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Introduction

Editor's Notes

Essays

Glossary

Tech Q&A

SHIELDS AND WEAPONS
OF THE SHADOWS & VORLONS
WEAPONS - SHIELDS & ARMOR - CONCLUSSION

SHIELD

2.) SHIELDS

Unlike the younger races of the Babylon 5 universe, ancient races like the Vorlons, Shadows and other First Ones were able to protect their ships with energy shields capable of refracting/deflecting incoming weapons fire around the ship, as stated by Lennier when he commented on a similar system designed into the Whitestar during the two-part episode "War Without End."

Shields used by the First Ones do not conform with those defenses found in science fiction or the defenses used by the Third Space aliens, i.e. bubble shields, but appear to be skin tight defense fields capable of refracting and/or deflecting energy away from the hull. As an example of this, Shadow vessels would glow upon being struck by incoming fire, as their shields disperse the energy beam across it's entire hull, dissipating it's effects out and away form the ship (as seen below).

	In the season three episode "Interludes and Examinations", a Vorlon fleet attack the Shadows. During this attack a Vorlon Light Cruiser (like the one used by Kost as a transport), fires on a Shadow vessels. Note how the Vorlon's beam is being disppersed around and away from the Shadow vessel.
	As the Vorlon presses his attack, which lasted a total of eight seconds, the Shadow vessels ability to disperse the Vorlon's energy beam weakens as her shields begin to fail.
	Again we can see the Shadow vessel attempting to dissipate the energy from the Vorlon's attack, but it is a loosing battle. Even as the shields continue to disperse the onslaught of energy, the shields weaken and as they fail the Shadow vessel begins to glow red as her hull is super heated.
	Eventually, unable to withstand the Vorlon assault, the Shadow vessel's shields fail and she is cooked like a bug on a skillet, untill finally the energy build-up causes it to explode after eight seconds of sustained fire. Click to watch a video clip.

Energy shields of this type were predominately limited to the vessels of the First Ones, save for the Whitestar class Monitor. Whitestar, where were based partially on Vorlon technology, were also fitted with bio-armor and appeared to have a similar means of defense to the Vorlon and Shadow vessels, as seen in the images below.

	In the season three episode "War Without End" the Whitestar travels back in time to save Babylon 4 from being destroyed, and to send the station 1,000 years into the past to help the Minbari during the last Shadow War. While attempting to save the station, a Shadow fighter fires her bolt weapon at the Whitestar Prime, off screen.
	First of two bolts to hit the Whitestar Prime approach the hybrid Minbari/Vorlon prototype.
	Energy bolt from the Shadow Fighter impacts against the shields of the Whitestar, a second bolt zooming towards the Whitestar's port wing.
	Port wing is struck as the energy from the fist impact is dissipated around the hull by the shields. NOTE that there is NO damgage to the Whitestar's hull where the first bolt struck, despite the massive energy flash seen in the impact image above.
	In this scene one can clearly see the web like energy field covering the Whitestar Prime's nose and the port wing. Again, please note that there is zero damage to the hull of the ship. Click to watch a video clip.
	The energy webs of the Whitestar's shields vanish as the energy from the Shadow's weapons is finally and succesfuly dissipated around and away from the hull. Later, Lennier comments that the hull of the Whitestar adapts to incoming attacks and disperses incoming fire away from the hull, leaving only the impacts, suggesting some type of skin tight refractive shields.

Shields on the Whitstar were not as powerful as those used by the Shadows and Vorlons, but they did provide the Whitestar with a distinct advantage over other vessels. Further proof of the use of these shields was clearly shown in the Babylon 5 episode "Interludes and Examinations", when a Vorlon fleet attacked a group of Shadow vessels conducting raids near Brakiri space.

	Soon after the Vorlons jump out of Hyperspace and engage the Shadow vessels present, one Shadow vessels quickly turns and fires upon the largest of the Vorlon ships present, a 1,330 meter long Star Dreadnought. Note the Shadow beam, one frame before impact.
	Shadow Death Ray, which to this point was seen cutting through anything and everything in it's path, strikes the Vorlon Dreadnought., but is stopped dead in it's tracks ahead of the Vorlon ship. There is a massive flash and the Shadow beam splinters in all directions.
	Undaunted, the Vorlon Dreadnought. presses onward as her shields easily disperse the exawatt scale Shadow discharge away from and around the whole of ship. Click to watch a video clip.
	Camera cuts to Sheridan & Co. back in the Babylon 5 War-Room, then again cuts back to the battle. We don't know how long this battle lasted or, by this moment in time how many hits the Vorlon Dreadnought. has taken, but we watch as an unknown Shadow vessel from off screen, prepares to rake into the enemy.
	Just prior to making contact with the Vorlon ship, we see the Death Ray actually grow more brightly in intensity - far more brightly than the standard blast, as seen back during the raid on the Narn base/colony in Quadrant 14, suggesting the Shadow vessels was actually boosting power to her main weapon.
	The Shadow Death Ray strikes the Vorlon Dreadnought., causing a flash of light and a small explosion as it hits. There is little to no energy dispersal, suggesting that the Star Dreadnought's shields were either unable to fully disperse the Shadow weapon's effect due to the increase in power, or from her shields having been weakened in combat - from strikes we the audience were not privy to.
	Despite being hit by a Shadow blast more powerful than ever seen before, the Vorlon Dreadnought suffers only superficial damage, the Shadow's beam having caused minor damage to the lower starboard tentacle of the Dreadnought.

As you can see in the image above, the Shadow beam did NOT cut, puncture, burn or vaporize the Vorlon's hull... it only caused what appears to be a stress fracture in the Vorlon ship's surface. Negligible damage may be due in some part to the Vorlon's shields deflecting/dispersing the Shadow beam away from the hull, but there is little evidence of this. It may also be possible that the second observed beam impact was reset to an output capable of punching the Vorlon's shields, but if this were true, why not fire such a beam before hand?

We don't know for sure if, at this moment in time the Vorlon ship had her shields up, but it is very likely that they were not a full strength after having been engaged against multiple Shadow Battle-Crabs for an extended period of time. In truth we'll never know how long this battle really lasted, or how many other hits the Vorlon Dreadnought endured during the course of this fire-fight due to location changes during their airing of this episode.

Still, if the Vorlon ship had minimal or no shields during the second observed beam impact, then it was most likely the armor that withstood the blast, most of the damage being due to the kinetic impact of the Shadow's beam as Vorlon armor refracts/deflects energy weapons around the hull, as seen by a lesser extent on the Whitestar and Victory class vessels.

All things said and done, it is obvious that Vorlon and Shadow shields can easily shrug off multiple exawatt range impacts, as seen during the first Shadow beam impact on the Vorlon ship. Second impact is more precarious as we suddenly have unknown facts thrown into the mix, such as combat duration and the number of hits the Vorlon Dreadnought took before the second observed Death Ray strike, a strike which appears to have been more powerful than the first.

Of course, other facts come into play at this time - namely the use of 500 megaton fusion bombs during the episode "Into the Fire." Unfortunately, due to the Black Star having been supposedly destroyed by a 2 megaton device, it has now come into doubt just what a "megaton" means in 23rd century - a question asked and answered in the NUCLEAR WEAPONS section of the "Science & FAQ" page.

Use of 500 to 600 megaton nukes in the episode "Into the Fire" is very interesting. First off, we only saw three used. Secondly, only the first nuke did any real damage, as the camera was so tight on the second that we could not see it's effect on it's environment, and the third one was so far away it was little more than a light show - the nearest Shadow Cruiser to the thired explosion absorbing the blast and merrily going on her way. Surely the first and closest nuke succeeded in destroying the Shadow Battle Crab... right?

	Here we see a Shadow Battle Crab moving towards one of the Asteroids Sheridan has had seeded with a cloaked 500 to 600 megaton fusion bomb. For the sake of our agreement, we will assume that the bomb is the lesser of the two yields. Note that there are several smaller vessels around the main Battle Crab seen in this and the following image.
	Only a ship length away and slightly above the asteroid - just enough to miss it - the hapless Shadow Vessel undauntingly moves forward as the 500 megaton fusion bomb begins to detonate. Given we do not know for sure how large this Shadow vessels is, we will assume it is about 1,000 meters long - an average sized Battle Crab.
	At this point the Shadow vessels has flown right into the exploding Fusion bomb, placing her mean distance at 450 meters. 500 megatons = 2.09310¹⁸ joule. Apply rA=4pi(r²). rA=12.6(202500) rA=2.5410⁶ J mt / rA = 8.2210¹¹ J/m² S=1,666,463.3m² SJ/m²=1.3710¹⁸ joule.
	So, by this time the Shadow vessels has absorbed a MINIMAL of 65.5% of the fusion bomb's total, low-end, yield of 500 megatons, or 1.37 exajoules! This would mean that, in total, the Shadow vessel was struck by energy almost equal to what she herself is capable of generating, as seen during the attack on the Narn colony in Quadrant 14. So, surely in the next scene we will see the poor ol' Battle Crab blown to bits... right?
	And in this scene we see the Battle Crab... MOVING! I couldn't believe it myself when I first saw it, but there's the proof! Shadow Battle Crab hit hardest by any of the nukes scene used, is TURNING to her left! She's not burning, not exploding or being crushed, she's moving AWAY from the blast!?!
	Here again, we can clearly see the motion blur of the Shadow Battle Crab moving off to her left, out of frame, moving as far away as she can from the nuclear blast that stopped her in her tracks!
	Now the Shadow vessel has completely moved out of scene. Now I know what you're thinking... "Surely it was the force of the blast that sent the Battle Crab reeling backward"... but if that was the case, given the Battle Crab's position, if the blast did send the ship flying (which it didn't because we saw her stop and turn), she would have been sent hurtling backwards, not moving deliberately away and to the left.
	Now we begin to see new things - what appears to be debris flying out from the ejectia cloud. Unfortunately, upon closer examination we see that they are not the bits and parts of the Battle-Crab (perhaps a blown-off spine from the Shadow vessel), but rather the all too familiar (all be it warped) silhouette of a Shadow fighter.
	More debris tumbles from the harsh but fading glow of the 500 megaton fusion bomb. Some of the bits and parts look like they came off Shadow fighters or the Scout craft, as well as some chunks of asteroid, but none of the debris is consistent with the components of the Battle Crab.
	Again we see another large chuck come flying at us, and again it is the unmistakable outline of a Shadow FIGHTER... not a Shadow capital ship. Point of fact, none of the debris appears to have come from a Shadow Battle Crab, rather all the debris is eerily consistent with Shadow Fighters and Scout ships.
	With the light finally falling dim, we see what remains - the Battle Crab moved out of the way, some fighters and maybe a Shadow Scout craft or two were destroyed, and we are left with the dizzying and somewhat frightening realization at the vaunted 500/600 megaton fusion bombs we had - at first - been so certain were capable of blowing a Shadow vessel apart... fragged a few fighters and a scout ship and nothing more. Click HERE to watch a video clip.
	Here we see three major debris componets from the nuclear blast. The first peice of debris in the upper right-hand corner and third from bottom appears to be Shadow Fighters in profile.. The second image center is too large and hulkish to be a Shadow fighter but when one looks at the center body of a Shadow Scout without its spines and the debris does appear to be consistant with that vessel.
	In the image featured left we clearly see a spine having been blown off a Shadow vessel. Unfortunately it is not consistant with the spines on a Shadow Fighter or as Shadow Battle Crab. It is however consistant with the sharp edges of the lower spines on a Shadow Scout vessel.
	The first peice of debris on the LEFT hand side is clearly a Shadow Fighter from front. the second peice of debris near the center looks as if it is also a the remains of a Shadow Fighter from either top of bottom. For a better look at the official images made using the official models used in producing Babylon 5, simply go to Starships Scale Modeler Website.

In the wake of the previous realization, it would appear that the Shadow Battle Crab, and ergo the Vorlon Star Dreadnought, are easily capable of shrugging off assaults from both beam and explosive weapons in the multiple exawatt range. Exactly how much punishment for sure is uncertain, but given that the Shadow and Vorlon ships were forced to face off against each other in sustained combat for no less than 20 minutes during "Into the Fire", and if was assume their ships took only one hit per minute, the battle would suggest that the shields of Shadow and Vorlon ships can withstand strikes in the range of multiple gigatons.

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