Into The Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and universes that I am about to mangle around and mash together for my own demented author amusement – sadly all Robotech and Babylon 5 characters and concepts remain the property of Harmony Gold, Babylonian Productions Inc and Warner Brothers – 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 Thirteen

Hidden Section

SDF-1

A Short Time Later

Colonel Maistroff listened with a sense of growing concern as the artificial intelligence laid out the background of this reality that they had found themselves in and revealed a terrible cycle of violence and destruction that was already beginning again. A cycle of violence that was being created by a downright childish disagreement between two unbelievably ancient and – even by robotechnology standards – extremely powerful alien races over what was the best way to guide the younger developing races of the galaxy. One, the Shadows believing that the young races could only grow, evolve and advance through conflict while the other, the Vorlons, believed that only through order and discipline and listening to the elder races could the younger races really advance and evolve.

"Those are diametrically opposite philosophies," Doctor Cochrane pointed out with a frown already seeing the massive pitfalls that there would be with two powerful species with such radically different philosophies. Especially if an extremist faction rose to power in one or both species.

"That they are," the Rick AI confirmed with a nod, "when they first began their guiding duties after most of the other First Ones left this galaxy to explore the rest of the universe – going beyond the rim as they poetically call it here – they respected each other's differing philosophies and honoured their respective borders and the races under their stewardship."

"But something changed didn't it," Roy commented.

"Yes, at some point one or both races decided that there way was the only way and that they had to prove that to the other. However, rather than fight each other openly – which would have triggered a war that would have destroyed entire worlds as both the Vorlons and the Shadows have the technology to destroy a world – they began manipulating their stewards into fighting the war for them. Over the last million years at the very least the various races have been influenced by one or the other into fighting the war to determine who is right."

"By destroy a world you mean," Maistroff started to say.

"I mean completely destroy a planet either reducing it to dust and scattered asteroids or a burned-out husk that over a few millennia would slowly collapse in upon itself." As the AI spoke the room around them changed to show two strange objects. One was a huge vaguely disc shaped ship with tentacle like structures on one end and bisected by a glowing line of blue energy, the other appeared as nothing more than a huge amphoras black cloud. As they watched the cloud disappeared replaced by a huge geodesic sphere that had tens of, maybe even hundreds of, impossibly huge missiles anchored to its structure.

"These are the Vorlon planet killer and the Shadow death cloud," AI-Rick replied, "they are both planet killing weapons though their approach to doing so is very different."

"What do you mean," Maistroff asked.

"The Vorlon planet killer uses a gigantic version of the normal Vorlon energy weapon, which is a quantum gravitic discharge cannon. A weapon that fires an extremely intense stream of graviton particles that upon impact with a target rip it apart from the quantum level up. On the planet killer scale this beam has a similar effect on a planet that the Death Star's superlaser did on the planet Alderaan in Star Wars," the AI explained. As he did so they saw a planet, like Earth in dimensions and environmental characteristics appear, and the Vorlon planet killer turned towards it. As they watched a sickly yellowish-green energy appeared at the back of the colossal ship and travelled forward along the blue energy band turning it the same yellow-green colour before gathering at the forward tendrils that began to crackle and glow in a way that reminded them of the SDF-1's main cannon arming. The glow brightened until an energy beam – that had to be kilometres in diameter – exploded forth from the tendrils.

Almost instantly the beam reached the planet and began burrowing into it. The planet seemed to visibly shiver with the impact but for a second or so seemed to weather the assault without any damage appearing. Then it started. Great glowing cracks began to ripple outwards from the point where the pulsating energy beam was burrowing into the surface. Huge sections of the planets crust split open as though rent with a giant knife allowing great geysers of molten rock – that had to be kilometres across and tall to be so clearly visible – to shoot up into the suddenly scorching hot sky. The cracks spread until the entire planet was encompassed by them and the beam pulsed one last time…

…and the planet exploded. Glowing chunks of debris that had once been continents, mountains and the bottom of seas, spreading out through space leaving only a debris field where the planet had once been.

"My god," Maistroff breathed, speaking for everyone at the cataclysmic scene of destruction. They had thought robotechnology-based weapons to be powerful but this… this was destructive power that was honestly beyond their comprehension. He almost didn't want to know how the Shadow cloud did this dreadful work, but he knew, somehow, that they needed to know. "I almost don't want to ask but how does the Shadow planet killer go about this apocalyptic work?"

"Before we continue with this might I ask why you're showing us this," Cochrane asked, already feeling sick to his stomach at the simulation of an entire planet being essentially Death Starred before their eyes.

"You need to see and understand the true power of the real villains in this conflict," the AI answered, "and how far they are willing to go to attempt to get final victory for their philosophy over the other. Especially as you will inevitably end up in conflict with one or both."

"And why is that" Roy asked looking at the holographic doppelganger of his little brother in interest.

"Because unlike everyone around here our DNA has not been meddled with and programmed by both races over millions of years," the AI replied, "if you compared the DNA of one of our people with one of the humans from Earth in this reality you will find several gene sequence differences and indeed an entirely artificial gene sequence – which in its case is specifically to create individuals with telepathic abilities of varying strengths but there among others by the Vorlons, I will explain why in a minute – that we do not have. Combined the differences mean that while we are very closely related, and indeed can produce fully viable offspring together, ourselves and the humans here are not the same race."

Maistroff frowned. "I will have to get our medical personnel to look at that," he commented, "but first show us how the Shadow planet killer does its dreadful work and then explain a bit about what you mean about programming and why telepathy is so important that the Vorlons would specifically implant it."

"As you wish," AI-Rick answered with a nod before the hologram around them changed. The planet returned and as they watched the amphoras dark cloud of the Shadow planet killer approached and then enveloped the planet. As before the cloud layers were peeled back by the advanced artificial intelligence revealing the geodesic dome structure of the planet killer itself, which now surrounded the planet like a terrifying black cage that looked terrible.

"What the hell is this thing made of," Cochrane asked looking at the structural members of the planet killer that rippled slightly and had a very odd oily sheen to them, "it doesn't look like metal."

The holographic simulation paused to let the AI answer. "Because it isn't. All Vorlon and Shadow technology – indeed most of the technology of the First Ones – is biological. There starships for example are actual living beings and in the case of Vorlon ships are fully sentient. But let us continue."

The hologram resumed and even zoomed in. For a second nothing seemed to happen then with breath-taking suddenness the missiles began to rain down upon the planet, hundreds then thousands of them. Yet they didn't immediately explode on impact instead a side image of the planet appeared showing that the missiles were burrowing down towards the planets core, cutting down through the lithosphere and then the mantle with ease not even bothered by the heat and pressure around them. After what seemed like an eternity, though in reality it was only at most a minute, the missiles breached the outer core of the planet and suddenly stopped.

"Oh god," Cochrane breathed as he suddenly realized just what the missiles were going to do. He was proven right a second later as the missiles all detonated at once, gigatons of nuclear force erupting and vaporising everything around them including a sizeable chunk of the core. The hologram changed again to show a planetary surface with jets of nuclear-generated plasma shooting up into the sky. The ground abruptly seemed to turn momentarily transparent as the dreadful nuclear light filtered through to the surface before fading away. Seconds later the plasma pillars disappeared, replaced by great geysers of boiling liquid rock and the entire planet began shaking with seismic forces that made even the strongest earthquake ever experienced by man – the 9.6 earthquake that had struck Chile in nineteen sixty – look puny. Indeed, he guessed that Earth had never experienced quakes like this. "The core is breaking up, isn't it?"

"It is," the AI confirmed, "ten thousand megatons per missile, and thousands of missiles all detonating at once most of the planetary core was vaporized in the blast. The rest is collapsing in upon itself as is the mantle around it. The resultant earthquakes and volcanic activity will kill every living thing on the planet in less than an hour. And this is not the end of the death clouds work, you see during the process this happens."

The view of orbit returned, and they saw the dark clouds descending to the planet and spreading over the surface. When they passed, they left nothing but barren brown rock, with even the lava flows spewing from suddenly erupting volcanoes being consumed, until they returned to the orbiting cage structure. Which then retreated from the planet – new missiles already beginning to grow in the vacated firing cradles. What was left of the planet was nothing but a twisted broken husk that would never again bare the fruit of life. In its own way it was more horrifying than what the Vorlon planet killer did.

"That cloud was made of nanites wasn't it," Cochrane said realizing what the cloud really was and what its purpose had been, "they harvested everything left on the planet, and anything being brought up by the eruptions, even as the entire planet died using it to make more missiles to do this again to another world."

"Yes."

"My god," Maistroff breathed resisting, just, the impulse to cross himself as the faith he had long since turned his back on, unlike his sibling who had become first a priest in the Roman Catholic church and was now a Cardinal, stirred within him. "With that kind of power available to them I can see why the Vorlons, and the Shadows wouldn't want to fight each other openly."

"They won't fight each other openly as they don't want to kill each other. They just want to kill the other sides message and make those who they manipulate into fighting their little war – which they refer to as a great debate – choose which of their philosophies is right. When the reality is they are both right and both wrong. They will eventually realize this when confronted at a planet called Coriana VI by a combined race fleet led by a human captain named John Sheridan and a female Minbari named Delenn, who is currently a member of the Minbari ruling body known as the Grey Council, realize that their time is over and finally leave the galaxy but not before several worlds are destroyed in the ways I have just shown you."

"Was our colony amongst them," the flesh and blood version of Rick asked, looking sick at the sight of so much death and destruction – over something as juvenile as a philosophical difference of opinion. Though he wasn't really that surprised that it fuelled the outbreak of wars. Such things had happened many times before on Earth after all and unlike some he wasn't so naive as to think a race capable of interstellar travel would bee evolved beyond the need for violence.

"No, it was destroyed by the Shadows chief minion race – a savage but extremely intelligent species known as the Drakh." As the AI spoke a hologram of a tall vaguely reptilian looking humanoid appeared. "The Shadows sent them to destroy us as not only are we an outside factor that they cannot easily compensate for but our weapons systems – even our standard beam cannons to say nothing of the reflex cannon – are dangerous to them since they're biotech systems are vulnerable to protoculture-based energy. They're even more vulnerable to that than they are to telepathy."

"Why would telepathy interfere with Shadow tech," Cochrane wondered.

"Because a Shadow battlecrab like this," a hologram of a huge black spider-like ship appeared, "uses a living, sentient being as its central computer core. These poor souls are fitted with biomechanical implants by the Shadows or one of their servitor species and then placed inside the core of a battlecrab, where they merge with the ship bringing it online. However, the personality of the person being used in this way has no control over the battlecrab but will just obey whatever orders is given to the crab by the Shadows and indeed overtime the enslaved persons mind and personality will be rewritten by the crab until they are completely and totally committed to the Shadow philosophy and cause and there is no way to undo it as they're neural pathways are completely reconfigured.

"The Vorlons discovered long ago that a powerful enough telepath can interfere with the connection between the living CPU and the rest of the battlecrab," the AI continued, "essentially jamming the battlecrab systems so it cannot move, cannot use its weapon – a powerful energy beam that like Vorlon weapons attacks a targets molecular structure only in the Shadow case it slices through interatomic bonds rather than breaking matter down into the fundamental particles from which all matter is composed – plus its dispersive shielding goes off line allowing the vessel to be quickly destroyed. When they realized this, they began creating telepaths among all the new, developing races to use as weapons against the Shadows in their little wars."

"So, what do we do about all this," Maistroff asked, "and how does it even relate to the current war between Earth and Minbar?"

"The most you can do is prepare for the conflict as much as possible as there is no way to stop the war beginning," the AI admitted, "one of the ways, possibly the best one, for us to ensure we survive the conflict is not to settle on a planet at all but build a space habitat for ourselves one that would – in the event of being threatened – be capable of space folding to safety."

"We don't have the resources for that," Cochrane commented.

"All you need is a sufficiently sized asteroid preferably made of nickel and iron though a carbon asteroid would do as well. Such things are easily found in many planetary systems, and I am sure that if you ask them the Earth Alliance will point you at one especially since you're manufacturing the sensors for them that will let them penetrate the Minbari stealth technology. Now before you ask me what good would such an asteroid do, I can tell you as there is a technology kept here in this section of the ship that will over a period of one year turn said asteroid into a home and incidentally have more industrial capacity available to us than there is anywhere in the whole of the Earth Alliance," the AI answered as a new hologram appeared showing the image of some kind of missile. The outer casing peeled away to reveal an incredibly complex piece of robotechnology within which reminded everyone of the Genesis Device from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

"This is a kernel device," AI-Rick continued, "it's a robotechnology device originally created by the Robotech Masters – who are the original builders of this ship not the Zentraedi who attacked our Earth they are simply warrior servitors to the Masters - and uses an extremely advanced form of nanotechnology as well as atomic and molecular transmutation – all of which are powered by protoculture – to create whatever station or structure that is programmed into its matrix."

"And there is one here on this ship?" Maistroff asked.

"Yes, along with the device to make and program more of them. Though due to the sheer complexity of the nanite base coding the process of making one takes a minimum of a year."

"Incredible," Cochrane breathed gazing at the hologram of the device in awe. They had known that the builders of this ship were an incredibly technologically and scientifically advanced civilization. These kernel devices however, well they blew everything else they had learned from this ship over the last decade out of the water when it came to being advanced.

"Indeed, though going back to the issue with the conflict between the Vorlons and the Shadows. You haven't yet explained just how this relates to the current war between this universes Earth and Minbar," Maistroff commented.

"It is really quite simple a manipulation on behalf of one of the Shadows servitors that led to this war beginning," the AI answered, "you see when the Earth Alliance decided to send an expedition to the Minbari border – after ships belonging to the Minbari faction known as the anla'shok, or rangers, had been sighted nosing around the borders of Alliance space for the last few years – asked for information on the Minbari from one of the local powers the Centauri."

"So General Bradshaw told us," Roy commented, recalling the conversation that himself, Captain Gloval and Colonel Maistroff had been having with General Bradshaw before the Minbari scout ship showed up. "It didn't seem to help them much."

"It didn't because an agent working for the minions of the Shadows – who themselves are still asleep somewhere though they will begin to return to this part of space in the next few years – did a little bit of telepathic manipulation of Captain Jankowski. They manipulated him into thinking that he did not need to read the contents of the file given to him on Minbari customs and traditions and what to do should he encounter a Minbari war cruiser near the border.

"If he had read it then he would have known of the tradition of the warrior caste that caused the majority of this trouble."

"The open gunports," Maistroff said.

"Indeed. Had he read the file then Captain Jankowski would have known that the Minbari ships approaching with their weapons ports open was not in fact a gesture of aggression or a threat. Instead, they were demonstrating respect by allowing their weapons to be seen. The Shadow minions also played up his arrogance and paranoia just a tiny bit, which was all that was needed to provoke him into firing upon the Valen'tha, the flagship of the Minbari's highest governing body the Grey Council.

"Once that happened the outbreak of the war was inevitable especially with the death of Dukhat – he was fatally wounded when a support girder inside the Valen'tha collapsed on top of him – as for all the strength their physiology grants them there is a weakness in Minbari neural physiology. A weakness that means that they cannot separate emotions from memories as easily as other races – including humans – can."

"Which has led to this war. Why would the Shadow minions go to all that trouble though?"

"Because they were afraid," the AI answered, "the Shadow minions saw how Earth Alliance was able to build a coalition against the Dilgar and defeat them within just a year. They knew that that coalition building ability would be extremely dangerous to their masters when they return, especially if the Minbari were to seek an alliance against their old enemy. So, they hoped to eliminate the threat by ensuring the Minbari destroy the ones who they see as the most dangerous threat to their masters plans for war and chaos."

"And unless we somehow stop this war they will succeed," Maistroff commented, "so how can we do that? Tell all this to the Minbari?"

"Right now, they will not listen or even acknowledge any attempt at contact from any human," AI-Rick answered grimly, "even if they did, they won't stop as until our intervention here at the Battle of Altair and the loss of the fleet sent to attack the three colonies in the Deneb system the war has been easy for them. The warrior caste can exercise their craft, sate their lust for blood with little to no risk to themselves. To get the Minbari to talk to be willing to end the war they need to be shown that it will no longer be such an easy fight.

"Once that happens and if the Minbari can be forced onto the defensive then ending the war through diplomacy might become possible. Especially as the warrior caste are massively out of practice fighting a defensive war, they haven't had to do it for a thousand years. Coupled with the economic blockade being proposed by the Centauri it should be enough to force the Minbari to come to the table."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then the difference in logistical and industrial capabilities between the Minbari Federation and the Earth Alliance will see the Minbari be defeated. It would be a long, hard slog and hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions on both sides would die, but in the end the Minbari would be forced to surrender. For all that they have been a spacefaring race for over a thousand years the Minbari industrial and logistical infrastructure is nowhere near as extensive as the Earth Alliance's is."

"That seems a little hard to believe," Roy commented.

"Believe if Roy when it comes to logistical and industrial strength the Minbari have no idea of the giant that will be unleashed upon them if the war continues especially with us manufacturing the sensors that will remove the single biggest advantage over the Earth Alliance that they had."

"Defeating the Minbari stealth is that devastating," Roy asked.

"It is for the simple reason Roy that the Minbari, but especially the warrior caste, have become massively overdependent on their ships stealth technology. There entire active defence strategy is based on not being where a counterpunch is going to land. While their ships do still have dense layers of polycrystalline armour it is optimised to defend against molecular slicer and disruptor weapons like those used by the Shadows and their elite servitor races like the Drakh. That specialisation makes the armour actually vulnerable to Earth Alliance weaponry."

"I noticed that with the Minbari fighter we were analysing," Cochrane added with a frown. "The polycrystalline material has a phenomenal ability to reflect energy back into space and disperse what it cannot immediately reflect through its lattice for refraction elsewhere but the polycrystal fibres are vulnerable to anything with a powerful kinetic impact. Like a railgun slug or a seven-meter-thick ball of superheated plasma travelling at hypersonic speeds. I wish I knew what all the elements in the crystal fibres were as the refraction/dispersion ability would be an incredible thing to add to the mix of the nanolaminate materials used in robotech ship armour."

"I have a complete list of them in my matrix if you want them," the AI answered instantly causing the robotechnologists eyes to widen, "along with what processes you need to use to grow the crystal fibres."

"I would like that," Cochrane said at last, shaking off his shock already imagining all the uses they could put the polycrystalline fibres to and how they could use them to improve the already extremely durable robotech alloys used in the armour on their veritech's and destroids not to mention the SDF-1's own hull. "What else have you got in that matrix of yours?"

"A lot, I have a complete copy of everything we learned about this ship, all the technology we developed from it, and some of what was shared with us by the Earth Alliance in the time before our colony was destroyed. I also have a lot of information on the local races and their technology, and the plans for some technologies developed after our home was destroyed – among all of these are the plans for the neural interface bracelet that younger me is wearing. In fact, there are many of those bracelets already here, they're in one of the storage bays on the other side of the protoculture matrix chamber between the second spore harvesting room and stasis room four."

"We'll find those later," Maistroff decided as he could already see how the bracelets would be useful, "though exactly how many of these neural interface bracelets are aboard? And do they come with instructions?"

"You won't need to go looking I've already sent the location to younger me's bracelet. As for how many there are – there's enough for everyone onboard both military and civilian, though they will only work for us and not for anyone from this universes Earth. They're colour coded military ones have a green crystal while civilian ones have a blue one.

"As for instructions yes they do have them," the AI continued before looking slightly embarrassed and looking over at his younger flesh-and-blood self, "sorry younger me I forgot to give you those instructions. I have since sent them to the bracelet so all you need to do is think about reading the manual and the bracelet will project it as a hologram. The same is true with all the bracelets you just think about reading the manual and poof it will appear for you to read. And before you ask, I do have information on other neural interface technologies though it will be a while before you can really implement them as the process of implementing and training people to use them is much more complicated than it is with the bracelets."

"A quick question how was this neural interface technology developed in the other timeline?" Cochrane asked. "We've never come across anything on this ship that indicates anything like that was possible."

"That is a somewhat complicated answer. The basics of the technology were here all along, hidden in this section of the ship as it was meant only to be used by the Robotech Masters and not the Zentraedi that the bulk of the ship was sized for. When we found it – about five years from now in the other timeline – we began developing it for our own use, though we soon got a little bit of help from another group native to this reality."

"The Earth Alliance," Roy asked.

"No though they did express interest in the technology and we're majorly disappointed when it proved incompatible with them. No we developed the tech for our own use with the aide of another, far more mysterious – well to most of the people around here – group of beings from multiple different species. They're already aware of us now and will eventually approach us about wanting to study robotechnology, though they'll have to do it far more openly and without the usual mysticism that they like to use when dealing with others outside their order."

Maistroff raised an eyebrow. "And who are these people," he asked.

"They're called techno-mages. While our initial relations will be somewhat rocky, there are some amongst them who won't like that they cannot go undetected around us and indeed we have the technology here – designed by the Masters to counter similar abilities possessed by a race native to our universe – to stop them using some of their more flashy 'powers' but over time they will become very good friends. Indeed it was a techno-mage – a human called Alwyn – who helped my flesh and blood self to come back to this point in time and install me. The effort of opening the rift long enough cost Alwyn his life but before he died he gave my flesh and blood self, control of his ship to come back here and install me with the understanding that he would destroy it once he was done."

Everyone exchanged a glance at that trying to fathom it. Clearly this Alwyn, whoever he was, had become a very good friend if he was willing to sacrifice his life to allow the older version of Rick to travel back from some terrible future to now. Though they were confused somewhat by the idea of these techno-mages as why would anyone want to present advanced technology as if it was magic while also acknowledging at least in some way that it was technology?

"Can you tell us about these techno-mages," Maistroff asked.

"I can tell you the basics yes. I don't have access to some of the more in-depth information on them, that information wasn't copied into my matrix."

"Please do so. If we're going to be friends with these people then knowing as much about them as you can tell us would be useful."

The holographic avatar being projected by the Rick AI nodded and began giving them the techno-mage 101.

Earth Alliance Diplomatic Shuttle

A Few Hours Later

Secretary of State David Sheridan felt exhaustion pulling at him as the shuttle carrying him and the Earth Alliance delegation – including General Bradshaw – pulled away from the side of the SDF-1 and began making its way to the space station. The discussions aboard the SDF-1 had been very long but quite productive, with even the Narn and Centauri being if not friendly at least civil to one another for a change. He now had a complete agreement with Captain Gloval about the fact that the SDF-1 would not just continue to produce the sensors that would let them see through the Minbari stealth technology for them but would develop a method for them to manufacture similar sensors themselves.

What Gloval wanted in exchange for doing that was simple. He wanted the assistance of the Earth Alliance, once this war with the Minbari was over, to help see if a way could be developed to return the SDF-1 and the people aboard her to their own reality or if that was not possible help find a planet in this reality where they could settle and build their own civilization. While he knew that there were some in EarthGov who wouldn't like the idea of the people on the SDF-1 remaining independent of the Alliance after this war, people whose opposition would no doubt be founded by greed and a desire to possess all the power and technological secrets of the SDF-1, most would accept it as a reasonable demand. Though Gloval had offered the possibility that – if they kept up their end of the bargain – he would allow study of more of the battlefortresses technology from the nanolaminate materials used in the ships construction and incredibly strong and dense armoured hull – which their ships sensors still couldn't penetrate as there was something in it, some material that was scattering their sensor beams - to her FTL drive system. However, Gloval had also made it clear that if the Alliance betrayed him and his people then they would not only get nothing more from the SDF-1; but that current technology provision would stop. and she would space fold elsewhere in the galaxy – or leave it altogether, which was a truly tantalising glimpse at the sheer range possible with space folding technology – and leave them to the mercy of fate.

David knew that threat wouldn't go down well with some in EarthGov, especially the likes of Senator Clark and other 'Earth First' morons like him, but he could well understand why Gloval had felt he needed to make it. It was simply the carrot and the stick approach, with the carrot being the advanced technology that the SDF-1 had to offer – technology that from everything he had seen of it was centuries if not millennia ahead of their own – and the stick being that it could be taken away if anyone in EarthGov decided to be stupid and let either ideology, or honestly speaking some short-term corporate interest, interfere in what was potentially a path to a much brighter future. While there would be quite a few in EarthGov, and in the corporate sectors, who wouldn't like this or the deal that had been agreed they would have to accept it. Especially if they want to win this war with the Minbari, he thought.

Another thing that he knew wouldn't go down well – though it would also prompt EarthGov to go out of its way to be accommodating and to be seen to be keeping up their end of the bargain – in some quarters back home was the agreements made between the SDF-1 crew and the Narn and Centauri delegations. In exchange for assisting in trying to find a way for the universally displaced battlefortress to return home, if such a way existed, they would also be allowed to send scientists to study some of the ships secrets. They would also be provided with the specifications for the sensors that would let them see through the Minbari stealth technology – though the actual physical hardware wouldn't be immediately provided since manufacturing enough sets of the sensors for the embattled EarthForce would take priority. Both races had understood that reasoning and had been very happy to agree to Gloval's terms.

His thoughts turned to the plan for the economic blockade of the Minbari that Emperor Turhan had organised with the other races to both protest the Minbari's conduct in the war to date – there deliberate and methodical targeting of things like escape pods and disabled ships was against all the tenants of civilized warfare – and their stated goal of genocide. The fact that the other governments had all agreed to do that – with even the Narn agreeing with the Centauri on the issue, something that he was sure had demons skating somewhere in a frozen over hell – after their frantic attempts at diplomacy had failed to talk the Minbari down, and even resulted in the Minbari arrogantly threatening them, was deeply shocking. Especially as he had had no idea that such diplomacy was going on behind the scenes though he had been aware that the Minbari had been bullying the other races to a degree, forcing them to reduce trade with Earth, forcing the devaluing of Earth credits on the interstellar markets and so on.

One thing he was sure of was he wouldn't want to be the heads of Earth Alliance Intelligence and EarthForce Naval Intelligence when he reported this to President Levy. He had known Elizabeth Levy for a long time having worked with her through numerous administrations until she had risen to the presidency herself. Thus he knew her to generally be a level headed and fair minded individual until, and unless, something was deliberately kept from her that she should have known about. The fact that someone had had to have actively concealed that the other races hadn't abandoned them to the Minbari but had instead been frantically trying to talk some sense into the boneheads only for their entreaties to fall on deaf ears or illicit a threat from the warrior caste in response, was really going to set her off. There was thus going to be absolute hell to pay in EarthDome and some heads were likely to, quite literally, be rolling by the time the coming eruption of Mount Saint Levy was over.

"Are you alright Mister Secretary," General Bradshaw abruptly asked bringing him out of his thoughts. "You seemed to be deep in thought there."

"I am fine general though I admit I am glad the negotiations are over for today," David replied with some relief, "between hyperspace lag and hours of talks with Captain Gloval – not helped by the arrival of the Narn partway through so we had to go over everything again – it's been a long day."

"It has been though I am glad that Captain Gloval has been quite reasonable and even been very generous towards us," Bradshaw answered, "though I do wish he had been a bit more guarded and reluctant with the Narn and the Centauri. I don't like giving up a potential tactical advantage like the sensors to either of them. Though at least they were civil, for once."

"The sensors aren't our technology to share," Adrian pointed out from his own seat. "Though I couldn't read him telepathically, I couldn't read any of the crew beyond a faint awareness that they were there, I got the impression that Gloval is both a fair minded man and a pragmatist."

Bradshaw blinked. "You couldn't read them at all," he asked knowing that the P11 telepath should have been able to read everyone in the room there were in with little difficulty. Though he was such a down to earth, easy-going individual that it was quite easy to forget that Adrian Patterson was a very powerful telepath.

"Not telepathically no," Adrian admitted, "it might be because they're from another universe to us. There minds could be on a different mental frequency so to speak. Though I can read someone the normal, human way. Gloval is a good man, pragmatic as well but able to be very ruthless when he needs to be."

"I got that impression," David answered, "it's the Russian in him. In my experience pragmatism is a common virtue among them now. It's nice to see somethings don't change between universes. You do realize general that he is certain to offer to help us take down the Minbari supply and staging area?"

"Given the firepower that the SDF-1 has I wouldn't turn it down," Bradshaw replied having already worked out that Gloval would soon offer them his assistance in the attack. "I know you've seen our recordings of the battle with the Minbari and the SDF-1 firing her main cannon – which Doctor Lang referred to as a quantum reflex energy wave cannon or reflex cannon for short when I asked about it – but it's quite different to seeing it in person so to speak. I'll never forget seeing that beam wipe out so many capital ships in one blast, yeah, they were Minbari and wouldn't have hesitated to murder us all, but I cannot help but feel sorry for them they never had a chance."

"I know what you mean," David admitted, "I almost don't want to know what kind of enemies they had in their own universe if they need weapons that powerful. And their regular weapons are devastating as well."

"We read the standard particle beams as being at energy levels comparable to the Minbari neutron cannons while the heavies were five to six times more powerful," Bradshaw added, "and the range is phenomenal. How you can project particle beams three hundred thousand kilometres without electrostatic bloom diffusing the beam I have no idea."

"I suggest we leave that to the eggheads at EarthForce Command to figure that out," David commented a moment before Bradshaw's comm link went off.

Bradshaw tapped his link. "Yes," he asked.

"Operations here sir we're receiving a distress call from Supply Convoy LJR-67," a voice from the station, relayed through the shuttles own comm system, replied. "The transmission is garbled but they say that they're under attack and they mentioned Minbari."

"Damn," David breathed listening in.

"Where is LJR-67 and how many ships," Bradshaw asked, already working out how he could deal with this situation. Hopefully the convoy was close enough that help would be able to arrive in time to drive off the Minbari raiders and save the convoy or if saving the transports was not possible avenge them by blowing the offending Minbari warship or warships to kingdom come. Thanks to Captain Gloval's generosity he already had quite a few of his ships fitted out with the SDF-1's gravitational sensor arrays after all and not just his own flagship the EAS Minerva.

"LJR-67 is composed of twelve cargo transports, two personnel transports and is being escorted by four warships listed as three Olympus-class corvettes and an Artemis-class frigate," operations replied, "they're one jump from here."

"Dispatch patrol group three to intercept," Bradshaw ordered, "tell them to save the convoy if they can – we need the supplies on those transports not to mention there are a lot of people on those personnel transports – but if they can't and the Minbari are still there when they arrive then they're to blast them out of space."

"Aye sir."

Bradshaw signed off at the acknowledgement and looked at the suddenly grim faced passengers in the shuttle with him. They all knew that even at maximum burn there ships would never reach the besieged supply convoy in time to save them.

"You do know they're not going to get there in time," Adrian said grimly, knowing that everyone on that convoy was certainly already dead.

"I know but if I know my Minbari they'll be hanging around waiting for anyone who answers the distress call to show up so they can kill them to," Bradshaw replied, "they'll assume that since the SDF-1 isn't with the ships I am sending to aid the convoy that they'll be able to kill them and still be immune to counterfire due to their stealth."

"But they won't be will they," David said with a slight predatory grin. While the loss of life on the convoy was yet another in the long list of tragedies that this war with the Minbari had been for them the fact that Minbari would soon pay for it – with their own lives – brought a grim satisfaction.

"Nope since we've already fitted almost all the warships here with sensors from the SDF-1," Bradshaw replied before emitting a sinister chuckle. "The Minbari will get a taste of what is in store for them should they choose to continue their jihad against us."

"Hear, hear," David replied before exchanging looks with everyone else aboard the shuttle. They were all thinking and wishing for the same thing, that they could be flies on the wall watching the reaction of the Minbari warriors when the weapons of EarthForce began ripping into their warships.

It would be comical if nothing else.

Authors Notes: Well, another chapter bites the metaphorical dust. I hope you all enjoyed it. Next time the Minbari will find out, really for the first time, what it is like to face EarthForce in combat without the massive advantage granted to them by their warship's stealth technology. It should be quite the learning experience for them. If anyone is curious as to what race AI Rick is referring to in their own universe with techno-mage like powers it's the Perytonians. A devil-like race who can manipulate energy and perform various 'spells' with this ability from teleportation, to making force fields, flinging lightning bolts and fireballs and so on. The Robotech Masters long ago developed the technology to disrupt these abilities much to the shock and horror of the Perytonians energy wizards who could then do nothing to stop the Zentraedi from annexing Peryton into their masters empire. That technology is available aboard the SDF-1 and will come as a very unwelcome surprise to certain techno-mages when they show up. Until next time.