Thoughts on merging/melding B5 and ST technology
- Thread starter DigificWriter
- Start date
You're right, but the idea hadn't really occurred to me before you suggested/mentioned it.
As an aside, the more I think about the idea of the Minbari being Earth's 'first contact' instead of the Vulcans, the more I'm liking it.
However, I can't decide if it makes sense to have a Minbari 'observer' present on the Enterprise as part of its crew as it undertakes its mission of exploration. Anybody got thoughts on that?
If the Minbari are going to be Earth's 'first contact', I see the following scenario playing out: the Minbari detect Cochrane's warp flight from their homeworld and, for their own reasons (the Vorlons - with whom they are 'in-tune' - basically telling them that Earth is important and that they [the Minbari] need to initiate contact), send a ship to Earth to establish first contact, which happens weeks - if not months - after Cochrane's warp flight.
How would the Vulcans respond to this, the Minbari gaining a new ally so close to their Homeworld? The Andorians, with their hostilities with the Vulcans? Would they try to court the Humans away from the Minbari, or try to establish better relations with the Minbari?
Do you want to run with the idea of the Andorians being the ones who ended Centauri dominance and the Narn allied with them?
Do you want to run with the idea of the Andorians being the ones who ended Centauri dominance and the Narn allied with them?
I really like the idea of the Minbari sending Rangers to facilitate first contact with humanity, and has cemented for me the idea of having a Minbari as part of the Enterprise's crew compliment, with said Minbari being both a Ranger and an official ambassador.
Since I see the Vulcans being very preoccupied with their conflict with the Andorians, I didn't see Vulcan/Human first contact happening until after the Enterprise began her mission of exploration. I do think it would be interesting, though, for the Minbari to be basically using humanity's desire to explore the wider universe as a way to facilitate the establishment of a unified universe, which the Vorlons want to have in place should the Shadows ever come back, and the Vulcans - being the somewhat emotional beings that they were in the 22nd Century - reacting negatively to the idea of the Minbari and a ship full of humans 'interfering' in their affairs, especially with regards to the Andorians.
Regarding the Narn, I really see them being more akin to the Orions and the Ferengi, since I think it fits their reputation as arms dealers and a 'neutral' power who'll basically curry the favor of anyone so long as it can help them establish themselves as an interstellar power.
I see the Centauri being the kind of people who've pissed off a lot of other alien races because of their aggressive hunt for territory, so it might be interesting to explore the idea of conflict breaking out between them and the Andorians (since I like the idea of the Andorians being the universe's biggest and baddest warrior society), with the Narn - being the Centauri-haters that they are - forming an alliance of sorts with the Andorians in order to 'stir the pot', as it were.
It's repeatedly stated in B5 that something happened 100 years prior that led to the Centauri Empire becoming more of a remnant than anything else.
Perhaps it was the Vulcans who blew them back, rather than the Andorians? Might be a nice twist that serves as a "Don't **** with these guys" establishment.
Given how both the Romulans and Centauri have Imperialistic societies, maybe it was a secret alliance between both of them that led the Vulcans to downgrade the Centauri Empire and keep the Romulans away.
Perhaps it was the Vulcans who blew them back, rather than the Andorians? Might be a nice twist that serves as a "Don't **** with these guys" establishment.
Given how both the Romulans and Centauri have Imperialistic societies, maybe it was a secret alliance between both of them that led the Vulcans to downgrade the Centauri Empire and keep the Romulans away.
I see the decline of the Centauri Republic being caused by them laying claim to more territory than they could hold on to, but I kind of like the idea of the Vulcans maybe being one of the civilizations who took territory from the Centauri. It would be an interesting nuance to their society and characterization.
I've sat down and tried to think about how to incorporate 'snubfighters' into this new universe, but haven't been able to come up with any satisfactory ideas.
As an aside, I've been spending the last few days thinking about whether or not I want to explore the beginnings of Earth's exploration and the founding of the UFP in this hybrid universe, or, prompted by some of the discussion in this thread, I should just go full-tilt into an adaptation of B5's storyline, but modified somewhat to fit this new hybrid universe I've created.
If I do end up going with the latter idea, I want to give B5 - the station - its own permanently assigned starship - or series of starships - but am not sure what the best class(es) for this ship or ships would be, so suggestions would be appreciated on that front.
Suggestions on possible member worlds for the UFP - besides Andor(ia), Tellar, Vulcan, Earth, and Minbar - would be also appreciated, as would suggestions for member worlds for my version of the 'League of Non-Aligned Worlds' just in case I do decide to go with the idea of doing a straight-up 'trekkified' version of B5.
As an aside, I've been spending the last few days thinking about whether or not I want to explore the beginnings of Earth's exploration and the founding of the UFP in this hybrid universe, or, prompted by some of the discussion in this thread, I should just go full-tilt into an adaptation of B5's storyline, but modified somewhat to fit this new hybrid universe I've created.
If I do end up going with the latter idea, I want to give B5 - the station - its own permanently assigned starship - or series of starships - but am not sure what the best class(es) for this ship or ships would be, so suggestions would be appreciated on that front.
Suggestions on possible member worlds for the UFP - besides Andor(ia), Tellar, Vulcan, Earth, and Minbar - would be also appreciated, as would suggestions for member worlds for my version of the 'League of Non-Aligned Worlds' just in case I do decide to go with the idea of doing a straight-up 'trekkified' version of B5.
I suppose I'll throw out a few ideas for merging Babylon Five cultures with Trek ones. I hope some of these are useful in some capacity, if you feel like using any of these races 
. Forgive me if I've misunderstood your particular concept for the merger, but if we're having B5 cultures inserted into the Trek-verse...
Brakiri: Their government is corporate-based, so you could have them as the driving force behind a League of Non-Aligned Worlds equivalent, based around economic power and control of trade, perhaps in concert with the Rigelians and Orions? The Rigel system, like in the regular Trek verse, is a leading economic lynchpin of the region and a major trade hub, only the Brakiri have made them a bit more proactive, and they send trading fleets or pirates to other systems instead of mostly inviting everyone to come to them? The Orions are far less decentralized because the Brakiri have integrated them into their corporate structure? Instead of joining the UFP, the Rigelians become an economic rival? You could "vacuum up" established Trek races that wander the spacelanes but seem to have little centralized authority - Orions, Nausicaans, Yridians - and make them members of an organized Brakiri empire? The Llort, the armadillo-cow people on B5 who never say anything, are known for their loose grasp of property and their hoarding of items that have caught their fancy, so maybe they could be part of this, too? The Rigelian/Brakiri Alliance...like the Ferengi Alliance, but far closer to Earth and the other UFP core worlds, and both a tempting ally and a threat.
The Abbai, Hyach and Yolu might all be good candidates for UFP members. These societies are generally peaceful and value diplomacy; rather advanced technologically, but defensive in their military applications rather than aggressive. The Abbai certainly would be involved in any attempt to create a community of worlds, and the Hyach would follow, though more warily due to their shame over the Hyach-do genocide (they don't want to reveal too much). Maybe the Hyach are allied with the Vulcans? They're reserved, orderly, respectful of age and wisdom, and hide a few dark secrets. Maybe the Vulcans and Hyach are partners because they see themselves in each other? As for the Abbai, the Interspecies Medical Exchange was probably their idea, with Denobulans, Tiburonians, Vulcans, etc, agreeing to support it. The Yolu tend to be isolationist, but might be tempted out of seclusion if approached openly.
If the Minbari are part of the UFP and Earth's first contact, why not have later UFP members like Deltans, Efrosians, Bolians and Benzites be protectorates of the Minbari, corresponding to the races that form the Minbari Protectorate in the actual B5 universe (who were mentioned and one of them named, but never seen?) That way the UFP can have a full membership due to these peoples all following Minbar in. It will emphasise that Minbari are a true power and serves as a nice way to get those various later Federation members into the mix. And you can kill two birds with one stone by answering the question, "where does Minbari space fit? Why, over the territory where Delta, Bolarus, Benzar, etc, are found". Betazed might go here too; after all, a planet of telepaths is clearly a Vorlon petri dish of some sorts, isn't it? Minbari territory is a good place for that.
The Drazi might be part of the Klingon Empire? The Klingons conquered Drazi space, the Drazi fought well but were defeated, the Klingons recognized the courage and tenacity of their foes and incorporated them into their ranks? Drazi are brawlers, not warriors, and as conquered people couldn't be high-placed in the Empire, but perhaps the Klingons approve of using Drazi as their thugs and bodyguards, leaving the "nobler" bloodshed and warrior behaviour to actual Klingons?
The pak'ma'ra are, of course, everywhere. In B5, their homeworld is the source of much of the Quantium-40, so I assume they're swimming in dilithium in this universe. You could have them in league with, or as rivals to, Coridan. Coridan was a flashpoint between Vulcan and Andorian in the real Trek verse, and 100 years later a point of dispute in the UFP, so having pak'ma'ra as agents or spies for Coridan, struggling to stay afloat as it's caught between the local powers, might be a nice angle.
. Forgive me if I've misunderstood your particular concept for the merger, but if we're having B5 cultures inserted into the Trek-verse...Brakiri: Their government is corporate-based, so you could have them as the driving force behind a League of Non-Aligned Worlds equivalent, based around economic power and control of trade, perhaps in concert with the Rigelians and Orions? The Rigel system, like in the regular Trek verse, is a leading economic lynchpin of the region and a major trade hub, only the Brakiri have made them a bit more proactive, and they send trading fleets or pirates to other systems instead of mostly inviting everyone to come to them? The Orions are far less decentralized because the Brakiri have integrated them into their corporate structure? Instead of joining the UFP, the Rigelians become an economic rival? You could "vacuum up" established Trek races that wander the spacelanes but seem to have little centralized authority - Orions, Nausicaans, Yridians - and make them members of an organized Brakiri empire? The Llort, the armadillo-cow people on B5 who never say anything, are known for their loose grasp of property and their hoarding of items that have caught their fancy, so maybe they could be part of this, too? The Rigelian/Brakiri Alliance...like the Ferengi Alliance, but far closer to Earth and the other UFP core worlds, and both a tempting ally and a threat.
The Abbai, Hyach and Yolu might all be good candidates for UFP members. These societies are generally peaceful and value diplomacy; rather advanced technologically, but defensive in their military applications rather than aggressive. The Abbai certainly would be involved in any attempt to create a community of worlds, and the Hyach would follow, though more warily due to their shame over the Hyach-do genocide (they don't want to reveal too much). Maybe the Hyach are allied with the Vulcans? They're reserved, orderly, respectful of age and wisdom, and hide a few dark secrets. Maybe the Vulcans and Hyach are partners because they see themselves in each other? As for the Abbai, the Interspecies Medical Exchange was probably their idea, with Denobulans, Tiburonians, Vulcans, etc, agreeing to support it. The Yolu tend to be isolationist, but might be tempted out of seclusion if approached openly.
If the Minbari are part of the UFP and Earth's first contact, why not have later UFP members like Deltans, Efrosians, Bolians and Benzites be protectorates of the Minbari, corresponding to the races that form the Minbari Protectorate in the actual B5 universe (who were mentioned and one of them named, but never seen?) That way the UFP can have a full membership due to these peoples all following Minbar in. It will emphasise that Minbari are a true power and serves as a nice way to get those various later Federation members into the mix. And you can kill two birds with one stone by answering the question, "where does Minbari space fit? Why, over the territory where Delta, Bolarus, Benzar, etc, are found". Betazed might go here too; after all, a planet of telepaths is clearly a Vorlon petri dish of some sorts, isn't it? Minbari territory is a good place for that.
The Drazi might be part of the Klingon Empire? The Klingons conquered Drazi space, the Drazi fought well but were defeated, the Klingons recognized the courage and tenacity of their foes and incorporated them into their ranks? Drazi are brawlers, not warriors, and as conquered people couldn't be high-placed in the Empire, but perhaps the Klingons approve of using Drazi as their thugs and bodyguards, leaving the "nobler" bloodshed and warrior behaviour to actual Klingons?
The pak'ma'ra are, of course, everywhere. In B5, their homeworld is the source of much of the Quantium-40, so I assume they're swimming in dilithium in this universe. You could have them in league with, or as rivals to, Coridan. Coridan was a flashpoint between Vulcan and Andorian in the real Trek verse, and 100 years later a point of dispute in the UFP, so having pak'ma'ra as agents or spies for Coridan, struggling to stay afloat as it's caught between the local powers, might be a nice angle.
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