Record keeping time: First of all, Hello. It has been a while, but I am working on them.

NorJC- I have tried to contact you several times but I think the email I have for you is no longer working or I have it wrong. Contact me when you can. Note certain characters you may find of interest.

Now for Chang. he is a pain in the butt. It was he who ordered an attack on the Ashen with only Klingon ships active in the forward areas but not the rear so that they couldn't retreat. None of the other Klings Generals would have done that. The Ashen have a form of shielding. You don't see them doing that. Same thing with the Minbari vessels who have shielding. He is trying to one-up Kirk and he'll do anything to do so. But he is causing more problems and humiliation than anything else. He is a great tactician but in competing he has become a weak general. And yes, he was planning a coupe against the Empire but that fell apart due to the Minbari infraction. Now his mind is centered on something or should I say someone else.

This chapter again highlights a few things mentioned before and partially recapped but it sets up for what is coming next. And Terrell Drake (Earthforce captain of AUOC fame in this story. Same personality different timeline. In fact, he was just promoted and is feeling his oats. The fact that he is a captain so early indicates how desperate the EA is.

In the next chapter coming up Kirk and Chang is coming to a head with the fate of the Minbari remnants at stake. Now the Ashen have lost so much but they're not dead yet. They also have a home world that the Vorlons will utilized to the fullest and then discard like trash. For further hx on the Ashen (Ashyen) it is found in Allies in Blood. the ultimate fate was mentioned there, and I can say that the Vorlon's failsafe had genetic failsafes designed to kill them all. Too unstable. Another one of so many mistakes.

Als note in this chapter the ATV supplements recap with Earth Alliance and Psi-Corps. This will be a MAJOR problem for the EA in the near future. The good thing...CLARK IS DEAD. The bad thing is that they have Senator Quahtrell who is also making his presence known in AUOC,

Anyway, please enjoy and take a look at 'Star Trek-Destiny'. It is a different take on the ST/B5 crossover. It is a gentler take, but I think you will like it. As per usual. Take care people and enjoy

AlbertG

Chapter Three

Cyrannus Star System

Narn Diplomatic Carrier Vessel Hes'Ri

Time? Present

Ambassador G'kar, the official Narn representative invited by the Federation to witness the conclusion of the Earther and Federation and Klingon war against first, the Minbari and then the Ashen war machine, the Minbari, fought against his growing depression at the sights he was witness to.

The war was ending, and some would say that it was already over. However, G'kar was never one to say something like that out loud. The universe had rules against uttering such foolishness, and he was never one to tempt the universe. Saying such things could cause the war to escalate in directions no one would predict and appreciate. So, he remained silent.

War was always present, but like every war, it was a brutal affair. A little less than two million Earth Alliance humans were dead because of it. That, however, was nothing compared to the losses suffered by the Federation and their allies and associates who didn't know of the Earth-Minbari war and had nothing to do with it.

The United Federation of Planets suffered twenty-eight million deaths from the cowardly Minbari attack in the Alpha quadrant. The Minbari assumed that they were destroying a distant human colony, who either sought refuge or were somehow transplanted away from their home world. How it occurred wasn't important to the Minbari. They were human and were fated to suffer the same fate as their home world. There would be no escaping Minbari justice. With this attitude permeating the warrior culture of the genocidal aliens, the instant the Minbari saw that the gunboat-sized Federation ship had humans onboard and controlled said vessels, they attacked. Not only did they attack the Federation ship, but they also struck at the Klingon Diplomatic warship carrying the Kling Chancellor.

It was mistaken identity coupled with a supreme arrogance that pulled the Feds into the war. Their Tinashi warship just had to follow the fleeing Earther ships and then had the stupidity destroy at least one ship in front of the Feds and Klingons, literally daring them to do something about it. And they did.

The Minbari, angered beyond reason at their ships being destroyed by an inferior species who didn't know their place, attacked again, destroying a human colony with twenty-eight million souls. They attacked Klingon territories to dissuade them from siding with the humans. The strike was also a not-so-subtle warning to the Klingons not to get involved unless they wanted to challenge and thereby incur the wrath of the Minbari and be 'punished' accordingly by the Minbari, their superiors.

Minbari arrogance and blood lust had led them to this nightmare. The Fed ships were strong, and the Minbari weren't completely stupid. Their plans after the war. As told by Minbari prisoners, were to come back and teach the Federation a lesson they would never forget while hunting down the last of the human colonists. It indicated to G'kar and others in his government that the Minbari were enjoying the war and wanted to continue e it. The Earth Alliance was little threat to them. The Feds and Klingons would provide better sport, and the Minbari planned to come for them when they were ready.

That line of thought, that arrogant assumption, was a mistake brought on by pride. The result was one hundred fifty million dead, and the count was rising rapidly, as the Ashen slaughtered their own relatives because those relatives dared to surrender to the Federation. And that was the tragic irony. Minbari were killing Minbari because some Minbari wanted to stop the killing. The Ashen were determined to increase the number of Minbari dead. The Minbari were trying to stop them from genocide. Again, the irony struck at him. It was such a waste.

Both the Earth Alliance and the Fed and their allies had lost millions, but the losses happening to the Minbari were measured in hundreds of millions. Those deaths resulted not from their enemies, but from their own people.

On the other side of the equation, had the Earth Alliance and Federation want justice? Absolutely. Did they want revenge? No question, yes. Pride? Without a doubt on all sides. War always gave birth to such ideals. But the Ashen were different.

They were fighting because the Vorlons told them to fight. The Ashen were told by the Vorlons that the Federation and its allies were darkness, and the Ashen ran to destroy them without question. Every report he read suggested that the Vorlons were behind the Ashen and were very likely aiding the Minbari in the war.

The Vorlons.

G'kar had so many questions about them. The more he learned about that secretive race, the more mysterious they were to him. Why did the Ashen treated them as gods? In fact, why did he feel the need to venerate them when he thought of them? He felt compelled to do that, and he didn't like that feeling. But it wasn't the Vorlons who started the war.

There was no question about the human's response to the Minbari. Earth Alliance was right in its efforts to at first end the fighting by diplomacy, and then using everything they had to survive the Minbari onslaught. They tried surrendering. The Minbari ignored the entreaties. When the Narn first heard of the attempts to surrender, they understood their point intimately. He, like his own people, knew how the humans felt.

The Narn ambassador's hatred for the Centauri still burned within him, and he still struggled to keep from wrapping his hands around Ambassador Londo Mollari's thick neck and joyfully squeezing the life out of him. Watching the Centauri's life-force fade into the ether would give him the thrill of his life. Londo Mollari was his own personal adversary/enemy. The Narn people disliked all Centauri, but to G'kar, Londo was special.

However, their desire to kill his hated adversary represented the mindless savage, and he certainly wasn't a savage. Killing Londo, just to kill him, no matter the reason, was the act of a barbarian. Plus, in light of the current situation, it was in bad taste and would sour relations with the Federation. He was the master of his emotions. He had no problems fighting and killing his enemies, and he would admittedly enjoy watching Londo dying by his hand (although his attitude was changing, much to his chagrin); the price was too high for his people. It wasn't saying that he could successfully argue the other side of the equation. Narns weren't uncivilized, no matter what many governments thought of them.

The Narn people had something to prove to the rest of the galaxy and to themselves. They were strong enough to move past mindless vengeance against the Centauri. The potential to uplift the Narn was too important and was something that began in the last few months.

The Federation weren't pacifists, as he understood the term, but they were (mostly) at peace when they should have been tearing at each other's throats. The question was, how did they do it?

To their credit, they had provided answers, and G'kar listened intently to those answers. Those answers now dominating his mind. They had validity and now the Narn, Centauri, and Non-Aligned Worlds were here to witness the end of a historic event. Minbari actions at attempted genocide effectively changed this sector of the galaxy.

The simple act of living allowed for so many mistakes. The simple act of witnessing those mistakes could change a person's perspective forever. And confessing those mistakes and using them as a teaching experience forced changes in him that he would have made him laugh if he only been aware of them a few months ago.

Even observing this final battle indicated just how much he had changed. He was also sickened by the sight of so much death. But he was a witness and would deal with this responsibility.

He'd change so much!

There was a time when he would have loved this. The opportunities that could have presented itself could have brought prosperity to the Narn people. It would have also brought on another war. The Centauri would have most certainly tried to stop them from acquiring (and by hat, he meant plundering) trinkets from the war-ravaged world. others would have done the same thing. Likely, a series of conflicts would have erupted among the locals fighting for scraps.

The universe had a way of changing things. it was not going to be as G'kar and other predicted months earlier. The presence of the Federation and its actions in this war, not to mention its high and mighty ideals, changed everything in ways he would have never believed. Not only he, but the Centauri were witness to it, too. Neither the Narn nor the Centarui wouldn't even try. He really didn't care much for the Centauri at the best of times, but they were part of this unfolding story, and no one knew how the story would end.

G'kar was still in somewhat of a daze from recent events and the ending of the war between human and Minbari and their vicious cousins hadn't dimmed those feelings.

He went to Federation Earth and the fate of Narn changed, perhaps forever.

Three Months Earlier

The Federation diplomatic warship reached Fed Earth after several days of travel through a passageway that hadn't been previously imagined. The trip was life-opening in and of itself. Imagine a tunnel through space connecting two parts of the galaxy. It was wonderful, but for now, the Feds were in control. G'kar didn't really concern himself about it too much. It existed and one day the Narn would have access to it.

Perhaps he should have cared more about the momentous occasion. Instead, the Kha'Ri chose to just relish the moment and take in the sights, while doing his best to remember everything about the experience.

The first thing that was obvious about Federation Earth was the water and the huge amount of cloud cover gently blanketing the planet. In high orbit, huge star stations, some resembling Becerra Alpha One, and others having completely different configurations, rested serenely while dozens of ships of all descriptions were seen moving around without a care. Fear of attack from their enemies didn't even occur to them as they went to wherever they were travelling to. He envied that sense of innocence.

In his suite on the ambassadorial starship, windows weren't present. In their place were huge viewscreens that imaged the outside of the ship. He rather liked that, the illusion of windows. In his opinion, windows were dangerous on a spaceship. Therefore, this was an excellent compromise, and they were switchable, too.

The viewscreen wasn't active (naturally), when several major events occurred during the transit to Fed Earth, so the Narn contingent missed a couple of major events that happened such as the initial appearance of the super Federation and Klingon ships that traveled with them for a period of time within the passageway. Then, there was the Minbari Sharlin of some type that journeyed along with those vessels. The configuration was so similar, yet visibly different. And they were traveling together! G'kar knew a dimensional transference when he saw one, even though he'd never seen one before. It changed his life–again. If they were on a Narn ship, the travelers would have completely missed the whole experience. Narn ships didn't have windows, and he really wasn't interested in looking at the vulgarities of the space. He'd seen jump space many times before and was unimpressed. The passageway was admittedly different; so, he made allowances.

What happened outside was astounding, but as a politician, he was far more interested in the internal politics happening on the ship. Although naturally wary of the Centauri, he didn't really concern himself with their politics. There would be time enough for that later when they made planetfall. He did spend his time listening to the Abbai, the Vree, the Drazi, and the others, as it was an opportunity he couldn't afford to miss. The Centauri were faux civilized beings who made his people suffer. And then they would suffer, as he made his case to the Federation representatives concerning the evil of the Centauri republic and the atrocities done by them to his people. But right now…

Earth, or Federation Earth, he corrected, was stunning.

It wasn't just the amount of water, but the very familiar configuration that appeared to be a perfect geological match to Alliance Earth. The implications didn't escape him. There were powers out there, powers he hoped not to meet in his lifetime. He did notice a jagged scar on the surface that he could see from orbit, that ruined the overall beauty of the world. It looked like a wound; a scar now healed but never overlooked. From the history the Starfleet crew told him about Federation Earth, and from access to the limited records, he knew it was the result of the Xindi attack. However, that incident had occurred more than hundred twenty-plus years ago. Still, that scar reminded him of his home, and it brought fears to his eyes at what could happen to his home if the Centauri decided to attack.

Memories aside, this world was a paradise. And on the surface, paradise it was.

When they were all being transported down to Federation Earth, G'kar held his breath during the transport. He didn't know why he did it. It just seemed like the safe thing to do and this time, he managed not to humiliate himself, and kept his mouth from saying something embarrassing.

The very first time he witnessed this amazing device in action, all he could think to say was, "how much do you want for this technology?" He was humiliated, ashamed, and wanted to run away and hide. But Captain Silva was polite and gently brushed the comment aside for later discussion. The others of the Kha'Ri wanted to say the exact same thing, but he was the one who opened his mouth. Bless Captain Silva for being the gracious man he was. It was a true shame that he died at the hands of the Ashen. He really liked that human.

The entourage was transported directly to the hotel and just in time to hear that fat Centauri Mollari all but scream, "decadence!" G'kar quietly agreed, although he made sure not to do so in front of his adversary. Yes, these people were very rich, but something else had caught his eye.

Being a natural pessimist, he viewed this first impression of the world with natural suspicion, but all of his doubts were blown away by the evidence. What surprised him on a visceral level was something that he first believed was a deception meant to deceive their guests. But the scale of human and alien interaction couldn't be ignored or dismissed as fake.

There were so many non-humans sitting in restaurants, enjoying each other's company, or just walking around doing whatever business they needed to do, that he felt uncomfortable being in their presence. Of course, that feeling didn't stop him from enjoying the moment in the least. The aliens were so varied that he believed he caught sight of a species who looked very similar to his people.

They appeared so similar to his people that he had to look them up to see if they were in the offshoot of his own people. Later, he discovered they weren't, which was disappointing. Nevertheless, it stimulated his imagination. Human had humanoid species around them. Now, the Narn people had Narn-like aliens they could commune with. The universe was indeed a wonderful and mysterious place. There were opportunities here, ones that he and his delegation dared not mess up by acting belligerent towards their guests, or to the Centauri creatures that came with them.

They asked their liaison, Lieutenant Southworth, to arrange a detailed sightseeing tour of the planet as soon as possible, and that was exactly what the lieutenant did. For the next ten days, between meetings and interviews, all the representatives and diplomats experienced the planet firsthand. It wasn't just the planet, but the technological advances these people took for granted. That was a revelation. The Federation wasn't perfect, not by any means, but they tried and mostly succeeded. What they experienced astonished them. The possibilities of what they could achieve working with these people, even more so. Their technology prowess was proof of that. Dealing with them wasn't stressful, a refreshing change from previous diplomatic encounters. G'kar had to adjust quickly.

Londo, ignorant Centauri that he was, noticed the same thing. His usual blustery attitude changed accordingly. These people were rich, powerful, and, most importantly, they were competent and confident with who and what they were. They were a strong and united culture who savored peace but were ready for war. Emperor Turan saw this, and now so did Londo. Do not aggravate the resting dragon. Londo's usual approach to humanity wasn't as aggressive as it was with Earth Alliance. He was more flexible than G'kar gave him credit for.

The Shadow creatures took note of the Federation's capabilities and made peace with them. That was a wake-up call for everyone. The Vorlons carefully watched of the Federation as well, and they didn't like what they saw. Ut was too bad for the Minbari, and their Ashen cousins couldn't understand the truth, staring them in the face.

Both ambassador G'kar and Ambassador Londo Mollari weren't fools either and both found themselves agreeing with their Federation negotiators in the long, spirited talks. In G'kar's mind, there was no doubt that the other delegates were in the same position and coming to the same conclusions.

G'kar would never have believed that he would have agreed with anything the Centauri proposed, but the Federation negotiators began helping secure the future of his people, just like Londo was attempting to do at the conclusion of the war, the Federation agreed to set up a peace-keeping force, keeping the Narn and Centauri from trying to kill each other. They also agreed to help terraform Narn and help rebuild their world, which was close to the brink of collapse due to the Centauri war-machine.

The Narn delegation, especially G'kar, was cautious, but optimistic.

Earth Alliance officials didn't have too much of a problem trying to convince the military refugees to return home. Many of them wanted to return and fight for their world. Trying to convince the men and women of Earthforce to return since they now had a chance of winning and could make a difference.

The original twenty-three hundred surviving civilian (some with newborns) colonists were another situation altogether. Of the original eight thousand colonists, this group arrived on the Earth Alliance transport Springfield. The rest were lost when the Minbari cut their small space station, sixteen light-years from Alliance Earth to pieces.

Before they fled their Minbari attackers, those same civilian refugees lived on a small space station orbiting a planet they were beginning to terraform for human habitation. The project would take several generations before they could have safely walked in open air. The corporations bled them dry, charging for everything from food to survival gases. They had no gravity and Earth Alliance charged them rent on a cramped space station they would never own. The fear of pirates was a constant danger. Then the Minbari began slaughtering every human they could find. Thousands of human refugees were threatened, and thousands slaughtered. The ones who survived to make it here had little interests in returning.

The civilians didn't want to leave, had no intentions of doing so. They liked it where they were just fine, thank you very much. Furthermore, they didn't have to pay the mega corporations back the tens of thousands of credits and interests that continued to accumulate even if they were marked 'legally' dead.

The world they temporally settled on turned into homes. The planetary climate was more than acceptable, as was the atmosphere. There're was no need for life-support every time one when out into the open air. There was ample food and space. The civilians could settle where they wanted. The settlers were having children and freely mixing with the other colonists from Earth and several other human and humanoid worlds without problems. This world was a paradise compared to where they came from. Those former colonists left Earth Alliance in search of better lives for a reason, and they had little desire to return. No amount of talking or intimidating could make them change their minds.

Senator David Sheridan wasn't that disappointed; however, some others were. They felt this refusal to return was an insult to Earth Alliance sovereignty. Some of the diplomats demanded that civilians return home.

Federation law allowed them the option to stay without repercussions. Many government officials at EarthDome would feel threatened. David understood this and tried to convince his fellow reps to back off. The war wasn't over yet and many of them felt insecure when faced with a human power that eclipsed Earth Alliance by such a wide margin.

It didn't matter that the Federation was human- and alien based. To Alliance Earth, the Federation was human, and there were rumblings that the humans here should join with Earth Alliance and re-organize themselves and re-organize so that they could establish a new human-based government spanning the galaxy. In their opinion, humans needed to stick together against the alien's threatening humanity from all sides.

The Federation humans had a different attitude, and in those differences lay the seeds of complications going down the road. David didn't like the future he saw after the war was over. Envy and jealousy were about to rear its ugly head and it had already begun.

Things were not going so great for the Earth Alliance diplomats, and less so for the Earth Alliance Psi-Corps delegation. According to Federation news outlets, the efforts to convince the escaped telepaths to return home and or reveal their closely guarded secrets met with complete failure. Somehow the blips, a derogatory name in the Narn's opinion, refused to return home to Alliance Earth. They also refused to explain how they arrived in Federation territory in the first place, to the satisfaction of the Psi-Corp and EA delegation.

Psi-Corps reps were extremely unhappy with the escaped telepaths who were now settled on the same planet as the Earth Alliance mundanes. Those teeps had abandoned the tenants of Psi-Corps' mandate. The Corps is Mother; the Corps is Father meant nothing to them now that they were on this alien world, away from their family.

.The rebellious blips didn't wear the required gloves. They didn't cover themselves from head to toe to keep from touching mundane and accidentally reading them. They openly fraternized with non-telepaths and were trusted to police themselves. They rejected the Corps' prime ideology. the Corps is farther mantra. What was worse was that the mundanes didn't care. The Earth Alliance non-telepathic refugees were anxious about them initially, but in living with so many kinds of human-like humanoids and aliens, as well as Terran humans from multiple worlds, they adjusted quickly. Those attitudes were something that Psi-Corps couldn't abide and wouldn't allow them to spread under any circumstances.

The Telepathic Earth Alliance representatives feared and hated what it represented it to Psi-Corps. They tried to change force the issue. No amount of convincing or threats would change their minds, because they were under the Federation umbrella.

The telepath escapees wouldn't divulge exactly how they got to Fed space to the Psi-Corps reps and they, as the humans said, were royally pissed off that much more. Psi-Corps wouldn't stand for their people, more like their property, to escape to Fed space. It was a threat to their power, and they wouldn't stand for it. Those were also seeds that were going to become a huge problem down the road. Psi-Corps had a lot of political power, and there was every sign that they were going to use it. And there was every sign that the Feds would not budge on their stance.

G'kar knew the impasse was going to have serious repercussions that could harm the two human societies. He believed it to be a shame, but as long as it didn't interfere with the interests of his own people, it wasn't his concern.

The mission was too important for his people. The Fed offers were more than generous to both his people and the Centauri. He wasn't sure about the other alien delegations that went to Federation Earth, but they appeared pleased. The fact the Federation of Planets offered and had the ability to help and restore his planet's eco-system filled him with joy.

In addition to that, they agreed to help both sides began the explorations of their own space, currently unavailable near both Narn and Centauri unclaimed territories by jump point. Both territories had access to abundant qualities of dilithium crystals and other precious metals and resources which would effectively make both the Narn and Centauri very, very stinking rich, once the Federation started paying for them. They also offered a contract to the Narn for them to help build jump gates, not that they really need them, but the locals did. The Kha'Ri representatives were more than happy to do so.

All of this, however, was contingent on the ability of both sides not attacking each other. He and Londo both found themselves laughing at the irony of it all. Both sides could be unbelievably prosperous if only they could peacefully coexist with each other. It was almost too much to bear, but they'd try. They really would. The promise of extreme wealth and their own natural greed did wonders in the cause of peace.

With that kind of prosperity in mind, both sides really began talking to each other for the first time. Secondary agreements were being tentatively offered and received with cautious optimism. And during those quiet times when they actually came together to speak to each other as equals, they openly wondered what it would be like to develop a type of federation, or mutual alliance, of their own. It would take time, lots of time, and they would have to get their governments to agree just to think about it. Nevertheless, they witnessed practical applications in the Federation and the various species there and how it fared.

It wasn't a perfect by any means. The Federation negotiators made absolutely sure this point was taken seriously. But what they achieved was a practical example of what the Narn and those of their local group could achieve in their region of space if they tried. By the end of the ten-day visit, both sides looked at one with new eyes. He wasn't sure what the Vree or Abbai had agreed to, but the delegates seem very happy as well.

The one thing all of them knew was that the Federation was here, and they planned to stay. Their influence would change the face of this area of space. Every member of the delegation agreed that the changes would be of their own making, not the Federation's. Their destiny would be their own. Not that the newcomers were intentionally bad, but they were dangerous, although useful in the greater scheme of things. The Narn and those dull-minded Centauri could learn from them, and they planned to do just that.

Time: Present

The Kha'Ri, in their infinite wisdom, hadn't even given him the time to relax at home before they threw him into the middle of what was to be the last defining battle between the Federation with the Minbari. Thirteen days of traveling on the starship, as comfortable as it was, were tiring that he had looked forward to coming home, resting for a couple of days and then given his report. But, no! The other leaders were busy preparing to send him on yet another mission, one that could have been done by any one of them. Instead, they grabbed his data and his reports and send him on his way.

To say he was unhappy would have been an understatement. He had too much information to impart to his people, yet they seem more interested in the ending of this war than they were about discovering the potential history making changes that were about to happen. Perhaps if he were in their place, he would have done the same thing. However, this trip was disgustingly inconvenient. His only solace was that Londo had to make the trip as well. The Centauri male loved his comfort in the fact that he was on another trip again had to irritate him to no end. That, of course, gave G'kar much pleasure and made the trip a lot more bearable.

Traveling on a Narn cruiser within spitting distance of the Centauri Primus, both traveling on the same vector not shooting at each other, was indeed a unique experience. Naturally, they had an escort, the USS Stanford, an updated Constitution class starship, which kept them from taking pot shots at each other. Londo and himself may have come to an agreement, but their people… Not so much.

The trip was surprisingly difficult, required a linked navigational data constantly updated, shunted from the Federation starship. He was somewhat amazed that it worked. Hyperspace and subspace were two different mediums, and linking accurate navigational data between the two was no easy feat. Hyperspace or jump space was extremely turbulent as they ventured closer to the Chi Draconis binary star system located in sector one twenty. Flying in such dangerous conditions was an almost guaranteed that his ship might well be destroyed or permanently lost in the red void.

It was a testament to the Federation that the Narn ship and the other local vessels trusted them enough to navigate through such treacherous territory. No doubt the Federation has something to do with what was going wrong in Minbari hyperspace territory. They must've detonated something to cause such turbulence. Jump space buys very nature could be described more than an ocean than a simple void. Bonds, explosions of some type, or even ship to ship battles could disrupt ethical nature that so many people to navigate from one point to another. it worked. That was another item that he would trade for God's eye view sensors.

All three vessels were far enough from the ongoing conflict to see everything, yet I get personally involved, which was exactly the way the Narn and the rested wanted it. Although they were outside the fringes of the battle, all the ships remained at high alert. It was a Vree cruiser holding station not too far from them as well as an Abbai like cruiser, and Drazi Bright star class frigate about a half light-second's distance. All of them were there to bear witness.

G'kar would have preferred not to be here, but since he was, the bridge was the place he needed to be, taking in every detail as it happened. What he saw appalled him, but he remained steadfast, recording every faucet of the events happening to Minbar. He couldn't help feeling sorry for them just a little and personally he wished that he was witnessing this awful event in the Centauri home world, but one couldn't have everything.

The Standford's sensors were being piggybacked, as the humans used the term, so that the various local vessels could see what was happening. Blue icons were designated for the Minbari, while their Ashen cousins were labeled in red. Even after all this time, he was still stunned by the clarity of the Federation sensors. Stealth or not, the ships were clearly displayed on the screen. Names, types of ships and positions were clearly labeled in his native language. It was indeed impressive, but not as impressive as he saw next. Twenty of those very imposing ships changed direction and were heading directly towards them.

For a moment, G'kar wondered why the Ashen were paying his ship any attention at all. They were not involved in the fighting; they were no threat. Perhaps they were upset that there were observers looking at their eminent demise. Whatever the reason was, they were coming in very hot and very fast.

G'Nath, captain of the cruiser Reclamation, recognized the threat an instant before the general alert sounded.

"We have incoming, vector seven-nine-three. All weapons go active. Charge the jump engines to full. We are leaving the area!"

G'kar was alarmed to put it lightly. At the bridge's tactical screen, he saw that the Vree, Centauri, and other vessels were doing the same, preparing to flee. Those ships were still in hyperspace and none of the locals would have even seen the danger if not for the Starfleet sensor transmissions.

The bridge crew went into a controlled chaos as the ships slowly began moving away from the area. The Centauri Primus escort had powered its weapons and tracked the incoming ships via sensors. The Ashen weren't even trying to use its stealth systems. something that he was irrationally thankful for as those weapons were not pointed hat his ship.

The Vree vessel was also powering up and moving away swifter than either his ship or the Centauri.

The Stanford was already moving towards the expected entry point. From seemingly nowhere, six more starships arrived, along with five Klingon D7 battlecruisers. They were a welcomed sight, G'kar had to admit.

USS Valkyrie

"Captain," Lieutenant Mazan stated while hunched over the tactical viewer. The glow from the system illuminated the tactical officer's face. "Ten of them are Sharlin analogs, the others are Tinashi analogs. They're vectoring right to our present position. Their actions suggest they are planning to use their infamous jump point attack on us."

"I concur," Captain Tynen responded curtly. "I think they would have learned that doesn't work on us anymore. Our defenses have proven that."

"I don't think they believe that it'll work on their systems. These Ashen-Minbari are more fanatical than the regular ones. They may also be correct in their assessment."

"Possibly," the captain conceded. Starfleet dropped two tri-cobalt torpedoes in the jump space continuum despite the concerns of the local races and that barely gave them pause in using the hyper-dimensional strata. Hyperspace eddies and currents were causing significant damage to the Ashen vessels, but they were powering through in their genocidal quest to destroy their enemies.

"They're using subspace sensors to track us in jump space," the woman operating the sensors said. "Confirmed," she added a moment later. "I wonder why the Minbari didn't have them? They're both the same species."

"Same species, different culture. They're in a civil war. One wants to surrender, the other wants to fight to the death no matter what. Starfleet thinks that Ashen are genetically programmed by the Vorlons according to the Medusan ambassador's debriefing."

As Mazan watched the tactical screen, she saw two ships disappear from the sensors. A few seconds later, two more ships veered off in an uncontrolled trajectory, as the jump space swells battered them and carried them away, most likely never to be seen again.

"Captain," Tactical Officer Mazan called out, immediately catching her superior's attention.

The female K'tarian was obviously agitated at what she saw on her instrumentation console. "The Earth Alliance ships are powering up their weapons systems. Worried, she looked at her captain.

"I think they're going to try to attack the incoming Ashen!"

Tynen managed not to slam his fist on his chair in frustration. It was an unavoidable error allowing Earthforce to piggyback on the sensors, knowing how they felt about the Minbari. The representative Earthforce ships were upgraded sufficiently to better withstand Minbari attacks, but these weren't Minbari ships vectoring in at them. These vessels were highly upgraded and, in most ways, superior to the standard Sharlin and Tinashi warships used by the normal Minbari.

Earthforce knew this, but they were still planning to stand their ground in a stupid gesture of pride. The Hyperions were upgraded by Starfleet to stand against the Minbari, but not Ashen warships. Their orders were to observe and defend the observation ships of the delegations. He assumed that they were confident that they could handle hyperspace and battle damaged Ashen warships.

Current Federation shield technology could withstand a maximum of three seconds of continuous bombardment by Minbari weaponry, that being the reason why Federation ships continually used aggressive maneuvers when in combat against the Minbari. Ashen weapons cut the time by a third.

Earthforce ships were slow in comparison. The weapons from the enemy ships would rake Earthforce vessels, break through their best armor, and slice them to pieces. The newly installed polarized plating wouldn't protect from Ashen neutron beam weapons. The Earthforce captains had to know that! Earthforce upgrades weren't designed to handle Ashen weaponry.

"The Narn, Abbai, Vree, and other observation craft are powering t up their jump engines now. Earthforce vessels are charging their weapons systems and shields. Their thrusters are active in the moving into an offensive formation!"

"Order them to retreat. We'll handle this!"

"They are refusing, sir. They're claiming that this is their fight, too. They have no intention of running anymore, not against the Minbari."

Crap! Earthforce was trying to make a statement. The captain was going to get himself and his crew killed. Well, that was his choice. He needed to protect the others.

"Observation craft and escorts are opening jump points. The USS Beatty and Livingston have warped and are escorting them via navigational sensors."

Local hyperspace was very chaotic, but Fed sensor locks would keep them from being lost as they had earlier.

The two Federation starships assigned to escort the observers would keep a close watch on the locals and make sure that the eddies and tides, the vulgarities of jump space, wouldn't sweep them away, or cause them to be lost in the unpredictable swirls. Their powerful sensors would keep a lock on them in normal, hyper and subspace and constantly update the sensor data to the locals.

"Enemy ships are still incoming, ETA, twenty seconds."

"Status of the Earth Alliance warships."

"They're moving in close formation. The jump engines are not active."

The captain nodded tersely. "All right, they're on their own. We need breathing room." The Ashen ships knew exactly where they were and planned to use their infamous jump point maneuver to destroy his command and support ships on reentry into normal space. This action fits their pattern. It was their preferred method of attack and weren't inclined to change tactics.

Tynen had no intentions of allowing his command, or those under him, to become sitting ducks. He had a surprise for them, the same as Admiral Kirk.

"All ships, implement Tactical Maneuver Three. Activate interdiction probes in eight seconds. Remember, they have subspace sensors. Don't let them catch you unawares. Good hunting."

"All ships acknowledge. The Pagh wishes us a glorious death, but a better life so that we might tell lies to the next generation."

TBC