Criticism is welcomed. Without, it there can't be any improvement. Address criticisms to [xazqrten@cox.net]

*****************************

   The shuttle carrying the J.A.G. contingent, Susan's husband, and others who 
were being allowed to catch the first shuttle to Earth, had begun a wide turn 
to give the passengers a last panoramic view of the vessel they had just 
departed from. There was a collective gasp as they watched the huge ship pivot 
on its axis and began to move away from its orbit at a rapidly increasing rate 
of speed, and then open a jump point and disappear into hyperspace. 

   There were three young men watching the Ares, as it made its departure, who 
collectively thought, [God, am I glad I'm not on board her now.]

   The Arkland boy and his lawyer watched the scene. "If that means what I 
think it means, we may never see the inside of a courtroom," commented Robert 
Arkland, through wired jaws.

   "You don't seem happy at the prospect of taking this to court. Why?" asked 
his lawyer.

   "Under the circumstances," he managed to say, "I committed treason, mutiny 
and revealed myself as a coward. I had an agreement that would have made it all 
go away. This lawsuit will drag everything out in public, and they will 
probably court martial me, since this breaks the agreement I made and signed."

   "You worry too much."

   "You aren't the one who will have his name dragged through the mud, and you 
won't be the one who goes to prison."

   "No one is going to prison."

   "Will you agree to do the time if I am convicted and sentenced? Well, will 
you?"

   His lawyer gave him a dirty look for an answer.

   With nothing left to look at, the shuttle pilot began a steep descent into 
the atmosphere.

*****************************

   Onboard the Drakh dreadnought:

   "Commander, we are almost at the coordinates for Mars. Exactly what are we 
expecting?" asked his weapons officer.

   "Three old Omega class destroyers and two, or possibly three of the Warlock 
class. Nothing that we can't make short work of, since it will be a surprise 
attack. We will jam all transmissions upon reentering normal space. They won't 
be able to call for help," explained the intelligence officer. "There are no 
planetary defenses to speak of. Earth never built any or permitted any to be 
built. It was supposed to prevent the Mars colonists from breaking way. As you 
know, it was a fruitless gesture."

*****************************

Earlier on the Ares:

    Susan's steward, Mary Evans, had been with her ever since she had been 
assigned as commanding officer of EAS Zeus. She didn't give a thought to being 
sent to retrieve a child, and put it to sleep in her Captain's bed. She had 
done it before, about three years before on the Zeus. She remembered the little 
redheaded girl vividly. Maya had been a little darling. She had liked the 
girl's mother, too, even if she was a bit scary.

    Mary looked around the wardroom and spotted a lady with a small boy asleep 
on her shoulder. Since she was the only one with a child, hers had to be the 
child that Mary had been told to get.

    The briefing had been completed and the VIPs were finishing coffee before 
starting their tour of the ship. Mary approached Nancy Lukens and said, "Mrs. 
Lukens, Captain Ivanova sent me to take the little one off your hands. I'm 
supposed to put him down in her quarters until you have finished your tour."

    Nancy Lukens looked at Mary and asked, "Does Captain Ivanova provide 
babysitter services for every child who comes aboard?"

    "We have had children onboard only one other time. It was on her last ship, 
and yes, I babysat the child. She was a dear."

    Nancy Lukens handed over her son, and noted, "He will be hungry when he 
wakes up."

    "Not to worry, ma'am. The Captain keeps a well stocked pantry."

    Lukens left the wardroom with the other visitors and Mary Evans took Sean 
Lukens to the captain's quarters.

*****************************

On the VIP tour:

   The VIPs had seen about a third of the ship. They had seen most of the 
engineering spaces and had received explanations about the myriad systems in 
use on the Ares. They had been treated to an in-depth visit to the waste 
reclamation areas. 

   It was just after this visit that Walter Egan, the Secretary of Defense, 
asked one of the tour guides, "How often have you given tours of the ship?"

   Ensign Kelly Dolen replied, "We have never given any tours as such of the 
ship, sir."

   "That seems a little odd, ensign. Is there any particular reason why not?"

   "No one has ever requested one before, Mister Egan. You people are the first 
Earth types to ever visit the ship, excluding Lyta Alexander, Captain Lochley, 
the Commanding Officer of Babylon 5, and several Earth diplomats we encountered 
on some distant planets."

   "What about those who attended the ship's commissioning?"

   "Mister Egan, there were no Earth politicians or other representatives at 
our commissioning. There were only our crew, officers, our captain, the space 
dock commanding officer, some of his officers and crew."

   "How did Captain Ivanova feel about that?"

   "I don't really know, sir. I don't think she cared."

   "I would have been insulted. The newest, finest ship in the fleet and no one 
even came to her commissioning."

   "Yes, sir, but you aren't Captain Ivanova."

   Smiling, Egan replied, "No. I certainly am not."

   "How do you feel about your ship and its Captain?"

   "Truthfully, sir, we have the best officers and crew in the fleet. We also 
have the best Captain. My only regret is that everything after the Ares is 
going to be a disappointment."

   "It doesn't have to be that way," commented Egan.

   "How so, Sir?"

   "Simple. When you report in to you next station, set about showing how you 
helped make the Ares the best there is. Lead by example. It will shame your 
contemporaries into doing better. It will give your subordinates something to 
emulate. If enough of you do that, what Captain Ivanova has accomplished will 
eventually pervade the fleet."

   "It's something to consider, sir."

   "Hey, Walt. Quit making speeches," taunted one of the congressmen.

*****************************

Earlier in the flag mess, shortly after Leftcourt had gone to smooth Ivanova's 
feathers:

   Luchenko's husband had finished his story to his wife and sat watching her. 
Her response to his account of Sheridan's firing had caught him totally 
unprepared.

   Luchenko herself was thoughtfully considering what to do about Ivanova. It 
was a mess. The woman hated her for reasons that when known would not be 
readily believed. Ivanova would be convinced that this was nothing more than a 
political sham to protect her presidency and future political prospects. [We 
are too damned smart for our own good. If we had been honest and forthright... 
butt how could we? None of us was prepared to expose ourselves or our agendas. 
Games within games within games, ad infinitum.]

   "A credit for your thoughts, Dear?"

   The President shot him a look that should have killed him. Then she looked 
at Ivanova's record again. There it was in plain sight, her birthplace. Ivanova 
had been born Ivanov just outside of St. Petersburg, in the Russian Consortium. 
[She's as much Russian as I am. No wonder she’s so stubborn. Fighting and 
distrust are all she knows.] "I didn't know that Captain Ivanova is Russian."

   "It's right there in her record. Why do you think I said she is you? You're 
both cut from the same cloth. She, like you, comes by her stubbornness 
naturally."

   "You asked how I would like to live my entire life knowing that in a moment 
everything I had, loved, or whatever could be snatched away? What’m I missing?"

   "You don't know that Ivanova is a latent telepath? It was briefly mentioned 
in the transcript of her board of inquiry. General Leftcourt and company made 
sure I had a copy, with certain interesting parts hi-lighted."

   After thinking for almost two minutes, President Luchenko remarked, "The 
more I learn, the harder it is to accept. We gave a telepath command of the two 
most powerful starships Earth has ever produced."

   "We most certainly did. However, we didn't know that at the time. I think 
her actions have answered any questions about where her loyalties lie."

   Susan Luchenko tilted her head and studied her husband. "What in hell are 
you trying to do?"

   "What's best for the Earth Alliance and humanity is the general idea. What 
do you mean 'you'?"

   "Now, I know what is really meant by the term 'blind leading the blind'."

*****************************

Earlier in Ivanova's office/quarters:

   "Mary, did you get the Lukens boy?"

   "Yes, captain. He's asleep on your bed."

   Susan walked into her bedroom and sat down on the bed next to the boy. She 
gently traced his facial features with her fingertips. Then she leaned over and 
kissed him lightly on the cheek.

   "You’ll have one of your own, soon enough."

   "I know. I've never had much to do with children before. I mean, we had 
Lyta's daughter, Maya, for a few days, but she wasn't exactly a normal human 
child."

   "She was a little dear, captain."

   "She was almost as dangerous as Lyta is."

   "I never got that feeling with her. Her mother was a different story. I like 
her, Lyta that is. Somehow, as fearsome as she might be, I never thought of her 
as a threat."

   "For you and those like you, Mary, there is nothing to fear from Lyta. You’d 
be in more danger crossing the street."

   "I have been wondering, captain, When you transfer to your new duty station, 
I'd like to go with you. I have more than enough time in to retire, besides, I 
think I'd make a fair nanny."

   "I'll see what I can do, Mary."

*****************************
 
In the flag mess (in the seconds after the call to Battle Stations:)

   "That's not funny, Susan!" snapped Leftcourt.

   Susan continued on her way out the door with Leftcourt in hot pursuit. He 
closed the door behind himself and grabbed for Susan's arm. She whirled around 
to face him and said, "I've broken peoples bones for less than that. Keep your 
hands off me."

   "Damn it, Susan, I need you to fight the ship. I don't know enough about her 
to keep from getting us all killed."

   "That's your problem, general! I've trained her officers and crew. They know 
how to do their jobs."

   "I’m beginning to wonder what I saw in you. You certainly don't act like 
someone wearing flag officer rank."

   "Surprise, surprise, but I handed that to President Luchenko, remember? Let 
her fight the damned ship. It's time she learned how to do something besides be 
a pompous ass. As for dying, I hate to disappoint you, general, but like John 
Sheridan, I've been there and done that... more or less."

   Around the corner coming down the passageway, Captain Owens was explaining 
to George White about General Quarters. George wasn't happy with the newfound 
knowledge. They almost rounded the corner before the sharp voices of Leftcourt 
and Ivanova caused them to halt and listen.

   "If you won't do it for me, will you do it for the other two thousand people 
onboard the ship?"

   "The officers and crew signed on for this. The others, congressmen and news 
people, came at their own convenience. I certainly didn't invite them. I feel 
no responsibility for them. Now, if you don't mind, I have things to do before 
I leave."

   Susan's link chirped and a voice said, "Captain Ivanova, please respond?"

   "You better answer him, general."

   Leftcourt was so angry the veins were plainly visible on his temples. 
"Answer the damned thing!"

   "Ivanova to CIC, wait out."

   "That wasn't what I meant."

   Susan ripped the link from the back of her hand, reached over and put it 
into Leftcourt's shirt pocket. "You answer it." Then she turned to leave.

   Leftcourt played his trump card. "If you won't do it for me or the others 
who came voluntarily, then do it for Sean Lukens and his mother. She tried to 
get out of coming to the ship, but the President didn't give her a choice."

   Susan spun around in a sharp about face and glared at General 
Leftcourt. "You are a dirty, rotten, filthy, lowlife bastard, general. You and 
the lame-brained bitch responsible for them being here. You expect me to pull 
your chestnuts out of the fire. Next you'll be telling me I should do it for 
the safety of my unborn son."

   Around the corner, Owens and White were looking at one another in disbelief. 
Neither had ever heard a senior officer spoken to in such a fashion.

   "You get this ship through whatever we're facing, and I'll forget this 
conversation ever took place."

   Susan was so angry that she couldn't immediately answer him.

   "You have a razor sharp crew, Susan. If they saw a need to take this ship 
out of orbit at high acceleration, jump to hyperspace, and go to General 
Quarters, without consulting their captain, then I believe the situation is far 
beyond dire. I've seen how your crew behaves in battle against superior forces, 
and considering that they know who is aboard, well, it scares the hell out of 
me." Then he handed her back her link.

   Still glaring at him, she turned and - at a dead run - raced toward CIC. 
Keying her link, she spoke into it, "CIC, this is Ivanova. I'm on my way. Get 
the tactical team mustered in my ready room on the double." as she hurried down 
the passageway just out of sight of Leftcourt, she thought she heard someone 
say, "I'm glad she’s doing this." She tossed a quick look around without 
slowing down, but there was no one there. She thought she had imagined it, 
until she realized she had heard it in her head. 

   Owens and White walked around the corner as Susan hurried off in the 
opposite direction. Leftcourt saw them and said, "Tell me you didn't hear that 
friendly little exchange."

   "I didn't hear a thing, general," said Owens.

   "I think I have learned some new definitions for my dictionary," replied 
White. "Starting with the words friend and enemy."

   "Where were you taking this gentleman, captain?"

   "I was taking him to CIC to see where we fight the ship from when the GQ 
alarm sounded. General, let me introduce you to Mister George White. He’s 
Captain Ivanova's attorney."

   Leftcourt looked questioningly at White.

   "The Arklands have retained council and have filed suit against Mrs. Wayne. 
My firm has been retained to defend her, and file a counter suit if necessary. 
I'll know more about that after I talk with her and any witness she may have."

   "Come into the flag mess gentlemen. I think I know some people you’ll want 
to meet Mister White."

*****************************

Onboard EAS Heracles:

   "I still think that we should have been allowed to have planetary liberty, 
Commander Carol," said Lieutenant Gerald, the ship's communications officer.

   "Our orders from Earthdome were quite specific. Refuel, resupply, and then 
get underway for Beta colony."

   "Why’re they sending three ships? All we're going to do is patrol and look 
for stray pirates."

   At that moment Captain Dale Hawes came on the bridge. He had been promoted 
and given command of the Heracles barely six weeks ago. He hadn't had time to 
get to know his officers... much less his crew. To be honest, the Heracles was 
a survivor of the civil war and had been chewed up pretty badly by Captain John 
Sheridan's whitestar fleet. She had been overhauled and some of her systems had 
been upgraded, but she was actually the bottom of the barrel as ships went. She 
was used to train up-and-coming young captains. Sort of a starship version of a 
first bike with training wheels.

   Captain Hawes took the command chair and asked, "How are the training 
exercises with the Juno and Hermes progressing?"

   "We have run six sets of drills and so far we're fifty-fifty in the won/loss 
columns," volunteered the communications officer.

   "Considering that all of us are a little green and haven't had time to get 
used to one another's ways, that isn't too bad."

   "Skipper we have a jump point forming about two thousand 'kliks' off the aft 
starboard quarter," noted the navigator.

   "We aren't scheduled to have any other arrivals. Any idea who it might be?"

   "Communications broadcast an emergency alert to the other ships present!" 
snapped the navigator. "Those are Drakh ships!"

   The communications officer looked at the Captain, who nodded in the 
affirmative, and began broadcasting an emergency alert. Several seconds later 
the Drakh jamming all but shut down the communications receivers.

   "Sound General Quarters, notify our fighters, and get us underway and turned 
to bring our forward batteries to bear! NOW!" shouted Captain Hawes.

   The navigator fed commands to the engines and navigation thrusters, trying 
to bring the old and clumsy destroyer to bear on the ships exiting what was now 
several jump points. What looked like hundreds of fighters seemed to be exiting 
from those same jump points. "We're coming around, Captain, but it's slow," 
said the navigator.

   "Weapons charged, sir!" noted the weapons officer.

   "Open fire as soon as you can target any of their ships!" replied Hawes.

*****************************

   Onboard Whitestar 71, Captain Sheraun was watching the exercises being 
conducted by the EAS ships' fighters. For a Minbari warrior caste type it was 
good for a laugh. The humans performed poorly when compared to the average 
Minbari fighter pilot. He knew part of that was due to the Earthers' more 
primitive equipment, but not nearly enough to get him to overlook their lack of 
training. He closed his eyes and was remembering his time aboard Babylon 5 with 
Lyta. He couldn't get the woman out of his mind. He had been suffering from 
this little malady ever since he had first met her almost five standard years 
ago. It irked him sometimes when his executive officer caught him daydreaming. 
He had been caught at it again, and was about to reply when the alarm from the 
Heracles was received.

   "Sensors, show me that area!"

   He watched as several jump points opened on the far side of the Earth 
destroyer.

   "Magnify."

   What he saw made his blood run cold.

   Sheraun was the senior ranger captain amongst the six whitestars, two 
triads, presently in orbit around Mars. The six were widely separated around 
the planet.

   "Send our sensor displays and readings to the other five ships and order 
them to attack as soon as they can get into position. Get us underway for the 
jump points and ready weapons. Pilots man your fighters."

   "Captain Sheraun, you better look at what is coming out of hyperspace!" 
noted his sensors operator.

   If his blood had run cold a moment before, it now felt like ice. He 
immediately recognized the Drakh dreadnought from data supplied by the EA 
immediately after Captain Ivanova's successful attack on the Drakh space 
station. [We are outnumbered an grossly outgunned,] he thought to himself.

   "Captain, the Drakh are using very high powered jamming. I doubt if we can 
get a call for help out," commented his X.O.

   "It's time we find out just how superior this Vorlon technology is," replied 
Sheraun.

*****************************

Flag mess onboard EAS Ares:

   "Captain Owens, you already know President Luchenko. This gentleman is her 
husband, Charles. This other gentleman is her aide, Jerome Gilliard," said 
Leftcourt.

   Owens nodded to acknowledge both men.

   "Who's your friend, Captain Owens?" asked President Luchenko.

   "Mister George White, let me introduce you to EA President Susan Luchenko," 
said Owens.

   "Ma'am," answered George.

   "What are you doing onboard, Mister White?" asked Charles.

   "I'm here to see a client."

   "I take it you’re an attorney, Mister White," commented the President.

   "Yes, Ma'am."

   "You don't say much. Who is your client?" asked the President.

   "I'm here to see Mistress Wayne."

   "Why am I not surprised?" she asked.

   White didn't offer a reply. Before anyone could say anything else, there was 
a knock on the mess door.

   "Come in," said Owens.

   Generals Marsh and Sanchez came in. "Are we interrupting anything?" asked 
Marsh.

   "Not yet," answered the President. "What brings you gents in here?" she 
asked.

   "Since we're going somewhere in a hurry and they sounded GQ, we thought we 
might use the projection system to grab a feed from CIC and watch what is going 
on."

   "Be my guest, general. I'd like to know where we're going, too," she replied.

   Two minutes and a call to CIC later and they were watching a big screen 
display in the flag mess showing them CIC and what was transpiring there from a 
vantage point behind and above Susan's captain's chair. They could see the 
large tactical display at the front of CIC. After trying several input 
selections, Sanchez managed to select the same feed that was going directly to 
the main tactical display in CIC.

   Sanchez called CIC again and changed the selection once more. Looking around 
at the others present, he said, "This is going to show us why we're on our way 
to Mars, and why the ship is at GQ."

*****************************
 
In Susan's ready room:

   "Okay, Lieutenant Breen. Show me what has your shorts in a bind?" commanded 
Susan.   

   Susan watched the display and took a deep breath and held it for almost a 
minute. Letting it out slowly, she asked, "Did we send this to Earthdome? Did 
they respond?"

   "I sent it, Captain, but I didn't wait for an answer. It doesn't take a 
genius to see that we only have one choice," replied Breen.

   "Don't get me wrong, lieutenant. I approve of your response. I just want to 
know if, after this is all over, providing we survive, I'm going to find my 
skinny little ass in the sling with headquarters."

   "I wouldn't use the adjectives 'skinny little', captain," said the young 
lieutenant, trying to inject some humor into a definitely serious situation.

   Susan shot him a look that said this wasn't the time or place for humor, but 
otherwise ignored the remark. Inside she acknowledged that before the day was 
out, she would think fondly of his attempt.

   "What’s our status? We're going to have to go toe to toe with this one."

   "We have seven of our main batteries fully operational. The damaged one may 
be able to function at forty per cent. Eighty percent of our close in weapons 
are fully operational and seventy per cent of our secondary batteries are 
online, but only about four-fifths of them have been fully tested. The others 
are operational, but to what extent, we aren't sure. We have some weak spots in 
our defenses, here, here and here. The collision damage we suffered at Babylon 
5 has been patched the same way we patched the damage sustained when we 
destroyed the Drakh space station. It would be bad enough, skipper, even if we 
were a hundred per cent in all areas."

   "Understood, Lieutenant, but we’re short on options. I suggest we hit the 
carrier/cruisers first and disable their ability to run. Hopefully, that will 
force them to re-deploy some of their fighters in a defensive posture. Then we 
go after the dreadnought. For what this is worth, I have trepidation about the 
outcome."

   "We’ll do it by the numbers then, captain. We do a quick insert of monitor 
buoys and then attack the cruiser/carriers," said Breen.

   "When we first fire on the dreadnought, desynchronize the main batteries and 
reduce their output to about one-third nominal. I want them to think we’re much 
weaker than we really are."

   "We won't be able to use the big nukes, captain. The resulting debris would 
be worse than shooting the Mars domes with a shotgun loaded with really big 
objects," commented the S.W.C.

   "Maybe so, but if we can detonate three or four of them within ten 
kilometers of the dreadnought, we might be able to fry parts of his sensor 
array with huge electromagnetic pulses (EMPs). If we can do that, fighters with 
mini and micro-nukes could kill him without generating a large debris field. 
Any other suggestions?"

   "I took the liberty of having all areas outside the secondary armored hull 
evacuated and the personnel are suited up in environmental suits. After Babylon 
5, I assumed you didn't want to lose anyone else to vacuum," said Breen.

   "Good assumption, Mister Breen. Anyone else?" 

   "Captain, what we saw was already almost eight minutes old when it reached 
us. Seeing how easily they destroyed the first omega, I think it is safe to 
assume that the other two are probably gone. Even the warlocks are no match for 
the ships we’ve seen. We may not be a match either," commented the Navigator.

   "We'll see before the day is out," replied Ivanova. 

   As her officers were leaving, she put her head in her hands and sighed.

   "Are you alright, captain?" asked Breen.

   Susan realized that she had been feeling the fear of her officers and that 
she had known what some were going to say before they said it. Including 
Breen's concern about her. [In Valen's name, not here, not now. I don't need 
this. Charley! You son of a bitch! I need you now!] She knew she would have to 
weather this problem alone. She remembered the young girl on Babylon 5 and how 
much trouble her emerging telepathic abilities had caused.

   "I'm fine Lieutenant, I just feel a headache coming on."

   [Who wouldn't under these circumstances?] thought Breen to himself, not 
envying his captain her position.

*****************************

   "My God!" exclaimed President Luchenko. "What is that?"

   "As best I can tell, Madam President, that is a dreadnought similar to the 
one we destroyed when we attacked the Drakh space station," commented Leftcourt.

   "We’re headed for one hell of a firefight, gentlemen," noted Sanchez. 
"However, we won't be alone. Those whitestars are impressive and the warlocks 
are nothing to sneeze at."

   "What are our chances of surviving this fiasco?" asked White.

   "Unknown at this time, Mister White," replied Leftcourt. "We have the best 
tactical commander in Earthforce calling the shots, so I'd estimate better than 
fifty-fifty."

   "Is that supposed to make me feel more relaxed, Tom?" asked Luchenko.

   "It’s a realistic estimate of our chances. Every other time we have 
encountered this race they’ve left us hurting or worse. Susan seems to know how 
to fight them."

*****************************

   Onboard the Heracles, the navigator was fighting to bring his ship around. 
The first shot from the Drakh dreadnought caught the rotating section of the 
ship in its bearings/slip ring area and caused the section to jam instantly. 
Inside the ship, men and materials were thrown against decks and bulkheads. On 
the bridge, the captain and console operators were badly shaken as the only 
thing that kept them from flying across the bridge was the zero-g belts on 
their seats. One operator who had not strapped himself into his seat was thrown 
across the bridge and into a tactical display.

   The ship shuddered heavily as its main longitudinal supports began to twist 
and snap from the tremendous torque forces being applied against its weakest 
axis. The second shot from the dreadnought ripped a long gash through the 
ship's hull. Atmosphere screamed out of the bridge area into empty space, and 
Captain Hawes, realizing that his ship was finished used his last breaths of 
air to pass the word to abandon ship. His last thoughts were hoping that some 
of his crew survived.

   Onboard the whitestars, the commanding officers and their bridge personnel 
watched as the Heracles began to break up from internal explosions and 
additional fire from the dreadnought. They noted that Drakh fighters targeted 
the life pods from the doomed ship.

   "Triad 71, follow me in to attack the dreadnought. Triad 44, attack the 
cruiser/carriers. Beware of the fighters. They can destroy us if they can mass 
their fire," transmitted Sheraun as he gave orders for Whitestar 71 to start an 
attack run on the dreadnought.

******************************

   Onboard the Juno and Hermes, the bridge crews watched in horror as the 
Heracles broke up into pieces without even having fired a shot.

   On the Hermes bridge Captain Conner said, "We don't have a snowball's chance 
in hell against that. Get us out of here. After batteries, open fire."

   The after batteries of the Hermes targeted the dreadnought and successfully 
raked its side, but it was a wasted effort. The energy beams simply did no 
discernable damage.

   A large number of the Drakh fighters concentrated on the Hermes and poured 
energy beams into it. The beams scored the hull and caused breaches. Venting 
internal atmosphere the Hermes tried to run for its life, to no avail. One of 
the carrier/cruisers engaged the crippled ship with its main batteries. The 
Hermes lost rotation of its gravity section, and its jump engines were damaged 
in the barrage. Burning fuel and exploding munitions began to blow large pieces 
out of the outer hull. The order to abandon ship was given.

   Whitestar 71 began a run on the dreadnought followed by Whitestars 89 and 
106. They hit the dreadnought with everything they had. If it had any effect, 
they couldn't see it. As they passed close to the ship they flipped to continue 
fire even as they went away from their target.

   Whitestar 106 was hit by a beam from a secondary battery on the dreadnought. 
One of its {wings} was sheared off, causing it to tumble out of control. It was 
instantly apparent to Sheraun that they were grossly overmatched. 

   "I suppose that answers the question about the Vorlon Technology," noted 
Sheraun to no one in particular. 

   "Shall we begin another run?" asked his navigator.

   "Let us regroup and rethink our strategy," replied Sheraun.

   "The third Earth destroyer is beginning to break up, sir," noted Sheraun's 
weapons officer.

   "The warlocks are getting a bad time from the Drakh fighters."

   "I can see that. Let's try the cruiser/carriers. Maybe we can give them 
something to think about and draw off some of their fighters," answered Sheraun.

   "How long do you think this will last, sir?" asked his weapons officer.

   "Until one side is obliterated."

*****************************

In the wardroom:

   The escorting officers had finally gotten their congressional charges back 
to the wardroom. The congressmen were all trying to talk over one another at 
the same time. It was a verbal pandemonium with no one getting any answers or 
satisfaction.

   "EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" Yelled Walter Egan, loudly enough to be heard at the 
other end of the ship. What followed was silence.

   "I’ll call Captain Ivanova and get us some answers. Will one of you young 
officers call the captain for me?"

   One of their escorts stepped over to the communications panel on the 
bulkhead and called CIC. "Is Captain Ivanova available? I have a room full of 
congressmen wanting to know what is going on?"

   "Wait out," replied an unidentified voice from the panel. A moment later the 
voice returned, "The captain is meeting with her tactical team. I’ll give her 
your request as soon as she comes out of her ready room. If you want to see 
what caused the GQ, select channel six on the panel. We’re running it for 
information purposes."

   "Can you do that for us?" asked Egan.

   "Certainly, sir. If you people will find seats and strap yourselves in, I’ll 
project it up on the big screen."

   Everyone found a seat. The young man lowered the lights and projected the 
input onto the large display screen that was actually one of the wardroom 
bulkheads. The images induced those present to breathe in very sharply. Other 
than the suddenly drawn breaths, there was silence in the wardroom.

   "Somebody want to tell me what in hell we just watched?" asked the Senate 
Majority Leader, Harry Mathers.

   "We just watched the beginning of an attack on the ships presently in orbit 
around Mars," replied Egan. "I recognized the ship that we just saw destroyed. 
If they get past the ships in orbit around Mars, I believe they will attempt to 
destroy the life support domes on the planet's surface."

   "They made extremely short work of that Omega class destroyer," noted 
Mathers.

   "Yes they did, Senator. You're going to learn first hand why building cheap 
is not a bargain when it comes to warships. I just hope we live to debate 
this," replied Egan.

   "You seem to have some doubts, Walter."

   "Senator, we're going into combat with those ships. This isn't a theme park 
thrill ride. This is the real thing with real people being killed. There is no 
guarantee we won't be amongst them," noted Egan. 

   This statement was greeted by grumbling amongst the elected officials.

   "I don't suppose there is anything we can say or do that will influence 
events, is there?" asked the senate minority leader.

   "President Luchenko is in the flag mess. We can call her if you wish, but 
it'll be a waste of time. Captain Ivanova is in control of the ship, and is 
responding to a valid emergency as is required in accordance with interstellar 
law. To intervene with her response would be patently illegal, senator," 
commented Egan. "However, we can make the call."

   The grumbling continued, but Egan's last statement had quashed any idea of 
trying to interfere with Captain Ivanova and her operation of the ship.

*****************************

END PART 8
    

part 9

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