The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire

by Raymond L. Weil

It took a few minutes to establish communications with the inbound Morag fleet. Their offer to surrender was immediately accepted with the conditions that they destroy their defensive grid and immediately begin to disarm the space stations and the shipyard. Governor Barrington quickly agreed.

  -

  Captain Liam Anderson stood in the Command Center of the dreadnought Lodestone. They were in orbit over the Human world of Astor. He had a mixed fleet of Imperial warships and Resistance warships. He had his dreadnought, twelve Imperial battlecruisers, six Resistance battlecruisers, and fourteen Resistance support vessels. Liam’s fleet was one of the largest ones on the periphery of the Empire.

  “We have several cargo ships that have spotted a Morag fleet,” reported Lieutenant Ardlee Proston, the executive officer. “It appears to be the one that attacked Ranier Two, based on its current location, and it’s headed directly for us. I estimate the fleet will be here in four to six hours.”

  Liam nodded. He had hoped they would be bypassed. “Contact Golan Four and tell them we have detected a Morag fleet headed toward us with an arrival time of four to six hours. Ask if any additional support is available. Also contact the planetary governor and inform him that we will soon be under attack and to evacuate the major cities.” Liam knew a large number of underground bunkers had been built over the last few months.

  “What’s the status of the planet’s defenses?” Governor Stewart had been adamant that he wanted the planet as strongly defended as possible. For several months the entire planet’s industries had been turning out defensive grid elements. They had also received a number of missiles and other items from the core worlds.

  “Planetary defenses include 6 ODPs in orbit, some 1,400 energy beam satellites, and 170 missile platforms. Both space stations are heavily armed with powerful energy shields. On the surface one large PDC is near the capital city, as well as a number of energy beam turrets and interceptor missiles scattered across the planet. The capital city is protected by an energy shield and sits inside a ring of protective energy beam turrets.”

  Captain Anderson nodded. He hoped that was enough. He knew he could not destroy this Morag fleet, but he might be able to force them to retreat, rather than risk significant losses.

  -

  On the surface of the planet, Governor Stewart had just reached the massive underground Command Center located beneath a tall snowcapped mountain. Stepping inside, he looked at all the screens and the military personnel busily monitoring the entire system and the planet.

  “Governor,” said General Marley. “We estimate the Morag are four to six hours out.”

  “I was hoping they would skip us.”

  “Unfortunately it appears that won’t happen.”

  The governor sat down and looked up at the general. “How’s the evacuation going?”

  “It’s on schedule. We’ll have all the bunkers full within four hours. People in the cities are being told to go into the country. We have military personnel in all major cities directing traffic. So far, everything seems to be going smoothly, with only a few traffic tie-ups.”

  Governor Stewart looked directly at General Marley. “I don’t want to fall under Confederation rule again. Do whatever is necessary to defend this planet.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Marley.

  The governor left to go to his personal quarters. He hated the Confederation and what they had done to his planet in the past, the Druins taking hundreds of thousands of the planet’s young people. Time for some payback.

  -

  On Golan Four in the underground Command Center, Fleet Admiral Marloo had just received the message from Astor. Chancellor Stein and General Gantts stood next to him.

  “Is there anything we can send to help them?” asked Stein. He knew Governor Stewart, and the man would not surrender his planet if there was any chance he could successfully resist the Morag.

  Admiral Marloo frowned. “We don’t have any major fleet units that far out. We do have a few squadrons based at some nearby worlds, as well as additional Resistance units.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better for them to be gathered together, rather than being picked off one at a time?” asked General Gantts.

  “Probably,” replied Marloo. He had already been thinking along those lines. “Astor does have a pretty strong defense setup. Governor Stewart had demanded it because of all the young people the Druins took in the past. Let me send out some hyperlight messages and see how many ships we can get there in the next few hours. I’ll probably upset a few worlds by pulling their battlecruiser squadrons from their systems.”

  Chancellor Stein understood but nodded in agreement. “Pull them out and I’ll speak to their governors and explain we’re trying to put together a big enough force to stop the Morag from attacking their worlds.”

  “One more thing,” said General Gantts. “You might want to promote Captain Anderson to the rank of rear admiral. He’ll end up with a sizable fleet to command.”

  “You’re right. I’ll do that immediately. Let’s hope our new rear admiral survives this battle.”

  -

  Newly promoted Rear Admiral Liam Anderson was still dazed by his promotion and the fact that more Imperial and Resistance warships were rushing to Astor to increase the size of his fleet.

  Already twelve more battlecruisers had arrived, and more were expected over the next several hours.

  “How do you want to play this?” asked Lieutenant Proston.

  Liam had been thinking furiously, since his promotion, on how best to defend Astor. “We will put all our Imperial ships into one fleet to face the Morag. All of the Resistance ships will be assigned to protect the ODPs. They’re our most powerful weapons asset. As long as we can keep the ODPs operational, the Morag cannot take the planet.”

  Lieutenant Proston studied the tactical display for a long moment. “Why don’t we move some of the elements of the defensive grid closer to the ODPs to give them more cover? Particularly the missile platforms.”

  Anderson liked this suggestion. By moving the missile platforms, the ODPs and fleet units would offer them some protection. “Okay, let’s do that. We’ll use our Imperial fleet units for quick hit-and-run attacks against the Morag.”

  -

  “Admiral Marloo,” said Colonel Hillstrum. “Captain Novak is in that sector with his heavy squadron. He can be at Astor in three hours.” Captain Novak was on patrol in the outer periphery, searching for Confederation ships. It was the only heavy fleet squadron on the entire periphery besides Rear Admiral Anderson’s fleet.

  “What does he have?” Marloo was trying to remember what ship units Captain Novak had been assigned.

  “Two dreadnoughts and twenty-seven battlecruisers.”

  Fleet Admiral Marloo didn’t hesitate. “Divert them to Astor. Inform Captain Novak he will be under Rear Admiral Anderson’s command.”

  As Colonel Hillstrum turned to carry out the order, Fleet Admiral Marloo leaned back in his command chair. This was beginning to look like a possible fleet battle. The Morag would still have a great advantage, but at least Rear Admiral Anderson would now have some options in how to conduct the battle.

  -

  Rear Admiral Anderson felt some relief when he found out that Captain Novak’s heavy squadron was also being diverted to Astor and placed under his command.

  “That gives us some options,” said Lieutenant Proston. “Captain Novak has two dreadnoughts and twenty-seven battlecruisers in his heavy squadron.”

  Rear Admiral Anderson nodded. “Now we just need to figure out how we’ll use our warships.” Liam had several ideas, but he wanted to wait another few hours, until he knew for sure how many warships he would have to oppose the Morag. Imperial warships were still straggling in.

  -

  Morag Admiral Voxx grew impatient. During their last stop to finish a few needed repairs, several Human cargo ships had been in the system. Both had jumped out before he could destroy them.

  It does not matter, sen
t First Officer Bale. We have nearly four thousand warships. They cannot stop us from conquering Astor.

  No, agreed Voxx. But now Astor will have time to prepare and to possibly call in reinforcements. We must be prepared to fight a fleet battle.

  Even so, they won’t have near as many warships as we do.

  Admiral Voxx knew First Officer Bale was correct. Nevertheless we will take some precautions in attacking this system. We will divide the fleet once again into two sections of two thousand warships each and attack from two different directions. Even if the Humans have put together a fleet, they will have to split it to take on our forces, and, with our firepower, we will decimate it.

  We’re two hours from reaching the Astor System, reported First Officer Bale.

  Admiral Voxx nodded. Time to notch up another victory for the Morag and their future.

  -

  Rear Admiral Anderson felt more optimistic. Captain Novak had arrived with his heavy squadron, and, in addition, several other Imperial units and Resistance ships had arrived. “What do we have now?”

  Lieutenant Proston took a minute to study the tactical display, before she answered. “I’m including all our ships as well. At the moment we have three dreadnoughts, sixty-three Imperial battlecruisers, fourteen Resistance battlecruisers, and twenty-nine Resistance support ships.”

  Rear Admiral Anderson nodded. More than he expected. “Have all the Resistance ships take up defensive positions near the six ODPs. All the Imperial ships will be in one fleet, and we’ll use hit-and-run raids against the Morag. We’ll jump in, fire off a couple waves of missiles, and then jump back out before they can unload on us. That way we can keep our losses to a minimum and sew some confusion in the enemy ranks.”

  -

  Fleet Admiral Marloo explained to Prince Andrew exactly what was going on. For the last few days Andrew had been busy installing particle beam cannons on all the orbiting shipyards and space stations. “Rear Admiral Anderson has a small fleet,” Marloo said. “He plans on using it for hit-and-run attacks against the Morag.”

  Andrew frowned. “That Morag fleet is around four thousand ships. How many attacks can he make before his fleet is whittled away?”

  Admiral Marloo shook his head. “Unknown. He will have to go in fast, launch his attack, and then get back out. It’ll all be a matter of timing and precise execution.”

  “Is there anything else we can do to help them?” Andrew was afraid a large number of Humans would die on Astor. He had met Governor Stewart and knew that he hated the Confederation and would risk the safety of his planet to stay free.

  “No, we’ve pulled all our forces in the periphery of Astor. We have no more assets available.”

  “What will happen to our worlds on the periphery?” Andrew was deeply concerned. The loss of life could be incalculable.

  “Many of the worlds on the periphery have defense grids. They will offer those worlds some protection.”

  Andrew drew in a deep breath. “Are these two Morag fleets their primary forces?”

  Marloo hesitated for a moment. “We’re not sure. There’s some thought that these attacks on the periphery of the Empire are nothing more than a diversion and that the main attack is still aimed at the Hagen Star Cluster and the core worlds. We’ve been adjusting our fleet deployments assuming that is correct.”

  Andrew’s face turned pale. “Just how many ships are we facing?”

  “Possibly as many as 27,000.”

  Andrew felt a cold chill run down his back. With the Empire and Resistance fleets combined, they had, at a maximum, six thousand warships. “Can we defeat that number of ships?”

  Fleet Admiral Marloo let out a deep sigh. “Truthfully I don’t know. We had based our original strategy on inflicting casualties on the Confederation fleets as they fought their way across the Empire to reach the core worlds. Now it looks as if the main part of their fleet may be bypassing all those worlds and coming directly here.”

  “So, instead of facing a greatly reduced fleet, we may be facing the full brunt of their main attack force.”

  Admiral Marloo nodded. “It’s possible.”

  “Does Layla and Krista know about this?”

  Admiral Marloo shook his head. “No, we weren’t going to say anything to the two Princesses until we knew more.”

  Andrew understood the reasoning behind this decision, though he disagreed with it. “I’ll go speak to them. Perhaps we should get one of them off of Golan Four, as a precaution.”

  “It might be wise,” admitted Admiral Marloo. “We’re not sure what we might be facing, and, if we wait too much longer, we may not get one of them to safety.”

  Andrew was not looking forward to this coming conversation, but he knew how upset Layla would be if she were kept in the dark.

  -

  “No, absolutely not!” exclaimed Krista, stomping her feet in frustration. “If Layla is staying, so am I!”

  Andrew shook his head. “We’re facing an overwhelming Morag force. If Golan Four is their target, they’re on their way here right now and could be here in just a few days.”

  Layla squared her shoulders defiantly. “I’m certain, between Derrick and Fleet Admiral Marloo, they will keep Golan Four and the other core worlds safe.”

  Andrew knew there was no point in arguing with the two Princesses. Once they had their minds made up, they weren’t going to change. “Just promise me one thing. When the Morag show up, the two of you will go to the Command Bunker beneath the House of Worlds. You cannot remain in the Imperial Palace, as it will be one of the primary targets for the Morag.”

  Layla smiled. “There is one thing you don’t know. I had a very powerful energy shield installed to protect the Palace and the surrounding grounds. It is much more powerful than the ones our dreadnoughts are equipped with.”

  Andrew was surprised. He hadn’t known this. “Well, let’s hope the energy shield isn’t needed. One more thing I’ll recommend. The Morag would like nothing more than to capture one or both of you. We need to double or triple the number of Marines guarding the Palace and the surrounding grounds.”

  Layla nodded. “You’re right. I’ll mention that to Colonel Emerson immediately.”

  Andrew turned to leave, when Layla spoke. “Andrew, you need to stay here as well. No need for you to risk your life on the space stations or the shipyards.”

  Andrew shook his head. “I still have a few more things to do on one of the shipyards. As soon as I’m done, I’ll return to the Palace.”

  “Make sure you do,” said Layla sternly. “Also, before you go back up to the space station, you need to go see Kala.”

  Layla watched as Andrew left. She was now very concerned about Derrick.

  “Are we in any real danger?” asked Krista. She had a highly nervous look on her face.

  Layla took her cousin’s hand. “We’re perfectly safe here in the Palace. The energy shield will protect us, if necessary.”

  Krista nodded. She was still uncertain. “I hope Mathew is safe.” She was greatly worried about him.

  “He’s with Rear Admiral Carrie, and Admiral Cleemorl will make sure he stays safe. Now let’s go get something to eat. We have some House of Worlds’ representatives coming to the Palace for a grand tour later, and we don’t want to disappoint them.” They still had to conduct business as usual, even with the danger of an impending attack.

  -

  Rear Admiral Anderson watched as the Resistance ships took up defensive positions around the six ODPs, and all the Imperial warships formed up around the Lodestone.

  “Still no sign of the Morag,” commented Lieutenant Proston, who had her focus on the tactical display, still only showing green icons. Many of them were cargo and passenger ships.

  Anderson studied the tactical display for a long moment and then spoke. “I think it’s time all those cargo ships and passenger ships head toward another Human system, until this is over. No point in some of them being destroyed by stray weapons fire.” />
  “I’ll have them on their way shortly,” promised Proston.

  The rear admiral watched as the other two dreadnoughts and the sixty-three Imperial battlecruisers formed into a tight wedge formation around the Lodestone. He wanted to hit the enemy hard and fast, and this would be the best formation for that.

  It took about twenty minutes for all the ships to form up around the ODPs and around the Lodestone. Looking at the tactical display, Rear Admiral Anderson knew that all he could do now was wait.

  -

  In the underground Command Center, Governor Stewart had returned from his quarters. “What’s the current status?”

  “No change, as far as the Morag,” replied General Marley. “However Captain Anderson has been promoted to the rank of rear admiral, and all the Imperial and Resistance ships in this region of the periphery have been directed here. Currently we have 109 Imperial and Resistance ships in orbit, including three dreadnoughts. The Resistance ships have been assigned to protect the ODPs, and Rear Admiral Anderson has the Imperial ships in an attack formation. He intends to do hit-and-run raids against the Morag fleet once it gets here.”

  “Will that be enough?”

  General Marley shook his head. “No, Rear Admiral Anderson is hoping to cause the Morag to lose enough ships that they will retreat. However, both he and I agree the odds of that are slight, due to the number of warships he will be facing.”

  Governor Steward nodded. He understood their chances of victory were almost nonexistent.

  -

  Morag Admiral Voxx was once more ready for combat. In only a few more minutes they would drop out of hyperspace into the Astor System. No doubt, after the attacks against Ranier Two and Leonora Five, the enemy would be expecting his fleet.

  We will drop out twenty thousand kilometers from Astor, sent First Officer Bale. That will be outside of any potential defensive weapons fire and will give us a few minutes to analyze the Humans’ defense.

  Let’s hope the Humans have no surprises for us, commented Admiral Voxx. So far we have faced about what we expected, but the Humans are cunning, and we must not take these easy victories for granted.