“Inbound enemy battlecruisers!” called out the sensor officer.
Grayseth’s eyes instantly shifted to the tactical display. It showed nearly a thousand inbound Eternal battlecruisers heading toward the Hunter.
“Concentrate our fire on those ships,” ordered Grayseth, his large eyes focusing intently on the viewscreens. “Hit them with as many blue energy spheres as possible.” He leaned forward in his command chair gazing at the viewscreen showing the front of the enemy fleet formation.
Blue energy spheres from the Hunter and two other juggernauts began striking the energy shields of the approaching ships. Dark matter and antimatter missiles slammed into energy shields. In massive blasts of light the Eternal ships began to die. An antimatter missile exploded in the center of one battlecruiser, splitting it in two. Energy beam fire quickly riddled the two pieces leaving them drifting in space. Two dark matter missiles struck another Eternal battlecruiser turning it into a small nova. Gravitonic beams ripped the hull apart on another leaving numerous compartments open to space. Internal explosions caused the ship to begin to break apart.
Grayseth saw his escort ships were being pressed hard. A dreadnaught blew up as several Eternal dark matter missiles penetrated its weakened energy shield. Two Originator battlecruisers died when they collided with an inbound Eternal battlecruiser intent on ramming. The cruisers had placed themselves in front of the attacking battlecruiser to prevent it from hitting the Hunter.
Debris began hitting the Hunter’s energy shield even as it launched more blue energy spheres at the approaching Eternals.
A brilliant flash of light filled a number of the viewscreens in the Hunter’s Command Center.
“We just lost another juggernaut,” reported the sensor officer. “The Eternals are making a concentrated effort to take out as many of them as possible.”
“That may be so but it’s costing them tens of thousands of warships,” replied Grayseth, his large brown eyes focused on the tactical displays. All across the line of Originator ships the fighting was intense. The two opposing fleets were beginning to penetrate each other’s space, allowing firing from nearly point blank range.
It was becoming more difficult to use the blue energy spheres as the ships from both fleets were now so close together.
With a deep sigh, Grayseth gave the order to shut down the blue energy sphere projectors and use conventional weapons instead which the Hunter had an abundance of.
“Inbound Eternal battlecruisers!” shouted the sensor officer. “They’re going to strike the energy shield!
Looking up at the viewscreen, Grayseth saw two Eternal battlecruisers grow in size. One of them exploded just short of the energy shield and the second smashed directly into it.
“Missiles penetrating the shield,” reported Thomal. “Brace for impacts.”
Grayseth felt the Hunter shudder twice and looking at the damage control console saw several red lights appear.
“More Eternal battlecruisers approaching the energy shield,” warned Rastell as he pointed toward the viewscreen.
Six more battlecruisers were inbound. Three exploded as the juggernaut’s dark matter missiles blew them apart. Two struck the shield simultaneously.
“Shield is down,” called out Thomal. “Rerouting power.”
On the screen, the last battlecruiser grew in size until it filled the screen completely and then the screen died. The station shook violently as warning alarms and klaxons began sounding.
“Tighten our screen of defending ships,” ordered Grayseth unsure as to how much damage the Hunter had just received.
“Shutting all hatches and emergency bulkheads,” reported one of the other military AIs seated next to Thomal. “Hull integrity is greatly degraded. We have a hole in our hull nearly eight kilometers deep and four wide. Secondary explosions are still occurring near the affected area.”
“More missiles coming through,” reported Thomal.
-
The Hunter began shaking again. For nearly a minute the juggernaut’s surface was lit up as dark matter and antimatter missiles slammed into the surface carving out massive and glowing craters. When the missiles finally stopped the Hunter looked like a huge wreck floating in space. Explosions were hurling hull material into space and all weapons fire had ceased.
Rear Admiral Cross, seeing the damage the Hunter had received, quickly positioned three other juggernauts near the Hunter to provide additional defensive fire. He didn’t know if anyone was still alive on the ship.
The Eternals saw the Hunter was nearly destroyed and turned their attacks toward the other juggernauts. The battle was still a long ways from over.
-
“Hunter is down,” reported the sensor officer on the Warhawk. “The juggernaut is dead in space with multiple explosions still occurring across its hull. We have lost all communications with the ship.”
“Put it up on the main viewscreen,” ordered Race. He was shaken the Eternals had managed to take the Hunter out.
On the screen the Hunter appeared. It was a complete wreck. Major portions of its structure were gone while massive glowing craters covered the rest. Around it large amounts of wreckage indicated the Eternals had paid a heavy cost to take out the juggernaut.
“Can anyone still be alive on that ship?” asked Race, hoping somehow Grayseth had survived.
“Maybe,” replied Colonel Williams. “The center of the vessel seems relatively intact though it’s hard to know without a thorough inspection.”
“Keep some dreadnaughts and battlecruisers near the Hunter,” ordered Race. “Let’s hope Grayseth and his command crew survived.”
Taking a deep breath, Race turned his attention back to the battle. The fighting was intense with both sides losing hundreds of ships every minute. The Eternals had managed to take out five of the forty-kilometer battlestations and forty-seven more juggernauts. It had cost them nearly one hundred thousand warships to do it but the Eternal had the ships.
“We’re not going to be able to defeat them,” said Commander Garratt. “I just spoke to the military AIs and they’re predicting a 72 percent chance of an Eternal victory. We’re just losing too many juggernauts.”
Race knew Commander Garratt was speaking the truth. He could see that from watching the tactical holograms. “We have no choice then. Order the fleets to pull back to the home Dyson sphere. Perhaps with the aid of the one hundred and seventy-kilometer battlestation and the Dyson sphere’s weapons we’ll be able to hold there.”
“That will give the Eternals the rest of the hub,” objected Colonel Williams, his eyes growing wide.
Race shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the tactical holograms. “Give me another solution and we’ll do it.”
All he heard was silence. “Pull us back.”
“What about the escorts we were going to assign to the Hunter?” asked Commander Garratt.
Race let out a deep sigh. If he left the ships behind they would be destroyed. “Have them come with us. If Grayseth survives, he’s on his own.”
Commander Garratt and Colonel Williams quickly passed the orders on to the battling fleets. Tens of thousands of ships had already been lost. It was questionable that even with the larger battlestation and the firepower from the Dyson sphere whether they could survive.
-
Admiral Trope felt the glow of victory spread through him. The Originators were in full retreat back toward one of their Shrieels. His strategy of attacking their battlestations had paid off.
“They still have that one truly large battlestation near the Shrieel they’re headed for,” pointed out Novast.
“We will gather our forces for the final battle,” ordered Trope. “Contact all of our fleets and have them meet us at the Shrieel the Originators are heading for. Once we have destroyed that fleet, we can conquer the rest of the Originator facilities and the Shrieels at our leisure. It is a great day to be an Eternal.”
-
Inside the Hunter only the eme
rgency lighting was functioning and it was sporadic.
Grayseth was standing in front of the communications console with his powerful arms folded across his chest. “Do we have enough power to contact another ship?”
“No,” replied the AI at communications. “We are operating on battery power only and that’s been compromised.”
“How about the rest of the ship? Can we contact any other departments?”
“A few,” replied the AI. “I’ve been in contact with a few of my fellow AIs. I can report there are other survivors in different sections of the ship but they’re pretty much cut off from one another.”
Grayseth nodded and turned toward First Officer Rastell. “What about power?”
Rastell shook his head. “As near as we can determine the dark matter converters have either all been destroyed or are offline. We’ve sent some engineers to the nearest battery bank to see if they can get more power to the Command Center. We’re hoping there is only a problem with the power lines.”
“Do we have anything working?”
Thomal shook his head. “No, everything is dead. We have minimal life support. If we can get more power from the reserve batteries we might be able to get a sensor or two working. However, keep in mind any indication of power inside the Hunter might encourage the Eternals to move in and finish us off.”
“It’s a risk I’ll take,” replied Grayseth. “We must know what’s going on out there.”
Thomal nodded his head. “I’ll let you know as soon as we have more power.”
Grayseth returned to his command chair and sat down. He felt helpless not knowing what was going on with the battle.
-
Originator Councilor Trallis was in the Tower monitoring the ongoing battle.
“Our fleet is retreating,” reported Councilor Jackson. “Fleet Admiral Tolsen plans on making a last stand at this Dyson sphere. He’s hoping with the added firepower from the large battlestation and the Dyson sphere he can stop the Eternals.”
“Can he?” asked Councilor Castille. “It seems the Eternals brought a massive fleet with them. Much larger than expected.”
“There’s a chance,” replied Jackson. “We still have a lot of firepower.”
“Should we drop the interdiction fields?” asked Councilor Metrecs. “It would allow most of our surviving fleet to escape.”
Jackson shook his head. “If we do, the Eternals will take full control of the Communications and Transport Hub. No, I think we must fight this battle to its climax. Either we win or the Eternals do.”
“It is the way of the hunt,” said Councilor Taneth gravely. “The Hunter has been disabled and possibly destroyed. Admiral Grayseth may have already set out on the Great Hunt. It is up to us now to destroy his killers.”
“Then we wait and see what the outcome of the battle is,” said Trallis, folding his arms across his chest. “Let us hope that Fleet Admiral Tolsen finds some way to defeat the Eternals.”
-
It had taken several hours but the Warhawk and the surviving Originator fleets had finally reached the home Dyson sphere. Race had the ships holding in a large wedge shaped formation one hundred thousand kilometers above the surface.
“All ships are in position,” reported Commandeer Garratt.
“What do we have left?”
“Three of the forty-kilometer battlestations, sixty-two juggernauts, thirty-two thousand dreadnaughts, and two hundred and seventeen thousand battlecruisers, plus the one hundred and seventy kilometer battlestation.”
“The Eternals?”
Commander Garratt shook his head. “They still have nearly eight hundred thousand warships.”
“Cargo ships?’
“None, all have been destroyed.”
“How soon before the Eternals have their fleets formed up?”
“Another hour or so,” replied Colonel Williams.
Race nodded. “Then I suggest we use that time to repair as many of our ships as possible.”
Leaning back in his command chair, Race took a deep breath. Looking at the tactical displays he slowly shook his head in frustration. They were facing impossible odds. He ran through his mind a number of different tactics to reduce the number of Eternal warships he was facing. He could think of nothing that would lead to victory.
-
Admiral Trope watched the tactical display as his fleet gathered. He would use his damaged ships to ram the surviving Originator battlestations. He had them backed up against the Shrieel, and they would not be able to escape.
“We have them outnumbered by nearly four to one,” commented Novast. “This will be the last stand of the Originators.”
“We will be triumphant,” agreed Admiral Trope. Even as he watched, the last of his fleets arrived and joined his formation. “Designate ships to ram the three larger battlestations. I want those eliminated as quickly as possible. Stay away from the larger one for now. We’ll deal with it toward the end of the battle.”
Admiral Trope relaxed in his command chair. One more battle and victory would be his. His reign as the Supreme Leader of the Eternals was drawing closer with every passing minute.
-
“Drop the hyperspace interdiction fields,” ordered Race. “They aren’t helping us any now.”
“Orders sent,” replied Colonel Williams. “Fields should be down in ten minutes.”
Race had already decided before he sacrificed his entire fleet he would send what ships he could off to safety. That would give Fleet Admiral Strong a powerful force to rebuild from. Perhaps someday Jeremy could retake the Communications and Transport Hub and return it to the Originators.
“Eternals are advancing,” reported Commander Garratt. “Weapons range in seven minutes.”
“All commands standby to engage,” ordered Race. He still had a powerful fleet, it was just the numbers were all wrong.
Minutes passed and the hyperspace interdiction fields dropped.
“Fields are off,” confirmed Colonel Williams.
“Eternals are nearing the range of our blue energy projectors,” reported the sensor officer.
On the viewscreens, a solid wall of Eternal vessels was approaching. Race feared this battle would not last long.
“Engagement range!” called out Colonel Williams.
“Fire!” ordered Race. He desperately needed a miracle but for once he knew one was not coming.
-
In space, blue energy sphere projectors began firing. Several thousand blue energy spheres hurtled forth and struck the wall of incoming Eternal warships. The Eternals didn’t even slow down. Those ships struck by the deadly spheres changed course and charged for the nearest battlestations even as their hull structures began to lose integrity and the ships began to lose power.
Both fleets were now in regular weapons range. Missiles and energy beam fire began to be exchanged. Massive explosions ravaged the front sections of both fleets.
-
“How are we doing?” asked Race as the Warhawk shook from the steady impact of weapons fire on its energy shield.
“We’re losing ships at a two to one rate compared to the Eternals,” answered Colonel Williams.
On one of the viewscreens, a forty-kilometer battlestation was coming apart. It had been the victim of dozens of ramming attacks by dying Eternal vessels. Huge explosions covered its surface and large gaping craters were spread across its hull.
“We’re being forced back toward the Dyson sphere,” warned Commander Garratt.
Race could see that on the tactical hologram displays. “That’s fine. We’re going to need their firepower.” Studying the holograms Race was trying to determine when he should send the order to retreat. He hated the idea of abandoning the four Dyson spheres. There were billions of Humans, Altons, Carethians, and Originators he would be leaving behind. Race himself did not plan on withdrawing. He would fight the Eternals to the very end.
“Inbound hyperspace track,” reported the sensor officer. “It�
�s a big one.”
Commander Garratt shook his head. “Well, that tears it. More Eternal warships will make this battle extremely one sided.”
“I don’t think it’s the Eternals,” the sensor officer informed them, looking perplexed.
Race’s eyes turned to the viewscreens as hyperspace vortexes began to form and out of them stormed an entire fleet of battlestations followed by tens of thousands of warships.
“Inbound communications,” reported the communications officer, his eyes wide with amazement.
“Put it on the main screen,” ordered Race. He didn’t understand what was going on. It was impossible for the fleet that was appearing to be here.
On the screen his sister Massie appeared. “Hello big brother. I thought you could use some help.”
Race was speechless. He sat there staring at his sister before his voice finally returned. “Where did you get those ships and battlestations?”
Massie grinned. “I brought all the battlestations that we had sent to the Federation as well as to the Altons. I also have the entire Federation fleet as well as the Alton fleet. Don’t forget we sent two large fleets of Originator vessels to help defend the Federation and the Altons. When we recalled our ships we left over half of them to defend the Federation and the Altons. I brought them along as well.”
Race didn’t know what to say. “Who is defending the Federation and the Altons if you have all of their warships?”
“You won’t believe this but the Shari agreed to take over the defense while we’re gone.”
“Admiral, I’m detecting twenty-two of the forty-kilometer battlestations, nearly one hundred thousand Federation and Altons ships of various types, as well as forty-six thousand Originator battlecruisers and four thousand two hundred dreadnaughts,” reported the sensor officer. “They’re moving in to engage the Eternals.”
Race looked over at Colonel Williams. “Have the hyperspace interdiction fields reactivated. We may be able to win this after all.” Maybe a miracle had just occurred and the name of that miracle was Rear Admiral Massie Tolsen. Looking at Massie on the screen he spoke again. “Let’s go kill some Eternals.”
Explorations- the Lost Page 31