I own nothing except the ideas of how I am planning to merge two divergent worlds into a hopefully coherent story.

I know I shouldn't but I can't help it. This has been percolating in my mind as I recently started re-watching Babylon 5, the most under rated show ever.

To clarify: DS9 is a rip off of B5. Roddenberry and his producers were famous for having been pitched B5 by JMS in the mid 80s at peak of TNG and I believe Rick Berman or Rod himself stated flat out :NO ONE would watch a show about a space station. A few years later when TNG was tapering off, DS9 popped onto the air, copying 90% of characters and plot from B5. There was some legal action adn JMS got some kind of settlement for dropping a lawsuit against them.

So Fu## Sheldon cooper that arrogant butt smear

23rjlwje

"Commander, jump gate is opening out of schedule." stated the calm voice of the young officer managing the comm system.

Sinclair sighed and moved to look out of the view screen into the distance as the four massive arms spread out and an orange swirling mass of energy formed in their center. "What is the id on the incoming ship?" he asked as he tried to get a look at the new arrival.

There was a pause as the junior officer worked the controls for a moment. "Listed here as the Metropolis out of Proxima, Commander. Records indicate a private vessel owned and operated by some kind of media chain, The Daily Galaxy, headed by . . . .one Kal Jameson."

"Well unfortunately for Mr. Jameson, he's going to have to wait." Ivanova spoke up from her position studying the layout of docking ports. "We are damn near full and there are at least a dozen vessels ahead of him on the schedule."

"Mr. Corwin, let Mr. Jameson know that we are sorry for the delay, but that we can't accommodate him just yet-" Sinclair was interrupted by a shocked gasp from the younger man who was almost fearfully staring down at his screen and controls. "Something wrong, Corwin?"

"Uh, I don't know sir..." Corwin took a gulp as he gently worked over some of the controls. "Just got a notice from Ambassador Kosh, requesting that the Metropolis be berthed in Bay 13 with his vessel." Another deep breath. "Sir, the Ambassador has never requested a ship be berthed with his and while he's never refused or denied access, pretty much every one jumps through hoops to avoid being in the same bay as the Vorlon's ship."

Sinclair's expressive eyebrows shot up and he turned to his 2ic. "Well, if the Ambassador is extending an invitation, than I think it wise that we accept his request. Corwin, let Mr. Jameson know that he will have priority berth and guide him to bay 13. Susan, contact Mr Garibaldi and have him send a team to the bay for the intake process. I don't think the station in that area is manned any more."

"Aye sir, Mr Garibaldi is unavailable but he is sending his best man, Mr Welsh and his new recruit, Zach Allen. He mentioned it will be a good test of Mr Allen's mettle to spend a bit of time near the Vorlon ship."

Sinclair nodded and turned away, heading off the command center towards his office. "I'll be in my office dealing with the true evil of civilization." he stated with a faint hint of humour

The CIC was silent until the commander was gone and Ivanova took his place overlooking the jumpgate. "Uh, sir?"

Ivanova tilted her head but didn't turn to face the junior. "Yes Corwin?"

"True Evil of civilization?" he asked tentatively.

Susan snorted. "Paperwork, David. Paperwork is the purest expression of evil to ever come into existence."

David nodded. "Ah yes. Understood sir."

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"Man this gives me a serious case of the creeps." Zach stated to his supervisor as they stood in the bay watching the incoming vessel being remote guided into the docking port next to the oddly shaped and eerie patterned green hulk of the Vorlon Ambassador's ship. "How did Kosh even know that this guy was coming in, let alone be willing to speak up and request that he be parked next to his ship?"

Lou Welsh shrugged and fiddled with the stack of data slates as he waited for the ship to settle. "Not our pay-grade, rooks. Let the Chief and the Commander worry about that. Our job is to make sure there's nothing overtly dangerous or illegal going on with this schlub, who ever he is and whoever vouched for him."

Zach still had not taken his eyes off the Vorlon ship, mesmerized by the shifting patterns that at time almost seemed to form into something akin to writing. "Hey, ever around when the Ambassador boards or disembarks? Get a look inside this beauty?"

Lou shook his head as the incoming vessel finally settled and the alarms sounded indicating that the airlock was cycling. "Hell no. I avoid this place as much as possible and try to stay as far from the Vorlon and anything he's interested in as I can. One time I got involved in something he was doing, damn near blew out half the station and started a war with the Vorlons. Half the command staff including the chief med officer, the resident telepath and some top security shipped back to Earth under strict no contact orders. No sir, I stay out of Vorlon business as best I can and just hope that I don't get caught up in anything that draws his attention."

The conversation halted as the airlock finally opened with an escaping hiss of air. Walking through the opening was a tall man, easily over 6ft tall, with shoulder length dark hair and oddly bright blue eyes.

Over his shoulder he was carrying what seemed to be an old school canvas duffel back that had seen better days and in his other hand he was holding a hard cover carry all, a modern take on a briefcase with built in computer terminal. This case too bore signs of hard wear with several scratches and dents indicating the user was either careless or adventurous.

The man only glanced at the Vorlon vessel for a moment, which roused a bit of suspicion in the veteran officer's mind. No one was ever so dismissive when encountering a Vorlon vessel. "Welcome to Babylon 5, I am Officer Lou Welsh, this is Zach Allen. We will be processing your intake today. Just a few things to go over, general rules to follow. As an Earth Alliance station, we follow primarily Earth Law, but there are situations when dealing with our alien residents and travellers when their laws over ride Earth's. Please be sure that if you have any dealing with the various alien races that you familiarize yourself with the laws and regulations that govern the people you are transacting with." Lou paused as he held out a tablet for the incoming.

"Do you have any items of organic origin or extraterrestrial non-standard technology that could potentially pose a hazard to any life form on the station?"

The next 15min passed quickly as the man, who did identify himself as Kal Jameson, novelist, historian and journalist answered the standard entry questions for new visitors to the station.

"And the purpose of your visit?" Lou asked in a bored tone. The sheer banality of the man's answers so far had eased some of the suspicions that had begun to slowly form in the back of Lou's mind.

"Knowledge." the man stated confidently. "I am looking to write a series of articles about the lives of the casual worker and every day resident of the station as it nears it's anniversary date."

"So a puff piece glorifying the good parts ignoring the issues like most stuff on ISN?" Zach asked as he finished entering the details Jameson had answered.

"Not if I can help it." the other man stated with a firm shake of his head. "I want to put out the real story of the station, seen through the eyes of people like yourself and the dock workers. The residents of downbelow, the maintenance crews.

I want to give a voice to the stories that make this place a living, breathing world of it's own. A quarter million humans and aliens living and working together. To share the different points of view of the so called lesser known and unrepresented races with the wider galaxy."

Lou grunted as he got to the last section of the intake. "Good luck with that. Lot of voices but they tend to try to drown each other out here. How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"Well, I was hoping to get set up at least a satellite office on a semi-permanent basis. I am looking to make this sort of my home base for when my stories and other work take me into the field."

Lou entered some info into his tablet. "Well, you'll need to talk to the stationmaster and to the Chief about that. Stationmaster assigns long term residence and office space, as well as arrange long term docking arrangement for your ship. Right now we had to put you in here with the Vorlon Ambassador, which is usually not something a lot of people find comfortable. Strange things tend to happen near this ship."

Kal looked back over the vessel and grinned as the shifting patterns on the hull formed into a language not seen or understood by any save himself in centuries. In ancient formal Kryptonian, the words 'Greetings Kal-El, scion of the Ancient House of El.' His eyes drifted to a shadowy corner where he could make out the hulking and awkward form of the hidden watcher. A slight nod of his head and a supersonic series of whistles beyond human hearing and the head piece of the watcher tilted in a nod of mutual greeting.

"Well, I guess I could use directions to the stationmaster and an appointment with your Chief." Kal said with a smile as he gestured out of the bay into the belly of the station.

"Zach will show you the way, it's almost time for him to sign out anyway. Might as well walk you over to the station master and the chief since their offices are in the same hall." Lou looked over at the Metropolis. "That is one nice looking ship, not like anything I've ever seen."

"It's based loosely on an early Earth space vessel. I'd offer to show you around, but due to legal issues with some proprietary tech, you'd have to sign about a dozen NDA's or have a warrant. The investors and inventors are pretty strict about allowing non staff aboard."

Lou nodded and turned away. "It's been interesting meeting you, Mr. Jameson, I look forward to reading your articles."

"Well, I guess that's our cue." Zach stated as he gestured for the arrival to proceed him into the station proper. "Can you tell me a little more about your articles, they sound like the kind of thing we need around here."

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Kal found settling into life on a 5 mile long station to be an interesting experience. He had to be extremely careful when using any of his special gifts in public. Thanks to the fact that most public area were well covered in high quality cameras that might be able to pick up on his movements. Or at least that something had been there, if not always able to make him out. He could still move faster then the fastest camera speeds could match.

Also moving in a confined space at a high rate of speed created other noticeable affects such as wind and dust displacement. Certain of the races living on board also had better senses or different senses then the humans he had spent the majority of his life with, and already some had noticed that he was not quite like other humans he appeared to be.

He was also trying to be discreet in his meetings with the Vorlon Ambassador, who had contacted him a few hours after he was assigned quarters with an attached office to set up a meeting. It had surprised and worried him, as he had learned of Vorlons from the Kryptonian archives and knew that he would not be able to pass as human with any member of that advanced race. The Vorlons were as ancient a culture as Kryptonians, who had gone done a different technological path then his own peoples.

Where Vorlons had explored the amazing capabilities of bio-organic technologies, his own had delved deeply into the world of crystal and light wave technologies. Using crystals and the manipulation of light and refraction to advance their technological abilities far beyond those of the other races of their region of the galaxy. Only the Vorlons and their ancient enemies came close to the levels of ability of the Kryptonian technology, though a few of the other races were not far behind by the time they started moving on from the galaxy.

Instead of exposing him, the Vorlon had confirmed that he would do what he could to assist in continuing to protect Kal's existence. Kosh had warned Kal that the ancient enemy was stirring and already had agents roaming the galaxy, and this included on the station itself as well as most of the governments of the known worlds. Kal had agreed that should they come into the open, then he would do what was needed to help guide and protect the younger races in the eventual battles, even if that meant reviving his long retired role as Superman. Kal had also agreed to try and avoid interfering in any of the potentially major events unless it was absolutely necessary

Right now, Kal was wandering in a run down section of the station, in the alien sector, looking for potentially interesting people to talk to. He kept his ears open to the whirling conversations taking place around him, allowing the mix of alien languages to flow into his mind. His Kryptonian heritage allowing his brain to process and begin translating and learning the languages by ear just by listening and extrapolating context from subtle indicators. It was a trick he had learned fairly young as he travelled the Earth looking for something he had always felt missing until he'd ended up in Metropolis and the Daily Planet.

A smile came to his face as he watched a group of mixed alien children, mostly Narn and Drazi -with a few Brakiri and Markab as well- played some version of a ball game that looked remarkably like a cross between soccer and basketball crossed with dodge ball. Idly he wondered if there were actual rules or if it was a thrown together game the children were making up as they played.

His sensitive ears picked up a sudden raised voice and he looked to the left, just in time to catch sight of a young adult human running from a merchant stall being operated by a Gaim. Due to the alien's environmental suit, they could not give proper chase to the young thief, who was running in the direction of Kal as he stopped walking.

Waiting until the thief was nearly within reach, he sidestepped directly into the young adult's path, causing them to collide and collapse to the ground. Carefully controlling his weight, Kal allowed himself to be knocked to the ground, dragging the other man down and deliberately falling in such a way that he landed on him, pinning the young thief as the cries of outrage from the Gaim and others drew the attention of a security patrol who came racing over to see what the commotion was regarding.

"Well, well, well." came a voice Kal recognized. "If it isn't John Darrow. Tough luck running into the new arrival here, Johnie boy. The chief has had a warrant for you out for the last 3 months." Lou Welsh grinned as he directed his partner, the new rookie Zach Allen, to place restraints on the thief. He reached out a hand to the other man laying on the ground, who he had recognized as the strange arrival who's ship was berthed with the Vorlon.

"Good to see you again, Mr Jameson. Though not the best circumstances. I hope this doesn't sour you opinion of the station." He said as he helped the other man to his feet, grunting at the surprising effort it took to help the younger man to his feet. Seems Jameson was a bit sturdier then he seemed at first.

Kal chuckled as he allowed the apparently older man to pull him to his feet. "Don't worry, Mr. Welsh. I've travelled a lot of places and sadly, one constant is that unfortunately some of the less fortunate survive by taking advantage of those in similar or slightly better situations then their own. It's a constant in the universe, regardless of race or origin."

Lou shook his head with a slight grin. "Hate to admit but I have to agree. Been in security most my life, aside from a stint in GROPOS during the war, and have seen the same every I've been posted." He helped Kal gather the items that had been dropped and scattered by collision. "Thanks for you help. We've been looking for Darrow for months."

"What's his story anyway?" Kal asked as he handed the last pieces over to the security officer. The pair made their way towards the Gaim's booth, sharing nods of appreciation with some of the other vendors in the open market who were expressing thanks for their help.

"Originally came to station as a construction worker when it was being built. Got caught skimming supplies and selling military grade gear on the black market. After a 6month stint in the brig, couldn't afford a ticket off station so hung around in Down Below, doing odd jobs and the occasional petty crime. Ramped it up about a year or so ago and started working the drug trade. Suspected and wanted in the killing of a rival drug dealer, as well as an increasing number of more violent crimes."

Kal hummed, his mind abstractedly starting to put together on article on the events and background of the man and his capture and crimes. "Mind if I quote you? I think I can put together an article about this Darrow and the situation."

Lou shrugged as they reached the Gaim. He took a statement from the alien, and confirmed the items that were taken from her stall. Several items were not of Gaim origin and other nearby vendors came over to identify various items as being taken from their stalls. Lou and Kal took statements from everyone involved and returned the items to their owners.

"I don't have any objections, Mr Jameson. But I hope you aren't planning on doing a hit piece on the station judicial process. We do the best we can but there isn't enough funding and support from the politicians back home to really make a proper difference and help people like Darrow before they go too far down the hole."

Kal shook his head. "No,not a hit piece against the station. More a cautionary tale, point out how the lack of support and funding lead to this kind of problem growing and affecting more people who don't get the help they need. I'll try and drum up some support and funding, shake a few politician's voter bases and get them to open up some purse strings to actually get people like Darrow help when they need it, instead of punishing him for falling into the trap that forms for those in his situation."

Lou smirked. "Good luck with that. Have to be one hell of an article to get those tight wads to open up and let out some funds. There was talk that they might start actually charging station staff rent for their quarters. Keep in mind, most of the staff is technically part of military and as such all quarters are considered part of military barracks. So they want to charge us to have a place to stay that isn't basically a cot in a cargo hold."

Kal chuckled. "Policy written and bandied about by politicians who have likely never served a day in their life."

Lou grinned and clapped the larger man on the shoulder. "Got that right." Lou held out his hand to shake Kal's. "Been good talking to you Mr Jameson. Thanks again for the help, but I have to get back to my station."

"Please, Mr Welsh, call me Kal, unless it's an official interview." Kal stated as he shook the mans hand. He reminded Kal strongly of an older and experienced Dick Grayson. Oh, not in looks or physical ability, but in his easy going demeanour that could become serious and effective when the situation called for it.

"Then I guess you can call me Lou, under the same conditions, Kal." Lou looked up and spotted Zach returning from dropping Darrow off with a 2nd squad who would escort him to the holding cells. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you doing anything this evening?"

Kal shook his head, raising his eyebrow. "I don't have any solid plans. I was going to look around the gardens, maybe check out some of the restaurants to get something to eat."

"I finish at 1530. Why don't I meet you at say, the Universe today kiosk in the Zocalo? I'll give you a tour of some of the more interesting areas where you might find not only some good eats but meet some of the locals and start building up some contacts. Might be able to find a few stories talking to some of the people."

Kal nodded. "That sounds like a good way to introduce myself to the locals and get a local view on life on the station."

"Then I'll see at at the kiosk at about 1545." Lou stated as he nodded and Kal agreed, the two separating to go about their business, Kal speaking to several vendors and examining their wares, making a few small purchases while Lou returned to his patrol section.

It was a small thing, but some of Kal's best friendships had been started on less fruitful interactions and introductions. He had a feeling that he might like living and working here on this bubbling cauldron of expanding horizons.

324sdg

It had been 3 months since his arrival and Kal had been making a home for himself on the station. He'd met and interviewed dozens of peoples from a dozen races and his articles had so far been well received both on Earth and on the other worlds that he submitted them to. Not all races had a media centric cultural block the way humans did, but most races had some form of agency for sharing the news, or as some called it 'active history'. It helped that the articles he submitted were directly translated by himself with aid of speaking to Babylon 5 residents. He spent time learning the subtle differences in cultural phrasing that could sometimes cause massive misunderstandings if you simply performed a word for word literal translation without knowing cultural cues and context for certain turns of phrase or sub-textual meanings of words and colloquialisms. Thankfully again, his Kryptonian heritage and biology made this process much easier and smoother then it might otherwise have been. Within a couple of weeks of talking to someone in their language, he could speak and understand its subtleties as well as any native born speaker.

One of the few problems he'd been experiencing was some of the races somehow recognizing him as being something beyond human. Every Minbari he spoke took gave him a strange look and were very deferential towards him, as though sensing his inhuman nature. Even a few of the warrior class that he met, who began openly hostile would calm and defer to him by the end of the conversation.

The most interesting of these talks was when he first met Ambassador Delenn herself. The Minbari woman was barely restrained force of nature behind a calm and collected exterior and he wondered what it would be like if that calm should ever shatter. Then he recalled something his AI, Kelex, had mentioned.

Delenn was at least at one point, a member of the Minbari ruling council, known as the Grey Council. During the incident that precipitated the start of the Minbari/Earth war, when a human vessel erroneously fired on a Minbari vessel approaching with open gun ports, it was she who had cast the deciding vote to exterminate the human race. During the event, the leader of the council, her direct and closest mentor, Dukhat was killed and in her grief she and the Minbari had last all reason and set about systematically to eradicate and exterminate the human race. Yet during the final battle, when the last of Earth's ships formed a line in Sol system, something had stopped them. To the surprise of every one, human, Minbari and all observing races, the Minbari had on the cusp of destroying Earth itself, surrendered.

Kal had been out of reach of Earth during this time, having been contacted through Kelex by the Vorlons with a request that he travel to a distant world beyond their territory to investigate the possible return of some Apokolyptan forces.

With the threat that someone was once again trying to revive even the spectre of Darkseid, he had felt he had no choice but to investigate the situation. The risk that the despot or any of his more powerful allies or progeny could return was too much for him not to do so. He had left Earth space about 5 years before the Minbari/Earth war and only returned 2 years after it was ended.

He had been shocked to learn what had almost happened to his adopted people in his absence and sometimes wondered if the Vorlons had staged the false resurrection to draw him away from Earth so that events would follow their plans. Yet, in the end, it was a good thing he had gone as he had finally found where the evil scientist Desaad had fled to with the destruction of Darkseid and Apokalypse. He had to fight off a virtual hoard of mix and matched Doomsday clones and yet another generation of Bizarro clones to get to the weasel, but this time he had caught him and managed to imprison him in the Phantom Zone.

When Kal decided he wanted to talk to the average alien on the street, he had also decided that he didn't want to cause any issues, so the first thing he did was make arrangements to speak to those ambassadors who were willing to meet with him. He explained his idea for the articles he planned and his goals in writing them and most of the ambassadors were at least curious about what effect he could have on the general view of the station and their work and people who lived here.

Some, like Ambassador Molari and G'kar, were openly dismissive of the idea, though each in their own way attempted to get him to increase their interest by . . . . supplementary means. Molari made it clear he would not give permission nor allow any publication of interviews with Centauri civilians unless a considerable amount of money changed hands, while G'kar attempted to do the opposite, offered large sums of currency or items of value if Kal would skewer his articles to a pro-Narn and anti-Centauri slant. Kal refused both and reminded them that he had come to them as a courtesy and that he did not need their approval to interview civilians about non military matters that were outside of governmental purview.

Molari had made vague threats about having legal action taken for misrepresenting Centauri interests while G'kar had attempted to intimidate Kal with his size and knowledge that on average a Narn was at least 2x as strong as a human of similar size. Kal had merely quirked an eyebrow at G'kar and smirked, as after a few moments of glaring, a strange look passed into the Narn's red eyes and he had backed down, telling Kal to do as he wished but that if he was truly doing an honest job, he would no doubt learn of the cruelty of the Centauri and the suffering of the Narn at their hands on his own with no exaggerations or skewering of facts needed.

As for Molari, he'd pointed out that among the items in the various treaties that allowed for the existence of Babylon 5 was the article of 'Freedom of the Press.' As such, as long as Kal documented and could provide proof and evidence of what he reported, then he was legally protected from reprisals by individuals or even governments and corporations that he discussed. Molari had waved him off with continued vague but empty threats about taking legal actions if Kal besmirched the honour of the Centauri Republic and it's loyal honest citizens.

His meeting with Delenn had gone even more awkwardly.

Flashback 234 3 24

As he entered the quarters he took a moment to look around carefully, but not to stare at the decorations. This was the first time he was in a Minbari's quarters/office and some of the decorations and knickknacks were already drawing his eye. The most unusual and eye catching piece was what looking like an unfinished pyramid like structure to one side. He idly wondered at it's purpose as the ambassador's assistant, a slim and seemingly youngish male who had given his name as Lennier, lead hi into the room.

Lennier motioned for Kal to stand need the small table with only 2 chairs on the opposite side from the pyramid before moving towards what reminded Kal of traditional Asian style sliding wooden panel doors. The man rapped softly on the panel, then his hands steeples together and he nodded as he announced their arrival to the person beyond the frame. Kal could have xrayed through to get a glimpse of the ambassador, but manners maketh man, and his mother had taught him better then to peek into a woman's private quarters without permission- whether she was human or not.

The door slid open and the woman came out. Kal was struck by appearance, not sure what he had expected. She was a beautiful woman, even with the differences in appearance compared to Kryptonian or human morphology. Where Lennier's crest came to 3 peaks and was somewhat ragged in spots, what he could see of hers looked quite smooth as it came to it's single peak. There was a blue mark of some kind going from her eye ridges to the base of the point where her scalp met the crest. The lack of hair was not shocking as he knew that Minbari did not grow hair, though he had seen some males with facial hair.

Kal copied Lennier's hand gesture and gave a slight bow and nod, which the ambassador returned. "Greetings, Delenn of Minbar. I am Kal Jameson, from Proxima and Earth. I am here to inform you of my intentions to interview some of your people who live on the station and to advise you of my goals and the purpose for these interviews.

I am also here to request any aid you would be willing to give as I know that my particular profession is not one that is widely known among your people and i do not wish to cause any issues or concerns with you people or your government."

Delenn was silent for a moment as he studied him, seeming to try and look into his very soul. "You are correct Kal Jameson. Your professions, the news media as such, is not something that my people participate in. I find such a concept fascinating. A whole industry devoted solely to spreading information that at times, others do not wish to have known . . . . Such a thing has never existed in Minbari history. Our government tells our people what we need to know to perform our duties and live our lives and anything that does not come into conflict with those two conditions is considered of no interest to the standard Minbari."

"Sadly, most cultures have not reached a societal balance as solid and defined as the Minbari so such passive lives are difficult for them to imagine." Kal stated in reply. "I am hoping to bring a little understanding and perhaps even a sense of relatability between the races."

Delenn tilted her head as she studied him and it took a great effort for Kal no to squirm. He had known that some of the races on the station might be able to identify him as non-human, but hadn't really thought too much about what that could mean. Here, sitting in the office quarters of the Ambassador for one of the most powerful of the modern races, who he was now realizing was among those that could somehow detect his inhumanity, he began to worry about the possible consequences. Perhaps he should not have arranged to meet each Ambassador individually and instead petitioned for time during one of the B5 council sessions?

"Forgive me for being . . . indelicate, Mr Jameson. But when Lennier told me of you request for a meeting and your purpose on the station, he also mentioned that he felt a rather . . . curious sensation in your presence. A sensation not unlike when in the presence of some of the elder races, such as the Vorlons. Certainly, not a feeling that he has ever felt in his, though limited, rather intense association with other humans." Delenn paused, as though gauging his reaction and giving him a moment to gather himself. "I was not sure whether he was imagining things, but this-" she pointed to the almost glowing mark on her head, "-only appears so vividly and pulses in presence of beings of immense age and power. You are not human, are you?" she finally asked with a piercing gaze.

Kal sighed and leaned back on the chair, feeling and hearing it creek under his weight. He noticed that Lennier had moved to stand behind him and saw in a reflection that his hand was slowly reaching towards a disguised pouch on his waist that Kal realized must hold a weapon. He also saw Delenn's arms reaching into her sleeves as though also seeking a tool of defence. Carefully leaning forward enough to ease the strain on the chair, he calmly and slowly placed his hands on the small table, ensuring that they remained in clear view of both Minbari.

"No. I am not human, " he stated softly, focusing and allowing some of the restraints he kept on his power to relax. A few decades ago he noticed that as he relaxed, he had started to develop a bit of a visible glow around him unless he consciously withheld his power.

He figured it was a natural progression of his constant absorption of solar radiation that had allowed him to extend his life without visible signs of aging as well as the ever increasing degree of his strength. He had run tests with Kelex and compared them to results from testing during his prime days as Superman. He estimated that he was at a stage were if he encountered a being such as Doomsday now, he would easily handle the monster. Perhaps as easily as he would have handled a normal human at the time of his first fight with that chaotic force of destruction.

A soft yellowish glow surrounded him like the corona of a star and he heard both Minbari gasp in shock. In the reflection he saw Lennier make some kind of gesture that he guessed had some religious meaning as Delenn returned it seemingly unconsciously while awe filled her face. In response to his visible corona, her own markings seemed to take on a pulsing glow of their own, and her hand drifted up to caress the mark in wonder.

"I have never felt such . . . purity from any one." she muttered just loud enough for Kal to hear. "You are not Vorlon or any of the other First Ones, are you? There is something . . . something more than just being one of the Ancients?"

Kal drew himself to his full height as he stood. He smiled down at the still seated woman gazing up at him. "I am Kal-El of Krypton. The Last Son of Krypton and the only surviving member of my people." he announced, allowing his voice to deepen to its natural register instead of the slightly altered and lighter tone he used as Kal or Clark. "My people and world are from beyond this galaxy, and I was sent to Earth to escape the destruction of Krypton and my people. I landed on Earth in the year 1983. Krypton was destroyed nearly 800yrs before after defeating an attacking force. To defeat the enemy, my people emptied the planet of resources and the planet could no longer support it's own mass and imploded. My father was one of the lead scientists on the Council and when he brought forth his findings of the planets imminent demise, he was relieved of his duties and placed under house arrest. A series of other events led to a short lived civil war where for the first time in 10000yrs, Kryptonians killed each other." Kal paused his tale to make sure both listeners were following. He need not have worried as they seemed spell bound by his words.

"My father was able to create a small craft capable of intergalactic flight, and using the knowledge accumulated by my people over the years as they explored the 28 known galaxies, he discovered Earth and it's primitive people. They were young and immature, but they were almost physically identical to Kryptonians and most of the cultures he was able to study seemed to hold many of the same ideals that Krypton was founded on. So he and my mother worked and scrambled and were able to finish the ship and send it on it's way just in time. Within an hour of my breaking orbit, the planet and the 15billion people living on it were no more."

He paused again to let this sink in, watching the dawning horror in their faces at the sheer number of lost lives filtered into their minds. "Due to the distance involved, I was of course in a form of suspended hibernation, as it would take roughly 500yrs for my ship to traverse from Krypton to Earth. This was not an accident as my father extrapolated the potential rate of scientific and technological advancement on Earth to try and time it so that I would arrive during a period of industrialization and exploration yet not far enough advanced to be able to easily detect my landing or my differences. His engine technology could have opened a wormhole through hyperspace and I could have reached Earth in a matter of days, but he considered it crucial that there be enough of a technological society that the knowledge capsules he was sending with me would allow me to eventually help guide humanity to the stars and the worlds beyond their own." Another pause, as he sat back down, clenched on his aura to make it dissipate and took a sip of the excellent tea that had been served.

"However, my father did not count on radioactive remnants of the planet to follow in the wake of my vessel and get drawn into the hyper fold. The material caused a difference in the mass and composition of material in the fold, which effectively altered the timing of my arrival. Instead of arriving at the begin of industrialization and the height of the steam power society, I arrived after humans had already made their first tentative steps into the vastness beyond their own atmosphere."

Lennier spoke into the silence as Kal took another sip of tea. "How far off from your expected time did you reach Earth?"

"Roughly between 160 to 200 years later then my father calculated in terms of technological advancement."

"So how long have you been living on Earth as a human?" Delenn asked as she took a sip of her own tea. Outwardly calm, her mind was doing all manner of mental gymnastics to try and absorb the information she was being told. She vaguely recalled hearing the name Kryptonian and Krypton before but could not quite recall the exact time or circumstance. This likely meant it was encountered during the time of the Great Madness and the events of the Earth Minbari war when she was lost in a haze of anger and fear after the death of her beloved mentor and her people's greatest leader since Valenn himself.

"As I said, I landed around 1983. So it has been about 250yrs that I have mostly lived as a human." he said watching as Lennier moved from behind him to collect the now empty tea pot and bring it over to the small kitchenette where he rinsed it out and started preparing a 2nd pot of tea.

He spent another hour talking to the pair going into a bit greater detail about his people and his life in general. He explained about his relatively short career as 'Superman' that lasted about 30yrs in the early 2000's and that most people now considered some form of propaganda or hoax. He explained some of the beings and dangers he had interacted with as Superman, including his first death at the hands of Doomsday and his battles with Darkseid.

"Most of those threats and alien races were from outside of this galaxy and around 2060 or so, after the last defeat of Darkseid's forces, my allies and I managed to block off access to this area of the universe from the races in that general direction. This is why they have never been encountered by humans as Earth has expanded outwards." he explained.

"But if they have been attacking Earth and this galaxy for as long as you say, then why have my people or others among the older races not encountered or learned of them?" Lennier asked. He had taken a seat as the conversation continued, something unusual for the aid to do as it implied equality with his superior.

"If I had to guess, I would say it has to do with the First Ones. The Vorlons and their generation. Most of the races out in that direction might be old and advanced, but few if any could match the power of some of the First Races. Maybe the Oa-ans and the like but they would abide by the request of Vorlons to stay out of their space as much as possible."

"It would be fascinating meet races with the abilities you describe." Delenn stated as she tilted her head. "The winged Thanagarians and the flame haired Tamaranean seem particularly interesting. Our warrior cast would either get along well with them or seek to destroy them utterly." she stated with a chuckle that Kal copied.

A chime sounded the hour and Kal looked startled at the chronometer on her wall. "Is that the time? I apologize for taking up your entire afternoon, Ambassador. I must be going. I am meeting with a few Markab workers in about 30 minutes. That gives me time to get to my quarters and clean up a bit so that I don't offend them. I understand that they can be a bit . . . prickly about the appearances of those they are speaking with."

Delenn and Lennier stood as Kal did, making a short bow and a gesture with their hands that Kal tried to copy. "I will have Lennier speak to those workers and religious castes on the station and confirm that I have agreed that you may speak to them and they may discuss with you anything not of particular sensitivity. He will encourage them to- what is the human phrase? Open wide? No. Open Up. And that they can freely discuss their lives and work with you. I do ask that if they refuse to answer a question, you honour their wishes.

While I think your goals are admirable and I support the gaining of knowledge and understanding this opportunity provides, somethings are private matters and not to be discussed with anyone outside of our families and clans."

Kal nodded and smiled. "Of course, Ambassador. I respect the right to privacy of all my interviewees. I will avoid asking anything overly personal or of a potentially sensitive nature." Kal nodded again and left the Ambassador's quarters. Left unsaid was that she and Lennier would also withhold and protect his own secrets.

End Flashback 23343