Changed Circle
by Warringer
Chapter Eight
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Aylt Neroon was still shaken from the news they had gotten four days ago. First they lost contact to four worlds in the Minbari Protectorate and now the Angla'shok scouts had reported back.
The humans really had dared to attack Minbari controlled space. The attacks on Jericho and Leonis had been annihilated by the humans, but that was because the humans had the numerical advantage. It couldn't be advanced technologies. The humans were in space for just about a century, give or take a decade.
Neroon closed his eyes for a moment before looking at the swirls of jumpspace. How had they been able to take four systems of the Protectorate. And they had done so with the same classes of space ships they had used thirty years ago when they fought against the Dilgar.
But now they were about to learn the error of attacking the Minbari Federation as a whole.
Neroon turned around as his ship speed towards the staging area for the counterattack at Eshar.
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"I can't believe this," Captain Sinclair said and looked up from his copy of the New York Times, printed by the systems of the Nimitz," The Minbari have Jha'dur?"
Next to him Lieutenant Masako Saotome frowned and shook her head.
"Well. It certainly explains why Mossad wasn't able to find her."
"True," Sinclair said and put his newpaper away to look at the Japanese catgirl that happened to be hi co-pilot," Anything special, that you came here."
Masako leveled a glare at him and gave him a PDA.
"Just the last checks of the Excalibur. Everything is fine and we are ready to go."
"We just need the order," Sinclair said and nodded.
The Excalibur was one of the Enola Gay class strategical bombers that would be part of 'Operation Doolittle'. The fifty meter long bomber was currently docked with the Nimitz, filled with several FAE bombs, specially designed for the oxygen atmosphere of Minbar, where the Excalibur would bombard a few industrial areas. Very nice of the inbari to load their computer cores with complete data of their industrial and military installations.
Sinclair skimmed over the PDA. The AEGIS system for the defense was okay, the connection to the six point defense plasma canons were tested and worked. The secondary Plasma Bomb Launchers were filled to the brim with deuterium for the plasma and the reactors worked. The plasma powered scramjet engines for atmospheric flight were prepared and would propel the Excalibur through the atmosphere of Minbar, since the gravimetric drive of the bomber didn't work that deep inside the gravity well of a planet.
The Plasma Bomb Launchers were a last minute addition to the layout of the bombers when they were pulled out to take part on 'Operation Doolittle'. The created a high energy fusion plasma and then a special forcefield surrounded them when they were launched. The forcefield held the plasma stable for about ten second until they had used their energy and collapsed, resulting in a multiple dozen ton detonation at the target. Next to FAE bombs they were the strongest non nuclear weapons ever developed.
"Good," he finally said," Get the others together, we go through the mission in about ten minutes."
"Again?" Masako's ears dropped.
"Hey, we could get a go for the mission any minute."
The catgirl pouted as she left Sinclair's cabin and Sinclair couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. He really liked to work with cats.
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General Dawson nodded to himself as he looked at the holographic display in front of him. The first part of 'Operation Midway' was finished. Battle Fleet had successfully attacked in invaded the Minbari Protectorate. All seven systems were now under Union control with a minimum of civilian casualties.
The Minbari fleet on the other hand had lost about a hundred fifty ships of all classes, while Battle Fleet had lost three hundred forty ships they had pulled from storage, about twenty modern ships and about a thousand fighters and bombers. Mostly because the Minbari had learned a little as Battle Fleet had attacked Iklath, Zendamor and Tir.
Forward scouts of the ONI were currently outside of the three Minbari systems, observing fleet movements.
Now the Minbari just had to fall for the bait the Union had planned for them, Zendamor. Battle Fleet units were low in inner system, which had commonly the most value in attacks and defense of systems. Only about fifty ships were visible there, the rest had pulled out by using Jump Drive and Gates, only to drop out of Jump Space only a few light hours behind the last planet, distant enough to hide from sight of any Minbari scout that would come.
To be an especially juicy target for the Minbari, a Willsberg class dreadnaught, one of about ten build, was brightly visible. The three kilometer long ship had shown its value during the Dilgar War, but in the end they had been deemed too cost intensive. Unlike the Battle Plates, they were only build as dedicated warships and packed quite a punch.
But even a modern battleship of half its size was about as powerful as this thirty year old vessel. But it was still a very juicy target for the Minbari and a perfect bait.
The plan was that the Minbari would target this system, the scientific satellites in the system would get their scans before they left Jump Space, destroy some of the only computer controlled old ships and eventually win. Than the about one and a half thousand hidden vessels would come in guns blazing.
And while the Minbari would get their asses kicked they would be shown just how valuable they were, when 'Operation Doolittle' was a go.
Dawson allowed himself a grin. The Union may have started this war because of a computer bug, but the Minbari had reacted with genocide and the Union would end this was. One way or the other.