Ranger (Babylon 5)

Rangers (Minbari: Anla-shok) are a fictional class of warriors that play a prominent role in the science fiction television series Babylon 5.

The Ranger order was created by 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 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 because Sinclair carried the soul of Valen. After Sinclair travelled to the past permanently (and actually became Valen), Delenn became the new Ranger One.

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 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.

When the Shadows finally made first openly aggressive acts, the force swung into action under the command of Jeffrey Sinclair (Known as The One who was), who shared his authority with 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 effectively 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 Sinclair left, Delenn was selected as the new Entil'zha, despite brief opposition from the warrior caste, who felt that a warrior should lead as the Rangers were a military organization, with Sheridan as her second and primary battle commander. Once the Shadow War ended, Sheridan stepped down from his role with the rangers except for a brief period at the beginning of the Earth civil war.

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