The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five)
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“That’s why we need the power beams,” repeated Jeremy, wishing he knew if his request was going to be granted. “Just imagine the damage we could do to the Hocklyn fleet if we had twenty such installations on the station.”
“Will we have power for that many power beam installations?” Admiral Stillson asked. He knew they needed a tremendous amount of energy in order for them to be effective.
“If we get the power beams, I will install several class one fusion reactors on the station,” Jeremy replied.
Admiral Stillson was silent. The class one fusion reactor was one of the Federations highest technical achievements and was only used in very secure installations. He wondered how Jeremy had managed to get a hold of them.
Jeremy and Grayseth sat down at the conference table joining Admiral Stillson for they still had a lot of planning to do. Jeremy knew they might only be able to count on another one or two supply fleets at most before the Hocklyns and the AIs arrived. It was essential that they had every supply they could possibly need before that happened.
Once they were cut off from Federation space, they would have to depend on the space station and the factories on the bears’ planet to produce what they needed. All of the massive fleet repair ships would be returning to the Federation with Admiral Streth. Admiral Streth would be depending on the six repair ships to keep his fleet operational until they could reach New Tellus.
Jeremy closed his eyes briefly; he almost wished his friends were returning with Admiral Streth. It was going to be extremely dangerous to remain in the bears’ system. He just hoped and prayed that they all didn’t end up dying here.
Chapter Nine
The 1,500-meter sphere floated quietly in the small star system just four light years away from the former Hocklyn fleet base. The AIs on board were carefully monitoring the activity in the system and the number of ships present. They were at the extreme range of their advanced sensors, but to go any nearer to the human system might risk detection. Their current orders were to gather tactical information on human defenses and the deployment of their fleets.
“The humans have a large number of ships in the system,” one of the AIs spoke as it activated another sensor with one of its tentacles.
“They are also heavily fortifying the space around the former fleet base,” commented another in a monotonic, nearly mechanical voice. “My instruments are detecting numerous defensive satellites in orbit around the planet.”
“We must ensure that our attacking fleet is large enough to drive the humans out of the system and lead us back to their worlds,” spoke another AI as it analyzed the data coming across the screens before it.
“The Altons were clever in choosing this race to obstruct us,” said the AI in charge of the mission. “Our former creators may have actually succeeded if the humans would have had more time to develop their technology.”
“They will be annihilated and then nothing will be able to stop us from extending our Empire to the very edge of this galaxy and beyond,” the AI at the ship’s sensors responded.
“The great project will someday be completed,” the commanding AI spoke as it thought about the massive construction project going on in the center of the galaxy in the heart of AI space.
“More resources are required,” spoke one of the other AIs. “Our proxy races need to be coerced into speeding up the delivery of the raw materials that are needed for the project.”
“Once this war with the humans is over, new quotas will be delivered to all four of our proxy races,” the commanding AI informed the others as it used its tentacles to manipulate several computer screens. “When the great project is completed, the entire universe will be ours to control, and organic races will be a thing of the past.”
-
Admiral Streth was in the StarStrike looking with great concern at the latest readings from one of the FTL sensor buoys. It had recorded an unscheduled hyperjump in a system just four light years away.
“It’s an AI ship,” Colonel Trist commented as the data from the buoy was put up on the tactical display. “Fifteen hundred meters and spherical in shape. The jump was detected by three other buoys in the system as well.”
“Why is it there?” Admiral Adler asked as he gazed over at Hedon. “Surely we are out of their sensor range; that’s over four light years!”
“Perhaps not, Jacob,” replied Hedon, letting out a deep breath. He didn’t like the idea of an AI ship being so close. “We haven’t detected any other unauthorized hyperjumps within twenty light years, so it is here alone.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Jacob, folding his arms across his chest and looking inquiringly over at the Fleet Admiral. He had a strong suspicion that Hedon wasn’t going to let the AI ship just set there and spy on them, if that was indeed what it was doing.
“Clarissa,” spoke Hedon, looking over at the gorgeous blonde AI who was standing close by. “What is the farthest distance we can be to use our Devastator Three missiles effectively on the AI ship?”
Clarissa was silent for a moment. Was the admiral contemplating attacking this lone AI? “The effective range of the Devastator Three missiles is close to twenty thousand kilometers,” she responded as she ran some quick calculations. “However, with an AI ship the response time on their defensive systems is almost zero. To ensure the arrival of all the missiles, the Devastator Threes would need to be launched no farther than eighty-five hundred kilometers away from the AI.”
“If we jump from here we can do that,” commented Colonel Trist, taking a deep breath. He had known Admiral Streth long enough to know that he was indeed thinking about attacking this lone AI.
Hedon looked back over at Clarissa, who was watching him intently. “Clarissa, if we use the StarStrike how close can you plot a jump to the AI?”
Clarissa was silent as she ran some simulations and calculated several hyperjumps to see how close she could put the StarStrike to the AI. Finally, she had the results and looked up at the admiral. “I can put the StarStrike four hundred and fifty kilometers from the AI. That will also put us well within their weapons range.”
“That’s awfully close,” Colonel Trist cautioned. At that range, the AI was bound to get off some shots. He knew the StarStrike had a powerful energy screen, but even it could only take so much.
“If we can destroy this AI ship it might delay the eventual attack by a few days or even weeks,” Hedon pointed out. “The longer we can delay this attack, the more time the Federation has to prepare itself for war.” Hedon knew how vital it was to allow the Federation to finish its war preparations.
“How many ships would you use?” asked Jacob, feeling concerned. He felt Hedon should send several of the heavy attack cruisers instead of the StarStrike.
“Just the StarStrike initially,” replied Hedon, knowing he was taking a big risk. However, at 1,600-meters, the StarStrike was the only ship in the human fleet of comparable size to an AI ship. “If just the StarStrike jumps in the AI may risk staying and engaging us. They already know we can destroy their ships, but I doubt if they believe that one ship is a serious danger no matter how large it is. If we jump in with a fleet, they will just jump out and report back to their base.”
Jacob nodded. Hedon’s reasoning was sound even if he didn’t like it. “How soon after the StarStrike jumps in can I jump in with more ships?” Admiral Sheen was currently out on a reconnaissance mission close to Hocklyn space. She had taken nearly all of the stealth scouts to see if they could detect a Hocklyn fleet buildup. It would be another week before she returned.
“Five minutes,” Hedon replied after a moment.
“Five minutes!” Jacob uttered his eyes growing wide. “The StarStrike could be destroyed in five minutes.”
“Jacob, the AI ship may have moved since it jumped into the system,” replied Hedon, knowing he was risking his flagship. “We may have to make a micro-jump almost as soon as we jump into the system if the AI is out of range.”
Hedon look
ed over at Clarissa. “Once the StarStrike’s systems have stabilized, how soon can you jump again?”
Clarissa ran some quick computations. “Forty seconds,” She replied. “It will take twenty-eight seconds for all systems to stabilize and then twelve more to set the jump drive up for a micro-jump.”
“They will know you’re coming,” warned Jacob, looking at both Hedon and Colonel Trist. “When you come out of hyperspace they will hit you with everything they have.”
“It’s a risk we will have to take,” responded Hedon, determinedly. “We attack in an hour. Jacob, get back to your command ship and pick out four strikecruisers to come with you. Clarissa will plot your jump and load the coordinates into your ship’s navigation computers.”
Jacob nodded, knowing he wasn’t going to change his friend’s mind. “Good luck, then,” he spoke as he turned to leave the Command Center.
“This is necessary,” Colonel Grissom added from where she had been listening to the conversation near one of the tactical displays. The Intelligence officer was concerned about the presence of the AI ship and what they might be learning of the defenses around the former Hocklyn fleet base. “We can’t let them escape with data concerning our defenses.”
“Taylor would agree with this decision,” Colonel Trist spoke quietly to Hedon. He knew how much the admiral missed his brother’s advice. “If they can scan the system from that range, they must be destroyed.”
“I know he would agree,” Hedon replied somberly. Sometimes he almost felt as if Taylor was standing behind him in the Command Center. Several times, he had caught himself looking behind him only to see that no one was there. “We can’t let that AI escape.”
-
Fleet Admiral Streth looked at one of the tactical holographic displays which showed the StarStrike, the Wasp, and the four strikecruisers leaving the gravity well of the planet. He wanted to hit the AI ship before it left the system it was currently in.
“Five minutes to jump,” Clarissa informed the admiral. She was standing at his side and carefully monitoring all the ship’s systems.
“Clarissa, you will be in charge of the jumps as well as the attack,” Hedon informed her, his eyes focusing intently on the AI.
“Yes, Admiral,” Clarissa replied, pleased that the admiral trusted her with such an important mission. She just hoped when this was over that she would have some good news to send to Ariel.
Admiral Streth watched with calm nerves as the Command Center buzzed with increased activity as the crew anticipated the jump. “Take us to Condition One and jump the ship, Clarissa,” Hedon ordered as he fastened the safety harness that secured him to his command chair.
In front of the StarStrike, a large blue-white vortex formed, and the ship flew unhesitantly into its center.
-
“Good luck, Admiral,” Jacob Adler spoke quietly from the Command Center of the Wasp as he watched the flagship vanish into the vortex. In five minutes, he would be jumping his small fleet. He just hoped the StarStrike was still intact when he arrived.
-
The AI ship was still in the same system using its advanced sensors to monitor the human held fleet base. They had watched with interest as a small group of ships led by the largest ship in the human fleet left the gravity well of the planet. The larger ship vanished and soon after so did the other five that had followed it out.
“That large ship is the human’s most powerful warship,” one of the AIs operating the sensors commented. “It reportedly was involved in the destruction of our ships that attacked the system.”
“One of the ships,” the commanding AI spoke his orb like head glowing even brighter. “The Hocklyn Fleet Commodore reported that both of our ships were under heavy attack from numerous ships using massive nukes, which eventually led to their shields collapsing.”
They continued to make their observations, collecting as much data as possible on the human held system. The command AI went from station to station checking the data that was coming in.
“Sensor contact,” the AI at sensors reported suddenly. “Contact at two million kilometers.”
“It’s the human flagship,” spoke the AI at the data gathering screens. “They must have detected us somehow.”
“Impossible; they don’t have that level of technology,” the command AI spoke, the glowing orb above its metal body nearly doubling in size.
“Do we jump?” inquired one of the AIs standing at Navigation.
“From one ship?” the commanding AI replied derisively “Bring all weapons on line and prepare to engage the human ship. We will destroy it. This will substantially weaken the human forces.”
-
“AI ship has moved,” Clarissa reported as she quickly calculated the next jump. “It is two million kilometers away.”
“It must have moved after jumping into the system,” Colonel Trist spoke as his eyes focused on the tactical display, which was now showing the 1,500-meter AI ship. “Damn that thing is big!”
“Jumping,” Clarissa spoke again as she activated the ship’s jump drive and flew the StarStrike into the swirling vortex that had formed just in front of the ship.
The StarStrike exited the vortex four hundred and sixty kilometers from the AI ship. It took a few seconds for all the systems to come online, and Clarissa made sure the first system was the ship’s energy shield.
“Incoming fire,” she reported as a powerful energy beam struck the ship. Immediately, alarm klaxons began to sound and red lights began to flash.
“Turn the alarms off, Clarissa,” Hedon ordered as his eyes focused intently on the tactical display. He could sense the sudden tension in the crew of the Command Center as the ship was struck by more Hocklyn energy beams. They all remembered what had happened the last time they had engaged and AI ship.
The ship shuddered violently as even more AI weapons impacted the shield. The screen was lit up in a brilliant display of light as energy beams from the AI ship played across its surface. Suddenly an energy beam penetrated the screen, striking the forward section of the ship. The beam cut deep into the hull, setting off several secondary explosions.
“Multiple hull breaches along the forward hull near section four,” Colonel Trist reported as he scanned the damage control console. “We’re venting atmosphere, and I am receiving reports of several internal explosions.”
“AI ship is still firing and closing the range,” Colonel Grissom warned as she watched one of the tactical displays.
“How long until we can fire, Clarissa?” demanded Hedon, looking over at the female AI. The ship shook again, but this time the energy shield held.
“I’ve shunted all available power to the energy screen,” Clarissa replied as she prepared to fire the ship’s Devastator Three missiles. “Firing in ten seconds!”
The ship was shaking badly now as the AI poured its fire against the ship’s wavering energy screen, trying to knock it down.
“Firing!” Clarissa screamed as the StarStrike was hit by another energy beam that penetrated the hull and dug deep into the hull close to Engineering. The lights flickered and then steadied.
“Energy screen at sixty-two percent,” warned Colonel Grissom as she gazed intently at one of the main viewscreens, which was now showing the deadly AI ship.
From the missile tubes of the StarStrike, four Devastator Three missiles left the ship. They vanished as soon as they were launched because of the tremendous speed of their sublight drives and inertial dampening systems. A microsecond later, two more missiles left the tubes.
-
On board the AI ship, the energy screen suddenly flared up as massive amounts of energy struck one small section of the screen. A microsecond later, the ship shook violently as two forty-megaton nuclear explosions blew two massive holes in the side of the ship.
“Ship systems compromised,” the AI at damage control reported, the glowing orb above its metal frame glowing even brighter. “FTL is out, weapons are out, sensors are out, and the
energy shield is down.”
“Communications?” the commanding AI demanded as the ship continued to shake. The commanding AI knew the ship was mortally wounded, and internal explosions were beginning to finish the work the human weapons had started.
“All communications are out,” one of the other AIs reported.
“It was a series of sublight missiles that knocked a hole in the screen,” the AI at the now nonfunctioning sensors reported. “The missiles must have also been equipped with an inertial dampening system.”
“We didn’t suspect the humans had this type of advanced technology,” the AI at the data processing screens commented. “This is a dangerous development.”
The commanding AI stood still as it evaluated the situation. The humans were indeed dangerous beyond belief if they could destroy an AI ship with just one of their warships. The technology they had just used could pose a series threat to any AI ship. The commanding AI now understood why the Altons had chosen this race so far in the past to stand in the way of the AIs domination of this galaxy.
“Sublight drives are out, and the FTL drive is not repairable,” the AI at Navigation reported.
The commanding AI reached out its tentacles and pressed down on two red buttons that stood out on the console near it. None of the technology in the sphere could be allowed to fall into human hands; it had to be destroyed. Moments later, multiple nuclear explosions tore the AI sphere apart as its self-destructs were activated.
-
“AI ship is down,” Captain Reynolds spoke with obvious relief in his voice.
“Its self-destructs have gone off,” Colonel Trist reported from where he was standing in front of the tactical display, which had been showing the AI ship. Now it was just showing a slowly expanding debris field.