**"One of the biggest problems I have with the Cha'hal'zhamon is their tendency to visit me in visions, as if the Vorlons weren't bad enough, now there is another race of Ancients that hides itself behind a Veil.
This time, the message was urgent, but as all dreams are, the urgency of the message receded in the time after awakening. I can remember the Other asking me for help, as if this were possible; I don't know what we should do, in this case. I remember the sight of their vessels under attack by something, a race obviously serving the Shadows...powerful and deadly. But for now, we only have two White Stars, though it is my understanding the next group will be completed within the month; two are not enough to take on these Servants...and if even if we did try, there is an all-too-good chance that we would find the Shadows, themselves, waiting to spring a trap on us. Additionally, the number of human Rangers trained in starship combat is, for now, too small to help the Cha'hal'zhamon.
Therin lies the crux of our problem...not enough Rangers to fight, and not enough ships to make any difference in the long run. In time, we will be ready to do what needs to be done...in six months, maybe four or five if we are very lucky; but not now. Sooner rather then later, the Other will visit me again, and I will have to tell him this. I am not looking forward to the encounter in the slightest..."**
- From the Chronicles Log of the Rimstalker, Apr 30, 2260
* * *
Early May, 2260. Hyperspace...the Lower Incline.
The Drakh had done their work, it had been a pleasure for them, an opportunity to exact revenge for the hurt done to them a thousand years before by this accursed race. At that time, the Vorlons and the Cha'hal'zhamon had come to a strained but solid alliance, and several of the Drakh worlds had been reduced to asteroid belts by the secret alliance before the Shadows themselves could respond to the threat with fleets of their own, including, of course, one of their own planet killers. So much pain, so much death...there were many Drakh who, even now, remembered that horror first hand, and even on top of that, forgiving was not in their nature.
The Hell that was hyperspace now stood full of shimmering rubble, the remains of the squadron that had protected this particular base. And now, hyperspace shivered, as arachnoid death made itself known...*twenty* Shadow cruisers, fighters and spyships, dark angels of death descending. There was no pause, no mercy, and even as the oppressed fought desperately to save themselves, the outcome was clear; the firepower levered against them too strong. With a brilliant cry of pain, the five mile wide place of Power shivered under the assualt, and then parted under the strain. The Shadows did not stop there, of course...oh, no, the memories, both new and old, was still quite fresh. They did not stop until the remains were shattered down very nearly to dust.
The fleet stood still for a moment, shrieking its triumph, and then wheeled, and vanished into the gravimetric mist, its job done. The Drakh would continue their search, and as more bases were found, the fleet would appear, and destroy the Enemy. And eventually, the Cha'hal'zhamon would be no more, and hyperspace would belong to the Shadows.
It was inevitable.
* * *
Babylon 5...Ranger Council Chambers.
"The news is dire." William pronounced, as on one side of the Council table, Jennie, Shival and the rest listened carefully, and on the other, Delenn did the same, her face showing both deep concern and frustration at the present turn of events. "Dire enough that I find myself breaking a promise I swore I would not...but there is little choice left anymore. for if those I made the promise to cease to exist, then the promise no longer has any meaning.
Those I have just told you of, the Cha'hal'zhamon, have begun to encounter increasing numbers of Shadow vessels hunting for them in hyperspace, and within the last twenty four of our hours, one of their greatest bases has fallen to the Shadows."
"This battle," Shival pronounced, his face stern, "Is occuring in a place where none of our races can safely approach, without the direct intervention of these Ancients. The gravitational incline would damage even our war cruisers if we tried. Only the White Star vessels, with their extreme small size and strength, have a hope of reaching that level in the incline, as you demonstrated, Sha'vei."
"We cannot move to attack the Shadows." Delenn said, her gaze forceful. "Not yet. The two White Stars available to the Rangers and to those here on Babylon 5 are too valuable; we dare not waste them in a direct confrontation. Until more are available, that is not a solution I will support."
"That is precisely the problem we face." William ground out. "And being the only one the Other trusts, sooner rather then later I will have to tell him the bad news, Delenn...and I assure you, he will not be pleased to hear the response; in fact, we may even lose his race as allies if this is allowed to continue!!"
"William." an uncharacteristically subdued Brianna put in, "I regret to add this, but my...alliance with Ambassador Ulkesh at Minbar indicates to me that the Vorlons are equally wroth at moving to aid these aliens hiding in hyperspace. Ulkesh, in fact, acts with near contempt towards them, and has gone so far as to order me to determine whether or not they are a threat to his plans."
##They are not; fear guides## The startled Rangers all rose and turned, to see the form of Kosh in the entryway to the chamber.
"Who?"
##Fear guides the forceful; the Hidden cannot be helped##
"Then what are we to do?"
##Nothing; act, and die## The Vorlon turned away, and William, at that point, uncharacteristically lost his temper.
"*That* is what you suggest, Kosh?? That we should do nothing, and let the Cha'hal'zhamon be destroyed??"
The Vorlon whirled, his iris wide open...and somehow, angry. ##The Hidden cannot be saved, they must save themselves, or perish##
"And you cannot help them??"
##NO. Do not presume to order the tasks of the Many## The Vorlon drifted out of the chamber, leaving the dead silence behind, and everyone giving William a surprised look, except Delenn, whose face displayed a combination of surprise and anger at his actions. Without further word, everyone left the chamber except Jennie.
"Oops." William whispered.
"Oops; the man makes a VORLON angry, and all he can say is...OOPS?" Jennie whirled, and rushed out of the chamber.
William sighed. "Oops."
* * *
"You were a little harsh on him, you know."
"He has to be more *careful* then he is being; I believed that his training would have drawn this out of him; it seems that I was wrong."
"Come on!...give him another chance, Hell, even *I* make mistakes once in a while."
"It is not in our nature to forgive fatal mistakes."
"He's still alive, isn't he??"
A sigh.
* * *
The Flinn Colony Oort Halo.
The just-returned human rebel fleet hung together in space, its location still unknown to Earth. Their assualt upon the station at Loki had been an unqualified success, and while the resources taken during that raid had been small, it had proven itself as a testbed for larger attempts. The fighter guard on the fleet was however, for now, quite small, and this was unfortunate, for if the guard had been larger, and it had not been quite so late in the night watch, the abberation in space that occured not quite one hundred thousand kilometers from the fleet would have been noticed.
Space rippled aside, and completely unnoticed, a Shadow scoutship appeared, and moved in full stealth towards the Earth vessels clustered around their comet. A flicker of a scan passed across the destroyers and cruisers without notice, and the small but intelligent mind of the scoutship made a decision.
There was those on Z'ha'dum who would be interested to know the location of this fleet. Most interested, indeed...
The scoutship faded from sight, its job done.
* * *
May 5th, 2260...Z'ha'dum.
"Hmmph." Justin turned away from the book he was reading, and fixed Walther with a baleful glare. "You're just going to *have* to learn to stop dragging your heels, my boy. When you learn things that are important, use the resources you have to get here quickly! Now, what is it you have to tell the Circle that is important enough for you to break off your pursuit of the Enemy in hyperspace??"
"As you will see, Justin, one of our scouts orbiting through the outer reaches of Earthspace came across a, shall we say, jewel of a find; the current location of the Earthforce Rebel Fleet."
Justin's bushy eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline. "Well now!...that is interesting. Our allies within the Earth Government will be *most* pleased to hear what you have discovered, Walther, most pleased indeed."
"Can we not simply send a small group of cruisers to destroy that fleet? It would be more simple, and less time consuming..."
"NO; you have to understand, boy, and remember, too, the nature of alliances." Justin rose, and walked across to pour himself a small measure of whisky from a nearby decanter. "Things go both ways, and in this case, especially, the President and his men will be quite happy to hear that we have located the rebels for them, and so, the alliance becomes more firm."
Walther nodded. "Very well; I understand, Justin. Eventually, there may come a time when we will need to move our forces into Earthspace, and as such, with this favour in hand, Clark will be more likely to accept the proposal, when it does come."
"Precisely!" Justin smiled. " Morden is well on his way to Earth by now, we will simply pass on the information to him, to use as he sees fit. And now that you've warned us, it's time to be about your own business. "
Walther turned towards the Drakh waiting in the entry alcove, and nodded. "Yes...there is that, is there not?"
* * *
May 11th, 2260...Earthdome.
"Mr. President. Good evening."
A start. "Damnit, I wish you wouldn't do that, Mr. Morden. A man of my status should not have to wonder whether you or one of your other messengers is going to show up."
"Understandable, but this time, my associates believed it prudent to move in haste, and the quicker I move, the less likely it is that others will see me."
"Whatever; say what you have to say, if you please, Mr. Morden...it is has been a long day, and I wish to call an end to it soon."
"As you wish, Mr. President...however, I suspect that you will find this information most interesting. My associates have come across the coordinates for the present location of the rebels within your Earthforce."
A look of surprise..and then, a frown. "Oh. Them! They were either driven off, Mr. Morden, or destroyed! Why should they be of any concern to us?? They cannot *possibly* harm us, there is not enough of them left to even make the effort worthwhile."
Morden scowled. "You miss the point, Mr. President; as long as the rebels exist, there is the opportunity for dissent to grow within the ranks, and if enough join them, you will have a serious problem on your hands."
"Yes, yes...can not your 'associates' simply elliminate them for us?"
"We could, yes...but we are busy elsewhere, for the moment. Also, there are those within Earthforce who wish for another chance at defeating these rebels and their leader, Tikopai...yes, you can't forget *her*, now can you??" Morden leaned forward, his gaze intent. "Think on it, Mr. President...with your forces content in their victory, all will go as planned, and there will be nobody to stand against you!"
One hand firmly unclenched, and deposited a crystal on the President's desk. "All they will need is contained within that crystal..act on it swiftly, and all will be as you have planned."
President Clark sat back, deep in thought, and then, he nodded. "As always, you speak the truth, Mr. Morden; thank you for the warning; I assure you, we *will* act on it."
Morden stood back, and smiled his smile. "Of course; good evening...Mr. President."
* * *
Babylon 5. The Alien Sector.
##Fear is the province of the Lost## Kosh proclaimed, as Julia knelt before him, her gaze uncertain.
"I'm afraid...both for the present, and for the future, Kosh. But maybe, just maybe, with your help, I can push the fear away a little bit. I still don't know what this whole Observing thing's really all about, or, the whole truth of why I'm here!"
##You have always been here.##
"Oh very helpful! I've always been here?? In what way??"
##You do not understand..but you will##
"You agreed to help me, Kosh; help me to understand! How can I understand myself, if I can't even understand YOU??"
##You are not old enough to understand; the fear is too strong## The Vorlon turned away, his voice sounding almost tired. ##Go.##
Julia sighed, and rose; but then, all of a sudden, Kosh whipped around... ##Not enough time; she comes##
"She??" Julia began to feel very much like a cornered cat. "She WHO?"
##No time.## The Vorlon glided to one corner, and a sudden flare of energy made her jump. ##Here...she will not see you.##
Without arguing, but almost nervous enough to have a heart attack, Julia did as she was ordered, and only just in time, as a tall, red-headed woman entered Kosh's chamber.
"It's been a long time, Kosh!...I sure hope you think this was worth the effort."
##YES##
* * *
Kosh was troubled about the presence of the youngster in his domain, but there was no longer any choice in the matter. Besides, there was a chance that a certain avenue would develop because of this vision...and Kosh was never one to ignore the moments of Transition in the souls of those he watched and guided.
Kosh decided, however, that he would protect the youngter from some of it; for instance, his dealings with Lyta Alexander were unimportant to the situation, and, therefore, not to be shown; however, it seemed necessary for the child to advance...and this was PART of that advance.
The decision was final. Kosh acted.
* * *
And then, Julia saw something she had not been meant to see, but it was far too late to back out, now, as Kosh's encounter suit opened. The glare blinded her...mind and soul.
So *beautiful*...
* * *
To be continued...as William learns of the Shadow warning, and moves to save Bethany's forces, while Julia must deal with the weight of her recent experience. Coming soon!