February 1, 2248

The Grey Council

"So," Hedronn asked, his voice hushed. "It has been confirmed?"

"Yes," Morann, the Warrior Caste satai, answered. "The Night's Star battle group has been lost at Jericho. We believe the Earther Federationists were responsible for its disappearance."

Satai Coplann growled lowly at Morann's news. "We have lost warriors to those vermin. We have lost ships. We have lost many of our citizens. They have bombed Minbari colonies and have attacked our worlds. The Earther Federationists' infamy can no longer be ignored or tolerated; it can only be avenged! We cannot make peace with these foul Humans! At best, we can only bring them to heel. Our entire fleet is mobilizing and once we sweep these creatures from our space, Earth is lifeless, and the Humans extinct in our sector of the galaxy, we shall seek out and destroy the Human infestation on the other side of the galaxy along with their allies as necessary."

"Oh, that the universe would heed your words and make them come to pass, Coplann!" Delenn exclaimed, her mocking tone evident to the members of the Council. "What you have failed to explain, though, is how we can manage to bring them to heel when we have no idea how many vessels like the Excelsior and Enterprise they have on hand in our space already! Indeed, until we locate and blockade the transit they are using to transport their vessels to our sector of space, I fear we shall be unable to accomplish the task you have so just eloquently presented to us."

"Unfortunately, they already have far more vessels like those accursed ships here than I care for," Morann grumbled. "The Freya…the Rizal…the Bondar…the Jeanne d'Arc and that alien-consorting captain's vessel, the Valkyrie—along with Kirk's band of pirates and the invisible ships of their beastly allies, everything we witnessed on the Humans' broadcast is the stuff of nightmares!"

Delenn nodded then exclaimed, "Unless we are able to close off the passageway they are using, we may find ourselves challenged by hundreds of ships such as those!"

"Come now, Satai Delenn! No Human organization could possibly field that many ships without endangering the safety of their home systems," Shai Alyt Branmer argued, speaking for the first time during this latest meeting of the Grey Council. "Only 'First Ones' would be able to do so and these Humans are certainly not First Ones. Besides, the cost of building such vessels as the one that destroyed the Blood of Saints in the Earther system must be enormous!"

"Perhaps so," Hedronn noted. "However, Branmer, you cannot deny, especially after viewing the Earther's ISN broadcast, the Federationists' forces managed to arrive here before our expeditionary fleet returned home. They organized a small expeditionary force of their own and traveled across the galaxy to attack us in a matter of weeks—weeks, Branmer!" Hedronn sighed deeply then said, "Subsequently, their ships ravaged our military forces and merchant ships with impunity. So, even though the cost to them may be high, I am afraid they do have the capability to do as they claim."

The Shai Alyt frowned then blustered, "Hedronn, I readily concede to all that you have just said. Still, we must stay the course. Although this conflict began as a war of righteous retribution, it is evolving, for both sides, into a war of survival. We cannot waver from our course if we are to ultimately prevail against these savages!"

A frustrated Delenn shook her head and snapped, "Branmer, if we pursue the course you are proposing to the bitter end, are you certain our people will survive? Have we forgotten the Vorlons have recently bridged the gulf between us to help the Minbari in our time of need? Before this crisis, they had not contacted us for a thousand years but now, they are here. That alone should force us to engage in careful contemplation of the challenge that lies before us."

Morann pursed his lips in thought for several moments before he said, "Delenn is right. We must proceed carefully and bring an end to this conflict in a way that protects the interests of our people. I believe if we destroy the Earth Alliance and deny the others its use as a base of operations that will prove to the Earther Federationists we are strong enough to hurt them. It will allow us to negotiate from a position of strength. Furthermore, a negotiated settlement between the Federationists and us would provide our people the time to strengthen our forces to effectively deal with the Federationist Humans in the future."

Hedronn sighed heavily as he shook his head. "In this, my friend, I believe you are terribly wrong. If we destroy Earth, we shall only succeed in angering the Federationist Humans further."

"At the moment," Coplann announced, "I believe we lose nothing by pursuing the course of action proposed by Morann. Hedronn, do you not you see? If we fail to destroy the Earth Alliance system, I fear the other Humans will provide their weapons and advanced material to their Earth Alliance brethren. Believe you me, the possibility of Earth Alliance ships equipped with Federationist and Klingon technology to use against our people chills me to my very soul. If that nightmare comes to pass, the Minbari people could actually lose this war and cease to exist."

Branmer then spoke as if Valen himself was standing beside him. "It shall not come to that, Coplann! We shall prevail. We must!" he boomed. "The alternative is simply unfathomable. If the Humans somehow defeat us then the Light shall be extinguished from our galaxy and the Darkness will consume everything it touches. But those vermin shall not win because the Vorlons are with us! The First Ones shall not allow the unthinkable to happen on their watch. With the Vorlons' support, there is nothing we cannot do!"

Bridge of the USS Valkyrie

When Mazan's panel chirped for her attention, she glanced down and announced, "Captain Tynen, we are receiving a transmission from the Auckland. Sir, it's Admiral Tapin."

"Thank you, lieutenant. I'll take it in my ready room."

Tynen then stood up, crossed the bridge and entered his office while V'Lar took the captain's chair in his place. Moments later, he sat down behind his desk and activated his terminal. "Tynen here."

Immediately, Tapin's face appeared on the captain's terminal screen. "Good morning, Jay. I was wondering how the work on the Titan decoy is coming along?"

"It's going well, sir. My chief engineer's people are working with a team led by his counterpart on loan to us from the Pagh on our little gift for the Minbari. We'd like to think of it as an exercise in improving relations with our erstwhile allies."

A thin smile flashed across the admiral's face. "I bet you do! When will it be ready?"

"Commander Rad informs me that it will be ready tomorrow. When they've completed their work, the Val will beam aboard the Gurkha GROPOS and transport both them and the decoy to Titan."

"GROPOS?"

Tynen smiled apologetically at the other man. "I'm sorry, sir. GROPOS is the acronym for Ground Pounders. They're Earth Force's infantry. The interesting thing is that the company we'll have on board is made up entirely of Gurkhas."

Tapin shot him a questioning look. "Aren't those the Nepalese soldiers that used to be members of the British Army before the United Earth came into being?"

"Yes, that's right," Tynen said. "Our Earth Force liaison, Commander Lochley, was the officer who suggested that we use them on Titan during the briefing where I presented my plan to Admiral Hague and his staff."

Reflecting back on that meeting, Tynen sighed heavily. At first, the briefing certainly wasn't a picnic, particularly when he'd told them about the losses he expected their fleet to suffer. However, they'd seemed to put it all aside when he'd described the asymmetrical warfare tactic he'd wanted to spring on the Minbari on Titan.

Now, he glanced at Tapin and said, "The Gurkhas will be perfect when they 'play dead' and sow confusion in the rear of the enemy's ground forces when they land to capture our decoy. These soldiers are known for being tough and tenacious. It's been said that 'if a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha.' Well, we're going to send them down to the surface of Titan along with Major Vanderweg's 1st Platoon."

Tapin grinned and asked, "So, Commander Lochley added this wrinkle to your plan?"

"Yes, sir. She's been of tremendous help to me. She's done a fantastic job of coordinating with her Earth Force peers on our behalf. She's a damn good officer, admiral."

Suddenly, Tynen saw a light flash on the admiral's desk panel. Tapin glanced down at it then peered into the camera lens. "Could you hold for a moment, Jay? I've got to take this call."

"Of course, sir."

Tapin nodded and placed him on hold. For a minute or two, the screen silently bore the image of the Starfleet emblem. Then the admiral's image flashed back onto the screen.

"Jay, something's come up. The U.S.S. Echo's first officer has gone into premature labor. She's being transported to the Dehner, along with her husband, Lt. Commander Meier, as we speak."

Tynen nodded at the admiral. Lt. Meier's baby wasn't due for another month or so and the couple had planned to transfer the Echo's XO to the Elizabeth Dehner before then. The Dehner was a Hippocrates-class medical frigate commanded by Captain Rebecca Hunter, M.D. Tynen had met Dr. Hunter when the Valkyrie was at Regulus after the Minbari had virtually wiped out that entire colony. The doctor was the love interest of Tynen's Section 31 buddy, Jack Gretsky, and Tynen had promised to protect the woman on Jack's behalf while they were assigned to shield Alliance Earth from the Minbari.

Although Tynen was certain that Tapin shared his concern for the safety of both the mother and her baby, he knew they were in good hands. The Dehner offered the best care in the quadrant short of a starbase's medical center.

"As you know under the Family Medical Leave Regulation," the admiral now said to Tynen, "both Commander and Lieutenant Meier are afforded twelve weeks of leave from active duty. Additionally, as new parents, they both could seek a ground assignment for an entire year."

"That's right, sir."

"Well, this puts me in a bind, Jay. Before I called you, I'd just finished a conversation with Admiral Hague. He told me they had an infantry platoon manning a listening post on a lifeless moon orbiting one of the Beta Durani colonies. The members of the platoon hid on the moon just before the Minbari took over the entire system. Their mission was to signal if the enemy planned to use the system as a staging area for the final assault on Alliance Earth. Hague asked me if we could send a starship with an Earth Force colonel along for the ride to extract his people. Based on what we know about the Minbaris' capabilities, they won't be able to detect our ship's arrival in the system at warp speed. I wanted to send the Echo because the perimeter action ship is fast enough to cover the twelve light year trip in seven days and return before the Minbari attack Alliance Earth. Also, she's large enough to transport the entire platoon. It's not a complicated mission; most likely, it'll be a milk run."

Somehow, Tynen managed to avoid cringing in front of the admiral. Anytime a flag officer described a mission as a 'milk run,' you knew the mission had just been jinxed. However, what he actually said to the man was, "Now, though, the Echo doesn't have either her skipper or executive officer available for this mission."

Tapin grunted. "You understand my dilemma."

"No, sir, it's not your dilemma; it's my problem now. You have more important things to deal with, admiral. Why don't you delegate this matter to me and let me handle it?"

Tapin smiled gently at him. "You don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all."

"Well, I'll leave it to you then. You have complete autonomy to handle this matter in any way you see fit so long as you don't decide to take your ship and crew to conduct the mission yourself."

"Thank you, admiral. Actually…" he hesitated for a moment as a thought came to him. Then he smiled and said, "I believe I've just come up with a way we could pull this thing off. My navigator, Lt. Niznik Vox, is a Trill whose symbiont was joined in the recent past with one of our best starship captains. I can personally vouch for Vox's former host because she was a highly regarded instructor at the Academy when I was a cadet. Now, the current host is a fine officer and, with the symbiont's guidance, can handle being in temporary command of the Echo. Niznik is due for promotion to Lt. Commander which would be perfect for command of the Echo; now would be as good a time as any."

Tapin pondered Tynen's suggestion for several moments before he nodded and said, "That's a great idea, Jay! Though, before we get too carried away, have you any thoughts about what we're going to do about the XO? It's my understanding that appointing one of the command grade officers on that boat to the position is out of the question. It seems they're a pretty green bunch."

The fingers of Tynen's hands formed a steeple as he pressed them under his lips while he pondered the problem. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I have another idea but I'm hesitant to tell you about it. Once you hear it, I wouldn't blame you if you had me committed."

Both of the admiral's eyes shot wide open at Tynen's ominous warning. "Let's hear it then."

"Do your recall when Kerla complained at our last staff meeting that 'too much reliance on the Federation' was undermining the Klingon's Alliance Earth effort?"

Tapin nodded. "Yes and I agreed to the use of the Klingon Starkiller defensive platforms as Alliance Earth's first line of defense."

"So, what do you think about having one of their mid-level officers temporarily assigned as the Echo's XO? If the Klingons agree to it, it may go a long way toward bridging the gulf between our two cultures. If they don't, they'll have to back down and shut up about how we're supposedly undermining them."

The admiral closed his eyes while he thought the matter over. Then his eyes flashed open to glare at Tynen. "If the Klingons go for this, whoever they send, that individual cannot be the XO 'in name only.' The Klingon must be willing to do the job. That person has to remember he or she is aboard a Starfleet vessel and must work with both the skipper and the crew with our constraints in mind."

"I agree, admiral and I'll make damn certain that the Klingons commit to that requirement or the deal is off."

Tapin seemed to study him through the screen for almost a full minute before the admiral snapped, "Then see to it, Fleet Captain."

"Yes, sir!" Tynen responded crisply.

#

After Tapin had terminated the call, the captain punched his intercom button. "Tynen to Mazan."

"Mazan here."

"Etana, please contact General Kang on the K'tanco. When you have him, patch him through to me in my ready room."

"Aye, sir," she said just before she terminated their connection.

Moments later, Etana piped the Klingon into his ready room. "This is the K'tanco, Kang here."

"General Kang, this is Tynen. I was wondering if your people would be willing to assist me with an urgent matter."

"Why, of course, captain! What can we do for you?"

"One of our light vessels has temporarily lost both her commanding officer and executive officer. Unfortunately, Admiral Hague has asked us to extract some of their soldiers from deep inside Minbari held territory and this ship is the best vessel for the job. I've got someone in mind for the commanding officer role for this mission; however, in the interests of fostering better ties between our two governments, I'd like to have one of your people serve as the ship's executive officer."

Kang narrowed his eyes at Tynen then. "Is this a serious request, captain?"

The captain of the Valkyrie nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And…my officer would serve alongside your people unhindered?"

"That's right. Both the crew and the ship's computer would recognize your officer as the vessel's XO. He or she would have access to anything having to do with ship's business. However, certain computer files would be restricted from your officer but that would be true for anyone on board with the exception of the ship's commanding officer."

Kang simply nodded at Tynen's explanation. "Who do you intend to serve as the ship's commander?"

"Niznik Vox."

"The Trill officer I met aboard your vessel?" Kang grunted then added, "Dax speaks very highly of him. According to Dax, Vox's prior host was a Starfleet captain."

"Yes, she was a highly decorated officer who taught at Starfleet Academy when I was a cadet."

"With that in mind, I have no objection to your request."

"Thank you, sir. Now, I want to make certain that you understand we need someone who can work with Vox and the crew. Although your officer will certainly learn about us and the crew will be told that they are to treat your officer with respect and courtesy, this is an important mission which requires your officer's best efforts. You should also know we're going to have an Alliance Earth senior officer on board so Vox and the XO must be an effective team. Your officer shouldn't hesitate to offer suggestions to Vox; however, the XO shouldn't look to challenge Vox for command of the ship unless Vox either seriously violates mission parameters or Starfleet protocol."

"So, my officer cannot kill Vox if he shows cowardice in the face of the enemy?"

"No," Tynen counseled. "If that unlikely event happened to occur, your officer should site the regulation he or she believes Vox has violated, relieve him of his command and confine him to quarters for the duration of the mission."

In response, Kang simply shook his head and muttered, "Such a pity that Starfleet is so squeamish about partaking in decisive action even when it is warranted."

"Well, sir, the less martial species among us do tend to frown upon engaging in a commander's 'forcible retirement' in that manner," Tynen drawled.

Kang laughed out loud at that. "Tynen, you remind me of my good friend, Koloth! Like you, he is the consummate schemer. I, on the other hand, am far more direct than either of you. Even though Koloth and you are cut from different cloth than me, I would not hesitate to go into battle with either of you at my side."

As Tynen nodded in recognition of the legendary general's surprisingly gracious remarks, Kang fell silent for several seconds. Then, moments later, the Klingon said, "You were wise to come to me with your request, Tynen. I have the officer you seek. She serves on the K'tanco and her name is Krilka. She is a full Lieutenant, the scion of a proud and noble house. Neither Mara nor I would hesitate to vouch for her. It may also interest you to know that Curzon Dax thinks highly of her; she is quite impressed by him as well. She should work well with your Trill officer. Where and when do you need her?"

"Can you send her over to my ship two hours from now? By then, I'll have Vox up to speed on his new assignment. After she arrives, I'll brief them then send them on their way to their new command."

"I shall notify Krilka of our decision, Captain Tynen, and prepare her for transport to your ship in two hours. Do you require anything else of me at this time?"

"No, sir, that's all I have for the moment. Thank you for your assistance in this matter, general."

Kang acknowledged him with a grunt then signed off, leaving a contemplative Tynen. Somehow, he mused, something was telling him that this mission wouldn't turn out to be a 'milk run' for the new skipper and the crew of the U.S.S. Echo.