Chapter 3

DSR4 Command Base

Same Day

The ships of the EA intercept fleet returned to the Command station in the DSR4 System- the Achilles was escorted by the Smaller Olympus class Corvettes as to not be too overwhelmed by the larger Cruisers and dreadnaught. However, even these smaller capital combat ships almost dwarfed the tiny unknown spacecraft. The new ship was an unknown factor to Earthforce and the crews refused to let their first glace at the Achilles colour their perspectives.

'That's what had gotten the Alliance in the shit with the Minbari in the first place', thought Commander Alexander Smith, the Xo of the Nautilus.

"Delta Sierra Four this is Nautilus, we are incoming with new contact. Please note contact is non hostile and we are bringing the ship in for damage repair over."

"Nautilus this is Delta Sierra four, what the hell is it? The long range scans didn't show any kind of jump point?"

"That's a little harder to explain Sierra Four, they are coming in under a flag of truce and with weapons offline. Oh and the Captain has taken a nasty spill he's a little well… Indisposed."

The Xo held his side where the PPG blast had made a near miss. He was only burned but it still hurt like a bastard. As soon as that shot had been fired, the security force on the bridge, as always strapped into their chairs just off the side of the bridge, had powered their rifles and floated into the command section forcing the captain to drop his weapon. The Captain had fired on this Exec as the junior officer attempted to stop the Earthforce ships from opening fire against all tenets of first contact, more so as this was a ship that hadn't made any overtly hostile moves.

The captain hadn't surrendered and three low powered blasts, emitted from each of the guards weapons followed by another one from the XO, slammed into the captain as he tried to blow the Xo's head off. The impact forced the man into his seat and out of consciousness. The XO then ordered all ships to stand down and promptly passed out from the pain of his wound. It may have been glancing but it had affected his body and now had pain shooting down his entire left side. The Senior NCO of the bridge guards had contacted the ship that was coming about to attack and talked them down.

He would have to put Garibaldi in for a medal soon for his adherence to the rules of combat, that man was a good soldier. He followed orders, and not blindly either, but that he knew to be sane and reasonable unlike that which Mackenzie had ordered.

Now the entire force were returning to the DSR point. Spread well out in an encompassing globe, none of them could stop the ship even if they wanted. But it did make the crews feel safer and it also stopped anyone else seeing precisely what was going on until such time as they needed to know. The crew of the new 'Earth' ship was not too concerned knowing that they wanted to know what was going on as much as any of the Alliance ships did. All ships on both sides had weapons offline and on the Achilles' side shields down. However both lots of ships had ECM active in order to stop either side scanning anything they shouldn't

"Understood Nautilus, Admiral Ryan requests the commanders of the task force congregate immediately once all ships are in orbit."

"Sierra Four plans may have to change once we enter orbit, information on the anomaly is not to be sent under normal channels, shuttles from the Nautilus, the Nemesis and another ship will be incoming. Please clear a docking area for use."

"Nautilus this is Ryan, What is going on?"

"As I said sir, it's best not to talk on an open channel."

"We're in the middle of nowhere surrounded by other Earthforce vessels and a heavily armed space station."

"Be that as it is sir, I made the call and am sticking with it. I hope you understand sir but I cannot explain further."

"This better be good Smith. DSR4 out."

"That went well." Smith turned in his chair to the ships tactical officer Hammond Burns. "You've disabled your command and told an Admiral to mind his business. What's your encore going to be, shooting the president?"

"Burns, you ever had to go out and manually realign every forward weapons turret?"

"No."

"Then shut up."

"Why? Oh I see…"

"There we go."

Alexander Smith turned back around in his chair and went about his business in looking after the ship, he technically should have done this from the Captain's chair but the blasts from three low power PPGs had frayed the restraints so he no longer trusted them in case of attack and they were yet to be replaced by the technicians, once they had docked he may be able to do something about it but for now it would have to wait.

He watched as the twelve ships of the task force took places docking to the station or in orbit of the station and the cotton class tenders. Two of the ships that had been attached to the intercept fleet had not been ready for action and were now being towed into place close to the tenders to be docked once space for them was cleared. His own ship was more or less intact since it had been repaired a few days before it was added to the defence fleet. As the last ship coming in he could see the entirety of this station's command and the fleet surrounding it. If the war had been going any other way the sight of over thirty combat ships in a single area would have put the fear of the beyond into whatever race they were fighting, but not the Minbari. The thirty ships and the station would be little more than target practice for the massive alien warships.

"Commander, we're in parking orbit. Hanger deck says that the shuttle is ready for departure."

"Thank you Lt., I leave the ship in your capable hands."

"Aye sir."

The journey to the hanger bay was difficult for anyone travelling from one part of the ship to another in Zero gravity and with an injury it was twice as difficult, even so his departure from the ship was more or less on schedule. He made his flight to the slowly rotating Space station ready to meet the captain of this new ship face to face as it were

The Implications were Immense, whoever these newcomers were their technology was much more in advance than anything seen so far; undetectable jumppoints, energy shields and advanced ECM on a par or more likely above anything that Earthforce has) with anything so far seen by Earthforce.. What's more the ship was covered in markings that were close to two hundred years out of date compared to Earthforce ships.

'How is this Possible?' the Commander though to himself. 'A two hundred year old ship? Some race that picked up our transmissions like the League did, Hell maybe they can tell us who Shot JR..'

"This is Nautilus Shuttle one to DSR control, we are on final approach."

"We read You Shuttle one be advised Nemesis Shuttle One is already aboard and we have newcomer shuttlecraft on approach."

"Understood request docking instructions."

"Proceed to docking bay twelve and wait inside the shuttle until newcomer shuttle has landed."

"Landed?"

"That's what we've been told Nautilus One."

"Understood DSR control; Shuttle one on approach."

The docking procedure was a smooth and boring as any other, however Smith's mind was still whirling at the possibilities of this new ship and it's tech, if they truly were human and willing to help the war could change practically overnight. Staring out the window he was very much lost in his thoughts that was, until a small spark of light outside the viewport caught his attention. Rapidly the unknown vessel approached the shuttle bays coming in close to the two parked shuttles from the EA ships that had already approached and docked, to their eyes it looked much like a one hundred and fifty year old fighter design, the types used by the 'Western Allies' of Earth. Like the larger ship there was little doubt that it was built by someone approaching starship design the same ways humans did, effective, bulky and heavily armed.

The fighter swung round bringing itself into a shallow landing. Unlike the Starfuries of the Earth alliance this fighter must have been more than capable of atmospheric landings and short take off and landings from deck landing bays, the fighter dropped to the deck smoothly being brought down by the station's half gee artificial gravity. With all the assorted craft landed the bay's massive pressure doors slammed shut allowing the small bay to be completely pressurised. With the entire bay finally habitable, the crews of all three shuttles disembarked, the crews of the EA shuttles ran around their bulky vessels to look at the sleek and agile fighter and were only slightly surprised to see the two dozen armed GroPos pointing their PPG rifles at the fighter, with several of them pointing their weapons directly at the two beings that had removed themselves from the cockpit of the fighter.

If no one believed that these people were human or at least something close to a humanoid appearance then they were very wrong, the two of them were dressed in what could only be described at 20th century fighter pilot uniforms, green/grey jumpsuits, oxygen masks and cranial enclosing crash helmets. The EA officers were not so far advanced that they couldn't recognise copies of uniforms less than two hundred years old.

"Uhh, we come in peace." Said the taller heavily built man. "Take me to your leader."

A slight snicker came from the other officers, taking off her helmet she approached the person who seemed to be the highest ranking officer, that man being Commander Smith. Her movement was slow and easy knowing full well that she was currently under the barrels of a dozen nasty looking energy weapons.

Knowing the way they would be received they had left their standard issue Beretta sidearms in the 302. When they came across those weapons the EA scientists would be surprised, even more so when they find out much of the fighter was based on very early 21st century technology,

"Hello?" Smith said.

The midsized woman proceeded to pull her helmet and mask off and shook her hair loose, her long red hair was platted up but allowed to swing loose in it's braids once they had landed.

"Good Afternoon. As my pilot here said, we do come in peace. I'm Colonel Joanna Taylor, United States Air Force, Commanding officer of the USAF Achilles."

"Commander Alexander Smith, Temporary Commanding officer Earth Alliance Starship Nautilus. To say we're surprised to see you is an understatement."

"It's the same for us Commander, When we left there was no Earth Alliance an we sure as hell didn't have nearly as many ships as we evidently have here."

"I cannot divulge much Colonel so please follow me we need to take you to the Station's infirmary and then we'll talk."

"Ok we'll go with that Commander, I have a lot of questions especially why we were attacked by some huge Angelfish."

Smith started at that and swung round to face the Air Force Colonel, his eyes wide and mouth opening closing.

"Angelfish?"

Taylor looked at the rapidly paling Exec, "Yes some kind of Kilometre long starship shaped like a fish of all things attacked my ship."

"And you survived?"

"Yes took some damage but if we hadn't have already lost our shields in an earlier battle they wouldn't have done much to us, the Minbari I think they called themselves attacked us and we responded with force. We tried to get them to surrender but we had to destroy their ship in the end. Damned Fools."

"You.. You blew their ship out of the sky?"

"Yes we were lucky, any more than two and we would have had trouble." The Earthforce Commander looked as if he could do with a stiff drink and a sit down and no necessarily in that order.

"Colonel Taylor it looks like we have a lot to talk about, lets put it this way Colonel your crew may be the only people capable of helping the Earth and it's people before they are blown out of space."