Pt10:

John Sheridan looked at the screen which contained the image of his superior officer.

"You want me to leave immediately for the rendezvous. When I arrive, I will be met by the Tau'ri vessel Bane." Strange name for a ship, he thought. He didn't know that most Ha'taks were normally named for an alien who owned them and the Jaffa had considered Goa'uld's Bane. "Once your Chief Garibaldi comes over and briefs me, I am to escort the Bane into hyperspace and follow the directions of this Supreme Mugwump Harry Potter. Our task is stopping a shipment of weapons components that the Shadows are planning on taking delivery on."

"That's right, Admiral – John. Depending on the outcome of this mission, we may have a way to actually stand up and win when we fight them. Let's just hope this works. You will tow the ship captured back here if it can't be flown."

"And if the Bane fails to capture it?"

"Then destroy it. We can't let it fall into enemy hands." Sinclair's face was bleak, Sheridan noticed.

"Understood. We will hit hyperspace in ten minutes."

"Very good. Sinclair Out."

Sheridan turned to his staff who had been listening in. "You heard the man. Get me on the horn with the other Omegas and prepare to jump."

Once Sheridan had given instructions and left one of the other captains in charge, the Agamemnon jumped into hyperspace. Although they normally didn't travel so fast so as to save fuel, the engines were maxed out. They didn't have a lot of time. Once they arrived, they jumped to normal space.

"Any sign of them?" he asked his XO.

"No, sir. But we made good time. The Bane is supposed to arrive in an hour."

He nodded. "Okay. Let's check everything out to make sure we're still good and get ready."

About an hour later, one of the bridge crew called out, "Admiral!"

"What is it?"

"Sensors picked up a ship appearing about 1 AU away from us! Size and silhouette matches the information sent on the Bane!"

"Did you detect a jump point?" he asked.

"No, sir! It is as if they just appeared."

Sheridan looked at the screen which not contained the newly arrived ship. "I would love to find out how they did that. But hail them."

"On screen."

The screen morphed and now showed the alien bridge. If he was honest, he would have called it almost Egyptian-like. "Captain. This is Sheridan on the Agamemnon. Any problems?"

The alien who looked like a buff Middle Eastern man replied, "No. This is Kalesh on the Bane. There was no trouble. I will turn this over to Lord Potter."

The human-looking man in robes near the captain of the Bane gave the alien a scathing look for a moment before turning to the screen. "Please don't call me Lord Potter – I get enough of that from the politicians back home. Hall me Harry. Anyway, I'm glad you made it. As soon as we get within 40 klicks – I believe that is the right word – we will send Mr. Garibaldi over." He paused and grinned. "You do have a large empty room somewhere on the Agamemnon, right?"

Sheridan answered with some confusion. "Certainly. There's an observation area near the front of the rotating section. But why is that important?"

"Oh, no reason. I'll explain when we get closer."

"Okay. Well come on in. How long will it take to get here?" An Earth Force ship might take an hour or two to travel one AU.

Harry turned to Captain Kalesh expectantly. "We will arrive in 15 Earth Minutes, Lord Potter."

Sheridan was actually shocked at that. He would have been more shocked if he had learned that the Ha'tak could have come in at almost the speed of light. Its artificial gravity could cancel out the inertia.

"Okay. We'll be there in 15 minutes. This is the Bane, Out."

The image cut off.

"Get all you can on sensors as they approach!" he called out to his crew. They scrambled to comply. Even with full on sensors, they had no idea how the ship approaching them moved.

The Bane got within the required distance. "Signal the Agamemnon."

The screens lit up. "Admiral. You ready to receive?"

Sheridan nodded. "Are you sending a shuttle?"

This Lord Potter character did something which confused Sheridan. He turned and nodded to someone off screen. After a moment he turned back. "Check for Garibaldi in your Observation area."

Sheridan turned and barked a few orders. Very shortly one of the techs sounded off. "Security is linking in. They report finding Warrant Officer Garibaldi right where we were told."

Sheridan turned, wide-eyed, to look at the screen. Harry Potter smirked and shrugged. "A technology which we have access to but are not selling, giving out, or otherwise explaining. We don't have time. But listen to Mr. Garibaldi's report. We'll link up in half an hour – we will need to jump pretty shortly thereafter."

Sheridan sent for Garibaldi. The two went into the Captain's Ready Room off of the bridge, where he worked if he wasn't on the bridge.

"Tell me what this is about."

Garibaldi handed over Sinclair's order as well as the briefing memo. Sheridan quickly went through it. When Sheridan looked up Garibaldi explained, "We need to stop this shipment and we need to see if telepaths can interfere with the Shadow vessels. We've got Bester, a P12 Psi-Cop and one of the Tau'ri, Harry, who can act as needed. The Bane just needs someone to open the jump points because they use a different kind of drive and are new to jump space."

Sheridan was agog at what he was learning but willing to do as ordered. "Okay then. Are you staying here or going back?"

Garibaldi gave a small, uncomfortable smile. "Truthfully? I'd rather stay here. I don't know how their transport rings work but I sure in hell don't want to experiment without knowing how the hell it works."

Sheridan considered that and then nodded in sympathy. "I can buy that. Welcome aboard. If needed, I can assign quarters. It will depend on how long this takes."

Garibaldi shrugged. "The intelligence said it won't be long but we'll see."

Very soon, the two ships were in hyperspace and were in constant communication. Bester slipped that hyperspace extended a telepath's range. The Earth Force personnel took care to note that as it wasn't a well known piece of information.

It didn't actually take that long, using Bester and those who knew hyperspace, to locate the convoy. The Shadow escorts fled too quickly for them to test how effective telepathic interference was.

A couple of Aurors, a slayer and two B5 security members ringed over. Harry was going to go, but the lead Auror on hand objected vehemently. They wouldn't allow him to take any risk that could be avoided – he was too important.

The boarding team linked in. The security officer from Babylon 5 who had come over with the Aurors linked in. Harry answered as he was in charge of this little operation. "Go."

"The Senior Auror reports that he has the alien pilot under a stupefy and in stasis so there will be no surprises. We found a mechanism that would spray acid on the pilot and the Auror reports that there is a poison tablet imbedded in his mouth somewhere. We're doing a quick check but it seems that your guess as to what is over here was right on – we have a hundred cryo-tubes, each with a Psi-Corp logo and when we looked the occupants seem to have something attached to their heads – the Auror reports it coming back as organic and Dark, whatever that means."

"Understood. Can you or your compatriot fly it or does it need to be towed?"

"Hold." After a few minutes the officer linked back in. "It appears to be simple controls – roughly equivalent to Earth Force normal. We can pilot it but we don't know how to jump it."

"Well, the Agamemnon can handle that. You people stay over there and watch for changes. The Agamemnon will lead, you follow, and we will follow you."

"Understood. Williams Out."

Harry called Sheridan. "You heard?"

"So it is telepaths?"

"It appears to be. Bester wanted to go over but we're keeping him here. We need to go to Babylon 5 with this."

"Understood. My people are plotting the course. We'll link in when we are ready."

Orin Zento smirked as he returned to the place he had come to hate. He had been here two years earlier to settle a dock workers strike. His authorization of the Rush Act was not enacted as he envisioned. Instead of a show of force, demonstrating Earth Gov superiority, the damned Station commander had used the wording of the law to re-allocate funds to meet the demands.

But this time, there would be no one to stop him. He was here on the personal authority of the President of the Earth Alliance. That he chose to interpret his orders liberally was no one's business but his own.

He had plans to use whatever legal precedent that was available to him to lay claim to the technological wonder below Epsilon Three's surface for Earth and for Earth alone. And that would see a great feather in his cap.

That it would embarrass Sinclair. Sinclair had taken the position that the installation legally belonged to the previous tenant and that the new tenant was his chosen successor. And while this might hold legal truth – one had to prove it. He was certain that there were not records that were legally acceptable to back this up.

He had come in the Hyperion, the original ship of the Heavy Cruiser class that was named in its honor. There was no gravity, which was annoying, but it had enough firepower to back him up. Captain Pierce had been instructed to provide all assistance.

The Omegas in the system were, for the most part, away on mission. The alien ship that had helped repel the invaders was also away. That meant that the two ships, the Roanoke and the Agrippa, were the only ones left. And both Captains, despite being under Sinclair's nominal command, knew where the bread was buttered. He also still saw Sinclair as a lowly Commander despite knowing of his placement with the brevet rank of Admiral. Brevet meant "temporary" as far as he was concerned.

It should be said that Orin Zento had no true respect for the intelligence of military officers, nor their strict adherence to the Chain of Command. He was also not aware that Sinclair was not on the mission that his backers had arranged to distract him.

Zento's enlightenment would be … quite fun to watch.

"C&C to Mr. Zento."

Zento hit the comm. panel in his quarters. "Go."

"Babylon Control has been apprised of your arrival. You have clearance to go over."

"Thank you. This meeting should be short. Please prepare the mission to travel down to the planet. I will want to attend to it as soon as I have informed Babylon Control."

"Understood. You can make your way to the transport. Pierce Out."

Orin did as he was told. Living in zero gravity took some getting used to but he had been in this situation many times. He got his gear together and, attaching himself to proper place, allowed himself to be transported. The crew went under their own power, almost flying along, but the quarters he was in were designed for people who didn't spend their whole life in zero G.

Finally, he was in the transport and everything was belted down – people and cargo alike. He felt the acceleration as they launched from the bay. After a few long minutes, he felt the transport "land" – the transport would be guided to a platform and then magnetically lock in the correct orientation. He then felt the sensation of the transport moving vertically and he started to feel the gravity gradually increase until the transport stopped moving and he felt the normal gravity that the station boasted.

As it always did, it took a few minutes for him to regain his legs – people who lived in zero G for any length of time always took time to find their balance once more. But he had and, performing a quick change so as not to present himself anything less than professionally, he reached into his bags and pulled out his suit and quickly donned it.

He then walked to the door and opened it.

His anticipation was building. He was so looking forward to putting Sinclair's lackey in their place. He exited the transport and moved along the passage. He wasn't using the normal civilian passages and so his travel was quick.

He reached the checkpoint. "Special Envoy from the Office of the Earth President. I need to be taken to the officer who is in charge of Babylon 5."

The security officer was offended by the casual dismissal of the man before him. He also remembered the last time the man had come. He didn't like the man any better then. He decided to be excruciatingly polite. He truly hoped that the Admiral would put him in his place and he hoped to see it. "Understood. That matches my orders. Follow me."

He turned and led the officious man toward the Admiral's Office. He kept his cool as he knocked on the panel and heard the command, "Come!"

Turning, he saw that Zento hadn't been listening. And so he motioned the man forward and went to follow him.

He was right behind Zento when he walked into the office and he stopped at the door. "My name is Orin Zento. I am special Envoy from the Office of …." The guard saw at that moment that Zento had looked to see whom he was addressing. He saw the shock on the man's face. He was careful to keep his grin to himself. "Sinclair!"

The Admiral stood up. "That's Admiral Sinclair, if you haven't been informed. And I am well aware of who you are – I remember you quite well, Mr. Zento. What is it that you are doing here?"

"I was told … I mean I understood that you would be dealing with prosecuting this war. I expected to be taken to Commander Ivanova."

"While I am busy coordinating our forces and ordering relief efforts as well as attacking the enemy, currently I am waiting for reports on several missions. And so, even though you are a civilian and not part of the Chain of Command, since my boss sent you I decided to take care of this myself." Sinclair's almost unctuous smile then dropped and he said, "As I am, as you said, very busy, please feel free to get to the point as to why you have been sent."

Orin gathered himself and finally, trying to sound officious, said, "Yes. Well, Earth Dome received the reports as to what was on the planet below. I was dispatched to verify these reports and to speak to this Draal character to examine the documents which actually places the complex below Epsilon Three's surface under his control. This system was claimed by Earth Alliance. Every government who signed the Babylon treaty agreed with that. There was no mention of this when the Drazi ceded their claims."

Sinclair sat down. "Yes, there is a good explanation. The complex, as you call it, was built before the Drazi tried to start their colony on Epsilon 4, before Earth used it as an outpost, before any claims were made. According to recognized agreements, any prior inhabitants have defacto ownership of any planet they have lived upon for more than ten years before any government tries to claim it. They also have the freedom to cede ownership in any way they see fit. The previous caretaker, Varn, lived there for 500 years – centuries before the Drazi tried to claim this system. There are also other caretakers who have lived there for 80 years and assist in the upkeep of the Great Machine. Varn, at the end of his life, ceded control to Draal, a Minbari. He did not cede it to the Minbari people or government. As a matter of law, Draal owns it – though I think he would say it owns itself. He has also entered into agreement to allow a race called Goblins to establish a bank upon Epsilon Three."

Damn, Zento thought. Sinclair was more learned about ownership rights than he had expected. "Well, I for one would like to contact this Draal character. I, and Earth, would need to see proof before we are willing to concede the argument."

Sinclair looked at him for a long moment and then walked over to the comm. panel and hit a button. "Communications Activated. Please state recipient."

"Draal, on Epsilon Three."

"Please wait for connection. Connection established." The screen showed nothing.

"Draal. I have an Earth Alliance Envoy who needs to see you about proofs regarding ownership."

The voice came out of the panel. "I will be right there."

Even as Sinclair turned, Zento was almost flummoxed when a holographic presence made itself known. If he hadn't of known it was a holograph, he wouldn't have guessed. "How did you do that?!

Draal, who was feeling even younger every day, smiled congenially. "Come now! You Earthers have had the technology for holographic letters for years – it is even one of your more inexpensive methods of interstellar communications! Added to sensor technology and communication technology, it's quite easy to do." Draal looked away for a moment and muttered, "Not that anyone had thought to put them together before it was suggested to me." He stopped and turned back, "Anyway! For all purposes I am here. I am Draal, Caretaker and Controlling Mind for the Great Machine on Epsilon Three. You wished to speak to me?"

Orin Zento, from the moment that Draal appeared, had started psyching himself up for a confrontational approach. "Yes! What proof do you have that you have legal ownership of this 'Great Machine'? Before the Earth-Minbari War your people never left your own space. We claimed this area before that! Where is the proof that it was legally given over to you?"

Draal looked at him with an amused expression. "Orin, Orin, Orin. Things don't go your way and you yell and sulk like a small child. I've been waiting for you since the information came that you were coming. I believe it was General Hague, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff and Admiral Sinclair's direct superior. He asked me for that just days ago." Draal turned to Sinclair. "Did you receive the package?"

Sinclair nodded and went to a shelf. He picked up the package and brought it to Zento and dropped it in his hands. "This is the documentation. I had the local legal office go over it to verify it as much as possible – as technically this is a new world we are contacting. It includes copies of the originals which we have verified as much as possible are legitimate. I believe that this will answer all your questions."

Zento asked plaintively, "Why didn't you give this to me when I first came in?"

"You didn't ask for it. I was trying to be polite and give you the chance to actually request it first. But, since Draal mentioned them, I am now delivering them."

Zento looked at the pile of documents he held. He was pretty certain, with how they were acting, that it would be legally sufficient. He tried to keep his cool. "I will review them and make my report to Earth Dome."

Draal said, "Good. Now to another matter." He turned to Sinclair. "Do you know why this new Earth Force ship has sent a probe over Epsilon Three?"

Sinclair looked surprised. "Let me find out." He hit his link. "This is Sinclair. Get me the Hyperion's captain on the line."

"Yes, Sir."

Very soon, his screen lit up. "This is Pierce."

"Captain Pierce. This is Admiral Sinclair. Why have you launched a probe?"

Pierce was taken aback for only a split instant. He had thought Sinclair wasn't there. He would have checked in if he had known. "I am following the directions I was given. I was ordered to cooperate with Mr. Zento fully. He asked that we prepare to go down as soon as he checked in. We were ensuring there were no surprises – and so we sent a probe to make certain."

"Understood. However, Mr. Zento has just been given the information he was going to retrieve by going down. He will need time to review it. But there will be no unauthorized trips down to the planet's surface. Is that understood, Captain?"

"Yes, sir! Understood!" Pierce was very familiar with the idea of following orders. And this wasn't a civilian – this was an Admiral.

Draal spoke up. "Now that that's taken care of, your probe might be of assistance. Please ask all of your ships to watch the probe."

Sinclair turned and considered Draal for a moment and then nodded. He gave the order to Pierce and then the other Captains. He also ordered Ivanova to watch the probe.

"Mr. Zento. You might want to watch this too."

Draal closed his eyes for a brief moment. Every ship watched in shock as an extremely strong beam came out from below the planet's surface. The probe was vaporized in a split instant. Such a beam could easily destroy even a capital ship.

Draal gave a small smile. "I know it's like hitting an insect with a nuclear blast. But I needed to demonstrate my point. The Great Machine is fully able to protect itself. I believe it is valuable that the allies of the Great Machine are aware of it."

He turned to Orin, who was swallowing. "But Mr. Zento! It is good that you are here. I believe that Ragnok, the leader of the Goblins, has need to speak to you. I believe he needs to open negotiations on something. Please ask Admiral Sinclair to contact him as soon as possible."

Draal turned and his image winked out.

Sinclair looked at where Draal had been for a long moment. "Well, at least he has style." He turned to Zento. "Can I inform War Leader Ragnok when you will be available?"