The Final Circle

by Sufficient Velocity

This is a Babylon 5 centered tale. It explores a BSG style exodus due to the loss of the Earth Minbari war. It becomes a crossover with nBSG as of Interlude 1, and crosses with Firefly as of Interlude 2. Most B5 and BSG canon should remain unchanged, including EU. However, Firefly will mostly use series and film canon. Its EU began to expand after I had already merged the plots.

18. Chapter 17 - Z'ha'dum

Chapter 17 - Z'ha'dum

Z'ha'dum - Minbari Fleet, Valen'Tha - May, 2249

The Valen'Tha was not the last Minbari ship to slide through the jumpgate and into the system, but it was far from the first. Over a thousand ships had come down the Torlig beacon, easily the largest of the Minbari fleets closing on the system. Also, the first to arrive. Shai'Alyt Branmer had insisted that the large majority of those vessels remain in hyperspace, keeping them out of any potential Shadow trap, but also as a reserve force should it be necessary to rescue the force which was entering the system. The Shai'Alyt had mandated no more than three hundred vessels enter the system, and had tried to insist the Grey Council remain in hyperspace with the main fleet. On this final point, however, he had been overruled. Both Delenn and Coplann had pushed for and received a unanimous decision to bring the Valen'Tha into the system along with the scout force.

Delenn now stood next to Satai Coplann at a handy viewport. The other members of the Grey had remained in their rooms, or found more solitary viewports of their own from which to observe the proceedings. Delenn had used a wall interface to tap into several of the frequencies along which various departments of the crew communicated, as well as the intership communications by which Shai'Alyt Branmer directed the scouting fleet. The three hundred vessels of that fleet moved like well maintained machinery, smooth and precise. Delenn found the whole affair to be rather illuminating. "They seem quite concerned about the topography of the system," she commented to Coplann.

"Whatever for?"

"Potential ambush, I would presume. The humans seem quite skilled at that sort of thing. But also because the system make up does not match our records. The second and fourth of the system's gas giants, according to our charts from the last Shadow War, are missing. In their place are massive asteroid belts."

"Which solves your little mystery, Delenn," he said confidently. "Our people did not take place in the final assault upon this system at the end of the Shadow war. The races that did were nearly wiped out for their efforts, trying to compete with First Ones. It was the Vorlons who made that assault possible. No doubt they used some force to shatter those planets, leaving the rubble fields you just referred to as asteroid belts."

Delenn accessed some additional data via the interface. "I suppose it's possible. The mass and composition they are reading in these new belts are roughly the same as the gas giants which the ancient charts described." She sighed. "I suppose the Shai'Alyt is also concerned about the hyperspace anomaly."

"Again, Delenn, what for? Blocking off hyperspace access to everything but the local gate is entirely within the capabilities of any First Ones. Since this is the Shadows' own system, it's not surprising to have it here. It won't do anything more than slow us down, since we will have to spread out through the system in real space, rather than jumping in wherever we choose."

"It is both surprising and concerning, because our records from the final battle of this system do not indicate any such anomaly. Which means it must have gone up since then. And if the Shadows remain vanquished, if they aren't here and active...then where did the field come from?"

Coplann turned to stare out the viewport again for a long moment. Finally, he murmured, "Then perhaps the Shadows are back. Perhaps that's why we were led here. Perhaps the humans are Shadow Servants."

It was now Delenn's turn to be silent, in deep contemplation. Eventually, a chime from the interface drew her attention. "The fleet is advancing. We are spreading out, and heading for the outermost of the asteroid belts." She paused for a moment, then responded to his previous assertion. "Perhaps they are. We shall see.
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Hyperspace, near Z'ha'dum - EAS Eratosthenes - May, 2249

"Captain," Lieutenant Commander Janice Kathway called out to Gideon. "A moment of your time." Gideon looked up from the pile of reports and data he had been reviewing from his command chair, and absentmindedly waved her over. She crossed the bridge to stand within arms reach, just to his left, and pitched her voice to carry only to him. "Sir, we've just received the prearranged signal from Commodore Sheridan. The Minbari have arrived."

Matt inhaled deeply, then exhaled sharply in resignation. "I could have hoped for more time, but we already got more than I was expecting."

"Any luck with the search?" she asked, clearly with little hope.

"None at all. This is taking too damned long. Sheridan's not going to be able to buy us much time against so many Minbari. We might only have hours left, and I would rather not be forced to just cast off into hyperspace."

Janice grimaced. "Captain, you know as well as I do that casting off beaconless into hyperspace is a fool's errand. It's suicide, pure and simple."

"Then we need a way to avoid that fate. One that doesn't end in a civilian fleet taking on the Minbari war machine. We need to speed things up."

"We've already cut every corner on the process we could think of. Cut back safety precautions well past bare minimums. We're using all of the remote sensors and drones to push forward as rapidly as possible, charting out grav inclines, currents and other obstacles. We're even utilizing our temporary beacons as makeshift additional drones. We're setting records with how fast we are progressing, but there are still limits to what we can accomplish. We've transitioned as many personnel and stations to drone operation as feasible, but between trying to operate so many remote platforms simultaneously, and pushing forward as recklessly as we are, we've already lost nearly ten percent of our exploration gear to hyperspace hazzards. We move any faster, and we'll run ourselves out of gear long before we find anything. And, of course, we have to be far more cautious with our hyperspace beacons."

"Because, as we move forward, we'll have to transition them from hounds to bread crumbs, so we don't get lost."

"Exactly. Travelling back and forth between possible routes as potential options are eliminated isn't helping either. We are running engines at maximum, but a six kilometer vessel doesn't exactly sprint like a Starfury."

"And we can't just investigate the best possibilities simultaneously because of transmission limitations from the Eratosthenes to the remotes," Gideon finished for her, clenching his fists in frustration. "The Eratosthenes can only be in one place at a time, which means while we're exploring one potential route, the others are just sitting there, unless we are force to come back to them. And we can't play around with increasing transmission power or switching to tachyon coms, both because it would be too time consuming, and because there's a great big Minbari fleet sitting out there, not terribly far away, just waiting to pounce if they happen to notice us." He rubbed a hand across dry, reddened eyes. "Dammit, Janice, think! You were here on this ship, in this line of business, long before I, or even Captain Levitt, came aboard. I know you're a consummate professional. Is there anything...anything you know was being looked at or thought about for future platforms that might help us now?"

Kathway shrugged, helplessly. "I'm sorry, Captain, but I don't think so. This ship and its class are state of the art. I did keep my eyes and ears out for such possibilities, and as far as I know, there's was simply nothing in the pipeline. Hell, we just recently transitioned away from manned exploration."

"Excuse me?" he asked, perking up.

"All those shuttles we carry for planetary exploration? We used to use them for pushing out into hyperspace as well. It was a lot slower than the current setup, though. A lot slower. Not only did you have to be more cautious, having people on the sharp end, but those shuttles don't have the same levels of acceleration as the drones, which means slowing things down even more, as it was harder for them to extract themselves from any trouble they might have run into. Then, of course, they're much larger, so we couldn't carry as many." She hesitated. "I suppose we could send them out to assist in the exploration. The pilots are just sitting around right now. It won't be much, but every little bit helps."

Gideon's brains struggled to turn. He hadn't slept in quite a while, and it felt like there was wet cement between his ears. But...there was something there. Dammit, think!

He shocked her by shooting out his hand to grip her shoulder, and pull her in closer. "All of our shuttles have a full comm station, as well as tracking and sensor systems for planetary exploration, correct?"

"Yes, Sir," she commented, not attempting to break his hold.

"Then we could set up those stations for running exploration operations."

He could see the mental gears begin turning behind her own tired eyes. "Have the shuttles run some drones of their own?" She nodded. "I think that will work, Captain. It'll take some of the strain off of the stations aboard the Eratosthenes, so we lose fewer drones to errors from simply being overtasked. It'll also allow us to get minor exploration operations going along the less promising routes, so we don't lose as much time if we have to come back to them. Yes, that'll help, more than a little."

He could see the tiny spark of hope kindle behind her eyes, as his own mind continued to churn, faster and faster. He could see that spark being blocked by her realism. It simply wasn't enough to save them. Time to blow that block wide open.

"No, Janice. We aren't going to have the shuttles run the drones, we're going to have them run tugs."

"Tugs?" she asked, in evident confusion.

"Yes. Tugs. And any other high thrust civilian vessel out there. The fleet is full of them. You said it yourself; the big limiting factor is acceleration, and how well a platform can pull itself out of danger. The shuttles run the tugs, and the tugs, and any makeshift tugs we can jury rig together, run the sensor platforms. They push the sensors and drones ahead faster and further than we have been able to, and when they run into trouble, they've got the engines to pull themselves and their platforms back. Or, if they're too deep, they cut loose the drone, and just pull themselves to safety."

He could see she was starting to get excited now. "That could really work. Those tugs are all different profiles though. It's going to take some time to calculate the safety parameters for all of them."

"Too much time. Have our best people take their best guess, and make sure it's on the aggressive end."

"Captain….Sir, that would almost certainly entail losing some of those ships. You're talking about putting civilian vessels….civilians...on the sharp end. It's one thing to lose drones...or even military personnel. We'll be throwing civilians into the fire."

"The Minbari are here. Everyone in this fleet is dead, including the operators of those tugs and potential tugs. This gives them a chance to save themselves. And we're not just talking about tugs either. Civilian shuttles or small craft should be pulled in as well. Even if they only have the most basic of comm and data systems, they should be able to partner with a tug, or run a drone. The better their systems, the more they can supplement us, but it's their quantity, not their quality, that is really going to help. I can't believe we didn't think of using the civilians before. We've got to throw every possible resource at this. We need to explore as broad an area possible, as quickly as possible."

Kathway was clearly refocused, hope and a task she could perform to save lives, including her own, burning away the fatigue she had been struggling under. "There should be a lot of ships that fit that parameter. The crews won't be well trained, but we won't make them run many sensors at once. Damn! We're going to run out of sensor drones before we run out of potential operators!"

"We use the temp beacons. Give those to the tugs, as they are the most likely not to be lost when something goes wrong. We'll assign the more powerful drones to any shuttles running them directly, without the tugs for additional propulsion."

"If we start moving forward a lot faster, and I think we just might, then we're going to need those beacons to maintain a path back to this system. And as hard as you want to push, as we need to push, we're still going to burn through our stocks of drones and beacons rather quickly."

"Burn them up then. We're all in. And no, we're not going to need the temp beacons to maintain a lock on the local gate. We're going to borrow a page from the lifeboat service."

"Captain?"

"When a ship foundered in bad weather, they'd go out in huge dorries, to save the crew and passengers. They'd form a line of lifeboats from the ship to the shore...a kind of lifeline. We're going to do the same thing, give every civilian ship a chance to participate in our survival. We'll organize the ships into groups of two...hell, three, there are plenty of them...to ensure no loss of signal. The first group stops just far enough out that they have a positive lock on the local gate signal. The second group will proceed one thousand kilometers further in, and lock onto the signal of the first group. The third group will lock onto the signal of the second one, and so on, out to where ever the explorers are."

"We could fully run multiple deep explorations simultaneously," Janice said in awe. "Each with their own chain. Combined with the shuttles and tugs, we could really, really, push forward quickly. It's dangerous. We could lose entire chains of ships. But tripled up, at a thousand kilometers seperation, I think we'd be fairly assured of maintaining signal lock."

"And if we progress far enough that we actually run short of civilian ships to throw into the chain, we can extend the range by moving the groups further out, like an expanding telescope. Or, if the signals start to get too tenuous, we could switch to groups of two. Or, hell, even one, if need be."

"I...I can't imagine us getting that far out without finding something. This could really work, Captain!"

"It better. But nothing's going to work unless we get it moving ourselves. Lieutenant Commander, organize our own shuttles and tugs, and get the appropriate personnel to those stations. I want every one of our vessels launched and operating in no more than an hour. Can you do it?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good, because I've got to coordinate with all of those civie captains. I have a feeling herding those cats is going to take a fair bit longer."
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Z'ha'dum - EAS Nova - May, 2249

"Alright Delta, the Minbari are in system," Lieutenant Jason Ironheart said to his gathered pilots. The ready room was overflowing. Ironheart had been assigned as Squadron Commander of Red Delta Squadron, but no one had yet been found to step into the same role for Blue Delta. Until that slot was filled, Red and Blue Delta had been nominally merged into a single outsized squadron of four flights, with Ironheart in the hot seat. All of the losses against the Minbari had yet to be fully recouped, so they were actually not much stronger than three flights, but that was still a hell of a lot for one little Lieutenant to run. "We've had a good deal of luck. They've brought a lot fewer ships than we were expecting. Initial counts put it right at three hundred. The Commodore has a plan for slowing them down, and getting us the hell out of here, but we all need to do our part."

"Don't fill us full of shit, LT," one particularly annoying female pilot, newly transferred to the squadron, called out. "We all know this is a suicide mission. We'll do our part, with or without your fairy tales."

"Wiseass, if I wanted your opinion, I'd give it to you. Now, yes, the odds are long. Really long. But Starkiller Sheridan has faced long odds before, and pulled us through every time. I've seen the battle plans. They include multiple options for our exfiltration from this system. Yes, there's a good chance some or all of us won't make it. But, if we don't work together and follow orders, each and every one of us, then we have exactly no chance of making it through. So stow your garbage and get ready to pilot, pilot." Regaining his previous train of thought, he finished, "you all have your orders and starting coordinates. Time to get moving. We launch in five. Dismissed."

As the pilots shuffled out of the room, Ironheart gathered up his gear and headed towards his office. He had a quick stop to make before getting to his own Starfury. He was stopped shot when a familiar voice said, "Pretty good speech, but I hear you're short a wingman."

Spinning around, here stared with unbelieving eyes for several seconds, then lunged forward and pulled Ivanova into a big hug. "Susan!" he said, letting her go. "What are you doing here? I heard that you were…"

"The Fleet's most wanted? Yeah, but not anymore. I had...medical issues I would rather not go into. I was just cleared for flight operations, so if you really still don't have a wingman…"

"You can be my wingman any day! Head for your fighter. We've kept it in perfect condition, right where you left it. I just have to make a quick stop, and I'll be right there." As Susan went to suit up, Jason completed his trip to his office.

Sliding behind his desk, he inserted a key into the single locked drawer and turned. Pulling it open, he looked at the mass of pills inside. His telepathy enhancers. He was entirely certain, now, that his telepathy was getting stronger. He might actually have cracked P12 by now...at least on the lower end. But he seemed to have plateaued. He was going to need every advantage he could get, if he wanted to get his people through this fight. Fortunately, something had recently seemed to put Commander Bester on edge, and he had delivered a three month supply all at once, rather than the usual weekly packages.

Jason reached in and grabbed a random handful of pills, then crammed them into his mouth and swallowed them dry. Reaching back in to grab a second handful, he repeated the process. Without wasting any time, he quickly emptied the rest of the pills into the pockets of his flight suit, then rose to head for his Starfury. He was already starting to feel nauseous, and his mind seemed no sharper. But, he would do whatever he could...anything...to ensure the survival of his pilots and his people. Whatever it took.
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Z'ha'dum - Minbari Fleet, Ingata - May, 2249

"Status report," Shai'Alyt Branmer ordered, as he strode into the command center of his flagship, the Ingata.

Alyt Neroon, his second in command, arose from the command chair and turned to him in surprise. "Deh-f'hurst, Shai'Alyt," Neroon said with a bow. "Welcome back. I am surprised that the Grey Council let you go."

"No doubt they keep a close eye on things, Neroon, but I am the commander of this battlefield. Now, my status report, please."

"As ordered, the fleet has spread out and advances on the outermost asteroid field. Consistent with the current theory that it is the shattered remains of this system's fourth gas giant, the field is massive in both depth and thickness. The humans could be hiding anywhere, so we have launched our fighters, and spread all forces across a very broad front, so as to speed up the penetration and search of the field. Our foremost units are coming into direct scanning range of the belt now."

"Detecting movement." a gruf Warrior manning sensors called out.

"Identify," Neroon barked.

"I cannot. Unable to maintain sensor lock. Multiple movement points across a broad arc of the belt, but they fade into and out of view within seconds, without providing a solid return to sensors."

"The humans have no such technology!" Neroon snapped derisively, considering replacing the Warrior with another who could do his job properly.

"They don't need it," Branmer commented calmly. "They have an enormous and dense asteroid belt within which to play. Given the amount of dust and gas also spread throughout that expanse, it is nearly nebular as well. Likely we are seeing the movements of their fighter craft, darting from one hiding spot to another, preparing to meet us. Under such circumstances, the limited effectiveness of our sensors is to be expected. The humans have the defensive advantage, but it will not save them. Not with the forces we have available."

He paused, looking at his second expectantly. Neroon took the hint, and commanded, "Push ahead into the belt, in three ship contingents. We will route one group towards any movement detected, but continue to advance along as broad an arc as possible. The humans will not be allowed to use their fighters to draw us away from any hidden Warrior or Worker craft. Fayzen shok!"

The fleet surged ahead. Moments later, the first trio of warships, a Sharlin and a pair of Tinashi, entered the field near one of the sightings of movement. Moments later, they were engulfed by a powerful nuclear explosion, sending bits of shattered asteroid and ship spinning in every direction."

"Message to all ships," Branmer commanded in a strident voice. "All stop."

"Vi drosh, Shai'Alyt," Neroon said diffidently. "This cowardly tactic should have been anticipated. I take full responsibility."

"The responsibility is mine, not yours Alyt. And the tactic was anticipated, though I assumed we would at least see their ships before it was employed. This is Starkiller we face, Neroon. In the humans' home system, and while we were driving through human controlled space, we could by and large simply avoid such traps and drive on their various worlds. But here, the humans have no worlds. The most likely position of the ships we seek is hiding within the asteroid belts which are also the most likely locations of such traps. The only thing which really surprises me is the sheer number of such weapons the human fleet carries. You would think they would have run out long since."

"With the Earth Alliance shattered, and their systems fallen, Shai'Alyt; I cannot imagine where they could have found resupply. Perhaps some hidden caches of food or basic munitions, but this quantity of nuclear devices? It seems impossible. They must have had them all from the beginning. Without doubt, a clear sign of their aggressive and barbaric nature."

"Perhaps. We will advance at half speed, with Nials deployed in screening formation. Maximum sensors, scanning focused on radiological emissions. Weapons release authorized to destroy the location of those emissions at range, even if sensors have yet to identify the source."

"Shai'Alyt," Neroon said diffidently, "that will significantly slow our advance."

"And save a great many ships we have no reason to lose. I will not throw away Minbari lives and ships just to eliminate the humans a bit sooner. What can they possibly do with that additional time? They are trapped in this system with nowhere to go, and no way to leave save the gate we hold."

"They could travel out into the Kuiper Belt. We believe the hyperspace block does not extend much further than that."

"And then what, Neroon? If they transition into hyperspace, they would still have to return to the gate in order to ride the beacon to one of the connecting systems. Which would run them straight into the much larger fleet we have in hyperspace, sitting on that beacon. The humans have nowhere to go. Besides, we have another reason for caution. Remember where we are, Neroon. This is the former home of the Shadows, and the Grey Council has been concerned that they may be moving again. It has even been suggested that the humans might be Shadow thralls. I do not agree with that reasoning myself, but simply being in this system should drive us to greater caution. Slow or not, we move carefully, Neroon."

"Si dromo, Shai'Alyt."
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Hyperspace, near Z'ha'dum - Shuttle Rokai - May, 2249

Lieutenant Catherine Sakai ran the Rokai at max acceleration back down the collapsing seventh line of exploration. The seventh line had seemed the least promising, so she had been assigned to the tip of that spear along with a mess of civilian craft in support. She had lost a half dozen sensor drones in the process, but the Commander Gideon's new exploration process, along with the powerful engines of the Rokai, had kept her safe from the various grav inclines and hyperspace riptides she had run into. And in the process they had eliminated all possible avenues of advance, confirming the seventh line was a dead end.

The Rokai, she had grown to hate this ship, but it was starting to grow on her again. Between its engines, sensors, and computer systems, it was better at this new job than even the exploration shuttles the Eratosthenes carried. And it could all be handled by one person, which is why Lieutenant Commander Kathway had tasked her to this position. Because she was the most familiar with the Rokai, and also had all of the requisite skills.

The anchor craft came into view, still surrounded by a host of civilian vessels in the process of being organized into either the beacon chain or the explorer crews. It looked chaotic, but it was absolutely astonishing how fast Gideon had thrown this together. That boy...that Captain...she corrected her own thoughts...was some kind of miracle worker. They were exploring along seven lines of advance simultaneously. Seven! It was absolutely revolutionary. But, now that it was in operation, she and about half of the long term exploration crew were absolutely kicking themselves for not having thought of it earlier. Gideon might just pull off a miracle and save them all.

"Shuttle Rokai to whoever's in charge of this mess," she broadcast on an open, but low powered frequency. "Returning from line seven. Requesting instructions."

"Acknowledged, shuttle Rokai," came the response after a few moments. It was Gideon himself. He must be out here in a shuttle, or perhaps he had taken up residence on one of the civilian liners. "I'm assigning everything from the seventh line to the third. Good work out there. Now get busy."

"Yes, Sir! Shuttle Rokai, over and out."

Catherine located the third line of exploration, and swung the Rokai onto it, the rest of the assets from the seventh line struggling and failing to keep up with her. They'd get into place in their own time, but she wanted to be in the vanguard now. The third line was already thirty thousand klicks long at its farthest point and had branched several times. It was rapidly becoming the most promising avenue of advance, and they were starting to run short of exploration resources, so she and the other units from the seventh would be very welcome. She had heard that the second line, which had been one of the most promising initially, also looked ready to dead end. Those resources would probably also be assigned to the third line.

She guessed that as additional units were organized, or freed up from collapsed lines, that they would probably be sent forward into the first line, in support of the Eratosthenes, which was still driving forward rapidly. She supposed that one of the other lines might bear fruit, but her bet was on either the first or the third.

She passed the first trio in the third line's hyperspace chain, and goosed her engines to get another percent or two of acceleration out of them. Frag me. We might actually pull this off.
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Z'ha'dum - Minbari Fleet, Ingata - May, 2249

Two warriors carted in a blackened, twisted hunk of metal, and deposited it onto the deck between Branmer and Neroon, before departing. Both officers scowled at the offending object, as one of the Worker caste assigned to the ship approached and bowed respectfully.

"What is it?" Neroon asked.

The Worker bowed again. "Alyt, we believe this is what we have been shooting at." Behind his, the Warrior at weapons called out as the Neutron Cannons fired, carving up another asteroid, and presumably the ship or fighter or bomb; or whatever the radiological source was which was hiding behind it. "There was a nuclear device attached to this object, the remains of which we have removed."

"But what is it," Neroon persisted.

"It is a remote sensor drone. Less advanced and smaller than the kind we have seen used by the humans for system defense or exploration. This is similar to what they use for ship maintenance and inspection, or by their Worker information disseminations services….the news media, I believe they call it. Extremely limited capabilities, but it does have limited propulsion, sensors, and data processing functions. Enough to move around randomly, and stay in relatively hidden positions. Enough to recognize our warships at extremely short range and detonate the attached nuclear charge. After having reviewed our sensor logs of the battle so far, all contacts we have yet detected appears to be consistent with this or similar platforms."

"A trick!" Neroon fumed. "It was all a human trick! Will Starkiller never tire of them? Shai'Alyt, I urge that we push forward immediately."

"Remember our lost ships, Alyt. This may have been a trick, but it was still every bit the trap we were concerned about, and we kept the bulk of our forces out of it. We should also remember that we have yet to clear this belt. Just because these drones were here, doesn't mean that their fleet isn't still hiding here somewhere. There is a gas giant next, I believe."

"Yes," Neroon responded. "but it is currently on the far side of its orbit, so there is nothing between here and the next asteroid belt...also apparently a shattered gas giant, even larger than this one. Given the smaller orbital diameter, it is both thicker and denser than this one."

"Advance half of our forces, including the Ingata, towards the next belt and maximum acceleration. However, when they get there, they are to revert to the current search and destroy profile. The rest of our ships will remain in this belt, clearing it along both orbital and anti-orbital directions." He paused and thought for a moment. "I will call in another one hundred and fifty vessels, from the units in hyperspace, to join us and assist with the clearance of the next belt."

"Si dromo, Shai'Alyt."
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Z'ha'dum - Secondary asteroid belt, Random asteroid - May, 2249

Ironheart stared out his cockpit into the darkness of the surrounding asteroid belt. This one was full of dust and gases, but the only way to know that in the blackness was the fact that no starlight shown through. The primary itself was only a dim blur in the distance, not at all illuminating the massive asteroid to which all of Delta squadron had strapped themselves.

"There goes another one," Susan commed along their theoretically secure inter ship signal. In the distance, another asteroid flared as it was carved up by long range Minbari weapons fire. They had been sitting here in the darkness for hours. It was only in the last little bit that fireworks had started to appear sporadically in the skies.

"Maintain radio silence," he commed back absentmindedly. All of their power levels were stepped down to absolute minimums. They were embedded deeply within a crater. None of them carried nukes. Anything and everything to avoid detection by the advanced Minbari sensors, including eliminating any and all sensor emissions of their own. Which would have left them entirely blind, if not for Ironheart and the other more powerful telepaths of the squadron. He was, therefore, putting in a good deal of effort, and didn't need to be distracted. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out another half handful of pills and swallowed them, followed by a sip from his camelback.

There. The Minbari are there. It was faint, but he was sure of it. The drones in this sector had been scattered to pull at least a few Minbari into this general area. Looks like it worked, he thought to himself, electing to not share his discovery with the rest of the squadron.

It was another few minutes before one of the other telepaths reached out to him telepathically. Ironheart, it's Dawson. I've located the Minbari. They're on the way, still several minutes out at their current rate of progress.

Ensign Jared Dawson was a P12 and former Psi Cop, one of the more recent pilot graduates. He and Commander Bester didn't seem to get along for some reason, which was why few of the squadron commanders had wanted to take him. Ironheart had leapt at the chance to get another solid telepath into his squad. He didn't, however, know what it meant that he had picked up the Minbari so much before Jared or any of the other telepaths had. Acknowledged, he sent back. Flipping on the squadron comm channel, set to minimum power, he sent out, "Get prepped, squad. We have incoming. They should be here in a few minutes. Do not acknowledge." Time to wait.

The next several minutes seemed to drag on for an eternity. But, eventually, their targets came into view, right where they were supposed to be. As hoped, the Minbari appeared to be just as unable to use their jump engines in this system as the less advanced human craft. The reason for that blockage was still a mystery. However, it effectively forced the Minbari to slow boat through the system, rather than be able to jump in and out at will via hyperspace. This meant that their travel routes could be anticipated. Sheridan had intentionally placed some of the nuke armed drones so that a portion of the Minbari forces clearing them would be drawn along a particular route. It appeared to have worked perfectly.

A wing of Nial fighters sailed sedately past their position. Ironheart gave the signal, a telepathic pulse. He had spent weeks working with the mundane pilots in the squadron to ensure that even they would instantly recognize the unorthodox form of communication. It was part of the reason Delta had been chosen for this mission.

As one, all four flights of Delta squadron kicked in full power, and shot out of the crater, hot on the tails of the unsuspecting Minbari fighters. The telepaths had long since acquired and disseminated the location of those six lonely Nials. The entire squadron was firing their pulse cannons even before they cleared the rim of the crater. The Nials burst like soap bubbles, only one of them even managing to begin a turn.

Ironheart dialed his comm array to maximum, and broadcast in the clear. "Great job, people! Now let's get the frag out of here!" He kicked his engines to maximum thrust, and led the squadron deeper into the field.

Neither the destruction of the Minbari fighters nor his broadcast had gone unnoticed. From left, right, above, and below, other wings of Minbari fighters, on similar clearance duty, changed course and acceleration to give chase. They were closing in from all sides.

Ironheart popped a couple more pills, as he tried to track their approach, both visually and telepathically. They'd never be able to defeat that many fighters. Fortunately, they didn't have to. When it felt like the advancing Nials were at roughly the correct distance, Jason toggled a switch on his panel. Over a hundred nukes, pre-planted on the surrounding asteroids and heavily shielded to mask their radiation, detonated as one. They were amongst the smaller, tactical warheads they still had, but it didn't take all that much to bring down a Nial. Of the several squadrons which had been bearing down on them, less than a handful survived the storm of fire and asteroid fragments which erupted all around them, and that handful was left powerless and drifting.

A spear of green fire burned one of his Starfurys from the heavens. In the far distance, more wings of Nials were heading in their direction, but that shot had come from something far larger. Behind them, a trio of Sharlin, part of the clearance operations, were giving chase.

"Max speed people," Ironheart ordered. "Stay evasive. We're going to pull in close to these asteroids, and try to keep them between us and those fat sows." As he was speaking, another streak of green signaled the death of another of his pilots. He didn't slow down to mourn; merely led the squadron in a dive for the cover of the nearest asteroid. They continued to move deeper into the field, darting from cover to cover, crossing through and heading for the far side. He lost three more pilots before the shots suddenly ceased. "Does anybody see why they stopped firing?"

"Because we're about to get creamed by three or four squadrons of Nials," Susan said excitedly.

"Good."

"Good?!"

"Yup. They're right on time. On my mark, everyone cease jinking, match my vector, and cut thrust. Three, two, one, mark!" The squadron straightened out and ceased maneuvering. Just over three seconds later, Black Omega squadron shot right through their formation, under maximum thrust and heading in the opposite direction. They were fully loaded with nuclear ordinance.

The closing squadrons of enemy fighters had been just about to enter weapons range. They never got the chance. Each Starfury in Black Omega fired a scattershot trio of nukes, bracketing the various oncoming wings of Minbari. The attack was devastating, and the few survivors fell back to the safety of their mother ships. Black Omega continued to fire off the remainder of their nukes, now attempting to slow down or push back the still oncoming trio of Sharlin. They then looped around to rejoin Delta in their resumed flight across the belt.

"Commander Bester," Jason sent across the open channel. "Always a pleasure. Welcome to the party."

"Lieutenant Ironheart. Sorry to interrupt, but it seemed like you were having all of the fun. Very selfish of you not to share."

"My apologies, Commander. You are, of course, always welcome to join in. Delta will make certain to set aside some scraps for you." He heard the chuckles over the squadron net, and could feel the slight lowering of tensions amongst his people. It wasn't much, but he would take what he could get.

"We'd better hurry, Lieutenant," Bester continued. "The nukes didn't push back those Sharlin as much as I would have liked. We still have a ways to go. Why don't you take point?"

"Acknowledged."

The combined squadrons continued their flight, pushing their engines for all they were worth. However, in just over two minutes, the Sharlin had reacquired their range, and a bolt of green obliterated one of the Starfurys...from Black Omega this time.

"Pull in tighter to the asteroids," Ironheart ordered, without bothering to consult with Bester. He led the way himself. The evasive maneuvers made it much harder for the enemy vessels to get a hit. However, it also slowed down the squadron's flight significantly, allowing the Sharlin to pull in closer and closer. Three more Starfurys died while Ironheart led the chase, jinking and maneuvering the combined squadrons for all he was worth. He extended his telepathic sense to its utmost, trying to feel the Minbari gunners, to determine where their shots would be placed. He couldn't be sure it was working, but the enemy scored not a single kill for a couple of minutes, despite closing to nearly point blank range.

Ironheart was doing everything he could think of to keep them alive, but he wouldn't last much longer. There! Ahead of them was a massive rubble pile of an asteroid. He led his people right across the top of it, then dipped down under cover of the far side, praying that the Minbari wouldn't just shoot right through the mass to get at his people. Instead of continuing on with their headlong flight, he led the Starfurys in an orbit of the asteroid, swinging around underneath it and returning to the rear as the trio of Sharlin passed above.

"Delta put them right where we wanted them, Commodore," Lieutenant Commander Laurel Takashima offered. "They couldn't have done a better job. Lieutenant Ironheart really knows his stuff."

"He does indeed, Laurel. He does indeed." Sheridan watched as the trio of Sharlin swept over the 'asteroid.' "Blow charges."

A series of hundreds of large chemical explosives blew away the boulders painstakingly hauled into place to conceal the mighty Nova class vessel. Its guns were already aimed in roughly the right direction. As expected, the Minbari were flying in their standard chevron formation, with the center ship on point, and its compatriots flying well aft of it to port and starboard. That meant those trailing vessels were now also to port and starboard of the Nova. They were also a bit above, and already ahead of the ship, but still well within the range of the guns.

"Fire!" Sheridan commanded, and the ship let loose with a perfect pair of broadsides, each gun telepathically guided. He had been hoping that the trailing vessels would have been Tinashis, ensuring a properly placed salvo would earn a kill. As it turned out, there was only so much you could control. The broadsides tore into the surprised vessels, their commanders only now awakening to the danger. But though they were grievously damaged, their side armor rent and bleeding atmosphere, they were neither destroyed nor incapacitated. They began their turns to face off against the human dreadnought. Ahead, their lead ship was doing the same, its undamaged form spinning much more quickly. It was now broadside on to the Nova, its weapons ready to fire.

"Fire!" Sheridan commanded again, and this time a single energy mine spat from one of the prow mounted tubes. The weapons were designed to be long range, area denial weapons. No one had ever considered firing them at a target less than twenty klicks away. The telepaths had aimed true, and the projectile struck the Minbari vessel directly amidships. The Sharlin came apart like tissue paper. And then the energy wave struck the Nova, and alarms screamed as radiation sleeted across the ship, burning out sensors and interfering with electronics. But the Nova was a well built craft, heavily armored and with highly redundant systems. She came through the blast wave intact.

The same could not be said for the remaining Sharlins. Far closer to the detonation, with their facing sides already torn and open to space, the inbound energy poured into the vessels, shredding their insides and destroying critical systems. First one and then the other lost containment on their reactors, and both ships detonated, adding to the fireworks lighting up the night. Not a single shot had been fired at the Nova.

"Damage report," Sheridan commanded calmly.

Laurel looked over from her station, "We got a little cooked, but we're ok."

"Any other enemy vessels within sensor range?"

"Negative, Sir."

"Let's get moving then. Get those Starfurys back aboard for refit. Wake up the Mother. We've got a crossing to make. As soon as the last fighter is aboard, go to full output on reactors and engines."

Moments later, bare seconds after the last of the Starfurys had docked, the Nova leaped ahead, the engineers squeezing every ounce of acceleration they could out of her powerful engines. The Mother slipped out from behind the nearby asteroid which had hidden her, and joined in the flight. They were already near the inner edge of the belt. With the nearest Minbari destroyed, he hoped and prayed that they could make the sprint across open space. Had their destination been the innermost asteroid belt, there was simply no way they could have made it before the Minbari overtook them. However, they were instead headed for the innermost gas giant, located between the two belts and perfectly positioned for the Nova and Mother to drive straight there.

Whatever quirk of planetary formation had caused this system to form three asteroid belts had also overloaded the rings of the various gas giants. The ring system and numerous moons towards which they were now headed were stunningly massive in both depth and breadth, extending outwards from the planet for over five million kilometers. Between that size and the similarly enormous size and relative nearness of the asteroid belt they had just left, their route to the relative cover of that gas giant would be just over a third of an AU.

They had been accelerating for almost fifteen minutes when first one, and then another trio of Minbari vessels, all Sharlin, broke free from the inner surface of the belt, and gave chase. A few minutes later, a third group, comprised of a Shargotti and two Tinashis, also emerged to join in the hunt.

The transit had become a race. The Nova and Mother had a significant head start and the more direct route. The Minbari vessels had significantly better acceleration. The chase seemed to stretch for an eternity as the Minbari slowly closed in on and then overtook their speed, and then began eating away at the distance between them. They clawed their way closer, kilometer by kilometer, trying to get to within effective weapons range.

"Redline the engines," Sheridan commanded. The Minbari were overtaking too quickly. They'd be within weapons range before he could get his people under cover. With them coming in on multiple vectors, spinning and trying to hold them back with energy mines would be futile. Speed was their only option. Laurel confirmed the order, and Sheridan felt the ship shudder as the engines and reactors went beyond their specified limits.

A moment later, the young Ensign manning sensors called out, "The Mother is beginning to fall behind."

"Lieutenant Commander Takashima," Sheridan ordered, "raise the Captain of the Mother. Tell him to burn his engines if he has to, but they need to keep up."

"Yes, Sir." She got on the comms, and several moments later the Mother stopped losing ground, though it had already fallen a ship's length behind.

They raced closer and closer to the rings of the gas giant, now completely filling their forward view. Laurel punched in a command, and the view seemed to zoom in, closer and closer, until it was focused on a tiny gap between two massive rocks. "There's our opening through the rings. We go through there, and we'll immediately be out of the line of fire of our pursuers. But, it's only about fifteen kilometers across. At the speeds we're moving, that's a hell of a small needle to thread."

"Can't be helped," Sheridan noted calmly. "We either make it through...or we don't."

"Yes, Sir."

"How long?"

"Forty-five seconds."

"How long until the Minbari have us in range?"

Laurel shrugged helplessly. "It could be anytime. They're really close now." Both of the initial two chase groups were close to entering weapons range. The Shargotti, with the most powerful engines of any of the ships, had also closed the distance, leaving its companion Tinashis well behind.

"Targeting scans!" the Ensign on sensors shouted, "The Minbari are in range and have locked onto us!"

"Which ships are targeting us?" Sheridan asked, trying to maintain his calm.

"All of them! Not one is targeting the Mother. Just us," she said, the fear evident in her voice. A second later, she continued, "Their weapons are powering up, preparing to fire!"

Sheridan closed his eyes. They'll get us, but the Mother will make it through. That's something. At least, until the next set of ships gets them. He hoped...he prayed for a miracle.

Instead, he got a sacrifice. The Mother suddenly snapped into a spin, going broadside to the pursuing Minbari, just as they fired on the Nova. Perhaps it was a miracle, because all of the dozens of beams fired at the Nova struck the Mother instead. Of the many which were powerful enough to punch right through and strike the Nova anyway, all had been degraded sufficiently not to penetrate her rear armor. They carved into her backside, damaging engines and guns and power feeds. Alarms blared all across the bridge, indicating numerous points of damage, but none of it was mortal. None of it was debilitating. A split second later, the Mother blew apart, taking all hands with her.

All hands, except Black Omega squadron, which had launched just seconds before. The Nova and Black Omega swept through the tiny opening, well clear of the sides. As they did so, nuclear charges, implanted earlier on the two enormous boulders garding the gateway, detonated. They shattered the rocks spreading debris throughout the opening. The six Sharlin and one Shargotti, now travelling at a significant fraction of the speed of light, tried to pass through an opening which no longer existed. Instead, they slammed into what was now an impenetrable wall. It did not go well for them. All that remained was a pair of Tinashis, slamming on the brakes in order to avoid the same fate.
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Hyperspace, near Z'ha'dum - 1st Line of Exploration, EAS Eratosthenes - May, 2249

Commander Matthew Gideon strode hurriedly onto the Bridge of the Eratosthenes. He had never seen it so busy. Crew members were crammed in, two to a station, multiple shifts operating together, all trying to maintain order amidst the chaos. To organize and utilize the masses of civilians who had intruded into their orderly world of hyperspace exploration.

Matt didn't feel too bad for them. Up until half an hour ago, he had been trying to do the same job almost entirely by himself, from the deck of a shuttle. He had needed to be back down at the hub of exploration lines, where the civilian ships were, and where they could still pick up the jump gate beacon. Using a powerful enough signal to punch through to the rest of the fleet from where the Eratosthenes explored would have risked being noticed by the Minbari. So, he'd gotten a pilot and a utility shuttle and had flown back to put his plan in motion. Now that had been chaotic. Getting the basic idea across to the civilian captains. Getting assets and crew assigned and paired up with his own military resources. Getting them all moving in the right direction. Working directly with civilians really was like herding cats.

Worse, the larger the exploration effort had gotten, the trickier it had been to juggle all of the details. But, Kathway had also been busy. Even while driving the Eratosthenes's own exploration efforts forward, she had banged out and slammed into place a relay communication protocol. It allowed them to rapidly and concisely communicate with any and all ships in the exploration effort by passing signals from ship to ship along the various exploration chains. It also allowed for a much greater level of efficiency and effort, by linking and coordinating every ship through the experts on the Eratosthenes. The results of which he could now see around him.

"Report," he ordered striding to his seat.

Kathway looked up at him from where she was bent over a console, checking readouts. "Captain, welcome back. You really lit a fire under this effort, Sir. I've never seen anything like it."

"Your comm protocols are probably doing as much or more for the effort, Commander. Now bring me up to speed. I've been out of the loop for the last half an hour."

"Yes, Sir. Exploration lines two, five and six have all dead ended, with those resources being transitioned elsewhere. We've located and started an eighth line of exploration, but we're expecting that to be the last one. Lines one, three and four have all pushed out at least fifty thousand klicks, Sir, and each has multiple branches. It's...it's really astonishing, Captain. I've never seen anything like it. But that's the good news."

"By which I assume you're telling me there's bad news?"

"Call them...concerns."

"I'm listening."

"Well firstly, we've already pushed ahead far farther than I would have believed possible. We're starting to run out of ships to put into the chains. I was thinking of breaking off exploration on some of the less promising branches and assigning those assets so we can keep pushing forward on the more promising routes."

"Negative. Extend the distance between the rungs of the ladder by twenty-five percent. If we run run short again, start pairing down the groups making up the rungs from three ships to two. If you run short after that, we'll extend the distance between groups out to fifteen hundred klicks. I can't imagine we'll get far enough where we have to choose between going to one ship per rung or extending past fifteen hundred klicks, not without finding something. But, if we do, we'll make the decision at that time."

"That's another concern, Captain. I've been running the numbers. As deep as we've gotten, we probably should have found something by now. Probably along more than one of the lines. The fact that we haven't leads me to believe that what you said in our last meeting with the Commodore was probably correct."

"You mean when I said that being out here near the rim, systems to find are probably fewer and farther between?"

"Yes, Sir. But, what if it's worse than that? What if these routes we're exploring...what if they've already taken us past the rim and into intergalactic space? We'll never explore our way through that."

Gideon looked at her askance. "Don't let your fears get the best of you, Janice. We do the job that's in front of us, and we keep on doing it until we're successful. Because, we have to be. Because, we have no other choice."

"Yes, Captain."

"Anything else?

"Just one item, Sir. Possibly because we are close to the rim, this area of space seems to have a larger than usual number of hyperspace hazards. Grav inclines, riptides, the whole gamut. As I expressed earlier, we've been burning through our stocks of drones and beacons. We're already well below fifty percent, and only slowing down is going to make them last longer. I'm assuming your going to tell me not to slow down, but I needed to let you know that we were depleting our stocks of a critical resource."

"Acknowledged. And you are correct, we aren't slowing down. I've run the numbers. Chances are that the Minbari will find us before we run out."

"Just so long as we find an exit before either of those two things happens."

"That's the plan," he responded with a small, exhausted smile.
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Z'ha'dum - Minbari Fleet, Ingata - May, 2249

"Please explain to me, Alyt Neroon, how it is that Starkiller has slipped through our fingers yet again?" Branmer asked. The words were phrased as a rebuke, but the tone offered neither accusation nor rebuke, but only simple curiosity.

He had just returned from consulting with the Grey Council, a necessity he would dearly have liked to avoid. Better if they had listened to him and returned the Valen'Tha to hyperspace. But they had the right to go where they chose, and when the Grey Council summoned you to provide a status update, you went. And then, while he had been trying to explain why Starkiller's escape to the gas giant didn't really change anything, the tactical situation had moved again.

Neroon offered no excuse. "We expected them to hide amongst the moons and rings as they did within the asteroid belt. The ships I sent to search the planet's orbitals were given instructions to follow the same precautions we were using here in the belts. Given the radiation shielded nukes they have already used against us, and Starkiller's penchant for traps and ambushes, I insisted that they exercise even greater caution."

"A wise order, Alyt."

"Perhaps, but it was the wrong one. Rather than stopping and hiding in the rings, Starkiller cut his engines and went dark, stepping back his reactors to minimal levels. He also rotated his ship so that the hottest surfaces would be facing away from us. Then he just allowed his existing momentum to carry him past the planet, like just another dead rock in space. Our pursuers were so focused on finding his hiding spot in the rings, it took them far longer than it should have to locate his ship and realize that he was running for the inner belt."

"But they did locate it."

"Yes Shai'Alyt. Starkiller's trick may have worked, but it didn't work well enough to save him. The moment he was spotted, every ship near the planet, nearly a score or them, set off in pursuit. Of course, Starkiller began accelerating again, he will make it to the inner belt before our vessels can get within range of him. It will be close though, Sir. We hope to arrive quickly enough that Starkiller does not have the chance to settle into place to take advantage of any traps or defensive strong points he may have set up without also alerting us of their position.

Branmer nodded in satisfaction. "And the human cruiser and carrier?"

"Our lead forces spreading out anti-spinward through the secondary belt ran into a fighter ambush, utilizing fighter launched nuclear devices. We lost a significant number of Nials, and took minor damage to a Sharlin before the humans turned and fled. Denmar, the Alyt leading the Shargotti on point, assumed it was a similar ambush to that which Starkiller used. He massed all the nearest ships, to overcome any possible ambush, and chased down the human fighters."

"But it wasn't the ambush he expected," Branmer asserted, quietly.

"No, it was not. The human fighter craft led our ships into a region densely packed with large asteroids. This was expected. Alyt Denmar expected another ambush from a hidden ship, but he was also concerned about a repeat of Starkiller's ambush of the Drala Fi. He ordered his ships to scanned the asteroids as closely as practical while the ships maintained their chase of the human fighters. They were looking for the telling radiation spike of a hidden ship, or hidden nuclear mines. Despite their speed, they found them. Dozens. Hundreds. But, too far off of their direct route to be a significant danger. A danger, yes, but not severe enough for the Alyt to call off the chase. It was clearly a human trap, but one that had just as clearly failed. Yes, entirely clear, until over a score of them detonated."

"How many ships were lost?"

"None. Denmar's analysis was correct. The devices were too far off to cause catastrophic harm to his vessels. He had maintained a minimal zone of safety around them, steering wide enough around any danger points to keep his vessels safe. The human net was simply far wider than his safe zone. Wider, than we would have considered. Perhaps, if I had not ordered him to be so cautious, he might have shown greater aggression and overtaken the human fighters before falling into the trap."

"You were mirroring my own orders, Neroon, and I believe that was the correct choice. You just said that none of those ships were destroyed."

"No, but they are trapped. When the first set of devices detonated, the effect on the field was dramatic. No doubt that was Starkiller's intention. It was like dropping multiple pebbles into a pond. It unleashed chaos. Before the detonation, the asteroids were densely packed and relatively stable. The path through them was complex but clear. The explosions shattered that stability, as well as the larger asteroids to which they were affixed. Thousands of large fragments of the asteroids were thrown in every direction. They slammed into other asteroids, breaking them and sending them spinning off to slam into yet more. Then the expanding wave from each detonation began to run into and interact with each other. Like disturbed water, there was no longer any way to see through it. Our ships were surrounded in a sphere of chaos. Rocks were bouncing off of our ships. Their armor was up to the task, until one of the human bombs detonated quite close to them. It seemed that some of the fragments still had the devices strapped to them, sometimes carrying them towards our ships. Several took significant damage. Now that they were forced to stop the chase, their scans showed thousands of the devices still out there. More detonated periodically, keeping the field riled. It was to chaotic, the debris moving too fast for adequate target identification. There simply wasn't time to determine which rocks carried bombs and which did not. Denmar was forced to tighten his formation and use every weapon to fend off all approaching debris. Which is where he remains, with bombs still going off, keeping his cage solid."

"He's shooting rocks?"

"Yes, Shai'Alyt. He is keeping his ships safe. His scans still show thousands of the devices around him. He is likely to be trapped there for some time."

"I would not have believed it was possible for the humans to still be carrying so many of their fission and fusion devices."

"Nor I, but the evidence is incontrovertible."

Branmer thought for a moment. "Send in a wing of Nials to get a close look at one of those devices. We need to know if they are part of a large stock from before their fleet launched, or if the humans have found some way to manufacture the devices during their travels. Or, perhaps they were able to purchase some from one of the alien races they came into contact with."

"Yes, Shai'Alyt."

"Let this be a lesson, Neroon. Despite Alyt Denmar's caution, he still played Starkiller's game. He rushed in, chasing the enemy. Despite his precautions, he still fell into a trap, because he was operating by the enemy's rules. There is no timetable here. We don't wish to stay in this system any longer than necessary, but here we have lost more time to a trap than we would have to a cautious and systematic sweep of the belt. A sweep which would have rendered the enemy's tactics unworkable and dislodged them from whatever strong points or hiding spots they held. Delenn has done some research into these humans. They have a parable I think you will find interesting. The tortoise and the hare. Ask her about it, when you get the chance."

Neroon bowed his head, happy to accept his superior's wisdom. "Thank you, Shai'Alyt."

"So, I assume that once the nearest Minbari ships were trapped, the human cruiser and carrier simply picked up their fighter craft, and then began their own run towards the inner belt?"

Neroon nodded. "Between what we had sent chasing Starkiller to the gas giant, and what was now trapped, there were no nearby ships to give chase. However, the humans underestimated our acceleration capabilities. I dispatched the three nearest Sharlin in pursuit. The distance was quite long, but that cruiser and carrier have no gas giant as a safe stepping stone. They will die, just short of the safety to which they are running. Long range sensors show them trying to increase their engine output, but they are already at their maximum."

"So, they have lost one warship already. Soon, the cruiser and carrier will join it. That will leave just Starkiller's dreadnought on the run. He won't last long." He nodded in satisfaction. "Has there been any sign of the fleet of Worker ships?"

"Not as yet."

"They must be hiding in the inner belt. We will find them eventually. For now, we wait for the confrontation with the two fleeing warships."

And wait they did. Crossing interplanetary distances took time. Even at the incredible speeds their vessels were able to achieve. And it also took time to build up to those speeds. But both Branmer and Neroon had long since learned the art of patience. Long before their patience was exhausted, three Sharlin were about to come into weapons range of the human cruiser and carrier, just short of the relative safety of the asteroid belt.

The Warrior manning sensors called out, "the human cruiser has cut acceleration and is rotating along its long axis. Its weapons are powered."

"So it's to be another sacrifice attempt. It will not save their carrier," Neroon said with a sneer. Calling out to the Religious caste female at the Communications station, he said, "Order our Sharlins to maintain acceleration. Destroy the cruiser as they move past, and smash that carrier before it enters the belt." Stepping back to Branmer, he commented, "I think we shall enjoy seeing this." So saying, he touched some controls, and the holographic display covering the ceiling and all sides of the room adjusted, zooming in towards the slaughter which was about to take place. The human cruiser with its entirely insufficient weaponry was trying to interpose itself between the trio of Sharlin and the carrier it was tasked with protecting. Behind it, that carrier was futilely running for the false promise of safety in the asteroid belt. The outlying asteroids of that belt could just be seen in the distance.

"Our ships are in range. Target acquired, and preparing to fire."

On the screen, powerful energy weapons fired, slicing across the vastness of space. Beams of incredible destruction, striking unerringly at their target, and carving through heavy armor as though it did not exist.

Purple beams. Beams which had not been seen for a thousand years. Coming from the distant asteroids, they slipped past the human craft to destroy all three Sharlin within seconds. The bisected vessels tumbled apart before the separate pieces detonated on their own.

Branmer lurched to his feet as Neroon and several others gave cries of shock. They watched as both human vessels entered the asteroid field and were lost from sight. And then there was nothing. The asteroids appeared just as innocuous as they had before. "How long before the ships chasing Starkiller enter the asteroid belt?" he asked sharply.

The Warrior at sensor took a few seconds to check, then stated, "Less than ten minutes."

"Order them to stop immediately. They are to send forward a wing of fighters to inspect the belt." The orders were relayed, but took some time to be carried out. The Minbari craft were able to arrest their velocity short of the belt. Shortly, six Nial fighters were launched to begin their inspection of the belt.

They approached cautiously, with a wide spread formation. It would not save them. At approximately the same range as the previous encounter, beams of purple fire lanced out from the nearest asteroids and began to sweep the craft from space. They were waiting for it, and began evasive maneuvers immediately, attempting to retreat. Despite their impressive acceleration and their Warrior pilots enduring g-forces which might cripple a human, the beams seemed to home in on them unerringly. Molecular slicer beams. Shadow beams. Six fighters had approached. Only one, a single lucky individual, made it back to the mother craft.

Silence reigned in the command center. It was broken by the Religious caste at communications. She cleared her throat. "Shai'Alyt," she said hesitantly. "The Grey Council would like a word with you, at your soonest convenience."
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Z'ha'dum - EAS Nova - May, 2249

"What the hell just happened?" Sheridan was checking his displays, rapidly sifting through the available data. There wasn't much.

"Apparently asteroids shoot purple lasers now," Laurel commented drolly. "Powerful ones at that. I'm not complaining, but it would have been nice to get a memo."

Despite himself, Sheridan chuckled. "Alright. Let's not look this gift horse in the mouth. But we do need to study it. Where did those beams come from? Who fired them? Why did the attack the Minbari and not us?"

"Commodore," Ensign Lake, manning communications, called out, "we just received a message from Captain Sinclair. He reports a similar occurrence at their entry point to this belt. Three Sharlin destroyed by asteroid beams. Both the Lexington and Midway are intact and undamaged. Requesting orders."

"Have them continue their current course unless otherwise notified. We will rendezvous with them within the next several hours." He paused, deep in thought for a moment, then added, "Send the First Contact package again. Target those asteroids which just shot up the Minbari, as well as the deserted planet. Directional comms. Make sure it's not pointed at the Minbari."

He drifted over to the sensors station and set his hand on the shoulder of Lieutenant Jones. "Jonesy, are you picking up anything from those asteroids? Or the planet for that matter? Any indication of who or what fired those shots?"

The young man shook his head. "Commodore, I can't even tell if there's any kind of machinery in them. As far as sensors are concerned, they're just plain old, ordinary rocks….that fire purple lasers."

"How about the planet? Anything new?"

"It appears to be just as dead as before?"

Sheridan scowled, but said, "Thanks, Jonesy." He returned to his seat, once more deep in thought. For some reason, those weapons were only targeting Minbari ships. So maybe whoever lived or had once lived here had some animosity towards the Minbari. Or perhaps his own ships were simply not advanced enough to be worthy of destruction or notice. Whatever the case, it meant that, in order to attack the Nova, Lexington, or Midway in their current locations, the Minbari would need to bring a powerful enough force to fight their way past those asteroids with the incredible purple energy weapons.

This is an opportunity. But for what? The asteroids had responded to the Minbari at both points they had come close to the belt. That could very well mean that the entire belt fielded a continuous ring of armed asteroids. He could use that. He could act as bait for the Minbari to attack, and draw them in to the field. He had no doubt that they had more than enough ships to pierce the belt in one location, but could they fight the entire belt? He could dance through the belt, staying just out of their reach, dragging them through all of the defenses until one or the other was completely destroyed. He very much doubted the Minbari could catch him if he could run past the defenses whilst they had to fight their way through. Certainly, the Minbari could cut into the belt in two places, cutting off his retreat. But he could counter that by spreading out the Lexington and the Midway to different points in the belt. If they spread out, the Minbari would still likely have to face much of the mass of hostile asteroids. They could bleed the Minbari of hundreds, maybe thousands of ships. It wouldn't break them, but it would certainly hurt.

On the other hand, it was certainly starting to look like this system had once been home to a very advanced race. A race which just possibly might still be around. If so, would they appreciate the fact that Sheridan had run the Minbari juggernaut across the bulk of their asteroid defenses? They might very well decide the whole thing was humanity's fault. The fleet could ill afford to make enemies of yet another incredibly advanced alien race.

But what was the other option? Run? Was that possible? They'd have to leave the belt and cut across the inner system, shaving by the star as closely as they could to make the best possible time across the system, past the belts, out through the Kuiper belt, and past the edge of the hyperspace block. Then, jump into hyperspace and escape with the fleet. It might be possible. If the Minbari tried to circumnavigate the belt, or got bogged down trying to break through, it would buy him a lot of time. His ships could accelerate the whole way, while the Minbari would be forced into continuously changing vectors. It just might work. Assuming Gideon came through of course. Far more likely that he wouldn't, in which case, the 'escape' would really just be leading the Minbari right to the civilians, and ensuring all of their deaths.

Just as bad, if the Minbari were smart, and they generally were, they would use another option. If he chose a direct run, left the safety of the belt, then they could just leave the plane of the ecliptic and loop over the belt, coming back down into open space. They would lose a little time but, with their superior acceleration, would have no difficulty overtaking and destroying the human warships.

John supposed he could stay within the asteroid belt and just follow it all the way around to the far side of the system. But that was effectively the same as the stay and fight option. His ships could never stay ahead of the Minbari if they had to dodge asteroids the whole way and the Minbari did not. They might make it a good ways, but eventually the Minbari would mass a force, get ahead of them, and punch a hole in the belt's defenses, effectively cutting off their escape. Even if the Minbari elected not to attack the belt, they could get all the way around it faster, surrounding the whole belt and cutting off any escape. Hell, at that point they could set up a siege and wait for starvation or frustration to force the humans out of the field and into a doomed attack.

Thinking about it, though, it occurred to him that aliens so advanced that they could block of hyperspace wouldn't peg all of their defenses on immobile asteroids. He suspected they had some way of preventing intruders from just bypassing the asteroid belt. Or perhaps there were more hidden defenses deeper into the inner system. It was little more than a hope, but it was something.

John looked around at his crew. He had promised these people that escaping the system was part of his plans. And it was. But, realistically, he'd had no hope of actually pulling it off. With these defenses in place, everything changed. The Minbari would be slowed substantially. He could at least provide Gideon the forty-eight hours he had hoped to give him. Hell, he was already well on the way there. The asteroid defenses made it all but certain.

The logic was pretty clear. The smart play was to drag the Minbari into the belt and bleed them there. That could drag days into weeks, possibly even months, depending upon how determined the Minbari were. Realistically, Gideon would need the extra time. And hell, if he bled the Minbari enough, they might finally give up the chase. They might just let the civilians go, or stop searching for them, if Sheridan and his warships were finally destroyed. If he tried to escape, he not only risked destruction during the chase, he risked exposing the location of the fleet, which could be disastrous, even if Gideon had managed to find an exit. The smart play was to drag out a fight, not to run. But, he had promised his people. He had told them there was an escape. That he would at least try to get them out. Didn't he have to honor that promise?

It all came down to whether or not Gideon could pull off an escape with so little time. He had been quite correct in pointing out that such an effort could and should take months. Hoping for it to be done in just days was almost certainly futile. But, just maybe….just maybe there was a way to cover both possibilities. He straightened in his chair and ordered, "Open a comm channel to the Lexington and Midway." Once Lake had given her nod to indicate the channel was open, he continued, "Captains Sinclair and Levitt, you are to cross the inner system under maximum acceleration, to the far end of this asteroid belt. The Nova will rendezvous with you at that location. If we have received the signal from Commander Gideon by that point, we will proceed with the exfiltration. If not, then we dig in, ensconcing ourselves within the asteroid defenses and the remaining nukes we have planted in the belt."

He nodded that he was done, and Lake cut the transmission. "Ensign," he asked, "are you still broadcasting the First Contact package?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Please continue to do so unless otherwise notified. And let me know immediately if we get any kind of a response." Of course, he thought, the best option would be for these mysterious aliens to get off their lazy butts and deal with the Minbari.
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Z'ha'dum - Minbari Fleet, Valen'Tha - May, 2249

The Chamber of the Grey Council was dark, lit only by the single spotlight encompassing Shai'Alyt Branmer himself as he walked to the center of the room. Good, Coplann thought to himself. It will serve to remind him who is in charge here. He has much for which to explain. Oddly enough, Branmer was carrying a large satchel, which was certainly not the protocol for a discussion with the Grey Council. "Explain," he said, voice reverberating across the room. As Coplann had not keyed his own spotlight, that voice seemed to come from the darkness itself. Let Branmer worry over exactly what we want explanations for. Let him spill out whatever excuses he has been working on, so that we may see what guilt he holds.

Apparently he wasn't taking the bait. "Explain? Explain what? I was asked only to come before you. You might recall that I have a battle to run, and let me know what you would like an explanation for. Otherwise we are liable to be here for a very long time."

Irritated with both Branmer and himself, Coplann keyed his spotlight, stepping forward and lowering his hood. "Perhaps, Shai'Alyt Branmer, you could start with explaining the loss of our ships to Shadow weaponry."

"Hidden Shadow defenses fired. Our ships and crews died. I believe that largely covers the explanation. Unless there was something in particular you wanted to know, Satai Coplann?"

Coplann's eyes narrowed in irritation, yet he kept tight control over his voice. "So then, you admit that our force were led headlong into a Shadow ambush."

"Ambush might be overstating the matter. They appear to have been static defenses, saturating the innermost asteroid belt. I did warn that such dangers were likely, and should be taken into account before coming to Z'ha'dum and embarking on this course of events. The Council chose to move ahead anyway. This is the Shadows' core system, after all."

"Yes," Coplann pressed, "but at the end of the last Shadow war, all such defenses were destroyed. Which means these must have been added since then. And that is clear evidence that the Shadows survived and are still present in this region! It would seem that Dukhat may have been right to be concerned. If the Shadows are here, then perhaps the next Shadow War may truly be inevitable.

Another light appeared, pooling around a shorter figure, now lowering her hood. Neither Coplann nor Branmer were surprised that Delenn was choosing to involve herself in this conversation. "We already knew this to be true. Our history, our legends, what little information the Vorlons choose to share with us...all indicated that the Shadows would return. Does this truly surprise you, Satai?"

"It has been a long time, Delenn. Yes, this is not something I was expecting. But it is here now, so it must be dealt with. As we must deal with the humans. And despite neither our history, nor our legends, nor even the Vorlons saying so, it has now become abundantly clear that the humans are Shadow servants."

Branmer spoke up, clearly hesitant, "That determination may be a bit...premature, Satai Coplann."

"How so? Did you not witness the humans leading our ships into the very teeth of the Shadow weaponry, as I did? Now that the humans have linked up with their masters, should we not expect an imminent attack from the Shadows and their minions?"

Still clearly uncertain, Branmer responded, "The humans did indeed lead us towards the asteroids armed with Shadow weaponry. However, we have as yet no evidence that they are in fact in league with the Shadows, or that they were even aware of the location of those weapons. And the weapons themselves appear to be remote, automated platforms. We have been enemies of the Shadows for a thousand years. It is unsurprising that they might react to us and not to the humans. We should be cautious, but I see no reason to suspect an imminent Shadow attack."

"Not in league? What other possible explanation is there? It seems incredibly unlikely that they might lead us right to two seperate weapons platforms by accident," Coplann noted acidicly.

"But they lead us to one location, not two, Satai...the asteroid belt. If the Shadows or their servants were trying to defend the inner system and their planet, then it would make sense to arm the belt along its entire perimeter. We were likely to run into such weaponry wherever the humans crossed the belt. And they would need to cross the belt to shield themselves from our long range weaponry. After the destruction of our ships, we intercepted signals from the humans aimed towards the weapons asteroids as well as Z'ha'dum itself. Signals they tried to hide from us."

"Clear evidence, then!" Coplann said triumphantly. "The humans speak to their masters!"

"But, Satai," Branmer said quietly, "it was their First Contact package. The same one they sent to us just before they attacked and killed Dukhat. Beyond that, rather than staying in the safety of the asteroids, or head towards Z'ha'dum, they have set course directly across the system in continued flight."

"A trick then. They try to confuse us, so that we will not know of their true allegiance."

"To what end, Satai? We are going to destroy them either way. And if they wanted to hide the presence of the Shadows, then leading us into an attack by Shadow weaponry seems a poor way to do it." He held up his hand to forestall Coplann's objection. "I do not say that the humans are not Shadow servants. I only say that it is too soon to be certain of anything. What it is not too soon to do is make a decision as to our next course of action. Do we chase the humans, try to get in front of them, or just leave in the face of this new Shadow threat?"

It was Delenn who first responded. "Despite the Shadows, this war must end. We cannot leave until the human issue is dealt with."

"I am once again in agreement with Delenn," Coplann added. "Starkiller must die. What are we waiting for? Attack. Chase him down and end this blight on our honor."

"Such an attack would take us into the teeth of Shadow weaponry, the extent of which has yet to be ascertained. Even if we mass hundreds of ships for the assault, there is the potential that it could be quite...bloody."

"Are you afraid, Shai'Alyt Branmer? This is not a trait I would expect to find in our chief war leader. But, if the humans have left the safety of the asteroid belt, the solution would seem to be simple. I am surprised you have not already ordered it Shai'Alyt. Simply pass over or under the belt, and use our superior acceleration to chase down Starkiller in open space."

Branmer chose not to respond to the clear insult thrown at him. Instead, he calmly stated, "Those asteroid guns are certainly the most basic and mundane of potential Shadow defenses. They establish a perimeter, a clear warning for where we are not welcome. But the hyperspace blockage clearly proves that they are capable of much more subtle and powerful defenses. I would be...remiss in my duties if I failed to warn that crossing that perimeter, even if not doing so through the asteroid belt itself, might set off some of those other defenses. I do not think that is wise, outside the bounds of a true Shadow War.

"Then what would you, in your caution, have us do, Shai'Alyt?" Coplann asked with barely concealed scorn.

"We go around. The long way. By circumnavigating the asteroid belt, staying out of the inner system, we should avoid the Shadows' defenses. Despite their shorter path, our greater speed and acceleration will allow many of our ships to arrive on the far side of the system not long after the humans have passed through. If they are truly heading to the far side of the system, perhaps towards the far sides of the asteroid belts, or even the Kuiper belt, then that is likely where they have hidden their Worker vessels. If we push the chase at that point, they will not be able to evade us. We will chase them down and finally finish this."

"And what if they are merely repositioning? What if they do not leave the safety of the inner system which you are granting them?"

"Then we can decide what to do at that point. We will have them surrounded, with nowhere to go, and no options for resupply. We can choose whether to punch in an assault, or merely wait them out. This, I believe, is the correct path. In fact, I have already given the orders, and our forward most ships have begun their run. It is, of course, your right as the Grey to countermand me."

"This seems like a wise course of action," Delenn cut in, attempting to head off the likely explosion from Coplann. "And it was never our intention to challenge your authority here. We merely wished to fully understand."

"Speak for yourself, Delenn. I find a glaring flaw in the Shai'Alyt's reasoning."

"And that would be, Satai Coplann?" Branmer asked calmly.

"Your assumption that the humans have no source of resupply. It seems quite likely, given where we are, that the Shadows are willing to provide them with resources. And we have evidence."

"What evidence?" Delenn asked sharply.

"The trap into which Alyt Denmar fell. Thousands of the humans' dishonorable bombs, all in one location. After all of the bombs Starkiller has used against us, from the fall of Mars, along the entirety of the chase, and even heavily seeded in this system. They simply couldn't have brought that many of the devices with them, and they've had no opportunity or location from which to resupply. They simply wouldn't have brought that many devices from Earth. If they had them then, they should have been used in the defense of their home system. The only reasonable answer is that the Shadows have been supplying them." Coplann smiled triumphantly.

The logic seemed inescapable, and Delenn looked over at Branmer uncertainly. The Shai'Alyt only bowed his head respectfully. Calmly, he said, "a very sound and insightful analysis, Satai Coplann. Unfortunately, it is flawed, as it is based upon two erroneous assumptions."

"And those would be?" Coplann asked darkly.

"Firstly, that anything the humans do is at all reasonable. I believe we have found quite the opposite. Second, that Alyt Denmar was trapped by thousands of the humans' nuclear weapons."

Coplann furrowed his brow in confusion, but it was Delenn who spoke up. "But they were surrounded and trapped. We all saw the sensor readings. We were clearly detecting radiological signals."

Branmer nodded. "Yes, we were. I sent in a wing of Nials to take a closer look. I too wanted to ascertain if the humans had simply brought a massive stockpile of bombs, or if they had somehow been resupplied. This is what I found." So saying, he opened the satchel he had brought in, and extracted a large, clear case.

Coplann immediately recognized the type of case. It was a heavily shielded variety, the kind the Worker caste used for transporting highly radioactive materials like Quantium 40. What Coplann didn't recognize was the object inside. "What is it?"

"It is part of a shattered fuel rod; the kind used in some of the humans' reactors. And this is what our Warriors found at many of the bomb sites. Used fuel canisters. Bits of reactor shielding. Parts of engine bells. Radioactive waste. Anything and everything that was either inherently radioactive or had been exposed to high levels of radiation for long enough that it had become highly radioactive. That is what our sensors were picking up. That is the trap Alyt Denmar fell into. A trick. They weren't surrounded by thousands of bombs. There were barely dozens."

Coplann stared, dumbstruck, at the case and its damning contents. "Radioactive...waste? Waste?" Slowly shock turned to anger, then to rage. "Garbage? The humans are now fighting us...with GARBAGE?!" Coplann realized he was bellowing, but found he could not stop. "Unacceptable! UNACCEPTABLE! We must make Starkiller understand his error. Make him regret this actions!"

Branmer tried and failed to keep the amusement off of his face. "So if we should catch up to him, Satai, are you suggesting I should...have a chat with him?"

Coplann spun on him, trying to control his rage. "No. You destroy him. Take whatever route you want. Take as many ships as you deem necessary. But you catch Starkiller, and you make certain there is nothing left of him or his ship but ash."

Coplann would long suspect that there was a certain amount of mocking in the Shai'Alyt's parting words, but neither his voice nor his countenance betrayed any such thing. He merely bowed and said, "Si dromo, Satai Coplann. I shall do exactly that."
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Z'ha'dum - Deep below the surface of Z'ha'dum - May, 2249

It dreamt. Slow, glacial dreams to pass away the centuries. Dreams of ancient glory. Dreams of chaos and blood. Dreams of Shadows. But, something was not quite right. The dream and the dreamer were disturbed.

Slowly, reluctantly, the ancient slumber slipped away. Like a great sea it receded, consciousness and thought creeping in to replace it. Awake. The ancient being arose, prepared, and emerged from its resting place; a Shadow emerging into the light.

Just beyond was the cause of its awakening. A trio of being waiting respectfully, perhaps fearfully, for its attention. The servants, it thought to itself. Some of the more promising species, but all flawed in some way. It no longer expended the effort to remember the names of their races, much less the individuals. Which were these? Drakh? Streib? Wurt? It mattered little. Perhaps these small races would break through on their path to perfection, but it doubted it. The search for more races which could be strong, which could bear the tides of chaos and war and emerge the stronger for them, that search must continue. As must the debate with the enemy. This time, this time perhaps they would finally put an end to the debate, and show the Vorlons once and for all that is was Chaos, and not Order, which drove perfection.

The servants were each bowing low, and the Shadow took a moment to catalogue the passage of generations and centuries. Realization dawned. I have been awoken early. Surprise turned to anger. In a rage, it struck out with one of its forelimbs, shearing the left most of the bowing servants cleanly in half. A pleasing spray of blood spattered the floor, mollifying its anger.

"Why have you awoken me?" it asked. To most species, the sound which emerged would have been completely unintelligible; high pitched shrieking, far too rapid to be understood. It was not the mind connection of the Vorlons, nor even the lesser version they attempted to spread amongst the younger races, their 'telepathy.' It was aural speech, but it was the penultimate version of speech. The flow of thought and information was massively compressed for both speed and efficiency. The servants all understood it, but they had both the training and the modifications necessary to do so. Only the language the Shadows used amongst themselves was greater, surpassing the throughput capabilities of many machines.

The two servants trembled, but the one which had been in the center spoke up. "There has been...an incident. We felt your attention was required, great one."

"Explain."

In response, the servant touched a nearby control, and a holographic projector sprung to life, displaying an image of hundreds of primitive space vessels. "These vessels recently appeared in the system, and began broadcasting pleas for help. They identified themselves as humans from someplace called the Earth Alliance. We ignored them while we contacted a nearby Drakh fleet. Such primitive vessels were of no interest, so we intended to harvest this fleet for resources. We were detecting hundreds of thousands of lives, so it would have been a valuable acquisition. Before the fleet could arrive, most of these vessels returned to hyperspace, leaving only four in the system itself. Those remaining began emplacing weaponry throughout the system. Those in hyperspace have drawn away from the beacon, and appear to be attempting to explore hyperspace in a most unusual fashion."

"This is of no interest," it said darkly. Certainly these servants had not awakened it for something so mundane.

The servant hurriedly touched another control. This time the image displayed was familiar. Changed with time, but familiar nonetheless. The Shadow hissed in displeasure while the servant spoke. "Shortly thereafter, a large Minbari fleet approached the system. Additional Minbari fleets approached down every beacon path. Several hundred of their vessels entered the system, with a few thousand more remaining in hyperspace. We assumed it was an invasion, and we contacted every Drakh, Streib, and Wurt asset nearby. But then, something odd happened."

The Shadow was listening carefully, but the slow rate of the servant's speech compared to its own left it plenty of time to think and remember. The Minbari. Mindless servants of their ancient foe. And some of their more powerful and combative servants at that. Easily the most powerful to survive the last war. They had fought in hundred of battles during that war, and had been a constant thorn in the side of the Shadows and their allies. They had defeated the servants of chaos, and in so doing and proven themselves superior. And yet, they still refused to see the truth; that despite their slavish devotion to the Vorlons, it was the philosophy of the Shadows which had clearly made them strong.

The Shadow's advanced, efficient brain absorbed and analyzed the data streaming in from the sensors hidden throughout the system. It found itself somehow disappointed by what it found. Even a cursory examination showed that the Minbari had not advanced nearly as much as they should have since last conflict. The ways of the Vorlons had proven their failure once again. Order, peace, stability; subject even the mightiest of species to such a climate, and they would stagnate and falter. The Minbari should have come much farther in the last thousand years.

The Shadows had once hoped the turn the Minbari to their side. They had hoped that the Minbari might prove to be worthy proteges. Perhaps even, eventually, successors. They had proven themselves superior to the likes of the Drakh, Streib, Wurt, and many other servants of the Shadows. But, like those other races, somewhere along the line they had come up short; been found wanting. At some point they had failed to advance.

Simmering with anger, the Shadow was nevertheless perfectly following the servant's dialogue, and perked up at his last words. "Odd? How?"

"They began searching, apparently for the humans. And those four ships fought back, using ambush and deceit. These humans have done amazingly well, for beings with such limited technology. Perhaps….they might be useful. We were contemplating if there was any way to aid them, when their battle drew the Minbari into the automated asteroid defenses. Several Minbari warships were destroyed. Which is when we decided to awaken you."

These words grabbed the Shadow's attention. These primitives had bested the Minbari? Intriguing. The Shadow flitted through the data stream, observing, contemplating. Indeed, this insignificant skirmish should have been easily won by the Minbari. Instead, they had suffered greater losses than imaginable under the circumstances. These primitives… these humans… their capabilities were far below those of the Minbari. They were outnumbered and outgunned. They should have been burned from the skies in moments. Intriguing. This race had potential. They might prove useful; perhaps eventually even become the new champions for the philosophy of the Shadows, just as the Minbari were the champion for the Vorlons.

This required discussion with others of its kind, but its instincts on this were never wrong. The humans had a will to survive, perhaps even greater than that of the Minbari. Aiding them might prove advantageous in the argument. But, why did the Minbari come in such numbers in the first place? Surely not just to smite these insignificant humans. Perhaps there was something more going on here, but either way, the Minbari presence could not be tolerated.

The Shadow regarded its servants and intoned, "You were correct to do so. The Minbari will now believe that we are present again. They will take this as evidence to the Vorlons, who may begin working actively against us. This is unacceptable." The Shadow thought for a bare moment, then continued its orders. "Organize the reinforcements you are bringing in. We shall cut off the Minbari fleets, both in the system and in hyperspace, preventing their escape. I shall awaken my brethren and all the available warships. We will be outnumbered, but with our static defenses and the reinforcements you have summoned, the Minbari cannot hope to stand against us for long. We will protect the humans if possible. Prepare for battle!"

Perhaps this new species could rise to become champions if properly directed. Just a small push, and they could perhaps be counted on to even lead or replace the current crop of servants. The circumstances would need to be right, but the possibilities were intriguing. However, that was well into the future, and current circumstances must first be dealt with. The servant was again intruding upon his thoughts.

"My Lord," the servant interrupted nervously, drawing a hiss of displeasure from the Shadow, "there is one thing more you must see. It didn't show up on any of our own sensors. It barely registered on your own system defense sensors. But, once we realized something was there, focusing the sensors in that region revealed it." He touched a final control, and the image changed to reveal a lone vessel, huddled next to a slightly larger block of ice deep in the outer system, near the inner edge of the Oort Cloud. The vessel's sleek curves and mottled coloring were instantly recognizable. The uninspired and insipid design, so inimical to the Shadows' own, grated on the Shadow as it looked once more upon a class of vessel that was almost entirely unchanged in ten thousand years.

The Shadow shrieked, outraged. In its agitation, it felt the need to again strike out. The right most servant made a tempting target. Picking up on the dark thoughts, the servants huddled backwards, terrified. The Shadow elected not to indulge in further slaughter, refusing to further waste important resources. Instead, it followed them, seething. "Trick! Trap! The Vorlons cheat!" It paused briefly, controlling its agitation, then said, "There can be only one reason the Vorlons are here. They want us to destroy the Minbari fleet. They would call it proof we are active, attacking their disciples, and they would launch the war while they are prepared, and we are not."

"Then, what do we do?"

"Nothing. We do not attack the Minbari, or the Vorlon ship. For now, we wait and watch. Leave the automated defenses active. They can at least bleed the Minbari." It thought for another moment. "Stop your fleets from entering the system, but keep them nearby. I shall still awaken our forces. Should the Vorlons choose to move against us anyway, we shall drown them in blood."

"And the humans?"

"We cannot help them, no matter how promising they may be. Should they somehow survive, we can make use of them. But for now, they are on their own."