Allies in Blood "A Universe of Change-Part 3"

[Skeet]

Title: “Allied by Blood” version 1
Author: Albert Green Jr.
In association: Ed Becerra, Ash’s Boomstick, and RenS
Contact: g3607273@yahoo.com and g3607273@uic.edu
Rating: PG- 13
Date began: March 1, 2006

NOTICE: THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE BUT MUST NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM.

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THIS STATEMENT MUST ACCOMPANY THE STORY ‘ALLIED BY BLOOD' IF DISTRIBUTED. THIS STORY IS FREE OF CHARGE AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. THIS DEDICATION MUST ACCOMPANY ANY DISTRUBUTION OF THIS STORY.

Dedication:
My wife Sheryl has allowed me to hide in our basement and write in relative peace, and she hasn’t even extracted revenge yet. I said it before and I say it once more; Thanks, my Love. Now leave me alone so that I can work.

And I thank all those who have written me concerning 'A Universe of Change’, ‘Those who Stand' and 'the Evolutions-Ruination war series,' all of whom have inspired me to continue writing for fun the of it, because God understands that this is hard. But I like it.

This is part 3 of the “Universe of Change” series. I would recommend that you read ‘Universe of Change’ and ‘Those who Stand’ first or you will be lost. No kidding.

Summary: It has been three months since the Vorlon and the Shadow military forces left for Z’ha’dum to engage an ancient enemy. The gate has been destroyed trapping a sizable force of aliens known as the ‘Third-Space aliens’ or the Yonji (pronounced ‘ongie’) Sinhindrea in their universe. The various governments are trying to come together to face this most dire of threats. However, old hatreds and prejudices threaten the fledgling alliance before it has begun.

They’ll have to come together fast or they will all go down together.
***

Prelude:

August 12, 2262

Personal log: Susan Ivanova, Commander, Executive officer of Babylon Five: It’s been three months since President’s Clark death. Earth is recovering from the effects of the Shadow plague and so far there have been no more recurrences reported and that has been a cause for jubilation. But economically things are just coming together. Although the plague wasn’t designed to kill but rather weaken the population, over seventy million people died from the collateral effects. Most of those died of starvation or secondary diseases, since the medical and economic structures collapsed because of the plague. Another twenty percent of the entire population is recovering slower than the estimated norms. President Luchenko is reorganizing Earth Alliance nicely and Earth Force is slowly building itself back up and not a moment too soon. The Shadow Omega project has been scrapped once and for all. The pseudo shadow alloys were starting to kill the crews. Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. Those crews are being treated but it’ll be a long recovery for most of them. Now, Earth Alliance is looking for something new.

Some of the resistance fighters have returned to EarthForce and a de facto writ of immunity has been given to them. All has been forgiven – and, if I believe that then Kosh is my long-lost brother. And that’s a wonderful theory. But the reality is that political leaders and dozens of our military officers and enlisted people have lost their jobs and or have resigned. Several high-ranking officers have been grounded and a couple of very showy trials have already been set into motion. The people are angry and I don’t blame them. Some of Clark’s personal flunkies have been sent to Mars. They’ve been forced to begin the rebuilding of Mars Dome from scratch. The habitations destroyed by the Sinhindrea attack need to be rebuilt. Clark’s cronies have been drafted for that honor and they have rushed to do it especially since the alternative was being mindwiped and restarting life as lifetime maintenance employees in the Republic of Turkey’s sewage treatment facilities. Surprisingly, a lot of people from Earth have volunteered to do the same and are happy to do so as along as Luchenko keeps her promise that Mars can become an independent world within twenty years, if that is what they decide is the best course for them.

That is going to be a test of Earth Alliance’s integrity and resolve but it’s nothing compared to what’s happening now. I’m glad that John is handling that and not me. They way things are going; we might have a shooting war any minute.

The Centauri on the other hand, have been remarkably cooperative. General Knonto Denarri has been named Regent. He as removed all ships from the Non-Aligned Worlds territories and are in serious negotiations with them at Babylon Five. They are also in talks with Earth Alliance and all signs seem hopeful as both governments prepare for the worst.

Four weeks ago, despite vigorous protests from the worker and religious, and some of the warrior castes, the Minbari sent one of their fleets consisting of the Star Riders and a smaller sect called the Blood Knives to Z’ha’dum under the pretense of assisting the Vorlons and Shadows in the battle against the Sinhindrea. We’ve told them of the gate’s destruction, a fact collaborated by independent witnesses, but they want to see for themselves, or that’s the official word from on high. The truth is, everyone is worried about that, but we can only hope for the best. If they do succeed, then they’ll be more insufferable than ever. We have no idea what has happened if anything however we have eyes and ears there in the form of Draal, the Soul Hunters and the elusive Technomages. True to their word, the Soul Hunters have given us the plans to make smaller jump engines and the various governments have jumped on them as if they were Sir Galahad screaming that he had the Holy Grail tucked in his hip pocket.

The Feds have been busy. The Enterprise-D is fully refitted and certified for duty and with the help of Voyager; the Ambassador has a new updated warp core and is finalizing their pulse QSD engines into their ship. The Yeager has the same weapons and capabilities as the Rantoul now. They’ve also developed their own ways to enter jump space without the use of Quantum 40. From what I understand, they require a much larger warp field surrounding the ship to get past the warp one point seven threshold, but that’s a faster speed than anything we’ve ever imagined. With Voyager’s advances and database of different FTL drives, using their zero-point core technology and a new engine configuration they could travel even faster, possibly as fast as warp 3 without designing a new ship – which they plan to do when they have the time. Theoretically they could make it to the Rim now in six days. But they are also working hard developing a version of pulse slipstream in hyperspace. That would be used for traveling between galaxies. We’re talking insane speeds here. And they wouldn’t be limited by jump space as all of the races here are. If they share, then we can spread much further rather than being shackled to beacons and limited sensors in jump space. Their classes are continuing and there has been a lot of promise on several fronts. I agree with their decision to do it this way, however given the circumstances I wish they’d just give us some of those photon torpedoes. Of course we’d probably kill ourselves playing around with those things. These next few months should be interesting in a Russian sort of way.

On a more personal note, Captain Sheridan has re-assigned me back on active Starfury duty. I am so happy that I could scream. Now I will have the opportunity to practice my skills in real space against those Colonial Cobras. There are thirty-five version- three Thunderbolts now certified and I want to try mine against the T-2s and those Colonial ships. The Threes are the hottest fighters around and the Minbari are having quiet fits. The T-2’s were on parity with the Nials; the T-3’s has them playing catch-up and they don’t like it. Sometimes I think that they’re worse than we are.


Chapter one


The Star system of Z’ha’dum:
Hyperspace:

The war had already started. The approach to Z’ah’dum, if it could even be called that anymore, had been treacherous, bloody, and costly. The Vorlon-Shadow force of three hundred ships, supported by Drakh cruisers and Runkasjh destroyers constituted a formidable force to be reckoned with. For the first time ever, the Vorlon Lord felt secure in the knowledge that his people’s philosophical and mortal enemies were right next to him. It didn’t matter that these were the same enemies that savaged Vorlon Prime with world-killing missiles, after the Vorlons strategically retreated from their now destroyed home world. It didn’t matter that the Shadows had turned those beautiful oceans into radioactive sludge. It didn’t matter that because of the Shadows, death had visited his people by the millions for the first time since the Great Destroyers had swarmed through the gate for the very first time. It didn’t matter that the Shadows had force them to abandon their empire. No, none of that mattered.

What ‘did’ matter to the Vorlon High Lord was that the Shadows had won the bet. What did matter was that the great experiment had been contaminated by others not of this universe. What did matter was that these others would not submit to the authority of the First Ones. What mattered more was that they were somehow protected from the righteous wrath of Vorlon rule. There was something there, the power of an elder First One protecting these creatures, almost daring them to strike at the second group of other Humans and their alien associates. That something was dangerous, with more power than anything ever experienced by his people. The first other Humans didn’t know that they were protected by it. The Shadows weren’t aware of it until the second other Humans had come. But their presence sealed the legacy of the Vorlon race. Now and forever, all of the plans, manipulations, experiments, and even prayers would be steeped in failure. The younger races would know of the failures of their betters and those lesser creatures would laugh at them. The Minbari found their former masters and teachers unworthy. Let them die in their ignorance. If the Ancient Destroyers didn’t kill them, them their increasing inability to reproduce would. It didn’t matter how it happen as long as it did. No one laughed at the Vorlons.

What mattered was that the Shadows were standing with them now. What mattered more was the humiliation and the scorn heaped upon the Vorlon name by creatures unworthy to even see their true visage. Better to have lost to their former enemies rather than be laughed at by those less-than-nothing creatures. He only wished that they could have eliminated them before his people left for the rim. Vorlon pride had been hurt.

Pride.

The first of all sins.

Every race had it to some degree. It determined the direction of countless individuals, inspiring them to greatness or plunged them into the depths of ruin. Pride now drove the Vorlons to attack the Great Destroyers. Fear of Lorien’s vengeance, more than the fear of the creatures from the Third Space, gave them the incentive to make good their promise. Hatred for the younger races would cause the Vorlon Lord to give orders that would turn the galaxy on its heels – provided that they survived the current crises.
-+-


They had lost a war here once. They had been driven from their homes. The ‘Dancers of the Dark’ had fled in fear against a relentless enemy more dangerous than they. The Shadows had defeated the Vorlons and had possibly doomed themselves in the process.

The Shadows, late of the planet of Z’ha’dum, now joined by their traditional enemies the Vorlons, could not drive that lost from their minds – they had lost. That taste was a dour feeling that these Elder ones had every intentions of erasing from their memories.

As they neared the system, not even the Shadows could identify the remains of their own vessels that had been lost in the first titanic battle against the Great Enemy. Those savaged ships had reverted into their component parts while they dissolved in death. Hundreds of thousand of their races had been killed, either bombed into oblivion, or eaten by the Devourers.

A small part of the Shadow Lord and her court blamed the Vorlons for this atrocity. A part of her blamed her own arrogance and pride for activating a Vorlon device, ignoring that oh-so ancient proverb of: ‘if we touch what is Vorlon we will die’. That had proven true, however things had changed. The Vorlons were with them this time, not against them and when this was over, they would all go home.

Home was where the Rim was. Not even they knew the full import of this journey but, like so many before them, they were now prepared to go there and meet whatever fate that was in store for them. First, they had to keep their promise to Lorien. Now the time to honor that promise had arrived so that Lorien would honor his.


Babylon Five:

“…Therefore, as of August 11, 2262, the former Human colony known as Proxima formally secedes from Earth Alliance and declares itself an independent state to do as we please.” President Charles Vincent defiantly placed the papers into the trembling hands of Earth Alliance Senator James Peterman.

“This is not amusing in the least,” the Senator said. He was having a great difficulty controlling his anger and was failing. “Proxima is part of Earth Alliance and this-this posturing will only serve to aggravate our improving relations. You do not have the legal right to do this. Earth is your home and it’s your support system. The shipyards are the property of Earth Alliance and you have no right to nationalize them. Without us, you will fall apart. Think of what you’re doing here. You are not Babylon Five.”

John Sheridan, Delenn Sheridan, newlyweds as of last week, sat silently, listening to the quiet beginnings of World War Four. Kosh stood off to the side, watching the events unfold. The Senator and three other representatives of Earth Alliance shifted uncomfortably as the unusually confident newly declared President of independent Proxima responded.

“We don’t want your shipyards,” the President stated. “You can have them of all back. I will go further and say that you can have all of your orbital habitats and docks back as soon as you can tow them.” Slowly, he folded his hands and stared into the eyes of the Senator and the others. “If you remember, EarthForce, under the control of Earth Alliance, illegally blockaded our colony, denying us critical food, medical and other essential supplies for months. And Senator, I don’t think you understand what that means.”

“Correction, Mister Vincent,” countered the Senator. He refused to call this man President. “I understand exactly what that means. We understand that this was an error on our part…”

“But you did nothing to stop Clark and EarthForce from devastating our planet,” Vincent interrupted. “EarthForce fired on our people. Four million people were left to the ravages of an alien planet while our own people starved us out. The government did nothing. Did you even protest these actions?” he asked him. “Did you feel any concern whatsoever about the colonies that you blockaded or attacked like you did us, Babylon Five and of course, Mars Dome?”

The Senator flushed a bit. “I admit it. Mistakes have been made.”

“Yes,” Vincent countered. “You were worried about your political lives while we watched our children starve. Every agreement within the Proxima Treaty of Earth Alliance Colonies signed by Earth Alliance was violated. The Rules of Engagement were violated against your own people! All of it – meaningless!” For an instant all of the hatred, grief and anger poured out like a wave crashing upon the shore. “I want you to understand that no matter how beautiful it is, Proxima is a world alien to Humans. Our plants will take generations before they will comfortably acclimate to this world; same thing for our feed animals. There are new diseases and mutations that we are constantly on the lookout for. Shelter is of primary concern. We’re developing food stuffs but a lot of our supplies come from our dependency on Earth and from our carefully designed green houses. EarthForce bombed us, then ran when the Centauri attacked. They did not attack us; however, we still starved. Your abandonment of us hurt more than your blockade.”

“Look, I understand how you must feel. But this isn’t the way to do this. We can’t allow you to do this,” Senator Peterman insisted.

“What do you plan to do, isolate us again?”

“Earth Alliance is still in a state of shock. We need to stick together in our times of desperation. There is a war coming and we will need all of the resources that we can get in order to survive.”

“And that is exactly why we are leaving Earth Alliance. If Earth is threatened, we’d be left to our own devices, because Earth must be protected first. That is a fact and we both know it.”

“Earth Alliance will never abandon you,” Peterman insisted. “Never again.”

“Never again,” Peterman echoed. “Never again, right up until the next crisis.”

The Senator sighed. “Earth Alliance will not allow this.”

“It’s already done, Senator Peterman. “We’ve allied ourselves with, the members of the United Earth Ship C-57-D,” President Vincent said. “As I speak, planetary defenses have been established. We have a planetary defense shield protecting the planet as well as weapons batteries capable of accurately destroying any unwanted vessel within a two hundred thousand mile range. Nothing Earth Alliance has can get through that shield. We already have several shuttles already modified with weaponry from the UES capable of destroying an Omega with ease. And they have hyperdrives built in. We’re building several ships with their design in mind. Did you know that their ship uses a form of power very similar to the Federation ship Voyager? We now have synthesizer technology,” he told them. It’s slower than the instant replication system used by the Federation and Babylon Five but it’s just as effective and it’s ours.” He paused for a moment to allow them to digest that. “Our food supplies are more than adequate now, as are our building materials, our medical supplies and electronics,” he finished.

At least two of the Earth Alliance representatives were almost salivating upon hearing those revelations. Then, Vincent plunged the political knife. “However, the most important thing you should be aware of is that we have allies of our own. These allies are the Narn, the Drazi and the representatives of the Klingon Empire. We have a treaty with them; anyone who attacks us, attacks them and vice versa. So,” he said smiling coldly, “we are not alone. Do not think that for a second. Our people have voted on this and we have agreed. Some of them will return to Earth, but the majority has agreed with our stand and will take our chances on our adopted home.”

“You’re seceding from Earth Alliance! This action could lead to war, you do realize that?”

“No it won’t,” the President insisted. “You have other, far more important problems to worry about rather than us. Get your own house in order. While you do, we’ll keep getting stronger and one day, when we come to the bargaining table, it will be on equal terms. As of now, we formally request that you remove your properties from our space. If you can’t, it can remain where it is until you remove it. But all EarthForce personnel will leave those facilities as soon as possible.

“And what if we won’t leave?” one of the aides coldly asked.

“You don’t have the resources to do anything at this time,” the President replied equally as cold. “Besides, Earth needs to reorganize their resources not give them out to someone who doesn’t need it. Also you need friends that may one day be able to help – Human friends. And others I might add. Look around you Senator Peterman; the universe is changing moment by moment. All of it is threatened. The point is, you’ve made enemies and those enemies who buried their children are not in the mood to forgive. In time, Proxima and Earth Alliance may come to an understanding, but for now, and this is official,” he hastened to add with finality that halted all conversation, “leave – us – alone.”

“We’re sorry that you fill this way,” the Senator said slowly. “But this is only the beginning. Don’t mistake yourselves as being Babylon Five.”

“Then don’t assume that you’ll succeed this time, either,” he retorted. “As I said, we don’t want this escalating into an armed conflict, but we will defend ourselves as necessary.”

[Robo Jesus]

Oh my god.

[Skeet]

The System of Z’ha’dum:

The Vorlon High Lord still reeled with the revelations of recent events. The other Humans were not of this universe and had upset things. The circle remained and would recycle at least once more but everything else had been turning into a maze of darkness, despair and confusion. Order had been replaced with chaos and the eternal question posed so long ago and fought so hard for had been answered. Neither chaos nor order held sway; only in combination did they work. It had been the worst of all possible answers and that angered him. The entire experiment had been contaminated with these unknown aliens factored into the equations. They had tried so hard to control all of the variables and they had failed by the so called x-factor.

It was that unaccounted for-factor that caused the Shadows to successfully attack and destroy the Vorlon Empire forcing the majority of his population to flee for the Rim. Only a few fleets had not left, returning home to find their world burning and their mighty races fleeing from the once hated Shadows. They burned for revenge but nothing could have prepared them for the reopening the gate. The Devourers from that third space had re-entered third universe and old, petty disagreements had to be put aside. Lorien had seen to that at Babylon Five.

The bitterness of that defeat was almost welcomed compared to the raw fear of what was about to occur. Ships sensors had informed them that the gate had been destroyed and that was a blessing any everyone’s standards. That meant that no more of them could come through and it also meant that their formidable telepathic skills would not be enhanced enough to influence weaker minds in the Vorlon or Shadow collectives. The weak on both sides had been weeded out, sent to the Rim. Now only the strong stayed and only the strong would fight.

However, the fear was still there as the High Lord stood at the front of his bridge staring at the waves of hyperspace beginning to make way to normal space if there such a place at the system called Z’ha’dum. In the first horrific battle which happened so long that it burned itself into a race memory, a thousand capital ships were destroyed, an entire fleet of single and escort vessels were obliterated and they barely had beaten them back. That victory had been once of the most costly, mournful one in memory and also resulted in the greatest victory celebration in Vorlon history. They had beaten the darkness and had survived.

But the fear remained. The Sinhindrea were found to be so similar in physiology to the Vorlon species that many races might have assumed that they were subspecies of one another. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, both species were aquatic-based and had developed in similar conditions, but the psychology of the two species couldn’t be compared. The Sinhindrea were pure predators whereas the Vorlons were not. The Vorlons were more a combination of energy and matter. The Sinhindrea were matter-based taken to the extreme. The Vorlons had control, order; the Sinhindrea had none. All the difference in the universe lay in those differences. But the similarities were still there. And that is why his people feared the Great Enemy. His people under slightly different conditions might have developed into the Sinhindrea. That was why they had to be destroyed. The Vorlons knew what the Sinhindrea were capable of.

But there was something else, another x-factor involved in this; the sin of pride. They would attack the Great Enemy but would leave the remnants for the younger races to deal with. They were the ones who ruined the experiment and they deserved what they would receive. There would only be a few of these creatures left to trouble them, but that would be enough. Enough younger once would survive for the coming of the true punishment yet to come. Then they would burn and this wasted experiment would finally be cleansed by the coming of the Sun.

Babylon Five:

Senator Peterman was still smarting a bit from the unexpected tongue lashing from the now departed colonists. But he wasn’t as upset as he thought he should be. In fact, he suspected something like this was bound to have occurred sooner or later. Some part of him liked the idea of another independent group of Humans being able to defend themselves, and if it turned out to be different than anyone had expected and not gotten Earth into trouble, then that was fine as well. Many of the colonies were, if not hostile, not overly friendly to the Earth Alliance government either. Several of them were openly rebellious while others were frightened of what was coming and were demanding closer ties to Earth Alliance.

And EarthForce wasn’t ready. There were barely enough ships to properly defend Earth but in the Alliance controlled space, protection was sparse. The Drakh, the Centauri, the civil war, and those other aliens and even the Federation had hurt Earth’s reputation and ability to effectively defend itself in force. The government was still recovering and Luchenko’s tough, grinding leadership was the only thing keeping everything together for now. Several of the alien governments have been tentatively offering the hand of friendship, re-establishing old ties, but some in EarthGov were overly cautious; something he considered a mistake on their parts. Clark’s agenda nearly ruined Earth but he had touched on a sensitive nerve. This was something the current President intended to correct, but it had to be done with finesse and not with the Hammer of Thor tactics use by Clark.

In front of him sat Sheridan and his wife Delenn waiting patiently for him to begin. This was an interesting situation. Here was a Human with an alien wife, a Minbari no less, waiting for him to speak on behalf of Humans everywhere. These aliens had almost wiped Humanity out on a whim and now Humans were marrying them less than twenty years later. Less than a year ago, this would have shocked and offended him, but now with the Feds here, his own attitude had changed somewhat. There were plenty of mixed races on their ships, several of which were married to each other, and that hadn’t been a problem for them. Even the telepaths moved freely on those ships including one former Earth Alliance teep, Lyta Alexander. She had joined them and seemed relatively happy and sincerely relaxed at the change. Maybe this was the beginning of a new future for Mankind and the different, closer Humanoid species here. At this point, no one was sure what the future would bring. The senator found the whole thing exciting but he was also careful to keep his opinions to himself.

But one thing was crystal clear, alien races had interfered with Humanity; but then again, these elder races had interfered with all of the local races. It wasn’t humanity that was experimented on, it was everyone.

A new galaxy was forming, indeed.

“I’ll come to the point,” he said evenly. “Earth Alliance would like to purchase sixty of the modified Thunderbolt-class Starfuries, the version twos’ I believe they’re called. We know that you can make them here much faster than we could and we’re willing to pay the standard amount plus thirty-five percent.”

Sheridan’s face remained blank, but inside he was reeling. This was last thing he expected and whatever decision he made now would have long lasting repercussions.

“Captain Sheridan,” the Senator continued. “EarthForce and Earth Alliance recognize the significance of these fighters and the weight they’ll carry in the protection of Earth Alliance interests and this coming war we all know is coming. Research and development on the fighter that was appropriated without permission, is taking much longer than we have anticipated. Although we made some gains, what we’ve managed to produce is somewhat inferior to the original. The Monsoon Olympus gunboats, and the newer Raneko variants are impressive but again, the power curves for the weapons are unacceptable for use in prolonged combat. In other words, we’re still working on it.” He smiled a bit sheepishly. “The fusion generator is a particularly difficult item to work with.”

The hijacked Thunderbolt had been a godsend to Earth R&D but certain elements could not be reproduced and the current fusion generators were not sufficient to power the weapons, gravity generators and the polarized plating back-engineered by the slightly crazed technicians over at what was nicknamed WTH. WTH stood for ‘what the hell’ because that’s what usually could be heard through the soundproofed doors when they were working with captured Federation and Klingon technology. Most of the new technology was inferior to the original just like the pseudo-Shadow components and armor had been.

“We also request that the Minbari and EarthForce military carry out joint war games to better coordinate our forces. I have been authorized by the President of Earth Alliance to ask that the Centauri also join in these proposed exercises. I know it is unprecedented but given the circumstances, this might be more than prudent. It also will show our willingness to generate some trust between the other governments and races starting with ourselves as examples.”

“The Minbari appreciate your gesture, Senator,” Delenn said quickly. “I will relay this request to the government, but I am not sure if they will approve of this action. In light of the fact that the Elder races have left to attack our mutual enemies and that we have also sent a fleet to engage what will be left of the Sinhindrea, these proposed exercises may be considered redundant.”

Peterman nodded. “But what if they don’t succeed? Still, it might be prudent to seriously consider this request.”

“It might be at that,” Sheridan agreed. “However, I will want to add a condition to this, if it is approved. Earth Alliance has to approve the full and complete rights to all of the Human telepaths. No more Psi-Corps, no more gloves, no more fear of our own people.”

The Senator and his entourage blanched.

“I understand what I’m asking,” he added. “I know it’s frightening. But we have to start somewhere. You’re offering to work hand-in-hand with the Minbari. Why can’t you with our own people? We have quite a few of them located on Epsilon. That’s only a temporary condition. They need to go back home. Some of the officers have been neutered, courtesy of the Federation.”

“I don’t know,” answered a very nervous Senator. The idea of unidentified teeps walking around completely anonymous frightened him. Working with aliens seemed much safer. “I must confer with the President. I don’t know if she and the Senate will be receptive to this. But what do you mean neutered?”

“Several high ranking Psi-Corps officials, along with Earth Alliance tried to end run Picard and his people. He permanently removed their telepathy in retaliation.”

That came as a surprise to the Earth Alliance reps. No one from Earth Alliance knew what had happened to the escaped teeps and the major players of the Corps. Most had either been killed or were believed hiding at some small colony well under the radar. “I don’t understand,” Peterman said. “If he could do that, then why not remove their telepathy from all of them?”

“That’s not the way the Federation works,” Delenn said. “You believe that telepathy is some sort of power, not an extra sense such as enhanced eyesight, or hearing, or taste. That perception has separated you from them.”

“Whether we like it or not; whether we understand it or not, it’s not our call to decide what is best for them,” Sheridan said. “For God’s sake, we’re treating them like the Nazis treated the Jews back in the 1900’s. We have to be better than that.”

“But the people won’t trust them,” one of the aides protested. “How do we know they won’t instigate a war and try to take over?”

“How do we know we can trust the Earth Alliance not to stab us in the back?”

The Senator sighed heavily. Everyone was trying to forget the last few years, but that wasn’t about to happen in three months. “Well I guess we still have a long way to go, allies or not.”

“Yes, we do,” Sheridan confirmed. “It’s give and take on all sides,” he responded looking at an uncomfortable Delenn. “But as you’ve said, we have to start somewhere. I understand that there have to be some rules, but servitude by either Psi-Corps or regulations by the government has shown to exacerbate the difficulties with them. If they are willing to me us half way we should be able to at least consider it.”

The system of Z’ha’dum:

The Vorlon High Lord still reeled with the revelations of recent events. The other Humans were not of this universe and had upset things. The circle remained and would recycle at least once more but everything else had turned into a maze of darkness and despair. Order had been replaced with chaos and the eternal question posed so long ago and fought so hard for had been answered. Neither chaos nor order held sway; only in combination was balanced maintained. It had been the worst of all possible answers and that angered him. The entire experiment had been contaminated with these unknown aliens factored into the equations. They had tried so hard to control all of the variables and they had failed by the so called x-factor.

It was that unaccounted for factor that caused the Shadows to successfully attack and destroy the Vorlon Empire causing the majority of his population to flee for the Rim. Only a few fleets had not yet left. They returned home from their distant missions to discover their world burning and their mighty races fleeing from the once hated Shadows. They burned for revenge but nothing could have prepared them for the reopening the gate. The Devourers from that third space had re-entered their universe and old disagreements that had raged for thousands of years had to be put aside. Lorien had seen to that at Babylon Five.

The bitterness of that defeat was almost welcomed in comparison to the raw fear of what was about to occur. Ships sensors had informed them that the gate had been destroyed and that was a blessing any everyone’s standards. That meant that no more of them could come through and it also meant that their formidable telepathic skills would not be enhanced enough to influence weaker minds in the Vorlon or Shadow collectives. The weak on both sides had been weeded out, sent to the Rim. Now only the strong stayed and only the strong would fight. However, the terror was still being felt by all.

The High Lord stood at the front of his bridge staring at the waves of hyperspace beginning to make way to normal space and he remembered.

That first horrific battle that happened so long ago and was so traumatic, that it burned itself into the Vorlon race memory. A thousand capital ships were destroyed; an entire fleet of eight thousand single and escort vessels were obliterated, by the Great Enemy. His people had barely beaten them back with their planet killers. Dozens of younger races along with their worlds were extinguished by the collateral fighting between the two powers. That victory had been once of the most costly, mournful one in memory and also resulted in the greatest victory celebration in Vorlon history. The other First Ones hated the Vorlons because of this error of pride that had almost cost the lives of this universe and they were ostracized. The Vorlons didn’t care. They had beaten the darkness and had survived.

But the primal fear remained. The Sinhindrea were discovered to be so similar in physiology to the Vorlon species that many races might have assumed that they were subspecies of one another. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, both species were aquatic-based and had developed in similar conditions, but the psychology of the two species couldn’t be compared. The Sinhindrea were pure predators whereas the Vorlons were not. The Vorlons were more a combination of energy and matter. The Sinhindrea were matter-based, taken to the extreme. The Vorlons had control, order; the Sinhindrea had none. All the difference in the universe lay in those facts. But the similarities were still there. And that is why his people feared the Great Enemy. His people under slightly different conditions might have developed into the Sinhindrea. That was why they had to be destroyed. The Vorlons knew what the Sinhindrea were capable of and the depths they would go to achieve those ends.

But there was something else, another x-factor involved in this current battle; the sin of pride. They would attack the Great Enemy but leave the rest for the younger races to deal with. They were the ones who ruined the experiment and they deserved what they would receive. There would only be a few of these creatures left to trouble them, but that would be sufficient. Enough younger ones would survive for the coming of the true punishment yet to come. Then they would burn and this wasted experiment would finally be cleansed by the coming of the Sun.

-+-

The battle began before the Vorlon-Shadow fleet could reach normal space. Sinhindrea vessels nipped at the edges of the armada, picking off scouts and in some cases, even large cruisers fell prey to the small fighters. The Sinhindrea fightercraft, ranging in size from small fighters to Whitestar-sized vessels, avoided the more powerful First One ships, but everything else not their own were legitimate targets. Dozens of Drakh ships fell out of formation, their hulls gutted; their crew’s dead and dying as they floated powerless in the harshness of hyperspace. The plasma-based weaponry melted through Drakh armor easily. Drakh raiders were sliced in half. Runkasjh destroyers fared somewhat better. Their tracking systems quickly locked on and hit the attackers with efficiency unmatched by the Drakh. Realizing their advantages, the Runkasjh vessels quickly formed a perimeter effective enough to keep further Drakh losses to a minimum. Two Runkasjh destroyers were isolated and quickly destroyed. Drakh raiders fired their quantum cannons, hitting Sinhindrea attack ships but doing minimal damage before they were crushed by superior firepower. Evidently, the enemy didn’t care about the vulgarities of hyperspace as long as they could kill the enemy. The Sinhindrea were conducting an all out assault in hyperspace, something unheard of and something to be avoided at all costs. That decision forced the armada into normal space before they could reach their embarkation point.

Nine hundred jump points blossomed in the star system while Shadow vessels phased into normal space alongside Vorlon heavy cruisers. Twelve hundred Drakh cruisers and support vessels flanked both sides of the Vorlon and Shadow armada. In front of them all were the Runkasjh warrior ships. These rarely seen servants of the Shadows were more powerful than the Drakh although there were only a few of them. Almost immediately, the ships came under heavy fire from defensive positions prepared by the Sinhindrea. Plasma pulses raked the formations and the ships began to die as armor fused and melted. Shadow, Vorlon, Drakh and Runkasjh weapons fired as one, hitting shielded defense platforms. The platforms continued to spit death while Shadow cutting beams and Vorlon lightning weapons burned out shield generators and tore the platforms apart. A Vorlon fighter screamed in agony as a Sinhindrea pulse burned it alive. Shadow and Vorlon fighters supported by Drakh Raiders targeted more defensive spheres and rush in for the kill before, they in turn, could be destroyed.

The platforms responded and destroyed several dozen of the attackers before they could get into range. Finally they returned fire. The enemy shields collapsed and they were destroyed shortly thereafter. However the victory was short-lived. The first of the Sinhindrea small and medium fighters had arrived jumping into the fight using a form of faster-than-light nearly identical that which the ‘other’ new Humans used. It was another form of hyperspace travel not used in this galaxy in a hundred thousand years. Thirty of the fighters hit the forward face of the armada and blew through the smaller Drakh and Runkasjh warships, to strike at the Shadow and Vorlon advance guard. The Shadows and Vorlons fought back hard, hitting the enemy several times before effectively destroying them. But they needed only to be hit once before they died. Other Sinhindrea fighterships avoided the larger First One cruisers and opted instead to attack the Drakh warships. One Runkasjh cruiser under attack tried desperately to destroy its smaller attacker, but its shields held and bolt after bolt of plasma energy tore through the ship as it flew directly at and then into the doomed vessel. The WhiteStar-sized ship them proceeded to tear the ship apart from the inside.

More and more of the Third-Space fighters entered normal space savaging the smaller and weaker ships that were now retreating to the safety of their larger brethren. The cruisers unleashed their firepower upon the smaller ships. Their shields held for less than a second before they were turned into small, blossoming matches. The survivors retreated quickly just as the first wave of Sinhindrea capital ships arrived. Six of the ball-shaped vessels had arrived, but were not yet engaging. Fueled by bloodlust and the need for revenge, several of the Drakh squadrons followed by a dozen man-o-war Runkasjh destroyers attacked.

Relying on previous experiences against Federation shields, two dozen quantum discharge cannon, missiles and pulse cannons targeted one ship, striking the vessels huge circular energy matrix. The beams converged on the vessel and its powerful shields began to destabilize as it moved to avoid the weapon’s fire. The other five vessels now opened fire with their pulse weapons. Bright orange-yellow balls of controlled plasma hit the Drakh and Runkasjh squadrons turning them into molten slag. Fighters near the inferno died as radiation destroyed organic components and pilots. The pulses burned through the squadron and continued unabated into the depths of space. Fifty more of those destroyers appeared supported by hundreds of fighters and ten of the double-sphere battleships. As one they move forward, destroying everything in their paths.

The Elder ones rose to the challenge. Hundreds of Vorlon and Shadow squadrons returned fire and the Sinhindrea’s frontline broke. Shields failed and ships exploded as their plasma matrixes went critical. Vorlon destroyers broke apart under retaliatory fire; Shadows withered and died. However, there were more of them than the enemy at this point and the Dark Ones were forced back. The reprieve was short-lived. Other Devourers were coming –

-Which was exactly what the Elders were hoping for.
TBC

[Robo Jesus]

But the fear remained. The Sinhindrea were found to be so similar in physiology to the Vorlon species that many races might have assumed that they were subspecies of one another. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, both species were aquatic-based and had developed in similar conditions, but the psychology of the two species couldn’t be compared. The Sinhindrea were pure predators whereas the Vorlons were not. The Vorlons were more a combination of energy and matter. The Sinhindrea were matter-based taken to the extreme. The Vorlons had control, order; the Sinhindrea had none. All the difference in the universe lay in those differences. But the similarities were still there. And that is why his people feared the Great Enemy. His people under slightly different conditions might have developed into the Sinhindrea. That was why they had to be destroyed. The Vorlons knew what the Sinhindrea were capable of.

Lovely, and very appropriate.

It seems that almost anything involved with the Vorlon's, regardless of universe, seems to bring destruction and death. That just seems to be so very appropriate.

[krinsbez]

Uh, Skeet, you repeated yourself there. And wasn't about half of your first post the epilogue to TWS?

[Gyre]

Skeet, sweet. It's the mother of all slugfests.

[Inquisitor]

Originally Posted by krinsbez

Uh, Skeet, you repeated yourself there. And wasn't about half of your first post the epilogue to TWS?

i agree, it would had been good if it was repeated some chapter later but it was repeated about 3times&that kinda made it redundant...Pride was their undoing but i liked the part where the Vorlons had compared themselves to the Sinnhendrea as a similar species except haven't been ascended..the Sinnhendrea went to become like the Borg but consuming their neighbors...the only thing i can think of is probably the lack of influence by Lorien's race of Speakers with the Sinnhendrea....

[krinsbez]

Originally Posted by Inquisitor

i agree, it would had been good if it was repeated some chapter later but it was repeated about 3times&that kinda made it redundant...Pride was their undoing but i liked the part where the Vorlons had compared themselves to the Sinnhendrea as a similar species except haven't been ascended..the Sinnhendrea went to become like the Borg but consuming their neighbors...the only thing i can think of is probably the lack of influence by Lorien's race of Speakers with the Sinnhendrea....

No, I meant he was repeating the same block of text, before and after the conversation between Sheridan/Delenn and the Senator guy.

[Rastamon]

So it begins...again!

The High Vorlon's POV is shown twice, word for word. Might want to fix that.

Where is the idea for the Runkasjh from?

"cleansed by the coming of the Sun"....mmmm do the Vorlons know something that only you and the Prophets know?

"form of faster-than-light nearly identical to that used by the other humans"...is that like the Colonial hyperlight tech?

[HawaiianOnline]

Nice. That other FTL might be warp or QS. I'm thinking it's warp though.

[jon891]

So when will Sg-1 become a part of this story.

[The Sithspawn]

Glad to see this part finally out, Skeet.

As several people have already pointed out there's a bit that been repeated.

Anyway, great battle! I'm loving this story already And I'm guessing that the Vorlons and Shadows have some type of trap planned. So update soon! Cause I want to see what's going to happen. Though I do think that they are both perhaps underestimating the Sinhindrea.

Also who are these Runkasjh? Are they your creation or are they some canon speceis?

Also to jon891: Skeet has already said that SG-1 will NOT be appearing in this fic. The stargate portion is going to be based on the stargate movie verse not the TV series.

[He who Lurks]

Wonderful Skeet, especially liked the battles

Plus the bit with the Senator and Vincent just cant get enough of it post more now!

[Zarathos]

not bad, not bad at all

[Skeet]

My fault for repeating my self. I was trying to get the point across but I overdid it. Sorry.

I made slight corrections concerning this in the up ff.net.
By the way you will see Aalaan in a different light. Should be interesting.

[Kikaider01]

Originally Posted by Skeet

By the way you will see Aalaan in a different light. Should be interesting.

Looking forward to it! Nice update.

[Robo Jesus]

This "Different Light" wouldn't happen to also be reflected in ATV, would it?

[Rastamon]

It would seem that a crossover between Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica is onscreen canon!



Found in www.battlestarwiki.org The site claims this scene is seen in every opening of the NeoBSG episodes.

So Ronald D. Moore has given his seal of approval to Skeet!

[Skeet]

Originally Posted by Robo Jesus

This "Different Light" wouldn't happen to also be reflected in ATV, would it?

Yes. I want to portray the Minbari (common characters) with same attitudes and characteristics in different situations. For example Aalaan is the same person but responds -in his way to a different set of conditions: For example we know that Aalaan is helping to orchestrate the stuff going on in ATV. But in AIB coming soon to a post near you:
***

Neroon glared at a very relaxed Aalaan intently returning his stare. “What you are doing is wrong.”

“The Grey Council is wrong,” the Minbari warrior countered. “We should jump at this opportunity. Our ships are superior to almost,” and he stressed the word to Neroon’s chagrin,” everyone else’s but for how long? Our fighters are more powerful, but for how long? We hold the edge on technology, but again, for how long?”

“If the Humans receive these new fighters then we will lose our edge among the younger races. That cannot be allowed.” Neroon sipped the tea, his irritatingly delightful, replicated tea.

“Are we to remain stagnant while everyone else grows stronger?” Aalaan protested. “Our warriors are strong, they can fight. But we are too used to being to winning with thousand year old technology and by force of numbers. We have gotten soft. Our training is insufficient. We need practical combat training. Winning by force of numbers is no longer a viable option.”

Neroon flushed, angered at the insult by one of his own. Forcibly he steadied himself. “Think of our people, Aalaan. We have lost our way. What we were has been founded in half lies. Our people know the truth about the Vorlons. We have suffered several embarrassments in front of the younger races. We need a victory.”

“I agree, but we need to approach this carefully. Attacking the Sinhindrea now, in this manner is ill-advised. We attacked the Humans in the same way. At this point, we should have learned to apply a more measured response.”

“I don’t agree,” Neroon answered angrily. “We must remind the younger races of who we are. This action is the way to do this.”

“With all due respect, you sound like a frightened child hiding in the corner, while you drink tea from one of their devices.”

“Have a care, Aalaan,” the Satai hissed.

“That is exactly why I am speaking to you in this manner. I ‘do’ care,” he insisted. “I care enough to talk to the others concerning the direction our race is taking. Vorlon tampering has damaged our people. In another twelve generations we will be at zero population growth! There are medicines, and techniques that we can obtain that can reverse the damage. How rare is it now for us to have more than one child? How dangerous is it for us to have less Dukhats in every generation? He was the best of us. We instinctively knew this and that is why we treasured him so. With his loss we went mad. A part of us was lost forever. With him, a part of our future hopes died. That is why we wanted revenge, not just for his loss but also for the loss to ‘the body’. Federation and Minbari medicine is very advanced. Between the two we can correct the degeneration destroying our people, quickly and easily and,” he added, “within our lifetimes.”

Stroking his bone-crest in frustration he muttered that, “the people will not accept help from outsiders.”

“Is that the will of the people, or the will of the Grey Council?”

He sighed heavily. “There are times like this when I truly hate Humanity,” he said without answering the question. “If it weren’t for them, we’d remain blissfully ignorant of the universe’s plots against us. We should have wiped them out when we had the chance. And the Federation wouldn’t have been here to try to save them.”

“We should be glad that they weren’t,” the Shai Alyt said. It would have been a murderous war. I fear what we could have become if we have fought such a government. But that’s not the point. They weren’t the ones who genetically altered us. The Eartherse suffered as well, but unlike us, they seem to want to continue on despite their obvious weaknesses.”

“But Delenn married that Human,” Neroon snapped. “I do not deny her happiness, however…”

Aalaan nodded slowly in understanding. “Another one of our great ones – lost. But just possibly we’ve gained something more. Only time will tell.”

“Time is something we may not have. Even Delenn is unsure of our course of..."

***

The point here is that both characters remain the same, as does Sheridan, Delenn, and the others (at least that is my intention to remain true to the characters). But the situation is different. Shakiri and Branmer (sp) and Shaka will remain the same - but not necessarily enemies and that makes a lot of difference on who's side they are on.

Rastamon: Cute pix. So much for phasers and defensive shields, eh?. It's a shame that you have humans on the other side of the galaxy developing western style ties independent of one another. It's like having pigeons as the universal constant of the galaxy. The universe stinks.

[HawaiianOnline]

Originally Posted by Skeet

He sighed heavily. “There are times like this when I truly hate Humanity,” he said without answering the question. “If it weren’t for them, we’d remain blissfully ignorant of the universe’s plots against us. We should have wiped them out when we had the chance. And the Federation wouldn’t have been here to try to save them.”

“We should be glad that they weren’t,” the Shai Alyt said. It would have been a murderous war. I fear what we could have become if we have fought such a government.

They won't know, but we will... Very nice. This Aalaan is learning just as his counterpart in ATV is. Thankfully for him, it's a far less bloody though equally painful lesson.

Originally Posted by Skeet

Rastamon: Cute pix. So much for phasers and defensive shields, eh?. It's a shame that you have humans on the other side of the galaxy developing western style ties independent of one another. It's like having pigeons as the universal constant of the galaxy. The universe stinks.

Ties are the work of the Devil, Skeet. Or at least, they have been inflicted upon the multiverse as a joke of a higher power.

[Martin70]

All I can say is... YES! Keep it up Skeet~!

[Skeet]

Originally Posted by Martin70

All I can say is... YES! Keep it up Skeet~!

Don't forget to do the same!. Nice touch on Doorway. It's getting a lot better and more meaty.

[Robo Jesus]

Home was where the Rim was. Not even they knew the full import of this journey but, like so many before them, they were now prepared to go there and meet whatever fate that was in store for them. First, they had to keep their promise to Lorien. Now the time to honor that promise had arrived so that Lorien would honor his.

Why is it the more I think of the "Rim" and the "Ascension" of most beings (such how the Vorlon's and Shadow's "Ascended" for example), that I end up with the mental image of the end result of the Human Instrumentality project from End of Evangelion?

[Skeet]

Originally Posted by Robo Jesus

Why is it the more I think of the "Rim" and the "Ascension" of most beings (such how the Vorlon's and Shadow's "Ascended" for example), that I end up with the mental image of the end result of the Human Instrumentality project from End of Evangelion?

It is entirely possible. But no one knows what the Rim is. It may not be an evolutionary upgrade.

It might be an old folks home for these elder races for all we know. Certainly sounds like it.

Or it could represent a place where a new journey begins towards another place (ala new realities or a new connction to the universe). Or it could be a place where 'becoming one with the universe is the ultimate achievement.

Does anyone have a solid clue here?

[Inquisitor]

Originally Posted by Skeet

It is entirely possible. But no one knows what the Rim is. It may not be an evolutionary upgrade.

It might be an old folks home for these elder races for all we know. Certainly sounds like it.

Or it could represent a place where a new journey begins towards another place (ala new realities or a new connction to the universe). Or it could be a place where 'becoming one with the universe is the ultimate achievement.

Does anyone have a solid clue here?

remember u agreed awhile ago that it might had something similar to the Preserver multi-universal gateway from the novel ST:Federation...from all the description about being beyond the rim that Lorien had been saying, it's just a beginning of a journey to a different realm...the First Ones had the opportunity to go to the next galaxy but they didn't bother, so the only thing i can think of that something worth going to beyond the Rim is going into the multi-verse...also it might provide a stable gateway to the well of souls that the Vorlons had been trying to travel using the Thirdspace gateway instead of the Sinnhendrea's backyard...