CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Add one key to mix…

"Commodore Lau called me in for a meeting today. She informed me Admiral Hunter has approved the mission for Mars Division to retake Earth. She says my name is being mentioned for the commander of the operation. I find myself of mixed emotions. A part of me wants to lead the attack against the Regess and end this war, but another part of me wants to stay with the Reapers. I'm more than happy to stay a fighter jock, even if it is commanding a squadron. I also know a part of me has no desire to return home. There is nothing, but bad memories and death back there for me. I'm planning to recommend John Gardner for the command slot. He's a good soldier and more than capable for the task. Besides that, I'm satisfied to keep serving under April. I'm just glad she doesn't hold a grudge or harbor any hard feelings over what happened back in the academy. I still feel bad of the position I left her in, but in my defense I had to bail out the window because I was already on academic probation…"

— Private journal of Captain Paul Coleiro (Tirol, 2039)

oOoOo

Dawn was in love…

At least she kept telling herself that following Lieutenant Aaron Hanson around with big puppy eyes as he gave her a personal tour of the ship. She couldn't help herself. The young Lieutenant looked for lack of a better description … dashing … in his uniform, and he was closer to her age which was another bonus. She still fantasied about Captain Coleiro, but he was so much older than her. Also, from what she'd overheard other people talk about all morning, it appeared Faith had sunk her claws into him both figuratively and literally. She understood how the world worked… she'd taken sex education in school and listened to other people talking about sex. Yet, some of the things people gossiped about Faith and the Captain puzzled her.

What's the big deal about handcuffs? Why is everyone getting worked up about them?

She found herself curious and wanting to find out what all the big fuss was about.

I'll talk to Anya… she'll tell me what the big deal is. I think she mentioned something about her and Xander doing something like that once, but Buffy decided I was too young…

Her focus returned to the tour when she saw him giving her a puzzled look.

"You okay? I'm not boring you?" he said, dread growing in him.

Dawn shook her head, seeing his face, "Oh no! Sorry, my mind was wandering. I'm having a good time. I enjoyed the simulator training room."

A sigh of relief escaped, seeing the smile return to his face. It made him so much more attractive.

Not Captain Coleiro attractive, but still good looking…

Aaron was glad he wasn't boring Dawn. He'd hoped to impress her with the personal tour of the ship while he worked up the courage to ask her out for lunch and then dinner. The ship's alarms going off dashed any thoughts of romance. His training kicked in as his thoughts and reflexes shifted and he turned to rush to the bridge. He took several steps before stopping and turning to see Dawn standing there, looking lost and not knowing what to do. Her expression pulled on him. He realized it was breaking protocol, but he didn't hesitate as he went back to her and took her hand, noting her surprised face.

"Come with me… it'll be all right," he said, smiling at her.

Dawn felt lost and afraid as alarms wailed. Her first thoughts were Buffy would take care of whatever was happening and find her. Aaron took her hand, surprising her. It seemed like a dream as he smiled and reassured her. His smile and the warmth of his hand made her fears and worry fade. She squeezed his hand, returning the smile as she followed him down the corridor while alarms continued wail.

oOoOo

"Helm, prepare to break orbit. I want us on a parallel course with that target, but maintain our distance." Paul ordered, his eyes locked on the display screen.

"Aye, sir! Engaging thrusters and bringing about the ship to course heading one-four-five."

Paul leaned back in his seat. The bad sensation in the pit of his stomach only seemed to get worse, but he had no rational explanation for it.

"Go to active scanning! Use whatever sensors available to get a detailed scan of that ship."

"Aye, sir!"

"Sir, what about main guns and missile batteries?"

Paul considered the consequences if he escalated. Before he could give his answer, Lieutenant Hanson entered the bridge with Dawn Summers in tow. He was about to reprimand Hanson about bringing non-authorized personnel on the bridge until he saw her face and how they were holding hands.

"Nice of you to join us, Lieutenant," Paul said, noting the nervous expression on Hanson's face. He nodded, "She can stay. Just make sure she doesn't get in the way… understood?"

The relief on Hanson's face was obvious as he hurried to his bridge station with Dawn, "Yes, sir!"

The Captain waited for his First Officer to get settled in and get updated on the situation, "Mister Hanson…"

"Yes, sir!"

"What's your take on the situation?"

Aaron gulped as he tried to grasp the situation and what they were facing. His nervousness grew as he feared screwing up, especially with Dawn watching. He glanced towards her and she smiled back at him. His heart pounded, but he was calmer.

"I don't know how that craft can be a major threat to us, sir. I recommend we stay at Condition Yellow for now until we can get more information," he said, sounding more confident glancing again at Dawn.

Paul couldn't help smiling noticing the Lieutenant's burst of confidence. He saw how the two young people exchanged glances with each other and how Dawn smiled at Hanson.

Sometimes that's all it takes, he thought, remembering how Sonia would smile to reassure him when his confidence was lacking.

"I concur. We'll stay at Condition Yellow for now. We can make do with point-defense and shields for now."

"Yes, sir. If I may sir, can I suggest something," Hanson said.

"Go ahead."

"I know how you wanted to avoid contact with Earth, but considering this situation, it's clear they're aware of us. I think we should try to establish communications with that ship and warn them off."

The Lieutenant's recommendation, surprised and impressed Paul, "I agree. Make it so, Lieutenant."

oOoOo

"SIR! We're being locked on by their radar!" Commander Hodge reported as his warning console flashed red alarms.

"Damn it!" Colonel Harper muttered, "Range to target?"

"46,000 kilometers…"

Harper pressed the comm button, "Captain Blair?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Can you fire sooner?"

"No, sir! We have to get closer, 5000 kilometers is our max range, and that's pushing it," she replied.

Harper took a deep breath, "Commander, we still have fuel for our main engines, right?"

Hodge's face paled as he realized what the Colonel was proposing, yet he didn't hesitate, "Yes, sir. We have enough fuel remaining to initiate a forty-five second burn, but…"

"I understand Commander, we'll lose our chance to make our slingshot around the moon, but it will close the distance faster with our target. Prepare to start engine burn on my mark! Once engines cut, initiate ECM protocol. Also standby on maneuvering thrusters, I've got a feeling our alien friend will move, and we may have to rotate the ship."

"Yes, sir! Understood... waiting on your mark to initiate engine burn."

"On my mark… Three… Two…One… MARK!" Harper ordered.

The shuttle shuddered as the main engines fired, sending the spaceship surging forward. As the acceleration pushed him back into his seat, Hodge kept his eyes on the clock as the seconds counted down. As soon as the timer hit the forty-five second mark the engines cut, Hodge typed commands into his console.

"ECM protocols initiated!"

Back in the shuttle's cargo bay, the cargo doors opened and from launchers mounted along the sides, eight small rockets ... only a meter long ... launched. They flew outwards and at a predetermined range exploded, releasing strips of aluminized glass filaments. The chaff expanded outwards surrounding the shuttle in a cloud. At the same time the rockets launched, ECM jammers mounted in the cargo bay generated noise across the electronic spectrum to hide the shuttle from electronic eyes.

oOoOo

"CAPTAIN!"

Paul's gut told him something bad was happening, "Report!"

"Target has increased speed!"

What the hell is going on? Paul thought.

"Sir! We've plotted the course and speed of the approaching craft."

"Go ahead," Paul said.

"They're on a trajectory for deep space and their acceleration is too fast. There's no way they're carrying enough fuel to change their path into a slingshot lunar orbit for a return to Earth."

Paul was still digesting this information when another crewman reported in.

"SIR! Target has deployed countermeasures! We're having a hard time locking on to or scanning the ship!"

Oh hell!

This changed everything. The decision was now being forced upon him, "Man Battle Stations!" Paul said, keeping his voice calm.

Alarms wailed throughout the ship while a voice boomed from the ship's PA system, "CONDITION RED… MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS… REPEAT MAN YOUR BATTLE STATIONS!"

Hanson checked his console before reporting to the Captain, "Sir, all stations report manned and ready. Damage control teams on standby."

"Good work, Mister Hanson. Helm, start evasive maneuvers. Break through their jamming and get me a scan of that ship! Standby to launch countermeasures!"

"Sir? What about our main weapons?"

"Have gun and missile batteries on standby. Cut through their jamming and get me a firing solution, but do not fire… understood?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Contact them and warn them off!" Paul said. He hoped things wouldn't get any worse, but he wasn't optimistic as his eyes remained glued to the display as the unknown closed the range.

oOoOo

Sweat ran down General Coulson's back while his eyes stayed glued to the video display streaming real-time video from the shuttle in the packed Pentagon Situation Room. As the shuttle closed the distance, its target became clearer in the video and the crowd could discern its size and shape better. Gasps escaped from the people as they got a better sense of what they were facing. Coulson overheard one senior officer mutter, "Jesus, look at the size of that thing…!"

Coulson didn't argue as he stared at the video display filled with mixed emotions. This literally thrown together mission had taken unprecedented co-operation between not only the armed services, but agencies and countries. The mission was pushing equipment and people beyond their designs and training. It was a feat of human ingenuity and courage and a testament to the skill and dedication of those involved to overcome all the mission's technical hurtles. Even for all that, Coulson still believed this was a bad mission, bordering on recklessness that could end in unmitigated disaster for everyone. He glanced at the SECDEF, whose attention was on the video display, watching this huge roll of the dice.

"It's moving!" an army officer exclaimed.

"Looks like she's taking evasive maneuvers," observed an air force officer.

"We put the fear of God in them!" exclaimed one of the few suited civilians in the room.

Coulson resisted the urge to yell at the man's stupidity, but one of the navy officers spoke out.

"Looks like they're giving themselves room to maneuver. It makes sense tactically for them to do it."

Coulson looked at the navy officer, nodding with his assessment.

At least not everyone here is a crazy stupid fool!

Everyone watched as the distance between the two ships counted down at a seeming glacial pace, but the speeds and distances involved were unprecedented. The air force technician monitoring communications shouted out.

"HEY! I'm getting something… it's a broadcast over open channels!"

The SECDEF didn't hesitate, "Put it on the speaker, so we can all hear!" he ordered, his voice straining under the tension.

The technician acknowledged the order and in moments a voice was coming through the speakers in the room. Shock filled the room as everyone listened to the voice speaking in clear and concise English.

"Attention approaching spacecraft! This is the REF cruiser Arcadia, declare your intentions! You are entering our defensive perimeter! If you do not respond, decrease your speed and disengage your electronic countermeasures, we will deem your craft as hostile and take appropriate defensive action!"

Everyone sat in stunned silence as the message repeated itself several more times. Coulson, knowing why the SECDEF wanted him here, saw his opportunity and reacted first, "Sir! We need to abort the mission and open communications with that ship!"

The SECDEF glanced at Coulson, suppressing the relieved smile forming. A few of the senior officers in the room protested, but this turn of events still stunned everyone.

"I concur, General Coulson," the SECDEF said, reaching for the phone to connect him to the President in the White House Situation Room.

"Yes, sir. We heard the same thing here," the SECDEF paused, knowing he was on speaker phone with the President. He recognized the VP's voice, in the background, arguing almost in hysterics for the attack to continue, and this was all a ruse to throw them off.

"You want my recommendation. Sir, I say we take this opportunity to communicate and avoid a confrontation we're not prepared for. Yes, sir. I understand," the SECDEF said, before hanging up the phone.

The SECDEF turned his attention towards the air force technician, "Can we reply to that message?"

"Yes, sir! We can route it through our deep space communication ground stations, just as if we were communicating with the shuttle."

"Good! Inform Atlantis to stand down. Then broadcast a message back on the same channel telling this … Arcadia … we want to open more formal communications with them and to standby."

"Yes, sir!"

The SECDEF turned to the rest of the room, "Okay, here is how it will go… we have to get a dialog going with those… people. We'll need State and NASA involved and establish a working group and a team to meet with their representatives once we've established contact. We have— "

"Sir, we have a problem!"

"What is it airman?"

"I can't communicate with our ground station in Barstow, California! They're the only communication station currently in a direct line of sight with the target, and Atlantis isn't responding to our calls either!"

Damn it! the SECDEF thought, trying to figure out what was wrong. Somebody crying out interrupted his thoughts.

"Atlantis! She's deploying her missile launcher! She's going to fire!"

oOoOo

Colonel Harper tried not looking at the lifeless eyes of Commander Hodge as his body slumped forward in his seat. Harper liked the human, but when they the message began broadcasting over the radio, Hodge insisted on aborting the mission. The demon who went by the name of Harper had his master to serve and he couldn't let that happen. The blow to Hodge's throat was quick and lethal, the shock and surprise now etched forever on his dead face.

Harper had isolated Captain Blair from the main communications channel, so she hadn't heard the message and he didn't have to kill her too. Her display console and controls had also isolated her from the flight deck, so she hadn't witnessed him killing Hodge. He still needed her to launch the missiles and didn't need to make his mission any more difficult by killing her early. Once they'd launched the missiles, she would become expendable.

"Captain Blair."

"Yes, sir."

"How are we looking?"

"I'm ready to deploy our launcher on your mark."

"You have permission to deploy, Captain."

"Launcher deploying now."

"Captain, you are weapons-free. You may fire at your discretion."

"Yes, sir. I will fire missiles in thirty-second intervals. First missile away in Five… Four… Three… Two… One… MISSILE AWAY!"

oOoOo

"Any luck on cutting through their countermeasures?" Paul said.

"We've isolated the frequency they're using and we're burning through their jammers, but they've deployed chaff and it's creating a lot of false signals. As they get closer, our sensors will be better able to differentiate the ship from the clutter, sir."

"Helm, maintain evasive maneuvers, but make sure we present a broadside target for now."

"Sir?"

Paul looked at the unknown target's plotted trajectory, "It's a risk, but we can bring more point-defense weapons to bear. When I order, I want to engage full speed and change direction to present a smaller target aspect, and deploy countermeasures."

"Aye, sir. Bringing the ship on heading oh-seven-five."

"SIR! We're detecting a radiation spike!"

Oh hell!

A crewman's shouts cut-off any further considerations, "VAMPIRE! VAMPIRE!"

Dawn spun hearing the shouts, looking for vampires on the bridge. Before she could react, another crewman added, "Confirmed! We have a missile launch from the target! I'm detecting two hard targets, but getting faint echoes indicating there may be more! The two missiles have a radiological profile… I repeat two of the missiles are nuclear!"

It relieved Dawn to know there were no actual vampires on the bridge, but then the realization hit that someone had just fired nuclear weapons at them. She looked to Aaron, who was busy working at his console as everyone on the bridge focused on the threat. The urge to have him tell her everything would be all right pulled on her. She held herself back, knowing the work he was doing was important, and she didn't need to get in the way.

Paul watched the incoming missile tracks on the display screen, "Time to impact?"

"Missiles are moving at a slightly higher speed relative to the target… Wait…! Missiles have increased speed! It looks like they've engaged booster engines. Impact estimated in seven point five minutes!"

"Engage countermeasures! Engage with point-defense weapons as soon as they can lock, but wait until missiles have cleared immediate area from that ship! We don't want to destroy them if we don't have to. Helm, continue evasive maneuvers and prepare to go to full speed when missiles are one minute out."

oOoOo

Megan didn't realize her mic was live as she muttered, "Shit!"

"What is it, Captain?"

"The target is deploying countermeasures and taking evasive action! Our missiles are having a hard time staying on target," Megan replied, the frustration and anger obvious in voice. She'd hoped to get better results, considering the sacrifice they were making for this mission.

"Will they hit the target?"

"Doubtful, sir. They might get close enough for the blast wave to take out or damage the target, but it will be a miracle if we get a direct hit. Wait…! Oh hell!"

"What's wrong, Captain?"

Before Megan could reply, space erupted in a huge blinding light. On the flight deck, Harper, out of instinct, shielded his eyes from the blinding light. He only had a moment to comprehend what was happening, and out of reflex shouted over the radio.

"GET YOUR HELMET ON! BRACE FOR SHOCKWAVE!"

The words barely escaped his mouth as he scrambled to get his helmet on. He secured it in time as the shock wave hit the shuttle, tossing it like a toy.

oOoOo

Dawn watched the bridge crew in fascination. She did not understand what they were doing, but she realized how they functioned as one team, working to prevent the missiles from hitting the ship. The calmness Aaron projected in the face of this nuclear missile attack buoyed her confidence. She looked at him in new eyes at how cool he operated, calling out information.

"First missile, three minutes out… confirmed all missiles are nuclear-tipped fusion warheads. Point-defense systems have a lock and are clear to engage."

Dawn turned towards the observation window as the Captain gave the order to fire. Rapid bursts of light shot out into space, streaking out to a point in the vast darkness. She still didn't understand what was going on, but she tried to see if she could spot the missiles, but only saw the darkness of space. A new miniature sun suddenly replaced the darkness. She gasped, staring at the horrific beauty as the fireball expanded in the distance. Then a wave of pain hit her, like someone had punched her in the stomach. Her legs turned to rubber as she tried steadied herself.

Aaron noticed Dawn in trouble and his focus shifted as his concern centered on her, "Dawn? Are you all right?"

Her pain was subsiding, and for a moment she seemed better. She saw the concern on Aaron's face and was about to respond when the point-defense system took out another missile, creating another sun. Another wave of pain slammed into her, and this time she screamed in agony as she collapsed to the deck.

Everything was a haze, and she was only dimly aware of what was happening around her as pain tore through her body. She barely heard Aaron's fear-filled voice as he tried talking to her and screamed for help.

"GET A MEDIC UP HERE NOW!"

Through her pain-filled haze, Dawn glimpsed another miniature sun being born, and another wave of pain hit. The pain racking her body was excruciating, like she was being torn apart. Another sun blossomed and her brain mercifully shut down, rendering her unconsciousness. As the darkness took her, a part of her caught voices around her, but none of it made any sense.

"Medics are on the way!"

"What's wrong with her?!"

"My God! W-What's happening to her! S-She's… glowing!"

"Get Security up here!"

oOoOo

"What the hell is going on up there?" the SECDEF said, the frustration and anger obvious in his voice as he stared at the static-filled video display.

"Deep space radar stations are reporting multiple nuclear detonations, sir."

"Did they hit the target?" one of the senior officers queried.

The airman shook his head, "Unknown, sir. It's a mess up there with all the interference, but preliminary reports say our nukes detonated well short of the target."

"What I want to know is, what the hell happened to our communication system?" the SECDEF demanded.

Coulson was ahead of the situation, using his cell phone to check with his sources. He kept a poker face as he received a preliminary report, glancing at the SECDEF.

"General, you have something?" the SECDEF said.

"Sir, someone attacked the communications facility in Barstow…" he let the news sink in.

The SECDEF looked at Coulson, the shock obvious on his face, "Attacked?"

"Yes, sir. The site's out of commission... techs dead and equipment destroyed."

"Do we know who's responsible?"

Coulson met the SECDEF's eyes, giving him a hard look. He had preliminary reports from the scene, but he wasn't about to announce to the room what was responsible for the attack. He needed to talk to the SECDEF in private to brief him.

"Nothing concrete, sir. We're still gathering evidence at the scene."

The SECDEF noted the look Coulson had given him. He realized the General knew more about this attack than he was letting on. This realization provided little comfort considering what was happening.

Just what we need right now…!

"How about communications? Can we switch to another ground station to transmit to the unknown ship?"

The communication tech, shook his head, "It'll be hours before the next ground station is in range. Even then we still have all the radiation interference to cut through."

The SECDEF was about to say this situation was unacceptable when the conference phone rang. Everyone in the room stared at the phone then at the SECDEF. He knew who was calling as he answered the phone, taking a deep breath knowing the person on the other end wanted answers he didn't have.

"Yes, Mr. President…"