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

Happy new year. I hope every one had a good end of year and holiday season.

I just want to let people know that the story is going to be structured a bit different then most of my work. It is a continuous story and not a jumble of one shots, but it might not strictly follow a linear path at first reading. There will be jumping around in the various seasons and episodes as specific events and moments are upper most in my mind in getting them out and surging wildly in my head.

I will do my best to keep continuity between chapters and sections so that if I mention something in a chapter and it takes place during say a season 4 episode but is a reference to something affected by Kal in an earlier episode, if I write out that earlier scene/moment it will be consistent with the earlier written but later time framed events and vice versa.

67ttyu

Kal closed his eyes and concentrated, the tight confines of the metal band around his head allowing him to focus his mental efforts more easily. Around him, his ship, The Metropolis, was devoid of the usual decoy appearance. Usually disguised as a mid to small sized exploration vessel of odd but clearly human aesthetics, the holographic and nanotech decoy were disabled and the ship was in it's true Kryptonian form.

A 50m long oblate spheroid with nearly 3 dozen spines or spikes extending in various locations and of various sizes along the crystalline hull floated in an expanse of space unexplored and avoided by most sentient races of the galactic community. Several spikes flashed a series of light sequences while others seemed to shift and grow or shrink in size. Overall the ship currently looked much like a crystal representation of a beechnut.

Kal winced as a loud boom sounded throughout his ship, his sensitive ears not prepared for the sound after nearly a week of silence. He glared at the screen as the giant seemingly stone face with glowing eyes and mouth appeared in front of him while a massive round lighted ship appeared out of nowhere just off the starboard side of the Metropolis. Kal frowned at the appearance of the being, immediately reminded of his personal demonic enemy.

"Why have you come?" a booming voice ordered in the beings language, that thanks to Kelex and the Kryptonian records Kal had access to translating.

"Greetings to you, speaker." Kal stated, not knowing the individual name of the alien projecting his form into his ship. "I have come seeking you aid in the coming conflicts."

"No. Leave." the voice caused the air in the ship to vibrate and a sense of power and anger filled the space around Kal.

"I am Kal-El of Krypton." he announced simply, taking a bit of joy in seeing the stone shaped face crack in shock at his words. "I am here to ask for you aid, by right of the ancient covenant between Krypton and your people."

There was silence for a moment as the light in the beings eyes and mouth dimmed and shifted from gold to a dull orange to red and back. "By the ancient covenant, you have the right to request our aid, Kryptonian. What would you have of us?"

Kal leaned forward in his seat. The hardest hurdle had been leapt. "In the near future, a younger race will come to you, seeking your aid in the battle against the Shadows. I want you to lend your strength to their battle and guide them through the conflict."

Another moment of silence and alternating light patterns on the nearly expressionless face that reminded Kal so much of the one who took the name Darkseid.

"Why?"

"It is time for the younger races to have free reign to evolve and live with their own choices." Kal stated simply. "For too long have the Shadows and Vorlons manipulated them and affected their natural growth. When the time comes, all of the older races must travel beyond the Veil."

"All of the races?"

Kal lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes. All of us. I will be travelling with the survivors as well."

A near smile came to craggy face hovering in front of him. "Your presence is a surprise and a comfort, Kryptonian. Long have we though your people gone."

"When Krypton died, only a few survived." Kal stated sadly. "And now I am the last. I have no place among the younger races any more. My mission, my destiny was fulfilled and this galaxy is now protected against those who sought dominion over them. Now it is time for all of us to depart and allow the younger races the chance to grow on their own."

The face seemed to study Kal for a moment. "We will assist. The ancient covenant would be reason enough, but you personally are responsible for ending the Great Shame of our people. Uxas Khan."

Kal was confused for a moment before his eidetic memory brought up a long ago conversation with Scott Free and his wife, Barda. Uxas Khan was the name of Darkseid before he'd gained power over the Omega Beams and taken rule over Apokalypse. "You are the remains of the New Gods, after the destruction of Fourth World?" he asked in clarification.

The face in front of him shifted, turning into a somewhat human looking face with a thick white hair and beard and glowing white eyes. "Greetings Kal-El. It has been a long, long time since we spoke."

"Highfather?" Kal asked in surprise.

The face shrunk and became a full figure of a man, wearing a red suit with blue shorts, boots and gloves. "Though I have taken that name, you knew me once as Orion, son of Uxas."

l3k4kj3

A dark haired man with a cocky grin waited in line at the intake port of the Babylon 5 station. He was wearing a grey suit and carried only a small briefcase as he reached the counter and handed over his id and documentation. A strange musical chiming sounded and his grin turned to a frown for a moment before it reappeared on his face.

The bored officer processing his paper work didn't notice or care as the man answered the usual questions asked of any traveller boarding the station.

"Ok, Mr... Morden? Yes. Here you are." the officer stated handing back the passport and id chip. "If you haven't made arrangements, there are several hotels just a few minutes walk down the way, and some decent restaurants. Be warned to watch out for your valuables as unfortunately there have been a rash of pickpockets and muggings lately. Oh, and if you are visiting the alien sector, make sure you watch out for any of the atmosphere signs. There are 3 different areas that are unsuitable for human life. Methane atmo, water and CO2. There would be breathing masks near any entrance and security to ensure you are prepared, but we are understaffed at moment and with recent events, tension is still a little high so security is spread a bit thin."

Morden tilted his head as the musical chiming only he could hear sounded again. "Don't worry officer, I am sure I can follow the safety procedures."

The security officer felt a chill go through his spine and he shifted in his seat. "Well then, please have a good day and welcome to Babylon 5. Next!"

Morden's grin grew and he proceeded into the station proper. "Oh, I have no doubt it is a good day, Officer. No doubt at all."

lk2j3l

Vir Cotto was a fool. He had been told so his entire life. His parents, family, teachers. All told him daily that he was a dreamer and an idealistic fool. He did not know why he was a fool or why he was so different from others of his people, he only knew that he did not fit in with his people. His ideas and thoughts on aliens and even his own peoples political realities were seen as obscene and naive. It had taken his family great effort and cost to get him assigned to Babylon 5 as the aide to the Ambassador, despite the fact that the post was mostly unwanted. The loss of the previous 4 stations and the ridiculousness of the purpose of the station that went against Centauri goals was well known, and the posting of Londo Molari was also seen as a joke. The once powerful and respected man had lost favour and his reputation as being old fashioned and out of style along with his excessive debauchery even for a Centauri noble were marks of how little the current government viewed the importance or chance of success of the station.

Despite no one wanting the post, even he was deemed too much of a fool and too naive to have such a post. It had taken most of his family's limited political clout and much of their financial backing to have him assigned to the task and sometimes he regretted being so eager to take the position. Other times, he was glad to be away from his family and their over bearing and suppressive pressure. He enjoyed interacting with the various alien races and learning about their fascinating cultures and histories. There were so many different races and so much knowledge that existed. So many wonderful and interesting ideas and cultures.

Yet among his own people, his curiosity was seen as a weakness. He was derided and ignored, and treated as a child. Even Londo took little notice of his advice which often lead to more difficult negotiations with the other races and a great many angry interactions that Vir had to try and smooth out and find a peaceful resolution.

However at times like this, even with the excessive demands being made by Londo, he was pleased to be assigned to this task. He was currently over seeing the preparations for the arrival of a very important guest, one that Londo hoped would help him turn his political future around. If all went well, Londo assured Vir that he would be well rewarded, but if it was a disaster, Vir and his family would suffer.

Vir had never had the chance to be near an actual Prophetess, and Lady Ladira was rumoured to be the most powerful in centuries. Londo was currently meeting with a contact to retrieve an ancient and long missing Centauri artifact that he was hoping to present to the Lady in exchange for a reading. Normally Vir would be meeting with the man, a human who had given his name as Reno, but Londo had made all the arrangements himself and set Vir the task of arranging accommodations and entertainment for the Lady and her escort, her nephew Lord Kiro.

Vir was just finishing the final touches and straightening out the bunting and drapery covering the normally bare metal walls of the guest quarters when an alert chimed. He jumped slightly as his nervous nature was displayed, thankfully privately. He checked the chronometer and saw that it was less then an hour until the ship from Centauri would dock and he swore gently as he hurriedly took one last look around the quarters to make sure he had not made any glaring errors in the decorations and then straightened his own jacket and started out of the room. Londo would verbally flay him if he was not in position to meet the nobles at least 30min before scheduled arrival as was custom for one of his lowly rank.

"What a life, I live." the aid said as he hurried towards the lift tubes that would take him to the docking bays. It was a 20min trip by tube leaving him only about 10min of leeway to avoid not being late to being early.

23klj32

"You wanted to see me, Jeff?" Garibaldi asked as he entered his commander's office. He was adjusting his uniform sleeve with a frown on his face, occasionally holding his arms at length in front of him.

Sinclair looked up and frowned at the weird actions being taken by his friend. "Something wrong, Michael?"

Garibaldi just looked up and shook his head a bit. "Just got this jacket back from the cleaners after that little to-do with the black market fighting ring last week. Does the right sleeve look shorter then the left to you?"

Sinclair chuckled at he studied the garment. "Maybe a bit, but that might just be your arms."

"Yeah, maybe." Garibaldi said, sitting on the edge of Jeff's desk. "Any way, why'd you call me up here? I have a smuggler waiting in interrogation for an interview."

"Well, this might be related. Have you heard much chatter about the Raiders attacking ships just outside of Babylon 5 space?"

"Just a little. We recently tangled with a small crew, thought we got their heavy weapons. But from the word going round, they have another supply. The attacks are also getting closer to the station. A Drazi ship coming here before heading to Centauri on an archaeological expedition was hit at the last gate stop before ours in Drazi space. Only 3 lifeboats made it off and were picked up by a passing merchant vessel."

"What were Drazi doing going to Centauri for an archaeological expedition? They rarely show much interest in anything relating to Centauri relics."

"Apparently on one of their moons, they found a crashed Centauri ship of a very old design. Was buried in a shallow sea that has something like a 250year tide cycle, so was only made visible and accessible recently. They found some kind of important Centauri relics. I hear they were hoping to return in exchange for consideration in negotiating some mining rights in a sector claimed by the Centauri just outside Drazi territory."

Jeff sighed. "I assume the relics were among the items stolen and not destroyed?"

"Mostly." Michael stated as he continued to fuss with the cuffs of his jacket. "It's outside our jurisdiction so we haven't been able to examine the wreckage and despite how close it is to a major Drazi trade route, they are taking their time in sending anyone out to really examine the wreckage. By the time they get a crew there, it will most likely have been picked clean by salvage scavengers."

"Too bad, with every thing happening, and the recent . . . incident with Londo, being able to recover some of those items might get the Centauri to calm down a little."

Garibaldi chuckled. "Good luck with that. Those people need a real dose of reality and a big helping of humble pie. So what do you want to do about the Raiders?"

"I want you to make sure that Delta Wing is ready to go on a moments notice. I also want you to check your contacts on station and off, see if you can find the source of their weapons and how the hell they are getting around the jump gates so quickly. The scans we have of their ships from those that you took out should not be able to move around so quickly from system to stem"

Michael nodded. "I'll kick the tires and see what shakes loose. Want me to prep my Fury to lead the Wing?"

Sinclair shook his head. "No, I want you here on the station in case they somehow bypass Delta for an attack on the station or local traffic. I'm pretty sure they must have at least one informant on station feeding them ship schedules and travel routes. Ivanova will lead Delta Wing, she needs the flight time to remain active duty roster.

I want you tracking down their mole on the station. Might be some of the items they are stealing are making it to the station's black market."

Garibaldi stood up and nodded. "If there is something to find, I'll find it, Jeff."

"I know you will, Michael. I know you will."

23kj34

Morden frowned as he dusted a bit of burnt flesh off the breast of his jacket. He casually pocketed the small bag that contained the Centauri coins he'd used to pay the smuggler to bring the Eye onto the station. The man had done his job but gotten greedy and sold the Eye to the Centauri Ambassador. His . . . associates had not been pleased and expressed their displeasure against the smuggler and his three person crew that had accompanied him to this meeting. Now there were 4 bodies with abnormal injuries to discard before the security forces discovered them.

A chiming warble sound and Morden sighed and his features relaxed into his casual smug look. "No, you were right to act. We can't have our presence known just yet. We are not quite ready."

More chiming. "Yes, I will dispose of the bodies. I think dragging them near the Pak'ma'ra will take care of things nicely. Always handy to have cation eaters around when there are bodies to dispose of."

Another series of chimes and Morden smug grin widened "We will have to get the Eye back from Molari, and if he doesn't wish to part with it, we can try your way... but we must still be careful. I heard a rumour of a new presence on the station. Rumours are spreading about the return of another power behind the scenes."

Discordant chimes and whistles. "You can sense a presence on the station, but it is slightly faded? Ah, it comes and goes. It is not here on a permanent basis. Yet while you can sense it, and it is powerful and dangerous, you are unsure of what it is? How is that possible?"

Angry chittering.

"I see. We will have to be careful then. If you can sense them, then they or it might be able to sense you. I know you are masked from perception of all, including the Ancient enemy, but who knows what this new presence is capable of."

Morden bent and easily lifted one of the dead men onto his shoulder as the other three lifted into the air by invisible means only to disappear from view. No more was said as he walked out of the area, carrying is now invisible burden over his shoulders in a fireman's carry. He passed nearly unnoticed and soon found a secluded spot where he dropped the body of the man known as Reno to the ground in a heap. 3 thumps followed, and Reno's crew member joined his corpse on the ground. "This will do. The Pak'ma'ra section is just around the next corner. In a few minutes they will smell the dead and come collect their next meals."

Morden started flipping one of the recovered coins through his fingers as he strolled casually out of the section, rejoining the more populated areas of the station and proceeding onwards in his assigned tasks. He had several Ambassador's to visit and plots to propagate and very little time to do it.

3j4j3lj

AN - i was going to continue on with more of Kal meeting First Ones and of the scenes with the Raiders and Morden meetings but this felt like the right place to stop this chapter. Next chap, I will try to have those scenes, but might skip forward a bit and show those in flash backs or outright back dated chapters.