Standard disclaimers. I don't own B5 or any of the characters.
All Hail to the Great Maker.
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Captain Susan Ivanova stalked the corridors of the Titans, looking for someone to lynch.
Not only was it against regulations on an active starship, but it was disobeying her direct orders. She had found a plastic skeleton hanging outside her quarters.
Occasions to party were few and far between, but she thought she had made it blatantly clear that such celebrations and associated decorations were to be confined to crew quarters and the mess only. If someone was playing a Halloween joke on her, she was going to hunt them down and hang their skeleton in the corridor!
Unfortunately, before she could storm onto the bridge, an alert began sounding.
"Ivanova to bridge. What's going on?" She demanded into her link.
"There are about thirty unknown vessels attacking us. They came out of nowhere."
"Hold them off with main guns until I can get the Starfuries launched."
If her first officer disapproved of her habit of taking a fighter into battle, he had long ago learnt not to voice it. She knew it wasn't safe, and that she should really be on the bridge during encounters, but sometimes she just needed to get out into space. It was one of the few places lately that she could truly be alone, plus in her present mood, shooting something to smithereens was just the outlet she needed for her frustrations.
Not many minutes later and the raiders were going down fast. Ivanova was exhilarated, pulling Gs and barking orders at the other pilots. She co-ordinated with two other Starfuries to trap one of the few remaining attacking ships. They caught it in a pincer move and all three ships fired at once. The raider exploded. Ivanova was about to send the order to return to base when a desperate voice came over her radio,
"Susan! Break left!"
On instinct, she obeyed. Two lines of fire sliced the space she had just vacated.
Spinning around, Ivanova was shocked to find she was being fired upon by one of her own pilots. One of the ships in her formation had not ceased firing when she had and now it was still tracking her, guns blazing. Employing every move she knew to avoid being hit, she prepared to shoot down one of her own. It unfortunately appeared to be the only way to stop a madman.
This proved easier said than done as who ever was piloting the other ship was determined to see her dead. She swerved out of the way of another burst of fire and cursed. He was getting too damned close.
A blur at the edge of her vision caused Ivanova to gasp. The third Starfury of her formation zoomed past her on a collision course with the attacker. Before she could say anything it caught the ship a glancing blow which sent it spinning away.
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Half an hour later, she climbed out of her Starfury and hunted down the man who had tried to kill her. His ship had been towed back to the Titans, and he himself was now firmly in the custody of two ensigns.
She strode up to him. "Why?"
"Because you killed my brother!" he spat. "You and your alien friend scum! I would have killed you sooner if there had been a chance. They should have never let you back in Earthforce; traitor!"
He was lead away, still shouting curses. Ivanova sighed. She expected some resentment after the civil war, but the hatred she had just witnessed unnerved her. She turned back to the other crewmen in the bay.
"Who piloted that other Starfury?" she snapped.
When there was no response but some apologetic looks and confused shaking of heads, she approached the small fighter. It was still sealed. The pilot was still in there.
"Open it!"
The hatch was soon removed and she climbed up to look inside.
It was empty.
Dropping down into the cockpit, she frowned. A ghost ship with a ghost pilot? No. She didn't believe in ghosts, except…. The warning she had heard had called her Susan, not Captain. The only people who called her Susan were…..
She shook her head at the silliness of it all. There was no way she could have a phantom guardian angel. Ivanova began to climb out of the Starfury, when something glinted on the console. She picked the tiny object up.
It was an earring. The twin of the one she always wore.
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End
"True Magic is done with the mind and the spirit. Chants and potions are just a way to focus the magic, but they will not work without the magic of your spirit. Every wizard that you may encounter has a vast imagination, and a mind that can fly free. You still have that great gift. When you go home, you can use your imagination to see this world and us. Your mind is free from all bounds. You can travel anywhere, meet anyone and do anything, all within your mind. That is the first gateway to magic." - Nala, Wizard of T'Tenneb.
Any comments to
Ranger Hilary.