Author's note:
-The first half of this chapter is the remaining background info for this story, and then it begins.
Chapter Two
Sol system – Earth Alliance
1.2 AU beyond Jupiter solar orbit – Empty space
Nova III "Vesuvius subclass" & G.O.D.S. II - EMS/STL & Particle cannon testing
May 17, 2242
The EAS 'Vesuvius', prototype and lead ship of the Nova III class of dreadnoughts was part of a group of ships which included the EAS 'Olympus Mons', EAS 'Hecates Tholus', and the EAS 'St. Helens', all Nova III class. The ships were in standard line formation at 500 km from each other and were positioned 500 km upwards from another line formation, again separated by 500 km, but this time, of second generation Global Orbital Defence Satellites or G.O.D.S. II.
The four ships and four satellites were the first of their types, and had been deployed beyond Jupiter's solar orbit to test their classified equipment.
The Nova III ships had the exact configuration as the Nova II, the difference came with the replacement of the two Plasma Mortars for two heavy Particle cannons and their corresponding capacitors, and the addition of the EMS/STL interferometric sensor receivers on every gun, including the interceptors. The two new particle cannons went from the bow of the dreadnought, all the way back to the command block, with a barrel length in excess of 400 meters, creating a bulge in the frontal ventral area of the ship. The two guns had a capacitor system able to absorb 15 seconds of total reactor power, and then discharge this energy in a two second long particle beam. It gave each gun a total of 162 PW for a two second discharge, that combining both guns gave a total fire-power of 648 PJ, almost the entire plasma discharge of the Nova II, but in only two very long range guns, and nearly doubling this with the addition of the secondary dual plasma cannons at close to medium ranges.
The EMS/STL system included a total of 95 interferometric capable sensors. These were deployed on top of every turreted gun, including the 72 interceptors, the 20 dual plasma cannons, and on three adjacent dome structures mounted on top of the two particle cannons and below the hangar exit. This gave the Nova III an all-around emissions search, track and lock capability for short and medium ranges, and in conjunction with several distanced ships, the ability to perform an interlinked interferometric emissions detection for long and very long range search, track and lock.
The G.O.D.S. II, were the first new Global Orbital Defence Satellite design deployed in almost forty years, and were completely different than the first generation of defence satellites used by the Earth Alliance. They were equipped with a Nova dreadnought series fusion reactor, with a power output of 22.5 PW and capable of feeding 10.8 PW to the weapons systems without compromising plasma generation. Fixed in front of the reactor was a 162 PW Particle Cannon, giving it a length in excess of 600 meters. These two sections of the satellite were flanked on the top and bottom by a 324 PJ capacitor capable of being charge by the reactor in 30 seconds, and which was covered with heavy armor. The starboard and port sides of the satellite were covered by 10 missile tubes on each side and again covered with heavy armor. The 20 tubes carried a total of ten 55 meters long missiles per tube, for a total of two hundred - 342 PJ fusion warhead equipped missiles. The secondary guns were mounted at the stern of the satellite, and on top of the reactor, one for each side, giving the satellite a total of 4 dual plasma cannons for short and medium ranges, and were the same used on the Nova series of dreadnoughts. There were also a total of 32 MK-II defence grid energy projectors or interceptors for its point defence requirements, and included the E-Web system. The satellite also had the EMS/STL system with a total of 38 interferometric capable sensors.
Phase one through five of the demonstration validation phase, had already been completed and included testing for the first three phases on an engagement range of 1 light second. The first had a total of eight fixed targets at the designated distance, and which were engaged by each unit with a single shot from the particle cannons. The second phase included a total of eight moving targets with fixed heading and speed, and also at the same distance, and which were also engaged and destroyed by each unit with a single shot from the particle cannons. Third phase included a total of eight moving targets that changed heading and speed, but that were located at the same distance of one light second and that required to be engaged by at least three units at the same time to cover all predicted paths of the target. The testing for phase three required more than forty shots from the units deployed to engaged just eight targets, until it was determined that three ships were required to guarantee a hit at that distance when dealing with evasive targets.
Phase four through six required making the same tests, but with the drone targets deployed at four light seconds in range. Phase four targets were engaged again with single shots from the particle cannons, while Phase five had the targets engaged by single units but with a 75 percent hit ratio. Phase six that was about to begin required engaging targets deployed at 4 light seconds in range and that changed course and speed through their entire approach.
All units fired their bright orange particle beams once at their designated target and all missed, then two units were assigned to fire at the same target and missed, then three and again missed, then four, five, six, until seven units firing at the same time were able to hit a single target, but after repeating the procedure with the next target, they missed. This process was repeated with seven units for the first four targets achieving 50 percent hit ratio, and for the last four units, it was determined that it was better to use eight units per target, which after engaging four drones, they had achieved a 75 percent hit ratio.
"Is it normal, Admiral, to miss this much?" asked Senator Elizabeth Levy, a woman in her forties, a brunette with an air of authority, her short wavy hair framing her very serious facial expression. She was on board the Vesuvius as representative of the Senate.
"At this range it is Ma'am."answered Admiral Donald Ferguson from the senator's right side. "Those units are located at 4 light seconds away from our position. Their emissions take 4 seconds to reach us, then our computer systems determined the location of the target and the probable position they'll be when our particle beams reach them, so our computers are acting as oracles to determine where the targets are going to be at least 9 seconds into the future, so if the targets are not moving, or are doing so at a fixed heading and speed, they are easy to engage, even at this distance, but if they are changing course and speed, our systems have to determine their most probable location, and engage it with units that provide the best overlapping fire through the targets probable vectors."
"I heard the Hyach were able to engage targets at even longer ranges. How is that possible?"
"It's because of their sensors. They use very advanced tachyon based sensors, which are well beyond our capabilities, but which we hope to reverse-engineer in the near future."
"Are these sensors better Oracles Admiral?" asked the Senator half-joking.
"No Ma'am. Tachyons travel faster than light, so they are able to lock a target without delay, and can guide the angle of their weapons all the way to it."
"So that means they'll be able to snipe us at a distance, doesn't it, Admiral? I thought that the whole purpose of the Particle cannons and the EMS/STL system, was precisely to avoid exactly that."
"And it is, Madam Senator, but we really have to make miracles with the technology we possess."
"How so, Admiral?"
"We don't have tachyon-based sensors which reduce range penalties by half. Those sensors only have to deal with the delay from computer calculations and beam's travel, while we have to cope with emission's travel, computer calculations delay and beam's travel, but we do have a tachyon-based system that can help us accomplish the same. We have pretty well mastered tachyon-based communications, so our strategy for Fleet engagements require us to deploy fighters and or missiles ahead of any Capital ships to provide sensor guidance at the speed of a tachyon. What we do, is have our forward units transmit sensor readout and relay it via tachyon-based communications systems. This way we can accomplish pretty much the same, but for our Global Orbital Defence Grid, we'll be deploying sensors all around a planet, but located at least two light seconds away to provide early warning, as we can't delay to engage an invasion fleet until our fighters or missiles reach them."
"Interesting solution Admiral, Not very-state-of-the-art, but still pretty decent." said the impressed senator.
"Thank you Ma'am. We do what we can with what we have."
"The Hyach are far more advanced than we are, and if you are able to at least equal them in a standard fight, then it's something that must be commended. It's good to know that we have extremely competent commanders in charge. It's good to have you, Admiral. It's very good to have you all."
"Thank you Senator, and it'll be good to have you leading us next year."
"There are still the '43 elections in between you know."
"But I'm sure you'll prevail." finished Admiral Ferguson with a smile.
Sh'Lekk'Tha system – Minbari Federation
Valen'Tha Sharlin class war cruiser - Grey Council meeting
April 19, 2245
"Well Lennon. You said you wish to speak with us." said Duhkat, Chosen One and head of the Grey Council. He paused and then added, "Step in to the circle and speak."
Lennon, the leader of the Anla'Shok moved forward and stepped into the circle of nine. He spoke about Valen, and of the nearing prophecy of a thousand years: a prophecy which told of the return of the Shadows. He spoke about the Rangers, of their unpreparedness to watch for the return of the Great Darkness, because they were not taken seriously by some members of the council and by the Warrior cast.
Duhkat interrupted him, "This prophecy also said that the Anla'Shok will arise. They will be ready, and they will be instrumental in the next great war, so why not wait until there is proof?" He told him that Valen created the Great Council from members of every cast, so that no one could have undue influence above the others, and that this prophecy fell under the category of religion. That the workers needed to know why they should stop building bridges and start building ships, guns and weapons, and that the Warriors need to know why they are being call upon to serve and to die. So he asked, "What do you say to them?"
"All I can say is that I believe. What there is more to say? We need money, resources, people, and we need to attempt to re-contact the Vorlons." said Lennon. Someone laughed.
"Coplann, what does the Warrior cast find so amusing?" asked Duhkat of the one who laughed.
The warrior uncovered his head, and answered that in the last hundred years, they had send more than a dozen ships into Vorlon space, and that none had returned. He added that sending more would be a waste of time and effort and lives.
The discussion continued until Delenn mentioned that the prophecy said that the Shadows will return to their home world of Z'ha'dum before moving against them, so she proposed to send an expedition to that planet to determine if they had indeed returned. Coplann spoke against that because the expedition would be hard, as the area around Z'ha'dum is mined with traps and ancient defence systems, and that other races had moved in and claimed that space as their own, and said that the Warrior cast will take no part in such an expedition, as it will create panic among the population.
Duhkat agreed with Coplann, but added, "We will go." The council protested, but he said that it was them who had to determine how much help to give to the Anla'Shok. He decided that they will take a small force sworn to secrecy to avoid the panic that Coplann feared, and that they will travel indirectly, resupplying at various outposts until they were ready to make the final jump.
Several weeks later, the Minbari Grey Council force arrived at their last outpost, and before making the last jump towards Z'ha'dum, Delenn received her initiation and became a member of the council. If there was any force out there that could have interrupted the proceeding, it didn't come, and several hours later the ships entered hyperspace towards their destination.
Hyperspace – Near Earth Alliance border
EAS Pythia detachment - Spin-ward Planetary Exploration and Colonization Command
July 12, 2245
The EAS Pythia and Oracle class cruiser was leading a formation of eight ships, that included another Oracle class vessel, two Artemis class Heavy Frigates, and four Olympus class Corvettes. The ships were assigned to the Exploratory branch of Earthforce, and were part of a Fleet of older ships tasked in exploring adjacent star systems.
The exploration of new star systems required that any new system be located by standard triangulation techniques in normal space, and then, use the hyperspace beacons installed on the star systems used for the triangulation process to determine the location of the targeted star in hyperspace.
After the Dilgar War, EarthForce started an exploration and colonization program, that had one percent of the Gross Alliance Product. Colony expansion and colonization of new habitable planets was performed by newer ships that could handle the colonist's transport and building requirements. Exploration of the unknown regions of space was left to the older ships of the Fleet for three reasons: First, they weren't good at combat compared to newer vessels, which were kept near populated planets for defence purposes. Second, they didn't have the space or the equipment to help expand the Alliance, and Third, EarthForce wanted to avoid showing their most advanced technology to possible hostile races, and/or risk losing it to them if for some reason it was captured or salvaged from an accident.
The original colonies had been colonized by sending expeditions to star systems, where older optical terrestrial planet finder missions had determined the existence of probable habitable planets, but during the last ten years, hundreds of vessels had been scouting adjacent solar systems for habitable and/or resource-rich planets, while leaving hyperspace beacons on each one of them. The number of beacons and in consequence solar systems under control of the Earth Alliance now numbered 6,263. The majority of those stars lacked any kind of presence other than the mentioned beacons. These new systems formed spheres of beacons around the original colonies and Earth, and if they were to be placed together, they would occupy approximately a 60 light year wide sphere, but the fact that they were located around the original colonies, it made Earth Alliance space, that was more than 3,000 light years wide, look in hyperspace like clusters of beacons separated far and wide.
It was at the border of one of these clusters composed of 164 beacons, surrounding the Vega star system, that the EAS Pythia detachment was one of many assigned to explore space.
"Sir, we are reaching the coordinates, and they match a gravity disturbance in hyperspace. The people at Exploration Command are getting good at plotting new star systems." said the Navigation Officer with an impressed look on his young face.
"Well, with the amount of beacons out there, I wouldn't ask for less. It's far easier to plot a location with many of them, than when just using three." said Captain Jeff Easum, an elderly, thin and tall officer, who was born on Proxima 3, and who was ending his last years of service before retirement from the Exploratory branch of EarthForce. He turned to his XO, and added. "Erin, please open a vortex and deploy a satellite, and then have all ships hold station until we get telemetry."
"Yes, Captain." answered Lieutenant Commander Erin Cunning, an Earth born officer. She was an excellent tactician, and could have gotten a position on any newer vessel, but the routines of peacetime forced her to request a transfer to the Exploratory branch to satisfy her thirst for adventure.
The Pythia opened a vortex and a spherical satellite was deployed through it. After transitioning to normal space the vortex closed, and the spherical surface of the satellite started receiving emissions all around it, and several hours later, it had determined that there were three planetary bodies in the system. On board the Pythia the Captain selected the distribution of ships per planet and assigned an Artemis and an Olympus to study the middle of the three, while an Oracle and two Olympus will be heading for the one closest to the Sun, and the Pythia plus an Artemis and an Olympus to the farthest planet.
The Pythia opened another vortex and the EAS Eileithyia and EAS Hemera, an Artemis and an Olympus class vessels, transitioned to normal space close to the second planet of the uncharted solar system. Both ships didn't have jump engines, so the Pythia opened a vortex for them, so that they could avoid the long voyages required for trips in normal space. Another vortex was opened by the Oracle class EAS Didyma, and with its escort of two Olympus class corvettes, the EAS Coeus and Styx, made the transition to the first planet of the mentioned system. Several minutes later, which the Pythia used to recharged its jump engines, it open another vortex to the third planet and was followed by its two escorts the Artemis class EAS Potnia Theron and the Olympus class EAS Hephaestus.
The entire detachment started their standard reconnaissance mission. They scanned the planets for their habitability and mineralogy analysis, a process that took several day to complete. While this process continued, all ships performed standard maintenance of their vessels to keep them in optimal conditions, but one ship orbiting the second planet, the Olympus class EAS Hemera, had had a recurring problem with its starboard-dorsal engine while on hyperspace and the crew decided that this was the perfect time to perform a more thorough inspection to the entire reactor assembly.
After two days of inspection, the problem was found on the deuterium fuel pump's flow regulator, not a common problem as to have spare parts to avoid a shipyard based maintenance, but also not a life threatening one as to have the vessel stranded. On its return trip the ship would have to keep a fix setting on the flow of reactants into the reactor chamber and keep the other engines at the same power level, while using thrusters and vectoring vanes to compensate for the difference in thrust.
Every ship carried at least a beacon to deploy on recently explored star systems, and the Hemera used the opportunity to deploy one of them into the second planet's L1 Lagrange point to test its starboard-dorsal reactor-engine assembly. The ship departed orbit at 1/3 or 1g acceleration and after several hours, deployed its beacon. A satellite designed with a standard Nova class starfury fusion reactor with sufficient fuel to last hundreds if not thousands of years emitting a tachyon pulse into hyperspace, and sufficient armor to withstand small micrometeorite impacts as to avoid any kind of maintenance in its projected life. All major beacon's health tests were being performed, and the satellite was about to be activated.
Valen'Tha Sharlin class war cruiser – Hyperspace
Bridge - Same time
"You have something to report?" asked Duhkat.
"Yes Chosen One." answered a member of the warrior cast, while guiding Duhkat to a holographic room.
Upon entering, a sensor display of hyperspace activated around both of them and was showing a net of beacons all around them. At the stern and port side of the ship were a few barely discernible Minbari beacons, those that belonged to the last and farthest Minbari outposts, beyond them and out of range of the sensors was Minbari space. In front of the Valen'Tha and some 20 degrees to starboard, could be seen more than a hundred beacons in a sphere configuration, while the sensor systems were receiving tachyon emissions beyond them, and from several angles, but of the same frequency. The sensor system was unable at that moment to pinpoint the source of those emissions because of the range.
The Warrior bowed respectfully to Duhkat. "We were going to deploy a beacon to keep moving towards Shadow space when we detected them. We thought you would be interested in knowing this."
"Indeed I am." said Duhkat while, at the same time, a new beacon activated on the border of the beacon sphere, and near the path of the Valen'Tha. Duhkat observed the alien beacon with a curious and puzzled frown. "Intriguing... Set a course to that star system. I want to meet this race. I'll be in the council chambers." he finished while leaving the holographic room.
"Yes Chosen One." said the warrior, bowing again.
Vega Cluster Beacon 165 – Earth Alliance Space
Recently explored star system
Second planet
Several hours later
The EAS Hemera had deployed the beacon in the second planet's L1 Lagrange point, and had changed course towards the planet to rejoin the EAS Eileithyia. After several hours of uneventful cruising, the ship arrived, and was entering into a higher orbit than that of the Artemis heavy frigate, when a jump point opened more than a hundred thousand kilometers from it in the exact location that the beacon had been deployed.
"Hyperspace vortex detected! Bearing 047 mark 009, 127 Megameters away." Barked Lieutenant Jack Mason excitedly. He was the Hemera's sensor officer: a twitchy little man, who had recently graduated from the EarthForce Academy and was serving his first Fleet deployment.
"Yellow alert," said Captain Emmy Pencala calmly to the tactical officer, and then turned to the sensor officer and added. "Give me a full scan. I want to know what came through."
"I'm on it Captain, but our sensor's emissions are being scattered by some type of stealth technology. I'm only getting a silhouette."
"What about passive sensors?" asked the captain, losing a little of her composure as well.
"I'm barely receiving Gamma ray and infra red emissions, no radio, microwave, x-ray or ultra-violet ones. I'm switching to visual... Wait! They've gone active... They have detected us... Extremely powerful sensors, Ma'am. Even at this distance. I'm transferring visual data to the main screen." said Lieutenant Mason
A bluish fish-like ship could barely be seen by the visual sensors of the Olympus class Corvette. The situation stood still for a moment, while the unknown contact scanned the Hemera at long range. Moments later two more hyperspace vortexes opened less than 10,000 kilometers from the human ship.
"More contacts! Two vortexes detected! Bearing 082 mark 011, 9,233 kilometers." shouted Jack with a clear anxious voice.
"Calm yourself Lieutenant." said Lieutenant Commander Carlos Ferreira the Hemera XO with a slightly amused look on his face.
The Captain turned to her XO and ordered. "Open a channel to the Eileithyia. They have command authority on first contact situations..." She wasn't able to continue because, at that moment, strong fluctuations hit all control boards. "Report!" added the captain with a strong voice. Her mind steady, but clearly out of composure.
"The two nearest contacts have gone active, Ma'am. But the EMP generated by their sensors at this distance is disrupting everything." answered Lieutenant Mason.
The alarms went off. Main lightning went out, and backup power in.
"Now what?" asked Captain Pencala.
"All circuit breakers are out, Ma'am. We also have system instability in reactor chamber magnetic fields. Fail safes are in. Reactors 1, 3 and 4 are shutting down, but we have to manually close the fuel pumps of reactor 2." said Chief Engineer Charles Delauney.
"Do it!" barked the Captain.
"I'm sorry Ma'am, but without power, closing that regulator will take at least 10 minutes, and I don't think we have that time, Captain. We don't have enough plasma in the other reactors to keep the engines running, and if we don't shut down engine 2, the ship will start spinning out of control and the Gs will tear the ship apart. I have to shut it down, but the fuel entering the reactor will keep the plasma inside growing. We'll have to decompress it and leak its plasma into space. The reactor will shut down, but it will be flooded by the fuel getting inside. It'll take us several days to have it up and running again." the Chief Engineer answered instead.
Thrusters and vectoring vanes were not operational without main power, so the Captain had no other option.
"Damn! Do it." said the captain turning to her XO. "Tell the Eileithyia that we'll be out until we have restored power, and have all crew members secure all stations for reactor plasma decompression."
"Yes, Ma'am."
EAS Eileithyia …
"Sir! The two contacts are heading directly to the Hemera. They have opened up their gun ports!" said Lieutenant Vanessa Cappiello the Eileithyia's sensor officer.
Captain Veikko Juntunen, an Earthling born in Finland, turned to the tactical officer, and said. "Go to Red Alert. All weapons active."
"Are we going to attack, Captain?" asked the XO.
"We will fire only if we are fired upon. Only if fired upon! Is that clear Lieutenant." asked the Captain seriously, not to his XO, but to his tactical officer, so that his first order was not misunderstood.
"Yes, Sir."
"Sir! The Hemera's engines are shutting down." said Lieutenant Cappiello
"What? On screen. Try to contact them." ordered Captain Juntunen.
"No response, sir, but we received a transmission from them before they shut down their engines, but it's been heavily degraded by the EM pulses. It'll take a few seconds to correct and decrypt. I'm on it Captain." said Lieutenant Avery Bradley the Eileithyia's communications officer.
The image of the Hemera appeared on the Main Screen. It was seen from its ventral/port side, and the engines could barely be distinguished, but they were effectively shut-down.
"Sir! They have now opened up all their gun ports." added Lieutenant Cappiello, and at that same time the visuals of the Hemera showed a huge blast of plasma coming down from the dorsal/starboard side of the ship, and it immediately started drifting and slowly spinning by the force of the Blast."
The situation on the bridge was tense. The unknown contacts had opened up all of their gun ports, while at the same time disrupted their electronics as if using heavy jamming, and a couple of seconds later the Hemera was rocked by a plasma explosion and started drifting about.
"Full speed! Cover the Hemera." ordered Captain Juntunen.
The engines of the EAS Eileithyia came alive at full power. It didn't take much time for the unknown contacts to fully notice it, and their powerful sensors were now directed at the human ship. At the same time one of the contacts changed direction and headed directly towards the Artemis Frigate. The Eileithyia was a combat veteran of the Dilgar war, and as such it was heavily shielded for Electro Magnetic Pulses, while the Hemera was a first generation Olympus class corvette, that operated during the Dilgar War as escort for supply convoys in friendly space, and was not equipped and shielded as the Eileithyia was; something that had been clearly demonstrated with the heavy fluctuations of its power grid. None the less the Eileithyia felt the strength of the alien's sensors, and many systems were struggling to keep up.
The Captain didn't have all the elements to make a good judgement, and with the limited information coming from its sensors, and the actions taken by the unknown contacts, there was definitely nothing else he could do, and so the order was given: an order that would change the face of the Galaxy.
"FIRE! All weapons! Fire at will! Fire at will!"
The crew didn't hesitate nor question the Captains orders. The situation they were in, they felt, clearly demanded that response, and an instant later all plasma and rail guns opened fire against the closest of the seemingly offending vessels.
Valen'Tha Sharlin class war cruiser …
"They have tried to contact us, but we do not understand their language. As is our custom we are approaching with gun ports opened..."
"By whose order?" asked Duhkat
"Master, that's the tradition of the Warrior's caste. A gesture of strength and respect. They can see our weapons. They can see we approach them open handed."
The image of the human ships on the Valen'Tha's holographic display showed the drifting Hemera, and many blue plasma pulses heading towards them. A few seconds later, and to the astonished eyes of the Grey Council, the first plasma rounds reached the ship, many missed, but some hit. They were not heavy plasma bolts as those used on the Novas or to a lesser extent on the Hyperions, and were easily dissipated by the Minbari crystal armor with little damage, but on approach were also rail gun rounds. Their kinetic energy making the bluish armor brittle and crack on impact.
EAS Eileithyia ...
"I've done it. I recovered the message integrity and its being decrypted." said Lieutenant Bradley the communications officer with half a smile, which soon turned into shocked face. "Sir!" he shouted, "They were not attacked, they decompressed their number two reactor, because of problems with the fuel regulator ..." He wasn't allowed to finish.
"Cease Fire! Cease fire immediately!" The captain shouted to the tactical officer. He turned to Bradley. "Open a channel. All frequencies."
The last rail gun round left its barrel, while Lieutenant Bradley opened a channel with the unknown ships.
"Ready, Captain."
"This is Captain Veikko Juntunen of the EAS Eileithyia to unknown vessels. We are standing down. Your scanners caused instabilities to our escort's power systems, and they were forced to decompress the reactor. We were unable to verify that until recently and thought that they were under attack as you had opened up your gun ports. We strongly regret this incident. Do you require any kind of assistance? Please respond." said the Captain cutting out his communication unit, and turned to Lieutenant Bradley and added. "Repeat that transmission, until we get an answer, and please translate that to as many languages we have and send it again."
"Yes, Captain."
Valen'Tha Sharlin class war cruiser …
The Eileithyia's Captain was about to start his message, when the last rail gun round hit the Valen'Tha's top wing above the antimatter cannon and below the Grey council chamber. The round pierced the armor, and created a strong shock wave, which burst open seams, and broke down beams. The council chamber was a mess. Duhkat lay in agony and dying on the floor with his head on Delenn's lap, when a warrior came running towards them.
"Delenn, the hostile ship stopped firing. We need to know if we strike back, but the council is divided. Do we attack and take revenge or do we wait and try to find out what happened? Yours is the deciding vote, Delenn."
"They struck... They struck without provocation. There was no reason!... Animals!... Brutes!..." she said, her face red and wet with angry tears, emotionally breaking down in front of the Warrior, but she didn't care. She stood and faced him. "They deserve no mercy." Her facial expression was one of pure hatred and rage. "Strike them down! Kill them all! Kill all of them! All of them!" She shrieked to the warrior, hitting him several times to drive home her point, forcing him to run to relay her vote. "NO MERCY!"
Moments later …
The Valen'Tha's escort fired its green Neutron beam cannons in sequence. They hit the EAS Eileithyia in many points, passing through the ship as if they were cutting butter. Any chance of understanding from the Minbari ended when the human's vessel communication system went silent before the ship exploded. A system that was about to send the transmission in Abbai language.
The crew of the Hemera were just starting up their systems, when the main screen came to life with the image of a Minbari ship opening fire. Moments later, they followed the same fate as the Eileithyia.
EAS Pythia …
Captain Easum stood still as he watched the images being relayed from the Eileithyia, while hearing the transmission repeat itself over and over. He had his eyes a little out of focus, when he saw a flash of green light and then static.
"Repeat that image. 10 seconds before." ordered the Captain
The main screen flickered, and the video was reset ten seconds before it cut itself. The image showed the bluish vessel zoomed by the passive visual sensors of the Eileithyia, and a few seconds later, a green beam emanating from the middle of its starboard wing was fired, followed closely by the one at the port side. The image was shaken by the impact of the first beam, and at the same time the central and bigger beam fired. An instant later there was only static.
The Captain was perplexed. His mouth slightly opened and his eyes watching the static with bewilderment.
"Captain... Captain!" said Lieutenant Commander Cunning.
The Captain turned his head slowly to his XO. He watched her in silence as if waiting for something.
"Our ships have no chance against that kind of fire-power, and our detachment is spread out in this system. We are easy pickings. What are your orders?" She asked with a concerned look on her face.
The Captain came out of his shocked stupor. His face flashed to attention. "Gold Channel interlink all units on stealth mode, NOW!"
The communications officer worked on his station fast, and said. "Ready, Captain."
"This is Pythia Actual to all units. Proceed to zero emissions zone of your planet in relation to the second planet and execute jump. As emergency retreat protocols dictate, we'll head away from populated systems in complete emissions black-out, and we'll rendezvous at beacon VCB123. There we'll re-contact command and await orders. Execute. Pythia Actual out." finished Captain Easum.
The Pythia and her escorts moved to the other side of the planet to block the emissions of its hyperspace vortex opening, as to avoid detection by the unknown forces. The ships entered hyperspace, and moved with their engines at full power.
The Captain again turned to his communications officer, and said. "Send all related data to command via Gold Channels and inform me when it's done."
The Communications Officer worked for a while on his station and finally said. "It's done, Captain."
"Good. Record this message and send it too." said the Captain taking a deep breath.
"Ready, Sir."
"This is Captain Jeff Easum of the EAS Pythia. Unknown forces encountered at Vega Cluster Beacon VCB165, repeat Victor Charlie Beta One Six Five. EAS Eileithyia and EAS Hemera lost with all hands. All data pertaining the event had been transmitted on previous package. Pythia detachment to proceed in total communications black-out towards beacon VCB137, that's Victor Charlie Beta One Three Seven. Unknown contacts are highly advanced and considered hostile. Recommended heightened alert on all forces. Pythia out." ended the Captain.
The Human forces left the system and headed towards VCB137. They left the Minbari behind. The Valen'Tha was damaged and receiving help from its escorts. The Grey Council members were enraged by the death of Duhkat, and were ready to inflict retribution.
A war that will echo in eternity was about to begin.
Author's after notes:
- The Minbari meeting in the Sh'Lekk'Tha system, and some other dialogues relating to the Minbari were taken from the Babylon 5: in the beginning movie, I added them to give background info for those who didn't watch it, and obviously, I changed the part of Delenn's initiation where the Prometheus Battle Group Arrived, just showing that the Minbari left system without any interference. Change the dialogue a little to adjust it to the events.
- Also I'm sorry Duhkat that I had to kill you too again, but please understand that there wouldn't be and Earth-Minbari war if you were alive, and the story will be boring without it., so rest in peace.
- It took me time to design the new Prometheus incident, this time the Pythia incident. I'm not completely convinced about it, but I wasn't getting anywhere, so I decided to give it a green light as to further the story or I would have been stuck in this part for months. It was difficult to come up with a realistic way of repeating the event that triggered the Minbari War, and I really hope that it was a least more-less believable.
- Especial thanks for my betas on this one.