Changed Circle
by Warringer
Chapter Nineteen
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President Ryans ears perked up as he looked at the Narn, G'Kar, in front of him.
"Let me get this straight," he said," A Minbari came to you, to inform us that they are willing to talk about a 'possible peace'?"
"Yes," G'Kar said with a nod and again he wondered how advanced the human mentality was, if they elected a Morph to be their leader. No other race would ever do so.
"Why only 'possible'?"
"Well," G'Kar said with a slight frown," The attack on the Valen'sha, the Minbari flagship, injured all of their ruling council. One of their leaders got into a coma. You have to understand that the Minbari are organized in a Caste system."
Ryan nodded.
"Our intelligence tells us that much."
"It does?" G'Kar asked and wondered how the humans got that information.
"Yes, in fact we know that the leader in Coma is supposed to be some form of major celebrity and is a man of great respect in the Gray Council. Together with another member of the Religious Caste."
That answer certainly showed how much the Narn and the other races tended to underestimate the humans. They certainly knew how to do their homework and G'Kar didn't doubt that they could outdo any intelligence network the Centauri had ever build up.
G'Kar nodded at that.
"Yes, that is accurate," he said and it certainly was about the same as his old friend had told him," However, the Warriors are extremely unlikely to stop the war. Too much wounded pride."
Ryan sighed.
"Why does it alway come down to wounded pride?"
G'Kar shrugged.
"It seems to come with their line of work. - The Workers are also currently supporting the Warriors, because of the bombardment of Minbari during the Battle of Zendamor."
Ryan winced. Now that had been an operation that didn't go as intended. Instead of bringing the Minbari directly to the table, they had redoubled their war affords. The Battle of Earth just being one of their operations. Others operations had been attacks on the systems of the former Minbari Protectorate.
"Than what about this Minbari who contacted you?"
"He is a member of a group of Minbari called Angla'shok. I don't know what they represent, but my old friend was directly send by the Relegious Caste for talking with a representative of the Terran Union. I was to tell you about that at a neutral spot."
Ryan nodded again.
"Good. But before I can tell you anything about that, I need to talk with the members of my government."
G'Kar nodded.
"You will find me at the Narn Embassy, Mr. President."
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"We're not even out of dock and we already get a new mission?" Sheridan asked Rommel, who stood next to him in the officers mess.
The AI was more than happy with the fact that he finally got an Avatar body or rather two, through he tended to leave his human shaped body in engineering for safekeeping while running around in the Fennec-morph one, like always dressed in an old WWII tanker uniform from the Afrika Korps.
"Not really surprising," he said," Lexington is now Block 2 and got a little more 'umph' behind the weapons."
Sheridan looked at the Avatar of the AI that has assumed duty as XO of Lexington since his old had been critically injured during Zendamor and was currently in Norfolk's hospital.
He was right through. Lexington was to be outfitted with six new triple mount turrets, opposed to the dual mount turrets of Block 1 and an additional spinal mounted weapon next to the two MAC guns. Not to mention the four Phalanx Drones in their own docking ports behind the turrets and a slightly changed VLS layout, now also packing the new and coming MK 69 torpedoes with 1kt non-nuclear warheads.
"Anything about this new assignment?"
"Not really," Rommel said with a shrug," All I know at the moment is that we will be alone on this one and go to an at the moment unknown system to meet a Narn ship there."
Sheridan raised an eyebrow.
"Don't look at me like that, John. It comes directly from the Oval Office."
"Isn't there a way to find out what it will be?"
Rommel looked a little though fully for a moment.
"Well, I could try to hack into the computer of the White House..." he said and Sheridan stared at him for a moment," But I don't think that Roosevelt would like it if his old man snoops around in his hardware."
"Roosevelt?"
Rommel gave the blinking Sheridan a grin.
"You know that AIs procreate, don't you? He is my sort of son. The result of the algorithms of about ten AIs."
Suddenly Sheridan knew that he shouldn't ask how that went by. Even through he knew that it wasn't something like sex of natural sentients, his mind showed him a very detailed orgy and he had tho shake his head forcefully to forget the picture.
"I guess you have a very dirty mind, eh John?"
"Oh shut up..."