SE:IV B5 RP

[Trogdor]

"The Dilgar are becoming active again," Dmitri commented. "Disturbingly so."

"Indeed," Londo agreed. "I hope I won't regret not sending the fleet we bought the Brakiri and the Republican Army to conquer their core systems when I had the chance."

"It would've earned us the contempt of most of the galaxy, I expect," Dmitri said. "What do you think they're going to do with those colony ships?"

Londo shrugged. "Either colonize more of Shra-Bal in an attempt to legitimize their claim to it or establish bases in Shadow territory I expect. Either way it's no great concern of ours."

"But what if they do colonize Shra-Bal? Londo, perhaps we should rush build colonizers and beat them to it," Dmitri said.

"No need," Londo said. "We hold both the oxygen worlds in Shra-Bal. They can hold more colonists than the rest of the other planets combined. And nothing can change the fact that Shra-Bal is far from the Dilgar's core worlds. Any other news?"

"None yet, Londo, it's been pretty quiet this month," Dmitri answered.

Londo grinned wearily. "Give it time, Dmitri. This galaxy is determined not to be quiet."

[Daltonator]

"Wait a minute," G'Kar said. "Two hundred and fifty billion? Per month, or over fifty months?"

"I'm not sure. The message is somewhat garbled. Either that, or Marxis failed grammar class at school."

"In either case, it's far too expensive. Does he think that we, a remnant of our former selves, could even begin to afford that? We'll buy the ships at cost plus ten percent, negotiable. He can't afford maintenance for too long, not with the current hostilities between him and Alshain."

[brianeyci]

"...that works out to about, two and a half trillion for all fifty ships. Over ten months that'd be two hundred and fifty billion a month. A fifth of what--"

"G'kar thinks he can put the squeeze me," said Marxis.

"He can."

Marxis grunted. "Two can play at this game. How are relations with the Centauri and the Dilgar?"

"As usual. They don't seem to be taking much notice of our... politics."

"Get them in here. We do have a military alliance with the Dilgar after all and they're as deserving of protection as the Narns," smiled Marxis.

"Ambassador, how is your Emperor? I know you are busy, so I'll get straight to the point. We know your military's under expansion, and that the Centaurum's frantically hiring every shipworker in the galaxy. On a spending spree? I'm here to offer your people the most powerful warships in the galaxy, eighty of them for one hundred and eighty trillion galactic credits or equivalent. Send that to your Emperor, and here are detailed specifications for all eighty ships if you don't have them already. Payable in installments for up to fifty standard months."

"We've run extensive simulations and training with our vessels against Minbari, Narn and Vorlon ships, and we come out on top every time. You'll be safe from the galaxy. And perhaps, even free to expand."

"Ambassador, I'm making you the same deal I made the Centauri. Eighty ships for one hundred and eighty trillion galactic credits. You'll be able to easily cru--defend yourself against aggression. Your people deserve the finest warships in the galaxy. Your people and mine have not seen eye to eye for quite some time, but I know we're both interested in the protection of our people. Payable in installments for up to fifty standard months."

"The Dilgar have been attacked by the Narns, the Centauri, the Minbari and even the Vorlons. It's time that you protect yourselves. With eighty of these vessels on a jump gate, nothing'll get through. We've run training simulation after simulation against every known vessel in the galaxy, and we win every time. The Brakiri just sold ships to the Centauri and the Narns. Your people deserve better than those scum."

One billion is one thousand minerals. So one hundred and eighty trillion is one hundred and eighty million minerals.

Brian

[Trogdor]

Londo looked much more disturbed by by their ambassador to the Corporate Sector's report than Dmitri would've expected him to be.

"What shall I tell Mr. Marxis, Excellency?" the ambassador asked.

"I'll contact you shortly and tell you," Londo said, cutting off the tranmission. "Dmitri, run the numbers."

The young aide did so. "It's a bit more than we can afford right now, Excellency, without running a defecit. But we stand poised to upgrade many of our factories, which should cause the economy to boom. And there's always remote mining. We could offer him less. He needs to be rid of those ships."

"Yes, but he's offered the Dilgar a similar deal," Londo said. "I would wager my life on it! Ack, if only G'Kar and us were the only potential customers, we could squeeze Marxis and make this cheap."

"If the Dilgar get that fleet, the ships we bought from the Brakiri won't be enough to deter them from getting violent anymore," Dmitri said.

"I know that," Londo grumbled.

"We could offer a lower figure," Dmitri said. "So long as we stay above what the Dilgar can pay, Marxis will have little choice."

Londo shook his head. "I don't dare risk it. I'll call up the ambassador and order him to take the deal."

[brianeyci]

Marxis smiled as he watched the Centauri Ambassador reading the message from Mollari through the spy cameras he'd installed in their quarters. Marxis punched up the video screen. He wanted the freckled headed freak to see his face. "G'kar, G'kar, I just sold those ships for fifty times your pathetic offer. Well too bad, as they say, it's business, no offense," said Marxis to the screen. He punched send. It'd take a little longer to get to the Narns, and by then they'd know of the Centauri deal, but no matter. He pressed another button.

"Sir?"

"Get my personal shuttle ready." It was time to visit this Emperor Mollari in person.

Brian

[Trogdor]

"He's coming here?!" Londo shouted when the ambassador relayed the news.

"Yes, Excellency," the ambassador replied. "Mr. Marxis plans on making a big show out of this."

"Wonderful," Londo sighed. "We get stuck buying a bunch of warships to keep the Dilgar from getting them and the most controversial man in the galaxy invites himself over."

"Shall I tell him not to come, Excellency?" the ambassador asked.

"No," Londo sighed. "One must always keep up appearances, after all. Tell him that the Centauri Republic will, as the humans say, roll out the red carpet for him."


ISN Press Conference

"In a stunning development, President Marxis of the Corporate Sector is en route to the Centauri Republic in what sources say is a massive lend lease agreement for a fleet of state of the art warships. Confidential sources in the Corporate Sector say that due to the hostilities between the Earth Alliance and the Corporate Sector, the self-proclaimed President sought new trading partners in the Narns, the Dilgar and Centauri."

"In short moments ISN is receiving a live feed from Centauri Prime--a joint statement from the Centauri Emperor himself and President Marxis..."



"And the Corporate Sector, in agreement with the Centauri Republic, have agreed to give the Centauri people the means to defend themselves from aggression. Not only will the Centauri be safe from their neighbours, but they will have a friend, a true partner, for generations. This unprecedented new treaty will not only include military equipment, but scientific, military and social cooperation between the Corporate Sector and the Centauri. This will solidify both our spheres of influences, and allow for the expansion of our respective and independent economies," said Marxis.

The people applauded politely as Marxis stepped away from the podium. Londo took his place and the crowd quieted at once. "My people, years ago, when the Shadows were raining death down upon worlds that flew the flag of our great Republic and our cries for help to our allies were going unanswered, I swore that we would rebuild. And we have. And I swore that we would become strong enough so that we would be able to defend ourselves from any threat the galaxy could possibly throw at us. And now thanks to the Corporate Sector, and its leader's shrew buisness sense--"

A few people chuckled out of politeness.

"--the Centauri Republic is a force that no one will consider attacking lightly. To all the people of the galaxy out there watching this at home, I encourage you to seek such mutually beneficial relationships with others, regardless of their species. All sentient races are deserving of respect and not to be exploited by their neighboors. Everyone, be they Centauri, Human, Narn, any species, has a right to live happy and free, not oppressed by any other race. I realize that this may sound ironic coming from the Emperor of a nation which once oppressed billions of people and dozens of races, but I swear to you that those days are gone. So long as I am Emperor, I vow that the Centauri Republican Navy will never be a force for greed. May all the people of the galaxy one day live in perfect peace and prosperity."

Londo stepped down from the podium as the people applauded, smiling. He looked at Marxis, who was still smiling pleasantly, despite what he might be thinking about Londo's call for equality between all sentient species.

[brianeyci]

"You think he's for real?" said Vera to Marxis as they left Centauri Prime as quickly as they arrived.

"Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Narns must be shitting their pants right now, and the Dilgar, and even those... what did he call them..."

"Shadows."

"Shadows," smiled Marxis. "If not him, then eventually, someone. Maybe that Lord Reefa character we met. Intelligence tells me he's leading a movement in their Senate calling for more aggressive maneuvers now that they've made the deal."

"I've seen the intelligence too. Reefa doesn't have the support, his people love Mollari."

"He's an Emperor. Do you know any Emperor who hasn't taken advantage of their power?"

"No," said Vera.

"Let the aliens play with their toys. What's the status on Project Journeyman?"

"We're good to go."

"Give the green light. With Mollari's money, we won't have any problems."

Brian

[Dalton]

"He sold the fleet to the Centauri."

"We couldn't have afforded it anyway," G'Kar mused. "Not with that other deal we have cooking."

"Do you expect Londo will use it against us?"

"Not if I know Londo. Doing that would earn him the ire of nearly every other galactic superpower and shatter this new image of a kinder, gentler Centauri Republic that he's been trying to create."

[Tobor]

Rai'Jal looked gloomily out of the port hole in his quarters.

Although any imminent threat to the Dilgar Confederacy seemed to have disappeared he had reservations. The universe was in a state of turmoil, and his place on M6 would be more important than his senseless worry over the health of the warleader.

Still, if they were forced to commit their forces, a diplomatic station would be no place for him to conduct maneuvers from.

He would just have to take things as they came, and hope that the black spot in Dilgar space would provide enough of a deterant for any race that might become curious as to just how crippled the DIlgar were.

[Trogdor]

"Many of the core worlds have completed their upgrades on their mining facilities. With them we should be able to bear the costs of the Corporate ships. Further upgrades, new mining facilities soon to be built on our colonies, and the remote mining ships we've got under construction should put us comfortably back into the black," Dmitri reported.

Londo nodded, not really paying attention. None of this was unexpected.

"Oh, and Mr. Marxis contacted us," Dmitri added. "He says that the ships are en route and he wants the first payment."

Londo frowned. "I wonder why he's so eager for that money?" he shook his head. "Very well, I'll authorize payment."

Dmitri nodded, hesistated for a moment, then said, "Sir...have you seen the recordings of the recent Centaurum meetings?"

Londo scowled. "Yes."

Even though they didn't have the Corporate ships yet, Reefa was already loudly proposing what they should do with them. He didn't have enough support to start a war without Londo's help--which would not be forthcoming--but provokation by another power that would've been ignored before might change that. Londo knew if he were the Dilgar, he wouldn't be making any sudden movements.

"Ah, I see," Dmitri sputtered. "Um, I have other business to attend to, sir. I'll just be going."

---------------------------------

M6

It made everyone nervous.

Well, everyone one except the Minbari and Vorlon delegations.

At the current moment, a large Minbari fleet composed of both their and Vorlon ships was a mere parsec away from the station.

All in all, though, Vir wasn't sure if he was glad or not that Delanay wasn't still on the Council to shriek about this. A heavy armed fleet had no buisness sitting next to a diplomatic station.

Vir told himself that the Minbari would never attack the station. They were friendly with Earth, especially since EarthGov had formally cut ties with the Corporates. Besides, doing so would turn the entire galaxy against them, except perhaps the Vorlons.

What Vir was really worried about was that the Minbari had brought the fleet to destroy the Shadow's ambassadorial vessel and its escort. While he found the idea of having a Shadow ambassador aboard repugnant, if the Minbari could just blow up any ambassador they didn't like and went unsanctioned by Earth for it, it would seriously undermine the legitimacy of the Council.

Hopefully, he thought, they're just passing through.

[Trogdor]

"The Dilgar have sent a remote mining ship to an asteroid field in our space," Londo grumbled. "And the Brakiri look like they're getting ready to start mining dead planets in our territory, too, en mass no less. It's as if they both waited until we started construction on our own miner ships to pull this stunt."

"What do you want me to do, Londo?" the hologram of Vir asked.

"Speak the the Dilgar and Brakiri ambassadors," Londo answered. "The Brakiri already have an immense amount of space to mine and a very powerful ecoonomy. They don't need to take our resources, too. Be firm with the Dilgar. If they continue to ignore our territorial rights, Reefa may get the support he needs from the Centaurum to get a declaration of war."

"I understand, Londo," Vir said. "I will do my best."

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

So much for the Brakiri forward repair base. The Corporates blew it all to hell, along with 5 base ships. It was still unclear who provoked the firefight and why it escalated. The Centauri were witnesses, of course, but they had yet to give an account. Pending a good enough explanation and sufficient restitution, Kullenbrach was prepared to forgive and forget. The Corporates had powerful ships, and large numbers of them. Kullenbrach wasn't exactly spoiling for war, not with no real allies and the MVB sure to pile on. Still, Kullenbrach wasn't going to make the first move. It was the Corporates who had erred, and they should be the ones to make contact.

A further annoyance was the three Dilgar colony ships that had entered Brakiri space. Kullenbrach had no idea what they thought they were doing, but he gave them 2 months to pack up and leave on pain of destruction. Thinking that he should be prepared if they actually settled planets, Kullenbrach prepped the troop ships. Kullenbrach didn't understand why the Dilgar continued to antagonize him after he had made an example of their fleet, but he wasn't about to let them, or anyone for that matter, settle planets in his territory.

[Tobor]

Bi'Lar swiveled in his chair.

He grinned from ear to ear as he watched the little star map spread out beneath him. Things weren't exactly going to plan but given the last five years he was prepared to make a lot of allowances. Two points seemed to have come under public scrutiny in the last few months. Monthsa that had seemed like decades to him.

The centauri were starting to notice the mining ships on the borders of their territory. This was unavoidable he thought but not without its benefits. If the Centauri did choose to make a conflict out of this it would give the Dilgar the opportunity to take the systems that were close to their own.

As for the Brakiri, apparently the option of surprise was lost to them now. He decided that he didnl't need to let that ruin the offer he had been preparing for the Brakiri delegation housed in that pharsical bubble - M6. Colonising worlds in Brakiri space might seem forward but he was sure they were unable to colonize the ice planets of their home system and this gift may help to cement the relations between their two people.

As for the war brewing against the corporates and the light block. Well, as far as Bi'Lar was concerned they could wipe each other off the face of the universe and everyone else would be happier for it.

The Shadows were coming out to play again and even more than this they seemed to be harrassing the Narn. Soon the Galaxy would be in turmoil again and then the time would be ripe for his small but dedicated people to move upon that decrepit fool - the Warleader Jha'Dur.

[Trogdor]

The battle over Thessin X had been completely unexpected. Londo had never gotten the impression that Marxis was spoiling for a fight with the Brakiri.

He'd fully expected the Brakiri to go to war over this, but it hadn't happened, at least not yet. Perhaps the military might of the Corporates had detered them; the Brakiri had barely managed to damage the Corporate fleet at all.

Well, Londo reasoned, he could start investigating and asking questions after the Corporates had tranfered command of the fleet to the Republic.

[brianeyci]

"Initial reports are that we freed the Centauri homeworld from the alien blockade," Marxis said. "There's no reason for alarm. General Stiller tells me a scout vessel incorrectly identified the Brakiri vessel as an enemy, not recognizing its unique configuration. The single shot escalated into a full fleged confrontation and the Brakiri bases orbiting the Centauri world were destroyed."

"Our crew will be shuttled back and replaced with Centauri crews. A small contingent of Corporate overseers will remain to ensure seamless integration with the Centauri fleet. As for the Brakiri, the Corporate Sector is initiating an..." Marxis paused. "...investigation. Until the results of the investigation are released, these are all the details I can give the press. Our security forces will be working with their Centauri counterparts."

Brian

[Dalton]

ISN Special Report

"ISN has recently learned that the Shadows have attacked the Narn Remnant. As of this broadcast they have taken the world of Oleng II and appear to be en route to Oleng IX. Chairman G'Kar is calling on his allies to condemn this unwarranted attack on the Narn people.

"Despite the power of the Shadow vessels, however, Chairman G'Kar is confident that his recent acquisitions from the Brakiri Syndicracy will be more than able to defend against this latest incursion."

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

"Is that Dilgar baseship still hanging around?"

"Yes, Chairman. However, it isn't an attack vessel, rather a remote mining ship."

"Still, their message is loud and clear - 'we can do whatever we want and you can't stop us'. Someday their hubris will be their undoing."

[brianeyci]

"The Shadows have attacked the Narn," Vera said. "And there is another message from the Dilgar."

"Interesting," Marxis said. "How many warships do we have in mothball?"

"You're not seriously planning--"

"I am. We give them the guns, and they'll kill each other off before we lift a finger," Marxis smiled. "The Earth Alliance still restricting arms exports?"

"As far as we know."

"Good. It's just us and the Brakiri on the market, and the aliens will buy every knife, rock and stone we throw at them. And we'll give it to them. Give them everything they want."

Brian

[Trogdor]

Surprisingly enough, the Brakiri seemed relatively mellow about having lost the repair stations and the small fleet of warships orbiting Thessin X. When he'd read the report, Londo had been certain that there would be war over this, but apparently he was wrong. Well, he had no problem with that. He wasn't terribly fond of either nation, but the fact was that the Republic was smack dab in between them and he'd rather not see them go to war.

If the Brakiri weren't going to raise a stink over the bizarre attack, Londo sure was hell wasn't.

His desk beeped, indicating an incoming message. He pressed a button and a hologram of the Chief of Centauri Intelligence appeared. Londo felt anxiety in the pit of his stomach. The chief of CI rarely called to relay good news.

"Excellency, there is a rumor going around on the Corporate core worlds that I think you should hear," the chief said.

"Let's hear it then," Londo said.

"It is said that Marxis plans to begin selling warships to the Dilgar," the chief said. "No auction of any kind, just private negotations with the Dilgar."

"Ack! He is trying to get the 'xenos' to kill one another!" Londo said in disgust.

And to think he'd bought eighty ships in an attempt to keep this very thing from happening. He was a fool to believe that would work. Marxis liked stirring the pot as much as the Shadows, and by the looks of it he was ready to start an arms race to get the non-humans to kill one another.

The worst part was that Londo couldn't do a damned thing to stop him. Embargoing the Corporates would hurt the Centauri economy and serve to give Marxis reason to sell MORE warships. Anything else would just serve to justify Marxis's xenophobia.

"It is just a rumor, Excellency," the chief reminded him.

"Why don't you know more than rumors?" Londo asked. "What do I pay you for?"

"The CI's budget went negelected because of the costs of reconstruction and the military buildup," the chief said flatly. "We simply do not have near enough resources to even attempt getting past Marxis's Black Watch."

Londo's anger cooled. "Of course," he answered. "I understand. You have been doing a fine job with what little you recieve. Keep up the good work."

He ended the transmission and poured himself a glass of bavari.

----------------------------

M6 Council

"Recently, the Shadows attacked the Narn Remnant without any provokation whatsoever. Consider that, during the Shadow War, the Narns did not fight the Shadows. Perhaps this was because of lack of ability to do so because of the Narn-Dilgar War, but the fact remains that the Shadows cannot even say it was an act of revenge. This random act of violence was totally despicable," Vir said.

"As you may know, the Shadows have an ambassador en route to this station at this very moment. It it very...ironic, that they should commit such an act even as they seek to join this council of peace. I wish to make it known that if they persist with such senseless incursions, the Centauri Republic will be ready to move to censure the Shadows Alliance."

Statement made, Vir returned to his seat. G'Kar had asked, and so he had condemned the Shadows. One could speak ill of them with little political consequences, and as Londo had once said, talk is cheap.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

The Corporate attack was, as Kullenbrach had thought, a mistake. Still, restitution would be required. 5 base ships plus the loss of the strategically useful forward repair base had to be worth at least 10 of Marxis' ships. Kullenbrach sent a message:

Code: Select all

Dear President Marxis:

We the Brakiri recognize that the unfortunate attack against our holdings were due to computer error and nervous pilots. However, because we lost 5 of our base ships with all hands lost, and our repair base was destroyed by your ships, we feel that we are owed at least 10 of your heavy base ships in restitution. We hope for swift agreement on this issue so that we may normalize our relations.

Sincerely,
Kullenbrach

[brianeyci]

"It's not serious," Marxis said staring at the stock photo of the Brakiri ambassador watermarked behind the message. "What is he going to do, invade us?"

Marxis and Vera were silent for a moment. Since Earthforce no longer had juristiction in their space, it'd been a little joke between them to accuse an alien species of invading them whenever a strongly worded message arrived. The joke was growing stale and ever more real.

"We could turn this to our advantage," Vera said.

"How?"

"The Centauri."

Marxis smiled. "Yes of course. The Centauri."

Code: Select all

Emperor Mollari,

The Brakiri insist that we restitute their people with no less than ten battleships.  Our vessels are currently undergoing upgrades and cannot leave space dock.

Any conflict between the Brakiri and the Corporate Sector will take place over your homeworlds.  Our investigators have determined Centauri friend and foe beacons failed, leading our approaching fleet to assume the vessels in orbit of your world were hostile.  In light of the circumstances, the Corporate Sector strongly suggests the Centauri transfer ten battleships to the control of the Brakiri to avoid further deaths.

President Marxis

"What if he says no?" Vera said.

"Then initiate the contingency plan," Marxis said.

"You can't be--"

"I'm not fucking giving the Brakiri my warships unless they pay for them, and if we go to war it's better in the Centauri's backyard than ours."

Brian

[Trogdor]

"Well, Marxis remains as sharp as ever," Londo scowled as he read the message.

He couldn't help but have a grudging respect for how good the human was as manuvering these political minefields and getting someone else to take a face full of shrapnel for him.

"His claim about our beacons failing is absurd," Dmitri said. "We've been carefully maintaining them ever since the Brakiri started setting up their repair bases there. There were quadrupally redundant systems in place to prevent mistakes of this nature."

"Of course," Londo said. "I never believed him for a moment, but the fact is that Marxis can get his spin doctors to make most people believe it."

"Then what are we to do, Londo?" Dmitri asked. "Must we pay for his mistake?"

"It seems that Marxis has forced us to do just that," Londo said. "Ah, but fear not, Marxis will get what is coming to him eventually. All men like him do. Besides, it may just be that we can turn this partially to our advantage as well. Maybe reduce the sales of ships to the Dilgar..."

Code: Select all

President Marxis,

I suspect that having us blatantly pay for what the Brakiri view as your mistake would be rather..impolitic. I suggest a compromise that will hopefully satisfy all parties. Promise the Brakiri the ten ships and transfer them as soon as they are able to leave spacedock. We will quietly pay for them. The Centauri Republic is willing to purchase ten more warships, each for the same price that we paid for each of the previous eighty, in order to preserve peace.

Emperor Mollari II

"I'm not sure that was wise, Excellency," Dmitri cautioned.

"We're already heavily in debt to Marxis," Londo said. "Paying for a few more months won't hurt. And if these are ships he planned to sell to the Dilgar, well, so much the better."

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

So Mollari wanted his miners out of Centauri space. That would make things difficult with all the construction projects that needed to be sustained. Perhaps the Centauri could be bought off with ships...

[brianeyci]

"Business is business," Marxis said. "I don't care who wants my warships as long as they pay. Make sure accounts is aware of the Centauri proposal and makes the appropriate changes."

What a fool this Mollari was, thought Marxis. Now if only the Minbari were so easily persuaded to go along with his plans.

Brian

[Trogdor]

"Not again," Londo groaned as he looked at his holographic map.

Someone had crashed an important gate and had once more split the galaxy in two. The loss of trade revenue had plunged the budget deeply into the red and Londo quickly ordered a Centauri jump ship off to restore the gate ASAP.

Restoring trade and relations with the powers they had lost contact with would take months.

Meanwhile, the Brakiri were offering to trade more warships for rights to mine Centauri space. Londo was forced to refuse, however, as there was no way they could support even more warships at the moment, especially with their trade revenue so badly slashed.

"Who did this?" he wondered, looking at the fractured galaxy.

[Dalton]

"It appears the Dilgar and the Shadows are going to force the issue."

"What can we do about it?"

"It's out of our hands at the moment; the threat is up past Centauri space." G'Kar considered. "Form a fleet. It's time to offer them whatever meager assistance we can."