The Originator Wars: Explorations: A Lost Fleet Novel
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Several minutes passed and the first squadron of battlecruisers dropped out of hyperspace near the closest anomaly. Almost instantly the anomaly switched from being unidentified to that of an Eternal battlecruiser. The Originator ships quickly opened fire, scoring several telling strikes to the enemy vessel before its energy shield snapped into place. The Eternal battlecruiser began returning fire as it turned and fled into hyperspace.
Almost the same set of circumstances occurred at the other three locations of anomalies. All were Eternal battlecruisers and all fled as soon as they realized they had been detected.
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“They’re gone,” reported Lieutenant Jacob Reynolds from his sensor console.
“They know we detected them,” commented Commander Macleod.
Massie nodded. “I suspect as soon as they get back to the Eternal fleet and make their report the Eternals will be coming here. I want all ships to go to Condition Four. We’ll stay there until we hear the Eternal fleet has left Jewel. Once that happens we’ll place the entire system at Condition Three.”
Commander Macleod quickly passed on the orders.
Massie looked around the Command Center. “I would suggest everyone get a good meal and some sleep. We’re probably going to have a long day tomorrow.”
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After leaving the Command Center, Massie made her way to the Officer’s Mess nearby. She sat down and one of the servers came over, bringing Massie a glass of iced tea. She was tempted to order something stronger but she needed to keep her wits about her. After a few minutes the server returned with a ham sandwich and some chips. This would do for now. In the morning she would have a good breakfast and then head to the Command Center. As she ate she wondered what her parents were doing on New Tellus. She doubted if they had evacuated. She had never managed to get to New Tellus to visit them. Massie swore to herself if she survived the coming battle she would go and spend at least a week with her parents. She would also see if she could talk Race into doing the same. Massie deeply regretted not visiting her parents, particularly since there was a chance she might not ever see them again.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Admiral Qurant was ready to strike at the Humans once again. Under Second Leader Abross’ command he had gathered the forces assigned to destroy the Humans. He had 44,827 warships to bring the Human species to its knees and destroy it. The fleet would be divided into two separate forces with one going to destroy the Humans’ homeworld and the other to what appeared to be their major fleet and repair base. Once both of those were annihilated, the fleets would recombine and destroy the remaining Human worlds one by one.
“Reports from the stealth battlecruisers are in,” reported Second Commandeer Anston. “Both systems are heavily defended. Our losses will be severe but we should prevail.”
“How severe?” Qurant did not want to lose a major portion of his fleet.
“Sixty-eight percent losses with the rest of our ships suffering some damage.”
Qurant’s eyes widened. He hadn’t been expecting this. It might be necessary to modify his plans. He would contact Second Leader Abross and discuss it with him.
“We could summon more warships from the Empire,” suggested Second Commander Anston.
Qurant shook his head. “We don’t have the time. If we destroy the Humans’ homeworld, I suspect all resistance will collapse. Make the fleets ready to get underway. I will speak to Second Leader Abross. I have a plan which will guarantee our victory.”
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Rear Admiral Massie Tolsen had combined her fleet with the reinforcements that had come through the Accelerator Ring. The fleet was currently in the form of a massive cylinder with the battlecruisers on the outside and the dreadnoughts in the center. Massie knew this was one of Race’s favorite formations when he was outnumbered. There were 12,200 battlecruisers in the formation and 320 dreadnoughts. She wished there were more dreadnoughts but they were running short of crewed vessels.
“We have several confirmed reports the Eternals have left Jewel,” reported Commander Macleod.
“They will be here in six point four hours,” added Falolt, the female AI at the helm.
“I foresee a problem,” said Matol. “We have two planets to defend plus Earth’s moon. We must assume the Eternals will strike at us with a fleet of over twenty thousand ships.”
“But if we combine our fleets it will leave one of the worlds open to attack,” protested Massie. “We won’t know where they’re going until they get here.”
“It is a dilemma,” admitted Matol.
Massie stood up and walked over to the holographic tactical display. “Did they leave as one fleet or several fleets?”
“Two,” replied Commander Macleod.
“Then they must be coming for the Solar System and New Tellus at the same time. Inform Fleet Admiral Nagumo and take all commands to Condition Three. Jennifer, contact my brother and inform him the Eternals have left Jewel in two fleet formations. We believe one is headed for New Tellus and the other is coming here.”
The messages were quickly sent. Massie spent several more moments gazing at the holographic tactical display then she made a decision, one she hoped was the right one. “I want to move the fleet out past the Moon. We’re going to need more maneuvering room when the Eternals get here. Contact Admiral Johnston and confirm the Accelerator Ring near Mars is ready for self-destruction. I want all traffic going through the ring to come to a stop in five hours.”
Massie returned to her command chair deep in thought. Strategies were running through her mind as she tried to figure out how to fight the coming battle. She was feeling nervous as she was defending humanity’s home planet. It was the one world which must not fall to the Eternals. She sat in her chair drumming her fingers against the armrests, oblivious to what was going on around her. In a few hours she would be fighting the greatest battle of her life.
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Race was listening to his communications officer relay Massie’s latest message. He had a difficult decision to make. Currently he had twenty-one thousand battlecruisers under his command as well as nearly five hundred dreadnoughts. He was confident he could hold New Tellus with that fleet but what about the Solar System and Earth? Massie’s fleet was smaller and she had two inhabited planets to defend. The Solar System had nearly 8 billion people still on Earth and Mars. New Tellus only had 66 million. Taking a deep breath, he knew what his decision needed to be.
“Lieutenant Burns, I need to speak with Admiral Crown and General Wilcox immediately.” It was time to apprise them of what he had decided.
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Massie had left and eaten a quick snack before the Eternals arrived. She had just returned to the Command Center when the Eternal fleet was detected.
“Take all commands to Condition Two. We’ll go to Condition One as soon as the Eternals begin to drop out of hyperspace.”
Soon after, confirmation messages came flooding in from various commands including from Fleet Admiral Nagumo.
“How many ships?” Massie asked as she sat down in her command chair. The holographic tactical display was still on and showing the inbound Eternal fleet. At the moment the Eternals ships were so close together they were showing as one large red blob.
“It will be a few minutes yet before we can get an accurate count,” replied Lieutenant Reynolds. “Our sensors are also having trouble penetrating the Eternal fleet formation. They may be trying to jam our sensors.”
Commander Macleod looked over at Massie. “Why would they be doing that? They’re bound to know we’ve been watching them and are aware of their fleet numbers.”
“Lieutenant Reynolds, keep a sharp eye on your sensors. I want to know the exact makeup of that fleet as soon as possible.”
Massie sat staring at the holographic tactical display. All patrol ships were pulling back to either Earth or Mars. The outer region of the Solar System was rapidly becoming void of ships. She had a suspicion the Eternals were up to som
ething but she didn’t know what it could be.
“Have our sensors detected any other ships or fleets inbound toward the Solar System?”
“No, Admiral,” replied Lieutenant Reynolds. “All we have on our long-range sensors is the single Eternal fleet. We should have numbers in another few minutes.”
Massie took in a deep breath. There was nothing she could do but wait.
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Several minutes passed and the Eternal fleet was about to enter the Solar System. Lieutenant Reynolds finally managed to get a good reading of the fleet with his sensors. “I don’t understand. This can’t be right.”
“What is it, Lieutenant?” Massie could see the startled look in the lieutenant’s eyes.
“I’m only detecting eight thousand Eternal battlecruisers. Shouldn’t there be more if we’re the primary target?”
“Damn!” uttered Massie, realizing the Eternals had played a trick on them. The Solar System wasn’t the primary target, it had to be New Tellus. “Jennifer, get a warning off to New Tellus telling them we believe they’re the primary target. We only have eight thousand Eternal battlecruisers here.”
Massie was worried. That meant that over thirty-seven thousand Eternal battlecruisers were headed toward New Tellus and her brother. With eight thousand Eternal warships in the Solar System, she could not rush off to his aid. The Eternals had played a very good hand. They had pinned her ships down in the Solar System, cutting off New Tellus from reinforcements, while attacking the system with a superior fleet. She had no idea how this was going to turn out. All of their battle plans had just been thrown out the window.
“Eternal fleet is exiting hyperspace just past the orbit of Mars,” reported Commander Macleod. “What do you want to do, Admiral?”
“Contact Admiral Johnston and have him hold his fleet in position around Mars. We’ll let the Eternals make the first move.”
Lieutenant Reynolds continued to scan the enemy fleet. “They’re moving slowly toward Mars. Two hours before they’re in engagement range.”
“A clever tactic,” commented Matol. “If we enter hyperspace to attack them, they could then enter hyperspace and attack Earth. If we maintain our current position they will doubtlessly attack Mars. They also prevent us from going to reinforce Admiral Tolsen as that would leave Earth open to attack.”
Massie looked back at the holographic tactical display. For the time being all she could do was maintain her position near the Moon.
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Second Leader Abross was satisfied Admiral Qurant’s plan was working. His fleet would hold the Originator ships here in this system while Admiral Qurant and the main fleet attacked the other target system. Qurant had decided the other system was the bigger threat because it seemed to hold the primary military and fleet bases for the Humans. By destroying that system, it would eliminate the possibility of any reinforcements being sent to defend the home system. When Qurant was finished with his mission, he would come here with his surviving ships joining up with Second Leader Abross. They would then eliminate the two inhabited worlds in this system. It was a sound and logical plan and showed the greatest measure of success.
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Race had just been informed the Eternal fleet had appeared in the Solar System. Currently he had several Originator battlecruisers at the extreme edges of the system using their long-range sensors to locate the Eternal fleet he was certain was headed for New Tellus. Race knew Massie was probably pacing back and forth in her Command Center feeling trapped by the Eternals. He had already informed Admiral Crown and General Wilcox of his plan to take his fleet through the Accelerator Ring to reinforce Earth and Mars. That plan had fallen apart as soon as he received Massie’s message about the size of the Eternal fleet which had appeared in the Solar System.
“It is a good strategy,” commented Zamdol. “Even with the reinforcements we’ve received, we’ll still be outnumbered by nearly two to one.” Race had decided to keep Zamdol on the WarHawk and had sent another military AI to help Admiral Crown.
“That’s better than what we faced at Jewel,” replied Race. “We also have four of the forty-kilometer battlestations in this system. If we can substantially reduce the size of the Eternal fleet the defenses around New Tellus and Admiral Crown’s fleet units should be able to hold the Eternals at bay.”
“We have a hyperspace track,” reported Lieutenant Justin. “At the far end of our hyperspace sensor range. It’s still too far out to determine individual ships but the track is quite large.”
“How long until it gets here?”
“Thirty-two minutes.”
“As soon as the Eternal fleet drops out of hyperspace we will move to engage. Have all commands go to Condition Three. Inform Admiral Crown and General Wilcox we have detected an inbound fleet and we’re pretty certain it’s the Eternals.”
The fleet was formed up into a massive cylinder with twenty-one thousand battlecruisers on the perimeter in five rings and over eight hundred dreadnoughts in the center. This was the largest fleet formation Race had ever commanded. He just wondered how many ships if any would be left after this battle.
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A few more minutes passed and Lieutenant Justin turned to face the admiral. “The Eternals are attempting to jam our sensors but we have a preliminary estimate on their numbers. We’re looking at somewhere between thirty-five thousand and forty thousand Eternal battlecruisers.”
“Damn, that’s a lot of ships!” muttered Commander Haskins. “Can we stop them from reaching New Tellus?”
“Good question,” replied Race. “We’re going to try.” Race wished his parents had left New Tellus. He had spoken to them briefly nearly every day since he had arrived in the New Tellus System. They were being stubborn and refusing to leave. They had informed Race New Tellus was their home and they had no plans of leaving.
Time seemed to pass slowly until the red blob on the large tactical screen gradually began to show individual ships. They now knew there were nearly thirty-eight thousand Eternal vessels barreling down on the New Tellus System.
“They should be dropping out of hyperspace in twelve more minutes,” reported Lieutenant Justin. “From their course and speed I look for them to exit hyperspace about 220,000 kilometers from New Tellus.”
Race felt the growing tension in the Command Center. “All commands are to go to Condition One. Combat is imminent. The use of dark matter weapons is authorized. Inform Rear Admiral Collins if something happens to the WarHawk he is to assume command of the fleet. Rear Admiral Cowel will be next in the chain of command.”
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It wasn’t long before the Eternal fleet began dropping out of hyperspace. Hundreds and then thousands of Eternal battlecruisers began appearing and started forming up into a massive wall formation of twenty long lines with five hundred ships in each line. Behind that wall of ships were two more walls containing ten thousand warships with a reserve of 7,827 ships following close behind.
“They like those wall formations,” said Commander Haskins, his eyes focused on the tactical display.
“It’s quite effective,” said Zamdol. “It allows ships in the following lines to move up and take the place of any damaged or destroyed Eternal vessel while allowing them considerable firepower to take on their opponents.”
Race understood full well why the Eternals favored this formation. It was highly intimidating which was its primary purpose. “We’ll see how that formation holds up to ours.” Race intended to take his cylinder formation of ships right into the heart of the Eternals’ wall.
Race took a deep breath. “Guess there’s no point in delaying this. Let’s move the fleet toward the Eternals.” Race pressed an icon on his computer screen which allowed him to address all the ships in his fleet. “Very shortly we will be engaging the Eternals. They outnumber us in ships but we vastly outnumber them in our determination to defend our worlds. We will advance into the heart of the Eternal formation. They will learn they should never have come to the Federati
on. We shall destroy their fleet and teach these supposedly superior beings a lesson they will never forget.”
Leaning back in his command chair, Race watched the main viewscreen as his fleet turned slightly until the front of the cylinder was aimed directly at the oncoming Eternals. “Let’s meet them halfway.”
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In space, the two fleets rapidly approached one another. Neither slowed or showed any signs of being afraid of the other. This would be a fight to the death. For the Eternals, if they won they would destroy the Human species. If the Humans won their surviving worlds would be safe from future Eternal attacks.
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Admiral Qurant’s eyes were focused intently on the tactical display. The Humans had more ships than he had expected.
“There are nearly twenty-two thousand Originator ships in that formation,” Second Commander Anston informed Qurant. “We’re going to sustain considerable losses when we engage them.”
“A cylindrical formation,” said Qurant. “It could be a problem as it makes the ships in the center more difficult to destroy. “How many of their dreadnoughts are there?”
“Eight hundred and twelve,” answered the sensor officer.
Second Commander Anston was studying the tactical display. “Their dark matter missiles out-range our antimatter ones. They’ll have nearly an eight second advantage when they begin launching.”
“Prepare our defensive turrets and interceptor missiles. We need to destroy as many of their missiles short of our fleet as possible.” That was something the council needed to address. They had to increase the range of their antimatter missiles to counter the superior range of the Originator missiles.
Qurant shifted his eyes to the main viewscreen. It had been his suggestion to attack this system instead of the Human homeworld. He had felt if this system could be destroyed, it would be demoralizing to the Humans, making their homeworld easier to annihilate. It would also eliminate any possible reinforcements that could be sent to the Humans’ primary system. “Launch missiles as soon as we’re in range. Increase fleet speed by 20 percent. That will decrease the amount of time the Humans have to launch before we’re in range.”