Susan
(A/N: Part the second, gearing up to the Big Moment. Still not mine, still going on with a good head of steam. More later in the week.)
It had been a long, hard year in Deep Space, and Susan Ivanova, Earthforce Captain, was bone tired. It wasn't the near-trance state of the end of the War, but simply the growing fatigue of over twelve months in the tedium of life with only 1500 other people, all of them under her command, and on four hours of sleep a night if she was lucky. After these twelve months, though, she could honestly say she had a good ship and had reached a comfortable understanding with the crew, and that they'd finally worked out the kinks, both technical and personal, and settled into a smooth cruising mode. It would almost be a shame to leave them.
But leave them she would, Susan thought as she handed control of the bridge to the night shift and retired to her quarters. After a year on board, most of the crew still wasn't sure what to think of her, and she was uncomfortable with the situation, if not with the individuals. When she'd first taken over, they didn't know what to make of her, the Voice of the Resistance, a supposed traitor turned war hero. Half of them were too awed to talk to her, and the other half thought she should've been shot. Hell, some of them still did. She had to prove herself over and over, to the crew as well as to her CO on the flagship. Which had turned out to be another problem- she wasn't as close to the top of things as she'd gotten used to. She was one of twenty other ship commanders under a full admiral, and it seemed no one at the top wanted anybody's opinion, especially not hers.
Beyond all that, which as a good soldier she was willing to take, she was almost unbearably lonely. She had no one to talk to, no friends to speak of, no one she'd allowed to get close enough. It was pretty much her fault- the first few months she'd been too numb to befriend anyone, focused on the mission to the exclusion of everything else, and later it had been too late. She had a reputation, after all- almost everyone started out afraid of her for some reason or another, and stayed that way. The first person who sneered at the War in her hearing was threatened with spacing the next time he aired his opinion on the subject, and spent a week in the brig for it. People spoke less after that, but it didn't win her any fans. All year, she hadn't punched, shot or spaced a single crewmember, of course, but stories prospered regardless. Maybe she didn't mind leaving so much.
She had no plans after the end of the mission. They were heading back to Earth, due in the next day. EarthGov would probably reassign her somewhere, maybe even on a single-ship mission rather than as part of a fleet, or on the ground somewhere. For the first time in fifteen years, though, she was starting to have doubts about her career. Did she want to stay? She'd seen too much, done too much, to return to a civilian life, but the blue uniform still looked out of place to her, after the black of the Alliance. She had a huge amount of time off coming, and she could take it before reassignment if nothing urgent or interesting came up. She could go back to St. Petersburg, catch up with some friends, whoever was still around, maybe even- Her thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the comm. "Ivanova, go." She responded, irritated.
"Captain, you've got an incoming message on gold channel." Her comm officer sounded surprised and impressed. The last time such a call had arrived had been six months ago, and getting messages into hyperspace was difficult and expensive, "Interstellar Alliance President's office."
"No kidding? Put it through." She hastily smoothed her shirt and hair as the screen cleared to show an unfamiliar Minbari face in an all too familiar uniform that made her heart twist painfully for a moment.
"Captain Ivanova? Please hold for the President."
"Thank you." She said in Minbari. The Ranger's face lit up with an unexpected smile, and Susan winced. Her smile as Sheridan's face appeared was less warm than it might've been. "Can't make your own calls now, Mr. President?"
"Captain." He nodded pleasantly, formally. He'd kept the beard, she saw, but otherwise wasn't changed from the last time she'd seen him, when he called six months earlier. "We've been trying to reach you all morning. I told them to call me when they finally found you." He smiled and relaxed, "Susan, it's good to see you again, even from far away."
"Good to see you too, Sir." She didn't relax. Calls were hard to put through to hyperspace, and a conversation twice a year was far from enough to get comfortable with him again. She'd kept in touch with Stephen via written messages every couple of months, so she knew about most of the major events, including the Alliance HQ moving to Minbar. John wasn't just calling to see how she was. Still, she tried to be civil. "How is the Alliance? You, and Delenn?"
"Fine, fine. Settling into our new place. It's very nice, very elegant." He indicated the room behind him, "You?"
"I'm good. Heading back to Earth."
"I know." He was more serious now, getting down to business, "That's why I called. How would you like coming here for a while, on vacation?"
Susan considered this for a moment. "I'm not sure." She said thoughtfully. "I don't know." She'd been busy burying memories for a year- did she really want to unearth them all? "I'm not sure I'm up to it yet."
"Oh." Sheridan seemed disappointed. "That's a shame. I thought I'd do a little reunion. Stephen's coming over in a few days, since he's made Delenn his special project."
"I've heard that. Congratulations." Susan smiled more warmly, untensing despite her best efforts. It was good to see a friendly face again. Visiting Minbar was starting to sound rather tempting, even if it was Ranger Central. 'You know what, I'll ask about leave when we get to Earth, see if I can make it." It was about time she came back to life, anyway.
"Excellent. I'll put in a request for you if you'd like- I've still got a bit of clout dirtside." He grinned, "We all need a bit of catching up time. Even Michael said he might make it, if business allows."
Her face clouded. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Garibaldi after the entire mess of the end of the War was over, hadn't seen him at all, in fact, since before she'd ordered him shot on sight. Although the complete story had been explained to her, she wasn't sure what she'd do if she saw him again. What was there to say? "Don't bother on my account. I have so much time off I could walk to Minbar and still be on my own time." Apparently it was decided, just like that. "I'll do the paperwork right now and send it ahead, catch a passenger liner...It should probably take about a week, maybe a bit more."
"We could get one of the White Stars to pick you up. Stephen as well, since he's on Earth as well at the moment." Sheridan offered. Susan paled and shook he head, "No thanks." Final decision. She wasn't setting foot on a White Star ever again, if she could help it. He nodded. "Great. Try to find Stephen though, okay?"
"Want him to baby-sit me, John?"
"Would I do that?" He tried to look innocent. It would've even worked, if she hadn't known him so well.
"Yes."
"I'm offended, Susan. Really and truly wounded. And I have to go. See you in a week?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really."
"Than I guess you will, Mr. President, Sir." With a mock salute, she comm'ed off. Twenty minutes later her request was joined to the ship's outgoing message pool for the next morning. She still had to come up with some sort of farewell speech to the crew, and several reports kept her up well into the night. Sleep eluded her, and when it finally came it was haunted by dreams of Shadows and a disembodied voice talking to her, chasing her, then disappearing every time she turned to face it.
The next day found her at Earthdome, after a sketchy parting speech and a formal lunch with the other ship commanders and various other officials, and with the destroyer fleet and her year aboard it behind her. When she reached her new temporary quarters in the Dome, she found two messages- one an approval for up to three months' paid leave, and the other a note from Franklin, asking her to meet him for dinner at a lakeside restaurant. She sent him an acceptance message, took lengthy advantage of her first hot water shower in thirteen months (she'd counted), changed out of uniform for the first time in ages and left the base, not intending to go back indoors until it became absolutely necessary. She spent the rest of the day under the clear, cold February sky, seeking out parks and strolling by the lake. Looking anywhere and actually seeing a horizon was almost startling after so long in space. The mountains were white with snow, though none under the Dome of course. She watched the sun set over the water, and the sight brought tears to her eyes.
Stephen was waiting for her outside the restaurant, and she barely had time to acknowledge his presence before he smothered her in a hug that squeezed the air out of her. "Susan. It's good to see you."
"You too." She coughed. "Been working out?"
"Not really." He shrugged, finally letting her go. He looked at her with a critical doctor's eye, "You look tired. And you've lost weight."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." She smiled, "Let's go inside?" It was getting cold- another thing she wasn't used to anymore.
Over dinner they caught up on each other's lives. She told him about combat maneuvers, calibrations and deep space exploration, he told her about xenobiology, his research and the aliens her was working with- they bored each other entirely, but enjoyed the conversation so much it didn't matter anymore. For Susan, at least, it was the friend friendly conversation she'd had in a while. During dessert it seemed Stephen was angling towards a point, circling around without actually getting to it. It was tiring.
"If you have something to say, Stephen, spit it out already." She said at least. He looked mildly guilty.
"Just...How are you, really, Susan? How did you like commanding a ship? Are you-"The word 'better' hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say it.
"It was interesting." She wouldn't confess how much she'd hated it at times, "Almost as insane as running a station, I guess. I'm really fine, Stephen- you can stop worrying. Hey," She added, as an afterthought, "would you believe I actually miss seeing non-human faces around?" She smirked, "Hell, the way you tell it I'm almost glad I wasn't on the station the past year. One of the biggest advantages of a limited crew mission was that I didn't even need to think of telepaths the entire year."
"Good point. Bad enough that we had Michael going wild every time they came aboard, and the corps presence was getting worse and worse." Franklin kept Garibaldi's return to drinking to himself- it wasn't his story to tell, after all. "I got the impression Captain Lockley was a Corps sympathizer."
"Really? Weird, but I guess in her position even I would've welcomes the Corps." She thought about it, "Well, maybe I'd have just spaced them all."
"That I can believe." Stephen laughed, but he didn't stop worrying. "So, when do you want to leave?"
"I don't know." She replied. "I'd love to stay for another few days- someone said there might be snow tomorrow. Do they have snow on Minbar? I haven't seen any in about a decade."
"They do, but it's the wrong season where we're going and anyway, it smells funny. But it's a beautiful place, and John tells me Tuzanor's lovely this time of year. Some of the scenery's supposed to be breathtaking. You'll like it." Stephen countered. After ten weeks in Earthdome and away from Babylon 5 he'd already caught up on all the weather he missed out on, and was eager to leave to the surprise he knew they had waiting for them. John had mention someone, rather than something special, and he had his suspicions as to who it was. Also, he wanted to start working with Delenn and the Minbari doctors well before the baby came. 'There's a liner leaving tomorrow morning."
"I might not take a liner." Susan declared. "I need to make a call or two- if I can pull the right favors I could rent a personal flyer and get there alone."
"A week alone in hyperspace? You'll be bored crazy." Stephen argued. Besides, if his suspicions were right, she really wanted to get there fast.
"I'll have plenty to do. Probably sleep most of it, catch up on news around the galaxy. I need some time to myself, Stephen." She rolled her eyes at his reluctance, "I'm a big girl- stop fussing. I'll keep in touch with you and maybe even beat you there, alright?"
The doctor knew better than to argue when she was in that sort of mood. "Have it your way, but if something happens to you and Sheridan kills me, it's on your conscience."
"Nothing's going to happen, doc. Trust me." Ivanova yawned and shook her head at herself, "Sorry, I've had a long day, getting everybody off board, making sure they all got to the right place. You know what it's like."
"Yeah. You on base?"
"Seemed silly to find a hotel for just one night." She nodded. They paid and walked out into the night, still clear and cold and full of familiar stars. "No snow tonight. Just my luck." She hugged Stephen briefly, "See you on Minbar."
"Yup. Don't get lost on the way."
"You shut up, before we turn this little trip into a race!"
"Good night, Susan." She laughed at the exasperation in his face. She walked back to the base, enjoying the wind despite the cold. Being a captain meant that at least she had her own room, and for once she was so tired no dreams bothered her.
While she was having breakfast the next day the message she waited for arrived, and two hours later she was getting off the land shuttle in Moscow. It was a busy morning and no one recognized her on the shuttle, which she was grateful. Having to hurt someone would've spoiled her vacation. Maria, an old school friend who now owned a rental company with offices on Mars and Io, met her at the terminal.
"Susan? Why, look at you..." The tall, dark haired woman gushed, "I wouldn't have recognized you if you face hadn't been all over the papers last year." More hugs, greetings, catching up. Maria was married now, with three children. Susan had met her husband to be eleven years earlier, but had to endure a full half hour of the children's vids. Maria expressed her surprise to see Susan still in Earthforce, rather than starting a family and a 'normal' career, but that was an old argument, quickly put aside.
"I haven't changed my mind yet- career military, probably for the rest of my life." Family? Who had time for it? And with whom, anyway? The only ones she might have considered for the position were gone, and just thinking about them now could drive her back into the darkness of depression. Better to avoid it. Maria, seeing her eyes darken, nodded and changed the subject.
"So, you want to borrow a hyperspace-capable personal flyer? Are you sure?"
"Rent, not borrow." Ivanova nodded. "I've got a few months off and I want to do a bit of traveling on my own time, without having to depend on commercial flights. I'm on my own time, and I want to enjoy that." she explained. Maria looked perplexed, but she was used to odd requests. "I don't need anything big, just enough room for air, fuel and rations for a week or so."
"No problem." Maria started punching numbers into her comm, "One of my best, should be ready this afternoon. You could take it out tomorrow morning."
"Better take it tonight, before I change my mind about going. What do I owe you?"
Maria waved her credit chip away, "Nothing, Susan. Consider it a favor. Now, go and put that credit to good use- buy some fashionable clothes, you're about five years out of date."
"I'm not gonna take it without paying." Ivanova insisted, ignoring the orders to shop. She'd do it anyway, but it was her idea, no one else's.
"Alright. First month is on me, the rest we settle for when you return it, deal? Now go, see people, have some fun. It'll be ready by four."
"Fine, fine." Susan went, staying in Moscow rather than going home for too short a time to really be worth it. It snowed all day, and the streets were full of people and transports. Earth may not be home anymore, but it was definitely a good place to be.
Six days later, anywhere was a better place than inside the tiny, cramped flyer. It had an autopilot, at least, which did allow her to snatch two or three hours of sleep from which she usually woke up gasping and shivering, but hyperspace was indeed driving her crazy with boredom. She'd read books, brushed up her Minbari, raced herself and practiced insane loops and maneuvers to her heart's delight, but it was still pretty dull after a while. Requesting permission to make the jump into Minbari space was a relief. Finding two White Stars waiting for her when she got out, however, wasn't.
"Captain Ivanova?" Her comm crackled to life, "We have orders from the President and Entil'Zha to see you safely down to Tuzanor." A human voice. Ranger. Ivanova frowned at the screen.
"I know the way." She told him sharply, "And I don't need an escort. Don't you have anything better to do?"
"We do as we are commanded." The Ranger replied in an infernally calm voice. Ivanova was pretty angry by that time, but trying to stop a Ranger on a mission was futile, and anyway her flyer didn't have weapons. She fingered the pin in her pocket and cursed the Rangers and their thrice- damned tenacity. Without a comment, she angled her flyer between the two larger ships and allowed them to direct her down to the planet surface.
(A/N: Part the second, gearing up to the Big Moment. Still not mine, still going on with a good head of steam. More later in the week.)
It had been a long, hard year in Deep Space, and Susan Ivanova, Earthforce Captain, was bone tired. It wasn't the near-trance state of the end of the War, but simply the growing fatigue of over twelve months in the tedium of life with only 1500 other people, all of them under her command, and on four hours of sleep a night if she was lucky. After these twelve months, though, she could honestly say she had a good ship and had reached a comfortable understanding with the crew, and that they'd finally worked out the kinks, both technical and personal, and settled into a smooth cruising mode. It would almost be a shame to leave them.
But leave them she would, Susan thought as she handed control of the bridge to the night shift and retired to her quarters. After a year on board, most of the crew still wasn't sure what to think of her, and she was uncomfortable with the situation, if not with the individuals. When she'd first taken over, they didn't know what to make of her, the Voice of the Resistance, a supposed traitor turned war hero. Half of them were too awed to talk to her, and the other half thought she should've been shot. Hell, some of them still did. She had to prove herself over and over, to the crew as well as to her CO on the flagship. Which had turned out to be another problem- she wasn't as close to the top of things as she'd gotten used to. She was one of twenty other ship commanders under a full admiral, and it seemed no one at the top wanted anybody's opinion, especially not hers.
Beyond all that, which as a good soldier she was willing to take, she was almost unbearably lonely. She had no one to talk to, no friends to speak of, no one she'd allowed to get close enough. It was pretty much her fault- the first few months she'd been too numb to befriend anyone, focused on the mission to the exclusion of everything else, and later it had been too late. She had a reputation, after all- almost everyone started out afraid of her for some reason or another, and stayed that way. The first person who sneered at the War in her hearing was threatened with spacing the next time he aired his opinion on the subject, and spent a week in the brig for it. People spoke less after that, but it didn't win her any fans. All year, she hadn't punched, shot or spaced a single crewmember, of course, but stories prospered regardless. Maybe she didn't mind leaving so much.
She had no plans after the end of the mission. They were heading back to Earth, due in the next day. EarthGov would probably reassign her somewhere, maybe even on a single-ship mission rather than as part of a fleet, or on the ground somewhere. For the first time in fifteen years, though, she was starting to have doubts about her career. Did she want to stay? She'd seen too much, done too much, to return to a civilian life, but the blue uniform still looked out of place to her, after the black of the Alliance. She had a huge amount of time off coming, and she could take it before reassignment if nothing urgent or interesting came up. She could go back to St. Petersburg, catch up with some friends, whoever was still around, maybe even- Her thoughts were interrupted by the beeping of the comm. "Ivanova, go." She responded, irritated.
"Captain, you've got an incoming message on gold channel." Her comm officer sounded surprised and impressed. The last time such a call had arrived had been six months ago, and getting messages into hyperspace was difficult and expensive, "Interstellar Alliance President's office."
"No kidding? Put it through." She hastily smoothed her shirt and hair as the screen cleared to show an unfamiliar Minbari face in an all too familiar uniform that made her heart twist painfully for a moment.
"Captain Ivanova? Please hold for the President."
"Thank you." She said in Minbari. The Ranger's face lit up with an unexpected smile, and Susan winced. Her smile as Sheridan's face appeared was less warm than it might've been. "Can't make your own calls now, Mr. President?"
"Captain." He nodded pleasantly, formally. He'd kept the beard, she saw, but otherwise wasn't changed from the last time she'd seen him, when he called six months earlier. "We've been trying to reach you all morning. I told them to call me when they finally found you." He smiled and relaxed, "Susan, it's good to see you again, even from far away."
"Good to see you too, Sir." She didn't relax. Calls were hard to put through to hyperspace, and a conversation twice a year was far from enough to get comfortable with him again. She'd kept in touch with Stephen via written messages every couple of months, so she knew about most of the major events, including the Alliance HQ moving to Minbar. John wasn't just calling to see how she was. Still, she tried to be civil. "How is the Alliance? You, and Delenn?"
"Fine, fine. Settling into our new place. It's very nice, very elegant." He indicated the room behind him, "You?"
"I'm good. Heading back to Earth."
"I know." He was more serious now, getting down to business, "That's why I called. How would you like coming here for a while, on vacation?"
Susan considered this for a moment. "I'm not sure." She said thoughtfully. "I don't know." She'd been busy burying memories for a year- did she really want to unearth them all? "I'm not sure I'm up to it yet."
"Oh." Sheridan seemed disappointed. "That's a shame. I thought I'd do a little reunion. Stephen's coming over in a few days, since he's made Delenn his special project."
"I've heard that. Congratulations." Susan smiled more warmly, untensing despite her best efforts. It was good to see a friendly face again. Visiting Minbar was starting to sound rather tempting, even if it was Ranger Central. 'You know what, I'll ask about leave when we get to Earth, see if I can make it." It was about time she came back to life, anyway.
"Excellent. I'll put in a request for you if you'd like- I've still got a bit of clout dirtside." He grinned, "We all need a bit of catching up time. Even Michael said he might make it, if business allows."
Her face clouded. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Garibaldi after the entire mess of the end of the War was over, hadn't seen him at all, in fact, since before she'd ordered him shot on sight. Although the complete story had been explained to her, she wasn't sure what she'd do if she saw him again. What was there to say? "Don't bother on my account. I have so much time off I could walk to Minbar and still be on my own time." Apparently it was decided, just like that. "I'll do the paperwork right now and send it ahead, catch a passenger liner...It should probably take about a week, maybe a bit more."
"We could get one of the White Stars to pick you up. Stephen as well, since he's on Earth as well at the moment." Sheridan offered. Susan paled and shook he head, "No thanks." Final decision. She wasn't setting foot on a White Star ever again, if she could help it. He nodded. "Great. Try to find Stephen though, okay?"
"Want him to baby-sit me, John?"
"Would I do that?" He tried to look innocent. It would've even worked, if she hadn't known him so well.
"Yes."
"I'm offended, Susan. Really and truly wounded. And I have to go. See you in a week?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Not really."
"Than I guess you will, Mr. President, Sir." With a mock salute, she comm'ed off. Twenty minutes later her request was joined to the ship's outgoing message pool for the next morning. She still had to come up with some sort of farewell speech to the crew, and several reports kept her up well into the night. Sleep eluded her, and when it finally came it was haunted by dreams of Shadows and a disembodied voice talking to her, chasing her, then disappearing every time she turned to face it.
The next day found her at Earthdome, after a sketchy parting speech and a formal lunch with the other ship commanders and various other officials, and with the destroyer fleet and her year aboard it behind her. When she reached her new temporary quarters in the Dome, she found two messages- one an approval for up to three months' paid leave, and the other a note from Franklin, asking her to meet him for dinner at a lakeside restaurant. She sent him an acceptance message, took lengthy advantage of her first hot water shower in thirteen months (she'd counted), changed out of uniform for the first time in ages and left the base, not intending to go back indoors until it became absolutely necessary. She spent the rest of the day under the clear, cold February sky, seeking out parks and strolling by the lake. Looking anywhere and actually seeing a horizon was almost startling after so long in space. The mountains were white with snow, though none under the Dome of course. She watched the sun set over the water, and the sight brought tears to her eyes.
Stephen was waiting for her outside the restaurant, and she barely had time to acknowledge his presence before he smothered her in a hug that squeezed the air out of her. "Susan. It's good to see you."
"You too." She coughed. "Been working out?"
"Not really." He shrugged, finally letting her go. He looked at her with a critical doctor's eye, "You look tired. And you've lost weight."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." She smiled, "Let's go inside?" It was getting cold- another thing she wasn't used to anymore.
Over dinner they caught up on each other's lives. She told him about combat maneuvers, calibrations and deep space exploration, he told her about xenobiology, his research and the aliens her was working with- they bored each other entirely, but enjoyed the conversation so much it didn't matter anymore. For Susan, at least, it was the friend friendly conversation she'd had in a while. During dessert it seemed Stephen was angling towards a point, circling around without actually getting to it. It was tiring.
"If you have something to say, Stephen, spit it out already." She said at least. He looked mildly guilty.
"Just...How are you, really, Susan? How did you like commanding a ship? Are you-"The word 'better' hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he didn't say it.
"It was interesting." She wouldn't confess how much she'd hated it at times, "Almost as insane as running a station, I guess. I'm really fine, Stephen- you can stop worrying. Hey," She added, as an afterthought, "would you believe I actually miss seeing non-human faces around?" She smirked, "Hell, the way you tell it I'm almost glad I wasn't on the station the past year. One of the biggest advantages of a limited crew mission was that I didn't even need to think of telepaths the entire year."
"Good point. Bad enough that we had Michael going wild every time they came aboard, and the corps presence was getting worse and worse." Franklin kept Garibaldi's return to drinking to himself- it wasn't his story to tell, after all. "I got the impression Captain Lockley was a Corps sympathizer."
"Really? Weird, but I guess in her position even I would've welcomes the Corps." She thought about it, "Well, maybe I'd have just spaced them all."
"That I can believe." Stephen laughed, but he didn't stop worrying. "So, when do you want to leave?"
"I don't know." She replied. "I'd love to stay for another few days- someone said there might be snow tomorrow. Do they have snow on Minbar? I haven't seen any in about a decade."
"They do, but it's the wrong season where we're going and anyway, it smells funny. But it's a beautiful place, and John tells me Tuzanor's lovely this time of year. Some of the scenery's supposed to be breathtaking. You'll like it." Stephen countered. After ten weeks in Earthdome and away from Babylon 5 he'd already caught up on all the weather he missed out on, and was eager to leave to the surprise he knew they had waiting for them. John had mention someone, rather than something special, and he had his suspicions as to who it was. Also, he wanted to start working with Delenn and the Minbari doctors well before the baby came. 'There's a liner leaving tomorrow morning."
"I might not take a liner." Susan declared. "I need to make a call or two- if I can pull the right favors I could rent a personal flyer and get there alone."
"A week alone in hyperspace? You'll be bored crazy." Stephen argued. Besides, if his suspicions were right, she really wanted to get there fast.
"I'll have plenty to do. Probably sleep most of it, catch up on news around the galaxy. I need some time to myself, Stephen." She rolled her eyes at his reluctance, "I'm a big girl- stop fussing. I'll keep in touch with you and maybe even beat you there, alright?"
The doctor knew better than to argue when she was in that sort of mood. "Have it your way, but if something happens to you and Sheridan kills me, it's on your conscience."
"Nothing's going to happen, doc. Trust me." Ivanova yawned and shook her head at herself, "Sorry, I've had a long day, getting everybody off board, making sure they all got to the right place. You know what it's like."
"Yeah. You on base?"
"Seemed silly to find a hotel for just one night." She nodded. They paid and walked out into the night, still clear and cold and full of familiar stars. "No snow tonight. Just my luck." She hugged Stephen briefly, "See you on Minbar."
"Yup. Don't get lost on the way."
"You shut up, before we turn this little trip into a race!"
"Good night, Susan." She laughed at the exasperation in his face. She walked back to the base, enjoying the wind despite the cold. Being a captain meant that at least she had her own room, and for once she was so tired no dreams bothered her.
While she was having breakfast the next day the message she waited for arrived, and two hours later she was getting off the land shuttle in Moscow. It was a busy morning and no one recognized her on the shuttle, which she was grateful. Having to hurt someone would've spoiled her vacation. Maria, an old school friend who now owned a rental company with offices on Mars and Io, met her at the terminal.
"Susan? Why, look at you..." The tall, dark haired woman gushed, "I wouldn't have recognized you if you face hadn't been all over the papers last year." More hugs, greetings, catching up. Maria was married now, with three children. Susan had met her husband to be eleven years earlier, but had to endure a full half hour of the children's vids. Maria expressed her surprise to see Susan still in Earthforce, rather than starting a family and a 'normal' career, but that was an old argument, quickly put aside.
"I haven't changed my mind yet- career military, probably for the rest of my life." Family? Who had time for it? And with whom, anyway? The only ones she might have considered for the position were gone, and just thinking about them now could drive her back into the darkness of depression. Better to avoid it. Maria, seeing her eyes darken, nodded and changed the subject.
"So, you want to borrow a hyperspace-capable personal flyer? Are you sure?"
"Rent, not borrow." Ivanova nodded. "I've got a few months off and I want to do a bit of traveling on my own time, without having to depend on commercial flights. I'm on my own time, and I want to enjoy that." she explained. Maria looked perplexed, but she was used to odd requests. "I don't need anything big, just enough room for air, fuel and rations for a week or so."
"No problem." Maria started punching numbers into her comm, "One of my best, should be ready this afternoon. You could take it out tomorrow morning."
"Better take it tonight, before I change my mind about going. What do I owe you?"
Maria waved her credit chip away, "Nothing, Susan. Consider it a favor. Now, go and put that credit to good use- buy some fashionable clothes, you're about five years out of date."
"I'm not gonna take it without paying." Ivanova insisted, ignoring the orders to shop. She'd do it anyway, but it was her idea, no one else's.
"Alright. First month is on me, the rest we settle for when you return it, deal? Now go, see people, have some fun. It'll be ready by four."
"Fine, fine." Susan went, staying in Moscow rather than going home for too short a time to really be worth it. It snowed all day, and the streets were full of people and transports. Earth may not be home anymore, but it was definitely a good place to be.
Six days later, anywhere was a better place than inside the tiny, cramped flyer. It had an autopilot, at least, which did allow her to snatch two or three hours of sleep from which she usually woke up gasping and shivering, but hyperspace was indeed driving her crazy with boredom. She'd read books, brushed up her Minbari, raced herself and practiced insane loops and maneuvers to her heart's delight, but it was still pretty dull after a while. Requesting permission to make the jump into Minbari space was a relief. Finding two White Stars waiting for her when she got out, however, wasn't.
"Captain Ivanova?" Her comm crackled to life, "We have orders from the President and Entil'Zha to see you safely down to Tuzanor." A human voice. Ranger. Ivanova frowned at the screen.
"I know the way." She told him sharply, "And I don't need an escort. Don't you have anything better to do?"
"We do as we are commanded." The Ranger replied in an infernally calm voice. Ivanova was pretty angry by that time, but trying to stop a Ranger on a mission was futile, and anyway her flyer didn't have weapons. She fingered the pin in her pocket and cursed the Rangers and their thrice- damned tenacity. Without a comment, she angled her flyer between the two larger ships and allowed them to direct her down to the planet surface.