A Universe of Change: By Candlelight-Defiance Chapter 16, a Babylon 5 + StarTrek: Other Crossover fanfic

Record keeping time: Thank you everyone for your patience. RPIS is dominating my brain, and I am trying to ease off and start on the other stories. It doesn't mean that I succeeded yet, but I am working on it. Enough said. Some timeago, I received a letter from an individual from the military who was an artillery specialist. I lost that email when my computer decided it wanted a new hard drive. If you are reading this, please contact me if you can. Thank you,

In this chapter you will notice that Earth Alliance's relationship is not perfect. The civilians of Earth Alliance love the Feds. Some of the politicians, CEOs, and EF (mostly old guard) do not. It comes down to a matter of control. The Minbari HAVE NOT SIGNED A TREATY. They have signed agreements, yes. So, spoiler, there will be a problem with the Minbari navy. Not so, the ground troops as will be shown. That is going to cause problems as well.

Senator Kinsey was mentioned in Allies in Blood. He (and his sister) is ancestry of the famous Senator and once-President Robert Kinsey of the 20th century. He was rumored to have been assassinated by an American Blacke OPS operation. There was never any proof that that individual did it, but the agent known as LL was always suspected of performing such a dastardly action before this universe's World war III starte. Okay, that's it for my cynicism for today.

Some of the context in this chapter and the next… I recommend reading Allies in Blood. God bless, Merry Christman and a Happy New year to all!

AlbertG Record keeping time: Thank you everyone for your patience. RPIS is dominating my brain, and I am trying to ease off and start on the other stories. It doesn't mean that I succeeded yet, but I am working on it. Enough said. Some timeago, I received a letter from an individual from the military who was an artillery specialist. I lost that email when my computer decided it wanted a new hard drive. If you are reading this, please contact me if you can. Thank you,

Some of the context in this chapter and the next… I recommend reading Allies in Blood. God bless, Merry Christman and a Happy New year to all!

AlbertG

A Universe of Change: By candlelight defiance

Chapter Sixteen

Federation Starbase Laberre

Federation marine Lieutenant Emyanka was busy organizing the armored units in the process of relocating to Draal's battle station transport, Storm Breaker. The marines were preparing for transport to level three of the Great Machine-built station. The three-mile-long station looked like an extended tube with engines attached to the rear. There were dozens of antenna-like structures at the top. On each side were jump engines and two other structures that looked suspiciously like warp nacelles. But those nacelles served an entirely different function.

The transporters temporarily on loan to Draal were in constant use, moving Weapons, supplies, logistical materials, spare parts, and everything they could think of. Most of the supplies and soldiers were already onboard. The Starfleet officer focused on his job, ensuring that the men and women under his command were prepared. Everything needed to be set for his people to disembark quickly and efficiently.

The Starfleet marines also have new soldiers added to their ranks. Five dozen former Earth Alliance GROPOS and infantry who were originally part of the breakaways, joined the Starfleeters during the Clark reign, and remained with Sisko's marines. Some of those men and women made the decision to support Sheridan when Earthforce tried to take over the station. Picard was cautious, but he did accept them, and those men and women never looked back. Others joined not long after the Feds had first arrived, being isolated and disgusted by Clark and his cronies during those first hectic days. They were now part of the MACO's and Starfleet marines now, and they liked it. Their presence inspired scores of others to ask to enlist, swelling the Fed ground force ranks, and ultimately, the Federation population.

Earth Alliance wasn't pleased, and they still weren't, as Earth was still reeling from the earlier Sinhindrea and Drakh attacks and needed all of the trained military personnel they could get their hands on to return to Earthforce. Some older politicians considered this direct competition for resources and a long-term problem that could weaken earth's defensive capabilities at the worst possible time. But their decisions were final, and they had no intention of returning. They were part of Captain Sisko's marines now.

Retraining and preparation took time, but Lieutenant Emyanka felt that they were ready. Months of training were about to pay off. They possessed updated weapons from Voyager, some of which he was more than ready to test in the field of combat. The weapons they used in the Klingon Federation war were impressive, but these were in another class. Fighting armored creatures almost five times his size required something special and the older phaser rifles weren't going to cut it in close quarters combat.

Transport would be completed in the next hour, and it would begin. He harbored no illusions of this upcoming fight. There were going to be casualties, and the Minbari didn't seem to be the best of allies, considering their attitudes, but he kept his opinions to himself. One thing did worry him.

The Klingons.

Everything depended on them achieving their objective. Twenty years of war made him distrust them. He understood the circumstances they were all in, but he didn't trust them. Speaking to the other universe Klingons was shocking and a little frightening, but he adjusted. But he had trouble trusting those of his own reality. He was getting better. There was no doubt of that. But old prejudices died hard. But he also expected them to perform their part of the mission, or everyone was dead. Quickly, he ordered another group of troops, the specialized medical corps, to step up and prepare for transport.

The transporter used by the Draal's station was over seventy years older than the new systems. Captains Garrett and Picard allowed the system to be used on the battle station for his use. It was a nice compromise. In his opinion, however, eight seconds to complete transport seemed to take forever.

General Franklin marveled at the ease at which the Starfleeter's long-ranged runabout operated. he didn't feel any acceleration, weightlessness, or any other effects associated with space travel using Earthforce ships. The newest Earthforce craft had gravity plating and was magnificent, but they were few and far in between. The Sins had devastated most of the ships and the dock yards were hard at work building new vessels. But he wasn't kidding himself. It would take years to get back to full strength. Workers had to be trained in the basics. New officers and crews were required to fill those upcoming ships, and that would take time. Earthforce was down by half and as bad as it was, he was thankful that a lot of Earthforce hadn't been in Sol system when the battle occurred. That left them with something.

Nevertheless, none of EA's ships could hold a candle to this little shuttle sized starship. When he requested transport from Laberre and they had agreed, he thought one of their capital ships, hopefully Enterprise, would be available. Barring that, he hoped for one of the Defiant escorts. He wanted to see one of those babies up close and personal, so he was decidedly disappointed when the runabout arrived to take him and his staff to Beta Durani.

But he couldn't help but be impressed at the speed and smoothness of the small but very comfortable vessel. His journey between B5 and Earth these last couple of weeks was draining, but he could really get used to this. This particular mini-starship used warp drive and jump space and the result, a trip that should have taken days, lasted hours, seven to be exact. His staff marveled at the replicators being able to supply any food they desired and the whole trip was a quiet joy and greatly appreciated. The trip gave them time to fine tune their plans with Beta Durani Station's twelve senior officers and personnel.

The runabout arrived in orbit and transported Franklin's staff to the command center, much to the surprise of the people seeing transportation for the first time. They were stunned, and Franklin enjoyed their reactions. but he dismissed it and pulled the staff together as they frantically finalized their plans for the arrival of the massive Storm Breaker station.

"Sir, my troops are ready for transport," Colonel Garnier snapped off as she, her staff, General Franklin, and his staff swiftly entered the main hangar.

Scores of transports were being loaded. The soldiers, loaded with equipment, were already moving towards their seats. Many of them carried extra accessories, spare power packs, personal weapons, extra rations, and some even carried older projectile weapons. No one had any illusions about what was happening. Some of them were concerned about the Minbari and their reactions to having humans on their world. but it also served to underscore how critical the mission was. Franklin couldn't help but feel nostalgic watching the preparations in front of him. It was so similar, but everything was so different. going to be the backup in this operation.

This entire mission reminded him of the Dilgar preparations. Now, that was a battle, he mused.

But this was going to be primarily an artillery dominated operation. Close quarters combat against living, armored tanks, guaranteed failure. The after action report of the captured Sinhindrea on Ambassador proved how deadly those aliens were, and that was against a young one! No. Long-range artillery strikes and armored combat vehicles were the way to go on this mission. Heavy infantry was considered an operation of last resort. Franklin didn't want his men anywhere near those creatures, trying to fight them face-to-face. Dreams of the men and women under his command in actual close quarters combat with those aliens still kept him up at night, just like the Minbari surface conflicts.

Those memories never left him, and now he was in command of a total of ten thousand young people ready to give their lives for a people who, but recently, would have gladly had taken theirs.

"General, sir, what time is the transport arriving?" Garnier asked. "They're behind schedule," she all but complained. She didn't, of course, not in front of the general. The woman was a stickler for schedules, and she hated having her timetable upset by incompetence.

Like so many others under her command, the truth about the 'other humans and strange aliens' was still hard to swallow. Isolated as they were, few details of the last couple of years had filtered through. President Clark and his paranoid military refused to give details for fear of extermination. However, that wasn't the reason for their continued isolation, but she suspected that the cause was steeped in the changes that were going on in the Alliance.

The truth was, Earth Alliance politicians hadn't reconciled themselves with the fact that the Federation was an independent entity. Everything that happened convinced some of the more antagonistic senators and CEOs more than ever that they needed the Feds under their control, if humanity was to survive. The classes given by the Feds were a prime case in point. Earth was allowed to take part in the classes, but they were still behind and would remain so until Earth recovered, and the theories being taught could be properly studied and applied in practical applications. The CEOs of the mega-corporations were convinced that fast, effective changes would not occur unless they, meaning the Feds and the Proxima ex-colony, were under their control. Then things could proceed quickly for everyone's benefit. Earth needed to be a, if not the dominant player, not just one among many.

Senator Kinsey, who survived the Drakh and Sinhindrea attacks as well as the government purges, was oozing out of his cave and throwing his weight behind Senator Wells' candidacy. Proxima's merging with the Klingons, Narn and Drazi, added fuel to the fire. The treaty with the Federation was signed weeks ago, but Wells and others were. To say the least, upset that the treaty was signed in the first place, instead of the Proxima colony and the Starfleeters weren't incorporated into the Earth Alliance, and the political foes of the treaty pounced on that. Everyone on Earth and the colonies were terrified, and Wells was capitalizing on that fear.

Luchenko's poll ratings had dropped, as lies about her and the inability to bring Proxima and the Starfleeters into the fold peppered the news. Earth's survivors were being fed a diet of fear and Luchenko was the target of that fear. Wells's promises were starting to bring an aura of false security, despite all that was being done by both the Feds and Proxima.

There was still some mistrust and jealousy directed against the Feds, among some elements of the military. Unsurprisingly, the help and sacrifice that the dimensionally displaced (or colonials, depending on whether they believed the stories or not) were interpreted as a sign of weakness to be exploited. Those elements of the military were still hedging their bets, making sure if the strangers changed their attitudes, there would be military elements surviving to retaliate if needed. It was the classic 'trust but watch' doctrine.

Nevertheless, she still hated the almost paranoid actions that continually kept her and those under her command, isolated from the rest of the Alliance and what was really going on. There were other bases in the same situation, and she was sure that those Earthforce personnel were chaffing as well.

She was also unhappy that Earthforce command hadn't made available to her the latest upgrades sensitive enough to accurately detect incoming warp drive signatures. That, in her opinion, was an unacceptable weakness. Her sensors hadn't detected the federation ship that deposited the general and his staff until it was almost on top of them. How were they supposed to defend against this possible enemy if she didn't have the information and tools to do the job?

It was something that she wanted to discuss with general Franklin. She needed to find out what was really happening instead of receiving second-hand information, which was totally unacceptable.

All reports insinuated that the Federationists were not to be trusted. They didn't share with humanity, but did so with aliens. They were too advanced for their station. They were too independent and didn't submit to earth Alliance as the official leaders of humanity. They had too many aliens in their midst. It was rumored that their presence had fractured Earth Alliance, although she knew that Clark and his cronies were really the ones at fault there.

General Franklin's face never cracked, but he saw her irritation and understood the reasons why. She needed to know, and Commands like hers, suffered from lack of information much too much. Earh Alliance was fractured and problems like this needed to be, and were being addressed, albeit slowly.

Addressing her, he explained. "The storm Breaker transport uses a different type of… of star drive. It can't be detected by our sensors yet. It's so new, the Feds can't fully track it for now." He smiled as he looked at her stunned face. "You'd be surprised how many types of FTL drives are floating around these days. I assure you; they will be here soon."

Those words surprised the Colonel and her people. It surprised him, too. Those people could detect their super warp drives, or the slipstream, as they called it, but not this type of jump drive. It made him wonder if things were moving too fast, and again, he thanked the powers-that-be, Clark's soul was rotting somewhere instead of him still being president, trying to steal those secrets or worse, pulled Earth Alliance into a war that would have doomed them all. His own personal glory seeking would have caused him to make mistakes, and undermined the fragile alliance that was still forming. Few things frightened him, but those possibilities kept him up at night.

The nightmares of losing his children and grandchildren were bad enough…

"When the transport arrives in orbit, I want our transports to immediately begin liftoff to rendezvous with the," and here his eyes glazed over for an instant, "the vessel. The Starfleet contingent is already on the Breaker, stationed on level three. Your people will occupy level one. The Narn -Drazi soldiers will use level two as their Base of operation. There is gravity onboard the station," he added.

"With respect, sir," the Colonel began. "We have four different military units, with vastly different styles and tactical approaches, which have never worked together. I've seen the Narn and Drazi combat units in action, and I am not impressed. They are brave but have no concept of tactics. The Minbari have advanced weapons, but they don't like us and unless their tactics have improved, aren't much better than the Narn. They focus on their equipment superiority and not strategies. I have no idea what the Federationists colonials…"

"Colonel, despite what you've heard, they are not some long-lost colonies," Franklin admonished. "Do not address them as such."

"Yes, sir," she answered without hesitation. "We don't know how they function. We are not a cohesive unit, and we have to fight these super crabs. We have thirty thousand plus, and the reports state that the Minbari are being butchered on the ground. With respect, sir, can we make a difference?"

"Politically, we will make a difference, Colonel. This is a war not like anything we've ever fought before. We're worried about the possible politics. The enemy wants us dead, not because of politics, but because we are something they can consume or destroy because we are a threat to them. It took me a while to fully understand what we are fighting," he admitted. "Even when they tried to destroy Earth, I still didn't fully understand. Everything is under threat, the people, the animals and plants, everything. These creatures do not think like us. This war is at its most basic level. Kill, or be killed."

The colonel nodded. "Yes, sir."

From her attitude and the way she responded, Franklin knew he had to explain further. "I know you have been kept in the dark about what's happening in the galaxy. I disagreed with the top brass for the way you were isolated. The policy was outdated." He blew a breath, then continued his half apology for them being kept uninformed. "A year ago, a new group of aliens entered our galaxy through a Vorlon device and started a war with everybody. The Vorlon Empire lost a war with their enemies named the Shadows, and when they discovered that these new aliens had returned, they ran. The Shadows, who were as powerful as the Vorlons. These aliens kicked the Shadows off their own planet. Races, all refugees from God Knows where, headed to B5. They were running," he elaborated. "We didn't know what they were running from, or how bad it really was. You've been isolated. These aliens weren't the Federation, despite rumors you may have heard.

"We don't even know how the refugees knew about the station. But somehow, word got out. The enemy is called the Sinhindrea. They are the ones who almost destroyed Earth. As it was, Earth suffered more than three billion casualties, before they were stopped."

The command officers were furious. Earthforce had told them almost nothing concerning the situation in the Alliance. It was known that Earth was attacked, but not to how serious or to what extent. ISN and other news were unavailable. The only information they received was from Earthforce and from the few replacements that arrived at the fortress.

"General, this is unacceptable. Why are we continually being kept in blackout mode? We all understand the need for secrecy, but if the Federationists are no longer considered the enemy, and we are at peace with the Centauri, then this lack of information hurts our effectiveness."

"We are rectifying this situation," the general announced.

"How is the station coping with security concerns? Has the station been returned to Earth Alliance control?"

"No. they are fully independent now," he informed them. "They're handling it as best they can. They have help from other governments. I will give you a brief later."

"Sir, I sympathize with those people, but we are not responsible for the lives of aliens. Earth Alliance and humanity comes first. The other races should take full responsibility for their own territory. Earth Alliance is not equipped for that kind of responsibility."

"Things have changed," Franklin practically growled. "Even the Minbari have officially asked for help, and we said yes. This is just the start."

"When Earth was attacked, did Minbar come to our aid?" she asked with an anger she couldn't keep out of her voice.

"No. They didn't," he snapped. "They were too busy trying to stay alive. They were fighting off the Sinhindrea. Those aliens want their world, likely as a feeding ground. They just wanted earth dead. If they had come to our aid, it would have been too late and wouldn't have been enough. The same for the Centauri, who were also attacked. Earth survived because of our people and the Federation." At that, the Colonel almost huffed. Clearly, she wasn't impressed by those colonials. "I am happy they helped us keep Earth safe. But how can we really trust them? They're closed off from us, their own people. Why haven't they joined us once Clark was deposed?" The woman looked angry and confused. "Why is it that they insist on being independent and consorting with aliens as if they were human?"

Franklin shook his head. That was a question he wrestled with as well. "I don't know, Colonel. They are independent and they don't have a real connection to Earth in the way we do."

"so, we have to take this on trust," she muttered. Then she quickly said, "yes sir."

The general understood the message being shouted at him. They weren't to be trusted because they weren't a part of us… or under Earth Alliance authority.

It reminded him of some of the conversations with the ambassador to the Centauri. And it made him wonder why there was such a desperate need for the Federation, specifically the humans, was so needed to join Earth Alliance? Even he felt that way. What was so distasteful that they weren't a part of humanity? It was like an obsession, and being here reminded him of it. It also made him glad that he would be in charge of this mission. But he could see the problems coming down the road and he didn't like what he saw.

Minbari star system

IKS Kempec's Honor

Captain Koral, the de facto leader of the new Klingon Union, was just beginning to feel the full weight of command and the full responsibility he now carried. He was no longer simply a captain of a ship, but a leader of his people. Warrior he might be, but there were times when he felt like stealing one of his own shuttles and fleeing as far as the ship could take him before running out of fuel. Then he would find a small planet and hide for a few decades. Being a warrior was easy. Carrying the weight of one's people was a weight he didn't know if he could handle.

However, the lessons that he learned from Captain Kagth, now long gone back to his home, Shai Alyt Menroi, Captain Sisko, Narn leader G'kar, and others, stayed with him, giving him a strength, he once barely comprehended. Had it only been three years in this place? Thinking about it, he suppressed his laughter. Three years ago, he would never have dreamed that he could learn the secrets of command and honor from non-Klingons. What self-respecting Klingon would consider learning lessons from any of them. That was what made him finally utter a single laugh. G'Kar told him to surround himself with those loyal to him who possessed skills that he lacked. Sisko had taught him how to be honorable without being trapped by the illusions of honor. The other Worf taught him honor, and how to relax. Shai Alyt Menroi and his first officer taught him command responsibility and how to treat his crew with respect as an honored commander.

The young Klingon had learned so much, he felt as if he had been in school once more. Instead of his head exploding with all of that information and knowledge, he found to surprise that he was becoming a wise leader. His people as well as the Narn, and Drazi and Brakari and even some humans, looked up to him for words of wisdom and advice. That would have never happened at home, and that made him curse. His people had lost so much in that timeline. But he was here now, and he quietly reveled in it. He was a clan leader of a new, budding Klingon civilization.

They were small. But they had power. They had allies among the people here, including a strengthening relationship with their once enemies. They had friends. Others rusted them, something that amazed him to no end. Amazingly and somewhat frighteningly, none of the klingons were trying to kill him for his command. Commander Worf worked with him and did his job well and was a cautious friend. Koral had never had a friend that he trusted before.

He even trusted the idiot Koss. Intelligence was slowly overpowering him. It seemed a miracle. Koral remembered when he was still young and was merciful. Koss intelligence and maturity improved because he was surrounded by people who quietly helped him. The new klingons transferred from Captain Kagth's ship were especially helpful. The future looked good, if they survived.

Kempec's Honor was no longer strictly an Imperial ship. It was now a part of the NKDB union. But everyone it's true nature. But it was more than a warship now, The was a warship with honor and purpose. It was now something to defend as well as attack. That lesson impressed upon him by his Klingon mentor. Treat the ship and crew well and it and they would keep everyone safe. The crew became family and family always worked well together when they unified, not by threats, but because they cared for each other and the ship. He hadn't understood that earlier, but he did now. Kagth was right.

It was the one thing he hated about jump space. It made him think. He wanted to think about the mission, about the majesty of infinity. The K'vort was upgraded with speck form he other universal ship, so much so that it barely seemed like the same vessel. It could now travel safely at warp point five in hyperspace, an unbelievable speed. The ship was power personified when compared to what it used to be, even at its best. If the senior officers had survived the transition, they would have slaughtered each other for command that was now his. He hadn't liked any of them, anyway. Including that targ of a captain. He had no honor and was always trying to get them all killed by attacking Federation ships with superior firepower, as though his scream would make a difference.

He shook his head to remove those thoughts. The past was past.

The Chi Draconis system was five minutes away at the speed they were traveling. And now he ordered the cloak to be activated. The Drazi crew members double checked to make sure everything was as it should be. The additions of non-klingons on a Klingon ship was another thing that would have gotten him executed in the old days. He now had a full complement of crew for Kempec's Honor, and he was pleased. He was only slightly surprised that his original crew hadn't objected more than they had. No one complained about the Narn crew members, and only a couple of them were vocal about the Drazi, but it was a halfhearted protest at best. Life changed everyone here.

The jump point blossomed. The sensors recorded the event, but it appeared that nothing had exited the jump point. Nervous Minbari warship saturated the area with sensors, most likely fearing some form of Sinhindrea attack. The Union ship skimmed by, completely unnoticed. Tachyon emission couldn't detect this cloak. Hundreds of Minbari warships of every configuration were gathered in fleet formation, waiting for the signal to attack. The Klingon moved closer at one quarter impulse speed.

The ship was bathed in red light as they moved past the Minbari armada and edged closer to the Sinhindrea fleet. There was a clear line of demarcation between the two sets of enemy combatants. In the zone were remains of a dozen Sinhindrea small capital ships that hadn't completely destroyed themselves. Sensors picked up dangerous levels of radiation around those remains and Koral snarled in anger. The radiation was a trait of the Sinhindrea, their version of 'keep away from our remains'. It disgusted him and reminded him of the threat of the Minbari remains, what few there were. The enemy's weapons left little to nothing of the warriors who fought against them. The emptiness was as It was a grim testament of the price of failure.

Without question, the Sinhindrea forces were waiting, actually goading, the Minbari to attack, and rush in to defend their home world. It was a logical plan; he acknowledged to himself. If Kronos was so besieged, every ship in the empire would have engaged the enemy to liberate the home world, no matter the odds. That the Minbari hadn't done so already impressed him.

Passive sensors gave him an excellent sense of the tactical situation the Minbari were up against. Four of those ships were emitting massive amounts of energy/. One of them was a three globed warship shaped like a handgun. It was likely a command ship. The need to challenge it lasted only a moment. It would be foolish and a waste of resources, and that wasn't his mission. But his Klingon blood still sang for the challenge. Nonetheless, he had learned his lessons, perhaps too well. He had a responsibility to his people, both by blood and by choice. He would never dishonor them by doing something stupid, no matter how hot his blood boiled within him.

The numbers of ships in orbit were surprisingly small, and he instinctively understood why. The Sinhindrea were baiting the Minbari, daring them to attack. Most of the enemy vessels in orbit were troop and supply transports, huge monstrous rectangles with smaller globes, similar to their larger warship relatives. Only two capitals were in orbit, acting as escorts. Unafraid, the enemy continually launching shuttles to the planet's surface.

Captain Koral could almost feel the anger and impotence of the Minbari warriors almost begging to attack and defend their world from across space. Indeed, he felt it because Alyt Menroi's family was on the planet's surface, and he proudly admitted that the alyt was his friend. Friends were hard to come by, especially non-Klingon ones, and he desired to protect that friendship and the family he never met.

The amount of debris in orbit reminded him of some old battles when his people went against the Federation. Here, there were hundreds of remains, civilian ships, slowly decaying and falling towards the planet far below. Those ships failed to escape the invasion. Dozens of stations and patrol ships that should have been there weren't anymore. Sinhindrea weapons were very effective in removing all traces of vessels and those inside them. Now they orbited the planet without fear. But that was going to change soon.

The Minbari watched what was happening in their world, seething with rage. And for the first time in a thousand years, the collective race was frightened. And the creatures knew it. They were masters of the craft, using the telepathy to enhance the effect. The Sins did not understand love or devotion to each other. They did not understand honor or that nebulous concept of mercy. But they understood fear.

Good.

"Enemy scans," he whispered in battle language.

"No subspace scans directed at us," Helda answered. The older male studied the instrumentation, looking for any Sinhindrea threat. Passive scans were very effective in detecting and tracking the enemy. Their sensors were like their ships, bold, and had a total disregard for any form of stealth. But their sensors weren't his main concern. It was their formidable telepathy. No one had devised a way to detect or disrupt such abilities. Having other telepaths onboard was discounted for this mission. The telepaths stood out like beacons to the monsters. But they hadn't noticed his ship yet because they weren't expecting it.

Krann, second in command and a transplant from the other klingons who volunteered to stay and make this universe their home, whispered to his captain. "Three minutes."

Koral nodded once. The distraction would carry a price. For Minbari's sake, he hoped the cost in blood wouldn't be too high.