The Forgotten Empire: The Battle For Earth: Book three
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Layla, Krista, and some of the others went to the large conference room to discuss what had happened so far. Refreshments and snacks were provided for them here as well.
“Well, everything seems to be going smoothly,” said Layla, as she sat down.
“So far,” replied Governor Stein. “I do believe some of the outer governors will combine to ensure they get at least one representative on the council.”
“No harm in that,” replied Layla. “We’ve learned a lot this morning, just from what the governors and their representatives told us.”
“What about the people who we want?” asked Fleet Admiral Marloo.
Governor Stein smiled. “They’ll get elected. I’ve seen to that. Two seats will remain open on the council for others to be added. This time in the Empire is too important to risk electing any governors who might cause more problems than solutions. As we bring more worlds into the Empire, we’ll loosen our hold on the council. We may, in time, set up certain rules for those who want to serve. That we can decide on at a later date.”
Layla looked around the table and then spoke. “Admiral Marloo, is the flyover ready?” They had arranged for seven hundred attack interceptors to fly over the Imperial Palace later in the day. It was designed to help the governors and the representatives see the power the Empire was already building and how these governors could benefit from joining.
“Yes, the interceptors are ready. We just need to let the base commander know the time.”
“We’ll finish electing the Imperial Council and then make a few more announcements. After that we’ll adjourn for an hour to allow everyone to view the flyover. Once that’s finished, we’ll return to the Royal Court, and I’ll make the announcement of my engagement to Derrick.”
“Afterward we’ll discuss some of the committees we need to set up and how they will function,” added Governor Stein. “Tomorrow will be a full day of meetings, as the various committees are organized. On day three the committees will meet and will make any needed recommendations to the Imperial Council.
“On day four, we’ll have a brief meeting, informing the governors and the representatives of some of our future plans, at which point we’ll call for an adjournment of the House of Worlds, until the next scheduled meeting.”
“This will be much different than in the past,” said Layla. “In my father’s time, government officials always worked at the House of Worlds, but we’re probably a year away from that point. For now the governors will work at home and will use hyperlight communications to contact each other.”
“One small step at a time,” said Derrick. “We don’t need to rush things. Let’s take our time, and get it right.”
Layla nodded. Derrick had no idea how much confidence he gave her just with his presence.
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Returning to the Royal Court, everyone took their places. Layla was very pleased with the way the Court was decorated. Flower arrangements were strategically placed around the periphery, highlighting the statues, paintings, and tapestries. Layla noticed on their return that a number of the governors and representatives were examining the art displayed on the walls.
“The first meeting of the House of Worlds is now called back into session,” announced Governor Stein. “Will everyone please take their seats.”
Stein waited as everyone made their way to their tables and chairs and sat down. “During our recess we printed out ballots of those who have asked to be considered for the Imperial Council. This will be for a term of two years.” Thirty-two names were on the ballot.
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For the next hour the governors and representatives voted. Several times some heated arguments broke out, but Governor Stein quickly brought everything back under control. Each world was allowed to vote for eight governors to be on the council. Finally the ballots were collected, and the votes were quickly tabulated.
Princess Layla stood to announce the results. “Before I announce the members of the Imperial Council, keep in mind that we are in a time of war, and much work needs to be done. We still have hundreds of Human worlds, which must be freed from the Confederation. In addition we have four worlds that have decided not to join the Empire at this time. As a result none of their votes will count.
“The following governors have been chosen to serve on the Imperial Council. Governor Lindsay Littrel of Jalot Four, Governor Able Marsk of Lamora Seven, Governor Julian Bemire of Ambary Two, Governor Elaina Dreel of Glimmerr, Governor Alex Therron of Bratol Three, Governor Dru Clarro of Vidon Seven, Governor Gregory Staley of Aquilla Three, and Governor Darl Stein of Golan Four.”
Princess Layla looked over the assembled members of the House of Worlds. “I want to thank everyone for their attendance and for your help in forming the first Imperial Council in over one thousand years. I have a few other announcements to make, and then we’ll gather on the Imperial Guards’ parade grounds, where we have arranged for a special flyover of some of our new attack interceptors.”
Layla took a deep breath. “The first announcement is to formalize the promotion of Admiral Marloo to Fleet Admiral. He will be responsible for all the Empire’s warships and fleet dispositions. He will also hold the position as the ninth councilor on the Imperial Council.” A ninth councilor was necessary to avoid too many tie votes.
“The second announcement is the promotion of Admiral Dylan Cleemorl to Vice Admiral of the Fleet. The third announcement is the promotion of General Lyra Gantts to commander of all military forces, including Marines and regular ground forces. The fourth announcement is the promotion of Captain Emerson to colonel, and he will continue to be responsible for the training and recruitment of the Imperial Guards. There will be other announcements at a later date upon completion of repairing the Imperial Palace and the rebuilding of the House of Worlds.”
Layla paused again, looking over the governors and the representatives. “Now, if everyone will make your way to the Imperial Guard parade grounds, we will arrange for you to view a flyover of our new attack interceptors.”
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It took nearly thirty minutes to get everyone outside and to the parade grounds. Fleet Admiral Marloo spoke as soon as everyone was seated. “The military of Earth has provided us with the blueprints for the attack interceptors you are about to see. They are designed for close-in defense and offense. They can protect your planets from missile attacks and carry out mass attacks against Confederation warships. Each interceptor is equipped with a forward-facing energy shield and can carry four small fusion-tipped missiles. Now if everyone will look to the right side of the Palace.”
In the distance, numerous small specks could be seen. The small specks rapidly increased in size until thirty-five squadrons of attack interceptors appeared, all flying in formation. A roar in the air gradually increased as the interceptors drew nearer. They flew in low over the parade grounds and then darted high up into the air to vanish from sight.
“Each interceptor can stay in space for up to three days for routine patrols,” announced Fleet Admiral Marloo. “They can easily be mass produced, and we are willing to share their designs and their manufacturing processes.”
A number of the governors and representatives were now talking among themselves. It was evident they had been impressed by the flyover. Marloo allowed them to talk for several minutes before informing them it was time to return to the Palace.
Once back inside, a few other pieces of business were taken care of, such as scheduling the next meeting of the House of Worlds.
“In three months we will meet once more,” Layla informed the representatives. “By that time, the House of Worlds will be complete, and various staffs can begin moving into their government offices.”
Layla looked out over the assembled representatives and smiled. “I do have one special announcement to make.” Layla gestured for Derrick to come stand next to her. “I am pleased to announce my engagement to Rear Admiral Derrick Masters. Derrick is an Imperial who went into cryo sle
ep in the Earth star system over one thousand years ago. He knew my brother and other members of the Royal Family at the time of the fall.”
“He was brought out of cryo sleep to help in the war against the Confederation. Most of you are familiar with some of his exploits. I know my father, mother, and brother would be pleased with my decision to wed Derrick in the near future.” Layla paused, taking Derrick’s hand.
The Royal Court erupted in cheers and applause. The video cameras broadcasting the proceedings across the Empire zoomed in for close-ups of the Royal Couple.
Layla smiled and raised her hand to silence the cheering and clapping. “With that, I now close today’s meeting of the House of Worlds. You are free to remain in the Royal Court and to discuss any issues you feel need to be addressed. Fleet Admiral Marloo, Vice Admiral Cleemorl, and General Gantts will be available for your questions. I want to thank all of you for coming. As of today, we can truly say the Empire has been reborn, and, with every passing day, we will only grow stronger. We have other discussions to be had and other committees to set up over the next three days. Governor Stein will help in organizing all of that.”
Layla and Krista descended the steps and were escorted out by the Imperial Guards, as the Royal March was played one more time.
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In only a short matter of minutes they were back on the Starburst.
“Finally I can get out of this gown,” said Krista, as she headed toward her quarters.
Layla noted Emira standing close by. “Would you check on Princess Krista to make sure she changes into something appropriate to receive visitors. I believe we will have a number of governors coming by later.”
Emira smiled and nodded. “I will take care of it. The young Princess does have a habit of wearing inappropriate attire at times.”
“The main conference room has been prepared for visitors,” said Captain Darlu. “Refreshments and food have been set out for those who desire any. Several Royal Attendants are standing by to serve, if needed.”
“Thank you,” replied Layla. “Now I believe I’ll go freshen up and prepare to receive our visitors.” Layla knew of a number of governors who planned on coming by, all those selected to the Imperial Council, as well as a few others who had some questions they would like answered.
Derrick walked Layla to her quarters. “Well, I think everything went smoothly today.”
Layla nodded. “Better that I expected. I finally feel as if the Empire is back.” A more serious look crossed Layla’s face. “I just hope Earth succeeds in fighting off the Confederation’s attack fleet. If we lose Earth, I’m afraid all this will have been for nothing.”
Derrick understood Layla’s fears. He had the same ones. They just had to trust that Admiral Reynolds, as the Solar System’s fleet admiral, would save the Solar System from the Confederation.
Chapter Seven
During the next several days, Layla and Krista had meetings with many of the governors and their representatives. Some meetings were held on the Starburst over an evening meal, and others were held in the large conference room at the Palace. In most of those meetings either Derrick or Fleet Admiral Marloo were present. Layla was careful to leave military matters up to the admirals, as they were more familiar with the capabilities of their fleets than Layla or Krista were.
Governor Darl Stein now fulfilled the role as the Royal Chancellor, with the approval of the Imperial Council. It also helped Layla immensely as Darl knew most of the other governors and their strengths and weaknesses. Normally before a meeting, he would brief her on what he knew about a particular governor or representative.
Finally all the meetings were over, and they were once more in the large conference room on the Starburst. It had been an exhausting four days, and Layla was glad it was finally over.
“We have sixty-six worlds that have formally signed the charter to create a new Human Empire,” reported Chancellor Stein. “Forty-two other worlds are still free and have powerful defense grids around them but could not attend. There are others with weaker defenses. I suggest we send envoys to speak to those worlds. I fear the rest of the worlds will fall victim to the Confederation fleets, now in the Empire bringing many of the Human worlds back under their control.”
Layla nodded. “If we can just hold on to the worlds that signed the charter, I’ll be happy. We must do everything we can to fortify those worlds so we can hold them.”
Admiral Marloo nodded in agreement. “I think the attack interceptors are the key. We don’t have the time to build a sufficient number of battlecruisers and dreadnoughts to allow us to hold all those worlds. However, I have spoken to the governors of the other core worlds, and all are willing to put in the production lines for the interceptors. In just a few weeks we can build hundreds of them every day.”
“What about pilots?” asked Krista. “I’ve spoken to Captain Barkley of the Orion. He’s a squadron commander. It takes three talented people to fly, navigate, and use an interceptor’s weapons. How will we train thousands of people to operate these interceptors?” Krista didn’t mention she had a growing crush on the dashing young pilot.
“It’ll be a challenge,” admitted Fleet Admiral Marloo. “We’re already building training simulators that will be very realistic. They’ll be used on all the core worlds. We’ll also make them available to any Human world that wants to train crews.”
“I would suggest we start recruiting immediately,” said Layla. “Why don’t we have Captain Barkley come to Golan Four and put him in charge of the training? I believe his crew is one of the most talented we have in the fleet.”
“It is,” said Derrick. “I can’t think of a better crew to train our pilots. I’m sure Captain Barkley will have suggestions for others who we can recruit to help in the training.”
“We’ll set up a training facility,” added Fleet Admiral Marloo. “Probably somewhere close to the capital.”
“There are some government lands about twenty kilometers south of the capital that might be ideal,” said Chancellor Stein. “An old military base used to be there in the old days. I’ll order the clearing of any remaining structures and sign a proclamation returning the land to the military.”
Layla looked at Fleet Admiral Marloo. “Is there any chance of a major Confederation attack on our worlds anytime soon?” Layla hoped they had time to set up more defenses and to bring even more worlds into the new Empire.
Marloo shook his head. “No way to know for sure. However, we do know of the impending attack against Earth. I can’t see the Confederation making a major move against us until that’s over. I would estimate we have six to ten weeks before we see any major move against our main planets.”
“Then let’s take advantage of that time. I want as many interceptors as possible built and all the defenses around our primary worlds intensified. Also we should look at some of those worlds with weaker defensive grids. If they can potentially add to the war effort, we should offer to strengthen their defensive grids and to furnish interceptors—if they will agree to join the Empire.”
“Bribery,” said Krista disapprovingly. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
“We’re in a time of war,” replied Layla defensively. “We must do what’s necessary to protect and to grow the Empire.”
“I agree,” said Derrick. “We need the Empire as strong as possible before the Confederation turns all of their resources against us. We still don’t know or don’t understand a lot about the Confederation.”
“I suggest we send out some government envoys immediately to those worlds that could not attend the meeting of the House of Worlds,” said Chancellor Stein. “We should send one of the battlecarriers, so the governments of those worlds can see the effectiveness of the interceptors.”
“Let us make arrangements immediately,” said Layla approvingly. “I would also suggest we send some cargo ships along with additional elements for defensive grids. They would make a good bargaining chip.”
Admiral M
arloo nodded. “I’ll get a small fleet set up to make a tour of the Human worlds we should visit.”
“I’ll see about assigning an envoy,” added Chancellor Stein.
Layla looked thoughtful. “What do we know about the Morag? There is very little about them even in the Imperial Library. I had some people check. They found a lot of vague references, but that’s about it.”
Fleet Admiral Marloo took a deep breath. “The Morag are a very secretive race. They’re a simian species and very large. They stand ten feet tall and supposedly have a very large warfleet. They inhabit at least 112 planets in ninety-two different star systems. From what we’ve been able to learn, they don’t allow any other species to enter any of their systems or the territory they control.”
Layla’s expression showed some concern. “I think we should form some type of intelligence service to gather information on the Confederation. Even if we must send stealthed ships into their space.”
Derrick looked surprised at the suggestion, particularly with it coming from Layla. “I agree. We must know more about the Confederation, especially the location of all their core worlds. For thousands of years they have kept much of this information secret.”
“Are any Humans still in the Confederation?” asked Krista.
“That’s something an intelligence service could find out,” said Derrick.
Layla looked at Derrick. “Can you take care of setting this up?”
Derrick nodded. “I would suggest we bring in some specialists from Earth. They are very good at this kind of stuff.”
Layla took a deep breath and then asked Derrick a question that had been haunting her. “Have you asked Andrew about the other matter?”
Derrick looked surprised and then shook his head. “With all that’s been going on, I haven’t had the time. Since the Destiny was destroyed, I’ve had the surviving crew helping with changing the shipyards over to construct warships. I believe Andrew’s onboard one of them.”