“Do we go to Serenity?” asked Commander Gilbert, her eyes wide with worry and a hint of fear.
“No,” replied Rear Admiral Quinton, trying to calm his racing pulse. “If we commit our forces to Serenity then we leave Bliss wide open to attack and it has by far the larger population.”
“I have Senator Adams on the comm,” reported Lieutenant Trent. “He’s demanding we send our fleet to Serenity immediately.”
Quinton took a deep breath. “Inform the senator our fleet is committed to defending Bliss and we have nothing to send to Serenity.” He knew he was dooming the planet but there was nothing he could do. If he survived this battle, which he doubted, this decision would haunt him for the rest of his life.
-
Admiral Qurant studied the ship’s tactical display. They had exited hyperspace twenty thousand kilometers from the target planet. Sensors indicated a weak defensive grid and what appeared to be six small battlestations around the planet. There was also a small fleet of twenty vessels; four large ones and sixteen support vessels.
“No others detected,” reported Second Commander Anston.
Admiral Qurant was pleased. This assured a quick and easy victory. “Close with the planet and destroy its orbital defenses and that small fleet of ships. We will then bombard the surface with high yield nuclear weapons.” The plan was to make the surface of the Human worlds uninhabitable for years to come.
-
Senator Adams sat in his office with a stiff drink sitting on the desk in front of him. The small fleet in orbit could not protect Serenity and he knew there was nothing he could do to save his world. In hindsight, he realized his opposition to increasing military spending and fortifying his home planet had brought about its doom. He took a drink, feeling the fiery liquid slide down his throat.
Reports from Defense Command indicated the defensive grid was under heavy attack and expected to fail shortly. The small defending fleet had been wiped out in less than a minute. When the defensive grid was destroyed, the military experts expected the Eternals to bombard the planet. There were a few defensive missile batteries around the military bases but they would not survive for long.
Getting up, he walked over to the large window in his office carrying his drink in his right hand. In the far distance, there was a brilliant flash of light and moments later a sound like distant thunder but much louder. More flashes appeared, some farther away and others closer. After a moment Senator Adams felt his eyes start to burn and seeing was becoming more difficult. He realized the distant flashes were blinding him. Suddenly there was a loud roaring sound and a blast of superheated air blew the window in. Adams stumbled and fell to the floor, dropping his glass. He lay there for a moment struggling to breath in the sudden heat and then lost consciousness.
-
Admiral Qurant watched the world beneath his fleet burn. Multiple mushroom clouds were visible and more missiles were still striking the planet. Already the atmosphere was starting to turn dark from the rising ash and radioactive contaminants. In a few more minutes the bombardment would be over and they would go back into hyperspace to attack the other inhabited planet in the system. That one had a larger defensive fleet but Qurant wasn’t concerned. There were less than one hundred and fifty defending ships and his fleet would make short work of them.
-
The command crew on the Valiant stared in horror at the viewscreen and what was happening to Serenity. Brilliant flashes of light continued to erupt across its surface.
“This is overkill,” said an angry Commander Gilbert. “Why don’t they stop?”
“They’re the Eternals,” replied Rear Admiral Quinton in a subdued voice. “They came here to wipe us out and to destroy our worlds.”
Gilbert turned to face the admiral. “Bliss will be next.”
Quinton nodded. “And we’ll do what we can to defend it.”
Time seemed to pass slowly and then finally the time came when the Eternal fleet entered hyperspace. Rear Admiral Quinton sat in his command chair waiting for the appearance of the Eternals. He felt unusually calm though he knew his death was probably only minutes away.
“Spatial vortexes are opening,” called out the sensor operator in a confused voice.
Suddenly from the swirling blue-white vortexes, Originator battlecruisers began appearing.
For a moment Quinton felt hope and then the vortexes closed. “How many?”
“Eighty-seven battlecruisers,” replied Commander Gilbert.
“Dreadnoughts?”
“None.”
“Have the battlecruisers join our formation. Quinton knew the battlecruisers had been sent by an Accelerator Ring and that was why they had not been detected before they arrived in the system.
“I have a communication from the military AI in charge of the Originator ships,” reported Lieutenant Trent. “He’s placing his fleet under your command and is requesting orders.”
“Put them in the wedge,” ordered Quinton. At least now his fleet would have more firepower. He was grateful for the arrival of the Originator battlecruisers; he just wished there would have been more.
“I have an accurate count on the Eternal fleet,” reported the sensor officer. “We’re facing fourteen thousand Eternal battlecruisers. “None were destroyed at Serenity.”
On the main viewscreen, the Originator battlecruisers began moving into the wedge formation. At the same time the Eternal fleet began to emerge from hyperspace.
-
“The Humans have been reinforced by eighty-seven Originator battlecruisers,” reported Second Commander Anston.
“It is of no concern,” replied Admiral Qurant. “Eighty-seven Originator ships will not change the outcome of the coming battle. They are too few. We will destroy them along with the Human ships. If eighty-seven ships are all they can send to save this world, it indicates to me they are unwilling to commit the necessary forces to defend the Humans. Victory will be ours for we are the Eternals.”
-
“Eternal forces have formed up into a massive wall formation twenty ships high and five hundred ships long,” reported the sensor officer. “The remaining Eternal ships have formed up into lines eight ships high and five hundred ships long behind the front group of ships.”
Commander Gilbert looked at Rear Admiral Quinton. Her face was pale and her eyes wide. “They’re all going to fire at once!”
“Vortexes opening behind the Eternal fleet!” shouted the sensor officer. “We have more Originator ships coming through. Detecting dreadnoughts!”
Quinton’s eyes shifted to the tactical display as friendly green icons began to appear behind the Eternal fleet. Not just a few but hundreds. After a minute the vortexes closed. “How many?”
“Detecting 142 dreadnoughts and 512 battlecruisers. Originator fleet is forming up into a cone formation with the dreadnoughts in the center and is advancing on the Eternals.”
Rear Admiral Quinton didn’t hesitate. “We will advance and engage the enemy. We’ll have the enemy pinned between us and the Originator fleet.”
Commander Gilbert looked in surprise at the admiral but didn’t comment. They were still outnumbered by nearly eighteen to one and the Eternals had the larger and more powerfully armed ships. She wondered who was actually trapping who.
-
“Originator warships have emerged from hyperspace behind us,” reported the sensor officer. “Sensors show 142 dreadnoughts and 512 battlecruisers.”
“Readjust our formation,” ordered Admiral Qurant. “The rear section of ships will turn to face this new threat. We still outnumber them significantly. Fire all weapons when we’re within range.” Using his nanites, he confirmed these new ships would not be a major threat. His numerical advantage would quickly overwhelm them.
-
The three fleets closed with each other. A minute passed and suddenly all hell broke loose in space. The fleets launched missiles and began firing their energy beams. Space became lit up with small ex
plosions as some of the missiles were intercepted. Massive explosions began to erupt against the energy screens of the warships as nuclear, antimatter, and dark matter missiles began reaching their targets.
The light cruisers in Rear Admiral Quinton’s fleet turned broadside and opened fire with their main batteries, quickly scoring several hits with their pulse fusion batteries and particle beam cannons. Improved Devastator Four missiles with fifty-megaton fusion warheads were being launched in rapid succession as the light cruisers tried to empty their missile bunkers before the ships were destroyed.
An Eternal antimatter missile slammed into the stern of a light cruiser and the ship vanished in a fiery explosion. Another was riddled by energy beams, leaving it a lifeless hulk.
Energy beams penetrated the shield of a strikecruiser, blowing several pulse fusion turrets to shreds and blasting out several large holes in the hull. Inside the ship emergency crews rushed to contain the damage as several small secondary explosions shook the ship.
All across the wedge formation of Rear Admiral Quinton, the light cruisers were being blown apart from the massive firepower being flung at them by the Eternal fleet. Their energy shields were not strong enough to resist the powerful energy beams tearing through their shields.
-
The Valiant shook violently as several antimatter missiles slammed into the energy shield. In the Command Center several consoles shorted out, sending hot sparks flying through the air.
Quinton was holding on to his command chair as he shouted orders to his command crew. “Get those fires out! I want all of our strikecruisers to target just one of those Eternal battlecruisers. Pour on the firepower until we bring its shield down.”
Glancing at the tactical display, he saw his light cruiser icons flaring up and vanishing. “All Originator battlecruisers in our formation are to work in groups of three and focus on just one Eternal warship. We’re spreading our weapons fire out too much and it’s not being effective.”
The Valiant suddenly shook as if struck by a giant hammer. On the damage control console several red lights flared up.
“We just took several energy beam hits to the hull,” reported the damage control officer. “We lost two power beam turrets, one particle beam turret, and three missile tubes are non-functioning. We have several compartments open to space and I’ve sealed them off. Damage repair teams are responding.”
On the viewscreen, an Eternal battlecruiser blew apart in a brilliant fireball.
“We got one of them!” said Commander Gilbert in elation.
On the screen, several more Eternal ships blew apart as the Originator battlecruisers focused their firepower.
“All of our light cruisers are gone,” reported the sensor officer. “Their shields couldn’t hold up to the Eternal weapons.”
On the tactical display, three of Quinton’s strikecruisers vanished as they were destroyed by heavy Eternal weapons fire. Even the Originator battlecruisers were beginning to suffer losses. On the main viewscreen, he saw one of the battlecruisers vanish under a massive explosion from an Eternal antimatter missile. When the fury of the explosion died away all that remained was a shattered hulk.
-
The Originator fleet was having more success against the Eternals. They were working in groups of three and consistently turning Eternal battlecruisers into massive fireballs of released energy. However, the Eternals had superior numbers and were systematically destroying the attacking Originator ships.
-
Admiral Qurant stood silently as his fleet destroyed the two opposing forces which were trying to keep him from reaching the planet. He watched as his warships blew the enemy vessels apart in fiery explosions. On the massive tactical display, he frowned as several of his battlecruiser icons vanished from the screen indicating they had been lost.
“The enemy have taken out forty-two of our warships,” reported Second Commander Anston.
“Continue to focus our fire,” ordered Admiral Qurant. “They are being destroyed at nearly a five to one rate compared to our own losses. This will be over shortly.”
He watched as the Human fleet guarding the planet was quickly decimated until only three of their larger vessels remained plus seven Originator battlecruisers. Those would soon be gone.
-
Rear Admiral Quinton watched despondently as his fleet was destroyed by the Eternals. Soon death would take him as well. A sudden explosion shook the ship violently and he heard people screaming. Several light panels fell from the ceiling as well as some small support beams. Looking up he saw a beam falling just before it struck him in the head, knocking him unconscious.
-
Commander Gilbert saw the beam strike the admiral and assumed he was dead. She didn’t have time to check as the ship was in danger of being destroyed. “Take us into hyperspace and set a course for New Tellus,” she ordered. There was no point in staying as the Valiant was so heavily damaged it no longer served as any kind of a threat to the Eternals. The least she could do was save the lives of the surviving crew.
Moments later the battered strikecruiser made the transition into hyperspace and fled the battle.
-
The Originator ships opposing the Eternals continued the battle. Both opposing fleets were covered in massive explosions from the powerful blasts of both antimatter and dark matter missiles. Ships continued to die but the superior numbers possessed by the Eternals were beginning to have an overwhelming effect against the Originator ships as they were quickly being eliminated. Finally the Originator military AI in charge gave the order to withdraw as he was losing ships at far too fast a rate.
-
Admiral Qurant watched as the few surviving Originator ships fled into hyperspace and left the system. “What were our losses?”
“Eighty-three battlecruisers,” reported Second Commandeer Anston.
“Reform our formation and have the fleet advance on the planet. We will destroy its defenses and then nuke it from orbit.”
-
The Eternal fleet adjusted its formation and advanced on the planet. The defense grid opened fire, including the Type Two Battlestations as well as the Indomitable ones. Two Eternal battlecruisers were quickly eliminated and others damaged primarily from the fire from the Indomitables.
The Eternal fleet opened fire on the defense grid, quickly blasting it from orbit. The space above Bliss became brilliant with explosions. The Indomitable Battlestations lasted the longest and managed to take out three more Eternal battlecruisers but in the end they too were blown apart from the intense firepower of the Eternal fleet.
-
On the surface of Bliss in the capital city Senator Hanford watched the brilliant explosions of light in orbit. He knew full well what they meant. Most of the population had taken shelter in the underground sections of buildings and the basements in their homes but Hanford knew that wouldn’t do any good. He had watched on viewscreens what happened to Serenity.
Looking upward, he saw missile trails in the sky. Defensive missiles were launched and at first many of the inbound missiles were intercepted. However, the stockpile of interceptor missiles was soon exhausted and the defensive fire came to a stop. Moments later a forty-megaton nuclear missile detonated directly over Senator Hanford, incinerating him and most of the capital city.
Across Bliss hundreds of powerful nuclear weapons dropped, annihilating cities and creating multiple firestorms. The air turned dark as it was filled with ash. Hurricane force winds from the explosions leveled everything. The radiation count rapidly rose until nothing could survive. When the missiles stopped falling Bliss was a dead planet. Its 720 million people were dead and it would be hundreds of years before life could return to the devastated planet.
Chapter Twenty-One
Admiral Tolsen was in the Command Center of the WarHawk listening to the reports of the battle in the Epsilon Eridani System. Only Rear Admiral Quinton’s ship had survived from the system’s defenders. The admiral was seve
rely injured and his ship was heavily damaged. The military AI Tolsen had sent to help had reported the loss of most of his ships for a minimal return against the Eternals.
“We’re getting reports of Haven in the Goombridge System being attacked,” reported Lieutenant Tasha Burns. “The defending fleet has been destroyed and the planet is currently under bombardment. Estimated size of the attacking Eternal fleet is fourteen thousand vessels.”
“That’s twenty-eight thousand,” commented Commander Haskins.
“The Altons are also under attack,” added Zamdol. “The Eternal fleet there is estimated at thirteen thousand vessels.”
“Forty-one thousand total,” said Commander Haskins, shaking his head. “That’s one hell of a fleet.”
“The next target will most likely be Jewel in the Epsilon Indi System,” continued Zamdol. “It has a population of over 2.4 billion people.”
“There are two Eternal fleets attacking us,” Race said, glancing over at Zamdol. “Where will the second fleet attack?”
“Procyon A. It has a population of 1.4 billion.”
Race leaned back in his command chair. There was an Acceleration Ring in the Epsilon Indi System. There wasn’t one at Procyon A because its government had refused to recognize the threat. However, Garrison did have a reasonable sized Federation fleet due to its large population.
“Contact the Dyson sphere,” ordered Race to Lieutenant Burns. I want two thousand Originator battlecruisers and two hundred dreadnoughts sent to Garrison immediately. I want those ships on the way within the hour.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Burns.
“Commander Haskins, we’re going to take our fleet to Jewel. We need to delay the Eternals long enough to allow as many people as possible to evacuate. I want all Originator evacuation transports sent to Jewel. We’ll follow them. Lieutenant Burns, get Admiral Crown on the comm. I need to tell him what I’m doing and that he’ll be in command until I get back.”
Race had decided the Eternals would no longer have any more easy victories. He was going to fight them every step of the way. If he had to drain the Dyson sphere in Shari space of all of their warships to accomplish that goal he would do just that.
The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel Page 29