Earth Vs Minbari - Robotech To The Rescue

by TheVampireStrahd

The war between Earth and the Minbari has been going on, Earth is losing the war. A desperate plan is launched to retrieve ships and weapons that Earth had locked away and swore to never use again. Will Robotech save Earth as it had so many times before? The galaxy will never be the same.

11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Babylon 5 or its characters, those belong to Warner Brothers. I do not own Robotech or its characters, those belong to Harmony Gold. I do not own Macross or its characters, those belong to Big West and Studio Nue.

Chapter 11

Minbari Federation Space

Minbar

War Leader Brammer strode his way through Minbar towards his destination accompanied by Neroon, another Warrior of the Star Riders Caste that he was a part of. He'd taken Neroon under his wing, trying to teach him strategy and tactics. Some lessons went well, others did not.

As they walked, Neroon said, "Master, why do you seek the council of the Anla'Shok?" It was clear that Neroon did not completely respect the Anla'Shok. The Minbari Rangers that were the eyes and ears of the Federation.

Brammer chuckled, coming to a stop right in front of their destination. Looking at Neroon, Brammer replied, "My student, one thing you need to learn and understand that when you surround yourself with people that agree with you or tell you just what they think you want to hear, it does you more harm in the long term. To be a good leader, you must listen to everyone, even those who do do not agree with you or that you do not agree with."

Brammer gestured towards the building that they were in front of continuing to speak, "The Anla'Shok have long been our eyes and ears Neroon. They walk in the shadows, they go where we cannot go, were we cannot be seen to go. It is time to find out what they have learned about our enemies, the Humans."

Neroon scoffed, "The Anla'Shok are not going to have answers Master."

"We shall see."

The two resumed walking and Neroon knocked at the entrance to the headquarters of the Anla'Shok. Entrance was granted and they were led to a sitting room where after a short amount of time waiting Lenonn, the Anla'Shok Na, otherwise known as Ranger One entered the room.

Lenonn greeted the two then led them to another room where he gestured for everyone to sit. Lenonn began, "War Leader, you honor me with your presence. What brings you here to speak with me?"

Brammer replied, "I am told you have information, information about the Humans. What I am about to reveal you must keep quiet until the Grey Council finally releases the news. I must have this information as the Humans have just found a way to defeat our stealth and have defeated a war fleet. Specifically, they defeated the war fleet dispatched to attack and destroy the Sestun colony. Our losses were heavy."

Lenonn did not react visibly but the news had to shake the fellow Minbari. Lenonn was quiet then he said, "You need to convince the Grey Council that the war must come to an end or many more Minbari lives will be lost."

Neroon scoffed. "The Humans got lucky."

Lenonn looked with grave seriousness, "The Humans are more powerful that we realize." Reaching into his robe he pulled out a data crystal and slid it across towards Brammer, "Watch the footage and read the historical documents that my Anla'Shok were able to collect. The footage is from their historical archives as are the historical documents. If what you say is true, our doom is upon us."

Neroon made a choking noise. "Our ships have greater range, we will not be letting them get within firing range ever again. They may kill some of us but we will kill all of them."

Lenonn gave Neroon a glare. Then he looked at Brammer with concern. "War Leader, my Anla'Shok have discovered that the Humans have faced extinction multiple times. Each time, they have faced this threat, they have defeated that threat. Our people have spilled enough blood, with this defeat...with this pause in the war, now is the time to reach out and actually talk to them."

Brammer shook his head. "The Grey Council has made it clear. We are beginning a full mobilization for war, all of the Clans are going to be bringing their ships online. The Wind Swords have suffered two major defeats, one by deception and this one in battle. They will not stand down without vengeance."

Lenonn said, "I see. Perhaps after you have seen what is on the data crystal you will have a change of mind." Lenonn stood, signaling that the meeting was over.

Neroon rose and said, "The Humans have gotten lucky, they may have found a way to beat our stealth but that will not save them. We will win this war."

Lenonn nodded his head in acknowledgment then said, "That may be true young Warrior...but ask yourself this: Are you prepared to pay the price for that victory? Do you think the Minbari people are willing and able to pay that price? It is one thing to dream of glory but young Warrior, war has a cost. A cost we as a people are just beginning to learn and I fear that the cost is going to be much higher than any of us is prepared for."

Brammer nodded at the words of the Anla'Shok Na. Brammer said, "I shall study these documents and video archives of the Humans you have obtained. But, I must ask you that you do everything you can to find out how the Humans have beaten our stealth. We need to know how they did it and discover a way to counter their method."

Lenonn said, "We shall do our best."

The group left the room and Lenonn led them to the exit. He gave a respectful bow and said, "War Leader, I wish you well."

Brammer and Neroon bowed back and left the headquarters building to return to the Valen'Tha. Lenonn closed the door and moved deep into the building, below ground until he reached a door and knocked.

A voice replied, "Enter.'

Lenonn opened the door and entered the room. Standing at the entrance he looked and saw the guest that he was hiding from everyone but his most senior Anla'Shok members.

His guest was not looking at him right away as they were facing away from him. Then they turned around and looked at their host. "Yup have news.", they said.

Lenonn said, "I do. It would seem that the humans have found a way to defeat our stealth. The Humans defeated one of our war fleets."

Lenonn took a data crystal and placed it in its receptacle and footage of the battle began to play and Lenonn paused it when a Red fighter that the Minbari had not seen before until that battle had taken place. Lenonn pointed at it and said, "The Red Death was there. She killed many of my people in this strange new fighter."

The guest's eyes widened as they took in the sight of the Red fighter. They recognized it. The knew exactly what it was. Looking at Lenonn they said, "You need to understand something. The war has changed. A storm is coming for your people now. The only way you can stop it is to tell your leaders that they need to open negotiations, arrange a cease fire. If you don't, it will be your people that die."

Lenonn shook his head sadly and said, "The Grey Council will not bring an end to the war. The war cannot stop until we win or we lose. They will not stop."

His guest said sadly, "Then, your people will die. They will kill your warriors and if they have to, they'll kill your Grey Council. They will bomb your worlds not to the bedrock as your people have done to Humanity, but they'll bombard your planets to the stone age. Every single one. They'll destroy your industry, your technology, your capability to make war against another star faring civilization. The clock is ticking Lenonn, you have to convince your people to stop the war." The person sighed and added, "Before it is too late."

Lenonn sighed. He watched as his guest resumed the video of the battle of Sestun to its conclusion. During the playback he paused the video again when the mysterious missiles destroyed so many warships in a single salvo. "What was that? Help from another race?"

Shaking their head, the guest answered, "No Lenonn, no help from anyone. Those new fighters, those missiles, those are weapons of the past. Weapons we swore we would never use again until we had matured as a civilization or if our need was dire. To keep from being exterminated I'd say is a dire need indeed."

"Where did your people keep these weapons?", Lenonn asked.

With a serious look his guest answered, "Sorry Lenonn, I cannot tell you."

Lenonn said, "I see." After a moment Lennon said, "It is almost time for midday meal, I shall have some food brought to you. Thank you for your information." The Minbari left the room, leaving the data crystal behind.

Once he was gone the guest started the playback again and focused on the red fighter that they had recognized. Placing their fingertips on the screen, touching the frozen image of the "Red Death." The person whispered, "You're still alive."

---

Sol System

Above the Dark Side of the Moon

A fleet of six hundred warships had appeared in the Sol system about sixty thousand kilometers above and away from the dark side of the moon. These warships had Folded from the Pegasus galaxy and EarthForce had been expecting and anticipating their arrival.

Aboard one of the warships, an Eisenhower Class Battleship named the Agamemnon was Captain Ben Richards. The Captain in command of the operation to bring these warships over was making sure that everyone had arrived and had no problems.

The commendation officer said, "Sir, EarthForce is contacting us."

Captain Richards said, "Right, put them through."

The screen came up and Captain Richards was looking at Generals Lefcourt and Fontaine.

"Sir! Captain Ben Richards formerly of the EAS Maxwell announcing our return from the Pegasus Galaxy and that my people have brought three hundred Ikazuchi Class Cruisers and three hundred Eisenhower Battleships from the Robotech Factory. They are all fully loaded on Protoculture, mecha, and every warship is ready for war."

The two generals looked at each other first and then looked at Captain Richards. General Lefcourt said, "Well done Captain. These ships are going to be a big help. Keep them in their current positions, Admiral Parino will be coming aboard with a group of personnel that are ready to begin using some of those ships for live training. She will be taking your people under her command and put you and your people to work."

"Yes sir."

General Lefcourt said, "Admiral Parino will be contacting you once she's ready to bring her people over Captain, That will no doubt be within the hour. I understand you've been working on simulators aboard the Factory so she'll evaluate our people's capabilities and determine whether or not you are all ready to join this group of personnel for actual ship training."

Captain Richards responded, "I understand sir. I think we're ready for ship operations but I will defer to the Admiral's decision."

Still looking pleased over everything, General Lefcourt finished, "Alright Captain, I still need a full report so go ahead and start working on that and get that submitted as soon as possible. Get to work Captain."

Saluting the two Generals, Captain Richards said, "Aye sir."

---

After about an hour Captain Richards received a communication from the facility on the Dark Side of the Moon.

Captain Richards greeted the Admiral. "Hello Admiral Parino. I've been expecting your call."

The Zentraedi Admiral smirked, "Yes, I'm sure. Captain, prepare for my arrival. I'll be taking over your ship and determining if your people are ready. I understand you have skeleton crews aboard five others?"

Nodding his head he said, "Yes ma'am."

Rubbing her chin she hummed in thought. "Very well, tell them to remain aboard and stand by for further orders. I will be by each of those ships afterwards. See you in fifteen minutes."

Saluting, Captain Richards signed off and prepared the ship for Admiral Komira Parino's arrival.

15 Minutes Later

Captain Ben Richards had assembled his few officers and senior enlisted men and women in a hanger to await and greet the incoming Admiral and her people. Soon three shuttles entered the hanger bay and landed in the artificial gravity that all Robotech warships had.

The doors of the shuttles opened and men and women began to walk out and assembled into formation. Finally, the Admiral herself appeared at the entry of her shuttle. A whistle was blown and a voice called out, "Admiral Parino, arriving!"

Admiral Komira Parino turned and saw the ship's emblem with the ship's name emblazoned in the center. 'UES Agamemnon'.

Komira felt a tear in the corner of her eye and she blinked it back. She whispered, "I've come home." Memories of being the Captain of this warship all those years ago came flooding back. Gathering control of her emotions she took a deep breath and let it out then saluted the ship's emblem and a flag of EarthGov that had been placed to be next to it. She walked down the steps and stopped at the last one.

Looking at the officer that was waiting at the bottom she asked, "Permission to come aboard?"

Saluting the Admiral the young officer said, "Granted ma'am. Welcome aboard the Agamemnon."

Komira stepped down and walked over to where Captain Ben Richards was waiting. Salutes and greetings were exchanged, Komira stepped to a podium and began speaking. "To everyone aboard the Agamemnon and the other Robotech ships that have returned from the Pegasus galaxy, on behalf of General Lefcourt, President Levy, and everyone in the Earth Alliance you have our profound thanks for carrying out this task."

"The job is just beginning, I have received reports from Captain Sheridan that you all have been working on warship simulators that were present aboard the Factory Station. My team and I will assess your skills and see if you're ready for warship operations and if you are not, you will be deployed to the base on the moon to finish up those areas that are needed. But, if and when you are all ready for warship operations training, you will be pushed hard to be fully ready. Ladies and gentlemen, we are on the clock more so than ever. With the victory at Sestun the Minbari are no doubt regrouping and organizing their forces for a renewed offensive. We need to be ready and prepared ourselves. This is a race ladies and gentlemen, I intend for us to win that race and have these warships fully crewed and starting offensive operations in Minbari space before the Minbari can launch their own offensive."

"Our job is to focus on the ship, Admiral Sterling is focused on getting our pilots ready to fly Veritechs while Generals Fontaine and Franklin are focused getting our GroPos trained on Cyclones and Destroids. Focus on what you have to do, give me your best because I guarantee you that the Minbari want to kill us all more than ever before. Thanks to Admiral Sterling's Veritechs, we gave the Minbari an ass kicking they have not suffered in a thousand years. I promise all of you that it is just the beginning."

She looked around the hanger at everyone assembled. "Let's get started, Captain Richards, the personnel I have brought with me are ready to begin their own training on an actual warship. They will work with your people and we shall see how ready they are. So let's get to work Captain."

Nodding his head Captain Richards looked at everyone and ordered, "All personnel to your stations! I want us ready for maneuvers in fifteen!"

Everyone dispersed and started hurriedly moving to their stations. Captain Richards gestured to Admiral Parino and said, "If you'll follow me ma'am I'll show you the way to the Bridge."

With a smile Komira said, "I know where it is Captain. The Agamemnon used to be my ship when I was a Captain myself."

Captain Richards expressed surprise as he replied, "Really? I wasn't aware of that ma'am. I'm sure coming back here brings back memories."

As the two walked together Komira glanced at Ben and replied, "It does. It brings back a lot of memories." The two were joined by a couple more officers and Captain Richards introduced the to the Admiral. She noticed that the Executive Officer was absent. "Is your XO on the Bridge?"

Ben replied, "No ma'am, Lieutenant Commander Khamjin took command of the Ikazuchi Cruiser UES Vanguard."

Komira replied, "I see. Well, I'll be going over there soon enough."

The doors to the elevator opened and they walked out and made their way to the Bridge. At once, a Lieutenant cried out, "Admiral on deck!"

Everyone stood up at their posts at attention. Komira looked around and after a few seconds she said, "As you were. Captain Richards, proceed."

The Captain said, "Aye ma'am." Then he looked at his people and said, "Status report! I want us ready for maneuvers as soon as possible!"

Everyone was making ready for maneuvers, reports from all the stations were coming in as checks were completed. Approval from Traffic Control was asked for and received. Soon everything was ready.

Captain Richards reported, "Admiral, all stations are manned and ready, we have approval from Traffic Control."

With a nod of her head Komira said, "Very good Captain, proceed."

Captain Richards took a breath then said, "All right, let's do this. Helm, ahead one third and proceed on course as directed by the navigator."

"Aye sir!"

The ship began to move and everyone was excited as they were starting their warship operation training. Captain Richards was very hopeful that his people were ready. Standing to the side, Admiral Komira Parino watched everyone perform their duties like a hawk. She had a lot of work to do but she was confident that she'd succeed.

---

Sol System

Io Jumpgate

It was late in the day when the Io jumpgate activated and the familiar vortex of an incoming jump appeared. Everyone was on alert but they were relaxed as the incoming arrivals were expected.

Soon, warships of the 44th Fleet led by General Sam Carter were emerging from the jumpgate. The first warship to emerge was the flagship, the Nova Class Dreadnought EAS Hammond and it was quickly followed by the rest of the most damaged warships that had fought at the battle. Each warship had visible signs of battle damage.

The returning ships were a mix of Novas, Hyperions and Olympus Corvettes and it was most of the fleet that had returned, only a handful stayed behind at Sestun as Intelligence strongly believed that the Minbari would not be returning very soon for revenge. As it was, the 57th Fleet was en route and would arrive to reinforce the Sestun colony within the next six to eight hours.

Waiting for the fleet's return was an honor guard of EarthForce warships and after the fleet emerged from the jumpgate they began to make the journey back to Earth at full speed.

The arrival was broadcast by ISN as they had a team of reporters at the Io station and they broadcast the fleet's triumphant return as they emerged from the jumpgate. Everyone was feeling proud but also concern as so many of the warships had visible battle damage, breaches in the hull wear visible, many trailing some form of exhaust as they passed through and made their way home.

Io Station greeted the returning fleet. "Welcome home to everyone from the 44th Fleet. On behalf of the President and General Lefcourt, thank you for your sacrifice and your courage to bring Earth her second victory."

General Sam Carter acknowledged the greeting, "Thank you, Io Station. On behalf of everyone from the fleet, we were just doing our duty. Request permission for a flight path to Earth Fleetdock."

"Roger that General, course has been transmitted to your flagship. Proceed as directed."

"Thank you Io Station. General Carter out."

Local Earth Space

The fleet of warships proceeded as directed and arrived at Fleetdock soon where another honor guard was waiting for the ships before they entered the massive facility to dock and start unloading all of the wounded from the warships. The shuttles carrying the wounded made their way down to Earth to land at military hospitals so that they could be treated.

A separate shuttle launched from the Hammond and made its way down to EarthForce HQ. Upon landing, the Veritech pilots led by Commander Jeffrey Sinclair, Admiral Miriya Sterling, and General Carter, Colonel Hague, and Captain Sandoval of the Hammond disembarked where a welcoming committee awaited the group.

The media was there as well as many members of EarthForce High Command along with the civilian government. There was also a large crowd of civilians in a grandstand nearby and among the crowd were family members of the men and women that just landed.

The crowd roared and cheered as each person exited the shuttle and walked to a point on the tarmac where they stood and awaited the next part of the ceremony. General Lefcourt walked to the podium and began to speak.

---

The Welcome/Victory ceremony was over. Admiral Sterling, General Carter, Colonel Hague, Captain Sandoval and the Veritech pilots had received various medals for their bravery and accomplishments at the Battle of Sestun. They'd been granted a few hours to mingle with family members that had been brought over. Now, they were meeting General Lefcourt in a secure conference room.

With the protocols done everyone was seated around the conference table and General Lefcourt was in the center on one side. He looked across at everyone and said, "Well, now that the show is over, I wanted to have one last talk before I send you all off on a three day liberty pass."

General Carter coughed and said, "Begging your pardon General, but I don't need a three day pass. I've heard the news that some warships from Pegasus have just arrived so just send me on my way to get up to speed with these old beauties so I can get back out there to kill the enemy that much quicker sir."

Admiral Sterling added, "Sir, I need to return to the moon and see how my pilots are doing. The men and women who flew with me,", she looked over at Commander Sinclair and the others who flew with her then she looked at General Lefcourt. "are ready. They passed my test and they have added many Minbari fighters to their kill totals. They could use more time flying in Battloid and Guardian and I'm going to take them back with me to finish up the rough edges but in thirty six to forty eight hours I think these men and women will be ready for deployment."

Miriya took a sip of water and continued, "Given that Commander Sinclair and several of the pilots here are from Skull Squadron and the others are from squadrons that were also undergoing training, I need to see how their squadron members are all doing and determine if they are ready as well. So, I will not be taking any time off sir, there's too much work to be done."

General Lefcourt nodded his head and said, "Well, this has to be a first. Never thought I'd see it myself, but you're all correct that these are desperate times. We can rest when this war is over. However...I think you could all use at least a day to be with your loved ones. You can take it if you want, or return to duty immediately, it's up to you."

General Lefcourt looked at General Carter and Colonel Hague, and Captain Sandoval then began, "Gentlemen, if you're in such a hurry to get to work, then you are to report to our base on the dark side of the moon and see Admiral Komira Parino. She's been leading the refamiliarization and training for our people. She's assembled a top notch team to get everyone up to speed and I have every confidence that you and your people will be brought up to her standards."

General Lefcourt looked around the room at everyone now. "Everyone, with this victory we have time. How much time is a question that we just don't know. Worst case is we've got two weeks before the Minbari restart their offensive, best case is your victory gives us six to eight weeks. So, it's a race."

General Carter growled, "You have my word sir, I'll be ready and so will my people."

General Lefcourt said, "Then I won't stop you. You are all dismissed."

Everyone stood up and began to leave the room with the exception of Admiral Sterling. She remained sitting in her chair for a moment before rising and moving to the chair that was opposite General Lefcourt. The door closed and Miriya looked at General Lefcourt silently before reaching down to the briefcase she'd brought with her, pulling out a tablet.

She placed the tablet in front of her and said, "General, with the Factory due to return soon and with the President and yourself informing me that I can have anything I want," she turned on the tablet and passed it across the table and continued, "I'm calling in my markers. If I need to cash them all, then so be it but I want this in the Factory's production queue when the Factory returns and we begin mecha production."

The General took the tablet and looked at the design that was loaded. He spent a few minutes going over the whole thing. He set the tablet down and said, "Impressive. This new design is yours?"

Nodding her head Miriya replied, "Yes. I've been working on it on and off over the years. But when I heard word of the expedition to Pegasus to bring the Factory back, I pulled it out again and I've spent a lot of time on it."

"It won't require your people to go back to full size?", he asked.

Miriya shook her head and answered, "No sir, no need for the use of the sizing chambers. That Queadlunn-Rau design will support male and female pilots with no need to to be giant sized. My design makes use of some very advanced Robotechnology that we deployed in the Haydonite war which makes it a mecha that both men and women can pilot. In fact, I've taken pilot survivability into account by adding a barrier system. It can take a few hits, protecting the mecha and the pilot from harm."

General Lefcourt looked the design over again and focused on where the pilot would be in the mecha and took note that Miriya was right, that the pilot did not have to be giant sized to pilot the mecha. Looking up at Miriya with an arched eyebrow he said, "A barrier system for the mecha? This technology you are using in this design was used in the Haydonite war?"

"Yes, much of the cockpit design incorporates technologies from the VF-27 Lucifer Veritech. I've incorporated other technologies from other mecha into this one as well, such as the barrier."

General Lefcourt gave hummed in thought as he was reviewing the design again. Looking at Miriya again he said, "The VF-27 Lucifer?"

Miriya said, "After the Haydonite betrayal much of our fleet and mecha we had to stop using due to their sabotage. Admiral Hunter and Doctor Emil Lang were able to use the Factory to bring several new designs that had been designed and talked about but never manufactured into production. I'm sure you've seen the inventory list that Captain Sheridan had sent."

Clearing his throat General Lefcourt said, "Well, yes. I'm curious about this 'Macross Cannon' that is among the ships there."

Miriya grinned, "I guarantee you sir, that the sight of that ship firing four reflex cannons at once will be something that the Minbari will never forget. I'm confident it would wipe out an entire fleet of theirs in one sweep."

With an open mouth of shock that he quickly closed General Lefcourt said, "Four reflex cannons? Four!? Damn, we lost a lot of our history and our data of what we left behind." The General sighed and then tapped the tablet with his index finger. "I'll take this to the Secretary and the President and let them know of your...request."

Miriya frowned, "You and the President promised me…", she said.

Holding up his hand in a placating gesture General Lefcourt said, "I promise you Miriya that we'll make it happen. Your new Queadlunn-Rau will be put into production. What are you going to call it, the Mark Two?"

Grinning she replied, "I was thinking of calling it the Queadlunn-Rhea."

"Very apt. What's your take on these other Veritechs that were in the inventory, these VF-25, VF-2SS, VF-171s, and this VF-27's. I know there's others I didn't list but what I want to know is are they deployable against the Minbari?"

Nodding her head Miriya replied, "Oh yes sir. Most definitely. Any of those Veritechs should be able to handle these Minbari fighters with ease. I'm very hopeful that the stealth systems we developed during the Invid and Haydonite wars will throw the Minbari off for once."

He asked, "You didn't activate the Shadow devices on your Veritechs?"

"No sir. I didn't want to give them all our surprises."

Both of them chuckled.

General Lefcourt said, "Well, we will have to see what those do to the Minbari when we use those Shadow technologies."

With a feral smile Miriya said, "Yes sir, I'm looking forward to it myself."

General Lefcourt picked up the tablet, turned it off then placed it in front of him. Then he said, "Miriya, I want you to know we appreciate it greatly everything you've done. You helped us out with our Starfury losses by going out there and using the Starfury to its fullest, developing new tactics and techniques that you taught our pilot corps, which gave us a small measure of hope. Our losses weren't as severe as before and we've been able to demonstrate that our Starfurys can defeat Minbari fighters, and once our pilots were able to see them on scanners, our pilots really gave them a thrashing. Now you're teaching our pilots to fly Veritechs."

Miriya cut in, "I'm not the only one. I have a group of other Zentraedi and half Zentraedi pilots that have been helping me now thanks to the President's call to arms."

General Lefcourt nodded, "Yes, that's true. I just wanted to tell you though as much as we appreciate your skill and dedication in getting our pilots up to speed, I want you to be ready for deployment into the front lines. One of those Robotech warships will be your flagship."

Miriya arched an eyebrow. "Sir, I respectfully request to remain a pilot. I want to fly my redesigned Queadlunn-Rau. I want to reform my Quadrano flight. There's six of us left sir." She paused then she said, "I want to fly with my 'sisters' again."

General Lefcourt was silent for a moment then he hummed for a second or two before finally saying, "Admiral, you should be commanding fleets, not squadrons. However Admiral, I think you forgot that rank has its privileges. What's to say you can't be out there in your Queadlunn-Rhea while in command of your fleet. I certainly won't object unless your fleet's performance starts to suffer."

Miriya chuckled. "I see. Well then, let me just toss my hat in the ring for command of the Macross Cannon."

General Lefcourt hummed in response then asked, "You don't want the SDF-3?"

"Are you offering her to me? I assumed that you and the rest of the Joint Chiefs would put her in the Smithsonian."

General Lefcourt shook his head. "Oh no, the Pioneer is not going into the Smithsonian until after the war. If at all. So, if you want the SDF-3, it's yours."

Miriya blinked. She couldn't believe it. She blinked her eyes owlishly as she absorbed what General Lefcourt said. "Sir, I'm honored and I would have to be an idiot to say no. So, I'll take the SDF-3."

General Lefcourt smiled and reached across with his hand out for a handshake. "Congratulations Admiral Sterling." The two shook hands and Miriya and Robert smiled at each other.

Miriya blinked back some tears that were starting to form and wanted to fall. "Thank you sir. I'm honored you are giving her to me. So, who's going to get the Macross Cannon?"

Robert Lefcourt smiled at her. "You're welcome Miriya. I'll be honest and tell you that we don't know who will be in command of the Macross Cannon. It's quite possible that Admiral Parino might get her. Well, if you're not going to take the day off, I'll let you return to the moon with your pilots."

Miriya arched an eyebrow. "Admiral Parino in command of Thor's Hammer? Okay, you have to let me be there when you assign it to her, I'll be there with the popcorn and a camera so I can enjoy that moment."

Robert chuckled and then the two stood and Miriya gave the Supreme Commander of EarthForce a salute which was returned. With that the two walked out of the conference room and headed for the elevators. Miriya took one elevator that would take her to the top so she could get to her waiting shuttle while Robert made his way down to return to the war room and look at the latest reports before his next meeting.

Miriya exited the elevator and walked into the waiting area to see shuttle arrivals and departures to find where her shuttle back to the facility on the dark side of the moon was at. As she was looking she heard the sound of a clearing throat.

"Admiral Sterling, I'm here to escort you to your shuttle ma'am."

Turning, Miriya saw it was Commander Sinclair. He stepped to the side and walked with her out of the room and onto the tarmac to a waiting vehicle that would take them to the shuttle.

As they walked Miriya asked, "Well Commander, you don't want to take any time off?"

Jeffrey Sinclair shook his head and said, "Too much to do, not enough time ma'am."

"Did anyone take the offer for time off?", she asked.

He replied, "No ma'am, everyone is waiting for us to arrive at the shuttle."

Miriya nodded her head in approval. The ride was fast and it stopped near the shuttle so the two could exit and board the shuttle. Waiting outside were the rest of the pilots that had flown with her in Sestun.

Miriya looked at them and said, "Well, what are we standing around for, let's go!"

Everyone quickly boarded the shuttle and soon after it launched into the sky, heading for the dark side of the moon.

---

Dark Side of the Moon

UES Agamemnon

It was very late in the day, well into the evening hours that the currently designated UES Agamemnon, soon to be commissioned into EarthForce as the EAS Agamemnon returned from the test cruise that Admiral Komira Parino had ordered and observed. The test cruise went longer than planned because the Admiral ordered additional maneuvers and tests to see how Captain Richards' personnel performed.

Komira was satisfied as she had watched the crew perform their duties during this test run. The Admiral smiled as the final procedures were completed and the ship was in her position in orbit of the moon directly over the EarthForce facility that was now training so many people below.

With a smile she ordered, "Ship wide please."

The communications officer said, "Ship wide is yours ma'am."

The chime of an incoming ship wide announcement was heard and the Admiral began, "This is Admiral Parino, I want to commend you all on performing your duties extremely well during this exercise. For those of you from the Pegasus Expedition you have performed very well."

"Captain Richards, you and everyone from Pegasus performed admirably and I find no reason to send you down to the facility for more training. You'll complete your training aboard this fine ship with the personnel that I brought with me. There will be more exercises, more drills and many of you may find yourself transferred to other warships as your final assignment or to train others and get them up to speed. So, Captain Richards, I turn the Agamemnon over to you. The ship is yours until High Command decides otherwise. Congratulations."

The ship wide address was closed and Komira extended a hand out for a handshake to Captain Ben Richards. As the two shook hands there was polite applause.

Komira said, "You'll receive new exercises and drills from me or my team. Good luck Captain."

Ben replied as the took shook hands, "Thank you ma'am."

With that, Komira left the Bridge and made her way down to the hanger to take a shuttle back down to the facility.

Upon landing she didn't waste any time. She returned to her office and started reviewing the latest data from those that were training here in the facility. Then she contacted her second in command and said, "I want the next group that is ready to begin moving out to these warships." She named the five other Robotech warships that currently had a skeleton crew aboard after Folding from Pegasus. "Get them up there and we'll start the next phase of exercises with those ships."

"Yes ma'am. Ma'am, General Sam Carter has been observing the simulator exercises. While you were gone his fleet returned from Sestun and we're going to start receiving his personnel after they take a brief leave to rest and recover from the battle. However, he's here with Colonel Hague and Captain Sandoval of the Hammond asking lots of questions. He said he's anxious to start learning and he wants to see you right away."

Komira hummed in thought then said, "Is he still at the simulators?"

"Yes ma'am. He's watching all of the exercises like a hawk."

"Very well, let him know I've returned from the test cruise and I'm ready to see him."

"Right away ma'am."

The connection closed and Komira returned to work. About fifteen minutes passed and her intercom chirped, "Admiral, General Carter and Colonel Hague are here to see you."

"Send them in."

The door opened and General Sam Carter and Colonel William Hague entered the Admiral's office. They were accompanied by Komira's aide and Komira said, "Gentlemen, welcome. Would you like coffee, tea, or water?"

Both men said, "Coffee, please."

With a look to her aide, the young Zentraedi Lieutenant left and returned within a few minutes with a tray that had a coffee pot, cups, and cream and sugar.

Once everyone had their cup of coffee in front of them and her aide had left Komira said, "Well, I apologize for being gone, but I had to see if my most advanced group of trainees were able to handle warship operations. So, I'm to understand that your people from the 44th Fleet will be coming here to learn Robotech ship operations and tactics?"

Sam finished taking a sip of his coffee and replied, "Yep. I'm giving my boys and girls that three day pass, but Colonel Hague, Captain Sandoval, and myself want to get into it right away."

Komira said, "You did get injured General, you could take a couple days."

Sam scoffed, "I've cut myself worse shaving. I need to get back into it. I want to get started right away Admiral. I spent the day watching the simulator exercises and I have to say that I am impressed. What the hell were our predecessors thinking in locking these Robotech ships and weapons away?"

Komira said, "I wasn't part of the conversation back then General and even though I didn't agree with it, as a good Captain of the REF I followed orders by parking my warship in the Factory, walking out and not looking back."

Colonel Hague said, "We do get orders we don't always agree with."

Sam nodded his head. "True. I have to think that if our predecessors knew that the Minbari would be exterminating us, I'm confident they wouldn't have done what they had done."

Komira took a sip of her coffee and said, "Well, you might be right about that. So, tomorrow my people and I will start getting you up to speed. I'll be pushing you and your men and women very hard."

Sam said, "Good, I like hard work."

Komira smiled, "We'll see if you still feel that way after I put you both through my exercises. Here's what I'm planning."

The meeting lasted for twenty more minutes as Komira gave the two men a briefing on what they could expect. The schedule was going to be very fast, stressful, and extensive. Afterwards the two men left and Komira went back to the shuttle bay and took a shuttle to the UES Vanguard to speak with Lieutenant Commander Khamjin to get a feel for how the people aboard that ship were prepared.

A great deal of work had to be done.

---

The Pegasus Galaxy

The Robotech Factory

The shuttle carrying the Secretary of State, Senior Diplomatic Envoy Sha're and the telepath Alfred Bester landed in the main hanger. Everyone was returning from the Sentinels flagship, the Super Star Destroyer Freedom after spending the last couple of days working out an agreement that both sides would be happy with now that the Sentinels had promised to help the Earth Alliance against the Minbari. Waiting for the group was Captain John Sheridan.

John said as the group exited the shuttle, "Welcome back Mister Secretary, everyone. I hope you have some good news sir."

David and the others looked tired but the spark in David and Sha're's eyes and the tiny smirk that Alfred Bester were expressing gave John a lot of hope.

As the group walked down and stopped by Captain Sheridan David and John shook hands first and John shook Sha're's hand as well as Alfred's.

The group began to move, walking to a waiting transport vehicle that they boarded. As they were walking, David said, "I do have good news. Foreign Minister Hunter and I have reached a tentative agreement, one we think both our leadership will agree with. Mister Hunter is reaching his Prime Minister and the Councilors, I need to speak with the President."

Now, they were all on the vehicle and John was driving it, driving Mister Bester to his quarters and Sha're to hers since their quarters were on the way. Once he had dropped them off, John continued to drive.

David explained that he would tell John about the agreement once he'd briefed the President. She had to know first. John was understanding. He gave David a brief update that the personnel were now working on the warships within the Factory and were getting ready for actual ship operations, to actually start maneuvering the Robotech warships in open space while the Starfury pilots were now flying Veritechs in various models. The CAG's of the three Hyperions and the Achilles were working their pilots hard, using exercises that Miriya had sent them and taking advantage of the Factory's onboard simulators as well. The GroPos detachments were working on the various Destroids directly.

David nodded his head and said, "Looks like you're making great progress John. That's good."

The vehicle came to a stop by David's quarters as he requested. David exited the vehicle and said, "We'll talk later, I need to contact President Levy at once."

John said, "Right, I'll see you soon."

David went to his quarters and took a few minutes to refresh himself then went to his computer and contacted the Communications Officer.

The face of the young blonde woman appeared on screen. "Lieutenant Livesy here, how can I help your sir?"

"I need a priority communication with President Levy Lieutenant."

With confident professionalism she replied, "Yes sir, I'll make contact with EarthGov at once. It'll take me a few minutes, stand by sir."

David nodded. "That's fine."

The screen went back to an idle animation screen and David went to his own personal refrigerator and pulled out a cold bottle of water. He took a drink and sat in the chair in front of his computer and waited.

After a few minutes Lisa chirped, "Mister Secretary, apologies for the delay. The President is in a meeting, but she wants to speak with you at once. It'll be jut a moment."

He replied, "That's fine."

David sat up straighter, taking another drink of water. A moment later the screen display showed a conference table in President Levy's office. Sitting around the table was President Levy, Vice President Santiago, Secretary Sterling, Assistant Secretary of State Wainwright, and two Senators.

President Levy smiled at David and said, "Hello David, it's so great to see you. You look exhausted."

David smiled and said, "I am pretty tired but it's been for a good cause. Madam President...everyone, I have been in non stop negotiations with the Foreign Minister of the Sentinels Alliance and under your directive Madam President we have a deal that needs your approval and right now Foreign Minister Hunter is talking to his own leadership. With your permission, I'd like to go over that with you now."

President Levy and everyone else nodded their heads and looked very interested. She said, "Go ahead David, let's hear it."

David took a breath and said, "Very well. The Sentinels are willing to help us. I've managed to convince them to send enough personnel to crew a fleet of one thousand ships to the Milky Way Galaxy and are willing to fight with us on the front lines and assist us with defending our colonies."

The group perked up at hearing that. A Senator asked, "While that's good, what do they want in exchange?"

David resumed, "Well for starters, they're going to be using the refitted Zentraedi warships we have aboard the Factory."

Everyone was surprised at that statement. David kept talking. "I offered them a lend/lease on the use of the warships and mecha. We will supply the Protoculture to the warships and mecha that they use at a large discount. The Factory can handle all their repairs. Now, I'm telling you that they wanted a Robotech Factory, but I informed Minister Hunter that supplying them with a Robotech Factory and/or a Protoculture Matrix were off the table. He took that news in stride. But, in return for their help they want us to open up a station here in Pegasus. With us returning to using Robotechnology, we will be able to return to Pegasus with no trouble. They've given me a list of systems that have habitable worlds for us that they are willing to offer several of these worlds for us to colonize at a reduced cost. Yes, we'd have to pay them for the worlds but Minister Hunter has said that they would not ask us to pay too much."

David took a drink of water then resumed, "After the war, they want us to build a Robotech Factory in the Pegasus galaxy that we control, but they get to use a percentage of the construction bays for their own designs and builds that is not limited to warship and mecha construction. They want to build freighters and cargo ships that can Fold to the Milky Way and do business with us as well as the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, the Narn, and the Centauri. Minister Hunter did say that the Sentinels would refrain from doing business with those races in the League that refused to help us."

Everyone was surprised at that and it looked like almost everyone had something to say. One of the Senators said, "You're deal gives ships away?"

David corrected the Senator by saying, "Senator, we are not giving anything away, it is a lend/lease. The Sentinels used to fight with the ships and mecha we are going to be leasing them. We don't know if their current ships can see the Minbari on their sensors, so why put them through that?"

David continued, "Besides, unlike the Narn, the Centauri, and the League of Non-Aligned Worlds, our friends are willing and are coming to help us! So, why shouldn't they reap the reward?"

At that moment the chime at David's door sounded. David looked to the door then back to the computer screen and said, "Apologies, give me a moment, let me see who it is."

David got up and answered the door. It was Sha're and she was holding a large mug of coffee in one hand and a plate with a grilled ham and cheese sandwich in the other. Sha're smiled and held the cup towards David. "Sir, I thought you could use this."

David blinked in surprise. He really needed a jolt of caffeine and it just arrived at the right time. "Thank you Sha're, your timing was perfect. I'm talking to the President and senior leadership now. It's going to be a long meeting."

Smiling, Sha're said, "You're welcome sir. Take care."

With that she left and David took his coffee cup and sandwich, taking sips as he returned to his seat. It was just what he needed. Setting the cup and plate out out of view, he took a couple of quick bites of the sandwich and drank some more coffee. Then he sat back down and apologized for having to answer the door.

David said, "Alright, that's the deal in a nutshell. Madam President, you gave me the directive that with the exception of the Factory and the Matrix, I could offer them almost anything else. This is what Foreign Minister Hunter and I have agreed to and I am confident we can agree to these terms as much as Mister Hunter is confident as he is that he can get the Sentinels leadership to agree as well."

With that, the discussion began.

Hours later, everyone was tired but it was done. David had convinced the group and the President to agree to the terms. Hopefully the Sentinels didn't have any last minute changes. David signed off and checked to see if there were any messages from Foreign Minister Hunter.

The communications officer on duty was a young Zentraedi man and he answered that there were no messages as of yet. David asked, "If they make contact and want to speak to me, put them on hold and contact me. I'm going to take a nap for a few hours."

The young Zentraedi officer replied, "Yes sir. I'll see to it your request is passed on to my relief if they don't make contact while I'm on duty."

"Thank you.", David hung up, set his alarm for two hours, walked over to his bed and laid down. In seconds he was fast asleep.

---

Meanwhile, while Secretary of State Sheridan was in the middle of discussing the treaty he'd reached with Foreign Minister Hunter, Captain Sheridan had finished another simulated exercise with Captains Jiina and Thar against their three Executive Officers. The three Captains had defeated their Executive Officers in a simulated three on three cruiser engagement and now the officers and enlisted had gathered for an after exercise debriefing.

The meeting didn't last long but once it was over John said to the Captains and the Executive Officers to take a break return to their duties. Once everyone was gone John said, "Admiral Hunter, a moment please."

The holographic projector activated once more and the hologram of Admiral Rick Hunter appeared once more in his REF uniform and looking inquisitive. "Yes, Captain Sheridan?", the hologram asked.

John said, "I'm going to introduce you to the other Captains and the Executive Officers very soon, before the day is over at the latest."

The hologram of Admiral Rick Hunter, the AI that had all his memories and knowledge after the end of the Haydonite war was silent for a moment then said, "I see. Are you sure you want to do that?"

John nodded and knocked the table with his fist. "Yes, it's time that they know the truth. Besides, I think there's more than a few people aboard that are beginning to figure out that the assistance you've been providing is leaps and bounds better than a VI. So, I better let the cat out of the bag now."

Admiral Hunter said, "Well, if you think it's time I'm not going to argue with you. I was created to help you and get you all up to speed using Robotech warships and tactics."

John nodded and said at the same time, "And you have, you have given my people serious fits in the simulators acting as the opposition force in capital ship engagements and against the pilots in both Veritech and Destroid combat. In a way, you've demonstrated to everyone Robotech warship fighting tactics to us and have shown us what we've lost since we stopped using such ships and weapons."

John let out a deep breath and continued, "We will be returning back to Earth soon, and quite frankly Admiral, we're going to need you to be that teacher to all of those men and women that will be fighting in those Ikazuchi, Eisenhower...even those refitted Zentraedi warships and these new Macross classes." John paused then said, "EarthForce is going to need your expertise Admiral, laws against AI be damned. So, that's why I need to introduce you to the Captains and the Execs. Because next, I'll need to introduce you to the Admirals and Generals. After that, you'll be teaching all of those of young men and women."

The hologram of the Admiral nodded. "Well, it is what I am here for, to teach and show you all how to use and fight with Robotechnology. Also, I did some looking into your laws Captain, and as it turns out, I am "grandfathered" in." Admiral Hunter chuckled, paused, then resumed, "What we hoped for Humanity was that this day would never come and that I would not be needed at all. Ah well, at least we planned for this."

Admiral Hunter was looking at a view screen showing the outside of the Factory and there was a view of the assembled fleet of Sentinels Alliance warships with the Super Star Destroyer in the center. The hologram turned and asked, "So tell me, how was it being aboard a Super Star Destroyer?"

John smiled, "It was amazing." John the began to tell Admiral Hunter about his experience aboard the Sentinels' flagship.

After talking, John left the conference room and returned to the Factory Control Center. He had some work to do before telling his fellow Captains and the Executive Officers about Admiral Hunter's existence.

---

Minbar

The Valen'Tha

Aboard the mighty warship the Valen'Tha the Minbari War Leader Brammer was reviewing the video footage for what had to be the tenth time that he'd been given by Lenonn, the Anla'Shok Na. It was well into what was considered "night" aboard the warship and he'd spent a lot of his personal time looking at both the written archives and the video that Lenonn had given him. What he was watching was giving him great causes for concern. The video was titled 'A History of the Robotech Wars' and if this "historical archive" was true and accurate, the race that his people were slaughtering had faced extinction not once but multiple times and each time they had not only survived but defeated their more powerful foes.

It was very, very concerning.

The archive footage of massive war fleets, of seeing a fleet of over five million warships bombarding the human homeworld was a terrifying sight to see. Watching battles that the humans had fought that would have put the last great Shadow War to shame was very eye opening. His second, Neroon had seen the same footage, scoffed and dismissed it as fiction. Brammer was sure that it was not fiction. He had also started reading the documents that were included, various written accounts of the different Robotech Wars and everything he read and seen frightened him.

If he showed this to the Grey Council this would not change anything. Nothing could stop what was coming for Humanity. They may have escaped extinction before, but this time...this time there was no stopping what was coming. The full might of the Minbari was now preparing to be unleashed.

At least that's what he kept trying to tell himself. But for some reason, his instincts were telling him that he was extremely wrong.

---

The Pegasus Galaxy

The Robotech Factory

The Captains and Executive Officers returned to the conference room to rejoin Captain Sheridan after they had finished their duties for the day and taken a brief break. They were surprised to find Captain Sheridan in the room already waiting for them, it seemed he had not taken the time to have a break at all.

John gestured to the group to go ahead and take seats. "Come in, seat where ever you like."

John's Executive Officer, Delinda sat in the chair closest to her Captain. While the others sat across from him, taking seats to face him.

Once everyone was seated John began, "Everyone, I've been keeping a secret from all of you. As the overall military command of this expedition came to me, only Secretary Sheridan and Doctor Lang are privy to what I'm about to reveal to you. You are to speak of this to no one else without my permission."

John looked around the room and waited until everyone else gave their affirmation. Once he was satisfied, John said, "I had an idea of what I was going to say but I just decided to just rip the band-aid off. Admiral, please join us."

Everyone looked confused then in surprise as a holographic projector activated and a hologram of a human male wearing the uniform of a Robotech Expeditionary Force Admiral appeared in the center of the room. Jaws opened in surprise and shock as everyone recognized the man standing there with a rakish grin and a sparkle in his eyes.

Admiral Rick Hunter was standing in the room.

John quickly said, "Everyone, meet Admiral Rick Hunter."

The room was silent as the hologram of the Admiral spoke with that grin on his face. "Hello there. It's nice to meet you all at last."

Lieutenant Commander Sheridan, John's wife exclaimed, "Sir, what is going on here?"

John stood up and walked over to stand next to the hologram of Admiral Hunter. "Everyone, shortly after the decision was made to lock up our Robotechnology, the leadership determined that in the event that what we are doing right now was necessary that we'd need some help. So, Admiral Hunter was…", John looked at the hologram then continued, "volunteered for the role of uploading his memories and everything that he was into an Artificial Intelligence. This made him the Factory and the storage yard's guardian. He was the voice that we made contact with. He's been acting as the VI you and everyone else has been interacting with since we arrived."

Delinda looked at the hologram then at John. "He's been the opposing force in all the simulated battles we've been running?"

Admiral Hunter smiled and said, "Yes. I've been teaching you tactics and how to fight with the warships and the mecha you will be using. You just didn't realize that I was the one teaching you."

At that moment the door slid open and Secretary David Sheridan entered. He started to say, "Captain…" He stopped as he saw the hologram of Admiral Hunter in the room. Then he said a little harshly, "What is going on here?"

John turned his head to look at Secretary Sheridan, his dad and said, "I'm informing the Captains and their Executive Officers of Admiral Hunter's existence and status Mister Secretary."

David said, "Perhaps you should have consulted with me first before making such a decision."

John shook his head and replied, "No sir, I felt this was a military decision given that the Admiral's presence aboard the Factory has basically been military in nature."

David was silent for a moment then said, "I still think I should have been consulted Captain." He sighed then slid his right hand down his face. "Well, the reason I came her looking for you was I wanted you to hear it from me as soon as I received word." He looked at everyone and smiled at them. "I have received word from President Levy and from Foreign Minister Hunter of the Sentinels Alliance that the deal is approved."

There was a few seconds of silence then the room exploded with cheers. The other Captains and Lieutenant Commanders stood with arms raised, fist pumps and high fives were exchanged followed by hugs. At long last, Earth was not going to fight the Minbari alone. Their friends here in the Pegasus galaxy were going to be coming with them.

Even the hologram of Admiral Hunter smiled as he watched the celebration. John was quick to offer him a handshake and the hard light hologram took John's hand and the two shook hands. John walked to his wife Elizabeth and the two exchanged a hug and Elizabeth whispered, "Your dad did it, we've got allies at last."

John whispered back, "He sure did." He pulled away and went to share in the exchange of happiness with his father and everyone else.

Everyone settled down and John asked, "So, what's the deal that has been agreed to?"

David replied, "For starters, we're going to lend them a thousand warships. One of them will be a Nupetiet-Vergnitzs-Class Fleet Command Battleship, the rest a mix of those refitted Zentraedi warships, Eisenhowers, and Ikazuchis. Grand Admiral Hesh is going to be summoning enough personnel to crew a thousand of our ships. They should start arriving in the next twelve hours at the soonest, eighteen hours at the latest and will take about two or tree days to finish bringing everyone over to the Factory."

Captain Jiina asked, "Is the Grand Admiral going to be coming?"

David shook his head saying, "Yes, she will be coming over to command their forces. But, she won't be bringing that Star Destroyer with her. She'll be taking command of one of those Nupetiet-Vergnitzs-Class Fleet Command Battleships. Foreign Minister Hunter will be traveling with us back home so more talks can continue and if the opportunity presents itself, to open diplomatic talks with the Minbari once we force them to the bargaining table and also with the Narn and Centauri, maybe even the League."

Captain Thar looked upset as he asked, "Why are we lending them our warships?"

David calmly replied, "First, their ships cannot make the journey with us back home unless they hitch a ride like you did with Captain Sheridan's warship. Second, we don't know if their ships can see the Minbari on their sensors. Third, they used to use these warships and mecha just like we did and we lent them Robotech ships and mecha before so it's not a problem to lend them again. It's a lend/lease agreement Captain Thar."

The Zentraedi Captain nodded then seemed to calm his features once that was explained to him.

David turned to look at John and asked, "So, now that you've told them about the AI what are your plans going forwards?"

John gestured to Admiral Hunter saying. "Not too much is going to change, the Admiral is going to teach us tactics and the capabilities of the warships and mecha we have, including these Macross warships and Veritechs. The difference is that he is going to be visibly doing it."

David shook his head, "The laws against AI…"

Admiral Hunter looked at David and cut in, "As I informed Captain Sheridan and everyone else here before your arrival, I had looked into your AI laws and as it stands, I am "grandfathered" in. The law does not apply to me."

David was about to finish what he was saying but coughed once and inquired, "Grandfathered in?"

The AI nodded his head and said, "Yes Mister Secretary. By your laws I was created and came online well before the law was written. The law gave protections to any AI that was online before the law went into effect. I'd say that I qualify."

David said, "That's a loophole!"

Admiral Hunter smirked and replied, "Yes, it is isn't it. Sir, my loyalty is to Earth and her government."

John stepped in between the two and looked at David. "Mister Secretary, it's not like we can shut him down, the Admiral is integrated into the Factory systems, for all intents and purposes he is the Factory!"

David let out a breath. "Fine, fine. A discussion will no doubt be had by the President and her Cabinet over this issue when we return. I just wanted to give you all the good news."

John looked around the room and said, "It's wonderful news sir, we'll start getting ready for their arrival. We'll greet Grand Admiral Hesh on the main hanger bay and discuss with her where to bring in her people and which ships they'll get other than that Fleet Command Battleship."

Everyone left the room, the Admiral disappeared in a flash of light as the holographic projector powered down.

---

President Levy's Office

It was very late or very early in the morning and President Elizabeth Levy was not in her bed yet. There was always work to be done and the war just piled that work on. She was not alone though, she was in a secret meeting with her Director of Intelligence Spiros Alexas.

The two were sitting across from each other on two comfortable chairs. President Levy was holding a rocks glass that had an amber colored liquid in it with a generous amount of ice.

President Levy asked, "What's the status on the investigation against Human's First?"

Director Spiros said, "It's ongoing. On the civilian side of things, we've made some raids, arrested and/or killed some of their more extreme members."

She asked, "And on the military side of things?"

President Levy took a drink as Director Spiros replied, "Well, the purge is well underway. There's been many arrests all across the military and across many colonies. I've been told that the JAG will be very busy."

Elizabeth growled and snarled, "I want them gone from my military. I want this organization burned to the ground Spiros, burned to the damn ground! Arrest them all, charge them, convict them."

Spiros nodded, "Attorney General Walters and I are working on that."

She looked down at her glass then up at Spiros. "If there is difficulty in finding enough evidence to convict but you know they're guilty...make them disappear. These people...no, these animals think they can do what they've done for decades and continue to get away with it. They've gone to far Spiros, they've gone way too far. Burn them to ash."

Spiros looked at Elizabeth and said, "I'm being honest Elizabeth, this is probably our best chance to take them out. I've been working on this for a very long time." He paused, he looked away, looking at the wall panel that displayed Geneva at late night/early morning then looked at her again. "A very, very long time."

Nodding her head Elizabeth said, "Yes, you have been working on them for a while."

Standing up and walking to look at the wall panels, taking in the sight of Geneva streets and scenery Spiros said, "Indeed." Then he turned to face her again and walked back to his chair and sat back down. "I finally have an in on who their top leadership is, but I am missing names. These people are not publicly known, and I know that I do not know all the players, if I strike now the ones I miss will scatter like rats on a sinking ship and go deeper into the shadows, making it even harder for me to destroy them. Patience Elizabeth, I promise you that I'll have Humans First wiped out in due time."

Elizabeth was looking at Spiros and she saw his eyes seem to change color, from the piercing blue to a red color that quickly changed back to the piercing blue color that they normally were.

Elizabeth didn't react she simply said, "I don't care what it takes, you have my authorization to do everything possible to root them out."

"Yes, Madam President.", Spiros said.

Finishing off her drink Elizabeth set it on the small table that was between the two. She asked, "What's the word on the Psi Corp Act?"

With a chuckle Spiros answered, "Senator Clark will try to introduce it into Committee but I've been assured that it is going to be DOA. The Chairperson of the Committee has assured me of that personally after you asked me to speak to him on your behalf."

Elizabeth nodded and asked, "I trust he was agreeable?"

With a sincere expression on his face Spiros responded, "Oh most certainly. I didn't have to do any arm twisting at all."

"Good. That bill is a terrible one, we both know who's behind it."

Spiros acknowledged, "We know the public names, but you and I both know that it's Humans First's secret leadership that is truly behind the bill."

Elizabeth snarled, "Yes, we have to destroy them before they get another chance to introduce that bill. Spiros...what about Senators that have ties to them, like Senator Clark? Why don't we start leaking these people's names? If they're too busy trying to escape the scandal, they won't have time to do what Humans First wants them to do and maybe we can get these Senators voted out of office in the upcoming election in November."

Spiros was silent for a moment then he said, "Many of the Senators that are publicly known Humans First supporters such as Senator Clark have already spoken against the actions of their extreme membership and are claiming it's the "tiny minority" that have done such things. The media is eating it up."

She snarled, "Then perhaps a leak or two to show that they aren't so pure. Besides, I want the ones that are in secret to be exposed now. There's what, two dozen Senators that are Human First supporters in secret?"

Spiros nodded.

Elizabeth ordered, "Open the doors and windows then, let them out into the light. I want them burned Spiros."

"I'll make the arrangements. You do realize this will cause problems."

She grimaced and then said, "Not for me, but thank you for your concern."

Spiros stood up and said, "If that's all, I better get going before our little meeting is discovered. I'll keep you informed as to our purge of Humans First."

Elizabeth stood up and the two shook hands. "Thank you, Spiros."

"You're welcome.", the Director of Intelligence replied. Then he left the office and took a quick turn and exited through a secret passage that was known to Presidential Security and himself. After a trip through the secret hallways of EarthGov, Spiros Alexas was back in his office.

Once he sat down the man looked at his computer and placed his hand on the security pad which scanned it and it moved to the next phase of the security check, opening a camera that looked into Spiros's eyes. Once it finished that, he had access to his computer.

The man chuckled at what he was doing, but needs must. Soon an email was sent from one of many "burner" accounts that had reliably given investigative reporters around the world and Earth's colonies information that led to many people's downfall. He had made preparations for the President's order, it was just a matter of executing said order now.

Once it was done, he looked over the latest intelligence data on the Minbari threat. His eyes out there were telling him that now the Minbari were fully mobilizing for war. He grunted at that. That the Minbari were using this war as a game to them made him very angry and he was looking forward to watching Humanity revert to the ways of old and show the Minbari how Humanity once waged war.

He hoped that things would not escalate to what they had done in the Andromeda Galaxy. What they'd done there was the whole reason why the Sentinels Alliance and a large portion of Humanity had moved from Andromeda to Pegasus.

As he reviewed the data that had come in, he made sure it was shared with EarthForce HQ. It would be some good news...it would take the Minbari several weeks to mobilize a fleet. As he reviewed the galactic map of Earth Alliance space he was sure that the first target would be Sestun. While suffering a major loss at Deneb, Sestun is where they'd fought back and killed them in a battle so he was sure that Sestun would be the first target and Deneb would be next.

Spiros made sure that this analysis was forwarded to General Lefcourt. He would make sure that the Minbari had a welcome surprise waiting for them. Once that was done, he sat in his office and watched real time data coming in. His eyes again flashing briefly to red before returning to its normal piercing blue color.

His operative, unknowingly would be checking in and submitting his report on Humans First. With a feral smile he was looking forward to bringing that organization down.

---

Senator Clark's Bedroom

Senator Morgan Clark awoke screaming.

Sitting up and looking around the room the man was drenched in sweat. The nightmare he had was fading away, he couldn't remember the images anymore.

His Zentraedi mistress was still asleep, she was a heavy sleeper and so she didn't react to his sudden awakening.

Slipping out of bed he staggered to the bathroom and splashed water on his face and looked at himself in the mirror. He would need to reapply his hair dye in the morning. Once he'd dried himself off he went back to his bed and laid back down.

Closing his eyes he went back to sleep. This time the nightmares didn't come.

---

The Pegasus Galaxy

The Robotech Factory

The main hanger bay had finished closing the massive bay doors as the shuttle from the Super Star Destroyer Freedom landed on its assigned landing platform.

After the Sentinel shuttle craft powered down the door opened and military officers stepped out first. Protocols were followed as the visiting officers asked for permission to come aboard and it was granted. John recognized them as the Flag staff that were assigned as the Grand Admiral's staff. Once the last officer stepped onto the floor, the Grand Admiral herself emerged.

Once she was aboard and shook hands with John and his staff, Foreign Minister Roy Hunter exited the shuttle and greeted Captain Sheridan and David Sheridan, the Secretary of State.

Protocols observed and followed, the Grand Admiral, her staff, Foreign Minister Hunter and his aide Marlene were brought to the main conference room. Also in the conference room were Secretary Sheridan, Senior Diplomatic Envoys Sha're and Kyle, Captain John Sheridan, Lieutenant Commander Delinda Lamiz, and Alfred Bester the telepath.

David began, "So let's get started shall we? Grand Admiral you'll be taking one of our Nupetiet-Vergnitzs-Class Fleet Command Battleships for yourself to command. Have you given thought as to which other warships you'd like to have?"

The Zentraedi woman nodded her head. "Indeed I have. I would like to request the following ships. Two hundred Garfish Light Cruisers, two hundred Ikazuchi Cruisers, two hundred Eisenhowers, two hundred Rineunadou Lojmeuean Gun Destroyers, one hundred Thurverl Salan Heavy Cruisers and one hundred Quiltra-Queleual Landing Ships."

The group from Earth looked at each other. John said, "Well, I will pass your request to General Lefcourt, who is the military commander for all of EarthForce but I don't see anything wrong with your requests."

Foreign Minister Hunter said, "To cover the costs for leasing these warships from you, we will be bringing and turning over to you the warships that our volunteers are crewing right now. You can use them for raw materials for the Factory to build more warships and mecha."

Everyone was stunned.

David was the first to regain composure and said, "Wait, what? You're going to turn over a thousand warships to us to use as raw materials for the Factory to make more ships?"

Roy nodded and said, "Yes. If I understand correctly, the Factory may have full Protoculture tanks already or you have access to make more Protoculture to fill the tanks up but it still needs raw materials as well for ship and mecha construction. We're simply contributing the raw materials of one thousand ships for one thousand ships. We think that it's a fair exchange."

David blinked then cleared his throat. "That's very generous of you."

Roy smiled and said, "Simply helping our friends out of a dire situation. We want you all to win. Especially now that we're going to be joining the fight."

John asked, "When will your ships start arriving?"

Kazianna replied, "The first group of three hundred should be arriving in about two hours. The next group of four hundred will arrive four hours later and the last group three hundred will arrive three hours after the second group."

John said, "Once everyone is here we will execute the Fold jump back to the Milky Way."

Roy and Kazianna nodded and Roy said, "That's fine."

John said, "Well then, since we're going to be leaving soon, I need to see to it that we leave nothing behind. Speaking of needing raw materials, I need to dismantle the mothball yard and have the Factory reclaim it for recycling. Lieutenant Commander Lamiz, take over for me. Excuse me everyone."

John stood up and left the room to head to the Factory control center. Upon his arrival, he saw Doctor Lang at the main control terminal. "Ah, Doctor Lang, good...you're here. I'd like you to start up the Factory and have it recycle the mothball yard for raw materials. We're going to be needing a whole hell of a lot of raw materials for ship and mecha construction in the near future. While you're at it, go ahead and follow Admiral Hunter's recommendation that the Shimikaze Battlecruisers are to be scrapped. Those are a legacy design of T.R. Edwards that we don't need a reminder of."

The Doctor looked at John and said, "Yes, Captain. Starting recycling processes now." Doctor Lang pushed some buttons and flipped switches and the Factory began seemed to hum to life as automated machines began to leave the Factory and make their way towards the mothball storage yard that floated out in space. At the same time tractor beams began moving the soon to be scrapped Shimikaze Battlecruisers out of the hanger bay towards the processing plants for recycling.

John watched it all unfold, it was a sight he'd never seen before and as it was happening the holographic projector turned on and Admiral Rick Hunter appeared.

The Admiral admired the view of watching the first Shimikaze battlecruiser being scrapped and recycled into raw materials silently for a moment then he said, "Wish I had been able to scrap those pieces of shit myself. But that is a very wonderful sight to see."

John commented, "Not a fan of the design?"

Rick scoffed, "Edwards designed it in secret, I guess my hatred of it is tied to the man, but to me it seems to be lacking in firepower. One light Synchro cannon and one twin particle cannon turret. One turret! It's missile firepower is fine with thirty VLS tubes but it also only has four CIWS laser turrets. It's just not that impressive."

John said, "I see."

The group watched as the reclamation and recycling continue as the automated drones were taking apart the mothball yard and bringing their torn apart pieces to the Factory's processing plants and returning out to the mothball yard to continue while at the same time the fourth Shimikaze battlecruiser was being scrapped and recycled. It seemed that the whole process would be over fairly quickly.

Admiral Hunter gave a final approving nod and then vanished as the holographic projector turned off. John moved to his station in the Control Center and monitored the recycling process.

---

EarthForce Lunar Installation

Dark Side of the Moon

Admiral Miriya Sterling's Office

With everything that had happened over the past day or two Admiral Miriya Sterling was finally taking a few minutes of personal time. Upon her return from EarthForce HQ she'd looked at the progress the pilots that she'd left behind had made and was mostly satisfied.

She'd arrived to find hundreds, actually almost a thousand pilots had arrived while she'd been away on the mission to Sestun. Thankfully, many of the pilots were of Zentraedi lineage and had experience piloting Robotech mecha. Many of them had taken advantage of President Levy's reenlistment offer and had received bonus monies or reinstatement to their old ranks. She had a ready corps of officers that were former flight leaders in Alphas, Betas, even the VF-25, VF-27, and others.

With their addition she was very confident of her mecha pilot corps.

Now she was taking some personal time. She was waiting for the video call to connect. Finally, the call was connected and answered and she saw the face of her last surviving child.

"Hello, mother.", her daughter said.

Miriya looked at her daughter. "Hello Aurora."

Miriya's youngest daughter, her only surviving child had a normal human skin tone like her other children but she had the blue hair of her father. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail and she looked tired.

Miriya said, "I returned from combat and noticed you were not among the family members that EarthForce had contacted."

Aurora didn't seem upset she had a flat look on her face. "I was busy. There is too much work to be done here."

Miriya tilted her head and looked inquisitive. "You're still on that dead rock of a planet?"

Aurora said, "We are making discoveries every day, we think we're about to find something major and I cannot leave."

Miriya was upset. "I do not fault your courage but you do realize that the Minbari are killing us wholesale. You have no protection, do you still have a ship you can evacuate on?"

Aurora shook her head. "No mother, the last ship left with the last of those that had the opportunity to leave."

Aurora was interrupted as Miriya said, "What!? You and the others didn't leave with the last ship!? Are you trying to get yourself killed!? Dana's dead! Maia's dead! You're my last child, how can you be so reckless and careless!?"

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Mother, the Minbari are not going to come out this way, especially since you single handedly wiped out one of their fleets. Besides, Maia's missing, not dead. I can't explain it, but I'd know if my sister was dead."

Miriya snapped, "Don't get smart with me, you think you're safe, but you have the people with you to think about! What about them!? Or are they so willing to throw their lives away for ancient relics of a dead race when there's a hostile threat on your doorstep!? Listen to me Aurora, the Minbari are looking for any sign of us and some of them are going out of their way to search out of the way systems just to see if we're hiding there. You scoff, but the EAS Donegal was taking a very long, out of the way route back to Earth after the meeting with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds and they ran into a Minbari warship. If it happened to them, it can happen to you and your fellow scientists."

Aurora wasn't fazed as he said, "We're fine mother. It's just the twenty of us. I highly doubt that some Minbari captain is out looking for tiny groups of humans just to pad their kill totals."

Miriya was not having it. She shook her head, "You are putting your people and yourself at risk." After a moment she said, "I'm coming to get you."

Aurora's eyes widened and she protested, "Mother, that's not…."

Miriya cut her off. "Pack up everything you want to bring back. I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm not taking a Hyperion, I'll be coming on a Robotech ship. So, don't dilly dally as if it's not packed it's being left behind."

Before Aurora could say anything, Miriya closed the call and made another one. It was answered quickly.

Miriya looked at General Lefcourt and began, "General, my daughter Aurora apparently decided to stay behind with a group of twenty volunteers. As you know she's a xeno-archaeologist and she has a very nasty habit of taking excessive risks. I'd like to take a volunteer crew and pick them up. Consider it a training operation sir."

General Lefcourt was silent then he said, "She's your last child, am I correct?"

"She is. Maia's listed as missing sir but...we have not been able to go back to that colony and...we know they don't take prisoners sir.", Miriya replied, nodding her head as she did.

With a sigh General Lefcourt said, "Well, contact Admiral Parino, see if she has enough people that she feels are ready to be deployed for a rescue operation. To make it official, bring enough pilots to pilot two squadrons of Veritechs minimum."

"Yes sir.", she said.

Just as she was about to disconnect the call General Lefcourt added, "Miriya, good luck. I hope you rescue her and those crazy scientists in time."

Miriya gave a salute. "Thank you sir."

The call was disconnected. Miriya quickly left her office and walked through the halls of the facility. She found her counterpart at her own office as she opened the door without knocking.

Admiral Komira Parino looked up from her desk and was about to rip the person's head off for daring to barge in her office when she realized it was Miriya. Her face went from anger to inquisitive.

She said, "Just barge in why don't you?"

Miriya stood between the chairs in front of Komira's desk. "I need to borrow a ship and a crew. My kid's playing scientist on a dead rock and she's got twenty other crazy scientists with her. She didn't take the ship home when she had the chance. So, I need a ship and a crew so I can go rescue them. What do you have that I can take? I'll be bringing two squadrons of pilots with me to make it a training operation."

Komira blinked as she took in what Miriya had said. "Well, I do have a battleship that has a full crew. I just put them through a test cruise, it's commanded by Captain Ben Richards. He just returned from Pegasus."

"You think they're ready?", Miriya asked.

Komira replied, "They're ready. Besides, you seem to be in a hurry."

Miriya nodded, "I am."

Komira said, "Then, the Agamemnon is yours Admiral Sterling. Go bring my Goddaughter home."

Komira stood up, walked around her desk and she hugged Miriya. After pulling away Miriya said, "Thank you."

"No thanks necessary."

Miriya turned and left the office as she said, "I'll be back soon."

"I know you will."

Miriya walked down the hall, she had two squadron commanders to wake up first. She made her way back to her office and saw the young Lieutenant that was acting as her aide.

"Call the barracks, wake up Commander Sinclair and Commander Thompson and transfer the call to me in my office."

The young man nodded and replied, "Aye ma'am!"

She returned to her office and waited. Within a minute her aide called and said, "I have them for you on hold ma'am."

"Put them through please."

"Yes, ma'am, right away."

Her monitor switched to show Commander's Jeffrey Sinclair of Skull Squadron and Frank Thompson of Lightning Squadron. Both looked tired, Sinclair more so given his recent activity and it was clear that both men had been sleeping when they were awakened.

Miriya was quick to speak, "Apologies gentlemen for waking you up so soon but a situation has arisen. I'm activating both of your squadrons for a mission. So, wake up your pilots and get to the hangar bay for a shuttle flight to the Eisenhower class battleship Agamemnon. Commander Sinclair and Thompson, several of your pilots have already passed the test with the mission to Sestun, this will be a test of all of your pilots...of both your squadrons. Your Veritechs will be waiting for you on the Agamemnon, the ones you here will be needed for training. So, get your people up and to the hangar bay in forty minutes. Sterling out."

She disconnected the call and called her aide. "Get me Captain Richards, he's on the Eisenhower battleship Agamemnon."

"Aye ma'am."

Miriya made a couple of calls to her team and informed them that she had to leave again and she was putting the training back on their shoulders. She made sure to point out a few things such as some pilots that needed more training time in the simulator before being allowed to fly a Veritech for real. She also praised her team for accomplishing so much while she was gone and she said, "I hate having to leave but this is urgent and I know you will not let me down. So, don't let those trainees fail, help them. If they can pilot a Starfury, they can pilot a Veritech. Carry on."

She disconnected the call and her aide said that he had Captain Richards waiting. She quickly had the call transferred over.

"Captain Richards, apologies for waking you up.", she said.

The Captain blinked his eyes quickly and cleared his throat. "It's no problem ma'am. What can I do for you?"

"I need you to dispatch a shuttle down here to pick up two squadron's worth of pilots and myself. I need your ship for a rescue mission."

Looking confused, the Captain inquired, "Rescue mission ma'am?"

"Yes, some crazy scientists didn't take the last ship for evacuation back to Earth or at least deeper into Earth Alliance space so we need to go get them. One of them is a xeno-archaeologist that happens to be my daughter. So, get your ship ready for departure. I have General Lefcourt's approval and Admiral Parino has given the Agamemnon to me for this mission and this will be a graduation test exercise."

After a few seconds Ben nodded and said, "Yes ma'am, I'll have a shuttle down in about twenty minutes."

"Good. Once we're aboard we'll be moving out right away."

"Aye ma'am. See you when you arrive."

Miriya said, "One more thing, I don't need a welcome aboard ceremony, is that understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

Miriya nodded her head and stated, "Good, we're on a clock. The Minbari might have a ship or two out there looking for pockets of surviving humans hiding on planets like the one my daughter and her scientist team is on. Last thing I want is for them to die because they were caught out there all alone. Sterling out."

She disconnected the call, then she went to her aide and explained to him what he needed to do while she was gone. The man quickly wrote down the list of tasks he was expected to accomplish and once she was satisfied she rushed to her quarters to pack another bag of clothes, flight suits, and personal items she'd need while she was on the Agamemnon.

When she arrived in the hangar bay she saw that everyone from Skull and Lightning squadron were present. Her timing was perfect as the shuttle from the Agamemnon was landing in the hangar bay.

Soon the shuttle was on the ground and was being moved into launch position again. Once it was set, Miriya ordered the group to get moving and board the shuttle. Everyone quickly walked up and boarded the SC-32 Gossamer class Transport shuttle quickly. Everyone took note of the seats and noticed that the shuttle had artificial gravity. Once everyone was strapped in, the pilot called out, "We'll be launching as soon as I receive clearance, stand by."

Priority was given to the shuttle launch and within a minute after everyone was strapped in, the shuttle was green lit for departure and it took off again, streaking towards the Eisenhower class battleship Agamemnon.

After a few minutes of flight the shuttle landed aboard the battleship. Again, everyone took note that they were feeling artificial gravity still as they left the shuttle. It was a far cry from any EarthForce warship and everyone was thrilled that they no longer had to deal with zero-g gravity while aboard a warship.

Miriya pointed out to the VF-6 Alpha Veritechs that were in their bays and said, "Get ready for flight, we'll be Folding to our destination and if the Minbari are there, we'll be launching right away. So, change into your flight gear and man your Veritechs." Miriya pointed and said, "Women, go there to change into your gear, men over there."

She looked at the shuttle pilot and said, "Stay, you'll be launching so we can rescue some civilians."

The pilots moved to their respective locker rooms to change into their flight suits and the shuttle pilot went back to board the shuttle and called for the shuttle to be moved back into launch position.

Miriya left the hangar bay and made her way to the Bridge. She walked on to the bridge and a Lieutenant called out, "Admiral on deck!"

Everyone stood to attention and Miriya responded with a curt, "As you were."

Everyone returned to their duties and both Miriya and Ben walked towards each other. Ben saluted her and said, "Welcome aboard the Agamemnon Admiral."

Miriya returned the salute and said, "Thank you, Captain. Here are the coordinates of our destination. It's a dead world in a dead system. I'm hoping that the Minbari are not looking but with the loss of the Donegal, her crew, and Deputy Secretary of State Caius Lurco...it's best to not take chances. We need to get these civilians home."

Ben took the coordinates from Miriya and passed them to another officer who took them to the navigator who began entering them into the computer for the Fold jump.

Ben said, "We're just about ready to depart ma'am, will you be staying on the bridge?"

Miriya shook her head, "No, I need to get into my flight suit and get to a Veritech. I'll take one of the squadrons with me to escort the shuttle down to the base camp and back again. In the event the Minbari do show up, launch the other squadron and prepare for combat. I trust your judgment, just remember this is not a Hyperion or a Nova. She's a hell of a lot more powerful than that."

Ben nodded, "Yes ma'am."

Miriya turned to address the bridge crew. "This is a rescue operation to save some scientists from being attacked by the Minbari as they do not have a ship to return to Earth Alliance space. I trust you all will do your best, consider this a graduation exercise. Carry on."

She turned, shook Ben's hand and clasped his shoulder then left the bridge.

Ben moved to his command chair. "Get me ship wide.", he ordered.

"Ship wide is on sir."

"This is the Captain, we will be moving to our Fold point now, all personnel prepare for Fold jump." Then he ordered ship wide closed and asked, "Have we received clearance from traffic control?"

"Yes sir, we're clear to navigate."

With an approving nod he ordered, "Helm, take us out to our Fold point. Ahead one third."

"Aye sir."

"Navigation, start the clock for Fold jump."

"Aye sir! Starting the clock!" A siren sounded throughout the ship and the navigator spoke on ship wide intercom. "Now hear this, now hear this, all personnel stand by for Fold. T minus five minutes thirty seconds from my mark. Mark!"

The warship moved through space, moving to its plotted point to Fold out and preparations were moving quickly. Reports were called into the Bridge as each section reported that they were ready for the Fold jump.

Miriya had changed into a flight suit and was in a VF-6 Alpha Veritech. She was going over all systems and was talking to all the pilots of Skull and Lightning squadrons and preparing them for their first Fold jump.

She reported in to the Bridge that all her pilots were ready. Her Veritech and Lightning Squadron had been loaded into the launch bays, Skull Squadron was placed on stand by. The shuttle that the pilots and Miriya had flown on was also moved back into launch position.

"Sir, we are at our Fold point, all sections report that the ship is ready for Fold jump."

Ben nodded, "Very well, we have some people to rescue, execute Fold jump!"

"Aye sir."

The navigator pushed the button that would engage the Fold drive and trigger the Fold jump and once again, as other military personnel were watching the ship seem to turn multicolored as a small orb of frosted glass just large enough to engulf the Agamemnon and once it solidified, the globe vanished and the ship was gone.

---

The Pegasus Galaxy

The Robotech Factory

The ships of the Sentinels Alliance had arrived as Grand Admiral Hesh had said they would. Now there were a thousand warships of various classes from destroyers, cruisers, battleships and carriers floating in space around the Robotech Factory within range of the massive facility's expanded Fold bubble so that when the Factory made its Fold jump back to Earth, it would bring all of the warships with it.

All preparations were done, Earth had been contacted and given them Fold coordinates for their return. The destination would be above the elliptic and well above the Moon, far enough away from the six hundred Robotech warships that had Folded to Earth earlier.

Grand Admiral Hesh and Foreign Minister Hunter had been invited with their respective seconds to the Factory Control Center so that they could experience the Fold jump with the Command staff.

The room was crowded now, most of the stations occupied. Final checks were being completed. John was sitting in the command station and taking everything in. The dismantling and recycling of the mothball yard had been completed hours ago and the Factory finished dismantling and recycling the Shimikaze battlecruisers about an hour after it was done with the mothball yard. The Factory had a good supply of raw materials to begin warship and mecha construction once High Command decided on what to build next.

Doctor Lang reported, "Captain Sheridan, we are set for the Fold jump. All stations and all the ships from the Sentinels Alliance have reported in and report they are ready."

John smiled, "Excellent." He turned to Lisa Livesy his communication officer. "Open a channel to the Sentinels ships that are going with us and to the entire station."

The young woman said, "You're on sir."

John stood up from his seat. "This is Captain Sheridan, we are about to make the Fold jump back to Earth. It has been a challenge that each one of you people from Earth Alliance rose up to and exceeded my expectations as well as those of your Captains and Executive Officers. For those of you of the Sentinels Alliance, we welcome you as brothers and sisters in arms again. It will be an honor and privilege to have you by our sides once more. You haven't faced anything like the Minbari before, they are ruthless and now that we've given them a bloody nose you can expect them to be even more ruthless and vicious in the battles to come. But, with these Robotech warships and mecha we will be victorious! Stand by for Fold jump to Earth. Set the clock for sixty seconds!"

Everyone was looking forward to returning home, getting assigned to a Robotech warship and going out and giving the Minbari a taste of their own medicine.

"Thirty seconds to Fold jump!"

The countdown continued and once it reached zero Captain John Sheridan gave the order, "Execute Fold!"

The order given, the Robotech Factory's Fold engines powered up and the Fold bubble expanded outwards, engulfing the surrounding Sentinel Alliance warships before turning to a very large ball of frosted glass. In an instant the ball vanished and the Robotech Factory and the Sentinel Alliance warships just Folded back to the Milky Way galaxy, back to Earth.

Almost instantly, the massive installation appeared well above the elliptic and above the moon.

Everyone checked in and reported that everything was fine. John ordered Lisa to contact EarthForce HQ and almost instantly General Lefcourt answered.

Behind the General there were people cheering and hugging another as General Lefcourt said, "Captain Sheridan, Secretary Sheridan, and everyone...welcome home."

John said, "Thank you sir, it's good to be back home."

General Lefcourt said, "We'd like everyone to hold their positions, President Levy will be coming aboard the station along with the Vice President and several other leaders. I'll be coming as well. So, sit tight and relax. We'll contact you in an hour or so once we've worked out the details."

"John said, "We'll be here waiting."

Everyone in the room was cheering now. They'd made it home and they were going to start getting ready to take the war to the Minbari this time and teach them the old ways that they used to wage war.

Author Note: So, here we are Chapter 11! Wow, hard to believe this story has cracked the 100,000 word barrier already. So, I want to thank those that offered ideas on what sort of deal could be worked out between Earth and the Sentinels, it helped the muse.

The Robotech Factory is finally coming home and they brought some friends!

Next chapter, Mommy Miriya comes to the rescue of her last daughter (or is she the last one? ;D )

Also…we'll see reactions from the League, the Narn, and the Centauri.

Finally….the war resumes on a whole new level.