Into The Fire
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around for my own amusement - sadly all Robotech and Babylon Five characters remain the property of Harmony Gold, Babylon Productions Inc and Warner Brothers respectively - I am merely borrowing them and make absolutely no profit from their use. As a result, please keep the legal attack dogs - also known as lawyers - firmly muzzled and on a leash as I have no money to give to anyone.
Chapter Eleven
Engineering Level Cafeteria
A Few Minutes Earlier
Idly stirring some sugar into a steaming mug of coffee, or what the military called coffee as to say it was strong would be an understatement not to mention that it was bitter enough to curl your hair, Doctor Miles Cochrane made himself comfortable at a table while he waited for his steak to be prepared. After sufficiently stirring his coffee and taking a sip he turned his attention to the pad that he had brought in with him.
A quick tap of a control brought up the file he had been reading.
In the aftermath of the battle with the Minbari a few days ago there had been a sizeable number of damaged, but still somewhat intact, and disabled Minbari warships and fighters drifting helpless and harmless, the warship crews evacuating in lifepods and being quickly taken as prisoners of war by the Earth Alliance. Most of the wrecks had been towed away by the Earth Alliance - with the most intact of them actually being towed away to a much larger EA fleet base and shipyard for analysis - they'd been able to acquire two nearly intact Minbari fighters themselves, though due to the cockpits being punctured the pilots had been dead asphyxiated by vacuum exposure. Once they had disposed of the bodies with the appropriate dignity Doctor Lang had put him and his team in charge of taking apart the Minbari fighters and learning just how they worked.
It was the progress of that analysis that he was reading now.
The Minbari fighter - which according to information provided by the Earth Alliance was called a Nial or Wind Lance in standard English - was certainly a very impressive piece of technology. The armour covering the hull alone was both genius and a work of art being composed of millions of heavily faceted, polycrystalline fibres arranged in a complex three dimensional lattice. Whenever a coherent energy blast be it in the form of a beam or a bolt impacted the armour the faceted surface of the crystalline filaments would immediately reflect anywhere from forty to fifty percent of the energy straight back out into space. The remaining energy would spread through the whole of the crystalline lattice to dissipate and eventually radiate back out into space. It did however have a weakness in that weapons that had a strong kinetic impact like railgun rounds, autocannon rounds and plasma bolts could shatter the crystal lattices potentially turning the fighters armour into razor sharp hypervelocity shrapnel that would punch through anything in its path. The Minbari seemed to be somewhat aware of this vulnerability to kinetic impact in that the armour was oriented in such a way as to ensure as much kinetic energy as possible was deflected away from the hull.
The fighters weapons systems were if anything even more impressive than the armour. The fighters weapons array consisted of three high power particle beam weapons that, if their sensors were correct, were neutron based. As with their own particle weapons the Minbari guns destroyed their target both through the intense kinetic and thermal ablation as well as disrupting the basic hadron structure of matter causing molecules and atoms to essentially come apart. By making the beams neutron based the Minbari speeded up the disruption effect and with it the sublimation of matter significantly. The fact that the Minbari had figured out how to put three such weapons on a small fighter was most impressive, even if as both simulations and observations they could only fire forward. Though unlike the fighters armour - despite their best efforts they hadn't yet identified all the chemical elements used to make the polycrystalline material - the neutron cannons were easy for them to reverse engineer. Indeed an addendum on his file indicated that one of the research teams was already hard at work doing just that and expected to have a prototype gunpod using neutron beam weapons ready in a month or two.
That will please Commander Fokker and the other fighter jocks no end, he thought with a slight smile knowing that pilots loved it when they got a new toy to play with. Especially one that would make the already formidable Valkyrie veritech fighter even more powerful and dangerous in combat as one of the relatively few weaknesses the VF-1 had was its limited ammunition carrying capacity especially for the GU-11 gunpod. Hopefully it would be ready before they next had to engage the Minbari in combat, something that was sure to happen again sooner or later given the aliens' genocidal plans for humanity in this reality.
He was just about to move onto the initial findings on the Nial propulsion system when someone clearing their throat next to him caught his attention. "Yes," he said looking up to see one of the serving staff standing there holding a plate on which sat a steaming hot, and from the mouth watering smell, perfectly cooked ribeye steak.
"Your steak doctor, medium to well done as requested," the other man said.
"Oh yes thank you," Miles replied, saving the file on his tablet and closing it down before putting it off to one side. As soon as it was clear the waiter put the plate down in front of him along with the appropriate cutlery.
"Enjoy your meal sir."
"I intend to thank you," Miles answered. The waiter nodded back and moved away to get another steak for one of the other engineers who had ordered one. Miles for his part tucked eagerly into his dinner.
He was just taking his third bite when a sudden commotion caught his attention. Frowning, he looked up to see a section of the far wall was shimmering and rippling like it was a pond of water that had just had a stone dropped in it. What on Earth, he thought, like every other engineer and robotechnologist in the cafeteria he stared in surprise and confusion at the strange phenomenon. If anything the ripples got stronger until, with an odd slurping sound, a figure in an orange civilian jumpsuit literally walked through the wall into the room…
…and froze at the sight of all of them clearly as startled to see them as they were to see him. Of course the young man, who looked familiar from somewhere though Miles couldn't immediately place where he had seen him before, quickly overcame his shock and gave them all a quite sheepish grin.
"Um opps?"
Narn Diplomatic Shuttle
That Same Time
Ambassador Ch'tor, Third Circle, would admit to being somewhat nervous as the diplomatic shuttle carrying him, an aide and a pair of soldiers - unarmed as requested, they'd even left their blades behind much to the disgust of the two warriors who no doubt felt that their honour was being questioned - slowly crossed the distance between the Q'zent and the SDF-1. He believed that he had very good reason to be especially given that, until very recently as in barely two days ago, he had only been a relatively minor diplomat and certainly hadn't been a formal member of one of the circles of the Kha'ri as all the Regimes senior diplomats were.
Of course all that had changed when the Kha'ri had learned that the Centauri Emperor was sending an Imperial Special Envoy to meet with the crew of an extra-universal human warship whose main gun alone had more firepower than an entire fleet of the finest of Narn warships. Something displayed for the entire galaxy to see when, in one unbelievably powerful shot, it utterly annihilated twenty-two Minbari capital ships - all of them top of the line war frigates, war cruisers and even a battlecruiser - and hundreds of the deadly Nial fighters in less than twenty seconds. To say that weapon, whatever it was, was power made manifest would have been a monumental understatement.
In the minds of the First Circle of the Kha'ri the only reason for Turhan to take the highly unusual step of sending a special envoy to the SDF-1 was to attempt to secure access to the ship and her technology - especially the weapons systems, given even the conventional cannons were known to be able to cut through the crystalline armour of a Minbari war cruiser with far greater ease than anyone else's, well maybe with the exception of the Vorlons, weapons could - for the Centauri. Something that, given the currently quite precarious balance of power between the Centauri Republic and the Narn Regime, could not be allowed. Centauri technology was already much more advanced than theirs, they did not need such a boost - it would be an unacceptable threat to the security, and long term goals, of the Regime.
The only thing for it was to send a diplomat of their own to ensure that didn't happen.
Of course then the Kha'ri had had the dilemma of who to send. All their top diplomats were already assigned elsewhere and would take an unacceptably long time to return to the homeworld, be quickly briefed and then sent on to Altair with their latest weapons shipment. Even the closest experienced diplomat, G'kar, would have taken three or four days to return to Narn from Earth even on the fastest ship. After some quick, and probably quite frantic, discussions the Kha'ri had - in a shorter than normal ceremony - elevated him, Ch'tor, to full ambassadorial rank, inducted him into the Third Circle with the other ambassadors, before sending him here on this vital mission.
Ch'tor just hoped he was up to the task as he had never negotiated something this big before. Normally he would have dealt with more minor negotiations after the senior diplomats had seen to the broader agreement.
"Ambassador, we've entered the approach pattern for the SDF-1," the pilot reported from the cockpit. "We have been given priority landing clearance and will be landing aboard the vessel within the next five minutes."
"Understood," Ch'tor replied calmly, keeping the nerves he was feeling under control and out of his voice. It wouldn't do after all for either his aide or the two warriors assigned as bodyguards to get any impression from him that might be considered to be an act of weakness. After all in modern Narn society weakness was frowned upon while strength exalted due to the fact that it was only through strength and perseverance that the Narn had survived a century of brutal occupation by the Centauri and ultimately driven them from their world. If only so many of us weren't so dead set on either following the Centauri's example or on gaining revenge for what they did to us and our once beautiful world, he thought.
Unlike far too many of his peers he did not see the point in seeking revenge upon the Centauri for their crimes, at least not in the way that so many other Narn wanted to do it - by visiting upon the Centauri the very destruction that they had so gleefully visited upon them in their hundred year reign of terror and misery. To Ch'tor's mind that was completely the wrong thing to do, the wrong way to get revenge on the arrogant, decadent aliens. In his mind the better revenge would be for the Narn people to thrive out here amongst the stars, to build bridges with the other races - many of whom had had their own 'experiences' with the Centauri - and become a major power even as the once great Centauri Republic continued its slow decline.
Unfortunately far too many of his people - especially in the older generations but also a dismal faction of his own generation who had grown up after the liberation of Narn - were dead set on violently wiping the Centauri out or at very least blasting them back into the stone age never to bother another race again. To Ch'tor and those of like mind it was a foolish course, that was sure to only end in pain for all involved, but one that they were far too few in number to steer the Narn away from.
Mentally he shook himself and forced himself to think entirely about his mission here and how he could possibly hope to fulfil the Kha'ri's instructions. Beyond making sure that the Centauri didn't get anything - but especially technology - from the crew of the SDF-1 they were not that helpful. Still he would do what he could and maybe the best way to complete his mission, and in the process earn the Narn some goodwill from the SDF-1 crew as well as improve their relations with the embattled Earth Alliance, would involve giving them the data crystal in a secure pocket behind one of his vambraces.
The contents of which could potentially allow them to strike a devastating blow against the Minbari. Something which, alongside the strategy proposed by Emperor Turhan which even the most rabid of Centauri haters found themselves getting behind, could potentially open the door to this unfortunate war ending. Then maybe, just maybe, the galactic markets would settle down and the economic turmoil - which was hurting everyone as several major trade routes ran through human space, routes that were becoming treacherous due to the war and Earth naturally redeploying her forces from commerce protection and interstellar law enforcement to confronting and repelling, or at least attempting to, the invading Minbari - being caused by this war would end.
And if it was information from the Narn that made it happen well that was - what was that human expression? Oh yes - just the icing on the pillow. It would certainly put the Earthers in debt to the Narn, something that long-term could be of huge benefit to the Regime. Especially if war ever came between them and the Centauri - as so many on both sides seemed to quietly, and not so quietly in some cases, desired - as Earth might be more inclined to side with the Narn in such a conflict. Or at very least stay neutral.
The slight jolt and the sudden feeling of weight returning - something surprising and unexpected as nothing in the Kha'ri's information packet had indicated that the SDF-1 possessed artificial gravity technology - brought him out of his thoughts. Almost time, he thought as another jolt ran through the shuttle as its wheels touched the metal deck and they began to taxi to whatever parking position that they had been assigned.
After a few more moments the sensation of movement stopped. A few seconds later the pilot, another warrior, this one someone who normally flew one of the fighters in the Q'zent's air wing, appeared from the cockpit. "Ambassador we have landed and completed docking," the pilot reported, "there is full atmosphere and Earth normal gravity all around us. Our security monitor shows an honour guard approaching."
"Very well," Ch'tor said, releasing his restraints and standing up, "let us go out and meet our hosts."
"As you wish ambassador," the pilot replied as the other two warriors, and his aide Na'dath, also undid their restraints and stood up. More than one looked amazed for there to actually be a functioning artificial gravity field on this ship - something that further reinforced the ship's advanced nature.
It took only a moment for them to arrange themselves in the proper formation, with the warriors moving around the two diplomats to protect them, before making their way off the shuttle. As the pilot had indicated there was indeed an honour guard of soldiers - wearing tough but functional looking body armour that was completely different in design to EarthForce BDU's and holding advanced looking rifles, that definitely weren't PPG's, in a present arms position - waiting for them. At the other end of the parallel lines of soldiers a young-looking human woman in a white uniform stood waiting patiently.
Not wanting to keep their hosts waiting, and give the Centauri anymore time to possibly sink their velvet gloved steel talons into this ship and its crew, the small Narn delegation disembarked their shuttle and made their way to the young woman. As soon as they arrived the young woman smiled at them.
"Greetings ambassadors," she said, "I am Commander Lisa Hayes, on behalf of Captain Gloval I welcome you to the SDF-1."
"Thank you commander," Ch'tor replied, stepping forward. "I am Ambassador Ch'tor of the Narn Regime. I apologise if our arrival took you a bit by surprise."
"Oh think nothing of it ambassador," Lisa replied, "one thing we learned long ago is to always expect the unexpected."
"Very sensible," Ch'tor commented with a smile, he could already see that the people here were the pragmatic sort. That was a good sign that they might be open to making a deal, or at very least wouldn't be easily taken in by any promises made to them by the Centauri. It was also something that would stand them in good stead when dealing with all the various races - competing for power and influence as they all did - that shared the known universe, if they were here for a protracted period of time at least.
"We like to think so. Now if you would care to follow me ambassador I will escort you to the conference room where Captain Gloval along with the Earth Alliance and Centauri delegations are waiting for you."
"Please lead on commander."
"This way please."
Security Section
Commander Roy Fokker could feel a migraine coming on as he listened to the tale being told by the person sitting on the opposite side of the table from them. A person he had slowly but surely going frantic to find after he suddenly, seemingly inexplicably, disappeared from the Macross Island refugee holding area. None of the guards had seen him leave by any of the bays known entrances, though several of the other civilians had seen him stroking one of those odd little dog-like creatures that seemed to appear from nowhere every now and again and had done ever since the ship crashed into Macross Island a decade ago,
He had been about to start metaphorically tearing the whole bay area apart to look for him when one of the marines had brought him a message that had seen him practically run the whole way here. Something he knew had somewhat spooked the marines, and the crew, that he had passed as outside of a combat alert they had never seen him run anywhere. Of course for the person involved in all of this he would have run to the ends of the universe if he had to.
The individual in question being his own adoptive little brother, Rick Hunter.
Rick who had reappeared in the engineering level cafeteria in front of an entire shift of engineers, and Doctor Cochraine, in an absolutely unbelievable way. He had done so by walking directly through the wall. A wall that, if Roy knew his robotechnologists and boy did he having worked extensively with them on Project Valkyrie, was certainly now being poked and prodded with all manner of instruments - up to and knowing the scientists including the kitchen sink - to try and figure out how Rick had walked through from whatever was on the other side and possibly recreate it. In the meantime security had brought Rick here and Colonel Maistroff was now asking him exactly what had happened.
Needless to say the tale Rick was spinning was somewhat unbelievable.
"So let me get this straight," Colonel Maistoff said, "this alien dog thing led you into a previously hidden section of the ship - hidden behind something called a phase displacement field, whatever that is - to an alien laboratory. Where you encountered an artificial intelligence that claimed it was based on an older version of you. An AI that proceeded to show you something called the protoculture matrix before showing you how to leave the area… by sending you into the engineering level cafeteria?"
"That's right," Rick replied, he was getting fed up of repeating himself. He had already told this story twice and it was starting to irritate him somewhat. "Given that you keep wanting me to repeat myself I don't think you believe me."
"I shouldn't," Maistroff answered, "but I know better than to completely disbelieve you given how often this ship has surprised and confounded us since it first crashed to Earth - well our Earth anyway. Though even by those standards this is quite a tall tale to believe Mr Hunter, even if your appearance walking through the wall in the engineering cafeteria does lend some credence to what you are saying. Can you prove more of what you say?"
"I can," Rick confirmed before rolling up one sleeve of his orange jumpsuit and revealing some type of bracelet on the right wrist. A bracelet that had a large green crystal inset in it, a bracelet that obviously hadn't been there before as Roy knew well that Rick was not one for jewellery. However, before either he or Maistroff could ask about it, Rick seemed to concentrate and abruptly the crystal lit up with a pale whitish-green light.
And a translucent human figure appeared next to the table.
Roy's eyes widened as he saw the hologram's features, they were definitely Rick's but older and worn down by the ravages of time and a heavy burden of responsibility. In the hologram's eyes he could actually see some emotion, lingering pain and sadness presumably from the loss of the colony that Rick had spoken of. Still it was shocking to see something like that in the eyes of a holographic avatar and confirmed, to him at least, that they were dealing with a true artificial intelligence instead of the limited AI's he was used to dealing with.
Then the AI smiled. "Well that took a bit longer than I expected," he/it said with a very familiar, to Roy at least, sense of humour in its voice. "Hi big brother, long time no see. Hi younger me and hello to you as well Gen… of sorry it isn't yet… Colonel Maistroff. It is good to see you again."
Roy and Maistroff exchanged a glance, thrown a little bit by the familiar way in which the Rick AI was greeting them. After a moment Maistroff found his voice. "Wha.. what are you?" he asked, prompting the AI to blink and look at his younger flesh and blood self.
"Didn't you tell them younger me?" he asked.
"I did but I don't think the colonel quite believes me," Rick replied "and didn't I ask you to stop calling me that as it's super creepy."
"You did, doesn't necessarily mean I will always stop," the AI answered with the familiar smirk before turning to look at Maistroff. "You're still being suspicious and paranoid hugh Dennis? I suppose you wouldn't really be you if you weren't."
Maistroff blinked at being referred to by his first name, and done so in such an easy familiar way, as that was something that few people ever did. "Do we know each other," he asked.
"Oh yes you and I worked extensively together especially after our colony was destroyed. But to answer your first question I am an artificial intelligence matrix programmed with the memories and personality of Admiral Rick Hunter," AI Rick responded prompting the flesh and blood Rick's eyes to widen at the mention of his actual rank, "to all intents and purposes I am the same person he was."
"How did you get here," Roy asked, "have you been here all along? Since the ship crashed."
"Oh no Roy I've only been here a few days not much longer than you yourselves," AI Rick answered, "if I had been here during the fold I would have stopped you doing it as space folding inside a gravity well is not a very good idea. You were lucky that the Zentraedi missiles overloaded the fold bubble enough that you were transported to this reality - you could just as easily have been ripped into a quadrillion fragments and scattered across ten kiloparsecs of space.
"No my older flesh and blood self brought me here a few days ago," he continued, "while you were preoccupied giving the Minbari their first introduction to reflex weaponry he docked a shuttle at the aft port ventral emergency docking port and boarded the ship. Once aboard he accessed the hidden section and installed me before leaving, flying away and self-destructing his ship with himself aboard."
"How the hell could that be done without triggering an alert," Maistroff asked, wondering if he would have to thoroughly review - again - all the security protocols on the ship.
"It's easy if you know the ships scan frequencies and match your ECM modulation to match them, plus he knew all the security override codes. Though before you ask he had to kill himself once he was done otherwise it would have caused a massive temporal and quantum paradox as two Rick Hunters try to exist at the same time in the same point in space-time. It would not have been pretty."
"I'll take your word for it," Maistroff said, "you say you're from the future - one you're here to change - can you prove some of that?"
"I could, I have full records and detailed files about everything that happened before and after the destruction of our colony world," the AI responded, "however that might be too detailed and would certainly take too long as I cannot appear outside the rooms around the matrix for long. So I will just give you a bit of information that I wouldn't know any other way."
"And what is that?"
"If my memory files are correct, Narn ambassador Ch'tor has just come aboard this ship. In a secret compartment on his right vambrace he is carrying a data crystal that he will soon present to Captain Gloval and Earth Alliance Secretary of State David Sheridan. On that crystal is information that will turn the tide of the war against the Minbari firmly in our favour and significantly shorten the conflict."
"What information is that?" Roy asked a second before the hologram flickered, almost like a faulty fluorescent light. "What's wrong?"
"My time is up," the AI answered, "as for the information you'll find out soon enough. Just tell Captain Gloval and General Bradshaw that they need to act upon it quickly. Wait too long and the window of vulnerability will close. If you want to talk more I suggest you come and see me in the closed off section. The bracelet I gave my flesh and blood self - which is tied to his biometrics so don't ask him to take it off and give it to you as it won't work for you - can get you in there."
"I understand," Maistroff replied a moment before the hologram flickered one more, washed with rainbow light, before blinking out of existence leaving the three of them alone. For a few moments silence ruled until Maistroff spoke. "Commander Fokker you and Mr Hunter remain here for a couple of minutes while I go and first speak to Captain Gloval then marshal up some marines and technicians."
"May I ask why sir?" Roy asked.
"It's simple the three of us and them will be going into this hidden section," Maistroff replied firmly, "and then we will learn more about what all this is about."
"Understood sir," Roy acknowledged and watched as Maistroff stood up and left the room. Then he turned and smirked slightly at his younger sibling. "Well Rick looks like we're off on a little adventure."
"So it would seem Roy," Rick answered. "What do you think is on that crystal cyber-me mentioned?"
"I wish I knew. Whatever it is, we'll find out soon enough."
"True."
Author's Note: Well another chapter bites the metaphorical dust. I hope you all enjoyed it. You'll find out just what's on the data crystal that Ch'tor has brought with him to the SDF-1 - and how it could potentially affect the course and outcome of the war between Earth and Minbar - in the next chapter. Hopefully it won't take me quite as long to write but it does depend on if the muse decides to continue to cooperate. Until next time.