The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire

by Raymond L. Weil

  “They have fortified many of their worlds,” said Torrant, as he listened to the report from Falorr. “They plan on bleeding our fleets at every world as we advance toward their core worlds.”

  Falorr was in agreement with that. “So, what should we do?”

  There was silence for a long moment, and then Torrant responded. “Take your fleet and the Zynth fleet and attack the Hagen Star Cluster. The Empire has too large a fleet presence there for us to bypass it. I will take my fleet and head directly to the core worlds.”

  This sounded like a good strategy to Falorr. “What should we do once we’ve taken the star cluster?”

  “Wait for my orders. Once my fleet has the core worlds under our control, the war should be over. Particularly after we destroy Golan Four.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  On Golan Four, in the underground Command Center beneath the House of Worlds, Fleet Admiral Marloo and Vice Fleet Admiral Masters listened to the report from Rear Admiral Krest. She described in detail what had happened at Hastings.

  Admiral Marloo turned toward Derrick, after hearing the report. “We hurt them, but we can’t sacrifice entire worlds for a few hundred of their ships.”

  Derrick nodded in agreement. “What are we to do? We made our plans, based on each world that they attacked would further weaken their fleet, so, by the time they reached the core worlds, we could handle what was left of their forces.”

  Marloo rubbed his chin and then spoke. “We must order all worlds to resist to a certain point and, when resistance looks futile, to immediately surrender. That way we limit civilian casualties. We can’t risk billions of innocent lives lost in this.”

  “We may still suffer some losses,” replied Derrick. He knew how the Confederation admirals would not hesitate to bomb civilians cities if given any excuse. “Look at how they bombed Hastings. They were attempting to kill everyone.”

  “Yes, but Hastings resisted to the very end. Our other worlds must not do that.”

  Derrick looked up at the multiple tactical displays for all the major core worlds, as well as the inhabited moons and smaller colonies. All were still clear of Confederation ships. “We know where the Druin and Zynth fleets are. Where are the Morag?” Derrick was greatly concerned about the fact there had been no trace of the Morag.

  Marloo shook his head. “We’ve had no reports of any contact with them, though I doubt if the Druins and the Zynth would have launched their attack without the Morag close by. I’ve got scout ships out looking for them. Perhaps we’ll know something in the next few hours.”

  Derrick took a deep breath. Layla did not even know he had come down from the Destiny for a meeting with Fleet Admiral Marloo. “I’ll stop by and speak to Layla and then head back up to the Destiny. I have a bad feeling we’re missing something.”

  Marloo blinked his eyes and gazed at Derrick. He had learned to trust the young admiral’s intuition. “I already have all bases across the Empire at Condition Three. They won’t take us by surprise.”

  Derrick nodded. “I hope you’re right. I won’t be coming back down from the Destiny again until this is over.”

  Fleet Admiral Marloo had expected no less of Derrick. High Princess Layla would never have married a man who would shirk his duty.

  -

  Layla was busy in the Imperial Court, meeting with members of the public. A number of wives and husbands of the representatives of the House of Worlds were present as well. All were dressed in fine dresses and the men in suits designed for Royalty. This was the beginning of the new Royal Court that, in time, would number in the thousands.

  Krista sat next to Layla, occasionally answering questions. Andrew was busy overseeing the installation of some particle beam cannons on the outside of the shipyards and space stations orbiting Golan Four. It had been decided it would take too long to install them on the ODPs, but the stations and shipyards were massive. The particle beam cannons were being installed on the outer hulls in large turrets.

  Layla had just finished speaking with a local businessman who wanted to know if the military was careful to spread around their spending, so everyone would benefit. She assured the man that was occurring, but she would look into it to make sure nothing had changed. Layla was surprised when some loud voices and even applause came from the back of the Royal Court. Looking up, she saw Derrick, in his admiral’s uniform, coming down the center aisle, stopping occasionally to talk to a few of the new members of the Royal Court who he knew.

  After a minute or two Derrick reached Layla and Krista.

  “What are you doing here?” asked Layla, completely surprised to see her husband. She hadn’t expected him to come down from the Destiny, not until after the Confederation fleets had been dealt with.

  Derrick smiled. “I had a short meeting with Fleet Admiral Marloo. I’m going back up to the Destiny in a few more hours.”

  Layla looked over at Krista. “I’m going with Derrick for a while. You can handle things here.” Layla almost laughed when seeing the chagrinned look on her cousin’s face. Krista had never been left in the Royal Court alone before.

  Taking a deep breath, Krista nodded. “Don’t be too long, or I might give away part of the Empire.”

  Layla laughed, and, standing up, she and Derrick left through one of the doors behind the thrones. “Let’s go to our quarters. Two hours is plenty of time for what I have in mind.”

  Derrick was surprised, but he was game if Layla was. After all, it was hard telling when they would see one another again.

  -

  Rear Admiral Krest had just received new orders. She was to take her fleet to rendezvous with Rear Admiral Carrie to add more protection to her fleet of battlecarriers.

  “How many combat-capable ships do we have?”

  “Four dreadnoughts and thirty-three battlecruisers,” answered Major Every. “Some of them are damaged, but most of the repairs can be made by the crews.”

  That was more than Rear Admiral Krest had been expecting. “We leave in two hours. The ships that can’t fight will continue on to Xnea Two for repairs. Will we have to scuttle any ships?”

  Major Every shook her head. “No, they may be near wrecks, but the captains have assured me they can get to Xnea.”

  Rear Admiral Krest nodded. “Excellent. All ships are to continue repairs until it’s time for us to leave. What kind of shape is the Tetrex in?” The Tetrex was her flagship, and the vessel she was currently on.

  “Not good. I don’t know if I would recommend taking her into combat. We can have 68 percent of her weapons back online in twelve hours, and the reserve fusion reactor back up to 80 percent power in twenty hours. That’s about all we can do without putting her in a shipyard.”

  “What about the hole in the hull?” Krest referred to the one-hundred-meter-long gash in the side of the ship.

  “We’re welding plates over it. It won’t look good, but it will hold in air and will give us some protection, though I would recommend we keep the compartments next to the fissure locked down.”

  Rear Admiral Krest felt deep pain to learn how badly her ship was damaged. “Anything else?”

  Major Every took a deep breath. “I would recommend you move your flag over to the Dreadnought Stargazer. She’s operating at nearly 98 percent combat efficiency. The vessel must be charmed, as it received very little damage.”

  “I’ll take your recommendation under advisement. For now I will remain on the Tetrex.” She could always change flagships later, if she deemed it necessary.

  For over an hour now, Rear Admiral Krest had listened to reports coming in over the hyperlight receiver. So far, there had been no sightings of any Confederation forces. She wondered where they had vanished to.

  -

  Morag Fleet Admirals Colane and Torrant moved their fleets through Human space, being careful to avoid all heavily populated areas. They did not want their fleets to be detected, until they launched their attack on the Human core worlds. This caused them to take numerous
detours, and it would be days yet before they reached their target.

  I have dispatched Admiral Norlan and his fleet of reserve ships to the Hagen Star Cluster. I don’t trust the Druins and the Zynth to complete their mission.

  I agree, replied Colane. Both fleet admirals were on their flagships and were communicating telepathically over a distance of nearly fifty thousand kilometers. The two massive fleets had dropped out of hyperspace in a small white dwarf system. They were doing some maintenance that could not be done while the fleets were in hyperspace. It would only take a few hours, and they would be on their way once more.

  We must destroy the defenses in both targets, as either could recreate the Human Empire, if one were to survive. The Hagen Star Cluster is nearly as big of a threat as the Human core worlds. With Admiral Norlan’s fleet, they should easily overwhelm the Human defenses and the Imperial fleet units in the cluster, continued Torrant. If all goes according to plan, this war will be over in less than two weeks.

  Torrant looked at the viewscreens, which showed some of the ships of the two fleets. Over ten thousand modern Morag warships were aligned around the two flagships. Torrant had also brought the secret weapon to ensure victory over the core worlds. The Humans had no idea what was coming toward them.

  -

  Layla watched with profound sadness as Derrick left their quarters. She was dressed in a robe and still feeling the warm afterglow of their lovemaking. It had been a very passionate two hours, and they had lain in bed afterward, talking about their future and the future of the Empire. Both had very high hopes for those futures.

  With a deep sigh, Layla remained in bed, thinking how she needed to get back to the Royal Court, before Krista gave away the Imperial treasury. Later Layla wanted to invite Cheryl to the palace. Layla would offer Cheryl the use of one of the Royal Suites in the section of the Palace where she, Krista, and Andrew stayed. That way Layla could keep Cheryl better informed as to what was happening in the Hagen Star Cluster.

  No doubt the next few weeks would be trying and very nerve-racking. Everything she had worked for was in danger of being destroyed. She was already worried about Derrick, and she knew Cheryl must be feeling the same way about Dylan. Then, of course, there was Krista, who Layla had caught crying in her quarters the night before. Krista was scared to death something bad might happen to Mathew.

  A knock came on Layla’s door and, after looking at the screen, saw it was Brenda. “Open,” she said, and the door opened, allowing Brenda entry.

  Brenda’s face turned red when she saw Layla was dressed only in a long robe. There was no doubt in her mind what the High Princess and Derrick had been doing for the last few hours. “Are you all right?”

  Layla smiled. Brenda had known Derrick longer than Layla had. Brenda had served on the original light cruiser Destiny that had brought Krista and Layla from Golan Four, when the Confederation had long ago conquered the Empire. She trusted Brenda completely. “I’m fine. I’m just glad Derrick and I got to spend a few hours together before the Confederation shows up.”

  “Everything will work out,” promised Brenda. “I’ve known Derrick for a long time. If anyone can defeat the Confederation, it’s him.”

  Layla nodded. She knew she could do nothing more. Now it was up to fate, and she hoped, this time, that fate was on her side.

  “Why don’t you take a long hot bubble bath? While you’re doing that, I’ll make your bed and lay out some clothes. I assume you will return to the Royal Court to see what all Krista has given away.”

  This made Layla laugh. “Yes, I was a little nervous about leaving her there by herself.”

  “She’s doing fine,” said Brenda, smiling. “I stopped by there on the way to your quarters. She’s doing very well.”

  Layla smiled, feeling relieved. “Please lay out the light-blue gown, and I’ll go take my hot bath.”

  Brenda watched Layla leave, heading for her bath. Brenda didn’t want to admit it, but she was worried about Derrick as well.

  -

  Krista tried not to act nervous. Anything she said or did could quickly become policy in the Empire. In most of the cases where she decided, she tried to think about what Layla would do. Krista was immensely relieved when Chancellor Stein came down the aisle and climbed the steps to stand next to her. “Need some help?”

  Krista nodded. “I’m so afraid of making a mistake.”

  Stein laughed. “We all make mistakes. In most cases we can come back later and correct them. We have a number of representatives from new Imperial worlds who just want to meet you or High Princess Layla. Why don’t I have them step forward, and you can introduce yourself. I’ve made arrangements for a tour of the Imperial Palace for later.”

  “Sounds fine,” answered Krista. This was something she could do. It was a simple matter of introducing herself and then having them describe their worlds to her. Maybe by the time she was done with this, Layla would be back.

  -

  In the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds, Fleet Admiral Marloo sent out directional hyperlight messages to various commands and bases. It was essential they locate the Confederation fleets as soon as possible, particularly the Morag. He was greatly surprised that there had been so few attacks. For weeks he had been expecting the Empire to be attacked along a wide front near the Confederation. Other than Hastings, nothing else had happened.

  General Lyra Gantts stood next to him. “Where are they?”

  Admiral Marloo shook his head. “I don’t know. This doesn’t make any sense. Once they attacked Hastings, I expected a general onslaught clear across our outer border. Nothing has happened, and there have been no further sightings of any Confederation fleets. It’s as if they vanished.”

  General Gantts frowned. “Maybe we’re looking at this wrong. What if they’re moving toward targets they don’t want us to know about?”

  Marloo looked at Gantts with sudden concern in his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “Think about it. What sense does it make to fight at every inhabited world between the periphery of our Empire and our core worlds? If they can take out the core worlds, this war, for all intents and purposes, will be over.”

  Marloo shook his head. “You’re right. It wouldn’t make sense to fight every world. The Hagen Star Cluster is heavily fortified and has enough densely populated worlds and colonies to continue the war.”

  General Gantts nodded. “I think you have answered your own question. Only two really important targets exist in the Empire. Our core worlds and the Hagen Star Cluster. Those have to be the targets, and that’s why we haven’t heard or seen anything of the Confederation fleets, yet we know they must be out there.”

  “A surprise and concentrated attack.” Fleet Admiral Marloo sat down hard in his command chair. He took a deep breath. How could he have missed the obvious? For months they had been preparing for a general attack against hundreds of Imperial worlds. Why would the Confederation do that, when all they had to do was take out the two most powerful Human entities? Meaning, the core worlds and the Hagen Star Cluster.

  “Get me Admiral Cleemorl immediately!” he ordered. He had some messages to send and some fleet units he needed to redeploy. They had really messed up, and he hoped it didn’t end up costing them.

  -

  Rear Admiral Carrie smiled when she saw the arrival of Rear Admiral Krest’s fleet. Four more dreadnoughts and thirty-three additional battlecruisers. That greatly increased the firepower of her fleet and helped to ensure the safety of the twenty battlecarriers she was protecting.

  “Many of Rear Admiral Krest’s ships suffered damage at Hastings,” reported Major Sullivan, the executive officer. “They’re still doing repairs, and Rear Admiral Krest reports she expects to have all her ships fully combat ready in another eight to ten hours.”

  “I hope we have that much time,” commented Rear Admiral Carrie. “The Confederation could show up in the cluster at any time.”

  “There’s been no sign
of them,” replied Sullivan.

  “I know, but they have to be out there somewhere. Assign some additional engineers to Rear Admiral Krest’s ships. I want them as fully repaired as possible, particularly her flagship.”

  -

  On board the battlecarrier Orion, Captain Anderson spoke with Major Barkley. “Have you thought about the tactics you’ll use when we engage the Confederation?”

  Mathew nodded. “We know the Druins are bringing some of their AI-controlled attack drones. We have no idea how many or where they’ll commit them. I’m setting up the squadrons to take the drones on in two-to-one combat. That should ensure none reach our major warships. As far as attacking Confederation fleets, we will use medium-range missile fire. Of course that means more missiles will be intercepted, but we will lose far fewer interceptors. We’ll only go in close when we see a substantial number of damaged Confederation warships, so we can take out those without putting the squadrons at grave risk.”

  “Have you studied the videos of the attack drones, when they were used in the Solar System?” Anderson had looked at them and knew they could be a serious threat.

  Mathew nodded. “In detail. The drones seem to follow a strict series of attack methods, all controlled by the AIs. From what I’ve determined, they’re extremely dangerous, though I don’t know how they will perform in a dogfight.”

  Captain Anderson was curious as well. “I just received a message from Fleet Admiral Marloo. He expects the Confederation to attack the Hagen Star Cluster, as well as the core worlds. He believes the Confederation is skipping all the systems in between and hoping to end the war by taking out our main seats of military power. He believes the battle in the cluster will be intense and very violent. This will be a battle neither side can afford to lose.”

  “We’ll be ready,” promised Mathew. “We’re flying training missions regularly off all the battlecarriers. I want our flight crews to be as sharp as possible. For many, this will be their first time in combat, and that’ll be a lot different than what they experienced in the simulators.”