"Future Poison"
EarthDome:
"Madame President, I respectfully disagree with you decision. An event of this magnitude should be shared with the world. We need to inform them that help is coming soon."
President Levy gestured her arm towards the heavens. "Senator Clark," Levy said. "They have exactly one ship here. If the Minbari finds out that it's here then they will try to destroy it or worse capture it. Morgan, if that happens then they will know where and when their people will be coming through."
"If what they've said is true, the Minbari will not attack us out of fear of reprisals by these people," he reasoned. "If you tell Earth that there is hope you will guarantee yourself a place in history as the savior of our people," he stated. "There are other Humans out there! Lots of them and if we can connect with them, nothing will be beyond our grasps. We will be able to depend on each other. And we won't have to fear the Minbari or any other alien race ever again."
"You don't trust the Ambassador, do you?" she asked, watching him carefully as he prepared to answer.
Senator Morgan Clark, head of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, hesitated as he tried to decide whether to speak frankly. "He's an alien," he announced as if that was the sum of all fears. "For all we know these aliens control the Humans in their region of space."
"You don't believe that," she countered. Sometimes the man could sound so convincing. That sound-bite played like the worst type of propaganda drivel.
"No," he finally admitted. "But it could be true. And because of the possibility, no matter how remote, it might be better if we establish direct contact with the Humans who would better understand our plights."
The president slowly shook her head. "You're wrong. He does understand. The Ambassador is married to a Human. You've heard the rumors. They have unregulated telepaths and there are alien-Human hybrids in the Federation. That, I didn't think that was possible. "Now, she was the one that seemed amazed by that very concept. How did they live with that without anarchy running rampant?
"If they want to pollute their gene pool, that's their problem," Morgan countered. "Our people will never lower themselves to that point. But that does not negate the point that the people need to know what's happening."
"I agree, they need to know," Levy responded. "But not yet."
"Now is the time to seize the opportunity, Madame President. When I think of the advances we could gain if we had control of a vessel like this-"
"Don't even think about it," she answered. True Earth, like every other government around was not above stealing technology to gain a greater advantage with their neighbors. But- "That would be very counterproductive."
"They use controlled antimatter reactions to drive their ships! Their electronic armor shrugged off two nukes. Even the Minbari can't do that!" His voice had grown hard and guttural, a bit shocking to Levy coming from a man who always spoke in quiet measured tones to get what he wanted. "But they have no intentions of sharing their technology other than a few trinkets. They won't allow us to get phaser beam weapons for our ships. Have you seen what the rifle can do? I have seen the military begging to get their hands-"
"We can negotiate later," Levy told him, cutting him off from that line of rational. "For now we keep their presence quiet."
"Yes, Madame President," came his vaguely respectful answer.
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Ten hours ago, Minbari scans of Earthspace recorded the detonation of two thermonuclear devices of human design. There were no Minbari vessels in the area; however, standing military orders required him to investigate. That was understandable since the war cruiser Drala Fi and a number of accompanying Minbari warships were destroyed by such devices. The Minbari have demanded vengeance ever since. The one called 'Starkiller' was the most sought after Human targeted for termination, and the ship called 'Lexington' would be consigned to the flames of the pit as soon as it was identified.
The Sharlin's destruction It had been a great embarrassment. An inferior vessel managed to destroy the Flagship of the Minbari. Its destruction and that cowardly attack on Dukhat, proved that the humans were savages who had no sense of nobility. It was this very lack of nobility that allowed the Minbari to justify putting the race of Humanity down like a diseased animal, no matter where they were. But as hard as Commander Dokao tried to make himself believe, there still existed a measure of doubt continually playing within the back of his mind. These people fought for every inch of lost territory. They died like insects, yet still they rushed to defend and protect what was theirs. Most of their efforts were in vain and self-sacrifice was a common consequence of their actions. He could see his own people doing that.No matter what was said, there had to be a touch of nobility in those actions.Two minutes after entering normal space, sensors were focused on some kind of void centered in Earth orbit. Passive sensors couldn't identity the source of the void but there were several Earther vessels located in the vicinity. This was something new, and intrigued, the Commander prepared to issue orders to actively scan the anomaly to identify what it might be. But, his subordinate called for his attention before he could give the order.
"There are four Earther ships approaching."
He sighed. "Only four?" Four would be no real challenge.
"Yes."
"They must be running out of ships," he mused. "Prepare."
"Yes, Commander."
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USS Excelsior:
"Captain Sulu," the Tactical Officer said. "we've just picked up a gravimetric disturbance-correction one large and several smaller disturbances located at these coordinates in the Mars belt. Their presence was detected just after a spatial distortion occurred in that area."
President Levy, General Leftcourt and several others stood transfixed as the view screen identified and tracked the Minbari Sharlin and several fighters as they navigated the Mars belt. The distance of this ship's sensors were almost magical.
"I didn't think that this was possible," Leftcourt whispered to the President and Senator Clark. His eyes never left the screen but he took in everything around him. This mixed crew was like a finely honed machine working together so easily that it seemed the most natural thing to do. They must have worked together for years. The General felt a stab of envy. Their culture operated completely differently than anything this part of the galaxy had experienced. Because of the competition, long-term mutual cooperation was not something the races here would even consider.
"Those four signals there are EA ships on patrol," Levy told Captain Sulu. There was a sadness in her voice that seemed all too familiar to him. It was the sound of someone watching her people going to their deaths. "They won't be able to stop them, but we simply can't allow them unrestricted access to our system without even challenging them."
"Our scans of your weapons indicate that they can hurt the Minbari," Sulu said. His eyes never left the screen. "If you combine your attacks to a specific area, your weapons are powerful enough to inflict a lot of damage."
Leftcourt watched the strange Human's eyes harden. Then Sulu's lips went thin with anticipation. Something was about to happen. "Their stealth system is distorting your target locks by as much as twelve degrees," he said. "Mr. Cornel, transmit corrected targeting coordinates to the Earth vessels. "General?"
Leftcourt, understanding what was being asked, nodded immediately. "Get me the Lexington, Enterprise, Nimrod and the Nova-X," he requested of Lieutenant Commander Rand. Rand and several other crewmembers simply looked. a few had smiles threatening to break out.
Sulu smiled briefly. "All ships are online."
"This is General Leftcourt," he said quickly. "We're feeding you targeting data. Do not use your ship's targeting systems, repeat don't use your ship's targeting data."
"Sir," one of the Captains responded quickly. "We're almost on top of them. We're going to have to eyeball them if we're to have a half a chance."
"Follow your orders, Captain."
"Yes, Sir," replied a very resigned Captain heading for his death. "Receiving targeting data."
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"Let them fire the first shot," Commander Dokao told his gunnery crew. It was one of the few bits of honor allowed the Humans, not that those primitive ships could hit them. Many others of the Warrior caste found it a source of amusement. He didn't. Mostly he felt rather sad that they couldn't defend themselves better. This one-sided slaughter was becoming a stain on his soul. There was enough blood shed for Dukat's honor. "After they fire the first shots," destroy them and proceed to scan the void detected earlier."
His Second-in-Command counted the seconds down until the Earthers would be in target range. They were ten seconds away from optimal range and eighteen seconds from death. Very likely they would try to get as close as possible and then he would be allowed to destroy them all. Unlike his Captain, he preferred that the Humans all be eliminated as soon as possible. This 'honoring' them bordered on profaning the name of Dukat.
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The Earth Alliance ships fired. The Nova-X, a prototype that evolved from the Nova class destroyer and would later be named the Omega, added its firepower to that coming from the three Hyperions firing its main guns directly at the junction just above the starboard drive fin.
The Minbari ship rocked violently as Earther heavy beams converged on to a single point, first slamming into then splintering crystalline armor. Initially, the scattering field dissipated most of the attacks power, but the EA ships weren't letting up for an instant. Now that they were hitting the Minbari ship, they held onto their offensive like a pit bull, willing to melt their canons in order to kill their tormentors.
Finally, burning through that single section, secondary systems blew and impossibly, weapons systems began cooking off. Most of the Minbari crew were completely overwhelmed by this seemingly impossible circumstances and wasted precious seconds recovering from their astonishment. The Second-in-Command didn't really care though since he was dead, decapitated by some inconvenient piece of flying furniture.
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He had waited too long! Stunned, Dokao began screaming orders. "Target all ships Earthers ! All weapons return fire!" he yelled just before a fresh volley of enemy fire dug fresh holes in his ship in the same exact area. "How could they have defeated the stealth?"
"Unknown," came the hushed reply. They knew exactly where to hit them. Main power began faltering. They were in trouble. "How is this possible? They're only Earthers!"
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Earth Alliance Humans onboard Excelsior were screaming and yelling as if they'd just won the Superbowl. The jubilant roaring increased as on Excelsior's bridge as Nimrod and Enterprise fired every beam weapon they had. Particle lasers and plasma beams now raked the length of the Minbari ship originating from the original targeted area, causing atrocious damage to it. For the first time the Minbari were on the defensive and the retaliated as brutally as possible, cutting the Nimrod in half and managing to damage the Enterprise, but not before both ships had launched several nuclear-tipped missiles at the Sharlin, which actually hit their targets- the same exact area. The ship caved in, consumed in nuclear fire.
The Lexington now received data targeting the smaller Minbari fighter-craft and those vessels, always used to being on the offensive found themselves desperately evading destruction.
"Get rescue operations to that area," General Leftcourt ordered. "We need to save as many of our wounded as we can. And see if we can get more ships out there do destroy those fighters before they get away."
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Senator Clark stood next to Captain Sulu. To say he was impressed was an understatement. "What do you want for this technology?" he asked softly.
"We don't sale our technology," he responded. "Besides, it would take years before your scientists could fully understand the principles behind it. Our technologies are radically different. However, in light of this situation, we will upgrade your sensors to allow you to burn through Minbari stealth systems."
"What about weapons? We are prepared to pay anything within reason."
"That you need to discuss that with Ambassador Sarek. He has been authorized to discuss limited weapons exchange data for information on hyperspace travel and the beacons. Negotiations will go through him."
"But he isn't Human. It's not his fight. He doesn't understand how close we are to extermination," he said. "Granted your people have been hurt, but your ambassador has no feelings at all. How can he understand what we're going through here?"
"He's Vulcan," Sulu answered. "They are a logical, unemotional species."
Clark laughed a bit. "No emotions. Such a strange, foreboding species. I'm surprised your people hadn't gone to war with them."
"Both our people have discovered that discovered that that which compliments us is more important than that which divides, Senator."
The Senator's eyes hardened. "We're fighting for our lives here and I've talked to your ambassador. He said it was possible for your people to create biological weapons that could end this war once and for all. But he said they he wouldn't even consider it." Sulu turned sharply and faced Clark directly who backed away slightly.
"The Federation doesn't condone the use of biogenic weaponry."
"When you face the Minbari," Clark said, "You may be surprised at how dirty you may have to get your hands. They're going to notice that their ships were destroyed and they'll going to want to know how. And you'll be trapped here, alone as they extract their revenge. we wont be able to help you. The only way you will be able to protect yourself is to give us what we need to survive."
"Is that what your President believes?"
"The people understand they need everything they can lay their hands on in order to survive. Our economy is all but destroyed. There are food riots starting. None of the other alien races will help us and of course the Minbari aren't talking. And here is your pretty little ship offering us hope, but you hoard technology that could save us. Your knowledge could protect our planet and we'd need never fear any other alien species again."
Sulu's posture shifted. 'And exactly what is your definition of alien, Senator Clark?' he thought. But the Federation Captain swallowed and composed himself. "Senator Clark, please address your concerns to Ambassador Sarek." Clark merely smiled. "Of course," he said. Still smiling, he walked away. Sulu could have sworn that the man had muttered, "alien lover," under his breath before the lift closed.
How did he get to be Senator, Sulu wondered. It obviously wasn't because of his sparkling personality.
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The next three days of negotiations between EarthDome and the Federation representatives were intense. President Levy and her team desperately wanted as much as they could get away with. Hand phasers with their range were of particular interest. One type-two phaser could vaporize a four-foot thick slab or reinforced stainless steel. The photon grenades with their lethal combination of simplicity and destructive capability were being drooled over by the military. Relatively close quarters combat with the enemy always favored the Minbari. Stand off and deliver capability was a necessity if a man wished to survive an attack from one of them. Starfleet sanctioned the use of defensive weapons to defend the planet; which came as a delight to Earth Force.
Six Starfleet class-one defense satellites were to be placed in orbit in order to augment the protection of the planet. The satellites contained four phaser batteries and sensor-net sensitive enough to detect, target and destroy Minbari cruisers. EarthForce had limited control. They could use the system but not get into it and if anyone tried to hack it, then the system would shut down. It served to protect Federation technology. EarthForce military was not happy but they would have to deal with it. One hundred stand-alone, portable scanners were given to Earth Force to be placed onto ships. The range was limited to one hundred ten thousand kilometers however they could burn through Minbari stealth fields. It wasn't much but it would give Earth a fighting chance and more time until the fleet arrived. What EarthForce really wanted were some of the phaser cannons.
Sarek said no. There was no formal agreement between the two powers yet and additional weapons would be provided as necessary when the fleet arrived. Sarek insisted on this condition as he told Sulu later. It was his belief that EarthForce wasn't sufficiently matured to handle those types of weapons responsibly. Given his conversation with Senator Clark and some of the military clamoring for 'a final solution', Sulu had to agree.