"Forrester, I think. Or maybe Forrestalsomething like that."
"Ms. Winters?" Sheridan asked.
"I believe the name Forrestal is correct, Captain. As far as he knows."
"And the name of your agent on Mars?"
Zaccione shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I ... don't"
"That's not true, Captain," Talia said crisply. "He does know the name, but he's reluctant to disclose it."
"Answer the question," Sheridan ordered.
The raider's eyes shifted from Sheridan to the tele-path. "You'd better answer, Zack," she told him. "It'll be a lot easier on you than if I have to go in after the name."
"King," he finally said in a low voice. "Wally King. He works as a shipping clerk in a freight office in Mars-port."
"That's the truth," Talia confirmed.
"Good. Now," Sheridan went on, "do you believe there were Earth Alliance officials connected to this conspiracy? Officers in Earthforce?"
"Somebody had to keep Earthforce off our backs." He glanced briefly, resentfully at Ivanova. "They were supposed to, anyway."
"What are the names of these corrupt Earthforce officials?"
Zaccione shook his head. There was a noticeable increase of tension in the room. Ivanova held her breath. Garibaldi leaned forward.
"I don't know."
"Their names," Sheridan insisted. "Ms. Winters?"
She looked over at the captain. "He's not lying."
"Go deeper," Ivanova insisted. "Dig them out of him."
"He doesn't know their names," Talia said firmly.
Sheridan scowled. "Does the name Yang mean anything to you?"
"Yeah, but he's not Earthforce. He works for the company. Leans on people who ask questions."
"To your knowledge, did Yang ever kill to keep people from asking questions?"
"One time I know of, at least. Guy from an insurance agency came around. They found him outside the dome without his breather."
"And what about the name Wallace?"
The raider shook his head.
"He doesn't know," Talia supplied.
"Are you sure?" Ivanova demanded.
"Quite sure. He doesn't know the name."
Sheridan's expression was worried. He looked at Ivanova, shook his head. He continued the questioning a while longer, eliciting a few more facts about the raiders' operations, but no more details about the Earth Alliance officials who were supposed to be involved in the cover-up. Zaccione didn't know their names. He'd never been in direct contact with them. They worked behind the scenes, he explained.
Eventually Sheridan pushed back his chair. "I guess that'll be all," he admitted.
Garibaldi left his corner, led the prisoner away, back to the lockup.
"I'm sorry," Sheridan said to Ivanova. "I don't know how much this will help. Without the names. Without a direct connection to Wallace."
"Oh, well." She grinned weakly. "I guess you can't get turnip juice from a stone. We tried."
"We did the best job we could," Sheridan agreed. "And thank you, Ms. Winters, for assisting."
Ivanova hesitated a moment, then stepped closer to Talia. "Yes, thank you. I know it had to be unpleasant, stepping into that kind of mind."
Talia shook her head, produced a faint smile. "Oh, he wasn't so bad. Not compared to some."
Ivanova's brows raised. "Scum like him? With what he said to you?"
"Oh, a lot of people say that kind of thingmen, especially, when they're trying to mask anxiety. It didn't mean anything."
Ivanova looked skeptical. "Anxiety? Him?"
Now it was Talia's turn to hesitate. "I know you don't . . . care for what I do, Commander. But I've learned that most minds really aren't evil. Some of themyes, some of them are. But mostly what I see is fear. And loneliness. And self-doubt. I know that this raider shot down your wingman, that you must be very angry. But there was nothing you could have"
Ivanova held up her hands in front of her face, shook her head. "No," she said, "you don't know that, you don't know anything about it . . ."
She rushed from the room.
Talia sighed in dismay. "I'm sorry," she apologized to Sheridan. "I almost thought there, for a moment, that she could accept what I am, that I'm not a threat to her."
"It's all right," Sheridan said. "It didn't take a tele-path to see it. It's hard when you lose a wingman, you know. Even when you know there's nothing you could have done, there's still this voice inside you, saying if you just could have been there a little sooner, tried a little harder."
Talia turned to a different subject. "Is it true? Has Commander Wallace been arrested?"
Sheridan frowned. "I supposed you'd know sooner or later. It's true. But that's confidential."
"Of course." She nodded slowly. "I'm glad. Doing this for him, invading all those poor people's minds while he questioned them . . . Their consent was coerced, you know. He threatened them with arrest, shipping them back to Earth. In some cases, they never consented at all."
"Well, he won't be doing it anymore," Sheridan assured her. "Not on Babylon 5."
CHAPTER 28
"Captain Sheridan, there's a Gold level communication, from Admiral Wilson."
Sheridan had been expecting it. "Put him on."
It was in fact an Ultraviolet level transmission, which required Sheridan to input his code before it would commence. Then Wilson's face appeared on the wall display. "Well, Sheridan, I expect that Commander Wallace and his aide will soon be on their way back to Earth."
"Yes, sir, their ship leaves Babylon 5 in about half an hour."
"Good. And I'm sure you'll be glad to know that your recent actions have been reviewed by the Joint Chiefs, and they've decided that under the circumstances, you were justified in what you did. It seems on further examination that Commander Wallace didn't conduct his investigation with the greatest possible amount of discretion."
"And the other charges against him?"
The admiral cleared his throat portentously. "I've been authorized to disclose certain facts which were previously restrictedwith good reason. The conspiracy involving AreTech Consolidated Mines is indeed quite real. In fact, your investigation into the matter will prove quite helpful in tracking down a number of matters you don't need to know about. But some arrests have already been made on the basis of what you've sent.
"However, your suspicions concerning the involvement of Commander Wallace, no matter how well founded they might have seemed in light of your limited knowledge of the situation, are incorrect. Commander Wallace is an agent of the Joint Chiefs office. The matter which he was sent to investigate is something that must remain classified, but it involves information of vital importance to Earth's defenses. Vital importance.
"This information is believed to have been obtained by the man named J. D. Ortega, who was employed by AreTech. We still aren't sure what he intended to do with it. Suffice it to say that he could have gotten any price any price he wanted to namefor it. AreTech sent their agent to get the information back. Our agents were searching for him at the same time. As you're aware, the agent from AreTech got to him first.
"Commander Wallace's orders were to retrieve that information by any means necessary. Naturally, his suspicion centered on the AreTech agent, Yang. Unfortunately . . . well, you know what occurred. At any rate, the information has never been recovered. We can only conclude it must have been destroyedor that it's already gotten into the wrong hands. This is unfortunate, but there doesn't seem to be any value in pursuing it further."
"Then the investigation is over?"
"I'm afraid it is. But you'll be glad to know that there will be no reprimands for you or your staff. We understand that you had to proceed according to the information available."
"Yes, sir, that's very good to hear. Then I assume Commander Ivanova will be reinstated as second-in-command here?"
Wilson frowned. "At this time, the Joint Chiefs don't think such an action would be advisable."
Sheridan stood halfway up in his chair. "What? It was Commander Ivanova who uncovered the conspiracy"
"True, Captain. The Joint Chiefs have taken this into consideration."
"Into consideration of what?"
"The possibility of terrorist associations"
"There was no terrorist activity involved! You just admitted it yourself. J. D. Ortega was taking some secret information from AreTech Mines, he wasn't a terrorist!"
"Captain, you're out of order!" Wilson's color rose as his scowl deepened. "As the evidence from your own security department clearly shows, this Ortega did have a connection to the Free Mars movement. It was this terrorist organization that arranged for him to leave Mars and come onto Babylon 5 with false credentials. It was individuals connected with this organization who conspired to attack your head of security and who most probably murdered Lieutenant Khatib, in order to protect their own identities. Isn't this correct?"
"But that has nothing to do with Ivanova!" Sheridan insisted vehemently. "She had nothing to do with J. D. Ortega. He was her flight instructor, years agothat's all."
"That may be true, but nevertheless, the decision of the Joint Chiefs is that it would be best if Commander Ivanova did not occupy the rather sensitive position of executive officer of Babylon 5. At this time, at least. The matter is scheduled for a review."
"A review? When?"
"A decision on that has not yet been made. You'll be informed of the results in due course."
And with that, he cut the transmission while Sheridan could only sit and swear at the logo on the screen.
The worst part washe still had to tell Ivanova.
The liner Asimov will be departing for Earth at 09:00 hours, with scheduled stops at Mars and Luna colonies. Passengers can now proceed to boarding area. We hope you've enjoyed your stay on Babylon 5.
Sinclair nodded absently at the announcement. Sometimes it was reassuring to hear the normal sounds of the station going about its regular routinebusiness as usual, no emergencies, no disturbances.
The lift tube opened, and a pair of security guards stepped out, escorting a prisoner in prison coveralls and wrist restraints, Garibaldi following them. Sheridan watched the raider Zaccione being taken past the customs guards and into the ship before the regular passengers. Garibaldi stopped to join him. "Lucky guy," he commented.
"Not too lucky. He'll be spending the rest of his life in prison on Earth."
"Better off than brainwiped," Garibaldi insisted. He rubbed his forehead. "But sometimes I think Ivanova's got the right idea, just shove them out the air-lock. Easier on everyone."
"Maybe," Sheridan said. "When you've seen enough good men die, it's hard to get real worked up about a bad one. But I think she's taking it all fairly well. Considering."
Garibaldi nodded. "She was fine at the trial. I was glad to see that. For a while, I was worried she was kind of obsessed with this raider."
"I know. He was the one who killed Mokena. And, you know, it's a lot easier when you have someone to take the blame, instead of wondering if there was something else you could have done."
"Yeah, but a good commander always does."
Neither of them said anything else for a while, just stood there, watching the traffic moving through the station.
"It was a raw deal they gave her," Garibaldi said finally, meaning the Joint Chiefs, not the raiders.
"When I could send her out on those escort patrols," Sheridan agreed, "it was one thing. A mission. Something she could get her teeth into. But nowthey could have reassigned her. But to just leave her like this ..."
"I could use her in security, but that's no job for someone with her rank. It's just a raw deal," Garibaldi said again.
But there was nothing either of them could do. There was no higher level where the decision could be appealed. They were both aware that promises of a future review were just thatempty promises. Earth Central would simply let Ivanova wait until she finally got tired of hanging in the vacuum and turned in her resignation.
"Commander! Commander Ivanova!"
Ivanova turned around. It was Espada calling to her, the insurance agent. She waited until the other woman had caught up.
"CommanderOh, I'm out of breath!Commander, I just wanted to thank you and let you know Earthforce has finally released the information we needed for our case against AreTech Mines! We have proof now that we can take to courtAreTech was feeding the shipping routes to the raiders! We're suing to invalidate all their claims." Espada was beaming with elation. "I don't know how you knew it, but you were right. They've already stopped trading in AreTech stock. They say the corporation directors are all going to be indicted, not just the officials directly involved."
"I suppose Universal stock would be a pretty good buy now, then?" Ivanova asked wryly.
Espada suddenly sobered. "Well, strictly speaking, to say that would be a violation of the statutes on disclosing insider information. But if anyone deserves to profit from all this, it's you!"
"Well, I'll certainly keep that in mind when the next big financial windfall drops at my feet," Ivanova replied. She apologized for having to rush away, citing urgent duties and deeply feeling the irony of the lie. "Urgent duties," right. As urgent as polishing the silverware in the mess hall. Taking an inventory of the inventory-control forms. Or maybe the forms for officers tendering the resignation of their commissions. Which she was afraid it was going to come to, sooner or later. Couldn't go on like this forever, that was for sure.
What was on the agenda for today? Another training flight?
She knew she couldn't blame Sheridan for her situation. He had his orders. And part of the problem was, by capturing that raider, she'd just smarted herself out of her own job. Taking out those escort patrols, going head-to-head with the raiders, that was one thing. But routine training flights, day after day?
She went to her locker in the ready room, started to suit up. Still no replacement for Mokena, she noted as the others pulled on their flight suits.
No, she couldn't blame Sheridan. The fact was, and she knew it, Earth Central just didn't trust her. And it was nothing to do with terrorists on Mars, either, though they still used that convenient excuse. They still thought she knew something, had something to do with that secret information Ortega hadwhatever it was, if there ever really was secret information. Maybe it was lost, maybe it wasn't. No one knew. All Ivanova knew was that Ortega wanted to pass it on to her, have her save it for himsomething. And that damned note. "Hardwir," she said out loud. Never had figured out what it meant.
Climbing into the cockpit. Sealing the canopy. Instrument check. "Alpha Flight, power on."
The routine she could do in her sleep. Training flight. Close-formation flying. Basic maneuvers. She dropped back and let Moy take over the leader position, give her some experience, see how she did with it. Then back to the warm red tunnel of the docking bay, back to Babylon 5.
That damned note was still on her mind. "Hardwir."
What was it supposed to mean? Why had J. D. thought she'd remember? Earth Central probably thought it was a secret code.
Back in the ready room. The place was a mess, as usual. The little old woman mopping the floor wasn't doing a very good job cleaning up.
Maybe Sheridan would let her have that jobscrubbing floors.
It sure didn't look like she was ever going to get a better one here on Babylon 5.
Garibaldi was still on duty when he wandered into the casino, just to check things out. Ivanova would have been on duty, too, in better times. At the moment, though, she was out of uniformvery much so, in fact. Hair down, red dress obviously cut with display in mind, drink in her hand.
And the guy next to her had his hand where Garibaldi had rarely ever seen a guy put his handand survive the experience. But Ivanova was laughing. Laughing a little too loud. And leaning back against the guy, so his hand slid farther down, across the surface of one breast . . .
Garibaldi's eyes narrowed. He didn't like this
. Ivanova could take care of herself, under normal circumstances. Hell, he'd seen her close down the bar, just because some idiot made a remark suggesting he might like to do what this guy was doing right now. Garibaldi thought he'd frankly almost rather see her exorcising her demons that way, in a good brawl, not like this.
He wandered purposefully in her direction. Forcing a cheerful tone, "Hey, Ivanova! This a friend of yours, is he? I don't think we've met."
"Garibaldi! Hi! This is Rick." She blinked through an alcoholic haze. "It is Rick, isn't it?"
"Sure is, Susie. Rick Morrison, remember?"
Garibaldi almost boggled openly as the guy stroked her throat, and downward, where the dress invited it. Susie?! Ivanova? As Londo would say, Great Maker!
"Pleased to meet you," Garibaldi managed to say with the minimum necessary civility.
But a few moments later, when Ivanova had briefly left the table, he had his chance. Taking the guy by the elbow hard enough to let him know he meant business, he said, "Look, friend, I just want you to know something. Susan Ivanova is my friend. And I wouldn't be happy to hear that she ends up doing something she's going to regret the morning after. You understand me?"
"Hey, what's it to you? I'd say the lady's old enough to know what she wants. What are you, anyway? Her keeper? Her father, maybe?"
That one hurt. But if Garibaldi was maybe old enough to be Ivanova's father, he could at least show this slimy punk how easy it would be for the old man to break his arm. The guy blanched as he applied just a little more force to his elbow. "I'll tell you who I am. I'm head of security on Babylon 5, that's who. Now, maybe you're right and Ivanova's old enough to choose who she wants to party with. That's fine with me. But is she sober enough? That's the question. So I tell you what. You can either pretend to be a gentleman and walk her back to her quarters and shake her hand good night. Or you can take your chances. But if you hurt her, you'll by God wish you were never born."
He released the arm just as Ivanova came back to the table. The guy pulled it away and rubbed his elbow, looking frightened. Ivanova had a glazed look in her eyes. "I'm getting kind of sleepy, Dick, I think I'd like to go back to my quarters and go to bed."
Babylon 5 02 - Accusations (Tilton, Lois) Page 22
