Deep in space, the planet was highlighted in the background, being lit by the star beyond, explosions crisscrossing across the star scape just in front of the planet, as it was the focal point for the battle.
A lone Thunderbolt was racing through space, dodging high energy bolts by just centimeters, as it went along to face off against different targets.
Michael Keegan had the controls in his hands, scanning the area just in front of him with his eyes, occasionally looking down at his sensor displays, and seeing it filled with a chaotic frequency of both long and short range contacts. His control vessel was helping to make some sense of it, showing enemies and friends alike, so he could determine which was which.
"Stacia, give me a reading on those ships out there at 2-8-5."
"Aye sir" She said, trying to keep her voice neutral.
The screen shifted on its axis, and he got a better look at the group of fighters he had asked to be highlighted. Four Centauri fighters dueling with a small group of Aurora's, with two more Centauri fighters moving off to intercept, but there was a cruiser that was blocking the way.
Keegan glanced around space, trying to fine a way to see what was still going on, try to find a way through the net beyond the Cruiser to support his comrades.
He found one, along the long spine of the ship yards which were the Centauri primary target, he did not like it, but it was the only way that he could complete his mission.
"Stacia, we are going to be heading right along that beam, get ready." He said to her lightly.
She did not even respond as she manipulated the controls on her console and brought the ship around, giving him more control of the ship, and manipulating the electronic countermeasure suite that the ship had aboard.
He adjusted his course, and dove hard for the deck, pulling up just in time and at near full speed, racing along the spine of the ship yards, trying to get to the other side so he could help his comrades in arms. Two anti ship torps ripped into a Warlock that was parked alongside the base, taking it out from the inside out in one giant fireball. Five kilometers on two pulses of energy slammed into the spine, causing it to snap in half, and break away from the rest of the spine. Keegan had to roll away as flotsam and debris exploded outward toward his ship; he just missed the concussive shockwave by mere inches.
He decided it was enough, and opened his throttle all the way to the full, firing his thrusters at maximum, jolting him and his girl friend back in their seats from G forces.
He toggled off a space to space interceptor missile, and fired. It hit the fighter down its centerline, ripping it apart, crew and all.
He could feel sensors looking for him, and he turned, and dove into the fire fight.
Captain Patterson entered the room and froze on the sight before him.
In front of him were most of the big names in the ISA, and EA history. They were just sitting there, looking at him considering. The door closed behind him, and he tried to move forward, trying to make his jaw behave and not go too awry.
In the room that he could see were Susan Ivonova, Delenn, Michael Gideon, in one chair was the officer he saw in General Baker's room when he was there getting command…Elizabeth Lochly, and to round it out there was a Narn General, who had a bored and annoyed look on his face.
And sitting opposite him, with a chair facing away from him, was someone he could not see…but before he could really look at him closely he heard, "take a seat Captain" from General Gideon.
He did so, letting professionalism and his training take over, he put his hands out in front of him and stared at the far edge of the wall, making eye contact with no one.
Gideon cracked a grin. "At ease Captain, no reason to be worried…truth be told we are here to give you and your crew their next assignment."
"Sir?" He turned looking at him cocking his head to one side, his eyes glinting with curiosity.
"Yeah, but, I think more of a briefing is more in hand."
Patterson nodded.
"What you are going to be looking at providing top secret information provided by the Rangers." Susan said plainly.
"And the Narn government" The Narn said in a Narn drawl.
"Understood," Patterson nodded, letting them know he understood his roll in this.
"A few months ago we analyzed the hull fragments from destroyed Centauri Fighters. We found no organic mass, in a good many of them, none at all. The ships were on auto pilot, we do not know how, and what means they are using. But we do know that they were automated." Gideon continued.
"Which explains how they were able to bring such a massive fleet against us and the Narns," Lochly volunteered, almost unnecessarily.
"Yes, and we have no idea how they were able to get their hands on this technology." Ivanova supplied.
"So you have no information?" Patterson said confused. They were all high trained officers who had been in the fire before, and they all knew that a starship commander had to face drastic situations, so intelligence was vital before going into any information.
"No...We do not." Lochly said uneasily.
"But that is not the point." Delenn said testily, surprising everyone for the first time. She gestured to the person sitting in the chair, revealing a regal Centauri face. "This is Prince Vintari, of the Centauri Republic, Emperor in exile, and the next one for the throne of the Centauri republic."
"Pleased to meet you Captain." He said with a thick accent.
"Like wise." Patterson said, his curiosity rapidly rising to the surface.
"You are going to give him his throne back." Ivanova said bluntly.
"Me?" Patterson said his eyes widening.
"Yes, your mission by the EA and ISA commands is to penetrate the Centauri lines and to get him to Centauri Prime, and then convince the people and the Royal court that he is the legitimate emperor." Delenn explained serenely.
"You see when I was younger John Sheridan took me in, gave me a home, and showed me a new way of living, but in that time my enemies took their opportunity, solidified their power, and when I tried to reclaim what was mine by Centauri custom, they exiled me. I found my way back to Earth just before the war." Vintari explained.
Patterson was already working on another problem. "Penetrate the Centauri lines?" He asked.
The Narn General leaned forward and explained with a slight passion. "We are going to hit them, hard, with six hundred ships in all, in three places along the border, as you sneak across providing you with the distraction you need…and hopefully winning the war."
"That sounds like a plan." Patterson said, releasing some of his tension just a bit.
"Indeed it does." Prince Vintari said smiling wanly, it had to be tough for him considering the loss of Centauri life he was discussing, Patterson decided.
He continued. "Back when I was younger, had I taken the throne, I would have waited, and hit Earth hard. Where there would be no doubting our superiority and Earth would have been destroyed."
An uncomfortable silence filled the room.
"But I realize that was wrong, and now I just want to stop the blood shed." The room visibly sighed in relief.
"Baring that you are to find out how they are making these ships, and this autonomous program, and shut them down, so the Centauri military will not be as much of a threat as they are now." Gideon gave him the rest of his assignment.
"I see." Patterson said, then looked around embarrassed, "why me?"
"You are the best man for the job, you remind me of me when I was younger, and besides, we need people with experience, and the ship to match. And you have been on the front lines the most since the war began, almost every single major engagement you have participated in."
"I see…." He said. "What about a crew, mine got pretty skewered in the last battle?"
"Well we have enough from other ships that we are doing a lot of mixing and matching, don't worry, you will have a full crew compliment, weapons, and we are giving you the batch of Raptors that have just been finished. Along with anything else you will feel you will need."
"OK, that sounds about all that will be required, I should get to it. Gentlemen, ladies, sirs," he said turning smartly and exiting the room.
Keegan was out the ships hangar bay, and sped for the distant dreadnaught that was raining fire on the carrier ship. It was trapped and encircled, but it was putting up a hell of a fight, and dishing out punishment for every bolt that it lost in its hull plating.
He turned into the fire, going deep into space, and then turning back on his original course.
He hit his engines on full, and raced toward the enemy war ship, highlighted in the black by the fire that it was spewing from its many gun ports, and the incoming fire from the Earth Force ships that were currently engaging it in battle.
He went on full burners, but kept his scanners off line, knowing that would give away his position and allow the enemy to kill him. He cut all of his radiating systems, going completely dark as he traveled on. His objective was to confuse them.
And confused they were, they knew that something was out there, but they did not know what. So, they opened fire. Blind firing with a full broadside of defensive batteries that were unengaged using 'flack' to see if they could find his whereabouts.
He deftly avoided the incoming fire, spinning and juking out of the way all the way to the target.
"Light up the racks." He ordered into his com, focusing on the target in front of him.
"Sir," she said reluctantly, and when they did not auto arm, and from the testiness in her voice, he could tell something was up. His heart sank as a result.
"Do it now please." He said, trying to make the desperate tone sound lighter then it probably sounded in fact, but the boards came up and the assault torpedoes armed themselves. "OK, now give me control of the sensors."
She did this too without a word of protest, as certain parts of his board lit up. He then went back to concentrating on the ship that was starting to fill up his canopy, starting to become a distinct vessel.
His hands hovered over the controls to turn all of his sensors onto their combat systems. He was trying to gauge distances, blind, with no readings, where mere seconds could force him from a position of tremendous safety, to one of fatal risk. He needed to gamble, to pick just the moment to strike, otherwise the Earth Forces would have to pummel that ship into component slag, and it was not showing any willingness to make that especially easy.
He decided that the time was good enough. He turned on his sensors, and instantly, as he predicted it, they screamed at him in lock on. He pressed down on the controls, rolling his fighter inverted and bringing it away from the Cruiser, before he fired.
The torpedoes fell from his Thunderbolt and sped rapidly at the Warship, so fast even that they barely had time to shoot down one of the three, before the other two slammed into its vulnerable side.
The first hit along one of the ships long wings with its many gun ports, exploding instantly and vaporizing the aft part of the ship all the way to the engine core.
The second missile exploded right along the ships centerline, ripping it in two, and when the reactor surged, the starship detonated, causing a supernova, reaching out over the kilometers, and even touching Keegan's craft, giving him a slight bump.
His head set crackled, and the controller for the Andy Jackson came on the line.
"Alright, Starfurry Squadrons, all enemies have been dealt with in the local airspace. We are directing the local national guard to go and take care of the rest of the fighters in local space for us, the rest of you, head on back to the barn for rearming, refueling, and debriefing. We are going to stay here for awhile."
Keegan grinned like a school boy, wanting to pump his fists, but not wanting to hit them on the ceiling of his cockpit. "Well we did it." He said excitedly.
"Uh huh." He heard his co pilot from behind him.
His heart plummeted. He knew what was bothering her, and what he had done. But he had to land this bird first, and then report in. Wondering all the while how he was going to fix things.
Because he had been an ass.
Meanwhile, Captain Patterson was discussing their latest mission with his two remaining senior officers. Colonel Norman and Captain Kurylenko, he was busy filling them on precisely what their function was going to be in the upcoming event that they had to go through.
"It's not going to be easy." Norman shook his head looking at the stellar map of the Centauri border. "We are going to have to rely upon the probing invasion forces to create as big of a distraction for us as possible as we attempt to sneak back across the Centauri lines."
"That is why we have to go far north, almost directly away from the heavy areas of their boarders, right near Vorlon space. If we go in there, we should face a minimum of resistance as we move across it and into Centauri space. Earth Force Naval Intelligence indicates that their mine fields and boarder patrols in that area is sparse due to the war, and should get more so as the invasion hits."
"How long do we cross after the fleet engages them in battle?" The younger marine asked looking up.
"Not long, perhaps five hours or so." Patterson responded. "That should give them enough times to take units off the area to go and deal with the present threat."
"You think the Centauri are just going to go along and let them be usurped?" Norman asked.
Patterson thought about it for a second, a long second. "Hope for the best, and plan for the worse Colonel." He scratched at his chin. "Besides, he is the legitimate ruler, its not like Centauri law is going to get in the way. And," Patterson smiled wryly, "intelligence indicates that this war is not popular in the least with the Royal Court."
Norman rolled his eyes. "And they know this…how?"
"Beats me." Patterson chuckled.
His two officers smiled wolfishly back at him.
"The only thing I do know," he started philosophically, "is that they have lost a lot of lives and spent a lot of material, for no obvious benefit. That does not have to be making some people happy back there."
"Indeed" Norman supplanted.
"Well, we have a lot to prepare for, I suggest we get to it. Dismissed" Patterson waved them out, getting back to his own duty roster.
The EAS Andrew Jackson was cruising gently in hyperspace, minding its own business on the short trek before they re entered Earth Space proper.
Two officers, guests on the ship, were huddled by one of the holographic 'windows' looking out into space. But they were not looking out; instead they were just staring blankly at the opposite wall.
To Michael Keegan the silence was, oppressive, and unpleasant. He glanced over to his side and sighed deeply, staring back towards his front. Then he sighed again, deeper and sadder. "Look I'm sorry for how I treated you earlier." He supplied
"That's nice." Stacia said bitterly.
He turned to her, looking at her square. "Really I am."
She looked at him then too, bitterly again, but her resolve quickly broke and her features softened perceptibly. Keegan's heart leapt uncomfortably; maybe he could find his way out of this mine field he had gotten himself into after all.
She sighed too. "Why did you do it anyways? Is it because you do not think I am good enough?"
Keegan gulped and looked back towards the wall, embarrassed. Stacia continued to stare at him, probingly, questioningly, her hawk like beam seeming to penetrate into his soul.
"Its not that, you are probably the best EWO and best engineer I have ever had the…uh…pleasure of knowing." He started off. Then he dove in.
"But…you are really the first person that I have ever cared about like this before. Well, not in that way. I have had other girl friends, but none since the academy, and none of them in Earth Force…none of them whose life might be endangered. And whom I would see first hand that danger, have to share in it, and have to watch them share in it."
"Is that really it?" She said, her eyes looking sad, pleading, but a smirk highlighting her features.
"Yeah, that's it." He said, and then banged his head off the bulk head behind him. "Silly me, and silly silly me, I did not even realize it until you told me the story of the battle. How you almost died, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I was not even there, it's a vulnerable feeling."
"So…" she said, fearing where this was going to lead to.
"So nothing," He responded with a grin. "I will get over it, I usually do. Mind you I understand now why old Earth militaries forbade relationships between officers." He smiled coyly.
She snorted. "Yeah there is that. So we are OK?"
"Yeah, we are OK; just forgive me my brief momentary loss of sanity."
"You are forgiven Michael." She said to him, beaming, feeling so relieved.
But before they could pursue this line of reasoning, the intercom came on. "Now approaching Earth, flight crews man your birds for the transfer of personnel. Have a safe trip, thank you."
Keegan wondered out loud. "So this is it?"
Stacia sighed, "Yeah this is it."
On the surface of the Earth Colonel James Norman was standing at a landing pad, watching as a shuttle was about to make its landing, the wind it was kicking up blowing his hair and his uniform jacket around that was warming.
It fired its thrusters one more time, hovered for a second, and then landed gingerly, grunting and moaning as it settled on the platform.
Its back door exploded in steam and the door opened with a metallic sounding thud, and then the ramp whooshed out and clanked against the pavement below. An Earth Force Major went into the doorway, and looked around for a second, taking in the surroundings, before he jogged down the ramp because of the steep incline.
The rest of the officers followed suite.
One of the last groups off was Lt. Cmdr. Clarke and Lt. Keegan, both of them were smiling, and she was leaning back toward him, talking mildly as they walked in a more leisurely fashion down the ramp.
Norman wondered if there wasn't more to that. But he shook his head clear of the idea.
He walked up to them and nodded at them with a gingerly "Hello"
"Hello sir." They said in almost unison.
"How was the trip?" He asked to the two of them, genuinely happy to see them.
"It was well sir." Michael said beaming; Stacia just nodded her agreement with this assessment of the situation that they had just come from. "What happened here while we were gone?" He asked.
"Well, a lot has happened," Norman iterated, and then he went onto a long five minute explanation of the new mission, and the new developments, that Earth was sending them on.
Keegan just whistled after he was done, shocked at the full implications of the mission before them.
"They serious?" Stacia asked.
"Yes they are Lt Commander." Norman said with a bit of a military edge.
Stacia flushed slightly and looked down, "What I mean is that one ship, against the entire Centauri Navy? Having to sneak in?"
"Ships have done it in the past, went on secret missions." Keegan said.
"Yeah but not when the stakes were so high," Stacia shot back.
"Regardless," Norman held up his hand turning to the two junior officers, and saying with a harsh military bark, "this is our mission, and the Captain is eager to get on the road. A shuttle is waiting to take us back on board."
"Well, let's get to it." Keegan said smiling, hardly feeling chastised.
Shuttles lifted off from the planet surface, and accelerated quickly into the depths of space, traveling quickly towards the ships in the flotilla that was assembling.
In one of the ones in the middle, the command crew of the EAS Gandalf was watching the sites go bye.
Approaching the command station in the distance as other shuttles broke off to go attend to their ships, the sun glinting off of the glass of the view ports as they made their way ever closer, and highlighting the station in dramatic technological beauty.
The shuttle ducked below one of the pylons of the station that was obscuring the Gandalf from view, as it filled the viewport in her majesty.
"Wow" Keegan said in awe, the first time that he had to look at his hip like this. Stacia looked at him, then back at the viewport, and smiled gaily.
"My friends, we have come home" Patterson said smiling as well, taking in his ship in all its glory.
Ten minutes later they were back on the bridge. "Captain on the bridge!" A junior officer said. Patterson had never seen before, must have been one of the new comers.
"At ease," He said waving him to the chair. He then mounted his command chair. "Cargo bay, is our packages aboard?"
"Aye sir, locked and ready to go." The Marine said over the intercom.
"Very Well," Patterson said and then he switched to the general intercom. "All hands this is the Captain speaking, prepare to get under way. We are heading right into the lions den on a mission that will hopefully win the war, that is all I can say at this point, but we are the best ship in the fleet, and we will get this done. Patterson out." He flicked his intercom off.
"Set a course for the Upper Centauri Border regions."
The helm and navigation manipulated their controls, "Aye sir, course laid in."
"Punch it, maximum speed." Patterson said.
The ship accelerated into the vortex, flashing as it entered, the vortex closing behind them as they sped off for their next objective.