Ta'lon arrived to Babylon 5 to find that G'Kar had already left.
They message left behind had imposed a duty, a duty as sacred as the sword that he carried. He would represent his people.
Once he had formally alerted the Station Registry that he had officially taken over the Narn Ambassadorial Quarters, he made his way to the Interstellar Alliance offices to check in.
With some assistance, he found the location of the person he wanted to check in with. Nodding to the security guard whom he had to provide his identification to, he walked into the conference room.
He found that there were several people in the room. Besides the Centauri who used to assist Mollari, there was also a Human-looking woman with light-brown skin. Her name was Foster, if he remembered correctly, and she represented the Humans who had settled a world at the edge of Minbari space who were not a part of Earth present was Delenn, whom was known throughout all known civilizations as a wise and caring woman, one of the two leaders who had successfully won the Shadow War.
And the last person present was the other leader, the man who had led the fight and who had also freed his own world from a despotic leader, the former Commander of Babylon 5 and now President of the Interstellar Alliance: John Sheridan.
All present had immediately noticed his arrival. While most of them were curious, Sheridan's face lit up in recognition. "Ta'lon! I heard that you were coming." Sheridan stood and approached and the two friends embraced.
"It is good to see you, my friend." After the two disengaged he looked around, "I hope that I am not intruding or interrupting."
"No," John said. With his hand still on Ta'lon's shoulder he turned and looked at the others present. "Everyone, this is Ta'lon. He's taken G'Kar's place as the Narn Representative to Interstellar Alliance." Sheridan glanced at Ta'Lon.
"You know Delenn, of course."
Ta'lon stepped forward and said, "Ambassador Delenn. It is good to see you again as well." He gave a respectful bow.
She was smiling at the friendly interaction between her husband and this Narn. She knew of their history and looked quite happy for his presence.
"This is Vir Cotto, who replaced Londo Mollari as the representative for the Centauri."
He bowed with respect again. "Ambassador Cotto. I am pleased to see you again as well."
"Thank you, Ambassador Ta'lon. We're glad to have you."
"And this is Ambassador Tory Foster of New Kobol."
The woman stepped forward and extended her hand even as he respectfully nodded his head in a briefer bow. "Ambassador. It is good to meet you."
"And you as well. I was aware of your identity – G'Kar had pointed you out when I last visited. Your people and mine work together on rebuilding our fleets – I had planned on making your acquaintance as soon as possible so I am glad that you are here as I 'check in' as you Humans often say." He looked at her face for a moment and said in his cheerful manner, "You have a look of curiosity. Is there something I can help you with?"
She looked at him and gave a sheepish smile. "I'm sorry. It's not a large thing but I was wondering …" She paused. "I learned the history of the various races when I was appointed. And living here I am aware of how the Centauri and the Narn consider each other. Even Ambassador G'Kar and now-Emperor Mollari, when they were here, still treated each other with … amused mockery even if they had approached something of a friendship with each other. Your reaction to Ambassador Cotto was just a bit more respectful that I was expecting. I'm sorry if my curiosity seems rather forward."
Ta'Lon smiled and glanced at Vir before replying, "Yes. Our peoples do have a contentious relationship even now, when we are all allies. But I try to keep all of my interactions respectful. And even if he is a Centauri, Vir Cotto, for reasons not often mentioned, is actually viewed quite positively among my people and by my government." He looked and saw that Vir looked a little worried. "Considering who is present, I am willing to explain – as long as you agree to keep this strictly confidential. The information could … embarrass him with some members of the Centauri Royal Court."
Tory looked over and saw the Vir was looking relieved at the idea of discretion and so she said, "I won't talk about it with anyone not here without permission from Vir."
Ta'lon nodded and then looking at Vir, he waited until the man gave an approving nod. "During the occupation of our world, Vir used his position as attaché to Minbar and his knowledge from working with Ambassador Mollari to help relocate thousands of my people, saving them from work camps and execution camps. Mollari himself, was not directly involved but when he discovered what Vir was doing, he had to order him to vacate his position. It would have embarrassed Mollari with his own people that his protégé was involved with such things. But the system he created within Centauri records was used by Commander Ivanova to continue to assist in freeing many Narns at risk. And so, when possible, I will always treat Ambassador Cotto with respect. He is a good man. That he now represents the Centauri Empire gives me hope for the future."
Vir was embarrassed but pleased. "Thank you, Ta'lon. That was very nice to hear." He then looked at Sheridan. "I didn't know that Ivanova kept using the Linconi identity."
John chuckled. "Yes. We didn't tell you so that you didn't have to tell Londo – he was already pissed. That was right after we broke away from Earth and Susan needed something to give her some purpose. She was actually quite gleeful in her ability to backdoor into the Centauri government and use the ruse to help more Narns escape and to provide food at some critical times. We couldn't handle Earth then – helping the Narns was soul-mending work for her."
Delenn smiled as well. "Something the religious caste was more than happy to assist with. It allowed more of my people to feel they were contributing to the greater universe when fear was running rampant because of the Shadows."
Tory was surprised. "These are the kind of things that no one ever told me."
Sheridan nodded and in good humor said, "Plausible deniability is a wonderful thing." He looked at Ta'lon. "It's probably good that you are here. Tory was just filling us in on a developing situation and it's good to have the whole Advisory Board of the Alliance here to talk about it." He motioned toward the Narn seat. "Sit down and we'll explain."
Soon everyone was sitting down. Ambassador Foster spoke. "Did you ever hear of how and why we ended up in this part of the galaxy?" she asked the new Narn representative.
"G'Kar explained it to me, as much as he knew. You had suffered a genocidal attack from something called 'Cylons' who had begun as mechanical beings created by your own people. They had evolved into having some Human-like versions and infiltrated your society to ensure the attacks were successful. But that occurred in Dark Sector, where we cannot go."
Foster nodded. "That's right. There's a lot more to it, but suffice it to say that we later found that the entire war was instigated by a single Human-form Cylon model – there were thirteen at that time – and he did so because he was jealous of affection his creators gave to Humans and the other Cylon Human-form models."
Ta'lon considered that. "This sounds like something I will have to learn about in detail when I have opportunity, but what is the situation which is of concern at the moment?"
"Well, since we discovered what was really going on, we used what we knew to create or exacerbate a rift within the Cylon Collective and they have been in a civil war for about a year. The two sides include the one that is for killing all Humans and the ones who regret the war and who wish to just go their own way and even, perhaps, have positive interactions with Humans and other sentient peoples. One side, the side regretting it, has now tried to make official contact after they were given some information by Admiral Adama, the overall commander of our Battlestar fleet. His ship made contact a week ago and now we have representatives meeting in a location which contains a hyperspace communication beacon which we monitor. They don't know about Hyperspace but they know that we're monitoring. They've asked for an official meeting with whoever is in charge."
"In charge of your people?" Ta'lon asked curiously.
"No. In charge of the Alliance. They know that the Cylon Collective is a threat and they want to retreat away from the murderous side. But we need to ensure that there are safeguards. So I was asked by my government to brief the President and find out what the Alliance wants to do."
Sheridan nodded. "We were just about to leave for Minbar so that we can set up in the offices in Tuzanor on the Miinbari homeworld. Most of the diplomatic offices will remain here or at least Babylon 5 will still be the center of trade negotiations for members. We'll deal with the Rangers and security issues from Minbar. But this thing with the Cylons – this could blow up in our faces if we don't handle it well."
Ta'lon considered all he was learning and said, "What are your plans?"
Sheridan and Delenn looked at each other and then Delenn said, "We were nearing our departure date. We were discussing the possibility of adding time for a meeting with these Cylons to learn their true intentions."
Ta'lon asked, "Where?"
"At the edge of the Dark Regions. We would require the assistance of the New Kobol military to get there, but their presence would also provide some security against treachery. We still are not entirely certain of the intentions of those who wish to meet with us." Delenn looked very serious at that.
Ta'lon thought about it. He looked at Vir. "What do you think?"
Vir was startled – he mostly took a watch and listen approach. But he answered, "The Cylons are a threat, just like the Drak are, or Drakh, however that's pronounced. And while I don't like the idea of making the threat worse, I'm all for reducing them when possible. If we can have a meeting and talk, isn't that better than fighting?"
Ta'lon nodded in understanding. "G'Kar picked me because I am more warrior than priest whereas he had become too much priest and not enough warrior. But even warriors understand that fighting is the last resort. If we can remove or reduce the threat without armed conflict, we should do so."
Sheridan sighed. "I was the one who was leery – I've been burned too many times. But I agree. We should make the effort." He looked at Tory. "Who should go?"
"You and Delenn. Shai Alyt Shakiri if we can get him to agree as he has provided many warrior caste members to work with our crews. A Narn presence wouldn't be amiss. The Centauri look similar to Humans, so I don't know if a presence there would be valuable."
Vir said, "I'll contact the Emperor and see what he wants. As I am technically his representative and Centauri politics is all about how you look, he might prefer my going. But I would have to ask."
Tory looked at Sheridan. "Should we get an Earth Alliance member to be present? I don't necessarily want to involve Earth yet but it might be good to see how the Cylons react to their existence."
Sheridan considered that. "I'll ask for Ivanova. She's going from colony to colony in the Hyperion, making nice with them in an effort to help calm down any worries that Earth Gov is still run by Clark's people. Her ship being given real artificial gravity was widely promoted and she's known to have been on the other side. But she could take a break for a few days. And she'll be careful with how she words her reports if we ask her to do it."
Sheridan said, "We don't want to let Earth Force figure out how to contact them directly and possibly get the jump drive they use. Even if it's a New-Kobol-only tech by treaty, Earth wouldn't hesitate to sneak in if they might be able to get it themselves."
Deleen said, "That's something I hadn't considered yet. But you make a good point. So we request her presence. If they say no, then we don't accept another representative instead."
Sheridan said, "Right."
Ta'lon said, "And how do we get there?"
Tory answered that. "The President is leaving by White Star. Our first new Battlestar, Atlantia, has been launched from the Narn shipyard. The jump drive is being installed back at New Kobol as we speak – we decided not to install it at the shipyard but to prepare the ship for it. A Battlestar could meet us a few hours out from here, jump us to New Kobol space, and then the new ship could take us to the meeting. Like the Pegasus, it has four landing bays and we've made certain that two of them were equipped to handle two White Stars each – they bays are longer than what we had on earlier Battlestars for that reason as well as others. But it would be ideal for a show of strength as well as security for the meeting."
Delenn and Sheridan looked at each other once more. Ta'lon knew that they were also interested in this new Battlestar. He had some knowledge as he had seen it's construction at the shipyards, but many details were confidential. He knew when they agreed without their even saying it. Their words concurred with his observation. "Let's do that then. I'll ask Lochley to pass on the request for Ivanova to meet up with us and then we'll make a show of leaving on a White Star." He turned to Tory. "You might want to launch your ship ASAP with Vir and Ta'lon on it, once Vir contacts the Centauri Palace and get's confirmation. That way, you'll already be gone and can go with us back to New Kobol and to the meeting."
"Actually, we have the Eternal coming to pick up some more telepaths seeking asylum. We're still berthing them on Phoenix while they wait for transport. We can just go through the normal launch, meet up with Eternal in hyperspace, and then have the phoenix land. We can then have the Eternal wait for your ship – it's a Mercury like the Pegasus and can land a White Star and it has a Minbari complement unlike the Galactica. How long before you actually leave?"
Sheridan looked around. "It's supposed to be secret but two days."
Vir snorted. When the others looked he said, "A secret on Babylon 5 doesn't last that long. I've known that for at least a few days."
Sheridan whined, "How? We only decided on the exact day a week ago."
Vir smirked. "Londo was my mentor. Give me credit for having at least some resources of my own to find things out." That was all he would say but he did add, "If I had heard about a threat, I would have told you. But I have people making certain it's safe. Londo made certain I was given all the duties that he normally would cover. And that includes ensuring the safety of ships from other governments when it's politically expedient that they remain safe."
Delenn wryly asked, "And our safety is expedient?" She hid her brief disappointment.
But instead of agreeing, Vir blushed a little. "Well, I actually did it because I like you and you're my friends. But if Londo or anyone in the Royal Court asks me, that's going to be my answer as to why I did it."
Delenn gave him a smile while rolling her eyes. "Centauri politics are always so … interesting." Ta'lon buried his own snarky comment about Centauri politics because he actually liked Vir Cotto. Foster just shook her head and Sheridan gave his wife a grin.
A few hours later, approval was given from Centauri Prime, Ta'lon had quietly informed his government, and Tory Foster had turned over control of the New Kobol diplomatic offices to the man commanding the marines protecting the Phoenix. They could continue accepting telepaths as refugees as needed while she was away.
Going along with them with Colonel Lyta Alexander, who was returning to New Kobol at the end of her services being loaned to the Alliance. Tessa Holloran had been installed and now was in charge of the organization. Lyta was looking forward to actually having a home.
Eternal waited near a jump gate just six hours from Babylon 5. Because the wait would be a day and a half, the vipers and Nials patrolled and did drills to keep their skills sharp. There was considerable competition between the warrior caste Minbari and the New Kobol pilots but it was all in good fun.
Just as expected, the White Star commanded by Sheridan arrived just on time and soon the Eternal was making ready to jump to New Kobol space.
The visitors moved to the White Star during that transition and within a very few minutes of reaching New Kobol space the White Star was exiting from the Eternal.
Everyone on the ship could see their destination.
Attached to the Lobo Negro space dock was a ship which looked like a sleeker, newer version of the other Battlestars that they had seen.
The Battlestar Atlantia was of a comparable size to the Battlestar Prometheus and the Battlestar Nova, which were also part of the New Kobol fleet.
Sheridan, as soon as he saw it, whistled in appreciation. "Wow. That is a nice ship." He turned to Foster and asked, "What can you tell us about her?"
Tory just gave a small smile and said, "Wait until we're on board and get the briefing from the Commander. He can tell you far more than I could."
Sheridan considered that and nodded. "Okay. Well, open a channel to Homeworld Defense." He had been briefed on standard protocols in New Kobol space. Most ships contacted the Themis Spaceport but his destination was a Battlestar, he was to contact Homeworld Defense.
Very soon, White Star 3 (the lowest numbered White Star left) was directed to landing on the lower deck of the Starboard Deck. Amazingly, the ship landed on a cradle which seemed to be shaped for a White Star to fit right onto. He asked Tory about that.
She replied, "Actually, the cradle mechanism was installed to conform to whatever ship might be landed on the bay. Because this ship will be the one sent off to find worlds that are currently inaccessible to the hyperspace network, we recognized that the Alliance may send different ships or we might have to land a ship that isn't shaped optimally to land on a flat deck. As a result, as long as we have specifications, we can adjust the height, placement, and angle of the cradle to accept anything that is irregularly shaped. It was an expensive system to design and build, but we decided that we didn't need to spend the money to build a fleet of hundreds of warships so we could spend the money on making the best ships for the population we have. In fact, our current ships crew 20 percent of our current population. It's going to take generations before we have enough population to field more than seven capital ships at a time and even then our ships have to crew fewer to make it viable."
Sheridan shook his head. "That really drives home how many people you lost."
Tory nodded but then smiled. "But we have had a population boom of a sort. As soon as we settled, a lot of people who were holding off on having children started making babies. We jumped from about 147,000 a year ago including the final rescuees from the Colonies and Terra to about 149,000 in just two months. In the next six months, if the majority of pregnancies are successful, we'll go to about 151,000."
Delenn was amazed. "That's a lot of babies."
Tory nodded. "Having babies is, right now, considered a sacred duty to our people. We lost billions. And every woman of child-bearing age is being asked to produce at least two children within the first five years, if not more. Some of our tribes commonly have more, but we're having to fight the cultural impetus from some tribes to wait until they are in their late twenties or thirties. Even the Humanform Cylons that have been integrated are being encouraged. And we also accept immigration from other Human cultures more easily if they are women or couples who want to have babies. Women who serve in the military are given bonuses for taking the time to have children. Often, women who wanted families were encouraged to leave the service or become reserve members. We can't afford that anymore. We need every woman who can to have children and we need every soldier we can get to serve in the military. It's quite a lot of work but it's helping us to recover."
Delenn considered what was being said. Considering that her own people had been declining in population for centuries and only now were beginning to see that trend begin to halt, it might be useful to know how such matters were being handled here.
Once the White Star was loaded the group made their way through the airlock system (useful when you didn't need to pressurize the entire deck) and went through the inversion system to ensure they were "right side up" before being able to enter the ship proper.
Admiral Bill Adama was there to meet them as was Dr. Kevin Grazier, President of New Kobol, who had also come to the meeting to prepare for the trip to Cylon space (he would leave the ship before it left the system). The Battlestar Commander, Commander Angelos Tyler, formerly commanding the Battlestar Celestial, was also present.
Celestial was the first of the existing Battlestars which had been removed from service and put into the New Kobol mothball storage for former ships no longer in service. As each ship was replaced, it's jump drive would be removed (for security reasons) and then would be mothballed and minimally maintained but kept intact for deployment at need. Such was the practice in the colonies and such would be the practice now.
Themis and Cygus had been too damaged to return to service but had not been mothballed. The two frames had been combined and repurposed as the space port, despite there being some resistance due to the implied lack of respect for their former service. New Kobol, however, hadn't been in the position to do otherwise when they had arrived. Even now, almost a year later, they would have been repaired minimally and mothballed instead. The civilian ships that were too damaged were to be recycled. Those that were replaced with more modern ships as they were built would be mothballed. ALL ship sales, construction, and the overseeing of their use for commerce would be managed by the military for the first several years. There were too many strategic holes still to do otherwise and the civilian government would take years to be fully organized.
It took a few minutes for the process of entering to be complete. Sheridan was not a ship's captain though he could captain a ship. So he was treated with political protocol. He was formally welcomed by President Grazier, the President of New Kobol,.
Lyta reported to Admiral Adama as he was her superior. Her joy at being there was obvious, and it was just as obvious that Adama was happy that she had finally come home.
Delenn, Vir, and Ta'lon were welcomed as visiting dignitaries as well as each were Ambassadors in their own right. They were then passed off to others.
Delenn was passed off to greet Shai Alyt Shakiri, who had arrived and would inspect the warrior caste contingent which were based on the ship. "Shai Alyt Shakiri," Delenn said as she bowed respectfully with her typical Minbari hand greetings.
"En'til'zha Delenn. It is good to see you once more. And though this is only at the outer edge of Minbari space, I would like to be the first to say: Welcome home."
Delenn looked at the contented face of her former adversary and said, "Can I make an observation?" Shakiri nodded. "You look far happier now than you did the last time I saw you."
Shakiri actually gave a small smile at that. "Yes. I think I am. Working with these Humans has rekindled some of the enthusiasm I felt as a younger warrior. Theirs is a culture far less dissimilar to us than Earth's, and they understand ours much better. They willingly learn and respect our ways and they make us welcome." He looked around at the ship he was now on and then back to her. "If you had told me even a year ago that I would have many warriors posted on Human-commanded ships and that I would be pleased, I would have thought you insane. But our agreements with New Kobol help to protect Minbari space and it serves our people well."
The two spent more time talking, far more cordially than the history between their clans would have allowed in any other circumstances.
Ta'lon was shocked to find G'Kar there.
"Citizen G'Kar. What a pleasant surprise to see you here!" Ta'lon almost shouted when he had seen his old friend.
"Ta'lon. Didn't I leave you with a job back on Babylon 5? Why are you here?" G'Kar truly did mean to sound disapproving.
Ta'lon smirked. "Alliance business. Narn does hold a seat on the advisory board and, well, here I am." He looked around. "This doesn't look like exploration, which is what I was told you would be doing."
G'Kar chuckled. "Well, I'll tell you all about what we'll be doing once this situation is dealt with. It will be exploration – just not what I had implied to others." The two talked and walked together to the meeting place.
Sheridan was passed off to Susan Ivanova. "Captain. It's been a while."
Ivanova gave her typical smirk. "Yes, Mr. President. It has."
Sheridan's face broke into a large grin. "Come here." Susan also laughed as the two embraced. Sheridan grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back so that he could look at her. "You're looking good, Susan."
"These uniforms still itch. I miss the Army of Light uniform. But I'm starting to get used to this one again."
"Well, you at least look a lot less stressed. I guess it's easier running a ship than a station."
Susan grinned. "Yeah. Much easier when everyone has to listen to what you say or be reprimanded or brought up on charges. No civilians to wrangle, no ambassadors to placate. Commanding the Hyperion is far, far less stressful than running Babylon 5 was."
Sheridan nodded and then said, "I was surprised to see you already here. Where's your ship?"
Susan grinned. "The Schwartzkoff is being given gravity systems and her Captain was overseeing it. But for the next week, he turned the project over to his exec and I handed over temporary command to him. Since the crew now have a few months experience, he can get some practice commanding a ship with gravity and he can learn the limitations. Unlike me, he didn't have experience commanding a White Star. The new artificial gravity is quite different from an Omega – learning the differences are important so this whole thing worked out. How's everyone back at Babylon 5? How's Michael and Stephen?"
Tory spoke to President Grazier as she was his representative. Vir was handed over to a crew member who would help him as there was no one there waiting for him particularly.
Everyone was led to a conference room. In addition to those arriving and those set to greet them, four more people waited. Marcus Cole, commanding the second White Star which was currently docked to Atlantia, as well as three telepaths from New Kobol, including Byron Gordon.
Marcus greeted his ultimate boss with great reverence. Bowing deeply he said, "En'til'zha. In Valen's name, I greet thee. I am yours to command."
Delenn gave a respectful greeting back and then grinned. "Marcus. It is so good to see you here. I was surprised that you were asked for."
He grinned as well. "Translation services. Even though everyone's learning English, we're going to be meeting people who still don't know it. And since I was nearby, it was very convenient."
She nodded. "How are the training facilities here?"
"They are doing well. The Temples on New Kobol have been generous. And while it's not a secret that we're there, we are given sufficient privacy and allowed to operate as we will. We have also had a few local recruits, so it works out."
Adama led Lyta over to Byron. "Colonel. This is Mayor Byron Gordon, one of the telepaths who settled at New Hope. Mayor Gordon, this is Lyta Alexander, also a telepath, who took a commission and works as my Chief of Military Intelligence."
Lyta stuck out her hand – a very verboten action with Psi Corp but acceptable here. "Mayor Gordon, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Please," he said even as he took her hand, "it's Byron. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
"Unless it's official business, call me Lyta."
As they shook hands, a few barriers went down and they knew each other far better than an initial meeting could account for. "Lyta. I do believe that I will enjoy getting to know you."
She smiled and said, "Me too." She looked at those with him and greeted them by name as well. The four communed at a certain level for a long moment. Lyta's eyes widened. "Wow. So Admiral Adama has gotten to you too." She was smiling as she said it and glanced over to the man, who had a small smile as he watched.
Letting go of her hand, Byron said with a smile as he too looked at the man, "Yes. He was quite good at allowing us to find a new direction. His welcome and his words to us allowed us to begin to let go of the mindset of telepaths vs. mundanes. We finally started learning to just be … people."
Lyta turned fully to her superior and said, "Permission to speak and act freely."
Adama was taken aback at the slight alteration to the normal request to be able to say anything to a superior without penalty, but with some curiosity he nodded and said, "Permission granted."
At that, Lyta stepped up to him and encircled him with her arms, laying her head against his in a hug. With his feelings of amusement and affection coming through, he hugged her back. Before she let go she quietly said in his ear, "Thank you."
In a voice just as quiet he replied, "You, and they, are quite welcome."
A/N: Yes. The circumstances bypassed that whole Lennier situation from the show. Whether he ends up "betraying Delenn" we'll see. Something to think about as I write this.