“What are his odds of surviving?” pressed Kincaid, not wanting to have to announce to the Federation that its greatest hero had died in battle. It would be a devastating blow to the Federation’s morale.
“It’s difficult to say,” responded Karla, carefully. “His entire plan rests on inflicting heavy damage to the Hocklyn fleet before attempting to withdraw. He will try to lure them down to within range of the satellite defenses he has set up and then hit them with the missile platforms and a heavy bomber strike. After that, he will have to fight his way out of the gravity well and then jump to safety. At the very least, he is going to lose a lot of ships.”
“Even on our world of New Providence, Fleet Admiral Hedon Streth is a legend,” Senator Arden spoke, her eyes wide as she recalled some of the stories she had read in her youth. “If not for him, we would not have been able to hide in the caverns and bunkers. He destroyed the Hocklyn forces above and on our world, allowing us to go underground.”
“The same with the Federation survivors that settled Ceres and New Tellus,” Governor Malleck added with a nod of agreement. “He rescued the survivors from the destroyed Federation and brought them safely to Earth’s solar system. I don’t know of anyone else that could have done what he did.”
“It is my wish that Admiral Streth someday return to free our worlds,” Senator Arden continued, her eyes glowing with hope. “When our ship first set out on this journey, none of our crew ever dreamed that the legendary admiral might still be alive. It’s a miracle.”
“Admiral Streth has spoken several times about returning to the old Federation someday,” Governor Malleck acknowledged, remembering how he had often talked about life on Maken and the other old Federation worlds. “If we can stop the Hocklyns and AIs at New Tellus, Admiral Streth may indeed return to New Providence and from there free the rest of the old worlds. I can assure you that the people of Ceres and New Tellus would fully support such a move.”
“We must win the battles first,” President Kincaid reminded them with a heavy frown of disapproval. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s a lot that must be done before we can send a substantial relief force to New Providence.”
“Have you notified our allies about the impending Hocklyn and AI attack?” Admiral Johnson asked as she watched President Kincaid walk back over and sit down behind his large oak desk.
“Yes,” Kincaid responded. “We’ve even notified the Albanian ambassador, though I don’t know what good that will do since as far as we know they are unarmed.”
“I have placed all of our military forces at Condition Three,” added Karla, wondering if they should make another offer to help defend the Albanians. “All military leaves have been canceled, and we are deploying our entire fleet in preparation for an impending attack on New Tellus and the Federation.”
“What about the fleet you have inside Ceres?” asked President Kincaid, looking over at Governor Malleck. For years, he had wondered just what was hidden in the massive ship bays inside the asteroid.
“They are being deployed even as we speak,” Governor Malleck responded. “Admiral Kalen will be moving ships out of the asteroid zone shortly to be met by Admiral Teleck when he gets back with the Ceres. The fleet will be divided into two task groups, one commanded by Admiral Teleck and the other by Admiral Kalen. One fleet will remain to defend Ceres, and the other will be deployed to wherever it is needed.”
President Kincaid nodded, they still probably had a week or more at the earliest before the Hocklyns and AIs could reach them. With a heavy sigh, he knew that he now needed to brief the council. Senator Fulbright would be livid and demand extra fleet assets when he learned of the impending attack. Looking back at the map of the galaxy, he just hoped that Admiral Streth was still alive and on his way back to the Federation.
-
In the Carethian system, Jeremy was studying the latest reports from four stealth scouts he had sent to scan the gathering Hocklyn fleet. Two of the scouts had jumped into the system, taken detailed scans, and then jumped back while the other two had remained to keep watch on the Hocklyns. From what they could tell, the Hocklyns had not detected any of the four scouts.
Jeremy and Admiral Stillson were on the large, heavily armed space station with Grayseth looking at what they were up against. It didn’t look good, and Jeremy was beginning to have serious doubts if they would be able to hold the system. It all depended on whether these ships were upgraded or not.
“Eight hundred and twenty ships,” Admiral Stillson muttered with a heavy frown on his face. “That’s a hell of a lot of Hocklyn warships.”
“At least there are no AIs with them,” stated Jeremy, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. They were all three seated at a small conference table. The room contained a holographic table, which was currently projecting an image of the Hocklyn fleet.
“They must truly want to destroy us,” said Grayseth, gazing at the tactical display with his large brown eyes. “They come in far greater numbers than ever before. Not even when they destroyed our colony and invaded our world did we see such a great gathering of ships.”
“Admiral Streth used a large number of his Devastator Three missiles to stop the initial attack upon his fleet,” Admiral Stillson pointed out. “We can do the same. We have a large number in inventory thanks to those Admiral Teleck sent us.”
“But they have to last,” responded Jeremy, knowing it could be months or even years before the Federation could send a relief force. He knew that if he ever ran out of those missiles a single AI ship could destroy everything.
“Jeremy!” Ariel’s excited voice suddenly came over his mini-com. “Look at the tactical display; the Hocklyns are jumping!”
“The Hocklyns are jumping,” Jeremy informed the other two as his eyes locked on the tactical display. He watched in dismay as nearly five hundred Hocklyn warships vanished into what he knew were spatial vortexes. Since the system the Hocklyns were in was a little over four light years distant, he knew they would be in the Carethian system within the hour. “Take all forces up to Condition Two,” he ordered as he stood up. “We will go to Condition One as soon as the first Hocklyn ship is detected.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Ariel said as she studied the new data coming in from the two stealth scouts still observing the AIs. “From the angle they entered the spatial vortexes their destination is not Careth, they are jumping toward Admiral Streth’s position.”
“Damn!” uttered Jeremy, knowing that the Hocklyns were planning to overrun Admiral Streth’s fleet with a massive attack. “Ariel, send an emergency FTL message to Admiral Streth warning him of what’s coming his way.”
“Already done,” Ariel replied. “It will take the Hocklyns approximately eight hours to reach Admiral Streth; our warning message will arrive in three.”
Jeremy nodded. He had done everything he could to warn Admiral Streth. He just hoped it was enough.
-
Amanda was in her quarters taking a brief break. The Hocklyn fleet was still inside the gravity well of the planet but had not moved since the initial attack. Amanda suspected that they were repairing their battle damage just as First and Second Fleets were. From the latest reports, much of the internal damage to the WarStorm could be repaired if they just had the time.
However, the massive hole in the hull the nuke had caused was different. Work crews were in the process of welding a patch across it so they could restore hull integrity, but Amanda didn’t know if the Hocklyns would give them the necessary time needed to finish the repair. The decks immediately beneath the breach had been sealed off and would have to remain that way until they could put into a repair dock.
Looking at the latest casualty reports, she felt a cold chill pass through her body. One hundred and twelve personnel had died as a result of the nuclear strike and subsequent damage to the ship. Another eighty-seven, including Commander Evans and Lieutenant Ashton were in sickbay. Of those, sixteen were critical, including
Lieutenant Ashton.
Amanda went to her bed, closed her eyes, and tried to sleep. She knew she could use stims to keep stay awake and alert, but she had always felt they affected her decision making. Amanda wanted her mind to be sharp when the battle resumed. As she fell into a fitful sleep, she just hoped she would get to see Richard again. Right now, the odds didn’t seem to be in her favor.
-
Admiral Streth gazed at one of the tactical displays, which showed the Hocklyn fleet that was within the gravity well. Just a few minutes back, Captain Duncan had handed him a disturbing message from Ariel.
“The Hocklyns are waiting for their reinforcements,” Clarissa said from his side.
The blonde haired beauty of an AI was dressed in her standard dark blue fleet uniform, which was a little tight at the breasts. Clarissa had discovered several months back that by making her breasts larger and wearing her uniforms a little tighter in that area she attracted a lot of attention from the men on the ship. She enjoyed the attention as it made her feel more human.
“Five hundred more warships,” he said as he weighed in his mind what that might mean.
“That will mean a lot more fighters,” Colonel Trist pointed out worriedly. “They might try to overwhelm our satellite defenses before we can fire the missiles. It could also limit the effectiveness of our bomber strike.”
“We need to consider that in our strategies,” Hedon agreed. He looked over at Clarissa. “I need you to run some simulations on what our best options are if the Hocklyns do indeed launch a massive fighter strike against our defense grid. Can it survive, and can we survive if it is followed up with a full-scale attack by nearly eight hundred Hocklyn warships? Assume we use one quarter of our remaining Devastator Threes to help even the odds.”
“Yes, Admiral,” Clarissa replied as she began to run various simulations.
“I wouldn’t count the AIs out of this either,” Colonel Grissom warned as she stepped closer to Admiral Streth. The Military Intelligence officer had been studying the AIs on one of the tactical displays. “They might attempt to jump in when we’re heavily engaged against the Hocklyn fleet in an attempt to cause as much damage as possible.”
“It’s a possibility,” Colonel Trist conceded with a look of grave concern. “With their heavy firepower added to the Hocklyn fleet we would have a hard time extricating ourselves from the gravity well.”
“We may have to use more of our Devastator Threes than we wanted,” Clarissa said after a moment. “If the AIs and the Hocklyns both attack together I compute that we would lose eighty-four percent of the fleet before we could exit the gravity well.” Clarissa looked obviously frightened as she knew that she could die in this battle.
“We do have a reserve of Devastator Threes with Admiral Kimmel,” Colonel Trist reminded Hedon. “Enough to totally rearm several of the strikecruisers. He also has a strikecruiser with his fleet that is carrying a full load of the weapons.”
Hedon thought this over; he didn’t like the options he was left with. “Clarissa, what if we use all of our remaining Devastator Threes when we attempt to escape out of the gravity well? How much of our fleet will survive in the worst case scenario?”
Clarissa ran the simulations again, and she still didn’t like the results, but they were better than before. “We will still lose fifty-two percent of the fleet,” she reported, her deep blue eyes glinting with deep concern. “The odds are just too great with the new group of ships mixed in. It also depends on what the AIs do.”
Clarissa contemplated sending a farewell message to Ariel. They spoke almost daily, but since the battle had begun she had hesitated sending a new one since she didn’t want to upset the other AI. They were the only two in existence in the Federation, and it was difficult to think about dying and leaving the other alone.
Captain Janice Duncan looked over at Admiral Streth. She could see the look of deep concern on his face, particularly around his eyes. So many lives depended on his decisions. She was glad that she only had to worry about communications and not the welfare of so many others.
-
Amanda awoke and was astonished to see that over five hours had passed. She hurriedly took a quick shower and put on a clean uniform, then rushed to the Command Center after grabbing a quick bite to eat in the officer’s mess. It amazed her that the Hocklyns had not yet attacked. Once inside she took her spot at the command console and quickly read over the latest reports. Glancing around, she saw that the second shift command crew was manning the different stations.
She read with concern and a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach the communication from Admiral Streth that an additional five hundred Hocklyn warships were en route. Glancing at the time, she realized they would be arriving within the next two hours. Walking over to the damage control console, she spoke to the officer in charge about the ongoing repairs to the WarStorm. She was relieved to hear that the patch had been welded onto the outer hull over the hole created by the nuke and that a secondary patch had been put in place on the inside. While not as strong as the original hull, it would do until more permanent repairs could be made. That entire area of the ship would also remain sealed off.
Her next order of business was checking on the status of Second Fleet. She still had a very powerful force consisting of seven battlecruisers, four heavy strikecruisers, nine Monarch cruisers, and twenty-one light cruisers. Second Fleet was currently stationed midway between the third and fourth defensive ring of satellites.
“How’s the fleet?” a familiar voice asked from behind Amanda. Turning around, she saw Commander Evans standing there looking pale and a little bit dazed.
“We’re getting there,” Amanda replied, relieved to see Samantha back in the Command Center. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Evans replied with a weak smile. “I took a pretty good knock to the head, and the doctor says I have a slight concussion. But he said I could return to duty.”
In a lower voice, Amanda asked. “How is Lieutenant Ashton?” Karen had been with Amanda from the very beginning including First Fleet’s reconnaissance mission into Hocklyn space centuries in the past.
“Not well, I’m afraid,” replied Evans with a heartbreaking look upon her face. “Doctor Maddok isn’t sure she will make it. Lieutenant Ashton took a severe blow to her forehead and there was some hemorrhaging. They have done everything they can to relieve the pressure, and now it’s a waiting game to see if she responds. If we were back in the Federation with their big hospitals it would be different.”
Amanda nodded. Over the years, she had lost a lot of people; it never ceased to hurt when someone close to her died. She hoped Karen wasn’t going to be one of them.
“Hocklyn fleet is jumping into the system,” the sensor operator called out. “Numerous spatial vortexes are opening.”
“Call the first shift command crew to the Command Center,” ordered Amanda, knowing it was nearly time for the next phase of the battle.
-
Hedon watched impassively as the new Hocklyn ships arrived. Five hundred fresh warships to join the ones already in the system as well as the eight AI ships. They stayed in position for only a few minutes before setting course toward the planet.
“They really want to destroy us,” Colonel Trist commented as he watched one of the tactical displays full of the new red threat icons. “They will be entering the gravity well of the planet shortly.”
“We need to reposition our fleets,” Hedon said after a moment. “I want all of our destroyers to move into the outer satellite defensive screen to add their defensive fire to the satellites. They can engage enemy escort cruisers that come into range, but not any war cruisers or dreadnoughts.”
“We will lose some of them,” Colonel Grissom warned as she came over from where she had been speaking to Clarissa. “Clarissa believes the Hocklyns will use a massive fighter strike to try to destroy the outer defensive satellite layer, clearing the way for their warships to engage our fleets.�
��
“Perhaps, but we have one hundred and twenty missile platforms hidden amongst those satellites above the base. If we hold our position, we can lure the Hocklyns toward us and within range of those launchers. That’s seven hundred and twenty Klave class missiles tipped with nuclear warheads that we can use against them.”
“I have a suggestion, Admiral,” spoke Clarissa, walking over to stand next to him.”
“What is it, Clarissa?” Hedon asked. He had learned to trust the AI’s ideas.
Quickly, Clarissa described the new strategy she had come up with.
“That’s brilliant,” Colonel Grissom spoke, her eyes growing wide. “It just might work.”
Hedon nodded; he was thankful that the AI was on the StarStrike. She might have just saved his fleet.
-
Fleet Commodore Resmunt watched with satisfaction as the new ships took up their positions directly in front of his fleet. He would have the new ships lead the attack with his own attack fleets following up.
“Why do we not lead the attack?” questioned First Leader Ganth, knowing that honor was before them in the coming battle.
“I want to conserve our upgraded ships for the attack on the human home worlds,” Resmunt replied in a calm and commanding voice. He had thought this through very thoroughly. “Order all ships to advance; it is time to destroy the humans. Launch the war wings; they will lead the way.”
-
From the Hocklyn fleet, their small fighters launched. Each had been armed with four small missiles to take out the human’s defensive satellites. In front of the Hocklyn fleet, a virtual wall of fighters formed. Over 6,000 fighters were now advancing toward the outer defensive satellite ring. Their orders were to blow a hole through it so the trailing warships could reach the humans relatively unscathed.
-
War Leader Versith watched expectantly as the fighters neared the human satellites. For once, he agreed with Resmunt’s strategy; not even the humans would be able to resist such a massive wave of fighters!
The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five) Page 23