But Bester's reasons for feeling so pleased go much deeper than such mundane (in every sense of the term) pleasures.  He's mainly happy because his new command base is now fully operational, and because the recruiting of new telepaths is proceeding quite well.  Soon, very soon, he thinks to himself, he will once again possess an army of telepaths-- and this time, no one will stand in his way.  Their way, he immediately corrects himself.  Of course.  Their way.

In fact, at the moment, his main difficulties arise from the fact that so many of his telepaths simply do not want to leave the base in hyperspace and serve their terms of duty as recruiters on Beta 9, on the fringes of Earth Alliance space.  It seemed that hyperspace magnified the powers of telepaths, and that prolonged exposure within hyperspace affected the personalities of telepaths, as well-- they began to feel themselves not just better than mundanes, but far better-- they came to think of themselves as virtual gods.  Now, in some ways, Bester liked this effect, and did nothing much to discourage such a view.  But, on the other hand, it did cause occasional difficulties when the time came for him to enforce the chain of command and to issue orders.  He sighs.  No matter.  I can hold them together long enough that all the galaxy will be ours.  And then it won't matter.

This effect must indeed be strong, Bester notes to himself as he walks toward the base's fighter bays.  Because, now that it is time for he himself to depart the base and fly to Beta 9 for an inspection, he finds himself extremely reluctant to leave.  Summoning up his considerable willpower, he forces himself forward, and climbs into the cockpit of his Black Omega StarFury.  It's okay, he tells himself again.  I'll be back here soon.

*  *  *

Meanwhile, in a bar adjacent to the lobby of the main hotel on Beta 9, such as it was, a hidden figure peers out from a place of concealment, watching the clandestine Psi Corps recruiters meeting their potential recruits.  Lyta Alexander makes careful notes in her data pad, then disappears back into the lobby, blending in with the many humans and aliens mingling on this backwater world.

*  *  *

The Excalibur speeds away from Centauri Prime, having remained there as long as possible to help with the post-war cleanup.  There had only been so much they could do, however, given that no one aboard the ship could go down to the planet's surface after the Drakh plague had been released.  But now G'Kar has informed Gideon that pressure from the Earth Alliance has become so great that he cannot maintain his tenuous authority over the Excalibur much longer.  One way or another, matters between the ship and the Alliance must be settled, and soon.

Carrying a set of reports for the Captain, Lt. Matheson enters Gideon's quarters as a fairly lengthy conversation with G'Kar, about these very topics,  is winding down. 

"We need a little more time, Mr. President," Gideon is saying.  "There must be some mission you could send us on, something that would get the Alliance off our backs a bit longer."

G'Kar starts to answer in the negative, then sees Matheson in the background.   A thought occurs to him.  "Actually, Captain," he says, smiling, "there might well be.  Something that would be of a benefit to all of us."

*  *  *

On Minbar, Alisa Beldon and the Ranger Tennier sit at an outdoor cafe, or the closest approximation to such a thing on Minbar, and sip their drinks.  For the last few days, Tennier has spent a great deal of time around Alisa, and she has begun to wonder at the attention he has been giving her.  She is appreciative for the help he provided, and it is nice to have a new friend in a place that has become so very unfriendly towards her, of late...  but, still, he seems sort of... creepy.

At one point, Alisa mentions the odd actions the Rangers have been taking of late.  Tennier grows uncomfortable at the mention of the topic, and quickly changes the subject.  Alisa notes to herself that, clearly, Tennier is following orders but is not happy with what is happening with the Anla'shok.

*  *  *

On Babylon 5, a frustrated and angry Elizabeth Lochley meets yet again with Susan Ivanova and tries to figure out what she should do.  She has been on the run for over a year, now, and since coming to Babylon 5, has been mostly safe; but she wants to be pro-active, to move forward and resolve matters somehow.  "After all," she points out to Ivanova, "I really am the president of the Earth Alliance, right now."

Ivanova nods, and they briefly discuss how the EA had permitted President Luchenko to remain in office since the expiration of her term, at the end of 2268, until matters concerning Redway and Lochley could be resolved.  Now, however, the Alliance was planning a new election, to fill the remainder of Redway's and Lochley's term.  While Lochley is certainly most concerned about clearing her name and exposing the true cause of Redway's death, she's also more than a bit angry that her rightful presidency is about to be permanently given away to someone else.  Along with this news, Ivanova also informs her that the Drahk have been exposed on Centauri Prime.  

"The public knows about this?" she asks.  "Good.  That will help.  Now I just have to find evidence of their involvement with EarthGov, too."  Then she laughs in frustration.  "As if I haven't failed at doing just that for more than a year now."

"Then we start over," Ivanova tells her.  "And we chase the damned Drakh and their willing accomplices to the ends of the Earth, if we have to.  And we don't stop fighting till we win." 

*  *  *

Two days later, the Excalibur bursts from hyperspace and cruises into orbit around Beta 9.  Immediately upon arrival, a message is beamed up from the EarthForce command base, notifying Gideon that the Excalibur is to await the arrival of EA ships from Mars, coming to rendezvous for unspecified and very classified reasons, and is not to leave Beta 9 orbit under any circumstances. 

A civilian shuttle approaches, supplying codes President G'Kar had indicated Gideon should be watching for.  The shuttle lands in Excalibur's bay, and two figures take the intra-ship transport up to the command deck.  They step out and greet Gideon, and he welcomes them aboard, quietly, ushering them to a private conference room.  They are  Michael Garibaldi and Talia Winters.

After filling Gideon in on their mission, which has been sanctioned by G'Kar, Gideon summons Lt. Matheson to the conference room.  Upon hearing what's going on, Matheson quickly gives his consent to Gideon's request:  That he accompany Garibaldi and Winters back down to Beta 9, and help the third member of the group, Lyta Alexander, gather information about Psi Corps that can eventually be used to bring the Corps down.  Because Matheson, unlike the two women, is not well-known to Bester and the other Corps leaders, it is hoped that he can gain access to their base on Beta 9 and acquire critical information about their operations.  Matheson tells them that he will be delighted to assist with this, as he has never been a fan of Bester or his approach to relations between humans and telepaths.

*  *  *

A day later, Matheson has successfully infiltrated the Psi Corps recruitment station, posing as a non-affiliated telepath interested in learning more about the new Psi Corps.  Lyta, Talia, and Garibaldi are staying in the hotel, keeping a careful watch on Matheson and staying in touch with him as best they can, without arousing suspicions.  

Meanwhile, high up in orbit, the darkness is shattered by the swirl and lightning flares of jump points opening, all around the Excalibur.  Max has wandered onto the command deck, and he stares, wide-eyed, at the sight of three EarthForce Omega Destroyers flashing out of hyperspace and into view, surrounding the Excalibur.  Before Gideon himself can react or say a word, a fourth jump point opens, a good distance away, and a fourth ship arrives.

Max blinks, turns to the tactical officer.  "Is... is that what I think it is?"

The tactical officer ignores Max and addresses Gideon.  "It's a Warlock, sir.  Weapons charged and gun ports open."

Gideon nods once, swallows.  "Great.  Great."  He thinks to himself, Not that I'd want to call on our resident Technomage to try to bail us out of this... it really is our problem, not his... but I wouldn't mind him-- and his firepower-- being here.  He picked a heck of a time to disappear.

Max forces his mouth to close, then steps down to stand next to Gideon.  "Other than our own one-of-a-kind Excalibur here, Warlocks are the biggest, toughest things we have in the entire fleet.  Along with the Omegas...  Captain, we can't fight all of them."

Gideon glances at Max, then turns and strides over to the 3-D display.  "As always, Mr. Eilerson, your grasp of both military strategy, and the blatantly obvious, remains top notch."

The message comes over the Excalibur's speakers at once:  "This is Captain Evan Chen of the Earth Alliance Destroyer Powell.  You are ordered to stand down and prepare to take on a new command crew, by order of President Luchenko and General Foote."

*  *  *

Within the hotel complex on the surface of Beta 9, the undercover Matheson sits in a small meeting room with two recruiters, idly discussing life in the new Corps.  Suddenly the door behind the recruiters opens and in walks none other than Alfred Bester, newly arrived from... somewhere.  Matheson's eyes widen slightly but he maintains his composure, silently willing himself to think only of the business he has claimed to be on, here on Beta 9.

Bester regards him momentarily, a slight smile playing across his lips.  Then, "Ah, welcome to Beta 9, Lieutenant Matheson.  How pleasant to have you here with us."  Both recruiters look up at Bester, startled-- but then, they're used to him knowing more than they do, and being able to see through just about anyone.  "Though I can't imagine," he continues, "why you might think life in the Corps could possibly be more rewarding than your current posting aboard the Excalibur."

Part of Matheson is shocked at the ease with which Bester read him.  The other part of Matheson is hardly surprised at all.  A cold sweat begins to creep down his spine, and he wonders just how close by Garibaldi and the two women are at the moment-- and what sort of heavy arms they might have with them.

"Oh, they'd have to be quite heavy arms, Lieutenant," Bester says aloud, with a small laugh.  One of the recruiters gets up and Bester takes his seat, sliding up close to the table, leaning very close in towards Matheson.  "Now.  Let us discuss exactly why you are here, and what you are up to."

*  *  *

Aboard Excalibur, Gideon has tried everything he can think of, including bringing President G'Kar into the conversation, but Captain Chen will not budge.  He refuses even to talk with G'Kar.  Instead, he dispatches a shuttle from the Powell to the Excalibur, carrying a replacement command crew, who are to take charge of the vessel and bring it back to Mars.

Gideon calls down to Matheson on Beta 9, to inform him of the situation and order him back aboard the Excalibur.

"Umm, I'm afraid I'm rather...indisposed at the moment, Captain," Matheson replies.

"You're...what?"

"He's having a pleasant lunch with me, Captain," Bester's voice says over the link.  

Gideon hesitates, then, "...Bester?"

"Ah, very good, Captain.  Yes, Alfred Bester, at your service.  I've just been enjoying a rather enjoyable and enlightening conversation with your executive officer, here.  A fine man.  He would make a solid addition to my new organization."

"He's not available," Gideon replies flatly.

"I assumed you would say that, Captain.  But I'm afraid I must-- eh?  What is this?"

Gideon waits, as the sound of scuffles ensue.  Then, "Howdy, Captain.  Michael Garibaldi here."

Garibaldi tells Gideon that he, Talia Winters, and Lyta Alexander have broken into Bester's conference room and have precipitated a standoff.  Garibaldi's forces could attack, but then, Bester and his telepaths could, as well.  Either way, there will be a good deal of violence and bloodshed.  Now everyone waits, looking for a way out of the situation.

"Well, while you folks are waiting around down there, you might be interested to know that I am about to be removed from the equation," Gideon informs them all, telling them about the shuttle from the Powell that is nearing the Excalibur even now.

Bester's voice comes over the link.  "Well, now.  It does appear you people are in quite a pickle."

"They'd love to have you, too," Matheson points out.

"They can't have him," Garibaldi interjects.  "He's mine."

"I'm touched, Mr. Garibaldi, to know that you care about me so much."

Gideon hears Matheson say something in the background, and then a brief and slightly heated conversation ensues, of which Gideon can make out little.  There is a long, silent pause.  Then, suddenly--

"Sir, the shuttle from the Warlock-- it's turning around!"  The tactical officer shakes his head in wonder.  "It's going back the way it came!"

"What?"  Gideon leaps up and moves forward, leaning over the tactical officer's shoulder.  He switches the orbital tactical readout to the big holographic display.

As Gideon stares with awe into the display, the shuttle lands aboard the Powell, and then the Warlock and all three Omegas turn and open jump points, vanishing into them.

"Well, I'll be..."

In the conference room on Beta 9, Alfred Bester, John Matheson, Lyta Alexander, and Talia Winters all open their eyes and release one another's hands.

"They'll be halfway to the Pak'ma'ra homeworld before they figure out what hit them," Bester chuckles.  He contacts Gideon again.  "You owe me one, Captain.  And now that I've upheld my end of the bargain..."

"I wasn't part of any bargain, Bester," Gideon says.

"I was, sir," Matheson interjects.  "I agreed on our behalf that Mr. Bester could leave peacefully if he helped us with the situation in orbit."

Gideon starts to say one thing, then bites his tongue and reluctantly agrees.  Garibaldi is livid, but the others manage to calm him down, with reassurances that another time will come.

"Just a moment, Mr. Bester," Matheson says.  "There was one other part to our deal."  He indicates Talia Winters.

Bester frowns.  "There simply isn't time.  We have to clear out of here before someone else shows up."  He hesitates.  "Unless..."

Talia, holding her aching head, nods once.  "I will go with you."

"What?"  Garibaldi nearly leaps out of his shoes.  "No way!  No way do you go off with this guy, Talia!"

"Michael, it's the only way.  He's the only one who can help me.  And there's nothing he can do to me that's any worse than what's already happening."

"I don't know about that," Garibaldi growls.

"You wound me, Mr. Garibaldi."

"I wish."  Garibaldi links to Gideon again.  "You owe me one, too, Captain."

"Take a number, Mr. Garibaldi."

Gideon sits back in his command chair and sighs deeply.  They were safe again, for the moment, from the EarthForce... but for how much longer?  Now, for all intents and purposes, the jig was up.  They could no longer use G'Kar as a blocking force against the EA.  Nothing stood between the Excalibur and EarthForce now.  They were, in a very real sense, all outlaws now.

"If these are the cards I've been dealt," Gideon decides, "I'll play them to the bitter end."

And so Talia departs Beta 9 with Bester and the other Psi Corps members, while Lyta and Garibaldi head back to their own ship, and Matheson takes his shuttle back up to Excalibur.  And, separately, privately, Garibaldi, Gideon, and Matheson all vow to hunt Bester down again... even unto the ends of the Earth.

Annotations for "To the Ends of the Earth."

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DarkCrusade is the Crusade Alternate Universe story--
the complete, five-year Crusade saga, following one slight change in 2261, "the year everything changed."
Story, design, and layout by Van Allen Plexico. Send correspondence and comments to vplexico@bellsouth.net
Babylon 5 and Crusade created by J. Michael Straczynski and property of Warner Communications.