Chapter Seven
The Battle of Proxima III
Cloaked and accelerating to the normal cruising speed of warp six, the Klingon-Narn crew compliment began to relax. The good times attacking and destroying the Centauri convoys and warships were fast approaching its end. On the bridge, G'Kar, Koral and Worf were embroiled in the mists of heated conversation. Commander Worf also received the same communications as Picard and Garrett, however he pushed his thoughts to the far reaches of his mind. The here and now was what mattered.
"We are in trouble," G'Kar snarled, matching the standard fury of Klingons in important conversation. "Those must be the same ships that are attacking the Minbari. If they hit the remainder of our forces at Babylon Five we will be completely helpless. Even with the Ambassador and the upgraded weapons that the B5 forces have, they may not be able to withstand a surprise attack without incurring significant loses. We must consolidate our forces there."
The Klingon Captain grunted after a moment. The Narn ships were in need of repair, and his ship's shield generators were nearly burnt out, not to mention that primary sensors needed replacement modules and re-calibration after this latest skirmish. And he found-to his surprise-that he needed, he wanted to talk to Sisko and Guinan. Conversations with the Captains, all of them including G'Kar and Sheridan, and even the Minbari, Captain Menroi gave him a sense of perspective, which he admitted to himself was of value as he was a still learning the trade himself. And he found that Worf was acceptable also-and most importantly-not interested in his command. He could relax without being threatened and that continually amazed him. Things were so different here.
"Rendezvous with the Narn ships. We head to Babylon Five."
***
"Jump points, opening six hundred thousand kilometers."
Forty-three points of light appeared in the darkness, disgorging sixty Centauri warships and huge numbers of fighters, all headed directly towards an unsuspecting Earth Force, stationed near Proxima III. However, instead of encountering unsuspecting prey and disorganized resistance, the entire attacking fleet ran into a solid wall of plasma, canon and nuclear fire. In an instant, an organized strike force turned into disorganized chaos. A full third of the Centauri ships, completely unprepared for such an aggressive offensive assault against their screens and armor- which worked more like navigational shields than anything else, spreading and dispersing energy weapons fire over a larger surface area to reduce the overall surface damage- crumpled into twisted and exploding debris. Now, that the first wave had been broken up, the enraged Centauri rallied quickly, and their retaliatory firepower slammed into EAS warships with sufficient force to break up their established formations. Instead of a coordinated attack, the fighting quickly degenerated into uncontrolled bedlam. The Earth ships in the front ranks quickly lost formation as Primus and fast moving Vorchan attack ships tore into their ranks with superior firepower. Centauri defensive armor held long enough to give the EAS ships a vicious raking as ion cannons and particle arrays ripped into Omegas and Novas, punching holes through reinforced armor and setting plasma fires with every touch.
Nuclear-tipped missiles from a Hyperion impacted and vaporized several Centauri Sentrii fighters and their unwary Primus escort. That small Earth Force victory was countered when two Vorchans gutted a trio of Omegas and a Nova with their main weapons systems.
At this early stage of the conflict, Earth forces were holding their own, effectively keeping the Centauri from the forces stationed on the colony. Desperately, they tried to reform to a more effective fighting unit. But the stalemate was short wave as six more jump points opened and new enemies emerged. Twenty Drakh raiders, each the size of an Earth Force Monsoon class gunboat, entered the fray slaughtering, the smaller Starfury single-man fighters scrambling to get out of their way. Their neutron canons cleared away any smaller fighter that dared to go up against them.
EarthForce had to plug up the gaping hole fast and command assigned the Monsoons to take up the challenge, countering the neutron weapons with plasma and particle beams. Most were outclassed, One group though did particularly well against them, using a new type of beam weapon, as the larger Drakh destroyers entered normal space attempting to flank the Earth fleet unhappily discovered when caught in the crossfire. The top mounted beam weapons ripped huge holes in Drakh heavy armor. But many of the larger Drakh warships surged past the meager defenses, cutting a large swath of destruction in their wake and they were in turned attacked by the newest fleet of Shadow-based Omegas.
The two fleets slammed into each other with weapons significantly greater than anything previously seen in the conflict so far. Helium based weapons sought out Drakh weak points, while full powered Drakh heavy weapons viciously pounded human-made, shadow-based armor.
***
Major Griffin, onboard the EAS Evanston hit the floor hard. Although the destroyer had taken several hits, it was now pursuing a damaged Primus limping away from the battle. Six shots from the main guns rendered the wounded ship lifeless. It broke up, several pieces floating away from one another in the serene darkness. Captain Drake smiled grimly at the latest victory. In the mists of this battle he was calm, almost relaxed. The enemy was clear cut this time, not like the last fight.
Suddenly, the ship rumbled and he saw a small sun appear near the area when several more Drakh destroyers had just entered normal space. His heart fluttered at the sight. He had never seen it in operation; nevertheless because of the explosion of light and the accompanying shockwave, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what it was. "That was the Shatterfist array!" he yelled to Griffin and the General. It had to be!
The newborn star faded quickly, leaving the remains of at least twelve of the cruisers glowing embers, with three more tumbling out of control. The first modified Nova carrying the deadly weapon was quickly retreating, very likely trying to recharge its weapons for another strike. But it was already too late as one of the surviving destroyers targeted the carrier dreadnought, began its run, burned through two EAS support ships and vaporized it. Relatively unopposed, it surged towards the remaining Shatterfist Nova.
"Target that ship!" Drake ordered. If they were to survive then the last remaining Shatterfist would certainly be one of the reasons why. It was still two to one odds and a third of the fleet had been lost in the fifteen minutes of fighting. They needed every edge they could get.
"Aye, Sir. Ship targeted. We'll be in firing range in six seconds."
Beside the Evanston, its two Hyperion escorts, and two-dozen Starfuries, acknowledged the orders and locked on also. Threatened from the rear, the Drakh vessel began turning away from the Nova and towards them.
"Fire as soon as we get into range."
The EAS Evanston turned and fired twice with its main batteries, hitting the Drakh amidships, its two escorts immediately following suit. Drakh armor flared up, but held against the multiple strikes. The Evanston group moved closer and hit it again and the Drakh wobbled visibly.
"Once more," the Captain roared. In the distance, he saw the results of this next attack. The Evanston had scarred the middle to rear section of the enemy ship; molten metal flaked off the destroyer. Wounded, the Drakh's rear engines fired up and once more the ship begin to vector towards them. It turned to face its attackers faster than anyone dreamed possible, locked on to both the nearest Hyperion and the Evanston, and fired. The majority of the blasts missed the Omega-class ship, but sliced the Hyperion cleanly in two.
Drake averted his eyes from the horrible spectacle in order to concentrate more on the fighting at hand. Inwardly, he hated what was happening to EarthForce. Although few people would admit it openly, the aging, nearly obsolete Hyperions were considered death traps by many of their crews. It was underpowered and its offensive and defensive weaponry stood up poorly against the newer weapons fire employed by alien vessels. But Clarke's agenda and obsession with the new, Impressive, intimidating Omega X's, precluded any upgrading or building of other, better designed ships. The new Warlock class ships were still on the drawing boards even though the basics of gravity plating were now understood. That one invention alone could conceivably revolutionize all of EarthForce. No longer would humans be subjected to the vulgarities of zero gravity or rotating sections on spaceships or space stations. But that wasn't a priority of the President and his immediate staff. The result was that Clarke's praetorian guard had been strengthened, but EarthForce as a whole, diminished.
But whether it was a Hyperion or a more heavily armed Omega, a direct hit from the enemy destroyer was devastating.
What energies that did touch the Evanston nearly burned through its re-enforced armor. The Drakh vessel fired a second time and the Evanston's systems red-lined as several decks were exposed to vacuum and the port engine suffered damaged. Now it was the EAS destroyers' turn to wobble from the force of a blast. General Pickett crashed into the bulkhead, broke several ribs, one of which punctured a lung, and his face contorted violently, the result the sudden and terrible pain the hit him like a high-speed vehicle. Beneath them, the ship continuously rumbled as though tossed to and fro in a storm. The lights briefly faded and powered back up. People were screaming orders and helping one another up and frantically trying to maintain station keeping.
Even with the advantage of the first strike, even with the Drakh ship damaged, it was apparent that the Drakh vessel was more powerful than the Evanston. The second Hyperion had been hit by another salvo and was now limping away from the battle, its weapon's ports damaged. The EAS ship was listing slightly to portside now and the destroyer, sensing a kill was charging in.
There was nothing close enough to assist them. But even so, the Evanston fought back with everything it had. A half-dozen high-speed nuclear missiles erupted from her forward tubes, began tracking the pursuing vessel, only to be detonated prematurely by the Drakh's defensive particle weapons.
A very pale looking scanner officer suddenly turned to face Drake and Griffin who was next to him. "They've locked onto us."
"Get us out of here!" the General, lying on the floor, yelled over the ever-increasing din. "Prepare to fire all remaining defensive batteries."
A med tech was in the middle of a battle of her own, trying to treat the wounded man bleeding all over the floor. The yelling had taken a price and fresh pain flare throughout his body. But through the pain he could also feel the ship finally responding.
The Drakh ship suddenly exploded spectacularly as a photon torpedo detonated in the amidships, ripping through into it like tissue paper. A second later a small ship flashed into existence, its nacelles glowing bright blue but fading slowly. Right behind it, were two more vessels, followed another four, exiting from newly created jump points. Communications chirped over the sounds of battle damage, demanding to be heard. It was Picard.
"How badly damaged are you?" he demanded in that usual cold voice Drake was so used to. They didn't have time to scan the ship in detail.
He didn't care. Simply being alive was the most important thing right now, that and his crew. "Port engine's gone and we've sustained moderate damage throughout the entire ship." Quietly: "thanks from the assist. They had us."
"You're welcome," Picard acknowledged quickly. "You must martial your forces. Your forces are vulnerable spread out as they are. We will provide cover until you reform your defenses."
General Pickett broke in. "Our tactical station and long range comms has been wreaked. Is it possible that you can broadcast my voice to the rest of the fleet?" he asked through clinched teeth.
"Yes," Picard said after a second. "You may begin, General."
"All ships regroup at point Ćote. I repeat, regroup at point Ćote!"
***
There were ten White Stars frigates in existence, the sole survivors of an attack by the Drakh on the shipyards that created the Vorlon-Minbari hybrid ships. All of them were stationed at Babylon Five. Five of them had been modified with Federation-style shields; makeshift warp engines and three had been outfitted with min-photon launchers. Onboard White Star One and Two, the first transporter units had been installed. So far, neither the majority of Minbari, nor human crewmembers had been in a rush to test them out. Even so, several brave souls were getting used to them. Susan Ivanova was one of them.
One of the things that Susan fell in love with was the sub-dermal translator that allowed her to understand Minbari without having to learn the language. This did, however caused one small problem. She now had the hardest time trying to motivate herself into actually learning the language. The translator made things too easy and she found herself constantly turning it on and off as she studied the language. That was a constant pain. However, right now she love loved it because on her White Star, everybody understood everyone else. And when fighting against a vicious enemy like the Drakh and Centauri, that made all the difference between life and death.
In front of her White Star were three Centauri fighters and one Drakh raider positioning themselves for an attack against several retreating EAS Hyperions, making a run towards the newly establishing Earth Force line some fourteen thousand kilometers distant. And so far, they were completely unaware of the relief force rapidly bearing down upon them from the rear. The four Runabouts broke off and attacked another Centauri group reforming and harassing other EarthForce ships some fifty thousand klicks distant. Exploding photon torpedoes yields brightened the sky for thousands of kilometers around.
White Star Two began its attack run followed closely by the rest of the resistance fleet. Already in range, Susan gave the order. "Torpedoes, fire!"
Two photonic, missiles erupted from her ship followed by six more from her support Omegas and four fusion missiles from each of the two Hyperions. But it was already too late. One of the damaged EAS ships took fire from the rear and veered off, out of control and burning. It wasn't a fatal hit, but it was a near thing.
The deadly projectiles, traveling at one-third light speed, and fusion missiles bring up the rear, peppered the immediate area of the enemy fleet, obliterating all of them before they even realized they were under attack. But the attack hadn't gone unnoticed others and three more of the Drakh cruisers turned to face them while even more Centauri ships concentrated on the EAS defenders. Susan blanched when she saw the oncoming ships. Her White Star was a match for one of the cruisers but even with seven to three odds, this wasn't good. The resistance ships had vastly upgraded weapons but no defensive armament as of yet, other than what was normally carried. This, of course wasn't about to stop her from ramming everything she had down their throats.
Turning faster than any of her comrades could hope to, White Star Two, followed by White Stars Five and Six, fired their energy beams at the nearest Drakh, scoring hits on the bridge and front third of the ship. Staggered and mortally wounded, it returned fire, its beam weapons splashing violently across the hybrid vessel's shields. Susan flew past the ship at high speed, never stopping her fire for an instant. In defending itself and returning fire on its attacker, the besieged Drakh relied on its own ships to support it from the White Star's rapidly approaching sister fleet. Firing another salvo, it hit the White Star Two and bounced it around, just as the other two White Stars and the Resistance fleet opened fire on the other two Drakh vessels. White Star Two flipped one hundred eighty degrees and made another run, keeping the first destroyer fully occupied. For its ferociousness, it was hit twice. Several of the crew died and the ship's secondary defensive weapons were obliterated.
The other two Drakh warships were about to fire their quantum cannons when another ship suddenly appeared on their scanners, moving towards them faster than anything they had ever seen traveling in normal space. The profile and energy reading were unmistakable and they turned to meet this new and very dangerous threat. But ignoring the other EAS fleet was simply too dangerous as they immediately discovered when the resistance EAS ships opened fire. So they did the only thing they could under the circumstances-
-They called for immediate assistance.
-While they died in fire.
***
Enterprise locked onto the starboard destroyer with its phasers and fired, hitting the exact same area that the fleet had damaged just seconds ago. Obviously panicked, the Drakh Captain tried to fire on everyone at once, effectively doing damage to no one. His ship caved in at the center, explosions quickly ripping the doomed ship apart. Meanwhile, the second destroyer ignored the hits from the small squadron that had just flown by in order to lock onto its primary target. Quantum cannons and neutron beams fired simultaneously, hitting Federation ship's shields. The ship shuttered slightly as shields dropped ten percent and a few EPS conduits blew. The starship returned fire once more, phasers touching the ship's hull, cutting deeply into the fleeing Drakh ship. Mortally crippled, the ship began listing as its engines slowly went critical. Lifeboats were seen escaping from the wounded, and burning behemoth. The Enterprise fired again and the Drakh ship ceased to exist.
Meanwhile. Commander Ivanova's ship was making sure that the first Drakh ship's full attention was on her. The main beam canon sliced apart everything that it touched on the destroyer. It couldn't dare ignore it to defend itself from the incoming resistance ships now firing on its rear. Finally the ship lost hull integrity and the White Star drilled through the front at the exact same time the squadron sliced through the rear of the ship.
***
The Commander of the relief squad of Drakh destroyers and raiders arrived too late to save the three now destroyed ships. However, he and his associates didn't consider the lost in vain because they had flushed out their primary target. The six three thousand-plus meter long ships were specifically ordered to target and destroy the Federation starship. They were well aware of its capabilities, as detailed with its earlier encounter with a Shadow mothership and as such they were taking no chances, all of them were firing on the fast moving warship intent on avoiding their most powerful weapons. The wild maneuvers initiated by the target weren't completely successful and the small vessel rocked violently as three of the beams intersected its shields, whose power ratings had dropped by twenty points. Turning quickly, the vessel returned fire, cutting into the armored bridge of the closest destroyer. The unusual beam hit with devastating effect, first incinerating meters of reinforced armor, and then piercing deep into the command and weapons section. Pieces of the destroyer literally disappeared, as the battleship's beam touch them.
The Drakh Commander coldly watched as it veered off, out of control, its forward section glowing a sickly red. A second destroyer died as two of their glowing missiles-torpedoes literally vaporized the entire ship. Respectful now but undeterred, the Commander ordered his capital ships to continue their attack, concentrating on the glowing engines as the smaller two hundred meter long raiders attack closed in for strafing runs. There were another three vessels in reserve, if needed. Once this ship was destroyed then the Earth ships, already hard-pressed by the Centauri and his companions, would be next in line. But this was by no means going to be easy.
Unexpectedly, the ship to his right disappeared in a titanic explosion when fusion missiles, detonating in the immediate proximity, shred its engines. He cursed himself for not taking into account those ships behind him. But not willing to let his prey go, he ordered the raiders to break off pursuit of the Enterprise and destroy the enemy at his rear. Angered at the waste of such good materiel and personnel, he reluctantly called for his re-enforcements. This accompanying fleet was a nuisance that need to be stamped out and he had no qualms about flooding the area with as many of his ships as necessary to complete his objective.
***
"Lock on to the nearest ship and prepare to open fire," Susan ordered. The Minbari weapons crewwoman did as she was ordered instantly.
"We have a solid lock," the female Minbari said.
"Fire!"
"The raider took the hit and broke apart. Its companion targeted the White Star and fired its own weapon a split second before it joined its companion in death. But that split second was enough and White Stars Two's armor was torn. Most of the crew were thrown to the side and several were injured critically. Susan's nose was bleeding and it felt like she had broken a finger. It was true. Two raiders were equal in power to a White Star. No matter, she thought. We can still fight.
Behind her, Captain Chamberlain took up the slack, ordering her to back off. The Omega's heavy weapons had been firing non-stop along with the rest of the battlegroup and the attackers now had to defend themselves against the two additional White Stars fighters and Earth Force ships that possessed far more firepower than the others of their kind.
Commander Ivanova, feeling the heat of the moment, ignored Chamberlains orders. Her ship had real energy shielding on top of her Minbari armor. It didn't matter that those shields were being worn down.
"Shields down to fifteen percent," an engineer yelled. Susan didn't care. She would rely her ship's armor to protect them. Her ship's scanners had picked up additional Drakh and a couple of Centauri warships vectoring hard towards the Enterprise in a frantic effort to destroy or at least disable it.
"To all ships, blast through these clowns and concentrate on relieving the Enterprise!"
Four resistance EAS ships, four Runabouts who had rejoined the fleet and three White Stars turned as one and let loose with long distance photon mini-torpedoes, photonic and fusion missiles at the newcomers just coming into range. Seeing the danger, the enemy let loose with everything they had with both offensive and defensive countermeasure's fire. The entire area mushroomed with nearly a hundred micro starbursts.
***
The battle wasn't going as well as General Pickett had hoped for. Over half of the Earth Force ships were damaged or had been destroyed outright. They had struck the first telling blow and that had blunted the full force of the Centauri-Drakh attack. But even the Shadow-Omega force and been reduced from sixteen to three ships by a fierce, unrelenting attack by waves of Drakh cruisers. There were thirty-seven capital ships still battle worthy against forty-four of the enemy. Most of the smaller Monsoon class gunships had fallen. All except six, which acquitted themselves far better than their brethren in this free for all. But now wasn't the time to worry about that now. Pickett had a decision to make. Clearly, with the addition of four more vessels, the Drakh were intending to destroy the Enterprise and he warred within. That ship had saved the Evanston from destruction and its presence along with its support group had allowed his desperate fleet to re-group once more into a fighting force. His internal struggle only lasted a second however, as the experience of war made his mind up for him. Even as he opened his mouth, reports of more jump points were opening, more Drakh were coming. Where were all these ships coming from? he thought furiously.
"Prepare the Shatterfist for long range firing," he bellowed into the comms, then coughed again as fresh spasms of pain slammed into him as a reward for his yelling. Designed to be used against the Federation battleships, the technology that was Shatterfist had been improved enough so that three shots could be managed instead of only two. After that the weapon would be useless until it could be completely refitted. "Lock onto the Drakh fleet hounding the Enterprise!"
Drake merely nodded. "Open a channel to the Enterprise." Drake's mouth gaped slightly as the Enterprise's phasers gutted another Drakh. The power ratings being utilized by the alien Federation vessel was far higher than anything he had seen previously when he fought it at Babylon Five. The man shuttered.
Picard was on instantly. Drake watched as the ship shook the crew violently. For some reason, it gave him pleasure to see Picard on the receiving end of an attack for a change. Nevertheless, now was not the time for gloating. "Picard, we're about to relieve you of some of your irritations. Stand by."
Picard hesitated a second. "Acknowledged," he answered finally. "Lieutenant Yar, order the fleet to move away from us now!"
Susan was on the comms immediately. "I will not abandon a ship-"
Picard cut her off. "Break off now!" he ordered in a cold fury. Her ship was seriously damaged, a direct result of the Commanders reckless actions. "Mr. Crusher, prepare for emergency warp!"
"Yes, Sir. Warp is available on your mark," the young man responded.
The White Stars and the resistance ships broke off and scattered either by jump point or warp leaving the Galaxy class vessel alone with its attackers. Sensing victory, the destroyers ignored those who fled and pounced on the Federation ship. In unison, they fired, trying to burn through the protective shielding. In turn, multiple phaser bursts lashed out scoring several hits on numerous targets and she was moving much, much faster now that the ship wasn't worried about the support fleet. Sensing the threat coming from the small battleship, the Drakh closed ranks for mutual protection as they moved in to a final head-to-head confrontation.
The Shatterfist Nova warships begin powering up. From Drake's and his crew's point of view, it looked as though the entire ship was glowing, which indeed it was. The vessel was essentially one large reactor designed for one reason only and that was to power up the particle beam weapon that would one day be aimed on the Federation ships to punch through their shields and eliminate them once and for all. Now, it was going to be used to save the very thing it was made to destroy. The irony was not lost on those officers in charge. Several EAS ships were running interference for the ship as both Centauri and Drakh vessels of all configurations were making attack runs on it. Having witnessed the previous volley, they desperately, they were trying to destroy the vessel before it could fire once more.
"The Nova's target designation has been achieved, light radar acquisition is strong and locked. It's firing," the scan-tech said an instant before the full-powered energy beam erupted from the giant barrel of the weapon. Instinctively, everyone shielded their eyes from the blue-white spear heading directly for the Enterprise and the Drakh ships in its path. Anything in its path simply incinerated, including two Centauri fighters and one hapless Star Fury too damaged to get out of the way in time.
***
"Energy spike!" The Drakh Commander yelled, recognizing the trap he and his people had flew into. He didn't understand why the targeted ship had not fled with the others. At first he thought that their fierce resistance was simply due to pride and defiance, a noble sacrifice to save their friends or the arrogance and pride to fight to the inevitable end. Now he held on for his life, locked into a life and death grudge match, with neither his squadron or the isolated human-controlled ship able or willing to disengage.
As yet another of his ships was gutted from stem to stern, he quickly discovered that his squadron had cornered a monster. True, the enemy shields were failing under his onslaught, but his ships were taking a fearsome beating in return. The energy beams and glow-missiles erupting in every direction from it destroyed everything they touched. But the ship had remained in the immediate area instead of full taking advantage of its formidable speed and maneuverability. He thought that the ships STL or FTL drives had been damaged during the fighting and the ship was unable to move as it should have.
But the true connection as to what they were doing hadn't been made until now. "It's a trap!" he screamed. "Retreat from this area!"
***
Onboard the Enterprise, before as Captain Picard issued the order, Wesley Crusher activated warp drive. Faster than the eye could follow, the ship was on the move. Speeding away from the impending carnage, it was a thousand kilometers from ground zero and accelerating to warp six. A few moments later, the ship decelerated violently, cruising up from behind a stunned Evanston, and the Shatterfist Nova. For a second, the EAS fleet held their collective breaths as the Galaxy-class turned to face the enemy. For a moment, every ship, every crew was united in their desires to keep possession of Proxima III. It represented the first turning point in Earth Federation relations. A small victory-a very small one-but it was something.
***
The bluish-white beam, so finely tuned that it ionized molecules in its passage, speared one destroyer and expended itself on the unfortunate primary target situated at the right place and the wrong time. Several smaller ships were scorched and damaged by the resultant explosion of both vessels. And none of the vessels damaged by the Enterprise survived including their Commander. But the results served only to incense both Drakh and Centauri attack vessels. The fleet begin to regroup again for another, major push. With two-to-one odds against, Major Griffin wasn't confident of the outcome. Already, long distance enemy fire was beginning to penetrate the perimeter defenses. And even as the resistance fleet jumped to join their flagship, the Enterprise was signaling that the mother ship in hyperspace had released another ten Drakh destroyers and a large number of raiders to join in the fight. The EAS defense group of forty-three ships couldn't handle a new wave of sixty plus Drakh and Centauri ships. He was now the senior ranking officer and he was about to lose his job. The President would never accept another defeat without someone's head placed on the block.
"Order an emergency evac of Proxima III," he ordered. "Order perimeter guardships to retreat and assist in the evacuation. Recall all fighters-they're expended. "All main battle groups will engage in order to do as much damage as possible and give our people as much time as we can. All ships unable to fight are to assist in the evac where feasible and then leave. Order the Petrov to jump- get out of jamming range and let Earth Force know what's happening here. And open a channel to the Enterprise."
"Channel open."
"Picard, I don't expect you and your people to stay."
"We'll do everything we can," the Enterprise captain announced. "Interesting weapon," he said dryly.
"Glad you like it," he retorted. The Enterprise must have analyzed the beam and discovered its secret he suspected. Shatterfist was intended to destroy them. "We intend to give a repeat performance in a few minutes. You can choose to make your stand anywhere you want."
"We're make our stand here," Picard said flatly. "The enemy is well within our weapon's range." This included the White Star's enhanced weaponry, something he didn't mention to Earth Force, but they would be found out soon enough.
Someone behind Griffin muttered something. "Your torpedoes are impressive, Picard," Captain Drake said grimly. "But I'm sure that they'll be waiting for that attack, they've seen it before."
"You have not seen everything we have, Captain." Turning his head, he nodded slightly. Behind him Commander Riker's voice was loud and clear.
"Lieutenant Yar," his voice boomed. "Load the type-VI photon torpedoes and prepare to fire on the captain's order."
"Yes, sir," the shorthaired blond responded.
The major's curious, intrigued glance was answered with a single sentence. "Multiply by a factor ten."
"Major."
Behind him Drake, listening to the exchange blanched.
"Major," the female officer repeated, louder this time. "They're not advancing," she announced, clearly perplexed by the sudden change. "In fact, sensors show them pulling back!"
"What?"
"Confirmed, Sir," Griffin and Drake heard Tasha say on the still opened channel. She sounded as perplexed as her counterpart on his ship. "The Drakh carrier in hyperspace is moving off and so are the destroyers.
Without the Drakh support, the Centauri stopped short, unclear what to do. With their forces cut it half, they were now suddenly in danger of having to death with a counterattack by Earth Force. Within a few moments, they also began to strategic retreat. Scores of Sentrii fighters and support ships began to move away from the Earth ships and exit through jump points initiated by the larger warships.
"To all ships," an uncertain Major Griffin ordered to his command. "Do not pursue. I repeat do not pursue. Maintain station and get our wounded to safety. Look for the survivors. For some reason they've left. But stay sharp. They may be back.." Nodding to Drake, he headed towards medical bay to check on the General. The ship was in bad shape, but still battle worthy. We dodged the bullet this time, he thought as he rushed to the bay. But the question is why?
***
Onboard the Enterprise, resistance fleet and the EAS combat vessels, the crews were thinking the very same thing.
Next: Everything changes as things get-complicated.