From: "Neil Collins" Subject: The Final Stand Special Release Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 14:17:28 +1100 The Earth Minbari War: (Part Eleven of Twelve) The Final Stand By: Daniel Collins * * * * * * * * * * Continuing From Complications, it's mid to late 2248 * * * * * * * * * * "The time is 06:30, there is nothing to report. Main duties for today include cleaning of the inter fusion coils on deck 5..." "Mute..." Captain James Mayson told the computer as he got out of his nice and comfortable bed. He moved toward the viewscreen and turned it on. ISN was broadcasting, so he quickly made a coffee and sat down to listen. It was one of the only opportunities he'd get. "...and as battle enrages on Jupiter over the new installation of a fusion reactor, things are heating up in the sports section..." "Damn," James cursed again. "The one time I get to see the news is the only time I don't get to see what else is going on." he so anxiously wanted to know what was going on since the war had been declared. As far as he knew, most of the Earth Alliance had been destroyed by Minbari Forces, and it wasn't going to stop there... He couldn't help but wonder. So far, Earthforce had kept the Proxima on her current mission: Star mapping in the Alragor Sector. He thought to himself, "this ship is more than ready for battle." and also, as if he was unsure, he added, "any Nova Class starship could..." * * * * * * * * * * The doors slid open, and Commander Riley stepped out of her quarters, she placed her hair and ran out, only to return to pick up a cold piece of toast before shoving it in her mouth with a large amount of distaste. She quickly ran down the corridor that lead to the bridge. She exploded in, and the crew acknowledged by looking up. "Sorry I'm late..." she started off, but decided not to continue. "Commander," Ensign Tolphy, still a junior called out across the bridge. "What is it?" Riley asked attentively, hoping it wasn't another report about how many particles of space dust they had encountered. "I'm picking up a Priority One distress call. It's from the vessel Acura." he replied. Almost baffled at what he had just said. "Let's hear it..." Riley said. A muffled and weak static came over the speakers that filled the bridge, the Ensign worked away to clean up the distortion... "I think I have it." He said triumphantly. "...under attack..........vessel Acura, Minbari Forces have opened......." the message paused, the crew waited for any response. The tension was high,Riley could tell by the looks in the young eyes of the bridge crew. It reminded her of her first assignment aboard the starship Bougainville, a small underpowered ship that should have been de-commissioned before she was given the OK. "Yes," she thought to herself "those were the good days, no Minbari screaming around every corner, no Centauri to barter with, and no Narn to quarrel with. Just the Human race and a very large expanse of space where no one had seen." the thought was pleasing, but she was reminded of the present when Ensign Tolphy asked, "Commander, what do we do?" "Go to Red Alert," she was almost confused "Captain Mayson to the bridge, how long will it take to intercept them?" "Three minutes via Hyperspace." was the response. "Then let's go..." The ship turned around and launched the Hyperspace Jump Point, which opened up and swallowed the Proxima as she entered it... * * * * * * * * * * The Acura was surrounded by Minbari forces at the time the Proxima had entered the Jump point. Her weapons blazed at the Minbari ships, but to no avail. The Acura swung round in an attempt to destroy the one Minbari Capital Ship that had stayed behind to fight on and protect the Minbari Fighter squadrons that were engaging the Acura. They had no time to launch their Starfury's and empty the Cobra Bays, they could only hope someone else was out there... The bridge was filled with fire, red lights gave the feel that this wasn't a good time for the ship. Lights flickered, consoles exploded and people were thrown around as if they were in a washing machine. The Bridge rocked, and a voice yelled from behind the command chair. "Reset Forward interceptors for wide range dispersal!" The captain clambered up to his chair. "Ready!" said the Tactical officer. "FIRE!" The Acura swung around again and all of her weapons blazed out toward the Minbari Cruiser, she paused for a second before returning fire on the Earth vessel. "Send another distress call!" yelled the Captain. "Our Communications Array has been destroyed, Sir!" Through the front view screen the crew could see the Minbari Cruiser bearing down upon the ship. More Minbari fighters swarmed around the Acura's hull. Her dispersal cannons continued firing into the night, and although scoring many ships, they still kept on coming. "Can we launch the Starfury's?" asked the Captain. "Sir, it's going to take a while. We still have a fuel line rupture down there." reported the Ops officer. He thought to himself, you're in a state of war, you're being too calm and patient. You need to win or you'll be destroyed. "Launch ALL Starfury's!" he ordered. "But Sir!" "DO IT!" He was certain to win. With or without outside help. "Fighter Bays launching. Alpha Wing." The Hanger doors opened and revealed the many Starfury's the Acura carried inside her hull. And like bee's leaving a hive, the Starfury's left into the darkness of the night. "Alright, everyone hang tight." started the Wing leader. "Beta Wing launching now," reported the Acura. "Thanks Acura." at that moment, they were fired upon, and the wing was destroyed, Beta Wing came in to cover the remaining vessels from Alpha Wing. "Bloody Hell!" A Minbari weapon fired at his fighter, and he was obliterated. "Delta Wing has launched..." Beta wing swung in on the Minbari cruiser, which with ease, destroyed the fighters. "Gamma Wing launched..." Aboard the Acura, things were looking bad. Since they launched the Starfury's, the Minbari had become more aggressive. "Targeting scanners are offline!" "Target manually." ordered the Captain. "Sir, there's a jump point opening! Bearing 117 mark 330!" "What is it?" asked the Captain attentively. "Identifying, it's the EAS Vesuvius!" The fighter wings continued their assault on the Minbari Cruiser, as the second Earth warship launched it's fighters and opened fire on the Minbari forces. The Minbari Cruiser was out numbered, but continued it's firing on the Acura. Aboard the Acura, things were looking for the worst now. "I want all weapons firing!" The Acura attempted to fire all it had into the heart of the Minbari Cruiser, but with the targeting scanners offline, only a few shots got through, "Sir, Jump points forming!" "Where?" asked the Captain, hoping it was more Earth Alliance help. "It's all around us!" The Acura swung around to continue firing on the Minbari cruiser, and then atleast five more jump points opened, surrounding the Earth vessels. Each one revealed a Minbari Cruiser and hundreds of Minbari Fighters came blazing at the ships. It now appeared that the Minbari had won... * * * * * * * * * * Hyperspace was a drag at best, even if it would only take 3 minutes. But the crew of the Proxima were becoming wrestless. Riley could sympathise, she remembered how anxious she was on her first assignments, how much she urned to be in battle. Now that's worn off. "ETA?" she asked in a dull voice. "1 minute..." replied Ensign Tolphy. She felt like strangling him. If there was one thing Earthforce did to Cadets, it was train them to do their best, but the integrity in Ensign Tolphy sometimes appeared to be Genetically altered. How could he keep calm in such a terrible, 'boring' time? "Let's launch all fighter squadron's." Captain Mayson ordered. "Sir, are you sure? The Acura may not need..." the officer stopped before fooling himself. These were tough times, he had to be strong and not to question the Captain's orders. Especially at a time like this. "Of course I'm sure Mister, let's be one step ahead of the rest!" "Aye Sir. Cobra Bays, Condition Red. Prepare to Launch all Fighters..." * * * * * * * * * * Lieutenant Madison was one of those on scramble when she heard the order to get to the Hanger Bays. She quickly ran to them, bumping into Lt. Commander Brian Mearl, Alpha Team Leader. "How are you today Lieutenant?" he asked. "I'm fine," she started "Sir? Is it alright if I feel a bit anxious?" "Of course, anxiety is always there in battle, but don't let it impede your skills, you're one of our best fighter pilots, now you'd better get going!" "Yes, Sir. Good luck to you." she left him to walk down the corridor. And this time, unlike many. She didn't think she'd see him again. She met some of her other friends from her squadron. They all were prepping and psyching each other up for the up coming event. She just got prepared and boarded her Starfury that gracefully awaited her. Her fighter was one of the brighter ones, and she had named it the 'Lightning'. Other Starfury's never looked as good as hers. She saw the rest of the group board their own fighters, and it was about time. "Prepare to launch." Ops called through her console. "She looked ahead of her, and saw the giant Hanger Bay Doors open to reveal the Hyperspace that the Proxima was travelling through. She prepared her ship for launch. "All Fighters Cleared to go." Captain Mayson's voice called. She watched as the Starfury's in front of her powered up their engines and thrusted out of the Proxima's hull, then she powered up her Starfury and was propelled out of the Hanger to join the others. She still counted on until the entire squadron was launched. All done with ease, then Brian called to the Squad. "Orders are as follows: all fighters to hold formation. Jump out of Hyperspace in 15 seconds. Mark." She looked to her right, and as she saw the side of the Proxima, she also saw Gamma Squad on the other side of Proxima's hull. She looked ahead, and a grand formation sat in front of her. Awaiting for the jump point to open. 10 seconds. Aboard the bridge, Tolphy reported that the last of the fighter squadrons had been launched. "Prepare to Jump out of Hyperspace..." Ops said. "Ready all weapon systems" ordered Riley. "Let's join the party!" Mayson said. The view was always beautiful from the Observation Lounge, but from her Starfury, Madison saw something that couldn't be explained. A small hole appeared, revealing a giant starfield. Then, the red glow of Hyperspace was gone, and she was surrounded by stars. But a green flash caught her attention. It flashed in a distance. Then several orange tinged lines of weaponry fired at a large blue vessel coming into view. "Captain Mayson to Fighter Wings. Lock weapons onto the Minbari Fighters, let us handle the big stuff." "Aye Sir." she heard Mearl report. She thought they were joking. Earthforce was highly outnumbered, even with the Proxima in top shape. As far as she could see, there were only two other cruisers there, and one had sustained heavy damage. "Break formation and open fire." Mearl ordered. She watched, her Squad broke off and she had to follow. Several small blue vessels began firing. And so did the Proxima's forces... * * * * * * * * * * "Fire all weapons at that cruiser." Mayson ordered. "Aye Sir. Firing." Eric Talakov, the tactical officer replied. The crew looked on as several beams of destruction fired at the cruiser. Smashing into the hull with great ferocity, the ship turned, and was hit again, and again, and again. It was defenseless, and so the Proxima continued firing. It seemed as though the cruiser should have exploded, but it didn't, instead it held position as more fighters came around for defence. Also in response, two Minbari cruisers closed in on the Proxima's position. Several fighter squadrons circled them and fired what they could into it's hull. >From the Proxima's point of view, the Acura was severely damaged, but holding her own, and the Vesuvius was still in tip top condition. They were still outnumbered though, and they needed more assistance to win. If only EarthForce had any assistance left. "Talakov," Mayson began, "Fire all weapons at those cruisers. Don't let them get in any closer..." "Aye, Sir" he said. Talakov was an experienced officer, but he hid it well, for some unknown reason. More weapons charged at the Minbari ship. Several fighters closed in on the Proxima and fired several shots into the hull. "Minimal damage." Talakov reported. "Firing defense grid." Several Fighters flew down, close to the Proxima's hull and were destroyed by the defense grid that lined the hull. * * * * * * * * * * The Acura powered up it's weapons again, and fired another shot to distract atleast one of the cruisers heading for the Proxima. They needed all the help they could get, and for now, the Proxima was it. With all of her fighter wings destroyed, the Acura could only try to help out as best she could. By keeping every little resource they had, intact. * * * * * * * * * * Madison had already witnessed the destruction of several Gamma Team fighters, but she didn't seem shaken at all. She continued flying about and firing at the Minbari as best she could. She swung round and saw a large cruiser, then three Minbari fighters, then one. All on it's own. She closed in. Powered up her weapons and fired, the Minbari saw her and ran. Straight into a blind spot. She followed and came across a swarm of Minbari. She fired as best she could, taking some out before attempting a retreat. One Minbari Cruiser came up fast. She could see it. Then, out of nowhere, another Starfury flew in front of her and destroyed the Fighter. "You Okay?" Brian's voice asked. "I'm fine, thanks!" She said, still glad he was alive. She watched his fighter maneuver around several other fighters, pulverizing them all. But his ship was hit. She went to help. But it was too late. It suddenly hit her as his ship was gone... * * * * * * * * * * The Acura had fallen back to a safe distance, but the Minbari were still closing in on the Earth Alliance Cruiser. It was two to one, in the Minbari's favour, but the Proxima and Vesuvius continued to pound their weapons toward the Minbari fleet. The original Minbari cruiser was still there, and as several Earthforce fighter squadrons closed in on it, some visible damage could be seen. The Vesuvius grasped the opportunity and fired it's cannons into the cruiser which shuddered, and seemed this time to take some damage. It was confirmed when it turned and jumped into Hyperspace. The other remaining Minbari cruisers continued to fire at the Earthforce vessels, but the three fired in return. Aboard the Acura, things were looking up, for a change... "Targeting scanners back on line, 89% efficiency!" Ops reported. "FIRE!" The Vesuvius and Proxima each had one Minbari cruiser to take care of, and the Acura maneuvered through the crossfire and targeted another cruiser. The cruiser was taking minimal damage, but not enough. Madison was lost, since her team leader was gone, she didn't know what to do. Normally the second unit would take command, but she feared that he had gone too. Her Starfury flew on, then she got a hold of herself and hailed the remaining Starfury's... "Any remaining Starfury from EAS Proxima, re group at co ordinates 176 mark 231." She felt a new person inside her, and now she had taken command. Her Starfury moved toward the co ordinates she had indicated and several others followed, recognising the new commander. Now she had to make another decision. What to do next? "Target the rear Minbari Cruiser, let's see if we can out flank them." "Confirmed!" agreed one pilot, "Right with you" said another, and the fleet continued toward the Cruiser which was weak as it had no Minbari Squadrons to cover it. There was an atmosphere of triumph as the Starfury's continued on... The Acura had caught the attention of the Minbari forces, and even those aboard the Vesuvius and Proxima were surprised, but nevertheless, they continued as though they didn't notice. Madison's fleet was continuing on their course, and the Minbari cruiser grew larger and larger. "Fire at will!" she ordered. The squadron maneuvered close to the cruiser and hammered their weapons into it's hull. It's weapons retaliated, but it wasn't good enough. "Continue firing!" she ordered. The cruiser was losing now, and the Starfury's closed in once more, and the cruiser tore apart. A massive hole appeared in it's side, and after taking a few more hits, the entire aft section fell away. >From the Proxima's point of view, it almost seemed that a Minbari ship just blew up for no apparent reason. But as they looked, they identified several cross shaped objects, Earthforce Starfury's. Glad that they still had some left, Mayson ordered them all to fire at the last cruisers. Now knocked down to an even match, the Earthforce vessels closed the gap, and the Starfury's came in behind, no escape... But there was, a sphere was launched from the main cruiser, and a Jump point opened. The Minbari fleet withdrew and disappeared into Hyperspace... * * * * * * * * * * Apparent that the Minbari had fled, the Earthforce ships began to effect repairs to the remaining squadrons and ships. The Acura had sustained the most damage, and the Vesuvius and Proxima were in moderate condition. But inside, coolant leaks covered the ships corridors and metal fragments covered the floors. The clean up would take a while... * * * * * * * * * * No other ship in the fleet was as graceful as Earthforce One. The most luxurious vessel ever built by the Earth Alliance. The Presidents own Starship to travel around in. Now on course back to Earth after visiting the new Pluto outpost. A normal trip, even though a few light years away there was a war. Earthforce One was lightly armed, and so it required an escort of four Starfury's for defence. Although they've never really been needed. Two light years from Earthforce One's location, a Jump point opened to reveal several Minbari cruisers. They were just outside the Terran system, and they weren't going to let any mines stop them this time... * * * * * * * * * * Madison and her fleet had returned to the Proxima and de briefed when the message came through... "A Minbari fleet has dropped out of Hyperspace just off the Terran System. All available starships are to rendezvous here to stop a possible invasion." Commander Riley read from her datafeed. "Due to our recent battle, we're in no shape, but Earth's orders stand. We're going. So be prepared, and good luck to us all..." The jump point opened and the three ships entered. * * * * * * * * * * Near Neptune Outpost 3 several jump points opened to reveal Earthforce vessels that turned toward the direction of the Minbari cruisers. Their orders were simple, keep the Minbari out of the Terran system, and protect the President. Nine vessels filled the fleet, several Nova class: EAS Merrimac, EAS Buran, EAS Fitzwilliam, two Hyperion class: EAS Newton and EAS Sarajevo and two new vessels to the fleet of the Omega class: EAS Agamemnon and EAS Hercules. The Agamemnon was the flagship, under the command of Captain John Sheridan, a reknowned and loyal officer of the force. The fleet now awaited the arrival of any other vessels before intercepting the Minbari cruisers. * * * * * * * * * * As Hyperspace disappeared, the Proxima, Vesuvius and Acura saw the fleet and joined it. They had managed to clean up all essential systems. The fleet comprised of several Nova and Hyperion class cruisers, but the flagship was something unknown. Typical, since the Proxima had been kept on the Rim for quite some time, it appeared to be a modified Nova class starship with a large rotating piece in the middle. Obviously for longer space missions. "A nice job" Mayson thought, "Maybe when this is over, they can do the same to the Proxima." Madison was prepped again in her Starfury, but this time she'd be first to launch as she was the new team leader. She waited impatiently... "Sir, message from the Agamemnon." Communications called. "Let's hear it." Mayson acknowledged. "Proxima, hold position and fire when authorized." Sheridan's voice came through. "Good Luck." the number one phrase for the decade, 'good luck', but it rarely ever occured. "Launch all fighters." Mayson ordered. The Proxima and the rest of the fleet launched their fighters, possibly for the last time... * * * * * * * * * * Madison's fleet positioned themselves next to the Proxima, and in front were two ships: the Sarajevo and the Agamemnon; the flagship. It was strange to her. In the twentieth century, a television series called Star Trek, depicted that the flagship would be named 'Enterprise', but in all Earthforce history, no vessel had ever been considered the name 'Enterprise', perhaps it were something that would never be. After all, the ships now look nothing like the ships did 'then'. She loved researching the twentieth century, but mainly how people looked at the future. It wasn't long before a message was recieved... "The Minbari have entered short range sensor range. ETA 2 minutes..." Everyone was tense, as far as they knew, Earthforce One would be at Earth soon, but if the Minbari broke through this defence, there may be no other defence behind them. She considered that, and then told herself she'd triumph. Then she saw a few specs in the distance. Any help would come too late now. The Minbari had arrived... * * * * * * * * * * The Proxima readied all weapons and awaited the Agamemnon's signal. Unlike Madison, the crew here knew that Earth was assembling a small fleet of ships in case they did break through. Earthforce One was now safe. The Minbari could be seen visually through the window, and so could the Earth Alliance fleet. The Minbari had their weapons charged, and as soon as they were in range, they fired... The Agamemnon took the hit well, and fired back at the first cruiser, "Sheridan to all ships, open fire!" The Starfury's broke formation and fired upon the Minbari warships, the twelve cruisers fired at the invaders. They slowed, but still intimidated the fleet. Several Starfury's were destroyed as they engaged the Minbari fighters that swarmed through the fleet. "Madison to all units, target here and fire all weapons." hoping her message got through. She knew it had when she saw several Fury's fire at her designated co ordinates. The cruiser shuddered and paused, but returned fire on the Starfury's. Three were destroyed from Madison's point of view. But still it didn't stop them. They continued firing into the Minbari hull. The Minbari warships closed in towards the Agamemnon, which reversed to account for their movement. No matter what they did, the Earth Alliance vessels couldn't keep all the ships at bay. Then the worst happened... Madison swung around for another pass on the cruiser when she caught a glimpse of a red glow. Then a large jump point opened and more Minbari ships came pouring through... Two Starfury's were in the vacinity of the jump point when it closed, and the distortion it let out after collapsing destroyed them both. She brought her Starfury about and fired again. Two Starfury's exploded next to her. And as she looked around, several ships exploded, each adding a new star to the field around her. She relised she was losing, and her time was almost over... * * * * * * * * * The Proxima had closed in on the new Minbari visitors and fired at them, but somehow, a gap had opened in the fleet. They saw that the Acura was disabled, and going nowhere. She was defenceless. Hull damage was visible, even from the Proxima's location. Then two fighters was all it took and the ship was gone... Madison saw the light and noticed that it was an Earthforce ship. She looked around, to see if it was the Proxima, but she was still where she was two minutes ago. The other ships were there too, then a piece of debris flew past, reading 'Acura'. She also noticed that there were hardly any other Starfury's left in the fleet. She was on her own, like the Minbari ship she had encountered before, but this time, 'she' had no trap to take anyone into. She froze... The Sarajevo was giving cover fire for the Proxima, as the Proxima was taking severe damage. "Report." Mayson called. "Hull integrity has been reduced to 32%, weapons are at 49% efficiency and things go downhill from there, Sir" Talakov responded. The bridge was filled with smoke and rocking all over from enemy fire. "Repair crews to engineering!" Riley called. "Something wrong Commander?" asked Mayson. "There's a fuel line rupture! It's flooding the entire compartment!" the bridge rocked again, "And if it ignites... We'll lose half the ship!" then her console exploded and she was thrown across the bridge. "Medical team to the bridge!" Tolphy called. The bridge rocked again. "Hull integrity at 27%!" Talakov called. "How much longer can we hold out?" asked Mayson. "At this rate, three minutes. Max! That's assuming the fuel doesn't ignite in engineering..." "Engineering, report!" "We're working on it! It's hell down here Sir!" the engineers voice called out over the speaker as the Medics came in. "Treat the Commander!" They scanned her up and down, once, twice, three times, four, then the doctor said, "She's gone. Whatever it was, she suffered heavy wounds." The bridge shook again. And a fire sparked at the back of the bridge... Madison snapped out of her trance just in time to dodge a Minbari weapon, "Not so fast!" she thought to herself, "You're not that good!" her ship dodged through to the Proxima, where she could see alot of damage covering the hull, and she didn't think they could last much longer... * * * * * * * * * * The bridge rocked hard, and then harder again. The Minbari forces were still getting through the fleet. The Proxima re positioned herself to attempt to stop them, and the Vesuvius gave cover fire. The Hercules and Sarajevo had their hands full and the Agamemnon and Fitzwilliam were in pursuit, the Newton was engaged and taking heavy fire from a full squadron of Minbari ships. "Report." Mayson asked, as if he didn't know. "Main powers off line..." Talakov started. "Computer's down, sensors at low setting, weapon targetting off line." The bridge rocked hard. "Alpha Wing to Proxima." a call came in. "Go ahead Alpha Wing." responded Mayson. "We're giving you some cover fire, hang in there!" The Proxima shuddered again as a wing of ten Starfury's came flying past with weapons blazing at the Minbari warships, somehow Madison had found come more ships. Most of the Minbari forces were taken care of, but the remaining dug holes into the Proxima's hull. "Hull integrity failing!" Talakov cried. The twisting of metal could be heard everywhere. "Sir, I believe there's only one course of action left!" "Agreed," Mayson said with defeat. "This is the Captain to all personnel, go immediately to the Emergency Evacuation Pods and Shuttles. Abandon Ship..." * * * * * * * * * * Madison was firing on all remaining Minbari cruisers that were surrounding the Proxima. "Mayson to Alpha Wing. We're abandoning ship, do you think you could spare us a few fighters?" "No problem Sir." she said. People scrambled to the Evacuation Pods. Three had already launched and one shuttle. Everyone was quite orderly in leaving the vessel especially under such circumstances. Madison saw several ships leave the Proxima's forward flight bay and one Starfury escorted each. The Minbari were out of range to do anything about the Proxima, but there were ships on the way. Hopefully the crew would have enough time to evacuate. "Everyone's out, Sir!" Talakov said. "Alright, let's go." Mayson replied. Madison wasn't sure what she saw, and didn't take much notice, but there was something dark moving toward the Proxima. She dismissed it as stress from recent events. Several more shuttles left the flight bay, and she caught a glimpse of the dark object again... Smoke filled the corridors that were now completely empty, the ship was rocking even though she wasn't under attack. "Few more decks." Mayson said. Madison couldn't make out whether or not she was seeing things, but her third look at the black object triggered concern. She closed in on it and realised what it was. A Breaching Pod. To break into the hull of the Proxima. She intercepted it and began firing, but it was getting too close to the hull, and she didn't want to risk destroying her ship. Mayson and the remaining crew were continuing toward the final steps to the evacuation corridor when the ship rocked harder than ever. Madison looked as the Pod attached itself to the hull. They watched as a hole began to appear. "We're being boarded!" Mayson called, "Run!" Madison couldn't do much, but her anger took over, she swung her Starfury around, and locked onto the target... Atleast ten Minbari warriors boarded the ship and began their search of the corridor. Mayson and the crew continued. They reached the Shuttle and departed, and they looked back at the ship they'll never see again. Madison was locked and closing in on the Pod, and she fired... * * * * * * * * * * Mayson ordered atleast one pass of the ship, and so the shuttle came about and passed the hull of the Proxima. A black object was latched onto the hull, and then, it was gone as a Starfury flew past, just clearing the shuttle. "Stop the shuttle." Mayson ordered. The shuttle came to a stop, and two Minbari were there, floating, dead and imploded in space. "My God," Talakov remarked. "Any later and it could've been us..." * * * * * * * * * * The Agamemnon and Sarajevo closed in on the Newtons location to provide cover fire. The Minbari had the Newton surrounded, but didn't do much about the Agamemnon and other key targets. 'Why?' was the question, and shortly afterwards, they got their answer. The Hercules and Fitzwilliam were moving in when three Jump points opened, and more Minbari cruisers came pouring through... * * * * * * * * * * Talakov was attempting to dodge weapons fire when the Jump points opened, and several Minbari fighters had them spotted. "They're opening fire!" "Oh no..." Mayson thought, then, like a flash of lightning, a Starfury came through and obliterated the Fighters. "Madison to Shuttle 1." "What a sight! Go ahead." "You OK? I'll escort you to safety" The Starfury and shuttle headed straight toward the Pluto outpost, Safety from the battle area. * * * * * * * * * * Sheridan looked out into the vast starfield, each star was an exploding ship, and no matter how much he hoped it was a Minbari, he found out that horribly, it was one of theirs. "Sir, we're getting a message from Earthdome!" "What is it?" "All available ships are ordered to circle Earth." "When?" "As soon as possible." With that answer, it was obvious that it would be a while before the Agamemnon and the fleet would be able to reach Earth. "All ships are going to be used in a defence for Earth." "Why, aren't we the defence?" "The Minbari are breaking through." "Open a channel to the rest of the fleet," * * * * * * * * * * "Madison, orders are orders! We'll be fine!" "Aye, Sir." She hated the idea of leaving the entire bridge crew unguarded, but orders were orders, and she had to follow them. She turned out of her escort pattern, and went straight for Earth. The Shuttle was now defenceless, but was clear of the Battle area. They looked back at the Proxima, for one last time. * * * * * * * * * * The Minbari weren't giving up too easily, and as Sheridan had ordered the fleet to circle Earth, it had become harder. The fleet had to move through the Minbari forces. And the Minbari were stronger. Earth would have to defend itself for now... * * * * * * * * * * Luckily Madison wasn't alone. She travelled to Earth with a fleet of four other Stafury's, and there in the distance, was Earth. She could make out several objects in orbit, and as she got closer, they were Earthforce cruisers and Starfury's. The cruisers, were out of action though as they were covered with battle scars. "Madison to Team Leader, what are our orders?" "Madison, this is Sinclair, enter formation and you'll be briefed then." The Starfury's didn't look too good themselves. But, if that's what they had, then that's what they had. Earthforce was probably throwing every last resource into this fight... Commander Jeffrey Sinclair was leading the attack, Earthforce had named it 'The Line' as it was a Line of defense to stop the Minbari from invading Earth. Then they got word of the events near Pluto... "The Minbari have broken through..." * * * * * * * * * * The Agamemnon had now taken too much damage, and couldn't fight anymore, the Newton had lost power, the Fitzwilliam wasn't much better off, the Proxima was dead, the Acura destroyed, the Sarajevo was abandoned the Vesuvius was torn in half, the Merrimac was on power reserves, the Buran was destroyed in a Jump point collapse and the Hercules was in an unstable orbit around Neptune. All the fleet could do was watch the Minbari continue toward Earth. A fleet so large, that even if they got outside help, it would either come too late, or not be powerful enough. No outside help was coming. The fate of Earth, now rests in the hands of Sinclair, and THE LINE... * * * * * * * * * * TO BE CONTINUED in the conclusion to the Earth Minbari War: The Battle To End All Battles. And once again, those of you who were able to read the original (in issue 495 on archive) you may notice a few changes in the newer release, and that it's not called The Final Stand Part 5 anymore...