The engagement was still difficult, but much less so than if the Shadows had been at full strength. Without the support of their Earthforce allies they were unable to hold the gateway to the Proxima system, and mounted a cautious retreat. The Alliance ships moved nearer and nearer to Proxima 3 itself, knowing the defence grid was waiting for them.
Of the four capital Earthforce ships, the Saint–Germain possessed limited capabilities and the Morningstar was struggling to regain some sort of combat readiness. For the Dark Thunder and the De'Molay , however, the damage was much more comprehensive.
The captain of the De'Molay could hear a million voices screaming as one, coming from a far–distant place. Beneath them she could dimly detect the hissing agony that came from around her.
And above them all, behind the screams, were the triumphant whispers of an ancient race she had never met.
Then all she could hear was her name.
Her eyes opened and she stirred, wincing at the pain in her head and side. Her second, Commander Paul Telleride, was beside her, shaking her gently.
"It's all right," she whispered, blinking past the pain and looking up at him. There was a long deep crimson gash across his forehead. "I'm awake. What the hell happened to us?"
"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied, stepping back and awkwardly helping her up. "We're floating here. Jaiena in Engineering is doing what she can, but...."
"Damn." Bethany activated her link, patching in the signal. "Engineering," she said. "Jaiena, can you hear me?"
The familiar voice of the Chief Engineer answered a moment later, through a confused and patchwork signal. "Captain.... Engi... ing.... here."
"What's our status, Jaiena? Please tell me we can do something!"
"Ship–to–sh.... comm.... active.... Engines are.... dead. Weapons.... dead. Navigation.... We're working on...."
"Ship–to–ship comm is active?" Bethany looked up at Paul, who was bent over one of the panels, frantically working at something. "Do what you can, Jaiena. Tikopai out." She hobbled over to her second, wincing with every step. Her bridge was in complete chaos, covered in debris, small fires still burning, smoke filling the air.
And with each step, the ship itself seemed to cry with its suffering.
"Can we get through to any of the others? Are they in any better condition than we are?"
"I'm trying," muttered Paul. "Our last sensor reading was of the Dark Thunder practically falling apart, but as for the others, we.... Hallelujah!"
"Didn't know you were a religious man," she observed, and then her humour faded as she heard a clipped, precise voice.
"Saint–Germain to De'Molay. Anyone there, De'Molay?"
"This is De'Molay. What is your status, Saint–Germain?"
"Good to hear from you, Captain. We are changing coding signals every three seconds, so keep up."
"If we can."
"We are operational. Whatever hit us seems to have affected the Saint–Germain less than the rest of you. However, our enhanced jump engines, superior sensor array and all the other engine enhancements are inoperational. Our targeting systems and hull integrity are also not good. Our weapons systems are completely off–line."
Tikopai stood back, trying to think. The Saint–Germain's weapons systems had never been over–powerful in any case. It was a sign of desperation that the ship was here at all. What weapons they had were special Shadowtech dispersion fire, designed to distract and hinder pursuing forces while the ship fled. It was a scouting and reconnaissance vessel after all....
Tikopai paused, a dark thought rising.
A scouting vessel, designed with enhancements to the normal jump engines enabling it to enter hyperspace much more quickly and efficiently than normal Earthforce ships. With a superior Shadowtech sensor array, aimed to scan at much greater distances. With considerable Shadowtech engine enhancements designed for greater speed and manoeuverability.
"Good God," she whispered. "It's the Shadowtech. Whatever they hit us with has paralysed all the Shadowtech in our ships."
"How on earth...?" asked Paul.
"I've no idea. DeClercq, did you hear that?"
"Confirmed."
"Can you get through to Ryan and the Morningstar?"
"Negative."
"Damn! What are the Alliance up to? We're sitting blind over here."
"As far as we can tell from normal sensor functions, the Shadows are beginning to pull back. Some of the Alliance ships are heading for Proxima itself. Our normal jump engines should be on–line again soon according to the engineers. We will follow them."
"And what are you going to do when you get there? The defence grid should still be operational. It was only enhanced with Shadowtech, like the Saint–Germain, not completely built from it as we were. Oh God, let's just hope it holds. Keep trying to get through to the Morningstar and the Dark Thunder. We're going to get as much back on–line as we can. De'Molay out."
Bethany stepped back and activated her link.
"Yes?" came Jaiena's voice.
"You'd better hurry down there. I think we're going to have even less time than we thought."
Captain David Corwin had been fighting the Shadows for over two years, starting with their first appearance here, defending the Proxima system from the Minbari attackers. Now he had returned, and once again the Shadows were defending Proxima, but this time he was in the attacking force.
And this time the Shadows were being defeated.
He didn't know how or why this was happening, and that annoyed him. He had a very unpleasant feeling about all this, but he knew his duty. Whatever had hit the Shadows, seemingly focussed through the Dark Star ships, had not paralysed them completely as it had the Earthforce ships. They were still moving sluggishly; weakened, but still deadly. The Shadows were ancient and fell, their lives dedicated to warfare.
But, slowly, they were being beaten back. Clearly they were less willing to relinquish Proxima than they had been to concede other defeats, but inexorably they were being forced back.
And the Dark Stars followed them.
Corwin turned to the viewscreen and saw the face of the Brakiri there, Kulomani. "Captain," Corwin said, puzzled as to why the captain of the Dark Star 4 should contact him.
"Captain Corwin. Our battle plan has.... as Captain Daro put it, fallen completely apart. Are we to move on Proxima Three itself as originally planned?"
"Why haven't you asked Captain Sheridan about this?"
"We have.... or to be more precise, we have tried. There is no response from Dark Star One."
Corwin swore to himself. Captain Sheridan was his oldest and dearest friend, but he had changed in recent months, and not for the better. If he wanted to ignore his allies, then so be it. They had a mission here, and that was to save humanity from the consequences of their bargains.
Just why the other captains had elected him as the one to turn to, he had no idea.
"Yes, we move on Proxima Three, as per the original plan. Destroy any Shadow ships there, disable any further Earthforce ships, take out the defence grid, and then.... hopefully by then, Captain Sheridan will be able to proceed."
"And what about these four Earthforce ships here?"