Chapter 37
"A Shift in the Balance of Things"
Minbari Shagotti: Diamond of Drokhor:
Withdraw?
That meant retreat!
When they were so close?
Alyt Shakiri was consumed with fury as he listened to the orders over the fleet communications to retreat. He couldn't believe it. They were running away from animals! Already the defensive globe was breaking up as Minbari ships jumped into hyperspace as quickly as they could. And it wasn't an orderly retreat either. The enemy, themselves bloodied and exhausted, sensing weakness were firing everything they had with reckless abandon even as the relief forces did all they could to hamper their progress. Antimatter and nuclear blasts filled space where Minbari ships of all descriptions struggled to escape with their lives.
To Shakiri, this retreat was the height of humiliation for the Minbari. For him, this was even worse. He had issued challenge and it had been accepted. If he followed orders and retreated now, at this moment, his crew would never again respect him, or continue to accept him as leader. It took everything he had to resist turning around and seeing their faces as every one of his crew waited for him to make his decision.
"We continue," he whispered, the decision made. The bow of respect that his crew honored him with was more than enough let him know that he had made the correct decision.
Diamond of Drokhor and its shipmate Nightshine closed to attack distance rapidly. Following closely behind was his squadron of twenty vessels. He had ordered the Nials to retreat along with the rest of the fleet. They would be all but useless against what was coming and he would not squander their lives in useless combat.
"Our shields are at full power," his Rii said quickly. "Weapons are ready, the Vorlon cannon primed."
Shakiri nodded. "Can we see them?"
"Enough for effective targeting, Alyt."
That was less than a satisfying answer. If the Vorlon sensors were so good they why were they having such a hard time getting detailed locks? Surely the Vorlons could have supplied us with better equipment..
"All standard weapons, fire!"
Neutron, fusion and even antimatter beams saturated the area where the UFOP ships were located. As Diamond of Drokhorhad fired so had the enemyships as they banked sharply to avoid the hellish energy being directed against them by the colonials. The Earther vessels were holding back out of range waiting to strike; but the Alyt's concern were the UFOP vessels in general and the Excelsior in particular.
In terms of movement, it was grace personified. The primary target had evaded the first shots and had returned the favor as its beam weapons struck one of his escorts. Now the ship had a deep gash and the smaller saucer ships, the Mirandas were trying to flank him. The smaller Constitutions were coming in left and right with the Excelsior running interference.
Four of his ships had targeted onto one of the fast moving Mirandas and had trapped it in hellish crossfire. Its three companions were ripping into his other ships. One of his Sharlin's rear engines had been sliced apart. And a moment later it blew, but not before the crossfire had done its job. After one and a half seconds of continuous contact, shields failed and the offending vessel was cut into pieces by fusion beam a heartbeat later. However Shakiri had no time to be elated. His efforts to target the Excelsior had been successful enough to force it from its attack vector. For that effort there was a terrible price that had been paid. Three more of his vessels had been destroyed.
Now, after that devastating pass, those ships were regrouping and coming in once more. His ship's energy shields were again almost depleted by enemy fire. Nonetheless, the enemy shields had taken a beating as well and he thanked Valen that his ship's standard stealth fields were keeping them from hitting his ships from the long distance he knew they were capable of. One of his Vorlon cannon-carrying Sharlins had fired at one of the Federation Constitutions but had missed and was now helpless. Others swarmed around it to protect the helpless vessel and keep it from being obliterated as it literally hung in space. That was a major weakness of these weapons. They were too power hungry and were as much a detriment as they were powerful. Modifications to them would have to be made and made swiftly or their limited usefulness would be at an end.
He saw the UFOP ships swerving violently as they came in firing on the rest of his fleet. The EarthForce contingent was moving in as well, but he ignored them for the time being, trusting his people to keep them at bay as he responded to the greater threat. Two more of his ships were butchered by the hated Humans vessels. Another Sharlin fired its cannon and caught two of the Earther vessels at long distance. But now it was helpless as well and within moments, it had died a fiery-cold death in space.
Shakiri began shouting orders to maintain maximum fire. The enemy was slashing at Minbari amidships with devastating effect. His ships were dying in front of his eyes! Half of them were already gone. He had to take out his enemy now; otherwise he would not have a chance to use the weapon at all. "Fire the Cannon, full power, wide dispersal!"
Vorlon-based lightening like energy beams from both Diamond of Drokhor and Nightshine lashed out at the starships at close to the speed of light. One of the Constitutions was hit; a nacelle was shorn off, the ship tumbling as secondary explosions were seen going off throughout the wounded vessel. Another Miranda was hit knocking it's already shields flat and causing it to lose primary power.
But the Excelsior had been missed as had the other Constitution. They were firing those antimatter missiles and phased weapons. The EF ships were shooting, up close now, adding to the damage. His vessel depleted of energy for two minutes, was all but helpless. Secondaries worked, but not the main guns. The front third of Nightshine collapsed, glowing briefly like a star before the rest of the ship followed it into oblivion. The port side of Shakiri's vessel was hit by Earther beams which scored the ship's hull but failed to penetrate the extra thick armor. Two of those overly confident EarthForce ships were cut into two pieces by secondary weapons and two more were severely damaged. But that was a pyrrhic victory. The last hit by one of the Novas had damaged the bridge. Sections of it were melting as more and more of the colonial's beams sliced into his ship. A hull breech opened on the bridge, causing mass panic and death as the crew sought to escape from being sucked out into the void.
With the bridge in shambles, Shakiri took only cold delight in the fact that he had proven that the UFOP ships weren't invincible. He remained conscious long enough to see a huge number of UFOP and EF missiles on the still functioning holographic viewer, streaking their way towards him and the remains of his fleet. He had failed to destroy the ship he most wanted to kill and it mocked him with death – his own.
His world briefly went white.
Then turned midnight.
The Ok'shella
There was nothing Alyt Darcannon could do but watch helplessly as the once invincible Minbari fleet turned and ran from the numerically inferior ships giving chase. His final mission was to record the Minbari victory and Earth's destruction. Instead, he was forced to bear witness to a humiliating defeat by a young race considered by his people to be inferior in every way.
The cornered Humans fought with intensity and a tenacity that he had admired. Considering the fact that they had no choice was obviously part of the reason for such resistance, but he understood that there was something more than simply their fight for survival to this equation. The Humans had offered to surrender, but had never given up. And that unwavering desire to survive spoke volumes about their character and the overall dangers they represented to his people. Individually they were weak but they knotted together and became all the stronger for it. This war had become personal to so many of his people and now it was to him, but for different reasons. His people had overreacted and were now paying for their arrogance. The colonials had nothing to do with this war. It was his people who pulled them into this by slaughtering a larger number of them than they had of the Earth Alliance population. His people's refusal to acknowledge the accident had led them to this. Killing in the name of righteous revenge and justice was one thing; slaughtering an entire race for the death of one individual was something else entirely. Now these other Humans were justifiably more angered than his people had been with the death of Dukhat. Unconfirmed reports about what was happening at Courtor had certainly upset him. If true, then the situation had just gotten worse. Many of his people were enraged by the fact that the Humans resisted so hard and so effectively. Many were frightened by the rumors that high numbers of Minbari ships had been lost against a dark and dangerous race that resembled Humans. They were screaming for revenge because of something they started and he feared this loss would only galvanize the people to fight even harder if only to retain their status of being one of the most powerful races in known space.
Pride was unimportant now. Survival had just become the primary issue here. The Minbari Federation had just tried to eliminate every life on a world and had failed to do so. Surely the Humans and their allies would strike back with everything they had with intentions of doing the same thing to Minbar as had been attempted at Earth. Earth had discovered allies in their time of need.
Now Minbar would have to do the same. The Vorlons seemed reluctant to help and even though they gave indirect aid by offering newer weapons, shields and sensors, it hadn't been enough or in sufficient quantities. The Workers were studying the systems and adapting them to as many ships in the grand fleet as possible, but it was taking longer since the Vorlons had chosen not to give them the data to make their own. There was an old Minbari saying: desperation was the soul of invention. The Workers using that saying as their own personal mantra had gotten around this and had designed stronger weapons systems, but even with the drydocks completely online and tens of thousands of workers preparing the ships, they still hadn't done enough. Only about one in five ships would be upgraded in the next two months.
He was loath to even think it, but his people needed help and quickly or the Federation and its allies would run all over them with the shields and weapons. Earth Alliance would then try to turn Minbar into a place of desolation. As of this moment, he estimated that EarthForce was down to about fifteen, maybe twenty percent capability. But their allies were still with them. If the Earthers could be re-supplied with superior colonial technology, there was nothing that they might not accomplish. And that thought filled him with utter dread.
If that Federation station was as big as initial reports suggested, then it had to be destroyed immediately, if not yesterday. The doorway had to be secured before more of those ships came though. Minbar and its territories were about to be invaded and the general population didn't know it yet. His people were going to have to throw everything they could at it to take it. And if the Centauri interfered they would have to be dealt with as well.
Most of the Minbari vessels that were able to escape were gone now, safe in the embrace of hyperspace. Many however hadn't made it. There were Sharlins, Tigaras and Tinashis, Nials and other vessels in various states of damage that would have to be left behind. That meant that there would be many Minbari that would be left behind to be captured and tortured as the Earthers and their allies deemed necessary.
One of the Tigaras exploded, most likely self-destructed he suspected. It was probably for the best. The Humans were physically weaker and had not done well under the tender mercies of his people. No one knew how vicious the Humans would be after this. Minbari were stronger but that worked as a detriment as well. Torture and barbaric interrogations would last longer. They would not talk but they would suffer the more for it. He would light candles for them in the darkness.
A Federation vessel was seen to pull next to one of the damaged Sharlins as if examining it at close range. There were crew members still alive. After a few minutes, the Miranda powered up their weapons and fired into the singularity. The explosion vaporized the ship and its crew. It was a cleaner death than he thought the UFOP capable of.
His modified stealth ship jumped into hyperspace and hurried to catch up with the Minbar's retribution fleet. Unlike most he knew that the second fleet would not come now, not with Courtor being such a threat. Earth would live for now, but this defeat had only made things infinitely worse. His people were frightened now and he had no idea where this would go from here.
"I don't know what's going to happen," he whispered to himself. No one heard him but by the looks in their eyes, they were surely thinking the same thing.
Tr'Es'Na Star System:
The ships, out in the open, strained for all they were worth trying to flee from the darkness coming for them.
The Minbari convoy, under full stealth heading away from the star system hadn't yet made it to the jumpgate. And the sight of four Federation ships bearing down on them despite their stealthy conditions had panicked them. The ships had resorted to full burn trying to escape an enemy who was gaining on them at unnatural speed. Frantic calls for help filled the airways and help was on the way in the form of four modified Sharlins. The six Tinashi escorts had turned and were preparing to sell their lives as dearly as they could in order to give the convoy a better chance at escape. The enemy would be under their guns in four minutes, but no one in the convoy expected the Tinashis to survive.
The Minbari were beginning to experience true fear.
Situated on her chair, her legs characteristically crossed, a habit she developed during her long years onboard the Enterprise, Commander Uhura swiveled around and simply stared at the Admiral seated in the captain's chair. Admiral Kirk, after many years of experience heard the sound of the chair above all the background noise and knew that Uhura had information for him."
"Yes, Commander. What is it?"
"The Minbari forces have retreated from the Earth Alliance system."
There was a collective sigh of relief washing over the bridge. The Minbar had retreated, something that Earth Alliance had sworn was almost unheard of for the Minbari race.
"Uhura, how bad?"
"Reports coming in, Sir. Initial reports from EarthForce; eighty-two percent of their ships across the board have been damaged or destroyed, Titan base damaged but salvageable. Moon base is undamaged. Io jumpgate has been destroyed. Io base destroyed. Mars, untouched. Terran drydocks one through five suffered only light to moderate degrees of damage. Alliance Earth, no damage. The shields held except for KerguelenGrande Terre island, as was intended. The tachyon station along with the island was completely destroyed. Minbari losses: fifty-two percent of their forces were damaged or destroyed. We have close to a thousand prisoners and captured at least four of their vessels relatively intact. We lost sixty-seven shuttles and forty-one crews to enemy fire. Twenty-six Federation and Klingon ships were lost. Sixteen suffered severe damage. Sir, the San Diego was lost. There were no survivors," she added quietly.
Kirk slumped. Admiral Tapin, his crews, EarthForce personnel, the Klingons, Minbari warrior; all dead. And for what? He would grieve later. Now a dogged determination gripped him. As the highest ranking command officer in the region there were decisions to be made.
"What's the status of the Excelsior?"
"Shields damaged but the ship is fine, no causalities."
"Excellent. Relay this message to all Allied fleet personnel. Coded message level three as follows: I am taking command of the fleet. Captain Sulu has battlefield promotion to Commodore and is in charge of Alliance Earth until relieved. Inform Earth Alliance that four hundred alliance ships will arrive in ten days. Give the Minbari ships to EarthForce with our compliments – we don't need them. Also Alliance strike forces will retake Wolf 359 and Jericho system in the next ten days or sooner. Resistance should be light. Order Acaltha, Kor, and Chang to head to Becerra Alpha One as soon as possible. Have EarthForce send representatives. We don't want them feeling left out. We will meet to discuss our long-term strategy. I want a detailed analysis of what went right and wrong at Alliance Earth. I want to establish an Alliance base in the Jericho system."
"Sir, it is likely that the Minbari will attack Earth again? I mean, right now, Alliance Earth is at its weakest."
"I don't think so, Uhura," he answered. "Not now. They've just been handed a defeat by people they thought were inferior. They're going back to lick their wounds and rethink their strategy. If they had a second fleet in reserve, they most likely wouldn't deploy it now. We've made sure of that with BA One's presence. The station is so close to Minbari territory that it has to be considered a major threat to them, one they can't ignore under any circumstances. It's been there almost ten hours now. They have to know it's there by now, with all of the tachyon emission we're throwing out announcing our presence. The station's defenses should be fully operational and the number of Allied ships will give them pause. We have another eighteen hundred vessels coming in three days. This war has shifted from a holding action to an offensive war. If anything, the Minbari will have to ignore Alliance Earth for now and concentrate on hitting Courtor with everything they have as soon as possible or they will lose this war. And they know it. We'll have to be ready."
"Sir, Captain Spock wishes to speak to you."
"Put him on." Kirk turned back to the main viewer and waited as his life-long friend's face appeared onscreen."
"Admiral, I assume that our assault on Tr'Es'Na has been postponed." His face held the barest hint of a smile.
"You assume correctly, Captain. Admiral Tapin is dead and that leaves me in command. We're heading to Becerra Alpha One with all due haste. But we'll be back."
"As the highest ranking officer in command, it is recommended that you make your base of operations at the station so as not to endanger your life and this operation."
'The need of the one outweighs the needs of the many…' Kirk smiled coldly. "Duly noted, Captain." Then he added a, "we'll see." He was never a behind the scenes person. Where the action was – he intended to be there. Spock knew that, of course. "Helm, plot a course to Becerra Alpha One. Uhura, inform the Thornwood, Suron and Exeter of the change in plans. The convoy gets to survive this day."
"They're acknowledging, Admiral."
"Good. Helm, engage. Warp six."
The five ships turned gracefully and disappeared in a blaze of distortion, much to the relief of the convoy and their escorts. As the ships headed back, the Admiral sat back and looked at his beloved bridge once more. This was home to him, a newer home perhaps, not like the first Enterprise, but the furniture, in this case the Captain's chair, had become a comfortable fit over the years.
It was time for a rest, for some R&R for the crews under his command. First though, he had a couple of duties to perform. And since they were heading to the starbase, now was the perfect time.
-+-
An hour later, the Admiral, Chekov, Doctor McCoy, Uhura and Scotty were in sitting in the Admiral's quarters. Each had a glass of white wine in their hands. A few moments later they were joined by Captain Spock. The Humans all smiled at the Vulcan and to their surprise, he nodded and allowed the briefest of smiles to escape.
"Captain, glad you could join us." Kirk said.
"It seemed appropriate for me to be here, Admiral. Things change, but they remain the same," he said while pickling up a glass of water waiting for him.
"A toast, Ladies and Gentlemen," James said looking as intent as ever. "To the Undiscovered Country."
"Interesting toast, Admiral," said Spock.
"It's what Gorkon said once," reflected Kirk. "People are afraid of change, but we must change, or we stagnate and die. We were children, who in turn, become parents, who in turn have children. Revenge has always been easier than forgiveness. That's what this war is all about. But it won't last forever."
"Thank God for that, muttered McCoy. "I've got better things to do than to patch together body parts for the rest of my life. You'd think we'd learn by now."
"Patience, Doctor," responded Kirk. "We're still semi-barbarians, but we're getting better. And there is hope." Tired now, with the weight of the war on his shoulders, he sat for a moment. Slowly the man turned and stared at his friends even as his thought, drifted a lifetime away. "Everyone here knows how I feel about the Klingons. They were responsible for the death of Marcus. But not all Klingons killed him. There was a time when I believed that it would be impossible for me let his death go. It made me cold, hollow inside and I discovered it was not the hatred that threatened to destroy me, but the fear of letting it go. Things change and we don't necessarily like it, but we can go with it. We can be willing to take that step forward into the unknown on faith. It is possible to have a lasting peace with the Klingons at this time. The conditions are right. That's what we're going to do now, together. This war is going to be nasty. But since I'm in charge, it's going to be prosecuted by my rules. We will stop them," he said with absolute conviction. "This galaxy is too small for us to continue slaughtering one another for the smallest of offenses, the flimsiest of reasons. I intend to destroy the Minbari's capacity to make war, and I intend to break them. But I will not be known as Tiberius Kirk, the butcher. I will not have the Federation be known as butchers. We have people watching us and we will own up to that responsibility. Earth Alliance is what we could have been two hundred years ago. Without the Vulcans running interference for us during those early years, we would have been less open, less prone to change. The Federation might not have ever existed. We're still learning but the steps we're taking now I think are good ones. It is my hope that the next generation follows suit. But we have to be the examples. Once this is over, this ship, her history and her crew will become the responsibilities of another; to them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages and face the challenges we have begun. They will face their own undiscovered countries. It is my hope that those whom we've met, the Centauri, the Narn, Earth Alliance and the others, may join us or develop their own version of the Federation and boldly go where one has gone before."
He turned to face Commanders, Uhura and Chekov. "Commander Uhura," he said. "It is time." The Admiral took out a small box and opened it. Inside were two small items.
Captain's pips.
"Congratulations, Captain Nyota Uhura," he said to the shocked woman in front of him. "You're being given command of the USS Knowles. It's a communications science vessel newest of the Oberth class. I'm told that it's extremely fast and has the latest in stealth communications and shield technology. You're mission will be to establish communication beacons and probes deep in Minbari territory. We need information and detailed data on their worlds and defenses, their central area of operations, their protectorate worlds." He then kissed her on the cheek. The room seemed to brighten as she shared this moment among life long friends.
"Commander Pavel A .Chekov, former science Officer-in-training on our first Enterprise, former First Officer of the USS Reliant and superb Second Officer onboard the Enterprise; I've watch you grow up," said the Admiral. "It is time for you, also." He pulled out a second box and handed it to Captain Spock. He gave a quick wink and stepped back.
"During your stay on the first Enterprise, it became my responsibility to train you in the ways of a science officer. You were merely Human, however you worked hard and you were adequate to the task," Spock said to the trembling Russian. "Your work has been exemplary and has been recognized by Starfleet as such, as well as myself and the Admiral. By our recommendations you have been promoted to Captain," Spock intoned as he opened the small box.
"Congratulations, Captain Chekov. May you and your new crew live long and prosper."
The pips were placed on his shoulders and the Admiral shook his hand hard. A delighted Chekov returned the handshake. "It's about time, don't you think?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Good. You've been trained by the best. You'll do well," the Admiral said. "You ship is at Becerra. It's a Centaur, the USS Romanoff. It is also a modified warship with extra photon tubes and phaser strips.
To say Pavel was stunned was an understatement. The Centaur-class starship was essentially a Miranda variation using the Excelsior hull. It was an extremely powerful vessel that the Federation had been somewhat opposed to. Evidently the Centaur would have cruiser-level firepower and resources. The peace or nothing members of the Federation had certainly chaffed at this but, he was most certainly happy to have that kind of firepower if he needed it. "I thought that the Centaurs was not going into full production, Sir."
"Things have changed, Captain. We can no longer afford to keep our heads in the sand as some in the Federation have suggested. The loss of Regulus proved that. We want peace but we may have to increase our military assets to maintain that peace, so the number of Excelsiors and Centaurs will be increased significantly. There were rumors that Starfleet would be mothballed but rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. We're here in another portion of the galaxy and the Federation's wakeup call brought the potential dangers clearly into focus. Your responsibility will be to provide escort and run interference for the Knowles. This is a stealth mission. Do not bring any attention to yourself. Make sure you bring yourself and the Knowles home safely."
"Absolutely, Sir."
"I've never seen so many captains on one ship before. Be careful, we might set a precedent."
Laughter filled the room. The festivities over, the friends relaxed and had a good time as it would be the last time they'd be together.
"To friends and family," Spock said.
"Good thing they hadn't had any more Romulan Ale onboard," Scotty muttered. But no one heard him.
"This is Admiral James T. Kirk Commanding. To the Captains of the USS Mako and USS Lee; my compliments on a job well done. You are now ordered to establish diplomatic contact with the Drazi and Brakiri governments. Make all preparations to leave within two days. Captain Silva and Captain Bein, continue standard procedure. Do not engage hostiles unless situation prevents any other course of action.
Good luck.
Kirk out."