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A New Crusade

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Scraped from here.

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While I enjoy the series very much, I unfortunately do NOT own...
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murtalianconfederacy

murtalianconfederacy

Scraped from here.

Disclaimer


While I enjoy the series very much, I unfortunately do NOT own either Babylon 5 or Farscape. These are the properties of Warner Brothers and of Henson (respectively). Therefore, nothing in this fan fiction is canon. Anyone trying to use it as canon will be mentally scarred because people will laugh at you. If you are not scarred by this, Janeway porn of a level not hitherto experienced will be beamed directly into your brain.


The timelines for these events are:


Farscape: 1st programme, 1st series. However, it is now assumed that Crichton has limited knowledge of how to create wormholes including wormhole-based weaponry.


Babylon 5: Start of A Call To Arms. However, some FOs didn't leave completely, and thus may still be around, although they are in hiding, just to see what happens with the younger races after they've left.


My own universe: prior to the events of the Second Rajrowlian War.


Okay, introduction over, lets begin


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Ravian dreadnought slid silently through space. Along her side, dozens of weapon emplacements dotted the hull. The deep blue of the missile bay doors interrupted the rows of light fusion cannons, their crimson barrels almost sniffing the air for enemies to fire at. And, along the dorsal and ventral surfaces, eight turrets, each with four railcannons, were locked down.


Vice-Admiral Denner looked at the flag tactical screen. Around him, three other dreadnoughts and eight light cruisers represented the 101st Task Force. Behind him, Fourth Battle Fleet, consisting of four task forces like his own, as well as sixteen light fleet carriers and 96 destroyers, carried onwards.


"Call Fighter Group Blue in for some R&R, and launch Fighter Group Red" he ordered "We want to keep at least three fighter groups out there at all times. The damn Rajrowlians might very well try to take us on..."


As he said that, a signal came through from the Fleets commander, Admiral Bannofil.


"Scout's long-range sensors have picked up a small echo following our course. Since you're the closest task force, I want you to head out there and see whats happening"


"Yes, sir" Denner replied.


"Another wild lanak chase?" his second muttered


"Shut up" Denner replied "It gets us some exercise, doesn't it? Anyway, I think it'd do you some good to get out and about"


The crew laughed, and Flag Captain Hauberk's ears reddened


"Alright, you heard the Admiral. Set a course for the echo. And tell all crews to go to Condition Orange"


The internal lights flickered for a second as they changed from a light blue to a darker orange. Weapons crews scrambled and fighter pilots, nominally off-duty, suited up, ready to launch within fifteen seconds notice.


101st Task Force went to investigate the echo.
 
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    • The jump point opened. Through it came a vessel that, barely 20 years before, had caused so many human lives to be lost--the Sharlin class warcruiser. However, times can change, and this cruiser was here to deliver President Sheriden of the ISA to the White Star waiting for them.


    Garibaldi turned around and said two simple words "That's him"


    A little while later, a shuttle flew from the Sharlin's hangar and headed for the White Star. Sheriden, despite his calm exterior, was excited at the thought of finally--finally--seeing the new destroyers that would become the core of a new ISA fleet, the big brother of the White Star.


    Within a couple of hours, they headed for the shipyards that held Excalibur and Victory.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    "We have a problem!" Crichton reported "There's an unknown object heading towards Farscape One"


    "Abort the mission, Crichton! Thats an order!"


    "Sorry, sir, I can't. Its moving far too fast for me to evade it" Crichton replied. "I'm sorry"


    As Mission Control got ready to send another message, Crichton disappeared.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    "We have the object within scanner range, admiral" said Hauberk "Its a Rajrowlian scout group consisting of four battlecruisers and eight destroyers"


    "Easy pickings" Denner said "Surely they wouldn't stay around, would they?Unless..."


    "Its a trap" Hauberk finished off "Yes, I think that's the case. Hyperspace sensors are picking up tentative mass readings in hyperspace. We can't tell for sure, but I'd bet fairly good money its a couple of dreadnoughts with associated elements"


    Denner thought about it "Engage the battlecruiser force. But activate hyperspace engines. It takes a while for the Rajrowlians to activate their engines, so if we can get them to jump into normal space as soon as we attack, then get into hyperspace..."


    "We can damage some of their units before they damage any of ours" Hauberk finished "Shall I inform the task force?"


    "Yes, by all means"


    101st Task Force activated all systems. Typically, no vessel would store energy in the hyperspace engines because a charged hyperspace engine was very, very dangerous indeed. However, Ravian vessels typically carried enough powerplants to make a hit and run attack in case the enemy was far superior than anticipated. It also allowed surgical strikes to be made.


    But this was no surgical strike. Or rather, it was, if you consider a chain saw to be a rather good surgical implement.


    "We are within range of missile and rail cannons now, sir"


    "Fire. Concentrate fire on the battlecruisers"


    The dreadnoughts, vessels tough enough to stand in the battleline and slog it out with opposing units, were far too powerful for battlecruisers which usually acted as the cavalry of the navy. Thirty two heavy rail cannon shells hurtled through space like peregrine falcons diving towards their prey. Their prey was the battlecruisers, and 24 found it.


    One battlecruiser died and was reborn as a sieve when eight shells ripped through armour only half that which was needed to blunt the impact. Two others lost their primary armament without firing a shot, when six shells apiece teared the bows apart like vengeful talons. The fourth got off relatively lightly. However, compared to the other three, that wasn't saying much.


    "Reading hyperspace portals all around us!" Hauberk reported.


    "Jump now!" Denner replied


    The task force made good its escape. However, just as they did so, a spread of antimatter missiles from a single destroyer detonated right in the middle of a jump point.


    The universe heaved.


    The joint impact of the wormhole transit by Farscape One, the jump point of the White Star and the antimatter missiles in the middle of the Ravian jump points tore and battered the thin walls that seperate universe from universe. Galaxies were ripped to shreds, and others were born in that single universe-shattering incident.


    The three universes collided and where they did so, a new phenomenon was born.


    An interdimensional wormhole.
     
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    • 2
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    • The universe held its breath.


    The first to react was Vice Admiral Denner


    "What can you pick up?" he asked Captain Hauberk


    "Reading several light craft--presumably fighter craft. Also reading one medium-sized vessel and two very large vessels" Hauberk replied


    "Tell the mindreaders to scan the vessels now" Denner snapped.


    Mindreaders were telepaths. In prehistoric times on Ravala-Ka, the three species were unable to communicate with each other. However, telepaths emerged from nowhere and were able to communicate between the three dominant species--Kylaron, Nykaderain and Panarran.


    The three races lived side by side, able to hunt together and, when countries sprang up and battles occured, the three races would fight together, the Kylarons acting as infantry, the Nykaderain as cavalry and the Panarran as artillery, hurling spears, bolts and later still, firing massive cannons. And the telepaths remained, able to communicate between species, and breeding programmes set up a couple of centuries before had bred really powerful mindreaders, able to read minds of hundreds of people at a time.


    The process of scanning the entire scene took over 45 seconds.


    "Report"


    "The medium-sized vessel is of a class called the White Star, an advanced attack ship used in a war against an ancient race known as Shadows. They are held to be the best attack ships around, and apparently one of the passengers onboard is the president of an interstellar alliance. Their mission appears to be travelling to a shipyard for viewing a new class of warship, though we don't know that much

    "One of the larger vessels is organic, and appears to be sentient. She is of a class known as Leviathans. They are captured and used as cargo transports, although this one appears to be used as a prison ship. The prisoners onboard have escaped and are now trying to remove a collar that is restricting the Leviathan's ability to move

    "The second vessel is a warship known as a command carrier. She is approximately 3 foot-cycles* long, and carries a large number of attack fighters known as Prowlers. She is also fairly well-armed for this particular universe, although she shouldn't pose a problem for a Ravian dreadnought

    "There is also an anomalous craft. One of the mindreaders scanned his mind and was unable to fully scan properly, a sign that at least part of their mind is blocked. Whether its voluntary is unknown, but they are in a very heightened state of the emotion known as fear and are very confused. They are, however, capable of travelling through wormholes"


    "Wormholes?" Denner asked "Can you clarify?"


    "Yes. They appeared to be able to traverse a wormhole even without proper facilities. We believe this to be part of the reason why they are frightened" Hauberk stopped "Sensors are reading that the crafts known as Prowlers are firing on the Leviathan. She has no armament and is experiencing severe pain"


    Denner snapped "They harm a sentient with no chance of fighting back? Lay in a course, best speed, and power up railcannons"


    "Yes sir"


    The task force headed towards the command carrier


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Sheriden didn't know what had happened


    "We are receiving a message from three sources. One is from the organic vessel, another from a vessel apparently attacking the organic vessel, and a third from a small fleet of vessels"


    Sheriden straightened himself up


    "First one first"


    The first image was of a large alien which appeared to have tentacles. However, as soon as the face appeared the creature uttered a growl and cut the signal


    "That was rude" he muttered to himself


    The second image showed a human with a beard. Before Sheriden could work out how humans could exist, the man spoke


    "What is your name, rank and regiment?"


    "Who are you?" Sheriden replied


    "I asked the question first. Name, rank and regiment?" You also appear to not have the correct insignia for the Peacekeepers"


    "Sir, the task force is firing on the 'Peacekeeper' vessel" the Minbari reported


    The man cut off the signal


    "Two cut-offs in two minutes. This isn't a very friendly area of space, is it?" Garibaldi said drily


    The third signal came through


    "This is the Ravian Star Navy dreadnought Vigilant to White Star" the alien replied. Sheriden was astonished. Why was an alien looking very much like an ankylosaurus and a triceratops onboard a warship?


    "We are sorry to have scanned your minds, but we needed to know who you are" the alien continued on "I am Vice-Admiral Denner. Do you know who either of those two ships are, by any chance?"


    "No..." Sheriden said slowly "Who are they?"


    "You should be receiving a file on a sub-channel. It gives you all the data from their computers for you to analyse. We think you are the most friendly lot of aliens around here, so consider this a gift showing that we are friends, not enemies" The signal cut off.


    "Ah, a friendly alien. A difference from the first two. Our luck is looking up" Garibaldi said


    "And I wouldn't like to be enemies. Look at them" Sheriden replied.


    The first rail cannon salvo ripped through the carrier's shields as if they weren't there. The 9 kilometre-long warship was surprised at the tremendous damage inflicted by four vessels only a quarter of their length. A second salvo was belched out.


    Bialar Crais was shocked. Who were those vessels?


    "Sir! Massive damage to internal areas! They appear to be firing projectiles at us, but they're far more powerful than anything else we've encountered!"


    Crais snarled "Is there any way for us to defeat them?"


    "Judging from their shields? No. They are ten times stronger than ours!"


    "Alright, get us the hell out of here" Crais growled.


    Within a couple of seconds, it was all over. Three universes had collided. The ripple effect was on its way outward. And portals long shut might once again be opened...
     
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    • Er...


    I hadn't intended to go down THAT route but, yeah, I might include the Tau'ri in the storyline. However, note that I am waaaay behind most, if not all, of you in regards to Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis (mid-series 1 of Atlantis, just watched first episode of new series of SG-1 where the Goa'uld send a ship to see if the Ancient defence system is still operational) so I might need some information about weapon capabilities and other details.


    I actually intended to mean a different dimension tied in with one of the two published universes already in the story...


    Thirdspace
     
    If you were expecting another update, forget it. I have struggled, cajoled, persuaded and threatened force, but to no avail--the computer I am on is bent upon the complete destruction of my available computer time today. So if you were expecting a post-mortem, and possibly a longer meeting between the White Star and the Ravians, sorry. Ain't gonna happen, at least today.


    However, any specifications upon Stargate weapons capabilities would be appreciated, as well as guesses upon Farscape/Thirdspace firepower levels.
     
    Huh...:D

    I've actually had more time on this computer than the previous one today. However, 30 minutes does not an update make. I'll update tomorrow (unless it plays up again) and in the meantime, I bid you farewell.
     
    3
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    • Can't have that, now, can we? :D

    The test had proved successful. The planet had been stripped of all life. What was once a paradise had now been turned into a hellhole.


    The Shadow planet killer, controlled by the Drakh, moved away from the once jewel-like planet of Daltron 7. Within only two weeks, the homeworld of the race that organised their master's enemies would be reduced to little more than ash. And once that happened, the Drakh would once again be on the move.


    A signal came through. A portal had been opened. The Drakh were mildly interested. They sent a party to investigate.


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Sheriden's thoughts were cut off as the communications officer said something to him


    "Hmm?"


    "I said, we have a message coming through?" the Minbari looked worried


    "Yes, put it through" Sheriden said


    Denner appeared on the screen


    "We have to talk"


    "Yes, I think we do" Sheriden replied


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    D'Argo stepped out onto the shuttle bay. He saw Sheriden


    "Why have you brought a Peacekeeper on board?" he demanded "They are the ones responsible for our Leviathan's pain!"


    "No, he is not a Peacekeeper. He is not even a Sebecean" Denner intoned "He is in fact a human being, their scientific name being homo sapiens sapiens. The Sebeceans, while similar in appearance, are biologically different"


    D'Argo shrugged and made a gesture indicating reluctant agreement


    "If you will follow me, I feel we have something to discuss..."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John Crichton was understandably worried. Twenty-four hours ago, he'd been worried about the mission he was undertaking. Now, he was onboard a warship crewed with some of the weirdest creatures ever.


    "We are not that weird" an alien said. Crichton was one sentence away from madness at this point


    "Did...did I just speak then?" he asked


    "No. Since you have been asleep, we were not able to inform you that we are capable of telepathic thought. We can block out all thoughts we wish not to receive from aliens in a normal state of mind. Yours, however, is not normal. Being shot out of a wormhole into an unknown part of the galaxy is not something to be very happy about, I know" the alien smiled "Come. We have a briefing to attend"


    "What about?"


    "Everything"


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------


    "I hope you are all sitting comfortably?" Denner asked the assembled group. A chorus along the lines of "Yes" filtered back to him.


    "Then let me introduce Commander Janmer" he announced "Commander Janmer is our chief scientist on board, and he has spent the last couple of hours working out what has happened"


    Janmer stood up. As a Panarran, he was smaller than the bulk of Denner's Kylaron body, and it took some time for him to get to the podium


    "Ah, thank-you, Sir" he said


    "First, let me tell you a story. It is not entirely correct, but it will help you to understand what I am saying

    "Imagine three pieces of string. These represent our different realities. They are all seperate and none knows the existence of the other.

    "However, if you were to gather all three and tie a knot with all three pieces of string, and the three pieces of string interact at that point. This is, essentially, what has happened here.

    "Now for the really hard science

    "At precisely the same time, at precisely the same place, an event happened in all three realities. In ours, a spread of antimatter missiles detonated in the middle of a hyperspace portal. In yours" here he pointed towards John Crichton "you were shot through a natural wormhole while attempting a difficult manoeuvre. And in yours" pointing towards Sheriden "your craft, the White Star, opened a hyperspace vortex.

    "These events conspired to bring all the different realities together. Within a space of one light year, all the three different realities have merged. In it, all three of us can interact. However, outside the three realities are still not aware of each other"


    "So, can we travel out of this 'portal'?" Crichton asked


    "Yes, we can, but only into our own dimensions. Each one of us has a mode of faster-than-light travel, correct?" Everyone nodded


    "Each one of these systems is like a fingerprint, unique to each dimension. Once the drive has activated, your vessel will only enter the reality you come from. Ships can exit with another reality's FTL into that alternate reality, but not with their own system. So, for instance, a Sharlin could not enter our reality and travel to Ravia-Ka anymore than we could travel to Minbar, or Zhabar, or your Earth"


    "Ah" everyone said, sounding like a visit to the dentists.


    "However, we theorise that all other systems, even those relying upon reality-specific technologies, would work inside another dimension. Thus our hyperspace communications network could work as a way to transmit from the Tirolus system to Sh'Lekk-Tha, the same way as a interceptor grid would provide an energy web in our universe"


    "So" Sheriden said, to break the silence "What happens now?"


    At that point, the Drakh jumped out of hyperspace
     
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    • Intricate? Huh...:D

    Yep, its going to be a very bad time for the three realities. Friendships will be forged, enemies created, and new kickass warships with the very best of all the technologies.


    In a way, I suppose that this story is a mirror of what I would like to happen--that the three realities join together and each contribute something. Its a change from some fanfics where one universe p0wns the other. Here, however, each one has something to contribute.
     
    No.


    The FTL systems only work in the different realities. Starburst will work in the Farscape universe, but not in the B5 universe. Consequently, B5 hyperspace will only work in the B5 universe, not in the Farscape universe. If Star Trek were here, warp could not work in the B5 universe or the Farscape universe, and neither could starburst or hyperspace work in the ST universe.


    HOWEVER, all other technologies will work, even Star Trek subspace technology.


    I hope I've cleared that up for you.
     
    Denner looked at Sheriden and D'Argo


    "Do either of you know who they are?" he demanded


    "I do" Sheriden replied "They are the Drakh, a race that served the Shadows before they left for the Rim. We haven't heard anything from them for almost five years"


    "And they're not great friends of yours, I take it?" he enquired


    "No, no they're not. They don't exactly like us for defeating their masters during the last war"


    "Well, they're here now" Denner replied "And from the look of their ships I don't think they're in a mood to talk"


    The Drakh vessels, three cruisers and six attack ships, moved towards the Ravian vessels


    "Sir! Picking up a hyperspace footprint! Around 5 million foot-cycles off our port bow!"


    Denner's head whipped around to look at the data display.


    "Uh-oh" he muttered


    "I don't like it when people say 'uh-oh'" Sheriden said, a little testily


    Denner looked into his eyes "They are the Rajrowlian Stellar Imperium, our main enemy. They aren't friends of ours either, mainly" here his eyes glittered "because we kicked their sorry asses in the last war we fought against them"


    "Why did you fight each other?" D'Argo asked, and Denner snorted


    "Our Confederacy is located in a strategic position of known space. We have a large number of wormhole junctions--natural wormholes--that enable us to strategically deploy our vessels. Some of our wormholes lead to places with a high level of wealth, and the Rajrowlians, with their militaristic lifestyle, require huge funding to keep up every single warship at peak efficiency. The Rajrowlians ordered us to relinquish control of a particular wormhole junction vital to the Ravian Star Confederacy's economy. We refused, they sent a WarFleet of over 40 Emperadors and associated elements to ask again, our fleet comprised of just under 2/3 of their force smashed their forces into so much space junk that for a year fireworks could be seen in the skies of the colony. And, they're here"


    "This is not good" Sheriden replied


    "No, it isn't. Luckily, there appears to be only a small force. Our major fleet must have wiped up the remains of the Rajrowlian fleet they ran into. This must be a rear division that escaped here..."


    Sure enough, it was. Four Emperador-class dreadnoughts, eight Duque-class battlecruisers and thirty-two Caballero-class corvettes jumped into the system.


    "This seems to be a standoff" Denner remarked as the Drakh and the Rajrowlians stopped when they saw the other. Rajrowlians tended to attack anything they saw, but the vessels in front of them made them hesitate. The Drakh, on the other hand, were wondering if the Rajrowlians were allies or enemies. The Ravians they classed as enemies, since they were talking to the president of the alliance that had banished their masters from the galaxy.


    Then someone fired.
     
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    • Factfile: My own universe


    The Ravian universe is a fractious place with numerous species. Of these, there are a couple that needs to be noted. These are:


    Ravian Star Confederacy

    Rajrowlian Stellar Imperium

    Lograni Dual Empire

    Arunan Theocracy

    Loramian Royal Kingdom

    Liamin Star Union


    The Ravian Confederacy, as noted, is a confederacy of three different races that evolved on one planet. They control a wide swath of space and, while not being the good guys, are pretty close to it. They have treaties with several races along the borders of their realm, and have mutual defence treaties with several other nations as well.


    Their navy is slightly unusual. Lighter units (corvette up to battlecruiser) each race has their own specific design. The Kylarons opt for slightly reduced speed in exchange for heavier weaponry and defences. The Panarrans opt for longer-ranged weapons--including missiles, torpedoes and mass drivers--but are weak in manoeuvrability and lack powerful short-ranged weapons, though their defences are superb. The Nykaderain lose defensive capability for increased speed. A fourth category is the primary patrol vessels, being used for independent duty rather than fleet duty. However, dreadnoughts, superdreadnoughts and space control ships are designed to suit all species' tactics as best as possible. This is a blessing and a curse...


    The Rajrowlian Stellar Imperium is a race of insect-like reptillians. On their world, there is little need for speed, and animals grew to impressive sizes. As the primary predator on the planet, Rajrowlians were fearsomely armed with claws and jaws. As a result, its hard for them to make friends but easy for them to scare the hell out of any belligerent species.


    Their vessels reflect their natural body plan. They are slow and heavily protected, and tend to bear a resemblence to arrowheads. Their primary weapons are railcannons, but two unique weapons are worth mentioning.


    The first is the fusion torpedo. Imagine a tube. At one end, there are three generators. One creates a superheated plasma which is inserted in containers. The other two power up the launch mechanism, a coil delivery system, that allows them to achieve great ranges. Torpedoes can be stored while charged and can store up to ten at a time.


    The second is the plasma slicer. Within such a weapon, there are gravitational and magnetic stresses normally encountered in the centre of a stellar object. This is simply to compress a stream of plasma into a gap barely one molecule wide. This is then fired at the enemy. It is extremely deadly as it can 'rake' an enemy from bow to stern, and can even target numerous corvettes or light cruisers at the same time. Luckily for the Ravians and other species, it takes almost ten minutes to charge up.


    The Lograni Dual Empire is an anomaly. Two species, evolving on different planets in the same system, managed to achieve space flight. The bird-like Gran and the bulky Logra at first fought each other but, after the last war, joined forces to face the world.


    Their navy is designed around general purpose vessels. While their light cruisers and destroyers suffer as a result, their space control ships are one of the most feared sights in the universe. Their primary weapon system is the fusion lance, capable of slicing deep into enemy hulls.


    The Arunan Theocracy is a race of amphibious vertebrate squid. They have an unusual bone structure, capable of both acting like the human skull and like an tentacle. Their religion is one based upon the beliefs that they are the custodians of all life, and must protect it. However, some take this to mean that they have to control the races to protect them...


    Their navy is similar to their bodies. They can change their 'design' almost at will to either give the firepower of a superdreadnought, the defences of a superdreadnought, or the speed of a corvette...in the hull of a light cruiser. However, because of this same strength enemy ships can catch them out in the wrong mode and decimate them.


    The Loramian Royal Kingdom is a race of ape-like creatures with human-like characteristics merged with that of an orang. They are similar to humans, but are slightly shy. But when they are angered, it is not a good time to be around them. Not for nothing is it said "To befriend a Loramian is to have a friend for life. To create an enemy of a Loramian is to drastically reduce your future"


    Their navy is based around two basic arms--carriers, which can support a battleline, and strike at distant targets, and battleships, which can stand in the line of battle and bombard a planet. Their best vessel, the Omega, is extremely deadly and is the last sight of many a Rajrowlian cruiser.


    The Liamin Star Union consists of several star-faring races that banded together for protection. They also consist of splinter colonies from other races, and has caused some difficulties with others in the past.


    Their navy is designed around the need for flexibility. Light units commanded by Havandii are built to support the lumbering Fixolla dreadnoughts.
     
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    • Glad you asked that...:D

    Earth is a second-rate power, close to the level of the Loramians (who I'll write up soon). There are a couple of small human powers, and the Ravians have allied with one...


    The Loramian Royal Kingdom is close to a human society. Their primary difference is that they are more isolationistic than us (they aren't extremely isolationist, but they don't like too many foreign entanglements). Primarily because the Rajrowlians were their first contact...
     
    They were busy killing off another alien race when they felt it.


    Over five years ago, their only link had been broken to this universe. But now, with the Ravian's arrival, they had opened up again.


    The vessels of Thirdspace prepared once again to travel to normal space...


    (Just thought that'd be a nice little filler for you...:D)
     
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    • The Rajrowlian corvette Jihak, smaller than the White Star.


    The Rajrowlian captain, an average captain by the name of Pol'Jakri


    The weapons, a quadruple light fusion torpedo


    The target, a Drakh attack ship


    With that first shot, thousands would die. All because a vessel came too close.


    The Drakh vessel blew apart in an instant. Before that had even happened, however, the Drakh cruisers let loose their own weapons.


    "Sir! Rajrowlian force is moving into a battle line!"


    "Launch long-range missile strike at them! Disperse them before they get into formation!"


    The four Ravian dreadnoughts belched out a combined salvo of over 400 missiles. They were typical anti-ship missiles, meant to batter an enemy before the forces got close enough to trade blows with deadlier weapons. But 400 missiles made an exceptional dispersion salvo.


    As one, the missiles detonated. Half of them were fragmentation antimatter missiles, designed to cover an area with chunks of antimatter. The other half were hard ECM missiles, designed to throw up so much electromagnetic energy that their sensors would be blanketed. And they were.


    Two Caballeros, too close when the ECM missiles detonated, rammed each other. As their antimatter containment failed, a blast rocked the Rajrowlian dreadnoughts trying to form the battle line.


    Sheriden looked stunned


    "What can we do?"


    "At the moment? Nothing, really" Denner said apologetically "But we could use an escort for our fighters"


    Sheriden smiled. He didn't like the implication that his vessel wasn't up to the rigours of this combat, but he wanted to help what may be a new ally.


    The White Star, in support of over 4 fighter wings, screamed towards the Rajrowlian battle line.


    "Fire!" Denner told the fighters and White Star.


    The fighters, armed with light fusion cannons, blasted deep into the Duque's shields and ripped into the armour. Duques, while not strictly battle line units, were assigned to guard the flanks of the Emperadors as their plasma slicers warmed up. But what happened with the White Star was amazing.


    The single neutron cannon spat out. The crew, after seeing the displays of the Ravian dreadnoughts, and the expression almost of fear on their faces after seeing the Rajrowlians, expected hardly any damage to occur.


    They were wrong.


    The Duque's shield writhed as if alive...and in tremendous pain. The shield leapt about, and as it did so, excess energy rippled back through space towards the Duque's own hull.


    The shield generators burned out. Weapon emplacements, ready to fire, overloaded and exploded. And the engines simply tore themselves apart, eager to dance to the tune of the neutron cannon.


    The Duque, after a second of combat, fell apart.


    Denner was shocked. What the hell had happened? He turned to the mindreaders for support.


    "They don't know what happened either" the chief mindreader spoke. She turned to Sheriden "Neither doe he"


    Denner brushed that aside "Can you order your vessel to fire at an Emperador?" he asked Sheriden


    Sheriden, still shocked, nodded mutely


    "White Star, fire at an Emperador!" Denner said.


    The White Star turned agily towards the nearest vessel. As if sensing the impending disaster, the craft tried to escape from the savage attack visited on its smaller brethren.


    It was unlucky.


    The other Rajrowlian vessels, not wishing to die that easily, jumped out of the system. The Drakh, however, were slightly more stupid.


    "Rapid fire on all railcannons! I want those cruisers out of the sky, but disable one of those attack ships. I want to question him" Denner said.


    The Ravian task force turned towards the Drakh. Rail cannon turrets, as if sniffing out their prey, turned and fired.


    The three Drakh cruisers never stood a chance.


    Rail cannon shells, capable of decimating Duques, easily tore through the cruisers' armour. The Drakh returned fire, smashing through a dreadnought's shields and destroying Missile Bay Three.


    Denner smiled. It was not a smile you'd want to see again


    A second salvo rippled out. The Drakh cruisers tried to engineer misses.


    They couldn't


    Two cruisers died in a chrysanthemum-like explosion. The third, barely with jump engines functional, jumped out of the systems. One attack vessel, however, was unable to escape...


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Denner walked into the conference room, ten hours later.


    "What have you discovered?" Sheriden asked


    "We have some good news and some bad news" he answered "What first?"


    "The good news" Sheriden replied "Its a long time since I've had good news"


    Denner chuckled "The good news is that our scientists have gone over the schematics of your neutron cannon. Apparently, our shields are extremely effective except against your realities laser-based weapons. Laser weapons in our universe, with the exception of the Terran battle laser, are absolutely incapable of penetrating shields. Energy-based weapons, like fusion cannons, and matter-based weapons, like our rail cannons, can penetrate shields, however, and lasers fell into disuse unless you were sure of fighting a shield-less enemy. Then lasers were extremely effective, as PD systems are incapable of stopping laser weapons. Generally, however, lasers in our reality are useless"


    He stopped, and Sheriden motioned for him to go on.


    "Your lasers are similar--in a way. Your lasers cannot penetrate shields, but what they can do is set up a resonance in shields which causes their very power to act against them" he chuckled at Sheriden's blank expression "Its like ringing a bell. The sound waves are bigger for larger bells, just as more powerful shielding is more deadly against its own shields if a laser-based weapon from your reality strikes it. It causes indirect damage to shield generators, powered weapons and so forth. Just like what you did to the Black Star when you caused their weapons to overload"


    "Right..." Sheriden said


    Garibaldi, sat next to Sheriden, didn't pretend to understand "Whats the bad news?" he said


    Denner's smile turned into a frown


    "The Drakh are on the move. Apparently, they've got their hands on a Shadow Planetkiller, and are preparing to strike Earth as soon as possible. And, judging by what we've got on their fleet numbers, nothing short of a mobilisation by all vessels in your fleet can stop it. We have also got details on some Drakh operatives in your own ranks including a" here Denner frowned again "Drake?"
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Denner straightened up as even more Ravian vessels came through the wormhole.


    Over a week had gone past while the White Star and a Ravian light cruisers went to their own realities to call up vessels to form a fleet capable of defeating the Drakh. In that time, Ravian and Minbari had argued about hyperdrives until they realised that the materials used in both drives were the same. Then, construction of a dual-FTL system, capable of operation in both realities, had lifted off.


    "How many vessels do we have now?" Denner asked his commander, Bannofil


    Bannofil replied "We now have 2 Seraphin-class space control ships as well as 24 Indomitable-class dreadnoughts, 24 Thor-class battlecruisers and over 120 Loki-class light cruisers. Your Sheriden, on the other hand, has brought a large force to the battle, it appears"


    Denner nodded. Within only five days ships from a dozen species had rallied to Sheriden's aid. Minbari Sharlins shared space with Earth Warlocks and Narn Bin'Taks, while Hyach Urutha Kals interspersed Ipsha Warspheres and Cascor Norscas. Over 1000 ships had arrived at the new system which, after some thought, had been named "New Hope"


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Lorien felt a change in the universe.


    For 5 years--hardly anything at all to an immortal--he had been beyond the rim. Despite his efforts, some First Ones persisted in remaining in the galaxy--but he'd been able to persuade them not to interfere. Now, however, he felt very, very scared


    The Vorlon Empire, millions of years ago, had created the Thirdspace Portal, despite warnings from the Walkers. Just after he'd left for the Rim, the portal had been briefly opened before being destroyed. Now, however, new portals were opening up


    And they weren't able to be shut down.


    Lorien, with a thought, contacted the other First Ones. The Vorlons, Shadows, Kirishiac, Torvalus, Walkers, Mindriders and Triad answered his call.


    They conversed for a short while--only a week or so--and then departed.


    Back towards known space
     
    Yeah...


    Im having some trouble, however, keeping the Farscape aspect. Since Moya is mostly harmless, and this is more an epic story than a story focusing on characters, I can't find a way to bring them in until much, MUCH later.


    Any ideas?
     
    HEATHEN! :p

    I watched all of the episodes of Farscape--except, of course, for the Peacekeeper series. Damn channels will never show it over here, methinks, and Im not too sure about buying the DVDs...:(

    Thats a thought (regarding best asset). I was thinking of something like a tactical stargate--something that different ships can transport people between ships. It could also be used on worlds to transfer personnel across.


    However, I also like the second suggestion as well. I'll see what I can do :D
     
    Lightning_Count said:
    The theme music put me off, call me shallow :)

    Tactical Stargates are a good idea if they work, I have to admit I am less up to date with SG than I should be too, but if they have the orbiting planets address, it should work. In fact you could put the gate outside and just shoot through it from a safe distance, possibly a very clever weapons delivery system :D
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    I must admit it was the same for me and my family, so we just used the mute button. :D
     
    Yep. I've heard of that, but unfortunately I haven't SEEN it. Also, Im a bit leery of Super Weapons of Doom (TM)...:D

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


    John Crichton woke up. He'd had a very weird dream.


    Then he saw his sheets.


    Writing covered the sheets completely. He didn't understand it at all. But there was someone who might...


    -----------------------------------------------------------------------


    "This is extremely weird" a scientist murmured "Quite a lot of this is advanced wormhole calculations" He looked up at Crichton "Do you know what any of this means?"


    Crichton started to understand "Wormholes? That was what I was shot through when I came here!"


    "Yes, but some of this is highly theoretical. Extremely theoretical. Almost out of reach of our current technology, let alone yours" he paused "Are you sure you don't know what this is?"


    "Hey, Im the one who came to ask you" Crichton's Southern drawl was more pronounced as he spoke, barely containing his temper


    "Well, from what Im reading it looks like a set of calculations for creating wormholes. Wormholes usually are not created, they were formed during the early stages of the Big Bang" he paused "And if this is correct, it looks to be the solution to travel between vessels, possibly even between systems"


    "How?" Crichton asked, just as Denner and Sheriden arrived.


    "Well, we know quite a lot about wormholes, but previous calculations have stated that it would take the combined power of 100 main-sequence stars to provide enough energy to create one from scratch. Not only that, you need to know where you're going

    "However, these calculations resolve themselves into how to enhance that energy so that only a minimal amount of power is required"


    The blank looks on Denner's, Sheriden's and Crichton's faces told him he needed to fill in the spaces


    "As we know, both our and your" pointing to Sheriden "realities use the same basic material to open portals into hyperspace. However, the same material, focused in exactly the right way, and provided with enough energy, can form wormholes with minimal effort. We think that is what happened here, as well--but other circumstances also helped to pull it off"


    "How much energy would be required for a wormhole creation?" Denner and Sheriden asked together


    "With a properly focused wormhole engine? It depends upon the size of the craft. If we take a Seraphin, it would take about twice the energy required for a hyperspace jump"


    "Not very useful there" Denner muttered, and the scientist smiled


    "But the jump would be almost instantaneous. But for fighters, due to their much lower volume, it would be easy for them to utilise wormhole travel"


    The silence that followed was almost deafening
     
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