Chapter 20
Return to Iscandar
The Sanctuary on Babylon 5
February 22, 2271
10am
Captain Derek Wildstar of the EDS Yamato was nervous, but on the outside, he didn't show it. He knew how to hide it well, especially when things were at their worst. When the Comet Empire had plowed through the entire EDS fleet at Saturn, he had to rally the crew for one final assault on the massive comet and its fleet. He remembered the nervousness at disobeying the order to stand down after Earth had surrendered, but he hid it well as he told them that they would disobey the order and fight one last battle against them.
It was a success, ultimately, but the cost was high. Wildstar remembered some of the names of those lost in that battle: Charles Orion, the original chief engineer; Peter Conroy, the original leader of the Black Tigers; Jefferson Davis Hardy, Conroy's second; Sergeant Webb Knox, who sacrificed himself to blow up the Comet Empire's main power core and give Sandor enough time to escape back to the ship.
So many dead, and it seemed like life wouldn't let up enough for him to enjoy it. He fell in love with Nova Forrester on the voyage out to Iscandar to get the Cosmo-DNA to help save Earth. Their love grew as they endured the war with the Comet Empire, and they got engaged after the defeat of the Dark Nebulan Empire. He wanted to desperately lay down his burden, marry Nova, have kids, and grow old with her, but it seemed fate was against his goal of lifelong happiness with the woman he loved. Three wars in short succession, and now this. He had no idea where any of this would lead, or if he would ever get back home. That home being his Earth, not the one of this universe.
Mark Venture walked into the Sanctuary, and stared out at the stars like Derek was doing. "Resupply was successful, Wildstar. We're ready to head to Iscandar later tonight."
Wildstar nodded and said, "It's always another mission, isn't it Venture? After all we've been through, you would think that we deserve a break, but God or the universe or whoever is in control of things doesn't seem interested in what we think. So we get back on board and head off to be retrofitted with whatever weaponry that the Legendora have come up with, then go hunting for the Ragendora? Great, and when will this war end? They can cross universes and timelines. Hell, according to the Legendora, they can appear at any time in the past, present, or future! How can we beat them, Venture?"
Venture, taken aback at first by his commanding officer and friend's frustration, managed to rally himself and the captain, "We are creatures of fate, Derek. The whole Star Force is, from the time we stepped on board Yamato for the first time to whenever and wherever this journey ends. We're linked to destiny, and where that lies, I don't know. All I know is that as long as that ship of ours is flying, we have a chance."
Wildstar turned and faced his friend, extending his hand and then hugging him. "I never expected something spiritual like that from you old friend, but it sure lifted me up. What say we head on back?"
Venture smiled and started out with Wildstar, but the entrance was blocked by an all too familiar figure.
"Hello, Mark. Can I talk to Derek alone for a bit," said Alex Wildstar.
Venture nodded, not saying a word, and departed. He knew that things were awkward between Derek and Alex, but he had no idea how bad it was.
Alex looked at his brother and said, "Hello, brother. Can I ask you why you've been avoiding me?"
Derek turned back to face the window and looked out at the stars again. After a moment, he responded, "Can I ask you why you are alive?"
Alex walked up beside him, "You asked me that before, on Iscandar..."
"This is different, Alex! I know the story: they were going to take the General Singleton out and execute him after he refuse to tell the Dark Nebulans where Yamato was."
Flashback
Megalopolis, Earth
December 25, 2202
12pm
Alex Wildstar sat in his cell, awaiting death. He heard the footsteps of the Dark Nebulan soldiers coming to take him outside and execute him. The door to the cell opened and one of the soldiers said, "Get up,Earthman! It's your time!" Alex simply said, "I know." and walked out with them.
At the same time, Occupation Commander Kazan Da Prosht strode into the main meeting room of the Earth Defense Command, walked to the head of the table, and addressed the beaten Earth military officials.
"May the Dark Lady favor our endeavors. Gentlemen, I'll be brief. As the supreme authority on this planet, I command you, the former leaders of Earth, to order the immediate end to any resistance to our occupation forces. As occupation commander in this theater, I do now order a cessation of hostilities, and formally declare Her Ladyship's dominion over the planet Earth."
President Sakihawa said out loud, "That's preposterous! We need a few days to discuss..."
Da Prosht slammed the door on him verbally, "SILENCE! There is nothing to discuss! The Human race exists solely at my sufferance."
He turned to the video screen, which displayed the massive ship that came down and screwed itself into the ground just outside of Megalopolis. The top of the glowed ruby red, and Da Prosht explained why soon enough.
"Observe! This is the double nucleus bomb, which we have placed just outside your city. This weapon is powered by desarium, a hyper element native to our mother planet. It produces hyperion radiation, which passes through most materials harmlessly. But its effect on nerve and brain tissue is devastating!
"Any further resistance on your part will result in the immediate extinction of all Human life on Earth."
General Charles Singleton asked, "So that's what happened to Titan and Ganymede and..."
Da Prosht interrupted again, "Yes, a beam of hyperion radiation was directed at each of your space installations as the double nucleus bomb passed. Their inhabitants died painlessly, I assure you!"
Prosht then clenched his fist and slowly waved it in front of the assembled and genuflected Earthers, "But it will not go so well for the millions here on Earth if you do not cooperate! That bomb will instantly destroy the brain and nervous tissue of every Human being on Earth if I detonate it! And I will detonate it, if you do not instantly obey my orders! And my first order is...
"Tell me the location of Space Battleship Yamato!"
Singleton shot out of his chair like a rocket and yelled out, "NEVER! Trigger that damned bomb if you want! You'll never learn where Yamato is!
"I'm the only person in the world who knows the whereabouts of that ship, and if you kill me, I'll take that knowledge to my grave with a smile!
"You're afraid, Kazan---afraid of Yamato! One ancient battleship against your entire fleet---and yet you're afraid!"
Kazan signaled for the guards to take him out, but Singleton continued, "And you should be afraid! Because that ship carries more than just missiles and guns! She carries the hope and strength of the entire Human race, soaked into its steel herself! Rest assured, Kazan---no matter what you do---kill us all, burn the place---that hope and strength will rise up and destroy you all!"
Da Prosht went ballistic, "You are mad! All of you! Guards! Drag that animal away and shoot him at once!"
Alex Wildstar was about to head out to be murdered when the officer got a call, "Affirmative! We move this one back and do your prisoner right away. Bring him on down!"
The head of the guards sneered at Alex, "Hey Earthman! Looks like you get a few minutes extra! There's somebody they want dead even more than you!"
Wildstar turned and saw Singleton being marched towards him. He bolted out of the grasp of the guards and headed over to him, whispering, "General! I---I'm carrying a bomb inside! It's already triggered---ten seconds! You've got to get away from here!"
Singleton's eyes went wide and he said, "Alex! For God's sake, what are you doing?"
The guards pulled Alex back and he said, "What I'm meant to do, General! What I was always meant to do!" One of the guards told Alex, "Shut up!Get through that door now!"
Singleton cried out, "No! There's still hope, Alex! There's always hope!"
Alex began to fight the guards, and Singleton said as he turned to flee, "Oh my God!"
Before he died, he yelled out his daughter's name, "Sasha!", before he exploded, taking out the guards and giving Singleton the chance to escape.
Singleton stopped as he headed into the old underground city and looked back, saying out loud, "God bless you, Alex Wildstar! I'll never forget you!" He turned with a tear in his eye and headed into the underground complex.
Back on Babylon 5
10:15am
"So she foresaw all of this and installed that bomb inside you? My God! Alex, how did she know?"
"Because the Iscandarans are a direct descendant of the Legendora. If the plague that hit them hadn't occurred, it's very possible that, in a few millennia, they would have become beings of energy, like their ancestors did. Starsha never knew how the plague occurred..."
A voice came from the door, "I know how the plague came to the Iscandarans."
Alex turned around and saw his wife and the Legendoran known as Genon in the doorway, "It's the Ragendora, isn't it? They did it!"
Surprisingly, Drs. Stephen Franklin and Julian Bashir showed up as well. It was Franklin who spoke, "Genon looked over the data of the Drakh plague and confirmed what I had feared: the plague that wiped out the Iscandarans and almost wiped Earth out are one and the same. The only reason Starsha and her late sister Astra survived is that they were not on their homeworld when it hit. The plague wasn't contagious after its initial dispersion into the atmosphere, a detail that was later fixed,according to Genon."
Genon took it over from there, "We've seen them use this tactic before, on a thousand different worlds. Some, we were able to save before much loss of life, but others we arrived too late."
Derek's face lit up, and it seemed a light bulb appeared above his head. He spoke out, "So you gave the Cosmo-DNA to Starsha?"
Genon nodded, "Yes. It was meant to cleanse Iscandar, but we were, alas, too late again. By the time we found them, only Starsha and Astra were left alive. That's when we found out about Earth and Astra set off to deliver her message to you."
Bashir looked around the room, then said, "So all this has been going on since almost the dawn of time? How do we beat these people?"
Genon smiled and said, "Come to Iscandar and find out!"
On board USS Wildstar
8:45pm
Captain Stephen Ashcroft came back onto the bridge after seeing off Captains Picard and Riker back to their ships. He sat down in his command chair and looked at the rift before him, as well as the assembled ships on screen. His executive officer, Commander Katrina Litinova, turned to him and said, "Everything is ready, Captain. All we have to do now is await the command from Hollifield."
Ashcroft nodded and said, "Good. This is truly a journey into the unknown, and I don't know whether we'll come back out again."
"You're thinking of them, aren't you?"
He turned to his exec, and replied, "Yeah. Victoria and Brandon, and Allison as well."
Litinova said, "You never told me about Allison."
Ashcroft nodded and said, "I lost Allison when I commanded the Melbourne at the Battle of Wolf 359. I was all set to hand over command to Will Riker, resign my commission along with Ally, and work on designing starships. Then the Borg came along and took her away from me."
Litinova whispered, "I'm sorry."
Ashcroft nodded, placed his hand on his exec's and said, "I know we've not had the best of starts in our professional relationship, Commander, but I just wanted you to know that I have tremendous respect for you and your abilities. I don't think I've had the chance to tell you how glad I am to have you as my exec."
Litinova smiled, laughed, and said, "Even though we've clashed two dozen times already over how you command this ship and generally being a pain in the ass to you?"
Ashcroft returned the smile and laugh, replying, "Well, I'd rather have someone who stood up for themselves and did it the way you do than to have someone who simply goes along with everything I say. Besides, as far as I'm concerned, you'll be getting your own ship soon enough and I'll have to look for another XO."
Lieutenant Commander Belinda Montgomery looked down at her panel and saw a communication coming in. It was a simple signal, no audio or video. "Sir," she said, "We've gotten the signal from fleet command. It's to proceed."
Ashcroft remembered something that ISA President John Sheridan has said to him: 'God be between you and harm in all the empty places where you must walk.' It was an old Egyptian blessing, and Hollifield had used it as the code phrase to launch the mission.
He looked to his comm officer, Mullenberg, and said, "Take us in, Ensign. Full impulse!"
Some material adapted from Starblazers comic #11 by Argo Press.