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#REDIRECT [[Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers]]
'''Rangers''' (Minbari: '''Anla-shok''') are a fictional class of [[warrior]]s that play a prominent role in the [[science fiction]] [[television series]] ''[[Babylon 5]]''.
{{R to related topic}}

{{Cquote|''We are Rangers.<br />We walk in the dark places no others will enter.<br />We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass.<br />We live for the One, we die for the One.''}}

==History==
The Ranger order was created by [[List of Babylon 5 characters#V|Valen]] during the First [[Shadow War]]. When the three castes refused to work with him to defeat the Shadows, Valen went outside the caste system to organize a group of warriors who refuse to retreat from battle under any circumstances. The name of these warriors, ''Anla-shok'' is a Minbari term meaning "The Application of Force."
After the First Shadow War, the Rangers became dormant, waiting for the prophesied second Shadow War that Valen warned of. Their status in government declined over the centuries as Warrior Caste members of the Grey Council grew to doubt the validity of the prophecy. By the time of the predicted return of the [[Shadow (Babylon 5)|Shadows]], the organization had become seriously undermanned and underfunded.

In this dormant state, Rangers were led by the ''Anla-shok Na'' or Ranger One. When [[Jeffrey Sinclair]] took leadership of the Rangers while he was ambassador on Minbar, he took Valen's title of '''''Entil'Zha''''' or "The One Who Creates The Future." This was due to the fact that Sinclair carried the soul of Valen. After Sinclair travelled to the past permanently (and actually became Valen), Delenn became the new Ranger One.

==Earth-Minbari War==
When the [[Earth-Minbari War]] broke out, Lenonn (the leader of the Rangers at the time) attempted to reach a peaceful settlement to the conflict, with the help of the Narn Regime, but was killed when a [[Centauri (Babylon 5)|Centauri]] sneak attack hit the meeting after they mistook it for a weapons transfer between the Narns and Humans.

After the war's conclusion, the Rangers were largely dormant, but were soon reorganized and strengthened as evidence of the Shadows' reappearance became obvious in certain circles.

==Shadow War==
When the Shadows finally made first openly aggressive acts, the force swung into action under the joint command of Jeffrey Sinclair (Known as The One who was), Delenn (The One who is), and John Sheridan (The One who will be), and became a central part of the opposing alliance. The fact that there were 3 commanders of the Anla'Shok, until Sinclair went back to the past to fulfill his role as Valen, was explained by Zathras to be due to the Minbari's reverence for the number 3.

After the resolution of the conflict, the Rangers became a prominent peacekeeping force in known space and would still be existent [[The Deconstruction of Falling Stars|one million years]] in the future after the [[Human (Babylon 5)|humans]] and probably the Minbari became beings like the [[First One]]s.

==Characteristics==
* After the second Shadow War and the creation of Interstellar Alliance, many races were admitted who were previously forbidden from joining.

* The badge of their office is their black and grey robes that include a large pin that has a large green crystal in the center, which is surrounded by a human and a Minbari at either side with the crystal symbolizing the Future or Isil'zha. This is a recent style, however. The original badge used had a pair of Minbari hands holding the gem, but the two heads design was chosen to symbolize the unity of the two races. According to the book [[To Dream in the City of Sorrows]], which is considered canon, the crystal is partly created by the blood of human and Minbari, and is highly prized by its bearer.

* Their preferred weapon in close quarters is the [[Minbari#The_Fighting_Pike|Minbari Fighting Pike]], also known as the ''Denn'Bok''. It is quite compact and easy to carry, but can open up to be a formidable weapon. The weapon is not dependent on an energy source, unlike the [[Phased plasma gun|PPG]] pistols carried by [[Earthforce]] personnel. It takes a great deal of training and skill to use the weapon in an effective and in a relatively safe manner. Most weapons are quite old - the pike Marcus Cole carried was at least 700 years old. As the weapon is handed down from generation to generation, production of new pikes is rather limited. Because of the effort to keep the fighting pikes from falling into the wrong hands, they can fetch a considerable price on the black market.

* Their main space vehicles are the [[White Star (Babylon 5)|White Star]]s, medium sized starships that are made up of combined Minbari and [[Vorlon]] technology to produce a superior small fighting ship.
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[[Category:Fictional military organizations]]
[[Category:Babylon 5 organizations|Ranger]]
[[Category:Fictional rangers]]

Latest revision as of 04:40, 24 January 2024