7
Beta Durani
For the second time in the last two months Beta Colony was playing host to a concentration of Earth Alliance warships, once again the heavens were grey and heavy with iron and steel, rank after rank, row after row, squadron after squadron. This fleet was much bigger than the ill fated Fourth Fleet which had confronted the Minbari at the start of the war and found itself utterly annihilated but for many it did not matter. Against the Minbari few out on the edges of EA space believed there was much chance of victory.
There was a growing shift in public perception, a feeling like the ground was opening up beneath them and they were in that fraction of a second when gravity took hold, just before falling into an abyss. On the major colonies and in the Sol system people were still largely shielded from the true weight of events. They knew the Minbari were powerful and they knew that Earth's first attempt to stop them had failed. The recent news that the Minbari flagship had been destroyed had helped restore a lot of confidence, but there was still the growing sensation that humanity was getting into something way over its head.
But on the edges, on what promised to become a battlefield within the next few days the feelings were far grimmer. These were the people who had seen the proud fleet depart and never return. They'd seen the refugees, spoken with them, discovered just how quickly the EA fleet had been killed. The outer colonies were quiet, the cities increasingly deserted as those who could flee did so. Even Beta Durani, the jewel of the outer worlds was emptying, its bravado and frontier spirit driven to fear and resignation by the true face of the Minbari.
The sentiments had not escaped the notice of the President. Very soon the refugees from the outer worlds would reach the core worlds with the stories of disaster. So far they had been able to control a lot of the reports about the war, making no secret that Earth was losing the campaign so far but not mentioning exactly how badly. Soon she would have no option but to reveal the scale of the disaster unless her forces could somehow claw back a victory. Sheridan had made a good start, he had provided a ray of hope, but they needed more. The war was on a knife edge, this was their one last chance to push it in Earth's favour and prove that humanity could force a victory.
Four thousand ships waited at Beta Durani, fully half of the entire Earth Force fleet commanded personally by Admiral Donald Ferguson, one of the heroes of the Dilgar War. Ferguson had lead the EA forces fighting beside the Drazi, operating even further away than Admiral Hamato's main expedition. Ferguson had been both a fearless tactician and a subtle diplomat forming an excellent partnership with Drazi Warleader Stro'kath who had since gone on the greater things.
When Admiral Hamato resigned in dramatic fashion in protest at the Dilgar Armistice Ferguson had been promoted to his job, the quiet spoken American accepting only after his friend Hamato had given consent. Ferguson had also believed the war should have been fought to the end but a mass resignation of senior officers would not have helped Earth's position post war. Ferguson accepted the political decision and buried himself in his work, becoming senior officer of the Navy and rebuilding Earth Force after the heavy losses inflicted and the hard lessons learned fighting Dilgar.
One of those lessons, perhaps the hardest, was that the public needed unequivocal success. The Dilgar war wasn't lost at Balos, it was lost in the living rooms of Earth and Mars and on the Senate floor. The Joint Chiefs knew something similar was happening here, but this time the ramifications were much worse. They needed a victory, a clear victory to keep the public in the war and make sure the politicians gave the military what they needed not just for this war but for the next one.
Ferguson had a simple task, stop the Minbari. How he did it was entirely up to him, the president had been so shaken by the loss of the Fourth Fleet she had handed the fleet a blank cheque to do whatever it needed. Reserves were entering the fleet, mothballed ships were coming on line, within a fortnight Earth Force would be stronger than ever, superior to the force that sailed forth at the height of the Dilgar war.
Ferguson also knew it wasn't nearly enough.
This wasn't a war of numbers, it was about abilities. Ferguson's ancestors had served in the US Cavalry centuries earlier in the Old West, he knew that technology could overcome even titanic numbers. As he looked at the classified data from the early battles with the Minbari he had very clear images of tribesmen with spears and shields charging Maxim guns and howitzers.
As he arrived at Beta Prime it was this image that came with him, so vivid it was impossible to dismiss. He was not heartened by the show of force arrayed before him, a fleet that could have fought its way from one side of the League to the other or to the Narn homeworld and back. It had been shown on the news day after day, a reassuring wall of steel that no enemy could overcome, the great bulwark of human kind.
Numbers would not do it, and to his great sadness it seemed even training and courage would make little difference. He firmly believed the veteran ships of Earth Force were the finest in the galaxy, courageous and competent beyond any other military, but so far it hadn't made a difference. This next battle had to be different, it had to be, because if it wasn't the third battle of this war would probably be over Earth itself.
"Admiral on deck."
Ferguson answered the salute as he arrived on the station, a small guard of honour snapping to attention. They showed no sign of nerves, the troopers blank faced and unreadable.
"Captain Fierre, temporarily assigned to this station sir." A rather short man introduced himself. "We have quarters prepared for you and the fleet commanders are waiting for a briefing."
"Call them right now." Ferguson ordered. "I want to see them immediately."
"Would you prefer to eat first sir?"
"We don't have time, Jericho is already under siege." He replied curtly. "Assemble all staff officers and representatives. I want to be off this station in three hours."
"Yes sir."
Ferguson tapped the controls on a transport lift, glancing around.
"Pretty quiet here."
"Yes sir, most civilians are long gone."
"Can't blame them."
"I hoped they'd have more faith in our chances of stopping the Minbari."
"Do you Captain?" Ferguson asked blankly.
"I… yes sir, I do."
"Keep that attitude and we will." The Admiral smiled slightly. "Get the staff together."
He entered the lift with a nod.
"Keep the Faith Captain."
The door slid shut, the Admiral's face falling. Faith was just about all they had going for them.
Within fifteen minutes the main conference room was busy with six Admirals and twice as many Captains, each representing one of the main formations answering to Ferguson. In addition to the military personnel there were three civilians trying not to be conspicuous without much success. They immediately ceased talking among themselves as Ferguson entered, a khaki uniformed Army officer in step beside him.
"We'll need at least five divisions no more than an hour behind us." Ferguson finished off. "The Minbari won't have had time to dig in but I'd still expect a hard landing."
"We'll be ready." The General said. "permission to stay for the briefing?"
"By all means, take a seat." Ferguson affirmed, assuming the central position in the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, less than an hour ago Jericho Colony fell."
Nobody was really surprised.
"We had already withdrawn our warships to join this fleet, a strike in hyperspace failed to achieve any success. We had hoped the planetary defences would hold until we could arrive but unfortunately not. Our last report said the Minbari were landing troops and that the garrison expected to last no longer than five days. It will take us two to arrive with the fleet."
He placed a data crystal in the nearest port, bringing up a series of grainy images.
"We managed a few recon flights at long range beyond the ability of the Minbari to intercept. While we have no hard sensor readers a review of photographic images taken on the mission suggests the Minbari fleet has increased to at least five hundred ships."
That drew a few comments.
"While we still heavily outnumber the Minbari I would remind you all we had them heavily outnumbered at Cyrus too." Ferguson intoned. "Now we have a great deal of flexibility in how we approach this, before we commit I need to know that we have a chance."
He fixed his gaze on the broad form of Vice Admiral Tennant.
"Give me good news Joe."
The tall man broke into a confident smile.
"The field test was flawless. Our new sensor system penetrated the Minbari jammers. We had full targeting data, we could scan them internally, it even boosted our effective range two fold."
"What about our weapons?"
"Minbari are tough, but we can hurt them." Tennant assured. "Now we can aim accurately we have a chance sir. A fighting chance."
It was what he needed to hear. In one moment the task had hand went from suicidal to achievable, from a desperate attack to a battle that could be planned for and won. In a heartbeat everything came back to him, he would not have to simply preside over the Death Ride of the veterans of Earth Force, he could fight a real battle.
Admiral Ferguson's frown lessened marginally, his stomach untied itself and his mind engaged to formulate an effective response to the information.
"This is what we were hoping for." He voiced everybody's thoughts. "This is what we needed. Understand very clearly that this does not guarantee victory, all it does is remove the possibility of inevitable defeat. This battle remains ours to lose."
He looked over to the civilians.
"I understand you represent the EIA?"
"Agent Sakai." The apparent leader of the group confirmed. "This is my plot Captain Calendar, and this is Clarence Wallis."
"Professor Wallis?" Ferguson tilted his head. "From Vickers Lockheed?"
"Ah, yes sir." The middle aged man answered absently, his mind clearly elsewhere. "I run the Skunkworks back home, I'm here to oversee the installation of the new sensor kits."
"How is it going?"
"Already done Admiral." Wallis said with obvious pride. "Two hundred ships have them, mainly command vessels and scout cruisers."
"Can we share the data over standard datalinks?" Ferguson asked.
"Yes Admiral, the sensors are integrated with our systems. Just treat them like our old units. The information can be loaded up to the standard battle net and be accessed by any warship or fighter, providing those vessels aren't destroyed."
Ferguson nodded sternly at the comment.
"Those ships are our trump card. Hopefully the Minbari won't guess their purpose until it is too late, but if they do make sure they are well distributed and protected."
"Already set up in the fleet plans sir." One of the other commanders affirmed.
"We're already working on mass producing sensor packs, enough to outfit the whole fleet." Wallis stated. "But for now we only have these two hundred read for service."
"It'll be enough." Ferguson resolved. "Are we waiting for anyone?"
"No sir, we have every ship fully fuelled and ready."
"Yours too Joe?"
"Ready for round two." Tennant affirmed.
"Very good." Ferguson addressed the room. "The plan is simple. Jump to Jericho, engage the Minbari fleet and retake the planet. I'll give you each your assignments individually but I'm expecting each of you to handle your fleets flexibly. You've all proved yourselves in wars and battles before, you are the best and most experienced of our senior officers. I need that, Earth needs it. I need you dangerous, razor sharp, ready to exploit our advantages mercilessly. Admiral Tennant has proven we can beat their ships, it's up to us here in this room to prove we can beat their navy."
He took the data crystal back, shutting down the display screen and ending the short briefing.
"The whole war turns on our actions. Our experience with the Minbari is still mainly mystery and fear, but likewise their knowledge of us is also very limited. Let's show them exactly what to expect from us. Report to your units and be ready to depart in three hours. We owe them bloodshed."
"Captain Black." Tennant collared his newest lieutenant. "Checking up on the station?"
"Just making sure everything was where I left it." She replied with a huff. "They already repainted my quarters. Just appalling."
"Well you've moved on to bigger and better things. Come on."
They headed down one of the numerous corridors, Black easily navigating the labyrinth.
"The briefing didn't seem to take long."
"Admiral Ferguson likes to get to the point." Tennant stated. "We're going in, no messing about."
"Understood sir."
"Are your people ready for it?"
"We came out of that last battle without a scratch sir, we just needed to top up the fuel tanks. Should be done by now."
"Not your ships Captain, your people." Tennant specified. "We had surprise on our side that last little fight, this is going to be a stand up fight. Whole different thing."
Black nodded heavily.
"It's been a while, but most of my senior officers are veterans of Balos. They've seen it get bad, they won't lose their nerve. We're ready for this."
"You'll need to be." Tennant led her to one of the dormitories within the station. "The Minbari still out range us and can out run us. If they chose to fight a mobile battle they can still tear us apart."
"So far all they've done is form line and advance on us."
"That's because so far all we've done is explode and die." Tennant reminded. "I'm hoping we can change that, which means they'll change too. Assume nothing, just because they fight like morons doesn't mean they can't suddenly get smart. Don't let them surprise you."
"Understood."
Tennant opened the door.
"I'm going to give you something to help you out."
Within the room a group of uniformed officers were relaxing, some playing cards, some reading, some composing holo letters. They at once stood to attention as the two senior officers entered, a tall and rather dashing man with dark hair standing ahead of them.
"Sir." He saluted the Admiral. "Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, Thirteenth Tactical Fighter Squadron."
"As you were." Tennant nodded. "Captain Black, meet the Ghostriders."
"The Thirteenth." Black didn't bother hiding her awe. "Best squadron in the Force. This unit made the Dilgar fighter corps cry themselves to sleep every night."
"They have a reputation and I'm glad to say they are living up to it." Tennant confirmed. "You are looking at the only pilot to kill a Minbari fighter."
Black regarding Sinclair with interest.
"I engaged a scout at the edge of the system a few days ago." Sinclair informed. "He'd already taken out four Furies on patrol, I went after him."
"This was before we tested the targeting sensors. The Commander brought his kill down the old fashioned way." Tennant stated. "Closed to within thirty yards, thirty damn yards, and unloaded every gun into him."
"It did the job sir." Sinclair concluded.
"This is your new Commander, Air Group." Tennant grinned. "Commander Sinclair, you'll be serving aboard the Warspite under Captain Helena Black. We're going to be front and centre when all hell breaks loose, the Minbari will make us priority targets."
"Understood sir, we'll do what it takes."
"On the plus side we've broken Minbari Stealth, you won't have to get within thirty yards anymore." The Admiral smiled coldly. "Think you like those odds Commander?"
"I think I like them very much sir." Sinclair grinned widely. "My people are better, if we can see them we'll bring them down by the squadron."
"You're going to get your chance. We move out in three hours, report to the Warspite, you too Captain, this is where we see what we're made of.
Jericho Colony.
"They didn't even put up a fight." Neroon snorted. "What kind of Navy lets us walk in without a fight?"
"A Navy that is conserving its strength for a massive counter attack." Branmer responded simply, the image of the world filling the curtain display before him, several blue ships circling lazily and from time to time sending a brief line of green energy to a target on the surface.
"The orbital defences were respectable if ineffective." The Shai Alyt considered. "And they had already dispersed much of their army. Did we get the reports from the initial attack?"
"Our warriors landed to no opposition, we levelled their bases but they had only a skeleton force." Neroon informed. "Most likely their main strength withdrew to difficult terrain. We're having a hard time finding them from orbit."
"Then we'll have to find them on the ground." Branmer shrugged. "Our ground forces were decrying the fleet for killing all the humans before they had a chance to wash their knives in blood. Now they have their chance."
"Going after a well prepared enemy in difficult terrain probably isn't what they were expecting."
"In the words of Valen, be careful what you wish for."
"You believe the humans will attack?" Neroon considered. "They must be aware of how heavily we outmatch them?"
"They know." Branmer agreed. "So they will not attack unless they think they have an advantage to exploit. They are quite clever, Satai Delenn gave me some information about them and their recent war with the Dilgar. You should read it."
"I will Shai Alyt." Neroon promised.
"But at the same time they know they must attack, they cannot hold a defensive line against us, they must retake the initiative. They will attack and it will probably be here."
"That means they must have found a weakness in our fleet." Neroon narrowed his eyes. "Something has changed since our initial attack."
"Possibly. Our guard force at Cyrus was recently destroyed along with most of our fuel supplies."
"How is that possible Shai Alyt?"
"According to the local Commander the humans attack with surprise and overwhelming force." Branmer replied. "It seems that if they send enough ships they believe they can bury us in an avalanche of bodies. It appears we will soon find out."
He changed the view to a map of local space.
"Our scouts reported a human fleet at Durani, nearly four thousand ships."
"That must be most of their navy."
"About half." Branmer informed. "They left their base several hours ago, they are almost certainly on their way here."
"they could be heading to Cyrus." Neroon suggested. "To cut our supply lines."
"Possible, but I do not think so. Human doctrine seems to emphasise the destruction of the enemy. Anything else they do is merely in service of that goal. They will fight us head on, and they will want to do it quickly before we cut them apart piecemeal."
"What are your orders Shai Alyt?"
"There are reports from Cyrus that the humans used jump point attacks. Keep the fleet mobile and flexible, we don't want a repeat if true. Shift beyond lunar orbit, we will fight the battle in open space, nowhere for the humans to hide."
"Nothing to interfere with our fields of fire." Neroon understood.
"Exactly." Branmer affirmed. "We engage at long range. Clinical, precise. It may not offer the glory many of our warriors apparently seek, but it will keep them alive. See to it."
"At once."
"And Neroon, ensure we have a clear line of retreat to Cyrus." Branmer half smiled. "Just in case they are as good as they believe they are."
Approaching Jericho Colony
Two days later.
"You smell that? I smell battle."
"Nah, that's just Powell, you get used to it after a while."
Private Groller hurled his newspaper at his bunkmate, Cooper swatting it aside with a chuckle.
"Come on, you know what I mean!" Groller pressed. "This is it, finally!"
"This is what, Private Groller?"
At that voice the entire room snapped to attention, leaping up from their bunks or chairs. They held their posture as the owner of the voice regarded them, then settled his attention on Groller.
"Talk Private."
"Sergeant, sir, I meant this is our chance for action."
Sergeant Major Alfredo Garibaldi took a step back, nodding indulgently.
"That it is Private. Red platoon, one step forward if you have seen action before!"
All of two people from the twenty strong unit stepped from their positions.
"Mark my words boys and girls, this is not a movie!" Garibaldi called out. "You have trained hard, you have learned everything you can be taught, but it will not fully prepare you for what you are about to experience. You will be asked to kill a sentient being, one who looks a bit like us. This isn't Gaim swatting, these guys have faces, eyes. You will see terror in their expressions, you will see them sob and cry. You will be responsible for inflicting that pain and death."
Garibaldi was close to being a legend among those who knew of him. He had joined the army late in life, the final stop on a road of troubled events and dead ends. He didn't expect much, but when war with the Dilgar broke out he found himself dropped into the heart of it all. Habitually trapped behind enemy lines Garibaldi had fought with fury and skill, beating anything the Dilgar happened to put in his path. He was promoted to Sergeant and eventually above, leading by example. His most well reported exploit came during his first combat with the Dilgar, in the midst of the fight he found himself facing a Dilgar Spectre, one of the finest special forces agents in the galaxy. With no gun to hand Garibaldi had to improvise, grabbing the nearest heavy object which turned out to be a crowbar and simply beating the operative to death.
Ever since he had borne the nickname 'Crowbar' to his amusement.
When the war ended and the army downsized Garibaldi, by now a more mature and confident man, started his own detective agency and turned his life into something worth while, even recruiting his son into the family business. It lasted until the Minbari arrived and the President authorised the call up of all experienced military personnel. Garibaldi was near the top of the list.
He returned to his old unit, the 99th airborne as Regimental Sergeant Major and immediately began turning the fairly green unit into something meaner. The decade of peace after the Dilgar war had meant a lot of Earth Force, especially the younger recruits, hadn't seen much action. While most of the veterans of the Dilgar war filled out the more senior officer and NCO posts the junior ranks had a serious experience gap. If it wasn't handled right it could be disastrous.
"By the end of today you will have killed." Garibaldi said simply. "It will change you. What you must do is not let it change you for the worse. Do not doubt yourself, do not hesitate, do not question the situation. You are here to stop the Minbari, you do this by killing them. There is no other way, we have tried. We kill them or they kill us, end of story."
He was interrupted by a horn sounding through the shipwide tannoy system.
"Now here this, all hands to action stations, all troops report to launch bays."
"You hear that? Time to step up Red Platoon!" Garibaldi shouted. "Drop your gear and double time it! Move!"
The room emptied rapidly, the green clad soldiers flowing through the corridors to their assigned armouries. The process was much easier than it had been in Garibaldi's day, the troopship had a rotating section to simulate gravity for the troops.
"Get to your stations, gear up!" He ordered. "By the numbers people!"
This was the part he wasn't so familiar with. Between wars the 99th had transitioned from being a pure airborne unit into something considerably different. As Garibaldi opened his much larger locker he was confronted not with the basic body armour, helmet and rifle had grown to know so well, but with a dull green full body suit of powered armour. The Infantry Combat Exosuit.
"Okay, here we go." He exhaled. "Hope I don't break this thing."
Earth had learned a lot of lessons from the Dilgar war, some of them very painful. During the final months of the war the Dilgar fielded a new type of soldier, cybernetically enhanced commandos who proved incredibly hard to kill. Strong, resilient and utterly committed to the cause they caused havoc in the tunnels of Balos disproportionate to their numbers.
Earth Force began working on a hard counter to these units almost at once, adapting the full enclosed space combat powered hardsuit for terrestrial use. While the war ended before the concept was ready the continued threat of the Dilgar military ensured a much more refined exosuit was eventually designed and given to elite units within the army and Marine Corps. Using a sophisticated brain wave reader the suit responded to basic thoughts making it highly responsive and swift to master, it boosted the strength of the wearer ten fold and provided a fully enclosed heavily armoured environment rated against the best known weapons. They could absorb fire from Narn pulse rifles and even Centauri particle guns, no small achievement.
The suits had proven themselves in limited engagements and in exercises, but this was to be their first true combat mission.
The suit opened automatically, Garibaldi stepping it. It closed around him, the power systems whirring, all the various actuators adjusting the suit to his height and build to make it a perfect fit. He had a full micro fusion reactor in the back giving him nearly limitless power for any conceivable task and extensive recycling systems. While he didn't examine exactly how it recycled material he knew he could stay locked in here for weeks at a time. Naturally he'd prefer not to.
A little awkwardly he stepped forward, the armoured boots clanking on the metal deck. He was joined by the metallic thunder of the rest of the company doing the same, taking up their various heavy weapons and moving to the final assembly area where the Commanding officer of the battalion awaited them.
Garibaldi did a quick check, then made his report.
"Colonel Franklin, all personnel present and accounted for sir."
From within his armour Colonel Richard 'Firestorm' Franklin accepted the report, standing ahead of the Battalion with an expression of obvious pride.
"Soldiers of the 99th. As you know the Minbari have taken Jericho Colony, it is our job to take it back. Fortunately the attack occurred less than three days ago, the latest reports say the Minbari are still being engaged by our garrison down there. This means the will be badly positioned and not prepared for the sort of hell we're going to be bringing with us.
"The Navy will hit the Minbari fleet with overwhelming numbers and firepower. They'll be launching enough missiles that we'd be able to walk to the surface! We wait here, watch the show, then we get our own turn to deliver some payback. We'll be rescuing the civilian settlements which are apparently still holding out at this time and if possible linking up with the surviving garrison.
"We know very little about the Minbari, what we do know is that they are a warrior culture and have an advanced level of technology. Do not underestimate them or their abilities. Just because you are in an exosuit does not make you invincible.
"One other thing we do know is that the Minbari do not take prisoners and are known to execute wounded soldiers where they lay. If that is the war they want to fight, then that's the war we'll give them! We owe it to our brothers and sisters who have fallen to take back Jericho, to drive the Minbari out of our space and take the war to them! We were the first unit to set foot on a Dilgar planet, we will be the first unit to land on a Minbari world! Hoo-rah!"
"Hoo-rah!" The battalion replied back with deafening power.
"Then load up to your drop ships, follow orders, use your heads, and we'll al make it home alive as heroes." Franklin smiled. "And as you wait consider these words, written by a wiser man than I.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height.
"The Minbari took their shot at us." Franklin finished. "Now we get our turn."