Chapter 10 - Surprise and Upset
Hyperspace - Minbari Fleet Approaching Zhabar - January 2249
"Watching the storm, Delenn?" a voice asked.
Awash in the swirling reddish hues of hyperspace, currently more active than she had ever seen them, Delenn did not bother to turn to see whom it was who had spoken. Both voice and stride told her it was Shai'Alyt Branmer. She merely inclined her head slightly in his direction.
"It is the worst storm I have ever seen in hyperspace," he continued. "Very violent. We are having difficulty maintaining a perfect formation."
"Is the fleet in any danger?"
"We are the unsurpassed masters of hyperspace travel, Delenn. Save for the Vorlons, of course. Other races might need to run for shelter, but the Minbari are not bothered by a simple storm. We will make our way through. We may be a bit later than anticipated arriving at Zhabar, but everything should be fine."
"That is good to hear. It will be well to finally put this sad chapter behind us." She finally turned and looked at him gravely. "In order to do that, we need to do more than just put a stop to the human exodus. We need to ensure the war does not spread to the Drazi. They may wish to protect the humans. We must show them that they cannot hope to stop us. Show them, short of violence, that they have no choice but to turn the humans over to us."
"Is that not why we brought this fleet, Delenn? As a statement to the Drazi? Look upon us and despair, for you have no hope."
Delenn nodded. "Yes, but we cannot depend solely on that. We must give the Drazi time to absorb that message. We should make our transition to normal space well outside of their defenses, then slowly approach over the course of several hours. This will give them time to realize they cannot do anything to stop us."
"That may give the humans time to run, Delenn. Rather than turning them over to us, the Drazi may just tell them to leave."
"So much the better. The humans cannot escape this fleet once we have them in our sights. They are too slow. All running will do will be to separate them from the Drazi, which is exactly what we want."
"And what if the Drazi interfere? Even if they believe they cannot fight us, they might try to slow us with talk, or even play games with their ships, attempting to slow us by flying into our path."
"We do not initiate violence, Shai'Alyt. That must be understood. We will defend ourselves if the Drazi attack. Anything else is merely, as you said, games. We simply ignore it. The antics of children are beneath our notice."
Branmer sighed. "As you say, Delenn. I should note that such a strategy carries its own risks."
"Significant risks?"
He hesitated. "No, I suppose not. We are the Minbari."
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Refugee Fleet - Zhabar - January 2249
Once again, Captain John Sheridan stood aboard the bridge of the Nova with Ambassador Vizak, watching screens displaying his ship and the human fleet overall. This time however, they were surrounded by activity. Both on the bridge of the Nova, and in the orbitals beyond, everywhere they looked humans and Drazi swarmed industriously. "It's absolutely amazing," John said. "I can't begin to thank you enough, Ambassador. I would never have believed the repairs could have occurred at such a pace. Every civilian vessel has been repaired."
"Well," Vizak demurred, "not every one. Over a dozen of your vessels were simply too badly damaged for us to repair properly in the time we had."
"But then you replaced them all with comparable vessels of your own. That's...just incredibly generous, Ambassador. We're almost ready. Both the Lexington and the Nova are well over ninety percent complete. Just a few more days, Ambassador, and we can get out of your...scales."
Vizak chuckled, familiar with the human phrase Sheridan had started to use. "It has been our pleasure, Captain. More than that, it has been our honor. I only wish I could offer your people true safety. But there, I am afraid we fail you. We will not fight the Minbari, Captain. We have told them not to come, that you weren't here, but if they do come, we will not stand in their way."
"I would not ask you to, Vizak. Not after what the Minbari did to my people. Not after everything you have already risked. We will finish these repairs, and then take this threat away from your people. And please, call me John."
Before the Drazi Ambassador could reply, Takashima interrupted them. "Captain, we are receiving a priority communication from Drazi military command. It's addressed to both you and Ambassador Vizak."
"Put it through to the main screen, then," he replied. The indicated screen quickly lit up with the face of a tall Drazi with a rich purple cast to his scales.
Vizak clearly recognized him, as he immediately responded, "Makar Bor'ka, it is good to see you. You wished to speak with us?"
The Makar grimaced. "I bring grim news, Ambassador. A massive Minbari fleet, over four hundred vessels, has entered into the outer realms of our system. They are headed here, and at current speeds will arrive in less than twelve hours. They have refused all hails, sending only a single message."
"And that was?"
"They demand that we surrender the humans."
"Then they will be disappointed." He turned back to John, clearly intending to say his goodbyes, then paused. He turned back to the Makar, staring at him for several seconds. John looked at him in confusion and some concern, until Vizak drew a deep breath. "Scramble all fleet assets. Stall the Minbari. Talk to them. Block them with our ships. Delay them by any means necessary short of attacking them or allowing a collision. There are still hundreds of thousands of humans on the surface. The humans don't have enough lift capacity to return to their ships in the time available. Commandeer every shuttle we have to get them back into orbit!"
"It will be done," the Makar said briefly, and then killed the connection.
Sheridan stared intently at the Drazi Ambassador in surprise. "I thought you said you wouldn't stand in their way, my friend."
"Yes. I did say that, didn't I? It would seem the universe is full of wonders."
"Will the Shadak approve? Do you have the authority to give those orders?"
Vizak smiled. "They have given me broad authority. Probably just so they can absolve themselves of any blame, but I will take what I can get. My orders will stand. Now, I believe that you are about to become very busy, Captain. I will take my leave of you, so that my personal shuttle can be used to bring more of your people back from the surface. Should we both survive, and somehow meet again, you will allow me to treat you to a round of Bor'Kaan. Fare you well, John Starkiller.
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Minbari Fleet - Approaching Zhabar - January 2249
Several members of the Grey stood looking out the window. It was not an official meeting of the council; they were not in the meeting chamber. No, this was just a good place for viewing the activity outside of the ship. There was quite a bit of activity.
A Drazi Sunhawk whipped by the window so close that several of the gathered Minbari actually flinched. Delenn was no braver than they, but her instinctive reaction had been to freeze in place, which looked much more dignified from an outside perspective.
"This is intolerable!" Coplann spat. "Don't they know who we are? We should burn them from the skies for this insolence!"
"We will do no such thing!" Delenn insisted sharply. "The Drazi play games, but they are not actually doing anything to harm us. No weapons fire, no collisions. They are riding the line between honor and self preservation. Which means the plan is working. We DO NOT need to fight them."
A Warrior hurried up and reported to Branmer. "Shai'Alyt, the Drazi have gathered nearly five hundred vessels in front of us. It is the sum total of their mobile military assets in the system. They are now so close that our stealth systems are mostly ineffective."
"Intolerable!" Coplann repeated. "Is this not a sufficiently hostile act, Delenn? We must defend ourselves!"
"The Drazi are not harming us in any way." Delenn replied calmly.
"Perhaps not, but they are doing what they can to allow the humans to escape!"
"Good. If the humans leave Drazi protection, then there will be no one between them and us, and no reason for us to engage the Drazi."
Branmer broke in before Coplann lost his temper, "Delenn's plan is sound, Satai Coplann. Somewhat dangerous, perhaps, but still sound. It has the potential to save the lives of billions of Drazi, and perhaps thousands of Minbari; goals to which we should all aspire. However, given the current situation, I must insist that this vessel leave the vanguard of the formation, and pull back into the body of the main fleet. This position poses an unacceptable level of risk to the Grey Council. The safety of the Council must be assured. We cannot afford to lose you."
"Well," Coplann responded. "At least THAT makes some sense."
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Drazi Fleet - Hyperspace
"This makes no sense."
As the hyperspace storm had receded, General Trkarda had found himself hanging unconscious from his safety harness. He was far from the only one. In fact, as far as he could tell everyone aboard the vessel had been rendered unconscious. Not unexpectedly, it seemed to be the redoubtable Makar who had regained consciousness first. And, true to form, he had not let unconscious crew members stand in his way. He seemed to be running his own sensor sweeps and damage control inspections, flitting from station to station.
"This makes no sense at all," the Makar repeated.
"What, Makar?" the General groaned, struggling to sit up properly. "What makes no sense?"
"General, are you alright?"
"I am fine Makar. Now answer the question, please. What makes no sense?"
"Everything, general. Or rather, nothing at all makes sense."
"Perhaps you should slow down and go through the list of the things that are confusing you, so that we can both be properly confused."
"Yes, General. First, we are in a perfect Phalanx Cube formation. When I say perfect I mean it. Beyond inspection ready. As far as I can tell sir, each ship is in perfect formation down to submillimeter precision...down to the point where our sensors are no longer accurate enough to measure properly."
Trkarda looked at him in surprise, but said only, "Continue."
"Every vessel is accounted for sir, and remote interface shows that they are all at one hundred percent combat readiness."
"That is certainly good news."
"But, General, during the storm not only were our ships being knocked out of formation, many were taking damage. Minor damage, fortunately, but damage still. That damage should show up as degradation of our combat readiness. But every single ship I have checked shows no signs of damage at all. Sir, we had three ships whose reactors had fallen out of phase. All three vessels now show reactors operating at perfect efficiency." He ran another check, and a strange laugh bubbled out of him. "All ships in the fleet show fuel levels at one hundred percent."
"That's impossible. Could something be wrong with your sensors?"
"I thought about that General. So far as I can analyze them, they seem fine. Now that the engineers are awakening, I will have them double checked. But General, do you see the young Lieutenant at the security post?
Trkarda swung his eyes to the indicated Drazi. He looked perfectly normal. "Yes."
"He broke his arm in a Mutai bout the day before we left. Before we lost consciousness it was in a sling and a nasty shade of green. Now the sling is gone, and the arm seems fine."
Trkarda tried to beat his foggy mind into submission, to focus it on the mystery. There was something...something right at the edges of his consciousness. "Wasn't...wasn't there something about a ship? Didn't we detect a ship during the storm?
"A ship general? I don't recall hearing about that. Were they caught in the storm with us?" Without awaiting a response, the Makar checked the computers. "I'm sorry general. The logs do not indicate the presence of another vessel. We were alone in the storm." He hesitated. "But none of these are the strangest things, General."
"Well? Best just tell me, Makar."
"You may recall that we were struggling to maintain beacon contact?" At Trkarda's nod, he continued, "We now have a completely solid beacon lock...because we are mere kilometers from the beacon. But it's not the same one, General. Sir, we've somehow been returned to Zhabar. Every vessel in the front rank has had their jump engines charged, and exact coordinates for opening jump points are set in their nav systems. It's as though...it's as though we are set to perform a combat jump into our own home system! And General...the chronometer reading from the beacon indicates that months have past since we lost consciousness!"
General Trkarda's pulse began to hammer. He felt the chains of destiny encircling him. "Well, Makar. When dealing with something miraculous, best to chock it up to a miracle. Feel free to pick a god...Droshalla perhaps. Someone wants us right here, and right now. Someone wants us doing exactly what we are about to do. Sound battle stations. Prepare the fleet for a combat jump into normal space."
"Into our own system?!"
"We're not going to attack ourselves, Makar," Trkarda said with exasperation. "Most likely we will simply look foolish to whatever Drazi are manning the system defense grids. Call it a good test of preparedness then. But all of these mysteries lead me to believe that we may just be needed. You said that every vessel in the front rank had jump engines charged?"
"Yes, sir."
"One hundred jump points then, each spitting out ten of our ships. We'll emerge in Phalanx Cube. Upon transition, we'll take a moment to figure out what is happening, and then decide what to do from there."
"Yes, General."
"Makar, transmit the orders. Advise me when all ships are ready to jump to normal space."
"General Trkarda," the Makar said formally a few moments later, "all ships report readiness for combat operations."
"Jump."
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Minbari Fleet - Zhabar - January 2249
Delenn stood next to Branmer aboard the bridge of the Valen'Tha. Of the four Satais present, she was the only not of the Warrior Caste. Despite the continued provocation of the Drazi, they would soon be in weapons range of the human fleet, which was only now beginning to get under way. They were actually moving into a lower orbit of the planet, trying to increase their speed to get to the far side, putting the planet between themselves and the oncoming Minbari fleet. It would not save them. More importantly, though all of the other human Warrior craft were now underway, the Nova class dreadnought, believed to be Starkiller's vessel, was not. When the fleet finally got into range, a dozen ships would fire as one and finally eliminate that particular stain on the Minbari honor.
A Drazi Sunhawk made a particularly close pass, actually darting through the Minbari fleet. The exquisitely detailed hologram filling the space above them rendered the event in perfect detail, causing several members of the crew to flinch from the passing.
Alarms began to wail. The ceiling erupted into the bright hues of multiple hyperspace vortices, aligned in a perfect grid, each one disgorging multiple vessels. The Religious Caste officer manning the sensors station called out, "One hundred jump points forming. They're right on top of us. Reading hundreds of Drazi vessels."
"It's a trap," Coplann shouted. "Open fire!"
"No!" Delenn shouted. She tried to tell them that nothing had changed. She tried to tell them that bloodshed was unnessary. She tried to insist that the Minbari not fire until fired upon.
She was too late. The Warrior manning the weapons systems reacted instinctively to Coplann's shout. The Valen'tha opened up with all guns. The rest of the Minbari fleet belatedly followed.
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"General Trkarda, there are over four hundred Minbari vessels in the system!" The Makar looked up sharply at his General. "They have opened fire on our vessels."
"Return fire."
The Makar turned to his task, then grunted in satisfaction. "General we emerged so close that we are inside their stealth envelope. We have at least partial weapons locks. Reading successful hits."
"Move the fleet in closer. Press them, but stay maneuverable. All ships are to maintain loose Phalanx Cube formation, but are free to maneuver as neccessary within their assigned position."
"General, the system defense forces were already concentrated to block the Minbari fleet. I'm reading roughly five hundred of our ships in close contact with the Minbari. They have moved to attack as well."
"Good. They can be the anvil, we will be the hammer. We'll see if we can crush these Minbari between us."
"Sir, I am also reading a significant human fleet in orbit of Zhabar. Hundreds of ships, almost entirely civilian and merchant vessels. There seem to be less than a handful of warships, probably meant to guard their civilians."
Trkarda was silent for a moment. "That can only mean one thing. The Earth Alliance has fallen. Open a channel to the largest of the human warships. Tell them that this might be a wise time for them to speed up their retreat. And tell them...tell them the Drazi pay their debts."
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Takashima turned to Sheridan. "All civilian vessels now underway, Captain. Maximum burn. We just received a message from the flagship of that new Drazi fleet."
"And what did they have to say, Laurel?"
"They suggest we hurry sir. And they remind us that the Drazi repay their debts."
"With interest, Commander. With interest. Looks like we better be going. Chivvy the civies along. Let's not overtake anyone. Get some tugs back here, in case anyone burns out their drives during the run. We don't want to have to turn around to take them under tow. Set the exit point for at least three AU from our current position. We don't want to hop into hyperspace in the gunsights of any Minbari who transition from their current position."
"Yes, Captain."
Sheridan turned back to his displays of the battle. He itched to join in, but his responsibilities lay elsewhere. The Minbari had made a massive mistake. Or rather, not a mistake. They had taken a massive gamble, and the odds had been strongly in their favor. But fortune had turned against them again, with the highly improbably arrival of this new Drazi fleet. Someone was smiling on his little ragtag fleet. Time he got them out of harm's way.
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"The humans are getting away!" Coplann shouted, as the Valen'tha heaved around them. "Plot an intercept course. We have to stop them!"
"We have other things to worry about," Branmer countered. Ignoring Coplann's demand, he instead ordered, "Tighten formation! Increase defensive fire!" He turned back to Coplann. "Satai, we are outnumbered by more than three to one, and their ships are so close that our stealth systems are all but useless. This is going to be a brutal confrontation. Now stand aside and let me fight it!" Turning back to his tactical displays, he calmly said, "that space station is the heart of their planetary defenses. Have the Valen'tha and the dozen vessels assigned to hit the human Dreadnought fire on it instead."
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"Minbari formation is shrinking, General. Their firepower is incredible. Our forces are being decimated." A blinding flash lit up their displays. "They just destroyed Zhabar Station One," he said in horror. A Brostilli Class War Base, it had been far and away the most powerful Drazi asset in the system, and the center of Drazi command and control.
"Open a system wide channel. Make it known that I am taking direct command of all Drazi forces. Have all ships move inside the Minbari formation.
This order was too much even for the unflappable Makar. "General, that's insane!"
"The Minbari won't be able to coordinate their fire at that range, and the superior maneuverability of our smaller ships will make it much harder for them to hit us than it will be for us to strike them back. More importantly, it will lock them into place, preventing them from advancing on Zhabar. With Zhabar Station One destroyed, planetary defenses are substantially reduced. Our Drudoma OSats can't carry the load on their own. Who knows what the Minbari might do if we let them get close enough."
The Makar hesitated for a moment, then gave the command. Drazi vessels surged forwards, moving in on the beleaguered Minbari fleet.
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Alyt'sa Neroon swore under his breath as a Sharlin less than a dozen kilometers off their port bow detonated in a titanic blast, finally overcome by the repeated hammering of multiple close passes by Drazi Sunhawks. He stood on the bridge of the Rak'ka, the fleet flagship and personal vessel of Shai Alyt Branmer. Neroon keenly felt the Shai Alyt's absence. He should be commanding this battle from the bridge of his flagship. But there wasn't even supposed to be a battle. So, instead, the Shai Alyt had been aboard the Valen'tha, consulting with the Grey Council. Ensuring that any maneuvers or adjustments in support of the message they were sending the Drazi were carried out promptly by the fleet. All in the name of that ridiculous plan. It was supposed to strike fear into the hearts of the Drazi.
Neroon quietly swore again as a Tinashi lost control of its drives, veering to starboard and plowing right into one of its sisters. The Drazi certainly weren't showing very much fear. "Have our escorts pull in tight to our flanks. They are to concentrate all fire on anything looking to fire into our rear quadrant. Focus all guns forward and swat down anything and everything that passes in front of us."
"Yes, Alyt'sa," came the swift response. A moment later another Warrior called out to him. "Shai Alyt Branmer wishes to speak with you, Alyt'sa."
"Put him through immediately."
A moment later a hologram of his commanding officer appeared right before him. Branmer wasted no time on pleasantries, though Neroon bowed to him respectfully. "We are being hedged in, Neroon. The Drazi play a game of maneuver, while we bog down and huddle up like a pack of Kloo. Take command of the vanguard and break out. Maneuver. Show the Drazi that we are the hunters, not the hunted."
"Si dromo," Neroon responded, but the hologram had already faded. "Contact all remaining vessels in the vanguard. They are to form up on our flanks and follow us through the any maneuvers we undertake. Confirm."
A moment later the Hiai'i assigned to intership communications looked up. "All remaining vessels confirm, Alyt'sa."
Neroon nodded. "Fayzen shok!"
The vanguard drove into the loose Drazi formation.
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Branmer watched as the Rak'ka and the savaged remains of the vanguard spun nimbly, surprisingly agile for such enormous vessels, and settled into the rear of the largest remaining squadron of Sunhawks. They opened fire and, within seconds, the entire Drazi squadron simply ceased to exist. "Very impressive, Neroon," he muttered to himself. "Satais," he continued in a much louder voice, "I believe the Drazi are finally broken. Though we lost over a hundred ships ourselves, primarily our Tinashi escorts, we have eliminated over eighty percent of the enemy vessels, and nearly one hundred percent of the planetary defense assets they tried to use against us." The last few hours had been horrific, filled with the worst fighting Branmer had ever seen. Despite their somewhat limited losses in ship numbers, there wasn't a single vessel in the Minbari fleet which hadn't taken at least some, and in many cases significant, damage. But at last, victory was within their grasp.
"You speak as though this is a victory," Coplann hissed. "One hundred ships! One hundred ships, lost to a species as insignificant as the Drazi. And now we have a new war to fight."
"That has yet to be decided," Delenn insisted.
Coplann ignored her. "Where are the humans?"
Branmer sighed. "They orbited to the far side of the planet at the very start of the battle. Since then they have been skillfully keeping it between us, preventing us from determining their exact location. They could still be in orbit, or halfway across the system."
"Then we must overtake them! Plot the quickest course past the planet and give chase!"
"Satai, that would take us into the teeth of the remaining Drazi planetary defenses.
"You said they had been reduced, Shai'Alyt. Simply deal with whatever is left. That includes any surface defenses which try to engage us." Before Delenn could argue, he turned to her and said, "You cannot object to us simply defending ourselves in the pursuit of our primary target, Delenn. That is something that was decided from the beginning of this debacle." Delenn silenced her objections, unable to argue the truth of Coplann's statement.
Branmer straightened. "Very well, Satai. Setting course."
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"General Trkarda," the Drazi Lieutenant with the mysteriously healed and now rebroken arm called. "The Minbari fleet is moving."
Trkarda longed to hear the report from his indomitable Makar. But the Makar was dead, and the Lieutenant would just have to make do. "Destination?"
"General, they're heading right for Zhabar!"
Trkarda struggled to maintain calm in the face of imminent disaster. The Minbari were going to do it. They were going to bombard Zhabar. Not while I still draw breath.
"Status of the ship?"
"Heavy damage, General. We've lost nearly half the crew. All weapons systems are dead."
"Propulsion?"
"Reactors are spotty, but it looks like we can maintain full output, at least for a while."
"Status of the fleet?"
"It's...it's just gone sir. Less then three hundred vessels remaining. Most of them heavily damaged. Many with no or minimal weapons, just like us."
Trkarda nodded absently. "Open a channel to the fleet." At the Lieutenant's nod, he spoke to his remaining forces. "All ships with minimal propulsion remaining are to pull back and shelter in place, effecting repairs as possible. All vessels with at least seventy percent capacity on your thrusters, you are ordered to reduce to minimum possible crew complement and follow this ship in. By the end of this day, the Minbari will never again underestimate the strength and resolve of the Drazi!" Cutting the feed to the fleet, Trkarda opened up a ship wide channel. "All hands, abandon ship." Cutting that channel as well, he finally looked around to the remaining bridge crew. Every one met his eyes. "I will not ask you to stay, but neither will I order you to leave. The decision is yours. There is no shame in saving your lives. Zhabar will need your like in the future. If you would go, go now."
Not a single Drazi moved an inch. "Very well, then. Ready at the helm?" Receiving the final confirmation, he settled back into his seat. He smiled and said, "Pick one of those big bastards, and give me ramming speed!"
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On the large holographic display a trio of Sharlins, long since having lost their escorts, attempted to break through the Drazi ships and bring their final orbital defenses under fire. A dozen Sunhawks dove towards them, not bothering to fire. The Sharlins fired wildly into the formation, and the Sunhawks began to die. One. Three. Five. Nine. The remaining three Sunhawks did not strafe the Sharlins in a close pass. That was not their intention. Instead, one Sunhawk plowed into each of the three Sharlins. The mighty Minbari warcruisers, already heavily damaged, stood no chance of surviving the impacts. As one, all three vessels erupted into the titanic explosions which were their death knell.
"Order the retreat,"Branmer said woodenly.
"What?!" Coplann shouted, spinning on him. "We are the Minbari! We retreat from no one!"
"Satai, we've lost over fifty ships in the last few minutes, all Sharlins. The Valen'tha itself has come under attack, and was nearly rammed, and there are still a lot more Drazi vessels out there. I will not risk the safety of the Grey Council for the sake of a hollow victory."
"But the humans..."
"The humans have escaped, Satai! It is as simple as that. We can no longer give chase. Not with the fleet as it currently exists. I do not intend to lose any more Minbari fighting these crazy Drazi in a battle that minimizes nearly every one of our advantages. We can come back later and deal with them or the humans with relative ease. But for today, we retreat."
Coplann glowered at him. "Very well, Shai'Alyt. Have your retreat. But we will be back. The Drazi will know our displeasure. And the humans...they shall not escape. A day or a millennium, we will run them down.
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Shambah, Drazi Space - Exodus Fleet - January 2249
Catherine Sakai turned from her controls and the helm. "Transition to normal space complete, Captain Levitt. The fleet is following us in." The Eratosthenes had made use of the Shambah jump gate, trusting that Drazi space was likely still secure, but keeping its jump engines ready for an emergency evacuation.
"Good. Notify all ships, as they come in, to perform maintenance inspections immediately. We don't know how far behind us the Minbari are. Only emergency repairs are to be performed. All ships that read as nominal are to be prepared to retransition to hyperspace. That includes us. As soon as the Lexington is through, we'll need to make ready to leave.
Kathway interrupted, "Captain, we have a Drazi Sunhawk coming across the system at high speed. They won't be here for a while yet, but they are signalling us."
"Maybe they have news of the battle at Zhabar. Put them through to my panel." A moment later, a dark purple Drazi face was staring out at her in consternation. "Greetings. I'm Commander Levitt of the EAS Eratosthenes. How can I help you?"
"Humans. I thought you were at Zhabar. I was ordered to bring you warning. What are you doing here?"
"The Minbari followed us to Zhabar. Ambassador Vizak instructed us to make a run for it, but the Minbari attacked your people anyway. The battle was still ongoing when we left the system. I was hoping you were bringing word of it, Makar...?"
"Zhivak. No, I was not. This is disturbing news. I was bringing warning myself from our borders. Minbari scouting vessels have been spotted all along our border, and in the systems beyond. They are operating singly, but they are out there. Be careful, Captain. Danger lies before you. I would escort you to our border, but it would seem my duty calls me to Zhabar. I must see to the defense of my homeworld."
"Of course, Makar Zhivak. Both your warning and the hospitality of your people are very much appreciated. We shall take greater care. But we must also make haste. Good luck to you, Makar."
"And to you, Captain."
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Minbari Fleet - Deep hyperspace, leaving Drazi territory - January 2249
The Grey Council chamber was awash in blame and recriminations, reassurances and despondence. All anyone could focus on was the fact that the Drazi had just caused a greater military disaster than anything even Starkiller had accomplished.
Coplann stepped forward into the circle, grabbing everyone's attention. Gradually, the arguments and side conversations ceased, and the chamber fell silent. "This bickering resolves nothing. It is time the Grey made decisions; time the Minbari took action. It is time we planned our war against the Drazi."
Another flurry of arguments broke out, until Delenn stepped into the circle and the silence returned. "We are not at war with the Drazi," she told Coplann sternly.
He rounded on her in a near fury. "We lost over two hundred ships, Delenn! Between this and the losses to the humans, all of the new construction since the war began is essentially negated. What else would you call it?"
"Self defense? We were in their system..."
"They attacked us!" he hissed, cutting her off.
"No. We attacked them. We fired first, at your order, Coplann. An order you had no right to give. It is the decision of the Grey Council to enter into a war. The plan was working. The humans were leaving. If not for your rash command, we might not have lost a single vessel," Delenn said with a quiet intensity.
"Or we might have lost everything. They were already passing close enough that collisions were a danger. Then they jumped a thousand more ships in right on top of us. How else would you explain those actions?"
"Who can say? Perhaps it was their version of approaching with gun ports open."
"Do you mock our traditions now, Delenn?"
"No. I am merely aware of the fact that aliens have different traditions."
"Is that the point of all this? More self-castigation that the humans didn't mean to start a war? Those matters have been decided. We are at war with the humans, and we will carry this war through to the end."
"Yes, we are at war with the humans. But we are not at war with the Drazi. Not yet. The point, Coplann, is that now we can never really know what the Drazi's intentions were. We cannot know if a war is really necessary. And no war can be prosecuted without the decision of the Grey Council."
"What would you have us do then, Delenn," he asked in aggravation. "Over sixty thousand Minbari died in that abattoir of a battle. We cannot just let that stand."
"And we will not. But we must think carefully on how to deal with the Drazi. And we should not do anything to them until after the war with the humans is settled."
"The humans move further away from us. Catching them requires us to move beyond the Drazi. You do not leave a potential opponent at your back. It invites disaster. Ask any Warrior if you do not trust my word, Delenn. We simply cannot leave the Drazi free to do as they wish. Not and continue to run down the humans. They could do any number of things to hurt or hinder us. Or even to continue to help the humans."
"Fine," Delenn conceded. "Then we will not. Let us seal them off. No war, but prevent them from leaving their space, or others from entering it."
"A blockade Delenn? Do you realize what that would require? Drazi space is nearly as large as the Federation, and they still have a substantial fleet with which to make trouble. Blockading their space would require a massive number of vessels. Remember all the losses we just took? We also have yet to find and eliminate all of the human colonies. That search also requires significant assets. And then of course there is the chase of this human fleet. The farther ahead of us they get, the more directions they can travel, the more systems we have to search. This also consumes considerable resources. And let us not forget, Delenn, your insistence that the Shadows may be returning, and that we keep the defenses of the Federation at a heightened level. We do not have enough ships for all of these things."
Delenn considered for a moment. "Some time ago you asked our Workers to look into how difficult it would be to bring up ships from the reserve storage yards. Could that not supplement our forces?"
Now it was Coplann's turn to look thoughtful. "Yes, that is a potential solution. Bear in mind that it will require significant effort from everyone, but the Worker caste especially. Also, those ships are out of date by their very nature. There are perhaps two or three thousand which are immediately worthwhile, more than enough for our current needs, but none of them will be front line units. They could all stand to go through a good modernization program, but we could do without for now. Of course, if at any point we chose to move beyond those ships, everything else would definitely require a modernization refit." He thought for several more moments. "All right, Delenn. I will agree to your proposal. But, I will need you to agree to a couple of additional items. First, we begin modernization of all of the vessels in the reserve yards, to be completed in no more than ten years. Most of them have needed it for centuries. We also need to double the rate of our new construction. Agree to this and I will not oppose blockading the Drazi or any other species who oppose us."
Delenn looked horrified at the concept. "But, the expense..."
"An expense which is required either way, whether we choose to blockade the Drazi or war with them. Besides, you are the one who had been telling us that we need to prepare for the return of the Shadows. I don't see any such signs, Delenn, but if you truly believe what you have been telling us, then surely you accept that the reserve fleets should be upgraded to modern standards."
"Wasn't it you, Coplann, who said that even having those reserves was a waste of resources?"
"Yes. A statement made before this council began throwing fleets under Drazi guns, or requesting massive blockades.
Satai Kodmer of the Worker Caste interrupted. "These programs would indeed require a massive commitment from the worker caste. We could not possibly undertake them at such speed and still man one third of the additional ships brought into service."
Coplann nodded. "Understandable. The Warrior caste will crew your share of these vessels, until such time as you have sufficient personnel to do so."
Delenn hesitantly said, "That would create a significant power imbalance between the castes."
"It was you who put us on this path, Delenn," Coplann said sharply. "Do not balk at what is required to continue down it successfully. The Warrior Caste has trusted you through a series of more and more bizarre demands. The least you can do is trust the Warrior Caste not to abuse the resources we need to perform the tasks you have set before us."
Delenn hesitated, then bowed deeply to Coplann, in apology. "It is agreed."
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Zagros, Drazi Space - Exodus Fleet - January 2249
"The Eratosthenes is away Captain," Lieutenant Commander Takashima called from her station. "The Fleet is beginning to follow."
Despite his concerns over leaving Drazi space, Sheridan would be glad to leave Zagros. They had stayed for far too long. After their extremely brief stop in Shambah, a number of maintenance items had caught up with them. It's all those short haul civilian craft we're dragging along with us, he thought. They're the slowest vessels in the fleet, and they require five times the maintenance. They just weren't designed for this kind of extended travel. Despite the extra danger, he couldn't regret bringing them, though. They increased the fleet's overall population by thirty percent. That many lives...it was simply worth the risk.
His musings were interrupted by an alarm from Takashima's station. "Captain, we have a jump point forming 300,000 kilometers to starboard."
"Another Drazi?" They had made contact with several Drazi warships. It seemed the battle over Zhabar had gone very poorly, but in the end the Minbari had retreated. John had never thought he would actually see the day when a Minbari war fleet would be forced to flee.
Laurel looked up and met his eyes. "No sir. It's Minbari."
"Sound battlestations. Launch all fighters and bring us about. Advise the fleet to speed up the transition."
Turning back to her displays, the Lieutenant Commander continued, "It seems to be alone. Trying to match the profile. It's not a Sharlin or a Tinashi. Not one of those scouts we tangled with before." Another alarm chimed. "We have fighter launch...three, six, twelve...sir, enemy vessel just launched forty-eight fighters into space. It's a Morshin class carrier. Their fighters are falling into formation."
The news caused a hush to fall over the bridge. During most of the war, trading an entire squadron of Starfuries for a single Nial was considered a strong performance. The fleet had improved on that, but still; that single Minbari vessel had just launched enough fighters that the fleet's own fighter group would barely outnumber them by two to one.
Sheridan did his best to maintain his Captain's demeanor...that aura of strength, calm, and determination that could reinvigorate a shaky crew. He needed to be strong so they could be strong. "Don't worry, Lieutenant Commander," he said. He spoke directly to her, but pitched his voice so that the entire bridge would hear. "This won't be anything like the last time. That vessel is far more lightly armed than even the scout ship we faced. Its punch is in its fighters, and Commander Sinclair just graduated another squadron of telepaths." That squadron hadn't been nearly as prepared as the group which had gone through with Ivanova. However, instead of training four squadrons, Sinclair had focused on only one. The downtime at Zhabar had allowed them to focus on nothing but training. They were untested and green as hell, but they should be ready. "Between our telepaths and their wingmen, we can field almost seventy fighters that can penetrate Minbari stealth. And we'll have another surprise for them as well."
Turning to the comms officer, he ordered, "Contact the Lexington, Midway, and Mother. Have them form up on us in an echelon formation. Let me know when Commander Sinclair has the fighter group assembled."
"Fighter group is forming up now sir. It should just be another minute."
"The moment we have every fighter massed, order Sinclair to charge right down the throats of those Nials. Advise the Lexington, Midway, and Mother that we will be following them in at maximum thrust."
"Sir?" The Ensign looked up in surprise.
"You heard me. Pass the order."
Takashima leaned in close to him and pitched her voice low. "Captain, if we charge in with the fighters it will leave the fleet uncovered."
"If those fighters get here, Lieutenant Commander, they can cripple the fleet simply by going after the civilian vessels. Better to stop them short of here."
The hatch to the bridge opened, and Talia Winters, Lyta Alexander, and four additional telepaths made their way onto the bridge, sealing the hatch behind them. They crossed to their designated seating, which had been installed specifically for them, around the targeting and tracking stations. Sheridan found it odd to see people on his bridge holding hands, but their services would be invaluable this day. "Ms. Alexander, I'll need to know when you start to get a feel for the Minbari fighter group."
"Yes, Captain." If she felt out of place leading the telepath contingent, the young woman did not show it at all.
"Captain," Takashima advised, "the fighter group has fully formed up. Commander Sinclair is beginning his attack run."
"Very well. Follow them in, max thrust. Ask Commander Sinclair not to get too far ahead of us."
"Aye, Captain."
The two fighter groups slowly swept towards each other, with the human warships coming in close behind. Despite their substantial acceleration, it would take quite some time for them to meet each other.
Watching his readouts, Sheridan ordered, "Keep an eye on our closure rates Laurel. We'll need to begin a hard decel prior to convergence, so that our relative velocity is no greater than one kilometer per second. We don't want them sweeping through us and towards the civilians, with us unable to turn around and engage. Pass the information on to Commander Sinclair please. Status of the Morshin?"
"They seem to have decided to follow our example and trail their fighters in. They're a good deal further back than we are, though. Why would they do that, sir?"
"Who knows? It's possible they wish to remain close to provide support for any of their fighters which become damaged. Or they might simply be taunting us with their invulnerability, playing some giant game of chicken. If that's the case, they aren't going to like the results. In any case, they're doing exactly what we want them to do."
"But why are they even here? What kind of idiot sends out a carrier without escorts?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say they were using the carrier in a scouting role. They've probably figured out that we like to hide in the outskirts of systems. Sensors can only go so far. For a hard search, you need a lot of mobile platforms. A carrier can provide that in a way no scout ship can. Seems like a waste of a good capital ship to me. As for the lack of escorts, I have no idea. It's clearly a tactical mistake."
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"Alyt," the Religious Caste officer said, bowing, "the humans have begun deceleration."
The Alyt grunted. "They don't want us sweeping past them and into their civilians, with them unable to catch up. They needn't worry. I have no intention of doing anything to their Workers before I have slaughtered every last Warrior."
The Religious Caste hesitated, then said, "Apologies, Alyt, but should we be following our fighters this closely? We are operating without escorts, and a Morshin is not a Sharlin. A carrier is not meant to engage with a dreadnought."
The Alyt looked down his nose at the man. Bad enough that he had to have a puling Religious Caste on his ship, much less to have his actions questioned. Unfortunately, the man was a genius at using fighters to conduct an in depth search of a system. Still, some things could not be allowed. "Are you questioning my orders, Priest?"
"No, Alyt. I am merely seeking...understanding."
The Alyt grunted again. "Then understand this, Priest. That is Starkiller out there, and for once he cannot ensnare us with his damned traps and ambushes. There are no asteroids for him to mine and no planets to hide behind. He cannot ambush us coming out of the jump gate, because we are NOT coming out of the jump gate. For once, we hold the advantage. Our stealth fields are fully in place, and we will maintain the distance to ensure they cannot land a single hit. We have no need for escorts, they cannot harm us. Our fighters will slaughter their pathetic Starfuries and they will peel the guns off of those warships, as we did at the battle of Sinzar. Only then will we finally approach and carve them into scrap."
"We lost a Sharlin to a human ramming attack at Sinzar," the man noted softly, to the Alyt's irritation. "And doesn't following our fighters into the battle threaten to eliminate that distance?"
"No. Once the Nials engage, it won't take them long to render Starkiller's ship impotent. He has made the mistake of following his fighters into combat rather than fleeing. If we do the same, perhaps he will not realize the enormity of his error until it is far too late."
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"Closure rate one kilometer per second. Ninety seconds to merge," Takashima called out.
Sheridan smiled. "The Minbari are about to learn the enormity of their error." He glanced over at the telepaths. Lyta gave him a smile and a thumbs up. Looking back at the display, he waited a few more seconds, then gave the command. "Fire."
The Nova spit out the very last energy mine in its stores. It was meant to be an area denial weapon, for standing off at thousands of kilometers, or hundreds at the very least. At less than a hundred, it should be deadly accurate. Or it would be, if not for Minbari stealth. A functional stealth field meant that they'd be lucky to take out a single Nial.
Unfortunately for the Minbari, human telepaths were now looking right through their stealth fields. They weren't targeting experts though, and targeting across even short distances simply by feel was incredibly challenging. Which was why the telepaths were feeding the "feel" of the Minbari directly to the targeting officer, rather than trying to point the location out on a screen as Lyta had done against the Minbari scout ship. Detecting multiple small ships at range was very difficult. Feeding the information to a normal increased that difficulty. Thus, the team of telepaths. Working together, the six of them were able to accomplish something that even a P12 might not be able to. Smaller groups of telepaths, duos and trios, were also assigned to every gun turret, in case individual targeting became necessary. Today, it would not be.
The energy mine burst just short of the loose Minbari formation. One hundred megatons blossomed like a new star, obscuring the Nials from sight. When the glare cleared, the formation had been demolished. Only twelve Nials remained under power, the rest either destroyed or disabled. The twelve still in motion had been damaged and tossed about, shorn of their wingmen. The pilots regained control of their craft, then spun about, attempting to regroup into a cohesive formation. They were still calling for orders when the Starfuries swept over them.
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"Three quarters of our fighters have been destroyed, Alyt," the Religious Caste said in horror. "How? How is this possible?"
"A lucky shot with an area weapon. Our stealth fields prevent the humans from knowing where we are, but they don't actually stop human fire. Even blind fire is dangerous, with good luck. Or bad luck, in our case."
"Alyt, 'luck' is merely a manifestation of the will of the universe. Why would the universe wish us to be defeated?"
"It does not! Have a care with the words you speak, Priest," the Alyt warned threateningly.
"The humans are engaging our remaining fighters," another officer called, this one proper Warrior Caste.
The Alyt considered. "Continue with current course and accelerate. Order the fighters that can to return. We will pick them up and leave the system."
"That brings us closer to the human guns," the Religious warned softly.
"I will not abandon our Warriors," the Alyt shot back hotly. "The humans have gotten their one lucky shot. The universe will not allow them another. Our stealth field will protect us while we recover our fighters."
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"I think the other pilots might be getting upset with us," Ironheart said cheerfully.
"Oh, the poor little duckies. My heart bleeds for them," Susan responded.
"You hardly sound as though you're filled with remorse and regret. Incoming."
Susan spun her craft and fired, Ironheart a second behind her. This time it was Susan's pulse cannons which shattered the Minbari fighter. It was her third kill of the engagement. Ironheart had also picked up three kills, which meant that between the two of them they had just taken out half of the Nials to survive the energy mine detonation. "Totally remorseful. Filled to the brim with regret. Think we'll get another?"
"There can't be many left. Certainly the other pilots are doing something."
"I don't think you're keeping up your end of the remorseful and regretful routine."
"I can't help it if these Minbari just seem to keep jumping in front of our guns."
"The other pilots won't see it that way. You have to admit that it is a little bit odd that we're always in the right position to take out these Minbari."
"I'm not complaining," Ironheart responded. Then he took another large dose of the telepathy enhancers.
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"The humans are being far more effective than expected, Alyt. Most of our fighters are gone." The Religious Caste officer was becoming very annoying indeed.
"They must have been more damaged from the energy mine than we thought. A burst that close was bound to reduce their effectiveness."
"The human warships will enter weapons range in seconds."
"Give me a targeting solution. After this debacle, I want to at least be able to say we damaged Starkiller's ship before we were forced to leave."
"Alyt, they are closing on us rapidly. Should we pull back?"
"At this range our stealth fields are completely effective. They'll never hit us, while we can cause significant damage to them. Don't be afraid, Priest. You are perfectly s..."
The deck lurched under them, sending several Minbari to the floor. The Warrior staffing damage control called out, "We're hit. Weapons fire from the Dreadnaught hit us in seven different locations. We have fires on decks three, eight, and twelve. Several sections exposed to vacuum. Damage control teams are responding."
"We were hit seven times?" the Alyt asked incredulously. "Impossible. Check again."
"The humans' heavy cruiser is firing," another officer called. The ship began to shake again, though much less violently this time.
"Multiple hits."
"Impossible!" the Alyt stated again. "Status of our stealth systems?!"
"Stealth systems operating nominally."
"Impossible!"
The Nova fired again.
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"Minbari vessel breaking up, Captain. No sign of escape pods," Takashima reported.
"Any sign of additional Minbari ships?"
"Nothing right now, Sir."
Sheridan sighed. The IPX folks were still clamoring for Minbari tech. Getting it, though, would be both dangerous and time consuming. "Best not to risk it," he muttered to himself. Louder, he ordered, "have the fighter group return to the fleet under maximum burn. All ships to follow at best speed. How many civilian vessels are still in system?"
"Not many."
"Then I guess we'd better join them and get out before the other shoe drops." He took one final look at the remains of the battle. At last, a clear victory, he thought to himself in satisfaction. No ambushes. No traps. Just two forces going head to head. Sure, we had some capabilities they were unaware of, but this was a straight up fight. And we destroyed them