The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel

by Raymond L. Weil

  Jeremy was on board his dreadnought, the Avenger, waiting tensely for the Accelerator Ring to activate. After much planning and discussion with the council, it was decided he would take a substantial fleet along. He had two hundred dreadnoughts, four hundred battlecruisers, and twenty of the redesigned and updated Indomitable Class Battlestations. He was also taking one of the forty-kilometer battlestations as a primary base of operations. In addition, there were a number of large supply and cargo ships bringing additional supplies as well as munitions. In the exploration fleet there was the New Horizon plus ten other large exploration vessels. The crews were a mixture of races with Humans, Altons, Carethians, Originators and a large number of AIs.

  “Were ready to activate the Accelerator Ring,” reported Aaliss.

  “All ship systems are at optimum,” reported Ariel who was standing next to Jeremy.

  Jeremy looked at the large viewscreen showing the structures of the Communications and Transport Hub. He drew in a long and deep breath. It would be a protracted amount of time before any of them returned. “We’ll go through first followed by the rest of the dreadnoughts. Then the Indomitable Class Battlestations will go through followed by the exploration fleet and the supply and cargo ships. After a five wait the battlestation will go through followed by the battlecruisers.”

  “All ships are formed up and in formation,” reported Kevin from his sensor console.

  “Message from the Tower,” reported Lieutenant Shayla Lantz. “Grayseth wishes us well on the Hunt and he will be waiting for our safe return.”

  Jeremy nodded. “Inform Grayseth we have received his message and I look forward to going on the Hunt with him and his cubs when I return.”

  “Acceleration Ring activation,” reported Aaliss.

  “Take us in,” ordered Jeremy. He felt the Avenger move forward as it hurtled into the swirling dark blue vortex.

  Moments later the ship was boosted up to intergalactic hyperspace speed. The cluster of galaxies they had chosen for their destination was nearly seven weeks distant. It was a group of seventeen large galaxies with a number of smaller satellite galaxies.

  -

  On board the super exploration dreadnought New Horizon, Rear Admiral Kathryn Barnes watched as the twenty Indomitable Class Battlestations went into the vortex.

  “It’s our turn now,” Kathryn said, gripping the armrests on her command chair.

  “Beginning acceleration,” reported Sible from the helm. “Entering Accelerator Ring in fifteen seconds.”

  “The rest of the exploration fleet is right behind us,” added Captain Reynolds.

  Kathryn had told her father goodbye after spending a pleasant evening with him at a restaurant they both enjoyed. They had discussed the mission and what Jeremy hoped to accomplish. Kathryn also knew her father wished she would settle down and have a couple of children. With the life enhancing medications the Originators had provided, there was still plenty of time for her to do that. Maybe in a few more years she would find someone and settle down for a while. However, at the moment she had a job to do and she was enjoying her command of the large exploration dreadnought.

  The New Horizon neared the swirling vortex and entered, rapidly accelerating to intergalactic speed. Kathryn breathed out not realizing she had been holding her breath. She looked around the busy Command Center hoping no one had noticed.

  “We are at speed and the rest of the exploration fleet is behind us,” confirmed Captain Reynolds.

  “All systems are functioning normally,” added Clarissa.

  Kathryn nodded. Now they had a boring seven-week voyage ahead of them. However, with the crew on board the New Horizon she wasn’t sure if it would actually be boring, especially with children on board. The children of the Special Five were not the only young ones on the ship. In all there were twenty-three kids on the exploration vessel. All resided in the center of the ship with their families, which was nearly indestructible.

  Kathryn looked over at Kelsey who was seated close by. For this mission and since it was Kelsey’s team who had designed the vessel she had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander. Kelsey had demonstrated command ability in the past and Kathryn thought the role well suited her.

  “We’re on our way.”

  Kelsey turned toward Kathryn and smiled. “Yes we are. I wonder what we’ll find when we get there.”

  “It’s a large and compact cluster of galaxies,” answered Arian, who was sitting at one of the science consoles. “We could spend years there doing research.”

  “What are the odds of there being a number of space traveling civilizations in some of those galaxies?”

  Andram Muce, who was sitting at one of the other science consoles turned to answer. “Very high. All of those galaxies are older than our own. We will have to be extra careful when approaching them as we have no idea what those civilizations will be like.”

  “Could they be hostile like the Eternals?” asked Kelsey. Kelsey hoped not. The Eternals were already a big enough problem.

  Andram pursed his lips and then answered. “It’s possible though highly unlikely.”

  “Keep in mind we’re taking a considerable number of defensive assets with us,” pointed out Kathryn. “Including a forty-kilometer battlestation as our primary base.”

  “As well as two Accelerator Rings,” added Camlin. She was a dark headed AI and could usually be found in the Command Center. “If we need to retreat we will be able to do so. As soon as we arrive the Originator cargo ships will begin constructing one of the rings in case it’s needed.”

  Andram checked some readings on his computer screen. “We will be exiting near one of the smaller satellite galaxies. It is very similar to the Lessor Magellanic Cloud that orbits the Milky Way.”

  “That will be the site of our first set of explorations,” explained Arian. “It should give us a feel for what we might find in the surrounding galaxies in the cluster.”

  “Battlestation and the cruisers are coming through,” reported Captain Reynolds.

  “That’s everything,” said Kelsey, feeling relieved they were finally on their way and all of their assets were in intergalactic hyperspace.

  Thanks to their hyperspace communicators, they had instantaneous communications with everyone, and the New Horizon with its special communications system could still contact the Communications and Transport Hub for regular updates as needed.

  “Do you really think we’ll be gone for more than a year?” asked Katie.

  Kathryn looked over and nodded. “It’s highly likely. It’s going to take time to explore all of the galaxies and satellite galaxies. Don’t forget we’re going to be contacting any advanced races we find and attempt to set up a defense against the Eternals.”

  Kelsey had discussed this in detail with Jeremy and knew there was a very good chance they might be gone for as long as two years. That was one of the reasons they were bringing the battlestation as well as all of the supply and cargo ships. She just wished she and Jeremy were on the same ship because they couldn’t use shuttles to go back and forth while in intergalactic hyperspace. She and Katie would just have to settle for sending messages back and forth. It would help some but it wasn’t the same as their husbands being with them. Angela was lucky as Brace was on board the New Horizon. Letting out a deep sigh, Kelsey turned her attention to the massive viewscreen that was across the entire front wall of the Command Center. They had a long voyage ahead of them and she suspected she would spend much of it staring at the viewscreen.

  -

  In one of the galaxies controlled by the Originators, a stealth Eternal battlecruiser was snooping around. For the past several weeks it had been mapping various star systems where intelligent space traveling species were located.

  “What if we find the Humans?” asked Second Commander Delrom.

  Commander Vaxall slowly shook his head. “We will report back to the council and then continue to observe.”

  “Contact,” reported t
he Eternal standing at the sensors. “Hyperspace contact approaching at high speed.”

  Commander Vaxall stepped over to the sensor console and observed the red threat icon. To travel at the speed the strange ship was traveling in hyperspace indicated a high level of technology. “Attach a tracer and we will follow the ship to its destination.”

  Commander Vaxall had one month to survey this galaxy before going on to the next. So far there had been no trace of any Humans, Altons, or Carethians. However, they had encountered several Originator battlecruisers patrolling the galaxy. On both occasions Commander Vaxall had moved his ship away from the Originator vessels until they vanished from the sensors. The Originators could not be allowed to discover Eternal vessels were searching their galaxies.

  “We have a lock with the tracer,” confirmed the sensor officer.

  “Very well, let’s follow it and see where it’s going.”

  The ship changed its course and headed in the same direction as the strange ship. Commander Vaxall planned on learning everything he could about this civilization as someday it would become part of the Eternal Empire. Vaxall was certain that day was not too far off.

  -

  For nearly a full day the Eternal vessel followed the ship it had detected. Finally their pursuit paid off as the ship dropped out of hyperspace in a star system with a white dwarf star.

  “Detecting hundreds of drive trails in the system,” reported the sensor officer. “Most seem to be centered around the fourth planet in the system. Our sensor scans indicate either seven or eight planets.”

  Commander Vaxall considered his options. His ship had to stay undetected. “Drop us out of hyperspace on the edge of the system and we will conduct our observations from there.”

  The Eternal ship entered the edge of the system exiting hyperspace near a small asteroid field. Its sensors reached out, scanning the system and searching for spacecraft, probes, mining colonies, and scientific outposts.

  “The system is highly advanced,” confirmed Second Commander Delrom. “It will make a fine addition to the Empire someday.”

  An alarm sounded on the sensor console. “What is the cause of that alert?” demanded Vaxall, his eyes narrowing slightly.

  “We’ve detected an Originator ship in orbit around the fourth planet,” replied the sensor officer.

  “Has it detected us?” While Vaxall was certain his stealth systems were keeping his vessel invisible from the inhabitants of this system, he wasn’t so sure about the Originator ship. He also wondered what the Originator ship was doing here. It was evident they had made contact with this system’s inhabitants.

  “No,” replied the sensor officer. “There’s no indication they are aware of our presence.”

  Vaxall stood for a long moment thinking about what should be done. “I want all communications from that Originator vessel recorded and analyzed. There’s a good chance there are Humans as well as Altons on that vessel. Perhaps we can learn where their homeworlds are located.”

  Vaxall clenched his right hand into a fist. The mechanical nanites in his body gave him superior strength and agility. They also enhanced his brain functions, allowing him to concentrate intently on problems. Care had been taken to make a slight design change in the nanites to make them immune from Originator tampering.

  “How long are we going to stay in this system?” asked Second Commander Delrom. “By staying here so close to an Originator vessel we risk detection.”

  “There is much to learn here,” replied Vaxall, settling back in his command chair. “I want this system scanned in detail and every communication from that Originator ship recorded. When I feel we have learned everything we can then we can leave. We should be safe from detection this far out.”

  -

  It was early the next day when Commander Roberts was summoned to the Command Center of the Salem. The ship was crewed by a combination of Humans, Altons, and Originator AIs. The Altons were heavily involved in bringing as many civilizations as possible in this galaxy into an alliance against the Eternals. Commander Roberts’ job was to take them wherever they needed to go and to keep them safe.

  “What is it?” he asked as he stepped into the Command Center.

  “Sir, we’ve picked up something strange on the sensors,” reported Lieutenant Commander Edwards. “We were doing routine scans of the system when we detected a black area out past the orbit of the eighth planet.

  A cold chill ran down Commander Robert’s spine. “Is it moving?”

  “No, sir. It been staying in the same position since we first located it.”

  “How close is the next nearest Originator battlecruiser or dreadnought?”

  Edwards stepped over to a console and called up some information. “The battlecruiser Star Rover is seventy-two light years distant in System XK-4493. The nearest dreadnought is at least two days away.”

  “Send an encrypted message to the Star Rover that we have a suspected Eternal stealth ship in the Calmar System. We will need their assistance before we attempt to engage it.”

  After a few moments the communications officer turned toward the commander. “Message has been sent and acknowledged. They will be here in four hours.”

  Commander Roberts stood up and walked over to stand in front of the tactical display showing the area in question. “Contact the nearest Originator base and inform them of what we have found with our scans. Tell them the Star Rover is responding to our request for help.”

  “It will take three days for any ships from the nearest base to reach here,” commented Lieutenant Commander Edwards.

  “I don’t think they’ll be here in three days,” replied Roberts, his eyes narrowing. “As soon as the Star Rover arrives we’ll break orbit and move out to investigate that black area on the sensors. If it is an Eternal ship we’ll engage it and attempt to destroy it.”

  “Sir, if it is a full size Eternal battlecruiser two Originator battlecruisers will not be enough. They will have far more firepower than we do.”

  “I know,” replied Roberts, arching his eyebrow. “But it’s a risk we’ll have to take. I want all the nonmilitary personnel loaded on shuttles and sent down to the planet, particularly the Alton negotiating team. Inform the Originator base as to what we’re doing in case they need to send a rescue ship.”

  Commander Roberts returned to his command chair. He knew there was a high likelihood that shortly he would lose his ship. However, he had strict orders to engage any Eternal vessels found in Originator space. As he thought about his order, he wondered just what the Eternal ship was doing here. It was obvious it was observing and taking scans of the system. This was a blatant violation of the treaty putting Originator and Eternal controlled space off limits to warships from both sides. There had to be a reason the Eternals were risking violating the treaty. Roberts was determined to find out what it was and report that information back to the Communications and Transport Hub.

  -

  Commander Vaxall was keeping a careful eye on ship traffic in the star system. Numerous interstellar vessels were coming and going indicating a robust and extensive civilization. It would make a fine addition to the Eternal Empire some day.

  “Any indication we’ve been located?”

  “No,” replied Second Commander Delrom. “The Originator battlecruiser is still in orbit around the planet and there’s no indication it’s noticed our presence.”

  “What about their communications? Have we found anything that might indicate where the Human or Altons’ home planets are located?”

  Delrom shook his head. “Only a few vague references. I don’t believe either are in this galaxy.”

  “Commander, I’m detecting another Originator battlecruiser approaching this system via hyperspace,” reported the sensor officer.

  Second Commander Delrom looked over suspiciously at Commander Vaxall. “Why would a second Originator ship be coming here? Is it possible we’ve been detected and the other battlecruiser has put in a request for rein
forcements?”

  Commander Vaxall looked over at the communications officer. “Have we intercepted any outgoing hyperspace communications from the Originator ship?”

  “Several. They were highly encrypted and our computers have yet to break the encryption.”

  Commander Vaxall considered the possibilities. There was a chance the Originator battlecruiser in the system had noticed them after all and called for help. It would explain the encrypted messages. “Take us to battlestations and prepare for combat. I believe the Humans have noticed our presence.”

  “Commander, we were ordered not to engage in combat,” pointed out Second Commander Delrom.

  Vaxall shook his head. “It does not matter now if they have indeed detected us. Just our presence alone invalidates the treaty. Besides, we are Eternals and we do not run from inferior races.”

  In the Command Center, alarms began to sound and red lights started flashing. Across the ship, the Eternal crew rushed to their battlestations. Vaxall was determined that if the Humans attacked he would destroy their ships.

  -

  On board the Salem. “Commander, we are detecting an energy spike from the dark space,” reported the sensor operator. “I would guess the Eternals have detected the Star Rover and might suspect they have been noticed. They may be preparing to leave.”

  Commander Roberts let out a deep sigh. He had hoped it would be a few more minutes before the Eternals detected the other battlecruiser. “Take us out of orbit and prepare to enter hyperspace. I want to come out of hyperspace two thousand kilometers from the suspected position of the Eternal vessel. Take the ship to Condition One and prepare for combat.”

  Instantly alarms began sounding and red lights started flashing.

  “Prepare dark matter missiles for launch.”

  The ship didn’t have any of the more powerful dark energy cannons but it did have a few of the powerful dark matter missiles. The Salem was one of the newer, more advanced Originator battlecruisers measuring 2,200 meters in length. It had enhanced weapons as well as a more powerful power system allowing for a stronger energy shield. The battlecruisers and dreadnoughts were what the Altons were using to contact intelligent races in the 614 galaxies controlled by the Originators. On most of the ships, there was a combination of Humans and Altons as well as Originator AIs.