Into The Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around for my own amusement - sadly all Robotech and Babylon Five characters remain the property of Harmony Gold, Babylon Productions Inc and Warner Brothers respectively - I am merely borrowing them and make absolutely no profit from their use. As a result, please keep the legal attack dogs - also known as lawyers - firmly muzzled and on a leash as I have no money to give to anyone.

Chapter Nine

Macross Island Refugee Quarters

SDF-1, Altair System

A Short Time Later

Rick Hunter was brooding.

He was sitting alone on a collapsible camping chair in a quiet corner of the vast room that was easily as big as the largest sports stadiums back home in dimensions and thus comfortably accommodate all the refugees pulled out of the shelters of the deep frozen asteroid that had once been a South Pacific island. House them in some comfort with basic accommodation set up, along with portable kitchens and sanitation facilities but that was all it did. There was certainly nothing here for anyone to really do, other than to sit around and mope about the situation that they all found themselves in. Exiled not just to another star but one in another universe to boot, and to make it even worse this Earth was at war with an alien race determined to annihilate the human race down to the last individual in retribution for one man's death.

An overreaction if ever there was one.

Rick sighed as he tried not to think about what was going on out there beyond this ship's armoured hull. Especially the battle that the ship had taken part in a day or two ago that, according to what he'd heard from Roy, had seen the SDF-1 alone destroy twenty-four capital warships belonging to this Minbari race, most of them with a single shot from the SDF-1's mighty main cannon the last two destroyed by the SDF-1's conventional particle beam cannons. He wasn't a soldier or a combat pilot, thus it was really no concern of his…

…so why couldn't he stop thinking about it?

He had a feeling he knew why. He was a Hunter after all, and the Hunters had always stood resolutely against injustice and what the Minbari were doing - what they planned to do in retribution for their leader's death - was in no way just. The question was what could he really do about it? He was, after all, just a pilot in his family's air circus, one of the very few air circuses that were left. An air circus that is a dimension away, he thought, recalling some of what Roy had told him about what was going on, knowing he would not tell anyone else. He could only see one possibility and it was one that he wanted to avoid if at all possible as it was a path he had determined long ago that he didn't want to go down. As at the end of that path he would be a combat pilot and, having spent the vast majority of the first decade of his life surrounded by a world at war with itself, he had promised himself that was something he would never willingly be.

Unfortunately life seemed to have other ideas and as he sat here he found himself thinking more and more about it. It was possibly the only way he could help against the Minbari as, given the pounding this ship had just given them, they would surely be high on that races 'destroy as soon as possible' list. He sighed again, deciding he might as well take the plunge and talk to Roy about it when they spoke next, which would be in a few hours when Roy came off duty as his adoptive older sibling was due to come and get him. Claudia was apparently going to be cooking dinner for them in her quarters tonight and he certainly wouldn't mind meeting his prospective sister-in-law.

Something gently nudging his right leg made him blink and look down. What he saw made his blue eyes widen in surprise.

Nudging his leg was a creature unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was about the size of a racoon and looked like some bizarre combination of a fox and a poodle, while being distinctly different to either. It also had purple-blue fur that looked downright strange. What on Earth, he thought looking closer as his first thought was that it was some new designer pet. Such things had started appearing in the world in the decade since The Visitor arrived and changed the world for the better. But the closer he looked the more he realised that whatever this thing was, it hadn't been made by human bioengineers.

Whatever it was the dog/fox/racoon thing nudged his leg again before, somehow knowing that it had gotten his attention, looked up at him with the strangest but most beautiful purple eyes. Then it lay down and rolled over presenting its belly, what it wanted perfectly obvious. Chuckling slightly he decided to oblige the creature and reached down to gently rub its belly - its fur was incredibly soft and as he stroked it the motion sent a strange but not unpleasant warmth up his arm. For a few moments it continued to lay there playfully kicking its legs as he continued to provide the asked for petting, the warm feeling growing and making him feel completely relaxed. Then it suddenly stopped as the creature turned over again, once more looking at him before turning and starting to walk away…

…before pausing and looking back at him. It walked back over to him, nudged his leg again before once again starting to walk away. Obviously it wanted him to follow it. Rick hesitated for a moment, then deciding that he had nothing better to do - as Roy wouldn't be off duty for hours yet - and it would certainly stop his brooding; he stood up and followed the bizarre little creature.

It led him deeper into the quieter, less populated areas of this massive bay. Disappearing behind a number of stacked cargo crates forcing Rick to detour around them to continue following it. In a few moments he came up to the wall of the bay to see the creature disappearing through an open grill that looked like it was a ventilation duct. He hesitated for a few moments, debating if he should go back, then he shrugged and decided to follow.

Carefully he climbed into the duct and crawled along for about three or four metres before the duct came to an end at a larger passage. One that he could thankfully stand up in and which was lined on two sides by a series of pipes covered with strange alien glyphs and symbols. Huh weird, he thought before a yap from next to his foot caught his attention. He looked down to see the little creature sitting there. But only for a second before it stood up and started walking, looking back as if it was saying "well come on follow".

Without really knowing why, and honestly against the common sense he would normally have displayed in this kind of situation, Rick began to follow the creature as it trotted along at a surprising clip for something so small. Though keeping up with it was fairly easy due to his much longer strides.

He wasn't sure how long he walked for but soon he began to hear a strange rhythmic pulsing rumbling sound. What in the world is that, he thought even as the walls of this passageway changed somewhat with translucent red panels appearing between the floor and the brackets that held the pipes to the wall. The pulsing, rumbling sound seemed to be coming from somewhere below.

Deciding to indulge his curiosity a bit he looked through one of the translucent red panels. To find himself looking down upon a room where three large cylindrical structures glowed and pulsed softly - even in this passageway that had to be running along the ceiling he could feel the very air vibrating with the sheer amount of power these things were producing - around the bases he could faintly see control stations with small dark figures - that he knew to be people - moving about checking various readings. Must be one of the power plants, he thought before standing back up and noticing that the creature he'd been following had stopped and was apparently waiting for him to get moving again.

Thus he started walking again and the little alien dog thing started as well, leading him further along this passageway that he was willing to bet nobody on the ship actually knew about. It would explain why all the pipes and conduits around him were all covered in strange alien writing and symbols instead of English and understandable Earth symbols. The more he thought about it the more he wondered just where this little creature was taking him. Before long he came to what appeared to be the end of the passageway as it abruptly ended in what looked like a solid wall of metal. Rick looked at it puzzled before, to his shock, the little creature trotted up to the wall…

…and walked right through it.

Incredulous, he walked up to the wall and gently reached out to touch the wall. He immediately felt a metallic texture but to his shock there was a give in the wall. Cautious he pushed his hand forward and watched as his hand and forearm disappeared through the wall - making it ripple slightly and sending a cold feeling up his arm - till he could feel air on the other side. He pulled his arm and hand back and examined them for a moment seeing they appeared to be completely unharmed by passing through whatever this wall actually was.

For a few more moments he stood there gazing at this wall-thing. Debating with himself if he should go farther or head back and wait for Roy. A part of him said he should go back and tell Roy about this, get his adoptive older sibling to accompany him, but there was something else. Something inside that was urging him forward, compelling him forward. It was the latter that ultimately won and he walked forward, feeling a momentary wave of cold - and an odd tingle - as he passed through the wall. Then he was on the other side to find the little creature waiting for him in a passageway that appeared identical to the one he had just been walking down.

The creature began moving again leading him along the passage until they came to a Y-shaped junction. The creature led him down the left hand junction until he came to a door. A door that automatically opened upon his approach revealing a large circular chamber beyond. Stepping inside he glanced around in confusion.

The chamber was quite spartan in appearance with a single chair sitting on a raised platform with a horse shoe shaped console wrapped around it. Around the perimeter of the room were a series of shelves with strange equipment on them along with what looked like computer drives similar in appearance to the solid state quantum storage devices that had begun appearing in place of traditional hard drives on computers back home in the last year or two. A number of other doors were set into the wall, clearly there were other chambers beyond this one, though they were all currently closed and sealed. Here and there, especially over the desk, holographic screens floated in the air displaying reams of data that he couldn't understand.

"What the hell is this place," he said aloud, not really expecting anyone to answer him. Thus he was surprised when an extremely familiar voice came from behind him.

"This is the private office and laboratory of Zor," his own voice said from behind him, making him spin around and gape in shock. Standing there was an older version of him, who looked to be in his mid-fifties, dressed in an unfamiliar military uniform and having a goatee beard that like his hair was shot through with lines of grey. The only thing that prevented him from freaking out even more than he quietly already was was the fact that this older, and far fitter looking, version of him was semi-translucent indicating his nature as a hologram.

"What!" he breathed.

"Hello there younger me," the hologram said with a familiar smirk, the one he saw on his own face on a regular basis. Rick gaped at the hologram, stunned by how different he looked not to mention he couldn't understand how he was here. "Not what you expected us to look like, is it?"

"What? How?" Rick exclaimed.

"The how? That's complicated and has to do with time travel and spatial-temporal folding - don't ask me to explain it as I couldn't even if I tried - trying to understand it even gives Emil headaches. As for what I am, well I'm an artificial intelligence equipped with a full copy of your/our memories up to the moment my matrix was compiled."

"Okay now you're making my brain hurt," Rick complained, causing his older-looking holographic double to chuckle, "though did you send that alien dog thing to get me."

"It's called a Pollinator but yes I did. I knew exactly where you would be, when you would be because I remember being in that position."

"Okay why?"

"I would think that would be obvious younger me."

"Will you please not call me that? It's creepy as hell."

His holographic doppelganger chuckled again before smiling. "Alright then Rick I'll stop teasing you," he said, "I am here to help you, you and every other Macrossian."

"Macrossian?"

"Yes, it's the name that everyone on this ship will kind of adopt for ourselves."

"Oh. So what do we need help for? It has to be something big."

"You're right it is. I'm here to make things better and save all your lives."

Diplomatic Conference Room

That Same Time

Secretary of State David Sheridan's mind was awhirl as he sat behind the circular table in the conference room that they had been led to by Captain Gloval. After some initial pleasantries they had gotten down to the nitty gritty business of hammering out an agreement and he had just gotten one hell of a surprise from the universally replaced Russian. Gloval had informed him that with no strings attached he would provide them with the sensors needed to penetrate the stealth technology that had given the Minbari such a decisive advantage over them.

He had also been informed that the SDF-1's foundry section - which apparently allowed the ship to make whatever it needed from spare parts for individual systems, to missiles to entire fighters using some incredibly advanced form of three dimensional atomic printing - had already been put to work manufacturing sensor suites to be installed on their warships. From what he had been told, within two days several hundred such units would be ready to be handed over to them, with another several hundred two days later.

It was incredibly generous as at that production rate they would be able to outfit there entire fleet with the sensors within weeks. Especially as the entire sensor suite could be installed within days, though he did have a slight concern.

"Are you certain that the sensors will be compatible," he asked.

"They will be," the German man - with the strangest eyes he had ever seen as they were pure black in black with no whites or iris visible, in fact if it weren't for his accent he would have assumed him to be some human-looking alien like the Betazoid in that old twentieth/twenty-first century sci-fi program his daughter had enjoyed when she and John had been growing up - sitting to Gloval's left replied. "The control circuits and programming is self-adapting. Once you have the sensor installed and powered up they will seamlessly configure themselves to work with all your systems."

"How is that possible," Envoy Jaddo asked from where he was sitting nearby with a barrier formed by Adrian Patterson and one of the palace guards between himself and Secretary Sheridan. To say he was surprised by both the generosity and the adaptive circuitry would have been an understatement and he made a mental note to go over the notes on humans that Londo had kindly forwarded to him again whenever he got the chance.

"Robotechnology is capable of a great many things, Envoy Jaddo," Lang replied. "Adaptive programming and adaptive circuitry is a relatively minor thing compared to what it is capable of doing. Some of which are so incredible that they can seem like magic."

"One thing that you must understand my friends is that robotechnology is a catch all term for a number of highly advanced sciences and technologies," Gloval added, "everything on this ship, everything she can do, is based on these sciences from folding space for FTL travel to the reflex cannon."

"That's the weapon you used on the Minbari fleet," Adrian asked, recalling the footage of that one devastating attack that they had been shown on the way here. To say it was shocking, amazing and utterly terrifying in equal measure would have been an understatement. No race known to the Earth Alliance had a weapon that compared to that thing when it came to sheer destructive power. Well aside from possibly that mysterious Vorlon race they had periodically heard rumours about off some of the older space faring races like the Centauri, the Markab and the Yolu. Supposedly as a race the Vorlons had started walking the stars when the dinosaurs still ruled the Earth. If anybody had a weapon to rival, match or surpass the devastating power of this ship's main cannon it would be them.

"Yes."

"In addition Mister Secretary we already know that the sensors are compatible," General Bradshaw added with a smile, even as he inwardly shivered as he recalled seeing the reflex cannon destroy twenty-two Minbari war cruisers and five hundred fighters in one blast it was a display of power that he wasn't going to forget anytime soon. "A few hours before the Calypso arrived Captain Gloval sent my people several sets. We have already fitted one on the Minerva and while it does have a slightly higher power requirement than our normal sensors it's working perfectly."

"What kind of sensor is it," Jaddo asked, hoping to gain an insight into just how these people's sensors could penetrate the Minbari stealth technology. His people had after all been trying to figure out how to do that for centuries now, really ever since during the civil war that saw the Republic collapse back to its core territories and systems where it currently remained. During that war the Minbari had intervened and at one point had fired an antimatter converter at Immolan killing hundreds of thousands in an instant as the very ground and air around them was momentarily transformed into antimatter. Granted those who died had been the major leaders of the rebel movement that had caused the war in the first place but still it was something that the Centauri, as a people, had never forgiven the Minbari for.

"While the mechanics of it are very complicated the sensor detects both gravitational distortions and phase shifts in the barrier between normal space and a hyperspace realm referred to as fold space," Gloval replied giving the most basic information on how the sensor worked but nothing about the mechanics of how it did what it did. Especially that at the core of the sensor was a synthetic crystalline element that formed the detector apparatus.

Which would explain how it can detect, and track, the Minbari, Jaddo thought knowing alongside his own people, the Brakiri and the Vree the Minbari propulsion systems were based on generating and manipulating magnetic and gravitational fields. While almost impossible to detect on normal sensors, a system designed to detect gravitational disturbances would have no such difficulty. To such a system a gravity based propulsion system would be perfectly visible, in fact it would glow like the brightest of beacons in the darkest of nights. Plus there was the rumour that almost all Minbari warships used an artificial quantum singularity as their primary power source, something else that would stick out like a sore thumb on such a sensor system.

Of course that didn't explain exactly how the sensor did what it did. His people had tried numerous times to develop a sensor system capable of identifying such small - relatively speaking, especially when compared to the gravitational signatures of stars, planets and moons - and localised gravitational distortions. Unfortunately it had proven to be impossible to make such a system work as the emissions were simply too weak to detect, except at such a close range that it would be no advantage. He made a mental note to speak to the Emperor about this, to see if Turhan wanted him to start negotiations for the technology to be shared with the Centauri or at very least get a production contract with these people for them.

"I see," he said at last. "Maybe we should move on?"

"I have no objection," David agreed.

"Very well then," Gloval said. "What can the SDF-1 do for the Centauri Republic Envoy Jaddo?"

"The exact specifics can be worked out. I have been sent mostly to establish some diplomatic relations with yourselves, it is not everyday after all that you meet someone from another reality. Assuming of course that you wish to remain independent of the Earth Alliance."

"For the most part we would prefer that," Mayor Luan added, speaking for the first time, "after all our primary focus is going to be finding a way to get back to our own reality, if that is at all possible. Though we cannot, in good conscience do nothing about the Minbari's plan for genocide."

"Understandable as blood calls to blood after all," Jaddo replied. "Though the death of the Minbari leader Dukhat was a trajedy - everything that we know about him indicates that he was a very capable and caring leader - it does not justify there current plans for genocide."

"Yet you won't do anything about it," Adrian commented, visibly showing some of the anger that everyone on Earth and her colonies - normal and telepath - were feeling about how all the other races had abandoned them to die at the hands of the Minbari.

"We have tried," Jaddo said, surprising both the telepath and the EA Secretary of State as they were completely unaware that the Centauri had been working frantically behind the scenes to try and bring an end to this pointless conflict. "We have had a number of diplomatic contacts with the Minbari over the centuries, they even trade with us for certain materials. Emperor Turhan has tried, numerous times, to use those contacts to try and get the Minbari government - that they refer to as the Grey Council - to agree to a ceasefire and peace talks to end the conflict. The Emperor has even offered to personally oversee such talks."

"Let me guess the Minbari have refused," David said.

"Everytime," Jaddo admitted, "the last time the warrior caste member of the trio of Minbari representatives actually had the gall to threaten us with military force if we didn't stop attempting to interfere in a 'Minbari' matter. I do not need to tell you how that threat went down in both houses of the Centarum."

"Like a lead balloon," David commented, knowing just how prideful the Centauri could be, and how insulted they would feel being talked to in such a way by the Minbari.

"Indeed if I understand your metaphor correctly," Jaddo replied. "There is no way that either Emperor Turhan or Prime Minister Malachai were going to let such an insult stand, not to mention we cannot, must not, stand by while someone tries to commit the greatest of all crimes against sentient life. We did that once before with the Dilgar, we will not repeat that mistake.

"In the aftermath of the Minbari threat the Emperor began contacting all the other governments with the exception of the Earth Alliance. Especially those who, like us, have some trading relations with the Minbari," Jaddo continued. "We even spoke with the Narns about this and they have agreed with the Emperor's plan to explain to the Minbari the depths of our displeasure over their behaviour in a way that will hurt them. If you agree to it, as there is no denying that the risks of doing it are considerable for all involved, then we can begin immediately."

David blinked, he had had no idea that this kind of diplomacy had been going on among the other races. Even with their focus naturally shifting to the Minbari - given the aliens' genocidal plans for humanity - surely their intelligence services would have noticed this and determined what it was all about. So why hadn't they? Of had they and not bothered to report it to the cabinet so convinced that the other races had hung them out to dry. He would have to investigate this when he got back to Earth Dome and if someone had been deliberately hiding this activity from the president and the cabinet then heads were going to roll - possibly quite literally if Elizabeth had her way as it wasn't like her to let something like this go. Well unless she already knew about it and had neglected to tell him. If that was the case they would be having words.

"And what is this plan," he asked, coming back to the here and now.

Envoy Jaddo smiled, the smile of a predator. "Why a complete blockade on all exports to the Minbari Federation for the duration of the war."

Anla'Shok Compound

Tuzanor, Minbar

That Same Time

"You did what!"

Sitting in his private office Anla'shok Na Lennon stared in shock at the holographic image floating in front of him. One the other side of the stellar comm line Shok'na Durli of the Natara winced slightly at the incredulity in the voice of Ranger One.

"We have taken a human warrior prisoner anla'shok na," Durli replied.

"That is what I thought you said. Explain to me how this came to be Durli," Lennon demanded, "you and I are both aware of the disgraceful standing orders from the Grey Council regarding fighter and warship escape pods."

Even though its an order that leaves a foul taste in our mouths, he thought knowing that it was the warrior caste - especially Satai Morann - who had pushed for that order and at the time had gotten his way as the Grey Council had still been reeling from the Prometheus' attack and the death of Dukhat in said attack. In the months since that time, and as the Satai had calmed down somewhat - and regained the ability to think rationally well at least the worker and religious caste had he wasn't holding out much hope for sanity to return to the warriors any time soon given the enthusiasm with which they had thrown themselves into the war - it had made quite a few of them uncomfortable. Unfortunately changing such an order would require the unanimous support of the council and that wasn't going to happen anytime soon - the warriors were reaping too much pleasure from their callous murder of defeated human warriors. As if there wasn't enough innocent blood on their hands already.

Durli nodded and began his explanation. "As instructed we intercepted the human supply convoy heading for their colonies of New London and Canton. We engaged and destroyed the escorting corvettes and the light carrier before - as ordered - allowing the civilian freighters to pass unhindered," Durli explained. "We were about to leave when our sensors detected a single human fighter escape pod drifting amid the debris with one life form aboard. I know the Council order's are to destroy such pods but…"

"...you could not bring yourself to kill someone who could not fight back," Lennon finished for him.

"Yes anla'shok na. Plus I thought that a prisoner would be valuable."

"A good thought and it might indeed be the key to finding a way to end this madness. Where is the human prisoner now?"

"He is currently in our detention cell, he is unconscious but does not appear to have sustained any serious injuries."

"I see. Return to Minbar at once and bring your prisoner straight here. Contact me when you enter orbit."

"It will be done. In Valen's name."

"In Valen's name," Lennon replied before closing the steller comm link down and opening another channel though this one was purely internal. "Launch control prepare my flyer for departure and prepare a flight plan for the Valen'tha."

"Yes anla'shok na. The flyer and flight plan will be ready in half an hour."

"Understood," Lennon replied and signed off before leaning back in his chair, a thoughtful expression on his face. He would take news of the prisoner his people had taken to Satai Delenn and the two Vorlons hidden aboard the Grey Council's flagship. Perhaps speaking to the human would help them find a means of ending the madness that had overwhelmed the Minbari from the moment Dukhat died…

…before offensive operations resumed and the war entered another needlessly bloody chapter.