From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part V Chapter 18 Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 00:35:12 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Chapter Eighteen Dungeons of The Imperial Palace Keilmar Homeworld April 11th, 2272 0900 EST Barns was very weak when he was thrown back into the cell by the large Keilmar guard. This last session had taken a lot out of him. He was continuously feeling weaker now. The more and more torture they put him through, the weaker he felt. Still, he had not given in. Not surrendered. Barns tried to recover. Tried to pull himself off the floor, forget about the pain, the thirst. After he had tried to pull himself up for a minute or two, Colonel Meade helped him sit with his back on one of the cell walls. "How bad was it sir?" Meade asked, handing the Admiral a small dish with water in it. Barns slowly sipped down the water. He breathed deeply for a moment before he replied. "I guess there's been worse." He paused for a while. "Pretty bad though." Meade tried to lighten the mood. "Those interrogators sure do enjoy what they do." "You're telling me." Barns allowed himself to flashback a few years before, trying to get his mind of the pain. Trying to get his mind off this whole situation. " Do you remember the Telepath War? Meade slightly laughed. "How could I forget." He paused. "It was awful. I thought that after the Civil War we'd never have to fight our own people again. I know the people we were fighting were telepaths but," he stopped, trying to find the right words. "They were still humans." Barns sipped some more water. The pain was starting to subside. "I think I saw more of my friends die in that war..than ever before. Even in the Minbari War, I didn't see so many people that I cared about die." "It was awful." Meade commented. "I remember when we broke the Psi Corps' control of Earth. When we found all those non-telepaths. I couldn't believe my eyes. They were treated like slaves. Not even second class citizens. Like slaves, prisoners. Not like people." "I can't even imagine what those people went through while we were out there fighting. Fighting for their freedom." Barns said as he took his last sip of water and set the dish down. "I don't want to imagine it." The room was silent for a moment after Meade's comment. "Had a lot of interesting things happen while we were on that ship didn't we." Barns thought back to his days in command of the Dark Thunder. "Some real interesting things." Barns slightly laughed before his next comment. "Did we ever have a chance to relax those five years?" Meade smiled. "We had the chance to. Usually the chance turned into another crisis though." Barns laughed but immediately became serious. "The people on that ship, were the best crew I've ever had. Probably the best I ever will have. You guys were more than just a crew to me." Barns paused. "You know, when we all went our separate ways, I promised to keep in touch with everyone. I've done a real bad job of keeping that promise." "Well," Meade said. "I can see why it'd be hard for you to keep that promise. Everyone kind of went their separate ways. When most of us retired, we all kind of scattered." "You know, I still sometimes have trouble believing I left Earth Force. It had been my whole life up until that point. I sacrificed everything for it. Friendship, happiness, love, everything. Then I just, left." Barns said emotionally. "We did the right thing sir. The Earth Force we fought with during the Minbari War, the Telepath War, it wasn't the same thing we left. Didn't stand for the same thing." Barns turned to face Meade. "So how'd they get you to join up again?" Meade thought for a moment. It wasn't an easy question. "I guess I just couldn't stay away. Admiral McDouglass called me, asking if I'd come back to command a tactical fighter group. Saying that they needed experienced pilots to lead them. I guess I just needed to do something. Something to help Earth." "Earth's now a different place than the one we," Barn quickly corrected himself. "The one I left. It's still not the same as the place I originally fought for." There was silence for a few minutes as the two officers reflected on some of their past experiences and decisions. "Sir," Meade was the first to break the silence. "During the Civil War, why did you fight on the side that you did?" This was and had always been difficult for Barns to talk about. "I never agreed with Clarks policies. As hard as it was for me to watch all those innocent people die, it was harder for me to turn against what I had loved and fought for for so long." Meade nodded. "I guess I can understand that." "Seems that after so long, we could have a break from fighting all these wars. I know that we have to fight. That we're fighting for a good cause but..." Barns stopped, not able to think of the words. "I know what you mean sir." There was a moment of silence. "I know what you mean." He paused. "It seems that no matter what battles or wars we win, there's always a new enemy, a new battle waiting on the horizon." Barns nodded. "I guess we just can't escape war. I guess all we can do is keep fighting. Keep believing that what we're doing is the right thing and pray each day that we live to see the next." With those words, the room became silent once again as night fell. From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part V Chapter 19 Date: Mon, 5 Jul 1999 00:37:32 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Chapter Nineteen Interstellar Alliance Shipyard Gamma One Three Eight Nine Earth Alliance Territory April 12th, 2272 2257 EST "All ships, hold defensive posture Delta Three. Hold your fire until you have the best shot on their ships. Try and cause as much damage as possible, make every shot count." Giovoni sat back in the command chair after a quick walk around the bridge. "What's are standing defensive force look like?" The Ranger to his left was quick to reply. "Fifteen White Stars, 3 Omega class destroyers, multiple squadrons of Hel'Zha and Thunderbolt fighters." Giovoni suddenly felt the cold breath of doom upon them. "How close are additional reinforcements?" The Ranger quickly checked the computer but, upon seeing the results was not as quick to reply. "The closest units that can assist us are sixteen hours away." Giovoni lost any sense of hope he may have had previously at that moment. "Continue to transmit priority requests for assistance." The bridge was silent for the next few minutes. The crew meditated or silently prayed to their respective gods, asking that they be allowed to live through this and fight a good battle. Then, the silence was broken. "Sir, four jump points forming within our defensive perimeter!" The Ranger who was operating the weapon console yelled out. Giovoni readied himself for the coming battle. "The Keilmar are getting more ambitious. Bring us around ready all weapons." "Sir," the Ranger's voice seemed to contain less of a premonition of doom. "They aren't Keilmar ships." Giovoni was an interesting combination of puzzled and annoyed. "Then what the hell are they?!?" The Ranger quickly studied the sensor display. "An'Shaka' class ships sir. Five of them." He glanced at the indicator light on console and found himself nearly unable to speak. "Ssssir, the lead ship is hailing us, it's the Shard of Night." Even Giovoni, who's composure had not wavered since the start seemed a bit in shock. It was not every day that he had an encounter with one of the most famous, if not the most famous ship in the Ranger fleet. "Put it through." Giovoni, like the whole bridge crew of the White Star could not help but recognize the image of the young woman on the screen. She and the rest of the her crew became quite famous among the Rangers during the plague crisis on Earth. Not waiting for any greeting from Giovoni, Anla'Shok Tri'no'kal Julia Tikopai, addressed her fellow Ranger. "Mr. Giovoni, what's the situation here?" Giovoni replied quickly. "There's a large Keilmar assault fleet on the way here, at least one hundred ships strong. If I may ask, how did you get here so quickly, we didn't show any reinforcements being closer than sixteen hours away." "That's one of the benefits about this class of ship." Julia commented. "We jumped ahead of an Narn battle group that we were supporting. They're on their way here but won't arrive for some time." Giovoni sighed. "We sure could use them. I don't know how we're going to be able to repel an attacking force of this size with our standing forces." Julia's response was quick and confident. "If they send in a scouting group, we have to destroy it quickly. Before any of the ships can report on the strength of our forces. If their full fleet jumps in, then we try to stay as close in as possible with them. Use speed and maneuverability to our advantage. The real power on the Keilmar cruisers lies in their long range weaponry." Giovoni was quick to bring a counterpoint. "However their rapid fire defensive guns have never failed to punch holes in our ships." "We stand a better chance against them then we do against their polaron weapons. It's our best option Mr. Giovoni. I'm the senior officer here, it's what we're going to do." Giovoni gave a partly sarcastic nod. "What if we fail to destroy the scout group and they report back to the main fleet?" "Failing to destroy the scout group is not an option Mr. Giovoni." The five An'Shaka' cruisers closed formation with the rest of the defending ships. They had barely stopped moving when three jump points formed in front of them. Out came a plethora of Keilmar fighters and gunboats. They were immediately greeted by a barrage of weapon's fire from the defending ships. Giovoni quickly turned left to give his orders. "Target enemy gunboats, take us in hard and fast. White Stars Ninety Seven and Ninety Nine, follow us in!" The three White Stars punched their way through the lines of fighters that were in front of the Keilmar gunboats. The fighters scored minor hits against the Alliance vessels but these were negated by their advanced defensive systems. The fire from the Keilmar gunboats however proved more damaging. A single hit blew off one of the side gun assemblies on White Star Ninety Seven. The ships skillfully and carefully maneuvered to avoid the incoming beam fire from the gunboats, all the while firing their own beam and pulse systems at the enemy. As Giovoni's small group of White Stars engaged the enemy at close quarters, the rest of the defending ships fended off the attacking fighters and provided fire support against the gunboats. The bridge of the Shard of Night shook as another volley of the fighter's pulse weapons impacted against its hull. Julia gripped her chair to avoid being thrown to the floor. Allowing herself and her crew only a microsecond to recover from the impact, she issued her next order. "Target incoming gunboats, ready main guns!" The new tactical officer of the ship, a Ranger who's name she was able to remember only part of the time, replied. "Main gun ready. At your command." This man was young, inexperienced. Nothing to compare to this ship's former tactical officer. Case in point, none of this new crew she had been assigned truly compared to the old crew. The one that she lost to this war. Julia refocused herself on the battle. She watched the approach of the incoming gunboats, roughly calculating the time until they were in optimum firing range in her head. She relied on her Ranger concentration training especially at this point. As the two gunboats drew closer to the Shard, the crew was nervous with anticipation wondering if she would ever give the order to, "Fire!" The energy blast from the main gun on the Shard of Night tore through space. The powerful beam impacted against the hull of a Keilmar gunboat. Within seconds, the gunboat was no more. As the other gunboat broke away from it's course to attack, secondary batteries on the Shard opened up, piercing the hull of the enemy ship in three places, sending it adrift. The drifting hulk of that ship was blasted into pieces by a momentary burst from the heavy laser cannon on one of the defending Omega Destroyers. "The shipyard reports that four squadrons of the Keilmar fighters have broken through and are attacking it." One of the Rangers reported. Giovoni was quick to act. It had been made very clear that the safety of the shipyard was the top priority of the defending ships. "Take us in after them. Order the Thunderbolts and Hel'Zhas to form a flying wedge around us." The White Star executed a perfect one hundred eighty degree turn and headed quickly toward the shipyard. The defending fighters followed their orders and quickly assumed formation with the advancing Alliance ship. Giovoni gave the order for them to hold fire, even though they were now well within acceptable weapons' range. Even as they drew all the more closer, Giovoni ordered that they hold fire. Then, when they entered the range at which they should have been dog fighting, Giovoni gave the order. The White Star and fighters opened up with the full potential of their weapon systems. The formation they were in proved perfect for defense as an enemy fighter could not get close enough to engage them without being shot down. Within a matter of minutes, the small group had removed the threat of those fighters. The battle was going equally well for the rest of the Alliance ships. The remaining gunboats and fighters had moved to engage the Alliance fleet close in. However they were being vastly outgunned by the advanced defensive weapons on the `An'Shaka class ships. This, pared with them being constantly engaged by the White Stars and fighters, led to their eventual defeat. Julia's composure remained calm, though she did wipe the small amount of sweat that had accumulated on her forehead off. She allowed her crew, this new young group of officer to calm down for a moment. Then she asked the important question. "Did any of them get a transmission out?" The operations officer checked their sensors and cross referenced with two other ships in the fleet before giving his answer. A simple no. Julia ordered a hyperspace probe launched to determine the status of the approaching Keilmar battle group. Hopefully her plan had worked and they were breaking off their attack. Results from the probe did not come back as quickly as she would like. Though, it probably was not possible for them to come back as quickly as she'd like. Finally, after a lot of waiting, they did come back. While the speed was not what she could have hoped for, the results of the scans were. The Keilmar fleet was breaking off and heading back to their territory. As a cheer went up on the bridge, the operations officer informed Julia of an incoming message from High Councilor Westcastle with orders for them to pull back to Babylon 5. Space Station Babylon 5 Orbit of Epsilon 3 A Few Minutes Later Captain Taylor and Director Halloran breathed a sigh of relief as the report came in from the Shard of Night. The Keilmar fleet was pulling back. While they would inevitably try and strike at the shipyard, at least now the Alliance had time to bolster their defenses in that area. Taylor packed the papers he had been reviewing into a folder. "Well," he said to Tessa. "I'm going to get a few hours of rest before tomorrow, why don't you do the same." Tessa nodded. "Good idea." The two of them were walking out of the War Room when one of the officers approached Taylor. "Sir," he said with the direct voice that many younger officers had. "We just received a highly coded transmission from Minbar. Entil'Zha Delen and High Councilor Westcastle will be arriving here in two days. They want to meet with you immediately when they do." Taylor nodded and continued walking off. He didn't know what the two senior most people in the Rangers were coming here for. Nor did he know why they needed to speak with him immediately when they did. He wasn't worried about it at this point though. He still had a couple days ahead of him before then. A couple days in which he still needed to be focused on trying to win this war. From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part V Chapter 20 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:10:26 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Chapter Twenty ISAS Victory Somewhere In Keilmar Territory April 15th, 2272 0800 EST These meetings were becoming routine. No they had already become routine, now they were just becoming, tiresome. It seemed that the Captains of the Victory, the Dark Thunder and the Nighthawk had nothing to discuss anymore. At first when they were behind enemy lines, when they first started searching for Barns, they always had something to discuss. Some new idea, some new theory. A thought on how they may be able to avoid Keilmar patrols or modify their systems to make it appear to Keilmar sensors that they were Keilmar ships. Now, anymore it seemed like all they did was give a status report on their ship. Talk about if they had heard anything new from the war and leave. When she was walking into the conference room of the Victory, Leslie Griffon felt that this daily meeting was going to be much the same. Captains MacDonald and Summers were already sitting at the conference table, both nursing cups of coffee. They both greeted her with good mornings when she walked in. She returned the greeting as she sat down and pored herself a cup of coffee. Captain Summers eventually broke the silence between them. "Anyone have anything new to report?" Griffon was preparing for the inevitable no from all of them as she took another sip of her coffee. Captain MacDonald surprised her when he said that he did have something. This immediately gave him the attention of both of the other Captains. "I've been reviewing the information we downloaded from the comm relay," MacDonald began his report. "There's a lot of data in there. What I've found most interesting though is several highly coded tranmissions routed through there from Babylon 5 to the Keilmar Homeworld." Both Summers' and Griffon's expressions showed feelings of shock. This was something that they had definitley not been expecting. In fact, Griffon would have prefered to have just another boring meeting as opposed to what she was hearing now. "Why would someone on Babylon 5 want to send transmissions to the Keilmar Homeworld?" Griffon asked. MacDonald knew that she was saying it more as a commentary than a question. He couldn't be expected to know why someone would be doing that. "I don't know. All I know is that there have been about five messages sent since the start of the war. I've only been able to decode one, it's text based and the shortest of the bunch. It contained the name of the ship Admiral Barns commanded when he was captured along with it's ID and transponder codes. This message was sent only days before he launched the attack." Griffon burst out. "You're saying that someone Babylon 5 betrayed him to the Keilmar?!? Who the hell would do something like that!" "Someone who was given a good deal by the Keilmar." Captain Summers was remaining relatively calm. He was just as mad as Captain Griffon appeared to be but he did not allow it to show. "Why would someone betray him like that! Betray the Alliance like that!" Griffon's emotions were displaying more than usual lately. As if this news about Barns had caused something her to stir. "Because some people don't give a damn about honor or loyalty or anything else like that. All they care about is themselves and how they can wind up with more money or a better house or anything like that." MacDonald commented, also remaining calm. Griffon calmed down. She knew being angry would not do any good. She couldn't help Jerry by being angry and all she cared about right now was helping him. "Mac do you have any idea who sent those messages?" She asked after taking a few deep breathes. MacDonald shook his head. "No, I can't trace who it was. The person appeared to be logged onto the comm system at B5 as an anonymous user. They also look like they covered their tracks very well. When I decode some of the large messages that appear to be voice based, I may be able to run an identification on it but, there's no telling how long that'll take." Griffon looked down for a moment and looked back up at MacDonald. "Mac, you have to decode those messages, find out who it is before that traitor manages to do anymore damage." Summers spoke up next. "Do you think we should risk sending a signal to Babylon 5 to tell them about this?" "Granted they need to know about this but," MacDonald paused. "I don't think it's worth the risk of us being detected. If we're detected, then there's no way we can help the Admiral or the Alliance." "I agree. Once we find him then we can go back and give the Alliance all the info we have, but we have to find him first." Griffon added, her voice was filled with what could almost be caused sadness. "I agree as well." Summers added. "All right then, we continue as we have been." MacDonald continued. "Now to normal buisness." Then, just as easily as that, it was back to the routine. The routine that they had established time and time over again. Griffon spaced off momentarily. She knew, somehow, that something was about to change. From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part V Chapter 21 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:11:38 -0500 Chapter Twenty One Space Station Babylon 5 Orbit of Epsilon 3 April 16th, 2272 0730 EST "Captain, the Shard of Night just came out of the jump gate she's requesting approach clearance and her commanding officer wants to come aboard." Lieutenant Jeffries' voice displayed a hint of nervousness. As did his erratic punching of controls at the main station in C&C. Lochley rested her head in her hand and massaged it with her fingers. It had already been a long day. All Lochley needed was anything that could cause her anymore frustration. "All right, tell Ms. Tikopai that I'll meet her in the docking area." Captain Lochley was nearly out the door of C&C when Captain Taylor started to enter. He paused when he saw her though, a clear sign that she was who he needed to speak with. "Captain, we just received word, the White Star carrying Delen and High Councilor Westcastle should be here by about sixteen hundred today." Lochley sighed, she was not really in the mood for this at the time. "Great, I trust you can handle the formalities there?" She said, her voice carrying a mildly sarcastic tone in it. Taylor nodded. "Yes," he paused briefly. "You on your way to meet Tikopai?" Lochley's only reply was a slight but far from subtle nod. Taylor seemed in an above average mood which, having to deal with him only added to Lochley's apparent frustration with this day in general. "Great," Taylor said, clapping his hands together. "I'll go with you." Without any further words between the two of them, they left on their way to the docking area. Matthew MacDonald rolled over in the bed so he could see the face of Sara McDouglass. She was still asleep. He smiled when he looked at her and planted a small kiss on her forehead. She smiled as if she were having a pleasant dream. After a moment, her eyes slowly opened. She smiled upon seeing Matthew lying next to her. "Good morning." She said softly. He smiled. "So tell me, how long do you think your sister can keep pulling strings to keep us off duty?" He said softly with a hint of humor in his voice. She laughed slightly. "Technically you're not off duty, your ship is stationed here to guard the station." She put his arms around his neck and kissed him. "But I think she can keep that going for a while." She said with a laugh. MacDonald got out of bed and began putting his uniform on. "With that in mind, I need to get back to my ship. For a while at least, but I'll see you later tonight." He blew her a kiss and left the room. She lay back in her bed. Lying here in this soft bed, in these large quarters, it didn't feel like there was a war going on at all. She sometimes felt bad, knowing that she was here in these comfortable quarters while so many other people were sleeping in bunks or something worse. She ate large, hot meals everyday while many out there had to eat combat rations. She still thought about all of her friends out there, especially Jerry. She worried about him, no one even knew if he was alive or not. She was glad to have someone like Matt. Someone who cared about her so much. She started to get out of bed when her link beep. She quickly located it on one of her bedside tables and toggled it on. "McDouglass go," her voice was filled with surprise, she hadn't had to use her link for a while. "Captain," the voice was that of Lieutenant Jeffries. "You have a signal coming in from Earth Force HQ." She remained silent for a moment, thinking of what this might be about. "Put it through please." The communication's monitor in the room flickered to show an Earth Alliance insignia with words saying please stand by flashing across it. Her shuttle had docked ten minutes ago and she still wasn't here. It normally did not take that long to walk from the docking bay to customs. Lochley was not worried or anything of the sort by this, she just found it odd. Finally, Anla'Shok Tri'no'kal Julia Tikopai came walking out of the docking area. She said nothing merely walked up to Captain Lochley and shook her hand. Lochley first noticed the woman's strong grip. "Welcome to Babylon 5. It's an honor to have you here." "Thank you Captain." Julia's response seemed cold. Captain Taylor was next to speak. "I've had quarters arranged for you." "Thank you. I'ld like permission for my crew to have restricted leave while we're here. We've been in combat for a while." Lochley smiled. "Of course no problem." Julia nodded and walked off. Lochley and Taylor exchanged brief glances and went their separate ways. White Star Prime En-Route To Babylon 5 1000 EST "And you're okay?" President Sheridan's look expressed deep concern, as did the tone of his voice. Delen smiled softly. "Yes, we have yet to run into any Keilmar assault groups or scout fleets. Patrols assured us that the hyperspace routes to Babylon 5 were relatively secure. Is David all right?" Sheridan laughed slightly. "He misses you." Delen smiled at hearing this. Sheridan paused and breathed deeply. "I was thinking, maybe David should go spend some time with my folks on Earth." Delen knew the answer to her next question but chose to ask it anyway. "Why were you thinking that?" Sheridan sighed. "I just think he'd be safer there. It's farther from Keilmar territory than Minbar is. Probably not as high on their list of targets either." Delen nodded in silent, sad agreement. It was a horrible thing when their love for their son forced them to send him away. "Perhaps it would be a good idea. For a little while at least." She fought to hold back a tear. Sheridan nodded, obviously being affected by this as well. "Hopefully that's all it will need to be is a little while. I'll make arrangements to have a White Star take him to Earth immediately." "Tell him that I will contact him when I get a chance." "I will." He paused briefly. "I love you Delen." She touched the screen. "And I you." On that note, the transmission ended. Space Station Babylon 5 Three Hours Later Captain Horack sat quietly at the small table, sipping her drink. She, being a normally patient person, found this feeling of impatience interesting. It was not like Commander Guthrie to keep her waiting for this long. Hopefully it meant that he had gathered the information they needed and that it showed what they wanted it to show. That the Alliance did not know what Earth was planning. The Allinace would be told eventually but, for now it was necessary that it remain a secret. If the security of this project was compromised, even in the slightest bit, months of work would be ruined and any hope to win this war would be lost. Finally, the Commander sat down next to her. "Well?" She asked. He shook his head. "They don't know. They're a little suspicious about Earth shipyards but they don't know or suspect anything beyond that." This was a relief. "Good, now let's get off this station." With no further words, the two of them left. 1530 EST Julia Tikopai joined Captain Taylor in waiting at the docking area for the Entil'Zha and the High Councilor. More correctly, he joined her. Upon his arrival she admitted that she had been waiting for several minutes. It did not take long after their shuttle docked for Delen and Westcastle, accompanied by several Rangers to come walking from the docking area. Delen approached Captain Taylor, Westcastle and the Rangers stood behind her. "Ambassador, High Councilor, welcome to Babylon 5." Delen found that Taylor's voice was carrying a bit more authority with it than the last time she had spoke with him in person. A likely result of the job that he had been stuck with for weeks now. "Thank you Captain," Delen said strongly. "But please do not address me as Ambassador, I am here as the Entil'Zha of the Rangers." Taylor nodded. "As you wish. May I ask, why are you here?" "To receive an update on the progress of the war." Taylor found this curious. "With all do respect, you can do that just as easily through our office on Minbar and the daily reports that we send." "Captain," she said. "Your reports are quite thorough but I want to see this from your perspective. "All right." Taylor conceded that nothing was going to get accomplished by them standing there. "I'll show you to your quarters." Delen nodded in agreeance and glanced at Westcastle. "You go ahead," he glanced at Julia who had remained curiously silent. "I'll catch up." The rest of them walked off. Westcastle and Tikopai stood still until they were out of sight. "How was the trip?" Julia asked, still looking the direction the others had left in. "The same that the trip from Minbar usually is." She glanced at a group of people arriving from the docking area. "Perhaps we should move away from here." They started walking slowly away. "How's the new crew working out for you?" "What can I say," she replied. "It's a new crew. It's not the crew that I've been working with for five years, not the crew that I know and knows me." "I'm sorry, I know that it was probably the best crew you've ever had but we needed them at other places. There is a war going on. We need the best people in the places they can do the most good. Which brings me to something else." Julia stopped walking. "This other thing being?" "I've got new orders for you." They ducked into a place where they wouldn't be heard. "Accurate intelligence on the Keilmar movements and operations behind enemy lines is somewhat lacking. Your orders are to go on an extended mission behind enemy lines. You'll gather as much intel as possible and send it to us whenever it is safe to do so." "Just one question, what exactly does extended mean?" Julia asked with a half smile on her face. "It depends," Westcastle answered. "Three to four months." He did not seem to be pleased with what he was, what he had to say. Julia nodded. She wasn't too thrilled with her orders but she could think of worse things to be doing. "When do we leave?" Westcastle sighed. "As soon as your ship is repaired and resupplied." Julia smiled and allowed herself to laugh slightly. "Don't worry, I haven't failed to come home yet have I?" He laughed and they went their separate ways. "Therefore by using the White Stars to conduct hit and run attacks against the Keilmar, we've managed to most of their ships back behind their lines. This is allowing us to continue to fortify our positions and rebuild our defenses." Taylor concluded his brief summary on how the war was progressing. "Captain," Delen began. "On five separate occasions, White Stars that were conducting your attacks have had the opportunity to strike at primary Keilmar targets. Each time however you have recalled them. Why?" Taylor had seen this coming. The one question he did not want asked. "While those targets could have fallen I don't feel that our losses would have been justified in any of the cases." "Rangers do not fear death Captain." "I didn't mean to insult the Rangers. I realize that they would have given their lives to destroy those targets. From a military perspective however, those losses would not have been justified. I don't think I need to remind you that this is a military operation." Taylor had pushed the line with that comment and he knew it. "Captain," Delen stated. "The Rangers are an integral part of this military operation. To ensure that the Rangers play the role they need to play, I've obtained permission for a Ranger liaison to be stationed here. He will be arriving within the week." Taylor knew he was not going to win if this deteriorated into an argument. "Very well, is there anything else?" "No," saying nothing else, Delen left the room. It had been a while since Sarah McDouglass had walked the corridors of an Earth Force destroyer. While these of an Omega class ship weren't the same as the ones from a Hades class that she was accustomed to, they still seemed familiar. When she reached the bridge, Matthew MacDonald was apparently happy to see her. He greeted her and asked what she was doing on the ship. "Matt," she said softly, holding his hands in hers. "I spoke with HQ earlier, the Captain of the Cerberus was promoted and they need someone to take his place. Because of my experience with the class, I've been chosen." "That's great," he said smiling. "We should celebrate, when do you have to leave?" She sighed. "Unfortunately right away. I've got a shuttle to catch in an hour." "Darn, well, look me up the next time you're through here, we'll celebrate then," he grinned slightly. "Count on it," she said and left the bridge. "Babylon Control has cleared us for departure," the Ranger operating the Operation's station on the Shard of Night reported. Julia sighed. "All right, let's get on with it. Prepare to activate jump engines and." "I'm picking something up," the tactical officer burst in. "What is it?" "Earth Force destroyer, Warlock class. Looks like it's trying to sneak out of here unnoticed. It's essentially luck that I picked it up." Julia took a moment to consider this interesting report. "Can you track it's course?" "Yes Ma'am, it's headed for an out of the way system. Pretty far away." "Why don't we check it out. Engage darklight mode, we'll make a stop by where they're going on our way to Keilmar territory." "With all respect," the helmsman noted. "Their destination isn't exactly on our way to Keilmar territory." "It's not?" Julia said with a smile. Though most of this crew had not been with her for long they knew not to question her when her mind was made up. The battle cruiser Shard of Night shot into hyperspace. From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part VI: Opening Moves Chapter 22 Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:12:55 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Part VI: Opening Moves Chapter Twenty Two ISAS Shard of Night Hyperspace April 20th, 2272 1940 EST Some of the crew were beginning to think that they would be following this Earth Force destroyer for a considerably long time. Much longer than they already had been. The ship didn't appear to have any destination, it simply appeared to be heading further and further into hyperspace. Even the ship's captain, Julia Tikopai was beginning to wonder where they were going and if they would ever get there. She had seen a lot of the galaxy in her five years on this ship and she knew of no outpost, Earth or otherwise that was out this far. Cordelia Keynes, the ship's new operations officer and one of the few new crew members Julia had grown used to having on her bridge, spoke up. "Captain, the destroyer is powering up it's jump engines." "Quickly, anything near here they could be headed for?" Victoria Needham, the ship's new executive officer quickly checked a display and answered Julia's question. "No, nothing." "Their jumping," the report came from Keynes. Julia turned to face the center of the bridge. Perhaps now they would get some answers. "Stick close by them, follow them out through their jump point." The site of exiting out of hyperspace, back into normal space was nothing new to any of the crew which was now watching it. What they saw in this particular area however, was. They were speechless, none of them had ever seen anything like it before. Thousands of Earth and Minbari warships, all of them holding in formation with each other. Julia was the first to be able to speak. "How many ships are out there?" Keynes took her eyes away from the fleet in front of them to check the scanner readouts. "Sensors haven't completed a count yet. Right now the count is three thousand four hundred eight three capital and support ships." Julia shook her head. This made no sense. "How could they have assembled a fleet of this size? Last I heard their shipyards weren't running at peak efficiency and why would they hold it back from the Alliance?" Needham was the first to answer. "I don't know but we may want to contact the Alliance." Julia started to speak but stopped when she head the voice of the ship's tactical officer, Geran McTeig. "Uh..ummm..." He seemed to have lost the ability to speak coherently. "Yes McTieg!" Julia snapped. "One of their attack wings just broke off from the main group. Forty ships headed for our location." McTieg finally said. "They shouldn't be able to see us. Are all systems functioning properly?" "Yes Ma'am," Keynes quickly answered. An alarm went off at her console. "Focused scans on us from those ships." "Helm get us out of here!" Anla'Shok Selvahn guided the ship in a quick turn and engaged the engines at maximum away from the approaching ships. As the distance between them widened, one of the Earth ships, an Omega destroyer, fired what appeared to be a warning shot at the Shard of Night from one of it's forward heavy lasers. "Is it my imagination or did they just fire at us." Julia said sarcastically. "Ready jump engines let's get out of here." "Jump engines rea.." Selvahn was cut off by Keynes. "I don't know how they did it but they've accessed our data banks, they're deleting our sensors records since we jumped in." "Helm, jump now! We may be able to save some of it." Almost at the same time as she gave the order, the ship went into hyperspace. Julia took a deep breath and looked around the bridge. The crew seemed stunned, understandably considering what had just happened. "Helm," her voice broke the silence. "Keep us off primary hyperspace routes and set a course for Babylon 5." The Alliance needed to know about what had just happened. "They got all of the records, we've got nothing to prove what happened back there." Keynes turned to face her CO. Julia sighed. If they went back with just an accusation, both Earth and the Minbari would deny it. "Change course for Keilmar territory, let's get on with our mission. Send a coded message the ISAS Night's Dagger, attention Val'Na Klairika with the coordinates we were just at attached." "Yes Ma'am," Keynes paused. "Anything else?" "No." No more words were spoken on the bridge of the ISAS Shard of Night. The crew was left with silence and their own thoughts. Contemplating what they had just seen, what had just happened and what it could mean. From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part VII Balancing Factors Chapter 23 Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 11:36:22 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Part VII: Balancing Factors Chapter Twenty Three ISAS Victory Somewhere In Keilmar Territory July 18th, 2272 1045 EST This had grown old. Roaming around Keilmar territory, accomplishing nothing. They were no closer to rescuing Barns than they were when they started four months ago. Even Captain Griffon was beginning to tire of this and she had been more committed than any of them were to finding him. The bridge was quiet, more so than usual. No one knew exactly what to say. They all simply attended to their duties. "Sir," Commander MacKenzie, who was sitting at one of the bridge stations, broke the silence. "We've got a message coming in from the Dark Thunder." Captain Griffon's ship had been sent ahead of the Victory and the Nighthawk to scout Keilmar fortifications. MacDonald was rather glad to hear from them, since it was a fair indication that they were alive. "Put it through." Griffon's image appeared on the view screen. "Mac, we've found something very interesting." "Being?" The image on the screen shifted to what appeared to be a Keilmar shipyard, a large Keilmar shipyard. "Judging by the intel we had when we left and the location, this is the main Keilmar shipyard." "I didn't see any ships stationed there, it looks like it's defenseless." MacDonald's voice had more than a hint of question in it. "Our scans show the same. The only thing present is the defense grid." MacDonald scratched his chin. "Tell the Nighthawk and get back here as soon as possible. I need to meet with you and Captain Summers immediately, we may have a chance to score a crippling blow against the Keilmar." The transmission ended and MacDonald left the bridge for the conference room. "We don't know what their defense grid is like! It could be more than enough to destroy all of our ships!" Summers was not typically the one to back away from a fight but the idea of losing his ship also did not appeal to him. "I think it's worth the risk." MacDonald commented. "Why do you think that?" Griffon asked. "That shipyard is close to their homeworld, where we think Barns is being held. If we attack it, we can hurt the Keilmar and help the Alliance but it also may draw off ships from their homeworld. Then we can go in and rescue the Admiral." "All right," Summers conceded. "Say we do get to the Keilmar homeworld, what then, how do we find him?" "I'll know where he is." Griffon said softly. "What?" Summers was almost confused now. "Trust me," she said. "I'll know." "This is nu." MacDonald cut Summers off. "Trust her Captain." Summers laughed. "Huh, well I've never been one to walk away from a fight. When do we attack?" "I say we go in thirty six hours." "I agree," Griffon added. "All right then," Summers said with a nod. "We move in thirty six hours. We take out the shipyard and keep going until we rescue Admiral Barns." "Anything interesting happen while I was away?" Griffon asked as she walked onto the bridge of the Dark Thunder. "Well," the Lieutenant at the operations station hesitated. "Yes?" Griffon stopped at his station and looked at him. "I've been tracking something. At first I thought it was just a sensor ghost but then I realized it was following us." "Do you know what it is?" "No, can't tell. The only reason we can see it at all is because of the Shadow-tech in this thing." Griffon nodded. "Contact the Nighthawk ask them to verify our readings." "Yes Ma'am." It did not take long for them to get a response from the Nighthawk. "They confirm." "All right," Griffon said. "Do a focused scan directly on whatever that thing is, that should get their attention." A moment later an indicator alert went off at the operations station. "We're being hailed Captain, from whatever it is out there. It's identifying itself as the ISAS Shard of Night." "That's Julia Tikopai's ship. Put it through." On the main communications monitor, the image of Julia Tikopai in what appeared to be a heavily damaged bridge appeared. "Captain Griffon, I'm glad we found you." "What happened?" Griffon asked, noticing the damage on the bridge. "We engaged a Keilmar patrol group that we detected headed for Alliance territory. Unfortunately they called in some reinforcements, two cruiser groups. They damaged our darklight system, we just got it back online recently." "Well I guess my next question would be why are you in Keilmar territory?" Julia hesitated for a moment. "I need to speak with you Captain. If I can come onboard I'll fill you in." Griffon nodded and the transmission ended. She turned to the operations officer. "Tell Captains MacDonald and Summers that they may want to be over here in a few minutes." "So we've been behind enemy lines since then." Julia stroked the cup of tea in front of her which she had not taken a sip out of. She had neglected to inform the other ship Captains of what had happened "on their way to Keilmar territory." "You still haven't said why you came looking for us." MacDonald commented. "Before we were attacked by those cruiser groups we monitored a coded transmission from the Keilmar Homeworld to their Emperor, who's off on some visit to one of their colonies. It states that Admiral Barns," the mention of the Admiral's name quickly gave her the undivided attention of the other officers. "Along with another prisoner, Colonel Nathan Meade, will be moved to a prison camp in about seven days. Following a scheduled interrogation session for the Admiral with one of their most powerful telepaths." "Did it state why they were moving him to the prison camp?" Summers asked. Julia nodded. "The prison camp has what we would call, dark age style interrogation devices. Accept, it's very likely they'll be used to simply kill him very slowly." "Oh my God," Griffon said softly. "We've got to get him out of there." "Agreed," MacDonald stated. He turned to face Julia. "We have a plan that should allow us to go in and get the Admiral out. We could sure use another ship." Julia considered what he was asking her momentarily. She knew that these were decidedly not her orders. "My ship could use some repairs." MacDonald nodded. "I'll dispatch repair drones immediately. Since the Victory and your ship use similar tech they should be able to patch it up." She nodded and smiled. "Well then Captain, what's your plan." From: "Gary Boshears" Subject: "Darkness Wakes" Part VII Chapter 24 Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 11:37:53 -0500 Warnings and disclaimers in previous chapters. Chapter Twenty Four Interrogation Room Keilmar Palace Keilmar Homeworld July 20th, 2272 1836 EST Barns was growing tired of sitting here. Sitting here and nothing happening. Though sitting was a preferable option to torture, Barns hated waiting. He would almost welcome a start to the torture since it would put an end to the waiting. He heard a door open. A single figure, a young, thin Keilmar female, dressed in what appeared to be a ceremonial outfit walked in. She sat down across from the Admiral. "Admiral, how easy this is depends on you. You can either make it easy or hard, it's your choice." Barns gave her a sarcastic laugh. "I'd think after a few months of this that your people would have learned your not getting anything out of me." She smiled. "I have a bit better way of getting information out of you. I probe your mind for key events and make you relive them. This serves as a way for me to break down barriers and locate critical information." Not allowing him to say anything further, she delved into his mind. Then, everything felt as if it had so many years ago. The sun was warm, the food tasted the same. It all felt real. Barns, a second year cadet at the Academy, was eating lunch with Lillian McDouglass, who was in her fourth year. "Sarah seems to be adjusting well," McDouglass stated. "Thanks for helping her out." Barns nodded. "Well, I know what it's like for a freshman to have someone help them along." He said with a smile. "How's your mom doing," she asked. Barns put down his sandwich and sighed. "She's still not too happy about my decision to go into Earth Force, what with what happened to my dad." "Well I can understand how it would be hard on her, you being her only son." Before Barns could respond, the image faded and he was once again in the interrogation room. "No," the woman said. "That's not what I'm looking for. It's somewhere nearby." Barns was sitting alone in his quarters, alone at his desk. He just kept staring at the letter. It stated that he was to report for immediate service onboard the EAS Majestic, a ship operating on the front lines of the Minbari War. He was hesitant to contact his mom, though he knew he had to. He was ready to activate the communication system when he heard the door chime. "Come in," he said softly. The door opened and Sarah McDouglass quickly came through. "I just heard," her voice seemed frantic. "When do you leave?" Barns spoke softly. "I ship out on a transport at thirteen hundred tomorrow." She through her arms around him. Several tears rolled down her cheek. "Promise me Jerry," she had trouble talking. "Promise that you'll come home. Promise me that you'll come home safely." "I promise." He got her to look at him. "What do you say we go do something, you and I?" She calmed down and stopped crying. "All right, what do you want to do?" "Let's catch a shuttle for New York, have dinner, take a walk." "I'd like that." "Good," Barns said with a smile. The city seemed quieter than usual this day. Most likely because of the recent news about the war with the Minbari. It seemed to have everyone worried, understandably worried. Barns and McDouglass had been walking side by side for some time now. They weren't really headed anywhere, they were simply enjoying each others company. They also seemed to be the only ones who didn't have the war first on their mind. They stopped to watch an ISN update on the war. During the course of it, Sarah rubbed her hands over her shoulders, it was chilly this night. Barns took off his leather flight jacket and put it on her. Her only response was a smile. The update ended and they continued walking. "Jerry," she said softly. "You've been such a good friend to me. I don't know what I'd do without you. You've helped me through, so, so much. Please don't leave me. Please come back to me." "I will, I promise you." "I love you Jerry." All he did was continue to hold her in his arms. "Yes," the woman said. "That's it. Those three words, coupled with everything else you know about her. The fact that she is now in love with a man that you despise because of what he once did to her. The fact that you once almost had to kill her. That makes this event very powerful." Barns continued his patrol route. The Starfury fighter was handling well today. It was one of the new ones they had received as a replacement for some lost to a Minbari raid two weeks earlier. "Control this is Alpha Lead, not picking anything up. Looks like intelligence was wrong. Permission to head home." Barns continued to survey the area, both with his sensors and eyes. "Copy that," the flight controllers voice came through. "You are cleared to land." "Confirmed." Barns started his course pack to the Majestic. Suddenly, he felt what could have only been a Minbari weapon striking his top port engine. He struggled to stabalize his fighter as the Minbari one came into view. "Barns to Majestic you've got incoming. Repeat, incoming fighter." It was as he finished his transmission that the enemy fighter turned to face him. Knowing nothing else to do, Barns discharged the pulse cannons on his fighter, striking the Minbari. It spiraled out of control briefly but quickly regained a firing position on Barns fighter. The Minbari fighter fired striking the aft of Barns' fighter. The explosion drove large pieces of metal into Barns' back, shoulder and leg. Barns could barely move with the pain but he guided his fighter around to where he had a view of the Minbari. The fighter was hard to see against the blackness of space. He fired his six concussion rockets in a circular pattern around what he believes to be the fighter. The explosion illuminated the Minbari fighter giving Barns a clear target to shoot for. He pulled the trigger sending multiple pulses into the Minbari fighter, destroying it. He breathed deeply, trying to ignore the pain that was stabbing through him. "Barns to control, I'm headed back." "Doe to your injuries, it's doubtful that you'll ever be able to fly again." The ship's doctor was looking for Barns to want to talk, but he did not. He simply left for his quarters. It was definitely not an everyday thing for the ship's Captain to show up in a fighter pilot's quarters. Barns was hoping that the reason the Captain had stopped by today was not simply a sympathy visit. "Barns," the Captain spoke with authority. "I'll come straight to the point. The XO is being reassigned to one of the fleet carriers, I need a good man to take his place. You've shown a lot of talent the past couple of months and your academy record for simulated command is exemplary. I want you to be my new XO." Barns nodded. "Then I guess I accept." "Good," the Captain said and left the room. "Barns to engine room," he coughed, a result of the smoke that had filled the bridge. The Minbari cruiser had broken off it's attack, probably going to join their fleet that was massing for an attack on Earth. "Go sir," the voice from the engine room came through on the bridge. "How long until you can get jump engines and weapons back online?" There was another small explosion. "Realistically sir, I don't think they'll ever come back online." Barns shook his head. "We can still jump now, you have four hours to make sure we don't blow up when we do and you have until we reach Earth to get my some kind of weapon working on this thing. Barns out." He turned off the comm. "Sir," the ship's operations officer, a Lieutenant Commander spoke up. "You can't seriously be thinking about taking us back to Earth! We'll be killed." "Yes, we will," Barns was not going to lie to himself or the crew, not now. "But we'll be dying in defense of our home. You heard the President, for every ten minutes the fleet can hold off the Minbari, hundreds of civilians can escape." "It's not worth it sir. We can't fight, we're crippled what can we do except give the boneheads something else to shoot at! Truthfully, I don't think you should be making these decisions." Barns was essentially ignoring him up until now. Now, he had Barns' undivided attention. "The Captain is dead, I'm the XO. I'm in command." "You don't deserve to be commanding a ship, you came onboard just out of the Academy. I was on this ship two years before you." "The fact remains, I am commanding this ship." The ops officer drew his side arm. "Not anymore. I'm relieving you." Barns started at him in the eyes. "Security," two guards looked at him. "Place this man under arrest on the charge of mutiny." The security officers `escorted' him off the bridge. Barns heard him say one last thing. "You're leading us all to our deaths Barns!" Lieutenant Commander Timothy Robinson would not soon forget what happened. Barns returned his attention to the matters at hand. "All right people, let's get ready for our last fight." Admiral Barns was sweating, those were some memories he did not care to relive. The woman continued to read him. "When you reached Earth the war was over. The Minbari had surrendered." Barns did not respond an any way. "Captain," the Doctor said to get Barns' attention. "She's all right. I think that she'll make a full recovery." Barns was relieved. He nodded several times and looked up. It was apperant he had been crying by his look. "Can I see her?" The Doctor nodded. "Just one thing Captain, you're sure you don't know what happened?" Barns' tone turned harsh. "Very." Lieutenant Leslie Griffon seemed happy to see Barns. "Hi," her voice was still weak. Barns held her hand. He didn't quite know what to say. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know that it would do that." "It's not your fault." She squeezed his hand tighter. "I love you Leslie, I always will." "I love you too." After she spoke those words, Barns did what he knew he had to and walked away. He could not believe the site. Captain Barns had always found the Earth Alliance capital building beautiful, but not now. The buildings were covered in marks from weapon fire. The ground was soaked in blood. Personnel were still working to remove the dozens of dead bodies. "You should've seen it sir," Commander MacDonald commented. "They grabbed whatever they could use as a weapon and charged forward. They didn't care about their lives, all they cared about was freeing themselves." Barns could not take his eyes off all the death that was around him. "To tell you the truth Commander, I don't think I'd want to see it. It's something nobody should ever have to see." "Captain," Commander Meade's voice came from behind them. "We have the preliminary losses report." Barns turned around and nodded, a signal for the Commander to tell him what the report said. "One hundred twelve destroyers lost. The number of escort and support ships hasn't been counted yet. Luckily almost all the crews got away, a lot more lives could have been lost then were." Barns sighed. All of this could have been avoided. All of this wasn't necessary. "What about Bester?" Meade stopped looking at the report. "He escaped, no one knows where he is." MacDonald jumped in. "President Luchencko has declared him a war criminal. He shows his face any place where there's someone from Earth Force and he'll be arrested. "Sir, the President wanted me to tell you that she wants you present for the treaty signing." "Thank you Commander, if you'll excuse me." Barns walked away. "We have every faith that the Alliance and the Excaliber can find a cure. But this is a case where more than just faith is needed." General Lillian McDouglass stopped pacing and sat down at her desk. "This is a case where assurances are needed." Barns seemed distant, cold. "What are you getting at General?" "I want you take a promotion to General and command of specialized mission." "If I take the promotion then I still want to command the Dark Thunder. That's my ship and that's my condition." "All right," General McDouglass did not seem very reluctant in agreeing. "What's the mission?" Barns asked. "It wouldn't make any sense for the Drakh to use this plague if they didn't have a cure for it. They wouldn't run the risk of accidentally infecting themselves. You're being put in command of the Ninth Destroyer Wing. Your orders are simple, find the Drakh and retrieve the cure from them using whatever means necessary. You will order any Drakh ship you encounter to surrender the cure, if they do not, you will destroy them. Clear?" Barns stood up. "Understood. The Dark Thunder can be ready to leave as soon as repairs are complete." McDouglass nodded. "Good luck General." "Drakh ship is coming up from the surface, looks like it's getting ready to go into hyperspace." Griffon frantically gave the report. Barns turned quickly away from her back to the front of the bridge. "Standby main weapons prepare to fire." "Sir, incoming signal from the Excaliber." "Put it through," the General ordered. "General we have to disable that ship," Captain Matthew Gideon's voice boomed through comm system. "We've got a clear shot Captain, we'll handle it." Barns deactivated the comm and turned to Griffon at the tactical station. "Full power to forward weapons, destroy that ship." With only a few slight motions by the tactical officer, the ship's main weapons fired and the Drakh ship in front of them exploded. "General," Gideon's voice came through again. "Why the hell did you do that?!? We had over fifty troops on that ship!" Barns hesitated. "I was following orders Captain, the wrong orders." Barns stood and started to leave the bridge. "XO has the con." "I do not understand you Humans," the Keilmar woman commented. "You love this woman, Sarah but you have interesting feeling for on...no, two other as well." She stood. "You also have interesting views on what is important. I think I located every important thing in your mind and not one of them contained useful information." Barns breathed heavily for a moment. "Let me tell you something about Humans. It's not military secrets that define us as people. It's the experiences we've had, good or bad that do that. That's why I consider what you saw more important than any secret you didn't." This angered her. "Enjoy your life Admiral. What's left of it." She stormed out of the room.