Anla'Shok

"I am a Ranger. We walk in the dark places no others will enter. We stand on the bridge, and no one may pass.  We live for The One, we die for The One."

- The creed of the Anla'Shok

The Anla'Shok, translated loosely as Ranger were an elite force in the Babylon 5 television series and related media.

The Anla'Shok was founded by the Minbari leader Valen in what was the 13th century on Earth. Disgusted by the hidebound behavior of the various clans in the middle of the Babylon 5 Valen founded the Rangers to fight the Shadows, and called warriors from all the clans on Minbar. Valen became the Entil'Zha, or leader, of the Anla'Shok.

After defeating the Shadows, Valen knew that to leave an elite force with nothing to do could cause problems down the road, so he gave them a new mission. That was to stand guard and watch for the return of the Shadows. After he disappeared in the 1360s the Anla'Shok leader was called Anla'Shok Na (Ranger One) to honor the memory of Valen.

Over the years the Anla'Shok diminished in size and importance until by the early 23rd century they were little more than a handful of old men. Many years of stability had led the Minbari to become complacent, and doubt Valen's prophecies that the Shadows would return. However the Minbari leader Dukhat knew the Anla'Shok would soon be needed again, and approved their continued funding.

A decade after the war between the Minbari and humans ended, Jeffrey Sinclair was named the Entil'Zha of the Anla'Shok at the insistence of the the Minbari leader Jennier. As such Sinclair became the first Entil'Zha of the Rangers since the time of Valen. Honoroing Sinclair's conditions for accepting leadership, the Anla'Shok was opened to not only all three Minbari castes, but to humans as well. Many Minbari warriors quit in protest, with the other two castes and the humans taking their places.

The Anla'Shok proved instrumental in fighting the Shadows during the Shadow War. During the war Sinclair took the Babylon 4 station back in time, fulfilling his destiny by becoming Valen. Delenn was then named the next Entil'Zha of the Anla'Shok following the departure of Sinclair.

When the Shadow War ended with the Shadows, Vorlons, and all other First Ones leaving the galaxy, John Sheridan gave the Anla'Shok a new mission - to help keep the peace in the galaxy. A year later when the Interstellar Alliance was founded the Anla'Shok became the peacekeepers of the new Alliance. When the ISA was founded membership in the Anla'Shok was opened to all the member races of the Alliance.

After Delenn was elected President of the Interstellar Alliance Sheridan succeeded her as Entil'Zha. When Sheridan apparently died in 2281 the Anla'Shok again stopped using the term Entil'Zha for the leader, again calling their leader Anla'Shok Na. Delenn offered the role to Susan Ivanova, who served for many years as the leader until her death in the mid 24th century.

In the 27th century Earth experienced a devastating civil war that reduced the survivors to a pre-industrial state. Over the next several hundred years many human members of the Anla'Shok infiltrated Earth's surviving institutions - such as the Roman Catholic Church - in order to guide the people of Earth back to the stars, promising to do it right the second time around.

The Anla'Shok continued to exist one million years later, and still looked at individuals such as Valen, Sheridan, and Delenn as their founders.