“I don’t understand,” Senator Fulbright muttered, confused. “Your people created the AIs?”
“They were created to serve us, to make our lives easier,” Tureen explained with a hint of deep disapproval in his voice. “But many of us felt the AIs would be our undoing, that we would become too dependent upon them. And there was a possibility that at some point in time, due to the way they were programmed, they could become dangerous.”
“What do you mean become dangerous?” asked President Kincaid, leaning forward, wanting to hear what the Albanian ambassador had to say.
“They were given as one of their core commands to protect the Alton race and the center of the galaxy from any aggressor,” Ambassador Tureen explained. “When the Alton race in the center of the galaxy died out, they eliminated the command to protect the Altons and decided the only way to protect the center of the galaxy was to conquer the entire galaxy.”
“Which they have been doing for the past several thousand years,” spoke Senator Barnes. “Where do your people come into all of this if you’re really Altons?”
“As I said, we were part of the exploratory expedition,” Tureen continued. “It was decided that some of your people would be settled on a world where someday they could be used to control the AIs if things got out of hand. Part of the crew remained behind and swore never to build another AI and promised to watch over Earth. We have also kept a discreet watch over the AIs in the center of the galaxy as well. It was only when the Hocklyns discovered the old Federation that we realized we had made a serious mistake. The Federation was not yet strong enough to face both the Hocklyns and the AIs. We had also grown complacent after all the time that had passed. We didn’t have the ships at that time to intercede and save the old Federation.”
“So what do we do now?” asked President Kincaid, worriedly. “The AIs and the Hocklyn will soon finish off the defenses at New Tellus and then descend upon us here. We can’t possibly hope to fight that many AI ships.”
Ambassador Tureen looked slowly across the worried group of Federation senators. “Immediately after the old Federation fail we built a fleet of warships to be used in case the AIs ever found us or Earth. That entire fleet has been kept in stasis until it was needed. A short time ago we finished reactivating the entire fleet, and it has jumped into the New Tellus system and is in the process of annihilating the AI fleet there.”
All the senators grew quiet as they stared wide eyed at the ambassador. “But you’re pacifists!” protested Senator Fulbright. “Everyone knows that.”
“Not all of us,” Tureen responded as he looked at the senator from Serenity with a steady gaze. “While it is true we will do everything we can not to become involved in a conflict, we knew this one would arrive at our doorstep someday.”
“Then we’ve won the war!” Senator Fulbright shouted, his eyes glowing with delight. “We no longer have to fear the Hocklyns or the AIs.”
“No, Senator,” Ambassador Tureen spoke sadly with a shake of his head. “We have won the first major battle against the AIs and the Hocklyns, but the war has just barely begun.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Fleet Commodore Resmunt looked in shock at the tactical display, feeling disbelief at what it was showing. Hundreds of strange ships had jumped to the human’s rescue and were annihilating the AI ships. On the main viewscreen an energy beam that seemed to be unstoppable smashed through an AI ship’s screen, blasting a hole deep inside the sphere’s hull causing tremendous damage. The AI ship finally exploded as its self-destructs initiated. The AI’s energy beams and new sublight missiles seemed to have no effect against the screens of the newcomers. Massive anti-matter explosions played harmlessly on the powerful screens, and the AI’s energy beams also seemed ineffective.
“Who are they?” demanded First Leader Ganth in anger as he saw Hocklyn ships beginning to die in growing numbers as the battered human defenses turned all of their remaining weapons against the Hocklyn fleet. He saw his hope for increased honor and advancement rapidly fading.
“I don’t know, but they are destroying the AIs,” Resmunt hissed in frustration, seeing his expected victory vanishing before his eyes. His well planned attack was falling apart, and he knew he was now facing imminent defeat.
“Commodore Aanith and War Leader Osbith are beginning to withdraw their fleets,” Ganth added with growing irritation as he saw their fleets beginning to break contact with the humans and flee toward the edge of the gravity well.
“AIs are starting to jump out,” another Hocklyn reported as several AI ships disappeared from the tactical screen as they initiated their jump drives to escape.
“Prepare to withdraw,” Resmunt ordered, his large dark eyes glued to the tactical display. If the AIs were leaving, then he had no other choice. To remain and face the human defenses and these new ships was suicide. “These new aliens are too powerful; we must withdraw and reevaluate the situation.”
-
White space vortexes were forming in front of numerous AI ships as they attempted to escape the growing disaster. Every AI ship had descriptions of their creator’s ships in their computer files, and there was no question that the attacking ships were indeed Alton. For the first time in their long history, the AIs knew fear. Their ancient creators had suddenly come back to life.
“All ships are to execute immediate withdrawal,” the command AI ordered as it studied one of the Alton ships on a tactical display. There could be no doubt; the ship was Alton and their weapons were deadly to the AI ships.
Many ships had already jumped, but others were hesitating. It was difficult to accept that, after so many years, the Altons had made an appearance. All historical records indicated they had completely died out thousands of years ago. This was confusing to the AIs as to why the records were not true.
They would withdraw back to AI controlled space and evaluate the new situation to come up with future strategy. The presence of live Altons would seriously change the AI’s galactic plan. What role the Hocklyns and the other three proxy races would play after this would be determined later.
The command AI watched as another AI ship exploded under the attack of a single Alton cruiser. The Altons could pose a major threat to their Empire. From the AI history records, the Altons were described as a peaceful and benevolent race, far different from the ones attacking the AI ships now.
“We shall withdraw,” the command AI ordered the AI hovering in front of the navigation controls.
Seconds later the command AI sphere vanished into a swirling white vortex, fleeing the battle.
-
“More AIs are leaving,” Ganth reported as their masters began to flee en mass. “The command AI ship has just jumped.”
“Then we must leave also,” spoke Resmunt with a rasping breath, finally admitting defeat. “We must preserve as much of our fleet as we can for future battles.”
The High Council would be extremely upset to learn that the attack had failed. However, what other choice did he have? If these new ships could destroy AI ships with such impunity, they would make short work of the Hocklyn fleet. He also knew that, at the moment, the borders of the Hocklyn Slave Empire were extremely weak, as most of the ships had been appropriated to take part in this attack.
For a long moment, First Leader Ganth stood still as he thought about the commodore’s words. Honor would not be served in sacrificing their ships uselessly against an enemy whose ships could not be destroyed. It might be best to return to the Empire and preserve their ships to fight the humans and this potential new enemy.
“We must withdraw to seek honor another day,” he concluded, agreeing with the commodore. “I will pass the order to disengage and make for the edge of the planet’s gravity well.”
“Order all ships to set jump coordinates to the system we recently jumped from,” Fleet Commodore Resmunt ordered. The Liberator shuddered violently as a human nuclear missile detonated against the warship’s energy screen. “We will stop t
here and make basic repairs before we start back to Hocklyn space.”
“This will be a long war,” First Leader Ganth spoke as he watched a Hocklyn war cruiser explode on the main viewscreen. The human ships were now on the offensive as the AIs were jumping out and the Hocklyn ships were turning to withdraw.
The humans were intensifying their attacks now that they could focus their efforts only on the Hocklyn fleet. The Hocklyn Slave Empire had finally found opponents worthy of combat. The First Leader looked at the viewscreen at one of the new ships that had jumped in and was in the process of destroying one of the last AI ships still present, wondering what this might mean for the Empire. In his entire life as a warrior, he had never imagined there could be a serious threat to the Empire itself. He now knew that supposition was wrong.
-
“No!” Second Leader Jaseth screamed in frustration as the Viden turned away from the human Monarch cruiser it had been engaging and began to withdraw. “We can destroy that human ship. Its energy screen is weakening!”
“We have our orders,” War Leader Versith spoke evenly from the command pedestal. “We are to withdraw to the edge of the planet’s gravity well and jump into hyperspace.”
“Turn the fleet back!” Jaseth demanded his face marked in anger as he whirled around to face Versith. “We must destroy the humans!”
“The battle is over,” spoke First Leader Trion, gazing disapprovingly at the young Second Leader. “Our orders are to preserve our fleet for the future, and our duty is to obey. Honor is served by obedience to the Fleet Commodore.”
“Fleet Commodore Resmunt is weak and foolish,” continued Jaseth scathingly, staring at War Leader Versith rebelliously. “The others will follow your orders. You are the most respected War Leader in the entire fleet. Order all the fleets to resume the attack!”
“Second Leader Jaseth, you need to go to your quarters,” War Leader Versith ordered coldly, his eyes focusing sharply on the young, out of control warrior. Jaseth was beginning to disrupt activity in the War Room from his words of disrespect. Other Hocklyns were gazing at him uneasily. This could not be allowed to continue.
“Give me command of the Viden!” Jaseth demanded, his eyes growing even darker with the rage burning inside of him. “I will finish the destruction of the human ship. Honor is before us!”
Versith glanced over at First Leader Trion and nodded. Trion instantly gestured toward the two heavily armed Protectors standing at the closed hatch to the War Room. “Take Second Leader Jaseth to his quarters and make sure he stays there until I say otherwise,” Trion ordered.
As the two Protectors escorted the visibly agitated Second Leader from the War Room, Trion stopped them at the hatch and spoke to Jaseth. “You have not added to your honor today by your behavior. Think about that as you spend the next few days in your quarters.” Trion nodded and the Protectors opened the hatch and left with the still visibly agitated Jaseth.
Versith shook his head, realizing that the young warrior was not going to reach his potential if these actions continued. Glancing at the tactical display, he saw they were rapidly pulling away from the human ships and that they had stopped their pursuit. The last few AIs were still disengaging and jumping away, to where Versith had no idea. He hadn’t been aware to begin with that the massive AI fleet had been following them.
His attention turned back to the main viewscreen, which was focused on one of the new ships that had jumped in and attacked the AIs. From their design, it was obvious these were not human ships but ships of an ally. An ally that was amazingly powerful. Versith knew that the Empire was going to have to change if it hoped to continue. Fortunately, the Hocklyn Slave Empire was large and had thousands of ships to draw upon as well as numerous slave worlds. All might be needed if the Empire was to survive this new threat posed by the humans and this new mysterious ally of theirs.
The Viden and what remained of its fleet reached the edge of the gravity well and crossed it. Almost instantly white spatial vortexes began forming in front of the individual ships. The Viden surged forward into the swirling vortex and jumped into the safety of hyperspace.
-
Admiral Streth leaned back in his command chair and breathed a deep sigh of relief. He had just finished speaking to the admiral in charge of the fleet that had jumped in and had confirmed that it was indeed Albanian.
“What’s the latest status of the AI and Hocklyn fleets?” Hedon demanded as he looked over at Captain Reynolds at sensors.
It was difficult getting used to the fact that Clarissa was no longer here. The beautiful blonde AI was gone and would no longer grace the Command Center with her presence. It would take some getting used to.
“The last undamaged AI ship has jumped,” Reynolds reported as the last orange threat icon vanished from the tactical displays. “The remaining Hocklyn fleet is withdrawing and is nearing the edge of New Tellus’s gravity well. Most of them have already jumped.”
“Sir, we have several shuttles from the WarStorm requesting permission to dock,” Captain Duncan said suddenly. Then her eyes widened as she received another report. “Admiral Sheen is on one of the shuttles and is badly injured!”
Admiral Streth quickly unbuckled his harness and stood up. “Have the medics meet the shuttles in the flight bay. I want Admiral Sheen rushed to the med bay as quickly as possible. Captain Duncan, contact Admiral Andrews on the command fortress and inform him that his wife is alive but injured.” Hedon couldn’t describe what he was feeling at the moment. He had thought he had lost Amanda to the AIs but now here she was.
“I’m glad Admiral Sheen is alive,” Colonel Trist said in a serious tone as he studied one of the tactical displays and the wreckage that was everywhere. “I hope she pulls through.”
“She will,” replied Hedon, confidently. “That woman won’t die, not with so much life still ahead of her.” Then Hedon paused as he looked at the mess on the tactical screens. “I want every shuttle we have in the fleet launched to begin rescue operations. See if we can get the most severely damaged ships into the repair bays on the shipyards. If you need me, I will be in the med bay.”
“Yes, Sir,” Colonel Trist replied with a nod. He knew there was nothing he could say that could stop the admiral from going and checking on his lifelong friend.
“Sir,” Colonel Grissom spoke as she gazed over with sadness in her eyes at the damaged AI console. “What should I do about Clarissa?”
Hedon paused for a moment. “I don’t know. Have the computer technicians remove the memory crystal and put it in a safe place. If we ever get back to Careth, Lieutenant Johnson can take a look at it. I don’t know if there is anything she can do as badly damaged as the crystal is.”
Grissom nodded. She would make sure the crystal was well taken care of. Clarissa had been an important part of the crew and of Federation history and she would make sure that the crystal was delivered safely to Lieutenant Johnson. If anyone could restore the AI, it would be the talented lieutenant.
A few minutes later, Admiral Streth was in the med bay as Admiral Sheen was brought in. A doctor was with her and, after giving instructions to several other physicians, turned toward Hedon.
“She has a severe concussion,” he reported. “However, she should be fine with the medical technology we now have.”
“How soon before she awakes?” asked Hedon, feeling relieved to know that Amanda would be okay. He had lost too many friends recently.
“I want to keep her under sedation until the swelling goes down and we are certain there are going to be no complications,” the doctor answered.
“Will she be able to return to duty?” Hedon asked. Amanda was his top admiral, and he didn’t want to lose her services or her friendship.
“At least four to six weeks,” the doctor replied in a firm voice. “Perhaps longer. She needs some rest and time away from this war to fully recover.”
Hedon nodded. He would make sure she got that. It was just an immense relief to know that o
ne of his oldest friends was going to be all right.
-
Fleet Admiral Johnson was still in shock at the sudden turn of events. At one moment, they were looking at total defeat, and now they had a victory. A costly one to be sure, but the AIs and the Hocklyns were jumping away in defeat. She had spoken briefly to the Albanian admiral in charge of the fleet that had jumped in and saved New Tellus. She was still amazed that the ships were Albanian.
“What are our losses?” she asked in a quiet voice, looking over at Admiral Freeman. She knew they were going to be heavy.
“We lost over sixty percent of the fleet, shipyard Clements, two of the asteroid fortresses, and forty percent of the defense grid,” Freeman answered, appalled at the losses. It would take years to rebuild what had been destroyed. The tactical displays were covered with wreckage. Just cleaning up the wreckage from the battle was going to be a trying task.
“What about New Tellus?” Karla asked as her eyes strayed to a viewscreen, which showed the beleaguered planet. Already, dust and smoke from the nuclear explosions were turning the atmosphere a darker and more sinister color.
“We recorded forty-two nuclear detonations on the surface,” replied Freeman grimly, knowing the planet had paid a heavy price. “All between the ten to twenty megaton range. The admiral in charge of the Albanian fleet has asked permission for his ships to go into low orbit over the planet. He claims they have equipment on board their ships that can neutralize the radiation.”
“Give them permission,” Karla decided quickly. “Inform the surviving defensive battle stations to allow the Albanian ships passage through the defense grid.” If the Albanians could remove the spreading radiation, it would be a godsend to the planet. “Also, contact Admiral Streth and have him begin reorganizing our fleets. I don’t think the AIs or the Hocklyns will return, but I want to be ready just in case they do.”
The Slaver Wars: Retaliation (The Slaver Wars Book Five) Page 35