History FanFic / AThinVeneer

** On a non-military level: When [[spoiler:Warmaster Jha'dur]] escapes Minbari custody and reaches the Federation starbase Becerra Alpha One, she attemptes to manipulate the Federation to give her asylum and even positions of power with promise of [[spoiler:revealing the secret of the life-extension serum she developed]]. Much to her frustration, she was having an audience with Ambassador Sarek, who stoically turned her offer down and informed her that the Federation, unlike the B5-verse powers, would ''never'' compromise their principles for the sake of immortality, having turned down similar offers in the past for the same reasons.

** And ther reason the Melkotians are so isolationist and distrusting of aliens is that they were once enslaved by the Vorlons and used as telepathic cannon fodder in the war against the Thirdspace aliens.

** A conversation between Delenn and [[spoiler: Jha'dur]] borrows much from a conversation between the latter and Commander Sinclair in the episode named after the latter's [[TheRedBaron sobriquet]]. The difference, however, is [[spoiler: The episode of the series used the words to imply that Earth will become the monsters the Dilgar were upon gaining her [[ImmortalityImmorality life serum]], while A Thin Veneer uses the conversation to parallel the Minbari to the Dilgar for use of biological weaponry.]]

It can be found [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1944628/1/A_Thin_Veneer here]].

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: The Federation classifies Gorn ships by Dinosaur name. The flagship of the Gorn group that arrives at ''Beccara Alpha One'' is a UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex class dreadnought.
** Interestingly, the whole thing started as a joke – some "wise guy" at Starfleet Headquarters started labeling Gorn ship classes after Dinosaurs. When the Gorn found out, and found out the reverence that humans placed on "The large collections of bones in those old museums", they not only found it hilarious, but also took great pride in it. Now, they're almost certainly naming their ship classes to screw with Starfleet Intelligence.

This is a {{crossover}} fanfic written by committee. It can be found on Website/SpaceBattlesDotCom and Website/FanFictionDotNet. Set in 2293, it describes a war between the [[Series/BabylonFive Minbari Federation]] and the [[Franchise/StarTrek United Federation of Planets]] as a result of the Earth-Minbari War spilling over into the Alpha Quadrant.

This is a {{Crossover}} written by committee. It can be found on Website/SpaceBattlesDotCom and Website/FanFictionDotNet. Set in 2293, it describes a war between the [[Series/BabylonFive Minbari Federation]] and the [[Franchise/StarTrek United Federation of Planets]] as a result of the Earth-Minbari War spilling over into the Alpha Quadrant.

This is a {{Crossover}} written by committee. It can be found on Spacebattles and Fanfiction.net. Set in 2293, it describes a war between the [[Series/BabylonFive Minbari Federation]] and the [[Franchise/StarTrek United Federation of Planets]] as a result of the Earth-Minbari War spilling over into the Alpha Quadrant.

In the beginning, a ship from the Earth of Babylon 5 and a Minbari ship chasing it go through a space anomaly. Captain Kirk's ''Enterprise'' finds them before the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon in what would have been ''The Undiscovered Country,'' leading to the Federation and Klingons discovering a hyperspace channel to the home of the Earth Alliance... and bringing down the wraith of the Minbari. The consequences extend into the next century, and the Vorlons get involved as well -- also as enemies of the Federation.

->-- '''Admiral James T Kirk''', to '''[[spoiler:Satai Delenn]]'''

* ScaryDogmaticAliens: The Minbari, as they did in canon, want to commit complete genocide against humanity for accidentally killing one of their leaders. Their estranged cousins, the Ashen, are even worse, being willing to [[spoiler:Destroy Minbar and all of its population for considering surrender.]]

* HumiliationConga:
** Commodore Acaltha actively weaponizes this with calculated blows against Minbari morale and beliefs in his part of the offensive campaigns against the Minbari Federation proper, especially following the Minbari broadcast. His reasoning is that Minbari pride and fanaticism is preventing the Minbari from realizing their war is a lost cause and giving them strength to continue resisting, and so to counter this and make the Minbari surrender faster, he aims to undermine it through things such as [[CurbstompBattle spectacular routs]] of Minbari forces and hacked broadcasts in order to demonstrate the allied forces' overwhelming technological and numerical superiority over the Minbari as well as their determination to use them, while spreading fear, doubt and uncertainty among Minbari military and civilian ranks to demoralize them and make them question their folly.

* AbusivePrecursors: Vorlons march up one side of this trope and down the other. If it wasn't for helpful precursors on the Federation's side, this would be a much darker, and much more terrifying fanfic.

--> '''Satai Morann:''' For all we know, [[BrickJoke they might look like those Vulcans]]. [[AndThatsTerrible That would be intolerable]].

* ArcWords: Destroying an empire to win a war is no victory. And ending a battle to save an empire is no defeat.
** The title, "A Thin Veneer," also shows up several times, asking the question of exactly how "Civilized" each group in the war is. Are the Minbari, with their CrystalSpiresAndTogas technology, who have launched a genocidal war, civilized? Are the Federation, who for all their good points, still show signs of righteous rage towards old foes and the Minbari? Are the aggressive Klingons? Are the Gorn?

* WeHaveBecomeComplacent: Throughout the fic, many characters both within and outside Minbar have noted that a thousand years of technological supremacy and having no equals to watch out for or fight against, have caused the Minbari to become complacent, leaving them completely wrong-footed when the even-more advanced and battle-hardened Federation and Klingons arrived to help the Earth Alliance and give them a fighting chance. Minbari commanders such as Alyt Sarhat and Shaka repeatedly find themselves falling into traps and to strategems created by cunning, experienced, and imaginative commanders such as [[GuileHero Commodore]] [[TheStrategist Acaltha]], and getting their fleets decimated if not outright destroyed by technologically-superior forces despite outgunning and outnumbering the enemy by a considerable margin, while Minbari commanders such as Alyt Aalaan and Alyt Darcannon stand out among the Minbari for noticing and trying to remedy this and make them more dangerous opponents for the Alliance/Federation/Empire.

This is a {{Crossover}} written by committee. It can be found on Spacebattles and Fanfiction.net.

It describes a war between the [[Series/BabylonFive Minbari Federation]] and the [[Franchise/StarTrek United Federation of Planets]]. In the beginning, a ship from the Earth of Babylon 5 and a Minbari ship chasing it go through a space anomaly. Captain Kirk's ''Enterprise'' finds them before the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon in what would have been ''The Undiscovered Country,'' leading to the Federation and Klingons discovering a hyperspace channel to the home of the Earth Alliance... and bringing down the wraith of the Minbari. The consequences extend into the next century, and the Vorlons get involved as well -- also as enemies of the Federation.

** General Chang of the Klingon Empire, the TokenEvilTeammate among the war-leaders of the Federation/Empire/Alliance coalition despises Kurge like other Klingons. Less that Kurge killed Kirk's son and being a despicable bastard in general, but more that Chang himself was foolish enough to pick [[StupidEvil an idiot]] like him to do the dirty work of getting the Genesis Device.

** As part of the new Federation/Klingon alliance, Kor assures Kirk that he and other Klingons condemn Kurge's actions on Genesis and regret that Kirk lost his son in such a manner.

* WorthyOpponent: Several Klingons reveal that many among them consider Kirk to be this, calling him the "Great Enemy" and expressing both regret that he wasn't born into their Empire and they won't get to fight him with the peace treaty between the Federation and the Empire, and ecstatic that they get to fight alongside him with the outbreak of the Federation/Klingon-Minbari War. Kor even takes time to apologise to Kirk for Kurge killing Kirk's son David, affirming that he and other Klingons condemn what Kurge did on Genesis.