Categories > TV > Babylon 5 > Macross: The Rise of Babylon
09:14 Zulu, December 24, 2246.
Galaxy Patrol TF 71, UNS Essex.
Sol System, Earth Orbit.
The Essex and her escorts cruised a lazy orbit around the milky blue gem that was Earth. Their appearance a few days ago had cause a fury in the media. Seventy ships coming in orbit would have been impossible to hide. So Earthdome hadn't, they just didn't say where they were from. They were shy allies who were helping against the Minbari and that was enough, for now.
'It's going to come back and bite us in the ass later, though,' Admiral Jack Miller thought, absently, as he listened to Commander William Hailey's report.
"We've finished the initial survey of the gunship, sir. Good news is I'm pretty sure that the omni-barrier is intact and undamaged," Hailey looked at the data pad he had. "But, the rest of the ship is heavily damaged, we'll have to replace the entire command block and the port side engine and thousands of tons of armor. That's not even counting the refit to current standards."
Jack frowned and nodded, "How long do you think it'll take to get it fit for service?"
"It's going to be about eight maybe ten months, sir," Hailey said. He shrugged apologetically, "That's the best I can do, sir."
"We'll make do. What about the omni-barriers?" Jack asked. "How soon can you get them into production?"
"Four months for production to start and probably two more for refits of our fleet, sir. I need to set up some special production lines for some of the parts." Hailey said. "My engineers are pretty certain that with a complete design they can finally fix the overload in our models. We've also started converting the fighter production lines to the VF-19 specs, as you ordered. We'll have them up to full production capacity in two months, sir."
"Good, we're going to need every advantage we can get," Jack said. "So, what's you opinion of these-"
"Sir," the steward interrupted over the intercom, "Captain Konorond is here to see you."
"Send her in," Jack said.
Maya stepped into the office and set some reports on the desk. "Latest survey reports, sir. Intel thinks we've got the Minbari locked down to maybe forty systems."
He grabbed the reports and started to thumb through them. "Please, sit down, Captain. What do you think about these Earthers, Commander?"
"Huh? Oh, um, well, they seem like us, I guess. I've only met a few of their engineers and they're okay. They were surprised that we were human and that we're giving them ready access to our tech." He paused, "I know we discussed it, but are you sure that's a good idea, sir?"
"We don't have the ships or men to fight this war for them, Commander," Maya said softly. "And until we can work out how multiversal travel works, we're stuck here without reinforcement."
"How are you coming with that, Maya?" Jack asked, still looking at the reports.
She snorted, "I have a Masters in Hyperspace Physics and the rest of the research group is about the same. And the stuff that we need to figure out seems like going from Newton's work to Plank's theories."
"So... Not good?" he asked.
"No, really not good, sir."
"Ah, I see. Hmm," he pulled out a report and looked at it closer, "I think we have our world."
...ooo...ooo...
08:10 Zulu, December 28, 2246.
UNS Bowman.
Tala System, Minbari Space.
The frigate ghosted through the Minbari system's Oort cloud, it's ECM rendering it all but invisible to the three ships that were attempting to track it. A day and a half earlier it had drawn the Sharlin and it's two Tinashi escorts out with a few bursts of Zentradi radio chatter and had been following them, carefully taking sensor readings of the vessels and their stealth fields. But now it was time to act and start UN Spacy's part in this war.
"Hold us at twenty-five thousand," Captain Mikhail Vadim said as he stared at the Minbari ships. "Have fighters ready to launch as soon as the missiles are out."
"Aye sir, helm hold at two five thousand kilometers," the watch officer said and then tapped his headset. "General Quarters. General Quarters. All hands to battle stations and Fighters to launch positions." He turned back to Mikhail, "Sir?"
Mikhail nodded fractionally, "Target the big one and the one on the left. Then we'll hit the other one."
The Earth Force liaison, Ganya Ivanova, glanced at Mikhail uneasily. "Um, are you sure that's a good idea, sir? We usually engage something like this with a squadron of heavies."
Mikhail sneered at him, "Don't tell me Russian courage has died in these last centuries!" He turned to the tactical officer, "ECM active and fire missiles!"
The frigate shuddered as the two huge missiles thundered out of the launch tubes, their powerful exhaust plumes buffeting the little ship. Counter fire came sporadically from the Minbari as their sensors were assaulted and they realized that they were under attack. But, the missiles shot trough, spiraling in onto the two ships and there was nothing they could to stop them as they hit and bloomed into explosive blossoms, pulverizing the two ships.
"YES!" Mikhail shouted and jumped up. "How is that, Ganya? Helm, evasive and swing us port! Target that last ship!"
The remaining Tinashi was pulling hard to the right, away from the burning hulks it had been with, and tossing out blasts as it tried to bring it's powerful forward weapons to bare on the threat behind it, but the little North Hampton was stubbornly staying in the Tinashi's rear arc. It's heavy lasers and light particle cannons lanced out and scored deeply into the larger frigate's thick hide.
"I- I don't believe it. Just like that, a Sharlin..." Ganya muttered.
Mikhail grinned, "There's not much UN Spacy can't hand-"
The ship rocked as fire raked it and Mikhail sat down heavily. Ganya grabbed the railing he was holding tighter, his knuckles white as he watched a view screen. A few Nials escaped the dogfight and angled in on the frigate. Their weapons flashed and tore at the hull, but it was a short lived assault and they died in missile and laser barrages.
"Sir! Some of their fighters have broken through our screen. CIWS are engaging."
"Good," Mikhail said. He leaned forward and squinted at his display, "Cycle power from the lasers to the cannons. We'll see if we can finish this sooner."
"Aye sir."
The North Hampton shook as the Tinashi got a broad side to it. Blasts of neutron fire slammed into the ship, but the barriers managed to catch most of it. Damage klaxon wailed and the lights flickered as power was shunted to the projector. Counter-fire drilled into the Tinashi's drive fins and it stopped it's turn, a few more shots cored through weaken armor and hit something reactive as the ship exploded violently from within.
Mikhail leaned back and smiled widely, "Za Rodinu, eh, comrades? Dispatch logs to Earth and get us to the rendezvous."
...ooo...ooo...
24:49 Local, December 28, 2246.
Outside a small communications installation, Northern Continent.
Tala System, Tala.
Tala was not an overly useful world to the Minbari, it seemed, as much of it was a hot tropical paradise. Only the small northern continent was cool enough for them to live on and any assignment to the planet was considered an exile in disgrace. But, sitting as it was, the world key to their communication network and had a extensive ground and space based networks. The centers based in the tropics were unmanned, but they were sealed tight and all attempts to breach them had failed.
A light snow fell over the pine forest, blanketing the trees in white. The night air was cold and sharp; Trace's breath fogged as he looked at the Minbari compound from a ridge a kilometer away. The small cluster of five crystalline buildings had been picked for their mission. They had a basic idea of the layout and where they needed to go; the recon drones had managed to get detailed enough scans for that, at least.. It also seemed to be lightly guarded, but they had no idea of what sort of surveillance the Minbari used. Or what kind of response breaking in would warrant.
'Fricken bad intel,' Trace thought, frowning, and tucked the binoculars he had been using back into his pack. He pulled his combat goggles on and looked at the buildings for a bit longer before sliding down the hill to where the rest of his team was waiting. He had pulled the five of them together from across the UN and they were some of the best in UN Special Forces.
"Right, gather 'round," he said as he pulled out a map and laid it out on the ground. "Jorgen, you'll set up here on that ridge behind me. Not out of range, I hope?"
The big Swede sniper patted the twenty millimeter rifle he carried. "Ja, not a problem, sir. You know I'm good for at least five kilometers." Gunny Jorgen Liefson was one of the best snipers in the UN. The big blonde brute handled a long rifle like it was an extension of himself and held a record for third longest range confirmed kill with a thirty-six kilometer shot from a landing assault ship.
"Just checking. Katty, you spot for him. Watch our backs, too."
The woman nodded, "Yeah boss." Kathy O'Malley was a wiry little redhead and a demolitions expert. She had an almost instinctive feel for where to place charges and was a demon in setting up ambushes. "You sure you don't want me with you?"
"We need the buildings intact, unfortunately," Trace said with a bit of a smile. He dusted some snow off the map and pointed at their position, "The rest of us go in. Plan's same as what we came up with on the boat: approach from the east, scout the facility, and place the bugs. Sara, your on point. Eketi, your rear. Be careful, I know you're tougher than us regular humans, but we don't know much about how the Minbari fight.
"Yessir," Sara said softly. Sara Kidondirk, a petite blue haired meltran, was a damn fine soldier and one of the best hand to hand fighters he had ever met.
Eketi Pappas just nodded and finished checking his rifle. The man was well over two and a third meters tall, his mix of Samoan and zentran genes had given him a frame that few could match, and he could literally lift a ton.
"Mike, you get us in and then we have to plant the bugs. Should be in the fifth building, from what the recon drones say."
"Not a problem, sir," Mike Huang said. The lean oriental was a bit of an oddity as a techie and a Special Forces, but he was a fine man to have your back and could turn systems against their operators.
Trace folded the map and stuffed it into it's pocket. "Right then, lets get going."
They made their way quickly through the forest. The only sounds were the soft crunches of their boots on the snow and the wind whistling in the pine needles. Trace signaled and they slowed as they neared the perimeter. He toggled his goggles and zoomed in on the buildings, carefully scanning over them.
"Sensors on building two and five," he said softly when he finished.
"I see 'em. Taking out the one on five will give us a clear run," Mike answered. He pulled out a small gun and aimed at the sensor on building five. It was a small, but powerful, directional EMP gun and after a moment a wisp of blue smoke came out of the surveillance device.
"We're clear," Eketi said softly and the team sprinted to the building. Sara was there first and she crouched down and held out her hands for Trace. He adjusted his stride, so he stepped onto her hands, and with a quiet grunt she tossed him up the two story building. He caught the roof's edge and quietly eased himself up. After a quick look, he waived the others up and with two quick tosses Eketi had Mike and Sara climbing onto the roof.
"Your getting heavy, sir," Sara said with a bit of a smile.
Trace took out a rope lowered it to Eketi. "Hmph, its hard to my girlish figure," he said. They braced it as the hulking man hauled himself up.
Mike had slunk over to the roof access and was carefully examining the door. He quickly bypassed the security around it and then popped the cover off the control panel. After looking at the alien hardware for a moment, he pulled a modified data pad off his harness and slid two leads into the circuits. He had to fiddled with the data pad and had to move the leads a bit before the door opened.
"We're in, sir," he called softly.
Sara hefted her rifle and took the lead into the stairway with Mike, Trace, and Eketi following closely. They went down four floors before Mike directed them out of the stair. They went moved down the short corridor and Sara stopped them at an intersection. Mike glanced at his data pad and tapped her on the right shoulder. She darted around the corner and she almost ran into a Minbari man. She reacted first and her fist lashed out, doubling him over right into her rising knee. He want down and they silently fell back and covered her as she pulled the unconscious man back to the stairs.
"Where do we need to go?" Trace asked softly.
"Right and centerish. Lots of EM there," Mike said with a glance at his data pad.
Sara finished stashing the Minbari and they again started advancing again. They didn't have any other problems and were soon at the room Mike had pinpointed. He probed the door, quickly unlocking it, and eased a fiber optic cable in to examine the room. Not finding anything he opened the door and the group entered the room.
Mike went over to one of the sever cases and whistled softly as he levered it open. "This is nice stuff. All optic and good quality."
"Can it," Trace said as he opened a sever and placed a bug. "We need to get going."
"Right, sir," Mile said placing a bug and then moving on.
They finished quickly and made their way back to the roof, without incident this time. Eketi was lowered down first and he caught the others as they jumped off the building. They disappeared into the woods, met up with the rest of the team, and made their way back to the stealthed shuttle they used and quietly lifted off.
The snow was still falling and their tracks disappeared long before dawn. It was like they were never there.
...ooo...ooo...
24:49 Local, December 28, 2246.
Medical Ward of Lhirup Communications Station 5, Tasda Continent.
Tala System, Tala.
"I was attacked!" the irate man yelled.
"You were going to check on that camera that died, you probably just slipped. We found you unconscious in the stairway, it probably happened there, Deteen," one of the others standing around the bed said. "You know those stairs are killer when they're wet."
"It was an attack! It was wearing a round helmet and had hair like those hum-mans! No crest!"
"A human this deep in our boarders? You slipped and knocked yourself out. Nothing else. Now get some rest."
Galaxy Patrol TF 71, UNS Essex.
Sol System, Earth Orbit.
The Essex and her escorts cruised a lazy orbit around the milky blue gem that was Earth. Their appearance a few days ago had cause a fury in the media. Seventy ships coming in orbit would have been impossible to hide. So Earthdome hadn't, they just didn't say where they were from. They were shy allies who were helping against the Minbari and that was enough, for now.
'It's going to come back and bite us in the ass later, though,' Admiral Jack Miller thought, absently, as he listened to Commander William Hailey's report.
"We've finished the initial survey of the gunship, sir. Good news is I'm pretty sure that the omni-barrier is intact and undamaged," Hailey looked at the data pad he had. "But, the rest of the ship is heavily damaged, we'll have to replace the entire command block and the port side engine and thousands of tons of armor. That's not even counting the refit to current standards."
Jack frowned and nodded, "How long do you think it'll take to get it fit for service?"
"It's going to be about eight maybe ten months, sir," Hailey said. He shrugged apologetically, "That's the best I can do, sir."
"We'll make do. What about the omni-barriers?" Jack asked. "How soon can you get them into production?"
"Four months for production to start and probably two more for refits of our fleet, sir. I need to set up some special production lines for some of the parts." Hailey said. "My engineers are pretty certain that with a complete design they can finally fix the overload in our models. We've also started converting the fighter production lines to the VF-19 specs, as you ordered. We'll have them up to full production capacity in two months, sir."
"Good, we're going to need every advantage we can get," Jack said. "So, what's you opinion of these-"
"Sir," the steward interrupted over the intercom, "Captain Konorond is here to see you."
"Send her in," Jack said.
Maya stepped into the office and set some reports on the desk. "Latest survey reports, sir. Intel thinks we've got the Minbari locked down to maybe forty systems."
He grabbed the reports and started to thumb through them. "Please, sit down, Captain. What do you think about these Earthers, Commander?"
"Huh? Oh, um, well, they seem like us, I guess. I've only met a few of their engineers and they're okay. They were surprised that we were human and that we're giving them ready access to our tech." He paused, "I know we discussed it, but are you sure that's a good idea, sir?"
"We don't have the ships or men to fight this war for them, Commander," Maya said softly. "And until we can work out how multiversal travel works, we're stuck here without reinforcement."
"How are you coming with that, Maya?" Jack asked, still looking at the reports.
She snorted, "I have a Masters in Hyperspace Physics and the rest of the research group is about the same. And the stuff that we need to figure out seems like going from Newton's work to Plank's theories."
"So... Not good?" he asked.
"No, really not good, sir."
"Ah, I see. Hmm," he pulled out a report and looked at it closer, "I think we have our world."
...ooo...ooo...
08:10 Zulu, December 28, 2246.
UNS Bowman.
Tala System, Minbari Space.
The frigate ghosted through the Minbari system's Oort cloud, it's ECM rendering it all but invisible to the three ships that were attempting to track it. A day and a half earlier it had drawn the Sharlin and it's two Tinashi escorts out with a few bursts of Zentradi radio chatter and had been following them, carefully taking sensor readings of the vessels and their stealth fields. But now it was time to act and start UN Spacy's part in this war.
"Hold us at twenty-five thousand," Captain Mikhail Vadim said as he stared at the Minbari ships. "Have fighters ready to launch as soon as the missiles are out."
"Aye sir, helm hold at two five thousand kilometers," the watch officer said and then tapped his headset. "General Quarters. General Quarters. All hands to battle stations and Fighters to launch positions." He turned back to Mikhail, "Sir?"
Mikhail nodded fractionally, "Target the big one and the one on the left. Then we'll hit the other one."
The Earth Force liaison, Ganya Ivanova, glanced at Mikhail uneasily. "Um, are you sure that's a good idea, sir? We usually engage something like this with a squadron of heavies."
Mikhail sneered at him, "Don't tell me Russian courage has died in these last centuries!" He turned to the tactical officer, "ECM active and fire missiles!"
The frigate shuddered as the two huge missiles thundered out of the launch tubes, their powerful exhaust plumes buffeting the little ship. Counter fire came sporadically from the Minbari as their sensors were assaulted and they realized that they were under attack. But, the missiles shot trough, spiraling in onto the two ships and there was nothing they could to stop them as they hit and bloomed into explosive blossoms, pulverizing the two ships.
"YES!" Mikhail shouted and jumped up. "How is that, Ganya? Helm, evasive and swing us port! Target that last ship!"
The remaining Tinashi was pulling hard to the right, away from the burning hulks it had been with, and tossing out blasts as it tried to bring it's powerful forward weapons to bare on the threat behind it, but the little North Hampton was stubbornly staying in the Tinashi's rear arc. It's heavy lasers and light particle cannons lanced out and scored deeply into the larger frigate's thick hide.
"I- I don't believe it. Just like that, a Sharlin..." Ganya muttered.
Mikhail grinned, "There's not much UN Spacy can't hand-"
The ship rocked as fire raked it and Mikhail sat down heavily. Ganya grabbed the railing he was holding tighter, his knuckles white as he watched a view screen. A few Nials escaped the dogfight and angled in on the frigate. Their weapons flashed and tore at the hull, but it was a short lived assault and they died in missile and laser barrages.
"Sir! Some of their fighters have broken through our screen. CIWS are engaging."
"Good," Mikhail said. He leaned forward and squinted at his display, "Cycle power from the lasers to the cannons. We'll see if we can finish this sooner."
"Aye sir."
The North Hampton shook as the Tinashi got a broad side to it. Blasts of neutron fire slammed into the ship, but the barriers managed to catch most of it. Damage klaxon wailed and the lights flickered as power was shunted to the projector. Counter-fire drilled into the Tinashi's drive fins and it stopped it's turn, a few more shots cored through weaken armor and hit something reactive as the ship exploded violently from within.
Mikhail leaned back and smiled widely, "Za Rodinu, eh, comrades? Dispatch logs to Earth and get us to the rendezvous."
...ooo...ooo...
24:49 Local, December 28, 2246.
Outside a small communications installation, Northern Continent.
Tala System, Tala.
Tala was not an overly useful world to the Minbari, it seemed, as much of it was a hot tropical paradise. Only the small northern continent was cool enough for them to live on and any assignment to the planet was considered an exile in disgrace. But, sitting as it was, the world key to their communication network and had a extensive ground and space based networks. The centers based in the tropics were unmanned, but they were sealed tight and all attempts to breach them had failed.
A light snow fell over the pine forest, blanketing the trees in white. The night air was cold and sharp; Trace's breath fogged as he looked at the Minbari compound from a ridge a kilometer away. The small cluster of five crystalline buildings had been picked for their mission. They had a basic idea of the layout and where they needed to go; the recon drones had managed to get detailed enough scans for that, at least.. It also seemed to be lightly guarded, but they had no idea of what sort of surveillance the Minbari used. Or what kind of response breaking in would warrant.
'Fricken bad intel,' Trace thought, frowning, and tucked the binoculars he had been using back into his pack. He pulled his combat goggles on and looked at the buildings for a bit longer before sliding down the hill to where the rest of his team was waiting. He had pulled the five of them together from across the UN and they were some of the best in UN Special Forces.
"Right, gather 'round," he said as he pulled out a map and laid it out on the ground. "Jorgen, you'll set up here on that ridge behind me. Not out of range, I hope?"
The big Swede sniper patted the twenty millimeter rifle he carried. "Ja, not a problem, sir. You know I'm good for at least five kilometers." Gunny Jorgen Liefson was one of the best snipers in the UN. The big blonde brute handled a long rifle like it was an extension of himself and held a record for third longest range confirmed kill with a thirty-six kilometer shot from a landing assault ship.
"Just checking. Katty, you spot for him. Watch our backs, too."
The woman nodded, "Yeah boss." Kathy O'Malley was a wiry little redhead and a demolitions expert. She had an almost instinctive feel for where to place charges and was a demon in setting up ambushes. "You sure you don't want me with you?"
"We need the buildings intact, unfortunately," Trace said with a bit of a smile. He dusted some snow off the map and pointed at their position, "The rest of us go in. Plan's same as what we came up with on the boat: approach from the east, scout the facility, and place the bugs. Sara, your on point. Eketi, your rear. Be careful, I know you're tougher than us regular humans, but we don't know much about how the Minbari fight.
"Yessir," Sara said softly. Sara Kidondirk, a petite blue haired meltran, was a damn fine soldier and one of the best hand to hand fighters he had ever met.
Eketi Pappas just nodded and finished checking his rifle. The man was well over two and a third meters tall, his mix of Samoan and zentran genes had given him a frame that few could match, and he could literally lift a ton.
"Mike, you get us in and then we have to plant the bugs. Should be in the fifth building, from what the recon drones say."
"Not a problem, sir," Mike Huang said. The lean oriental was a bit of an oddity as a techie and a Special Forces, but he was a fine man to have your back and could turn systems against their operators.
Trace folded the map and stuffed it into it's pocket. "Right then, lets get going."
They made their way quickly through the forest. The only sounds were the soft crunches of their boots on the snow and the wind whistling in the pine needles. Trace signaled and they slowed as they neared the perimeter. He toggled his goggles and zoomed in on the buildings, carefully scanning over them.
"Sensors on building two and five," he said softly when he finished.
"I see 'em. Taking out the one on five will give us a clear run," Mike answered. He pulled out a small gun and aimed at the sensor on building five. It was a small, but powerful, directional EMP gun and after a moment a wisp of blue smoke came out of the surveillance device.
"We're clear," Eketi said softly and the team sprinted to the building. Sara was there first and she crouched down and held out her hands for Trace. He adjusted his stride, so he stepped onto her hands, and with a quiet grunt she tossed him up the two story building. He caught the roof's edge and quietly eased himself up. After a quick look, he waived the others up and with two quick tosses Eketi had Mike and Sara climbing onto the roof.
"Your getting heavy, sir," Sara said with a bit of a smile.
Trace took out a rope lowered it to Eketi. "Hmph, its hard to my girlish figure," he said. They braced it as the hulking man hauled himself up.
Mike had slunk over to the roof access and was carefully examining the door. He quickly bypassed the security around it and then popped the cover off the control panel. After looking at the alien hardware for a moment, he pulled a modified data pad off his harness and slid two leads into the circuits. He had to fiddled with the data pad and had to move the leads a bit before the door opened.
"We're in, sir," he called softly.
Sara hefted her rifle and took the lead into the stairway with Mike, Trace, and Eketi following closely. They went down four floors before Mike directed them out of the stair. They went moved down the short corridor and Sara stopped them at an intersection. Mike glanced at his data pad and tapped her on the right shoulder. She darted around the corner and she almost ran into a Minbari man. She reacted first and her fist lashed out, doubling him over right into her rising knee. He want down and they silently fell back and covered her as she pulled the unconscious man back to the stairs.
"Where do we need to go?" Trace asked softly.
"Right and centerish. Lots of EM there," Mike said with a glance at his data pad.
Sara finished stashing the Minbari and they again started advancing again. They didn't have any other problems and were soon at the room Mike had pinpointed. He probed the door, quickly unlocking it, and eased a fiber optic cable in to examine the room. Not finding anything he opened the door and the group entered the room.
Mike went over to one of the sever cases and whistled softly as he levered it open. "This is nice stuff. All optic and good quality."
"Can it," Trace said as he opened a sever and placed a bug. "We need to get going."
"Right, sir," Mile said placing a bug and then moving on.
They finished quickly and made their way back to the roof, without incident this time. Eketi was lowered down first and he caught the others as they jumped off the building. They disappeared into the woods, met up with the rest of the team, and made their way back to the stealthed shuttle they used and quietly lifted off.
The snow was still falling and their tracks disappeared long before dawn. It was like they were never there.
...ooo...ooo...
24:49 Local, December 28, 2246.
Medical Ward of Lhirup Communications Station 5, Tasda Continent.
Tala System, Tala.
"I was attacked!" the irate man yelled.
"You were going to check on that camera that died, you probably just slipped. We found you unconscious in the stairway, it probably happened there, Deteen," one of the others standing around the bed said. "You know those stairs are killer when they're wet."
"It was an attack! It was wearing a round helmet and had hair like those hum-mans! No crest!"
"A human this deep in our boarders? You slipped and knocked yourself out. Nothing else. Now get some rest."
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