The Time Lord Empire.
The New Earth Alliance.
Rickman opened up a drawer in his desk and produced a bottle of Malt whiskey, he opened it and poured some for himself and Clarke. Clarke sipped some, smacking his lips at the exquisite taste. " How goes the progress?"
" The Minbari and our...former allies did an excellent job of killing us, Senator. We managed to divert as many colonists here, to the outer rim territories, and establish new ones here. The scientists are trying to create biological weapons in the form of soldiers, using human genetic material to form an invincible new army. The new soldiers grow very quickly, they mature in less than a week, and they have a neural mesh in their brains to grant them knowledge, everything that we know of war, strategy and weapons is implanted in their heads, and a drug will keep them in our hands."
Clarke nodded approvingly, glancing around the office. It was fairly crude, it was more of a shack over decorated to take away the fact it was a prefabricated building and not one built by humans or robots. " And what of the warfleets, how about them? And the telepaths we saved?"
Rickman took another gulp of his drink before he stated what he knew. " The introduction of Centauri technology has given us more precise jump engines and weapons systems. I've sent a team to capture a Vree saucer and an Abbai ship for their shield and weapon systems. We've also learnt how to use antimatter as a power source and weapon system, and we're in the middle of building the first of the Predator class destroyers, the Starkiller class dreadnoughts, named after John Sheridan who died with Earth, and the Raptor class attack ships. We've finished construction of the Warlock class destroyers, and we're disposing of the Hyperion and Aurora class vessels, melting down their metals for the new ships. The new minerals we've discovered here, in this part of the galaxy, have enabled us to be creative with the minerals. As for the teeps," Rickmans' eyes narrowed grimly. " Their training is going well, but many won't serve with them."
" It can't be helped," Clarke snapped. " We must put aside our differences and then rebuild our race."
" I know that," Rickman argued with the politician, albeit the politician who had saved them. " What about...them?" He asked, changing the subject, and looking up meaningfully and to the Shadows.
Clarke stiffened. It was well known that an ancient race had approached Clarke, offering technology, the means to wipe out the Minbari and the others, moving the humans to the dominant race in the galaxy, avenging the fallen. The alliance had already yielded a tremendous deal for the human refugees, and they had been given valuable information already, answers to questions. Now humans had slicer beam weapons, advanced bio armour and so on. In exchange, the Shadows asked for telepaths to be handed over for a purpose Clarke was unaware of.
" What about them?" He asked.
" What're they gonna do for us next?"
Clarke sighed wearily, " I don't know. I've tried speaking to them, but they've told me they're being busy with a project."
" What kind of project?" Rickman asked.
Clarke blew out a breath. He didn't know, and he wasn't quick to find out. The Shadows were not a pleasant race to deal with, even though they were understanding.
In hyperspace, on route for the ancient world of Z'ha dum, a fleet of Shadow vessels was travelling. The fleet composed of fighters, battlecrabs, and even a Death cloud. In the centre of this fleet, was a massive Shadow vessel. It had characteristics similar to the battle crabs, but it had the spread out starfish appearance of the fighter, and the longer view of a scout ship, but it more larger than a battlecrab.
It was the flagship of the Shadow fleet, and the heart of the race on the whole. It was the Shadow Queen's ship. The Shadows were an insect like species, and they had many characteristics in common with spiders and ants. They lived in a hive like mentality, but their queen allowed freedom in many ways. All the Shadows, like all the First Ones, were telepathic, and ascended to a new level of consciousness, like the Vorlons, but the Shadows were not slaves to their new level like the Vorlons, and just the thought of that arrogant narrow minded species made the Queen and the race, angry beyond measure.
The Queen relaxed, soon they would be at Z'ha dum once more, and then the return of the Shadows would be complete. Eight years had passed since the Earth-Minbari war, and the apparent and perceived destruction of the humans, but in that time the servant races - the Stribes and the Drakh, had been returning to Z'ha dum, and preparing as they had done many times in the past the planet for the central base for the next Great War in the First Ones contract.
The contract between the Shadows and the Vorlons was binding, and it would only end when a species exhibited signs of being both of order and obedience and chaos and evolution, and war. And it had been a long cycle, and the Queen, although immortal, was incredibly bored with it, but there was nothing she could do about it. The contact had been in existence for millions of years, and it took millions of centuries for both sides to see that the younger races, innocent and naive to the point of stupidity, that both races, the embodiments of order and chaos, saw them as the means to prove which ancient race was right.
Order vs chaos. Which one?
Chaos lead to pain and struggle, conflict, and the breaking of potential. It was a simple theory; two sides are brought together, and they fight. Many die, on both sides, but there are survivors. Those that do survive are stronger, smarter, better. It was like a city being washed away by an angry sea; each new generation got stronger, and the city becomes more and more easy to defend itself against the sea, higher walls, sluices to let in water to underground locations to relieve flooding. Strength and brains. Evolution.
The Vorlons, however, wanted to bottle that potential up with order and obedience. They were so blind that races sought to unlock their potential, and they never took an active role in the other races affairs, always standing to the side, waiting to see which would win; order or chaos.
The last war saw the Minbari race appear, a younger race, but one the Vorlons took a hand in preparing for the conflict at hand. That was the fifth time the Vorlons had done so; take a species on the verge of oblivion, and show themselves as Valeria, and then coerce them into entering space where they would be given gifts. The Vorlons had done it five times already, but only the Minbari had managed to survive, and they had fought like demons, but they were by then so entrenched by the Vorlons that they could not and would not get out. The Shadows had seen them as the nexus point they had sought after for so long, but they quickly retracted that assumption when they could not be swayed, and the cycle was not broken.
For the next thousand years, the Shadows retreated, waiting.
Then they found another race, one more belligerent and less accepting like the Minbari for order, but somehow melding both order, obedience with chaos. The Shadows had been shocked; at last a race that could break the gulf between the two philosophies and finally stop the wars from occurring once again. At last the Shadows could be free.
This race were known as Humans.
They were an unremarkable race, seen as primitive and hostile, dangerous, even savage, but they were also seen as courageous, honourable and ordered. Again, the perfect go between for order and chaos.
Then they had made their biggest mistake.
They started a war with the Minbari, who had become so deluded into thinking they alone were superior, and powerful enough to wage another war with the Shadows without discovering the truth, with two other races who'd once been humanities allies turned on the humans, destroying them and their ships and worlds, and the humans had supposedly destroyed their own world. The worst part was that one of the races that did that was also one of the races the Shadows wanted to wage wars on other races.
There were consolations; humanity had not been totally destroyed and it was possible that the circle could finally be broken enough to warrant the First Ones to leave their galaxy for the final time, and the worlds that had...disintegrated were still out there, but the Shadows could not be entirely sure where and when they were, but they could feel the humans new power, reaching through time and space, and scaring the Queen into submission. The humans were starting to come into their potential, but not in the way the First Ones would've thought possible.
All the First Ones could feel the power too, but since the Shadows had never communicated with them since the Great Schism, the historical event where the First Ones started going their own separate ways.
There were two other groups of humans; one a genetically enhanced subspecies, although they would doubtless be angry with that assessment, clamouring for war on the galaxy on the whole, and already garnering attention to themselves from the Shadows. The Queen herself was tempted to contact them, subtly start to manipulate them and give them technology, the very same technologies they were giving the other group of humans, this time the last band of normal humans to have escaped and gotten away when Earth went elsewhere.
The final group of humans, the ones whom had managed to slip past the Narns and Centauri, had gone to ground, and they were trying to rebuild and were preparing to avenge their fallen. The Queen couldn't help but wonder and imagine what would happen if both these groups met, would there be war? If so, excellent. And using technology and knowledge supplied by the Shadows would likely be a bonus.
Khan was sleeping, or at least part of him was since Augments were superior enough to control their bodies, even when asleep. His senses were so sharp that if a droplet of water splattered over the floor, Khan would hear it as if it had been a glass shattering. Even as the High Supreme he needed to be careful, there had been many attempts on his life as the young warlord had needed to defend himself against an assassin's plasma bullet or blade slashing across his throat, and he had defended himself each and every time. Thinking about the inevitable victories made Khan more than aware of the inevitable need to sacrifice much of the Khanates already scarce resources.
Just as he was pondering, a presence appeared in his room, and Khan woke up, dragging his PPG and bearing it on the creature in front of him. It was like an insect, black and shimmering, almost like a glittery fly, but this creature more on spider like legs.
Do not be afraid, a soothing voice spoke in his mind, sending Khan into a small and slight panic. I mean no harm. I sensed your dreams of war, conflict. I can help you.
Khan did not lower his weapon, " Who are you?" The response was more violent than he expected.
Never ask that question, it is the question of the Vorlons, and they would ask it many times before you could begin to grasp it. My species has a name ten thousand letters long, and even your enhanced intellect and throat would not be able to speak it. We have another name. Shadows. But in fact, we are an ancient race, and we have seen and lived through wars many times greater and more glorious than the ones your basic ancestors have ever dreamt of.
Khan relaxed slightly, but it was the thought of finally besting his ancestors that persuaded him that this creature was being sincere. When it had been speaking to him in his mind, it sent images that Khan knew were true, of war, conflict, on scales even Khan could not begin to imagine or measure.
" What do you want?"
Ah, the correct question, the Shadow seemed pleased, at least to Khan. We have been watching your people in the past, how you are very much the race we want to start a time of great conflict for the galaxy on the whole, and you will command a mighty empire with a strength and power beyond your imagination.
That appealed to Khan. The Shadow carried on, My people and I are willing to help you, and we know you have stolen other races technologies in order to make yoursevles invincible. We shall not appear to your people, but with your indulgence we can provide you with the means to develop faster and more powerful ships to wage wars.
This seemed too good to be true, and Khan could see that there needed to be a catch. " What do you get out of this?"
We believe that true evolution comes from conflict. We only want you to reach your full potential. You are aware of the Vorlons, are you not?
Khan nodded at the unexpected question, noticing as he did that the alien creature had mentioned the Vorlons twice already and he wondered why they seemed to hate that particular race out of all in the Galaxy, and the Shadow carried on. My race and the Vorlons are two of many advanced and ancient cultures, collectively we're known as the First Ones, and our technologies were the most advanced in the galaxy, the whole universe. Our race waged wars on the others for centuries, making them grow into their own potentials, and also giving us unprecedented powers. The Vorlons and my race have been fighting between our selves the most for centuries, and thhen we turned to the younger races, You, the Minbari, the Vree and so on to do the fighting for us and to see which philosophy is right. Chaos, or order and obedience. Do you wish for your race to be slaves of the Vorlons? They will bottle up your desires for power, for greatness, just like they would have if they had your Basic ancestors in their power. I can see into your mind, Khan, I can see your ambition. I like it. You asked me what we would get out of all this, well it is this. We would get to witness and stand by your side, as the galaxy is plunged into full scale war. Do you agree?
Khan considered. On the one hand he wanted his race and the Khanate to remain outside of alien intervention and the idea of slavery on a philosophical level to the Vorlons was repugnant to him, but he was also a realist and he was aware, more than aware it would take years for the new technologies to be fully understood before the battlefleets of the Augment civilisation could be built. He needed to hold onto his position as the High Supreme, and to do that he needed to be strong, but he wanted to begin as soon as possible.
On the other hand the Shadow had appealed to his lust for conquest. The only flaw he could see was that the Khanate would and could become the pawns of the Shadows, but if he wanted to hold on to his power, he would need to make sacrifices.
Holding his head high, he said proudly, " I accept."