housekeeping: Nothing here but the next chapter will be out soon. If you have any questions or commoents on this and the upcoming chapter, go for it. You will see what I mean. Take care and enjoy. AG

Chapter Nine

By Candlelight Defiance

FORMERLY: United Planets Cruiser C-57D

"Ambassador Guinan explained some of the reasons," Gregory answered. At Khali's blank look, he decided to elaborate. "Didn't you see the interview she did just after the Vorlons and Shadows made their rather infamous appearance at Babylon Five?"

"No, I must confess that I missed it. I was busy finalizing some important work for the university and didn't have time to indulge in trivial media entertainment," he lied. The truth was that he was uninterested in what Guinan had to say. She was a foreigner, with no credentials whatsoever other than being an ad hoc ambassador promoted from her duties as a bartender, no less! What could she have possibly said that could have interested him? Those were his original beliefs before he actually was forced to speak to her. Then there was that debate that turned into a debacle for him, or so people had stated. Personally, he had a far different opinion as to how that 'conversation' had gone. Why hadn't he listened? What did she say that was so important? "What did she have to say?" he sniffed.

Gregory smiled. The man looked indifferent, but he was champing at the bit, trying to discover what he missed because of his persnickety attitude.

"Apparently, the Vorlons sabotaged potential projects that might have produced alternative forms of FTL, as well as certain other science and technological breakthroughs. The Shadows may have done the same thing and not just to us, but throughout known space. But, specifically for Vorlon reasoning, apparently, we weren't following approved guidelines that they had planned for us."

"HOW DARE THEY!" Professor Khali exclaimed in righteous indignation. "How dare aliens influence the destiny of mankind as if they were mere playthings?" He was enraged, and he was ashamed that he hadn't listened and heard those answers for himself.

"It's just as I said. Human and alien interactions will most likely damage humanity's advancement as a sentient species into the future wherever it takes us."

"Well, Dr Khali, I saw the interview and discussion between you and Ambassador Guinan on the state of the Human condition and what it'll mean for humanity's interactions with aliens in the future," Gregory said. "It was quite a heated discussion."

It took everything Khali had not to roll his eyes. Heated wasn't the right definition. That debacle had been seen everywhere, and he was the subject of ridicule and perhaps scorn everywhere. The ambassador was a far more experienced debater than he had first assumed. Her presentations and counterpoints against his suppositions were admittedly impressive. "She had points that I found somewhat intriguing," he allowed.

"But then, so did you," Gregory continued, shocking and pleasing Khali. "Like it or not, Proxima III is a test bed unlike anything we've ever seen. Yes, Earth and our other colonies have had some Human–alien interactions but nothing like what's happening now on Proxima. People barely get along with each other and I am still wondering if the Proxima union survives, then how long will it survive, and what might it become?"

Shocked, the professor realized that his exercise in casual observation for his newest paper was going to be more than just a simple study. The man apparently had useful insight. "A test bed, as you say," the professor agreed. "One that will be studied for decades to come. I am not all that impressed with the Federation, but I cannot deny their results. What I am concerned with is their casual acceptance of breeding outside their own species because I fear for the future and the consequences to the Human race. For an example, I refer to Ambassador Delenn. From all reports, she has willingly undergone a radical genetic rearrangement so that she could better understand humanity. A brave and honorable idea, I must say, but at what price? Is she a Minbari-like Human or a Human-like Minbari? Is there even such a thing and what of her children, if any? Will they be accepted or shunned? Or will they be just the first of a new hybrid species, the shape of things to come? Will we become a mongrel race or something entirely new? This needs to be studied and studied most vigorously before we progress too far down this road."

"I agree, provided that we have a future," said a worried Vita. "We are effectively at war, and we can't pretend that we can stay neutral. Proxima has a growling fleet," she said, staring at the ship and its captain. "We're at the mercy of Earthforce. By law, we can have no defenses of our own except for the orbital defense satellites. The rebel ships that stayed in the Orion System are gone now. We lost them when they left to help Earth, so our patrol group is severely depleted. Hiring mercenaries and private defense firms like the Belt Security Systems is only a short-term solution. That makes us completely vulnerable if Earthforce abandons us, the same as last time, or if they are wiped out defending us against those things. Some of the smaller colonies were left completely on their own. Granted, I understand the necessity of their actions completely, but that still left us defenseless and we're still under strength. If those creatures attack us…"

For a moment, there was silence. Those words contained a truth that every colony in Earth Alliance acknowledged. Khali nodded. That truth was frightening, and he felt unbalanced. Let others worry about their defense. That was their job. He went back to the subject at hand where he felt safe to tread. "Captain Adams, as a Human from another existence, have you encountered or suffered from any Human-alien mating habits that overtook the Federation and threatens our universe?"

"No," John responded. "At the same time, we hadn't explored as much as the Federation. Our awareness of the galaxy was limited, and we hadn't found any alien species similar enough to humanity for any of that to matter. What I can say is that it's very likely that humanity would have remained genetically pure."

"That's a very interesting way to phrase that, Captain," Vita said. "Can I take it that you don't approve?"

"Frankly, no. I don't."

Amir Rajiv nodded. "I understand it's a frightening concept. I'm not sure how long you've been in space, but Earth Alliance has seen dalliances by Humans with aliens of several species. There are even rumors that there are places…"

"You mean interstellar brothels?" Gregory asked. He remembered seeing porn titles like 'Snow White and the Seven Narns,' not to mention the rumors about one of IPX's past CEOs, Claudia Hartung, who got very friendly with several Centauri diplomats. "Apparently, they could do surprising things with those tentacles of theirs."

"Er, yes, those places that cater to such interests. I confess that I don't fully understand the desires of Humans trying to mate with Narns or Centauri. I think it would be inadvisable at the least or unthinkable at worst. But Humans are a somewhat depraved species, so why not the others as well? However, our freedoms gave rise to unexpected consequences."

"Unexpected consequences," Adams muttered slowly, warming to the subject. "Professor, you're an expert in xenopsychology, so maybe you can understand. The United Planets cultural history differs significantly from both the Federation and your universe. In what was once known as the Confederate States of America, the Confederacy won the Secession War, or the War of Northern Aggression, as it's sometimes called. Unlike here, General Lee was able to defeat his rivals. It was Jefferson Davis, not Abraham Lincoln, that is acknowledged as one of our great Presidents of that past era. So, arriving here, it was somewhat of a shock."

"I think I understand," interrupted Gregory. "Slavery wasn't abolished, very likely for a while and with the US, sorry, the CSA?"

"Yes."

"The CSA eventually becoming the most powerful country in the world, influenced how many of the other countries' view of racial relations. In our world, Social Darwinism and eugenics were popular for a while in the 19th century and early 20th century. But in your world, they dominated, didn't they?"

"We didn't have the problems that I saw in the Federation history of Earth. There was no genetic manipulation, but, yes," Adams confirmed. "And that is the problem. Slavery was completely abolished within thirty years after the war. However, racial mixing of any sort was strongly discouraged, eventually becoming the norm for most of the world. The world finally discovered and accepted that different races were not inferior, but just different. So, after the Third Great War, racial prejudice became a thing of the past. But we never really interacted with each other unless it was necessary. The Confederated States really kind of led the way and a lot of other countries, though not all, more of less copied."

"So, everyone was separated, but racial prejudice and inequality disappeared overnight?" Vita asked. She looked somewhat disgusted at the idea, and she didn't believe him for a second, but her years in the Orion government kept her from passing judgment too quickly. "How did that work out?"

"It worked out well," Adams answered. "Our colonies were not integrated and there weren't any problems. The UP Space Corps patrolled all of the different colonies. But the makeup of each ship was race specific so as to not cause any difficulties. But it's different here, and the fourteen survivors of my crew, plus my wife, have had to make adjustments."

"Earth Alliance and the Federation moved past those adjustments, as you call them, a long time ago," Vita said. She was struggling to keep her opinions in check. This was a man from an entirely different culture. Whether she agreed with the direction his people went or not was not for her to say. However, she couldn't help but to add a subtle twist of disapproval in her next comment.

"I hope you don't have a problem with me being on your ship."

"No, Ma'am," Adams answered honestly. "We're getting used to a lot of things since coming to this place." He looked somewhat exasperated. "Look, being here is as difficult for us as it is having every Human staring at us as if we're aliens from another planet. We didn't ask to come here and the things we've seen here have been, to say a shock, is putting it mildly. You people had an interplanetary civil war, something that never happened in our world!"

"I can imagine the difficulties you've faced being here," Khali answered smoothly. "This isn't your time or place, but you're stranded here, perhaps forever, away from people who care about you and away from familiar places and cultures. But you could have chosen to come to Earth, or even to those displaced Starfleet beings."

"Travel to Earth Alliance during those times with President Clark in office. Not in your life. But getting back to your point; because we were displaced, you believe that we have more in common with the Feds than we have on Proxima?"

"It would seem logical," Khali answered.

"No. In many ways, they're even more alien than Earth Alliance was to us. Our first encounter with them didn't go too well."

"May I ask what happened?" asked Gregory.

The doctor was curious as well, since he had no idea that there had been any initial friction between the two groups.

"Well," and he was somewhat embarrassed to admit what he was going to tell them, but truth was truth and Adams was nothing if not honest. "The Rantoul was able to track us in hyperspace. That technology was unknown to us at the time. An unknown ship with superior technology with a crew of apparent Americans of African descent tracking and communicating with us was considered a threat. I almost gave the order to fire on them."

"Why would you have done that?" Vita asked. "I don't understand."

"I'm not sure that I do, either," Khali seconded. "Did they threaten you in any way that would have caused a need for you to defend yourselves?"

"In our reality, they wouldn't have such an advanced ship. The UP Star Command wouldn't have allowed such a thing to happen. Then there was the presence of Dr. Troy on the same vessel. That would have never happened under normal circumstances unless it was some sort of hijacked prototype. Given the situation, I expected the worst. I've been trained in First Contact protocols, but I never expected to run into something like that. I didn't feel comfortable with the Feds. Captain Sisko and I don't get along, although one day we'll have to sit down and talk, but I had to make a judgment call that was in the best interest of my crew and my wife, so I chose Proxima III. We chose it because of what happened there. There was also the fact that they had no serious ties with Earth Alliance at the time because of the civil war. The Centauri killed a lot of the population, thousands of people were flocking to the world from other colonies because of the civil war and what was happening and in spite of the Centauri attack. We were needed."

"So, you were forced to adjust to racial mixing and to alien interaction at the same time," Vita said.

"We found our own path. Hasn't been easy, of course. But we helped Proxima III to stand on its own and we made the adjustment fairly well. It's a whole new world and we're flexible enough to handle it."

"So freely mixing in and around other people isn't as bothersome as it once was?" Vita asked.

"People aren't as different as I thought they'd be, given my experience."

"Which, as you say, was little to none at all," Khali said flatly. "Captain, I do hope that you've kept a diary or log of some sort," he said. "I would like to read it and maybe include some of your observations in my papers that I'm writing. After the war," he hastily added, "and with your permission, of course."

"I see. I'll talk to my wife, and we'll see."

"Excellent. Now I have two questions. The first is, how does this replicator machine work, and the second is how does Human racial separation compare to species separation as related to your experience and your home culture that you came from and how has that been modified since you've arrived here if at all?"

Adams and the others shook their heads in unison.

"You really ask the simple questions, don't you?"

"It's a fair question," the professor insisted, to which Adams and the others rolled their eyes at him.

This trip was turning out to be much more enjoyable than he could have anticipated.

Babylon Five

Tens of thousands of mines appeared, surrounding and enclosing the entire space occupied by both stations and the planet.

"How many?" Franklin asked. His voice was uncharacteristically shaky. The numbers represented were beyond what he had imagined several minutes ago.

"As of two hours ago, in the sector we are observing, there are twenty-five thousand nine visible in this projection," Data answered. "Each mine has the equivalent destructive power of our standard photon class-IV antimatter torpedo. The mines are cloaked and self-replicating. If one is destroyed, it is replaced. Currently, there are seventy-four thousand eight hundred mines protecting the Babylon complex and the planet. They are programmed to ignore any ship that does not carry a Sinhindrea signature or life form. There will be a half million mines functional within the next six hours. Unless given instructions, they are also programmed to go after any enemy vessel within range."

"These transphasic mines are the same type of mines that kept the Sinhindrea fleets from entering our universe through the gate. The mines eventually destroyed the Vorlon gate. The Sinhindrea have no way to detect them or counter the mines as Admiral Janeway discovered. The mines constantly scan the protected region for in incursions and signal us if anything is detected or even questionable. The mines difference from our standard torpedoes in that they are transphasic in nature. They can bypass the enemy's shields. Until they develop a counter, the Sinhindrea are vulnerable. This is what we proposed to give to Earth to protect it from further attack.

"The mines would be far enough away from the planet to keep any ship from getting within firing range," Picard told the group.

"They're undetectable until you run into one of them," said a worried Peterman. Around him, the others shared worried glances.

"That is incorrect, Senator Peterman," Data said. "The mines are programmed to attack the Sinhindrea. They will ignore all other objects and ships.

"What does that mean?" asked General Lefcourt.

"We will offer them the use of the mines. Unconfirmed intelligence suggest that the Sinhindrea have abandoned their attacks on Centauri Prime and have left for Minbar."

"Yes," Picard confirmed. "It is a danger, and it must be considered by Earth Alliance. Certain precautions will have to be taken to avoid such a potential political problem. Earthforce would have total control of the minefield, not us. The mines will not harm EA properties or territories. And will extend away from the planet. They will aggressively seek out and destroy those aliens. This comes down to a matter of trust between us. As we have repeatedly stated, we have no interest in subjugating Earth or its colonies."

"We realize that the placement of these mines only represents a stopgap measure," Captain Garrett said. Like all weapons, countermeasures will be developed. But it will give you time to build up your resources. And it is also a psychological deterrent against the Sinhindrea. They can't detect the mines until they hit one and the swarm protocols will give them pause. Theoretically, they will not know the mines protect which planets and this will give other worlds time to build up their defenses."

At this, Archer saw the Earth Alliance contingent relax somewhat.

"The moment the mines start to deploy," Picard continued, "the Sinhindrea will think twice before attacking Earth and its neighboring planets. We also intend to offer the Minbari the same option."

Lefcourt shook his head. He was in shock and very interested in such weaponry. General Brindley would have had a heart attack just imagining such devices orbiting Earth. The technology these people had was terrifying. None of the local races could stand up to the Feds if they became aggressive. "Invisible, phase cloaked mines that chase you down to destroy you. Where do you people think this stuff up?"

That was an understatement if ever there was one, he thought.

"What about the Centauri?" asked Ambassador Levy, ignoring the general's comments.

"It's a possibility," Picard conceded. "This option will be discussed by several members of the local governments. Their mere presence will give us a small amount of breathing room, maybe even enough to make a difference."

On-screen, Ambassador Levy simply shook her head. These Starfleet people were the very definition of mad scientists. Invisible mines that were out of phase with normal space. She didn't know whether to laugh or run away screaming at these people.

The Sinhindrea, in fact, hated the mines with a passion reserved for their most dedicated adversaries. Dozens of ships, including some of their largest capital ships, had tried to break through the ring of death that blocked them from the opened Vorlon gateway. None of them survived the encounters. No matter how many mines were destroyed in saturation attacks, there were always more taking their places. And one could never know where they were unless they ran into them or if the mines decided to engage in attacks. Either way, it was a nightmare for the Sinhindrea. Also, the possibility that the mines could be deployed elsewhere was their great fears. Whether the mines were orbiting a planet or not, just the knowledge that they could be there was enough of a deterrent to make the So-called Third-space aliens cautious. The clovien failed to rip the codes from the minds of the human or their computer systems, so they were still vulnerable. Of course, it made the aliens hate the human stains that much more.

"The next item being offered to Earthforce does not come from us. It comes from the Soul hunters."

The tall Soul Hunter standing behind everyone near the wall slowly and warily moved forward towards the center of the room. It was obvious that he was still very uncomfortable in the presence of the Minbari. But his Order was in the fight like everyone else, and although uncomfortable, he wouldn't deny his Order's promise. His was the unenviable job to be the representative of his people. Because of his previous experience interacting with the Federation, his superiors considered the best one to fulfill this mission.

The presence of the Starfleeters gave him strength. Their actions were encouraging, and the Order had no intentions of losing that potential friendship and future alliance. Personally, he was more assured now around others, much to the disdain of the Minbari.

The Narn representative looked at him suspiciously, well aware of the reputation of the species and their penchant for acquiring souls. They were cautious; however, they were becoming used to the alien. This was Babylon Five; the unusual happened all the time.

Most of the local races were fearful of the Soul Hunters and usually shunned them at any given opportunity. They were still shunned by the other races who could not understand or accept their holy mission. Most of the races considered them thieves of the worst sort. That attitude had changed marginally when they presented the new, very small, very efficient jump engines to the alien governments associated with the Babylon station. And the wealth of intelligence on the Sinhindrea gave everyone a significant advantage. However, those changes in attitudes didn't extend to the Minbari as much. Their relationship between the two could best be described as chilly (an improvement from stone-cold hatred). The Minbari normally shot first and asked questions later, if they asked any questions at all. Attitudes were changing in direct response to the interactions and knowledge gained from the displaced Federation people. Most Soul Hunters usually were still cautious, and that cautiousness wouldn't change for a very long time. But small steps were occurring, and those steps were noticeable by the Order.

At this moment, the Soul Hunter named the Younger by the Feds began speaking. "To the Minbari here," he said, facing them directly, "I am not here for you, none of you. I am here because the specter of death has arrived in this part of the galaxy. We want the Sinhindrea stopped. We are sensitive to death, but do not encourage death. Our people fear death as much as anyone else, but we seek to understand it. Is there life after death? We have sought to solve this greatest of mysteries in our own way. As with others, we are divided on the answer. Until we can answer that question, we continued our holy mission. Although we have suspended our activities in light of new information, we have recently obtained. What we have seen has disgusted our Order in ways that you will never understand. This invasion is a disease that must be blotted out. That is why we are helping."

Alyt Shaka wasn't impressed. "We know that they destroyed one of your sacred places," Shaka hissed. "Good! What you do is a sin against the universe. You steal that which does not belong to you and place them in prison! You tried to take the soul of our most beloved leader!"

"And only the Minbari stopped us," he acknowledged before the Minbari could finish.

"YES!" Shaka roared. "Your kind should be wiped out! To have souls locked up forever in a prison so that you can talk to them occasionally is the worst sort of crime and you do it to the best of souls. Such is your gift to them!"

"So, we have been told," the Younger admitted. He surprised those in the room by his statement. "We have always heard this opinion, but until recently, we never truly understood, or believed it. We all fear death. My Order tries to understand it."

"Death is not something to be feared and it should not be cheated," Worf, son of Mogh, said. "Klingons and the Narn believe in freedom. To take one's soul instead of allowing it to travel to its destiny is a crime. It does not matter if it is the soul or the essence of the mind. It isn't yours to capture and hold like a thief."

"Death has been around for a long time," Michael Garibaldi said, throwing in his thoughts about the matter. "I don't believe in souls. You die and that's it, so I don't know what you're collecting. I can see how technology has progressed and how much we've mapped the brain. I'll accept that you might be recording the thoughts of those who died, but don't tell me that those are souls you have."

"That is what they are. We preserve them. The alternative is death."

"But why do you claim these souls?" Susan asked, horrified by the very concept. "What gives you the right to do so? Did you ask these people? Did you get their permission?"

"Perhaps this is not the time for this discussion," Picard interjected. "There are serious matters on the table that we need to resolve."

"I must disagree, Captain," Sheridan said. "This is precisely the time to discuss this. These people are our allies, and we need to express our concerns now, not later when it'll come back to bite us in our rear, at the worst possible time. I don't want that to happen. We need every resource to save Minbari and our other worlds. Like it or not, it should be part of this discussion, n. we need transparency if we are to survive."

"I agree," Shaka said disgustedly. Hus words shocked every Minbari in the room.

"Rarely does one of your kind speak," Draal said. "I don't know whether to be shocked or terrified by this turn of events."

"That is because the Minbari usually try to kill us before we can perform our sacred duty. You never ask why. You only shoot."

"So far, I don't like what I've heard. But before I pass judgment on your actions, I want to know why," General Franklin said. "If you are soul collectors, then why are you helping us now? I want to hear your personal reason. Why are you personally helping us?"

"So do I," added Peterman. "Earth Alliance has had little experience with you Soul Hunters, but we will, and I want to enter this alliance with an open mind. Most of the races fear you. We haven't had negative experiences they've had, and I want to start this alliance on some sort of positive note. My question to you is if it there is some type of afterlife, and it is proven, will you continue collect souls?"

"We are preservers, not death dealers. We save the worthy, those souls that have value, that are special. We do not want them to pass into nothingness. We protected them. That is why we collect souls. We are protectors. If there is nothing after death, we fear their loss. Things have changed. We have, as I have said earlier, discovered certain evidence that will help solve our eternal question. In response to your second query, if we ever find conclusive proof that there is something more after death, our sacred Order will no longer have purpose. We will cease to exist."

"And if not, you will continue doing what you're doing," Sheridan finished. "Do you know that you sound just like the Shadows and Vorlons? 'Who are you', and 'what do you want'?" He shook his head, disappointed. "You are slaves to two questions, just like the Vorlons and Shadows, and you know what happened to them. I won't pretend to understand your calling, but I suggest you take a hard look at what you're doing. I think you are too close to the situation. You're too stuck in your ways to see other possibilities. There may be another way to discover what you're looking for without taking from others."

"There is no, as you call it, heaven or hell, only the dark wall of impenetrable death."

"But your Order doesn't really believe that. Which is why you are searching so hard for proof that there is nothing after death. Deep down, you are hoping you're wrong. That's your real mission. You're looking for hope," Garrett murmured. "I know because one of your Order went with Admiral Janeway with your sect's blessing to explore that possibility."

The Soul Hunter shrugged. "The Vulcans, and by extent ion your Federation, have opened up avenues that have been previously closed to us. We asked to join Voyager on their journey back to their reality, as did the Minbari. We want to experience and explore the possibilities. What he finds may either confirm our beliefs," he paused, "or change everything."

"So, you're still searching as well?"

"We are set in our ways. But we are learning to be more–flexible. This meeting is an example of our evolving flexibility and commitment. I am here speaking to not one but several species. Whether we agree or not is not important. The fact that I am addressing to you at all is. None of us can learn the truths we are searching for if we are all dead. We do not feed on souls despite what some others believe. I am to reiterate to you that our sect abhors what is happening in the galaxy. It is true we have our own personal motivations to end this war, but all of us have reasons to end this war. We promised to give you the schematics of our plasma cutters. I have brought two hundred of our earlier devices for study and use." Feeling more confident now, he continued. "The Vorlons did not approve of our helping in the war and admittedly, we hesitated because of their threats. They have claimed to have left, but truth is a three0edged sword. Their truth serves them, not anyone else's."

Sheridan's narrowed. "They haven't gone?" he asked, while dreading the answer.

"We have discovered that their leaving is their truth, not the truth."

Shaka was stunned by the admission. "Why are they still here?" he half sneered. "Is it because they seek revenge against the Federation?"

"They feel betrayed because we, the younger races, have rejected their godhood. The young do not always listen, and both First Ones destroy what they cannot control. They prefer us all dead than free from their control. They were given the responsibility of guiding the younger races. Instead, we were used to settling arguments among themselves, which of them were right."

"The people of the Federation spoke with us, and we listened," supplied the Soul Hunter. "It has been a very long time since someone has spoken to us, other than those of our own kind. It gives us something that we didn't know we needed. Hope. We treasure that–sharing and will do much to keep the lines of communication open. We may not agree, but it is good that we can talk."

"We will do everything we can to aid protect Minbar and its people." He sighed. "We will not touch any soul of Minbar or the Minbari, or any species in this room. We will do our part to save us all. You have our promise."

Interesting, Archer thought.

Deep Space: Region Unknown

The Rift.

The Elder First Ones went there. They were there.

The Younger First Ones, the Vorlons and Shadows, were going there. They were happy.

The great burden, the great ordeal, it was over. Neither one wanted the responsibility thrust on them by the Elder First Ones. But they were young and did it because they were told to do it while the Elders traveled to that special place.

The Rim.

Their responsibility was over. Too many things had happened to the Younger First Ones in the recent past standard year, and they were tired of it, tired of the rejection by the young races, tired of the eternal conflict, tired of the two questions that haunted their lives for so long, and most of all, tired of the responsibility they never wanted.

The Shadows had won the debate, after a fashion. And the Vorlons hated them for it, after a fashion, not because they lost in an honorable challenge but because of interference by those who never should have been there in the first place. The Vorlons felt that they were cheated. Never mind that the circle the circle that was so precious to them was the personification of cheating.

The Vorlons hated to lose. The Shadows were too desperate to win. There was little wonder why they hated each other. The hatred was raw, but not enough for not to travel to the Rift together after all that had happened. Anyone who knew them would have seen this inconceivable even would have thought

But to those who understood the reasons why this previously unimaginable act, understood all too well. The Vorlons lost the war against the Shadows when the Cold War turned hot. The Vorlons weren't ready for a long-term battle when their fleet ambushed, attacked, and wiped out a Shadow fleet.

The Shadows were perturbed, and out of revenge, tried to kill Ambassador Kosh. That was a history the Vorlons knew of, as long as the Circle existed, Kosh was fated to die. However, the Circle was contaminated. The Federation interlopers had laid waste the circle by their mere presence. Because of them, everything changed. The Shadows went berserk, started a war against the Vorlons. They slaughtered entire Vorlon worlds, ending their planet killers to destroy those worlds. The Vorlons fled toward the only place of safety they knew of.

The Rim.

The beings called by some of the Shadows were victorious. A thousand years earlier, they lost to their Vorlon adversaries. They were overjoyed. Now, they could proceed to do what they always wanted, to make the young races strong. Conflict and chaos were their mantra, and the intended to share that mantra with the younger races. Setting them all against one another, the strong would survive the slaughter. They would prove their point once more, spitting in the faces of the Vorlons. But their victory was short-lived.

The arachnid-like aliens discovered a Vorlon artifact, a prize to keep in remembrance of their victory of their enemies. It was irresistible, and they brought it back to their adapted world and in the process, they forgot their charges, the ones they were burdened with, and they were happy.

But the Shadows forgot their most basic rule. Whatever is touched by Vorlons destroyed shadows. They really didn't believe it, but their enemies had killed so many of their people, it seemed to be true. But the Vorlon artifact discovered was too irresistible to ignore, and it turned out to be a trojan horse, but not from the Vorlons. The Shadows considered it a trophy, a remembrance of a long, hard-fought victory. Instead, it turned into an avatar of death. The Sinhindrea fought the Shadows and took their world from them, and the Shadows fled. That was more than a year and a half ago. The Shadows did the only thing they could. They fled towards the Rim.

But not all of them left. There were fleets, both Shadow and Vorlons, who remained. The reason was simple. They wanted revenge against those who rejected them, against the Sinhindrea, and against the Federation. The Vorlons hated the Federation, as did the Shadows. The Federation was halted because they ruined the great game. The Shadows because their ships were forced to run from the power of a younger race. We broke the rules on both sides and the wanted retribution. However, events conspired against them. Their greatest secrets were revealed and both First Ones were humiliated. The ones they hated the most were protected by some power. Ambassador Guinan was power they couldn't touch, the female admiral who opened her mouth and told the others everything, was protected and Lorien, the First of the First Ones, warned them to not even try, or their race would suffer,

Eventually the truth was discovered. The Federationist creatures were not from this reality. Or were they? The Vorlons and Shadows weren't sure. Voyager ad come through the gate. The others hadn't. The original Federation violators had the same quantum signature as everyone else. Voyager and its companions didn't. Vorlon and Shadow scouts searched everywhere for the Federation and didn't find anything, but this Federation had to be somewhere near enough to get to the disputed sector. The other Federationists had to be from the home universe, no what lies they had told everyone. Both wanted revenge but couldn't do anything directly, so they decided to leave.

Lorien wouldn't let them unless they helped the young ones. So, they did, after a fashion. Both species left for Z'Ha'Dum, to strike at the Sinhindrea and they did. Then they left for the Rim. It took two months to get to Z'Ha'Dum and then both went to join their fleets. It took them another six months to meet their fleets. Together now, it would take seventeen years to reach the Rim. What was them for creatures who lives were measured in tens of thousands of years?

However, events conspired against them once more. For them, the Rim was farther away than ever.

TBC