Layla nodded and forced a smile. “He is a good person. I just hope Krista can find someone like him someday.”
“She may already have in Major Barkley. We’ll just wait and see where that goes. They’re both still very young.”
Layla laughed. “I’m only a few years older.”
“But more mature,” replied Emira. “A maturity forced upon you by the circumstances you find yourself in. Now, why don’t I order both of us something to eat, and we’ll eat in your quarters tonight. I think it’s best for you to get a good night’s sleep.”
Layla knew Emira was right. She hoped tomorrow would be a better day. Of course, it would also be the day Derrick went off to war once more.
-
The next day Fifth Fleet was fully assembled, and all ships had been resupplied and were carrying extra heavy loads of missiles. The two battlecarriers, Ranger and Intrepid, were in the center of the fleet next to the Defiant.
Derrick took a deep breath, as he gazed at the viewscreens focused on the assembled fleet. It would be a spear aimed at the heart of the Confederation. Derrick just hoped they could strike their target. He had just returned from his private quarters, where he had spent nearly twenty minutes talking to Layla and assuring her that he would return. He had also spent a few minutes talking to Prince Andrew, making sure he would look after Layla, if the mission failed.
“All ships report ready to enter hyperspace,” reported Audrey.
“No point in delaying. Set our course and take the fleet into hyperspace.”
Audrey quickly passed on the order, and soon the fleet made the transition. The fleet would maintain hyperlight silent, and no communications would be had until the fleet was safely out of Confederation space. For the next ten to twelve days, there would be no communication with Golan Four or any other world or ship in the Empire.
Derrick felt the Defiant make the transition into hyperspace, and the system of Golan Four quickly fell away behind them. His gaze moved automatically to the large tactical display, which revealed the myriad of friendly green icons surrounding the Defiant. For better or for worse, they were on their way to attack a Druin core world. It had to be a Druin world, since it was a Druin admiral who had attacked Ranier Two.
“What planet are we attacking?” asked Audrey. She had been curious ever since she had found out they would attack a Confederation world.
Derrick smiled. “One they would never expect. We’ll attack the planet Druin Six, the Druins’ homeworld.”
Audrey suddenly turned pale. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. “That will be the most heavily defended world the Druins have.”
“Maybe,” replied Derrick. “But attacking the homeworld of the Druins will be the last thing they will expect. I intend to blow their capital city back to the stone age and to leave a massive smoking scar on the planet. The Druins have bombed hundreds of Human cities over the last one thousand years. Billions have died in their attacks, and that does not include the ones taken to the Lamothian worlds and used as a food source. It’s time they learn what it feels like to lose something valuable.”
Audrey remained silent for several long moments, as she thought over what Derrick had said. “Can we do it?”
“Maybe. I have a plan, and we’ll have a lot to discuss. At some point, when we drop out of hyperspace, both of the battlecarrier captains will come over to the Defiant, along with their CAGs. I have the inkling of a plan, but I’ll need their input.”
Audrey’s eyes widened. “You planned on attacking the Druin capital from the very beginning. That’s why you wanted the two battlecarriers included in Fifth Fleet.”
“It’s the only move that makes sense, and it will ensure no Human civilian targets are attacked in the future. It might also force the Confederation to pull back more of their ships to defend their core worlds, giving us more time to prepare the Empire for a long war.”
Audrey looked at the tactical display of the green icons surrounding the Defiant. “A lot of those ships are not coming back, are they?”
Derrick slowly shook his head. “Probably not. We’ll be in for a violent battle in the Druin system, and we’ll take some substantial losses. It’ll take some time for the attack I’m planning to be implemented. During that time, we must keep the Druins concentrated on us and not the battlecarriers.”
-
Leaning back in his command chair, Derrick thought back to how Fleet Admiral Marloo had reacted when Derrick told him of his planned target and how he would destroy it.
“That’s a daring plan,” Marloo said, shaking his head. “Most of our admirals, except maybe Admiral Cleemorl, would never consider it. What do you think the odds are of pulling this off?”
Derrick hesitated with his answer. “Destroying the target, around 70 to 80 percent. Escaping with most of my fleet intact? Very slight.”
Marloo folded his arms across his chest, as he thought over what Derrick had just revealed to him. “I could order you to change the target.”
“You could,” replied Derrick, meeting the fleet admiral’s gaze, “but this one makes the most sense.”
The fleet admiral stood and walked across Derrick’s office. “No way I’m telling the High Princess what you’re planning.”
“It’s best she doesn’t know. She’ll worry enough as it is, and she has an Empire to run.”
“Okay, I approve your attack plan, and I’ll keep your target secret, until after we hear from you. For all our sakes, I hope you’re successful.”
“So do I,” answered Derrick.
-
Admiral Kreen’s fleet was still in orbit around Ranier Two. He had just received his orders from the Great Council.
“We’re to suspend all offensive actions until further notice,” said First Officer Falorr. “They are not pleased with our destruction of a Human city. The council fears some immediate retaliation somewhere in the Confederation.”
“Useless fears,” replied Kreen, shaking his head and flexing his powerful arms. “We did what had to be done. What we’ve been doing in the Human Empire for over one thousand years. Look what happened here. As soon as we destroyed one of their cities, the planet capitulated.”
“But what if the Humans attack one of our worlds in the Confederation?”
“It should be no major concern of ours or of the council. The Humans might attack one of our controlled worlds near the edge of our Empire. We have over sixty thousand of them. What is the loss of one city on a minor planet?”
Falorr was silent for a moment and then replied. “Perhaps you are right. What shall we do about the council’s orders?”
“We’ll wait here,” replied Kreen. “In the meantime we will send out battlecruisers to scout our next targets. Ten other Human worlds are nearby that must be brought back under Confederation control. As soon as the council realizes the threat to the Confederation itself is minimal, they will allow us to go back on the offensive, and I intend to take control of all ten of those systems.”
Kreen’s gaze went to the main viewscreen, showing the area where the two fusion missiles had detonated above the planet. In the capital city were two large craters, surrounded by a burned-out area that stretched for kilometers in all directions. Crews of Humans in hazmat gear worked frantically to rescue survivors. Large tent cities had been set up just outside the destruction to deal with the injured.
In the city itself, fires still raged, and palls of smoke rose high into the air. Much of the city was obscured by the smoke and ashes that filled the air. Kreen nodded in satisfaction. It would be years before this world dared to challenge the Confederation again. It was a lesson that all the Human worlds needed to learn. The seven races were the supreme races in the galaxy, and all others were meant to be subservient. Admiral Kreen was determined to force that belief upon every Human and alien species he encountered.
-
Layla walked around the Palace with Chancellor Stein, inspecting the latest work that had been finished.
All six of the sky towers had been refurbished or rebuilt. The sky bridges had been repaired and were now safe to use. All the Royal living quarters were finished, and the Palace almost looked as it did before the Confederation attacked.
“I didn’t know if I would ever see it like this again.” They were in an upper level of the Palace, standing on a grand balcony. Layla could smell the scent of fresh paint. Chancellor Stein had cautioned her against touching anything, as some of the paint was still wet.
“This is something I have dreamed about all my life,” confessed the Chancellor. “And not just me. People all across the planet wanted the Palace restored, but we dared not for fear of Druin intervention.”
“In my time the Palace was full of life. Nearly every night the Royal Court was full. It was a place where people gathered to tell tales of the Empire and to introduce their families to the High King and the High Queen. Meals were served almost nightly in the main dining halls.”
“As they will again,” promised Chancellor Stein. “As soon as the House of Worlds is complete, we can expect to have many of the most important families of the core worlds, as well as others, visit the Palace routinely. A new Royal Court will come into being.”
Layla turned toward Chancellor Stein. “What’s the latest count on worlds that have agreed to rejoin the Empire?” Layla knew representatives of the Empire had spread out across hundreds of worlds, all of them speaking to the planetary governors.
“We have eighty-seven currently, and that includes the worlds in the Hagen Star Cluster, where Admiral Cleemorl is.”
“Will there be any more?”
Chancellor Stein paused. “I don’t know. The holdup now is us being able to defend those worlds. All the eighty-seven who have agreed have large industrial complexes and have put massive defensive grids around their worlds. They are also close enough where Imperial fleets or Resistance Fleets can come to their aid.”
Layla bit her lip. She had hoped for many more. “How many are left that still might join?”
Shaking his head, Chancellor Stein looked out over the city. “Maybe eighteen to twenty. The rest are too frightened to go against the Confederation, until we’re capable of defending them. If we had the fleets, we could easily bring another hundred or more worlds into the Empire.”
“How soon will we have the fleets?” Layla knew the shipyards in the core worlds as well as others were already building large numbers of warships.
“Two months before we start to see substantial numbers coming out of the construction bays. We’re currently building six battlecruisers for every dreadnought. It’s a ratio deemed best by our military leaders, considering our shortened time frame.”
“How long does it take to build a ship?” Layla knew much of the work was being done by robotics.
“Two months for a battlecruiser and three for a dreadnought.”
Layla frowned, thinking of the ramifications. Earth was about to come under attack and most likely would not be able to supply more ships for months to come, even if they survived the upcoming Confederation attack. It would be another few months before the Empire started producing large numbers of warships. “Can we get by until our shipyards start putting out ships?”
“We hope so,” replied Stein. “I spoke to Fleet Admiral Marloo, and he says the Confederation will be partially crippled if their attack on Earth fails.”
“Will it fail?” Layla hated to even think what it might mean if the Confederation managed to destroy the Earth system.
“I don’t know,” replied Stein truthfully. “We know from reports that Admiral Reynolds is heavily fortifying the system, and they have thousands of attack interceptors available. He feels they can hold out, but, in war, anything can happen. Remember. We know nothing about this Morag race.”
“How long before the Confederation makes a move against our fortified systems?” Layla knew the new Empire needed more time to switch over to a wartime economy.
“It depends on what happens at Earth and what Admiral Masters accomplishes on his mission. With a little luck we could be looking at months before the Confederation can make a major move.”
Layla folded her arms across her chest. “If we just had a few more fleets, we could bring many more of the Human worlds back into the Empire.”
“But we don’t,” Stein reminded her. “We don’t dare spread ourselves too thin, or the Confederation forces in the Empire now could become an even greater danger.”
Layla looked out across the city. It was the most beautiful city in the Empire. She remembered, when she was younger, standing in the sky towers with her mother, looking at the city, and her mother telling her the Empire was made up of people, and it was the responsibility of the Royal Family to see the needs of the people were always met.
Layla’s gaze moved upward to the clouds floating peacefully above. She wondered what Derrick was doing and if he would return to her. She was very proud of Derrick for volunteering to undertake this mission, and she hoped everything would work out. She needed Derrick at her side. With a deep sigh, Layla turned to go back inside. She was the High Princess of the Empire, and there was still much work that needed to be done.
Chapter Fifteen
Fleet Admiral Horrabe was satisfied with the recently completed fleet drills. They had dropped out of hyperspace about twenty light-years from the Earth system and spent two entire days running drills. Horrabe was determined his massive fleet would be ready when they engaged the Humans.
“Set a course for the Earth star system,” ordered Horrabe, when the last drill was finally finished. “It’s time we brought this rebellion to an end.”
“All fleets have been assigned targets,” reported High Commander Corr. “We are ready to enter hyperspace.”
Horrabe nodded his large head. “So it begins. Once the fleets have destroyed their assigned targets, they are to go to stage two and await further orders.”
The fleet admiral had thought this attack through very thoroughly. He would not make the same mistakes his predecessors had. On the main viewscreens, ships vanished as they entered hyperspace to attack the Earth star system.
-
Admiral Reynolds was asleep in his quarters when the Condition Two alarms sounded. His comm instantly went off with the attention light blinking wildly. Rolling out of bed, he reached over and activated it. “Admiral Reynolds.”
“We have confirmed hostile contacts in a red dwarf star system twenty-two light-years distant,” reported the female voice.
Reynolds recognized the voice as belonging to Colonel Susan Williams, one of the off-shift operations officers for the Pallas Command Center.
“One of our picket vessels detected them a few hours ago on its patrol. The ships have now entered hyperspace on a confirmed course for the Sol System.”
Admiral Reynolds drew in a deep breath. “Have everyone report to their stations and prepare to go to Condition One. I’ll be in the Command Center shortly.” Reynolds hurriedly got dressed and was soon on his way. In the corridors, red lights flashed, and a voice coming over the comm system instructed everyone to remain calm.
-
It didn’t take long for Admiral Reynolds to reach the Command Center. The hatch was now shut and guarded by half a dozen heavily armed Marines. Showing his credentials, he was allowed inside, where four more Marines waited. Finally he reached his command chair Reynolds sat down, relieving Colonel Williams. “What’s the latest report?”
“The battlecruiser Hilliard reports detecting 8,214 Confederation warships. At their current speed they should be here in about two hours.”
“They’re coming slow,” commented Colonel Evelyn Bryson, who had just come into the Command Center behind the admiral. “What do you think they’ll do first?”
“Not sure. The Morag are supposedly in charge of this fleet. I’m guessing they’ll take out the interdiction battlestations first. Send a message to all our admirals of the strength of the Confederation fleet and its estimated arrival ti
me. I’ll be in touch with them as the situation develops.”
“Should we call in the interceptors out on deep patrol?”
Reynolds shook his head. “No, let’s wait and see what happens first.”
In a few more minutes all the primary Command Center personnel had reported in and had taken their spots before their consoles.
“All warships are undocking from all shipyards,” reported Captain Moore at Communications. “Fleets are assembling and waiting for orders. Orderly evacuations to underground bunkers has commenced on all worlds and colonies.”
“What about the interceptor crews? Should we call them to their stations?” asked Colonel Williams.
“No, not yet,” Reynolds stated. “Let them get a few more hours of rest. Once this starts, it may be a while before they can shut down.”
On the main tactical displays were various ships across the system as they took precautionary measures. All cargo and passenger liners were heading to safety beneath the massive defense grids of Earth and Mars. Mining ships and other small vessels went into hiding around the asteroids. Other vessels shut down their power and stayed dark. Short hyperspace jumps were allowed to get the space in the Solar System cleared.
“We have a passenger ship with a failed hyperdrive out past the orbit of Mars,” reported Colonel Bryson. “Mars Station is sending out some tugs to bring her in. They estimate it will take two and a half hours to get the passenger ship to safety.”
Reynolds nodded. “That should be sufficient, assuming the Confederation fleet attacks the battlestations first. How are the evacuations going?” Many of the smaller mining colonies had finally agreed to evacuate to the larger ones. Others had gone deep underground, until this was over.
The Forgotten Empire: The Battle For Earth: Book three Page 18