All General Landryal wanted to do was prevent any bombardment of the surface. “Have the crews stand by. They will probably launch sometime in the next thirty minutes to an hour.”
“Morag ships have stopped dropping out of hyperspace,” reported the sensor officer. “Final count is 4,128 warships.”
General Landryal felt his heart skip a beat. He had never expected a fleet like this. “Send a hyperlight message to Fleet Admiral Marloo and give him the numbers. Do we know how many battleships and battlecruisers we’re facing?”
“The computers are still working that out. We should know in a minute or two.”
“Wait until you have that information before you send a message to the fleet admiral,” ordered General Landryal.
“Ten minutes until they are in combat range of our orbital defenses,” added the tactical officer.
General Landryal leaned back in his command chair and took in a deep breath. All they could do now was wait. Once the defenses were gone, he would offer to surrender. He hated that order, but it would help decrease civilian losses.
-
Morag Admiral Voxx had placed his fleet into a massive wedge formation, aimed directly at the planet. Stand by to open fire as soon as we’re in range. This would be Voxx’s first major battle, and he was looking forward to it.
On the viewscreens, his warfleet was visible for as far as his eyes could see. Battlecruisers and battleships were all aimed at the planet. He wondered what the enemy commander was thinking when seeing what he was up against.
Defenses around the planet and upon its surface have powered up, reported the sensor officer. The energy shields around the space stations, and particularly those around the shipyard, are extremely powerful.
If we hit them with enough antimatter missiles, they will collapse, replied First Officer Bale.
Admiral Voxx nodded his agreement. We have enough ships for a general assault on all their defensive assets, as well as the space stations and the shipyard. This battle will not last long and will be an example to the rest of the Human Empire not to resist the Morag.
-
Captain Jill Jennings was in charge of the small squadron of Imperial battlecruisers currently just inside the small defensive grid protecting the shipyard.
“Weapons range in three minutes,” reported the sensor officer.
Jill shook her head. She had six battlecruisers opposed to over four thousand Morag warships. She wondered if anyone else had ever fought against greater odds.
“All ships are at Condition One,” reported Lieutenant Drew Berry, her executive officer.
“Stand by to fire. I want as many missiles launched as possible and as fast as possible. Keep us behind the shipyard’s defensive grid at all times.” The defense grid would give them some protection but not much.
“Combat range in two minutes,” called out the sensor officer. “Morag ships are in a wedge formation. Estimate at least 607 battleships.”
-
Colonel Hatcher watched apprehensively as the Morag fleet approached. She was fearful this would be a very short battle. The firepower of that fleet was nearly beyond belief.
“Morag fleet is entering extreme weapons range,” reported the sensor officer.
Hatcher knew there was no point in waiting. “Fire! All commands to initiate immediate weapons fire.”
From the defensive grid, the ODPs, the battlecruisers, the small defense grid around the shipyard, the space stations, and the shipyard itself, weapons fire erupted. From this extreme distance, only about 30 to 40 percent would actually strike the Morag fleet.
-
Morag Admiral Voxx frowned when the Human defenses opened up on him. He had expected to close the distance for at least another minute. Return fire, he ordered. Target all Human orbital installations. With four thousand warships he did not expect this to last long.
On the ship’s viewscreens, the front of his fleet lit up as antimatter and fusion missiles detonated against energy screens. Voxx frowned when he saw a few of them go down. It was a reminder that the Humans possessed very powerful weapons.
A moment later his own weapons fire began reaching the Human installations. Defensive energy beam satellites and missile platforms vanished in brilliant flashes of released energy, as they were blown apart in fiery blasts of destruction.
-
In the underground Command Center, General Landryal watched, as the Morag fleet annihilated the defensive grid protecting the planet. “Launch the interceptors. They’re to stay under fifty kilometers, and their primary job is to take out any inbound missiles. They are not to engage any of the Morag fleet.” General Landryal knew, if they did, they would quickly be wiped out.
“We’ve lost 68 percent of our energy beam satellites and 42 percent of the missile platforms,” reported Major Billingsly. “The remaining platforms are launching missiles as fast as they can.”
“Place the remaining platforms on automatic and evacuate the crews,” ordered General Landryal. “We can control them from here if necessary. What’s the situation in the underground bunkers?” He knew there had not been enough time to get everyone inside yet.
“Sixty-two percent full,” replied Major Billingsly. “They still need another hour to get everyone inside.”
General Landryal shook his head. “We don’t have an hour. Tell them to speed things up.”
On the viewscreen, the bright flashes in space increased as the Morag fleet drew nearer. Already debris from the destroyed elements of the defensive grid fell to the planet. Brilliant streaks of light were prevalent, as the fragments burned up in the atmosphere.
-
Captain Jennings felt her battlecruiser shake violently, and she heard the sound of tearing metal.
“Energy shield is down to 36 percent,” reported the tactical officer.
“We have a hole in our hull nearly thirty meters long and extending inside through four decks,” added Lieutenant Berry, shaking his head. “We have nearly 50 percent of our weapons off-line, and the hyperdrive is nonfunctional.”
Jennings found it difficult to swallow. She realized there was no escaping this battle. “All weapons are to continue to fire. Seal off all the damaged compartments. Tell the chief to get to work on that hyperdrive.”
Berry’s gaze met Jennings’s. “He says it will require at least fourteen hours or more to repair.”
Taking a deep breath, Captain Jennings squared her shoulders. “I want this ship empty of missiles. Let’s take as many of those Morag as we can with us.”
The ship suddenly keeled over hard to one side and then back to the other. It was all Jennings could do just to stay in her command chair. Not true for some of her other officers. She saw that Berry had been thrown to the deck and was not moving. A medic rushed over to check him and, after a moment, looked up at the captain and shook her head.
Jennings merely nodded. Drew Berry had been her executive officer since her ship was commissioned. Everyone on the ship was from the core worlds, and it looked as if their military careers would be short ones.
“Energy screen is failing,” reported tactical. “Those last two strikes took out our main fusion power plant. We’re operating on the reserve, but it won’t be enough.”
Looking at the tactical display, Jennings saw that only her battlecruiser and one other still survived. The others had been destroyed by the heavy firepower of the Morag. “Can our other ship escape?”
“No,” answered the communications officer. “They report their damage is worse than ours.”
At that moment the icon of the other battlecruiser swelled up and then vanished. Jennings knew they were now alone. Her squadron was gone.
Deep inside her ship, she heard a rumbling sound, steadily growing louder. Explosions could be heard tearing open compartment after compartment. In the outer corridor, she thought she heard screams that were quickly silenced.
Leaning back in her command chair, Captain Jill Jennings closed her eyes. She wished s
he knew how the future turned out for the Empire. That was her last thought as blackness suddenly overcame her when the Command Center was blown open to the harsh vacuum of space.
-
Colonel Evelyn Hatcher closed her eyes, as the Imperil battlecruiser squadron died. It had fought to the last ship and had gone out in a blaze of glory.
“All we have left are ten energy beam satellites and three missile platforms in the shipyard’s defensive grid,” announced Captain Harms, the executive officer.
“Energy shield?”
“Holding at 92 percent,” answered the tactical officer.
Evelyn looked at two of the viewscreens, which showed the space stations. Both were under heavy attack but still putting up resistance.
“General Landryal says he needs more time to get the underground bunkers filled,” reported the communications officer.
Evelyn looked at the tactical display and the massive Morag fleet, now bearing down on the shipyard and the two space stations. “We may not have the time to give him.” She knew that even the shipyard’s powerful energy shield could not withstand the attack of so many enemy warships. “Continue to fire all weapons. Make sure we empty those three missile platforms and tell them to evacuate and go to the ground. We can control those stations from here.”
“Colonel, space station Ganlon is under heavy attack, and their energy shield is about to fail,” reported the communications officer.
Evelyn shifted her gaze to a large viewscreen, focused on the space station. Station Ganlon was a very large space station and had handled much of the trade with alien races. Even as she watched, a huge explosion occurred in one of the docking pylons. The pylon came apart, and a few fires could now be seen burning in the station.
Another explosion occurred in the main docking bay, and the station started to wobble, as its gyroscopes were now out of balance. Weapons fire from the station suddenly came to a stop, and a large number of shuttles could be seen evacuating. The station vibrated and shook violently. Two more missiles slammed into the hull, and the station exploded, throwing glowing debris in every direction. A few of the escaping shuttles were struck by the debris and torn apart. The rest descended into the planet’s atmosphere.
“Station Ganlon is down,” reported the sensor officer in a shaken voice.
-
The two hundred attack interceptors were busy, shooting down any stray missiles that entered the atmosphere. In addition, ground-based interceptor missiles were steadily being launched to take out any missile the interceptors missed. From the ten cities with energy beam turrets surrounding them, a steady energy beam fire took out even more missiles.
Suddenly above an unprotected city, a fusion missile detonated. The blast wave and tremendous heat leveled the center of the city, and a mushroom cloud rose. Fires were everywhere, and the sky was full of smoke and ash. Terrified screams for help came from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Over the next several minutes, three more cities were struck and devastated.
-
General Landryal shook his head, sadly seeing the destruction of the cities. “Contact the Morag admiral and tell him we are willing to surrender.”
Major Billingsly looked at the general in surprise. “Are you sure? The other space station and the shipyard still have a lot of firepower.”
“I know, but I don’t want to lose them, and we’re losing some of our cities.”
Billingsly nodded and went over to Communications to send the surrender message.
General Landryal leaned back in his chair with a big sigh. He had known they could not win, but he had never expected to face a fleet this large. He wondered now if even the Hagen Star Cluster or the core worlds could stop a fleet of this size.
-
Morag Admiral Voxx listened to the offer to surrender. He had been expecting this. He was surprised it hadn’t occurred earlier. Inform the Humans all resistance must stop immediately. The energy screens on their remaining space station and shipyard must be lowered. We will leave a few ships in orbit to ensure they don’t try to rebuild their defenses.
Voxx listened as First Officer Bale spoke to a Major Billingsly. It only took a few minutes for both sides to come to an agreement to stop the fighting.
What did we lose? asked Voxx.
Sixty-seven battlecruisers and four battleships, answered Bale.
Admiral Voxx nodded. Not a bad price to pay for conquering a heavily populated and defended Human world. It was a good victory. Leave ten battlecruisers and one battleship in orbit to ensure this world stays out of the conflict. We will go on to our next target.
Moments later the Morag fleet entered hyperspace to go a little deeper into the Empire. They had new orders to attack the Human World of Astor. The war for the periphery of the Human Empire would continue.
-
“Have all the interceptors land,” ordered General Landryal. “Put them inside their hangars and wired to explode. We don’t need the Morag capturing any of them. If we detect Morag shuttles coming down to any of the bases where the interceptors are based, the interceptors are to be destroyed. Also we need to begin rescue operations in the cities hit by missiles. We might save quite a few people, if we work quickly enough.”
General Landryal turned toward the communications officer. “Send a hyperlight message to Golan Four and inform them that Ranier Two has fallen. Our part in this war is over.”
Chapter Sixteen
Fleet Admiral Marloo was now thoroughly confused. Ranier Two had been attacked by a fleet of over four thousand Morag warships, and now Leonora Five reports they were under attack as well by a similar fleet.
“Could we be wrong?” asked General Gantts, as she studied the reports.
“Maybe,” admitted Marloo, rubbing his forehead. “Though I don’t see how.”
General Gantts put down the reports, a heavy frown on her face. “Ranier Two lost four more cities, though many of the inhabitants were in personal shelters. They’re in the process of rescuing them now. Even so, the casualties will still be in the millions.”
Fleet Admiral Marloo leaned back in his command chair. “What are we missing?”
General Gantts pursed her lips and then answered. “Could these two attacks be a diversion?”
Marloo looked at the general. “You mean, to get us to take our eyes off the real target.”
Gantts nodded. “How better to fool us than to make us think the Morag fleet is still on the periphery of the Empire. Could this be a fleet they were holding in reserve?”
“Eight thousand ships?” answered Marloo, stunned. “I can’t imagine them having that many ships held back as a reserve force.”
“But what do we know about the Morag? Supposedly they are very intelligent and, from what we know, an extremely warlike race. This could be part of their strategy.”
Marloo shook his head, as he thought over what General Gantts said. What should he do now? “I think we have no choice but to assume the main Morag attack is still aimed at the core worlds. However, I want some battlecruisers sent out to monitor these two new Morag fleets. I want to know everywhere they go and what worlds they attack. Also see if we can monitor their communications. We need to put a few ships between them and the core worlds and see if we can detect any directional communications.”
Admiral Marloo looked at the reports he held in his hand. He hated the thought of eight thousand Morag warships running rampant in the periphery of the Empire. They could do considerable harm. Unfortunately Marloo didn’t have the ships to send to try to stop them. For now he could do very little. Marloo contacted Admirals Masters and Cleemorl and informed them of what was going on, if they didn’t know already. The situation had changed again. If these eight thousand ships were reserve ships, they were facing a massive number of Morag ships. A number they may not be able to stop.
-
On Leonora Five, Governor Barrington stared at the large tactical display in disbelief. Four thousand Morag warships
were inbound toward his planet. “What can we do?” He was in a small underground Command Center directly beneath the capital building.
“We have a defensive grid. All four space stations are armed and have energy shields. In addition the shipyard is heavily armed with its own energy shield. Unfortunately we have no warships or other means of defense,” answered Colonel Pierson. “I tried to get you to increase our defenses.”
Governor Barrington turned around, glaring at Colonel Pierson. “It was too costly.”
“The Empire volunteered to defer much of the costs,” Pierson reminded the governor. “We could have had a very powerful defensive grid, if you would only have allowed the Empire to help us.”
Barrington looked back at the tactical display. “Could we have built any defense that could have stopped that?”
Colonel Pierson shook his head reluctantly. “No, we never expected to face a fleet of that size.”
“What do you recommend?”
“Ranier Two surrendered, after putting up a brief but stiff resistance. There was no retaliation from the Morag fleet. I would suggest we surrender immediately, before we lose some of our space stations or even the shipyard.”
Governor Barrington immediately stood, his expression horrified. “Surrender to the Morag and fall back under Confederation control?”
Pierson nodded. “It’s better than losing some of our cities. Ranier Two lost four of their cities, even with their powerful defenses. We are not anywhere close to their defensive strength.”
Governor Barrington sat down. “You’re right. We dare not risk having our cities bombed. Contact the Morag fleet and offer our immediate surrender. Then contact Golan Four and explain to them what we have done and why.”
The governor felt as if he had let his people down. He had firmly believed that, as long as they were not a threat to the Confederation, they would be left alone. For that reason, he had refused help from the core worlds in strengthening the defenses around Leonora Five. He had also refused to allow any warships from the Empire or the Human Resistance to be stationed in the system as well.
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 19