Author's Notes: This is me trying hard to introduce a rather complicated series...no, there are no major characters here, they come in in the Interlude. Which will be up shortly. I started planning this before B5LR came out, but thankfully, I haven't had to edit very much.
The two Minbari in this intro should seem familiar: Sindell is the head of the Ranger Council from "To Live and Die in Starlight" and Turval is the older fellow, the one leading the meditation class, from "Learning Curve". They and other canon Minbari will make appearances from time to time.
Disclaimer: We'll call this the disclaimer for the whole story. The original characters are only marginally mine; they just kind of show up in my head. Anyone you recognize is JMS's. Tuzanor, Minbar, and the Rangers are JMS's. I'm just...filling in the gaps.
The hall was filled wall-to-wall with recruits. Turval felt a glow of pride and accomplishment; the ranks of the Rangers hadn't been this full in centuries. Of course, opening up the Anla'shok to all of the Alliance races had probably had a great effect on that. Narns, Drazi, Centauri, even Pak'ma'ra stood shoulder-to-appendage with the more conventional Humans and Minbari as Councilor Sindell, newly appointed head of the Ranger Council, gave a slightly revised, traditional introductory speech. The official oath would be administered later, in much smaller groups.
The crowd broke out in scattered applause as Sindell concluded with the oath of the Anla'shok, "Entil'zha Veni".
Turval bowed slightly to the younger Minbari as Sindell approached him. "An impressive speech, Councilor."
Sindell snorted. "Probably identical to the one made every year at this time. You must have it memorized by now."
Turval allowed himself a small smile. "Perhaps. But I had not yet heard it from you. Quite impressive."
The two stood in silence for a while, looking out at the crowd of new Rangers-in-training, who seemed quite content to hover around the hall and make conversation. Sindell seemed disturbed. His eyes flicked over groups of recruits who seemed to have ended up separated by race; even many of the Humans and Minbari remained apart from the others.
"It doesn't seem quite right," Sindell said suddenly, "all of these different races. The Rangers have so many traditions peculiar to the Minbari - I'm not sure this will work."
Turval raised an eyebrow at him. "I recall that many said the same when Humans were first allowed among the Anla'shok."
"Yes, but that was prophecy," Sindell muttered. "This is just politics."
"We must trust that Entil'zha Delenn has taken such matters into consideration, and that she knows her position and her people." With a final bow and a significant look, Turval left the younger Minbari to reflect upon this as he himself headed for home.
Sindell was quite willing to reflect upon Turval's words, though he was not at all sure what he thought of them. Of course he had absolute faith in Entil'zha Delenn. Of course this was the best move for the new Alliance. A united galaxy was, after all, its main goal, and this was an important step toward that goal. And yet...
In the crowd of new recruits an angry voice was raised. It was followed shortly by an equally angry voice, which added some insults in a Centauri dialect. A group of Narn voices rose in concert, and Centauri...
Councilor Sindell closed his eyes in trepidation, murmuring a mantra to himself. Entil'zha Veni.