Vulcan civilian ship Shi'Mar
Xi Bootis System
Captain Tovar felt anxious. Here they were, a flotilla of seven Vulcan ships, on a headlong course to a clash with the Minbari. This action was not sanctioned by the Vulcan Council or its High Command despite the order given by Major Talok to follow Delvok's wishes. The flotilla belonged to a private shipping company owned by the magnate and musician Delvok, so they were technically not under the jurisdiction of either the Council or the High Command.
Technicalities aside, Tovar knew that once they reach New London, the Vulcan Confederacy would be much deeper into the war with the Minbari. The Council had hoped that they could extricate themselves out of the war and let the hostilities wind down and fade.
Tovar looked at the monitor showing the status of the ships in the flotilla. The Shi'Mar was the only Surak-class ship in the flotilla. In a future, the Shi'Mar would be bought by a human magnate and renamed to Hakudo Maru. This, Tovar didn't know at this point in time. The other six ships were of the flotilla were of the Telesak class. The first of this class was launched in the Earth Common Era year 1878. Telesak ships were primarily for exploration and for defending Vulcan interests against outside threats such as pirates. By the time a serious rival in the form of the Andorian Empire emerged, the Telesak class ships, although powerful, were old and nearing the end of their active status. Even finely crafted Vulcan starships didn't last more than a few centuries.
They were essentially testing obsolete ships against the power of the Minbari.
A beep sounded at the communications console. The woman manning the console announced, "The P'jerahlt and the Sr'narai have detected Earth ships at the edge of sensor range. The destroyers have been disabled and destroyed. They were not able to detect life-signs."
"Add their location to the display table."
On a low table in the center of the bridge, a red-hued map of the Xi Bootis A star system was displayed. A small expanding and contracting circle appeared in the system's asteroid belt. Tovar could see that the flotilla would cross the belt before going on to New London itself.
Director Delvok had ordered the flotilla to bring supplies to New London to help the colony withstand the Minbari siege longer, and to bring home any Vulcan found there. Tovar knew that the director meant his son, Kov, and that he wasn't about to admit to a familial emotion. The orders didn't say anything about finding and rescuing survivors. Tovar looked over to the symbols showing Minbari ships clustered around the planet in the system's ninth orbit. Sometimes, the symbols flickered. That meant the Minbari ships were in stealth mode. Many symbols didn't flicker, though. That meant many of the Minbari commanders were confident and didn't expect enemy ships to appear in their midst.
Minbari scans relied on tachyon technology and were limited to slightly over the speed of light. It would take minutes for the Minbari to detect new contacts in the asteroid belt.
"Divert course to the Earth ships," ordered Tovar. "When we are close to the Grendel Belt, drop out of warp, scan for survivors and beam them aboard. Once done, go to Warp 2 and continue on course to New London."
The crew set about their tasks to carry out Tovar's orders.
xXx
The wreckage of Hyperions and Olympi still floated among the asteroids of the Grendel Belt. Many of the wrecks now bore damages endured from asteroid collisions in addition to weapons damages.
Seven small new stars flashed and the Vulcan flotilla dropped out of warp outside the belt. Subspace sensors probed the belt and wreckages. Then the sensors focused on the one ship that still had an atmosphere: the EAS Golden Hinde.
There was no sign of life.
It had been so long since the survivors of the Minbari ambush had any food or water. The air pockets had become poisoned by carbon dioxide. They had all died some time before.
The Vulcan would-be rescuers were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. The warp ring on each of the red-hued ships glowed once more as the ships turned to a new direction and the flotilla jumped back to warp.
Their destination: New London.
New Parala System
If he was human, Captain Sovran would rejoice.
It has been reported that the Vulcan ship Sochya has successfully been repaired. The repairs, however, were not as complete as Sovran would like. The warp matrix was now online, the burnt out shield generators have been replaced by spares and power has been restored to the phase cannons and resequencers. Sovran couldn't say the same for the ship's hull. Many of the breaches were still there and the emergency bulkheads would remain in their places. The Vulcans, for all their vaunted technology, couldn't generate the needed raw material for a complete repair.
The ship's name, Sochya, meant peace in the Vulcan language. Sovran regretted that they couldn't live up to the ship's name. Especially when he intended to recruit other like-minded officers in support of full involvement in the war with the Minbari.
A bridge officer interrupted Captain Sovran's thoughts. "Captain, we are ready to go to warp."
"Set course for Sigma 957."
The officer, as well as other crewmates in the bridge, raised eyebrows in surprise. "Was I mistaken in assuming that you wish to return to Vulcan as soon as possible in order to pursue your new course of action?"
"You were not mistaken. Sigma 957 is on the way to the Earth Alliance home system. It requires only a slight detour. Our task is still to survey known ancient jumpgates and determine the technology's origin. If we complete that task and pursue our promise to bring our government fully into the war at the same time, then it shall benefit us."
The female officer nodded once. "Very well. Course laid in."
"Warp 6."
The crew felt the slight change in the ship's background noise that signaled the jump to warp.
Sovran said, "What do we know about Sigma 957?"
"It is an uninhabited star system that is nominally part of the Narn Regime's territory."
"Nominally?"
"Yes, Captain. The Narn government does not have the resources to take advantage of the system's resources because it is too far from the Narn homeworld. Nevertheless, the Kha'Ri has warned us against going to the system."
Sovran arched an eyebrow. "Indeed. I have learned of their refusal to permit us to make a survey of the system. Fortunately, Ambassador V'Lar has persuaded the Narns to do otherwise." The captain's facial expression very subtly changed. His crew recognized the expression as thinly veiled contempt. "The ambassador had only to speak of her favorable position on Centauri Prime for the Kha'Ri to change its mind."
The officers within earshot agreed with Sovran's low opinion of the Narns. They seemed to wish only to find advantage over their nemesis, the Centauri. They also seemed to be like Andorians but with naked avarice overriding any restraint on their warlike nature. Sovran was of the opinion that the Narns were like children who have been abused and now wished to lash back with greater abuse.
Now there was a race that needed Surak's teachings. Unfortunately, the teaching of Surak was not advantageous to achieving vengeance against the Centauri.
Sovran once read Earth literature in an attempt to understand humans. A quote from one of the books would fit the Narns: "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee; for hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee."
The captain folded his hands on his lap as he considered those words. They could have come from a Vulcan living in the days before Surak. He was glad that Surak had saved Vulcan from its destructive emotions.
He wondered whether the Narns could be similarly saved.
Or the Minbari, for that matter.
Minbari Warcruiser Trigati
In orbit around Terrina, formerly known as New London
Xi Bootis System
Sinoval watched the pummeling of the human colony. Minbari energy and projectile weapons constantly pounded at the planet below. A ring of fire kept the noose around the world. Soon, it would tighten and New London would fall. When that happens, the Minbari would finally advance into the Earth Alliance. Subdue Dakota, then Sirius, and converge with Shai Alyt Branmer's advance at Cooke for the assault on Proxima and finally…Earth.
New London was delaying him. The humans on the besieged planet didn't know, and refused to learn, how to surrender.
He was tired of it.
"Alyt Kalain."
The bearded Minbari snapped to attention in his pillar of light.
"Inform the fleet to prepare for an assault on the colony."
Kalain's eyes flicked to Sinoval and back to the surrounding holodisplay of local space. Rii Deeron could see the question in the commander's eyes. Another assault? She felt similarly. Sinoval had ordered a second assault before only to fail yet again. The planet's ecosphere appeared to supernaturally cooperate with the human and alien inhabitants to resist. She wasn't sure if the fleet could handle yet another such defeat.
Sinoval knew what they were thinking. "I have decided to focus our effort in gaining a foothold on the planet. I realize that a full invasion cannot be done without a foothold. So order the assault to focus on the region of the colony's capital."
"New Pacifica?" Deeron named the capital.
The shai alyt waved a hand dismissively. "Yes. The capital has a spaceport. Take the city, the spaceport and the surrounding area and we'd have a conduit through which we can pour troops for the neutralization of the entire colony."
"Is that necessary?" wondered Deeron aloud.
Sinoval glared at the female warrior. She, however, refused to back down. That made Sinoval secretly proud. He wasn't one to have weak underlings. Deeron said, "We can just bombard the planet and move on to Dakota."
"We can." Sinoval raised a finger and wagged it at the holodisplay of New London. "However, there are Vulcans there. One of their ships is hidden underground. I'm sure of it. We need to find and capture it. If we leave now, the Vulcans could uplift the colony as they had to the Earthers. Once uplifted, the colonists could stab us in the back as we advance toward Earth. That is not acceptable. If we stay and capture them and their ship, New London could prove a prize beyond compare. The prize might be enough to guarantee us victory over the Earthers and their alien allies." A gleam came into Sinoval's eyes. That gleam told of glory and power. "It might even give us the ability to defeat the Shadows without Vorlon help."
Now the gleam infected Kalain and Deeron's eyes. It was decided.
An assault on New Pacifica would be mounted.
xXx
Neutron beams struck savagely at New Pacifica and its surrounding region to clear the way for the invasion. Explosions bloomed in New Pacifica and fires began to burn here and there in the city. The canals and harbor reflected the lights of the assault.
Kov was in the city, tending to its generators. He saw the devastation from a window in the power plant. "Dear Surak," he murmured in horror at the continuing bloodlust in the Minbari beyond the sky. Quickly, he activated his communicator and requested an emergency beam-out.
The transporter effect took him away just as neutron fire struck the power plant and created a large explosion that flattened the local neighborhood. The fires in the city grew.
There was chaos in the Vahklas. The Vulcan ship was still sitting in its cavern deep underground. Kov ran to the bridge to find the crew watching a viewscreen in the circular room. On it was the image of New Pacifica being bombarded as seen from a mountain outside the city. The captain, Tavin, and Tolaris glanced at Kov to make sure that he was safely back. Eleanor Adair was in the bridge as well.
"Is this happening elsewhere on the planet?" wondered Tavin aloud.
To find the answer, Adair squatted down, set her palms to the floor and bowed her head. Immediately, she was in a trance and tapped into the dream plane used by Terrians to communicate. After a while, she looked up at the Vulcans with unseeing eyes. "Only New Pacifica and its province are under attack. I'm asking the Terrians to take anyone they find in the city underground."
Tolaris said, "Don't. Don't do that. If the Minbari are attacking New Pacifica and nowhere else, logic dictates that they desire its spaceport and wish to use it to successfully land troops on the planet. You need to fight them there."
Still looking with blind eyes, Adair said, "Don't you understand? After all this time, you still don't understand? Terrina fights for us."
The Vulcans looked at each other uncomfortably.
xXx
Bhurli ran out of a Torotha assault transport, prepared to shoot down any standing non-Minbari being in sight. His leg had been repaired from the damage it received from the first assault on New London. The doctors had thought it would be easier to amputate Bhurli and replace the leg with a prosthetic. The warrior, however, refused and urged the doctors to fix the leg. It was a matter of pride. It had kept him abed and away from the second assault.
The city square that the transport had landed in was empty. It wasn't empty like there were no people but for the birds and small surface animals. It was totally devoid of life. Flames burned in concentrated areas in the distance and thick smoke darkened the sky. Bhurli shivered out of a superstitious dread. Stories had filtered throughout the fleet and beyond of New London's seeming supernatural aspects. Many officers dismissed the aspects as results of poorly understood technology, but the stories persisted.
Bhurli strolled to the city's main canal. It seemed that the bombed city was completely abandoned. Perhaps the colonists and the natives gave up. If so, New London must be close to surrender.
The warrior grinned with satisfaction and glee.
He noticed that the water in the canal seem to be getting low. He looked out at the harbor and watched as the sea practically emptied itself out of the harbor and canals of the city. The water flowed away out of the bay in surges to such an extent that the deep sea bed was laid bare and many kinds of sea creatures could be seen marooned on the naked sea bed. Bhurli wondered at this miraculous event. The sea has been driven back somehow!
In wonder, many of the Minbari wandered into the empty canals and harbor. Some of them began to gather fish in preparation for camping out in the city. Valen had blessed them with free food and an effortless conquest of the city.
A whistling sound came. Bhurli turned to the direction of noise, puzzled. The sound came from beyond the empty bay. There was no wind to create the whistle. The whistling eventually became a roar like that of a ship's engines as it landed or took off from a planet's surface. Faint red light flashed in the distant horizon.
A breeze came from the direction of the sea, carrying with it the smell of rotten eggs. Bhurli's nose crinkled in disgust and puzzlement. What was causing this? What trick was this?
Water appeared over the horizon. It superficially appeared to be a wave, but it seemed to be more like a trough. Bhurli gaped with dawning realization. It was an entire ocean tide rushing over the naked sea bed with a roar.
Pandemonium erupted among the Minbari warriors. Men and women ran away from the sight of the incoming tsunami. Many were trampled under others' feet. Some of the transports and fighters hurriedly lifted off, abandoning the warriors on the ground.
Almost none of this was in Bhurli's mind. He could have run. He could have done something to try and save himself from the tsunami making its way toward New Pacifica. But all he did was stand on the edge of an empty canal and watch the might of Minbar be swept by a force of nature. The roiling water quickly consumed the warriors within reach. It boiled as if with the anger of the planet itself rising to strike down those who would dare wound and intrude upon her.
Bhurli looked up at the calm blue sky. Valen hadn't blessed them after all.
The water slammed into Bhurli, breaking his body. The already dead warrior vanished in the darkness of the vengeful waters.
xXx
On the Trigati, Sinoval wordlessly stumbled backward out of his pillar of light into the darkness. The tactical center's holodisplay had shown the complete destruction of his army by a tsunami in New Pacifica. Most of the fires burning in the city had been doused by the water, though much of the city has been devastated by the tsunami. Kalain and Deeron watched him. They were as stunned by the turn of events but they still looked to their shai alyt for strength and order.
An alarm sounded. The three Minbari command staff looked to the source of the alarm behind themselves. The holodisplay now showed the arrival of a small Vulcan fleet as it dropped out of warp.
There was no time to deal with the disaster on the planet. Battle was about to be joined.
xXx
The Vulcan ships fired phase and particle cannons at the outlying Minbari ships as they fought their way to Terrina. The foe was caught between the Vulcan flotilla and Terrina, whose largest missiles flew into space to strike down Minbari craft. Energy batteries fired into orbit as well.
Desperate was this battle. Ships maneuvered under direction from artificial intelligences, so fast that only the artificial gravity fields prevented their crews from being smeared across the bulkheads. Vulcan shields flared with enemy neutron fire. Hulls were blown open by near-misses. The wounded portions sealed themselves off with Vulcan force fields and Minbari emergency bulkheads, and the remainder of the wounded ships continued to fight.
Such was the way of space war. But the Vulcans weren't there to force the Minbari out of the system. Firing eerily accurately, the Vulcans force their way to the planet. Directed by communications from the hidden Vahklas, the red needle-shaped ships dove for Terrina, breaching the blockade. Soon, they were into Terrina's atmosphere.
The first glimpse of smoke-veiled New Pacifica made the Vulcans doubt that anything was left to rescue. For hundreds of miles around, the land lay bleak, ripped and desolated by Minbari weapons and by the recent tsunami which still roiled at the shores. They glimpsed a Minbari fighter squadron as it screamed low over New Pacifica. Their missiles burst close, causing the near-solid stone of the surface structure to flow on the outside. In the hills around the ruined city, rock bubbled molten wherever a Minbari missile or beam had newly struck. Here and there, the seared earth opened and gun turrets thrust out like viper tongues, spat energy bolts, and retracted before fresh explosives could smite them. Three Nials tumbled in ruin. Their wrecks were added to the carnage which was left from earlier attacks and from the tsunami.
Again, directed by communications from the Vahklas, the red ships flew on over the land, taking potshots at the Nial fighters swarming around the flotilla. Occasionally, a thick beam burned from above, attempting to strike down the Vulcans. Soon they were over blackened valleys in a mountainous region, their shields visibly holding their own against Minbari bombardment from beyond the sky and from the blue-hued fighters. The ground turned into quicksand and the ships landed and sank into it until the Nials could no longer touch it and they were safe from the Minbari besiegers.
xXx
All this, Sinoval and his crew watched with growing anger and frustration. The seven red ships were sure to contain supplies and provisions for the planet's inhabitants. The shai alyt glared at the view. Other than this sign of frustrating anger, Sinoval seemed calm. He had gone past the point of rage.
Calmly, but with an undercurrent of anger, Sinoval said, "Load nuclear ground-strike missiles."
Kalain bowed and turned to speak into the darkness. "This is a nuclear mission order…."
While the alyt spoke, Deeron sidled up to Sinoval and whispered, "Are we going to irradiate the planet?"
The shai alyt looked down at the female rii. She recoiled from the cold fire burning in his eyes. "We are going to kill the planet's resistance. It's something we should have done long ago." Looking up to Kalain, Sinoval amended his order, "Target all military facilities and major population centers on the planet."
Deeron started at the order to target the major cities. "With respect, Shai Alyt, is that wise? The Grey Council has instructed us to remove only the military capabilities. If we start broadening the war now, the Grey Council might not like it."
"We cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty and we cannot refine it. We must bring that fact to the humans. We can make war so terrible and make them so sick of it that their resolve to resist us will be broken."
Deeron bowed, accepting Sinoval's statement.
Sigma 957
The Sochya arrived at the system and entered orbit around the barren-looking planet.
"Begin scans of the local jumpgate," ordered Captain Sovran.
He studied the image of the planet in the main viewer. Idly, he went to satisfy his curiosity by initiating his own scan of the planet. When data began to roll down his sensor screen, his eyebrows rose in surprise. The sensors were detecting very rich deposits of Quantium-40. In fact, if the sensors were functioning properly, Sigma 957 may be one of the richest in the quadrant, comparable to the dilithium wealth of Coridan. Sovran was puzzled. They had been told that the planet was too far from Narn for the local government to exploit it. However, if the Narns knew about Sigma 957's wealth, they would be expending as much energy as possible to establish a mining colony along with a military presence.
Sovran leaned to study the sensor screen more closely. "Fascinating." The sensors were also detecting roads and structures under the sands. In fact, there appeared to be an ancient vast city-complex covering most of the planet's surface. This was the closest to an ecumenopolis, a world city, that Sovran had ever seen.
Vulcan science had theorized about such a concept, that when population growth is unchecked, metropolises would expand and eventually fuse to become a single continuous globe-spanning city. A world undergoing this level of hyper-development would presumably either have its food imported from other planets or grown in vast orbital or subterranean hydroponics facilities. Unless the culture that built such a civilization has a highly developed replication technology.
Sovran struggled to keep his excitement under control. "Sivan, what is the telemetry of the local jumpgate?"
The named officer appeared to be slightly disappointed. "The data makes it clear that the Centauri built it."
"I believe that we have not squandered this visit. We may have discovered an advanced ancient civilization. We shall gather the necessary equipment for a preliminary survey and go down to the surface by shuttle."
"Might that not divert us from the task of informing the Vulcan Council about our need to contain the Minbari aggression?"
"The preliminary survey will—"
Sovran was interrupted by the appearance of an intense burst of light. A hole opened in space near the Vulcan ship. It was filled and surrounded by lightning-like discharges of energy. A huge vessel spilled out of the lightning-filled hole and the hole closed up. There was a shallow dark hemisphere covering one side of the vessel and what appeared to be bones making up most of the ship's body. A relatively small ball tipped the whole thing. Bright white and colored lights moved on the ship's smooth hulls, leaving the bone-like structure dark, while motes of bright colorful light moved about the ball like bees worrying a flower.
It was one of the most unusual vessels that the Sochya's crew had ever seen or heard. No, Sovran amended, it was the most unusual.
The lights on the Sochya dimmed as the huge vessel passed. Sovran was alarmed to find that power was being drained by a dampening field surrounding the alien vessel. He quickly ordered, "Move us back to a safe distance from the vessel!"
The red ship backed away from the unknown alien and, as power returned to its systems, the blue glow on its warp ring brightened slightly as the crew prepared to flee at warp in case the alien should prove hostile.
This action seemed to attract the alien's attention.
An apparition appeared in the Sochya's bridge. It seemed to be a tiki idol's head with faces cut into all four sides and the glow of a blast furnace issuing from the eyes and mouths as well as the open top and bottom.
Sovran stood up from his command chair. This was a First Contact situation. He raised his hand and split his fingers in the Vulcan salute. "I am Sovran, son of Asil, son of T'Vran. I and my crew are from the planet Vulcan—"
The tiki apparition rumbled like a distant jet engine and moved slightly as it listened.
"We are explorers seeking peace and prosperity with other civilizations."
The Walker seemed to look around at the bridge and the Vulcan crew watching it. "You are not in the proper milieu."
"I…do not understand."
The Walker apparition faded and vanished. Sovran looked to Sivan. "Are they departing?"
"No. I believe they are contemplating us."
The power faded again. Before Sovran could move to remedy the problem, the Walker appeared again. "You will be placed in the proper milieu." The apparition vanished again.
Power on the Sochya continued to fade until there was just enough to maintain life support. Sovran wondered if the alien intended to capture the Vulcans for study.
A lightning-filled hole opened again in space. Now that the captain had a chance to see the process, he surmised it to be the alien's version of a jumppoint. But there was a difference this time: a green glow permeated the vortex. Some of the motes of colored light hovering around the alien vessel moved to surround the Sochya. The Vulcan ship was pulled along as the Walker ship moved into its jumppoint. As they came closer to the vortex, a green glow now covered the alien ship and soon also covered the Sochya.
Instead of the expected hyperspace, the Vulcans were introduced to a dimension where it was totally black. It was as if all the stars and nebulae in space were gone. It was an interesting phenomenon to the Vulcans, though it made them slightly uneasy as it offered no clue of movement. The alien vessel was still in front of them, tractoring the Sochya along with its colored lights.
Soon, the stars slowly reappeared, signaling their exit from interspace. The colored motes around the Sochya returned to their parent vessel. The Walkers then created a lightning-filled vortex once more and vanished into it, leaving the Vulcans behind. Power returned to their ship.
Sovran could see that the planet Sigma 957 wasn't there anymore. "Where are we?"
Sivan worked at his station to find the answer. He looked up with a surprise that he didn't hide. "We are at the edge of the Vulcan System in our universe."
Sovran felt like gasping. Instead, he murmured, "Most fascinating."
They had found a race with multidimensional travel technology. The aliens of Sigma 957, if that was indeed their homeworld, must be as far above the Vulcans as the Vulcans were above the Earth Alliance.
The multiverse just got a lot more interesting.