Dylan let out a deep sigh. “They were hit pretty hard. Fortunately Earth, Mars, and Pallas came through it with little or no damage. Ganymede and Callisto did as well. From the latest reports I received, the Solar System lost a little over 23 million people in the attack. The Confederation lost nearly six thousand of their warships.”
“So, what happens now?”
“You saw the hyperlight transmission the High Princess sent out. We’re hoping for a few months of peace and quiet. If we get that, then the Empire will have a few fleets of its own ready to go, and we’ll have put powerful defensive grids around one hundred worlds. We’ll be ready at that time to retake the rest of the Human worlds in the Empire.”
Derrick let out a deep sigh. “We have years of fighting ahead of us.”
Dylan nodded. “Yes, but, with the passing of every year, we will only grow stronger.”
Derrick was ready to get back to Layla. He suspected all this had only increased her desire for them to get married as soon as possible, and that was fine with Derrick. He would even suggest it when he got back to the Imperial Palace. For him, the fighting was over for a while. He had witnessed enough death and destruction to last a lifetime. It was time to spend some quality time with his future wife.
Epilogue
Derrick and what remained of Fifth Fleet had finally reached Golan Four. Admiral Cleemorl had stayed at Hastings with a part of First Fleet until the defensive grid components arrived that High Princess Layla had promised. Four ODPs would soon be delivered, as well as more energy beam satellites and missile platforms. Admiral Cleemorl was currently in negotiations with the governor of Hastings about establishing a major Imperial base there, which would include fleet units to protect the moon. Most of First Fleet had returned to the various systems they were assigned to protect, and Rear Admiral Carrie had returned to Golan Four with her battlecarriers.
As soon as he arrived in orbit above Golan Four, Derrick made arrangements for his damaged ships to be placed in several shipyard repair bays. A few of his ships were still in the Ralkor Three system, waiting to be repaired. They were too badly damaged to risk bringing back to the core worlds. It would be months before Fifth Fleet was fully functional once more. Until then, the fleet would be stationed above Golan Four as part of its defense force.
-
Derrick had only been in orbit a few minutes when Fleet Admiral Marloo boarded the Defiant to debrief Derrick.
“I wanted to speak to you before you went to the Imperial Palace. I believe the High Princess is planning a huge feast tonight to celebrate your return.”
Derrick laughed. “I’m not surprised. I know it was hard for her to allow me to go on this mission to begin with.” It was such a big relief to be back at Golan Four. At times on this mission, Derrick had doubted he would make it back alive.
The two were in the small office off to the side of the ship’s Command Center.
“Give me a rough idea of what happened in the Druin home system. You can send me a more detailed report later.”
“I have the detailed report finished,” replied Derrick. “Been working on it since we left Hastings.” Derrick handed the fleet admiral a thick sheaf of papers, as well as several computer disks. “Everything is there. I didn’t leave anything out.”
Fleet Admiral Marloo nodded. “Guess this will give me some late-night reading. Now what happened in the Druin Six system?”
-
For the next two hours Derrick described in detail the battle above the Druin home planet. He even showed the fleet admiral a few videos of the devastation caused by the attack interceptors.
-
Finally Derrick finished his verbal report and looked expectantly at Fleet Admiral Marloo.
“Amazing,” said Marloo, leaning back in his chair. “You may have bought us months of time to prepare for the next stage of the war. Between your destruction of the Druin homeworld and Earth destroying over six thousand Confederation warships, it might have bought us the time we need. In just another month or so, the shipyards in the core worlds will complete a large number of warships, both battlecruisers and dreadnoughts. We’re already training the crews.”
Smiling, Fleet Admiral Marloo continued. “If you want to catch a ride with me in my shuttle, I’m sitting it down on the spaceport near the Palace. I’m sure a certain High Princess is impatient to see you.”
-
High Princess Layla was in her quarters, sitting on a comfortable couch. Krista was with her, keeping her company.
“He will be here any minute,” said Krista, grinning. She actually enjoyed seeing Layla in this state. Normally Layla was super composed and knew just what to say; today she was almost like a schoolgirl, with all the fidgeting she was doing.
“I want us to get married as soon as possible,” said Layla. “Is that wrong of me?”
Krista giggled. “No, I’m sure we can arrange a wedding sometime after Kala and Andrew’s.”
Layla let out a deep sigh. “Derrick and I should have already gotten married. It’s my fault for wanting everything to be perfect.”
“Nothing is wrong with that,” replied Krista. At that moment a knock came at the door. The door opened, and Derrick stepped inside.
Layla leaped up and literally threw herself into Derrick’s waiting arms. They kissed, and the kiss seemed as if it would never end.
“Okay, you two. I’m in the room with you, and even I’m feeling uncomfortable.”
Derrick released Layla with a huge smile on his face. “Sorry, Krista. How have you been?”
“Babysitting your future wife. She’s been driving me crazy. I’m just glad you’re finally back and all in one piece. Maybe the Palace can now return to normal.”
Derrick led Layla to the couch, and they both sat down.
“I don’t want a long engagement,” Layla blurted out. “I want to get married as soon as possible.”
“So do I,” admitted Derrick. “That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about.”
Krista stood. “I better be leaving.”
“No, just stay where you are,” Layla said. “You’ve been helping Andrew and Kala plan their wedding. Now you can help with mine. The first thing is to set a date.”
Krista let out a deep sigh. She suspected she would be here for quite some time.
-
The Morag High Council was once more in session.
“Druin Six destroyed,” sent Councilor Delann. “That will greatly weaken the Confederation.”
“The Druins have been getting out of hand for generations,” replied Addonis. “They got exactly what they deserved.”
“So, what do we do now?” asked Councilor Brant. “The Humans are still a threat. We cannot read their minds, let alone influence them.”
“Councilor Damora has encouraged the other six races to build up their fleets. When the time is right, we will send them against the Human Empire. If our predictions are accurate, the result will be a substantial weakness in the Humans as well as in all six of the other races of the Confederation. At that time we will send forth our fleets and take over the Confederation. The other six races have served their purpose. It is now time for us to officially lead.”
“What about Earth?” asked Councilor Hiram.
“We leave them alone for now. They are just one star system. Once we have the Confederation and the Human Empire firmly under our control, then we will move against Earth. Fleet Admiral Horrabe suggested we offer Earth a peace treaty. We leave them alone, and they leave us alone. We allow them to expand into the Bacchus Region, which is a desolate wasteland. But they must forever stay away from the Human Empire and the Confederation.”
“That does avoid a conflict with Earth,” sent Hiram, nodding his head approvingly. “Will they agree to it?”
“I’m certain they will, as to refuse will mean their immediate destruction.”
The others all sent their agreement. Very soon the Morag would come out into the open, and the en
tire Confederation and thousands of other inhabited worlds would know who the true power was in the galaxy. The Morag were nearly ready to take their rightful place as the supreme rulers of the Confederation and eventually the galaxy.
-
On Pallas a meeting of the system’s military leaders had been called. Some amazing discoveries had been made in the wreckage of the destroyed Confederation ships.
“It is obvious the Morag are the most advanced race of the seven races,” began Admiral Reynolds. “They are a simian species and very intelligent. Our scientists have been going through the ship wreckage of all the seven races that we have access to. We discovered a treasure trove of information in some of the computer files we’ve retrieved. We know more now about the Confederation than at any time in the past.”
“I’ve heard some worrisome rumors coming from the doctors and scientists conducting autopsies on the Morag,” said General Weston. “Some are very worrisome.”
Admiral Reynolds gestured toward Donald Murphy, a medical research doctor, dealing with the Human brain.
Dr. Murphy stood. “I have assisted in the autopsies of dozens of Morag.” He pressed an icon on the computer in front of him, and an expanded view of a Morag brain appeared. It was very similar to a Human brain, except it was slightly larger, and one section seemed to be swelled.
Dr. Murphy pointed to the swollen section. “All the Morag brains have this swelling. We have deduced there is a 95 percent chance the Morag are telepathic.”
“What!” said Councilor Tristan, standing up, a look of shocked disbelief on his face. “Is that possible? To the best of my knowledge a telepathic race has never been encountered anywhere in the galaxy.”
“Well, there has now,” said Dr. Murphy. “It explains how the Morag ships moved as one unit so efficiently during the battle. It’s obvious now the individual commanders were communicating telepathically with one another.”
Councilor Tristan sat back down, his face slightly pale. “Do the other races of the Confederation know?”
Admiral Reynolds shook his head. “I’ve had Linda Martin and Alicia Morr combing through the computer files we’ve downloaded from various wrecked Confederation ships. They find no mention of this ability anywhere.”
“So, what does this mean?” asked Rear Admiral Everett.
Admiral Reynolds let out a deep sigh. “Our scientists and military strategists believe the Morag have been controlling the Confederation for millennia, with no one the wiser. The Morag are the true power behind the Confederation and their policies.”
Silence loomed in the conference room, as everyone thought about this amazing revelation.
“What do we do now?” asked General Weston.
“We do nothing,” replied Admiral Reynolds. “We keep this knowledge a secret for the time being. It may give us an important card to play against the Confederation at a time and place of our choosing. One thing we do know is that the Morag are much more dangerous than we previously believed.”
-
It was late evening, and Layla and Derrick had just returned from a massive feast in Derrick’s honor. Hundreds of people had been there, and it had been quite an occasion. They stood outside on the balcony of Layla’s quarters, gazing over the busy city. Even at night, the capital was alive with activity.
“I used to stand in the sky towers and watch the city lights for hours,” said Layla. Derrick stood next to her, his arm around her waist. “Often my mother or father would be there with me or even Krista.”
“That’s something I promise we’ll always do,” replied Derrick.
Looking up toward the stars, Layla asked her next question. “What will happen next?”
“Hopefully the Empire will be peaceful for a few months. We can get a lot done if we have the time. I spoke to Fleet Admiral Marloo and Chancellor Stein tonight, and both are confident that, at the end of two months, we will have over one hundred Human worlds in the new Empire, and our first fleets built in Empire shipyards will be deployed. Everything is going in the right direction.”
Layla leaned against Derrick. It was amazing how safe she felt in his presence. “We must reestablish the Empire across all one thousand of its former worlds. I know that, on some of those more distant worlds, the Empire has nearly been forgotten. I’m making a series of hyperlight broadcasts to describe in detail the Empire I grew up in.”
A shooting star flashed across the night sky.
“Make a wish,” said Derrick.
Layla closed her eyes and did so.
“What did you wish for?” asked Derrick, curious.
Layla grinned. “If I tell you, it won’t come true.”
Derrick’s gaze returned to the city. Millions of lights and thousands of aircars were in the airways above. This was the heart of the Empire, and it was once more starting to beat. Derrick was determined to make Layla’s dream of a new and united Empire come true. An Empire that would be the shining light for the rest of the galaxy.
The End
Coming in late October, the fourth book in the Forgotten Empire series, War for the Empire!
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Website: http://raymondlweil.com/
The Seven Races of the Confederation
The Druins are the most populous of the Confederation races and are a cold-blooded species with limited emotions. Their form is slightly humanoid but squat, with their head sitting almost directly on their torso via a short neck. Their arms are massive and could easily snap a Human in two. Druins are logical with limited emotions. They stand eight feet tall.
The Lamothians. Large sluglike creatures that consume intelligent life. They are the second-most intelligent race of the seven Confederation races. They spend much of their time contemplating the mysteries of the universe. For the past one thousand years their favorite food source has been Humans. Humans are considered a delicacy and are in high demand at the food markets on their worlds.
To procure a Human for a feast, the various Lamothians bid on the Human until only one bidder remains. The Lamothians only live upon six worlds of the Confederation. They stand upright on four legs and have six appendages that serve as arms with three protuberances on their hands that allow them to manipulate equipment. Their skin is pale and glistens with an oily sheen. They have two eyestalks, which protrude from their heads. Their names are unpronounceable, more of a symbol than an actual word. Their lifespans are around eight hundred years.
The Zynth are a reptilian race that resemble an ancient Earth raptor, only slimmer and with actual arms and clawlike hands. The Zynth are the second-most aggressive Confederation race after the Druins. Have yellow reptilian eyes.
The Lormallians. The Lormallians are a warm-blooded species and stand nearly seven feet tall. They are humanoid in form with a bone crest on the top of their head instead of hair. They have large eyes, and their arms end in hands with six digits. The Lormallians are also a very logical race, and nearly all their decisions are based upon logic. The Lormallians are the oldest race in the Confederation and act as custodians for the archives.
The Morphenes. The Morphenes resemble giant amoebas and have no true form. Their form is constantly shifting. Morphenes are very logical.
The Zang. A birdlike race with the ability to fly, they have large wings and very sharp beaks. They have a set of arms attached to the main part of their body with clawlike fingers. Very intelligent and very seldom speak. Have a grating whistlelike voice.
The Morag. Massive apelike creatures. Stand nearly ten feet high. Very intelligent but seldom speak. Are telepathic with other members of their race. A cross between a gorilla and Big Foot is the best description of the
m. The Morag maintain a massive secret warfleet, which is very seldom used. They live on over 112 planets in ninety-two different star systems. They have also terraformed nearly two hundred moons, which are also heavily inhabited. Some are powerful telepaths and have secretly controlled the Confederation’s Great Council from the very beginning.
They were the ones behind the Confederation attacking the Human Empire because Humans are immune to the telepathic abilities of the Morag. They have manipulated the Confederation since its very founding and have been responsible for many of the harsher actions taken by the Confederation. The Morag’s telepathic abilities allow them to plant suggestions in the minds of others and also allow them to force others to do their bidding. Their telepathic abilities are a closely guarded secret.
What no other race knows is that the Morag maintain a large warfleet of nearly 15,000 vessels, which they very seldom use. The other members of the seven races think that the Morag population numbers are far less and that their fleet is only a fraction of its true size.
Many of you are aware of my health problems. I was suffering from Kidney failure and just had my Kidney Transplant a few weeks ago.. The proceeds from this book and my other books will go to covering any unexpected costs associated with the surgery and my anti-rejection medications. So please give my other books a look. Every sale will help. The following two books are the first books in two of my most popular series.
The Star Cross
Admiral Kurt Vickers is on fleet maneuvers in the Newton system when a heavily damaged Earth light cruiser appears. The captain tells a horrific story. Earth has been invaded, and the defensive fleets in orbit have been annihilated.
For decades, humans have been exploring further and further away from Earth and Newton searching for signs of intelligent life. Now that intelligent life has found them and it comes as an invader.
The Forgotten Empire: The Battle For Earth: Book three Page 32