The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Don’t forget. Over five thousand attack interceptors are based on Gideon, where the heaviest part of the fighting is expected to take place.”

  Mathew nodded. He was already making plans on how to use those additional fighters.

  -

  Later Mathew was in one of the flight bays of the Orion, watching as squadrons took off to practice combat drills. His mind turned to Krista and the future that might be waiting for him. He knew she was greatly upset that he had volunteered for this mission. But how could he stay home when so many he had trained were putting their lives on the line?

  As he watched, Black Dart squadron was in the process of launching. This was the most talented and experienced squadron on board the Orion. Many of the flight crews Mathew knew personally. Some of them had even come down to the training facility on Golan Four and had spent considerable time helping train the first crews for the attack interceptors.

  Mathew was in the control and observation room, overlooking the flight bay. As the last of the Black Dart attack interceptors launched, he wished he were on board one. He did get to fly some at the training base, but it wasn’t the same.

  “Go,” suggested Captain Denise Barrat. “No reason for you not to take an interceptor out. Go join the Black Darts.”

  Mathew hesitated. An extra Black Dart interceptor just sat here. It was one of the backups the squadron had in case one of the regular interceptors was not ready for launch.

  “It will be good for you,” added Captain Barrat. “I’ve got everything under control here.”

  Mathew didn’t need any more coaxing. He quickly found a navigator and a weapons officer who were willing to go with him. A few minutes later he was putting on his flight outfit and feeling the excitement growing inside.

  -

  The interceptor darted out of the flight bay and joined the orbiting squadron of interceptors.

  “This is Major Barkley,” Mathew announced over the squadron comm channel. “All interceptors partner up, and we’ll do some dogfighting. The last surviving pair of fighters will have a special meal prepared for them by the ship’s cooks. Anything you want to eat and drink.”

  “I’ve got this,” said a voice over the comm.

  “Less talk and more shooting,” another voice replied.

  “Glad you could join us, Major,” said Lieutenant Stephens, who was a group leader. “It’s been a while.”

  “Too long,” admitted Mathew.

  Mathew watched as the interceptors quickly paired up. He waited a good sixty seconds and then made the announcement. “Exercise begins. Double-check to make sure weapons are deactivated and laser beams are turned on.” The laser beams were just bright beams of light that, when an interceptor was struck, special sensors would indicate damage suffered. The interceptors spread apart in pairs and then turned to engage.

  -

  For the next thirty minutes the fighting was intense. No one wanted to lose, but not everyone could win. Interceptors twisted and dove in crazy attempts to eliminate their opponents. Occasionally Mathew had to warn the pilots not to get too extreme. He didn’t want anyone flying into another interceptor. In some of the maneuvers, the interceptors came within a few meters of one another.

  Mathew was pleasantly surprised, as he saw the squadron was extremely well trained and seemed to know exactly what they were doing.

  Finally the contest was down to the last two pair. Both had eliminated all their opponents and were pretty evenly matched.

  “Pilots, identify yourselves,” ordered Mathew.

  “Lieutenant Vick, sir.”

  “Lieutenant Mallory, sir.”

  “Lieutenant Gains, sir.”

  “Lieutenant Stephens, sir.”

  Mathew wasn’t surprised. He had known all four for quite some time. “Why don’t we call it a draw, and all of you can eat the meals of your choice, as well as whatever you want to drink.”

  All quickly agreed. The more, the merrier the party would be.

  Mathew watched as the four flew back to the battlecarrier. With a smile, he decided to do a slow orbit of the fleet. Looking out the cockpit window, he saw the battlecarriers, dreadnoughts, and battlecruisers that made up the combined fleet. Some of Rear Admiral Krest’s ships still showed damage, as well as multiple burn marks on the hull.

  “Looks as if they were in one hell of a fight,” commented his navigator, Ensign Brigum Meld, who was from Glimmer.

  “They were,” answered Mathew. “That fleet was at Hastings and just escaped before the Druins and the Zynth bombarded the moon’s surface.”

  Mathew adjusted course, until he flew parallel to Rear Admiral Krest’s flagship, the Tetrex. The ship had a massive patch down one side, and a big part of the hull was covered in burn marks. It was obvious many of the weapons turrets were brand new, as some of them hadn’t even been painted yet.

  “It’s amazing that ship survived,” commented Ensign Meld.

  “They make dreadnoughts tough and able to take a lot of damage. From what I understand, they are still doing a lot of repair work inside.” Mathew knew that Rear Admiral Krest would do everything she could to make her ship fully combat ready as quickly as possible. A number of engineers from across the fleet had gone on board to help speed up repairs.

  With a deep sigh, Mathew turned the interceptor and headed back toward the Orion. He absolutely loved flying the small attack interceptors. He really had missed not being on the Orion, but training new pilots and flight crews had to take priority. He just hoped that most of them survived the coming combat, even though he knew that some of the brave interceptor crews that he knew would probably lose their lives in defense of the Empire.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Admiral Cleemorl took a deep breath, after receiving the hyperlight message from Fleet Admiral Marloo. If his information was correct, the Confederation fleets were bypassing all the heavily defended Human planets and heading directly for the Hagen Star Cluster and the core worlds. That would mean the Humans would face the full force of the Confederation and not fleets that had taken significant losses while engaging other Human worlds.

  At the moment, Admiral Cleemorl had both of his newly promoted rear admirals on the comm. “It’s been suggested that the Druins and the Zynth are probably heading our way, and the Morag are heading directly to the core worlds.”

  “We can handle the Druins and the Zynth,” commented Rear Admiral Manson confidently.

  “Perhaps so, but we need to hold our losses to a minimum.”

  “They may head directly toward Gideon,” suggested Rear Admiral Fulmar. “Annihilate our biggest base and then work outward from there. That’s what I would do.”

  “Or the Druins may attack one target and the Zynth another,” suggested Rear Admiral Manson. “They both have pretty large fleets.”

  There was silence for a long moment, and then Rear Admiral Fulmar spoke. “So what do we do with our fleets?”

  “We keep all three deployed as they are,” answered Cleemorl. “Each one of us has a group of worlds and inhabited moons to protect. The shipyards above all seven of the major worlds of this cluster are turning out new warships nearly every day. Once we know the target or targets of the Confederation fleets, then we can decide for sure where we need to commit our fleet assets.”

  “The entire star cluster is currently at Condition Three,” added Fulmar. “We’ve increased attack interceptor patrols in every system, including the mining colonies. When the Confederation fleets show up, we’ll know.”

  Dylan leaned back in his command chair, deep in thought. “If the Druins and the Zynth headed directly toward us, after leaving Hastings, they could arrive as early as late tomorrow. I would suggest you ensure your crews get as much rest as possible in the next sixteen hours.”

  “Agreed,” replied Rear Admiral Manson. “Once this battle starts, there won’t be much time for rest.”

  The two rear admirals signed off, and Dylan ordered the Themis and its accompanying fleet to h
ead to Tantula Five. He wanted to speak to Governor Dyson about the upcoming battle. Dylan also planned on positioning his fleet around Tantula Five, until he saw the strength of the enemy. Tantula Five was nearly as heavily defended as Golan Four. Currently Tantula Five had sixteen ODPs, two thousand energy platforms, three hundred missile platforms, and twelve PDCs. All three space stations were heavily armed and possessed powerful energy shields. The shipyard had been expanded and was heavily armed as well and protected by a very powerful energy shield. In addition large numbers of missile interceptors were based on the planet, and every major city sat inside a ring of energy beam turrets, designed to track and to take out incoming missiles. Also three thousand ground-based attack interceptors were at all twelve bases on the planet.

  -

  Druin Admiral Falorr grew impatient. They were two days away from the Hagen Star Cluster, and he knew that the main Morag fleets were four days away from the core worlds. Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant wanted Falorr to wait to attack the Hagen Star Cluster at the same time he attacked the core worlds.

  Falorr had no intention of following those orders. As soon as they arrived at the cluster, and his ships were ready, they would attack. Even Morag Admiral Norlan had agreed. With Norlan, Falorr had met a Morag who was as interested in moving up the ladder as Falorr was.

  Falorr had spent some long hours going over the attack plan for the Hagen Star Cluster. Much of that time he spoke with Zynth Admiral Donlur, who had already been driven away from the cluster by the Humans.

  “The inhabited moon of Gideon in the Tantula Five System is the biggest danger,” Donlur had stated. “They have based their entire defense on the moon being too powerful to conquer. Tantula Five is also very heavily defended.”

  Falorr was no fool. He knew the Humans could be a dangerous adversary. For that reason, he would give Morag Admiral Norlan the glory of destroying Gideon or at least softening it up. The four thousand Morag ships would lead the attack, followed by the Zynth and then the Druins.

  Once Gideon was destroyed, Admiral Falorr would demand the rest of the cluster surrender to his fleet or face total annihilation.

  “We will stop at the large red giant system just outside of the cluster,” Falorr informed his First Officer Dagor. “We’ll stay there for twelve hours to do routine ship maintenance and to rest our crews. Then we will jump directly into the Tantula System and attack Gideon and destroy it.”

  “A sound plan,” said First Officer Dagor. “What do we do once we’ve conquered the cluster?”

  Falorr looked at the tactical display, showing the multitude of ships under his command. “We wait. We wait and see what happens with the Morag fleets when they attack the Human core worlds.”

  -

  Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant was not pleased. From his last communication with Druin Admiral Falorr, Torrant had the impression Falorr would not wait four more days to attack. Not only that but Morag Admiral Norlan might have aspirations that would cause him to disobey Torrant’s direct orders as well.

  What do we do if they attack early? sent First Officer Markel.

  Torrant shook his head. Nothing we can do. However, I fear if Admiral Falorr attacks the Hagen Star Cluster, the core worlds of the Human Empire will realize what we are up to. They will be prepared when we arrive.

  Should we change our plans?

  Suddenly an idea flashed into Torrant’s mind. He had a fleet of eight thousand modern Morag warships waiting in reserve just outside the Human Empire. Perhaps if he had them attack, it would confuse the Humans, and they would underestimate his arrival time at the core worlds.

  We will send a directional hyperlight message to Admiral Voxx. I’ll order him to attack the Human worlds of Leonora Five and Ranier Two. Both are on the edge of the Human Empire and will force the Humans to reconsider the location of our fleets. They will figure we are behind Admiral Falorr and not ahead of him.

  When will we send the message?

  Now, replied Torrant. This will ensure the Humans will not expect us to attack their core worlds so soon. They will figure we are using the Druins, Zynth, and our older ships to lead the invasion, with our main forces following behind.

  It is a good strategy, replied First Officer Markel. The Human core worlds will not expect our attack.

  -

  Morag Admiral Voxx was pleased with his new orders. He had not been certain he would even get to take his fleet into battle. Now he had two targets for his fleet and possibly more. Prepare to get underway, he ordered, looking over at First Officer Bale. We have two targets that Fleet Admiral Torrant wants us to conquer.

  Which two?

  Leonora Five and Ranier Two. Both are on the periphery of the Human Empire and heavily populated. From our most recent reports, both are protected by a defense grid and a few Imperial warships. We should have no trouble taking both of them. I will split the fleet into two sections of four thousand ships each. We will attack both worlds simultaneously. It will make the Humans think the real Morag attack is just beginning our attack on the periphery of their Empire.

  In the meantime, both Fleet Admiral Torrant and Fleet Admiral Colane will continue toward the Human core worlds.

  Admiral Voxx nodded. Yes, soon this Empire of Humans will once more be under our control and no longer a threat.

  -

  On Ranier Two, the defensive grid had been completely repaired. They even had four ODPs in orbit. In addition a small shipyard was in orbit, as well as two large space stations. Ranier Two had once done a lot of trade with alien worlds, as well as with a few worlds in the Confederation. Those days were long gone, particularly after the Druins destroyed the capital city, killing over ten million civilians.

  In the deep underground Command Center, General Landryal sat in his command chair, watching the viewscreens and the tactical displays. If his world were to be attacked again, he would be ready. In the months since the attack, dozens of massive underground shelters had been built. They could safely put nearly two million people inside them, if needed.

  “All clear,” reported Major Billingsly. “Picking up no Confederation ships on our long-range sensors.”

  General Landryal nodded. They only had a small squadron of Imperial warships to help protect the planet. These were currently around Ranier Two’s only shipyard. The shipyard was heavily armed and possessed a powerful energy shield. The two space stations were similarly protected.

  “Attack interceptors are ready when needed,” added Billingsly. They had only two hundred of them, and those would be used to shoot down incoming missiles. In addition, the ten largest cities sat in a ring of energy beam turrets and missile interceptors.

  The Empire had furnished much of the new weapons components, since they felt that Ranier Two would be one of the first targets of the Confederation. They had orders to surrender, if defeat became inevitable.

  -

  On the shipyard, Colonel Evelyn Hatcher paced nervously in the Command Center. Her shipyard was armed as heavily as three dreadnoughts and had a very powerful energy shield, as two extra fusion power plants had been installed just to provide power. Around the shipyard orbited ten missile platforms and twenty energy beam satellites, plus six Imperial battlecruisers. Already she had evacuated all nonessential personnel and had closed off all areas of the shipyard deemed not necessary. Emergency bulkheads were down and sealed, and damage control teams were assigned to different sections of the shipyard and were ready to be deployed, if needed.

  -

  Morag Admiral Voxx felt his flagship drop from hyperspace into the Ranier Two System. Instantly alarms sounded, as defending Imperial warships were detected.

  “Heavy defenses around Ranier Two,” reported the sensor officer, as he studied the scans. “At least four ODPs, missile platforms, energy beam satellites, two space stations, both heavily armed, and one large shipyard, heavily armed as well. Detecting six Imperil battlecruisers around the shipyard, as well as additional missile platforms and energy beam satelli
tes.”

  Admiral Voxx nodded. If his fleet were a normal-size fleet, that might be enough to deter an attack. However, he had four thousand modern Morag warships and a lot of firepower. “Take us in and continue scans. I want to know what’s on the surface.”

  -

  In the Command Center of the shipyard, alarms sounded as the tactical display lit up with red threat icons.

  “Morag warships detected,” reported the sensor officer. “Eighteen hundred and the count still rising.

  Colonel Hatcher drew in a sharp breath. Eighteen hundred! She had never expected they would face such a fleet. In the past, Confederation fleets had numbered in the hundreds and occasionally around one thousand. “Send a directional hyperlight message to Fleet Admiral Marloo on Golan Four. Tell him a large Morag fleet has appeared. At least 1,800 vessels with more still dropping out of hyperspace. Tactical, take all commands to Condition One. No one is to fire until I give the order.” Colonel Hatcher was in charge of all orbital assets.

  -

  In the underground Command Center on Ranier Two, General Landryal stared at the tactical display in disbelief.

  “Colonel Hatcher has placed all orbital defenses at Condition One,” reported Major Billingsly.

  General Landryal nodded, as he tore his gaze away from the tactical display. “Take all ground defenses to Condition One. Order the evacuation to the underground bunkers. A chosen group of young people, doctors, scientists, technicians, and other highly qualified people had been chosen to enter the bunkers. All other civilians are to remain in their homes or their own personal shelters.” Landryal knew a large number of community and private shelters had been built over the last few months. Not enough to protect everyone but a major portion of the population should be able to ride out this attack, if the surface was bombarded.

  “Evacuation alarms should be sounding now,” reported the communications officer.

  “All ground defenses have been activated,” reported the tactical officer. “Crews are reporting to the attack interceptors. They will launch at your command.”