I will return to the council tomorrow, sent Damora. We must keep a watchful eye on the rest of the council members. None of the others must be allowed to turn against us.
-
Morag Admiral Torrant was above the capital world of the Screel with his fleet. The Screel resembled flying bats but had a set of arms with fingers that allowed them to manipulate equipment. Rioting currently took place in over forty of their largest cities. Even a few Morag had been killed, when their vehicles had been overrun by massive crowds of Screel.
A few missiles had been fired at Torrant’s fleet, when it first went into orbit, although Admiral Torrant had no idea where the Screel had come up with such offensive weapons.
All ships are in position, reported First Officer Markel. We have picked out the ten largest cities for our fusion weapons.
Admiral Torrant nodded. He had developed a system for dealing with these rebellious worlds—a system that worked—and he had ended the revolts on Confederation world after world. Launch missiles, he ordered.
-
From ten Morag battleships, deadly fusion missiles darted toward the surface. Numerous Screel civilians looked up to see streaks of light coming down through the atmosphere toward them. Many became frightened and took to the air, using the powerful beats of their wings. They turned to flee the city but were already too late.
In a massive blast of light and heat, the missile detonated three thousand meters above the city. Most of the Screel who had taken to the air were thrown violently to the ground, breaking wings, legs, and, in many cases, dying. The powerful heat and blast wave moved outward from the city’s center, toppling buildings and communication towers. Roads filled with the falling rubble and quickly became impassible.
Then a second and third explosion occurred, adding to the destruction. In moments a massive firestorm engulfed the city’s center, killing most of the remaining inhabitants. Those in underground shelters or transportation tunnels became trapped, as thousands of tons of rubble covered up and buried the entrances.
The heat became oppressive, and the air was full of ash, debris, and deadly toxins. The radiation count rose, as some of the ash settled on the ground. Across the city could be heard the screams of anguish from those who had survived the blast but were too badly injured to flee. As time passed, the screams faded and then died away completely. In slightly less than twenty minutes, nearly eleven million Screel died.
Across the planet in nine other heavily populated cities, more mushroom clouds rose into the air. Millions more of the Screel died, killed without mercy. Then came the ultimatum from the orbiting Morag fleet. End the revolts immediately, or twenty more cities would be destroyed.
The Screel hastily called a meeting of the remaining rulers of their planet. No doubt the Morag threat was not a bluff. Too many other worlds had seen their cities destroyed.
“We have no choice,” spoke one of the Screel in an extremely high-pitched voice. “We must do as they say or face destruction.”
The Screel leader nodded. He had hoped to see his people set free. “Send the message. We will stop the revolts.”
-
An hour later they had their answer, as Morag troop assault shuttles landed. “They will establish a military base upon our planet,” spoke the Screel leader. “Five thousand Morag troops will ensure that we keep the peace and that we remain loyal to the Morag and the Confederation.” The Screel leader felt as if he had let his people down. He wondered what other repercussions would appear for revolting against the Morag and the Confederation.
-
In orbit, Morag Admiral Torrant nodded to himself. Another world was now no longer a problem. In a few hours his fleet would travel to a nearby world in open revolt. This was great training for his fleet for when they went to war against the Humans.
-
Derrick was in his office in the Imperial Palace, going over the latest fleet deployments, as well as reviewing the construction being done across the Empire in shipyards and manufacturing space stations. The Empire was turning out a tremendous number of ships now and even a more impressive number of defensive components.
The comm unit on his desk flashed, and he pressed the blinking button to answer it. “This is Admiral Masters. Go ahead.”
“Admiral, this is Colonel Young in the Command Center. We have detected a large number of ships exiting hyperspace two million kilometers from Golan Four. We have identified one of the ships as belonging to the Visth, and the others belong to various alien races. They have come to a stop and request permission to go into high orbit above Golan Four.”
Derrick wondered what they could want. The Visth had been here months earlier. “Give them permission, but inform them they will be escorted in by units of Fifth Fleet. Contact Rear Admiral Banora and inform her of the situation and that she’s to provide the escort.”
-
Two hours later the Visth and representatives of fourteen other alien races walked into one of the secure conference rooms in the House of Worlds. Fleet Admiral Marloo was currently on an inspection tour of the core worlds and would not be back for two more days. Derrick was present, representing the fleet, and Chief Chancellor Stein and five other Imperial Councilors were present as well. Prince Andrew was present, acting as an observer for the Royals.
It took a few moments to make the proper introductions, as the automatic translators had to be adjusted to translate all the different languages.
“What may we do for you?” asked Chancellor Stein. “We were not expecting to be visited by so many races from such diverse cultures.”
The Visth representative stood. The Visth were a humanoid species, with a greenish tint to their skin and very large eyes. The hair on the top of their head was white and very thick. The Visth controlled eleven star systems and had been subjugated by the Confederation several thousand years in the past in a short and bloody war.
“We wish to form an alliance with your Empire,” Stralon Karn said in a calm and steady voice. “Between our fifteen races represented here today, we control over 227 worlds. We would like to secede from the Confederation and join your people in the war.”
“We don’t currently have the ships to protect your worlds,” said Chancellor Stein. “It may not be safe for you to do as you’re suggesting.”
Stralon Karn smiled. His large eyes grew even larger. “We have some warships we have built in secret. If you could provide a task force or two, we believe we could hold our own. Defensive grid elements, such as you have around your worlds, would be useful as well. We are currently in the process of changing over some of our space factories to construct defensive grid elements of our own.”
“Are any Confederation forces currently around any of your star systems?” asked Derrick. He wondered if the Confederation had pulled their warships back from all outlying systems.
“No, they all withdrew several weeks ago.”
“We need your help,” pleaded the Cajjun representative. “My people yearn to be free.” The Cajjun representative vaguely resembled a large dog that could walk on two legs and had hands instead of paws.
The other alien representatives voiced their concerns as well. All promised to do whatever was necessary, if the Humans would only help them.
“We need to discuss this among ourselves,” said Chancellor Stein. “I’ll have an aide escort all of you to a nearby executive lounge, where you’ll find refreshments and food.”
Several House of Worlds’ security people politely escorted the fifteen alien representatives from the room.
“We don’t have the ships,” said Julian Bemire of Ambary Two. “What do we do? They’re offering us over two hundred more inhabited worlds to fight the Confederation with.”
Governor Gregory Staley of Aquilla Three frowned. “Two hundred and twenty-seven possibly unarmed worlds. Do they even have a large enough fleet they can use to help defend themselves?”
“We must help them,” said Governor Elaina Dreel of Glimmer. “I
t will make for a useful alliance, once this war is over. We have very few alien races in Empire space, and most of them are very primitive.”
Chancellor Stein turned toward Derrick. “Admiral, what do you suggest?”
“I think we need this alliance, if only for what it might mean in the future. I suggest we offer enough defensive grid parts to protect all their capital worlds. We can also place a large squadron of our warships in their section of space, to conduct routine patrols and to assist their forces, if the Confederation attacks.”
“How large of a force?” asked Governor Staley.
“Twenty dreadnoughts and eighty battlecruisers,” replied Derrick. “I believe we can spare that many, and it will be a gesture of good faith to those fifteen races.”
“What do you think, Prince Andrew?” asked Governor Staley.
Andrew took a deep breath. He wanted the council to make this decision. “I think we need as much help in this war as possible.”
-
The Imperial Council spent nearly an hour making plans, until everyone was satisfied they had something that would work. Then they called the representatives back in.
“We have reached a decision,” announced Chancellor Stein. “We will, indeed, form a mutual defense alliance, and, maybe later on, we can expand upon that to include trade and other items.” He noticed the relieved look on all the representatives’ faces. “Here’s what we’re willing to offer. First, enough defensive grid elements to protect all of your homeworlds. The rest of your worlds will be up to you to furnish what will be needed to protect them. We will also place a heavy task group of twenty dreadnoughts and eighty battlecruisers in your region of space, to assist if the Confederation attacks. We do have one important question. How many warships do you have and how powerful are they?”
Visth representative Stralon Karn stood and looked at the Imperial Council. “Some of us have been building warships in secret for years. Currently we have 1,200 light units, which could be classified as light cruisers. We have 212 medium cruisers and 72 battlecruisers.”
Chancellor Stein looked at the Visth representative Stralon Karn in disbelief. “How can you have so many ships?”
“We fifteen races have been planning on leaving the Confederation for nearly two hundred years. We have been careful to keep our warship construction a complete secret. If the Confederation found out, the repercussions would have been horrendous. We also have a quite a few defensive grid elements already built as well.”
Stein looked over at Derrick to get his response.
“That sounds like a good-size fleet, but I doubt if you’ve had time to train your crews properly. I’ll get the heavy task force organized as soon as possible, and they can help your fleet learn basic battle maneuvers and repair drills. In a few months we can have them up to Empire standards and ready to meet any Confederation incursion into your space.”
“That sounds great,” replied Stralon Karn. “We have four fleet admirals, as we have our ships set up in four large task groups. We welcome any assistance you can furnish us.”
For the next several hours the council members asked the various races represented here what their level of technology was and how prepared they were for war. Both sides had questions they wanted answered. When it was all over, a document was put together, which everyone signed, setting up the Empire’s first alliance with alien races. Definitely a step in the right direction.
-
When the meeting was over, Chancellor Stein stood near Derrick, as the fifteen alien representatives filed from the room. “I’ll let you explain to the High Princess what we’ve just done.”
Derrick smiled knowingly. “I’m sure she will support it. After all, she is the one who wanted the Imperial Council to have more power.”
Chancellor Stein smiled. “Two hundred and twenty-seven more worlds opposed to Confederation rule. I’d call that a win any day.”
Derrick nodded. “So would I. And I guess I better go inform the High Princess and then figure out what fleet units we want to send.”
“I’ll start working on the defensive grid elements. We need to get those capital worlds protected as soon as possible, before the Confederation realizes what’s going on.”
“We have a lot to do over the next several months,” admitted Derrick. “Let’s just hope the unrest in the Confederation lasts long enough for us to finish our preparations.”
Andrew smiled. The Imperial Council had made its first major decision without being influenced by the Royals. He knew Layla would be very pleased with that.
-
Ardon Reull was back in the Great Council hall, waiting for the rest of the councilors to show up. So far his plans were going well. The entire Lormallian fleet would be equipped with the nullifiers by the end of the week. The Zang still needed a few more days.
At the moment he had an important decision to make. The Visth had contacted a Lormallian government official, requesting one hundred thousand of the nullifiers. Both for ships as well as individuals. The Visth had refused to say why they wanted them, but Ardon suspected they were preparing to pull out of the Confederation. He also knew the Visth were quite close to several other nearby alien races, who would most likely follow their lead.
With a deep sigh, he realized he was putting himself into a bad situation, if the Morag ever found out he had sent nullifiers to the Visth. For the time being, he decided to send them just ten thousand, all capable of protecting warships and one thousand capable of protecting individuals. If the Morag showed no signs of knowing what he had done, he would send the rest of what the Visth had requested. No doubt someday the Morag would turn against both the Lormallians and the Zang and try to force them back under Morag control. It would not hurt the Lormallians and the Zang if they had a few more allies for when that day came.
The other councilors filed into the room, followed by Morag Councilor Damora. Reull still sat in the lead councilor’s seat, as he had not been voted out of it, though he fully expected that to happen soon. Damora eyed Ardon for a few seconds and then sat in his customary seat.
“What orders of business do we have to discuss today?” asked Ardon, acting as if nothing had changed.
“We need to prepare for the attack on the Human Empire,” said Druin Councilor Clun. “We are producing large numbers of carrier ships that will be capable of transporting our attack drones. We believe these drones will handle the Humans’ small attack craft.”
“Only the Morag, the Druins, and the Zynth will be involved in the attack,” added Damora. “All other races will be responsible for maintaining peace in the Confederation, while the attack takes place.”
Councilor Reull was a little surprised by this. He wondered if the Morag had concerns about the Morphenes and the Lamothians. “How soon before this attack takes place? There is still considerable unrest in the Confederation.”
Damora’s gaze turned toward Ardon.
Ardon was certain he could sense hate in that deadly stare.
“In a little over two months. We want to make sure we have a sufficient number of the light cruisers constructed to handle the Humans’ small attack craft, before we engage them in battle.”
-
For the next two hours the meeting continued, as they covered numerous subjects. For the most part it was a normal meeting of the Great Council, though everyone could sense the undertones of distrust between Lormallian Councilor Reull and Morag Councilor Damora.
At the end of the meeting, Councilor Reull returned to his office in the massive building that housed the Great Council. He had changed his mind. He would furnish the Visth with exactly what they had asked for. He would also include a message that the Morag, Druins, and Zynth would attack the Human Empire in a little less than two months.
With a little hesitation, he added the information about the Druin attack drones and the new light cruisers, designed to destroy the Humans’ small attack craft. No doubt the Morag would consider this treason against the Confede
ration, but, if his Lormallian people were to survive, something had to be done about the Morag, and the Humans were the best possibility.
Chapter Eleven
Across the Confederation, the planets in revolt were ruthlessly put down. Planet after planet was brought back under the firm control of the Confederation. The Druins, the Zynth, and the Morag employed the deadliest methods in destroying cities and, upon rare occasions, entire planets. The Lamothians and the Morphene, while still using violent methods, were much less violent than the Druins and the Morag. Of course the Lamothians were taking captives to be used in their savage feast festivals.
The Zang and the Lormallians were using more peaceful methods, like negotiations, to help quell the violence. Many of the planets in Zang and Lormallian space agreed to listen, particularly after learning what had occurred in other sections of the Confederation. Already billions had lost their lives, and the worlds under control of the Zang and the Lormallians did not want to see that happen to their worlds. In most cases the worlds agreed to end the revolts for more freedom in exchange for a larger say-so in what went on in their space.
-
In the Morag region of space, Councilor Addonis was on board a battleship, inspecting the ships coming out of the reserve. The reserve was a massive collection of ships, some over one thousand years old. Many of the ships were kept in stasis for future use, while others had the airlocks open, allowing the vacuum of space to preserve them.
Four large space stations on the edge of the shipyard were responsible for disassembling the oldest of the ships. However, now, instead of taking ships apart, they were updating them and equipping them with modern equipment and weapons.
As Councilor Addonis watched, a massive battlecruiser eased from one of the bays. Its design was used nearly two hundred years ago. The battlecruiser turned and moved away from the station toward a large conglomeration of ships. Addonis knew over four thousand ships were in that formation. All were ships that had been repaired and updated. Three other similar formations were above other worlds in Morag space, where similar repairs had been done or were being done.
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 13