You have arrived at Blue 3, suite 12, the quarters of Susan Ivanova. The doorchime warbles when you press it. You hear Ivanova's voice say: "Come in!" over the intercom. The door opens automatically...
Babylon 5 Second in Command, Susan Ivanova, is revealed to be a very attractive woman when she finally lets her hair down. She has a ready smile, but behind that lies a troubled expression in her eyes, giving the impression of someone hiding a deep hurt.
Psi Scan: No boom today. Boom tomorrow.
Psi Scan: Get out of my mind! Are you scanning me?
Hello there. I heard you were going to drop by. I hope you'll excuse me not being in uniform, now that I'm off duty. Would you care to join me in a shot of vodka? That's one large sip for the mother, and three little ones for the cubs. Pardon? Oh, it's an old Russian custom. This time of night, we call it "The Hour of the Wolf". It's that time, late at night, when you finally get to switch off, but then all your unfinished business comes back to haunt you, whether you like it or not. The vodka is a way of chasing away the wolf. But she may have cubs, so you have a little more...
My unfinished business? Well, I've been avoiding our new licensed Commercial Telepath, Talia Winters. I do not trust Psi Corps - I do not think anyone has a right to read inside another person's mind. It's a violation of your personal space, having someone sift through your most intimate thoughts. And because of what Psi Corps did to my mother. She was a latent telepath, but she didn't want to leave us and join the Corps, so every day, the Corps would come and give her the sleepers - the drugs that suppress your Psi talent. They were strong. Bit by bit, she just disappeared until one day, in her early forties, when she had finally had enough, she put an end to it all.
I was still a kid - I didn't understand why my mother had died. I don't think my father ever recovered from the loss of his Sophie; he just retreated inside himself and we drifted apart after that. My brother Ganya was strong and did his best to look after me. I really looked up to him. When Ganya enlisted as a pilot in EarthForce and was called up to serve in the War, I wanted to follow. My father hated that - he was dead against both his children joining the military. Maybe he was right. You see, Ganya was killed in the War. It seems that I have lost everyone that I ever loved. I have this way of remembering him - on the day he embarked, I gave him one of my earrings as a keepsake. He took it with him to his grave. I wear the twin earring every day, on this side here.
After the War, I joined EarthForce as a way of trying to make some sense of all the sacrifices made by Ganya and everyone else. I hope I've done a good job so far. This work is interesting; it has the chance of making a difference. We just need to keep the different races talking to each other, so we never have the same kind of misunderstanding that led to the War again.
If you would excuse me now, I'm a little tired and could do with some sleep. Have you been to visit Commander Sinclair yet? He has a few interesting tales to tell about the War. Anyway, goodnight.
