again and all life since a dream.

  It was the place . The place that the Grins had branded into his mind. It all came backthe fear, the shamemostly the shame. He felt a sob jerk in his chest, but he grabbed it with his heart, kept it there, tight and cold and awful. Grinding his teeth, eyelids twitching, he closed his hand in a fist, hurried on, until the feeling faded, became a memory again.

  They were trying to trick him. Thats what they were trying to do. The director had intentionally made him think Bey was in danger, to test his loyalty, his commitment to the Corps. If he went to Bey now, it was all over, everything. No Major Academy, no future with MetaPol, nothing.

  Bey was fine. Maybehe shied away from the thought, but couldnt entirely dismiss itmaybe Bey was even in on it. Since his foolhardy pursuit of Brazg and Nielsson, everything had been leading to thisa test to make sure Alfred Bester really was Psi Cop material.

  Now his breath smoothed out, and his heart found a reasonable pace. He went back to his dorm, he took out his books, and he studied.

  Three days later he stood on closely trimmed grass, his legs like wood.

  It should be raining , he thought. The sky should be black

  It wasnt. The sun dazzled, a jewel on a vast pillow of blue velvet and white lace. The leaves of the trees glistened with dew. Birds were singing, though the musicthe music in his head nearly drowned their song.

  He was the only one there, at the grave. No one else had come. They said he was lucky to even be buried here, considering.

  They say He couldnt speak, he foundnot with his throat. They say you were helping the rogues, that you sympathized with them. They issued a warrant for your arrest, and when they came, they found you

  He couldnt picture it, Bey standing on a chair, a rope around his neck, calmly kicking the chair from beneath him. It didnt fit. Bey hated suicides.

  Ive heard whispers that they killed you. That they gave you a choice, and rather than disgrace the Corps you you did it while they watched. Like a samurai. Is it true, Dr. Bey? I trusted you .

  (Anger, sudden, somehow like hiccups.) The director was right, or half right, wasnt he? You may never have helped the rogues, but you did sympathize with them. If you were given the same choice they gave me good mundane or bad telepath you would always choose the telepath, wouldnt you? What have your philosophies gotten you? Your jokes? How could you betray me by dying?

  The grave did not answer, of course. Al stood there, staring at the fresh earthsmelling it, like the flower beds after the ground crews broke them for plantingand he wondered if he would live. He wondered if a Human heart could just tear itself in half, if his life could simply vomit out of him, as anything he ate did, each time he pictured Bey hanging there, face purple, his beard still neatly trimmed.

  I could have warned you. I didnt. Im sorry. Im sorry, even if you really were a traitor.

  It should be raining. The sky should be black. He closed his hand on the badge in his pocket, and it felt like a smooth piece of bone, long dead. His head was full of music, discordant, mocking.

  Stravinsky.

  * * *

  chapter 10

  « » Al admired Freja Magnussunsdottirs face. It was like carved ivory, fixed, expressionless. She seemed to speak and blink without using muscles; despite her advanced years, the only wrinkles were precise, incised lines that never bunched and neither lengthened nor shortened.

  The field test, she was saying, will not comprise any fraction of your gradeit will comprise all of it Those of you who do not have a B average or above will not be allowed to participate. As of now, you have effectively failed the course.
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  But thatswe werent told that at the beginning of the class. It wasnt in the syllabus! The protester was Roger Fieldstone, a burly, weak-chinned senior.

  Mr. Fieldstone, sit down. I did not give you permission to speak.

  Im sorry, Instructor, but this is simply not fair. If we were required to maintain a B average, we should have been told so.

  Mr. Fieldstone, you feel you could have done better if you had known it was required of you?

  Yes, maam.

  I see. She nodded thoughtfully. Then the Corps has no use for you. Excellence should not be conditional, it should not arise from necessitybut from desire. You have admitted that you took my class less than seriously, Mr. Fieldstone. If we were to give you a badge and a PPG and make you a Psi Cop, why should we expect any more of you? Im recommending you be dropped from the program entirely.

  But Im a senior, Fieldstone said, his voice panicky. I cant you cant He stood there, mouth open, and then collapsed back into his seat, burying his face in his hands.

  Serves you right, Fieldstone , Al thought, but did not cast

  Now. As I was saying before Mr. Fieldstones unfortunate interruption On the very word, the door suddenly creaked open. Magnussunsdottir chopped off in midsentence and turned her uninflected face to see who it was. Ah. Ms. Montoya. How nice of you to join us.

  Sorry, maam, I was arrested.

  Arrested.

  Yes. By the sight of the interns jogging by. The men wear these tight little

  Sit down , Ms. Montoya.

  Montoya smiled, shrugged, and did so. On the way she caught Al staring at her and arched her eyebrows. He looked quickly away.

  He remembered Elizabeth Montoya, had recognized her the first day of class. She was the dark beauty who had kissed him four years ago, when he had been the statue of the day. He had considered reminding her of the incident, but didnt really see the point. Montoya was a capricious creature, always flirting, usually outrageous, rarely more than a single word away from being thrown out of classand yet somehow, she never quite seemed to say that word. It irritated him that she got away with such behavior. Her attitude was not, in his opinion, fitting for a Psi Corps cadet.

  If I am finally free of interruption, the instructor began again, I will finish what I was saying. For those of you to whom the field test is still a concernyou will be assigned to four-person teams. You should be ready to go at 0500 tomorrow. The location, duration, and nature of your exam will not be disclosed. You will be provided with no tools, equipment, or clothing. You are free to confer among yourselves between now and then. Group assignments will be posted after class. Now, if you will all refer to diagram one of your text, we can begin a discussion of todays assignment.

  Well, Alfie, looks like were on the same team, Montoya chirped, peering over his shoulder at the posted list.

  I prefer Alfred, he said.

  I prefer Alfie. Alfred sounds like a butler. Anyway, where do we meet to go over strategy? Uh-ohweve got Vetsch and Nhan on our team. Couple of lowlifes.

  Hey! Thuy Nhan said, behind them.

  No offense.

  So, where are we meeting, Captain Alfie?

  Hiking boots, Al said.

  Right. Best to be overprepared in the footwear department. Unless they dump us in the middle of a black-tie formal.

  I hadnt thought of that, Vetsch said, resting his rounded chin on folded arms.

  No, Al said. It cant be anything that specific. If it is, there will be opportunities for us to acquire the right clothing. We should start with survival gear.

  Swiss army knives, Nhan offered. Water.

  It wont be a simple survival test, Montoya said, doodling on her list Well have to track, Im sure of it.

  Or avoid being tracked, Al replied.

  How so? Its a class on detection techniques.

  Right. Nothing teaches you to hunt like being prey.

  Ah! Words of wisdom from the master.

  Look, Al said, starting to feel really irritated, I take this seriously. I want to be a Psi Cop.

  Hey, we all do, Montoya gave back, but cant you have a little fun with it? Relax! Were the best of that class.

  I know we are, Al said. Actually, he didnt agree. Nhan was smart, but she had no stamina. Vetsch tended toward the bottom end of P12he ought to have been rated a high-end P11. And MontoyaMontoya had no discipline.

  Still, if they thought he thought he was better than they, they wouldnt follow him. We are the best, but that just leads to over-confidence. Now, I say lightweight parkaswe can always dump them if they put us on the equator or in the Sahara.

  Wear pretty underwear, in case we have to strip all the way down, Montoya added. I have a nice set with Narn-head mottle.

  Inwardly, Al sighed. It would be a long afternoon.

  They were in a jet for a while, or perhaps a jet simulator. They might have been on a train, and they were certainly in a helicopter toward the end. A lot of time passed, though thanks to the blackout conditions they traveled under, it was uncertain exactly how much timetheir watches had been taken from them before the trip began.

  When they finally stood again on the ground, still blindfolded, Al took a deep, slow breath. The air was brittle with cold, and he was glad he had insisted on the jackets. Rich scents of earth, hay, the memory of smoke surrounded them, and he felt tall grass brushing his pants. It was resoundingly silentno traffic noises, no distant voices. The same was true of the psychic wind. They were somewhere far away, remote.

  Someone removed his blindfolda tough-looking woman with close-cropped hair. Everything remained dark, but it was a darkness with stars, and a moon.

  Once they and their packs were out of the chopper, it left again on nearly silent rotors. Al sleepily blinked the nightscape in a series of still lifes with eyes gritty from fatigue.

  Well, here we are, Montoya observed. Wherever here is.

  Now what? That from Nhan, who was hugging herself against the cold.

  No one move. There might be clues as to what were supposed to do almost at our feet. And dont speak aloud unless you have to . He glanced slowly around them. He could make out a horizon, some clumps that might be trees, houses, buildings. A few lights, very distant. First we listen to see if anyone is out there . He already had, but now they had line of sight

  Right, Captain Alfie.

  They all concentrated, scanning their limited view.

  After five minutes, Anything?

  The answer was a uniform no. Following that, two of them kept watch, while the other two looked more carefully, switching on the two sets of infrared goggles they had between them. Like meerkats , Montoya said, one of many annoying references Al didnt get.

  When infrared showed them nothing, they switched to flashlights.

  This is getting us nowhere, Montoya hissed, after a quarter of an hour. We need to really look around. We dont know that we have time for this kind of lollygagging.

  Al didnt want to agree with her, but he had to. He was impatient.

  Fine. Lets do a clockwise sweep, about ten feet apart, with flashlights.

  Wait! Montoya said. Look there!

  Maybe half a mile away, maybe much farther, a string of light raced through the darkness. At times it resolved into circles or arcs. A groundcar, or something similar.

  You think thats it?

  Al stared at the car, keeping line of sight, reaching out, trying to find

  There . He had it. Someone in the car and they were thinking

  Catch me if you can!

  Al opened his mouth to repeat it, aloud, but Montoya was already gone, loping off into the near darkness with amazing speed. Vetsch and Nhan looked to him.

  Damn it.

  You two follow. Walk thirty feet apart and try to keep us in sight. Cast if you notice anything. Watch our backs. Then he ran after Montoya.

  It took a minute of hard running to catch her, and she was barely slowing down. He couldve passed her, but didnt

  What the hell are you doing?
he cast We have to work together on this .

  Cmon, Alfie. You arent the cautious type. Youre overthinking this whole thing. Its a game of tag. Were it. If we sit on our hands, well get nowhere.

  We cant catch it!

  We sure as hell cant if we dont try.

  He had no argument for that. Besides, he liked running. The grass hissed against their thighs, and he was just getting the wonderful burn in his belly. In the moonlight Montoya looked fierce and free. She might have been a lioness.

  So for the moment, he surrendered to the joy of motion, the gratifying feel of his muscles, the night air. Even when the light vanished over the horizon, they didnt slacken.

  A dawn sky like diluted milk revealed a flat plain that met all four corners of the world. Light transformed the landscape in unexpected ways, awakening a severe, bruised beauty.

  The psionic landscape had altered, toosubtlythroughout the night. It had seemed at first totally silent, but that was because Al had been immersed in the background growl of Geneva for all of his life. Here, in the quiet hours of morning, faint impressions began emergingheartbeats a hundred times faster than human, sharp hungers unburdened by denial or need for justification, occasional, almost vivid, flashes of color and structure.

  The steppes, too, had a mind. At first he enjoyed it but after a time it became a little distractingtoo strange to completely dismiss but of no use in accomplishing his task.

  It was Montoya who found two lines of bruised grass that must be the tire tracks. They followed them for hours, alternating between fast walking and trotting, as the sky rapidly filled with light

  Call a halt, Captain Alfie . He looked up to see Montoya, winking at him.

  Tired?

  No, but Nhan is. Shes just too proud to say so. If we keep going at ths pace, she wont be any use to us when we get wherever the hell were going.

  He looked at Nhan, and realized that Montoya was right

  Lets take a rest, he said.

  Fine with me. Im bushed, Montoya replied, aloud.

  They dropped their packs. Al walked up toward the next rise. The plain wasnt as flat as it seemed; it had a gentle roll that hid subtle valleys. They had seen a few structureshouses, factories maybebut as the tracks didnt go near them, they hadnt approached them either.