The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire

by Raymond L. Weil

  “This can’t last much longer,” said Governor Dyson. “Each side is taking heavy losses.”

  Looking at the tactical displays, Krista saw Imperial and Earth ships vanishing, as they were hit by enemy weapons and destroyed. So many were destroyed that she could not even keep count. Looking where Dylan’s flagship was, it seemed to be safe for the moment, but who knew for how much longer? Krista saw Cheryl’s gaze raptly watching the long-range viewscreens, showing the battle. “Dylan’s still fine.”

  Cheryl nodded. Her heart pounded. She found she couldn’t even reply.

  -

  Dylan grew more concerned with every passing moment. If this battle continued as it was, no ships would remain of any of the engaged fleets, including the Confederation. Everything was too evenly matched.

  “We need to break this stalemate,” commented Colonel Bidwell.

  Dylan nodded. “I know, but, if this continues, these Confederation fleets will no longer be a threat to the Empire.”

  “True, but we won’t have much of a fleet left either.”

  On the viewscreens, everywhere Dylan looked was wreckage. Some large and much of it just small pieces drifting in space. Dylan felt uneasy looking at the viewscreens. Occasionally bodies were visible, floating in the darkness.

  The Themis shook violently, and a few red icons appeared on the damage control board to join the others already there.

  “Fusion beam hit to the starboard side,” reported the damage control officer. “We lost two small energy beam turrets and a missile tube.”

  The damage was adding up. Dylan thought hard about what he could to that would be a game changer. If things stayed as they were, he could destroy the Confederation fleets, but his fleet would no longer be an effective fighting force. There would be little of it left. Closing his eyes, he shook his head. There had to be something he could do.

  -

  Morag Admiral Norlan had arrived at the same conclusion. If the battle continued as it was, his fleets would lose. Of course the enemy fleets would be destroyed as well. It’s time we send in some of the Druins ships to ram the base on the pole.

  First Officer Kenold nodded in agreement. I will help you emplace the commands in the command crews of the selected vessels.

  I want thirty undamaged Druin warships. That will allow them to defend themselves. They are to set their fusion and antimatter missiles to explode on contact with either the ground or an energy shield. We will send them in fifteen minutes.

  Instantly the two got busy entering the minds of the Druin command crews and emplacing their orders in their minds. None of the Druins thought it strange that they were to suicide their ships.

  -

  The minutes passed, and suddenly thirty Druin battlecruisers broke formation and headed toward Gideon.

  “Where are those ships going?” demanded Druin Admiral Falorr. “Contact them and tell them to get back in formation.”

  “They’re not responding,” replied the communications officer.

  Instantly Falorr knew what had happened. Admiral Norlan had taken over the minds of those Druin command crews and had ordered them to commit suicide, by ramming the big base of the Humans. “Contact Zynth Admiral Donlur. We need to talk.” Falorr would not allow his fleet to be treated like this. They were not cannon fodder for the Morag.

  -

  In the underground Command Center, the sensor officer noticed the inbound Druin warships. “General, we may have a problem. Thirty Druin battlecruisers have left their formation and are headed directly toward the base.”

  “Suiciders,” suggested Colonel Berks worriedly. “I’ve heard rumors the Morag have done this before.”

  General Flynn knew he could not allow a single one of those vessels to strike his base. “Switch all base weapons to target those ships and destroy them!” His gaze focused on the tactical display.

  -

  In space, the Druin ships sped up, as they headed toward the moon. They passed through the Morag formation and were soon hit by the remaining defensive grid. Seven Druin battlecruisers died in spectacular explosions as all the fusion and antimatter weapons on board detonated.

  The remaining ships were now taking fire from the big base. Battlecruiser after battlecruiser were being blown apart. Each destroyed ship lit up space, like a supernova. Twelve more ships died as they entered the atmosphere.

  The weapons fire intensified as every weapon in range tried to shoot down the incoming ships. Eight more died, setting off tremendous explosions in the atmosphere. The three surviving battlecruisers were hit numerous times, but they were now too close to the surface. All three of them slammed into the energy shields of the big base. The entire moon shook from the sheer ferocity of the blasts.

  -

  Inside the underground Command Center, General Flynn was thrown to the floor. Consoles exploded in huge showers of sparks, and military personnel cried out in pain. The lights dimmed and then turned bright once again. Overhead beams came crashing down, smashing consoles and personnel.

  Staggering back to his feet, General Flynn sat back down. “What did we lose?” He didn’t know if any of the base had survived the blasts. “Someone check on the core tap.”

  “Forty percent of the base is gone,” reported Colonel Berks, who had a large bleeding gash across his forehead. “Power from the core tap has been greatly reduced. We can’t fire any of the big cannons.”

  “Find out what’s wrong and get it fixed. We need those big cannons!”

  The viewscreens and tactical displays flickered and then cleared. A view from one of the ODPs revealed the base. All that was visible were three huge mushroom clouds rising into the atmosphere.

  “Get some techs in here and medical personnel. I need this Command Center back up and running and all the rubble cleared out.”

  “Missile batteries and secondary fusion turrets have power and can fire,” reported Colonel Harkin. His left arm hung limply at his side, obviously broken.

  “Colonel, get to medical.”

  “No, sir. I need to remain at my station. I’ve taken some painkillers, and I’m fine for now.”

  General Flynn nodded. “I need those big cannons firing as soon as possible. Get everything else firing now!”

  “I just spoke to the lead technician over at the core tap,” reported Colonel Berks. “They took some major damage but can have full power restored in five minutes. They don’t know how long that will last. They’re close to losing it. They may have to detonate the deep fusion devices to close off the tap.”

  “I’ll take the power for as long as they can provide it.” Flynn knew this was bad news about the core tap. They all knew that the deep fusion devices might not shut it down. If they didn’t, then the entire moon was lost.

  -

  Admiral Cleemorl looked in shock at the massive mushroom clouds rising above the base. From what he saw, no way to tell if any of the base had survived. “Can we contact them?”

  Lieutenant Newsome shook his head. “Too much static. I’m trying, but, so far, I can’t get through.”

  “Admiral, the base has started firing again,” reported Colonel Bidwell, pointing at a large viewscreen. Sure enough, some weaker fusion beams were visible, as well as missiles. To Dylan, the base had been heavily damaged. The questions were, how much of it was left, and could they get the big cannons firing again?

  -

  Druin Admiral Falorr watched a timer. Neither he nor Zynth Admiral Donlur would allow any more of their crews to be used like that by the Morag. The timer hit zero, and all the Druin and Zynth ships that could enter hyperspace vanished from above Gideon.

  “Where are we going?” asked First Officer Dagor. Just the thought of the Morag being able to take over his mind made him want to get as far away as possible.

  “Home,” answered Falorr in a tired voice. “We need to report what the Morag were doing. It won’t go over very well with our military leaders.”

  “But what can we do? The Morag can
still control our minds.”

  “Not if we have enough of these,” replied Falorr, pointing to the nullifier he wore. “I suspect our alliance with the Morag is about to come to an end.” Falorr was glad that a contact of his had been able to get two of the nullifier headsets. He had one, and Zynth Admiral Donlur had one. Falorr had never trusted the Morag, and now it seemed his instincts toward the Morag had been true.

  -

  Morag Admiral Norlan was stunned when the Druins and the Zynth suddenly made the transition into hyperspace and withdrew from the battle. Attempts to contact them were unsuccessful.

  It’s because we used some of their ships as suiciders, sent First Officer Kenold. They left so we couldn’t do it again.

  Looking at the tactical displays, Norlan saw the Human fleets reorganizing in preparation for moving against his fleet. He still had the numbers, but now the Morag were on their own.

  -

  “We have full power from the core tap again,” reported Colonel Berks. “The scientists and technicians feel they can give us thirty more minutes, and then they need to try to shut it down. If they’re unsuccessful, they’ll have to detonate the fusion charges.”

  “Can we fire the big cannons?”

  “Yes, General,” reported Colonel Harkin. “We only have twenty-eight of them still fully functional. Some of the others were damaged from all the shaking from the explosions.”

  “Then fire them!” ordered Flynn. “This battle isn’t over yet.”

  -

  Dylan smiled when he saw the big cannons from the base firing once more. Not near as many but it indicated a sizable portion of the base still survived. “Move us forward. It’s time we engaged the Morag.”

  Looking at the tactical display, it was obvious that, between his fleet and Rear Admiral Barnes’s, they had lost nearly 30 percent of their ships. However, they still had a powerful fleet, and it was time to teach the Morag a lesson. Already he noticed that General Flynn had moved some of the other ODPs to put them within firing range of the Morag. This battle still had a long way to go.

  -

  In the underground Command Center on Tantula Five, everyone stared at the giant mushroom clouds rising above the base. Absolute quiet took over the massive Command Center.

  “We have reports of an increase in earthquakes, and several volcanoes have erupted on Gideon,” reported Colonel Jensen. “We have contacted the base, and General Flynn reports they lost over 40 percent of it. He also says they may lose the core tap, and they’ll try to shut it down in thirty minutes. They don’t know if they will be successful.”

  “Send our interceptors to Gideon,” ordered General Clarkson. “At full speed they can be there in twenty minutes. Maybe they can make a difference.” It was a chance he was taking, sending in his interceptors. But he wanted to keep the battle at Gideon. He didn’t want to see that kind of damage on Tantula Five.

  -

  Krista and Cheryl could not believe what they saw. The inhabited moon of Gideon was on one of the viewscreens. The big mushroom clouds were clearly visible. The moon’s atmosphere was already turning a dark gray with static lightning.

  “That’s horrible,” said Cheryl, tears in her eyes. She knew that tens of millions of people must have just died. “That’s what they’ll do to Golan Four, if they get the chance.”

  Krista nodded. She felt ill, seeing all the destruction. “That’s why both Dylan and Derrick insist on leading their fleets. They know what’s at stake.”

  Cheryl shook her head. “I feel guilty about being so selfish. Dylan is where he needs to be.”

  Krista returned her attention to the viewscreens. She knew that soon Golan Four might well be under the same type of attack.

  -

  Morag Admiral Norlan was now heavily engaged against the Human fleet, as well as the defenses of the moon. At the moment he was losing two ships for every Human ship he destroyed. Between the Human fleets’ particle beams and accelerator cannons, he had already lost most of his battleships. Now the big base on the moon had started firing again. Not as heavily as before, but those big beams were still deadly.

  We can’t win, said First Officer Kenold, his eyes wide in disbelief. We lost the Druin and Zynth fleets, and our own fleet has suffered substantial losses. We have fewer than four thousand ships left. The Humans have nearly two thousand warships, plus several thousand of their attack interceptors. We have also detected another three thousand that have launched from Tantula Five. They will be here in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

  On the viewscreen, one of his few remaining Morag battleships exploded, blown apart by an energy beam strike from the moon. If Norlan stayed, he could still destroy Gideon and the Human fleet, but he would have no fleet left.

  Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. We have no choice. We must withdraw. Even if we destroy Gideon and the Human fleet, we won’t have the forces left to conquer Tantula Five and the rest of the cluster. We have lost. Stand by to take the fleet into hyperspace. At least I can save the rest of the fleet.

  A few moments later, the Morag fleet disappeared from the Tantula Five System. The battle for the Hagen Star Cluster was over, and the Humans had won.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Dylan was stunned when the Morag ships suddenly vanished, as they made the transition into hyperspace. On the tactical display, only a few heavily damaged Morag ships remained, and Gideon’s defensive grid was taking care of those.

  “Where did they go?” asked Colonel Bidwell, as he gazed at the empty viewscreens.

  “They left,” replied Dylan. “Their admiral realized, as we did, that neither side would win this battle, so he pulled out.”

  “Where will they go?”

  Dylan thought for a long moment and then replied, “Probably to join up with the other Morag forces to attack Golan Four.”

  Dylan quickly contacted Rear Admiral Barnes and ordered her and Rear Admiral Carrie to return to Tantula Five. He would stay at Gideon with his fleet—or what remained of it. On the ship’s main viewscreen, Gideon’s atmosphere turned darker and darker.

  -

  In the underground Command Center, General Flynn leaned back in his command chair, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Gideon was a mess, but they had survived and had driven off the Confederation fleets. “Take all commands to Condition Three, and implement full rescue operations.”

  Flynn knew that, in only minutes, a massive rescue effort would begin. In each of the huge underground bunkers, hundreds and then tens of thousands of rescue personnel would be moving out.

  “Get me the scientist in charge of the core tap. I need to know what’s going on over there.” If the tap blew, then all of this was for nothing.

  “I just talked to him,” replied Colonel Berks. “They’ve successfully shut it down. However, he says it will take over a week to repair the damage.”

  Flynn nodded. “I think he will have that week. Now let’s see what we can do about repairing parts of this base, just in case those Confederation fleets return.” He knew from earlier reports that many of the weapons just needed some minor repairs. However, some of the larger weapons, like the big energy cannons, their tubes were either warped or the frame holding the cannons was partially collapsed.

  -

  In the underground Command Center on Tantula Five, there was considerable cheering. The Confederation fleets had been driven off, and, so far, no one else reported any signs of them across the cluster.

  Governor Dyson stood and walked over to General Clarkson. “I want Operation Salvage implemented immediately. Send the message out to the other primary worlds of the cluster.”

  Dyson returned and sat back down next to Krista.

  “What’s Operation Salvage?”

  Dyson smiled and gestured toward the tactical display, where a large number of friendly green icons appeared. “Those large cargo ships contain everything Gideon might need to rebuild. Every primary world in the cluster will send
a fleet like that in the next few hours. The first thing we’ll do is clean the moon’s atmosphere, putting out fires, helping to rescue survivors. Two years from now you won’t be able to tell Gideon was even attacked.”

  Krista nodded. “I think I can assure you that the Empire will send whatever is needed as well. This battle wasn’t just for the Tantula System. It was for the Empire.”

  “Thank you, Princess,” replied Governor Dyson. “The help will be much appreciated.”

  Looking at the main tactical display, Krista was relieved to see the Themis still there. Now the main part of the battle would shift to the Golan Four System, where Layla was. One worry was over, with an even larger one about to begin.

  -

  On Golan Four in the underground Command Center beneath the House of Worlds, Fleet Admiral Dom Marloo just received the final report from the battle over Gideon. Both Admiral Cleemorl and Fleet Admiral Marloo were in agreement. The defeated Morag forces would join up with the forces aimed at Golan Four and then attack the Golan Four System in a massive attack.

  “Can you spare Rear Admiral Carrie and Rear Admiral Krest?” asked Admiral Marloo. “I could sure use her battlecarriers and Krest’s warships.”

  “I believe so,” replied Dylan. “However, many of her pilot crews and interceptors are from this cluster. I would like to keep them, so we have a reasonable number of interceptors here to help protect Gideon and Tantula Five, in case the Druins or the Zynth return.”

  “No problem,” replied Marloo. “I can get the necessary interceptors and crews from the other core worlds. I’ll have them here waiting, when Rear Admiral Carrie arrives. I also doubt if we’ll be seeing any more of the Druins or the Zynth. I believe the Morag might have shattered their alliance when their admiral took over the minds of those thirty Druin ships that attacked the base. They can’t be happy about that. The next meeting of their Great Council might see the Confederation shattered.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said Dylan. “We already know the Lormallians and the Zang are close to rebelling. Perhaps we should find a way to add some encouragement.”