From: Daniel Collins Subject: 2.1 Agents Of The Dark, Alerted To A Presence Date: Wed, 03 Jun 1998 21:36:57 +1000 ~ ~ ~ Agents Of The Dark ~ ~ ~ Series Two: Alerted To A Presence Part One: The Aftermath Of The First Shadow War By: Daniel Collins * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Following the Shadow War, Minbar began to listen to Valen's prophecy, meanwhile, the other races continued to develop, and several other established races were keeping their eyes in them. The newer races would soon develop the technology to travel throughout space. The older races would fade away, or return from the darkness..." -Delenn, Minbari Federation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In the immediate years that followed the Shadow War, Minbar became a more associated people, without need of Civil War. Valen had drawn up the three castes, the Workers, Religious and the Warrior castes, and each had three as members of the Grey Council. Soon enough, the Grey Council travelled the stars with Valen, exploring and watching the young races, and preparing for the return of the Shadows. The Minbari weren't the only ones exploring the younger races and watching for the return of the Shadows. The Vorlon were keeping close eyes on the Shadow's allies, who were bound to either guard Shadow territory, or attack in response to the outcome of the war. As time went by, the D'remork'ra vanished from the star charts as their race slowly died out, lacking in enough vitamins in each generation until the last generation no longer continued and they then vanished... At that time, the D'remork'ra were the most powerful race next to the Vorlon, but that changed when they died out, and with the loss of so many ships in the Shadow War, they couldn't evacuate anywhere. Many theories arised from their deaths, that the Shadow's may have engineered the entire thing, and buried their ships in the D'remork'ra wastegrounds... The Minbari discovered newer worlds, and older ones, gained allies and enemies. But among the void of space lay the races that would dominate the galaxy sooner or later. They hadn't taken to the stars yet, but they would in time, it was only inevitable that all races would reach out to the stars if given the chance. And during the war, some of the races never got that chance. Races that were never heard of, and destroyed by the darkness that consumed the galaxy, and the darkness that will return, to do it's deed again... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Decades would pass before the Vorlon would begin to notice anything drastic happening in the young races. They avoided contact as much as possible with those races only just venturing into space. They kept strong ties with the Minbari, and the Minbari valued their friends among the Vorlon Empire. Among the new races that the Vorlon tried to avoid were the Streib. They were extremely young but had already grasped the power to navigate into Hyperspace with their own facilities. They already had mapped the Centauri and Narn, and were sure to go to Earth and the League sooner or later. Little did anyone know that the ride would come too close for the Streib, and an educational lesson for everyone else... The Vorlon may have been keeping eyes open for any unusual activity among the young races, but never actually went out of their way to find it. The Streib, on the otherhand were different, and to curious to do any good for anyone. One of their research ships travelled to Earth, and the consequences were quite bizarre... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After much star mapping and charting the unknown, the Research Vessel would finally reach home after mapping this final system. Homeworld would be pleased with the report that the only species capable of space flight in their area was themselves. But, as yet, the Minbari and Vorlon hadn't been contacted. It was a simple mission, and had been uneventful so far. The Centauri colony was easy to slip in and out of, and the Narn were no different. But Earth, although a peaceful sight from above, had something menacing about it's people and culture. Upon measuring the pollution content of the atmosphere, it was showing small signs of radioactivity, a deadly pollutant that was only a result of fusion bombs, outlawed by the Streib people over a hundred years before. On a simple observation mission, something malfunctioned aboard the Streib ship, and the disaster hit the crew of the Research Vessel... With five minutes to save their lives they had no other choice but to get to a lifepod and hope that they'd float through space and find someone, if not, the chances of surviving the journey through Earth's atmosphere were slim to say the least. But, it was their best shot. Three to each lifepod was one thing everyone had to remember, and with a crew of twenty one, it worked out well considering there were ten lifepods. The Commanding officer and staff took the first pod, and eventually the remaining pods were too. But out of the seven pods launched in time, only one made it as the Research Vessel exploded taking the other six with them. The Commander looked back with grief and mourned the deaths of those who would've come after them, but realised the Real Gravity of the situation when he found his lifepod was burning up in Earth's atmosphere. Frantically trying to calm his command staff down, he attempted to make a soft landing. It was the softest he could arrange. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TO BE CONTINUED... From: Daniel Collins Subject: 2.2 Agents Of The Dark, Alerted To A Presence Date: Sat, 06 Jun 1998 19:16:40 +1000 ~ ~ ~ Agents Of The Dark ~ ~ ~ Series Two: Alerted To A Presence Part Two: Earth's Hostile Hospitality By: Daniel Collins * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Following the Shadow War, Minbar began to listen to Valen's prophecy, meanwhile, the other races continued to develop, and several other established races were keeping their eyes in them. The newer races would soon develop the technology to travel throughout space. The older races would fade away, or return from the darkness..." -Delenn, Minbari Federation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Earth Year, 1947, Roswell New Mexico. The army trucks moved in with full military motion. Nothing would get in their way, and if anyone asked, some dipshit story would be made up for cover. No one could know about what was happening in Roswell New Mexico, and no one will know. A full convoy moving in the middle of the night to recover some meteor that hit the ground, there was certainly more to this than what met the eye, and it was certainly not a meteor they were picking up due to the amount of reports of lights, and yet, no earthquake in the area. Everyone had their suspicions, but even the United States Army had to be scared sometimes, and this certainly counted as one of those times... Upon arrival at the site, the military personnel saw something completely out of this world, and it was, it really was. Some kind of strange spaceship in a large crater in the middle of nowhere. Getting rid of the 'thing' didn't appear to be as big a problem as covering up a crater did. But trucks were already in position to fill the hole with dirt, and cranes were at ready to lift the 'thing' onto the semi that had just arrived. Work wasn't easy, hardly anyone wanted to touch the object, considering it was extra terrestrial, and everyone was worried about what might happen if it was touched. As it went, nothing went wrong, and no little green men came out to protect their ship. This was the beginning of many things... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Just a weather balloon, nothing to be afraid of, goodbye. Yes? Hello, yes that? Oh, it was just a weather balloon, thanks for your concern, bye. Hello? Oh yeh that! It was just a routine weather balloon, no worries there, bye." and so it went on. The lies to cover up one of Earth's biggest stories. The Streib who were aboard the capsule were taken to a facility and examined. The human's learnt a great deal about the Streib, but they didn't stop in their warrior's quest to dominate their world. Just as the Streib had come in peace and weren't at Earth for any hostile intent, the human's were still content to blow up their world, but the effects of their actions wouldn't hit for a long time to come... Eventually, as time went by, people began to question the story of the weather balloon, and evidence was brought up about the conspiracy of a UFO and a secret airbase being used to construct similar devices in the Arizona Desert of the United States. Similar projects went on in the USSR, China, Europe and everywhere else on the globe, but no one learned a thing as each time, one side would attack the other. By the 1980's, war was a common thing for the human's, and it wasn't until the next decade that action would be taken into preserving their world. Even so, it would be a while for any damage to be repaired, with the southern ice caps melting and the Ozone Layer depleting itself, Earth was at a sorry stage. But the human's found their strength as a young race and joined together to repair the damage the previous generations had done. But no matter how one rebuild's from the old, people never forget the harm that has been done, and neither did the Streib. They didn't exactly know the reason for the disappearance of their ship, and no other research teams were sent in the fifty years that followed, but the Streib were worried of the Orion Arm, and the inhabitants of the planet Earth, rumours had spread throughout their world of what might have happened to the twenty one members aboard the ship. But rumours were rumours, and not facts. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Just as the Streib closed themselves off from the rest of the galaxy, the Vorlon continued their observations. The Minbari had continued with their way of life long after Valen had disappeared. The Centauri were advancing into complicated factors now, having been capable of space travel for quite some time, they were now learning how to communicate and experimenting with ways to travel faster through space. The human's too, were capable of space travel, shortly after the Streib encounter, but as time grew on, it appeared that the human's lost interest in their space race, and hardly ventured outward, only to map their own world from orbit. In the mean time, several probes that were launched, years before, continued to travel throughout space, and some would be encountered by the other alien species of the galaxy, and prove to the human's that they were not alone. Although it was information that was known for quite sometime before by a select few people who were involved with Roswell 1947. The Narn continued to grow, and they began to read the book of G'Quan, a relic that was found in some ruins of the old Narn of centuries before. It told of a great war, far beyond anyone's understanding that was happening throughout the chaotic universe. Told of a great darkness that resided on Narn, and stayed out of the people's way as they wreaked destruction throughout. He also told of how they may return when the time is right, to finish what they never started... Each race grew at steady paces, and the Vorlon remained prepared for the time when the Centauri would finally reach their goal and 'accidentally' enter Hyperspace, for the time when the Human's would unite as one and venture further into the stars, when the Narn would learn the meanings of G'Quan's notes and when the League would begin to travel outward and join the others... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Soon enough, the Centauri punched their way into Hyperspace and ventured outward into the galaxy. Their souls filled with the thought of other races existing that were ready for conquest. They were soon disappointed when they made first contact with the all powerful Minbari, who showed the Centauri just who were the most powerful, and who shouldn't be taken lightly. In the early stages of the Centauri/Minbari 'co-existence', several Centauri vessels were lost because their Captain's were too curious and would see if a Minbari vessel could be defeated. They found out that the Minbari could not be defeated under such circumstances, and so, the Centauri were given a final warning that any further aggression would result in absolute war. Soon enough, more races began to travel throughout space, but most only found how to gain entry to Hyperspace from the Minbari or the Centauri. The Minbari were more concerned with their religious traditions, and the Centauri were bent on conquest and bettering the Centauri people by making contact with the 'newcomers'. When the humans finally sent their first ship out to make first contact, they met the Centauri. Not knowing who they were, the humans started to answer favourably to the Centauri name, and became a more powerful race by grasping various technologies from the Centauri. They gained access to Hyperspace, and knowlegde of pulse weaponry that was being used more and more in small skirmishes of the smaller races. Being as curious as the humans were, people began worshipping the different religious icons of the Centauri people. In the meantime, the Minbari tried to keep as quiet as possible. Avoiding the humans at all costs, for everyone's safety... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * In the following years, the human's became a powerful race among the stars, and the Narn grasped the power to create vessels to explore throughout space. Little did they know, that space held great disappointment for them. Everyone would find out that space held a great disappointment, problem, or darkness that would weaken them all... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * To Be Continued. The continuation will document the first Narn-Centauri Conflict, and what happens to Earth when an exploration fleet makes a disastrous decision? From: Daniel Collins Subject: 2.3 Agents Of The Dark, Alerted To A Presence Date: Mon, 08 Jun 1998 16:12:46 +1000 ~ ~ ~ Agents Of The Dark ~ ~ ~ Series Two: Alerted To A Presence Part Three: Great Conquest, Great Mistakes By: Daniel Collins * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Following the Shadow War, Minbar began to listen to Valen's prophecy, meanwhile, the other races continued to develop, and several other established races were keeping their eyes in them. The newer races would soon develop the technology to travel throughout space. The older races would fade away, or return from the darkness..." -Delenn, Minbari Federation. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Narn were only new to the stars, when they found they had a neighbouring race of beings, these were the Centauri, and the Centauri seized the opportunity to use the Narn. Soon enough, Narn was covered with Centauri troops who would wreak havoc among the Narn homeworld. None of the Narn liked this, and so, they decided to fight back. The Centauri were far more powerful than the Narn, and made them pay for the mistake of revolting against what the Centauri justified as 'helping a primitive' culture. The Narn became slaves for the Centauri Republic, and the Centauri realised that they could probably continue conquering other worlds, just developing without too much hassle. They would find they were wrong... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was decided to expand the great Centauri Republic across the stars, and anyone who stood in the way would be crushed by their forces. So, they targetted several small colonies just out of their border with the Minbari. It wasn't Minbari territory, so there was no need for a direct confrontation with Minbari forces, which would avert a war, and prove the Centauri to be a race that shoudn't be messed with. The Centauri fleet dropped out of Hyperspace and readied it's weapons, and ordered the inhabitants of the colonies to surrender. The colonists declined and were prepared to fight, but their forces weren't powerful enough to take out a single Centauri vessel, let alone a fleet of them. As time began to run out, the colonist vessels were crumbling, and the Centauri were preparing every last resource to take the planet, then, a single jump point opened, and Minbari vessels flooded into the area. "You have attacked a colony without provocation. These colonies are allied to the Minbari Federation, and you will pay for your mistake. As we warned you before, we will remind you again..." The Minbari cruisers shielded the remaining colonist vessels and opened fire on the Centauri fleet, it fell as quickly as it came, no ship was able to jump back to Centauri Prime. It was on that day, a lot of races learnt not to mess with the Minbari, and because of this, the Centauri would never attack a Minbari colony, or any colony near Minbari space, again... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Soon enough, the Earth Alliance had reached out into space and colonised Mars. The Earth Alliance fleet was borne with Centauri 'hand-me-downs' but lacked the technology of artificial gravity, instead, the continued to go as they used to in the 20th Century, until a method could be devised to create gravity, which would no doubt be required for long range missions. Following several scuffles along the way. The Earth Alliance fleet was large and powerful and deadly to it's opposition, and very quickly, the Hyperion class Heavy Cruiser had rolled off the line and entered service with the fleet as the main force. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Shortly after the long conflict between the Narn and the Centauri, the Centauri were driven away from Narn, giving the Narn people the technology to reach out into space with the ships that were abandoned by the Centauri. Soon enough, they too had the power to travel through the stars, and quickly adapted their vessels so they didn't look anything like the horror that once lived on their world. The Narn and the Human's were very young in space, and upon first contact with each other, not everything went well. Things worsened when the Narn discovered the negotiations between the Earth and Centauri Prime, and tried in ernest to persuade the Humans otherwise, but their minds were made up. Eventually, the humans became involved in a conflict with a race called the Dilgar. Spanning many years, the humans won, with the exception of one person, who would not get away with her crimes forever. Even if Deathwalker believed she was immortal, she wasn't... In light of the Dilgar Invasion, the Earth Alliance built a new class Dreadnought, the Nova, which was more heavily armed than the previous Hyperion, but costing more to build and operate at the time. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was a hazardous time for the Earth Alliance as following the Dilgar Invasion, much of the economy back home had crashed, and money was tight, even for military operations. It was a small expedition lead by the Prometheus that would throw Earth into great turmoil, and with a hasty alliance with the Soul Hunter's, the expedition set off for the unknown rims of space. Unto the darkness... Three ships travelled off into the night, their mission was a simple one, their result would be a catastrophic one... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This ends the second series of Agents Of The Dark, Alerted To A Presence. Stay tuned for the continuation, where we aim to being you into the view of characters, establish dialogue, and go into greater details of the upcoming conflicts. The next Agents Of The Dark series is coming soon...