Chapter 9: Trakis of Golus III

If you needed anything done, Trakis was the man to go to. He wasn't just some ordinary petty thief. He also just happened to be one of the few allies that the Starkiller had. So, it really didn't surprise Trakis when on his small moon of Zarges he recieved a communication from him.

"Why Captain," he nodded his head, "What a pleasure to see you again."

John Sheridan was everything Trakis wasn't but wished he was. An honest man, not to a fault of course. A hero in the eyes of everyone of his people. A war hero, loved by his own people, respected and feared by those of his enemies that still remained alive. Sheridan was known to have outlived every single one of his rivals that had come after him. None could withstand the Starkiller.

"Trakis, you piece of slime," Sheridan growled.

"Oh," Trakis moaned, "Is that anyway to treat your supplier?"

"Your cloaking technology failed us," Sheridan snapped, "I had to kill that Minbari cargo ship the hard way. I demand a refund."

Trakis tisked. "Tut tut Sheridan. You know my policy. No refunds."

Sheridan glared at him. Trakis could only help but smile. Sell the man defective materials, and he can't really complain. He knew Sheridan's mission; the real one and not the guerrila campaign that everyone talked about. It was granduer in scale then that.

"Come by my moon Sheridan," he suggested, "And I'll get you situated very nicely."

Sheridan rolled his eyes. "I guess that will have to do. Agemenon out."


Sheridan walked off the shuttle, taking in the red light from the red dwarf of the system. He really hated this planet. He really hated the mission. He really hated the Minbari. And at the moment, he really hated Tarkis. Tarkis was a slaver, a cheat and all around bad guy. Last time he had been here, Tarkis had proceeded to kill his slave, Adeera Tyre for failing to deliver to him some vital information. He had only caught the words 'purple files' but that meant nothing to Sheridan.

Beside him walked the ships doctor, Stephan Franklin. Franklin hadn't had any chances in the past year to get of the ship, and the ship bound doctor had been a holy terror the past two weeks. Two days ago he had proceeded to trash medlab, just to relieve some of his own cabin fever. So, Sheridan had offered the good doctor a chance to come down with him, and the man had leapt at the opportunity.

On the other side walked Lt. Keffler. Keffler wasn't the brightest of people. Heck, he could be compulsive at times. But, the Top Gun of the starfury pilots wasn't too bad on his feet either, and when it came to Tarkis, there wasn't too many people he would have at his side.

The one thing that caught Sheridan's attention was the red dirt of the moon was softer then usual. He would have to bring that up in conversation with the good suppler. And Tarkis with his tan skin stood waiting near the entrance of his home, a massive three-storied building. His long hair was draped over his shoulders, falling down mid-way down his chest.

"Welcome Starkiller," Tarkis said, holding both hands open and apart, in a sense like some gambling host of some kind, "I really didn't expect to see you so soon. Breaks the routine we've created."

"Don't sweet talk me Tarkis," Sheridan snapped, "Just tell me what you've got in exchange for your faulty device."

"You'll be most pleased," Tarkis said, reaching out to take him by the arm, "And I won't even charge you full price."

Sheridan groaned. "This better be worth it."

"Oh," Tarkis smirked, "It will."

Tarkis had barely finished when a blast of fire struck him in the chest and he spun around, landing face first into the dirt. Blood flowed freely from his looked down at the body for a full second before his mind kicked in the fact that someone had just shot Tarkis. Sure, he really could care less about the worm, but he didn't think it was nessecary to kill the slime.

And he heard all around him the shouts of Minbari warriors as they came rushing from hiding places in a desperate all-out attack on Sheridan Starkiller and his group. Sheridan barely had time to think as the shuttle was hit by an explosion, destroying it with a cloud of debris and flame. Franklin had been closest to the shuttle and was thrown against the ground. Keffler rushed back to see if the doctor was alright.

Sheridan pulled out his PPG and aiming it at the closest Minbari pulled the trigger. He hit him in the head, and the warrior did a flip in the air as his head jerked back from the shot. Another Bonie leapt over his falling comrade, but he fell as well to a blast that took him in the shoulder. Sheridan stepped back, firing as he went. Two, three, four more fell to the ground from his blasts. But they kept coming on, firing as they went, some of the shot coming so close they burnt the hair on his face.

"Contact the ship!" he shouted to Keffler, who was helping the doctor to his feet, "We got to get out of here."


Ranger Lennier was one of a kind. The best of the best he was. His determination was legendary, even for his young age. He would kill every last enemy to his people. Even if they were human, Narn or Centauri. Even the Ancient Enemy if they ever reappeared. But, all he had in mind, in the red haze of battle, was Sheridan Starkiller, surrounded and outnumbered.

You aren't so tough without your ship, are you Starkiller?


"I'm sorry Captain," Commander David Corwin's voice came over the comm, "We are in a bit of a situation up here as well."

"Like what?" Sheridan demanded from his makeshift fortification which was the destroyed shuttle, using the ruined remnants as barriers.

"A Minbari cruiser...no, make that four cruisers have jumped out of hyperspace and are attacking us," Corwin replied, "There's not much I can do to help you at the moment."

Sheridan looked up over the jagged edge of a piece and shot down an enemy warrior as he ran forward. Keefler was also scoring a few hits of his own, but nothing as impressive as hs captain.

"Fine, get out of here David," Sheridan shouted into the link, "I'll get out of this some way or the other."

"Sir," Corwin began, "We can stay and fight. We can beat these guys."

"No Commander," Sheridan snarled into the link, "You can never defeat four. Get out of here and save yourself."

"But-"

"That is an order Commander!"

There was a second pause on the other end of the link.

"Alright, sorry sir," Corwin's voice sounded resigned.

"Don't worry kid," Sheridan assured him, "Just keep the ship and crew safe. Sheridan out."

And with that he clicked off the button, ending the communication. Blaster fire ripped over the top of their defenses, making it hard to move. But, they couldn't stay. They'd die if they didn't move. If they at least got to Tarkis' house, they could enter his labriynth of tunnels he had built under the structure.

"Captain," Keffler shouted, "How'd they learn we were coming here? Who knew beside us?"

"Don't know Liutenant," Sheridan called back, "Let's worry about that later though. Right now we need to get over to Tarkis' house. We can survive better in there then out here."

Keffler glanced over the top of the ruined remains of shuttle he was standing behind. "Through all those Boneheads?"

"You got it," Sheridan affirmed.

"But we'll get killed," Keffler replied, firing off a round to keep a certain Minbari from getting any bright ideas.

"At least we'll be out of the sunlight and in the shade," Sheridan pointed out, to which Keffler shrugged to.

"Can you make it Doctor?" Sheridan asked back at Franklin, who had barely regained consinceness.

"Do I have a choice?" Franklin asked, holding his head between his hands.

"Not really," Keffler put in.

Franklin muttered under his breath. And with that, they jumped, staggered and ran from behind their defenses, straight towards and through the enemy forces arrayed against them.