As you command, Camatte replied as he sent the order telepathically to the other ships in the fleet.
-
“Vorn are beginning to jump into hyperspace,” reported Lieutenant Brooks with relief in her voice.
“Vorn ships are disengaging,” added Lieutenant Mays as she fired a Zero-Point Energy round at the last remaining mothership in the system only to see it enter hyperspace just before the round arrived. She breathed out a long sigh of disappointment. A few of the motherships had managed to escape.
“Can we track them?” asked Kurt. If they stopped close by it might be feasible to follow them and finish the battle. He wanted every one of those motherships destroyed.
“Yes, but I believe they won’t be stopping anywhere close by,” said Aleea. “I strongly suspect once they get past our hyperspace jamming they will be contacting the other systems where Vorn fleets are waiting. They will probably choose one that is not under attack as their eventual destination.”
Captain Randson turned away from his command console. “All Vorn ships have jumped except a few which are heavily damaged. Glaymon disk battlecruisers are finishing them off.”
Kurt leaned back in his command chair feeling as if a massive weight had been lifted from his shoulders. The battle was over and they had won. He took several deep breaths. “Take the fleet to Condition Two and have all vessels begin initiating repairs as we plan our next move. Also, move the fleet away from the battle zone. There’s a lot of wreckage floating around and we don’t need to be colliding with it.”
“Vorn fleet is altering course,” reported Lieutenant Brooks, looking confused. “They’re not heading for any known grouping of other Vorn vessels.”
Aleea turned toward Kurt. “The Vorn in charge must suspect this is a wide scale attack against the Vorn ships remaining in the galaxy. He’s taking what remains of the Vorn fleet to where he believes it will be safe.”
“It’s a shame they got away,” said Captain Randson. “I would never have believed it but if they had stayed we could have destroyed their entire fleet. Those Glaymon battleships are something else!”
“What were our final losses as well as those of the Vorn?” Kurt knew they had lost some more ships; he just wasn’t sure how many.
Captain Randson checked his console and then answered. “We lost two Glaymon battleships, eighteen Glaymon disk battlecruisers, and one of our Human battlecruisers. There are about seventy other ships with various levels of damage.”
“The Vorn lost 920 of their battleships, 6,200 of their cruisers, and thirty-four of their motherships,” Aleea informed Kurt. “Many of the ships that escaped were damaged to some extent.”
Kurt wondered what the losses would have been if the Vorn had been prepared for an attack. Most of the first Vorn fleet had been destroyed before they could even raise their energy shields and the Vorn had never been able to get into a cohesive formation to defend their ships or to even attack. The entire battle had lasted less than twenty minutes.
“We got damn lucky,” proclaimed Captain Randson, stepping away from his console. “This won’t happen again. From now on, the Vorn will be expecting their fleets to be attacked. We won’t catch them with their shields down or in the type of formations they were in today.”
“They now know about our Glaymon battleships,” said Aleea, folding her arms over her chest, making her look even more Human. “From the scans they took of this battle and the others going on they will develop a method to deal with our battleships. We should be prepared for a major change in Vorn tactics.”
Kurt looked at a viewscreen showing the twisted wreckage of a destroyed Vorn mothership. Very little of it remained other than a few skeletal support beams. This mission could be considered a great success. If the other three fleets were as successful, the Vorn harvesting fleets will have suffered devastating losses.
“Make sure all the wreckage of our Glaymon vessels and our own battlecruiser has been thoroughly destroyed. Once that’s been done we’ll set a course for home.”
Kurt gazed at the tactical display showing all the green icons of his fleet. The realization of what they had just accomplished still hadn’t set in. As he thought about the battle, he began to believe they might indeed have a long period of peace where they could prepare for future Vorn incursions.
“We might just win this after all,” said Andrew as he stepped over next to Kurt. “It would be nice to be able to spend some time at home and not have to worry about the Vorn.”
Kurt allowed himself to laugh. “You’re just concerned about that young man your daughter’s dating.”
Andrew’s face darkened. “He’s seventeen and she’s sixteen. I remember what I was interested in at that age.”
“Fleet is ready to enter hyperspace,” Aleea reported.
“All Glaymon wreckage as well as that of our own battlecruiser has been eliminated by dark matter warheads,” added Lieutenant Mays.
“Let’s go home,” said Kurt. “Lieutenant Styles, take us into hyperspace.”
-
Moments later the fleet vanished from the star system as it entered hyperspace to begin the long journey home. It left behind a system full of wreckage and dimly glowing debris from thousands of destroyed Vorn warships. For the first time since the Vorn had come to this universe, they had encountered an enemy much more powerful than themselves.
-
Military Commander Vasterus looked at the tactical display showing the shattered remains of his fleet. Seventy-two percent of his fleet had been destroyed including thirty-four of the valuable motherships. In hindsight he knew as soon as the ships of the Ancients were detected he should have sent all the motherships out of the system under an escort of battleships.
I want all video footage and scans of the battle sent to the battle computer on this ship, he ordered. It is evident from this battle that there are many more Ancient ships than we first believed.
These larger ships, which the battle computer has classified as battleships, are nearly as powerful as the ships of the Great Enemy. Camatte was referring to the beings who had driven the Vorn from their home universe.
Vasterus narrowed his eyes. His antennae standing erect and quivering. These ships are going to be a problem. We have nothing to match them, not even in the habitats.
Then how do we defeat them?
Vasterus switched his gaze to his second in command. We will need to develop new strategies. First off we need to find out where these ships are coming from. Somewhere in this galaxy is the world or worlds of these Ancients. There are limited ways they could have remain hidden from us for so long. They either have habitats such as ours in deep space away from star systems or they are hiding in a gaseous nebula. Either way we must begin conducting a search. Until their worlds are found and eliminated our harvest of this galaxy will be endangered. I must return to the Conclave Habitat and speak with Prince Brollen.
Military Commander Vasterus knew the Vorn now faced a serious problem. Less than seven percent of the worlds in this galaxy had been harvested. Many of the more heavily populated food worlds were under the protection of the so-called Protector Worlds, food species 236, 111 and these mysterious Ancients. There was also another food species involved though they had committed only a small number of ships. That species also needed to be found.
As soon as his fleet departed the scene of the recent battle with the Ancients he sent out messages to the other systems with Vorn harvesting fleets. He greatly feared all or most of them were probably under attack. Over the next few days he would gather all the remaining Vorn ships in this galaxy into one system and then begin beaming messages into hyperspace requesting an Intergalactic Transport. It might take some time but eventually one would arrive. He needed to return to the Conclave Habitat to make plans for the future harvesting of Galaxy X-241. New strategies would have to be implemented as well as a change in Vorn energy shields.
Recent events deeply concerned Vasterus. He knew the food reserves
on the habitats were minimal. There were no other nearby galaxies they could turn to. The harvest of Galaxy X-241 was supposed to furnish enough food pellets to last the Vorn for hundreds of years while they searched for richer feeding grounds. Now all of that was in jeopardy. The only way for the Vorn to survive was to strip all the planets of Galaxy X-241 of their food species. Either Galaxy X-241 would die or the Vorn would face starvation. Vasterus was determined the Vorn would prevail.
Chapter Seven
Mara was meeting with Fleet Commodore Dreen. They were distantly related and shared a good working relationship. Mara was a highly specialized communications officer who had become the commander of her own ship. She was also a very stunning looking woman with deep blue eyes. Mara was tall, well proportioned, her skin unblemished, and had a golden tan.
“When are you returning to Newton?” asked Commodore Dreen. He had spoken with Mara several times since her arrival in the Lakiam System. They were on board his flagship, the Lakiam battlecruiser Basera.
“I have leased a cargo ship, the Shimray and will be returning to Newton on it. Once we arrive I intend to load the cargo ship up with more tea and have it delivered to Lakiam for distribution. The samples we brought back with us have been in high demand and there have been numerous requests for more. I told Keera they would do well here and I was right. She was convinced as well but couldn’t make the necessary arrangements for distribution.”
Commodore Dreen smiled. “I’ve tried several of the tea varieties you brought back. They’re excellent. The Humans continue to surprise me.”
Mara let out a deep sigh. “I may have made a mistake in allowing myself to become attached to Fleet Admiral Vickers. Their morals and customs on some things are quite different than ours. I did not realize it had gone that far until I saw the Star Cross nearly powerless in the Vorn staging system. My heart nearly stopped when I realized the danger he was in.”
Commodore Dreen nodded. Mara had told him of her sleeping with the Human admiral. “I’m sure it will all work out. Fleet Admiral Vickers has already performed a miracle by destroying the staging system. From the latest reports, the Vorn harvesting throughout the galaxy has nearly come to a halt. Billions of innocent lives have been saved by that action.”
“What about the Alliance?” Mara knew Commodore Dreen was sending out emissaries to every Protector World within reach asking them to join and offering some advanced technology if they did. Even some of the Enlightened Worlds with large defensive fleets had been talked to.
“There are more joining every day,” he answered. “If this reduction in Vorn activity lasts for a few more months, we can have fleets in place to resist them in nearly 60 percent of the galaxy. We’ve ramped up the production of the new defensive platforms, and they are being sent to the homeworlds of every Enlightened World within Alliance space. The Andocks are producing the platforms as well. I spoke to Fleet Leader Arlak Moor yesterday, and he’s feeling more optimistic every day about being able to resist the Vorn. The Bascoms and Parmonts will begin production of the platforms in just a few more days. Not only that but warship construction is at an all time high.”
“What about the new power systems the Glaymons furnished?”
“We’re sharing that technology with any Protector World which wants it, the same with our dark matter missiles. If the Vorn give us time, when they return they will face a fully armed galaxy ready to resist. They won’t find it so easy to harvest our worlds.”
“It helps we have Glaymon disk ships available,” said Mara. “Their additional firepower makes a big difference.” She had noticed there were a number in the Lakiam System. It pleased her knowing the home system was well protected. She knew from personal experience what the Glaymon ships were capable of.
Commodore Dreen frowned. “There’s something going on there. Fleet Captain Waelt left a few days ago and hasn’t returned. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Mara shook her head. “No, I’m sure it’s just a meeting with the other Glaymons to discuss strategy against the Vorn. I can ask Fleet Admiral Vickers about it when I get back.”
“That won’t be necessary,” replied Commodore Dreen. “I’m sure Fleet Captain Waelt will be back shortly. And Mara, I want to say one more time I’m sorry about the Aurelia.”
Mara nodded. “I lost some close friends on that ship. The Vorn have taken so much away from us.”
“That’s why we formed the Alliance,” replied Commodore Dreen, his eyes narrowing slightly. “We plan on keeping what’s left.”
-
Later Mara was in the small Command Center of the cargo ship which would be taking her back to Newton. Looking at the ship’s main viewscreen, she could see the blue-white world of Lakiam. The planet had several large, deep oceans and three major landmasses. On the viewscreen, there was a thick white cloud layer covering many of the cities. It was the rainy season on Lakiam as the weather control system was being used to encourage crop growth. Mara’s eyes drifted over to the ship’s sensor display showing the entire system.
The home system was comprised of fourteen worlds. The fourth planet out from the system’s sun was Lakiam with planets number three and five having been terraformed. There were large domed cities on numerous moons and asteroids and over two hundred massive orbital habitats. In all the Lakiam home system held a population in excess of sixteen billion.
Her eyes shifted to another screen, which was showing one of the large habitats in orbit around the planet. The habitat was thirty kilometers long and eight in diameter. Habitats spun on their axis creating normal gravity inside. Some of the habitats were designed to produce food, others contained numerous factories, and still others had massive cities within. Mara had been inside a number of them over the years and been impressed by what she had seen. She felt very proud of her people and what they had built.
“We will be leaving shortly,” the captain of the cargo ship informed Mara. “If there is anything you need on the trip please don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thank you, Captain,” replied Mara. The cargo ship had several quarters for guests. As with all Lakiam ships, even cargo ships, the quarters were quite comfortable and luxurious.
As the ship pulled out of orbit and accelerated away from Lakiam in preparation for its entry into hyperspace, Mara couldn’t help but wonder what was in store for her when she arrived at Newton. By now her diplomatic cruiser would have been repaired. There was really no reason for her to stay at Newton, but for some unexplained reason she felt that was where she needed to be. She had tried to analyze her feelings for Fleet Admiral Vickers. He was married and dedicated to Keera, but Keera was open minded as to how things were in galactic culture. It was one of the reasons Mara hadn’t been afraid to seduce Kurt. Now Mara greatly feared she had made the wrong decision. One of the first things she wanted to do when she reached Newton was to spend some time with Keera to ensure their relationship was still intact. Keera was a close friend and Mara was not going to endanger that.
The ship made its transition into hyperspace with Mara barely noticing, leaving Lakiam behind. In a few short days they would arrive at Newton. Mara had that long to make some important decisions, decisions which could drastically affect her life.
-
Prince Lashall studied the progress of his fleet. In two more days they would reach their target star cluster. What is the status of the fleet? he sent, looking over at Military Leader Volmont. It was part of Volmont’s responsibility to know how every ship in the fleet was functioning.
All ships are performing normally. We will arrive at the target system in a little over two days. I have studied the scans from Military Leader Renwarld’s scout ship and have chosen two worlds as our first targets. Both are heavily populated. The scout ship’s scans indicate they have large defensive fleets as well as powerful defensive grids. By destroying them we will greatly reduce the ships in the cluster available to resist us.
Will the fleets or the defensive gr
ids be a danger to our ships? Prince Lashall did not intend to lose a major portion of his fleet. Most food worlds had defending ships and an orbital defensive system which was to be expected. Very few had ships which could destroy a Vorn warship. However, on occasion worlds were encountered with large enough fleets that were able to take out a few Vorn ships from exceedingly heavy weapons fire.
Not a major threat, replied Military Leader Volmont. We may lose a few cruisers but our battleships and motherships should be immune to the weapons fire these food worlds possess.
Put up the information on these two worlds on the tactical display, ordered Prince Lashall. I want to study what we will be facing when we move in to begin our harvests. While he trusted the tactical abilities of his military leader, Lashall wanted to make sure nothing was being overlooked.
On the tactical display, a visual of one of the two systems appeared, showing the disposition of fleets and the defensive grid. Prince Lashall studied this for several long minutes as well as the data on the system. Then he ordered the second world put up on the display. Finally satisfied, he turned toward Military Leader Volmont. We will split the fleet. Half the fleet will attack the first world and the other half the second. Once we have harvested these two worlds, we will continue on to the others in the star cluster. I am curious to see what the food pellets from these worlds will taste like. I still need more for my private collection and perhaps the worlds in this cluster will be worthy additions.
I will make the attack plans, Military Leader Volmont confirmed. Prince Lakat will lead the second fleet. He will have two motherships at his disposal while we will have three. With our battleships I expect we will eliminate all opposition very quickly. From studying the scans there are no disk ships of the ancient race in this star cluster.
Do it, ordered Prince Lashall. It is time we filled our cargo holds with food for ourselves and our Queens.
-
The Star Cross: The Vorn! Page 9