Author's notes: It took me a while to get this story done and the next update will take a while I'm afraid. I haven't heard from Urgo for a while so I now have two more betareaders to ensure that updates won't be delayed in the future. I understand that real life takes precedence and this way that won't be a problem anymore unless I am the one that has to give real life all of my attention.

And now for your questions:

Agent-G: Ah, the Vorlons. The Vorlons will begin to move soon now and I will pay more attention to the telepaths as well. But then again, the Shadows won't be sitting still either….

grayangle: The sensor probes will last for months but the Feds of course won't let the Minbari get their paws on them. Not part of the agreement and the Minbari aren't exactly people with a spotless record.

Worker72: Some of those questions will be answered in this chapter, others in coming chapters. The Shadows won't be killing Kosh because the Vorlons haven't even tried to attack the Shadows yet so they will just stay out of each others way for now and play with their pieces on the board.

Zarathos1: So you too don't like Delenn leading the Rangers? Odd, I never had a problem with it and I question Neroon's capacity to see the bigger picture at this point in time. As for the Vorlons, if they are going to fight directly they will try to do it away from the prying eyes of the younger races. They don't want to look weak or mortal and both are still a possibility when fighting the Shadows.

I would further like to thank the above readers as well as Jerry Unipeg, mikiebee, X-Over and ariel stormcloud for their positive reviews and my new betareaders Tryglaw and Jumster for their fast work.

Veni, vidi

"Pleasant it is, when over a great sea the winds trouble the waters, to gaze from shore upon another's great tribulation."
-Lucretius

USS Odyssey
The ceremony confirming Delenn as the Entil'Zha was interesting. Not very elaborate and at the end a Minbari came barging in, carrying a bloodied metal staff. That wasn't part of the ceremony but apparently the Minbari had come close to civil war. Walker wondered if things would have gone differently if they hadn't come to this universe, but they had and that was the situation they had to deal with.

Repairs had been complete and Commander Ivanova was on her way to the bridge. Walker would wait with departing so she could watch the show. He would have liked to be there when the refitted Churchill was launched but it would be another week before she could be launched. People were dying out there and personal feelings had to be set aside.

Local space was still littered with the remains of the Drakh ships. They were already cleaning it up and traffic had resumed. Some of the debris would be studied to learn more about the Drakh but most would be recycled. Replicators couldn't make something out of nothing and the Drakh used some rare materials in their ships.

VVVVVV

Susan had been on board the Odyssey before but it was still a surprise to walk through this ship. And it wasn't just the artificial gravity, the illumination that was much brighter then on an Earthforce ship or the fact that it was from another universe. The composition of the crew and the ease with which they worked together as if it were natural was definitely the strangest thing on the ship.

The doors of the turbolift opened and she entered the bridge. It was almost as big as her quarters, far too roomy for a bridge. The viewscreen simply showed space although you could see a Vree saucer flying away in the distance. As soon as she entered the bridge Captain Walker addressed her. "Ah, Commander Ivanova. I trust Mister Cole will recover?"

"Yes. Apparently his injuries weren't as bad as they were looking."

"Good to hear." Captain Walker now turned his head back to give his orders. "Helm, move us away from the station and jump to hyperspace." Ivanova didn't feel any acceleration but the viewscreen showed they were moving. In seconds the familiar swirl of a jumppoint opened up in front of them and they were in hyperspace.

"Lieutenant Retudo, are we in anybody's sensor range?"

She took a quick look at her display before answering. "Only B5 and DSB, sir."

"Good. Activate the cloak. Helm, plot a course to the Vega system and engage at warp one."

Susan had of course seen this ship go to 'warp' as they called it but the sight on the viewscreen was something else. The normal chaos of hyperspace had been replaced by something that looked like a red tunnel without an end. "So why did you lower the lighting after cloaking?"

Walker turned around before answering. "I think it helps remind everybody we are now operating stealthily. It's purely for psychological reasons."

"I see. How soon will we be arriving at Vega, anyway?"

"If we could just jump back into the system it would only take four hours."

"Four hours! But even the White Star would take a little more than three days to reach Vega."

"And this is just at warp 1. Unfortunately I can't go any faster, it seems warp field harmonics work differently in hyperspace but we are working on it. However, it will take a little longer because I am planning to sneak into the system by tagging along with another ship."

"And how do you expect to get out of Vega?"

"The same way we got in or we simply warp out of the system and then jump. Once we know the layout of their defenses, we know how far out we have to go before they can't detect us doing so."

"Wait, I thought you could scan normal space from hyperspace?"

"We can, to a point. Large masses like suns, planets or moons aren't a problem but even the massive monstrosities you are using as ships are getting lost in the background noise generated by hyperspace. We can detect it when they are about to open a jumppoint because of the unique properties of Quantium-40 but that is the extent of our abilities in that area."

"Let me guess. You are working on it."

Walker smiled. "Yes, actually. But I am afraid we are reaching the limits of what modifying can do. Only a refit would improve performance now and we don't have the time for that. So we will just have to do with what we've got."

"Which is more than some other people have", murmured Susan.

Walker hadn't heard that although he had seen she said something. But since it was obviously not meant for him, he didn't ask what she said. "Commander Thalev, if you could meet me in my ready room. I have some things that I need to discuss with you."

"Of course, sir." As the two were almost in the ready room, Captain Walker issued his last order. "Commander Ivanova, you have the bridge." The look on her face was worth it. The course had been laid in, there was nothing that could even detect them at the moment and if there were problems he would be back in his seat in a few seconds.

"I what?" But the doors had already closed and Susan hesitantly took a seat. It was comfortable, she could get used to this.

VVVVV

"What did you wish to discuss with me, Captain?"

Walker seemed to hesitate for a moment. "It's a personnel matter actually, old friend."

Thalev allowed a smile. He had known Peter for years but in front of the crew he seldom allowed himself to crack a joke and tried to keep things professional. And this hesitance could only mean one thing. "Trouble with a women."

"Yes. Sandra issued an ultimatum and I didn't comply."

Thalev was puzzled by the remark. His antennae crossed in confusion. "An ultimatum? Is this something typical in human relationships or is this just your inability to talk about them?"

Walker was still facing the window. "We had dinner last night and she asked about where I grew up. I tried to change the subject and she told me she couldn't do this anymore. I refused to tell her almost anything about my past because it would tell her we come from another universe and she sees it as a sign that I don't trust her."

Thalev just shook his head. "I take it you have talked with the other captains about letting her in on the secret?" The way Peter looked away told him everything. "You didn't. Why are you so quick to bend the rules when it is to help others but when it's for yourself you stick to them no matter the cost? No, don't answer that."

Peter just wanted to change the subject. Thalev was right but he couldn't do anything about it at the moment. "I am going to miss you being my first officer."

"So will I. Are you sure you can't have L'Rrran fill the position instead of me? She has the necessary experience and who could possibly replace me?"

Walker had to laugh. "Nobody, but you are the most experienced officer and we don't have a lot of those. Iceren doesn't have your flair but he will make a competent first officer."

Hyperspace, Galen's Pinnace
He was currently in hyperspace trying to sneak into the Epsilon system. His order had left known space to preserve their knowledge and to keep it from being used to ill purpose. And then these newcomers appeared and he was sent to investigate. So far they had managed to surprise him twice.

The first time was while he was still on his way here. He was travelling off the beacons when he was nearing a group of Fen. Large, green, jellyfish-like creatures that were now being studied by a Federation ship. He wasn't detected but every time he tried to get closer, his ship sensed an increase in energy that indicated he would be detected if he got any closer. And he hadn't even tried to use active scanners to get a better picture of the Starfleet ship. When the ship moved of he tried to follow but it suddenly accelerated to light speed and that was something his ship could not do.

So he traveled to Babylon 5 because he had heard they had established their presence there. And so they had, their sensors again proved to be able to pierce the stealth field that hid his ship. He would never be able to enter normal space without them detecting him, his original plan of slipping in behind a freighter was no longer feasible. But there was something else he could try.

An hour later a lone Brakiri pinnace flew through the jumpgate and requested a docking space. Traffic around the station was still calm so it only took an hour before the pilot was standing at customs. Here too the Federation had put up scanners but like their bigger cousins they seemed to be looking more for hidden things than camouflaged ones. But this way it would still take some time to gather enough information.

USSOdyssey, a day later
Ivanova was again standing on the bridge of the Odyssey. They were still in hyperspace despite having arrived at Vega hours ago. The reason for this was on their viewscreen now. From this angle it looked just like any other Earthforce destroyer but the Federation scanners had told her otherwise. They had been looking for a ship that looked as if it were going to jump into Vega when they found these four.

They got some strange readings from these four destroyers who were moving faster then they should be capable of towards Vega. So Captain Walker had ordered to approach them and get a better look. Everybody on the bridge had been startled when they got a good look at these new EA destroyers, the origins of their modifications unmistakable.

Black spines jutted out of the armour on several places and the armour seemed to be fused with Shadow biomatter. They had quickly determined that it wasn't in fact genuine Shadow armour but a synthetic copy of it. Everybody was curious what exactly had been done to those ships to make them look even uglier then they used to be. "Alright T'nal, I take it you have gathered enough data by now to tell us what Earthforce did to those ships?" Asked Captain Walker.

"I have, captain. As you know the organic armour used on those ships is a synthetic copy of Shadow armour, but it is clearly inferior to the original. There is no indication of artificial gravity onboard and power seems to be fluctuating. Their weapons are also upgraded and are fusion based. This type clearly marks an improvement in comparison with a standard Earthforce destroyer."

"How would you rate their performance against other ships?"

"To us, the improvements in its defenses and firepower are insignificant. And the Churchill will be capable of defeating one of them once she is finished as well. But unmodified Earthforce and Centauri ships would loose against such a ship in a one-on-one battle, once they are finished."

That caught Susan's ear. "Finished? What do you mean with 'once they are finished'? They look ready to me." Walker too would like to know what T'nal had meant with that last comment.

Lieutenant T'nal turned slightly to address Susan. "In the period of time that we have monitored them, our sensors detected numerous power fluctuations in their systems. Some are getting too much power while others shut down. This, combined with the fact that Earthforce didn't use these before now, leads me to the conclusion that these ships are new and have in fact been rushed into service. They are still untested and it seems to have numerous design flaws. For example, the synthetic Shadow armour is emitting low levels of theta radiation which will cause health problems for the crew if they are exposed to it for four months."

"No danger to my crew, I hope?"

"No, captain. Our ship has enough protection but the crew on those destroyers does not, nor would it be safe for maintenance workers when the ship is docked."

Something else now called for his attention. "Captain, they are preparing to jump back to normal space."

"Follow them in, Mr. Akudo."

The Odyssey had spent more than an hour in the wake of the destroyer and it continued to do so as she flew through the jumppoint back into normal space. Once the Odyssey was back in normal space, she put some distance between her and the Earthforce ships. "Lieutenant, tell me what the state of the system is."

"I am picking up several Earthforce ships in orbit of the colony, a few Hyperions are patrolling the outer system and I am picking up 10 fighter patrols. The military base is destroyed and the number of humans on the planet is far lower than the population on record. Even without taking into account the Earthforce personnel that has landed there since the attack."

"And the Centauri?"

"I am picking up three debris fields that contain Centauri hull signatures. But they seem to be mined and one doesn't contain any Centauri ships, just a few of their fighters and some kind of message buoy. It is a message from Emperor Cartagia."

"Let me hear the message." They listened to Cartagia's declaration of war. Susan with dread, afraid of what this could mean for Earth.

"We can't do anything more here. Helm, lay in a…." Captain Walker was interrupted by Lieutenant Retudo before he could finish his order. "Sir, I just picked up a weak distress signal coming from an escape pod near the message buoy. It's being drowned out by the Centauri recording."

"So that escape pod is inside the debris field?"

Retudo affirmed that. "It's probably from that adrift Olympus, the pod's engines are inoperable and the single lifesign I am reading is fading. She won't live for much longer, one of the reactors is still operational and leaking radiation."

"How far away are the Earthforce ships?"

"At full burn, they could get here in ten minutes."

Ivanova now added her own weight to this discussion. "They can't get to her, not with the minefield up. I don't suppose you can get through it? "

Walker had a decision to make. He could simply fly away and leave this Earthforce member to die, relations between them weren't exactly amicable but it wouldn't be the right thing. If he decloaked he could get her out of there but only with the transporters. They didn't have the time to try anything else and that would mean revealing the existence of their transporter to Commander Ivanova. But that little secret would have had to come out eventually and he couldn't let a secret stand in the way of helping someone in trouble.

"Standby to drop the cloak. Tell Transporter Room 1 to beam her directly to sickbay. Helm, plot us a course out of this system."

VVVVV

Ensign Kimmer was feeling very weak. She had been in this escape pod for two days now and although food or water weren't a problem yet, the fact that she hadn't been rescued yet was. And the way she was getting weaker and weaker could only mean radiation poisoning, apparently one of the reactors of her ship was leaking.

She didn't know what had happened but one moment she was on her way to the bridge and the other moment the entire ship shook and the order to abandon ship was sound. She had scrambled towards one of the escape pods but it didn't launch properly. And now she was stuck here.

She was currently looking out the small window, looking at all those stars. She was beginning to loose consciousness, she was even starting to see things. Just now, she could see in the distance how an alien ship materialized out of thin space. No, wait. That's not how you say that.

Then light engulfed her and the next thing she knew, she was lying on a soft bed and staring at a bright ceiling. A bald man in some kind of pajama was standing next to her, waving a device over her body. 'Heaven looks really odd', was her last thought before the darkness engulfed her.

Vega, EAS Agrippa
Captain Dexter Smith was still uneasy with the upgrades to his ship. It had taken weeks to replace the weapons and graft the synthetic bio-matter to his ship and the result wasn't completely stable. The lighting on the bridge began to flicker again, as were some of the displays. His chief engineer was running herself ragged trying to keep everything working and he had lost a crewmember when he touched an outgrowth of the stuff. It had been removed but his crew was reluctant to go near the area now.

The bio-matter hadn't just strengthened his hull, it had interfaced with the ships systems and improved them. The improved reactors were causing the power problem, it seemed that the stuff wasn't done doing whatever it was doing with the reactors. His Thunderbolts had been improved with the bio-matter as well but didn't have the computer upgrade because the fighter now refused it like an incompatible donor organ.

Then his scanner officer called for his attention. "Captain, a Federation ship just appeared on scanners!"

"Location?" Smith snapped.

"Right next to the Centauri message buoy, it just appeared out of thin air. No jumppoint or that other form of FTL travel was detected."

"Helm, change heading to the Federation ship and alert the other ships about the uninvited guest. Prepare to jump."

USS Odyssey
The Earthforce officer was being treated in sickbay, Ivanova was looking at him accusatorily for hiding such a technology and Earthforce had sent everything that had an engine to intercept him. Captain Walker was about ready to leave the system, especially since one of the Shadow destroyers was travelling through hyperspace. He now had half a minute before it would try to jump back to normal space somewhere near him.

But he had to do one last thing, before leaving. "Mister Iceren, target the message buoy and blow it up. It already almost caused the death of one person and I think everybody has heard it enough times now." A single phaser beam lashed out and took out the message buoy. The minefield was supposed to prevent such a thing but it's makers had never anticipated a ship with such a long range.

The Odyssey now turned away from the minefield and moved off at half impulse, already outpacing the Earthforce ships in normal space. Then a jumppoint opened up in front of the Odyssey. It was the Agrippa, the ship captained by Smith, which immediately fired at the Federation ship. That ship had however already changed it's heading and the Earthforce ship missed. The Odyssey didn't stay any longer and went to warp, quickly disappearing from the scanners of the Earthforce ships.

Now that they were out of the system and no longer pursued by Earthforce, Ivanova didn't wait any longer.

"How many more secrets do you have to save the day?" Asked Ivanova.

"Ah, well. That would be secret number one." At Ivanova's glare he continued. "You never asked us about the transporter and we didn't want to shock you anymore than necessary. You have never even heard of transporters so we didn't want to interfere with your development."

"What changed?"

"Non-interference doesn't mean I will stand by and watch someone die. How do you think we saved Sandra and her crew from the Churchill?"

"Garibaldi already suspected you had something similar to the Vree teleporter, but that has a small range and takes a lot of power. So how does it work?"

"Yes, we were afraid he might suspect something. As far as I can tell, our transporter and the dimensional slip teleporter used by the Vree use a fundamentally different technique. The Vree apparently transport something by phasing the target through another dimension. Our transporter disassembles the target on the quantum level and puts it back together again somewhere else."

"Wait a second. Your teleporter pulls a person into billions of pieces which are then put back together again kilometers away. How often does that go wrong?"

"Almost never unless you're onboard a starship called Enterprise. But the chances are you will sooner have an accident onboard this ship then an accident with a transporter."

"So when exactly do I get on that runabout again?"

Walker just smiled.

TBC