Small Rocks Shifting Can Make The Universe Move

The Captain of the Raptor, an Earthforce destroyer, studies a report, bored almost out of his mind. The Captain rubs his eyes, thinking that running in circles around a jump gate is a poor way to use two of the most powerful ships in Earthforce. The Raptor has been on patrol with the Crete, guarding an important jump gate for two months without relief. Several destroyers and smaller ships have gone over to the rebels during the past couple of months and no ships patroled alone.
"Sir!" the communications tech spoke up. "The Crete just received a communication, Sir that we have not." The Captain handed his now signed reports back to a yeoman and looked at the NCO, not sure what to say. "Give it a few minutes, Briggs. They are not supposed to receive transmissions that we don't also receive, but lets make sure it isn't another mistake before we go accusing Captain Raimeus of hiding something from us."
Suddenly, the Crete moves, quickly, it's suddenly hot front weapons facing the Raptor. "Sir!" screams the sensor tech. "Crete has weapons hot and locking on to us!" The Captain jumps out of his chair. "What the hell is he doing?" The Captain is answered by a massive explosion from the rear of the Raptor and a second that quickly follows. The first shot destroys the Raptor's jump engines and damages her drive, the second destroying the rotating sections gearing, freezing the entire section. Crew float from their sections and the ship goes out of control as this has not happened to an Earthforce destroyer since the Minbari War. Electrical fires break out as shorts and overloads multiply around the center of the ship. The fire spreads at the rear of the ship and more explosions rock the Raptor. The Captain and First Officer scream orders, not sure what has happened and wanting to save the ship. Outside, the Crete has opened a jump point and is entering hyperspace. The sensor tech finally sees this and relays the information to the Captain. Engineering also calls up and tells the bridge just how much damage is done to the drive systems. "Of course," says the Captain, to no one special, "They knew right where to hit us. Casualties?" "No deaths, Captain, just a few minor injuries. They hit unmaned areas, Sir. The injuries were caused by electrical shorts when the rotating section frozze." "How long before we can get underway, with or without spinning the center section?" "Sir, there is no way we can repair this without being in spacedock and major parts that we don't have." "Do the best you can and at least keep us from drifting," the Captain says, turning to the First Officer. "A sitting duck, dead in space. Damn! Senors! Is there anything out there?" "Nothing but the jump gate, Sir." "Get a distress signal off and see if we can get a tow. Roberts," he continues, talking to the First Officer, "Get back into engineering and see if there is anyway we can move. I don't want to get rammed by a rescue ship coming through the jumpgate." "Yes, Sir!" "Now," says the Captain, "Lets just hope the next few hours is as quiet as the last couple months have been.
In just a matter of minutes, the Raptor moved to the side of and facing the exit of the jumpgate, thrusters at station keeping. The call for help sent, all the ship had ti do was wait. But the universe just doesn't work that way. "Sir! We have a power spike! Jumpgate being activated!" The Captain stood up out of his chair. "Let's see who this is......." A swarp of raider fighters along with two mother ships pop out of the gate. The raider fighters and the Raptor fighters quickly join in combat as the mothership locks her weapons on the Raptor. "Battle stations!" the Captain screams into his PA speaker, his voice echoing through the huge ship. "Launch all fighters!" The A squad, on thier sleep shift, jumped out of their bunks, dressed and ran toward their ships even as C squad launched. A third of B squad, badily out numbered, were already destroyed or badily damaged. "See if you can get us a shot on one of those mother ships!" the Captain told the navagator and weapons officer. The ship moved way too slowly to even come close with her main weapons and just shot with her small fighter screen weapons. "I keep telling them to give us larger cannons like a dreadnaught! Damn!" swears the Captain, not wanting to be the first Earthforce officer to have an Earthforce destroyer shot out from under him. The raider mothership fired, hitting close to the bridge, misssing just because of the movement the navagator is making. The First Officer is just entering the bridge from the rear door when the interior walls behind him erupt, a piece of steel entering his back, cutting his spine in half just above the hips. "Medicial team to the bridge stat!" orders the Second Officer as the Captain bends over to talk to his stricken officer and friend. "I....am a little bit of...." gasp "...a mess, sir" he manages to say, blood leaking out of his mouth. "Take it easy, Ron," the Captain whispers, tears welling up in his eyes. "Guess I won't get to see those new weapons you have designed instaled on this baby of yours," Ron continues. "Don't talk. The medicial team is on its way!" "Saint John, get those Raider bastards for me."...gasp....."Kill them all for me!" The Captain does not know what to say as a tear rolls down his face. "Promise!" Ron demands. "I swear!" the Captain says. "I'll kill them all!" Ron Olsen coughs twice, takes a deep breath, blows it out, his eyes looking into the Captain's eyes, but now seeing nothing. Several explosions shake the ship as the Captain closes the eyes of his friend, bringing out of his thoughts. "Sir!", the Second Officer says. "The engines have taken several hits. Over half of our fighters are damaged or destroyed. We just do have enough thrusters working to keep us from hitting the jumpgate." "Damn! Get the fighters to fly defensive patterns around the ship, adding what little firepower we have left to theirs. "We have a power spike!" says the sensor tech. "Two jump points forming! Starboard and aft!" "Lets see!" says the Captain, looking toward his main screen, which split, showing two formed jump points. The Crete comes out of one, with the Atlanta, an Earthforce corvette known to have left Earthforce and gone over the growing number of anti-Clark ships. Starfurys swam out, attacking.......the Raider fighters. Weapons blaze out of the corvette and destroyer, hitting the Raider motherships. The destroyer blocks the entrance to the jumpgate, not letting any of the Raiders to escape by jumping to hyperspace as Atlanta and the fighters mop up the remaining Raider force. In a matter of minutes the Raider force is completly wiped out. "Sir!" the Second Officer says. "The Crete is hailing us." "On main screen!" says the Captain, his anger showing now. "What the hell do you wnat, you tratior!" "Tratior to who, Captain Hawk?" the Crete Captain asks. "President has attacked homes of friends and family on Mars and you dare call me a tratior, Sir? Who is the real tratior?" "You should not have abanoned your post here, damn it! Look what you've caused!" Saint John Hawk says, waving his arms around his damaged bridge. "Sorry, Captain. We had no idea the Raiders were coming here. We followed them back, trying to destroy them in the name of Earth, not President Clark." A noncom hands the Crete Captain a note. "Now, Captain Hawk, we must leave. Your tow ships are almost here and we must be gone before we arrive. Think about you really serve while you are in an Earthforce uniform." Captain Hawk opened his mouth to say something, but the Captain of the Crete raised his right hand. "Just think about it!" The screen reverted back to a view of two jump points forming and the Crete and Atlanta leaving normal space. "Launch rescue teams!" the Captain said to the Second Officer. "Get the remaining fighters to help get the pilots inside the ship along with what is left of the fighters. Can't have all of this junk floating around the jumpgate."

Thirty minutes later, four Earthforce tugs and three destroyers come through the jumpgate, two destroyers taking up patrol and the other escorting the towed Raptor back to Earth.

Back on Earth, President Clark is told that his new ships can't be finished by his deadlines. Asking his engineer in charge of the project, Clark is told that the only way to meet his deadline is to install the Shadow technology in Omega destroyers, several of which is in spacedock right now, six more ready to come in for maintance and one being towed in because of battle damage. Clark is furious but is forced to agree as only the keels of eight of his new ships has been laid. Clark is afraid that a general or maybe even Captain Sheridan will get the rebel forces together and fight against him, and in a lot less time than the estimates of getting the new new ships finished. He is right.