Out of character: You should know that this significantly changes things for my characters. Commodore Guderian had a desperate plan up his sleeve that he was one turn or so away from enacting, one last throw of the dice in an attempt to get most of the 5th back home with haste before things degenerated further. What that plan was I will not say yet. For the moment, however, the plan has changed.************************
Guderian stood in the airlock, awaiting his fate.
Then the alarms sounded. He could hear the warning klaxons blaring faintly as the sound crept along the hull of the
Phonecia down into the antechamber on board the
Ransom. Belatedly, the
Ransom's own, fainter alarms rang. His comm chip vibrated...
"This is the Commodore, what's going on out there??"
"Commodore, this is Mitchell! We've got
Shivan jump signatures, sir! A handful of fighters,
Dragon class, just emerged from where the Sol node should be! Orders, sir?"
"Get me Gascon, I need to speak with him alone! Pass the word to your crew and the
Sunder Marcel; Battle Stations!"
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"This is Gascon, Commodore. I take it you were appraised of the situation."
"Yes. The question is obvious.
Do we go through with the plan?"
"I would suspect, sir... that the sudden and inexplicable arrival of Shivan forces may imply that Bosch was correct - or, at least, he had some inkling of this. It stands to reason that the Shivans could indeed be breaking the space-time plane, cracking and warping the plane into multiple 'dimensions' within one 'reality'. Or it could have any number of explanations. Many options must be kept open."
"And the plan, Captain?"
"With due respect, sir. You do know that I had qualms about the plan. Now more than ever. Especially with this new development, if we go through with the operation... do we leave the people of this 'dimension' to die? Are they even real, or an illusion crafted by darker forces? We do not know. Should we act as though we were responsible for their fate?"
"In short, sir, should we behave according to the suggestions of a well-formed conscience, even if this is all... unreal? If we willfully choose to neglect the dignity of others in our fantasy, what does that say about us?"
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"I was so close, Palmiro. So close to sending us home."
"True, sir. I would also be home, if I could, as would we all. Remember. There was no guarantee it would succeed in the first place. Furthermore, nothing stops us from finding a more... ideal procedure for the same operation at a later time."
Guderian clenched his hand over his eyes.
So impossibly close...Never you mind. It is done now."
Ransom, open that airlock and I'll get back inside! Prepare to cast off and return us all to the
Lo." He switched to the wider 5th frequency. "All ships,
Battle Stations! ENGAGE ENGAGE ENGAGE! I want every gun trained on those fighters and alert for threats from any angle! Transports, stay within the cruiser's defensive cover and get your Flak Cannons loaded!
De-charge those jump drives!"
"Vice Admiral Syrghalla, civilian cruiser
Nightfly, all GTVA vessels... this is Commodore Guderian. The NTF 5th Cruiser Squadron is preparing for battle with any and all Shivan forces. We recommend that our forces keep their distance from each other while battle is joined. We can sort out our diplomatic concerns at a later time. I offer you tactical data from our fire control systems - with coordinated fire, we can wipe out these
Dragons!"
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