Endings and Beginnings
Sheridan looked over at the Second-in-Command. "How is the mapping going?"
Susan looked at the alien readouts. "As far as I can tell, very well." She glanced at Marcus, who nodded. "I don't know that I'd want to try this without beacons, but we aren't having any real issues."
"I agree. I'd rather be doing this on an Explorer class ship like the Cortez or the Magellan."
Susan commented, "We sat the Cortez last year. She came in for resupply to B5."
Sheridan nodded and then grinned. "Did you meet her captain?"
Susan nodded. "Captain Maynard. A pretty nice man – he seemed like a good officer."
Sheridan replied, "He is. He was my CO on the old Moon-Mars patrol before the war. We went through a lot together." Sheridan grinned again and said, "My nickname for Jack was 'Stinky' – let's just say those patrol ships were quite small and somewhat primitive."
Susan grinned back with a slightly mischievous tone. "And what nickname does he have for you?"
Sheridan tried to look innocent for just a moment before breaking down and ruefully replying, "Swamp-Rat."
The two laughed together. Marcus' Ranger-given stoicism was quite tested and he finally chuckled. The Minbari looked confused. One looked at Marcus who said in Adaranto, the language of the religious caste, "I will explain later."
A chime went off. "We are within jump distance of Babylon 5 space."
Sheridan asked, "Is there any traffic going through the gate?"
"It's all clear."
"Then proceed to the gate and jump to normal space."
They made for the gate.
Admiral Sheridan was in C&C. With his second on a mission, there needed to be someone running the place.
"Admiral. We have a ship coming through the gate!" Corwin called out.
"What kind of ship?" he asked.
Corwin checked his instruments and said, "Silhouette unknown."
Sinclair knew who it was but didn't say anything. "Open standard frequencies and let me hear the conversation."
Corwin messaged out. "Babylon Control to Unknown ship. You have entered Babylon 5 space. Please identify yourself."
The comm. system played the reply loudly enough for the whole C&C staff to hear. "Babylon control? This is the White Star. Earthforce Vice-Admiral Sheridan commanding." There was a pause. "We're back."
Sinclair motioned for Corwin to give him access while the rest of the staff were shocked.
"I take it that the mission was successful?"
"Hello, Admiral. Mission complete. We have a new flagship."
"I look forward to seeing what she can do. And the other matter?"
"Scouting mission to Sector 14 shows that that strange field has disappeared – it's now clear."
Sinclair replied, "Acknowledged. As soon as you can, I expect to see the Admiral and yourself in my office for debriefing."
"Yes, Sir. We'll be over in a shuttle right away. White Star Out."
Due to the mission involving time travel, no observer could imagine that the vice admiral and the commander had been out for any other purpose than retrieving the strange ship – they hadn't been gone long enough to really do anything else. At least as far as any Shadow agents could tell.
Sheridan, Ivanova, Marcus, and Delenn went to the admiral's office together. Garibaldi and Franklin were already there as part of the Command Staff for B5.
"Welcome back," Sinclair said to all of them as they entered his office.
"Thank you," was voiced by Sheridan. The rest nodded.
Sinclair motioned them to take seats and then turned on a jamming device – just in case. "How did the mission go?"
Sheridan replied, "It was the strangest mission I've ever been on. To be truthful, much of it was run by Ivanova."
"Why is that?" Sinclair asked curiously.
Sheridan chuckled ruefully. "Because for a while there I was zapped out of phase with the rest, appearing and reappearing as a ghost."
Sinclair's eyes widened. "That was you!"
Ivanova looked curious, as did Marcus and Delenn.
He looked at them and said, "When Michael and I ran the op to evacuate the station when it reappeared, we had the alien named Zathrus in custody. He was repairing a device which he turned over to this man who appeared and disappeared in an EVA suit."
Sheridan nodded. "That was me. My time stabilizer got damaged inadvertently. When we hit some turbulence in the tachyon field, I got hit and the thing fell apart. It was quite an adventure. But eventually it all worked out."
"Make certain you see Franklin to get checked out to ensure there are no side effects."
"I didn't even think of that." Sheridan admitted.
Franklin, who had not been briefed previously, said, "I look forward to it. But let me get something straight. This has something to do with …" Sinclair motioned him to talk more quietly and he said in a lower-volume voice with more intensity, "… Babylon 4?"
Everyone nodded. Franklin looked shocked. Garibaldi looked intrigued.
"Good. Where is it now?"
Susan replied, "We flew it to a system without a jump gate, the jump points provided by the Vorlons – with Marek on board. The extra defenses and other things are being added now."
Sinclair asked Susan, "How did she fly?"
"At first it was like trying to run a three-legged race. But it smoothed out."
Delenn asked, "A 'three-legged race'?"
Sheridan answered, "Back on Earth, in small towns we like to have things called fairs which celebrate local food and culture. One thing that people do at fairs is play games – many of them silly. A three-legged race is where two people, often a couple, tie their legs together so that the two together have three legs. They run against other couples who do the same. But because men and women are usually different sizes, it takes a bit of coordination and it is never smooth. It's something that is kind of fun to do and very funny to watch. We find great amusement in it."
Delenn looked at Sheridan and said almost coquettishly, "Yours are a very strange people, Vice-Admiral."
Sheridan grinned and said, "Just for that, when we have time for fun, we should arrange for some traditional fair games. I'll partner with you – we will have a good laugh."
The others in the meeting noticed that the two people from two cultures seemed remarkably in sync with each other. If they didn't know better, they would classify the behaviour as flirtatious. Sinclair didn't want to even think about that so he said, "AAAANYway, I am happy to hear it was a success. Now I have to alert General Hague without it becoming common knowledge."
Garibaldi said, "Theoretically, Gold Channels should be secure. But if you guys did what I think you guys did, we really don't want that to get out to anyone." He paused. "Why exactly was it done?"
Sinclair talked at a lower volume – there were too many people who might walk in that didn't know about the mission. "Because the Shadows know exactly where we are and we're vulnerable. It's larger – and can be flown. It was retrieved and its systems are being upgraded – in case of emergency. It's a very real possibility. That's what they did to the Minbari a thousand years ago."
Michael whistled in awed surprise. "I don't know how it was pulled off – but that's unbelievable. Someone's going to have to answer questions when it gets out – but it sounds like that won't happen until it's needed. How are we planning for this?"
"Ragnok's people can create what they call vanishing cabinets – which will allow two similar cabinets to be placed hundreds or thousands of miles apart and yet one can enter one cabinet and exit the other in the pair. It's less than 200 miles from B5 to the surface of the planet. He is going to bring in as many pairs as he can so that an evacuation, if called, can be done without sending out ships in the line of fire. If … when … it become necessary, we'll be leading them to a large cavern that Ragnok's people are creating down there just for this purpose. After that happens, we'll move it close and, using all the pairs we can salvage, move them back up. Ragnok will then use the cavern as a place to grow crops and food animals using magic to simulate the sun. So they aren't building anything they don't need."
"Ambitious. We still need to figure out how to tell Hague. Someone on Earth needs to know in case the worst happens," Garibaldi pointed out.
Sinclair nodded. He then had a sudden thought. "Wait a minute! Didn't we give a Tau'ri comm station to Hague?"
Susan, who had gone on that mission, said, "Before we left, Ragnok sold the ones we brought to Earth for its R&D department – but did gift one system to Hague on the Alexander."
"I know that we installed one here – but that's not secure enough. I think I'm going to go over to the Bane and use theirs.."
Susan said, "The Al'Keshes all have their own."
"But do they have enough power to go interstellar distances? From what I understand, they depend on power for range."
"We can ask."
Sinclair said, "I'll make inquiries. Everyone who went on that mission needs to get checked out. I'm going to write up a formal letter for Zathrus and Draal recognizing their actions as justified – which will prevent Earthgov from pressing charges once it gets out. I'll get Hague to sign off on it as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He can then get the President to sign. Anyone have anything else?"
Sheridan looked around. "I think that's us done for now."
"Good. John, you have some downtime until the destroyer group returns."
Sheridan grinned. "That will give me some time to get used to the White Star." He turned to Delenn. "I'd love to have you come over and help me learn what I need to know."
Delenn nodded with a small smile. "Tomorrow morning at 9:00?"
"I'll meet you at the docking bay."
Unknown to the two talking, the others rolled their eyes a bit. None of them was the type to object – or comment to anyone who didn't need to know. Sinclair might warn him if it became too obvious though – he really didn't need the headache.
As they were about to walk out Delenn paused. She turned to Sinclair and then the Sheridan. "By the way, there is something I am curious about." Both looked interested. "Why Admiral? That is a common Centauri rank. Among humans, I have only seen Generals."
Both looked at each other and chuckled. Sinclair motioned for Sheridan to answer. "Technically, the Space Fleet is a descendant of our water navy which historically used the rank of admiral instead of general which was used in the Army, Air Force, and Marines. Although they are technically equivalent, as a matter of current practice admiral and vice admiral are nominally war time ranks – which is the only time we operate as a fleet rather than as groups or as individual ships. President Luchenko implied that when she called them brevet ranks. She is a civilian who never served and so technically misused the term. Brevet, historically, implied an increase in rank, responsibility, and authority without a corresponding increase in pay. In practice, our ranks are the type automatically assigned to a position. When the war is over and these positions are no longer needed, we return to our permanent ranks of captain – unless we get promoted to the rank of general."
Delenn paused and said, "You humans are strange. Your customs are strange. Your ranks are strange. Everything is strange."
"But it's a lot of fun getting to know us and trying to figure us out," Sheridan said with his friendly grin.
Delenn shook her head in amusement and left. The others followed her.
At 9:00 the next morning, John Sheridan, Delenn, and Marcus on a shuttle and transferring over.
They took the whole day, but Vice Admiral Sheridan got a course on how to command the White Star. Its versatility and ability to maneuver was far superior to any ship he had ever commanded. He was quite satisfied to head into a battle on its bridge. The only thing he really didn't like was the weird bed he'd have to use.
General Hague had listened to the report that the Admiral gave.
"So Babylon 4 is currently being upgraded and prepared for when Babylon 5 is taken out."
"Yes, sir."
Hague chuckled. "I can just imagine the headache that's going to generate. I've got the record of the writs of immunity you just sent." He pulled the data crystal up and showed it to Sinclair visually. "I'll get them signed by Luchenko and filed where no one will notice them until needed. It's going to cause quite a bit of people to be upset."
"Can't be helped. Strategically, it's sound."
"Yes it is – which is why I think you'll get away with it – along with the fact that no one actually died when the station disappeared, having all been retrieved two years ago."
Sinclair smiled, "Yes, Sir. It also helps that, according to the sworn statement, Draal was installed in the Great Machine after the war was declared. And so, even though it happened in the past, it was initiated after the declaration as a strategic move."
"Good point. Anyway, continue your efforts. We've noticed an increase in Shadow activity in the reports. Any word on the Vorlons getting more visibly involved?"
"They are operating in the background – I think that they like it that way. But we're keeping an eye on it."
"Very good. Keep us informed. Hague out."
The war continued on in the same way for a few weeks. The Minbari were becoming more and more involved. Sinclair was becoming highly regarded by the warrior caste members involved. So much so that he was officially invited to be inducted into the Fire Wings clan – the first non-Minbari given that honor. He was tentatively accepting – as soon as he had time.
The Shadows had flitted between being active and manipulating the other races. The Centauri were becoming more flighty – a reflection of their mad Emperor Cartagia.
There had been a significant drop in the lurker population on Babylon 5. This, in part, was because the goblins were perfectly willing to hire these locals to do certain jobs for them and the amount of available money was actually greater than in the past.
This helped a lot with the operation of Babylon 5 as the war caused the amount of long term guests to decrease. Most of the common business done on the station was done quickly and then the players moved on.
And so the fees that the former lurkers paid to live a more normal life helped keep Babylon 5 funded.
At a certain point, the Ha'tak was returned to its home universe, along with SG1. Harry Potter and a number of those with him stayed. They would be able to return via the portal on Epsilon 3.
Before the Ha'tak left, a hyperspace beacon was placed in the Terminus system – but it was only active as a beacon when they turned it on. A Narn War Cruiser that had escaped detection after the war became the vehicle by which a jump gate could be opened as needed.
And then, everything changed.
Admiral Sinclair was, once again, standing the watch on Babylon 5. Susan Ivanova had gone to Babylon Prime to check out the nearly completed station.
It just so happened that the majority of ships were out on missions. Even the normal patrol ships had been sent when a mayday was received from a nearby outpost.
Suddenly, Lt. Corwin called out, "Admiral! We just received an ultraviolet message from White Star 4 but it got cut off!" Several more White Stars had been allowed to join the fight.
"What was the message?"
"Just one word: Diversion!"
Sinclair's eyes widened. "Sound the alert! Condition: Upsilon Omega!"
Corwin's eyes widened. He pushed the buttons and sent the alert which had been preprogrammed. He then sent the verification when Security messaged in.
Sinclair went to the new Interstellar comm. It couldn't be jammed in the same way that the known comm. system could be. "This is Sinclair calling Ivanova! Come in!"
Ivanova's voice chimed in a moment later, "This is Ivanova. Go."
"Status Upsilon Omega. I repeat: Condition Upsilon Omega!"
There was a pause. "When?"
"Our defenders were called away on a mayday. They just messaged back Diversion – before being cut off. It implies …."
"That the call was a diversion – leaving B5 undefended. I understand. I will make preparations. It will be six hours before we're close enough."
"Don't come in until you get a message from Ragnok's people or from me."
"Understood! Ivanova Out!" Normally the higher rank ended the comm - but Susan had a lot to do and Sinclair wasn't mad about it.
Sinclair and the bridge crew oversaw the evacuation. The Star Furies were being dropped so they could escort the transports which had to be used – mostly those from either the Centauri or races that were not involved with the Shadow war.
Meanwhile, a horde of Goblins and other magicals from the surface flooded the station via the vanishing cabinets. They assisted as necessary to move the people and their luggage.
Most of the Ambassador quarters had been packed up and those remaining had been told to prepare for emergency evacuation. Although much would be lost, it would mostly be things that could be replaced.
The massive plan, unlike the previous evacuation, didn't require everyone move through the docking bays. This meant that those who did go that way were not caught up in mass of confusion.
Due to the number of vanishing cabinets – 200 pairs – the time needed to evacuate the station had been reduced from three days to two hours.
They had stolen the first hour from the Shadows clean. But only the first hour.
While overseeing the evacuation, alerts started sounding. "Admiral! We have disturbances appearing all over the sector! It's them!"
"Sound the Alert and the Mayday. Close blast doors and activate defense grid. Notify security and the marines that they have to hold the invasion points. Ensure the Psi Brigade is active."
"Yes, Sir!" Things had changed during the crisis: A company of marines had been placed on Babylon 5 specifically to counter an invasion. They would see how that would pay out now. Also, there were telapaths at various line of sight points around the station to assist in interfering with Shadow vessels.
Much like they had done over a month earlier, the Shadows methodically attacked the station, inflicting damage to critical systems but not attempting to actually destroy the station. They allowed the evacuating shuttles to go as this would increase terror when they arrived at where they were going.
Just as they had earlier, the Shadows concentrated on secondary and tertiary invasion points. Some of them noticed something curious as they invaded: The defenses, while formidable, were not done in the midst of a fleeing civilian population.
The vanishing cabinets from the rear of the station, the most sparsely populated, had already been packed up and moved. The pairs were being moved down to the surface. Wizards would cast spells and security would check sensors and, once they were sure a section was clear, they would drop blast doors and bulkheads. This slowed the Shadows down a bit as they had to burn through several bulkheads that had been closed off this time. Critical sections were closed off and the personnel who would have to stay the longest each had a vanishing cabinet to escape out of.
The Shadows, knowing these people were trapped, had decided to hold off on burning them out in favor of claiming more territory. They left sentries to ensure their victims did not escape and moved further into the station.
In a large number of cases, the vanishing cabinets could be retrieved. In the cases where the final cabinet in a sector could not be retrieved, the wizard who had activated the cabinet would be the last one through – and then would immediately reducto the other half of the pair, making the one left on the station useless. Out of the 200 pairs, 40 would be lost in this way.
Sinclair was running the defense grid hot – there was no time to let the various guns cool down. In any other circumstance, he would have had to try to save the guns, allowing them to come back into play when they cooled down. This particular operation, however, ran the various defenses until they were destroyed by the Shadows – or blew up on their own.
Telepaths were only helpful in interfering with the ships – the individual Shadows were not susceptible – their minds were too alien and powerful. One telepath, before he died, ensured that message got out. As a result, only a few telepaths lost their lives, most making it out along with the rest of the evacuees. However, this decreased interference allowed the invasion to speed up as it progressed.
The hardest part to evacuate was the non-oxygen section. The Goblins had created a sections with the different atmospheres but it wasn't that large. A wizard with a bubble head charm ensured the cabinets for this section were retrieved and marked – they didn't want any mistakes when the cabinets were used to evacuate the surface back to Babylon 4.
Sinclair had also messaged Hague – but he had to wait until the evacuation had actually started so as not to alert the Shadows that they had been prepared. This meant that the alert that Earth would send out regarding Babylon 5 wouldn't arrive to any ship fast enough to save the station.
The Goblins and wizards did, however, catch a few Shadow agents who had been among the populace. As far as the Goblins were concerned, the cabinets were theirs – and they had no compunction about placing intent-based wards to prevent such people from benefiting from their efforts. They, unlike Babylon 5, were not neutral.
The marines and B5 security personnel who observed the Goblins mete out swift justice were at first shocked – but quite agreeable once the situation was explained.
A curious side effect of this, however, was that it wasn't only Shadow agents that were weeded out: Every human who was secretly operating as an agent for the anti-alien forces back on Earth also ended up being killed and labeled as Shadow agents. This would have an unintended side effect in the coming days. At the time, it wasn't even noticed.
The Shadows who invaded did notice that there was something wrong – there were far too few people. That did not mean they knew what was happening: The Goblins were all shielded against mind-reading; the Goblin tunnels had the same protections that any Gringotts would have; the command staff and key people were immune; and to the Shadows who could sense the people, minds were just disappearing – and these minds did not have the psychic echoes of being killed.
During the fighting, a group of Omegas and a couple of Minbari Sharlins did arrive. Each of these had telepaths on board. However, the invasion fleet this time was far too powerful to overcome.
And so they were ordered by Sinclair over the link to harass the enemy as much as possible and then retreat when nothing more could be done. The captains who received those orders were reluctant but held to their duty.
Finally, Sinclair received the word that everyone who could be gotten out were gone. "This is Admiral Sinclair to all defending ships. I am hereby ordering you to back off to at least 100,000 klicks. It's just about over."
The ships didn't want to do it, but did as ordered and moved off.
Sinclair then smirked as he hit the priming button. ""Okay people! The countdown has begun. It's time to blow this joint. Move through the cabinet over there."
The wizard who was waiting lit his wand and sparks appeared to show them where to go. "Okay everyone – through the box and don't wait. Don't stop on the other side; make room for the rest!" The C&C staff rushed through the vanishing cabinet, the wizard waiting until they were all done.
Sinclair stopped. "Move on through soldier."
"I'm waiting till your gone." Aurors were stubborn.
Sinclair was more stubborn. "As the boss, it's my job to be last. I'm right after you."
The wizard paused quickly and then nodded. "If I don't see you in 5 seconds, I'm coming back."
The wizard ducked through. Sinclair got into the cabinet, pushed the remote he was holding, and then closed the door from the inside and fell out the back. The Auror immediately reductoed the cabinet.
The Omegas and the Sharlins that had moved off watched as the mass of Shadow vessels flew about the large station, more of them attaching themselves as the moments passed. It almost looked like they were going to steal it.
Suddenly, however, they were completely locked into a shocked silence as the large station suddenly blew up. And it wasn't a minor explosion as though it was being destroyed. It was suddenly a huge mine – blowing more away from the planet than toward it. Sinclair had taken a number of the mines recovered from the Roanoke and had them placed carefully.
Every Shadow vessel that was within a certain distance was suddenly destroyed along with the station. The ships on the planet side of the station actually shielded the planet from any large debris. It would rain small debris for days, the burning material looking like a meteor shower in the thin, alien atmosphere.
Captain Edward MacDougan on the Vesta was heard to say, "Dear God in Heaven."
The Shadows that had escaped the initial explosion still received some damage from the shockwave. Through pure chance, the Omegas and Sharlins were out of the direct concussion wave of force. They had been far enough away that they would have survived – but they might have been damaged.
The Shadows that were left, some of whom had followed after the defending ships, all suddenly shimmered and disappeared out of normal space. The witnesses were left with the vision of the debris.
As a senior captain, Macdougan was about to take control of all Earthforce ships in the area. However, something stopped him.
"CAPTAIN!" He looked over to the Comm officer. "Signal coming in from the surface." The Comm officer was wide-eyed. "It's Admiral Sinclair!"
"Put it on speaker – and play it through the fleet!" He paused and said, "This is Captain MacDougan on the Vesta!"
Sinclair's voice was surprisingly chipper. "Captain! It's good to hear your voice. From the sensors down here it looks like they disappeared."
"Yes, Sir. I don't see any of them." He paused. "How the hell are you on the planet? I know for a fact that I just heard your voice from the Station? Was it some remote comm setup?"
"No. I was there. Special tech from an ally. We knew that they would be coming and made plans."
"How many did we lose?" MacDougal asked with a sense of dread. There were close to a hundred thousand on the station.
"Well, according to what my people are telling me: We lost about 15 pilots, a few telepaths, about 200 marines and security officers – and about 20 civilians. So about 250 or so."
"250?" MacDougan asked incredulously. "The station had tens of thousands of people on it and we only lost 250?"
Sinclair was suddenly more serious. "Yes. Like I said: We knew they'd be coming back – and planned accordingly. We lost 250 – and the station. As Fleet Commander for Earthforce, I am hereby ordering you to take charge of all Earthforce and Minbari vessels that may arrive to the sector – politely with the Minbari, obviously. Ask them to help guard any civilian vessels that might arrive but don't let anyone jump out. Let them know that the majority of the people got out and that I did as well. Sheridan should be back in about two hours but I want you to keep running the show. Vice-Admiral Sheridan will be doing a small job for me. In about three hours, I will contact you again with instructions for the next step."
"Acknowledged, Command. Wilco."
"Thank you. Command out."
Over the next three hours, several more ships arrived. Most of them were Earthforce who had gotten the alert. A few were civilian – a couple which objected to the order to detain them. But the large weapons of the Omegas convinced them to listen.
The Earthforce ships were full of somber people who truly mourned the great station. Cheered that most people had survived, it was still a crushing blow.
Sheridan arrived as expected and the ship he was commanding, a beautiful little ship as far as those watching were concerned, surprised them all by jumping in without using the gate.
"This is White Star 1 to Vesta."
"This is the Vesta. Go."
"Hello, Mackie. I see you've gotten these people all wrangled."
MacDougan smiled. He was quite happy to hear the voice of his former student. "Yes, Admiral." And then more seriously, "I see you heard what happened."
"Yes. I have to ensure that a certain area is clear. I'm going to send some coordinates. Keep the ships from the area."
"Yes, Sir. Waiting for the coordinates."
Sheridan's voice was pained as he said, "You know? Until just this moment that sounded absolutely wonderful. But, considering we're old friends, can't you just call me John?"
MacDougan was smirking as he said, "Sorry, Sir. Proper protocol helps maintain good order and discipline. You know how it is."
"I had a feeling you were going to say that, Captain." Sheridan's voice sounded a little rueful and amused at once.
"Yes, Sir." Mackie was grinning. His bridge crew members were all trying to hide their amusement.
"Sending the coordinates. White Star 1, Out."
At one point, a shuttle from the surface flew to White Star 1. The other ships were ordered to protect it or ignore it. The shuttle carried the Admiral and a wizard carrying the first vanishing cabinet that would be used to help start moving the people to the new station. Some people would be sent early – the time on the surface had been used to ensure that the Earthforce personnel all knew what their assignment would be.
Also, the House Elves had ensured that everyone was well fed. They had traveled with the Goblins when the alert was sent and ensured that the station's stores were retrieved. They would be among the first to ensure that those stores were moved to the new station as soon as it arrived. Also, many personnel would be shocked to find items that they had forgotten in their quarters on Babylon 5 in their new quarters on Babyon Prime.
House Elves were very efficient. They were also overjoyed to have so much work.
At the three hour mark, the Admiral did contact the Vesta. "So, Captain, how are things going out there?"
"We've gathered the fleet and are setting a defensive perimeter with patrols. We've got about six civilian ships who arrived. They have been kept in system as ordered. Admiral Sheridan has kept the area he defined clear."
"Good. Stand by. And keep your scanners on that empty space."
"Yes, Sir."
Suddenly, the empty area the White Star had defined and then cleared out (even using its guns to destroy some debris), went from being unremarkable to suddenly very interesting. A massive jump point suddenly appeared. And then, sliding smoothly out of the jump point, was something that caused all the watching people to become shocked once more.
The Earthforce ships, Sharlins, and various civilians witnessed the arrival of a station that was even larger than Babylon 5.
MacDougan called out to his bridge crew. "Is that what I think it is?"
The crew finished their scans. "Sir. According to the computer – that's Babylon4."
The radio sounded out. "This is Babylon Prime to Command. I hear that you need a new place to stay." Many recognized the voice of Susan Ivanova, if only from her reports that she broadcast regarding the war.
The Admiral's voice sounded in reply. "Commander! Thanks for bringing her. We've got a few people who need a new place to stay."