Author's Notes:

- Long delay, I know. I can only say I'm sorry, but thankfully it's finally here.

- Jdog1021, thanks for betaing and for keeping tabs after so much time.

- Stormguard, thanks for the help with the design of the MKII Mothership, it's looking good.

- I'm working on a wikia to replace the facebook page, but regretfully, I'm having a hard time learning to manage it. If someone knows how to use it well and is willing to help, please post me.

Chapter Nine

Hyperspace – Near Tr'Ess'Na – Minbari Federation

Valen'Tha Sharlin class war cruiser – Grey council meeting

December 11, 2245

The Grey Council had analyzed the Battle of Vega and had requested the presence of Shai Alyt Ner'Shen. He stood as a holographic image in the center of the Grey Council chamber. He had been giving his account of the battle for several minutes now. His face showed deep focus and his voice profound respect. "I stand by my previous statement. The humans, while highly inferior technologically, are expert warriors and know how to use their technology to the best of their abilities. I should be dead right now; if it weren't for a simple order I gave before the battle…"

Ner'Shen was interrupted. A hooded figure took a step forward and the female voice of the old but still beautiful Alnenn from the worker cast was heard "What do you mean you should be dead? What simple order could have saved you and the rest of the fleet from certain doom?"

Ner'Shen straightened and answered with clarity. "Before attacking the human colony at Vega, every fleet engagement fought against the humans had been lost, and there was very little intelligence to the how, as the defeat of the First Attack Fleet was total. I had no intention of following the same fate. I tested their defenses at Vega three times before launching the attack. Every time, I was sure the forces assigned were enough to defeat the humans, and every time, they defeated and routed us. But those defeats taught me how far the humans were willing to go to defeat us. I got a glimpse of their tactics and I didn't like the fact that they were willing to take the fight into hyperspace."

Murmuring was heard on the Grey council chamber.

Ner'Shen continued "Many of the losses we sustained were done so in that realm or were carried out into or from that realm. The concept of maneuver warfare is highly ingrained in human tactics, and the professionalism they show in applying it," he paused for a second to let his following phrase show some weight. "I could say… it is the envy of every Shai Alyt."

Morann snorted to himself, but he knew the losses they had sustained, and saw the battle footage. The rest of the council, except those from the warrior cast, understood little of what had happened. He knew that he would have probably died in the hyperspace ambush, while losing the entire fleet. His snort was not heard and that allowed Ner'Shen to continue uninterrupted.

"I remember thinking that my crews were not ready to engage humans this way, and I gave the order to jump immediately to normal space if there was any indication of a human ambush on that realm. We approached Vega and were indeed ambush by them in hyperspace. We had losses, but if my order had been delayed in its execution by just 15 seconds, we would have lost the entire First Attack Fleet again, and without having fired a single weapon."

"It is in this sense in which I express my concerns. You have all seen the battle footages. We went from the frying pan and into the fire. The missile ambush in hyperspace would have been enough, but once we were in normal space, they attacked us in a way that almost defeated us. They tricked us into thinking their mass missile attack was their main engagement and we formed our fleet to defend from it. They waited until we had positioned ourselves, to engage us again. They not only launched another missile attack, but also sent a massive fighter wave that obliterated our Nial wings in seconds."

"At that moment, I didn't know if we were going to survive. Their fighters started launching nuclear tipped missiles as well as a huge amount of anti-fighter weapons into our subsystems. Probably someone thought that it wasn't enough, and at the worst possible moment, when our defensive systems were already saturated, they launched a massive capital ship assault. The new human class of warship encountered is weak compare to ours, but are still able to inflict considerable damage. Especially with the numbers they deployed."

"Only the timely arrival from units of the Second Attack Fleet forced the hand and they retreated. It wasn't a route. They expertly reformed their units, and jumped away. They knew they couldn't engage our vessels from those ranges, and they just left."

"They expended massive amounts of resources to destroy us and they just left. If I had been the human commander, I would have stayed to fight. I wouldn't have accepted a retreat with all the resources I had already committed, and in so doing, I would have lost my fleet to the Second Minbari Attack Fleet. But they did. They retreated, and now we have to worry about an expert enemy fleet lurking near us, ready to strike at any moment."

"As I said, the humans may be technologically inferior, but their weapons are able to hurt us, and they have shown an uncanny ability to place themselves in a position to do so."

"We have suffered heavy losses and half of our remaining ships are damaged. I dare not send ships back for repairs until I receive replacements. The human fleet in this area has also received heavy losses, but they retreated, and their numbers are still strong to threaten us." finished Ner'Shen.

Satai Dhaliri of the Religious caste was fast to ask. "Are you expecting an attack?"

"I can't foresee that, Satai." answered Ner'Shen "It is a possibility. For the moment, they are interdicting hyperspace as they have done so since we arrived to their space. They fire nuclear missiles from time to time from outside picket sensor range. I have deployed our pickets outside their normal detonation areas. Only ships trying to enter or exit the system are at risk. In normal space, I have deployed our ships in a way the humans can't concentrate their fire, but that can support each other in case they attack in force. I'm sure we'll be able to detect any approach, and repel any attack, but I do recommend that we keep the ships we currently have, even if they are damaged, at least until we can replace them with new ships from the reserves. I have sent home a few lightly damaged vessels with our wounded, but I request to keep the rest until replacements arrive."

The prideful Morann from the Warrior cast spoke without even considering counsel from the other satais. "You can keep them, and you'll be reinforced as soon as possible. Now, when are you planning on continuing the advance into the human Signet Cluster?"

The information on human hyperspace maps and colony names had been gathered from different human or alien public sources, so while they were not useful to actually navigate, they were at least useful to more or less provide for a general idea of the magnitude of the space they needed to conquer and regretfully, explore. The cost of exploring and battling human forces only at the Vega cluster had been huge. 1,055 capital ships had been lost, so Morann's intention on keeping on the offensive, while they still didn't have a strong foothold on Vega, was ambitious to say the least.

Ner'Shen politely answered. "Satai, there are still several systems in this cluster that need to be explored before we can move into Signet. As battle damaged ships are replaced by reinforcements from the reserves, I will start assigning ships on recon missions throughout this cluster. I would also need to know if we are going to capture the human Vega colony before proceeding further into human space, but even if we capture this colony, we need to heavily reinforce our forces here if we are to avoid the losses we have sustained so far."

"We have received considerable losses, Ner'Shen, but the humans were also heavily damaged. You need to press forward to drive the dagger into their hearts."

"With respects, Satai, I have no targets to attack, only to explore, and it will take considerable amount of time to do so with few ships. If I commit more forces, I will temp the humans to retake Vega. I would strongly recommend to continue into the Signet cluster until we have two full attack fleets operational, anything less, and the humans will more likely gain the upper hand or at least inflict considerable losses. With the amount of colonies the humans are confirmed having, our reserve will run out before securing a fraction of their space."

Morann was about to rebuff, but was interrupted by Rathenn from the religious caste. "Shai Alyt Ner'Shen, we will heed your recommendation on how and when to proceed to Signet. Now, regarding the human Vega colony…" Rathenn paused for a moment as Ner'Shen's head turned to look into another direction. The Shai Alyt turned his head back to the council as if avoiding an interruption.

"Satais, forgive me." said Ner'Shen turning again to the source of the interruption and speaking with a very low voice as not to be heard, but the council was still able to do so. "I asked not to be interrupted." the answer of the trespasser clearly worried Ner'Shen as his face turned to full attention and now spoke with strength. "Is that confirmed?"

As the Shai Alyt made his question, an aide from one of the satais entered the council chambers, but before any word could be spoken, the Shai Alyt addressed the council. "We have lost contact with the colony of Sh'Lekk'Tha. Sensors reports confirmed heavy jamming before contact was lost. I have a detachment four hours from the colony. I will order it to return…"

"Do that, but concentrate on securing the human front!" ordered Shakat form the warrior caste. "There are two detachments from the second defense fleet protecting the colony. That is their job. You have yours. We'll re-contact you as soon as the situation is resolved."

Shai Alyt Ner'Shen bowed to the council before his image faded away.

Shakat on the other hand, turned to see the arriving aide. It was his. "Report!"

"Total loss of contact. We can't bypass the jamming, Satai. The emissions are consistent with human patterns. The Second Defense Fleet Shai Alyt has ordered two battle groups from the garrison at Tr'Ess'Na to deploy to Sh'Lekk'Tha and has requested assistance to reinforce his garrison in case the humans come in force." replied Shakat's aide.

"Order that both the third defense fleet at Valusha and the fourth at Ralafa to send each one a battle group to reinforce the second at Tr'Ess'Na. Inform the fifth defense fleet units at Eshar and Pagati to be ready in case they are required to redeploy near Minbar." ordered Shakat. He turned to the rest of the council for acknowledgement. Imperceptible nods confirmed his decision. "Go and relay our orders."

"Yes, Satai." answered his aide before bowing and leaving the chambers.

Dhaliri from the religious caste asked with slight tension in his voice. "Shakat, can our forces at Sh'Lekk'Tha defend the colony?"

The warrior answered without a second thought. "You have seen how humans fight. I haven't seen them make many tactical mistakes. If they engage the two detachments protecting the colony, it's because they know they can defeat them. Eighteen ships, even Sharlins, are not enough to stop them if they come in force."

Solnier from the worker caste pointed a terrifying fact. "All our supplies for the human front are being gathered there. If we lose them, the entire invasion time-table will be delayed for months. Aren't there any other ships available to reinforce them?"

Coplann from the warrior caste responded this time. "Without counting transports, the closest ships are in the detachment Ner'Shen spoke about. It is 4 hours away. There is another detachment from the reserves en route to the front that is programmed to resupply at Sh'Lekk'Tha in seven hours. There is nothing else nearby. We will have to wait to see if the humans engage, and if that's so, then to see if our two detachments are enough. Shakat's orders for defense fleet redeployment is everything we can do for now."

Hyperspace – Near Sh'Lekk'Tha – Minbari Federation

Earth Force Naval Intelligence (EFNI) - Ranger Expeditionary Force (REF)

Earth Force 5th Fleet`s 294th Nova Dreadnought Detachment

A few minutes earlier…

The 8 Nova class dreadnoughts from the 5th Fleet and the 79 Sagittarius class cruisers from the REF were coasting behind 52 Oracle class cruisers and hundreds of drones that were entering the Sh'Lekk'Tha system's hyperspace heliosphere boundary.

The drones being used by the humans were very small unmanned craft that were mostly used for reconnaissance operations, but in this case, the Rangers were also employing them as a diversionary tool. They were mimicking the speed and emissions pattern of an approaching fleet, letting the Minbari think they were dealing with a far stronger force. The drones were also equipped with jammers. Those installed were nowhere near as powerful as those from dedicated jammers or warships, but they were still messing with Minbari hyperspace sensors.

During the first engagement with the Minbari at VCB-165, Minbari forces had been able to detect the human approach and even attack a human warship in hyperspace. The human vessels had detected the powerful emissions from the Minbari Tinashis before they attacked, but had not been aware that the Minbari had been tracking them through other means, at least not until careful examination of that battle's sensor logs had determined another type of emissions during the event. Those same emissions had been detected by interdiction operations every time they approached VCB-165 to fire missiles during the initial Minbari incursions into the Vega cluster.

Those emissions originated from hyperspace sensor satellites. The emissions were nowhere near as powerful as Minbari capital ships, and were easily confused with hyperspace distortions if not near them, but once identified; the humans knew what to search for and were dealing with the situation swiftly.

Human jamming was strong, and was most likely blinding the Minbari garrison, but they were taking no chances. Four drones locked into the four sensor satellite emissions and didn't stop accelerating until their mass was stopped by theirs. They met briefly before succumbing to kinetic forces. Minbari eyes in hyperspace went blind.

The lead Oracle detachment opened a total of eight vortexes in different parts of the solar system from which a similar number of spy satellites passed through. Those ships closed their jump points and accelerated away towards the Minbari beacon of Tr'Ess'Na, the only one in sensor range of Sh'Lekk'Tha. The detachment ships were spaced out by thousands of kilometers to avoid losses to a hyperspace interception. Drones acted as pickets in their forward vector to detect Minbari ships in order to avoid combat and secure the infiltration.

The rest of the Oracles continued at a slower pace towards Sh'Lekk'Tha, far behind the first detachment. They waited patiently for the tactical teams to analyze spy satellite sensor relays. The Sh'Lekk'Tha system was lightly populated, but the powerful sensor emissions emanating from the Sharlins protecting the system, quickly identified the planetary body housing the Minbari colony.

The 46 remaining Oracles wasted no time and accelerated towards their target. The same number of vortexes opened all around the Minbari colony. Several drones, a spy satellite and a jammer, emerged from each of them. Those deployed near the colony were greeted by the Minbari defenses and were wiped out immediately, but those farther away started fulfilling their objectives. Jamming emissions started filling local space severely hampering Minbari sensors; spy satellites filtered tactical data into the units in hyperspace and relayed back orders to the drones in normal-space to head forward to reconnoiter harder to detect areas.

Sh'Lekk'Tha was hardly considered a colony. Just a few thousand inhabited the planet. The Minbari used it mostly as an ambassadorial world. Any contact with other civilizations was done through or at Sh'Lekk'Tha, and considering the low level of contact they maintained with other civilizations, it was surprising that there were any Minbari present at all. The fact that a route toward Vorlon space was only three beacons away, gave the required justification to maintain the insignificant colony.

Since the start of the war with the Earth Alliance, the world had become a hub for logistical operations and the last outpost for ships heading to the front. While the normal military presence was limited to less than a dozen old fighters of the Tishat class and only a single defense satellite, the switch from an ambassadorial back-water world to a logistical war-hub, had seen an increase in defense units. 18 Sharlins with their corresponding Nials, and 8 defense satellites uprated the defense category of the colony.

EAS Nemesis – Nova class dreadnought

5th Fleet – 18th Battle Group – 73rd Group

294th Detachment Flagship

Few ships in Earth Force had special markings, it was normally against regulations; few exceptions were made and the Nemesis was one of them. With the highest kill ratio in the fleet, kills attained during the Dilgar War, the ship, along with its captain, had attained legendary status. The crew took advantage of this situation to mark the vessel with a symbol of the proverbial ferocity and toughness of ship and crew.

The Jolly Roger in the bow of the vessels clearly identified the Nemesis in the eight ship Nova class dreadnought detachment.

The EAS Nemesis' reputation was second to none, but while it still possessed the highest kill ratio in the fleet, there was something lacking in its bridge. Captain Joe Tennant was nowhere to be seen, nor was his cult idolized Maori ceremonial grass skirt. The reason was that the famous Captain was no longer a Captain, but the Admiral of the Second Fleet. He had been reluctant to leave the Nemesis. But playing with 512 Dreadnoughts of the Nova III class instead of just 1 of the Nova class was too tempting to reject. He was also allowed to select and name his Nova III command ship. He named the Flag Ship of the Second Fleet the EAS Helen, which the Cypria, an epic of ancient Greek literature, depicted as Nemesis' daughter. For him, it was just fitting.

Seating in the command chair of the EAS Nemesis was Simon Anderson, the ship's former XO under Tennant during the Dilgar War. He was now the legendary ship's captain.

Anderson was relating operational orders that came from the flag bridge, where the Detachment's Commodore, Claude O'Keeffe, was coordinating the attack with the REF Sagittarius.

"Targets identified. 18 Minbari dreadnoughts, 9 defense satellites and multiple fighters. The Battle-net has already assigned primary and secondary targets. Fighters are authorized for transition! Release them! We attack immediately!" Anderson informed his crew.

Anderson saw the Minbari deployment in the holographic display. The 18 Minbari Sharlins were in geostationary orbit above what he supposed was the colony's main settlement, but they were clearly not there protecting the colony, but the massive gathering of containers which represented the entire supply reserves for the forces deployed at the front. The Sharlins were among the containers, while the 9 defense satellites were in a slightly higher orbit, protecting the logistical effort. In a lower orbit, below the forces gathered in orbit, were dozens of transports critical for the logistical operation.

With orders assigned, the bridge crew acted immediately.

288 Nova class Starfuries launched from the dreadnoughts and assumed escort formation. The Nova detachment accelerated forward beyond the Sagittarius and a few seconds later the 79 old missile cruisers started ripple firing all of their missiles. The Novas opened up their jump points as close to the supply depot as the technology allowed. 4,424 missiles went through followed closely by 288 fighters.

With human jammers and multiple drones operating several thousand up to hundreds of thousands of kms from the colony and all around it, every Minbari unit engaging them as best as the current range allowed, was not in the best position to respond to the 8 jump points that opened up in front of the defense satellites. None the less, as soon as the missiles exited the vortexes at maximum speed, the firepower of the defending forces was felt immediately.

Missiles were exploding in front of the transitioning Starfuries. The Electro-Magnetic-Spectrum/Search-Track-and-Lock (EMS/STL) system installed in the Starfuries and telemetry from spy satellites and drones already in normal space, fed the battle management systems in the human fighters.

"Tally-ho! Contacts. Hundreds plus. 12 o'clock low. 200 klicks out." stated one of Nemesis' squadrons pilot.

Immediately after, the squadron commander replied. "You all have your anti-ship and anti-fighter targets assigned. Time-on-target volley all missiles now!"

The jump points had not yet closed, and many fighters had not yet completed the transition, when the forward Starfury squadrons released first their anti-capital ship missiles against the defense satellites and Sharlins to later accelerate at maximum burn towards the depot dumping the anti-fighter ordnance against Nials and Tishats.

The Minbari fighters were in a bad position. The number of fighters from both sides was almost equal, and at those ranges, the Minbari still had the advantage, but the fact that several units were deploy to intercept the jammers and drones deployed by the Oracles, their formations were not in a position to concentrate firepower as the Starfuries could.

While fighters from both sides played their game, which was clearly being won by the Starfuries, the big boys from the Minbari side were decimating the human missile onslaught. However, numbers were against them and the first missiles impacted the gravitic fields deployed by the defense satellites. One missile after another reduced the field strength, leading to the destruction of the Powerful Minbari weapons. The 9 defense satellites and their corresponding firepower ceased to exist.

The missiles continued forward with their engines bright white at maximum power. Shattered pieces of previously destroyed missiles were the first to arrive at the depot. They avenged their destruction when many containers were destroyed or damaged by their accumulated kinetic strength.

The first missiles to arrive at the depot had done so at the cost of thousands of others destroyed, but the first to beat the Minbari second line of defense seemed to be ineffective. The missile impacted directly at the bow of a war cruiser, but the gravitic barrier deployed by the stationary ship was enough to save it. The thermal flash and neutron particles damaged the forward section of the vessel. Its sensors went blind for a moment, and that gave enough breathing room for several other missiles to reach it. After 4 more hits, the Sharlin blew up with the assistance of its quantum gravimetric reactor.

Several containers were obliterated when the first Sharlin died. Missiles that were en-route to the destroyed vessel immediately reassigned themselves and change directions towards new targets.

Many of the human cigar shaped weapons continued their approach, including those launched by the fighters, but before they reached their targets, a new set of jump points, opened by EFNI's Sagittarius, released a total of 576 missiles launched by the 8 Nova dreadnoughts.

The Minbari garrison was doomed. Their firepower was considerable, but the number of missiles approaching was just too much. A second Sharlin soon followed the first, and the situation soon cascaded out of control. The remaining or close-by Nials and Tishats tried desperately to shoot down the missiles, but fail miserably as the Starfuries soon taught them that avoiding combat against a space superiority fighter was a mistake.

As the Minbari fighter wings dwindle in number, a mirror situation was reflected with the capital ships, which soon fell to the still numerous approaching weapons. Fighter launched anti-capital-ship missiles proved almost ineffective, as their power were not enough to overpower the Minbari gravitic fields, but with the assistance of the bigger and more powerful capital ship launched missiles, the Minbari war cruisers' fate were already determined.

The last Sharlin exploded without much fanfare, while many human missiles still remained. The weapons reassigned themselves to bypass the depot and hit the now desperately moving transports. All were destroyed.

The remaining human missiles turned into the depot and soon caused devastation, but with the last detonation, it was clear the something more was required to be done in order to manage the still thousands of containers remaining.

"This is detachment actual to all ships. I know that what I'm about to ask goes against our orders of attacking with missiles and fighters without risking our capital ships, but the targets presented to us are too numerous to engage with our remaining fighters. The strategic value of the destruction of this depot justifies the risk. I have ordered the Ranger Sagittarius to return to Earth Alliance Space, but we are going in. Charge all weapons and prepare for transition" ordered Commodore, O'Keeffe.

Captain Anderson just grinned before ordering his crew. "You heard the man people, and I want the Nemesis to be the first to enter Minbari space with all guns blazing. Punch me a hole in hyperspace and let's teach the Minbari what this heavy handed lady can do!"

Minbari Nials that were returning from engaging human drones were still battling with the Starfuries among the containers, when eight vortexes opened up.

The Nemesis was the first human warship to enter Minbari space, and its vortex had not yet closed, when the frontal plasma mortars started firing with intensity against Minbari containers.

The rest of the detachment followed suit, and when all vessels had made the transition, the turrets acquired a single target each and released a powerful detachment wide alpha strike.

Heavy plasma rounds after heavy plasma rounds obliterated any container they got in contact with. Closer containers were literary pierced from side to side by the powerful human bolts, but even if the Nova detachment firepower released hundreds of bolts per second, it momentarily looked as if there wasn't going to be an end to the destruction. Such was the size of the Minbari supply depot.

The human dreadnoughts systematically laid waste to any container within range, and while a single bolt was able to pierce a container, many more were fired to guarantee total destruction. The alpha strike charge of the dual plasma cannons were used in the first few seconds of the attack and soon only three to four turrets were able to be operated with the power output of the Nova fusion reactors which quickly reduced the firepower thrown against the depot.

It took almost ten full minutes for the human warships to completely destroy the containers deployed at the Sh'Lekk'Tha supply depot, time the Starfuries used to completely eradicate every Minbari fighter.

Combat operations ceded space to rescue operations. Shuttles from the dreadnoughts were dispatched to pick ejected pilots, and the few remaining Starfuries were recovered to prepare the detachment for hyperspace transition.

When the last shuttle returned to its dreadnought, the humans released a single communication buoy to then open up their jump point to exit into hyperspace.

The remaining drones and jammers left at Sh'Lekk'Tha were self-destructed, leaving only the spy satellites surrounding the Minbari colony. The Comm buoy was activated, and a message started repeating in Minbari language, a message that intended to either resolve the conflict peacefully or to force the Minbari to retreat through psychological warfare. It repeated the following:

"We don't know you and you don't know us, yet we find ourselves at war. This war erupted from a misunderstanding and continues through the inability of our races to resolve it peacefully. Your continued aggression in our space has prompted us to respond in kind. Our warships are entering your space in heavy numbers. We have destroyed your military forces in this system, but we have spared your colony. We have no intention in harming innocent civilians nor do we seek to continue to spread this bloodshed.

We have stated before that we want this to end peacefully in the hopes of forging a better future for both our people, but your continued rejection to our communication attempts have forced us to move in force into your space. It will be your decision if we escalate this further or if we try a diplomatic solution to this conflict.

If there is no response, this will be the last time we attempt to contact you, and we will understand that your will is to end this with the use of force. If such is the case, we will escalate military action in a way that guarantees that you will never be a threat to our people."

The message ended as abruptly as it began, but it was very clear. The Earth Alliance wanted a peaceful solution to the conflict, but at the same time had, diplomatically as it could, issued an ultimatum. The last part was a bluff, but a very well-orchestrated one. Earth Force had allowed the Minbari to glimpse the approach of numerous human vessels before destroying Minbari forces and infrastructure at Sh'Lekk'Tha.

The Minbari didn't know that the massive numbers of ships were actually drones emitting the sensor profile of capital ships, and they also didn't know that Earth Force had expended every ounce of real firepower to destroy just 18 Minbari capital ships and 9 defense satellites.

The reality for the Minbari was that the Earth Alliance had demonstrated the ability to fight and win against them, and not only they were stopping their assault in human space, but have now deployed a strong force against them in their own space. Minbari colonies were at risk. The last part of the message, where humans were bold enough to show their intention to escalate military action to guarantee that the Minbari would never become a threat to their people, was certain to send strong shockwaves to the Minbari religious and worker castes. The sparing of the Sh'Lekk'Tha colony was also a warning message of what was expected at Vega. If the Minbari dared attack the human colony they now blockaded, the message made it clear of what would follow on a second attack if the Minbari defenses were beaten.

The human 5th Fleet's Nova class dreadnought detachment and EFNI's Sagittarius were returning along with the Pythia detachment Oracles to human space, while 52 Oracle class cruisers had bypass Sh'Lekk'Tha and were heading in to infiltrate Minbari space.