Title : Being Here
Author : Katiyana
Disclaimer : I did not create these characters.
Summary : It was necessary.
Notes : I've always wanted to try my hand at writing a B5 story. Hope you enjoy this. Feedback is greatly valued.
"Allen to Ivanova," chirped the comm badge on the Commander's wrist.
"Ivanova here. What's up chief?" was the brisk response.
"I think you may want to come down to MedLab. There are," there was a strange pause.
"Umm, some new arrivals that you need to meet," finished Zack Allen uncertainly.
Commander Susan Ivanova raised her eyebrows and met the eyes of her commanding officer, Captain John Sheridan with a puzzled look.
"Is there a problem Chief?" she asked, wondering about his unusual hesitance. The Security Chief was usually frank and straight to the point.
"It's not exactly a problem, Commander. Err, I'm not really sure what it is. Would you also be able to get the Captain to come down with you?" said Zack.
The Captain and Commander exchanged another look.
"I'm also here Zack. Is it really that important? We're still catching up with some stuff and it is our lunch break," said Captain Sheridan.
"With all due respect, sir, you both really need to come down here as soon as possible, sir," persisted Zack.
"All right, Zack, this had better be worth it," warned Sheridan, looking over at the Commander.
"Yes, sir. Allen out," the comm chirped off.
"That was unusual for Zack, what do you think?" mused Ivanova.
"This is Babylon 5, who knows? It could be anything," said Sheridan with a sigh looking at the stacks of paperwork that were still unfinished.
"Well, I'm curious and it's better than doing that during my lunch break," said Ivanova, getting up and gesturing at the documents with distaste.
"Shall we?" said Sheridan and allowed her to precede him from his office.
MedLab
Whatever they were expecting, it was not the sight of a teenage girl sitting on the end of a bed. At the top of the bed, there were two young children sleeping. They looked like they were both below the age of five.
Zack Allen was standing next to the bed and looked up anxiously as both commanding officers strode into view. The girl stiffened upon seeing them and hopped off the bed. She looked at them intently and they both got the feeling that she was studying them very closely.
"Zack?" questioned Captain Sheridan, whose temper was beginning to flare. It was an extremely busy day and he did not have time for this, whatever this was. Why had they even been called down?
"They came in on a shuttle from Epsilon 3, sir. It was partly damaged and had to be towed in. The kids were unconscious but according to Dr. Franklin, they're both fine," said Zack.
"They've been sedated," stated the girl clearly.
The adults turned to look at her in surprise.
She flushed slightly but held herself rigidly.
"They're too young to understand it all and they would only be extremely frightened and confused by everything. We don't have much time for explanations before they wake up. We didn't want to hurt them so it was only a small dose. They may start to wake up in," she checked her watch.
"Two hours or less," said the girl.
"Who are you?" asked Commander Ivanova bluntly.
The girl looked at both of them for a moment as if searching for some sign in either of their faces, took a deep breath and said, "We're from a different timeline. We were sent to Draal for safety and Draal somehow sent us here. To an alternate reality for our own safety, he said. Well, mostly for theirs but they could not be sent by themselves, they're too small."
At this point, Dr Franklin entered the room holding a set of documents.
"Captain, Commander," he nodded at them with a cryptic demeanour.
"I've done the tests you asked," he said to the girl.
She stared back at him.
"The results confirm what you say," said Dr Franklin.
She nodded slightly in confirmation and then turned her stare back onto Sheridan and Ivanova.
They both felt that there was something strangely familiar about this girl. She was tall, with piercing blue eyes and thick blonde hair. Ivanova started to realize that she could sense her emotions very well, without even trying. That was incredibly unusual and the Commander was starting to become very alarmed.
The girl's next words were clear and electrifying, "My name is Iona Sophie Ivana Sheridan. I am the daughter of Susan Ivanova and John Sheridan."