At first there was nothing.

It was only a bright flash of a rising sun over a planet. And then the blackness of night.

Then, like a ship coming out of the fog toward shore, she could make out the shape of spinning metal
against that sunrise. For so long, the transport had been surrounded by the red blobs of hyperspace and
now.this.open space, planets, a rising sun and.Babylon 5. On the edge of explored space, in neutral
territory, was Babylon 5. Toted as the "last, best hope for peace", it was like a beacon in the night.

Susan Ivanova leaned forward over the seats of the pilot and copilot, her hands digging into the material of
the chairs. "Impressive."

"She is a beauty, Lieutenant Commander." The copilot intoned, looking up at the Russian officer with a
gleam in his eyes. "A technological marvel."

"More like a strategical marvel," she answered back. "But you are right, she is a beautiful station."

With a push, she righted herself and pulled at the bottom of her uniform to straighten it. She had
requisitioned a new jacket just before leaving Io and it fit her better than her old one. Her hair was braided
and hung in a simple rope down her back. The new command braid that hung at her shoulder was crisp and
heavy but signified to everyone her command status.

"How long are you visiting, Lieutenant Commander?"

"I'm to be stationed on Babylon 5." She answered with the throaty, deep voice that she was known to use.

The younger lieutenant turned to face her. "Then I have to say: you are a lucky person. This job is so high
profile that you will be able to write your ticket to anywhere you want to go."

Susan hummed in her throat and turned on her heel to leave the small cockpit of the transport. As she
slipped through the door into the passenger section, she heard the unmistakable sound of the pilots
requesting dock. The deep voice that answered back was rich in tone and was enough to raise her
eyebrows. But then the door slid shut and she was plunged into silence.

Her small berth was only a few short meters away and she walked into it with a sure stride. Inside, as usual,
the bed was sheeted regulation; her extra uniform hung, pressed, in the closet. A small bag holding her
toiletries was laid on the crisp blanket. The rest of her clothes and items were stored in the luggage area of
the transport. It only remained for her to disembark and enter her new position.

The lieutenant had been right: Babylon 5 was a high profile job. It was what she had been waiting for in her
career. Susan had been vying for a position like this for four years. And now.now she was here.

Outside, she heard the unmistakable sound of the transport docking. It was the sudden sound of echo where
there had been no sound before that made her rise and gather her articles together. Her moment to grab her
destiny by the bullhorns was upon her. With a toss of her dark chestnut hair over her shoulder, she pressed
the button for the door and walked out with her uniform and satchel.
**

"What does she look like, Jeff?"

Jeff Sinclair shook his head. "If I knew that, Mike, don't you think I would be actively searching for her?"

Michael Garibaldi raised his eyebrows. The gesture made his blue eyes seem large and piercing. If his
friend had been a lesser man, it might have affected him. But Jeff Sinclair was not a lesser man. The
Commander returned the look with a bland one of his own; his brown eyes matching Garibaldi's in
intensity. "Grouchy, Commander."

"I dislike when they rip apart a successful command team. Laurel was well suited here." Jeff raised his chin
to look over the persons disembarking from the transport. There had yet to be anyone in the trademark
Earth Force blue uniform.

"Laurel was, Jeff.but the position that she pulled on Mars is one that will move her up the ladder quicker
than if she had remained here." Garibaldi pointed out. "And besides, there are more single men on Mars."

Jeff choked a laugh and gave his friend a sideways glance. "So.career and dating.a definite
improvement. Still, I'll miss her."

Michael went to answer Sinclair, but his speech was stopped when is eyes caught on a dress Earth Force
uniform. Jeff was looking in the opposite direction and Garibaldi was sure that he had not seen the officer.
He shifted his legs to bring his back up straight and his shoulders back. "She's young."

"I had heard that, Garibaldi." Sinclair answered, still turned in the opposite direction. "But more than
capable if her resume is any true indication."

"Not bad looking either."

Jeff turned roughly to stare at his friend. "What the hell does that have to do with anything, Mike?"

"It always helps if the person you speak to often is not hard on the eyes, Commander. And I think we won't
have a problem." Mike nodded minutely in the direction of the boarding passengers.

Sinclair turned to see the person Garibaldi was indicating and found himself gazing at a medium height,
athletically built woman in her middle to late twenties. She had long chestnut hair, a well formed, open face
and large, almost exotically shaped eyes. He couldn't tell the color from where he stood, but something told
him there would be light. Her uniform fit her well, falling to regulation length and was pressed. She
appeared the very picture of an Earth Force officer.

As he looked, her head turned and she made eye contact with him. That open face suddenly became tight
and she lifted her chin in an almost defiant manner. This woman had spunk, he thought suddenly.
**
Susan stood amongst the disembarking passengers and took a moment to acclimate herself to the
surroundings. The interior of the landing bay for passengers seemed almost like a transport bay on Earth.
Plants lined the walls, people bustled and there was a large sign that changed often indicating which
transports were leaving and to where. It was a change from the quiet of the transport.

After a few moments, she saw two Earth Force uniformed personnel standing off to the side. One was dark
blue, the other the typical brown of a security officer. The men that stood there were tall and dark.one
with exceptionally short hair, the other taller and darker with a heavy brow and wavy hair. Both were
watching her with some interest.not in a sexual manner, but rather in a curious manner. It was as if they
were sizing her up, measuring her against others they had known. She lifted her chin and set it with a level
of self-assurance.

Ivanova picked her way through the crowd, maintaining eye contact with the larger of the two men. As she
neared, she saw that he had dark eyes and very broad shoulders. Even if she had not seen his gold
command bar shining on his chest, she knew that this was Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, hero of the line and
the commanding officer of Babylon 5. The man next to him, the security officer, had to be Michael
Garibaldi. His personnel file was one that would make any career officer cringe, but she knew that he was
making a go of this position as she was. Garibaldi wore his hair exceedingly short and his build was equally
as powerful as his commanding officer's.

She put her hands behind her back and moved across to stand in front of both men with measured paces.
Her braid hit against her back in rhythm with her steps. As she stopped, she gazed up at the Commander,
whose face was still incredibly bland. His hand extended on his arm and he smiled gently, suddenly.like a
cloud moving from in front of the sun.

"Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova?" It was the same voice she had heard over the speaker in the
transport.

With a nod and a half-smile of her own, she clasped his hand and shook it. "Yes.Commander Sinclair, I
presume. Permission to come aboard."

He nodded and withdrew his hand after shaking hers for a moment. "Permission granted, Ivanova.
Welcome to Babylon 5. We have been expecting you." Sinclair pulled back his arm and extended it to
introduce the man to his left. "This is Michael Garibaldi, Chief of Security."

Susan turned to address the man, shaking his hand firmly. "It's a pleasure, Mr. Garibaldi."

Jeff smiled with a sideways glance at his friend. "I have heard much about you, Ivanova; you come highly
recommended by your previous superior officer. She felt that your organizational and strategical talents
would be well used here."

"Thank you, sir." Ivanova felt like squinting. There was a strange feeling here. Almost like she was coming
home.

"Well enough flight?" Garibaldi asked. "We've been hearing of interference from raiders in Sector 12."

"We had no run-ins, Garibaldi," Susan answered, turning her piercing blue eyes on the younger of the two
men. "It was smooth from Io."

Sinclair murmured a: "Well good." And turned, holding out his hand to escort his new second in command
into the hall away from the hubbub of the landing area. As she walked past him, Jeff met Garibaldi's eyes
and returned the look of surprise with a schooled look of his own. He walked past Michael and matched her
pace. Seeing her look of contained awe, he began to explain the station to her.

"I'll give you a complete briefing in a short period of time, after you have had time to acclimate to your
quarters. But to start with, Babylon 5 went on line about a year and a half ago. At any one period of time,
the station houses a quarter of a million aliens and humans. We have four major alien governments
represented and a panel of the non-aligned worlds."

Susan held out a hand to brush against some wares that were lying about on a vendor's table. "Trade?"

"Constantly." Garibaldi answered with a wry grin. "It never stops and it causes a problem with security, but
I love job security."

Ivanova nodded and returned his smile. "Its good to see that crime does pay.if only for the security
officers."

Sinclair hid a smile as he turned his head to look in another direction. "Most of your main job will be
station operations, as I am often playing diplomat."

Susan nodded, holding her arms tight against her body. "I see. Very well."

Jeff looked down at his second in command as they turned the right corner into the Zocolo and entered
another throng of people. Her eyes were wide and eager to take in all around her, even if her face was set in
an almost cold manner. There was warmth in her he was sure would erupt. He had no doubts of that. There
was only the hope that he could trust her. He would leave that to Michael to figure out though, as the man
was paranoid. "I'll show you to your quarters. And then I have to return to the table with the Narns. We can
meet later today to continue your briefing."

Again the woman nodded. It was almost infuriating the manner in which she held herself.aloof and cool.

The three officers turned the first corner and then the second right, entering the corridor that connected the
central corridor with green sector. Jeff continued small talk, allowing the young woman to answer him in
single or double syllables. "Your last position.?"

Ivanova began to speak in low, precise terms. "I was head of internal operations for the shipping lanes.
Reported to the Commander of the outpost. Before that."

"Before that Mars.second lieutenant in command of shipping communications." Garibaldi answered,
holding open one of the sliding doors that cordoned off green sector.

"I have a feeling you and I will get along just fine, Mr. Garibaldi," Susan intoned. "You were also stationed
on Mars. Head of Security for a private company there. Commander Sinclair was stationed on Mars as
well. Both of you were involved in the Food Riots there, four years ago."

Sinclair raised his eyebrows. "You are well informed."

Ivanova nodded gently. "Thank you."

With a last corner turned, the trio drew alongside a door. "This is your quarters, Ivanova. I'll expect you in
two hours.my office just off of the observation dome."

"Yes, sir."

Susan walked into the room and turned to salute her superior office, but was met with a smile from
Garibaldi and a shake of Sinclair's head. "I don't condone that here, Ivanova. We will be working together
too closely to expect you to consistently salute. Just show me some respect and we will get along fine."

Garibaldi winked as he turned to walk away and was met with Sinclair as he pushed the button for the lift.
"Well, Jeff.what do you think now?"

"I think she is fire under ice and waiting to erupt. Intelligent, has a biting sense of humor and does not
smile near enough." Sinclair sighed as he leaned against the wall waiting for the door to slide open. "She's
young, but capable. Time will tell the rest."

"Formal."

"Time will cure that too, I suppose." Sinclair answered as the door slid open. Garibaldi preceded him into
the lift and he turned to look at the closed door of berth Green 87. "She is definitely not Laurel."

"No, she isn't, Commander. I personally get a good feeling from her, but I will withhold comment until I
have had a chance to research her a little more closely." Garibaldi intoned, leaning against the back wall.

"Not that closely, Mike. Give her room to breathe. Just keep an eye on her," Jeff stated. He leaned forward
to answer the computer. "But, for some unknown reason, I get a good feeling from her as well."
**
Susan watched as the door slid shut and she was alone once more. Her hands were clenched in her pockets
and she brought out her fist to loosen it. Meeting new people always put her on edge. Most of the time, she
was able to keep her mind hers, but sometimes, the strength of people's personalities simply overwhelmed
her. But in this instance, her commanding officer and the Head of Security seemed to be her equals. They
were strong men, but their personalities were not overwhelming.

With a sigh, she turned and looked about the room. It was spacious with plants and textiles.again more
home like than either Mars or Io had been. Like home, and yet so very far from it. As she liked it.the
further from home, the safer she felt. Less to care about, less to have taken from her. She could be her own
person here, without the trappings of the past and only the future to look forward to. Yes, she thought,
walking across the room, she could grow to like Babylon 5 easily.

And her Commander.

He was tall, had the bearing of a man accustomed to being followed. He was a born leader, a hero of the
Earth-Minbari War, and someone from which she could learn. She liked that. It always annoyed her when
her superior officers were.well.more stupid than she was. He was more intelligent than most.
She would like to serve under him, she thought wryly.

Him and this station of his.

With a grin, she turned to put her clothes in the closet. Garibaldi was a man of singular humor as well.
Someone that she could see becoming a friend. But.it would all remain to be seen. With a sigh, she
looked out her window to the swirling space. It would all remain to be seen.