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: I'm playing with the timeline here, Earth Alliance has a lot more colonies than in canon as they really exercised that "colonize everywhere" after the last Robotech War so that humans wouldn't go extinct. In that aspect, it's more closer to Macross as far as lots of colonies out there. So, some battles are taking place later in some places, or earlier in others. I'm just telling a story, a story I want to tell my way.
Earth vs Minbari – Robotech To The Rescue
Chapter 4
EarthForce High Command
War Room
April 8, 2246
The war room of EarthForce was crowded with people and the massive room was a room that was quite simply, organized chaos. People were hard at work taking in information from across the entirety of the Earth Alliance. Sadly much of the data coming in were reports of Minbari victories and EarthForce and Earth Alliance losses as another Earth Alliance colony had fallen and EarthForce military forces had been destroyed.
General Robert Lefcourt was looking at the data coming in and frowned. The news of course wasn't good as two more colonies had fallen, blasted to the bedrock and the fleets defending them wiped out to the last. The Minbari juggernaut was unstoppable unless things changed.
Granted, the Pegasus Expedition was about to leave for the Robotech Factory within thirty six to forty eight hours but he wished that they were already gone.
He was looking at the latest intelligence reports and groaned as he saw what colonies were most likely to be attacked next. He felt a presence join him as was looking at those reports.
"How bad is it?", asked the newcomer.
Glancing up, General Lefcourt saw General Fontaine and Secretary of Defense Sterling.
"Madam Secretary, General, its bad. The colonies of LV-426 and Kemper have fallen. No survivors and our fleets defending them were destroyed. I'm just going over the reports projecting possible Minbari targets."
Both of them frowned at the news. Secretary Sterling asked, "What's the target list looking like?"
General Lefcourt passed the report to his superior and she looked at it and frowned herself. "Shit, this isn't good." She passed the report to General Fontaine who quickly agreed with the Secretary of Defense.
"I know." replied General Lefcourt.
General Lefcourt pushed a button and a map of Earth Alliance space appeared. Adjustments were made to the map to reflect the latest fallen colonies. Planets that were looking to be Minbari targets were highlighted in amber and there were five of them.
General Lefcourt stated, "Deneb is on the list, and it could be struck next or be the target after."
Nodding her head the Secretary asked, "What's the status of evacuation there?"
General Fontaine said, "Deneb evacuation is at thirty percent. We need more ships."
Then she asked, "What do we have to defend Deneb?"
General Lefcourt replied, "We've got the 34th Fleet defending Deneb. Fifty Hyperion cruisers, ten Nova dreadnoughts, Three Avenger Carriers, Thirty Olympus corvettes, and twenty five Artemis frigates. It's under the command of General Fenral Miraleth, he's a second generation Zentraedi."
There was a pause as the Secretary looked at the file of the General in charge of the fleet defending Deneb. Then the Secretary said, "I think I have an idea."
"What are you thinking ma'am?", asked General Fontaine
The Secretary brought up the Deneb system along with the hyperspace network. Secretary Millia Sterling said, "As you know there is a singularity nearby that impacts the route to Deneb. I'm thinking that if we can time it just right, we turn off the beacon network that leads to Deneb and this will hopefully cause the Minbari fleet to get caught in the singularity. I suspect that this trick will work at least twice before they figure it out."
The two generals looked at each other then at Secretary Sterling. General Lefcourt tapped his chin with his index finger as he said, "That is a dirty trick Madam Secretary." Then he grinned. "I like it."
General Fontaine and Secretary Sterling chuckled.
"I think it would buy us some time. Not just for Deneb but for all of us. Hopefully Captain Sheridan will return from Pegasus by the time they launch a new assault on Deneb."
General Fontaine remarked, "Hopefully it will take time for them to put another fleet together."
"That's the idea.", said, Secretary Sterling.
General Lefcourt declared, "I'll contact General Miraleth about this, we'll have a scout stay in hyperspace then jump back in and signal the General to turn of the beacon network at the right moment so that all of their ships get lost and destroyed by the singularity."
Nodding in approval Secretary Sterling said, "Very good, General. When do you meet with Captain Sheridan to go over the Protocols for activating the Factory?"
General Lefcourt replied, "Tomorrow ma'am. He sent a report about the status of the Achilles late last night or very early this morning, take your pick. Most if it is good news, the fold engines and reflex furnaces are in good shape. Most of the weapons are functional, but they are still working on some issues. I just found out that they need missiles for their interceptor missile defense system and I called Logistics Command regarding that issue but they haven't gotten back to me yet."
General Fontaine said, "Ma'am, to make room for all the crew personnel we're sending we offloaded a large amount of the Achilles's Destroid and Cyclone compliment. I can tell you that if we can get our people trained in them, if the Minbari decided to land ground troops, we'll kill them all. Those Destroids have incredible firepower and the Cyclones just offer fantastic mobility, good amount of firepower, and survivability for the wearer."
Secretary Sterling folded her arms then while resting her right elbow on her left hand and stroking her chin with her right hand in thought she said, "The trick is General Fontaine to get the Minbari to commit ground troops. Since Flinn, they've ceased ground operations and have been bombarding our worlds into glass. But I think you're right. First, we have to start killing them in space." She looked at General Lefcourt and she said, "General, when you meet with Captain Sheridan, bring him to my secondary office. We'll brief him together with regards to the protocols on activating the Factory and gaining access to it and the storage facility."
"Yes ma'am.", both Generals replied.
An aide walked up with a tablet to General Fontaine who excused himself to deal with the issues being brought to his attention.
"General Lefcourt," Secretary Sterling began, "Can you give me a status report from Admiral's Miriya and Komira regarding their retraining progress?"
EAS Achilles
Captain Sheridan's Quarters
Captain John Sheridan was getting ready for the day's work. He'd worked late into the night and early morning trying to get the Achilles ready for its journey to the Pegasus galaxy. He was tired but he was also energized given that this was his first starship command.
As he was almost prepared the intercom chirped, "Captain Sheridan?" It was his Communications officer Lisa Livsey.
Tapping the intercom he replied, "Yes Lieutenant, what is it?"
"Sir, I have a communication request from Elizabeth Sheridan from the Daedalus for you sir.", his communications officer replied.
John was surprised. He had wanted to talk to Elizabeth last night, but he was so busy that when he had an opportunity, it was too late and he didn't want to wake her up if she was asleep. That she was calling him in the morning was possibly a good sign he thought. "Send it through Lieutenant and thank you."
Communications officer Livsey "Yes, sir. Connecting the call now sir."
The flat panel on the wall turned on and his wife Elizabeth appeared on the screen and she looked angry. She was in her uniform, ready for duty but the look in her eyes was anger. "John, why did you institute a communications blackout? I can't call my parents and say goodbye to my mother!".
John sighed. He did not need this right now, especially since he hadn't had coffee yet. Looking as calmly as he could he didn't answer her question but instead asked, "Are you asking me as my wife or as an officer in EarthForce?"
Elizabeth looked at John as if the wind in her sails fell flat "What?"
John didn't smile on the outside but he couldn't help but feel like he scored a point. "Fine, I'll answer you as the Task Force CO. The reason for the communication blackout is for security. The President has not announced that the Special Clause has been invoked. We don't want to let anyone know what is about to happen before the President makes her announcement. People calling home can put that at risk."
Elizabeth snarled, "I wanted to say goodbye to my parents, John."
"Did you see them recently?", John asked.
Elizabeth was about to say something else but stopped then said, "Yes."
John asked, "When you left, did you say goodbye?"
"Yes.", she replied.
"Then you got to say goodbye to your parents Elizabeth, I don't see what the problem is. Now, I have to go, I have to report to duty." He disconnected the call before she could say anything.
John finished getting ready and left his quarters to get started with the day's work. He knew there was going to be another fight when they talked again
EarthForce Lunar Installation
Dark Side of the Moon
On the secret lunar base that EarthForce had established two training centers for their old Robotech ships and veritechs, two large groups of people had awoken early, had their morning workouts followed by a good breakfast. Then each group reported for their own training. One large group reported to the lecture rooms for another lecture on Veritech flight and handling. The other group found themselves ready to find out what they were there for.
The large group of men and women gathered in a briefing room just like the pilots that had been summoned the prior day. Stomachs full from breakfast they were curious why they had been shuttled from their various warships from within the Sol system.
The door opened and the person closest to the door stood up and cried out, "Admiral on deck!"
Everyone stood at attention. The Admiral walked up to the podium then stepped in front of it. Everyone stared straight ahead and took notice that the woman looked like the famous Miriya Sterling but they all knew it was not her due to the scars on her face. After taking the men and women's measure the Admiral said, "As you were." and everyone sat down.
The Admiral didn't waste any time as she introduced herself. "Good morning, I am Admiral Komira Parino. Yes, I am Zentraedi and yes, I flew and fought with Miriya before she defected to the UEG and joined the RDF. I also fought again with her once more when I joined the RDF as she did although I joined after the Rain of Death. I went with the REF to Tirol, fought the Invid, fought against the overlords that the Robotech Masters left behind, and I fought against the Haydonites. Unlike Admiral Miriya, I decided to retire to a quiet life on a colony that does not exist anymore thanks to the Minbari. When the war with these Minbari started, I was visiting some friends on Earth and soon after that my colony fell under attack and was destroyed. I decided to reenlist."
She paused as she took a look at everyone in the room the resumed. "Now, before I begin you are all notified that everything that I am to discuss with you all is classified Top Secret and if you discuss anything about what we discuss here and anything else going forward you will be shot for treason. Am I clear?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!", everyone cried out.
Nodding in approval Komira began, "The reason you are all here is because I'm here to teach you how to operate and fight with technology that we swore to never use again unless it was an extreme emergency." She pushed a button on a remote she was holding in her hand and a three dimensional hologram appeared of an old warship design that everyone had seen in history books, museums, film documentaries, and in movies. "Ladies and gentlemen my job is to train you to operate and fight with Robotech capital warships. I have a working simulator of an Ikuzuchi class cruiser right now. The techs have spent all day yesterday and night getting it to work right instead of it crashing every twenty minutes. We are working on getting other simulators up and running of not just Ikuzuchi class but Excalibur class battleship simulators as well. I hope that one will be ready soon. At the very least, you are all going to be busy."
An officer raised their hand. Looking at the young man with blonde hair she saw he was a Lieutenant. She said, "Yes, Lieutenant?"
The Lieutenant asked, "Ma'am, why are we doing this ma'am?"
Taking in a breath she said, "Well Lieutenant, and everyone else the reason is quite simple. Command has found out that our Robotech ships can see through Minbari stealth." There were gasps and muttering in the room. Admiral Komira continued, "Yes, that's right. Robotech ships have a different scanner technology and its powered by Protoculture. Command ran some simulations and discovered that it works and submitted it to the President who has since authorized an expedition to Pegasus as we speak. The Special Clause of the Sentinels Treaty is being invoked ladies and gentlemen. It is a gamble, but given the circumstances Command and the President feel that we must take this opportunity. If it works, maybe we can force the Minbari to the negotiating table. But that is for the future. I'm going to teach you how to fight with these old ships and believe me, there are some things about Robotech warships that you are just going to love."
Another hand went up in the back of the room. A woman's voice asked, "Such as?"
With a smile Komira said, "Well, let's start with the absolute favorite. Robotech Warships have artificial gravity."
That got a reaction out of everyone as excited murmurs and mutterings were uttered.
Komira zoomed in on the hologram of the warship. With a feral smile she began, "Let me point out the weapon systems of the Ikazuchi class cruiser. For starters her primary armaments are comprised of eight heavy missile launchers, fourteen tri-barrel heavy particle beam cannon turrets, and thirty two single barrel retractable particle cannon turrets. Not bad, yes? Now, for defensive systems she has thirty pop up interceptor missile launchers as well as two hundred forty point defense laser arrays."
As she described each weapon system, the hologram zoomed in on the various examples as she highlighted each one. Then she said, "Everyone, the best part here is the heavy particle beam cannon turrets can fire at targets up to three hundred thousand kilometers away."
Everyone was silent.
Komira kept that feral smile on her face. "Heavy missiles can also reach that range as well. Missiles like the RMS-2 and RMS-3 fall in to this class. At moderate range, which is between one hundred fifty thousand to two hundred thousand range, the standard particle beam cannons can engage targets up to that limit while the missiles and heavy beam cannons can still track, target, and still engage the enemy. The standard ranges for Robotech warships falls between twenty thousand to one hundred fifty thousand kilometers. Close range for Robotech ships is the ship's hull up to twenty thousand kilometers. Here the defensive laser turrets can engage. "
Admiral Komira turned off the hologram and the lights came back on. "As you can see, Robotech warships have greater range than EarthForce and Minbari ships. To target and strike at an enemy well outside they are capable of engaging at will be a game changer ladies and gentlemen. The shoe will be on the other foot. Now, there are some other things to bring to your attention and I'm going to go over them now. We will start with the power systems, the reflex furnaces."
EarthDome
Geneva, Switzerland
President Elizabeth Levy's office
President Elizabeth Levy was expecting the intercom to beep so she answered it right away.
"Secretary Sheridan is here to see you ma'am.", her executive assistant replied.
"Send him in please."
The door opened and the older man with blonde hair was starting to turn grey who was the Secretary of State entered the room. He walked in and stood in front of the President's desk. The President stood up and offered her hand for a handshake which the Secretary took and the two shook hands.
With a smile Secretary David Sheridan said, "Madam President, you wanted to see me before I left?"
Gesturing for her Secretary to sit down, the two sat down in their respective chairs. President Levy smiled saying, "I did. I trust you're ready to go? Are you sure you don't want to take more people with you?"
With a nod of his head Secretary David Sheridan said, "Yes, I'm good. I don't need to take many people with me. I'm only taking two assistant diplomats with me as we really don't expect to be very busy over there. Just long enough to get what we came for and get back. But just in case, the three of us should be alright."
"Well if you say so David. Let's get started. The reason I asked you to come over is so I can go over the Contact and Retrieval Protocols for the Factory and the Mothball Yard. As a member of the Executive Branch won't be going, you will be my representative."
Surprised, David took a deep breath and let it out. "I see.", he said.
Opening a drawer in her desk she pulled out an object that was in a case and put it on the desk. "Our predecessors prayed that this day would never come but they planned for it. Inside this case is a specialized tablet designed by Doctor Emil Lang. It uses very advanced Robotechnology when he created it. It is air gapped so it cannot be remotely accessed. The tablet only has the codes you will need to gain access. When the Achilles arrives in the system the Factory will contact the Achilles with a message. It will only accept a message with the proper codes, the tablet will give you a code for you to respond. Captain Sheridan will have a separate code that he has to enter, and finally Doctor Lang will enter his own code. Once that is done, the Factory should grant authorization for the Achilles to approach and dock with the Factory. Once docked, you, Captain Sheridan and Doctor Lang will leave the Achilles and proceed to the control center. When you arrive there will be an active terminal. The three of you will enter a separate code each and once that is done the Factory and Mothball Yard will be in our control once more."
David nodded in understanding, "I understand Madam President."
"Thank you David for your support in this endeavor. I wish you the best of luck." Picking up the case, the President opened it and lifted the tablet out of the case. She pushed a button and said, "This is President Elizabeth Levy of Earth, under my authority I am transferring this tablet to David Sheridan, the Secretary of State."
The tablet beeped and a female voice emerged from the tablet. "Voice print identified and accepted. David Sheridan please acknowledge."
Surprised, David leaned forward and said, "I am David Sheridan, the Secretary of State."
The tablet spoke again, "Voice print identified and accepted. Tablet now under David Sheridan's control."
The President placed the tablet back in the case and closed it. She then gave the case with the tablet inside to David Sheridan who took the case and tucked it under his arm. "Here, it's yours now. Good luck Secretary Sheridan."
having stood up in taking the case, Secretary David Sheridan said, "Thank you Madam President. We won't let you or the rest of humanity down."
Standing up, President Levy responded, "I know you won't."
The two shook hands and the President walked her Secretary of State to the office door to see him off. They exchanged one final goodbye and Secretary Sheridan left the President's office to head directly for his shuttle to the Achilles.
EarthForce Lunar Facility
Dark Side of the Moon
Veritech Training
Additional simulators had been brought online during the night and morning and now there were twenty seven simulators up and running in the large room with more units being worked on to bring them online.
Almost entire squadrons could use the simulators in one cohesive group and once the remaining simulators were operational every squadron would be able to use them all at the same time without having to rotate pilots in and out.
Miriya had resumed lecturing everyone on the differences between the VF-6 Alpha and the Starfury. The lecture for the day was on the alternate modes, Guardian and Battloid and she spent the entire morning after breakfast breaking them down. She moved quickly and efficiently with her lectures still going into great detail.
Now the pilots were rotating through the simulators squadron by squadron. The Grim Reapers were first up to use the simulators this time. Each squadron would have two hours of time for this flight training rotation. This time the pilots not actively in the simulator pods were going over the flight manuals.
The pilots took a break for dinner and returned to find another eight simulator pods up and running bringing the number up to thirty four simulators. There was another surprise waiting however.
Waiting for the pilots were two new people standing next to Admiral Miriya. One was a male Zentraedi with purple skin dark blue hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall and slightly broad. The second was a woman with blue skin, shoulder length dark red hair and purple eyes. She was slightly shorter than Miriya but just as beautiful.
Miriya looked at the assembled men and women and greeted everyone. "Welcome back, I trust you all had a good meal. We have brought seven more pods up and running bringing our total up to thirty four. Additionally, I have received some assistance."
Miriya gestured to the two Zentraedi standing next to her. "The man next to me is Captain Virion. He has just been reactivated by EarthForce . Also reactivated by EarthForce is Azariah. They both have extensive experience flying Veritechs and they will be helping me in getting you all ready. They have reviewed your first simulator flights and we are going to go over them with you all. Skull Squadron, get in the simulators and follow the simulator instructors. This will be your first flight using all three modes. The rest of you, follow us."
Commander Sinclair led his people into the simulators, Miriya watched her great, great, granddaughter Mylene climbing into her pod and nodded in satisfaction. Miriya led everyone to the lecture room and everyone took their seats. Once everyone was seated Miriya, Virion, and Azariah started going over each squadron's performance in the simulators since yesterday.
EAS Achilles
The hanger bay was busy with activity as the shuttle was coming in for a landing. Waiting for the shuttle was Captain Sheridan and his Executive Officer Delinda along with a small honor guard were awaiting the arrival of the very important passenger, the Secretary of State.
The shuttle landed smoothly and the doors quickly opened, and the Secretary of State David Sheridan stepped out and climbed down the steps.
Secretary Sheridan asked, "Permission to come aboard?"
"Granted sir.", replied the young Lieutenant assigned to the task.
Turning, Secretary Sheridan walked up to the Captain of the Achilles who greeted him as Captain Sheridan said, "Welcome aboard the Achilles Mister Secretary, I'd like you to meet my Executive Officer, Delinda Lamiz."
After the greetings were exchanged Captain Sheridan excused himself to return to the Bridge to deal with an issue while Lieutenant Commander Delinda escorted the Secretary and his two assistant diplomats to their quarters.
Some time later Captain Sheridan was working in his ready room, checking over progress reports. He smiled at the good news, grimaced at the bad news and made notes about what still had to be done. Things were proceeding ahead of schedule and it was beginning to look more and more likely that they will be making the fold jump to Pegasus on schedule or maybe slightly ahead if things kept moving forward.
There was a knock on his ready room door. Looking up from his work Captain Sheridan said, "Enter!"
The door opened and his father, Secretary David Sheridan entered then closed the door behind him. John stood up and said, "I wasn't aware we had a meeting set for now sir."
With a small smile Secretary Sheridan walked towards the desk and placed his hands behind his back. "You're right, nothing is on the schedule I just wanted to meet with you."
Realizing that this was on the clock, John gestured for the Secretary to take a seat. "Have a seat, Mister Secretary." Secretary Sheridan took one of the chairs in front of Captain Sheridan's desk.
"Tell me Captain," Secretary Sheridan began, "What's our progress? I see you've got a lot of people running around. This ship going to make it?"
With a confidant expression on his face Captain Sheridan responded, "We are ahead of schedule Mister Secretary. All systems are checking out, problems are being identified and addressed. Our weapons are operational, the last of the defensive systems are coming online after having their issues are addressed. We even received our shipment of interceptor missiles finally today. If all things keep going as we are, we should be going on a quick cruise around the system for a final check sometime tomorrow."
"As for all the extra crew, they're shadowing the people on duty, learning about the ship and its systems as we do. Doctor Lang and his people have been an incredible asset to us in helping bring the Achilles back to life."
Looking somewhat surprised Secretary Sheridan nodded his head in approval. "That's good to hear Captain. So, when do you expect to make the fold jump?"
Still looking confidant Captain Sheridan said, "Well, if everything checks out, I think we can make the fold jump tomorrow evening or early in the morning the day after."
"Well, that is surprising, part of me is happy to hear such good news, another is sad." Secretary Sheridan sighed. "I didn't agree with the proposal for this mission, voiced my objection to it along with the Vice President and one other but we were out voted." He gave a determined expression. "But, I'm loyal. Loyal to Earth, loyal to the President. I'm here to do my part Captain. Before coming over, I met with the President and she gave me the codes that I will need to carry out the mission. Do you have your codes?"
Shaking his head Captain Sheridan said, "Not yet, I have a meeting scheduled tomorrow morning at 1000 hours with General Lefcourt. I expect I'll be receiving the necessary codes then."
The intercom beeped and Captain Sheridan answered it, "Yes?"
Communications Office Livsey said, "Sorry to disturb you sir but I have General Lefcourt for you sir."
Straightening in his chair Captain Sheridan replied, "Put him through please Lieutenant."
"Aye sir, patching him to you now." responded Lieutenant Livsey.
The screen on his desk changed and General Lefcourt appeared on the monitor. "Captain Sheridan, sorry to bother you so late but something's come up and I need to reschedule your meeting with me tomorrow."
Nodding in understanding Captain Sheridan responded, "Yes sir, that's not a problem. When did you want me to report to your office?"
"Report to my office at 0600 Captain.", General Lefcourt ordered.
"Aye sir, I'll be there."
"Now, since I'm talking to you now, give me a sitrep. Is your ship ready?"
"We're making great progress sir, if all things keep going the plan is for a cruise tomorrow. The time hasn't been specified though, could be in the late afternoon or late at night. Worst case is early the day after, sir."
Nodding in understanding General Lefcourt said, "I don't like rushing you Captain but I'm afraid that I have to. Push your men and women to get your ship ready. We need you and everyone you're taking with you in Pegasus yesterday."
Clearing his throat Captain Sheridan said, "I understand sir. We'll double our efforts."
"Good, well I'll let you get to work. I've got lots of work for me to get back to as well. See you in the morning."
With a nod Captain Sheridan said, "Yes sir. See you tomorrow." The screen went to a black screen with the rotating logo of EarthForce.
Looking at Captain Sheridan, the Secretary of State said, "Looks like you have a busy day ahead of you tomorrow."
"Yes sir I sure do." the Captain replied with a smirk.
With a serious look Secretary Sheridan said, "I'd like to take this conversation off the record now." He waited as the Captain nodded and replied with, "Okay?"
David Sheridan said, "First, I want to tell you, I'm proud of you son. You gave your mom and I a serious scare when we first heard about your encounter with the Black Star. But we are both so proud of what you've done. You gave us a win against an unbeatable enemy. Second, I want to congratulate you on achieving your promotion. You did it, you made Captain and you got your first Command. Well done, son. I just never thought your first command would be a Robotech ship."
Taking a moment to control his emotions John nodded in appreciation. "Thank you sir...dad. It means a lot. I wish I could call mom and tell her about it but I instituted a strict communications blackout given the nature of our mission."
"Understandable. Well, I better get going. I need to start reviewing our old files on the Sentinels races in case we manage to encounter any of them." Secretary Sheridan said, "Good luck tomorrow son. I hope it all works out."
Thanks, dad." Both men stood up and David started walking to the door. John went around his desk and followed. David stopped by the door and said, "You got a hug for your old man?", David asked.
"Of course I do.", John replied. The two men embraced and father hugged son for the first time in a little over a year. After separating, father and son said their goodbyes and Secretary Sheridan left his son's office to return to his quarters.
John returned to his desk and got back to work. He punched in the code for the hanger and reached flight operations. "Flight Operations, this is Lieutenant Montgomery.", came the response.
"This is the Captain. I need my shuttle departure moved up for tomorrow. I've got to be at General Lefcourt's office at 0600 hours."
Lieutenant Montgomery said, "Understood sir, that won't be a problem. Your shuttle will be ready at 0500."
"Very good, thank you.", John hung up the phone and returned to work.
Geneva, Switzerland
The blacked out limousine was parked on a side street waiting. The very important man sitting in the back didn't like being kept waiting but out of abundance of caution he understood. He passed the time by looking over documents of various proposals that his office was dealing with.
Finally the door opened and a man entered the back of the limousine to face the man that had been waiting.
"Sorry to keep you waiting Senator Clark, I had to make sure I wasn't followed.", the man said. He took off his hat, an old school fedora and set it on the chair next to him. He looked at the man who he worked for, Senator Morgan Clark.
Senator Morgan Clark was a rising star in EarthDome political scene. With black hair and piercing blue eyes the man was charismatic and there was talk that he could be President of Earth one day. A thought that was not entirely popular with the larger masses as Morgan Clark was a supporter of some groups in EarthDome politics that were not very popular.
One of his main backers was the Humans First lobby and they were also on the rise in the political scene.
With a look of annoyance Senator Clark said, "Save it. What have you learned?"
The man who had blonde hair and blue eyes replied, "Sorry to say it wasn't very much. Something is going on at EarthForce Command but details are being kept extremely tight."
Closing the folder he had open and setting to the side Senator Clark looked upset. "That is not what I'm paying you for. I have this information already, I pay you to tell me things that the ordinary people DON'T know."
Looking apologetic the man said, "Sir, I tried getting in touch with two of our sources, at great risk I might add due to how tight things are over there and they shut me down. Both of them said that if they said anything to me, they'd get shot for treason."
"I'm not interested in excuses Mister Moran, I want to know what is going on over there. I'm still upset over the fact that some kind of meeting happened between the President, EarthForce Command and part of her cabinet although who they were is still a mystery! I don't like being kept in the dark! I want to know what the hell is going on over there! Get a goddamn telepath in there!"
"Sir, you know we can't do that!", Mister Moran protested.
Senator Clark stewed over this news. Mister Moran cleared his throat as if he had something to say.
"What?", Senator Clark asked.
"I did hear something that I'm still looking into. Apparently Santiago has been put in charge of oversight on a major project that General Lefcourt is connected with. It's something huge."
"That's it?", Senator Clark was still clearly upset as he basically was told very little.
"It's all I could get! They are clamped down extremely tight over there!", Mister Moran protested.
"Get out.", ordered the Senator.
The man grabbed his fedora and exited the limousine quickly which sped off almost immediately.
Senator Clark was furious. He needed to know what was going on over at EarthForce Command. As the limo was driving off he picked up his phone and made a call. There was no answer on the other line. Senator Clark spoke into the phone, "I need to know what's going on at EarthForce Command. Can we get a specialist inside?"
April 9, 2246
EarthForce High Command
Geneva, Switzerland
Captain John Sheridan landed well ahead of his meeting that morning and had been greeted by one of General Lefcourt's staff members who escorted John to another part of the facility where General Lefcourt was waiting. The man didn't waste any time saying, "Walk with me Captain. Someone wants to meet you."
John Sheridan walked with the General. The General led John through the building to an elevator and he pushed a button that was hidden behind a panel that only opened with a security card. The elevator went deeper still. After the elevator doors opened they moved through a part of the building he had no idea existed as it was very deep underground. The area was lightly staffed and John had many questions.
General Lefcourt said, "Naturally, this part of EarthForce High Command does not officially exist. There's no blueprints, no records. So, I don't have to tell you that you do not reveal anything about this place to anyone."
"Understood, sir.", Captain Sheridan said.
Finally the two reached a set of mahogany wood double doors. Captain Sheridan opened them once the General had gestured for him to do so. The two walked in. John was surprised when he walked in and saw who was sitting at the large desk.
Secretary of Defense Millia Sterling rose out of her chair. The two men saluted the Secretary who returned the salute then she said, "Welcome Captain Sheridan, please take a seat."
All three sat down at the same time. With a smile the green haired Secretary of Defense said, "Apologies for the extra walk Captain, but I wanted to meet with you personally. Would you care for some coffee?"
Nodding his head he replied, "It's no trouble ma'am, just surprised. As for coffee, if it's no trouble."
Waving her hand as she pushed a button on her desk she said, "It's no trouble Captain, perks of the job. Besides", she said with a smile, "this is Switzerland, there is some great coffee to be had."
The door opened and an aide entered with a coffee tray and three cups of coffee. A second aide walked in with a tray of breakfast pastries that they set on a table nearby and quickly left the room. The other aide delivered one cup to Secretary Sterling, then one to the General, and finally that last one to Captain Sheridan. Once done the aide quickly left, closing the door as they did so.
The three took a sip of their beverages. The Secretary got up and went to the tray of breakfast pastries and helped herself, taking a pastry and returning to her desk. General Lefcourt and Captain Sheridan got up and picked their own pastries then returned to their seats taking bites of the delicious pastries
"Captain," Secretary Sterling began, "I received the latest report you sent early this morning regarding the status on the Achilles and I'm encouraged."
Nodding his head, Captain Sheridan smiled, "Yes ma'am, things are moving ahead and we should be able take a short shakedown cruise to see if there's any issues but if there's nothing wrong I believe we can carry out the fold jump shortly after."
Nodding her own head in understanding she responded, "That's good Captain, but I'm afraid that unless your shakedown cruise finds something catastrophic in your after action report to General Lefcourt and myself, I am going to have to order you to execute the fold jump to Pegasus once you've determined that all systems are good enough to go."
"I see.", he acknowledged.
With a sigh she said, "Captain, we are on the clock. We need those Robotech ships from the Pegasus galaxy yesterday. I have five Starfury squadrons undergoing retraining to learn how to fly Veritechs and I have six Hyperion crews undergoing instruction on the operation and combat techniques of Robotech capital ships."
"The Minbari wiped out LV-426 and Kemper. We expect them to hit more soon, Deneb is most likely going to be hit as the next target or the target after. We need you in Pegasus and we need the Robotech Factory and as many ships you can bring back as soon as possible, so don't waste any time. Get over there, gain access, do an inventory, then bring as much as you possibly can back with you as quickly as you can Captain."
"I'll do my best, madam Secretary.", Captain Sheridan said.
Secretary Sterling said, "Let me explain the procedure, Captain."
Seeing Captain Sheridan nod his head, Secretary Sterling started going over the procedure. "Upon your arrival, you will be scanned and contacted by the Robotech Factory. It's an automated system, it will transmit a coded message, you, Secretary Sheridan, and Doctor Lang must simply respond with the codes in your tablet. Once that's done, you will receive instructions to approach and dock with the Factory. Do not deviate from those instructions Captain or the Factory will open fire on you and the three Hyperions that came with you. Keep the cruisers at their arrival positions."
She paused to take a sip of her coffee then continued talking, "Once your ship is docked, you, Secretary Sheridan, and Doctor Lang will proceed to the Control Center. Once there, you will find an active terminal where the three of you will provide the final codes and once that is done, the Factory will transfer over to your control. From there, you begin the next part of the mission."
"Now, the reason for your visit", Secretary Sterling got up and went to a painting. It was a painting of the SDF-3 as it was orbiting Tirol. She pushed a corner of the frame and the painting slid up into the ceiling revealing a very advanced safe. The Secretary spent a minute going through the security protocols before opening it and removing an object from within. Then she closed the safe and the painting slid back into position. She walked back to her desk and sat down.
Secretary Sterling said, "Captain Sheridan, what I am about to hand over to you is the Defense branch portion of the codes for being able to access the Factory." She paused and pulled the object which was tablet. She pushed something on the tablet and said, "I am Millia Sterling, Secretary of Defense, EarthGov. Under my authority I transfer control of this device to Captain John J. Sheridan, Captain of the EAS Achilles. Authenticate."
The tablet beeped and a female voice emerged from the tablet. "Voice print identified and accepted. John J. Sheridan please acknowledge."
John replied, "This is John J. Sheridan, Captain of the EAS Achilles.
The tablet spoke again. "Voice print identified and accepted. Tablet now under Captain John J. Sheridan's control."
Millia passed the tablet over to Captain Sheridan. General Lefcourt watched with approval. "Take this and all our hopes and prayers with you Captain Sheridan."
Rising from his seat he grabbed the tablet from the Secretary of Defense with one hand and then he saluted both Secretary Sterling and General Lefcourt.
"I won't let you down.", he promised.
General Lefcourt said, "I know you won't."
Secretary Sterling said, "I believe in you Captain."
With that, General Lefcourt escorted Captain Sheridan back to the launch pad where his shuttle was waiting for him.
As John was about to board the shuttle General Lefcourt said, "I hope you can do your cruise today Captain."
"I'm planning on it sir.", John replied.
After a final salute to General Lefcourt, John boarded the shuttle and was quickly granted clearance for launch back to the Achilles. In less than a minute the shuttle was in the sky streaking towards the Achilles.
Captain John Sheridan was on the bridge of the Achilles. He returned an hour ago, and he went over everything in his inspection of the ship. It was ready for the planned shakedown cruise. It was shortly after 0800 and tensions were high.
Taking his seat in the Captain's station John asked his executive officer Delinda Lamiz, "Are we ready XO?"
With confidence the young woman replied, "We are sir."
Nodding in approval he turned to face his communication officer Lisa and said, "Lieutenant Livsey contact the Aegis, Maxwell, and Daedalus for me please."
"Aye sir, stand by.", the young woman said.
Soon the three Captains were on the screen. Captain Sheridan greeted his fellow captains then informed them the reason for contacting them. "Captains, I'm happy to inform you that the Achilles is about to conduct her shakedown cruise. If everything goes according to plan we will execute the fold jump to Pegasus later today. So, start making ready."
Captain Kania Jiina of the Aegis was the first to respond. "Congratulations Captain Sheridan and good luck to you and your crew on this major test." The violet haired Zentraedi captain smiled at her counterpart. "It must be really nice to have a ship with artificial gravity sir."
With a smile John replied, "It is indeed nice. Our cruise should be no longer than three hours. We will return to this position."
The three Captains replied, "Yes sir." Then Captain Ben Richards said, "Good luck sir,"
"Thank you Captain Richards. We'll be back soon and when we do, I'll invite you all for a tour."
Captain Jiina smiled and said, "I think we'd all like that sir and look forward to it."
Nodding his head he said, "Sheridan out." After a few seconds he said, "Lieutenant Livsey, please contact Traffic Control using our special callsign and get us clearance for our cruise."
The young blonde woman acknowledged the order. "Aye sir.", then she tapped some buttons and made contact with Traffic Control. "Traffic Control this is the Cruiser Magellan requesting clearance for operational maneuvers."
"Stand by Magellan." came the response. Ten seconds later Lisa heard, "Clearance is granted Magellan, you may proceed."
"Magellan acknowledges. Thank you Traffic Control.", Lisa responded. Then she turned to Captain Sheridan and said, "Traffic Control has granted permission sir, we can proceed."
With a smile on his face Captain Sheridan said, "Very good." Then he pushed a button on his station. "Lieutenant Commander Sevina and Doctor Lang, everything all right down there?"
Both Doctor Lang and the Chief Engineer smiled and Chief Engineer Sevina said, "All systems are green sir. She's ready."
With a smile he said, "Very well."
Then he turned to look at his helmsman, "Lieutenant Cabel, let's take our ship for a ride. Ahead one third, follow the course set by our Navigator please."
"Aye sir, ahead one third." the young woman acknowledged.
As the warship Achilles began to move forward there was a sense of excitement, that what was happening was a historic moment. John looked around at everyone doing their duties and was extremely proud of how his Executive Officer and he had worked together to put them together to work as a team so quickly.
A few minutes later, Lieutenant Aurora Cabel announced, "We're clear sir, requesting permission to go full ahead, zee plus thirty thousand."
John said, "Granted, let's see what she's got."
The warship began to move faster and proceeded on her shakedown cruise. The bridge crews of the Aegis, Daedalus, and Maxwell watched in awe as they saw the Robotech warship move with speed and according to their sensor readings, incredible power.
A few minutes after three hours had elapsed and the Achilles was returning to her original position near the three Hyperion cruisers. The captains observing her approach on sensors before she came into visual range were impressed with how smoothly she moved and handled.
Once the Achilles had moved into her parking station Lieutenant Livsey was receiving communication requests from the three warship captains to speak with Captain Sheridan. Their faces appeared on the monitor close to his station and Captain Sheridan smiled at the as he greeted, "Hello Captains!"
The three Captains each paused as they all didn't want to speak at once but finally after a few seconds Captain Richards of the Maxwell spoke first, "Welcome back sir, how was the shakedown?"
"It went smoothly overall although there were a few issues that we're currently addressing. My department heads will be presenting a final evaluation report within the next couple of hours. If everything falls within parameters I will submit the findings to General Lefcourt and to Secretary Sterling who will most likely order us to proceed with the mission."
Everyone nodded their heads in acknowledgment after hearing that.
Captain Sheridan said, "With that being said, I need you all to go over you ships and crew one more time and give me anything you might need when you come aboard for a face to face meeting aboard my ship. Let's set that up for 1400 hours."
The Captains all gave confirmations and responded that they would be aboard at the requested time and they disconnected. Now Captain Sheridan focused on putting together his after action report on the shakedown cruise. He spoke with all the officers in charge of their respective departments to get their direct words about how things went on the shakedown cruise, discussed if the issue was critical or not, then asked for their written reports to be submitted as soon as possible.
As final preparations were being made, John had contacted Logistics Command for some last minute supplies by way of General Lefcourt's office and received word that the supplies for his four warships were being processed and loaded and would be launching soon.
John had also sent the final shakedown cruise report minutes before 1400 hours and now he was waiting for the go/no go from General Lefcourt and Secretary Sterling. Having done that, he was walking briskly to the Hanger Bay to meet with his fellow Captains. He was behind, having just mailed that final report so when he arrived, Captain Thar was being welcomed aboard and he could see that Captain Richards and Captain Jiina were already aboard.
Walking up to the group he said, "Hello, I apologize for not being on hand to greet all of you as you came aboard but I had to finish and submit that report to General Lefcourt and Secretary Sterling. I expect we'll be receiving the word to depart soon. At any rate, welcome aboard the Achilles. I think you'll like her."
Captain Ben Richards said, "I like her already." He bounced on his feet and smiled saying, "Artificial gravity is amazing."
Everyone chuckled and echoed Captain Richards with similar remarks.
Captain Sheridan kept smiling as he said, "It is rather nice and I've quickly become used to it, along with every other crewman. Now, before we get to business, I promised you all a tour. Follow me, since we're in the hanger let me show you the Alphas and Beta Fighters we still have aboard along with the Destroids."
The tour lasted just under an hour and the Captains were impressed with what they saw and they expressed their impressions as they left the ship's mess and they were led to the Captain's Ready Room.
When they were all seated, holding on to their cups of coffee or tea, Captain Richards said, "Okay can someone explain to me how the designers and builders were able to cram so much in to this ship? Seriously, the Achilles practically has more firepower let alone actual power than a Nova class Dreadnought and this ship is called a Cruiser class."
Captain Kania Jiina replied, "I can explain that.", the Zentraedi woman started. "All the Robotech warships were not built in the shipyards like what we currently use, they were built using the Factories. Each ship has something in it that allows it to do the one thing that each Robotech ship is known for. It is something that Doctor Lang, and I mean Doctor Emil Lang had published in his papers on Robotechnology was that Robotech ships had something about them called Super Dimensional. His paper is very technical but basically it boils down to this," she paused with a grin on her face. "It tells physics, 'fuck you'."
Everyone was looking at Captain Kania, there were owlish blinks as they processed what she said then Captain Thar started laughing first then Captain Sheridan joined in, followed by Captain Jiina and Captain Richards were all laughing together.
The intercom beeped while the captains were still laughing and once he had composed himself Captain Sheridan answered, "Yes?"
Lieutenant Livsey replied, "Sir, I have Secretary Sterling and General Lefcourt for you."
Clearing his throat he said, "Put them through please."
The two appeared on the screen of his monitor and Captain Sheridan greeted the two and reported, "I have Captains Richards, Jiina, and Thar with me right now, we're discussing the final preparations for the journey."
Secretary Sterling was the first to speak. "That's good, Captain. We will be brief. Captain Sheridan, the General and I have received your report regarding your shakedown cruise and after consulting with the President, I am green lighting your mission. You are to execute your fold jump to Pegasus as soon as possible."
The Captains were on the other side of the desk so they couldn't see the monitor but they could hear what was being said and everyone was calm but there was a tinge of excitement as they were about to leave for another galaxy.
"Yes, ma'am, we're waiting on some last minute supplies.", Captain Sheridan said.
General Lefcourt said, "I've just contacted Logistics Command before this call, the shuttles will be launching in less than an hour with your last supplies. Once you've unloaded them and secured your cargo you are to proceed to Pegasus."
Captain Sheridan nodded and said "Yes sir."
Secretary Sterling said, "We wish you and your people good luck, Captain. Don't stop and sight see, just bring us that Factory and as many ships as you can."
There were chuckles in the room and from General Lefcourt.
With a smile Captain Sheridan promised, "We'll be back as fast as we can with everything you asked for including the kitchen sink ma'am."
Secretary Sterling and General Lefcourt chuckled along with everyone in the room. Then she said, "Well, we will leave you to it. Good luck Captains, Earth's hopes and prayers go with you."
The call disconnected. From there Captain Sheridan and the others began going over the final preparations and the protocols that would have to be followed in order to gain access to the Factory and the mothball yard. That lasted for another hour and once they were done the Captains returned to their shuttles so they could return to their ships. Captain Sheridan saw them all off as they left, promising they would soon be in another galaxy.
It took another two and half hours for the final preparations to be completed. The Bridge of the Achilles was packed. Secretary Sheridan and his staff were on the Bridge to see the Fold jump for themselves. Doctor Lang was also on the Bridge with a couple of his team members. Captain Sheridan was sitting at his station overseeing everything. His Executive Officer, Delinda was an example of professionalism as she brought things to his attention only when necessary so he could focus on the bigger picture.
Lieutenant Livsey had reported that Traffic Control had cleared the four ships for their maneuvers just a moment ago.
John took a breath. This is it. "Communications, connect me to the Task Force.", he ordered.
"Aye sir, stand by.", Lieutenant Livsey replied. A few seconds later she says, "Sir, I have the Task Force. You're on sir."
Standing up from his chair Captain John Sheridan looked at his crew as he prepared to say what would be words that would follow him into history. "Attention Achilles Task Force personnel. For those of you on the Aegis, Daedalus, and Maxwell I am the Task Force Commander. My name is John Sheridan, Captain of the Achilles. I am going to brief you all on what our mission is and I promise you, that the rumors going around currently are completely wrong."
There were some chuckles on the Bridge. Captain Sheridan gave a smile as he resumed talking, "Recently, our President instructed Secretary Sterling and our High Command to find a way to beat the Minbari. A tall order to be sure and one that has been impossible to do...until now."
"After receiving this order, High Command worked on it and they found a possible solution. That solution was presented to the President and after careful thought and deliberation the President has decided to go with High Command's proposal. The solution presented and proposed was that Robotechnology has the ability to break through Minbari stealth. After a great deal of deliberations and thought, the President has decided to invoke the Special Clause of the Sentinels Treaty and we are going to the Pegasus Galaxy to reclaim what is ours, the Robotech Factory and as many Robotech warships we can get and return to Sol."
"This is a gamble, I agree with that but I have spoken with General Lefcourt and Secretary Sterling and they are confident that our old Robotech ships will save us. I believe in their plan and we've got Robotech experts coming with us on this journey so I have no doubt that we will succeed and I'm confidant that with these ships and mecha of old we will be victorious."
John was looking confidant as he said those words, then he said, "Captains, we will proceed on course to our Fold jump point now. All ships, ahead one half."
The four warships began to move towards the point that Navigation Officer Lieutenant Rose Hebert of the Achilles had designated along with Doctor Lang was the safe point for them to execute their fold jump well out of view of any civilians and strictly controlled by the military as to who was cleared to see it.
EarthForce High Command
Geneva, Switzerland
On Earth, at the very low levels of the EarthForce High Command building President Levy, Vice President Santiago, Secretary Sterling, and Generals Lefcourt and Fontaine were watching and listening to the transmissions between the Achilles and the three Hyperions that would be going on this journey. This was it. The biggest gamble in history was about to start.
"When will we know if they made to Pegasus?", asked a nervous President Levy.
"The fold jump should be immediate.", replied Secretary Sterling. She added, "They will be able to contact us once they arrive using FoldCom.", she gestured to what was an old communications station that had been used more than a hundred years ago.
General Lefcourt said, "Doctor Lang and his team helped bring it back online."
Nodding her head, she looked at the plot of the four warships making their way to the Fold jump point. It was almost time.
EAS Achilles
They were almost to their Fold jump point. John looked at Lieutenant Livsey and said, "Lieutenant Livsey, please contact the Task Force ships and get a final Go/No go."
Lisa put her transmission on speaker. "Aegis, Daedalus, and Maxwell this is the Achilles requesting final Go/No Go status. Please respond."
Silence.
Then the voice of Captain Jiina's voice said, "This is the Aegis, we are go."
Which was quickly followed by the voice of Captain Richards, "This is the Maxwell, we are go."
Three seconds later the deep voice of Captain Thar was on speaker. "This is the Daedalus, we are go."
Looking at Doctor Lang, John asked with a smirk, "Doctor Lang, I trust we will not have a repeat of the SDF-1's first fold jump?"
The Doctor adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. "I assure you, that will not happen Captain."
With a look of satisfaction John looked to his crew. "Status?"
Lieutenant Aurora Cabel, the purple haired Tirolian helmsman said, "We are on station sir."
Lieutenant Rose Hebert, the black haired navigator said, "Fold coordinates plotted and locked in. I've double checked and triple checked them, and Doctor Lang also confirms that they are good."
The sensors operator said, "Aegis, Daedalus, and Maxwell are on station exactly where they're supposed to be next to us sir. Doctor Lang confirmst that they are in position for the fold bubble to bring the along."
Doctor Lang looked at the Engineering console. The Chief Engineer was in Engineering. Doctor Lang looked up at Captain Sheridan saying, "All systems look good here sir, fold engines are in the green."
Looking at everyone one last time, including a look at his father, the Secretary of State Captain John Sheridan said, "Start the clock. T minus 60 seconds to fold jump, all stations give me final go/no go."
The various people in charge reported in.
"Engineering is go!"
"Life support is go!"
"Sensors are go!"
"Helm is go!"
"Navigation is go!"
"Weapons are go!"
As the people called out their go/no go status, the four ships floated in space, holding position and awaiting the fold jump that was seconds away. The clock was ticking down, power was building up and the tension within the four warships was extremely thick.
The countdown was almost done. Power build up on the Achilles was steadily building up. Doctor Lang looked at his console and saw that everything was in the green. In ten seconds they would be in another galaxy.
The navigation officer Lieutenant Rose Hebert exclaimed, "Ten seconds to fold!"
Everyone aboard the Achilles was anticipating the jump as the clock reached zero. Captain Sheridan ordered, "Execute Fold Jump!"
For the first time in more than a hundred years the Achilles's fold engines activated and a sphere appeared around the Achilles and it began to quickly expand around the Achilles as the size of the sphere expanded even further out, engulfing the three Hyperion cruisers that were close to the Achilles.
The sphere seemed to solidify, looking like frosted glass for an instant then there was a multicolored flash of light and all four ships vanished.
EarthForce High Command
Geneva, Switzerland
On Earth, the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the two Generals had seen the fold jump take place. They anxiously awaited the first report from the Pegasus galaxy. There were cheers and claps as everyone watched the fold jump happen flawlessly.
The first minute after the fold jump had taken place everyone was calm as they awaited news from the Achilles.
After five minutes with no contact things were starting to get tense. Questions were being asked quietly about what could have gone wrong.
Then, after almost seven minutes there was a loud whooping siren and the old Robotech FoldCom came alive as a screen just appeared to float in mid air. On the screen was Captain John Sheridan and he said, "EarthForce High Command, this is the Achilles. We made it."
Cheers exploded from the high ranking military officers and political leaders. There was clapping, hugs, and cheers for several seconds. When order was restored, President Levy said, "We read you Captain Sheridan. Well done in getting your ship and all your people over there."
General Lefcourt spoke next, "Captain, did your hitchhikers make it with you alright?"
Nodding his head with a smile, Captain Sheridan replied, "Yes sir, we're all here and all systems are good. We can see the Robotech Factory on our sensors and on visual. We haven't received any transmissions, nor have we been scanned. I think we might be out of range so I'm going to approach the Factory and get this mission started. I will contact you once we have possession of the Factory."
Secretary Sterling said, "Very good Captain Sheridan, we will let you get to it. Good luck."
Captain Sheridan gave a salute and the floating image of him folded in mid air and vanished, the whooping siren sound playing again as the communication ended.
Everyone stared at each other with big smiles on their faces. The fold jump was a success!
President Levy looked at everyone and said, "I will make the formal announcement to EarthDome tomorrow evening about the decision to invoke the Special Clause of the Sentinels Treaty. Hopefully by then we will have received the news from Captain Sheridan that the Robotech Factory is back in our possession and they are beginning the retrieval operations."
Everyone nodded in confirmation and the President shook everyone's hand and gave each person a few brief words before finally leaving to return to her office. Vice President Santiago left a couple of minutes later after saying a few words to everyone as well.
Once the two civilian leaders were gone the Secretary of Defense and the Generals began to discuss what the latest reports were from the outer colonies with regards to the Minbari. Another attack was expected soon.
General Lefcourt said, "I have spoken to the Governor of Deneb and to General Fenral Miraleth and they are going to be shutting down the Beacon Network in an effort to trick the Minbari to run into the singularity. They have a Hyperion in hyperspace, monitoring and doing their best to spot the Minbari before they can jump into Deneb."
Secretary Sterling nodded. "Good, how much time do you think that will buy us?"
General Fontaine said, "Maybe two weeks at the minimum and possibly as much as four to six weeks if we're lucky. It also depends on how much of the Minbari fleet gets sucked into the singularity. If we get them all or more than sixty percent of them, we might get a reprieve on the higher end of the timeline. But there is a problem with that."
General Lefcourt took the lead now and said, "That problem is, the Minbari are fighting us on multiple fronts, they could move some of their warships from the other side of the front to shore up their losses to regain their momentum that they lose from their losses at Deneb. Or they could wait, gather more ships from parts of their Federation and then begin their assault again. If we get the longer reprieve we'll hopefully be able to deploy our Veritechs to act as Cats Eyes for our warships. That will be a very nasty surprise to the Minbari I would think."
Secretary Sterling said, "Alright, I will leave you to it. I have to return to my office upstairs in EarthDome. Let's hope our trick in Deneb works to the maximum."
The two Generals saluted Secretary Sterling who returned their salutes and she left to go to her office on the upper floors. General Lefcourt left to go to the war room upstairs and General Fontaine was going to stay down in this area so he could answer the FoldCom in case Captain Sheridan contacted them.
The Pegasus Galaxy
EAS Achilles
The Fold jump was a complete success, all three Hyperions had made the journey with them and no problems with the ship or any of the Hyperions had been reported in. Only a very small minority of crew personnel reported feeling ill from the effects of the fold and since the fold jump was over so quickly the effects were quickly wearing off.
Floating in space in front and below them was a massive space station complex: The Robotech Factory. It was gigantic, massive, and it appeared to be all but dead. Suprisingly they were detecing low power readings from the massive object.
Captain Sheridan had checked in with EarthForce High Command already and informed them that they had made it to the Pegasus Galaxy. Now he was talking to his fellow Captains again. "Alright, I'm going to take the Achilles in closer to the Factory and see if it triggers the Contact Protocol. Go ahead and hold position here."
"Understood, Captain Sheridan. Good luck.", replied Captain Jiina.
The call was disconnected and John looked at his crew. "Well, we didn't come all this way for nothing, let's get started. Helm, ahead one third."
"Aye sir! Ahead one third.", replied Lieutenant Aurora Cabel.
The ship was moving forward for five minutes towards the Robotech Factory that was floating in front of them when the sensors operator called out, "Sir, we're being scanned by the Factory!"
"Steady, everyone this is what we expected. Helm all stop."
"All stop aye sir!", Aurora confirmed and the ship came to a halt.
Lieutenant Lisa Livsey said, "Sir, receiving a transmission from the Factory."
"Put it through.", John ordered.
"UES warship, you have been scanned, profile matches that of UES Achilles. Are you here for Retrieval and Reactivation?", the voice from the Factory sounded male, and older. In the back of John's mind the voice seemed familiar as if he'd heard it from somewhere.
Captain Sheridan paused, he was surprised but he cleared his throat and said, "I am Captain John Sheridan of EarthForce, I have been sent here to reactivate and retrieve the Robotech Factory and the ships from the mothball yards."
"Acknowledged. Stand by.", the voice replied. Ten seconds later the voice came over the speaker. "UES Achilles, please respond with correct codes."
On Lieutenant Livsey's terminal a screen activated and the screen displayed:
DEFENSE: _ _ _ _ _ -_ _ _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _ _ _
Captain Sheridan had his tablet and he pushed the activation button on the tablet and the screen displayed an alpha numberic code that was the same length. Lieutenant Livsey quickly rose from her station and stepped away. With care, John Sheridan entered the code as it was displayed on the tablet he was holding and pressed 'Transmit'.
There was a few seconds pause then the voice from the Factory confirmed, "Defense Representative has transmitted the correct code. Executive Branch Representative please transmit the correct code."
Again the terminal displayed a message:
Executive: _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _ -_ _ _ _ _ _- _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _
John stepped away from the station and allowed the Secretary of State to sit. David Sheridan pulled out his own tablet and began to carefully enter the correct code and Lieutenant Livsey showed Secretary Sheridan the 'Transmit' key for him to press once he was done.
There was another pause then the voice from the Robotech Factory said, "Executive Branch Code has been received and accepted. The final code must be entered by a member of Doctor Emil Lang's family."
Secretary Sheridan rose from the seat he was using and stepped aside to allow Doctor Robert Lang to sit. The man pulled out an old school paper notebook and flipped to a specific page. Before anyone could comment on it, the terminal displayed:
Lang Family Member: _ _ _ - _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _ _ -_ _ _ _ _ _-_ _ _ _
Doctor Lang quickly entered the code into the terminal and transmitted it to the Robotech Factory. Everyone was holding their breath.
The voice of the Factory spoke once more, "Final code received and accepted. UES Achilles you are granted permission to dock with the Factory. Take the following heading and you will enter Bay Four. Automated docking control will take over once you reach fifteen thousand meters. Once docked, please stand by for further instructions."
John confirmed, "Understood, proceeding as instructed Factory Control." Then he looked at his helm officer Lieutenant Aurora Cabel. "Proceed as instructed Lieutenant."
"Aye sir,", Aurora replied. She turned back to her station and began to control the warship on the instructed heading.
"Lieutenant Livsey, contact our friends please.", John ordered.
They appeared instantly on his station. "We have been given the green light to proceed into the Robotech Factory. I will contact you once we have completed the Retrieval Protocol."
The Captains all wished John and his crew good luck and the screen went black.
Slowly the Factory grew larger on the viewscreen as Aurora piloted the Achilles. Once they reached fifteen thousand meters distance Lieutenant Aurora called out, "Sir, it's taken over the helm."
"As we expected.", confirmed Captain Sheridan.
As the warship moved closer to the Robotech Factory the crew on the bridge could see bay doors. These doors were massive, especially the one that they were heading towards. The bay door began slide open, rising quickly to reveal the massive docking bay. As the ship moved into the bay people's jaws dropped in awe, amazement, and surprise at what they were seeing. Robotech warships were docked in the massive bay that the Achilles was entering. They could see many Robotech warships of a variety of classes docked with this particular bay of the Robotech Factory Station, warships that had not been seen in more than a hundred years.
John asked, "Doctor Lang, did you know that there were warships inside the Factory?"
Adjusting his glasses again Doctor Lang replied, "I had an idea that there might be some warships stored here but I was not sure."
The Achilles was steered by the automated docking control system of the Robotech Factory to a berth and everyone could feel the ship being parked on station. In front of them, they could see the bow of an Excalibur class Battleship. The crew could hear the sound of umbilical connections being connected to the warship.
Doctor Lang reported, "Sir, the Achilles is now docked with the Factory."
John said, "Very good, now we wait for the next part."
Author Note: Here we are, another chapter done and now the Achilles is in the Pegasus Galaxy and they've docked with the Factory! I don't have any idea when the next chapter will be out. I hope you liked this one though!