Disclaimer: I do not own Babylon 5 or its characters, those belong to Warner Brothers. I do not own Robotech or its characters, those belong to Harmony Gold.

Author Note: Well there was a few people that liked the first bit, so here is some more. If more people like this, I will continue this story.

Earth vs Minbari – Robotech To the Rescue

Chapter 2

It was a very busy twenty four hours as orders were cut from EarthForce High Command and transmitted across Earth, the Moon and Mars to various personnel within the military. Thousands of people found themselves ordered to new postings and to report to these new postings as fast as possible. Logistics Command, responsible for transporting personnel to these new postings were pushed by the higher ups to get these people to their new postings yesterday and to keep their complaining mouths shut. It was very stressful.

Lieutenant Commander John Sheridan found himself waiting outside the office of General Robert Lefcourt shortly after 7am. He was standing, since he had too much energy to sit. The General's assistant was being kept extremely busy as they scrambled to carry out their assigned tasks.

John tried to look calm and relaxed but he was a little nervous since he'd received the summons very late last night while still aboard his warship the Lexington that was in the yard still being repaired from its battle with the Minbari warship Black Star. He had to wake up earlier than he'd planned to board a shuttle that had a route back to Earth that would arrive this early so he could make the meeting. Now he waited.

The phone on the assistant's desk rang and it was quickly answered. After a quick "Yes sir.", they hung up the phone and looked at John.

The young female officer said, "Lieutenant Commander, the General will see you now. Go right in, sir."

John thanked the young woman and walked into the General's office. Closing the door behind him he walked to the front of the General's desk and saluted, "Lieutenant Commander John J. Sheridan reporting as ordered, sir."

General Robert Lefcourt stood up and returned Sheridan's salute. "Welcome back to Earth, John.", the General offered his hand in a handshake and the two shook hands.

John smiled at his superior officer, "Well, it's nice to be on solid ground after all that time in zero g."

General Lefcourt gave a grin of his own in acknowledgment and the two exchanged a little small talk for a couple of minutes while the general's assistant entered and brought in a tray of coffee for the two officers and left quickly. Then it was time for business.

General Lefcourt stood up and ordered, "First thing's first John. Attention!"

John Sheridan quickly stood up and was at attention.

"Lieutenant Commander John J. Sheridan, effective today April 7, 2246 you are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain." General Lefcourt had moved to stand in front of John and once he said those words he removed the Lieutenant Commander rank insignia from John's uniform and replaced them with Captain's insignia. "These Captain's insignia were mine once. It's your turn to wear these with pride."

John couldn't believe it. He was being promoted directly to Captain! He shakily responded, "Thank you sir. I won't let you down."

General Lefcourt shook John's hand again the he stood by a bare wall and touched a panel. A video screen activated. "I know you won't. I wish we could talk more, I would love to hear you tell me how you destroyed the Black Star but we are fighting a war John." The man paused then continued, "A war that you know we're losing."

The video screen was displaying the EarthForce insignia while the General continued to speak. "Now, Captain Sheridan what I am about to brief you on is Top Secret. You are only to reveal what I am about to say to those people that will be cleared for such information. Am I clear?"

John nodded, "Crystal, sir."

Nodding his own head General Lefcourt began to speak again. "Captain, you will be taking command of a new ship. Technically, the ship is actually a bit old but I assure you she is not outdated." He pushed a button on a remote he had in his hands and the EarthForce insignia on the video screen disappeared and was replaced by the image of a ship that John had seen in the Smithsonian when he was a child and in history books. The General continued, "Captain, your new ship is the Achilles."

John couldn't help but be confused, "Sir, I don't understand."

With a serious expression on his face General Lefcourt replied, "John, we're losing this war. After receiving a directive from the President, I took it upon myself to look at the Achilles. She's got technology that we abandoned and discarded because we signed a treaty. After running some tests it's been determined that the Achilles has the technology to break through the Minbari's stealth which means we can hit 'em, and if we can hit the bastards we can kill them. I gave a briefing to President Levy and senior officials and the President has authorized the execution of our special clause in the Sentinels treaty."

John's eyes went wide at the realization and ramifications that the General was saying,

As General Lefcourt was speaking the video screen was showing a computer generated film of the mission briefing, displaying everything that the General was saying. "Captain Sheridan, you will be taking command of the Achilles and the Achilles will be crewed to overcapacity. Three Hyperion Cruisers will also be similarly packed to the gills with personnel and you will execute a fold jump, bringing the three Hyperions with you to the Pegasus Galaxy where you will make contact with the Robotech Factory we left behind, board it and bring it online. The additional personnel on the Hyperions will bring as many of the old Robotech ships in mothballs online and once all systems are green you will return here to Sol with the Factory and as many Robotech ships from the old fleet as you can. If the Factory cannot fold, you will bring as many Robotech ships as you can along with the Protoculture Matrix that was left aboard the SDF-3. No matter what John, you need to make sure you bring that Matrix back with as many Robotech ships as you can. Do you understand?"

Nodding his head John responded, "Yes sir, I understand."

With a smile General Lefcourt resumed, "Good Captain. While you will be in command of the military portion of this operation, there is a possibility that you and your people may be encounter our former allies and they may or may not be pleased that we've returned just to exercise our special clause of the Sentinels Treaty, For that, we're sending a top notch diplomatic team headed by your father, Secretary Sheridan. So, you have military command, he will handle the diplomacy. Try not to piss anyone off, we can't afford another war, especially in another galaxy. If we're lucky, you will bring back allies willing to stand with us, unlike those in the League of Non Aligned Worlds or the Narn and Centauri."

"I understand sir.", replied John.

The General went back to his desk and took a drink of his coffee. John looked down at the cup he was holding and drank some too. This was very big, huge and he was in shock over this mission.

Turning back to John, General Lefcourt touched the panel to display three Hyperion cruisers. "As I said, you're taking three Hyperions with you, the Maxwell, Aegis, and Daedalus. All Captains are excellent men and women. You'll be meeting them along with your new Executive Officer in a few minutes as I give then the same briefing I just gave you." The General tapped the panel again and the EarthForce logo was back on display before turning off.

"We're under a severe time crunch Captain, I need you to get those people over there and back ASAP with Robotechnology. It's a Hail Mary play but everything we've done shows it will work. I wish I could give you and more time to prepare but we need those ships, the Protoculture Matrix, and that Factory. Walk with me."

The two left the office and the General told his assistant, "I'll be back as soon as I can but unless its urgent, tell them I'll call them back."

She nodded her head. "Yes sir."

General Lefcourt led John down the halls of the military headquarters building and they took an elevator up one level. Then, they went down another corridor, passing by men and women who stopped to salute the General as the two walked by. Making another turn and a short walk down this new corridor, Captain Sheridan opened the door to a conference room.

As the two entered into the room, one of the people in the room stood up fast and called out, "Atten-tion!" Everyone in the room that was sitting stood up fast and was at Attention.

General Lefcourt walked to the head of the conference table, he returned their salutes and said, "As you were. Captain Sheridan, take a seat."

Everyone sat down but their eyes flashed over to John as he sat down next to a Lieutenant Commander with dark purple hair in a braid and the men and women in the room took notice of his new Captain's rank insignia on his uniform.

Remaining standing General Lefcourt started, "You all can congratulate Captain Sheridan on his promotion later, he's earned it at a great deal of cost. Now, this meeting is classified Top Secret. Divulge any of it to anyone not cleared to know, and you will be shot for treason; am I clear?"

Everyone responded with "Yes, sir."

Nodding his head in approval General Lefcourt continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, the President has authorized and granted permission for EarthForce to return to the Pegasus Galaxy and retrieve our old Robotech Ships and technology. You and your ships have been tasked to go get them and bring them back."

There was a murmur and muttering among a couple of the people sitting at the conference table. General Lefcourt glared. "I did not ask for any comments or questions yet."

It instantly became very quiet.

Looking around the room to impress on each and everyone in that room that he would take no more outbursts he finally resumed his briefing.

"Captain Sheridan will be taking command of the Achilles", General Lefcourt pressed a button on the conference table and the lights dimmed and a three dimensional hologram appeared of the old Robotech warship. "She's an Ikazuchi class cruiser in case you don't remember. What's going to happen is all four of your ships will be receiving additional personnel, so many that your life support systems might cry a little. Once your ships have everything," the hologram shifted to that of a three dimensional hologram of Earth and the moon. The hologram showed the avatars of the Achilles and the Hyperion ships moving to specific area of space and fold away. "You will move outside Earth's gravity well and into part of space where you will not be observed by any civilians or media. From there, you will position your Hyperions in close proximity to the Achilles and Captain Sheridan will have the Achilles perform a Fold jump to Pegasus where you and your people will retrieve the Robotech Factory as well as many Robotech ships we've got stored over there and Fold back here." The three dimensional hologram showed CG avatars of the Robotech Factory as well as the mothball yards holding the Robotech fleet then these avatars disappeared only to reappear at a spot behind the Earth's moon.

The hologram turned off and the lights came back on. "This mission is of absolute paramount importance. Our survival as a species is counting on you all succeeding. Captain Sheridan will have overall command, but we are sending Secretary of State David Sheridan and a team of diplomats to handle any an all diplomatic issues. Our former allies or another race we haven't met may try to make contact and find out what we're doing. Let the Secretary and his team handle that. If we're lucky, if our former friends want to honor the Sentinels treaty and come to our aid, so much the better. Now, I'll take any questions."

One of the Captains a man with good looks even with the close cropped blue hair cleared his throat and spoke. "General, why are we invoking the Special Clause in the treaty?"

General Lefcourt answered bluntly and directly. "I think it's obvious why we are doing this. We're losing the war Captain. The Minbari are killing us wholesale and our scientists are no closer to giving us a way to beat them. This may be a Hail Mary, but we've run simulations on the Achilles and our old technology can see through the Minbari stealth, and if we can see them, we can kill them. But, for that to happen, we need our old Robotech ships and mecha. Any more questions?"

There were none. Nodding his head General Lefcourt said, "Captain Sheridan, allow me to introduce you to your Executive Officer." He gestured to a woman sitting next to John. "She was the former XO aboard the Scimitar, say hello to Lieutenant Commander Delinda Lamiz."

Captain Sheridan and the Lieutenant Commander shake hands and exchange greetings. Looking at her she had her dark purple hair in a braid. John recognized that she had a strong Zentraedi bloodline.

The General moved quickly to start introducing the Captains and their Executive Officers. "Starting with the Captain of the Aegis and her XO, say hello to Captain Kania Jiina and her XO Serina Cabell." Greetings were exchanged and the General moved on.

"Now, the Captain of the Maxwell is Captain Ben Richards and his XO Khamjin." The Captain appeared to be a regular human but his XO was clearly of Zentraedi ancestry.

"Finally, Captain of the Daedalus, Captain Thar and his Exec Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Sheridan. I do believe you know your own wife, Captain." Captain Thar had the close cropped blue hair that had asked why the special clause was being invoked. With a smile on his face General Lefcourt started to bring this briefing to an end. "Alright, you've all been introduced, as we speak, your ships are starting to be loaded up with supplies and the extra crew personnel that will be the minimum crew necessary for as many Robotech ships you can bring back. Remember, Captain Sheridan has military command while Secretary Sheridan will handle the diplomatic situations. We don't need any new enemies, or for our former allies to become an enemy, so do your best not to make another enemy while you're out there. Captain Sheridan, I'm sure you'd like to speak with your task force captains, I leave everything to you now If there is anything that you need for this mission before you depart Captain, you let me know."

Everyone had been standing as the General made the introductions. They all went to attention and saluted as the General left the room. John turned to look at the assembled Captains and their Executive Officers, including his own. He paused to look at his wife, he hadn't seen her in just over a year.

"Alright, I think we should return to our ships and find out who and what we're getting as far as personnel. I need to find out what state the Achilles is in given she hasn't been operational for more than a hundred years. Anything you need, contact my XO and I'll work on getting it for you.", he gestured to his new Executive Officer Delinda. The woman nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Looking directly at everyone John said, "The General's given us a big task ladies and gentlemen we will not fail so unless anyone has anything to bring up right this minute let's return to our ships and get to work."

Everyone started to leave. Captain Thar whispered something to Elizabeth who nodded her head. John's XO said she'd wait for him at the shuttle pad and left with the rest of the group and now John and Elizabeth were alone.

John looked at his wife, she was as beautiful as ever, her dark blue hair was in a regulation pony tail. Husband and wife looked at each other for a minute as if they couldn't believe the other was really there before John finally reached out to hug his wife. The two embraced but it seemed that John was more emotional than Elizabeth was.

The hug was broken as John looked at Elizabeth in confusion. "What is it?", he asked.

Elizabeth looked at him coolly. "What is it? We haven't see each other longer than a couple of minutes in person for months, barely exchanged any video calls…"

John interrupted her, placing his hands on her shoulders. Speaking reassuringly, "Hey, hey, I get it. You and I have been busy with our jobs, our careers and then this goddamn war started."

Elizabeth stepped back, breaking out of her husband's grip and walked away to the other side of the room. "Yes, we've been busy. But, we have barely made an effort to work at this marriage."

John's eyes narrowed. "What are you trying to say, Elizabeth?"

She gathered herself, taking a deep breath. "I think we need to strongly consider a separation."

John shook his head. "No, absolutely not."

Elizabeth gave an exasperated look. "John! It's not working!"

Raising his hand and pointing his index finger at Elizabeth in a "no-no" gesture John looked upset. "No. I don't think so. I know what this is about now. I know where this is coming from, it's your parents; specifically your mother. They never liked me and your mother absolutely hates my guts."

As John was talking Elizabeth shook her head in denial. "John, no that's not true."

"Is it? How many times has she told you to divorce me since the war started? I'm betting at least eight times and your dad probably chimed in as well."

Elizabeth looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

Nodding in satisfaction, "I thought so. Why haven't any of your calls to me brought any of this up? Did you talk to my mom and dad? You know how much they love you and mom has helped you in the past when it comes to your mother."

Elizabeth was looking at John then she narrowed her own eyes right back at him. "This has nothing to do with my parents, it's about us and how you and I have been drifting apart."

Spreading his arms out in exasperation John said, "But your parents are behind this! God, I get sent out into the thick of things, you get sent to run escort duties close to home. How many times have you gone to see them? I've only been able to come back to Earth twice! Twice Elizabeth and it was not for very long. I've barely had the same amount of video calls with my parents as I've had with you! How fair is that?"

"John, I'm just thinking we need to…"

"No. You know what, I'm glad you're on this mission. A few weeks away from easy video calls with your parents is going to do wonders for you. I'll make sure to make time for you and I, I promise. But, for now Elizabeth Sheridan", John walked over to his wife and kissed her on the top of her hand, then a quick kiss on the cheek, followed by a long passionate kiss on her lips. A kiss that Elizabeth started returning with enthusiasm until John pulled away.

With a smile John looked at Elizabeth and her face was blushing red. "See, I knew you still had feelings for me. I love you. I love you with everything I've got and we're going to get through this. Now, I've got to get to my shuttle and get to my NEW ship! I'll see you soon."

John quickly left the room leaving Elizabeth looking a little stunned. Then she shook her head and growled, "Dammit. Mother was right…"

Elizabeth straightened her uniform blouse and checked her reflection to see if she needed to fix anything and once satisfied she left the conference room as well to go to her own shuttle with her Captain so they could return to their ship.

Captain John Sheridan boarded the shuttle that would take him and his Executive Officer to their new command.

The pilot said, "Just sit back Captain, Lieutenant Commander, I'll have you both aboard the Achilles very soon. FYI, I have been transferred to the Achilles as well. I'm Lieutenant Max Jennings, Sir, Ma'am."

John smiled the said, "Well then, let's get going Lieutenant."

The shuttle took off and was on its way to the Achilles.

John looked to his new XO, Delinda Lamiz. She was pretty, it was clear she had Zentraedi background, she might even be full blooded, he wasn't sure. Her bright blue eyes were striking and her dark purple hair only helped in making her stand out.

With a smile on his face he offered his hand again. "Looks like we'll be working together Lieutenant Commander. I look forward to it, just so you know I'll be counting on you and giving you a lot of work."

With a smile of her own she shook John's hand. "Looking forward to it, Sir. May I just say that your tactics to destroy the Black Star were very inventive."

Taking a breath, he nodded and said, "They were also very desperate. Luckily, the dice rolled my way."

She nodded and replied, "Indeed. Hopefully, we will not need to rely on such creativity soon and we will have ships and weapons that are more than equal to the Minbari."

With a determined look John said, "I hope so too."

John turned to look out the window to see the Earth grow distant as the shuttle flew to its destination. The pilot was quiet and John took the opportunity to think about what he might need to do before they made the trip to the Pegasus galaxy. He would need to make arrangements to get his belongings transferred over from the Lexington. Then the thoughts about his wife intruded. He was upset, he blamed himself for being out of touch, he blamed his in laws, especially his mother in law for her interference. This mission while important, was also going to give him the opportunity to reconnect with his wife Elizabeth while they were in another galaxy far away from his in laws and her parents. Communications back home would be extremely limited.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the pilot of the shuttle. "Sir, I'm making my final approach, we will be landing in sixty seconds."

John looked over at the pilot and thanked him. Then he got the pilot's attention. "Before we land, I'd like a flyby. I want to see my ship."

The pilot nodded. "Aye sir, stand by one." The pilot contacted the Achilles and received permission for the shuttle to do a flyby for the Commanding Officer.

"Take a look sir, this is it."

John looked out the window of the shuttle and got a good look at his new command. His XO Delinda did the same. A ship out of history, a Robotech warship. He noticed that it was slightly shorter than a Hyperion and noticeably smaller in mass. He saw that there were many workers out in EVA suits working on different parts of the outside of the ship and made note of that as he hoped that the workers were almost done with anything serious.

Once the flyby was done the shuttle returned to it landing approach and landed on the hanger assigned to it. Once it was powered down the pilot informed, "We're secure, you can disembark now."

John was surprised but he quickly unbuckled himself and noticed right away that there was gravity. "Wow.", he remarked.

Delinda smiled at him. "Well, looks like I'm going to like serving on this old ship. Are you ready for your arrival ceremony Sir?"

John blinked. He had totally forgotten that.

The hatch opened and Delinda left the shuttle first, then John took a breath walked out of the shuttle. As he stepped onto the deck there was a whistle. A man called out, "Attention on deck, Commanding Officer arriving!"

The assembled party stood at attention and saluted. John saluted the ship's emblem and EarthForce flag then saluted the man nearby. "Permission to come aboard, sir."

"Granted, sir."

John shook his hand and the man said, "Detail, dismissed." The assembled detail left and returned to their duties.

The man offered his hand and said, "Welcome aboard the Achilles, sir. I'm your CAG, Commander Robert Wolfe."

John shook his hand, taking note of the dark haired thin man and said, "Thank you. Robert, Delinda, walk with me to the Bridge please."

The two fell in and began making their way to the elevator that would take them there. "Give me a quick sitrep, Mister Wolfe.", John said.

The CAG replied, "Well, the yard dogs are almost done, Doctor Lang and the Chief Engineer have been pushing everyone and the Doctor has been double checking their work. As far as my strike wing, well we've got what's in the bays. Command took a hundred of our Alpha's off our hands leaving us with two hundred and fifty Alpha Veritechs and we have seventy Beta Fighter/Bombers after Command took half of what we had of those and they took all the VF-5 Condors. Nice thing is that all of them are Shadow spec and yes, they are all clean. I have had two wings of Starfuries loaded since none of my pilots have any stick time on these old fighters. My people are living in the simulators getting up to speed on flying a Veritech. Rest of the flight wing includes the Beta ELINT air wing that's two dozen of those, then we have two EC-32 Eyrie AWACS shuttles, four SC-32 Gossamer shuttles and 8 RC-4 Rabbit light personnel and cargo shuttles Then there's the Destroids, I'll let the CO of our Marine detachment give you the lowdown on those."

The elevator opened and they left the elevator. It was a short walk to the Bridge and the three officers entered the command center of the warship.

A Lieutenant saw Captain Sheridan enter the bridge and called out, "Captain on the Bridge!"

Everyone stood to attention as Captain John Sheridan walked onto the Bridge. "As you were.", he said and everyone returned to their duties.

He looked around the bridge and took note of the room. He didn't exactly know where the communication station was so he called out, "Get me ship wide."

The young woman working as the communications officer acknowledged the order and said, "Ship wide is yours sir."

John cleared his throat and said, "Attention all hands, this is the Captain speaking. My name is John Sheridan I am the Commanding Officer of this fine ship. We have a lot to do and not enough time. Our mission is critical to Earth's survival, that is why you are here. I expect all of you to do your best. Doctor Lang, Chief Engineer, please report to my ready room in twenty minutes. Chief of the Watch, note in the Ship's Log that I have assumed command. Lieutenant Commander Delinda Lamiz is the new Executive Officer. Department Heads, bring any issues you have to her. That is all."

He signaled that he was done and the young blonde woman that was he communications officer turned off the ship wide PA. John looked at the room and said, "I look forward to getting to know all of you and working with you. You give me your best, I'll give you mine. I'll be giving a full briefing to the entire crew before we begin our mission. Now, I'll be in my ready room for now. Miss Lamiz, you have the conn."

The new Executive Command stepped forward to the center of the Bridge. "Aye sir, I have the conn."

John turned to the CAG, "Mister Wolfe, with me please." The two left the Bridge and John whispered, "You know where my ready room is?"

"Aye sir, it's right here.", Robert led them a short distance away from the Bridge and there was a door in the middle of the corridor. Robert gestured to John to open the door. "Here it is, sir."

John opened the door and it silently slid open and the two walked into the Captain's ready room. Looking at it, it was bare. There was a desk with a computer on it. John noticed that it was old, most likely it was the same computer from its last refit more than a hundred years ago. He saw a file cabinet and an empty bookcase.

The CAG looked around. "Looks just like my office when I came aboard. I'm sure you'll get it the way you like it soon."

John asked, "Does the computer work?"

Robert replied, "Yeah, surprisingly, it should. Gotta say they knew what they were doing back then but the techs are going around and replacing all the computers, they haven't gotten to yours yet. One of many tasks needing to be done."

John walked over to the desk and pushed the power button on the computer and to his surprise it turned on and began its boot up sequence and in seconds it had finished and was asking for his login. With a chuckle John said, "I'll be damned, it works."

Looking at the monitor Robert chuckled as well. "Yep. Anyway, I have to get back to my own office, get more sim time, get my squadrons ready. Do you need anything sir?"

Shaking his head John replied, "No, that will be all. I will be calling for a meeting with all senior officers soon, maybe later today, maybe early tomorrow. You will be informed. Let me know if you need anything, I have practically a blank check for this mission before we leave."

"I will sir.", Robert saluted his Captain and John returned the salute and the CAG left the office.

John looked around, took a breath then let it out. He decided that he needed some coffee before he got to business so he left his office and walked down the corridor and consulted a map of the ship that someone had drawn and taped on the wall of an intersection. He found the way to the ship's mess on the map and made his way over to the ship's mess.

Author Note: The people of Earth and her colonies are a mix of Human, Human/Zentraedi, human/Tirolian as well as pure Zentraedi and pure Tirolians. Elizabeth, John's wife is human/Tirolian.