There was no doubt in Derrick’s mind this was the secret Morag weapon they had heard rumors about. Those fifty giant warships had to be kept away from Golan Four.
“A little over 15,000 Morag warships are in the system,” reported Major Nower. “No more are dropping from hyperspace. They have formed up into two cone formations.”
“One hell of a fleet,” commented Colonel Bryant, as she gazed at the myriad of red threat icons on the tactical display. “What do you want to do?”
Derrick was deep in thought. He had a little over 3,500 ships to take on 15,000—nearly five-to-one odds. “I don’t think we have much of a choice. We need to fall back closer to the defense grid, so we can use its firepower to help even things up. Counting the ground-based attack interceptors, we have nearly 18,000 of them that we can use in the battle.”
“We’re detecting another ship type,” reported Major Nower, as she put a view of it on the main viewscreen.
The new ship appeared to be about the size of a light cruiser.
“An interceptor killer,” hissed Colonel Bryant. “Look at all those short-range energy beam turrets. I can see a lot of missile tube hatches as well, so they probably have interceptor missiles also.”
“How many of them are there?” asked Derrick, as he examined the ship up on the viewscreen.
“One hundred and thirty-two,” replied Nower. “They’re scattered throughout the main Morag formation.”
“Designate them as a primary target,” ordered Derrick. “If we can take them out in the early part of the battle, then our interceptors will be more effective.”
-
In the underground Command Center beneath the House of Worlds, Fleet Admiral Marloo stared at the tactical display in shock. He had not expected that many Morag warships to appear. They must really want to destroy Golan Four.
“All commands are at Condition One,” reported Colonel Hillstrum. “Energy shields have been activated over all major cities and military bases.”
“I want one thousand interceptors ready to launch. Their only job is to stay in the atmosphere and to shoot down any missiles that get past the defensive grid.”
Marloo was afraid that, no matter what they did, a few would get through and strike the planet.
-
All across the planet, the alarms and sirens went off, designating the Condition One setting. Energy beam turrets pointed upward, and interceptor missiles were prepared to launch. At all military bases weapons were readied, and targeting systems started searching the sky.
At the interceptor bases, one thousand attack interceptors rolled out of their armored bunkers, ready to take flight. They had no missiles, as they would be shooting down inbound missiles with their energy beam cannons. The missiles would only add extra weight, and the interceptors might need to do a lot of quick maneuvering to target the descending warheads.
-
In the Royal Bunker beneath the Imperial Palace, Layla, Andrew, Kala, and Chancellor Stein were in the small Command Center, where they could watch developments.
“I thought you would be in the big Command Center with Fleet Admiral Marloo,” said Layla, focusing on Stein.
Chancellor Stein shook his head. “No, I would just be in the way. At least here I can still keep track of everything going on.”
-
In the small Command Center’s command chair, Colonel Katelyn Mace watched the developments on the main viewscreens and tactical displays. Ten other officers were in the Command Center, operating consoles. All they could do from here was observe. Colonel Mace was a little nervous about having the High Princess and the others sitting behind her. She hoped she didn’t screw anything up.
-
The two Human fleets dropped back toward Golan Four, with the Morag fleets now closing the distance. They were still too far away for any weapons fire.
“We’ll close to five hundred kilometers from the defense grid and then come to a stop,” said Derrick. “That should allow the grid to add its firepower to ours against the Morag.” That would help even up the battle some but still not enough. “Once we’re fully engaged, we’ll launch all the attack interceptors from the battlecarriers and send them against the Morag. Medium-range missile launches to start with. At the same time we’ll also prepare to launch the attack interceptors from the ground bases. They can rearm and refuel by landing on the battlecarriers. We’ll try to hold the Morag here as long as we can.”
“Engagement range in seven minutes,” announced Major Nower.
Derrick activated his ship-to-ship comm. “All commands, prepare to fire. I want the Morag light cruisers taken out first. They offer the biggest threat to our interceptors, and we’ll need those interceptors if we want to win this battle. I also want to hit those big ships of the Morag with as many particle beams and accelerator cannon rounds as possible. We can’t allow those big ships near Golan Four.” Those big ships were deep in the Morag formation, and Derrick wasn’t even sure they could reach them.
-
In the underground Command Center, Fleet Admiral Marloo looked over at General Gantts; she was in charge of the orbital defenses as well as the ground defenses.
“All orbital defenses stand by to fire,” she ordered. “Don’t let those Morag vessels get close to Golan Four. Inbound missiles are primary targets.”
“Three minutes to combat range,” reported Colonel Marks.
Marloo nodded. “Launch the one thousand attack interceptors. They are on missile watch.”
-
Across the planet, the chosen squadrons took off, heading high up in the atmosphere. Each pilot was determined not to let any missiles strike the planet, as Golan Four was their home, and they were protecting their families. As soon as the first squadrons of fighters were gone, technicians and mechanics got the next squadrons ready. It wouldn’t be long before they were launched as well.
-
Derrick brought his fleets to a stop, facing the Morag. They were nearly in combat range.
“One thousand interceptors have launched,” confirmed Major Nower.
“Their primary job will be missile interdiction,” said Colonel Bryant.
“Fleets are in stationary position,” reported Lieutenant Viktor. “Standing by for orders.”
“Morag fleets have entered extreme combat range.”
“All ships stand by to fire,” said Derrick over the comm, leaning forward, as he watched the tactical display. “Launch attack interceptors.”
-
On Rear Admiral Carrie’s battlecarriers, attack interceptors shot out of the flight bays. The interceptors rapidly formed into squadrons and waited for further orders. Rear Admiral Collison’s fifteen battlecarriers were doing the same thing. Shortly nearly 5,600 interceptors waited to attack.
-
Derrick knew of only one way to win this battle. He had to drastically weaken the Morag fleet to the point where the defense grid could finish them off, and to do that would require fighting from nearly point-blank range. Derrick planned on getting so close to the Morag fleets that they wouldn’t be able to use their numerical advantage. He had already spoken to his admirals, and they were in full agreement with his plan.
“Optimum combat range!” called out Major Nower.
“Fire!” ordered Derrick, just as the Morag opened up.
-
Space erupted with explosions of energy, as the Human and the Morag fleets opened fire. The defense grid around Golan Four opened up as well. In moments, space was full of exploding missiles and bright energy beams. The front sections of both fleets were full of exploding ships. Tens of thousands of missiles detonated every few seconds, and over one hundred thousand energy beams were fired by the opposing fleets. Also added in was the weapons fire from the defense grid.
-
Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant was surprised at the amount of firepower the Humans were unleashing on his fleet. Keep the Conquerors back for now. I want to substantially reduce the size of the oppos
ing fleets and their defense grid before we commit them. The Conquerors were key to destroying the planet.
On the viewscreens, Morag battlecruisers and battleships were dying. Ships exploded, torn in two, shattered by massive explosions, and literally vaporized by the tremendous amount of firepower the Humans poured into the front of the Morag fleet. Switching his gaze to the Human fleets, Torrant was satisfied to see they were suffering heavy losses as well. He could afford to lose the ships; the Humans could not.
-
Derrick felt the Destiny shudder, as a number of Morag fusion energy beams slammed into the energy shield. “All ships advance to point-blank range,” he ordered. “Rear Admiral Carrie, have your interceptors launch their missiles at the right flank of the enemy fleet and then pull them back to be rearmed.”
“When do you want the ground-based interceptors launched?” asked Colonel Bryant.
“Not yet,” replied Derrick, as he watched the viewscreens. “We need to weaken the Morag fleet some, before we risk hitting them with the main interceptor force. How are we doing on taking out those light cruisers?”
“We took out about 30 percent of them in our first missile and energy beam attack. The survivors have pulled back deeper into the Morag fleet, where it’s more difficult to hit them.”
Looking at the viewscreens, Derrick noted that all the fleets were now engaged. Rear Admiral Collison was hitting the Morag’s flank, forcing them to adjust their formation. As expected, the Earth fleet’s accelerator cannons were ripping the front of that section of the Morag fleet to shreds. Already space had filled with debris from destroyed Morag ships. However, because of the Morag’s superior numbers, Collison was losing ships as well.
“What are their big ships doing?”
“Staying at the rear of their formation for now,” reported Major Nower.
This didn’t surprise Derrick. Those big ships were here to destroy Golan Four, not to engage in a space battle.
“How’s the defensive grid holding up?” Derrick knew that some of the Morag firepower was aimed at the grid in an attempt to degrade it, so their missiles could get through to the planet.
“We’ve lost a few energy beam satellites and two missile platforms so far,” answered Major Nower.
-
Morag Fleet Admiral Torrant was surprised when the Human ships advanced until their forward ships were nearly in his formation. He had pulled the smaller cone formation over until it nearly touched his, so they could act as one fleet. On the viewscreens, ships on both sides were dying rapidly. One thing he could say about the Humans, they were not cowards. All ships continue to fire. We must substantially weaken the Humans fleets, as well as their defensive grid, so we can fire on the planet. At the moment the grid was too powerful to allow missiles to get through.
-
In space, across the fronts of both fleets, tendrils of energy fire seemed to crawl from ship to ship, as vessels died in giant explosions or were torn apart by fusion energy beams. Battlecruisers on both sides found their shields knocked down, and then energy beam fire would blow entire sections of the hulls off into space, exposing the compartments below. Some beams drilled deep inside the vessels, setting off secondary explosions. Debris then slammed into energy shields of surrounding ships, occasionally overloading a shield and knocking it down.
Human particle beam fire was now a more concise attack. Each dreadnought had two cannons. One would fire, knocking down the screen and drilling into the ship. The second one would fire, moving across the ship and causing major damage. It usually resulted in the ship exploding or being broken in two.
Human accelerator cannons were being fired in twos as well. The first would knock down the energy screen, and the second would obliterate the ship.
However, the Morag were retaliating with massive waves of missiles and a tremendous energy beam fire. Human ships found their energy shields battered down, and then their vessels would die, as massive energy beam fire riddled the ships, or antimatter missiles would send the ships into oblivion.
-
Rear Admiral Collison grew worried as the battle progressed. Due to his accelerator cannons, he destroyed two Morag ships for every one that he lost. However, the Morag could afford to lose ships on that scale. He could not.
Captain Billingsly shook his head. “We can’t do this much longer.”
Collison nodded. “I know. We’ll have to drop back to the defensive grid again shortly. I’m sure Admiral Masters is aware of that.”
The Mercury shook violently, and several red lights appeared on the damage control console. The entire fleet was taking damage. Looking up at the viewscreen, Collison had not seen such weapons fire since the battle for Earth. He hoped this one turned out the same.
-
Rear Admiral Carrie looked at her dwindling interceptor force on the tactical display. SAR vessels were out, constantly rescuing pilots who had ejected or were in wrecked interceptors. Her squadrons were down by nearly 30 percent. “Get them rearmed. Crews can have a ten-minute rest, before we send them out again.”
“We’ll wear them out at this rate,” warned Major Sullivan.
“I know,” replied Carrie, showing her concern. “Maybe in the next round we can give them a longer break.”
Sullivan nodded, but he knew, as intense as this battle was, the longer break was unlikely.
-
Fleet Admiral Marloo and General Gantts watched the battle anxiously, as the Human fleets were gradually pushed back now, toward the defensive grid. So far no missiles had penetrated the defense grid, though the grid was now taking more hits. Looking at the viewscreens, bright flashes could be seen in the sky, and glowing debris shot through the atmosphere.
“Morag fleets are in optimum attack range of the grid,” reported Colonel Marks from the tactical console. “They’re also at the maximum range of our ground PDCs.”
Gantts shook her head. “Hold off on the PDCs, but I want everything else firing. Put the missile platforms on maximum launch. We need to reduce the size of that Morag fleet before they get any closer.”
“What about the shipyards and the space stations?” asked Colonel Hillstrum. “The particle beam cannons we have on all of them could cause considerable damage to the Morag fleet.”
Marloo had been waiting to bring them into the attack. So far the Morag had not fired on them, but, once he unleashed the particle beam cannons they were equipped with, that would change immediately. However, it might cause some of the weapons fire now focused on the fleets to be turned toward the shipyards and the space stations. All the shipyards and stations had very powerful energy screens. “Communications, order the shipyards and the space stations to open fire. Let’s take out some more Morag ships.” Fleet Admiral Marloo hoped this wasn’t a mistake, but he needed the extra firepower.
-
On board the largest shipyard, Colonel Macey Long nodded to herself, as she received the orders to fire. At the moment only her shipyard and one more were on this side of the planet and in range of the Morag, as well as two of the space stations.
“Pick out ten Morag battleships and prepare to fire,” she ordered. With twenty particle beam cannons, she expected to destroy all of them. “As soon as they are destroyed, pick out ten more.” She wouldn’t mess with lessor targets with her particle beam weapons. “All other weapons are to fire on the front of the Morag fleet.”
“Weapons locked,” reported the tactical officer.
“Fire!”
-
Instantly from the shipyard, a barrage of missiles, fusion energy beams, and particle beams rained down on the Morag fleet. All ten of the targeted battleships were hit. Their screens lit up brightly, and then the particle beams penetrated, slamming into the hulls, blasting out deep glowing craters. The second particle beam arrived, cutting deep into the ships and traveling along the hulls, causing massive damage. Internal explosions rattled the ships, and then several antimatter missiles arrived, turning the ten battleships in
to small novas.
-
Fleet Admiral Colane was in charge of the section of the Morag fleet closest to the largest shipyard. He flinched visibly when it opened fire and started destroying his battleships.
Target that shipyard! he ordered, upset by the destruction it caused. I want it destroyed. This battle was not going as he had hoped. Already he had lost too many ships to the Earth fleet he faced, and now this shipyard was causing havoc as well.
-
Derrick frowned; he was losing too many ships. Activating the ship-to-ship comm system, he waited until Rear Admiral Carrie was on the line. “Rear Admiral Carrie, as soon as your interceptors are back, pull beneath the defensive grid, where Rear Admiral Collison’s battlecarriers are. I’ll shortly pull the fleet back into the defensive grid.” It was the only thing Derrick could do to prolong the life of his fleets.
The Destiny shook violently, and a few more red icons appeared on the damage control console. The Destiny was the largest ship in the fleet by far and could handle the damage. However, it was becoming clear the Morag had identified the Destiny as the fleet flagship and were targeting it more heavily. Currently Derrick had a dozen battlecruisers surrounding the flagship, helping to take off some of the pressure.
Derrick waited until he saw the battlecarriers and their escorts drop back toward the grid. “All ships, this is Vice Fleet Admiral Masters. All ships are to drop back into the defensive grid immediately.”
Derrick just hoped being inside the grid didn’t allow Morag missiles to penetrate and hit the surface. He had one more message he needed to send. From what he saw, there were a considerable number of damaged Morag ships. Time to eliminate them.
-
In the underground Command Center, Derrick’s message was received. “Fleet Admiral, Vice Fleet Admiral Masters is requesting we launch all ground-based interceptors,” reported the communications officer. “He’s pulling his fleet back into the defense grid to increase the amount of weapons fire striking the Morag fleet. He wants to launch a massive strike against the damaged warships in the Morag fleet immediately.”
The Forgotten Empire: War for the Empire Page 31