Chapter 12 (Delenn)
With each passing second, the Minbari war cruiser glided closer to the asteroid complex, like a deep sea predator stalking its prey on the surface of the water.
Delenn stood in the control center as the shroud of darkness surrounded her. The mushroom-shaped projector filled the area with a dazzling 3D representation of the entire human facility. She studied the live feeds being transmitted from the Minbari scouts.
Delenn walked forward to the huge structures that were blurred. They appeared to be the center point for the whole operation.
"Are we in range for a more detailed view? I'm curious to know what the humans are doing." Delenn un-hooded to show her bold head wrapped with a graceful bone.
A Minbari stepped forward and introduced himself as Ral'Car of the warrior cast. "Whatever they are doing is irrelevant to the mission that is upon us, Delenn. We will obliterate the infestation and move on. You yourself stated that you want this over and done with!"
Squinting her eyes, she turned back to the projection. "Have the humans detected us?"
"Our scouts have not been detected. They have gathered all the relevant information to launch an attack. It will be swift, and end in a great victory."
His tone of voice did not offer any victory from Delenn's point of view. She had seen too much killing and she wanted it to stop. She had already seen blood-in-the-face combat and the humans had failed almost every time. She felt like a bully and that the Minbari had fallen from grace. How did we come so far?
"We have intercepted the human transmissions and understand they call this place-" Ral'Car's face curled up at the mere thought of a name for this human place. "-Batastar Asteroid Complex."
Delenn looked closer at the projection that began to clear in resolution as they approached. "Such an unusual name for a complex."
After what seemed like forever, the image cleared and Delenn could not believe what she was seeing. A titanic structure was being assembled that reached for miles throughout the asteroid field. Thousands of humans moved back and forth from one section of the structure to another, welding parts and adding armor, wearing no more than space suits. The holographic projection was so vivid and detailed that even Delenn was surprised at the work the scouts had done.
What are the humans up to? Is it a ship or colony?
She strolled from one section of the holographic image to another; the massive complex appeared to be split in two. From what Delenn could understand, the humans seem to be building two giant vessels, or ships that were the size of cities. How can they create such things?
The projection switched to real-time mode and Delenn was able to see the full scale of the work being carried out. Huge metallic ships constructed towers and plating, while, throughout the construction, thousands of bots swarmed in and out of sections, like insects in a hive nest. It was an impressive sight.
"The humans work hard to build whatever it is they are building." She strolled through the projected image, like a holographic model in front of a spectator.
"It does not matter if they build hard or not. We will destroy it, exactly like their home world. Really, Delenn, is this necessary? This complex will be vaporized soon, why dwell on what the humans are making?"
Ral'Car was right, the humans could not withstand them and almost every battle was a failure for the humans. Why dwell on the construction? But she could not escape the question. She was curious.
Wrapped in her own thoughts about what they were about to do to the settlement, the projection caught her attention as a flurry of activity erupted. Humans scattered around and alarms flashed everywhere.
"The humans have detected us." Delenn pressed one final time, "Is it necessary to attack the settlement? Shaal Mayan needs to get to the colony and this is a waste of time."
"Whether it is a waste of time or not, the humans have declared war on us and continued their resistance. Even after their home world was destroyed, they raided our outposts and continued to take our supplies. They must be stopped."
Outflanked by his sudden outburst, Delenn could only stand there and watch as the war cruiser prepared to release its onslaught.