-
Later they took a quick ground tour of parts of the base. They stopped in front of a massive dual cannon, pointed toward the sky.
“This is one of our new fusion energy cannons,” boasted General Flynn. “Because of its size it can reach nearly 35 percent farther than the normal cannons built on the ground.”
Dylan stepped out of the ground car to inspect the twin cannons. They were truly impressive. “How many times a minute can they fire?” He stepped up and climbed on a platform, where several technicians checked out the cannon. He placed his hand on the hard cold metal, thinking of the power the cannon represented.
“Once every twenty seconds,” replied General Flynn. “Any more than that and they have a tendency to overheat.”
From the platform, Dylan saw dozens of the massive twin cannons, also hundreds of smaller ones as well.
“How does the firepower of this PDC compare to a normal-size one?”
Flynn laughed. “There’s no comparison. I would guess this PDC has at least fifty times the firepower of any other PDC ever built. We built this base to take out an entire Confederation fleet by itself. It also has the most powerful energy shields ever designed. It takes twenty separate shields just to protect this base.”
“Where do you get the power?” asked Dylan. He didn’t see how fusion power plants could furnish enough.
“We used a core tap,” replied Flynn a little nervously. “The hot core of this moon provides us the power. It’s one of the reasons we could build such large cannons.”
Dylan frowned. “Isn’t that a little dangerous? Core taps overall were outlawed since, if control of one was lost, serious damage could occur to the moon or planet.
“We have sufficient safeguards. In the event of an extreme case, where we lose total control, a series of fusion explosions deep underground will seal off the shafts. Our scientists are certain that will work.”
To Dylan it sounded more like a desperate measure, but, if it worked, it might be worth it. He looked once more at all the massive cannons aimed toward space. Just maybe all these cannons powered by a core tap could make a huge difference in the battle. He suddenly felt a little better about the odds of winning.
-
For the next several hours they toured parts of the base. They inspected more fusion cannons, some missile launchers, and the attack interceptor hangars. Everyone was impressed by what they saw.
“How many personnel do you have here?” asked Dylan. Everywhere he looked, he saw technicians and soldiers.
“Nearly one hundred thousand,” replied General Flynn. “We also use a lot of work robots for construction and for moving material about. When the Confederation fleet or fleets are detected, everyone has a place to go. Some will go to underground bunkers, and others will be on damage repair details. Most of the troops will be aboveground in special barracks that should offer them some protection.”
Overall Dylan was satisfied with his inspection. “I think it’s time for me to get back up to the Themis. This tour has only increased my confidence that we will stop the Confederation cold, when they hit these defenses. General Flynn, you have done an excellent job with this base. I couldn’t have asked for more.”
The two governors agreed. They had discussed much during the tour and had a lot of questions answered. Now all they could do was wait for the Confederation attack, which was probably less than two days away.
-
On Golan Four, Cheryl had received Dylan’s recorded message. She had listened to it a number of times. A cold feeling passed over her, as she heard his words. It almost seemed as if Dylan were saying goodbye. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she decided to visit Layla and see if she knew if anything was happening in the Hagen Star Cluster. With every passing hour, Cheryl was more worried, feeling as if her life were about to come to an end.
-
Layla was in her office in the Imperial Palace, when Cheryl entered. Layla could tell instantly from the look on Cheryl’s face that she had been crying. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m scared that something’ll happen to Dylan,” Cheryl blurted out. “I just received a recorded message from him, and it almost sounded as if he was saying goodbye.”
Layla stood and walked over to a large couch, against one of the walls of her office. She indicated for Cheryl to come over and to sit next to her. “From what we know, the Confederation should hit the Hagen Star Cluster within the next day or two. I’ll call you when the battle starts, and we’ll go to the Command Center beneath the House of Worlds, so we can keep track of what’s going on. I want you to know that I’m just as concerned about Derrick. There’s not a moment I don’t think about the danger he’s soon to be in. I also know there’s nothing I can do to change his mind about commanding his fleet. We both know our two best admirals are Dylan and Derrick. We need them in command of their fleets, if we’ll survive what’s coming.”
Cheryl nodded. Her hands were in her lap, clasped together. “I know you’re right. I just wish things were different.”
“We all do,” replied Layla. “Look at it on the bright side. If we win the coming battles, we can permanently free the Empire from being attacked by the Confederation. We can usher in a new age of peace and prosperity.”
Cheryl forced a smile. “You’re always so positive about everything.”
“I have to be,” replied Layla. “I’m the High Princess, and my attitude reflects on the Empire and what I want it to become. It’s also very hard at times. In the coming days all of us will be filled with worry—Krista, Kala, you, and me—as we all have someone who we love who will be in grave danger. At times our minds will be full of doubt and fear, but we’ll get through this. Dylan, Derrick, Andrew, and Mathew will expect that of us.”
Cheryl leaned back against the sofa. “This will be hard.”
“Yes, it is,” replied Layla. She had spent days worrying about Derrick.
“I just wish this was over.”
Layla reached over and took Cheryl’s hand, squeezing it. “We all do.”
-
In orbit, Derrick was in his quarters, examining the Golan Four System on a holographic display. Twelve planets were in the system, with minor Human colonies on Golan Three and Golan Five. Several of the moons in the system were inhabited as well, and one of the moons of Golan Eight, which was a large gas giant, had been terraformed and had a Human population of over six hundred million. This moon, Meta, was heavily defended with a massive defensive grid, ODPs, and PDCs on the surface. A major shipyard was in orbit, as well as two medium-size space stations. Several asteroid fields were nearby, but these had been mined out hundreds of years in the past. Still some active mining occurred on some of the other planets and particularly the moons in the system.
With the belief that the Morag would attack the core worlds, more ships had been recalled. Now both he and Rear Admiral Banora had fleets of slightly over 1,200 battlecruisers and 200 dreadnoughts. The fleets were heavy in dreadnoughts because of the new particle beam cannons. He hoped the cannons would give the Human forces an edge in the battles soon to come.
Reaching forward, Derrick adjusted the hologram to show all the core worlds. The Mall Star Cluster consisted of nearly four thousand stars. The cluster was very rich in minerals, with numerous mining operations spread across the cluster. Over sixty large mining colonies existed, as well as twenty-two terraformed moons, all with major Human populations. Sixteen heavily populated Human star systems were in the Mall Star Cluster. All of those sixteen worlds had heavy industry and were capable of building spacecraft.
Every inhabited world, moon, and mining colony had been heavily fortified. If any were attacked, they should hold out until an Imperial fleet could arrive. At the moment Rear Admiral Banora would be that reactive fleet. Derrick dared not move Fifth Fleet away from the Golan Four System, since it would be the primary target in the cluster. Every moon or planet with Human inhabitants also had squadrons of attack interceptors available to a
id in their defense. On all sixteen of the major worlds, thousands of interceptors waited to be thrown into combat.
Currently Rear Admiral Banora had her fleet at Ambary Two, which was the most heavily populated core world. From there she could easily reach any of the other primary core worlds or major inhabited moons in a relatively short time.
-
During the next four hours Derrick examined the defenses of every core world and inhabited moon. He had done this multiple times in the past, seeking anything they could change to make the defenses stronger. From what he saw, it would take a massive fleet to conquer any significant portion of the Mall Star Cluster. Unfortunately he was certain the Morag had exactly that.
Finally Derrick turned off the hologram. The Hagen Star Cluster would be hit first or at the same time as the core worlds. Once the attack in the cluster began, Derrick intended to take his fleet and all the core worlds to Condition One. Meaning, full-scale war was imminent.
Leaning back in his chair, Derrick closed his eyes. He wondered what Layla was doing. It would be a simple matter to call her, but she was probably busy in her office, and he did not want to interrupt her. Derrick decided he would wait for later in the evening, when she should be in their quarters, and they could have a long private conversation.
-
Morag Admiral Norlan’s fleet had dropped out of hyperspace in a red giant system. Already his warship crews, as well as the Druins and the Zynth, went over all ship systems, as well as conducting maintenance that could not be done while the vessels were in hyperspace. His plan called for them to stay in the red giant system for twelve hours and then travel another two hours to the Hagen Star Cluster.
-
Unknown to Admiral Norlan, a heavily stealthed Human scout ship sat in the outer regions of the red giant system, mixed in with a large asteroid field. The scout ship was carefully scanning the Confederation fleets as to their makeup and ship type. Finally satisfied they had the information they needed, a directional hyperlight message was sent to Gideon, Admiral Cleemorl, and Golan Four.
-
On board the Themis, Admiral Cleemorl was hastily summoned to the Command Center.
“We just received a message from scout ship 462,” reported Colonel Jase Bidwell, who had recently been promoted to ship’s captain to take the place of former Captain Fulmar, now a rear admiral. “Three Confederation fleets have dropped out of hyperspace in the Beta Fourteen Red Giant System.”
Dylan sat down in his command chair and called up a holographic star map. He quickly plugged in the necessary information, and a small red icon began blinking. “About two hours away. What are we facing?”
“Four thousand Morag vessels, though they seem to be of an older model, 2,443 Druin warships, and 2,300 Zynth warships. Also some very large unidentified ships were in the Druin fleet, which we believe are drone carriers.”
Dylan rubbed his chin. “Nearly nine thousand enemy ships.”
“Yes, sir. The same message was sent to Gideon and Golan Four.”
Dylan leaned forward in his command chair. “They must be doing some routine maintenance before making their final hyperspace jump into the cluster.”
“The scout is supposed to notify us when they jump,” replied Colonel Bidwell.
Dylan nodded. Nearly five hundred of the small six-man scout ships were scattered about, seeking the enemy fleets. This was the first actual contact.
“Send the word out to all commands that the incoming fleets have been spotted. They are currently doing some repairs and are two hours away. As soon as they move, the entire cluster will go to Condition One. All worlds or moons with emergency shelters or bunkers should fill them now.”
Standing up, Dylan walked over to communications. “Get me General Flynn on Gideon.”
It took only a moment for General Flynn to answer. “Yes, Admiral.”
“I take it you received the message from the scout ship?”
“Affirmative. We’re still analyzing just what it means. We’ll be facing a hell of a lot of ships.”
Dylan was in agreement with that. “If they all come here, I’ll pull in the rest of my ships. Between my ships, the weapons on Gideon and Tantula Five, plus all the attack interceptors we have, we just might pull this off.”
“I’ve already placed all of Gideon and our defenses at Condition Two. We’ll go to Condition One as soon as they drop from hyperspace in our system.”
Dylan had already estimated how long that will be. “I believe we’re looking at somewhere between twelve and fourteen hours. We have that much time to prepare.”
“I agree,” replied General Flynn.
“I need to speak with Governor Dyson next. He needs to know what we’re facing and how soon to expect an attack. I’ll also send a message to all the primary worlds and inhabited moons shortly, letting them know the attack is imminent.”
Dylan also wanted to send a last message to Cheryl. While most of the time she acted tough and brave, he knew that, deep inside, she was not. She would be scared to death, worrying about him. He wanted to reassure her that he planned on coming back to Golan Four when this was over.
-
Fleet Admiral Marloo had just informed Derrick about what was soon to happen in the Hagen Star Cluster. Admiral Cleemorl expected a full-scale attack in the next twelve to fourteen hours.
Derrick did some math and grew worried. With the two Morag fleets out on the periphery, plus what enemy forces were soon to attack the Hagen Star Cluster, he counted already nearly 17,000 Confederation ships. Just how many ships had the Confederation sent? If a Morag fleet was on its way to the core worlds, it had to at least number between 5,000 to 8,000 warships. That would put the entire attack force at 25,000 ships.
Derrick leaned back in his command chair, with a steep frown. He really wanted to take his fleet to reinforce Admiral Cleemorl. If he left now and ran at full hyperspace speed, he might arrive in the middle of the battle. However, what if an attack were coming toward the core worlds? That attack would have to begin at the same time as the one on the Hagen Star Cluster or soon afterward.
Derrick was thinking hard. Assume the Morag attacks on the periphery are, indeed, a diversion. Then the attack on the Hagen Star Cluster could be an even bigger diversion, all aimed at pulling Human warships from the core worlds. The more Derrick thought, the more certain he was this was a maximum effort by the Confederation, led by the Morag, to smash the Empire and to bring it back fully under Confederation control once more.
Looking over at Communications, he gave an order. “Contact Rear Admiral Banora and have her fleet return to Golan Four immediately.” If the Morag were coming, their target would be Golan Four. They would bypass the other worlds, feeling, if they could take Golan Four, the war would be over. There was sound reasoning for the Morag to think that, and Derrick knew they just might be right. For that very reason, he would consolidate his ships into one fleet. He would not allow the Morag to take Golan Four, even if it cost him every ship under his command, including his own.
-
Fleet Admiral Marloo was tempted to countermand Vice Fleet Admiral Masters’s orders. However, Derrick was a great admiral and had a knack for being right. If Golan Four was, indeed, the main target and not any of the other core worlds, then what Derrick was doing was the correct strategy.
“How are the evacuations going?”
Colonel Hillstrum looked over at the admiral. “All primary bunkers are now full and closed. Secondary bunkers will be full in another two hours. People who can are heading into the countryside and the mountains. We have a heavy military presence in all major cities, ensuring the evacuations are orderly. So far everything is flowing smoothly.”
Admiral Marloo looked at the hundreds of screens in the Command Center. They showed scenes from across the core worlds. On every world, people were leaving the cities. Marloo just wondered what those screens would look like after this battle was over. He greatly feared that a lot of good people would
soon die.
Chapter Nineteen
Admiral Cleemorl was back in the Command Center of the Themis, after taking a short nap. He doubted if he had slept more than thirty minutes total. Too much tossing and turning, as he thought about the coming battle. Finally he had gotten up, taken a quick shower, and put on a clean uniform. “Status?”
“No change,” replied Colonel Bidwell. “All commands report they’re at Condition Two and awaiting further orders.”
“Admiral!” called out the communications officer in an excited voice. “The scout ship reports the Confederation fleets have entered hyperspace. Course indicates they are on their way toward the Hagen Star Cluster.”
Dylan looked at Colonel Bidwell, their gazes meeting. “Guess that’s that. Take all commands to Condition One. Estimated combat in two to three hours.”
Red lights flashed, and sirens howled.
“Communications, get me Rear Admirals Fulmar and Manson.” Dylan wanted to have a long talk with both of them. Fulmar’s fleet was twenty minutes away, and Manson’s was nearly thirty.
It didn’t take long, and he had both of them on the comm. “There’s a good chance the enemy fleets will bypass all the other worlds in the cluster and come straight here. If they do, I want both of your fleets here in the Tantula System as soon as possible.”
“We could come now,” suggested Rear Admiral Fulmar.
“I considered that,” replied Dylan. “But we can’t be 100 percent certain they are coming directly here. If I’m wrong, I could be endangering some of the other heavily populated worlds in the cluster, and I don’t want to take that risk. If the Confederation fleets do come directly here, I’ll summon Rear Admiral Carrie and her fleet for support as well. Unfortunately they are currently forty minutes out.”
“Why don’t you call in Carrie’s fleet now?” suggested Rear Admiral Manson. “You might need her attack interceptors.”
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 23