Major Henderson nodded. “I agree. I’ve talked to Colonel Gleeson about that, and he’s concerned it will only make the station a bigger target if there is an attack. He wants to build another station in lunar orbit, where numerous attack drones can be placed. He also wants to call them interceptors.”
Derrick thought about the suggestion. “It would give Luna City better protection. That may not be a bad idea. I’ll run it by the Council when I return to Pallas.”
“How soon before the shipyard is finished?”
“Construction is going pretty smoothly so far, with few complications. We’re still a good two months away from completion.”
Major Henderson nodded. “That’s good. When are you taking the Destiny to the Empire?”
A look of surprise passed over Derrick’s face. “How did you find out about that? It’s supposed to be a secret.”
Henderson laughed. “I have my sources, and it’s not Andrew. It’s a logical response after the arrival of Admiral Cleemorl and his fleet.”
“We’re going to try to contact one of Admiral Cleemorl’s people in the underground. It seems there’s a large secret organization the Druins know nothing about. We’ll see if they can be of any help when we eventually return to the Empire.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“It will be, but I’m confident we can get it done.”
Henderson looked thoughtful. “Are you excited about returning to the Empire?”
Derrick’s gaze moved away from the construction to look at the distant stars. “I don’t know. I’m a little apprehensive, knowing what the Druins have been doing. Admiral Cleemorl and those who came with him have described much of what’s occurred in detail. After hearing what they said, I wish we were ready to move against the Confederation now. It’ll be hard to wait another fifty years or more.”
“You will be spending most of it in cryo,” pointed out Henderson. “It won’t seem that long to you.”
Looking at the work robots, Derrick watched as they attached the missile launcher to the hull of the station. They easily maneuvered it into place, then welded and bolted it to the hull. “Maybe not, but it’ll still be a long time and a lot could happen in the Empire.”
Major Henderson didn’t reply, as he maneuvered the small shuttle to another section of the space station. A large docking port was attached to the station, where an Imperial cargo ship or a passenger liner could dock and be fully enclosed. There were plans for a second large dock to be attached to the other side of the station later in the year.
Derrick made a few notes of further improvements that could be made to the station. These would be done in a phase two, after the current construction was finished, and the shipyard was completed.
The shuttle’s comm unit suddenly came on, surprising them.
“Major Henderson, you need to return to the station immediately,” said the comm officer. “We have unconfirmed reports of a large fleet of ships that have dropped out of hyperspace just outside the interdiction system. Admiral Cleemorl has tentatively identified them as Cogan ships and says they’re highly dangerous.”
“Returning to the station,” replied Henderson. He looked at Derrick. “Who the hell are the Cogans?”
“Scavengers. From what I understand, Admiral Cleemorl ran into some on his way here. Somehow or another they must have followed him.”
Henderson looked concerned. “Any chance these Cogans might tell the Druins about us?”
“I doubt it. They’re as worried about the Confederation as we are. Most scavengers stay well clear of any Confederation races.”
“First Admiral Cleemorl and now these Cogans. I wonder what’s next?”
Derrick didn’t reply. He was wondering if Admiral Bract had orders for the Destiny.
-
Admiral Bract was once more in the Pallas Command Center. Admiral Cleemorl had joined him.
“Definitely Cogans,” said Dylan, as he studied a viewscreen which showed a Cogan vessel. The video was sent by one of the Druin interdiction stations. “It’s box shaped, and all its weapons are hidden behind those hatches.”
“Why are they holding their position and not advancing into the system?” The tactical display revealed twenty red threat icons.
“They’ve detected the Druin stations. The Cogans want no part of any Confederation race.”
Bract activated a comm unit. “Rear Admiral Leeson, take your task group out and see what these Cogans want. They are not to be allowed access to the Solar System.”
Bract turned toward Admiral Cleemorl. “What weapons will these Cogan ships be armed with?”
“Very weak for the most part. Basic energy beams and maybe a few nuclear missiles. I doubt if they have any fusion weapons and definitely no antimatter.”
Admiral Bract nodded. “Rear Admiral Leeson should be able to handle them with his task force then.”
Dylan nodded. “Yes, I don’t see him having a problem. However, the Cogans may take some convincing. They also will not hesitate to lie.”
“I’ll tell him to be cautious and to expect treachery.” Admiral Bract knew that, even back in the days of the Empire, there had been scavengers. Those who preyed on the innocents and crept around silently near the outskirts of civilization.
-
Rear Admiral Leeson gazed at the viewscreens as the Titan dropped out of hyperspace. In front of the dreadnought were twenty Cogan ships, all different makes and shapes. It almost seemed as if some of the ships were several ships joined together.
“This is Rear Admiral Leeson,” he spoke into his comm unit. “Please state your reason for coming here. This system is under interdiction, and no one may enter.” Leeson figured the Cogans had detected the interdiction system, and he decided to play upon that supposition.
There was silence for a few moments, and then a voice came over the comm. “We have come here to trade. We have many useful items a civilization this far from most civilized worlds might need. We request you allow our fleet to enter your Solar System to discuss possible items of interest.”
“We have no interest in trade,” replied Leeson. “We prefer to be left alone.”
“We are the Cogans and control much of the space between your system and the Confederation. It would be to your benefit to deal with us.”
Rear Admiral Leeson let out a deep breath. It was evident the Cogans would not listen. He turned to his second in command. “Take the fleet to Condition One and be prepared to fire.” He then returned to the comm unit. “No ships may enter this system. We are enforcing the interdiction system.”
There was silence on the comm, and then warning alarms sounded. On the tactical display thirty more red threat icons appeared.
“I have you greatly outnumbered,” the Cogan said. “While your ships may be superior to mine, we vastly outnumber you. I am confident I can destroy your ships and then get past the interdiction system. We will take what we want from your star system.”
Rear Admiral Leeson frowned. He did not want to fire first, but the Cogans left him little choice. “Withdraw immediately or you will be fired upon.”
The Cogan merely laughed. “Arrogant fool. You could have given us what we wanted. Now we will take it!”
Leeson turned to his second in command. “Fire!”
Instantly the Titan and all six Imperial battlecruisers with it opened up with fusion energy beams and fusion missiles. The beams easily penetrated the Cogans’ energy shields, carving out massive fissures in their hulls. Fusion missiles struck the energy shields knocking them down, with the next missile turning the odd-shaped vessels into expanding fields of glowing debris.
The Cogans returned fire with weaker energy beams and a few nuclear armed missiles. The energy beams failed to penetrate the Imperial warships’ energy screens, and the missiles merely detonated against the screens, sending energy cascading across them.
Watching the battle, it was evident the Cogans had seriously underestimated the firepower of an Imperia
l warship. “Continue to fire,” ordered Rear Admiral Leeson. As much as he hated to do so, he needed to destroy every Cogan ship. None could be allowed to escape.
“Second task group is jumping in,” reported the sensor officer.
On the tactical display, ten more Imperial battlecruisers appeared behind the Cogan fleet. Leeson had set up this second force just in case they were needed. Almost instantly they fired. Ship after ship blew apart under the relentless fire.
The Titan shook several times from nuclear blasts exploding against its energy shield but suffered no damage.
For another two minutes the ravaging fire continued. For the last minute there was a complete absence of fire from the Cogan ships.
“Cease fire!” ordered Leeson. As the viewscreens cleared, all he could see was glowing debris and smashed ships. There were no signs of life.
“All Cogan ships confirmed destroyed,” reported the sensor officer. “I’m running scans, searching for any possible survivors.” After a minute the sensor officer turned toward the admiral. “No survivors detected.”
Admiral Leeson nodded. He felt a trembling in his gut. He hated what he had just done, but they could not risk a Cogan ship returning to the Confederation and telling them about Earth. For the greater good, the Cogans had to die.
“The Mata and the Doro will remain here and will continue to scan the debris for anything we missed.”
“Orders sent,” replied the communications officer.
Taking a last look at the destruction his ships had wrought, Rear Admiral Leeson gave the order for the rest of the ships to return to the Solar System and to resume their patrols. This battle was over, if one could call it that.
-
On Pallas, Admiral Bract and Admiral Cleemorl had watched the battle.
“So that’s what a fully armed Imperial battlecruiser can do,” said Dylan, impressed.
“I wish this hadn’t been necessary,” replied Bract, with regret in his voice. “But we couldn’t risk them taking word of our presence back to the Confederation.”
Dylan nodded. “Sometimes in war difficult choices have to be made. The one you made here was the correct one.”
Admiral Bract turned toward Admiral Cleemorl. “In another month we’ll be launching our mission back to the Empire. Are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready to leave whenever Captain Masters is.”
“Ships are returning to their patrol routes,” reported the sensor officer.
Admiral Bract looked back at the tactical displays, showing the battlecruisers appearing throughout the Solar System. The Titan and its task force were again in orbit around Pallas. Letting out a deep breath, Bract wondered what would happen next.
-
Later that evening Admiral Cleemorl was in one of the restaurants in Pallas with Cheryl. Over the past month they had been getting together on a regular basis. Sometimes over a meal and occasionally in one of the garden-like habitats deep inside Pallas.
“So the Cogans showed up,” said Cheryl, as she sipped her glass of wine. “It doesn’t surprise me. They probably attached a tracker to one of our ships and then followed us here.”
Dylan was drinking a beer. Pallas now served many of Earth’s alcoholic drinks, and he had found several beers he liked. “Do you think they’ll show up again?”
Cheryl shook her head. “No, the Cogans are composed of a number of clans. They each keep their distance and don’t communicate with each other too often. I imagine what happened here is that the clan we encountered earlier called in all their ships, expecting a rich payday. They wouldn’t tell the other clans, as they would want to keep everything to themselves. If Rear Admiral Leeson destroyed all their ships, there is very little chance that we’ll have to worry about them again. To the other Cogan clans, this clan will have just vanished.”
A server came to the table to take their orders. Dylan ordered pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, and Cheryl ordered shrimp.
Tonight Cheryl wore a dress, which was unusual for her. It accented her figure very well and made Dylan realize just how beautiful she was. “Are you still staying in your yacht?”
“Yes, my quarters in the yacht are very comfortable.” Cheryl looked down at the table and spoke in a lower voice. “You could move in with me, if you want.”
Dylan was surprised by Cheryl’s offer. He leaned back in his chair and gazed at her, deciding how best to respond. Her offer was extremely tempting. “I have a mission coming up shortly. Let’s wait until I get back, and we can talk about it.”
“So you might be willing to?” Cheryl looked into Dylan’s eyes.
Dylan nodded and smiled. “Yes.”
Cheryl nodded. “I can accept that for now. So, you’re going back to Lydol Four?”
“Lydol Four, Cleetus Three, and Bratol Three. All of them have secret bases that the Druins know nothing about. I mainly want to speak with General Creel, who should be at the base on Lydol Four, unless he left after the attack.”
A sad look crossed Cheryl’s face. “So many people died in the Druin attack. It’s one of the reasons, after I left you, that I went to Highland Station. No Druins or other Confederation races to deal with. A person could live out their life there without fear of offending those supposedly superior beings. The civilian sectors of the station are extremely peaceful and quite nice. They have schools, their own shopping centers, parks, and about everything else you can imagine. The things that go on in the upper trading cities are not allowed in the civilian sections.”
“Is that where you lived?”
“Yes, I had a nice home there. However, most of the time I was away on business.”
“You gave up a lot to come out here with me. Was it worth it?”
Cheryl reached over and took Dylan’s hand. “I hope it was.”
Their food arrived, and the two ate and talked about what might be in their future. Both had high hopes, and yet both realized the future could easily change.
-
Captain Masters was still in the Command Center of the Destiny. He had been keeping track of the battle with the Cogans and had the ship ready to depart the station at a minute’s notice. He was relieved when it became evident that would not be necessary.
“We’ll be leaving for the new shipyard tomorrow,” he announced to the crew. “We have some work that needs to be done there, and then, in a few days, we’ll return to Pallas.” Derrick intended to give the crew at least a week off before setting out for the Empire.
“I wonder what the Empire will be like?” asked Lieutenant Commander Banora.
“Not like we left it,” replied Derrick. “From what Admiral Cleemorl has told us, the Druins have played havoc in the Empire. Many worlds barely remember a Human Empire. Trade is held to a minimum, and most scientific research has been curtailed. Some worlds have even slid back from the level of civilization the Empire enjoyed when we left.”
Banora frowned and then spoke. “Someday we’ll make the Druins and the Confederation pay for what they’ve done to us and to many other races.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Derrick, as he stood up. “I have a couple meetings I need to go to before we leave.”
“I’ll be staying on board the Destiny tonight,” replied Banora. “I want to make sure everything is ready for our trip to the new shipyard, and I have a few systems checks I want to run.”
Derrick nodded. That was one thing he liked about the lieutenant commander. She was dedicated to her job and made an excellent executive officer.
-
The next day the Destiny arrived in Earth orbit, where the new shipyard was being built. The new shipyard would be able to build anything up to and including an Imperial dreadnought. The current plans called for three construction bays and two repair bays. At the moment a massive collection of metal beams and hull plating stretched for nearly two kilometers in every direction. Hundreds of Pallas work robots crawled across the structure, welding beams in place and installing battle armor ov
er completed sections.
“That’s huge,” commented Andrew, his eyes growing wide at what was on the viewscreen. He had returned to the Destiny only the week before. “Is that the same size as the ones that once existed in the Empire?”
“Some were much larger and others smaller,” replied Derrick. “Once we get this one completed, we’ll start on a civilian shipyard, so we can construct the passenger liners, cargo ships, and other vessels we’ll need.”
As Andrew watched, several Pallas cargo ships pulled up into orbit. The ships carried more parts for the station, as well as additional work robots. Andrew knew that many of the parts were built inside Pallas, as Earth’s industries were not ready yet for the type of undertaking the shipyard entailed. In time, as Earth’s industries and infrastructure advanced, they would take a more leading roll in this type of construction. For now, Earth was providing labor and what aid it could in the construction.
“I assume the shipyard will be armed?”
Derrick nodded. “Heavily. Most of our shipyards and civilian structures were only lightly armed in the Empire. We won’t make that mistake again.”
“Will there be attack interceptors on the station?”
“Two large bays will be built to hold them. We will place forty interceptors in each bay.”
Andrew was pleased to hear this. He wanted Earth to be as strongly protected as possible.
“Lieutenant Viktor, take us in and dock us to the station. I have a meeting with the construction manager and several station engineers.”
Viktor nodded. A small section of the station was complete, where the work crews were living, and it had one functioning docking port.
As Derrick prepared to leave the Destiny, he paused and looked at his command crew. “Keep in mind that, in another few weeks, we’ll be setting out for the Empire. There’s a chance we won’t make it back. If anyone wants to remain on Pallas, you may.” With that, he left the Command Center.
-
“Small chance of that,” said Lieutenant Nower, smiling. “I’m going back to the Empire.” Looking around, she saw everyone nod.
The Forgotten Empire: Banishment: Book One Page 27