All seemed to be going well as Spock entered the Prancing Pony tavern. Oswald Butterbur was having the time of his life, and in his mind's eye, he could see nothing but latinum as drinks and food were dispensed all around. Spock hoped that new friendships would be formed in this informal setting, and from what he saw, his plan seemed to be working.
Spock approached Oswald, and in his unofficial role as toastmaster to the evening's events, he asked those in attendance for their attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please. I present to you, President Spock!"
There was a loud applause as Spock took the small podium.
"People of the Free Federation and the Rebel Alliance, I would like to welcome you to this informal gathering. I see that some of you are already forming new friendships, friendships that, I hope, will last for decades to come. Eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves."
As Spock spoke for the next few minutes, Lyta saw the chance to begin her work. She began to look around the room, trying to find some of the Babylon 5 staff. The first two she saw were Sheridan and Delenn. She approached them as Spock was just finishing his welcoming speech. Then, Delenn saw Lyta approaching them.
"Counselor Alexander, it's good to see you again. Counselor, may I introduce you to Captain Sheridan?"
Sheridan and Lyta shook hands. She then turned her attention to Delenn.
"So how have you been, since you left the Psi-Corp?" Delenn asked.
As Delenn spoke to Lyta, Lyta concentrated, using her powers to plant the code-word deep in Delenn's mind. She waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. Delenn was not the one.
She then turned her attention to Sheridan and struck up a conversation with him, mainly about the early days of the Babylon 5 station. Sheridan asked her about her role in catching Ambassador Kosh's attempted assassin. It was during this that she planted the code-word in Sheridan's mind. Again she waited, and again, nothing happened. Sheridan was not the one.
Thinking up a quick excuse, Lyta soon left Sheridan and Delenn to their own devices. She began to look around for the other Babylon 5 delegates but could not see them in the ever-expanding gathering. She knew, however, that she would get other chances.
The evening was going just as Spock hoped it would. There was a two-minute silence in memory of those who had died in the docking bay explosion. Then, the time came for Spock to make his main speech. Lyta watched as Spock left his conversation with Scotty to once more approach the podium.
It was then that Lyta got a strange sensation, something she hadn't felt in ages. Something was wrong, very wrong with this situation. Then she realized what it was. She looked around the room, searching for Duncan Macleod. She soon saw him, and just as Spock was about to speak again, pulled Duncan to one side.
"What on earth are you doing, Counselor?"
"Admiral, there's another bomb in this room!"
"That can't be! There was a full security sweep carried out moments before this thing began!"
"I'm telling you, Admiral, there's a bomb in here somewhere! We must..."
Lyta knew what she had to do. Closing her eyes and concentrating, she began to use her telepathic powers to scan the room. In her mind's eye, she scanned the room, every centimeter, every millimeter, until she found it, the explosive.
"Admiral! It's right underneath Spock's feet! And it's going to explode in ten seconds!"
Knowing that there was no time to clear the entire room, Duncan pushed his way through the crowd and jumped up onto the podium. The seconds seemed to go like hours. One second remained, and Duncan pushed Spock away from the podium with all of his might.
Then, the bomb went off, and Duncan took the full force of the explosion. The force of the explosion sent those in the first few rows flying back into those behind. Once again the fire suppression systems kicked in, and the fire was put out in a manner of minutes.
Spock, slightly bruised from his fall, was the first to his feet. He was soon beside the fallen Duncan. Spock could tell instantly that all was not well. Even though he was immortal, Duncan had taken the full brunt of the explosion, and he was badly injured.
A short time later Spock sat in his office, in a very somber mood. Twice in the past twenty-four hours there had been two attacks on the station. Many had been killed, and two of his most valuable officers had been injured. Then, he had given an order he had hoped he wouldn't have to.
A few moments later the door buzzer sounded, and Sevrina entered.
"Mister President, I've done as you ordered. Counselor Alexander had already eliminated Captain Sheridan and Ambassador Delenn from her investigation. But then we ran into a problem."
"Which was?"
"We took Commander Ivanova and Ambassador G'Kar into custody, but we couldn't find Talia Winters!"
"Was she injured in the last bombing?"
"No. The casualty list is in, and she isn't on it. She's just gone missing! We can't find her!"
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