The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five)

by Weil, Raymond L.

  Massive 40-megaton nuclear explosions rolled across the inbound Hocklyn fleet formation, shattering it. Raging nuclear fire struck the Hocklyn energy screens, wiping them out of existence in an instant. In the cases of the smaller Hocklyn escort cruisers, the ships themselves were heavily damaged by the strike of just one missile and several were destroyed outright.

  Numerous Hocklyn warships had been targeted by either two or three of the deadly missiles. In each case, the ship died as its hull was vaporized and its internal structure was blown apart. Dreadnoughts, war cruisers, and escort cruisers died under the ferocious attack. On the heels of the missile strike, regular Devastator missiles arrived, striking ships whose shields were still down. Power beams and pulse lasers followed, inflicting even more damage. Explosive railgun rounds struck the hulls of Hocklyn warships, blasting huge rents in the protective armor.

  However, the Hocklyn’s own massive missile strike was now hitting the two human fleets. In some cases, dozens of nuclear missiles were striking First and Second Fleet ships, knocking down shields and striking the actual armored hulls of the ships. Light cruisers and even battlecruisers were torn apart as the massive missile strike slammed home. Defensive laser and railgun turrets were firing non-stop, blowing missile after missile out of space. There were just too many of them, and the death toll continued to mount on the human fleets.

  A Monarch cruiser fired every defensive weapon it had available, blowing over twenty inbound missiles apart before others began impacting on its energy screen. The screen wavered and then failed as dark blue Hocklyn energy beams arrived, smashing through the weakened shield. Several nukes followed, detonating against the armored hull and causing serious damage within the ship. Moments later, another nuke penetrated deep within the damaged hull, blowing the ship apart. Eight hundred humans died in an instant as the Monarch cruiser Etna vanished into oblivion.

  -

  Admiral Sheen gasped in pain as her restraining harness cut deeply into her shoulders as the WarStorm was battered by the missile attack. Then the ship was thrust upward violently and numerous members of the crew were thrown across the Command Center. She could hear screams and frightened people yelling as the lights in the Command Center went out and then came back on. Several consoles shorted out, sending cascades of glowing sparks across the room. A number of the crew had landed on the deck and were not moving. Looking over at the damage control console, she could see numerous glowing red lights indicating serious damage to the ship.

  “We need medics to the Command Center,” she ordered over her mini-com knowing there were injured and possibly worse. She coughed as there was a lot of smoke in the air and the ventilation system was having trouble handling it.

  She spotted Commander Evans lying on the floor next to the tactical display. Colonel Bryson, the Executive officer, was leaning over her, checking the commander’s pulse.

  “She’s still alive,” he reported, glancing over at the admiral as several medical personnel rushed into the Command Center.

  “What’s the status of the ship?” Amanda demanded as she focused her eyes on the tactical display, which had rebooted and was now displaying what remained of the shattered human and Hocklyn fleets.

  She could feel the ship still shuddering from the missiles and shells that were still impacting the energy screen. At least the shield was back up.

  Colonel Bryson stumbled over to the damage control console and studied the information. “A nuke struck us. We have multiple breaches along the lower hull, we’re venting atmosphere, and we have a number of compartments in vacuum.” He listened for a moment to several reports over his mini-com and then continued. “Engineering reports several fires in the engineering spaces, and they have fire teams deployed. We have other damage throughout the ship, but nothing too serious. Damage control teams are en route to the areas in the lower section of the ship to check on additional damage from the nuke. We are showing several out of control fires in that vicinity.”

  “Tactical, what’s our weapons status?” asked Amanda, knowing that the WarStorm had been severely damaged. They needed to get back into the fight.

  “Still firing,” Lieutenant Mason reported. “We did lose four missile tubes, two of our heavy pulse laser turrets, and twelve defensive turrets from the nuke strike.”

  “Admiral Streth is ordering all ships to fall back to Admiral Adler’s position,” Lieutenant Trask reported in a frightened voice.

  Angela watched as Lieutenant Ashton was carried out of the Command Center on a stretcher. The Navigation officer had struck her head on her console when the nuke hit the ship tossing everyone around. She could see as they took Karen away that her head was bleeding profusely from a wicked cut across her forehead.

  “Alright, everyone; lets get it together,” Amanda ordered loud enough for the entire crew in the Command Center to hear. “We still have a battle to fight. Lieutenant Stalls, what ships did we lose?”

  Benjamin took a few moments to review the sensor data before reporting. It had shaken him badly, seeing Lieutenant Ashton carried out on a stretcher. “The battlecruisers Everest and McKinley, three Monarchs, and seven light cruisers. Numerous other ships are reporting heavy damage.”

  “Lieutenant Trask, inform all heavily damaged ships to break formation and proceed to Admiral Adler’s position; the rest of the fleet will provide covering fire.”

  Amanda watched as Commander Evans was carried from the Command Center. Samantha had not regained consciousness, and Amanda had no idea how serious her injuries were. She took a deep breath, knowing this battle was just beginning.

  “What about First Fleet, what did Admiral Streth lose?”

  “One battlecruiser, one strikecruiser, four Monarchs, and eight light cruisers,” Benjamin replied, horrified at all the ship losses to First and Second Fleets. It had happened so suddenly.

  “The enemy’s missiles were more powerful than what we have faced in the past,” Lieutenant Mason reported. “Their energy beams have also been upgraded.”

  “Firing on both sides has slowed down,” Colonel Bryson reported as he watched the tactical display intently. “The Hocklyns have suffered major ship losses from our Devastator Three strike and have paused in their advance. We are currently pulling away from them and should be out of combat range in three more minutes.”

  “Continue to hit them with regular Devastator and Klave missiles,” ordered Amanda, wanting to inflict as much damage as possible. They had used nearly half of their Devastator Three missiles in the initial missile strike, and they would have to conserve the remaining ones.

  -

  In space, ruined and wrecked ships were everywhere, and occasionally a ship’s nuclear self-destructs would activate, blowing it apart. In the Hocklyn fleet, numerous ships were burning, and ships were still exploding as self-destruct after self-destruct went off. The Devastator Three strike against the Hocklyns had been overwhelming.

  While weapons fire between the Humans and the Hocklyns was continuing, it was greatly reduced from what it was initially. Both sides were racing to reconfigure their fleet formations and assess the damage the first engagement had caused. Neither side had expected such losses in the opening few minutes of the battle.

  -

  Fleet Commodore Resmunt picked himself up off the deck of the War Room. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. Everything looked hazy, and he felt faint as if a heavy blow to the head had struck him. Reaching up, his hand came back covered in blood.

  “Fleet status!” he barked, stumbling back to the command pedestal and looking across the War Room. Other Hocklyns were prone on the floor, either unconscious or dead.

  “The humans used their new missile on us,” reported First Leader Ganth, coming back from where he had been checking on Third Leader Vrill. His neck was broken and Ganth had summoned a replacement to take over Communications. “They had many more than we believed possible.”

  “What ships did we lose?” demanded Resmunt, feeling anger tow
ard the humans at the carnage they had caused to his fleets. He knew now that the AIs were using his ships to eat away at the human’s stockpile of these deadly weapons.

  “Many warriors have met their honor,” Ganth replied as he studied a sensor screen to see what ships were missing. “The human’s missiles caused a lot of damage. We lost twelve dreadnoughts, twenty-two war cruisers, and eighty-seven light cruisers. Numerous other ships are reporting major damage.”

  “And the humans?” Resmunt asked, his eyes growing wide at the destruction the human weapons had wrought upon his fleet.

  “Our sensors indicate twenty-six of their warships were destroyed in our missile strike, and a number of others are heavily damaged. They are pulling back toward the planet and their satellite defenses.”

  Resmunt nodded. His fleet had suffered heavily, but his fleet was much larger than the humans. “Hold our advance. I want all of our damaged ships to pull back outside of the gravity well to Commodore Aanith.”

  “War Leaders Daseth and Hilden were killed when their dreadnoughts blew up,” First Leader Ganth added, still shaken by the devastation to the fleet the human missiles had wrought. No one had expected anything like this.

  “Order War Leaders Crytho and Zenth to advance into the gravity well and rendezvous with our fleets,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt ordered as the firing between the human and Hocklyn fleets lessened and then stopped as the range became too great. “Commodore Aanith is to implement repairs on the damaged ships. I also want all fighters brought forward and landed on our attacking fleets. We will use them to overwhelm the human’s defensive satellite grid they have set up around the planet.”

  “Their big ships that carry their small fighters and bombers are within the defensive satellite grid,” cautioned First Leader Ganth, knowing the human bombers could cause a lot of damage to the fleet. “They also have a large number of their small destroyers around their carriers and mixed in with the satellites.”

  Resmunt was well aware of this, but his remaining fleets were still large enough to handle the human bomber attacks and then destroy the satellite grid. He would drive the surviving human ships into the atmosphere of the planet and wipe them out.

  -

  Aboard the dreadnought Viden, War Leader Versith stared in frustration at the retreating humans. His war fleet had suffered less than any of the other Hocklyn fleets because he had ordered all their power to be transferred to the shields just prior to the human missile attack.

  “Fleet Commodore Resmunt is ordering that we hold our position until War Leaders Crytho and Zenth arrive with their fleets and the fighters,” First Leader Trion reported.

  “A mistake,” replied Versith, feeling frustration as he stared at the retreating human ships on the tactical hologram. “The humans are damaged; we should have taken advantage of our numerical superiority and pushed on regardless of the losses. We could have destroyed the humans before they reached the safety of their defensive satellite grid.”

  “Many brave Hocklyn warriors have met their honor today,” replied Trion, knowing that War Leader Versith was probably the best tactician in the Hocklyn fleet. He too had felt they should have pushed on and engaged the humans rather than pausing the attack. Now the humans would retreat to the safety of their satellite grid and begin repairs to their ships.

  “The humans have demonstrated once more that they must die!” Second Leader Jaseth called out from his position directly in front of the tactical hologram where he was watching the retreating human ships with growing fury in his eyes. “None must escape our wrath for what they have done to our fellow warriors.”

  Versith remained silent as he gazed in worry at the young Hocklyn. Did Jaseth not understand the Humans had done exactly what the Hocklyns would have done if the situation were reversed?

  “Order all ships to make what repairs they can before we resume the advance,” Versith ordered. “The AIs will not allow us to pause too long before they insist we renew the attack.”

  Versith felt fortunate; only two of his escort cruisers had been destroyed though a large number of ships had incurred substantial damage. One war cruiser and three escort cruisers had to be sent back to Commodore Aanith due to the severe damage they had suffered from the human weapons.

  Jaseth continued to gaze at the retreating humans ships. Shortly, they would be inside their defensive satellite grid and waiting for the Hocklyn fleets to resume the attack. Jaseth could feel his anger growing because of their proximity to the hated humans. His hand strayed to the blade at his waist, wishing he could use it against his enemy. Someday, he swore, his blade would be covered in human blood.

  -

  Amanda breathed a sigh of relief as Second Fleet took up a defensive position between the outer two rings of defensive satellites. She knew that many of her ships, including the WarStorm, needed time to conduct some much needed repairs. Even though the viscous battle had been very brief, both First and Second Fleets had suffered heavily.

  Looking at the tactical display, she saw that Admiral Streth had brought First Fleet to a stationary position on the other side of Admiral Adler. At least Third Fleet was undamaged.

  She knew that the next part of the plan was to lure the Hocklyn Fleets down into firing range of the outer two defensive satellite rings with their numerous missile platforms. Amanda just hoped the Hocklyns didn’t realize they were flying into a trap.

  “It will take a while to effect repairs to the WarStorm, and some of the other ships are even more heavily damaged,” Colonel Bryson reported as he finished talking to multiple engineers over his mini-com. “Several ships are without shields, and a few others are reporting that numerous weapons emplacements have been destroyed.”

  “Do the best you can,” replied Amanda, knowing the Hocklyns and the AIs were not going to give them the needed time. Her eyes focused back on the tactical display and the swarm of red icons that represented the Hocklyn fleet. Even with all the destruction and damage done by the massive Devastator Three attack, the human fleets were still badly outnumbered. Amanda began to wonder if any of them would survive to return to the Federation.

  -

  The AIs had watched the entire battle from a safe distance and been stunned when the humans had used so many of the new weapons that were a danger to the AIs. This could change the entire plan to advance and destroy the human worlds. If the humans had an abundance of these weapons, they could pose a dire threat to the Hocklyn Empire as well as to the AIs.

  “The humans used over five hundred of their sublight missiles against the Hocklyn fleets,” the AI hovering in front of the data screens reported, waving several of its tentacles. The glowing orb that served as its head seemed to grow even larger and brighter as it continued. “We must assume from this data that they have a large supply of these weapons and were holding them back in order to inflict as much damage as possible when they were needed.”

  “If they still have many of the sublight missiles, they could even destroy our eight remaining ships,” the commanding AI spoke. “We must inform AI Command of this threat. We will need a new plan to remove these humans from this galaxy. This may put our plan of destroying the human worlds in jeopardy.”

  “They must be destroyed,” responded the AI at the sensors. “If they continue to grow and expand they could someday be a threat even to our own worlds at the center of the galaxy.”

  “The Altons chose well when they picked this race so many eons ago to stand in our way,” the command AI responded as it moved over toward the large FTL communications console. “I will also summon more Hocklyn ships from Fleet Commodore Krilen’s forces. The attack on Careth will have to be delayed until the humans here are dealt with.”

  “That is logical,” the AI at the data screens responded. “We must assume that the humans defending the Carethians will also have a large supply of these deadly sublight missiles.”

  “Their end is only being postponed by a few days,” the command AI responded as it activated the lar
ge FTL transmitter at the heart of the AI warship which could reach all the way back to AI controlled space. “In the end, the Humans and Carethians will all die.”

  It became quiet as the command AI sent the messages. The eight large AI ships continued to hold their position 120 million kilometers from the human fleets and the planet. They would continue to observe and take note of the human weapons and their tactics. However, the AI commander had a plan, which he sent to AI Command. One that if it were implemented would ensure the destruction of the humans.

  Chapter Fifteen

  President Kincaid was in his office meeting with Fleet Admiral Johnson, Governor Malleck, and the senator from New Providence Maureen Arden. After this meeting, he had another one scheduled with the full Federation Council to brief them on the latest developments. Senator Arden had agreed to stay in the Federation until the outcome of First Strike was concluded. She confessed that the government on New Providence had given her two years to complete her mission.

  President Kincaid was standing in front of the large map of the galaxy gazing at the sector where he knew Admiral Streth must be engaging both the Hocklyns and the AIs. He hoped the legend about Admiral Streth saving the Federation and defeating the Hocklyns wasn’t about to come to an end. It was difficult, knowing the battle might already be over but they had no way of knowing the outcome.

  “What do we know so far?” President Kincaid demanded as he turned around to face the Fleet Admiral. “How soon before we know if Admiral Streth has survived this attack and is on his way back to New Tellus?”

  “Possibly another twenty-four to thirty-six hours,” replied Karla, wishing she knew more. It was weighing heavily on her mind as well, not knowing how the battle was going. However, the distance was too great and it would be thirty-six hours after the battle before they knew what had happened, assuming any of Admiral Streth’s ships survived to send a message along one of the FTL lines of communication buoys.