Chapter 30: Test of Will
Reviewers:
gta5ccjs: The B5 universe is the universe of Babylon 5.
BGTom: An interesting idea. Have another universe (Halo) come to the Imperium's galaxy. That's a very tempting idea.
Liljimmyurine: I go with the reviews, and the reviewers are pushing for the Babylon 5 universe. I will, however, consider the Battletech universe.
darth: Yeah, it's sad. Still, the other C'tan are still around, and they won't take the death of one of their own lightly.
Sean: Your reviews are always great. The ideas about Anna Sheridan are good. That would mean I'd have to have the Imperium enter the B5 universe during the Shadow war and not at the Battle of the Line. They're both such good choices. I just can't decide. What do you think I should choose? For the Imperium!
Marine Brother Shran: You're right about Section 31. I'll have the group Malaki destroyed be a breakaway faction. Thanks for ht Primarch names. The Emperor has been busy building up a base of belief that he has actually returned, and revising the Imperium to make it the great thing it used to be. I'll get to him and the space marines soon. Thanks for the reminder. May the Emperor smile upon you brother marine.
Oblivionknight7: I'm not sure. The Eldar were probably created by the Old Ones, but the C'tan were created by the Necrontyr when they gave them bodies. That was the cause of the war with the Old Ones.
Grayangle: I know, but what could challenge the Imperium? Perhaps the Vorlons, Shadows and First Ones will prove a challenge when the Alliance gets to the B5 universe. Feel free to e-mail me with any ideas you have for worthy foes for the Imperial Alliance. I'll try to get back to the Imperial galaxy next chapter and stay there for a bit.
Treymane: You are one smart guy! I'm just not sure when to have the Imperial Alliance enter the B5 universe. The Battle of the Line or when B5 breaks away from Earth. Which do you think is better? Your reviews aren't long winded. Your reviews are really helping me, and I like long reviews, as long as they help me like yours always do.
Dark Retribution: I know, but in this story, Vaul created an amulet for hand to hand battle with C'tan.
Dark Atonement: A war of faith. I never thought of it that way, bit it's a great idea.
Covered In Blood'n Gore: Great ideas as always. The Covenant may actually have the ship numbers to challenge the alliance. Multiple galaxies at once is good too. Give me a list of ones you think would be a good combination. Why would the Master Chief have space marine armor?
The Romulans were fighting with everything they had. Casualties for the Alliance fleet were fairly high, but the Romulans had been pushed back to seven star systems surrounding Romulus. The Alliance had taken in several ships that had defected, with guards in case any spies were among them. The Romulans had still refused to surrender. The Klingons had delighted in leading the attacks.
"Admiral Picard, a transmission from Lord Admiral Madthayn," Liandra reported. The Enterprise had been leading a battle group lending assistance to any Klingon Alliance ships that ran into trouble.
"I'll take it in my ready room," Picard replied. His ready room was twice as large as his old one. He'd furnished it with a massive oak desk, several chairs and paintings. A fish tank rested behind his desk. He activated the holo projector built into the wood of the desk. Madthayn appeared, one foot tall.
"Admiral Picard, how is the campaign faring?" Madthayn had been guarding the Dragon's flagship as it was brought through the wormhole where Alliance technicians and scientists could examine it.
"Well. The Romulans now only hold eight star systems, including Romulus. We've taken in seven defecting vessels so far. We are currently setting up several staging bases for the final assault on Romulus. The main fleet is currently undergoing repair and resupply at the primary forward base. What took you away Lord Admiral?" Picard asked.
"The C'tan that was sighted at the Battle of Kitomer was decently destroyed in my galaxy. I was guarding his flagship as it was brought here for examination and research. Hopefully some good can come out of all the destruction that ship has caused.
"I hope so as well," Picard answered. He was glad the ship that had destroyed his last command had been brought down. Still, all the war he had seen recently was weighing on him. He'd been in more battles than he could count, but the Imperium seemed to trive on war and conflict.
Madthayn, seeming to sense his thoughts, spoke up.
"Don't let this was trouble you so much my friend. The Romulans would have moved against us sooner or later. We are simply making a preemptive strike. We are being as civil as possible. We have even risked spying by taking in defectors."
"I know Madthayn, but all this violence and death is hard to bear."
"My fleet is currently en route to join yours. When I arrive, we will talk and I will show you how to deal with this."
"I look forward to your arrival old friend," Picard said. Then Madthayn closed the channel. Picard had been overjoyed when he had learned that Madthayn was alive. His death had been a ruse to lure Section 31 into the open. Still, Section 31 didn't like the kind of people to establish a permanent base anywhere. Picard thought about it as he retuned to the bridge. Even after all this time, the bridge still awed him. So many people moving with such admirable speed and efficiency. Liandra oversaw it all with Pierson. Together, they were perfect. They noticed him as soon as he entered the bridge.
"Admiral, repairs to the fleet are proceeding as scheduled. Half our ships are back to full operations, the rest should be battle ready within twelve hours," Pierson reported. The fleet had taken heavy damage in an engagement with a massive Romulan fleet under the command of Admiral Seela, the daughter of Tasha Yar. She had led most of the Romulan fleet in a brilliant attack against Picard's fleet. Still, Picard had not relented, and Seela's fleet had been decimated. Seela's flagship had been destroyed by the Enterprise's own guns. Picard had felt a great loss at her death. She may have been trained as a Romulan, but she had still been human. He only hoped Madthayn could help him deal with it.
In deep space, a massive attack fleet was gathering. Cardassian, Breen, Tholian and Shakurian vessels were gathering for a massive attack on the Imperial Alliance's main repair and supply base. They were hoping to destroy enough of their ships in dry-dock to force them to halt their campaign against the Romulans. Over seven thousand ships had gathered, under the command of a joint council of one member from every Alliance member. They had decided to attack in one massive wave and overwhelm the Imperials.
"This is the council flagship to attack armada. Engage your warp drives and proceed to the target." The fleet obeyed and assumed attack formation. They went to warp in a display of warp flares so many it looked like a new star was exploding into life.
"Admiral, I am detecting vessel emerging from warp!" Pierson reported.
"Madthayn's fleet?" Asked Picard.
"No sir. I am reading nearly seven thousand ships. Cardassian, Breen, Tholian and Shakurian. They are vectoring in for attack, "Liandra reported.
"Seven thousand." Picard breathed. "Why would all those races attack us like this? Open a channel to their command ship," Picard ordered. An image of the Alliance council appeared.
"Admiral Picard, of the Imperial Alliance," the Cardassian spoke.
"Why have all these ships come here?" Picard asked.
"Why do you think? We are here to destroy you. With your impending conquest of the Romulans, it would have only been a matter of time until you moved against us. We will not allow that to happen."
"You are mistaken; we were going to ask all of you to join the Alliance."
"We will never allow you to rule over us. Your legacy of conquest ends here."
"They have cut communication sir," Pierson reported. "They are preparing to attack. What are your orders sir?"
Picard was shocked. Four races that had until now been isolationists were now joining forces to stop the Imperial Alliance. Still, he had to protect his crew.
"Have all operational fleet divisions assume a defensive formation around the shipyards. We must protect the ships that are unable to fight. Launch all fighters. Have them perform attack runs on the ships that attempt to flank us. All other vessels are to fire at will."
"Yes sir. Relaying orders now," Liandra replied. The Imperial Alliance fleet, numbering three thousand ships, prepared to defend itself. Thousands of fighters launched and engaged the ships on the edges of the enemy fleet. Fighters from the enemy fleet tried to counterattack, but the Imperial fighters had the edge in both maneuverability and firepower. The enemy fell before them. Still, the enemy's numbers began to tell. Many of the Alliance ships still had damage from their last battle. Ships were exploding all around the Enterprise.
On board the Enterprise, Picard gripped the arm of his command chair as another volley of weapons fire exploded against his ship's void shields.
"Shields down to seventy percent. Minor damage to the starboard launch bays," Pierson reported.
"Concentrate our fire of that squadron of Keldon vessel to our port side," Picard ordered. The Keldon class was the largest ship in the Cardassian fleet, and eight of them were currently savaging their way though a pair of damaged Dictator Cruisers.
"Admiral, the Dictators are requesting permission to surrender," Pierson reported. Picard knew he would have likely dome the same thing so save his crew. "The Cardassians are not responding. They're firing!"
The Keldon squadron fried another full volley that tore apart the two damaged and helpless vessels. Picard was horrified. The Alliance allowed surrendering ships to be taken into custody. The Cardassians had just murdered twenty thousand helpless people. His vision gained a slightly red glaze. He was the Keldons swing around to attack a disabled Emperor class battleship.
"Weapons, target that squadron with everything we have!" He ordered, anger strong in his voice. "Destroy them!"
"As you command," Liandra said. All weapons on the Enterprise opened up, focusing totally on the Cardassian heavy strike force. Lance batteries and the Enterprise's two Nova cannons blew apart four of the Keldons instantly. The other four vessels altered course and opened fire on Picard's vessel. Phasers and torpedoes splashed against the shields.
"Continue firing!" The second volley left the remaining Keldons as little more than drifting wreckage. Still, the Alliance fleet was being slowly picked apart. The enemy made up for their lack of firepower with numbers. They concentrated their fire on one ship at a time. The Breen energy dampening weapons were also causing heavy damage. Slowly but surely, the Alliance was losing ground. The Alliance was still inflicting a hideous toll on their attackers.
"Admiral, the third division has been overrun," Liandra reported. "The fourth division is requesting immediate assistance." Picard watched the enemy slaughtering their way through his forces. His vessels attempted to disable as many ships as they could, but the enemy just destroyed everything in sight. In that moment, Picard finally understood why the Imperium fought the way it did. Because eventually, everyone who feared you would come after you.
Order all surviving ships to reform into a wedge formation. We're going to blast our way into that fleet and break it up. Without their numbers, we should be able to destroy them."
"As you command," Liandra answered.
The Alliance fleet formed up into a tight formation and drove at full speed into the enemy fleet. The Enterprise's energy ram punched straight through a Shakurian carrier. The fleet opened up with every gun they had. The enemy fleet began disappearing in waves of fireballs. Fighters from Alliance carriers took out the enemy flagship, eliminating their coordination. When the fleet was through the enemy they swung around and opened up again on their surprised enemy. The Allied Worlds fleet had expected the Alliance armada to withdraw or move to defend the shipyards. Now, with most of their fleet gone as well as their commanders, the fleet began to withdraw.
"Block their escape routes, but let five ships escape. I want their empires to see what happened here," Picard ordered. The fleet obeyed his orders, and all but five Cardassian ships were annihilated.
Several hours later, the casualties were in. Seven hundred ships destroyed. Twice that number damaged. The dead numbered in hundreds of thousands. The Enterprise had suffered heavy damage leading the charge. Still, many Imperial lives had been saved today. He only hoped that one day, peace would replace this sensless slaughter.
And some where, beyond the perceptions of meer mortals, Q watched the changes in his long time friend.
"Finally, Jean-Luc, you're beginning to see humanity's true destiny."
How was that? Picard now seesas the Imperium sees. The alien alliance's offensive failed. Wha will happen next? What secrets will the Alliance learn from the C'tan ship they've captured? What galaxy will next feel the coing ofthe Imperial Alliance? Tell me which two or three galaxies would make a good challenge for them. See ya all soon and don't forget to review!
ENTILZA