Sol system, Earth Alliance space.
Slowly things were returning to normal, at least on the surface. The innumerable wrecks and detritus of battle had all but disappeared either to be scrapped in the case of Earth ships or returned to their respective governments in regards to the other Interstellar Alliance vessels. Amidst those hulks were a handful of Drakh vessels which had avoided the destruction of the cloud and had instead fallen to the defence grid. Those fragments were being rushed to Mars where a temporary headquarters was being set up until Earth Dome got itself back in operation.
It had taken weeks, but from orbit Earth now looked completely normal, but it was nothing more than a mask hiding the grim truth. Earth was doomed and the best and brightest members of the Alliance, even the advanced Minbari geneticists and and Gaim biological shapers had so far offered nothing more than empty glances when asked about the Drakh plague. The planet remained under quarantine and although the great battle fleet had returned to its duties the Earth Alliance was officially at war and the increased military presence in orbit was a silent announcement of the fleets eagerness to do battle, to just do something.
"Captain?" a voice inquired. "Captain Ivanova?"
She brought her mind back to the task at hand. Looking up from her small desk at the rear of the bridge surrounded by consoles she saw Commander Morton waiting for her attention. "Yes Commander." She said quietly.
"The last of the work crews have finished Ma'am." He stated. "We're fully combat capable."
"Very good Commander, did we get the replacement pilots?"
"Yes Captain, we've taken on the Hecate survivors, we're slightly over on our air wing but we've got the space."
"Good, signal our readiness to fleet command and lets hope they've got some orders for us."
The EAS Titans had taken significant damage defending Earth and under normal circumstances the ship would have required a full overhaul and months in dock, instead Earth Force material command had simply stripped the wrecked or heavily damaged ships in orbit and grafted the parts directly onto the more able warships. The Titans was hauling particle cannons from the Necromancer, fighters and armour from the Hecate and turrets from the Ariadne. Along with the Merlin which had similarly benefited from its sisters ill fortune and a group of Omega's the forces in orbit were being referred to as 'The Cannibal fleet' or to Ivanova's preference 'The Headhunters' which in her opinion sounded much more dangerous.
"Captain, have you heard anything more about what we'll be doing now we're battle ready?" Morton wondered.
"Not yet Commander, when I know you will." Ivanova said plainly. "But most ships have been assigned patrol or guard stations, we haven't which makes me thing Earth central might have something special lined up for us."
"A bit of Drakh hunting?" Morton allowed a wicked grin.
"If we can find them." Ivanova sighed. "Our entire exploration force has been tracking the ones that got away, we've had Rangers hunting them, League ships, even the Minbari have been scouring space but so far nothing. Its like they've just vanished."
"They have to have a base somewhere, a staging post."
"Probably, but it's a big galaxy and if they're hidden on a former Shadow planet it might be a long time before we locate them."
Morton grimaced. "Well they better hide, because if we ever do find them…"
"I'm right there with you." Ivanova said coldly. "Earth force has never wiped out a whole planet before, not even Clark authorised that. But I tell you right now that if I'm in orbit of a Drakh settlement… well, you know what they say about payback? I'm the bitch."
Morton snapped to attention then returned to his duties. Ivanova knew the whole crew had that same need to do something, Earth had been ravaged and it was beyond anyone's scope to fix the problem, at least right now, but if they could find the Drakh base they could at least share a bit of the hurt.
She examined the status displays of her command, the Titans was a patchwork of crippled vessels, some would say cannibal, some would call it Frankenstein's monster with its hull a multitude of colours indicating their different origins, light and dark covering the Titans own blackened and pitted hull. But that wasn't how Ivanova saw it, her ship was not macabre it was a tapestry, it was a means of making sure that a part of those ships no longer able to fight would be there when the Drakh paid for their crimes. For each part of ship that the Titans incorporated Ivanova felt part of that lost ships essence went along with her. A while ago she would have rolled her eyes at the concept of ships having 'souls' but her time on B5 had changed that opinion, the universe was a strange place. And if she had her way the Drakh would have no future in it.
00000000000000000
"Holy Crap." Was all he could manage. "I mean, wow Mr President."
Captain Matthew Gideon was used to surprises, as an explorer he'd seen his fair share of odd items, god like mysteries and one or two terrors that chilled the soul. However familiarity with surprises didn't make him immune.
"I wanted to show you myself." Sheridan smiled beside Gideon in the shuttle, the view through the window dominated by the silver dart of a revolutionary looking warship. "She's called Excalibur, second of her type and the best we have."
"I've never heard anything about this sort of project anywhere, how did you hide something so huge?" Gideon gasped.
"Two of them, the Victory is currently hunting down Drakh until we can assign to its new mission, same one we'll be giving you." Sheridan explained.
Gideon looked quizzically at the President. "You really going to give me that ship?"
"I am." Sheridan nodded. "The Joint chiefs think you're the best man for the job. You know how to work first contacts, you have a good standard of diplomacy, and you aren't afraid to blow the hell out of something if it threatens you. This mission requires all those skills, because it's a good bet our enemies will try to stop you and we can't give you a fleet as cover." Sheridan spoke bluntly. "Most of the time it'll be just you and this ship, so we've put together the best crew we can from across the fleet."
"Well that's fine, but I want final say on them, I've got to put my life in their hands."
"Fair enough."
"And I want my current first officer." Gideon said firmly.
"We've already selected the best XO in Earth Force, Commander…"
"Mr President, you want the best out of that ship and me, then I have to take Lieutenant Matheson, no arguments. He can see what I'm planning before even I do, and in a crisis that's what I need."
"I hear he's a telepath." Sheridan cautioned. "After the fall of Psicorps there's a lot of bad feeling among people about teeps."
"Which means precisely nothing to me." Gideon said. "He's the best officer in the fleet whatever your reports say, and I want him onboard."
Sheridan felt a thin smile, Gideon was known as a trouble maker, the sort of man who didn't back down or give up if he believed in his position. In the regular navy it had caused all kinds of trouble and made sure he ended up exploring the rim instead of commanding a Warlock or a carrier group, and it would likely prevent him reaching General except in a crisis. Well the crisis was here now, and that same determination and stubbornness was exactly what Sheridan needed.
"Whatever you need, you've got it." Sheridan nodded. "You have full presidential authority to act as you see fit."
"Thank you Mr President, I'm glad we're on the same page."
"This mission is too important to start without the whole crew being completely focused." Sheridan stated. "Get the paper work done as fast as you can."
"So Mr President," Gideon asked. "What is the mission?"
"Oh that's simple enough." Sheridan grinned "You're gonna save the world."
Once onboard the vast ship Gideon felt even more awed. The ship was a unique treasure trove, it took him a full five minutes to even recognize the ship had fully functional artificial gravity so caught up was his mind in examining the scope and scale of the craft.
"Most of her systems are based on human technology." Sheridan was explaining as if the ship was perfectly normal to him. "But the actual mechanisms tend to be Minbari. For example the computer interfaces and operating procedures are human, but the circuits and data banks are Minbari in origin. The weapons are human in design and function but the technology to make them work is Minbari, well mostly."
"Mostly?" Gideon turned his eyes from the wonderous ship.
"Some of the systems use technology gleaned from the Vorlons." Sheridans grin visibly grew. "Sensors, weapons, some propulsion. The full specs are in your quarters waiting for you."
"I caught some of the footage on ISN." Gideon admitted. "I didn't realize just what made these ships tick."
They ended their brief tour up on the bridge, the gleaming surfaces and busy crew highlighting that this was rapidly becoming humanities premier ship, at least in this universe.
"Lets head to the briefing room," Sheridan pointed back. "There are one or two things you should know before we go on. We have some new allies."
The entered the room and stopped in their tracks, the supposedly empty room had a single occupant.
"Greetings my friends, hope you don't mind me stopping by?" a black robed jovial man smiled at them.
"Galen?" both Sheridan and Gideon said in unison.
"Indeed," the rebellious technomage continued smiling. "Its cheery to see you haven't forgotten me. I am glad my help to you both has been worth while."
"You warned me about the planet killer, but not the Plague." Sheridan said with slight frustration. "Did it just slip your mind?"
"I'm sorry Mr President, but I am almost infallible, not completely infallible. There are some things even I cannot predict." He grunted in amusement. "The universe would be a most dreary place without some surprises now and again."
"Surprises?" Sheridan snarled. "Earth is dying! That's more than a surprise!"
"Which is why I am here." Galen noted. "I offer my help, which at times is considerable. Not only is this plague a quest to be resolved, but something of great curiosity has entered the game. An entirely new player with a whole realm of possibilities."
"Daedalus" Sheridan nodded. "What do you know?"
"Probably the same as you do, that it shouldn't be here." Galen spoke enigmatically. "But just maybe I can tell you more about its origins, and what happened to finally bring it to us."
"It was an accident." Sheridan said.
"There are no accidents Mr President." Galen stood and moved closer. "The universe likes a game, it abhors being dull so constantly gives us situations to investigate and mysteries to solve. The Daedalus is not the first visitor to come through here, and I guarantee it will not be the last."
"You guys are talking about that ship on ISN?" Gideon joined. "I thought it was one of ours, another prototype like this ship."
"Not exactly, there are a few things we need to talk about." Sheridan said.
"If I may, I'd like to stay." Galen asked. "There may be more I can add to the story. The origins of this gateway perhaps?"
Sheridan might not entirely have trusted Galen, but his warning had saved Earth even if it wasn't complete. The Mage was hiding something but he needed every bit of help he could grasp.
"Okay, Captain Gideon, here's the story so far."
000000000000000
Minbari Space, near Trigati.
It was a Warriors world. Nobody came to this sector except vessels of the Warrior caste, mainly because there was nothing much to interest those without the violent proclivities of the Minbari combatants. While the world itself was harsh and deadly filled with monsters to try the resolve of the bravest soldier in orbit a series of starbases and battle platforms hosted shipyards and weapons factories. While no particular clan held the world it had always been the Wind Swords who most treasured this place, even naming their flagship after this rich and deadly location. To fight was to be alive, if the conflict died away the Warrior might as well die with it.
That belief had shaped Shai Alyt Kathenn's life. When Sineval had died and the Trigati had disappeared with many of the best of his clan with it the duty of leadership came to Kathenn and those who remained to bear the shame of defeat. He had in many ways a harder task than the Trigati crew had given themselves, Kathenn had to live each day with the shame and give his clan a new direction and purpose. He had to forge the strength of the Wind Swords again from nothing, and finally that was almost done.
"Shai Alyt." The local commander greeted him with a clenched fist. "We are ready for you."
The worlds violent life forms had proven to be more useful than just sport. Wide areas of the planet were rarely visited and mainly ignored even by other warriors, it had proven to be a particular blessing.The Wind Swords had avoided the Shadow war and as such found themselves with more resources than most clans trying to rebuild after that destruction and waste. While they had been busy kathenn and build this hidden facility beneath the hostile planet that was a place of pilgrimage for his people and now the fulfilment of his long mission was nearly at an end.
"The system has shown through success Shai Alyt." His aide said. "The experiments have been successful, we can begin full scale deployment immediately."
Kathenn walked through the underground base, warriors and militant workers bowing to him as he passed. "You have a sample?"
"Right this way."
Kathenn entered an isolated lab, in its centre was a large transparent crystal case with a single item inside. "Ahh yes, very impressive."
"The sample was very intuitive, once we provided the correct energy it activated all by itself."
"What about growth rate?" Kathenn asked, enthralled by the sight in the case.
"Incredibly fast Shai Alyt, it will be ready on schedule."
Kathenn smiled, for so long the Wind swords had been broken, soon they would be unstoppable. The black lump inside the crystal pulsed and rippled with malevolent energy, a rare piece of something which should have passed beyond the rim.
"We will clad our ships in this armour, the armour of the great enemy, and then we shall return to glory. The rest of the Minbari will suddenly see that the grey council has blinded them and they will join us. Whatever this new human ship is it will not matter. Death will come to them, and I shall wield it."
He stared at the black object, the last remnants of a Shadow vessel.
"The time is drawing nearer."
