Drolrevo
"As soon as the LARRGN-Z breaks seal from the station, I want all cloaked vessels to advance on position." Ordered Vice Fleet Admiral O'Camp from his command seat aboard the warship OVERLORD. He watched in silent anticipation as the recently recaptured starship slid past the sentry craft. The LARRGN-Z then continued on to dock with the station orbiting Delphite III.
"The Jerichans are a little too secure in their position in this universe." O'Camp observed. His first officer nodded assent and commented,
"It is also favorable that your counterpart in this universe agreed not to raid this area for a few days so that we could liberate those being held here."
"It would have been…interesting to meet him to say the least. But with you meeting yours, I figured it was more fun than I wanted to have on this mission." Their primary mission after accidentally creating the passage into this universe had already been completed. The last capital ship, the LARRGN-Z, had been hijacked after a surreptitious link with its main computer by McCollin. It had been fortuitous that the mirror-McCollin had formerly been in command of the (mirror)LARRGN-Z as well. McCollin's mirror counterpart had died while destroying the TANELORN after the LARRGN-Z had been disabled during the attempted invasion of Nortania by the Berger. This universe's Dermon had actually been killed when a terrorist's bomb had destroyed TIST. Since (m)Dermon had been (m)Jarrad's first officer aboard the Spacedock ALLIANCE PRIME and was always at his side, (m)Jarrad had suffered the same fate. Without (m)Jarrad's vision and personality in the lead, a series of unfortunate events which were compounded by unwise command decisions by the politicians who had taken over command had resulted in the capture of Drakmär IV. The invasion had been facilitated by the Council of Elders demanding that Primus Larrgn-Z meet the Jerichans aboard the LARRGN-Z to negotiate a treaty. The Primus, like his father, was assassinated as a result of Jerichan treachery and the starship was hijacked in the resulting confusion. With no other capital ships remaining in the fleet except for those in the Nortanian Armada, the Star Corps was forced to regroup in that system. With only 26 Grand Paladins remaining, the Alliance was in grave danger of being defeated. O'Camp's counterpart, after resigning his commission following his first demotion to take a position with the Federation Missionary Corps, had rallied the Bajorans to create a group of resistance teams. This group had been responsible for numerous raids that had managed to slow the Jerichan advance. About that same time, in the true universe, a new 'wormhole' drive system was being developed. An accident caused a rift to open, and the test ship disappeared. Soon after, the ship returned with a request for help from the inhabitants of the alternate continuum. O'Camp, now in command of the new Alliance-class offensive warship OVERLORD, had assembled a battlegroup to turn the tide of the war. The primary focus of the mission was for McCollin to use his command codes to retake his old command. During the mission, McCollin had discovered his twin brother, who had been killed when the KIRK was destroyed trying to blockade the invaded SERENDIPITY STATION, was still alive in this reality. Capt Matthew McCollin was in command of one of the patrol ships assigned to the Delphite sector. The starbase at Delphite had only been taken by the Jerichans a little over a week ago and hadn't even been transferred over to an active Jerichan facility yet. Since his ship was in for repairs at the time, he'd been captured with his crew. O'Camp had easily been convinced by his friend to mount a rescue operation. Right now, Hersh was acting as first officer and (m)Hersh was mission specialist. Both were sitting on either side of O'Camp currently, and it was quite odd. Besides the different uniforms, VFADM (m)Hersh not only outranked RADM Hersh but also had more hair. While Hersh had immersed himself into his adopted Nortanian culture, (m)Hersh had not and, as such, had a full beard. The uniforms were more utilitarian and used different decorations to denote rank and position. Currently the OVERLORD was holding position just inside the Shadowlands, or the 'Field' as it was known in this universe. The officer at tactical had voiced reservations about the heavy field pulses emanating from the Delphite III starbase's massive antennae might inadvertently leave the starship exposed due to its great mass even though it was cloaked. The woman at tactical addressed O'Camp,
"Admiral, by focusing our sensors on the NARNIA, I am able to bounce the signal and read the transponder codes for or boarding party" mHersh murmured approval in amazement,
"Oh? That means your sensors are 3 times as powerful as ours!" O'Camp turned and smiled at his tactical officer,
"Good job Captain. Keep up the good work and you'll continue to live up to your recent promotion." O'Camp had a policy that all his department heads were of flag rank since he was a member of the Grand council and his command was sister ship to the flagship. The previous Chief Tactical Officer had been offered her own command and accepted. O'Camp had not been completely convinced of her assistant's qualifications as a suitable replacement, but the woman had pleaded her case and O'Camp had opted to give her a chance. The Commanding Officer of the NARNIA had found out that the LARRGN-Z had needed a crew, and she had offered her services. When she'd reported for duty, McCollin had noted that she was the first Commodore who had ever served at an Ops terminal. She'd actually volunteered since she wanted to let Samson, her first officer, a chance at the center seat since the quarter-breed was leaving. His counterpart had been the CO of the NORTANIA SPACESTATION, but had left when offered the command of the Grand Paladin HENTGIZ Cat along with the rank of Laird in the Armada. The day after they'd arrived, Samson had been offered the station command with the promotion to Admiral. He'd informed O'Camp this morning that he was seriously considering accepting. Both Hersh and McCollin, who were considering other opportunities when their current tour of duty ended, had also been offered positions within the upper echelon of this universe's Alliance. Although neither had accepted as yet, both had valid reasons for staying or going. One thing was for sure, when a discreet word had been sent out for additional ships to volunteer to stay, 1/2 dozen Armada vessels responded along with well over 1000 Drakmärians. The Drakmärians were not too thrilled that the Jerichans of this universe has mass-murdered much of the military and government hierarchy when they had invaded the homeworld to quell any potential rebellion. This had amounted to well over 1/3 of the population. After conquering Drak Prime, this universe's designation for Drakmär IV, Lunär fell quickly by the shrewd use of a deception involving the zone flagship. Each core world had a defense zone that was overseen by one of the remaining heavy capital ships. After Jarrad's death, all the shipyards were ordered to focus on the medium hull designs which were easier to build since Jarrad's vision died with him. Nortania was the sole remaining sovereign entity and that locale was where the resistance effort sourced their operations. Currently there were no other zone flagships or any ships that were medium-heavy or larger. There were still the remaining Grand Paladins but many of those had seen better days. When he had seen the first Royal Paladin cross through the rift (m)Pr'gn actually began salivating and nearly fainted out of joy when the second one of the two followed. Currently there were 10 Grand Paladins in the task force, including the 6 which had offered to stay, and 3 more which were waiting to enter once the order was given upon the OVERLORD's return. An announcement from Ops interrupted the 3 Admirals' conversation,
"By using the covert means at their disposal, our entry teams have yet to meet with any resistance. If this keeps up, we'll be able to commence the next phase of the operation in about 10 minutes." O'Camp thanked her and turned to (m)Hersh asking,
"Have you given any further thought to my concern about your station? Since the Delphite system is now the border of the Alliance, having this station here presents a disadvantage. I've been here only 3 weeks and can tell that this station is definitely a kink in your current defensive posture. There are very few areas where you are actually able to maintain an offensive posture, and this facility is draining resources from them."
"Oh I agree with your assessment. It's just that Pr'gn has a problem with the intentional destruction of any potential asset. I also understand that it made no significant difference to your effort when you were forced to destroy the same facility in your reality." O'Camp nodded and gestured at Hersh as he responded to his exec's mirror counterpart,
"That's fine Anton, but Toné was telling me that or histories are somewhat different and that causes me some concern. After all, some of our resources are significantly enhanced to yours. You have only about 1/2 the senior flag officers we have. I have no problem with junior officers acting in command positions, but I have more non-flag senior officers in this task force alone than you have commissioned officers in your entire fleet. Even this ship has more academy officer corps graduates aboard than you have all told. On top of that, you have only one heavy hull design currently in your entire fleet. Your resources are spread so thin that the ships you're using to establish the battlegroup which we are supporting with this task force are of the same type as the lightest support craft we brought along. I realize the reason you are using the augmented medium ships is beyond your control, but it is also the reason your backs are against the wall. If this comes across as a criticism I do apologize, but the collective vision of your Alliance has become more of a political drive rather than a military one, and I've never known a politician to fight a war. In our universe, the Jerichans went on the same offensive after two years of skirmishes following the destruction of the flagship. The big difference for us is that we had just finished rebuilding the flagship, and we were more concerned with fleet tactics and strategy instead of investigating diplomatic avenues. This helped to prevent the Jerichans from conquering Romulan territory and using a warbird to deliver the bomb that destroyed all life on T'Bias like what happened in this realm. The offensive was headed toward cutting off Romulan territory until we stopped them at Cromuria. Gallifrey Station had to be abandoned as derelict and would have been destroyed if the LARRGN-Z hadn't been the deciding factor. Less than 10 of the LARRGN-Z's crew survived and the hull was nearly scrapped. Unlike you, we actually had the resources to rebuild her instead of using her major systems to complete the last remaining incomplete hull in the shipyard. Although, in retrospect, your idea was probably the better one. SERENDIPITY STATION was captured, and we tried to blockade that end of the wormhole using the KIRK. The KIRK was lost on that mission and McCollin's brother was killed while trying to see to the evacuation at the time it exploded. Your decision to blockade the Etumian end of the wormhole was probably the better one although it later turned out to be a fruitless task since they destroyed your blockade when Etumia was isolated. I'm guessing it was fortunate that the Jerichans aren't very good underwater. After the destruction of our KIRK, Jarrad visited Etumia and was made privy to some information that changed our battle plans. Rather than intercepting the Jerichan forces that were in the Rilean sector, we headed to Lucius. Although we stopped the advance on the border, We unfortunately lost about 1/4 of our capital ships including the LARRGN-Z and DRAKMÄR and the NARNIA was seriously damaged. We still wound up losing both Lucius and Rileus as well as the Rilean shipyard and fleet, but we kept the border open. I understand that going to Rileus distracted you from the border activity, and you realized the Jerichan intentions too late. Diverting part of your forces is what cost you the upper hand and put you on the defensive. Less than a month later, after an attack on Qortazia was abruptly broken off, the investigation led Jarrad to lead a covert mission to Delphite III. The whole thing turned out to be a trap, and I wound up in command of the flagship while Jarrad's team was trapped on the far side of the enemy position. I had no choice but to destroy the station." (m)Hersh mulled over his brief history and nodded that his rationale was radically different to their current situation. From tactical came the announcement,
"Teams have reached their destination and encountered light resistance. Unable to determine any casualties although there is evidence of weapons discharge. I'm unable to get enough resolution to determine how many prisoners they have released, but they are on their return trip now." O'Camp replied while steepling his fingers as if in prayer and resting his chin on them,
"Once they are 1/2 way to the LARRGN-Z, please inform me. Open a channel to the SHROUD." The Holo-com sprang into existence with a translucent image of a sturdily-built man who had a shock of impossibly red hair. O'Camp addressed him,
"Commodore Straker, you're in business now. Proceed to attack position in 3 minutes." The battle-hardened human who was one of the few of his species to serve as an officer in the Royal Rangers acknowledged the order. Having never met the man, (m)Hersh was slightly taken aback and commented by saying,
"Now I see where he gets the nickname 'Blaze.' I assume his record is as impressive as his hair color for you to handpick him to replace you at your old command?" They all chuckled lightly and O'Camp replied,
"Honestly, he got it since he was the first one up for promotion who didn't start with the usual tickling of my ears by telling me how honored they were by my presence is what impressed me most. Besides, he has one of the highest mission success rates as well as the lowest damages assessment records in the fleet. His people speak well of him, and he encourages an open door policy from his crew." Puzzled, (m)Hersh inquired,
"Damages assessment record?" Since that project was his domain, Hersh answered,
"We keep a record of the damage and repairs to all equipment so as to maintain cost efficiency and awareness. Using this process, we can better evaluate the way ships are handled and even make suggestions or assignment corrections." His counterpart replied smoothly,
"That sounds like a logical application. Glad I thought of it—sort of." The two shared a laugh at this interaction. They'd been sharing this type of unique humor since they'd been introduced. While their personal association was affable, their command styles were considerably different. (m)Hersh had considerable less use for diplomacy given the different path of the war he'd experienced. He was more interested in results and how to get them than he was in the grand scheme of things. His desire to see his fleet get through another day led him to be more blunt and less tolerant with his officers. He was not considered a tyrant as it was understood that he had to focus on leading to win, and he trusted his ship commanders to do the job and to do it right by staying alive to the next day. Any time a resource was lost, whether an entire ship or even a single crewman, he had demanded an accounting of why. In direct contrast were the personalities and command styles of Samson and his alternate. With the exception of their uniforms, the two officers were twins (more accurately, as Capt Yve O'Camp had noted, they were technically clones due to the lack of genetic drift). While their command styles were nearly identical, their personalities were less so. Having held the command position aboard a Nortanian assignment, (m)Samson had not only a more command-friendly outlook, but his time interacting with Nortanians had led to their culture wearing off on him. This actually led to him having a markedly similar persona to Hersh which led to some consternation from Samson. Despite their differences, the two quarter-breeds were able to work quite well together. In fact (m)Samson had requested that, if Samson did transfer, he wanted his patrol route changed to the Nortania system locale.
"Comm, please open a channel to the MECRAY Serpent, I'd like to speak with Admiral Pr'gn." Requested (m)Hersh. He laughed as his comrade appeared in the Holo-com. Not having this particular technology, it was still somewhat discomforting to use it. The two made the gesture as if to shake hands and then made a dismissive gesture. The two had a quick conversation on the current mission to finalize all the particular details. (m)Pr'gn was soon informed that the SHROUD had just arrived at its appointed position and noted that he had other duties to attend to. Since this reality had never developed any Royal Paladins, the General Royal in command had given (m)Pr'gn a copy of the database on the vessel type. In the past two weeks the mirror-universe's engineer had spent so much time aboard the Nortanian starship that when (m)Hersh had been offered to join the OVERLORD during the assault, (m)Pr'gn had been given the offer to join the crew he had been spending time with instead. After the connection closed, (m)Hersh stood in the same position for a few seconds and then turned to ask O'Camp,
"Should we decide to destroy the station, what would that take?" The Vice Fleet admiral replied smoothly,
"CARIN? What is your assessment on this?" The hologram whispered into existence and replied,
"78 blaster bar discharges, 81 phaser shots, 22 quantum torpedoes, 17 starbursts, 11 megaphaser discharges, or 16 seconds of Atomizer concentration." In response to the puzzled look on O'Camp's face, 'she' continued,
"When you destroyed the other facility, you used a different model Atomizer which had a different functional design, the facility had a greater subspace signature resulting from the different use of the relay system, you were firing from a much greater distance and the relative phase differential was much different since the flagship was cloaked at the time." (m)Hersh absorbed all this information and then sat down with an odd look on his face. Ops announced the LARRGN-Z had just broken seal and transponder activity indicated the cloaked vessels were, in fact, advancing. O'Camp requested for communications to open intraship intercom and addressed his crew,
"All hands, all stations, your attention please. Within moments we will be initiating our assault. This is where I'm supposed to give the standard pep talk. You have heard it in different forms many times. Instead, I will thank you all for volunteering for this mission. Our success thus far is a testament to your professionalism. You have already made a significant impact to the quality of life for the denizens of this reality, and they extend their appreciation." He nodded at the comm officer to confirm that he was done. He then addressed the helm officer to proceed with the plan by accelerating to 1/3 impulse. Tactical announced that the Royal Paladins were doing the same, each at 90-degree positions from the OVERLORD. This covered all three positions opposing the station that weren't covered by the planet. The position of the planet created a weak point in the Jerichan defenses while the shift rotation was in effect. It had been a difficult decision to make to initiate an assault when the majority of the opposition's forces was already deployed. A discussion between (m)Hersh, (m)Pr'gn, Hersh and O'Camp had led to a heated difference of opinion by Hersh and his counterpart. Just as their respective comrades were ready to intervene thinking that the two were ready to come to blows, the two abruptly calmed down. Ceding the other's point in an unusual compromise, both spelled out a plan that was mutually acceptable. The shift change would not only provide for confusion as nobody would be in position completely, there would also be less personnel to deal with inside. Since it was also 0800 the shift already outside would likely be ready for rest and the replacement shift would likely have just wakened. The usage of the recaptured starship was another factor as well as the use of the unfamiliar capital ships. One other factor which had been noted is that since the ships were already deployed, they could be assured it would be less likely for many to armed with special weapons. The crafts assigned by the Jerichans were mostly Scouts and fighters. There were a few Cruisers which had been garrisoned on the outermost planet and stationed at the terraformed city on the core mass of the gas giant. Currently, this planet's orbit had it nearly on the opposite of the system which was another advantage. The atmosphere of the gas giant not only hid the Jerichan cap-ships, but also limited the effectiveness of their sensors so they would have no warning of a problem until the weapons exchange occurred. As the LARRGN-Z began to move away from the station at full impulse, O'Camp requested a channel opened to the vessel,
"How goes he rescue Ox?"
"Remains to be seen, Brian. We seem to be having logistic problems of some sort, and the team is on their way to the bridge." A moment later, O'Camp heard the swoosh of the bridge doors opening followed by a voice demanding,
"What is going on here? Who are you people? I've been aboard this vessel before and demand to placed in communication with appropriate authority!" The Holo-com's perspective changed and expanded to include both McCollin and the group at the door. McCollin slowly stood and turned to face the man and said,
"Would I do…brother?" His eyes began to moisten and his voice sounded somewhat hoarse and trembling as he grinned at his alternate-twin. (m)Capt McCollin's eyes bugged, and he tilted his head to one side in disbelief. (m)McCollin walked over to his 'twin' and tentatively reached out to touch his arm. Feeling it was solid, he whispered,
"But you were dead, Mike…"
"You were as well Matt. Please sit here and I'll explain as we're in the middle of some trouble right now."
"No kidding, there is an entire battlegroup out there. I hope you have more than one ship even if it is the most powerful ship in the fleet—although I'd heard that this ship had been captured…Wait a minute, you're back from the dead aboard a ship that was hijacked, am I dead!" He then noticed O'Camp's hologram next to the ready room and got a very puzzled look on his face as he stated,
"That is the most unusual-looking angel I have ever seen!" O'Camp burst into laughter and replied,
"Not quite, my delusions of grandeur don't go nearly that far. I'm just the commander of a task force from an alternate reality here to set things straight, but I'm sure that Ox can help straighten things out for you." Capt McCollin's expression reflected the enormity of absorbing all the implications of not only being free but also that his team may actually have some chance of winning this war. The connection closed right as a phaser shot lanced out from the station to strike the LARRGN-Z. Communications reported there was a sudden increase in activity and tactical reported several Scouts, and a couple squadrons of fighters were making their way to intercept the retreating starship.
"We've been made! Initiate cloaked strike sweep now!" Thundered O'Camp. Hersh strode over to the comm terminal and monitored over the officer's shoulder,
"We're able to monitor and parse the comm traffic since it is the same cellular compression as our old base's configuration. Unfortunately, we can't read any of it since they are interacting using Jerichan comm codes." O'Camp watched on his tactical display 'bubble' as the cloaked vessels swept a path through the Jerichan forces. Following along, (m)Hersh murmured approval at the activity and then commented his appreciation of O'Camp's 'toy' built into his command chair. As his ship entered the system, the OVERLORD's commanding officer turned to his once and again exec and asked,
"Can we read the telemetry streams of the compression to at least extort the command frequencies?"
"Outgoing yes, but only to the degree of reading the base data transmitted. We cannot interact with the data." O'Camp turned to (m)Hersh and said,
"If we had the prefix code authorization and encryption algorithm, we could monitor traffic for intel purposes." Both Hershes looked at him and nodded, his old friend in confirmation and his new guest in understanding. (m)Hersh indicated he had no problem with the plan but noted that he had little knowledge of what was involved in such a procedure and it would be best to involve (m)Pr'gn. By the time they had cleared the orbit of the Delphite's system's 5th planet, they had accomplished their task. There was one orbit left to clear, and the OVERLORD was coming equal to where the LARRGN-Z had parked on the dark side of the planet's moon. From the Bridge's lower level, the Flight Control Officer announced,
"Launching fighter contingent according to plan, Admiral." From the same section, the Fleet/Mission Ops officer monitored,
"Non-cloaked vessels are proceeding to primary contact point. Cloaked vessels are launching fighters at this point of plan as well, sir." O'Camp acknowledged this and Hersh thanked then for their work. O'Camp's wife Yve noted from Ops,
"Reading 4 Jerichan Cruisers approaching the Delphite sun from the opposite side. Judging from their flight path, they must be under the impression that we can't see beyond the sun's corona." This elicited a sigh from mHersh,
"That's simply because we haven't managed to fine-tune our plasma discriminators beyond 10 resolution." O'Camp and Hersh chorused,
"Only 10?"
"You can't communicate or even map at that resolution." O'Camp said.
"That's barely even enough penetrate the plasma storms of the Shadowlands—or 'the Field'—using sensors as a proximity detector." Mused Hersh. mHersh replied grimly,
"Don't I know it? We used to have an elaborate network of probes for travel and communication purposes. Crude but effective. Unfortunately only about 30 of that network remains, preventing us from effectively approaching the Epsilon Drakmär system." Hersh caught O'Camp's nod in his peripheral vision and responded to his counterpart who was facing him and responded,
"Well that is our next destination after we've concluded our business here." Pleasantly surprised, (m)Hersh spun around to face O'Camp and grinned,
"Really? That's excellent news as we were going to ask whether you'd consider such a plan."
"It would be frivolous not to strike against the invaders after having broken the blockade. They could readily reestablish the blockade with ease unless they were prevented from doing so." O'Camp intoned breezily. Turning to his tactical display, he ordered,
"Once the Jerichan Cruisers are within range, I want standard attack posture to be assumed. Prepare the ARCHANGEL for deployment." The disembodied voice of the Fleet Ops officer called out from the floor below,
"The BABYLON-5 and the PETRA-3 are requesting permission to accompany us on our strike against the heavier warcraft." O'Camp locked eyes with Hersh for a brief moment. O'Camp tilted his head to one side and raised his eyebrows as if to say he didn't care but Hersh shook his head and mouthed the word 'SHROUD' to which the senior officer nodded. Hersh raised his voice,
"BABYLON and PETRA, take your lead from the SHROUD. Straker's crew, the CHI'LA and OUTLOOK are acting as our backup. Everyone has enough to do but if we need your assistance we'll let you know but thanks for the offer." While he was speaking, (m)Hersh asked O'Camp,
"I noticed all your medium to heavy hulls have the standard alpha suffix for subsequent models. Some of your others have it as well, yet several have a numeric suffix. What's the difference?" While intently watching the progress of the attack on his holo-display and never diverting his eyes from it, O'Camp explained,
"When I was assigned to OUTPOST NORTANIA, I was in charge of Star Corps Operations and Hersh was the same for the Security Division. Since we have the shipyard there, I coordinated for light and specialty hulls to be constructed at that site as well as having some of the mass-produced modular components. Because of their interest in holographic technology, Nortania has developed the largest holodeck as well as the largest replicator in existence. Since the Nortanian language doesn't have the standard vowels, they opted to use numerals once they joined our Alliance. The suffixes are just a way of honoring/denoting their efforts to expand the fleet." O'Camp noted aloud that the Cruisers were fading from his display. This meant they were initiating their cloaking systems. Hersh commented,
"We can track them but they'd likely detect the tracking since there are six of them and we'd have to re-modulate the scanner beam for each. If you can spare Anton for a couple minutes, I'd like to formulate a plan of attack based on his knowledge of their battle tactics."
"Not a problem. As far as our assault is concerned, maintain covert stance until they are just getting to the outer range of the Delphite system's corona. The radiation field should give you type of reading due to the background variance with their cloaking system. That should give us time to close the gap to megaphaser range. Am I correct in this CARIN?" The hologram replied to her CO,
"As they seem to be maintaining their previous course and speed, you are correct Admiral. Resulting from the unique energy-absorbing nature of their cloak, I can read the radiative signature of their aft battery feed. If they had thought to use the energy from the sun as a power source, we'd be unable to read them at all. As it is, the feedback created by the unused power is creating just enough of a trace resonance for our phase discriminators to detect at the extreme range of the spectrum." O'Camp nodded and frowned,
"That's what I figured given the state of our allies' sensors, the Jerichans wouldn't consider something so trivial to be a problem. When we fire, have the ARCHANGEL launch and have all of our cloaked forces which are similar to the continuum-indigenous craft drop cloak. Since I see there are far range stragglers on the incoming Cruisers who are probably wanting to stage a multi-stage attack, let's avoid that and hit them with the new Atomizer." The newest Atomizer wasn't all that much different from the previous model. The previous model fired as a beam, but a heavily amplified tractor beam's gravitons had overloaded the mechanism and locked it into the on position. This version used a harmless subspace scanning beacon to create target lock, and then the Atomizer discharge was fired along the beacon in a pulse. This also gave much greater control, and flexibility to the firepower as well as field of fire used. The new model could not only destroy two vessels which were in close proximity, but could also disintegrate an apple held only inches from a mouth and not harm the holder who was standing at sea level while the weapon was in orbit.
"When do want the brace holding the ARCHANGEL to be released?" Hersh asked, which O'Camp smiled in response to,
"Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking if you can command her this mission?" Hersh grinned and nodded. O'Camp laughed, shrugged his shoulders, and with a dismissive gesture, told Hersh to go ahead. His number one enthusiastically tapped a few buttons on his Datalink and disappeared. Reading the question forming on (m)Hersh's face, O'Camp explained,
"I'm very protective over that ship since it is my real first command so I like to keep it close at hand. It has been a running joke between myself and Hersh that one day he's going to hijack it and bring Jericha to its knees. This once I'm sure both my wife and ship's counselor would express reservations with me leaving my post on the bridge. So I figured this once why not indulge him since if he has enough fun maybe he'll decide not to leave?" The last part was said with an expression that indicated he was being ridiculous. A voice from the lower section of the bridge noted 30 seconds until contact and another noted all Allied craft were holding their own. CARIN added the Jerichans had lost interest in the LARRGN-Z which likely made for an even better reunion between the two brothers. O'Camp agreed. Mentally ticking off the seconds, the OVERLORD's CO announced,
"CARIN give me final 10 second countdown. Also advise our backup to prepare to break current engagement on Knight to Bishop 4 code. Send same to Hersh and have him initiate separation sequence from host." O'Camp took two long breaths in the time that it took CARIN to get to one. Right as 'she' did, the Weapon Ops officer on the lower level announced contact range. O'Camp informed Hersh that his crew was on. He then ordered his tactical officer to open fire. The two Atomizer blasts struck their targets, and the energy wash consumed the Cruisers like a high tide wave removing all trace of a sand castle. Four Megaphaser blasts lanced out and struck their targets with varying degrees of effectiveness. The first was completely disabled, the second two were given mild to moderate damage and the third was only forced to drop its cloak. The final one saw where the blasts came from and returned fire. O'Camp ordered,
"Have all ships continue to use cloaks at commander's discretion, surprise is over." When asked whether he wanted the Atomizers reset, O'Camp said to re-prime them but not prep them for discharge as yet. This surprised (m)Hersh who only had one Atomizer at his disposal, but it had been rendered inert with the advent of full-scale conflict as it rendered the firing ship dead in the water. CARIN noted that the version on the (m)LARRGN-Z was closest to the model 'B' which the visiting fleet hadn't used in 7 1/2 years. The current model aboard the OVERLORD and her support craft that employed them, was the 'G' model. 'She' also noted the Royal Paladins used a specially-modified version of the 'E' model. The battle continued to rage on for quite some time. The Star Corps allied vessels maintaining the upper hand despite being outnumbered and the opposing force having the advantage of a facility at their disposal. The Alliance personnel were quite pleased with the way things were progressing until a Jerichan got one too many lucky shots against the destroyer COLUMBIA, and it was more than the starship could handle. The COLUMBIA's port plasma converter blew and took out the primary EPS manifold on that side. A chill went down (m)Hersh's back at the tone of O'Camp as he spoke,
"Oh dear Jesus, no! Helm, best speed to intercept. Inform Capt Marker that we are on approach and will help with whatever is needed." Yve O'Camp announced,
"Sensory Control Officer Williams and I have calculated that we cannot beam them out because of the intensity of the plasma leak and we won't have time enough to get close enough to assist against their attacker." O'Camp saw that his wife was correct. The Frigate GOSHAWK-A's Green Rogue flight was putting forth a valiant effort as was their mothership, but it was a futile effort. The Rogues only made for a stopgap of the inevitable as the 5 of them were outmatched by the superior numbers of the Jerichan fighters. The same held true for the GOSHAWK-A, which was dealt several moderate blows in the moment after her sister ship was crippled before she could establish a sufficient defensive posture against the additional craft. O'Camp saw what was happening and at mHersh's suggestion ordered,
"They are trying to herd us away from the station and each other. Regroup on the station side of the planet and increase jamming activity. Smaller craft maintain a point-blank posture in relation to the Relay Station but do not engage the facility itself." The ARCHANGEL, SHROUD, CHI'LA-A, and BABYLON-5, were able to get to the GOSHAWK-A in time to prevent further damage to the frigate, yet the NARNIA and PETRA-3, with the help of two Grand Paladins, were unable to save the COLUMBIA. O'Camp and (m)Hersh were right, the Jerichans were hesitant to perform hard strikes that close to their new prize. Especially since they were likely attempting to transmit data out about the assault to thie own allies. The battle continued for another hour. Hersh noted over the Holo-com that one thing was consistent in both realities…Jerichan hardheadedness, literally and figuratively, rivaled that of the most obstinate Nortanian. O'Camp, who had once head-butted a Jerichan in combat, winced and burst into laughter. Once the station was secure, it was a matter of only hours before all damage incurred to the ships had been repaired. A senior staff conference was called, during which the decision was made regarding the fate of the station. There was a considerable amount of input by all parties, yet the visitors agreed that the final determination made by the indigenous personnel was the best choice. As the meeting finalized, O'Camp advised all to get a good night's sleep since it would only take a day and a half to get to the R'zal'Shii homeworld. This comment brought reactions of surprise from the native personnel as it usually took them over a week because of technological limitations.
The assault on the Spacedock was identical to the one on the station and progressed as smoothly. This time the GOSHAWK-A was crippled and had to be destroyed by the battleship QUICKSILVER after evacuation was completed. The only problem noted was there were land-based fighter squadrons present which had to be factored into the equation with this part of the mission. There were a limited number of types of Alliance vessels which were capable of penetrating atmosphere and even less that could enter the dense 10Km thick troposphere in order to attack the planet's surface. Most of these had to be in landing mode to go that far or suffer heat or pressure damage. Hersh came up with the idea to use only Rogues and Stingers to cover for the Marine Combat Shuttles and cover their approach with saturation phaser fire. While the idea was sound, it met with limited success. The second attempt waited until several Paladins as well as the Tactical Scout MEGIDDO and the Striker Scout PEREGRINE-2 could be diverted, and then things began to happen. Fighting a battle on two fronts was something the Jerichans weren't prepared for, and it was a mistake that broke their backs, not to mention their spirits. There was a dramatic increase in communication activity and the Jerichans switched from a strategic to tactical posture, becoming more calculated and less aggressive. It didn't help. At all. It took 3 times as long and the Alliance craft took more of a beating losing more of the fighters and personnel in the process, but the Jerichans were defeated yet again.
It took 4 days to get the Spacedock into some semblance of operations normalcy. O'Camp spent much of that time interacting with (m)Pr'gn who was quite impressed with all the technology he'd seen while spending time in the various visiting craft. That morning the mirror-Admirals had gotten a chance to chat briefly with GFADM Jarrad before O'Camp had given his report. Once O'Camp had finished lunch with the two mirror-comrades, he'd contacted the OVERLORD and told them to be ready to depart in a half hour. The O'Camps were being escorted to the airlock and (m)Hersh was telling Capt O'Camp that her counterpart had wanted to meet her but Commodore Templeton's duties prevented her from doing so. When they all got to the OVERLORD's side of the airlock, (m)Pr'gn commented,
"I bet you just love having a ship that withstood all that abuse and only needed a minimum of repairs." With a laugh, (m)Hersh added,
"You should probably rename her the INVINCIBLE since it would be more accurate." VFADM O'Camp replied,
"Unfortunately, even this Offensive Battlecruiser has it limits on how many hits it can take. We sent the Alliance-class R'ZAL'SHII to liberate the wormhole and SERENDIPITY STATION by taking the long way around, and it was destroyed. But you are correct, Grand Fleet Admiral Jarrad once told me when I was his vice-commandant that commanding these particular vessels was a special experience in and of itself." (m)Hersh spoke up at this,
"Speaking of special craft, we also want to thank you for allowing several of your own Grand Paladins to stay behind and maintain the balance of power for us to rebuild." VFADM O'Camp shrugged,
"It was the least I could do as they pretty much insisted. Besides, I'll have to have someone remain here to protect the NAHUM and HABAKKUK, those are the two supply/repair engineering support craft we brought with us which are staying as well." The two mirror-Grand Admirals looked at each other as though they'd just won the lottery. They began talking to each other in hushed tones excitedly as someone walked up behind them. Capt O'Camp turned to face the newcomer and greeted him while gesturing,
"Hello Captain—I mean Admiral—Samson, it's good to see you again. Off to your new posting?" The quarter-breed was wearing his new uniform, and it was only then that VFADM O'Camp realized he'd never see his old friend again. Samson growled in his silk-on-gravel voice,
"Affirmative ma'am. Permission to disembark sir?" He saluted the VFADM who returned the salute then shook his hand and replied while trying to not let the words catch while fighting back the emotions,
"Granted Vincent you take care of yourself. God Bless you and I'll keep you in my prayers." Samson indulged himself in a small uncharacteristic smile. As they turned around to face the other two who had just finished their conversation, (m)Hersh announced,
"You had mentioned that in your universe you pretty much have the Jerichans defeated and the Berger on the run. You'd also mentioned that you were recently demoted and removed from a ranking position in the Star Corps due to a reason we all agree is nonsense at best. Since you have shown true vision and leadership qualities while here and we have the authority to do so, we'd like to reinstate the position of Grand Fleet Admiral which was retired when our Jarrad was killed and we'd like to give it to you!" Capt O'Camp gasped in surprise, and her husband expressed genuine appreciation at being considered for such an honor.
"Wow that was quite unexpected! As much as I appreciate and understand the offer, I think my destiny lies elsewhere as I still have duties I must perform in my realm. I must therefore decline. However, I understand that another one of the Admirals visiting is accepting your offer to remain. If it is the one I'm thinking it is, he'd be a…uhm, pardon the pun, 'Grand' candidate for the job…should he be offered and accept." They both smiled and nodded in understanding as another person walked into the airlock's foyer wearing a mirror-Admiral's uniform. This one too requested permission to disembark, and both O'Camps lost their fight to hold back the tears as they hugged the man. VFADM O'Camp said in a voice heavy with emotion,
"I kind of figured it was going to be you when I heard that only one was going to be staying here. I'm really going to miss you as you were like a brother to me." He raised his hand in his friend's adopted culture's gesture of brotherhood, and the other man's eyes began to mist as he did the same. VFADM O'Camp turned to face the rest of those wearing the mirror-uniforms as his two former comrades joined them. As they started to the airlock mechanism he stated,
"You take care of my friends; you are getting two of the finest officers I've ever met!" (m)Hersh saluted as the others stepped through the airlock and said,
"I speak for all of us when I say that is extremely high praise considering the source." The others murmured assent as the doors slid shut. Capt O'Camp spoke into her Datalink and ordered,
"Bridge we are go for departure. Make ready for clearance from station." VFADM felt a twinge of regret at not taking the offered position. There were still some things that needed to be taken care of, and he couldn't accomplish those goals in this continuum. He slid his arm around his wife's waist, kissed her as they started waking to the nearest lift and smiled,
"Let's go home."
NOTES: This story actually was part two of three-story collection called 'A Trilogy of Shorts' and was only intended to close out the genre and fill in some holes. In an amazing and chilling coincidence, I finished writing this short story about a month before the shuttle COLUMBIA tragedy. This story was written entirely on my palm Zire 71 using the Word Smith program.
With this story I intended to: develop the marriage of the O'Camps, say goodbye to more characters, have one story based on the Overlord, introduce my 'what if' ideas by using a mirror-universe and have one final action driven story. I never could decide between Hersh or McCollin staying behind and so left that part ambiguous. Hersh no longer has a family in the original universe and wants to start anew, McCollin has found his twin is still alive in the mirror universe.