SE:IV B5 RP

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-20 07:09pm

Krull nervously checked the reports every five minutes, hoping that the Dilgar would be exonerated of the gate closure and the Vorlons and Minbari would be proven to be the culprits. If the Dilgar were the ones who did it, there would be reprecussions against them, and every ship that was fighting the Dilgar was a ship that was not fighting the MVB (Krull's new shorthand name for the Minbari-Vorlon bloc). Furthermore, Krull and the Brakiri would look like fools for falsely beating the war drum. Krull checked the reports again...

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-20 07:37pm

Ta'Lon held up his hand to interject for a moment. "Ambassador Vir, before you send your fleet to Tychola - which the Narn Remnant grants you full rights and clearance to do - I would like to note that there is currently a Shadow colony in that system. Tell your commanders to be wary!

"I would also like to note that a preliminary review of sensor logs show that a Dilgar ship was heading towards the location of the Nakaleen-Riat jump gate. We will be reviewing these sensor logs again shortly and expect to have an answer in approximately six standard hours."

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-20 07:40pm

"Thank you for the warning, Ambassador Ta'Lon, I will make sure to relay it to our officers in the fleet."

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-04-20 08:34pm

Earthdome Press Release

"Earthforce had a plan for safely escorting the Vorlon ship through the Cooke system. It would have been impossible for that ship to threaten any civilian population once we had taken it into custody. Instead, the Corporate Sector chose to resort to drastic, paranoid, and hostile measures, and is most likely preparing to illegally seize Vorlon state property.

Earthdome will not have it's foreign policy dictated by corporations, let alone a tinpot dictator with delusions of grandeur, nor will it submit to economic threats."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-20 08:49pm

"Economic threat. He thinks I don't have the balls to go through with it," said Marxis.

"A lot of people do. Budget came back, they revised the figures."

"There's a way to do it without losing--"

"No." Vera lowered her voice. "It's gone up."

Marxis sighed. "We can't let that Vorlon ship through."

"We could follow it."

Marxis looked at the row of video screens on with reporters from every channel analyzing the business impact of trade seizure across the galaxy and the markets in chaos. "Give me an hour. Are the marines ready?"

"It's risky."

"What are the chances?"

"Better than even."

"We don't don't negotiate with terrorists."

"I know. But right now you're the terrorist."

"Don't you dare--"

"Wake up Ben!" said Vera shaking Marxis by the shoulders. "Every channel's calling it the catastrophe of the century and blaming you! There's no way to spin this. You're the one cutting off trade, you're the one practically declaring war on human ships!"

Marxis stared at Vera, his cheeks red. He looked down, and rubbed his face. "I've already said I would--"

"Leave that to me."

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-21 12:14am

MarxisCorp Press Room

"After careful consideration of the facts," said Vera, "We've decided--"

"--not to change all transponder codes to our jumpgates."

A flurry of questions.

"Please, let me finish. The data we gathered at the time indicated President Alshain leaked classified transponder codes to all Earth Alliance jumpgates, but we have new intelligence that suggests he did not. Moreover, we are satisfied by the Earth Alliance's plan to escort the vessel through Earth Alliance territory."

"Therefore, as long as the vessel is present with an Earth Alliance task force and escorted, the Corporate Sector has no problems allowing the vessel to traverse human space. We will be following the vessel at a distance with a handful of vessels to make sure it returns to its own space safely without diversion."

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-21 12:39am

Kullenbrach received Krull's report on the Corporate Sector's press release with a grim face. Kullenbrach chastised himself for thinking he could possibly enter into an alliance with these humans. None of the other races could be trusted, he knew that now. Still, the Corporates did not worry him. They had a powerful navy, but their interests did not conflict with the Brakiri. Not yet, anyway, and not to Kullenbrach's knowledge. Galactic politics was such dirty business. Kullenbrach was starting to regret coming out of isolation.

Kojiro · Post by **Kojiro** » 2006-04-21 02:35am

M6

"The reason no one has found evidence of us involved with this latest jump gate closure is the simple one; we didn't do it. I'm sure many of you are reviewing your own data and coming to this conclusion." Lyta sat back down.

Vorlon Homeworld
"Do we know who closed the gate?"
"Of course. Their reasons are their own. It would not have been our choice."
"Has it affected us?"
"We have lost contact with the Brakiri...we are not concerned."
"What of the mercenaries?"
"What of them? Let them speak. They are ruled by one who is irrational. We will simply wait for him to die. He will not attack us."
"And the Brakiri?"
"It will be some time before we can challenge them with confidence. We have only one of our anti-Brakiri ships so far. Fifty more will appear within a year though."
"Is that enough to destroy them?"
"No...but it will be enough to ensure our safety."
"Is the rumour true? Have the Shadows returned?"
"Yes. They made a quite interesting proposition to us. An offer, though they didn't say what they wanted."
"They're not angry at us?"
"They claim that conflict is the correct path. It would seem they consider our actions 'acceptable'."
"Will we accept their offer?"
"They didn't say what they wanted, and such a gift would demand a high price. Perhaps we will, but not until they tell us what they want."

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-21 03:14am

The results had finally come back. Ta'Lon glanced over the analysis, read it again, then hauled ass to the Council Chamber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"The Narn Remnant now knows for sure who is responsible for the closure of the Nakaleen-Riat jump gate," Ta'Lon said. "And we have photographic proof. Please observe:

Nakaleen System, date 2409.6

"Please note the presence of a Dilgar Hoteqach-class ship on the jump point. We have scans of this vessel from our allies, and have discovered that this vessel is equipped with a Jump Drive.

"However, current scans have so far failed to locate the current position of this vessel. It did not disappear, it was not destroyed, and it is not hiding out in any other system. Our scientists have pinpointed the only logical place where the Dilgar vessel could be hiding:

Opaque Storm in Nakaleen System, date 2409.7

"The ship has been under our nose the entire time, and the Dilgar have committed an act of treachery against us all! The Narn Remnant demands that the Dilgar answer for their actions!"

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-21 10:47am

Krull cursed. The other races were going to have a field day with the Dilgar, who now had no way to defend themselves since Kullenbrach smashed their fleet, especially now that the Centauri had those Brakiri base ships. It was probably going to be a contest for who could grab the most land before the others. Still, the Dilgar had brought it upon themselves, one could even say that they deserved it.

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-21 12:30pm

"Report," said Marxis.

"We've come back with strategic projections for the Dilgar. The Narn have an outdated fleet, but their vessels number nearly three hundred, most of them purchased from us. The Centauri have maybe a single battlegroup, but they've got modern technology from the Brakiri."

"And?"

"The Dilgar are crushed, utterly, no matter who attacks them. They're wide open to invasion with their fleet destroyed."

"What's the gossip on the street?"

"Narns think that this is their chance to avenge the death of billions of their clansmen. G'kar's trying to keep things quiet, but we think several of his admirals are calling for a full fleged invasion of the Dilgar now that they're defenseless. It depends on whether G'kar can keep his people united--if he's facing a revolt, he'll invade the Dilgar. The Centauri are far more stable, but Mollari's been looking to expand for some time now, and with the east closed off with the return of the crab vessels he might think of taking Dilgar planets."

"Keep our battleships forward deployed. When the time comes we'll take advantage."

Brian

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-21 01:03pm

"Now that the matter of who has closed the Riat/Nakaleen jump gate has been solved, the Centauri Republic will not be sending a fleet into Tychola system and will, if the Narn Remnant allows, send it straight through Narn territory to our space," Vir said.

"The actions of the Dilgar have broken the Centauri Republic into two pieces, and disrupted the galactic economy," Vir said. "We as well demand that the Dilgar answer for what they have done!"

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-21 01:05pm

"The Centauri have permission to travel through Narn space."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-21 01:19pm

"What is it with these aliens, letting each other's ships go through their territory like no tomorrow. You'd think that patriotism was a foreign concept to them," said Marxis.

"They're not human."

"No, I suppose not. A heavily armed Centauri fleet can hardly claim innocent passage through Narn space. And a Vorlon baseship responsible for billions of deaths being escorted by Earthforce--this alien weakening of our moral fiber has to stop." Marxis pauses. "Keep a close watch on that Vorlon baseship and calculate the most direct route back to Vorlon space. If it deviates a single parsec from it I want to know."

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-22 10:28pm

"Reactor problems with the package. We'll have to turn it around for repairs."

"I thought our boys fixed that."

"They did, but apparently something glitched along the production line."

"How long?''

"A week at least."

"Get it out as fast as we can. The mouse there yet?"

"It's there and ready. Waiting for the package."

"Good." Marxis smiled. "Everything's falling into place."

Brian

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-23 04:27am

"Are you sure this is right?"

"Absolutely, sir."

"Get me Ta'Lon on the comm, immediately."

~~~~~~~~~

"The Narn Remnant has received updated sensor readings of the Tychola System. We believe it is in our best interests to share this information with our allies.

Date 2409.8

"The Dilgar gate-crasher has since moved into this system, attempting to hide in another cosmic storm. We believe that this vessel is headed towards the Shadow colony in that system."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-23 07:15pm

MarxisCorp Press Room

"In response to the recent gate terrorism by alien forces, the Corporate Sector today forms the Black Watch. There are those in our society who know and see alien encroachments on our civil liberties every single day, but because of political harassment cannot report such problems to the authorities. That ends. Now, every Earth Alliance citizen may dial a toll free number for a private investigator to assess and investigate the danger of alien infiltration. We urge families, loved ones, to train their children to be on the lookout for terrorist activities wherever they may be, whether they are in schools, homes, cities. Small things matter. Suspicious activity should be reported to the appropriate authorities first, but local police departments often lack the resources to fully investigate serious claims. This is the purpose of Black Watch. If you wish to support Black Watch, call our toll free number and ask for a membership. We will send you, free of charge, a pamphlet and holovideo explaining the dangers society faces today and how to protect yourself and your family. Humanity must stand firm and united in the face of alien aggression.

Alshain's liberal cronies will attempt to paint this public service, provided free of charge by the Corporate Sector, as racism. This is not about black versus white, or yellow versus brown. This is humanity staying united against alien powers intent on the domination of mankind. Conservative, traditional family values must be reaffirmed in this age of cyberpunk culture ruining our youth, explicit pornographic holosex breaking marriages and causing the highest divorce rates in the history of humanity, and designer drugs consuming an entire generation. Support the Black Watch and wear your armband, and be on the lookout for alien terrorism. Defend mankind. Wear the armband. Join Black Watch.

The toll free numbers for your planet will appear on the video screen shortly. Call volume is expected to be high for the first twenty-four hours. Instead, you may also log onto our holonet address at..."

Brian

Arthur_Tuxedo · Post by **Arthur_Tuxedo** » 2006-04-23 08:11pm

The Dilgar had been attempting intelligence attacks on the Brakiri, for reasons Kullenbrach could not fathom. The attacks were easily thwarted, but it seemed like a suicidal move for an empire with no navy to do against the Brakiri, who had a fleet of nearly 100 ships sitting within a few systems of the Dilgar home system. Kullenbrach shook his head. The other races were going to tear the Dilgar apart for the destruction of the jump gate, and he wasn't planning on stopping them.

Kullenbrach was sorry to hear that the Centauri dockyards were unable to interface with the Brakiri fleet due to differences in design methodology. Kullenbrach ordered the builder ships that traveled with the fleet to construct temporary repair stations. This should have the fleet repaired in an acceptable time frame, although it would have been nice to be able to use the Centauri stations.

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-23 08:39pm

G'Kar looked over the PSA coming out of the Corporate Sector with some distaste. "This man is impressively paranoid. He makes Londo look oblivious," he commented.

"He's jumping at shadows," his aide added.

G'Kar grinned slightly at his aide's unintentional pun.

Nephtys · Post by **Nephtys** » 2006-04-24 12:57am

"So he thinks we are easilly fooled." remarked a ranger, observing a sleek blue Minbari ship moving for their Jumpgate in Orion, where an Earthforce Patrol Group cruised.

"Attention, pirated Minbari Sus'te. We know your crew, and the nature of your craft. Our observers noted the ship leaving your own docks hours ago. Halt your engines immediately, human... or we will consider this a hostile action. You will not hide behind the Earth Alliance for your actions."

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2006-04-24 01:59am

Excerpt from the Britannica Encyclopedia's entry on the Office of Investigation and Analysis:

Unlike it's historical predecessors in the United States and Great Britain, the OIA is a combined intelligence service which handles intelligence gathering for both internal and external security affairs, and has done so ever since the beginnings of the Earth Alliance itself when the then-lack of external threats left no demand or need for an external operations intelligence service.

In the face of the present galactic situation, it has been suggested by junior Senators that the OIA be split into two branches - internal and external - as it's historical counterparts were, but the Senate at large and the public have failed to express any serious interest in the notion.

The rough voice of the OIA Superintendent filled the briefing room, around which were seated the department heads.

"The President has issued a new directive for the Office. We are to observe, and when possible, infiltrate this new Black Watch organization. All observation is to be strictly discreet and unofficial.

They'll be expecting infiltration; let's show them a few conspicuous attempts, see how they respond, observe how they watch our plants. Then we follow up. We'll probably activate one of our family units after a few months.

The President has also asked that we investigate complaints about the Black Watch. He feels that if they can be shown to be a disruptive and intimidating organization, we can more effectively destroy them in the court of public opinion. I'm inclined to agree.

Any questions?"

One of the department heads raised her hand.

"Will we be actively discrediting them?"

"The President feels - and I concur - that we should wait for Black Watch to establish a precedent of harassment and violence. After that, and only after that, we'll start deploying operatives to pose as Black Watch personnel and stir up some shit."

A pause. Then another hand raises.

"Yes?"

"It's likely that we'll have Black Watch sympathizers within the Office."

"Correct. We will, of course, start to spread false data throughout the Office - fake timetables for surveillance on Black Watch offices, false memos... we'll even set up a uniformed raid, and have our officers abort at the last minute. As well as our usual counter-intelligence procedures. Anything else?"

The room was silent. The Superintendent spoke again.

"Brief your departments. Start laying the groundwork for this. And remember: we're the best-paid, best-equipped intelligence service in the galaxy. Let's give our President his money's worth. Dismissed."

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-24 10:28pm

MarxisCorp Press Room

"Today, the Black Watch has stopped an attempt by an alien bomber on Mars to kill two dozen young children. We present him to the public today so that they may see the truth, and to deter future attempts at harming mankind."

A Hurr enters the room in shackles, surrounded by heavily armed security.

"What is your name?"

"Yorlek."

"You were apprehended trying to plant explosives at a local human daycare, is that correct alien?"

"Yes."

"Are you being coerced in any way, telepathically, or otherwise?"

"No. I have realized that my alien masters wish to hurt mankind, and freely admit to my actions. I am willing to face the consequences."

"Will you recant your story at a later time?"

"No. I wish to face the consequences of my actions."

"Tell the public what happened."

"I was hired to drive a truck of fecal matter and an improvised explosive device to a building on Mars. I knew it was full of human children, and that the building next door was a retirement home for the old. I was to detonate it and kill the human children and elders."

"Black Watch will hand over Yorlek to the custody of the appropriate authorities immediately and the evidence we have gathered. They can verify his story. The public should be aware and watch for alien infiltration of our communities, before they harm our loved ones."

"How many now?" said Marxis watching the press conference from his office.

"Fifty seven million. Millions are signing up every hour. The phones are ringing off the hook."

"Allocate as much money as Black Watch needs." Marxis smiled. "Make sure to keep everything strictly legal for now. Until we've got more public support we can't afford to give Alshain's spooks any reason to stop us."

Brian

brianeyci · Post by **brianeyci** » 2006-04-24 10:40pm

Code: Select all

 "Attention, pirated Minbari Sus'te. We know your crew, and the nature of your craft. Our observers noted the ship leaving your own docks hours ago. Halt your engines immediately, human... or we will consider this a hostile action. You will not hide behind the Earth Alliance for your actions."

"Say nothing," snapped Stilgar to the helmsman. Stilgar turned his face revealing the steel skull that was grafted on after his narrow escape from the battle for the Yolu homeworld so many years ago. Aliens did this to him, aliens turned him into a monster, and he would make them pay.

"Make sure to keep out of sensor range of Earthforce patrols," said Stilgar. "The second the fuckers show--I want you to fly straight through that formation," said Stilgar as he pointed to the Earthforce fleet near the jump gate.

"Towards the jump gate sir?"

"We'll lose them in the hyperspace expanse."

"They'll open fire on us."

"That's the idea," said Stilgar smiling.

Brian

Trogdor · Post by **Trogdor** » 2006-04-25 11:33am

"Well this is new," Londo said as he looked at his holo-map.

A gate that hadn't been there before now linked Tychola to Thenavi. He was sure that the Dilgar's jump ship had made it, but to what end? Simple escape from the dead end system? But Nakaleen was Dilgar territory, and if they'd really needed, they could've just scurried to Shadow space. To reconnect the galaxy and perhaps dampen the fury everyone had toward the Dilgar? Perhaps.

Perhaps it was simply to make a route for that refugee ship? And refugees from what? Nobody had been blasting the Dilgar's worlds for awhile now, although they seemed to want that to change.

Dmitri entered. "Sir, the Marcanos has had its second reactor installed. It's ready to go."

"Good," Londo said. "Send it out to restore the Valusha/Thessin gate immeditaly."

Post by **Dalton** » 2006-04-25 02:50pm

"The Dilgar have opened a Jumpgate in the Tychola system to Thenavi..."

G'Kar's brow furrowed. "The question is, for what purpose? And why build it in the middle of a storm?"

The aide shook his head. "Maybe they plan to invade."

The comm light blinked suddenly, and G'Kar turned to answer it.

~~~~~~~~~

"So the Shadows want to send an Ambassador to M6, and they want to go through our territory."

"Tell them no! We can't have Shadows forcing their way through our systems!"

"I think the Shadows would come whether we granted them permission or not."

"I see your point, sir."