Call of Friendship
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
" Captain, 20, no 30 ships coming though the jump gate."
Captain Elizabeth Lockley of Babylon 5 raced to the glass windows.
" They are the White Stars." Corwin added
She could see that. The force with which her former husband had waged his two wars. The majestic ships surrounded them, so serene and perfect.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the flag ship hailed. A face appeared on the screen. Susan Ivanova.
Elizabeth was shocked. She knew that Ivanova was in command of some destroyer class ship. What was she doing in command of the White Star Fleet? She knew Susan Ivanova was a mystery to many back home. When she had rejoined after the wars, she had refused to take off her alliance uniform. Elizabeth was personally interested in her mostly due to some jealousy. The considerably younger woman was considered one of the best tacticians of all time, and it was only after she had declined command of B5 that it was offered to Elizabeth. Besides, the crew most of whom were carried over from Sheridan's time, were in awe of her and respected her more than they ever would Elizabeth. Now, she was riding in on the White Stars, demanding to be allowed to dock first. She had little choice but to allow it. The flag ship went first and after it the others lined up. Oh damn, she knew this would wreck havoc with the docking schedule.
Elizabeth walked to her office to quickly freshen up and pull up Ivanova's record. She was shocked to find out that the Russian woman had just resigned from Earth Force. She hadn't any more time, she raced to meet Ivanova.
As she arrived Susan Ivanova, was walking though the gates. At her sides were two women. Elizabeth instantly recognized them as John's current wife, Delenn, and the telepath Lyta Alexander. Elizabeth saluted, not knowing what else to do and the retired captain imitated her.
Elizabeth studied Ivanova. Her white skin was shades lighter than everyone else's. The woman was beautiful, long auburn hair, sapphire eyes and perfect featured. She was overly thin though looking almost sickly, but there was a command presence about the woman that made it seem as though she knew exactly what she was doing.
" Captain Lockley, I will need quarters for my people and I ask that you set up a meeting between us and your command staff." There was little choice but to obey. With Ivanova's help she was able to find quarters for everyone in just a few hours. It was late evening by that time, and she suggested the meeting wait until the next morning .
At 0800 she and her staff waited in her office, at exactly 0800, Ivanova walked in with Delenn and Lyta. Corwin grinned at her, and Elizabeth knew that the rumors about his crush on his former first officer were true. , " Commander.. . Captain... good to see you."
" Good to see you too, David, Zack, Lillian." She smiled warmly at them, " You remember Lyta and Delenn." She gave them a moment to acknowledge that they did, before turning to address Elizabeth. " Captain Lockley, as you may be aware, Sheridan has been captured by enemy forces, allies of the darkest enemy known to sentient beings. We intend not only to recover him, but to stop the advance of the enemies of the darkness. To do this, I am taking command of Babylon 5 to use as our staging ground."
Days had passed since John had been captured. He wondered what day it was, he wondered what was happening. He hated that the enemy was taking over while he was sitting here doing nothing. He remembered the last conflicts. Such hard times. With not only your lives on the line, but the lives of every innocent in the galaxy. And it was back again. This time even worse. There was David now. He didn't know if he could hold out if there was a threat to David. Marcus was dead. The man had been their information source. And Susan, tactician, pilot, commander, fighter and friend, wasn't there to fight at his side. He knew if they fell, the rest of the galaxy would follow.