The group talked for another hour. In the end battle plans were made and it was time to put them into effect.
-
Overlord Barral stood upon the command pedestal with his multifaceted eyes focused on the tactical display. So far his fleet had not encountered any ships in the systems they had stopped in. He was stopping the fleet in uninhabited systems to take star readings for navigational purposes. Unless they stumbled upon a mining operation he didn’t expect his fleet to be discovered before he reached the Pradel System. He had chosen that system to attack as it would have the most current technology available to the Alliance. It was also one of the founding worlds and by attacking it, he would be sending a clear message to the rest of the worlds of the Alliance: none were safe from the wrath of the Zaltule.
Once he knew the capabilities of the ships of the Alliance he would set a course for the Empire. He would like to locate a few Kleese exploration ships as well as battlecruisers. After his fleet had defeated those vessels his mission would be complete. He would take the information back to Military Overlord Tetus for review. Barral knew if Tetus was satisfied with the information about the strengths of Alliance and Kleese vessels then he might very well order a full-scale invasion. Barral wanted to take control of the Empire back from the Kleese. They had demonstrated weakness and if any were allowed to survive they would serve the Zaltule.
-
Rear Admiral Stinson had been placed in overall command of the two fleets as she had previous experience fighting the Zaltule. Her fleet had been greatly reinforced for the upcoming mission. She currently had eight heavy battlecruisers, fourteen standard battlecruisers, twenty light cruisers, and forty assault ships. In addition ships from some of the alien races living in the Solar System had committed some warships as well. There were ten Delton battlecruisers, four Belen battlecruisers, and eight Bashan battlecruisers. It gave her a pretty powerful fleet.
“Have all of our ships been given full loads of the forty-megaton missiles?” These were missiles designed by the Alliance world of Tureen. They had been fitted with MIRV warheads.
“Yes,” replied Commander Hill. “All ships contain full load outs of the missiles.”
Amelia gazed at the viewscreens. One showed Earth which was mostly covered in clouds. At least now most of the cloud layer was white and not the dingy grays and browns of the past. Another showed the Moon and even from here she could see the lights of the massive domes of Luna City.
“All supplies have been loaded and all crew personnel are present,” continued Commander Hill. “Rear Admiral Haden reports his fleet is ready to depart whenever you give the order.”
Amelia nodded. Even Rear Admiral Haden’s fleet had been augmented with extra ships. It was evident Admiral Kelly wanted this Zaltule fleet destroyed. “We’ll depart the system in two hours. I want all ships checked to ensure everything has been loaded. Once we leave there will be no turning back.”
-
Two hours later the two fleets made the transition into Fold Space and set course for Pradel. All the ships of both fleets were heavily armed with the crews knowing they would soon be facing the Zaltule.
-
On Centerpoint Station Admiral Kelly watched as the ships vanished from the viewscreens. This would be a major battle against the Zaltule. If Rear Admiral Stinson could destroy the Zaltule fleet, it might cause the Zaltule to reconsider attacking the Alliance. He hoped that by Commander Smith stumbling across their new Empire it might have forced the Zaltule to react before they were ready. Just maybe, at this moment in time, the Zaltule were vulnerable.
“Increase the patrols in all nearby star systems,” ordered Kelly, looking over at Rear Admiral Blair. “I want to double the number of assault ships we have in those systems. If the Zaltule come for us I want as large a warning as possible.”
Kelly stood looking at the viewscreens. “We should have heard from Commander Smith by now. I’m worried something might have happened to her fleet.”
Commander Smith is an able commander,” replied Rear Admiral Blair. “If anyone can accomplish the mission you sent that fleet on, it’s her.”
“I hope so.” Kelly knew a lot was riding on what Commander Smith discovered. If they could launch a surgical raid and take out the Zaltule Queens then there would be no war against the Zaltule. The Zaltule would simply die out. However, if they couldn’t take out the Queens and the Zaltule attacked there was no guarantee the Alliance and the Solar System could win.
Rear Admiral Blair stepped closer to the admiral and spoke in a lower voice. “What’s this I’m hearing about the Kleese suggesting a truce and pulling back from all space bordering the Alliance? Are they getting tired of the fighting?”
Kelly shook his head. “You heard right but I fear this has to do more with the Zaltule than anything else. I’ve already voiced my concerns to the Alliance Council. It sounds to me as if the Kleese are attempting to consolidate their forces in case the Zaltule attack the Empire.”
Blair frowned with deep wrinkles appearing on his forehead. “This will spread the Alliance forces even thinner. They’ll want more of our Marines to help clear conscripts from the worlds the Kleese are vacating. Do we have them?”
“Not really,” replied Kelly. “We have to keep in mind when Commander Smith returns we’ll be planning a mission to take out the Zaltule Queens. Depending on what she finds that might involve a lot of our available forces. At the moment we can’t afford to commit too many to clearing these new worlds. We had difficulty scraping up the ships we sent with Rear Admiral Stinson due to our previous commitments.”
“I thought we were going to hold back our heavier units when we attack the Zaltule Queens?”
“For the most part,” Kelly replied. “If things go south we must be ready to defend the Solar System. We’ll send sufficient heavy ships to cover the attack but the defense of the Solar System has to be our number one priority.”
Rear Admiral Blair stepped closer to the tactical displays showing all the ships in the system. It was full of several thousand friendly green icons. Many were warships but quite a few were cargo and passenger ships. “What did the Alliance say about sending a fleet to Pradel?”
“They’re sending one; a pretty good sized one. They don’t want Pradel to fall or for the Zaltule to inflict heavy damage to the planets and industry in the system.”
“I just hope the Zaltule don’t change course,” said Blair, folding his arms across his chest as he continued to study the tactical display. “If they do we’re screwed.”
“As long as they don’t think they’ve been detected we should be okay. I have a few assault ships following them at extreme range. If they change course we’ll know.”
-
Thomas was on the firing range practicing with his assault rifle. This particular rifle fired an energy beam and he was becoming quite proficient with it. He was looking through his scope at a target nearly one thousand meters distant. So far he had scored six bullseyes out of eight.
“Not bad shooting,” commented Brian. He was holding his own energy rifle and watching Thomas.
“The girls want to go dancing again tonight,” said Thomas as he fired again and scored another bullseye.
Brian grimaced. “The last time we went dancing I stepped on Leah’s toes. I thought she was going to kill me.”
“But she did keep dancing with you,” said Thomas, grinning. “She may not say it but I think she likes you.”
Brian remained silent. Leah was a girl he was having trouble figuring out. “What about you and Kinsley?”
Thomas put down his rifle, gesturing for Brian to take his place. “We’re just good friends. We enjoy hanging out with each other but that’s it.”
Brian took his place on the firing line and promptly hit two bullseyes. “I’m not sure she feels that way. I see the way she looks at you.”
Thomas didn’t answer as he watched Brian hit the bullseye several more times. At this point in his career he didn
’t want to become romantically involved with anyone. However, he knew from his parent’s experience and even his uncle that sometimes things don’t work out quite as you expect.
Thomas watched as Brian hit every single target. “I guess I owe you a beer.”
Brian grinned. “Double or nothing?”
“Sure,” replied Thomas as he stepped back up on the firing line. He sighted down his scope and hit the first two bullseyes before missing. Lieutenant Adams wanted them to become proficient with their weapons without wearing battlesuits. She claimed one could never know what might happen in a combat situation.
-
Kinsley and Leah were standing off to the side watching Brian and Thomas work on their shooting accuracy.
“They’re both pretty good,” said Leah impressed.
Kinsley nodded in agreement. She was starting to develop feelings for Thomas though she had been careful not to voice them to anyone. She suspected Leah was experiencing the same thing with Brian. “Good food and some dancing tonight and then tomorrow we go up Charring again.”
Leah sighed. She had been stunned the last two times they went up the mountain. “We only have a few more weeks of training and then we will be going out on real combat operations. I wonder what that will be like.”
“Just follow our training and we’ll be okay. Between Lieutenant Adams and Thomas they’ll keep us safe.”
Leah shivered slightly. “I’m really concerned about combat. What’s it going to feel like to actually kill someone? I know they’re conscripts indoctrinated by the Kleese but it still doesn’t feel right.”
“It’s something all of us will have to deal with,” replied Kinsley. She had been thinking about this as well. “I think the fact they’re trying to kill us as well will help us accept it. There are also psychologists on all the Marine assault ships to help us get through what we do in combat. I suspect many of us will have some misgivings about what we’re being asked to do after the first few combat drops.”
Leah watched as Brian beat Thomas again. She suspected, knowing Brian, he was betting a beer on each round. “Let’s go get some shooting practice in. We can’t let those two get ahead of us.”
Kinsley grinned. “Let’s go. Maybe we can out-shoot Thomas, I’m not so certain about Brian; he’s really good.”
The two girls moved onto the shooting range toward several empty stations. There were a number of Marines from the different platoons currently on the range practicing their marksmanship.
-
Lieutenant Adams was in the Control Center watching some of the cameras. It was late afternoon and all the Marines were on their free time. This was two hours a day where they could work on any skills they felt needed polishing. Some were working out in their battlesuits and others were on the target range. There were a few instructors available to help with any questions or to work with the trainees.
“They’ve made a lot of progress over the last few weeks,” commented Major Reed. “I’ve spoken to the other officers in charge of the other training centers and they say we’ll be ready.”
Sue shook her head. “Four companies of Marines in Type Nine battlesuits are not going to be enough to take out a Zaltule hive. We have no idea of the defenses they’ll be facing once they enter.”
“It’ll be far more than four companies of Marines,” replied Major Reed. “Fleet Command is suggesting we send one Marine assault ship for each hive Commander Smith discovers.”
Sue looked over at Major Reed. “That’s still just five companies for each hive. We could be facing thousands of heavily armed Zaltule inside those hives. Not only that but the Zaltule will be wearing battlesuits almost as good as ours.”
Major Reed looked thoughtful. ‘I’m open to suggestions if you have any. I have a meeting with Admiral Kelly and General Timmons the day after tomorrow.”
“Let me think about it,” replied Sue. “If we’re going to attempt to take out the Zaltule Queens we can’t afford to screw this up. We’ll only get this one opportunity. If the Zaltule beat back our attack they’ll make the defenses around their Queens impenetrable. We’ll never get a second chance.”
Major Reed shifted his eyes to Lieutenant Adams. “I thought you were opposed to this attack.”
“I am,” replied Sue. “But if my Marines are going to be leading it I want to bring back as many of them as possible. I just need to figure out a way for us to survive inside the hives.” This was something Sue had been thinking about for days. She had several ideas but she wasn’t sure how practical they would be.
Chapter Thirteen
Admiral Kelly was summoned to the Command Center after being informed part of Commander Smith’s fleet had just dropped out of Fold Space.
“Where’s the Sundance?” he asked as he checked the huge tactical display in front of him. He could see the standard battlecruisers and the light cruisers but not the Sundance. The heavy battlecruiser was missing.
“She was being pursued by Zaltule warships and Commander Smith ordered the rest of the fleet to go ahead,” reported Captain Edison from communications where she had been talking to the commanding officer of the battlecruiser Newcrest.
“Damn!” said Kelly, aggravated. “I was hoping she would be able to get the data we need without being detected.”
“She did get the data. She transmitted it to her fleet before ordering them to leave the Sundance behind. The Newcrest is transmitting the data to us now. It’s quite an extensive file.”
Admiral Kelly stared at a viewscreen showing the small fleet making its way toward Centerpoint Station. He hoped the Sundance had survived its encounter with the Zaltule and would eventually make its way back to the Solar System. “Have the information broken down and then sent to my office. I want a meeting of the General Staff in two hours. Let’s hope the Sundance found the Zaltule hives.”
-
Far away from the Solar System, the Sundance was struggling to stay in Fold Space. The damage suffered in the battle with the Zaltule was gradually tearing the ship apart.
“We’re not going to make it,” said Second Officer Newman, shaking his head. “The chief engineer says he might be able to keep the Fold Space drive operating another ten to twelve hours and that’s it.”
“How short will we be from the Solar System?” Bree knew they were still on the edge of unexplored space.
“Six hundred and twelve light years.”
Bree was worried. There were a large number of crewmembers in the med bay who were critical. If they could not make it home many of them would be lost.
“See if we can find a system close by with a habitable world.”
“We can’t land,” pointed out Newman. “The Sundance was never designed to land on a planet.”
“No, but we can crash the ship if necessary. At least some of us might survive.”
Newman was quiet for a long moment. “I hate the thought but it may be the only choice we have.”
“How many Fold Space probes do we have left?”
“Only two.”
“If we can find a planet I want to launch both the probes back to the Solar System with our coordinates. Maybe they’ll make it there and we can eventually be rescued.”
Newman frowned. “The probes aren’t designed to travel that far. The odds of either of them making it isn’t good.”
Bree let out a long sigh. “I know, but at least it will give us hope.”
“I’ll start looking for a planet. We passed several on our initial exploration trip. Maybe we can make it to one of them.” With that Newman headed over to navigation and began talking with the officer there. Soon they were looking over star charts.
Bree looked around at her crew. She was planning to maroon them on a planet with little hope of rescue. They might never see their friends or loved ones again assuming they survived the landing.
-
Admiral Kelly was in his office with Rear Admiral Blair and General Timmons. General Wade Nelson was on one of the viewscr
eens as well as Marken. In addition Mayor Strong from Luna City and General Alise from Mars were on screens as well. FTL communications eliminated any transmission lag.
“You all have received the reports of the Sundance’s reconnaissance mission. It seems Commander Smith was able to locate three hives of the Zaltule.”
“Are we certain she found all of them?” asked Marken. “It’s a waste of time to attack the hives if we don’t get them all. Just one Queen can keep the Zaltule race viable.”
Kelly nodded. “It appears the Zaltule have colonized only the single star system. The system contains two habitable worlds.”
General Timmons pointed at the report in front of him. “It appears all three hives are heavily fortified. From the readings of the probes they are also deep underground.”
“As to be expected,” said Marken. “After what the Kleese did to the Zaltule Queens in the Empire, the Zaltule will have taken fanatical steps to safeguard their Queens from future attacks.”
“So, we’re looking at three Queens,” said General Alise as she studied the report.
“Not necessarily,” said Marken. “It is possible there are multiple Queens living in those three hives. There will be a primary Queen who controls the hive and her daughters who will obey her every command.”
Rear Admiral Blair shook his head. “Look at the number of ships the Zaltule have in the system. Thousands of battlecruisers and thousands of assault ships. I don’t see any way we can even get a Marine assault ship near the planet.”
“It will be difficult,” agreed General Nelson. “Particularly if we have to hold the orbital space above the hives while the Marines conduct their operations. We could easily be talking about hours. I fear if we do that we might lose the entire fleet.”
General Timmons cleared his throat and then began talking. “We wouldn’t have to hold it for that long if we leave as soon as the Marines enter the hive. The Zaltule will not fire down on their Queens.”
“You mean abandon the Marines on the Zaltules’ new home world?” gasped Rear Admiral Blair. “We can’t do that to our people.”
Final Conflict Page 17