SE:IV B5 RP

[brianeyci]

ISN News Update...

"The Corporate sector recognizes the risks posed by alien intruders. Therefore, pursuiant to Article One Section Five of the Felgercarb Act, we are forming our own elite paramilitary security force. This security force will be entirely volunteer. It is to be trained for modern twenty-second century combat. Zero-gravity combat will be fundamental to their doctrine."

"Let me emphasize that this is not an occupation or aggressive military. Only qualified candidates will be accepted and salaries will be five times an Earthforce special forces operator of same rank. Most recruits will be former Earthforce personnel and bring their experiences and training with them to their new job but there will be exceptions. Traditional special forces operators from the American Delta Force, British Special Air Service and so on will be recruited aggressively along with their spaceborne Earthforce counterparts."

"Initial recruiting goals are for a brigade trained by year's end, complete with escort vessels. They will be capable of independent operatons with no support from civilian or military craft. They will be spacemobile and use the latest in fusion drive technology to rapidly achieve their assigned objectives."

Brian

[Nephtys]

Somewhere in the Vinzen System, along one rarely traversed jumpgate...

A Sus'te scout of the worker class emerged from the decrepid jumpgate with a lurch, the stressed systems of the gate malfunctioning. With a sudden decelleration, the worker-caste crew of the scout were thrown forward, gasping as... a Dilgar Corvette was about to make transit! It was too close!

The two ships collided with no chance to react from either crew. Like a crystaline dart, the scout smashed clean through the Dilgar patrol craft, destroying it in a bright orange explosion, sending shards of metal twisting into space. The Minbari ship fared far better, sustaining only moderate hull and engine damage. Her advanced gravimetric drives stabilizing, the crew shaken but alive. What a disaster.

---

Nimune Starrider watched in horror the replay from her command chamber. This was a true disaster. Contact with an alien race, and this had already occured! It would surely be a setback for Dukhat's plan to rally the younger races together. She murmured to herself, turning and drafting a message.

"Alien people of the Vinzen system. The Minbari Federation has just been informed that a most grievous accident has occured. We mourn for the loss of your ship to the jumpgate accident, and wish but to initiate friendly relations..."

[brianeyci]

"He's still alive?"

"Yeah," said Vera smiling. "I can't believe it either. He's coming to see you."

"I wonder what he's like after all these years," said Marxis. "What does he do now?"

"He's apparently quite powerful, well connected. A small business is registered under his name, 'Defel Enterprises'."

"He was always thinking of hair-brained schemes to make money."

"His company has a net worth of a few million credits and it's climbing steadily on the Venture Exchange."

Marxis laughed. "So he made it after all."

"Not like you."

"No, not like me, but one of me's enough. Draw up the documents for a loan, five million credits."

Vera looked at Marxis. "Don't worry I'm not getting soft," said Marxis. "I owe him. He saved my life."

"Good," said Vera. "You didn't get rich by giving your money away."

Marxis thumbed his palm pilot nodding approvingly at the news of the formation of the Watch. Qualified and trained men had signed up for the Watch in the thousands. Project Preservation would begin soon and he'd need as many recruits as he could get his hands on.

Brian

[GuppyShark]

Six Years Ago

The Dilgar War.

Earth had reached to the stars in hope, and had discovered it was not as inviting as she'd wished.

Frequent border skirmishes with hostile races had to learn to an isolationist mindset among Earth's leadership.

The Dilgar had changed that. They were too powerful and too dangerous to ignore - Earth had rallied to the aid of other races.

It was a desperate time.

Exotic energy flashed past Defel's cockpit. He spun his Star Fury into an oblique course and tried to return fire, only to realise the Dilgar fighter was already exploding under fire from his wingmates.

The sound of synthesied cannonfire barked through his fighter's speakers as he flung his Star Fury in ever-more-erratic arcs. His squadron was engaged in fierce melee with a wave of Dilgar fighters screening their fleet.

He got missile lock on one Dilgar fighter and launched. The warhead streaked into the Dilgar's cockpit, incinerating its pilot with his own atmosphere.

The comm unit was still filled with static from Dilgar jamming, but he made out the words, "Nice shot, Drake."

A few seconds more, and the Earth fighters had punched through the Dilgar screen and were approaching the bulk of the Dilgar capital ships. The Dilgar were too heavily engaged with the rest of the Earth fighters to break off and pursue the ten Star Furies headed towards the Dilgar ships, though a few tried and were destroyed for it.

The sounds of cannonfire filled Drake's cockpit once more as they began a barrage targeting the Dilgar support ships. Corvettes and guided missile frigates began to scatter, rather than remain and take damage from the Earth fighters.

Lieutenant Marxis swooped his Star Fury in tight to target what appeared to be a vulnerable point on the engine shielding of a guided missile frigate. A long burst from his Fury's cannons savaged the shielding and caused secondary explosions inside the propulsion exhaust. He spun his Fury and accelerated away from the damaged starship, but this course led him into the firing arc of a light anti-fighter battery on a corvette that was beyond the frigate.

Defel reacted on instinct. With no time to warn Marxis of the battery, he slammed down the firing control of his missile rack.

A single missile launched from Drake's fighter. With no targeting lock, he was relying on the predictive gunsight's ability to plot ballistics and for the corvette to not adjust its own course.

Marxis's fighter accelerated away from the damaged guided missile frigate.

The frigate's engines ruptured, causing a complete power failure.

The corvette with the anti-fighter battery, not having been painted for a lock, held steady.

The missile warhead slammed directly into the anti-fighter battery, detonating on impact. Fire and shrapnel engulfed the corvette, and it rotated to bring its other weaponry to bear.

The squadron leader got on the comm. "He's wounded, let's take him out!"

The Star Furies then flew further into the battle, and into history. Their savaging of the Dilgar support elements allowed the main fleet to overpower the Dilgar battle line and was a decisive victory in the campaign, thought it was far from the end of the war.


Today
Marxis Corporate Headquarters


"Mr. Marxis, your ten o'clock is here."

Marxis looked at his wristwatch. Already?

"Send him in." Marxis stood up and saw Mr. Drake Defel. "I thought you were dead," said Marxis as he ran up and shook Defel's hand.

"It's hard to kill me," said Defel smiling. "So, nice place you have here."

"Yeah. What have you been up to?"

"Making new friends," said Defel. Marxis felt a shudder through his body, but he shook it off. "And how've you been spending your time, Lieutenant? Still frequenting the bars?"

"Not really. I've been rather busy becoming a trillionaire."

"So that was you on Time magazine," said Defel.

Marxis laughed. "So, what brings you to my backwater sector? You can stay as long as you want of course, and if you ever need a job come to me."

"I'm employed. My associates are very generous."

"I see," said Marxis. "I hate to be rather blunt, but I want to repay you somehow. You saved my life in the Dilgar war and I never saw you after Sigma Two. I'm in a position to grant you anything, anything you want. I can make your life comfortable."

"I'm not here for me. I'm here for you."

"Pardon me?"

"What do you want?"

Marxis grinned. "What do I want? I'm happily married. If you're scheming again, forget about it. If you want a loan to open a business, maybe that restaurant you always wanted on twenty-second street--"

Defel's smile faltered. "That question isn't from me. It's from the people I represent."

"You're serious."

"Of course."

"So you've been at it these past two decades. What are we talking about, political? You can pull strings with Alshain? Fortune five hundred company? Who are you working for?"

"That doesn't matter," said Mr. Defel. "What matters is what you want."

Marxis paused. "I'll get back to you. I have another meeting in two minutes."

"Of course."

"Stay awhile, make yourself comfortable."

As Mr. Defel left, Marxis felt the coldness leave. Marxis pressed a button.

"Vera, run a deeper background check on our latest visitor. I want everything on my desk by noon."

Who was Drake Defel, and was he still his friend? Who were his associates, and what were they capable of?

[brianeyci]

"The things are flying deathtraps," said Vera. "No armor, no missile defense, no anti-fighter armadments..."

"The external rails..."

"You mean latching starfuries on the outer hull like Christmas ornaments. Insane. And they're using ironsights for god's sake"

"The aliens have some kind of stealth technology. We've been over this."

"We could be sued for criminal negligence..."

"They sign a waiver with their contracts."

"If we waited a few months, for the new sensors and armor procurements--"

"Then what? The aliens are coming in from all sides. Every day I hear new reports about more aliens, more threats to mankind."

Vera left fuming. She was right of course. If they waited a few months R&D could more than double the effectiveness of the 'frigates'. But they didn't have a few months. If the aliens invaded tomorrow, Earthforce was unprepared and would be slaughtered.

He, himself, was humanity's last best hope.

Things weren't going too well. The Watch was easy enough--there were thousands of disgruntled military personnel after Earthforce's downsizing who saw the threat of the aliens and enlisted for the pay.

But, military-grade parts were still scarce. The starfury program was running behind and there were problems that couldn't be solved with money alone. They needed experts and scientists, and Alshain had thrown every roadblock in the book at them. The newer frigates were having equipment failures every single day. Second rate parts were just not cutting it.

For the first time since becoming rich Marxis felt poor. There wasn't any way out of it--even if he bought every single piece of junk on the black market and slurpus military equipment there wouldn't be enough for Project Preservation.

Marxis felt a shiver. The same shiver he had felt around Defel. Defel. What had he meant? Could he really be the solution to all his problems? Then Marxis knew what he wanted. He wrote a message and sent it to Defel.

Brian

[Tobor]

The courier was nervous, he stood waiting, looking into the windowed office as Rai’Jal paced to and fro. It was clear to the courier that something was wrong, the Fleet Commander and Head of military operations was reputed to possess a degree of calm almost unmatched in Dilgar society. To see him agitated so put the courier in a state of deep concern for his own life. Only slightly more unnerving was the way the two guards, kept glancing at each other and smirking back towards him. They were the finest the Dilgar military had to offer, and compassion was not a commodity they possessed.
Finally a look of concentration appeared over the senior of the two guards, and in a voice was designed to engender calm and a sense of ease she announced:
“You may see the Fleet commander, now…”
Upon entering the room the Fleet commander the courier was relieved to see Rai’Jal had regained his composure and had he not glimpsed the office earlier would not believe it to be the same man. He was tall and handsome with sharp features and an air of grace about him. As the door closed behind the courier Rai’Jal stood and welcomed the courier in earnest, going so far as to offer him a seat. The courier looked at Rai’Jal who was relaxed and leaning against the table that centred the room. Politely he declined the offer knowing that the presumption of sitting in the presence of such an officer would far outweigh any perceived slight at refusal.
Rai’Jal began his tone even and pleasant to the ear.
“Are the reports for me? Or did you simply wish my company?”
The courier now with all formality lost no time in beginning the process that would allow the document case to be removed from where it sat harnessed against his chest. In an effort to ensure that all priority messages reached their intended destination the Dilgar military had designed a system by which any such documents were transported by special couriers. The files were encased in an explosive capsule which was linked to both the couriers brainwave and vital signs. Should any of the readings leave what was termed as acceptable limit’s the package would explode destroying both the message and the messenger. Once the documents had been delivered to the correct person the device would be disarmed by mutual retinal fluid scan. The couriers job was then over and they returned to be assigned for another such mission. Suffice to say they received a heightened level of training for such assignments.
The process now over the courier waited to be dismissed, his eye stung from the needle but he was more concerned about leaving intact than a mere pain. His heart sank as he noticed Rai’Jal looking at him with all the interest of a cat towards a mouse.
Grinning Rai’Jal started to look away then turned back his face now deadly serious:
“Do not worry courier, you have completed your assignment.”
Looking down at the message again he continued:
“Even if this were a catastrophe, the fault would not be yours. After all couriers are too great an investment of time and resources to waste them on a moment of anger! You may leave, now…”
Giving the proper respect the courier left relieved as he passed through the portal back into the corridor. Even the leering gesture from the senior guard could not belay his mood. Tonight would be a good night…

Rai’Jal looked back to the documents he was holding and sneered at them. Glancing back to the windows he ran his hand against the console and looked satisfied as the windows hazed until they were opaque and he was secluded from prying eyes.
Thoughts raced in his head, they were at a crossroads in the centre of the maelstrom and he did not like it one bit. The Dilgar military was impressive, dedicated and selfless towards the cause of protecting the Dilgar people from all interference. But there was only so much a single people could do against the combined forces of the Vorlons, the Minbari, and the Narn.
His eye twitched ever so slightly as he went over the reports again, there was no rhyme nor reason to any of it. Firstly the Narn had begun by attacking civilian ships and transports with something designated as a scout. The very thought still angered him, his pulse quickened at the memory of those first reports. The cowards didn’t even have the honour to pick military targets. But civilian colony ships, farmers and miners all trying to make a better life for themselves.
There was still a system wide hunt for the transgressor the Bin’Tak-3 class ‘scout’ ship. Scout, again Rai’Jal sneered as he thought about it, more like pirates he concluded to himself.
Then the Vorlons came, on the coat tails of the Narn, posing their questions and riddles as if anyone in the galaxy still cared for their games and whims. Everyone knew the stories, that twenty years ago the Earther Sheridan had gathered an alliance together with him and through sheer will had exiled the Vorlons and the Shadows to the next great galaxy. The Centauri through whom he learned the story even seemed to believe that the Maker himself had been at Sheridan’s side in the final battle! Rai’Jal wasn’t sure if he believed that, but he was certain that for the next twenty years the Vorlons and Shadows had disappeared beyond the rim.
When Sheridan died the ISA that he created began to crumble as the member worlds turned their attentions towards their own space. Soon the Sabre rattling of old could be heard anew with the vigour that twenty years of enforced respite gives to those who would have more than their share of the galaxy. Then as a nightmare become reality they returned! The first anyone knew of it was when the Vorlon shuttle appeared at Babylon-5 the centre of the known galaxy and demanded all the younger races vacate the space to the galactic north. Soon Shadow scouts could be seen phasing from hyperspace then darting out again, as though taking a galactic census.
We retreated back to our own space waiting for the storm to arrive and then it did…
Without warning the Vorlons entered our systems, clearly ours through the designated borders as prescribed by their non-interaction treaty, then they started to attack our vessels. What’s more, they had the audacity to demand that we cease all aggression towards the Narn regime!

Rai’Jal was intelligent, he hadn’t made fleet commander on his graces alone. He could see the pattern here. The Narn enter our system and kill our civilians, doing the dirty work, wearing the disgrace for their Vorlon masters. They proclaim that they are part of an army of light, they are nothing but butchers in the vain hope that they can pick the scraps the Vorlons leave behind. G’Kars’ fixation on telepaths is no secret, maybe he thinks going to the source will expedite things?

Then to top matters off the Minbari come to the party. In something the Earther’ call a Greek tragedy, they declare an interest in finding peaceful solutions through trade and research, but in another stunning display of interstellar stupidity they also thought arming their diplomatic scouts and giving them first contact protocol to open fire would be a good idea.
Rai’Jal shook his head at the incredulity of it all.
The result being that the ship the Vorlons had only just crippled in a display of arrogance two solar days previously was accosted and destroyed by the Minbari scout vessel.
Rai’Jal was disgusted by the blatantly obvious puppeteer’ing that was happening right in front of him, but he had to acknowledge the fact that the Minbari at least had the honour to attack a military target, however crippled it may have been.

This most recent report came directly from the Shai’Alyt herself. It was a sincere apology for the incident and hopes that peaceful solutions could still be found between them.
The Dilgar navy was nothing if not zealous and protective of the small space they had garnered for themselves, and upon hearing the distress calls from their sister ship another patrol cruiser had intercepted the scout . A tragedy indeed. Rai’Jal ran the various possibilities through his head, but the one he settled upon was the truthful approach. The Shai’Alyt was a warrior like himself and she must respect the familial ties, the bond that a fleet shares towards its kin. She may not like the situation anymore than he himself, but she would respect the impulse for retribution, just as he respected their decision to declare war on the Earther’s almost 40 years ago. With history to guide them both, however, they could learn from the folly that was the Earth, Minbari war and avoid any similar event.

Who knows, a peace treaty with the Minbari might also force some of the other races to reconsider their war footing…

He would need to contact Bi’Lar to conduct the treaty process, it was after all his forte.

Rai’Jal raised an eyebrow briefly, on of the pages was stuck. Taking a moment to separate them he stared for a moment, the blood and colour draining from his face.
In shocked disbelief he started:
“The Vorlons have deployed a heavy destroyer group into the Vinzin sector!!”
He looked at the casualty report, it was another patrol corvette, the last one in the sector. Vinzin III was a lightly populated colony world in that sector. Surely if the Vorlons were deploying such a force they intended to invade…

Rai’Jal’ face hardened. He knew what the Vorlons were capable of, history was a passion of his and he held no illusion that the Dilgar confederacy would be able to save themselves from such a threat, unless…

Drastic times called for drastic measures…

Rai’Jal reached towards the intercom. He briefly thought through what he was asking, but he came to the same resolution as before. The only way to save his people would be to destroy his people…

“I need to see Bi’Lar, and also get me the Fleet captains.”

His last thought before he began drafting his plan in earnest was that if Jha’Dur found out about this she would go insane with rage. He must buy time to put this most desperate of plans into effect…
Suddenly he remembered the courier, and for a moment he envied him, tonight would most definitely not be a good night…

[Kojiro]

The two vorlons met again, this time the surroundings were simple space, uncluttered by time. Somehow the older vorlon knew, like a dream, that this was the universe before the younger races had existed.

"Justice is done. The lost are avenged."

"What about justice for the Dilgar?"

"The Narn ignored our warnings. It serves as another warning and Dilgar justice."

The older vorlon was aware, at that moment, that the younger one had misunderstood him. A rare thing in mental communication. It indicated that the younger vorlon was not completely recieving him...that there was a block somewhere.

"Remove the fleet from Dilgar space. They have their own concerns, their concerns are not ours."

"And the new cruisers?"

"The Minbari have asked for our help. It is not yet time for us...we are still weak."

"We are more than strong enough to crush the younger races!"

"There are more than younger races at work here. The Shadows have a new ally. We must assist ours, but carefully. And..." the older vorlon thought a moment "Send out Ambassadors to all who want one. Let the galaxy know we have returned, and we are not as we were."

The older vorlon broke the contact. He mused to himself over the Minbari request.

"We must do what we can."

[Trogdor]

(OOC: this is a bit late. I couldn't get onto the board for the past few days for some reason)

"Excellency, Mr. Defel is here. He wishes to speak with you," Lord Reefa said, his face flushed with a mixture of excitement and fear.

Londo froze. Did they know? How could that be possible?

"Send him in," Londo said.

The Centauri Emperor sat behind his desk as he waited for the human to entered. He didn't have to wait long. Mr. Defel entered, and Londo would've sworn that a chill entered with him. He had to restrain the urge to shiver.

"Mr. Defel, what brings you to Centauri Prime?" Londo asked as amicably as he could.

"My associates wish me to relay a message," Defel answered pleasantly. "They're very appreciative of how you've worked to avoid any unfortunate incidents between your ships and theirs. They wish to repay you somehow. Is there anything you want?"

Londo swallowed. This was it. The moment where he made a deal with the devil or sent him packing. The Llort were a tempting target, but one that Londo could not strike at with the Centauri economy geared towards expansion rather than conquest. Did he dare ask for help with that...?

[brianeyci]

"A colonizer in the Kokkar system has encounterd a Di--"

Marxis whirled around his his seat, his attention instantly on Vera. "Dilgar," he said seething. "Earthforce?"

"Dunno, there doesn't seem to be a single ship anywhere near the Dilgar."

"So it's up to us," mused Marxis. "You think Alshain's the kind to hang us out to dry?"

"I have no idea, but we can't make any aggressive moves against the Dilgar unless they attack us first."

"Tell the colonizer to land on a nearby planet."

"They have no protection..."

"We have to find out the Dilgar's intentions. If they're going to start another war, we'll know right away."

"At the cost of a few million lives?"

"Better a few million than a few billion when we find out too late," said Marxis his face like steel. "Earthforce is supposed to protect human colonies. If they're killed, we'll have something to nail Alshain on once and for all."

Vera nodded and left the office leaving Marxis listening to Mozart.

Brian

[Dalton]

"One of our scouts has been destroyed."

G'Kar looked up from his briefings. "Where?"

"The Zweist system," came the aide's reply. "The Vorlon have taken responsibility for the attack."

"Why?"

"They claim it is their space."

Well, that at least made sense. Any other ship attempting to enter Vorlon space was instantly destroyed. G'Kar would have to tread carefully here. "Mark that system as 'Avoid'," G'Kar said. "And then plan a memorial service for the lost crew."

"Yes, chairman." The aide left, and G'Kar turned back to his briefings. The latest reports had worried him greatly.

For whatever reason, it looked like the Markab had been completely eradicated.

[Uraniun235]

The discovery of the Dilgar had made Alshain very nervous, indeed. He had wanted to wait it out a bit - spend some time gathering information on them, querying the other races... finding out whether the Dilgar had reformed, or if they were just as vicious as they had once been. And if they had made the first move, so much the better.

But the Senate had gotten greedy. Why aren't we trading with these people yet?, and of course what that really meant was Why aren't we collecting tariff revenues off of their goods yet? Alshain snorted. Admittedly he had exploited that aspect of deep-space exploration heavily in his political campaigning, but he rather wished that he wasn't seemingly the only politician in EarthDome that could see further than the next campaign and the next dollar.

So he had reluctantly sent the Dilgar an offer for a Trade Alliance. He had worded it carefully; not his usually warm and cheery greetings to the Minbari or the Narn, but a distanced "on the behalf of", with a pointed mention of the Senate's wishes. If the Dilgar turned around and bit his outstretched hand, it would be the Senate who took the heat.

He had just recieved a report that a Dilgar scout had appeared in-system very near one of the Marxis Corporation's colony ships. At first he was inclined to think Marxis might be stirring up shit again, but after reviewing the star charts, it did seem that the Dilgar had laid no claim to that system. If the Dilgar were to destroy the colony ship - and it's millions of civilian passengers - Alshain might have no choice but to lead the Earth Alliance to war. He'd prefer a diplomatic resolution, of course - try the Dilgar crew for war crimes, massive payments to the Marxis Corporation - but he had no illusions about public opinion on such a provocative act. The Senate would probably have declared war before the Joint Chiefs had even finished briefing him on the attack.

And so Wilhelm Alshain fervently hoped the Dilgar would not commit such an attack.

[Kojiro]

The vorlons were incensed. Again the Brakiri had shown total disrespect for the vorlons, this time deploying satellites in vorlon space. The ancient vorlon war machine began to move.

[Trogdor]

Things were going pretty well lately, Londo thought. The humans were more than amicable to the prospect of trade, and merchant shuttles were already going back and forth, helping to strengthen the Centauri economy.

A soft knock came at his door. "Enter," Londo called.

Vir entered, looking incredibly pale. Londo frowned. "What's wrong, Vir?"

"The scout we sent to the Jodan system just reported back," Vir said softly, handing Londo a pad.

Londo took the pad, and he, too, went pale. He'd ordered the scout into the Jodan system to see why the Markab had suddenly gone silent. According to the scout ship, there was nothing left of them except a few flaming ruins. A Shadow fleet was in orbit of what had once been the Markab home world.

"Only eight ships!" Londo exclaimed.

Six Shadow ships were only a few parsecs away from Centauri Prime at that very moment.

"Our scout observed a Shadow ship destroy a human scout, probably to keep what they'd done to the Markab under wraps," Vir whispered. "It's weapons were tremendously powerful. It only took one shot to destroy the human ship."

Londo gasped, suddenly remembering that he'd mentioned the Llort to the Shadows. Would he have the death of an entire race on his conscience? He wanted conquest, not genocide!

"Shall I terminate our pact with the Shadows?" Vir asked.

"What?! Absolutely not!" Londo exclaimed. "No, we cannot risk that. From now on, if the Shadows say 'jump' we ask 'how high?' is that understood? We cannot risk that Centauri Prime will suffer a similar fate!"

Vir sighed. "Yes, Londo."

[Tobor]

Jha'Dur was in an intensely good mood today. She had not recieved news like this for many decades and it pleased her greatly. The rush of adrenaline at even the thought of their anguish excited her. Her only regret and it was a very minor one at that was that she had not been there to witness the events as they unfolded, she'd had to see them second hand from a centauri recording. Still it was an adequate second so she was delighted all the same.
she positively skipped as she made her way down the many levels towards lab#72. The study labs were deep in the heart of the installation buried far enough under ground that no scan would detect them, and no chance of escape would come to realisation. On this particular occasion she was going to see one of her oldest test cases, this particular animal had been here for the last twenty years and Jha'Dur flattered herself with the notion that it gneuinely would not wish to leave at this point even if it could.
Looking through the two way mirror she smiled to herself, the poor thing was still sleeping, it would be a shame to wake it, but some things just can't wait. She nodded to her assistant who with a malicious grin flicked a switch. The beast who was lying on the floor went rigged, spittle started to drip from its mouth as it pulsed ever so slightly on the floor. WIth another nod from Jha'Dur the assistant pressed a similar button next to the first.
The animal started to sob pitifully and curled up into a ball in the centre of the floor. Satisfied that it was now well awake Jha'Dur oppened the portal and made her way into the small cell. As she sat in the small corner chair she noticed the odour. It was intense, for although the subjects were well cared for and bathed regularly on this occasion it had self deficated. Surely the animal would have to learn better, but at this point Jha'Dur had much more interesting things to do.
Her voice soft and engaging Jha'Dur began:
"Meertok, how are you feeling today..."
The animal just curled itself tighter, but it stopped whimpering and raised its eyes to the level of her boots.
THe question had been rhetorical, she didn't care at all for its comfort, but she had her rules, and she would not be ignored. Satisfied that she had its full attention she continued.
"I have something for you today Meertok, news from your homeworld."
She saw his eyes raise, but they quickly dropped again. She let it slip, if she let this fire grow, the lost vestige of pride and hope that it may still have the reward would be so much greater for her.
"We have begun trade relations, and the thing of it is, we lost one of our ships on your homeworld. Now your government never had the strength to make demands of us, but certain underworld elements believe we are holding you here."
She paused briefly for effect then continued.
"Imagine that, they knew you were here all along, i suppose it was just a matter of leverage. Naturally any Dilgar life is worth more than a thousand of your own pitiful race. Yet they seemed happy to exchange the entire crew for just yourself."
As she said this she got up and kicked the prostrate form, hard in the groin.
"It is a shame, that our crew were stupid enough to be captured in the first place, but one of them has particualrly powerful family, family which i can't ignore."
She started to walk around the room, pacing but after a minute or so she stopped and leant over Merrtok. She spoke now in a voice that was quite and laced with honey. As she spoke she started to stroke the head of her patient, as she might a pet or a child.
"So, i have agrred to the exchange, i have left all the relevant information in the file on the chair. As you are now a free citzen, you may paruse it at your leisure..."
She could tell it was sinking in, Meertok was starting to tense possibly thinking of the ways he might gain vengeance upon her, but notnow. He wasn't stupid enough to attack the lion in her den. He would play along for now.
Jha'Dur started to rise, and made her way towards the door. As she reached it she paused for a moment then turned and in a voice that belied utmost concern and perhaps even a hint of compassion, she said:

"At least one thing is true about you mutari; you are definately the greatest of your race..."

WIth the faintest hint of a smile she left the room. If she was skipping when she came down she was positively bouncing now. SHe truned to her assistant, and arranged the last of the formalities. The animal was to be kept allive and in the best of health. All business finished Jha'Dur made her way back towards her personal chambers. When she arrived she fell upon the bed and unable to contain herself any longer started to laugh, a memorseless evil laugh...


In the facility the assitant looked through the portal, patient #0004 had just finished reading the folder. There was a mixture of rage, disbelief, and mostly complete hoplessnes. Meetok fell to the ground and wept, wept for his family, his freinds, but mostly wept for a world he could no longer know...

The assitant smiled to herself and as she turned to leave said.
"Stupid Markab..."

[brianeyci]

Marxis Corporation Press Room filled with reporters...

"...this alien ship was heavily armed with ion torpedoes and blast cannons. It's hull is also of military grade, armored against civilian weapons. From its armadments and the military uniforms we discovered in the ship, these aliens are likely to have been commerce raiders disguised as pirates."

Marxis pressed his laptop bringing up the schematic of the ship and uses a laser pointer to highlight features.

"This was no scout ship. As Marxis Corporation's latest study into the alien threat revealed, the aliens have finished scouting our systems and are launching probing attacks into our space. This warship, designed to be more than a match for any freighter or civilian vessel, is obviously the vanguard of an alien invasion."

"The Marxis Corporation will protect itself from all alien threats. Over the next two months we are arming our freighters with particle cannons. These should suffice for now, but if the aliens come in force humanity must be united against the common foe."

"Since the aliens disguised themselves, our legal experts have advised us that they are not under the protection of the Hague Treaties for Prisoners of War. Therefore the Marxis Corporation will hold these prisoners indefinitely until brought to trial. If they are spies the full force of the law will be brought to bear."

"Of course we will let independent observers interview the aliens as soon as practicable and if Earthforce wishes to examine the alien ship themselves they may. They will reach the inevitable conclusion that this was a warship designed to wreak havoc on human beings and if they are not... influenced by political considerations... any impartial human being will realize the same conclusions we have reached."

"The time for talk is over. We must fortify our borders and prepare for the inevitable alien incursions. The Marxis Corporation is tripling the strength of the Watch in addition to arming its transports and freighters, but this is only a temporary measure. We need the support of the civilian government and Earthforce to prevent an alien takeover of human territory."

"A recently settled colony in the Kokkar system is being blockaded by an alien frigate. The alien frigate attempted to chase our colony ship but it seemed to have a computer malfunction and our colony ship was able to find refuge in a nearby planet. It is only a matter of time until the aliens kill the millions of innocent human colonists. As you know I fervently opposed Earthforce's downsizing and this is the consequence--Earthforce stretched so thin they cannot even defend against the once defeated Dilgar. We are sending what civilian escorts we can to the colony but they will arrive in time, and I feel for the millions of families who will lose loved ones because of alien aggression."

"I will take your questions now..."

Brian

[brianeyci]

Code: Select all

Captain Marxis:

We have learned that one of our vessels has recently been taken by your Raiders. You should know that the Narn Regime considers such actions an act of war. However, we are willing to overlook this incident if you return our people and our property intact.

Ignore this warning at your own risk.

Chairman G'Kar
Narn Regime"

"Looks like the ball's in our court," said Vera.

"Nobody's called me Captain Marxis in years," said Marxis. "And we've been legit for a long time. Looks like this G'Kar's a little dated."

"Who do these aliens think they are? They intrude into our space with a heavily armed vessel--"

"No," said Marxis. "This is what we'll do. If these aliens want a war, they'll have it. But we have to be careful not to plunge humanity into something we're unprepared for. Let's find out more about these Narns from our contacts in Earthdome. Meanwhile stall this... G'Kar."

"What if they declare war?"

Marxis gritted his teeth. "If they declare war on us they'll be declaring war on the Earth Alliance. Remind them of that."

Brian

[Uraniun235]

"It's time for a new tack, Cal."

"Alright, Mr. President. What do you have in mind?"

"Your second... Ben Magnan, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir... he's something of a sycophant at times, but when he's not too busy covering his ass, he's a rather effective officer."

"I noticed. I want him to be the unofficial liaison to the Corporate Sector. And reassure him his job's in no danger; I need him focused on his job, not on his standing."

"Putting some distance between yourself and the situation, eh, sir?"

"Exactly. And here's his first assignment..."

---

Code: Select all

It would appear the Dilgar have withdrawn from Kokkar, ending the threat of a so-called "alien invasion."

However, if the Marxis Corporation is still convinced that it's assets in Kokkar are in danger, Earthforce is prepared to immediately deploy two frigates to Kokkar, with several more on standby for deployment.

We are aware that two frigates are not enough to stop an all-out offensive, however, it is sufficient force to deter any would-be raiding parties. It is also small enough to prevent this deployment from being misinterpreted as a pre-war mobilization.

Please be aware that excessively inflammatory language, as has been used in Marxis Corporation press statements, is detrimental to galactic diplomacy and creates undue tension among our galactic neighbors. Such tension could ultimately prove counter-productive both to our concerns, and to yours.

Regards,
Ben Magnan
Deputy Director
Corps Diplomatique Terrestrienne
EarthDome, Geneva, Earth

---

"Very well written, Mr. Magnan. Effective. Rather ominous tone at the end... I like that."

"Thank you, sir. As a matter of fact, my assistant was very helpful in pointing out the availability of the Carmichael and the Newell for the suggested deployment, which you-"

"Yes, yes, I know what I said. If they take us up on the offer, the ships will be sent. Don't worry. I'm not completely brainless." Alshain winked at the deputy director. "Very good. You have my approval to transmit this immediately. And Ben..."

Magnan raised his eyebrows. "Yes, sir?"

"Don't worry about getting my approval for further communique's. Consider your ass covered."

Magnan smiled with relief. "Thank you, Mr. President."

Of course, it wasn't really true; if Magnan managed to really screw things up, and his ass was the price to be paid for saving the President's own, Magnan would be canned in an instant. But Alshain needed a plausibly deniable speaker more than he needed the integrity just now. And, if he was lucky, Magnan would someday see himself Director of the CDT.

Either way, things were starting to look up. Constant expansion of the economy. Ever-friendlier relations with the major alien powers. Today was looking to be a good day...

Alshain's secretary called out while the door was still open.

"Mr. President, Earthforce Intelligence is here to see you. Something about an incident in the Corporate Sector concerning the Narn."

Well, maybe not so good.

Oh, hell.

[Dalton]

"Any word from Marxis?" G'Kar asked. The armed scout he had sent out to discover the fate of the Markab had been boarded and captured by Marxis' raiders; it appeared that the ship went to the wrong system.

His aide Na'Toth, physically healed but still mentally scarred from her imprisonment on Centauri Prime, consulted her datapad. "None yet, but our intelligence network has been updating our files on these Raiders. Apparently they have reformed themselves into a legitimate Corporation with Marxis at its head. They have also entered into a Partnership with President Alshain."

G'Kar started. "You mean that I have been going by old news? Why was I not informed of this earlier? We could be on the cusp of a diplomatic incident!"

Na'Toth had the decency to look sheepish. "I do not know how this happened. Our intelligence division will be disciplined for this oversight. What do you think we should do about this?"

G'Kar considered. He wasn't entirely sure that Marxis would believe him, but diplomacy was preferable to war. Hopefully it would be enough. "I know humans, Na'Toth. They can be both quite curious and extremely suspicious. I fear that they have interpreted our actions as hostile. I will send him a message and hope for the best."

Code: Select all

Mr. Marxis;

Please allow me to clarify matters regarding the ship that you captured. We did not intend to fight you; we had simply received word that the Markab were destroyed and sent a vessel to what we thought was their system in an attempt to ascertain what had happened. However, the captain of the vessel was given inaccurate coordinates; one would think the Markab race would reside in the Markab system, but we were wrong in this case.

We do not wish to open hostilities with you, especially given your relationship with Earth Alliance. It is my hope that we can resolve this misunderstanding amicably. Such a petty war between us would do nothing except weaken our defenses and make us both ripe for harvest.

Respectfully,
Chairman G'Kar
Narn Regime

I cannot afford a war right now. Not with the Shadows at my doorstep.

[brianeyci]

"The Narns bought it," said Vera.

Marxis snorted. "Alright, tow the ship back to base."

"What about the alien prisoners?"

"Keep them in isolated cells. No torture, make sure they get what they want to make themselves comfortable but don't let them talk to one another. And make sure whoever's guarding them's not xenophobic. The last thing we need is a public relations incident. There's no stalling Alshain's people anymore. Let them talk to the aliens, but don't hand them over."

"We've captured another alien ship. This time Dilgar. And another ship entered through the same wormhole as the Dilgar ship in the Markab system. It was too fast for our sentry ship to catch up but we have another ship ready to intercept a few sectors away."

"The same aliens?"

"No, different ones." Vera gave Marxis a picture. Marxis snorted. "Emperor Mollari. Well Emperor looks like you're leader of an alien invasion."

"You're going to try the alien invasion angle again?"

"Sure, why not," said Marxis. "The Dilgar ship in the Kokkar system didn't retreat on its own... it was driven off by one of our frigates."

Vera smiled. "Another press conference?"

"You bet." Marxis laughed. "That's what, five alien ships we've captured? It'll be easy to spin this into whatever we want. Oh and make sure to seize the scout ship."

"The shipyards have finished arming our freighters," said Vera. "Earthforce has lodged a formal protest."

"Tell them to kiss my ass," said Marxis. "As long as the aliens gallavanting around in our space I'm going to protect my people. Besides, the ships don't have anything illegal on them. Asteroid mining equipment."

"The ships'll need upgrades to be effective."

"Alshain's embargoed all military electronics. We'll need another source."

"We don't have many friends"

"We'll find the equipment somewhere."

Mr. Marxis, Mr. Defel is here to see you.

Vera nodded and left. "Send him in," said Marxis.

Brian

[Nephtys]

"Fleet Commander!" Narol Firewing came into her chambers as she mediatated on strategy, the young warrior's breath taken.

"Yes, Narol?" Nimune asked, as she sat with her legs crossed and back straight, her eyes closed in contemplation.

"The Anla'shok have returned. They believe from the traffic entering human space, that their Merchant Caste has begun amassing a great fleet. Hundreds of warships perhaps, to disrupt the stability of their neighbors..." he said. "The Narn and Centauri even have had their assets attacked as they passed through."

She was snapped out of her meditation rudely, turning to stand with a hand gripping slowly about her fighting pike, squeezing the metal cylinder to hold her emotion back. "What? After interning our own kind, and preying on ships through their space? Do the Vorlons know of this?!"

"Most Certainly, Fleet Commander. The Grey Council has also been notified. Valen'sa is cruising out to the affected area as we speak... we have no word from the Earth Government yet on what the meaning of this is..." the young warrior continued, alarmed clearly.

"Steady yourself, Narol. And send a message by diplomatic courier to the Earth Government. Tell them that they must restrain their rogue clan, before other nations become involved. The Narn and Centauri won't allow their vessels to be preyed upon, and neither will we..." she stood now, looking down to think. The powerful Neshatan gunships and Troligan cruisers were being rapidly deployed to her command from the various Warrior Clans, the vanguard of the Minbari Fleet. War was on the horizon.

Could it be stopped, or was it already too late?

[Uraniun235]

Basement Level D
EarthForce Command

"Alright, gentlemen, let's see what you dragged me all the way out from Geneva to see. Proceed."

"Yes, sir. As you know, Mr. President, an enigmatic alien race had sent a scout towards our home systems, which you had attempted to warn off via diplomatic channels. As a precaution, you deployed Cantrell and Kinzle to one of the jump gates to make sure that scout did not penetrate further into Earth space. Last week, the scout attempted to run the blockade. The Cantrell and the Kinzle sustained no damage, but the scout was destroyed."

There was a moment of silence.

"And? You brought me out here to show me a pretty PowerPoint about a report I had on my desk five days ago? I knew you guys were nuts about PowerPoint, but..."

"If I may continue, sir. There was very little to recover from the wreckage; certainly no components intact enough to reverse-engineer. But we were able to determine that the hull of the scout seemed to be some sort of metal-organic system, which would in theory allow a ship so equipped to quickly repair itself, as well as adapt it's molecular structure to better handle whatever is being employed against it."

"You're kidding."

"Not at all, sir."

"Are you sure your analysis was correct?"

"We believe it most likely, sir."

"How far ahead would you put such a development for Earth Alliance research to match?"

"To be quite frank, sir, by the time we develop this sort of technology on our own, it probably won't be called the Earth Alliance any more."

Alshain leaned back and folded his hands.

"At least this incident shows that they aren't invincible..."

[Trogdor]

"Londo, one of our scouts has encountered several human ships in the Markab system," Vir said. "They are not Earth Alliance, but ships owned by Marxis. They are sitting of two of the three jump gates."

Londo nodded. He'd heard of these humans through the Republic's various trade partners. Apparently, Marxis was little more than a pirate king that Alshain wasn't bringing to heel for one reason or another. If times were more auspicious, he might've contacted G'Kar about uniting to stop his raids.

Of course, Londo didn't voice these thoughts to anyone. A bad sound byte could ruin any attempts at diplomacy, especially where humans were concerned. Londo hadn't spent as much time as he had acting as the Republic's ambassador to Earth without learning things about human politics.

"Hopefully I can appeal to his buisnessman side, or at least convince him that we're not a threat," Londo commented. "Marxis has probably earned himself enough foes as it is and won't want another."

He accessed his computer and sent off a message.

Code: Select all

Greetings Mr. Marxis,

Your reputation preceeds you; I have heard much about you. I have heard, for example, that you enjoy playing dangerous games with other races. Judging from the fact a Dilgar vessel is flying your colors, it would appear that I heard correctly. But your affairs are no concern of mine unless they involve my Republic.

Mr. Marxis, I would avoid the quarrels that many other races have gotten involved in with you, if possible.

First of all, let me state that the Centauri Republic will never be hostile to you unless you give us very good reason to be. Your sphere of influence is, as near as I can tell, far removed from that of my people. There is no need for us to fight, and, quite frankly, such a far flung war would be very expensive. I don't know about you, but I can think of better ways my Republic's money can be spent.

I am interested in obtaining star charts which I do not possess, but I am aware that you do not take kindly to having alien scouts in your territory. I can respect that. Is there perhaps some trade we could work out for that data?

Emperor Mollari II

"And our scout, Londo?" Vir asked. "They currently either have to try to run the humans' blockades or go deeper into uncharted territory that might belond to Marxis."

"Have it lay low, for now," Londo said.

[Kojiro]

The vorlons met again, this time in actual physical presence. One was in his natural state, the other wearing an encounter suit in preparation for his ambassadorial duties to a younger race.

"The Centauri have allied themselves with the Shadows, and they spy on us."

"Perhaps we should do what we nearly did last time? Just one of their smaller planets?"

"Not yet...we will give them the benefit of the doubt...they serve the Shadow but are not yet consumed."

"If they are consumed?"

"Then I will comission the ship you ask for. For now it remains a prototype."

"If there is nothing else, I must leave. The Minbari have requested our assistance. I do not like...serving them. We do not bow to thier requests."

"We have returned...if we are to live in this galaxy, we must be part of it and take responsibility for our share. The last war taught us that we had no right to the role of superior."

"But we are superior!"

"In many ways...but perhaps not the most important. We were, and I hope we can be again. For now...they have surpassed us."

The older vorlon 'looked' pointedly at the younger.

"Too many of us are eager to be the most powerful, too ambitious. They have forgotten who they are, and instead..." the old vorlon trailed off, turning his gaze away "know now only what they want."

"I will bring the wisdom of the vorlons to the younger races then." said the suited vorlon as he left. Again, shielding himself from the older he thought to himself.

"Wisdom and fire."

[Uraniun235]

"It's a very nice model. What is it, Cal?"

"This... is Mesopotamia Six!"

"Why six?"

"This is the sixth design. The other five, well... the first two designs were mysteriously lost in a freak hard drive crash, the third one was deleted by a disgruntled employee who'd just been fired, the fourth one got lost in the Ethernet somewhere, and-"

Alshain's brow had furrowed quite severely. "Fine, fine... so, what is 'Mesopotamia Six'?"

"It's a space station, Mr. President. Approximately five miles long and capable of sustaining up to a quarter of a million inhabitants. Partially self-sustaining via hydroponic gardens."

Alshain's brow furrowed deeper than that time his nephew came in wearing little individual pant legs around his ankles, so as to show as much underwear as possible without being pants-less.

"Cal, there are still at least a half-dozen planets we can colonize, each sustaining hundreds of millions of hard-working voters. Why would we need to build a space colony?"

"Mr. President, we at the CDT believe that this is it! This is our solution to the problem of xenophobia within Terran society!"

"Go on."

"This isn't just a "space colony", Wilhelm. This is a trading port where merchants from across the galaxy can meet. Those hard-working voters you just mentioned will have plenty of opportunities to meet and work alongside aliens, and come to realize they're just folks too! And, Mr. President, it could also be a center of diplomacy. A place where ambassadors from all the galactic powers could meet to discuss the issues. A chance for some real cooperation to take place!"

Alshain grinned. "You're in luck, Cal. Earthforce R&D's agenda includes developing the technology to sustain larger space stations. We'll probably get to it sometime within the next eight months. I'll have to check with the Joint Chiefs, but I think we might even be able to begin construction in eighteen months."

Calvin's face was lit up. "Do you mean...?"

"Yes, Cal. I'm approving this project... unofficially. Keep it quiet until we can actually get the technology developed to make this thing work, okay?"

"Of course, Mr. President."

[brianeyci]

"I might like this Emperor," said Marxis smoking a cigar.

"Huh?"

"He's the first one who hasn't threatened to kill us."

"We did capture every alien ship entering our space."

"We think we did Vera." Marxis pointed to a report. "These are sensor ghosts. Our people think they might be ships, but they might not. We just can't stop them from invading our space anymore."

"What about this Emperor..."

Marxis clasped his hands on the table. "Emperors I can respect. If it's true that his empire is far away, maybe we can deal with them. They want to buy our star charts? How would you feel having..." Marxis looked at his cheat sheet. "one hundred thousand Centauri Dinars."

"Think he'll pay?"

Marxis shrugged. "He's an Emperor isn't he? He'll pay. And if he doesn't we'll seize his vessel anyway. Any word from Earthdome?"

"No," said Vera. "I was wrong earlier. Communications misintepreted a message from a low ranking official as coming from Earthforce. It was actually a request for paperwork. Officially there's been no formal protest about us arming our freighters."

"Good," said Marxis. "The less Alshain takes notice of us the better. We're going borderline here."

"The Felgercarb Act--"

"--wasn't meant to let private armies spring up," said Marxis. "But I have no choice. There's aliens everywhere Vera and if we don't prepare mankind might not survive, or worse yet be under an alien boot."

Brian