Chapter 60 (Shai Alit Neroon)
Long distance hyperspace travel often made Neroon nervous; however the anticipation of what he would find on the outpost made him concerned. A subtle distress signal had been detected through hyperspace before the last words were cut off. So what exactly happened was a mystery.
The small Minbari settlement was on the fringe of Minbari space and it never attracted any attention, until now. There was only one race that possessed the ordasity to do such a thing, the Humans.
They often attacked settlements and plundered them for resources. So the opportunity to catch them in the act offered excitement; at last a real fight!
Yet, the moment he ordered his cruiser out of hyperspace he could sense something was amiss. All communication with the settlement was dead, except for a scattering of human fighters that loitered around the planet.
Neroon quickly gave orders to dispatch a fleet of elite pilots to pick them off. Then as if to add excitement, an Earth cruiser with the marking Agamemnon came roaring out of the asteroid belt.
He did not see the need to activate his stealth systems. When his ship, the Ingata jumped in the area was clear. Even the human fighters were of no concern, but once he detected the Minbari settlement had vanished from the planet's surface, he didn't want to take any chances.
Neroon was filled with rage as he thought, Those humans destroyed an innocent outpost!
Now it was time for revenge. The humans could not escape. His weapon ports were already open from picking off some human fighters beforehand. Neroon concentrated his attention on the lone human ship; it was right in front of him, just right for the picking.
Neroon took control of the firing controls personally and the area around his body dissolved into a starry abyss with the human vessel in the middle. He extended his arms and pointed at the invading object.
Once the human vessel was selected, Neroon gestured with his fingers and the incinerating yellow glow from the beam cannon shot through space and hit the human ship at point blank range. He smiled at the irony of it all. The humans offered no resistance while the glory of success and honour coursed through his being.
Suddenly, when the smoke cleared he recoiled in utter shock.
Never before in the history of Minbari conflict had a Human vessel survived a direct attack from a Minbari War Cruiser. While several had been destroyed by cowardly acts those actions had destroyed the human vessels as well. When the Black Star had been destroyed, the human vessel sustained heavy damage as a result.
However this was the first time a direct shot did no damage.
Before he had the chance to alter his plan, the human ship opened fire with projectile beams and rockets. He recognised some of the configurations.
The Centauri, no the Narn's have finally helped them upgrade their weapons. Neroon had known the Narns would help the humans at some point. The rumours about humans using new technology to get an upper hand in the war had always been a vicious rumour that spread throughout the castes. Now he could bear witness to it with his own eyes
As Neroon signalled members of the Warrior caste to analyse the human ship, wave after wave of decisive blows rocked his very foundation. Knocked to the floor, members of the war committee scampered around in a panic, desperate to try and make sense of the madness.
Explosions roared through the room, dislodging several support beams that crashed onto Neroon's colleges. He attempted to and issued orders at the same time. "Fire at that ship again, disable its weapons..."
The holographic display flickered and full of static, but it still managed to display the human ship in all its glory. As he attempted to rescue his fellow friends from under the fallen debris one of the injured Minbari said, in a low cracked voice, "They must have developed heavy armour around their hull. One continuous beam should break through it. Don't let them get away with this."
Neroon clasped the hand of his injured comrade and ordered one of the acolytes to the firing control station. It was time to continue and inflict revenge. He ordered continuous firing regardless of the damage.
It was no good.
An additional explosion rocked the dark chamber as the human vessel opened fire again. This time bad news hit Neroon like a succession of death sentences. "Weapons systems down. We've managed to inflict some damage on the enemy ship but we can't fire our weapons until repairs are complete." The battleground collapsed in a to misty haze and Neroon pulled himself up, using the fallen beam as a support. Despite his excruciating pain he carried on with stronger fortitude.
"And the human ship?" he said to the newly appointed acolyte.
"It appears to be leaving the system. We're not detecting any fighters in the vicinity. It's opening a jump point…"
Neroon moved back to the centre of where the projection once stood. He could imagine the human vessel cowering away like the fools they were. Yet one thing was clear. The humans managed to survive against all odds. He surmised that it could be some kind of new armour or protective barrier around their ship. It would require analysing once they returned to Minbar but the stricken colony demanded attention.
His hunch paid off. Once Neroon stepped foot on the scarred surface of a once beautiful colony he had to fall to his knees at the armageddon before him.
Never in his life had he seen destruction on a scale like this. Buildings that once spanned into the sky and reflected the sun's rays were now charred rubble. Citizens, honourable Minbari who left their home world to adventure into the great unknown were now patches of blood evenly laid out across the land. A head bone, once the pride and glory of a Minbari warrior, was now without its head. Dead bodies completed the picture on this already carnage site.
What could cause this devastation?
He already knew the answer to that.
However, this colony was moderately protected from the ground. Surely the humans could not posses such weapons to cause this type of damage?
In his dealings with the human threat, never before had he witnessed such a massacre. Normally humans would vaporise the whole area and nothing would be left. Not leave it in charred ruin and more importantly leave bodies all over the place for animals to scoff at the remains.
It should be of no surprise to him though. He knew how low the human race could be. Of course the Minbari were no better. Perhaps if they had just talked to the humans before the destruction of their World this carnage could have been avoided. Sadly there was no going back.
"Neroon, we've detected an anomaly heading this way!"Neroon looked up at the transport and saw Hedronn approach from the transport beam.
"Hedronn, you shouldn't be down here. We've yet to determine what caused this destruction."
"I had to see the destruction for myself. Delenn visited this planet for supplies before they continued. Any information as to their whereabouts might be hidden down here." He scanned the area with complete shock. "What the hell happened? I can't believe humans did this."
Neroon knew the humans did it, but how?"Hard to believe any civilisation could butcher on such a scale. In all my years as member of the Warrior caste I have never witnessed a site such as this."
Neroon knew the Minbari did worse, but he was not inclined to say anything to Hedronn.
"The Ingata has detected a humanoid life form moving this way."
"Good, perhaps is a survivor who can tell us what happened?"
"It's not of Minbari origin."
"Are you telling me it's Human?"
"We're unable to identify it. Our scanners can't penetrate its body armour and it's carrying a weapon we have yet to identify."
This news caused Neroon great doubt. He was certain, without a doubt, the humans were responsible, but after hearing the reports, he wondered if another alien race might be involved.
He had to see what this creature was.
Once the transport returned to the Ingata both Neroon and Hedronn made their way to the command chamber to monitor the creature that was chasing them. They decided to evacuate the planet as a precaution because if such a creature could take out an entire colony then what chance did they stand?
Once the holographic projection came online, even its faded resolution could not hide the horrors of the wandering creature.
"In Valen's name, what is that?" Hedronn began; his voice was filled with disbelief as well as concern.
"We've never seen a enemy like that before."
"Could it have something to do with the Shadows?"
Neroon had begun to hear rumors about their thousand-year-old enemy surfacing, mainly from the Rangers, but this did not look like the work of their ancient enemy.
"No, the Shadows attack in numbers and in our entire history we've not detected a Shadow agent like that."
"Perhaps its an agent of the Shadows or Vorlons? The prophecy did state the Shadows would have allies?"
Neroon had to hand it to the man; he knew his history. "Perhaps you're right. This conflict is growing larger, and the last thing the Minbari need is a war with the Shadows."
"Come now, you almost sound like Lenonn…""Well, I hope his suspicions do not warrant merit," Neroon concluded, respecting the man who died trying to bring peace between the two races. "First things first, we must determine who this enemy is."
Neroon signalled for the cruiser to enter low orbit. With scanners now restored they should be able to identify the creature. If needed they could destroy it from space.
But the moment the ship moved into a lower orbit Hedronn spoke with deep concern. "What is that creature doing? It's pointing something at us."
Unlikely as it might seem, Neroon thought the creature was going to fire a weapon. But they were in orbit around the planet - no alien race possessed technology that could attack a ship in space, let alone know where it was.
However, despite his reassuring thoughts, he reacted in shock as several flashes cemented his horror. Moments later violent impacts struck the hull of the Ingata and sent Minbari flying in all directions. Luckily the Grey Council was not in session at that moment. If it had been any later, then its members would have been seriously injured.
Neroon wanted to stay and investigate this creature, but the moment the first shot hit the hull he ordered the cruiser out of orbit and into hyperspace. Something was not right with this whole situation and although all theories pointed to the Shadows, he had a feeling a more sinister race had just reared its ugly head.