#EarthForce

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Starfury Capture, Crusade "Each Night I Dream of Home"

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Exiting Hyperspace by Ryan Salcombe (Meurig)

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Earth Alliance ships.

[casside-sionnach]

Nova Class, Earthforce Alliance ship

[therighthandofvengeance]

[pocoslip]

I Love how Optimus Prime's Double Axe Movie works on Megatron but Not Grimlock

(Is the Name of the Move Double Axe or Double Hammer????)

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The Earthforce comics and the Autobot Earthbase would actually be perfect for new fans and to set fanworks in, here's why:

Some of the funniest panels in all of TF comic history like the "CENSORED" panel or the brick one come from these comics

Despite that, one of the darkest stories in TF history also takes place in the Earthforce continuity so plenty of angst or hurt/comfort potential

There is an interesting landscape, with the aurora visible most nights for instance

Polar bears are around (perfect for scaring Wheeljack)

Huge cast of characters and more could easily be added

Vague place in continuity, perfect for all those G1 continuity soup fics to draw upon

Grimlock is generally in charge, therefore endless drama and comedy

Base is shaped like a pancake and the walls inside are green

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Imagine being the only commercial telepath on a space station populated by roughly 250000 humans and aliens combined.

[unidentifiedprimate]

[mylittleredgirl]

today i'm thinking about b5 worldbuilding choices that seem like they were deliberately chosen to differentiate it from star trek. (this is a joyful statement, by the way, They Both Look Nice.gif)

i'm not talking about hyperspace/jumpgate technology, which is way too structurally load-bearing to think of as just Not Warp Drive.

it's more the small-ticket differences, like earthforce using american measurements (when the real life american military uses the metric system), and the sometimes conspicuous absence of the sci-fi technologies that are most iconically identified with star trek: transporters, replicators, all-purpose tricorders... and phasers with a stun setting, which is where things get kinda fucked up.

the sci-fi gun filling the phaser niche on b5 is the PPG. it's also a bloodless energy weapon, but it only has one setting, which is at least as deadly as a modern gun (i say "at least" because of how often someone is "killed instantly" with a single shot). officers are not armed with a less-lethal option.

in season one, it's routinely emphasized that no one except earth force personnel can have weapons of any kind on the station. the ban is pretty hardcore. not even religious ceremonial knives are allowed, there are active scans of everything coming on board, and security has the right to check for weapons even in the "foreign soil" of ambassadorial quarters.

there are a quarter of a million people here on any given day, mostly civilians, many of them aliens. there's a backdrop of petty crime, mostly theft and fistfights. occasionally someone gets stabbed with a homemade shank. security has Shit To Do! people to arrest, and so on. but the total weapons ban means that in the vast majority of cases, anyone that security can expect to encounter, especially inside the station (vs. the customs area) will be unarmed.

and this all seems like a recipe for disaster. a human in uniform killing an unarmed alien bystander (or a suspected petty criminal who hasn't been charged with anything) is going to be a problem for the Don't Start Wars With Aliens station!! of course the initial peace train derails mid-series, but at the beginning, sinclair is really holding on to the goal of peace by his fingernails. you would think that both he and earthgov (who Really want to keep earth out of war) would prefer that the random dumbasses in security carry a non-lethal option as a first-line weapon, even if they are also armed with a backup PPG... which implies that the humans in the b5 universe just never bothered to work on this technology.

meanwhile, in the real world, police tasers came into use in 1993, at the exact same time as b5 started. the idea that cops should have a way to subdue someone resisting arrest without shooting them was a pressing concern in the national conversation... so somehow it ends up being worse than just picking american riot cops off the street and sticking them in space. to us at home, especially in the 2020's, it fits in with the rest of the "hey, don't you and the good guys think this is kinda fucked up?" stuff, but it's not treated that way, because the good guys don't notice it at all (that's honestly a theme with law enforcement issues in b5 in general, but that's another post).

which is why i wonder if it was a Not Like Star Trek choice early on to avoid "set phasers to stun," and it just never came up again.

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concept: earthforce unisex miniskirt uniform :-P

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Cruiser (2) by ostapblender

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[thatonebirdwrites]

Claudia Christian, a.k.a. Susan Ivanova from Babylon 5

Claudia was in ELDER SCROLLS V and FALLOUT 4?????

OMG. I thought I recognized her voice. I just figured I was tripping or something.

In case folks need a reminder of how epic this woman is, here she is in Babylon 5, where she played the sarcastic and kick-ass Susan Ivanova, bi queen.

I ADORE THIS SPEECH SO DAMN MUCH. Chills EVERY SINGLE TIME. She had the best lines in this whole show. Followed closely by Delenn. Her one true love was Talia Winters, though I'll never forgive the show for what happened to Talia.

Transcript of the scene from Season 4 of Babylon 5, where Commander Susan Ivanova leads a Minbari fleet against the Shadows and the Shadow-infused human fleet.

Captain Thomson, Earthforce: This is Captain K. Thomson of the Destroyer Group to enemy vessels. We have you surrounded. You are ordered to surrender your vessels or be destroyed. I say again, surrender or be destroyed.

Susan Ivanova to a crew member: Put me on with him and give me fire control.

Susan Ivanova: This is the White Star fleet. Negative on the surrender. We will not stand down.

Captain Thomson, Earthforce: Who is this? Identify yourself!

Susan Ivanova: Who am I? I am Susan Ivanova. Commander. Daughter of Andrei and Sophie Ivanov. I am the right hand of vengeance, and the boot that is going to kick your sorry ass all the way back to Earth, sweetheart! I am Death Incarnate, and the last living thing that you are ever going to see. God sent me.

[therighthandofvengeance]

Clark: EarthForce isn’t someone you wanna think about messing with.

Sheridan: We won’t think about it when we do it.

[woodsfae]

B5 S04E07 Epiphanies previous episode - table of contents

The denizens of B5 have an aerial show to go along with their party over the Vorlon-Shadows proxy war being over. On episode seven! I have only vague theories about anything they might get up to by the end of the season. 

John Sheridan watches the party and has heavy thoughts till he sees Delenn and is immediately turns his mood around. Cute. 

Bester!! Is back! Thrilling. I have my fingers crossed for him to acctually achieve his telepathic society on some secret colony. 

It's awfully obnoxious that he's taking orders to dismantle B5 instead of off stealing all of PsiCorps. The threat of the great powers may be over, but Earth's government is still its own biggest threat. 

Bester wants to know why they don't just do a military takeover. Minister says...we tried and failed. Gotta do this blackops style. 

I now have high expectations for shenanigans, but I hope it's a multi-episode arc rather than wrapping up in this episode. Bester vs B5 could be a great seasonal arc. 

On Centaur they need to pick a new Emperor, but putting off the decision for awhile. By appointing a Regent for the Emperor, which is the guy Londo is telling all this to. 

Huh, Londo's skipping out to B5 now. I did not expect him to dump all the homeworld issues on a patsy and flee, but that very much in character for him. Dealing with problems is not Londo's strong suit. Unlike causing problems. 

G'Kar has phanton itch in his missing eye. Oh how I hate how he can never catch a break. Dr Franklin wants to try to adapt a human prosthetic for G'Kar so he can have partial vision back. And the medical update also serves as exposition for Dr Frankin to remind the audience that G'Kar was offered rule of Narn and turned it down. 

Garibaldi struggles with not remembering, then his sleeper routine activates! badadada! Bester-level shenanigans engage. Huh, and he resigns. 

There's a Disney planet. That tracks. But, interesting gambit. Demoralize the senior staff by having his secretly implanted trigger be disillusionment in the conflict and want a chance of pace that's more peaceful. 

Does this mean Chief of Security Zack Allen? Please no. ugh. If this happens, I will try to be sanguine with it, but whyyyy. 

I mean I don't believe Garibaldi is leaving leaving, but I would prefer more Garibaldi than Zack Allen.  Who is checking Londo back into B5. 

Bester and his jackbooted thugs have arrived. And his banter remains delightful. They're always on point with his script and he's such a good antagonist. It's funny but I almost think of his as fae....he allows himself to be trapped by logic battles and legal snarls, he's very precise with his wording in a way that feels a bit otherworldly, and he's threatening as shit. ergo, fae. Just him though, the rest of PsiCorps doesn't strike me as fae at all, very mundanely human. 

Garibaldi is very happy to see Garibaldi. Garibaldi says he is sorry G'Kar had to go through a lot of shit. G'Kar says no, thanks to Garibaldi for being his friend so much that he risked getting, and got captured. And in his captivity was able to help save his people. Garibaldi says o.O what.

Another mirrored arc with Londo, who curses the narrative and denies anyone's ability to choose. G'Kar thanks the narrative and chooses to see the best of the current circumstances.

Yeah, Zack Allen's Security boss now. The news announced that Earthforce has banned all travel to and from B5. Big moves. 

Zack goes to get Lyta and we see she's starting to replace the belongs that not-Kosh forced her to get rid of.  

Apparently Lyta has been shunned by basically everyone on B5...and it's because no one quite trusts her due to the time she spent in close proximity to the Vorlons. But Zack Allen offers to help her unpack her new stuff. They gotta stop making him be so considerate or I'll stop being irritated by him. 

G'Kar casually threatens Londo. I'd want to disappear Londo so bad in his shoes. 

Bester is difficult because it's in his nature, while also being very helpfully informative. lol. 

Bester wants to go loot Higher Beings tech from Z'ha'dum and see if they can use it to free the Shadows-wired-in telepaths, including Bester's forbidden lady love. And has quite an uncontrolled telepathic spasm of visions! Lyta? Susan? Something he did to himself or PsiCorps did to him?? 

Bester tells them that Earthforce sent armed patrols to maintain a B5 blockade, and a second force to destroy the first force and frame B5 for the hostilities. That's ice fucking cold. 

I notice Garibaldi may have resigned but he's still in what look like pretty spacious officer's quarters. Zac is hanging out and trying to persuade Garibaldi not to resign. 

omfg. Garibaldi says mistakes are a part of life and in fact, he took on Zack Allen even though he had a terrible record. And says he's the best second Garibaldi ever had. Um.!!! He totally told them out to Earthforce sprang at the first and every opportunity, and only felt a little bad about most of it till he switched sides at the literal last second. They can't make me forget that with a few episodes of him being considerate and intelligent. They gotta put in more effort for him to win me over. 

Sheridan and Delenn being cute again on one of the White Stars, heading to Z'Ha'Dum. Sheridan says he wants a little chill and Delenn says lol, you love nothing more than a problem. And if you had to spend ten seconds relaxing on a beach your head would explode. 

He thinks her deducing that is hot. It is. 

Ivanova gets to go out on a space battle in the little fighters! Good for her, she almost never gets to go flying! She and the B5 fighters save the sacrificial force and establish some cred as nonaggressors. 

Bester admits respect for Lyta, but tries to convince her to share what has given her an increase in telepathic ability. The Corps is mother, the corps is father. Lyta turns him down and he immediately jumps to threatening blackmail. How very Bester. He isn't so much an iron fist in a velvet glove, more like a ceramic-coated frying pan on a long handle. 

Z'Ha'Dum blows up. No high level tech upgrades from that angle. Bester has a regretful heart-to-heart with his beloved's stasis chamber. He really acts the shit out of it. "I'd do it again." shivers! And he blames B5 for not having her back and swears his personal animosity for B5! That's a little bit of a leap, but I suppose the next most logical person to blame is himself and he can't afford to take that onto his cracked shell of a psyche. (affectionate)

Sheridan also comes to visit Lyta, really thoroughly ending her long drought in visitors. Bummer that it isn't positive - he thinks she set off the Shadows' self-destruct of Z'Ha'Dum! Sheridan is interestingly not angry about it. Just acknowledges that she must be very powerful and skilled. And wonders why. Lyta gives several answers as hypotheticals, ranging from buried command triggers to personal grudge. 

Ah, and now Sheridan's mad comes out. If she does anything audacious like that without orders again, he chucks her straight into PsiCorps' custody. pain of death threat, basically! Be good or face being effectively murdered through mindwipes or controls. 

Really, PsiCorps is such an existential threat I find it to be overly harsh. Threat of general exile from B5, sure. But PsiCorps is a really brutal threat for Lyta as a rogue telepath in possession of secrets of power boosts. More ice cold choices made by people in authority! 

Epiphanies this episode is called...but bearing down on cold ruthlessness is rather a depressing epiphany to give the main players in the human political scene.

And the Centauri Regent has a...vision? And/or a growth? It's unclear. 

Much to think on, much to try to start to fit together into plausible theories! This has definitely been a highly expository episode but it was still well done and managed to be engaging while also doing a lot of telling-not-showing.

Onwards!