Call of Friendship

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Susan lay in the bed in her quarters. It had been nice to fall into the softness of the mattress. Her bones were weary. Some else had unpacked her things and ran a warm bath for her. She was going to rest before she got to work. She had met David, her godson finally, and he had taken to her immediately. Not very surprising, he was his father's son. The child would have followed her around had it not been for the fact that she retired soon after dinner. Like the his mother, Lyta and the crew, he felt a sense of well being with her arrival, a sense that everything would be all right now. Michael and Stephen would meet with the fleet soon, and she was actually looking forward to it. It had been a long time. Everything went well, except for Delenn and Lyta's worried gaze when they saw her, but they had said nothing . She was feeling drossy and fell asleep planning her next step in her mind.

Susan woke early the next morning as was her custom; it was only 0500. Unlike most mornings though she had actually had a good nights sleep because she had gone to bed early and had not been woken. The Rangers, she had to admit were more competent than Earthforce personnel, and did not wake her for anything short of a true emergency. Thanks Be to God, it had been a quiet night. Since Marcus' death she had taken to practicing with the denn bok, everyday. He had left her his in his will, that and his pin, which rested in a silver box, stained with three tears. He had offered to teach her a bit, and she had watched him in fights, between that and the theory she read combined with her natural skill and heavy martial arts background, she did very well. It was her custom to spend half an hour every morning practicing. She then washed up and spent the next half an hour in meditation/ prayer, with mimbari candles, cloth and beautiful candle holders that had little handles, very much like old fashioned lamps, and her Torah. This was another custom she had started since Marcus. She dressed and picked up everything, arriving on the bridge by 0600. She spent the next two hours being caught up on the situation, studying the attacks, losses, enemy numbers and strength, were they attacked, who they attacked and killed. She studied the fleet, their numbers, casualties, resources and the star maps. By the time Delenn, David and Lyta arrived, the little boy running ahead and giving her a hug, she was planning strategy.

The morning was spent checking out the new fighters and preparing for attacks. Susan split the fleet into four sections, each section would have its leader, and each ship its captain, all of whom would report to her. When the enemy attacked, the four sections would surround the enemy, each section with its own responsibility, depending on where the attack was. She needed to get some larger ships she thought. All the attacks had been near civilian colonies. The White Stars were smaller and more maneuverable, perfect for fighting, but larger ships could take more civilians, freeing up the White Stars to fight, provided that the White Stars could keep the enemy occupied. She said as much to Delenn, who looked relieved that Susan knew what to do.

" Yes, that is a good idea. "

" Could the Mimbari government send some ships for this purpose?"

" I believe so."

" What about the other governments, could they send ships ?"

" possibly, for evacuation, even when you had not broken away from Earth, you and John did the same for some of the other races."

" Could you speak to them?"

" Yes." Delenn smiled, pleased to be of use, bowed and left.

"Lyta?" Susan continued.

" Yes."

" You were closer to the Vorlons than anyone, and the Vorlons were the only things the Shadows were afraid of, do you think you could use your abilities to scan them during the next engagement to try to find out where John is?"

" Of course."

" Good, and be ready, I want to engage them soon . The Rangers on information gathering missions are due to return soon and as soon as we can assemble whatever aid the other can give, I want to hit the Allies. The plan is to wait in hyperspace until we hear of an attack, when we do, we counter attack. The White Stars will fight, and the others, although I am not expecting much help from the others, will evacuate civilians. You will be on the flag ship, this ship. Our goal will be to try to destroy their flag ship. When we get near the flag ship, you try to scan them."

" All right."

That night, the Rangers arrived with their information. That the allies homeworld was near the Rim, but that they had abandoned it, that they were working their way towards the Alliance. They were not able to find out where Sheridan was. Looking at the attack pattern, Susan determined that the next attack would probably be somewhere near Drazi space. Delenn reported the next morning that the Narns were sending several large ships to evacuate Civilians as well as the Mimbari, the Centauri were offering medical supplies and Medical ships, and most of the league would supply ships to guard the Mimbari, Centauri and Narn ships. When Susan heard this she closed her eyes and muttered, " John this is your doing, you are the one who brought them together."

So passed the first three days, with the fleet gathering. On the fourth day, just as Susan sat down to breakfast, with David at her knee, world came that the Allies of the Shadows were attacking.