-----chapter 13-----
March 17
0700 hrs EST
The White Star emerged from the jump point connecting normal and hyperspace, and cruised towards Mars.
Normally when the president was onboard WhiteStar 1, there was a squad of other White Star gunboats. But the time needed in supplying the White Star=s in Sheridan=s entourage was not acceptable.
After encountering disagreements from his ministers on Minbar, Sheridan boarded WhiteStar 1and ordered a course for Mars.
He was not looking forward to his duty ahead. Michael over the years had become his best friend. When at first when he took command of B5, there was a sense of distrust between the two. Mostly coming from Garibaldi.
But Garibaldi had good reasons. His previous commander, Jeffrey Sinclair was the only one the security chief trusted. And after he revealed parts of a conspiracy to assassinate Luis Santiago, and after he was shot in the back by one of his own men, he awoke to find Sinclair reassigned to the Minbari homeworld, and Sheridan in command.
The tensions would ease over the years they served together, as the role of Babylon 5 changed from being a place of peace and unity, to a command post for two of the deadliest wars in the universe=s history. The Shadow War, which was a war that stretched endlessly from a thousand years ago. The Civil War, which started after Santiago was assassinated when EarthForce 1's fusion reactor went critical, and his vice president, an ambitious man with his own agenda, Morgan Clark seized the presidency, and turned Earth into a dictatorship.
The general order was to eliminate anyone that opposed the current administration. Sheridan saw the path Earth was falling into, and chose to stand up against his own government.
Babylon 5 went independent, and an Earth Force assault group attacked in one of the bloodiest battles B5 had the misfortune of encountering.
It seemed like what would later be called the Epsilon Campaign was a hundred years away to Sheridan. And now, he was heading straight into another battle.
But in this battle, Sheridan would not know who were his allies, or the nemesis. Those were the hardest battles. And Sheridan learned that the hard way.
A Minbari flyer emerged from the flight bay of the White Star, which was large enough to maintain five Minbari fighters, and a handful of flyers.
The White Stars relied on their swift maneuverability, and powerful weaponry for defense and offense purposes. The fighters were mainly kept for training and special missions.
The flyer dove through the traffic orbiting Mars, and was immediately permitted clearance to land at the military base nearby Mars Dome.
The advantage of being a president, your always put to the top of the list, Sheridan had once said after a few months in office on Babylon 5.
Preventing him to think about the five mile long city that he once called home, he diverted his attention to the tasks ahead. Approach Michael, and save Gideon. But he did not know what power he would be able to pull, and not compromise his position.
But when a Techno-Mage approaches you, as he did in his dreams some years ago, you listen. Many people classified him as being loony, and crazy. The stress of the job Michael had said.
And when he stole the Excalibur and the Victory from their dry docks, everyone who knew of the incident, which were not many, knew he had went rogue. A habit Sheridan had from time to time.
Yet, Sheridan had a reason for his rogue actions. As he always had. The two Victory class destroyers were the only line of defense for Earth.
When the Shadow Planet Killer emerged in Earth space, and the Drakh fleet beside it, everyone knew Sheridan was serious. And everyone feared that it was too late.
With the self-sacrifice of the Victory and all her crew, Excalibur was given enough time to destroy the planet killer before it engulfed Earth, and killed the planet.
The Battle for Earth, was the last military campaign that Sheridan took place in. In fact, he led the defense. Now with the continued threat of the Drakh, and the unknown storm on the horizon known as the Hand, Sheridan knew that if ever another battle dawned, he would rather be on the front lines, than behind a desk.
The next battle he did not look forward to, perhaps opposing his best friend. A friend that he had gone through life and death with. A friend which he had gone through hell and back with. Michael was the last person he ever wanted to contest.