“We’ll be dividing the fleet in a few more days,” Dylan informed Fulmar. “You and Rear Admiral Taggert will be responsible for the defense of the next two most important worlds in this cluster. I’ll keep the third section of the fleet here to defend Tantula Five and Gideon.”
Fulmar nodded. “I just hope that’s enough. I know all seven of the major star systems are heavily defended, but we have no idea what might be coming at us this time.”
Dylan understood Rear Admiral Fulmar’s concerns. Dylan had the same ones. He looked at the main viewscreen and the moon of Gideon. So much would ride on the battle that was soon to be fought here. Dylan knew he had done everything in his power to prepare. He just hoped it was enough.
Chapter Twelve
High Princess Layla visited with Cheryl in the Royal Quarters. “Does Dylan think they can stop the Confederation at the Hagen Star Cluster?” Layla knew Dylan had been intent on heavily fortifying the cluster.
“He’ll try,” answered Cheryl, wishing Dylan were here at Golan Four. “The entire cluster has been made into a giant trap for the Confederation. He’ll either stop the Confederation cold or die trying. I know Dylan. He won’t give up.” Tears were in Cheryl’s eyes, knowing she might never see Dylan again. “I just think the odds are too great!”
Layla was afraid that Cheryl was right. She knew Derrick would do the same as Dylan had. “I’ll speak to Fleet Admiral Marloo and see if there’s anything we can do.” Layla had been staying out of the military planning, but she didn’t want to see Admiral Cleemorl die in the coming battle with the Confederation. “I’ll see if we can find more ships to send.”
-
Later Layla made her way into the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds. The massive building was now occupied by hundreds of Human representatives from the various planets, and the business of the Empire grew every day, as new worlds asked for admittance. Layla was pleased with how everything was going, but she knew it could come to a crashing end if the Confederation defeated the new fleets the Human Empire had managed to build.
She was instantly allowed into the Command Center, particularly since she had four Imperial Guards with her. Stepping inside, she saw her husband, Derrick, and Fleet Admiral Marloo, standing in front of a massive holographic display, which showed Imperial ship deployments.
“What’s going on?” she asked, as she walked up to the two.
-
Derrick was startled to hear his wife’s voice. She hadn’t been in the Command Center for weeks. He wondered what had brought her here. There had to be something.
“Layla,” said Derrick, turning to face her. “We’re just going over the latest fleet deployments.”
“Anything I should know about?”
Derrick looked over at Fleet Admiral Marloo.
“We received a message from the Visth this morning,” answered Marloo. “It seems the Morag have some superweapon they plan on using to take out Golan Four.”
Layla’s face turned pale. “Where did the Visth get this information?”
“It could have only come from one place,” replied the admiral. “Someone on the Confederation’s Great Council is feeding the Visth information on Confederation military movements and plans. We also know the Morag will launch their attack in about six more days. Of course it will take them a few days to reach the Empire, so we’re about eight to ten days out from the beginning of their attack.”
“We also know what we’ll be facing,” added Derrick. “The Morag, the Druins, and the Zynth will be taking part in the assault. Altogether they have committed over 19,000 ships, with who-knows-what being held back in reserve.”
Layla suddenly felt as if her breath had been stolen from her. “Can we stop that many?”
Fleet Admiral Marloo adjusted the holographic display to show the Hagen Star Cluster. “We’ve set up defenses across the part of the Empire nearest the Confederation. With the help of Admiral Cleemorl, we’ve set up our defenses to force the Confederation forces to converge on the Hagen Star Cluster. Its defenses are nearly as strong as the core worlds.”
Layla shook her head. “Nineteen thousand Confederation warships and their new superweapon the Morag claim to have may be more than Admiral Cleemorl can resist.”
“Don’t forget,” said Derrick. “All of Cleemorl’s dreadnoughts have the new particle beam weapons. The Confederation will not be expecting that.”
Layla shook her head. “It’s still not enough. They’ll just overwhelm his fleet. Is there anything else we can do to help?”
Fleet Admiral Marloo let out a deep sigh. “One more thing we haven’t mentioned. We have a final card to play, if we see the cluster is about to fall. It could make a major difference in the battle.”
“What is that card?” asked Layla, folding her arms across her chest.
Marloo shook his head. “I would rather not say, until we know for sure it’ll be available in time.”
“And another thing,” said Derrick, a deep frown on his face. “Evidently the Druins have developed a drone carrier for their attack drones. We may be facing hundreds, even thousands of them, in the coming battles.”
Layla shook her head. She wondered if the news could get any worse.
-
Later Layla was with Krista, discussing the coming attack.
“Eight to ten days?” said Krista, feeling a cold chill sweep over her. “Will we be safe here on Golan Four?” She also wondered if Mathew would be involved in the fighting.
“I don’t know. The Morag claim to have a new superweapon that can reach us here.”+
Krista looked at Layla, new concern in her eyes. “Where will Derrick be?”
Layla squared her shoulders. “He will be with his fleet. He’s a member of the Royal House and a fleet admiral. Derrick will do his duty, just as our brother did so long ago.”
-
Rear Admiral Lira Carrie had just received new orders. Not only that but her fleet had been heavily reinforced. She now had the Exeter, which was her flagship, twenty dreadnoughts, and eighty battlecruisers, along with twenty battlecarriers. Each battlecarrier carried a maximum load of 160 attack interceptors.
“Admiral, we have reports that the Druins have developed a carrier for their AI attack drones,” Fleet Admiral Marloo had explained to her. “As a result we want to position your fleet near the Hagen Star Cluster, just in case it’s needed. We want you within one hour’s hyperspace jump of the cluster.”
Carrie frowned. She didn’t know of anyone who had fought against these drones. “How dangerous are these drones?”
“It’s been years since anyone had to fight them,” explained Marloo. “In the Solar System years ago, when the Druin surveillance system was still under their control, there was a battle. They’re a little bit larger than one of your interceptors and are armed with both fusion energy beams and missiles.”
“I’ll have to look up the information on the drones in the Solar System,” replied Carrie. She was curious if there were any videos of the battles.
-
She had found some videos and didn’t like what she had seen. The damn things had actually taken out a few battlecruisers. The AIs that commanded them were efficient and very deadly.
Carrie recalled all her crews currently on leave. They would jump out in two days.
-
On the surface of Golan Four, in the Royal Palace, High Princess Layla, Derrick, Krista, Mathew, Kala, and Andrew shared a quiet family meal. Ensign Brenda Allert discreetly watched everything closely, as Emira wanted Brenda to learn everything about being an attendant. Brenda suspected that Emira was grooming her to take Emira’s place someday. Every night, Emira brought Brenda books on Royal history or videos of specific events that she wanted Brenda to watch. Sometimes all the studying was tiring, but Brenda really enjoyed it. She now felt like a trusted member of the Royal entourage, and she loved it.
-
“Will you be with your fleet?” asked Andrew, though he alread
y suspected what the answer would be.
Derrick nodded. “Yes. Rear Admiral Banora and I will be splitting the fleet to give us better coverage of the core worlds. Every core world will be protected by its defensive gird, as well as a task group of warships. Our entire Imperial fleet numbers are a little over 4,300 ships. We’re pushing for every ship near completion to be finished and out of the shipyards in the next seven days.”
“Where will our main fleet units be?” asked Mathew.
“We’ll have major fleet units at the Vortex Worlds, the Lamina Stars, and the Hagen Star Cluster. The Resistance fleet will have major units at the Haven Nebula, Vidon Seven, Helgoth, Cleetus Three, Lydol Four, Bratol Three, and Malor Two. We’ll also have a heavy squadron at the inhabited moon of Hastings, out on the edge of the Empire. The moon is heavily fortified and will probably be the first Human world to be attacked.”
“Hastings?” said Krista, trying to remember where she had heard that name before.
“It’s where my fleet ended up after attacking the Druin homeworld,” explained Derrick. “We’ve added a lot of defensive elements to the moon, including ODPs. Not only that but enough underground bunkers to house the moon’s entire Human population, so, even if the Confederation bombards the surface, most of them should survive.”
Andrew laid down his fork and asked a question. “How many ships do we have there?”
Derrick sighed. “I wish we had more. We have a heavy task group consisting of ten dreadnoughts and seventy battlecruisers.”
Andrew’s eyes narrowed. “Will the dreadnoughts be allowed to use their particle beam cannons?”
Derrick shook his head. “The only dreadnoughts that have the particle beam cannons are those in the Hagen Star Cluster and here in the core worlds. We don’t want the Confederation to learn about our new weapon, until we engage them with a major fleet.”
“How many is that?” asked Krista. She sat very close to Mathew, their legs touching. “How many of your ships will have the cannons?”
“Over four hundred dreadnoughts,” answered Derrick. “Every ship in my fleet is so equipped.”
Krista looked over at Mathew. “You will stay at the training base.” She had just assumed he would be staying on Golan Four.
Mathew looked over at Derrick and slowly shook his head. “No, I’m returning to the Orion to coordinate the attacks of our interceptors.”
Krista looked stunned. “I don’t know if I like that.”
“We all have a duty to perform,” said Derrick. He had been aware that Mathew had requested a transfer to the Orion for the duration of this emergency. The Orion would be in Rear Admiral Carrie’s fleet.
“I’ll be all right,” promised Mathew. “The Orion’s the best battlecarrier in the fleet, and I won’t be flying an interceptor. I will be directing the squadrons from the Command Center.”
Layla looked at her cousin and saw Krista was not pleased with the news. She hoped it didn’t harm her and Mathew’s relationship.
Derrick noted Brenda standing to one side, watching. He knew Emira was training her to take her place someday. Emira had already discussed it with Derrick, and he had given his approval. “Brenda, why don’t you come join us. There’s plenty of food.”
Brenda blushed. “I’m not really supposed to.” Brenda didn’t want to get in trouble with Emira.
Layla smiled. “Don’t worry about Emira. In the past, I saw her eating with my parents on occasion. Come. Sit down.” Layla indicated a chair near her.
Nodding, Brenda walked over and sat down. A kitchen attendant instantly showed up with a plate and silverware, as well as several glasses—one for water and the other for one of the wines on the table. Soon Brenda was eating and joining in the conversation at the table.
Derrick smiled. He really liked Brenda, and she would make a wonderful replacement someday, when Emira was ready to retire.
-
“How do you do it?” asked Krista. She and Layla were in the Royal Quarters in Krista’s suite of rooms. “I mean, I know that Derrick has gone off several times on dangerous missions, but you always seem so calm.”
Layla indicated for Krista to sit down next to her. “I may look calm, but I’m not. I’m scared to death every time Derrick leaves with his fleet. However, we both must realize it’s our duty as a Royal to represent and to serve the Empire. We lead by example, even though we may not like what we have to do at times.”
Krista sighed, as she sat next to Layla. “This time it’ll be both of them in danger.”
“Not just them,” corrected Layla. “This time all of us will be in danger. The Confederation is coming to conquer the Empire. Remember what happened last time. We lost the entire Empire, and thousands of people who were part of the Royal Court—our parents, my brother—were either executed or banished to Earth. I strongly suspect, if the Confederation were to win again, Andrew, you, and I would have a very short life expectancy.”
“You think they would execute us?” asked Krista, with very wide eyes.
Layla nodded. “We are the last of the Royals. They would not hesitate. So you see? We will all be in equal danger. We just have to hope for the best and for us to achieve the outcome we want, and our best people must be fighting for us, and that includes Derrick and Mathew.”
Krista nodded. She knew Layla was correct; it was just so hard to accept. She didn’t know what she would do if Mathew didn’t come back. Krista also knew that Layla felt the same about Derrick.
-
Several days later Derrick watched as Rear Admiral Carrie’s fleet left for the Hagen Star Cluster. Admiral Marloo had only informed Admiral Cleemorl this morning that the fleet was on its way and would position itself just outside the cluster. Derrick knew that Dylan would be relieved to hear he had a powerful battlecarrier fleet close by, and he could call upon them, if needed. Derrick was on board the new Destiny, which was the fleet flagship. Rear Admiral Banora had already transferred over to the dreadnought Defiant to use as her flagship.
“Fleet status?” asked Derrick, as he relaxed in his command chair. He had actually missed spending time on the Destiny.
“Fleet is ready for combat,” reported Colonel Sheena Bryant, who had recently been promoted to executive officer. “Everyone is back from leave, and all ships have full loadouts of munitions.”
Derrick had expected no less. “For now we will continue to orbit Golan Four.” Derrick leaned back and thought over what they had heard about the Confederation, having a new superweapon. There was no way to find out what it was until it was actually used in combat. Then the Empire would have to figure out a way to deal with it.
-
Admiral Cleemorl smiled when Fleet Admiral Marloo informed him that Rear Admiral Carrie’s fleet would be stationed just outside the cluster. Carrie’s fleet had over 3,200 attack interceptors. If he added those to the number on Gideon, he would have 8,200 to use against the Confederation. The odds of being able to hold the cluster had just gone up a little bit more.
-
In the Confederation, the attack fleets assembled. It had been decided that Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant would command the joint fleet, with Morag Fleet Admiral Colane as his second. The Zynth and the Druins also had admirals for their fleets, though they were still under the command of the Morag admirals.
Fleet Admiral Torrant spent several long moments gazing at his command on his ship’s massive viewscreens. As far as his eyes could see, there were hundreds, thousands of warships. He felt confident he could easily reconquer the Human Empire. Send a message to all commands. We leave in two days. There were still a few squadrons that had not yet arrived.
What will be our first target? asked Fleet Admiral Colane, who had come over to the flagship.
A small inhabited moon is in the Ralkor Three System. It has a very strong Imperial presence. We will completely destroy the moon as an example to other worlds. From there we will split the fleet into four sections and move toward the center of the Empire. Our
primary target is Golan Four. Once we take it, the war will be over.
Chapter Thirteen
Rear Admiral Glenda Krest and her fleet were above Hastings, nestled around the four ODPs in orbit. The defense grid was massive, and currently she had everything at Condition Three. From what they knew, the attack could come anytime.
“Admiral, Colonel Jenkins reports that one of their cargo ships ran into a fleet of Confederation ships in the Sigma Duros System two hours ago,” reported Major Karla Every. Colonel Jenkins was in charge of Hastings Defense Command, which was located beneath a large mountain.
“Sigma Duros,” Krest repeated, as she called up the system on the ship’s navigation display. “That puts them about four hours away. Major Every, take the defensive grid to Condition Two and be prepared to go to Condition One at a moment’s notice. I think we can expect an attack within the next twenty hours. Communications, send a hyperlight message to Golan Four and inform them Confederation ships have been spotted in the Sigma Duros System, and we expect them here shortly.”
Krest leaned back in her command chair and crossed her arms over her chest. Nothing more she could do until the Confederation showed up. She looked at the viewscreens and the defenses they had put up around Hastings. She knew they couldn’t win the battle, but her job was to kill as many Confederation ships as possible.
-
Down on the planet, people entered the deep bunkers, as warning sirens howled. An orderly evacuation had been rehearsed a number of times. Each family had a particular bunker assigned to them, as well as quarters. They already had clothes and other essentials stored there. Each person was allowed one additional small bag to bring into the shelter during the evacuation. No one would be left on the surface, except in the three PDCs around the capital city, as the city was also being evacuated.
In the Hastings Defense Command Center, Colonel Jenkins watched as people filed into the bunkers in an orderly manner. Each bunker had Imperial Marines present to ensure everything was coordinated.
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 15