I don't own Babylon 5.
Please let me know what you think.
Breakaway from Earth.
"How are you holding up?" Stephen asked Michael as he, Michael, and Susan sat in the Zocolo. All around them, everything seemed to be returning to normal with stalls and shops reopening, but there was definitely an air of tension all around. Everyone felt it. Many of the humans in the Zocolo were looking nervous, leaning and whispering hurried and rushed conversations with those nearby, but those same people walked away or they waved away the conversations.
But they all looked troubled.
A few of the aliens present were watching the humans, making comments and observations under their breath. They knew this whole thing had been a massive blow to the humans on the station, and the repercussions were going to be felt for months and months yet to come.
Michael shrugged, then winced a little as his injured arm twanged with pain. "Not too bad, but I'm gonna have to pull a number of my security detail to find more for the leftovers of Nightwatch. I'm not looking forwards to that."
"Have you had any cases of sabotage yet?" Susan asked in concern, knowing the Nightwatch members would cause a lot of damage to the station in a short amount of time. Already she was picturing them planting crude bombs like that weird little creep who'd worked for Maintenance for a short time and went on a bombing spree earlier this year.
"No, not yet. But it will only be a matter of time. A lot of the bastards have gone underground, but I'm keeping my eyes open."
Stephen looked around. "Where's Sheridan?"
Susan sighed. "The captain's in C&C working with Corwin to see about our supplies, and what changes might be needed. I wanted to work with him, but he told me to take a break. He said I put in a lot of work, now it's time for him to do the same. I think he's scared," she looked down at her hands.
For a whole year, President Morgan Clark had been changing the Earth Alliance and while many in the Alliance welcomed it, especially those who believed the policies of his predecessor did more harm than good since aliens were taking away human jobs and the closer ties with aliens were coming at a bad time although many would rather Earth not have anything to do with aliens full stop.
Xenophobia had always been lurking within the human psyche since the first contact with the Centauri Republic, and it was not helped when humanity learnt the Centauri had once been the rulers of a large interstellar empire, nor was it helped by the fact the Centauri generally lied about their place within the galaxy; the peacock haired aliens were so pompous and bloated with dreams of their Golden Age, they would boast and lament the ending of their role.
Their lies, their dreams/delusions of grandeur, coupled with the fact their technology was more advanced than that of Earth's was a real worry since the Centauri could have easily and effortlessly conquered Earth and transformed humanity into another slave race.
Indeed when the Dilgar war came many were worried Earth itself could be conquered by the cat-like aliens, but many others had not wanted to get involved with alien affairs, believing it was their problem. But there had been no guarantee of such a thing happening since the Dilgar were expanding in all directions in the galaxy. When they conquered planets, the species would be lucky to even survive it. The Minbari war had been the most devastating war in human history so far, and its effects were still felt today; following Dukhat's death, the Minbari had planned a campaign of genocide and while Susan and Sheridan weren't sure about the truth of the ending, they knew that many of Clark's policies had been rooted with the pointless death of so many humans and was one of the reasons organisations like Homeguard had been formed in the first place.
But while Susan and the others were so convinced Clark was basing many of his xenophobic views on the war where Earth's fate was at stake - hell, Susan had lost her brother during a fleet engagement - none of them knew what his endgame was.
"He has a right to be, Susan. We've now broken away from Earth, taken a stand against the President, and against Earthforce. I would be worried too if I were in his shoes," Stephen looked down at the surface of the table thoughtfully while he was clearly thinking of the consequences of what they'd done. He looked up again. "How long do you think it will be before they try to attack again?"
Stephen was an Earthforce officer, but he was a doctor first and foremost. He wasn't one for military politics.
"I doubt it will happen any time soon, not unless one of the Nightwatch people on B5 tries to sabotage the station and make it easy to call them back in, but even if they do that, they'd still have a fight on their hands," Garibaldi replied. "But I think Clark's got his hands full with Proxima and Mars. They're not going to let them get away with breaking away, and they haven't got a strong enough military force capable of fighting off any attacks."
Ivanova didn't like the fact Garibaldi had reasoned it out before her, but she agreed with him. "Do you think the colonies will be okay on their own?" She asked.
Michael sighed and looked down, the light reflecting off of his balding scalp. "I hope so. But there's a vast difference between us and them; they're planets, we're a space station. The colonists on Proxima 3 and on Mars and a few other planets know where to find resources like food and metals and fuels to keep themselves going. They need only a fraction of trade to keep themselves going, but they can hold out longer than we can since they have a whole planet at their disposal. We rely on regular trade to keep everything going on this station. We can grow certain foodstuffs, fruits and vegetables, but we rely on regular importations; I'm not worried about the alien governments because nobody on Earth would want to piss off races like the Minbari or the Centauri, especially now there's that damn treaty between the Alliance and the Centauri, but what I am worried about and what I am definitely sure Sheridan has worked out himself, is we might have critical supply problems later."
"Do you think Clark will order a blockade?" Stephen looked around worried others were listening in.
"Definitely."
Susan sighed.
"Do you think we should tell Sheridan?"
"I think he's already looking for a solution," Ivanova said quietly, the only one there who knew Sheridan well enough to know what he was capable of.
"But it might take time."
"Could he use the Rangers to help?" Stephen asked as he thought it over in his own mind.
"What, use the Rangers to bring in food? It's possible, but wouldn't that make it harder for them to keep an eye out for the Shadows?" Garibaldi had thought of using Marcus and his resources to bring in supplies. He had thought about the possibility when he and Sheridan and sat with Ivanova over breakfast, and Susan was lucky to get a plate of hot bacon and eggs. Eggs like so many foodstuffs were difficult to transport through hyperspace since they spoiled quickly and easily en route, making it extremely expensive. Garibaldi spent a fortune every birthday while he was in space and far from Earth, gathering ingredients for his birthday dinner. But when he had seen the bacon and eggs Susan was given, he realised the possibilities, but now they had a new meaning.
"I think we can try something," Susan replied, although she sounded uncertain now since it would mean the Shadows would have an easier time moving freely.
"I think we should risk it regardless, just take a few off and send them out to pick up enough food and supplies," Stephen put in.
The three members of the Senior staff discussed it more and they eventually headed off to find Sheridan. When they discussed the idea with the captain, he agreed with the idea, but he made it clear the Rangers couldn't be the end all be all solution. He spoke with Ambassador Delenn, and she had agreed to take some of the Rangers off their duties and collect supplies for Babylon 5. She also made it clear the Rangers would need to be put back to work to discover more of the Shadows plan, but for now, this was the best solution available until President Clark was deposed.