[CON] Severed Dreams AAR (long)

Okay, as promised, here it is, I hope you enjoy it.  I never knew what
most of the players named their ships, so I took names fro mthe episode
itself.

I'll have it up on the web at
http://www.erols.com/kwatt/SeveredDreams.htm

Keith

The Babylon Project Earthforce Sourcebook: "Severed Dreams"

(GZG-ECC II, 28 February 1999)

I wasn't there when the dream died. 

I spoke before the Grey Council with the fire of my heart and the force
of
a thousand years of prophesy, and in the end I -- alone -- convinced
them.
I raced back to Babylon 5 full of determination and the righteous belief
that this time we would join with the Forces of Light and this time --
this time -- together we would prevail.

I was wrong.

He's gone. They all are. And the blame can rest only upon my shoulders
and
my heart.

-----------

"Jump points forming. " 

Sheridan glanced up at Corwin, meeting the young lieutenant's eyes.
Corwin
re-checked his readings. "Here they come..."

The jump point bloomed just 70 MU away from the station. The Earthforce
Omega-class destroyer and its escort of three Hyperion-class heavy
cruisers stormed out of hyperspace, surrounded by an angry swarm
Starfuries.

"This is Captain Smith aboard the Agrippa. You are ordered to stand down
your weapons and surrender your command at once."

Sheridan punched the comm panel. "Come on Captain, you have to see these
are illegal orders. We don't have to do this!"

"Captain, they've broken off the transmission!"

Sheridan paused. "Alright. Major Ryan, Captain Hiroshi, move to
intercept.
Launch all fighter squadrons. We didn't start this, but by God we'll
finish it!"

----------

"Alpha Squadron, form on my wing."

Ivanova checked her tactical heads-up display. "Engage the rear two
cruisers, the Alexander and the Churchill will take the lead one."

As if in response to her call, fire blossomed from the Alexander's
forward
beam battery. "Direct hit! Alexander, I'm seeing secondary explosions;
it
looks like you damaged her beam system!"

The reply was tense, but almost smug. "Acknowledged, Alpha Leader.
There's
more where that came from."

Ivanova couldn't help a slight grin as she set up her approach to the
middle Hyperion. Just as she and her squadron darted around to the
cruiser's starboard side for the attack, the Churchill added her
contribution to the destruction. The beleaguered Hyperion fired back at
the Alexander, but only scored minor damage.

"Damn," she thought, "the Alexander's hit. But it looks like she's
shrugged it off."  Then, to her squadron, "Here we go, watch those
interceptors." The Starfuries dived directly toward the hapless cruiser,
lasers blazing as they skimmed the surface of the ship.

"Yee-hah! Look at that Commander!" Ivanova swung her fighter around to
prepare for her next pass and saw the massive secondary explosions her
wingman had indicated. "Looks like we got a lot of her major systems
that
time!"

"Good, but don't get cocky, she's still in this." Ivanova glanced at her
tactical again. "Delta Squadron, how are you doing with that other
Hyperion?"

"They know they've been in a fight, Commander! She's lost a few major
systems. She fired at the Alexander, but didn't seem to do much damage.
I've got screening fighters all over me, though!"

"Alright, stay with it. Wait... I show three more Omegas jumping in!
Alpha
Squadron, let's get this buttoned up in a hurry."

----------

Captain Sandra Hiroshi was the picture of calm as she sat in her command
chair aboard the Churchill. "Status, lieutenant."

"We're okay, ma'am, but the middle Hyperion is coming down our starboard
side. She'll be in range in 10 seconds."

"Divert some of our fighters to engage the lead Hyperion. Forward beam
weapons at the Agrippa. Target starboard pulse batteries on that middle
Hyperion and fire." The Churchill's heavy beam weapons lashed out at the
still-distant Omega but did little damage. As the Hyperion swung into
range, however, the pulse batteries poured energy into the already
damaged
cruiser.

"She's hit! Fires on all decks! She's going to blow!"

Hiroshi activated the comm panel. "Churchill to Valhalla, get to your
life
pods! There's still time!"

"...too late. We can't r..." A blinding explosion cut off the
transmission.

Hiroshi's emotions danced between joy and sorrow at the destruction of
the
ship. She sighed. "Major Ryan, that lead Hyperion is closing on B5. Can
your fighters assist?"

"I'm sorry Captain, my fighters are engaged in a major furball. Maybe we
can convince Smith in the Agrippa that he needs the support. Standby."

Molten lightening erupted towards the Agrippa from the Alexander's main
battery, while pulse battery fire raked across the trailing Hyperion.
Explosions ripped throughout the Hyperion, but the gods of war chose to
smile upon the Agrippa, sparing it any damage. The Hyperion was not
without its revenge, however, as its forward batteries inflicted minor
damage upon the nearby Churchill.

"This is Sheridan. Delta Squadron, engage that lead Hyperion before she
can break through our defenses. We'll see if we can't distract them with
our own weapons."

"Understood, sir."

The fighter pilots broke off their attack and drove at full thrust
toward
the heavy cruiser, inflicting minor structural damage to it, but not
before it could do the same to Babylon 5's Green and Brown Sectors.

"Captain Hiroshi! Incoming fire from the Agrippa!" The bridge shuddered
as
secondary explosions tore through the inner bulkheads.

"Damage control, report!"

"It's bad, Captain. We're doing the best can, but we can't take much
more
of this!"

----------

Chaos reigned. 

No less than three individual dogfights, each with dozens of fighters,
were underway in the narrowing space between Babylon 5 and the oncoming
destroyers. B5 fighters continued to harass the trailing Hyperion, while
Ivanova and her squadrons desperately tried to take down the Agrippa.
The
Churchill's own fighters had fallen back to protect the endangered ship.
Her own anti-fighter batteries had taken out an entire squadron of enemy
fighters, yet many more remained. Churchill managed to score a minor hit
on the Agrippa, but was herself struck by another penetrating blow, this
time from the Roanoke. Babylon 5 took up its own defense and engaged the
heavy cruiser which had managed to overtake the station. The Hyperion
shuddered as devastating firepower punched through its hull like it was
paper. Even though wounded, the cruiser valiantly returned fire, causing
still more damage to B5's Green and Brown Sectors.

The tide of battle swayed from side to the other. Ivanova and her
Starfuries scored major damage on the Agrippa, destroying several
internal
systems. There was no time for joy, however, as the Gorgons, one of the
newly-arrived Omegas, fired a blast which destroyed most of the
Churchill's major systems. Trying to cover her wounded comrade, the
Alexander fired into the Agrippa, adding more damaged internal systems
to
Alpha Squadron's efforts. Fate, though, is a fickle mistress. The
Apollo,
the second Omega of the late arrivals, again damaged the Churchill,
leaving it seconds from total destruction.

But it was not yet Captain Hiroshi's turn to die. Enemy fighters swarmed
over the Alexander's hull, destroying systems in their wake. The badly
damaged trailing Hyperion then managed a hit - which was enough to break
the crippled Alexander in two.

The Alexander died in a cataclysm of molten metal.

----------

Sheridan turned away from the viewscreen, his emotions welling up
inside. 

"Captain! Four groups of breaching pods have launched from the rear
Omegas!"

"Understood, Lieutenant. Security, prepare to repel boarders."

Garibaldi's voice was somehow reassuring. "I'm on it."

"Alpha and Gamma Squadrons, engage those pods."

"Yes sir!"

"Message coming in, Captain... It's the Agrippa."

"Babylon 5, I repeat my order: you are to surrender your command
immediately." Smith punctuated his message with a shot at B5 -
fortunately
a clean miss.

"Let them eat static. Where's the Churchill?"

"Firing at the Roanoke, sir. She hit, but only minor damage. Sir!
Another
hit to Green Sector from the lead Hyperion!"

"Return fire!" Sheridan stormed across C and C to Corwin's station.

"A hit! But not much damage. Commander Ivanova reports ten of twelve
breaching pods destroyed by her group, but eleven survived Gamma's
attack.
Sir, that last Hyperion looks to be taking an attack position."

Sheridan shook his head. "She's too damaged to be much of a threat,
target
the Agrippa."

"Aye, sir."

It would be Sheridan's last command. Seconds later, the ignored Hyperion
unleashed a deadly barrage of beam fire which tore through B5's Green
Sector. The explosion triggered a catastrophic chain reaction.

The last of the Babylon stations flared brightly for one final moment, 

...and was gone.

---------

When we finally arrived at Epsilon 3, our task force of three
warcruisers
and the new White Star found nothing but floating debris and a single,
heavily-damaged Starfury belonging to Susan Ivanova. She is alive, but
terribly injured. Our physicians say that she will heal.

Can any of us say the same?

(AAR by Keith Watt, 2 March 1999)