“How many ships are approaching us?” he asked.
“Over two hundred!” the Ops manager reported. “Sontarran, Imperial… and Centauri!”
It was then that Colonel McQueen entered. A respected officer aboard the Saratoga, he had heard word of the approaching ships.
“Is it true?” he asked.
“If you're talking about the ships, then yes, it's true,” Ross replied.
“Where are the 58th?” McQueen asked.
Ross checked the sensors.
“Directly in their path.”
McQueen pressed the communications button.
“Red leader, this is Queen Bee. Come in.”
A voice of a young man came over the channel, the voice of the squadron leader, Lieutenant Nathan West. He and his comrades were out on a routine patrol in their fighters.
“This is Red Leader. You should see it out here, Colonel!”
“We can. West, do not engage the enemy! I repeat! Do not engage!”
“It's too late for that!” reported Lieutenant Wang, West's wingman. “They're engaging us!”
Ross' sensor panel showed a squadron of TIE fighters approaching West and his crew.
“Red Squadron this is Queen Bee! Retreat! I repeat, retreat!”
There was no reply from West. Again, Commodore Ross checked the sensors.
“The TIE fighters are attacking them, and the Sontarran and Centauri ships are attacking the Norpin colony.”
“What about the Imperial ships?”
“They're heading straight for us!”
The Federation colony on the planet Tellus had only been in place for a year, and those who had chosen to go there were still finding their feet. However, they would not be able to settle down much longer. In the sky above them a squadron of TIE fighters soon rained down on them, attacking them, sending them all running for cover. Countless numbers were killed, and the Imperial forces were joined by several Centauri fighters. With very few defense systems, because they were a new colony, they didn't stand a chance.
At the main control panel of the Operations Room, Pendragon scanned the various sensor and communications panels. All around, reports were coming in of the various battles throughout Federation space. The news of the battle around the Norpin colony was just coming in. It seemed worse for him when he heard this news. He knew Colonel McQueen. Once McQueen had asked him to join him in the ‘Angry Angels'. Pendragon had declined the chance to join that elite fighter squadron, instead preferring to serve as a command officer on a starship.
Admiral MacCleod soon joined him at the console, and began looking at the panel. He was not hopeful.
“I haven't seen anything like this since the Minbauri war,” he said. “The Borg didn't cause this much havoc! We've got to do something!”
“What?” asked Pendragon. “How many ships do we have? We have five starships, and one of them doesn't have any crew! Against a thousand ships, we wouldn't stand a chance!”
“He's right,” said a voice behind them.
Both men turned to see Ambassador Baggins standing behind them.
“Ambassador, I thought you were still on the Time,” said MacCleod.
“I returned a few moments ago,” said Baggins. “Captain Pendragon is right, you know. Even if you include your runabouts and our Valhalla-class fighters, we still wouldn't be a match for them!”
“But we can't sit by and do nothing,” said MacCleod.
“For now we must,” said Pendragon. “If the forces were to attack the Time of Legends it wouldn't stand a chance unless we were here. We must stay.”
Pendragon then turned and walked away from them, his head bowed low. MacCleod could tell that the events of the past few hours were weighing heavy upon his shoulders. Deep down inside he knew that Pendragon was right.
Soon, Magus arrived aboard the station that was the Demeter City Police Department. He found it in a state of chaos. The riots in Altor's capital city were getting worse by the minute, and news of the invasion was adding panic to the anger. Things couldn't have been worse. Using a mind trick, Magus soon made his way into the main part of the station. He found officers rushing around all over the place, like headless chickens, trying to get reinforcements, but not getting any because of the invasion fleet.
Magus soon found himself confronted by a female Tarn officer. She towered above him, and had a stern look on her face.
“Who are you?” she asked. “How did you get in here?”
“That doesn't matter. I must speak with Captain Podley!”
“That's not possible! He's very busy at the moment!”
“I know, but I must see him anyway!”
From his office Podley could see this confrontation. He could hear the voices being raised. Getting to his feet, he could see his visitor. Quickly, he opened the door of his office.
“Took! Let him by!”
Took was not happy. They had enough problems at the moment.
“Go on,” she said. “But don't be long!”
“I will be as long as it takes, Officer!”
Magus soon marched into Podley's office. Podley closed the door behind him, and lowered the blinds.
“A fine moment you picked to come down here, Doctor!” he said.
“My apologies, Captain, but I knew nothing of the election until I arrived on Altor. Now, we must hurry. We may not have much time.”
The 58th didn't stand a chance against the TIE fighters. From a squadron of twenty, only five—West, Vansen, Hawkes, Wang and Damphouse—remained, and they were in big trouble.
On the Bridge of the Saratoga, McQueen was worried. He looked at the sensor panel and could see the Sontarran ships attacking the surface, and an Imperial Star Destroyer was almost breathing down their necks.
“It's no good,” he said. “I'm ordering a withdrawal! The Saratoga should leave also.”
“But what about the colony?” said Ross. “We just can't leave them!”
“And we can't help them either,” McQueen replied. “We must pull out and regroup!”
Ross knew that McQueen was right. He slowly turned to his helmsman.
“Navigation, as soon as what is left of the 58th is aboard, get us out of here!”
Ross knew McQueen was right, but he wished he wasn't.
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