Chapter 16 (Elizabeth Lochley)
As alarms sounded throughout the facility, Elizabeth threw on her jacket and hurried to discover what the chaos was about.
She poked her head outside her quarters and looked down the long rock-walled corridor. When the intercom voice called for all personnel to be at their stations, Elizabeth knew this was not a drill. Something terrible was happening.
"This is base commander Elvis Vaghoon. The Minbari are on an intercept course. All personnel report to your battle stations. City commanders, you're needed at the central control station. "
That was the call that grabbed her attention. She legged it down the corridor, almost mowing into people; she knew she would be urgently needed.
Upon arriving at the central control station, she heard alarms shrieking throughout the control centre. Elizabeth stood with Garibaldi, staring through the gigantic panoramic windows that stretched the entire perimeter of the main wall.
Two semi-circular decks contained chrome-metallic workstations and railings that overlooked the entire room. This was her first time in such a place and despite the professional appearance, she could feel the uneasiness settling in.
Elvis was there, sitting in his upholstered armchair, while his technicians and crew were forced to sit in lower chairs with hard backs and metal seats.
Elizabeth was not impressed and she remembered the rumours about his adventure with Talia Winters. She looked away to hide a disapproving scowl.
Flashing spotlights re-directed Elizabeth's gaze back to the impressive panoramic windows that displayed the two-hyperspace cities below them. Docking arms stretching for miles, asteroids and small planetoids rotated in their respective orbits and the local sun lit the entire facility.
She had never seen a view like this, especially from this high up. Elizabeth felt like a classic air traffic control officer back in the 20th century. She'd seen some history news feeds that brought back some momentary flashbacks. Despite the grim situation, she could not hold back a gratifying smile. Suddenly the magnitude of her responsibility struck her. She felt weak at the knees
"Look over there." Garibaldi took a step forward and pointed towards the Minbari cruiser that appeared to be a speck of cosmic fluff in space.
"Get a lock on that thing. Power up the facility's cannon." Elvis rushed down the metal stairs to the first deck and approached the slim line holographic computer terminals.
"Elvis, that cannon is useless. It's used to deflect asteroids and we're not sure the damn thing works properly." Garibaldi looked worried and angry but Elizabeth stayed unobtrusive and watched.
Crews rushed around the large room swapping data pads and shouting quick orders to each other. Elizabeth clenched the railing tight as the Minbari cruiser grew larger in the distance.
Elvis swiftly stepped into the middle of the room. "Can we launch the cities into hyperspace?"
It took her a moment to realize that Elvis was talking to her. But Elizabeth snapped out of her trance and responded. "No, not yet, the hyperspace engines have yet to be been installed."
Elvis walked back to the operations console. "Shit. That cruiser is going to fuck up this whole operation."
Glancing back at the window, Elvis snapped quick orders. "Target that vessel with the cannon, then fire at will."
Someone confirmed the command and within a few moments, a salvo of plasma blasts streaked though space and impacted the Minbari cruiser. More plasma bolts were fired from the facility, but the effect was minimal as Elizabeth watched the cruiser approach unhindered.
With a swift, stabbing beam, the cruiser blasted the cannon off the facility. Then like a raindrop over a pond, the cruiser directed its attention to the titanic city below.
"One of the cities is under fire," one of the bridge officers shouted across the room, as if nothing else needed to be said. "The Minbari have begun their attack!"
Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was seeing; sparks flew and chunks of buildings were torn off from the cities' foundations. In comparison, it seemed the Minbari had bitten more than they could chew. The epic city spanned for miles and the small cruiser could never do much damage, but it was slowly slicing it up like a roast.
She was due to take over one of those cities, which was the highest honour someone could receive from the president. One of those cities! A city that was being sliced and diced. She found it very hard to control her anger and clenched the railing.
"Well, something's got to be done. It won't be long before that cruiser calls in reinforcements." Garibaldi paced back and forth from station to station looking for a solution to the problem. But from the expression on his face, he had nothing.
More chunks drifted in space, another block of buildings were torn from its foundations. The Minbari vessel seemed to enjoy the destruction it was causing. But it would not be long before it turned its attention to the main facility. Everyone feared for that moment.
"We're getting calls from the cities. People are starting to flood the hospitals. It's turning into a bloodbath," another technician shouted.
Elvis stared at the industrial readouts on one of the larger screens above the windows. Elizabeth was not sure what he was looking at; but it seemed to give him an idea. "Which scavenger is closer to the Minbari ship?"
Garibaldi grinned. Elvis had thought of something and he knew it. Garibaldi rushed to the industrial station and began to furiously input commands.
Elizabeth needed to ask, "What are the scavengers?"