Location: Unknown

Time: Unknown

Ron decided to see the surviving members of Tekkadan to lay down the new rules.

He knew they ALL wanted to fight, but he was going to follow the law: if they weren't 17, they were going nowhere. He did not want them near any combat stations.

They didn't understand and didn't care: from what he heard from the security people, they were downright pissed about not having any combat jobs.

Frankly, he didn't give two shits whether or not they were angry, as they had a hell of a better time with them then back in their home universe: Orga may have cared for them, but he was eventually going to get them all killed.

That being said though, he was thankful that Jade had largely taken over the duties of handling the mercenaries - her and her Ex-Celestial Being personnel having dealt with similar situations before (see Setsuna), and were helping find some compromises. While anyone under 17 didn't have combat-oriented jobs, she gave them other menial duties which were just as important when maintaining the ships - which also educated them on modern Starfleet technology and policies. Jade having mentioned they had an affinity towards engineering, though it would be a while before they were anywhere close to her or Sonja's level.

That still left more of the more… rebellious people who thought they knew better. They didn't, as he entered the room they were in, with Orga trying to keep them in line. "Ok, what the hell do you people want from me?"

One of the younger boys glared at Ron. "You took us off of combat duty. Why?"

"Because you're too young for combat. How the hell you don't get that, I don't understand. Bitching at me isn't going to change that."

"We've been fighting for our whole lives!" One of the children shouted, "We can handle-"

"NO YOU CAN'T!" Ron shouted, slamming his fist into the table - cracking it, and causing the children to all jump and flinch.

"You were cheated of a childhood, treated as cannon fodder for someone else. Even Orga, as much as he cared, would make you risk your lives for nothing. Hate to say it, but your pride'd get them killed the way you operated, Orga." Orga winced, but concided: he was right.

"If you can't even fight one of my security officers, which you can't, trust me, you have no place in combat. When you're older, that can change."

"Bridge to captain."

Ron looked towards the ceiling. "Yes, Cassie?"

"We're picking something up. Mind coming back to the bridge?"

"Gladly." He looked at Orga. "Sort this out or I'll do it for you. And it will NOT be gentle."

He arrived back on the bridge, seeing the view of the planet. "Jupiter."

"We're half a million kilometers from Ganymede, picking up some weird shit."

Ron chuckled. "Define 'weird shit'."

"Some sort of facility on the moon… detecting something large and organic within a massive dome…" Corpsa reported, "Whatever it is, it's about as big as the Ra Cailum."

Ron shrugged. "Eh, lots of ships are bigger than us. Doesn't mean they outgun us. Tactical analysis."

"Hard to tell," came Corpsa's reply, the Andorian sounding somewhat confused. "It's… it's giving off readings remarkably similar to an Undine Bioship, but considerably warped. We might need to call in that sorcerer friend of yours for a more detailed analysis."

"He pops up when he wants to. Cloak the fleet, jump them out; we're going in for a closer look."

As the rest of the fleet jumped out in flashes of light, the Ra Calium shimmered from view, closing in on the moon.

"Make anything else out?"

Corpsa frowned. "Not much, other than it's ancient. Hold on - subspace opening, a ship's emerging!"

A blue 'hole' in space appeared, spitting out a purple-blue ship of some kind.

"That's new."

"Sensors indicate that it's partially built from organic materials. Lightly armed with some form of pulse weapons, though for its' size, that's pretty heavy."

"Their version of the Defiant, I suppose. Keep an eye out."

"Outbound transmission from Ganymede. Patching it through." Corpsa activated the comm.

"IXP One to Base, IXP One to Base, ready to begin transference."

Ron looked at Cassie, who shrugged. "The fuck?"

"Subject is approaching target. Repeat, subject is approaching target."

"I have a bad feeling about this. Yellow alert. Stand by weapons."

"Oh, my God. It's moving. IT'S MOVING!"

A loud screech ripped through the bridge. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

"I… think shit's hitting the fan down there…" Jade mused, "So… do we intervene or step away slowly, Cap?"

"Sadly, it's not shooting at us. Prime Directive applies."

"Oh, come on—"

"Every other situation involved some dumbass shooting at us, Jade. It's not shooting at us. Riza, back us off. Set a course out of the Sol System but keep a sensor lock on both those ships."

"Aye sir."

Eight hours later, a couple of light-years away from Sol, alarms went off as a ship was detected approaching the fleet.

Well, approaching the Ra Cailum: the rest of the fleet was cloaked, using the cloaks on the Romulan and Klingon ships to make a massive 'cloak field'.

"What's the status on the ship?" Ron asked.

"Well, it's a fairly primitive design," Corpsa reported, "Artificial gravity generated via rotating blocks… Titanium armor plating, various light energy weapons, and enough room for a crew of a thousand and small fighter craft."

"In Short?"

"Minimal threat to us, sir."

Ron looked over the analysis: plasma/X-ray lasers, pulse cannons and interceptor pulse weapons. It wouldn't be a threat to anything from the 23rd Century onward, but the damn thing would outgun the legendary NX-Class and in a massive horde would actually pose a threat to the Ra Cailum.

"Ignore it."

"Hate to say it, sir, but they're hailing us."

Ron groaned as he sat back in his chair. "Open a channel. Maybe we can get them to piss off."

The screen showed the bridge of the ship, filled with men and women wearing blue uniforms. "This is Captain Drake of the Earth Alliance destroyer Nimrod. State your identity."

"Captain Ronald Pinkerton of the Federation starship Ra Cailum. How can I help you?"

"You're human? Good, that makes this easier." The Captain said, "By order of President Clark of the Earth Alliance, you are ordered to relinquish command of your vessel to the Alliance navy. This will be your only warning before we open fire."

There was a prolonged silence on the bridge… before suddenly everyone began laughing their assess off.

"If I had a strip of latinum for every time someone threatened us, I'd be able to buy out the Ferengi Alliance." Something that the Ferengi were VERY happy about. "Thankfully, while you've threatened my ship and crew, you haven't fired yet, so…" He waved at him. "Bye." The link cut out. "Set a course for Epsilon Eridani, Warp 5. Tell the fleet to group up there."

"He hung up on me. Lock target! Prepare to fire!" The 'Ra Cailum' then banked, showing off her underbelly before her outboard nacelles glowed and the ship… stretched into the distance, disappearing in a flash of light.

"…The fuck was that?!"

"Alright… Earth Alliance, Omega-class Destroyers, the White Star…" The XCOM personnel mused over the findings. "Looks like we're in Babylon 5, Captain."

"Which is…?"

"Another sci fi series, similar to Star Trek. Very popular. It's mostly centered around the exploits of the space station Babylon 5… did that Captain happen to mention whose President at the moment?"

"Clark."

"William Clark, DAMN, we're in Season 2 and after."

"We ran into a black spider thing over Ganymede. Kept our distance—"

"Messages from Earth."

Ron accessed the XCOM database using his implants, finding the series and episode in question. He also noted that Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Babylon 5 were VERY similar. Hell, the White Star and the NX-Defiant were nigh-clones of one another.

That said, the Shadows seemed somewhat… disturbing. And Ron had to agree with Corpsa on one thing—Ryu would probably be a better subject matter expert than anyone else, as the Shadows seemed to be the kind of wrong he dealt with on a regular basis.

"Babylon 5 is in the Epsilon Eridani system, isn't it? We should be there in a few days if we keep to low warp speed." Ron was in no rush: he saw no threat to the fleet or anything else. If anyone wanted to threaten the fleet, they could handle it. So far, there was very little that COULD threaten the safety of the fleet.

He pursed his lips. That was getting a tad bit arrogant. If that kept up, he'd get them all killed.

"We'll fill you in on what should be happening, according to the TV show," the XCOM personnel informed. "We can confirm precise timing once we get there, and then can plan out our course of action from that point."

"And I can figure out how much blood I'm going to be letting loose." Ron had zero intention of allowing humanity here to remain under a despot. He just had to goad them into shooting at him first and keeping his ship intact in the process.

John Carver was an EarthGov Marine, but with all of the Ra Cailum's security people, he was left without a job.

So here he was. Watching the Starfleet version of TV.

In this case, pirated signals from the local universe.

Which, currently, was set on Earth's central news channel.

Right now, it didn't look good.

"President Clarke has signed a martial law order, all civilian traffic between planets and systems has been shut down. More on the story as it develops."

"Everything's going straight to shit, just like back home before we killed the moons."

"Before the Laehval killed the moons: we just pissed off the necromorphs." Isaac corrected.

Carver shrugged as he continued watching ISN. He really had nothing to do. He wasn't officially part of the Ra Cailum's security force, they didn't storm planets on a regular basis…

He was bored.

"Something better come along soon that I can shoot, I'm tired of letting the Mobile Suits do all the work."

The Moon-killer smiled and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry, with all this shit going on, I'm sure there's gonna be something to do."

The station was finally in sight, giving them a good view of Babylon 5. While technically it was an Island-3 O'Neill-Class space colony, it differed in that it had no open 'sky-ports' and the solar reflectors were fixed mid-station. It was based on the design, but radically different.

Ron nodded. "Nice. Well, time to stop eyeballing the station. Cassie, what's going on in there?"

"Chaos: apparently, martial law isn't exactly popular and neither is Nightwatch. They're arresting people at random."

"Gestapo in the 23rd Century. I feel sickened. Prep a security team: I know they'll trap the majority, but I want the rest dealt with."

Cassie looked at Ron. "Lethal or non-lethal?"

"Whichever is more efficient. I don't care."

"I'll send in Noble then. "

"Spread the fleet around the station. When those two Omegas come in, I'll scare them with the Ra Calium. When they get reinforced, I'll scare them with the fleet."

Jade cackled. "I love it. I'll go over to the station to further fuck things over. See ya later!"

Ron nodded as he looked at B5. "two and a half million tons of metal. All alone in the night. Something I can relate to."

"May I have your attention, please?"

John Sheridan was feeling a little smug. He had EVERY right.

After all, it's not often you can fuck someone over with legal bullshit like this.

"As of this time, 0315 Earth Standard Time, I am placing you under arrest for conspiracy of mutiny and failure to obey the rightful chain of command. The order for Nightwatch to take over Babylon 5 security came from the Political Office. The Political Office, despite it's connections to the president, is outside the direct chain of command. Orders affecting military personnel must come from within the military hierarchy, starting with the president, through the Joint Chiefs of Staff to your immediate superior officers. A senator cannot give you a direct order. A governor cannot give you a direct order and neither can the Political Office. Make no mistake, this is an illegal order."

And he was right: the only civilian that could give orders to a soldier was the president himself. And he was too busy, so he set up the Ministry of Peace and Nightwatch to act as his arms. Sadly, the Alliance constitution was VERY clear on the way of things.

"Now, we've contacted Earthdome and requested confirmation of this order through proper channels. But, since we seem to be having trouble with communications, this may take several days. Until then, you have two choices. You can stay where you are, or you can leave, one at a time. On your way out, you'll turn in your link, identicard, and weapons. You'll be restricted to quarters until the revised orders come in. When that happens, anyone who wants to file a complaint against me can do so. Otherwise…have a pleasant stay." He turned to leave. "Oh, and one other thing. If I were you, I wouldn't use my weapons on the airlocks. They're a solid beryllium alloy. The ricochet is a killer."

Inside, one of the Nightwatch morons was actually pointing his weapon at the door as he heard the warning before pausing in horror.

Elsewhere on the station, the six Spartans of Noble Team plus Jade had materialized just in time to listen to Sheridan's little speech. "Ohhh, Ron's gonna like him," Jade giggled, glancing at the Spartans. "Alright, you know the drill. Active Camo from here on out until the fireworks kick off - avoid running into anyone, and let's do our best to make life for Mr. Sheridan a little easier, hm?"

"So, we watch out for Nightwatch personnel."

"And do whatever it takes to keep them from stupid shit. Like killing people."

The Ra Cailum made a wide loop around the planet, making a show of it for Babylon 5 by making itself visible to them only on the other side of the planet before making their approach. He didn't want to show off the cloak until it was too late.

"Open a channel to Babylon Control."

"Channel open."

"Babylon 5, this is the United Federation of Planets starship Ra Calium. Please respond."

Mumbling was heard across the line. "Federation of Planets? Wait one Ra Calium."

He waited for a few seconds. "B5 Control, Ra Cailum Actual: I will be entering a parking orbit momentarily. I would like to inform you that any attempt to fire on this ship will result in… damage to your station. And absolutely none to my ship."

The voice of Susan Ivanova soon came in. "Is that a threat, Captain?"

"Merely a fact. Nothing more."

"Very well. Parking orbit is approved. Captain Sheridan is on his way, he will want to have a word with you."

"And I with him. I can wait."

Ron looked back at Cassie. "Prep a shuttle. I'll be riding it over."

"No beaming?"

"Not yet. Not until we need to."

"Less than two thirds the size of an Omega-Class destroyer, power readings off the charts and it has a human name. Any ideas how nuts this thing is?"

Sheridan shook his head "Well, they aren't with Clark, so that's a good sign," he said. "And they decided to talk first, so they're civilized at least."

"They threatened us."

"Susan, they warned us not to initiate hostilities; there's a difference."

The airlock doors opened, allowing a human male to exit wearing a more subdued uniform in black and grey with a red undershirt with four gold rank pips of some kind with a brooch on his left breast. "You must be Captain Sheridan. Captain Ronald Pinkerton, UFP starship Ra Cailum."

"I am. You're gonna have to explain how that works."

"Simple explanation is alternate universes. I'll explain in detail on the way."

Sheridan blinked at that info, however he simply nodded as he guided the UFP Captain further into the station. "Alternate universes… I'd say it's the craziest thing I've heard of, but… well, it isn't really."

"We've been on an odyssey, as it were: this is actually just the latest universe we've stopped in. And we're going to stay for a while: we have to repair our wormhole drive before we leave. Babylon 5 looks like a safe place to put down."

"Not as safe as you think, Captain. We're in the middle of a civil war."

"If Babylon 5 couldn't hurt my ship, none of yours can. Consider the station under my protection."

Once more, Sheridan looked rather surprise at the man's statement "I… see," he said, "Thank you, Captain… though I'm not sure you'll want to once you're more… filled into the situation."

"Trust me, Captain." Ron said, with a small smirk adorn on his face. "We are more informed on the situation than you may realize."

"Well, care to inform me?"

"You're about to have company. I suggest we move to C&C to keep an eye out." Sheridan chuckled as they moved off towards the command center.

Corpsa was not surprised when a jump point opened, spitting out the EAS Alexander. "That database was accurate."

"At least we're providing a wide-band jamming field to keep any idiot from contacting Clarke. Contact the captain: ask if he wants to provide an engineering crew to repair the Alexander."

"Sure thing." Cassie opened a comm line. "You hear that love?"

"Yup. Hail them, and ask. If they don't want us, then they don't want us. Keep an eye out though. Earthforce will be coming."

"We're on yellow alert. If anyone shows up, they're getting shot."

"Don't be so trigger-happy: the EAS Churchill will be arriving soon. Other than her, every other Alliance ship is to be treated as hostile."

"And you told me not to be trigger happy. Pot calling the kettle black."

Outwardly, Ron was still listening to Sheridan and Ryan, but he already knew what was about to happen.

"Major, would you object to my engineering teams repairing your ship?"

Ryan looked at Ron. "As you outgun both my ship and Babylon 5, though I'm not sure how, I'll allow the help."

"You'll see." Ron said, tapping his badge "Pinkerton to Ra Cailum."

"Yeah Boss?"

"Get your people over to the Alexander, that ship needs some repairs."

"Understood - already got the gear packed and teams ready." Sonja said, "Give us a few hours and she'll be as good as new."

"You've got two. Pinkerton out." He looked at Sheridan. "My engineers are the best in the fleet. And we can turn rocks into replicators. Literally. I've done it myself."

Sheridan and Ryan shared a glance. "You're insane."

"So they say!" He grinned, then began laughing insanely.

"I pity whoever has to deal with you."

"I have many who have been… corrupted by my insanity. They're better for it."

Ryan shuddered, holding his hands up. "I don't wanna be one of them."

Ron grinned wider. "You don't have any choice in the matter. After all… resistance is futile."

Ryan beat feet real fast after that, even as Ron started cracking up. "Gets them everytime."

"You scared him."

"Like the bombing of Mars will you?"

Sheridan blinked. "What?"

"Neural transceiver in my spine: the Ra Cailum intercepted a call and sent it to me."

Sheridan didn't bother questioning it. Insanity was his thing.

Ron the True Fan: Yes. It is. Like a peacock spider just waiting, watching… dancing…

Takeshi Yamato: You and those spiders. (shakes head good-naturedly)

Anyway. Babylon 5. One of what I think could be considered the 'Big 3' Live-Action TV Sci-Fi franchises in North America (the other two being Star Trek and BSG [Star Wars is even bigger, but doesn't really count as it's never been a Live-Action TV series, AFAIK]).

Ron the True Fan: And you refuse to watch it because you don't find it interesting.

Takeshi Yamato: It is somewhat intriguing, but with everything on my plate - games, this, other fics, etc. - I have to budget my time, and binge-watching something requires a bit more interest than what B5 generates for me - I can content myself with YouTube clips every now and then. Same with BSG. Star Trek has the edge because I was introduced to that in my single-digit years - I practically grew up with it. B5 was around the same time as DS9, IIRC, but my family didn't have cable back then, so we stuck with Star Trek.

117Jorn: We give you… the last, best hope for peace in the galaxy… BABYLON 5!

(Peacock spider dances goodbye)