A Different Kind of Contact

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters that I am about to mangle around for my own demented author purposes. Sadly all Babylon Five and Robotech characters remain the property of their respective creators and I make absolutely no profit from using them. So please continue to keep the legal attack dogs, also known more commonly as lawyers, firmly on a leash.

Authors Note: I wasn't originally going to write this third part, which is basically an epilogue to this first story and just refer back to some events of it during the sequel story but after a long rethink on the matter decided that I would write it. So here you all are the third and final part of A Different Kind of Contact though in the immortal words of Sir Winston Churchill this is 'not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is the end of the beginning'.

My thanks to Cyclone for beta-reading this chapter.

Part Three

United Earth Government Office's

A Short Time Later

"They did what?!"

Admiral Robert Lefcourt winced as the voice of Prime Minister Elizabeth Levy echoed in the air of the office of one of the most powerful women in the known galaxy. The somewhat fiery redhead sitting opposite him looked incredulous at what he'd just reported to her.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Admiral, but weren't the orders issued to the Prometheus to patrol along the suspected borders of the Minbari Federation only?" Levy said after a moment of silence. "And maybe find out just what some of their ships have been up to probing around the edges of our territory – at least the territory we have in this part of the galaxy – ever since the Dilgar Intervention?"

"That's correct, ma'am," Lefcourt confirmed.

"Then explain to me how they came to engage unknown aliens in support of the Minbari in a system several light years from where they were supposed to be."

Robert nodded back and quickly and concisely summarised what had happened, how the Prometheus had noted a number of Minbari warships leaving their space and heading into the unknown regions – a move that was very uncharacteristic of the isolationist Minbari. How a puzzled Captain Jankowski had reported to regional commanders and asked for permission to pursue to investigate just what the Minbari were up to. How said permission had been quick in coming and how he'd then pursued them to a dark, apparently dead system, arriving in time to find the Minbari engaged in battle with an unknown race – and losing, despite putting up a truly valiant fight.

"I see, and what prompted, Captain Jankowski to decide to not just engage but destroy these unknowns?" Levy asked, frowning and wondering just what on Earth had possessed Captain Jankowski to do what he had done. "Did it not occur to him that he might well have started a war with a technologically advanced species that we know absolutely nothing about? In support of aliens who we also know next to nothing about beyond the fact that all the local races are very wary of them?"

"Until a proper Board of Inquiry can be convened I doubt we will know exactly what his thought process on the issue was," Lefcourt admitted, knowing that protocol demanded that Captain Jankowski face an official board of inquiry after having deliberately engaged someone in combat without prior authorisation from EarthForce Command. "But it is my belief that there were at least two factors at play."

"And these were?"

"One, I believe that it was a matter of conscience coupled his own sense of honour that prompted the captain to engage and destroy the unknowns," Lefcourt replied. "The Minbari had just defeated – at great cost – a number of cruiser weight starships and their escorting fighters. They had only one damaged capital ship and a mere handful of fighters left - all the rest had been destroyed - only for the alien mothership to launch four more cruiser weight starships and a hundred additional fighters which quickly crippled the Minbari cruiser and destroyed its remaining fighters. It's likely that the captain decided to engage at that point in order to prevent the Minbari being slaughtered. I know many other captains in EarthForce would have done the exact same thing, had they been in Captain Jankowski's position."

"And the second factor?"

"I would like to stress that until we can do a full and complete analysis of all the sensor data gathered by the Prometheus and her companion ships, we cannot be certain but…"

"But what?"

"Based on the energy signatures of the weapons the unknowns were using against the Minbari, as well as the energy signature of their engines, it is very likely that the unknown aliens are not quite so unknown."

The Prime Minister frowned, both at the evasive answer and the look that was in Lefcourt's eyes, a look that said he was worried by something… deeply worried. "Stop beating about the bush, Admiral," she said firmly. "What is it about the alien weapons that has you worried?"

"Ma'am, the weapons used were quantum beam weapons, and the emission signatures of their engines are also very similar to Haydonite propulsion systems," Lefcourt answered, taking the plunge and knowing this was going to go down like a lead balloon. "It is therefore very likely that, whoever or whatever else they are, the unknown aliens are – like the Haydonites before them – Children of Shadow."

Shocked silence hung in the air for a moment, the Prime Minister gaping at him in a strange combination of shock and dread. Are the Children of the Shadow really back after all this time? Levy wondered, feeling as though her blood had turned to ice at the mention of that name. In many ways, the war with the Haydonites that started after their betrayal had been the most destructive of all the Robotech Wars, especially as, unlike the first three wars, the fourth had pitted the Haydonites against all the Sentinels, and even then, they'd barely held the cybernetic creatures off. Only the Invid joining the alliance against their most ancient of foes ultimately turned the tide and, after a long, and bitter, campaign across half the galaxy, enabled the Sentinel races to finally defeat them.

"Are you sure that they're back?" she asked, shaking off her shock, though the feeling of dread remained. It had, after all, been known for centuries that the Haydonites were not the only Children of Shadow, though thankfully none had been encountered since the destruction of the Haydonite homeworld at the end of the Fourth Robotech War. That some had been encountered now, if true, was cause for great apprehension.

"As I said, we cannot be certain until we've done a full and in depth analysis of the Prometheus sensor logs, but it certainly looks like they're back, ma'am," Lefcourt replied. "If the unknowns really are Children of Shadow, then Captain Jankowski's instinct, even without consciously realising it, would be to attack and destroy them. Alternatively, we could be jumping the gun a bit, and the aliens just reverse engineered technology from a derelict Haydonite vessel in much the same way we reverse engineered robotechnology from Zor's battlefortress after it crashed on Macross Island. We won't know for sure until we do an in- depth analysis. Needless to say, we'll do said analysis as a matter of the highest priority as soon as the Prometheus returns to base."

"Keep me apprised of any and all developments, Admiral."

"Of course, Prime Minister."

"What's the Prometheus doing now? Are they returning to base?"

"No, ma'am, they are not. The surviving Minbari cruiser is very badly damaged and cannot accelerate or manoeuvre, let alone generate a jump point, and its weapons systems have also been destroyed. They're currently stranded and helpless in hostile territory. Captain Jankowski is asking for permission to space fold them back to the safety of Minbari territory."

"I see," Levy replied, her mind already beginning to work out just how the diplomatic service could possibly use this as a way to begin building a relationship with one of the few non-Sentinel races whose power and technology rivalled their own. "Very well, tell them that they can space fold the surviving Minbari back to their territory. After that, I want the Prometheus and her escorts to return to base immediately."

"I will pass the message on myself, ma'am."

"Good is there anything else, Admiral?"

"No, ma'am."

"Very well, you may go."

Accepting the dismissal for what it was, Robert Lefcourt stood up from his chair and left the room to return to EarthForce Command, leaving Elizabeth alone. There goes my quiet premiership, Elizabeth thought with a sigh as the office doors closed behind the retreating admiral. She'd hoped that her time as leader of the Earth Alliance would be a quiet one, as far as interstellar crisis was concerned, unlike her predecessor who'd had to deal with first the intervention against the Dilgar and later the evacuation and resettlement of Dilgar civilians from Omelos before that system's sun went nova – an event that had finally happened nearly five years ago, destroying the entire star system in the final death throes of the sun. The fact that they'd rescued the Dilgar hadn't gone down well with many of the League races who'd believed the Dilgar should pay the ultimate price for their leader's and military's crimes against them. While none of the League would had dared to do anything militarily about it – even the warlike and aggressive Drazi knew better than to court Earth's wrath in such a manner – they had made all sorts of noise about it and been extremely difficult, sometimes outright completely obstructionist, during the negotiation of a number of trade agreements and mutual defence treaties after the war ended.

With all that out the way, she'd been hoping to have a quiet time as leader of Earth. But it was apparent now that that would not be the case. The Children of Shadow returning after more than a hundred years of silence guaranteed that, as both the Alliance Parliament and the Sentinels High Council would react with alarm at more of the minions of the mysterious Shadow coming. In fact, some, especially the Invid, would go absolutely berserk at the knowledge of the ancient enemy returning, rising from the ashes of the past like the devil's own phoenix. It would definitely mean war, as there was no way any of them would allow a race with the same beliefs and goals as the Haydonites to threaten them again.

War.

The prospect made her grimace. While she wasn't afraid of fighting, no modern Terran was, she knew war against Children of Shadow would be a very different affair to the Liberation of Narn or the Dilgar Intervention. Those wars had been more police actions than anything else and thus very different to what, after centuries of peace, a full on Fifth Robotech War would be. She certainly didn't really want to be the premier who led Earth into such a war… but if that was to be her fate, then so be it.

With effort, she pushed those thoughts out of her mind for now and opened another file on her desk terminal. She had a meeting with the Brakiri and Drazi ambassadors this afternoon over a trade dispute that had cropped up between their respective governments, a trade dispute that, if they weren't careful, could easily turn into a shooting war, a dispute she wished to organise arbitration for, as they were neutral in the whole affair. As such, there was much to do, much she had to familiarise herself with before she could propose the arbitration to them.

Elizabeth sighed as she began to read through the file compiled by her aides. It was at times like this that she wondered just what she'd been thinking when she'd thrown her hat into the electoral ring to decide the premiership of Earth…

…after all, the work that came with it never seemed to end.

Minbari War Cruiser Trigati

Tarellan System, Minbari Federation

A Short Time Later

Sitting in the quiet sanctity of his personal chambers, Shai Alyt Sineval scowled as he read the urgent communique that had just arrived from the Council of Caste Elders, a communique that indicated something so shocking that it was almost unthinkable.

The Grey Council had been attacked.

Sineval was immediately enraged and horrified at that prospect. Who would dare to attempt to kill the Grey Council, the sacred leaders who'd kept Valen's Peace for a thousand years? Surely, whoever had done so would know better, know that doing so would fill the Minbari people with a terrible, terrible rage that would wipe the offenders from existence. And then there was the question about how they'd been able to attack the Council in the first place. As far as he knew, the Valen'tha hadn't left Minbari space, and all the Younger Races knew better than to violate their borders, the lessons of the Streib and Garmak still ringing prominently in their collective consciousness.

Pushing down his rage - there would be time for that later as the Minbari were sure to declare holy war against whoever was responsible for this outrage - he forced himself to read the rest of the communique. To his shock, he found out that the Valen'tha accompanied by the Ingata and some support ships had left Minbari space twenty-three hours ago, with their destination being the dark world of Z'ha'dum. Z'ha'dum, why in Valen's name would they go there? The Shadows were defeated and driven away a thousand years ago, and it's been uninhabited ever since, he thought, before reading on and quickly learning the Grey Council had gone there to personally investigate rumours the Anla'shok had heard, rumours that, after all this time, the ancient enemy was preparing to return.

The Valen'tha had apparently only recently entered the system and begun approaching the planet to run scans when unknown alien ships, who logically could only be Shadow minions, jumped in and immediately attacked them. The Ingata had been lost in battle, with only a few of her crew managing to escape the vessel before she exploded, and the Grey Council's ship disabled. The Shadow minions had then apparently been about to attempt to board the Valen'tha, presumably to capture the Satai, when someone stepped in and saved them.

Had he had eyebrows, Sineval was sure they would have risen as he read that a group of Human warships had engaged the Shadow minions in support of the Grey Council. Engaged and – with almost Minbari efficiency – destroyed the Shadow minion's ships, with not even a single enemy fighter escaping their wrath. And now, according to the last part of the communique, the Humans would soon bring the crippled Valen'tha here through an FTL method previously unknown to them, something called a space fold.

Putting the data pad containing the communique down, Sineval leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. He honestly wasn't sure what to make of it all, especially the revelation that Valen's Prophecy – which his religious caste father had taught him about, even though he'd always been warrior caste as the mother's caste took priority over the father's, well, unless the child chose otherwise upon coming of age – was about to come to pass.

The fact that the Valen'tha and Ingata had been attacked without warning or provocation within minutes of jumping into normal space in Z'ha'dum's system showed that, while the Shadows themselves weren't back yet from wherever they'd disappeared off to after the Great War ended, their minions were becoming more active and much more protective of that place of darkness. And it was obvious from the ease with which the Ingata had been destroyed that the Minbari weren't ready to face the renewed threat of those who danced in the dark. It would take time to get them ready, time that, ironically, the Humans might just have bought them with their intervention.

Sineval turned his thoughts to the Humans. Like all the castes, the warriors knew so little about that species, little more than hearsay and rumour and the occasional long range sightings of their warships in action when they'd intervened against the Dilgar Imperium's invasion of the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. What was obvious was that, as a species, they were extremely technologically advanced, possessing powerful ships and weapons that easily rivalled those of his own people. Rumour had it that, while they had a quite martial culture, they weren't aggressive unless threatened; certainly, they lacked the distasteful imperialism of races like the Centauri, a facet of their nature that had Sineval, and a number of other senior warriors, quite intrigued by them, not that they would break the Federation's isolation to satisfy that curiosity.

And it was now obvious that, whatever else they were, they were no friends of the Shadows and their minions. Otherwise, why else would they step in to save the Grey Council from death or capture at the hands of the enemy? Suspecting that the Shadows might also be on the prowl could also explain what their ships were doing at Z'ha'dum in the first place; they'd gone there for the same reason the Council had.

The chime of his desktop comm unit brought him out of his thoughts. Reaching out he touched the offending device. "Yes?" he asked.

"Sorry to disturb you, Shai Alyt," his second in command Alyt Kalain reported from the bridge "but our sensors are picking up a gravitational distortion forming nearby."

"Cause?" Sineval asked.

"Unknown, Shai Alyt. The distortion does not match anything in our database," Kalain replied, "the distortion is expanding and growing in intens…. in Valen's name!"

"What is it? Kalain, report!"

"Shai Alyt, six large energy spheres just appeared in the centre of the distortion field. There appear to be ships inside them. Wait… the spheres have disappeared, as have the gravitational distortions. There are several vessels now located where the distortion was, six are of unknown configuration; the seventh is a badly damaged Shagotti-class, ID transponder shows… Shai Alyt it's the Valen'tha."

"That was fast."

"Shai Alyt?"

"I know who they are and why they're here," Sineval replied. "Those warships belong to the Humans, and they're escorting the Grey Council back to our space after saving them from an alien attack."

"Someone attacked the Grey Council?!" Kalain exclaimed, the intercom picking up the sound of shocked gasps on the bridge around the other warrior. Then Kalain spoke again a black rage in his voice. "Who would dare?"

"That is not important right now," Sineval replied. "Retribution on those responsible for this outrage can wait. Right now, the Grey Council needs our help, as the Valen'tha's propulsion systems are non-functional. Move the ship towards them, open gun ports, and Kalain, keep our stealth systems off line. I will be right there."

"Yes, Shai Alyt."

After signing off, Sineval stood up from his desk and left his quarters.

It only took a few moments to reach the bridge, as his personal chambers were, by design, located close to the bridge to enable a ship's commander to respond quickly in the event of an emergency. Stepping onto the bridge, Sineval noted that the main holographic display screen at the front of the bridge, between the twin pods housing the navigators and the small viewports, was active. And showing a picture of the Human ships with the crippled Valen'tha in formation with them, anchored to the largest Human ship by a beam of gravitational and magnetic force projecting from the ship's side.

"Status," he ordered as he moved past the consoles and settled into the command chair.

"Shai Alyt, Human ships are holding position off our bow," Kalain reported from the first officer's station off to his right. "They appear to be waiting for us to make the next move. Shai Alyt, they've energised there weapons."

"Are their gun ports open?" Sineval demanded.

"No. All gun ports remain closed, and tracking systems are not powered."

A smile graced Sineval's face as he realised exactly what it was the Humans were doing. "It's a sign of respect," he said after a moment of contemplation and with more than a small note of approval in his voice. "They're showing us their strength without being threatening about doing it, so we know they approach us open handed. It appears that they truly understand a warrior's honour."

A crystalline chirp came from Kalain's console. "We are being hailed by the Valen'tha," he reported. "They want us to make ready to take them in tow. The Humans have apparently promised to leave once their tractor beam has been released and the Valen'tha is clear of their fold perimeter."

"Acknowledge the order. Navigation, move us toward the Valen'tha and prepare to take them in tow," Sineval instructed.

"Yes, Shai Alyt," Navigation acknowledged and immediately began the process of manoeuvring the Trigati closer to the Grey Council's crippled flagship.

As his ship manoeuvred, Sineval found himself wondering what exactly the Humans meant by fold perimeter. He couldn't help but think that it had something to do with the energy bubbles that had surrounded their ships when they'd initially, and quite literally, appeared out of nowhere. We will have to find out how they did that, he thought, making a mental note to ask a few worker caste scientists he knew if they had any idea how the Humans' alternate FTL drive system worked, as a drive that could allow someone to appear anywhere with little to no warning was a cause for great concern. It was quite literally a planetary security nightmare.

"We are in position, Shai Alyt," Navigation reported, breaking the silence that had fallen upon the bridge.

"Very well. Communications, contact the lead Human ship and request that they release their tractor beam," Sineval ordered calmly, inwardly wondering what had possessed the Humans to call a gravi-magnetic force beam a tractor beam. "Operations, as soon as the beam is released, lock our own towing beams onto the Valen'tha. Navigation, as soon as the Council's ship is secure, begin heading towards the orbital station."

"Yes, Shai Alyt," came the response from numerous crew around the bridge.

Sineval kept his eyes focused on the still active holographic display, which was still focused on the Human ships and the crippled Valen'tha. After a moment the translucent violet beam connecting the largest of the Human warships to the Grey Council's ship disappeared leaving the disabled vessel floating free.

But only for a moment, as four translucent blue beams reached out from the back of his own ship and locked onto the Valen'tha, enveloping the ship and allowing them to tow it to the orbital station where the Satai could disembark and an assessment of the full damage to their ship begin. A faint shiver in the deck beneath him let him know that the Trigati was beginning to move towards Tarellan Three.

"Communications, send a message to the lead Human ship," he said after a moment of thought. "Tell them that, on behalf of the warrior caste, we thank them for their actions in saving the Valen'tha, and tell them that they have made a friend here today."

"Yes, Shai Alyt," communications acknowledged. "Message acknowledged, and they say you're welcome and that they hope to see us again under more pleasant circumstances."

Sineval smiled and nodded in understanding. He knew the Minbari would see the Humans again; they'd shown themselves to be firmly on the side of light and with their power could well be a very valuable ally in the war that they would soon have to fight. Even if the Shadows themselves were still not back, he knew there was no way any of their minions would let their defeat at Human hands go unavenged. Just like the Minbari people would not let the attack upon, and the attempted capture or murder of, the Grey Council by said Shadow minions go unpunished. With the intervention of the Humans, the first battle against the renewed dark threat had been a victory, but the war was just beginning.

However, to fight such a war, they needed allies, and the Humans were an obvious choice, one that diplomats would be surely sent to forge formal bonds of friendship and alliance with.

A crystalline chime from Kalain's console brought him out of his thoughts. "Human power emissions increasing, Shai Alyt," Kalain reported. "I believe they are preparing to depart. Gravitational distortions forming."

Sineval frowned and started to open his mouth to ask a question, but before he could do so, a flicker of light on the holographic display caught his attention. He immediately looked straight at it in time to see translucent bubbles of energy form around the Human warships; for a moment, they remained, then their outlines blurred, and they vanished as the spheres collapsed down into tiny specks of light before shooting away and vanishing into the ether.

They were gone.

"Impressive," Kalain said after a moment.

"Agreed," Sineval agreed. "Communications, send an urgent communique to the Council of Caste Elders on Minbar. Advise them that the transfer of the Valen'tha into our care has been made and that we have the ship in tow."

"Yes, Shai Alyt."

Grey Council Chamber

Minbari War Cruiser Valen'tha

That Same Time

The nine stood in their light cones as they watched the Human ships that had saved all their lives disappear into the type of hyperspatial travel that they used. A type of travel that – from their own experience – was obviously considerably faster than conventional hyperspace travel, as it had gotten them here to Tarellan from Z'ha'dum in mere minutes instead of the day it would have taken using conventional hyperspace travel.

Slipping his hood off, Morann spoke. "Well, they're gone," he said. "Having just seen and experienced what the Humans can do, I believe we were wrong in our previous decision not to open up a diplomatic dialogue with them. They could be a valuable ally to us."

"Believe me, Morann, you have barely seen what they can do," Delenn replied, slipping her own hood and recalling some of the Anla'shok reports that she had read. "That will become more than clear when you read the Anla'shok reports on them."

"I look forward to it, Delenn," Morann replied, and indeed, he did. "Give us your opinion, Delenn. Do you believe that the Humans will be a good ally for us to make?"

"I believe so, Morann," Delenn answered.

"You are both more correct than you know," Dukhat said before making a slight hand gesture to two figures who'd hidden themselves in the darkness, two figures who'd moved themselves here through some mysterious means known only to them. The two Vorlons immediately came forward their encounter suits making gentle swishing sounds as they glided across the floor.

Shock rippled through the nine as the two ancient beings came into their presence.

"The Vorlons have come to us in secret," Dukhat explained to his stunned colleagues. "They have come to help us prepare for the coming war. I was asked to keep their presence secret until the time was right. Now that we have met the Humans, that time has come."

"Then the prophecy is true; the Shadows are indeed returning," Rathenn said.

"Yes," Kosh said speaking for the first time. "The storm approaches, and the mountain cannot yet face it."

"You mean we are not ready," Morann questioned bowing his head respectfully.

"Yes," Ulkesh confirmed.

"And the Humans will help us get ready," Coplann questioned.

"Yes, they are the key," Kosh replied.

"The key to what?" Delenn asked, feeling more than a small amount of awe at being in the presence of the two aliens, aliens whose presence she'd suspected for a while, given the alternate atmosphere generating equipment she'd observed being brought aboard before her induction into the Grey Council.

"Victory."

Authors Note: Well this is the end of this first story in the series. I know people were hoping to see direct discussions between the Minbari and the Humans but those kind of things weren't planned for this third and final part and will take place in the sequel instead – I hope no one minds the wait it shouldn't be too long. Provided the muse continues to cooperate, and real life doesn't interfere I should have the first part of the planned sequel story ready in a few weeks' time.