“Welcome back,” greeted Councilor Trallis. “We have been discussing the potential threat to your home galaxy and what we can do about it. Admiral Jackson has made some recommendations and we would like to hear what you think of them.”
“It’s good to be back,” replied Barnes as he sat down.
Admiral Jackson handed Councilor Barnes a blue folder. Each of the councilors had one in front of them. “This is my proposal for the defense of the Human Federation of Worlds as well as several of the Alton systems. I’ve been in contact with Councilor Tureen and he is in full agreement.”
Barnes opened the folder and began reading. He was greatly surprised by its contents. “You’re recommending sending a large number of battlestations to defend the Federation and the Altons. What about the Carethians?”
“They have requested all battlestations be sent to the Federation or Alton space. They are already planning on moving a significant percentage of their population to the Dyson sphere. The rest will do what they can to defend Careth.”
Councilor Barnes leaned back in his chair frowning. “They won’t stand a chance against Eternal weapons.”
“Perhaps not,” responded Grayseth in his normal loud booming voice. “But enough of my people will eventually make it here to continue our race and preserve our culture. We’re making arrangements to transport much of our historical heritage on cargo ships so our cubs will know what life on Careth was like. We recognize it is not practical to defend Careth since it’s so far from the Federation and the Altons.”
“Many of your people will die,” said Councilor Barnes, his eyes focused on Grayseth.
Grayseth nodded with his large incisors showing. “It will be an honorable fight and many of my people will embark on the Great Hunt. The old and many of our warriors will remain to fight the Eternals. It is the way of life and my people recognize what must be done. The clans will continue here on the Dyson sphere and perhaps someday we can return and reclaim our home.”
“What about Rear Admiral Tolsen, has her fleet departed yet?” Barnes knew it was supposed to go to the Solar System to support Fleet Admiral Nagumo and his forces.
“Yes, they left about a week ago,” replied Admiral Jackson. “We plan to begin sending the battlestations through in another two weeks. They will be armed with our most powerful weapons except for the blue energy spheres. We’re hoping they will allow us to protect several star systems in the Human Federation of Worlds as well as the Alton homeworld.”
“Have we heard of any Eternal ships being detected in our home galaxy?” The last Barnes heard one hadn’t been detected though with the Eternal stealth systems it was possible one had been in the home galaxy and already sent word to the Eternals about what it had discovered.
“No,” replied Admiral Jackson. “We have ships out searching for any that might be lurking about. So far we’ve found possibly three more in other galaxies. We don’t know if they’ve made it to the Milky Way yet or not.”
Councilor Barnes looked over at Councilor Trallis. “Have we broached the subject about Eternal ships being in our galaxies to the Eternals?”
“Yes,” replied Councilor Trallis. “They claim it was a misunderstanding with one of their smaller fleet commanders. Supposedly all stealth ships have been recalled.”
“Which we know isn’t true,” added Councilor Castille. “We believe the Eternals are only trying to buy time. Time to find Earth, Careth, and the Altons.”
“They will eventually,” replied Councilor Barnes.
Admiral Jackson stood up and looked at the councilors. “When they do they will attack with a massive force. We need to be prepared to destroy that force while at the same time launching a full scale invasion of many of their galaxies in retaliation.”
Several of the Originator Councilors seemed taken aback at that suggestion.
“You’re talking about committing most of our ships to such a conflict,” said Councilor Metric. “Ships we need to defend the Shrieels.”
“The Shrieels are now more than capable of defending themselves,” replied Admiral Jackson. “Over the past two years we have greatly upgraded the defenses protecting all the Shrieels as well as our bases. We’ve also significantly increased our ship construction capacity. We must show the Eternals there is a severe penalty for breaking any agreement we sign with them.”
“What about here at the hub?” asked Councilor Roan. “We must keep it adequately defended.”
“We shall since the majority of the Originator population is here at the hub and we plan on moving a significant portion of the Human, Alton, and Carethian populations here as well.”
This seemed to satisfy most of the Originator Councilors.
Councilor Trallis called for a quick vote and the plan was agreed upon. The council then spent the next few hours working out the details including calling in several Originator strategists as well as military AIs to get their opinions. In the end they thought they had a plan which would work and might even force the Eternals into a more permanent ceasefire.
-
Deep in the Milky Way Galaxy, a stealthed Eternal battlecruiser was following a small fleet of Human warships. The ships were much smaller than an Originator battlecruiser but communication intercepts had concluded they were indeed Human. For several days the Eternal battlecruiser had been shadowing the small fleet hoping it would lead them to the Human homeworld.
-
Commander Zavold gazed at the tactical display at the six red threat icons his ship was following. From communication intercepts, they had identified the vessels as Human strikecruisers. The vessels were one thousand meters in length and quite heavily armed though Zavold doubted they would be a threat to his battlecruiser.
“We have calculated their course,” reported Second Commander Maltin. “They are headed toward a yellow dwarf star 412 light years from our current position.”
Commander Zavold looked at the star chart being projected on one of the large viewscreens. “Let’s hope this star holds one of their primary worlds. If it does, it should not take us long to locate all of their star systems from the ship traffic. Keep us at the extreme range of our sensors. We don’t want the Humans to realize we’re following them.” Zavold was satisfied that very soon he would know the location of the Humans’ homeworld.
-
The following day the six strikecruisers dropped out of hyperspace on the edge of the New Tellus System. Commander Cody was ready for a few weeks leave time. They had just returned from a normal patrol of Hocklyn space to ensure the surviving Hocklyns were obeying all the terms of the peace agreement. The Hocklyn Empire was now but a fraction of its former size. While commerce was allowed between the surviving worlds of the Empire, they were not permitted to possess any armed ships of any sort or major defensive weapons around their worlds. The Human Federation of Worlds and its allies kept continuous patrols in Hocklyn space to confirm adherence to the peace treaty.
“We’re to dock with New Tellus Station,” reported the communications officer.
Commander Cody nodded. “Take us in. This has been a long patrol and we all deserve some downtime.”
The six strikecruisers continued in toward New Tellus Station and finally docked. The crews would disembark and take shuttles down to the planet. While the crews were on leave the ships would be checked and resupplied for their next mission.
-
Several days passed when an alert sounded in the Command Center of the Command Fortress. General Wilcox was in the officer’s mess eating a light lunch when the alarm sounded.
“What is it?” she asked as she entered the bustling Command Center and sat down in her command chair.
“We have an anomaly,” reported Colonel Briggs. “We’ve got a dead spot out on the edge of the system. It was discovered by the strikecruiser Zeus.”
A cold chill spread over General Wilcox. “What’s Admiral Crown going to do?”
“He’s notifying Admiral Tolsen.”
“Take all the fortresses and Indomitable Class Battlestations to Condition Two and activate the defense grid around New Tellus. If this is an Eternal vessel we don’t want it to jump in close and fire missiles at the planet or any of our major installations.”
“Admiral Crown is taking all shipyards to Condition Two as well,” replied Colonel Briggs.
On one of the large tactical displays, two Originator Dreadnoughts and four Originator battlecruisers suddenly disappeared as they made the transition into hyperspace.
“Once those ships reach the anomaly I want to go to Condition One at all installations,” ordered General Wilcox. “All fortresses are to prepare to fire dark matter missiles if this is an Eternal vessel and it jumps into range.” Admiral Tolsen had supplied the large fortresses with some of the weapons a few days back.
Madison sat down in her command chair. She could sense the elevated tension in the massive Command Center. They had hoped it would be months yet before the Eternals found the Human Federation of Worlds. Now it seemed such hope had vanished. They would know for sure in a few more minutes.
-
Commander Zavold was called to the Command Center because of a change in the current tactical situation. Upon arriving in the Command Center, he saw the ship was at a higher stage of alert. “What’s going on? Why have we changed our alert status?”
“We’ve detected six of the Originator ships jumping into hyperspace including two of their dreadnoughts. Sensors indicate they are heading toward our current position,” reported Second Commander Maltin.
“We’re leaving,” said Commander Zavold, making a quick and logical decision. “We’ve accomplished our mission. From the number of ships we’ve traced we have a general knowledge of where their other worlds are located. It is time for us to return and report to the Council of Eternals.”
A few moments later the Eternal battlecruiser made the transition into hyperspace, leaving the New Tellus System behind.
When the eight Originator ships exited hyperspace, they found no signs of their quarry.
-
The anomaly has vanished,” reported Colonel Briggs. “We detected a slight hyperspace trace and then it disappeared.”
“Damn!” uttered General Wilcox in disappointment. “It had to be an Eternal battlecruiser operating in stealth.”
“What now?” asked Colonel Briggs.
General Wilcox drew in a deep breath. “We still have at least a few months before they can respond to finding us. We’ll use that time to build up our defenses to the maximum. Communications, contact Fleet Admiral Nagumo. We need to notify him that the Eternals have most likely found the Human Federation of Worlds.”
Chapter Eleven
They were all on board the New Horizon waiting for Camlin and Jolban to deliver their reports about what had been found in the computers on the alien ship. Other explorations were ongoing on the fourth planet as well as several large asteroids and moons. Several other nearly intact ships had been boarded and more computer files downloaded. There were also several teams of AIs and engineers busy studying the technology on the alien vessels.
“We have dated the ruins on planet three,” reported Ariel. “The destruction occurred 243 years ago.”
“We’ve also received word from two of our other exploration ships,” added Read Admiral Barnes. “They’ve found two other star systems in the same state as this one. They’re currently investigating wrecked ships as well as the destroyed planets. It’s now evident whatever happened here was not isolated.”
Jeremy opened a folder in front of him detailing the discoveries made by the other two exploration ships. “The big questions are who did this and why? We’re looking at genocide. These worlds were bombed until no one survived. From the destruction prevalent throughout the system, the enemy was very meticulous in their efforts to make sure none of this species remained.”
“Even the smaller scientific outposts were destroyed,” added Aaliss. “Nearly every planet, moon, and major asteroid shows evidence of antimatter explosions.”
Aaliss used her neural implant to activate the large viewscreen in the conference room. Instantly images of the destruction she was talking about appeared. The screen showed the ruins of cities, massive blast craters on various moons, and blackened areas on asteroids. For nearly ten minutes Aaliss showed scenes of the destruction they had found across the system.
“This is worse than what the Eternals do,” commented Arian Pantol. “They may reduce a planet’s population but in most cases they don’t destroy everything.”
Jeremy nodded and looked over at Camlin and Jolban. “What have the two of you discovered?”
Camlin blinked her eyes and then responded. “Several years before the destruction which occurred in this system a spatial anomaly was detected thirty-two light years distant. Three research ships were dispatched to investigate and this is what they found.” Camlin activated the viewscreen showing a massive swirling vortex with hints of dark purple, red, and streaks of dark black. It looked like something out of a nightmare and totally unnatural. “This anomaly was nearly twenty kilometers in diameter and discharging massive pulses of energy. The research ships could get no closer than two hundred thousand kilometers without suffering overloads to their systems. The ships launched scientific probes toward the vortex to take more detailed readings.”
Camlin paused and looked around the group with a very worried and concerned expression. “What the probes recorded was frightening. The anomaly wasn’t galactic or intergalactic in nature but inter-dimensional. It was a connection between our universe and another.”
Everyone in the room looked stunned.
Shilum Torre was the first to speak. The Alton was a specialist in hyperspace studies. “We’ve theorized such a thing might be possible but the energy requirements would be vast, even more so than what the AIs in our galaxy built at the black hole.”
“Also the natural laws that govern our universe might not apply in another,” added Nomar Krill. Krill was an Originator specializing in power systems and Originator technology. “It’s an area of research we have stayed away from for fear of upsetting the natural balance of our universe. If that is inter-dimensional it’s a rip in the very fabric of our universe.”
Jeremy gazed at the viewscreen and the swirling alien vortex. “Did anything come out of it?” He suspected he already knew the answer.
Camlin nodded. “Yes; a fleet of alien ships.” She adjusted the viewscreen and a vessel began to emerge from the center of the vortex. It was crab shaped with six curving spires that came out from the sides of the hull and then curved until they pointed forward. It was also dead black in color. “That ship is 2,300 meters in length and is the first of many that came through the vortex.”
“Did the research ships attempt to make contact?” asked Kelsey. Her eyes were glued to the viewscreen and the strange looking alien ship coming through the vortex. Once the ship completely exited the vortex it was followed by another.
“Yes,” replied Camlin. “They sent numerous first contact messages, all of which were ignored.”
“The aliens might not have understood them since they came from another universe,” suggested Andram, leaning forward and gazing at the screen. “The communication technology in our universe might not be compatible with their vessels. Everything inside their ships might be based on sciences common in their universe and not in ours.”
“Andram’s right,” added Shilum. “Their technology and ours may not be compatible. They could also be so alien communication might be impossible.”
“What happened next?” asked Jeremy.
Camlin changed the viewscreen to show one of the crab-like vessels approaching the science ships. “The science vessels were careful not to make any moves that might appear to be threatening. During this time they were still trying to establish communications.”
-
Two hundred and forty five years ago.
“Still no replies to our attempts at
communication,” reported the communications officer. “We have tried multiple first contact messages but there has not been a response to any of them. We even tried sending a series of prime numbers.”
High Captain Emmet leaned back in his command chair. There were three science vessels in his small fleet. They had been assigned to study this anomaly and ascertain its origin. Several of the scientists on board were claiming it originated in another universe. Upon seeing the strange spacecraft exiting the vortex he was inclined to agree. What race in its right mind would build such strange looking vessels?
“Not of our universe,” said Shelly Nar. Shelly was one of the scientists on board serving as the ship’s science officer. “The shape of that ship as well as our inability to contact it is all indicative of a science and culture completely foreign to any we are familiar with.”
“Let’s pull back and give them some room,” ordered High Captain Emmet. “Perhaps that will give us time to establish communications. Also, by pulling back we will be indicating we are not a threat.”
“Possibly,” replied Shelly. “However, to them it might also be an indication of weakness on our part.”
High Captain Emmet considered Shelly’s warning. “Never-the-less we will pull back. If that ship is armed we dare not engage it. All three of our ships are only lightly armed. If we’re attacked we’ll withdraw immediately.”
“Pulling back,” reported the navigation officer.
“Alien ship is accelerating,” warned the sensor officer. “Detecting power spikes.”
“They may be arming weapons,” cautioned the ship’s second officer. “Recommend we raise our energy shield as a precaution.”
High Captain Emmet nodded. “Do it. I want all ships prepared to enter hyperspace on my order. Prepare to launch alpha drones in case the ship is destroyed. Download all of our recorded data.” The alpha drones had small hyperspace drives and would return to the home system with a full report of what had happened. Emmet hoped it wasn’t necessary to use them.
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 14