Title: A Legacy For All Time
Status: in progress
Author: M.
Rating: PG 13
Characters: John Sheridan, Jim Ellison, Delenn, Blair Sandburg, Marcus Cole, OCs, Michael Garibaldi, Simon Banks, brief appearances by other B5 characters.
Pairing: John/Delenn implied.
Keywords: AU, crossover Spoilers: B5 Season 3, Sentinel Too Spoilers
Series: None
Distribution: will be on an Unexpected Snow eventually Disclaimers: Babylon 5, The Sentinel and their respective characters and concepts belong to their respective owners. Micah Ellison and Kylie Sandburg belong to yours truly. -groan-
Summary: Every race has now, or has had, telepaths in their number...only Earth has Sentinels. How far will the Shadows go...to be rid of them?

"A Legacy For All Time"
by M.
----
May 18, 1998
Earth
Cascade, Washington State
852 Prospect, the Loft.

Jim threw back the covers and got out of bed.

He couldn't sleep. Or, rather, his brain wouldn't let him sleep.

Only a few weeks.

It had only been a few weeks since the whole debacle with Alex Barnes.

He couldn't get it out of his head. The mad lust, the need for her . . . The total disregard of everything but her.

He shook his head in disgust. If that was how Sentinels mated then he didn't want anything to do with that part of being a Sentinel.

The instinctive need to procreate was something he recognized. The Sentinels needed to survive. He understood that. But would it always be that way?

Would his children, providing he ever had any, have to battle with the lust and loss of control?

The Sentinel hung his head, exhaling heavily. If that was true, how could he subject his children to that? What kind of future was that? Subjucation of their will to the whims of their biology?

August 15, 2260
Epsilon-Eridani Sector
Babylon 5
Command and Control

The heart of the fifth Babylon station was the Command and Control deck. It was from there the station was run, from there everything was monitored and the decisions made. It was there that, most days, the Station's commanding officer could be found and that day was no different. Anyone looking for John Sheridan knew to find him there so, when Micah Ellison walked into CnC, she wasn't at all surprised to see Sheridan standing on the upper level. The Ranger stopped in her tracks just inside the door for a moment, inhaling a steadying breath. Then, ignoring the watchful eyes of the other officers, she crossed the upper level and came to a stop next to the handsome, sandy-haired, man.

"John?" She began quietly, resting her hands on the railing.

Captain John Sheridan looked over at her, his eyes taking in the frown her face, the hard look in her eyes, and immediately knew whatever it was she'd come to talk about was not going to be pleasant. In that vein, he sighed heavily and turned his attention away from the daily grind of the station. "Mike, I thought I told you to never bring me bad news."

Micah flashed an apologetic smile at her former commanding officer and shrugged. "I never listen to you -anyway, the news isn't really bad news depending . . . "

"On?"

"On what the Psi cop says when the White Star gets here." Micah straightened up and looked at him.

"Please, don't tell me Bester's on his way here . . . " John groaned out, visions of the black-garbed telepathic cop filling his mind.

"Bester isn't on his way here. Thank God. The Psi cop who's coming is someone we've never dealt with before. Apparently, he surrendered to the White Star near Proxima."

"Any idea what he wants?" John didn't much like the shivers going up and down his spine, he always got them when the Psi Corps was involved and with good reason. Whenever the Corps was involved, trouble was never too far away. The way they did business, normals didn't stand much of a chance of an equal playing field and never more so than when it was with the Psi Cops. Sheridan swore they had to take classes in intimidation and arrogance. He'd rarely met one he liked. In fact he'd only met one. Kylie. And technically, she was a rogue telepath so he wasn't sure if she counted.

"No idea. According to Delenn, he's only willing to talk to you . . . and me." She admitted belatedly, turning her gaze to the starfield. "He insisted on it in fact."

There was a pause as Sheridan processed the statement. "Wait a minute. He wants to talk to both of us?"

Micah nodded mutely.

"Forgive me if this sounds rude Mike, but why would he want to talk to you?" John asked, with a confused look.

"Beats the hell out of me." The Alpha Sentinel shrugged. "Delenn said he was very adamant about it. He wanted to speak to Captains' John Sheridan and Micah Ellison. No one else."

Sheridan sighed heavily. "Mike, explain to me how this place always manages to attract trouble like carrion attracts the Pak'mara." He said, referring to the alien race of carrion eaters.

She smiled wryly. "Sure...but only if you explain how Sentinels and Guides always manage to attract more trouble than B5 on its busiest day. I've been wondering that one for a while."

The sandy-haired captain laughed. "That, my friend, is one of the great unsolvable mysteries of the Universe. So, when does the White Star arrive?"

"In about an hour. They were still a few jumps away when I spoke to them . . . " Micah paused and tilted her head to one side. "I've got to go. There's a situation building in the Zocalo. Centauri are picking a fight with a few Narn." She nodded respectfully at him then turned and strode out of Command and Control, her destination being the Zocalo, B5's main commerce area.

Sheridan looked down at Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova, his executive officer, who stood on the lower level and had been observing the conversation. "I don't think I'll ever get used to her being able to do that."

Ivanova smirked. "With everything else that's been going on lately, the Sentinels are actually one of the more mundane additions to B5."

"Don't remind me." Her superior said with a tired groan.

---------------

Opening one eye, Blair Sandburg looked around his room, trying to figure out what had woken him. Though it was dark, he couldn't see anything out of place in the confines of his room.

'Which meant, it was probably something outside the room.' The little voice, that he'd named Smart Ass Blair, piped up from a isolated corner of his mind.

Throwing back the covers, Sandburg sat up and grabbed a pair of socks. Despite the warm night, he knew instinctively the floor would be chilly and he hated chilly. Putting them on, he got up and went to peer into the darkened living room. A glance toward the balcony doors provided him with the reason for his waking. There, standing before the closed doors, staring out into the night, was Jim.

"What're you doing out of bed, Chief?" He rumbled, not looking back.

"I should ask you the same thing." Blair countered immediately, walking over to stand next to his friend. Jim set his jaw and didn't speak. Which was all the answer Blair needed."So its like that is it?" He queried, running a hand through his hair and wincing when he ran into tangles. "Guilt tripping again?"

"I am not guilt tripping." Jim responded in a decidedly petulant tone.

"Of course not." The younger man bobbed his head slightly. "I was wrong. You're not guilt tripping..." He waited a beat before adding. "You're just brooding over the whole thing with Alex."

Jim opened his mouth to argue but made the mistake of looking over at his Guide.

Blair was giving him the look. The one Jim had classified as his Yoda look. It didn't take a genius to realize Blair was very effectively trying to lighten his mood. Effectively in that Jim could already feel his demons quieting.

'You're getting to be too damn predictable, Ellison.' He informed himself with more than a little amusement.

Lifting one shoulder in a shrug, Jim smiled slightly. "So what if I was?"

"So what?" Blair mock-frowned at him. "So, you're supposed to let me know when its Alex brooding time." He clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We both screwed up on that one Jim. In different ways yes, but we're both slightly at fault in the whole situation."

Jim couldn't help the wry grin that spread across his face. "For once, Darwin, you guessed wrong. That's not what I was brooding about."

"No? Then by all means, enlighten me." Blair moved to sit on the edge of the couch and waited patiently.

Jim growled slightly. "You'd think I'd've learned by now, to stop giving you these openings?"

"Yeah well, its one of those situations where I'm way grateful that you're a slow learner." Blair shot back, yawning. "Now, speak!"

The Sentinel slanted a look at him. "And if I do, will I get a cookie?"

"We'll see."

Shaking his head, Jim sucked in a breath and gave voice to the demons that had been plaguing him. When he was done, Ellison looked expectantly at Blair. Not consciously realizing that he was again waiting for the anthropologist to put everything right. To explain what had so confused and troubled him. It was when Blair didn't have an answer that Jim truly began to fear.

Sandburg leaned forward slightly, his hands on either side of his legs gripping the couch material. "Y'know Jim, I've been thinking about it too." He kicked a foot, watching the limb swing back and forth through the air. "And in some ways, I'm glad it happened."

Shocked, the older man's mouth fished but his brain was was unable to furnish a response for it to voice. Fortunately, though, Blair didn't give them time to get back in sync. Jumping in with, "Hear me out. Because you suppressed your senses as a child, there's a very good chance you may have missed some learning stages that you were supposed to go through, never mind the fact that you seem to be the only Sentinel in your family. I mean, Burton never mentioned it in the book but its entirely possible that Sentinel children go through training." Blair was warming to his subject now and even in the dim light, Jim could see the glint in the younger man's eye that he always associated with Blair the anthropologist. "It makes sense y'know? Instead of learning the things the other children did, young Sentinels probably spent most of their time with their parents and, depending on if both parents were Sentinels or not, the Guides."

"Sort of like mentoring?" Jim supplied. "On the job training?"

"That too." Blair agreed. "Only what they learned went beyond protecting the tribe. I'm willing to bet that they learned how to control the instincts too. How to know what was just instinct and what was their own wishes."

Jim nodded, seeing where his friend was going. "And since the Sentinel thing seems to have started with me..."

"There was nobody to teach you that." Blair finished. "But now that we know how Sentinels interact. Specifically ones from opposite genders, the next time it happens, if it happens, you'll be prepared for it. And should you have any kids..."

"We can prepare them for it ahead of time." Jim walked close enough to pat Blair on the shoulder. "Way to go Darwin."

Blair barely noticed, his mind was still going strong. "Hopefully next time you run into a female Sentinel, you'll have a girlfriend. It'll be interesting to see how that factor would affect things. How you'd relate to the other Sentinel."

"Oh no you don't Sandburg." Jim pulled the younger man to his feet and gave him a slight push in the direction of his door. "Don't even go there tonight. Or ever. Just get to bed. You need your rest."

"Mother hen." Blair mumbled, sidestepping his room's open door.

Laughing, Jim shook his head at the younger man before walking up the stairs to his own bed.

-------------

Micah dealt with the situation in the Zocalo fairly quickly. She had been right. A group of Centauri had been foolish enough to pick a fight with some Narn. The Sentinel had been half-tempted to let the Narn pound the Centauri into the deck but she knew Sheridan would have a fit. And with all the events of the preceding few weeks, John in a bad mood was definitely not something she needed. Instead, the Sentinel had to content herself with breaking up the fight. The Centauri would get their just desserts sooner or later. The Universe always evened the score. And considering the fact the Centauri had ruthlessly conquered the Narns, they were in for a pretty big wallop.

After yanking them apart she'd delivered a stern lecture to the instigators before letting Garibaldi, the station's security chief, take them into custody. Michael had been more than willing to let her deal with the five Narn. The entire race seemed to have a godlike view of the Sentinels so they took her words to heart. G'Kar, the Narn ambassador on Babylon 5, had once told Micah that the Narn race, as a whole admired the Sentinels for their warrior culture and willingness to assist any worthy cause.

Micah kept such things in mind as she asked the Narns to avoid fighting with the Centauri at all costs. The last thing Babylon 5 needed was the Centauri showing up in ships ready to blow it out of space.

The Narns had reluctantly agreed to try and avoid fighting with the Centauri. Before going their separate ways they'd warned her it was not going to be easy.

The entire situation dealt with, Micah'd met up with the two Sentinel/Guide teams that were assigned to patrol the Zocalo and warned them to keep an eye out for any more possible fights. She had her doubts that the fight with the Narn was going to be the last of the day. Ever since the Centauri had conquered the Narn home world, the Narns and Centauri on board the station had been getting into fights almost daily. It was all the Sentinels and station security could do to keep them apart.

With that done, the Alpha Sentinel headed for the Great Hall.

When Micah had first realized that her spirit guide was instructing her to go to B5, she'd gone to the then Entil'Zha, Jeffrey Sinclair, with a request. The Sentinels would require a home on the station. Wherever the Alpha Sentinel, went the rest of the Sentinels followed. It was instinct. They seemed to be naturally drawn to their leader for training, order and the demands of their society.

When Micah had first been in training on Minbar, it became apparent that fledgling Sentinels and Guides were drawn to the Minbari Homeworld because of her presence. Instinct led them to seek out their leader, the strongest Sentinel, the only person who could help them find their Guides, give them leadership. So many were led to Minbar in fact, that the Anla-Shok had found it necessary to create a subgroup within their ranks, where the training was customized to the needs and abilities of Sentinels. Exercises had to be designed to accommodate the Guide as well as the Sentinel.

The uniforms were also altered. The materials were designed for the Sentinels' heightened senses. The coats were a lightweight material in black (the Ranger pin remained firmly in place) and the tunic supplemented by a lightweight white shirt and loose black pants. This was done to give the Sentinels room to move and with little impediment. Such care had also been taken with the uniforms of the Guides. In deference to their former affiliations with the Psi Corps, lighter colours in soft welcoming materials had been chosen. Many of them detested any hint of the uniforms they'd once worn and embraced the new ones with vigor. Embroidering around the edges of the Guide uniform also signified that their connection to the Minbari Religious Caste. The Guides were representatives of mystical side of the Sentinels and, as such, were regarded as members of the Religious Caste by most Minbari.

But even more important than the uniforms was the Great Hall of The Sentinels. Along with the altered program, Sinclair gave the Sentinels a meeting place.

With the complex society the Sentinels had developed, they needed a place to train their senses, conduct their rituals, to rest, and most importantly...it was home. It was the place where they married, the place where the funerals were conducted, where their children were born and educated. It was a refuge.

On Minbar they'd had a special wing of the Anla-Shok training academy but they were growing in numbers and needed more room until Micah had felt drawn to Babylon 5. She expressed concern over a new hall to Entil'Zha Sinclair. He'd agreed to speak to Delenn, the Minbari ambassador on the station, who conveyed the request to Captain John Sheridan.

After much discussion, the decision was made. Sheridan gave the Minbari permission to build a new Hall in the core, the open area inside of Babylon 5. The result of the Minbari's labours was an imposing building made with a unique combination of materials. The outer walls were very Minbari in appearance. A unique crystal that gave the Hall an almost mystical air. Inside the Great Hall was another story. The walls were constructed of stone and wood. Images from Sentinel mythology and their history decorated the walls - a very Human look. An excellent blend of Human and Minbari architecture - a testament to the spirit of cooperation developing between the two races.

Of course, it was more than just a Hall. There were quarters, a medical facility - which Steven Franklin, Babylon 5's chief medical doctor, very enthusiastically oversaw - as well as training areas, meditation chambers, the archives and, of course, the tanks.

Walking down the hallway that housed the mediation chambers, Micah paused before the arched doors that led to the sensory deprivation tanks, automatically speaking the code that triggered them to cycle open. When that was done, she walked into the room.

They were a part of one of the most sacred rituals the Sentinels could undergo.

Micah ran her fingers along the edge of a tank, super-sensitive fingers brushing against the stone. She could almost feel the stone thrumming under her fingertips.

While no one save Sentinels and Guides, and by extension any spouses of Sentinels who weren't Sentinels or Guides themselves, were permitted inside the Hall, exceptions to that were made for people like Sheridan or Delenn. The chamber where the sensory deprivation tanks were kept was completely off limits. Only Sentinels, their Guides and the spouses of the Sentinels were permitted in that part of the Hall. And if the tanks were in use, then only the Guides and mates of the Sentinels in them, were permitted in the chamber. No exceptions.

Micah turned away from the tanks and looked at the carving of the two men and their spirit guides on the opposite grey stone wall.

She heard footsteps behind her and Micah knew Kylie was finished mediating.

"I wonder," the telepath mused, stopping next to her Sentinel. "Did they have any idea what they started?"

Micah smiled down at the curly-haired, sweet-featured blonde. "Somehow, I doubt it." She looked back at the carving of their ancestors and grinned. "Who would be crazy enough to dream up what we're living?"

Kylie stepped forward and traced the outline of Blair Sandburg's carved face. "Hell of a beginning to all this, wasn't it?"

The tall, redheaded, Sentinel nodded. "It was."

"Mike, do you ever wish you could meet them?" Kylie asked, hooking a blond curl away from her face.

"Yes."

Kylie waited for the Sentinel to elaborate and when she didn't speak, the petite telepath nudged her friend. "Mike?"

"Yeah?" Micah looked down at her Guide.

"Explanation?"

"Of?" The Sentinel looked confused.

Kylie, however, was bemused. "You don't just say yes and leave it there! I want to know what you meant! Elaborate soldier."

"Meant?" Micah frowned. "When I said yes . . . "

"Exactly!" The telepath nodded vigorously. "What would you do if you ever met Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg?"

The other woman looked back at the carvings, a pensive expression on her face. "I suppose I would have to thank Jim for participating in Blair's tests which gave us all that information on heightened senses. I think I'd also have to thank him for choosing to be a Sentinel." Micah smiled teasingly at her Guide. "And I definitely would have to thank Blair for pursing his interest in Sentinels. If he hadn't . . . Jim probably would've gone insane as would any Sentinels that surfaced after him."

Kylie smiled softly at her best friend, her blue eyes twinkling. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

The Sentinel patted the younger woman's shoulder. "C'mon, Lennier is waiting outside, the White Star's back and we've got a telepath to talk to." Turning, the duo walked out to meet Delenn's aide.

tbc