I am so sorry for the delay, but I had to write this chapter in sub chapters to make it easier to write. The first part of the Shadow war is in this chapter - along with other things. Enjoy and please review.

The Lords of Time.

The Shadow War Begins.

The Strategy.

Dukhat was standing on the bridge of his ship, watching the 2 new guests.

2 Time ladies, one dressed in the drab tunic of the defence forces and the other wearing a smart tunic with an unusual badge on her chest. Both of them were beautiful, one with what the Time lords called blond hair and the other brunette.

Dukhat took a deep breath. The Time lords had selected the Minbari for the assignment known only to the Time ladies on the ship. The mysterious culture had made it abundantly clear that if the Minbari and the other alliance races didn't pull their weight, the suns which their planets orbited would be transmuted into black holes. Remembering the Centauri and the way they were swiftly defeated and the fact that the Minbari prisoners were still in confinement, the other races realised that they wouldn't be able to manipulate the Time lords.

They'd shown themselves to be aloof, like the Vorlons, mysterious like the Minbari but they were more powerful than both races combined. That and the fact they'd told the ambassadors to tell their homeworlds that if they stepped one toe out of line on this they would be acing mass extinction. The other races had decided already that the Time lords were far more frightening than the Vorlons and as a result decided unanimously not to provoke them into carrying out their threats.

He glanced to his right and saw that the 3 members of the grey council that he'd brought with him were staring at the Time ladies, Delenn, Copelann and Morann. The last one was on his final warning with Dukhat, who'd decided the warrior was going to be banished from Minbar for his recklessness and stupidity, but he still kept on provoking the Time lords, who ignored him and looked down on him.

The Minbari didn't know what the assignment entailed except for several facts, the Time lords had sent two of their people on a ship without one of their conduits and the fact both Time ladies had spent a lot of time in their suite. Even now the Time lords didn't interact with others. They seemed to prefer their own company, already on Babylon 5 the Time lords kept to themselves and rarely if ever conversed with other beings.

Delenn was looking at both of the Time ladies, she knew one of them and was close friends with the dark haired Time lady. Her name was Susan Ivanova and she was a commander in the Time lord defence forces and had been a commander in the Omni fleet, now she was third in command of Babylon 5. The blond was called Talia Winters, but that was all she knew of her.

Delenn, like Dukhat, tried on many occasions to speak to the Time ladies, but they had spent the first 4 days of the mission in their suite and locked the door, only now, after 4 days did they come out.

Morann was glowering at the backs of the Time ladies, furious at the way they ordered the Minbari around like they were errand boys. But there was nothing he could do, he was on thin ice with many in his own caste and the grey council.

Copelann himself was icy compared to his fellow warrior. Like Morann, Copelann was angry that the Time lords had ordered them to undertake this assignment. But unlike the more arrogant warrior, Copelann was more curious than angry. He wondered why the Time lords had ordered 2 Time ladies on this assignment and why not use one of their own craft.

Well, he was going to find out.

Susan Ivanova looked at the swirling mass of hyperspace, lost in the beauty of the phenomenon. Hyperspace was something the Time lords had great understanding of and had found ways of manipulating with greater ability than the first ones.

She looked at Talia who was concentrating on the squashed inner dimension. Talia was a Psion, a Time lord with greater telepathic ability than other Time lords.

All Time lords were telepathic, but there were some with the ability to do even more, they were prodigies of the mental arts. Normal Time lords needed to mesh their minds with higher dimensions whilst Psions didn't need to.

Normal Time lords had a PSI level of P - 6, whilst Psions had the PSI level of P - 55+. Susan herself was P- 8, but that wasn't enough for her to be admitted into the Psion courses at the academy back home. She glanced at Talia, who was concentrating hard on hyperspace.

The Two Time ladies were involved, it wasn't against the law for Time lords or ladies of the same sex to be in a relationship. The Time lord race on the whole were above the petty little prejudices of same sex partnerships. They could even have children, using a simple genetic procedure.

I wish they'd be quiet, I need to concentrate, Talia spoke into Susan's mind. The brunette looked around the bridge, noting the looks on the faces of the crew. Susan turned back to her mate.

Susan grinned and responded, I know what you mean, but do you honestly think this moronic race would listen and understand.

A mental sigh.

You're probably right.

I'm always right.

A mental laugh from Talia, who spoke teasingly. Wench.

Tease.

Delenn was observing the Time ladies, noticing the grins and smirks on their faces as they glanced towards one another.

Telepathy, she realised.

Just then the mood changed.

Talia held up her hand. " They are here, I can feel them," turning to one of the crewmen, she spoke. " 45 degrees to Port."

The crewman looked towards the captain, who looked at Dukhat.

" Do as she says,"

The captain gestured to the crewmember who obeyed the instruction.

Susan ignored the glowering looks from some of the crew for the aliens giving the Minbari orders. But she couldn't care less. Arrogance was a practice that many races followed with gusto.

" How close are they ?"

" Very close."

Morann had to interrupt. " Who are you talking about ?"

The Time ladies ignored him, knowing that would annoy and irritate the warrior even more, but they needed to concentrate on the matter at hand. " I can feel them, they are getting closer and closer. They can't sense me yet."

" Pull your consciousness out Talia, we don't need to spend a month looking for them again." Susan ordered.

Talia nodded. " I don't need to, they know we're here."

" Who are you talking about ?" Morann asked again. The situation was getting out of hand for the Minbari and they wanted to know what was happening, but the rest of the crew understood that patience was a virtue.

The Time ladies ignored him again, knowing the answer was approaching.

One of the crewmembers spoke up. " Captain, I'm detecting another ship, its coming on an intercept course. It isn't one of ours."

The other ship appeared almost by magic in the viewing port of the ship.

It was a Shadow vessel.

Morann panicked. " Turn us about."

" NO!" Susan shouted. " THIS is why we are here. This is our mission. Talia," She added, turning towards the blond.

" Are you ready ?"

" Yes. Just."

" Good." Turning to face the Minbari, " Now listen to me, this is a Time lord operation. You will stay put in this area, or your planet becomes a cinder hanging in space." Her tone of voice said she was being deathly serious.

The crew believed her.

" The real reason you are here is so then you can see that the Shadows are weak, pathetic and easy to disrupt. This is the answer to the question, the question of how to defeat the Shadows. Are you really going to run like a pack of useless cowards ?"

Susan turned away from them, nonchalant about their reactions. " Talia, are you ready ?"

The blond telepath nodded. " Yes."

" Alright. Now."

At first the Minbari wondered why the Shadow vessel suddenly halted in its tracks, then it started to shake, almost like it was cold….or afraid.

Delenn realised what was happening just like Dukhat. The Shadow vessels were controlled by a living organism that took the place of central operating system. Could it be that telepathy could somehow neutralise it ?

Suddenly she could see the mission the Time lords had given them.

The Time lords had taken the role of teacher and was simply giving them a push in the right direction. It was similar to the methods of the Vorlons, but the Vorlons would've simply played a guessing game with them and manipulated their thoughts.

The method the Time lords had used was infinitely superior, they were giving a demonstration, the method of use.

Talia was concentrating hard, but unlike telepaths from other races, she was finding this really simple. Other races forgot the fact that distance could be forgotten easily, the environment of hyperspace was making the job even easier.

There was something about hyperspace that made telepathy even easier without needing to tap into the higher dimensions. The distance problem which baffled other races was quickly solved by the Time lords mental disciplines. If you were a distance away from an object, how would you get closer ?

By walking close to it, or by riding a bicycle. The Time lords had solved the problem by creating a simple solution - simply forget the distance. The telepath, in this case, Talia Winters was simply folding the distance using her mind alone.

She could feel the Shadow vessel, feel the unfortunate creature inside. The feeling was of something old, withered, rotten….

Talia decided to torture the thing a little. She simulated the hand of her mind closing over the shadow vessel, the hand wearing a metallic glove with little needles, each one white hot and sharpened so it could cut through diamond. With the power of the mind, anything was possible.

She then simulated the sound a sonic screwdriver made and made it louder and louder, until it was capable of shattering asteroids.

The Shadow vessel was screaming in agony, as it was trying to escape. Talia simulated an electric shock going above 30 trillion volts and sent it coursing through the Shadow battleship. The ship screamed louder and louder, but then she directed the mental charge straight into the already burnt out corpse of the central operation system.

To the Minbari, the Ship was shaking in pain and fear, they could hear the screams in their minds. What ever the blond Time lady was doing, she was doing a good job of it.

Then the Shadow vessel seemed to….wither and die.

The debris started to drift away….

Talia broke herself out of the trance she was in. Susan was by her side instantly, " Are you alright ?"

The blond took a deep breath, " More or less. I shocked the ship with a mental charge or simulated electricity. Nothing like a good shock to the system. I even burnt out the operating system. No problems, but I'm dubious about the other races abilities. They don't have our superior knowledge and training, especially in forgetting distance and control."

Susan nodded, " Not our problem at the moment, but we'd better start on our reports."

" Right," Talia and Susan turned to leave the bridge, only to be blocked.

Morann had decided to reign in control even though he was out of his league. " You are not leaving until you tell us what you are doing."

" Get out of the way."

" Now, listen here…" Morann didn't finish when Susan made a sharp sweeping gesture with both her hands and walked out of the bridge. She did all this without making a sound or even touching the Minbari.

The crew overhead her, " Stupid, primitive creature."

Talia bent down and said loud enough for the warrior and his fellows to listen. " I don't understand you, you're in a lot of trouble with your pathetic government, your caste is close to rejecting you, you try and kill one of our own even though you're in our space and on our own planet, why the Vorlons came to your boring and simple minded race is beyond my comprehension. You are nothing special, not to us. No, your people took what the Vorlons gave you and you didn't bother coming up with half of the technology on your own. No Time lord would ever submit to that, you call yourself a proud race, yet you accept the gifts of another race. You're like dogs, accepting scraps from its master."

The crew listened to that silently, realising it was the truth, but then the Time lady continued to speak.

" Even after all this time, all the encounters you've had, you still do not learn from your mistakes. Whilst Susan is a normal Time lady with the normal abilities, I on the other hand can cause more pain. We can both rip your mind to shreds until you think you are a little girl with a pacifier in your mouth, screaming for mommy. I don't know how to get this into that thick bone of yours but let me try - piss off and leave us alone, you microbe. That is what you and the rest of the league are to us."

Talia got up and left the room.

But one thing was for sure.

The Time lords had found a great strategy to use against the Shadows and they were going to help the others races use it.

In their quarters, Talia met up with Susan. The brunette Time lady was tensed up and irritable, which was nothing new. Talia went up and massaged her mates shoulders.

Susan moaned happily as she settled into Talia's warm embrace.

The Attacks on The Shadows.

"Thanks to Talia Winters and Susan Ivanova," Sheridan gestured to the two Time ladies, " We have now taught you how to fight the Shadows and we know we can help you fight them back."

Sheridan was heading up the meeting with the help of Sinclair. Sheridan gestured to a wall map in the situation room.

It showed a map of Time Lord and Shadow battle movements. The red was the Shadows and the blue the Time lords.

" For the past 3 weeks, the Omni fleets and squadrons have been attacking the Shadows, destroying their hiding grounds and ship growing facilities. An attack on Z'ha dum is being prepared with the intention of destroying the planet. The exact plan is being kept secret and is known only to the high council."

The Vorlons decided to interrupt. " No one returns from Z'ha dum."Ulkesh, the youngest of the two Vorlons said, as if the Vorlons had the right to pass judgement, the way Ulkesh said that was pure arrogant fact.

It was a fact, at least to the Vorlons.

" That is what you imagine, besides we didn't say if it would actually occur. Anyway, we don't even need to be in the same star system to destroy the planet." Sheridan replied.

Sinclair took over, changing the subject. " We know that in 3 days, the Shadows will have deployed a small force into this sector," he pointed to a point on the map. " We intend to destroy it."

" The Shadows will not be expecting the attack. We have arranged for each ship to have onboard a Psion, along with a psionic amplifier. We want you to bring a minimum of 4 telepaths for each ship and woe betide anyone who thinks of making excuses."

Ivanova took up the discussion, " So far we've done all the work, attacking and driving the Shadows into the area we intend to mount an offensive," she nodded to the map. " We have shown you the way to defeat their ships, when the Vorlons should've done it ages ago." Here she glared at the 2 Vorlons in their midst.

" Now," finished Sheridan, " It's your turn to give something back."

" All of you have to play your part, if you don't, if any of your ships run away, the War Omni fleet will make the Shadows look like school bullies. You have debts to repay and this is good way of starting. Don't think for one minute that the war will end with this battle."

Sector 23.

Sheridan was seated in the command chair of the lead War Omni, looking at the monitor in front of him. It showed the transponders of the different ships that were cloaked. Time lord cloaking tech was relatively simple, simply shift an object 1 second into the future and turn it off as soon as it was no longer needed.

There were no Vorlon ships - surprise surprise there - but there was a good number of ships. Many more than they'd expected or asked for really, amazing what a few well placed threats would do isn't it ?

Sheridan leaned back in his chair, thinking. He didn't like threatening people, but the league needed it, unlike the Vorlons who were content with giving tidbits and useless information in seemingly insane riddles, the Time lords were factual and informative.

That and the fact the Time lords believed in people pulling their own weight. The league had been faltering for years while the Vorlons were content to sit back. How they expected to mould them into a fighting force, Sheridan didn't know, nor did her really care.

Sheridan was shaken from his thoughts by one of his crew speaking up, " Sir, hyperspace distortion in sector, hyper spatial phasing in progress."

Hyperspatial phasing….the Shadows.

" Alert the fleet," Sheridan was in full warrior mode. " Shut down temporal shroud on fleet."

" Standby weapons, activate full jammers. I don't want them leaving."

" Activate full psionic amplifiers, maximum intensity."

The Shadows jumped into the region of space. They were taken by surprise by the fleet appearing out of nowhere. The mind of the Shadows, which deployed the fleet positions, like a seasoned chess player moving the pieces. The mind of the Shadows had taken a nasty blow when the Time lords did their testing in hyperspace and the Shadows were hoping they wouldn't be encountering the species again.

The Shadows tried to jump back into hyperspace but they found they couldn't, they also started to feel something they feared and hated above all else.

Telepathy.

As the outer ships started to feel the effects, the Shadows started firing on the War Omnis and the League ships, the slicer beams shattering some of the ships and making barely a dent on the war Omnis, not that it did much good.

On the League ships, the pisons were concentrating hard, their bodyguards keeping an eye on the battle and the other on the aliens.

Morann was in the tactical centre of one of the cruisers, trying to concentrate on the battle and trying not to think of the Time lord telepath in one of the rooms, with 3 other Minbari telepaths.

He was in his element, battle was the way of life obviously for a Minbari warrior. But he didn't like being on a leash by another power.

The Shadows were divided, the telepaths were putting a lot of pressure on them. It sounded like the entire galaxy was shouting at them, not that it mattered.

The mind of the Shadows was reeling, the telepaths were making it exceedingly hard for the mind to concentrate on the battle. The constant pressure made the Mind make numerous mistakes, costing the mind and the Shadows time and ships.

The War Omni's were a devastating force, Morann had to concede. The Shadows were being decimated with time torpedoes and other weapons. The league was providing a good attack as well, but their abilities were nothing compared to their Time lord allies.

It wasn't long before the Shadows were almost destroyed. Their ships were bleeding a curious red substance that resembled blood.

After only 20 minutes, the Shadow fleet was virtually annihilated and there were no survivors. All around the fleet was the debris of the Shadow vessels.

The Time lord alliance was triumphant. The Shadows were in retreat for the first time in a thousand years. But the alliance still had a long way to go.

2 weeks later…

Sector 89 was an area of deserted planets with no atmospheres and little resources. The conditions in this area made it impossible for life to flourish.

But it was possible to build things here.

It was the environmental conditions that made the area ideal to construct the bulk of the Shadow fleet. The ships were grown from cells of the shadows own bodies, they were grown in vats, moulded and genetically enhanced with the interface between the organic being for the central operations system.

There was a small squadron that protected the hatcheries from the attacks of other peoples. But that didn't mean they were defended from the Time Lords.

The war Omni's appeared out of no where, surrounding the squadron of Shadow vessels and battering them with telepathic attacks and vortex lances.

But it was the planetary attack that was vicious, one of the war Omni's was fitted with a matter compressor and crushed the planet to the size of an atom. After the Time lords left, the Shadows arrived. But that didn't mean they were safe. The solar system itself was then destroyed. The Time lords had transmuted the sun into iron, making the star go nova.

The Shadows had lost something important and would cost them dearly.

Z'ha Dum.

The planet of Z'ha dum may have looked deserted and barren, but that didn't mean the planet and system was not inhabited. The Shadows were preparing to evacuate the planet if it was needed. The Shadows had already lost one third of their forces to the Time lords -including one of their planet killers, their allies most notably the Drakh were being hunted down and destroyed.

Normally the Shadows wouldn't be concerned about a possible assault on their planet, their planet was defended by ancient traps that would destroy or cripple even a Vorlon planet killer, the planet had a telepathic grid that enabled them to lull any nearby vessels and drag them down willingly to their deaths.

Even the Vorlons and the rest of the First ones kept away, knowing what was good for them.

But the Time lords…..

They were an unknown factor and one the Shadows could not fight back like they could effectively with the first ones.

The Shadows prided themselves on being a race that could sense danger but in this case they were taken completely by surprise.

The war Omni's appeared from nowhere, their psionic amplifiers shrieking pure agony into the hive mind of the Shadows control.

One of the war Omni's fired what looked like a missile, which glowed green, at the planet. The missile seemed to jump towards the planet and vanished in a flash of light.

The Shadows were fearful, not knowing what the missile would do to their ancestral home, but they did know it was not going to be good.

The planet seemed to shake, no shudder, as the missile, whatever it was, did its job.

The Shadow mind on the planet detected incredibly strong seismic disturbances from the tectonic plates on the northern continent. The planet seemed to be falling apart, no it was falling apart.

On the lead war Omni, the force leader looked on the monitor, feeling satisfaction seep through his being through the ancient calm of his race.

His second in command approached, her long red hair glistening in the dim light of the bridge, " Sir, the Shadows are sending for reinforcements."

The captain grunted, " Order all Omni's to destroy any and all Shadow vessels, order a Time wave to be detonated."

The second in command breathed in deeply. But she held in the urge to - what - question - protest - what ?

But she held it all in, hiding it beneath her Time lady calm and mental discipline.

" Aye Sir," She said, saluting and giving the order.

The surviving Shadow vessels fired their useless weapons at the War Omni's, their planet was cracking up in a lifeless heap of rock, their ships were being destroyed on a massive level. Worse, the Shadow mind was compromised with agony, leaving the ships in primal mode.

The mind both controlled and stabilised the ships, giving them purpose and power. Without it, the ships were animalistic and violent. Which is exactly what they were right now, for all the good it did.

The still intelligent part of the Shadow vessels saw the War Omni's group themselves in a circle and hold position.

Then they started to spin, round and round, faster and faster. They were glowing with the energy of the Time vortex the ancestors of their crews created. The energy built up and up, the spinning in their gravity bubbles creating the momentum they needed.

Suddenly, a series of blue energy waves swept through them, radiating outwards. The Shadows vessels, those too far gone into their insanity, not recognising the danger came closer. They were the first to be destroyed, their bodies saturating the artron energy of the vortex and were incinerated alive. Their brother ships heard the shrieks of pain and fear and they tried to flee, but they were too late. Had waited too late.

The wave passed through them reducing each and every one of the surviving ships to atoms. The Time lords decided their job here was done, Z'ha dum was virtually destroyed, the Shadows hive mind was in chaos and finally, they'd achieved what they wanted.

They had proved to the Shadows the Time lords were their number one enemy, not the foolish benighted Vorlons.

The War Omni's dematerialised, leaving one, which let out another wave, this one red. It radiated outwards from the time machine. There was a strange effect of the wave, it seemed to…ripple through space, crackling the hyperspace sector Z'ha dum was located in. After a long 2 minutes, the remaining Omni dematerialised.

It wasn't until a good 5 hours later that the Shadows realised what had happened, the first ship tried to phase out of hyperspace, only to be pushed back. The Shadow mind, almost fully recovered from the Time lords assault, was puzzled. What was happening now ?

The mind ordered the ships to scan hyperspace and the threshold that bordered hyperspace and normal reality. Only to discover that hyperspace was…damaged for a radius of one light year.

The Time lords had destroyed the threshold forever, now the Shadows would have no choice but to be delayed by a factor of a few hours trying to reach an area where the threshold was intact. That was something the Shadows could not believe. But it lead to another realisation.

The Time lords were indeed the masters of time and space. It wasn't a rumour or an idle boast.

It was the truth.

Death of a Vorlon.

" Here's to a swift end to the Shadow war," Jeffrey Sinclair proclaimed to his friends and fellow officers, holding up a glass of one of the finest wines the Time lord race could offer.

" Here here," The other Time lords chanted.

Stephen Franklin, the medical chief, took a swig and turned to face Ivanova, " I hear the attack on Z'ha dum went well."

Susan smirked, " It did. The Shadows now have no choice but to go the long way to find a way into hyperspace. Its either that or travel for thousands of years to the nearest inhabited system."

Garibaldi chipped in, " How long will the war last do you think ?"

Sheridan looked thoughtful, " I think it will be a short war, say a year."

" Why that long ?"

" Don't forget that we still have the first ones to deal with and the other plans of the high council to implement. Getting rid of the Vorlons and the Shadows and dealing with the pathetic ideologies they both have. Then there is the league. After the Vorlon have gone, what will happen then do you think ?"

Susan nodded, " I see your point."

Franklin looked around the other faces, " We all do."

Sheridan looked around the faces as well, " I only pray the Shadows don't make things difficult for us. We can't predict every action of different races."

They all agreed with that.

The following weeks were taken up by the amount of attacks and raids on the Shadows and Shadow controlled space. The Time lords had even provided a way to track the Shadow vessels down in hyperspace and gave the league worlds access to some of their telepathic knowledge, not to mention giving them psionic amplifiers.

The Time lords also noticed the absence of the Vorlons but they weren't overly worried - the Time lords were aware the Vorlons had the power to look into the past or the future just by looking at a person, but since they couldn't do it with the Time lords because of the mental slowing of time, they weren't really bothered.

All the league worlds noticed that even though the Time lords were fighting the Shadows the enemy was not attacking any world in their commonwealth. Far from it, they were going out of their way to avoid the Time lords.

It didn't matter.

The war also saw the use of the Time lords more powerful weapons - the time wave was used quite often, killing dozens of Shadow vessels and the use of the time torpedoes were enough to reduce the enemy fleet in numbers.

Other weapons included the use of black hole and oblivion continuum missiles and bombs at planet where the Shadows were growing their fleet.

Telepathic weapons were also used, latching onto the Shadow vessels like viruses and slowly killing and torturing the Shadow mind with all sorts of suffering. The Time lords were giving the Shadows a lot of trouble in many areas. The fleet building was being slowed, many of their worlds were destroyed by black hole weapons and supernovae were being set off, reducing planets and solar systems to dust.

The Minbari were also scoring some good victories, along with the other races, but they had nothing on their Time lord allies. They were only able to bomb planets with mass drivers and anti matter weapons and not with supernovas and black hole weapons.

Once or twice the Minbari lost a battle and had to rely on the aid of other races. It was galling to say the least, the Minbari were still a proud race even after all the humiliating actions Morann had suffered at the hands of the Time lords.

The one race that had not bothered to intervene or even help was the Vorlons - the Time lords had used this to their advantage. They spent a lot of time spreading hints and showing them aspects of Vorlon history to the rest of the league.

They were surprised and yet disappointed by the idea the god like beings were capable of levelling planets just because they didn't follow the doctrine of the Vorlons.

The Time lords were achieving one of their goals and thankfully the Vorlons were helping.

The Vorlons were making it too easy for the Time lords to spread distrust, the Time lords didn't care about the Vorlons and what they wanted. There were some amongst the League who still had some faith in the Vorlons, but the problem was the old race was still not sending any ships to the frontlines. They just sat back and let the other races do the dirty work.

The Shadows retaliated.

A lone Time lord city ship was cruising close to the rim when the Shadows attacked. 50 ships - the enemy had learnt the Time lords were by this point even more powerful than them, they simply wanted to overwhelm the Time lords - circled around the City ship, only to encounter the psionic wave the ship put out.

The Shadow vessels were immobilised, and the Time lord ship shot out 50 glowing green balls of energy. The balls surrounded each and every one of the ships.

Then the ships….disintegrated.

The Time lords had won again.

The frontline.

The three Minbari ships - the Dogoto, the Solaris and the Enfili, were patrolling the sector of space the Time lords had sent them to investigate. The Time lords had made it immensely clear they were not doing all the fighting, so they arranged for small groups of ships to engage the enemy, assess the strengths and order another group of ships, in this case the White stars into action.

The captain of the lead ship, Shakrat, was standing, hands folded in the tactical sector, watching the holographic scene. There was nothing.

His second in command walked up behind him.

" Anything yet sir ?" Rastenn asked quietly.

Shakrat looked at him impassively for a moment, then gestured at the holograph, " See for yourself, my friend. The Time lords send us here, but there is nothing here to fight."

" The Time lords could be wrong," Rastenn pointed out.

They both knew that would be the day, the Time lords were never wrong.

Just then the bridge called down, " Captain sir, hyperspace distortion detected. Putting image and sensor data down to holograph now."

Instantly, the view changed….showing 5 Shadow vessels.

Shakrat paused, watching the ships with a veteran commander's eye. He was puzzled by the number of ships and what they were doing here.

His first officer commented aloud on the size of the squadron, " Why only 5 ships ? They could be a scouting party, with a larger armada in hyperspace."

Shakrat had already considered that, and agreed. It would be a tactical move for a larger group to hide whilst a smaller group spied on the sector of space.

" Bridge, charge weapons. Prepare fighters."

" Aye sir."

The Minbari closed on the Shadows, who by then had observed the approaching enemy. The sight of a Minbari cruiser was enough to terrify more primitive races, but to the Shadows the Minbari were nothing more than annoying pests that needed to be squashed.

The Shadows opened fire, the deadly slicer beam crippling the Enfili and destroying a good third of the ship, the next hit destroyed it. Shadow fighters started destroying the Minbari fighters.

" Activate telepaths." Shakrat ordered, " Bridge, order the White stars in, we need them"

Instantly, the shadow vessels halted, allowing the Minbari to do their work. They opened fire on the Shadow vessel, firing continuous beams and holding the ships in hot beams of energy. They were helped eventually when a jump point opened and a good 40 White star vessels came streaming out, their birdlike bodies glistening, prepped and ready for battle.

They fired on the Shadow vessels, four to each ship, helping the older Sharlin's in their work and clearing up the real mess.

All the ships were destroyed and the Minbari knew they'd won a fight without the aid of their allies.

Babylon 5.

Babylon 5 space was located deep in Time lord space, with dozens of sensor relays crisscrossing over 50,000 light years. The Time lords had located the station incredibly carefully. The station was near a very large asteroid field, with mines that could split a planet in pieces inside.

The Time lords also had a wide variety of star ships nearby to protect the station. Time lord space fleets were diverse with dozens of types of ship - the time frigates, the black hole carriers and the reality bombers - ships that could wipe a planet, race, or technology out instantly without resorting to the primitive planet killers the Vorlons and Shadows used. Surrounding the station were attack ships, vessels that were more than a match for the White star vessels used by the Minbari, they resembled birds i.e hawks and were equipped with incredibly powerful weapons.

Whilst the war Omni fleets were used by on the frontlines, the other ships bombed, protected and explored the universe. Universal exploration was still a major role for the Time lords. So the fleet the other races witnessed and observed were only the tip of the iceberg.

Ambassador Delenn was looking out of a viewing port on the observation deck at the ships. She remembered the beauty and grace of the city ship she'd seen with the grey council the day they first made contact with the Time lords. These ships were just as graceful, just as powerful.

Just as dangerous.

" Penny for your thoughts ?" A voice spoke from behind her.

Delenn turned round and saw the speaker. It was Jeffrey Sinclair.

Even though she knew he was Valen, he didn't look anything like him, or even sounded like him. He was tall, taller than Sheridan and more thinner even though his body gave the appearance of intense compact power. His face was sharper featured and his hair was a…dark blond, the Time lord database called it.

Delenn smiled, " You could say that," even after all this time she was still studying the customs and sayings of the Time lords, " I was just looking at the fleet of ships nearby."

" And ?" Sinclair folded his long arms.

Delenn was thoughtful, " I remember seeing a city ship when our peoples first made contact. I was…awed. Not even the Vorlons have ships that beautiful."

Sinclair smirked, " No they do not. The Vorlons use organic technology, but they don't manipulate the tech to be more…diverse and show creativity. Then again, they don't have any creativity."

Delenn nodded, knowing he was right. Even though it pained her to admit it.

Their conversation was broken by a call from command and control.

" C in c to Commander Sinclair."

" Sinclair. Go."

" There is a hyperspace signature in one of the Vorlon quarters."

That was when the first direct hit came.

Green sector.

Ambassador Kosh was meditating privately in his quarters. The rooms he and Ulkesh owned were bare and Spartan with their atmospheres the same as those of their home planet.

There was little for the old Vorlon to do in these rooms except meditate.

The war was going very badly for the Vorlons, the Time lords were spreading blasphemy of them to the other races but there was little they could do. It was not yet time for the Vorlons to intervene in the conflict, but Kosh was dubious about the idea that once they showed the other races the Vorlon empire had not abandoned them and they could go back to how it was before the war began.

Kosh could see it was too late. The Time lords had told the other races exactly what the Vorlons had done in the past and he wasn't happy about that.

He didn't have time to think as he sensed….something behind him. Turning, he felt his heart go cold as he saw 3 Shadows phasing back into normal reality.

It was then he felt the station shake….

Command and Control.

" Where did they come from ?" Ivanova asked Corwin. The younger Time lord studied his instruments, " They just jumped in from somewhere. I think they used one of our conduits to come in undetected."

Susan made a mental note to thank the hub operators for letting their enemies in so easily.

" Report !" Sheridan's voice echoed behind her. Turning she saw the man himself coming into the room and looking around him.

" The Shadows are in the area, they came in using one of our conduits."

Sheridan nodded, processing the news. " Are the fighters out ?"

" Fighters, attack ships the lot, it's a big fleet."

" Its getting bigger," Corwin shouted over the alarms. " One of their planet killers are here, along with the remainder of their Drakh forces."

" Damn, Susan send a message home and order the entire 56th Omni fleet in -"

" Already done, I also included the 57th."

Sheridan nodded, glad the Time lady had been thinking. " Order all of the time torpedoes used. Also included the reality bombers."

" Right, I'll also use a time destructor if needed." Susan said with a shaky smile.

" Get one ready. I want that planet killer wiped out." Sheridan didn't take the joke.

Susan nodded and got everything right and ready. The time destructor joke had been half hearted and she knew Sheridan would order it used.

They'd just destroyed a good third of the fleet when they suddenly withdrew.

Susan looked at Corwin, who was just as surprised. " What…where did they go ?"

Sinclair came over. " They wouldn't just leave…not unless…."

Susan finished for him, her voice quiet. " …unless…they weren't after us."

Sinclair looked at Corwin, " Didn't you say there was a hyper spatial signal in the green sector ?"

Corwin nodded. " It was small and barely noticeable yet it was there. Then the Shadows just appeared and launched the attack."

" What part of green sector ?"

Green Sector.

In the mistiness of Ambassador Kosh's quarters, the old Vorlon, one of the oldest Vorlons in history was no more, the encounter suit the Vorlon had worn for countless aeons was a pile of scrap, the polymers that bound the suit and the chain mail that had surrounded it was a pile of rubbish.

There had been a flash of light as the energy of the Vorlon had been released, the Shadows had been forced to withdraw as Ulkesh had entered, sensing the pain his fellow Vorlon had been doing through. He had managed to capture the essence of Kosh, but that was a small part not the whole. The rest was dead.

As Ulkesh looked over the remains, he knew one thing.

The Time lords were going to pay for this. Kosh had been one of the older of their race, one of the most revered, now he was dead. One way or another, the Time lords would pay until they screamed for forgiveness.

It was a grave time for the Vorlon race.

The End and the beginning for a Time lord.

" YOU LET HIM DIE, TIME LORD ! YOU LET HIM DIE ! HOW CAN YOU LEAD US IF YOU CANNOT EVEN PROTECT US ?"

Morann was enjoying this, for the first time in the alliance with the Time lords he was going to make them see how inferior they were.

The entire league was in the room, some of them shared the same thoughts as the reticent Minbari warrior, but he was alone since many of the league were still afraid of the power the Time lords wielded.

As for the Time lords themselves, they were composed. Sinclair, Sheridan, Ivanova, Franklin and Garibaldi were sitting in their seats, watching the Minbari shout at them.

It was a minor inconvenience that Kosh was dead, but since the Vorlons on the whole had not bothered to help then it was their own fault. The other Vorlon himself was gone, he'd just….left. Without a word. The Time lords knew that the Vorlons would be back, regardless of the cost.

As Morann shouted himself hoarse, he noticed with renewed fury the objects of his ire were not even listening he was furious.

" Why do you not argue back, do you feel no remorse for the death of one of the oldest life forms in the galaxy ?"

The other Minbari in the room - Lennier, Dukhat and Delenn were at that moment wishing the warrior would shut up. They wanted answers just like everyone else but they couldn't see how shouting at the Time lords was going to help in that.

Sinclair stood up and Morann was rendered silent. If he thought the Time lord would admit to be incompetent, that the ambassadors would not be kept safe, then he was disappointed.

" The Shadows were able to breach our security by using one of our own hyperspace hubs against us. There was a fault with the sensor array of the hub. Each one of the hyperspace hubs have a sensor that records the ship - or ships in this case - and records them in a sensor web which is recorded on Earth and on our other worlds. The fault has been repaired and there are now guard ships arranged."

Sinclair paused, getting his thoughts arranged for the next point the was about to make, " As for Ambassador Kosh, we have already sent an apology to the Vorlon government. Whether they accept it or not is not our concern. Our policy of the first ones is very clear - they have no rights amongst our people. Besides, they made one request. They asked Kosh's remains and everything he owned to be placed inside his transport, we did this morning. The transport went into the sun in this solar system."

The Drazi ambassador spoke up. " What do you mean, the ship committed suicide ?"

Ivanova explained, " Vorlon technology in this case matches Time lord technology exactly. We Time lords form a link with our individual Omni's, but the Vorlon practice is more direct. If the ship dies, the Vorlon dies and vice versa. Kosh's transport committed suicide because it couldn't take the death of its owner."

The other ambassadors absorbed the news but Morann was still angry, now he was angry at the league.

" What is the matter with all of you ? The Time lords will lead all of us to our deaths ? We, the Minbari, should be the ones to lead you into battle. Just like we did a thousand years ago."

The Gaim Ambassador made a point that could not be refuted. " Were the Time lords involved in that war ? Did they provide us with the means of immobilising the Shadow vessels ? Were the Vorlons just giving us basic information ? The Time lords have given us general assistance, sent war Omni's to our planets and given our peoples technologies we need. They are re terraforming planets like Narn for instance. Did your precious Vorlons give us any of that ? No. What have the Vorlons given us ? Very little."

Morann glared at the encounter suited insectoid and turned to glare at Sinclair.

" You've done this Time lord." he said quietly.

Without clarifying what he meant he drew something from one of his pockets and faster than the Time lords could react, he drew the weapon - a PPG and fired two hits into Sinclair's chest.

The Time lord shuddered at the impact and collapsed. The league stood up and were panicking while the Time lord soldiers reacted and tackled the Minbari to the ground, strapping immobiliser bracelets on him and paralysing his nervous system slightly.

Franklin took out his pocket med scanner as Garibaldi took out his staser and pointed it at the league in case they did something. Ivanova and Sheridan held Sinclair as he lay thrashing slightly in agony.

Franklin frowned. " I can't do anything, the PPG blasts hit him close to the heart. There is only one hope for him."

The other Time lords nodded and let go of Sinclair. Delenn came over and Garibaldi took her gently but firmly by the shoulders and pushed her away.

" You can't just let him die." She shouted in disbelief. What was wrong with these people ?

Ivanova came over and took Delenn by the shoulders and turned to the league. " Sinclair will recover. But to do that he needs to regenerate. This body is dying, but he will be reborn."

" What do you mean, reborn ?"

" He's dying, how can he recover ?"

The Time lords ignored the questions as Sinclair held up his hand. The others couldn't see the reason until a moment later, the hand started glowing a golden colour.

Franklin activated his comlink, " Franklin to medlab, prep the post regeneration therapy equipment and the zero room."

Garibaldi also activated his own comlink, " Garibaldi to security, prepare the cell bay, prepare to receive a Minbari prisoner. Use a transmat to beam him there. Keep him under heavy guard and prepare to send a security team to the battle room, and what ever you do don't let anyone anywhere near the med lab. I have a regenerating Time lord here and I wanna protect him. Clear ?"

Sinclair was just picking himself up whilst the Time lords were getting everyone away from him. Susan looked at her friend, letting some tears leak from her eyes, her Time lady composure slipping.

Regeneration was a very…taboo subject for the Time lords. Letting even one of their people regenerate in the presence of outsiders was almost sacrilege.

But in this case, there was no other alternative. Sheridan and the others would've preferred for Sinclair to die and regenerate inside his Omni which was stowed on the hanger decks. The Omni, linked to Sinclair, would be able to capture his mind and let the body settle down before letting him recover enough for the mind to be downloaded into the body.

The atmosphere seemed to be getting hot with the energy radiating from the ailing Time lord. He threw his head and hands back, letting the process take its natural course.

The other Time lords averted their eyes, there was something almost unnatural and wrong when looking at a Time lord regenerate, but to the aliens it almost looked like he was on fire.

Suddenly it ended and Sinclair dropped to the ground like a chopped tree, Sheridan and Garibaldi jumped over to him just in time before he crashed to the ground. The other Time lords in the room formed a living barrier, stopping the alien delegates from coming to close.

Franklin came over and gently bent down, looking at the prone form in front of him. He could see that Sinclair was still breathing, that his heart was still working. Very gently, he used his hands to move Sinclair's head.

The aliens gasped.

Sinclair had changed, he was….slightly older. Did that mean he was younger ? For the aliens, all Time lords seemed…ageless. Telling how old on Time lord was immensely tricky, one might be 400 years old, another only 10 years old.

He had a handsome face, with dark hair and Delenn gasped as she saw that NOW Sinclair had a striking resemblance to Valen.

Sinclair didn't wake up as Franklin examined him with his scanner. As he examined the readings the doors to the war room opened and 4 Time lords - 2 nurses and 2 security officers came running in. Franklin helped the nurses pick him up and put him on the stretcher.

He gave them orders as he did, " He regenerated 3 minutes ago, that means his body is burning with energy with a good mix of hormones and body acids. Did you get the Z room ready ?"

One of the nurses replied, " Yes, its waiting. There is a full energy drainer ready as well as a good cup of tea."

Franklin grinned as the nurses wheeled the stretcher to medlab. Regeneration was a traumatic experience for people to say nothing about it being done the first time. The body might look relatively fit and healthy, but it was the mind and the brain that told a totally different story. There was the synapses and dendrites to heal with time, but recent research - over 400 years in the past - said that tea, a popular drink with the Time lords, could heal the dendrites and synapses with no trouble because of the super heated radicals and tannin.

Franklin shook his head, " No, this was a truly violent regeneration. I want the body and mind to settle for a good few hours before I do that."

The nurses accepted that, realising he was right.

As they got him in the medlab, Franklin didn't stop until he was wheeled in a room inside.

Zero rooms were basically insulated pocket dimensions. Every Time lord facility and Omni had one, they were used mostly for healing Time lords who'd suffered incredible trauma, such as during a regeneration.

There was nothing in the room, it was completely sterile and barren - they were uncomplicated and simple. There wasn't even a bed. As soon as the door closed, Sinclair woke up.

He looked around, squinting his eyes from the pain he was still feeling. " What happened ?" he asked before slapping his hand over his mouth. Then he looked at his at his hands and started feeling his face, his expression becoming more alarmed and frightened.

" I haven't-" he gulped, looking at Stephen, frightened. " Tell me, please, tell me I haven't…re….re…reg-" he couldn't' finish the word.

" Regenerated ? Yes, it happened Jeff, you were lucky. You could've been killed by the PPG, never mind the regeneration." Franklin said, looking at his friend and commanding officer with sympathy.

Sinclair looked around, recognising the Zero room for what it was. Franklin looked at him, noting that he was settling into his new incarnation despite the incredible trauma he'd undergone.

It was 2 hours later that Sinclair had his first visit. Delenn had tried to gain access to the medlab but the security officers kept denying her entrance to the lab, they said that no one was allowed in there, that it was a top priority not to let anyone, Time lord or alien come inside.

Sheridan was coming down the corridor whilst Delenn was trying to argue her way past, the frazzled security officer looked up with relief.

" Commander, please tell the ambassador I cannot let her inside the medlab." he asked wearily. Sheridan nodded.

Delenn was just about to argue, when Sheridan grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away from the lab.

" John, why did you take me away ? I was about to - " She was interrupted.

"…get yourself arrested, ambassador or not. Delenn, Sinclair has just been subjected to something we never speak of to outsiders, now the entire station knows about it. Morann has already received an extradition order by the High council and they will be taking him back to Earth for execution."

Delenn looked at him, unable to believe what she was hearing, " But, the grey council - "

" Can do nothing. Delenn the council has no say, the High council of the Time lords have ordered the death of Morann. You don't understand, when a Time lord is killed by an outsider and forced to regenerate, the outsider is executed, it's a law that has existed for millions of years for our race." Sheridan said trying to get the Minbari woman to realise there was nothing she and her people could do.

He decided to let her know just how grave the situation truly was. The Minbari were going to be faced with the dilemma soon, might as well make it clearer, Sheridan thought to himself.

" Delenn, what do you think will happen to Minbar or one of your other planets if you protest Morann's extradition and later execution ? I'll tell you, the Time lords do not like it when outsiders believe they have the right to dictate policies to us that barely work with their own people. Morann has tried to interfere in Time lord affairs ever since he tried to kill that technician during first contact between our peoples, he authorised spying missions during the war we had with the Centauri, he tried interfering in Talia and Susan's mission 4 months ago and now he is guilty of killing a Time lord and forcing the Time lord to lose a life."

Sheridan took a deep breath and then carried on. He had to get her to understand just how serious this was.

" Delenn, if your people interfere, try to rescue Morann…..then a good number of your planets will probably be destroyed. Or worse."

Delenn stared at the Time lord in front of her, unable and unwilling to believe the Time lords or anyone else could be so destructive.

" John…" She couldn't finish. The memories of the way the planets in the Centauri republic had been destroyed, converted into black holes was still a horrific image. Delenn couldn't believe anyone could do that, but she knew in her heart the Time lords would do it.

Omni 902.

President Rose Asher was sitting inside her Omni as she was meditating on the recent events. The attack on Babylon 5 was one thing, but the forced and brutal regeneration forced on Jeffrey Sinclair….

She would have been foolish if she hadn't expected Morann to go too far. The arrogant Minbari warrior had always hated the Time lords and everything about them and all they stood for. Rose sighed, thinking about all the hell that was going to be awaiting her. Rose didn't give a damn about the Minbari, if they interfered even slightly she would forget the alliance, shaky as it was, and annihilate the Minbari people once and for all.

The Time lords were out in the open and were known to every race in the galaxy, the Shadows were running away from the, which was good, but the Minbari…

Rose's face creased into a scowl as she thought about the Minbari. She knew that they would be protesting the execution of Morann but it was too late. The rule was outsiders were to be extradited to the Time lord homeworld for trial and execution, but Rose wanted this one to be on Babylon 5, where it would be broadcast to Minbar and every one of their holdings.

She wanted to make it clear that no dissent would be tolerated.

There was another reason for her going to the station. She wanted to bring Jeffrey Sinclair, who was almost fully recovered from his regeneration, back to Earth and deal with the paradox of Valen and get it out of the way.

Babylon 5.

Franklin was sitting in his office doing paperwork when Sheridan came in and sat down nearby. Franklin looked up and his weariness was there for Sheridan to see.

" What is it ?" He asked, mentally checking the time. It was 5 in the morning.

" How is Sinclair ?" Sheridan asked without preamble.

" He's almost recovered. He'll be drinking some tea in the morning." Franklin said, rubbing his eyes.

" So the Zero treatment has worked ?" Sheridan knew that zero treatment was a tried and true method of recovery for regeneration and knew the question was irrelevant.

" Yeah, it always does." Franklin got up and waited for the commander to tell him why he was here.

He didn't have to wait for long.

" Is he fit to travel ?"

Franklin paused in his inputting the data on his padd into the database and turned around slightly to face Sheridan.

" More or less, he needs rest. But other than that he's as fit as a fiddle. Why ?"

Sheridan took a deep breath, " The president wants to take him back to Earth. She says the circle needs to be completed at last."

" Circle ?" Franklin said, a questioning frown on his face. " What do you…oh. I see. The Valen paradox is going to be finished."

Like all Time lords, Franklin was aware that Sinclair was Valen and as a Time lord he had no choice but to go back into the past and help the Shadow war be defeated.

That didn't mean he had to like his patient being forced into a war zone.

The execution was scheduled for the next day. The President was waiting in full Time lord regalia - long, red robes with gold trim. The other Time lords - Sheridan, Ivanova and Franklin were also waiting in seldom worn robes of dark blue. Only Garibaldi was not wearing the robes.

The room was large with a massive dais set up with some kind of cage with a circular top in bright red for the shoulders. A helmet in red was waiting in the hands of a human labourer.

All around were people of various races - Minbari and Drazi and others, they were all stationed outside a force field so then they couldn't intervene. They knew Morann was going to die, but they didn't understand the basics of the ritual that was going to be carried out today.

Morann was led into the room, down the aisle. It was like a human wedding ceremony, but this was not a harmonious time for anyone.

The Time lord guard took the Minbari and brought him respectively in front of the President. Rose's face was expressionless as she took a scroll out from her pocket. Unrolling it she started to read,

" By the authority vested in me by the Articles of the Time lords, written and set down by Rassilon and Omega and the Priestess," she took a deep breath as her fellow Time lords inclined their heads as a show of respect for the greatest of the first of their kind, " I, Lady president Rose Asher, do herby sentence the Minbari known as Morann to death for the numerous crimes against the Time lord people."

Rose trailed off, listing the numerous offences the Minbari was guilty of - assault on a Time lord, espionage, interfering in Time lord affairs but the worst one was the murder of Jeffrey Sinclair's first incarnation.

Sinclair was in the crowd, his face expressionless as he watched the Minbari about to face his own death. He ignored all attempts by the Minbari to grab his attention. He had nothing to say to them, so he kept his eyes on Morann.

To his credit, the reticent warrior was standing tall and proud - with the arrogance the Time lord had noticed on their first meeting.

Morann listened to the charges with no way to dispute them. The Time lords had suppressed his ability to speak and couldn't even beg for mercy or even to refute the charges. How was he to know that Sinclair would return from the dead ?

The only good thing he knew was that his people would not stand for this. Even though the Time lords had threatened his people, Morann was overly confident that they would see his death as the perfect excuse to wipe the Time lords out.

He was shaken from his thoughts as he was lead by the guards over to the cage, unable to fight back since they controlled his limbs and movement. They strapped him in and put on the helmet and shoulder guards.

As soon as they got off the platform, they started the machinery and electrical or plasma or some other form of energy started pulsing and ripping his body apart. Morann wanted to scream but he couldn't…

To the onlookers, Morann was held in the cage and the energy was ripping him apart. Suddenly, there was an explosion as the Minbari turned to dust.

That was when a large circle above started to glow. It generated a field of white silver energy, and it seemed to trap something.

It was a Minbari soul, screaming and pleading to be let go. It was sucked into the ceiling leaving only a few trace particles of sparks.

The Minbari were furious, they believed that each generation that died their souls would later be reincarnated in the next generation. The Time lords knew that and the smarter of the Minbari realised this was the Time lords way of keeping them under control.

What it meant to the future, no one knew.