“Back to Zaltule space,” said Second Officer Newman, sounding disgruntled. “This time they will be looking for us.”
“We have a larger fleet this time,” said Bree. Looking at the tactical display, she could see the standard battlecruisers Newcrest and Lisbon as well as the four light cruisers providing escort. It was enough to take on a Zaltule battlecruiser but just barely.
Newman glanced at the tactical display. “I just hope we don’t need them.”
“We have a large area of space to search,” replied Bree. “How many star systems do the Lenox control and where are the worlds the Zaltule inhabit? We know they took a new trading station with them. It has to be found as well.”
“Do we have a plan?”
Bree nodded. “We’ll return to Lenox Prime and monitor the system. Perhaps by monitoring incoming and outgoing traffic we can better pinpoint where we need to look.”
“How long will we be gone?”
“As long as necessary,” answered Bree. “We’re not to come back until we know where the Zaltule are located.”
“We’ve cleared the outer markers,” reported Lieutenant Stover. “We can enter Fold Space at any time.”
Bree folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes wandered to the viewscreen showing Earth. She was pleased to see a few breaks in the clouds. She could actually see parts of the Atlantic Ocean. “Contact Fleet Command and inform them we’ll be entering Fold Space shortly.”
“Message sent,” replied Lieutenant Pierce. “Admiral Kelly wishes us the best of luck in our explorations.”
“We’re going to need some luck,” said Second Officer Newman.
“All ships, prepare to enter Fold Space,” ordered Bree over the fleet comm channel. “Maintain standard Fold Space spacing. We have a long journey ahead of us but with a little luck we’ll complete our mission and return home safely. We’ll enter Fold Space in five minutes.”
-
In Centerpoint Station Admiral Kelly stood in the Command Center watching the seven ships of Commander Smith’s fleet. He wondered what they would find. He hoped the Zaltule weren’t as big a threat as he feared.
“They’re about to enter Fold Space,” reported Major Moore.
“So it begins,” said General Timmons.
Kelly turned toward the general. “While they’re gone we need to prepare the fleet we’re going to send to try to destroy the Zaltule. I’m meeting with the Alliance Council in a few days to apprise them of what’s occurred. I’m going to ask they provide some warships.”
“Do you think they will?”
Kelly nodded. “Yes, I’m just not sure how many. We can’t afford to let our defenses against the Kleese down. If we pull back too many ships they might be tempted to launch an offensive. The Alliance is also involved in a pretty good-sized offensive at the moment.”
“Maybe we should encourage the Zaltule to attack the Kleese.”
“Not a bad idea except we’re between the Zaltule and the Kleese. I have a suspicion they would hit us and the Alliance first.”
Timmons looked at the primary viewscreen showing the seven ships of Commander Smith’s fleet. “Are we doing anything to detect the Zaltule if they send a warfleet toward us?”
“Yes, I’ve sent out some assault ships and they’ve set up a picket line between us and the Zaltule. If they come we’ll have a few days’ warning.”
Timmons glanced at some other screens showing different areas of Centerpoint. “I suggest we move the two trading stations to Condition Three; that will put Marines in all the high security areas. It will also station companies of Marines in specific locations so they can rapidly respond to any attack.”
Admiral Kelly disliked doing this. It had been years since either of the two stations had taken this step. However, the two trading stations were so large it took time, even with the trams, to move troops to where they were needed. “Go ahead. I’m also going to double the number of assault ships we have on patrol in the Solar System.”
“Should we call up the reserves?” These were people who had retired or recently finished their stint in the military.
“No, not yet. Let’s wait until we hear back from Commander Smith. No point in panicking the entire Solar System.”
The Sundance and its fleet are entering Fold Space,” reported Major Moore.
Looking back at the main viewscreen, Admiral Kelly thought he could see a shimmer around the Sundance and then it vanished as it made the transition into Fold Space. He leaned back in his command chair, a concerned look on his face. He had hoped the war against the Zaltule was over; now it looked as if it might be starting all over again.
-
War Overlord Tetus listened to the report from Minor Overlord Lazorth of what he had encountered in the Empire. He was gravely concerned the Kleese seemed to be losing the war against the Alliance. In one respect he was not surprised as his distant cousins had proven their weakness in the past. The Kleese allowed sub-races to help operate their ships and even hold important positions in the Empire. This went against everything the Zaltule believed in. The sub races were meant for only one purpose and that was to serve the Zaltule. There were no members of the races the Zaltule had conquered on any Zaltule warship or serving as armed conscripts. The Zaltule would do their own fighting. Sub races were used in the shipyards and even on board the trading station to perform tasks beneath a Zaltules’ station.
With him were the three Overlords responsible for the nests of the three Senior Queens on the planet. “What is the status of our Queens?”
“They are content with the progress of the nests,” replied Overlord Vaxdol. “The nests have sufficient food and the Queens’ chambers are as comfortable as possible. In the three nests combined we have nearly four hundred thousand Zaltule warriors maturing. They will be ready for combat in another seven months.”
“What about the younger Queens?” Over the years twenty more Queens had been hatched. They served the older Queens and were capable of producing more Zaltule warriors upon demand.
“They obey the older Queens and serve the nests,” replied Vaxdol.
“The defenses around the nests?” Tetus had no intention of these nests being destroyed by antimatter bombardment like the ones in the Empire had been.
“As powerful as we could make them. We can shoot down any missile we detect and the approaches to the nests are all heavily guarded by pop-up weapons and Zaltule Warriors. The chambers the Queens live in are the strongest we could build. Not even an antimatter weapon could damage the chambers.”
This satisfied Military Overlord Tetus. In the beginning he wanted to place the Queens on three different worlds but by having them all on one it allowed him to concentrate his defenses to ensure nothing could threaten them.
“Overlord Barral, what is our current ship strength?” There were four large shipyards orbiting Warmik as well as the heavily armed trading station.
Barral swiveled his triangular shaped head toward Tetus. Barrel was Tetus’s second in command. He was also a survivor of the battle in the Humans’ home system.
“We currently have 5,274 Zaltule battlecruisers and 8,255 assault ships which are combat capable.” Originally they had brought seventeen hundred Kleese battlecruisers with them but all of those had been refurbished and updated to become Zaltule battlecruisers.
Military Overlord Tetus thought about this. His goal had been to have ten thousand Zaltule battlecruisers before he returned to the Empire. But if he waited too long instead of the Empire, he would have to face the Humans and the Alliance, which was steadily growing stronger with every world they took back from the Kleese.
“What about the systems we control?”
“The sub-races are obedient,” replied Overlord Barral. “They are providing the necessary resources to build our new fleet.”
“Double the number of battlecruisers we have patrolling each one,” ordered Tetus. “I also need a picket line of assault ships stationed one hundred and twenty li
ght years toward the Empire. I want to know if any more Human ships come this way.”
Barral’s multifaceted eyes grew larger. “That will take several hundred assault ships and even those may not be enough.”
“Double it if necessary,” said Tetus coldly. “We must not let the Humans take us by surprise again.”
“You think they will return?”
Tetus folded his massive arms over his dark chest. “I am certain of it. Discovering we still exist will have frightened them. They will want to know what we control and how many ships we have. When they do return I intend to destroy their vessels. They will not escape with the tactical information they seek.”
“When do we return to the Empire?” asked Barral.
This was something Tetus had already been considering. “We need to know more. I want you to lead a fleet to test the strength of the Alliance as well as the Empire. If we are satisfied of their weakness we will launch the invasion of Alliance space and the Empire within the year.”
“How many vessels will be under my command?”
Tetus did not want to risk too much of his fleet in this endeavor but it had to be a sufficient force so he could find out what his main fleet would be up against. “Eighty battlecruisers and two hundred assault ships. That should be sufficient to discover what is necessary. You are to enter Alliance space and attack several of their worlds, engaging the fleets which protect them. That will tell us of any new weapon developments as well as the strength of their ships. Once you have done that proceed to the Empire and engage some of their exploration vessels as well as several Kleese battlecruisers. I must know if there have been any new developments there as well.” Tetus was deeply concerned he didn’t have the ships to defeat both the Alliance and the Kleese. Then of course there were the Humans as well. By the Humans stumbling across the Lenox System they had endangered the time he had planned to use to build up the Zaltule fleet to an unstoppable size.
Barral stood silently for several minutes contemplating his new command. He had commanded much larger fleets in the past. “The fleet you have assigned to me should be sufficient to achieve the desired goal. When do we leave?”
“Ten days,” replied Tetus. “That will give you sufficient time to check the ships as well as make sure they are properly supplied.”
Barral was preparing to leave when he paused and turned back to Military Commander Tetus. “Since the Humans found the Lenox System it is only logical they will return there to start their search.”
“I have already considered that,” replied Tetus. “I have sent additional ships to the system which will assure the Humans’ destruction if they are foolish enough to return there.”
-
The Sundance and her fleet were rapidly nearing the star system where they had discovered the Zaltule battlecruisers.
“They may be expecting us,” said Second Officer Newman. “We could be heading into a trap.”
“I agree,” replied Bree, pursing her lips. “That’s why we’ll bring the fleet out of Fold Space a few light years from the Lenox System. We have several probes on board which we can use to monitor the system without endangering the fleet. They’re small enough the Zaltule might not notice them immediately.”
Newman nodded. “That might work. We still run the risk of the Zaltule detecting the FTL communications between us and the probes.”
“That’s a risk we’ll have to take. The chances of the Zaltule detecting our communications with the probes is minimal. However, we will keep the fleet at Condition Two just in case.”
Bree’s eyes shifted to the tactical display, showing the other six ships of her small fleet. She had a lot of firepower in case it was needed. However, these were the Zaltule and they possessed the most powerful warships known. She knew even with the firepower the fleet possessed they wouldn’t last long in a stand up battle if more than one Zaltule battlecruiser was involved. It concerned her deeply that where they were going there might be hundreds, possibly thousands of the deadly ships.
“I want to drop out of Fold Space tomorrow,” Bree said as she considered her options. “I think we need to spend a day doing some battle drills.” This was particularly important as some of the ship commanders in her fleet had never served with her before.
“I’ll see what systems are ahead of us and try to pick out one that would be appropriate,” replied Second Officer Newman.
“Very well,” said Bree. “I’m turning the Command Center over to you. I’m going to go get something to eat and try to get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. I would suggest you do the same thing in a few hours.”
Bree left the Command Center. After she had her meal she had a few reports to write up. Then she planned on listening to a little music before turning in. As she walked through the ship toward the Officers’ Mess, she smiled to herself seeing how efficiently her crew was performing. She was proud of her crew and would not trade any of them for anyone else. They were like a well-oiled machine: the type of crew she would need if they went into battle.
Chapter Ten
Sergeant Thomas Nelson gazed in the mirror at his new uniform. He had been surprised when Lieutenant Adams called him into her office and offered him the promotion. He had instantly accepted and grinned even wider when he was told Brian was going to be promoted to the rank of corporal.
They had several more weeks of training ahead of them and then they would be going on a short deployment on several alien worlds. There were also rumors going around about a special mission in a few more months, which might require a large number of Marines.
Making sure his uniform was correct he stepped outside his quarters. The squad had a night’s leave and they were all going to the food court to eat. While the food here in the training center was fine there was a far greater variety at the food court.
“Ready?” asked Leah, who was standing with Kinsley waiting for Thomas.
“Your new uniform looks sharp,” said Kinsley, grinning. “Where’s Brian?”
“He’ll be along,” replied Thomas. The girls wore their uniforms as well and both filled them out nicely.
“There he is,” said Leah as Brian came around the corner of the building with Josh and Juan.
Kinsley smiled at Brian and saluted. “Corporal Parker!”
Brian laughed and shook his head. “No, to all of you I’m still Brian except when we’re on duty.”
Thomas nodded. “Let’s go eat. It’s hard telling when we’ll get another night off from training.”
The group quickly exited the training facility and headed to a tram station. The food court was located closer to the center of the station and it was a twenty-minute ride by tram to get there.
-
Arriving at the tram station nearest the food court Thomas and the others quickly walked down one of the large corridors leading to the court. Already they could smell the delicious aromas drifting down the corridor from the different foods being cooked. It made all of them feel even more hungry.
“It’s a good thing the food court is so far away,” said Leah, looking over at Brian. “Someone I know would probably gain a lot of weight.”
Brian frowned and then answered. “My metabolism is too fast. I’ve always been able to eat a lot and not worry about my weight.”
“It was all the wrestling we were doing when we were kids,” replied Thomas as they neared the entrance to the food court. Stepping inside, he saw it was crowded with people, many sitting at tables and others on the comfortable benches, which were everywhere.
“I wouldn’t mind doing a little shopping while we’re here,” said Kinsley, eyeing the shops that started on the far end of the food court.
Brian shook his head. “I want something to eat and a couple of beers. I’ll pass on the shopping.”
“There’s a table,” said Josh, pointing at an empty one nearby. “We can see everything that’s going on from there.”
Occasionally there was some live entertainm
ent and tonight there was a band standing on a stage playing some music that was currently popular.
Everyone sat down and after a few minutes placed their orders. The good think about sitting at the tables, which ran down the center of the court, was you could order from any of the numerous restaurants there.
Thomas noticed Brian had ordered Chinese food, Leah Italian, and Juan, Mexican. Thomas ordered a steak. It was expensive since most of the cattle were currently raised in the underground farms on Vesta and in the large domes on Mars.
“I heard a rumor the Zaltule are back,” said Josh, his face showing concern. A server returned bringing their drinks.
Brian took a deep drink of his beer and grinned. “This tastes great!”
Leah shook her head. “I don’t see how you can drink that stuff. I prefer iced tea or even lemonade.”
“You have to develop a taste for it,” replied Brian. He took another long drink and then sat his bottle down, looking across the food court. He noticed a large number of Marines sitting at tables as well as fleet officers. “Do you really think this rumor about the Zaltule returning is true?”
Thomas took a drink of his coffee and frowned. He didn’t drink coffee often but had been in the mood for it tonight. “I don’t know. Supposedly there have been a lot of meetings of the General Staff over the last few weeks. I’ve even heard Rear Admiral Stinson’s fleet has been recalled. Something seems to be going on though I’m not sure what it is.”
“Let’s not worry about that for now,” said Kinsley. “Let’s enjoy our night out, have some good food and after Leah and I do a little shopping maybe we can go dancing.”
Brian shifted uneasily in his seat. “I’m not a very good dancer,” he said.
Thomas laughed. “He means he’ll step on your feet if you let him lead.”
Leah shifted her eyes to Brian. “You’ll do just fine. I can teach you. Besides, if you step on my feet I’ll hurt you.”
Brian gulped and nodded. The look in her eyes made him realize she was serious.
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