The Drakh attack of Earth began the war between the Interstellar Alliance and the Drakh, homeworld-less former servants of the Shadows who followed in the footsteps of their former masters and sought revenge for their defeat and the destruction of Z'ha'dum.
Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan took command of the Excalibur and Victory and based on visions provided by Galen took the ships on a course for Earth, believing an eminent threat was soon to befall the planet. His concerns were only deepened after he saw the destruction on Daltron 7 and then the Shadow planet killer that caused the destruction.
En-route, Sheridan contacted Earth to warn them of the coming attack and to scramble as many ships as possible to defend against the coming enemy.
General Yuri Mikhailovich Denisov first believes this mobilization to be a training exercise, until the Drakh arrived with their battle fleet. By the time the battle starts, many Earthforce vessels have arrived along with ships of the other member races of the Interstellar Alliance.
The Victory was destroyed in the battle, sacrificing itself by ramming the planetkiller.
Despite defeating the Drakh Sheridan's fleet was unable to prevent the Drakh from releasing the Drakh plague into Earth's atmosphere, infecting everyone on the planet. If a cure was not found, the plague would destroy all life on the planet.[2]