Changed Circle
by Warringer
Chapter Six
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The Topaz flew through the outer reaches of the Norsa system, her powerful passive sensors listening into the inner system.
The Topaz was a strange sight to look upon and most prying eyes would confuse it with a small irregular asteroid that passed passed through a system in a hyperbolic course, or was part of an asteroid belt. No one would think that it was a space ship, let alone a ship specially build for recon missions.
Truth be told, the Topaz used to be an asteroid orbiting Sol in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. If scanned by common systems, special materials protected the inner artificial core and make it look like a rather common iron-nickel asteroid. The same materials held most EM emissions inside the already very economical design. But even if the Topaz was found out, she would be able to get away using her String Drive and than get into Jump Space with her Jump Drive.
But she did what she was designed to do, listen to the EM and Tachyon emissions of the target system while cruising through at a high pace that was possible for hyperbolic asteroids, her course bringing it up to 10 million kilometers close to the only colonized planet of the system, colonized by a client race of the Minbari, who seemed to play protectors for this race, just like they did with six other planets and two other races, at least according to the computer cores salvaged from the Minbari ships in the Jericho system.
And the so called Minbari Protectorate was a target for the Terran Union.
Two days after the Topaz had entered the system, she had seen enough and since no Minbari ship was looking at the unsuspicious asteroid and is passed inside the sensory shadow of the next planet, she activated her String Drive and left the system, valuable information about Minbari strength in her computer core.
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The Vega system was bursting with activity, Ships entered the system, unloading materials and some of them integrating into the formations of Battle Fleet ships above the moon of Vega II, a planet colonized only 15 years ago and with 2 million people living on the planet.
Like in the other systems of the Terran Union facing the Minbari Federation, it was about to become a fortress, high numbers of passively stealthed G.O.D. satellites hanging above the planet and its moon, while large bases equipped with large numbers of missile silos and fixed weapon emplacements.
All this equipment that was shipped to Vega and the other systems facing the Minbari Federation came from the large industrial quadrangle made up by Sol and the eldest Terran colonies, now states, of Proxima, Cooke and Wolf. Orbital complexes there had increased their output of military hardware since the first attack on Delphi two month ago.
But they didn't only build new hardware, the drydocks of the four systems also took old ships from the Dilgar War out of storage and brought them into service to boost the numbers of ships that could be actively used against the Minbari. Most of them specially pulled out of storage for the first missions of 'Operation Midway', while more modern vessels were held back for later engagements.
Alone in Vega there were more than one thousand vessels of various old classes pushed into service in the last four weeks, with only a hundred of newer vessels from the time after the Dilgar War. And the numbers grew with each hour.
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Like Vega the Terran Union was busy in Delphi. Two month after the first attack of the Minbari, the Union was back in the system. Battle Fleet Command had thought that the Minbari would still be in the system, but when a fleet of Battle Fleet vessels entered the system, no Minbari was seen. It was as if the Minbari weren't interested in the system itself.
The Marines send down to the planet had been able to find survivors of the battle, about two thousand people of formerly a quarter million. Battle Fleet had offered them to get them of the planet, but they had refused, burying their families and friends and tried to rebuild their homes.
The courage of the survivors became a symbol in this war.
Like in Vega, a large fleet assembled in orbit around the planet, a good thousand old vessels pulled from storage and only a hundred modern ships, ready for their part of 'Operation Midway'.
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General Dawson stood in the Command Center of Norfolk, looking at the screen at the small point of light in the center of the screen. Eudo, a sun only a lightday distant to the Battle Plate and its fleet.
"Everything is ready, General," Einstein said and put his arms behind his holographic body," All bomber and fighter squadrons are in formation. The fleets also signal ready signals."
Dawson continued to look at the screen and Eudo. About twenty million sentient beings were living on the only colonized planet, the Minbari only now and then helping them, calling it protecting. Based on the data from the computer cores they found in Jericho, the three races in the Minbari Protectorate were old battle companions in a big war a millenium ago.
Back than the Minbari and other races had fought an enemy that wasn't mentioned in the computer cores and several other races perished in the fights, some of them leaving ruins on some planets in the Terran Union.
The Minbari thought that they helped the races survive, but it wasn't like the Union had helped the Dilgar. The three races could be compared with the people living in a military dictatorship from the twentieth century, the best comparison being Cuba, at least according to one of the Cuban crewmen.
'Operation Midway' targeted this Minbari Protectorate. It was a First Strike of the Terran Union into Minbari controlled space and a liberation of the three races from their Minbari overlords.
Dawson finally nodded.
"Good. Stage One of 'Operation Midaway' is a go."
With that the largest spaceborne operation started as tachyon impulses speed through space to the other fleets outside of Norsa, Eudo, Moga and Tychola as the vessels activated their String drives and speed into the inner systems of the suns.