War of the Shades

In the universe of Babylon 5 , the war of the Shades is the name given to a conflict pluriséculaire caused by the Shades. The televised series in itself are the account of the last war of the Shades and its consequences.

Causes

Each war of the Shades in the same beginning: a vision different from the Universe and its evolution by the two principal powers of the galaxy: the Shades and the Vorlons. The history starts several millenia ago before the commencement of the series, when the Premiers beings having populated our galaxy decide to leave to travel between the galaxies. Among all the Prime Ministers, two races are indicated to guide the young races in their evolution: shades and Vorlons with the vision diametrically opposite on the subject of the evolution of the races. On a side, Vorlons believe that any evolution rises from the order. Other, the Shades them think that the evolution passes by chaos and that the races which survive this chaos come out from it grown and reinforced. During millenia, these two First respected the point of view of the other until the day when one of them (one does not know which) decided that its way of seeing the things was the best. Thus this conflict pluriséculaire began the purpose of which was only to impose on the young races the law of Vorlons or that of the Shades. The principle of each new war being the same one: the Shades try to draw up the various young people races the ones against the others or attack directly them, while Vorlons offer a strategic help, logistic and material with the races attacked without never intervening directly in the conflict, except at the time of the last war. This guardian aspect of major races compared to young races, and the conflicts while rising, is to be brought closer to the cycle of rise in David Brin.

The penultimate war

Approximately thousand years before the foundation of the station Babylon 5, a new war against the Ombres took place. This race sowing chaos, the destruction and treasons, and its allies were then opposed to the Vorlons and their allies, of which the Minbaris.

Near to the defeat after the destruction of their principal space base, Minbaris discover a space station given up in the Universe. Given up, not completely, since inside a minbari naming is Valen, unknown of all then, for the simple reason that this Minbari is not other than Jeffrey Sinclair the first commander de Babylon 5, after its " métamorphose" , come from the future to change the course of the war and bringing with him the station Babylon 4. This station served as new base with Minbaris and their allies to gain the war against the Shades badly prepareds since the preceding war. The Shades, demolished, hid their remaining vessels on various planets by burying them under their surface, waiting to reconstitute their force to awake them. Valen reformed the relations between Minbaris by constituting three castes (nun, warlike and working) and by ensuring the equal representation of this one within a government council, the gray Council. Minbaris plain thus showed the example with the other allied races against the Shades.

During the next millenium, the Anla' shok (the Rangers) supervises the limits of space known to announce the least sign of activity of the Shades. This group was created by Valen to link with a common aim Minbaris whatever their caste.

The last war of the Shades

During XXIIIe century of the calendar of the land Alliance, Anla' shok brings back to the gray Council increasingly many rumors of activities on the fringes of known space ( the Rim in the original version), and in particular on planet of origin of the Shades, Z' Ha' Dum. However, these warnings are not heard by the gray Council and are forgotten majority of the leaders minbaris too occupied by the war against the Earth.

During years 2250, Delenn, ambassador minbari on Babylon 5, continues the activity day before being able to announce a return of the Ombres with the assistance of the ambassador vorlon Kosh Naranek. It is ensured thus that the Human ones are well the allies prophesied for the next war against the Shades and discovers an formal evidence of their return by meeting Morden, Humain combined Shades.

Consequently, Delenn constitutes tale the opinion of the gray Council an Army of Light:

it obtains, into 2259, the nomination of the commander de Babylon 5 Jeffrey Sinclair as ambassador of the land Alliance on Minbar, and was appropriate it to become chief of Anla' shok,
it prepares an alliance with the captain John Sheridan, new commander de Babylon 5.
the commander Susan Ivanova assisted to arrange Marcus Cole is charged to find the trace of the others Premiers left to travel between the galaxies and returning sometimes in the sector.

In same time, the Shades act more openly. They send representatives, whom they control, near powerful members of the governments of many races. Morden manages for example to infiltrate the government centauri by obtaining the confidence of the ambassador Londo Mollari and causes the second war Centauris-Narns. On Earth, the Shades manage to divide: the Clarck vice-president is encouraged in a dictatorial way, which leaves the Ligue of the not aligned worlds without its land guard.

The actions of Delenn and Sheridan starting from Babylon 5, and of Anla' shok lead to the armed conflict into 2260 when the Shades attack worlds and refugees without defense, divided and weakened by wars of borders initiated by the Shades. The first world to undergo these attacks is that of the Brakiris but at the same Sheridan time and his/her companions discover what will appear like the only weak point of the fleet of the Shades. Indeed, technologically largely more advanced than the other races (except Vorlons), the Shades use vessels " vivants" covered with an bio-armor and ordered by humanoïdes connected to the machine, humanoïdes sensitive to the telepathic interferences able to completely immobilize a vessel making it thus vulnerable.

In the middle of this year 2260, Sheridan, persuaded that a victory over the Shades would allow all the races Ligue of the worlds not aligned to find the hope of a possible final victory and thus to be combined against their common enemy, requires officially the assistance of Vorlons via their Kosh ambassador. Kosh refuses first of all, Vorlons not having never tackled the Shades directly, then ends up yielding and makes send a fleet which tightened a ambush with a quota of the army of the Shades which was destroyed. For the first time of the history, the two great powers clashed and the young races found the hope by seeing that their enemy was not invincible.

Quickly Sheridan realizes that the tactics of the Shades are stranger. Indeed, once the gained combat, the Shades give up zone leaving it the free of any recolonisation. Moreover, they take care to save a whole sector (sector 83) of the galaxy where hasten to take refuge million people touched by the attacks. Sheridan includes/understands whereas the Shades want to gather the most possible people at the same place to strike a great blow by exterminating them and thus " briser" moral their enemies.

In December 2260, Sheridan and the Army of Light equipped with the vessels of the celestial Star ( White Star ) and finally supported by the worlds of the League tighten a ambush in the Shades in this sector 83, with the largest fleet of the history of the galaxy equipped with telepathic to make inoperative the vessels of their enemy, and obtain finally their first military victory against the Shades. But in spite of their excess and the presence of telepathic, the losses are heavy and for a vessel of the Shades destroyed, alliance lost two of them.

Thereafter, the Shades try to negotiate with Sheridan by leading it on Z' Ha' Dum, but this one is sacrificed by causing the destruction of one of the main cities of planet.

The Shades, severely touched, decide to redeploy their troops by sending them on various worlds which they control or allied like the planet Centauri First.

The first months of 2261 bring a complexification of the conflict: Vorlons weary, decide to employ radical methods and to destroy any people having a relationship whatever it is with the Shades, and that without any distinction between their allied truths and the people dominated by those, by sending their planets-killers (destroying of planet). Deaths amount quickly per billion since the Shades make in the same way against the worlds marked by the presence of Vorlons by sending their clean planets-killers. Delenn arrives with the miraculous return of Sheridan to raising a new fleet of war to be opposed to the intentions Shades and of Vorlons.

It is in the system of Coriana, close to its sixth planet, which place has last confrontation between the three camps. After having made accept the Shades which alliance was on the point of tackling a planet that they direct, those go on the spot where they find part of the Vorlon fleet about to attack this planet. Then engage a titanic battle between the three camps which turns to the advantage of alliance thanks to the intervention of the other Prime Ministers, which thanks to their firepower, destroy planet-killer of Vorlons. Vorlons then decide to call the totality of their fleet (of which that about to destroy Centauri First). The combat seems irremediably lost when the fleet of alliance is found with the catches with a planet-killer of the Shades but in a last effort Sheridan and Delenn manage to confuse the intentions of the Shades and of Vorlons and to prove the races younger to them than these two people can from now on manage without entities deciding for them if their fate lies in the order (vorlon point of view of) or chaos (point of view of the Shades). The shades and Vorlons deposited the weapons and decided to join the other Prime Ministers in their voyage between the galaxies.

Consequences of the war of the Shades

The departure of the Shades, Vorlons and the last representatives of the oldest races of the galaxy does not lead directly to an era of peace. Indeed, the allied people of the Shades like Drakhs, esseulés, decide to replace their former Masters and to be avenged for Delenn and Sheridan. Their actions result with the war of the interstellar Alliance against the Republic centaurie in 2262 and the insulation of the latter during the rule of Mollari II.

Side of the effects of the departure of Vorlons appear the telepathic ones, one their creations to fight against the Shades. Telepathic human dissidents inspired of the examples of Byron and Lyta Alexander launch starting from Babylon 5 a liberation movement of telepathic against the land Alliance and the Corps Psi.

Lastly, the interstellar Alliance founded end 2662 by the Ligue of the not aligned worlds launches out in the long one and difficult peaceful road of cooperation between its members.

Place in the series

The wars of the Shades are in the middle of the series created by Joe Michael Straczynski. Even if it is necessary to await the episode “Symbols and predict” (n°1.13, Signs and Portents ) to start to discover it explicitly, the televiewer has already under the eyes of the consequences of the last war, thousand years before the events of the series: the Great Prophecy of Minbaris, accounts whose those of G' Quan, dangerous objects, dream of Londo Mollari, etc Gradually, the war of the Shades becomes the principal intrigue until its outcome in the fourth season.

Straczynski progressively reveals the bonds of the Shades with preceding political events (the death of land president Santiago, appearance of the Guard of Night, etc). Even on old and essential events of the series: in the telefilm At the beginning ( In the Beginning ), the Guerre Ground-Minbari is certainly caused by an incident at the time of the first contact between these two people. But, the squadron minbari led by the gray Council was there to check rumors on the return of the Shades; and the war which follows makes it possible Delenn to discover the importance of Human in the conflict to come.

References

The war thousand years front is hardly shown in the series (first episode of the War without end ), but it is regularly evoked by Delenn like the last example in date of confrontation with the Shades. Moreover, the repeated evocations with Valen and G' Quon are related to this conflict since the two spiritual leaders minbari and narn lived it.

The last war:

season 1: episodes Symbols and predict , Chrysalis
then seasons 2 and 3: increasingly present
season 4: first half is devoted to the resolution of the war
seasons 4 and 5: the heroes start to face the first consequences of this war
after 2262:

Romance of the trilogy centaurie on the effects on Centauri Takes precedence
telefilm the Call to the weapons and the series 2267, ultimate crusade for the consequences over Ground.

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