Title: Kalen
Author: Dolphin
Rating: PG13
Series: Babylon 5 Spoilers: War Without End, "To Dream in the City of Sorrows" novel, minor throughout seasons 3 and 4, prior to "Moments of Transition" and "Endgame."
Category: Neroon/Other romance
Summary: Following Sinclair's departure in War Without End, the new Earth ambassador to Minbar arrives to begin her job—and promptly runs into trouble with the Warrior caste!
Disclaimer: Babylon 5 and all related characters belong to the Great Maker J. Michael Straczynski, and Warner Bros. Television. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

Minbar
2260

Ambassador Kalen Davis stepped off the transport from Earth and looked around at the beautiful, towering crystalline structures that made up the Minbari capital city of Yedor, what was to be her home for the next... well, God knew how long. She had never dreamed, during the Earth-Minbari war, that she would ever end up here as Ambassador. If it had been anyone other than President Morgan William Clark himself who had called her in the middle of the night, she probably would have said no and gone back to bed... but when the President calls, it's hard to say no. So here she was, on Minbar.

She knew Clark wanted someone he knew he could trust in the Ambassador's position, especially considering the situation he was dealing with on Babylon 5, she could hardly blame him, she supposed. She had a lot of respect for Clark, in spite of everything he was doing now on Earth and Mars, and she considered the President a friend. So she dropped everything and packed a duffel bag, leaving for Minbar on the first transport in the morning, not even sure why Ambassador Sinclair was no longer in the position. Clark had said something about him being killed while on a mission on Babylon 5, but had not offered any more details than that. It was really all very vague.

"Ambassador?" A voice startled her out of her reverie and she realized her Minbari contact had arrived and was waiting for her.

"Hello," she greeted uncertainly.

"I am Satai Rathenn, I'm here to escort you to the Embassy, Ambassador," the Minbari told her. She nodded in greeting.

"Kalen Davis. You're... Grey Council?" she knew enough about the Minbari to know the title of Satai was given only to members of the Minbari leaders.

"Yes. I was a guide to Ambassador Sinclair while he was here, and it is my duty to see that you are settled in. I'll show you to your home, as well." Was it her imagination or was the Minbari's attitude towards her a little stiff? Well, it was no secret on Earth that she'd fought during the war, on the side of Earth of course, before leaving Earth Force to take a civilian job in EarthDome. It had been offered to her by then-Vice President Clark and it had been a career move too good to refuse. She had not regretted the choice.

"Thank you," she said, with a nod. Rathenn bowed formally, and indicated that she was to accompany him. Picking up her duffel she glanced back at the departing transport, and followed, listening with only half her attention as Rathenn indicated landmarks they passed, awed by the sight of the towering temple before them.

"It's beautiful," she said aloud. Rathenn smiled for the first time.

"Yes." They had arrived at the Embassy. He pointed it out as they passed and then went on, to a residential area not far away. "These will be your quarters, Ambassador. I'll give you a couple of hours to rest and get settled in before I take you to the Embassy to get you settled in." Rathenn bowed and then left.

Kalen sighed as she dropped the duffel on the bed that was inclined at a forty-five-degree angle. She knew the Minbari believed that to sleep in a horizontal position was to tempt death, but that had a lot to do with their physiology. She had never attempted to sleep in one of these before, and she had a feeling she would be glad of the blankets she'd brought along, as none were provided for her.

It seemed odd that the Minbari had sent a member of the Grey Council to meet her, and she had little doubt that Rathenn had gone off to the council's ship to report to them. She doubted if any of the others would be any more thrilled with her presence here than Rathenn was. After all, they had specifically requested Sinclair, and she was an unknown who had been heavily involved in the Earth-Minbari war. She knew, after all, that the Minbari had strongly protested Sheridan's assignment to Babylon 5 after the war, and all he'd done was to destroy the Black Star.

She turned to unpacking. She hadn't brought much, as many clothes as she could fit in her large duffel, a couple of framed photographs – one of her and Santiago, one of her with an old friend on Mars, and one of her in uniform, smiling with the rest of the squadron she'd served with during the war, many of whom had died at the hands of the Minbari. Kalen sighed, tracing David's face with one finger. She'd loved him, and had found his death difficult to move beyond. Now she was here, among the very Minbari who had killed him in the war, and she had to remember that they were her friends now, allies, no longer the enemy. Some days that was still difficult. She put away her clothes and went into the small attached bathroom, and took a cold shower in the waterfall-like stream of flowing water she knew came from a natural source. It was gentle and refreshing, and as she toweled dry she felt a hundred per cent better.

She put on a pair of sweat pants and a loose T-shirt and laid down on the inclined bed, trying to figure out how not to slide off the thing. Eventually she found that if she laid still she was able to stay in place, and she slept for about a half hour, rose, washed, and put on a fresh uniform. A gentle knock at the door just as she was finished announced the presence of a Minbari aide, who brought in a meal. Temshwee eggs, she was told, in a custard-like form. It was quite tasty, and she knew that this sort of thing were staples of the Minbari diet. She'd have to order some necessities from Earth. The coffee she'd brought wouldn't last long.

Rathenn returned to ask if she wished to take the rest of the day, and he said that he would wait until morning to take her to the Embassy, which was fine with her. Changing back into her casual clothes, she sat down in an armchair in the corner, pulling out her briefcase with more files to review, and wondering what was to come tomorrow.