The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire

by Raymond L. Weil

  In the Morag fleet, two battlecruisers and a battleship vanished in nova-like explosions. However, the Morag fleet vastly outnumbered the Human warships, and three more battlecruisers and one of the dreadnoughts in the Human fleet exploded in brilliant flashes of light, as the intense weapons fire overwhelmed them.

  -

  Rear Admiral Carrie winced as her heavier fleet units were being pounded. “Launch the interceptors. Have them in close-to-medium attack range and then launch all their missiles. Once they have, they’re to return to the battlecarriers to rearm.” On the viewscreen, Lira saw the energy screen of the High Kingdom suddenly light up from dozens of explosions. “Crap! The entire Morag fleet is targeting the High Kingdom. They must know who’s on that ship. Communications, order the High Kingdom to fall back to the battlecarriers. They’ll provide additional protection.”

  -

  From the battlecarriers, 1,700 attack interceptors were launched. They hurriedly formed up into squadrons and then accelerated toward the Morag ships. They would launch their missiles from medium range and not go into the Morag fleet formation. With a little luck, most of the interceptors would survive.

  The squadrons arched around the embattled Human ships, picking out targets in the Morag fleet. The Morag didn’t hesitate and changed some of their targeting, using heavy fusion energy beams and an occasional fusion missile to attempt to thin out the mass of incoming attack interceptors.

  Bright fireballs filled space, marking the death of hundreds of interceptors, and then the rest reached medium attack range, and all the surviving craft launched four fusion missiles each into the advancing Morag fleet. As soon as the missiles were launched, the interceptors turned and sped back to the waiting battlecarriers.

  Over five thousand fusion-tipped missiles were now inbound toward the Morag fleet. The Morag had switched nearly all their heavy fusion energy beams from the targeted dreadnought to now repel the missiles. However, it was hard for the large beam turrets to track and to destroy a missile. They did manage to take out a few hundred, and then the rest were in the fleet perimeter and slamming into Morag targets. Suddenly the Morag formation was full of dying ships. In the space of twenty seconds, sixty-two Morag battlecruisers and four battleships were turned into drifting masses of twisted metal and glowing wreckage. Many other ships had been heavily damaged.

  -

  Kala held on to the arm of the sofa tightly, as the High Kingdom shook from the missiles striking her energy shield. “Don’t let me die,” she said softly, wishing Andrew were here. Her two attendants sat across from her, and both looked even more scared than she was.

  “Attention, this is the captain. We’re pulling back behind the battlecarriers. The shaking should stop shortly. So far, the High Kingdom has only suffered some minor damage.”

  Kala felt relieved. She hoped this battle would be over soon.

  -

  Rear Admiral Carrie wished the attack interceptors could be rearmed quicker. It would be ten minutes before they were ready for a second strike, and she greatly feared, by then, nothing would be left of her fleet. For a second she thought about ordering the battlecarriers and the High Kingdom to jump away. At that moment, alarms on the sensor console screamed, and more red threat icons appeared around the inbound Morag fleet. More enemy reinforcements had arrived! She was about to order the battlecarriers and the High Kingdom to jump away, when the red threat icons turned green.

  “It’s Third Fleet,” yelled the sensor officer. “It’s Rear Admiral Barnes, and she’s brought nearly five hundred Imperial warships.”

  Lira leaned back in her command chair, relief flooding over her. Already Third Fleet targeted the Morag ships, blowing them out of space. Lira watched the tactical display, as well as the viewscreens. In less than two minutes every single Morag ship had been destroyed.

  “I have Rear Admiral Barnes on the comm,” reported the communications officer.

  “Put her through to my command console,” ordered Lira.

  “Sorry we were late,” began Rear Admiral Barnes. “Fleet Vice Admiral Masters sent us to follow you around as you traveled to all the worlds on your list. He felt certain the Morag would attack. The fleet we just destroyed was the last major Morag or Confederation fleet in the Empire.”

  Lira shuddered to think what would have happened if Third Fleet had been a few minutes later. “Glad to see you. I believe we’ll be returning to Golan Four tomorrow. Prince Andrew still has to finish getting the legal documents signed for this planet to join the Empire.”

  “We’ll stick around,” replied Rear Admiral Barnes. “I don’t believe any Confederation ships are left within hundreds of light-years.”

  -

  Andrew returned to his quarters, joining Kala. She had finally calmed down, but she was highly upset with Fleet Vice Admiral Masters.

  “Did he use us as bait?”

  “It may look like that, but he actually sent Third Fleet to ensure nothing would happen to us.”

  “Maybe, but we still lost some ships and attack interceptors.”

  Andrew nodded. “We’re at war, and I understand the reasons for wanting to destroy this Morag fleet, if it is the last major Confederation fleet in the Empire. Plus I understand the need for secrecy as to the Third Fleet guarding our backs, to keep our communications channels from being intercepted by the Confederation.”

  Kala let out a deep sigh. “I guess I do too. Now, after tomorrow’s meetings, are we going home?”

  “Yes,” said Andrew, smiling. “Third Fleet will be escorting us.”

  This was fine with Kala, as she was ready to return to the safety of the Imperial Palace.

  Andrew stepped back and looked at Kala. “Now we need to get ready for tonight’s banquet. We’ll have a lot of explaining to do.”

  “You think the banquet’s still happening?”

  Andrew nodded. “I spoke to the governor just before I returned to our quarters. She can’t wait to see us.”

  Kala sighed. She guessed she had better go pick out some appropriate clothes. It seemed a diplomat, even one married to a Prince of the Empire, never got to rest.

  Chapter Nine

  Fleet Admiral Marloo, High Princess Layla, Chief Chancellor Stein, Fleet Vice Admiral Derrick Masters, Rear Admiral Carrie, Rear Admiral Barnes, and Prince Andrew were in one of the smaller conference rooms in the Imperial Palace, holding an important meeting.

  “It’s been confirmed?” asked High Princess Layla.

  Fleet Admiral Marloo nodded. “Yes, the Morag fleet that Rear Admirals Barnes and Carrie destroyed was the last major Confederation fleet formation in the Empire. There are still a few smaller Confederation ships and patrol squadrons out there, but we’re hunting them down where possible.”

  “We also can confirm that the Lormallians and the Zang have pulled out every single one of their ships from the Empire and have pulled completely out of the war,” added Chancellor Stein. “From what we have put together, the Lormallians have developed a telepathic nullifier and are in the progress of installing them in all their warships, while the Zang are reportedly doing the same thing.”

  “Not only that but we received a confirming hyperlight message directed at Golan Four this morning from the Lormallians,” said Andrew. He hadn’t had a chance to tell anyone yet, since the message had to be authenticated. “The Lormallians say they and the Zang will no longer be a part of this war. This war should have never happened, and they lay the blame directly on the Morag.”

  High Princess Layla smiled. This was good news. “How are the Morag handling this?”

  “Not well,” replied Fleet Admiral Marloo. “They are using excessive force to quell the uprisings on many Confederation worlds. We believe, as soon as they have the uprisings under control, they will turn toward us. We estimate we have a two- to three-month window, before we are once more under attack.”

  Layla looked over at Chancellor Stein. “How many worlds have now joined the Empire or are planning to?”<
br />
  Chancellor Stein smiled. “We have 317 worlds now represented in the House of Worlds. We have an additional 57 considering joining.”

  “What’s our current fleet status?” Layla knew that dozens of worlds were now producing warships, and many others would be soon.

  Fleet Admiral Marloo also smiled. “At the end of the week, all our worlds combined will have produced 2,230 new warships. In three months we can easily double that.”

  “What about Earth?” Layla had been very concerned about Earth, as it was far from the Empire.

  Chancellor Stein laughed. “The Confederation should never have attacked Earth. They’re building new shipyards and accelerating the rate of warship construction. In three months’ time, they’ll have their fleets rebuilt and will be ready to strike back at the Confederation.”

  “What about the installation of the particle beam cannons?” asked Andrew. He knew just how important this was. The particle beam cannons could be a game changer.

  “We’re now installing them on all new construction,” answered Marloo. “We also have one shipyard converting the dreadnoughts built without them.”

  Andrew nodded. “I’ll see about the possibility of installing the particle beam cannons on the shipyards. I may have an idea that will work.”

  “That would be great,” said Fleet Admiral Marloo approvingly. “The more particle beam cannons we have, the better off we’ll be.”

  “I understand Earth may have a new superweapon as well?” asked Derrick. He had heard some rumors over the last several days.

  Fleet Admiral Marloo nodded. “Yes, they are constructing an accelerator cannon that accelerates a projectile to almost the speed of light. Fleet Admiral Reynolds believes it will instantly knock down the shields on Confederation ships.”

  Rear Admiral Carrie nodded to herself. “It sounds like, if we have the time, we may have the weapons to win this war.”

  Everyone nodded. “If we have the time,” said Rear Admiral Barnes. “Let’s hope we have three more months.”

  “I also want to report we have improved the forward shield on our attack interceptors,” added Carrie. “We have developed a new miniaturized fusion power plant that doubles the power of the shield. We will install the new generator in our interceptors next week.”

  “I’m glad to hear that,” said Derrick. “We’re losing too many of them in our battles with the Confederation.”

  The meeting lasted another two hours, with numerous issues discussed. Finally it ended, with everyone returning to their duties.

  -

  Later, High Princess Layla and Derrick were near the top of one of the sky towers, standing on a large balcony. The sun was setting, and the horizon was filled with a rainbow of colors.

  “We’re doing it,” said Layla, as she leaned back into Derrick’s arms. “The Empire is growing and growing fast.”

  Derrick nodded. “Fifth Fleet will be up to full strength by the end of next week. At that time Rear Admiral Barnes will return to Earth. Her Third Fleet will be needed to defend Earth, when they launch their attack against the Confederation.”

  “Will we have enough ships to defend ourselves without Rear Admiral Barnes?”

  “Yes, more than enough. We have a lot of warships now coming out of the shipyards. In another few weeks we will reassign some of our new rear admirals to the new fleets.”

  Layla felt more at ease. “We’re building a lot of defensive grid elements as well and shipping them all across the Empire.” Layla took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “We’ll lose a lot of people in this war, won’t we?”

  “Maybe,” answered Derrick. He knew war always brought losses, some quite substantial. “We always have losses in war, and the Confederation won’t hesitate to attack civilian targets, once this war fully breaks out.”

  Since the earlier meeting, Layla had a burning question she wanted to ask Derrick. “Is there any chance the Lormallians and the Zang will aid us?”

  Derrick shook his head. “No, I don’t believe they’re ready for anything like that. We must hope they stay neutral.”

  “I guess we’ll have to settle for that. At least now we’re only fighting five of the races of the Great Council, better than all seven of them.”

  Layla and Derrick stood on the balcony for nearly an hour, until the sun had set and the lights of the city came on. In the air above the city, thousands of aircars were visible in the sky lanes.

  Derrick felt Layla shiver. “We better go in. It’s getting a little chilly.”

  Layla nodded. “We have a long day tomorrow. I’m meeting a number of the representatives from the new worlds that have joined the Empire.”

  “Are you going over to the House of Worlds?”

  Layla shook her head. “No, we’ll hold the meetings in the Royal Court. Many of the representatives want to see the Palace, and we’ll arrange some tours as well.”

  “Fifth Fleet will be back toward the end of the week. I’ll inspect one of the shipyards building the dreadnoughts and installing the particle beam cannons.”

  Layla frowned. “Just don’t go flying around in one of the new dreadnoughts, no matter how tempting it is.”

  Derrick grinned. “A task group leaves orbit tomorrow for some target practice. I may go observe for a few hours.”

  “Just make sure it’s a few hours. Now let’s go to our quarters.”

  -

  Krista had just returned to her quarters, and she was in a very good mood. She had spent the evening with Mathew, under the watchful eyes of Ensign Allert. They had gone to a sporting event in the city in an outdoor arena. Emira had insisted Brenda accompany them, and she had.

  One thing about Brenda, she was not overbearing and didn’t get in the way. She also managed to give them a little privacy every so often, though not for very long. Krista hoped she and Mathew would eventually get married, but he had not yet brought up the subject.

  With a deep sigh, she entered her quarters, sitting down on one of the comfortable couches. Layla had mentioned they would be receiving a number of representatives from different worlds in the Royal Court the next day. It would be boring, but that was part of being a Royal, and Krista was determined not to let Layla down. With a smile, Krista thought back to her date with Mathew. At least they were seeing each other on a regular basis now.

  -

  Admiral Cleemorl wanted to get Cheryl to come to Tantula Five and stay for a while. The planet was now nearly as heavily defended as Golan Four, and he felt she would be perfectly safe here. Currently First Fleet was back in the Hagen Star Cluster, after a successful series of attacks on Confederation-held Human worlds.

  He had met briefly today with Governor Ansell Dyson, and they had discussed how ship production was going, as well as the new defensive systems being installed around the other eighteen large mining colonies. Already several squadrons of warships—just recently built in the shipyards of the seven major systems—were on patrol, checking up on the mining colonies on a regular schedule.

  “Things are looking up,” commented Rear Admiral Fulmar.

  Dylan nodded. “I want to send some patrols to some of the nearby worlds, under Confederation control. Set up four fleets of two dreadnoughts and ten battlecruisers. I want to know if the Confederation has completely withdrawn from our region of space. If they have, we need to see if we can encourage those worlds to join the Empire. The seven main worlds of this star cluster are now producing an abundance of defensive grid elements. We need to arm every Human planet within range of this cluster. I also want to place large numbers of attack interceptors on as many worlds as possible. When the Confederation returns, and they will, I want them to find every world armed and ready to defend themselves.”

  “I’ll arrange for the patrols,” said Fulmar. “We should also speak to the governors about our plans to place defensive elements around all these worlds. It’s an expense the Hagen Star Cluster will have to pay for.”

  “Perhaps,” responded Dylan.
“I’m hoping the worlds we’ll defend can offer some compensation to help pay for the costs, perhaps in raw materials or manufactured products.”

  Rear Admiral Fulmar folded his arms across his chest. “Any luck in talking Cheryl into coming out to the cluster?”

  “Some,” replied Dylan. “She’s open to coming out for some short visits. We’ll see what we can work out.”

  -

  Several hours later the Themis went into orbit around Gideon, the only inhabited moon in the system. On its northern pole, a massive military base was taking shape. Already over two thousand attack interceptors were based there, and constant training flights occurred. In orbit above Gideon was a massive defensive grid and eight ODPs. All to protect the four hundred million people who lived on the terraformed moon. Already on the surface, twelve PDCs were under construction, with the first scheduled to be completed within the week. Dylan had more ODPs coming from the core worlds. He wanted Gideon to be a death trap for the Confederation and particularly the Morag.

  Above the moon, a large space station and a greatly expanded shipyard were in orbit. Both had been heavily armed and had energy shields.

  “Inform Governor Bloom that I’ll be coming down for an inspection,” said Dylan. “I want to inspect several of the PDCs, as well as the base at the north pole of the moon.”

  “I’ll get the message sent,” replied Fulmar.

  “You will be accompanying me as well,” said Dylan. “I want you fully familiar with the defense capabilities of this moon. Someday I expect a major battle to be fought here.” Dylan planned on using Gideon as a trap for the Confederation. Its defenses would be far greater than anything the Confederation had faced before.

  -

  Several hours later they were in a large aircar, with the governor slowly orbiting one of the ground PDCs under construction. Everywhere they looked, they saw construction engineers and hundreds of construction robots. Bright flashes of light indicated the operation of fusion welders, while cranes lifted massive pieces of metal into place.

  “This one will be complete in about three more weeks,” said Governor Bloom.