David Sheridan (son)

From The Great Machine

David Sheridan is the son of John Sheridan and Delenn, named after his grandfather, David.

[edit] Early Years

Born in 2263 in Tuzenor on Minbar, David was raised in the fashion of the Minbari Religious Caste. John Sheridan named his closest friend, Michael Garibaldi, as David's godfather. This was Garibaldi's first taste of fatherhood, though it was much to his chagrin as David grew up, he started calling him "Uncle Mikey". Just like his mother, David did not have a decent grasp on human euphamisms, which led him to use stronger and stronger explicaties whenever his mother shouted the warning, "Young man, language!"

David became an excellent pilot, much like his father, and spent many days flying around Minbar. Despite his skill with a starship, he was not allowed to leave Minbar on his own.

Because of the dangers that surrounded being the son of both the president of the Interstellar Alliance and the current Entil'Zha, David lived most of his life sequestered on Minbar. He was always interested in travel, much as his father was when he was his age. However, the elder Sheridan would hear nothing of it, partly because of the potential that David could be used against them, but mostly because both he and Delenn feared for David more than anything.

[edit] Flight to Centauri Prime

In 2279, when David had just turned sixteen, he was given the urn that Londo Mollari had given to his parents. Within it lay a Drakh keeper, which immediately bonded with David and made him run away to Centauri Prime. There, he fell into the grip of Centauri Prime's ruthless new Prime Minister, Durla, who intended to use him to lure his parents to Centauri Prime and, thus, to their deaths.

Hearing of this, Vir Cotto left for Centauri Prime immediately to rescue David from his Centauri captors. However, this was not soon enough to keep Sheridan and Delenn from being captured and thrown into the palace dungeons. When Vir and his fellow conspirators helped Sheridan and Delenn escape from the planet, he drugged David to keep him, and thus the keeper, unconscious.

Back on Minbar, David awoke to find himself bound to a medical table, the keeper forcing his body to thrash wildly trying to escape. Dr. Stephen Franklin examined David, but determined that the only way to remove the keeper for good was to kill the Drakh who had spawned it. This led Vir and Garibaldi to mount a stake-out on Centauri Prime, where they would lie in wait for the Drakh Shiv'kala, who had long ago manipulated Emperor Mollari, to show himself. They killed the Drakh and David was freed from the keeper.

Following the removal of the Drakh from Centauri Prime and the ascension of Emperor Vir Cotto, Sheridan relaxed his former protectiveness over his son, and he, David, and Garibaldi left Centauri Prime on an informal tour of the Alliance. In other words, a vacation.

[edit] Adult Years

Upon returning to Minbar, David joined the Anla'shok. He was in the midst of training in 2281 when his father vanished. Deciding that David needed to remember his father as he was, Delenn declined bringing him home for the farewell party.